ULSU Elections 2011 (Voting Thursday March 24)

GraGra90

billy the squid wrote: »

It wouldn't have taken Mr. McDuff to include plain text in his mass communications. I made him aware of the issue in the last semester and after a few mails he reverted to the image only ones again. the SU is supposed to be inclusive and he failed in that department

Vincent Browne isn't a student in the University he should have been more concerned with his union members first.

I understand your issue with the e-mails but at the same time - can't please everyone! The general response to the new format of the e-mails was incredibly positive due to the use of colour and little bites of information on particular issues rather than huge blocks of text. From speaking to students I gather that they pay a lot more attention to these e-mails than those that went before as they can quickly and easily identify that which is relevant to them. Not necessarily everyone's opinion obviously, merely the feedback of those I've spoken to.

On the issue of the newspaper - personally I really like the new layout of the paper - particularly the addition of An Focal 2. Clearly based on the award - there are many others who agreed! For some reason it just seems like a more sophisticated paper - no disrespect to any former CO's!! The award is most definitely positive recognising the great work done and in no way shows neglect for union members.

Not of any relevance to this message but in this election I'm supporting Tom Cranley for Welfare and Aoife Kenny for Education - had the pleasure of getting to know Aoife last semester on Education Working Group and was delighted to hear she would be filling the role of Faculties Officer following my departure.

billy the squid

GraGra90 wrote: »

I understand your issue with the e-mails but at the same time - can't please everyone! The general response to the new format of the e-mails was incredibly positive due to the use of colour and little bites of information on particular issues rather than huge blocks of text. From speaking to students I gather that they pay a lot more attention to these e-mails than those that went before as they can quickly and easily identify that which is relevant to them. Not necessarily everyone's opinion obviously, merely the feedback of those I've spoken to.

On the issue of the newspaper - personally I really like the new layout of the paper - particularly the addition of An Focal 2. Clearly based on the award - there are many others who agreed! For some reason it just seems like a more sophisticated paper - no disrespect to any former CO's!! The award is most definitely positive recognising the great work done and in no way shows neglect for union members.

Not of any relevance to this message but in this election I'm supporting Tom Cranley for Welfare and Aoife Kenny for Education - had the pleasure of getting to know Aoife last semester on Education Working Group and was delighted to hear she would be filling the role of Faculties Officer following my departure.

As I have said earlier, I don't really have an issue with the paper. and having the coloured emails as well as including plain text was possible - and had been done a few times after I brought the matter up.

It is a moot point now as Mr. McDuff is not running in the election. I would just like to see a pledge from those that are running for this office to consider this when formatting their email communications with students.

As for the other candidates, the only name that rings any bells are paddy rockett and Derek daly as I remember Rocket running in the last election and Daly is a sitting officer and a long time boardsie I have not been canvassed by any of the others, but then I only had hour long days on Monday and Tuesday.

canned_ulkc

Hulk Hands wrote: »

It's kinda hard to take any point you make serious after reading the single funniest thing ive seen in my 4 years here

I often use exageration to make a point; to expose what I believe is an ill-thought out black and white attitude. I'm glad it entertained.

The point though I think was missed.

More directly - your point overall seemed to be that the SU should represent what the majority cares about. I think that's blinkered. If the SU stuck to what you outlined as within 80% of the "average" student's wishes then there would probably be no Clubs & Societies, No rag week, no intervarsities at UL, no student centre.


And when it comes to voting, are the voters not representitive of "average" student?

optimised

optimised wrote: »

Mental Health, Alcohol awareness and the Drive Safety campaign are all campaigns I feel to be important. I must credit the union on their driver safety campaign this year, it had the shock horror effect hoped for.
But I feel more can be done for Mental Health and Alcohol awareness.

Anyone to cut it short, I have read all the Welfare manifesto's and have not seen any great litrature in relation to either of these major issues meaning I will with-hold my vote for Welfare until one of the Canditates decides to review their polocies somewhat.

Hi optimised, in post 143 (page 10) of this thread i looked at these too issues and stated my opinion on the matter, this is an area i hope to work with the incoming welfare officer and CSO on personally. So it is really important to me too, that the right person gets the job in each position. This academic year i have fund-raised €1,500 myself for console/1life a suicide helpline and support service for famillies living with suicide (as derek daly pointed out yesterday to me, as one student out of 10,000 i have personally raised 13 to 14% of the ENTIRE ammount of money raised for charity week. In one way this is great to be able to say (really more a testament to the generosity of those around me then a reflection on me).

However next year i want to do more, raise more money and make a difference on the ground to the UL students. I know Paddy Pocket who is running for Campaigns and Services Officer has just finished his FYP on mental health and as he is a student in the department i work in i have had conversations with with around this area, and found him very knowledgable and competent and i am 100% sure he is the right person for the role.

In relation to the welfare candidates only Thomas Cranley has replied so far (post 165 - page 11) i was pleased with the response but as i state in post 175 i also spoke to him in detail about the issues in the red raisins at his stand and i was happy that he cares, and has ideas on issues.

still waiting on Tara Feeney to get back to me, so im giving her the benefit of the doubt. She said on facebook a wee while ago to expect a reply through her campaign managers account soon.

I wouldnt expect Eamonn Boland to get back to me, and no nature of response from him at this stage could change my mind to actually vote for him.

sceptre

Hustings, which were originally to take place in KBG12 (Kemmy Business School, ground floor) at 6pm, will now take place in KBG12 (Kemmy Business School, ground floor) at 7pm. No idea of why the change has had to be made, just letting you all know (the SU facebook page has been updated with the change).

kristinkenny1

Deleted User wrote: »

Mental Health and alcohol awareness are issues incredibly close to my heart and i see them as the two MOST important issues in college.

I think i can say that i have some authority to make a judgement on what constitutes an important student issue, considering i will be in my seventh year of studies in UL when our next welfare officer is in office, i was a class rep for 4 of them, sat on my faculty board as postgrad rep, been a student guide, mentor and ambassador for years and i have personally taught over 500 students in the University in my role as a Tutor giving me increased insight. And having been first hand witness to the tragic outcomes that poor mental health and alcohol abuse can result in i know that effective campaigning and services in this area can actually go as far as saving lives of individual and avoiding pain and destruction for those around them qualifying to me that these are the most important issues in this election.

I would like to put the question to all of those running for welfare to respond to. What are your plans in relation to these two interconnected issues. And do you agree with my opinion that these are the most important issues in this election?

Hi Tony,


I think you’re right when you point out what huge issues mental health and alcohol abuse issues are, and often, as you point out, they appear hand in hand. My approach to mental health issues, which to me include addiction problems such as alcohol and gambling, is a further push for peer student support on the issue.



Obviously I am aware that Connect exist and I think they do a great job. While Connect exist as a peer support network they mainly give support to people who are finding it difficult to settle in UL and into college life, providing a friendly face and outlet to really help someone to settle. I think it’s a really great service and the main thing is to keep pushing it every year so that it’s always there in the mindset of every new group of students.


What I want to do though is expand on the idea of peer student support. In my manifesto I have identified particular periods of stress in student life. Anyone who has gone on Erasmus and found it a culture shock to suddenly be alone in a new city, or with co-op being plunged into a work situation in someplace new, or of course attempting to survive the FYP without having a few moments of doubt and exasperation, will understand the kind of pressures that students come under. They aren’t always what you expect or what you’re prepared for.


What I want to do is establish a network of students willing to answer questions and do information evenings in the SU for people facing these issues. Essentially we would be adding an extra layer of support which hopefully students will feel more comfortable using.
For our Erasmus students going abroad it would be as simple as including it in their information packs, an e-mail they can contact if their struggling with the experience. For co-op the same, and for FYP stress specific information evenings or one on ones with other students who have gone through the experience.
I think it’s very workable to add another layer of student support. I think, like you have done in the past Tony, that students are good and willing to help out if asked.

The PDF idea is not one where I’m encouraging people to interfere or to “save their friend” so to speak. But I do think that, like I said above, people are willing to help once they know they can. Making people aware of what to look out for if someone is really suffering could be the difference for some people. Obviously it would include information on how, or when, to approach someone. The idea hasn’t evolved completely yet but I think it has great potential, and if it even helped a handful of people it would be worthwhile.


With regards specific alcohol issues, I think alcohol awareness campaigns are something which can only improve. I can’t recall a very visible hard hitting campaign in the last couple of years. I remember Connect running something about cheeseburgers but I think that left some a bit confused. So I think there is a space there for a much stronger campaign and this is something I will carry out. Also I have mentioned gambling in the same breath as it’s something which seems to be rising all around us. I think something serious needs to be done here or we could have a lot of UL students with serious issues in the future.


Anyway I hope that was helpful. It’s hard to express ideas comprehensively on a small manifesto so I hope this gives you more of an idea of what I’m trying to do.
Tara

NotMoose

Man, all these shouting opinions and trolls are really taking away from what the election is all about!

Come on guys, quoting experience, saying who knows what and when and where is all great and that. And I really do love reading posts by people who have already made up their minds responding to other people who have already made up their minds like they can actually sway there opinions, but really the SU elections has always been about one thing.

Who is giving away the best sweets? Is anyone pushing to the height the Sharon went last year with CandyFloss and full cream eggs? Or a people just phoning it in with penny sweets and lollypops?

Adam_M

Hi All,

Paddy Rockett's Website is now live. Drop by and check out his manifesto and videos.

Looking forward to hopefully getting the chance to convince you to vote for Rockett.

Adam

optimised

In response to Tony, I'm aware of the 1500 you helped raise, i helped organise that event, well done on that by the way.

AlwaysRight

sceptre wrote: »

Hustings, which were originally to take place in KBG12 (Kemmy Business School, ground floor) at 6pm, will now take place in KBG12 (Kemmy Business School, ground floor) at 7pm. No idea of why the change has had to be made, just letting you all know (the SU facebook page has been updated with the change).

Reason is that there is a Teaching Practice Briefing for first year education students on at that time (6pm) in KBG12. It was booked in first it seems. Must have been a mix up with booking for hustings that the room got double booked.

Ms. Education

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Aoife, I'm sure you wouldn't dissuade either of the current candidates for running for your position? Would you encourage them too? And if you had the chance again, would you do it the same and run for Education officer again? I guess what im asking is what are the benefits of a sabbat position, because this thread just seems to be focusing on the negatives.

By the way, none of this is aimed at you, I voted for you, think you've done excellent and you've helped out more than a few of my friends during your time in the position.

Don't worry.. this job means you develop a seriously thick skin so I don't take it personally!

Being a Sabbatical Officer is a year (or two in my case) of intense ups and downs. If you're lucky, as I have been, you get to work with a great group of people in the other Sabbats. I wouldn't trade this year that I've spent with Ruan, Derek, Finn, Viv and Dan for anything because they've sort of become my family. (Cmon you can definitely see Derek as cranky grandad in the corner with his cup of tea, Ruan as cool Dad, Dan as the hippie uncle who pops over every now and then, Viv as the older brother that steals your cake and Finn as the little brother with whom you conspire to steal Viv's X Box ) The general motto is that although you argue and you're totally different people, you'd still pretty much do anything for each other!

But then you have to balance all that lovely soft happy fluffiness with the reality of the job you do. Take Module Evaluations for example, the negativity, hostility and anger (in some case) that I got from some staff about this was unbelievable. You have many moments where you sit there and you think.. "I'm doing the right thing though.. so why are people angry?" The job can be extremely demoralising and no matter how much you put in or how hard you try, there will still be people who give out about you without a second thought.

The final and most important dimension is the students. If you make a mistake, as Education Officer, you can cost students a lot. In the most extreme cases, you can cost them a year of their lives or a doubling in their fees if you don't give them the correct information. That's a lot of pressure and that's what makes the student dimension tough. What makes it great is that you help them when no-one else could/would/did. I've said it many times; the highlight of last year was the student who called back with no other reason than to say thanks to me.. and I mean it

AlwaysRight

billy the squid wrote: »

It wouldn't have taken Mr. McDuff to include plain text in his mass communications.

billy the squid wrote: »

It is a moot point now as Mr. McDuff is not running in the election.

Its McDuffie

constantg

Adam_M wrote: »

Hi All,

Paddy Rockett's Website is now live. Drop by and check out his manifesto and videos.

Looking forward to hopefully getting the chance to convince you to vote for Rockett.

Adam

As a former education officer, I have a question.

Paddy seems to be suggesting that he wants to run an exam support service off his own back for the first time ever if he is elected.

Can you tell me (a) is this the case and (b) if it is what are you going to do about it since the previous 5 years there have been consolidated, coordinated and effective exam support operations run by ULSU.

There have also been an extremely strong and coordinated response by the welfare officer to exam stress over that time.

constantg

and yes i get the fact that its election time and you promise what you have to to get yourself elected.

Finn McDuffie

kristinkenny1 wrote: »

Hi guys,
This is Kristin Kenny here on behalf of a very busy Tara Feeney! Unfortunately there was a mistake, which Tara has emailed the editor about- I would just like to clarify that Tara Feeney is not a class rep, (but respects them very much!!) and has NEVER claimed to be one in any way, either through An Focal, her manifesto, facebook or canvassing! It's a mix up. Hopefully Finn will be able to clarify this, and if anyone has any doubts or questions we have the original typed doc sent to An Focal. please don't hesitate to contact me via Facebook or Tara herself.

All the Best

Kristin Kenny

To whom it may concern,

I have received a gracious email from Tara Feeney's campagn team highlighting a mistake in the latest issue of An Focal (Issue 12, Volume XIX; 23 March 2011), which states she is a Class Rep.

I would like to clarify that this was a mistake on the part of An Focal. No such copy was submitted to the three An Focal writers responsible for putting together the two-page spread (Pages 26 & 27). It was a human error.

I apologise for the confusion and for any anxiety caused.

We wish all the candidates the best of luck in their campaigns.

Regards,

Finn McDuffie
Communications Officer ULSU

optimised

optimised wrote: »

In response to Tony, I'm aware of the 1500 you helped raise, i helped organise that event, well done on that by the way.

Cool, glad to see your on the same wave length and your contributing to the fundraising and campaigns. Well i raised 1100 on that particular head shave event and i got 400 this semester to teach all my tutorials dressed as a scumbag great fun, thanks for the props but as i said it is the people who sponsered me who deserve it... and i wrote a letter to an focal to thank them, published today But I hope the new sabbats push the fundraising further next year. 11,000 is great but i think we could do a whole lot better.

Anyway on the mental health and alcohol awareness issue, id be interested to know now that youve seen tom and taras replies do you lean either way?

sibh1

Hi Everyone,

As an ex student of the University (currently watching the election from the sidelines with interest), and now working for a charity that hosted the biggest sporting event last year in the country in UL, I thought that I would throw my two cents in.

If I had a vote it would be going to Tom for Welfare and Paddy for CSO. I have gotten to know both through different projects in the past year and I have found both to be outstanding... both willing to help out and to get stuck in where they are needed. Paddy will be outgoing (essential for this position) , knows what the students want and cares an awful lot about the students. I know he will do a fantastic job if elected and has prior experience in entertainment. Tom is so approachable, something that is vital for the position - a position that I almost went for myself a number of years ago. *sighs at the fact its now years ago since I was a student!

I will be encouraging all that I know in UL undertaking postgrads/masters to vote for the above! Best of luck to all.

Skyrim

I have to read the manifestos tonight. I like Derek's idea to have no tutorials after 2 on fridays. Makes so much sense. I had a tutorial that day at 4 last semester and its a killer!

NotMoose

There hasn't been too much discussion for the position of Welfare so I’d like to get opinions on what people think. I really like Paddy Rocket for it but having read Derick Dalys manifesto he just seems like he would be better for the roll. That and his post about the condoms made me laugh.

Aoife is kind of a black horse in the Welfare race but I think she could pull off depending on how she does with Hustings.

canned_ulkc

Skyrim wrote: »

I have to read the manifestos tonight. I like Derek's idea to have no tutorials after 2 on fridays. Makes so much sense. I had a tutorial that day at 4 last semester and its a killer!

I heard an interesting rumour relating to this. Basically that it was a fairly widespread practice for lecturers to book a load of slots in rooms mid week so that when stuff is scheduled on a Friday they can move it to their booking!
Strangely, if this is true, all the room bookings made for mid week actively forces lectures/labs/tutorials to Fridays.....

Skyrim

Best of luck to all those running for positions in the ULSU. I know that you will always have the students best interests at heart and whoever wins will do a great job.
Haven't decided yet but will in due time!

Dante on Fire

constantg wrote: »

As a former education officer, I have a question.

Paddy seems to be suggesting that he wants to run an exam support service off his own back for the first time ever if he is elected.

Can you tell me (a) is this the case and (b) if it is what are you going to do about it since the previous 5 years there have been consolidated, coordinated and effective exam support operations run by ULSU.

There have also been an extremely strong and coordinated response by the welfare officer to exam stress over that time.

Hi,

This is exactly what I want to address - within a union we would promote teamwork and i would work with any of the education officer candidates in the future to respond to the needs of students. I must add that i carried out said campaign this year delivering water whilst the eduction, welfare and campagns and services officer dealt with the Information side of the campaign.

Being 'on the frontline' I noticed students fretting and worrying after long hours of study where they had no-one to talk to before exams - its all well and good giving them water (something I was very thankful of in exams) but we have to look at the others who are drained and (a)do not have calculators, pens etc. (b) might be entering an exam with material written on their hands (unknowingly) and (c) need to see that a union supports them during this time so I have suggested an Exam help desk basically picking at all the elements of the last few years

This of course would be run in conjunction with other Officers because at the end of the day we are a team. I wont shut myself in my office and try and compete against another officer or try to get only my section of the job done - something I am glad to see this years Union are not entertaining.I can only commend them for their hard work and how well they seem to gel - it was nice to hear Aoife call them a family and I would wish for the same should i be elected.

If you have a couple of minutes you might want to take a look at an interview i did recently - I hope you find it Informative

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjYz9dI7ENs&feature=related

Hope that answers any questions
Peace
Paddy Rockett

sceptre

Sitting at hustings in the KBS. Small enough crowd, about 120ish people. Roughly half of whom are involved in one or other of the campaigns, judging by wearing their campaign colours (might be a higher number assuming that everyone involved doesn't get a teeshirt).

Turns out that Enda Gallery is in fact a real person, which may have been in doubt to people during the week as he hasn't been seen.

No sign of PedoWelfare Bear. He may be out the back engorging himself on a bowl of Crunchy Nut.

(late update: the person who's been in the Welfare Bear suit was sitting towards the back. Not a sign of a bowl or a spoon.)

Nagoh

Cant say I'm too happy with some questions, obviously being asked by supporters of one side to snipe at the other by highlighting weaknesses etc. Probably common practice enough but comes off as dirty politics in my opinion

sceptre

Nagoh wrote: »

Cant say I'm too happy with some questions, obviously being asked by supporters of one side to snipe at the other by highlighting weaknesses etc. probably common enough but comes off as dirty politics in my opinion

It's not uncommon. Part of the trouble is that people are so bleeding obvious about it. A few acting classes wouldn't go amiss.

I half suspect that quite a few people either aren't aware that hustings is on or don't particularly care. Specifically in regard to the first, it's probably not enough for the candidates themselves to be the main promoters of it, especially when the time unfortunately had to be changed.

Reiver

sceptre wrote: »

No sign of PedoWelfare Bear. He may be out the back engorging himself on a bowl of Crunchy Nut.

Does anyone have any incriminating pictures of that bear with honey?

The thought of that thing roaming the college grounds at night is one that has been making my nights sleepless.....

Nagoh

I don't mind Welfare Bear too much, other than he/she/it's terrifyingly too-small head compared to the body

canned_ulkc

I felt some candidates performed remarkably well.
It's the first time I've been at a hustings and was pretty surprised at the turnout - would've expected a lot more to be there really.

Nagoh

Keith Young and Thomas Cranley did quite well I thought. I'm actually still undecided on CSO, both candidates had good points and were well spoken.

I'm still torn on communications, as I think Kelly knows her stuff when it comes to An Focal, but Keith's changes also seem very good. I can see the logic in the argument that the paper got a good boost this year with Finn, and Keith could give a similar infrastructure boost to the website etc. Guess we'll see tomorrow.

Skyrim

I'd give my absolute support to anyone who could abolish academic literacies, it is so painful. No wait, it is almost over, why would we want to deprive future students of such a wonderful subject.
Have not decied yet, will people still be canvassing tomorrow?