Rag / Charity Week - When?

dillo2k10

When is Charity week on this year?

OneOfTheseDays

It seems the pubs and clubs have decided it's going to be the 5th to the 9th of March (https://www.facebook.com/events/300630453330096/).

Charity not even getting a look in it seems...

Jimmy Iovine

Well the pubs/clubs aren't going to miss out on a week like this. Plus it's usually the 6th week of term from memory so they were just latching onto that.

Has anything been announced by the SU?

I was talking to some first years during the week and they are under the impression that the link above is official. Surely the SU are going to distance themselves from it.

Anyway there is a Mystery Bus tour going on that week. After last years complete and utter shambles I'd recommend everyone staying as far away as possible from it unless you want to end up staying in Waterford/Carlow for the night while your bus deserts you.

Alt_Grrr

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Well the pubs/clubs aren't going to miss out on a week like this. Plus it's usually the 6th week of term from memory so they were just latching onto that.

Has anything been announced by the SU?

I think the last proper RAG week was in 2009.
Since then the SU has tried other things to put the focus back onto charitable giving, rather then giving to local pubs :rolleyes:

Jimmy Iovine

Alt_Grrr wrote: »

I think the last proper RAG week was in 2009.
Since then the SU has tried other things to put the focus back onto charitable giving, rather then giving to local pubs :rolleyes:

I wasn't saying that the SU were trying to give to the local pubs. I meant that from the pubs pov they were not going to miss out on a business opportunity like this.

I was in 1st year in '09 and the RAG week was decent. What followed was a bit of a shambles though. After the first year of the Gathering they should have scrapped it.

The way it has gone all over the country I don't think the traditional notion of RAG week will ever make a comeback. Still I think the SU should announce a few gigs around the campus to try and raise a bit of money at least. Better than sitting back and seeing Mantra/The Roost/Brady's get all the money.

Seren_

Don't know if there's much that can be done now for a campus RAG week at this stage (although it's been banned by the university so it'd have to be called something different ). It was mentioned at the last clubs and socs council, and we were encouraged to set up events for charity and stuff during that week but I haven't heard of anything being done yet.

No Gathering anyway this year, so that's something

Eric Cartman

Alt_Grrr wrote: »

I think the last proper RAG week was in 2009.
Since then the SU has tried other things to put the focus back onto charitable giving, rather then giving to local pubs :rolleyes:

rag week 2008 was a good year, since then its all fallen apart.

Seren_

Eric Cartman wrote: »

rag week 2008 was a good year, since then its all fallen apart.

Actual truth. Back when Dunnes was open 24 hours and everyone would head there after a night out, O'Neills was good and Mantra didn't exist. Them's were the days ;_____;

Edit: Actually had O'Neills opened at that stage? I just remember going there a lot towards the end of first year, but maybe it hadn't opened by rag week.

People used to go to the SU back then too :pac:

Eric Cartman

Your Text Here wrote: »

Actual truth. Back when Dunnes was open 24 hours and everyone would head there after a night out, O'Neills was good and Mantra didn't exist. Them's were the days ;_____;

Edit: Actually had O'Neills opened at that stage? I just remember going there a lot towards the end of first year, but maybe it hadn't opened by rag week.

People used to go to the SU back then too :pac:

i dont think so, the LA was still open and raiding what was left of dunnes hot counter after the 2.30am closing time of the roost was the done thing. used to be able to walk around village and you had to choose which of the many house parties youd go to. students just cant party as hard as they used to anymore

Alt_Grrr

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

I wasn't saying that the SU were trying to give to the local pubs. I meant that from the pubs pov they were not going to miss out on a business opportunity like this.
...
Still I think the SU should announce a few gigs around the campus to try and raise a bit of money at least. Better than sitting back and seeing Mantra/The Roost/Brady's get all the money.

The problem as I see it that RAG week was entirely hijacked by the pubs and clubs.

I did the ole bucket shaking for rag week back in the day and honestly I had half cut idiots coming up to me and putting their arm around me in a drunken friendly manner, assuring me that I had gotten RAG week all wrong and that it was all about going mental and "getting off yer face".

A few charity gigs/events in the SU would be nice, (I remember a charity casino night being one of the best events I ever went to in the union), but its hard to get people to go to the union even when you have good acts on, but the magnetic pull of main street is too strong most nights.

westdub15

How exactly can the Gardai stop the SU from holding an event? its still going ahead this year the only difference is that there will be no benefit to charity

Alt_Grrr

The university put a stop to it, after Galway's RAG week got out of hand resulting in multiple arrests and broken windows on the first night.
Most other places followed suit.

also due to the bars licence the SU needs to apply for later opening hours (hence them being called "Bar Extensions") and this can be stopped by the objection of, you guessed it, the guards.

Madworld

Alt_Grrr wrote: »

The university put a stop to it, after Galway's RAG week got out of hand resulting in multiple arrests and broken windows on the first night.
Most other places followed suit.

also due to the bars licence the SU needs to apply for later opening hours (hence them being called "Bar Extensions") and this can be stopped by the objection of, you guessed it, the guards.

Most colleges stopped it? Name one other college that actually stopped it after Galways apart from us. And at least the NUIG SU got something out of it.

And there is no real need for a bar ex anyway. It could be like Christmas Day where everyone just heads down the town afterwards.

Jimmy Iovine

Madworld wrote: »

And there is no real need for a bar ex anyway. It could be like Christmas Day where everyone just heads down the town afterwards.

That would do more to encourage all day drinking though. I'm sure that's what the guards and the college want to cut out.

Wild guess but I reckon 80% of the student body wouldn't be able to last past 7/8 o'clock if they started drinking early in the day. You'd have people pouring out of the SU early in the evening and stumbling home or heading down to Dunnes for a bite to eat.

P.S. I'm not trying to be a dry ****e. I'm being realistic here. I know that if I headed into the SU, as I have, at 2 pm I'd be in bits by 7/8 with the special offers and all that. On a normal day I wouldn't bother heading down to the off licence till that time.

Effluo

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Wild guess but I reckon 80% of the student body wouldn't be able to last past 7/8 o'clock if they started drinking early in the day.

We call those people quitters!!!


I agree with the sentiment already displayed in this thread, it's futile to try and stop the drinking so the SU might aswell try make use of the charity aspect of it. Oh well

Alt_Grrr

Madworld wrote: »

Most colleges stopped it? Name one other college that actually stopped it after Galways apart from us. And at least the NUIG SU got something out of it.

GMIT

Effluo wrote: »

it's futile to try and stop the drinking so the SU might aswell try make use of the charity aspect of it. Oh well

UCC took the focus off the drinking aspect by only having non-alcoholic charity related events and closing their bar earlier during the week. and getting local news to cover the good side.

While I agree its futile to stop students drinking, its better not to drag the university, the SU and some charity organization through the mud by associating them with drunken escapades.

Effluo

Is it just me or is your post a bit a contradiction? Firstly you are say how UCC seemed to focus on the charity aspect of it very well and then say that Maynooth shouldn't do it...


The SU doesn't have to support the drinking, but they could still run the charity aspect of it as you stated UCC did. The idea of closing the SU early would make reasonable sense.(that being said most people are pretty wasted by 5pm) I personally wouldn't agree with it though on account of the fact that it would be no fun

Alt_Grrr

Effluo wrote: »

Is it just me or is your post a bit a contradiction?

Just you.

Effluo wrote: »

Firstly you are say how UCC seemed to focus on the charity aspect of it very well and then say that Maynooth shouldn't do it...


The SU doesn't have to support the drinking, but they could still run the charity aspect of it as you stated UCC did. The idea of closing the SU early would make reasonable sense.(that being said most people are pretty wasted by 5pm) I personally wouldn't agree with it though on account of the fact that it would be no fun

I think the focus should solely be charitable (Diageo plc is not a charity btw), if the SU tags on some fund raising to the pub week the results won't be very good.

If we really wanted to have a charity week we should instead give some of the money we would have spent drinking to a good cause. But people tend to get very very drunk and then cause hassle (Being loud, annoy their fellow maynoothians, wreaking the place, etc) and give very little, if anything at all.

The solution would be that the SU doesn't have anything alcohol related planned at all, that way then if people do get drunk and create havoc the SU can say they had no part to play in it. And by extension the charity won't have its good name sullied by out of hand drunken antics which were intended for their benefit.

I'm not saying that nobody should drink, I am saying that the relatively small amount of money the SU raises (I think the last RAG week was less then 15k) in no way justifies the drunken nonsense of rag week.

Effluo

It's a pretty trivial matter... But I think you just misinterpreted my post. I wasn't suggesting that the SU have the charity events around the drinking/party aspect of RAG week.

But I do think that, if there is going to be a charity week and even if the Uni doesn't call it RAG week, the students would make it RAG week.

I don't think it's likely that there could be no official RAG week and then a charity week without drinking.

westdub15

There's a DJ in the SU on Monday and a shave or dye event planned also. On Wednesday there is a DJ soc night on, looks like the SU are unofficially endorsing RAG week again. About time.

DB21

westdub15 wrote: »

There's a DJ in the SU on Monday and a shave or dye event planned also. On Wednesday there is a DJ soc night on, looks like the SU are unofficially endorsing RAG week again. About time.

With a focus on CHARITY, which many people seem to forget is supposed to be the main focus of the week.

westdub15

DB21 wrote: »

With a focus on CHARITY, which many people seem to forget is supposed to be the main focus of the week.

exactly what I was getting at. The Guards can stop rag week but they cant stop the SU raising money for charity on any specific week. It should never have been cancelled. At least Galway SU got an annual grant from the university to give to charities of their choice in exchange for cancelling rag week. I understand that there are issues with Gardai permission for bar exes and the community but I think the whole issue could have been handled much better.

Eric Cartman

This all sounds nice and that, but at the end of the day I would wager most students have little or no interest in 'rag week' other than the drinking. Im going to be honest and say yeah id give to a decent charity if they had chuggers / fundraisers any time of the year. But for me rag week is where Im off work for 3-4 days and my entire paycheck goes to the lovely people at Diageo. If you cant survive 10am-4am solid drinking for 3-4 days once a year then you really need to hit the pub more.

Alt_Grrr

Just got an email from the VP-SEC: Keith Broni

Hi there all,

I would like to meet with at least one representative from each club and society committee at 5pm tomorrow (Tuesday) in The Venue. I have a proposal for a new charity fundraising initiative which will be launched this year and will tie in heavily with both the C&S League and the C&S Awards Night.

Please RSVP to this e-mail address with the name and position of the representative you'll be sending to the meeting.

....I wonder what he's planning.