2013 SU Elections Discussion Thread - read mod note in first post

Kiwi_knock

MSU election bingo is always fun.

And I know I mentioned a Commuter Room in my manifesto, but I think at this stage we are not far off a Commuter Room so maybe we need a new bingo answer next year.

TO_ARTHUR!

kisaragi wrote: »

Can't help laughing at some of the manifestos... I think a second atm on campus has been on someone's manifesto every single one of the 6 years I've been at nuim.

Or at least one atm that doesn't run out of 20 euro notes every few days.

banquo

The MyCard was the solution to the 2nd ATM problem.

Seren_

So what's the story with the USI referendum? Just wondering, seeing as it really looks like UCD will disaffiliate.

TO_ARTHUR!

I'm not sure exactly, banquo will probably be the man to tell you but I believe that as part of the conditions of the last referendum two or three years ago, the conditions of it's agreement had to be looked at and re-referendum-ed after so many years. Don't quote me on that:cool:

banquo

USI is the Union of Students in Ireland, and it's been around for 54 years. It's a confederate of Irish Student Unions. Not all SUs are in it (DCU being the biggest example), but most are.

In 09/10, Maynooth students agreed by referendum to affiliate to USI.

Part of the agreement (actually part of the ballot paper) was that there would be a referendum on reaffiliation three years later. That's this year. So we're constitutionally obliged to have one.

However, this year there is no provision to have another reaffiliation referendum after a period of time (e.g. three years). So we'd be in it until someone decided to call a referendum (President, Executive, Union Council, EGM or petition of students of a certain percentage can all call a referendum)

The cost of affiliating to USI is E5 for full-time undergrads, and E2.50 for Postgrads. If we disaffiliated, this money wouldn't suddenly become available for another use as students pay their affiliation fee directly, along with the student levy. This is about 35K a year via MSU.

Out of that we get, to name a few things:

*A student movement
*SHAG packs - condoms and info packs about sex and sexual health
*A voice on the Higher Education Authority
*Cost sharing - something is running in a few different SUs so you all get a bulk deal, same is true for fresher's packs and other bulk orders, etc.

And sabbatical officers get:

*Training - the most useful thing I have ever received
*Help and advice - for casework, student comes in with a really complex problem, you can ring the relevant USI officer who's an expert on the subject
*Ideas - by talking regularly with other SUs, you get to hear ideas that you'd never have thought of, and can draw on the experience of other older sabbat officers (i.e. No no no, we tried that before and it was a total ****storm, try this instead)
*A shoulder to cry on

The order of power, beginning with the most powerful, is:

Students
Student Unions
USI

So USI do what SUs tell them, and SUs (in theory) take their guidance from their students, through Union Council etc.

6 times a year all the SUs in USI get together at what's called National Council and discuss how policy is getting along, plan the next protest, organise dates for campaigns like Mental Health Week or SHAG week or what have you.

Once a year USI holds Congress, the ultimate decision making body of the organisation that lays out all its policies for the year ahead. A decision made at a Congress can only be overturned by a decision made at a Congress, no individual officer can wander off and do their own thing without being beaten up. Students tell their SUs what they want, and SUs all go off to Congress and vote as their members instructed.

C'est USI.

Falthyron

banquo wrote: »

USI is the Union of Students in Ireland, and it's been around for 54 years. It's a confederate of Irish Student Unions. Not all SUs are in it (DCU being the biggest example), but most are.

In 09/10, Maynooth students agreed by referendum to affiliate to USI.

Part of the agreement (actually part of the ballot paper) was that there would be a referendum on reaffiliation three years later. That's this year. So we're constitutionally obliged to have one.

However, this year there is no provision to have another reaffiliation referendum after a period of time (e.g. three years). So we'd be in it until someone decided to call a referendum (President, Executive, Union Council, EGM or petition of students of a certain percentage can all call a referendum)

The cost of affiliating to USI is E5 for full-time undergrads, and E2.50 for Postgrads. If we disaffiliated, this money wouldn't suddenly become available for another use as students pay their affiliation fee directly, along with the student levy. This is about 35K a year via MSU.

Out of that we get, to name a few things:

*A student movement
*SHAG packs - condoms and info packs about sex and sexual health
*A voice on the Higher Education Authority
*Cost sharing - something is running in a few different SUs so you all get a bulk deal, same is true for fresher's packs and other bulk orders, etc.

And sabbatical officers get:

*Training - the most useful thing I have ever received
*Help and advice - for casework, student comes in with a really complex problem, you can ring the relevant USI officer who's an expert on the subject
*Ideas - by talking regularly with other SUs, you get to hear ideas that you'd never have thought of, and can draw on the experience of other older sabbat officers (i.e. No no no, we tried that before and it was a total ****storm, try this instead)
*A shoulder to cry on

The order of power, beginning with the most powerful, is:

Students
Student Unions
USI

So USI do what SUs tell them, and SUs (in theory) take their guidance from their students, through Union Council etc.

6 times a year all the SUs in USI get together at what's called National Council and discuss how policy is getting along, plan the next protest, organise dates for campaigns like Mental Health Week or SHAG week or what have you.

Once a year USI holds Congress, the ultimate decision making body of the organisation that lays out all its policies for the year ahead. A decision made at a Congress can only be overturned by a decision made at a Congress, no individual officer can wander off and do their own thing without being beaten up. Students tell their SUs what they want, and SUs all go off to Congress and vote as their members instructed.

C'est USI.

Apart from SHAG packs, how exactly, or what exactly do NUIM students actually experience/feel/receive from paying an extra €5 per year by being a part of the USI?

I am not trying to take the p1ss, but seriously; how has it helped Maynooth in the last three years? What immediate or tangible change has taken place except from now belonging to an inflated fan-club?

Fees have increased, services are becoming more limited, and students don't appear to be any better off. These things are all a part of the trickle down effect of austerity; education, health, etc, all suffering. But, how does being a member of USI actually benefit or impact upon the life of the average Maynooth student?

We have our own officers, people on the ground in Maynooth who can see the problems and be available directly, to help students. How does somebody in Dublin help a student they can't even see?

And the whole 'MSU reps get training'. Sorry, but the MSU reps I knew from before NUIM joined USI did a great job as it was. This 'training', like most of the USI's programme is simply a breeding ground for future political work, joining a major party and running in elections.

My suggestion would be to leave the USI, and hopefully other Universities will follow suit. This might get them to realise how bureaucratic and 'up their own arse' the whole organisation is, and, in turn cause them to perhaps reflect on this problem and exact some transformation.

Some might say 'Sure, it's only a fiver'. But it is five euro given to perpetuating a completely useless organisation that is (probably) being given funding by the Irish government. What if that fiver was instead put directly into the hands of MSU (hardly reassuring, I know), but I reckon it is better served there, on the front lines, than in some office in Dublin.

From a student who worked with MSU before USI, it's not needed, we did fine, and we were five euro better off.

I would love for a student on this forum to answer the following question. And I mean STUDENT, not a member or former member of the MSU.

'How has membership of the USI directly improved your personal experience in Maynooth?'

Kiwi_knock

A good few students on campus would have got Pink Training provided by USI.

I do think you raise valid points, and one of the most disappointing things to me in the lack of a NO side in the campaign. More information should have been given out, most students will probably not even know about the USI referendum until they pick up the ballot paper tomorrow.

'How has membership of the USI directly improved your personal experience in Maynooth?'

You could replace USI with MSU and students would probably struggle to answer the question as well. There is a clear lack of information coming out from both Unions about their activities, but in my opinion it is easier to reform from within rather than from outside.

Kiwi_knock

Big day tomorrow, I am going to miss giving the lecture addresses. It is hard to give all my policies in the 30 seconds to 1 minute lecture addresses, so I am going to link my manifesto once more. It has been a great experience meeting all the students, really glad I decided to stand. Remember to get out and vote tomorrow. It is Your Union and Your Voice, so use it to vote for whichever candidate you think can best represent the students of Maynooth.

http://kiwitimmo.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/manifesto-for-msu-vpcsud-election/

It is the longest manifesto of all the candidates, so sorry for it taking a bit of time to read but I think it is worth the read .

banquo

Falthyron wrote: »

Apart from SHAG packs, how exactly, or what exactly do NUIM students actually experience/feel/receive from paying an extra €5 per year by being a part of the USI?

I am not trying to take the p1ss, but seriously; how has it helped Maynooth in the last three years? What immediate or tangible change has taken place except from now belonging to an inflated fan-club?

Fees have increased, services are becoming more limited, and students don't appear to be any better off. These things are all a part of the trickle down effect of austerity; education, health, etc, all suffering. But, how does being a member of USI actually benefit or impact upon the life of the average Maynooth student?

We have our own officers, people on the ground in Maynooth who can see the problems and be available directly, to help students. How does somebody in Dublin help a student they can't even see?

And the whole 'MSU reps get training'. Sorry, but the MSU reps I knew from before NUIM joined USI did a great job as it was. This 'training', like most of the USI's programme is simply a breeding ground for future political work, joining a major party and running in elections.

My suggestion would be to leave the USI, and hopefully other Universities will follow suit. This might get them to realise how bureaucratic and 'up their own arse' the whole organisation is, and, in turn cause them to perhaps reflect on this problem and exact some transformation.

Some might say 'Sure, it's only a fiver'. But it is five euro given to perpetuating a completely useless organisation that is (probably) being given funding by the Irish government. What if that fiver was instead put directly into the hands of MSU (hardly reassuring, I know), but I reckon it is better served there, on the front lines, than in some office in Dublin.

From a student who worked with MSU before USI, it's not needed, we did fine, and we were five euro better off.

I would love for a student on this forum to answer the following question. And I mean STUDENT, not a member or former member of the MSU.

'How has membership of the USI directly improved your personal experience in Maynooth?'

Our allocation for the Student Assistance Fund has doubled year on year since affiliating. So from about 45K, to about 80K, to a whopping 180K this year for students requiring special financial assistance.

180K is a bigger number than 35K, so that alone is a pretty good deal.

I also love how people talk about the bureaucracy in USI. I was part of the SU for two years and filled out, gosh, maybe 3 pieces of paper.

How so Joe

12. Introduce Credit Modules for Extracurricular Activities
• Participation in clubs, societies, voluntary work and other extracurricular activity inside and outside of the University should be encouraged and rewarded. Final year students who have been active in a society or club should not have to quit it or give less time to it in their final year just because they are worried about their final results. NUIM, St Pats, Froebel College and MSU should be encouraging students to take part in activities outside their academic coursework.
• That is why I think Final year students should be allowed by their University to take a 5 credit elective module for their extracurricular activities. A student would take this module alongside their other modules to make up the 60 credits. Students that take this module would be required to log a number of hours with an activity and write a project on their activity.
• I think it is important to reward people who take part in extracurricular activities as it as a form of learning and personal development; and it has equal importance to academic learning.
• This is a policy that could take a number of years to create the system, so it would need a strong commitment from the future MSU officers to make it happen.

Is this even possible? Seriously?
I honestly cannot imagine the university would offer credits, especially at 300 or 400 level, for singing in the gospel choir or shooting arrows at stuff?
But I'm only guessing this. Is it actually an established practice in any other colleges in the country? Am I being overly dismissive?
I would really like to know more about this; it seems, at first glance, like a totally loopy idea.

Kiwi_knock

How so Joe wrote: »

Is this even possible? Seriously?
I honestly cannot imagine the university would offer credits, especially at 300 or 400 level, for singing in the gospel choir or shooting arrows at stuff?
But I'm only guessing this. Is it actually an established practice in any other colleges in the country? Am I being overly dismissive?
I would really like to know more about this, it seems, at first glance, like a totally loopy idea.

Hey,
A very similar scheme exists in DCU called the Uaneen Module (http://www.dcu.ie/uaneen/). So it is very possible that a similar scheme could be introduced, but as I said in my manifesto it will take more than a year to implement so it needs strong commitment from future MSU officers to establish it.

PopePalpatine

Sorry for bringing this up so late, but has anyone considered putting up a centralised website listing all of the manifestos of the various candidates? Could this happen next year?

banquo

There were Candidate's Booklets the last few years that had all the Candidates, their profiles and their manifestos in them, distributed everywhere. But they didn't happen this year because they had no real effect on information or turnout.

Website's a good idea though.

banquo

UCD USI referendum being counted. Gonna lose. Shame.

Falthyron

Great to hear UCD have voted to leave USI. Any news on Maynooth's referendum? When can we expect results?

That would mean UCD, DCU and (hopefully) NUIM are no longer a part of USI. Perhaps this will be a critical hit towards those who run USI and make them realise what they think they are achieving is not in line with student expectations or desires.

Doctor Strange

Falthyron wrote: »

Great to hear UCD have voted to leave USI. Any news on Maynooth's referendum? When can we expect results?

That would mean UCD, DCU and (hopefully) NUIM are no longer a part of USI. Perhaps this will be a critical hit towards those who run USI and make them realise what they think they are achieving is not in line with student expectations or desires.

All results will be known by tomorrow evening (hopefully).

spartacus815

I'm not surprised of the USI thing isn't pass through here... people don't like things being shoved into their faces 24/7 and when you enter the arts block, people give you leaflets on SU candidates, USI information, etc. People just get these things so they can be left alone from over- enthusiastic people. They tend to throw leaflets away once getting them. With the USI as well, there was no real debate on it anywhere on campus, and so people, I feel, naturally didn't favour it due to a certain perception on how being in the USI may make us part of some unknown Government conspiracy programme. Didn't vote myself due to it being my final year, and if I get my immunology masters programme here in maynooth, I'll be too busy to care about the SU.

Any results so far?

Doctor Strange

Deleted User wrote: »

Any results so far?

Only sabbat result so far is Mal being re-elected.

Doctor Strange

Louise Morris elected VP CSUD

Leptons

Quick question: What does the USI do? I've no idea.

Leptons

Leptons wrote: »

Quick question: What does the USI do? I've no idea.

Go back a page or two in the thread and Banquo gives a good detailed description of it.
Couldn't see a reason for voting against it, anyone got any good ones?

Leptons

Huh... Can't believe I missed that.

Seren_

Results so far:

Theology: Steve Fleming
Arts/Celtic Studies/Philosophy: Anthony Lambe
Social Science: Caoimhe Hough
Science/Engineering: Choo Yee Ong
Irish Language/Culture: Emma Ní Chearúil
VP SEC: Mal Callan
VP CSUD: Louise Morris

Pres and Welfare to go - who is the favourite for those two? I'm hoping Gearoid for pres as he's a fellow lefty and seems a nice guy, though I don't really know him at all. No idea about welfare, don't think I even know who any of the candidates are.

Yes to USI and mature student rep. DCU also voted to join USI today. Follow #msu13 on twitter for all the gossip.

Dear god I'm not even a student any more, why do I know this stuff.

Seren_

From Fiach on twitter:

VP WE Count 1 Total Valid Poll: 2128 Spoils: 35 Quota: 1065 Conor: 762 Aidan: 928 Danielle: 410 RON: 28 Danielle & RON eliminated.

Also, well done to Duddy and all the rest doing the counting etc, they must be wrecked!

banquo

Aye, well done to the team for staying until after 10. Absolute fair play.

Kiwi_knock

The count had to be the most tense and nerve-wracking experience I ever had. I barely got through the count for Arts Faculty Rep, seeing how even the two piles were.

Still disappointed I lost but I certainly do not regret putting myself forward. I enjoyed the experience, I met some great people, and I feel a lot more confident in myself. Some great candidates won, while some great candidates lost but every one of them should be proud of what they achieved.

XxMCRxBabyxX

Can someone post a full list of those elected please?

Kiwi_knock

President: Ben Finnegan

Vice President for Welfare & Equality: Aidan McNally

Vice President for Services, Events & Communications: Mal Callan

Vice President for Clubs, Societies & Union Development: Louise Morris

Irish Language & Cultural Affairs Officer: Emma Ní Chearúil

Arts, Celtic Studies & Philosophy Faculty Representative: Anthony Lambe

Social Science Faculty Representative: Caoimhe Hough

Science & Engineering Faculty Representative: ChooYee Ong

Theology Faculty Representative: Steven Fleming