Admin building

Easygainer

Ffs, this work has been going on close on a year and they are always at their noisiest coming up to exams. Can they not cut bricks off site? What the hell are the Union doing about this or are they voting on whether or not to protest at the Shell in Donnaybrook?

Jesus, between telling people this year counts for 50% of their finals in November and then not letting them study in peace the college is being really supportive... and yet you only see the union whinging about the generic socialist topics:
-shell
-prices
-mc dowell
-shell
-shell...

Would the union do something about this?

/rant

Chakar

To be honest the agendas of the sabbatical officers and the Union are different.The sabbatical officers look after the interests of the students and are able to do so through committees and through the legitimacy of their position representing the students in whatever Education or one and Welfare.The Shell issue is dragging out a bit but I'm confident that it will be closed when the Shell motion goes to a vote tonight.

The Council however make decisions on a wide range of issues facing the students they are there to represent individual years and classes on the Council.

Also the library is always noisy anyway near the exams.Also the building of the extension to the Admin building has to meet the deadline or there will be a cost overrun.So they can't really stop it for the exams.

Easygainer

Chakar wrote:

To be honest the agendas of the sabbatical officers and the Union are different.The sabbatical officers look after the interests of the students and are able to do so through committees and through the legitimacy of their position representing the students in whatever Education or one and Welfare.The Shell issue is dragging out a bit but I'm confident that it will be closed when the Shell motion goes to a vote tonight.

The Council however make decisions on a wide range of issues facing the students they are there to represent individual years and classes on the Council.

Also the library is always noisy anyway near the exams.Also the building of the extension to the Admin building has to meet the deadline or there will be a cost overrun.So they can't really stop it for the exams.

1. This is clearly an issue which affects students. The major purpose of our time here is education and it is being interrupted.
2.There are no residences in this part of college so if a deadline is the issue they could work through the night.
3. If the Union represents students, why do they focus so much on extraneous issues such as Shell? Every year it's the same - Coke, Shell, whatever socialist issue takes their fancy.

A library is not supposed to be noisy. In fact where I am (law section) noone is talking, there is no sound except stones being cut. It should be fairly obvious with the librocops and ban on phones that the library is intended to be quiet, so why the hell are we constantly subjected to this?

The_Minister

Actually, most of the usual suspects are in Final Year, so the union isn't as crap as usual on these issues.
Shell to Sea is not supported or endorsed by the Union.
They will be running a campaign to bring down the price of condiments in the Restaurant.
McDowell is a ledge! There were no protestors at his speech, and the union took no stance on it.

If you want an anti-socialist thread then have a gander at this :eek:

Umaro

I concur with Easygainer - the SU is lame as hell.

humbert

The_Minister wrote:

Actually, most of the usual suspects are in Final Year, so the union isn't as crap as usual on these issues.
Shell to Sea is not supported or endorsed by the Union.
They will be running a campaign to bring down the price of condiments in the Restaurant.
McDowell is a leg! There were no protestors at his speech, and the union took no stance on it.

A leg indeed. Ha I just asked that in the other thread, though the details of this "campaign" I'd be interested in.

Blush_01

Umaro wrote:

I concur with Easygainer - the SU is lame as hell.

I think the volume of Class Reps who actually care and post on these boards, even though they're limited, deserve more credit than that. Go to your class rep and get them to bring a motion you feel deserves SU time to council - they've all said it repeatedly.

Get ear plugs, Easygainer. They sell them in the SU shop. We all know that students are far from a priority within UCD.

hullaballoo

I have to agree with Easygainer 100% on pretty much both of these issues: (i) the Admin building works are doing my head in. It's a tiny extention and should have been finished before the end of the Summer; it has been ongoing now for the two most recent exam periods. Nightmare if you're a law student.

(ii) I've said this before, but the SU don't serve students' interests, but just the interests of the individuals involved (for the most part). I have to say, my class rep, Paula Kelly, is doing an exceptionally good job.

Easygainer

Blush_01 wrote:

I think the volume of Class Reps who actually care and post on these boards, even though they're limited, deserve more credit than that. Go to your class rep and get them to bring a motion you feel deserves SU time to council - they've all said it repeatedly.

Get ear plugs, Easygainer. They sell them in the SU shop. We all know that students are far from a priority within UCD.

We don't have a class rep. As postgrads we are pretty much ignored - took a month to get us on blackboard.

Also, getting earplugs (though you are saying it tongue in cheek) is indicative of what the college expects.

As for the SU trying to get the price of condiments in the restaurant down, maybe they should try getting decent food in the restaurants and access to a microwave. I had to traverse half the college today to use a microwave - the college has a policy against allowing you to eat your own food.

On a side note the admin building is also ugly as hell. Turquoise and concrete? Did they have a competition in a local primary school to design it?

cast_iron

It does seem to be dragging a bit at this stage. Though when exactly did the building start?

To do the job with no interuption to students would drive the cost through the roof and delay the project any longer. Cutting blocks off site is simply not practical.

passive

We don't have a class rep. As postgrads we are pretty much ignored

Read: nobody, myself included, wanted to run for class rep.

took a month to get us on blackboard.

If there was anything on it when you eventually got signed up you're doing better than most of us

hullaballoo

It's a tiny extension that would have taken about a month and a half or less to put up if it was part of an apartment block or housing estate.

It's been ongoing since before the summer exams last year.

It's also something for us to give out about coming up to the exams. This forum always gets real catty coming up to the exams.

Spectator#1

Easygainer wrote:

On a side note the admin building is also ugly as hell. Turquoise and concrete? Did they have a competition in a local primary school to design it?

I don't actually think they designed it at all, I think I overheard a builder say the other day "I'm really glad we decided to wing it building this one, it turned out really nice"!

I try to study at home most of the time because I live so far from UCD so my time in the library is (thankfully) minimal, I can see why everyone would be so annoyed about the building though.

It would be bearable though if it wasn't for the fact that everyone knows that the college don't care and if you were to approach them about it they'd probably just explain to you why the new building will benefit UCD greatly in the coming years. No-one seems to be able to answer a simple question these days in UCD admin!

I have to say though, I'm sure were enough people to approach the SU about this they could at least bring it to the college. It would be interesting to see how the college respond to Easygainer's suggestion about working throught the night, it's a good idea!

Easygainer

Spectator#1 wrote:

I have to say though, I'm sure were enough people to approach the SU about this they could at least bring it to the college. It would be interesting to see how the college respond to Easygainer's suggestion about working throught the night, it's a good idea!

That brings it back to a thread I posted last term about how Hugh Brady is UCD's Michael O'Leary. He doesn't care about students, he looks at what things cost. I don't see the point in getting a subscription to IREL and all this other crap if we can't even concentrate while reading it...

Blush_01

Easygainer wrote:

We don't have a class rep. As postgrads we are pretty much ignored - took a month to get us on blackboard.

I wish we had Blackboard. Although getting a timetable was an achievement, so I'm counting my blessings. (Also, I think we're supposed to have a postgrad rep or something, but then again, we're postgrads, we're barely even a blip on the radar.)

Easygainer wrote:

Also, getting earplugs (though you are saying it tongue in cheek) is indicative of what the college expects.

Makes me wonder why I didn't go to Galway actually. Do you not have a postgrad study room? We have one in English - although I've rarely used it. Maybe that's to make up for everyone forgetting about us.

Easygainer wrote:

On a side note the admin building is also ugly as hell. Turquoise and concrete? Did they have a competition in a local primary school to design it?

I think it's supposed to imitate the whole copper effect. One of my friends thought it was plastic covering that they forgot to take off, until it was pointed out that it was all over all of it, even on the underside. So I'm going with faux copper. Unless it's really copper that they oxidised. Still looks ick.

mloc

Easygainer wrote:

As for the SU trying to get the price of condiments in the restaurant down, maybe they should try getting decent food in the restaurants and access to a microwave. I had to traverse half the college today to use a microwave - the college has a policy against allowing you to eat your own food.

I have to agree totally on this one... the food quality throughout campus in terms of healthyness is simply absurd. The amount of oil used in restaurant and student bar dinners is insane. I'm lucky in that there are tea rooms with microwaves near my research lab... however, seeing as its in a secure swipe card area it means that if i want to use them I'll be eating alone.

There really needs to be more facilities for students who bring in thier own food to college.

Also, I don't think I've ever seen more than two builders working on that building at any one time.

tywy

this building works annoys me because it makes it harder to cycle on campus, the ramp that I used to cycle down and go done by the lake to avoid the pedestrians on the mall is now has a cardboard wall about a bikes length from where you cycle off of it so now I just cycle on the mall and dodge the pedestrians, it's probably kinda dangerous but I know most cyclists do that now.

humbert

not entirely related but does anyone know if the admin building*spits is open next week?

Blush_01

It should be open for at least a week or two more. That said, I don't have a notion whether it is or not.

Ooh, finally got registered today! YAY!

Chakar

Blush_01 wrote:

Ooh, finally got registered today! YAY!

Like 12 weeks at the end of the first semester!! Was it not possible to get registered earlier sorry but I'm finding it quite hard to believe.

Scraggs

Shes not the only one.. I know a few MA students who've only been registered in the last few days.


OT; The extension isnt that bad imo, it'll be grand when it 'matures' and blends in with the MT building.

Sangre

God I hate that admin building, the bane of my life for my finals and fe1s.

Those were real exams, none of your namby-pamby 10% of your degree exams. I always just sat as far from the window as possible.

Blush_01

Chakar wrote:

Like 12 weeks at the end of the first semester!! Was it not possible to get registered earlier sorry but I'm finding it quite hard to believe.

Conor, do you not think that if it was possible to do it earlier my entire class would have done it then, rather than the day before the end of teaching term? We all only got registered yesterday. It's an achievement. Enough said.