Vote RON.

delta_bravo

El Siglo wrote: »

Ya'd get my vote!
What about our baroque chamber music and brandy in the student bar?:D

Quiet. Thats only for 'friends of the executive'. It cant be shared amongst the plebian student population. Your loyalty will be rewarded in due course

El Siglo

delta_bravo wrote: »

Quiet. Thats only for 'friends of the executive'. It cant be shared amongst the plebian student population. Your loyalty will be rewarded in due course

I thank you good sir, one day the plebeian underwood shall the swift and almighty wrath of the honest, God fearing brethren! Quis Separabit!

Riamfada

As soon as I found out that three of the five positions were uncontested I completely lost interest in this.

UCD Ents buying a nightclub - Why dosnt Welfare buy the beacon medical center and Scottie can kiss your cancer booboo and we can all own shares of UCDSU Ltd.

pljudge321

As a matter of interest how would one go about calling a referendum to split ents off from the rest of the union?

Ginja Ninja

pljudge321 wrote: »

As a matter of interest how would one go about calling a referendum to split ents off from the rest of the union?

I'm not 100% sure on this,but basically you need to get a petition signed by quite a few people[I think you need 10% of the student body] to call for a referendum on the matter to be changed.

I'd check with the SU[they would know and are legally obliged to tell you the procedures for it] it is one of your rights as a member of the union to call a referndum or to propose a motion at the union council,if your presence is sponsored by a class rep.

goose2005

Raphael wrote: »

I'm basing my opinion of him on his manifesto, in which he posits the ideas of:

Ents buying a night club (Which would have neglible entry fee and the best promos evar!!oneone)
Organised chillouts by the lake (as opposed to those terrible unorganised ones)
Paying for all this by buying a lottery ticket every week. Which had better've been a joke.

Edit: Oh, and putting the UCD Ball in the "natural ampitheatre" of the running track. Because destroying sports facilities used by the local community and the college is a great idea!

Not to mention that the running track would have crap acoustics.

pljudge321

Just read part of the SU constituton, you need 3.5% of the student population. Which is somewhere in the region of 800 people, seems pretty feasible.

Breezer

Raphael wrote: »

I'm basing my opinion of him on his manifesto, in which he posits the ideas of:

Ents buying a night club (Which would have neglible entry fee and the best promos evar!!oneone)
Organised chillouts by the lake (as opposed to those terrible unorganised ones)
Paying for all this by buying a lottery ticket every week. Which had better've been a joke.

Edit: Oh, and putting the UCD Ball in the "natural ampitheatre" of the running track. Because destroying sports facilities used by the local community and the college is a great idea!

delta_bravo wrote: »

What worries me also is the ents candidate proposing to purchase a nightclub and also a clamp to clamp the clampers vans. He's just that cool ya know. Who needs realistic ambitions when you can make a completely stupid witty goal.

Words fail me. I'm not in Belfield any more but would I be correct in assuming that this is one of the uncontested positions?

CokaColumbo

Fad wrote: »

I'd rather a RON vote than John Logue getting into Education......(That said, I am openly supporting James, but I really really REALLY dont want John Logue to get in.....)

Do you want to say why you don't want John Logue to be elected?
I've read his manifesto and have heard him make his case and I have to say that he impressed me.

What say you?

pljudge321

CokaColumbo wrote: »

Do you want to say why you don't want John Logue to be elected?
I've read his manifesto and have heard him make his case and I have to say that he impressed me.

What say you?

Maybe because we don't want another FF hack as an SU Officer.

Edit: Also James has far more experience in his role as Science PRO and Head of the Science Day Committee

Belfield inside

Have to agree with the post above.

James has done so much already. From reading the two manifestos there is a clear difference.

It's all well and good that logue is shouting about the problems but he has no clearly defined solutions.

Also some of his points are incorrect:
1. The sample grades- this was brought up at the Law Programme board and was refused. Giving students this sort of template to work off defeats the process of independent learning and it was said at that meeting to devalue our degrees to Level 7.

2. Also Trinity aren't semesterised yet so the repeat/resit fee thing is totally unworkable for UCD.

What I don't like about Logue is him saying he's a fresh face, I was fooled at first I joined his group on facebook etc and sure there's loads of pics of him with SU hacks ??????

I'm voting for James because I believe he can change things :rolleyes:

Sierra Oscar

Belfield inside wrote: »

What I don't like about Logue is him saying he's a fresh face, I was fooled at first I joined his group on facebook etc and sure there's loads of pics of him with SU hacks ??????

Well that is no surprise, for one John Logue is an (active!) member of Ogra Fianna Fail and the Kevin Barry Cumann, as is Donnacha Ó Súilleabháin. Clear link there to be honest. Whats more, Ó Súilleabháin is openly calling on people to support Logue. Also, Gary Redmond is known to be close to Ogra Fianna Fail & the Kevin Barry Cumann in UCD. He might not say it in the open, but he has attended KBC & Ogra events such as their National Youth Conference at the end of last year with the likes of Ó Súilleabháin, with Logue also in attendance I would imagine.

Fad

CokaColumbo wrote: »

Do you want to say why you don't want John Logue to be elected?
I've read his manifesto and have heard him make his case and I have to say that he impressed me.

What say you?

There some council (I have forgotten the name of it) that edu officer sits on, I'm am resolute that this should be an entirely apolitical position. It should not be some inexperienced KBC hack on it.

Also, campaigning for sample essays? Goodbye Top 100 unis.......

pljudge321

Fad wrote: »

There some council (I have forgotten the name of it) that edu officer sits on, I'm am resolute that this should be an entirely apolitical position. It should not be some inexperienced KBC hack on it.

Also, campaigning for sample essays? Goodbye Top 100 unis.......

The degree's have been watered down enough by the effects of modularisation and the elective system as is, we don't need anymore stupid campaigns to make them easier to get.

Synods

So what exactly happens if everybody does vote RON?

Does anybody think it's actually going to make a difference, or is it just going to draw out the election process even further?

Now please correct me if I'm wrong, (I'm not going to pretend I'm in any way familiar with this whole election craic) but from what I've taken from reading this thread, one would vote RON to allow the introduction of new candidates, yes?

But, in fairness, if people really wanted to be part of the SU and make a change/save the whales/free Tibet/etc. don't you think they would have put themselves forward already? Is a RON vote really going to encourage anybody else to participate in the SU?

Ginja Ninja

Synods wrote: »

But, in fairness, if people really wanted to be part of the SU and make a change/save the whales/free Tibet/etc. don't you think they would have put themselves forward already? Is a RON vote really going to encourage anybody else to participate in the SU?

it's the best option you have,if you don't support the candidate then vote RON,yes it ay draw it out a bit,but it sends a message[especially to an uncontested candidate] that they're not good enough for the job in your eyes.

That whole ideal is kicked out by the basis of politics.It's been said here that logue is mates with the FF crowd and some of the current KBC folks.Do you know why? Because that's politics,it's easier to make friends with the head of a political party and get them behind you then to earn votes and get there on your own merits.

I'm not trying to plug him or anything but it's another reason I'm voting for james,he's working bloody hard at this election and logue isn't because he has commerce and B&L behind him which gives him the numbers[how do you think gary redmond got in last year?] james has put up more posters/mahifestos and been alot more vocal about it,because he's working for it.I garauntee that if logue gets in his vast majority will be commerce and B&L.

once again,I'm not trying to campaign on here or anything,I'd hate to act like a fanboy,just stating the facts the best guy should win,that doesn't mean he will

Synods

Ginja Ninja wrote: »

it's the best option you have,if you don't support the candidate then vote RON,yes it ay draw it out a bit,but it sends a message[especially to an uncontested candidate] that they're not good enough for the job in your eyes.

Maybe, but are you honestly naive enough to believe that these uncontested candidates really care whether or not they've won our approval? Let's be realistic here, even if RON gets the majority of votes and nominations are reopened, can you really see an influx of new candidates coming in and/or the original guys dropping out?

As I've said before, if people wanted the job they would have put their names in already. As for the candidates already in (the only one I've been talking to is Lynam, so I can only really comment on him) well let's just say he didn't exactly seem like he was in the game solely for the benefit of UCD students. We all know well he's doing it for the benefit of his CV and future job prospects-I doubt he's going to lose sleep if a few people don't think he's up to the job.

Ginja Ninja

Synods wrote: »

Maybe, but are you honestly naive enough to believe that these uncontested candidates really care whether or not they've won our approval? Let's be realistic here, even if RON gets the majority of votes and nominations are reopened, can you really see an influx of new candidates coming in and/or the original guys dropping out?

As I've said before, if people wanted the job they would have put their names in already. As for the candidates already in (the only one I've been talking to is Lynam, so I can only really comment on him) well let's just say he didn't exactly seem like he was in the game solely for the benefit of UCD students. We all know well he's doing it for the benefit of his CV and future job prospects-I doubt he's going to lose sleep if a few people don't think he's up to the job.

I never said i thought that,but I for one refuse to bow down and present like a dog to that arrogant pr*ck os yeah,I'm goig to RON the rear end out of it and hope donnacha at the least rejoins the campaign

El Siglo

Lynam is hot air, he's biding his time till he gets in higher with Labour and then he'll run in the next local election (maybe general, but I doubt that). Apart from him, the rest of the candidates are absolutely retarded. They're not mature enough or intelligent enough for that matter for the jobs they're running for. I mean really, not a single one of them actually gives two shits about students and anyone who says otherwise is delusional. Why do I say this? Because we're college students (i.e. all things being equal we should be intelligent enough to see through their bullshit in what used to called 'critical thought').
Unfortunately common sense among students is like what Voltaire said "is not so common", and these rats (that's what they are) will get elected and do nothing. We saw what happened when 'real' issues emerged (reintroduction of third level fees, hikes in registration fees, introduction of the health service charge). As for things that could've been done like having a proper rag week and not just a load of paper clotting up your seat in a lecture theatre of the drinks promotions in Tripod or Crawdaddys.
If you want to really annoy the SU, you start a counter-SU. However, this would never work because it goes back to common sense and students. The only time students will give a shit about how they're treated is when they've finished college and they have no job at the end and by this stage it's too late. Believe me boys and girls, when you're finished in UCD all you get is a piece of paper and a cold handshake, you're nothing after this. I digress and apologise.
What will happen in this election, is that these SU candidates will get elected, regardless of how much we discuss it here, they'll get in and that'll be that. And next year we'll be having the same mickey mouse discussion about the next set of candidates. My advice, get out of UCD as quickly and as easily as possible, get your degree and two-fingers to the whole shagging lot of them. From "Redmond the rent boy" to "Brady the b*****d" they're all the same, all they want is to line their pockets, dicky-up their cv's and go on a power trip for as long as possible.

Brimmy

delta_bravo wrote: »

Hire Republic of Loose for a 1 year residency of the Pav, so they will never darken the door of the UCD Bar again

Would vote for this without any irony whatsoever.

Kournikova

It's like an election in North Korea with all these uncontested positions.

Tea-a-Maria

The more I think about it,the more I'd like to take part in a proper R.O.N campaign for next year(probably too late to do anything for this year).Posters,flyers and speeches,just like the the candidates.If only to see the look on their faces after you rant about the uselessness of the institution they're running for...:D

I can dream.

Fad

Tea-a-Maria wrote: »

The more I think about it,the more I'd like to take part in a proper R.O.N campaign for next year(probably too late to do anything for this year).Posters,flyers and speeches,just like the the candidates.If only to see the look on their faces after you rant about the uselessness of the institution they're running for...:D

I can dream.

But RON wont make the institution any less useless. It will just delay people getting elected.

pljudge321

Tea-a-Maria wrote: »

The more I think about it,the more I'd like to take part in a proper R.O.N campaign for next year(probably too late to do anything for this year).Posters,flyers and speeches,just like the the candidates.If only to see the look on their faces after you rant about the uselessness of the institution they're running for...:D

I can dream.

Fad wrote: »

But RON wont make the institution any less useless. It will just delay people getting elected.

If you really want to through a spanner in the works a constitutional referendum would be the best way. Here's a couple of idea's for things you could do.

1. Split Ents off from the SU and have each class have an Ents Rep. This would stop the waster class reps who think their job is just to organise parties. It would also put a plug in the black hole that are Ents's finances.

2. Merge Welfare and Comm's into one position.

3. As Suggested by Gubbie, propose a withdrawal from the USI, costs us 120 grand each year

4. Mandatory monthly vouched expenditure reports on everything the officers and others spend money on.

5. Ban the SU from distributing posters, make everything straight to your inbox in pdf. This would also probably destroy the SU's cosy relationship with the Clubs as they could no longer work as an efficient cheap advertiser.

6. Change the official colour of the SU to a slightly lighter shade of yellow, this ones for ****s and giggles mostly.

I could see 2, 3 , 4 and 6 passing with no bother, the others would take slightly more work.

dajaffa

El Siglo wrote: »

Lynam is hot air, he's biding his time till he gets in higher with Labour and then he'll run in the next local election (maybe general, but I doubt that).

LMAO. Lynam. In Labour. HA!


(said as a very active member of Labour and a friend of Lynams)

TDOie

A petition. Lets do up a petition. It's obvious we're all pissed at the current state of the union, getting the initial 800 required for a petition wouldn't be really that hard if everyone who posted in this thread pissed at the union tried (half arsed) to get those 800 signatures we could easily do it or we could just do nothing let this thread die then all return next year to rehash the same bs about how crap the UCD union is.

delta_bravo

I think we need to bring in an Aztec system where the President and Vice Presidents are sacrificed when the term ends. I'll send Montezuma Redmond an email and see what he thinks

El Siglo

dajaffa wrote: »

LMAO. Lynam. In Labour. HA!


(said as a very active member of Labour and a friend of Lynams)

Labour, FF, FG, the Greens, they're all the one as far as I'm concerned (conservative, right-wing, inept, spineless). All they're concerned about is fighting over scraps of power, all trying to line their pockets and look after their various interest groups (primarily banks and developers but that's another story). I could have easily said one of the others.
Personally, being a member of any political party isn't something that I would boast about at this period in time considering how absolutely retarded politicians are in this country, and essentially a "nutless monkey" could do as good a job if not better.

I honest to God don't know why students, of all people, join political parties? Is it that parochial need of wanting to 'belong' to something? Really, you come to college and the one thing you're taught from day one is 'critical thought', it's the ability to critique both positively and negatively something and this isn't in just in arts, this covers ecology, geology, climatology etc... Then, why would you do something counter-intuitive as to join a political party? You're shoe-horning yourself and immediately towing a party line (regardless of what you might say on this, I've seen enough educated people who've joined parties and started espousing party doctrine, one person I know actually defended NAMA and the banks gaurantee).
This is the reason why we end up with a retarded SU, it's either a popularity contest (think of every single Ents candidate) or it's tied into some political shit (Redmond and the KBC). Is there any possibility of getting an SU officer who has more braincells and maturity than a nice piece of plywood who is also apolitical and focussed on totally on the needs of the students? I doubt it.

Michaelrsh

Who the hell is RON? He must have the cheepest campaigns on campus. If he can't afford flyers, he writes on other canditates flyers and posts. He practices the lowest form of campaigning, writing graffiti all over the toilets.

thedarkfox

"Gary Redmond is out campaigning with Paul Lynam. This shows they want to continue keeping the SU as an exclusive clique. Surely nobody considers Redmonds reign to have been a success after so many failed promises so why would we want one of his cronies in office? Same again? NO THANKS!! Gary Redmond should be work...ing as SU president, not getting paid €400 a week to campaign for his buddy Lynam!"
Good qoute I'm just after finding on facebook, good group, gets the point across well for RON :http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=301395754057