Censorship of ULSU discussions

Sid_Justice

In certain disciplines (including IT in fairness to DSK) expertise is sought from areas outside of academia. People who have success in business, finance, entrepreneurship, management etc. are still extremely qualified to lecture in those topics.

CiaranMT

Sid_Justice wrote: »

In certain disciplines (including IT in fairness to DSK) expertise is sought from areas outside of academia. People who have success in business, finance, entrepreneurship, management etc. are still extremely qualified to lecture in those topics.

Exactly, which defeats your own point.

Night to all.

rmacm

Sid_Justice wrote: »

perhaps you should take a leaf out of my book boyo.

Not going to happen.

Sid_Justice

who are you again?

Polar Ice

CiaranMT wrote: »

Really? There's a few in the Business School, for example, that don't seem to have Phds.

Take Mr. Anthony Foley as one. He's a senior lecturer. But what's this? No Phd??? :eek:

Business tends to be a discipline where PhDs are less prevalent. I.e. you'd nearly never see someone with an MBA consider doing a PhD.

PunkFreud

Sid_Justice wrote: »

I think if people stopped posting stupid comments saying "calm down" or "relax" we'd have a lot more productive discussion. People on this forum don't seem capable of engaging in a discussion without resorting to infantile internet memes such as kittens or stupid gifs. It's posts like that that should be deleted and the posters' banned. It's ridiculous the type of tripe that gets posted on these forums unchecked and when someone is making a genuine and legitimate post of some signficance they're shouted down for being a troll.

What we've discovered about the UL student over the last couple of weeks are:

1.The SU are corrupt - engaging in irregular accounting activities, the president duping C&S councils and acting beyond his remit behind their backs
2.The SU are inept - SU VP makes radio station but hasn't got a clue how to run one, programme one, delegate effectively, run news, do her role properly
3.Students are vandals - Thomond, Graveyards, Castletroy all vandalised and littered this weekend and every other
4.Students are immature - can't hold a discussion on this forum without regressing into infantile antics
5.Students are unintelligent - UL students gain the least 1st and 2.1 class degrees of irelands unis
6.Moderators - combination of all of the above

In reponse the that, I just feel they are a series of outrageous statements to make.
1. I know a lot of people on this site have a problem with the accountancy practices that went on, but for me, if it kept the UL Spar shops happen, I don't mind. It's important to note how little the majority of the student body cared about this.
2. Kelly is new to the job, she doing her damn well best. It's tough to set up a radio station, and it's naive to think it'd be perfect after a few weeks. Give it a few years, and it should be ok. Everything takes time.
3. That's a minority. You shouldn't generalise.
4. You're taking this whole thing too seriously is all
5. UL is also gets some of the most disadvantaged students and opens its doors much more than other colleges. Trinity gets high results because they get LC students with 500+ points, while UL gets students with 300+ points. Also important to remember that last year there was uproar that colleges were giving too high grades, and that standards were slipping; it was noted that UL was a college were standards were staying constant.
6. Thats your opinions.

As I said, the vast majority of students in UL dont have any problem with whats going on. I think its fair to say that we dont want what happened in NUIG, where the vocal minority, the class reps (the ones who are supposed to represent their classes), voted against RAG week. Yes it was chaos last year, but take UL. Before UL used to have the most chaotic RAG week, but since the rebranding and re-emphasis on Charity, it has been noted by the Gardai and residents how improved the situation has become.

Jester252

Sid is there anything you like about UL

Sid_Justice

Beautiful scenery. Shannon is wonderful. Plenty of wildlife around. I love the view from my apartment window.

Polar Ice

PunkFreud wrote: »

2. Kelly is new to the job, she doing her damn well best. It's tough to set up a radio station, and it's naive to think it'd be perfect after a few weeks. Give it a few years, and it should be ok. Everything takes time.

The sabbats are only elected for a one year term. Over a third of their elected term has passed.

The issue with asking people to wait a few years for a new service to be ok is the years part. Anything that falls under the office of a sabbat can be entirely changed on a very frequent basis. The radio station also has been around for more than a few weeks now.

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Students are unintelligent - UL students gain the least 1st and 2.1 class degrees of irelands unis

DegenerateNo1 wrote: »

Also just becasue UL have the lowest number of 1.1 degree's does not mean that UL students are unintelligent. In UL there is a method of continous assessment over 3-4 years, compared to other universities within which student grades are determined on one years work. Therefore of course it is more difficult for UL students to achieve 1.1 degree's as they have to maintain a consistency in grades over a huge range of subjects over a number of years. The blame doesn't lie solely on the student population either. UL has to reassess some of its teaching approaches to degree courses to ensure that students perform to the best of their abilities. Probably a lack of a cohesive strategy by the various schools throughout the campus isn't helping students get the best possible chance to achieve.

PunkFreud wrote: »

5. UL is also gets some of the most disadvantaged students and opens its doors much more than other colleges. Trinity gets high results because they get LC students with 500+ points, while UL gets students with 300+ points. Also important to remember that last year there was uproar that colleges were giving too high grades, and that standards were slipping; it was noted that UL was a college were standards were staying constant.

Grade Inflation.
I'd specifically direct you to this paper

Sid_Justice

Think it's bit of a cop out to say UL's grades are lower because all the other colleges suffer from artificial grade inflation. no?

kflynn

Sid the UL forum is full of you complaining, you do raise some valid points but others you dis agree with yourself (no I'm not going to 'prove it') cant be arsed quoting all of them but the one about the lecturers with phd's is an example.

I think you have waaayyy more issues and not with UL, students or the SU. I heard Connect is a good service, call in and vent

Cossax

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Think it's bit of a cop out to say UL's grades are lower because all the other colleges suffer from artificial grade inflation. no?

Not really, no - UL's degrees aren't devalued in industry.

wnolan1992

Sid, d'you want to talk about anything? Seriously, you can talk to us about your fears and stuff, we won't judge, it can be good to talk about these things, you'll feel better. D'you need a hug?

You seem to have so many problems with UL that it frankly baffles me that you're still attending. On this forum, the only positive things I've ssen you say are about the scenery....seriously man, this crusade you're on is clearly a manifestation of some serious issues.

CiaranMT

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Think it's bit of a cop out to say UL's grades are lower because all the other colleges suffer from artificial grade inflation. no?

No it's a generally accepted fact.

Ginge Young

PunkFreud wrote: »

1. I know a lot of people on this site have a problem with the accountancy practices that went on, but for me, if it kept the UL Spar shops happen, I don't mind. It's important to note how little the majority of the student body cared about this.

LOL? So let me get you straight, in a situation where the SU business' went belly up, and needed a massive bailout to keep them running you would allow the SU to take all of Clubs and Societies money? Because essentially, as it stands at the moment there is nothing preventing to SU from doing that.

The majority of the student body didn't care? Were you at the initial clubs and socs meeting where every single representative from all clubs and societies was up in arms shouting, calling for the issue to be dealt with while the SU President tried to brush it off for two weeks?

The overall majority of the student body do not give a ****e about most things, that is our problem. This situation was probably the biggest farce in recent SU history. They are only annoyed when it affects them, and even at that they need to be cattleprodded along to do most things. Clubs and Societies however, if they are pissed, it they are motivated, if they believe in getting something done it get's done. I would like to believe the same of the wider student body, but in my four years (going into 5th) here that has simply never been the case, and it's sad. In the SU's defense on this respect they are trying to get more motivation going.

While I sit on the clubs and societies working group dealing with all of this, if you think people didn't care, I invite you to the week 11 interim report.

Sid_Justice

What do people think of this analogy?

C&S is a kid who just had their confirmation and came into some money, theirs of course but it is put into safe keeping in the bank account of their parents. Let's say it's a grand. Next year, the money is still there but the kids uncle has massive gambling debts he cannot pay, the IRA are after him. The kids parents don't have a spare grand but they loan him the 1000 confirmation money but they don't think the kid will need it, miss it and are certain they pay it back.

The next week the child discovers their 1000 is gone and goes berserk feeling they've been stolen from and their trust exploited. In legal terms, the parents have done nothing wrong, their are legal guardians and have power over the bank account and they don't need kid signature to give it away.

They haven't stolen the money per say, but it's not there any more.

Whether the kid is ever paid back (with interest) no body knows.

Ginge Young

I must apologize, there is so much going on in this thread, topics switching back and forth etc, I just realised my post has no relevance to what the topic of discussion should be.

This has kind of just become a mega thread of issues O.o

freyners

Sid_Justice wrote: »

What do people think of this analogy?

C&S is a kid who just had their confirmation and came into some money, theirs of course but it is put into safe keeping in the bank account of their parents. Let's say it's a grand. Next year, the money is still there but the kids uncle has massive gambling debts he cannot pay, the IRA are after him. The kids parents don't have a spare grand but they loan him the 1000 confirmation money but they don't think the kid will need it, miss it and are certain they pay it back.

The next week the child discovers their 1000 is gone and goes berserk feeling they've been stolen from and their trust exploited. In legal terms, the parents have done nothing wrong, their are legal guardians and have power over the bank account and they don't need kid signature to give it away.

They haven't stolen the money per say, but it's not there any more.

Whether the kid is ever paid back (with interest) no body knows.

eh....probably easier just to stick with the story....thats a bit bonkers

Sid_Justice

CiaranMT wrote: »

No it's a generally accepted fact.

It's a generally accepted fact grade inflation is taking place, it is not a generally graded fact UL is immune to this.

freyners

Sid_Justice wrote: »

It's a generally accepted fact grade inflation is taking place, it is not a generally accepted fact UL is immune to this.

FYP;)

for businesses it is...ive lost count about how many times ive heard from university AND non-university staff how much a 1.1 degree in ul is worth compared to most colleges. If you went to the careers fair you would have heard numerous times..getting sick of it now

Sid_Justice

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Sid, d'you want to talk about anything? Seriously, you can talk to us about your fears and stuff, we won't judge, it can be good to talk about these things, you'll feel better. D'you need a hug?

You seem to have so many problems with UL that it frankly baffles me that you're still attending. On this forum, the only positive things I've ssen you say are about the scenery....seriously man, this crusade you're on is clearly a manifestation of some serious issues.

Do you have a licence to practice medicine? are you a registered pyschoanalyst, therapist or chologist? Counsellor? Do you think it's wise to belittle the idea of mental health in this era? Don't talk about things you don't understand and don't make jokes about people's mental health.

Sid_Justice

freyners wrote: »

FYP;)

for businesses it is...ive lost count about how many times ive heard from university AND non-university staff how much a 1.1 degree in ul is worth compared to most colleges. If you went to the careers fair you would have heard numerous times..getting sick of it now

funny that they only say that to you when you tell them you're a UL student, do they tell that to TCD Bess heads of UCD commerce? You know these guys are on a commission for the number of email addresses they get etc. They are paid to tell you you will be a good candidate so apply for a job with their company. Don't believe everything you hear.

freyners

Sid_Justice wrote: »

funny that they only say that to you when you tell them you're a UL student, do they tell that to TCD Bess heads of UCD commerce? You know these guys are on a commission for the number of email addresses they get etc. They are paid to tell you you will be a good candidate so apply for a job with their company. Don't believe everything you hear.

nope....its been said to me when i havent identified myself as a UL student.;) got into a good discussion with a person a businessi was interested in working for before, generally speaking people with 1.1 degrees from UL have a higher capability than 1.1 degrees from other universities. UL doesnt hand them out like candy like other institutions have

tonka_92

On the subject of a degree from UL somehow being rather worth less than at other universities across the country, and the world.

I know somebody in the equivalent course to mine in another university in this country. The two courses are supposed to have similar learning outcomes and you would imagine the average degree holder from either course would be quite similar, yes? No.
In this other course, it took until 2nd year that they started to get to grips with stuff we'd been doing from day 0 in UL. When asked about their full weekly class hours, over lectures, labs, and tutorials, they were actively in class about 50% of the time we were.
Now at this point, a person in the other course may have a higher QCA/GPA/Whatever3LetterInitialismA than I, or people I study with, but I would hazard a guess that many of the people with "less worthy" degrees are generally more employable than the 1.1 holding person from that other course who does not know what SQL stands for/insert other trivial thing.
So, to reiterate, First Year does not count towards our QCA, we spend a whole 8 months getting experience of the workplace during our co-op semester which we cannot get our degrees without, we generally cover more material, and are more comprehensively examined on them.
Any day, I would take a "lower" degree from UL, than a 1.1 from that course.

I know I have gone horrifically off topic, but I felt this needed saying.

sceptre

On-topic or don't post, folks.

The "new thread" feature is available if you want to talk about something that isn't reflecting the thread title. In a rational way of course - some of you can obviously post coherently and productively judging by what you've been saying.

mod

canned_ulkc

MrsStuffings wrote: »

I want to know what Kelly O Brien is trying to hide.

This is no way for a student representative to behave.

somehow i dont think keith o neill would have been as sneaky and underhand. shame she didnt mention those personality traits when i voted for her. you can be damn sure keith would have made a proper go of the radio as well, not the miserable farce it is at the moment. and also kelly's comment about the listenership value resetting everyday is false. that 51 record high was set last week during censored. the mean listenership outside that show ranges from 3 - 15.
not only is she sneaky she's also a liar/ignorant of how her radio listernship is recorded.

I got as far as this post and can see a reason for stuff being deleted and/or locked.

I don't know Kelly that well and I'll admit that my vote went to Keith. I hope she won't take it as insulting when I say that in my own opinion she could have reacted better to criticisms on FB and here.

What I (and I assume, others) see as a bad reaction to criticism however provides no basis or reason for posts like the one quoted which DIRECTLY PERSONALISE issues. If people have suggestions for improvement why not just ask a question/make the suggestion instead of asking it while exposing their own position?

The fact that ULFM even exists I think is a credit to the SU and obviously to Kelly who holds the Comms officer position. Personally, I haven't listened to it much but the criticisms I've heard have primarily been about technical difficulties, the website and the presenters.

Well guess what folks - they JUST STARTED!

Instead of quoting listenership maybe you could take a pro-active approach and get involved in the promotion of the station? Although I suppose that might not be so well received once you call someone a liar/ignorant/underhand/sneaky.....

OhMSGlive

canned_ulkc wrote: »

I got as far as this post and can see a reason for stuff being deleted and/or locked.

I don't know Kelly that well and I'll admit that my vote went to Keith. I hope she won't take it as insulting when I say that in my own opinion she could have reacted better to criticisms on FB and here.

What I (and I assume, others) see as a bad reaction to criticism however provides no basis or reason for posts like the one quoted which DIRECTLY PERSONALISE issues. If people have suggestions for improvement why not just ask a question/make the suggestion instead of asking it while exposing their own position?

The fact that ULFM even exists I think is a credit to the SU and obviously to Kelly who holds the Comms officer position. Personally, I haven't listened to it much but the criticisms I've heard have primarily been about technical difficulties, the website and the presenters.

Well guess what folks - they JUST STARTED!

Instead of quoting listenership maybe you could take a pro-active approach and get involved in the promotion of the station? Although I suppose that might not be so well received once you call someone a liar/ignorant/underhand/sneaky.....

This guy has hit the nail perfectly on the head there. There was no need to personalise things at all. Plus, people have not given the station enough time to develop fully. Just wait until next semester, things will improve!

Polar Ice

CJKeane wrote: »

Hello all,

We have met formally over the past couple hours and have decided to remove the procedure to obtain the minutes/agendas from our board meetings and make them freely available on the ULSU website under the ULFM page (see link). We will release future agendas/minutes when they are passed by the development board in this same location. At the moment there are only minutes for two of our meetings as they have not been transcribed on to the computer yet.

We as a board are striving to achieve total transparency within ULFM. We concede that mistakes have been made regarding the dealings through Boards.ie and we will do our best to ensure these mistakes are not repeated. We promise you that, as a group, we are doing our best to achieve the highest standards for our fledgeling radio station.

We would like to thank contributors for their constructive criticism. We are trying to take as much as we can on board but, as we are all students, time constraints affect us all. Please be patient with our young station as we are all learning, and are bound to have our hiccups.

Signed,
Conor Keane
Production Manager ULFM

http://ulsu.ie/officers/communications/ulfm

So much for the statement from a little over 2 weeks ago.

It would appear safe to say that the statement was made only to appease people, but wasn't genuine.

highlydebased

Polar Ice wrote: »

So much for the statement from a little over 2 weeks ago.

It would appear safe to say that the statement was made only to appease people, but wasn't genuine.

We've already noted this has been posted on ulsuelect. The minutes will be uploaded in due course i.e probably all next week.

CJKeane

Polar Ice wrote: »

So much for the statement from a little over 2 weeks ago.

It would appear safe to say that the statement was made only to appease people, but wasn't genuine.

Apologies for the delay but due to various scheduling conflicts between the board members we have been unable to reach a quorum for the past two board meetings so we have not been able to pass the minutes. We have a board meeting scheduled for this Wednesday and I am sure that by thursday evening more minutes will be approved and posted. I assure you that my statement was genuine and that there is no conspiracy to withhold information from the public. Remember that the board is comprised of mostly students and we are not immune to the hectic schedule which is common to this part of the semester.

Conor Keane
Production Manager, ULFM