UCDSU at it again!

Stabshauptmann

zap wrote:

any class rep can bring a motion to council and it up to the students to tell their reps to vote against these motions if they don't want to see them passed.

Thats my problem, any rep can propose a motion on anything

Pythia

GusherING wrote:

Irish Ferries is a ... etc

Excellent post! Really sums the whole thing up.

Elley

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Absolutely. This is nothing short of scandalous.

Could someone please tell me how one would go about taking issue with the actions of the Union or are they a behemoth that cannot be tackled in any way?

You could go to council and propose a motion of no confidence

Elley

And also if you are all really bothered about the direction of the Union, you should run for a position yourselves and turn the Union around!

pigeonbutler

Elley wrote:

You could go to council and propose a motion of no confidence

To be honest, the Unions structures make no provision for a motion of no confidence in the Union itself. This is quite sensible since it would be akin to Dail Eireann passing a motion of no confidence in itself. However individual class reps and officers of the union can have motions of censure and impeachment brought against them. Also, only members of council can propose motions I'm afraid. However if anyone here wants to speak at council on some particular issue on the agenda let me know beforehand and I'll be willing to give you speaking rights (since individuals aren't allowed just walk in out of nowhere and talk at Council), as long as I don't think you're a nutter.

Blush_01

I have no problwm in people protestring if they believe in something. I don't care if they do it under the banner of a UCDSU or Coke or Nestle or Fair Trade etc. banner. What I personally havce a prtoblem with is the fact "a bus" was arranged to bring people into town - because the 10 and 46a etc. don't go to town anymore? If you want to protest, pay the €1.50 to go into town on your own steam and protest - I don't care if you believe in something and want to make a stand, but please don't throw money away needlessly in the process. Students too broke to pay the bus fare could've borrowed it from the more well off socialists-because-it's-fashionable-and-gets-up-mummy-and-daddy's-noses. Organising a bus into TOWN was pointlessly expensive.

I'm open to being proved wrong, but the SU website says a bus was organised specifically for that purpose, and left from the 10 bus stop. Can anyone else see the stupidity here?



Besides, if the SU are going to protest about the Irish Ferries situation, I'd love to see a protest on the situation which the farming population are faced with. It affects many students, and Mandleson is proposing a 30% cut in farm incomes, with a huge drop in milk prices, for example. At the moment if a farmer was to receive €1.27 per gallon for milk, they'd be doing very well, and this is proposed to be reduced to 95c. However, food and bedding prices, and running costs on farms have risen in line with inflation, while farm incomes are now at or below what they were when I was born - over two decades ago. A gallon is just over 4.5 litres, making the current price received by dairy farmers roughly 27c per litre (varying on the constituents of the milk, the fat, protein, etc. levels). The lowest price paid for a litre of milk in a regular supermarket is between 65c (Marks and Spencers) and 70c (Premier Dairies) going up from that to over a euro, depending on where you buy and what brand/type of milk you're buying. The current situation in the UK due to trading cartels means that small farms have been practically priced out of the dairy market, and the situation is headed in the same direction here. I'm pretty sure more students have family in the farming sector than in Irish Ferries. Just a thought.

pretty*monster

Blush_01 wrote:

Besides, if the SU are going to protest about the Irish Ferries situation, I'd love to see a protest on the situation which the farming population are faced with...

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if you wish to see a protest on this under a union banner, bring to you're class rep, we're not mind readers, we don't know everything.

Mr.Nice Guy

pretty*monster wrote:

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if you wish to see a protest on this under a union banner, bring to you're class rep, we're not mind readers, we don't know everything.

Neither do we. It's all well and good for reps to lecture to us the everyday student but you have had training in the workings of the Union, have you not? Nothing is explained to us. Nor has it been adequately explaiened to me why UCDSU is concerning itself with things outside UCD.

Slash/ED

What a joke they are

Chinafoot

hang on a sec.............we have class reps????

i have absolutely no idea who my class rep is. this is my final year in UCD and i have never once been asked my opinion on any of these motions passed by the union. i paid my fees, i voted........and i most certainly would not have agreed to a bus being organised for a protest that will take up the time of our "representatives" (and i use the term very very loosely) when it can be better spent dealing with issues that directly affect the 22,000 students on campus.

its easy to say "vote for other people" or "take a position yourself and change things". fact is, the majority of those on the union are complete hacks who simply want something thats going to look good on a CV when they leave college whilst using the union as a soapbox from which to voice their own political agenda.

the students cant be bothered with the union because its clear that the union cant be bothered with them.

pretty*monster

peachypants wrote:

its easy to say "vote for other people" or "take a position yourself and change things". fact is, the majority of those on the union are complete hacks who simply want something thats going to look good on a CV when they leave college whilst using the union as a soapbox from which to voice their own political agenda.

the students cant be bothered with the union because its clear that the union cant be bothered with them.

Ok, look that just isn't true, but what I'm saying is falling on deaf ears.

I give up.

pretty*monster

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Neither do we. It's all well and good for reps to lecture to us the everyday student but you have had training in the workings of the Union, have you not? Nothing is explained to us. Nor has it been adequately explaiened to me why UCDSU is concerning itself with things outside UCD.

Oh for heaven's sake, my comment was in relation to problems facing farmers.

Yes, reps know how the union works. If you want to know how the union works you can read the constitution on the union web site. If you're not bothered you're not bothered, I personally read the union last year, before I became a class rep,before I had any interest in becoming a class rep, because I was interested in how the union worked.

Mr.Nice Guy

pretty*monster wrote:

Oh for heaven's sake, my comment was in relation to problems facing farmers.

And my comment was in relation to the Union which is what this thread is about. Why don't you calm down? If you can't take a bit of criticism then you're in the wrong field.

pretty*monster wrote:

Yes, reps know how the union works. If you want to know how the union works you can read the constitution on the union web site. If you're not bothered you're not bothered, I personally read the union last year, before I became a class rep,before I had any interest in becoming a class rep, because I was interested in how the union worked.

I wonder was the above comment trotted out around election time? I somehow doubt it. Imagine that happening when TDs are canvassing for the General Election:

"So Bertie Ahern, why should I vote for you? And what does your work involve actually?"

"Oh for heaven's sake, read the constitution! If you're not bothered to read that, then you're not bothered!"

In other words, on a scale of consideration, this is how much the Union care about us.

Mr.Nice Guy

peachypants wrote:

its easy to say "vote for other people" or "take a position yourself and change things". fact is, the majority of those on the union are complete hacks who simply want something thats going to look good on a CV when they leave college whilst using the union as a soapbox from which to voice their own political agenda.

the students cant be bothered with the union because its clear that the union cant be bothered with them.

Well said peachy. I agree 100 per cent. Some union members are good people I'm sure but the rest are hacks who want to impress future employers with tales of how they fought for the little downtrodden guy on the other side of the world.

I guess catering to the students in the college just isn't sexy enough.

pigeonbutler

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Well said peachy. I agree 100 per cent. Some union members are good people I'm sure but the rest are hacks who want to impress future employers with tales of how they fought for the little downtrodden guy on the other side of the world.

I guess catering to the students in the college just isn't sexy enough.

If being involved in the SU is such a CV fattening careerist option can you point out anyone that's gotten to some big prestigous job on the back of their involvement in SU politics?

Red Alert

i'm sure that that slimeball Fungus Hourihane has.

well said peachy, couldn't a gree more. why should i give a toss when my union are too busy protesting about ferries.

Mr.Nice Guy

pigeonbutler wrote:

If being involved in the SU is such a CV fattening careerist option can you point out anyone that's gotten to some big prestigous job on the back of their involvement in SU politics?

Hold on, are you telling me that these people are doing this extra-curricular college activity out of the goodness of their hearts? Give over.:v:

Syth

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Hold on, are you telling me that these people are doing this extra-curricular college activity out of the goodness of their hearts? Give over.:v:

A lot of students do extra-curricular activies. Who do you think runs societies. Some people are generally interested in a subject. Granted the SU is probably a different case, full of political hacks.

Mr.Nice Guy

Syth wrote:

A lot of students do extra-curricular activies. Who do you think runs societies. Some people are generally interested in a subject. Granted the SU is probably a different case, full of political hacks.

I know that. But saying to an employer that you have worked in your college's Student Union is more impressive than saying you were a member of FilmSoc. The hacks are out for themselves.

Chinafoot

Did anybody see the "protest" outside the admin building today??? :rolleyes: now i dont know who organised it as, surprise surprise, there was hardly a poster or notice to be seen in relation to it.

maximum of 20 people with a few banners that said something along the lines of "education before profit". they shouted for about 5 minutes and then left.

i'm sure a better effort was put in for the ferry workers. :rolleyes:

Red Alert

AFAIK they were actually NCAD students but i could be wrong.

Chinafoot

Red Alert wrote:

AFAIK they were actually NCAD students but i could be wrong.

aha! that would explain it. they werent very dedicated though, slightest hint of rain and they legged it

pretty*monster

They were NCAD students protesting plans to move NCAD to the Belfield campus.

John_C

Did anyone else think that wat quite rude of the NCAD students? Coming here to tell us how **** they think we are and how they don't want to move to this soul-less place.

beanyb

They're right though. NCAD is a really close knit community and it would be totally changed if they moved to Belfield. My sister went there and she had the kind of college experience that most people would absolutely love, unlike the one most people I know in UCD have had.

Red Alert

still i think services should eject them. imagine if we headed up to protest in dcu.

pretty*monster

I think the protest was fairly ridiculous, if they don't want to come here they need to take it up with their own college.

Scraggs

tbh for an 'arty' college the placards etc were kinda sh!tty!

They seemed to like the SUbar also if i remember correctly...but dont we all...

Blush_01

pretty*monster wrote:

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if you wish to see a protest on this under a union banner, bring to you're class rep, we're not mind readers, we don't know everything.

That's all well and good, but who is my class rep? I've tried to find out on the SU's website - no joy. Ok, so I'm borderline computer illiterate, but it shouldn't be THAT hard to find. For all I know, I may not even have one. I know I was told I couldn't vote - I still don't know if that was just a wind-up because I knew the people running the polls but I wouldn't have had a clue who any of the people running were anyway, because the freshers were the only ones who were visibly canvasing.

My point is not that I want to see a protest by the SU on behalf of the farmers - they were able to do that outside EU offices themselves. It's not up to UCDSU to save the world - just to represent the students and make sure they get screwed over as little as possible in relation to our time in college. Even simply tackling why the UCD departmental websites, especially in arts, have turned into overblown links to the Horizon's website would be a visible start that helps me and people like me. I know people who're class reps. I have talked to people on the SU. Some of them are really lovely people, but I can't see what they're doing for me. Maybe I need to be told about what they're doing on my behalf more regularly. Or maybe they need to actually do something other than head down to Shannon or into town in buses hired using MY money to protest when it's not relevant to the college life of students. If you independently want to protest, you have to pay for it yourself. If you go as a group, the group has to pay. Hell, I'[m organising a trip away this weekend - will the SU pay for it if we head to the cliffs in Doolin and protest agains lack of adequate cliff-side fencing? That's be really helpful if they would!

Scraggs - I thought that too. Surely if it means that much to you it'd be worth putting a bit more effort into the banners and maybe doing a little more than sticking "Not for sale" stickers all over your legs?

Chinafoot

beanyb wrote:

They're right though. NCAD is a really close knit community and it would be totally changed if they moved to Belfield. My sister went there and she had the kind of college experience that most people would absolutely love, unlike the one most people I know in UCD have had.

Indeed, but having slogans like "Art not Orts" isnt going to do them any favours. As Seb pointed out the other day....they were slagging off the group of people that would probably sympathise the most. :rolleyes:

Also, what did they think they would achieve by shouting at the Admin building? Silly.