expliCIT, Cork Institute Of Technology student magazine

CIT Students’ Union Magazine Volume Twenty One, Issue 8

CIT SU

PHOTO GRAPHY C o m p et it io n

Win n e r!

Olivia J Walsh

IN THIS ISSUE: Union Council Awards 2020, Sports & Socs Roundup, 30 dares before 30 Enter our Competitions & Brainteasers & Win cash!

AND LOTS MORE!

Your Union Your Voice

STUDENTS’ UNION OFFICERS ADDRESS Dear student, We hope you and your families are keeping safe and well during these unprecedented times. Be assured we in the Students’ Union are working hard to represent students at all levels throughout the Institute and please do not hesitate to get in contact with us should you need support or assistance with any issue.

(CIT SU) to Munster Technological University Cork Students Union (MTU CSU). It has been agreed that the Cork and Tralee SUs will remain separate (at least for the foundation period of the MTU) while working closely together to

to a 50 % plus one majority – this was also proposed by a student through the medium of a General Meeting.

VOTING STEP BY STEP:

• Use your Student ID number to access the voting screen (tip: use capital R when entering your ID number) •

Enter your mycit.ie email https://survey.cit.ie/index.php/978166 address (all lower case We would like to bring your this is the only acceptable attention to the REFERENemail address) DUM regarding the adoption • Cast your vote in the SU Constituprovide continuity and continued of a new Students’ Union Constitutional Referendum by clicking on effective student representation. tion. Voting continues until Thurs 7th Yes or No May 2020. We are voting Yes and 2. The inclusion of Constituent Col• Click this link to vote https://survey. urge you to do the same. There are lege Representatives and Concit.ie/index.php/978166 a good number of proposed changes stituent College Councils will mean to the existing constitution and they increased engagement with CSM, For full details including the wording run throughout the document. We CCAD and NMCI – this was proof the existing and proposed constirecommend that you read through it. posed at a General Meeting by a tutions please visit http://www.citsu.

However, we would like to highlight student. ie/union.elections.referendum some of the main changes: 3. Changes to the ‘removal of a sab1.

In the event that MTU status is batical officer’ – this is done by Continued on page 4... awarded: Provision is made for a referendum but the percentage to change of name from Cork Instiapprove such a motion has detute of Technology Students’ Union creased from a two thirds majority

REFERENDUM Click this link to vote...

REFERENDUM Adoption of a New Constitution Running until Thursday 7th May.

REFERENDUM WORDING: ARE YOU IN FAVOUR OF THE ADOPTION OF THE PROPOSED CIT STUDENTS’ UNION CONSTITUTION? Make your vote count. Two options – Yes or No. Simply click on your selection. Thats it!

vote at: https://survey.cit.ie/index.php/978166

Coronavirus COVID-19

CONTENTS 4 SU OFFICERS’ ADDRESS

11 SEX & COVID

5 S U UNION COUNCIL AWARDS 2020

14 LIVE CIT, LOVE SOCIETIES

8 CIT SU PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION ENTRIES 10 FLYNNERS FLYING COLUMN Madrid

Help prevent coronavirus

Some useful advice advice Wash your hands

Cover mouth if coughing or sneezing

Avoid touching your face

16 LIVE CIT, LOVE SPORTS 20x20 champion profiles

Keep surfaces clean

Stop shaking hands and hugging

Keep a safe distance

18 COMPETITIONS & PUZZLES

The virus spreads in sneeze and cough droplets, so regularly taking the above measures helps reduce the chance of it spreading.

Student Socs & Activities Awards 2020

Hard cash on offer!

Visit HSE.ie

MARCH ISSUE COMPETITION WINNERS: Quiz - Fiona Hallahan, Bachelor of Business year 2; Say What You See - Alanna O’Connor, Bachelor of Business,1st year; Suduko - Melvin Sunny, Class DME4 FEB ISSUE COMPETITION WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED AS SOON AS ATTENDANCE ON CIT CAMPUS IS ALLOWED AGAIN

For updated factual information and advice Or call 1850 24 1850

Protection from coronavirus.

It’s in our hands.

www.cit.ie/coronavirus CIT Students’ Union, Bishopstown, Cork.

Tel: 021 433 5274 Web: www.explicit.ie CITSU

CITSU

expliCIT Production, Design & Advertising Keith Brown, supublications@cit.ie CIT SU President Aaron Buckley supresident@cit.ie

VP Education Aisling O’Mahony sueducation@cit.ie VP Welfare Cian O’Driscoll suwelfare@cit.ie Projects Officer Felix Milner dg_citsu@cit.ie Communications Officer Conor Flynn supublications@cit.ie Entertainments Officer Aoife MacGaley Event@cit.ie Entertainments Manager Mick O’Mahony Event@cit.ie

Advertising Opportunities

CIT has 17,000+ full and part-time students with over 1,500 staff. Why not use expliCIT to promote your business to this large audience?

Our copy deadlines, advertising rates and technical specifications are available from our website www.citsu.ie and upon request from the Publications Office in hardcopy or via email. expliCIT magazine is published monthly by CIT Students’ Union. The views expressed in the magazine are those of their authors and are not necessarily those of CIT Students’ Union. All articles and pictures are the property of their respective owners and should not be reproduced without their permission.

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STUDENTS’ UNION OFFICERS ADDRESS

SOCIAL CARE PROGRAMME

Below we have included the Students’ Union statement in relation to the ongoing issues arising in the Social Care Department.

Statement in response to recent headlines and social media coverage about ill treatment of students by a selection of Social Care lecturers within the institute. There were over 60 posts on Facebook Sunday evening about students negative experiences, our official response is in the below transcript: “Throughout my last two years as President of the Students’ Union in CIT, I have had the pleasure of working with fantastic student-centric and student-focused staff members. I have seen first-hand the amazing work done by lecturers and staff who go above and beyond for students to ensure their student experience is a very positive one. It is for this reason; I am even more appalled and dismayed at the treatment of students by a selection of lecturers in the Social Care programme.

The behaviour of these minority of lecturers goes against everything that CIT stands for. CIT is a big community where people go out of their way to help each other but from what I’ve seen in the social care programme over the last two years, this is not the case. These students have been tyrannized and intimidated by lecturers to the point that I have had students in my office in tears more often than you would care to imagine. Students have felt so terrified by these tactics that until now, they have felt like they cannot speak out publicity for fear of their treatment worsening further. This all came to the fore on Sunday when over 60 Social Care students posted on Facebook about their ill- treatment, where students started posting their individual horror stories online. Here is an example of some of the horror stories experienced by students at the hands of specific lecturers within the department. Students are so terrified of this malicious behaviour worsening that they have requested to remain anonymous in the below examples.

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Student A: Students have experienced events in their personal lives such as illness and family passing away, and in instances when they email for extensions on assignments, a lot of times students would receive no replies or sympathy from lecturers.

Student B: Students have sent emails to lecturers for explanations on how to do assignments over the last few weeks of the Covid-19 crisis and have received passive aggressive emails in return.

Student C: A lecturer attempted to fail several students due to the lecturer losing the work that the students submitted.

Student D: Students feel their grades have been unfairly graded because a lecturer doesn’t like them rather than on the work they submitted.

Student E: A lecturer used a threatening tone towards a friend of a student in a class to try to intimidate a group of students and deter them from complaining their conduct to management.

Student F: Students have told lecturers that either they or their family members are suspected of having Covid-19 and there has been no compassion shown by lecturers towards the students.

Trust me when I say, this is only a flavour of some of the emails I have received from students in the social care department over the past 12 months.

Students have spoken of how their treatment has deteriorated and exacerbated their mental health. Students have spoken about how their treatment has made them want to drop out of college, request fees back and also not pursue a career in social care.

Although, the students have felt the behaviour of a group of six or seven social care lecturers has been nothing short of a disgrace, they have also asked me to state that there are a small proportion of lecturers who have been excellent with them. They have also asked me to put on record their thanks to the Head of school, Professor Margaret Linehan as she has been one of the only reasons they haven’t dropped out of college. She has been a con-

stant advocate and support for students in this department and has taken calls at all hours of the day and night to support them.

The Students’ Union of CIT are urging management to take urgent action on the behaviour of this cohort of lecturers within the Social Care programme.

This is not what the ethos of our college stands for. This is not the student focused ethos that CIT has worked so hard to build. We want action and we want it now.’

We continue to work very hard on this issue by negotiating with the college, interacting with national media organisations, campaigning on social media and interviewing students and staff who have been affected. We will keep you updated with progress.”

STUDENTS’ UNION COUNCIL AWARDS We were delighted and proud to hold our virtual Union Council Awards announcements last week. It was a great opportunity to catch up with some of our Class Reps. Special thanks to the staff who tuned in to support the event including CIT President, Barry O’Connor, and Professor Margaret Linehan. Huge kudos and congratulations to our awardees and of course a special mention to the CIT Presidential Citation recipient, Colm Healy, Social Care Year 3. Full details of the awards are here in this edition of expliCIT and you will also find a link to a video of the event.

On a separate note, congratulations to all those who were announced as winners at the Societies & Activities Awards. Also well done to all in the Societies Office on their hard work to ensure it was a very special event.

Watch out for our upcoming online welfare campaigns to support you while studying at home entering online examinations. For now, be safe and look after yourselves.

Aaron, Aisling and Cian, your CIT SU Officers

Cork Institute of Technology

Students’ Union Council Awards 2020 See the awards video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sgcGkRL6JKc On the evening of Thursday 23rd April, the Students’ Union hosted the Virtual Union Council Awards Announcements. The event was hosted by Aaron Buckley, Students’ Union President and Dr Barry O’Connor, President of CIT, acknowledging the hard work of Class Reps through video format. This was a great opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of these students in front of their family and friends. Class Reps play a very important role in the work of the Students’ Union and underpin its success in actively representing all the students of the Institute. They are the link between the Students’Union and the wider student body and are the voice of their class. They are key to student engagement in CIT, at both a local and national level. They are also pivotal in ensuring students in their class have a sense of belonging and they are key to fostering a culture of inclusivity for our diverse student population.

The Students’ Union Sabbatical Officers: Aaron Buckley, President; Aisling O’Mahony, VP Education and Cian O’Driscoll, VP Welfare; announced the six Class Reps, as awardees in recognition of their ‘Outstanding Voluntary Contribution’. This year 60 nominations were received. The Awards winners were…

THE WINNERS!

Jack Ahern

Being a Class Rep requires dedication, drive but most importantly compassion for the people around them and it is evident that this person has it all. Jack Ahern has really embraced the role and will do anything he can for his class to make college life the best it can be. He has been described by fellow classmates as outgoing, confident, amusing and caring. One commented that, ‘Jack is always there to help if we need a hand. He will stand up for us and fight our corner if needed.’ Others said ‘He got our rooms changed when they didn’t work out for us.’

‘He puts our class group first and has always listened and acted on any issues that popped up.’

‘He is a people’s person and has a great relationship with not only the class but the lecturing staff too.’ ‘Jack has the classes best interests at heart and has done an excellent job. He encouraged us to donate to RAG charities and to help one another.’ This was done by him leading by example. He has only had a positive impact on our class group and anybody that is involved with his actions and we are dead proud to have him represent us.

Kyle Byrne

To represent the voice of your class is an absolute privilege but some students go above and beyond of what’s expected of them. Kyle Byrne has been described by the class as helpful, hardworking, responsible, brave, supportive and willing. Kyle has excelled in representing his classmates both inside the classrooms and boardrooms with staff. It was evident from the overwhelming amount of nominations that we received that Kyle puts his heart and soul into looking out for the best interests of the class. The responses we received highlighted the respect this person’s class has for him both as a representative and as a person. One student commented that Kyle really helps keep morale high even through exam season. He has not only thrived on improving the student experience for his own class but the entire department. Kyle took it upon himself to start up a course society. The intention of this society was to assist students, not just in their own year but also help the years below, to communicate with other years and assist each other with tough course material. Kyle has a caring heart combined with a proactive drive to push his class forward academically – a team player deserving of recognition. It is with great pleasure that the Students Union awards Kyle with an award of excellence.

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Cork Institute of Technology

Students’ Union THE WINNERS! Oisin Gahan

Getting selected by your peers to be their Class Rep is such a great experience and a great compliment to an individual. Oisin Gahan has really embraced the role by doing anything he can for his class and fellow students to make college life that bit more satisfying and more enjoyable. Oisin has been a great advocate and voice for students within his class. He has been at every single Union Council meeting to date and his input has always been very constructive and beneficial to all. Oisin is kind hearted and showed this by helping to raise money during our RAG week. While juggling many other commitments, he represents his class with passion, energy and a sense of inclusion. Oisin liaised with the Students’ Union for and on behalf of their class members. It was an honour to present Oisin Gahan with this award.

Isobel Kavanagh

At the start of the year when recruiting Class Reps we highlighted how much of a great experience it is and this awardee definitely took a lot of experience from it! Isobel Kavanagh was at every meeting giving us feedback from her class and reporting meeting minutes back to them. Also working effectively and appropriately on behalf of her class, whether it be academically between lecturers and students, organizing class social events such as nights out or lunch in the canteen. Isobel also does the small things such as checking in on classmates and is very enthusiastic in classroom which creates a good and positive environment.

Shannon has not only be recognised by their classmates but also by the staff of the Institute as they have noted her help at any time of asking. Isobel was not just a Class Rep but a college rep, helping out the general CIT Community and CIT itself, so big congratulations to Isobel Kavanagh, International Business Year 2, on her great work!

Shannon Whyte

Shannon Whyte has made an incredible contribution to her class over the past number of years. Shannon has been an exemplary Class Rep in representing the views of her class. She is very approachable, genuine and quoted to have a ‘heart of gold’ and is not afraid to fight for their class when issues may arise, especially when the rest of the class maybe too shy or quiet. We can always count on Shannon and she puts her classmates first, always replies to messages and helps. Shannon has even set up a study group to help her classmates. Shannon encourages classmates to attend class events and also events organised by the Students’ Union and the college. Like the other award winners she has also excelled outside of her duties as a Class Rep helping CIT itself and both staff and students of CIT. It is an honour to recognise the countless hours of voluntary help Shannon has given, and we were delighted to announce awardee, Shannon White, Class Rep of Marketing, year 4.

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Congratulations to all Class Reps!

See the awards video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sgcGkRL6JKc

Council Awards 2020 Niamh Cronin

The chairperson of the Union Council is charged with the difficult task of keeping a sometimes passionate group in check to ensure that Union Council Meetings run smoothly and can progress in an effective and timely manner. Congratulations to Niamh Cronin, Chairperson of the Students’ Union Council, in acknowledgment of her service to the Students’ Union Council over the past academic year. Niamh has been consistently reliable, and we greatly appreciate the diligent manner in which she has executed this role. Throughout her time as Chairperson, Niamh has always ensured that everyone gets their say ensuring that the student voice is heard. This is crucial to the effective working of the Students’ Union as a whole. Niamh has also made a great contribution to the SU in terms of involvement in campaigns and the MTU process.

AWARD WINNER & PRESIDENTIAL CITATION FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO CIT Colm Healy is without a doubt one of the strongest Class Reps that the CIT

Students’ Union has had the pleasure of working with throughout the years. This person is a kind hearted individual who is always helping others in both CIT and in the greater community. Colm has shown incredible bravery in his role as Class Rep by putting himself in harms way for the sake of his classmates. We are very much aware of the praise Colm’s fellow classmates had for him, both as a person and as their Class Rep. Colm has received a large amount of nominations which is testament to how much he has improved the student experience of his class. Colm has also been a tremendous asset to us all in the Students’ Union through his help in organising activities for our various campaigns. His tireless and selfless hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed within the CIT community. We have had the great pleasure of getting to know this one in a million guy and (we) the stakeholders of CIT are privileged to have this guy within our community. Colm has experienced hardship and setbacks in his life but has always used them as motivation to keep going and bettering society. He is a credit to CIT, his class and the Students’ Union. He has also done tireless work in the community by setting up his own charity, ‘Cork Stand Together’.

Colm Healy, Social Care Year 3, was also awarded the prestigious Cork Institute of Technology’s Presidential

Citation. This is the sixth year in which a presentation of the Presidential Citation to a Class Rep has been made in recognition of exceptional and outstanding service to the Students’ Union and the wider community as a whole.

The voluntary work Colm has done with charitable causes, the support he has given to enhance students’ wellbeing and his contributions to the external community were taken into consideration when identifying him as a deserving recipient of this citation.

We look forward to presenting the Class Reps with Certificates of Merit in recognition of their voluntary contribution to campus life at some point in the future and to the physical presentation of the awards. Sincerest thanks to Aoife Kelliher, Societies Officer, for her generous support throughout the process – we couldn’t have done it without her.

Awards Selection Panel: Fiona Kelly, Edel Kelly, Aoife Kelliher, Keith Brown, Mick O’Mahony, Vicky O’Sullivan, Aaron Buckley, Aisling O’Mahony and Cian O’Driscoll.

See the awards video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sgcGkRL6JKc 7

CIT SU

PHOTO GRAPHY

C om p et it io n

A SELECTION OF THE GREAT ENTRIES For the past four years the Students’ Union has run a photographic competition with the winning photograph being reproduced on the front cover of this edition of expliCIT, and €100 thrown in for good measure. We received a wonderful array of entries, all clearly holding a meaning for their photographers and which give us, the viewer, a few moments of pleasure in pensively exploring the story behind the image.

Congrats to our winner: Olivia J Walsh, with a photo of her Grandad, 93 years of age.

Conor O’Callaghan

Fiona Hallahan

Leonard Coughlan

Veda Mandavkar

Runner up: Mike Landers

THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED! 8

Justine Bongcaras

Olivia J Walsh

Tuguldur Batsaikhan Kai Zhuo So

Justine Bongcaras Marilyn O’Leary

Justine Bongcaras

Elaine Muscheidt Grace Bateman

Olivia J Walsh

Jagriti Jain Conor O’Callaghan

Rachel Mc Mahon

Meadhbh Hayes

Grace Bateman

Ella Crane

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Flights of Fancy…

Flynner’s Flying Column

Hopefully, in the near future, things will get back to normal and travel will be possible again. With this in mind, please read about Flynner’s adventures in Madrid and we all look forward to happy travel times ahead.

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Madrid

pril 9th 2016, and it was the Easter Break of my first year in CIT. With summer exams on the way, it was time for a break, and thus Da Flynner, feeling a desire to experience the Spanish Language and Culture after studying it for so long, decided to make it an adventure in Madrid!

Taking the coach to Dublin Airport, and after a few ales, I boarded the Aer Lingus flight and jetted across the Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees, landing late in the evening at Madrid Airport. Then I took the Metro to Calle Mayor Station at Plaza Del Sol and walked to Sungate Hostel on the Calle Del Carmen where I was given a warm welcome!

The bathroom may have been a communal one, but it was well maintained. Plus all the rooms had balconies (which took you back in time when you looked out at the warm streets) and the staff were very friendly! Meals were cooked for free and beverages, be it beer or mineral, could be obtained for only €1. There were games in the lounge and you can be guaranteed that you will make new friends… I made plenty from around the world, all whom I keep in touch to this day! And the best was yet to come!

After the hostel took us out on a pub crawl, it was time to explore the next day, Good Friday. I did a bit of a stroll to the Royal Palace, where the Spanish Royal Family reside, and looked out at the stunning countryside that would make one desire satsumas straight away! A delicious lunch was had at Mercado De San Miguel, which would be Madrid’s answer to the Cork English Market. And I would cross over to the Museo Naval, where one can learn about the Spanish Naval Traditions that have brought its language and influence across the world and proved instrumental in the discovery and shaping of the Americas. Moving past the Cortes (the Spanish Parliament) and that afternoon brought me to La Fontana De Oro, an Old World Spanish bar for a pint or two of Estrella and some delicious olive tapas.

Then, heading back to the hostel, I would

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meet a Good Friday Procession; the Spaniards, predominantly Roman Catholic, take their religious processions seriously. That night, I hit an Irish bar nearby called Dubliners, where I met a gang from Dublin on stag duty, and started singing, after a brief introduction: “James Flynn, Your-My-James-Flynn!” (a-la Tom Jones’ ‘Sex Bomb’). Caught up with their humour, I decided to move swiftly on, as I thought I may have offended the groom in the midst of their antics… indeed, so I thought.

Saturday, and back to exploring. I would pass plenty of pork butchers and pop in even more frequently. The Spaniards are sure fond of their Chorizo and I thought it made an ideal snack-on-the-go when you might not want a massive bite to eat.

I would cross the Plaza Mayor numerous times and met Puss In Boots (Shriek) for a photo. Then I done a guided walking tour through the historic centre, ending at the Puerta De Alcala, where bullet and shrapnel holes serve as a reminder of the tragedy that was the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Then it was a walk through the nearby parks, then a trip to the Prado Art Gallery to take in the splendid art works of Goya, Van Bosco, Raphael, Donatello, Picasso and many others.

That night, after a delicious meal at the hostel (it can be so hard to get a table in the excellent restaurants there!), I decided to hit the town. Back at Dubliners pub… it was them Dubs! And a big blast of “…your-my-James-Flynn!!” It turned out that, hailing from Sandyford and Tallaght, these boys are a great crew who act naughty and wicked but love to make friends and have good times. One of their crew actually lives in Madrid where he works as a school teacher and soccer manager (he loves St Pats Athletic by the way) and was putting up his mates while on stag duty; he sussed me out on Facebook and his personality is similar to mine; no problems with adding each other there along with the rest of that crew! I made some new great friends and I partied the night away with them!

Easter Sunday and I said I would relax and take it easy. A few drinks and then I would get ready for a dinner out. Dining out is something that Spaniards love

so get to a restaurant early. I went to a restaurant at Plaza Mayor where I had the most delicious burger in my life. And then to Dubliners again where I met them crazy but loveable Dubs for one more session; they were nicely winding down as all but one of them had to fly home to Dublin the next day. I stay in touch with them regularly and would go on to meet them in Euro 2016 a year later. But that’s for another Flying Column in the future.

Easter Monday, April 13th, and I decided to check out Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the home of CF Real Madrid. One of Europe’s largest stadiums, the tour will take you everywhere and teach you about its rich soccer legacy… and how (from the photo) Da Flynner could have taken a different career path, if only!

A last few drinks and it was then off home to Ireland the following evening. And yes, I did get to use my Spanish that I learned in CIT quite a lot and a trip like this can provide one with a first opportunity. Yes, I will be returning, to meet my many new pals, to check out more food and drink, explore more heritage and everything else that goes with it… ¡Viva España!

Cork Airport Website: Seasonal Flights to/from Madrid June to September. www.corkairport.com Sungate Hostel: www.booking.com Turismo Madrid: www.esmadrid.com Real Madrid football Stadium: www.realmadrid.com

SEX AND COVID 19 Coronavirus is spread in sneeze or cough droplets. To infect you, it has to get from an infected person’s nose or mouth into your eyes, nose or mouth. This can be direct or indirect (on hands, objects, surfaces). You need to stay at home and maintain social distancing to help slow the spread of coronavirus. Sex and intimate contacts are risks for covid-19 transmission. You should avoid close contact, including sex, with anyone outside your own household. If you or your

partner have symptoms of covid-19, you need to follow HSE guidelines which can be found here. https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/?source=banner-www

The Sexual Health Centre in Cork launched it’s ‘SafeRsex campaign’ to highlight

the importance of taking additional precautionary measures regarding sexual

activity during the COVID-19 outbreak. See their frequently asked questions at the link below for further information and all things related to sex and covid-19.

https://www.sexualhealthcentre.com/news/2020/3/30/safersex-campaignhighlights-precautionary-measures-required-during-covid-19-outbreak

The Sexual Health Centre is also operating a free condom postal service, so that you can take every precaution and stay at home. Just contact them 021-

4276676 or email: info@sexualhealthcentre.com to have free condoms posted to you.

For renewal of your contraception prescription please contact your GP as this may be facilitated with a phone consultation.

If you are concerned about having a sexually transmitted infection, please con-

tact your GP where you will be phone assessed and possibly booked in or referred for testing.

You can contact Nurse Sarah Hickey on 021 2355784 for further information.

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30 dares before 30!

“Hi, I’m Muriel and, more importantly, I’m from Cork.

I turn 30 this year and instead of having an expensive party and getting gifts, I wanted to do something different while raising money for a worthy charity at the same time, Cork Penny Dinners”.

Muriel Foley is an alumna of CIT, she did her Master’s in Public Relations with New Media and she is now a Digital Marketing Lecturer at CIT. Starting on the 21st of February 2020, Muriel started taking on 30 dares for 30 days and the dares were submitted through her Instagram account @dare2donate. She posted each dare every day to Instagram for accountability, which is a must see for everyone!

We decided to ask Muriel about her quirky idea and how it all started:

Q: Where did the idea come from?

A: I knew I didn’t want to have a big expensive party for my 30th. I equally didn’t want to people buying me expensive gifts that I didn’t need so I decided that I wanted to do a fundraiser for my birthday instead and do something a little different. The idea came to me when I was driving, literally out of thin air I got a notion to do 30 dares for 30 days for my 30th birthday and for every dare, I would get a donation for Cork Penny Dinners.

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Q: How much money did you raise for your charity?

A: I set a target of €1,000. My donation is still running until the 21st of April but as of today (25th of March) I have raised €3,477 for Cork Penny Dinners.

Q: Why did you decide to choose Cork Penny Dinners?

A: Cork Penny Dinners are such an amazing charity. They prepare over 2,000 fresh meals every week to feed and shelter the homeless in Cork. I have huge respect for everyone who volunteers with this charity. They need donations now

more than ever and I am so grateful to everyone who has donated to them through my initiative. The support has been outstanding!

Q: What was the worst dare you got asked to do?

A: I have a big fear of birds! One of my friends dared me to feed the birds at Fota as one of my dares so I was very much dreading that one. I ended up going to Fota Wildlife Park and they arranged everything. I had to feed the geese there which was terrifying but it made me face my fears so I was grateful in the end.

Q: What was the nicest dare you got asked to do?

Q: What was the experience like overall for you?

Q: Would you recommend others to do this challenge?

A: I was asked to pay for someone’s shopping or lunch in front of me at a checkout, so I did this as my first dare as I thought it was the nicest one to start with.

A: I honestly loved every minute of it! The feedback from people following my channel was so lovely too. As we are in tough times right now, people were messaging me thanking me for providing some comic relief for them at the end of their days. Hearing that, on top of raising so much money for Cork Penny Dinners, I am absolutely over the moon that I decided to do this. No regrets.

A: Yes, 100%. It’s a great way of bringing your friends and family together to fundraise through a fun initiative. It will make you face fears and do things you wouldn’t do if you weren’t dared to do them. (That’s if your family and friends are anything like mine, they won’t make it easy!)

Q: Was there any dares that you refused to do?

A: I got a few joke ones that would have involved nudity so naturally I turned those down! I ended up accepting all of the other dares until my list was full up. Would you believe, I’m still getting dare requests from people!

@MURIELSTAGRAM @MURIEL_FOLEY

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LIVE CIT, LOVE SOCIETIES For full list of societies go to www.societies.cit.ie

STUDENT SOCIETIES & ACTIVITIES AWARDS 2020

Best Academic Society: Civil & Structural Engineering

Risam Uile was awarded to LGBT society for their Gay Straight Allaince Training Day

Supreme Event Diwaili organised by the Indian Society

Best Small Event: Programming Society Hackathon

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Society of the Year: International Students Society

Best New Society: Sci-Fi

Most Improved Society the Crawford Open Mic

Individual Award receipient Joshua Manaid (in red) with members of Enactus Society

Individual Award receipient Blake Rogers

Individual Award receipient Aoife James with Andrew Corkery

Individual Award receipient Michelle Desmond (left) with BICS rep Zack Nutchanat, LGBT Treasurer Caoimhe O’Brien and Supreme Individual receipient Konrad Im

Supreme Individual Award recipient Konrad IM with Stephanie Fogarty

Individual Award recipient, Kayme O’Callaghan

Best Fresher Sharan Shaju with fello committee members

Best Fresher Sharan Shaju with Individual award receipient Avinash Nagarajan

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LIVE CIT, LOVE SPORTS

by Miriam Deasy, Sports Officer

AFL team

AFL team

SPORTING HIGHLIGHTS 2020 All-Ireland Ladies Basketball Freshers Cup Champions & Mens Freshers Plate Champions Trench Cup Football Winners Bob Eustace Mens Soccer Cup Winners Mens Plate winners and Ladies Plate Finalists at the Hockey Intervarsities Silver and bronze at the World Powerlifting Championships in Canada. At the “Full Powers” powerlifting competition, had three students claim gold, two students claim bronze and three students finish fourth. At the “Push/Pull” competition had four podium finishes Silver at the UK National Tae Kwon Do Championships. Won gold, two silvers and three bronze at the Irish Tae Kwon Do International Championships. 2 Gold and 4 silver at the Tae Kwon Do Intervarsities. Sparring seminar with World Champion, Paul Manning!

3rd in the Irish Karate Federation International Championships Cork Darts Player Association Division 4 semi-finalists Sailing: CIT student among 450 sailors who competed in the 36th Primo Cup in France with 20 nations represented 3 golds and 2 silvers at the Boxing intervarsities 2nd at the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships, making him the second fastest U23 in the country

AFL team

Moynihan Cup Ladies Football Finalists Purcell Cup Camogie semi-finalists and Division 2 League Finalists 2 students retained their US Mens Open Handball Doubles title in Austin Texas

3 players on the Irish Australian Rules Football team at the European Championships in London For the first time ever our Tennis Club entered three teams in the Intervarsities Won gold at the World Kickboxing Championships Mens Semi-finalists at the Gormanston Volleyball Blitz Won bronze at the IBJJF Dublin International Mixed Martial Arts Open Athletics Club had members win a silver and a bronze in the Irish Wheelchair Assoc Games. Silver in the World Para T & F Championships. Won the National U23 pole vault title. Also won the Irish Colleges Indoor 2km, National Indoor 5k and National 20km race walking titles.

SSI Division 2 Mens Rugby Cup semi-finalists 1,100 participants in the “Rebel Run” 5k & 10k hosted in CIT Hosted the national “Operation Transformation” walk, the GOAL mile and for the first time the “Business House Athletics Association 5k” with 420 runners

Thanks: COVID-19 ensured that our exit from the academic year was an astonishingly sharp and quick one. So while we didn’t get the chance to thank people in person we would like to take this opportunity to say a huge THANKS to each and every person who played a part for CIT Sport this year. As with every year there were some exceptional highs as well as a few disappointments, but no matter what the memories made will be cherished for ever. To every student who played their part whether in participation, coaching, administration, leadership of the Club a huge thanks. To all we say “best of luck” with the exams and to those graduating from CIT we say our door is always open, don’t be a stranger and every success for the future. To our coaches, volunteers, staff members who helped and supported sport we say thanks. We thank Bank of Ireland for their generous sponsorship of many of our Clubs. We thank Fiona Kelly and Dan Collins for their leadership and support both financially and otherwise of sport in CIT. Well done to the Sports Department staff, Fintan, Rory, Eric, Norma, Denis, Keith and Craig for their hard work throughout the year and their ongoing efforts for the good of our CIT community. A word of thanks also to our gym staff, groundsmen and caretakers for their support. Thanks to Keith in SU for his coverage of sport in this magazine. CIT abu!

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20 x 20 Student

Champion Campaign Well done & thanks to everybody who helped make our “20x20” campaign such a massive success.

At the start of the academic year our CIT President, Registrar, Academic Administration & Student Affairs Manager, Students Union President & fellow Officers attended the official signing. Also present were 22 student and 2 staff “20 x20” ambassadors. By year end we had 25 student & 3 staff ambassadors onboard. With also support from 4 more staff develop-

ment officers. A sincere thanks for your input to our enjoyable and all-encompassing campaign. We had some fantastic projects from volleyball divas, zumba, social boxing, social soccer, “learn to lift”, ladies AFL, self defence seminar, powerlifting competition, 20x20 photos shared all over social media and many more events, so a huge thanks to everyone!

Student

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