Wednesday, December 11, 2019
thecollegeview.com
. Est. 1999 .
Shauna Burdis| Deputy News Editor @ShaunaBurdis
“Inspire, who offered a 24/7 telephone line, meant you caught the students at risk. When our overflow started jumping in, we could get students counselled off site and evening and weekend counselling, which again was for students who were on clinical teaching or work placement.” This year due to limited funding “it’s not going to work and there’s a really good 24/7 line like the Samaritans,” said Bohan. If students were at extreme risk the service provided them with potential immediate access to a counsellor. The unique programme was in the making for six months and DCU was the first Irish university to implement it. Over the phone counsellors are a great help when there is an issue. One to one counselling is perhaps a more beneficial long-term solution for those struggling to cope. For non-judgmental emotional support, students can contact the Samaritans who provide a 24/7 national helpline provided by a trained team of volunteers. Information for students on helplines and counselling can be found on the DCU counselling website.
Comment
Gaeilge
Credit: Pexels
The trial year ended in September and DCU will not continue to work with Inspire Wellbeing, as it was difficult to control the service costs and funding is limited. Dublin City University hired the external company from Northern Ireland, for a pilot year to provide 24-hour counselling to students on and off campus. The 24/7 counselling service was piloted by DCU in collaboration with the organisation, in an attempt to tackle growing waiting lists. The aim of the programme was to provide students with an opportunity to call a fully trained and qualified counsellor at any hour of the day, and schedule an appointment within three days. The management of the service was through the Head of Counselling, Helena Ahern. Speaking about the pilot programme, Ahern said “What was on the phone was a crisis intervention, it wasn’t like having a one to one session on the phone.
I think there was a bit of uncertainty and unclarity about that. It wasn’t onthe-phone counselling. It was used as a matter of emergency.” According to the Director of Student Support and Development, Claire Bohan, “the funding environment over the last 10 years has just gone from bad to worse.” “Counselling without any judgement is an extremely expensive service to run.” DCU worked alongside Inspire Wellbeing, who in turn hired counsellors off campus to tend to the needs of students who were unable to access services between the hours of nine to five. The pilot programme was launched in attempts to tackle the growing demand for counselling appointments in DCU. It aimed to provide counselling to students on and off campus and would be of special benefit for students on placement, who did not have direct access to the counsellors based in DCU. “We might have had maybe a three to four-week waiting list for those who weren’t at risk. A student at risk would be seen within 48 hours and then with the direct referral will be seen again within 24 hours.”
Highlights
UK Election Corbyn’s vision for the future and Boris’ Brexit plans pg. 13
Smaointe Bronntanais don Nollag An thosaigh tú siopadoireacht chun bronntanais Nollag a fháil? pg. 16
DCUSU will run three referendums before Christmas
Credit: Sonja Tutty
DCU ends pilot year partnership with Inspire Wellbeing
A referendum to decide whether or not DCU Students’ Union (SU) remains affiliated with the USI is set to be run on December 11th to 13th, alongside two others. DCUSU, which holds the referendum every three years in accordance with their constitution, is to remain neutral on the issue. There are two campaigns being run, one pro and one anti-USI affiliation. Tadgh Jenkins is campaigning in support of USI membership and says that the USI provides DCU students with good support and opportunities, such as Pink Training for LGBT+ students, and an annual USI Congress. “If we left the USI, we wouldn’t be able to have a voice in that conversation,” said Jenkins. The College View contacted the “No” campaign but they were not interested in commenting. Membership of the USI costs eight euro per full-time student or five euro per part-time student and it’s applied to the student contribution charge. This charge is already applied to the current student contribution charge of 3,043 euro. The USI, which is unable to campaign in support of DCUSU’s membership, is the main national representative body for Irish students. According to President of the USI, Lorna Fitzpatrick, if DCUSU were to
disaffiliate from the USI, they would retain all benefits of membership until the end of the academic year. After that, all benefits would cease. Losing an affiliated students’ union could potentially lead to a smaller budget for the USI, alongside a smaller executive team. “It does mean that USI would have to reevaluate our budget because a lot of the money that we spend on campaigns and so on comes directly from our affiliation fees... Obviously, if there’s less money coming in, there’s less to spend,” said Fitzpatrick. At least 10 per cent of the DCU student population need to vote in the election for it to be accepted, which is 1,740 students according to Returning Officer Podge Sheehan. Alongside this referendum, there will also be one on whether DCUSU should lobby the university to stop the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes in shops across its three campuses. A third referendum will also take place, with it deciding whether or not a new constitution for DCUSU will be brought in. One of the biggest changes is the new sabbatical roles that are being created, while the current ones are retired. The roles include Vice President’s for Academic Life, Diversity and Inclusion, Community and Citizenship and Wellbeing. The current role of President of DCUSU will remain the same, however.
Features
Sports
Sex work Ireland
DCU Athletics
Crime has increased by 90 per cent and violent crimes by 92 pg. 18
Cross-country championships pg. 24
Tadgh McNally| News Editor @TadghMcNally