C:\Users\Anne\Downloads\Colm M ain Campaign Photo 1.jpg Hi. I’m Colm Collins and I’m campaigning for your vote to be U CC Student U nion President. I believe in a U nion ulFmately answerable to you, the student. T he Student’s U nion is funded by the student contribuFon which, in my opinion, makes the sabbaFcal officers employees of the students of U CC. T he president of the Student’s U nion is not only the leader of this oKen diverse and hard-‐working team, but also the link between U niversity College Cork and the student body. T o properly represent the interests of every student and simultaneously keep the SU working smoothly, the SU president must be honest, determined and fair minded. Outlined below is my plan if elected. I hope it’s a plan you can believe in.
Transparency I want every student in U CC to know what their U nion is doing for them with their money ! Digital signage across campus and in the Student Centre, and hopefully in the Kylemore M ain Rest, Brookfield and the Western G ateway Building. ! A weekly newsfeed both on the digital signage and online of what the SU has achieved. ! Publish the esFmated monthly expenditure ! Frequent notes from each Full T ime Officer as to what they’ve done this week for the SU, published both on the digital signage and online What’s the point of a UCC Student’s Union, paid for by all UCC Students, if not all students feel involved? ! An all-‐students pre-‐rag week forum so all students can get involved in R&G week ! Any part-‐Fme employment from the SU should be adverFsed on campus & collegeroad.ie ! Create a Y ouTube Chanel for the SU
! Publish the highlights of Student Council to Y ouTube
Accountability It’s your union. T he only way to guarantee a truly accountable U nion is to generate a sense of ownership of the U nion in each student. ! A minimum of eight hours a month walking around campus engaging with students. ! An open Q&A secFon on collegeroad.ie ! Weekly ‘Ask M e A nything’ segments on collegeroad.ie ! Ensure that every class in U CC has a democraFcally elected representaFve ! A deadline for each class to have a class rep elected by N ovember ! A Rep Recall OpFon with 50% + 1 majority ! I fully support any class rep or E ducaFon Officer fighFng for more transparent marking schemes. Collegeroad.ie The official Student’s U nion website has become an outdated informaFon page for the SU. T he official Student’s U nion website needs to be a dynamic student rd resource. A s of M arch 3 2013, the homepage arFcle is merely the 2012 rd conferring schedule, published in October 2012. A s of M arch 3 the “ Job Vacancies” tab is merely a link to the Careers Office, offering either consulFng work for A nalysis M ason or “fruit picking” in A ustralia with Workabout Inc. L td. ! Ensure only relevant arFcles posted and conFnue to be hosted ! Post offers of/requests for grinds ! Have real part-‐Fme jobs in Cork adverFsed directly on collegeroad.ie
! Publish the minutes of each E xec meeFng online for all to see ! Publish combined officer’s & expense reports of SU events
Action ! Convince local business to take on ‘One M ore Student’ that’s struggling to pay rent or buy food. ! Work with the CommunicaFons & Commerce Officer to provide more SU markeFng and adverFsing on campus to bring more money into the hardship fund ! An open kejle and microwave facility for students in Brookfield and the Western G ate ! A printer for the Open A ccess Computers in the W GB ! Either open the library in Brookfield an hour earlier ! Or add some Open A ccess Computers & Printers to Brookfield separate from the library ! Bring many but manageable R&G week events to Brookfield ! Argue for more tutorials ! Security cameras along College Road ! Support the conversion of the Windle building into a Student Hub ! Maintain our associaFon with the Signature G roup but work for more ‘Student ID Only’ nights ! Help the Clubs E xec and SocieFes G uild negoFate a group deal for mulFple balls with the hotels of Cork. T his would make the hotels compete for bigger contracts covering more than one ball and our minimise expenses ! Sell Fckets for city gigs/venues in the SU Box Office
! Water fountains in every U CC Building (plumbing permilng) ! ConFnue to oppose conferring fees ! A voters’ registraFon staFon on campus before all local & naFonal elecFons
Fees and the grant I’m not going to lie to you. T he SU President cannot stop fees from going up no more than he can prevent cuts to the grant. What I can do is conFnue to lobby for alternaFves and peFFon those with the power to protect the educaFon of the most vulnerable in our college from these economic difficulFes. ! Highlight how even a 3% increase in the grant’s income threshold could force 7,040 students out of third level educaFon. ! Fight to restore even a parFal Cost of E ducaFon A llowance ! Work with the college to find ways to find savings and improve financial efficiencies with the aim of protecFng the welfare of students. ! Grant-‐applicaFon tutorials for students ! ConFnue to oppose conferring fees
Student Protests I believe in the right of every ciFzen to protest. However, an ineffectual protest just becomes a public disturbance and a burden on the taxpayer. If we are to protest, let us ensure that our voices are directed at those directly responsible for the injusFces against which we protest, our local T Ds and specifically those on the Select Sub-‐Commijee on E ducaFon & Skills. “Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can
succeed and no republic can survive.” – John F. Kennedy
! A coordinated all-‐college M unster wide protest ! Pressure Dublin V EC to ensure that grants come through on-‐Fme. ! Lobby for conFnued review into whether Dublin V EC is the best organisaFon to administer the grant system. ! Protests targeted specifically at the Select Sub-‐Commijee on E ducaFon & Skills Undergraduate Employment Times are Fght and many students are struggling to make their way through college. In the past, students who may have relied on their parents to help them get by unFl their grants come in simply can't anymore. It’s an unfortunate fact that many families can't support their struggling children through college these days. ! Part-‐Fme jobs in Cork adverFsed on collegeroad.ie ! ‘One M ore Student’ scheme to encourage local business to take on just one struggling student for small jobs ! Encourage Brand A rmy to come to U CC more oKen and employ more U CC students when they do
Postgraduate Employment Nobody likes to see educated young people forced from their homeland due to economic difficulFes. I want to work with organisaFons such as [} and the government to ensure as many of our graduates can find work here in Ireland aKer they leave U CC. However, with an unemployment level of 14.10% (as of February 2013) and a E uropean U nemployment rate of 10.8%, many of us are forced, to travel further and further a field in search of work. ! Arrange free/discounted membership of Irish learned socieFes for
UCC graduates. ! Maintain contact with graduates aKer they leave U CC, asking if they managed to find work in their field and if they know of any work for younger graduates at home or even abroad.
R&G Week R&G week 2013 was a resounding success in terms of both fund raising and public order. It had to be as the University were threatening to end the tradition if it led to repeats of the alcohol-‐induced anti-‐social behaviour of previous years. Thanks to dialogue and an educated drinks policy, we raised over €30,000 and had the greatest craic of our lives. It’s my hope to see that Gigure increase in the coming year. ! Host a pre-‐rag week all-‐students forum to generate ideas ! Continuing with Student Community Support ! Promote fun day-‐time events on campus ! Involve as many clubs and societies as possible
Conclusion I hope to be a SU president that you, the students of UCC, can believe in and lead a union that you can be proud of. If I can make things a little bit better for the students of UCC, then I’d consider my time as president a success. Thank you.
Vote Collins  #1