RUTH NÍ RIADA FOR UCCSU WELFARE OFFICER 2013/2014
Manifesto My name is Ruth Ní Riada and I am running for the position of UCC Students’ Union Welfare Officer. I am a final year law student and have spent the past 3 years here in UCC. I believe that the Welfare Officer is the most important role in the Union and for that reason I would not be running for this position if I didn’t believe that I was the best person for the job. I am currently Oifigeach na Gaeilge in the Students’ Union and this has given me the opportunity of having a closer look at how the role of the Welfare Officer works. The biggest part of this role is the casework, dealing with day to day students coming into the office who are in some sort of difficulty. The second biggest portion is that of sitting on committees and acting as a representative for the students on those committees. After that is when policies and campaigning comes into the role. I have adequate experience in all these areas and that experience along with my determination and problem solving mindset is why I believe that I am the best candidate for the job. Casework: People say that your days as a college student are some of the best years of your life. Although this is true in most cases, I have witnessed so many students go through hardships during those few years that they should never have to experience during their lifetime. One of the biggest issues for third level students today is that of financial difficulty. I have seen fellow students go hungry because they couldn’t afford to buy food, students who had to use a brick to keep doors open in the building that they were based in just so they could run to the bathroom, all because their grant hadn’t come through yet and they were denied a student card because of it. One architectural student went so far as to say to me when I spoke to him about the issue that he felt he was “being held ransom over a piece of plastic”. I have been on two searches for missing students since I started my time here in UCC. One of them I knew very well. This not only made me realize the bereavement that students sometimes experience, but it also opened my eyes to how dangerous the over consumption of alcohol can be and how people can be in a different mindset completely when they’ve had that bit too much to drink. I have gone to the college doctor with friends who have gone for STI checks and the Morning After Pill. I was there for a close friend when she had to deal with an unplanned pregnancy, what her options were and in the end helping her through single parenthood. I have grown up in a house at home where disability was in our day to day lives. I have helped friends who failed exams over and over again to the point where they were nearly denied the chance of repeating the year for the third time. I have seen stress get the better of so many students during exams. I have had classmates and friends who bottled up their sexuality for years because they couldn’t face going home and telling their parents. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve seen and experienced a lot not only in my years in college but in my lifetime. I have not seen everything nor do I know all the
problems that people and specifically students have to deal with. But what I am saying is that all the experience above has provided me with a lot of common sense and understanding that cannot be taught in a book or a course. This experience is what I would bring to the table if elected as Welfare Officer.
Committees: Committees are a huge part of a Welfare Officer’s job. I have sat on a number of committees this year as Oifigeach na Gaeilge including the SU Executive Committee, An Coiste Gnó, Bórd na Gaeilge and An Chuallacht. I’m also vice-secretary of the ladies football committee of Cumann Peile Naomh Abán for the second year running, our GAA Club in Ballyvourney. Sitting on all these committees with a wide range of people has helped me grow confidence and helped me in being able to voice not only my own opinions but those of who I represent on each committee.
Policies and Campaigning: I have been an active member of the SU for the past 2 years and have helped out with many campaigns and other SU activities. These include fighting fees campaigns, orientation, R&G Week, SHAG Week and Seachtain na Gaeilge. I don’t believe in promising the students that I will implement lots of great policies if elected as Welfare Officer. I believe in being realistic and only promising what is achievable in 12 months. The current Welfare Officer has laid down a strong foundation on which I would like to continue to build. However my main reason for running for this job is because I know that I am capable of doing a great job with the casework and in representing students on committees. Therefore I only have 3 main policies that I promise to implement if elected as Welfare Officer: -Creating jobs for Students in serious financial difficulty: This is something that I have been thinking of doing for a long time. I would like to set up some sort of a system whereby local business’ such as shops, pubs, restaurants, etc would give jobs of 4-5 hours a week out to students who are struggling to pay their bills and feed themselves. It would only amount to €30-€40 a week as a wage but that could be the difference of getting fed for that week. I would work closely with the Communications and Commercial Officer here as we could then provide advertisement for the businesses involved as somewhat of an award. -Campaigning on simple day to day health issues I think that we can sometimes forget about day to day health issues when coming up with campaigns throughout the year. A lot of sickness that falls on college students are to do with simple things such as not getting enough rest during the week (i.e. spending all night either out or studying). Rest is something that we all forget to
practice in college as we’re afraid we might lose out on the ‘craic’ or we’ve too much college work to be doing. Other basic things such as washing your hands can make a big difference to student health. All these back to basics along with healthy eating is what I would like to concentrate on promoting next year. College Dinners is a fantastic resource that needs to be promoted more around campus. These are all issues that I’d like to actively campaign on throughout the year along with mental health, sexual health, student safety, alcohol awareness and dealing with finances.
-Changing the Student Assistant Fund At the moment the Student Assistant Fund is run on a first come, first serve basis. This means that a student who needs it more than students who hand it in first might not get funding. I would like to see if this system could be changed so that some sort of means testing is done in its place. I know that this would involve a bigger workload for those involved but it is an important issue that needs to be addressed.
Thank you for taking the time to read my manifesto. I hope that after reading this that you believe me to be the best candidate for the job. Vote Ní Riada #1 for Welfare on the 11th and 12th of March!