A New Better Union

On Wednesday the 9^th of February, Union Council approved a referendum to adopt a brand new Constitution for Maynooth Students’ Union. A constitution is a complex but vitally important document. It essentially defines the Union, and this new document will make the Union better at doing its job. More representative, more competent, better equipped to deal with the 21^st Century demands our members have from a students’ union.

The referendum is happening this Wednesday, the 16^th of February in the Arts Block between 9.30 and 6.

What was wrong with the old one?

The 2008 Constitution (the current one) was a minor revision of a document from much earlier. Some problems people had with the Union then were fixed, but the structures were effectively left unchanged. I have a copy of the constitution from 1982 on my desk, and things haven’t changed all that much since then!

Specifically there were serious issues around the legalities of the document, and problems with staffing and employment. We also have to complete the re-branding from NUIMSU to Maynooth Students’ Union, officially including our members in St Patrick’s College, as well as students who are studying for NUIM or SPCM degrees, but not on Maynooth campus (including Kilkenny and Froebel).

There were also some very careless typographical errors which exposed the Union to some serious problems. For example: Article 10.3 and 12.1 aren’t there at all, and article 12.5 appears twice. Technically this means neither the Executive nor Clubs and Societies Council are valid constitutional organs of the Union. There was also the impenetrable numbering system, i.e. Article 17.6 (b) (iii) [which has to do with RON appearing on election papers].

Aside from just fixing these problems, we had an opportunity to re-imagine the Union, as a modern organisation – a blank slate. To that end there are some major changes to our methods and organisation in the new document.

A New Better Union

For ease of reference I’m going to work through the document in order, highlighting the changes from the 2008 document and explaining why they are there. Sometimes the changes will be minor re-phrasings or spelling corrections, these will be ignored so this doesn’t turn into a thesis. At other times the changes are major, and I will go into some depth discussing them.

In all, there are 17 articles and eight schedules of the proposed constitution.

Article One – Name “The name of the Organisation shall be Maynooth Students’ Union. The name of the Union in the Irish Language shall be Aontas na Mac Léinn, Má Nuad.”

I think that pretty much says it all. Under the 2008 constitution we are still called NUI Maynooth Students’ Union, implying an exclusion of SPCM members.

Article 2: Aims and Objectives.

This is a list of what it is the Union is for. While the list hasn’t changed much we have merged some objectives which overlapped, and added a few principles which are common in other unions worldwide (such as the democratisation of higher education).

Article 3: Membership.

Under the 2008 constitution, only full time students were members of the Union, meaning about 2,000 students in Maynooth were not members. Including these students in our membership strengthens the Union’s negotiating abilities and increases the scope of our ability to represent the full campus (and off-campus) student community.

We have also created something called honorary membership, which is a facility for honouring people who have done good things. Separate from the University’s honorary doctorate scheme, students can now celebrate people we feel are deserving of an honour.

Article 4: Rights and Obligations of Members.

This article has not been significantly altered.

Article 5: Government of the Union.

Two changes here. The Executive, through the President have been empowered to function without Union Council during the period between the 1^st of July and Union Council’s first meeting in October. There is also a new caveat on intellectual property, meaning that anything created by an officer or staff member of the Union while carrying out their duties remains the property of the Union, not of the individual.

Article 6: Referendum.

Article 7: Union General Meeting.

These articles have changed only very insignificantly.

Article 8: Union Council.

The structure of Union Council has changed a good bit. The members of Union Council now have the right to elect their own Chairperson and Secretary. Up until now the Returning Officer has filled this role, but his / her job is to run elections. We have been blessed with dedicated and excellent ROs in the past, but it is now time to split the job into two separate posts.

The subcommittees of Union Council have changed slightly to get into line with the new officer structure.

Article 9: The Executive.

The current executive has three sabbatical officers, five topical officer and three special representatives. The new exec will have four sabbatical officers, one topical officer (Oifigeach na Gaeilge), four faculty representatives and two special representatives.

These are as follows:

President

Vice President for Clubs, Societies and Union Development

Vice President for Services, Events and Communications

Vice President for Welfare and Equality

Irish Language and Cultural Affairs Officer

Arts, Celtic Studies and Philosophy Representative

Science and Engineering Representative

Social Sciences Representative

Theology Representative

First Year Representative

Postgraduate Representative

Functionality of the exec has changed slightly also, the exec now must meet occasionally during the summer months, allowing the exec begin its work in July, rather than waiting until late September.

Article 10: Officers of the Union

I don’t want to get into too much detail on the officers of the Union – that’s for another day, and these articles can be read by those interested without me boring everyone else in this article with them.

However, the faculty reps require some explanation. These allow a new means of representative accountability, and allow a cleaner pathway for concerns of individual students to reach the sabbaticals. Also these four officers are without specific additional portfolio, allowing them engage more fully in the Union’s broader campaigns.

Article 11: Impeachment and Discipline

This article is now a legal means of dealing with serious breaches of discipline by elected officers. I sincerely hope it is never needed, but it is important that it exists.

Article 12: Clubs and Societies Council

This article has been significantly strengthened, allowing clubs and socs have more of a say in how their money is spent, and making the whole capitation procedure more transparent.

Article 13: Board of Trustees

Due to the complex nature of the SU’s evolution it has been extremely difficult in the past to ensure our legal independence. This new Board of Trustees replaces the existing trustees of the Union, who are employees of the University (Bursar and Registrar), and insists that the Union is self-determining.

The Board has been designed to ensure oversight and is based on elements of DITSU Ltd. and NUI Galway’s board of directors. The Board is now theoretically capable of incorporating to safeguard Union services. The duties of the former Guardianship of the Constitution have been merged with the Board.

Article 14: Elections and Resignations.

Article 15: Policy.

Article 16: Interpretation and Amendment of the constitution.

Article 17: Revocation and Enactment.

These articles have not changed significantly.

VOTE

Over the next few days there will be many people available to discuss the changes to the constitution with you if you have any questions. Ask your class rep, a member of the exec, a club or society president or read the new constitution online and make up your own mind.

There will be a public meeting at a time to be confirmed where the President will give a full presentation on the new constitution and answer all your questions.

Get a copy of the constitution: Online, In the SU, at the Stands around campus.

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