On new year’s day we passed the half-way point of our terms of office and over the Christmas break some time was afforded to us to reflect on what has been a highly successful first semester overall. A great deal of the fruits of our labour in that six-month period will now begin to be noticeable during this semester. Particularly urgent successes on-campus include some major changes to the proposed parking scheme, a concrete plan to replace the blue chairs in the arts block and the opening (finally) of Chill, the SU’s new on-campus café.
Off-campus, we have seen the Student Support Bill finally enacted as one of the last acts of the Seanad before its dissolution on the 1st of February. From 2012 the grants system in Ireland will finally begin to be repaired. Four years of student campaigning made this possible, and the Presidents’ signature on the Student Support Act 2011 is a huge victory, and proof conclusive that when the student movement concentrates on something, it will be achieved. Our concern that the collapse of the Government would kill the act has been proved unfounded, and we now have the luxury, if that is the right term, to start negotiations with the new Government with a fairly clear slate.
The imminent general election focuses the mind somewhat. I will never forget the power of standing on stage on the 3rd of November watching 40,000 students chanting in unison “I am a vote.” The sad reality is that many of that crowd are not registered to vote, and our primary effort was to register as many as possible. Thanks to both the Trojan effort of a handful of hardy volunteers and USI’s voter registration road show, something in the region of 800 Maynooth Students have registered to vote before the deadline last week. Thanks must be paid to Dennis and Gavin of Maynooth Garda Síochána for their generous gift of time to sign and stamp about 500 forms in three hours on the 7th of February.
The next step is to ensure as many students as can actually go home and vote. The election being on a Friday is helpful, and thanks to Professor Chris Morash, Academic Council has agreed to end all non-essential academic activity on the 25th at midday to facilitate the mass exodus this will require. Every other SU in the country is engaged in a similar process, and the help of Academic and Support staff organisations has been of great assistance.
The final element of the General Election campaign has been the General Election Candidates Debate, co-presented with the Bizz Society. By the time you read this it will have happened, but I am looking forward to our five candidates introducing themselves to our members and getting people more informed about the issues at the ballot box.
After six months work, my last meeting of 2010 finally broke the back of a major non-visible problem we’ve had for years. The student levy has expired and the Union will now begin negotiations for the next ten years of student facilities in NUI Maynoooth which must be completed by June of this year at the latest. Other facilities issues include the continued expansion of recycling facilities and the chronic delays being suffered by the canteen construction team. There is little enough we can do about snow, but we are doing our best to have it open its doors no later than mid-April 2011.
While you were all doing exams I was working on our commercial services. At the beginning of my term of office the Union was operating one shop and one bar. Already we have doubled that to two shops, a café and a bar. By the end of the year, I am aiming to have doubled that again. This is excellent news as the more we offer, the cheaper we can make it all. My one-liner during my election campaign was “better cheaper services for you” and we are definitely getting there.
Controlling such a large portfolio of commercial services however is a delicate balance for an organisation that changes its management every year. To that end, I am delighted that the new Constitution is going to referendum this week, and I encourage you all to vote yes. The old (2008) constitution was a good document in many ways, but poor in very many others. Our new constitution, as well as fundamentally changing the Union’s representative structures also dramatically increases our capacity to handle large-scale corporate services. It is a modern constitution for a modern Union, and ultimately will make the union better at doing what it does, and more responsive and capable of change in the future.
I would like to finally thank the Exec, the Constitutional Review Committee and all who contributed to the collation of the 2011 draft Constitution. It is an excellent document, and I believe it will stand as one of MSU’s core strengths in the years to come.
Now, on the 25th of February, go home and VOTE!
Much Love,
Aengus
Your Union President
