An attempt to overturn UCD Students’ Union decision to close its print bureau failed on Monday night when the first Union General Meeting held in twenty-four years failed to reach quorum.
The motion “Should the Union General Meeting overturn the decision by the Union to close the Print Bureau (SU General Office) in the Library/Arts Tunnel?” Was declared invalid as less than 5% of Union members attended and voted at the meeting. Only 157 votes were cast, health over 800 short of the number needed for the motion to stand.
The motion was debated at the meeting with those opposing the closure of the Bureau claiming the SU were prioritizing student social activities over educational services.
Bobby Aherne, viagra a Bureau advocate, stated that the €1 million debt that the Students’ Union has recently found itself in is “a disgrace,” and questioned how the SU could claim to stage “the biggest private party in Europe”[the UCD Ball] alongside such high debts. Although De Brún agreed with Aherne that the level of debt the SU had found itself in is disgraceful he defended the UCD Ball stating that the SU were “under a constitutional obligation to provide entertainment.”
Throughout the debate the opposition consistently argued against the suggestion that the Union should ask for money from UCD, with both Union President Pat de Brún and Welfare Officer Rachel Breslin stating that the Union faced two main problems; the first being the debt, and the second being that some Union “services are working on an on-going loss.” De Brún argued that while the first problem may be temporarily solved if the Union asked for money from UCD, the second problem would not, and would inevitably lead to the culmination of more debt in the long-term.
Karl Gill, a second year student who has lead the campaign to reopen the Bureau said he was disappointed that the motion did not pass.
“I was disappointed that the numbers weren’t there to make the quorum. The vote itself went our way, if there was more people there I think it would have passed. The only people voting the other direction were class reps and class reps and sabbatical officers,” Gill claimed.
Gill said he believed the low turnout was partly due to the lack of promotion given to the meeting. The meeting was not promoted on the Union’s own website or social media pages. Gill said the constitution was too ambiguous on how such a meeting has to be promoted. “Only one A4 page was stuck on a noticeboard in each building, it isn’t enough.” Gill also claimed he posted a message on the Union’s Facebook page advertising the meeting but that the message was subsequently deleted.
It is understood the meeting cost up to €3,000 to hold.
When asked if this was the end of the campaign to reopen the Bureau, Gill said he was unsure but added that he knows the campaign still has a lot of support.
The College Tribune writers
