Evidently Barry Murphy and Niall Torris didn’t read my last editorial about current SU sabbatical officers re-running which just shows you the power of the editorial. In fairness to Torris, nobody actually wanted to run for Graduate Officer. Barry on the other hand maybe should have reconsidered entirely.
Apparently I’m supposed to care about the SU elections given I’m the Editor of one of the college newspapers. While our coverage hasn’t gone as hard as our good friends over at the Observer, it was hard enough (in my opinion) to cover campaigns which promised stuff we’ve all seen before.
I’m not going to take any particular candidate to task over their manifestos as that is what the interviews are for but it would be handy if people stopped promising things they either definitely cannot deliver or things that already exist.
Students are jaded. Their SU is no longer delivering for them on issues that they care about. Kevin Keane of Trinity SU has managed to show up our entire SU by locking himself into a building and refusing to leave until Trinity reduced their proposed fee for repeats. Hats off to him because he hadn’t been having a great year up until then.
Now Rob Sweeney has managed to get a committee to look at reducing our fees and given that meeting is confidential, it’s fair enough that students haven’t heard much about it since first reported. However, sometimes with colleges you have to remember that they don’t actually care about their students and that direct action is sometimes the best path.
We need more mental health investment and now UCD has decided we need to renovate our gateway. A pretty gateway that potential students can drive by because they no longer can afford to go to college.
I want a candidate who is going to try their hardest to do the best for their students. I don’t want a candidate who is unsure of what they’re doing next year and wants a cushy job for a year while they figure that out. I don’t want someone obsessed with image and legacy. I want someone who actually cares.
Rachel O’Neill – Editor
