DCU Students' Union

DCU Students' Union (DCUSU) is the representative body for Dublin City University (DCU) students, all of whom are automatically members, with democratically elected leadership. DCUSU, which is governed by a written constitution approved by the members and DCU's Governing Body, is also involved in the provision of some services to students.

Role

The primary role of the Union is to provide a recognised representative channel between students and the University authorities and all full- and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students of DCU are members of the Students' Union.

All DCU students are members and students of Oscail (Ireland's National Distance Education Centre) can join for a fee. Members of the Executive remain members for their term of office even if they cease to be students. DCU's associated colleges have their own student representation.

Governance

Constitution and referendum

DCUSU is governed by a constitution and related written materials. The current constitution ís the latest (2008) revision of a document developed in a major review in 1992. Ultimate governance, including changes to the constitution, can only be conducted by the student body in a referendum.

The 2005 version of the constitution proved controversial, some believing it to contain loopholes and inconsistencies^{[citation needed]}. The Constitutional Review Committee, a standing committee of the Union's Council, committed itself to a major overhaul of the constitution to be put to referendum in 2008 to coincide with the Union General Elections, and this being done in April 2008, the revised document was passed by a significant majority.

This revised Constitution has since proved controversial and is under review once more with an aim for a new constitution to be put to vote in semester two of the 2009-2010 academic year.

On February 23rd, 2011, a draft of a revised Constitution was submitted to Union Council. Union Council voted to accept the new constitution, and a referendum of all Students' Union members took place in February to accept or reject the new DCUSU Constitution. The New constitution passed with 859 Yes votes to 369 No votes It will come into effect in the 2011-2012 academic year.

Union Council

Union Council is formally the presiding body of the Union, to which the Union Executive (comprising the officers) reports. The Council is mostly made up of Class Representatives, normally elected at the beginning of the Academic year in annual elections. Each class elects at least two members to represent their views within the Students' Union and the University. Each class representative attends Union Council, approximately every two weeks during term time. The Class Representatives liaise with faculty convenors, and also sit on the programme boards of their degrees. The Union's officers are also members of Council. The Council elects a Chairperson and Secretary each year, as well as a Returning Officer and an Accommodation Officer, and members of certain committees, including the Electoral Committee.

Union Executive

The Union has an Executive Committee of eleven officers, who are elected on an annual basis. All students are entitled to vote for five of these posts: the President, Education and Welfare Officer/Deputy President, Campaigns and Information Officer/Vice-President, Equality Officer and the Clubs and Societies Officer. Only postgraduate students are entitled to vote for the Chair of the Postgraduate Committee and the Postgraduate Education Officer. Students are entitled to vote in the election for one of the following convenors (Faculty Representatives) depending on which faculty they belong to: Business Convenor, Science and Health Convenor, Engineering and Computing Convenor, Humanities Convenor. The President, Education and Welfare Officer and the Campaigns and Information Officer are Sabbatical Officers while the other officers are ordinary students. The President and Education Officer (Deputy President) are appointed ex officio as members of the DCU Governing Authority, and the former sits on the University Executive while the latter also sits on Academic Council (where they are joined by the Faculty Convenors). The President, and other members of the Executive, also sit on a range of other DCU bodies, for example the Faculty Convenors all sit on the Teaching and Learning Committee within their own faculty. The Union's executive and administrative offices are located in The HUB, DCU's dedicated student centre.

The Executive is required to prepare a budget for DCUSU each year, which is submitted to Union Council for approval.

Arbitration Committee

DCUSU also has an arbitration committee, known as the Commission of Arbitration, which has the final say on the Union's activities and interpretation of its constitution, and a related committee which monitors the currency of the constitution. The last issue referred to the Commission was in December 2009.

Students' Union Funding

The Students' Union is funded through the Office of Student Life (OSL), which is overseen by an Executive, a committee made up of student and university representatives. The OSL employs a Manager of Student Life who, along with providing support to Clubs, Societies and the Students' Union, acts as the OSL Executive's Secretary. The OSL oversees the finances of the Societies Life Committee (SLC) and the Club Life Committee (CLC), as well as the Students' Union. The OSL receives audited accounts for the three bodies annually. On an annual basis (or in some cases every two years) the SLC and CLC and the Students' Union prepare Capitation Proposals, which are submitted to the OSL which awards funding to the three bodies based on their implementation of previous proposals and other factors. The current chairperson of the SLC is Richard Nolan. Katie White is the chairperson of the CLC.

National Representation

DCU Students Union is not a member of the Union of Students in Ireland, having disaffiliated in 2002 after a vote of the student body.

DCUSU is, however, a member of the Forum for University Students' Unions (FUSU), a less formal consultative body whose purpose is "To facilitate the exchange of information and discussion of ideas between the Unions, leading to the formation of common policy and the planning of co-ordinated campaigns." FUSU has been criticized for being an organisation in name only, as it has no contact address, no policy documents, no staff or elected officers and no constitution.

During the first meeting of the Union Council in October 2010, it was decided that there would be a referendum of the issue of whether to reaffiliate with the USI. The Referendum was held in November 2010 and it was decided that DCUSU would remain disaffiliated. Of the over 8000 students eligible to vote, fewer than 1500 votes were cast

Current Executive

The SU Executive for 2011/2012 academic year will be:

• Ed Leamy - President
• Cillian Byrne - Vice President - Education
• Collie Oliver - Vice President - Welfare
• Paul Doherty - Clubs Officer
• Stephen Byrne - Socs Officer
• Aisling Foley - Humanities and Social Sciences Convenor
• Mohammed Ali - Engineering and Computing Convenor
• Gary O'Donoghue - Science and Health Convenor
• Eoin Clancy - Business Convenor
• N/A - Postgrad Officer
• Sean Cassidy - Class Representative Council Chairperson

Roll of Previous Executives

2010/2011 Officers

• Megan O'Riordan - President
• Cillian Byrne - Deputy President/Education and Welfare
• Collie Oliver - Vice President/Campaigns and Information
• Brian McDonald - Clubs and Societies Officer
• Khaula Bhutta - Equality Officer
• Jackie Fox - Humanities and Social Sciences Convenor
• David McMullin - Engineering and Computing Convenor
• Alan Armstrong - Science and Health Convenor
• Ian McGlynn - Business Convenor
• Emma Murray - Postgrad Chairperson
• Leah Caul - Postgrad Education Officer
• Ed Leamy - Union Council Chairperson

2009/2010 Officers

• President: Alan Keegan
• Deputy President/Education and Welfare: John Murphy
• Vice President/Campaigns and Information: Melanie Farrell
• Equality Officer: Aisling Fitzgerald (elected on the 13th October in a by-election after the resignation of Cara Murphy)
• Clubs and Societies Officer: William Coyne
• Business Convenor: MD Sharif Hossain
• Humanities Convenor: Dara McGann
• Science and Health Convenor: Jenny Quigley
• Engineering and Computing Convenor: John Needham
• Postgrad Chair: Cillian Byrne
• Postgrad Education: Alan Neville
• Union Council Chair: David Doyle

2008/2009 Officers

• President: Niall McClave
• Deputy President: Susan Hurley
• Vice President: David McGovern
• Equality Officer: Robin Cafolla
• Clubs and Societies Officer: Eimear Fitzmaurice
• Business Convenor: Linda Horan
• Humanities Convenor: Rebecca Meehan
• Science and Health Convenor: Siobhan Anglim
• Engineering and Computing Convenor: Ellen Diskin

• Post Grad Chair: Joey Kavanagh
• Post Grad Education: Roisin NiDonnachda

• Union Council Chair: John Murphy

2007/2008 Officers

• President: Alan Flanagan
• Deputy President: Hazel Hayes
• Vice President: Gary Boylan
• Equality Officer: Janet Newenham
• Clubs and Societies Officer: Joey Kavanagh
• Business Convenor: Max Rantz-McDonald / Lara Nolan
• Humanities Convenor: Niall McClave
• Science and Health Convenor: Stephen Grimes
• Engineering and Computing Convenor: Padraig O' Connor

• Post Grad Chair: Roibeard O'Mhurcu
• Post Grad Education: Mirela Nechita

• Union Council Chair: Eimear Fitzmaurice

2006/2007 Officers

• President: Charlene Connolly
• Deputy President: Eoin Byrne
• Vice President: Michael Robinson
• Equality Officer: Michelle Smith
• Clubs and Socs Officer: Russell O Connor
• Business Convenor: Aisling O'Flanagan
• Humanities Convenor: Ellen Parikka
• Science and Health Convenor: John Cannon
• Engineering and Computing Convenor: Allan Dixon

• Post Grad Chair: Joe Brennan
• Post Grad Education: Anja Friedric

• Union Council Chair: Sinéad Harrington

2005/2006 Officers

• President: Sarah Farrell
• Education Officer/Vice president: Yvonne Tuohy
• Welfare Officer: Deirdre Moran
• Women's Officer: Laura Whitmore
• Clubs & Socs Officer: Siobhan Hickey
• Business Convenor: Claire Blacklaw
• Engineering & Computing Convenor: Sinéad Harrington
• Science & Health Convenor: David Grimes
• Humanities Convenor: Alan Flanagan

• Union Council Chair: Ashley Dooley Martyn

2004/2005 Officers

• President: Paul May
• Education Officer: Damien McLoughlin
• Welfare Officer: Ronan O'Hart
• Women's Officer: Emma O'Leary
• Clubs & Socs Officer: Brian O'Reilly
• Business Convenor: Sinéad Geraghty
• Science & Health Convenor: Louise Sullivan
• Humanities Convenor: Mikey Robinson

• Union Council Chair: Glenn Phelan

2003/2004 Officers

• President: Lorna Greene
• Education Officer: Anja Friedrich
• Welfare Officer: Richard O'Doherty
• Women's Officer: Claire Blacklaw
• Clubs & Socs Officer: Therese Hegarty
• Business Convenor: Declan Morris
• Engineering & Computing Convenor: Russell O Connor
• Science & Health Convenor: Brian Prosmeehan

2002/2003 Officers

• President: Sean Scally
• Education Officer: Michael Moriarty
• Welfare Officer: Michelle Noonan
• Women's Officer: Martina Sweeney
• Clubs & Socs Officer: Lorna Greene
• Business Convenor: David Tully
• Engineering & Computing Convenor: Andrew Martin
• Irish Officer: Maeve Moloney

2001/2002 Officers

• President: Derek Scanlon
• Education Officer: Barry Murphy
• Welfare Officer: Meabh Maguire
• Women's Officer: Aoife O'Connell
• Clubs & Socs Officer: Kate Marquis
• Humanities Convenor: Eoin Dubsky
• Engineering Convenor: Barry Callan
• Business Convenor: Robert Costello
• Science and Paramedical Studies Convenor: Gioval Scalzo
• Education and Industrial Units Convenor: Eoin O Maolain
• Computing and Mathematical Convenor: Brian Carter

2000/2001 Officers

• President: Hugo Brady
• Education Officer: Liam Doyle
• Welfare Officer: Aine Hickey
• Women's Officer: Meabh Maguire
• Clubs & Socs Officer: Simon Keely
• Rights Officer: Darren Lyng
• PRO/Secretary: Sean Scally
• Services Officer: Derek Scanlon

1999/2000 Officers

• President: Daibhi O Donnabhan
• Education Officer: Shane Derby
• Welfare Officer: Holly Ni Chiardha
• Women's Officer: Mairin Ni Loideain
• Clubs & Socs Officer: Sean O Brien
• Rights Officer: Brien Creegan
• PRO/Secretary: Thomas James
• Services Officer: Alan O Malley (impeached)
• Services Officer: Osgur O Ciardha

External links

• DCU Students' Union website