The King has left the Building

I was unsure whether or not to do a ‘Goodbye’ to the Student Movement Blog but I said ‘Why Not?’

So after 3 years, I move on from the world of Student Politics. Student Politics; that was always an expression I didn’t like, maybe it’s because I came from a smaller college where the role of the SU wasn’t to focus on Policy and wasn’t to analyse structures, but was simply to assist and support students and give them the best College Life they could. Even when the big fees debate started again 2 years ago I didn’t like hearing about ‘Student Politics’ I preferred students activism, but that’s just an opinion of mine.

I spent two great years in Tralee. In these 2 years I got to meet more people than I ever could’ve imagined. I remember many nights in an apartment in Sean Mhuileann, with a group of lads who I had the best craic of my life with, drinking cans and watching Prison break in the dark on a Thursday Night, and god forbid if anyone came in and opened the door while it was on.

I remember pretending I was hammered with Shane Hennessy on a Friday night after coming back from the Cinema, and him having a fake fight with Ryan O’ Donnell and Shane driving away only to come back crying and pretending he had crashed his car, crying ‘My mom is gonna kill me’.

I remember watching James Barry sitting on a speaker in Lady’s Lingerie on a fancy dress night with his legs covered in blood and leading the crowd in a dance. I remember spending 3 hours on the Monday before the Halloween Ball painting boxes for J.T. Deenihan’s amazing Optimus Prime costume. I remember Locking Katie Sheehy in the front office with a mouse while I cowardly hid in the back office shouting at her to ‘Ring Security. And I remember watching Jerry Fitzgerald be absolutely hammered after 2 pints when he was after finishing up his Drama Festival.

But besides all the beering and messing I feel I achieved so much for students. I hope that I did them proud. And no day will I ever be as proud to say that I was a President of the SU in Tralee as on November 20th 2008 when 1000 IT Tralee students marched the streets of Tralee. It was a moment that I will never forget, and it is one of the best feelings I ever had.

Tralee is a great place. I really enjoyed my time in the Union there and miss the students there.

And onto this year. I really didn’t know what to expect, a lot of people told me ‘Ah, you’ll never stick it out,’ and ‘You’ll be gone in 3 months’ and I have one thing to say, I’m still here. I have only one thing left on my manifesto complete, and that is a line saying, ‘I will not resign’ well at 5 o’ clock this evening, I will cross that line off. I also didn’t know what to expect from the COs in the south, in particular UCC was a CO I was worried about as really I didn’t know there team at all.

And on July 2nd when I went to visit them I was nervous to be honest, but when I did meet them, I was so relieved when they were such a nice bunch and they took me for a nice 5 star lunch. (Maybe they were trying to impress as much as I was). And I can say that I made so many new friends down their, in Ian Murphy and Daithi Linnane in particular, and of course Eoin, Ian, Shelly and Rebecca.

It was a year of so many twists and turns with the Week of protest, I sa a Union that I didn’t really know too much about and a Union who I guess when I first started, I didn’t expect a whole lot from, run an amzing protest in IT Carlow. Kate, Gary and Emma are 3 of the nices people that I have had the honour of working with this year. They are in the Union for the right reasons and they made my trips to Carlow memorable ones or unrememberable at times (I know that’s not a word).

I spent manys a day on probably on the worst road in Ireland the Waterford to Limerick road to go to LITSU. Limerick is a city I never really went to when i was growing up so my first few visits usually ended up in me getting lost. But when I found my way around it I always liked getting into the Union and chatting with the always happy Siobhan Young or the always chilled out Will Hickey. Will has this amazing ability to make everything seem like it’ll all be grand and it was always a refreshing experience to got to see him.

To my 2 ‘smaller’ colleges. Who says size matters? LSAD and TI are two place I might not have spent a whole lot of time in but they were 2 places that always seemed to have the craic. I’m delighted to see these 2 COs were back involved this year, and I hope they continue to be there next year. Sean Wynne is probably one of the craziest Bastards I’ve ever met and Darren O’ Sullivan wasn’t too far behind. And Darragh Scott is a man who can only strengthen TI because again he is there for the right reasons.

Going back to IT Tralee was always somewhat surreal. I always enjoyed it but it was always surreal. I have to say I’m proud of the job that the lads did this year. Katie lead the Union so efficiently and she can be incredibly proud of the job she did as President and I’m so happy to see that she took to new heights. And she was complimented by a brilliant pair in Ciara Enright and David Scott who always put their heart and soul into everything they did. And now it’s a complete honour to see my old friend from Cois Ceim Scotty is taking up the mantle as president. And he has two great officers in Mick Thompson and Katie Ni Shithigh.

And finally WITSU. What can I say that I haven’t said already. I am honoured to have shared an office with you this year, Murph I always enjoyed the banter about Politics that I didn’t really understand. Paddy Mc . . To be honet Paddy I didn’t know what to expect from him, but he made my job so much easier. Paddy put his heart and soul into the year and did a job he can be proud of. Paddy was probably th most liked officer in the country and I can honestly say  I wouldn’t have gotten through the year without him. Thanks Paddy.

And Cabbage, 3 years I’ve worked with you and after 3 years I can say I consider you one of my best friends. I couldn’t have asked for anyone else who could take over as Southern Area Officer, I’m delighted it’s you. Enjoy it. I have no doubts Cathy will do an exceptional job. She is a hero.

I’m not finished with the cheese yet. To all the friends I’ve made over the years in USI, in particular Martin Dunne, Michael Fogarty, Rory O’ Connor and the one and only Luke McGahon, good luck in the future.

Luke McGahon is another man who I have to thank for all his help over this year and over the last 3 years. He has done so much for me and he is an absolute hero.

To the Officer board I worked with, Peter, Dan, Hugh, Ciaran, Linda, Laura, Chris, McGarrigle, Aodhan and Kim, cheers for a great year. We may not have always agreed but I think we can be proud of the year we put in and proud that finally USI had no resignations this year.

To Nora, I just want to say thanks for all the help you gave me. Thanks for everything. You’ll never know how thankful I am.

I’m proud of they year I’ve put in. I may not have always made the right decision but I hope that everyone always understood that I was there with the best interests of the Students and of the organisation. I leave this mad Students’ Union bubble a very different man (about 2 stone heavier haha), I leave as someone who is a completely different person to the one who walked in.

I look back on the 3 years, and with all the BS that I’ve gone through, if I could go back and do it all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat.

So Ladies and Gentlemen, The King of the South has left the building.

End of Year Summarised Report

Jono Clifford Southern Area Officer

End of year Report 09/10

Regional Councils/Meetings

• WIT – July 16^th
• UCC – July 27^th (Campaigns Meeting)
• LIT – Aug 14^th
• LIT – Nov 13^th
• UCC – May 21st

National Councils

• National Council Athlone IT August 21^st & 22^nd
• National Council UCD – Oct 9^th & 10^th
• National Council LIT – Nov 13^TH & 14^TH
• National Council LYIT – 5^th & 6^th
• National Council at Congress
• National Council UCC – May 21^st & 22^nd
• National Council Belfast – June 18^th & 19^th

Grant Evenings Co – Ordianted and Attended

• IT Tralee – August 18th
• Waterford IT – August 19th
• IT Carlow – August 20th
• Limerick IT – August 27^th

RAG Weeks attended

• UCC
• LIT
• IT Carlow
• IT Tralee
• Waterford IT

Protests

• Rally outside Leinster House –Sept 15^th
• UCC March against Fees
• IT Carlow March against Fees
• Rally outside Greens Conference
• WIT Protest Demanding Exam Results
• BTEA Rally outside Leinster House

Conferences/Training Events

• Attended Youth Road Safety Conference in Brussels along with the Welfare Officer on July 8^th,9^th & 10^th
• Attending UOS Training from July 14^th to 18^th
• Attended NUS Conference in St Marys LCU about Town Takeover (Report Attached)
• Attended Pink Training and delivered Ice Breaker Session to begin Pink Training
• Assisted and attended Activist Academy in Athlone Jan 21^st & 22^nd

General Assistance

• Helped IT Tralee pack Freshers’ Packs
• Assisted WIT with their Freshers Week by playing a gig in College St.
• Assisted IT Tralee with Class Rep Recruitment
• Attended IT Carlow Freshers Week
• Assisted UCC with Class Rep Recruitment
• Assisted IT Tralee during Graduation
• Assisted WIT with their Road Safety Week
• Assisted WITSU during their mental health week
• In USI HQ in preparation for SHAG Week
• UCC SHAG Packing
• Packed SHAG Packs in WIT

Class Rep Trainings attended

• Module on USI/Fight against Fees at IT Tralee Class Rep Training
• Module on USI/Fight against Fees at WIT Class Rep Training, also gave a workshop on Fight against Fees
• Module on USI/Fight against Fees at UCC Class Rep Training, also delivered Ice Breakers and Module on Public Speaking
• Module on USI/Fight against Fees at IT Carlow Class Rep Training, also delivered Ice Breakers and Module on Public Speaking
• Module on USI – What are we doing for you at IT Carlow Wexford Class Rep Training.

Formal Events Attended

• USI 50^th
• IT Tralee SU College Ball
• WIT Sports Ball
• IT Tralee Sports Ball
• GMITSU Sports Ball
• UCCSU Crossover Dinner

Other Work

• Along with the rest of Officerboard E mailed all TDs in Ireland asking for Support against Fees
• July 24^th UL and Mary I visits
• July 27^th – CIT Visit
• July 27^th – Visit to O’ Keefe Constituency Clinic
• Southern Area Bonding in Mid August
• Met Minister O’ Keefe on Sept 8^th
• Leafleting Campaign in Thomond that night & Meeting regarding Protest
• Sat on Waterford School of Sciences Review
• Radio Interview on Fees ‘Victory’ with Spin South West
• Put together Slideshow on ‘What is USI doing for you?’- Delivered this in UCC and WIT
• Assisted with Registration for Pink Training
• Lobby of the Oireachtas
• Radio Interview on Grant Problems with Cork 103
• Assisted & attended USI 50^th
• Attended Joint Oireachtas Committee Meeting on Dec 2^nd
• Organised and attended X Mas Party in Athlone Dec 19th
• USI HQ for Re – Focusing
• Re Focusing Excercises with LIT,IT Tralee and IT Carlow
• Sat on a UCC Class Council Review Meeting
• Attended an event to congratulate UCC on being the first Third Level Institution in the World to

Receive a Green Flag

• Assisted during NUI Maynooth RE Affiliation
• Attend the 2^nd Lobby of the Oireachtas
• Contact with Students from NCII with regard to setting up a Students’ Union
• Attended Carlow Elections
• Attended Congress
• Wrote 4 motions all of which passed
• Chaired Hustings in WIT
• Attended LIT Hustings
• Assisted IT Tralee with Part time Hustings/ Watched Full Time Hustings
• Attended BTEA Meeting
• Assisting WIT with Exam Stuff
• Auction in Carlow
• Work on USI Annual Report Area Conference

Southern Area Officer – End of year Report

Semester 1

I began my term on July 1^st sitting on a train from Tralee to Dublin, we met on our first day in office to discuss the year ahead. This was a whole new experience for me to be part of a team this large and I was optimistic for the year ahead not only in the South but nationally as well.

My first week was flat out with visits to UCC, LIT, IT Tralee and WIT and then it was onto Dublin Airport to fly to Brussels for the Annual Road Safety Youth Conference. I attended this with the Welfare Officer Ciaran. This was an extremely beneficial exercise for USI as Ciaran in particular made a lot of important contacts for the year. It was a very interesting trip, although I wouldn’t be Brussels biggest fan.

The following week was UOS Training where I attended various modules and assisted in any way I could. I spoke at a Campaigns meeting about what we need to do for the year.

Also at UOS we held our first Regional Council on July 16^th upstairs in The Gallery. This was the first time the group that would be known simply as ‘The South’ all sat together. It was a great feeling to see that everyone at this meeting was on the same page and there were no egos. We set out some ideas for the year ahead and discussed various other items. I would recommend that next years’ Area Officer set out a plan of work at this meeting and that the South give as much input into this plan as possible.

The following week I visited IT Carlow for the first time. The first time of many, and I am proud to say I met the closest Union in the Country and the Union that would exceed everyone’s expectations for the year.

I also visited Mary I, CIT and UL towards the end of July. These were probably the most apprehensive I have ever been walking into Union Offices. I was unsure of how to approach the Officers and most importantly I was unsure how to approach them as a Union. Another recommendation I would make to next years’ Officer is to sit down with the President and Deputy President, and work out a strategy for dealing with Non Affiliates.  I was unaware of how best to do this and it definitely affected my relationship with these Unions.

On July 27^th we held a meeting in UCC Council Chambers to discuss the campaign for the South. Of course this campaign tied into the ‘Demand a Better Future’ which Dan introduced this year. Also present at this meeting were representatives from UL and CIT. This was a very good meeting and the decision taking at the end of this was for a march to take place from UCC into the City Centre similar to the one which took place the previous year, although as we now know this plan would later change to the ‘Week of Protest’.

Also at this meeting we discussed travelling to Ballincollig to ‘ambush’ Minister O’ Keefe at his constituency clinic. I felt that we rushed this a little and in none sense it probably worked out better for us that the Minister was not in his office as I felt we were underprepared. So we used the fact that Batt O’ Keefe was not present against him, even though I was apprehensive about going to the clinic I was still angry that the Minister was not present as this was a perfect opportunity for us as a group to let him know that we were going to fight tooth and nail against him. So we took a photo of us standing at an empty chair and press released on this. And the ‘Fight against Fees’ was back on.

In the next few days I coordinated Grant Information evenings in Limerick, Tralee, Carlow and Waterford. I also attended all of these evenings and I was overwhelmed in Tralee to see more than 80 people show up. This was the most successful of all the ones I attended. Each evening though brought different stories. I found some cases extremely frustrating. The Grants System was flawed in my eyes and it left the people who needed help the most often in limbo. It was also a great campaign to get the USI name out there and the individual unions.

We had our infamous bonding event in mid August where we went paintballing in Combat Zone and we also held an Area Council on the Friday before and had 2 great nights out which I felt went a long way to creating a very strong unified team in the south.

Attended NUS Conference in St Marys LCU about Town Takeover.

September 8^th was one of the days that sticks out most in my mind this year. This was the day that the Limerick COs, Dan O’ Neill, Stephi Hency of NUS Australia and I met Minister O’ Keefe in LSAD. To say that this meeting was tense would be an understatement.  At first we had planned to storm the ceremony he was present for, but after much discussion with Will and Sean we decided that it wasn’t right to ruin the important occasion for the college. However we did threaten that I the Minister refused to meet us that we would take action so a deal was made that we could have our meeting if we didn’t confront the Minister in public.

We were well prepped for this meeting in my opinion, we spent a lot of time before hand going through a script of how we would approach this and with no more than 15 minutes before this meeting we were then told, ‘you have no permission to press release on this meeting’. This made the meeting all the more tense as this would be the final question we would now have to ask. So we met the Minister and produced our case and he gave the answer I had listened to now for 14 long months, ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone below the poverty line’ and ‘I will make sure that whatever system we choose is Family Proof’. What O’ Keefe didn’t bank on was that Stephi knew that every system they had proposed was detrimental for Students and Graduates alike. Having Stephi there was a major plus and was a gbreat move from USI to bring the 2 girls over. O’ Keefe then went to leave and I confronted him and his Press Officer that we had upheld our end by not confronting him because we were told we could go public on this meeting and that he hadn’t upheld his so he agreed that we could press release and the highlight was to see his Press Officer come back with his tail between his legs to give us his card.

That night we changed the plan for the march. It was decided we would now have a week of protest. I was very much in favour of this idea as this is the strategy NUS have taken and it seems to be much more effective and I also felt it would work much better for COs overall in particular the ones outside of Cork. And also I felt that it was a great way for me to get to say ‘light small fires’ over and over again.

Then we went Leafleting in Thomond Park. This was another good part of the Campaign in my eyes and got a lot of great support from people there.

The following week I attended the Rally Day after sleep out. I was very proud to see WIT send students up and in particular to see Carlow send a bus load up. I was extremely disappointed that colleges nearer Leinster House sent very few if any students and it was very frustrating having travelled.

The next few weeks saw a lot of general assistance with Freshers’ Weeks, Class Rep Recruitment, and Class Rep Ideas etc.

I along with the rest of Officer Board travelled to Newcastle in Co. Down to take part in an Officerboard bonding exercise. This was epic and really helped us grow as a team.

And the next few weeks saw me attending Class Rep Trainings and delivering a module on USI/Fight against Fees for IT Tralee, WIT, IT Carlow, UCC and IT Carlow Wexford. At WIT I also held a workshop on this the Fees Campaign. In UCC and IT Carlow I also delivered Ice Breaker games and a module on Public Speaking.

The next week was the ‘Week of Protest’ beginning in Cork with a march of around 5000 (I think). I spent my time running ahead of this protest as part of a group monitoring the front of the march. I spoke at this protest and I thoroughly enjoyed this speech. I felt it delivered an ultimatum to the Green Party who had frustrated me for long enough.

The following day I headed to IT Carlow. There was a buzz around campus that morning and the buzz later in the day was 100 times stronger. I have never been on a march with more enthusiasm. I have said it plenty of times but I will say it again that this (in my opinion) is the best protest I have ever attended, including our protest in IT Tralee in 2008. It was epic.

That weekend then saw the Greens take my advice and make their decision as to whether they were ‘with us or against us’, and the fight was over. The 15 months I along with thousands of students had spent fighting this had paid off.

The next few weeks were strange. I had spent so long working on this one issue that it was almost like we were obsolete after that. But after this there was more ‘Donkey Work’ to be done. I assisted COs with various events and with issues they were facing.

In early November I put together Slideshow on ‘What is USI doing for you?’ and delivered this in UCC and WIT. I would’ve loved to do this more often as it was good for Students and USI and the CO as it gets the National Union out to their Student Body. I would encourage COs to allow this to happen at 2 Class Councils in the year.

I also assisted with Registration for Pink Training and attended Pink Training. I attended a ‘Straight’ Module on dealing with coming out and helping people come out. I also did the Ice Breaker session to open Pink Training which was great fun.

I attended the first Lobby of the Oireachtas. This was a long day. I definitely talked to over 30/40 politicians. While I enjoyed it I think the second lobby was much more productive as in my opinion Politicians want to meet students of CO Officers from their Constituency. So I think the model of the second Lobby is the way forward.

I attended the USI 50^th on November 20^th. And I have to say it was one of the highlights of my year. I assisted on the day and night also in any way I could.

I attended Joint Oireachtas Committee Meeting on December 2^nd to support Peter, Dan and Hugh in their Presentation. It was a fantastically productive meeting and it was at this meeting that the chair Paul Gogarthy suggested that the University heads should be made present to the Committee. And as we all know that meeting proved interesting.

I along with the Western Area Officer organised a Christmas Party for the South and West in Athlone. It was a great night although there was small attendance I think it did strengthen the bond of those present.

Semester 2

In January I helped IT Carlow, LIT and IT Tralee get back into it by having a refocusing exercise with them. I looked back at the past 6 months focusing on the highs and lows, and then looked to the next 6 months and asked what they wanted to achieve. I felt it was worthwhile and hope it helped the respective Officers.

I assisting promoting Activist Academy to COs and I attended the event in Athlone. I also helped in a campaign meeting, by discussing Public Speaking and good Public Speaker and what makes a good Public Speaker.

I sat on a UCC Class Council Review Meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to overhaul the current UCC system and improve it. I contacted a number of other Unions about how their council operates. In particular I recommended UCC look at the Trinity model. The group then took this info back to their Council and recommendations were made and most I believe were adopted.

I assisted WITSU during their mental health week by booking Comedians Damo Clarke and Andrew Stanley for 2 Free Gigs.

In January I hoped to get Tipp Inst back involved and I’m delighted that since January TI has become a much more active CO. And I know that next year their involvement will increase even more.

I assisted in USI HQ in preparation for SHAG Week with the other officers packing SHAG Packs.

The next big event was the WIT Exam Results Campaign. This was a very difficult time for the officers in WIT. They held a number of Emergency Councils in the run up to this and I felt they handled things incredibly well. I was able to attend the council they held two days befor there protest and at this meeting I spoke on behalf of USI in support of WITSU and in particular at the end of the meeting I spoke asking students to support the SU and be the ones who revive Student Activism in this country.I assisted in the lead up to the protest drawing banners and any other work the lads asked me to do. And on the Wednesday I acted as the MC for the Protest. I also said a few words of congratulations to WITSU and their students. The bond between the South was shown at this as IT Tralee were present and TI and IT Carlow also offered their assistance for later in the week. Also present were Daniel and Peter, Peter, Peter . .

I attended any RAG weeks then I was invited to. These were UCC, IT Tralee, IT Carlow, LIT and WIT. I couldn’t make it to TI and LSAD, I want to congratulate everyone on the hard work put into their organisation

I gave a day at the NUI Maynooth RE Affiliation Campaign. It was a great result for USI and it’s a pleasure to have NUIM back.

I attended the 2^nd Lobby of the Oireachtas. As I said above this one I felt was much more successful than the first. And this is the model USI should use in future.

In late March students from NCII made contact with me about setting up an SU. I have had regular contact since and am hoping to set the ball rolling on this before I finish. Packed SHAG Packs in WIT

I of course attended Congress. It was obviously a highly emotional week for me and I want to thank everyone who helped me out in the run up to the Elections. I also wrote up four motions for Congress 2 of which passed without change, 2 of which had minor 9C amendments.

I chaired Hustings in WIT for their elections. It was interesting to see how elections in other unions are ran and it was something I enjoyed. I attended LIT Hustings and I assisted IT Tralee with Part time Hustings/ Watched Full Time Hustings. I also attended IT Carlow Elections in late March.

I attended the BTEA Meeting in DIT and the rally beforehand.

I spent a good few days assisting WIT with Exam Stuff giving out Water and Chocolate to help students sitting exams.

I assisted Gary Flannery in the lead up to and during his Charity Auction, and I bought myself a present at the event in the form of a Kerry Jersey.

I spent a lot of time putting work into the USI Annual Report. I later passed on all the info to the GM as being out of HQ made it difficult to get all the info together.

And I also orgainsed the Area Conference along with IT Tralee SU.

Conclusion

I would hope that the South has been happy with the Job I have done this year. It has been a challenging year but one I have truly enjoyed. I felt I was always honest and I always had the COs interests at heart.

I am proud of the Officerboard I have worked with and feel that we did the absolute best that we could have done. And I am proud to say, ‘Not one Resignation!!’

I also would like to thank the CO Officers in the South, Katie, Scotty, Ciara, Will, Siobhan, Sean, Darren, Darragh, Russell, Eoin, Ian, Shelly, Rebecca, Kate, Gary, Emma and in particular Cathy, Colm and Paddy who gave me a new home.