Focus on the Representation

Students will be aware the ULSU has been reviewing its operations for a number of months now. The latest in the series of refocusing efforts was decided last Thursday evening.

Meetings of the Board of ULSU Services Ltd and of ULSU Executive took place and it was agreed that ULSU will cease to be a retail operator at the earliest opportunity. This decision was agreed on the basis that ULSU is not a retail expert at the level required to operate convenience retail services at the capacity to which it has expanded, much larger than the initial shop which was located in the archway between the Student Centre and the Main Building.

The shop in the Student Centre will be run by ULSU until a new tenant has been found. The tenancy with Plassey Campus Centre (University subsidiary with responsibility for retail) has expired and it is not the intention of ULSU to seek to renew it, but rather to focus its efforts on representation and ordinary students' union activities.

Plassey Campus Centre will put the service out to tender in the coming weeks and the successful tender will take over the running of the convenience store ULSU at the earliest possible opportunity. This agreement was reached on the understanding that on-going income would be sourced as part of the deal.

While there is a potential income stream from continued operation, this is not guaranteed. The risk is too large for ULSU to bear as a member orineted organisation.  There have been issues in the past which may not have occurred had an experienced retail operator with full support services been in control.

This move will free a significant amount of time within the Union to focus on more pertinent issues, particularly for the General Manager and future Presidents.

I'll blog later on other issues that have arisen in recent weeks, but this matter is now at a point where a successful outcome has been achieved through the hard work of the Board, in particular the Chairman. I must also commend the General Manager and Accountant for their work to date in exploring options.

Ordinary People, Ordinary Things

Are you the next President of ULSU? This year marks the 40^th year of the institution that has grown to be UL, one that anyone who holds this position must be extremely proud of, but also critical of. I’ll be sad to leave here this summer, but I think that’s a common thread across the board. Anyone who leaves here misses it.

Across all of the people that I have encountered in three years as a sabbatical officer, there are few who are memorable for the wrong reason. I’ve gotten myself in some hot water and I’ve been the poster boy, but one thing remains as a common thread through all of that, representing your Union in a way that best represents you. Elected officers are here for the students; if you come here on a career path, or “to be the President” expect to leave unfulfilled, even if you do leave popular. It is only by being truly firm in your beliefs and doing what you believe is right that you can lead.

The third draft of governance proposals have now been approved by Exec and will be making their way to C&S and Council for consideration. Members for the Constitutional Working Group will be sought at Council and EGM next week.

I am often asked what’s in it for me. Well apart from the perks that come with being a governor, the most satisfying thing is knowing that I’ve made a difference. To me, it is important to make a difference, even if it is never spoken about, in fact some of the most satisfying things that any sabbatical officer will do cannot be spoken about, because they are extremely personal to the people we help. Bereavements, financial problems and health issues come through our doors year in, year out. We’re not the answer to anyone’s problems, but we are here to signpost and to assist along the way.
Be bold, be daring, but most of all, have a plan. Know what you want to achieve. Know why you want to lead this organisation. If a box can’t be ticked that it’s complete, then it’s not something you want to achieve, it’s woolly and is probably a “how” more than a “what”.
Being President of a students’ union is a very lonely place at times. Be prepared for constant abuse, but be mindful that those abusing are the minority. It is easy to be a hurler on the ditch, but you won’t have a chance score unless you put on your jersey and get on the field. Criticism is constant, both internal and external, you will need a mental strength to cope with it and the calm to realise that there are no solutions in it. There are of course situations where your passion for your belief takes over and all of that goes out the window, but keep your goal in sight.

Extraordinary things are not what make the world go round. It is ordinary people, doing ordinary things that make the biggest difference in our lives.

Are you an ordinary person? Are you willing to lead?

Any questions drop me a line SUPresident@ul.ie

So it Ends, So it Begins

Day 1, Week 1, Semester 2, year 7; so it ends, so it begins.

Though I’ve been back at work since 3 January, today is the first day of my last semester at UL. That’s a bit of a scary prospect. This will be my 14^th UL semester. In six months from now (almost to the day) I’ll be finishing up a three week handover process with my successor. If I’d started a PhD when I graduated I’d almost be finished now, but it could be argued that the insights and experience I’ve gained are more valuable to me than a PhD.

There are a lot of important issues coming up this semester.

·         Consultation and vote on new constitution for ULSU. Long overdue and necessary to protect the Union in the future interest of students

·         Plans for new Student Centre are at a site layout stage. The presentation given by the campus planner is attached

·         Extraordinary General Meeting (week 2) to discuss motions on the removal of 2 sabbatical positions (Vice President Campaigns and Engagement, Vice President Communications) to refocus the Union on its core representative functions with 3 full time officers supported by a Council with a wider focus.

·         Finance and Funding sustainability for ULSU

A lot of unpalatable decisions have been taken already to ensure that as your Union, ULSU is enabled to continue operating to provide the representation necessary to ensure your voice is heard, more will be necessary, but I believe that looked at in an overall sense, studetns will understand where we are coming from.

Throughout the year the team here in the Union have taken up a lot of representative slack while I was knee deep in resolving a financial and structural storm. I have done this on the basis that it will be finally resolved and that future Presidents will be free to focus on solely representative issues. I was never elected to take operational decisions in the running of events, shops or clubs, but due to the comings and goings these things have factored as a major part of what I have ended up doing.

Having management draw up policies and procedures so that whoever follows me won’t have to is one of they key things I hope to have left behind. It’s something the average student will never see, but it has consumed lots of my time. HR issues and negotiations, finance and operational direction are functions that should never arrive on the desk of the President of a students’ union, I hope what we have put in place will ensure that is the case going forward.

I hope to close out my outstanding items by week 10 and shift the focus of the Union to preparing the incoming team for year that will pass all too soon. My main disappointment will be that we haven’t been able to engage with the SUEI process due to cost, this was one of my priorities in my early blogs, something which I still firmly believe in, but I hope that a future team will be able to implement it.

There will be much more to come, so we could say that this is the beginning of a long goodbye.

D