The UCC Students’ Union is a students' union

Students' union

A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...

 in University College Cork

University College Cork - National University of Ireland, Cork

University College Cork is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland. The university is located in Cork....

, in Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. It is established in accordance with the charter, statutes and regulations of the Governing Body of the college as the sole representative body for UCC students. Each student is automatically a member by virtue of a student levy.

The Students' Union have a representative that sits on autonomous committees (the Media Executive, Societies Guild Executive and the Clubs Executive) that oversee the running nearly all of the extra curricular activities for students in UCC. The Student Council of the Union also acts as the Student Parliament for UCC, and represents students on a number of committees including UCC's Governing Authority, Academic Council, and externally at national bodies such as the Union of Students' in Ireland (USI).

In terms of political outlook, it is generally considered a centre-left/progressive Union. In recent years it has become quite active on social justice issues & campaigns, improving relationships with the trade unions, and being more active within the equality movement.

History

The UCC Students' Union was established in 1973, and replaced a body known as the Students' Representative Council. While different years have seen their role in different ways, the core principle of the students' union is to represent and support their members at every level within the university, and outside on at such levels as they deem necessary, and to ensure that a quality education and social experience is provided for them throughout their University life.

Current Union records date from 1938, and, while the exact establishment date is unclear, the 'Students' Representative Council' (otherwise known in Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 as Comhairle Teachta na Mac Léinn CTM) was established around 1908, presumably in line with the 1908 Universities Act. In its early years, all officers served in a voluntary capacity. The first full-time officer of the Union came with the introduction of a paid President in 1940, and expanded over time to 4 full-time officers in 2004. The most recent addition to UCCSU's full-time officers is a 5th sabbat, a Commercial & Communications Officer, having been a campaign promise by 2010/11 President Keith O' Brien.

The Union's Centenary in June 2008, was marked with a visit from the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O' Keeffe who joined President Kris McElhinney and officers for the opening of the new Union offices at 54 College Road, and launch of their Students' Union Common room project which was to be opened on the site of the old stables in September 2008.

In 2010 one of the most high-profile campaigns by UCCSU saw the then 2010/2011 Student's Union and the UCC Young Fine Gael Society mount a large scale media campaign against attempts by UCC to introduce a charge for students wishing to be conferred in 2010 ("Conferring Charge"). It was successful due to the large media coverage given to it, and became a national issue of concern for other Students' Unions that it would be attempted in their institution if successful in UCC. It remained an active campaign internally on various UCC committees and Governing Body throughout 2010 and 2011. On the 22nd of March 2011, President Keith O' Brien received confirmation via a letter from UCC's Bursar, Diarmud Collins, that the charge would not be introduced for the foreseeable future.

Constitution

Historically constitutional matters rank highly among the UCC students' union members. In the book by UCC historian John A. Murphy

John A. Murphy

John A. Murphy is an Irish historian and a former senator. He is currently Emeritus Professor of history at University College Cork ....

, 'The College', he notes with some sarcasm that while other students' unions during the 1960s were busy revolutionising on the streets, i.e. UCD

UCD

-Education:*University of California, Davis*University College Dublin, Irish university**University College Dublin A.F.C., the university's association football club**University College Dublin RFC, the university's rugby union club...

, UCC students were generally content with making minor constitutional changes to affect change. In the period 2006-2011 there have arguably been 4-5 constitutions passed in UCC's Students' Union, common thought being as an effort to stamp a long-lasting legacy on the Union by the president of the day, or to erase a previous effort.

In 2006 President Richard Morrisroe, commissioned a 2-year constitutional review process (Cathal Kerrigan, Chair) to report back to the SU Council at the end of the first year, and again in early 2008 with the view to placing it to a referendum with the elections in March 2008. The constitution became mired in controversy when it was presented to the SU Council by 2007/08 President Kris McElhinney late in February and ratified in March 2008 by the student body by majority referendum. Much of the controversy stemmed from new name changes to the officers, and that some believed the changes made in the period between when the SU Council saw last the draft (April 2007) and the 'to-be-put' draft (Feb 2008) were so great as to ignore the wishes of the SU Council that had approved the first version of the draft constitution in April 2007, known as Richie's Constitution. Under the 2008 Constitution (nicknamed Kris's Constitution), Education became VP Academic & Affairs, also the title of the University's Registrar (which led to interesting misplaced phone calls, mail and emails), Welfare became the VP Support & Student Affairs Officer, and there were a number of structural changes to committee structures and reporting lines.

In 2008/2009 the Union under President Cal Diolúin sought legal advice on the constitution from Tom Coughlan & Co. Solicitors and Mr. Brian Leahy (Barrister), and presented it to the Executive and the SU Council who approved a request to rewrite the 2008 Constitution in order to reverse various name changes, and reorganise the structures of the SU in a different manner. After presenting to the SU Council in January 2009 it was approved by a majority referendum of the student body in March 2009 alongside the elections. This became known as Cal's Constitution, which makes up the bulk of today's current constitution.

In 2009/10 the Union under President Eoin Hayes also attempted to replace the constitution of the Union with a new revision. Again the process became mired in controversy over allegations that the drafting was done in haste and secret at the SU Executive and without bringing it to the SU Council. An emergency SU Council was called on the Sunday prior to the referendum vote to rubber-stamp the constitution, however eye witness accounts differ on whether it officially passed or fell, due to a call to count quorum and the guillotine falling simultaneously. The Irish Language Officer, Sean O' Sé, resigned publicly in protest on Tuesday's Hustings and the SU Council PRO resigned at the beginning of Wednesday's Presidential Hustings. Regardless, it was passed in a majority referendum the next day on March 4th 2010 by the student body, alongside the SU elections. In keeping with tradition, this became known as Eoin's Constitution.

In 2010/11 the Union under President Keith O' Brien sought advice on the constitution by the Union's legal advisors, Tom Coughlan and Brian Leahy. Their report to the Executive and SU Council was that, in their opinion, the manner in which the constitution was put to the student body was against the stipulations required in both Cal's and Eoin's constitutions, that of adequate notice of the final proposed constitution to the student body; and the statement on the referendum question "Do you accept the proposed SU Constitution, as put forward by the SU Executive and its legal aid?", stating no legal aid was requested by the 2009/10 Union. Eoin's Constitution was therefore deemed invalid, and the 2010/11 Union reverted to Cal's Constitution for the remainder of the year.

In March 2011 the Union placed forward 4 constitution amendments with the approval of the Executive and the SU Council, the most notable of which was to create 2 positions out of the Deputy President role; Campaigns Officer/Deputy President and Commercial & Communications Officer. Due to the lack of a new constitution being placed forward, opting instead for amendments, it is unlikely to be referred to as Keith's Constitution but simply, 'the constitution'.

Publications

Union Publication records date from 1972 and include Students' Union Handbooks, the copies of the Union paper, and other Union publications including the current incarnation the UCC Express. (Over the years, the paper has been known variously as: 'Aire', 'The Gazette', 'The University Examiner', 'The Campus Chronicle', and 'The University Xpress')

The Union recently launched an online media-portal for UCC called CollegeNews.ie and is an on-going project.

Current issues

The 20010/11 officer board of the Union has tackled a number of issues:

• Tuition Fees: with a renewed unanimous mandate from its Council in 2011, and a 90% 'YES' vote by the student body in a plebiscite in 2011, opposition to Fees/Graduate Tax/Loans scheme in "any form" remains a central issue
• Aras na Mac Leinn/SFS Ltd.: for a long time the source of UCCSU's focus to gain managerial control of its operations, now the SU have 2 directorships on the company, and current President Ben Honan is Chair of the SFS Ltd Management Committee.http://www.motley.ie/campus-news.html
• Higher Education Grants: UCCSU successfully lobbied and achieved commitments on a centralised grant awarding administration by September 2011
• Union Organisation: UCCSU has engaged in a process of self reflection aimed at better organisational structures, more efficient officer roles, reform of student council and the Class Representative structure, increasing representation of various sections of the college population, greater focus on the equality agenda, and more.

Organisation and Services

There are currently five full-time sabbatical officers (President, Campaigns Officer/Deputy President, VP Education, VP Welfare, and VP Commercial & Communications) combined with a number of voluntary or non-sabbatical positions, which are elected each year by the students.

The Union employs 3 other full time members of staff directly (an administrator, a secretary, and an entertainments/common room manager) and a number of part-time student help. The Union also provides other services to students - jobs portal, the Nitebus service, education advice & grinds, welfare advice & free condoms, a second-hand bookshop, etc.

The Union holds 2 directorships on Student Facilities & Services Ltd. (SFS Ltd.) aswell as the Chair of its Board of Management. The President is also a director of Maradyke Arena Ltd. and UCC Accommodation Ltd.

The Students' Union has 2 publications; a fortnightly newspaper, The UCC Express, and a monthly magazine, Motley. While the Express and Motley are editorially independent the management and support functions are carried out by the Media Executive.

Bodies

Within the Students' Union, the Media Executive, Societies Guild Executive and the Clubs Executive are the autonomous umbrella organisation of the 2 student publications, eighty student societies and sixty clubs, respectively, within in UCC. These bodies are elected to act on their behalf and co-ordinate activities which includes administering funds. These bodies foster, co-ordinates and promotes activities in UCC. The policy of the Students' Union in the matters of societies and sport are determined by the relevant subcommittee for the Executive officers to support and represent.

Associations

UCCSU is an active member of Union of Students in Ireland

Union of Students in Ireland

The Union of Students in Ireland is the national representative body for third-level students' unions in Ireland. The Union of Students in Ireland is the sole national representative body for students in Ireland but does not represent students from two of the seven Irish Universities, namely...

 - a body whom the students of UCC pay upward of €75,000 in membership and more in running costs to associate themselves with.

UCCSU was also one of the more active members of FUSU (Forum of University Students' Unions), however it has disbanded since 2009. It has since been replaced in spirit by an ad-hoc group composed of the University Students' Union Presidents, and is appropriately acronymed 'USUP'.

	President	Deputy President	Education Officer	Welfare Officer	Commercial and Communications Officer	Equality Officer	Societies President	Clubs President	Ofigeach na Gaeilge / Irish Officer	Entertainments / Events Officer	Campaigns and Projects (Resumed by Deputy in 2008/2009)	Postgraduate Officer	Chair of Council
2011/2012	Ben Honan	Shane Murphy	Cat O'Driscoll	Dave Carey	Eoghan Healy	Audrey Walsh	J.D O'Connell	Shane Carroll	Reamonn O Braonain	Cian Barrett
2010/2011	Keith O'Brien	Daithí Linnane	Greg Higgins	Pádraig Rice		David Carey	Damien O'Rourke	Shane Carroll	Siobhán de Paor	Tara Copplestone		Seán Ó Sé	Cat O' Driscoll
2009/2010	Eoin Hayes	Ian Power	Michele Conroy	Rebecca Murphy			Trish O Callaghan	Megan Peters	Seán Ó Sé	Sam Fitzpatrick		Ian Murphy	Hazel Nolan
2008/2009	Cal Diolúin	Dan Curran	Dan Ahern	Keith O' Brien			Ian Power	Ciara Lynch	Ciara Nic Liam	Frederic Chesne		John McNally
2007/2008	Kris McElhinney		Diarmuid Angland	Aidan Healy	Dave Frisby		Olga Seleznova	Dave Tierney	Cian Ó Beacháin	Corina Durack	Rebecca Murphy		Jonathan C. Irwin
2006/2007	Richard Morrisroe		Derek Doyle	Sonya Donnelly	Peter Lynch		Kris McElhinney	Gavin Dillion	Martina Ní Mheacair	Dan Curran	Dave Tierney		Linda Kelly
2005/2006	Padraig McAmhloaibh		Richard Morrisroe	Sarah Simkin	Kris Mcelhinney		Aislinn Collins	Steven Manning	Irene Ní Dhubhda	Sonia Ní Rian	Philip Healy		Jonathan Coleman
2004/2005	Frank Milling	Séamus Ó Ceallaigh	Séamus Ó Ceallaigh	Conor Flavin	Gearóid Breathnach		Padraig McAmhlaoibh	Andrew O'Leary/Steven Manning	Niamh Ní Ghriffin	Meagan	Michael Walsh	Mary O'Sullivan/ Dialena LeDesma	Una Casey
2003/2004	Cáit Meighan	Deirdre O'Leary	Deirdre O'Leary	Jack Mulchahy	Denise Coughlan		Tommy Reidy	Kieran Healy	Óige Ó Ceillichear		Rory Scarrott	Mary O Sullivan
2002/2003	Tommy Reidy		Anna Delany	Cáit Mehigan			Joseph O'Flynn			Avril Mulcahy		Bernadette O'Sullivan	Esther Walsh
2001/2002	Paul Kearney		Joanne Murphy	Cathal O'Sullivan	John Coughlan		JP Quinn	Andrew O'Leary	Christina Ní Shuird	Maura Lyons	Tommy Reidy	Niamh Griffin	Diarmuid Cowhie

Year	President
1939/1940,	John Gleeson
1940/1941	James Buckner
1941/1942	James E. Young
1942/1943	P.M. Quinlan
1943/1944	Dermot Gleeson
1944/1945	M.F. Carey / Donal Coleman
1945/1946	James J. Sweene
1946/1947	Kenneth P. Roche
1947/1948	Sean Crotty
1948/1949	Diarmuid Cantillon
1950/1951	Timothy McElligot
1951/1952	Arthur Kennedy

Notable ex-officers

Micheál Martin

Micheál Martin

Micheál Martin is an Irish politician who has been leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011. He is a Teachta Dála for the Cork South Central constituency...

 (SU External Relation officer) is a Cork City TD and became Minister for Enterprise in 2005 and in 2007 Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is currently the leader of Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

.

External links

• Official UCC site

The official University site launched in 2005 and rebranded in 2010 the site operates under the TerminalFour CMS under the direction of the Digital Publishing Unit of the UCC Computer Centre.

• Students' Union

Launched in 2010, the site offered the next evolution from SiN, with greater integration of social networking resources such as Facebook, and a name change to represent the location of the Students Union offices and common room on College Road, Cork. In 2010/2011 it was the highest viewed SU website in Ireland, hitting over 100,000 unique views in 58 days and over 300,000 in 7 months. It is currently more viewed than UCC's own homepage.

• Students' Forum

Established in 2006, by the then Communications officer, the website used familiar names like the 'old bar' and 'student centre' to provide moderated 'rooms' which offered the first interactive student chat facility to operate University Wide.

• Students' iNetwork 2007-10 (Dead)

Established in 2006, by then Communications officer, the website offered the first website for all student activities in UCC. As well as core websites of the Societies Executive Guild, Students Union and Athletic Union (later to be renamed Clubs Executive) the site also provided micro sites for student activities as well as also linking heavily with Forum ucc.