Campus News In Brief

UCDSU to encourage homeowners to rent their rooms to students in campaign scheme

UCD Student Union has launched a campaign urging private homeowners to rent a room to a student. They could earn up to €14,000 tax free. UCD is situated in the highest rent pressure zone in Ireland. Recent numbers also reveal that there has been a hike in the prices of on-campus accommodation in UCD.

Speaking to Joe.ie, UCDSU Campaigns and Engagement Officer Katie O’Dea said that: “Renting a room from a homeowner or 'digs' is the most affordable option in this area but we still do not have enough beds for all of our students.”

“Students urgently need a place to stay and homeowners can earn up to €14,000 tax free income if they rent out a spare room (or two) in their house. It’s a win-win situation.” “We are asking homeowners to keep in mind that students will need access to cooking and laundry facilities, and we encourage homeowners and students to agree to a Tenancy Agreement so that everyone knows what they can expect from the other.”

The scheme will be promoted in the coming weeks with flyers near the main centres near UCD and leaflets being dropped to houses along the bus routes: 46a, 145 and 39a.

Elections for Class Representatives held unconstitutionally late

Students’ Union Class Representative Elections are taking place this week, one week later than they are constitutionally obliged to be held.

The new constitution was written over the 2018-19 academic year after consultation with current and former employees and officers of the union. It was adopted by referendum during the Student Union Elections of the same year.

Article 20.1 of the 2019 constitution states “The Class Representatives shall be elected annually in elections held in the first four weeks of the first Semester”. However, Article 18.4 (i) states that notice of the times and location of any election must be posted with “At least one week's notice of the close of nominations”. Nominations for Class representatives closed at the end of week three, 27th September, meaning that at that stage either Article 18.4 or Article 20.1 had to be violated.

Complaint against The University Observer not upheld by Press Council of Ireland

A complaint by a student of UCD against an article in The University Observer’s satire section, The Harpy, has not been upheld by the Press Council of Ireland. The complainant alleged that the Observer breached Principles 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Code of Practice of the Press Council of Ireland. The Press Council’s decision was that the Observer had not breached any of these principles.

The Press Council’s decision read: “I am rejecting the complaint that the article breached the Press Council’s Code of Practice,” adding, “I accept the argument put forward by the solicitors acting for the University Observer that its readers would be aware that The Harpy column is satirical in nature, that it could not be confused with any news, fact or information offering by the newspaper in general, and that its contents are not supposed to be taken literally.”

The decision acknowledged that “no reasonable person...… would believe ... the contents to be true”. They ended the decision by stating. “This is especially the case in this particular complaint as the activities described in the article are manifestly fictitious.”