College Officer hustings took place at 4.30pm in the Red Room this afternoon, Monday 23rd of February.
College Officer hustings kicked off ten minutes late with just three attendees who are not currently engaged in a student union election. The room also had three members of the press, all from the University Observer, and two current sabbatical officers - one of which was chairing the event, the other was filming.
Kelvyn Fields, who is the current Campaigns and Engagement Officer, chaired the event. Each candidate was given three minutes to speak, with the option of speaking for one additional minute if spoken as Gaeilge.
There are eleven part-time officer roles available on the Union Executive, with ten college officer positions and one Oifigeach na Gaeilge (Irish language officer) position. Only one race is contested; five of the races have one candidate, and five positions have no candidates competing. Last year, five of the races were contested, with three positions having no candidates.
Oifigeach na Gaeilge
Stephanie Tsz Tsun Li is the sole candidate for the role of Oifigeach na Gaeilge. Li is a Stage 1 Education, Irish and Spanish student.
Li did not attend the hustings, instead getting Engagements Officer Kelvyn Fields to read out a brief, 2-3 sentence note about her pledges, such as increased Irish signage, pushing for a full time Oifigeach na Gaeilge, and to put on more bilingual and beginner events while promoting Irish resources across campus on social media and otherwise.
In such an exciting period in this country with the revival of its native tongue often emphasised as an important cultural priority but otherwise often completely ignored, this hustings has succeeded in keeping to that trend - with no candidates choosing to avail of extra time to deliver their speeches in Irish.
Arts & Humanities College Officer
There are two candidates contesting for the role of Arts & Humanities College Officer: Canyon Montana and Adam Reid. This makes it the only contested race for all the part-time officer roles
Canyon Montana
Canyon Montana, who is running to be the Arts and Humanities College officer, the only contested race, was first to speak. A Lord of the Rings fan from Berkeley, California, Montana said he wants to “help a lot of particularly cool people while I’m here”.
He spoke briefly on his three manifesto points: Quality of representation, Quality of Newmand and Quality of leadership.
On quality of representation, he said he asked 100 students if they knew who their class rep is - 6 said yes, 4 of which were in Montana’s own constituency. “I will make it my number one priority to make sure everybody knows who their class rep is”. He said Newman will have a wall showing the emails and names of all class reps.
On the quality of Newman, Montana said, “If you’ve been in Newman, you know its a bit of a nightmare right now.” He said that he has counted 253 seats in the Newman building and wants to make it 500 - claiming he can use chairs that are in storage upstairs in Newman already. He said that he’d also create a live digital map of Newman which would show which classrooms and lecture halls are free at any given time to study in - saying that this would also help clear up the library.
On quality of leadership, he began speaking on his previous work with senior citizens and young martial artists, but at that point was cut off by the chair.
Adam Reid
Adam Reid, who is also running for Arts and Humanities College officer, was next up. Speaking in a top hat, he took his speech as an opportunity to bring up neurodiversity issues, which would be one of his top priorities if elected.
He said that “Based on my understanding, the Newman building is specifically designed” with neurodivergency issues in mind. Specifically mentioning that he was speaking as someone with autism, he said, “This community is losing faith” and that “we feel excluded, disregarded and most of all dismissed”. He continued to say that “I am not here to transform UCD into a neurodiversity society. I am here to embody representation by promoting and encouraging inclusivity”.
Other ideas that Reid mentioned during his speech were the implementation of a student board for students to help come up with events and ideas, as well as the possibility of holding informal meetings with students regarding their career choices and offer to give advice.
Science College Officer
Gabriel Kuzmanich is running uncontested for the role of Science College Officer.
Kuzmanich promises to be “someone who will fight for” his constituency. Kuzmanich feels there are organisational problems within science courses citing as an example chemistry students not given enough time with confusing orders for their labs and the lack of material provided for exam preparation. Kuzmanich is also highly critical of SU engagement, Saying “I shouldn’t be running uncontested” and pointing towards the crippling low SU involvements amongst science students with only 36 positions filled out of the 68 available and only 16 of those having been contested. He would like to fill as many seats as possible.
Other aims of his include pushing for gender neutral bathroom, fixing printing, and changes to recycling that “may seem minor but would provide improvements for the day to day lives of students.”
Health Science College Officer
Seán Morrow is the sole candidate for the role of Health Science College Officer. He is a current Stage 2 Medicine Class Rep, a UCD Global Guide, and is Secretary of FoodSoc. “In Health Sciences, we have a very different perspective to a lot of other colleges,” Morrow stated, further noting that, “Our representation should reflect the different things we face.” Morrow expressed that one way in which UCD could better support Health Science students would be through extended library open times at exam times, with a hope to extend this to year-round 24-hour access. Morrow also noted the topic of mental health, stating that, “Mental health is a large issue Health Science students face,” citing heavy workload and exposure to ‘harrowing’ experiences during placement. Morrow concluded with the remark, “I’m running because Health Science students deserve equal representation.”
Law College Officer
Minna Abbas is running uncontested for the role of Law College Officer. Abbas is a Stage 1 Law and Social Justice student, She is Class Representative for Law and Social Justice.
Abbas was not present at the College Officer hustings, and there was no speech presented on her behalf in her absence.
Engineering College Officer
Cian Spillane is running uncontested for the role of Engineering College Officer. Spillane is a Stage 3 Electrical Engineering student from county Kerry. At the hustings, Spillane opened with the statement, “I believe in the potential of the Students’ Union to be a force of good for students.” He expressed that he would focus on engagement with students if elected, stating it would be his “top priority”. Spillane noted that Engineering students face a heavy course load with no reading week, and thus he would push for a reading week in the first semester. Spillane cited constituent Union engagement as a reason why he should be considered for the role of College Officer, stating that, “I’ve been to all Council meetings and spoken at several of them.” Spillane concluded his three minute speech with the hopeful, albeit humble, “I will do my very best if elected next year.”