The UCD Students’ Union is ready to advocate for its students, but who are they and what do they stand for?
Your Students’ Union
The Students’ Union is made up of six elected representatives called ‘Sabbatical Officers’ with a year-long term. Each ‘sabbat’ is responsible for a different aspect of student life, and will spend the year advocating for improvements. Their efforts to change or introduce new policies are discussed at Council Meetings in the FitzGerald Chamber, which every student is entitled to attend. Autumn semester councils will take place on September 30th, October 14th, November 4th, and November 18th at 6:30pm.
President - Miranda Bauer
Bauer will lead the UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) as President for 2024/25. Per the constitution, Bauer is CEO and Chief Spokesperson of the SU. Beyond coordinating the rest of the SU team (and its finances), Bauer’s presidency is centred on fighting for students’ voices. She has vowed to tackle Ireland’s student housing crisis by lobbying for a rent freeze on campus accommodation, and has spoken on the effectiveness of direct action to achieve this goal. Furthermore, Bauer intends to lobby the government to abolish student fees. Her campus goals include ensuring a living wage for all SU Shop staff, and improving the UCD community spirit by moving the SU offices to a more central location on campus: the infamous Building 71.
Education Officer - Tia Cullen
As your Education Officer, Cullen’s role is to help students with any issues relating to academic interest. She can help with exams, fees, library services and lecture accessibility, and any personal casework is strictly confidential. Cullen’s election campaign focused on promoting awareness of the services currently available in UCD, improving support services for students on placements and internships, calling on the University to increase funding for the Student Support Fund, and lobbying the government for SUSI grant reforms.
Welfare Officer - Ciara Donohue
Stepping into the Welfare Officer role this year, Donohue will balance her student casework with her campaigning agendas. Whilst Donohue can guide you to relevant counselling services, the Welfare Officer is not a counselling service themself. Donohue is there to raise awareness on issues such as sexual health, harm reduction, LGBTQ+ issues, consent and sexual violence, and disability services. On her path to election success, she voiced her intent to advocate for the hiring of more on-campus counsellors and GP services, as well as hosting information sessions for students on topics such as employee rights, creating handbooks for trans students on support services in Dublin, and revamping SHAG (Sexual Health and Guidance) week.
Graduate Officer - Kylie McCardel
McCardel will move between the Belfield and Smurfit campuses as Graduate Officer this year. The Graduate Officer has a large mandate to fulfil, dealing with the education, welfare, and overall experience of graduate students in UCD. McCardel’s main priority this year is to lobby for lower fees for postgraduate students, and increase PhD stipends. Like many of her fellow sabbats, McCardel has cited direct action as an effective method for change. On a lighter note, McCardel also aims to work with charities to bring ‘puppy therapy’ to campus allowing students to “mentally de-stress.”
Entertainment and Events Officer - Neo O’Herlihy
Taking on a second term as Entertainment Officer, O’Herlihy is responsible for the facilitation of social events run by the SU, and for helping societies to organise their own events. He has committed to bringing more collective entertainment apparatuses to campus, such as foosball tables and boardgames. He intends to improve the accessibility and awareness of SU events, and to create a recurring ‘on-campus student showcase night’ for the abundance of creative and talented students in UCD. O’Herlihy was responsible for the return of the UCD Ball to campus last year, and hopes to repeat this feat in 2025.
Campaigns and Engagement Officer - Saskia McCormack-Eiffe
McCormack-Eiffe ran uncontested in her election race last April, with the role carrying the responsibility of organising protests, government lobbying efforts, and improving the recurring engagement crisis between the UCDSU and UCD students. McCormack-Eiffe has called for SUSI grant reform, and aims to include alternate proposals in the SU pre-budget submission. McCormack-Eiffe’s other policies include promoting greater accessibility on campus, restructuring class representative elections to begin earlier, and pushing forward campaigns to alleviate the cost of living burden on students.