Stage 2 Archeology & History Daniel Devey is one of two candidates for the position of Entertainment Officer in the 2024 Executive Elections.
Daniel Devey is a stage 2 BA in Archeology and History. Devey is an SU volunteer since February, a UCDSU Community Representative and has been involved in the running of events such as the Smurfit Social and the execution of the Smurfit Survey. He considers SU engagement to have been “good this year, but there is still progress to be made. We have to do better”.
Devey is campaigning for a complete “overhaul of UCD’s social life” model, which he believes has led students to feel added pressure to hyperfocus solely on academics and career outcomes.
Among the areas needing improvement he cited “communication with the students”. He expanded on this point: “The SU’s outreach isn’t as strong as it ought to be. It can be much better and we need to communicate clearly with the students”. Asked about how he would ensure this communication was sustained throughout his term at all times he said: “By going out there as much as possible and speaking to constituents directly”. He comments: “I do feel like [the SU] has become a lot more secluded. I mean, I had to go looking for them. It should be the other way around, we should be looking for students and extending our outreach”.
He comments: “I do feel like [the SU] has become a lot more secluded. I mean, I had to go looking for them. It should be the other way around, we should be looking for students and extending our outreach”.
While Devey’s knowledge of the union itself is good, his understanding of the intricacies of the role of Entertainments and Events officer is quite limited which his manifesto, centered strongly on ideals rather than actual structural changes testifies to.
He cites his personal journey joining UCD in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the dire consequences this transformation had on his life as the reason for his campaigning: “I had to reach out to the SU because I was seriously considering dropping out of my course. They eventually helped me change my mind.” He adds: “It’s unfair that any student should even have to go through this, and I feel like I speak for the average student when it comes to this.”
He feels he is the most fit for the role because he has “been amongst the students”.
He feels he is the most fit for the role because he has “been amongst the students”.
Asked about the most pressing issues currently facing students in UCD he noted that “social isolation, the cost of living crisis and an accommodation crisis” are definitely the ones he has seen be the most prevalent throughout his college career.
He aims to tackle the first problem by “adapting events to needs to all students enrolled in college”: “I’d like to have two events a week and one massive event per month.” When asked how many students he’d hoped to see in attendance at said events he answered “approximately five-hundred or six-hundred at the very least”. Unfortunately, he was unable to account for how this would fit into the budget he would be allocated at the start of the year. The following issues, the cost of living crisis and accommodation crisis and how events and entertainments on campus might alleviate their symptoms were not brought forward by the candidate.
Similarly to Presidential candidate and mentor Marc Matouc he has constructed his manifesto around ambitious ideals (Integration and Inclusion/Rewinding the clock, reconstruction and rebirth/Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges) that beg the question of how achievable some elements mentioned are in the span of a year.
Similarly to Presidential candidate and mentor Marc Matouc he has constructed his manifesto around ambitious ideals (Integration and Inclusion/Rewinding the clock, reconstruction and rebirth/Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges) that beg the question of how achievable some elements mentioned are in the span of a year.
Davey’s manifesto places a significant emphasis on “untapped campus potential”, specifically on unused or underused spaces around campus that could be converted into spaces for entertainments and events: “My prioritized [space] would definitely be Building 71 but also the vacant spaces in the Science Building, the Law Building, Quinn, Sutherland and Newman that has many classes that can be used as well because they’re vacant [...] maybe even a lecture hall or two”.
While he notes the difficulty of creating events that include both undergraduate and graduate students he believes that it is possible for them to garner success: “[You need to] really go out there and talk to people, advertise the event and bring as many people together as possible by creating an environment where they can communicate with each other”. He continues: “Advertising on social media goes a long way and so does lecture addressing. [You could be] using the master’s timetables and targeting those lectures to get them to come”.
A notable point in the candidate’s manifesto is his desire to champion events that are somehow simultaneously regular and consistent and also sporadic and spontaneous. Asked to clarify this position, the candidate claimed that the events would be “sporadic for students if they cannot attend the other ones planned” but “regular for those who can”.
It was brought to the candidate’s attention that students on the Belfield and remote campuses were increasingly concerned by the imbalance between events and entertainment available to them. He answered these concerns as follows: “The thing is, there’s never going to be a balance but I can only try [my best] to talk to both campuses as much as possible.”
“The thing is, there’s never going to be a balance but I can only try [my best] to talk to both campuses as much as possible.”
Asked about the union’s solidarity stance with Palestine, he expressed his support for Palestine and his desire to continue to uphold tenets of the BDS movement should he be elected into the role.
When asked about the single most important job of the role of Entertainments and Events Officer, Devey states that “communication” is the backbone of this role. His answer, albeit repetitive, fits within the overall ethos of his manifesto.