Why I should be your Students’ Union President – Mícheál Gallagher

As part of our coverage of the upcoming Students' Union Sabbatical elections, each candidate has been given an opportunity to outline why UCD students should vote for them on March 6th and 7thI’m writing to you to ask for your support in the upcoming UCD Students’ Union elections. I’ve a proven track record of working as the Welfare Vice-President during Ireland’s toughest year of the recession. There are five core concepts that I’m running my election campaign on, which are:
  1. Connecting with you: I want you to have a Students’ Union that you’re proud to be a member of. In order for that to happen, we’re going to have to go through a process of rebranding. The UCDSU website will also be started afresh, to have more useful services on it such as module feedback and more information on class reps.
  2. As part of our rebranding process we need to address our lack of stance on fees by reinventing ourselves as an organisation that protects our vulnerable. As your President I plan on bringing reform and transparency to both financial supports and student support services.
  3. Quality entertainments: I know first-hand from my time organising various faculty events that an important aspect of the union is the role it plays as a social facilitator. I’m going to make sure that through hiring a professional Entertainments Manager that you have great opportunities to make friends next year.
  4. Focus on education & employability: The reason we’re all here in UCD is to skill up, get an education and get a job upon graduating. I want to bring in courses and lectures that you can put in your C.V next year, giving you a selection of everything from direct marketing to suicide prevention skills to help build up your C.V.  
  5. Local campaigns, on issues that are affecting us directly: In order to build up our rebranded union into an organisation that’s associated with success, we’re going to have to look at the issues we campaign on. I want to move our focus of campaigns to issues such as repeat fees and student residences fines. I firmly believe we can succeed in bringing in resident’s rights and lower repeat fee through smart campaigning.
I hope you enjoyed reading through the main concepts that I will be implementing if you vote for me as president. If you’d like to hear more about any particular policy please have a read of my manifesto on micgalla.wordpress.com or else stop me around campus during my campaign over the next week. If you elect me, I will continue working with the passion and dedication I’ve already shown on all levels of student representation. To read the personal statement of the other candidate in the Presidential race, Aidan Kelly, click here