The Manifesto
Strength through Unity
The motto of USI since its inception has been “strength through unity”. It is through the belief that common purpose, common goals and common values bring strength that USI was founded, and it is with this belief that USI has achieved great things in its 50 years. USI has consistently fought for the rights, beliefs & values which we all share and through their commonality has struggled past strife and rejection to achieve victory and acceptance.
From Women’s rights to sexual health, LGBT Equality through education as a right the Union of Students in Ireland has led the charge. As the 50th anniversary of USI comes about we must look to the coming weeks, months and years and work to once again achieve our full potential. Recent times have been hard, with a struggle for financial liquidity and scandal in officer board, and the road ahead brings challenges, with the deepening recession and the threat of student fees & a graduate tax.
While these challenges are daunting the last twelve months have borne evidence of the great things we can achieve together. In the coming year we must continue to believe that what brings us together is greater than what drives us apart; that in our unity we can, and will, achieve great things. Below I will outline some of my ideas and plans to build on the work of officer board and to return USI to the forefront of policy making in Ireland.
Strength through Equality
We are many members, many backgrounds, many experiences but one Union. As a national student organisation we must work for the benefit not only of our Under-Graduate members but for all those whom we represent. Post-Graduate, Part-Time, and Apprentice students are enshrined as members of USI in the constitution and as such we must ensure that we are best representing and catering for their unique needs. By ensuring equality amongst all our members not only will we become a more rounded organisation but our arguments can also benefit from the insights of these different student groups.
We must also strive to gain equality upon the committees and boards on which we sit as representatives. We are full members of groups such as the HEA, NQAI, etc and we must work for parity of esteem on these bodies. Rather than merely giving input to the agendas and proposals of other groups we must use our positions to press our own agenda. We must bring forward proposals that are based on our core beliefs and build coalitions of support so that our ideas are accepted – to the benefit of all our members.
Strength through Common Purpose
Ireland, and indeed the world, is entering some of the most uncertain economic times in living memory. There are challenges that we must now face that seem insurmountable and adversities that threaten to devastate us. In adversity, however, lies opportunity. We are already seeing a revitalisation of the student movement and the trade union movement as a whole. This provides us with a key opportunity which, if properly exploited, will grant us unprecedented leverage for our common agendas.
In the coming weeks and months we must reach out to other organisations such as the TUI, IFUT, SIPTU, Equality and Rights Alliance, etc and discuss our common agendas and goals. Whilst there are some areas where our views may differ it is in the common ground we share that true progress can be made. Working together will allow us to become an unstoppable force for change, each organisation helping the others as we all strive to achieve our common goals.
We must also look to the Irish Secondary Students’ Union and to the responsibilities that are incumbent upon us. The current members of ISSU today will be the future members of USI tomorrow. It will be to our benefit to assist ISSU in achieving the goals which we share, promoting USI to future members in our work, and inviting ISSU members to stand with us on third-level issues that could face them in years to come.
Strength through Identity
As a national organisation we must have a strong national identity both in the media and in senior academic circles. It is disheartening that many senior academics are unable to distinguish USI from other fringe movements. This year the groundwork has been laid in local media promotion of USI which can be built on to allow us to create a strong identity in the national media. When elected I will work with the area officers, allowing them to take the lead in local media whilst the President focuses on the national media strategy and ensuring that there is a strong and clear identity for USI throughout Ireland. Through a well organised and professional media strategy we can ensure that USI has a strong identity, clear of any fringe movements, which can then be utilised to make our arguments clearly, concisely and without distraction.
We must also work on our presence and identity among the students of Ireland. USI works relentlessly to promote student issues and fight for the rights of students but in many cases things can be lobbied for and victories achieved unbeknownst to ordinary students. We must work on promoting the national student representative body to the students whom it exists to defend and represent. Through electronic communication tools the mission and campaigns of USI can be pushed out to students and their input sought. In addition to this Constituent Organisations should be provided with regular articles on the work of USI which can be utilised in their local publications to advertise the work done and victories attained by the officers of USI on behalf of their members.
Strength through Clarity
Above I have outlined my vision for the Union of Students in Ireland. I have covered some of the key challenges and opportunities that I feel that we face but without clarity we will likely lose our way. I have been descriptive in the preceding paragraphs; here I will be clear and concise. When elected to the position of President of USI I pledge to do the following:
· Seek to expand the services we offer to non-traditional students such as part-time, mature, post-grad and apprentice
· Demand that we are heard and treated as full members on the various bodies where we have representation, not just as “the student representative”
· Reach out to other trade unions and work to achieve our common goals
· Maximise our media presence by fully engaging the national press while maintaining a local media voice through the various area officers
· Produce regular articles for use in promoting USI to ordinary students and maintain an up-to-date website detailing the current activities of USI
· Vocally, philosophically and actively oppose the introduction of tuition fees, students loans and graduate taxes and to work to stem the tide of capitation fee increases
· Work to propose viable and well-researched alternatives to Government policies that tackle the problems whilst maintaining the fundamental belief that education is a right and not a privilege
Those are my core pledges. They are clear. They are concise. They will be delivered upon. That is my promise to you as a member of USI.
Experience
· 2004-06 – Class Rep, DIT
· 2007-08 – Vice-President (Academic & Student Affairs), DIT Students’ Union
· 2007-09 – Member DIT Academic Council
· 2007-09 – Director, DITSU Ltd
· 2008-09 – Member DIT Governing Body
· 2008-09 – Director, DITSU Trading Ltd
· 2008-09 – President, DIT Students’ Union
About the Candidate
Martin Dunne is 24 years old and was born in Dublin. He spent his early years on the Isle of Man becoming particularly active in basketball on the Island culminating in his appointment as Basketball Co-ordinator for the Manx Youth Games in 2001/02. He returned to Dublin to further his education in 2003 where he studied for four years obtaining an Honours Degree in Computer Science at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St.
Martin was elected Vice-President for Academic & Student Affairs in the DIT Students’ Union in 2007 spending his term defending student rights, fighting for the extension of services, furthering proposals for accreditation for participation and bringing innovative new approaches to existing campaigns, including the highly successful “What If” examination & assessment rights awareness campaign. In 2008 Martin was elected to the post of President of DIT Students’ Union and has spent the past year improving communications with the general student populace, developing DITSU’s strategy in relation to the new DIT campus in Grangegorman and promoting full and active participation in the Students’ Union by all students. For the first time since the adoption of its new constitution in 2004 all the democratic structures of DIT Students’ Union are populated and functioning.
Declaration of accountability, transparency & confidentiality
I shall strive to ensure that during my term of office, I will at all times remain accountable to you the students, that while maintaining the confidential nature of some of my work I will allow complete oversight of my actions and will at all times make myself available to assist with any issues or concerns you have.