 May I invite please the candidates for the position of Vice President and Welfare Officer to the stage please. Now there's an exceptional amount of questions. You will have 30 seconds to respond to them. Given that you're running for a Spartacal's position I'm sure you've done all the research in the world so you will have exactly 30 seconds to respond to them. Okay, just one moment. Do you know Welfare candidates are not education officers? They're hard to look after your feelings, not your academic prowess. They're still debating who goes first on their surnames. We figured it out. Well done. And who is that? Me. Hi guys, my name is Catherine Neely and I run for Vice President for Welfare. I believe I should be elected the position because I genuinely believe I'm the best person for the job. I genuinely care about the welfare of the students and if I were elected I would strive to assure that every student had the healthiest, happiest, best experience that they could possibly have when they come to DCU. I'm just going to take you through a few points in my manifesto. My manifesto is comprised of three main aspects. DCU community, students' support and health and social policies. Under DCU community falls equality. Equality is for everyone and it's something that I would strive to do if I do get elected. I want to be able to embrace all schools and faculties. I know that there are certain schools and faculties that have an incredibly heavy workload but that doesn't mean that they can't be involved in the SU. It's your students' union and you all have a voice. I live on campus res. I live in Hampstead and I would be able to create a better rapport with res. I know that it's incredibly that it's difficult sometimes to have a student experience when you live on campus because there are strict rules and fines in place. I want to be able to create a better relationship with campus res limited so that students can still have a safe, happy, fun time without incurring any fines or anything like that with such things as events on res for res. Students' support and health. I want to be able to make sure that students know that there is financial support there for them when they need it. Life happens outside of college and sometimes students think that it's all on them but the university know that things do happen and you need financial support and there are services there. I'd strive to make sure that every student knows that. Sexual health is a huge problem, not a problem. Sexual health is something that I would strive to promote with certain weeks, shag week and everything like that. Mental health and fitness. Mental health, I would work very hard to banish any kind of taboos that surround negative mental health. It's okay to not be okay and it's okay to talk about us and I want every single student in DCU to know about that if I were to be elected. Moment. Okay, healthy eating. Thank you. Okay, healthy eating. A healthy body is really important. You can't really take on being a student without being healthy. I know everyone loves their takeaways every now and then but I would strive to make sure that there is healthy eating options on campus when you need it. My social policies include facilities on campus. I know living on campus that it's difficult when spare closes and you haven't done your groceries which I never ever do, that it's difficult to get what you need. So I want to create like an unperishable goods kind of vending machine on campus where you can get like your noodles, beans, anything that you need just on a Sunday evening when you come up if you haven't done your groceries. I'm going to create a greener campus. It's our world so let's take care of it. It's our campus. Let's make this nice as possible. DCU is a fantastic university and I want to make sure that it's kept like that. So a greener campus, sustainability, recycling, everything like that. Every year the SCU raise an outstanding amount of money for charity and I want to keep that going. Charity is something that I hold really, really dear to my heart. I ragged me this year raising an outstanding eight and a half grand. I think that's absolutely fantastic and DCU deserve a pat on the back for that and I want to be able to keep that going and do the same again. I'd like to just emphasize again why I'd like to be elected as welfare officer. I genuinely do care for everyone that I meet all of my friends and I will genuinely strive to support any kind of student in any issue that they have. I will strive to make sure that their welfare is my welfare. And on Wednesday and Thursday I'd ask you all to vote for me, Catherine, number one for welfare, because you've got a friend in me. How are you hosting? Are you well? Okay, so my name is Eve. I'm a final year of communication studies student. I'm the current society's officer. I'm the student's union executive. I'm going to tell you why you should be voting for me on Wednesday and Thursday. First of all, coming to college can be a very scary thing for freshers. You don't know anybody. You're having the clear way to go and you haven't survived alone without your family. So I want to ensure that I do class visits after freshers week visiting every single first year lecture and giving them my email address and number. So I've spoken to each first year individually, personally. So they have built a report me and I hopefully think that they will be able to approach me and not feel worried about it. Secondly, I've been working with a lot of class reps and general members of different faculties, every faculty actually. And they said the one problem that people have with settling in is that they don't have time to take part in social events. I suggest that we liaise the class reps and clubs and stocks to ensure that those with a heavy course load and heavy workload have the ability to attend events and that events are centered around their free time. Secondly, mental health, which is an issue that is very relevant for the welfare officer. Self-esteem, every faculty, as I said to me as well, that self-esteem is an issue that is resounding. I want to ensure that every single student feels that their time here is utilised to the absolute maximum. Mature students in particular have come to me and said that they don't feel that they're integrated enough. So I'd like to involve the Mature Society in inter-society events to ensure that they also have the best out of their time here in DCU. And a few original ideas that I'd like to introduce, one of those is called Gratted Tuesday. So basically what this is, I would be going around campus every single Tuesday with them around, asking people what they're feeling great for that day. We assume that as finding a fiver or having a lecture council so you can go home early. It's nice and easy and I put it up on the DCU, SU website and Facebook page for people to have a listen to. Secondly, Welcome Talk is an idea I have. I'm already part of the Welfare Working Group. I would lead these once a week around the Albert College Park and invite people to come and have a chat with us. Similarly to Lorna's Pits and Peaks, you're allowed to discuss what's making you happy that week or what's just generally pissing you off. It gives people the opportunity to have a chat and get some fresh air as well. So one of my kind of sub-models is Happy Heads, Healthy Heads. So I think that kind of brings the two of those together. With Sexual Heads, I want to remove the stigma. I've been saying to people, if you have a sore really, it's just the same as having a sore and you treat it no differently. You speak about it and you go to the doctor. It was released last week on the news that one in ten people, college students, have a sexually transmitted infectious disease. This is why we need to talk. We need to talk about our problems. We need it to be seen to like any other physical health problem. Shag Week. Shag Week is not just about throwing around condoms and hitting penis pinatas. We need to get it back to basics. The real reason it's here, we need to discuss the issues we have. I want it to still be fun, but I think it needs to be treated more seriously. We need to offer information to people who are victims of abuse, which is very relevant to college students. Also discuss infections of course as well. And offer services for people to get free testing for sexually transmitted infections and not just for the ones such as chlamydia and syphilis a meter ago. Die of deeper because some of these issues can go on low risk for years. Also for people with infectious, I think it's a little bit intimidating when you're giving condoms and it's kind of assumed that every college student's having sex. I want people to know it's okay if you have a replay. Your time will come and I'll be there to talk to you until you're ready. Health and Fitness. I want to incorporate clubs and stocks into supply free fitness classes throughout the year. I think a lot of students are underway, but these are here. I'm going to have a column every week on the DCSU website detailing what's available, what's free, what people can attend. Along with that, I've been working with the health officer, Trina Keane, in releasing healthy recipes again once a week. And I also have a drink-free event. I've been involved in the setup of Sobersock. There's so many people on drinking bands and a lot of people as we go for religious reasons don't drink. So a huge number of people are being ignored by social requirements. So I want to have events like Sponsored Trips to cinema. I want movie nights. I want quiz nights. I want to make sure that everybody's social requirements are catered for. I want to promote our skills rather than abuse of alcohol. Okay, I'm going to skip to this. Why do you should vote for me? Since first year, I've spent every spare hour measuring the life of DCSU community. When it's organized in campaign weeks, choreographic musicals, promoting educational workshops, I have been doing everything to provide opportunities to people. I'm a huge advantage that's unrivaled by sitting on the students' union executive. I'm already the most in the welfare working group. I'm dedicated, innovative, caring and trustworthy. You can tell me earlier, Steakwoods, that's why my hair is so big. Thank you. My name's Ciaran and I'm running for welfare this year. I'm a third year engineer student and I'm just going to tell you why I think you should elect me as your welfare officer. So as far as experience goes, I've experienced a sense of experience with societies like Snow Sports, Canada, et cetera. I was also on Class Rep Council as well, so I do have some experience in the SU. Ever since first year, I have wanted to get involved in the SU. This is my chance to do it. My main aim, if I was elected welfare, is to make day-to-day life easier for students so they can get the most of their time in DCU. Certain things like stress workshops at the beginning of the semester and just before study period for exams. A lot of students juggle part-time jobs, they juggle studying, they juggle assignments, everything that goes with it, as well as social life. Stress workshops and study workshops will help them balance their life easier and make time for each of them accordingly so that they can pass their exams and still keep their social life going as well. One thing I want to implement to make life easier for people who live outside Dublin is a shuttle bus from DCU to Whitehall. I only live an hour away from DCU and even for me, it's a nine as hell when I miss my bus at like 10 o'clock or whatever and you just have to wait another hour or something like that. Another thing I want to implement is chill out areas in the faculty buildings all around campus. Areas like the MES, except in your faculty building so that when you finish your lab or whatever, you can just go and relax for even a few minutes just to kind of clear your head so that you can go back and hit studying harder again. Just from the day-to-day basis, it makes things easier. I want to implement phone chargers, phone chargers stations around DCU. You've all probably seen around study time especially all the statuses go up on Facebook. Does anyone have a phone charger in the library? Does anyone have this charger? It'll be a lot easier if we just had charging stations in the library and in faculty buildings so that people can just leave their phone in there in a little locker and then come back an hour later and fully charge them to go. Water fountains as well. I want to get more water fountains around campus. It's just another thing that makes it easier. I know it's like one of the things that DCU complains about at other colleges even off to small colleges to walk from the library to the hub and Henry Gratton. Everyone complains about it and it is a pain when you're in the middle of studying just to go to that whole walk just to get a drink of water. On the event side of things, I want to start a summer day festival rather than just a summer ball. The summer ball is the biggest event of the year. Usually, why don't we just keep it going all day? It's how it stands and acts all around campus. The same kind of idea as Clubs and Socks Day we'll get clubs and societies involved as well with demonstrations around campus and then a couple of hours rest until the actual summer ball itself which I want to get bigger international acts for as well. We have a brilliant venue here. Why not make the most of it? We have about five rooms here to keep acting so make them as good as we possibly can. On mental health side of things, this is one of the most important points in my manifesto. I get to make it more aware that there is counseling services available on campus. I also want to decrease the waiting list for the counseling. I don't think it's fair that if someone has the courage to go and sort of mental health issue out or see a counselor that they've been told they have to wait a few weeks. It doesn't make any sense to me. I also want to raise awareness of mental health issues so help people recognize mental health issues in their friends and in other people. I also have the courage to go and get help themselves which is why it makes a lot of sense to teach other people to recognize mental health issues so they can actually talk to them first and see if they're getting up. I want to decrease the doctor fees back down from 20-year-old to 10-year-old. Rag week, I want to not necessarily get rid of it but have different rag events throughout the year so that we have more of a chance to get donations going. Rag week is very hard to implement in this college just because it's a city college so I think this will get more donations. There's more things on my manifesto so if you read my Facebook page you can read up on them. I wouldn't make any of these promises if I didn't know that I can follow through with them so vote for me for welfare on Wednesday and Thursday at least. Thank you very much guys. Question number one. You have 30 seconds to respond. How will you make yourself approachable to regular students? A lot of people feel that there is a click and the spots aren't approachable especially if you're in the engineering or science faculties. I thought I had 30 seconds. Oh right, okay. A massive part of my manifesto is that I want to embrace all faculties. I want to make that known. I want to be able to say to all the faculties whatever workload that they have that they can come up and talk to me. I think that also that's very approachable and I'm a very approachable person. I'm always happy to sit and talk to people if they need to talk to me. Anybody from any faculty, be it engineering, nursing, I will find the time, I will work around their academic workload and I will sit and talk to them if they need to. I won't approach the faculties because I already have. I've already established connections with each single faculty. I'm friends with all of the class reps. I know exactly what's going on in each faculty. They're for everyone already so I don't know why I shouldn't continue to do so. Also my idea of giving out the cards to every single faculty so they will be aware of who I am and they can contact me whenever they want. Being part of engineering, I do know exactly what to talk about. When you're, for example, even for society things, there's no posters open in those buildings. I do have lectures in the nursing building as well. There's just no coverage of any even events and things like that. So to promote events way more in those buildings and make sure that they know that it's not just for whatever the humanities kind of faculty and all the other faculties and also put up posturing and videos to make sure that they know that they can just come up and talk to me. As an active DCU class rep, I have noticed a disengagement of many students with student life outside of balls and the few activities of clubs and socks. If elected, how do you propose to tackle apathy that has grown over the last number of years and increased engagement? I think a brilliant way to tackle apathy these days is by using social networking. Facebook, Twitter, everything like that. People listen to you when you're on them. People look at them, if you get them shared, if you get things trending, people look at them. Yes, you have an amazing networking system that I would utilize for my best abilities as well to make sure that people get involved, do what they can, vote whatever it is that's happening. They come to everything that they can do. I think that some of the original ideas that I mentioned earlier would involve people who don't usually go to events. So the ideas such as gratitude and the walk and talk, these happen during the day. They're not night-time events. They allow people to get involved and be aware of who their students union are. Like Katherine was saying, social media, like-and-share competitions are great. They have good awareness of events out. And also, I think students that don't go to these things are normally people who are stuck in lectures all day. So have a little bit of an advertising section at the start of lectures. While the lectures are setting up, maybe just one or two people from the SU go around the lectures and say, make them aware of the events. Okay. Next question. If elected, what do you plan to do to support the Irish language on campus and off campus? Being an Irish and journalism student and hopefully if I get elected a graduate, I would certainly strive to promote the Irish language. I have done since I was in first year. I speak Irish as much as I can on campus. And I would certainly assure that anything that I do would be available bilingually if requested or before it's requested. I'm not going to start this in a very long time, but I want to start as Irish to change, I want to post here to be an Irish, I want to start at Chalk na Goelga, which is basically accommodation for Irish speakers. These questions are getting from now. I want to basically just include Irish in every single piece of media that goes out. There's not only one form of language that goes out, but there's a lot of languages that are not that goes out. There's no reason why a poster can't just be made out of English and then have dollars written under it like all of our road signs and like everything else we have in Ireland. Keishtella. Each of the candidates mentions prioritising mental health. What in your belief is the most effective way you can achieve this? In my opinion the best way to achieve positive mental health on campus is by banishing all the views that surround it. Some people might be embarrassed that they're not okay but like I said in my manifesto it's okay to not be okay. People need to know that, people need to talk. I will assure that people do. I think an open door policy is obviously one of the most important things. I'm there to be utilised and there to offer information to give support. I will never give advice. I will only ever offer you the different options that are available to you. Also I think inter-society events are crucial in getting rid of mental issues, not getting rid of mental issues, but helping us delve into these issues and solve them hopefully together through for electivities. We need to make sure everyone knows okay to have mental health issues. As I was saying earlier on we also need to help people recognise mental health issues in their friends and in other individuals so that they can maybe point them in the right direction to go get help as well as maybe point them in my direction. I can tell them exactly where to go to the councillor in ECU which will have reduced waiting times if I get elected. Now we get into the questions that are like Russian roulette. How does your involvement with the Students' Union, if any, set you aside from the other candidate for the role of welfare officer? I've been involved with the Students' Union since I started college here. My main involvement this year was during Rag Week. I was one of the bridehounds in the mock wedding which helped raise over 800 or 8,000 euro for all the charities in ECU. I am constantly sharing their events on Facebook and making sure that people know that the SU are there so that when I am hopefully in position next year people will know that I'm there. Thank you. As a current member of the Students' Union executive I feel that my experience goes unrivaled to my other candidates. I establish a clubs and societies information date at the beginning of the year with Kenneth the club's officer and I think that my entire time spent here has contributed massively to the Students' community and that's why I think that my position would benefit me. I think the fact that I haven't been involved much in the SU stands me as I can bring a fresh view on things to everyone. I've been looking at the SU from an outside point of view all these years. In my opinion it is quite quickly I would strive to take that barrier down between the SU and the Students. Given the recent decision of DCU students to re-affiliate the USI, outline your plans for the year ahead in that regard. I would do everything that the SU would. I would stand with the DCU stands on everything as well for officer. I would let my own personal opinions, I wouldn't let them affect anything that I need to do as well for officer. I would go to conferences, I would do what I have to do that DCU, SU and the students would want me to do. I think that USI affiliation is the most important for the welfare officer in that they help us with campaign materials to help us organise protests, t-shirts, posters, whatever. I think that I would benefit the most as a welfare officer with the USI affiliation. I want to make sure students know that they can come to me to voice their concerns that will actually, on their pathway into USI so that I can be a spokesperson for them and carry through any of their thoughts or feelings into the USI and get them implemented. Everybody managed to avoid answering that question. Happy days. Okay, moving swiftly on. How would you empathise with a student who has a personal issue? As a student, I would emphasise very, I would emphasise excellently with students who had an issue as every student has issues. I've been through things myself. I'm able to see where people are coming from and I would also facilitate them as best I could in any way. Once again, I'll put my personal views aside. I'll facilitate them in anything they need and if an answer isn't there, I will create one with them because sometimes you can't find an answer. You just have to make one. I think empathy means that you know how the other person feels. We don't know how that person's feeling. All I can do is offer all available counselling services and resources that are available so I offer support. I would not empathise because I don't know how they feel. I'd make it clear to them all of the options available to them on campus or off campus and do anything in my power to actually come to a resolution to their problem. As you said, I agree with it. I don't know exactly how they feel unless I've been through it with them myself, which is very unlikely. There's no point in saying I can cure their problem, but I know exactly, I can point them in the right direction to fix it for them. A pointed question next, but I'll allow it. One of the candidates mentioned looking to seek to reduce the doctorate from 20-year-old to 10-year-old. Given that the health service was this year faced with increasing the charge to students or reducing the amount of doctors that were available, I can't reach a writing, so I'm like winging this. Reduce the doctor on campus to a three-day week. I cannot read the writing of whoever this is. Sorry. This is a scroll. Have I got the gist of it? So, okay. If it didn't cost 20-year-old now, there would have been a reduction in the days that the doctors were available on campus for three days a week. Where would you propose to find the additional finances needed to reduce it from 20-year-old to 10-year-old? As you said, it appeared to be a bit of a point of question, but I'll do my best with it. This is something that I will investigate. I understand that these people are here to help students, so they're not doing this to be spiteful. There's a reason that they're doing it, and if it was a matter of investigating it and then communicating with them, I'm sure there could be a positive outcome to it. But as I said, they're not doing it to spite it. It's not more expensive just because it could be. It's expensive because it has to be. If it's investigated and communicated with me as well for an officer, I'll do my best to do the best for every student. Personally, I think I would be in favour of having the doctors open three days a week at a 10-year-old because students don't need it. It's not a daily requirement. I think it's maybe monthly or bi-monthly, so I would be more in favour of 10-year-old every three days. And as well for an officer also, I will definitely investigate any means that we can reduce the fee because I think the fact that it's only 10-year-old students can't afford to go to the doctor, so I will try my best to keep it that way. Having been involved in an event organisation for quite a few large events inside and outside campus, I know how profitable they can be. There's no reason why we can't move profit from those events to fund our healthcare. I don't agree with taking them down to three days, but I also don't agree with it being 20-year-old. That 10-year-old could be the difference between what they see as a minor problem checked out and having a go and notice, so I don't want to compromise on this at all. I will do my best to find funding for it. Before I go on, apologies to Karen. I thought it was your question because it was your name written on the top of it. Now, I'm going to ask a question. As a former four-term sabbatical officer, I know exactly what it's like to be a sabbatical officer in the Students' Union. I know what it's like to get heart-breaking stories coming to your door. What support mechanisms do you have in your life to deal with a heartbreak that will come to your door? I'm sorry, I don't fully understand the question. Do you ask me what support systems we have at home? Okay. I totally agree. Support systems is very important, and when you are a support system for students, as I will strive to be for students as well as a support system for them, I have a fantastic support system. I have a very close group of friends who will support me through anything. They're supporting me now through this campaign. I have a fantastic family at home who will support me through anything as well. I've been through things in my life. They've supported me, and I would strive to do that for anyone else that I can do if I become a welfare officer. I think I'd like to take from them the opportunities that they've given me and the support they've given me and hopefully be that person to somebody else. Even if it's a stranger, I'll make myself not be a stranger. I will offer everything to them so I can be their support. I've actually got a large support group that will just support me to anything. Through society is actually which proves that just because there's thousands of members or whatever it doesn't mean that you can't support a welfare officer. I've always elected a welfare officer. I'd pull the campus together so that we'd feel we could go through each other with their problems. Student union positions are often thankless jobs. I know from experience in my now 14 years involved in student politics. It's very important that people realise that when you're a position such as a welfare officer that it chips at you. It chips at you a lot. So it's very brave for people to run for the position of welfare officer. It's very brave for a person to finish the role of welfare officer. It's a very difficult job. I'd like to thank all the candidates for participating and I'd like to thank them for their bravery. Thank you very much.