Aisling Curtis | Contributing Writer
The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) Dublin, have decided to hold a referendum on whether or not they should re-affiliate with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).
The referendum will be held alongside a corresponding referendum concerning NCAD’s new constitution. A vote will be put to students at NCAD’s AGM either at the end of this semester or early next semester.
According to Eoghan Shankey-Smith, President of NCAD Students’ Union, this referendum will be held in order to allow students to hear “what USI can offer them”. The SU are planning “a series of heated debates and discussions” in the lead-up to the referendum. It is hoped that this will allow students to make an informed decision with regards to re-affiliation.
Students need to know “what USI can offer them”.
Beginning in August, USI and NCADSU have met on a number of occasions. NCAD also sent students to USI’s National Day of Action on 1 October, and a delegation will attend Pink Training 21 in Belfast next week. Joe O’Connor, President of USI, has called this referendum a “very positive development”. He stated that USI membership is “very beneficial for small colleges”, as USI provides training and support for local Students’ Unions, as well as valuable national representation.
O’Connor also acknowledged a clear benefit for USI if NCAD re-affiliates. He asserted that “we believe in the mantra “together we are stronger’” and that the collaboration of a greater proportion of Students’ Unions gives USI more weight on a national platform.
NCAD dis-affiliated from USI over an extended period between 2004 and 2009. The then-NCADSU President, Frank Wasser, cited multiple reasons for the split – including being unable to pay USI’s bill, as well as significant dissatisfaction with the Bologna reform that was “fully embraced by USI despite concerns from students and academics across the country, particularly at NCAD.”
NCADSU President says he will remain “entirely impartial on the subject”.
The current NCADSU has taken a neutral stance with regard to the proposed referendum. Shankey-Smith told The University Times that he remains “entirely impartial on the subject” and hopes that students will make a personal, independent choice on the matter. The sole role of NCADSU in this referendum is to ensure that students are informed about the benefits and consequences of USI membership.
NCAD is not the only college that USI hopes will re-affiliate over the next year. According to O’Connor, USI is in the process of implementing a number of internal reforms that should serve to make it more appealing to an increased number of Students’ Unions. The Union is currently engaging with the University of Limerick and Dublin City University, with referendums regarding their affiliation anticipated in the second semester of this year.
A number of smaller colleges, such as Griffith College and All Hallows College, have also expressed an interest in joining USI. In addition, O’Connor hopes to approach University College Dublin next semester, as he believes the ongoing USI reforms “should be attractive to UCD” following their disaffiliation at the end of last year.
