Aisling Curtis | Senior Staff Writer
Dublin City University (DCU) will hold a referendum regarding re-affiliation with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) on the 26th and 27th of February. The referendum is the result of a motion passed in DCU’s Class Rep Council on Wednesday the 12th.
A previous referendum on re-affiliation was held in February of last year. Despite returning a 55% “yes” vote in favour of affiliation, the referendum was declared void by then-DCU Students’ Union President Paul Doherty in April due to a constitutional violation. As laid out in Article 9.1.6 of their constitution, DCUSU is obligated to post the wording of proposed constitutional changes and promote each referendum, which they failed to do.
Campaigning is set to begin on Wednesday the 19th, with USI and a number of Students’ Unions to participate in the “yes” campaign. Last year, Doherty expressed the view that allowing USI Officers to campaign on campus had significantly affected the outcome, stating at the time: “Given that the deciding result was so close it [USI officers canvassing] probably was the deciding factor.” Nevertheless, current DCUSU President, Aaron Clogher, has permitted USI to campaign on campus.
USI President Joe O’Connor has welcomed the referendum, stating that if the “yes” campaign succeeds he will be “immensely proud”. In an email to SU Sabbatical Officers and USI Officers he acknowledged that “this is arguably the biggest referendum in the history of USI, certainly for [this] generation of sabbatical officers.
“Let this referendum be the litmus test for the progress we have made, the work we have put in and our achievements together over the course of this year so far,” he said.
DCU originally disaffiliated from USI in 2002, citing four major catalysts behind this decision, including issues with the awarding of full voting status to Northern Ireland colleges; troubles with the student travel company USIT; disagreement with the USI Constitution; and suspicion of financial irregularities.
In recent years, USI has implemented a number of reforms that it hopes will make it more appealing to a greater number of Students’ Unions. According to O’Connor, a positive result would be “the first step towards a fully united national Union”, an outcome which USI has been pursuingAft over the last few years.
