Duo elected as part-time SU Officers | Elaine Healy Rae

Last week saw the election of both the Postgraduate and International Rights Officers to the Students’ Union in UCC. Both non-sabbatical roles were highly contested, with each competitor working hard to prove why they should be elected to the Union.The Postgraduate elections took place Wednesday last, the 30th of October. Both contenders for the position, David Terence McCarthy and Claire O’Connell, were put through their paces by the 41 students who came to cast their ballot. Both spoke confidently and clearly about why they should be chosen as the officer for the coming year.McCarthy was elected with 25 votes in his favour and 15 votes for O’Connell. One vote was spoiled on the night.The International Rights Officer elections took place a day previous. The turnout for this election was lower, with 32 unspoilt votes cast.The result was Rebecca Ssanyu 8 votes and Kevin Devey 24 votes, with Devey elected as the new representative.Thus, two elections that were contested by a male and female candidate in each produced two male officers for the year.In his speech, Devey highlighted the crossover between International Rights and the other Rights positions on the Equality Group, in particular with regard to McCarthy’s position and Tomás Kiely as Mature Students’ Officer.He went on to outline how his plans revolve around the issue of integration into the community for both International Students coming into UCC and Irish Students going abroad.