UCC ‘No’ to USI would affect all members

*Updated 22/01/15 following UCC Philosophical Society's Debate on USI Membership*Should UCC students opt to vote against re-affiliating with the Union of Students in Ireland, the loss will be felt not only by the union but by all of its members, said USI President Laura Harmon as campaigns prepared for next week’s vote.UCC first re-affiliated with the USI in 1999, after spending 16 years acting independent of the union. Currently the cost of affiliation stands at €5 per full-time student and €2.50 per part-time student, with the amount paid by UCC to USI in affiliation fees totalling €85,235 for the 2013/4 academic year. In addition to affiliation costs, UCC also paid another €21,062.38 last year to cover USI-related expenses on items such as travel and accommodation to National Council meetings, buses, t-shirts for USI campaigns, conference fees for National Congress and officer training events.On the cost of membership, Harmon added that at less than ten cent per week per student the cost of membership is low, “but when it’s all concentrated in one cause it can achieve a lot.” In return for this cost, members receive a variety of benefits such as representation at meetings of the Higher Education Authority, as well as training for sabbatical officers and access to events such as Pink Training, an event for LGBT* students and allies.https://twitter.com/UCCExpress/status/557614702759772160However, UCCSU Business & Law College Rep Marcus Knuttson argued that what USI offers does not justify the cost of membership, highlighting a particular disappointment among members of the SU about the quality of the training they had received: “I spoke to our Sabbats after this year’s training – some really enjoyed it and some didn’t enjoy it at all – but by all accounts it was underwhelming and not worth the thousands of euro it cost to attend and the time lost by being away from their offices.”In addition to the financial aspect of the USI, students will have to consider the effectiveness of the organisation in representing UCC and also the value of USI-run events, such as Pink Training. Harmon stated that should UCC opt to leave the national union not only would students “not be able to attend USI training events” but they would also lose the ability to “shape the direction of the national student movement.” She added that the group is prepared to “cut its cloth to suit its measure” by moving on with or without UCC.In response to the possible loss of access to Pink Training, Markus Knuttson claimed that while the event offers great support to people campaigning for equal rights for the LGBT* community, the denial of entry to non-members was wrong. He highlighted that students attending the event had to pay a separate fee, in addition to the overall affiliation fees paid by their university, before adding that he “would like to see Pink Training continue and get better year on year and have the ability to attend whether we’re in USI or not; that seems like the fairest option to me.”Knuttson continued by questioning the effectiveness of USI’s protesting, highlighting the failure to effectively tackle fees and prevent the abolition of the Maintenance Grant for postgraduate students. In addition, the Business & Law Rep criticised the USI for having “patted themselves on the back” when the government announced no further cuts to the undergraduate Maintenance Grant in 2014, instead of fighting for the reversal of previous cuts.Laura Harmon, herself a UCC graduate, highlighted that disaffiliation by UCC would only divide the student movement, claiming that “the students of Ireland are the strongest when we are most unified.”Furthermore, Harmon noted that the USI holds the only student seat on the Higher Education Authority, which allows its members to directly shape the future of education in Ireland, claiming member institutions “put their priorities and their needs forward to the people who make decisions about the education system.”Speaking at the UCC Philosophical Society’s debate on USI membership Harmon emphasised that she is "100% UCC and 100% USI," again highlighting that the student movement was significantly greater when unified. Stating that the upcoming referendum should not be viewed as UCC vs. USI, Harmon pointed to the fact that the difficulties faced by UCC students are the same as those faced by students in Trinity College Dublin, Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and IT Sligo, and that these issues could only truly be fought by a united student movement.Also supporting re-affiliation with the national union was former two-term CITSU President Danny O'Donovan, who claimed that USI provided "insurance on your education" by fighting against fee hikes and maintenance cuts, whilst also assisting individual student unions around the country on the issues seen in their colleges.https://twitter.com/UCCExpress/status/557604955419590657O'Donovan highlighted the isolation CIT had felt during its time outside the USI insisting that in return for the low membership fees student receive a greatly improved Students' Union and a better college experience. This point was echoed by Harmon who stated that in return for a fee of €5 per full time student, and €2.50 per part-time student, members received approximately €48000 in core materials, as well as reduced prices for USI training events and the support of a national union.However, Enactus Society Auditor Niall McCarthy hit back at this idea, claiming membership of the USI was far too expensive for UCC when the services they provide are considered. McCarthy criticised the USI for a consistent failure to reform, stating that the union had vowed to make changed since 1998 but had failed to act on any of these promises. Concluding his speech, McCarthy questioned the claims of unity put forward by Harmon stating that the USI had failed to unite Students' Unions, but also individual students around the country.https://twitter.com/UCCExpress/status/557605436254609408Rob Cas, also speaking against re-affiliation criticised the USI for its efforts to portray the fact that the maintenance grant was not cut in the recent budget as a win, despite the fact that the grant had been cut in previous years.  Cas also criticised the USI's inability to effectively fight fees, stating that the cost of a university education had risen year on year since the end of the Celtic Tiger.https://twitter.com/UCCExpress/status/557608909465477120Among the approximately 50 audience members two issues appeared to be key in UCC's decision; financial transparency and the need for USI to reform. On the topic of financial transparency Harmon highlighted that the USI presented its budget at National Congress each year, and is currently in the process of making this information available online. Cas, however, argued that all members deserved to know where their money was going, claiming that without financial transparency UCC should not re-affiliate.https://twitter.com/dm_waugh/status/557606607778222083The referendum on USI membership, set to take place over next Monday and Tuesday, will likely have a drastically different feel to it when compared to previous referenda. In response to fears that the USI would dominate the campus, the Students’ Union Council opted to place several restrictions on those who can push for a ‘Yes’ vote, including limiting USI presence to the eight members of the officer board or their representatives.In addition, the sabbatical officers of the UCCSU have taken a stance of neutrality on the issue, with officers only eligible to campaign for either side if they take two days of leave from their duties. Images by: Emmet Curtin