'USI Membership Improves SU Performance'

Former CITSU President Danny O’Donovan tells Barry Aldworth that USI were a help after affiliation.Membership of the USI leads to improved Students’ Union performance, not only when dealing with students but also in liaisons with senior staff,  claimed former two-term CITSU President Danny O’Donovan in the lead up to UCC’s vote.After 14 years out of the USI, CIT students opted to re-affiliate at the end of O’Donovan’s first term as President. Despite this lengthy period of isolation, the former CITSU president highlighted that students had rarely been offered a platform upon which they could have their say on USI, leading the CITSU Council to call a campus-wide vote.For O’Donovan, the additional insight, knowledge and support offered by USI membership helped to improve his performance during his second-term, as he noted that during his first year he found it “far more difficult to get high level information or the ‘inside scoop’ on academic and welfare issues.” Furthermore, with limited ability to discuss matters with other SUs and members of the USI officer board, O’Donovan acknowledged that he often felt at a disadvantage when debating with senior staff due to the experience gap.

'...students had rarely been offered a platform upon which they could have their say on USI.'

On the day of CIT’s vote, UCC students formed the backbone of the ‘Yes’ campaign: “There was a strong presence from the ‘Yes’ side on campus but predominately made up of our good neighbours in UCC.” This played a crucial role in the vote passing by a two-thirds majority.This decision allowed O’Donovan to perform at a much higher level during his second term, as he highlighted that the biggest advantage of membership was the ability to “talk to our counterparts from around the country, comparing notes and gaining better insights in the third level sector.”  In addition, the new ideas which emerged from these discussions ensured that O’Donovan and his fellow SU officers found that they were in a better position to offer CIT students a “quality educational and extra-curricular experience.”Finally, O’Donovan highlighted that the access to the Higher Education Authority and its material, in addition to more frequent discussion with his peers from other institutions greatly improved his performance when engaging in debates with staff:“Personally, I found that my performance at a senior level significantly improved as I was not only better engaged in senior dialogue, but I also was a lot better in my delivery as I was now reciting points from discussion that I would have had many times before with my peers.”