FEE QUB Activists Elected to Student Council

Eight activists from Free Education for Everyone in Queens University Belfast were elected to the Student Council in elections which were held yesterday. 

The establishment of FEE QUB along with FEE Derry over the last year has now made the Free Education for Everyone Campaign an island wide cause, fighting austerity cuts by two different governments.

FEE Student Council Poster

The group ran ten candidates in three faculties: Postgraduate, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and in Engineering and Physical Sciences. Each faculty had at least one candidate elected to each and represents approximately 8% of the student council.

Branch Secretary Tiarnán Ó Muilleoir, who was also elected under Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences said “it’s a great day for FEE in Queens” and “represents a willingness for students to engage in grassroots activism as a way to protest against savage cuts in education”.

FEE QUB is one of the newest branches of the campaign group to emerge and the success in this election “is testament to the groups hard work over the last year” says activist Tyler McNally.

The engagement of FEE in student elections is nothing new. Last year FEE UCD and FEE Galway ran candidates in Exec elections. While none were successful in UCD, three activists were elected to part time exec positions in NUIG.

With the Fine Gael/Labour budget fast approaching, it is likely we are to see FEE activities across the country in the next few months.

-Pádraig McCarrick

Join The Observer Community:

WordPress  Facebook  Twitter Tumblr Youtube Google+

NUIM Exec ’11: Are You Running?

I love the smell of democracy in the morning…. Dave Ryan explains how the election season will be covered, and makes an offer to all candidates.

Exec elections are fast approaching, and with a General Election next week, busy season has certainly begun.

Today’s announcement that Keith Broni will run for the position of VP Comms & Dev is the first of what will be many many news items to appear in the next couple of weeks, and we will be keeping you aware of it as best we can….

BUT FIRST, we at The Observer would like to make an offer to all candidates who run in this year’s election.

General Election 2011: Election Primer

Our first acquisition of the January transfer window, Padraig McCarrick, kicks off our General Election coverage

It’s hard not to be apathetic towards politicians, voting and just democracy in general at a time like this. It becomes especially so when over the last two weeks, every hour churns out a new development in the three-ring circus that is Irish politics. Instead of the important economic and social issues at hand, we have all been sucked into the Fianna Fail merry-go-round making it all about them. While opponents seek to land another blow on a party that seems to be in complete disarray, the actual issues at hand seem to be becoming of lesser importance. By the time the canvassing is in full swing, you can bet that candidates will be more concerned with ‘getting Fianna Fail out’ rather than bringing anything positive to voters.

Do-Over!

Dave Ryan on 1st Year Rep controversy

Bit late to the bat on this, but owing to what MSU officials are calling a ‘computer error’, NUIM 1st year rep elections are having a do-over. Ruaidhri Boland, who had controversially won the first election by only three votes, will now have to return to the campaign trail, along with those he bested in the contest, Kate Jackson and third placed Allana. On top of that, nominations have been re-opened. Details on that here.

For the record, the results last time were: Ruaidhri: 210, Kate: 207, Alanna: 32.

*****************

In other news, yesterday’s planned Union Council meeting has been rescheduled until next Tuesday November 16 at lunchtime.

–Dave Ryan

studentobserverireland@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/stobserver

Facebook.com, just search ‘The Student Observer’

Tell your friends!