Coffey for President
Coffey for President
Contents
Who the devil are you? ..................................................................................................................... 3
UCC RAG .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Library ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Hours ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Plugs.................................................................................................................................................. 5
Equality ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Accountability ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Student Health .................................................................................................................................... 8
Mental Health................................................................................................................................... 8
Emergency Contraception ........................................................................................................... 8
Satellite Campuses/ Peripheral ...................................................................................................... 8
An Ghaeilge ......................................................................................................................................... 9
SU Enterprises and Ents .......................................................................................................................... 9
Enterprise ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Events .................................................................................................................................................. 9
Coffey for President
Who the devil are you?
Story, how are ye all! Aidan Coffey’s my name, and I want to be your SU President next
year!
I’ll tell you a bit about myself. I’m 22, and I’m from Ahiohill,
between Bandon and Clonakilty - that wonderful part of West
Cork where its still very pretty, but you’re close enough to
come up to Cork on a single tank of petrol. I’m a 4th year
medicine student, and I’ve loved getting stuck into student life
since coming to UCC in 2011. I’ve been class rep, Med and
Health College Rep, Student Council Chair, in addition to
being Auditor of the Surgeon Noonan Society this year. Now I
want to bring all that experience to the role of President, and
kick this SU into gear.
I’ve always loved politics, debating, working with teams and
committees, raising a rake of money for charity, organising
stuff, representing my school or society or whatever. Whatever it is I do, I do to the
absolute best of my ability. Which is pretty convenient really - that’s what the role of
President involves.
I couldn’t give a rattlers about the title - I’m going into this role next year to manage a
great team like they’ve never been managed before, achieve things that haven’t been
achieved before. For me, it’s all about the team - we’ll work harder and more efficiently
than ever before, and deliver like never before.
I don’t spend all of my time writing manifestos, you know. I love playing a bit of music guitar, piano, I’d even chance a bit of singing too! (The saxophone is the newest
instrument on the go - I would highly recommend it!) I play a bit of sport too, soccer here
with UCC, GAA back home with St. Oliver Plunketts, and a bit of surfing whenever I get
the chance!
So have a sconce through my manifesto, there’s a lot going on, I know, but elect me and
there’ll be alot going on in UCC!
Hop on board - it’s gonna be big.
Le meas,
Aidan
Coffey for President
UCC RAG
RAG Week is one of the highlights of the year for loads of students, and rightly so. For
some, it represents a chance to get involved in charity fundraising for the first time. For
others, it provides a surreal college experience for a week, filled with adventure, action
and socialising. When else would you whip off your clothes in front of the Honan, and
sprint around campus? Or clamber onto a platform and wait for your friends to peg
missiles at you and dunk you into a tank of freezing water? Or allow yourself to be
auctioned off in front of hundreds of students in the Amphitheatre? Etc etc etc, you get
the idea - RAG Week is pretty cool! Students are generally fairly sound on the nights out
and don’t cause much trouble. And each year, it raises thousands of euro for charity,
which is great! Lots of positives, right?
Why then, do we resign ourselves to a single week of it? Wouldn’t it be much more
craic for everyone, if we took that sense of adventure and exploration, and continued it
throughout the year? What if students decided to do sponsored cycles, mud runs, river
raft races, parachute jumps, all year around? We’d smash the records for fundraising
and raise UCC’s charitable profile to unprecedented levels!
Less is more, as they say, so as President, I’m going to turn ‘UCC RAG Week’ into,
simply, ‘UCC RAG’. I plan on shifting the emphasis from the SU simply organising one
week’s activities, to students, organising whatever mad events they can dream up, all
year around!
Here’s how it’s going to work:
 Preparatory work over summer 2015. UCC RAG kicks off September 2015. A
number of charities for the year will be selected at this time - these will be the
beneficiaries of UCC RAG.
 Students are encouraged, and assisted, to organise whatever events they like as big or as small, as passive or as active as they want. You’re our RAG
Champs - let your imagination run wild!
 Proceeds of these events contribute to the UCC RAG fund.
 These events run throughout the year, led by students, with SU and Ents
assistance and promotion wherever required.
 RAG Week takes place as normal in February, with its usual programme of
madcap events, - the highlight of an action packed year of activity, and the
cherry on top of our fundraising efforts!
 Fundraising and student led events ongoing until April.
 May - The fund is totalled, we’ve raised loads of money, everyone’s had a
great year, it’s fantastic!
I’m the SU President that will deliver this better than anyone else.
I’ve a year’s experience of exclusive fundraising as Auditor of Surgeon Noonan - a
medical aid and volunteering society for 4th Med students. We’ve raised €100,000 so
far - since August, with 30 students.
Imagine what our student community of 20,000 could achieve?
UCC RAG ‘15/’16 - It’s Gonna Be Big.
Coffey for President
Library
Hours
The introduction of semesterisation last year led to huge demand on library space. Not
that the University copped it, until Joe Kennedy, Education Officer and the rest of the SU
led the hugely successful and widely supported #LetUsStudy campaign and secured
major improvements in Boole opening hours.
As Med and Health Rep last year, I pushed for earlier opening hours in Brookfield
library, and delivered, with the support of the SU. I’ll continue to monitor the library
situation in Brookfield closely (I’ve been stuck studying down there often enough!). With
my experience sitting on the committees in the College of Medicine and Health, I’m the
President best placed to protect Brookfield’s interests. Progress is also ongoing on
increasing CUH library hours - this should be concluded in the next few months.
Great work was done on the library last year, and the officers deserve great credit. Now
however, it’s time to build on past successes, and to move towards a 24 hour study
space in the Fishbowl. This will not be an easy or a quick process, there are various
complicating and confounding factors at play, including trade union negotiations and
budgetary considerations. I’m the President who knows how to get the ball rolling on
this and make some real progress.
Plugs
Last year, the focus was on opening hours. This year, the target shifts to plugs in the
Boole. During exam time, students are screaming out for plugs in the old part of the
library. Considering so much material is delivered online, via Blackboard or online
resources, it seems nonsensical for there to be a lack of plugs for charging laptops and
phones and other gadgets. One plug for every seven students isn’t good enough.
This year’s SU demonstrated what can be done with a focused team and plan - I know
who to target, and how to get it done. Here’s my 5 point plan:
1. Written feedback will be sought from students, about the impact that the lack of
plugs has on their studies and student experience - then, we have something
concrete to bring to management.
2. Meeting with the Library Users Committee at the earliest opportunity to discuss
these concerns.
3. Seek a feasibility report from Buildings/Estates into the installation of sockets.
4. Meet with the Registrar to discuss the issue.
5. Social media campaign if required.
Coffey for President
Equality
Equality in UCC is a hugely important issue for me, and should be to any serious
candidate. Anyone who thinks that equality has been achieved in UCC is sadly
mistaken. Unfortunately there are still occurrences of intolerant behaviour towards
people of certain gender, sexual orientation or those with disability. These views evolve
with society - and I believe we’re moving in the right direction. What the SU can do, and
what I will ensure as President, is that we lead from the front with Equality issues.
Input from the Equality Officer and Equality Working Group will be sought in relation to
SU and University business. I look forward to working with a progressive Deputy and
Campaigns Officer, hopefully in the exciting few months following a Yes vote in the
Marriage Equality Referendum. This is a wonderful time to promote equality issues - the
youth of Ireland is engaged like never before, and we must seize this opportunity to
advance the equality agenda, for example the area of Transgender Rights. Gender
should be self-identifying, and I envisage a Union next year that does not rely on binary
gender. For example, the Student Hub, the new multimillion centre at the heart of
campus due to commence construction next year, should have gender-neutral
bathrooms. This will be one small but significant step that we can take to make UCC
more inclusive.
At Orientation lectures for the incoming first years, I’ll be letting students know that
coming to college is a big change, but they’re in UCC now, and UCC is inclusive. A
Pride flag flies from our building and that UCCSU and especially the Welfare Officer are
ready to provide whatever help is needed in a sensitive and non-judgmental manner.
I’d like to examine and address the underrepresentation of women in the Students’
Union. Yet again, male candidates far outnumber females this year. However there’s
great encouragement to be taken from the high levels of interest in the ‘Women for
Election’ workshop earlier last month. Unfortunately, a gender imbalance exists when it
comes to running for the Students’ Union.
Finally, I will ensure that any officer in the SU is fully aware of the standards of
behaviour expected of them, and that ‘lad culture’ is unacceptable.
Coffey for President
Accountability
Students’ Union officers are paid for their year’s work. This means there have to be
certain expectations and standards met by the officers. As President I’ll be doing a
few things to ensure this.
 I’ll have a calendar of the Union’s meetings and agenda for the week in
reception, available for viewing. If you call into the office, and we’re not there,
you’ll be able to see where we are, and when we’ll be back.
 I’m the person to get the most out of your SU team. How’ll I do this? By setting
the bar and standard for everyone so high, and by hitting the ground running
straight away in July. I’m gearing up for a high octane and savage exciting year early mornings, late evenings, and churning out more work than an SU has ever
done before, so much so, the officers won’t be able to wait to get back into the
office the next morning!
 I see a role for all officers in next year’s SU - full time, part time, class reps and
any student who wants to get involved! I’ll be pushing for College Reps
especially, to become more involved in their college, and start drafting and
formulating their own plans and policies. The more of us working together and
sharing ideas, the better a year it’ll be for everyone!
 The SU should hold informal preferendums, to gauge student opinion on
certain topics. This would be done through a quick link on the All Students email,
and will provide very quick feedback to the SU about what students want. This is
the way it should be - the SU needs to be all about what students want.
 I was Student Council Chairperson this year, and together with the Education
Officer, we fixed Council.
o We’ve streamlined it - less debate about non-contentious motions, more
time for the serious motions.
o We introduced an Items for Discussion agenda item - now, class reps
can ask questions of the officers and everyone can have their say like
never before. With this, we’ve managed to get great feedback regarding
Wifi and Library hours - Council is doing its job.
o We resurrected the Council Blackboard module online, for easier sharing
of documents.
o Every mandate passed is now delivered to the relevant officer, and
available for public viewing on the SU website.
o Council is now a standing item at the Exec meeting before Council, where
the officers are reminded of motions passed mandating them to action.
o As President next year, Council will go from strength to strength.
 The President is the Chief Financial Officer of the SU. As Surgeon Noonan
Auditor, this year I’ve been responsible for fundraising and proper accountability
of over €100,000. As President, I’d like to see Exec and Student Council to play a
greater role in discussing the finances of the Union. At end of the day though, the
buck stops with me - and I’m the best person to ensure proper spending by the
SU.
 Each year, the huge flux of officers leaving and entering office can lead to huge
shifts in focus and standards. I plan to draw up a Strategic Plan for the next 5
years - not to bind future Unions to courses of action, but to guide them and
make the transitions from year to year smoother.
 I plan on establishing a Constitutional Review Group, to examine UCCSU’s
constitution and whether it still accurately reflects and represents the Union.
Coffey for President
I can tell you this - elect me as President, and watch the Union go from strength to
strength with new standards of productivity and smash expectations.
Student Health
Mental Health
Student Health, and especially Mental Health, will be a top priority for me as President
next year. The impact of semesterisation and the extra exams have seen a large spike in
referrals to Student Counselling and Development (SCD).
Around 6% of UCC students attend counselling at some stage in the year - it’s vital that
this service is sufficiently resourced. As President, I commit to throwing the full weight
of the Union behind this wonderful service, and fighting for extra resources.
We’re always being told to talk if we’re feeling low or upset - as SU President, I’ll ensure
that all officers are trained to listen too. I’d like to work with the Clubs and Socs, in
offering ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) to captains and auditors, as
well as SU officers. These are the leaders of student life in UCC - they need to be able
to spot the signs when someone’s not okay.
Emergency Contraception
The current charge for emergency contraception in UCC threatens to leave women in
a very difficult situation, with the worry and stress of facing a potential unplanned
pregnancy, because they can’t afford the €20/25 charge for the morning-after pill. As
President, and as a Union, we cannot stand by and allow financial considerations
colour the use of the emergency contraception. With the Deputy and Campaigns Officer
and Welfare Officer behind me, we can ensure that anyone placed in the difficult
situation of requiring emergency contraception can do so, without worrying about
money.
Satellite Campuses/ Peripheral
Not everyone realises it, there’s life in UCC outside of the Quad! Each year, huge
numbers of students receive their education away from Main Campus. This includes
students on hospital placement, work placement, Erasmus and at satellite campuses
around the city.
As a medical student, I’ve spent most of the last two year off campus. The standards
expected at these UCC sites are no different to the ones we’d all expect on Main
Campus.
 Clinical sites in UCC teaching hospitals need to be up to scratch and up to date.
 Students receiving the majority of their lectures in Brookfield, Western Gateway,
CUH, Architecture Building, Connolly Building, North Mall can expect the same
level of representation from me as someone in main campus.
 This means a Union demanding suitable work space, and relaxation space,
and the return of the microwave to Brookfield!
Coffey for President
An Ghaeilge
Rabhadh duit - níl ach Gaeilge Ardteisiméireachta agam agus gábh mo leithscéal maidir
le aon agus gach bhotúin a dhéanaim , ach is aoibhinn liom an Ghaeilge. B’aoibhinn
liom í a fheiceáil á úsáid níos mó ná atá anois.
Dá mbeinnse i m’Uachtarán an bhliain seo chughainn, bheadh méadú Gaeilge á úsáid i
measc na hOifigí agus ag an Aontas - cúpla focail ag gach aon oifigeach, agus cúpla
focail á labhairt gach lá.
Tabhairfidh mé agus an Aontas tacaíocht don sochaí, An Chuallacht, An Cumann
Drámaíochta mar shampla, atá ag iarraidh Gaeilge a chur cun chinn.
Scrúdóidh mé scéim, i mbialann nó caife amháin, a bheidh laghdú deich nó fiche cent ar
fáil ag aon duine a chuireann a chuid ordú isteach trí Ghaeilge.
Gan amhras, níl ach smaointe beag agus smaointe simplí atá agam, ach oibreoidh mé
leis an Oifigeach na Gaeilge, an Ghaeilge a chur cun chinn i saol na daltaí.
SU Enterprises and Ents
Enterprise
This coming year, I’d love to work with the Comms Officer to establish a small fund with
which to provide small amounts of seed capital to students who wish to start a business
in college. It could be a pop up milkshake bar, selling umbrellas in autumn or mittens in
winter, sportswear - anything! It doesn’t matter to me - what I want to see is the SU
fostering and encouraging students to development their own revenue streams. The
SU would supply a small amount of startup funding and any assistance possible, with
most profits returning to the student(s) involved. This would a completely new avenue for
the SU and for students to explore, and could yield some exciting enterprises!
Events
Students know what they want from events - that’s why as President, I’d welcome any
proposals from students who’d like to run and host an events. As with the Enterprise
idea above, the SU would provide advice, guidance, and limited funding if required, with
everyone sharing in the profits. Again this presents wonderful opportunities for students
to become event leaders, and make money for themselves!
Coffey for President
Student Hub
The Student Hub is an exciting new multi million euro centre that will be located in the
Windle Building. The Students’ Union has a key say in the make-up of this project and
I’m the President who knows most about it, and who’ll ensure the best possible Student
Hub is built. Here are a few of my ideas.



As a bit of a fan of the ole music myself, I know what a joy it is to play, and to
have the facilities to do so. That’s why I want to see a rehearsal space, suitable
for bands, choirs and orchestras, to foster musical development in UCC. I’ll also
be campaigning for an open access music room - equipped with a piano, guitars,
percussion and other instruments, just for students to go in and jam in.
I’d like to see a Nap Room/ Rest and Rejuice Room - a few bean bags and
couches in a quiet, dark room, to head into for 20 minutes and escape the bustle
of campus life. Simple to execute, and a great comfort to students!
A Wet Room for arts and crafts. This idea has been put forward already by the
Socs Guild, and the SU will be supporting this - the creative societies need space
to go painting, designing, making sets for plays etc.
The most important thing is to have strong Student Union representation fighting to
secure the best Hub we can build. Elect me as President, and I’ll be that representation.
Kampus Kitchen
Now that the restaurant is gone from Kampus Kitchen, we have a wonderful open
space, with loads of potential. But at the moment, its just set up as a permanent exam
venue. it’s a complete waste, and I have grander visions for Kampus Kitchen than that.
 Group study space - Joe Kennedy, Education Officer has already secured
concessions on this, and together we’ll be securing even more for Kampus
Kitchen next term - whiteboards, easily moveable furniture, comfortable seating,
to make as positive a learning environment as we can.
 Lunch-time music - the Amphitheatre is a lovely space, but not really ideal for
many events during the autumn and winter. I’d like to work with the Ents Officer,
and the various societies, to bring entertainment downstairs to Kampus Kitchen
during lunch. Bring your grub down, and relax with a live band, DJ or acoustic
performance! Simple and achievable.
 Larger events - why not have something a bit mad in there? A roller disco for
UCC RAG? Dodgeball tournaments? Evening gigs? It’s such a versatile space let’s use it!
There’s so much potential there - elect me as I’ll tap this potential.
Coffey for President
Thinking outside the Box
I want to lead an SU next year that’s innovative, adventurous and ready to push the boat
out! That’s why I’m planning some smaller, fun project too, in addition to the big ticket
issues.
 Cinema in the President’s Garden - in the fine summer evenings of August and
September, I wanna roll out a screen and projector into the President’s Garden,
and get everyone around for a movie night! (Or the pictures, as the parents would
say!). A few blankets, popcorn, great company - what could be better?
 Pop-up restaurant - again if the weather’s good, why not have a barbecue on
campus? Easy to organise, something different, a bitta craic!
 Fuel the library - how about a bowl of fruit in the Fishbowl around exam time, to
fuel all those busy minds?
These are simple, achievable ideas, but they’re something different, something fun.
Elect me as President, and look forward to more of these!
Student Media
Student Media in UCC is well represented, with UCC Express newspaper, the Motley
magazine and Campus Radio. It’s vital that UCC students have a strong, reliable and
independent media, to report on the key decisions that will affect students. They
provide a valuable service in holding UCC organisations to account, including the SU. In
this regard, I’m delighted that the student media executive has its own Constitution one entirely independent of the Students’ Union. Media must report on the SU - not
report for them. As President, I’ll ensure the independence of student media is
maintained.
Nursing Pay
The paltry ‘salary’ on offer to intern nurses for those 36 weeks is unacceptable. Nurses
shouldn’t be forced to work part-time jobs in addition to yer standard working week,
which is tough enough as it is - I’ve seen it first hand in hospital over my last two years in
college. It’s exploitation, and its not good enough.
It’s a complex issue - the HSE never make anything simple, and they’re some crowd for
excuses. But I can tell you this - I, more than any other SU President, will push this
issue harder, better and quicker than any other candidate. From the first day in
office, this will be at the top of the agenda - not just my agenda, but the agenda of the
whole SU. Our full weight will be behind you.
This is a problem that needs a team effort - I’ll instigate meetings with the INMO, the
HSE, the hospitals and healthcare centres UCC are linked with - no stone left unturned.
UCCSU are one of the largest and most influential members of USI, who ran a protest
on the issues in Feb 2014. I’m the SU President best equipped to get UCCSU to take
the lead nationally on this issue.
Coffey for President
This starts by getting written feedback from yourselves, and publishing a report into how
it’s affecting you. With this, we’ve something substantial that we can bring to UCC, to the
INMO, to the hospitals and to USI, to drive this forward.
I have a plan folks - I just need the votes to get in there and get cracking! ;-)
The Other Fella
You might have noticed me referring to Joe Kennedy, Education Officer throughout this document.
We’ve worked on the SU together for the last two years – we share the same ideals and vision about
where this SU is going – and let me tell you, elect us, and this SU is going great places.
He’s done great work this year, and together, we’ll bring the SU to a whole new level.
Thanks for reading! I hope you’ve an idea as to who I am, what I’m about, and that you’re as excited
as I am about the potential of next year’s Students’ Union.
Now all I need is your vote.
Elect me, Aidan Coffey, your SU President on March 9th and 10th.