Eoin4comms Manifesto
Eoin O’Donnell – UCC Student’s Union Bye-Elections 2024
Communications & Engagement Officer Manifesto
A little bit about myself
• My name is Eoin O’Donnell, and I am a 21-year-old BCL International Student
• I am originally from West cork, but I have called our wonderful city home for the
past 3 years throughout my studies.
• Over the past few years, as I am sure a few of you may know, I have been
engaged in a number of student initiatives and societies. I have previously served
as debate convenor with the law society, OCM with the economics society /
philosoph, and recently external convenor / vice chair of philosop. I have also
been engaged in number of other student initiatives, from UCCSU campus crew
to class rep.
Why Me?
• Despite my best efforts, I was born to yap. Public speaking, and debating, have
been passions of mine for as long as I can remember, and just made sense to
me. My ability to spit words is unparalleled, and I have used it for good during my
time in college. When it comes to leading student initiatives and voicing your
concerns in protests, I feel as though I am a perfect candidate to fight for your
rights.
• I have proven my ability through my past society involvement that I am
committed to my roles, and always go above and beyond to see them through.
No matter what task I am given, I will always fight as hard as I can to do the best I
possibly can, and I do believe this has been proved through my involvement
around campus. From managing relatively mundane tasks around college, to
attending national movements, I have always pushed for the best.
• I strongly believe in the rights of students and have great experience in
advocating for the rights of those around me. I believe that in college, power
comes from the students, and it is my responsibility to make sure they never
forget that, and that they always feel as empowered as they should.
• Over the past few years on campus, and through the wonderful connections and
people I have met, I feel as though I have a good understanding of the issues
students face on a daily basis, as I have had to live through them too. Your
issues are my issues, and I intend on doing my best to fight them. To the amazing
people I have met over these years, and who have now placed their confidence in
me to do this job, I promise I won’t let you down.
My vision – Communications & Engagement
Power comes from the people, and it is my job to make sure they know that. I strongly
believe that without strong lines of communication between each other and your union,
this precious relationship can be jeopardized to our detriment. It is only through
effective communication that we can realise common issues, band together as a body,
and decide to address them as a community. My vision, put simply, is that students
never forget this link, and the power of communication and cooperation with their
union. As Hayley has mentioned on numerous occasions, it should not be the
responsibility of the student body to seek out the union only in times of need, but the
responsibility of the union to always maintain constant and effective communication,
not only in crisis. In my role, I intend on continuing the work of Hayley in this regard and
continue developing stronger bonds with our student body.
Communication
Visibility and Placement
As previously mentioned, the responsibility of engaging with the student body falls upon
the Student Union, and not the other way around. A key aspect of letting students know
that their union is there for them is to ensure that we have a very visible and active
presence on campus. Simply remaining in our union building, which sits out the back of
campus and is rarely frequented by students, is not good enough, and we need to do
our best to place ourselves around all our campuses. The union has been very effective
over the past 2 years since covid at reclaiming their presence around campus, and I
intend on continuing on this hard work throughout the remaining semester, and into the
new year.
A key part of this campaign has been on decentralisation and developing informal
events geared at fitting around student schedules, rather than clashing with them.
Going into the future, I will do my best to ensure that the majority of engagements
between the union and students happen because we are placed in strategic locations
students happen upon, rather than have to seek out. I hope that by making
engagements more frequent and less formal, we can make the union more accessible
to our student body. Student life is very complicated to begin with, and I plan on
accommodating around this as much as possible.
Continued development of Newsletters and Email
Over the past number of years, the union has done an incredible job at developing
effective newsletters addressed to students. As much as we hate to admit it, we can’t
always be campaigning on campus, which in turn makes these newsletters a lifeline for
important information between the union and the student body. Rather than reinventing
the wheel, I plan to continue developing these regular communications and do my best
to increase their accessibility for everyone. Hayley has done a fantastic job at this
already, and I plan to stick to what works, rather than trying to fix something that isn’t
broken.
Both the email newsletter students receive, and the digital information boards which
are currently being installed around campus, are currently the place to find these
newsletters. Whilst everyone will receive our emails, I hope to increase the amount of
digital marketing boards around campus to make these newsletters even more visible.
As previously mentioned, these updates will include information about what’s on,
what’s upcoming, and what your union has been doing to represent you around campus
and further afield. Keeping them brief, on point, and available, is something I will
continue to develop to make sure everyone has a chance to read them.
Social Media & Digital Communications
Should I be elected to this role, managing the digital communications and accounts for
the SU will fall upon my shoulders. Despite my lack of a cs degree, I do indeed know my
way around a computer, and plan on using my hip social media knowledge to help keep
our unions social media as great as it currently is. Once again, Hayley has done a
fantastic job at developing our digital presence on social media, especially on
Instagram where we have had great success and engagement from our student body. As
previously mentioned, it is very difficult for us to be everywhere at once, and as such, it
is through social media than we fill this information void. I will continue to develop our
social media based on our digital marketing and communications plan which was
published in last February by the union. By keeping our posts to a regular calendar, and
maintaining the high standards students both deserve, and come to expect, I hope to
continue the growth of these channels going into the future. As identified last year by
Hayley, Tiktok has become a new strategic area for growth on social media for the
union, and I plan on leveraging our new presence as much as possible to increase
engagement. On a more serious note, the development of a union website has been a
great development and presented an excellent online silo for union events and
information. I hope to increase awareness of this fantastic resource for students, and
potentially make finding important information more accessible.
It is through the little actions, like watching a quick clip, or coming across a post on your
feed, that we can reach the majority of students throughout their busy lives. Circling
back to my main link, putting the union in the path of students is my vision for this role,
and social media is a great tool to do just that.
Political Engagement
As it has just be confirmed by the Taoiseach, we will see a general election this side of
the new year. In terms of student unions and student life, the need for political
engagement and lobbying has never been greater. We are hurting, the cost of living is
absolutely ridiculous, and students are taken as little more than someone vulnerable to
exploit for a quick buck. It is my goal to push hard to make sure all students are aware of
the unique power we hold. We are the future, both for our political parties, and society
in general. We hold the power, not them, and we need to let them know that. I want to
help make politics accessible for students around campus, and to ensure that we are
all registered to vote heading into this important election. Hayley has already laid forth a
plan to make politics more accessible to students, and I intend on continuing on their
work. By communicating what is happening around us, and how the state has
continually failed to protect us in many regards, we can hopefully band together for
change heading into the future. The union has also taken a more proactive stance in
leveraging their public position to highlight campaigns for change. I plan to continue this
work, and to use our loud voice to shout for those who cannot.’
Engagement
The second aspect of this role is engagement, and there are a number of pressing
issues which need my support to address. In addition, there are also a number of other
initiatives I would like to explore throughout the year should the chance arise through
our busy schedule. Advocating on behalf of student issues is a great honour, and I can’t
wait to use my voice to help promote our welfare, and fight for issues close to our
hearts. I will be working closely with our associated reps which will develop their own
action campaigns to be rolled out throughout the year. Supported by our wonderful
campaigns crew, I hope that through these actions we can help build a better campus
for everyone.
Cost of Living
Needing no introduction, the cost of living is scandalous. The SU recently published the
results of their student cost of living report, which rather sadly conformed the sad state
of affairs we find ourselves in today. Many of us are desperately struggling to balance
demanding jobs and college, with some even resorting to skipping meals to keep costs
down. This is not something which we should accept, especially not living in a state
with so many resources such as Ireland. This is quite simply a policy issue, and I will do
all I can to make this known coming into our general election. One off budget measure
are not good enough, and by this stage, an insult to us all. We won’t continue to have
our futures kicked down the road, and I will do my best to make our voices heard. In
terms of practical costs, we can push KSG to keep down food costs, and to
accommodate dietary options for all of us.
Accommodation
Should you be lucky enough to even find somewhere to live, the state of
accommodation is appalling. Student finances are being bled dry by a predatory
housing market which seeks to exploit rather than function as it should. I will push hard
to do all I can to help students secure safe, affordable, and accessible accommodation.
Helping students understand that they have rights, and that there are supports available to
help them in tough situations is key, as is lobbying the state to provide more cost-
effective college accommodation. We can bond together over this defining issue, and I
plan on assisting this as much as possible by making platforms for students to raise
their voice as accessible as possible. Whether it is offering chances to raise our voice in
protest, or drop-in housing clinics, I will strive to hear each and every one of you, and
voice your concerns on a wider stage. In partnership with CATU, and the Rental
Tenancies Board, I will fight for your rights because we simply deserve better.
Safer Nights Out / Sexual Wellbeing
As young people, social activity is a huge part of our daily lives. It is no secret that over
the past number of years, nights out have become more daunting for students. From
attacks by bouncers, to an increase in spiking, there has been a concerning trend
towards an increase in threats to student welfare. I plan on addressing these issues by
letting student know of their rights on nights out, and that there are comprehensive
support networks available to help them in these situations.
In addition to nights out, I would like to support a further development of sexual
wellbeing initiatives. Unfortunately, STD rates are increasing amongst our student
population, and there has been a noticeable lack of actions around understanding
consent around campus. Ensuring that UCC keeps its reputation as a safe college is
very important to me, and a very important aspect of this is building a safe culture of
consent, and use of contraception.
Green Campus
It is no secret that we are in a climate emergency at the moment, and we can all work
together towards a greener future. In terms of the SU, engagement has been identified
as a key issue to work on amongst our related committees, and I plan on developing a
plan to address this problem. Another function in this regard is to hold management to
account for their green promises, specifically its Climate and Sustainability Action Plan.
Another important aspect of promoting a greener campus is sustainability. As of
current, the Global Justice Society has done a fantastic job at developing clothing swap
and repair sessions. I would like to further develop this idea and give it a larger platform
to spread around the campus.
Conclusion
As Communications and Engagement officer within the student’s union, I will do my
best to fight for the issues that matter most to you, and to always advocate for student
welfare. I believe that as of current, student deserve better and can demand. Should I
be elected, I will do just this, demand better on your behalf.
I hope that you can place your confidence in me in this upcoming election, and that I
can faithfully uphold my end of the bargain and fight for your welfare.
Hope to see you all soon,
Eoin :)