Friday, 25th November 2022 was a joyous day for the Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) Students’ Union as Referendum passes with 96.2% yes-votes. The Union and their supporting campaign crew had been planning and campaigning for several weeks to change the current Students’ Union structure at TU Dublin and the passing of the Referendum brings the union closer to the overall goal of “One University, One Union”.
Between the 22nd and 24th November 2022 all students in TU Dublin were given the opportunity to vote in a Referendum to amend the Students’ Union Constitution. On November 25th in Bolton Street Campus, the ballots were counted by a polling crew and results announced. There were 5687 valid votes with an overwhelming percentage of 96.2% voting YES, and as such the Referendum passed.
“We literally broke TU Dublin SU records with the amount of votes we got …and it was not down to one person…it was down to every single officer, every single staff member, all the Referendum crew and student staff and the polling crew that helped us count our many many yes ballots”
Brian Jordan, TU Dublin SU President addressed TU Dublin students via a livestream at Bolton Street after the results were announced. The 2022 Referendum broke the record for the most valid student votes collected in any TU Dublin and previous Students’ Union election as far back as records go (circa 2010).
Reflecting on the day the results were announced, Deputy President of Tallaght, James Curry said:
“I want to express my gratitude and thanks to every single student who voted in our referendum! We made history today, reaching 5687 valid votes, with 96.2% voting yes. So much time and effort went into this, with multiple SU teams having worked on the Referendum to make sure it was exactly what the students of TU Dublin needed. With the Referendum now passed, we can look forward to all students across each of the campuses getting equal treatment and representation as we strive to be one union. “One University, One Union” is really cemented with the new structure and I can’t wait to see what next year’s team brings to the table for the students.”
The upcoming changes, on 1st July 2023, to the Students’ Union will have a major impact on the students of TU Dublin. They will benefit from a new structure which has been created to reflect a Union that works across 5 Campuses for the 30,000 diverse students. One of the main benefits to students will be better representation and involvement on each campus, further cementing the goal of “One University, One Union”.
The structure changes include:
- 4 overall Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs, Welfare & Equality, Events & Engagements, and Communications & Media, who will develop overall policy, campaigns and events for the whole of TU Dublin.
- 3 Campus Vice Presidents for Blanchardstown, City and Tallaght responsible for rolling out campaigns on their local campus, running local events, electing class reps, engaging the students and being the local face for their campus, working on sustainability initiatives on their campus and dealing with facility issues.
- There will be one overall President and one Postgraduate Officer who will work part-time.
- Part-Time Officers will now be voluntary overall roles across each campus. They will all be elected through student council and focus on specific themes: Gender Equality, Sustainability, ACCESS, Ethnic Diversity, Mature Student, International Student, Gaeilge, LGBTQ+ Rights, and Disabilities.
- Due to the amalgamations of schools across TU Dublin, there longer be School Reps. Instead, the seats of the School Reps have been given to each of their respective campus as student councillors seats.
The introduction of more part-time voluntary officers allows for better representation for different diversities, and thus creating a more inclusive environment for all of TU Dublin’s students. Deputy President of Blanchardstown, Louise Kavanagh had this to say
“These part-time voluntary positions will become the foundation for all representation going forward for TU Dublin SU. Students will have the opportunity to represent many areas such as Gender Equality, Sustainability, ACCESS, Ethnic Diversity, Mature Student, International Student, Gaeilge, LGBTQ+ Rights, and Disabilities. The turnout for voting throughout the Referendum shows that TU Dublin students want to be part of change and to make a difference for future generations.”
More information on the Referendum and changes can be found here.
