A referendum regarding the proposed changes to the DCUSU constitution is to be presented to the Class Rep Council (CRC) next semester.
The referendum is to cater for the merger of DCUSU, St Patrick’s College (SPD) SU and Mater Dei Institute (MDI) SU. CRC is to be formally presented with a document that will outline the merger process of the three students’ unions.
The proposed Merger Consultancy Group and the existing Constitutional Review Committee will present a final constitution which is to be voted upon across each CRC in the three colleges. If the new constitution is passed DCUSU, including SPD and MUI, will form on July 1, 2016.
The Merger Consultancy Group will be established with the agreement of the three students’ unions and will have an independent chair and will be made up of representatives from each union. It may also include members of other students’ unions and professionals with relevant expertise to aid in the consultation process.
The Merger Consultancy Group was formed when the question of whether members of SPD and MDI Students’ Unions could sit on the already existing was raised to the Constitutional Review Committee. In a statement released to the CRC by DCUSU Returning Officer , Steve Conlon, it’s said “that both external students’ unions could be considered a ‘stakeholder’” under the Terms of Reference in the current constitution. This means that under the current constitution consultation between the three unions could take place.
During a CRC meeting on November 20th, the presidents of SPD and MDI SUs’, Clíodhna Daly and Aisling O’ Neill, expressed their dissatisfaction with the review process, claiming that there was a lack of consultation between the committee ,SPD and MDI SUs’. Legally, DCUSU doesn’t have to consult with SPD and MDI students.
During a meeting between the Returning Officer, DCUSU President, Kenneth Browne, and Manager of OSL, Una Redmond, it was agreed that the current process of the amendments to the constitution was rushed.According to the OSL, all incoming SPD students will be registered as DCU students come September 2015 while the rest of SPD students and all MDI students will become DCU students the following September.
A report of the constitutional review committee will be presented to the CRC this week outlining changes to the constitution. However, the DCUSU Executive positions will not change this year and elections will take place as normal next semester as the report will not recommend any changes to the membership of the DCUSU Executive.
Finnian Curran
Image: St. Pats Facebook
Leave a Reply