The amalgamation process of the Students’ Unions of DCU, St. Patrick’s College and Mater Dei is underway.
The three unions will be working together in the upcoming months to create a new union representing students from all DCU campuses from this semester onwards. The official merger will be in place from July 1 2016 onwards.
“In 2015/2016, each Student’s Union will continue to represent their students, while collaborating and cooperating as much as possible”, Manager of the Office of Student Life, Una Redmond, told the College View.
Students from both Mater Dei and St. Pat’s alike are looking forward to the consolidated SU system, which will see the sabbatical team double in size to six officers based in both DCU and St. Pat’s campuses.
The new structure of the SU will consist of the new President, VP for Welfare and VP for Academic Affairs based on the Glasnevin Campus while the Deputy President and VP for Education and Training will be set up in Drumcondra.
The merger will also create a unification of all clubs and societies from the three colleges, which will open the floor to a wider variety of opportunities for students.
“I know that there are going to be a few given negatives such as a smaller SU body present on St. Pat’s campus and there are also a few issues arising with competitive clubs who need to compete with DCU students to get a place on teams”, a St. Pat’s student told The College View.
“However, DCU’s more structured approach to the Student’s Union will really be of benefit to our college, so I’m absolutely delighted about the upcoming amalgamation”.
The coming academic year will see each of the Student Unions working closely on creating a stronger, effective union to represent students across all three campuses.
Aisling McCabe
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