The Societies Officer race may not have the same glitz and glamour as the sabbatical positions but it is undoubtedly one of the most important roles up for grabs. Societies are one of the most important and prominent aspects of DCU and either Eoin Lúc O’ Ceallaigh, a 2nd year Journalism student, or Bríd Browne, a 2nd year Irish and Media student, will be responsible for them from September.
Both candidates are active members of various societies – O’ Ceallaigh is vice-chairperson of RAG and involved with MPS, Cumann Gaelach and Enactus while Browne is on the committee of Music Soc, Friends Soc and Cumann Gaelach.
The headline of Browne’s campaign is the lack of funding for smaller societies and their struggle to stage events because of this.
“I’d like to team the small societies up with the larger ones so the larger society gets the help putting on the event while the smaller one gets the experience and exposure….so they can build, put on successful events of their own and recruit more members”. She also hopes that the chasm between funding for small and large societies will narrow as smaller societies grow. Browne also hopes to introduce more training for society committees so society trips and events are better organised. She also wants to have more collaboration with the Welfare Officer so societies can act as a platform for causes such as promoting positive mental health.
O’ Ceallaigh, meanwhile, is hoping to engage more people and encourage more involvement by introducing an inter-society competition like a “Society Cup” in which a number of inter-society events would be held throughout the year, culminating in the society which is top of the leaderboard being crowned champions.
He also wants to reform the grant application which societies must submit for their yearly funding from the SLC so funds are distributed with more fairness – “I’d like to see someone from the SLC sit down with the treasurer from each society before submitting the grant application which would help the SLC and ensure funds are distributed according to societies’ needs”.
Both agree on one thing – societies are the heartbeat of DCU. Browne says that “DCU thrives on society life” while O’ Ceallaigh believes that “some of the best societies in the country are here in DCU”.
Stephen Murphy
Photo Credit: Brid Browne and Eoin Luc O’Ceallaigh
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