The future of USI - a government lapdog?

national | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis Thursday February 07, 2008 23:00 by mickeymouse

Former USI officer Steven Conlon recently published a piece in the irish times calling for USI to be made a statutory body with compulsory membership for all students unions

Steven Conlon, a former USI Equality Officer and LGBT Rights Officer, recently published in the Irish Times a lengthy opinion piece calling for the end to careersim in student politics and hinting that the USI should be made into a statutory body. He further suggests that "Membership of a national students' union should be obligatory for local unions"

The article has promted very little response from the Union of Students in Ireland, but as many critics of the Union would point out, little does. It is alleged that a 'recommendation' has come from USI HQ to not respond to the article hoping that it would just disappear.

Steven Conlon resigned in October on the foot of a scandel that rocked the foundations of USI resulting in a vote of no confidence in then USI President Mr. Richard Morrisroe.

Hamid Khodabakhshi, an iranian student of DIT, and former Education Officer of USI, was elected at USI National Council (the executive body of USI made of SU Presidents and USI Officer Board). There have been unconfirmed suggestions that the authority of the USI National Council to elect a President is 'questionable' at the very least, and some former USI Officers have hinted that an emergency USI Congress would have been more appropriate and constitutionaly sound to elect a new President.

Conlon also highlighted in his article that "The days of sustained protests, student strikes and general student disobedience seem to be numbered. The phenomenon of the "career student leader" has led to timid press releases and carefully choreographed photo-ops so as not to offend anyone. "

This mourning of death of student activism and his subsequent suggestion of a statutory USI has resulted in fears that Conlons suggestion might remove a headache once and for all for Dept. of Education and may even be under consideration at DES HQ in Marlborough Street.

The full article may be viewed at:

http://bb.ucc.ie/viewtopic.php?t=15989

Could this be the straw that broke the USIs spineless back?