Read Beth’s Manifesto

Beth for USI President

For the unabridged plain text manifesto with more action points and detail – see here.

Create open lines of communication between all Coiste Gnó officers and MO Officers.
Commit to providing a USI Calendar at the beginning of the year
Centralise sabbatical communications to increase officer engagement.
Ensure that I am in regular communication with all officers.
Provide SU’s with a database of industry contacts and diverse trainings.
Create a centralised location for Comhairle Náisiúnta (CN) documentation.
Provide information for officers on how to engage with working groups and CN.

Re-establish the focus groups for students in minority groups and establish similar focus groups for policy remits.
Establish regional student activist groups.
Ensure that all USI events are advertised a minimum of one month in advance.
Increased communication with student societies.
Produce a social media strategy review.

Ensure that plans of work are completed as a team.
Provide Comhairle Náisiúnta with an overall team plan of work.
Include “Plan of Work Updates” in the agenda of our weekly Monday Morning Meetings.
Change the culture of needing presidential oversight on every decision
Give the Coiste Gnó the confidence to be creative in their work
Ensure that a procedures manual is brought before Comhairle Náisiúnta.
Begin the process of role reviews for the Regional VPs and the VPPGA.
Ensure the Coiste Gnó are sitting on committees relevant to their remits
Ensure that Coiste Gnó officers are not being used for their expertise by other organisations at the expense of their ability to engage with students.

Ensure that the USI has information in relation to the structures and funding of every Member organisation through data collection.
Develop a long term strategy for a task force composed of SU representatives and SU staff dedicated to the issue of SU autonomy.
Continue to advocate for SU funding to come from a centralised body such as the HEA.

Work with the VP Campaigns and NUS-USI President to develop a long term strategy for achieving publicly funded higher education inclusive of students in the North
Strengthen connections with trade unions
Establish a designated portal for student feedback on all campaign actions.
Empower students by educating them on what the Cassell’s Report is and why it is so important to the future of higher education.
Work with the VP for Campaigns to ensure that there are strong actions allowing students to productively engage with the issue of the Cassell’s Report.
Ensure that updates are provided following any conversations with the DFHERIS.
Support students’ unions in their work lobbying for the reduction of international students’ fees
Establish an International Student Focus Group.
Ensure that the unique struggles faced by students in creative arts courses are highlighted.
Ensure that we establish formal partnerships with trade unions such as Praxis, that represent students in the Creative Arts sector.

Highlight the need for cross-departmental meetings to discuss the issue of the student accommodation crisis.
Fight for TU’s and to have access to borrow funds to build affordable PBSA.
Demand increased rental protections for students and fight for an immediate rent freeze for all students.
Advocate for an updated version of the Student Accommodation Strategy.
Support the development of student co-operative housing.
Assist Students’ Unions and students with the coordination of rent strikes where needed.
Update the USI Student Accommodation Position Paper.
Submit planning applications against any unaffordable PBSA

Highlight the benefits of divestment and ensure that MO’s are provided with educational resources surrounding this work.
Lobby the government to ensure that any additional protections offered to Ukrainian student asylum seekers are extended to all student asylum seekers.
Develop a strategic paper outlining what to do when a student is given a deportation order.
Lobby for the extension of domestic fee status to all students who are asylum seekers.

Update the USI Postgraduate Workers Rights Charter and lobby for it to be formally recognised.
Ensure that all officers are engaged and informed on postgraduate issues.
Utilise the data compiled from the Postgraduate Student Survey to lobby for an end to stipend disparity across all HEI’s.
Ensure that a postgrad specific mental health campaign is developed to be rolled out annually.
Compile data on the postgraduate specific supports offered by all of our MO’s
Ensure that the VP Welfare and VPAA co-ordinate postgraduate specific training.
Assist our MO’s with the development of further postgraduate representative positions.
Establish connections with postgraduate student societies in the event of an MO having no formally recognised postgraduate representative.

Ensure that the work of the LUdG is no longer filled with translational duties and instead USI’s translational work is sent out of house.
An increase in all campaign materials as Gaeilge to be provided to MO’s.
Ensure all MO officers are able to attend Gaeilge Working Group.
USI support for grassroots organisations fighting to promote the Irish language.
The development of an Irish language strategy paper.
Irish language lessons for Coiste Gnó members who would like to learn Gaeilge.

Ensuring that USI Officers attend all large scale NUS-USI events and protests
Ensuring policy officers visit campuses in the NUS-USI region
Investigate the possibility of reducing Comhdháil fees for MO’s in the NUS-USI region to facilitate their attendance at Comhdháil.
Ensure that there is at least one collaborative USI and NUS-USI campaign aimed specifically at FE engagement in USI.
Link all campaigns that are applicable to both regions.

Facilitating the Mergers Working Group at Comhairle Náisiúnta and ensuring that we come up with monthly action items
Lobbying the DFHERIS for increased funding to ensure that support services are available to all students, no matter which campus they are studying on.
Continuing the fight for TU’s to have access to the same funding for accommodation building as their university counterparts.
Provide a constitutional toolkit for Students’ Unions who are undertaking constitutional referenda to facilitate the merging of their unions.