So here I am…
Only 2 hustings left to go to… 1pm Cahal bruga st and 6pm city hall… can you believe it.. i will be talking to the masses of DIT in City hall…
so how have I done so far… well I will answer that only when I have finished the race…but so far the reaction from people seems to be good…
After the Hustings and on the day of the hustings there poles will open/be opened…
Monday 23rd- Temple Bar and Portland row
Tue,Wed,Thur* All other sites
* Thur until 12
then the final Count down begins
I just thought it necessary to inform the masses that … that I have learnt … on the vote count day… Thursday 2 weeks… the new elected sabbatical officers are dumped into the pond in Bolton St…
here's one for you!!
should i bring a spare set of clothes or not…
a) bring clothes… tempting fate … return home with two sets of DRY clothes
b) only clothes on back… win and go home sodden…
what to do…
Opt for option B and Squelch around the corner (Mary St) to work and drip all over the shop floor and get rain gear… or some dry clothing…large see through poncho any one??
So Rathmines is sorted.. i spoke to the masses.
in the interest of fairness and not to tempt fate I will not mention how I thought it went.. all i will say is bring on de Aungier St.
I have been working on a new speech…
I have learnt that 4 printed paragraphs on a page in size 11 font does not constitute as speakers notes.. they are incredibly hard to read.. especially if reading is not your strong point and there are 50 odd egger eyes staring at you from all angles…
so on the night before the day after… I have prepared a new set of bullet points .. in sixe 22 font so that I'm DOUBLEY prepared….
So I have been told that the only place I can advertise for the DITSU elections 2009 is on
It has been the page allocated to me… but where there is a will there is a student finding a new innovative way…- this is where I come in…
So after much deliberation the posters have been designed and most of them have been printed… I say most of them because my campaign manager and I have decided that it is a good idea to print an image… (coming to a canteen/ students area near you soon..) in double A0—yes that's right double A0… or in printing terms… a poster that is 64 A4 pages large… we are printing out 5 of these beauties, and thy will be strategy placed in sites across the DIT… this is going to be great…
So what's on the read ahead for me… in my potential political career..
Hustings- those wonderful joyous things that require huge amounts of confidence , a thick neck and a knack for thinking on my feet…
and then of to the north side…
What have I learnt to date?
Temple Bar yes this mystical college exists… in a word Cosy ;-)
Portland Row students are lonely and need loving from the big DIT’s… although they have what is a rarity in DIT a Porter who is nice accommodating and social… WOOO
Ratmines… there students walk around in socks…
What I see for my future
Block Voting methinks will be an issue…
Until next time…
Nemo
Personal Details
Name: Niamh Foley Student Number: C05607710
Course Code: DT202 Year: 1
Election Details
Position: Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs
Policy: “no student should be left behind”
Background
I’m a student of the DIT for the past 4 years- On an academic level I have a degree in electronics and communications, currently I’m pursuing a postgraduate masters in Assistive Technology. During this time I have gained a good understanding of how DIT and DITSU operates. I feel that there are a lot of things that I can achieve, these are outlined below.
I have been involved in many different student activities including open days. I helped to set-up and run WAVES which is the society for women in engineering. Since the engineering field has a proven gender imbalance, this is a forum for female students to become connected with the industry and each other. With the evolution of Role Model day, it allows potential students in second level to come into DIT and meet with graduate females and share their experiences. This has been such a successful initiative it has now become a regular feature in the CAO Calendar for potential female engineers.
I have also established the DYS_SOC, a society for students with learning disabilities within the DIT, I’m the current Chairperson of the society. The Society provides a space where likeminded students can gather and empower each other. Personal experience in this field has provided the motivation to run and maintain the society and fight for equality of opportunities among students. DYS_SOC has been asked on many occasions to attend conferences the most notable of which was to attend the European Dyslexic conference held in D.C.U. of which I was a participant. Recently DYS_SOC were asked to take part in a Students support week in I.A.D.T, where I made a presentation on living with Dyslexia.
The Peace Corps programme in D.I.T, which is run in conjunction with the chaplaincy service was a programme which I was involved in developing. Being part of this programme has expanded my managerial experience. Through the Peace Corps stronger community links have become established within DIT. Some of our successful events include, bringing Santa Clause to the Y.M.C.A community crèche on Aungier St., holding a party for members of Whitefryers St senior citizens club in D.I.T Kevin St and we even held a ‘granny’s got talent’ show. It has been a source of enjoyment and connection for both the college and the local community.
The above shows that I have the determination and go get attitude to succeed at any project that I put my hand too.
Aims and Objectives
Peer mentoring system – currently there is only provision for students with difficulties in maths through the maths learning centre. What I propose is that there should be an equivalent service for students who have to write reports, essays, assessments and projects as part of their course. This system is to be implemented using the same model that is used for the maths learning centre. It could be run by postgraduate students. The postgraduate students would gain knowledge and experience of tutoring and mentoring which would also facilitate students learning. It would be beneficial to both postgraduates and undergraduates. Having already being involved in the set up of other initiatives such as the DYS_SOC I believe that this is a very achievable goal.
Library opening hours – the current DIT library opening hours are not accommodating to students at exam times. A proposed extended library opening hour’s time table should be put in place for students nearing exam times, (Such as mid week libraries stay open until 11 pm). The library should open one hour earlier to accommodate students who have to print out assignments and students who wish to get some early morning study done. (The current opening hours are 9.30am this is unacceptable).Weekend library hours should include an afternoon opening time-table for students on Sundays in Aungier St., since a student card is needed to access the library, the doors at the back stairs could be opened and all doors at the stair well could be locked and only open to those who need access to the library.
Library management- Removal of the televisions in the library in Kevin St. is a priority as they only provide a distraction to studies. If they provided some relevant material such as information about exams, or about upcoming events in DIT/DITSU they could potentially be an asset but this is not currently the case. A dedicated computer in all libraries near the printing areas should be provided to allow students who wish to print from internet access, this should be restricted to just DIT email accounts.
Dedicated labs for all final year students- in consulting with students from different faculties, it has been noted that dedicated computer lab access is not available to all students in the final year of their programmes. I would propose that students talk to their class rep and with the help of DITSU they can lobby for a specific room from their course co-ordinator. If a specific room is not available all of the time, then a timetable should be put in place where outside of lecturing hours final year students of a year group or year groups have exclusive access rights to that room/ lab.
Lecturers to provide notes in multi-formats- with the introduction of the integrated email and WEBCT System. Some courses have not fully availed of its features, and leave notes on local networked drives. Lecturers who have notes available in electronic format should be strongly encouraged to place their notes on to this system. Also lecturers that do not have notes available to students in electronics format will have to provide them. A more inclusive learning system would be established providing visual aural and tactile learning to all students.
Timetabling- Certain classes within DIT have difficulties from late changes to timetabling where the class has not been informed, this is something that has to be addressed. I plan to tackle this issue by having agreed deadlines for staff to publish the timetables and all subsequent changes should be made with a minimum 12 hours notice to the students in question.
The above aims are to be implemented as part of the process of continuing the work which commenced with Tracey Flinter, where her aims and objectives were well received by current students. Her informal learning spaces and participation in the fight the fees campaign were particularly successful. I see my aim of a peer mentoring system as complementing her work to improve student’s academic opportunities.
Reasons for running
My experience of the DIT, has been very positive, I have gained both an education and have valuable experience. This post will allow me to give back to the students and to the college, since I have gained so much personally and professionally. I’m currently on a postgraduate masters program where I’m studying assistive technology. The skills that I have/ will learn will benefit other students in their academic careers. I feel that I have the drive and the passion to achieve the above mentioned goals already established by my proven record.
Hello and Welcome to the Blog of Niamh Foley
I’m campaigning to run for DITSU – DIT Students Union as Vice President of Academic and Student affairs. This will be my blog of events… so keep reading here for more updates….
1145… and all of my paperwork has been handed in to Kevin St office… There was a few hairy moments but we made it with time to spare!!
At 3pm is when the real fun begins… we all assemble in Cathal Brugha St, there is an informal talk about what we can and cannot do.. put in to student terms legal and illegal.
Then there is the MAD dash to all of the various DIT sites in Dublin to place – Holding posters up until the actual ones are printed…
Hustings will follow after this event… and then its off to the POLLs
