The USI, is there strength in unity?

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is the sole representational body for third level students. Comprised of almost 40 universities, private colleges, IT and Further Education College Students’ Unions nationwide, it is structured similarly to a Students’ Union with an officer board and executive wing.

It is an organisation that has attracted the skills and political prowess of many household names over the years, including Pat Rabbitte, Joe Duffy and Ruairi Quinn.

In a survey conducted by the College View 62% of students were unaware that DCU are not members of USI.

Of those surveyed 81% are in favour of membership. But what exactly does this union do and how is it of benefit to DCU students?

“Having DCUSU contributing to the policy would allow the national union an even stronger hand when dealing with the government on issues such as fees or the maintenance grant.” said Peter Mannion, President-elect of the USI.

Speaking to the College View, he said that he was encouraged by the pro-USI replies from DCU students.

“It is encouraging that so many students in DCU would like to join the national student union if they had an opportunity.

“It is a great shame that DCU are not currently in USI…I hope that the students of DCU get an opportunity, if they so choose, to vote to become members of the organisation again.”

USI previously owned USIT – the student travel agency and was considered (pre 9/11) to be on the verge of becoming one of the richest national Students’ Unions in the world.

It had commercial interests globally and had a significant property portfolio in Dublin city centre.

The union came into conflict with groups such as SPUC (Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) in 1993 over the publication of abortion advice.

A campaign against SPUC as well as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001 had a considerable impact on the USI’s finances.

The devastating blow came when two universities left the union - NUIG Maynooth and DCU - a move which had a debilitating impact on the USI’s ability to represent and provide services. DCU’s disaffiliation from the national union was primarily driven by a disagreement over motions that were submitted to the USI congress, the policy making entity of USI. It takes place over one week and member colleges send delegates to debate and vote on the policy of USI.

Congress also makes changes to the USI constitution and elects several members of the officer board.

The spat over congress motions was just a symptom of a bigger problem the two universities had with USI.

A growing discontent with structures and accountability meant that little faith was held in decision making as many unions simply block voted against each other.

USI has since undergone significant reform and staffing change. As well as representing students on various national bodies and state agencies such as the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the union meets regularly with welfare bodies, other representational groups and opposition spokespersons.

It regularly makes prebudget submissions and appears in front of several Dail committees.

DCU’s disaffiliation has perhaps meant that the problems faced by students here are not brought to the attention of these highly influential bodies.

However the union continues to be affected with resignations, internal fighting and threats of resignations from other Students’ Unions who want to influence USI policy.

DCU is a member of one national organisation - FUSU – the Federation of University Students’ Unions. This body is made up of representatives of each university SU and discusses various issues affecting the university sector.

This body has no influence in terms of representation on state educational bodies and recognition of FUSU has been ruled out or dismissed by successive ministers for education. The body also has no financial income or grassroots democratic mandate.

So how does affiliation with USI impact on the pockets of the average student?

Not much, it would seem. It costs €5 per student to affiliate to USI annually - the price of a sandwich and a drink.

This is paid by Students’ Unions in one lump sum. There are currently no facilities to allow individual students to join if they are from disaffiliates.

Opponents of USI re-affiliation have argued that Students’ Unions cannot afford USI membership.

However many other students’ unions who have put the question of USI membership to their students have found that the student body is happy to pay additional annual levies of €5 on top of their registration to secure USI membership.

TCD and UCC are two such unions that operate this system. The most recent referendum held in UCC saw a satisfaction rate of over 70% in continued USI membership – yet DCUSU has not put the question to its own students.

What USI gives to the ordinary member cannot be put in tangible terms. In practical terms it offers quality assurance when it comes to SU officers as an important aspect to membership is the continuous training afforded to SU Officers.

USI facilitates access to senior education civil servants who give guidance on various issues including education support, education legislation and good practice guidelines.

It also gives training on campaigns and representation with experienced lobbyists and PR gurus taking part in the training. USI also has built links with several organisations such as Drink Aware, Durex and the Department of the Environment to bring high profile, professional campaigns which can be tailored to individual college tastes.

It also offers major bulk buying power to facilitate purchasing of club’s equipment, stationery, and branded goods that are at discounted prices for USI members.

Of course there is nothing stopping individual SUs from cultivating these links, but large bodies such of these would prefer to deal with a national body than twenty local ones.

The culture of quality assurance in USI means that students and class councils are often more informed on national student issues and expect more from their respective Students’ Unions by demanding greater influence on various USI committees and the direction of the national union.

Class councils get to vote on USI officer board positions and often insist that their own SU officers take a greater and more vocal role in USI in order to influence the direction of the national union. This form of grassroots democracy ensures that USI has a direct link to its membership.

In the interests of transparency the author wishes to have it noted that he is a former three term officer board member of USI. The survey on which this article is based was an independent survey of 200 randomly selected students in DCU.