Hi, My name is Kris Mcelhinney, and I presently serve as UCCSU Communications Officer.

Within this role, a position on the guild for the second part of the year and my society society experience I believe that I am equipped to face the changes which are both apparent and less so for the societies guild.

Experience on all of the committees the President already sits might be considered my greatest advantage - I could hit the ground running better able to represent societies to the highlest levels within college and maintain the good links I have built up.

This year societies remained close to my heart and focus
– I created and updated the interim Guild website,
– implementation and development of a new list & text alert portal
– developed and reintroduced the guild logo,
– created and mainted the generic @societies.ucc.ie email accounts,
– established links with printers and clothing companies for societies
– as well as maintaining and developing FUCC – the online forum boards. – Finally, I was created of the new guild website which I firmly believe as it comes fully online will become a fantastic resource for societies and those interested in getting involved.


Please read though some of our ideas – for some other ideas and more of the same.

Your input as always is appreciated.

The Guild has a different role to play in different societies- this should vary from providing a helping hand or a safety net to acting as an enabler to the more established societies.

To fulfil both these roles there is a need for reform of what guild does and how it does it. The Guild this year has not been a bad guild- work has been done. What we propose is developing on this to ensure a stronger and better guild.

We see the Guild as a:

Service Provider

PR machine

Lobbying group

We will provide a comprehensive handbook for societies as well as a regularly updated and well maintained website. These will include information ranging from bus companies with sample quotes to details on group discounts for societies with relevant companies. These should make information on (block) booking of rooms, information on entertainment listings in college to allow increased co-operation between societies.

Through group buying we propose that the guild should facilitate reducing costs to societies. For instance, the guild should be provide the opportunity for cheap colour society posters or promotional materials.

(Society gives a copy of the poster in on a Friday and the Guild will have the colour posters back for Monday morning ready for the society).

We source and provide a cheap and high quality source for society clothing, similar to the Athletics Union but we will learn from the outrageous delays with the relevant company.

The new Guild will explain how to make better use of on-campus resources like the old bar, which the DJ soc has made great use of or the audio visual department. The Guild will also compile location lists of all society notice boards to help small societies.

Finance for societies must be made clearer, Diarmuid Early started on this with the Finance Officers workshop but all finance rules will be made more transparent and included in the society handbook (and on the new website).

We should be making things easier for societies. A society credit card (in the accomm office) could make society trips easier to book. The current situation with cheques is simply too haphazard.

The Guild will open a cash and carry account so societies can avail of cheaper sweets for society’s day and conferences, by buying through the Guild itself.

The Guild will aid where needed in the branding of each society to help in the promotion of all societies.

There needs to be a complete overhaul of the society’s Guild magazine. The idea of a society tv listings is a good and should be continued but effort must be made to improve its ‘readablility’. There is no point to the guide if non ‘society’ people don’t pick it up. Simple changes such as having both reviews and interviews with society members, more society contact information and a more approachable layout. An easier to read font would go a long way too!

Society awards for PR should reflect contribution levels – but we must also make the guide more effective.

The new Guild will publicise dead societies all year round with the President taking special responsibility for this by rep-ing all dead societies.

PRO workshops will be run more then once so as to make it more convenient for societies to get their PRO trained in both poster design and basic website maintenance. Every society will have a website with at least their contact details for September. A basic template should be available to societies – a simple website should be easy to update and maintain.

Societies add much to college life – the college are the first to ask for society help on open days – this should be reflected in the position we hold within college. Through lobbying college though the SU and the committees the President sits on to increase the status of societies on campus.

More and better notice boards on campus would promote societies – we must work for this. Areas should be reserved for newsletters and information to be accessible but safe from being thrown away.

The new Guild must make sure that all audio visual equipment is working correctly in all rooms on college. Why do societies have to pay for audio visual equipment? – surely only a deposit should be necessary for what is in effect an internal loan of equipment.

College Committees have not been used to their full potential – we must ensure that joint board and specifically the students centre policy board must be utilized to the benefit of our societies. The student centre is clear in that it want society business. Charges should be reduced and made freely available to societies.

The guild must lobby for more dedicated society space. We must move beyond just asking to keep the su basement for societies– while this should be done - we must ensure that the ample space in the new student centre includes meeting rooms and society space.

The new Guild will review its constitution so that it reflects both its members’ needs as well as explains what it does. We believe that Guild must review itself and its operation to meet the aspiration of this manifesto.

The Guild is failing to advertise itself on campus; many students think the students union runs societies! We if elected will publicise societies and their Guild across campus.

The issue of equality and access to societies has been raised in this election. Students with disabilities are important; and must be considered. However, we believe that imposing such things as mandatory equality officers is not the place of the Guild. Instead, we will meet with the disabilities office and work with the UCCSU Welfare officer to see how the Guild can help with more effective integration of disabled students into societies.

The challenges of promoting societies and the work of the guild are just that - challenges- we believe that these will be met by those who have proven themselves able and experienced. It is not just about continuing with the status quo we must ensure that societies fight the battle with apathy and win.