The DIT Examiner: the Newspaper of the Dublin Institute of Technology Students' Union April-May, 1997
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Technological University Dublin ARROW@TU Dublin DIT Student Union Dublin Institute of Technology 1997 The DIT Examiner: the Newspaper of the Dublin Institute of Technology Students' Union April-May, 1997 DIT Students' Union Follow this and additional works at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ditsu Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation DIT Students' Union: The DIT Examiner April-May, 1997. DIT, 1997 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by the Dublin Institute of Technology at ARROW@TU Dublin. It has been accepted for inclusion in DIT Student Union by an authorized administrator of ARROW@TU Dublin. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License • e ~xamlner Ne!WSIDU~r of ADlrI..'''av '97 Paul andland Betts wae AJ/ the Lmst spDrls nnllS "MDMntjDY Sif spaceJ.-t PharmaceaticaJ babbas in IrdanJwcmtly to tAUt from bDb-sleighing to anJhaJSDme SDrt DJ rocft the blocft anJgi~ the to stuJents Dn the Jangn'J INtndbaIJ to the SMCcessn DJ Science-FictiDn thing gDing ReJbDX hDt SDCftS. P«ring DJJrugs. The DIT the Swim T.m. PIas CDrJ fir a while. Bat JDn 't asft thrDMgh the K-HDk at the ExAminer hearJ them erage DJMDMntjDY Sif" vic me. I'mftuta loaJ DJDId ChemicaJ Brothn'J' new spea/t in A.ngierSI. tory DfIn' CITin the Irish wiws anda reJJy. " aJb.m and recmtgig. T«lmieaJ CD/Jegn FDDtbaIJ Page 8 SDnic BiDnk. Page 6 ShiJJfi""'- Pages 12-15 Page 17 that the Government be and management, so many of given the choice to act or whom have been campaigning MINISTER COMMITS not, as the case may be, heavily over the past few on - the advice of the months. DITSU President, Higher Education Colin Joyce, who was instru TO DIT HOPES Authority (HEA) and the mental in galvanising students Advisory Body. If they so to action, has said that he is choose, the government happy that students would be DITmayfinallll uet lonu souuht al+er status will then have t? include keeping a sharp eye on things, .., 6 6 6' r..!" the DIT 10 the ensuring that "this commit delight at the statement, and Universities Bill by order. ment lasts longer than the gen e Minister for was quoted by the Irish Times To do this, the order must eral election campaign." TIEducation, Niamh as saying "We are totally con- be approved by both Houses of Despite his cautionary tone, Bhreathnach, has said that fident that when the interna- the Oireachtas before it Mr. Joyce maintains that "it is she will request the tional group is set up under becomes law. now only a matter of time Government to establish a Section 9 of the Bill, it will rat- The announcement is seen before the DIT officially special committee to review ify that the DIT should become as a victory for both students becomes a university." the DIT's. case for a University." Dr. Goldsmith's University status, once the satisfaction comes after many Universities Bill, 1996, is months of campaigning for the paued later • year. elevaUon of the DIT to The announcement came in University status. He is of the a press release from the belief that, as the DIT has now Minister's Department on been granted permission to April 10, in which she was extend its qualification-award quoted as having told Seanad ing powers to that of doctoral Eireann that "OIl the passing of level, it "could not be regaRIed the Act into law. I wiU unme a anything otbel' a un diately request Government to versity. appoint a body pursuant to sec At the time of this issue tion 9 to advise the going to print, Section 9 of the Government on whether...the Bill was being discussed by Dublin Institute of Technology Seanad Eireann. Further devel should be established as a opments may arise depending University." on whether additional propos DIT President, Dr. Brendan als are put forward. Senator CD/man Bynte. n'Jtwhik DITSDII. regaills his USI heavyweight title. aMis Goldsmith has expressed his Joo Lee has already proposed w-ekcted Presidmtfor allDther term. FDrfUU story seePIIf" 10-11 insitk. IUS! SAYS NO TO WOMEN'S AUTONOMY I n a DIT-led In terms of changing things drastically, the Women's Autonomy motion fell on I move, dele this rejection by Congress is not as bad l\S Congress floor, I have absolutely no prob gates attending it seems; it would take a Constitutional lem with that, that was the will of USI's Annual amendment to remove autonomy. Kellie Congress. But the triumphalist behaviour Congress in continues, "We see it as more of a danger that happened afterwards was out of the Westport at the sign that Autonomy will be under threat. question. A lot of people were very upset beginning of It's a feeling from the ground that by it. Had it been along political lines Women's Autonomy isn't working any say, the R6isln McAlliskey motion - and Keyiq~ the month opted not to more or it has come so far in working that people were jumping up on chairs...?!" she Site President: TonyChoi ratify motion it's not needed anymore." leaves the sentence unfinished. "That tri Dep. President: Sarah McGovem WR3, that of~~~==;:::~~ She disagrees that this 'defeat' now umphalist behaviour should not happen on Congress floor. There was absolutely no ClubtlSoa: Sarah Gardiner W 0 men's . Ke/Jie 0' DDwJ. means that the battlements need to be Aut 0 nom y, WDmm SRights Officer raised. "You can't protect something for call for it." (Though the R6isln Boo: Sarah Corcoran McAIliskey motion was technicaIIy a l?4~ty: when it wasL..-__",,_·th_U_S_l__..1 the sake of protecting it. If the feeling of orta Buike raised. - Congress - and Women's Congress, human rights issue - in which calls were G~ Q)n () aadaigh Kellie O'Dowd, USI Women's Rights indeed - is that Autonomy is no longer being made for USI to lobby both British PRO: Colum Cunningham Officer feels that this is just a warning sign needed then it will go. So it's more of a and Irish governments to secure her of possible further resistance to the ques practical thing, than, you know, 'Our release from HM Prison HoIIoway -, it tion. It is not anomalous, and is stilI fully Women's Autonomy! How dare you lies in a politically sensitive area.) in effect as far as the Constitution itself is attack it!!' The Women's Rights post and The Women's Autonomy question is concerned, despite this apparent withdraw Women's Autonomy are there to render far from dead. O'Dowd believes feelings al ofsupport. O'Dowd explains why. themselves redundant." What supporters were hurt unnecessarily. uThe apologies were made for the ··Because it's enshrined in the of Women's Autonomy want is equality, behaviour, [but) a lot of people going Constitution and it was passed at maintains KeUie O'Dowd, but not to the are Women's Congress it still stands. We extent that they wiII bold on to old policies to want to hold on to it, m<X'e so now, than they would have if it [the motion) had bring our policies to Congress for them to purely for the sake of it. ,gone along on good grounds." be ratified but if they're not ratified by On a stronger lack, she notes disapprov ingly that the vict<X'S in this particular case Congress they still stand as women's poli For fuU Congreu ,..,...Ne.-sa- 10011 cy." reacted rather unreasonably. uFair enough. DITSU, DIT Kevin Street, Kevin St., Dublin 8. Ph: 402 4636 Fax: 4783154 Summertime Ring in the new. Normally, that phrase evokes images of freshness, improvement 8fld probably constructive change. Such was my impression when the DITSU Elections were over. and, though there were moments of skulduggery and spite evident, the annu* at madness passed off peacefully enough. As one '97·'98 sabbatical would have it, all too many candidates - successful and unsuccesful - began to suffer from PES, Post Electoral Stress. This I would concur with, and can only say one further thing: don't go off the deep end without adequate reason to do so. It ain't worth it. Sunny days now, of course, and with an early summer - up to 16 degrees and it's only April - we's gonna have a big water shortage. For anyone who cares. we need water to live,·so go easy on the taps, folks. The Corpo has already asked us to be vigi* lant on that score, and if '95 was ba.d. you can bet '97's gonna be badder. baby. Good luck to anyone who has exams. For those of you heading off to warmer. more capitalist climes to work for the sum mer months - just stay away from the daft food, and the stupid beer. A strict ration of sensible sustenance will keep you alive until September/October. by whicb stage you can come home and walk under a bus in the comfort ofyour own COUDtry. Again, enjoy the few months away from the ravages of tbe greatest Institute of Technology in Dublin. And who knows? - it might.be a University wben you come back. Samhradh Wmners ofprevious Irish TImes Crossword competition.Mar '97: 1. Malcolm Mac Domhnaill, 1yr. Kevin St Clarifications 2. Ann McDonnell. 2 yr. Kevin St 3. Simon Lowther. 3 yr. Kevin St Should you encounter anything you feel is in need ofclarifica Prizes can be collected from Kevin St SU offices.