Right, well before I get down to Council business, I'll just mention;

Chris Luke - Lecturer at Large. Some people were complaining about the length of his notes, and the fact that the majority of the time in class can be spent writing, if you consider verbatim notes to be important. People complained about this to me a while ago, and as it happened I know several people who, for one reason or another, are already getting photocopies of CL's notes. However I thought it'd be a little unfair to just post their names to the class, so yesterday I went and had a talk with CL, to see about getting photocopies for the rest of us mere mortals. As luck would have it, it's not that simple. Firstly, he's never taught this course before, so he's writing the notes up as he goes along. ie. I can't just take a stack of notes and make photocopies. What he has agreed to do is to provide some copies of the notes to me, so that we can work an arrangement along the lines of CSH last year. So, that's where things stand at the moment, I won't have the notes as the lecture happens, and he'll probably give them out in batches, rather than on a day to day basis. What I plan to do is the following. I (...and presumably a few others...) will have each batch as and when he gives them out, and if you want to copy them batch by batch then that's up to you, but I reckon It'd be better to wait until I have a good sized stack of notes, say up to the end of the second of the three main sections, and then give out as near to complete a set as possible closer to the end of the semester. (...which is the only time most people I know actually look at notes anyway...) This situation seems best to me. Easier. Quicker. Less hassle.

Another problem with piecemeal notes collection / dispersion, is that the people who volunteer to hold the notes will have to be in for (almost) every lecture, otherwise all our collections of notes will have pages missing, and whatsmore different pages i n each one!

Thinking about it now, I think the best thing to do is go to CL, tell him to hold his fire, and I'll get a few copies of the notes from him near the end of the semester / at the start of Chapter 3, or whatever. This seems the most workable solution - but if someone knows better, mail me.

So let's say that unless there's any further developments, notes won't be given out for a while yet, and when they are given out they will be as near to complete as is reasonable. Ok ?

Golly! I've wandered off the beaten track a bit, I only opened the mailer to tell you about....

The second Union Council meeting, which took place Tuesday night, only three working days after the last one, (…the pressure, the pressure…).

The main items on the Agenda were :

1) Bar Situation. The situation is pretty horrible at the minute, but OTOH, they are sorting it out. Slowly, but surely. The situation at the minute is that an outside, temporary manager, has been brought in. to run the bar until something else is worked out. They might hire another bar manager, they might decide to franchise the licence out, or they might try to let the SU run it. It's all up in the air at the minute, but the bar will be run by the temp. guy until then. Two other quick points - A. Prices will not rise when the bar reopens. B. The now debunked food services, will be reinstated.

2) Additional USI Congress Resolution. The organisational structure of the USI is somewhat complex, there are various working groups for welfare, for women's rights, Irish language or whatever. There is a difficulty though in coming to all these working group meetings for those local SU officers who live outside the pale. Also, there are National Council meetings that take place over one day. We're basically proposing that this be extended to two days, and that the second day would incorporate the various working groups on the different issues. These will take place over a weekend, so it won't mean any extra time away from the local colleges for the various SU officers. Also, when things are scheduled during the week, it's very hard to accommodate everyone, 'cause different people will have different commitments at different times.

3) Rag Week. As outlined above the bar will be open during Rag Week. I have some details of the events. There will be Zac Powers, there won't be a Booze Cruise, there will be DJ's / buskers / bands etc. Specifically in relation to the Bar, the regulations will be strict. You WILL need an ID card, you WON'T be able to sign people in, and you WON'T be allowed to bring bags in - You have been warned. Also the bar won't be open 'till 12:00 any day, but OTOH the first few people in each day will get a free pint of Heineken. Also, there won't be any events organised in the Slipper, 'cause they don't have a licence for a DJ / band / busker / anything. :> Other big events include the trip to Galway on Wednesday. 12pm to 6am, and the Rag Ball, which takes place in the Temple Theatre, on Thursday night, cost £6.00. More specific details will be up on the various notice boards. We deferred a decision on what to do with the money raised from Rag week. Mainly on the basis that we might not make any money at all, and also on the basis that it was obvious that every rep / officer had a different idea about where the money should go , and so we deferred the decision to avoid hassle as much as anything else.

4) Welfare Loans. The welfare loans run by the SU, work on the basis that they are loans, not grants. However people just weren't paying the loans back, and so last years council suspended the scheme, as the outstanding debt had grown to £4,896, causing the average loan quantum to drop to £30. We've been trying to recover the money, but people are either uncontactable, or unwilling to repay their debts. We discussed reinstating the Welfare Loan scheme, but decided to wait until proper guidelines are in place before doing so. This was to stop a similar situation from develop again. I should just mention in passing that students in trouble, can still get support from the college.

5) Car Parking. Approx. 250 permits have been issued to students allowing them to park in the old hockey pitch behind the Res. Students cannot park in the staff bays, nor can they even drive in through Collins Avenue - security will stop you, if you don't have the correct permit. Don't hassle them though, 'cause A) they are just following orders, and B) they're tougher than us. < EEEP> Anyway, we think it's unfair that the staff get such preferential treatment, and we have some concerns for student safety, as regards lighting at night in the new 'car park'. Some bould members of the Council suggested getting a van and blocking off the main entrance, and letting the staff rot in hell MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!!! However, what we've proposed to do is to send in an official complaint, give them two weeks and then discuss further action at the Union Council meeting after Rag Week.

6) Canteen Situation. Nothing much has been achieved thus far as regards the post-boycott Canteen. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly we've been given the run around as regards who is in overall charge of the situation. Secondly, the guy who now looks to be in control is Martin Conroy, who also has responsibility over the bar. So we've been pushing to get the bar reopened, without wanting to ruffle all his feathers at once. More news as it arrives.

7) SIPTU Ballot. There's a case history that I won't go into, (..I have some more details if anyone's interested…) but an employee of the INTRA office has been fired, for saying she had 4d's in her Leaving Cert. when in fact she only had three. However it's a small mistake, and she's been working here for five years, and was due for promotion, which is why they were looking over her old application form, and spotted the mistake. SIPTU claim unfair dismissal, and passed a motion, by a vote of three to one, calling for a one day work stoppage. Union Council discussed the idea of supporting the picket, i.e. either not crossing the picket, or actually standing on it. We haven't reached a decision on this yet, so any comments / suggestions / opinions are of course welcome.

Finally, there's a few minor points, like the fact that the Final Accounts were supposed to be presented at the general meeting of the SU, but weren't - best estimate now says that they'll be ready in a month. That's all the main news though.

The next meeting of Union Council takes place on the third day of the third month, in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred, four score and eighteen. Time and Place as usual, 6pm, in the ground floor of the business school. Anyone may attend.

Well, as Porky Pig / John Waldron would say, T', T', T', T', Th', Th', Th', Tha', Tha', - That's all folks ! !

Yours, Jonathan Walsh.