The USI bureaucracy lives on.....

Wednesday April 23, 2003 20:10

by student

Will Priestly the President elect of the USI. Is he a careerist bureaucrat? We look on at his career as President of TCDSU in which he publically denounced the USI and led the campaign to disaffiliate.

The 12th of Novemeber 2002, the "University Record" newspaper of the TCD Students Unionran the headline:

"USI question arises again"

Before assuming his role as President of the Students Union, Priestly with the aid of current education offcier Ian Moynihan and current Deputy President Gareth Makim collected signatures for a referendum on polling to decide if TCDSU should disaffiliate from the Union of Students Ireland. Collecting 350, signatures Prestly arrogantly declared " It was not exceedingly difficult" to reach the number.

Further to that point the decision for a referendum on the matter was "Primarily" his. He wanted out, taking temporary leave from the Presidency he went to campaign for the SU to leave the USI.

In that edition of the SU newspaper two interviews were conducted with Noel Hogan in favour of staying with the USI and former TCDSU education officer Sean Blanchfield for leaving the Union.

Blanchfield's case, was as follows - "It is [USI] Entirely removed from the from what goes on from the average student." He went on to add that the USI was "Little more than a playing ground for budding politicians"

And quite right he was, but disaffiliation was not the way to change this, reform of the USI into a democratic and militant fighting body was required, the No camp failed to recognise this and were effectively playing for more power for their boys in the TCDSU, as mentioned above 3 of which hold high postitions on the SU.

The referendum came and Priestly lost. A sentence was devoted to the result in the official e-mail of news and events from the presidents office. Priesstly was not seen for days.

Last month it was revealed that Proestly had been elected President elect of USI. This came as a shock to me, but not a surprise. It was a blatent act of careerism. Priestly saw that he will get a bigger profile for his budding centre right political ambitions in mainstream politics.

The Record which came out today carries an article on Priestly's "Full circle" in what is nothing short of a "Cult of personality" (No surprise here as the paper is edited by the SU deputy president and Proestly's no 2 in the No to USI campaign Gareth Makim.

Of Priestlys U Turn one sentance is granted and even that rambles and avoids the question why did he turn.

Priestly talks in the article about how he is going to make a difference in the USI and how he is going to build a cohesive student movement, again lets look at two protests organised by the TCDSU albeit not organised by him, but with his backing.

1. A "silent protest" made entirely a minority of the TCD students council to mark to arrival of Noel Dempsey to Trinity to launch the broad curriculum, as opposed to a large lively protest of the student body as had occured in UCD and DIT. No attempt was made to rally the general student body.

2. A postcard campaign against fees to the minister for education.

In the speeches given by Priestly to the student body one can't but help think that he is opposed to fees, yet at the USI conference he warmly welcomed Minister Dempsey pictures in this months record show him cosying up to the minister. This is what we have to look forward to.

Priestly is a bureaucrat a careerist and oppertunist, he is inefficient, has a tendency to disappear and is weak minded.