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During that campaign, Student President Jack Scanlon told campaigners that given the pattern of newly-elected student officers not wanting to get off to an aggressive start in their relationship with UL, each new team starts their terms being polite and ends it by taking firm stances.<\/p>\n
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He elaborated that this meant that in cases of multi-annual issues, the union\u2019s aggression would effectively reset after each election, meaning that UL just had to sit tight and the problem would go away. Scanlon\u2019s conclusion? Making demands of the university is the only way to make progress on serious issues.<\/p>\n
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The Student Life President said that \u201cIf it [the provision of more accommodation] does happen, it won’t be for the next three years, it’s going to require government funding. We need solutions for the long term and short term.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He added that Student Life are \u201cvery happy to work with UL and Limerick City Council but ultimately it comes down to government policy,\u201d so if the government isn’t favourable to new student accommodation, it is the students who will suffer as a result.<\/p>\n
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Meanwhile Pemble has been applying pressure to CAMPG (Covid Academic Monitoring Planning Group) to accommodate student facilities and requirements in a post COVID-19 environment; primarily accommodation and study spaces on campus.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt’s our responsibility to keep the pressure on the universities to get it solved, ASAP,\u201d he said, noting that UL has only set aside capacity for 324 students in study spaces, many of which are in noisy areas such as Red Raisins [note: this interview was conducted before the recent changes to the Library capacity.]\n
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Hopeful to get answers sooner rather than later, and whether plans get put in place or not, the ULPSU VP knows \u201cthere could be another 24 months, or a while yet\u201d for action so keeping the pressure on UL is going to be important.<\/p>\n
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Pemble added, \u201cA student village isn’t going to get built in six months, we’re realistic about that. So that’s why, it has to be something a bit outside the box,\u201d giving credit to staff members that have taken in students and encouraging more to do so.<\/p>\n
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O\u2019Donoghue and Academic Officer Alice Hynes also spoke to CAMPG and outlined that students should be accommodated with online resources, lectures and course materials, especially those who are facing homelessness.<\/p>\n
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Issues such as Erasmus students who can’t get credits from their home university if they can’t come to college in Limerick due to the lack of accommodation have also been addressed and the Student Life President is working with UL Global for a solution.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Similarly, the ULPSU VP \u200b\u200boutlined that international students don’t have the network of people locally that an Irish student might have so it is very hard for them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe direct them to the accommodation office but the fact of the matter is the accommodation office more often than not, doesn’t have anything. If the house or room is advertised on rent or daft, it goes so, so, quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pemble advised students to be flexible, consider living somewhere a little bit further away, but on the bus routes and the main thing is to get a roof over their heads.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Student Life President said \u201cit’s very difficult to tell students not to give up on finding accommodation\u201d compared to previous years but this year is especially valid, highlighting how bad the situation is.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don’t feel comfortable telling students to keep trying to find accommodation because I don’t know, I genuinely cannot say that there is accommodation available for them\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n O\u2019Donoghue added to make sure you assess your situation and drop into Student Life before making any decisions around the future of your academics or dropping out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With the current crisis comes a lack of infrastructure for the growing campus community and a need for more staff, restaurants, lecture space, and study rooms, O\u2019Donoghue stressed that this is a hugely worrying part of his job as President.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don’t see evidence of that happening from UL and that’s why we’re really working on trying to fix the problems that have happened over the last 10 years from the lack of planning, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, he is not yet ready to commit to protests. When questioned about UL Student Life\u2019s historic support for nationwide USI-run protests versus its silence on the recent \u201cNo Keys, No Degrees\u201d sleep-outs in front of the D\u00e1il, O\u2019Donoghue expressed \u201c100%\u201d verbal support for USI and its allies\u2019 \u201cbrilliant campaign\u201d, but declined to commit the union\u2019s resources to protests until he hears UL Governing Authority\u2019s plans, stressing that if he is unhappy with the response from the university he will be pushing for a strong response from the union including protests.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In a recent exclusive interview with ULFM, UL\u2019s President Professor Kerstin Mey pointed out that the accommodation crisis is a sectoral crisis due to the lack of housing across the country, not just Limerick and that we have to be \u201cvery creative to find ways of supporting our students.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both the Student Life President and ULPSU VP are in agreement that the current homelessness crisis is a disappointing consequence at the hands of the university’s growth without pre-planning and adequate solutions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The PSU VP also noted that the message from UL about this semester is \u201cback to normal,\u201d and from what he has seen, this semester is not up to the standard of the last normal semester in Autumn 2019.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/books-gf581b14a9_1920-300x225.jpg\")