My first year in NUI,G or
you-seee-geeee has been eventful to say the
least…
September
The
7th of September 2002, my date of arrival in Galway, has faded
inevitably into the past. I had a positive outlook at the time and nothing short
of a serous spinal injury was going to stop my enjoyment of university life. My
first shelter was “Corrib Village”, Galway’s answer to the shantytowns of
Brazil, and it served as a hangover hospital for those dizzy first
weeks.
Soon my bubble of contentment was burst, I began to
question the organisation, or lack thereof, of certain key moments which I had
heard several stories about - namely “Freshers’ Week”,
or more precisely, the mystery tour on Wednesday - lets call it “Freshers’ Week”. Goaded by stories from fellow students from
inferior universities, I decided to do what I could to find out more about the
perpetrators of “Freshers’ Week”- it led me to the
Students’ Union.
September was a big month: aside form coping with having to move away
form home and balance budgets there was also the problem of getting up on time
for lectures, also my summer savings quickly disappeared into the college bar’s
debt.
October
October saw the arrival of Gerry Adams, truthfully one
of the most charismatic leaders in the British Isles. Whether you like him or
not, it has to be said that he has pulling power. I remember having my hand up
hoping to ask “el presidente” why Sinn Féin had details on 1,500 PSNI members. Perhaps for the
santicity of my knees it was best that I didn’t get
that chance to ask.
October featured the dazzling Nice Treaty Debate
starring Micheal D. Higgins (a previous student of
UCG) and some lesser personalities, fighting over biscuits, which turned out to
be quite an informative and entertaining evening.
Not forgetting the PDS, which had an exorcist, Fr Pat
Collins, a regular contributor to the bastion of all religious magazines, The
Irish Catholic, who gave an interesting talk on the dynamics of demons and
discussed the idea of the “shadow” which may also explain some of the
manifestations in Friday morning lectures.
November
November was the scene for my first student protest,
against the €670 registration fee/re-introduction of third level fees. It got a
20 second plug on the Six-One News and yours truly was pictured up a tree
on page 8 of the Irish Times.
The protest was interesting as no national newspaper could decide how
many people were there. Figures for attendance ranged form four to eight
thousand students. Not all the newspapers could have been right, so which one
was?
In November, lectures and course work were really
beginning and society commitments where taking second place. I was grudgingly
forced to drop some of the societies I had enjoyed in September and October. It
wasn’t a cutback, just an adjustment.
November also heralded the 10-kilometre walk in aid of the Chernobyl
Children’s Project. It was a nice walk and the weather was good which is a profound statement for Galway at any time of the
year.
December
Christmas exam panic has struck. The library is packed
to capacity and society events have trickled off. The VSA chilly calendar was
launched.
January
Back to college and the realisation hits that’s I’m over
half-way through first year. In January, presumably after the shock of Christmas
exams, there is a noticeable change in atmosphere around college. College events
go into decline and in some cases stop outright, but the best societies keep on
going. Lectures are continuing and there is a noticeable increase in attendance
levels for Friday morning 9 o’clock lectures.
February
A
second anti-fees demonstration took place in Dublin. It was reported that
over eight thousand people took to the streets to voice their opposition to any
proposal of the reintroduction of fees. Although it was pale by comparison to
100,000 who did the same the following week, protesting against possible war in
Iraq!
Rag
week entertained us through the talents of Colin Murphy from Xit File and the week climaxed with a concert
in the college bar by The Revs.
March
The
most memorable event of March was the SU election. The Baron of Swinford, Tony McDonnell, was elected Student Union
President in a landslide victory, no doubt due to his very professionally run
campaign and excellent campaign staff.
I also ran
an election campaign. Although I lost the race, I learnt a lot and picked up
valuable experience. Election campaigns are tough and expensive but anything
that’s worthwhile must be worked for.
April
The
year is basically over, exams are fast approaching, so it’s time to acknowledge
those individuals, of whom there are many, who make an outstanding contribution
to college life. These individuals were rewarded with lavish award ceremonies,
which saw Literary and Debating Society win the Best Society award. Best Society
Individual was John Lynskey, Auditor of the Music
Society. A special tribute must also be made to those individuals behind the
scenes who make a critical contribution to societies and the university as a
whole. They include of course Susan Treacy, the
Societies’ Chair, and Ríona Hughes, whose tireless
efforts do not go unnoticed.
May
It’s over, exams are finished. I would like to thank
everyone who made my year as interesting as it was. Through college life I have
met some of the most interesting people, filled with conviction, arrogance,
intelligence, wit, charisma and sheer determination. I believe honestly that I
have become more educated through these diverse characters than I have in any
lecture or subject. It would have been an excellent year for me if I had done
nothing else but meet these people but now I can call some of them friends.
To any First Year reading this, join a society.
Martin
Melvin
1st
Biotechnology
