UCD - women only policy stands

THE Independent Appeals Board of UCD has rejected an attempt to have the union's support for USI's women's autonomy policy rejected as unconstitutional and to have it overturned.

The appeal to the board was made by out going students' union education officer Garrett Tubridy and union development officer and incoming USI education officer Malcolm Byrne. The appeal centred - on two clauses in UCD students' union's own constitution which appeared to disallow alleged discrimination on the basis of sex.

The first entitles all students' union members to "all the rights and freedoms . . . without distinction of any kind", including sex. The second entitles all members to "the right to equal access to the facilities and services of the union".

The two officers pointed out that the vote for women's rights officer in USI takes place at women only events and that only females can vote in the election. When UCD's union council nominated a male to attend a training event on women's issues last October he was denied access to the event.

They also noted that USI's women's rights officer has responsibility for a number of other areas of USI activity in which she represents the interests of both male and female students. USIs current WRO, Fiona McAuley, has responsibility for USI's international affairs, is a convenor of meetings of USI's Dublin affiliates and represents students on the board of TEASTAS, the national training, education and certification board.

"It is our contention that a policy denying a significant section of the student population the right to elect an officer who is to represent their interests is unconstitutional in light of the articles we have cited above", concluded the officers in their submission to the IAB.

The IAB decided that the women's autonomy policy was not unconstitutional, although the officers behind the submission have requested clarification of the reasons for the IAB's decision.

Garrett Tubridy said he was disappointed at the decision and that he still fundamentally disagreed with what he termed this "discrimination against men".

"The basis of what we are saying is that we are not against women having a women's rights officer," says Tubridy. "But councillors are democratically elected by the whole student body yet only women are allowed to go down to women's training events and Women's Congress. It seems that a male councillor representing women and men should have the right to go down to events like Women's Congress, otherwise how can we be expected to keep all students informed on issues that concern women?"

Noeleen Hartigan, USI welfare officer and incoming deputy leader, as well as a former UCD students' union sabbatical officer said she was "delighted that the views of the majority of UCD students' union were unanimously upheld by the IAB".

She said that every students' union constitution was based on a principle of autonomy as a safeguard against control by outside bodies. "UCD students' union actively promotes the autonomous election of a residency representative and a disabled students' representative. It is worrying that only, the policy of women's autonomy appears to be permanently under threat.

"The women's campaign in USI will continue to include men while taking direction from a female leadership," she concluded.