“I would have found it funny if it wasn’t so horrifically bad” – What students are thinking amidst the student levy scandal.

Background 

On the 26th of September 2022, Maynooth University announced the termination of the construction of the proposed Student Centre. This ‘announcement’ was, as students feel, “distastefully” and “disgracefully hidden” in an email to students at the beginning of the semester. 

This student levy was introduced in 2015 by way of student referendum and the project was due to be completed next summer. The project was terminated following a decision by the university’s governing authority. 

In a statement on its website, the university states that it “shares the disappointment of our students” and “remains committed to providing students with additional spaces for informal learning and gathering that are so important for a vibrant campus experience”. 

The Student Centre aimed to serve as a central point for student activities and provide student spaces as well as a workspace for clubs and societies. 

While this issue is at the forefront of current issues in Maynooth University, it is not an isolated cause of student anger this academic year. With issues such as “belligerent clamping”, lack of student spaces, a cost-of-living crisis as well as a rise in bus fares affecting students, the termination of the student levy is certainly the straw that broke the student body’s back. 

Students and the SU have been raising their voices on this issue since September. We attended these events and spoke to students to see how this issue is affecting our community. 

On the 4th of October 2022 the MSU released a list of its demands on the situation. The MSU called on the university to publicly state their commitment to the student centre, freeze the levy and be transparent on how the levy is being used. 

The Walkout 

On the 6th of October 2022, the MSU organised a student walkout. Thousands of students walked out of their lectures and classes to show their disgust and dismay with the termination of the student centre. #Wheresmylevy became the mantra of protesting students and the key talking point in any discussion of the issue. 

Students from all years, all across the university stood up and spoke out about the issue. A clear consensus of disgust, disbelief and disappointment could be seen in those present.  

Seven years after the first collection of the student levy and there is still no student centre, a continued need for facilities and a lack of clarity regarding where this money has gone. Students and staff alike across the university have expressed their disdain regarding the situation.  

Students highlighted that this issue should not and cannot be discussed in isolation without mention of the breadth of problems faced by students in Maynooth University and students in third level education countrywide. Students all over the country are facing an accommodation and housing crisis, the cost of living is skyrocketing and now that the age of online college has come to an end, students are struggling to attend classes and find student spaces on campus. “The levy issue may lose momentum if it’s discussed in isolation… the SU should creatively seek to connect these issues.” 

As well as the SU, the walkout saw political groups and organisations get involved and gather support. Since this occurred, there has been another question on students’ minds. Was the SU affiliated? Allegedly, students expressed confusion when these political groups circulated sign-up sheets. Were these sign-up sheets affiliated with the SU or the petition? Later this month, the student branch of People Before Profit (PBP) have circulated leaflets regarding their own protest on the 25th of October 2022. These leaflets call for students to “take the MSU Survey and show your anger!” It is easy to see why students may be confused as to whether certain political groups are affiliated with the SU whilst they all are focused on fighting for justice and resolving the levy situation. 

Lucas Jeanniot, MSU VP Student Life, clarified that while they were aware of the presence of these groups and parties, the SU is a “politically unaffiliated organisation, which means we do not lend preference to any group that came forward to aid us in this campaign, which we believe is an issue that affects all students regardless of political affiliation. We accepted the help of [these parties] but did not give any preference.” He also tells us that he would be very uncomfortable “if there was any subterfuge” by political parties at the walkout. 

A member of one of these parties tells us that this was just “an opportunity to organise and invite students to an action group”. They also believe that an “organic self-organised body is needed” as they raise concerns on the “organisational bias” from which the SU may suffer.  

This House Would Reject the Student Levy 

On the 12th of October 2022, the MSU in collaboration with the Literary and Debating society hosted a debate on the levy issue. The motion: this house would reject the student levy. Kayleigh Sines and George Avery spoke for the proposition, to reject the levy. Lucas Jeanniot and David Rattigan spoke for the opposition, to keep the levy. Niall Daly, MSU President joined the stage after concluding statements to help answer questions from the students present. 

The proposition advanced the argument that we must demand better facilities from the university. It rejected the notion that we pay the levy while no student centre is being built. The proposition argued that student facilities are lacking, spaces to eat lunch are unavailable and communication from the governing authority of Maynooth University is nonexistent. 

The opposition advanced the argument that the levy is not just our money, but the money of future students: the same future students that those attending Maynooth in 2015 sought to benefit when voting to pay the levy. They argued that our levy is currently the biggest bargaining chip we have in getting our demands met. “If we pull the plug on this now it's over”. 

This sentiment was echoed by Niall Daly, but he also notes that “the contingency is that the levy goes… or [we] look at a new agreement”. 

How far does this go before the contingency plan comes into play? Lucas tells us that this is currently unclear; “the plan keeps changing”. 

Students expressed a desire to push the university more and engage with wider media. On this, Lucas urged students to engage with the SU in filling out surveys. Creating data and information to present to the university is “probably going to do more for the movement than getting people outside the SU” as these “are the only things these people care about”. 

While most of the students we have spoken to and those who voted at the debate wish to reject the levy, it is clear from the demands of the SU that they believe that freezing it leaves us in a better position. 

But What Do the Students Think? 

After last week’s debate, we spoke to students to gather their opinions on this matter. 

It is apparent that students are appalled at the way the university notified students regarding the termination of the student centre project. When discussing how the university “buried the news in an email about some microwaves”, one student went on to explain that they “would have found it funny if it wasn’t so horrific”.  

There is clear concern from all at Maynooth University on the topic of transparency. Where has the money collected since 2015 gone? Students and the SU are demanding transparency regarding the status of the student levy funds.  

But while we are demanding transparency from the governing authority, students at the debate also showed concern regarding the transparency of our SU. 

Niall commented that this is something they are working on. As part of this, the Union intends to share the minutes of every executive meeting on the MSU website. 

We also spoke to Lucas about the need for a dedicated space to hear student voices and opinions on these pressing issues. The infamous MU Confessions Twitter page has acted as a space for students to voice any gripe or struggle they have while attending university. While this has become the main platform for student conversation, it remains, as noted by previous members of the executive, unusable. While the MSU website does have a forum available, it has been dubbed “inaccessible and unusable”. 

There also appears to be a disconnect between satisfaction with the demands of the SU and satisfaction that it is meeting students’ needs. While almost all of the students we spoke to agreed with or even praised the demands made, many felt the approach taken isn’t serving their needs: “I would like them to be more public about what they are doing on the issue.” “The protest and petition are great, but we need to be emailing TDs and relevant authorities, we need to be approaching media more.” 

Niall noted at the debate that the members of the SU had been emailing TDs, and they have also been approached by the media. The SU even appeared to have attended the Dáil discussion on the matter on Thursday the 13th of October 2022. So why the disconnect? Why do students feel like they don’t know what is going on in their SU? 

While Kelly Rennick was president of the SU, they started an Instagram page with the handle @msu_vlogs. This page featured regular updates from the SU on the behind-the-scenes work and appeared to bridge this transparency gap. Lucas notes that “it is incredibly hard to reach fifteen thousand students” which is why they will be posting minutes from executive meetings. Lucas also tells us that there are plans to bring this transparency back through the Good Morning Maynooth podcast that will happen every two weeks. 

It is clear that since coming back to campus, college life has been less than ideal for the average student. Those attending Maynooth University have continuously expressed dismay about the current situation. So, what’s next? As of yet we do not know. The university has not agreed to the demands of the SU. The SU has stated there will be further announcements made on the 25th of October 2022. While we do not know what will happen, we do know students are not happy.