Plenty of the DCUfm team are taking part, so we’ll see you there!

If you want to share the story of why you love DCUfm, email it to Cian@DCUfm.com in 200-300 words!

“DCUfm encourages so much creativity. When I was assigned a show this year with three people I didn’t know, it led two of us to stick to it and create our own show in the next semester. We picked up two others who were fans of the show before and developed an idea.
The main thing that makes DCUfm so fantastic is how inclusive it is; it really is like one family. It brings people together. I’m in third year and the three people I work with in DCUfm on the show I met for the first time this year.
It also allows so much experimentation and is virtually limitless for determined radio presenters. On our show, we have decided to join forces with another great show for a two hour broadcast and that is only possible with the freedom of DCUfm, the talent it attracts and the friendly atmosphere it encourages.
It allows as much or as little input as students are willing and able to put in, which means very busy students can commit to as little as one news bulletin a week, but eager radio heads can push their radio show as far as possible and really create something original that they can be proud of.”

- Jenny Darmody

If you want to share the story of why you love DCUfm, email it to Cian@DCUfm.com in 200-300 words!

“Setting up and hosting LGBTA Weekly in the second semester has been a fantastic experience. Not only is it great to broadcast opinions and play some of the best music going, the moments that matter to me the most are the interactions with listeners.

Be it through Twitter, Facebook or Ask.fm, responding to our listeners and supporters has been wonderful. Never in a million years did we think our Twitter account would get recognition from the Human Rights Campaign, the NOH8 Campaign or people such as Jay Brannan and Adam Bouska.

Through Facebook, we’ve been able to reach so many people, clocking approximately 844 people reached as a result of one of our Facebook statuses (yes, it was about one of our presenters doing to show in his underwear if we got enough likes, but still).

And finally, our advice section of the show enabled us to help those in need. By setting up an ask.fm page, listeners were able to anonymously ask us our opinions on their dilemmas. Hopefully, we answered the questions submitted carefully and appropriately. The feeling gained from giving people advice is truly something else.

All of these have made me love DCUfm. I’m so grateful to have been given this experience and so glad to have joined up in semester 2. I will most certainly be back for semester 1 2013!”

- James Keogh

If you want to share the story of why you love DCUfm, email it to Cian@DCUfm.com in 200-300 words!

“I’ve only been a part of DCUfm since second semester this year but I can honestly say that the last few weeks have been something special to me. I am the host of a live, electronic music mix show on Friday nights called Joyride. When I applied to DCUfm for the spot, it was for a couple of reasons. I love DJing. Its become somewhat of a passion of mine. I also felt that the station was missing something like live mixing in its schedule and I was also curious about radio in general. After getting the word that I’d be hosting my own show, my levels of excitement only skyrocketed.

I remember how surreal the first show was! I was so nervous because not only was it my first time ever on radio, I was going to be playing live to anyone who was listening. I was so nervous sitting in the hot seat during the couple of mins that transitioned between the previous show and my show. I’d been shown what to do and how everything worked, but we all make mistakes at first try. Our nerves get the better of us. When nine o’clock came around, it was game on! Dropping a bit of Alesso in the mix to kick it off, I uttered my first words into that microphone and suddenly my nerves were gone. I was there, I was in control and I was taking charge! Honestly, I hadn’t felt a rush like that in a while. I was on a little high. I think I knew at that point that this was something I wanted to keep doing.

When I’m there using my Traktor S2 controller to spin an hours worth of tracks, I can’t help but feel in the back of my head like there could be a crowd of people somewhere listening in before they head out for the night, and I’m providing them with substance to build up their night. I even had a crowd of people in the Hub one night dancing to “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia I can honestly say, if someone asked me now “Is DCUfm good? Is it worth going for?”, I would give them a recommendation like no other based on the pure emotion that it releases on you when you’re there.”

- Declan Clarke

If you want to share the story of why you love DCUfm, email it to Cian@DCUfm.com in 200-300 words!

“To say that The Shack came from humble beginnings is a massive understatement. Eoin and I began our time in DCUfm the same way that every other first year does, with the assigned shows. Indeed the most memorable bit about my first few words on DCUfm was admitting to the campus that my initials spell STD. Then one day at the end of last semester we decided we would propose a show and from there we never looked back.

Following a few nights of throwing around crazy ideas over cups of tea and overloading a Google doc with plans we had a show proposal together. However since then the show has become so much more for us. People are really willing to invest in something if you give it the time and attention that it deserves and the fact that we have a loyal listenership who have helped us out with ideas and tips means a huge amount.

DCUfm is a culture in DCU and through it you make friends but more importantly you make family. You meet people who think the same way you think and who build a culture of support around each other. The Shack as a show would not be half as good without the help of other shows and the DJ’s from those shows. Everyone is willing to help each other out and it all leads to fantastic radio being made by fantastic people.

We were lucky enough to be chosen as DJs of the year at this year’s Hybrid awards, however our entry featured sketches that we did with other people from DCUfm and I’m certain we wouldn’t have won without them.

In less than a year the group of enthusiastic first years that landed into assigned shows with Eoin and I have become presenters and contributors that rival the standard on many professional radio stations. They have been trained to use the equipment in the studio that is the same equipment used by the likes of Newstalk and RTÉ but more importantly they have created a culture of professionalism, excellence and fun. DCUfm is a great place to be and I can say that my life would not be what it is today without the station.”

- Sean Defoe

If you want to share the story of why you love DCUfm, email it to Cian@DCUfm.com in 200-300 words!

“Before I came to college, I knew that I wanted to get involved with DCUfm. I’d always been interested in radio and had done a little bit of work experience in my local station, but I was otherwise a complete beginner. When I arrived at DCU last September, I was welcomed into the station along with all the other new people straight away. It didn’t matter how little we knew; we were shown exactly how everything worked by a fantastic team of people who made us all feel like we each had an important role to play in the station.

I’m now almost finished my first year here, and getting involved with DCUfm has been by far the best thing I have done. What I love most about DCUfm is how supportive and close-knit it is. There is always someone around to help you out if you need it, and you never stop learning. Everyone is so dedicated to what they do.

This semester a friend and I have been presenting a Thursday evening rock music show called The Rock Files, which is the highlight of our week. This is the kind of show I used to wish I could do some day, and DCUfm has given me a platform to do it. I know that I would never have been able to do this any other way, so DCUfm has truly been an amazing experience for me. I’m excited about continuing to be a part of this station for the next two years, and I know that the experience I’m gaining here will be vital for my future.”

- Sarah Stacey, The Rock Files

Total Votes: 234

Will you vote in the DCUSU 2013 Elections? YES: 97% NO: 3%

VP for Welfare: Total votes 219. Laura Rice 146 votes – 66%, Lorna Finnegan 72 votes – 33%.

VP for Education: Total votes 215. Ciaran O’ Connor 180 votes – 84%. Robbie Reid 34 votes – 16%.

SU President: Total votes 222. Aaron Clogher 104 votes – 47%. Colin Brennan 117 votes – 53%.

Alan is a 20-year-old second year Accounting & Finance student. He lives in Gorey in Co. Wexford but originally hails from Co. Limerick.

Alan is interested in sport and plays a lot of soccer and GAA and is a treasurer for his local soccer club. He will be completing an internship for Ernest & Young over the summer.

The main focus of his manifesto is the DCU Business School Entrepreneur of the Year. Alan hopes to use this award to find someone who has the potential to be the next big person to come out of DCU’s Business School.

He also hopes to set up mock interviews for people who are going for internships. He believes that with more preparation, people can come across a lot better in interviews.

If elected to the position, Alan also hopes to lobby the DCU library to extend their opening hours around exam time. He says that even if they just open the library for one more hour a day over the two weeks before exams, it would make a huge difference to students.

Alan Prendergast is running unopposed for the position of Business Convenor for the year 2013/2014.  

The final results of the poll will be released on Tuesday night, but until then, we’ve summed up some of the early points of how campaigning for the three sabbatical positions has been going so far. We’ve also looked at who’s taking the early lead in the opinion poll.

Click the play button below to hear more

If you have not yet voted in our poll, you can do so by clicking here. You can also read The College View’s analysis here.