WHAT'S IN a word? Quite a lot it would seem, judging by last week's Union of Students in Ireland annual congress in Westport, Co Mayo.

After five days of emotional speeches and intense debate, complementary gin and karaoke, the consensus was that the most significant moment came in the changing of an "a" to a "the". To be precise, the issue of access to third level education for traditionally excluded groups became no longer a mere priority but "the top priority" of the USI.

The move attempts to combat the gross under representation of people from disadvantaged backgrounds at third level - an imbalance which leaves universities with an almost entirely middle class or privileged profile, the union said.

It also signals a subtle shift at the USI, long overdue in the eyes of many members, away from its association with reproductive rights, and towards the social justice issue of educational equality. With the SPUC v Grogan case finally relegated to the history books, some delegates viewed the decision on access as evidence of a new beginning for the student movement.

The USI congress agreed to step up its campaign for the reform of student financial support systems to ensure greater access for the disadvantaged, and "to prioritise, above all others, work in this area". The union is to prepare a draft policy paper on the issue in the coming months. One of its main aims is expected to be the promotion of local initiatives which attempt to alter negative attitudes among some sectors of the population towards third level education.

The single word "the" also dominated the debate on the future of USI's drugs policy. In this case, the issue was whether the union would treat harm reduction education as the most effective method of combating drug abuse among students.

A group of delegates, led by members of DITSU and DCU SU, argued that some college students were "too young" for harm reduction education of the sort promoted at UCD in the past. It was said that such information on "safer" ways of taking drugs was capable of backfiring badly.

Inevitably, a compromise was reached the union will treat harm reduction education as just one of many methods of tacking student drug abuse. The decision is not expected to affect the latest USI drugs campaign, which is to be launched this month with pocket sized leaflets and posters incorporating information about the main recreational drugs.

AMONG THE other burning issues of the week were working conditions of student nurses; the availability of student accommodation; and, inevitably, the abortion information campaign.

The lobbying success of the week undoubtedly belonged to the sexual orientation equality group, which achieved approval for a new full time USI position - lesbian, gay and bisexual rights officer.

The proposal was accepted by the congress, despite claims that the union could not afford it and that there was not enough work to justify the post.

The first incumbent, who is to start work on July 1st after a selection process, will concentrate on both college based educational work and political lobbying.

According to USI officer Megan Stewart, the "LGB" rights officer will campaign for equal partnership rights for homosexual couples, and fight homophobia and discrimination in education and at the workplace. The officer will also be concerned with specific health issues, and will investigate the possibility of opening a national clinic for lesbians, she said.

At college level, the officer will attempt to break down prejudice by visiting third level institutions throughout the country. According to Stewart, two campaigns, aimed at ending homophobia and having bisexuality recognised by students as a valid orientation, are to be launched in a few weeks. "This kind of awareness raising is probably the most important way of changing attitudes," she said.

Urgent awareness promotion was also called for in relation to the ever present threat of meningitis, which absorbed much attention during the week.

Joanne Murphy, UCG SU president, said many students are still unaware of the symptoms of the disease, as they are quite similar to the symptoms of flu. More resources need to be put into campus health centres to ensure symptoms are investigated immediately, she added.

"At the moment, at our student health unit, students may have to wait up to a week for an appointment. That would be too late for someone who has meningitis," she said. UCG has lost three students to the disease in the past two years. The campus health centre employs one full time worker, one part time worker and a doctor for a limited number of hours a week.

The USI is now to launch a national information programme on meningitis, which will include "health roadshows" visiting all colleges. The union will also be looking for colleges to pledge emergency resources that can be called upon in the case of a meningitis scare.

The other main health issue raised at the conference was the problem of eating disorders among female students, something the USI was accused of neglecting in the past. An information leaflet on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and over eating is to be prepared, and the union has pledged to lobby the Government to provide proper medical services for those with such disorders.

WITH SO MANY demands for extra funding during the week, it was hard to establish the union's most deserving cause. In terms of sympathy generated, the title probably went to the art and design students of Galway RTC, who said they have been enduring decrepit, if not dangerous, standards of accommodation.

Helen Murphy, vice president of Galway RTC SU, told the congress that since the beginning of last year art and design classes have been held in unheated porto cabins about a 30 minute walk from the campus. Toilets at the location are sub standard, she said, while other facilities are inadequate - e.g. only four lockers for 200 students.

Most alarming, she said, was the absence of proper ventilation in the classrooms, which posed a health risk to students. "The students use paint sprays, which create very potent fumes. As a result, the students are choked in the room," she said.

It emerged at the conference that other art and design colleges, in Dublin and Cork, suffer the same problems. A campaign paper is now being prepared focusing on the issue of creating a safe and healthy working environment for such students.

The USI also made clear last week that, like every other lobby group in the State, it is now on an election footing. In addition to publishing a draft manifesto that calls for funding of third level education to be made a political priority, the union took the bold step of resolving to run, where desirable, independent candidates committed to student issues.

It remains to be seen how many will take up the challenge. There is only one USI member candidate so far, Matty O'Callaghan from Cork RTC, who is to run in Cork South Central on the issue of upgrading his college to institute status. What is clear, however, is that the union's top officers will not be taking the plunge.

While SU officers were said to be "more informed and more interested in the larger political picture", the congress agreed they "would lose substantial credibility within their own colleges if they were to run".