My Father died in 1991, as I was beginning my final year in college. The death was unexpected and I recall that the remainder of that year was painful and difficult. Losing a parent or near relative, or experiencing the death of a fellow student, are among the worst things that can happen to a student while in college. All credit, then, to USI, which last week launched its "Bereavement Protocol" in an effort to advise student leaders on how to approach a student or group of students coping with bereavement.

The protocol, which has been compiled by USI's western area convenor, Alan Kelly, is to be made available to all students' unions in Ireland. "Basically, it arose when I was president of Galway RTC students' union last year and several calls came through to me where a student's parent or relative had died and the person on the phone was trying to contact them urgently," Kelly says.

"I had students coming up to me asking `what's up?' after they were called out of lectures and I had to break the news to them. It struck me then: how do I deal with this? What do I do?"

As Kelly points out, students' union officers may be put in this position whether they like it or not, and the protocol offers a code of best practice for officers to follow. "It covers the importance of getting in touch with students as quickly as possible, getting them in touch with the chaplain or counsellor, bringing them somewhere quiet where they have the use of a private phone and maybe giving the 20 or 30 quid to help them get home if they haven't got money of their own," he says.

While circumstances, practice and the support services on offer may differ from college to college, for many students the union may their first port of call in the face of a personal tragedy. And, as Kelly points out: "It's the union's responsibility to help the student."