Sir, – The referendum on divorce was passed in November 1995 by 9,114 votes – the same number of students at a medium-sized college.
During the month of November 2014, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) registered over 20,000 new student voters, the largest voter registration drive in recent years – proving students’ desire to engage with the issue of marriage equality.
Over 90 per cent of students are in favour of marriage equality – far higher than in the general population. If we’re serious about marriage equality, it’s crucial that we maximise student turnout for next year’s referendum.
USI has always advocated that April would be a more suitable time for students, because May is exam time for most. Friday, April 24th would, in our view, be an opportune time to hold the referendum and it would allow for a higher student turnout.
May 1st is also a Friday and would be far more preferable than later in May.
To hold this referendum any later would be an act of folly on the part of the Government – none of us want to be watching the votes coming in wishing that more people could have voted Yes – when it could so easily be facilitated. – Yours, etc,
LAURA HARMON,
President,
Union of Students in Ireland,
Portview House,
York Road, Dublin 4.