Publishing scandalous rag mags, organising Friday night hops and occasionally blocking the rush-hour traffic . . . there was a time when a students' union leader would be expected to do no more.
Not any longer, if Mark Kelly, president of Waterford Institute of Technology students' union, is typical of the modern breed.
Since taking up office in July, Dubliner Mark has transformed the union at WIT into a jobs agency and more. The jobs initiative is one of several designed to give students "value for their money".
Local employers can now advertise jobs free in the union's weekly magazine, the Grapevine. A database of employers and the jobs they offer is also being set up to benefit students.
"A lot of students will come to us during the year with hardship difficulties," says Mark. "We're not in a position to bail anyone out because our own resources are quite limited. So we're contacting local employers and letting them know about our service."
The scheme will be run by the union's deputy president, Brian Harte.
Mark would prefer if students didn't have to work while coping with exam pressure. "It's OK for older people to say `sure we did it in our day, and it did us no harm', but third-level education is incredibly competitive nowadays. If you're working something else has to suffer and that's usually your studies."
But increasing student hardship, particularly caused by a dramatic rise in rents, makes part-time jobs necessary for nearly half of college-goers. "I wish we didn't have to provide this service but at the end of the day we're meeting demand."
But the union is on guard against exploitation. "We haven't set a specific minimum wage. Somebody might pay £5 an hour and someone else only £3.50, but the work might be very easy-going." If a student is exploited, the employer is struck off the database.