Nice-Premium: David Andrรฉ Darmon, you are a part of the student federation “FAC+”. What is a student federation?
David Andrรฉ Darmon: I am part of the Fac + association, the Federation of Associative and Cultural Plus. A federation of student associations is an organization that brings together different associations that operate locally on a university campus in Nice or work broadly in the interest of students. It is a non-profit association under the 1901 law that supports students in their studies and during their student life, including outside of lecture halls, through events, debates, and various actions, notably related to prevention or generosity.
NP: What is the specificity of “FAC+” and its influence in the region and student life?
DAD: Fac+ has several specificities. It is primarily a young and dynamic student federation. It is also a local federation. We are not affiliated with a national movement. We all come from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis and are a 100% 06 association. In the department, the influence of Fac+ is being a source of innovative and constructive proposals. We do not claim to be the best but simply to bring our originality with humility for the defense of students. Our influence is growing within the student world. Concretely, we have one elected member on the Board of Directors out of five possible, with a deputy. We also have one elected member with a deputy on the Council of Studies and Student Life, a local office in the Faculty of Law, room number 305. We have been the majority association since the April 2008 elections with 4 main elected members and 4 deputies in the Faculty of Law. We are very present in the IUT, and we are trying to further develop in the Faculty of Letters.
NP: Rumors say that you are set to become the president of the federation in the coming months… Can you confirm that?
DAD: (Laughs) You are well informed. It is somewhat the continuation of my student engagement. But in the meantime, I remain busy in the faculties listening to students.
NP: Do you have other responsibilities within student life, particularly within the CEVU, I believe?
DAD: Yes, I wear several hats within student life. However, nothing initially led me there. At 17, I entered the faculty and obtained my first year with distinction. Then, in the second year, I became a student representative before becoming Vice-President of the Corpo Droit. The CEVU was a fundamental experience for me. I wasnโt representing a federation that could speak on its behalf but was fighting on very concrete issues. In 2008, I joined the Board of Directors of the Faculty of Law. At the CEVU, from 2007 to 2008, I was a member of two commissions. The first dealt with exemption from tuition fees, where some student applications were reviewed with benevolence. The second was the SCUIO, the Common University Information and Orientation Service, which allowed me to reflect beyond financial issues on professional choices and integration and the mismatches with the business world. But I commend the dedication of the SCUIO staff who, although few and receiving too few students, are very available. Moreover, I was able to defend the academic calendar and intervene against the removal of revision weeks before exams. I also attended various meetings of the Central Councils, notably for the debate on the so-called LRU law. The only candidate re-elected since the 2008 elections, I sit on the finance commission, on the exemption from tuition fees, and as an administrator of the Language Institute.
NP: So who is David Andrรฉ Darmon? A passionate advocate for the student cause, an activist?
DAD: Perhaps both, but especially a studious 20-year-old law Masterโs student.
NP: The University of Nice is ranked quite mediocre among French universities. What, in your opinion, should be improved?
DAD: I’d say the University of Nice is dual. On one side, there are flourishing poles, and on the other, those that are sidelined. The problem is that the gap is widening. The University of Nice is far from bad. In medicine, for example, driven notably by its Dean, we rival the best universities in Europe and America. In this field, we are the second university in France. In other areas, the programs are rising, like in the IUT or at the IAE. So we have nothing to be ashamed of. However, other universities are completely understaffed in some sectors. The Faculty of Letters and the Faculty of Law represent 50% of UNSA students. Yet, they accumulate issues with premises, parking, sometimes even heating, or power outages due to the increased number of computers, tutorials starting up to two weeks late… Given this observation, we should provide more to universities with less, open up the Carlone-Trotabas axis, reconsider the issue of foreign languages, improve professional integration, … so many subjects that will take time but must constantly be brought to the forefront to not be forgotten.
NP: And for students, what are the priorities in your opinion: renovating the Faculty of Letters? Parking issues…?
DAD: The Faculty of Letters is being renovated little by little: cafeteria, more activity on the forecourt, … The problem is that it suffers from an image deficit, which is not new. We need to communicate more about its enhancement. And then at the CEVU, what a joy to vote for credits to finance a theater section, for example, and then talk to students in the field about the usefulness of their representatives. During the 2008 student campaign, a security issue was resolved in the parking garages. The parking problem remains, and creating more parking spaces would be necessary. We need to rebuild social ties between more and more isolated students in their faculties and further democratize our operations. We still talk with too many acronyms that remain incomprehensible to everyone.
NP: A final word for Nice Premium readers?
DAD: Thank you for giving attention to the interest of students from the French Riviera in your columns. For any further questions, I am available at david_darmon@hotmail.fr.