The College View 21/03/2011

Power play With election season on the horizon, Sarah Doran asks why young people get involved in politics?

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Valerie Loftus chats to the star of the hit musical, Katharine Moraz Flux

THE COLLEGE VIEW

Wednesday 21st March 2012 Volume XIII - Issue 10 www.thecollegeview.com

Chair of DCU Sinn Féin Sean Tyrell with the society’s petition to the Students’ Union to call a referendum on the Union’s contribution towards the labyrinth, proposed by the Interfatih Centre Image by Aleksandr Szojda

Petition could overturn class reps’ decision to give €10,000 to proposed labyrinth project

By Aishling Phelan News Editor A DCU Sinn Féin petition could overturn the Class Representative Council’s decision to donate €10,000 to the labyrinth project.

At the last CRC meeting, class reps voted in favour of the SU giving the donation to the project by a majority of 24 votes to 14 votes.

However, shortly after word spread that council had approved the donation, DCU Sinn Féinorganised a petition calling for “a referendum on whether or not the Students’ Union should donate €10,000

towards building a labyrinth”.

According to the petition, DCU SF believes that “in the current economic climate, whilst employment is scarce and student registration fees are rising, it is unacceptable to spend so much money on a project like this. There are many better ways in which this money can be spent, ways which would greater benefit DCU students”.

A referendum on any issue may be called for if 200 union members (students) sign a petition and submit it to either the SU President or Chair of Class Representative Council. The petition secured 231

signatures.

There is now major confusion as to when the referendum on the donation will be held.

Speaking to The College View, SU President Ed Leamy initially insisted that the referendum does not have to be held this semester.

“The way council have passed it, we will give the €10,000 to them once the project is complete. But the promise of the €10,000 is there all the time. Now when will the labyrinth be complete? We won’t have to have [the referendum] this semester but it will probably be held in the next, we’ll say, three semesters.”

However, according to the Students’ Union Constitution, Article 9.1.5, “A referendum shall be held not less than two academic weeks, and not more than four academic weeks, from being called.”

DCU SF Secretary, Dave Clougher told The College View: “From reading the DCU SU’s constitution, my understanding is that the referendum must be held within four weeks.”

After he was given this information, Leamy was reluctant to confirm whether or not the referendum would be held this semester.

“I remember reading that before

but the nature of every referendum is different.”

He added: “We’ll be having a council this week and we’ll have a look at things and if that’s the case, that’s the case. It could technically be tied in with the SU elections.”

According to the SU Constitution, the petition “must be submitted to either the President or Chair of Class Representative Council”.

DCU SF had intended to hand the email to SU President, Ed Leamy but he was not available when they visited his office last week.

The petition was handed to Wel» pg 5

2 The College View 21.03.12

EDITORIAL

T

The look of the Irish

his weekend marked our biggest annual celebration of Ireland: St. Patrick’s Day. An estimated 500,000 tourists and locals alike packed into Dublin City Centre for the parade, €90 million is thought to have been injected into the country through tourism and Ellen DeGeneres was even spotted around town recording a Paddy’s Day themed show.

As always, Ireland’s link with alcohol gets churned up on this occasion, particularly in regard to the evening when the family-friendly activities are all wrapped up.

TD Roisin Shortall said in the past week that there’s still a “very close connection between al-

cohol and our national celebrations” and called one supermarket “irresponsible” for slapping shamrocks onto bottles of whiskey and vodka in store.

Like many other celebrations in our calendar, is it fair to say that the true meaning has been lost along the way? Our patriotic celebration for many has become nothing more than a Monday off work/college and an excuse to start drinking at lunchtime.

Many a Facebook feed showed people in green, brandishing bottles of beer from 11am. For those of us living in the city centre, it meant smashed bottles outside our house, shouting and fights, and streams of terrified tourists racing past our windows.

Corrections?

If you have any complaints about what we’re reporting, or have spotted any factual mistakes, please do not hesitate to contact the relevant section editor, or email editor@thecollegeview.com.

This issue of the College View was produced by: Editor-in-Chief: Catherine Dennehy Production & Layout Editor: Conor Donohoe Production Deputy: Ian Goode News Editor: Aishling Phelan News Deputy Editors: Frances Mulraney, Aisling Kett, Aoife Mullen Travel Editor: Philippa Hood Features Editor: Jenny Darmody Deputy Features Editor: Hiromi Mooney Irish Editor: Derek O’Brien Deputy Irish Editor: Fiach Mac Domhnaill Sports Editor: Eoghan Cormican Deputy Sports Editors: Brendan White, Tom Rooney Arts Editor: Sinead Brennan Deputy Arts Editor: Valerie Loftus Sub-Editors: Emma-Louise Hutchinson, Tim Barnwell Images Editor: Sinead Walsh PR Team: Dervilla O’Reilly, Kim Gavin, Kacey O’Riordan Printed By Datascope, with the DCU Journalism Society Thanks To Sportsfile, SPC, Office of Student Life

We need only look at any representation of ourselves in TV shows or films abroad to see the reputation we have for ourselves: The luck of the Irish, the gift of the gab, with a pint of Guinness permanently in our hands.

We can be the first to complain about the label and then be the first into the pub.

Paddy’s Day celebrations spread across the globe and bring people from all over to our shores. Be proud to see our streets full with excited tourists.

Sure, they love the Irish pubs, but no one should use the ol’ “it’s part of our culture” line to make idiots of themselves. Next time a national holiday crops up, be smart, be sensible, and celebrate it for what it is.

Death of a student The College View wishes to extend its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Paul Bunbury For students that wish to attend Paul’s funeral, DCU are organising a bus service from the college campus.

Funeral mass is at 12 noon tomorrow, Thursday 22nd, followed by burial in Bohernabreena cemetery. Removal and mass will take place tonight, March 21st, at St Aengus’ Church, Balrothery Parish, Tallaght at 7pm.

THE COLLEGE VIEW is hiring!

Do you want to be a part of The College View’s team?

Applications are now open for the 2012/2013 editorial positions:

• Editor-in-Chief • News – Editor/Deputy Editor • Features – Editor/Deputy Editor • Arts – Editor/Deputy Editor • Travel – Editor • Irish – Editor/Deputy Editor • Sports – Editor/Deputy Editor • Production & Layout – Editor/Deputy Editor • Online - Editor • Images - Editor Email editor@thecollegeview.com outlining your previous experience and why you think you are suitable for your chosen role. Put ‘application’ in the subject line.

Closing date for applications is April 6th at 6pm.

The College View 21.03.12 3

NEWS

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Referendum on funding higher education deferred until next academic year Frances Mulraney Deputy News Editor Over 80% of students said that they would vote in a second referendum on the funding of higher education in the next academic year, according to a recent survey.

This was in contrast to just under 60% who said they voted in the first referendum last semester, in a survey carried out by The College View.

Last December’s referendum on a higher education funding model was declared null and void by SU President Ed Leamy, once it was discovered the voting breached the Students’ Union constitution.

As previously reported by The College View, the last Class Rep Council (CRC) passed the motion to establish a Campaigns Working Group to organise the information campaign surrounding a second referendum on higher education funding. The decision was made at CRC two weeks ago, to defer the referendum to the coming academic year.

In total, almost 86% of students felt that this referendum was needed. In comments made to the survey, students felt that they wished to have a say in an issue that will affect them so directly: “It is important for the Students’ Union Executive to be actively campaigning on behalf of the students, with the same belief that the majority of the students have towards higher education.”

Other answers to the survey displayed the same desire from some students to have a say in how they are represented: “The students should have a say in the union’s policy on the matter. The decision has too great an impact to be decided by the Executive or Class Rep Council alone.”

Of the minority that felt there is no need for a referendum, they felt that the vote would be “a waste of time - the vast majority of students are obviously going to go for the ‘don’t pay anything’ option so why bother asking?”

Other comments made showed anger at the reasons behind this second referendum: “We already had one, and I voted and I’m not voting again because they screwed up the first time” and “A referendum was already held. I know it’s an Irish tradition to have as many is necessary to get the result that you want but I don’t agree with it”.

The decision to defer the referendum was made by Class Rep Council two weeks ago after it revealed that DCU President Brian MacCraith is working on a DCU funding

DCU students have their say:

proposal.

The DCU community proposal would be put together by a committee compromising of Union Reps and University Reps. The inclusion of this funding proposal would mean a further change to the ballot paper, with a possible six funding proposals for students to vote on.

Speaking to The College View, class rep Steve Conlon stated that Prof Brian MacCraith had been previously unaware of the referendum on higher education funding. This funding proposal would be one unique to DCU and Conlon continued to say he felt that this proposal would be extremely important as it would be one President MacCraith had directly invested his time to.

If the students were to vote for this proposal in a coming referendum, it would give the president a constituency of 10,000 students backing him.

He also stated that it is definitely better to defer and wait for talks to finish on this DCU community proposal. With one third of students leaving the college this year and new first years arriving, it would also mean a fresh start and a better perspective on the campaign.

Keith Hoare, secretary of DCU branch of Young Fine Gael agrees that it is the right choice to wait until next year. “It needs to be worked on over the next six months and fully stress-proofed... Holding the referendum should take place immediately in Semester One to attract first year students and also to give the union a sense of momentum to campaign before the budget as opposed to after it, when it will be almost worthless.”

He continued to say “incoming first years have to be targeted in this referendum and this can be the starting point for the new SU in promoting a more aware and active student body.”

In the last referendum campaign DCU Fine Gael opted to encourage students to vote for funding model three, a student loan scheme. Hoare told The College View that “were DCU SU to campaign for free fees

“I feel [the SU] did the best they could.

It’s a difficult subject to deal with and hard to provide all the relevant information to busy students who want the issue to be explained in two minutes.”

“I don’t really think they published the fact that they were holding one. I know a lot of students who do not know about it at all.”

“I felt that a greater emphasis should be “The SU could place made by the SU to more pressure on boost attendance at Government officials; demonstrations. A the college represents few mini buses from a over 12,000 potential university of this size voters - signed is a joke compared to petition to the the mass minister of education, participation by some more protests.” colleges (namely St. Pats).” in the case it was the most popular option, then we’d be looked on as a laughing stock. There needs to be a sense of realism in these options and therefore, whichever is decided upon by the student body, will have far more weight and credibility”.

According to the survey, almost 62% of students felt that this year’s Students’ Union could have done more to deal with the issue of higher education funding.

One student felt that “many people don’t listen to both sides of the argument. Money has to come from somewhere to help the economy and education is a right. People need to weigh up both sides. I think the SU could have done more to show both sides rather than jumping on the obvious student opinionates’ side.”

Others commended the SU on taking the lead with this referendum. “The Students’ Union Executive led the way nationally… determining the opinion of the student population regarding higher level fees.

“The mistakes that occurred were unfortunate, but I believe that the SU Executive have dealt with the issues as best they can under the circumstances and the decision to go ahead with a second referendum, to rectify the issues following last semester’s failed referendum, is

“Being a class rep, I find the SU dealt very unprofessionally with the entire issue.

Instead of making such a fuss on how to find out what students want, they need to start taking action. Not having done anything so far is even more of a disgrace, as even though the referendum was void, the SU knows how the only positive option available to them.”

The survey on the deferral of the referendum was completed online by 225 DCU students, across the various DCU schools and courses.

Many of the respondents, (58%) had voted in the first referendum.

“The SU dealt with the issue horrifically this year. Moreover, the ballot questions were unfair in that they offered one option for no fees, but several options for some kind of fees, which had the effect of splitting the vote in favour of fees.

The next referendum should include two options: A) no fees or B) some fees.”

“Nobody had a clue what it was about...

Dumb it down, make it simple.”

“The Students’ Union are the only people that can say if they could have dealt better, no such thing as failure, only feedback. If they did their best but got nowhere, they need to change the strategy - if they know they didn’t try hard enough then they need to ask themselves why. Perhaps they felt nothing would change no matter what they did… food for thought.”

4 The College View 21.03.12

NEWS Nominations for SU elections open this week

By Patricia Rice News Reporter This year’s Students’ Union elections will be held on Tuesday 3rd April and Wednesday 4th April 2012 according to Sean Rooney, Returning Officer of DCU SU. Nominations opened yesterday Tuesday 20th March at 12 pm and students will have until Saturday 24th March at 5 pm to put themselves forward for the positions available.

Campaigning begins on Wednesday 28th and will continue until polls open on Tuesday 3rd April, said Sean.

A few changes have been made to the electoral regulations this year with particular attention paid to the section on social networking.

According to the electoral procedures for 2012, “Campaigning using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblretc must not commence until all candidates are verified as DCU students and officially declared as candidates by the Returning Officer.”

Sean, who is in his first year as Returning Officer said “Greater clarity was needed in regards to rules on the use of social networks as this is how many of the candidates’ campaign. It now has its own section in electoral procedures to make the process fairer.”

Other rules on the use of social networks include guidelines on sending mass messages to voters and the ability to buy Facebook advertising.

It is also compulsory for candidates to attend hustings this year or they will face penalties from the Returning Officer. Candidates will also have to sign the official code of conduct and their actions during the campaign will be held to account by class council.

The College View 21.03.12 5

NEWS

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DESCRIPTION OF WORK

COST

Remove hedging at revised single entrance Take up large grass area Main general outer circulation walkways Labyrinth walkways Re-locate existing DCU notice boards Allow a PC sum for the supply and installation of new explanatory board Allow a PC sum for improved lighting Allow a PC sum for the supply and installation of 2 curved bench seating areas

€131.25 €11,348.40 €15,882.10 €18,338.00 €630.00 €787.50 €4,200.00 €4,200.00

This is an example of one building option for the proposed labyrinth

DCU Sinn Féin propose petition over labyrinth project

» continued from front fare Officer, Collie Oliver, but copies of the petition were supplied toLeamy and Chair of Class Rep Council, Sean Cassidy.

It will be these constitutional technicalities that will determine whether or not a referendum on the €10,000 donation for the labyrinth project has to be held this semester.

Although plans were not being put in place to hold a referendum this semester, the constitution could dictate that class reps must call for the referendum to be held within four weeks.

If this is the case, the referendum will more than likely coincide with the SU elections which will be held on April 2nd and 3rd.

The issue will be discussed at this evening’s CRC meeting. If a referendum is held this semester, class reps’ initial decision to give the donation could be overturned. The power will be put into students’ hands and they will decide whether the SU will donate the €10,000.

For the results of a referendum to be valid, at least 10% of the student population in DCU must cast valid votes.

The idea of a student petition was initially sparked on a thread on boards.ie.

When gathering signatures for the petition, DCU SF said many students were unaware of the proposed €50,000 labyrinth construction and

were not aware that class reps had made a decision to allow the SU to give €10,000 towards it.

On a post on Boards.ie Clougher said: “From just talking to fellow students the consensus seems to be that this project has seemingly come out of nowhere and caught many by surprise, the first many heard of this was that the Class Representative Council had voted in favour of donating €10,000. Anecdotally, everyone I have asked about this so far has been dead set against the notion of donating this sum towards building a labyrinth.”

Only 40 class reps attended the last CRC meeting. This could be the reason so many students are

unaware of the €10,000 donation.

The SU didn’t send out an email to all students to inform them that a decision on the donation had been made. This was the responsibility of class reps.

One student posted a message on Boards.ie under the username DGRulz stating, “The idea of spending 50k on this is ridiculous. What’s worse is my class rep e-mailed us about it with her reasoning for it being that it’d be fun to run around after Toxic Tuesday. What happens when someone falls and wants to sue DCU?” The idea of building a labyrinth was first proposed back in 2009.

The most recent figure the Interfaith

Centre received in June 2009 put the total cost of the labyrinth project at €63,000 including VAT. However, Fr Joe Jones has said the estimate still remains at €50,000.

“I hope to have a new quote in the next two weeks. We are waiting on the architect to give us an update.

The last quote we got was June 2009 and so we expect it to be less now with the economic downturn,” he said.

If the SU can give the donation, the money will not be handed over to the construction company until the project is completed. If construction has not begun within two calendar years, the sum of €10,000 would be returned to the SU.

Members of DCU Sinn Féin present their petition to DCUSU Vice President for Welfare Collie Oliver | Image by Aleksandr Szojda Left: An example of a labyrinth

6 The College View 21.03.12

NEWS

DCU’s political societies speak out on EU Fiscal Compact Treaty

By Aisling Kett Deputy News Editor The DCU youth branches of Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin have spoken of their contrasting views and plans regarding the upcoming EU Fiscal Compact referendum.

DCU Young Fine Gael will campaign for a yes vote on campus.

Chairperson of the society, Ryan Hunt, said students should vote yes in the referendum as it concerns an important issue.

He said the effects of a no vote are unclear, but would leave Ireland without the funding it currently receives to help run the country.

He believes the treaty will pass at referendum.

The society will campaign by canvassing on campus but Hunt said students are entitled to make up their own minds. They are hoping to get DCU business school lecturer, Tony Foley, to write an article for The College View, giving students an independent view on the treaty to help them decide how to vote.

DCU Sinn Féin will campaign for

a no vote in the referendum. The society staged a protest against the treaty outside the Helix last Tuesday where Minister for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton, spoke at an EU jobs fair. Eight members of the society handed out leaflets and carried banners to encourage a no vote.

The society believes the treaty will inflict more years of austerity on the country. Chairperson of the society, Sean Tyrrell, said this would deter foreign investment and create job losses, perhaps forcing students to emigrate. Secretary David Clougher said the treaty is “not a good deal for Ireland, not a good deal for the EU but a good deal for Germany and France”.

Labour DCU are undecided if they will campaign for a yes vote.

The Labour party is campaigning for a yes vote but Labour Youth has not yet made a statement. Chairperson of the society, David Healion, said the society would have a meeting to make this decision. If the treaty is not supported he does not expect members to follow the party line.

Healion said he supports the treaty and students should vote yes,

DCU Sinn Féin protested outside the Helix last Tuesday | Image by Aleksandr Szojda as Ireland will need the EU if more hopes it will. on February 28th. A date has yet to bailouts are required. He is unsure Taoiseach Enda Kenny an- be set by the government for the whether the treaty will pass but nounced the referendum in the Dáil referendum.

EU opportunities for graduates with two languages

By Aisling Kett Deputy News Editor

Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton speaking in the Helix | Image by Aleksandr Szojda

Minister for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton told students that there are plenty of jobs in the EU when she spoke at an EU jobs fair in the Helix last Tuesday.

The minister was one of a number of speakers at the fair which informed students of the job opportunities in the EU after they graduate.

She said there are annual recruitment competitions for which graduates can apply. The recruitment process for these competitions is nine months long.

Minister Creighton emphasised that jobs were available for all of Ireland’s graduates, not just recent graduates. She said young students should take advantage of the fact that many EU institutions are interested in hiring more young people.

Applicants need to be fluent in two languages to apply for the jobs competitions. A second language is required for jobs in EU institutions, such as the European parliament.

Other speakers at the fair were Anne McEvoy from the European Parliament Information Office in

Dublin and Joan Flanagan from the European Commission Representation in Ireland. A representative from the European Personal Selection Office (ESPO) also spoke at the fair.

ESPO is a site that gives information on upcoming EU job opportunities and competitions. EUjobs.ie is a site created by the Department of the Taoiseach that has links to information on EU jobs opportunities.

Currently there are jobs available in external relations, audit, legal services and public administrators. The minister said, “So many opportunities [are available], you just have to find them.”

Questions after the speeches focused on the compulsory second language for registration.

DCU Sinn Féin staged a protest outside the Helix during the jobs fair. The society protested against the EU Fiscal Compact Treaty. They urged students to vote against the treaty in the upcoming referendum which they believe will bring more years of austerity to Ireland.

Minister Creighton is a DCU alumni after studying for a Masters in International Relations in the university.

The College View 21.03.12 7

NEWS

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Almost one third of students believe cannabis should be legalised More than half of students admit to using illegal drugs Aishling Phelan News Editor Almost one third of students believe cannabis should be legalised in Ireland for recreational purposes.

A survey conducted online by The College View found that the procannabis lobby in DCU stands at 32%, while 47% of students believe it should not be legalised.

Students hold very strong and diverse opinions when it comes to the issue of legalising the Class B drug.

Many students said one of the major benefits of legalising the drug would be that they would no longer have to be in direct contact with drug dealers.

One respondent said: “If it was legal I wouldn’t be going near any other drugs and the dodgy people that are associated with the illegal drug industry.”

Another student said: “Cannabis does less damage to your body than alcohol, it’s been scientifically proven. Taxing it and making it legal would bring money in and I wouldn’t have to deal with drug dealers.”

Other students believed legalising it would stop young people “putting money into the wrong hands” and preventing criminal gangs using it as a source of income.

“While I think cannabis has both good and bad properties, I feel that overall there are more harmful drugs and I’d much rather it be made available legally for people to buy than off some drug dealer in the street.”

Another said: “It is just as easily available to people whether it is legal or illegal, and it is more dangerous when it is pushed underground.”

A large majority of students, who are for the legalisation of cannabis, believe alcohol is a much more harmful substance to both the individual and society as a whole.

“It is not cannabis smokers who fill up the accident and emergency departments of our hospitals every weekend. In my view cannabis is less harmful to the body and to society then alcohol.”

Another respondent said: “If alcohol is legal for recreational purposes I don’t see why cannabis shouldn’t be. There is more of a danger in drinking then smoking weed, in terms of physical health as well as to society.”

Other arguments for the legali-

56%

of students have consumed some form of illegal drug. sation of cannabis centred on the “economic benefits” it would bring through taxation. Some students believed if it were legalised, it would no longer act as a gateway or “stepping stone drug” because they would be purchasing the drug in a safe and monitored environment.

However, students who are against the legalisation of cannabis highlighted the destructive and counterproductive forces behind the mind-altering drug.

“It is MUCH too easy to obtain drugs these days and IF I wanted to, it could be done with one phone call.”

“Well I just know from a young person’s point of view. I just feel it is too accepted and think the dangers should be talked about more.”

“Loads of my friends smoke weed, I hate it and always tell them not to, but there is so little information about it available, they all think it won’t harm them at all. There should be more info on harmful effects of all drugs, including cannabis.”

Some of the main side effects associated with long-term cannabis use include depression, mental health problems and respiratory and memory problems.

Just over half of students who responded to the survey said they have consumed some form of illegal drug.

Of those who had, cannabis was by far the most commonly used drug (97%). Almost one third of respondents admitted to using cocaine at some point in their life and 38% had used ecstasy.

Of those who have consumed some form of illegal drug: (Multiple choice given)

97% used cannabis 38% used ecstasy 32% used cocaine

19% used magic mushrooms 0.3% used crystal meth 8% used solvents 2% used heroin 15% used acid (LSD) 15% used amphetamines

Between 15-20% of the students Have you ever been offered Have you ever been offered admitted to experimenting with drugs at an event or party drugs at an event or party drugs such as magic mushrooms, on campus? off campus?

LSD and speed.

It seems that drugs are not a major part of the social scene in DCU. It YES is off campus that students are more 19% likely to find themselves in a situaNO YES tion where they could gain easy ac49% 51% NO cess to drugs.

81% Just under 80% of students said they have never been offered drugs at an event or party on campus.

Only 21% had been offered drugs on campus compared to 51% who say If you did want to obtain drugs, how easy do they’ve been offered drugs at a colyou think it would be to gain access to them? lege party off campus.

Almost 90% of respondents said Very easy — 32% it is easy to gain access to drugs.

“You will never be able to fully cut Easy — 22% down on drug use even in a heavily secured and strictly coded environ- Fairly easy — 34% ment like DCU. It is much too easy Not easy — 3% to obtain drugs these days and if I wanted to, it could be done with one Difficult — 1% phone call. There is a whole lot be- Don’t know — 8% ing done to prevent drug use in Ireland but it will not work.”

Do you think DCU Students' Another student said: “To be hon- Should cannabis be legalised for recreational purposes?

Union does enough to highlight est if I wanted drugs I would not the dangers of drug consumption? know where to go or who to ask… I think it depends on the people you DON’T mix with.”

YES KNOW Over 40% of students believe the YES DON’T 19% 21% Students’ Union is not doing enough KNOW 32% to highlight the dangers of drug con39% NO sumption. Just 19% of students beNO lieve the SU have done enough and 32% 47% 39% were unsure.

“At least 40% of my class are regular cannabis users and are functioning perfectly well and doing fine in their degree. The SU would be hypocrites if they spoke out against cannabis because they actively promote ‘‘Some students think cannabis is not dangerous and is in fact the consumption of another drug, helpful and I would like it if the student union could highlight alcohol, on campus and for disthe dangers it can cause.’’ counted prices. They should have a campaign that promotes using alco‘‘Ireland could have had the chance to make money off this hol and cannabis responsibly and to drug through taxes, that has medicinal purposes and does less avoid harder drugs such as cocaine harm to a person and society than alcohol. Now other countries and heroin.” such as NL, Switzerland and Spain are starting to legalise The survey was conducted online between 530 students from the varicannabis, and as usual, Ireland is going to catch on last.’’ ous faculties and schools in DCU.

Students have their say:

8 The College View 21.03.12

NEWS

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Increase in CAO applications to courses with higher job prospects

By Aoife Mullen

Deputy News Editor The number of students with first preference applications to DCU on their CAO this year has increased by 7% since 2010.

Exactly 4,256 students have chosen DCU courses as their first preference this year.

Applicants to Computing, Engineering, Business and some science degrees in DCU have all increased.

DCU Business School courses continue to increase in demand, despite a national decline in applicants to business courses.

International Business Studies and Business Studies with German are among the most popular business courses, showing Leaving Certificate students are aware of the increasing need to look for employment overseas.

Another course reflecting this awareness is Languages and International Communications, which saw an increase of 29% in first pref-

ence on students’ CAO applications.

There has been a 38% increase in the number of first preference applications for courses in Computer Applications and Enterprise Computing.

Demand for Biomedical Engineering in DCU has increased by First preference CAO applications for 2012 in DCU: 56%, while total applications for Physics programmes are up 22%.

Applied Physics is up 34%, while International Business Studies - (up 47.2%) Physics with Astronomy is up 31%.

Business Studies with German - (up 15.8%) Commenting on this year’s CAO statistics, President of DCU, Prof BriLanguages and International Communications – (up 29%) an MacCraith said: “I am delighted Marketing, Innovation and Technology – (up 71%) that DCU degree programmes continue to increase in popularity with Accounting and Finance – (up 14%) students all across Ireland. This is a Computer Applications and Enterprise Computing – (up 38%) tribute to our DCU staff, who strive continually to enhance the quality Biomedical Engineering – (up 56%) and relevance of our programmes.

Applied Physics – (up 34.2%) “I am particularly pleased with the significant increases in preferences for degree programmes in erence applications this year. such as Marketing, Innovation and plications up 14%.

Computing, Engineering, Science First preference applications to Technology, are up 71%. Traditional Job creation in sectors such as and Business, which are so criticourses that have been developed courses remain popular however, computing, science, technology and cal for Ireland’s future economic to suit the transformed jobs market, with Accountancy and Finance ap- engineering has had a clear influ- prosperity.”

Potential students are keeping an eye on the emerging trends in the jobs market

Twenty four hour lecture in aid of Baby Grace

By Mary McDonnell News Reporter

DCU lecturer, Brian Harney, delivered a 24-hour lecture in aid of ‘Baby Grace’ last Wednesday.

Grace is the daughter of a PDP student in the Business School, and is being treated for Hyperinsulinism at great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

Harvey said it was always his intention to do something like this for Baby Grace and said: “It is great that the DCU community is able to come together to assist her [Grace’s] family at this difficult time.”

The lecture started at 10am Wednesday and finished with a grand finale in QG13 where Harvey tried to make sense of ‘Critical Reflections on Business Education’ after 24 hours of being awake.

It was delivered by Harvey alone, and was based on content he teaches throughout the year. The theme was ‘Strategy, People and Advantage’.

He took a five minute break every hour and said staying coherent may be more difficult than staying awake, “but I’m sure some of my current students would say I’m never that coherent at the best of times”.

65 people signed up for various blocks, adding up to a total of 272 volunteered hours. So far, Harvey has raised just over €3,000 and he expects this to rise to €5,000.

Hyperinsulinism occurs in around 1/25,000 to 1/50,000 births and about 60% of babies with the condition develop Hypoglycaemia.

During digestion, food is broken down into glucose for the body to use as fuel. The pancreas releases

insulin to help the body absorb the glucose and when glucose levels fall, so does insulin.

With Hyperinsulinism, the pancreas produces insulin non-stop because it does not recognise how much glucose is in the blood or a drop in blood sugar levels.

Hypoglycaemia is when the brain is deprived of necessary fuels such as glucose and has no energy to work.

Brain damage can occur in up to 50% of children with Hyperinsulinism if their condition is not recognised or if treatment fails.

Harvey said: “The lecture was a great success. It was a gruelling but most humbling experience and also a reminder of the strength of the DCU community.”

Visit www.sponsorship.ie to help Baby Grace.

Students spend St.Patrick’s Day in Africa as part of 10day charity work

Student volunteers travelled to Ghana in West Africa as part of a Microfinance Brigade with Global Brigades Ireland

The College View 21.03.12 9

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ISS refuse to discuss exam results system after problems

By Aoife Mullen Deputy News Editor DCU Young Fine Gael have criticised ISS for refusing to meet them to discuss the problems with the release of this year’s exam results to students.

On February 23rd, DCU YFG Secretary, Keith Hoare emailed ISS on behalf of the branch, requesting a meeting “to discuss why there was a temporary delay in students being able to access their results and as to whether or not ISS and the university will review the system”.

ISS replied to the request by encouraging the branch to “channel” their concerns through the Students’ Union in order to avoid “duplication of effort” and did not agree to meet the branch.

“We are calling on the ISS to immediately respond to this issue to avoid a repeat of events for Semester Two results.” – Keith Hoare, DCU DCU YFG then met with DCU Students’ Union President, ED Leamy to discuss the matter, which Hoare described as “very encouraging”.

Leamy fully supported the concerns brought forward by the branch and arranged for a “short discussion” with DCU President Brian MacCraith.

MacCraith told DCU YFG he was

exploring alternative options for the delivery of exam results to avoid such disruption to students in the future.

Following its meeting with the SU President and the DCU President, DCU YFG emailed ISS again on March 6th to request a meeting, but ISS have yet to respond.

Hoare told The College View: “It is completely understandable that

all departments have experienced a reduction in resources but it is much more efficient for the ISS to meet with a student representative body for ten minutes, as opposed to the ISS’ current practice of requesting all questions be submitted via e-mail. The ISS are responsible for a large amount of activity within the university, yet they are unaccountable to students.

“The system for delivery of examination results deployed by the ISS has repeatedly failed with the website crashing on numerous occasions as students log on at the same time for their results. This is, and as was the case in February, an extremely stressful time for students and coupled with that, it does very little to enhance the reputation of the university, with students taking

to Facebook and Twitter to vent their frustration.

“We are calling on the ISS to immediately respond to this issue to avoid a repeat of events for Semester Two results. We are also calling on the ISS to seriously consider a system used in other universities whereby results would be phased our during the day via faculty and to scrap the current system whereby all students are getting results at the same time. This will not just improve student welfare but the university’s reputation too, both of which are vitally important.”

DCU YFG have said they will be seeking the support of students in the coming days and plan to petition the Union Council, urging them to take up the issue and “ensure it doesn’t disappear for another year”.

Gilroy says pay-for-play won’t work in Ireland

By Aoife Mullen Deputy News Editor Dublin Football Manager, Pat Gilroy told DCU students pay-for-play will not be sustainable in Ireland until the GAA expands to other countries.

The manager and businessman spoke about the controversial issue during a motivational talk organised

by Enterprise Society (Esoc) for Enterprise Week.

Gilroy said the pay-for-play issue is a difficult one that’s not being

work. He looked back to his college days and spoke on how he balanced playing for Dublin and sitting his final exams.

He encouraged students, whether they were doing the Leaving Certificate or college exams, to continue with their sports and not give up at exam time.

He told students that people can be extreme and focus only on one thing, but there needs to be a balance.

Gilroy said the three key areas in his own life are his family, work and

Gilroy on his position as Dublin Manager - “I will leave when I’m not enjoying it anymore or not getting anything out of it…” dealt with honestly and there are people involved in the GAA who are currently being paid. He said there is support for the payment of GAA players, but it is not enough.

He doesn’t believe pay-for-play could come into effect for at least the next 20 years, as the GAA simply could not fund it. He told students that the GAA would need to broaden its horizons beyond Ireland in order to fund the payment of GAA players.

During the talk, Gilroy told students how he balances sport and

sport, and a balance between all three makes him healthy and happy.

He warned students that sometimes you have to make hard decisions to maintain a healthy balance, but you need to learn discipline and know when to say no.

Gilroy spoke about the lessons he has learned in business and sport.

He believes “everything is transferable” between business and sport, such as leadership and teamwork skills.

Speaking about leadership, Gilroy

Pat Gilroy spoke to DCU students as part of Enterprise Week told students there are many ways to lead people. His own leadership method is to understand that when leading a group, it’s what is in their heads, not yours, that’s important and gets people to perform. He said you must really try to work with a group and have open discussion, rather than dictate to them.

On teamwork, Gilroy said there is more to a team than just putting a group together and expecting results. He believes you need to have a system in place that motivates them to achieve.

Gilroy’s system is to try and understand what results you’re trying to achieve. He said to achieve the results, you break it down as a team into “what you have to do and how to do it, if you have the ability to do it and if you want to do it”.

Gilroy told students this was the model he had in place as Dublin Manager which led Dublin to becoming All-Ireland Champions last September.

He also told students about the importance of having teamwork skills coming out of college. He

added people with a sporting background usually have good business skills, such as teamwork and leadership skills.

Asked why he didn’t decide to leave his managerial position after the All-Ireland win and go out on a high, he said “I will leave when I’m not enjoying it anymore or not getting anything out of it anymore” and that he still feels there’s room to grow and improve their performance.

The challenge for Dublin now, he said, is to change strategy and try and do it again this year.

10 The College View 21.03.12

NEWS

Open verdict in Darren Sutherland inquest with the step up from amateur boxing to professional. He was suffering depression and doubted his ability in the ring after suffering an eye injury that wouldn’t heal.

According to Palmer “he sustained this cut. Many boxers get cuts and they heal up. This clearly distressed him”.

He went on to say that: “The words I’ve heard over the last four days are words like happy, always smiling, a gentleman, nice guy, charming, personable, determined, diligent, panicky, a worrier, a closed individual.”

By Adam Higgins News Reporter

Former DCU student and Olympic medal winner, Darren Sutherland may have been too sensitive and intelligent to be a boxer, according to a coroner’s open verdict into the star’s death.

DrRoy Palmer said that Darren was “a charming personable gentlemen” who “lit up the room” but might have been “too sensitive

and intelligent to be a boxer”.

The 27-year-old was found dead in his London apartment, in September 2009 by his manager FrankMoloney, who had to be treated for a heart attack after discovering the body.

During the inquest Sutherland’s management were criticised after notes were found near the body that detailed his fear over what his manager, Moloney, would do to him if he broke his contract.

A friend of Sutherland, Ismay Bourke also told the hearing that

Sutherland was terrified of his manager.

When giving evidence at the hearing,Moloney said that Sutherland had no reason to fear him and that he hadn’t placed any extra pressure on the boxer.

Darren Sutherland turned professional in boxing after winning an Olympic bronze medal in the 2008 games.

In a statement read out by their solicitor, the Sutherland family has called on the British Board of Boxing Control to make changes to

ease the transition from amateur to professional boxing.

They said: “If anything is to be learned from the tragedy of Darren’s death, it should be that the support mechanisms that exist for amateur boxers should also be there for them when they begin their lonely path on the journey to professional life.”

Two separate post mortem examinations have now confirmed that Darren Sutherland died of asphyxiation.

The four-day inquest into his death heard that he had struggled

Interest in animal welfare drops without international students

By Catríona Hughes News Reporter DCU’s animal welfare society, Whisker has raised over €1,000 so far this year for various sanctuaries helping homeless animals in Ireland.

The figure emerged following a neutering awareness campaign and sponsored fast in aid of www.whiskersnewpark.org, which was held in the Street last Tuesday.

Whisker has been set up to unite

animal lovers in DCU and most importantly, to help animals through fundraising, lobbying, volunteering and awareness campaigns.

However, the society has seen a huge decline in participation from DCU students this year, following the departure of many Erasmus students. It appears that international students have been more concerned about the importance of animal welfare than Irish students.

“The events we have organised are better, but participation is now

poorer,” claimed Whisker Chairperson, Avril Noble.

There are currently over 16,000 homeless dogs in Ireland. The majority of these dogs end up in the pound and most are killed after five days because the government will not hold them for any longer.

However, there are now over 700,000 homeless cats in Ireland.

Many homeless cats are born into this and are often referred to as ‘feral’ cats.

“The government currently has

no involvement in cats, they are legally classed as ‘vermin.’ This means that you can tear out a kitten’s eyes with your hands and it’s not illegal,” Noble told The College View.

Whisker believes in a simple solution to solve animal homelessness; to trap, neuter, release or rehome where possible.

With participation numbers plummeting, Whisker is urging students to get involved and help improve animal welfare.

The society will be working alongside DCU’s Art Society next month to campaign against cosmetic testing on animals.

Whisker will also be hosting a cake sale in April for a soon to be selected sanctuary. The society will then be distributing leaflets to students regarding neutering in order to raise awareness.

TeaSoc set up

By Aisling Kett Deputy News Editor A society dedicated to drinking tea has been set up in DCU. DCU Society Life Committee approved the establishment of DCU Tea Society at a meeting last Wednesday.

DCU Tea Society aims to promote tea, to introduce people to different blends of tea and encourage people to drink loose leaf tea. It also aims to inform members about tea culture.

The work to establish the society began roughly a week before when Multimedia student Cian Mac Mahon mentioned on twitter the idea of setting up a tea society. A positive response from followers prompted Mac Mahon, along with some friends, to set up the society.

A meeting was held last Tuesday to talk to interested students and gather signatures as part of the proposal to the SLC. Fourty signatures were presented to the DCU SLC as part of the society’s proposal.

Mac Mahon said the society hopes to hold events with other DCU societies. One event proposed is to have members make their own blend of tea using different loose leaf varieties.

Other universities, such as UCC, have similar societies. An intervarsity event may be organised between these universities.

The society signed up members and elected a committee at their first AGM yesterday.

The College View 21.03.12 11

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UL students boycott Irish Daily Sun

By Patrick Carberry News Reporter The ‘Thomond Student Times’, University of Limerick’s student newspaper last week started an online petition against the ‘Irish Daily Sun’. The petition calls for the campus bookshop, O’Mahoney’s Bookshop, to stop stocking and selling the newspaper.

The attempt to boycott the newspaper in UL follows the newspaper’s reporting of charity events run by UL RAG during RAG Week being linked to anti-social behaviour. Outrage ensued within the UL student community since the paper’s publishing of an image

of Seán O’Gorman, a UL student, taking part in UL RAG’s ‘Nearly Naked Mile’, a charity event which raised almost €1,000, but was portrayed by the ‘Irish Daily Sun’ as “RAG week students go starkers”.

Somewhere between the beginning of UL RAG’s campaign ‘You don’t look stupid fighting cancer’, and the newspaper’s publication, the message appears to have been lost.

Though Seán O’Gorman appeared in the ‘Irish Daily Sun’, the element of charity behind his appearance was not mentioned. RAG Week did get a quick reference, however the article lacked any mention of UL RAG, the collection of money for charity, or an explanation as to why Seán was “nearly-naked”,

leaving this decision down to the discretion of the reader. The lack of recognition and misrepresentation of UL students’ efforts to raise money for worthy causes has greatly angered students, and resulted in the petition to boycott the ‘Irish Daily Sun’.

According to UL Raising and Giving Chairman, Kevin Bolger, “We are very disappointed with this piece of journalism. We are making great progress in UL trying to harness positive student energies and talents for the greater good of society.

“However, journalism like this is very disheartening for students because even when they are trying to contribute to society, they are

portrayed in a negative light.” UL RAG have since decided to remain neutral regarding the online petition to boycott the paper.

Though there were a small number of arrests during the UL Charity Week, as well as reports of drinking in public and firelighting in the College Court area of Castletroy, none of this was linked to the charitable efforts of Seán O’Gorman and his companions in UL RAG. UL RAG was founded in February this year, following the success of DCU RAG since it was founded last September. Since its foundation, UL RAG has raised over €2,000, with the aim of reaching €6,000 by the end of the year.

TCD student hacker released after questioning

By Frances Mulraney Deputy News Editor A Trinity student, which the FBI claims is a top hacker, has been released by the Gardaí without charge.

Donnacha O’Cearbhaill was charged in US court documents of one count of computer hacking conspiracy, hacking Garda email and distributing a recording of a conference call between Gardaí and US authorities.

He was questioned about membership of Anonymous, an internet subculture in which ‘hacktivists’ promote anticensorship and freedom of speech on the internet. He was also accused of membership of the Anonymous spin-out collective LulzSec. The FBI claims that the 19-yearold county councillor’s son from Offaly is one of the five most wanted hackers in the world. If he is convicted he faces up to 15 years in prison in the US. O’Cearbhaill is one of two Irish students the FBI charged with computer hacking. Darren Martyn from Galway was also named in the FBI court papers that were filed in Manhattan and published by the US Attorney’s Office two weeks ago.

Although the court papers list Martyn as 25, it is believed from his Twitter account that he is in fact

just 19. He faces a 20 year sentence if convicted on charges including hacking a conference call, the FOX broadcasting network and also the Fine Gael website. Martyn has not been arrested.

O’Cearbhaill was arrested and questioned for 24 hours at Terenure Garda station in Dublin two weeks ago. His case is currently being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Currently a first year in Medicinal Chemistry in Trinity, O’Cearbhaill was arrested last September in relation to the hacking of the Fine Gael website, according to court reports. A report in the ‘Irish Examiner’ said that he has “turned his back on hacking last year, prior to his arrest on the infiltration of the Fine Gael website”.

According to the ‘Irish Independent’, it is understood that there are a number of FBI agents currently in Ireland to help the Gardaí with their investigation. They also report that this investigation “is focused on the activities of the Anonymous hacking network and several offshoots, including a group known as Lulzsec”.

Among the charges filed against the two Irish men, it is reported that the group also targeted the US X-Factor, stealing confidential data of over 70,000 potential contestants as well as compromising an FBI computer.

Joint mature student conference DIT is to host a Mature Students’ Conference next Saturday in association with the Union of Students in Ireland, Mature Students Ireland and the Board of Irish College Societies.

The event, held in DIT Bolton St, aims to provide mature students with the skills and information they need to be successful in third level education.

The topics at the conference will include an introduction from Elaine Geraghty, CEO of Inspire Ireland, life as a mature student and beyond, parenthood as a mature student, running a successful mature students’ society, minding your mental health and a question and answers session with the USI. All of the country’s mature students are welcome to attend.

The conference is to act as an opportunity for mature students from all parts of the county to meet with each other, to network and to learn from each other’s experiences.

The event is a joint venture including Mature Students Ireland, a national network of Higher Education institutes in Ireland that attempts to improve the services that are available to mature students.

The organisation evolved due to the increase in students over the age of 23 applying to the CAO in recent years. They feel that mature students should be supported through conferences like this to ensure that they participate successfully in higher education, encourage others to attend third level education, that they inform the national policy and institution policy regarding mature students and that they encourage research on mature students.

One of the main issues the conference will address is integration, a topic that is covered

by DIT Mature Students’ Society (The ‘Old Skool’ Society). The society addresses the worries that mature students may have about fitting in, meeting other mature students and having a social life as a mature student while in college.

The conference will run from 10am to 5.50pm this Saturday March 24th. Tickets cost €10 and can be purchased on the event page on eventbrite.ie or on the day.

12 The College View 21.03.12

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UK CAO applicants increase Staff at Cork IT on strike

By Suzanne Cooper News Reporter

UK applicants to third level education in the Republic of Ireland rose by 27% this year, preliminary figures have shown.

This brings to 2,500 the total number of UK applicants in the Republic, up from 2,000 last year.

This rise in applications here can be attributed to the increase in fees that England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have experienced.

It was reported last year that more than three quarters of English universities were set to charge the maximum fees for the college year 2011/2012.

From the beginning of this college year, students in the UK and Wales have been expected to pay £9,000 (€10,700) in fees. In Northern Ireland, student fees went up to roughly £3,000 (just under €4,000).

Scotland is the only member of the UK where the students do not pay fees.

In April 2011, Prof Paul O’ Prey, Vice Chancellor at the University of Roehampton, London, stated that, “we will be losing over 95% of our government funding… we’re going to become almost totally reliant on student fees”.

In the Republic, students technically don’t pay fees. We pay a “contribution” of €2250, which is a much smaller sum of money than

these universities in the UK. This is an attractive alternative for UK students, as anyone who is an EU citizen, or lived in the EU for three out of the last five years, does not have to pay full tuition fees here in the Republic of Ireland.

According to statistics published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas), 52,321 applicants applied to UK Universities from within the UK for the college year 2011/2012, compared to 59,413 the year before.

Students applying to universities in England have fallen overall by 18.7%.

Although there has also been a very slight increase in applications from England, Scotland and Wales

to universities in Northern Ireland, there are still a significantly small number of these applications.

BBC NI education correspondent Maggie Taggart reported that, “despite fees being lower for Great Britain students in the University of Ulster and large bursaries offered at Queen’s, there has not been a big increase in applications from England, Wales or Scotland”.

The number of UK students willing to pay out £9000 in fees is clearly decreasing, as many students are now looking elsewhere like the Republic of Ireland. Many UK students are evidently not willing to take out massive student loans, which they must begin to repay when earning more than £21,000.

UCC make breakthrough in breast cancer research

By Catríona Hughes News Reporter UCC researchers recently developed an exciting new treatment for breast cancer using gene therapy.

The new strategy, aimed at halting tumour growth, is being funded by the Irish Cancer Society.

The research team at UCC found that delivering positive human genes to breast cancer tumour cells by means of a virus, causes the genes to then generate signals within the tumour to cut off its blood supply, ultimately stopping the growth of the tumour.

This new strategy uses genes from humans rather than from viruses, which results in longer lasting therapy. Although this particular gene therapy is still in its infancy, it targets breast cancer tumour cells without disturbing or causing harm to healthy cells. This result is the ultimate aim for cancer treatment of all kinds.

The Irish Cancer Society currently funds seven studies on breast cancer. The objective for the society is to improve the outcomes of people affected by cancer, by discovering new ways to improve diagnosis and treatments. The principle investigator of this research initiative, Dr Mark Tangney and his team at UCC has investigated the usage of gene therapy, in respect of the treatment of breast cancer, since 2008.

“We are delighted to have advanced a new type of potential treat-

ment for breast cancer that uses this nificant advances in breast cancer liver alternative treatments to those pioneering gene therapy, which has research, both in terms of predictive affected by cancer”. significantly less toxicity and more biomarkers of what may happen to Tangney claims that Irish and inefficacy than existing treatment,” you during your breast cancer jour- ternational studies carried out on said Tangney. ney and in novel treatments. gene therapy are showing significant According to Tangney, his “We are committed to continuing progress. He believes that this could research team is looking into difour investment in cancer research, lead to gene therapy treatment beferent ways that gene therapy can and we hope that research into ar- ing made available worldwide in the be used to treat cancer of all forms. eas such as gene therapy may de- next decade.

“We have successfully developed a novel method of testing gene therapy agents on Do you want to be a part of The College View’s team? tumours removed from Applications are now open for the 2012/2013 editorial positions: patients, • Editor-in-Chief which is a huge step • News – Editor/Deputy Editor forward for • Features – Editor/Deputy Editor us,” Tangney added.

• Arts – Editor/Deputy Editor The Irish • Travel – Editor Cancer Society is • Irish – Editor/Deputy Editor currently • Sports – Editor/Deputy Editor the largest • Production & Layout – Editor/Deputy Editor voluntary funder • Online - Editor of cancer • Images - Editor research in Ireland. The Email editor@thecollegeview.com outlining your previous Head of Research at the experience and why you think you are suitable for your Irish Cancer chosen role. Put ‘application’ in the subject line.

Society, Prof John Fitzpatrick stated: Closing date for applications is April 6th at 6pm.

“We have made sig-

THE COLLEGE VIEW is hiring!

By Frances Mulraney Deputy News Editor Cork Institute of Technology’s SIPTU members will today engage in a one-day strike to protest the dismissal of six members of staff last week.

The six women were made redundant from Student Services Ltd, a private, not-for-profit company set up by the management of CIT, on March 9th. The dismissal was allegedly made without any consultation or redundancy payment.

SIPTU members are calling for the employees to be reinstated and for talks to then take place. A representative from SIPTU, Brendan Mulcahy, stated that: “SIPTU had asked the company to defer the redundancies to allow for a meaningful meeting with management, where ways could be discussed to save the jobs. This request was turned down.”

The ‘Irish Examiner’ reports that the union requested a meeting with senior management in the institute of technology, including Brendan Murphy, the institute’s president.

It was upon this refusal that members voted to take industrial action and a strike notice was served on March 13th. Mulcahy added that “although some of the workers have in excess of two years service no statutory redundancy has been paid” and that SIPTU members request that “these individuals treat them with the respect they are due and engage in meaningful discussions with their union”.

From 7am today, pickets will be set up at all CIT entrances.

Student Services Ltd runs four catering outlets and two retail outlets on campus in CIT and all of their 44 employees are members of SIPTU. CIT has 120 employees in total with membership to the union.

The strike will be focused on the Bishopstown campus of CIT and at this stage will not extend to CIT’s Cork School of Music or the National Maritime College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy.

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Fighting for workers’ rights

By Grainne Coyne

I

t doesn’t seem so long ago that we had our pick of the market when it came to part-time jobs, summer work, and employment after graduation. In most cases, a job was a given. Then the recession came along and burst the bubble. There were fewer jobs, attitudes changed and there were fewer reasons to be picky. The common perception of many is that if you’re one of the lucky few to have a job, you should be grateful and take what you get; complaints are not welcomed by colleagues and most certainly not by employers.

But where do you stand when you feel you’re being treated unfairly at work, if you’re unsure of how many hours you should be working, and unsure of the rights you’re entitled to if you’re in unpaid employment?

According to the National Employment Rights Authority, we’re all “entitled to receive basic employment rights” regardless of the industry we work in. But not many students are aware of their rights, and fewer still would question their employer through fear of being easily replaced. Laura was one of these students. She studied retail management in GMIT and enjoyed all aspects of her course except for onethe work experience.

“This was the part of the course I had been looking forward to for two years. The placement was for six months which was great for the experience I needed for when I graduated college. But when it came to the placement period, everything I had expected was the total opposite,” she explains.

Laura says that students in her course had to go out in search of employers for their placements and very few retailers were willing to hire students for the required length of time. In the end, she was forced to take on unpaid work.

“I found it extremely difficult applying for this short period of time.

Eventually one retailer responded; a high street fashion chain which is what I dreamed of getting a placement with. An interview was involved and it was successful and I took the placement – voluntarily,” she says.

The rules on working hours for those who work voluntarily vary depending on the industry, but usually 30 hours is the upper limit.

Laura ensured that she only worked that amount and although she enjoyed her work experience, she was disappointed that she was the only

student out of her class not to gain full time employment from her placement.

“It left me feeling disappointed, used and unfulfilled - I worked for free for six months and showed them this is what I want and can do, but there was no job offer; not for that store, not even for the other stores in Ireland or Britain,” she says.

Laura is one of many students who have more than enough qualifications, but are still unable to find a job in their desired field. The picture is very different than it was a few years ago.

“They knew I was graduating the next year and that I would have the qualifications for the job. It was a downer and the funny thing is they gave me an excellent performance appraisal. I am aware that many students are struggling with this situation, and in my opinion, it’s beyond ridiculous when companies are complaining there aren’t the right qualified workers for their jobs,” she says.

When it comes to internships, many students are unaware that they have the same basic employment rights as paid employees. Employees’ rights are the same whether you’re in paid employment full time or part time. However, many students are still not aware of this, and those who are are wary of the unforgiving nature of the job market.

NERA says that the maximum amount of hours an employee can work a week is 48, although this would be less when it comes to part time employment. Many employees are unfamiliar with the breaks they are entitled to, and many don’t receive the breaks they deserve despite working the required amount of hours. NERA states that “You have the right to a 15-minute break if working four and a half hours of work and a 30 minute break if working six hours of work.”

A DCU student, who wishes to remain anonymous, recounted their time in part time employment, and felt they were given more difficult tasks and assigned more inconvenient hours as a result of being a student.

“I didn’t feel that I was treated unfairly; I just felt slightly taken advantage of. I lived on a direct route so I was always scheduled to work the early mornings or the late nights. I never got to do the normal 9-5 shifts.

“I think what upset me most was the fact that I was exhausted and trying to do a million things at once.

We regularly worked seven and eight hour turnarounds and I often had to stay back longer. Sometimes I was worried that I would miss my bus home.

“I was aware of fellow employees who had and had received off the cuff comments followed by an apology later in the day. I knew that all I had to do was say something, but I just couldn’t. I guess I was afraid that I’d be told I could be easily replaced. People were queuing up to work in the place and there were CVs coming in every single day,” explains the student.

The student later left the company due to time management issues re-

Image credit (above top): gaelick.com Image credit (above): Waponi via Flickr Creative Commons

garding college and work, but feels that many students in employment are putting up with unfair working conditions due to the lack of jobs in the market.

“I think employers feel they can get away with things a lot easier now,” explains the student. “I think they assume that students will just be so grateful to have a job that they won’t ask questions for fear of losing that source of income.”

Legislation protects the rights of

all employees, whether paid, unpaid, full time, or part time, but it seems that these basic legal rights are in danger of becoming less of a concern for both employer and employee. Whether out of fear, or a sense of gratitude for simply having a job in the current economic climate, it seems that employees are willing to put up with a lot more from their work in order to avoid receiving a lot less.

14 The College View 21.03.12

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Supporting suicide awareness

By Sarah Bermingham

A

suicide awareness conference, hosted by DCU research psychologist Dr Aileen O’Reilly, will take place in the Helix on Tuesday April 3rd. The conference aims to promote awareness of the all-too-often silent killer by providing information on how best to respond to suicide, and also aims to inspire hope among those dealing with suicide.

Statistically, Ireland has one of the highest rates of suicide among young people in the western world.

An average 79 per 100,000 of Irish 15-29 year-old males died as a result

More information Console

www.console.ie

Pieta House www.pieta.ie

1life

www.1life.ie

Samaritans

www.samaritans.org

of suicide between 2004 and 2010, more than are killed as a result of cancer or road traffic accidents. According to the Central Statistics Office’s latest Men and Women in Ireland study, men are four times more likely to be affected than women.

A total of 386 males took their own lives in 2010, compared to 100 women.

The range of circumstances which can lead people to take their own lives are as many and varied as the profiles of people affected.

A Suicide Support and Information System (SSIS) study, funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention and undertaken between September 2008 and April 2011, highlighted the possible impact of the economic downturn on suicide rates. Of people who died from suicide in this period, it found 38.1% to have been unemployed and 32.8% to have been employed in the construction sector. Many had a history of self-harm and had abused alcohol and/or other drugs in the year prior to death.

According to samartians.org, people often look for a single cause as to why a person has taken their own life. In reality, the way someone feels comes about as a result of many different factors, and in the case of someone who takes their own life, these factors have built up “to the point where the person can see no other way to cope with what

they’re experiencing”. The kinds of problems which might increase the risk of suicide include a recent loss or the break-up of a close relationship, an unhappy change in circumstances, painful and/or disabling illness, history of suicide in the family, and depression.

One possible reason why more males than females have taken their lives in recent times is because women are generally more likely to talk about problems and personal issues, and to seek medical help when required. Samaritans encourage men to also talk about issues affecting them, and not to feel pressured into hiding their feelings out of embarrassment or concern not to burden others. Their website offers a check-list style guide to the possible factors and symptoms which may be exhibited by a person at risk.

There are a range of behavioural patterns, thoughts and feelings a friend can look out for if worried about someone who they feel may be at risk. Someone who has experienced a major loss or disappointment, who has become very withdrawn and is finding it difficult to relate to others, feels worthless or isolated, or whose eating and/or sleeping patterns have become very disrupted, may be feeling very distressed – they may really appreciate you asking how they are. You don’t even have to have all the answers.

Just showing a friend you are there

for them lets them know that you care.

Irish organisations such as Pieta House, Console, 3Ts, and 1Life are also there for individuals who may be at risk of taking their own lives.

Joan Freeman, a practising psychologist, spent three years researching how best she could help people who were feeling suicidal to get through their tough time. Pieta House, the Centre for the Prevention of SelfHarm or Suicide, was born out of this.

Having opened its doors in Lucan in January 2006, Pieta House has so far helped 4,000 people, grown to almost 60 therapists and admin staff, and now consists of five centres in Dublin and Limerick. Freeman was presented with a 2011 Rehab People of the Year Award from An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, for her commitment and dedication to the prevention of suicide and self-harm.

A number of other charitable organisations also exist to promote the prevention of suicide. 3Ts (Turn the Tide of Suicide) was established to raise awareness of the problem of suicide in Ireland and to raise funds to help lower suicide rates through dedicated research, educational support and intervention.

The organisation funded in large part an All-Ireland Suicide Survey, published in 2009, which probed behind the stark suicide statistics in Ireland; particularly during the

previous five years. The team interviewed over 250 relatives in 23 counties in relation to deaths from suicide of 100 young people. Among its findings was the realisation that 70% of cases involved a diagnosable “mental illness”, while obvious and apparent gaps were found to exist particularly in youth mental health services.

3Ts joined forces with Console in 2009 to launch the “1Life” 24-hour suicide prevention helpline and text message service. The helpline is most useful to those who are feeling very low or have suicidal thoughts, as well as to anyone bereaved or affected by suicide. 1Life service provides counsellors who are nonjudgemental, empathetic and supportive, who work together with callers to solve problems. Console, meanwhile, is a national suicide prevention, intervention and postintervention service. It supports those in suicidal crisis as well as those bereaved by suicide, through professional counselling, support and helpline services.

Suicide has the potential to affect anyone. Following the examples set by these groups and the work they have done in the area in recent years, it seems the issue is best dealt with directly - by talking about our problems, by educating ourselves and others, and not letting the issue of mental and emotional health be one of embarrassment into the future.

Provisionally, the April 3rd conference will feature: a keynote address from Dan Neville TD, President, Irish Association of Suicidology; the presentation of RTÉ documentary series “I See a Darkness”, featuring personal testimonies from Caroline McGuigan, Peter Moroney and Bernadine McDonnell; workshops on health and wellbeing and mindfulness-based stress reduction, and more. Those interested in attending (the event is primarily aimed towards a DCU staff and student audience) should visit http://bit.ly// Ayails to book a place.

Meanwhile, music icons Adam Clayton and Imelda May are encouraging people to put their best foot forward and wear silly or unusual shoes, and make a €2 donation, on April 26 for ‘Walk in my Shoes Day’.

The ‘Walk in my Shoes’ organisation aims to provide free mental health services for young adults in Ireland, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the EU for 14- 24 year olds.

Clayton said: “Suicide takes the lives of more young men in Ireland than road accidents... The money raised will be used to put young people back on the road to mental health”.

For more information log on to www.walkinmyshoes.ie

The College View

FEATURES

21.03.12

15

FEATURES@thecollegeview.com

Power play With election season on the horizon, Sarah Doran asks why young people get involved in politics?

F

rom Aristotle to Ahern, and Kennedy to Kenny, politics and power have been at the heart of society for thousands of years.

Today, the game is still at the centre of modern life, even though the players and systems have changed.

Politics is most commonly associated with the things “this government” aren’t doing to fix the mess “that government drove us into”. “Politicians, sure they’re all the same,” says the man giving a vox pop to the local radio station. Disenchantment is widespread.

At university level throughout the country, there’s talk of the “careerists” in USI and Students’ Union cliques in certain institutions. “The popular people are the ones that win the SU elections,” one UCD student was overheard to say at their most recent election count.

So if all that is true, then why on earth would anyone consider getting involved in the ‘fun house’ that is modern day politics at any level?

“I decided to get involved in SU politics because I truly believed that it was a way to make a difference in student life,” explains UCCSU Equality Officer Audrey Walsh. “Beginning college as the economic downturn really began to affect students. It seemed to me to be more important than ever to make students’ voices heard in the political arena, and I wanted to be one of those voices.”

Walsh has served as a class rep twice, was previously UCCSU Gender Equality Officer, and recently ran unsuccessfully for the Welfare Officer position. She admits that SU politics is marred by a democratic deficit due to low voter turnout.

“I think that there is a duty on all SU executives to work hard to promote transparency and stem the awful tide of political apathy among students. However it is also the responsibility of students to educate themselves on the issues and make informed decisions on candidates running. It’s the Students’ Union after all,” she says.

Outside university, Walsh is also active with Labour Youth. Youth wings of political parties have become increasingly popular in recent

years and it is among those ranks that DCU student Keith Hoare is politically active.

“I was the tender age of 14 when I joined Young Fine Gael,” Hoare expounds.

The political bug bit him when his father was campaigning for the local Hospital Action Committee in the 2002 general election. ”I remember sitting in front of the TV glued to RTE’s election coverage of the results and whatever it was, I could not get away from it,” he says.

Hoare has no family background in politics but says that “something in my mind attached to Fine Gael, and I do not know what it was. Not long after that election passed we got a leaflet in the door from my local FG TD Denis Naughten, where there was an option to join up, and I did.”

Hoare believes that politicians can effect real change.

“It’s the politicians who can be described as honest, decent and motivated by wanting to do their country proud that really make the difference. That is because they manage not only to improve things but they are able to bring the people with them. A politician who can do the courageous thing and manage to bring the people, young and old with him/her is the politician who can make a real difference,” he says.

Hoare believes that ordinary citizens have the power to change things too.

“Last month, DCU YFG in a committee discussion agreed on a motion for conference calling on the government to legislate for gay adoption. After previous rejections of similar motions, National Conference this year voted to accept this.

Now, DCU YFG has changed the policy of YFG,” he explains.

“If you’re motivated and driven by wanting to do the best for your country, then you will find that it is that very passion itself that will see you make a difference in one form or another,” he adds.

Councillor Chris Bond agrees.

The South Dublin County Councillor first became involved with the Labour Party when he was 17 years old and went on to become active with the UCD branch of the youth

wing, UCDSU and USI. “Politicians need to lead by example and prove that they are in fact in it to make a difference,” argues Bond. He agrees that this isn’t always the case, but says he is aware of many situations where politicians have taken the lead on issues like crime, public transport and local services, and have made a huge difference to people’s quality of life.

Bond recognises that the Irish people are becoming disillusioned with politics.

“Serious reform of the political system is needed and I think all parties will agree on that. There needs to be a serious debate on issues, not just a back and forth partisan game and constant posturing,” he says.

Bond believes that unless action is taken people will no longer want to get involved in politics. Keith Hoare, though, has a more positive outlook.

“Whenever unpopular decisions are being made, particularly austerity measures, faith in politics falls but this is simply a cycle, which occurs in every generation,” he argues.

“Things will pick up in the next

Image credit: multicitizens.wordpress.com three to four years, and people will move on again with pride and a sense of relief. I actually think this poses a great opportunity to get involved in politics, whether it be through a youth political party or whatever route.

“If people want to ensure that the mistakes of the past are avoided and if people want to make a difference in their country, then politics is the avenue to seek that input.”

However, there is one thing that Walsh, Hoare and Bond agree on: politics has historically been a boy’s game.

“Politics is a boys’ club and I’m ashamed of that,” Hoare says. “To have 15% women in the Dáil when party membership is pretty much equal between men and women is a disgrace which is man-made.”

He wants to see gender quotas introduced.

“At the moment, there are many politicians who are there and simply contribute nothing. They get on the ballot paper not because of merit or anything else other than incumbency. We need fresh politics, a bet-

ter representative politics and that is one where women are at its heart.”

“There needs to be an overwhelming push at the grassroots level for women to become involved in politics,” Walsh argues. “Quotas at local election level would help but so would targeted mentoring schemes and better political education in secondary schools, inspiring and enabling young women to take their first steps into political life.”

UCD’s Rachel Breslin can count herself among those who have taken a giant leap. The former UCDSU Welfare Officer was recently elected Students’ Union President. She is the first woman to win the role in over 18 years.

DCUSU has had four female presidents in the last 12 years. Could there be a fifth for 2012/13?

Politics: it’s a really crazy show where anything goes. Why do people get involved? To make a difference? Or because it’s a whole lot of fun and there are prizes to be won?

Either way, don’t forget, you have to use your brain if you want to play the game.

16 The College View 21.03.12

FEATURES

How to…

stay safe on campus

By Jenny Darmody Features Editor

E

veryone gets a bit complacent around campus at times. Students come and go every day during term time and it’s a home away from home to many. Therefore, it’s easy to feel overly relaxed and let your guard down a bit. But just because you feel safe, doesn’t mean you are.

Earlier this month, a DCU student and her friend were attacked on the Ballymun Avenue in DCU by a group of non-students. It was only about 8.30pm. DCU campus is a safe place with plenty of security but incidents do happen and there are ways for students to avoid them and stay safe.

Students should always be careful walking around campus at night.

Keep an eye out for any suspicious

individuals or activities and walk in groups where possible, especially down long roads such as Ballymun Avenue.

Top 5…

Image credit: Frances Mulraney Don’t take out your phone, iPod, money or anything that could be a prime target for muggers and will have you distracted from walking

W

1. Glenn, 20, UCD “I don’t exactly remember this happening, but was well informed the next day. Apparently I was kicked out of the nightclub and decided to take a little nap outside the cinema while I waited for everyone else

to come out. My friends found me passed out with the Gardai circled around me, pointing and laughing.

They brought me to the taxi office where I stumbled into the toilet, which they found me in half an hour later, slumped against the wall having wet myself. I woke up the next morning in a friend’s house, with no memory, smelling quite unpleasant and missing a shoe.”

ous and your personal safety is always more valuable than anything in your bag or pockets.

If you live on campus, always make sure to lock your door and don’t let anyone in that you’re unsure of. You might feel like you’re overreacting but always report any suspicious behaviour to DCU security or the Gardaí. Never hesitate to tell someone. Make sure you know the 24/7 campus security number: 700 5999.

Students are not supposed to be in a constant state of fear. DCU has 24 hour security personnel. There are also CCTV cameras with recorded video constantly used to monitor the campus. There is no need to constantly be afraid, as incidents are few and far between. But they do happen, and precautions should be taken to ensure a level of personal safety is maintained at all times and particularly at night.

most embarrassing drunken moments

By Niamh Devereux

e all have those nights.

When a cheap bottle of wine from Tesco and the ‘three Jagerbombs for a tenner’ deal seems like a great idea – until the next morning. You lie in bed feeling like death is imminent, and grimace from both the pounding headache and those dreaded flashbacks. There is nothing worse than remembering your cringey antics from the night before and hoping that you still have friends. The following stories highlight how alcohol is, more often than not, a detrimental factor in our lives.

around. Try not to listen to music when walking down long roads by yourself. Not only does it distract you and stop you from staying alert, but most of us listen to music loud enough to block out most external sound, so you won’t be able to hear people walking up behind you.

If you have to walk down a dark stretch of path, make sure you keep some distance between you and bushes, alleyways and doors. Avoid taking shortcuts through dimly lit areas. The long way home is always better than the dangerous way home.

Walk against the traffic. This means walking on the side of the road that cars come towards you instead of up behind you where you can’t see them. Walk confidently and purposefully and avoid sending out signals that you’re vulnerable.

Never try and hold onto your stuff if you are being mugged. It’s danger-

2. Chloe, 21, St. Pats.

bed and let their dogs out, which I don’t know what happened to.

When I got back in to the taxi, I continued to torment poor Cathy, shaking her seat and singing loudly- until she lost her temper, stopped the bus, came around to where I was sitting, slapped me in the face and put on my seatbelt. I haven’t been able to look her in the eye since.”

dad opened the front door just as I tumbled sideways into the flowerpots and he had to carry me into my room. If that wasn’t bad enough, when my mam came down to see what was wrong, she opened the bedroom door to see me peeing on my bed, shouting ‘Mam get out, I’m on the toilet!’ The next day was fairly awkward.”

3. Cathy, 21, DCU

5. Sarah, 20, DIT

“A few months ago, I fell asleep in the toilets of the Porterhouse and when I woke up the whole place was deserted. All the lights were off and I didn’t know how to get out so I thought it’d be a good idea to try and barge through the chained doors. This managed to set off the alarm and caused five squad cars to land down. The Guards were fairly shocked to find me in there!”

“I went on a holiday to Lanzarote last summer, and one night after one too many drinks, I passed out at a house party. I didn’t think anything of it until the next day when I discovered there was a video circulating of me being ‘tea-bagged’ by one of the boys at the party. Not only did all my friends see the lovely video, but he used it to get tourists into the nightclub we worked in, and also showed my boss.”

“A crowd of my friends and I were overloaded in our local taxi driver Cathy’s bus on the way to a 21st. The Guards noticed this and began to follow us, so good ole Cathy took a detour and pulled in to her house, which she shares with her girlfriend - another local taxi driver. While she was waiting for her girlfriend to ar4. Lucy, 21, UCD rive with another bus, I thought As Ron Burgundy once said, ‘Stay it’d be hilarious to run around her “One night I got so drunk that I had Classy.’ Although he obviously has house taking pictures of the couple’s to be taken home from a 21st. My never drank cheap Tesco wine.

The TheCollege CollegeView View 09.03.1 21.03.12 1 17

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Through my Eyes…

Split ends

By Fiona McGrath

D

ivorce- it’s not an easy thing to go through. I still don’t understand everything about my parents’ divorce. When my mom tried to tell me that she and my dad were divorcing, I didn’t get the message.

I guess that was because of the way she told me. I was eight and it was a Thursday evening, and I was in the sitting room watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When the show was over, my mom decided that it was time to tell me.

“What would you think if your dad got his own house?” she said.

I thought that would be great- we would have two homes. “Yeah, that would be cool,” I replied in my naivety, and that was the end of the conversation. Now I see what she meant, but at that age how was I supposed to know that a second house meant divorce? My mom didn’t do a good job of explaining what was really happening, but in fairness, there’s no guide on how to tell your children you’re getting divorced.

Everything changed after that day.

My brother and sister stopped talking to my parents and I didn’t fully know why or what was going on. My mom moved out and I figured that it would be ok, that this couldn’t happen to my family. I kept going over everything I had done wrong in the previous months, trying to figure out if it was because of me. It had to be a direct result of something I did or didn’t do. My parents were happy, or they seemed to be in my eyes. I couldn’t find any reason that could have caused this. What had I done that made my parents unable to be with each other anymore? Why did this happen? I didn’t find the answers to those questions until years later.

Our house went up for sale, and everything crumbled. They took away my home, my room, and my memories. What hurts me the most now is I can’t even remember the last night we stayed in that house as a family, or when we stopped being a family. I can’t recall the last night I spent in my home before it was

gone. I guess if I knew there was going to be a last time, I would have anticipated it. But as far as I was concerned, this came out of nowhere. I still haven’t forgiven my parents for that, and I still don’t know if I will.

My mom and dad both moved into new homes and my siblings and I had to split our time between them.

Everything was divided. Occasions that involved the family had to be cut in two, and we had to fit both my mom and dad in. I always remember being exhausted during those days. Birthdays became dreaded events and Christmas became more of a chore than a happy holiday.

Everything that had been familiar was ruined. As time moved on, we learned to cope somewhat with the split life, but it never got easier.

I never talked to anyone about my parents, even though my family and friends always asked me if I was ok.

My reply was simple and false: “I’m fine.” That was all I could say. I was so afraid of telling someone how I really felt- hurt, betrayed and furious. I couldn’t say these things because I was so worried how it would affect my parents. I thought it would

“What hurts me the most now is I can’t even remember the last night we stayed in that house as a family, or when we stopped being a family.” kill them to know what they did to me. So I kept quiet. It was the easiest thing to do. Or so I thought. My dad got engaged to his new girlfriend. I couldn’t believe he would do this to us, to me. But I said I was fine with it.

My dad told me this while we were

driving to school. I remember being stunned at what he said, and especially at the time he chose to tell me.

Now I look back at it and the way my dad went about this still surprises me. But I know he never meant to hurt me; he just didn’t know how to tell me. I got out of the car, in shock, and my dad drove off. That’s the last thing I remember from that day. The rest is a blur.

My sister and brother were so furious with my dad that they just couldn’t deal with it, so they decided to travel, and I was left alone.

They were old enough to run away from our problems. I wasn’t, so I had to keep pretending that I was fine.

My mom never opposed my dad’s marriage. In fact, she said it was a good thing because he was happy, like she was now. But I thought that was all a lie. I didn’t like going over to my dad’s while his new fiancé was there. I felt like she was stealing my time with my dad because she was always around.

Image credit: divorcefilers.com Instead of being angry with my dad, I took it out on my dad’s fiancé, and in retrospect that was completely unfair on her. She was trying her best with me, and I just threw it back in her face. Even my mom told me to try and get along with her, but I couldn’t because that would be betraying my mom. I thought my dad’s fiancé was trying to replace my mom, and I was definitely not going to let that happen. During the summer, I was in my mom’s kitchen, and I burst out crying. I couldn’t stop. She knew immediately what it was about. She tried to console me, but nothing would work. I had kept everything bottled up for four years. After two hours of non-stop tears, I was calm enough to tell my mom how I felt about everything regarding her, my dad, and my dad’s marriage. I felt a weight lift off me. It was as if I could breathe properly for the first time in ages. My mom then told my dad what I had said, and he sat down with me and we talked. I

saw him cry, and for the first time I realised my dad was human, and could make mistakes like I could. My dad went on to get remarried, and now I am happy for him. I get along with my dad’s wife and my mom is so much happier now. I understand why my parents went their separate ways. They weren’t happy together.

I used to wonder why they wouldn’t stay together for us. Now I know that if they had, we would have hated them by now because they would be so miserable in their lives.

I had so much anger towards my parents for so long that I should have talked to someone sooner instead of leaving it to build up for years. I still get upset about it, but I have learned to accept it - we all have. I won’t sugar coat it; it’s hard and painful and you will feel so let down by your family, but you need to understand that it will get easier. Your parents will always do what is best for you, and I guess that’s what they did for us. We are all happier now.

18 The College View

21.03.12

GAEILGE

DCUfm briste, brúite agus batráilte Derek O’Brien

Eagarthóir Gaeilge

I

s comórtas é a thosaigh dhá bhliain ó shin, ach is iompairc í atá níos sine ná sin. I ndiaidh na seachtainí lán le tráchtanna mórtasacha agus daoine á thuaradh an scór, shiúil foireann peile DCUfm agus an College View ar an bpáirc pheile coicís ó shin, chun dul in iomaíocht le haghaidh an ‘Bill O’Herlihy Challenge Trophy’. Bhí an teannas le mothú ar an bpáirc agus ar thaobh na páirce freisin, le daoine bainteach leis an raidió agus an nuachtán ag breathnú agus ag tabhairt tacaíochta dá bhfoirne.

Istigh i gceann de na caighin pheile ar champas a tharla an cluiche, le seisear ar an bhféar ag aon am amháin. Thosaigh an nuachtán le seisear láidir- Conor Donohoe, mar chaptaen ar an bhfoireann, Pádraig Ó Cairbre, cúl báire na foirne agus Sam Griffin, Tim Barnwell, Dwayne Leavy agus an t-eagarthóir Gaeilge é féin mar na himreoirí eile. I ndiaidh na haimsire hormónaí, bhí sraith bheag d’uisce ar an bhféar saorga, rud a chinntigh go mbeadh luas fíorthapa sa chluiche.

Sin díreach céard a tharla agus thosaigh an dá fhoireann ar an ionsaí, lán le haidréanailín. Bhí an liathróid ag zipeáil timpeall ar an dromchla sleamhain agus bhí an

dá fhoireann ag streachailt chun smacht a fháil ar an gcluiche, rud a rinne an College View i ndiaidh 5 nóiméad nuair a d’aimsigh Griffin an chéad chúl sa cluiche, i ndiaidh saghas clibirt bheag os comhair an chúil. Bíonn an chéad chúl i gcluiche peile i gcónaí ríthábhachtach, agus níor athshlánaigh foireann an raidió i ndiaidh sin, leis an nuachtán ag dul ó neart go neart. Tharla trí chúl eile sa chéad leath agus chuir an réiteoir stop leis an iomaíocht leis an College View ceithre chúl chun tosaí ar 4-0. Tháinig Eoghan Cormican, Brendan White agus Ian Goode ar an bpáirc ar son an College View don dara leath.

Ceapadh go mbeidh scéal difriúil le feiceáil sa dara leath, toisc nach raibh mórán idir na foirne sna cluichí a tharla sna blianta roimhe sin, ach tharla a mhalairt leis an nuachtán ag tosú sa chaoi chéanna agus fuair siad an chéad chúl sa dara leath taobh istigh de chúpla nóiméad. Ba chosúil go raibh sin an tairne deireanach i gcónra DCUfm agus níor éirigh leo smacht ar bith a fháil ar an gcluiche i ndiaidh sin agus lean an nuachtán leo ag aimsiú cúl. Faoi dheireadh, d’aimsigh lucht an raidió cúl, leis an scór ar 8-0 agus bhí ábhar gáire mholta ag a leantóirí glóracha. Bhí tréimhse láidir ag DCUfm ag deireadh an chluiche, le cuma thuirseach ar fhoireann an nuachtáin. Choimeád Ó Cairbre iarrachtaí DCUfm amach

Image credit: Sinead Walsh

Gluais Féar saorga [artificial grass] Dromchla sleamhain [slippery surface] as an gcúl i rith an chluiche ach go háirithe ag an deireadh agus nuair a shéid an réiteoir a fheadóg, bhí 8 gcúl idir na foirne leis an scór deire-

Clibirt [scrum] Gáire mholta [cheer]

anach 12-4, difríocht a chur iontas ag an College View agus beidh brú fiú ar imreoirí an nuachtáin. Ach ní ollmhór ar DCUfm an bhliain seo raibh aon duine in ann é a shéanadh chugainn, a chlú a athbhunú. go raibh an bua go hiomlán tuillte

Tae le TeaSoc Maitiú Ó Coimín

T

á cumann úr-nua bunaithe ag mac léinn na hIlmheán, Cian Mac Mahon, le seachtain anuas - An Cumann Tae nó ‘TeaSoc’ mar a ghlaoitear air i mBéarla. Bhuail an le Mac Mahon thart ar choicís ó shin agus chaith sé an fógra seo ‘Tempted to start a TeaSoc in DCU. The events would be very relaxing’ amach ar

shuíomhanna sóisialta. Ní raibh sé ag súil le mórán agus bhí ionadh an domhain air nuair a bhrúigh breis is ceathracha cara leis ar Facebook an cnaipe ‘Is maith liom é seo’ agus nuair a rinne thart ar tríocha daoine athghliocáil ar an bhfógra ar Twitter. I ndiaidh dó an tacaíocht seo a fheiceáil thóg sé air féin taighde a dhéanamh ar an ábhar agus tabhairt faoin gCumann a bhunú.

Ba é príomhdhúshlán an fheachtais ná na fiche ainm atá riachtanach i gcomhair bunú cumann a fháil ach tar éis cruinnithe ar an Luan seo caite bailíodh ceathracha ainm agus cuireadh tús ceart leis. Roghnaíodh an léachtóir Donal Mulligan, atá i mbun oibre ar a pHD i mbliana, mar uachtarán an chumainn. Ba é Mulligan an té a bhunaigh an ‘Murder She Wrote Society’ a bhain an gradam ‘An Cumann Nua is Fearr’ amach ag na BICS sa bhliain 2005 agus é ina fhochéimí in OCBÁC. Throid ionadaí an chumainn leis an SLC, Richard Nolan, ag cruinniú

ar an gCéadaoin seo caite agus i ndiaidh plé a mhair fiche nóiméad, glacadh leis an gcumann go hoifigiúil.

Ciallaíonn sé seo go n-aithneofar an Cumann mar chumann oifigiúil sa choláiste agus go mbeifear in ann maoiniú a fháil i gcomhair na nimeachtaí; cé nach dtarlóidh sé seo go dtí an chéad bhliain acadúil eile (2012/13).

Tá sé i gceist ag Mac Mahon, a

Image credit (above): DCU Tea Soc Image credit (left): ChrisinPlymouth via Flickr Creative Commons toghadh mar chathaoirleach (nó Tea-seach) ag an gcéad chruinniú, go leor imeachtaí a chur ar siúl agus gheall sé go mbeidh níos mó ná ‘suigh thart agus tae a ól’ á dhéanamh ag an gcumann. Tá a ghránna aige ar ‘ghnáththaenna’ ar nós Barry’s nó Lyon’s agus, tar éis an taighde a rinne sé, ba bhreá leis domhan mór tae a thaispeáint do na baill. Táthar ag súil go mbeidh

ceardlanna tae curtha ar fáil, ina mbeidh deis ag baill taenna éagsúla a bhlaiseadh agus a chumaisc, chomh maith le turais chuig taelanna ar fud na cathrach. De réir ráflaí, tá cumainn cosúil leis an gceann seo á mbunú in TeaCD agus DITea agus tá súil ag Mac Mahon go mbeifear in ann ‘IntervarsiTea’ a reáchtáil go luath sa todhchaí.

The College View 21.03.12 19

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Clár Gan Chlárú

Image credit: Bród Club

Frances Mulraney

T

hosaigh an feachtas Gaeilge, Bród Club, leis an aidhm 100,000 duine a bheith rannpháirteach leo.

Faoin am scríofa, tá 15,000 duine sínithe leis. Gach Luan, cuireann Bernard an clár i láthair le cabhair ó cheoltóirí cosúil le Republic of Loose agus Dublin City Gospel choir chomh maith le Seán agus Sheila Saoránach, ag eagrú a gcuid ime-

achtaí i nGaeilge timpeall na tíre.

Níor thosaigh an club nó an feachtas seo le Bernard amháin áfach. Tháinig an smaoineamh ón gcomhlacht teilifíse Independent Pictures, ar léirigh cláir cosúil le Rip off Republic agus Ear to the Ground.

Dar le Natasha Fennell, bainisteoir tionscadail ar an gclár, bhí an comhlacht ag iarraidh teacht ar an mbealach is fearr le muintir na hÉireann a fháil chun páirt a ghlacadh agus an Ghaeilge atá acu a úsáid arís. Leis na mílte smaointe acu, bheartaigh siad ar deireadh le club a

thosú a mbeadh duine ar bith in ann a bheith mar bhall de.

Dúirt Fennell go raibh rogha éasca acu leis an ambasadóir den chlub a phiocadh. Dhá bhliain ó shin, nuair a d’eirigh sé as dornálaíocht, dúirt Bernard go raibh sé chun Gaeilge a fhoghlaim san am sa bhreis nua a bhí aige. Shocraigh sé a leanbh a thógáil le Gaeilge chomh maith.

Dar léi, chomh luath agus a shuigh siad síos le chéile, ní raibh dabht ar bith acu ach go bhfuil “paisean dochreidte agus dúil dochreidte ag Bernard don teanga”. Chuaigh In-

dependent Pictures chuig RTÉ agus chuig Stillwater Communications, an comhlacht chaidrimh phoiblí cumarsáide, leis an smaoineamh don chlár. Tá taithí ag Stillwater Communications agus a bheith ag reáchtáil feachtas náisiúnta chomh maith le Gaeilge maith ag an bhfoireann atá acu.

Thosaigh an phleanáil don chlár naoi mí ó shin, le cruinnithe ar na bealaí gur féidir leo togáil ar an mbunsmaoineamh. Is ansin a tháinig siad suas leis an nath cainte “use what you have” a bhfuil mar cheann de na príomhtheachtaireachtaí a bhfuil ag an gclár. An rud is tábhachtaí, dar le Natasha, a bhunaigh Stillwater Communications in éineacht leis a deartháir, ná nach bhfuil an Bród Club dírithe ar dhaoine a bhfuil Gaeilge líofa acu cheana féin. Tá sé dírithe ar na daoine nár úsáid an Ghaeilge le blianta anuas agus atá ag iarraidh a gcuid Gaeilge a tharraingt amach arís.

Is “teilifís shóisialta” atá i gceist, le Facebook, Twitter agus a suíomh idirlíon fíorthábhachtach don fheachtas. Deir Natasha go bhfuil “Twitter craiceáilte le hashtags faoin mBród Club…tugann sé dóchas dom…an Ghaeilge iontach

sin a bhfuil á n-úsáid ar Twitter, ar Facebook”. An dúshlán is mó a bhfuil acu le sin áfach, ná nach bhfuil daoine ag síniú suas. Cé go bhfuil siad an-ghníomhaíoch ar na gréasáin shóisialta ar fad, níl an nóiméad á chaitheamh acu le clárú le RTÉ. Bhreathnaigh 330,000 ar an gcéad dhá clár. Deir Natasha gur figiúr iontach é seo do chlár teilifíse ar an Luan ach go háirithe nuair atá siad ag dul i gcoinne an tsobaldráma Coronation St. Faraor, is léir ón uimhir a bhfuil acu faoi láthair nach bhfuil na daoine seo ag síniú suas.

Agus á labhairt faoin bhfeachtas i ndiaidh an chláir, beidh an suíomh idirlín fós ar líne ar feadh trí mhí nuair a chríochnaíonn sé ar RTÉ, le cabhrú leis na baill lean ar aghaidh ag labhairt na Gaeilge agus ag baint taitnimh aisti. D’aon plean amach anseo, braitheann sé ar airgead, tá costas de cheithre chéad euro ar an gclár seo ar a laghad. D’éinne a bhfuil ag iarraidh páirt a ghlacadh sa chlub, is féidir d’ainm a chur ar an liosta bróid ar www.rte.ie/bródclub nó iad a leanúint ar Twitter/ Facebook. Seoltar nuachtlitir amach gach uile sheachtain leis na himeachtaí don tseachtain agus sonraí teagmhála do ranganna Gaeilge.

Téarma Na Seachtaine Boilsc [tumble-home]

Costas le teacht ar Twitter a úsáid?

Fiach Mac Domhnaill Leas-Eagarthóir Gaeilge

B

eidh ort costas a íoc le bheith i do bhall den suíomh Gréasáin sóisialta Twitter, de réir ráfla atá ag dul timpeall an idirlín arís faoi láthair. Dár le The Sunday Business Post, tá Twitter ag smaoineamh ar íocaíocht €1 in aghaidh na míosa a ghearradh orthu siúd a ghlacann leis agus a fhanann ar an suíomh ghréasáin sóisialta. Tá níos mó na 300 milliún daoine ag baint úsáide as Twitter, saor in aisce, i láthair na huaire agus tá Twitter fós i bponc ó thaobh airgead a thuilleadh. Dá mba rud é go raibh costas euro amháin in aghaidh na míosa ar sheirbhísí Twitter, bheadh an fhéidearthacht ann níos mó ná €3.6 billiún d’ioncam a ghiniúint in aghaidh na bliana, más rud é go bhfanadh an 300 milliún úsáideoir dílis don suíomh. Sin í an mhórcheist do Twitter. Más rud é go raibh costas ann, is cuma cé chomh

bheag, an bhfanadh daoine ar an suíomh nó an gcailleadh Twitter móramh dá n-úsáideoirí?

An fáth go raibh rath iontach ag Twitter go dtí seo ná go raibh sé saor in aisce, agus bhí aon duine (le córas idirlín, ar ndóigh) in ann bheith mar bhall agus dul i mbun cumarsáide le haon duine eile ar an suíomh, is cuma cén cúinne den domhan ina raibh siad. Chonacthas an chumhacht a bhí ag Twitter, nó an chumhacht a thug Twitter do dhaoine mar mhodh cumarsáide, go háirithe i dTuaisceart na hAfraice le linn Earrach na nArabach. Is ar Twitter a thosaigh an réabhlóid, áit a raibh réabhlóidithe san Éigipt in ann teagmháil láithreach a dhéanamh lena chéile, saor in aisce, agus an téirí amach a eagrú.

Tá Twitter an-úsáideach agus tá mór-éileamh uirthi sa saol gairmiúil. Cinnte bheadh daoine ann a mbeadh sásta praghas beag a íoc don tseirbhís mar go mbeadh buntáistí gairmiúla in ann dóibh. Ó thaobh iriseoireachta de tá luach mór nuachta ag Twitter mar gur

féidir nuacht a scaipeadh go forleathan, láithreach is a tharlaíonn sé. Ón taobh sin de, bheadh grúpa beag proifisiúnta a bhfanadh le Twitter in ainneoin an chostais, agus dá bhrí sin b’fhéidir go bhfanadh cuid mhór de dhaoine eile ar an suíomh ionas go mbeidís in ann scéalta nuachta a fháil agus iad á mbriseadh. Fadhb a bheadh ann dá dtosódh Twitter ag gearradh táillí ná go mbeadh deis ann do shuíomh nua, saor in aisce, seirbhís chosúil a chur ar fáil agus lucht leanúna Twitter a thógáil leo.

Sholáthair Twitter an chéad dréacht de stair na giolcaireachta agus leanfaidh sé seo, le costas nó gan chostas.

Image credit: mobilemarketingwatch.com

Gluais I bponc [In a predicament] Gin [generate]

Soláthair [provide] Giolcaireacht [tweeting]

20 The College View 21.03.11

TRAVEL & FOOD Back to the Future at Jo’Burger

By Aoife Reilly

Burgers, beer, wine and music; four simple ingredients for an enjoyable night, the recipe for which has been mastered at Jo’Burger. Established in 2007, this Rathmines restaurant offers a laidback dining experience and good quality food.

Yet the Jo’Burger experience is more than the good food on offer. From the house DJ playing 90’s electronic tracks while you eat, to the graffiti covered walls that keep you amused while you wait for your food, Jo’Burger is a creative and unique restaurant with a real novelty twist.

Its many quirky features make Jo’Burger a popular alternative dining venue. 90’s board games are available for your table while you browse through menus that are found in old comic book annuals and sip your drink from a vintage glass jar.

Thankfully, however, there is nothing ‘old’ or dated about the food they produce.

Taking the simple burger to a new level, Jo’Burger provides a huge variety of ‘styles’ using organic Irish beef, chicken and lamb, combined imaginatively with other quality ingredients.

Each burger is named after a South African township such as the Molestone (a peanut and chili sauce with coriander) and the Zondi (green Thai curry mayo with coriander and chili).

If burgers don’t take your fancy, you can choose to have any of the burger styles in a flour tortilla wrap. There are also a number of impressive alternatives designed for vegetarians, but tasty enough even for meat-eaters.

The generous sized portions will leave you feeling full to the brim. One must, however, find room to sample the variety of sides on offer. Sides, such as sweet potato fries, onion rings, and bush fries (Jo’Burger’s take on the standard fries) will be devoured at your table in no time.

On average a burger will set you back approximately €12, while sides are about €4, which for what you get, is a very reasonable price.

Jo’Burger’s laidback atmosphere will relax you as soon as you walk through the door, and with the delicious food and accommodating staff, you are sure to have a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience.

Journo Soc trip to London

By Sarah Bermingham

D

CU Journalism Society enjoyed a short trip to London last week, taking in visits to the BBC Television Centre and News International’s London Times newsroom.

Twenty-four society members seized the opportunity to visit the English capital during reading week, staying at the central St. Christopher’s Village hostel from the 14th to the 16th of March.

Despite an early start on Wednesday morning, all were excited andready to fit shopping, sightseeing and exploring into our busy schedule which centred on these media-themed visits.Luckily, we would have the weather on our side, with three mild days and plenty of sunshine.

Having reached our hostel shortly after midday, following a 1½ hour bus journey from Stansted and tube

connection, lunch was in order.

Members refuelled in a variety of pleasant nearby restaurants before some set out forthe BBC. Here we were given a behindthe-scenes tour of the television studios. We got to see dressing rooms, rehearsals of current shows, sets and props. That evening, the entire group had the opportunity to attend a BBCstudio recording of comedy panel show “A Short History of Everything Else” and it was interesting to witness the recording of a new television show. We returned to our hostel, where some took part in the hostel’s karaoke.

More members of our group would visit BBC on Friday.

With Thursday morning to ourselves, a group of first year members, including myself, visited Camden Town markets; a great location for a day blessed with good weather. Camden had shopping, and eating, and exploring was the perfect escape from the usual mill of lectures and assignments. Another group visited Hyde Park, taking in

some of the sights. The possibilities for things to do in this city really are endless, and cater for a wide variety of tastes.

With interest and intrigue we visited the Times newsroom in News International’s headquarters that afternoon. This was a rare opportunity to gain an insight into operations at a busy newsroom in the capital.

A selection of staff members described to us their role at the paper and current projects they are involved with. Following this, we were given a tour of the newsroom where staff were busy working towards deadlines for the paper’s next edition.

Our experience of the London nightlife scene, as sampled on Thursday, was perhaps the one downside of the city. The clubs seemed either empty or expensive; despite gaining free admission to one club, £5 prices for shots turned us off. We returned earlier than envisaged to our hostel, again staying up chatting and having a

laugh.

In terms of expense, day tickets for the central London underground zones cost £7, while Oyster cards can be purchased for £5 and topped up as often as required. Food and drink in supermarkets is generally much cheaper than at home, while a restaurant main course typically varied from £6/7 to £11/12. London is home to as wide a selection of restaurants, of all international cuisines, as one can imagine.

Tickets for West End shows can be purchased from Leicester Square ticket booths from £20 on the day.

Wemet in Victoria station at half past three on Friday afternoon to bid a reluctant goodbye to the exciting city.Some slight airport drama provided a high-octane end to our three days of fun and adventure; luckily however, we made the return flight home. Seated amidst plenty of tourists no doubt looking forward to Paddy’s Day celebrations in Ireland, we were more excited about the prospects of our beds and having a good sleep.

The golden city of Prague

By Katerina Valova With spring around the corner, most of us get itchy feet, want to pack the bags and head away for a little holiday. Traditionally, Prague is one of the top destinations for a weekend break but why not see more and make it just a little bit longer? You won’t regret it.

Being from the Czech Republic I sometimes take the city for granted.

To be fair, it has been years since I have spent any time in Prague and things have changed considerably – the biggest change being the increase in prices. Still, Prague has a lot to offer without blowing your budget and remains as beautiful as ever.

I would highly recommend staying in the Lesser Town, located in the old Baroque quarter of the city within walking distance of the city centre and its nightclubs. We booked our hotel, Jeleni Dvur on www.bookings.com and managed to get bed and breakfast for approximately €80 per person for three nights. Considering that our room had a view of Prague’s Castle, the price was great. However, if you are going with a group of friends, hostels are the way forward.

The historic Lesser Town with its cobblestone streets, countless architectural wonders and Prague’s Cas-

tle in the middle of it all, is buzzing with tourists every day of the year.

Naturally, the local pubs and restaurants pump up their prices. Do not give in and walk into the first restaurant you see (we did and at five euro for a bottle of beer we all had to double-check we were indeed in Prague and not Temple Bar). The cheaper

pubs tend to be in side alleys, often just a few hundred yards away from the overpriced ones, and they offer gorgeous Czech cuisine and a pint of beer or a glass of wine for around one or two euro. When you get tired of sightseeing and partying (both of which are literally never ending in Prague) take a hike up Petrin Hill to

enjoy outstanding views of the city.

April/May is the perfect time to visit Prague; the weather is nice and less humid than summer and it is not as crowded as the summer season either. Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus fly directly from Dublin to Prague for reasonable prices, so go and have fun!

The College View 21.03.12 21

SPORTS

SPORTS@thecollegeview.com

DCU Force go out on their shield IT Carlow DCU Force

25 17

By Tom Rooney At I.T Carlow There is no amount of adjectives regardless how complimentary, that numb the pain of defeat, but the Force took bravery and intensity to new levels particularly in the second half, in an All Ireland Semi Final where the odds were against them from the get go.

DCU were without six first choice players and two of these omissions were only apparent to the coaching staff twenty four hours before kickoff. This was compounded by the unenviable task of turning over the tournament favorites on their own patch.

The Force, however, did themselves no favours; their first half display, while gallant, was strewn with errors. Indiscipline at the breakdowncoupled with Carlow out half Brian Croke’s accurate kicking from resulting penalties kept much of the play inside Force territory.

The Carlow lineout was the platform for everything they did right in the first half. Their 8-9-10 axis functioned optimally, allowing them to play with real width. In truth, was it not for resolute defending,the game could have been all but over inside the opening thirty minutes.

Carlow were the first to draw blood. Fullback Robbie Waters cut through the DCU midfield, and after fielding a relieving kick from Paul

By Tom Rooney Deputy Sports Editor

O’Loughlin, he found centre Martin O’Neill with a terrific pass, who had two men to beat before going under the posts.

Despite considerable possession around the fringes, the Force struggled to put any meaningful offensive moves together. An aggressive Carlow defensive line can claim some credit for this, but a litany of wayward passes and a misfiring lineout was the real problem. Killian McDonagh slotted over a penalty for the Force’s only score of the half.

The lax passing also cost the Force on the score board which allowed the hosts to turn the ball over inside their own twenty two. Winger Alan Kenny made fifty yards down the blindside channel and after three quick passes inside, Martin O’Neill was over for his second. Conse-

quently, the hosts enjoyed an eleven point cushion into the break.

Within five minutes of the restart Carlow were another eight points to the good, all stemming from DCU’s indiscipline at the breakdown. First Brian Croke sent over a penalty.

Thereafter, he found touch with another and the ensuing lineout set up some superb interplay between backs and forwards allowing fullback Robbie Waters to touch down.

From that moment there was a seismic shift in momentum and the Force, with the rain teaming down, grabbed the game by the scruff and made it a dog fight. Carlow were not ready for this and their error count multiplied rapidly. The visitors put the ball up the jumper, attacking the gain line with a palpable ferocity. No one typified this effort more

than No. 8 Isaac Porter, playing with zero regard for his own physical well -being.

DCU had ten minutes of unanswered possession when tight head Killian Byrne burrowed over. From the restart, the Force found themselves inside the twenty two and after turning the screw on Carlow in three consecutive scrums, they won a penalty. Hooker Cathal O’Connor found his man with the subsequent lineout, the Force mauled on ten yards before O’Connor went over.

With two minutes remaining, it was a one score game. Carlow, however, were visibly relieved when the referee awarded them a penalty inside the DCU twenty two which Croke nailed and in the process, quelled any remaining hope of a Force revival.

Ireland have many questions to answer

By Will Slattery

Which issue should we get to first?

The scrum? The coaches? The handling? The weather? So many things went so many kinds of wrong against England that even choosing which one to address first is a frugal exercise.

The 6 Nations finale was the worst performance Ireland has had under Declan Kidney. England bowed out of the World Cup quarter final in mediocre fashion and decided to reinvent the team. Ireland bowed out of the World Cup quarter final in mediocre fashion and kept the exact same squad together barring injury.

That is where Kidney is to blame.

Wales have won three Grand Slams in seven years with three drastically different teams. Granted Wales have a larger talent base coming through but Warren Gatland seems to enjoy the pressure that comes with mak-

Bad week for Rugby sides in IT Carlow

ing selection gambles. Does Kidney?

Too often the call for change is so deafening from the fan base that Kidney has no choice but to make a change, other times his selections show a stubborn streak. Stubbornness is as bad a trait as a coach can have. It may well be a tipping point for Kidney also.

The knee jerk clamour of “sack the manager!” is lazy and unconstructive analysis for the most part. But the question is not should we sack Kidney but who would replace him if he left? There is the usual merry go round of other countries’ cast offs but there are many home grown talents flying under the radar.

Leinster and Munster’s conveyor belt of talent is backboned by the schools system and the structures put in place by Noel McNamara in Clongowes and Kelvin Leahy in St Michaels are very professional and impressive. The sides to come out of both schools in recent years contain future internationals and those

coaches play a large hand in their development.

And after all, it was the schools game where Declan Kidney first earned his reputation. The decision to hire someone with no professional coaching experience is one that won’t be made but with the strong talent coming out of these schools it is certainly a conversation worth having.

And after last weekend’s problems with the scrum maybe McNamara could take his front row with him. What was strange about the disintegration of the Irish scrum was that in the corresponding fixture last year, the roles were reversed. And as with so many other aspects of the Irish performance, everyone is just asking “what happened”?

Some pundits thought there could be a lasting mental effect for the front row after taking such a thrashing, but this isn’t the first time the trio of Healy, Best and Ross have been on the back foot. Healy was

taken off during the first half of the Heineken Cup semi final two years ago and the Leinster scrum in the first half of last year’s final was as bad as last weekend.

Wounds heal, players move on and there will always be another scrum to hit or a ball to catch. Well, that’s if the players dry their hands before the next match. The handling was not only bad last weekend, it was embarrassing.

From the start of the campaign there has been a slow and lethargic malaise surrounding some players in particular Heaslip and O’Brien.

Leinster wouldn’t have two Heineken Cups without them but they are barely justifying their place in the Irish team at the moment. They simply weren’t able to generate their usual power.

It is not all doom and gloom however, as many Irishmen exit the campaign in better form than when they entered. Kearney, Bowe and Ferris are all very much at the forefront of

The IT Carlow campus has become an all too familiar sight for Bernard Jackman and his players over the last fortnight. All three of the men’s sides have arrived there in touching distance of an All Ireland Final, only to come up empty handed on each occasion.

The Seconds, who lost a substantial amount of key players to the injury- laden senior side, gave a credible account of themselves against a visibly bigger and more settled Carlow outfit, losing in the end by 25-12. DCU’s Stephen Murray scored the game’s outstanding try bursting three tackles off a solid DCU scrum just inside the Carlow twenty two.

A week after the Senior and Second sides fell short, the Fresher side travelled to the midlands for a third crack of the whip. But alas, like their colleagues the first years were substantially depleted; a squad of only seventeen travelled. Man for man Carlow were no better than their visitors but crucially had strength in numbers. In moments of adversity they were able to empty a tried and tested bench, which ultimately proved the difference.

Alan Gibbons and Colm Coffey crossed the whitewash for DCU in a 35-17 defeat.

All is not lost however as on Friday next the Ladies side take on Cork IT in the Division 2 All Ireland final at the Mardyke in UCC. Here’s hoping Sinead Byrne’s side can cap off an excellent campaign and bring some silverware back to the capital. any of the premature Lions talk.

But the team in general is in a tricky place going forward. Kidney is contracted until 2013, which means Ireland are either stuck with him or only giving a coach two years to make a mark before the World Cup. When you look around at the landscape of the 6 Nations you can’t help but think the management partook in some laurel resting. Everyone knows the scrum is an issue and that the squad could do with some freshening up.

And it’s not as if everybody is jumping to conclusions on the back of one loss. No, the worse part of where Ireland is now is that there were areas of concern and many voiced them. And that is the management’s biggest failing of all.

22 The College View 21.03.12

SPORTS

GAA’s disregarded community Two world champions, but no recognition say Ciaran Neary and Gavin Cawley as they speak with Eoghan Cormican about the struggles facing DCU’s Handball club

I

n DCU quarters, each GAA team carries a couple of wellknown, talented figures.

Fresher Padraig Berhony is one of the most promising young hurlers west of the Shannon, Lindsay Peat and Lyndsey Davey are recognised as two of the country’s most prolific ladies footballers, while the all-conquering Sigerson side is fleeced with a multitude of household names.

But what of our lowly handballers, how many of them could we name or claim to be familiar with. For the large majority of sporting enthusiasts on campus, the answer is none.

Ever since its inception, handball has always been the minority branch of the GAA and DCU is no exception, a sentiment shared by Gavin Cawley and DCU handball chairperson Ciaran Neary.

Neary is quick to acknowledge the work of GAA Director Michael Kennedy in attempting to build the profile of handball around DCU, but says a lot yet remains to be done.

“Up to this year no GAA officercame to see a training session or a match and I wouldn’t say that a lot of the hierarchy would know where the handball court is. Michael (Kennedy) has been in attendance at a number of games and it is helping the club going forward.”

Neary remarked that before this year a number of handballers took a dim view of the GAA club be-

cause players felt they weren’t being looked after.“There was a bad image of the GAA Club within the handball club.”

The Kilkenny native is clearly aggrieved with the number of court hours allotted to the handball club, especially as it used by a plethora of other clubs despite the fact that the adjacent squash courts are regularly empty.

“The most annoying thing within the handball club is the way that we only get the court for 6 hours a week and for only 3 days during the week.

A lot of the time there is two vacant squash courts but other sports are using the handball court like judo and UFC. “It is hard to promote the game when things like this are happening. Every night of the week we have players standing outside the court looking in and can’t get playing.

“Some of the members of the GAA committee also look down their noses at the handball club which is very unfair,” continues Neary, before adding that he and Gavin Cawley are well used to receiving comments such as “is there a committee meeting on” when the two players might be just standing in the hub having a chat.

Cawley admits there is nowhere near as much recognition for handball in DCU by comparison with football, hurling, ladies football and

DCU Handball Chairperson Ciaran Neary pictured receiving his All Star award in 2009 has expressed concern at the last of recognition and respect for DCU’s handball club | Image by Sportsfile camogie.

“Peter Hughes and Ciaran Neary are two of the best handballers on the colleges handball circuit, but they are not known within DCU,” says Cawley, adding that people outside DCU recognise and respect their handball club, but it’s a different story on campus.

“It is funny to think that we have two players who have world championships to their names in the college, one who has two, but if you were to ask outside of the handball club no one would know while everyone would know who played county minor for a 15 man team.

Football and hurling have 14 other players around you, handball doesn’t,” Neary told College View Sport.

Aside from the struggles off court, on the court it has been another hugely successful year for the club.

Several finals were contested at all grades with many handballers enjoying success.

At the Dublin championships, victory was achieved in the senior doubles, while at the All-Ireland 60 x 30 intervarsities Shane Broidy bagged the Mens B title with John Walsh successful in the Mens C division.

Ciaran Neary, Brian O’Sullivan, Peter Hughes, John Horgan and Terry McElvaney lost out in the senior team of four finals in the 60x30 and 40x20 to WIT and UCD respectively.

Elsewhere, the junior team captured the plate overcoming UL in the final.

More recently, five member of the club travelled to Springfield, Missouri for the USA collegiate championships. “It was a great experience and each of the DCU handballers competed very well,” said Cawley.

Of the five that made the trip state side, Ciaran Neary and Peter Hughes were very unlucky in the doubles semi-final losing out in a tie break 11-6. Hughes contested the Mens A final but was unsuccessful in his push for honours.

Ciaran Neary and Terry McElvaney lost out in the quarter finals of the open with Neary narrowly losing out to the number one seed in a tie break. Gavin Cawley lost out in the quarters of his division.

Two of the games concerning DCU handballers were seen by handball enthusiasts all over the world as it was streamed live on the internet by the World Pro-Handball Association.

In any event, recent disputes over the handball centre at Croke Park highlights that the struggles of the DCU handball club are a microcosm for what is happening at a national level.

That said, with players such as Hughes and Neary continuing to advance the profile of DCU handball with their on-court exploits and Michael Kennedy attempting to do likewise off-court, it mightn’t be too long before those so dismissive of the game in DCU are forced to sit up and take notice.

Plate semifinalists

The DCU ladies soccer team reached the semi-final of the plate competition at the recent Inter-varsities in Galway, but were denied a final berth by Dublin rivals UCD who advanced on a scoreline of 2-1, Becky Walsh netting for DCU.

The College View 21.03.12 23

SPORTS

SPORTS@thecollegeview.com

Murray confident ahead of Crowley Cup tournament

By Brendan White Deputy Sports Editor DCU begin their Crowley Cup soccer tournament with a tough match against Queens University Belfast in UCD tomorrow.

Team captain, Cian Murray, is expecting the team to do well in the tournament.

“I expect us to do quite well in the Crowley Cup this week,” he toldThe College View Sport.

“We’ve managed to keep our core players together from the league and we’ve had a lot of freshers training withus also, and a lot of them are quite good too.

“If we win our first game on Thursday against Queens Belfast we couldgather some momentum andyou never know - we could well be playing inthe final come Sunday.”

The team comes into the tournament on the back of a poor league campaign.

“The league went very poorly, we came second from bottom in our group. This was partially due to us being promoted into a higher division, but it was mainly due to the fact that the team is going through atransition period.

“We lost a lot of our best players from our league-winning team fromlast year to the first team, but next year we’ll have this year’sfreshers playing with us and hopefully we’ll be able to challenge for the league.”

Speaking on the input of manager Martin Healy, Murray said:“He’s doneextremely well considering the limited amount of players he has had. Results didn’t go our way but he kept our spirits up and remainedpositive.

He also laid the foundations for a strong team.”

Despite having numerous League of Ireland players, DCU has yet to takea hold of the college football ladder in Ireland.

Murray, a soccer club committee member, believes that funding is a problem for the club.

“I think it’s because the university is one that is dominated by itsGAA. DCU has had huge success and they deserve to be held in such highregard. The football club is having to fight for its funding from thecollege and what we do get is very little in comparison to what theGAA club is given.

We have such good potential in football and with better funding I believe that we could be hugely competitive at the highest level.”

Emma Brennan (centre) who was one DCU’s more impressive performers in their league final defeat | Image by Sportsfile

Second half showing proves costly

By Eoghan Cormican Sports Editor The camogie’s side bid to add the league crown to the recently captured Purcell Cup ended in bitter disappointment when they were outgunned by a stronger and more skilful UL side at Ballykelly on Wednesday week last.

On reflection, DCU – no matter which way they look at it – will view this as opportunity lost. A solid first half showing ensured DCU held the initiative at the interval, but failure to register a single score in the second period enabled UL to run out 1-6 to 0-4 winners.

Probably the most frustrating aspect from a DCU perspective was their inability to establish a more substantial lead when in the ascendency. Failing to tighten the noose around UL’s neck left them vulnerableto an onslaught which is exactly what materialised at the change of ends.

Although of little consolation to DCU’s stickwomen, they can take heart from their ability to more than compete with arguably one of the best side’s in college’s camogie at the moment. Furthermore, it bodes well for next season where DCU will embark on their maiden voyage in the Ashbourne Cup. In any event, it was DCU who

made the early running and capitalised by raising the first white flag of the contest through Catriona Regan.

Though Julia White equalised for UL, DCU subsequently established a 0-4 to 0-1 lead in their most productive spell.

Regan added a second before Orlaith Durkan sniped a pair of points.

Though very much the dominant team, Niall Williams charges struggled in front of goal, spurning a number of opportunities.

Added to this, the Ashbourne finalists slowly crept back into proceedings with a second point from Julia White, followed subsequently by a Devane free.

UL upped the ante in the second

half and a fabulous point from Devane signalled their intent. Within two minutes Devane was to land the crucial score, her long range free somehow managing to nestle itself in the DCU net.

Credit to DCU who continued to battle bravely, but insurance scores from Niamh Richardson and Cait Devane rubberstamped victory for UL. DCU have made huge progress this year, strides forward have been taken and they should draw invaluable experience from their season’s exploits. On the day, they were best served by Emma Brennan, the Twomey sisters, Catrionia Regan and Orlaith Durkan.

Impressive Coghlan eases to Cross Country title

By Ronan Duggan

The DCU men’s team returned to the summit of inter varsity athletics when comfortably claiming gold at the recent cross country championships at Waterford IT. Once again, DCU’s men’s team toed the line under significant pressure from WIT and a resurgent UCD which in fact managed to overcome DCU at the recent road relays.

DCU, however, delivered a redemptory performance in putting paid to any doubts surrounding the team’s overall strength. Led home by John Coghlan, who recently clocked sub four minutes for the mile in Boston, the team packed well with Emmet Jennings in fourth, Darren

McBrearty in eighth, Jayme Rossiter in 13th, Darragh Greene in 15th and bringing the team home as the final scorer was Mark McDonald in 21st place.

The team effort proved sufficient for top spot on the rostrum but only by seven points ahead of the host College, with UCD taking bronze.

Not surprisingly, Coghlan was the stand out DCU performer in securing his first cross country title with consummate ease. Indeed, encapsulating Coghlan’s dominance on the day was his fourteen second winning margin over training partner Daire Bermingham (DIT).

There was to be no such joy for the women’s team however, whose ten year reign as cross country queens came to an agonising end.

Superb runs from Ciara Mageean

(1st) and Ciara Everard (3rd) ensured UCD claimed the spoils with DCU assuming the unfamiliar role of bridesmaids in collecting silver.

The ever improving Laura Behan was the first DCU athlete across the line in 5th with Ciara Durkin (10th), Mary Anne O Sullivan (11th) and Susie McManus (14th) packing well for the team.

Attention now shifts to the outdoor track and field championships where DCU will attempt to defend their Men’s and Women’s titles. In what has been a turbulent year for DCU athletics with two losses so far this year, they will be looking for strong team performances on the track. The Dragons have been wounded, but will be ready to rain fire and return to their all conquering form in Athlone IT on April 21st.

John Coghlan pictured above captured his first National inter varsity cross country title at WIT recently | Image by Sportsfile

24 The College View 21.03.12

THE COLLEGE VIEW

SPORT

It’s heartbreak for DCU rugby sides Page 21

Saints advance to league final

By Eoghan Cormican Sports Editor

DCU ladies chase O’Connor Cup glory Old rivals UUJ provide semi-final challenge in four in-a-row bid

By Mike Hurley

D

CU ladies will attempt to secure a fourth successive O’Connor Cup when they travel to Belfast for the most crucial weekend in the college’s football calendar.

Their bid to complete the four-ina-row wasn’t helped by the recent semi-final draw in which DCU were pitted against arch rivals University of Ulster Jordanstown.

The pair have dominated college’s football in recent seasons, contesting the last two O’Connor Cup finals with DCU emerging victorious on

both occasions. Survivors from last year’s 3-8 to 1-11 triumph include Lindsay Peat and Monaghan’s Ellen McCarron and both will be expected to lead the charge again this Saturday.

Manager Peter Clarke was optimistic and full of praise for his charges: “We have a great chance.

The preparation has been brilliant.”

Clarke highlighted the difficulties involved with collegiate sports in general, pointing out the constant need to overhaul and rebuild the squad. “There was a mass exodus at the end of last year. It left us with only six players with O’Connor Cup experience, but the commitment from the freshers has been re-

ally good. All the players are looking sharp and focused,” he told The College View Sport. Fighting their way past Jordanstown won’t be easy for the college though, with the Northerners heading into the penultimate round in great form.

DCU have been no slouches themselves, however, with impressive displays this season including a 5-13 to 1-12 win against UCC and 4-12 to 2-11 victory over IT Sligo.

Demonstrating grit and determination on multiple occasions to fight back from losing positions has been a great indicator of the strong mentality in Clarke’s side.

Even reaching the semi-final proved difficult, with the ladies be-

ing well beaten by Queens in the lead-up. Only a trouncing of UCD and a narrow three point victory in a rematch against Queens allowed the DCU girls to sneak in the back door.

Clarke was also quick to express his pride in the Ladies second team, who were unlucky to lose out in the division plate final.

The All-Ireland semi-finals will take place at Queens College, Belfast on Saturday the 24th of March.

The winners of the DCU-UUJ tie will go on to the face the winners of the all-Munster clash of University of Limerick and University College Cork. The final will take then take place on the following day, Sunday March 25th.

DCU Saints will contest this Friday’s Nivea Men’s Superleague final (8:45pm) following a hugely impressive win over UCD Marian.

Last weekend marked the penultimate series of games in both the Men’s and Women’s Superleague and while DCU Mercy may have failed in their bid to reach the decider, the Saints experienced no such difficulty in securing a final berth where they will meet UL. The Eagles were always comfortable in overcoming UCC Demons and no doubt will prove formidable opposition for David Donnelly’s side.

DCU Saints justified their favourites tag in the opening exchanges of Sunday’s semi-final, leading 29-18 by the end of the first quarter, extending their advantage to 45-31 by the interval.

The third quarter would be crucial if UCD Marian were going to peg back the deficit, but failure to do so ensured the final quarter was nothing more than a procession as DCU ran out comfortable 82-55 winners.

There was to be no such joy for the Saints’ female counterparts who were defeated by Team Montenotte Cork in Sunday’s Women’s Superleague semi.

Hopes were high that DCU Mercy could set up a repeat of the cup final with UL, but the Cork ladies were full value for their 7968 win.

DCU held a slender one point advantage at the end of the first quarter, but led by Claire Rockall, Montenotte turned it around thereafter and were 38-30 to the good at half time.

Try as they might DCU Mercy were unable to reduce the deficit and their efforts were frustrated in the fourth quarter as Helena Kenny, Lisa Palmer and Suzanne Maguire were all fouled out.