The Edition, Thursday, 9 March, 2017

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DITSU Election Guide - Pg 4

Humans Of DIT - Pg 12

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Thursday 9 March 2017

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Ladies Progress to Final - Pg 23

BACCI students team up with DJ Soc and Dance Soc for St Patrick’s Day parade - Page 9

Grangegorman’s North House of Horror The North House building on the Grangegorman campus is currently causing problems for students, with acoustics issues affecting lectures, pigeons living in the roof cavity, and bad weather causing the automatic doors to malfunction.

Matthew Colfer Editor @mcolfer1

Students and staff based in DIT’s Grangegorman campus have been affected by several difficulties with one of the buildings on the campus.

It has been reported there are acoustic problems in the North House building, while pigeons are living in the roof cavity of the building, and there are reoccurring problems with the electronic doors of North House also.

DITSU College Officer for Grangegorman, Lina Scalzo, said the problems have been affecting students and staff for quite some time now and explained some of the problems in more detail.

“The issues in Grangegorman are not new ones. There are birds living in and dirtying the roof and walking areas of North House, the

automatic doors, which are the only access to the building and are extremely heavy, break whenever there is a bit of bad weather and take weeks to fix.

“The most frustrating of all the issues is the ongoing fury of the acoustic issue in North House. As class rooms and studios are shared spaces and often there are two lectures and practice happening in the same space students cannot concentrate and lecturers cannot teach a productive class.”

The acoustics issue in North House is having such an impact on students that one student submitted a motion at February’s DITSU Student Council Meeting to stage a walk-out protest in relation to the issue before the end of the semester; the motion was carried.

Continued 2

NEWS DIT Film Festival

A number of big names from the film industry will hold talks and workshops as part of DIT Film Society’s event

Graduate Empolyment

Minister for Education Richard Bruton launches The Greenway Hub in Grangegorman. Credit Jason Clarke Photography.

FEATURES

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New HEA report states that 68 percent of 2015 graduates are currently employed

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DJ Soc Spinoff Event

UCC’s Tiernan Geinee won the annual National Student DJ competition hosted by DJ Soc

The Rover

DIT Drama (Performance) graduate students’ production of The Rover currently running in the Beckett Theatre

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J1 Experience

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Erasmus Diaries

Aoife Loughnane details how to make the most of a three month trip to Boston

Read the perspectives of two students on Erasmus in France and Dublin

13 15

CULTURE SPORT Film Reviews

Our team determine what’s worth seeing in the cinema right now

Comedy Reviews

Olivia Powell reviews comedians Jack Whitehall and Russell Howard

18 20

Cheltenham Festival David O’Farrell gives his tips and insight into the racing extravaganza

Ladies’ GAA

21 23

The Ladies Gaelic Football club booked their place in the Lynch Cup Weekend

2 | www.edition.ie

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

NEWS THE EDITION Editorial Staff Editor Matthew Colfer editor@edition.ie Deputy Editor Sinead Farrelly deputyed@edition.ie News Editor Conor Shields news@edition.ie Culture Editor Olivia Powell culture@edition.ie Sports Editor Vacant sports@edition.ie Features Desk Aoife Loughnane & Sarah Harford featuresdesk@edition.ie Online/ Design Niamh Haskins online@edition.ie Photo Editor Hajar Akl & Hugo Fitzpatrick photo@edition.ie Contributors Ann Marie Guinan Dan Grennan David Leahy David O’Farrell DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama Eimear Dodd Joseph Ryan Katie Walsh Lisa Martin Marcus Blake Rebekah Tunstead

Correction/Apology In the last issue (The Edition 22/2/2017) the article entitled “Feminist Society one of more than a dozen new societies established this semester” contained the DIT Feminist Society’s logo but was not accredited to its creator, Natalie Kavanagh. We at The Edition would like to offer our sincerest apologies to Ms Kavangh for this error and thank her again for allowing us to use the logo in the story.

The North House building on the Grangegorman campus. Credit: William Murphy via Flickr CC

Grangegorman’s North House of Horrors Page 1 Continued Jacinta Odoemene who submitted the motion stated: “Firstly, I was surprised to hear that the acoustics issue was a continuous one. I was of the opinion that Grangegorman students had to do something different that would grab the attention of the DIT. This was the opinion shared by not just myself, but by the Grangegorman College Officer and many other students from our campus.”

A date for the walk-out protest has not yet been set.

DITSU Vice President for Education and acting DITSU President, Kieron Pierson, said DITSU supports the walk-out protest.

“I fully support this proposed action as does DITSU. It comes form the sheer frustration felt by students that their genuine concerns over this matter, that they have been raising for years, have not been prioritised by the powers that be in Grangegorman.”

Head of Public Relations for the DIT, Melda Slattery, conveyed the institutes awareness of the issues, outlining that they are doing what they can with the available resourc-

es to fix the issues.

“The issues raised by the DITSU College Officer on the Grangegorman campus are very legitimate and we are aware of them.

However, they are not easily addressed for a number of reasons including resources but also for technical reasons.

“The studios are located in an impressive nineteenth century building that benefits from high vaulted ceilings, beautiful architectural features and lots of natural light. There are acoustic issues in

some of the spaces exactly because of the ceiling heights while in other spaces air extraction is a noise issue. We are looking at practical solutions within our limited resources to ameliorate the problem and initially this work will be done in the two studios most adversely affected.

“We are aware that pigeons have regained entry into the roof cavity of the North House.

As we don’t have our own equipment on campus to access that high roof space, contractors are being engaged to assess the roof cavity, to

identify the entry points and to assess how they can be safely closed off without reducing ventilation necessary for a healthy building.

“There have been ongoing issues with the mechanisms controlling the main entrance to North House and these have been annoying for all users of the building. We are seeking long term solutions to this issue. Separately however, we will have an additional swipe access entrance in the centre of the building, leading straight to the main foyer and staircase.”

But Scalzo is not satisfied with the current solution to the acoustics issue as she believes the DIT could do more to address the problem.

“At this point the bear minimum is being promised. There are 12 rooms affected in North House and only two being proposed ‘fixed’.

“DIT are saying they’re looking to the future of Grangegorman but are currently neglecting the unfit spaces that are there now.

“My personal opinion, DIT is only looking at the building of new buildings not the improvement of current facilities,” said Scalzo.

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

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NEWS

No nominations for Bolton Street College Officer Matthew Colfer Editor @mcolfer1

With no candidates being nominated for Bolton Street College Officer it is believed the North side campus students will get to vote for candidates in a by-election.

Although no date for a by-election has yet been set, current Bolton Street College Officer, Ali Aydin, believes this could take place before the end of the semester.

“It’s up to the Electoral Commission to hold a by-election. It could be right after these elections, it might be after the Easter break so they’re will be an officer when [the students] come back in September,” said Aydin.

According to the DITSU website, “the DITSU Electoral Commission is responsible for administering and overseeing all elections in the DIT Students’ Union”.

Elliot Halpenny, a second-year Product Design student based in Bolton Street, expressed his concern over not having a candidate currently running for election to the position.

“I think it’s pretty bad that

we don’t have anyone willing to run as a representative. I went to Kevin Street before, now I’m Bolton Street, I’m also in Grangegorman and Aungier Street so I’m in probably the main campuses and I think Bolton Street is definitely one of the busiest, there’s always people walking around so not having anybody there to oversee or help with things just seems kind of bad.”

Aydin said he was previously contemplating running for re-election but because he will be in his final year during the 2017/18 academic year he decided it was best to focus on his studies rather than not be able to live up to the high standards he set for himself while carrying out his duties this year.

“So, I was pretty hesitant, I mean I’ve done a lot of great work this year and one of the main things was I’ll be in final year next year. So, I was kind of iffy about it, will I go for it? Will I have time for it?

To put effort into it like I have this year,” he stated.

Aydin added that some

people thought he was running for re-election and he thinks this might have deterred some people from running.

“Just with final year next year I was off and on. I kept it to myself so I think what happened was people thought I was running and that might have put them off,” said Aydin.

With the decision made not to run for re-election as Bolton Street College Officer,

Aydin has been using this time to encourage students to run for the position, and is informing them what is involved in the role.

“Since now I am not a candidate and I have that space in between the by-election, what I’m doing now is I’m doing these daily events where I am encouraging everyone to run for it. So, I’m telling the people what the role entails, how great it is and just to take that leap of faith.”

Credit: William Murphy via Flickr CC.

This approach seems to be working as Aydin said he has received “five or six messages on Facebook saying that [some students] actually are interested”.

DITSU elections take place on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, 14 and 15 March, across all DIT campuses with the count taking place on Thursday, 16 March.

There are two candidates each contesting for the role of

President, VP for Education, VP for Welfare, and College Officer positions for Aungier Street, Kevin Street, and Cathal Brugha Street.

There is only one candidate for VP for Events, College Officer for Rathmines/ BIMM, and Post-Graduate Officer.

The Grangegorman College Officer position is the mostly highly contested with five candidates running for the position.

DIT Film Festival to welcome big names

Conor Shields

News Editor @SHIELDSYYYYY

DIT Film Society have announced that the two week DIT Film Festival 2017 will begin next Monday, 13 March.

The festival will open with a screening of The Randomer (a film written by the Filmbase Masters students of 2016) followed by a Q and A with the director, producer and director of photography of the film.

On the following day, there will be a screening of The Queen of Ireland, the award winning documentary about the life of Ireland’s most famous drag queen, Panti Bliss. Afterwards, there will be a meet and greet with the film’s director, Conor Horgan, with a special appearance from Rory O’Neill (Panti Bliss).

Following on from that,

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Image courtesy of Tara Kelleher (The Clown, Ripper Street)

the week will be concluded with a fancy dress themed screening of Stephen Frear’s, The Snapper, and a talk delivered by Una Ni Dhonghaile

and Stephen O’Connell (Camelot, Viva) who work as editors in the television industry.

An outdoor cinema

“To have such big names in the Irish film and television industry come to our festival, makes it worth the amount of effort that we’ve put in.”

screening of The Young Offenders will kick off the second week of the festival and will take place in Grangegorman. This event is in conjunction with Elly Coughlan, a third year BA Creative and Cultural Industries student who has organised the screening as part of her final year project.

A Q and A with the film’s director, Peter Foott, and the film’s star, Alex Murphy, is set to take place on the night also.

A plethora of guest speakers have also been invited to host talks and workshops with attendees.

These include producer and actor, Carla Mooney (Gone, The Secret of Permanency), Ross Whitaker (Director of Between Land and Sea), John Butler (Director of The Stag, Handsome Devil), and Aidan Gillen (Sing Street, Game of Thrones).

A wrap-party will also take place but details of the venue have yet to be confirmed by DIT Film Society.

Chairperson of the society, Hannah McGlynn, has spoken about her excitement for the upcoming events.

“After weeks of planning and restless nights, I’m so happy to see the line-up completed. Everybody in the society worked so hard on the festival and we are nothing short of proud of what we have put together,” said McGlynn.

Speaking about the appearance of the more high profile guests, McGlynn displayed her usual humble demeanour.

“To have such big names in the Irish film and television industry come to our festival, makes it worth the amount of effort that we’ve put in,” explained McGlynn.

All events organised during the festival are free for all to attend, no tickets required.

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Your Bumper guide to this year’s Student Union Elections So you might have noticed that all across the campus, from canteen to the back of the toilet door, posters and pictures of people’s faces have begun appearing imploring for your number one vote, but what’s it all about and what are the DITSU Elections?

What are positions?

DIT Students’ Union is a Union for students, by the students.

It is led by a team of 11 elected officers; four full-time sabbaticals; the President and three Vice Presidents for Education, Events and Welfare. These sabbaticals have four main roles: 1) Representation: making students views heard.

2) Policy: taking a stance on issues that affect DIT and students.

3) Campaigns: informing students about issues.

4) Volunteers: this covers Class Reps, School Reps, Student Councillors, Ents Crew and Welfare Crew.

There are six part-time College Officers, one for each main DIT campus. Their role is similar to the sabbaticals but on a much more local level. There is also one part-time Postgraduate Officer.

Who are these candidates?

Any registered student in DIT can put themselves forward for election to these positions so the people you see on these posters are students just like you or current sabbatical officers running for election.

Why are they running?

You will need to ask the candidates that yourself. Talk to them or their campaign teams or check their manifesto to find out why they think they’re the best person for the job.

Who runs the Election?

The Electoral Commission makes the decision on all items affecting the running of the elections. The Commission consists of an Indpendent Chairperson, four Student Reps elected at Student Council and the President Exofficio. There are DITSU staff members to administer the committee.

Who do I vote for?

You need to make your own decision on this; from talking to the candidates, their teams and reading their manifestos you should be able to decide who you want to represent you in your Students’ Union.

How do I vote?

All you need is you student card or valid form of ID to vote at the ballot stations across DIT campuses next Tuesday and Wednesday, 14 and 15 March, with the count taking place on Thursday, 16 March.

Presidential Candidates

Name: Boni Odoemene Age: 21 Where you call home: Well I was born in Nigeria, but moved to Ireland when I was one and a half years old. Since then I have lived my whole life here in Ireland. So I would call Ireland my home.

Studied: Law Year of graduation: 2016 Previous roles in DITSU and Student Council: 2013/14: Class rep, 2014/15: School Rep for School of Languages, Law and Social Science, and Student Councillor 2015/2016: College Officer for Aungier Street 2016/2017: DITSU President Involvement in Societies/Clubs while a student: 2013/14: Fashion Soc member and model 2014/15: Fashion Soc committee member & model.

Co-Founder of Law & Debating Soc 2015/16: Law & Debating Soc President Do you have a campaign slogan? #WeCanDoThis What motivated you to run for this position?

This year I have had the opportunity to be your President of DITSU. Last year when I ran, I ran because I saw a Union I love continue to push itself away from the students. I saw a Union which was in serious need of reflection and re-organisation in regards to how we communicate to all students.

This year I brought in many new communication ideas. (e.g) DITSUtv, DITSUnews, DITSUsnaps and Student Media Crew.

However what I’ve realised is that there is still so much more we can do to improve the way in which we assist and communicate with our students. Along with that, all year I have been working on the proposed student levy and TU merger.

There is only so much you can do in a year as President.

It is not often you get the opportunity to have a two year President, who really understands the role of President, and can complete and achieve more for you whilst you are in the DIT. The main plans and ideas I came in with at the start of the year have been achieved, now they must be stabilized, and developed.

What are the three biggest issues you want to tackle should you be elected as president?

The role of President overall is about communications. How your Union communicates with you, and how you communicate with your Union. What I have learned is that DITSU needs to expand in the ways we represent, communicate and assist all students. Hence, if given the chance to be your President next year, the three issues in which I would like to tackle; Expansion of DITSU Executive: International Student Officer, Equality Officer, Separation of Rathmines & BIMM College Officer role into two separate officers.

Passing of the Technological Universities Bill via the newly formed Technological Universities of Dublin Students’ Union Working Group.

Introduction of a Student Levy Referendum which best suits our students.

Three words that describe you and why students should vote for you: Experienced Passionate Vision What do you want to do after college? I would like to be a diplomat, hopefully complete a Masters course in International Relations first before entering the foreign service.

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

Name: Tara O’Brien Age: 22 Where you call home: Ballymun, Dublin. Sometimes my office in Aungier Street.

Studied: BMus Pedagogy, Rathmines.

Year of graduation: 2016 Woo Previous roles in DITSU and Student Council: Class Rep 2012/13, College Officer 2013/14, Student Councillor 2014/15, School Rep 2015/16, Director Board of DITSU CLG 2015/Present, VP Welfare 2016/Present. I have held every undergraduate position in DITSU as a student.

Involvement in Societies/Clubs while a student: My first engagement with Socs or Clubs was being a member of the band for Drama Soc’s performance of Avenue Q in the Smock Alley Theatre, four years ago.

Do you have a campaign slogan? #BELIEVE What motivated you to run for this position?

In a really broad sense, my own experience of college motivated me to run for the position of President. I was on a SUSI grant, I was part of the Access Programme and I want to make college and its experiences accessible to all DIT students.

Empowering and engaging students to get involved outside of regular class hours so they can come away from DIT knowing their Students’ Union was helpful and useful to their academic and social experience in college.

What are the three biggest issues you want to tackle should you be elected as president?

The three biggest objectives I would like to see the Union tackle this academic term, as President, are the TU Bill, keeping the student voice prominent and making sure we maintain SU autonomy in the legislation. The second being the move to Grangegorman, and further developing DITSU and its structures to fit the new Grangegorman geographical and educational style, including the better integration with Rathmines and BIMM, this academic term 2017/18. As a former College Officer of Rathmines I understand the role better than any other candidate. The third objective is to empower more students to get involved. All of these and more points are outlined in my manifesto and happy to take questions from them. The email for the campaign is tara. ditsu.president@gmail.com Three words that describe you and why students should vote for you: RELATABLE to, EMPOWERED by, DEDICATED to the students of DIT. What do you want to do after college?

Further my musical studies in either a Masters in Education or HDip. Then onto secondary school teaching.

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VP Education Candidates

Name: Pierre Yimbog Age: 21 Where you call home: I call Ireland my home as I’m a citizen. Although, I was originally born in Cameroon before I moved here in 2002.

Studied: Law in Aungier Street Year of graduation: In my third and final year Previous roles in DITSU and Student Council: School Representative for Law, Languages and Social Science last year. Although I represented the students of Grangegorman at Student Council, it also encompassed Kevin Street and Aungier Street. I’m currently the College Officer of Aungier Street.

Involvement in Societies/Clubs while a student: I’ve been Secretary, Chairperson and currently the President of the Law and Debating Society.

Do you have a campaign slogan? #Education4StudentsEducationByStudents, which means that in order for Students’ Union and the Education Officer to better serve the interest of students is through engaging with students and working with students to achieve the same goal.

What are the three biggest issues you want to tackle should you be elected as VP Education?

Firstly, the massive concern is that most students are not aware of their rights under the Student Charter. This means they’re missing out on such vital information around assessments and support services which would assist them greatly to get through college. If elected, I would utilize all forms of communication, both online and offline to ensure students know how to take advantage of those rights and ensure their educational needs are met by DIT. Secondly, the issue I would like to tackle with the timetable system is around how slow and late Schools sent out their timetables to students at the beginning of the year. This has been the biggest hindrance to student’s education and can be addressed by continuously checking and ensuring that each School send their timetable out well before term resumes so to enable students to give notice to their employer and organise their work and college schedule. Finally, I’d like to improve the class rep system by getting reps to better engage and communicate with one another in order to empower themselves to be the best representative for their class so the voice of all students can be heard and the Union can represent them effectively.

Three words that describe you and why students should vote for you: The three words are organised, approachable and passionate. These are the reasons students should vote for me as they’re the key attributes needed to be an effective Education Officer. In addition, I’m willing to listen and work with students in order to make sure they get the best educational experience in DIT, and giving me their vote is giving me the opportunity to work for and with the students so that the Union can better represent the interests of students.

What motivated you to run for this position?

I was motivated to run for this role in order to change student’s opinion and their view of the position. Many students see it as somewhat boring because it involves going to a lot of meetings and sitting in office without actually engaging with students and their educational issues. By running for this position I can use my personality, interpersonal skills along with passion and organisational skills to do the job and help change the perceptions students hold over the role in order to better engage and serve the interest of students.

What do you want to do after college?

I’m looking to do a Masters around intellectual property law, especially trademarks and copyrights as I’ve a keen interest in sport. This would be the area I would like to specialize in once I qualify as a solicitor in five years if I’m lucky.

Name: AlHassan Al Dhahli Where you call home: Oman.

Studied: DIT’s bridging programme for non-native English (1 year).

International Foundation programme (1 year).

Common first year entry for Engineering.

Second year of Computer and Communication Engineering.

Currently doing a third year Computer and Communication Engineering.

Previous roles in DITSU and Student Council: Student Councillor in the Student Council 2016/17.

Involvement in Societies/Clubs while a student: I have joined a lot of societies and participated in different events.

Do you have a campaign slogan? AL is your PAL What are the three biggest issues you want to tackle should you be elected as VP Education?

Timetable App: Making student life easier and to get information about their classes. I’m thinking of getting this app working by next September and to assure that there won’t be any problems, I will make sure that the timetable will be sent in advance and before the lectures commence in September. The app to check the free rooms that can be used for non-library studying areas.

Academic course plan: what I have been seeing in DIT for the last couple of years that the course doesn’t have an outlined plan for each module and some of the lecturers have done nice and tidy outlined plans for the module which I believe is the best way to get the students to manage their time effectively. Making the change to let the students have a clear idea about the assignment time and the important days well in advance.

Your Rights: I will make sure that every school will have a School Rep and I will have a different time to be in different campuses to insure you will have the best representation. I will work closely with College Officers to guarantee that we reach a 100 percent Class Rep recruitment.

Three words that describe you and why students should vote for you: Fly-high, strong, and straightforward.

I have been in DIT for five years in different courses and different campuses, which has given me the chance to interact with different students from different campuses. I have been able to help organise events all around Ireland as I was the President of The Omani Students Association in Ireland, which has given me the chance to visit various ITs and Universities around the country.

What motivated you to run for this position?

This is my fifth year in DIT as a student. Being an International student, I had enrolled onto DIT’s Bridging Programme for non-native English speakers for the first year, followed by an International Foundation programme in the second year. Those two years spent at DIT Mountjoy Square gave me the chance to mingle with other international students as well as Irish Access programmes. Having had the opportunity to represent my peers for two consecutive years as a Class Rep. I liaised with lecturers and have always been vocal with the responsible bodies on any grievances brought forward by the students.

In the past year, I’ve joined the Student Council which has given me so much exposure and training in leadership and communication skills. I plan to tackle the issues we all face as students in DIT, mainly with the Timetables and Course syllabi to name a few. Should I be elected as VP for Education, I intend on having these issues tackled and resolved before the academic year commences in September.

What do you want to do after your college? Getting my own business and involve with an academic job.

VP Events

Name: Diarmuid Montgomery Mick Cleary Studied: Film Year of graduation: 2016 Previous roles in DITSU and Student Council: Current VP Events Involvement in Societies/Clubs while a student: Chairperson Art & Design Soc, Operations Manager Film Soc, Radio Soc. DIT Societies Training and Leadership Chairperson.

Director DIT Film Festival.

Do you have a campaign slogan? Free the 6 Campuses What motivated you to run for this position?

Originally I ran for VP Events because I love college and wanted to stay another year basically.

What motivates me now is bringing new ideas to the table and trying to do big things. There is a lot of things I didn’t get to do this year and I know I can make everything bigger and better.

What events can students look forward to next year should you be elected?

Good events? Heheheheheh lol.

After my first year I have a better understanding of what people want. I will try my best to bring new things to the college constantly. This is such a generic answer sorry.

My three big NEW things are TEDx conference, a DITSU award and a mystery trip abroad.

These are all things I wanted to do this year but couldn’t/ didn’t get time. If re-elected I would have the summer to work on the projects I haven’t been able to.

Why do you think you’re the sole candidate for VP Events?

I don’t know...A lot of people don’t understand the opportunities positions like this can offer to students. I regularly get asked by DIT students who aren’t involved in ‘college life’ what exactly I do. I think we just need to keep creating more awareness about what our roles entail and how they can benefit students and offer and amazing experience.

Your three favourite pastimes: Graffiti, sesh, marketing Three words that describe you and why students should vote for you: Up the RAG What do you want to do after your college?

I plan to run for the Dail.

Maybe join an organization that looks after shopping trollies’ welfare.

I want to run my own businesses, do mad sh*t get wrekd.

Constantly do things,help others... play tunes and dance and drink milk.

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VP Welfare Candidates

Name: Lina Scalzo Age: 24 Where you call home: Camden Street is my dwelling Studied: Photography Year of graduation: Current fourth and final year.

Previous roles in DITSU and Student Council: I have climbed that DITSU elected ladder, I was a Class Rep, a Student Councillor, and now I am finishing off my second term as Grangegorman College Officer.

Involvement in Societies/Clubs while a student: My involvement has been minimal, I joined loads of societies in first year, then founded The Exhibitionist Society in my third year and have handed that off to the students of the year below me.

Do you have a campaign slogan? “Welfare is about YOU” What motivated you to run for this position?

DITSU brought me out of my shell in college by providing supports that I didn’t think I needed, by providing an environment where I could educate myself on my own well-being, my own finances and my own confidence. I know the Welfare position is what helped me through college and I know it can be better. I would love to be given the chance to educate students on self-care and management and give them a person or a respectable organisation to go to when they are in trouble. Helping students has been my bread and butter for the past two years and I know as VP Welfare I can continue on lobbying and achieving what you all deserve.

Welfare is about you all as people and as students. There are so many gaps not being filled by the union, so many areas where you all are not supported. I will fill these areas and listen to what you all need. Change is never a bad thing.

What are the three biggest issues you want to tackle should you be elected VP Welfare?

Mental Health, Sexual Education and Domestic Violence Awareness. College is about coming out with the best possible academic award. Welfare is about tackling anything that stops you from achieving that. Right now the biggest issue facing you all as students is mental health and the lack of suitable supports provided. As VP Welfare I will spend my time working with DIT to reform the current counselling services to offer: online booking, online out of hours chat service and group counselling.

Every person has sex in a different way, turn ons and offs, positions, frequency. I will be making fun educational “Sex Ed” videos each month for sexual awareness (think BDSM and Fetish) as well as hosting DITSU’s first Abstinence Education Workshop.

One in seven women and one in 17 men in Ireland have been sufferers of Domestic Violence, many people suffer at the hand of repeat offender, this abuse whether emotional or physical WILL affect your well-being, your health and your education. It is time the stigma of this is quashed, I will be the Welfare Officer to do that, to get people talking about Domestic violence in young people and accepting it happens, it is not okay, and how to move on from it. Both as a sufferer and a causer.

Three words that describe you and why students should vote for you:

Passionate Caring Determined They are the reasons students should vote for me, I will achieve anything the students set to me because I care about them and their representation in this Union.

What do you want to do after your college?

I want to be your Vice President for Welfare.

Name: Roisin O’Donovan Where you call home: Dublin Studied: Nutraceuticals for Health and Nutrition Year of graduation: 2017 Previous roles in DITSU and Student Council: Class Rep for first year and final year, Student Councillor this year and member of the Ents and Welfare Crews Involvement in Societies/Clubs while a student: Currently the President of Societies, founder and Chairperson of the first ever Mental Health Society, Secretary of the LGBT Society and Volunteering Chairperson for DIT Societies last year.

Do you have a campaign slogan? #GoForRo What motivated you to run for this position?

I’ve been heavily involved in all aspects of DIT student life for the past four years, whether it be Students’ Union, Societies or sport. Through this, I have learnt a lot and I strongly feel that there are many changes to be made in DIT and I believe that I can make those changes happen for the student’s benefit. I want to make DIT the safest and most enjoyable environment for all DIT students which has been the main reason that motivated me to run for this position, of Vice President for Welfare.

What are the three biggest issues you want to tackle should you be elected VP Welfare?

1. Support student health and well-being Welfare should work with VP Events and hold more welfare based activities such as dodgeball tournaments, charity basketball matches, yoga and comedy nights. Get free tampons and hold safer and better sex campaigns. I also want to work closely with DIT Sports to ensure the best sporting facilities for all students and try and extend the opening hours of the gym.

2. Make DIT the a safe environment for all students I want all Class Reps, Students Councillors and lecturers to be trained in suicide prevention and mindfulness at the beginning of the year, have a bullying awareness campaigns in semester one and hold monthly LGBTQ+ safe spaces to make sure that all students feel safe in DIT which will enhance the social, academic, physical and emotional development of all students.

3. Fight for better facilities and services Improve the counselling services, look into getting nap rooms, get efficient air conditioning and/or windows put into canteens and common rooms, have regular cleaning rotas in place for all the bathrooms and fix the broken chairs and tables in classrooms.

Three words that describe you and why students should vote for you: Approachable, enthusiastic and dedicated.

What do you want to do after your college?

I definitely want to travel for a while and volunteer abroad in Africa again. Then after that I don’t have an exact job title in mind but I know I want to work with people, help people and have an active job and not be stuck in an office all day 9-5pm all day as that kind of job doesn’t suit my personality.

When will I do all that? Hopefully I’ll have to hold off on my plans for another year but that all depends on the elections, all will be revealed on March 16.

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

Interested in a career in journalism? Well you can kick start your career as Editor of The Edition.

The Edition will be looking for a new Editor for the 2017/18 academic year.

Details: Part-time, paid per issue published, commission on advertisements sold.

The role of designer will also be open for applications at the same time.

For more information or to declare your potential interest in the position email editor@edition.ie or news@socs.dit.ie

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

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7

NEWS

Minister Bruton launches The Greenway Hub Matthew Colfer Editor @mcolfer1

Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, officially launched the new Greenway Hub on the DIT Grangegorman Campus on Wednesday, 1 March.

Minister Bruton was given a tour of the facilities where he had the chance to discuss some of the projects currently being developed in The Greenway Hub by researchers, entrepreneurs, and high-potential start-up companies.

Following this, Minister Bruton addressed some of the DIT staff as well as other guests. Minister Bruton took this opportunity to complement the development of Grangegorman.

During his speech, Minister Bruton described the planned Grangegorman campus as “a campus that will transform this part of the city”.

Throughout his speech, Minister Bruton continued to praise the DIT describing it as a “nurturer of the next generation”, and stating that the “founding stones” of the “authentic and sustainable new Ireland…can be seen in DIT”.

Speaking prior to Minister Bruton, President of DIT, Professor Brian Norton, said that the official opening and launch of The Greenway Hub was a “foundational moment” as it is the first newly built educational building on the Dublin 7 campus.

Professor Norton continued, stating The Greenway Hub had been completed on time and on budget, and is at the “heart of the campus”.

The Greenway Hub is a state-of-the-art research and inno-

vation facility that has been built on a raised Twitter. site, overlooking the landscaped Bloom Magic is another start-up which is based in Grangegorman grounds. the building. Bloom Magic delivers luxury flowers The building is home to to customers in cutting edge designs. the Environmental, SusOne PhD student conducting research tainability and Health in the building, Wagner Hernandes, Institute (ESHI), New in association with Bord na Móna is Frontiers which researching “the use of aquatic plants offers incubation as a nature-based solution to optimize units for start-up water quality within the trial ponds” businesses to in Mount Lucas in Co Offaly. grow, as well as Also conducting research in The having seminar Greenway Hub is Ireland’s Best rooms and meetYoung Entrepreneur 2016 Finalist, ing rooms which Brian Henderson. are available for His company, Baon Diagnosuse by staff and tics, has developed a prototype for students. a small, portable medical device Some of the which uses what is known as ‘labstart-up companies on-a-disc’ to test throat swabs of which are based in patients to determine if they have an The Greenway Hub anti-biotic resistant infection. include but are not Henderson hopes to have the device in limited to, Leapchat, an GP clinics across the UK and Ireland in the app which allows users to near future, and also wants it to be available scan their household bills usto doctors in remote areas of poorer countries. ing their app and chat to customer The construction of The Greenway Hub was services of the companies through funded by the Programme for Research in Third Level Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Credit Jason Clarke Photography. Institutions (PRTLI), matched by DIT.

New report shows increased employment rates for graduates

Eimear Dodd

A new report by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) has found that 68 percent of all 2015 Irish graduates are in employment, with 57 percent employed in Ireland and the other 11 percent working overseas.

‘What Do Graduates Do 2015’ report is based on survey responses from graduates who completed their undergraduate or postgraduate studies in 2015.

The data was collected in March 2016 to understand the situation of graduates nine months after they completed their studies.

“Once again the findings of this report show an increase in graduate employment... and the importance of the Higher Education system for economic and social development,” Dr Anne Looney, Interim CEO of the HEA, said.

The report’s findings suggest the numbers of graduates who are undertaking further study or training has reduced due to increased job opportunities within the Irish economy.

Head of Campus Life at DIT, Dr Brian Gormley, said: “From the point of view of the Institute, we welcome the improvement in employment opportunities and salaries for our graduates.

“DIT graduates have a strong track record of being highly employable when they graduate, and it is gratifying to see that the quality of DIT graduates is recognised so widely by industry,” he said.

Around 62 percent of all those who graduated in 2015 with an honours BA degree were in employment. This represents an increase of 4 percent on the numbers of those employed from the 2014 class. The number of graduates still seeking employment nine months after graduation was 6 percent.

Postgraduates also reported similar increases in their rates of employments.

The DIT Career Development Centre carry out the First Destination Survey for the HEA. “It is evident that DIT has graduates in the top ten companies in the majority of industry sectors in the Irish economy,” said Dave Kilmartin, Head of DIT Career Development Centre.

“We have also experienced real progress with respect to the numbers of our students applying for and securing graduate programmes in large companies,” he continued.

The ‘What Do Graduates Do 2015’ report found that 85 percent of all those who graduated were working in Ireland. One in 10 survey respondents had travelled abroad for work or further study.

The United Kingdom was the most popular overseas destination for all graduates who chose to emigrate for employment or further study and training. The class of 2015 also trav-

47 percent of BA graduates earning an annual salary of less than €25,000.

Salary levels were higher for those had finished an MA or doctorate. Only 15 percent of doctorates surveyed said their salary was €25,000. Arts and Humanities BA graduates had the lowest starting salaries as 21 percent of respondents report a salary under €13,000.

Around 18,500 graduates from 12 higher education institutions including DIT participated in the survey.

This represented 73 percent of the total number of students who graduated in 2015. This includes students who completed degrees, higher and postgraduate diplomas, MAs and doctoral courses.

The graduates were asked questions about their type of employment, salary, job title and sector of the industry.

The HEA report is in its thirty-fifth year and provides information that is used by policy-makers, employers and students. The findings contained within the report are considered particularly valuable because 43 percent of Irish adults (25 to 64 years old) have completed third level courses.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s ‘Education Credit Nottingham Trent University via Flickr CCat a Glance 2016’ report, this high proportion of adults who completed elled to the USA, Singapore, Germany, China third level education is above the EU average and France. of 32 percent with Ireland at the top of the The 2015 survey also found an association results table with the United Kingdom and between level of salary and qualification with Finland.

8 | www.edition.ie

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

NEWS

DJ Soc Spinoff a complete success Dan Grennan & David Leahy Tiernan Geineé of UCC won the annual National Student DJ Competition hosted by DIT DJ Soc on Thursday, 2 March.

The competition took place in the Opium Rooms with eight of the best DJs from colleges all over Ireland going head-to-head.

Each Dj got 20 minutes to leave their impression on the judges and Guineé claimed the top prize with his textbook techno set.

Techno was the theme of the night with a crowd almost all in black matching the techno vibes flying around the room.

Guineé’s classic techno style of mellow build ups, epic drops and tasty transfers put him in the judge’s favour. The only complaint that

could be made of Guineé’s set was a lack of effects used however, his relaxed approach worked effectively without them.

However, Guineé’s old-school techno set encapsulated the night with mellow build-ups and whopper drops timed to absolute perfection.

Representing DCU was Dan Duffy, who came in second place with a blistering hip-hop set which blended so many styles and genres it was hard to keep track.

Duffy’s hip-hop set stood out compared to the techno and house that dominated the night.

Duffy also showed a unique skill on the night by mixing tacks on top of each other that got the whole crowd grooving.

The speed at which Duffy mixed his tracks and the phenomenal number of tracks he used was incredible.

He covered everything from West Coast gangster rap to UK Grime and even threw in a traditional Indian instrumental with such expert timing it ignited a frenzy on the dancefloor.

Matt Finnegan from UCD came in third with a funky house set with great use of vocals, filters and transitions.

While Finnegan’s set was a lot less intense than the techno sets that went before he did provide a softer sound for all the house fans.

CIT’s Adam Ryan came in fourth with his own brand of tech-house with some unreal build ups leading into even better drops that kept the crowd guessing throughout his 20 minute set.

Jordo D from ITC came out with his techno guns blazing with his first track that can only be described as ‘filthy’. There was no messing with

Jordo on the night as he kept an amazing level of intensity throughout his set.

Jordo D was probably too deep to place in the competition, in fact David Leahy from Cork described his tunes as “500% techno”.

The second DJ of the night, Maynooth’s Marcus had an unfortunate start when his link cable failed. Marcus got to restart the set but only got back into a flow towards the end of his set.

DIT’s Daniel Cullen played a techno style set with crispy transitions, filters and good timing.

The first DJ of the night was GMIT’s Micheal Brunell, he played a tech-house set that was enjoyable but not enough to Jordo D of ITC. Credit ITC DJ Society place him in the top four.

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

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9

NEWS

Drama students’ graduate production now running DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama The BA Drama (Performance) Graduate Production, The Rover by Aphra Behn, is running in the Beckett Theatre, Trinity College until this Saturday, 11 March, in association with the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama.

A preview performance was staged last night (Wednesday), with performances scheduled for 7:30pm tonight, tomorrow and Saturday, as well as a matinee performance on Saturday at 2pm.

Full of the colour, dynamism and mischief of carnival, this production of The Rover by DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama opened on International Women’s Day to celebrate Aphra Behn’s extraordinary voice.

Peter McDermott, play director and DIT lecturer said: “It is absolutely essential that we revive Behn’s work, not just because she was a trailblazer but also to revel in her wry humour and unique insight into sexual mores.

“On top of all that, her celebration of the theatricality of carnival is entertainment of the highest order. Come, join the fun and discover the inimitable Aphra Behn.”

According to the plays web page on the TCD website: “The Saturday matinee performance of The Rover will be a relaxed, sensory-friendly performance for a mixed audience. All ticket-holders for the matinee are welcome to attend a very short

briefing session in the theatre foyer at 1.30pm on Saturday 11 March, 30 minutes before the show.”

In Aphra Behn’s The Rover, it’s carnival time in the Mediterranean. Three strong-willed Spanish women disguise themselves in search of desirable men. They happen upon three lusty English cavaliers. When a famous Italian courtesan arrives in town, female and male desires converge in an explosion of love, deception and intrigue Aphra Behn – poet, novelist and spy – was not only one of the first professional female playwrights but also the most successful playwright of Restoration England, celebrating female desire with wit and bawdy humour and without apology.

Behn was nearly written out of history but the twentieth century returned Behn to the canon of great theatre and literature.

English writer and modernist, Virginia Woolf,

Credit: DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama

had this to say about Behn: “All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”

While The Guardian commented that Aphra Behn “was the Restoration’s own combination of Dorothy Parker and Mae West”.

Tickets start at €12, with the highest priced tickets being €15 and can be booked at https://beckett-theatre.ticketsolve.com/#/ shows/873571129/events/128092659. For further information or enquiries please see www.tcd.ie/ beckett-theatre or email Francis Thackaberry, General Manager, at fthackab@tcd.ie.

For more information on the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and to keep up to date with their events visit www.dit.ie/conservatory/ or follow us on Twitter at @DITConservatory.

BACCI students, Dance Soc & DJ Soc team up for St Patrick’s Parade Conor Shields

News Editor @SHIELDSYYYYY

DIT BA Creative and Cultural Industry (BACCI) students have enlisted the help of DIT DJ Society and Dance Society to help with their St Patrick’s Day parade display.

Students Laura Burke and Gillian Hopkins, who are both final year BACCI students based in DIT Grangegorman, are planning to construct a music-themed float which will be included in this year’s parade.

Speaking to Burke about the project, she explained the idea behind their theme and how DIT students will play a vital role in its operation.

“We’re looking this year to create a dynamic and unique pageant piece based around the theme, ‘Ireland you are’. We want the movement and look to reflect the diverse student body of DIT while remaining memorable, and having a lot of fun as we do it,” said Burke.

The float and its involvement in the St Patrick’s Day parade will count towards both Burke and Hopkin’s final grade as they both opted to run a cultural event which can be undertaken instead of writing a dissertation.

DJ Societ’s Kyle O’Neill is one of the participants who has been recruited by Burke and Hopkins. Speaking to The Edition, he explained why he decided to help the two final year students.

“I decided to help because I’ve always been passionate about music and I saw this as a perfect opportunity to share my passion with a large audience. I’ve prepared music that relates directly to the theme, ‘Ireland You Are’ and I’m expecting it to be a brilliant day,” said O’Neill.

It’s clear that O’Neill is excited about making his parade debut and has explained what the annual festivity means to him.

“From a young age I watched the parade on TV and now I have a chance to feature in the parade and I couldn’t be prouder to represent myself and DIT,” said O’Neill.

The St Patrick’s Day float isn’t the only BACCI-run event which DIT students will see this semester.

An outdoor cinema organised by Elly Coughlan of the same course is set to take place on 20 March in conjunction with the DIT Film Festival.

It will feature a screening of The Young Offenders, alongside a Q and A with director, Peter Foott, and Alex Murphy who plays Conor in the Irish comedy.

If you have something you would like to share your opinion on please email: editor@edition.ie Credit William Murphy via Flickr CC.

10 | www.edition.ie

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

OPINION

SHOULD

DITSU

GET

BACK IN ITS BALLOT BOX

Niamh Haskins & Sinead Farrelly The Eighth Amendment is a campaign, an issue of great debate and a matter of really great confusion. It has transformed from being the passionate cause of those who want to repeal it and those who want to celebrate it, into a contemporary national debate.

Over the past year the Irish Government have been called upon to Repeal the Eighth Amendment.

For some, it both serves and protects the unborn. For others, it is nothing but a restriction which pits the rights of a woman against the right to life of the unborn.

According to statistics from Rape Crisis Centres across Ireland, in 2013 alone 197 women who attended the centres were pregnant due to being raped. Twenty-five per cent of the survivors mentioned terminated their pregnancies, meaning they travelled to another country or illegally consumed abortion pills in Ireland. In 2014, an average of 10 women a day travelled to the UK seeking to terminate their pregnancy.

On 23 February 2016, DITSU’s stance to support the Repeal the Eighth campaign was voted on and passed by the Student Council. Although the Government has not yet called a referendum to Repeal the Eighth Amendment - does that mean your Students Union at Dublin Institute of Technology shouldn’t have? Within DIT, students represent a significant variation of opinions and there is no proof provided by DITSU that students of DIT want to support such a stance.

This issue of Repealing the Eighth Amendment has quickly become a civil rights issue for Generation Y. This is the generation who pushed through marriage equality and one who has never voted in a referendum to keep or erase the Eighth Amendment. A generation who is merely bullied by social hierarchies to make decisions based on wrongful judgements.

In the case of DITSU, where attempts to support the Repeal the Eighth Amendment have so far been a catalogue of errors, mishandling and total confusion.

The DIT Students Union took a stance to support the Repeal the Eighth campaign. Alongside this, they have also chosen to support a litany of political events including Apollo House and Home Sweet Home. The question remains should they as a Students’ Union be involved in political issues like this?

Many students within DIT may not lend their support to these political issues so how can the Students’ Union, who represents them, support these issues without first consulting the student body?

For many students, ignorant acts like this on behalf of DITSU are insulting and hampers the experiences of students. Why not have a preferendum where people have their say? Why are

your Union supporting something you don’t necessarily agree with? Why not let you have your say?

The Eighth Amendment has drawn criticism from the UN and Amnesty International for its inhumanity. It raises issues that unsettle many, the central of which is the right to life of the unborn versus the right to have control and say over your own body.

In 1983 the Eighth Amendment was introduced. Although abortion was already illegal in the country, the amendment carved the strength of pro-life lobby groups into the public eye and national policy.

The wording of the amendment says that, “The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right”.

This phrasing is exactly the way it is written into the constitution and cannot be changed without a referendum. This amendment was inscribed into the Irish constitution throughout a time when the nation was to a great degree regulated by Catholicism. A society secretive and ashamed about crisis pregnancies with a national tendency to push women into Mother and Baby homes or sailed out of sight across the Irish Sea. This was an Ireland where contraception without a prescription, divorce, same-sex sexual activity and civil partnerships were all illegal. This is not the Ireland of today.

The anti-abortion movement tells people that every abortion kills an unborn child. The pro-choice movement is asking people to give women control of their own bodies. To let them choose for themselves.

If you are currently unsure about where you stand on repealing the Eighth Amendment or supporting it, it’s a good thing. It means you are questioning and you are thinking about how you feel about it. You are not just blindly accepting what either side is saying.

Continue to question it, to research it for yourself. Eventually a referendum will inevitably be called and when it is, it will be essential to know your own mind and not be bullied by either side or weakened by a government or Students’ Union too terrified of not getting re-elected.

It is such a controversial issue with so many different opinions. DITSU is there to represent students from all backgrounds, ages and beliefs, not to push a controversial viewpoint that does not sit well with those who study there. Many students across all DIT campuses are pro-life, pro-choice or want to remain neutral. So DITSU, why not have a preferendum?

Timeline: How DITSU reached a decision to support Repeal the Eighth

The issue of the Eighth Amendment was first discussed at the Student Council meeting on 1 December 2015, when it was debated by the Student Council while the Executive Council withdrew from debate. A series of decisions came from this debate including that a formal debate should be organised where representatives from both sides could debate the topic. That College Officers were also to bring the topic to their next Class Rep meetings and get feedback from each class in conjunction with a wider student survey and that there should be a secret ballot on whether to have a DITSU policy referendum or not.

Ellen Ludden, a first year student representative at the time said: “In the November [2015] representative meeting DITSU requested that representatives asked their classes should they or shouldn’t they [take a stance] but didn’t follow up and encourage representatives to give them feedback. I asked my class if DITSU should take a stance; out of a class of 48 students, 45 (94 percent) said DITSU should not take a stance. When I gave my feedback the response was ‘oh yeah, does anybody else have feedback’. Nobody else did and that was the end of the discussion on the topic at the meeting.”

Former President of DITSU, Graham Higginbotham said in

an email to a student last year: “The views that came back were pretty mixed. Typically there was a 55 per cent to 45 per cent split in favour of no so that DITSU would remain neutral.

However, of the 45 per cent split who were in favour that DITSU takes a stance on the issue, these were in favour of the position of a ‘repeal the 8th’ stance.”

At the Student Council meeting on 4 February 2016, the topic was to be raised once more but was not as the councillor who was to propose it, Billie Johnson, was not in attendance at this meeting therefore it was moved back to another meeting.

This motion proposed that the “Vice President for Welfare [Lysette Golden] should run a formal, informative, unbiased campaign to make students aware of what is involved in the Repeal The Eighth Campaign by the end of April 2016”.

Following the Law Society debate on the Eighth Amendment on 15 February 2016, an emergency motion was proposed for the Student Council meeting on 23 February, by then Vice President for Education Gareth Walker-Ayers, this was seconded by Lysette Golden.

This motion proposed three policies to be adopted by DITSU to support: Access to Abortion Services, Abortion in

Exceptional Circumstances and Repealing the Eighth Amendment. These were all passed.

The earlier motion from Billie Johnson was not brought back up at a later Council meeting for that academic year. This year the current Executive Council have retained these policies in their actions.

Current DITSU Vice President for Education, Kieron Pierson, explained how DITSU have supported the campaign across this academic year.

“DITSU has been actively working on this motion by engaging a number of events. Most recently during SHAG Week a repeal placard making evening took place in Cathal Brugha Street and was organised by the onsite College Officer. In addition to that DITSU was the main sponsor of The Irish Times debating final which took place in Bolton Street where talented students’ from across Ireland debated the following: ‘This House believes the women of Ireland should strike to repeal the Eighth Amendment’.”

Graham Higginbotham, Gareth Walker-Ayers and Lysette Golden were contacted by The Edition but refused to comment on the issue.

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

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11

HUMANS HUMANS OF OF DIT DIT

12 | www.edition.ie

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

Hajar Akl caught up with a whole host of DIT students to share their unique experiences

Stories

Emma McNulty Ciaran Freeman Megan Wright

‘‘

“Now this sounds like some sort of Oscars acceptance speech, but my mom is my main inspiration in life. In everything I’ve ever been through, she’s always told me to be myself, because as long as you believe in what you are and who you are, then what everyone thinks doesn’t really matter as much.

“Living in the city is a lot different. When you’re in the country in a small town, everyone knows everyone’s business. You live your life through the stories you hear about yourself, which is mad.

“I’ve come out of my shell a lot more. When I first came to college, they thought I was the quiet country girl, then when they meet me they think ‘she’s crazy, she’s crazy’ but I’m just a really bubbly person.

“I’ve gotten a lot more confident since I’ve come to college. I’m happier with myself and who I am. I know sometimes lying to yourself is the worst thing you could possibly do, but if you’re thinking ‘if I looked like this, I’d be happy..If I had that, I’d be happy’ or ‘I could be beautiful if I looked like that’...

I’ve gotten to the point now where I’m just looking at what I have. I have this, I am this, and if you focus on that, you become a lot happier. When you’re happy with yourself, your confidence develops and you can do anything you want.”

‘‘

‘‘

“When I was a year and a half, I fell and broke my leg. They did an X-ray and found out something was wrong. And over the years they found more and more complications. Last year I had a tumour in my chest that had to be removed. So that took a lot of strain and time out of my second year in college and as a result, I had to defer my exams because I wasn’t well enough to take them, and I’m going to be taking those exams again come May.

“I was in college before, I did architecture and then out of the blue, I just decided I didn’t want to anymore. I do Film and Broadcasting with French.

I really wanted to do a language after school so I picked this and I knew I had a vague interest in broadcasting and radio so luckily it worked out.

From third year on, you specialise in film, documentary or radio, and I chose radio. I like working with sound, sound production all that.

“It was very stressful because at the time I didn’t want to change the semester. I didn’t want it to impact my work at all. During the beginning, I thought it best to just do everything regardless of the impact it would have on my own health, my stress or anxiety levels. But in the end it went too far, I just had to cut out everything that wasn’t essential and so I decided the best way to do that was to defer my exams.

“My biggest dream is to be content with where I end up. I don’t mind if it’s not a super high paying job, as long as I’m happy with what I do and I don’t hate life.

“I gave myself the realisation of what it meant.

As much as you disregard your physical health, it impacts so much of your life. Your mental health is linked to it and if you’re not physically healthy, there’s a good chance you’re not mentally healthy as well. Before that I was used to having the time to get involved in extracurricular activities and also devote time to my studies. But when this came along, it demanded attention, this wasn’t something that I could put off. It’s something that will stop everything else if you don’t prioritise it and when you look after yourself you’ll be able to look after everything else.”

“I think it’s important to know that you don’t have to be happy all the time because that’s just an impossible thing for people to achieve, so I think you have to let yourself not be happy sometimes, and I think that’s okay.”

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

A

PROBLEMS? Tell Naggy Nora about them and she’ll give you a very honest answer...

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13

gony unt

Home sick or sick of home?

Alright Naggy, how’re ya? So I’m what you Dubs would call a “culchie” from a village in Roscommon sure, best county going, hup the Rossies!

But since coming to college here in DIT life has had a few troubles there, see I have this job back home so I go home on Fridays and work for the weekend and come back to Dublin Sunday nights, but I’m kinda living the worst of both worlds ya see?

Cause my mates back home are getting thick cause I’m not hanging out with them at the weekends cause I’m working and my mates in Dublin are thick cause I’m never around at the weekends to do things, like the lads in my course have a weekly Friday five a side that they constantly ask me to play and all that lark. How do I try and balance the two lives without dropping one group? Like I need the job but I also need the degree for my mam to frame up in the house back home! Cheers there now.

Mícheál

Ah heya Mícheál how’re things? Love when a lad hits up my inbox, especially a strapping young country lad like yourself! From Roscomon? That’s a problem in itself but we’ll leave that for another day.

What job is this ya have? Is it on the family farm? Cause if ya have some road frontage I should point out that Naggy here is looking for a husband!

In all honesty though I get what you’re going through, as I said to our pal Bekki there the need for money in college is crucial but sure what craic is that if you’ve no pals to hang with? Try and make plans with the college friends for the during the week, maybe you’ll miss the five a side but sure look there’s a lot of other things ye can do too so that solves that and sure your mates from home will have ya all through the summer and Christmas, sharing is caring so the wise people say!

Naggy Nora xoxo

Dear Naggy Nora,

Heya Naggy how’s things? So it’s been a long, long while since I last whatsapped ya but I’m back and badder than ever with yet another saga in the never endin g episode of EastEnders that is my life! So we’re back to the problems with the fellas in work but of course of course this is me so this is a third chap and not the two who I’ve told you about before...I know I know...! So this guy is a couple years older and a bit of a looker I’ll admit , but he can be a bit odd too, and has been known to have a hot temper too, even in the workplace to the mana gers....so not exactly the lad ya bring home to mammy ya know ?

The last couple of months he’s been snapping me loads, real flirty stuff and at the Christmas party (isn’t it always the Christmas party??) He tried to bring me back to his gaff buy unforch I was puking my ring up and one of my top moths has to clean me up and put me in a taxi...morto!! Since then things have been super awks in work cause I fobbed him off a couple more times over Christmas and now he’s being a total dick and makin g life a nightmare and I just hate working with him nowa days...help us out here Naggy cause I need the €€€ to fund my spice bag and coppers lifestyle ya know? Cheers chicken, Bekki

What Nora says...

Dear Naggy Nora,

Oh my goodness, Bekki hun? Its actu ally spice bags, cans and coppers lifetyle is you. Well I’m glad to hear that you have n’t literally my bible. Without the money changed - puking your ring up once it just a girlo doesn’t happen. always a girlo. Brings a tear to my eye.

Hold your head up high and carry on and Comparing this to the other problems this work that uniform cause by the sounds of it is by far the most serious. Isn’t it alwa ys the you’re not short of admirers in that wor lookers with anger issues? Let me tell kyou place of yours! one thing girl never ever ever let an egotisYou know Naggy is a little bit fond tical fool like him dictate your working of life bitter sweet revenge. So you go get him hun. you most definitely don’t need it.

I’m sure you know what grinds his gear s so The main thing that you need to do is do whatever it takes to have him show watch your back because if he snaps his at true colours infront of everyone and see how managerment it won’t be long before he he likes people seeing the person he really snaps at you. is. Let me know how you get on hun if all I know, I can relate to you funding the else fails I’ll you hire you. Love yeh.

Naggy Nora xoxo

Heya Naggy, so ov er the last few mon ths I have fallen ou didn’t have a fight t with one of my clo or anyhting it’s he sest friends. We r fella who freaks have a boyfriend wh me out. I’m not jea o I love very much. lo us or anything as I You see her boyf ha willy on Snapchat. s been sending me Now if I tell my fe pictures of his lla he would aboslutel him or here as it is y batter him. I just far to awkward. W can’t be around hat do I do?

Dunita xoxo

What Nora says...

Dunita, I absolutely love the name. Now hun it’s time for us to be real. He should most definitely not be sending you unsolicited diccy piccys. Especially when you are not enjoying them. That’s sexual harrassment.

What’s his name on Snapchat seems like my kinda guy.

Ok ok back to the seriousness now. Maybe he used her to get

to you. Well it’s that or he wants you off the scene completely.

Either way it is wrong and totally unfair on you. We shall use the latter of the exmaples above as our way to broach this little issue. I bet that’s your problem it’s not big enough? I’m sorry I’ll stop now.

I’m sure you miss your friend you wouldn’t have sent in this

probelm if you didn’t. And I’m sure she misses you too being stuck with a pig like him.

What I would do to rectify this situation is screenshot the shizzle out of the pictures he is sending you and put them in the whatsapp with all the girlos. I know your pal be morto but it will bury the little fecker. I hope this helps.

Naggy Nora xoxo

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The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

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A

Summer There are many rites of passage that every young Irish adult experiences. But perhaps the most anticipated is the three months in your early twenties when you get to leave your parents and all rules behind, to go forth, be free and experience an All-American summer.

You may think that it will be like stepping onto a movie set, with a cheerleader on every corner and streets coated in an extra gloss because it is America. Well I’m here to tell you that you won’t be disappointed (apart from the cheerleader thing).

Of course, that’s not to say that there were days when we didn’t have enough money for food (yet our fridge was filled with beer - strange) days when work was tough, and days when living with my four best friends was driving me crazy.

So let me break it all down for you and offer some (hopefully) good advice that will make your summer the best one possible.

Planning the trip I booked the J1 with my four best mates, two guys and two girls. We’ve been friends for over ten years, which was is tip number one - like the people you’re going with.

We chose Boston partly because we thought we might bump into Mark Wahlberg or Matt Damon, but also partly because we heard it was easier to get jobs and accommodation there.

We went through USIT who sorted us with job interviews as we had picked the premium J1 package. This is around €200 more, but so worth it – we didn’t fancy wandering around Boston with no money looking for a job. Since then the laws have changed and now you actually have to have a job secured before going over, which is way better and much less stressful.

We all got jobs in an upmarket restaurant called Stephanie’s on Newbury Street as servers, hosts and a chef and found a surprisingly large two-bed apartment nearby for the five of us.

However, we couldn’t move in until a week after we’d arrived, so we needed to find a hostel. Tip 2 - do not leave it until the night before your flight to book a hostel, we were close to having to sleep in the airport for a week.

Arriving and the first week We got a Virgin flight over with a plane packed full of J1-ers.

There were endless streams of food and unlimited alcohol.

Safe to say, two red wines and several Bacardi’s later, we were fairly inebriated when we touched down in Boston.

The city is serviced by an underground subway called the T, divided by letter and colour-coded. We realised soon that you are expected to tip pretty much everyone (just maybe not the cab driver who deliberately went the long way and charged us $40 for a $15 journey.)

Employment We all worked similar shifts, five days a week in the restaurant.

I was a hostess and I loved it. Stephanie’s is quite a fancy place and we had a few celebrities drop by – Amanda Seyfried, Jess Glynne, and John Bishop (the Americans hadn’t a clue who Bishop was and didn’t understand my excitement).

Sunshine

of

As part of our J1 experience series, Aoife Loughnane remembers her summer spent in the city of Good Will Hunting, Cheers and Harvard University

My managers all looked like they had just walked off the set of a GQ photoshoot, so at least it made standing out on a patio dressed in all black in 34 degrees worth it. Also, Americans adore the Irish so thankfully that led to a few extra tips. Tip 3 - play up your Irishness because extra money is nice.

Food and drink Boston was expensive food-wise. There was a Dunkin’ Donuts on every corner as well as 24 hour 7-Elevens, so stocking up on $3 tubs of Ben and Jerry’s was just way too easy.

You should try and buy proper food once a week and eat some actual meals. I didn’t do this and I found myself very ill on the Fourth of July weekend (meaning I missed the celebrations). Seafood is a Boston thing, so try the lobster, chowder, calamari, everything. It’s all delicious.

Temperatures are HIGH so Tip 4 - invest in a fan, drink gallons of water and wear sunscreen every day.

Socialising It takes a few weeks to get a social life, usually because you’ve spent all your money on rent and haven’t gotten paid yet. Soon though, you will make a tonne of American friends as well as lots of fellow J1-ers.

Once July came we were having parties in our apartment every week. Beer pong is huge in America, and we soon discovered that keg stands were the norm too (I definitely didn’t try that one). Our local bar across the road was, of course, an Irish pub called Flann O’Briens. Irish bars in Boston are a must.

Trips Boston has so much to offer, but a day out in Harvard is a must.

Newbury Street is the place to window-shop, before catching some rays in Boston Common down the road.

There are two beaches near - Revere and Carson - but if you can’t manage to get out to them, the hotels have rooftop swimming pools. We spent many a day off work drinking cocktails by the pool on top of the Colonnade Hotel.

If you’re into witchcraft, then a day trip to Salem is for you. But be warned - the place has a really eerie feel to it that stays with you long after you’ve left. Downtown Boston has places like Faneuil Hall as well as zillions of pubs and shops to browse through.

We had a weekend away in Portland, Maine and it was is a seaside city with a 1970s, bohemian feel to it. We got a boat out to Peaks Island where we found an alcove and went swimming in the sea.

Coming home After spending our last weekend visiting New York, we were finally at the end of our J1, albeit a stone heavier and thousands of euro poorer. Hey, at least we had a good tan.

However when we went to check in at JFK, it appeared that there was an issue with our plane tickets. My university graduation was in two days, might I add. Cue the mother of all meltdowns.

But there’s always a silver lining, right? Virgin put us up in the JFK Radisson hotel for the night with a free dinner and $100 worth of meal tickets for the airport. While our parents were storming down to USIT’s offices, we were having a nice time watching the VMAS in a swanky room, eating chocolate cake. All in all, not a bad J1. I recommend that you do one.

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

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Erasmus Diaries: Stepping out of the comfort zone Lisa Martin A fellow German student of mine spent two semesters at UCD last year, but barely got in touch with any locals. At first this might sound weird, but a lot of Erasmus students experience the same. I myself felt more like a tourist in my first couple of weeks here because I had hardly spoken to Irish people or grappled with their culture, except for a few moments at university.

Mainly, the friends I have here are from the Erasmus programme.

Since I’ve been here I met so many different people, each of them with their very own cultural background yet they are into so many things just like me. And I get why it’s easier to make friends with international students since we are all in the same situation. We find ourselves in a foreign country, thrown out of our comfort zone and the worst thing is, we can’t share our feelings with any of our friends because they’re an hour’s flight away.

On the other side our fellow Irish students already have a life in Dublin. What is a great adventure for us, is just everyday life for them. So it kind of makes sense that Erasmus students stick within their groups.

That was us at least until the last two weeks when my friends and I decided to burst our Erasmus bubble and get in touch with Irish culture.

The first time we did that was in a pub close to our apartment, where they host live music every Sunday for the whole day. Because every table was already taken when we arrived we asked two Irish guys whether we could sit with them. For a German person, I consider this to be a very brave act, since I guess most Germans would just leave a bar when there is no free table available. Anyway, we just chatted with the guys about Irish culture and slang words (so by now, I guess that I know far more curse words in Irish than I have ever known in German).

It was also fun to observe that people would start to sing or dance to the live music whenever they felt like it, not even considering that they might be the only ones to do so. This is very differently from my

cultural background because I can’t think of any common folk song that everybody could sing along to in Germany. Same thing when it comes to dancing. I guess nobody in my home country would just start to dance to live music in a pub.

So, I felt kind of awkward when the boys asked us for a dance, although we were the only ones on the non-existing dance floor. But I guess the fun starts when your comfort zone comes to an end.

I also really got into Irish sports during the last two weeks. For the first time when we decided to see the Six Nations altogether. I certainly have no idea about rugby. This is because Germany first and foremost is a soccer nation. We go crazy about it, especially during World and European Championships. The whole country is going nuts then and literally everybody is on the street to see the games.

However, Rugby has no tradition at all in Germany. When an Irish girl asked me about Rugby in Germany I had to admit, that I don’t even know whether we have a national Rugby team (call me ignorant, because we actually have one). So, in the beginning I was a little bit sceptical about the game: 15 players, who are lying on the field in a tangle jostling for a ball for most of the time?

How wrong I was. I mean, they are jostling for the ball most of the time, but still I really enjoyed watching it. Especially when we got to watch the Ireland vs. France game with our French friends. And of course, by the time of the game everybody who wasn’t French rooted for their new home away from home.

At least I knew before what rugby is, because when somebody brought up hurling, I didn’t have the vaguest notion about it. But I was up to try it out when my friends

15

told me that there was a trial session for traditional Irish sports. Because I knew nothing beforehand about hurling, the situation I found myself in on the field reminded me an awful lot of the physical education classes back in school. You are just afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of everybody, because you aren’t able to hit the ball properly for example. But then again, none of us had played it before. And as far as I’m concerned we were all pretty good, considering the fact that hardly any of us had known what hurling is before this experience.

So, with all the things going on here in Ireland, you are way too busy to get homesick. I was surprised the other day when I found myself in one of those rare occasions when I actually had the feeling of missing out on something in Leipzig, where I normally study.

My friends and I have a WhatsApp group and in there they planned to go to one of our favourite clubs on Saturday. Reading their messages, a picture of my home town popped up in front of my inner eye. I saw the venue and my friends dancing in there.

I could imagine me walking in the streets getting there and the conversations we would have. It felt strange not to be with them. But then again it is easy to distract yourself from any kind of homesickness.

Because there is always something new to explore about Irish culture that is not one hour’s flight away from you, but right next to you.

All images courtesy of Lisa Martin.

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FEATURES

All images credit Flickr via Creative Commons.

Erasmus Diaries: It’s people who help break language barriers

Rebekah Tunstead

When I told people before leaving Ireland that I was going on Erasmus to France they were encouraging but at the same time apprehensive. If I’m being honest, I was too. But I am happy to report that the terrorists’ attacks in Paris couldn’t be further from the quiet, peaceful surroundings of Lannion, which is in the back arse of nowhere.

When I was researching about the possible places to go on Erasmus I found that Lannion was voted one of the friendliest villages in France, which is certainly true in my opinion. The people have gone out of their way to help me and make me feel welcome, and I’m not just talking about the people in my class but the people in the bank, the café, the clothes shops. They are patient and keep smiling even though the language barrier can be frustrating. When I say “Bonjour”, they automatically hear what they think is an English accent, and know that the next few minutes will require extreme concentration on their part.

Going on Erasmus is daunting even if you are going to an English-speaking country, but going to a country where very few people speak English, is ten times worse. I thought I was reasonable at French, nowhere near fluent but certainly not completely lost at every conversation. For the first few weeks I felt like I was in that nightmare, where you need to speak but you can’t.

It is one of the worst feelings in the world. In my second week, I had to do an interview with another person from the class in front of everyone. It was a car crash. I had no idea what the guy was saying and he didn’t understand me, it took far too long and I felt humiliated.

But when you have loads of humiliating moments like that, you develop a thick skin and a resilient attitude.

I left Ireland asking myself if journalism was really

“

If you ask anyone who has been on Erasmus, what was the best part, the answer will always be the same. The people you met.

the right career to be pursuing. I didn’t particularly feel engaged with most of the classes, or anything close to being a journalist. Here the attitude to studies is completely different. You feel pushed to your absolute limit.

What we would usually take thirteen weeks to do in Ireland they cram into four or five. The students work ethic is something to behold. Most of the classes are taken up with questions from the students, and if there is something in a class or some results that they are not happy with they immediately go to the head of the department and get it sorted out.

Classes usually start at 9am but I have the privilege of learning Spanish at 8:15am every Wednesday morning. Learning Spanish through French has been an unusual experience. Although having explained that the only Spanish I knew was ‘hola’

and ‘adios’, the teacher graciously decided to talk to me slowly in Spanish and every now and again very quickly in French. It was an unusual teaching method but it has proved effective. I get the general idea of what she is saying at least 50 percent of the time now. Thankfully my results in this subject will not be counted and so I am happy to sit in the class, take in the Spanish and smile every now and again to prove I’m still listening.

When I return to Ireland, I don’t mind going on record to say, I will never complain again. I have at times got frustrated at administration obstacles in Ireland but they are nothing compared to France. I spent most of my first two weeks here in the International Office doing paperwork. A YouTube video called What the f**k France perfectly describes the administration work here. To buy a phone, you must have a French bank account even though you may never use it, but to have a French bank account you must prove that you live here, but to rent a place to live you need a French bank account. It’s a vicious cycle.

I think if you ask anyone who has been on Erasmus, what was the best part, the answer will always be the same. The people you met. I have met people from Canada, Morocco, Spain, Senegal, Cameroon, each with their own culture, food and native language. They are extremely patient because they know what you’re going through. They are kind and always lend me a hand if they can. They are the best thing about Erasmus.

If there is anything that you take away from this article, let it be the everyday struggles that foreign students face daily, particularly if they don’t speak the language. If there are students on Erasmus in your class, go out of your way to help them.

Think how difficult your course can be for you sometimes, and then think if you had to do it in another language. They can sometimes be timid, but that’s only because they don’t know what to say, or what’s going on. Talk to them. Believe me there will come a day that you wish someone would do it for you.

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

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Time to paint the town green Eimear Dodd

Image courtesy of William Murphy Via Flickr Creative Commons.

There is so much happening this year for St Patrick’s Day that it’s tough to decide where to go to celebrate our national holiday. As the day falls on a Friday this year, the fun can start on Thursday night.

Two events have caught this reporter’s eye with their student friendly prices. Best of all, they both leave Sunday free to catch up on well-needed rest.

First up, the St Patrick’s Two Nighter at the Workmans Club on Wellington Quay. This has free entry and is central and well-known to us students.

On Thursday 16 March, bands such as Vicious Fishes, Free Sunshine Acid, Sun Mahshene and Beach will be performing on stage from 8pm. Food and drink will be on offer at Bison Bar and BBQ. Following the live music, there will be lots of singing and dancing at the Workman’s Karaoke Club. The venue will also host DJ sets from Seany B, Louche, Trev and Steven Gannon.

On Friday 17 March, there’s music from 8pm with Bodies, Just Mustard, The Notas and The Fontaines. Tony Bones, Steve Gannon, Colin Devine and Kelly Anne Byrne (Today FM) will be on stage with DJ sets.

Finally, WOWBURGER will be serving burgers and fries from their burger huts on the terrace.

At the Garage Bar, there will be DJs sets from 4pm with Ken Mooney (The Urges), Michelle Farley, Conor Lumsden (The #1’s), Robbie Brady (Exploding Eyes), This Other Kingdom DJs, Sam Morrissey, AJ Jenkinson and Rob Gilligan.

Our second pick is Secret Session in association with the St Patrick’s Festival at the RDS. It’s a celebration of the country’s

favourite music, drinks, food and sport. This event runs over three days from Thursday 16 March to Saturday 18 March.

Unlike our last pick, this isn’t free entry.

However, tickets start from a student friendly €10. A three day ticket costs €20. You’ll have to purchase festival tokens at €3 each as no cash will be accepted for purchases at the RDS. The venue is a little further outside the city centre but well-served by public transport links.

Each day, Secret Session has a different theme. There will be a silent disco, a barber shop, gaming zone, a hidden bar and relaxing spaces in Hall One of the RDS. As for food and drink, there will be stands from artisan food producers, brewers and distillers. These include Bushmills, Wicklow Brewing, Dave’s Pizza and Pieman.

Thursday 16 March will host a Manchester theme and will feature music from Oasis and the Stone Roses tribute bands.

Friday 17 March’s theme is The Alternative Paddy’s Day and performances will include Skatuesques, Sack, the Frank & Walters and DJ Danny McElhenny.

Saturday 18 March is the final day of the Six Nations Championship 2017 so it will be all about the rugby. This is expected to be busy as around 4,000 fans watch coverage of all the day’s matches on a big screen.

Ireland will be playing England in the nearby Aviva Stadium at 5pm so there may be plenty of celebrations in the area, regardless of the final results.

For more information on the St Patrick’s Two Nighter at the Workmans Club on Wellington Qusy please visit theworkmansclub. com.

Performers in the St Patricks Day Parade in Dublin. Image courtesy of Giuseppe Milo via Flickr Creative Commons.

Floats at the parade. Image courtesy of Giuseppe Milo via Flickr Creative Commons.

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CULTURE

When Boston hit back Niamh Haskins Online Editor @niamhhaskins

FILM REVIEW Title: Patriots Day Director: Peter Berg Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, J.k. Simmons, Michelle Monaghan Genre: Drama, Action Running Time: 133 minutes A powerful story of a community’s courage in the face of terror. Patriots Day is a dramatic thriller which depicts the events surrounding the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013.

The main character, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), plays a street cop - who feels that nobody knows or notices how good he is at his job as he came off the back of a suspension for an unmentioned issue.

That is until the aftermath of an unspeakable attack on the City of Boston, when brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (who authorities believe had recently become fol-

lowers of radical Islam) planted two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon which killed three people and reportedly injured as many as 264 others.

Saunders leaps in to help the injured, first responders, investigators and courageous survivors in a bid to hunt down the bombers before they could strike again. Due to his extensive local knowledge Saunders advised and helped FBI investigator Richard (Kevin Bacon) who is working closely with the Boston Police Commissioner (John Goodman) pinpoint the bombers.

With the whole city helping the cops, the brothers are eventually chased in Watertown the neighbourhood of beat cop Jeffrey (J.K. Simmons) for an intense showdown. The central shootout itself is well put together: a chaotic standoff between

the police and the Tsarnaev brothers in their stolen car, armed with guns and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) which leads to one death and one arrest.

Director Peter Berg perfectly captures the suspense of one of the most sophisticated manhunts in law enforcement history. The violence contained within the film is surprising, graphic (body parts lay everywhere) and horrific.

This film uses archive footage broadcast by several different news channels at the time. Although there are none of the bombing itself it goes on to tell the stories of a number of actual civilians and public servants who were caught up in the attack.

One element that made it work so well and hit so emotionally hard is the laser focus on the characters. Its pacey movement makes the emotion of it much more powerful as the audience does not get one chance to catch its breath.

While this is a film which celebrated the strength of the people of Boston coming together to catch those who attacked their city. It was also a tribute to cities like Nice, Paris and Berlin who have battled against the similar tragedies.

Certain Women promises more than it provides Joseph Ryan

MOVIE REVIEW Film: Certain Women Starring: Michelle Williams, James Le Gros, Jared Harris, Laura Dern, Lily Gladstone, Kristen Stewart Director: Kelly Reichardt Genre: Drama Running Time: 1h 47mins “If fourteen people die, I’ll be king.” So says a portly, unassuming graveyard-shift security guard of his far-removed, diluted royal foreign lineage. It’s not throwaway drollness, because Certain Women has a lot of that: characters observing their own potential for bliss or greatness (be it far-fetched or reasonable) with a shrugging remove.

The film pits it’s able cast against a desolate yet scrupulously-captured Montana, and dares these inhabitants not to assimilate to the stoicism suggested by the stark landscape. Characters bargain and compromise with learned, weary forbearance, abjectly isolate themselves within thankless duties (social, familial, and occupational), and mostly languish in the safety of yearning in lieu of acting. There’s no labour as arduous as making an honest bid for happiness.

A tale of small-town distaff discontent, shot in calmative 16mm, and divided into three consecutive short segments (narratively unified by only a few minor, incidental dovetails), Certain Women marks director Kelly Reichardt’s first departure from her beloved Oregon in over twenty years of filmmaking.

As ever, she graciously yields auteurship

to her setting, permitting Montana the full breadth of its eerie, halting influence; the spectral cascade of pine tree silhouettes, spearing shafts of milky light encroaching on drably furnished interiors, the interminable crawl of a train, in all its uneasy modernity, traversing an environ that has cautiously granted it right of way… Montana’s hush is stunning, and pitiless.

The stories are, in the best sense, hardly stories; like elliptical mood-pieces, they simply start and then stop, bereft of hysteria, but awash in ache. The stories, snapshots, destinations are thus: a beleaguered lawyer (Dern) contends with an irascible client (Harris) who refuses to accept her counsel; a husband and wife (Le Gros and Williams) attempt to procure some sandstone from an elderly man for the home they’re building; a lonely rancher (Gladstone, utterly superb) and a city lawyer teaching a nightschool class (Stewart) strike up something of a friendship.

An adaptation of selections from Maile Meloy’s Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It, the film’s three-headed structure brings to Reichardt’s penchant for abbreviated, anecdotal minimalism a sense of wholeness that’s some-

times missing from her other films (something like Wendy and Lucy finds her gift strained to contrivance in an effort to sustain elegance and intimacy over an unwarrantedly lengthy running time).

The director’s lucid presentations of the quotidian are almost oppressive in their matter-of-factness, and she turns stylistic torpor into subtle anthropology; the film’s drowsy observance of life’s repetitions, staggered revelations, and patience-won triumphs speaks for itself – under even the slightest scrutiny, the silent behaviours of the repressed and the dulled of passion betray volumes that would mortify those enact them.

Reichardt excels at presenting sheer, easily comestible images, and then gradually complicating them in retrospect. The skill is in achieving this linearly, and in not relying on formalistic subterfuge – there’s a real intimacy (and remarkable specificity) to how a foot sneakily snakes into frame to lightly knead the small of a lover’s back as he sits on the bedside. Later, the true nature of this relationship will come to light, and our initial rosy perceptions will be quietly deformed.

It’s this patience, and value for the microscopic ways that people love and hate and long and plea that renders Certain Women’s gentleness seismic.

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Brains behind NASA Sarah Harford Feature Editor @saz_harford

FILM REVIEW Title: Hidden Figures Director: Theodore Melfi Starring: Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe Running time: 127 minutes Genre: Drama Among the blockbusters, heavy-hitting dramas, and over-hyped musicals dominating our cinema screens right now, one true story is quietly making its mark at the box office.

Based on the nonfiction book of the name by Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures focuses on three female African-American mathematicians working for NASA in the 1960s – a time of some of the biggest scientific and techno-

logical advances in history. Although these early missions into space have been immortalised in films such as The Right Stuff and Apollo 13, Hidden Figures shines a light on the previously untold story of the women who made it happen.

Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) works as a “computer” at NASA’s Langley Research Centre, responsible for calculating (by hand) the mathematics which would propel astronaut John Glenn into space. Johnson must strive to be taken seriously in a male dominated world with the help of her friends – aspiring engineer Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) and supervisor Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer).

Set against the backdrop of segregation and the battle for civil rights in the US, along with rising cold war tensions and the hopeful excitement surrounding the space race, there are many significant elements in the plot of

Hidden Figures, yet the film is not weighed down by them. With a great original story, clever, witty dialogue, and a fun soundtrack by co-producer Pharrell Williams, the film breezes through its two hour run time. It even manages to make lengthy calculations of Cartesian coordinates on a chalkboard seem dramatic and interesting.

There is obviously some creative license used in the film for dramatic effect, but it is still based on the true successes of real women.

After helping to get John Glenn into space, Katherine Johnson went on to calculate the trajectories for the historic Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 missions. In 2015, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a new computer research facility at Langley was named after her last year.

Although the film may not have had great

referring to what she has described as the ‘infinity of materials’. Some of the objects she uses in her works are from her own consumption while others are objects she has found.

Institutional Ghost encourages us to reflect on how we engage with, travel through and experience our environment in our daily lives. Her work in this exhibition is led by her interest in the visual expressions of consumer culture and the reconfiguration of her materials into formal arrangements. Her piece, Skin, contains 297 aligned cigarette papers stuck directly onto the gallery wall.

The Jac Leirner exhibition guide issued by IMMA says that “Leirner draws on her own experiences: she has been an avid smoker for

much of her life and consequently is acquainted with products related to the tobacco industry.”

When Leirner was asked during an interview with Dazed magazine whether she used art in a way that is cathartic she said: “I believe so. In the mid-80s, I would fold my cigarette packs for three years before punching holes in them to attach them to the structure that would turn these packs into a sculpture, I guess I was using art in a cathartic way.”

There is no doubt that Institutional Ghost is a highlight this spring. As well as Institutional Ghost, IMMA has a number of other new exhibitions on the way in 2017: Through mid-April to late summer, there

success at the Oscars, missing out in the three competitive categories where it was nominated, it is the highest grossing of this year’s Best Picture nominees. This shows that there is a wide audience interested in films which are centred on heroic characters who aren’t just white and male.

In a film which explores the story of a group of women breaking the glass ceiling, with respect to both gender and race, Hidden Figures achieves a similar feat behind the camera too.

The lead performances from Henson, Spencer, and Monáe are strong and captivating, complimenting each other well among a predominantly female ensemble cast. The film also has a high percentage of female crew members, and its screenwriter Allison Schroeder was the only woman to be nominated in that category at this years Academy Awards.

Preview: upcoming exhibitions at IMMA

Katie Walsh Institutional Ghost, an exhibition by one of Brazil’s most important contemporary artists, Jac Leirner, is now on display at IMMA. Institutional Ghost is located in the Courtyard Galleries, East Ground and is showing until the 5th of June 2017. Leirner works across disciplines such as sculpture, painting, installation and works on paper. For this exhibition, her first solo exhibition in Ireland, she created a dynamic body of work that responds to the particular architecture of the courtyard galleries at IMMA that suits these rooms specifically.

Since the mid 1980s, Leirner has collected items from everyday life such as plastic bags, ashtrays, cigarette packs, rulers and more,

will be an exhibitions covering the spiritual aspects titled As Above, So Below: Portals, Visions, Spirits and Mystics. There is also an exhibition covering the work of great new wave artist Vivienne Dick, as well as a retrospective on the Irish artist William Crozier, who was best known for his vivid landscape work.

As Above, So Below | Portals, Visons, Spirits & Mystics: 13 April- 27 August 2017, Main Galleries and IMMA Site.

ROSC 50 1967/2017: 5 May- 8 June 2017, Project Spaces.

Vivienne Dick 93% STARDUST: 16 June 15 October 2017, Main Galleries West Wing.

Nan Goldin Sweet Blood Call: 16 June - 15 October 2017 Main Galleries, West Wing.

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CULTURE

Jack Whitehall At Large Olivia Powell

Culture Editor @powell_olivia

Jack Whitehall, a British comedian and actor, known for his roles in Fresh Meat and Bad Education, brought his At Large tour to the 3 Arena on 21 and 22 February.

For many comedians, playing an arena can be challenging but Whitehall certainly knows how to entertain a crowd of 10,000 people.

After a short introduction video on the big screens in the arena, out strides Jack on a beautiful, but massive, white horse. What could possibly go wrong? Oh yes, the horse relieves itself on stage.

After cleaning up horse manure and asking the Irish crowd for some hand sanitizer, Whitehall begins his stand-up routines where, to my joy, he only makes one remark about Trump. The first half of the show is, of course, belly achingly funny with

his anecdotes of his trips to Amsterdam smoking ‘weedypuff’ and embarrassing flight stories, but the second half is hilarious!

Whitehall ends the first half of the show by ‘accidentally’ crawling through the horse manure and in desperate need of a shower and a change of clothes which then follows a short 20-minute interval to get another drink, look at the merchandise and eagerly wait for the second part of the show.

Another fancy and theatrical entrance from Whitehall at the start of the second half as the curtain drops and he appears with female dancers to begin a short dance routine.

During the second half of the show, Jack Whitehall did not fail to impress with his anecdotes regarding the Royal Family, his awfully

“

Out strides Jack on a beautiful, but massive, white horse.

posh friends and his failed auditions as an actor. Jack speaks of an after party with Prince Harry, the time his one precious line was cut from Disney film Frozen and he shows the audience his embarrassingly funny passport photo. With many of Whitehall’s routines the audience cannot relate to them, but the comedian acknowledges this, makes light of it and somehow he can make them work and they all went down a storm.

There was a massive difference to seeing Jack Whitehall play in Vicar Street four years ago to seeing him play the 3 Arena. The comedian is theatrical and entertaining and knows how to work an arena which is hard for many artists, let alone comedians, to do.

Whitehall ends his show with a bang, quite literally, with confetti cannons and a standing ovation from the impressed Irish crowd. Jack Whitehall’s At Large tour is a

must see, if you did not catch it, it will be available on DVD in December, which would be worth buying just to see his passport photo.

Jack Whitehall’s support act for his Dublin shows was Irish man Jarlath Regan, an old friend of Whitehall’s and certainly one to watch. Regan warmed up the crowd nicely whilst we were eagerly waiting for Whitehall.

At Large is certainly a laugh out loud, feel good show.

Russell Howard’s Round The World Tour Olivia Powell

Culture Editor @powell_olivia

British comedian Russell Howard brought his Round the World tour to Dublin’s Vicar Street on 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 February.

Dublin was Howard’s first stop on tour and his brand new material worked a treat. Howard’s comedy is mainly focused on current affairs such as Trump and Brexit. Howard is known for his comedy show Russell Howard’s Good News where he discovers random stories and discusses the news from the previous week and makes light of them. Therefore, Howard certainly feeds off the news to create his standup comedy show.

The comedian also speaks openly about his family, he talks about his American road trip with his mother, tells

“

stories of his embarrassing but hilarious younger brother, a day out at the zoo with his 11-year-old cousin and the death of his grandparents, which was certainly a more serious and heartfelt moment from the show.

Having watched all of

Howard’s previous tour DVDs, I felt on this tour he truly spoke his mind and voiced his opinions about what’s happening in the world and how it’s simply going downhill day by day, which was purposely not meant to be funny on the

The show needed a little less inspirational talk from the serious side of Howard and more jokes from the comedian.

comedians behalf.

Although his views are correct and his wonderful attitude to life is to simply have a giggle and not take yourself too seriously, I felt the show needed a little less inspirational talk from the serious side of Howard and more jokes from the comedian we all went see. However, I am not faulting Howard, he is a wonderful stand-up and I am still a huge fan.

The comedian played five nights in Vicar Street, Howard could simply play a bigger venue such as The Olympia Theatre for fewer nights and move on with his tour to another city, but Vicar Street is intimate and a lovely venue to watch a comedian, this certainly shows he is hardworking.

Simon Hall, co-writer of Good News and an old

friend of Howard’s, is the support act for the Round the World tour. Hall was an entertaining start to the show and a must-watch stand-up.

As the show was about to begin, the lights faded in Vicar Street, the crowd cheered eager to see Russell Howard, but Simon Hall strolled out and joked the audience looked very confused to see him and were probably frustrated it was not Russell, he was right, but he is a great stand-up and certainly has a different style of comedy to his friend Russell. Hall played for 20-minutes which was followed by a 15-minute interval and then Howard who played for over an hour with no interval or encore.

Russell Howard is playing 55 shows in 19 cities on his Round the World Tour where he will be travelling the UK and taking his show overseas to Dubai and Canada.

Sport |21

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

Cheltenham Festival 2017 Preview David O’Farrell

The countdown is all but over and the traditional Cheltenham roar for the Supreme is almost upon us. It’s every racing fan’s favourite week of the year- four days of top quality action from the opening Supreme Novices Hurdle through to the concluding Grand Annual Handicap Chase. Each of the 28 races is packed full of quality and now it’s time to get the low-down on all the best bets.

We start on Tuesday with the feature being the Champion Hurdle over 2 miles. Always a fast and furious contest, Petit Mouchoir (NAP) is fancied to take the prize across the water at a price of 11/2. He has the best form in the book this season, with wins in the Irish Champion Hurdle and Ryanair Hurdle at Leopardstown. The Champion Hurdle is lacking depth this year with the losses of Faugheen and Annie Power so I’m sure Petit Mouchoir will go close. He has a high cruising speed for two miles and is a slick jumper of his hurdles. The dangers include Yanworth, Buveur D’Air and Brain Power but Petit Mouchoir should have as good a chance as any.

Elsewhere on day one, there are three other Grade 1 races. Starting with the Supreme, Melon is worth opposing with his lack of experience and he can be taken on with Neon Wolf who looks a big price at 7/1 but he may well end up in the

Neptune if the ground is good as expected. Lough Derg Spirit at 20/1 and Movewiththetimes at 9/1 also look decent each-way shouts. Altior has the world at his feet currently and he should easily win the Arkle this year but he is far from a betting prospect at his inferior odds. Apple’s Jade looks the tip in the final Grade 1 on Tuesday, the Mares Hurdle. She won the Hatton’s Grace earlier in the season and ran well on her return behind Limini in the Listed Quevega Mares Hurdle at Punchestown.

In terms of the rest of the racing on the opening day, Champers On Ice is a big price at 12/1 for the Ultima Handicap Chase as he loves the course. A Genie In A Bottle is the one to be on in the National Hunt Chase.

He will love the four miles and top amateur, Jamie Codd, is expected to be on him.

Finally, we have the Novice Handicap Chase where three horses at massive prices stand out. Bun Doran looks big at 25/1, Stone Hard is also 25/1 and he should have a good chance if he comes back to the form of his Limerick win, while, Icing On The Cake looks like he’s worth a few euros at 33/1 for Oliver Sherwood.

Sports Editor wanted. If interested apply to editor@edition.ie

The feature on day two is the Queen Mother Champion Chase where Douvan has the race at his mercy. Nothing in the race looks to be able to compete with him so there is no point in wasting our time about how exceptional this Walk In The Park gelding is. Finians Oscar (NAP) goes in the opening contest,

the Neptune Novices Hurdle and I’m a massive fan of this horse. He won a point to point in October before going on to win his maiden hurdle, followed by a Grade 1 and most recently, a Listed hurdle. He has speed and stamina and I can’t see him being beaten for trainer, Colin Tizzard. Shattered Love is also worth noting in this race at a huge 33/1.

A massive entry has been received for the Coral Cup and once again, three horses stand out but they are not guaranteed a run. Born Survivor goes for the Skelton team and he still looks unexposed in handicaps. De Plotting Shed at 20/1

and Valhalla at 50/1 also look interesting in the race. The Cross-Country Chase is always a great spectacle on day two and Auvergnat looks good for the race at 8/1. He unseated when still in contention over course and distance before winning a similar race at Punchestown which should put him spot on for this.

Finally, on day two, we have the Champion Bumper. I’m not a huge fan of this race designed for younger horses but it does have a fantastic roll of honour which includes the almighty Cue Card. Carter McKay and Dr Wallace are the two for me in the race this year.

They have both won bumpers this season so they should be bang in there at the business end.

Onto day three and the NAP of the day comes in the Brown Advisory Plate where Diamond King looks impossible to oppose. He won the Coral Cup last year and relishes this time of year with the sun on his back and the two miles five furlongs around Cheltenham look ideal, once more. Elliott has been bullish about his chances in this for a while now and he looks a nice price at 8/1. Mall Dini, the winner of the Pertemps Final last year, looks to have a massive chance in the Kim Muir. He also relishes springtime and Cheltenham and he has had four consistent runs over fences this year in beginners’ chases, placing on each occasion. He should run well for Galway based trainer, Pat Kelly.

Elsewhere on day three, Impulsive Star at 12/1 looks a good bet for the Pertemps Final, having won his trial last time out. Uxizandre looks to regain his crown in the Ryanair Chase and I expect him to do so at around 5/1. The feature race on day three is the Stayers Hurdle and I feel it’s worth taking on the hot favourite, Unowhatimeanharry, with 9/1 shot and past race winner, Cole Harden.

The final day of the festival is Gold Cup day and I don’t have a strong opinion on the race itself following the withdrawals of Thistlecrack, Coneygree and Don Cossack.

Native River and Djakadam should go close but the value lies elsewhere on the card. Battleford (NAP) should go very close in the Martin Pipe if he runs there. He was placed in the Champion Bumper here last year and returned to form last time in a Grade 3 at Clonmel where he was second.

Diego Du Charmil will be expected to run a big race in the County Handicap Hurdle at 16/1 as he won the Fred Winter last year.

Master Blueyes looked impressive in the Adonis at Kempton last time and that race is always a great trial for the Triumph Hurdle for which he is 8/1. The Albert Bartlett is the last race on my agenda and Death Duty should win this, with Elliott saying he is the banker of the festival for him. He is, however, 5/2. Thus, I picked out three others at slightly bigger each-way prices who should run well if they show up- Bacardys at 7/1, Monalee at 10/1 and The World’s End at 11/1. *Please gamble responsibly*

Ultimate Frisbee national team selections Matthew Colfer

Editor @mcolfer1

Five DIT students have been selected to play for Ireland on four different national teams.

Emily O’Brien and Christina Lynn have both been selected for the Ireland Junior Women’s team, Michael White is Spirit Captain for the Ireland Junior Men’s team, Darragh Kelleher is the Spirit Captain of the Ireland Men’s Beach team, and Tadhg Deevy has been selected for the extended panel for the Ireland Men’s U24 team.

Four of the five have been selected for Irish teams in the past, with Lynn getting her first cap when she, and O’Brien, travel with the Junior Women to Veenedaal in the

Netherlands for the European Youth Ultimate Championships (EYUC) from the 5 to 11 August, the Junior Men will also compete at EYUC. Kelleher will don the Ireland jersey this year when he takes to the beaches of Royan, France from 18 to 24 June.

Deevy will have to wait until June to know if he will be a member of the final panel of the Ireland U24 Men’s team to compete at the World U24 Ultimate Championships in Perth in January, 2018.

Deevy was also selected for the extended panel of the Ireland U23 Men’s team in 2014 but was not selected for the final team which competed in London in June 2015.

“We haven’t had a training week yet but if the trials are anything to go by it’s a great

start to this year’s team. The U24 team have a younger crop of players than the last team, six of them having played Juniors just last summer, so the team this year will have many who are eligible for the team again in two years which is great to see.

“There’s also the experience of six returning players from the last U23 team including the Captain, Ferdia Rogers, and Vice-Captain, Dylan Ryan. I’m looking forward to the upcoming training weekends and tournaments to see how we work together and push ourselves,” said Deevy.

The Ireland Junior Men’s team competed in their first tournament of the season last weekend at the Siege of Limerick held on the sports grounds of the University of

Limerick.

The Juniors were seeded at the bottom of the 24 teams going into the tournament but managed to claim a few scalps over the weekend to finish in sixteenth place on Sunday evening.

“Despite some tight losses the team was happy with their performance in the second day, although we know we ultimately should have finished higher there was a positive outlook on everyone’s parts in regards of things to come later in the season,” said White.

The Junior Men’s team finished seventh at the World Youth Ultimate Championships 2016, the fourth highest finishing European team.

“We believe we have a very good chance in the competition this year,” said White.

22| Sport

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

Hockey Club Accomplish Mixed IVs Threepeat Cycleways Cup podium finish for McDunphy Marcus Blake

DIT Hockey Club retained their Mixed Intervarsities Title for the third successive year following a 5-0 demolition of CIT in the final.

DIT started their campaign with an 8-1 demolition of DCU, Laura Hanlon and Captain Paul Byrne both grabbing braces during the route.

DIT failed to miss a pass in their second match and thundered to an 11-1 hammering of TCD, putting DIT in pole position for a semi-final spot.

Day two began with NUIG proving to be stiff opposition. A tense first half meant DIT defenders Haneefa Carim, and Matt Treacy needed to be on their guard as the Connacht side provided the first real competition, and concluded the half with a 3-2 lead. DIT eventually took control to win 6-3.

UL were unable to deal with the

might of DIT in the semi-final and succumbed to a 6-0 defeat with Matt Treacy and Molly Cole both

scoreless.

In the midfield Saoirse O’Donoghue countered and provided some

Image courtesy of DIT Hockey Club via Facebook.

accounting for goals.

In the final, Ben Campbell opened the scoring on two minutes with a great solo goal. CIT weren’t phased and fought right back with Jordon Quinn in goals providing some good saves to keep CIT

wonderful balls forward for the DIT attack and eventually wore down the defence when Ben Campbell again provided the finish to put DIT 2-0 ahead at the break.

Campbell registered his hat-trick with further goals from James Walk-

er and Jack Ryan seeing the game out and crowning DIT the champions for the third consecutive year.

This year was the first time DIT entered a team into the Mixed Plate Competition. The Plate began brightly for DIT ‘B’ as they had a 1-0 win over MU in the first match.

DIT ‘B’ found it hard to break down their second opposition, Athlone IT (AIT), as easily and succumbed to a 3-0 loss with all three goals coming from quick breaks.

In the second round of matches DIT ‘B’ reversed the first round results beating AIT to secure a semi-final place before losing to MU. The semi-final provided opposition from Dublin rivals and last year’s runners-up in the cup competition, IT Tallaght. Tallaght were too strong on this occasion and ran out 7-4 winners, denying DIT a Cup and

Mountaineering Club looking towards new peaks

DIT Mountaineering Club are preparing to compete in their intervarsities, host a charity climbing event, and will travel to Arco, Italy during the Easter break.

Matthew Colfer Editor @mcolfer1

Twelve members from DIT Mountaineering Club took part in an outing to Glendalough on the last weekend in February to start what will be an active couple of months for the club.

Club captain Thomas Rose said the initial plan for the Glendalough trip was to spend the two days, bouldering in the valley but due to poor weather, the group mostly hiked around the area instead. Rose added: “Numbers were lower than what we had expected due to the poor weather.”

Up next for the club is intervarsities which will be hosted by Queens University Belfast on the 24 and 25 March. During the two-day event, there will be bouldering and lead/top-rope categories for competitors to take part in.

Rose said there are 10 club members signed up to compete at intervarsities so far, stating the trip to Belfast for the competition can off-putting or awkward for some members. “Being that the event is in Belfast, it is much harder for people to get the time to take a weekend off seeing as how close it is get-

ting to exams and project deadlines are approaching fast,” said Rose.

“The goals for the club are to just take part and learn from the experience I think, for myself anyway. I mainly use climbing competitions a way of learning and getting experience from talking to the other climbers and watching them climb.

That being said, I feel confident enough in my bouldering ability and hope to do reasonably well. I can’t say the same for the leading comp, as I have not been training particularly hard,” Rose added.

Following intervarsities, the club will host a charity climbing event in Gravity Climbing Centre with the aim of raising money for Mountain Rescue Ireland. Rose explained more about the event which will be open to the public to take part in: “So the idea of the bouldering comp

Image courtesy of DIT Mountaineering Club.

in Gravity we thought was the best way that we could raise money for MRI. “MRI is an organisation of 12 different groups around the country that help keep climbers and hikers, basically anyone on the mountains, to stay safe. They help to maintain the trails and they also act as first responders in emergency situations.

So clearly MRI is very important to us as we rely on them to help us if anyone gets into difficulty, so we decided the best way to help would be to raise money as they are a non-profit organisation who get most of their funding from donations. My vice-captain Ciara Chambers and I both thought that seeing as this is going to be our last year on the committee we may as well do something for the communities while we have the chance.”

MRI is not the only beneficiary of the climbing event as the club intend on using some of the money raised to help fund their upcoming trip to Arco, Italy during the Easter break. “We’re going to be using that trip and our presence on social media to help promote MRI as well.

The club usually tries to organise one trip abroad every year sometimes that’s not possible.

“Last year the club met up with the Cardiff University Mountaineering Club one weekend and had a ball. I think around 12-13 people went on that trip. For the Arco trip, there is 10 of us going. I had hoped of taking a larger group but underestimated how much work was involved so we had to settle for a smaller group but I think the intention is for next year’s trip to be much bigger,” explained Rose.

Matthew Colfer Editor @mcolfer1

DIT Student, Conn McDunphy, put in a stellar performance to finish second in the 2017 Cycleways Cup in February.

The Cycleways Cup is one of the first renowned races of the cycling season and this year McDunphy, challenged eventual winner, UCD’s Louis Carnec, all the way to the finish line.

McDunphy was in the lead on the third and final lap of the 105km race but Carnec managed to pass him in a sprint after McDunphy couldn’t shake him.

“I was disappointed not to get the win but at the same time I now know that I have good form for the early season. Louis and I escaped from the bunch with a lap to go. I felt strong on the main climb of the race once in the break,” McDunphy said.

“I was considering attacking to get rid of him but I knew that after the hill there was 15km or so of tough windy roads to the finish line. In hindsight, I should have attacked on the hill as I probably would have been strong enough to hold off the chasing riders. Being the lighter and less punchy rider of the two of us, I knew my chances in the sprint weren’t great.

“While I tried a few times to shake him on the main road to the finish I didn’t manage to. But the form is there, I will hopefully have a good chance of picking up some big wins in the coming weeks. So, in that respect I have to be happy with my performance on the day against most of the best domestic riders here in Ireland.”

McDunphy is a DIT Sports Scholar and the second-year Mechanical Engineering student will be competing for both college and club during the coming months as the season reaches its peak.

“I hope to compete in both the track and road intervarsities with the college and will be aiming to do well.”

“With the support Stagg’s Cycles in Lucan I will be trying to pick up wins in certain big target events and National League races with an end goal of national team selection. I will also be competing in the An Post RÁS the week after exams, so the study and training will be a bit of a juggling act.”

Sport |23

The Edition Thursday 9 March 2017

DIT savour in CUFL League success

Continued P24

Niamh Haskins Online Editor @niamhhaskins

The Goalkeeper also picked up the Man of the Match award for his heroics in the shoot out and keeping a clean sheet within the 110 minutes.

Speaking after the match, Cronin said. “It was a really tough game. To even get to penalties was great because it could have went either way. The lads did well. I didn’t have to do much during the game so when it was the penalty shoot-out I really just had to dust off the gloves.

I’m very happy we won it and the way we won it too.”

An emotional Boland also spoke after the match:“I’m absolutely delighted. I’ve been on a journey now with these lads for over a number of years as some of them were involved in my squad when I was with the ‘C’ team.

“Now they have stepped up to the mark playing with the ‘B’ team. Going back a few years we reached the semi final stage last year. We were narrowly beaten by Carlow who we came on to beat 4-0 this year”.

“We’ve gone on to beat ITB in the final. To say I’m absolutely delighted again is an understatement.

“At the end of the day and I know it’s a cliche but it’s about the players really. I’ve done all I could with them and it’s those 11 on the pitch and the lads on my bench they’re the ones who did it.

They played the 110 minutes and stepped up to the plate when the penalties came around. Luckily enough my Man of the Match my goalkeeper Gavin saved the winning peno.”

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Ladies soccer club progress to plate final Niamh Haskins Online Editor @niamhhaskins

DIT Ladies Soccer Club have progressed to final of the WSCAI Plate as they beat Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) at WIT Arena last Wednesday.

DIT got off to a confident start and thanks to a goal from Amy Murphy they took the lead. In what was a very tough compelling game with a very high tempo due to the treacherous weather conditions an excellent WIT managed to pull one back and as the regulation 90 minutes came to a halt, the sides prepared themselves for extra time.

Although WIT improved after the break, during extra-time they were not able to find their way back into the match. Murphy then added yet another hat-trick to her tally and victory was secured for DIT when she found the net to score her third.

Speaking to The Edition after the match DIT Captain Lisa Donnelly said: “It was very physical, very wet, very cold but very entertaining.

It had everything bar penalties thank god.

“I think the fight and the desire of the 11 players and the bench who travelled was all we needed to get us over the line. We all experienced the heartbreak of last week and together we were determined not to let it happen again.

“I watched the lads final the

night before and I sent the girls all the videos of them celebrating in the hope that they would use that as their motivation.

“And as for Amy Murphy. Her Finishing was frightening in this game. Some achievement to score a hat-trick in a semi final.”

In the weeks previous to this fixture, this side suffered a hard 3-2 defeat at the hands of Cork Institute of Technology in the WSCAI Division Two semi-final. Thanks to the reformed spirit within the squad and a performance which was one of much improvement, DIT were spurred on to beat WIT. Donnelly said: “There’s no doubt

about it really, the loss to Cork was a very tough one purely because it was such a tight game and the surface was so bad too which didn’t help our cause.

“Then we had to face that three hour bus journey home from Cork.

It was the longest most deflated feeling I’ve ever experienced. It definitely put the fire in our bellies for this game. The whole team will agree with that”.

She continued: “For this game, being the captain when that final whistle went, I instantly had so much pride and jubilation even a few tears, this group of girls deserve a chance to play in a final and repre-

Image courtesy of DIT Sports Facebook.

sent DIT on a national level.”

This win was huge for this side and has landed the ladies with a well deserved spot in the WSCAI Plate Final.

The final will take place on Wednesday the 15th of March in University of Limerick where they face the winners of the other semi final between Athlone Institute of Technology and Ulster University.

DIT squad - Ciara McGovern, Elaine Byrne, Sara Allen Coughlan, Lisa Donnelly, Naomi Boardman, Amy Murphy, Sarah Jane Hecker, Orlaith White, Emma Chamberlain, Maria Schuler, Danni Scales.

Goals galore in Lynch Cup quarters Ann Marie Guinan “As the saying goes, goals win games and this was certainly the case for the goal hungry DIT Ladies footballers.

Playing in horrendous conditions in Templemore Tipperary, DIT’s Ladies Footballers battled the elements to eventually overcome Garda College in the Lynch Cup quarter-final on a score line of 5-7 to 2-6.

Having lost their second group game at the hands of WIT on Monday night, this was a huge turnaround in DIT’s performance and work rate to grasp the last of the four spots for the Lynch Cup Weekend which will be hosted in GMIT this coming weekend, 10 and 11 March.

DIT started the game with intent registering 1-3 without reply with the first of DIT’s five goals coming from wing-forward Emer Heaney.

DIT continued this trend

throughout the match using quick transfers and quick movement to unlock the home team’s defence.

Points from Aoife Minogue and

the first half and this was testament to the pressure the DIT ladies applied in the opposition half.

Goal getter Niamh Halton

Image courtesy of DIT GAA via Facebook.

Amy Connolly pushed the Dublin side further ahead as heavy rainfall and strong winds tested the skill set and fitness levels of both teams.

DIT’s defence was rarely tried in

smashed the ball to the Garda net midway through the first half as DIT looked the better side of the two.

With the wind on their backs DIT was a force to be reckoned with

as Garda College only kicked three points before the half time whistle as DIT lead comfortably 2-5 to 0-3 at the break.

From the restart, Garda College were on top of play. The first blow came as the Garda recruits kicked 1-1 in three minutes with the wind helping them to narrow the gap back to four.

A lack of concentration from DIT saw the Garda College find the posts again with one point separating the sides.

After this purple patch from the Gardaí, DIT regained control of the game when Niamh Halton completed her hat-trick finding the net again after a series of hand passes and rattling the Garda net from a penalty.

One final goal from Kate Dwyer put the finishing touches on a strong performance and booked a semi-final date with UCD2 on Friday March 10th at 11am.

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SPORT

Thursday 9 March 2017

SOCCER Niamh Haskins Online Editor @niamhhaskins

DIT on the ball against WIT in Grangegorman earlier in the year. Credit DIT Sports.

Noel Boland’s ‘DIT ‘B’ squad have been crowned this season’s College and University Football Association of Ireland (CUFL) Division Two champions, after beating Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) in a penalty shoot-out at the FAI National Campus in Abbotstown last Wednesday.

Within the regulation 90 minutes of play, chances for both sides were few and far between as both defences were on top form. Within the second half, Marcin Kowalczyk the ITB keeper was booked for a last man challenge on DIT’s Vinnie Ogbe.

Moments later Kowalczyk pulled off two spectacular saves both chances coming from Ogbe to keep the score at 0-0.

This trend continued through to the extra time period when the game failed to produce any goals in what was a tight game in bitter conditions.

In the resultant penalty shootout this DIT side came into their own. The score finished 4-3 with Rauf Smyth kicking and successfully converting the fifth spot kick. This was followed by some heroics by the DIT goalkeeper Gavin Cronin.

As the shootout hit sudden death. Cronin pulled off a tremendous save to ensure victory and he duly obliged to secure the silverware for DIT and manager Noel Boland.

Continued P23

DIT student part of 8-ball pool team win at Euros Matthew Colfer Editor @mcolfer1

A member of DIT Pool and Snooker Club was part of the Ireland U23 team who won the U23 team event at the 2017 Eight Ball Pool European Championships.

Sean O’Neill was part of the Ireland U23 team who competed at the event held in Blackpool, England from Monday, 13 February, to Friday 17 February.

Speaking about the victory O’Neill said: “It takes a moment to realise what you’ve achieved but when it kicks in the words aren’t there, you can’t explain it, you have to do it in order to experience the feeling for yourself.”

Credit: Jerome Paz via Flickr CC The 21 year-old is accustomed to representing his country at this stage

having been selected for Ireland on a number of occasions since age nine.

“I’ve been representing Ireland since nine at under 18 and then U23 level at multiple European and World Championships, also the Men’s ‘A’ team on two occasions as well at 16 and 20, but with no success internationally until now,” said O’Neill.

The Ireland U23 team were one of the favourites to win the competition after a they reached the final of the World Championships last year.

In the group stage of the event, Ireland beat Belgium, England ‘B’, France ‘B’, and Scotland with losses to Malta, France ‘A’ and England ‘A’.

Ireland then beat France ‘A’ in the semi-final before beating England ‘B’ in the final to win the 2017 title.