The College View - Issue 4 - Vol XVIII

thecollegeview.

Wednesday, 16 November, 2016

www.thecollegeview.com Vol. XVIII, Issue 4

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MacCraith amongst university presidents to back loans scheme

Conflict at CRC over constitutional change

The Irish Universities Association presented a recommendation to introduce an income-contingent loan scheme in a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills.

Hayley Halpin News Editor @HayleyHalpin1

DCU President Brian MacCraith,

along with other university presidents have backed the student loan scheme to tackle the funding crisis.

The Irish Universities Association (IUA), of which President MacCraith is a council member, recommended the introduction of an income-contingent loan scheme for higher education, at the first in a series of meetings of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills.

This committee is to consider the recommendations of the report by the government’s higher education funding working group, which is actively referred to as the Cassells Report.

President MacCraith said the “free fees” system introduced in Ireland 20 years ago had failed to bridge this social divide.

“In effect, free fees were a subvention for the middle classes,” he said.

MacCraith continued on to describe how the sector has been “teetered on the brink of quality disimprovement for a number of years.

This is a chance to get it right - and the stakes are even higher now.”

In light of the recent US election of Donald Trump, who pledged to clash US corporation taxes, MacCraith said it was a reminder of the need to ensure Ireland produces top-quality graduates to compete for inward investment.

The IUA, lobbyist and representatives of Irish universities, is calling for the creation of a multi-funded

system that would see the state, students and employers each contributing to the cost of higher education.

President of the University of Limerick and IUA President for 2016, Prof. Don Barry made the opening statement of the night, expressing that an income-contingent loan scheme should be included as part of the student contribution.

“Regardless of the level of the charge, there are arguments in favour of deferred payment,” he said.

He also responded to concerns from the committee regarding the impact a loan scheme would have on access to education. He said that that under such a system graduates would not have to pay until there were earning enough money to make it feasible.

An income-contingent loan scheme would involve graduates paying back tuition fees of between €16,000 and €20,000 once their income reaches a certain threshold, over a 10 to 15 year period.

Following on this, NUI Maynooth President Philip Nolan expressed that higher education was in crisis due to the rise in student numbers and a lack of State support over the past eight years.

This recommendation put forward by the IUA was in stark contrast to that of the Technological Higher Education Association, which called for the removal of fees for all students in all courses below “level 8”.

Prof Ciarán Ó Catháin, chair of the association said, “A more ambitious approach would be to provide free higher education to all students on honours bachelor degree programmes, level eight courses. This would involve an additional net marginal cost of €197 million.”

Rebecca Lumley News Editor @RebeccaLumley1

THE proposed referendum on con-

Playwright Marina Carr reads a passage from her work “That Trojan Woman” during TEDxDCU. Credit: Zainab Boladale

Lifestyle

Sport

Opinion

How to have an Irish thanksgiving

Caolán Carroll discusses the growth of women’s football

Absent voters sacrifice their voice 10

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Arts

Black Mirror: a terrifying reality

stitutional reform provoked a heated debate at last Wednesday’s Class Rep Council, which was the second of the year.

The issue arose over the late dispersal of the proposed changes to the Students’ Union constitution, which must be sent out to class reps two days before a CRC meeting, allowing reps to propose amendments of their own.

The document outlining the changes was sent on the day of the meeting, leading class reps to deem the proposal unconstitutional.

This notion was supported by James Nolan, who stated that reps had not had enough time to read the document in order to fully understand what was going on. He called an emergency motion to create a CRC constitutional review committee to analyse the new draft constitution.

Nolan chose former CRC chair, Séan Cassidy to speak on behalf of the motion, though this was overturned as Cassidy required two-thirds support from reps by a show of hands.

Some confusion surrounded this vote, however, as multiple reps believed they were voting against a detailed explanation of the motion, rather than the motion itself.

Nolan said his proposal had been taken “out of context” and blamed the confusion at CRC on the lack of advance information supplied by the SU. Chair of CRC, Callaghan Commons said that if Nolan submits the motion on time before the next council, it will be put on the agenda and discussed then.

An emergency motion was also put forward by SU President, Dylan Kehoe, who called to put the proposed constitution to vote. This was overturned as it was deemed unconstitutional.

Further discussion on the new Continued on page 3

Gaeilge

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Scéal Taighdeora ADAPT DCU 12

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Editorial INSIDE

AARON GALLAGHER

Features Teachers say they need better pay Read more on page 16

Sport World champion Shelley is seeking further glory Read more on page 18

News

What a Donald Trump win means for Ireland Read more on page 8

Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief: Aaron Gallagher Deputy Editor: Aidan Geraghty Production & Layout Editor: Scout Mitchell Deputy Production & Layout Editor: Hannah Kelly Production Assistant: Stephen Keegan & Daniel Troy

Deputy Video Editor: Ciara Moran Illustrators: Laura Duffy, Zoe Ryan Online News Editor: Clara Hickey Chief Sub-Editor: Bríon Hoban

Sub Editors: Enda Coll, Kyle Ewald Elsa McEvoy, Conor O’ Doherty, Gavin Quinn, Fionnuala Walsh, News Editor: Hayley Halpin & Lauren Ennis, Lucy Mangan, Katie Rebecca Lumley Gallagher, Oisin McQueirns, Liam Deputy News Editors: Paul Dwyer, Ashton, Diana Elena Oprea, Zainab Brein McGinn & Kyle Ewald Boladale, Sadhbh Kennedy & Aoife Marnell Opinion Editor: Shirley Donlon Contacts Lifestyle Editor: Amy Lawlor Deputy Lifestyle Editor: Michelle editor@thecollegeview.com Martin news@thecollegeview.com Features Editor:Shauna Bowers Deputy Features Editor:Orla features@thecollegeview.com O’Driscoll opinion@thecollegeview.com Irish Editor:Cal Ó Donnabháin Deputy Irish Editor: Áine Marie gaeilge@thecollegeview.com Monk sports@thecollegeview.com Sports Editor: Aidan Geraghty Deputy Sports Editor: Patrick Lynch Printed by Datascope, with the DCU Journalism Society Arts Editor: Stephen Keegan Deputy Arts Editor: Emer Handly Thanks to Sportsfile, SLC, Office of Student Life Images Editor: Daragh Culhane Deputy Images Editor: Laura Logo design by Lauren McConway Horan Video Editor: Leanne Hanafin

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I

think journalism gets measured by the quality of information it presents, not the drama or the pyrotechnics associated with us. Those were the words of Bob Woodward, former reporter and now associate editor of The Washington Post.

Woodward is perhaps more renowned for his work uncovering the biggest scandal in the history of modern American politics, Watergate, which unravelled attempts made by the administration of President Richard Nixon to cover-up a break-in at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters, alongside fellow Post reporter Carl Bernstein in 1972.

It is a defining moment in the nation’s history due to the fact that it caused the first and only ever resignation of an elected president of the United States. But it is likewise the go-to posterboy of journalism’s public-service role to hold governments and elected officials to account and to expose corruption and exploitation.

The profession being the self-titled Fourth Estate — holding a mirror up to society for what it is, armoured with a sense of gatekeeping and justice, with pure advocacy and accountability as its noble end-goals. Fast-forward through seven commander-in-chiefs and four decades, and the election of Donald Trump to the presidency has all but thrown this perception of journalism into deep questioning and uncertainty.

On November 8th the New York Times’s website ran a prediction poll of who would be elected the 45th President of the United States. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was favoured at 85 per cent while the Republican Trump stood a mere 15 per cent of gaining election to the White House the night before the election.

The following morning Trump had surpassed the 270 electoral votes to gain office despite Clinton succeeding in winning the popular vote. The world was turned on its head in a frightening homage to that of June 24th when Britain voted to exit the European Union, and the once-noble field of journalism now needed a harsh period of examination, soul-searching and self-reflection.

In this post-election hangover we now find ourselves in, the media has come under intense scrutiny.

Not only has it been seen to have misled, but among the accusations it faces are that it had misrepresented the working-class, rural American public, that it had given a platform to President-elect Trump’s vicious campaign of hate, distrust, xenophobia and misogyny.

That it had failed in presenting a fair and balanced perspective of the two candidates. But at the same time that it had put the ills and mistakes of both on an equal level of judgement to one another in a tit-for-tat, emails for taxes, sexual assault for Trump but what about her husband Bill, deplorables versus rapists rhetoric of

forced-balance.

Perhaps worst of all for the media in this election cycle is for itself with the disappearance of fact from the dialogue. Fact-checking has become a crucial mainstream practice among media organisations in recent years, but this election has come to show that a large portion of the public would prefer to ignore the facts, choose the ones they want to believe and use them to reinforce preconceived notions and already established worldviews in a vacuum of ignorance of an objective truth.

Does the entire process of fact-checking not lose its integrity when both candidates offer websites which fact-check every sentence uttered during a presidential debate. Fact-checking by definition requires the independence, impartial distance and absence of a political agenda which news providers are supposed to hold. But impartiality is lost when 57 of the 100 most circulated newspapers in the United States endorsed one candidate over the other.

There are more questions for the media to answer right now than we have answers to, largely due to the complete and utter unpredictability which this election cycle brought forward. Journalists were simply unprepared on how to report it properly.

On the one hand it must be questioned whether or not to publish a quote which is known to be false and offensive, and on the other end this raises the question of censorship and media bias.

Perhaps Margaret Sullivan of the Times put it best in her piece, The media didn’t want to believe Trump could win. So they looked the other way in how the media failed the public it is supposed to serve.

“They couldn’t believe that the America they knew could embrace someone who mocked a disabled man, bragged about sexually assaulting women, and spouted misogyny, racism and antisemitism.

It would be too horrible. So, therefore, according to some kind of magical thinking, it couldn’t happen.”

According to principle, the role of the media is to report the facts and allow the reader to make their own informed decision. Some may dismay at an America which has elected Donald Trump, but the fog has lifted leaving below the reality of a nation which despised the political establishment to such a degree that it has chosen a man who believes women deserve punishment for abortion, mocked the mother of a deceased US Muslim soldier and will and has faced repeated accusations of sexual assault..

All the media can do now, as before, is continue to portray the truest sense of reality which exists.

But the question remains as to who’s rendition of reality it chooses to report.

NEWS 15% of Alumni look to the DCU graduates finished future at TEDxDCU with a first Rebecca Lumley News Editor @RebeccaLumley1

OF the 1,800 students who grad-

uated in November, 15 per cent obtained first class honours, according to data supplied by DCU’s Quality Promotion Office.

The majority of the graduating class of 2016 achieved second class honours degrees, with 59 per cent coming away with a 2:1 and 23 per cent with a 2:2. Just four per cent scored a third.

Science and health students obtained the highest frequency of first class honours, with 18 per cent achieving a sought-after 1:1. Contrary to expectation, the courses with the highest frequency of first class honours were some of the courses often perceived as most difficult.

57 per cent of Actuarial Mathematics graduates achieved a first, as did 58 per cent of graduates from Financial Mathematics. Global Business (USA) boasted a rate of 92 per cent, with 12 out of 13 graduates receiving a first class honours.

Undergraduate degrees from other faculties followed a similar trend, with the majority of graduates receiving a 2:1 or 2:2. The highest rate of third class honours came from students who completed a Bachelor in Engineering (B.Eng), with 18 per cent scoring between 40 and 49 per cent in their overall degree.

The lowest frequency of third class honours occurred in Bachelor of Arts courses, with less than two per cent receiving one. Arts courses such as Communication Studies, Contemporary Culture and Society, Applied Language and Translation Studies and Journalism stuck closely to typical standard deviation.

Just 12 per cent of Bachelor of Arts students received firsts, while a significant majority of 86 per cent received second class honours, be it grade one or grade two.

Graduation ceremonies took place on DCU’s Glasnevin campus on November 2nd, 3rd and 12th and on St Patrick’s campus on November 4th and 5th.

This data does not pertain to students from St Patricks College or other incorporating institutions as the graduating class of 2016 were not registered as DCU students.

Aaron Gallagher Editor-In-Chief @AaronGallagher8

LAST week saw DCU hold a TEDx

conference on the principle of Imagining the Next Century where speakers, including DCU academic staff and alumni, gave talks on how we should use innovation and today’s technological advancements in order to secure a healthy and revitalised future.

The evening event saw speakers range from Director of DCU’s Health Technologies Research and Enter-

prise Hub Christine Loscher, to playwright and Creative Director of the university’s MA in Theatre Studies programme Marina Carr, to 14-yearold Niamh Scanlon who was 2015’s EU Digital Girl of the Year, offer new ideas, research and inventions looking to the future.

Held at The Helix, an estimated crowd of 400 people represented the largest attendance at this, the third TEDx conference held in DCU. MCed by Dr Claire O’Connell, a journalist for Silicon Republic, the event witnessed seven speakers address topics ranging from the future of food to the changing landscape of the digital news media, to a vivid reading of Greek mythology.

Deputy President Daire Keogh welcomed the audience before Christine Loscher addressed the prevalence of trans fats in our day-to-day shopping and eating habits, discussing the rise of a Trans Fat Revolution following a shortage of butter for the American military during the Second World War. Following Dr Loscher was Niamh

Scanlon, the 14-year-old daughter of MC Claire O’Connell, who argued the benefits to young students that learning computer coding offers, having studied for a number of years at DCU’s CoderDojo which aims to create an environment that excites and engages children in technology.

Head of Social Media for CNN Samantha Barry spoke of how both news consumption and production had altered completely in recent years, all of which was captured

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Zainab Boladale

throughout this year’s US presidential election.

The night concluded with an emotional discussion by Ann Power, SC, on the meaning of life, recalling her vote to keep an illegal immigrant in Ireland despite going against the case’s precedent, due to the fact that the mother in question would likely have died from a lack of medical facilities in her home country, to deliver a message of maintaining one’s own beliefs despite being in a minority.

Proposed constitutional changes halted at second CRC of the year Laura Horan

Rebecca Lumley News Editor @RebeccaLumley1 Continued from page 1

constitution will take place at the next CRC and following the finalisation of the draft, the council will vote to put it to a referendum.

This is one of two referendums the student body is likely to face this semester, as there may also be a vote on whether to retain membership of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).

USI President, Annie Hoey and

VP for Academic Affairs, Jack Leahy were present at the meeting and spoke to the crowd about their chats for change initiative and upcoming lobbying efforts.

Membership of the USI currently costs circa €90,000, a figure outlined in the budget presented by Úna Redmond, manager of the Office of Student Life, to the council on Wednesday.

The budget is financed by student fees and projected that there would be 1.6 million to spend this year, an increase of €200,000 from last year.

This can be attributed to the inheritance of the St Patricks College Students’ Union budget.

The Office of Student Life will receive the most from the budget, with projections reaching over half a million euro.

The Students’ Union will be allocated €305,000, with €128,000 being spent on the salaries of the five sabbatical officers. CRC will receive approximately €12,000 for training and expenses.

Also discussed was the location of CRC meetings in a motion brought forward by Séan Cassidy. He proposed that all meetings be held on DCU campus unless voted on by the council. This comes after the first meeting of the year was held in Glendalough, with a cap on the number of people who could attend.

This was supported by Simon Crean, a second year PhD student who said reps not in attendance were at an unfair disadvantage if they wanted to run for an officer or committee position.

Class reps were given the opportunity to apply for these positions and have a speech read out if they were unavailable to attend, but Crean argued that you cannot fairly represent yourself in such a manner.

“It’s going to disengage me as a person who wants to attend,” he said.

The motion was subsequently passed.

NEWS MacCraith led delegation to enhance ties with Asia dcu.ie

Mental health spending to increase despite rumours Clara Hickey Online Editor @thecollegeview

Brein McGinn Deputy News Editor @BMCGINN123

DCU President Brian MacCraith led Telecommunications (BUPT) and Skills in Ireland Mary Doyle to a delegation that travelled to South Korea and China last month to expand engagement and enhance ties to third-level institutions in Asia.

The Far-East trip included discussion on ongoing cooperation projects and the signing of a number of significant agreements which will see increased research, development and student exchange between the parties.

The delegation first travelled to Seoul to visit Hanyang University (HYU) in order to sign a Memorandum of Understanding which established HYU, currently ranked second in South Korea, as DCU’s strategic partner in South Korea’s capital.

After the stop in Seoul, the delegation then travelled to Beijing to visit a number of partner universities including Communications University of China (CUC), Beijing University of Posts and

University of International Business and Economics (UIBE).

AACSB accredited pair UIBE School of Business and DCU Business school agreed to work more closely on a wide range of research initiatives in the near future.

To support Ireland’s “Country of Honour” status at this year’s China Annual Conference for International Education (CACIE), MacCraith delivered a presentation on DCU’s success in innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education, with a particular focus on initiatives such as the DCU Ryan Academy, Insight and the DCU Alpha Innovation campus.

The DCU group then travelled to Wuhan to join up with a large delegation led by the Ambassador of Ireland to China Paul Kavanagh and Deputy First Secretary of the Department of Education and : irishcatholic.ie

visit Wuhan University (WHU).

During the stop, MacCraith signed another Memorandum of Understanding, this time with President Li of WHU to reaffirm the present commitments between the two universities.

The DCU delegations last stop before returning to Ireland was at Shanghai, where they were guests at East China Normal University (ECNU), one of China’s top universities in the field of education, for discussions on collaborations in education, computer science and sports science.

This would see DCU’s final agreement being made which will see DCU students studying the Chinese language potentially having the opportunity to go on student exchange at the Shanghai institution in the future.

MENTAL Health spending is set to increase in 2017 by €24.7m, despite popular belief that spending is to be cut from the sector in the 2017 budget.

A claim spread online that €20 million had been cut from the mental health budget after comedians The Rubber Bandits had tweeted just days after budget day.

“The Irish Government just cut €20 million from the mental health budget. 10 people die a week in Ireland by suicide,” the activist comedians tweeted.

The Journal.ie took it upon to themselves to fact check the claim, which they found to be false. In fact, the budget for mental health services in 2017 is up 3 per cent from 2016 at €851.3 million, with an additional €50 million being spent on the construction of a National Forensic Mental Health Hospital.

The claim arose from comments made by the Minister of State for Mental Health, Helen McEntee. €35 million of additional spend-

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ing on mental health services are to begin in 2017, yet because these services are not ready to come to the forefront yet, only €15 million of this budget will be used next year, which led to the rumour.

This news comes at a time when students who are seeking counselling services are on 183 day waiting lists in colleges nationwide, an increase of 41 per cent since last year. This is due to a 60 per cent increase of students entering third level education.

USI President, Annie Hoey said: “A student in a state of distress being told to wait 183 days until you can get help is insufficient, irresponsible and extremely dangerous.”

In DCU, the average waiting time to see a councillor one-on-one is four to six weeks. Although this is four times lower than the average waiting time in other Irish universities, some students who are struggling with their mental health still find this waiting time too long.

“I’ve been diagnosed with severe anxiety and paranoia,” says one DCU student. “Last year I went to the counselling services in DCU and was seen within the week, this year it’s a different story. I was lucky enough to have my friends around me... sometimes a week is too long to wait.”

Central Catholic Library reject plans for DCU to care for library board’s Annual General Meeting, in early September. New members were elected to the board of the library and a majority opposed plans by the previous board to effectively merge with the library in DCU.

Identity

Hayley Halpin News Editor @hayleyhalpin1

THE decision of the board of the

Central Catholic Library to permanently reject a plan for DCU to care for the library’s collection is contrary to its best interest, according to six former board members who recently resigned from their positions.

Proposal opposed

A proposal to allow DCU to take on the running of the historic library in Merrion Square, Dublin came to a halt after the Library

While the previous board determined that a merge would secure the future of the library, some of the new board members expressed fear that the move would jeopardise the identity of the library and wished to consider alternative routes to secure the library’s future.

Opperating loss

Last year the library made an operating loss of €11,240, with a loss of €12,461 the previous year. That figure was reduced to €2,498 following a bequest.

The DCU proposal would have preserved the collection and strengthened Catholic studies, the six claimed in a letter distributed to all library members on October 24th.

“There is no other proposal on the table that will achieve this, only ill-defined aspirations to identify other solutions to the problems which face the Library,” they

wrote, noting that previous boards had not found any other funding options, despite the help of marketing and fundraising experts.

The six long-standing board members resigned in mid-October due to a loss in confidence in other members of the board, in light of the disagreement about the library’s future.

The six ex-board members are; former treasurer Fr. Brendan Comerford SJ, former keeper of the collection Peter Costello, Felix Larkin, Frank Litton, Michael Sheehy and Tony White.

Hitting back at the resignation of the board members, the chairperson of the Central Catholic Library, Edel Purcell, insisted that they are not in a state of crisis.

Going forward

“The decision was made at the AGM and we’re working from the enthusiasm and the energy and the expertise that were demonstrated there that the library should go forward as an independent institution,” Purcell said.

She added that she believes the library will secure further funding and that they “are confident that we will be able to do this, with the help of God”.

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NEWS

Students’ Union to host Beg Borrow Steal Lydia McKay News Reporter @Bin_Lyd

ESOC’S biggest event Beg Bor-

row Steal will be run by the Student Union this year and has been replaced by a similar competition called The Quest.

The Quest took place on Wednesday and featured 30 teams completing various challenges in an attempt to get to Amsterdam with no money.

The event raised over €10,000 for mental health charity group Aware.

Stephen Gorman, events officer of Esoc, said that the idea for The Quest stemmed from a similar event run by the society last year called Hidden Treasures. This inspired the treasure hunt element that teams

competing in The Quest had to use to find clues to their next checkpoint.

Unlike Beg Borrow Steal, teams competing in The Quest could access a reserve of their own money by taking part in increasingly difficult dares such as screaming as loud as you can in a crowded area and FaceTiming a parent to tell them how you lost your virginity.

DCU’s Student Union President, Dylan Kehoe, said that Beg Borrow Steal will be run in the same format as last year despite being moved from the Enterprise Society to the SU. The SU will also be running different events in the build up to Beg Borrow Steal such as hitchhiking workshops, fundraising workshops and a mini race around Ireland.

Dylan is hopeful that the event

Saoirse Mac Gabhan Facebook

will be just as successful in the SU as it was in Esoc: “In year 1 we raised approximately €5,000, year 2 was approximately €20,000 and last year we raised over €50,000.

Who knows what we’ll do this year.”

The SU president, who was a committee member of Esoc since 2013, set up Beg Borrow Steal with the society and feels that the move to the SU will only improve the event.

“I’ve set up multiple other events in Esoc over the years which are still there but Beg Borrow Steal is something that those close to me and I thought can grow further with the move.”

Stephen Gorman said that while Esoc were disappointed to lose the event, he knows for a fact that a change of management won’t affect the event in a negative way.

Nurse Jobs Ireland assures Asylum students their dream students not jobs are in Ireland eligible for free communicare healthcare

Sabrine Donohoe News Reporter @thecollegeview

Gerard Grimes News Reporter @GerardGrimes11

NURSE Jobs Ireland assured stu-

dents seeking to acquire their dream job domestically, at DCU Nurse Fair last Wednesday, according to a report by the job recruiters.

Nurse Jobs Ireland Recruiters provided third year students in particular with key information regarding career opportunities and employers’ expectations, assuring students that their dream job exists in Ireland despite concern of the contrary.

The job recruiters wish in addition to change the media’s negative perception of the nursing career, claiming that all nurses “love their jobs” and that “they’d just like more support, appreciation and pay”.

The less than satisfactory working conditions in Ireland are obscured by claims that peer recommendations rise above the question of security, fairness, and opportunity in the workplace.

“Celebrating the good is important. Bad stories tend to make the news. More positive press may help balance students perceptions working as a nurse in Ireland,” the report said.

Student opinion, on the other hand, indicates that working overseas provides flexibility, training opportunities, proportional wage, and better support and equipment than the Irish counterpart.

The opportunities and perks offered by employers as well as peer recommendations are further deemed to have a significant impact

fees scheme WITH higher education costing

between €10,000 and €15,000 per year for those in the asylum process in Ireland, the step into third level education is beyond their reach.

Eight years

on the students’ future workplace.

Students from disciplines such as Intellectual Disabilities and Psychiatry & General Nursing explained, to the dismay of the company, their plans to emigrate after graduating. Mature students with family ties in Ireland and international students, however, plan to stay.

The annual DCU Nurse Fair provides aspiring nurses with information concerning career opportunities in Ireland and how students should go about applying for said opportunities. An array of information is available at stands

and talks featuring representatives from job recruiters and hospitals, such as CCM Recruitment, Praxis Care, and St. Andrew’s Hospital.

Among others at the event in addition to the above include the organisations CPL Healthcare, Nurse on Call, TTM Health Care, Tour World Recruitment, and E R & M, as well as the hospitals and partners St Joseph’s Intellectual Disability Service, St Michael’s House, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin North City Mental Health Services, and St. Vincent’s Hospital Fairview.

During the process of applying for asylum, which can take eight years or more to process in some cases, those seeking asylum cannot work or access free education.

Further to the free fees initiative being unavailable, those in the asylum process are also not eligible for back to education allowance or the student maintenance grant, a service which more than 83,000 students received funding from for the 2015/16 academic year.

Support scheme

There was a new student support scheme implemented by the Department of Education in 2015 for young people who had spent at least five years waiting on their refugee application to be processed. However, due to the strict criteria, just two of the 39 students who made applications met the criteria which allows young asylum seekers to access third level education.

There has however been a number of success stories with a number of third level colleges who are the

exception to the norm, such as NUI Galway who have recently introduced a scholarship programme for asylum seekers.

Waving fees

DCU have also gone that one step further, along with the Royal College of Surgeons with both colleges each waiving fees for at least one student from the asylum process.

In another successful outcome, one young man has progressed to a nursing degree course in the University of Limerick, thanks to the assistance of Doras Luimní, an organisation which supports and advocates for asylum seekers and refugees.

This particular student had before that successfully progressed from a pre-nursing course at a college of further education.

“We see bright, motivated, enthusiastic young people who want to reach their full potential and prove themselves, but they are not allowed to do that,” Aideen Roche of Doras Luimní told the Irish Times.

“Instead, they have to sit at home and look at the four walls.

It’s a bad policy which damages the mental health of young people and encourages long-term dependency on the state,” Roche said.

NEWS

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DCU Elevator programme spreads knowledge of Dementia Alamy

Shirley Donlon Opinion Editor @ShirleyDonlon

DCU’S Dementia Elevator programme has successfully completed a national roadshow this September that specialised in spreading its message and educating people about dementia.

The programme, that strives to educate people, communities and health systems engage with and support people with dementia, travelled around different locations including Cork, Limerick, Donegal and Roscommon earlier this year.

Dementia Elevator was developed by DCU and the HSE to assist people to engage properly with people with dementia.

The programme takes a handson approach towards educating individuals, some of whom have

been directly affected by dementia whether in the form of a sibling, spouse or other relative.

Programme coordinator Kate Irving completed a degree in nursing in DCU before going on to specialise in the research of dementia.

She has been teaching and researching dementia for over fifteen years.

“I am passionate about people being able to age in place and for that to be possible for people with dementia there needs to be a more community focused response,” Kate said.

Kate believes that the general attitude towards those affected by and suffering with dementia needs to change in order for communities to move forward.

“We’re trying to change sympathy that most people feel towards people with dementia, which helps no one, to support, of which a small amount can help lots of people.”

With a significant rise in lev-

els of dementia in Ireland in the past few years, Kate stressed the importance of the younger generations getting involved in the programme and becoming aware of how to deal appropriately with people suffering with dementia.

“4,000 people in Ireland with dementia are under 65 so it is not common but a significant number could be the age of your parents,” Kate said.

Kate explains that 50 per cent of the risk of getting dementia is lifestyle related. Being overweight, binge drinking, drug taking and poor diet are all factors that can contribute to your risk of getting dementia.

According to research in dementia one of the biggest factors, however, is smoking.

“People need to understand if they smoke their risk of dementia at age 75 is doubled. That might not make anyone stop smoking but it is not worth keeping it a secret either.”

DCU graduate is the only Irish winner at Marketing and Communication awards The study was carried out under the supervision of Professor Theo Lynn, Associate Dean at DCU Business School. Lynham’s research was one of 6,500 entries into this year’s MarCom A DCU graduate becomes the only competition, held in Dallas Texas.

Irish winner of one of the largest “humbling experience” global marketing and communication awards in the world.

Speaking on the achievement, Micheal Lynham, who completed Lynham said that winning a globa masters degree in Digital Market- ally recognised award was a “very ing at DCU, won the Platinum Mar- humbling experience” and that Com award for his research into the he was very proud to represent impact of personalised background DCU on an international level. advertising in video advertisements.

According to its website, the Lynham’s study found that per- MarCom award has long been a sonalising background music can re- symbol of “marketing and comsult in significantly higher results for munications achievement.” emotional effects, attitudes towards 26 years the ad and whether or not people will purchase the product advertised.

Now in its 26th year, the competiMary Ryan News Reporter thecollegeview

tion is one of the oldest and largest of its kind, with individuals and companies from 34 countries entering into nearly 300 categories, including digital media and strategic communications.

Previous winners of the prestigious gold and platinum MarCom awards include Fortune 500 companies and several other media corporations.

Lynham, originally from Dublin, was also awarded a European Digital Communication title in Berlin earlier this year and was also shortlisted by DCU for a Presidential Award in 2014. He currently works as an International Marketing Manager in Trinity College.

“I owe a lot to the support and encouragement of my supervisor Prof Theo Lynn” said Lynham, describing his win as one of the greatest achievements of his professional career.

New system sees a rise in SUSI grants Eoin Harte News Reporter @thecollegeview

THERE has been a significant rise in the number of students who have received grants in 2016 compared to this time last year, student grant body SUSI has said.

An extra 14,000 grants have been awarded to third-level students compared to the same period in 2015. This is thanks to a systematic change where students can now receive their grants before their CAO offers are published.

Reactions to the SUSI grants have been largely positive among DCU students. “It’s free money, what’s not to like?”, said Joshua Freeman, a first-year journalism student in relation to the grants.

There have been major problems concerning SUSI in recent years, which saw many students receive their grants months after they had begun attending college. However, Student Universal Support Ireland spokesperson Gra-

ham Doyle believes that these issues have been sufficiently addressed.

Students receiving their grants before their CAO offers allowed SUSI to speed up the process, with only “a tiny bit of re-working for those who didn’t get the initial option they chose with the CAO”, Mr Doyle said.

SUSI will award students around €370 million worth of grants this year. Somewhere in the region of €170 million of this will pay for third-level fees while the remaining €200 million will go towards maintenance payments.

A total of 105,000 applications have been received by SUSI this academic year, with 90,000 of these being processed by late October. 14,000 applications were refused or cancelled as they didn’t meet the financial threshold criteria.

In the region of 50,000 grants were awarded to students this September. The 8,000 students who have not yet received their grants are waiting for their colleges to confirm that they are registered. dcu.ie

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NEWS

8

What a Donald Trump UCD win means for Ireland President in favour of third-level loan scheme

www.nytimes.com

Paul Dwyer Deputy News Editor @thecollegeview

UCD President Andrew Deeks said that he would be in favour of a loan-scheme system solution to the existing problem of third level funding in Ireland.

The minutes from the UCDSU executive revealed that Mr. Deeks had said that he preffered an income contingent loan scheme.

UCDSU does not have a stance on fees but has a “current standpoint” of highlighting the lack of funding for third level students and wants to “alleviate the current financial burdens of students.”

UCD’S student union president, Conor Viscardi, has been in talks with Mr. Deeks and Gerry O’Brien, Bursar of UCD about third level funding. Viscardi has said that the conversations with

the two were about discussing the funding models from the Cassells’ Report which include increased state funding both with and without student charges, or an income-contingent loan scheme which makes university free at the point of entry.

While Viscardi was pleased with the release of the Cassells Report, he also added that each option has “pros and cons to it, there’s no clear answer and that’s perhaps what’s maybe delaying the decision making process” due to the “political ramifications [facing the government] of picking one.”

UCD’s Student Union has been making headlines recently as they held a referendum to decide if they would adopt a neutral stance on repealing the 8th amendment. However, the pro-choice side defeated the neutral stance by 3,036 votes to 1726 votes.

Commenting on the meeting between Viscardi and Deeks, the SU President said that Deeks was viewing the situation from a global perspective, especially in relation to the operation of third-level education in the UK and Australia, and believed the Australian system to be working well.

Last month, Professor Deeks called on politicians to implement the Cassells Report in a joint statement with Dr Patrick Prendergast, Provost of Trinity College Dublin.

However, he has not publicly stated any preference on which funding model in the report he prefers.

Kyle Eward Deputy News Editor @thecollegeview

REPUBLICAN nominee Donald

Trump was elected 45th president of the United States on Tuesday in America’s most controversial election to date.

But, as the shockwaves of such

a heavily disputed candidate winning office settle, one question arises: What does a Trump victory mean for Ireland?

Perhaps the quickest reaction Ireland will see to the new president elect will be in an economic sense.

“We are going to see extraordinary turmoil in the markets over the next few days, that’s going to cost investors money, and it’s going to cost pensions fund money,” said Irish Times Economics Editor Cliff Taylor in a video discussing how Trump will affect the Irish economy.

In terms of trade, Trump has threatened to impose special import tax on goods coming into America.

He also plans to cut US corporation tax in an effort to attract multinational companies such as Pfizer, Facebook, Google and Apple—all companies that have bases in Ireland due to the country’s loose corporate tax laws—back to the United States.

“Big questions here for Ireland on what that will mean on the flow of foreign direct investment in the long

term,” said Taylor.

Trump also has very a very clear anti-immigration agenda that has the potential to send back some of the 50,000 undocumented Irish in the United States. This could be a major setback for the Irish government, who have been pushing the U.S. for years for a broad immigration reform, including more work visas for Irish citizens and travel exemptions that would allow undocumented Irish immigrants to visit home and return to America.

Although Trump was very clear that he did not want illegal immigrants in the country, he was very vague on how to deal with undocumented immigrants and did not confirm where those with nowhere to go would be sent.

The 8,000 Irish students that travel on J1 visas every year could also be affected, as Trump said he wants the programme to be “terminated and replaced with a resume bank for inner city youth provided to all corporate subscribers”.

Institutes of Technology under pressure due to funding short fall Paul Dwyer Deputy News Editor @thecollegeview There are major concerns over the future of up to 10 of the country’s 14 institutes of technology due to financial deficits and dwindling cash reserves, according to a major review of the sector.

A review by the Higher Education Authority has found that six institutes of technology are “vulnerable” and face immediate sustain-

ability challenges. The institutes included were Letterkenny, Tralee, Galway-Mayo, Waterford, Dundalk and Cork institutes of technology.

While public commentary has focused recently on how Irish universities have slipped down in the world rankings, the situation facing institutes of technology is much bleaker.

Due to falling State grants and growing student numbers, the total income per student across institutes of technology fell by more than 25 per cent between 2008 and 2015. This is almost twice the scale of decline faced by universities and colleges, which have greater scope to borrow money and generate private income.

The 80 page financial review has projected that rising deficits over the next five years will result in a real risk of cash running out for at least three of the institutes within the next two years.

While multiple campuses are considered important in delivering education to regional communities, the report finds they are associated with both high costs and deficits to ensure that they are kept running. One example of this is Letterkenny Institute of Technology’s campus in Killybegs has a deficit of €1.3 million.

The report states that the Higher Education Authority should consider whether or not

these campuses are viable or whether increased funding should be made available to keep them running.

Dr Anne Looney, interim chief executive of the HEA, said that this review has demonstrated the scale of the challenge that the Higher Education authority faces in sustaining Institutes of Technology in Ireland.

“We now have comprehensive evidence of the current financial challenges being faced by many institutes of technology and the capacity constraints which will limit their ability to meet the expected growth in student demand in coming years,” said Looney.

9

OPINION

Understanding consent: it is okay to say no Following the broadcast of author Louise O’Neill’s documentary ‘Asking for it’, Opinion Editor Shirley Donlon discusses the definition of consent and why it is important to understand it.

SHIRLEY DONLON OPINION EDITOR

C

onsent .A word that’s meaning seems to only have been clarified in the past few months.

Its meaning? To agree, permit or approve a course of action. In terms of sexual behaviour, consent means that both parties are in agreement of what is happening or what is to happen.

In order to determine if someone is giving consent to an action, one must be able to answer the following two questions; does the

person want to give consent and is the person capable of giving consent?

Earlier this month, Irish author and feminist Louise O’Neill hosted a documentary on RTÉ 2 called ‘Asking for it: Reality bites’.

The documentary delves into the issue of rape culture in Ireland and discusses the importance of understanding consent.

The documentary follows behind O’Neill’s novel ‘Asking for it’ that was released last year. The book explores the life of a young Irish girl whose parents find her lying like a ‘plastic bag’ of rubbish at the front door after attending a party the previous night and details the traumatic story that follows.

The chilling story highlights an issue so

prominent in Irish society and since its release, has caused a significantly large amount of awareness about rape culture and consent in Ireland. Other issues that are brought to our attention in the novel include slut-shaming and the double standards that are often evident in cases of sexual assault.

Consent needs to be spoken about, discussed and taught on an enormous level. As discussed in the documentary, just because you Zoe Ryan know the person, it does not mean that it was not rape. If you did not say yes, it should not have happened – simple.

Sexual consent needs not to be considered a grey area in society. Once upon a time, abortion was an extremely controversial issue that people just did not discuss. Now look at us, many years later, walking the streets of Dublin in a pro-choice march for the Eighth Amendment to

be repealed.

As society evolves, the issues that affect people do too. The need for people, especially those in the younger generations, to understand what the word consent means and practice it in terms of sexual behaviour is a vital step in educating Irish teenagers and young adults.

Some colleges and universities across Ireland are taking action by holding consent classes for students including Trinity College Dublin (TCD) who have already taken initiative by introducing compulsory sexual consent courses for first years who began studying this September.

All of these steps are absolutely vital in the movement towards clarifying what consent it, instilling it into the mind set of the youth of Ireland, and practicing safe and consensual sex.

We simply cannot let issues as important as the understanding of sexual consent slide.

The wrong doing of previous sexual offences cannot be undone or forgotten by the victim, but the ability to stop, prevent and reduce the amount of sexual offences that occur as a result of lack of education in terms of ‘consent’ can, most certainly, be done.

Is porn more of a priority than abortion?

In a year so focused on repealing the Eighth Amendment, Bronwyn O’Neill believes that Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, is prioritising the issue of porn instead.

W

hen news broke that a possible referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment could not be held until 2018 at the earliest under a compromise reached by the Government, it was a huge blow to the repeal movement. But perhaps the Government had issue that were deemed more important to discuss. This wishful thinking was also dashed as soon as our Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, asked for a conversation about pornography.

Kenny said that some of Ireland’s youth is being “tainted and corrupted” by pornography and that a “national conversation” is needed on the issue.

This sudden demand to discuss the effect of porn on Ireland’s population seems to be a way to distract from the dismissal of the Eighth Amendment. The frankly shocking statement grabbed headlines and flooded social media newsfeeds. It was so ludicrous that everyone was discussing it.

However, this took people’s attention away from the issue that has been dividing the nation for several years and suddenly focused the state on something more shocking, porn!

Is the attitude to porn in this country an issue? Yes, clearly. Is it more important than repealing an archaic amendment in our constitution?

The Fine Gael leader has stated that “our young people are growing up imagining that what they see on the screen might be normal sexual behaviour. There has to be a discussion about this in terms of families and children and the kind of society that is evolving”.

Of course, we need to teach young people through and helpful sexual education lessons in school. Something that Irish schools have been missing in previous years, but schools seem to be changing their curriculum.

However, to push this issue to the forefront when there are so much more important issues to talk about, is almost laughable. With the refugee crisis, Brexit, the budget and strikes of secondary school teachers and the Gardaí, these are what the Taoiseach should be discussing if he chooses to blatantly ignore the cries for change of reproduction rights in Ireland.

The impact of pornography on young people, is different for everyone. Porn has been

labelled many things, including addictive and damaging on how young people view sex. Is this really the case?

With the introduction of better sexual education in schools perhaps young people will learn more about sex rather than rely heavily on the manufactured world of porn.

Rather than demonising pornography using words that make young people embarrassed to discuss it, talk about it as a natural part of life, something that it has slowly become.

Of course, it is embarrassing to talk about it, especially with family and parents. But the simple answer on how to fix the next generations view of porn, is to bring in sex education that gives a realistic view of what sex really is.

Perhaps it is time we discuss pornography in an open way, but not at the expense of another more pressing issue.

To wait at least another two years for a referendum on the Eighth Amendment is heart breaking. When we get to vote on the issue it will be over six years since the death of Savita Halappanavar, the main driving force behind the repeal movement.

“

This sudden demand to discuss the effect of porn on Ireland’s population seems to be a way to distract from the dismissal of the Eighth Amendment

10

OPINION

Absent voters sacrifice their voice

Following last week’s US presidential election, Bríon Hoban believes that if more young Americans had voted, the outcome would have been different small percentage increase in young voters in Florida and Pennsylvania was all that was needed. A failure to take part in the political process has resulted in the political process failing them.

The impending Trump presidency is not the only recent example of a nightmare becoming reality. Remember that many people also considered Brexit to be an impossibility.

Yet now the young people of the United Kingdom are facing a future apart from the

rest of Europe. Brexit passed by a margin of less than four per cent, with around one million votes the decider.

Over 65’s were the most pro-Brexit voters, with 60 per cent of them opting for a Leave vote. 73 per cent of voters between 18 and 24 years old voted to remain in the European Union.

Yet reportedly only 36 per cent of the 18 to 24 year old cohort actually voted in the referendum. This is compared with 90 per cent of those

BRÍON HOBAN CHIEF SUB EDITOR

T

he world’s most powerful country elected Donald Trump to be their new leader last week. Decades from now we will have to explain to our grandchildren how this happened.

In the aftermath of this result, people may feel as though they were powerless to prevent this descent into tragedy. It is this attitude of helplessness that often facilitates these kinds of electoral disasters.

Voters aged between 18 and 35 make up 31 per cent of the U.S. electorate. Early projections are that roughly half of that group did not vote.

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. A

Laura Duffy

over 65.

If as many young people voted as did those over 65, it is likely the UK would not be leaving the EU. Young people not taking part in the electoral process causes demonstrable and grave consequences when they could be making a huge difference.

Yet the opposite is also true. While Trump and Brexit illustrate the negative consequences of a low youth vote, the Marriage Referendum illustrates that a high youth turnout can lead to progress.

The Yes Equality campaign helped register 68,000 people before the referendum, most of whom were young people voting for the first time. Another 27,633 were directly registered by the Union of Students in Ireland.

These two sources produced almost 100,000 voters, most of whom had never previously voted in an election before. This accounts for almost five per cent of the total votes cast in the referendum.

Five per cent is a huge block of votes in an election. Five per cent would have changed the outcome in the Brexit vote. Add five per cent to Clinton’s total vote share and she would have won in a landslide.

Ireland is a more equal country now in no small part thanks to youth participation in the electoral process. The United States of America and the United Kingdom are set to become less equal partially due to the lack of young voters, Voting gives our generation power to shape our future. That power is lost when young people choose not to vote.

The college that cried ‘fire’

The excessive use of fire drills in universities is making students less reactive to actual fires, writes Laura Horan

W

e have all experienced a time when we were sitting in a classroom, a lecture hall or at work and heard the loud ringing of a fire drill. According to a survey carried out by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), some schools have up to five fire drills a year while the majority of schools run fire drills two to three times a year.

There was a fire drill several weeks ago on DCU campus. I observed peoples behaviour during the drill and later questioned some students on how they reacted to the drill.

The majority of people in a room without a lecturer remained in their seats, continued to do their work or chat with friends. Students only left the building when staff came around urging them to evacuate.

When asking students why they didn’t leave immediately after the alarm sounded they replied, “It’s only a drill. I have stuff to be doing”. One said, “I don’t have time for fake drills”.

Of the twenty students I spoke to, all of them took some or all of their belongings with them, ignoring the fire procedure of leaving all items behind.

An average of 36 people per year have died from a fire in Ireland, from 2005 to 2014.

The majority of these fires happened in the home, and three out of the ten of them began in a bedroom.

Many of the students agreed to having a relaxed reaction when they hear the sound of a fire alarm. They will either stay where they

Google Images

“

In Ireland an average of 36 people have died in a fire per year from 2005 and 2014 are if they are in a public building or take their belongings and leave.

It is possible, that the over procedure of drills in schools, has made students too accustomed and relaxed with fire drills now. So, now they do not react in an urgent or serious way.

The current legislation of the Fire Services Act of 1981 and 2003 states that owners and occupiers have a ‘duty of care’ to provide reasonable safety measures for their premises.

Additionally, they must prepare and provide

appropriate fire safety procedures to ensure the safety of persons on such premises.

So, how can the excessive use of fire drills be regarded as an appropriate fire safety procedure if it is making students be less responsive to an actual fire alarm or drill.

Personally, I would respond to an alarm a lot faster if it was something I had never heard before, but had been informed about what to do when i did hear it.

The amount of drills should depend on the level of risk in the building, according

to Safelincs advice on the importance of fire drills.

Although the excessive use of fire drills can make people disregard them, they are important. They are necessary to test alarms and ensure that other equipment work, such as fire door retainers and LED emergency lighting.

According to statistics provided by fire services across the country and published by the Department of the Environment, cigarettes were suspected as the leading cause of fires followed by electrical appliance.

11

GAEILGE

An fhadhb nó an chabhair í Sraith Sacair na hÉireann?

Pléann Conor O’Shea tionchar na sraithe Peile in Éirinn ar an bhfoireann náisiúnta Billy Stickland

Conor O’Shea Scríbhneoir @thecollegeview

A

BHAR

achrannach atá ag déanamh scime de lucht leanúna sacar na hÉireann le fada an lá is í Sraith SSE Airtricity. Níl dabht ar bith faoi go bhfuil tuairimí mhuintir na hÉireann scartha maidir leis an tSraith. Ó Chorcaigh suas go Doire tá iad siúd a amharcann ar chuile chluiche beo; a théann amach ag breathnú ar a gcuid foirne ó cheann ceann na seachtaine cuma cén aimsir atá ann ach is mionlach beag de mhuintir shacair na tíre iad seo faraor.

Is minic go bhfeictear daoine ag siúl timpeall na háite chuile lá agus iad gléasta i ngeansaithe Manchester United , Liverpool agus Arsenal . Gach deireadh seachtaine téann na daoine seo chuig an teach tábhairne le breathnú ar na foirne seo ar an teilifís , alpann siad siar na piontaí agus screadann siad in ard a ngutha ar Pogba , Zlatan agus Coutinho .

An bhfuil na mothúcháin céanna acu is atá acu siúd a bhíonn ann ag na cluichí ag breathnú ar a bhfoirne féin? Ní dóigh liom é.

Glaoitear ‘An lucht leanúna is fearr ar domhan’ ar mhuintir sacar na hÉireann i ndiaidh gach turnaimint idirnáisiúnta a nglacann Éire páirt iontu ach ní théann formhór acu siúd le breathnú ar chluiche sa tsraith SSE Airtricity. Maíonn an chuid is mó acu nach bhfuil caighdeán an tsacair maith go leor agus nach bhfuil bonneagar na sraithe ar ardchaighdeán. I 2013 mhaígh bainisteoir na hÉireann Giovanni Trappatoni ag an am : ‘In Éirinn níl sraith ar bith ann.’

Ní fhaigheann formhór na foirne sa tsraith ach timpeall 1,000 duine isteach trí na geataí gach seachtain ar an meán ach in ainneoin na deacrachtaí atá ann tá an tsraith Airtricity fós ag seasamh go hard . Gan dabht ar bith is cabhair mhór don fhoireann náisiúnta í Sraith Airtricity.

Ní gá duit ach breathnú ar fhoireann sacar na hÉireann chun an fhianaise de seo a fheiceáil . As an scuad a bhí acu d’Euro 2016 bhí ocht n-imreoir a tháinig agus a d’imir sa tSraith Airtricity ; Seamus Coleman , Stephen Ward , Wes Hoolahan , James McClean , David Meyler , Stephen Quinn, Daryl Murphy agus Shane Long . D’fhéadfaí argóint go

bhfuil Hoolahan an t-imreoir is fearr d’Éirinn faoi láthair agus rinne sé a phrintíseacht le Shelbourne.

Ní gearráin dom scríobh faoin tSraith agus a tábhacht don fhoireann náisiúnta gan foireann iontach Dundalk FC a lua. Airím go bhfuil fir Stephen Kenny an fhoireann is fear a chonaic mé imirt sa tsraith ariamh.

Táthar ag imirt sa Chraobh FAI agus mé ag scríobh é seo. Is ábhar bróid iad i mbéal phobail na Sraithe faoi láthair toisc go bhfuil siad tar éis na ráitis faoi ‘ísealchaighdeán’ a shárú trí cháiliú do ghrúpaí Europa League agus torthaí iontacha a fháil i gcoinne a leithéid de BATE Borisov , Maccabi Tel-Aviv agus AZ Alkmaar. Tá siad ar tí éalú ón ngrúpa isteach go dtí an chéad bhabhta eile. Níor éirigh le foireann Éireannach teacht chomh fada le seo riamh.

Tá beirt imreoir ó Dundalk , Daryl Horgan agus Andy Boyle, i bhfoireann Martin O’Neill don chluiche mór i gcoinne na hOstaire . Seo an chéad uair dóibh agus tá sé tuillte go mór acu, Horgan ach go háirithe.

Tá ráflaí ann go bhfuil Horgan le himeacht trasna na farraige chun na Breataine le himirt do Newcastle atá

faoi stiúir Rafael Benitez. Bhí cúl báire Dundalk , Gary Rogers i roinnt foirneacha Éireannacha freisin.

Airím go bhfuil tábhacht faoi leith ag baint leis an tsraith Airtricity don fhoireann náisiúnta. Leis an nGearmáin imríonn formhór dá cuid imreoirí sa Bundesliga seachas cúpla duine acu ach leis an bhfoireann Éireannach imríonn gach duine acu i sraitheanna eachtracha ón MLS i Meiriceá go dtí an Premier League sa Bhreatain go hiondúil. Is minic nach mbíonn imreoir ar bith ónár sraith féin ann ar chor ar bith , rud a

chuireann soir mé.

Tá imreoirí ag imirt in Éirinn faoi láthair gur chóir seans a thabhairt dóibh san fhoireann náisiúnta. Tá roinnt acu le Dundalk cosúil le Seán Gannon ,Horgan, Brian Gartland, Boyle, Dane Massey agus Patrick McEleney. Fiú tá Christy Fagan le Pats agus Greg Bolger le Corcaigh maith go leor le seans a fháil sílim . Is cóir do Martin O’Neill seans a thabhairt dóibh i gcluiche cairdiúil.

Ar an iomlán , cé go bhfuil deacrachtaí fós ann maidir le hairgead , bonn-eagar agus easpa tacaíoch-

ta in Éirinn don Sraith Airtricity tá foirne ar nós Dundalk ann atá ag sárú na deacrachtaí seo . Is gá don FAI níos mó infheistíochta a dhéanamh chun cabhrú leis na clubanna ; ní fhaigheann buaiteoirí na sraithe ach €110,000, trian den airgead a thuilleann John Delaney gach bliain.

Freisin , caithfidh na clubanna níos mó fógraíochta a dhéanamh chun daoine a mhealladh teacht ag na cluichí.

Sraith SSE Airtricity, lán le deacrachtaí ach lán le poitéinsiúil chomh maith. Tá beocht sa dóchas.

Focail na seachtaine Ar iasacht - Secondment

Comharile - Advice Cúl báire - Goalkeeper

Aistriúchán - Translation

Bonneager - Infrastructure

12

GAEILGE

Scéal Taighdeora ADAPT DCU Le hAcht na dTeangacha 2003, bhí tábhacht breise leis an nGaeilge sa tslí go raibh aistriúcháin de dhoiciméid de dhíth sa Ghaeilge chomh maith. Labhraíonn Áine Monk le haistritheoir agus forbróir ag obair i leith clár aistriúcháin don Ghaeilge

Emily McKenzie

Aine Monk Scríbhneoir @thecollegeview

R

INNE Áine Monk agallamh le taighdeoir anseo in Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath, Meghan Dowling.

“Is taighdeoir mé san Ionad ADAPT i DCU, agus beidh mé ag tabhairt faoi chéim dhochtúireachta i gceann cúpla mhí san ionad céanna. Anois, táim ag caitheamh dhá mhí thar lear sa Spáinn ar “iasacht”, ag obair i gcomhlacht darb ainm “Prompsit Language Engineering.” a dúirt Meghan, agus í tar éis tosú ar obair i mbun na dochtúireachta.

Thug Meghan faoi chéim i gColáiste na Tríonóide agus í ag tabhairt faoi ríomheolaíocht agus teangeolaíocht na Gaeilge. Ba spéis léi a bheith ag obair i dtaobh cúrsaí ríomhaireachta agus cúrsaí Ghaeilge nuair a bhí sí ina dalta meánscoile: “Roghnaigh mé an cúrsa sin mar bhí an-suim agam sna ríomhairí, ach níor mhaith liom fáil réidh leis an nGaeilge. Dúirt mé an méid sin le mo mhúinteoir gairmthreorach agus

mhol sí an cúrsa sin dom. Chomh luath agus is léigh mé an cur síos bhí a fhios agam gurb é an chúrsa domsa.”

Ní chainteoir dhúchais í, ach tá grá aici dá teanga na hÉireann. An chomhairle atá aici do dhaoine eile a bhfuil ag iarraidh tabhairt faoin ábhar nó faoi chúrsaí taighde a bhaineann leis ná: “Caithfidh grá don teanga a bheith agat. Ní chaithfidh tú a bheith i do Ghaeilgeoir ó dhúchas: má tá na scileanna ríomheolaíochta agat, agus caighdeán maith Gaeilge, beidh tú ar do chumas an taighde seo a dhéanamh. Ach is é an rud is tábhachtaí ná suim agus grá don Ghaeilge.”

Thosaigh sí ag obair mar intéirneach in ionad taighde agus is as sin a thosaigh sí ag obair mar thaighdeoir: “Ónar tháinig mé go dtí an t-Ionad ADAPT anuraidh, bhí mé ag obair ar thionscadal darb ainm Tapadóir.”

Baineann tionscadal Tapadóir leis an ríomheolaíocht agus an Ghaeilge, an dá rud a rinne sí staidéar orthu ar an ollscoil: “Séard atá i gceist le Tapadóir ná tionscadal aistriúcháin uathoibríoch Gaeilge-Béarla atá ina húsáid le haistritheoirí ghairmiúla sa Roinn Ealaíon, Oidhreachta, Gnóthaí Réigiúnacha, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta.”

Is féidir an uirlis a úsáid chun feabhas a chur ar an bpróiseas a bhaineann le haistriúcháin Gaeilge go Béarla agus a mhalairt de: “Is é an aidhm atá le Tapadóir ná cabhair a thabhairt d’aistritheoirí a chuid oibre a dhéanamh níos tapa, mar dar le hacht na dteangacha 2003, caithfidh gach cuid den eolas phoiblí a bheith ar fáil i nGaeilge agus i mBéarla. Thaitin an tionscadal seo go han-mhór dom agus

ba mhór an deis é a bheith ag obair le foireann den scoth anseo san ionad ADAPT.” a deir Meghan Tá sí agus foireann taighdeoirí na Gaeilge san ionad taighde ag iarraidh seirbhísí níos fearr a chur ar fáil i nGaeilge, chun an teanga a chur ar an leibhéal céanna de na mórtheangacha eile, in ainneoin go bhfuil an Ghaeilge mar mhionteanga Eorpacha: “Baineann mo chuid taighde le teicneolaíocht na Gaeilge, go háir-

ithe aistriúcháin uathoibríoch na Gaeilge. Is é an aidhm atá agam ná an Ghaeilge a bheith ar an leibhéal céanna ná teangacha móra eile, maidir le teicneolaíocht.”

Bhí intéirneach ag obair in éineacht le Meghan i rith an tsamhraidh. Rinneadh obair ar chóras uathcheartaigh d’fhóin cliste agus d’oibrigh siad le Coláiste Lurgan chun an feidhmchlár a thaispeáint ar chlár TG4 le déanaí.

Joshua Homme - 25 Bliain ag cruthú Ceoil

CAL Ó DONNABHÁIN EAGARTHÓIR GAEILGE

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alm Desert, California 1973 cuireadh Joshua Homme ar an saol. Ní fios ansin go mbeadh sé mar dhuine de na hamhránaithe is tábhachtaí i seánra rac-cheoil “stoner” le linn na nóchaidí agus as sin ar aghaidh ar dtús. Ag tosú le Autocracy agus Katzenjammer agus é le Queen’s of the Stone Age agus Eagles of Death Metal faoi láthair, is léir go bhfuil a ghrá don cheol fós chomh láidir agus a bhí sé nuair a thosaigh sé ag tabhairt faoi. Ní haon rún é go bhfuil Homme mar dhuine de na hamhránaithe is rathúla sa seánra agus braithneoimid ar a scéal níos doimhne.

Bunaíodh Katzenjammer, céad banna Homme, sa bhliain 1987 agus Josh Homme ceithre bliain déag d’ao-

is leis an sprioc ceol difriúl ón cheol le cloisteáil ar an raidió ag an am a chur ar fáil. D’athraigh Katzenjammer a n-ainm go Sons of Kyuss ansin ag críochnú leis an ainm ‘Kyuss’ agus níorbh fhada go dtí go raibh a lucht leanúna dílis faighte acu. Is iadsan a thosaigh an treocht nua ceolchoirmeacha a sheinm na mílte as baile sa ghaineamhlach, ag baint úsáid as gineadóir chun cumhacht a chur ar fáil. Faoi dheireadh na nóchaidí bhí lucht leanúna cultais aimsithe acu agus bhí finscéalta ann bunaithe ar a gceolchoirmeacha leithleacha.

Foilsíodh albam deiridh Kyuss sa bhliain 1995, sula scaradar i ndiaidh mí-aontas. Leis an mbanna scartha lean cuid de lucht leanúna Kyuss Homme agus d’fhoilsigh sé a chéad albam le Queens of the Stone Age in 1998 leis an bhféin-teidil sin. Sheinn sé achan chuid den albam áirithe sin ach amháin na drumaí le hAlfredo Hernandez as Kyuss, ag baint úsáíd as ainm bréige Carlo Von Sexron sna tagairtí. Cuireann an fíreach sin in iúl nach gnáth-amhránaí é Josh Homme ach amhránaí scilmhear agus oillte atá ann.

Leis na blianta ráthúla taobh thiar de bhí an cuma ar an scéal go raibh saol an mhadaidh bháin aimsithe ag Josh Homme ach in 2010 agus é i ndiaidh dul faoin scian tháinig stop lena chuid anála bhí sé marbh go litriúil ar feadh tamaillín go dtí go raibh sé athnuaite. Leis an triobóid seo tholg sé ionfhabhtú MRSA nach raibh a chorp ábalta troid ina choinne de bharr go

“

Is iadsan a thosaigh an treocht nua ceolchoirmeacha a sheinm na mílte as baile sa ghaineamhlach raibh sé faoi méid mór strusa. Chuir seo stop lena chuid ceoil agus dúirt sé go raibh sé ar intinn aige stopadh amach ‘s amach.

Inniu tá cónaí air lena bhean chéile Brody Dalle agus a mbeirt páiste in Palm Springs, California, gar dá áit breithe. Is cosúil ón méid atá ráite aige go bhfuil sé fós ag gníomhú mar rach-amhránaí agus nach bhfuil deireadh tagtha lena ghairmréim toisc gur fhoilsigh sé albam …Like Clockwork in 2013 le Queens of the Stone Age, ag cur a fhilleadh ar cheol in iúl. I bhFeabhra 2015 dúradh go bhfuil Queens of the Stone Age le tabhairt faoi albam nua a thaifead agus cuireadh seo in iúl nuair a fógraíodh go mbeadh siad ag seinm in Rock in Rio sa Bhraiséil. Tá sé soiléir go bhfuil lucht leanúna dílis ann a bhfuil ag fanacht go mí-fhoighneach ar an bhfoilsiúchán nua seo.

Elizabeth Kaizer

13

FEATURES Alan Smeaton and the wonders of data analytics

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ORLA O DRISCOLL DEPUTY FEATURES EDITOR

rofessor Alan Smeaton was not expected to be an innovator, or an academic. As a young man, he did well in school but his family background didn’t indicate that a university education would be his path. The presumption, that the eldest boy to a widowed mother, would go out and get a job to help support the family lay in wait. But, Alan Smeaton decided to break the template, and in his final year of secondary school, he told his mother he wanted to go to university: “She said, can you get

a good job and make money, I said I can, and off I went for four years.”

Today, Alan Smeaton is a professor of computing at DCU and since 1991, he has graduated almost thirty M.Sc. and PhD research students. His current title conveys only one side of a man who has been at the forefront of R&D in the field of data analytics for over 30 years.

He has hundreds of peer reviewed papers accredited to him, is a founding director of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, which involves the work of 400 researchers based in several institutions, including DCU.

It’s difficult to place an age badge on Smeaton, his is a big presence, with an easy self-depreciating humour, and bright eyes which show evidence of a man who likes to laugh.

“I went to UCD to do Physics, and there was this new subject called computer science, I said I will take that, I liked it more than physics. It was different back then, it wasn’t like now where students have the flexibility to change modules.

And, I found something that suited me,” he said.

Smeaton applies data science Orla O Driscoll

through analytics to: “More or less anything. I have collaborated with almost every department in DCU, including a programme with the nursing school to aid memory recollection in people with dementia.”

In an industry which is continuously evolving, Smeaton is still a learner. “My personal interest is in determining image data. I’m constantly learning and constantly changing, every course I teach gives me something new.”

He is the recipient of the 2015 RIA gold medal, an illustrious award given in recognition to academics who have made demonstrable and internationally recognised outstanding scholarly contributions in their fields.

Smeaton jiggles his pockets in a mock of looking for the lump of gold.

“It’s a big thing, but I don’t play it up, it’s a wonderful recognition for doing something I love. When we educate, we need to continuously check that we are on top of our game. I’m an advocate of continuous professional development for educators, we need to make sure we are progressing all the time.” As the first of 42 grandchildren to go to college, Smeaton has progressed.

“When I finished university the first time, four years computer science, I came home and told my mother I want to do my masters.

My mother said can you get a better job and make good money at that? I said yes I can and off I went for two more years.”

Smeaton acknowledges that data analytics is not just telling if the M50 is in car-park mode, or if people can beat traffic and catch their flight, there are other analytics at play. Some of these were used in mining behavioural patterns through the internal student user interface ‘Loop’ in DCU. The aim? To find a way to help students, particularly those in courses with a higher than average first year failure rate, progress better.

“We looked at over 2,500 students, how, when and where they connected through the internal system, day or night. Every time a student connected on loop we viewed

the digital breadcrumb left behind, which says who the student is what they have looked at. Then we mine the information, and combine that information from other students who are progressing better. We looked at what they have looked at and make comparison over previous years to students who achieved good results. This gave us signals which were used as flags to the students to suggest readings or research. This is data analysis at its best, there were students who didn’t fail exams because of this project.”

While he recognises that com-

“

He has gradua ted almost thirty M.Sc. and PhD research students puter programming may always remain the preserve of a small percentage, he appreciates data analytics as the less restrictive area, a little bit of magic.

When Smeaton completed his masters, he again went home to his mother and said: “I want to do a PHD, my mother said, will we be calling you doctor, and will that get you a better job and can you make money? I said yes and four years later completed my PHD. I started working in DCU, I’m still here. I got the good job in the end.”

FEATURES

Bullying is more than just temporary pain

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Hannah Kelly examines the long-term effects that bullying can cause.

HANNAH KELLY DEPUTY PRODUCTION EDITOR

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t is estimated that 30 percent of young people in Ireland will experience bullying in their lives, which unfortunately often continues into the workplace as an adult.

Bullying itself can take many different forms: physical, exclusionary, exertional and verbal just to name a few. All forms have their own negative impacts in a victim’s life at the time. For children they often feel afraid, lack self esteem and can start to feel anxious in social situations. According to Spunout. ie bullying in the workplace is often more subtle and leaves victims feeling undervalued, ashamed and ignored.

At the time bullying can make a person’s life miserable, what is even more worrying though is the list of lifelong effects victims can suffer with. During the time of bullying victims can feel low in self-confidence, many avoid going to school or the workplace where they are being bullied and, worryingly, many end up self-harming or with suicidal tendencies.

The Anti Bullying Centre at Trinity College Dublin identified the main effects of bullying as part of their research for Spunout.ie in 2013. Problems with mental health such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and even sleep disorders are among those at the top of that list.

Some of these causes and symptoms are easily guessed at, or are effects that make sense to most people and would be easily understood.

Some consequences, however, are more unusual, but have a prolific part to play in victims’ lives.

Children who have been bullied are more likely to run away from home and engage in more self-destructive behaviour. Dr.Linda Kennedy from ‘Overcome Bullying’ also found that victims of bullying are more likely to report suffering from migraines and are more at risk to have trouble with alcohol and drug abuse.

What is interesting about these findings is that a lot of these symptoms are found in people who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). Many people with PTSD have returned from war, suffered through abusive relationships or have been involved in serious accidents.

Although the cause of PTSD is closely linked to war veterans, studies now reveal its link to people

who have experienced bullying or other traumatic events. Victims who suffer with this often have to live with flashbacks, and are known to have a defensive nature.

A study by Yale School Of Medicine reinforced this information and found an alarming correlation between being bullied and suicide in children.

Anyone that has been bullied will be familiar with the view that bullying will “toughen you up” and we have all heard the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me.” But that simply is not true.

A study conducted by Dr. Mark Dombeck from the ‘American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress’ found victims are likely to be more of a lone wolf, and are also more likely to have a perception of themselves as a victim who is oversensitive. When people have this image of themselves it can be hard for

them to move past the trauma of being bullied. Dr. Dombeck’s study showed that victims are often left with lifelong feelings of bitterness and resentment.

Living with this kind of regret is the ugly truth of life after bullying. Dr. Dombeck explained how being bullied teaches a victim they are undesirable, an incapable individual, which is why victims are more susceptible to mental health disorders.

“It would be great if the average person was possessed of unshakable self-confidence, but this just isn’t how identity works. Identity is a social process. Other people contribute to it,” the report says, “Particularly when people are young and have not yet survived a few of life’s trials, it is difficult for people to know who they are and what they are made of.”

The negative effects of bullying, however, are not limited to just victims. In a recent American research trial, six out of ten children who identified as bullies in middle school were

“At the time bully-

ing can make a persons life miserable, what’s even more worrying is the long list of lifelong effects victims can suffer

convicted of a crime by the time they reach 24.

This coincides with many studies, including statistics from bullyingstatistics.org, that bullying is often a defence mechanism.

People can become bullies for a variety of reasons. One being because we live in a society which values winning, power, and glorifies violence in a way that celebrates bullying. But often the root cause is to do with the bullies’ life experiences, including family issues, social issues and also as a result of being bullied themselves.

No matter where you end up in a bullying situation, bully or the bullied, there are negative impacts that can follow you through life, long after the bullying has ended.

It is vital that we work to solve these problems in schools and teach our children how to speak up about their experiences before this takes hold.

StudySoup.com

FEATURES

15

Minority groups and modern media: a war of its own Do modern journalism practices represent all groups and races equally?

futureplastics.ie

Arthur Velker Contributor @thecollegeview

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he political turmoil be-

tween Western society and Islamic culture has fundamentally – and permanently – redefined modern journalistic practices, with every one of our well-favoured news outlets equally responsible for contributing to the European epidemic of Islamophobia.

Two weeks ago, the head of RTE’s religious programmes, Roger Childs, spoke at an event for journalists, focusing on Muslim media reception.

He said when it comes to public’s knowledge of Islam, news media is the number one educator on the matter; rendering religious programmes almost futile.

To follow on from Childs, a young academic took to the stage and spoke about the media’s vicious smear campaign against the Muslim population in order to aid their own self-interests.

Implausible as it may seem, these interests are very real – and are existing within our news media today. And, although the fear of Muslim culture seems to be the

most dominant phenomenon plaguing today’s society, many more cultures and nationalities have been, and continue to be, ostracised at the hands of ill-intended journalism.

The common argument is that newsrooms are faced with a number of pressure factors that influence the output of produced media.

Severe time constraints, limited budgets, and lack of outside sources have all been cited as factors affecting the quality of the news However, media organisations tend to play down aspects like interests of business owners and the over-reliance on government officials as sources – which equally dominate the landscape.

The Guardian columnist Piers Robinson, outlined the problems existing within our news media today, as well as the traps the public often fall into as a result of placing their trust in the ‘more reliable’ western media, while dismissing media from outside the west as ‘corrupted’ and ‘state-sponsored propaganda’.

His article examines the relationship between European and Russian media in the wake of current political tensions, but makes specific references to media coverage surrounding the Iraq War in

2003 – when a vast majority of UK and US media were manipulated into reinforcing official views in order to gain public support for the invasion.

“Propaganda and deception is not, it would appear, the sole preserve of non-western states; it is alive and well in western democracies,” Robinson says.

His article points to an imminent flaw within the modern media of which even The Guardian itself can’t be declared exempt, given the strong anti-Brexit coverage the publication engaged in prior to the referendum.

As a rising generation of academics, it is our duty to be aware of the greater powers at work in our society; and understand not only the facts we’re reporting, but the underlying agendas behind them.

Although it is impossible to be completely immune from all biases, we need to do our best to provide the public with well-informed and impartial accounts despite the growing pressures – because sloppiness cannot justify the slow destruction of democracy.

As the renowned journalist John Pilger put it: “Propaganda relies on us in the media to aim its deceptions not at a far-away enemy, but you at home.”

The daunting dangers of dating online

We always hear about bad experiences of dating online, but with a few simple steps, online dating could be a huge benefit sociobits.orgg

Ailbhe Daly Contributor @TheDalyAlly

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ast month, a woman fell

to her death in Australia while trying to escape from a man she met on Tinder. Warriena Wright fell from her date, Gable Tostee’s, 14th floor apartment balcony after an altercation with him inside the apartment. He pushed her out onto the balcony, where she

felt her only option was to try and climb down to escape.

Now, not all dates organised online end like this. We all have a friend or ten who have met their significant other on sites such as Tinder, Plenty of Fish or OK Cupid.

It’s not for everyone, but online dating can be a very effective way to meet new people that you wouldn’t have the chance to otherwise. It also offers far more variety than your local pub and you can also partake from the comfort of your bed.

A survey carried out by The Pew Research Centre showed that 15

percent of American adults are active on online dating sites or mobile apps, and 80 percent of these people think that it’s a good way to meet people to date. Statistics for Ireland are harder to find a solid number for, but if you think about your friends who are single, look at how many of them use dating apps to talk to people.

However, like most things, it isn’t without it’s risks. It is dangerously simple to deceive somebody online and to use another persons pictures in order to lure someone in.

With just a little bit of research, it

can be very easy to catch someone out, and it is also simple to search an image in order to see if it really came from someone’s Facebook page.

Becoming a 21st century online dating detective could be something that could greatly benefit you or your friends down the line, too. Apps such as Snapchat can help as you can exchange selfies, and if you’re talking enough, a sneaky add on Facebook should prove everything you want to know.

It is becoming increasingly common to meet up with someone you know from the internet, and if you do decide to do it, practicing some basic precautions is a really good call.

Without sounding like your mother, it’s a really good idea to let a friend or two know where you’re going.

Try and meet in a busy, public place so that you can suss them out before exchanging hellos. Most of the time it’ll be fine, but it’s important to have an escape if needs be.

As a generation that are becoming increasingly reliant on mobile phones to communicate, it’s common sense that something as integral to life as dating would become popular on mobile devices. Regardless of how you feel about it, it’s here to stay, and as long as you keep your wits about you, you could find someone you really like and make a connection. Or maybe, someone who you block on every medium possible.

There’s only one way to find out!

“It is

dangerously simple to deceive somebody online

FEATURES

Teachers say they need better pay

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With ASTI’s industrial action coming to a close, student teachers give their opinion on the matter Laura Burke Contributor @thecollegeview

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s two further days

of strike action took place in secondary schools across the country last week, teachers and students returned to school on Wednesday as the strike by the Association of Secondary School Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) was called off late on Tuesday afternoon.

The ASTI union and the Department of Education both accepted an invitation to meet with Anna Perry today, who is the chair of the Teachers Conciliation Council.

While the strike action was taking place on Monday and Tuesday, I visited St. Patricks College in Drumcondra where I spoke to two student teachers on why they agree and disagree with the strike action, and whether they think the current pay agreement for first time teachers is acceptable or not.

Under the current pay scale that operates for teachers in second level schools in Ireland, post-February 2012 entrants to teaching are not entitled to qualification allowances and are paid according to a revised new entrants salary scale.

Teachers begin on the first point of this scale which has a starting yearly salary of €31,009. There are 25 points which can be reached with each year of service provided.

Amie Kavanagh is a final year student teacher in St. Patricks College, where she is studying Irish and Human Development. Amie is of the opinion that the current pay situation, for first time teachers in Ireland, is unfair and can cause tension between colleagues in the staffroom. ‘’I don’t see where the equality or fairness is

in having to turn up to work from 9-4 each day, carry the same workload and deal with the same issues or problems as teachers who have been in the school twenty plus years, and get paid less for it.’’ says Kavanagh. ‘’In my opinion, this agreement is bringing us back to the day where men earned more money than woman, which was deemed unacceptable if they did the same type and amount of work as them. In this case, age is a prohibiting factor in newly qualified teachers earning the same wage as

their counterparts which I think they should be entitled to.’’ Kavanagh continues.

Another final year student in St. Patricks College, Anne Marie Byrne, condemned the strike action

by ASTI members and believes that a pay scale is a fair system of payment for newly qualified teachers. ‘’I do think the system is fair.’’ she said. ‘’In reality, a newly qualified teacher who is just out of college and earning €31,000 a year in their

“

Teachers begin on the first point of this scale which has a starting yearly salary of €31,009 first job is not too shabby. The teachers who are on a higher pay scale have been present in their jobs for years and would have handfuls more experience than a teacher in their first time job. I think that that with experience comes rewards on the pay scale and I would be happy to work under this pay scheme.’’ reasoned Byrne.

From last Wednesday, ASTI teachers agreed to return to school and supervise students during school break times while the Department of Education meets for talks with Ms Perry.

Laura Duffy

Sharing private images has become somewhat of a norm in society, but we must learn why this happens and how it can be stopped dailystar.co.uk

Katie Caden Contributor @thecollegeview

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evenge porn has become an epidemic in Ireland and affects mainly the student population resulting in depression and in some cases suicide, yet it is still to be decriminalised.

The exact definition of the term is clear: “Revenge porn: (n): Sharing sexually explicit photos or videos of another person online without their consent, usually with malicious intent.” Usually the attacker is an ex of the victim. However, some students did not even know this was an issue.

“I feel bad for doing it now but I didn’t know it was wrong at the time.

It’s just a thing lads do.” said one male DCU student who wished to remain anonymous.

“I felt as if I was the one who was in the wrong”, said a female DCU student who had been a victim of revenge porn.

Although, it has been proven that it is not “just a thing lads do”.

Women have also used revenge porn to publicise photos of male bodies sent to them. This is a double-edged

sword of revenge porn as any Irish woman on Tinder will say that they are bombarded with pictures of penises to the point of harassment and consequently show them to others for revenge, and so the vicious cycle of rape culture in Ireland goes on.

Ireland has always had a rough relationship when it comes to talking about sex, to the point where we would nearly believe we were all immaculately conceived. However, rape culture is not about Ireland’s attitude towards sex, it is about Ireland’s attitude towards victims; both men and women.

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald and the government have developed a new women’s strategy which addresses the emerging issue of revenge porn and body shaming.

“The strategy will have to work for women across all ages, classes and situations,” said the Tánaiste.

This is progress, but again it emphasises Ireland’s core problem when it comes to dealing with rape culture, which is that it is up to the victim to have a ‘strategy’ and not the abuser to not abuse. If we were to look into the reasoning behind the sharing of illicit images, that could be something we could learn from.

If it stems from jealousy then young people should be taught about the appropriate ways to deal

with such strong emotions. If it stems from anger and revenge due to mistreatment, then better coping mechanisms can be achieved. There are always methods of changing the way we think and act.

Revenge porn is product of the

ongoing problem that is rape culture.

Men have been victimised by it, but most targets are women. The degradation of women is institutionalised in Ireland, especially with the profound influence the catholic church has had on our thoughts and words.

For example, marital rape was only criminalised in 1990.

Even though the catholic church is losing its influence, women internationally must now strive more than ever for respect and equality in the age of the smartphone camera.

17

SPORT Hyland confident about DCU’s chances at NUIG invitational

DCU push past St. Mary’s into Ryan Cup semi-final Tensions ran high in DCU’s Ryan Cup quarter final win over St. Mary’s Credit: Darragh Culhane

Rudi Kinsella Sports Reporter @RudiKinsella

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he DCU swimming team will send the largest squad to the NUIG Invitational on Saturday, November 12th.

The team expect to pick up a number of medals, having a number of extremely talented swimmers on the team.

The NUIG Invitational takes place every year, and it will feature students from a colleges throughout Ireland.

DCU Swimming Head Coach Brendan Hyland has expressed confidence in his team, stating, “we have a very strong group going down. We all expect big things from each other.”

Hyland, who currently holds the Irish senior record for the 100-metre butterfly, will be swimming himself in three different races.

Among the swimmers travelling on the DCU team are Irish internationals Clodagh Flood and Ben Griffin who will both be in contention to pick up a number of medals. With DCU sending the largest squad, they have put themselves in with a great chance of doing extremely well.

Another record broken by the swimming team this year was the amount of people who signed up, showing the growth of the team, and the growth of the interest in the team. Due to the massive numbers, all levels of swimming are coached.

Hyland urged swimmers of all standard to join, saying “All swimmers are welcome and it’s great fun with the big group. The training sessions are always a laugh.”

Hyland also stressed the physical benefits of swimming, as well as the social ones. It can be a very effective and efficient way of exercising, with a 30-minute swimming session burning up to 500 calories.

Enda Coll Sub Editor @CVSport

Dublin City University 1-15 St. Mary’s 2-09

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strong first half performance from DCU proved to be enough to get past St Mary’s College, Belfast in the Ryan Cup, at St Clare’s.

The home side started the first half playing with a strong wind at their backs, which proved vital in their game plan of free-flowing, attacking play.

The first score came after just one minute through Niall Murphy and was followed swiftly by another from Donnie Smith.

DCU dominated the kick-outs in the opening period and controlled

possession, putting two more scores over the bar - the first from Smith 30 yards out. The second then came from Austin Stacks (Kerry) forward, David Mannix.

St Mary’s played more defensively in the first half, trying to run the ball out from the back but they were met by a strong DCU defence.

It took Mary’s seven minutes to put a score on the board but it was cancelled out straight from DCU’s kick-out when a long ball was played from midfield into Niall Murphy who laid off for Smith to tap over the bar. Smith, who was the standout player for DCU in the first half added further to his tally with a superb free-kick out on the sideline.

It looked as though DCU might run away with the game. They bettered Mary’s in every aspect, however, the County Antrim side was given a lifeline when DCU gifted them a penalty which was tucked away nicely.

This was followed by another point for St Mary’s, but, DCU immediately scored five more points

through Mannix, Murphy, and Donegal’s Hugh McFadden to bring them into half-time ahead by a score of 0-12 to 1-04.

DCU entered the second half comfortably in the lead and added further to this just 40 seconds in when Caolan McGonagle burst through Mary’s defence and fired past the goalkeeper.

Like Mary’s, DCU opted to play a running game against the strong wind, only with more immediate threat than their opponents.

But, when Donnie Smith received a black card for body checking his man, the momentum shifted to St Mary’s, who began to grab a foothold in the game.

After scoring 1-04 unanswered

by DCU, St Mary’s found themselves just one point behind with five minutes left to go in the game.

DCU’s experience through inter-county players such as Diarmuid O’Connor (Mayo), Hugh McFadden, and Enda Smith (Roscommon) paid dividends as they began to slow down play and retain possession.

As Mary’s tired in the closing minutes, DCU secured the win with three more points, two of them from Smith and one from Diarmuid O’Connor.

After three minutes of added time, the game ended with a final score of 1-15 to 2-09 sending DCU to their second semi-final in two years in the competition.

DCU: 1. David Mulvihill; 2. Eoin Smith, 3. Daniel O’Neill, 4. Barry Kerr; 5. Jonathon McGuigan, 6.

Kevin Feely 7. Shehroz Akram; 8.

David Mannix, 9. Caolon McGonagle; 10. Tom Lahiffe, 11. Enda Smith, 12. Diarmuid O’Connor; 13. Donnie Smith, 14. Hugh McFadden, 15 Niall Murphy.

Subs: 16. Brendan Flynn, 17. Daniel Gallagher, 18. Séamus Lavin, 19. James Mealiff, 20. Thomas Galligan 21. Niall Clerkin, 22.

Tadhg O’Rourke, 23. Thomas O’Reilly, 24. Eoghan O’Conchúir, 25. Brian Reape.

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SPORT

World champion Shelley is seeking further glory Adam Shelley Image credit The Israel Academy of Taekwon Do Credit: Google Images

PATRICK LYNCH DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR

A

ttention, students of DCU. There is a world champion among us. Adam Shelley, the 70kg (11 stone) Taekwon-Do champion of the world. However, you may not think it at first glance.

I meet Shelley in the canteen of DCU. He does not stand out particularly from the hundreds of other students that line the canteen. Friendly and gentle in his nature, you wouldn’t guess that this man is an expert in martial arts, capable of incredible physical feats.

It becomes quickly apparent, however, that this is a man of incredible will power with massive aspirations. “I want to take both world titles in the same year,” says Shelley, unflinching.

He is of course referring to the 70kg Taekwon-Do world championship, which he will hope to defend on home soil next year, and also the 69kg (10st 12 lbs) kickboxing championship.

Shelley won his third European Taekwon-Do championship in Finland last April, as well as winning the National Championship. The Irish Open is the biggest Mixed Martial Arts tournament in the world and sees 4,000 kickboxers compete.

While Shelley has competed competitively at Taekwon-Do since the age of seven, he has only taken up kickboxing in the last five years.

“My brothers and I had always wanted to take up karate or something, having seen it in movies. My uncle had recently taken up Taekwon-Do and he encouraged us to pursue it and it just took off from there.”

Shelley’s brother, Ryan, is a world kickboxing champion.

“Originally I took up kickboxing to help improve my Taekwon-Do, but I really grew into it. I’m now equally involved with both and am on the Irish team in both codes. The two really complement each other.”

Shelley leaves nothing to chance and wakes at 5:30am every morning so as to allow enough time for a two-hour gym session before college. When done with college work he’ll spend another hour-and-a-half in the evening working on his skills and technique.

It is of utmost importance that he is confident in his preparation.

“If the physical side of things isn’t right, the mental definitely won’t be. You have to have all the components of fitness: Endurance, speed, power, strength and flexibility, which is huge. Once you put all that in place, then you can believe in yourself.”

He pays credence to the mental side of the game too. “I spend a lot of time visualising, going over my plan, on how I’ll deal with my opponent, whether he’s a kicker, a puncher or an aggressive fighter. I even just try to imag-

ine the smell of the mats, just to be prepared.”

Shelley, a member of Killester Taekwon-Do Club, also has a long term vision, confident that he could transfer his skills to Mixed Martial Arts and follow in the footsteps of Conor McGregor.

“I want to achieve all my goals in my sports first but I could definitely see myself pursuing it next year or the year after. I’ve watched a lot of UFC and I’m confident that my style could be adapted to fit. In order to be successful, though, I’d need to develop my ground game.

“I’d be a big fan of McGregor. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny what he has done for the sport.”

Shelley is delighted with the way Taekwon-Do is developing in Ireland, adamant that it is growing rapidly in popularity.

“I teach in my local club and there are more kids than ever partaking in the sport, with parents looking to involve their kids in martial arts. Even coaches of ten years are saying that it’s growing and growing.”

This bright future is supplemented by an excellent national squad, however there is disappointment at the lack of government support.

“We compete really well on the international stage. In 2013 we came second as a team at the Taekwon-Do world championships and in kickboxing we came second in the world in the light contact division, just behind Russia which was a huge deal.”

“They receive between 10 and 15 grand

from their government per gold medal, while all of our funding comes from ourselves.”

“Our clubs are great for helping with fundraising and trying to take that burden of competitors but we would have to pay a certain amount ourselves to compete.”

As well as eyeing a career in MMA, Shelley also has Olympic aspirations.

“There are two kinds of Taekwon-Do. WTF, in which I fight, and ITF which is recognised as an Olympic sport. People ask why not just transfer to ITF, but there’s quite a difference.

“ITF is more like kickboxing. It’s kickboxing as you know it with punching and kicking. In WTF you can only really punch to the body. It’s about 10% punching and 90% kicking. It’s a different style and different scoring system, which makes tactics different.

Kickboxing is in the process of getting Olympic recognition. They’ve made a bid so hopefully we’ll see kickboxing in the Olympics in 2020 or 2024. The sooner the better.”

His lifestyle does not allow for typical college nights out, but will take a brief break from training this Christmas.

“I try to rule nights out completely. It’s not worth it when you’re training so much.

I’ll have a few chance to have a few drinks over Christmas but come New Year, I’ll be straight back into training.”

Once 2017 begins, Shelley will have his eyes set firmly on double world championship glory.

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SPORT

IT Carlow strike late to down DCU in Fitzgibbon League quarter-final

Patrick Curran pointed eight frees despite the inclement weather at St. Clare’sCredit: Andrew Byrne

Niall McIntyre Sports Reporter @CVSport

Dublin City University 1-16 Institute of Technology Carlow 2-14

T

Fitzgibbon League quarter-final wo last minute IT Carlow points from play were enough to defeat DCU in an enthralling Fitzgibbon League quarter-final in St. Clare’s last Wednesday, November 9th.

This was a tense, tight and high-paced affair in which both sides showed that they will not be far away when the Fitzgibbon Cup reaches its closing stages in February.

Strong winds and heavy rain pervaded throughout but that did not stop either side from showcasing their skill and determination in an extremely physical contest.

This physicality was at times overstated and came to a head with a late red card for the away side’s corner forward Conor Nolan.

In truth neither side deserved to lose this evenly matched encounter but it was the extra

knowhow which carried the Carlow side over the line.

DJ Carey’s charges are now targeting a third successive Fitzgibbon League win and they were not willing to relinquish their title easily. Carey hailed his side’s “spirit, determination and sheer will to win” and will see no reason for this league form not to translate to championship glory when the Fitzgibbon weekend rolls around.

As for Nick Weir’s DCU outfit, they will be relatively pleased at a positive league campaign in which they defeated the University of Ulster Jordanstown, St Pat’s and drew with UCD. The manner of this loss will hurt but these wounds will soon heal and judging on this performance they should not be underestimated by any college they meet in the Fitzgibbon Cup. Scores were hard to come by in the opening stages with the heavy underfoot conditions undoubtedly playing their part.

DCU soon settled with a brilliant over-theshoulder strike from Killian Doyle and this was followed by a Patrick Curran free. Carlow responded emphatically however reeling off five unanswered points with Jack Fagan, Charles Dwyer and Diarmuid Healy prominent.

Carlow were coping a lot better with the

conditions in the early stages of the game with their hungry and sharp defenders setting the tone. This dominance led to a breakthrough in the 15th minute when midfield powerhouse Healy caught a dropping ball and played in Jack Fagan who left ‘keeper Robbie Gillen with no chance.

DCU’s leaders stood up with Paudie Foley and Paul O’Dea quelling Carlow attacks and Joe O’Connor picking up some valuable loose ball. This dominance translated to the scoreboard with Curran (2), Kelly and Doyle pointing before a wonderful solo effort from the speedy corner forward Rían McBride.

A long range goal form Carlow full forward ‘Picky’ Maher put a halt to this DCU momentum however and this was followed by a free from Fagan.

DCU again stormed back into the game with a well-taken Killian Doyle goal after great work from Kilkenny man Jason Byrne on the wing. This left three points between the sides at the break.

DCU continued from where they left off after the resumption of play with Patrick Curran and Killian Doyle scoring fine points from play before two more Curran frees. DCU were now up by two with the score 2-8 to 1-13.

Charles Dwyer was becoming increasingly effective for the away side and won a penal-

ty which was pointed by Fagan. A ‘Picky’ Maher free followed before McBride and Maher again traded points.

As the game entered the final five minutes, the lively sub Andrew Jamison Murphy pointed well before a Curran free put DCU two up with three minutes to go. That was when the Carlow giants awoke with three unanswered points leaving DCU shell-shocked.

DCU: R. Gillen; A. Murphy, C. Delaney, P. O’Dea; T. French, P. Foley, S. McCaw; L. Fahey, J. O Connor; E. McHugh, P. Kelly, J. Byrne; R. McBride, P. Curran, K. Doyle.

Subs: E. Conroy for McHugh (27’) P. Hogan for McCaw (HT) A.J. Murphy for P. Kelly (47’) Scorers for DCU: P. Curran 0-9 (8f), K. Doyle 1-3, R. McBride 0-2, P. Kelly 0-1, A.J. Murphy 0-1.

IT Carlow: E. Rowland; K. Hannafin, T. Gallagher, D. Palmer; R. Nolan, M. Harney, D. O’Hanlon; D. Healy, T. Nolan; C. Dwyer, M. Russell, M. Redmond; C. Nolan, P. Maher, J. Fagan.

Subs: W. Young, J. Fitzgerald.

Scorers for I.T Carlow: J. Fagan, 1-8 (0-5f, 0-1 pen), P. Maher 1-4 (0-2f), C. Dwyer 0-2, D. Healy 0-1, W. Young 0-1

SPORT

INSIDE DCU reach Ryan Cup semifinal

Tuesday November 8th: DCU beat IT Sligo 6-18 to 3-8 in their Division Two match Credit: Laura Horan

WNL a badly needed platform for women’s game

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AIDAN GERAGHTY DEPUTY EDITOR

ootball, for more than a century-anda-half, has been the game of the masses. The working man’s leisure. That, though, is precisely the biggest institutional problem the game faces and has always faced. It has been considered a man’s game.

Since the turn of the century, the women’s game all over the world has taken huge strides towards disproving the outdated notion that football is a game for men to play and for men to watch, but until recently Ireland had been left behind. DCU alumnus and Shelbourne player Caolán Carroll feels the Women’s National League (WNL), which was founded in 2011, has helped to rectify this.

“There was no platform for women’s football at a high senior level before the WNL was introduced,” she said.

“It allows women’s football to compete at a level deemed to be the equivalent to the men’s national league.

“The WNL has had significant promotion which is developing more each season, particularly on social media. This is a great way to showcase the league, the players, the facilities and to extend the reach to a wider audience.”

Despite the indisputable improvement in the women’s game, Carroll feels that a lack of funding is still a major difficulty.

“Funding will always be an issue for the women’s game in comparison to the men’s game.

“As a player it will always infuriate me to hear some of the comments about how the women’s game is nothing compared to the lads’, in whichever sport that may be. But from a financial perspective, it’s a fact that that men’s games attract more attention.

“There is more demand for places on teams, more demand for tickets and bigger turnouts to games thus giving them the ability to perform in better facilities in front of a wider audience,

DCU alumnus Sarah Rowe celebrates Shelbourne’s cup win Credit: Sarah Rowe

promoting more sponsorship and general interest.”

Although public interest in the women’s game does pale when compared to the men’s game, there is definitely a positive trend. The Women’s Football Association of Ireland (WFAI) Cup final, which Caolán’s club Shelbourne won 5-0 against Wexford Youths, was played in the national football stadium in front of several thousand people and was nationally televised.

“Ground is certainly being made here,” according to Carroll. “But I do think there is a limit to how much progress can be made realistically. I guess that’s just the nature of things.

“Where there is more demand and attention, the funding will follow. If women’s games attracted more support than men’s games, we would be having this conversation in the opposite manner.

“So I don’t think being women is the issue, it’s simply a supply and demand one.”

DCU’s own senior women’s team had a promising but ultimately heartbreaking season last term. They reached the final of the Women’s Soccer Colleges Association of Ireland First Division final before falling to the University of Limerick after extra time by a score of 6-4.

Caolán wasn’t involved due to academic commitments but she’s optimistic about the team’s chances to go one better this year.

“Although the league was lost the girls seemed to have a good season. It was certainly an improvement on previous ones. Hopefully they will challenge well in the league and finish in a good position as well as in the college cups and intervarsities.

I’ve always said it but DCU dance around their GAA teams and the men’s soccer team. It would be great to see more investment from the university itself.”