The College View - Issue 8 - Volume XVII

www.thecollegeview.com

Vol. XVII, Issue 8

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

THE COLLEGE VIEW DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY’S ONLY INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1999

s s u

s e

th

Fifty Shades Has Hollywood missed its chance to shock?

Sport Sigerson champions

» 28

First year nurses across the country hit by new fee Thousands of Euro was withdrawn from student nurses’ bank accounts across the country by Nursing Board Finnian Curran Deputy Editor @finnc94

Thousands of first year nursing students across the country were given just two days to pay a newly introduced administration fee just before Christmas.

The €20 fee was introduced by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) in De-

INSIDE Opinion

»9

Opinion

» 10

Features

» 23

Can I place an order?

Women have a right to go under the knife The trials and tribulations of being a retail worker

Gaelige

» 19

Cluichí Oilimpeachana na camógaíochta

Gaelige

» 20

An-rath ar Chomhdháil Cearta Teanga Idirnáisiúnta

cember with little or no explanation given to students as to why they have to pay the fee. However, the fee is not expected to be an annual cost to students.

There are currently 270 first year nursing students attending DCU. A motion for DCUSU to oppose the fee was passed unanimously by class reps at the most recent Class Rep Council (CRC) meeting. It is understood DCUSU will lobby the USI to follow suite.

Newly elected CRC Chairperson and first year Children’s and General Nursing student Katie Dawson brought the motion forward. “We were sent a direct debit form last year on a Wednesday and told to have it returned by the Friday,” she said.

Speaking to The College View, Dawson said: “We were basically told that we couldn’t do our placements unless we paid the fee”.

Under the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011, which governs and regulates the nursing and midwifery professions, all practising nurses and midwives are obliged to be registered by NMBI. Practising nurses and midwives also have to pay an annual retention fee mounting to €150.

Dawson was elected Chairperson of CRC unopposed following the resignation of former CRC chairperson Claire Mullan for academic reasons.

The NMBI was unavailable for comment when contacted by The College View.

SIGERSON SUCCESS: UCC’s Barry O’Driscoll supported by team-mates John Buckley, centre, and Mark Collins, 13, wins possession against Bryan Cullen, left, Kevin Nolan, 4, and Hugh Gill, DCU, during the Sigerson Cup Final.

Credit Sportsfile

2

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

Editorial Murphy must take responsibility for the good and bad of Irish socialism, whether he likes it or not Michael Cogley Editor-in-Chief

@michaelcogley

THIS past Friday, Anti-Austerity

Alliance TD, Paul Murphy, had a go at trying to ignite the inner conspirator in all of us as he continually deflected policy questions and focused on the ‘political policing’ line he’s been spouting lately when he was on the Late Late Show.

Murphy is known for his excellent speech and his ability to debate and deflect effectively.

These abilities came into good use on Friday night’s show as he began to draw the line between the state broadcaster, the Irish Independent, Denis O’Brien, GMC Sierra and finally Irish Water.

What sparked him into conspiracy overdrive? Ryan Tubridy’s questioning of a protest that he wasn’t at.

He claims that it was an article, published in an Independent newspaper, owned by Mr. Denis O’Brien, linked him to the verbal abuse of President Michael D. Higgins.

While he has excuses that absolve him from any wrongdoing at water protests, namely, the fact that he didn’t organise the Jobstown protest and that he wasn’t at Michael D’s heckling, it doesn’t seem to suffice given he is essentially the leader of these protests.

There is plenty to be admired about Paul Murphy however, I believe that he has shirked the responsibility for the events at the above mentioned events.

Paul Murphy was responsible for a lot of the major national peaceful protests that proved to be a huge success and whether he likes it or not, he has played a role in the videos of abuse of Irish Water workers, the Jobstown protest and indeed the heckling of our President.

While he may not have directly influenced these events, comments and statements of rebelliousness against the charges were always going to incite the thugs to ‘join his side’.

Mr. Murphy has done a wealth of good in speaking for the exhausted citizens of this country but it seems as though he doesn’t

Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief: Michael Cogley Deputy Editor: Finnian Curran Production & Layout Editor: Gianluca Avagnina Deputy Production & Layout Editor: Mark Hogan News Editors: Finnian Curran, Sharron Lynskey Deputy News Editors: Katie O’ Neill, Elaine Carroll, Laura Colgan Opinion Editor: Christine Allen Lifestyle Editor: Orlaith Farrell Deputy Lifestyle Editor: Emma Dungan Features Editor: Catherine Devine Deputy Features Editor: Jade O’Leary Irish Editor: Caoimhe Ní Chathail Deputy Irish Editor: Barry Scanlon

Sports Editor: Ruaidhri Croke Deputy Sports Editors: Cian Roche, Kevin Taylor Flux Editor: Odrán de Bhaldraithe Deputy Flux Editor: Bryan Grogan Images Editor: Aidan Broletti Phototographers: DCU Paparazzi Online Editor: David Matthews Online News Editor: Mark Hogan Deputy Online News Editor: Kevin Kelly Chief Sub-Editor: Nicola Ayres Sub-Editors: Jordan Kavanagh, Megan Roantree, Nicola Ayres, Anna Kazadojeva, Giulia Luzi, Lisa O’Donnell, Conor Jack Martin, Aoibheann Diver, Chaitanya Brady, Aura McMenamin, Jamie Concannon, Aidan Delaney

Contacts editor@thecollegeview.com news@thecollegeview.com features@thecollegeview.com opinion@thecollegeview.com gaeilge@thecollegeview.com sports@theccollegeview.com Printed By Datascope, with the DCU Journalism Society Thanks To Sportsfile, SLC, Office of Student Life

appreciate the responsibility he holds in the position he’s in.

His resilience against a government type that has been settled for decades now is inspiring and it is a good, notable opposition however the young TD must begin to realise the anarchistic repercussions that come hand in hand with his anti-water charge comments.

Should he continue this path it won’t be long before his picture will be printed across t-shirts all across the country as a sign of rebellion.

He has become an inspiring voice for the exhausted but the genuine aren’t his only followers as scumbags and thugs take the opportunity to jump on the bandwagon to legitimise their anti-social behaviour.

As regards the matter of a biased media, he may have a point.

Ryan Tubridy’s interview was bizarre to say the least.

What the Late Late Show host was doing in asking about Murphy’s late father I’ll never know.

It seemed like a cheap tactic to unnerve him and send his mind elsewhere.

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

3

News

Lecturers not doing enough ‘Sneaky naggin’ to include disability students trend condemned

Sharron Lynskey News Editor @sharronlynskey

by USI

USI condemns new drinking craze sweeping UCC

AROUND 60 per cent of disabili-

ty staff believe that college lecturers aren’t doing enough to include students with disabilities in their courses.

According to a new report by the association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD), each learning support staff member in Irish universities oversees an average of 321 students.

In DCU, students with disabilities make up 4.8 per cent of the total student population.

St Patrick’s College, reported the lowest minority nationwide, where students with disabilities make up just 1 per cent of the total number of students.

Disability Officer in DCU, Carol Ellis, admits that recent budget cuts are the services biggest problem in recent times.

“As the number of students with disabilities starting college increases, the money available to us is decreasing,” she says.

The report also found that almost 10,000 students with disabilities are studying in a higher education institute in Ireland today.

The Disability and Learning Support service in DCU caters for over 600 students at present.

Ellis says that lecturers these days are “much more positive about introducing new teaching methods and techniques in order to facilitate students with disabilities”.

Students with disabilities in DCU can avail of a myriad of technologies such as LiveScribe.

Which is a large pen and computerised A4 Spiral Pad where students can take down keywords in a lecture. They can then go back to these notes and tap into full lecture notes through clicking their keywords.

“This in particular is beneficial as it encourages independent learning, instead

Rebecca Lumley News Reporter @RebeccaLumley1

A NEW drinking trend known as

Credit dcu.ie

of students being reliant on note-takers”, Ellis explains.

“This is more like a piece of technology that will move forward with the student from college into the workplace”.

The institutions surveyed

by AHEAD reported more than twice as many blind/visually impaired new entrants

Blood donation clinic returns to campus Katie O’Neill News Reporter @_Katie_ONeill

SOME 236 students turned out to

the pop-up blood donation clinic that came to campus from February 2nd to February 4th.

Over the three day period, 130 of those that were present

donated blood. The clinic was brought to campus by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS).

Mary Deery from the IBTS explained that 106 that attended but neglected to donate were deemed ineligible.

“All of those who attended and were not bled had intended to donate. I cannot give you the reasons why students were deferred from clinics.” Deery said.

in 2013/14 in comparison to the previous academic year.

Over half of those students in third-level education with disabilities reported having a specific learning disability (SPD) which can cover a wide range of disabilities such as dyslexia and developmental aphasia.

The research also conclud-

ed that students with disabilities were more likely to study Humanities and Arts. It also suggested that students with Aspergers Syndrome or Autism were 3 and a half times more likely to be studying Computing at higher level.

Clinics set up in colleges have around a 35 per cent deferral rate.

IBTS last set up a clinic on campus in November 2014. On that occasion the clinic also spanned three days but received donations from 360 students in total.

There are various grounds that rule out a candidate from donating including: tattoos, failing to be within the required weight category (50kg-130kg), failing to be within the required age range (18-65) and being pregnant.

In Ireland, a man who has engaged in sexual intercourse with another man is prohibited from donating blood, whether or not a condom was used. However in January, Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar announced that the

ban may potentially be relaxed.

The ban was introduced in 1985 as part of an initiative to prevent the spread of HIV and Aids.

One of the potential solutions that has been discussed is that a gay or bisexual man who wishes to donate blood would have to abstain from sex with another man for a one year prior to donating, as is the procedure in the UK. “My initial impression is to favour a one-year deferral which would bring Ireland into line with many other English-speaking countries, but I will first get advice from the Chief Medical Officer, and hear the voices of patients, before making a final decision,” Mr Varadkar said on the proposed relaxing of the ban.

the “sneaky naggin” fad was condemned by the Union of Students in Ireland last week and was widely reported in national news media.

The game, which consists of surprising a friend with a naggin in a lecture and forcing them to down it on the next night out, was branded as “irresponsible” last week by USI Welfare Officer, Greg O’Donoghue.

“Consuming that level of alcohol is dangerous and it isn’t something that people should be encouraging their friends to do”, he said. “Our message on this is simple, don’t give into peer pressure. Don’t be afraid to be your own person”.

Though the trend doesn’t seem to have caused many problems in DCU, the term “sneaky naggin” is generally used to describe sneaking alcohol into a nightclub or bar to avoid paying for drinks.

This trend comes just three weeks after a University of College Cork study found that 66 per cent of students were engaging in hazardous drinking.

DCU Students’ Union Welfare Officer, Eve Kerton, described it as a “worrying concept”.

“Spirits have high alcohol content and people tend to drink them quickly, hoping they won’t get caught. I feel it’s quite dangerous as it’s oftentimes cheap alcohol, high in chemicals.”

Eve said one of the biggest problems is that students don’t know their limits when drinking.

“I feel as a nation we need to educate students on which drinks are highest in alcohol content and how much you consume on a night out before you reach your limit and become ill, involved in fights, accidents or blackout”.

The official drinking guidelines set out by the HSE are eleven drinks per week for women and seventeen for men.

The USI are set to launch their mentaldrinking.ie Campus Roadshow in UCC this Monday, which aims to educate students on the impact binge drinking has on mental health.

4

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

News

Stars sign at Miss DCU Nansi Coogan News Reporter @thecollegeview

MISS DCU, the annual talent

show, received an unprecedented turnout this year of over 150 people. The contest, organized by Enactus, a non-profit organization supporting student entrepreneurial projects, saw ten contestants battle it out in order to take home the title of Miss DCU and the crown that accompanied it.

Complete with escorts at their sides, the contestants talents, which included speed-eating (demonstrated with chicken goujons), dancing on a yoga ball, and even rapping evoked much shouting and laughter from the crowds. But there could only be one Miss DCU and it was Ciara O’Dwyer who would take home the crown after impressing the judges (which included the head of Enactus Ireland, Liam Redmond) with her singing skills.

Apart from the entertainment value of such an event, the ticket money would go towards HeadstARTS - weekly classes held for people with intellectual disabilities. All in all, it raised a whopping 500 euros for supplies for their art, music, drama and dance classes.

Niamh Dunbar, the event coordinator for Enactus DCU said HeadstARTS has been “one of the best experiences of my life”.

“To feel like the even last night was successful means even more to me because I see how important HeadstARTS is for the volunteers and its members. Overall, it’s been a great achievement for Enactus and the team in general.”

Motivation Week in DCU Anna Kazadojeva News Reporter @thecollegeview

STUDENTS’ Union in DCU has

launched a weekly hop-on bus to Aldi as part of the Motivation Week last Monday.

A free bus service to and from Aldi every Monday at 5pm and 7pm was organised so that students would have easier access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

The weekly trip marked one of many events which focused on health and positive

thinking throughout the week.

Welfare Officer of the Students’ Union, Eve Kerton, agreed that motivation is something that every students needs.

“Everyone has the best of intentions, but sometimes you might get lazy or let things slip. Sometimes all you need is a little push, and that’s what we’re here for.”

Exercise and healthy eating were the two key aspects of Motivation Week, with a free zumba class and free elite access to the RunKeeper App. A Food Fair took place in the Hub on Thursday, where students could sample various healthy food options for reduced prices, as well as receive healthy eating tips from DCU’s Food Society.

Golder Ikerionwu, a science student in DCU, disapproved of a lack of healthy food choices around the campus.

“A lot of the food on campus is unhealthy and if you try to eat healthy you’d see yourself with no money at the end of the week.”

“It’s very difficult to maintain a regular diet plan as a student.

But once you dedicate yourself to it, it’s really easy to do”, commented the Welfare Officer.

The SU also plans to have a Positivity Week before the end of the year.

“It’s like part 2 of our Mental Health Week held in the first semester. This time we are focused more on how you can help other people.”

Weekly hop-on Aldi bus leaves DCU sports car park at 5 and 7pm every Monday

Nearly ¤2,000 raised Style Soc at Shave or Dye event host DCU Scout Mitchell News Reporter @scout_mitchell

ON Wednesday, February 18th,

DCU Cancer Soc teamed up with ESOC to hold its first fundraising event of the semester: Shave or

Dye. The fundraiser was held in Nubar with House of Colour assisting with the shaving and dying, with music provided by DCU DJ society. A total of eight heads were shaved or dyed (three dyed and five shaved) on the night, including DCU’s education officer, Gary Gillick.

Participants raised money through online giving accounts.

According to the society’s vice chair, Saoirse Fitzgerald, “We still haven’t counted the money—but it’s looking to be over 2,000 euro.”

Since it’s formation in 2014, DCU’s Cancer society has set out with an aim to promote cancer awareness and raise funds for research through various society events.

Much like the society’s November campaign, “Moustache You a Question”, the fundraiser was a huge success and bodes well for future events and fundraisers the year will bring.

Fashion Week

The six finalists’ chosen from the event, who include Geraldine Breen, Agnes O’Leary, Claire Sheridan, Adeola Awodumila, Helen Hayes and Leuween Beattie, will also have their designs on display in the Fashion Show next week, in front of some of the country’s well-known fashion experts.

The society’s chairperson, Emma Kearney, said they

there to adjudicate the event.

It gives the opportunity for focus to be put on the pieces and it was obvious that there was a lot of talent.”

In terms of preparation for the Fashion Show, Emma said there is still a lot of work to be done but it should be a great night for everyone involved.

“With such a huge team of vol-

are delighted for the designs to be showcased next week.

“I cannot wait for the six finalists to have their pieces displayed next week - we’ll have Brendan Courtney and Sonia Lennon

unteers it will be great, and the choreography and styling looks very impressive. There will be a few surprises on the night too.”

Tickets are currently on sale in The Hub for €12.

Carina Canavan News Reporter @CarinaCanavan

DCU Style Society reeled in this

year’s Fashion Week with a host of events including Swap Shop and Project Young Designer (PYD), all leading up to the event of the year, the DCU Fashion Show.

The PYD competition, which took place in the Old Bar on Thursday, was host to over 20 young talented DCU designers from across Ireland.

The students were given the chance to showcase their abilities to a panel of judges, including designer, Natalie B Coleman, fashion editor at Stellar magazine, Linda Conway and owner of Om Diva boutique, Ruth Ní Loínsigh.

The winner of the competition will have their own line on sale in Om Diva.

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

5

News

Spring Break comes to DCU Aaron Gallagher News Reporter @thecollegeview

DCU’S Spring Break is set to take

place on campus in under two weeks time.

The week-long festival, organised by DCU’s Students’ Union, will feature four days of entertainment by top musical talent, featuring David O’Doherty, The Darkness, 2manydjs and more.

Running from Monday the 9th of March until Thursday the 12th the event represents the biggest student event organised by the SU this semester.

Monday will see comedian David O’Doherty get proceedings under way. He will be followed by Belgian alternative rock band The Darkness on Tuesday, with local Dublin rock band Delorentos as well as grunge/pop band Otherkin due to perform in the Hub on Wednesday night.

The final gig will see 2manydjs conclude what looks to be a week of fun and musical entertainment.

Speaking about the festival, Student Union president Kenneth Browne said that the variations in acts will offer something for everyone over the course of the four days.

“It’s something different every night to try to appeal to different kinds of people. David O’ Doherty is on Monday night, Tuesday we have the Darkness coming in, Wednesday is Delorenttos and they’re being supported by another band called Otherkin”, he said.

Excitement is building among students as tickets went on sale soon after semester one exam results were released.

Credit Anna Kazadojeva

Credit DCUSU

“We’ve never done something over the period of a week in the second semester”, the SU president said.

“We’ve done fresher’s fortnight and they would all be established in their own right but we’ve never had as many things packed into one week, so it’s something completely new”.

“There’s no other university or college in the country that is doing it” Kenneth stated.

Tickets for DCU SU’s Spring Break are on sale now in the Student Union. Monday featuring David O’Doherty will cost €10 per student, Tuesday with the Darkness is €12.50, Wednesday with Delorentos featuring Otherkin as well is €10 and Thursday’s finale with 2manydjs is €12.

An all-in-one ticket for all four days is also available to students for €30.

New bill could allow spying Gender Imbalance warning to Irish colleges in universities SEVEN

University presidents have expressed concern about proposed legislation which could give ministers power to appoint “cronies” to spy on their operations, according to a Freedom of Information request made by the Irish Times last month.

The presidents said: “Our concerns include the potential for future Ministers to misuse the Act to influence university appointment processes based on political agendas, or to appoint cronies as ‘investigators’ or persons to carry out certain functions of a university, and we would have no option but to strongly oppose the changes.”

Minister Ruairí Quinn first put the Universities Amendment Bill forward in 2012 after senior administrators were found to be receiving top-up

Patrick Prendergast Credit iua.ie

Chaitanya Brady News Reporter @Chai_108

payments; this was one of a number of similar controversies.

The presidents state that resurrecting this Bill could do serious damage to the higher education sector. This reaction occurred after Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan proposed to re-introduce the Bill before summer.

Figures released by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) in 2013 showed that seven universities spent a total of €7.2m on

unauthorised top-ups. This occurred between 2005 and 2011.

UCD president Dr Michael Murphy was among those against the Bill and defended his €232,000 salary in 2012.

The department capped president’s salary at €200,000. UCD was the college most affected by the HEA’s withholding of the top-ups, which added up to €1.6m. DCU was least affected with €27,000 being held back.

A senior academic administrator in TCD, Dr Patrick Prendergast, said if the Bill was passed it might affect Irish universities reputation abroad.

“Some of the measures proposed in the draft Bill are punitive and, if enacted, will send out the wrong signals to universities abroad with whom we wish to establish joint activities and, I fear, to potential foreign direct investment partners and university philanthropists,” Dr Prendergast wrote.

Elaine Carroll try and the wider community.”

The proportion of female enDeputy News Editor @elainecarroll93 trants to STEM courses at universities fell from 47% to 40% between 2005 and 2013, despite MINISTER for Education Jan increased encouragement of O’Sullivan hopes the Government girls towards related subjects. will not have to impose fundLess than a third of seing penalties on colleges to force nior academic positions in them to rectify gender imbalances the Ireland’s seven universiin leadership roles. ties and 14 institutes of techThe higher education sector nologies are held by women. has been in the spotlight lately NUIG recently announced a over the low numbers of women task force on gender equality and in top academic positions at uni- the Higher Education Authoriversities and institutes of tech- ty (HEA) is considering a review nology over the past few months. of policies and their implemenThe minister spoke at an event tation at all third-level colleges. last week aimed at promoting NUIG and Trinity College science, technology, engineer- Dublin, where 14% of profesing and maths (STEM) careers to sors are women, are the worst girls and acknowledged that aca- universities in the HEA figdemia has been slower than oth- ures, followed by UCC (16%). er areas on gender equality, but 27% of DCU’s academic are said there has been real progress. women, which is just behind Uni“It is important that our high- versity of Limerick (UL) with the er level education sector fairly highest percentage of female acarepresents the diversity and in- demics at 31%. novation that are at the heart of Irish society. In the area of STEMM women play a key role in teaching, cutting-edge research and building links with indus-

6

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

News

Single mother elected as TCD SU President Laura Colgan Deputy News Editor @Laura_Colgan

A SINGLE mother and early

school leaver has been elected President of Trinity College Dublin’s Students’ Union.

30-year-old Lynn Ruane defied the odds and won the election with almost 43% of the vote.

The mother-of-two sat her Junior Cert exams at eight months pregnant and left school shortly afterwards.

She worked as a drugs addiction worker before returning to education three years ago through the Trinity Access Programme.

The Tallaght native was overwhelmed by the support students gave to her campaign, describing it as a “social movement”.

“There was a sudden movement in my campaign. My campaign team was multiplying by the day, just strangers turning up and wanting to be involved.

They attached themselves to the positivity of the campaign,

because it was based around equality and inclusion. So I started to see that there was momentum growing after the first few days,” she told The College View.

The philosophy, political science, economics and sociology student dismissed concerns that her parenting would be affected by the responsibility of her new role at the hustings held two weeks ago.

She was challenged by a supporter of another presidential candidate as to whether she could parent effectively in

the role of TCD SU president and as to where she would live.

She describes the questions as “naïve”, saying that, ”I wouldn’t have got too worked up about it. A lot of people got worked up about it. It is a sexist question. If I was a man, I wouldn’t have been asked that,” she said.

Ruane, who will be the first female president in 12 years, works as Student Parent Officer in the university at present.

The self-described community activist hopes to reach out to secondary school students and aid their progression on to further education as part of her new role.

“I want to lobby the college to introduce a credit system whereby students in Trinity receive credits for mentoring kids that are in fifth and sixth year in school, in disadvantaged schools, to hopefully try and aid their progression on to Trinity College or any third level education,” she said.

Ruane follows in the footsteps of broadcaster Joe Duffy, Fianna Fail Senator Averil Power and Storyful’s Mark Little.

Credit Tinitynews

Two anti-bullying initiatives launched by DCU Laura Colgan Deputy News Editor

Trinity taking legal action over Dublin Language School’s use of its name

THE Minister for Children and

Hayley Halpin News Reporter @HayleyHalpin1

@Laura_Colgan

Youth Affairs launched two cyberbullying resources developed by the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre at DCU earlier this month.

Dr James Reilly launched a website for young people affected by bullying along with a guidebook for parents and teachers at the university on 12 February.

Both resources were developed at the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre in DCU’s School of Education Studies after funding was received from the National Lottery.

Tacklebullying.ie is the first forum of its kind that encourages peer-to-peer conversation as well as providing teenagers with information on the topic of internet safety.

All forum posts will be monitored by professionals and young people will be able to contact moderators directly if needed.

Senior Lecturer in the School of Education Studies, James O’Higgins Norman said, “this online forum arises out of many years of research on bullying

TRINITY College Dublin insti-

Credit sineadkane

and cyberbullying at the Anti-Bullying Centre and signify our commitment to transforming our research into practical resources for those affected by bullying and cyberbullying.”

Understanding Cyberbullying is a guidebook that aims to give parents and teachers a deeper understanding of cyberbullying and the ways to prevent it.

“There is a great urgency to address the growth of cyberbullying among our young people. The book will complement the online forum by helping schools, parents and teachers to better identify, prevent and deal more effective-

ly with the behaviour that constitutes cyberbullying,” said author and Professor in the School of Education Mona O’Moore.

Minister Reilly said that “internet safety and cyberbullying are issues which have resonance across a number of government departments and statutory agencies. In the case of my own department, the anti-bullying agenda has been a recurring element in its consultations with young people and has been addressed in a number of initiatives supported by my department.”

The Anti-Bullying Centre was established in DCU in 1996.

gated a High Court action against “Trinity English School”, a Dublin English-language school for using the word “Trinity” in its school name. The University is seeking an injunction against Trinity English School, currently located on South Frederick Street, Dublin 2, due to the fact that it is using its trademark name “Trinity”, claiming that it infringes the college’s intellectual property rights. The legal actions were taken on February 6th. Since then, the majority of references to “Trinity English School” have been replaced by “The English School” on the school’s website.

The defendant is known as Derren Hogarty, who Companies Office records display is a direction of the first Learn English in Dublin. In a statement, Trinity College, which is represented by Mason Hayes & Curran solicitors, said it discovered that an English language school in Dublin city

had been advertising itself as Trinity English School. “As the college is the sole owner of the registered trademark ‘Trinity’ in Ireland for the provision of educational services, this is an infringement of the college’s intellectual property rights,” they said.

“The college therefore had no choice other than to issue trademark infringement proceedings in order to protect its name, reputation and to avoid confusion among members of the public.”

The school had a Twitter account set up under the name “Trinity Language School”, which carried a link to trinityenglishschool.com.

However, it now redirects to theenglishschooldublin.com.

A Spanish student paid the school €720 for a four-week course, 16 hours of classes per week, only to arrive in Dublin this February to discover it was based in an office on Magennis Place, off PearseStreet, and not at 27 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, as the website had advertised. She has since sought help from the Irish Council of International Students (ICOS).

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

7

News

Six students arrested in WIT RAG week Andrew Byrne News Reporter @_Katie_ONeill

SIX people were arrested in Wa-

terford City early Friday morning 14 February after Waterford IT’s RAG Week came to a close.

The arrests were made after hundreds of students arrived on to John Street after the nightclubs closed just after 2am.

Gardai arrived at the scene as a large group of students got out of hand and refused to leave the area.

The incident prompted Waterford IT Student Union (WITSU) to release a statement commenting on the situation, condemning the acts of anti-social behaviour which tarnished on an event that is primarily organised to raise money for charity.

WITSU said they are currently working with all authorities concerned in the investigation at this time.

“We would like to note the thousands of students who positively got involved in our Raise and Give Week Campaign,” they said.

“Six persons were arrested in total,” Gardai said. “Five for public order offences, and one for criminal damage.”

Rag week has been suspended in some colleges including NUI Galway and Galway-Mayo IT after the student unions decided not to affiliate themselves with the event as it had attracted too much anti-social behaviour in the past.

This year, during Galway Rag week, there has been a student reported missing since Wednesday morning adding to the list of incidents associated with RAG Week.

DCU RAG Week takes place next week and Eoin-Luc O’Ceallaigh, Vice-Chairperson of DCU RAG Society, said “RAG societies are generally nothing to do with RAG weeks around the country as we don’t actually have RAG societies in most colleges that have big RAG weeks.”

“We’re going to enjoy ourselves, we’re not going to promote any heavy drinking and the purpose of the week is mainly to raise money for our social projects.” he added.

WIT Rag Week Credit WIT

St Angela’s voice concerns over NUIG merger Aaron McElroy News Reporter @thecollegeview

STAFF at St Angela’s College Sligo

have voted unanimously to ballot on industrial action, as the plans of a merger with NUI Galway continues to cause dispute.

Academic staff at the college say there has been a lack of consultation with their union representatives over the aspects of integration with NUIG, which is due to be in place next September.

Speaking after a staff meeting at St Angela’s, branch chairman of the TUI Brian O’Boyle said there was disappointment at the lack of representation made available to union negotiators. He also said that this was reflected in the result to ballot on industrial action.

“This sentiment was reflected in the unanimous decision to ballot for industrial action up to and including a strike” he explained.

St Angela’s provides third level education in nursing, education and home economics and since 2006, these courses have been accredited by NUIG.

It is understood that the concerns that are being raised by the staff are the future status of the home economics programme, the change from lecturer to university teacher status for the majority of the staff and the assurance of jobs not being transferred to the Galway campus. All of the staff at St Angela’s currently hold the position of lecturer.

One lecturer at St Angela’s told The Irish Times last week that she felt “let down” by St Angela’s management who already signed heads of agreement without the

Staff in UCC threaten strike action

Sharron Lynskey News Editor @sharronlynskey unions’ approval. President of St Angela’s college Dr Anne Taheny said discussions about the merger with NUIG are continuing. ACADEMIC staff in UCC have In a statement, NUIG said the threatened to strike over attempts Government’s National Strate- to impose changes to terms for gy for High Education required a new and promoted staff. change of the higher education A new standard contract, which sector “and NUIG is committed was proposed by management, to implementing that strategy”. was circulated before Christmas NUIG also said that university to unions, including the Irish Fedteachers and lecturers are parallel eration of University Teachers contracts with salary scales and (IFUT) which represents almost promotion tracks being identical. 400 staff members at the college.

However, when they met last week members gave IFUT officers authority to call a ballot for action up to strike level if the college presses ahead with implementing these un-negotiated changes.

One of the arguments up for dispute is stipulations that an employee’s work location can be moved, including elsewhere in Ireland or abroad, and without payment of compensation.

General Secretary for the IFUT, Mike Jennings said the contracts showed little regard for academic freedom and declared where and what hours a person shall work without the usual consultation with staff representatives.

“If contracts like this are isCredit St Angela’s College

sued, it could be the thin end of the wedge and management may eventually try to apply these conditions to all staff,” he said.

The organising union, SIPTU, has also brought forward objections on behalf of more than 1,000 members at UCC, including academic, clerical, administrative, and technical staff.

Mr Jennings added that reduced numbers of academic staff are already teaching ever-increasing numbers of students.

SIPTU also added that small numbers of revised contracts already issuing to new employees or to existing staff moving grades or promoted in recent months.

“If management have a plan to change any terms and conditions of our members, or the grades we represent, they need to talk to us first,” said SIPTU official Bill Mulcahy.

“Everybody is flexible and we all know that jobs change and evolve. But nobody should accept being told they are suddenly expected to do something very different without consultation” Mulcahy explained in a recent article in the Irish Examiner.

UCC declined to comment on any proposed action when contacted by The College View.

8

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

News

MU to invest ¤150m over the next 5 years Credit maynoothuniversity

Finnian Curran Deputy Editor @finnc94

MAYNOOTH University (MU) is

first phase of a Campus Master Plan that will facilitate the university’s growth to 13,000

Hundreds queue outside Galway pub for Donegal Tuesday Elaine Carroll Deputy News Editor @elainecarroll93

HUNDREDS of students queued

outside a Galway city pub on Tuesday morning ahead of an annual Donegal themed event.

Donegal Tuesday, held on the second day of the unofficial rag week, was one of the annual events set up after students at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) voted to abolish rag week in 2011.

Queues began to form outside the Hole in the Wall pub from as early as 8am with the line of students extended to two nearby streets.

An estimated 500 people had arrived by 11am attempting to gain entrance to the 200 capacity venue. Security staff were on hand to limit the numbers entering the pub.

Many wore Donegal jerseys for the event which has been the largest event of the unofficial Rag Week over the past number of years.

Students’ unions in Galway have distanced themselves from

this week’s unofficial rag week celebrations, which, they stress, are being organised independently of either NUIG or GMIT. “We have no involvement in this whatsoever. It’s not supported by us, it’s not endorsed by us,” said NUIG Students’ Union president Declan Higgins.

“Members of the student body voted in 2011 to discontinue rag week,” said Mr Higgins, adding that many of the former rag week events badly affected the welfare of students in NUIG. He said an agreement was signed between the university and the student body which put an end to annual rag week events in return for a series of concessions from the college.

These concessions included a increase of the university’s contribution to the student assistance fund from €33,000 to €93,000, and a guarantee that the campus health unit would not introduce charges.

by 202, from thr current 10,500.

University president Professor Philip Nolan said it was

a “milestone in the journey of Maynooth University. We are developing our campus facilities

to facilitate the rapid increase in student enrolment we have experienced”.

University of Limerick in trouble over ‘casualhours contracts’ Jamie Concannon News Reporter @jamie_concannon

CASUAL, short term contracts

for lecturers in UL and across Ireland are creating an “employer’s paradise”, according to a lecturer in University of Limerick, Doctor Geraldine Mooney Simmie.

Academic staff in UL have recently voiced concerns that an increase in unfair contracts could lead to lecturers becoming more casual about their work. Dr Simmie believes that those in power are “finding new ways to avoid giving full time employment to academic staff.”

Asked whether it would damage the quality of education for students, Dr Simmie said “I would raise it as one of the most serious questions to be asked of our education system. I want UL to be the first university to raise this as an issue of national debate.”

One of the concerns of lecturers is that if they do not get full time employment, they may soon become aloof with their work.

“Soon they may find they have

Credit ul.ie

about to invest €150m into a variety of faculties across the college following a loan approval from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The Co Kildare college, will construct state-of-the- art academic, research and residence facilities to as it prepares to grow its enrolments by almost 20pc in the next five years.Half the money will be provided by the EIB on a 23 year fixed loan, at a 2pc interest rate and the university will fund the balance from its resources.

Maynooth is one of a number of Irish universities that turned to the EIB for funding for infrastructural development in the face of the lack of cash in State coffers.

The projects represents the

no voice. Unless they become part of the teaching team, they will be more casual workers.”

“The global information that I have seen shows that this situation will get worse before it gets better. I would like to begin a debate about the education system in Ireland generally, rather than just here in UL,” Dr Simmie added.

Mike Jennings of the Irish Federation of University Teachers believes the casualization of employment is “a scourge of

the Higher Education System in Ireland.” He said what he described in an article for the Irish Times as “financial starvation” could threaten to ruin Ireland’s education system.

“The long term effects of casualization are far worse than any problems that might come from lack of funding. Funding can be corrected but the effect of downgrading academic jobs could undermine the whole ethos of the Higher Education system in Ireland.”

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

9

Opinion Credit: dailymail.co.uk

Can I Place An Order?

Christine Allen Opinions Editor @AllenChristine2

a tub that had been removed for the defrosting process.)

Thankfully he moved aside without any sign of recognition, allowing me to fetch a large tub of Ben and Jerry’s Caramel Chew “18 Deansgrange -” Chew.

The receptionist cuts me off Later that night, as I sit mid sentence. filled to the brim on the couch, “That’s grand; it’ll be about subconsciously extending the thirty minutes.” collar of my jumper to its full With this the line goes dead. capacity in order to cover what The realisation that staff at my is undoubtedly the beginnings of local Chinese takeaway now have a double chin, I swear to myself my address memorised invokes that I’ll kick the junk food habit. an instant sense of shame. HowFamily and Facebook friends ever, it’s quickly displaced with are supportive. Slimming World thoughts of finding change for and a walking group are recomthe deliveryman’s tip. mended. A link to a Ben Dunne It’s Tuesday night, closing in membership form is supplied by on 8pm. a friend who has a metabolism Am I hungry? quicker than Usain Bolt. RTE’s Realistically, I can’t be.

‘Operation Transformation’ is set I had dinner two hours preto pre - record. vious - an enjoyable meal which However, three nights later, could only be credited to an Irish I find myself huddled in the mammy - a wholesome stew. furthest corner of the house, What I do have though is an attempting to avoid a pre -order insatiable craving for something family intervention by whispering tasty to consume whilst watching those five sweet words - “Can I the revelal of Lucy Beale’s murplace an order?” - into my smartderer on Eastenders. phone. When the receptionist In fact, half an hour earlier I asks me to speak up, I realise that had made a hurried trip to the I have a problem. local Tesco Express in order to There’s no escaping it - I am a source a dessert. junk food addict.

Being the second night in a While aligning my overeating row that I had stealthily made with the word ‘addiction’ may my way to that refrigeration aisle, to some seem extreme, research the shame factor had arisen there into this topic is at fever pitch of too, as I circumvented the self late.

- service check outs, my embarSo far, the most convincing rassment spiking when I spotted cases for food addiction have a familiar looking staff member, resulted from studies conducted loading products into the ice on animals. cream fridge. (I had had a conIn one such study by the versation with him two evenings late Bart Hoebel from Princeton previous regarding the edibility of University, drug like responses to

“Chronic stress creates elevated levels of the hormone cortisol. Your body thinks you are going through a famine” sugar in animals were discovered.

In fact, when sugar was offered in high doses and then removed, classic withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, tremors, and chattering teeth were displayed.

Taking it beyond the scope of animals, Nora Volkow, along with a team at Brookhaven National Laboratory, found through the use of PET Scanners that the brains of obese people lacked certain receptors to dopamine.

Volkow found in her subjects that a lack of dopamine receptors resulted in an inability to repress the strong urges sent into the areas of the brain involved in action, leading to overeating.

While the above research outlines some of the science relating to the neurological causes of overeating, what it doesn’t examine is the why.

According to many experts in the field, this can be attributed to the phenomenon of emotional eating.

“Chronic stress creates elevated levels of the hormone cortisol,” says Jeffrey Morrison, M.D., a family practitioner in New York City, and the author of Cleanse Your Body, Clear Your Mind. “Your body thinks you are going through a famine, which can increase your cravings.”

Framing emotional eating another way, Michelle May, M.D., founder of the Am I Hungry?

Mindful Eating Program in Phoenix, believes that emotional eating is caused by our tendency to associate food with comfort.

She traces this back to our subconscious memories of being fed in our mother and father’s arms as a child.

So what is the solution?

With the journal The Lancet showing that a massive 66 per cent of Irish men over 20 are considered overweight or obese, and 50.9 per cent of Irish women over 20 years (well in excess of the western European average of 47.6 per cent), it is clear that we are in need of one.

While there are a myriad of books on the market offering to help overeaters kick their habit, the one that has caught my attention is a book entitled What Are You Hungry For, published in 2013 by American bestselling author Deepak Chopra.

Examining hunger from an emotional and spiritual perspective, Chopra outlines his belief that in order to lose weight you must fulfil yourself. In fact, he believes that obesity is a deprivation syndrome.

“People put food in their body

for two reasons,” Chopra states, “One, because they are physically hungry and two, because they’re hungry for something else.”

In his book, Chopra details what he has labeled the S - T O - P Formula - S standing for STOP (no surprise there), T taking a breathing break, O observing your body (asking yourself ‘am I hungry?’/’what am I hungry for?’) and finally P, proceeding with awareness.

While I’ve been implementing Mr.Chopra’s teachings, and at the time of writing am eight days into my junk food detox, kicking the habit is by no means easy.

In fact, by the time that this article is published, there’s a very real chance that I could be using Mr. Chopra’s book to balance my three in one tray. (I live in hope however, with Snap’s 1990 anthem ‘I’ve got the Power’ mentally on repeat as my source of motivation.)

That said, if you do happen to spot me on a Tesco refrigeration aisle, risking hypothermia as I thoroughly search the ice cream fridge for my favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor, I’d ask that you do one thing.

Don’t judge.

10

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

Opinion

Women Have A Right To Go Under The Knife best for themselves.

As long as women do their research and are fully aware of risks and potential complications, they should have the right to do whatever they choose with their own bodies - without being judged.

African, Muslim, Queer

for something that is sinful or forbidden).

He said because I was young and willing to change it would be easily “fixed” with prayer.

And so, I took his advice.

It resulted in me dating many boys that I did not have feelings for.

I tried so hard to try and ignore my attraction to women but it seemed that the more I focused on trying to ignore that part of me the more problematic it became, and the more it affected my mental health.

I would get so angry at myself for not being like all the other black Muslim/Christian girls I knew. I couldn’t turn to my friends, my mosque or my parents because I knew they would only judge, and definitely not understand. The depression I faced resulted in two years of self-harm.

When I finally did accept myself and came out to my friends, the religious ones told me that I was “just confused “and that I would “grow out of it.”

I questioned how I could grow out of something that I never grew into. It took a lot of time for me to realise that my sexuality wasn’t a fashion; it wasn’t ‘in’ one season and ‘out’ the next.

Islam is a peaceful and beautiful religion but the fact that it rejected me at a time when I desperately sought to find an answer to how I felt, and

NOT much has changed since

the millennium when Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails epic tune, ‘Starf**kers’ emerged.

His iconic anti-anthem to vanity, and the gross insincerity and indecency of media portrayals still rings true - “My god pouts on the cover of a magazine.”

Like it or not, over 15 years on, we are still graced with never ending images of eerily thin, beautiful, perfectly symmetrical ladies plastered all over the covers of our magazines. Is it any wonder that women and young girls alike flock to the nearest plastic surgeons office for a nip and tuck, a nose job, breast augmentation, a bum lift or the latest craze of vaginoplasties?

Forty is the new 30 when it comes to careers, motherhood and having it all. Women are generally now waiting until they are more secure financially and personally before venturing into a new chapter of their lives.

However, another drastic age related change has occurred. It has now become apparent that 25 is the new 50 when it comes

Z.B. Contributor

DESPITE growing up and seeing only heterosexual relationships and religious women who were comfortable with playing the part of devoted mother and housewife, the idea of following a similar path never appealed to me.

As a female brought up by

to botox, face lifts, and tummy tucks.

Statistics featured in the Irish Examiner reveal that there is a wide ranging appeal for cosmetic procedures; River Medical, located in Dublin, has seen a growth rate of 20 per cent year on year since they set up their business in 2008.

While I am by no means an advocate for plastic surgery (in fact my seventeen year old self would kick my twenty - nine year old self for insinuating it was anything but oppressive, degrading and yet another way for society to keep women down), as I get older I can empathise with the desire to hold on to one’s youth.

I’m sure there are some feminists reading this article screaming at me for implying that plastic surgery is a cure all. I assure you, that is not what I am saying.

I don’t believe that cosmetic augmentation will alleviate the underlying issue many women who partake in the practice are masking - that of low self esteem.

However, these procedures are not limited to middle aged women looking to have a few nips and tucks, or to young girls with self-esteem issues.

Some women simply just want bigger boobs, or a smaller nose. Their motives are not lim-

African Muslim parents I was not expected to question my sexuality or to go against my assigned gender role, because a heteronormative lifestyle was already set out for me.

Growing up in a community that openly rejected the idea of homosexuals or queer people living an open lifestyle, I had never seen any examples of homosexuality or met any queer people.

Yet at the age of 11 I was certain that I was attracted to

men and women, even though I hadn’t known it was actually possible (let alone that there were even a word to describe it).

In an attempt to ‘fix’ myself at the age of 13, I asked a popular online Islamic scholar what I should do to try and “remove” my attraction to women.

He told me that my attraction to women was understandable and sometimes occurred but that acting on that attraction would be “Haram” (Islamic term

Credit: Brandensummers.com

Credit: abcnews.com

ited to being envious over Jennifer Lawrence’s rockin’ body in that X-Men Mystique jumpsuit, nor are they trying to fill some void that they believe collagen and silicon is going to fill.

Some women are simply empowering themselves by choosing to alter their look because it makes them feel beautiful, and who the hell am I to stand in the way of any woman wanting to feel beautiful?

There are the staunch believers of the mantra, “age gracefully”. While that is undoubtedly a beautiful sentiment, due to genetics, sun damage, chronic Big-Mac love affairs or more serious issues like assault or accidents it is not always possible to abide by.

Is plastic surgery only acceptable when a woman has a medical need for it? For example, like in the case of Katie Piper, who was the victim of an acid attack?

Who decides what reasons are legitimate for wanting to look into a mirror and see something different staring back? I know it is most certainly not me.

Let’s stop the judgement, let’s stop putting each other down; real women bring each other up ladies. Let’s have enough faith in each other to know that women know what’s

Caitlin Mary Contributor

labelled me as “Haram” is one of the many reasons I do not now identify as a Muslim - despite my strict Islamic upbringing.

In the past I turned to Christianity and Baha’ism for answers, but there I was met with the same advice and closed minds.

I wish that back then I was aware that there were organisations such as Faith and Pride (faithandpride.org) and Gay Catholic Voice Ireland (gcvi.ie), available for people who wished to maintain their faith without feeling like their sexuality interfered with their spirituality.

Organisations such as these act as a support group and promote LGBT inclusion.

There is so much more to a person than just their sexuality.

It makes me sad that there are many LGBT teenagers who are still expected to make a choice between their sexuality and their religion, including YouTuber Austin Willis, who was told that if he wanted to remain in his Christian school he would have to delete his YouTube account as it contained videos of him and his boyfriend.

All religions are based on the fundamental principle of love and respect but yet religion always seems to be the central reason for homophobic behaviour against queer people.

Why is this the case when all we are asking for is the right to be loved and the right to have our love respected?

the suss 25 february 2015

l l a C r Bette: Our Saul look first e new at th ow tv sh

Fifty Shades

Has Hollywood missed its chance to shock?

Michelle Martin tells you who dressed for the occasion at The Grammys

arts

12

Picture Credit: TheMirror; MelissaKavanagh; Konbini; allhiphop.com; npr.com; henypost.com; voidlive.com; Metaleater; ourbestbites.com; VisitCopenhagen; Jaguda; HauteHoodlum; KimKardashian; jonnysdesignercloset.com; mycoloures.com; doyogawithme.com

THE PURSUIT OF PURITY IS POINTLESS “So let’s see… Beck is musically fluent in 14 different instruments, composes entire albums on which he plays everything himself, but Kanye says that Beyoncé, who does not play an instrument and uses a team of co-writers to create lyrics is the real artist.”

So the rhetoric went in the days immediately following Kanye West’s almost-interruption of Beck winning the Grammy Award for Best Album at the expense of overwhelming favourite Beyoncé. The same old debates have been had – Kanye is rude, Beyoncé isn’t that good so why is it always her that Kanye jumps to defend? Sea Change is Beck’s worst album, etc.

All of that is white noise at this point, it is ground treaded too often, but it’s the above quote and the sentiments that go along with it that get the classic Michelle Obama side eye from me. For years, I have wondered why people care who writes the songs they hear. Judging by the radio and the charts, they usually don’t. Now suddenly people who have never heard a Beck song begin posturing over how talented he is, all because he can play a high number of instruments.

Being able to play 14 instruments is impressive, there’s no doubting that, but being able to play a high number of instruments doesn’t make someone an artist. The art created using those instruments is what makes someone an artist. Just like utilising a team of co-writers doesn’t make you any less of an artist; the art created with these cowriters is what makes Beyoncé an artist.

Debates on artistic merit make me queasy. There’s no way to measure such an abstract notion and the idea of comparing a Beck album and a Beyoncé album brings up similar levels of discomfort. Full disclosure: I like neither album, but would never attempt to talk about which is better. They belong in different genres and different conversations.

The idea of Beck being the better artist simply because he plays 14 instruments and writes his songs himself plays into the strange notions of purity that belong in popular music criticism. It is naïve at best, considering how it is that the music industry works. The split within Paramore springs to mind, wherein it was alleged that they had been formed around front-woman Hayley Williams by their record label. The reaction from some fans may have been similar if someone had proven that the Eiffel Tower was actually made of chocolate.

The question must be asked: does it really matter who writes the songs or whether or not a group is manufactured? Not everyone can be Justin Vernon in a cabin in the woods and it holds no real weight how a song/album comes about.

25 February 2015 | the suss

sharp darts -John Legend is the latest act to be announced for this summer’s Live at the Marquee.

The Grammy Award winner will take the stage in Cork on Tuesday June 23.

-Bon Iver will return from their hiatus to play at Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires festival in July. Although not fully confident about his decision to perform, Vernon says “if

“

Bon Iver will return from their hiatus to play at Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires festival in July there’s a place for Bon Iver to play, it’s at this festival.” The group disbanded after playing Dublin in November 2012.

-Rumours are rife that Run the Jewels are in the process of recording new music with Massive Attack after Killer Mike posted a picture of himself, El-P and the British

John Legend will perfom in Cork this June.

Below: Justin Vernon

trip-hoppers in the studio on Instagram with the caption “#RTJ x @MassiveAttack. Get Ready”.

-Booker Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro has returned with his first novel in ten years, The Buried Giant. It’s his first since the success of Never Let Me Go, and is set in middleages Britain with the main characters, Axl and Beatrice, on a quest to find their missing son. The Buried Giant is in bookshops now.

-Ewan McGregor is set to direct his first ever film, American Pastoral, an adaptation of Philip

One Line We give our take on SNL’s 40th anniversary show and Kanye West’s interview on The Breakfast Club.

SNL40: Jerry Seinfeld made some sort of joke about Saturday Night Live’s historic lack

of diversity and that kind of stuff is funny, I think?

Blur’s first album in twelve years, The Magic Whip: Does Damon Albarn ever sleep or was Everyday Robots an exposition of his android-like ability for work?

Afroman’s Mississippi assault: He probably should’ve gotten high.

Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late: Perfect for running through the six with your woes or ending Tyga’s career; whichever you prefer.

Kanye West’s interview with The Breakfast Club: Happy Kanye mixed with foot-inmouth Kanye leads to an instantly entertaining interview, but what was said about Amber Rose and the Tyga/Kylie Jenner situation was pretty not cool.

Odrán de Bhaldraithe

Lifestyle Editor: Orlaith Farrell Deputy Lifestyle Editor: Emma Dungan

Odrán de Bhaldraithe Mark Hogan Bryan Grogan

Jeff Rosenstock’s We Cool?: Initial listens suggest that yes, Jeff, we cool.

Put it this way: if it emerged that a record label put Messrs Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr into a room and told them to become a band, would they cease being the canonical greatest band ever?

Or would it simply be a footnote that matters less than the Quarrymen?

Arts Editor: Odrán de Bhaldraithe Deputy Arts Editor: Bryan Grogan

Roth’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel. McGregor will also star in the film alongside Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning, with production due to start in September.

-Drake’s surprise mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late is the latest proponent of “pulling a Beyoncé”.

The for-retail mixtape sold 535,000 copies in the US in its first week despite having no singles or promotion. There are conflicting reports as to whether the mixtape fulfills Drake’s contract with Cash Money Records, with some sources saying he still owes the label one more release.

The party at SNL40 was hilarious and totally diverse

Odrán de Bhaldraithe Bryan Grogan

the suss | 25 February 2015

arts

the expectation of over-sexualisation Maddie Ziegler and Shia LaBeouf in a scene from “Elastic Heart”. Below: Sia

Weeks ago one story dominated all online platforms: the same, sensationalized headline calling Sia’s video for the song “Elastic Heart” paedophilic; not only a huge statement but also a damaging one.

to several friends along with the news links about the controversy, and several people said that they felt uneasy watching a man and a young girl dance together. I showed the video to more people, this time leaving out the details of the controversial accusations. To my pleasant surprise they agreed with me, saying that while perhaps there were points of scepticism at the beginning, the video was powerful, moving and beautiful.

It occurred to me that because we are told to find flaws in the video by other sources, we search hard to agree with them, even when the video is nothing more than a story and proof that dancing is a perfect way to tell that story.

The video features 12 yearWhy are we searching for old dancer Maddie Ziegler wrongfulness in pop culture and Shia LaBeouf, who today? Why is it that a video dance around each other and in which there is no connotatogether in a cage. The video tions of sex or romance, we has sparked a divide in opinsee something harmful? ion with the issue being that The Mirror there is a sizeable age gap and said the two of that both dancers are of the them were opposite sex. “cavorting”, I watched the video with which by sceptical and judgemental definition eyes, because of the headlines implies that preceded it. Expecting sexual or to be disgraced by the video’s disrepuwrong doing, I found myself table purlooking so hard for the negasuits, while tive aspects; I almost missed a Yahoo the beauty of the video. arCuriously, I sent the video ticle

described the dancers outfits as “skimpy”.

It is a well known fact that sex sells in the music industry, but that is not a reason to search for it when it is not present, turning something artistic into something sinister. While the Nicki Minajes of this world specialize in overtly sexual content, other people are merely artistically representing a message. In a world where my nine-yearold cousin knows all the words to “Anaconda”, does “Elastic Heart” really equate to dangerous and offensive content?

The singer later apologised to “those who feel triggered by “Elastic Heart”’, stating her intention to create “emotional content, not to upset anybody.”

Sia later explained that the dancers were separate states of her own mind, that being the cage. Even with this explanation, people still feel uncomfortable with the concept. It’s saddening that it had to be explained, that it had to be turned into something perverse simply because over sexualisation is expected in today’s world, even in the most powerful music videos.

Megan Roantree

13

dcu student leads the way for ireland’s brave new voices Five young Irish poets will make history this summer as they become the first team to represent Ireland at the Brave New Voices slam poetry festival.

Brave New Voices is the largest ongoing spoken word event in the world and is also the world’s first poetry slam dedicated to youth. Ages 1319 are represented, mainly

by American cities, but also including international cities and countries, including Ireland for the first time when the festival takes place in Atlanta from July 12th to July 19th.

Among the five poets that will make the trip to represent Ireland is DCU student Melissa Kavanagh, the team’s co-captain. Clondalkin-native Kavanagh is the only member of the team from Dublin, with all other participants hailing from the west coast. Cocaptain Ryan Mangan is from Galway, while teammates Neasa McCormack, Iobhar Stokes and Lucy FitzGerald hail from Clare, Limerick and

Mangan as co-captains, he set about finding their teammates. The competition he set up for this purpose received over six thousand entries, with the national finals on RTÉ’s Arena radio show.

Regarding Murray’s role, Kavanagh says that he “never edits” the work of the young poets, focusing “more so on the business aspect and guidance”. The business aspect is something Kavanagh is particularly keen to stress; the team receives no funding from Poetry Ireland due to cutbacks and is reliant on donations from friends, family and well-wishers. Their aim is to raise 5,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs; at the time of writing their total sat at 3,319.

When asked what could be considered a success for the Irish team in their first outing, Kavanagh responds confidently: “we’re going for gold.”

She is quick to point out that the fact that an Irish team is travelling at all is a success of itself, while their aims also in-

Left to right: Neasa McCormack; Lucy FitzGerald; Ryan Mangan; Stephen Murphy; Melissa Kavanagh; Iobhar Stokes

Kerry respectively.

The team was assembled by former Cúirt Grand Slam champion Stephen Murray, who Kavanagh credits with endearing her to poetry when she was in transition year.

The first year psychology student says it was the difference between what Murray taught during a transition year workshop and what was being taught day in/day out that led her to where she is now.

Following the success of his travelling workshops, Murray sought to establish a team capable of competing at Brave New Voices and after picking Kavanagh and

clude increased awareness of slam poetry in Ireland and the continuation of “the whole promotion of youth art.”

On a possible future poetry society or team in DCU, Kavanagh is optimistic, saying it is something that she is pursuing and that there are “probably a good few budding writers here.”

More information is available on the group’s Facebook page, Team Ireland Brave New Voices. If you would like to donate to the team, please visit http://fundit.ie/project/bravenew-voices-atlanta-2015.

Odrán de Bhaldraithe

arts

14

25 February 2015 | the suss

fifty shades of watered down Why risk a commercial flop, when a critical failure is much more profitable?

This seems to have been the attitude taken by Universal Pictures when the decision was made to make the cinematic release of Fifty Shades of Grey into a softcore, watered down replica of the book.

If you were hoping for something akin to Blue is the Warmest Colour, a story of sexual awakening and burgeoning maturity, no doubt you were disappointed with the lacklustre display of chemical attraction between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.

With the film grossing over $300m and counting, despite only garnering a

rating of 4.1/10 on IMDB, it’s clear that the film industry is now more than ever just that; an industry.

Controversy was Fifty Shades’ bread and butter. It was the prime mover that made E.L. James’ books into a worldwide phenomenon.

Blockbuster cinema, unlike literature, is too careful to be sexually explicit or daring, especially in this case as the action is dry, the dialogue blocky and the focus a little bit confusing.

The book, to its credit, was rendered in a first person narrative from the point of view of Anastasia. That relativity is lost on the big screen. Without her stream-of-consciousness you can’t tell whether she’s afraid, enjoying herself or

maybe just another female sounding wall for an enigmatic and multi-faceted male lead.

That’s not to say that Dakota Johnson did a bad job acting the part. It’s Christian Grey, played by Jamie Dornan, who is so emotionally shackled that he is almost incapable of saying anything unless it is a witty double entendre.

The fantasy of the whole thing is a little hard to stomach. The plot surrounds Grey’s characteristics and affluence, which are unbelievable and extreme. Power and love are entwined like the dual epiphany of the sexes, while a human touch or a bit of realism is lost beneath the swell of luxury.

Literary adaptations, on

Jamie Dornan plays the infamous Christian Grey

their day, can be absolutely brilliant. On the one hand there have been drastic interpretations, such as The Big Lebowski or There Will be Blood, but also faithful duplicates like Catch-22 or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Fifty Shades gave up the right to be either when it became so popular in its original literary form. It was a cash-cow primed for milking, dressed up as the film of the year. Hollywood, in all its exploitative glory is ruining art and stifling expression, and in the name of what? Money!

It’s a crime.

Bryan Grogan

lifelogging: hasan elahi at the science gallery “It’s easy to incriminate someone if you really want to.”

In 2002, Hasan Elahi’s name was mistakenly added to the FBI’s watch list. Elahi, a media artist was returning from an exhibition abroad when he was stopped by security at Detroit airport. After being escorted to Immigration and Naturalization Services, Elahi was approached by an FBI agent for questioning.

From there on, the artist endured six months of similar sessions and polygraph tests.

The FBI quickly discovered that Elahi was not in fact the terrorist they had thought, but the end was far from over.

As a media artist, traveling is an integral part of Elahi’s vocation. The FBI instructed Elahi to keep them updated on his traveling endeavours to prevent similar interrogation from occurring again. Elahi did just that. In fact from that day on, he left nothing to the imagination.

As part of the Lifelogging exhibition at the Science Gallery, Elahi gave a talk on his experiences and art on

Hasan Elahi’s story would make anyone think twice about their privacy rights in the information age

February 19th. In order to keep the FBI fully informed of his whereabouts, for the past twelve years Elahi has photographed every location he’s been to, every meal eaten, every bed slept in, and even every toilet used. Today he has taken 28 photographs but determines he could take double that, “depending on the day.”

In addition to sharing all of his whereabouts with his investigators, he has also broadcasts them to the public. Anyone in the world can view his location at his website elahi.umd.edu. On initial impression it seems

“

In order to keep the FBI fully informed of his whereabouts, for the past twelve years Elahi has photographed every location he’s been to, every meal eaten, every bed slept in, and even every toilet used

that Elahi has disregarded the notion of privacy altogether, such that is voiced by an audience member. Elahi, however has a different opinion on his actions stating, “In order to regain my privacy, I’ve decided to make everything open.”

“information, but not interpretation.” Elahi brings up the point that this information is obtainable for almost everyone with geotagging, credit cards, etc.

“As we go through the transition from analog to digital, we’re also having a Elahi figures that his photos cultural transition - I think while considered spamming it’s a romantic idea - going are “generic and boring” only off the grid - but I don’t think holding personal “value.” He’s it’s technologically or sogiving the FBI what they want: cially possible” he comments.

Although Elahi’s experiences are certainly not applicable to many, his words voice several universal concepts of the information age and will no doubt make anyone think twice about their granted “privacy” rights.

The Lifelogging exhibition will run until April 17th, 2015.

Scout Mitchell

arts

the suss | 25 February 2015

better call... jimmy mcgill?

When Vince Gilligan’s cult series Breaking Bad came to a wrap in 2013, fans all over the world went into post-finale depression. Between Walt’s wackiness, Jesse’s chemistry skills and Hank’s minerals, it was hard to imagine a world of television without this excellent cast of characters.

Lucky for fans, it wasn’t time to say goodbye to Albuquerque just yet.

Better Call Saul is Gilligan’s latest project and sees Walt’s sketchy lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), get his own spotlight. The series, released in Ireland on February 9th, is set six years before Goodman’s connection to Walt and Jesse and coincidentally we are reintroduced to a very different man.

The Saul Goodman audi-

“

Any concern that Gilligan’s new series is milking a franchise that’s over is irrelevant

ences knew and loved was a crafty go-getter, more than able to get his clients out of the most dire situations. What we see here is a struggling lawyer named James or “Jimmy” McGill battling with moral judgements and the injustice of undeserving success.

On initial viewing, the show may give the deception that the stimulating plot of the former series left with its ending. A painstaking amount of time in the first episode is spent focusing on McGill’s character quirks and monologues. However, as the second and third episode reveal this slow burning start is essential for a full throttle shift.

It’s only early days, but the stomach-churning tension and suspense so central to Breaking Bad has already reared its head in the spin-

birdman: if you’re reading this, it’s too late “Walk in the label like ‘where the cheque though?’”

The question Drake asks on “Star67”, an early standout from his surprise mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, makes him just one of the latest in a long line of Cash Money Records artists to ask.

Chief among the artists who have raised this question is the label’s flagship artist, Lil Wayne, who has called himself a “prisoner” because of Cash Money’s refusal to release his already completed album Tha Carter V. Wayne is currently preparing a $51 million dollar lawsuit against Cash Money and its figurehead; Wayne’s one-time

15 Sketchy lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk)

off. In the second episode the audience witness McGill make himself a bargain that can only end badly. Additionally, much to the delight of original fans, familiar faces like the steely Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and psychotic Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz) make an appearance.

Any concern that Gilligan’s new series is milking a fran-

chise that’s over is irrelevant; a major proponent of what made Breaking Bad so great was the depth and detail that went into every character, no matter how minor the role.

Just like Saul, each character has a story that no amount of screen time could be enough.

The spin-off has already been confirmed for a second season and Odenkirk himself has said that he “could see it

playing past [Breaking Bad].”

Such speculations are yet to be confirmed, but based on initial reception the prediction doesn’t seem unlikely.

What can be confirmed is that Gilligan has made a terrific comeback and Odenkirk a stellar performance.

The deserts and people of Albuquerque have not failed to captivate us once again.

that since their first release in 1992, they have distributed 93 albums, 17 of which have gone platinum. Among that 17 are five Lil Wayne solo albums, one album by Lil Wayne’s former group, Hot Boys, three Drake and two

cally titled Lil Wayne/Birdman collaborative album Like Father, Like Son. The last Cash Money artist other than Drake, Wayne and Minaj was Juvenile in 2003 with his album Juve the Great.

Since the founding of Young Money, Cash Money has relied on its imprint for superstars. Cash Money’s first release in

2009 was Drake’s So Far Gone EP and since then the record label has all but been a threeperson show.

Since the release of So Far Gone, Cash Money has sold an estimated 17,083,200 albums. Drake’s three albums, one mixtape and one EP account for 6,949,000, or 40.67% of these sales. Lil Wayne’s four albums since then account for 4,553,000, or 26.65% and Minaj’s three albums total 3,511,000 sales, or 20.55%.

The trio combine for a staggering 87.87% of Cash Money’s sales since 2009.

These figures won’t be news to Birdman, but with Lil Wayne saying he is “numb” to the situation, it seems the onus will be on him in finding new superstars rather than keeping his current ones.

“

business partner/father figure Brian “Birdman” Williams.

Should Wayne get his wish and leave Cash Money, the label he has worked with since he was 11 years old, it is alleged that he plans to bring his Young Money imprint artists Drake and Nicki Minaj wherever it is he lands next. When anyone thinks Cash Money, they think of Birdman rubbing his hands together. After that they think of Lil Wayne, Drake and Nicki Nicki Minaj albums.

Minaj, the label’s three bread- In total, the trio are winners. responsible for 11 of the 17 platinum alSo what exactly do the three bums. The label’s 13 gold mean to Cash Money in terms albums tell a similar story, of sales? A quick look at Cash with four Wayne solo albums, Money’s list of albums shows a Drake EP, and the now ironi-

A quick look at Cash Money’s list of albums shows that since their first release in 1992, they have distributed 93 albums, 17 of which have gone platinum

Scout Mitchell

Birdman

Odrán de Bhaldraithe

lifestyle arts

16

new york fashion week New York Fashion week is about more than what we see on the runway. The lucky few celebrities and socialites who bag front row seats wear outfits that can often be equally as satisfying, or unkind, to the eye. We have made a list of the best and worst FROW outfits of NY fashion week 2015:

BEST Sarah Jessica Parker One of the biggest battles in every girl’s life is choosing between SJP and her on-screen character Carrie Bradshaw’s wardrobes as their dream closet. Today, we choose Parker hands down.

She nailed both the oversized, gingham and pastel trends when she wore a flawless blazer and gown at the Tome show. The olive pumps donned by the 49 year old actress are part of her shoe collection with Tome that debuted last Thursday.

Beyonce and Kim Kardashian (left) were some of the worst dressed

making banana pancakes

So I love Pancake Tuesday as much as the next person, but why should we be doomed to be pancake-less for the other 364 days of the year? That’s just criminal. They do take a good bit of work though.

The batter can be so time-

consuming to get right and don’t get me started on the mess. So this is my solution; my two ingredient banana pancakes. They are so good, so easy and so much better for you that you could practically eat them every day.

Tong Liya The Chinese actress is gaining fast Western fame due to her continuing fashion perfection.

She supported Chinese brand Fashion Shenzhen’s show in a chic monochrome ensemble, effortlessly paired with nude

“

Rare is the day Olivia Palermo makes it onto a worst dressed list heels.

Blake Lively Can we take a minute to remember Lively gave birth to her first child less than four months ago? The actress showed off her incredible post pregnancy figure at the Gabriela Cadena show last Thursday. She worked a monochrome, figure-hugging dress with an over-sized black coat and simple white strappy heels. A bright orange clutch was added for the right pop of colour and some small rings and bracelets as accessories.

WORST Kim Kardashian Kim shocked this year when she arrived at her husband’s Adidas originals x Kanye West YEEZY collection in what can only be described as a full body stocking. Underneath, she sported un-matching underwear and over, an

Step 1) Get a ripe banana.

Step 2) Squish the ripe banana. This can be done very easily with a fork but use a food processor if you like.

Step 3) Crack an egg and whisk it in with the banana mixture.

Step 4) Heat a pan to a relatively high heat, about level 5 with some butter.

Step 5) Pour a small amount of mixture into the pan and monitor it. These cook a little differently to normal pancakes and can be hard to flip the first couple of times – but practice makes perfect.

Serve them with Nutella or butter, lemon and sugar – whatever tickles your fancy.

Emma Dungan

25 February 2015 | the suss outdated army print jacket.

The reality star’s only saving grace is that the unusual ensemble was part of her hubby’s collection – we’re praying that it was a show of moral support, and not a bigger problem.

Olivia Palermo Rare is the day Olivia Palermo makes it onto a worst dressed list.

While her outfits to shows such as Tibi and Tommy Hilfiger were up to her usual standard, we’re not too sure what happened when she dressed herself for the Moncler Grenoble front row. The socialite wore skin coloured flares with a fuzzy pink jumper and a two-toned, twotextured coat. The custard-coloured belt was just the cherry on top of a truly disappointing outfit.

Blake Lively

Beyoncé It pains me to criticise Queen Bey, but it must be done. The individual bits of her chosen outfit worn to Kanye West’s YEEZY show (coat, bag and two-piece) would have been great separately – but together it was all a bit too much. The colours, textures and symmetry clashed and the randomly placed flower, just why?

Michelle Martin

easy nutribullet hacks The slump month is well underway and it’s time to push on with our New Year’s resolutions. If you’ve taken the plunge and invested in the sought-after Nutribullet, we have the perfect recipes to get you looking fit and fabulous.

Morning Boost – Vita Berry Boost ½ cup of spinach ½ banana ¼ cup of blueberries ¼ cup of strawberries Ice cubes Cup of water/ Almond

milk After dinner craving ¼ cup of blueberries ½ frozen banana 10 almonds Vanilla extract 1 cup of almond milk Ice cubes Goji berries to garnish Sleeping settling remedy 1/2 banana 1 cup of cherries 1 tbsp of honey ¼ teaspoon nutmeg Almond milk to the max line

Orlaith Farrell

lifestyle

the suss | 25 February 2015

coping mechanisms Okay, so we all know it can be tough to keep our stress levels under control sometimes.

From college to work to home demands life can get pretty complicated and it’s important to remember to take care of yourself. As you get settled into semester two it’s a good idea to make yourself familiar with what coping mechanism works for you now, before the rush of assignments and exams starts. So here are four of my favourite simple and enjoyable de-stressing methods:

the salts will make you sweat.

The last instruction is after your bath, get straight into bed. You will be tired and will hopefully sleep like a baby.

Do Some Yoga Yoga is an excellent mindfulness tool. Some people find it difficult to physically sit down and meditate in silence and if that’s the case then yoga may be the right option for you. Through a series of movements and breathing exercises, yoga is an effective way to switch off. There are plenty of yoga for beginner’s sequences on YouTube that are free and you don’t even

An Epsom Salt Bath An Epsom salt bath is like a DIY trip to the spa. Epsom salts help to draw out toxins from your body and help to relax any muscle tension. Fill a bowl full of Epsom salts and pour them into a steaming hot bath with some lavender.

Try to stay in the bath for forty minutes to get the full benefit out of it. Be sure to drink a pint of water before getting into the bath and drink anhave to leave your house to do other one while in the bath as them. Whether or not you get

“

Epsom salts help to draw out toxins from your body and help to relax any muscle tension

copenhagen

the benefits from the exercise, the breath work or just taking an hour out of your day to clear your head yoga can be very useful.

17

Yoga can be great for stress

“

Sometimes getting out of your own head for a short time can help to clear it

Watch A Movie That’s right, taking some time out to watch your favourite movie can help you de-stress.

If you know it’s going to be a busy week, try and set aside the time in your schedule to watch a movie-technology free. Whether it’s a chick flick or a horror film, switch off your phone and relax. Sometimes getting out of your own head for a short time can help to clear it. Equally, sitting down with a good book can achieve the same thing.

Treat Yourself and Socialise If you would prefer to destress with friends why not have a girl’s night in? Cook

The colorful houses, large historical buildings, cobblestones and canals seem old-fashioned at first, but Copenhagen is a very lively 21st-century city. My hostel was in a prime downtown location, right next to the pedestrian shopping district called the Stroget, which is full of shops, bars and cafes.

If you are on Last weekend I spent a few days in Copenhagen in Denmark. a budget, the city has plenty I fell in love with the city because of its distinct character and to offer for free or discounted charm. I was actually lucky enough to get a bit lost which prices, and one way to ensure allowed me to spend a day wandering the streets soaking it you see as much as posall in. sible without spending too

your favourite meal, open a bottle of wine and start chatting. Talking with friends is a great way to share the load of your stress and to catch up. It depends what you’re looking for from your de-stress method but sometimes socialising with friends is the perfect way to relax and enjoy yourself. A glass of wine alone is a helpful way to relax and sometimes hearing what’s going on in

other people’s lives is a great way to make you realise that you’re not alone, everybody stresses from time to time.

much money is to purchase a Copenhagen Card. The card includes admission to many of the historical attractions and museums, and free public transportation on the bus system as well as the metro and train systems, which are new, clean and very efficient.

The card includes a canal tour in a covered, heated boat that gives a good overview of the city and its different districts. The boat made several stops, including the Nyhavn neighborhood. Located on the waterfront with pastel townhouses and little cafes, the area is one of the most peaceful and pleasant that I visited.

indoor food trucks with options ranging from traditional Danish fare to Italian and French options. For dessert, one option is “snegl” buns, which are round pastries with cinnamon and sugar. You also can’t go wrong with ice cream, which can be purchased in a cone with churros, on a waffle, or with a marshmallow on top.

In terms of food, the Smorebrod is a traditional Danish dish, similar to an open-faced sandwich that comes with a wide variety of toppings and is relatively cheap. There are many restaurants and cafes in the Stroget area as well as the up-and-coming Vesterbro district, but a less touristy option is the Street Food market, located in a warehouse on Paper Island. The market houses

These are some easy and cheap ways to de-stress. If you have some money to spend on yourself then you could take a fitness class, get a massage or go away for a night or two.

Pippa Doyle

Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen clearly made his mark on Copenhagen: there is a street that bears his name, along with a statue of his likeness and a museum dedicated to his stories. Perhaps the most iconic image of Copenhagen, the Little Mermaid statue, is based on his fairytale. The mermaid herself is small, but the pleasant walk along the water to see her is worth it.

Seeing a whole city in only a few days is difficult, but I got a good feel for the culture and history and recommend the city to anyone looking for an adventure.

Ilana Kruger

18

mantalk: being a “lad”

L

et me set the scene: you and your LAD friends are all drinking like the mad LADs that you are. You get hammered, hit the club (Coppers no doubt), then you get a bit of hassle from the bouncer for being too drunk. Upon getting into the night club, you regroup with your legendary mates, who all cheer at the fact that you’ve gotten in even though you’re such a LAD that you’re too drunk to remember your own name. You go to the bar, hoover up a few jagerbombs and maybe swipe

lifestyle arts

even remember last night.

Why would you want to get so drunk you can’t remember your night out? Is that not a few free drinks off those money wasted? Nothing is people who carelessly left more annoying than people them on the bar and turned their backs on them. You fast bragging about how drunk they were or how much they forward an hour, hour and a drank or even how sick they half and you are having the got. We all know that how time of your life - bumping good a night was is judged into everyone on the danceby how many times you need floor, stepping on a few toes to wash your t-shirt to get and breathing beer fumes the vomit stains out or by into the face of whatever girl wasn’t fast enough to get away how much of the night your friends spent worrying and from you.

So now it’s the next morn- looking for you.

I’m not saying don’t drink ing. All of your sins can be and to go out sober for the absolved with one simple rest of your life. I’ve been to line: I was so drunk I can’t

grammy fashion There were a lot of fabulous fashionable frocks on the Grammys red carpet this year but sadly there were also a lot of absolutely terrible outfits that made me wonder why these people were allowed out in public.

side of the gown. It was great to see her wear something more elegant in comparison to her usual crop tops and pencil skirts. Although she Firstly, our newest pop star, could have left the pony tail Ariana Grande, wore a beauti- in the stables for at least one ful white Versace gown with a night. slit and metallic mesh at one Next Taylor Swift, who has been in the charts a lot lately, wore a dress very different from her past Grammy outfits which she definitely pulled off. She finally wore some colour on the carpet with a floor-length turquoise gown

by Elie Saab with a mini skirt view from the front and a shoulder cut out. This dress

“

This dress was very modern and made her stand out from the crowd

Rihanna: gown or cupcake? Left: Madonna

25 February 2015 | the suss

“

So now it’s the next morning.

All of your sins can be absolved with one simple line: I was so drunk I can’t even remember last night

Coppers sober and it’s as bad as having glandular fever and probably the place you’d catch that. Just know your limit, drink at your own pace and don’t be afraid to say you’ve had enough.

Don’t try and keep up with your friends if they’re able to drink a lot more than you. It’s not a competition to see who has to go home the earliest.

Yes, drinking games are fun but don’t feel ashamed to say you’ve had enough. There is pressure on college students to drink more and more and while some can hack it, some can’t.

Chris Kennedy was very modern and made her stand out from the crowd.

She matched her dress with pink Giuseppe Zanotti shoes

“

Rihanna wore a huge pink ruffled gown that looked like a cupcake or one of those little dolls you put on top of toilet roll.

This dress did not look great at all

which was a dangerous move but she somehow made it work.

Rihanna wore a huge pink ruffled gown that looked like a cupcake or one of those little dolls you put on top of toilet roll. This dress did not look great at all. The ruffles began under her breasts instead of further down which did not show off her amazing figure. It was a very cute dress but not fashionable and should be destroyed immediately.

And then there was Madonna. I’m not sure if this should even be called an outfit but nonetheless Madonna`s ‘outfit’ was awful.

She wore a Givenchy Couture matador costume. Need I say more? It was so disappointing to see Madonna in this revealing and unattractive outfit as she usually has a very glamorous fashion sense.

Laura Horan

clever contouring This year, contouring seems to be where it’s at makeupwise and if you’re anything like I am, you’ll know it’s not exactly a move for the fainthearted. Get it right and you’ll have yourself looking like the next Kardashian but get it wrong and you’ll look like something out of those Jersey Shore re-runs. Intrigued by the hype, I managed to pick up the Seventeen “define and conquer contour kit” for just under 8 in Boots.

This kit fits right into your palm and is divided into two sections, the highlighter and the bronzer. Simple yet clever, one of the best things about

“

Simple yet clever, one of the best things about this kit is the application instructions that come inside

this kit is the application instructions that come inside.

Complete with a step by step guide and a diagram detailing exactly what goes where, it is virtually impossible to go wrong. At only 8 a pop, why not give it a try? Once you start contouring you’ll never go back and you’ll wonder why you waited so long to start in the first place. So go on girls and embrace those new chiseled cheekbones.

Aoife Marnell

19

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

Gaeilge

Cluichí Oilimpeacha na camógaíochta Caoimhe Ní Chathail Eagarthoir Gaeilge @caoimhechats

I gcroílár ré na gcuimhneachán

céad bliain i dtaobh mórimeachtaí stairiúla na hÉireann atá muid faoi láthair. Tá iomra cloiste ag cuid mhór den ghnáth-phobal faoina leithéid de chomóradh Éirí Amach 1916 a mbeidh á cheiliúradh an bhliain seo chugainn. Is deacair a rá go bhfuil an fios céanna chomh forleathan amuigh ansin i measc an phobail faoi chomóradh eile, sé sin cuimhneachán céad bliain ‘Corn Ashbourne’.

Is minic a bheirtear ‘Cluichí Oilimpeacha na camógaíochta’ ar an Chorn Ashbourne. Comórtas camógaíochta é dóibh siúd ar an tríú leibhéal. Ise an chéad tur-

naimint náisiúnta chamógaíochta ar éirigh léi cuimhneachán céad bliain a bhaint amach.

Cuireadh síolta an chomórtais sa bhliain 1915, le cinneadh Cait O’Donoghue fáilte a chur roimh Agnes O’Farrelly agus Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath comórtas camógaíochta ollscoile a thosacht léi agus muintir Choláiste Ollscoile Corcaigh.

Is mó an oiread measa agus onóra gur chóir bronnadh ar Chait O’Donoghue de bharr a cuid oibre agus a cuid díograise ar son na camógaíochta. Ní amháin gur chuir sí tús leis an Chorn Asbourne ach ise céad eagarthóir an Chumainn Camógaíochta in Éirinn.

Níor chuireadh tús leis an spórt ar a dtugann muid ‘camógaíocht’ air go dtí’n bhliain 1903. Chum Brainse Keating ó Chonradh na Gaeilge liosta riallacha, bunaithe ar iománaíocht ach a mbeadh níos

oiriúnach ina dtuairimí féin do mhná na tíre. D’imir Cait sa chéad chluiche camógaíochta iomaíoch ar an 17 Iúil 1904 san Uaimh agus piocadh í mar chaptaen ar an fhoireann. Ní raibh sé i bhfad go dtí go raibh sí curtha i gceannas ar an chumann náisiúnta.

Bhí Cait O’Donoghue i gcónaí ag iarraidh cur le fás agus forbairt na camógaíochta. Seo a spreag í chun fáil i dteagmháil le Agnes O’Farrelly.

Bean ghaisciúil ab ea í Agnes chomh maith agus í ag plé leis an chamógaíocht. Bhunaigh sí foireann camógaíochta COBÁC in 1914 in aineoinn easpa ceadúnais ón ollscoil féin. Bhí sí go hiomlán dílis don spórt agus don chúis agus d’éirigh lena foireann an chéad Chorn Ashbourne in Aibreán 1915 a bhaint in éadán muintir OCC Cait O’Donoghue.

Cara de chuid Agnes O’Farrelly a bhí in Lord Edwin Gibson Ashbourne agus b’air a d’iarr sí corn don chomórtas idir-ollscoile. ‘Corn Ashbourne’ a tugadh air ó shin.

Agus é ar an fhód le céad bliain agus bliain an-spéisialta ina leith i mbliana, b’onóir mhór é do Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath Corn Ashbourne a óstáil. Ritheadh i mbliana é i bPáirceanna Imeartha na hOllscoile ar dheireadh seachtaine an 14 agus 15 Feabhra.

Bhí an fonn ann an comórtas a óstáil i mBaile Átha Cliath don chomóradh céad bliain agus le teacht chun cinn OCBÁC le blianta beaga anuas, féachadh orainne mar an rogha ab fhearr.

Freisin, leis na háiseanna iontacha nua in OCBÁC, óstaigh fhoirfe muid don imeacht iontach.’ a deir Paul O’Brien, Oifigeach Forbartha Cluichí CLG in OCBÁC. I gcluichí leath-ceannais na bliana seo, bhí Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge le himirt in éadan Ollscoil na hÉireann Gaillimh agus Ollscoil Luimnigh i gcoinne Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh ar an Sathairn. D’éirigh le hInstitiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge agus Ollscoil Luimnigh an bua a fháil faoi seach.

An toradh air ná ceathrú chruinniú as a chéile den dá fhoireann i gcluiche ceannais an choirn. An bhliain seo chuaigh thart, d’éirigh le OL stop a chur le babhta den ádh a bhí ar ITPL agus iad ag dul ar thóir séú craobh s’acu.

Ar an drochuair do mhuintir Luimnigh, ní raibh an rath

nó an cumas céanna acu i mbliana. Le cúil faighte ag ITPL sa chéad agus sa séú bhomaite, cuireadh beocht agus múinín faoi chuid imeartha ITPL. 2-8 go 0-8 a bhí mar scór leath-ama an chluiche, le ceithre chúilín ag teacht ó imreoir an chomórtais Trish Jackman agus trí chúilín eile ó bhuatais láidir Emma Commerford.

Leis an dá chúl mar an difear eatarthu, aidhm an dara leath do OL ná an liathróid a chur go cúl na heangaí. Níor ghéill cosantóirí na hInstitiúide áfach agus ceithre chúilín an fhoirinn a d’éirigh leo scóráil sa dara leath.

Le séid an réiteora ag deireadh an chluiche, bhí Corn Ashbourne na bliana seo bainte ag Ollscoil Luimnigh le scór de 2-12 in éadan 0-12 de chuid na hInstitiúide Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge.

Céad bliain tar éis céad chomórtas an Choirn Ashbourne, thiocfadh a rá go bhfuil an chamógaíocht ag reachtáil leis fríd bhuaicphointe dá cuid ratha. Deir Paul O’Brien, ‘Tá camógaíocht ar an tríú leibhéal an-láidir faoi láthair agus léiríonn sé líon mór cailíní atá ag imirt ar leibhéal idirchontae cheana.’

Cosúil leis na Cluichí Oilimpeacha féin, is taispeántas é an Corn Ashbourne den chumas agus den talún is fearr. Cha dtiocfadh samhlú nach mbeadh ach bród ar a leithéid Cait O’Donoghue agus Agnes O’Farrelly, bród as ucht teacht chun cinn na camógaíochta.

Credit: Irish Examiner

20

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

Gaeilge

Leas-Eagarthoir Gaeilge @barryscanlon

AMANNA is i seomraí tábhachtacha a thiteann rudaí tábhachtacha amach, agus is amhlaidh atá fíor don Chomhdháil Cearta Teanga Idirnáisiúnta a ostaíodh in Ostán Wynn’s Dé Máirt seo chuaigh thart. Mar a chuir an Teachta Dála Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) i gcuimhne don scaifte a bhí cruinnithe thuas staighre in Wynn’s, is ansin, ins an seomra céanna, a bunaíodh Cumann na mBan ar an 2 Aibreán 1914. B’shin tús do réabhlóid amháin, dar le Kyne, agus seans gur seo tús do réabhlóid eile.

Conradh na Gaeilge a d’eagraigh an ócáid, agus an aidhm a bhí leis ná plé a dhéanamh ar chearta teanga, ní amháin mar gheall ar an Ghaeilge, ach le béim áirithe ar theangacha eile ar fud an domhain. Chuir láithreacht Ombudsman na Catalóine, Rafael Ribó i Massó, go mór leis an ghné idirnáisiúnta agus ba mhór an oscailt súl é go raibh an oiread dul chun cinn déanta sa Chatalóin ar chearta teanga le blianta anuas.

Fiú thosaigh an t-Ombudsman a chuid cainte le cúpla focal Gaeilge. “Tá brón orm ach caithfidh mé dul ar aghaidh as Béarla mar ní féidir liom bhur dteanga álainn a labhairt,” ar seisean. Phléasc an scaifte agus iad ag bualadh bos, mar is ceart. Dar leis an Ombudsman, níl sochaí ar

domhan nach bhfuil ilteangach, rud nach n-aithníonn go leor náisiún. Thug sé cúis dóchais do lucht na Gaeilge a bhí i láthair lena léiriú de caidé mar atá ag éirí leis an Chatalóin agus fiú luaigh sé go bhfaca sé féin dul chun cinn ó bhí sé in Éirinn dornán blianta ó shin.

Bhí gné eile den chomhdháil seo a chuir leis an idirnáisiúntacht; is nós é do dhaoine áirithe gníomhaithe teanga a cháineadh as bheith ag plé is ag athphlé ceist na gcearta teanga inár dteanga

‘An aidhm a bhí leis ná plé a dhéanamh ar chearta teanga, ní amháin mar gheall ar an Ghaeilge, ach le béim áirithe ar theangacha eile ar fud an domhain féin amháin, ach chuaigh Conradh na Gaeilge i ngleic le seo go haireach - cuireadh cluasáin agus seirbhís teangaireachta ar fáil daofa siúd nach raibh Gaeilge acu.

Chualathas go leor cainte

7 bhfíric nach raibh ar eolas agat faoin nGaeilge

ar chearta teanga dar ndóigh, agus chomh maith ar mhaolú na Gaeilge san Aontas Eorpach.

Sa dara seisiúin seo sheas an Dr. Pádraig Ó Laighin, iar-Uachtarán an Chonradh Dáithí Mac Carthaigh, an Feisire Eorpach Liadh Ní Riada, agus an Teachta Dála Lucinda Creighton (atá ag tabhairt faoi ranganna Gaeilge fá láthair). D’inis an Dr. Ó Laighin scéal faoi bhuaireamh a bhí aige agus é ag iarraidh cruinniú a fháil leis an Taoiseach maidir le cealú an mhaolaithe, cruinniú bhí á chuartú aige le bliain. Nuair a bhain sé amach é faoi dheireadh, ní raibh an Taoiseach sásta trácht ar bith a dhéanamh. Ach, is dóiche go dtáinig an ráiteas ba shuntasaí agus ba chumhachtaí ó bhéal Liadh Ní Riada, a d’fhógair go bhfuil sí chun stailc teanga a chur suas le linn Seachtain na Gaeilge agus í sa Bhruiséil; ní labhróidh sí ach Gaeilge. “Is Gael mé, cuireann sé déistín orm go bhfuil an Béarla á bhrú orm i ngach gné de mo shaol.”

láithreacht = presence sochaí = society tvuít = tweet

Bhí an ócáid á tvuíteáil beo ag cuid den scaifte agus dá mbíodh an hash-chlib #ceartaanois i do thvuít, thiocfadh sé aníos ar theilgeoir fríd an córas giolcaireachta.

Baineadh úsáid as an chóras udaí le buaicphointí a thaispeáint, ach baineadh leas as ar son grinn uaireanta fosta agus bhí greann cliste na nGael le feiceáil gan choinne. Fiú ghéill na cainteoirí don ghreann; an jóc ab fhearr ó Dháithí Mac Carthaigh, “Tá mé anseo inniu buíochas le Lemsip.”

Cáit Ní Cheallacháin Scríbhneoir @caitsmyname

1. Bhí teangacha eile ann roimh

an Ghaeilge in Éirinn. Ní raibh an Ghaeilge mar an chéad teanga riamh in Éirinn. Bhí teangacha éagsúla ann roimhe, ach is í an Ghaeilge an chéad cheann a bhí á labhairt ag daoine timpeall na tíre ón mbliain 500 AD ar aghaidh.

2. Tá cuid mhór cainte ann faoi

Credit: Fianna Fáil

hÉireann an teanga a labhairt. De réir na staitisticí i nDaonáireamh 2011, is féidir le 1.7 milliún duine an Ghaeilge a labhairt sa Phoblacht. Sa Tuaisceart, is féidir

De réir na staitisticí i nDaonáireamh 2011, is féidir le 1.7 milliún duine an Ghaeilge a labhairt sa Phoblacht

chrá na mbriathra neamhrialta sa Ghaeilge. Is féidir le beagnach gach duine a rinne staidéar ar an nGaeilge mar ábhar scoile na briathra neamhrialta go léir a chanadh de ghlan mheabhair. Níl ach 11 dóibh ann. I gcás an Bhéarla, tá níos mó ná 80 briathar neamhrialta ann (agus níl sé sin ach ag cuntas na briathra a úsáidimid le 75,125 duine an Ghaeilge a gach lá). Mar sin, níl aon leithscéal labhairt. Cé nach bhfuil in seo ach againn!

4% den daonra, tá fás mór tagtha air le roinnt blianta anuas.

3. Tá sé níos éasca d’ainm a aistriú go Gaeilge lasmuigh den tír nó taobh istigh san tír. De réir an dlí lasmuigh den tír, is féidir d’ainm a aistriú go dtí do theanga dúchais gan aon fhadhb. Ach, in Éirinn, is gá dul chuig na cúirte, agus troid a dhéanamh chun d’ainm a aistriú go hoifigiúil.

4. Is féidir le 41% de dhaonra na

FOCLÓIR

Barra Ó Scannláin

FOCLÓIR

An-rath ar Chomhdháil Cearta Teanga Idirnáisiúnta

5. Tá ollscoileanna ann sna Stáit Aontaithe agus san Astráil ag múineadh na Gaeilge. Is féidir staidéar a dhéanamh ar Ghaeilge sna háiteanna sin agus ar fud na hEorpa.Cúis mhór leis ná an eisimirce. Tá go leor daoine óga tar éis imeacht leo agus nuair a chuireann siad tús lena gclann féin, tá siad ag iarradh go mbeidh Gaeilge á fhoghlaim acu.

6. In aineoinn go bhfuil an líon cainteoirí Gaeilge ó dhúchas is mó ina gcónaí i gCúige Chonnacht, níl ach 19 Gaelscoil ann. Agus ar an dtaobh eile, is é Cúige Laighean an cúige leis an líon is lú cainteoirí ó dhúchas, tá 67 Gaelscoil ann. De réir na staitisticí, tá níos mó daoine i gCúige Laighean atá in ann an Ghaeilge a labhairt.

7. Níl aon ‘Yes’ nó ‘No’ sa Ghaeilge.

Caithfidh tú an briathar a úsáid chun an freagra a thabhairt. Ceapann daoine gur ‘Yes’ é ‘Sea’, ach tá an focal ‘Sea’ déanta suas den dá focal ‘Is ea’.

neamhrialta = irregular aistriú = translate eisimirce = emmigration

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

21

Features

Faith within the Inter Faith Megan Roantree Contributor

ONE day last year I was having a

particularly difficult time. It was my best friend Shauna’s two year anniversary and for the first time ever, I didn’t want to be in DCU. I went into the Inter Faith centre, mainly just to reduce the risk of anyone I know seeing me in tears. I sat in the corner of the Inter Faith centre wanting nothing more than to be by Shauna’s grave back at home.

I saw the doors of the ‘Quiet Room’ and decided it was worth looking in to see if it was empty.

Although it was not empty, there was an immediate sense of relief and a calmness. As soon as I went in I knew it was okay to get upset, and so I did.

The only other person in the room was an older man who looked completely empathetic to

my pain. Just as he went to leave he came over put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘I said a prayer for you’.

This is when I met Susan Jones, Chaplain to the Inter Faith Centre. She came into the quiet room after the man who prayed for me asked her to check in, and she brought candles for me to light.

Although I still felt as though my heart was breaking and was still incredibly home sick, it was the closest thing to comfort I could ask for at the time.

I found peace in a place I thought only the most religious worshippers were welcome. I spoke to Susan last week, in an effort to abolish the common misconception about who and what is welcome in the Inter Faith Centre in DCU. “Students of all faiths, tradition and none can come in to the centre. That’s why there is a blank section on our logo, to show that we recognise there

are people who don’t believe in anything, and that’s fine,” Susan explains.

From my experience of the Inter Faith centre, I became less and less conscious that my lack of religious beliefs were an issue, so what happens when atheist’s or non-believers seek help within the Inter Faith?

“If people do want to talk to us, we listen first and foremost.

If God, Allah, Buddha or anyone else comes up that’s great too.

Some people come in because their struggling to find God or know who to pray to but others come in just because they are struggling.”

Often however, people just need a calmness and a break from their busy lives, that is where The Quiet Room comes in useful, what is in my opinion, DCU’s best kept secret.

“People can always come in and light a candle in the Quiet Room, as their way of remembering someone of just for some

personal head space.” Susan explains, ‘’It’s a quiet oasis in the centre of a buzzing campus’’ Because the chaplains themselves are Catholic, I myself questioned how they can remain impartial, non-judgemental and welcoming to all beliefs or lack thereof.

“We’re motivated to work as we do because of our belief system, but it would be very wrong for us to impose anything or anyone on a student or staff member who come in to the Inter Faith centre.”

There seems to be a mutual level of respect in the Inter Faith, where no one person, religion or member or the inter faith is superior.

“I met a student who was a Sikh and I thought it was brilliant, because I didn’t know enough about that, so I asked him to make a little leaflet for me to have in the centre.”

Students play a major role in the Inter Faith centre, when

it comes to services the staff will often seek help from students who they feel may know how carry out a service properly. “We had a memorial service recently for a student who was Muslim, so in order to hold that with dignity we sought help from some Muslim students.”

“When we celebrated Diwali, we asked the Hindu students to help us and got a Hindu priest to make the celebration special.”

There are three main aims in the Inter Faith Centre, building community, learning about cultures and religion and mindfulness. From calling in for a free cup of tea, to lighting a candle and taking a break, to praying to the God(s) you believe in, the Inter Faith seems to vary for each person. The main point to remember, is that it is welcome to all, regardless of beliefs, feelings, or thoughts.

22

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

Features

Empowering women through technology Aura McMenamin Contributor

WILL STEM sell to women? Mind

the pun.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics; fields that are traditionally seen as male dominated.

It’s the question web entrepreneur Joanna Norton and other technology innovators are trying to answer.

Norton has taken a grassroots approach with Mobile Learning Week, a campaign documenting how different types of Irish women use mobile technology, showing that a literacy in technology and science is closer to them than they think. “We’re trying to get an intersection of women represented, and empower women through mobile technology.”

The campaign is part of an international conference by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). It will hold talks and workshops in Paris this month to promote women in the technology sector. Innovation in an unlikely place.

For her campaign, Norton visited St. John of God services, for adults with intellectual disabilities and met Sarah Boland, who has been changing the lives

DCU are to hold a talk on technology for women in March to engage more young girls in the technology, science, engineering and math field. of residents.

Boland, an assistive technology creator, made Link2Me, a website to increase the employability of the John of God residents online. Link2Me is a highly ambitious project which has garnered a LinkedIn sponsorship after beating 300 entries for the Innovation Award last year.

It has a text reader and transcription feature to help adults with literacy issues.

She also developed an app for safe travel called WayBuddy, and has been called a God-send by her coworkers.”I originally came to develop WayBuddy, but I quickly changed my remit to broaden their use of technology.”

“Link2Me stared because one of the residents didn’t have the literacy skills to have letters sent to his house, but to his parents.

It was causing a lot of stress for him. We made Link2Me and it just snowballed.”

Norton was impressed by the innovation she discovered in the unlikely setting.

“What they’re doing is profound. How many people are going to take a trip down here?

Innovative women are not getting recognition.”

DCU welcomes women in STEM DCU will host its own event

aimed at promoting STEM to girls this March with the free event Girl Hack Ireland, which will attempt to welcome girls aged 1517 into the coding world.

Organiser Ruth Blayney explained the concept: “The participants will be set a challenge based on the concept of ‘New Ireland’. We’re leaving it absolutely open to interpretation on the day.

“The girls will have plenty of scope in being creative with the theme, the event is open to those with or without coding experience.”

A 2013 Accenture survey found that out of the 117,000 Irish jobs in STEM, less than 25 per cent of women occupy them. It found that a disinterest in STEM subjects sprang from an early belief that they were boys’ subjects while in school.

Girl Hack researcher, Suzanna Little explained that although her gender was never an obstacle, it made her standout in her work:

“I studied IT in Australia where I was one of five females in a class of 50. It can be intimidating being the only girl in a lecture.

“People make assumptions about your role, confusing you for a scribe or tester, rather than a

technician or coder.”

With its decidedly feminine, quirky advertisement, Blayney wanted to challenge the image of a typical hackathon. “We wanted something different, and eye-catching.”

The land of ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ set to welcome new referenda Aura McMenamin Contributor

WE are becoming a more liberal

society, but is Ireland ready for abortion?

Independent TD, Clare Daly, proposed a Bill which would allow abortions in the case of fatal foetal abnormality earlier this month. The Bill was rejected by the Government by a vote of 104 to 20. Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, reportedly ruled out accepting the legislation after receiving advice that it was unconstitutional. He has since been accused by Ms. Daly of ‘insulting people.’

The topic of abortion in Ireland has been the subject of a great deal of controversy for the last number of years. There was outrage in 2012, after the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died of septicaemia having being refused an abortion while she was suffer-

ing a miscarriage. In 2013, a new act was passed called the Protection of Life during Pregnancy.

This act states an abortion is legal in Ireland if there is risk to a woman’s life.

However controversy rose again in 2014, when the question was raised whether or not to turn off the life support of a pregnant woman in order to give her unborn child a chance of survival.

In this case, when it was deemed that the child wouldn’t survive, the life support was switched off.

The way that abortion is perceived in Ireland is changing. In the past, it was considered a great sin against the Catholic Church, but now opinions are changing with consideration to the health of women during pregnancy and the child’s rate of survival in the womb. But it’s not just opinions about abortion that are changing in Ireland.

Attitudes in Ireland towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-

gender (LGBT) are increasingly liberal. Civil partnership between same-sex couples was made legal in Ireland in 2010, with the first civil partnership being celebrated in 2011. # With the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum, it will be interesting to see if how Ireland will vote. A survey done in 2013 revealed that 73% of Irish people agreed that ‘same-sex marriage should be allowed in the Constitution.’

The Government are also working on Transgender Recognition Bill as Ireland is the only country in the EU that doesn’t recognise transgender rights.

Irish society is changing and we are becoming a more inclusive, liberal community. It is clear that we will be facing many referenda in the near future as Ireland becomes more comprehensive and welcoming.

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

23

Features

The trials and tribulations of being a retail worker Jade OʼLeary Deputy Features Editor @ JadeOdette_

MOST people have worked in retail at some stage in their life, from a Saturday job to get them through school/college, to proper full-time hours with managerial positions. The work is generally pleasant, the hours are usually consistent and the customers are nearly always friendly.

However, we also have to deal with a surprising amount of hardship on a daily basis.

From grumpy customers to date checking, sometimes you have to wonder if it’s really worth your time and patience…

Anybody who has ever been a shop employee will relate to the following struggles endured by sales assistants every single day, in stores worldwide.

Dealing with the Public: I’m just going to come right out and say it: people are the WORST. Not all people, but a lot of them. Did their mothers never teach them that good manners

don’t cost a thing? A ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ now and again is really quite refreshing.

Elderly people are particularly prone to rudeness. *Snippy tone* “Love, I’ve been buying this product since before you were even born. Stop trying to tell me about it and just give it to me, wouldye.”

Also, a special shout-out to those who like to take the opportunity to clear out their change purse while there is a massive queue behind them. Yeah, no problem, you can pay me for forty quid worth of goods with just coppers.

No, really, it’s fine. Of COURSE I don’t mind. *Points gun to head.* Oh, and if you could get off your phone while being served and actually acknowledge the person behind the counter that’d be nice too.

Pricing: This covers all aspects of pricing. From meticulously putting stickers on items that are half-price, and fiddling with the pricing gun (refilling labels is a surprisingly difficult skill to grasp), to being held personally responsible for the cost of each item in the shop.

“That (insert product name here)

is HOW much? Well, let me tell you now, you can get that down the road for a FRACTION of that price. You are trying to rob me blind.”

Yes, because a 21-year-old part-timer has so much input in the calculation of retail prices.

And please, feel free to go down to the shop down the road. I will still get paid at the end of the day.

Date Checking: Only those who work with perishable goods will understand, but if hell is a place they should definitely implement a never-ending date checking regime as a form of torture. (You’re welcome, Satan.) There is nothing more monotonous than checking the sell-by dates of canned goods/medicines/make-up etc.

There’s only so much you can take before all of the numbers look the same, and you start to question your own existence.

Stock Taking: See date checking and multiply it by five.

Name Badges: Personal pet peeve – people

thinking your best mates cause they read your name from the badge on your chest. The fact that you say my name five times in the space of our two minute encounter does not impress and/ or delight me. Sorry.

It’s also very unnerving when somebody calls you by your name and you’re wondering how the hell they know you…until you remember that you have it emblazoned on your right boob for the whole world to see.

“The Lady/Man…” Threat: Mothers across the nation use shop assistants to scare the living daylights out of their children on a regular basis. You know the scenario - kid comes in screaming their head off, wanting to go to

Personal pet peeve – people thinking your best mates cause they read your name from the badge on your chest

the toy shop and other child-type things, and you just know it is coming: “That lady is going to be very cross if you don’t stop that nonsense RIGHT NOW.” Em, sorry pal, but you’re on your own here. I am not responsible for your devil sprog. Do not drag me into this as some sort of sinister authority figure. I mean, I still answer to my own mother, for god’s sake.

Things Left Back in the Incorrect Place: We are guilty of doing this, let’s be honest. But next time you’re shopping and decide to abandon an unwanted pair of trousers in the accessory section, spare a thought for the poor lost soul that will have to put them back in the correct place.

We spend ages trying to make the place look presentable. We understand that you’re a madzer who just doesn’t care, and that rules are meant to be broken.

Except the ‘PUT THINGS BACK WHERE THEY FREAKIN’ BELONG’ rule. That one should remain forever intact.

24

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

Features

Descent to digital dystopia

Cian Roche Contributor

Our smartphones (for those lucky enough to be able to afford such astronomical retail prices) mean that we can snap, chat and organise on the go.

TIME to ditch the digital? Well, Contactless payment, mobile not completely. banking and transferring monTechnology has become an ey between accounts has made integral part of our daily lives. handling our money a lot more But that’s obvious. Even as I write convenient. this on my laptop, I have my However, it is this convesmartphone beside me receiving nience which leads to over updates on social media and reliability. news outlets. A constant stream How many times have we of information. So, is it about heard of a friend or a cousin or a time we remove ourselves, even friend of a cousin who has misif it’s ever so slightly, from our placed their phone or broke their digital clutches? laptop. Water damage is an ever What’s being dubbed as “The increasing cause of smartphone Age of Information”, we find our- casualties and lord knows how selves scrolling, streaming and many iPhones have joined the sharing most of what makes us toilet duck in the bottom of the individual, online. Photographs bowl. are no longer taken on disposable Some have backed up their incameras, whilst video cassettes formation on a cloud system, but are destined to live out what refor those who are still untrusting maining days they have left in the in the wake of stories relating to attic. A smartphone nowadays hacking, the solution is simple. can do nearly everything except Physical copies. make you breakfast (and you can Can we stop using Instagram be sure an app is in development as our sole photo album, instead to do just that). having printed copies of our cherEverything has become ished memories. When you have streamlined to live a more efto part with your hard earned ficient, productive and if we’re wages for printer paper, you’ll honest, a more robotic life. know which photos are best. In Studies have shown that which case, why not delete the too much time spent looking at other useless ones? screens can reduce the amount When we’re confronted with of grey matter in our brains and these choices, it makes us value a study in England way back in what we have more. Maybe buy 2013 concluded that prolonged your absolute favourite albums exposure to looking at screens and leave the remaining music on can have a negative effect on our Spotify. Print those photos of you mental health. and your friends for your room.

Now, my argument is not Ditch the E-reader for a book merely “rid yourself of technology or paper. for a happier life”.

Think of it as a desert island.

Obviously, technology has If it came down to it, what would managed to enrich our lives in a you bring? number of ways. Working has beVint Cerf, one of the fathers of come (arguably) easier and more the modern internet, has warned portable. We’re more accessible that we may be in danger of and contactable to our friends throwing our information into a and family when we are out and digital black hole. about.

Willpower or €1.50? The allure of Penneys Aine Marie Monk Contributor

Ever strolled into the institution that is Penneys seeking to purchase bobby pins at a reasonable price but leaving with an award-winning new wardrobe?

This is indisputably the story of my life…

It is a test of wits to walk through the automatic doors into the ‘Atmosphere’ of a well-loved retailer such as this. Who couldn’t resist jewellery for 1.50?

Now, with the addition of the P.S. Love beauty range, I find myself spending what seems like an eternity in this abyss of cheap as chips false eyelashes and bargain cosmetics. (Did someone say MAC DUPE?) Don’t get me started on the underwear section…I mean 3 bras and 1.50 knickers to match, how could one resist such a wonderful proposition? Who needs Victoria’s Secret when Secret Possessions does it better?

We’ve all bypassed the sock section only to realise that seven pairs of socks for 3 are a recession-busting necessity, sure that’s a pair for every day of the week for less than the price of a 3-in-1.

Then there’s the whole ‘Primarni’ trend. For those of you otherwise unaware (and living under a rock), this is when Primark and Penneys take on trends showcased by pricier clothing brands on the runway to provide

us with pretty pieces which are kind to our bank balance.

Is St. Moriz a party destination in France? Their sunshine in a bottle has left of all bronzed and ready to party at some point in our lives. You may smell like the post-night out meal, but you’ll look like you’ve just flown in from the Canary Islands.

It’s as if those bright red reduction signs guide my way through the shop and I can rarely dodge the rails holding treasures a bargainista such as I can only dream of. A sale on already low prices? You have got to be joking me. What is this sorcery?

Who actually sets foot in Penneys brandishing the absolute joke that is the mini basket… it’s always full within minutes. Even if I, for a brief moment, convince myself that I’ll just buy the charming and cheap statement necklace, I still choose the larger, more accommodating basket over it’s terribly tiny counterpart.

(Perhaps this leads to my inevitable downfall…)

I can wholeheartedly admit to sprinting towards the coveted 1 stand when the unsuspecting

sales assistant attempts to discretely place it amongst full-price stock on the shop floor. Scenes of hyenas feasting on prey are often seen at this point, where people grab as much as they can, before discarding duplicates and unwanted items nearby.

The absolute joy when someone asks where you bought an item of clothing or accessory and you can’t help but reply ‘thanks, Penneys’, or boast that you are queen of the bargains to your peers after brandishing a handbag you promptly purchased for 1. Why did you ever pay the full price for items in the first place?

Sure it’s like a whole new world packed with reduced retail opportunities.

You leave the shop with most of the stock, a new wardrobe and your bank balance has mysteriously vanished, most likely forgetting what you came for… what was it again? Oh yeah, bobby pins This leads to another trip to Penneys and the vicious cycle continues.

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

25

Sport

Depression, exhaustion, academic sacrifice: the price paid by DCU GAA’s elite Eoin Sheahan investigates the gruelling nature of third level GAA Eoin Sheahan Sports Reporter @EoinSheahan

SACRIFICES on a physical, men-

tal and academic level are being made across all codes of third-level Gaelic games, according to some of DCU’s GAA players and coaches. In the build-up to the climax of the higher education GAA season, The College View has spoken to a number of DCU students who play on numerous teams and the impact this is having on their development.

The sage on this issue, however, is Prof. Niall Moyna of the School of Health and Human Performance and manager of the Sigerson side. He told this newspaper that a primary issue for the DCU senior team is that most of his players are also trying to break into their respective county squads: “Because they’re trying to impress the inter-county manager, they’re putting an enormous amount of time and effort in.

“If you’re not getting the appropriate recovery, you might as well be doing no training because you’re getting no benefit from anyone’s training because your body is always in what we call a catabolic state; you’re always breaking down tissue. You’re never in a state where you’re getting the benefit of your training.”

The problem is intensified by the fact that the county sides are gearing up for the season ahead concurrently to DCU spending a number of weeks preparing for the home stretch of a championship.

“What you get is interference, a physiological term. So you’re not getting the strength benefit from the strength training and you’re not getting the endurance benefit from the endurance training because one is interfering with the other,” says Moyna.

Conor McGraynor, one of Moyna’s leading lights in the Sigerson this year, echoes the sentiment but feels that this scientifically nonsensical training pattern is necessary for any young footballer with ambition: “I was burnt out a few years ago from being pulled in different directions, between fresher’s football, under-21 and county senior but that’s more down to the player themselves trying to make the senior panel.

“At county level they don’t realise how much you’re doing in college and how much your college work can be a stress on you. They’re just looking at

Sarah Rowe combines playing with Mayo and DCU as well as playing soccer for Raheny United Credit Sportsfile.com

their own picture of football.”

Although it may seem like managers hold all the cards when it comes to a young player’s development, one of DCU’s senior hurlers has made the decision to prioritise training at home over sessions in Glasnevin. Rob Lennon captained Bennettsbridge to an All-Ireland Junior Hurling Club title recently but had to miss the entirety of DCU’s league campaign due to commitments at home and was absent for the final match of the Fitzgibbon campaign.

“It’s hard. It’s non-stop. It’s week in, week out. If you’re continuing to be successful, you might get the guts of two weeks of a break over a six month period” he says.

“We’re out of Fitz now, but it’s difficult because you want to play as many of these competitive matches. Like, Fitzgibbon is probably the highest level aside from inter-county hurling and you just want to be trying to play as many of these matches against top players.”

Niall Moyna is also very concerned about the amount of strength and conditioning work done by players on a weekly basis but says that, in the last 10 years, his DCU senior side have done

just four physical sessions. With all ball-work, Moyna reckons that the players gain a huge amount of enjoyment from training.

“The feedback we get from the players is that it’s a joy. Why is it a joy? It’s football. They’re not running around pitches bored out of their minds, you know, doing the same drills over and over. It’s a very games-based approach.”

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for all players. Cormac Ryan is another senior hurler who has had many commitments away from DCU. At the height of his pre-season schedule last January, the Whitehall Colmcille man had up to 15 training sessions per week as well as balancing study for DCU’s exams which are held in the same month.

“There’s a sense of enjoyment that’s gone out of it at the top level. If you look at Fitzgibbon, Sigerson, senior inter-county, under-21 inter-county, the days of really enjoying every night that you’re going out are gone” says Ryan.

“The stuff that’s being demanded of young lads has gone too far, like, and they wonder why young lads are coming out with, kinda, nearly having these small breakdowns due to mental stress

and pressure, like, it’s insane.”

One DCU GAA player who has seen the harrowing mental side to burnout resulting from sport is Sarah Rowe, a footballer with the university and Mayo Ladies as well as playing soccer with Raheny United. Rowe was also a fixture of the Ireland side that made it to the semi-finals of the Women’s European Under-19 Championship last summer. Rowe revealed to The College View that two of her close friends from that panel have not returned to the fold: “They can’t seem to refocus themselves on going back training and going doing that routine again” says Rowe.

“Since then, for the last three or four months, one of them in particular now has been suffering from depression. She’s obviously getting help and stuff but doesn’t know when she wants to come back or if she wants to come back.”

While such experiences undoubtedly have an impact on any young player, Rowe is still competing at a high level between two sports. The lack of sympathy from either sport is evident, though: “When it comes to soccer and Gaelic, managers aren’t really that understanding and neither

of them are actually that aware of what you’re doing” she explains.

“Tonight, I’m training with DCU and then I’m going straight over to Parnell’s to train with Raheny after for two hours so that’s two training sessions a night which is done maybe three times a week.”

The evidence, on both an anecdotal and statistical level, suggests that the level of physical and mental stress being put on young GAA players in college is enormous. However, fresher football coach, Ross Munnelly, and DCU GAA Academy Director, Michael Kennedy, both declined to comment on the issue. Cormac Ryan believes that change is a long way away, though: “Is anything going to change?

I’d love to say it will. Realistically, it’s not going to because of this professional culture that’s not even crept into the GAA at this stage, but is the GAA at this stage is never going to leave.

“You can’t put this sort of pressure on a young lad and expect them to be able to cope with it completely. Their body or their mind or something is going to give in, or their performance or their exams. Something’s gonna give.”

26

Wednesday 25 February 2015│THE COLLEGE VIEW

Sport

‘Everyone is out to beat the champions but we’re ready’ Dundalk captain and DCU assistant manager Stephen O’Donnell talks to The College View Aidan Geraghty Sports Reporter @CVSport

IN October, Dundalk claimed

the League of Ireland championship for the first time since 1995, their tenth championship overall, with a 2-0 defeat of Cork City at Oriel Park. Their captain Stephen O’Donnell, who had missed most of the season through injury, spoke to The College View about scoring the decisive goal for the Lilywhites that night.

“I was playing a game against Shamrock Rovers and went in for a challenge and basically blew out my knee so I did the lateral ligaments and a whole lot of different damage so I was out for about five months. It was a bit of a dream comeback, especially against Cork who were our nearest rivals and it couldn’t have worked out any better,” said the DCU assistant manager.

O’Donnell played for Shamrock Rovers in 2011 when they were defending champions and retained their crown, so the pressure of retaining the title is nothing new for him.

When asked if Dundalk can repeat as champions, he said he doesn’t think motivation will be an issue.

“You need to perform even better the second year because everyone’s out to beat you so you need to be even more motivated so that’s the challenge that we’re going to have but I think we have a good, young, hungry group of players so I don’t see motivation or that being the problem.

“But as I said everybody will be out to take you down, everybody wants to beat the champions so we’re going to have to get used to that fairly fast but hopefully we do and we go on and retain it.”

The Galway native believes his club’s main contenders for the title this season will be Cork City, St. Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers, two of which O’Donnell played for earlier in his career.

“I can see all of those four teams being really strong, they’ve all signed really good players in the offseason so I think that’ll be the top four for next season.”

Dundalk striker Pat Hoban was the League’s top goalscorer last season with twenty goals, which recently earned him a move to Oxford United, of England’s fourth tier.

O’Donnell believes the loss of Hoban will be noticed but hopes it can be filled by spreading the goals around as opposed to relying on one player.

“Pat scored twenty-some-

Dundalk captain O’Donnell will be hoping for more scenes like this at Oriel Park come October Credit Sportsfilecom

thing goals last year, he was the top scorer in the league so it’s obviously going to leave a big void but we’ve got Davy McMillan who’s got sixteen and most of those goals came off the bench so hopefully he can improve on that tally if he does start up front.

“We’ve also got Kurtis Byrne and maybe the manager might sign a striker before the deadline so we’ve got lots of different options, we signed Ronan Finn who’s a goalscoring midfielder and Richie Towell chips

in with a lot of goals so hopefully we can spread them out.”

The new incarnation of Galway United were promoted to the Premier Division after beating Shelbourne and UCD in the playoff semi-final and final respectively, and O’Donnell feels it’s a positive thing for the league to have another country club in the top-flight.

“Galway is such a big city and such a sporting city so I think it’s crucial that they do have a representative in the Premier Division so hopefully the crowds get

out to Terryland Park, or Éamon Deacy Park as it’s known now.

“It’s a lovely pitch and a lovely ground so hopefully the locals get out and support them. It’s important for the league to have as many clubs from around the country and not just be saturated with Dublin clubs so it’s good to have different regions represented so I think it’s very good that they’re back in it and I hope they stay in it.”

Overhaul of Fitzgibbon Cup referees sorely needed says DCU manager Thomas Blade Sports Reporter @CVSport

IT was the case of two very con-

trasting years for the DCU hurling club. They began their campaign in early October with an outstanding series of victories, the highlight being a stirring comeback to beat UCD in the local derby by one goal.

Drawn in a very tough group for Fitzgibbon, including tournament favorites CIT, expectations were that DCU could progress to the knockout stages.

This was not to be. DCU managed only one win and failed to qualify from their group. Manager Nick Weir was very disappointed given the effort put in

leading up to the championship.

“The effort from the lads this year was immense. Training was superb and the facilities here at DCU catered to our every need. The results don’t’ reflect on our positivity and work rate leading up to championship.”

The team never really recovered after a disappointing result in their opening game against CIT. In a match surrounded by controversies over an early sending off of Peter Carroll, DCU lost by an eye watering 1-6 to 0-17.

With this deflating loss and with the now absent Carroll, DCU succumbed to a strong UCD outfit, losing by a margin of 2-16 to 1-14. The chance of getting out of the group was now truly over but the team pulled themselves together in order to avoid the embarrassment of the wooden spoon

and defeated St. Pat’s in their final game with a score of 1-20 to 0-11.

The quality of the Fitzgibbon competition was apparent this year. Inter-county stars littered every team sheet and high profile mangers and trainers prowled the sidelines. Weir put DCU’s failures down to the lack of depth in the squad.

“Other teams have a panel of 20-23 players to call on that are of inter-county level. For us this year, I would put that number at 15-16 players” With this quality and development on display, there must be more done in order for the competition to maintain its credibility. Once again this year the eligibility of certain players has come into question. I.T Carlow were thrown out only to be re-instated after an appeal.

The Sigerson cup also had its share of controversies with both I.T Sligo and Queens ejected but again were reinstated after appeals.

“It’s a the case now that every game teams are investigating each other,” Says Weir. “UCD were looking into one or two of our players after we played them. There needs to be clearer guidelines so that on the day no questions can be asked about who can play and who can’t.”

Weir also calls for the edition of younger up and coming referees in order to combat favoritism. Still sore from the decision by Brian Galvin to send off one of his players in the opening match against CIT, Weir says “who sends off a player in the opening three minutes?

“It was a crazy decision by Galvin. We need new referees

that don’t know these inter-county players like Galvin does. He was clearly laughing and joking with the likes of Aidan Walsh and and not penalising them as much. Give the younger referees a chance to develop and get rid of Galvin who doesn’t take this competition seriously.”

Weir has confirmed that he would like to stay on next year and that he was happy with his first stint into college hurling.

Although the team will be losing the likes of Galway U-21 AllStar, Padraig Brehony, there are promising hurlers on the fresher squad that are chomping at the bit for Fitzgibbon hurling.

The year was unsatisfactory in terms of results but with lessons learned Weir is confident that DCU will see Fitzgibbon glory soon.

THE COLLEGE VIEW│Wednesday 25 February 2015

27

Sport

Sigerson Cup is Glasnevin-bound after late McGraynor magic Late dramatics saw DCU clinch the Sigerson success in the dying seconds

DCU UCC

1-14 2-10

Continued from back page Aidan Delaney Sports Reporter @aidand472 quiet by the UCC defence.

The teams continued to stay in touch with each other until UCC had a goal disallowed on 25 minutes with Sean Kiely judged to have fouled DCU keeper Tadgh Lowe.

It proved to be a spark that the game needed as both teams pushed on. Kerry’s All Ireland winning forward Paul Geaney put one over to put his side two points ahead on 27 minutes.

DCU then got themselves back into the game with points from Smith and Eoin O’Connor right before the break to put the teams level going in for half time.

DCU boss Niall Moyna decided to make a few changes at half time bringing on Donie Smith and Mickey Quinn for Connor McHugh and Dessie Ward respectively.

DCU took the lead as the second half kicked off with Enda Smith still driving his side on scoring a fine point from open play.

UCC replied with 37 minutes gone through sub Alan O’Donovan.

The game was crying out for a goal and it finally came with 10 minutes gone in the second half.

Donie Smith swung in a cross and Donal Wrynn was on hand to tap in from close range. After 40 minutes, it was DCU up by that goal 1-06 to six points.

UCC had their own goal chance five minutes later but a brilliant save by keeper Lowe denied David Harrington but the resulting 45 was scored to cut the lead to two.

Conor Boyle looked to have won it for DCU with a point to stretch the lead before a great cross-field kick put O’Dono-

Conor McGraynor celebrates at the final whistle after sealing DCU’s victory Credit Sportsfile

van one-on-one with the keeper and he punched to the net to put UCC a solitary point ahead with one with a minute to go.

Credit to DCU though, they never gave up and a late free was slotted over by keeper Lowe to bring the game to extra time.

The additional 20 minutes saw DCU boosted by their heroics and they lead by two at the end of the first period. A brilliant goal from David Culhane put UCC up by one at the start of the second half but points from Donie Smith, Conor Daly and the winner by McGraynor saw the cup return to North Dublin.

Tadgh Lowe, Jack Smith, Conor Boyle, Conor Daly, Conor Moynagh, Dessie Ward, Colm Begley, Eoin O’Connor, Stephen O’Brien, Diarmaud O’Connor, Conor Meredith, Donal Wrynn, Enda Smith, Conor McGraynor,

Conor McHugh.

Scorers: Donal Wrynn: 1-1, Enda Smith: 0-3, Conor McHugh: 0-2, Eoin O’Connor: 0-2, Tadgh Lowe: 0-2, Donie Smith: 0-1, Conor Boyle: 0-1, Conor Daly: 0-1, Stephen Boyle 0-1.

Away games helped the side to bond, says DCU GAA director Ruaidhrí Croke Sports Editor @Ruaidhri_Croke

THE director of the DCU GAA Academy has paid testament to Niall Moyna and his management team for their role in DCU’s Sigerson Cup success last week, saying they got everything “100 percent right”.

Michael Kennedy was present at The Mardyke Arena on Saturday

to see his students battle past UCC in extra-time to claim the Glasnevin university’s third Sigerson Cup in six years and says the atmosphere afterwards was euphoric.

“I suppose there was total euphoria at the fact that it went to such a nail-biting finish. It was an incredible feeling.

“A lot of these players have come through such a tough time over the last number of months trying to combine their studies and their inter-county careers

UCC

DCU

so it was an incredible feeling to be able to stand back and watch your students enjoy the moment.”

Kennedy was quick to praise the coaching staff of Niall Moyna and the new addition of former Meath manager Seán Boylan who did a sterling job in getting the players over the line after four tough games all away from home.

“The management got it 100 percent right in terms of the squad. It was never going to be about the use of 15 players it

Michael Martin, Fergal McNamara, Jack McGuire, Padraig O’Connor, Conor Dorman, David Culhane, Thomas Clancy, Gary O’Sullivan, Sean Kiely, Shaun Keane, Luke Connolly, Brian O’Driscoll, Paul

was going to be about the panel. Every player coming off the bench knew they had a job to do.

They could see the guy coming off saying ‘I’ve done my bit; I’m shattered, now it’s your turn’.”

With an opening round game in Belfast against UUJ, followed by another trip to Belfast for a quarter-final tie with St Mary’s, before the final two games taking place in Cork, the DCU panel clocked up a significant number of miles on their travels but Kennedy feels that that was a benefit to the squad.

“It was tough that the players had to play away for every game. [The UUJ game] gave the player such confidence but also brought such great belief into the squad. Going up Belfast and beating UUJ and beating St Mary’s on extra time instilled such great belief. They knew that even if they went behind they could come back and win. They never lost faith and they never lost

Geaney, David Harrington, Conor Cox. Scorers: Alan O’Donovan 1-1, David Culhane: 1-0, Conor Cox 0-3, Thomas Clancy: 0-2, Luke Connolly: 0-1, Gary O’Sullivan: 0-1, Kevin Davis: 0-1, Shaun Keane: 0-1.

belief in themselves as a squad.

“For any team to spend time together when they’re travelling, that creates a real bond. Within a team environment when they’re on the bus or sitting down having meals they’re always becoming closer together. So from our perspective they gained great experience from that and became so united as a group,” he said.

Former Brisbane Lions Aussie Rules player Colm Begley was a huge asset to the DCU panel this year and brought some much-needed experience to a young squad. Kennedy felt that Begley’s influence was particularly important in DCU’s success.

“I suppose Colm Begley has to stand out, he’s been an outstanding inspiration to all the players.

He’s done it at the highest level in International Rules and his passion and inspiration from the start of the competition was just phenomenal.”

Sport THE COLLEGE VIEW

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

www.thecollegeview.com

INSIDE Reaction to DCU’s Sigerson triumph Read more on page 27

CHAMPIONS AGAIN

Credit Sportsfile

Aidan Delaney Sports Reporter @aidand472

EXTRA time was needed to sepa-

rate the sides as DCU came from behind to grab their third Sigerson Cup in six years.

Conor McGraynor scored a

crucial late point with a minute to go before UCC missed the chance to equalise in the dying moments which gave the Dubliners the cup.

It was the home side that scored first from a free by Conor Cox after Brian O’Driscoll was fouled. DCU got their reward for their early pressure as star man Enda Smith put Donal

Wrynn through on goal but the Leitrim man sliced over the bar.

DCU then took the lead through the boot of Dublin man Conor McHugh who floated over a point after being fouled by the UCC defence.

The teams traded points all afternoon and there was little to separate the sides in the opening

quarter. The pick of the scores were failing to take advantage. coming from Thomas Clancy who Meanwhile DCU’s Smith levelled it up with a long range and McHugh were linking up effort after ten minutes of play. well but were so far being kept Shaun Keane put the Cork men in front before being pegged back by another McHugh free.

Continued on page 27 UCC were having the lion’s share of possession with 61 percent after 15 minutes but