thecollegeview. Wednesday September 27th 2017
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Hub construction target end date moved to March . Est. 1999 .
Postgrads dissatisfied with accommodation changes Shauna Bowers Editor-in-Chief @shaunabowerss
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Kyle Ewald Deputy Editor @thecollegeview
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he target date for completion of the new Student Hub building has been pushed from February to March, according to DCU SU president Niall Behan. Commencement on the €14 million project began in late June 2016 and was aimed to be finished on February 28th, 2017, but now is estimated to be completed sometime in March. “From a more personal perspective, we do want to see it go up because I think the longer students are out of this building, the less this is their home,” said Behan. “I think we have seen very much a decrease in engagement with the SU in general just because there hasn’t been a purpose built space for students to go to, so we are definitely behind any negotiations that will help it get done any quicker.” The new four storey space will replace what was once was the Old Bar and Spar and include new venue spaces for student events and social activities, increased meeting room provision for clubs and societies, and new student support and SU spaces. During construction, Spar has been relocated to The Venue, previously used for DCU club and societies events, causing a need for alternative venues both on and off campus in the previous and upcoming year. “I suppose it has to be done really, but it’s weird to think of having
Dublin Fire Brigade responds to Henry Gratton fire
Credit: Mark Carroll
events in different venues,” said masters student Eoin Luc O’Ceallaigh, who completed an undergraduate degree in DCU in 2016, prior to the start of construction. “We had some of the best nights [in the Hub] so it’s weird to think of taking a bus to another venue because then it doesn’t really seem like a college event, you might as well be in Copper’s.” DCUfm studios have also been relocated to the Student’s Union, which can be a bit “daunting” to first years, according to DCUfm Station Manager Jack Matthews, but “everybody has to make compromises for the big
build, so it’s all right”. Matthews said while the DCUfm team--who previously met in the SU meeting rooms that have been replaced temporarily by SU offices--has been meeting in the current fm studio, he does not know what the team will do once broadcasting begins. “When we do start broadcasting it’s going to become difficult to just like hold meetings if we want to meet up with people we are going to have to start booking rooms a bit more often which is a nightmare,” said Matthews.
Office of Student Life Manager Una Redmond stressed the importance of looking at the long term positive effects the new Hub will have on student life: “It will be great when it’s done and I suppose that’s what we have been saying to students, I know it’s an inconvenience and we were very well aware of that before we started, we’ve tried to minimise that as much as possible, but you can’t knock half a building and rebuild an entirely splendid new building without there being some bit of inconvenience”.
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ostgraduate students are unhappy with the increase in rent and change in lease length that occurred over the summer, according to Student’s Union postgraduate officer, Allan Stevenson. Speaking to The College View, PhD students, who wish to remain anonymous, said they are quite discontent with what has happened with their accommodation. DCU Campus Residences have increased rent for the past two years, and they released a proposal in March about changing the way in which postgraduate accommodation would be appointed. The proposal was that first year PhD students would receive first preference for on campus accommodation and that instead of receiving a lease that lasted the entirety of their degree, they would need to reapply for a new lease each academic year and were not guaranteed the same room. However, the postgraduate students were unhappy with this and tried to negotiate with campus residences to alter the arrangement. “We’ve been negotiating with them for a while. What they did to us is, our license ran until the 17th of August and then they said if you want to apply for accommodation again then they’ll put us in a lottery system where there is no guaranteed accommodation, no chance you’ll get the same room. For people who are under a lot of pressure writing theses, this is quite difficult,” a student doing a phD in English said. Their negotiations proved to be effective and while they still needed to reapply, they were ensured they would receive the same room.
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Facebook: TheCollegeView Twitter: @thecollegeview Listen to The College View’s fortnightly podcast, beginning September 27th on thecollegeview.com Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief: Shauna Bowers Deputy Editor: Kyle Ewald
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Lifestyle Editor: Katie Gallagher Contacts Deputy Lifestyle Editors: Adam Daly & Rachel Farrell editor@thecollegeview.com Features Editor: Orla O”Driscoll Deputy Features Editor: Arthur Velker Irish Editor: Ali Spillane Sports Editor: Alex Dunne Deputy Sports Editors: Gavin Quinn & Christy Dunne Arts Editor: Emer Handly Deputy Arts Editors: Ian Mangan & Ally Daly Images Editor: Mark Carroll Deputy Images Editor: Daria Jonkisz Photographers: Grainne Jones & Eoin Cooke
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The end of September has finally descended upon us which means only one thing; it’s time for the college year to return. The excitement around campus is almost palpable as students enjoy the freedom of the first few weeks. We all know we’re back in classes and should be doing work every night but it’s only the first week and so that means way more socialising and way less pressure. The exhilarating events organised for Freshers’ weeks ensured that every student was hyped and ready to take on the new year. We had a gig rig last Thursday so students could dance away while walking to and from classes, we had loco bingo which is bingo that’s just a little bit crazy and, of course, we had the beloved iron stomach. The week was filled with fun and excitement. While the pressure of the college work might not have been too strong, some people around campus are surely feeling a different form of pressure. The return of the academic year brings one thing to the forefront of every student’s mind; accommodation. The difficulty in finding accommodation and even worse, trying to find affordable accommodation is one of the biggest challenges students face come the start of the college year. A lot of students spend all summer working so that they can save up for their tuition fees, and then some need to source money for their accommodation too. I had a classmate who had to travel to and from Monaghan and DCU each and every day. That is a lot of time spent travelling that could be much better spent working on assignments, or even just to have some down time after a long day of lectures. This is because the accommodation crisis has definitely reached crisis point but our academic studies should not be punished for that. Everybody has heard the horror stories of our current rental situation here in Dublin. It’s costing an arm and a leg to just get a bed in a room somewhere. For students, it’s even worse. The preconceived notion that all students are party animals makes it even more difficult for them to avail of certain accommodation. Landlords would prefer to have somebody working full time as opposed to a student who may or may
not party every night of the week. It has reached such a point that even the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have decided to establish a website helping students source suitable accommodation. That’s all well and good but it’s really the cost of it all that is really getting students and parents down. According to a report released by The Irish League of Credit Unions this time last year, parents save up on average for 8 years in order to be able to afford to send them to college. That’s actually the students who commute to and from university too. The cost of fees increases year after year, student loan schemes are being proposed and now, on top of that they need to deal with accommodation? On average, it was shown that students who live away for home spend twice as much as those who stay at home. But financial strife can very quickly begin to take it’s toll on students. Many of them decide to work part-time to supplement their income and pay their rent but that often results in a decline in grades due to a lack of study time. Not only does financial difficulty affect their propensity to complete their academic work but it also impacts on their mental health in a negative manner. College is one of best times of your life but it’s also one of the most stressful times of your life. Multiple studies, including one published in the Social Science and Medicine Journal, showed that there are indiscernible links between student debt and depression. It’s incomprehensible to understand the pressure that finding and then funding accommodation can put on students. But what can we do to help it? This is more than just a student-based issue. This is a nationwide issue. The rental market is getting wilder and wilder each day. There are tales of people of all shapes and sizes, of all incomes and backgrounds who are spending surplus of €1,000 a month for a tiny apartment or room. This is something that needs to be tackled. If we want students to excel in their studies and to enable graduates the freedom and independence of renting their own apartment then this rental market needs to be focused on in the very near future.
News
Shanowen Square targeted by overseas hackers
Fionnuala Walsh News Editor @thecollegeview
Credit: Mark Carroll
this”. Shanowen Square General “I know that the servers fine now Manager Lorraine Rabbitte contacted and they’re not hacked anymore, but DCU VP for Welfare and Equality Student accommodation Shanowen Podge Henry on August 17th, saying that’s about as much as I know about Square was targeted by a cyber attack from an overseas account which “it has come to our attention that our that” he said. “I myself was nearly caught computer security system has been contacted residents on their behalf because I had applied to live in breached in the last 48 hours”. looking for payment. Shanowen Square for the year, and An email was sent to all incomResidents of Shanowen Square just like everyone else I had to be put ing residents warning that the false received fraudulent emails which on the waiting list and then got an emails were not from Shanowen pretended to be Shanowen Square email to say that I got the Shanowen Square, and was this forwarded on and asked for immediate payments Square but obviously that was the to Henry, stating “in the interests of to be made to an overseas bank hacking.” security we are emailing all of our account, according to an email sent “I think my mother nearly acturesidents to make them aware of to all residents after the security ally paid. But it was addressed quite breach.
fast by Lorraine. She obviously knew and the email was sent to me right away, and I’m hoping that the students didn’t fall for it” said Henry. “I know a lot of them [the students] got the email after we’d sent out the warning email so I think the issue was thankfully nipped in the bud quite soon.” Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, Shanowen Square were not able to comment on the issue.
Double digit rent increases continue in Dublin rior accommodation rates at €6,210 per year. 33 percent of Irish students live in purpose built accommodation, according to a report by The Union of The cost of renting in Dublin is 11.8 Students in Ireland. 31 percent live in privately rented accommodation percent higher than this time last and seven percent live in digs. year, and has risen an average of 38 of the 3,597 students who 12.3 percent annually according to responded said that they don’t have a report released by Daft.ie. This is the fifth quarter in a row where rents accommodation, and that they sleep have increased by at least 10 percent on friends’ couches/floors and cars. Two responders stated that they sleep nationally. The annual rent for a single room on the streets. The government launched an in DCU Hampstead Apartments is accommodation strategy in July €5,562 payable in two instalments. The double room is €5,634 annually. that promised 21,000 student beds by 2024, in response to the renting A single room in College Park Apartments is €5,850, with the supe- crisis.
Fionnuala Walsh News Editor @thecollegeview
Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton launched the strategy which promises closer co-operation between the government and universities with regards to financing student accommodation. The plan has made targets to develop purpose built student accommodation and increase promotion of digs. Homeowners are being urged to consider renting a room out to students, highlighting that they could earn up to 14,000 euro a year taxfree. The tax relief was introduced to increase the amount of rented accommodation available. DCU VP for Welfare and Equality Podge Henry highlighted that the demand for the DCU digs platform has increased since its beginning two
years ago, and that the platform was not built for the increased traffic. “Now it’s so much bigger and the layout isn’t great”,“we’re trying to fix that”. “You’re wasting time doing admin work, but if you don’t do it, that’s students that mightn’t be housed”. “A lot of students don’t want digs and that’s understandable, especially first years, I completely sympathise with them”. “You’d want to live with other students, and we’re trying your best to sort them out, but we don’t have much say, especially in regards to campus residences, we have little to no say there.”
Credit: Mark Carroll
3 Postgrads dissatisfied with accommodation changes
Despite this, they are still dissatisfied about the fact that the rent has increased by 50 euro a month and that they had to leave their homes for two weeks throughout the summer. “So what we did, we organised negotiations with them and they changed their plan which forced us to leave our homes for two weeks for intense cleaning during which I think they just cleaned the carpet. They didn’t really do two weeks worth of work. Then we pay an extra 50 euro a month now, they raised it from 580 to 630,” he said. The SU are working alongside the postgraduate residents, Stevenson said. “Although I’m not a resident, I understand their position. The way it seems to them is that the DCU campus residence just wants to make money. They don’t seem to care about the wellbeing of the students and they just want to make money on the matter,” he said. John Caffrey, the general manager of DCU Campus Residences, said that they have worked with the postgraduates throughout all of these changes, trying to appease both of their wishes. “We engaged in numerous meetings and updates both with the Students’ Union on behalf of the Postgraduate residents as well as with the Postgraduate representatives themselves before any final decisions were made. At all times we took on board their views and opinions and did all we could to accommodate their wishes,” he said. He also defended asking the residents to leave the accommodation for two weeks by detailing the integral maintenance work that occurred during that time, and he explained the reasoning behind the rent increase. “During the last two weeks of August all apartments were deep cleaned and all of the kitchens in Block A were stripped out and replaced with brand new storage space, countertops, tiling, cookers and fridges, with plans in place to repeat this exercise in Block B next August. “The decision to increase the license fee was taken in line with the increases applied across all of the residences,” he said.
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4 News in Brief DCU ranked within top 250 for Arts and Humanities DCU has been ranked within the top 250 universities globally in the area of Arts and Humanities by one of the most widely recognised third level ranking bodies. The Times Higher Education (THE), a data provider which supports university excellence on a world-wide scale, places DCU in the ranking table as a leader of subjects in the area of Arts and Humanities.
Plans for free wifi in Dublin city centre Dublin City Council are planning to bring free Wi-Fi back to Dublin, almost two years after a similar initiative fell through.
DCU Sports Complex bans mobile phones in facility Callum Lavery Deputy News Editor @thecollegeview DCU sports complex have issued a ban on all camera devices including mobile phones within their facilities. The complex released the statement earlier this month in a post on their Facebook page. The gym said: “Please be aware that using any kind of camera devices including
phones are strictly forbidden in the facilities. This is to protect the privacy of all individuals who use our facilities.” The ban is part of an effort to combat violations of privacy such as unsolicited photographs in the facilities as well as to prevent loitering on machines. Since the ban was put online there have been mixed reviews from the student body with many students saying that they often used their phones while on the premises. “I think that it’s good in that people’s privacy is being looked after in
the gym but at the same time a lot of people use their phones to listen to music and when you’re on your own it gets a bit lonely” “They only have signs up in the changing room saying no phones permitted in there, but there are none upstairs, it’s not being advertised. And like, fair enough you shouldn’t be using your phones in the changing room, that’s gross” said two third year students Emma Shevlin and Anna O Reilly. “To be honest like, I get it on one hand when people are just sitting
around taking pictures of themselves but some people have their workout regimes on them and it can be card hard to remember what you’re doing if you don’t have that” according to second year student Eoin Harte. The Gym was criticised this time last year for increasing the cost of their student membership from €195 to €205. The Sports Complex was unwilling to provide a comment when contacted directly.
The previous initiative was first rolled out at the beginning of 2013 at various locations throughout the city centre with the service being provided by Spanish company Gowex.
DCU set to lead Gender Identity Project DCU’s Centre for Children’s Literature and Culture is spearheading the Creative Europe project ‘Gender Identity: Child Readers and Library Collections’. The project aims to encourage children to reflect on their gender identity in hopes of challenging societal and biological norms.
DCU joins new bike sharing programme
Credit: Mark Carroll
UCD ranks best of Irish universities for graduate employablility
DCU is one of two universities in Dublin involved in the city’s new stationless bike sharing programme. A new company called “Bleeperbike” is Ireland’s first dockless bike sharing service. Students and staff looking to avail of the service must first download Bleeperbike’s free app, which is available for both iPhone and Android users. There are currently three parking locations on the Glasnevin campus.
DCU celebrates 20 years of international studies Organisations should develop a strategy which embraces the LGBTA community, revealed the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces on campus last Tuesday. Vice Admiral Mark Mellett gave a keynote lecture in honour of the anniversary of international relations at entitled ‘Understanding a Turbulent World: Celebrating 20 years of International Studies.
Shauna Bowers Editor-in-Chief @thecollegeview University College Dublin (UCD) was the only Irish university to be placed in the top 100 universities for graduate employability, according to QS World University Rankings 2018. UCD ranked 75th in the world for its graduate employability records, which is an increase of its position of 151st in the previous year. Trinity was ranked as number 2 in Ireland with UL coming third and DCU fourth however, those three universities did not have any information under alumni outcomes, employer-student connections and partnerships with employers which
Credit: Graduationsource.com
may have affected their ranking. DCU, National University of Ireland Galway and University College Cork were all ranked in the 301- 500 bracket, which really brings to light the question of what really makes the difference in employability upon graduation. The President of UCD, professor Andrew Deeks, attributes their high percentage of graduate employability to the research that has become an integral part to of all UCD’s courses. “Scholarship and research are at the core of UCD, and the fact that we are 75th in this ranking is a reflection on the quality of our faculty, the nurturing environment we provide for our students, the ambition we
aim to instil in our graduates and the active partnerships we pursue with employers. “Our reach and our impact goes beyond our shores. Our graduates are genuinely global citizens who have an impact on society in every arena from business to innovation, from scientific discovery to the arts,” he said in a statement. The solidity of the relationships between DCU graduates and their employers is 27.5 percent, whereas with UCD graduates the strength of that relationship is 53.5 percent. The employability of DCU’s graduates continually increases, according to a report the Higher Education Authority (HEA) released
in March of this year. There was a growth of almost 5 percent in graduates who gained employment 6 months after graduation, between the years 2012 and 2014. In May 2017, DCU launched an e-portfolio which they believe will increase the employability of their graduates even further. They said it will provide a new, innovative way for graduates and employers to interact and hopefully, it’ll lead to future employment for many of them. DCU were unavailable to comment on which methods or innovations they plan on implementing in order to continue to improve the employability of their graduates.
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DCUSU plans for n
Kyle Ewald Deputy Editor @thecollegeview DCU Student Union President Niall Behan hopes to cater to all DCU campuses and students equally during the second year since the amalgamation of the student unions from St. Patrick’s College and Mater Dei Institute into one DCUSU. Behan said he realised the importance of student representation across all campuses during his campaign when voters expressed feelings of disengagement with their students’ union and university. “I think more and more are witnessing that there are actually different types of students on different campuses, which is something that I think needs to be respected,” said
Fionnuala Walsh News Editor @thecollegeview Helping with the vast numbers of students seeking accommodation has been his “most stressful time by far” according to New VP for Welfare and Equality Podge Henry. “When the CAO results came out, especially in the last month of August, that’s when it really got very stressful with calls coming in all day. There was three weeks in a row there that myself and Niall only went home before eight o’clock twice.” As DCU’s only accommodation officer, Henry oversees the DCU digs online platform which helps to house incoming students, especially first years and international students. Since its introduction two years ago there has been a big increase in
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Behan. “When you start painting everyone with the same brush, it only works so far.” In an effort to bring “buzz” and “college atmosphere” to all DCU students, the SU has scheduled events across all three campuses including a flagship initiative “Wellness Wednesday”, a weekly event focusing on the importance of college well-being, featuring classes on mindfulness, study skills, getting better sleep and improving one’s overall health. Behan also hopes to make changes to the Class Rep Council model to accommodate the growing number of class representatives. “The model was made when there was three, four, five thousand students in DCU and now there are seventeen thousand and with the next strategic plan in the next four years there will be twenty five thousand students, so we are trying to put in a place, a structure whereby everyone can have their voice heard, but in the right forum,” said Behan. In late October, newly elected Class Reps will receive training from NStEP, a “national student engagement program run across all sectors and universities and that’s going to be used to empower class reps,” said
Behan. The program will also feed into the new CRC structure Behan hopes to create that will allow class reps to meet with staff on a smaller, more class-related level, as opposed to bringing very course-specific issues to the entire CRC. Behan also hopes to bring DCU representation to national issues, specifically the introduction of a loans scheme for higher education funding and the abortion referendum. On October 4, DCUSU will take part in a USI march lobbying for publicly-funded education as opposed to the installation of a loans scheme that students will have to pay back after graduation. Behan stressed the importance of educating students on the effects a loan scheme would have on their lives upon finishing college: “The money that [students] will have to pay for college fees will be absolutely ten times more than they are paying now, but it’s a loan, so you’re not even going to see the detriment effects of it when you have finished college.” DCUSU will also be taking part in the 6th Annual March for Choice on September 30, but Behan said
demand for the service, but the layout of the website and administrative system is outdated and time consuming. “You’re wasting time doing admin work, but if you don’t do it, that’s students that mightn’t be housed,” he said. “There’s only so many hours in the day”. For Podge, one of his biggest concerns for the year is representation. Not having visible SU officers on campus “might frustrate students because they might feel like they’re not being represented equally.” “I know the issue with last year regarding campuses, so we’re going to show that we have a rota so that we’re all on different campuses. That would be the biggest thing for us, we want to make sure that all the campuses know that we’re there, that we have two hours a day in All Hallows.” One of his biggest long term goals is to expand Smart Consent workshops in DCU, a project which didn’t come to mind when he originally wrote his manifesto. “When I won the position … I met up with some students who I thought might have had ideas for the year, what they’d like to see done, and consent was something that came up. So I said I’d look into it and straight away I was like ‘look that needs to be tackled’.”
“It’s a discussion about consent as opposed to like a lecture, so it’s very interactive and light hearted as well, there’s no like graphic imagery or anything,” he said. “We feel like often when people talk about consent, when I was talking to certain students, they thought it was just rape but often it’s not. It’s making sure that you communicate properly to consent, and to have a healthy sexual relationship with a partner.” In the long term, he plans to try and get something into academics regarding consent, “so that in DCU there’s a module for students regarding consent and its credited towards them”. Despite the stress since CAO results were released, Podge is enjoying seeing students return to campus. “We kind of get to enjoy getting a bit of a buzz back, having the students back.” “With the first years, it’s nice to see that they come in and they don’t know what they’re doing and we’re the ones who show them around and give the orientation talks. This week was fantastic, just with the buzz of having all the students back and the events on.”
Student Union President: Niall Behan
there will be more of a focus on lobbying against the loans scheme first semester, then increased focus on the abortion referendum once the date is announced. “We will be concentrating more on Oct 4 for the higher education
VP for Welfare and Equality: Podge Henry
Credit: DCUSU
funding because when the referendum is announced, probably in May or June, we will be getting all students out for the end of the semester marching for body autonomy,” said Behan.
Credit: DCUSU
new academic year
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News
Callum Lavery Deputy News Editor @thecollegeview DCU’s Vice President for Engagement and Development Siobhán Nic Thaidhg has said that she is very excited to be part of DCU’s Students’ Union this coming academic year. Originally from Co. Leitrim, Nic Thaidhg came to DCU to study a joint honours of Media Studies and Irish and spent her time between both the Glasnevin and All Hallows campuses. She believes that her experience has influenced her plans for the coming year, mainly on issues of promoting the Irish language, the class
rep system and having multi campus presence. Nic Thaidhg is the second ever VP for Engagement and Development taking over from last year’s VP Eimear Maguire and says she has big plans for the new Student Union position: “It’s only a baby! I am the second ever VP for Engagement and Development. After the incorporation, the three sabbatical positions turned into five… My main goals for the year are to lay the ground work for the role of VP Engagement and Development.” “I want to overhaul the Class Rep system. Make sure the Volunteer expo has the amount of life clubs and societies days do. I want to increase the amount of Irish within the union. I want a green flag for Pat’s campus
and the return of the DCU reusable coffee cups.” “I have been very vocal about having a presence on all campuses. As a result, we will be present there (All Hallows) for 2 hours every day.” Nic Thaidgh said that she also has plans for the SU brand especially their social media presence, intends to work on promoting more non-alcoholic events around campuses and plans to introduce a new class rep handbook and training. Finally, Nic Thaidhg said she loves working with her fellow union members: “I bring some much-needed rationale. I enjoy being the only girl. I get all of the attention. Niall is a great leader, Padraig is very emotionally intelligent, Brendan has a great vision and Matt is a big softie.” Vice President for Engagement and Development: Siobhán Nic Thaidhg
Elsa Mc Evoy Deputy News Editor @thecollegeview The new VP for Education and Placement Mathew Davey spoke to The College View about his plans for the upcoming year. “The big thing I was working on was the national campaign for placement expenses for teachers,” said Davey. He went on to explain that his
own course, Bachelor of Education, which used to be three years long was extended to four years about two years ago which in turn extends the period of placement student teachers have to do. “The cost of placement has gone up a lot because the placement periods have been extended so teachers, as well as paying fees, have to pay for their travel, their clothes, their food, their rent and all the resources they’re using on placement so the quality of their teaching, I think is being affected as they can’t afford the best materials to teach with,” he said. He went on to explain that he is working with Trade Unions and other universities to help combat the costs in a national campaign for student teachers which is currently being run by the USI. For student nurses, Davey plans to make a ‘Placement Tips and Tricks’
video as well as another inspiring video in order to boost their morale ahead of long placement periods. “They’ll be shown at their pre-placement lectures as well as sent out in emails by the SU,” he said. He has also plans to help MINT students who failed a module but already made plans to study or do their INTRA abroad this year. DCU used to ask these students to come back and repeat the year, however, now they are able to go abroad and carry over the module into the next year following an amendment to the course regulations. “I plan to have two separate INTRA talks for Science and Health student,” he said. “There’ll be a Humanities INTRA talk and a business one as well. They’ll also be videoed and made available on the INTRA Facebook page.” VP for Education and Placement: Matthew Davey
Shauna Coen Deputy News Editor @thecollegeview As the new academic year begins and students throng the campus grounds, Brendan Power, the new VP for Academic Affairs spoke to The College View about his plans for the months ahead. A former business student of DCU, Power availed of the services
offered by the Students’ Union and explained that his experiences with the union showed him the importance of the position. “It’s a role where you can impact a person’s day. A student could come into my office in dire need but they’re not aware of all their options until you explain it to them. The idea of being the difference between someone staying in college or leaving is pretty incredible. “It’s about working to make each students’ experience in college better. The SU team is great and we’re all different people from various backgrounds but working towards that goal” he said. Despite the difficulties associated with the construction of the new Hub and The Students’ Union offices, Power has been working on new
Credit: DCUSU
Credit: DCUSU
ideas, focusing on the issue of grinds and improving Careers Week. “The grinds database that we have at the moment is out of date. It’s something I’m trying to make more student friendly. There are people that are on it for years who probably aren’t even in DCU anymore so that needs to be updated. “It’s on Loop but it’s not easy to navigate and when it comes to week eight or nine when students are in particular need of this service I want it to be as easy as possible to access it” he said. Power also aims to improve the university’s Careers Week with a desire to make it bigger than previous VP for Academic Affairs: Brendan Power Credit: DCUSU years. He hopes to invite DCU Alum- various faculties. education and seize opportunities.” ni who have succeeded in their cho“Getting industry leaders to come sen careers into the college to share in will motivate students and get them their experiences with students from thinking about life after their DCU
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News
USI Call for financial support for trainee teacher placement
Shauna Coen Deputy News Editor @thecollegeview
or materials. The reality is, students can’t cope with the cost of living without another job on top of this” said USI President Michael Kerrigan. Assistant General Secretary of the ASTI Moira Leydon also expressed concern over the costs that student teachers incur during their initial teacher education. “The fact that these students will then grad-
uate into a labour market where they will be in temporary and temporary contracts for the first years of their career makes this all the more unfair,” she said. DCUSU along with Mary Immaculate College SU, Maynooth SU and Marino SU are highlighting the campaign and urging student teachers and graduates to fill out a short survey carried out by teachers’ unions to help drive the
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has launched a campaign with teachers’ unions to eliminate the costs for student teachers on class placements which is a mandatory aspect of their course. Over the past few years, amendments were made to the primary teaching undergraduate and master’s programmes which have seen both the courses and placement periods extended. While the upgrading of the teacher education programme to masters level was welcomed, there is a deep concern over the financial burden on students undertaking such a placement. “Along with working part-time jobs, we’re hearing of some placements lasting 30 – 35 hours a week with no support for travel, food
Credit: USI
DCU Alumni Lands Presenter Role on RTÉ
Plans to address Postgraduate Representation at 2018 Congress Carrie McMullen Contributor @thecollegeview
Credit: RTE
Andrew Ryan Contributor @thecollegeview Former DCU journalism student Zainab Boladale has been named as a new presenter on RTÉ’s news2day program. Boladale, who will graduate from her bachelor of arts degree in Journalism from Dublin City University in November, was named as the new presenter on RTÉ’s news service for a younger audience on the 5th of September. She is joined as a presenter on news2day by current presenter Tommy Meskil who studied Communications Studies at DCU. Boladale previously worked as a digital news reporter and was named Journalist of the Year at the 2017 DCU Hybrid Awards. She also covered the Dubin Tech Summit for RTÉ as part of a team of fellow journalism students from DCU. Speaking to the Irish Times on the 8th of September, Zainab played down the signifi-
cance of being the 1st Afro-Irish news presenter on RTÉ television, saying: “I don’t see myself as a Nigerian woman who landed a TV role in RTÉ, I see myself as a woman who went for a position she really wanted and was thankfully chosen as the right fit.” However, during the same interview, Boladale did say that diversity in the media was important: “I think personally, representation is important and I think, in general, media doesn’t have diverse representation, so I think it’s super important, especially for children to be like ‘oh my god, look at that person, they look like me and they are on TV’, so it’s an exciting time for me.” “I believe that wherever I ended up working in media, I would still be the only young black woman working in an industry that is predominately white. What’s important to me is that when young children from any background see me on TV or meet me when I’m out reporting, they are inspired to aspire to their fullest potential regardless of what they look like or what their background is.”
effort forward. Responding to the current concerns, DCUSU Vice President for Education and Placement Matt Davey said DCUSU and other student unions are worried that teaching may only be a profession for the upper classes. “We feel very strongly that someone’s financial position should not impact the quality of their teaching, the quality of education that children receive from these young student teachers and should not impact on their grade for placement either,” he said. Davey is calling on student teachers to voice their experience so there is clear evidence of the financial strain placed on them. Lorna Devane, a student at DCU St. Patrick’s Campus explained that the difficulty to pay costs while on placement was a huge pressure on student teachers who spend a tremendous amount time and effort on teaching practice. “Although we may be seven hours in the school, most students spend every night planning and prepping for the next day until the early hours of the morning. Financial support would be one less thing to worry about and would mean we could put even more time into our main focus of becoming better teachers,” she said.
The Union for Students in Ireland (USI) aims to increase the representation of postgraduate students in 2018. All members of the USI are required to pay an annual €8 levy which includes postgraduate students. However, there is no official representation for postgraduates in the union. Student delegates voted to postpone the motion at the USI Congress in March earlier this year and then-President Annie Hoey promised a vote would happen the following year after the union had a chance to assess its financial position. “There is an appetite within the USI membership for more concerted representation on postgraduate issues,” said Oisín Hassan, the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The USI is hosting a Postgraduate Student Symposium to develop a “more postgraduate-specific policy” in Spring 2018. The Symposium will address issues such as the quality
of education, funding, research culture, the postgraduate voice in Students’ Union’s, and experience within HEIs. Brendan Power, the Vice President for Academic Affairs at DCU felt that a postgraduate officer wasn’t necessary right now. Power said if somebody was paid full-time there would be a different emphasis on how postgraduate issues are dealt with. He suggested that a part-time officer would be more appropriate than a full-time sabbatical. “There are lots of issues that are more to the fore,” said Power. If the motion is brought up in the next Congress, Power was unsure on whether it would pass as it is “very difficult to predict”. DCU currently has a part-time postgraduate officer, Allan Stevenson. Although there were some issues last year with the position, Power said that he thought the format “works quite well here”. Power said that once there is clear communication, a postgraduate officer can effectively feed information to the student union to solve postgraduate problems.
Credit: USI
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Opinion
Does political correctness hinder free speech or expand it? George Hook’s latest comments were met with uproar from the public. Orla Dwyer Contributor @thecollegeview
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t’s easy to say that the PC world of 2017 has led to the disintegration of free speech. Just search ‘political correctness’ on twitter and you’ll find plenty of people only delighted to explain how it’s gone mad. Mad, I tell you. While many things have certainly gone mad, political correctness isn’t one of them. It’s just more prevalent in the online world because there are plenty of media through which to express opinions. It’s just more prevalent in the online world because there are plenty of media through which to express opinions. With opinions, come opinions on those opinions and so the cycle continues. People are free to say whatever they want. This doesn’t mean that other people can’t respond and question it. If this was the case then free speech would indeed be dead. The problem with the accusations of a politically correct world gone mad is that it only seems to be brought up when somebody says something offensive and then is surprised
when people are offended. George Hook is a recent example of this. His comment on Newstalk, putting some amount of blame on people who “put themselves into danger” in relation to a rape case, was met with uproar from the Irish public. He was heavily criticised in the media which led to his suspension from Newstalk at the time of writing this. While Hook is entirely entitled to express his opinion, it was a dangerous contribution to an already prominent victim blaming culture surrounding rape victims and especially towards women. Put yourself in the shoes of a rape victim listening to his comment. Hearing that some of the blame could be on you for not assuming that you might be raped after consensually going home with somebody. If this means political correctness is defending those who were vulnerable and taken advantage of,
then why would it ever be considered a problem? Is the alternative just to say “Well, freedom of speech and all that, so I guess Hook can just continue to have a platform and make offensive comments until he’s had his fill”? If your only complaint is that political correctness prevents people from making racist, sexist, discriminatory or bigoted remarks with no ramifications then you are the problem here. Political correctness doesn’t decrease freedom of speech, it just puts people accountable for their words. If, however, you feel that you can’t express any sort of opinions online without being attacked by those who disagree then that’s a different issue altogether. Mob mentality on Twitter can be incredibly damaging. It has become increasingly common to attack anyone online who has a view that deviates even slightly from the left. This is the time
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There’s room in this world for more than one point of view and we need to embrace that more.
when political correctness goes too far. Different opinions should be welcomed. Discussions should be held. Arguments should be had in a civilised manner without the need for degrading slurs. There’s room in this world for more than one point of view and we need to embrace that more. Just don’t blame political correctness for the unfavourable reaction to your questionable opinions. That one’s on you, buddy. Credit: Mark Carroll
Should DCU follow suit and become a smoke free campus like UL? Emily Sheahan argues that a smoke ban has the potential to lead smokers in the direction of quitting and would significantly decrease second hand smoking. Emily Sheahan Contributor @thecollegeview
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he University of Limerick announced that it is becoming a smoke-free campus with the purpose of protecting “employees, students and visitors from exposure to secondhand smoke”. With UCD and Trinity College looking into doing the same, this seems to be a popular path many Irish campuses are taking. However, there are mixed opinions on whether or not this is a good idea, whether or not it is fair. Becoming a smoke-free campus would be a step towards a healthier environment for DCU, but it’s definitely not what everyone wants. On such an open campus, a rule like this may be difficult to enforce. Banning smoking may not have the desired effect. It won’t necessarily cause people to quit and could just incentivise people to leave the campus to smoke. One UL student argued that “stress levels would skyrocket”. Many people use smoking to de-stress and on a university campus where stress is no stranger, taking away this outlet might to do more harm than good to some students’ mental health. However, the arguments for a smoke free campus are not weak. It has the potential to lead smokers in the direction of quitting and would significantly decrease second hand smoking. On one hand, the public are free to come and go from the campus and there could be an attitude of “mind your own business”. However,
this can’t always be the case with smoking due to the risks of second hand smoke. Although it’s long been proven that smoking can have detrimental effects on your health, it is a legal, personal choice and from that standpoint, it shouldn’t be the business of a university. It becomes the business of the university when we consider second hand smoking. Exposure to secondhand smoke can increase the risk of heart disease and lung cancer. The question here is whether it is DCU’s responsibility to protect the people on its campus from this. UL has chosen to make it its responsibility. When UL banned smoking in college buildings in 1997 there was upset among students and administration and some even felt they were being “discriminated against” because “smokers are citizens and have rights”. Today, it’s common knowledge that you step outside for your smoke break. What seems unfair now may seem like obvious common practice in a few years. An alternative could be assigning designated smoking areas around the campus. This would limit the areas in which people are exposed to smoke while keeping smokers happy. However, UL’s decision isn’t about keeping people happy, so DCU would need to work out its priorities. I believe that if a smoker is aware of the risks and is doing no damage to others, there is no issue. However, when brought into a densely populated area such a college campus, the act of smoking becomes selfish. UL have taken a step in the right direction. There is no denying the health risks of second hand smoke, and this addiction shouldn’t be put in front of the well-being of others.
Is a smoke free campus on the cards for DCU?
Credit: Pixabay
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Opinion
With the price of student accommodation rising annually, should rent prices be capped in Dublin to protect students? Accommodation can set students back up to €345 a week.
Katie Gallagher Lifestyle Editor @thecollegeview
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ent prices continue to soar in Dublin this year while students face the stress of determining whether they can feasibly return or begin college this September. You go through the leaving cert, get your points, save hard during the summer leading up to it, then get shot straight back down with a new hurdle in the form of constant rent increases and housing shortages. As if finding a suitable place to reside wasn’t stressful enough, figuring out how you can afford to pay €1,000 per month in rent is a whole other story, a story that shouldn’t exist. Supply and demand problems have left an open playing field for landlords to increase
rent prices as shortages in accommodation have students all over the country scrambling to lock down a room or a bed to lie on this year. Landlords are taking advantage of the ability to ignore the 4 per cent increase law on existing tenants for new incoming tenants. The question is not if a rent cap is needed, as the answer is blatantly obvious, but would it ever be complied to? DCU’s VP for Welfare and Equality Podge Henry said a rent cap is a great idea, but expressed similar doubts on how the cap would be set or implemented. Meanwhile, as a ‘solution’ to the accommodation crisis, new deluxe student complexes are being built in Dublin with a luxury price tag, another insult in the face of students who are already barely fit to afford the going ‘box’ room price of €600 per month. There is a lot of debate on whether a rent cap would limit the increase and provide a fair and reachable limit for students. However, in cases of other caps around the country landlords continue to charge what they want, leaving just as many complaints as before, simply because they can. Currently, the problem arises with the solution. New student accommodation blocks being constructed around the city are completely out of reach for most student budgets, setting you back up to €345 per week for a deluxe studio. While this is said to be the current average price for this type of student accommodation, it out-
Some students are forced to pay up to €1,000 a month
lines the issue of how having this deluxe status is resulting in a domino effect, allowing other options to rise and match that market price. This is only accessible to a minority group of wealthier students, making this new savior to the student accommodation crisis in Dublin another hindrance for everyone else struggling to cope already. Would something like a rent cap resolve these issues or is it even possible to introduce and successfully implement such a solution? Alex Knapp, head of student accommodation
Credit: Mark Carroll
for Hines Real Estate, acknowledged the issue, saying “Our accommodation is more expensive than others, but it is part of a wider solution to the problem of undersupply in Dublin”. Speaking to Fora, Knapp said the hope was that by creating more options for accommodation it should in turn eventually make it more affordable to find other accommodation, but in theory how long would that process take? The problem is now so the solution should be too.
Should employers be allowed to access your social medias and use them as grounds for hiring and firing? Amy Rohu tells us how over 70 per cent of employers are screening potential employees based on their social media accounts Amy Rohu Contributor @thecollegeview
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n the last decade, social media has become an almost vital part of our lives. Nearly everyone has some type of online presence, be it on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. We use these sites to talk to people, make plans, share pictures and memories and, of course, tag our friends in countless memes. Depending on how long you’ve had your Facebook or Instagram, it can be a labyrinth of dodgy selfies from 2010, odd jokes on your wall that only your friends can understand, and then there’s the less than flattering pictures of many, many nights out. So when it comes to looking for a job, should
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your potential boss be allowed to stalk through your social media page the same way you stalk your ex? If they don’t like what they see, should they be able to show you the door? Absolutely not. Our social media pages are a unique place where we go to laugh, share and connect with our peers. To say that an employer could fire someone based on a few saucy pics is outrageous. This is our personal space, separate from our work life and an escape from the hum-drum. It is not serious and it certainly isn’t professional and quite frankly, is none of your boss’ business. Most of us don’t even want our families to see our Facebook pages, not because they’re incriminating, but because for the most part, they’re usually a bit cringe. A recent study showed that over 70 per cent of employers are screening potential employ-
It is not serious and it certainly isn’t professional and quite frankly, is none of your boss’ business.
ees based on their social media accounts, which is shocking. The highest percentage of what turned them off went to “provocative” photographs, which was quickly followed by posts about alcohol. What should matter to employers more is that you have relevant experience for the role you’re applying for and that you are a professional, reliable person, not that you have a few pictures on your Facebook from a wild night out three years ago. They are your pictures, your property and no one should have the right to judge someone based on a photograph (unless you just killed a lion and posted that on your page, now that’s a whole other story). It is concerning how popular this trend of cyber stalking potential employees has become. The only way to prevent it is to put your social media accounts on private, so only your friends can see what you’ve posted. Either that or you’re going to have to delete almost everything off your page and constantly screen what you’re being tagged in. Imagine how boring Facebook would be if everyone deleted all their old pictures and only posted in their Sunday best? Yawn. If my future boss can’t handle the questionable outfits of my youth or my love for doggo memes then they sure don’t deserve me working for them.
Gaeilge
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Samhradh ar an trá i South Carolina Cur síos ar samhradh álainn caite ag obair i South Carolina
Ali Spilane Irish Editor @thecollegeview
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r dtús, fáilte romhaibh ar ais chuig The College View. Is mise Ali Spillane. Is mac léinn ‘Gaeilge agus Iriseoireacht’ mé as contae Laoise agus beidh mé mar eagarthóir Gaeilge don phaipéar i mbliana. Táim ag tnúth go mór leis an dúshlán. Is é téama an roinn don seachtain seo ná Taistil. Bhí mé ar J1 i South Carolina don samhradh. Bhí tréimhse álainn agam ann. Chaith mé trí mhí ag obair i siopa froyo den ainm ‘Sweet Frog’ cois trá. Bhí mé ag fanacht in ionad arasáin díreach trasna an bhóthair le 120 Éireannach eile. Bheartaigh muid ar Myrtle Beach mar cheann scríbe mar bhí áit cois farraige uainn agus bhí aithne agam ar neart daoine a bhí ann riamh a mhol go hard é. Anuas ar sin, ní raibh an bheirt againn a bhí chun dul ach 20 bliana d’aois agus ar ndóigh bhí sé ar intinn againn bheith ag dul amach go clubanna oíche srl, rud atá níos deacra sna cathair móra. Ba mo chara Aisling a chuir an plean go léir i gcrích dúinn. Í a bhí freagrach as na jabanna agus lóistín a fháil dúinn agus gach rud eile a chuir in eagar. Thosaigh an próiseas i mí Feabhra agus bhí neart fadhbanna againn go dtí go raibh ár víosaí againn ag tús mí Bealtaine ach in aineoinn an strus agus imní go léir ba fhiú go mór é ar deireadh. De réir rialacha nua bíonn ort jab a fháil roimh an víosa a aimsiú. Is pian ceart é ach déanann sé ciall agus níl sé deacair post eile nó post breise a fháil nuair a shroicheann tú do cheann scríbe. Anois agus mé ag smaoineamh siar ar an samhradh atá díreach caite agam, tá sé deacair focail a chuir ar cé comh iontach is atá víosa J1. Gach lá bhí an ghrian ag taitneamh le teochtanna idir trocha agus daichead céim celcius. Níor chaith muid geansaí nó brístí fada ar feadh trí míosa. Seachas na 5 nó 6 huaire a chaith muid ag obair sa tráthnóna ní raibh freagracht ar bith againn sa saol. Níor thosaigh an spraoi gach oíche roimh meán oíche agus níor chríochnaigh sé go dtí na huaireanta beaga an lá dár gcionn. Bhí neart laethanta eachtraíochta againn comh maith, an paraisheoltóireacht, bád banana, turas go Charleston, agus páirc uisce ina measc.
Luí na gréine ar an trá
Seachas an aimsir is é an rud is fearr faoin J1 ná na cairde a bhuaileann tú le. Mic léinn ó chuile cearn den tír ag teacht le chéile sa chearn céanna den SA don samhradh. Idir na laethanta caite sa linn snámha agus na hoícheanta ag canadh ar an trá d’éirigh le strainséirí bheith mar dlúthchairde. Chun stíl iriseoireachta ceart a chur ar an alt seo ba cheart go mbeidh cothromaíocht ar fáil agus cinnte ní raibh gach uile rud comh foirfe sin ar feadh trí míosa. Bhí mé ag fanacht in arasán le triúr buachaillí nach raibh in ann pláta a ghlanadh nó seomra a choimeád néata agus mar thoradh bhí ciaróg rua, nó dhó, nó trí, nó ocht ag roinnt an chistin linn, gan trácht ar an múscán sa seomra folctha. Agus tú tuirseach agus cumha ort, tosaíonn na rudaí seo ag cur isteach ort. Bhí jóc
againn gur gealtlann a bhí i gceist agus go raibh dushláin eágsúla againn le sárú roimh ár saoirse a bhaint amach. Ach b’fhéidir gurb meabhrúcháin iad le cur in iúl dúinn nach síscéal a bhí againn ach réaltacht. Agus an samhradh ag druidim chun deiridh d’fhág muid Myrtle Beach agus chaitheamar tréimhse i Nua-Eabharc agus Washington DC. Bhí sáram againn ann. Rinneamar gach rud ar ár liosta agus bhuail muid le cuid de na cairde a bhí déanta againn le linn an samhraidh ann. Bhí meascán mothúcháin orainn agus muid ag fágáil na Stáit Aontaithe. Bhí ár gcroíthe briste ag críochnú ár J1 ach sceitimíní orainn ár gclainne agus ár gcairde a fheiceáil. Ar an taobh eile den eispéireas anois, molaim do gach mac léinn samhradh a chaitheamh ar an tao-
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Credit: Ali Spilane
Mic léinn ó chuile cearn den tír ag teacht le chéile sa chearn céanna den SA don samhradh.
bh eile den Atlantach. Is próiséis costasach é cinnte agus bhí idir €1500 agus €2000 caite againn ar víosa agus eitilí srl roimh Éirinn a fhágáil. Ach b’fhiú go mór é. Seachas na daoine ag déanamh céim múinteoireachta, gach seans nach mbeadh trí mhí saor agat don samhradh riamh arís tar éis do laethanta ollscoile. Ar a laghad ní bheidh seans agat víosa J1 a fháil i ndiaidh do chéim a bhaint amach. Tosaigh leis an pleanáil go luath (tar éis Nollaig.) Bí cúramach ag roghnú do cheann scríbe, do jab agus do chomhluadar ach go háirithe. Chuaigh mé le duine eile amháin, mo dhlúthchara agus inniu táimid fós mar dhlúthchairde, ach ní bhíonn gach scéal comh simplí sin. Téigh agus déan é. Geallaim duit nach mbeidh aiféala ort. Táim go mór in éad le gach duine leis an seans fós rompu.
Focail na seachtaine Idir-iarnródaíocht - Interrailing Intérineacht - Internship
Paraisheoltóireacht - Parasailing
Víosa - Visa
Ceann scríbe - Destinatiom
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Gaeilge
Aistear féinaithne in Washington DC
Léargas Áine Lawless ar thréimhse caite in Washington DC mar chuid den chlár WIP Áine Lawless Contributor @thecollegeview
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mbliana bhí an t-ádh orm a bheith páirteach in rud darb ainm ‘The Washington Ireland Program’. Fuair mé an seans dul chuig Washington DC don samhradh le daoine óga eile ó tuaisceart agus deisceart na hÉireann. I DC bhí intéirneach agam le comhlacht caidrimh phoiblí i lár na cathrach. Is rud aisteach í dul ó obair i siopa i mBaile Átha Cliath chuig obair in oifig in ardchathair na Stát Aotaithe. Tugann tú faoi deara cé chomh beag is atá ár tír álainn féin, nuair atá tú ag siúil tríd sráideanna leathan DC. Tá an áit i gcónaí plódaithe le daoine ag rith chuig an obair i gculaith gairmiúla, agus le teochtanna chomh ard le 40oC ní rud éasca sin. Tógadh DC ar corcach agus mar sin ar bharr an teocht dofhulaingthe tá bogthaise uafásach ann chomh maith. Deireann daoine go faigheann sé níos éasca maireachtáil sa theas sin de réir a chéile ach domsa chaith mé an samhradh ag rith ó foirgneamh amháin le air-con go dtí an chéad ceann eile. Gan bheith ag gearáin faoin
Ag baint taitneamh as am saor sa chathair
teocht an t-am ar fad. Fuair mé cuid mór deiseanna iontacha i rith mo thréimhse i Meiriceá. Bhí turas againn tríd ‘Capitol Hill’, foirgneamh ollmhór. Ag amharc ar ‘House of Cards’ ní fheiceann tú an méid turasóirí a bhíonn ann go laethúil, rud táim cinnte nach mbeidh Frank Underwood ró-shásta faoi. Tháining aoichainteoirí dochreidte isteach chun labhairt linn cosúil le príomh scríbhneoir óráide Obama agus stiúrthóir an scannán ‘The Journey’ ina bhfuil Ian Paisley agus Arthur McGuinness na príomh-carach-
tair. Chuaigh muid chuig Nua Eabhrac fá choinne seachtain i lár an tsamhraidh chun buaileadh le daoine proifisiúnta eile ag barr a gcuid gairmithe. Bhí bricfeasta againn trí lá an seachtain sin ar barr urlár ilstórach spéire comhlachraí éagsúla i Manhattan ar nós Goldman Sachs agus Bank of America an nath ‘is fada sin ó gur thógadh thú’ ag rith tríd ár gceann an t-am ar fad). Ní raibh gach rud chomh dáiríre le Goldman Sachs agus muid thall ansin. Tháinig na cuimhní is fearr
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Is rud aisteach í dul ó obair i siopa i mBaile Átha Cliath chuig obair in oifig in ardchathair na Stát Aotaithe.
Credit: Áine Laighléis
domhsa ar aon nós ó na BBQs a bhí againn le na haoi-theaghlaigh agus an grúpa s’againne, ón am gur chuaigh muid ag cadhcáil agus ag snámh in abhainn an Potomac (deirtear linn i ndiaidh sin go bhfuil an abhainn sin 100% toxic do dhaoine agus níor chóir d’éinne dul ann…) agus an am gur shochraigh muid i lár na hoíche le dul chuig oíche slam-fhilíocht i lár NYC. Bhí samhradh craiceáilte agam, fiú gan codladh ar bith a bheith agam i rith mo thréimhse i Meiriceá, breathnóidh mé siar ar na dhá mhí sin mar chuid den samhradh is fearr a bhí agam riamh.
Idir-iarnródaíocht ar an mór-roinn
Moladh agus comhairle faoin idir-iarnródaíocht ó Mhéabh Riordan Méabh Riordan Contributor @thecollegeview
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á an samhradh thart agus mar sin, tá na mic léinn J1, dóibh siúd a bhí ar Erasmus, dóibh siúd a bhí sa Téalainn nó na daoine a rinne obair dheonach san Aifric ar ais sa bhaile arís. An comhairle atá agam do gach uile mac léinn – téigh ag idir-iarnródaíocht! Más rud é nach bhfuil eolas agat faoin gcoincheap lean ar aghaidh ag léamh – Is é sin an chaoi a chaith mé mo shamhradh i mbliana. Táim ag scríobh an píosa seo chun cuidiú le do chuid pleanála amach anseo agus chun moltaí agus comhairle a thabhairt do dhaoine atá ag iarraidh é a dhéanamh. Ón tús, rinne mé cinneadh go mbeadh mé ag taisteal le dlúthchara amháin. Ag caint le daoine eile a rinne é le grúpa. Cinnte go raibh craic iontach acu ach an t-aon rud ná go raibh sé i bhfad níos deacra plean a dhéanamh eatarthu agus gach duine a choimeád sásta. Rud eile chun aird a thabhairt air ná is dushlán é an idir-iarnródaíocht. Tuirseach traochta, malaí troma ar bhur droim, traena-
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Faoi dheireadh na trí lá bhí ceamara GoPro i lámh amháin ag rothaíocht beagnach chomh maith agus is féidir leis na
cha luath (nó thar oíche!) – agus sibh amach sa chathair an oíche roimh ré. Freisin bíonn ort aistriúchán á dhéanamh an t-am ar fad ar theangacha iasachta, aisteach. Maidir leis an taisteal – an príomh pointe don cineál turas seo – tá sé éasca go leor agus brea saor. Téigh chuig USIT chun caint le saineolaí nó dean é ar líne ar interrail.eu Roghnaigh muid pás do sheacht lá taisteal le costas €278. Le tagairt ar traenacha na hEorpa CAITHFIDH TÚ do shuíocháin a fhorchoimeád mura theastaíonn uaibh leagadh den traein sibh agus é dubh le daoine? Déan áirithint sa stáisiún. Ná cuir glaoch ar IrishRail ag fiosrú d’amchlár traein ón mBeirlín. Ní bheidh clú dá laghad acu agus gáirfidh siad orthu. Nílim ag insint bréaga. De ghnáth tá Béarla bunúsach ag an maor traenach agus déanfaidh siad an áirithint daoibh go díreach ar son táille bheag. Is fiú é gan a bheith faoi
bhrú agus beidh tú in ann codladh go sámh! Creid é- teastóidh sé uaibh. Oh agus an codlata, tabhair piliúr leat – seacht n-uaire ar traein beidh crampa muineál ort. Beidh ort do phás interrail a thaispeáint do chigarí so bígí cinnte gur líon tú é i gceart. Muna bhfuil sé beidh orm an cháin a íoc. Tá treoracha ar fáil ar líne - interral.eu. Anois, buaic an turais ; téigh ag spaisteoireacht thart na cathracha. Molaim daoibh iarr ar an mbord fáilte sa stáisiún traenach. Fuaireamar ticéid in Amstardam, an Bheirlín, an Ostair agus an Veinéis don chóras iompar poiblí iomlán agus sin conas a bhfaca muid na cathracha ar éascaíocht an tsaoil. Tugtar na ticéid cead agat bain úsáid as na traenacha, na tramanna, na busanna agus an metro chomh minic is maith leat. Cosnaíonn na ticéid thart ar 30 euro ar feadh trí lae ach sa chás Amstardam mar is eol do gach mac athair iníon máthar is é an rothaíocht an
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Ticeád don turas
modh iompair is fearr. Níor rothaigh mé ón leanbhaois agus sea bhí mé ag crith ag an tús; faoi dheireadh na trí lá bhí ceamara GoPro i lámh amháin ag rothaíocht beagnach chomh maith agus is féidir leis na hOllainnis – tá
Credit: wikimedia.com
píosa scannánaíochta agam. Molaim duit an interrailing a dhéanamh chun an Mór-Roinn a fheiceáil. Cinnte go mbeadh saoire iontach agat.
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I am not to blame FEATURES
Rape is sex without consent. How can the blame be shared?
the rest of that blame should sit with the person whom they have sought to destroy. In Ireland, and globally, reports of rape get nowhere close to the incidence of rape, or sexual assault. According to the Rape Crisis Network National Statistics 2015, fewer than 32% of survivors reported the sexual violence to the Gardaí. (RCCI) Orla O’Driscoll Features Editor Rape is not what happens when @DublinCalled consenting adults have sex. In fact rape is rarely about sex or sexual gratification, rape is a crime of ape. It’s a tiny word power, not passion. There is also the that contains so much inaccurate idea that rape is about emotion, violence, sexual attraction. It simply is not destruction and devastrue. Interviews with, and studies of tation. It means, by it’s rapists have confirmed that their sexdictionary definition; to plunder, to ual desire or level of attractiveness to strip bare of resources, to sexually their victims, were on the vast part, assault. wholly unimportant. There is no question of where the In 85% of reported rape or sexual responsibility for rape lies. The rapist assault cases, the rapist was known is to blame. to their target, and yet, 65% of those Societally we know this, and yet, who suffer sexual violence do not many stand as the sideline judges, report it to the Gardaí or any other to muse on this subject: Was her formal authority. skirt too short? Did she lead him on? Last week, this debate erupted Why didn’t she stop him, or scream? across the media when radio preWas she drunk? How many sexual senter George Hook, commenting partners has she had? on a rape trial in the UK commented Some believe the blame must be on personal responsibility saying: shared. That the person who plunders “There is personal responsibility beanother, strips them bare of their cause it’s your daughter and it’s my resources, infiltrates the depth of daughter. And what determines the their psyche, leaves them with a life daughter who goes out, gets drunk, of trauma, is only partly responsible, passes out and is with strangers in
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is a “There movement to a
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consented and that it wasn’t rape”. A report released in January by the Fawcett Society on blame culture against women, found that over a third of people believe a victim is to blame if they are sexually assaulted. The question: “If a woman goes out late at night, wearing a short skirt, gets drunk and is then the victim of a sexual assault, is she totally or partly to blame?” The resulting answers showed that 38% of men and 34% of women believed a female victim is wholly, or in part to blame for being sexually assaulted. Many survivors of rape are further victimized by this type of questioning and it adds greatly to the horror they have already endured. her room and the daughter that goes blame must be shared saw his The #whatwereyouwearing exhibiout, stays halfway sober and comes suspension from his job, saw the home, I don’t know. I wish I knew. radio station lose advertisers and also tion looks at victim blaming through an art installation at the University I wish I knew what the secret of saw a raft of condemnation for his parenting is.” diatribe, but this is not just a genera- of Kansas. It aims to shatter the myth that sexual violence is caused Noeline Blackwell, CEO Dublin tional thing. by what the person is wearing. It Rape Crisis Centre was incensed It is not just the George Hooks’. displays 18 outfits worn when rapes that this could happen, and the effect An 18-month study by UK barrister occurred, hanging next to the stories it could have: “The message could Dame Vera Baird QC, in 2015, into from eighteen survivors of rape. make someone hesitate, or stop rape and sexual assault cases heard Blackwell laments this blame culsomeone reporting the rape altogeth- at Newcastle Crown Court, found ture and says: “Newstalk failed vicer. It’s a tough thing to say to anyvictims experienced questions about tims of sexual violence, and we need one, let alone report it. It is without their sexual history in more than a doubt that someone who is raped will third of cases. One case saw a barris- guidelines and protocols in place to ask themselves if they were responter ask a victim if she had previously ensure it doesn’t happen again.” Rape only has one person to sible, in what way am I to blame and had anal sex, which was used to “try blame. The rapist. in what way am I responsible, they to give the impression she would Rape Crisis Centre 1800 778 888 don’t need to hear a man on the radio consent to a wide range of sexual Samaritans 116 123 or email ask the very same question.” experiences, to influence the jury Hook’s lethargy, the belief that into thinking the survivor had in fact jo@samaritans.org
better recognition to the fact that rape is sex without consent
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FEATURES
A quirky guide to Dublin A look at things to do on a student budget
Amy Donohue Contributor @thecollegeview
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ometimes it’s the things we take for granted which surprise us the most, and our fair city of Dublin is no exception. For many students attending DCU, this is their first time to live away from home. Ellen Donohue is in her second year at DCU, but reckons compared to her hometown of Cavan, there are an endless number of things to do in the big smoke, and offers up some quirky ideas.
on a dry, sunny day and there is plenty of space to sit and watch the world go by. With a limitless number of surrounding cafes and restaurants to choose from, even on a budget. There are places to grab picnic supplies, and the Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre is only a skip away. For those with a bit more energy, there are jogging and cycle tracks to keep you occupied.
HISTORY Kilmainham Gaol has held many famous political leaders down through its colourful history and gives visitors a realistic idea of what it was like to be a prisoner there. The punishment for stealing food or SPORT committing murder didn’t differentiIf your County is like mine (Cavan) and isn’t capable of getting to a final ate much in that the prisoners waited in the jail for a long period of time to in the stadium, you can adopt a new county and sing along. There are also be transported to Australia. The Viking Splash tour is €20 for skyline tours and a GAA Museum, students when you book online. bookable at €13.50. During the tour, you will receive lots of fun facts about the history of NATURE Dublin city and you also get to wear Stephen’s Green is a great location
Credit: Photo Call Ireland
a great Viking hat and it won’t break the bank.
song, the Workmans on Wellington Quay hold one of the best karaoke nights in Dublin every Sunday FUN night. So whether you want to sing Dublin Zoo now has a Wild Lights Bon Jovi or Beyoncé, they have the event from the 3rd of November un- cheesiest songs available. til the 7th of January. The night-time Dublin’s Laughter Lounge, on Eden event will feature giant colourful lan- Quay, has hosted many amazing terns and bright animal sculptures. comedy acts, including the great There will be a Chinese craft market, Michael McIntyre and Jimmy Carr. performers, and food and drink avail- Tickets are relatively cheap and you able. A spectacular event. get a free cocktail before the show. If you feel the need to belt out a Thursday night’s shows are dedicat-
ed to charity, so be a good Samaritan and get a giggle. FOOD AND DRINK The Guinness Storehouse is located in St. James’s Gate Brewery. It is one of Dublin’s most popular tourist attractions and though you may get caught up in a crowd of ‘tourists’ you get to see the history behind one of Ireland’s most famous exports and learn how to pull a pint of the black stuff.
Feeding the fire How to achieve balance with eating and learning
Orla O’Driscoll Features Editor @thecollegeview
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s long as there are studies, there will be conflicting advice. A glass of wine is good for you as is a chocolate bar, however, don’t eat them on a day of the week with an A in it, and you will be ok. However, the ‘Growing up in Ireland’ study looks specifically at the correlation between childhood obesity, lack of nourishment in children and the rising instances of children being declared overweight, in Ireland. In its findings, it looked at the socio-economic relation between children’s nutritional balance and how the impact of fast or conve-
nience foods can impact. While this study does not encompass university students in this phase of the report, there can be little doubt that students living away from home for the first time, are too in danger of eating food which meets craving needs, but does little to sustain or offer nutritional balance. Ashleigh Nolan, is a 3rd year Media student at DCU and worries about the nutritional value of the food she eats: “I come from a home where nutrition is a priority and I often feel that, on a student budget and schedule, it has been difficult to keep up eating healthily. I, like most students, juggle college and a part-time job. I also must include volunteering at a radio station for experience. I often need to eat on the go and find it hard to make good choices while out and about. Unfortunately, I also find that there is a lack of nutritional choices available at university.” While research suggests that living in an area with fewer food outlets or fewer outlets selling affordable, high-quality food may lead to poorer dietary quality, students on a tight budget with convenience on tap have to be proactive to keep up with nutritional intake.
Studies show that over time, poor nutrition can be a defining factor in instances of consistent tiredness, irritability, stress, and it can contribute to developing life limiting health conditions in later life. Nutrition is a vital component for brain power and getting good grades. Convenience foods, fast food and food on the go, contribute to the bodies lack of nourishment, and while in some small measure these foods don’t do an abundance of harm, they certainly don’t help the body out. Nutritionist Roisin Hall says: “Where possible bring a packed lunch, or time meals to your own timetable rather than the conventional times to eat.” Ashleigh Nolan would agree: “I think most students consider their eating habits, but are often restricted both in terms of money and time. Microwaves on campus would allow us to prepare healthier meals in advance.” The advice to students is to try and plan to eat a good clean meal at least once a day, that could be a hearty porridge breakfast of a dinner which includes protein, carbs and plenty of vegetables. Credit: Watch Fit
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FEATURES
X and the Giant Apple
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The Iphone X. Its impact and the percieved need.
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Tim Cook and Apple X
Arthur Velker Deputy Features Editor @thecollegeview
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f man and machine lived harmoniously in perfect co-existence, Apple would be its all-nurturing Biblical force – assuming the role of guardian over the bliss artificial utopia. An A11 bionic chip, True Tone display and a surgical-grade stainless steel frame – it’s all we’ve ever wanted in a petite handheld gadget, right? The new contender for your personal companion has been announced. Unrolled at Apple’s clockwork annual conference on September 12, iPhone X will go on sale to the general public in late October for the not-so-bargain price of €1,179. It includes digital face recognition – which will replace the current fingerprint ID as the default unlocking method. It’s also got wireless charging, as well as a menagerie of other features.
If you’re not feeling enough buzz to make you go and deposit a lump sum from your savings account, or if, for some reason, you’re not ballsy enough to immerse yourself in the full glory of highly-adaptive intelligent technology, Apple, as always, has some mediocre offerings. There is the only-moderately upgraded and less attractive little brother – the iPhone 8 – which also comes with an enhanced visual display and something called a ‘2nd generation performance controller’. Unless you’re a tech aficionado most of Apple’s terminology will sound incredibly phatic. Despite this, it is extremely effective. We all cling to it with fervent attraction, rarely even grasping specifics; but by the time the message has landed we’ve become so convinced we need the latest upgrade that we’re almost willing to sacrifice our own four limbs for it. Apple stores are known to be a regular source of mayhem on product launch days. The hype around its products, engulfed in hysteria, makes for an intense spectacle and often ends in the disappointment of product shortage. So how have we become so engulfed in the idea that we need intelligent digital devices to run our lives and carry out the most basic social interactions? You can read Naomi Klein, whose social analysis proposes you strip the items down to their bare bones and see them for what they are – products.
“that technology
infused with humanity can improve people’s lives and change the world.
Being bred in a culture of consumerism means we’ve been inexhaustibly barraged by media messages from birth and have become acclimatized to a lifestyle of mass consumption. We need an iPhone for the same reason we need to visit Starbucks on a routine work lunch break. We need it to fit into a collective and to engage in conventional social customs; I too tried the new Caramelised Pecan Latte, I too sank into those spongy recliners and watched the crowds of Dublin pass on a busy weekday afternoon, etc. By definition, this crushes the modern myth of individualism –
something that millennials treasure above all else. “What modern systems of management have managed to do is accept your individualism and your expressiveness, allow you to feel that you are being more and more expressive, while at the same time managing you quietly and happily so you become part of a very large group,” said British political documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis. After fishing out their target customer base, companies broadcast the same messages – and receive same results – from millions of individuals, yet as part of a devised whole. This vast expansion is being
Credit: Getty Images
challenged, but mostly on a local level. Earlier this month we saw local baristas fork out free coffee in several central Dublin districts as a protest to the opening of Starbucks’ new store on Crampton Quay. In the case of Apple, however, the solution is more complicated than simply opting for a local alternative; as we don’t have any home-made smartphone manufacturers in Ireland, it is practically impossible. The idea then is to abandon the belief that we need the product altogether. There is no need to throw away your trusty gadget; instead, what you need to do is throw away the ingrained idea of necessity. Like their products, Apple’s presentations are full of beauty and elegance. They seduce aesthetically and connect emotionally. The fancy lingo puts the cherry on the proverbial cake by making it easier to convince ourselves our hard-earned buck is being put in the right place. Introduce the concept of detachment. Yet Apple is still painstakingly good at its craft. It is the market-leader of the tech industry, with an annual revenue of over $230 billion and a reported 97% customer satisfaction rate. To own an iPhone is to own a ground-breaking piece of hardware. No doubt if Apple made humans, they would be the finest specimens on Earth, possessing dashing, immaculate looks and being capable of multitasking at every level. Fortunately for us, Apple doesn’t make humans. It makes gadgets.
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FEATURES
7 hours and 15 days
actors such as Catherine Zeta-Jones and Lena Dunham to discuss their struggles with mental health. His fellow celebrities saw a problem with the stigma around mental health and used their platform to speak out. ental health is, for “A tragic reminder that the converthe most part, a taboo sation about mental health CANNOT subject and many seem to push it aside stop,” Lena Dunham, who has been very open about her struggle with and decide to avoid obsessive-compulsive disorder, the conversation. Until it’s too late. It isn’t until something drastic occurs tweeted. The big question is; can celebrities that people decide to talk. In the last truly bring the discussion of mental few years, however, there seems to health to the fore? Can public figures be more and more open discussions be the people who bring a positive on the subject and it often directly impact by speaking out on these aligns with public figures beginning issues and encouraging others to do to speak out about this. As a society, we seem closed off to the same? According to Mental Health the idea of talking about our mental Ireland, approximately one in four state. We brush it off and pretend people will suffer from some form nothing’s wrong. It isn’t until someof mental illness in their lifetime. body whose name is in the public These statistics are inevitable but can eye comments on the topic. It’s only then when the world decides to be made easier by simply opening a discussion. listen. ‘Celebrities’ often, especially in From 2007 to 2011, there was a major increase in suicide, especially recent times, are viewing their platform as something more than what among men. By 2014, just three it is. So many have decided to take years later, there was a significant their platform and use it as a way to decrease and the figure dropped to 459 deaths that year. This is the same promote positive mental health and help their followers through their year that actor Robin Williams took own struggles. his own life and the world began to Take Demi Lovato for example. speak out. When news broke of his death, an The singer first began to discuss her struggles with bipolar disorder and abundance of celebrities began to eating disorders in 2011 after spendopenly discuss their own experiencing time in a rehabilitation clinic. es with mental health and how the From the onset, she used her position worst can be prevented. William’s in the spotlight to shed light on death sparked many of his fellow
Ellen Fitzpatrick Contributor @thecollegeview
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mental illness and allow for a greater understanding of it. “(My recovery) is the obvious shift in lifestyle, but also I actually started to have this feeling as if there was more stability in my life,” Lovato said when speaking to Elle Magazine about her improvement since speaking out about mental illness. Lovato speaks out about mental health in an honest way and says it how it is, she doesn’t glamourize it. It is this type of discussion that enables the world to seek help if needs be, as it is not romanticised. Lovato is not the only star who has used their celebrity as a basis for a platform to spread awareness of mental health. After a very personal and intimate video was posted on
Facebook by singer Sinead O’Connor showing her breakdown, she appeared on the American talk show ‘Dr. Phil’ to further discuss the importance of speaking out and seeking help when you are so isolated.
In the interview, she discussed how she wished to inspire others to feel they can talk about these issues openly and inspire them to reach out for help. “The fact that there’s such stigma about mental illness means that the illness doesn’t get talked about,” she said. “There’s a certain group of people who are absolutely afraid to open their mouth about mental illness.” Celebrities have a platform. They have a voice. They are people others
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look up to. These are the people who, if they are willing, can truly make a change in how we, as a society, view the stigma around mental health. By speaking out about these issues, they bring them to the forefront of the media’s attention and can make the discussion one we can all easily engage in. As you take time to observe around you, you begin to notice that mental health is not the issue. The way in which we talk about it is the issue. If people in the public eye continue to openly discuss this and prove to the world that mental health is normal and something can always be done, life may just become that little bit easier.
“Many are sufferers and
survivors, their input in the discussion allows for a more open and accepting view on the topic.
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Aidan Kearney looking to “right the wrongs” of DCU Rugby Kearney recently replaced Sophie Spence in the role Micheál Ó Scannáil Contributor @thecollegeview
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ewly appointed DCU Rugby Development Officer, Aidan Kearney, vows to “right the wrongs” of previous seasons in an effort to bring some silverware back to DCU. Kearney, expressed his desire to build on his predecessor’s ground work and bring rugby success back to DCU. “Well I think with rugby this year we’re looking to continue the work that has gone on and hopefully improve it”, said Kearney. Kearney spoke with both the men’s and the women’s rugby clubs within DCU and said that “they are keen to right the wrongs of last year.” Experience of being a professional rugby player for Ulster and Leinster will be prove useful for Kearney when tasked with correcting past faults for the coming season. “At the moment, we have kept a lot of the players we have from last year and it’s just looking to right the wrongs, whether that’s coming from off the pitch, on the pitch, coaching or the players themselves”, said Kearney. The fresh faced Rugby Development Officer will focus on why they have yet to win a league, a cup or a 7s tournament and remedying it. A common problem for DCU is talented players not playing for Force which is the men’s varsity rugby club. Kearney, who has coached at Trinity College and Suttonians, recognised this as a problem but insisted that the interest needs to first come from the student before his department can draw this calibre of player to play. “I suppose first the interest has
to come from the player. If players are coming through the college and are interested in playing we can facilitate them. “If they are on scholarship we can firstly player manage make sure the player plays at least 50 per cent of league games so that they can play in the cup. Part of the scholarship is to contribute to your club”, added Kearney. One of Kearney’s first act as RDO was putting together a team of coaches as he hopes the inclusion of some familiar faces on this coaching panel will spur on a greater interest in the DCU Force and entice some of the internationals and interprovincial players to play for the college. “I’m hoping that with the coaches I’m going to bring in, former professional players, that hopefully it will attract those interpros, those international guys to partake in what we’re trying to achieve here in DCU”, said Kearney in relation to this tactic. As well as excelling in sport, the new RDO emphasised the importance of his players, especially those who may be travelling to tournaments at a national or international level, achieving success in academia. “We have the service here to sit down with the player with the student and workout his or her needs. If It’s academic, putting in the structure, you know I wouldn’t say I’m going to babysit them, but he or she needs to have the want to get up out of bed and go to college. “We can liaise with the player. If the player is an interpro with that demand we just have to make sure that his or her academics don’t slip because their away, by giving them programmes”, Kearney assured. Aside from his duties as the RDO Kearney is excited for the coming season and is “most looking forward to working with young people who want to play the game that I have played and coached in now for a long time. Guys that was to improve their skills both on the pitch and off.”
Kearney playing for Leinster in 2004
Credit: Damien Eagers/Sportsfile
Force stars dreaming of national success under Kearney
Alex Dunne Sports Editor @thecollegeview
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he newly appointed leadership in DCU’s Force Rugby has the teams dreaming of All-Ireland glory. The men’s and women’s
senior setups are now under the wing of new Development Officer Aidan Kearney along with fresh coaches including men’s side star Peter Wright who stated that he is already impressed with the updated Force. “We’ve been working behind the scenes for a couple of weeks”, said Wright. “We’ve been putting the coaches in place and we’re delighted with Eoin (Sheriff) and Ben (Marshall) who bring a lot of experience having played professionally. “It’s looking a lot more professional here”, declared Wright. Wright is already setting a lofty target for this season with an All Ireland title in his sights for the first team. “They have a different idea of how
the game should be played. “They’re putting new structures on our patterns of play. “It’s been exciting to develop a new idea of rugby”, added Wright. Molly Scuffil-McCabe, of the senior women’s side, echoes Wright’s optimism and thinks the Force can sweep the top awards this season. “We’re a solid team on paper”, commented Scuffil-McCabe. “We won the Sevens too so there’s no reason we can’t be top of Division One and win the Sevens again. “I think fresh eyes and ears is always great. “They always listen to what you’re saying and adapt it to how they want to play as well so it’s a great link to have,” said Scuffil-McCabe.
The DCU Force men’s side
Credit:DCU Force Rugby
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Taiwan crowd the inspiration for Brendan Hyland at World University Games
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When it’s getting to winter months, early mornings, I just remember the crowd and I remember what it felt like
Christy Dunne Deputy Sports Editor @thecollegeview
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aiwan played host to the 28th World University Games in August, an atmospheric event that won’t be forgotten anytime soon, according to Brendan Hyland. The Games, which is the second largest multi-sport event behind the Olympics, saw competitors from every corner of the world come together, which included eight select DCU athletes chosen to represent Ireland over the course of the two weeks. Swimmer Brendan Hyland, a 2nd year Accounting and Finance student, represented University and Country in four disciplines, including the 100m and 200m Butterfly and the 4x100 medley and freestyle relay. Hyland spoke about the atmosphere created by the hosts including how athletes were mobbed for pictures, however he maintained that despite the distractions he was still there to swim. “The whole city was just focused
on being good hosts. “At the end of the day, it was still just 10 lengths of the pool”, remembers Hyland. Hyland’s first challenge in Taipei was with the 4x100m freestyle team. The Irish team finished 4th in their heat, doing enough to snatch a place in the final, but being up against the best University students in the world was always going to prove a mountainous challenge. Ireland finished the final in 7th
place as the USA ran away with victory. Later on in the week, he rejoined the team for the 4x100m medley relay, but Ireland narrowly missed out on 1st spot by 0.03 seconds in the heats, ending their medley medal dreams. After a tedious wait, for the 2oom butterfly, the second year student finished the 6th and final heat in 3rd position, qualifying for the semi-final. Despite shaving a few milliseconds
Credit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
off his heat time, Hyland narrowly missed out on a place in the final. Finally came the 100m Butterfly. Despite eclipsing his 200m heat result with a second place finish in his heat, Hyland fell just short of a semi final place, but in the end, swimming turned out to be the highlight of Team Ireland’s campaign in Taipei. The crowning moment saw Shane Ryan, an Irish-American student qualifying for Ireland through his father, take gold in 50m backstroke.
Ryan became the second Irishman ever to claim a swimming gold at the University Games. But after two weeks, the DCU representatives came away with a newfound motivation and appreciation from one of their toughest challenges yet. “When it’s getting to winter months, early mornings, I just remember the crowd and I remember what it felt like”, concludes Hyland.
University games better than the Champions League, says Aoibhín Webb The Wexford Youths striker played for Ireland at this year’s World University Games in Taiwan
Alex Dunne Sports Editor @thecollegeview
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ith two Women’s National League medals and Champions League adventures in Poland already propping up her resume, Aoibhín Webb is enjoying a promising spell at the pinnacle of women’s football in Ireland. A student of Irish and geography in St. Patrick’s, the Carlow native balances her WNL duties with college and the DCU women’s soccer side, but this summer she embarked on a landmark trip, joining seven other students of the college
at the World University Games in Taiwan. But despinte having hosted the best European football has to offer at Ferrycarrig Park, Webb sees the Taipei trip as her greatest adventure to date. “Poland was absolutely brilliant”, recalls Webb. “But in Taiwan, to get to wear the Ireland jersey was unbelievable, and there was such a good atmosphere, it was brilliant. “It was the best three weeks ever, you’re just in a bubble, in a world of your own and you never want to go home. “It was unreal, the best experience of my life by far. “We had one day off, in three weeks just the one day off. “It was after the first two games, we had a day off and we went to Taipei 101, then we went to Elephant Mountain and got to watch the sunset up there, but it was some trek, our one day off and we walked up a mountain”, said Webb. The striker got her first taste of the green jersey at the games, as senior women’s national team coach Colin Bell led a strong Irish selection over to the festival. A great result in an opening day 0-0 draw against group favourites
“ It was unreal,
the best experience of my life by far Mexico had the girls buzzing, but the Canada defeat after just one day’s recovery saw slim hopes of qualifying for the quarter finals resting on a result against the host nation, Chinese Taipei. “There was an unreal buzz at that game”, she adds. “It was packed, and like they were the friendliest people in the world, even if we went on an attack there’d be like “ooh ahh. “After the game, we drew and it
went to extra time and we beat them on penalties, but the other result didn’t go our way so we didn’t make it”, said the footballer. Webb is now back in DCU and looking forward tio the challenge with the girls this year after promotion by the flip of a coin last year, with tough games against rivals UCD, NUI Maynooth, and IT Blanchardstown awaiting. Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
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Declan Roche excited for new football season Roche was speaking at the launch of the new Third Level Football Season in Abbotstown. Gavin Quinn Deputy Sports Editor @thecollegeview
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eclan Roche has reflected on DCU’s 2016/17 third level football season while also taking a look ahead to this coming season. The DCU Senior Football Manager, speaking at the Third Level Football season launch in the FAI’s National Training Centre on September 13 said; “It was a very mixed season so far as we lost out by an odd goal and we did win the Harding cup for the first time in history, which was a fantastic achievement.” The DCU manager expressed his excitement for the year ahead, a year in which the university will retain many of the players involved in 2016/17 while he announced that there will also be some changes to the coaching staff. “In relation to going forward, we still have the bulk of all last year’s squad, the freshers and of course the new addition of freshers this year which I’m excited about,” he said. Freshers featured regularly throughout the season with nine Harding Cup champions playing in DCU’s CUFL Semi Final defeat. “I’ve also changed around our coaching staff slightly. We’ve lost Padraig Gregg, he’s gone back to Scotland. So I brought in John McDonald, who’s gonna come and work with the senior team in DCU,” the former Celtic player said. “Timmy Clancy will come work with the Freshers team with me in DCU,” he added. The former League of Ireland
Credit: Fran Butler
The Collingwood Cup side
player hopes that the changes can have a positive impact on football in the university; “We’ve added a little bit of experience in the coaching and we’ll see if we can just go on a little bit further now.” Despite the glory in the Harding Cup, DCU endured heartbreak in the College and Universities Football League (CUFL) Premier Division. The senior footballers continued to challenge at the top level while the
freshers proved that the future is nothing but bright. The senior team reached the Premier Division semi-final and Collingwood Cup Semi Final, enjoying a strong run in the Collingwood Cup in particular, an impressive 8-0 victory over RCSI emerging as the highlight. Roche’s side fell to University College Cork by a mere goal in the CUFL semi final in what was a tight
game, just days after several of the side’s players had played 120 minutes of football as DCU’s freshers claimed the Harding Cup 1-0. Also speaking at the launch, the FAI National Coordinator for Schools and Third Level Football Mark Scanlon highlighted the significance of third level football to the domestic game as well as the national team. With 110 teams to compete in the upcoming season,
third level football offers an opportunity for those involved to showcase their skills and further develop their careers. “Third Level Football is playing an increasingly important role in the pathway for our young players and we are delighted to see such a great turnout at today’s launch as excitement builds ahead of the new season.”
Peter Clarke back as ladies football boss
Clarke returns to head the side he led to O’Connor Cup glory John Morley Contributor @thecollegeview
Moloney points out to the need for new talent to emerge this year in the absence of leaders from last year’s team like Siobhan Woods. “Hopefully we can get some new freshers in and obviously then we have the likes of Sarah (Rowe) going good for us”, she said. Moloney personally hopes to challenge for a place on the Ladies’ team having been out with injury for five months last season and, alongside Mayo’s Sarah Rowe, make up a healthy DCU representation in the All Ireland finals. “I suppose my focus right now is with the Tipperary footballers and preparing for our intermediate final against Tyrone on Sunday”, said Moloney. Having won promotion from division three earlier this year, Moloney and her DCU teammate Rowe will be crucial in Tipp and Mayo’s chances of glory on Sunday but will also be a force in the DCU Ladies drive for the O’Connor cup this year.
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eter Clarke returns as the new DCU Ladies’ Gaelic Football manager for the 2017/18 academic year. Clarke regains the helm of the ladies’ team which he managed to a three in a row of O’Connor Cup titles between 2009 and 2011. “He was with UCD last year and he was very successful, so hopefully he can bring us on further,” said DCU and Tipperary footballer Aishling Moloney. DCU ladies enjoyed a lot of success last year, including a Giles Cup victory and a fantastic performance from the Freshers’ side. The senior team has progressed well in recent years losing out to old rivals UL last year in the semi-finals of the ladies’ senior. A championship which still resonates with Moloney. “Our ambitions for this year would be to make up for the O’Connor Cup loss and challenge for it this year”, said Moloney.
The DCU team celebrate winning the Giles Cup Final match between Dublin City University and Athlone Institute of Technology at Elverys MacHale Park in Castlebar.
Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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Niall Moyna: Sigerson football the key to inter-county success Moyna, entering his 16th campaign as DCU head coach, believes third level football is the place to make your name
Gavin Quinn Deputy Sports Editor @thecollegeview
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CU Gaelic Football manager Niall Moyna has emphasised the importance of third level football to young GAA players aspiring to make the inter-county grade. The long serving manager reviewed last year’s GAA season as well as casting an eye on the coming year. Moyna and his DCU charges suffered a surprising defeat at the hands of eventual winners St. Mary’s at the Sigerson Cup Quarter Final stage. It took extra time to separate the two sides after an excellent second half performance that saw Enda Smith score two goals, but it was not to be for Moyna and DCU as they fell to a 2-13 to 2-14 score line at St.Clare’s. “The St. Mary’s game was an odd game, the game was dead and buried”, Moyna recalls. “Basically, if we had anywhere near the same cynicism as they had we would have won the game. “I’d never coach my players to kick balls away or to take black cards, it’s just not part of who we are in DCU.” But the boss was also quick to applaud DCU’s opponents. “You have to really hand it to
Mary’s, they found a way to win it and we didn’t”, he said. “We were very very disappointed, dejected is the word. Knowing the effort that the lads put in and the sacrifices they make.” Moyna was quick to admit that preparation for the Sigerson Cup was less than ideal with the congested schedules of many young GAA players; “It’s becoming much more difficult in the last four to five years to get access to players, now it may change this year with the under 21’s going to under 20’s,” he said. “It’s extremely frustrating, not just for us because I’m sure it’s the same for all third level institutions, it’s becoming extremely difficult. “With that in mind, what we’ve done over the last three years is combine the intermediate and the Sigerson squads (during the league campaign). It’s a lot of time and a lot of effort for the first semester.” DCU enjoyed a strong run in the league however, topping their Division 1 group and defeating St. Mary’s and rivals UCD on the way to a final that was narrowly lost to Ulster University. A mixed O’Byrne cup campaign saw DCU pick up an important victory over UCD but two tough games against Dublin and Wexford overshadowed the campaign. The Monaghan native and Professor in the department of Health and Human Performance believes that the structure of third level calendar may also change this coming year, although no changes have officially been confirmed. “I get the impression we’re not going to be allowed into the O’Byrne Cup this year, that’s what I hear through the grapevine, all colleges and I think they’re going to play the Sigerson very early, that’s what I’ve been told,” he said. Although the university has lost quite a few senior players through graduation, Moyna is excited about
“The best shop
Niall Moyna, Dublin City University manager.
the challenge of sculpting a new squad. “We’ve lost quite a lot (of players) but that’s what I find most enjoyable, it’s why I’ve never taken an inter-county job”, he said. “Every three years or every two years it’s a new team and it’s the
window that they’re going to have is Sigerson football
Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile
challenge of moulding a team. “Winning is wonderful but that’s where I get the satisfaction, taking a group of fellas who’ve never played together and just moulding a team.” “We won the last three freshers (championships), but it’s an enormous step up from Freshers to playing Sigerson and I think a lot of the Freshers players have got to realise that. “Spending a year with the team and learning the pace of the game, the physicality involved. I think the problem is that they’ve tasted so much success and it’s all about instant gratification and next it’s two steps to get to where they need to be and some of them are not prepared to put the time and effort in.” The DCU manager is also slightly concerned about the mentality of some underage inter-county players. “One of the concerning things for me now is that we have this rich tradition of Dublin players but they think now, a lot of the successful Under 21 Dublin teams think that Sigerson is beneath them and that they can skip Sigerson” Despite this, Moyna was been very keen to point out that the
nucleus of the conquering three in a row All Ireland Champions Dublin’s squad all featured for DCU or other third level institutions and now form the backbone of Dublin and many other top inter-county teams, adding; “If you look at the Dean Rock’s, the Brogan’s, Paul (Flynn) and all of these guys, they came through us and they made that transition.” “If it was good enough for James McCarthy, Dean Rock, Bernard Brogan, Paul Flynn, Eoghan O’Gara and Paddy Andrews, ten guys who played and won the Sigerson Cup played last weekend (in the All Ireland Final) and it was a wonderful stepping stone.” Moyna is now entering his sixteenth term at the DCU helm, he’s built several DCU teams, of which have lifted the Sigerson Cup an impressive four times during his reign. He has worked with countless inter-county and underage players but still stresses third level football’s importance. “The best shop window that they’re going to have is Sigerson football”