Trinity News Vol 54 Issue 6. 23rd February 2002. trinitynews@tcd.ie. www.trinitynews.com
The State of your Union - Election special
Bertie frames the Union Where’s my abortion policy ?
It’s behind you Abor tion
T.A.R.T.s Opinion Poll Comment
Trinity News 2 4 exposes the crisis 5 at the heart of 8 TCDSU
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Trinity News house six, tcd, dublin 2. tel: +353 1 608 2335 email: trinity.news@tcd.ie The last SU Council meeting descended into near anarchy and farce as those for and against taking a stance on the Abortion referendum spilled their rage at each other in what appeared to be a personal, as opposed to an idealistic, argument. For those unfamiliar with the internal politics on the SU Executive, it was extremely disheartening to see so much time taken up in arguments on the very loaded and very personal matter of the abortion referendum. Given the amount of time spent on such academic debates, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Union was ensuring a high quality of life for students. However the opposite is true. College facilities are blatantly inadequate and the toilets, photocopiers, and computers are often broken. Even if they are fortunate enough to find a free copier, students must also have at least three one-euro coins at the ready to buy a card since "No change given" signs seem to be mandatory for all retail outlets within College. The SU should be concerned with these issues which affect all students, ahead of divisive ideological conflicts. Personal attacks serve only to distract the Union from its purpose
which is to ensure that students have the best possible experience while at Trinity. The five elected sabbatical officers have a responsibility to serve the students who elected them and who pay their salaries. They can best do this by working together rather than letting petty rivalries and careerist ambitions obscure what is best for students as a whole. As the independent but partial voice of Trinity students, this paper feels that it is vital to point out that a Union dominated by petty infighting is not in the interest of those it represents. It is vital for a healthy Students Union, which faces mounting challenges next year in the form of rising debt and bad organisation, that all students use their vote. For too long the small turnout has ensured that small cliques within College can often succeed to positions which give them large amounts of influence and control. There are healthy signs from this years campaign - some of those involved see the problems that exist within the SU. Unfortunately some others are an inherent part of the cult of personality that afflicts the Union this year. Get out and vote to rectify the state of your Union.
Your SU? While SU officers bicker, College services continue to deteriorate In a rush? - tough luck. Photocopying queues, normally only seen at exam times, are becoming more and more frequent as an increasing number of machines seem to break and/or run out of paper. The expensive and inefficient service means that it is actually cheaper to smuggle the book out of the library (risking the nominal fine) and photocopy it in Read’s. Staff there are apparently more pleasant than those on the Kopikat ‘helpline’ who took one of our own reporters to task for ‘using too much toner’ - on a locked copier ? The graffiti is the only thing that distracts the average student from the disgusting state of TCD’s toilets. This beauty on the left is located in none other than our prestigious Berkeley Library. Not only do these offend the sensibilities of fee paying students, our tourists are also less than impressed. Perhaps a few complaints from them might sort it out.
Trinity News Editorial team carl whyte, richard mcconnell, owen f.lipsett, john fitzgerald, jean o’mahony,ian boyle, tommy connolly, gerard cowan, martin mcalinden
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Principle or personality ? Two weeks ago a highly charged SU Council meeting took place in the Swift Lecture theatre. It was supposed to be a debate deciding TCDSU’s stance on the Abortion referendum but instead descended into a farcical display of emotion and bitterness. Trinity News was there in force and offers an independent but highly partial view of proceedings. Although this SU Council meeting was in fact a recall because attendance the previous week was insufficient there were no such problems this time. This was not due to any effort by those in charge the SU - but rather the postering campaign by T.A.R.Ts (see Pg 4). All photographs by John Fitzgerald unless noted. Eimear Nic An Bhaird, current SU Welfare Officer and SU Presidential candidate stood up at SU Council and asked Class Reps how they could go back and gauge the views of their class. This, despite the fact that she had opposed mandating Reps to find out those views in the first place. Confused or worse? Voters will decide.
Early in the meeting, President Averil Power votes on a non-contentious item...
Deputy President Tony O’Donnell enjoys the leisure afforded by his unwillingness to design posters for ENTS, costing students time and money. No one seems to have informed Mr. O’Donnell that his remit includes publicising SU events (e.g. Councils...)
YOUR Student’s Union sabbatical team in happier times. Election night 2001. Photo: Ian Russell
Education Officer David Memery attacked those who questioned his ‘integrity’ after a miscount at the previous night’s SU Exec, despite the complaint being made in a professional capacity
Women’s Officer Annie Gatling (L) and Power leave the Council at which both were personally attacked for their ‘No to “No” view, which carried by 40 votes to 39
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Troublesome TARTs Hell hath no fury like a student body scorned, or so the recent machinations of TARTs would have us believe. Jean O’Mahony profiles the self-appointed guardians of Trinity’s democracy. "Stop this Evil Power", proclaim TARTs. The Trinity Abortion Referendum Taskforce descended on Trinity’s notoriously complacent student body only two weeks ago with a fury unprecedented in recent College history. In that short time they have been accused of defamation, been summoned to the office of the Junior Dean, succeeded in reducing the SU President to tears, whipped up a storm in the usually sleepy SU council, and have attracted approximately 200 supporters in the process. In short, the Queen of Hearts has nothing on these ladies. TART was born out of the ire of six Trinity students, who discovered that the Students’ Union was not prepared to adopt any stance on the forthcoming abortion referendum, four days before SU council was due to debate the issue. By Monday morning the campus had been blitzed with posters alleging that the SU was pursuing the interests of its Fianna Fail President, Averil Power, and not the student body, in
TARTs discuss tactics outside an SU Executive meeting
its decision to adopt neutrality on the abortion issue. One particularly contentious poster depicted Power in military attire, sporting a FF badge on her uniform. The ubiquitous presence of the posters was despite a confrontation between Power and TARTs late on Sunday night, when both the Welfare Officer, Eimear Nic an Bhaird, and the SU president were found ripping down TART posters. ‘Unofficial’ posters are not permitted on college notice boards. TART claim that Power implied that she would take legal action for defamation of character, though this was denied by Power at an SU Executive meeting the following evening. Power reported the actions of TART to the Junior Dean, and to the CSC. The Junior Dean arbitrated that TARTs were legitimately exercising their right to freedom of expression, but that posters of the SU president in military garb were inappropriate and constituted a per-
sonal attack. The ensuing SU council meeting, which had been widely publicised by TART, was the most well attended in recent memory. It was also the most emotional, with both motions on the SU abortion referendum stance defeated. With the motion proposing a No stance defeated by one vote, a spokesperson for TART speculated that as a significant number of class reps could possibly have been introduced to the position by Power in her previous capacity as Education Officer, the result might have been different had it been put to a referendum. She also commented that, as emotive as the debate was, it is not the abortion issue that is dividing the SU, and should not be depicted as such. The current position of the SU is that should the government fail to clarify the legitimacy of TCD’s crisispregnancy counselling service by February 25th, the Union is to agitate against
Photo: John Fitzgerald
the referendum. The referendum is due to be held nine days later. Under the current wording, the status of this service is ambiguous, and possibly even criminal. Currently, TART plans to campaign for a No vote. They have received funding fromTrinity Senator Shane Ross, and from individuals within the No Alliance, though it is keen to emphasise that the success to date of this ‘apolitical’ lobby group has been down to the willingness of students to concur with their message. TART asserts that in not adopting a No stance, particularly in light of the ambivalence surrounding the counselling service, the Union is not acting in the best interests of its students. As one spokesperson commented, "Young people in Ireland are going to be the group most fundamentally affected by this referendum…if the Union are going to start justifying the funding they get, they need to start taking on issues like this".
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6 Election Opinion Poll
38% R.O.N
Don’t know
Don’t know
R.O.N
Gareth Makim
Heledd Fychan
Patrick de Feu
Don’t know
R.O.N
Will Priestley
Ian Nouvelle
Eimear Nic An Bhaird
Martin McMullan
6%
13%
25%
37% Annie Gaitling
16 %
19%
25 % 17 %
26% 15 %
21%
Welfare
27 %
Deputy President
President
15 %
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ENTS 24 %
Dave Ring
Robbie Smith R.O.N Don’t know
44% 6% 26%
Education 34 %
Ian Moynihan
40%
R..O.N Don’t know
26 %
This poll was carried out amongst 140 students from all years, in the Arts Block, Hamilton, Buttery, GMB, Engineering Block, Sports Hall, Pav, PGCR by Ian Boyle et al. 78.5% said they would vote.
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comment Richard McConnell offers his view on this year’s contenders
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f I had chosen to stand for an SU sabbatical position, I’d definitely have two voters supporting me. At least that’s if Presidential candidate Will Priestley and Deputy President wannabe de Feu were to stick to their election manifesto promise that if I (Joe Trinners) were running, they’d vote for me. The election manifesto, aside from its traditional use as social prop if you happen to be on your own in the Buttery at lunchtime, is actually a very useful means of assessing each of the prospective officers. You don’t even need to read between the lines. The layout, photographs, phrasing and (heaven forbid) spelling and grammatical errors in the glossy election pamphlet say a great deal about each of the contenders to SU-dom. You mightn’t make it over to the Dining Hall steps for hustings, and more than likely won’t have the chance to go for coffee with any of the by now minor celebrities. However, anyone can have a quick read of the literature floating around. Running for president, Martin McMullan claims to be "the right way forward," even if this appears to be a bungee jump into the heart of a jungle in South America. The most striking thing about the text of his manifesto is what it doesn’t say: Martin is currently treasurer of Trinity Sinn Fein. But political affiliations can often be embarrassing, just ask current SU president Averil Power. Otherwise the pamphlet is strong in content, if a little bland. McMullan’s aspiration is that Trinity improve its interaction with the local
SU elections - apathy galore
community and encourage more students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Will Priestley wants you to "put your faith in" him. Sporting a halo in his picture, he claims to have had "three years experience as a class rep," but also, "an intimate understanding of College bodies." Does he realise he wrote that? Claiming to be the "man to make real progress on the Student Centre and Sports Hall," Priestley wants to foster better relations between the capitated bodies to "create a strong student voice." The leaflet is well laid out, but a bit weak in terms of content, something Eimear Nic an Bhaird may have overdone. After a read of the current Welfare Officer’s pamphlet, you forget you’re not in the library. Almost half of the text is given over to describing what "she has done this year." Even then the assertion that "she has worked as part of a team with her fellow sabbatical officers… to effect change and bring this union forward," fails to recognise the SU internal wrangle which came to the surface most recently at a
Photo: John Fitzgerald
heated SU council. However, Nic an Bhaird appears clued in, and her manifesto appears to support her claim that, "She knows what needs to be done, and she knows how to go about doing it." At present, however, being too clued in may be the problem. Chasing editorship of the University Record, one would hope that Deputy President Candidates de Feu, Fychan and Makim could at least edit and layout their own self-promoting brochures! De Feu may be forgiven for failing to tell us his first name (which is Patrick by the way). His manifesto is both clear and informative. However, he states rather oddly that he has proven desktop publishing skills, perhaps forgetting that every student in college can probably use Microsoft Word as well. Heledd Fychan’s manifesto is colourful and well put together, showing an understanding of the remit of the post of Deputy President, the centre-fold headed with, "Keeping students informed." However, not to be too pedantic,
adding hyphens where they are not required ("past-academic") and forgetting that apostrophes are important ("Unions campaign, Unions publications, Trinitys very own) are cardinal sins for any editor, especially when one of your claims is "clear communication." Gareth Makim’s pamphlet is indicative of his definitive experience in design and layout. His boldest assertion is that "Trinity needs a Tabloid," if only so he can have a proper rag to keep his chips warm. However, a lost vowel is a careless mistake and can change the meaning of many a statement, "se your vote…" The one other contested seat, ENTS, pits Dave Ring against Robbie Smith. Smith’s pamphlet, "Sense for Ents," is the superior in terms of content and layout, but Ring’s, apart from lacking depth, still "spunkily" suggests his experience for the post. Annie Gatling and Ian Moynihan, running for Welfare and Education respectively, are up against RON, who, despite his failure to put out a brochure, is always one to watch.
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comment Owen F. Lipsett, Chair TCD Publications Committee
T
here is a crisis in the Trinity College Student’s Union. The Union is not serving the interests of its 16,000 members adequately, nor has it for quite some time. The fact that it requires the action of T.A.R.T. (Page 4) to ensure that enough Class Reps turn up at an SU Council is a damning indictment of the apathy within the government of the Union itself. The existence of a group like T.A.R.T. shows that the Union’s leaders do not represent the views of students. Mismanagement by Sabbatical Officers under the delusion that students exist for their convenience , rather than vice versa, has grown particularly bad over the past two years. One of the first acts of last year’s SU President, Rory Hearne, was to use SU funds to fly along with the Deputy President to Prague to demonstrate against globalisation. This was a blatant misuse of SU funds to pursue a personal political agenda irrelevant to the SU’s role within Trinity. He further abused his position to push through a referendum on Trinity rejoining USI. Sabbatical officers are not supposed to take a position on referenda but Mr. Hearne spearheaded the campaigns to hold the USI referendum and then the one to get it passed. Uncoincidently, Mr. Hearne
is now employed by the Socialist Worker’s Party. The SU, as is well known, is in serious financial trouble. In addition, USI’s current financial problems mean that affiliate colleges may have to bail USI out. Although at times the only voice of reason against Mr. Hearne’s abuses of power last year, Averil Power has proven as much of a disappointment as her predecessor. Her motivations in seeking a second term as a Sabbatical Officer became all too apparent when she exploited a loophole in the SU Constitution to attend a post-graduate course in DCU while still serving as the "full-time" president. Careerism must be expected amongst SU Sabbatical Officers, and it is even welcomed as long as it gives Officers an incentive to satisfy fellow students. On the other hand, Mr. Hearne’s and Ms. Power’s behaviour has been nakedly selfish. My intention is not to engage in personal attacks but rather to point out how the SU as a whole is failing in its mission to improve the lives of students.. Last week, I went to the copiers downstairs in the Berkeley, hoping to photocopy a short article. I found that while two of the copiers were being used, the two that were free were not working. Unfortunately this seems to be the case whenever I have to make copies there. It was even more irritating to find that half the toilet seats in the men’s toilets were broken. It’s quite easy for SU officers and everyone else who works in House 6 or takes advantage of its facilities to forget how abysmal they are for most students of this College. In the unlikely event that every computer in the PACR rooms is work-
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ing, then there’s a ratio of 1 computer per 30 students. Libraries (with the Ussher still under lock and key) are a bit better, with the 4:1 student to seat ratio only becoming really problematic in the final term. Copier queues remain endemic, and the presence of "Staff Only" copiers (which never seem to be out of order) in space paid for by students doesn’t seem to be a wise solution. The Sports Centre remains a bad joke, made all the more bitter by the £50 per year levy students pay as a result of a referendum that, let us not forget, the SU endorsed in the first place. Despite the presence of an internal SU committee on the matter, plans for
Mismanagement by Sabbatical Officers under the delusion that students exist for their convenience, rather than vice versa, has grown particularly bad over the past two years. a Student Centre seem to be moving backwards. Student action made a difference earlier this year in forcing College into a climbdown over additional catering price increases and one hopes that it might be employed effectively to the problems discussed above, particularly with a referendum on the Student Centre coming up. The Union should focus on day to day issues not idealist fights. These are unlikely to be divisive amongst students since everyone stands to gain as improved facilities and services are in everyone’s interest. The present Executive, with its disgraceful infighting, however, prevents this.
Ms. Power as provided divisiveness instead of leadership. Her selfish decision to take a postgraduate course indicates that her priority is personal advancement not service to the people who elected her and pay her salary. I find it disgusting that she, in comments to SU Council and other Executive Officers, has repeatedly begged for people to get along when they take her management style to task. Her pathetic pleas for the SU to move on are principally an attempt to get people to ignore her numerous missteps. Teamwork is vital, but it is only possible when people trust one another. Given her closeness to Ms. Power, one can only assume that Eimear Nic An Bhaird, the present Welfare Officer and Presidential candidate, will emulate her style if elected, with Annie Gatling (present Women’s Officer and unopposed Welfare Candidate) in turn taking on Ms. Nic An Bhaird’s role. I am in no way using this space to endorse their opponents, but I feel that significant questions need to be asked of them both to ensure that they’ll behave responsibly if elected. I feel qualified to speak on these matters principally as a student of this College and secondly because of my experience as Chair of the Publications Committee. When I took over in 2000 we too were in dire financial straits as a result of similarly selfish management. The Committee had also lost sight of its raison d’etre. Subsequent reforms implemented under my leadership have turned Publications into a model of financial accountability within Trinity.