Trinity News, volume 59, issue 6

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

www.trinitynews.ie

Models prowl the catwalk in the National Gallery on 26th November for the Trinity College Samsung fashion show. InDepth, p6

Photo: George Voronov

Budget 2013 expected to raise student contribution fee by €250 Maintenance grant likely spared, Student Assistance Fund avoids worst Fees up 333% in a decade, 278% since 2009

T Ian Curran News Editor

hird-level student contribution fees are set to rise in today’s budget by €250, bringing the total contribution from €2,250 to €2,500. The decision to increase the overall contribution is part of a government plan to incrementally increase the student contribution to €3,000 by 2015.

The government proposal before the budget indicated a €20m cutback in funding for the back-to-education allowance and an 11% cut to the student assistance fund. However, no cuts to the maintenance grant are expected.

The rise in the student contribution fee has been mooted for some time by the government, the first indication coming as early as 2011 when the minister for education and skills, Ruairi Quinn, told students at the University of Limerick that the then fee of €2,000 would “probably be increasing up to €3,000”.

At a meeting of the Oireachtas joint committee on education and social protection on 19th September this year, Mr Quinn told TDs and senators that the €250 increase in the third-level contribution would result in an additional €18m for the exchequer, with the overall plan for the fee being to raise it to €2,750 by 2014, and then €3,000 by 2015. He informed attendees: “Some 42% of students in the university and third-level college system are in receipt of

some form of grant, either the full grant and maintenance or a partial grant.”

Another scheme likely to be cut is the back-to-education allowance. According to a pre-budget submission prepared by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), the €20m in savings that Mr Quinn is trying to make by changes to the allowance scheme will be “through major reforms and a clamp-down on eligibility”.

The submission states that at least 25,000 people claimed the allowance this year, with “the numbers [having] risen by 250% in the past 10 years”. The USI said that any reform to the scheme should “not hinder the participation of these and future students in higher education”.

The government’s pre-budget proposals further indicated that the allocation for 2012-13 to the student assistance fund will be €8m, constituting an 11% cut. This is despite an increase in the number of students applying for it.

The USI in their pre-budget submission advocated an increase to €12m in funding for a scheme they described as “oversubscribed”.

In 2007-08 the average student in receipt of the fund in University College Dublin was awarded €750, but this figure had dropped to €400 by 2010-11 due to cutbacks and increases in student numbers. The USI has stated that its own research suggests a fur-

Conduct becoming: D Joyce-Ahearne meets the Malko Competition-winning Venezuelan conductor and musician Rafael Payare

InDepth - p8

ther 12,000 students are going to require help from the fund, “further reducing the average reward”.

These follow substantial increases in fees for higher education in the last decade. In July 2002 then-minister for education, Noel Dempsey, increased the registration fee by 70%, from €396 to €670. This was followed by a further increase to €750 in 2003.

Fees rose slowly between 2003 and 2009, when the fee jumped from €900 to €1,500, before being rebranded the “student contribution” and rising to €2,000 in 2010. These increases total 333% in a decade and 278% since 2009 – while they are a full 1,316% up from their 1995 level of €190.

Minister for education Ruairi Quinn signed a pledge in Trinity College in February 2011 binding him to opposing and campaigning against “any new form of third-level fees including student loans, graduate taxes and any further increase in the student contribution”.

However, less than 100 days later he announced plans to renege on the agreement and continue the incremental increase in upfront fees. The plan to incrementally increase the student contribution was reaffirmed in a speech on 22nd November when Mr Quinn said that there would be an increase to €3,000 by 2015

“to relieve some of the pressure on exchequer funding”.

The higher education sector faces a financial crisis on foot of a 10% fall in staffing and a 12% increase in student numbers over the past four years. Budget 2012 had seen a 2% cut in the core grant for higher education, from €1.3bn to €1.275bn, a total saving of €23.6m. However, the government’s 2011 strategy on higher education, the Hunt Report, forecasted that this would need to rise to €1.8bn by 2020 and €2.25bn by 2030, “just to maintain current levels of resource-per-student”.

It advocated “widening the funding base” for higher education by reintroducing tuition fees in order to close the €500m funding gap. However, in November the Economic and Social Research Institute predicted a substantially lower increase in student enrolments, in line with recent department of education projections, by 2020. Its figures estimated that the funding gap was likely to be closer to €100m than €500m.

Today’s budget is taking place against a backdrop of 14.8% overall unemployment, according to the Central Statistics Office’s seasonally-adjusted data from the third quarter of this year. Unemployment within the 15-24 year old age bracket is now at 39%.

Additional reporting by Ruairí Casey and Gabriel Beecham.

Back on the agenda: Clare Daly on the intransigence of successive governments in evading the abortion issue, and why its time has come

Comment - p12

Inside

SAM ROCKWELL TALKS ABOUT WHAT DRIVES HIM AS AN ACTOR AND DISCUSSES HIS NEW FILM, SEVEN PSYCHO PATHS

>>

Raise a cup: team captain Tara Deane relives how DU Ladies’ Football Club became the first ever winners of the Kay Bowen Trophy

Sport - p24

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

2

News

What They Said

“ “ “ “ It seems HMV on Grafton Street is only selling the new Batman film and nothing else.”

Deputy News Editor DU Science Fiction Society has successfully gathered the signatures of enough society treasurers to call an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the Central Societies Committee (CSC), due to be held on 12th December. The meeting is scheduled for 4.30pm and will be open to all College students; the venue has yet to be announced. Sci Fi, whose petition was signed by more than onesixth of all society treasurers (the minimum number required to convene a EGM), plans to use the meeting as a platform to propose a motion to overturn the CSC’s recent decision to remove the society from its room in House Six and to relocate it to a shared room in Goldsmith Hall, currently occupied by the DU Gamers Society.

The CSC believes that Sci Fi is not making full use of its current residence, which is the largest society room in House Six, and that no one society should have sole use of the room. Though Sci Fi proposed to share the room with a number of other societies, this

suggestion was rejected by the CSC’s executive, which maintains that Sci Fi will have to leave the room by 14th December.

The Sci Fi auditor, Brady Manning, spoke about their move to convene an EGM: “We feel that the EGM that has been called is the only recourse which we have to change the situation in which we currently find ourselves …

Reasonable alternatives have been proposed, and they have been ignored. This is our final chance to overturn the decision made by the CSC executives, and it is for this reason that we have facilitated the calling of an EGM.” The CSC’s constitution allows for a decision of the executive (which is comprised of five officers and eight ordinary members) to be overturned by a majority vote of the CSC (which is comprised of the treasurers of all recognised societies): “Decisions of the Executive may be reversed by a simple majority of those present, eligible to vote and voting, at a General Meeting of the Committee.”

Confusion arose, as it previously seemed that the CSC believed the decision to have been made

by CSC’s amenities officer, and not by the executive committee;

Emma Keaveney @emmakeaveney

Alex Towers

@Alxtowrs Former TN2 Editor

Extraordinary general meeting of CSC called over Sci Fi room swap Ruarí Casey

My top relaxation tip is to watch documentaries about serial killers while reclining in a bubble bath.”

were that the case, there would, according to the CSC secretary, David Doyle, have been no possibility of reversing the decision.

Doyle had commented: “No decision that an officer is competent to make – providing always that it is coherent with the constitution’s aims and policies – may be overturned by the executive or the committee. This is in virtue of the fact that the committee, in constituting itself, gave over these powers to the said officer.”

It has since become clear that this was not the case, and that the decision had actually been made by the CSC executive at a meeting on 14th November. Though the amenities officer does hold the power to have made the decision independently, the matter was first discussed between the five senior officers of the CSC. It was then put on the agenda for the meeting, and was agreed upon by the executive. Doyle made it clear in an email to society treasurers: “The minutes record: that a decision was made at the meeting and not reported to the meeting; that it was not a sole decision of the Amenities Officer... but that the move was decided upon by the Executive Committee”.

Arron Devine TN2 Editor

Doyle, in the email, also acknowledged that there had been a lot of confusion surrounding the issue: “There is also an enormous amount of confusion as to the facts in relation to Sci-Fi and its room and this confusion has now spread to the discussion as to the nature of the procedures which have come into play with the calling of an EGM.” As the minutes of executive meetings of the CSC are not available except to those in attendance, much of the confusion has arisen from details which cannot be made public due to the in camera nature of these meetings. Sci Fi had asked for the relevant section of the minutes from the meeting of 14th November, but the request was denied.

Sci Fi has been vocal in its criticism of the CSC’s communication with the society. Manning told Trinity News: “We feel that communication has been poor and that a better solution to the issue of room usage could have been reached if Sci Fi and Gamers had been included in the discussion from the get-go.” He continued: “[CSC executives] have certainly not acted according to the responsibilities implicit in their positions. They have acted and continue to act without regard for Sci Fi or Gamers, and indeed without regard to transparency or procedural fairness. We hope that this whole affair will lead to positive change in the way the CSC executives act in future.”

TDs rattled outside Leinster House following Dáil abortion bill defeat Ian Curran News Editor

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor Deputy Editor Art Director Web Editor Copy Editor Copy Staff Managing Editor News Editor Deputy News Student Affairs News In Brief InDepth Editor Deputy InDepth Comment Editor Deputy Comment Science Editor Deputy Science Sports Editor Deputy Sports Photography Editor Deputy Photography Editor-at-Large Public Editor School Co-ordinator

Rónán Burtenshaw Dargan Crowley-Long Éna Brennan Aoife O’Brien John Colthurst Seán Farrell Gabriel Beecham Ian Curran Ruairí Casey Catherine Healy Aonghus Ó Cochláin Max Sullivan Saphora Smith Manus Lenihan David Barker Anthea Lacchia Stephen Keane Sarah Burns James Hussey George Voronov Henrietta Montague-Munson Elaine McCahill Hannah Cogan Niamh Teeling

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Over 1,000 protesters took part in a demonstration outside Dáil Éireann last Wednesday evening 28th November to voice their support for legislation on abortion. The demonstration was one of several that have taken place in the last month calling for abortion legislation after the death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway in late October.

The crowd gathered outside Leinster House at 7pm on Wednesday. Several activists had been camped on Kildare Street from the previous night. Gardaí estimated that there were around 500-600 protesters on Kildare Street at the beginning of the protest. The crowd began chanting as TDs arrived to cast their vote on the bill. The debate was broadcasted to the assembled crowds over speakers provided by the organisers. There were chants of “shame” as several government TDs called for the Dáil to await the findings of the report into Halappanavar’s death before legislation is sought. The feminist activist Sinead Redmond told the crowd that the demonstration was “only the beginning” of a campaign that is “not just for emergency legislation,” but also for repeal of the eighth amendment to the Irish constitution.

There was also a minute silence in tribute to Halappanavar.

The legislation was tabled by Clare Daly, the United Left Alliance TD for Dublin North. It was a version of an earlier bill that she entered into the Dáil last April, which was roundly rejected. The medical treatment (termination of pregnancy in case of risk to life of pregnant woman) bill, to give it its full title, was described as an “interim legislative arrangement, as required by the Council of Europe”. The result of the parliamentary vote was 27 in favour of the motion, with 108 against and 38 TDs abstaining or absenting themselves from the vote. The two government parties as well as Fianna Fáil voted unanimously against the legislation, while Sinn Féin, the United Left Alliance and several independent TDs voted for it. Among the 38 TDs who were absent from the vote were Lucinda Creighton (Fine Gael), Joe Costello (Labour) and Ruairi Quinn (Labour).

There was a significant amount of criticism in the Dáil of the political tactics of politicians and

Facebook needs more than a ‘like’ button, or there’ll be some false online utopia where everyone is a teletubby”

activists who are campaigning for abortion legislation. During the debate, Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that, even though his party has been calling for abortion legislation for a long time, he and his colleagues had been targeted by vulgar and abusive messages and phone calls on account of their wanting to wait for the expert report on abortion to surface before any legislation was passed. The independent Tipperary South TD Mattie McGrath said that he felt that prochoice activists were hijacking Halappanvar’s death. Supporters of the bill described situations in which women who are seeking abortions find themselves in in Ireland. John Halligan, another independent from Waterford, pointed to the fact that gardaí still seize abortion pills, describing it as “tragic and appalling that women are reduced to this." Mick Wallace, an independent TD for Wexford, stated his belief that “for too long women who had abortions or advocated for reproductive rights have been stigmatised, shamed and silenced”.

Following the conclusion of the vote, protested prevented several government and Fianna Fáil TDs from leaving the Dáil. A large number of individuals stood in front of the gates of Leinster House on Kildare Street, forcing TDs to exit via Merrion Square.

Here, a much smaller number of protesters who were attempting to copy the same tactics were unsuccessful. Government and Fianna Fáil TDs were jostled by members of the assembled crowd as gardaí attempted to escort them away from the building; TDs who had voted for the legislation, such as Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin, were allowed to exit via Kildare Street by the protesters.

After the vote, Daly thanked the crowd who attended the demonstration for their support.

She described the 108 TDs who opposed legislation as “political cowards.” She said that she would continue to seek a repeal of the eighth amendment and to campaign for “free, safe and legal abortion in Ireland”. In an interview with the Irish Times, Daly that she was disappointed but not surprised by the result. She said that she there was “nothing wrong with the bill that couldn’t have been tweaked at a later stage”, and also expressed an intention to enter a third abortion bill into the Dáil.

Additional reporting by John Doody

“I love having hair,” I love having electricity” - things I have idly thought to myself in the last five minutes Megan Nolan @megaroooo

Students’ Union president bullish after campaign, despite low protest turnout Rónán Burtenshaw Editor The Students’ Union president, Rory Dunne, has said that he is hopeful that the student assistance fund and maintenance grant will be protected in the budget after a campaign that, he said, had “suceeded in its objectives”. This followed the targeting in recent weeks of local TD Kevin Humphreys as part of the national “Fed Up? Stand Up” campaign from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).

Trinity’s leg of the campaign, shared with the Dublin Institute of Technology and the National College of Ireland, had involved a town hall meeting in the Alexander hotel on 14th November, followed by a protest outside the Department of Education and Skills on Marlborough Street on 22nd November.

Dunne conceded that the Students’ Union’s contingent at the protest on 22nd November was “around 10” students, but said it wasn’t “a focus” of the campaign and that the town hall meeting had been much more positive.

This figured contrasted with thousands who came out for events in Tralee, Galway and Cork, as well as the thousands that mobilised for the national student marches in 2010 and 2011.

But the metric for this campaign, he said, was “different …

We said that at the outset. We weren’t measuring this by ‘feet on the street’ or how many people we got in Front Square. It was about applying pressure to Kevin Humphreys. I would have preferred it to have been supporting him, and making it possible for him to stand in the Dáil and vote for students. But unfortunately he said on a number of occasions that he would not be doing that.”

Dunne said that this year’s campaign has been “more multi-faceted than years before” and “wasn’t a case of getting people out on the street once.” The empirical evidence of fee increases had shown that strategies employed in previous years weren’t “productive or effective”.

“Protest wasn’t as important to the campaign this year as it was to campaigns in previous years...

When we constructed our campaign we anticipated the lack of enthusiasm for marches. When USI were on campus earlier this year they said on a number of occasions that there would be no march this year, and we were aware of that.”

Despite their perceived lack of enthusiasm for protest, he said Trinity students were “very perceptive” and understood that previous strategies hadn’t worked.

He also said that dynamics like the “relatively low” number of Trinity students on the grant contributed to a different culture in the college, and that he had to represent this.

Adding that there was a “lack of certainty about what we were aiming to achieve with the march or protest”, Dunne acknowledged that “far more feet on the street would have looked better”, but insisted that this would not have achieved the Students’ Union’s goals. “The metric is how deputy Humphreys feels. He has told us he will do his best to protect the grant and the student assistance fund, and spoken about the campaign forthrightly in the Dáil. So we have succeeded in our objective.”

He praised the USI for its “Fed Up? Stand Up” campaign, which he said was “very effective”, but was keen to emphasise the differences between his position and those of other students’ union presidents. Conceding that the Institute of Technology, Tralee

made an “extremely impressive showing” at their protest, he noted that “Niall Hardy [the IT Tralee students’ union president] can’t pop up to the Dáil. Our geographical location offers us that luxury.”

He continued that he was happy with the Students’ Union’s town hall meeting, including its escalation into the arrest of the USI president, John Logue, in the viewing gallery of Dáil Éireann: “Trinity’s town hall evolved from getting people engaged in the campaign straight into campaigning that night.” Despite this, there was a much smaller turnout for the protest on 22nd November, for which the union’s promotion consisted of two social-media posts and an email to students. He defended the provision of information to students, saying “it was up to them whether they wanted to go”.

The short time frame for organisation before the 22nd November protest, which had been changed one week earlier from a proposed 20th November march on Kevin Humphreys’ constituency office, he said, had also contributed to the low turnout on the day. But he rejected the “singling out” of the protest, saying that it was not representative of the campaign. “I won’t comment on the success of that march on its own, I’ll comment on it in the context of the campaign as a whole.”

Dunne was hopeful ahead of the budget, although he said it was “hard to know” exactly what would happen. While the fee increase seemed likely, some government TDs to whom he had spoken “suggest student assistance fund and grant will be protected … They understand that those in most need can’t afford another cut to happen.”

Tap launches Pathways to the Professions New initiative aim to increase balance in number of students from under-represented backgrounds pursuing professions Catherine Healy Student Affairs Correspondent “I wonder, is there something going on with the private sector where either prejudice or an old boys’ network operate?” Tom Boland, the chief executive of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), posed the question at the recent launch in Trinity of the first in a series of programmes aimed at increasing the number of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds progressing into the higher professions.

An initiative of the Trinity Access Programmes (Tap), Pathways to the Professions aims to offer hands-on experience and opportunities to secondary-school and undergraduate students from under-represented groups in areas such as business, science, technology and law.

Its creative programme will also work with students to promote awareness of educational and career opportunities in the cultural field.

Boland’s remark was in reference to a report from Tap, which found that the majority of participants who graduated from Trinity from 2002-2008 had found employment after college in the education and health sectors. He surmised that a possible reason behind this was the fact that both sectors are “strong areas in the

public service, which is noted for recruiting people on merit”.

Acknowledging that more economically well-off students draw on “inter-generational knowledge and social capital” in the employment market, he commended College for seeking to “address the imbalance in opportunity”.

The research, undertaken by Tap in 2010, found that its grad-

“

A record number of undergraduate places were offered to students through Tap schemes this year, accounting for nearly 20% of intake. This is a long way off the HEA’s overall national target of 30% of entries by 2013.

uates were as academically successful as their peers across a range of degrees and were being employed in roughly the same proportions, but that they often encountered difficulties securing positions related to their degree.

In their report, entitled What Happened Next?, Tap researchers noted the need for initiatives that would encourage students targeted by the programmes to aim for higher professional career opportunities.

The initiative’s pilot programme, Pathways to Law, was launched following the finding of the report. Its participants are drawn from secondary schools linked to Tap and participate in activities such as mock trials and information sessions in College throughout their senior cycle education.

As well as receiving financial scholarships, students who progress to the School of Law benefit from internships and mentoring opportunities with the programme’s partnering legal firms.

Speaking at the launch, the minister for social protection, Joan Burton, noted her surprise at the number of lawyers coming through the Tap programme: “But maybe as a country we do need a

Continued on p3

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

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Continued from p2 lot more lawyers, because with all the inquiries and investigations which are floating around, it may keep a lot of lawyers in occupations for a long time to come.”

Burton commended the work of Tap, and said it “has genuinely broadened out to become a real access programme”.

As Tap approaches its 20th anniversary, she said that she hoped the death of Savita Halappanavar would provide food for thought for graduating lawyers as “these issues have been knocking around for the same length of time, in terms of the supreme court judgment”.

Alongside the existing programme for law, Tap will oversee schemes entitled Pathways to Business and Entrepreneurship and Pathways to Stem (Science,

News Technology, Engineering, Maths) and Health Sciences.

It also launched 2020 Vision, a new strategic plan which sets a target of 2,020 Tap graduates by 2020.

Speaking to Trinity News, the Tap head of department, Cliona Hannon, said that “as the 2012 school league tables demonstrate, there is considerable scope for continued work. In particular, universities need to diversify progression into higher professional areas through strong collaboration with professional training bodies and through the establishment of career and mentoring programmes for students from low-income backgrounds.”

Tap has been a feature of Trinity life since 1993, a time span which has seen an increase of 10% in students from under-represented groups in College.

As well as offering reductions in Central Applications Office points to disadvantaged and disabled students, the programme operates a foundation course, which draws students from communities in the greater Dublin area characterised by relatively low rates of participation at third level. The vast majority of these students progress to degree courses in College.

A record number of undergraduate places were offered to students through Tap schemes this year, accounting for nearly 20% of intake. While these admissions figures are generally in line with the current quota set by College for students from non-traditional backgrounds, they are a still a long way off the HEA’s overall national target of 30% of entries by 2013.

From grains of sand there grow pearls: celebrating 30 years of Q Soc Speakers recall past struggles and triumphs as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender society reaches pearl anniversary.

Graphic: Éna Brennan Catherine Healy Student Affairs Correspondent “I want to pay tribute to Trinity College, because this is essentially where the Irish gay movement started,” senator David Norris told the audience at last week’s event marking 30 years of Q Soc, Trinity’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) student society.

The commemorative event was held on Monday 26th November by the society, which was originally founded in 1982 as the DU Gay Society (or Gay Soc, for short), making it the first institutionally recognised organisation representing gay students in Ire-

land.

Speaking at the event, Norris recounted his involvement in an earlier advocacy group, the Sexual Liberation Movement (SLM), which had been founded by Trinity students in 1973 – some 20 years before homosexuality was decriminalised.

He quipped: “There were six of us at a protest at the Department of Justice a year later, and I held a placard which read: ‘Homosexuals are Revolting’.”

As a lecturer at Trinity in 1988, Norris went on to take a successful case against the attorney gen-

eral at the European court of human rights, an act that is widely credited with forcing the repeal, in 1993, of the 19th-century legislation that criminalised homosexual acts in Ireland.

The SLM’s political activities, Norris told the audience, set a precedent for the role of Trinity’s Gay Soc in the tumultuous years preceding the case. It became one of the most important Irish organisations campaigning for gay rights during a decade that saw the homophobic murder of Declan Flynn and an increasing number of physical attacks

Head lawyer for US defence department visits Trinity amid human-rights protests Rónán Burtenshaw Editor Protests greeted the US defence department general counsel, Jeh Johnson, when he visited the DU Law Society on 27th November.

His talk, organised as part of Law Soc’s A&L Goodbody-sponsored speaker series, was targeted by members of DU Amnesty International opposed to the continuing regime of indefinite detention without trial in Guantánamo Bay. Johnson was appointed to the position of general counsel by the US president, Barack Obama, on 8th January 2009. He was billed

by Law Soc as “one of the most powerful lawyers in America” who was “named as one of America’s most influential democrat lawyers in the National Law Journal 2008.”

Ten members of DU Amnesty engaged in a silent protest outside the Dining Hall before Johnson’s speech, wearing orange jumpsuits and carrying signs that read “Close Guantánamo Now” and “Investigate and Prosecute US Torture”. Johnson walked past the group on his way to the Graduates’ Memorial Building, stopping to speak with the society’s chair, Maeve Brady, and inviting them inside to pose questions.

Speaking to Trinity News, Brady said that the organisation was protesting Johnson’s visit because he has stated “that the administration has a right to detain a suspected terrorist indefinitely if it is determined that he or she is a security threat”.

She continued: “Amnesty International states that indefinite detention is a human-rights violation and that it must end. All Guantánamo detainees must either be charged or tried in courts that meet international standards for fairness, such as a US federal court, or be released to countries

where their human rights will be respected. Amnesty International opposes the detention provisions in the 2012 National Defence Authorisation Act that further entrench indefinite detention in US law and violate human rights, and calls for the Guantánamo detention facility to be closed.”

In response to a question from Ms Brady after his speech, Johnson said that Obama “remain[ed] committed to closing Guantánamo Bay” and indicated that early in his second term might provide him with the best opportunity to fulfil his 2008 election promise.

However, he noted that the 165 prisoners that remained were “the worst of the worst” and that few countries were willing to accept them. Specifically, he said those that remained in detention from Yemen would be “dangerous” to return to their home country, given the strength of al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula.

He defended “war of law detention”, which he said “had been around forever” and was protected by international law. Responding to questions about a lack of evidence held for detainees, he said that it was not the job of the US military to collect evidence in the battlefield, but that these people had been involved in planning operations, even if they were not carrying them out.

He also used his platform to defend US drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, saying that it was a form of warfare designed to “minimise collateral damage”. Responding to a question about the availability of targeting criteria for drone strikes, he said that the administration pursued a course of transparency “where possible” and was subject to checks like the biannual War Powers Report.

Beginning his speech to the society, Johnson thanked DU Amnesty for their “courtesy” while protesting and paid tribute to their “commitment to do good”.

He then opened with anecdotes about his time as a federal prosecutor before moving on to discuss his current position, which he described as “the largest general counsel job in the world”, with the US department of defence about 10,000 lawyers.

He spoke about how he joined Obama’s campaign team in 2006 after his law partner, the former John F Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorenson, had noted similarities between the then senator and the late Irish-American president.

He was proud, he said, of what had been achieved by the Obama administration, noting that they had banned “enhanced interrogation techniques” and repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy which had restricted lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Americans from open military service.

The administration had also, he said, ended the combat mission in Iraq and “reversed the Taliban’s momentum in Afghanistan”.

He continued by defending the US’s relationship with international law, saying that there had been some “steps in the right direction”. Johnson did, however, say that there were significant concerns in the defence department about how international law had been used against Americans, pointing to threats against his predecessor, William J Haynes, in Spain and the conviction of an air-force colonel in Italy for “following orders”. Any further engagement with international law, he said, would have to be organised in conjunction with the US military, “who have most to lose”.

He responded to a question about whether a reinstatement of the draft would improve equality in America by saying that the military met its combat requirements without it. He did, however, note that there was concern in the military at a lack of connection between the population of the country and its armed forces.

He concluded his speech by talking about the value of public service and some of his favourite moments in his line of work. Noting his deep connection to 9/11 as a New Yorker, he said that the day Osama bin Laden was assassinated was his “most fulfilling day as a lawyer”. He also spoke about another incident where he helped a pregnant woman avoid discharge from the navy. During the speech, he noted that this was likely to be his last year as general counsel.

against gay people in Ireland.

He commended the “wonderful members of the SU council”, whose officers, in “an example of wonderful human solidarity”, acted as Gay Soc’s first committee members, due the reluctance of gay students to become publicly visible at the time.

Tonie Walsh, an LGBT historian and the curator of the Irish Queer Archive, joined Norris in tracing the evolution of radical LGBT politics in Ireland.

He cited the “first ever conference in Ireland on homosexuality”, held by the SLM in Trinity’s Junior Common Room in 1974, as a definitive event in College’s tradition of gay-rights agitation.

Gay Soc continued in that vein, he said, by providing rooms for gay groups that had met in the Hirschfield Centre, which burned down in 1987 in suspicious circumstances.

As well as organising the first national gathering of gay societies, Gay Soc supported attempts by gay students at University College Dublin and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth (now the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) to gain college recognition for their societies in the late 1980s.

“Right up until 1990, some Irish newspapers still used the word gay in inverted commas,” Walsh reminded the audience.

The commemorative event in the Dining Hall also saw the launch of a publication, Ne Plus Ultra*, a collection of archival documents and essays from former auditors and members of the society.

In his introduction to the publication, the current Q Soc auditor, Joel McKeever, writes that the asterix after its title denotes “the myriad combinations and possibilities that come with being transgender and/ or queer”.

McKeever is the second auditor to oversee the society since it rebranded itself as Q Soc in 2011.

It had previously been known as the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Society, a name adopted in 1994 to recognise increasing diversity in the society members’ sexualities and identities. Transgender was added to the title in 2005; DU LGBT Society remains its constitutional name.

In an emotional speech, McKeever spoke about the society’s evolution in College: “I am proud that I can stand amongst a visible and vibrant community

Graphic: Éna Brennan

today ... This would not have been possible 30 years ago.”

He recounted the words of Ronan Hodson, a former committee member of the society and the current honorary treasurer of the Central Societies Committee, as quoted in Ne Plus Ultra*: “A drink at an LGBT function is now a drink at a function, not an admission of sexuality.”

It was a far cry from the memories of Norris, who spoke of the gay men he remembered being arrested and made to undergo electric shock therapy for homo-

sexual acts.

McKeever addressed continuing challenges faced by the gay community in Ireland, despite the progress that has been made: “Our dedicated inclusion officer has seen over 60 cases requiring some sort of support so far this year.”

Alongside the commemorative publication, further historical documents, including photos and letters, were also on display in the hall. One piece, a Trinity News article written by a Gay Soc member in October 1989, reported: “Af-

ter a week staffing the Gay Society stand for Freshers’ Week, one becomes slightly immune to the shocked giggles, the comments about perverts and the refusal to accept leaflets.”

21 years later, McKeever noted, Q Soc has “the largest active membership of any LBGT society in Ireland”. He concluded: “I see what we have been through as a war … We are part of the first generation where peace is possible.”

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

4

News

Aonghus Ó Cochláin

News In Brief

News In Brief Editor

Fire show sees Trinity fringe festival start with a bang Last Saturday saw the start of the Trinity fringe festival, running from 1st-7th December. Organised by the DU Players and the DU Comedy Society, the festival aims to “transform Trinity into a hub of entertainment and creative activity for one week, showing off some of the finest fringe talents”.

The week-long entertainment got off to a start with a fire show from the DU Juggling and Circus Skills Society and this year’s

24-hour musical from Players, A Puppet’s Christmas Tale, in aid of the Humour Foundation.

A wide selection of performances are taking place throughout the week, with highlights including Frank Turner, Abandoman, Jonny and the Baptists, Jarlath Regan, Shane Gillen and the Trinity Orchestra. The festival features the Irish debut of The Economist

by Tobias Manderson-Galvin, the first play to be based around Anders Behring Breivik and the 2011

Pfizer set to stun with investment in Science Gallery

Utøya massacre.

Commenting on the variety of acts included in the festival this year, one spokesperson said: “Students can expect anything from music, comedy, theatre and even magic at this year’s festival from some really massive names in the industry. It has taken a huge amount of work from the Players and Comedy committees to get it off the ground again, so the credit goes out to them all.”

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer has joined the Science Circle at College’s Science Gallery, becoming the latest organisation to commit to the support and development of science programmes in Ireland.

The Science Circle consists of a group of global companies committed to public engagement in science, such as Dell, Google and Icon. The gallery’s founding director, Michael John Gorman, spoke on how it was an opportunity to foster stronger links between academia and real-world applications.

Commenting on the announce-

ied Child, Fool for Love and A Lie of the Mind.

With much critical acclaim, he has received and been nominated for various awards, including a Pulitzer prize for drama in 1979, as well as an induction to the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1994. Recently, he was awarded the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theatre Award in 2009.

As an actor he has appeared in films ranging from blockbusters such as The Right Stuff (1983) and Black Hawk Down (2001) to

arthouse classics Days of Heaven (1978) and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007). Additionally he wrote the script for the Palme D’Or-winning Paris, Texas (1984).

Two of his latest plays, Ages of the Moon and Kicking a Dead Horse, were premiered in Dublin’s Abbey theatre.

Following the event, Shepard is due to receive an honorary degree at a commencements ceremony in the Public Theatre on Friday 7th December.

Cluck you, Enda: UCD students fail to eggstend warm welcome to taoiseach Gardaí removed four people at an event in University College Dublin (UCD) last week as students protesting fee rises threw eggs at the taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

Kenny was giving a speech at the launch of a new centre and sports complex at the college.

Two eggs were thrown before the event, and although they did not hit Kenny, one is believed to have hit UCD’s vice president for students, Martin Butler. The student advocacy group Free Education for Everyone (Fee) has taken

responsibility for the disturbance, citing student frustration at the government amid speculation that the upcoming budget is likely to have further fee increases for higher education.

Fee commented: “Vulnerable members of society have been targeted consistently throughout this economic crisis. Students have been a part of this attack, leading to mass graduate unemployment and emigration. We vehemently oppose this approach

by Fine Gael and Labour.”

Of the four removed from the event, three are students at UCD. They were not arrested, but were cautioned under section 8 of the Public Order Act. According to a UCD spokesperson, the three students are likely to be penalised in accordance with the university’s code of conduct.

UCD Students’ Union said in a statement that it “strongly condemns this unjustified and unrepresentative action”, but that the incident did not detract from the day’s event.

TCD and UCD professors set the gold standard This year’s winners of the Royal Irish Academy’s annual gold medals were announced on 30th November as Luke O’Neill, the professor of biochemistry at Trinity, and Dermot Moran, the professor of philosophy at University College Dublin.

The awards, sponsored by the Higher Education Authority and the Irish Independent, are considered to be Ireland’s most prestigious accolades and are awarded each year to two academics of importance to the life sciences and the humanities.

The European commissioner

for research, innovation and science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, presented the awards and commented on the difficulty the academy faced in its selection, having to choose from a large pool of worthy academics. On the occasion, she announced: “These awards are hard earned. Each one is a testament to a lifetime of passionate commitment to the highest standards in scholarship. And they are well-deserved recognition of scientific excellence.”

O’Neill, a member of the Royal Irish Academy since 2004, is acknowledged as a world leader

through government support from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and Science Foundation Ireland.

The minister for arts, heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, commented: “The Science Gallery is fast becoming a leader in demonstrating how a major cultural institution can harness both state and private sector philanthropic support.” He emphasised the Science Circle’s important role as a contributor.

Stage set for Trinity Come Dancing

Fans due to flock to Sam Shepard The renowned actor and playwright Sam Shepard will be giving a reading on Thursday 6th December at 7pm in the Edmund Burke theatre. The visit is to be hosted by the School of English, with Professor Nicholas Grene chairing.

The US-based writer, born on 5th November 1943 in Illinois, has a career spanning from the 1960s onward. With several collections of short stories, essays and memoirs, he has also directed for some of his plays. Some of his most notable works include Bur-

ment, Pfizer’s vice-president of external supply, Dr Paul Duffy, said: “Working more closely with academia and third-level graduates in science, particularly chemistry and engineering, is key to advancing pharmaceutical manufacturing in Ireland.” He further stated that the company invests $7bn (¤5.4bn) annually in research and development. The company has previously collaborated with University College Cork and the University of Limerick.

The Science Gallery is also supported by the Wellcome Trust as a founding partner, as well as

in the fields of immunology and inflammatory diseases, while Moran has gained international acclaim for his study on the Irish philosopher John Scottus Eriugena and his work in the area of phenomenology. Previous Trinity academics to have received a gold medal include Prof John Dillon, the former regius professor of Greek; the experimental physicist Michael Coey; Charles Hepworth Holland, the former chair of geology and mineralogy; and the mathematician Samson Shatashvili.

The DU Dance Society will be hosting its own version of the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing next term. Trinity Come Dancing will be held on 23rd January in a city-centre nightclub, and will feature a number of notable Trinity students performing with experienced dancers in a variety of different styles. All money raised will go towards cancer research.

The event will showcase eight couples, each performing in one of eight different dance styles: hip hop, ballet, contemporary, Irish dancing, American smooth, Broadway jazz, bachata and Argentine tango.

The contestants, who have yet to be revealed, will begin rehearsals

this week and will continue to develop their skills until the show.

On the night, each performance will be two minutes long, and a panel of four judges will rate each performer and announce a winner. The proceedings will be hosted by two additional Trinity figures.

Dance Soc will be organising the competition with the aid of a number of different societies and the Students’ Union. The Cancer Society will manage the funds raised towards cancer research; Trinity Ents will help with promotion; the DU Players will assist with the set; the Photography Association will photograph the event; the Fashion Society will

provide costumes and make up; and Trinity TV will record videos of practice sessions.

Dance Soc hope that the event will promote a diverse range of dance styles to students and societies in Trinity. As organisation of the event is still ongoing, the society welcomes the involvement of any students or societies who wish to help.

Tickets will go on sale in early January, and will allow attendees to attend an after party following the main event. Trinity News will reveal the contestants online over the Christmas beak via our website and Facebook page.

Class reps censured for playing truant from council Attendance record for first Students’ Union council meeting of year lost due to system malfunction.

Ian Curran News Editor An email was sent last week by the Students’ Union to around 150 class representatives who were absent from the union’s second council meeting of the year.

The email was sent by the Students’ Union to inform the class reps in question that they had not sent apologies for being absent from the meeting, which took place on 13th November. The email states that its purpose was to remind class reps that they are “required to attend each council meeting”. The message informed the class reps that, if they are unable to attend the meeting, they “MUST [sic] send [their] apologies” and also provide an “adequate reason” for their absence before or “as soon as possible after that council meeting”.

The email goes on to paraphrase the Students’ Union constitution, which states that class reps are only allowed to miss two council meetings in any one academic year without giving apologies. If a class rep misses three meetings without sending apologies, they will be “deemed to have resigned” their position and a by-election will be held unless they can “provide an acceptable excuse for missing these meet-

ings”, such as a medical certificate.

The union’s education officer, Dan Ferrick, said that this was not intended as a “threat of by-election”, but rather as an affirmation of the fact that “the constitution of the SU only allows you to miss two meetings without apologies”.

He said that this applied to all officers and elected positions within the union. Ferrick added that “the SU is happy” with the attendance so far and that the union had been in quorum for all of its meetings.

He said that the meeting still had around 200 people at it despite the absences, meaning that the Students’ Union meetings are still the best attended of any capitated body in College. The email ends with a list of the dates for the remaining council meetings of the year so that class reps can “make the necessary arrangements to ensure” they are present.

Trinity News has also learned that the Students’ Union does not know the exact number of class reps who were absent from this year’s first council meeting, due to a system error. Ferrick told Trinity News that the “recorded attendance cannot be confirmed … due to the fact that the system had inadvertently put some class reps in twice”. He commented that this double counting of class reps “caused the system to crash”.

The union had “no choice”, ac-

cording to Ferrick, “but to only check cards and hand out voting cards due to the delay that these crashes were causing.”

However, Ferrick said that the first council meeting was “full”, and that the problem has now been rectified. He said that the new system allows the union to “quickly identify who has attended council and who has not”, and to “email reps with ease to inform them of a missed council, [something that] was desired but not possible over the last few years”.

Previous education officers of the Students’ Union were only able to tell the total amount of people in attendance, and not the specific class reps who were absent, Ferrick said. He added that his predecessors would have been able to keep track of the individual absent class reps “if they wanted to”, but that it would have been a “difficult” task involving “sitting down with a spread sheet and manually inputting all the reps who were there”.

Ferrick stated that the lack of an attendance record for the first council meeting would not be problematic for the union because the meeting “was very full” and that an accurate and specific record of attendees was now being kept.

InDepth

D Joyce-Ahearne talks Shostakovich symphonies and El Sistema with Venezuelan maestro Rafael Payare

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Photo: George Voronov

Fashionable society Last week saw the stunning Trinity College Samsung fashion show, the DU Fashion Society’s third annual landmark event and the first with its new title sponsor. Elaine McCahill was backstage.

T Elaine McCahill Editor-at-Large

he DU Fashion Society is all grown up. Since its inception in 2009, the society has gone from strength to strength, culminating in the glamorous, elegant and fun Trinity College Samsung fashion show held in the National Gallery on 26th November. The show was held to raise funds for Turn2Me. org, an online mental health community providing peer support to those in need. The charity was established by Oisin and Diarmuid Scollard after they sadly lost their brother Cormac to suicide.

Gerard Tiernan, a fundraiser for Turn2Me.org, spoke on the night, thanking the Fashion Society for its support and praising it for having “done a wonderful job”. Many praised the selection of Turn2Me.org as an educated choice given the prevalence of mental-health issues among students and the great work Trinity societies and the Students’ Union

do to raise awareness throughout college. It was evidently a well thought-out, organised and coordinated event, and the massive sponsorship by Samsung definitely contributed to the higher level to which the committee pushed the event this year.

This sponsorship deal, which the society’s chair, Laura McDermott, and her committee spent last summer working tirelessly to obtain, increased the event’s legitimacy and gave them extra funding to work with, but it also meant that the pressure was on to present an impressive show. And boy, did they pull it off. There has been a buzz around College for weeks, and the tickets sold out in record time.

As McDermott said in her opening speech: “The show has been a highly anticipated event.”

She praised her hard working committee for their dedication

and enthusiasm. The choice of venue being the National Gallery, the overall vibe was incredibly slick with the show’s logo being projected onto the wall as one walked in. Across from this was where the fashionistas and celebrities had their pictures taken, and where TV3’s Xposé and Irish fashion blogger Darren Kennedy were filming interviews with committee members and students alongside the country’s top stylists.

Top stylist Courtney Smith congratulated the committee and emphasised that it was extraordinary that the entire production had been organised, styled and modelled by students.

John Compton, who helped to choose the models in a model casting held earlier this term which was filmed by TrinityTV, was very happy with his proteges’ performances on the night. He

was “really delighted” with how the models walked, having completed a number of training sessions with them, and emphasised that it was exceptional given that many of them had no experience previous to this fashion show.

The Irish fashion world was incredibly well represented, with Meadhbh McHugh from the Irish Times sitting in the front row with the stylists Maria Fusco and Sonja Mohlich and the weather presenter Audrey McGrath. The show began promptly after a delicious wine reception, where guests could mingle and try out the new Samsung tablet which was the main prize of the raffle on the night. The fashion stories were varied throughout the night, and it was evident that the looks had been styled by students, as they were all very fun, yet edgy and of the moment.

To begin, very clean tailoring

Photo: George Voronov

took precedence for the guys, and there was a heavy emphasis on black and sequins for the girls in the Vintage Rock and Roll and Gothic Vixen scenes. Kennedy, who was reporting for Samsung as well as being a top stylist and blogger, complimented the committee greatly on their attention to decent, well-tailored menswear saying that “men often get forgotten about at these type of events, and so it’s great to see”.

The striking hats and fascinators that adorned the female models’ perfectly coiffed hair were ebony in colour and featured small birds and veils; all were created

by Edel Ramberg and they added an opulent edge to the looks on parade. The embellished headpieces were created and designed by the Fashion Society’s styling team and added a striking feature to the baroque, Dolce & Gabbanaesque, edgier looks.

This was something that one of the head stylists, Sally-Ann Tingle, was especially pleased with and thought they were really fun and in line with the youthful vision they were going for. She also thought that the fashion show and the society in general were fantastic ways to “showcase the creativity that is central to the unique style that is central to Trinity student life”.

Given the length of the show and the detailed looks they were going for, there was a lot of pressure on the stylists to pull it off, and Sally-Ann adds that this was stressful, given they had to pull 80 looks from stores two days before the show and then alter them all to suit the models, but that it was an insightful and exciting experience at the same time.

The makeup and hair was exceptional on the night, with LA Academy giving the girls frosted eyebrows and Toni & Guy specialising in tousled fishtail and crown plaits. During the interval, a raffle was held with all proceeds going to Turn2me.org, and some fantastic prizes were won including the Samsung tablet, a T-shirt designed by Angela Scanlon, beauty treatments and vouchers.

During the few minutes’ break, Trinity News headed backstage to scope out how a contingent of heads from the Students’ Union and College’s sports clubs and societies were coping in the buildup to their modelling debuts.

Those taking part included the Students’ Union president, Rory Dunne; Aoife Considine of the Snow Sports Club; Kate Finnegan of Trinity TV, Paddy Goodliffe of the Trinity Orchestra); the Central Societies Committee chairperson, Cian McCarthy; Lorcan Clarke of the Phil; Stuart Deane

of the Surfing and Bodyboarding Club; James Morris of the Fishing Society; and Victoria O’Brien of the Cancer Society.

McCarthy described it “as the first and last time” he would be taking to the catwalk, while Goodliffe was looking forward to his “Miss Congeniality moment” where the fashion world would suddenly make sense to him.

Their strut down centre-stage had been what most of us Trinity students were looking forward to, and they did not disappoint the waiting crowds.

Each of them ambled down the runway towards the plethora of photographers holding a prop that had to do with their beloved grouping: Considine wore ski goggles, Dunne carried a placard declaring his hack status, Finnegan wore a TV on her head and Morris reeled in the audience in his yellow waders. The best was held for the last when McDermott herself took her turn on the catwalk dressed as none other than the queen of the fashion industry, Anna Wintour. With the peroxide wig, enormous shades and metallic two-piece suit, there was no doubt as to which fashion supremo she was impersonating.

The chairs got many a laugh and were declared one of the highlights of the night. Returning again to the models, a section with the theme The Kooples then had them walk in pairs while wearing the same pieces or outfits in the same style. A high point was the camouflage and sequined couple at the beginning.

The rest of the show was dedicated to evening wear, which will give many a girl in attendance some inspiration for the impending ball season. Beautiful gowns from stores as varied as The Harlequin and Harvey Nichols catered to many tastes. Some other fashion highlights of the night included the red sequin rabbit dress

by Rachel Gilbert, available to buy from Harvey Nichols in Dundrum or to rent from the Ivory Closet in Limerick, and the purple leopard top shirt teamed with a purple leopard skirt, both available from French Connection.

Overall there was a well balanced mix of luxury designer, high-street and vintage pieces, with brands varying from Chanel and DKNY to Oasis and FCUK while also giving a nod to Dublin vintage stores such as Lulu’s Vintage Shop. Those in attendance attested to it having been a great night, and all complimented the work of the all-student fashion spectacle. The DU Fashion Society has truly established itself, and many are already looking forward to next year’s show.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

7

Neasa O’Callaghan speaks with Prof Sam Slote about the Abbey’s new production of James Joyce’s The Dead

InDepth

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Illustration: Ciar Boyle-Gifford

Educating ourselves on institutional racism in schools and colleges Ciar Boyle-Gifford interviews Karl Kitching, a lecturer in the school of education at University College Cork, on Ireland’s learning curve regarding immigration and integration, from students to staff and from parents to politicians.

A Ciar Boyle -Gifford & Attie Papas Staff Writers

s Irish education is confronted with increasing numbers of migrant children, a system long familiar to settled Irish families has been drawn into question.

The publication of the recent report Addressing the Concept and Evidence of Institutional Racism in Education in Ireland, from University College Cork (UCC), is pushing us to reconsider the nature of discrimination in our schools.

The report covers the proceedings of a conference at UCC last February, which brought together voices from all over Ireland with personal and professional experience of racial discrimination in the education sector. Dr Karl Kitching, a co-editor of the report and the conference’s chair, explains that a principal aim of the event was to reshape the way the Irish public thinks about racism: “There’s still a lack of a discourse around the issue that is, in a way, sophisticated or complex, that doesn’t just reduce it to things like bullying, which is of course an important issue to combat, but thinks in terms of the actual institutional ways in which racism can develop.”

As a lecturer in education and a former primary school teacher, Kitching is both supportive and critical of the Irish educational system. “In many ways,” he explains, “education is the nice face of the state, in terms of what it does for people, but at the same time there are lots of questions to

be asked.”

Kitching is keen to note that the major problems of racial discrimination in Irish education are not necessarily the fault of individual personnel. “Our teachers are working extremely hard, often under very difficult conditions. This is a process of gathering momentum, and gathering a discourse that supports people in schools, as opposed to some kind of teacher bashing or institution bashing. It’s not about that.” He adds: “There are big structural issues that aren’t solved easily, but need confrontation.”

Such structural issues in the system have led to skewed representations of racial groups in education, both in terms of enrolment and achievement. “Migrant students are overrepresented in schools in areas serving disadvantaged communities, that’s been coming out more and more – first in the ‘Adapting to Diversity’ study in 2009, and a number of different research findings since then that have hinted towards the fact that migrant students aren’t doing as well in terms of achievement.”

“The Irish primary school in particular is quite unique in the western world … It is essentially a privately run and managed system, because the denominational providers account for 96% of primary schools, [90%] of which I think are Catholic. And while that doesn’t automatically suggest those schools are exclusion-

ary … it does suggest that there’s a mediating effect of religion on the access that people have to schools.”

While admissions are usually structured on a first-come-firstserved basis, where selective factors must apply (that is, where a school is oversubscribed), it is the school’s prerogative to prioritise those children who seem closest to the ethos of the school. Often that ethos is religious or familycentric in that the children of previous students are prioritised.

It is not hard to envisage a situation where a settled indigenous Catholic family is advantaged over that of a migrant Muslim child, lacking familial or religious links to the school.

“What is unique in the structure of the Irish system is the local nature of enrolment decisions.

We don’t have, for example, local education authorities like they have in Britain. There is the Joint Managerial Body and the Association for Comprehensive and Community Schools, et cetera, but the dealings that schools tend to have are with the state directly, rather than through a mediating body … it is essentially a privately run, but publicly funded, system.”

But it is important to remember that enrolment is not the whole issue. “Widening equality of access has been the mantra of states around the western world since the 1960s. That hasn’t really changed the outcomes of education; you get more people in education, it doesn’t mean the actual quality of the experience is [improved] in any way.

“There’s been lots of research done across the world which has shown ways in which low teacher expectations, tracking into more diluted forms of curricula, can create an atmosphere, in particular school settings, where there isn’t much hope for the students, under very difficult circumstances for the teachers.”

Clearly, the educator’s task can be daunting. “Teachers often feel that if they raise [issues of racial injustice] they will be adding to stigma, or they’ll be adding to trouble; in fact, in order to do this kind of work, it requires an extremely brave teacher.”

Of course, some action has been taken to address these is-

sues, some of which is visible in the creation of Educate Together schools, which claim to guarantee equality of access and esteem to children “irrespective of their social, cultural or religious background”.

Kitching comments: “One of the exciting things about Educate Together is the Learn Together curriculum, which focuses explicitly on matters of equality. So, to that extent, they are focussed on actually educating children about injustice.”

However, Kitching acknowledges that Educate Together schools cannot entirely solve problems of enrolment for migrant children. “As I think people in Educate Together would recognise, they alone cannot account for what’s happening in society, they are facing difficulties too in terms of the fact that the policies in Educate Together schools tend to have the first-come- firstserved policy in terms of enrolment.”

Some have been set up to deal with the surplus of students without places in Catholic schools, the result being that a majority of their students are migrant or Traveller children, particularly in areas of poor residential planning.

Combating this problem means understanding it first. The UK in recent years has benefitted from work with statistical evidence, having invested in gathering large amounts of data from schools. In Ireland this kind of information is still conspicuously lacking. Yet Kitching stands by the importance of acknowledging subjective accounts, such as those in his report: “That subjective account of racism is incredibly important as a tool, in the form of counterstorytelling, in exposing the non-neutrality of state processes.

There is no question; that kind of everyday language can be just as powerful as anything that comes from an academic.”

He supports – but urges caution over – the decontextualised use of statistics, which can run the risk of encouraging ethnicprofiling. “We’ve seen it in other countries, we’ve seen it all the time. Those statistics come out and they’re used in a really vio-

“

“This mythical diaspora is used to promote things like The Gathering. It’s a very exclusionary concept of Irishness, even while it seems to extend beyond the boundaries of the nation territorially. And those are the kinds of things that migrant and minority children are listening to.”

lent way against people, as opposed to for them.”

This kind of down-to-earth presentation is arguably exactly what Ireland needs to confront its demons. Until now, misconceptions have played a large part in stunting the debate and, consequently, further action against institutional racism.

“In terms of public and policy debates, I feel that this issue of racism is one that we certainly haven’t grasped. We have an idea that racism is something to do with ‘bad apples’, people that have a ‘bad attitude’. That conception of racism is only part of the picture.

“We need to understand that those attitudes are socialised, those attitudes come from somewhere. They come from a set of societal institutions and structures, and things like the economy, et cetera, which can make people resentful towards others, and make them explain the ‘other’ in terms as violent as race.”

It seems the Irish notion of racism is confused by an exceptional political history. “The Irish and Ireland, in terms of a racial discourse, have never quite been either the oppressor or the oppressed; they’ve been somewhere in between. So there’s that ambiguity around what Irish racism is, how does it manifest.” Looking abroad to the US and UK for examples could obscure more issues than it explains.

Certainly, Kitching feels that Ireland’s political leadership has failed in setting its own example.

The current climate in particular illustrates the attitudes taken by those at the top: “This mythical diaspora is used to promote things like The Gathering. It’s a very exclusionary concept of Irishness, even while it seems to extend beyond the boundaries of the nation territorially.

“And those are the kinds of things that migrant and minority children are listening to. It’s a very ethnocentric view of what Irishness is, and it’s a shame that our political leaders see fit not to deconstruct Irishness, and to look at the various hybridities that are there in the post-mass migration period.”

While the state looks for more “Irish” abroad, funding cuts at home leave our domestic population of migrants neglected. “We’ve had the National Consultative Committee for Racism and Interculturalism disbanded, we’ve had cutbacks to the Equality Authority. Those social movements, those equality infrastructures have been stripped away, which shows what the state’s priorities are at a time like this. And I think it’s quite plain, it’s quite brutal, what’s happened. It’s quite plain for everyone to see that this is not on the government’s agenda to deal with it in a meaningful way.

“Austerity measures are crippling people in schools. The basic funding to fund the running of the building itself is dwindling away, cuts to support for special educational needs; and this is all being justified in terms of ‘we have no alternative, we’ve lost our economic sovereignty, et cetera’; but I think there are other alternatives, which is a wider political question.”

In all of this, it is hard to see where responsibility lies. Individuals collectively create, but are also bound by, inadequate systems, and somewhere between it all the idea of accountability dissolves. “You can talk about personal responsibility, but there’s a degree to which that discourse gets lost,” Kitching accepts. He is more hopeful, perhaps, about the potential for change: “There are layers of accountability, which don’t exist at the moment, that could be put in place; for example, we have the concept of indirect discrimination in the equality legislation, but, as far as I understand, we don’t have a requirement on public institutions to actively combat against racist outcomings, like [educational] achievement. So there are certainly things that the state can do to take responsibility or to hold themselves to, so that the public can hold them to account.”

However, it is clear that inasmuch as this is an issue that permeates societal attitudes, discourses and institutions, we all need to accept a level of social responsibility. This is a battle that needs to be fought by and for the people.

As Kitching points out: “There is a lot going on in terms of people like Anti-Deportation Ireland, in terms of Cork Anti-Racism network, and migrant-run groups like the Africa Centre and the Immigrant Council of Ireland.

Activist scholars as well; people I would look to are Gavan Titley and Ronit Lentin. They’re showing a lot of resilience in extremely tough times.

“I think it’s about keeping, building that momentum. The concept of institutional racism didn’t come from academics. It might have been refined by academics, but it actually came from social movements. As politics change in Ireland, we’ll begin to see new generations of secondand third-generation migrant students, Traveller students coming up through third-level, those kinds of developments, to change the course of the debate. That’s a more positive note, I suppose.”

Wednesday 5th December 2012

TRINITY NEWS

InDepth

Singing yourtroubles away: Rachel O’Donnell on the continuing relevance of 1970s Belfast group the Stiff Little Fingers.

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Photo: George Voronov

The pied Payare Self-proclaimed ignoramus of classical music D Joyce-Ahearne heads to see the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and speaks to the up-and-coming Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare.

T D Joyce -Ahearne Staff Writer

here’s a great line in The Green Fool by Patrick Kavanagh in which a young Paddy remembers how his father refused to talk to people who listened with their mouth open. Ever since I read of this astute practise, I’ve always made a conscientious effort to avoid listening with my mouth open. But despite all my self-awareness, I must admit that for the first ten minutes of my maiden trip to the National Concert Hall a few weeks ago to see the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, I was as slack-jawed as a lobotomy patient.

Up to this point my experience of classical music didn’t extend much beyond Fantasia and the music after the Heineken Cup final. Honestly, I was sceptical as to whether I would be able to sit in one place for two hours and listen to classical music, a feeling many of my peers might sympathise with.

But from the moment the music starts you are engaged in a way you wouldn’t have thought possible. Classical music – ironically, considering there are no words – talks to you. What I mean is that it tells a story and you find yourself listening to it as you would any other storyteller. It would be rude not to pay attention; you don’t want to miss a note.

As I was watching the performance I was inspired, there and then, to write about the experience; more people need to come and see this. As I had no pen and paper handy, I surreptitiously (at least I thought so) wrote a few drafts in my phone. No harm in that. However, at the interval, some cantankerous old fucker felt the need to confront me about my texting and to report me to management, who informed me that if it continued I would be asked to leave.

My efforts to tell this unreasonable prick that I wrote for Trinity News, and was trying to encourage younger people to attend classical concerts so that the form could live on after he was rotting in the ground, fell on deaf ears. I digress.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure to speak with Rafael Payare, a young and incredibly talented

Venezuelan conductor. Payare was conducting the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra for the following day’s performance, Dreams, Defiance and Leave-taking, made up of pieces by Richard Strauss, Mozart and Shostakovich.

Payare embodies what classical music should be about today: “One of the things that is amazing in Venezuela is that, with El Sistema, the concerts are free and the target is not middle-aged people, the target is actually young people. It’s important that the kids can come and see because in a few years they will be middleaged and if they don’t get into classical music somehow, then maybe it could disappear. There’s kind of a taboo for young people that might think: ‘Classical music, that’s boring.’ But then when they get it, it’s unbelievable.”

El Sistema, which Payare himself is a product of, is a Venezuelan publicly-financed musical education programme founded

by Maestro José Antonio Abreu.

“His idea was to try to, through music, change people’s lives. The aim of the whole thing is to make everybody a part of a whole. You get the theory, the class in the instrument and the orchestra all in the same place. For some people trying to get into music, you have to have the money to have an instrument, but with El Sistema they give you the instrument, the teachers, so you just have to want to do it.”

At the concert that Payare is conducting in Dublin, 10 students, ranging in age from 19 to 27, from the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra’s 2012 mentoring scheme for advanced young musicians programme will perform with the Orchestra. Two of them are currently reading for the University of Dublin degree of bachelor in music education, studying at the Dublin Institute of Technology’s conservatory of music and drama and at Trinity.

One can understand why Pa-

yare lauds a system that obviously works, especially as it has given him so much. El Sistema has allowed him to do what he loves, and he is doing it very well.

Last May, he won the prestigious Malko Competition for young conductors. He tells me about his approach to the competition.

“Competitions are very tricky.

Conducting is not like sport, it’s very subjective. So you study and go to have fun, you don’t think that you need to go and win this, it’s a great achievement [to be selected] and I did it that way. But you could feel the tension in the air, it was awful.

“There was another Venezuelan and a Spanish guy and we just got together all the time and talked about sport. It was funny, we said, maybe if we get to the next round, well, maybe we won’t have to pay for the hotel.”

Payare is so natural and laid back that it’s surreal the next day to see him come out onto the stage and perform with as much

“

My experience of classical music didn’t extend much beyond Fantasia and the music after the Heineken Cup final … But from the moment the music starts you are engaged in a way you wouldn't have thought possible.

passion and intensity as he does.

The performance is superb. He had spoken about the piece by Dmitri Shostakovich, a Russian composer who had been both under the patronage of the communist regime and at times denounced by the government.

“He [Shostakovich] stopped composing symphonies for 16 years, and then Stalin dies and he did this symphony [No 10] and you can hear his hesitations. You could hear him struggle, and then he remembers all the things he couldn’t do, and he gets angry. It’s fantastic.”

It’s a terribly beautiful piece, it really does put you on edge at times. There were moments where the music would calm and I would find that I had literally worked my way to the edge of my seat and was completely tense, as if bracing myself for, I don’t know what. Again I found myself agape, catching flies to the sound of Shostakovich’s 10th symphony.

Payare conducts with the ease and grace of someone who is master of their instrument, which in his case, as conductor, is the orchestra. “The instrument of the conductor is the orchestra, and you can’t have 120 people in your pocket. To engage with them they really have to see that you are certain and that you are looking for something.”

Speaking to Rafael Payare, it’s quite apparent that he’s both certain in himself and enjoying the challenge of looking for new interpretations. Although he won’t be back in Dublin in the near future, the spirit of commitment, musicianship and intelligence that he embodies is to be seen every week in the National Concert Hall. If you go once, you’ll find yourself going back again and again. It’s not an opportunity to pass up.

The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, which has its home at the National Concert Hall, offers student standby tickets for just ¤5 one hour before concerts, which are held most Friday nights until May. There are also free lunchtime contemporary concerts in January and February (see rte.ie/nationalsymphonyorchestra or facebook.com/rtenso for upcoming concert details).

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

9

InDepth

The Catholic connection Maya Zakrzewska-pim explores the controversial issue of abortion and the Catholic church, highlighting the power of the institution in both Ireland and her home country of Poland.

T Maya Zakrzewska-pim Staff Writer

he recent interest in the death of the 31 year-old Indian woman Savita Halappanavar has brought the topic of abortion to everyone’s mind. Halappanavar was suffering from a miscarriage when she was brought into University Hospital Galway, but because the doctors determined a foetal heartbeat, they said there was nothing they could do to alleviate her growing pain and deteriorating health. She died a few days later on 28th October, of septic shock and organ failure.

Her fate has raised huge questions about the abortion law in Ireland, the discussions of which lead to the influence of the church in state affairs. Halappanavar, a Hindu, had been told that Ireland is a Catholic country (even though the hospital she had found herself in is not a Catholic one), and her response that she was neither a Catholic nor Irish had no effect.

Protests have been organised in the hope of stimulating the government into action, to clarify the terms under which abortion is legal. At the moment, according to the constitution, it is illegal unless the mother’s health is at risk.

However, medical practitioners seem to be unclear about what this means exactly - otherwise, why did they not abort Savita’s baby, even when it became clear it would not survive and she explicitly asked them to? As a result of this confusion, abortions are very rarely performed in Ireland, seeing as the decision is often left to individual doctors, and many fear to go through with the procedure in case their choice is viewed as illegal in the aftermath.

Coming from a Catholic country myself (Poland), I have grown up hearing debates about abortion and the strong pro-life views of the church. Since 1993, abortion is allowed in Poland before

the 12th week of pregnancy if the mother’s health is at risk, if the pregnancy is caused by rape or if the child is diagnosed with a disability or terminal illness of some sort. Even with such laws, however, which are more specific than the ones here, problems arise.

There was a case a few years ago of a 14-year-old Polish girl who had been raped and found herself pregnant as a result. Both she and her mother wanted to terminate the pregnancy, and even though this was seen as being legal, the numerous doctors they visited refused to do as they asked, one of them insisting instead that she talk to a priest. After much convincing the girl agreed, without the supervision of her mother, and ended up signing a document stating that she had agreed to carry the child to full term because she felt hassled and did not want to upset the priest or the doctor in question. It turned out the latter had also leaked details of her condition to the press, and somehow all of a sudden her mother’s parental rights were restricted and the girl herself was shipped off to an emergency shelter.

Eventually, she did manage to have an abortion, and she has recently won a case against the state for a breach of the article of the convention which guarantees the right to respect for private and family life, receiving €6,000 in damages.

Such cases raise huge questions about the laws addressing abortion, and it seems that even when these are specified there is no guarantee they will be respected as they should, perhaps partly because of the strong influence of the church. It is one thing for the church to spread its beliefs, but another for it to interfere with state affairs that affect citizens who may share different beliefs.

And yet this is still the case,

The tragic death of Kathleen Wright

O Donal Fallon Guest Contributor

Donal Fallon, one of the writers behind acclaimed popular history blog Come Here to Me!, recounts the tragic death of a young woman in College Park during the civil war, in this excerpt from the forthcoming book Come Here To Me! Dublin’s Other History.

One of the more unusual pieces of propaganda ever issued by Irish republicans is undoubtedly The Good Old IRA: Tan War Operations, a 1985 text by the publicity department of Sinn Féin. It was an attempt by Irish republicans in the 1980s to highlight how they felt those in the media and in positions of authority romanticised the actions of republicans in the early 20th century, while vilifying them in the contemporary period. It is a shocking read, with over 60 pages detailing atrocities committed during the revolutionary period by Irish republicans.

The work’s introduction, for example, slates the then Labour party leader and “Free State deputy-premier”, Dick Spring, noting that he was: “… tongue-tied in attempting to explain the differences between the IRA gun-runner Roger Casement (in whose honour he was unveiling a statue at Ballyheigue, County Kerry) and those IRA gun-runners on the Marita Anne who had been arrested by his government’s forces off the Kerry coast 24 hours previously”.

One incident detailed in particular, from 1921, stood out for me. It is listed on page 56 of the work, under the title Not Cricket, and details the killing of a civilian spectator at a cricket match by republicans in June of that year.

It notes: “One woman spectator, Miss Kate Wright, a student of Trinity College, was killed and another wounded in an attack by armed civilians on military officers playing in a cricket match at Trinity College Dublin on June 3rd. A man fired shots on to the

field of play from the railings at Nassau Street from which the pitch was visible.”

The Irish Times reported on the day following the shooting: “The occasion was one of festivity and enjoyment in the College Park. A cricket match in connection with Warriors’ Day was in progress. The teams were the Gentlemen of Ireland versus the Military of Ireland. The general belief is that the latter were the objects of the murderous attack which resulted so tragically.”

From the contemporary newspaper reports, we can establish quite a lot about Wright. Aged only 21 (based on an Irish Independent report of the inquiry into her death), Kathleen Alexanderson Wright was engaged to be married to a young man who was also a student at Trinity. His name was George Herbert Ardall, and he was a native of Sligo.

He was studying science, and was with Kathleen enjoying the cricket match on what was said to be a lovely summer’s day in Dublin.

Kathleen was the daughter of the Rev EA Wright of All Saints church at Clapham Park in London, and the Irish Independent of 4th June 1921 noted that he had “... before going to England filled curacies in Cahir and Seapatrick”, both in County Down. At the time of the shooting she was living on Pembroke Road in Rathmines, but beforehand had lived in digs at Trinity.

The Irish Independent reported what he told the inquiry into his fiancee’s death: “When the shots were fired, he pulled Miss Wright down on the ground as quickly as he could. She was moaning, but he was not certain she was hit until a few moments afterwards when he saw blood on the front of her blouse.

Three doctors attended her, and one told him that the case was absolutely hopeless. He did not hear her make any remark. He accompanied her to hospital, where he was told she was dead.”

The Irish Times report into the inquiry noted: “Another witness stated that he was in the cricket pavilion, and heard someone remark that shots were being fired outside in the park.

He went out immediately, and ran to where a crowd was collecting inside the park railings opposite the Kildare Street Club. A few of his friends told him what had happened and

“

both here and in Poland. Back home, there is a radio station run by the church, which is strongly Catholic and conservative, anticommunist and pro-life, and yet supports the death penalty. The latter point is probably due to the strong support the station gives to the Law and Justice political party; this in itself has caused even the Vatican to interfere and warn the station about engaging in political broadcasting. Its main audience – the elderly and rural poor – seems oblivious to the extent to which the station manipulates church teachings to meet its political ends.

The advocacy group Atheist Ireland has called for a separation between church and state.

The church is an organisation of people sharing the same beliefs, including pro-life ones, and it makes decisions in its own interests first; a democracy should attempt to represent everyone’s said that the shots came through the railings … When the witness arrived at where the girl was lying on the ground, the crowd who are usually gathered in Nassau Street outside the railings to watch the game had all cleared off.’

More details about the shooting came from the statement issued by Dublin Castle in the immediate aftermath of the event.

The official report noted that another female was wounded during the shootings, and provided great insight into the initial reaction of those on the green.

“As soon as the shooting began, the players, realising what was happening, threw themselves flat on the field. A regimental band, which was on the field at the time, threw down their instruments and also lay prone. The spectators were not so quick to realise what was happening until a number of shots had been fired and persons were hit.”

The attackers made good their escape. While nobody was ever tried for the shooting of Kathleen Wright, and little was written about her after her body returned home, the identities of the republicans responsible has come to light. In Sleep Soldier Sleep: The Life and Times of Padraig O’Connor, it is noted that an active service unit of the IRA in Dublin “received instructions to disrupt a cricket match between the ‘Gentlemen of Ireland’ and a team of British military officers in Trinity College”. Paddy O’Connor and Jimmy McGuinness took up position behind the Trinity boundary wall at Lincoln Place and fired upon the match.

It is stated that Paddy O’Connor later expressed deep regret at the killing of Wright, which proved a propaganda disaster for republicans.

In an account written years later for the Dublin Brigade Review, it was noted: “A Miss Alexander Wright (a spectator) becoming frightened started into the line of fire of one of the snipers and was killed. The accident was very much regretted by the man concerned.”

Padraig O’Connor would later go on to fight on the pro-treaty side in the civil war, and was involved in the execution of figures such as Erskine Childers.

Years later, he would tell Ernie O’Malley, a prominent opponent of the Anglo-Irish treaty: “The executions broke your morale, there is no doubt about that. The executions were deliberately used as a means to break your resistance.”

Come Here To Me! Dublin’s Other History, a book containing a mix of articles on Dublin’s social history, will be launched by the historian and broadcaster Prof Diarmaid Ferriter at 6.30pm on 12th December in Bia Bar. It can be ordered online via newislandbooks.ie.

interests, but being influenced by the church obviously restricts its ability to do so.

On 18th October, the first clinic offering abortions on the island opened in Belfast. It was quickly surrounded by 400 prolife protesters doing their best to stop any procedures from taking place. One claimed that the issue of abortion is not a legal issue but a criminal one, a declaration I have heard at home too, closely followed by accusations of murder aimed at those considering undergoing, and supporting the right for others to undergo, abortion. Even with these claims, however, Halappanavar’s case had led the government to reconsider the current laws. A ruling in 2009 by the European court of human rights declared that women’s human rights were being breached under the current ban, and the coalition government is working on a report on potential legal re-

It is one thing for the church to spread its beliefs, but another for it to interfere with state affairs that affect citizens who may share different beliefs.

forms of abortion legislation.

The bishop of Killala, John Fleming, has observed: “Ireland, without abortion, is recognised as one of the safest countries in the world to be a pregnant mother.” While this is true, there is no reason why legalising abortion would make it any less safe. In fact, it could make women feel more comfortable about being pregnant, as it would give them options concerning their condition.

Perhaps it is the slowly waning control of the church, combined with Savita Halappanavar’s tragic death, which has spurred the decision-makers into motion. In any case, the difficulties posed by the current laws are finally too much to ignore, and there is a chance that in the future women in Ireland might find themselves with more choices than one.

How the other half learns University education is meant to broaden our minds as well as our horizons. Philosophy student Emily Ranson discovers what this means by dropping in on a biology lecture.

A Emily Ranson Contributor

s a wordy junior freshman reading philosophy, perhaps choosing to go to a biology lecture was not the most sensible plan. Considering its focus on the complex world of genes, and all that the term apparently implies, it most certainly wasn’t. Certainly, science and philosophy are on rather good terms; numerous philosophers have been lauded as veritable scientific geniuses. Sadly I cannot claim to be one of them, preferring Harry Potter and the unreal realm of the supernatural to the materialistic realm of science.

Until about a month and half into term, I assumed all learning was located in the centre of College, the outside world being filled with sunshine and rainbows. Thus, as my roommate escorted me to her lecture theatre, cajoling me past the Sports Centre and outside onto the busy streets of Dublin, I found myself extremely suspicious and longing for a cuppa, maybe with some cake to accompany it.

The lecture theatre was unexpected, resembling a classroom layout instead of the tiered rows of the Arts Building. Seats seemed placed at random, a single row of two people stuck between two longer rows. The desks themselves were etched with fascinating scriptures, such as “BOO”, and “Where is my mind? AT HOME IN BED”, followed by a smiley face. This seemingly philosophical statement was a tad too terrifying for me to truly consider.

If correct, it screwed with a great number of perception and monist theories regarding the body and mind.

Being unused to the straightforward, the clear manner of PowerPoint, severely lacking in my usual kaleidoscopic pictures and colours, left me unusually focused. With the help of the numerous arrows and tables, I also became surprisingly well informed. Of course, having been introduced to the idea (with pictures) of a mutant fly with legs coming out of its head at the beginning, I found myself dumbstruck with horror for most of the hour, to be kindly reassured at the end that this was, for some scientific reason or other, unlikely to happen to mammals.

With a vast number of students,

the lecture continued uninterrupted through the dastardly simple tactic of hiding in plain sight.

A phone went off (a pop-music beat, causing a noticeable flinch, in the style of a Mexican wave); a sandwich was digested; students scuffled past to leave early; and a distinct lack of note-taking occurred. Apparently, the provided notes are sufficient for under-

“

The desks themselves were etched with fascinating scriptures, such as “BOO”, and the phrase “Where is my mind? AT HOME IN BED”, followed by a smiley face. standing the staggering world of genetic material (the unquestionable facts of science win out).

If ever there is strength in numbers, it is at the end of a lecture. The smaller the class, the more likely it is to run over. At 10 minutes to the hour, on the dot, everyone around me packed up.

The lecturer’s final words were covered up by a storm of stampeding students, desperate for natural light and heeding the call of food. I left, glad to exit the world of genes and pure fact, desperate for some tea to soothe the ache in my brain; for how can you know if a fact is, in fact, a fact?

Interestingly to note, the word science is considered synonymous with “knowledge”. Having studied the theory of knowledge, I feel great indignation. If I am not allowed to know what knowledge actually is, I feel everyone should share in my suffering, scientists included.

Wednesday 5th December 2012

TRINITY NEWS

10

InDepth

What the Stiff Little Fingers still have to say Rachel O’Donnell explores the music, lyrics and political vision of Belfast punk rock group the Stiff Little Fingers, questioning the place their music has in Ireland today.

T Rachel O’Donnell Contributor

he Stiff Little Fingers are a Belfast-bred punk rock band who documented growing up during the Troubles through their music, but did so on their own unexpected terms. The band played a show on 17th November at the Academy to a packed house, of which I had the good fortune to be part.

To my surprise, I have not come into contact with many people who have ever heard of the Stiff Little Fingers, even those I know who listen to alternative music. At first I wondered whether this could be explained by the rest of the world’s obsession with all things Irish, in the sense that one could find a busy Irish pub while vacationing in France or how there are countless fans of Celtic music anywhere you go, but in Dublin you’re sure to find Rihanna far more popular than the Clancy Brothers. I find it was easier to come across young people who are fans of bands that the Stiff Little Fingers influenced, such as Green Day or Rancid.

The band was formed in 1977 when its lead singer, Jake Burns, was inspired to play music after attending a Clash concert in Belfast during the peak of the Troubles. The Stiff Little Fingers are often compared to another Belfast punk band, the Undertones, who have said little if anything at all concerning their experiences during this divisive period of Irish politics.

One of the unique aspects of the Stiff Little Fingers is that the band does not take an explicitly unionist or nationalist stance regarding the Troubles in Northern Ireland, in spite of the fact that audiences often expect such a stance to be taken by artists dating from that time period. Rather than allying themselves with a particular political cause, the Stiff Little Fingers lament the alienation, fear, and violence that one experienced throughout day-today life as a result of being young in Belfast during the 1970s. The band is vehemently opposed to prejudice, to boot. However, the Stiff Little Fingers’ appeal does not stop at how they grapple with one of the most somber times in Irish history.

What place does a band have, though, whose best known songs relate problems of paramilitary violence and youth, when they

have grown up and the Troubles have ended long ago? My favorite thing about the band is that they fuse a diverse range of musical genres, such as ska, dub and rock and roll. By doing this, they also make punk rock as a genre more accessible, and give what defines punk a much broader meaning.

Through playing a diverse range of musical genres, and also their hybridity, they are able to bring all different kinds of people together. The youth of today does not have the same problems that the Stiff Little Fingers did during the late 1970s, but they do feel the same pangs of alienation and lack of opportunity due to a failing economy, with emigration oftentimes being the only solution.

Since its foundation, punk as a genre has united people who would otherwise never meet, giving them a common ground. It is sort of like the Island of Misfit Toys as a musical genre. The band’s fan base reaches far beyond Ireland and, indeed, Europe.

In the United States, they are one of the best-loved punk bands with fans of all ages. It can be sort of a rite of passage in the US to move on from your Green Day CDs to the more serious Stiff Little Fingers, after your cool older brother or friend shows them to you. The band’s fan base is not limited only to Irish Americans, or even to areas of the country where there are high concentrations of Americans with Irish ancestry. Perhaps because of the energy that punk rock exudes, the Stiff Little Fingers will forever have a youthful spirit to their recordings and live performances.

Their worldwide appeal comes from not the subject matter in particular, but the youthful voice that navigates the listeners through their version of 1970s Belfast. The way in which they portray alienation and disillusion transcends age, nationality and – judging from their regular worldwide shows – apparently also language, to an extent. I think that somebody could listen to their music with having no prior knowledge of the Troubles at all, and still be able to relate to their lyrics in the sense that they explore universal themes that affects everybody at some point during their youth.

In all, I was pretty surprised

when I saw them live, since must be well into their fifties, as they sounded almost exactly as they do on their records from 35 years ago. I went with my friend Myles, who enjoyed the set as much as I did, and who is a new fan after seeing the show. They also played a two-hour set in all, only stopping for a moment in between songs, if at all. The band’s set list was a mix of new songs and old songs. My favorite part of the set was when the band dedicated their song Strummerville to Joe Strummer of the Clash, claiming that they would be nowhere without his influence.

I was surprised when the show ended, realizing that the Stiff Little Fingers had failed to play their best-known songs, which are also the songs that deal with the Troubles most explicitly. But I think the rest of the crowd felt the same disappointment, and screamed until the band came out for an encore. I could picture the audience members at their early gigs, with their studded jackets and mohawks, anticipating listening to the same songs they heard

30 years ago.

It surprised me that a room filled with middle-aged men, some of who presumably lived through the Troubles, with memories attached to physical violence and alienation, would want to relive these memories.

But then the encore came, and the band played four more songs.

First in the encore, they played my favorite song, Johnny Was, originally by Bob Marley. This was followed by Suspect Device, which ironically ends with the lyrics: “We’re gonna blow up in their face.” The band also played their songs Alternative Ulster and Gotta Getaway.

When I looked around the room at all the members of the audience who lived during the late 1970s, and they sang along to the words condemning violence and injustice, I saw that they were all smiling. Maybe they smiled because it served as a reminder that this time was over, that there was nothing more to condemn; or maybe it just brought them back to the good old days of their youth.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

11

Lost labour: Will Foley on the Labour party and the implosion of its purported le ist credentials.

InDepth

p14

Bringing The Dead to life With this year’s expiration of copyright on the works of James Joyce, an array of adaptations of his prose works have promulgated. Capping the year is a dramatic recreation in the Abbey theatre of The Dead, the short story which closes Dubliners, as Neasa O’Callaghan elucidates.

“I Neasa O’Callaghan Staff Writer

t’s a pity you didn’t meet me earlier,” he said; “I could have helped you.” The speaker was a 20-yearold James Joyce, addressing the great poet WB Yeats. Despite this precocious (and possibly apocryphal) remark on their first meeting, Yeats was an avid supporter of Joyce and encouraged him as a young writer in Dublin.

He did, however, reject Joyce’s only play, Exiles (written in 1918) for production at the Abbey theatre. This December, the Abbey will finally stage a Joycean work with their production of The Dead, the concluding and most lauded story of Dubliners (1914), in an adaptation by the playwright Frank McGuinness.

The copyright on James Joyce’s work expired last January, resulting in manifold adaptations and re-imaginings. Dubliners is often seen as the most accessible of his works and has received greater attention than others, which may account for its popularity this year. In April, Dublin City Public Libraries presented Dubliners as the choice of its One City, One Book initiative, resulting in a new published edition of the work and over 60 literary events in Dublin celebrating Joyce and that collection of short stories.

A particularly busy Bloomsday followed in June, and in September the Dublin theatre festival presented an adaptation of Dubliners by Corn Exchange as its headline production. It seems there has been a natural progression from encountering Joyce on the page to watching his stories played out on stage this year.

After Corn Exchange’s magisterial performances of nine of the short stories from Dubliners, it falls to the Abbey to conclude a year of adaptations of Joyce with their production of The Dead. As the first major treatment of the

story on an Irish stage, it is well timed to benefit from Joyce’s broadened readership throughout the year.

The concluding story of Dubliners, The Dead centres on the Misses Morkans’ New Year gathering on Usher’s Island. The story is set against the backdrop of turn-of-the century Dublin and offers a snapshot of society in the city in 1904. The story moves between the music and conversation of the soirée, and the awkward Gabriel as he frets over his after-dinner speech.

The Abbey’s decision to stage the short story (also referred to as a novella) as its Christmas production reflects the popularity of Joyce, but also challenges us to consider Joyce not only as a writer of prose, but one engaged with other performance media.

Written in 1907, three years after he left Dublin, Dubliners was Joyce’s first work published in his voluntary exile. Prof Sam Slote, an associate professor and the director of postgraduate teaching and learning in the School of English, tells me: “[The Dead] wasn’t the last of the stories he wrote but it was the last one he conceived. It came a little bit after he thought he had finished. It came at a time when he was particularly homesick for Dublin.

“So, it’s got a little bit less of the bitterness that characterises some of the other Dubliners stories – I’m not saying it doesn’t have it, but it’s balanced by nostalgia, which is called ‘Irish hospitality’ in the story.”

This sense of welcome is verbalised by Gabriel himself, who praises the Morkan sisters for their hosting of the party and the upholding of the tradition of the “Irish welcome”, a trope which Joyce subtly satirises. Characters are preoccupied with past per-

formance and we find that Julia and Mary-Jane, music teachers themselves, are called on to perform for the other members of the party.

Gabriel himself is cast in the role of speaker at dinner, and contemplates reading a poem

by Robert Browning. He worries about reading it, fearing it to be too pretentious and unsuitable for the party. His self-delivered speech is recited for an audience from whom he receives applause comparable to a performer on stage.

Joyce himself was certainly interested in drama as a medium.

Despite being predominantly recognised as a fiction writer, he dabbled in playwriting when he wrote Exiles. “Joyce conceived himself at this time as a dramatist; he saw drama as the highest form of literary art,” says Slote.

“His own dramatic output, Exiles, is perhaps underappreciated.

No one looks on it as a masterpiece, but there’s also been in the last few years a sort of looking at it afresh, and that it might be more interesting than the prevailing conventional wisdom or consensus that it’s a failed play, so there might be more to it.”

As well as Exiles, Joyce wrote dramatic criticism such as Drama and Life. Slote continues that “Joyce holds up drama as the sum of artistic endeavour. His own prose definitely has dramatic elements … So bringing his works to stage is not a bad idea.” In terms of action, the story is well constructed for stage. We find characters making many exits and entrances at the party, which provides for a constant sense of movement in a story in which little happens but much is suggested.

Most notably, as Slote points out, “the story is self contained; the setting is fairly minimal and

could be adapted fairly easily. You don’t have to have people walking around Dublin; basically, you are looking at two sets.”

As well as for his love of dramatic works and performance, Joyce was known as a competent singer, to such a degree that his wife Nora wished he would have “stuck with the singing”. In his youth, Joyce came second in the all-Ireland Feis Ceoil, losing out only to the legendary tenor John McCormack. Throughout his opus, we find frequent references to song connecting the past and present and enhancing the psychological subtexts of the characters.

One of the crucial scenes in the story revolves around Gretta listening to music and the response it engenders within her and from her husband. Slote highlights this section as an interesting engagement with the idea of transposition across the genres.

“Just as Gretta and Gabriel are leaving and she’s at the top of the stairs and she hears a bit of music which reminds her of Michael Furey, Gabriel sees her,” he says.

He highlights the language used in the text itself: “He asked himself what is a woman standing on the stairs in the shadow, listening to distant music, a symbol of. If he were a painter he would paint her in that attitude … Distant Music he would call the picture …”

“So,” Slote continues, “she is listening to music and he is looking at her … he thinks this is a symbol of something and he’s inspired by this to paint a picture. So there is this kind of movement across different media, from music to image to symbol to painting. And all the while he is missing the essential point. He is not interested in her as an individual, but as a symbol.

“So we have the idea of trans-

“

In terms of action, the story is well constructed for stage. We find characters making many exits and entrances at the party, which provides for a constant sense of movement in a story in which little happens but much is suggested.

position and translation across media, which is also kind of interesting when you have to configure The Dead, as you need to reconfigure any literary text to dramatic form. You lose certain things but gain others.” Dramatisation will provide a different experience of this crucial scene for an audience member, by being able to hear the song The Lass of Aughrim and observe Gretta’s physical response to the music.

Joe Dowling, a former artistic director of the Abbey and now based at the Guthrie theatre in America, returns as director for this show and his casting has resonances of previous adaptations of Joyce. Abbey veteran, Derbhle Crotty will play Gretta Conroy; audiences may remember her from Corn Exchange’s production of Dubliners.

Also involved is Conor Linehan, composer and musical director, who also worked on Corn Exchange’s production. With Ben Delaney, Conor won the 2010 Irish Times Theatre Award for best sound design for The Last Days of a Reluctant Tyrant, as well as being nominated in the judges’ special award category “for setting the standard for original composition in theatre”.

Ingrid Craigie will play the role of Kate Morgan at the Abbey, one of the elderly aunts of Gabriel Conroy; she previously starred in possibly the most famous cinematic adaptation of Joyce, John Huston’s 1987 film The Dead. In the film, Craigie played the role of Mary Jane, niece of Kate and Julia Morgan.

James Joyce’s The Dead, which concludes the Abbey’s Great Irish Writers season, runs from 5th December to 19th January. Student tickets start at ¤13.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

Comment

Callum Jenkins looks at the worrying role that the internet and social media have developed in directing political scandal.

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Protestors calling for legislation on the X case outside Leinster House. Photo: George Voronov

Government parties, past and present, are still blocking legislation on abortion Clare Daly, the United Le Alliance TD for Dublin North, tabled a bill on 29th November calling for X case legislation; it was defeated by 101 votes to 27. Termination of pregnancy must, she writes, nevertheless be provided for in the event of a risk to the life of a pregnant woman.

Clare Daly

S

Guest Contributor

ome deputies called our bill scurrilous, and said that they were disappointed when we re-tabled it.

It is in fact absolutely scurrilous that we had to re-table it. Much of what the government has said could be summed up as excuses.

When we tabled the motion in April of this year, the government told us we would have to wait for the report of the expert group. In April, Savita Halappanavar was not yet pregnant, but now she is tragically dead.

Now we are told that the government needs time to read the report, when we know that the whole country read the leaked version in the Sunday papers. The report is a 58-page document, which in fact calls for legislation; it is not overly complicated at this stage, when everyone is well aware of the issues. This was the outcome of all the other previous expert groups, and that is the reality.

As the minister for justice and equality, Alan Shatter, said dur-

ing the debate, a woman has had a legal right – he called it clear and unambiguous – to have an abortion where her life is in danger including a risk from suicide.

Women have had that right for 20 years; yet, during this time, women have not been able to exercise that right because of the successive failures of governments to legislate for it.

Members of Fianna Fáil and the Labour party lectured us about being divisive, and that we need to get 83 votes to get this through.

If those two parties had supported us, for a start, we would have been well on the way to getting the 83 votes we needed. What is their point? What are they hiding behind?

The government pleaded with us to withdraw it, also saying we were being divisive. We are not.

We offered our bill to the house to make it the collective property of all of us, and to send a signal to women, the Irish people and the people of Europe that, as a parlia-

ment, we will begin to take action on a matter we have ignored for too long.

There has been a huge amount of talk in the place of action. The government is out of touch with people in society. What we have seen over the course of the last few weeks is an outpouring of emotion, with ordinary citizens demanding we take action because they are sick of us talking about it.

I received one email from a woman who described herself as a mother and a daughter, a woman who has been through a life-threatening pregnancy that resulted in an abortion. She told me she protested for the first time since she was in college, as she never felt so moved to stand up and be counted in her life.

Irish people have evidently moved on with regard to this issue. What recent events show is that the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment to the constitution needs to be stepped up

“

Members of Fianna Fáil and the Labour party lectured us about being divisive, and that we need to get 83 votes to get this through. If those two parties had supported us, for a start, we would have been well on the way to getting the 83 votes we needed.

a gear. But it is not about just removing the eighth amendment, it is about providing legislation for free, safe and legal abortion in Ireland.

That is not walk-in, walk-out abortion. What an insult to women and their doctors to describe in such a way all the many and difficult reasons that women face when choosing whether to have an abortion. Many of these reasons are complicated; all are valid.

Against the backdrop of increased austerity, our delay on this matter will jeopardise more lives. People will not have the money for the boat or the plane to go to England and will be forced to resort to emergency medication.

Shatter said during the debate that, even if this legislation is passed or the government comes up with legislation in six months’ time, we will still have one of the most restrictive abortion regimes in the world. We will still not be dealing with the thousands of women who leave this country year in, year out for an abortion. We will not be providing for those who become impregnated because of rape or incest, or for women with fatal foetal abnormalities. This is an indefensible cruelty.

However, the minister in his reply to this bill put his hands up in the air, stating this is a not a matter for government. If it is not, then for whom is it a matter?

The minister with responsibility for equality said women are not equal, as they have a limited right to health and bodily integrity.

That is not enough in a modern civilised society.

People in every corner of this country will not tolerate women being treated in this way. The reason we are treated in this way is because of this clause in the constitution, which restricts our right to health.

The bill we put forward would have provided a first and necessary step to deal with this longoverdue issue. We are not bringing abortion into Ireland. Irish abortion already exists for thousands of women every year.

What we are asking for is an end to the hypocrisy, and to allow people to treat this private and personal matter as one of personal choice between women and their doctors. We, along with all the people who have been in contact with us over the past several weeks, will not rest until the government starts to deal with these issues.

Of course, we will table another bill to legislate for the X case.

The last time we tabled a bill we said we would keep the pressure on until legislation was passed.

We need to send a signal to our citizens and future generations, as well as to the eyes of the world looking in on us, that we are at last beginning with some seriousness to address this long overdue issue.

this results in the loss of the baby. It is humane and harmonious with the very best of human rights.

As a person who believes in human rights and who has sought to defend them in relation to such diverse groups as Travellers, disabled people and victims of colo-

nial aggression, I feel that unborn children should not be cast out of society. The best direction for social policy in the future is towards the most effective, practical and caring support for mothers, rather than to drive a wedge between them and their unborn children.

The human rights argument against abortion

I William Binchy Guest Contributor

Applying the same principles of what defines humanity as were historically applicable to those persecuted by the powerful, William Binchy, the former regius professor of laws and a legal adviser to the Pro Life Campaign, makes the case for the unborn.

actively supported the eighth amendment when it was proposed over 30 years ago, and I believe that it expresses well the best human-rights approach. The central insight of human rights is that all human beings have equal inherent worth and dignity. Our rights are not the gift or choice of others. Our rights are entitled to respect, even when we are weak and defenceless.

Sadly, most societies throughout history have found it difficult to accept these simple principles.

At various times it has seemed obvious, even to the most intelligent and sensitive people, that some human beings have less rights and are less valuable than others.

Sometimes this blindness to the full humanity of every human being has been associated with military, economic or physical power.

One thinks immediately of the attempts by colonial masters to deny the full humanity of those they subjugated. The workhouses of the 19th century and the orphanages of the 20th century are indictments of our blindness.

The failure to see the full humanity of another human being has not always been associated with a malign and wilful abuse of power. The denial of human rights to disabled people over the years has of course involved serious abuse in certain instances,

but it is also attributable to a lack of vision and incapacity to imagine and embrace diversity. The treatment of women and of children historically has been similarly corrupted by an inability to recognise humanity even where the human being is there for all to see.

Unborn children are human beings, with their distinctive individuality from the beginning.

Though in their mother’s body and dependent on their mother for the continuity of their life, they are not part of her body, having their own genetic code and blood group. They are very small and immature, lacking many aspects that mark human experience later in life’s journey, but they are no less human on that account.

It is possible to subscribe to a normative system that distinguishes between human beings on the basis of such factors as size, immaturity, intellectual power, physical strength and dependency on others. We no longer do that in relation to people with disabilities, children or aged and ill parents, caring for whom can be a nightmare for their children, who often have to shoulder a range of other responsibilities, including those to their own children.

Mothers of unborn children can have huge burdens. At an ab-

solute minimum, they have the major discomfort and limitations of the long months of pregnancy followed by the serious pain of childbirth. The pressures in many cases can be far greater. What is the most humane way for society to act?

One way would be to let mothers decide the fate of their child: to choose whether to let her or his life continue or to terminate the child’s life. That option, although widely conferred by law internationally today, is an awesome one. It takes away a human being’s right to life, and is inconsistent with the equal worth and dignity of every human being.

To propose such an entitlement in relation to a child a week after birth is, I believe, an argument that would not be put forward today.

If we propose that society should embrace the right a week or two previously, we have to be frank about the value system to which we are subscribing: a radical inequality of rights, acceptance of the entitlement to take the life of an innocent human being and the removal of society’s protection from one who is completely defenceless.

The eighth amendment recognises mothers’ full entitlement to receive all necessary treatment during pregnancy, even where

“

The central insight of human rights is that all human beings have equal inherent worth and dignity. Our rights are not the gift or choice of others. Our rights are entitled to respect, even when we are weak and defenceless.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

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Manus Lenihan calls out the CSC for its bureaucratic approach in dealing with student society affairs.

Comment

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Budgetary winners and losers: it’s all about choices The government has more power and responisibility than it would care to admit.

Tom McDonnell, a policy analyst and economist with the Think tank for Action on Social Change (Tasc), outlines the options before the cabinet.

M Tom McDonnell Guest Contributor

ichael Noonan will end all the budgetary speculation today when he stands up and announces ¤3.5bn in combined tax increases and public spending cuts. Although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has finally admitted that it, along with most other international agencies, has been systematically underestimating the damage austerity was doing to employment and growth in Europe, the European Central Bank-IMF-European commission troika’s prescription for Ireland remains exactly the same.

We may well be four years into the economic crisis, but we still face three more tough budgets and a minimum of ¤8.6bn in new austerity measures. Ireland’s huge fiscal deficits mean that it is not going to get any easier in terms of budgetary policy over the next few years and a lot of the government’s pre-election promises are going to be broken.

Yet the troika does not care how we make our budgetary adjustments. Its only concern is that the total adjustment for 2013 credibly adds up to €3.5bn. The actual choices will be made by the

cabinet and by the cohort of senior civil servants that advise cabinet members. They are the ones that will decide the winners and losers on budget day. Last year the losers were easy to identify.

According to the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) analysis of the 2012 budget, the most vulnerable income groups in society were the hardest hit. The biggest revenue raising measure in the budget was a 2% increase in the higher rate of VAT. Consumption taxes, as any first year economics student will know, are the most regressive of taxes and impact disproportionately on the poor.

On the spending side of the balance sheet there were numerous cuts in secondary benefits and changes in eligibility. Cumulatively the effects of all these changes led to a major cut in income for many people and in particular for vulnerable groups such as lone parents.

According to income data for Ireland collected in the EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions, even before the budget, lone-parent households already

experienced by far the highest rate of deprivation of any family type in Ireland. Overall, last year’s budget was the most regressive since the beginning of the economic crisis.

Capital spending was disproportionately targeted towards cuts. Although it is politically the easiest area of spending to cut, doing so is completely contrary to economic best practice. The cuts to the capital budget will have negative implications for the economy’s productive capacity in the future, and therefore for Ireland’s future growth potential.

This is an example of government policy actually exacerbating the crisis. Budget 2012 was therefore both highly regressive and bad economics. These were domestic political choices; we cannot blame the troika for these decisions.

So what would Tasc advise the government to do for the 2013 budget? When determining budgetary choices we must consider short-term growth and long-term development. We must also consider sustainability concerns, as well as principles of social justice.

According to Eurostat, Ireland remains a low-tax country, and a middle of the road country when it comes to public spending. Yet if we want to achieve Europeanquality public services and levels of spending in areas such as education, health and social protection, then we will have to pay for that spending.

Western European levels of public services and public spending require western European levels of taxes and charges. But that does not mean that raising all taxes across the board is a good idea. Certain taxes are highly damaging to growth. For example, increasing taxes on lowwage workers would be damaging to employment creation. So, what taxes are the least harmful to the economy?

The body of evidence is that recurrent taxes on immovable property (in other words, taxes on houses and land) are the least damaging to employment and growth, and provided they are properly designed to reflect the underlying value of the property they can also be highly equitable.

Recurrent taxes are also highly

stable over the economic cycle, unlike transaction-based property taxes such as stamp duty.

There are arguments that Ireland’s high levels of household debt make it the wrong time to introduce taxes on property. Despite these concerns, Tasc does not favour waivers for different groups.

Instead, Tasc’s proposed property-tax model incorporates a system of deferrals based on the property owner’s “ability to pay”.

The deferral system would protect the most vulnerable in society, including those in mortgage difficulty, as well as those that might be asset-rich but on low incomes such as the elderly. However, the state would still obtain the revenues from the property tax in the long-run, because payment would only be deferred until sale or transfer of the property.

There are other examples of changes to the tax system that would be both growth- and jobsfriendly while also being highly progressive. For example, the ESRI has estimated that fully 80% of pension-tax reliefs go to the richest 20%. Standard rating

Budget 2013 needs to mark a new direction Not only is austerity inequitable, it is also uneconomic. Rory Hearne, a project co-ordinator at Barnardos Ireland and former president of the Students’ Union, maps a more progressive path.

T Rory Hearne Guest Contributor

he people of Ireland are soon going to experience the fifth austerity budget in a row. The impacts of these austerity budgets have been devastating on the young, old, families and communities, resulting in rising food poverty, deprivation, unemployment, emigration and mortgage arrears.

Many eminent international economists argued at the start of the crisis that austerity would not work and, unfortunately, they have proven to be correct. The economic and social evidence in Ireland shows that austerity not only is not working, it is selfdefeating in a recession like our current one and making things worse.

Part of the challenge for community and voluntary groups and services, trade unions, civil society and social-justice organisations has been the difficulty in developing and articulating an alternative, credible framework that we believe would work economically and socially.

The pre-budget submissions of various groups demonstrates that we have reached a point where there is consensus around a broad set of alternatives that we believe can get Ireland out of this crisis, without sacrificing our social infrastructure, our youth to emigration and more families into poverty.

We have outlined a broad plan-

B economic framework based on a menu of raising revenue from wealth and higher incomes and thus maintaining spending on essential public and community services and welfare, and a jobs stimulus investment to create much needed employment. Our analysis shows that the government, could, if it made the choice, avoid cutting spending on essential public and community/voluntary services and welfare in the upcoming budget.

For example, we have identified, from pre-budget submissions from social justice groups, economic think tanks and trade unions a total of ¤6.9bn which could potentially be raised from various forms of taxation on wealth and corporations and removing reliefs that benefit higher income earners.

This is almost double the ¤3.5bn the government is proposing to raise taxes and cut spending in the budget. Some of the options identified to raise revenue from wealth and higher incomes include: up to ¤660m from taxing wealth (wealth tax plus raising capital gains and capital acquisitions tax); up to ¤1bn from raising income taxes (such as an increase of 1.5% on the effective tax rate of the top 20% of tax cases ) and extending the universal social charge of 3% to incomes in excess of ¤100,000; up to ¤557m from

abolishing tax reliefs on property; and up to ¤1.4bn from abolishing and standardising various pension reliefs.

The analysis of the pre-budget proposals reveals that all the organisations are calling for a different ratio of spending cuts to revenue raising than the government is proposing. The organisations call for increased emphasis on revenue raising focused on higher-income earners and wealth. The organisations also call for a stimulus investment in infrastructure ranging from ¤1bn to ¤3bn. ¤1bn of investment would have the potential to create 10,000 jobs.

We are calling on the government, therefore, to focus the adjustment in the budget on taxing wealth and higher incomes. The current approach is deeply unfair as it is hardest on those on middle and lower incomes. Too many are already suffering. The current austerity programme is also destroying our social infrastructure – health, education, welfare, transport, social care, community, youth and voluntary services – the social and economic fabric of our nation.

The reality is that the government can decide on what balance of expenditure cuts and tax it implements, along with what areas this takes place in. The troika is primarily concerned with the def-

icit reduction and not the specific policy choices that achieve that.

We are in a vicious downward spiral that requires an alternative policy approach.

These alternative budget proposals will be more equal and support domestic demand, central to getting us out of the recession, by protecting low and middle income earners and communities.

Social investment will save social costs and create a more sustainable future. Last year’s budget hit the lowest sections of our society the hardest. This coming budget must do the opposite.

The reality is that the “bravest” and “most difficult” decisions to take are not to push through another budget that hits the lowest sections the hardest, but in fact to hit the wealthy and higher incomes who can take the burden.

This is because our society operates on the basis of those in privileged positions of power, who are all highly paid, identifying with others similar to them (that is, those with higher incomes and the wealthy) and believing that those who are poor or lower paid deserve their circumstances.

It is based on the neoliberal or right-wing perspective that if you are well paid or have wealth you have it because you deserve it as you worked hard to get there.

This completely ignores the structural inequalities in our sys-

“

Social investment will save social costs and create a more sustainable future. Last year’s budget hit the lowest sections of our society the hardest. This coming budget must do the opposite.

pension-tax reliefs would bring in over ¤500m for the exchequer.

Cutting social transfers for the most vulnerable, while retaining our deeply inefficient and inequitable system of pension-tax breaks for the better-off, is unsupportable on either economic or social justice grounds.

There are other areas of privilege that must also be tackled.

Tax exemptions for lump-sum pension payments disproportionately benefit the better-off. At a very minimum, the lump-sum tax exemptions should be restricted to the level of the average industrial wage. Unearned and passive income such as rental income should also be targeted in the budget.

Responsibility for budgetary choices rests with our government alone. Unfortunately there is still no commitment from government either to equality-proof, or to equality-audit, their budgetary measures. The government can choose to place the burden of the adjustment on the most vulnerable in society, as they did last year, or they can place the burden on those best able to pay.

It is their choice. We will find out their choices today.

tem that means that those from disadvantaged backgrounds. For example, those in the Dolphin House community where I work are much less likely to go to thirdlevel than those from higher income backgrounds or children of professionals.

The latest Central Statistics Office figures show that only 5% of children in Dolphin House go on to third level. This is because of poverty, intergenerational poverty and unemployment, school dropout, drugs issues and so on, multiple aspects of disadvantage that layer barrier upon barrier in front of the child from Dolphin House in terms of their prospects of attending third-level.

Inequality matters because, as Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett show in their seminal work The Spirit Level, more unequal societies do worse on all measures of living standards than more equal societies: crime is worse, health of the whole population, education levels are all worse for everybody.

It is time that Irish people, and particularly students and young people, got engaged with what is going on in our society and raised their voice, not just for themselves, but about the society we are creating – or destroying – as we go through this crisis.

It is not good enough just to say it is all just too depressing or there is nothing you can do. Raising your voice and taking action, be it writing letters to TDs, signing a petition, joining a protest or working for a charity, all have an influence. Indeed, such action is the only thing that will change and transform society to a more equal, sustainable one.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

Comment

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Lola Boorman on the merger of Penguin and Random House, and how printed works can survive the ebook age.

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Labour: what’s left?

Rehabilitating leaders, reforming the party; these are just recycled gestures geared towards retaining support for the shadow of the political movement of the workers. Will Foley sets them to rights.

O Will Foley Contributor

ne hundred years ago this year, the revolutionary socialist James Connolly proposed at the national conference of the Irish Trade Union Congress in Clonmel that a political party be set up to represent the workers in the soon-tobe-established home rule parliament. The motion was seconded

by Jim Larkin and passed by a wide margin.

Thus was founded the Labour party, on the clear principle of being a revolutionary socialist organisation which would be the political wing of the workers “of the brain or of the hand”, as Connolly put it. Two years later, the national conference passed a resolution that “labour unrest can only be ended by the abolition of the capitalist system of wealth production with its inherent injustice and poverty”.

Today, in the year of its centenary, Labour’s red flag has lost its vibrant hue and the rhetoric of its leaders seems a thousandfold diluted compared to Connolly’s limpid denunciations of capitalism. The party has followed the well-rutted path from revolution to reform. This rightward trajectory is key to understanding the Labour party of today.

It is the same trajectory followed by the mass social-democratic parties of Europe over the course of the last century. The reason for this shift to the right is straightforward: the substituting by the parties of a reformist approach for a revolutionary one.

The intellectual justification for this sell-out (for that is what it was) was provided by intellectuals such as Bernstein and, later, Crosland, but the motivation of the social-democratic leaders was more practical than theoretical.

A revolution is a bloody difficult thing to accomplish. Most end with the physical destruction of the revolutionary organisation.

Winning parliamentary power and implementing reforms from above is always a more tempting proposition when it involves keeping your head.

Water follows the path of least resistance, and the ambitious leaders of the social-democratic parties soon discovered that the sacrifice of a few “abstract” ideals was well worth a taste of political power. But in doing so they implicitly accepted the logic of capitalism and expressed a commitment to maintaining the class system.

As the German Marxist Rosa Luxemburg put it: “The entry of a socialist into a bourgeois [capitalist] government is not, as is thought, a partial conquest of the bourgeois state by the socialists, but a partial conquest of the socialist party by the bourgeois state.” Indeed, the circumstances of Luxemburg’s death proved the truthfulness of her formula: she

was murdered in the aftermath of a failed uprising by paramilitaries under orders from the ruling social democrats.

Having accepted the logic of capitalism, the mass workers’ parties steadily “bourgeoisified”. The parties became, increasingly, led by ambitious college graduates and militancy of the rank and file ossified into passive support.

By the turn of the century, what had been the mass parties of the workers jettisoned even formal aspirations to socialism, compensating with a new focus on “liberal policies”. This turn was epitomised by Tony Blair’s abolition of clause IV of the UK Labour party constitution which had entailed securing “the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service”.

Like its European sister parties, the Irish Labour party has abandoned even the pretence of being a socialist party. It no longer openly declares itself to be the political wing of the trade unions or the representatives of “workers by hand or by brain”. Currently, it is in coalition government with a party whose foremost founding member was literally a fascist, implementing a vicious austerity programme almost identical – with the exception of some yetto-be-broken promises – to that implemented by Fianna Fáil before it. This is a new low, even for Labour.

The policies that they have implemented in government have hammered the living standards of the workers, the unemployed and the poor. 435,000 people remain jobless, a figure which would have reached 500,000 if the “safety valve” of emigration had not already spat out 87,100 people in the last year.

According to Social Justice Ireland, 700,000 people now live below the poverty line. One in 10 now experience food poverty, while the Irish League of Credit Unions reports that 40% of households are now borrowing to pay bills. Furthermore, the Economic and Social Research Institute report that the bottom 40% has been hardest hit by austerity so far, belying Labour’s (pathetic) claim that they have “softened” the blow of austerity. With billions of euros worth of cuts and taxes in the pipeline for 2013 alone, this savage attack is set to continue.

Having done their best to hammer their political base, Labour, according to internal polling revealed in the Phoenix, seems to have accepted that large swathes of their vote will transfer from them since there is now nothing but the most microscopic of spaces between Labour and the other

Photo: Indymedia right-wing parties on economic issues. Labour’s new tactic is to emphasise its liberal position on “social issues”.

However, even in this case, Labour has failed pathetically. The emptiness of Gilmore’s rhetoric on same-sex marriage is illustrated by the total lack of legislation in the pipeline. Meanwhile, despite his speech to the UN on the right of Palestinians to self-determination, he made no comment in his capacity as minister for foreign affairs and trade on the latest round of favourable EU trade deals signed with the Israeli government in January. Even Ruairi Quinn’s secular crusade against the Catholic church in education has made little or no progress.

Not content with outplaying Labour in budgetary negotiations, Kenny and his handlers have repeatedly beaten Gilmore in his own backyard. It was Kenny who took full advantage of the anti-clerical mood last year with his thundering denunciation of the Vatican, thereby stealing the limelight from his (supposedly) more secular junior colleague.

Even in the area of Gilmore’s own portfolio, Kenny has overshadowed Gilmore, receiving plaudit after plaudit from the sycophantic mainstream media for his endless bouts of fruitless talks with European leaders.

Meanwhile, the same hacks who

lavish praise upon Kenny continue to hypocritically snigger about Gilmore’s ridiculous pronouncement that it was to be “Labour’s way or Frankfurt’s way”.

In fact, the only significantly “liberal” legislation in the pipeline relates to the X case (which Labour failed to introduce during their previous spell in government in the 1990s). But the much-delayed action on this is a result not of Labour party pressure from inside government but a huge movement from below, ignited by the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway.

In regard to social and economic issues, it has never been so clear that Ireland is in need of a mass socialist alternative. What Ireland faces is a structural crisis of capitalism. The root cause of this crisis is not Ireland’s budget deficit, but a critical lack of investment on behalf of the capitalist class. Gross capital fixed investment has fallen by almost 70% in nominal terms. In fact, the total decline in investment, at ¤32bn since 2007, exceeds the collapse in GDP of ¤30bn over the same period.

The only way to solve this fundamental problem is to hike the rates of income tax on high earners and impose a substantial emergency wealth tax and invest this money to create jobs. Contrary to received wisdom (received,

that is, from government politicians and their media lackeys), there is an enormous sum of accumulated wealth still in the Irish economy. The top 5% of people in terms of wealth have a net worth of ¤178.56bn, and the top 5% earners have post-tax earnings of nearly ¤13bn per annum.

Ultimately, this kind of radical action would entail imposing capital controls to stop the resulting flight of capital and a huge face-off with the capitalist class.

This is exactly the kind of radical change that Labour have proved time and time again that they are incapable of carrying out.

Of course, there will always be a dissenting “left” faction within the party seeking to push Labour towards such radical politics. The current left grouping is the Campaign for Labour Policies. The Labour leadership has a standard procedure for dealing with such factions.

They will be tolerated during the lifetime of the government as they provide an (impotent) outlet for disillusioned grassroots and a political Siberia to which “backbench rebels” are exiled. When Labour is removed from office, the party leadership will smash the faction by rehabilitating the leaders, who return to the fold with “authentic” left-wing credentials, leaving the grassroots without a channel to voice their

dissent. If enough powerful dissenters remain, then they will be expelled, like the Militant tendency was in the late 1980s.

Indeed, it is highly significant that every senior figure in the Labour party is a former “leftist”, from ex-stickies such as Gilmore and Pat Rabbitte, to former luminaries of Labour Left, such as Joan Burton and Michael D Higgins. The fact that the man responsible for disciplining dissenting voices within the parliamentary Labour party, the party’s chief whip, Emmett Stagg, is himself a former prominent member of Labour Left illustrates this point perfectly.

Leon Trotsky, in the preface to his History of the Russian Revolution, used the metaphor of the steam-driven piston to represent the revolutionary party and the willingness of masses to struggle.

In Ireland, there is currently no piston to channel and direct the struggle. Labour may once have been that instrument, but, if so, they have permanently rusted out of shape.

It is vital that they are replaced by a genuine radical, mass-based left-wing force, and the first step towards realising this goal is to dispel all illusions in Labour and consign them to the scrapheap of history, the final destination of all such rusty parts.

cial delegate conference on going into government and at the conference in Galway.

But in the end, if the membership is determined to reassert its role in driving party policy, it can. There are also signs of growing frustration among members about the course of the government and the way in which they are being ignored. The Labour party conference in Galway in April mostly received coverage for the protests outside the conference and the violent garda reaction to it. But inside the conference centre at the very same time there was also outrage being expressed.

Attempts by the leadership to prevent votes against austerity

and privatisation were greeted by disruption from the floor which, following extensive effort, did force a vote against privatisation of semi-state assets to be held and passed. By itself this is a very puny step, and the motion itself was ignored by the party leadership, but it shows that members are angry at current government policy and have the potential and desire to assert true Labour values.

It is because of the hope which we still have in the Labour party that a group of us founded the Campaign for Labour Policies several months ago. Its launch in September was attended by 100 party members of all ages from across the country.

The inaugural meeting was full

of outpourings of anger and frustration at current government policy and expressions of determination to reclaim the party for the values which we believe it should represent. Since then we have issued statements and organised campaigns around antiausterity budget possibilities, the resignation of Róisín Shortall and X-case legislation.

We are not naive enough to believe that we are suddenly going to change government policy. Labour ended up supporting such right-wing policies not by accident but because of deeply embedded structural issues. To begin with, there is a traditional loyalty which many members feel to the party hierarchy which can

be hard to overcome.

What is more, there is a general crisis of confidence in the ideology of western centre-left parties, of which Irish Labour’s drift to the right is a symptom and which needs to be dealt with.

Labour too, in its desire to be a mainstream party, seems to suffer from an excess need to apologise for, and accept, establishment consensus. All these issues need to be overcome and dealt with and are difficult.

But we do believe that there is a basically progressive core to Labour that is worth fighting for; that its left-wing values can be resuscitated and brought to bear in party policy and behaviour on a national level.

Fight for Labour’s progressive core

T Neil Warner Staff Writer

The powers that be in the Labour party may have allowed it to drift from its principles, but, says Neil Warner from the Campaign for Labour Policies, through its membership the party has the power to become a progressive force.

here is much more to a political party than the government policies which its leadership supports at a particular moment in time.

This is particularly the case for the Irish Labour party right now.

The failures and misjudgements of a small group of political leaders and advisers at a particular moment in time should not dictate the ideological essence of a movement with hundreds of activists, thousands of supporters, 100 years of history and an official identification with the international cause of democratic socialism.

Being a member of the Labour party for most people involves a very deliberate decision to sign up to a political organisation which is not to going be very successful in the medium term with regard to gaining access to real political power. This means that most members of Labour are there because they identify themselves with a particular set of values that they see as distinct from those of Ireland’s current right-wing establishment, for all that the party leadership may be colluding with that establishment at the present time.

In my experience the vast majority of members of the Labour party are there because they genuinely believe in the notion of social justice and in building a more equal society in Ireland.

The fact that supporters of the Labour party more widely do not identify with the policies of the current government is further reinforced by a recent poll which showed that 86% of them are dissatisfied with it.

Other left-wing people absolutely have a strong case to make in disagreeing with us continuing to support Labour from a strategic perspective, or saying that we are wasting our time when the leadership of our party is not sticking

to the same principles. They may argue that many members are in denial about how right-wing the current government is and on that they may have a point.

But to begin with it should be recognised that, at least in the self-identification of its membership and supporters and in the principles which we believe it represents, Labour is still a leftwing party.

It is also a party which still has the capacity to become left-wing again in the policies which it promotes on a national level. There are several reasons to believe this.

Firstly, I believe that in the longterm a party cannot fully escape from the terms by which it defines itself.

The symbols which Labour uses, its constitutional definition as a socialist party, the historical references it makes to Connolly and Larkin and the Dublin lockout, its links with the unions – all these rightly seem like nothing more than shameless hypocrisies when the party supports policies such as those of the current government. But, ultimately, as long as a party sees itself in that image it will be to some extent haunted by it if it does not fulfil it.

More importantly, the Labour party is still in some sense a democratic party and I believe that the core of its membership still subscribes to leftist principles. It is true that the party’s internal democracy has been heavily manipulated in recent years to reduce the role of the membership.

Constitutional reforms, forced through a few years ago at the height of Eamon Gilmore’s national popularity, significantly reduced the oversight which electoral institutions hold over the leadership. What is more, countless tricks are used to manipulate votes in the party hierarchy’s favour, as was done both at the spe-

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John Porter on the unintended consequences that might arise from decriminalisation of drugs.

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What the CSC stands for With the CSC having fallen into controversy over Duges and Sci Fi Soc, Manus Lenihan believes serious questions must be answered.

A Manus Lenihan Comment Editor

fter I heard about the Central Societies Committee (CSC) banning the DU Gender Equality Society (Duges) from campaigning on abortion, I had a bad feeling of deja vu and thought I would share my own CSC story. This is intended not just to plead the case of the lately derecognised DU Socialist Party Society, but also to throw more light onto the nature of the CSC. We have learned that a petition signed by 20 members of the CSC has succeeded in summoning an extraordinary general meeting.

I know no more about this, but I will say that it proves the CSC is not a monolithic body; it has its internal disagreements and diversities. The criticisms in this article are of tendencies I see as dominant within it, not of the whole CSC and all its members.

Around May 2012, the CSC first started giving our society trouble, justifiably. We had been a very active society, but when it came to accounts, constitutions and membership lists we were very flaky and informal. So as Michaelmas term 2012 began, we cooperated with the CSC fully: we rewrote our constitution and started collecting 200 signatures on a petition to re-establish the society.

We had a successful Freshers’ Week and recruited a lot of new members, even though we had to set up our stall out on College Green, and soon after that we had our 200 signatures. A lot of people liked our ideas, while many did not agree with us but saw that there was a need for a party with a national profile – with members and sympathisers in College and a record of activity – to have a society. When we had done this I was summoned to a CSC executive committee meeting to plead the society’s case. I expected this to be just a formality.

I sat on a squeaky chair at the end of a long table with 10 or 15 faces looking down at me. A few of the members of the committee greeted me and were attentive and polite when I spoke. The majority were silent and still, while a minority seemed hostile. I made my case, and then was questioned on points I had already addressed.

They asked me how the society was viable when we had never grown to 50 members. I could scour the lists for the last two years and present over 50 names, but like most societies I would be lying if I said we had 50 active members. When I was asked how many members we could recruit this year, I said a few dozen at the very least, no problem. A cold silence descended for a moment. Wrong answer. I realized I

was supposed to chant the magic number 50 rather than tell a perfectly reasonable truth.

I do not know the names of people on the committee so I cannot point my finger, but there was one member who acted like we were on Dragon’s Den, and like he was the most contemptuous judge that ever sat on the panel.

He said there was no need for me to go into the differences between the Socialist party and the Socialist Workers’ party (SWP), but that I had to justify why the two societies remain separate. I would love to see this logic applied to feenas Gael and Fáil, but it is something people often ask about and which I have no problem addressing; the thing is, in that CSC meeting I was being asked to explain the differences between the two parties without going into … the differences between the two parties.

He also said there simply was not sufficient interest in socialism on campus to justify the existence of the society. The society has always connected to a small but significant and growing layer of students, radicalised by the economic crisis, and my experience of talking to countless people in Freshers’ Week had convinced me more than ever that he was wrong. I explained this to him.

I left the meeting a bit shellshocked and somewhat amused.

Still, though, on balance I felt I had addressed their questions and the society would soon be back on its feet. An email I received that evening told me the CSC had voted not to recognise the society. The CSC’s dealings with Duges, the Sci Fi Society and the Gamers Society, coming on top of that, have raised a few serious questions in my mind.

First, since when is a student society not viable just because it does not have 50 members? It is wrong to root out minority opinions just because they are minority opinions. In any case, we have found that there is a significant basis in College for us and we do our best to connect with it. What more should be asked of us?

Secondly, I am not going to join the SWP, or ask anyone else to do so, just because a few people on the CSC executive do not understand the differences between my party and theirs and cannot be bothered finding out. I am sure the SWP feels the same way. But this is the key issue: when I was told there was no interest in socialism in Trinity, it was not just a statement that flew in the face of what I had just said from my own experience, it was also a political judgement based on ignorance

and false assumptions.

Because some individuals on the CSC and their social circles are opposed to our ideas, they assumed there was negligible support for them in College. With great arrogance, they took no account of the 200 signatures we had collected and seem to have assumed that what I was telling them was a pack of lies.

Derecognising us was an act of censorship based not on conscious malice, but on wilful ignorance. I do not want to be melodramatic – it is not nearly as bad as banning Duges from campaigning on abortion – but clearly what happened on a small scale yesterday is happening on a large scale today.

Sci Fi and Gamers both complain that the room in Goldsmith Hall cannot accommodate them both; but the CSC insists that, yes, it can. I have seen myself the air of statesman-like gravitas some CSC members put on, so I am willing to bet that most of them do not know a whole lot about science fiction or gaming.

This in itself is perfectly alright, but I suspect that this ignorance and lack of interest informed their judgement that a large, popular and very active society was not making the best use of that room in House Six. I am sure it also informed their opinion that they know better than Sci Fi and Gamers themselves what is

good for them.

Likewise, the level of interest and knowledge of the CSC toward socialist ideas determined their decision. The difference is that socialism is for us not a pleasant hobby but a concrete necessity if we want to end the systemic exploitation and oppression of the working class, the crisis of the world economy and the destruction of the environment.

Of course, most CSC members might not see things this way, but the CSC’s job is to preside over an extremely wide range of interests, hobbies and beliefs. It is impossible to do this job without some sensitivity and respect.

It seems to me, however, that the CSC passed arbitrary judgements on us and on Sci Fi based on their own ignorance rather than on what society members were trying to tell them.

Lastly, these are student societies we are talking about, not government departments or banks.

There really was no need for some in the CSC to create the atmosphere of a tribunal of inquiry when I went in to answer their questions. They were not judges, and I was not some con artist in the dock; we were just students meeting up to talk about whether a particular society should exist.

It is important that there is a well-organised, serious body with responsibility for societies. I have no doubt that the CSC does

“

I don’t know the names of people on the committee so I can’t point my finger but there was one member who acted like we were on Dragon’s Den, and like he was the most contemptuous judge that ever sat on the panel.

Brass tacks of the graduate tax The chairman of Trinity Young Fine Gael, Eoin O’Driscoll, argues the case for a graduate tax, in the interests of competitive funding for Irish universities and fairness for all citizens.

T Eoin O’Driscoll Contributor

he central issue facing Irish thirdlevel education at the moment is the question of its funding. How can we best finance our higher education to ensure both quality and fair access? On both accounts our current system is not working. We have seen fees introduced in all but name, and yet we have a system that is both unaffordable from the perspective of the taxpayer and that fails to adequately fund our third-level institutions.

As chairman of Trinity Young Fine Gael and an active member of the organisation for a number of years, I feel the need to articulate our vision for third-level funding. Too often I have seen students’ union representatives, both within College and without (for example, John Logue in his interview with Trinity News last fortnight), dismiss our stance on fees as simply towing the party line and accuse us of fearing to stand up to the big boys in Leinster House. Such criticism is most unfair.

There is one reason, and one reason only, that Young Fine Gael does not and likely never will support the free-fees campaign being run – quite ineffectively, I must add – by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI): we do not agree.

Time and time again we have debated third-level funding at a branch level here in Trinity and at national level at national conferences and summer schools, and the result is always the same.

We do not agree with the freefees model.

We have been remarkably consistent in this. Since (at the latest) 2005, Young Fine Gael has been pushing for a deferred fees scheme, whether it be a loan sys-

tem, as we originally envisaged, or a graduate tax, as is the current position. Our advocacy of some variation on these models has been constant and began long before our party was in power.

Young Fine Gael has no problem with opposing its senior party when we believe them to be wrong, as with our pushing (successfully) for the senior party to adopt a marriage equality platform, and most recently (in the Trinity branch at least) with regard to abortion legislation.

So, when Logue dismisses our organisation as being “all about defending the party”, he couldn’t be more wrong.

However, it would be ludicrous for us to oppose the senior party when they agree with us.

A graduate-tax system, if implemented, would see third-level education paid for by students as part of their pay-related social insurance (PRSI) contribution, or some other similar tax. Such a system would be the best means of ensuring the access of Irish students to high quality thirdlevel education on a fair and equitable basis.

Fair access to third-level, regardless of social or economic circumstance but based on merit, has been a tenet of Fine Gael policy since the 1965 Towards a Just Society policy document penned

by Declan Costello.

The abolition of third-level fees, as introduced in 1995 by the John Bruton-led rainbow coalition, was seen as the final step in the opening up of access to third-level education in Ireland after successive governments, of every hue, had broadened grant and scholarship schemes to give

Former taoiseach John Bruton abolished third-level fees in the name of fair access, but he could not have forseen the reality that has borne out in the last 17years. every child in Ireland the opportunity to reach their full educational potential.

This was, and remains, a laudable goal that we should not lose sight of. However, the reality borne out over the last 17 years bears evidence to the fact that the current system of financing thirdlevel education fails to achieve this.

We have seen fees introduced in this country, whether or not we call them by that name. The current cost of “registration fees” in Ireland may be cheaper than tuition fees in the UK or the US, but to say that we are not paying tuition fees when we are paying more than many fellow EU citi-

zens for our third-level education is laughable. The current system puts in place a substantial financial barrier to third-level educational access.

Irish universities and institutes of technology have been crying out for increased funding for years. We have seen the quality of Irish universities, as measured by both the QS and the Times Higher Education rankings, descend into freefall. The reason is simple, as the former Dublin City University president Ferdinand von Prondzynski and other leaders in Irish third-level education have been telling us for years: Irish universities need more funding.

The current system fails to pro-

vide the high-quality third-level education necessary to ensure that Irish citizens can reach their full educational potential.

We must face the reality that, considering our current economic circumstances, the exchequer simply cannot afford to put the substantial extra money into our universities and institutes of techonology that they need.

The question must also be asked whether it is fair that all Irish taxpayers pay for the education of less than half of the population.

Unless we change the system, there are two options that face us in the near future. Either student contributions will be increased to levels similar or higher than

a lot of very good and necessary work that we do not acknowledge enough. But the pseudo-“serious” atmosphere of the CSC is often farcical. For instance, they insisted they could not show Sci Fi the minutes from their meeting because “sensitive” material had apparently been discussed.

Sensitive material! Were they planning a drone strike on Players? Would releasing the minutes have endangered the lives of undercover agents in the Knitting Society? If private material had genuinely been discussed, could they not have given Sci Fi only the relevant section of the minutes?

If some mad rule forbids that, could they not have explained it without sounding so evasive and bureaucratic?

These attempts to imitate adults in the outside world who are in actual positions of power is, perhaps, supposed to give an air of authority. In reality, it is both frustrating and funny. However, the fact that the CSC is trying to suppress the abortion debate is very serious. The implication that only the Students’ Union and party-political societies should be allowed to have political campaigns, meanwhile, is incredible.

In the context of these developments, the derecognition of the Socialist Party Society looks less like a freak injustice and more like one part of a wider problem.

the high tuition fees seen in the UK, or we will see our third-level educational institutions plummet in quality as a result of underfunding and find ourselves in a situation where Irish degrees are worth less than the paper they are written on.

A graduate-tax system addresses these problems. Irish third-level institutions would be sufficiently funded, as they would receive tuition fees for those that they educate. However, access to third-level would become more equitable as the barrier to access provided by student contributions would be removed. The funding of the education itself would also be fairer, as those who do not avail of third-level education will not have to pay for the minority that does.

It is notable that such a rationale has been accepted by College’s students. In the preferendum held by the Students’ Union last March, a majority of students voted for deferred fees to be introduced (whether implemented in the form of student loans or a graduate tax).

A student-loan system was the eventual winner of the Trinity preferendum. However, the advantage of the graduate-tax system called for by Young Fine Gael is that, by virtue of payment through taxation, the financial costs of Irish third-level education would be borne only by those who can afford it. All graduates, be they unemployed or earning seven-figure sums annually, would be liable for a student loan, but a tax would only apply to those earning over a certain income threshold.

While the particulars may be disagreed upon, it is hard to argue that a deferred fees system is the only way forward for Irish thirdlevel education. However, the USI refuses to accept this and continues to waste its time and ours – as well as whatever political capital Irish students may have – on this idiotic free- fees campaign that will get nowhere and ensure that third-level funding is reformed without any reasonable voice pushing students’ interests at the table.

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Internet digging up the dirt on politicians and the darker depths of politics In the online information ecosystem, Callum Jenkins explains, filters are forgotten as bottom-feeders rise to the surface of political scandal.

S Callum Jenkins Staff Writer

ean Gallagher, Anthony Weiner, Chris Andrews, Christine O’Donnell; the list of politicians who have been ruined by the internet is endless. Some have rightly been called out for their past lives, such as O’Donnell in the US and Grant Shapps in the UK. But what about Gallagher? He saw his lead in the polls, along with his bid to be president of Ireland, wiped out by a rogue tweet. Indeed, the RTÉ board was forced to apologise for failing to ascertain the accuracy of the tweet before confronting Gallagher with it.

Without a doubt the internet has completely revolutionised politics, as it has with most other areas of human life. Mainly through blogs and social media sites, it has given voices to those who otherwise would not be heard. It has also lead to greater interaction between political leaders and the electorate.

We only need to look at how Barack Obama announced his successful return to the White House. The tweet, simply stating “Four more years” along with a picture of himself with the first lady, has now become the most retweeted in Twitter’s short but colourful history. The question remains: has the invention of the internet been beneficial to the quality of politics?

Politicians doubtless have to think twice about their actions.

Facts have become available at the click of a mouse. What once took researchers hours – if not days – to verify can now be ascertained with simple Google searches. Would the various policy U-turns of Mitt Romney between his time as governor of Massachusetts and his candidacy to become US president have been as well-known without the use of the internet? I doubt it.

Shapps, the co-chairman of the Conservative party in the UK, is another example of the internet getting the better of a politician.

An active user of the internet, he was caught out offering business advice under an assumed name.

This would not have come to light if it were not for an internet paper trail. He is also alleged to have artificially inflated the number of followers he has on Twitter, although he is far from being the only public figure to have done so.

There are huge limitations to the internet. There is no way of knowing which so-called facts on the internet are truthful. For example, right-wing blogs and Twitter accounts based in the US have allowed the ridiculous “birther” argument to flourish. The belief that Obama was not born in the US is utter nonsense, and previously it would not have seen the light of day. Nevertheless, some polls suggest up to 80% of Americans are aware of the allegations.

These so-called facts can lead to unnecessary and dangerous witch hunts. Last month the UK prime minister, David Cameron, was handed a list of alleged highprofile paedophile political figures by the chat-show host Philip Schofield; the only evidence that Schofield had was internet speculation. The unwise decision to present the list to Cameron live on air is a perfect example of how unchecked allegations can arise from nothing on the internet and become part of mainstream political debate.

As discussed, the internet has given voices to people who may otherwise not have had them.

This, of course, is a good thing in the case of the ordinary voter or the Chinese pro-democracy activist; but there is a dark side to blogging.

The Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik developed his extreme far-right views on these dark message boards.

The internet also gave him a voice for communicating these views with like-minded individuals.

Similar examples can be seen with fundamentalist Islamic terrorists using the internet as a resource. It has allowed similar groups that would have previously been isolated to band together and present a grave danger to society. It also provides instruction for their deadly endeavours.

It would therefore be my argument that far from facilitating democracy, the internet has allowed extreme minority views undue air time. The internet has replaced the soapbox as the medium through which charismatic extremists can attract followers.

It is not, in my opinion, the fabled tool of the silent majority.

This brings me to WikiLeaks, which some see as crucial evidence of the effectiveness of the internet in changing politics for the better. I, on the other hand, believe that it is a prime example of the internet’s weaknesses in this role.

The leaking of thousands of US diplomatic cables was, in itself, relatively ineffectual. Most of the data is uninteresting, unimportant and useless; it took print journalists from the Guardian, the New York Times, Der Spiegel and other notable papers to decipher what was actually newsworthy.

The wake of the scandal saw various shadowy hacking groups attack governments in response to what they saw as rival attacks.

These hacking groups try to present themselves as defending the people against tyrannical governments. However, I for one do not want someone hiding behind a computer and a cloak of anonymity launching attacks on my behalf on democratically elected governments.

The internet is here to stay, and

“

These so-called facts can lead to unnecessary and dangerous witch hunts. Last month the UK prime minister, David Cameron, was handed a list of alleged high-profile paedophile political figures by the chat-show host Philip Schofield; the only evidence that Schofield had was internet speculation.

it may be surprising after reading the rest of this article that I welcome it. The internet has the potential to be a fantastic tool of the people in keeping check on their representatives. It allows opinions to be expressed by interested parties. The world really is at our fingertips, with up-to-date information readily available.

However, it is also up to the moderate majority to suffocate extremists in the light of exposure. This has worked in other forms of media and, although it may prove difficult, it is essential for the internet to reach its potential as a force for good in the world of politics.

Illustration: Ciar Boyle-Gifford

Fiscal contraction is the right reaction

“W William Dunne Staff Writer

We simply cannot afford to borrow to sustain our budget deficit or fund a stimulus, explains William Dunne, so it’s either fiscal shi or bust.

e are living beyond our means,” stated Brian Lenihan’s 2008 budget speech, echoing Charles Haughey’s own infamous 1980 speech. Such will be the message at the heart of the speech that the present minister for finance, Michael Noonan, will deliver tomorrow when he announces the budget for the forthcoming year.

For that is the ultimate truth of the matter. The government this year has spent ¤20.2bn more than it took in last year. The only way this is possible is state borrowing, the cost of which became ruinously high in November 2008.

Austerity is not a moral or ideological question: it is simply the pragmatic response to this fact.

What other option have we?

Even the mere fact that we have the ability to stagger our fiscal adjustments through cushioned lending at easy rates from the troika of the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European commission is testament to the central political and economic position of Ireland and the simplicity of fiscal overreach.

Ireland’s position within the eurozone makes options like unconditional default – on its own, dishonourable and harmful to any country’s long-term reputation – into a horribly unpalatable situation, one that would almost certainly see the collapse of the Eurozone, or Ireland’s ejection from it.

This would most hurt the worst-off– those whose wealth is least mobile and most denominated in euros, who would face uncontrollable deprivation and hardship as the country slid into economic turmoil. Moreover this maverick call for default would, even if carried through, not solve the basic accounting problem that we cannot currently pay for all the things we plan to with the money we have.

Anyone who would call for an alternative – for some huge shift from the present course – must do more than simply attack the harshness of the cuts, must do more than decry the sins of the political or financial elite; they must simply do more than the mere platitudes and rhetoric of opposition. They are obliged to simply show how money is to be found and they must, moreover, show how that course will hurt the people of Ireland less than any other.

Given this, we as a nation have no real choice but to pursue fiscal contraction, decreasing the net amount of money the government puts in the economy.

We do, however, have a choice over how we do it. We should prioritise growth; we must preserve the strong gains the country is making towards recovery – particularly in comparison to other “peripheral” eurozone countries – for austerity without the prospect of growth is simply stagna-

tion.

The government is right to not press for further income tax increases; they are, as in the 1980s, likely to yield trifling amounts for the disproportionate distortion they would have on the economy, further harming expectations of growth, already down from 2.25% to 1.5%. But austerity need not be mindless pursuit of growth: if we are to make cuts, they should fall on those who can bear it the best.

To this end, the new property tax is both fair and sensible. It taxes latent wealth, particularly harming the richest, minimising the depressive effect on growth and increasing economic efficiency by incentivising profitable use of land. However, the government’s plan to collect it via income tax credit is pure folly and would simply turn it into a tax on work. In terms of cuts, the focus should be to shield the truly needy and vulnerable.

Noonan should aggressively pursue those forms of benefit which function mostly to the benefit of the middle class. Chief among these are the subsidies to private schools and lenient, subsidised fees we face as students.

Can we really justify paying what we do for our own education if the alternative is further cuts to relief for the poor or treatment of the sick? Similarly, effort should be made to means-test all forms of universal benefits, such as the children’s allowance and medi-

“

The new property tax is both fair and sensible. It taxes latent wealth, particularly harming the richest, minimising the depressive effect on growth and increasing economic efficiency by incentivising profitable use of land.

cal cards, so that what is there is spent on those who need it.

Similarly, the minister’s efforts to gain significant savings from the Croke Park deal have failed, so it ought to be terminated; when 49% of the budget is spent on public pay and pensions, there is no excuse for not making this the brunt of attack.

Why should public-sector workers be shielded from the contractions faced by the private sector if the cost is cuts to the vulnerable? The public pay-bill threatens both current and future fiscal catastrophe, and the proposed cap on pension tax deductibility is an excellent idea, for there is no point in subsidising the pensions of the rich.

The government, however,

ought to be more reflexive. As little as it would help the budget or obviate the need for other cuts, the government should take an axe to its own ludicrously high pension packets, for the sake of moral equity and some sense of duty to not so freely indulge in largesse towards themselves.

Contrary to popular belief, there are many places where there are objectively “easy choices” for the budget; they are not, however, ones most middle-class people like, as they benefit generously from them. The middle class and the cabinet should do the same and allow themselves no more easy times while others face only misery and deprivation.

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Adam Kevvvlly on why public opinion of wind turbines as an energy source remains so low despite the obvious advantages.

Comment

Science - p19

Penguin Random House: a closed book?

2012 has been the year of apocalyptic prophecies. With two of the biggest publishing houses merging under pressure from digital forces, Lola Boorman evaluates whether this may be the final chapter in the story of the book.

T Lola Boorman Contributor

he merger between the Pearson-owned Penguin UK and Bertelsmann’s Random House announced at the end of October has reopened the debate on the future of the book. Doomed, dwindling or sacred, whatever stance you take on the public’s relationship with this cultural institution, it is impossible to deny the rapid evolution (or devolution) of this medium.

Is this merger a desperate attempt to cling to a livelihood in the shadow of Amazon, the industry’s Goliath? Or is it a monopolistic move to create a superpublisher which can comfortably assimilate the capitalist demands of the globalised market? Is this really the beginning of the end?

Matthew Arnold described culture in his eminent work Culture and Anarchy as “the pursuit of sweetness and light”. Anyone who has been following the seemingly endless discourse on the future and significance of print publishing over the last few years will know that the state of our primary cultural medium is anything but sweetness and light.

With the rise of the ebook we are more conscious than ever of the economic implications of this industry. Just as we witnessed the mergers, takeovers and dissolutions within the print journalism and music trades, we now watch listlessly as the once-great publishing houses take on the internet giants, aware of our roles as consumers and the sole orchestrators of this downfall.

The merger in question, which is due to take place in late 2013, will unite the two largest publishers in the English language,

reducing the UK’s “big six” (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, Random House and Simon & Schuster) to five. The number is expected to further reduce to just two in the future.

Bertelsmann, the German owner of Random House, will control 53% of the new £2.5bn (¤3.1bn) Penguin Random House, with Pearson holding 47%. The agreement appears to be a considerably democratic one with each party appointing almost equal members to the board, each having representation on an executive level and a minimum three-year commitment to the partnership.

While the merger has been perceived negatively in the media, one good thing that has come of it is that News Corporation (owned

by Rupert Murdoch) was unable to buy Penguin. This prompted Murdoch to brand the venture as a “faux merger”, claiming that it is just not a merger if both parties aim to retain their integrity afterwards. But this German purchase represents a further shift in the British economy; after the merger takes place, only 7% of the UK’s consumer publishing will be owned by British companies, with most major legacy houses being French, German or US owned.

Penguin has, since its foundation in 1935 by Allen Lane, been a bulwark and emblem of British culture. Few publishers have meant so much to its consumers and have enjoyed such a great run of business. Penguin’s goal was always the popularisation of good quality literature; it broke into the market with the paperback revolution, selling its pocket-sized editions for sixpence, the same

price as a packet of cigarettes.

It fast became the people’s publisher and gained a political backbone in its resistance to censorship over its publication of Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence (of which it sold 2m copies in six weeks). In fact, from its very advent, Penguin has been – and continues to be – active in new mediums and methods of popularising literature. It was the first trade publisher to have a website, the first to enter into the audiobook market and, funnily enough, the first to open an ebook store. So why does Penguin, like so many others, appear to be defeated by the internet’s monopolisers?

Once more the internet is blamed for killing one of our most beloved institutions: the cold, calculating domination of the new technologies market is putting newspapers, bookshops and now publishers out of business. Oren Teicher, the chief executive of the American Booksellers Association, asserts: “Amazon is holding the entire book industry hostage … first they disintermediated retailers, and now publishers and authors.”

While we may think of Amazon as purely a bookseller, its launch in 2009 of Amazon Publishing is gradually putting pressure on the traditional trade publishers.

Increasingly, authors are leaving their previous publishers in favour of Amazon, claiming that the creative freedom it offers is closer to self-publishing than the traditional method. Moreover, by going to Amazon directly an author has even greater access to its unparalleled marketing channels.

“

Just as we witnessed the mergers, takeovers and dissolutions within the print journalism and music trades, we now watch listlessly as the once-great publishing houses take on the internet giants, aware of our roles as consumers and the sole orchestrators of this downfall.

Shaking the foundations of schol While financial rewards for scholarship are laudable, awarding them all at once on the specific basis of a single set of supplementary examinations held outside of term is unfair on those who have less time to work with, writes an anonymous contributor.

I Anonymous

s it fair that an ordinary student can consistently outperform a scholar and yet receive not a cent from College, simply because he or she did not, or could not, sit an anomalous set of examinations midway through second year?

A student who tops his or her class in the more demanding and difficult sophister years may need to do so while working a parttime job to pay rent (and fees), accumulating debt, commuting long distances and cooking meals every evening. In contrast, the scholar, by virtue of their prowess “at a level of evaluation appropriate to the senior freshman year”, is automatically entitled to free rooms in College, exemption from fees and free meals every evening. For five years.

The recent decision to restrict the foundation scholarship examinations to senior freshmen only has brought starkly to the fore the flaws of that institution and the need for a more equitable and common-sense system for rewarding excellence at an undergraduate level.

That is emphatically not to say that those who currently hold scholarships are scoundrels and coasters who do not deserve the privileges they enjoy. Of course, “some of my best friends are scholars”. There can be little doubt that some of Trinity’s hardest-working and most brilliant minds are among their ranks.

But there are still more brilliant minds who receive no support whatsoever. Some who sat

the schol examinations may have had one bad day and narrowly missed out. Some may never have attempted or even considered attempting them. The vagaries of a single set of supplemental examinations are hardly appropriate grounds from which to extrapolate – to the point of ruling out any other substantial reward – those who will definitely be the brightest students for five years to come.

The tantalising prospect of success should not blinker students to the reality that the existing system simply makes no sense – regardless of the state of the economy or of College’s finances. Yet schol remains the only substantial reward for excellence at an undergraduate level in Trinity. As

long as it exists, there is unlikely to be any other. Bright students now have only the narrowest of windows at a very early stage in their studies in which to attempt to prove their ability before they are apparently cast aside as unworthy of investment.

Of course, the motive behind the generous five-year package for schol is incontestably virtuous: to identify promising students, to support them in their studies and to keep them once they graduate.

The method of selection, however, is flawed. It is absurd that one term’s work should guarantee five years of favour.

The system itself inherently favours more comfortable students; keeping up with regular coursework while simultaneously

JA Konrath, who in 2011 was dubbed one of the “five ebook authors” to watch, initially published eight novels through traditional means, earning himself over $300,000 (¤231,000) over the course of nine years. In 2009, he published a few ebooks which earned him the same amount in 2011 alone.

Amazon’s monopoly of ebook and print sales is almost impossible to compete with. We face a company which almost owns the entire process of reading: the publishing, the sales and even the form in which we read it. It controls roughly 90% of the British ebook market and almost 40% of all book sales. Publishers are faced with the dilemma of needing Amazon to sell their books, effectively supporting what is threatening them.

The growth of the ebook market represents an ironic situation in which the growth of a sector of industry is seen as a threat to the industry as a whole. Ian Jack wrote on the merger in the Guardian recently: “British capitalism is so often a sorry thing. If the second world war was fought to defend it, there was a useless sacrifice.”

But is the book really under threat? There is a bleak conception of the book trade at present: authors’ advances are plummeting, trade publishers are making losses left, right and centre, mergers are rampant. The ebook trade, however, accounts for only 6% of the overall market. In 2011, 229m books were sold in the UK, an increase of 42% from the pre-ebook figure in 2001.

Indeed, Amazon may sell 114

ebooks for every 100 printed books, but that is still a lot of printed books flying off the virtual shelves. The dramatic 2% drop in Penguin’s profits last quarter was due to the success of Fifty Shades of Grey (published by Random House), not because of the big, bad internet.

There seems to be a fear that popularisation means destruction, that self-publication is taking over one editor at a time, but there is still a trade aspect of book making, a reverence for the editorial process as a collaborative and instructive part of the author’s development. Indeed, nothing throws weight behind a new book or author more than the assuring logo of Penguin and Faber.

Trade publishing has had an undeniable shock to its system but it does not necessarily mean that the end is nigh. The new Penguin Random House will publish one in four books in the UK, controlling 30% of the local market and 25% of the global market.

It does not seem these legacy houses will bow out quietly. The story of the book has always been one of popularisation and profit.

Just as the introduction of the printing press must have caused mass “synergies” among scribes, trade publishing will have to adapt to its competition, but this does not necessarily mean its destruction. The reader as a consumer undoubtedly benefits from this revolution of form; never before have we had such choice in what and how we read and, whether it be Fifty Shades of Grey or The Satanic Verses, we can unequivocally say that we are reading more than ever before.

studying for an extra set of examinations is considerably more difficult for students who must work to fund their education. The slim chance of reaping any sort of reward is enough to discourage many in this position from even attempting the exams.

Considerable resources are obviously expended on the scholarship scheme. I believe that these resources would better serve College and students if they were dispersed and distributed to a broader base of students. Rewards ought to be allocated annually to the highest-performing students in each faculty’s regular examinations. A system which distributes rewards on the basis of consistent merit, rather than a once-off clincher, would incentivise constant excellence and allow late bloomers an opportunity to avail of College support.

The existing virtual guarantee of a free postgraduate degree for scholars ties up resources which could be invested in more robust funding for the most promising graduates. For College, the result would be a more consistently motivated and competitive student population. For students, the rewards would be far more acces-

sible and no less attractive, and the right to enjoy them would be unassailable.

Unfortunately, any demand for reform in this regard is unlikely to come from the student population. Admittedly, those who aspire to scholarship are a minority of students and, of these, what freshman who saw herself as in with a chance at the great prize would ever criticise it? What sceptical sophister wants to risk sounding bitter and upsetting his scholar friends? And, understandably, don’t expect to catch a scholar complaining.

It might be reasonable to expect College’s academic authorities to consider a rethink of Trinity’s archaic system of patronage.

Instead, we are informed of the recent decision to narrow the window even further. Schol, it seems, is affectionately retained simply because it is “as old as the College itself”, and stands as “a worthy challenge and a valued experience”. Seeing the lucky few succeed and live unchallenged for five years off the spoils of a single term should encourage us to “love” and to “respect scholarship” – but only, it seems, as observers.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

Comment

18

The highs and lows of drug legalisation The system surrounding illegal narcotics is black and white: the black economy of traffickers and the white lies of government, a little part of it in everyone. But, suggests John Porter, the solutions are grey.

R John Porter Staff Writer

ecently there has been an increase in support for the legalisation and decriminalisation of drug use. Many people now suggest, for example, not only that the legalisation of cannabis would not be harmful, but that it could be a path open to western governments who find themselves in the midst of tremendous debt crises.

Colorado and Washington were the first US states to legalise the possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use, and certainly one of the more forceful arguments during the referendum debate was that it could potentially create revenue streams.

Legalisation would not only provide a huge increase in tax revenue on one of the most sought-after products in the world, but it would also mean governments could scrap costly drug-prevention policies. If cannabis were legalised, the same logic would surely soon be applied to other drugs such as, for example, MDMA (the main ingredient in ecstasy), which recent research suggests may be no more damaging than cannabis or alcohol. The logic could certainly, therefore, also be applied to LSD, and the 2C hallucinogenic range.

This idea seems to have much to commend it. After all, if drugs were legalised, not only would it mean considerably increased revenue for many governments, it would also mean that governments could produce safe or, at least, safer drugs, which are not cut in any manner but sold in pure form.

This would mean – in the case of ecstasy anyway – that a reduction in the number of deaths could be expected, as users would be sure they were consuming only pure MDMA, instead of the potentially deadly pills whose contents even dealers cannot be certain of. As yet it has not been conclusively proven that the drug

MDMA itself has been solely responsible for any deaths.

However, there are a number of problems to be raised in this regard. If drugs were legalised the logical consequence would be an increase in price. Much like alcohol and cigarettes, governments would realise they could charge essentially whatever price they liked and people would still pay.

So like alcohol we would see continually increasing prices every year, especially if governments were using the drugs as a means to finance debt.

There now exists a free market in the drugs trade forcing prices to remain at a certain level, but legalisation would give the government a monopoly, which they would most likely farm out to only a few drug manufacturers who could set whatever price they desired. Moreover, drugs would probably only be purchasable, and perhaps even consumable, in certain government-determined retail outlets or clubs.

This may seem like a relatively insignificant point: so what if people have to pay more for the drugs they consume, or have to take them in a particular place? But this could mean simply that the trade in illegally produced drugs continues. If the price increased by a considerable amount, entrepreneurs could still realise a profit from selling. Again this simply means a continuation in the selling of lower quality goods.

In the case of cannabis, for example, a prominent argument in favour of its legalisation is the removal of certain strains given the collective name “skunk”. Skunk could be replaced with safer and older types of cannabis with a lower content of THC (the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis), the argument goes.

However, what if there exists a real demand not for the traditional strains of cannabis found in

the 1960s and 1970s, but a more powerful form of skunk? This demand would continue and again we could envisage, despite the supposed legalisation of a drug, its continued sale in illegal form.

A different argument would suggest that if certain “hard” drugs – specifically cocaine in the form of crack, heroin and perhaps some other opiates – were decriminalised and provided in government-run facilities, this would at least remove the criminal element controlling production and distribution. This could act as a massive step, it is argued, toward stopping the stranglehold criminal gangs have over economically deprived areas.

The argument goes that if you deprive criminal gangs of their most profitable source of income and their method of controlling many inner city areas in the US and across Europe, you would allow a certain regeneration of deprived areas.

This argument represents to a certain extent a misunderstanding of the causes of hard drug use.

Drug use is a symptom of economic failure; it is not that economic failure is caused by drug use. People do not lose their jobs, by and large, because they decide to become heroin addicts; they become heroin addicts because they don’t have jobs.

Certainly I am not denying that crime would be reduced if heroin was provided on demand in a manner similar to the Swiss system. It is estimated at the minute that as many as one-third of crimes committed in the UK are related to heroin, with similar figures applicable also in Ireland.

This solution, though, would not deal with the root causes of the problem. Instead you would simply be shifting the heroin addicts to become the responsibility of the state.

This would be a profound step

for the state to take. The state would be providing hard drugs to the most disadvantaged and alienated members of society.

They would purposefully keep those people in a state of almost unconscious submission. No need for religion: opium will be the opium of the masses. Propaganda or ideological indoctrination no longer become necessary if the government gives out heroin.

Thus, to implement such a policy perhaps carries with it an attendant baggage that has as yet been overlooked by many who act as advocates.

What we must remember is that drugs not only fund criminal

gangs but they also fund massive departments of government administration across the world who are given the task of stopping drug trafficking and use. Not only this, but in America privately-funded prisons receive government money to incarcerate drug offenders, meaning it is lucrative both for government departments and private business to imprison people for drug offences.

It is not quite as simple, therefore, as saying that drugs should be legalised. The economic benefits of their illegality are quite deeply embedded in the capitalist system and in state administrations across the world. All people

do not stand to benefit if drugs are made legal and those that will lose out hold more economic and political influence.

Having made all these arguments I should say that am not necessarily against drug legalisation. Drug legalisation will carry with it a number of problems that are perhaps not even being put forward by the traditional opponents of drug use. Likewise the implementation of legal drug use may generate more difficulties than are now being considered.

Drug legalisation may not be the panacea.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

Editorial

Protests or Lobbying?

Rónán Burtenshaw Editor Photo: Aidan Murray

22nd November saw Trinity’s leg of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI)’s national “Stand Up!” campaign outside the department of education on Marlborough Street in the city centre. The event, held in conjunction with National College of Ireland (NCI) and Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), consisted of students handing back to Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn the pledge he signed in February 2011 promising not to increase fees for Higher Education; a pledge he reneged upon less than 100 days later.

Trinity’s contingent on this protest amounted to 10 students.

Against a backdrop of thousands attending protests from Tralee to Cork and Galway, hundreds from Waterford to Letterkenny and in Tallaght and Dun Laoghaire, this figure was by some way the lowest of any of the universities engaged in the campaign.

When Trinity News spoke to Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union president Rory Dunne last week he said the short notice for the protest, which had been shifted from a Tuesday march to a Thursday demonstration a week before, made it difficult to organise numbers. Despite this, DIT and NCI students’ unions turned out more than ten times the contingent Trinity managed under the same circumstances.

Downplaying the significance of this protest to the Students’ Union’s pre-budget strategy, Mr Dunne said that lobbying and the other aspects of the campaign which put “pressure” on Kevin Humphreys TD were more important than “feet-on-thestreets”. This follows a pattern of the Students’ Union avoiding protest in favour of less confrontational measures like lobbying under Dunne’s tenure, a pattern which also saw them reject joining 24th November’s anti-austerity protest – which was attended by the USI and the students’ unions of University College Dublin and National University of Ireland Maynooth.

Mr Dunne says that this approach stems from a “lack of enthusiasm” among the student population which he has to represent. But, are Trinity students reticent to protest? And, if so, is it the right approach?

Rory Dunne won the presidency of the Students’ Union on a platform of improved student services and internships. Fighting fee increases and cuts to grants did not appear in the top five points of his campaign literature – the other three of which were “supporting sports, personal development and student hardship fund”. His closest rival James Kelly similarly emphasised internships and student services, while the candidate who put the fight against cuts to supports and hikes to fees front-and-centre, John Tighe, finished a distant third.

But that isn’t the full story. Earlier this term Trinity students voted by a large margin to remain

part of the USI – who are mandated to oppose fee hikes and support cuts – and reject the pay-forservice arguments of the Young Fine Gael-led No campaign.

Maintaining the student contribution at €2,250 (which the union will fail to do this year) won May’s fee preferendum. Thousands turned out to march in 2011 and 2010’s national student marches from the college.

In the case of 22nd November’s protest outside the department of education, there was hardly any promotion at all in College. Two social media posts and an email in the days immediately before the event replaced the two weeks of concentrated work for previous national marches.

Rory Dunne is correct that the dynamics in Trinity are different from other colleges. Students tend to be from higher-income backgrounds. But, despite this, in the region of one-in-three Trinity students are on the grant.

The Bank of Ireland student loan scheme was introduced last year to fill the gap between those on the grant and those who could afford the upfront fees.

With those upfront fees now €250 per year more expensive, unemployment rates higher than at any point since 1992, disposable income for students down from €86 per week in 2009 to €55 in 2012 and state assistance cut back in successive austerity budgets, that gap is likely to get bigger.

Could it really be the case that only ten students were motivated to protest against further financial imposition this year?

If it is, what is the reason behind this “lack of enthusiasm” for protest among Trinity students that saw thousands mobilised last year whittle away to ten outside the department of education?

One possibility, put forth by Rory Dunne, is that they are “perceptive” of the fact that the previous years’ strategies haven’t worked. While he doesn't endorse a “lobbying-exclusive” approach, he has put a large emphasis on negotiation with TDs. There has been a vocal opposition to protest in College this year. This extended to a hostile reaction to placing Kevin Humphreys’s face on posters targeting him as a local TD who will vote to increase fees in the days following the budget.

But, importantly, this opposition is composed of largely the same groups, making much the same arguments about strategy, who were defeated by a margin of two-to-one in the USI referendum. Could it be that these arguments against protest have achieved popular purchase despite this?

If it is, it is most concerning. As USI president John Logue pointed out in his pre-budget interview with TN, advocating a lobbyingexclusive approach is naïve. The question is not whether to negotiate with TDs, but whether you are negotiating from a position of strength.

It was established last year that the government intended to raise fees to €3,000 by 2015. According to student representatives who have met with TDs this year, they made it clear they were not going to change their mind on this. Pursuing a strategy based on negotiation with people who have made up their minds is an implicit acceptance of this fee increase – an increase that will take fees a full third higher by 2015 than students voted to cap them at in the Students’ Union’s fee preferendum in May. But beyond a failure to defend students from fee hikes and support cuts, the Student Union’s approach belies a concerning understanding of how students should go about being “taken seriously”. The most often-repeated

refrains of those opposed to protest is that it demonstrates a lack of “maturity”, and that student representatives need to “grow up”.

But what then is maturity for this generation? Our absence by the sides of our student colleagues in other universities as they send thousands to the streets to oppose the imposition of financial hardship? The abandonment of our friends and class-mates in this college – a very sizeable proportion of whom rely on state assistance? Many of whom will likely be forced out of education if fees hit €3,000? Is mature just the adjective they attach to us when we embrace self-interest?

Or is it what they call us when we adopt the logic of the present system? This is what the empha-

sis on donning suits and briefcases, and limiting your politics to the offices of Dáil Éireann seems to suggest.

Hidden behind these immediate debates in Trinity’s student politics are more profound and important questions about an emergent generation. Those advocating protest, which aims at confrontation with the prevailing order and the establishment of a fundamentally different course, should be contrasted with those who favour lobbying, which seeks to accommodate itself with power and play by its rules.

What does maturity mean for us? Learning to be subservient to power, or learning to challenge it?

This is an important question for any generation, but particularly for one that is young at a time of great upheaval, struggle and op-

portunity. And it is one to which the answer so far has been bitterly disappointing.

It might be the case that students in Trinity “lack enthusiasm for protest”. It might that they support €3,000 per year fees, likely to be combined with further cuts to supports in coming years. It might be that they feel the Students’ Union should be about proto-professional politics and sitting around a desk in Leinster House.

But if they do not, against a backdrop of worsening conditions for very many students across the country, they must insist that this issue is at the forefront of 2013’s Students’ Union elections.

Because, at the moment, this is where we are heading.

It’s time to decide if the press should judge character – and if it matters

W Hannah Cogan Public Editor

hen news of US general David Petraeus’s affair broke, the scandal was public and ugly, but fundamentally unscandalous. Attempts by US news outlets, especially Fox, to stir up prurient fervour were hampered by a lack of any actual prurience. Increasingly, it has become clear that the events were of a wholly private nature; national security was not breached and at no point did Petraeus stop or even get marginally distracted from doing his job and doing it well.

The CIA is running an investigation into whether or not he used agency resources to support the affair, but investigators this week leaked that they will not be pressing charges or even alleging any particular misconduct in office.

His resignation seems to be largely the response of a media baying for blood; recent opinion polls suggest a majority of people have a positive opinion of Petraeus and believe he should not have been asked to resign, whilst the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN and the Washington Post led the vanguard demanding his resignation.

Across the pond, one of the most significant recommendations of the Leveson inquiry was a suggestion that police whistleblowers cease their relationship with the press, advising officers to pursue other “confidential avenues in which they have faith”, such as the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Leve-

son’s words on police whistleblowers warning the public through the media about wrongdoing will cause concern to some.

Leveson writes: “There remains an important point of principle which I need to come back to: that information which is confidential should remain so, unless there really are exceptional circumstances justifying the placing of that information into the public domain. Additionally, and looking at this more widely, the ends do not usually, or at least necessarily, justify the means.”

Before the Petraeus story broke in the American press, an internal investigation had concluded no major wrongdoing, and indeed had no intention to remove Petraeus from his post.

Furthermore, his career had been an overwhelmingly positive one.

After the overthrow of Saddam in 2003, Petraeus garrisoned northern Iraq, where his determination to improve services as well as security diminished resistance to the US-led occupation.

In 2007, Iraq was sliding into ever more horrible sectarian civil war. As the new commander in Iraq, Petraeus, with President Bush’s backing, devised and deployed a surge of 30,000 troops to stem the horrific Sunni-Shia bloodletting, providing the greatest reduction in lives lost since the beginning of the war. By stationing his troops in small units amongst the population he provided constant security from brutal intimidation by al-Qaida and

General David Petraeus, pictured in Iraq. other organisations.

Whatever your feelings on the morality of the war itself, these were strategically sound and conscientious decisions that demonstrate competence, innovation and an understanding of international engagement that the American army has not been historically noted for. That such decisions were executed in the face of huge opposition from within the US army testifies to a conservatism that badly needs to be re-evaluated.

General Petraeus, with a civilian PhD from Princeton in inter-

national relations and a strategy of engaging with media, was an unusual candidate; that statements from both the army and the CIA suggest they will depart from such candidates in the future is almost certainly to their detriment.

I like it when smart people run countries, especially when smart people run the military operations of those countries, and the fact remains that attracting bright, capable people to public office is getting harder. Imposing a standard of morality won’t make that any easier.

Petraeus was not elected to his position; he did not trade on an image or deliberately misrepresent himself. He was appointed CIA director purely because he was the best man for the job. After an apparently scandalous affair, it seems he is still the best man for the job; even after the story broke, President Obama made a concerted effort to convince him to remain in the post, but after the press backlash, his reinstigation seems unlikely.

When politicians are elected, they are selected to represent a select group of citizenry; those

citizens retain the right to remove a politician’s mandate for whichever reason they see fit.

Appointed politicians owe their foremost allegiance to their offices and responsibilities, and personal characteristics (or extramarital affairs) that have no impact on those responsibilities.

As debate rages over the outcome of the Leveson inquiry and Petraeus steps down, it is time to make some important decisions about how we compare internal and external affairs and how transparency mechanisms are maintained going into the future.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

Science

20

Science in Brief Stephen Keane

First evidence that increase in ocean acid is affecting marine life The first evidence of the adverse impact ocean acidification is having on marine life was announced by researchers from the British Antarctic Survey after a science cruise of the Southern Ocean.

Their findings show that the shells of marine snails living in the upper 200 metres of the ocean are dissolving as the water becomes more acidic. The snail shells are made of aragonite, a

type of calcium carbonate which is known to be to susceptible to dissolution. Ocean acidification is caused by uptake of carbon dioxide, released into the air from fossil fuels. The damage it is causing to marine snails will not only have an impact on the food chain but also on the environment at large, since their shells serve an important role as a carbon sink.

Life survives frozen lake for thousands of years

Wind energy: can we blow down the barriers?

Scientists have uncovered an oasis of life in Lake Vida, East Antarctica, which had been hidden away for 2,800 years under 20 metres of solid ice. The water there is seven times saltier than the sea, pitch black and 13C below freezing, but bacteria are still thriving in the unlikely niche.

The bacteria represent a new species that is in no way reliant on the sun. It is believed that they produce energy from the hydro-

Despite the promise of clean, plentiful energy, adoption of wind power remains decidedly slow. Adam Kelly considers whether the benefits outweigh the downsides.

M

any believed it couldn’t be done, but we have finally brought environmentally conscious liberals and climatechange deniers together in unspoken agreement. The point of agreement, however, is their unfortunate distaste for wind farms.

One side sees the wind turbines as eyesores, as pointless blemishes on idyllic landscapes, while the other agrees, adding that they are a hazard to local flora and fauna, despite the greater hazard posed to said flora and fauna by the climate change this technology stands to hold at bay.

In order to convey how big a part wind can play in electricity generation, it is useful to give some perspective. Electrical output is measured in kilowatt hours and an estimated value for covering 5% of the countryside (however feasible that may be) is 15 kilowatt hours per person, per day. This value relates to onshore wind only, and incorporating shallow offshore wind (deep offshore is not yet economical) this value could rise to 36 kilowatt hours per person, per day. This may be an optimistically large figure, but if even half of this potential output can be reached it will still make a substantial contribution to offset our monstrous energy consumption. To give these figures some context, a two-hour-long flight consumes 30 kilowatt hours per day, the average Irish household consumes 35 kilowatt hours per day and a 50km journey in a fossil-fuel car typically consumes 40 kilowatt hours per day.

The raw numbers for adopting wind power are encouraging, especially when contributing alongside other renewables such as solar and biomass. Wind farms are also the greenest of all the renewables: turbines generate no waste, do not require water for their operation and require less room than solar farms. So with such impressive capabilities, why are we not heavily investing in turbine production?

The foundation of the figures for wind output is built on the assumption that wind farms can actually be constructed. In a move that is as paradoxical as it is senseless, supposed supporters of renewable technology have blocked proposed sites in almost every country which has tried to incorporate wind into its electrical grid. In Britain, plans for wind farms equivalent to four coal power plants were put on hold in the face of public anger over the sight of turbines on the countryside.

Italy has seen an unprecedented level of hypocrisy, with over 70% of appeals to block energy infrastructure being related to renewable energy, and in a world first Italians will now find it easier to construct a nuclear power station than to build wind farms with an equivalent power capacity. Greece has also acquiesced on plans to build 87 turbines on the island of Serifos, its critics citing “disturbance” of its estimated 100,000 tourists per year, without mentioning the exact form this disturbance would take.

Taken at face value, it would seem that there is a sizeable coalition of smug aesthetes who have made wind farms their cause

célèbre. However, on closer inspection they are merely a small but vocal group. Donald Trump infamously accused the Scottish first minister of being “hell bent on destroying Scotland's coastline”, his sudden concern for the environment being a departure from the indifference to his £1bn (€1.2bn) golf resort being built on a site of special scientific interest. Wealthy residents of Martha's Vineyard, an affluent holiday island south of Cape Cod, have also assembled to block an approved wind project being built near the island, again based on subjective aesthetics. The consequences of hindering these projects serve only to increase the inertia to capitalise on wind, as “the Cape Wind project is not only desirable in itself, but a precursor to other wind parks on the Atlantic coast”, according to Ken Salazar, the US secretary of the interior. Arguments from celebrity status are useless in the face of public interest, and are indeed out of line with public opinion.

A recent survey in western Scotland, an area abundant in turbines, found that only 8% of respondents said the wind farms affected their trip negatively, whereas 43% said that the turbines made them feel better about the region. This survey is consistent with findings by other tourist boards in comparable regions, with some showing positive responses as high as 70%. This surprising enthusiasm for wind turbines is likely down to targeted survey questions, but overall there is a general sense of endorsement. Similar research in the US and Britain has shown no

dependable correlation between wind farms and property values.

These opponents need to take a lesson from the Spanish and the Germans whose citizens seem to have been persuaded of the importance of renewable energy and are now set to reap the rewards.

Irish attitudes to wind farms are also positive, with landowners welcoming the construction of windmills on their property.

Element Power, a global renewable energy developer, have announced Project Greenwire, a 700-turbine development in the midlands whose primary aim is to take advantage of the UK renewable requirement, potentially worth €1.2bn a year, while also providing Ireland with additional energy security.

Two objective arguments that stand against the establishment of wind farms are the destruction of birdlife and the intermittency of the power supply. Most frequently cited is the threat to bird populations; an Australian wind farm was almost abandoned due to a perceived threat to the orange-bellied parrot, despite research indicating otherwise.

In Denmark, it is estimated that 30,000 birds are killed each year due to wind turbines. This figure is 3% of the amount of birds killed each year by Danish cars, and yet there have been no complaints lodged against car manufacturers to date on account of their products’ detrimental effect on bird populations. As of 2011, 28% of Danish electricity was wind-generated, which will certainly have a beneficial net effect on wildlife.

Critics are often heard to say that, since peak wind is period-

ic, power plants need to be kept operational to pick up the slack when the wind drops, and thus wind has no place in the future of energy supply. Again, a commonly cited example is the Danish farms, which handle supply lulls with coal-fired plants. The electricity storage problem is an oft-cited one, as the electricity grid cannot store any power. Supply must equal demand, so how are we to make up the shortfall during wind fluctuations? One solution that has seen remarkable results in Scandinavia and Britain is pumped-storage hydropower: water is pumped from a lower to higher lake when electricity is cheap, and it is extracted back through submerged turbines when it is needed. What is remarkable about these facilities is that they can be switched on extremely fast. The station at Dinorwig, north Wales, can go from zero to 1.3 gigawatts in 12 seconds, more than enough to cope with any slew rate that wind-fluctuations could create.

In the face of feeble gainsaying and anecdotal evidence, the act of building the turbines is unquestionably a step in the right direction; the sight of the white windmills on the horizon evidently does not detract from a landscape, but rather adds to it, possibly through feelings of affirmative action in the face of climate change. Critics may either accept a new rural paradigm, or complain in the dark; the potential power benefits and the general public’s support have made it clear that wind has a firm place in the future of electricity.

The nature of the experiment Astute observation, careful design and close analysis are the keys to the scientific method. Patrick Michael Hull discusses some classic examples from the annals of science.

Patrick Michael Hull Staff Writer The Oxford English Dictionary describes an experiment as “a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact”.

It should come as no surprise that the experiment is one of the most important areas of science, if not the most important. Theory and postulation is all very well, but without the cold hard facts that an experiment provides, it is very difficult for your ideas to gain much traction; and while many would claim that coming up with a new concept is the most challenging thing, sometimes it is the sheer audacity and originality of experiments that makes the most impact.

As an undergraduate student of natural sciences, the rationale behind an experiment is that it is designed to show something to which you know the answer already. Voltage is directly proportional to current; the reaction of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid creates water and sodium chloride. Any strange or unusual results tend to be explained away as being due to “time constraints” or inaccurate measuring equipment. This allows you to conveniently avoid the conclusion that the force of gravity is three times

stronger in one corner of the laboratory in the Sniams building, an outcome which would more than likely herald the end of the world.

Historically, however, there have been experiments in which the unexpected result has, in fact, been the correct one and the experiment has caused a rethink of the theory. A striking example of this took place in 1909 in a laboratory in the University of Manchester. As every person who has done leaving certificate chemistry knows, in the early 1900s the accepted model for the structure of an atom was the plum-pudding model. This saw the atom as a sphere of positive charge, with electrons – negatively charged particles – studded throughout the sphere like plums in a pudding mixture.

Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden, two scientists working under the supervision of the New Zealander chemist and physicist Ernest Rutherford, were performing an experiment which involved firing heavy positive particles at a thin sheet of gold foil. According to the wisdom of the day the particles should have passed through the gold foil easily, suffering only minor deflections, because of the wide spread of positive charge in

Unexpected results from the laboratory of Ernest Rutherford (pictured) supervised experiments caused a shift in the understanding of atomic structure. the atoms of the foil and the fact that the particles being fired were relatively heavy. The actual result of the experiment led to one of the more famous quotes in scientific history. Rutherford later said: “It was quite the most incredible

event that has ever happened to me in my life. It was almost as incredible as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper and it came back and hit you.”

What Geiger and Marsden found was that, while most of the

particles passed through uninhibited, some were deflected through considerably large angles while a small number of particles were deflected through very large angles greater than 90 degrees. The result of the gold-foil experiment

gen and nitrogen oxides prevalent in the water. The conditions in Lake Vida are similar to those in ,the frozen lakes on Mars and on Jupiter’s moon Europa, so it is hoped that an investigation of some of Antarctica’s older lakes, such as Lake Vostok and Lake Ellsworth, which have been frozen for millions of years, could indicate whether life in such harsh environments is sustainable in the long term.

Artificial silk given strength through music Spider silk is known to be one of the strongest fibres found in nature, but an artificial method of synthesising it reliably has long eluded scientists. An innovative new approach employing musical techniques from researchers in Tufts University and Boston University in the US may finally solve the puzzle. Spider silk is made of highly-ordered layered proteins, and scientists have had limited success reproducing it

by trial and error. The new study found that, by translating the ordered structure of the proteins into a musical composition and assigning different properties to musical elements, they were able to create distinct melodies characteristic of different fibres.

It is hoped that this new method of simulation could be used to indicate the properties of a host of new materials before they are synthesised.

Old folk remedies get new turn An old Tibetan folk remedy, made from a parasitic caterpillar fungus is receiving widespread attention from the scientific community after it was found that the fungus, Cordyceps, is a novel antiinflammatory.

Only found on the Tibetan plateau, Cordyceps has long been used as a cure-all for everything from cancer to asthma. Cordycepin, a chemical recently derived from

the fungus, was discovered to be the anti-inflammatory agent at work; it acts by inhibiting swelling at a genetic cellular level.

This is a different approach to all current anti-inflammatory medications, so there are high hopes that it could have widespread success in conventional medicine as a treatment for a wide range of conditions.

caused a huge shift in the understanding of atomic structure and gave us the model that we still hold today: the positive charge in an atom is concentrated in a very small area of space known as the nucleus, rather than throughout the atom’s volume.

There is another type of experiment that induces marvel; Albert Michelson and Edward Morley’s 1887 experiment falls into this category. Again, it was a useful experiment for debunking incorrectly held theories (it is sometimes known as the most famous failed experiment of all time), but it is more striking for the fact that it is an experiment whose genius lay in its devising.

From around the second half of the 1600s it had been known that light has a finite speed, and the fact that light behaves like a wave had also been established. It was quite reasonably suggested that, just as water and sound waves require a medium to travel through, light waves must require one too.

This led scientists to surmise that the universe was filled with a luminiferous ether that carried waves of light from the sun to earth. The task Michelson and Morley set themselves was detecting this massless, transparent, incompressible fluid by measuring the ether wind, the drag force created as the earth moved through the ether.

Most people would see this as an impossible task and quickly give up, but the pair came up with an ingenious solution. By taking a beam of light and sending it through a half-plated mirror, they were able to split the light into two beams travelling perpendicular to each other.

These beams would travel a certain distance, be reflected by an-

other mirror and then be recombined by the half-plated mirror again to show up on a screen. If both beams of light had travelled the same distance at the same speed then a single continuous spot would show up. However, if the ether wind was present, one beam of light would travel faster (having been helped along more by the ether wind) and a pattern would show up on the screen due to a mismatch when the beams of light recombined.

To Michelson and Morley’s surprise, the splitting pattern was never observed, despite them repeating the experiment at different times of the year to try and account for seasonal shifts. They had managed to disprove the concept of the ether wind through brilliant experimental technique, even if it was not the result they had set out to find.

There is a final form of experiment, ones which aspiring scientists are highly discouraged from undertaking and which involve dangerously hands-on commitment from the experimenter.

Benjamin Franklin’s research into electricity is a prime example of this. It involved flying a kite in a thunderstorm, with the string from the kite connected to a key.

Luckily for Franklin, the kite was not struck directly by a lightning bolt, but his results did allow him to confirm that lightning had an electric nature. Although it is unlikely that health and safety regulations would allow such an experiment to go through these days it is worth remembering, if only to demonstrate that, with a curious mind and a desire to discover, confirm or rebuff a theory, the potential and scope of experimental procedure is almost limitless.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

21

Science

A depleted oil field in Azerbaijan.

Fuelling our way forward As we continue to feel the financial squeeze and environmental consequences of our reliance on crude-oil products, Robert Conway-Kenny looks into some alternatives.

T

Robert Conway Kenny Staff Writer

he discovery of crude oil was a double-sided sword; on one side it remains the single greatest miracle for the advancement of human innovation and discovery, and on the other it is the single greatest accelerant for the destruction of our planet. As the world scrambles for the final few drops of this elixir, viable and environmentally friendly alternatives are beginning to surface which will make a real dent in the crude oil market.

There is little doubt that hydrogen will play a central role in supplying the energy demands of a power-hungry population in the future. It will be a clean fuel source with the potential for huge advances in energy production, allowing the human race to advance on terra firma and into the cosmos. Its isomer, deuterium, will power the currentlytheorised fusion reactors, ending years of energy speculation on the stock markets.

However, hydrogen appears slow to reveal its secrets, and with the current volatility in the Middle East we must once again return to its neighbour on the peri-

odic table, carbon, for our energy needs.

Crude oil is really something special. Ask any synthetic chemist and they will tell you that making carbon-carbon bonds is difficult and expensive, so the discovery of massive quantities of hydrocarbons that could simply be pumped out of the ground really puts the importance of crude oil into perspective. From this unprocessed oil it is possible to retrieve petroleum gas, kerosene, petrol, diesel, fuel oil and lubricating oils.

What is more amazing is that, to separate all of these different products, the oil needs only to be heated and distilled. These hydrocarbons are also crucial to the pharmaceutical industry and, without them, the plastics industry would not exist. So it is clear that, whilst hydrogen may solve our eventual energy crisis, the generation of new sources of complex hydrocarbons for energy and consumables is urgent and necessary.

One of these sources is biofuels.

As per the Collins Dictionary, a

biofuel is a gaseous, liquid, or solid substance of biological origin that is used as a fuel. These fuels can be derived from fast-growing crops designed specifically for the purpose of fuel production, or can be retrieved from crop waste.

The fuels enjoyed initial success but suffered the same demise as solar panels when the technology available did not live up to expectations. Yet just as the humble solar panel is enjoying a revival of late, due to credible advances in solar-cell material science, biofuels are starting to demonstrate their potential for real change in the energy market.

The poster child of the biofuel movement is biodiesel. It is easily made from vegetable oil and requires minimal engine modifications to run a high biodiesellow petrodiesel blend. It can also be used to heat homes and businesses, and has recently been used to power trains and other public transport vehicles. It has also been demonstrated that landfill plastic waste can be converted to biodiesel in a relatively simple manner using some clever

chemistry. With few known environmental faults, biodiesel should remain the premier fuel replacement in the future.

One major drawback, however, is the lack of engine power. Petrol is a lighter alkane-carbon-based fuel, and thus has higher potential for being used to power engines. Compare a petrol-fuelled sports car versus a diesel one, and one cannot escape the fact that diesel is just too slow. Aircraft run on even lighter fuels due to the even greater need for engine power. While biodiesel will find numerous applications, the demand is growing for other lighter biofuel options. One such option is bioethanol. The ethanol, which is the same ethanol found in drinkable alcohol, is generated from crop sources. Crops such as Miscanthus, sugar cane and corn are usually grown specifically for the ethanol, which is retrieved by fermentation of the sugars contained in the crops. Ethanol can be burned directly, but is usually mixed with petrol in a specific mixture known as E85 for use in motor vehicles. Bioethanol as a

“

Bioethanol is not any greener than petrol and may actually generate increased levels of nitrous oxide.

fuel source has many advantages: it is readily available from many crop species, and has a higher octane value than regular petrol. It is also a renewable fuel, which in theory means that it removes as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during crop growth as it produces when the end product is burned. As its production can be regulated, and thus is more consistent, speculation is removed.

However, when pollution arising from the production of ethanol is considered (for instance, emissions during its purification), bioethanol is not any greener than petrol and may actually generate increased levels of nitrous oxide, a notorious air pollutant responsible for ozone depletion.

There is also growing concern for an impact on food production if lands and resources are used for growing fuel crops than food crops. Bioethanol may have a big future but will not be sufficient to satisfy a power hungry population in larger quantities.

It should be getting clear that biofuels seek to mimic the abilities of fossil fuels, which makes sense, as existing technologies will not become redundant and there is already a network into which they can be integrated. In this case, we need only find fuels that are closer in ability to fossil fuels, if not better than them. As such, why not just reuse the fuel?

One new biofuel claims to do just that and, should it pass current studies for toxicity in nature, will prove to be a game changer in the energy market.

A small company in New Zealand recently developed a method of carbon capture from carbon monoxide, using microbes capable of synthesising complex hydrocarbons. The world did not take much notice until Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group decided he wanted to fuel the planes of his Virgin Atlantic company with the fuel. Overnight, the fuel became a real contender. Whilst still in development, the chief executive of one of the world’s most successful airlines would not endorse the product without serious proof of concept.

As carbon monoxide is produced in colossal amounts in various manufacturing industries, the necessary starting material is readily available. The reality is that, if this new fuel stands up to international demands, it will prove to be the necessary bridge to our hydrogen future.

Casting a light on breast cancer From initial diagnosis to specialist medications and surgery, Conor O’Donovan outlines what those undergoing treatment for breast cancer can expect.

Y Conor O’Donovan Staff Writer

ou’ve found a breast lump. Don’t panic. Getting it checked by your GP is the best thing you can do, but making the first step in doing this can be intimidating. What can you expect to happen?

Specialist breast care in Ireland is administered through eight centres of excellence around the country: four in Dublin, including one at the Trinity-affiliated St James’ Hospital, and one in each of Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway. All breast problems that require more expert opinion than that of a general practitioner are referred to one of these eight centres.

GPs or other referring physicians triage which patients should go for specialist review based on an objective judgement of the urgency of the problem. Usually, this depends on how likely it is that the underlying problem is breast cancer. Patients whose characteristics are the most worrying, such as older women, those with a strong family history of breast cancer, or with a previous history of breast disease, are referred most urgently and are seen by a breast specialist at the earliest available opportunity, usually within two weeks.

At the breast unit, the patient will first be interviewed by a specialist clinician (usually a breast surgeon) and assessed for breast cancer risk based on medical history. Most of the risk factors for breast cancer are related to the duration and degree of exposure to female hormones (especially oestrogen). Female gender is the biggest risk factor (only 1% of breast cancers occur in men).

Breast cancer is a disease of older women, with the peak of incidence occurring at around 7580 years of age. Lower age at menarche (first menstruation) and higher age at first childbirth are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. The risk is also increased for women with a firstdegree relative (mother, daughter or sister) diagnosed with breast cancer, especially if that cancer occurred at a young age. However, most women with breast cancer have no known family history of the disease.

Post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases the risk of breast cancer; however, the contraceptive pill

(which also contains female hormones) has not been convincingly shown to affect breast cancer risk. Some breast cancers happen due to specific inherited genetic mutations, such as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene defects, which occur in approximately 1 in 800 women.

While these two genetic disorders account for the majority of familial breast cancer associated with a specific gene, they account for only 3% of breast cancers overall.

At the time of the initial interview, the specialist will also physically examine both breasts, looking for lumps or lesions, changes in the shape or contour of the breast, or changes in the overlying skin or nipple. Some characteristics of a breast lump are of more concern to the clinician than others.

Secondly, depending on the degree of clinical suspicion regarding the breast lump, the specialist may order radiological imaging of the breasts. In younger women, or those with a clearly defined lump, an ultrasound scan of the lump and surrounding tissue can be sufficient, but most require breast X-ray (mammography), or both.

A small minority undergo scanning by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

Furthermore, a more clinically worrying lump will undergo imaging sooner (often on the same day as the first interview with the specialist) than a lump deemed, by clinical judgement, more likely to be benign (in which case it may be appropriate to have breast imaging done several weeks later).

Based on the combined opinion of the examining clinician and the specialist breast radiologist who examines the ultrasound or x-ray, further testing may be required to determine the nature of the lump.

In this case, a needle biopsy may be performed; a small sample of the lump is removed under anaesthetic and is examined under a microscope by a specialist breast pathologist. In other cases, fineneedle aspiration is done, where only a small number of cells are removed for examination using a needle of small diameter. Biopsy (also known as tissue diagnosis) is the most accurate means of diagnosing breast cancer without undergoing surgery.

These three components – clinical, radiological and patho-

Dublin Institute of Technology’s Camping Society held its bra walk again this year on 27th March in aid of breast cancer, raising €6,000.

“

Breast cancer is a disease of older women, with the peak of incidence occurring at around 75-80 years of age.

logical – comprise the “triple assessment” of breast care. A team of specialist doctors and related healthcare workers discusses the compiled findings of all three assessments, and a decision is jointly made as to how best to proceed, in a prime example of multidisciplinary care.

Breast lumps can be due to many different causes, and are generally classified as benign or malignant – that is, according to whether or not there is a risk of recurrence or spread to other parts of the body. Benign causes of breast lumps include, among others: fat necrosis, which can develop after physical injury to the breast tissue; fibroadenoma, also known as a “breast mouse”, which is the most common cause of a discrete lump in women under 30; lipoma, which is a benign tumour of fat cells; intraductal papilloma, which may cause nipple discharge; solitary cyst, which is a fluid-filled cavity; and fibrocystic change, which may be discrete or cause diffuse lumpiness of the breast.

Breast cancer, which is malignant by definition, can be of many different types. The most common is invasive ductal carcinoma; other types include lobular carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma and inflammatory carcinoma. One in 11 women living to the age of 75 will develop

breast cancer at some time during her life. Each year in Ireland, there are nearly 2,500 new cases of breast cancer, and about 670 deaths occur due to the disease.

The first line of treatment, for most cases of breast cancer, is surgery, which may be either removal of the tumour alone, along with a margin of unaffected tissue (known as wide local excision or lumpectomy), or removal of the entire breast (mastectomy). Because cancer often spreads early to lymph nodes in the armpit, these may also be removed surgically, in what is known as a modified radical mastectomy. Some women may be suitable for immediate breast reconstruction using implants at the same time as their breast surgery.

Radiation treatment may be appropriate if surgery is unsuitable, to reduce risk of recurrence, or indeed in the case of tumour recurrence. Chemotherapy involves the administration of drugs which kill tumour cells indiscriminately; because these drugs kill rapidlydividing cells, they have side effects on other, normally-dividing cells in the body, such as those in the hair follicles (causing baldness), gastrointestinal tract, and bone marrow (causing anaemia, and other low blood counts). Nausea and vomiting are managed with anti-emetic drugs.

Chemotherapy may be recom-

mended for women who have metastatic cancer, women who have already undergone surgery for a confined breast tumour (known as adjuvant therapy), or women before their surgery, to reduce the size of the tumour prior to resection (known as neoadjuvant therapy).

Some drug therapies are directed more specifically at mechanisms known to drive tumour growth. The so-called “anti-hormone” medications, such as tamoxifen, inhibit the body’s natural oestrogen, on which many breast cancers are reliant as a growth signal. Modern monoclonal antibody therapies, such as trastuzumab (sold under the brand name Herceptin), are targeted at molecules that are specifically expressed on tumour cells, and use the body’s immune system to target the tumour cells for destruction. Some women with breast cancer may be suitable for a test of tumour gene expression (known as OncoType Dx), which may be useful to subclassify the tumour and to predict its response to chemotherapy.

Male or female, if you discover a breast lump or a change in the nipple, size, contour, shape or overlying skin of the breast, you should get it checked out by your GP.

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

Ladies’ Rugby

Sport

22

DU Ladies’ Football Club victorious in Kay Bowen Intervarsity Cup clash with UCC

p24

Top 10 Sporting Moments

2012

Tennis

Federer beats Murray at Wimbledon In this year’s Wimbledon final, Roger Federer took on Britain’s Andy Murray, beating him in four sets. It was the first final in 74 years featuring a British competitor, the last being Bunny Austin in 1938. Fans including the UK prime minister, David Cameron, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, and David and Victoria Beckham all watched on in the hope that Murray would emulate the success of Fred Perry, the last British man to win the men’s singles final.

Though losing the first set 4-6, Federer went on to win the next

by Sarah Burns & James Hussey

three by 7-5, 6-3 and 6-4, securing his seventh Wimbledon singles title. The victory meant Federer reclaimed the world number one spot from Serb Novak Djokovic, although he has now dropped back to second place.

Federer and Murray have now met three times at grand slam finals, Federer winning all three.

However, Murray did redeem himself at this summer’s Olympic Games, winning gold in the men’s singles final against Federer (becoming the first British champion since 1908) and then going on to win the US Open. SB

On the last day of the 2011-12 season, Manchester City lifted the Premiership title for the first time in 44 years after beating QPR, just. With 89 minutes on the clock, City fans were staring at the most embarrassing defeat in the club’s history, a 2-1 loss to a team flirting with relegation, with the title slipping through their fingers and, worst of all, heading back to their bitter local rivals Manchester United.

However, goals from Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko in the closing minutes of the game en-

sponsorship deals.

His victory at the Honda Classic golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in March secured the world number one spot for the County Down man, making him the second youngest golfer to do so, at just 22. Recently, McIlroy indicated that his 2013 schedule will be significantly different from 2012, when he played 15 times on the PGA Tour and eight times on the European Tour. SB

Cycling

Bolt broke yet another record, finishing in just 9.63 seconds and becoming the first man to defend an Olympic sprint title since Carl Lewis in 1988. Bolt also propelled himself into Olympic history by becoming the first man to win the 100 metres and 200 metres in consecutive games.

The 26-year-old recently revealed that he hopes to compete in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Having missed the equivalent in 2010, Bolt now appears eager to add a Commonwealth gold medal to his growing collection.SB

sured that the title would go to the Blues, capping a hugely successful season, which included a 6-1 victory at Old Trafford.

Such a dramatic conclusion to a title race had not been seen since 1989, when Arsenal travelled to Anfield for the final game of the season, needing to win by two goals to deny Liverpool the championship. Arsenal had not scored two goals at Anfield since 1973, but that day the Kop was silenced with goals from Alan Smith and Michael Thomas, ensuring a 2-0 victory for the Gunners. SB

Rugby football

The fall of Armstrong

Leinster secures Heineken Cup

ed sordid details of Armstrong’s performance-enhancing drug (PED) injections and the sharing of testosterone patches around race time.

On 22nd October, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced that it would not seek an appeal of the American agency’s findings, forthwith banning Armstrong for life and stripping him of his titles, backdated to 1st August 1998.

The shame with Armstrong is the web of lies that he has strung this adoring public on for close to two decades. The relationship has been broken irrevocably. As Nietzsche said: “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”

JH

Leinster Rugby made it three Heineken Cup titles in four years after a comfortable 42-14 win over Ulster in the first ever allIreland final at Twickenham this year. Tries from Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy gave Leinster a 14-6 lead at half-time, with two successful penalties kicked by South African Ruan Pienaar in return.

The second half featured more of the same, with Leinster adding three more tries to their tally, and a total of 17 points were kicked by fly-half Jonathan Sexton. While Leinster were clear favourites going into the game, few expected such a convincing win, with even

hooker Sean Cronin adding his name to the score sheet in the closing minutes.

Leinster’s defence of their Heineken Cup continues next Saturday, with a home fixture at the Aviva Stadium against Clermont Auvergne. With the number of tickets sold for the match being well over the 40,000 mark, it shows Leinster are as well supported as ever as they aim to make it three titles in a row as well as complete the double of European and RaboDirect Pro12 titles, which they narrowly missed out on this year. SB

Association football

Basketball

Spain wins Euro 2012

LeBron triumphs The Dallas Mavericks’ triumph in last year’s NBA Championship final against the Miami Heat was a fairytale ending to a fractious season in court action. The sight of Dirk Nowitzki, the de facto king of European basketball, holding the Larry O’Brien trophy aloft captured the imagination of millions. The hardworking, talented German finally getting his just desserts after years of heartache and near misses was a truly inspirational moment.

Coupled with Nowitzki’s victory, the loss of his perceived antithesis, LeBron James, and the flashy, built-to-win Miami Heat, was a welcome reminder that sport is not always as mechanical as assembling talent in the style of Chelsea or Manchester City.

The Heat blazed through their shortened-season 66 fixtures, showing a poise and composure that had been noticeably absent in the first year of the JamesWade-Bosh partnership in South Beach. The LeBron-inspired side defeated the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, before conquering the Indiana Pacers to gain a berth in the

Following Usain Bolt’s elimination from the 2011 World Championships in Daegu (where he was guilty of a false start), as well as coming second at the Jamaican trials in both the 100 metres and 200 metres events, there was much speculation as to whether the athlete could emulate his performance at Beijing in 2008. The Jamaican did not disappoint. Bolt secured gold for the 100-metre and 200-metre sprints and the 4x100-metre relay alongside Jamaican teammates Yohan Blake, Michael Frater and Nesta Carter.

In the final of the 100 metres

Manchester City wins the Premier League

Rory McIlroy becomes world number one

Lance Armstrong was supposed to be untouchable. A cancer survivor with a ferocious will to win and to prove that he was bigger than the disease, the Texan was the face of road cycling and, without recanting a hackneyed phrase, was a hero to millions in all walks of life.

In June of this year, the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) accused Armstrong of systematic doping and trafficking drugs, based on blood samples taken from the cyclist’s times with the Astana and Radio Shack teams and testimony given by witnesses, including former teammates.

Floyd Landis, himself a disgraced former winner of the 2006 Tour de France, was one of a number of accusers that recount-

Usain Bolt’s performance at the Olympics

Association football

Golf

What a year 2012 has been for Northern Irish golfer Rory McIIroy: winning the PGA Championship by a record eight strokes (including a birdie on the final hole) and the BMW Championship, as well as being part of Europe’s victory in the Ryder Cup. To cap off his season, McIlroy went on to win the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, beating Justin Rose by two shots. His winnings of $12m (¤9.2m) were only a fraction of what he earned off the course from several lucrative

Athletics

NBA finals.

LeBron and the Heat were not to be denied for the second year in succession, however, winning the seven game series after just five games, silencing the critics that questioned his ability “in the clutch”. The Heat has started the 2012-2013 season in similarly impressive fashion, having added veteran shooter Ray Allen to their corps. JH

Illustration: Sinead Mercier

Spain became the first ever team to win three major international competitions consecutively with their remarkable 4-0 victory over Italy in this year’s Euro 2012 Final at Kiev. Goals from Silva, Alba, Torres and Mata sealed the deal for Spain, who played most of the tournament without a recognised striker.

Ireland had the distinction of sharing a group with the eventual finalists but the performance of Giovanni Trapattoni’s charges was deeply disappointing. They lost 3-1 to Croatia in their open-

Association football

Chelsea wins the Champions League The first finalists since 1984 to have the home advantage in a decider, Bayern Munich were supposed to win the Champions League against a Chelsea side ravaged by suspensions to key players, including the talismanic but controversial central defender John Terry. This final had to go according to plan.

Thomas Müller broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute, sending the stadium into raptures and leaving Chelsea facing more final heartbreak.

Ivorian striker Didier Drogba had other ideas, however, powering a Juan Mata corner past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal in the 89th minute. The Chelsea goalscorer had a rollercoaster night,

giving away a penalty in the fifth minute of extra time after a foul on Franck Ribéry. A weak shot by former Chelsea player Arjen Robben (yet another of the night’s subplots) was saved by Cech and the match was destined for a penalty shootout.

The rest is history, the club becoming the first London side to lift the coveted trophy. The final will not be remembered as an absolute classic; the domination of Bayern and the lack of fluid attacking meant that the game stagnated for lengthy periods.

Chelsea (and John Terry) lifted the trophy, vindicated Roberto di Matteo and seemingly justified Roman Abramovich’s method of buying success. JH

Boxing

Katie Taylor wins gold in London Katie Taylor secured Ireland’s first gold medal at the Olympic Games in 16 years with her hotly anticipated final over Russia’s Sofya Ochigava. The 26-year-old from Bray came from behind to win the female boxing lightweight title at the ExCeL Arena in London in August.

In the first Olympic Games in which women competed inside the boxing ring, the fight filled out the arena with hundreds of Irish fans giving noisy support to the Wicklow native. Among the

spectators that day were the comedian Dara Ó Briain and even Princess Anne. While Taylor was the hot favourite going into the fight, Ochigava had previously beaten her in a bout in the Czech Republic in 2010.

Taylor recently confirmed that she is staying amateur after a number of offers for her to turn professional in the US. Instead, she has set her sights on a repeat performance at the Rio Olympics in four years’ time. SB

ing game and were then thrashed 4-0 by the eventual champions.

Despite demands that Trapattoni freshen up the team for the last, meaningless game, the Italian insisted on fielding his “strongest” lineup, and they duly lost 2-0.

Spain and Italy had opened their Euro 2012 campaigns with a 1-1 draw, but Vincente del Bosque’s side were transformed in a onesided final.

It took Spain 44 years of trying to win a major tournament until 2008. Yet, in just four years, they added another two. SB

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

23

Sport

Duhac Ladies: success in the short and long run James Hussey sits down with the ladies’ captains of DU Harriers and Athletics Club about their plans for the rest of the sporting year and how they intend to repeat their intervarsity successes.

T James Hussey Deputy Sport

The consistent excellence shown

by Trinity’s sports teams this Michaelmas term has perhaps been encapsulated in the efforts of the DU Harriers and Athletics Club (Duhac) Ladies’ team.

The club, fresh from a third place finish in a gruelling intervarsity relay in Maynooth, have started the season as they mean to go on, a mix of veteran experience and exuberant young talent providing a solid basis for further success.

Speaking to the Ladies’ Harriers captain, Irene Gorman, and the Ladies’ Track captain, Atalanta Copeman-Papas, I understand the sense of camaraderie and friendship within the club that has helped establish such high standards.

“Everybody is really enjoying the year in Duhac,” says Gorman. “There is a great atmosphere at training sessions and this has undoubtedly helped us in our first few races. In our first competition, the Colours road relays against UCD, the ladies’ team were victorious while, unfortunately, the men’s team were unsuccessful. This early win was crucial for us and we were able to build on it with an excellent third place in the Maynooth competition, finishing just behind two highly favoured teams from DCU and UCC.” The introduction to Duhac of junior freshman engineering student Iseult O’Donnell has provided the club with a prodigious talent, and one that has already begun to deliver on early flashes of potential. Irene speaks again about the young athlete and what she has brought to the team.

“It’s always fantastic to get new talent into the club and to see them challenge for places straight away is an added bonus. Iseult led off our relay team in Maynooth, taking the first mile, and she finished before any of the other athletes. I took the second leg before handing over to Maria O’Sullivan.

Niamh Donnelly took the final leg with the team finishing third. It

was a great result for us and brilliant to see young promise coming through the ranks.”

Papas is equally effusive about the young Raheny athlete’s performances with Duhac. O’Donnell is ranked in the top five in the country for her age bracket at both the 400m and 800m. The addition of a number of younger sprinters is also a cause of delight for the track captain, who anticipates a successful year for the non-Harriers in the club.

“Other than myself and a couple of stalwarts like Ciara McCallion, it’s mostly newcomers in the track events, particularly the shorter distances. The addition of Iseult is a real bonus for the track season and we’re really looking forward to seeing her and our other young sprinters and athletes in action this year. There’s great vibes coming up to this indoor season so I’m excited.”

Duhac, it seems, is in rude health, the continued practice of having both genders training together proving extremely fruitful for all athletes involved.

The closeness of the Harriers and Track teams has provided a healthy competition, with the recent domination of the former steeling Papas’s determination for an improvement on the track.

“Until a couple of years ago, it was the Track team that were dominating things and really taking control. Now the focus has shifted towards Harriers, and that’s well deserved. It’s my job to try and bring us back to the forefront.”

The diversity of Duhac is something that appeals to Gorman, her captaincy coming at a time of a running boom in the country, the post-Olympics (and Natalya Coyle) aura still enveloping College. The presence of veteran athletes, mixed with new, up-andcoming runners, has given the Harriers a renewed impetus in their push for success.

“Our training sessions are an excellent representation of the

variety of athletes in the club. It ranges from our very top athletes, those who would be competitive on a national level and beyond, to those just beginning training, to those just wanting to introduce fitness into their lives. Compared to other universities, there is so much interaction between tiers, something that was evident in abundance at the recent intervarsity competition.”

Papas is quick to reiterate her counterpart’s point that the development of Duhac is a result of the symbiotic relationship between both sides of the club. “There’s a really good connection between Harriers and Track teams. It can be tough to bring everybody together because training is so different and separate but we have loads of events which really promote bonding between the two different groups.”

Despite successes in the year’s early contests, Duhac’s ladies’ captains are looking towards competitions in Hilary term as a true measure of the club’s ability.

With the intervarsity cross-country championships coming up in March, the Harriers are looking to build on last year’s bronze medal performance. Gorman continues: “We are hoping to match up to our performance from early 2012 in the cross-country competition.

A number of our stalwart cross runners are injured or otherwise engaged at the minute and have not been able to participate to the level they would have wished for at this stage of the year. We are, however, looking forward to welcoming Bryony Treston and Becky Woods back for the crosscountry event and hopefully we can be in medal contention again.”

The indoor season holds the predominant focus for the Track team, and Papas has high hopes that this talented young squad will end the drought in shortcourse events.

“The Track team is looking re-

ally good this year. In the last few years, we haven’t recruited that many new sprinters or field competitors. Despite our lack of success last year in sprinting, there has been a really good ladies presence on the track at training every week and everybody has a really strong positive attitude coming up to the indoor season.

We’re really hoping that our for-

tunes will change this year.”

Duhac Ladies forge ahead with a restored sense of closeness and momentum for the events to come. Recent results suggest a promising year for the club and, under the guidance of veteran members and their respective captains, Trinity athletics looks to Hilary term with fresh confidence and renewed vigour.

with a laidback cadence for such a pacey player. He kept heaping the plaudits on his colleagues: “Vocally they were just brilliant on the night, encouraging me all the time but also over the past couple of weeks they have been giving me a lot of self-belief in training. The two of them are both great confidence builders, so it is great when you are playing with two players of that class.

It helps boost your confidence as

you play.”

Bowe, who reached his half-century of Ireland caps against the Springboks, came in for more admiration as a mentor. 21-yearold Gilroy faced the media spotlight upon making such a splash against both Fiji and Argentina.

He explained what a great honour it was to be handed his first international test jersey by the Monaghan native, along with how much support and knowledge the

Photo: Atalanta Copeman-Papas

Young, and not so young, blood transfuse new life into the heart of Irish rugby Quidi quia nam verspernam, con poriber ovidererum con eum vel moluptate vel int volecus exceprorem. Voluptis es eossunt quibus a

O Kate Rowan Staff Writer

ne of the best sporting cliches to describe the recipe of success in a team setting is to talk about infusing youth with experience. In the aftermath of Ireland’s emphatic win over Argentina there was talk of a “transfusion” of new blood into the green jersey. Much of this new blood grabbing the headlines over the past week has been drawn from Ulster, especially test debutant try scorer Craig Gilroy.

Not all of the new blood that has helped eased anxieties amongst the Irish rugby public – in getting not just a much needed win against Los Pumas, but doing it in style – has been the transfusion of necessarily younger blood into the squad. Case in point: the man-of-the-match performance against South Africa from Mike McCarthy. At 31 years of age, with just six caps to his name, McCarthy proved himself an indispensable player for Ireland during the autumn international series, stepping into the formidable boots of Paul O’Connell.

At the start of the series, it seemed like a steep challenge to compensate for the loss of both the 2011 and 2012 European players of the year in Seán O’Brien and Rob Kearney respectively. Yet with Ulster’s Chris Henry stepping in at the open side and Munster’s zippy Simon Zebo swapping the wing for fullback, there were two more reasons to be optimistic.

What makes Henry and Zebo’s seizing of opportunity in the face of two such high profile absentees is not just the contrast in position or the geography of their home provinces but how, at just 22, the Corkman seems to have suddenly seared his presence into the Irish rugby conscience over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, it has been more of a slow-burning transition from provincial to international for the Ulster flanker.

As 28-year-old Henry explained just days before winning his fourth cap: “I have been in the squad for years now and I am now getting the opportunities (due to injury), but unless you perform on the pitch at the weekend, all

the opportunities won’t matter though.”

Last season’s Ulster player of the year, when asked if it is strange for him to compare his more gradual ascent with that of starlets such as Gilroy, expounded on how the injection of youth has helped lift the squad: “It is funny because myself and some of the slightly older guys who are just breaking through like Darren Cave were just talking about players such as Iain Henderson, how you see them getting the opportunity so young.”

Continuing, Henry says: “It is great but that is what we want to see, young guys getting a go. I think if they are ready, they are ready. Obviously, it is a huge step up but I think any young guy who comes in adds great enthusiasm to the squad. It only really drives the other guys on such as myself, because they have no inhibitions.

It brings you back to feeling that way, and that is something that can help us all in how we play.”

Henry spoke with vigour but that was married with bitter disappointment in losing his first test match on home soil against the Springboks. “It is all about Ireland playing at home in front of our home crowd. Losing against South Africa was amongst the worst experiences of my rugby career, but we have invested a lot in each other, we have talked a lot about having belief in each other because of all the injuries there have been and all of the new faces that we now have.”

The Lisburn native spoke with great passion about the concept of the new captain, Jamie Heaslip, that “you just borrow and have pride in the green jersey”, and how all the squad had really bought into that. Additionally: “A lot of it is about playing for each other, I am going out playing for them and they are going out playing for me. That is the mentality this team is building.”

Continuing on the theme of players supporting each other, Zebo was effusive in praise for the Ulster duo of Tommy Bowe and An-

Chris Henry in action for Ireland. drew Trimble who worked with him as part of the back three in his first test at fullback: “The two boys have been absolutely brilliant. Not just are they both great players – and they have proved that season after season – but you have the invaluable aspects of the game that they have shared with me, their work rate and just helping out their fullback as much as possible.”

The affable Munster man speaks

fellow wing had imparted upon him as they had roomed together.

Perhaps the sentiments of Irish rugby fans reflecting upon vanquishing the Pumas can be best encapsulated by another new face to the Irish international scene, the South African-born hooker Richardt Strauss: “We have said that, let’s not just make this a one time performance, and keep the momentum going from here.”

TRINITY NEWS

Wednesday 5th December 2012

Sport

The year in review: Sarah Burns and James Hussey look back on 2012’s top sporting moments p.22

Ladies’ rugby captain, Tara Deane, lifts the Kay Bowen Trophy in College Park. Photo: Peter Wolfe.

Trinity GAA secures Sigerson status

Ladies’ rugby team lifts inaugural intervarsity cup Tara Deane Contributor

O

n a cold Saturday morning at College Park, DU Ladies’ Football Club took on University College Cork (UCC) for the Kay Bowen Trophy. The cup for the new ladies’ rugby intervarsity championship was named after Trinity’s own Kay Bowen, the first woman to be president of an All-Ireland League rugby club (namely our own men’s side, DU Football Club). Trinity’s ladies were keen to keep the trophy at home.

A strong start from the Trinity forwards was met with solid defence from UCC and, despite several quick penalties taken by Trinity flanker Caitlin Crowe, the UCC defensive line could not be breached.

UCC succeeded in turning over the ball and a good run from their flanker moved them out of their own 22, but not for long as the ball was soon back in Trinity hands.

Trinity’s outside centre, Amanda Shovlin, saw an opening and made an impressive run through the UCC backline. She was supported by Aoife Rowan, who took the ball off her toes and went just short of the UCC tryline.

This burst from the backs was not wasted as the forwards were quick in support. Trinity’s captain, Tara Deane, pushed relentlessly against the UCC defence until the opportunity arose in the 21st minute, and the ball was carried over the line by Louise Sullivan for the first score of the game.

UCC responded with intensity and forced Trinity into their own 22 for the first time in the game.

A big performance by the UCC scrum-half and captain, Mona Feehily, led the charge towards the Trinity line, but all attempts were shut down by some great tackles made by second-row duo Nico McNamee and Caroline Von Konig. An outstanding interception by Amanda Shovlin turned the tables and brought the focus back on the UCC defensive, until

Trinity

UCC

10 0

DU Team Sheet Tara Deane Abbey Deane Louise Sullivan Nico McNamee Helen Rooney Niamh Gaskin Lydia Kelly Dona Cromar Aisling Halpin Eibhlin Malone Caroline Von Konig Anne-Caroline Viande

Eva Bodenschatz Amanda Shovlin Faye McKeown Caitlin Crowe Suzanne Thompson Maggie Aljomani Aoife Rowan India McGirr Annik Dennehy Siofra Fogarty Eloise Sheerin Caoimhe Brady Kim Dalton

24th November 2012

the end of the first half with Trinity leading 5-0.

UCC were quick off the mark at the opening of the second half, immediately putting pressure on Trinity in their 22. The Trinity backline held their nerve, reacted to a UCC mistake and cleared the ball to touch. Tremendous followup play from both the backs and the forwards showed Trinity’s determination. Trinity number eight, Abbey Deane, picked from the back of the scum and exploited a gap in the UCC defensive line, making her way back into UCC’s 22.

Trinity continued to be held back by the UCC defence until a kick by Aoife Rowan resulted in a lineout five metres from the tryline. Trinity chose to feed the ball out to their backline where Faye McKeown showed smart game play, avoiding several UCC

tackles and charging her way up the pitch, finally passing off to Amanda Shovlin who scored Trinity’s second try.

UCC showed great spirit in spite of a low number of supporters and facing Trinity on their home pitch. McNamee was named woman of the match for her tireless efforts in defence and attack. Bowen herself presented the cup to Deane, and commended both UCC and DULFC for their roles in promoting ladies’ rugby.

DULFC would like to thank its coaches, Conor Thompson, Phillip Williams and Emma Doyle, for their time and effort that made the win possible, and also sends special thanks to Ducac, DUFC and Jerry Foley, the president of IUFC, for their support.

T John Tighe Staff Writer

his was to be the match that would define not just this season, but also the last, a relegation battle that no one expected DU Gaelic Football Club to win, with the Irish News calling the club “as gutless” a Sigerson team as they had seen. The club’s chances were definitely not helped by the fact that, only in March of this year, the National University of Ireland, Maynooth were playing against Dublin City University in the Sigerson Cup final in Pearse Stadium in Galway, the same weekend we were the Trench Cup. We had put so much effort into getting out of Division Two, none more so than our manager, Ryan Casey, who has given the best part of a decade to Trinity GAA. The dedication has not only been shown by Ryan but also by the old boys who came to the match, which shows that Trinity GAA is much more like a club team than a college one.

The beginning of the match did not bode well for the rest, Seán Higgins being booked early on.

That was followed by a goal which put Maynooth four points up. They continued to push, and Trinity kept pegging them back, with the teams going into half time separated by only one point.

Immediately after the break, the jostling continued with Trinity up by two points until Maynooth scored another fortuitous goal, putting them up by one point again. They scored a further point so that, going into the last 10 minutes of the match, Trinity was three points down. By this stage some players became slightly pessimistic, but still believed that the comeback was possible, and with three quick scores we tied the game. It was at this point that Maynooth began to commit cynical fouls, with their full-forward being booked for tripping one of our players while on the attack.

Trinity dominated the possession and the territory throughout the match; however, the conceding of two freak goals on either side of the half led to this game being much closer than it should have been. The sheer doggedness of Donnacha Ó Cailleatáin set the tone for Trinity’s intensity both

on and off the ball.

The match was a long way away from the time last year when Trinity beat the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown in the League Two final at University College Dublin, a place we desperately did not want to go back to.

A fantastic display from the team captain, Tomás Corrigan, who scored 10 points, spearheaded the effort but his performance was repeated all the way from the goalkeeper to the full-forward line, who put in a gargantuan performance to guarantee that Trinity will stay in the top tier of

college football for another year.

The scale of this achievement was reflected in the sheer jubilation that was shared not only by myself, but every member of the squad, while we wished Maynooth luck in the relegation final.

The freshers, who will make up the backbone of the Gaelic football team in the coming years, were also present and we can only hope that those freshers give the same commitment and determination to the cause of Trinity GAA for many years to come. After Christmas comes the Sigerson Cup, and we will have to be ready all over again.

14th November 2012 Trinity

NUIM

0-16 2-7 DU Team Sheet 1 Plunkett McCullough 4 James McPadden 25 Mickey Boyle 2 Conor O Donoghue 19 Seán Higgins 8 Cormac Noonan 21 Mark Regan 20 Seán Murray 9 Mick O’ Grady 22 Donnacha Ó Cailleatáin 11 Trevor English 3 Paul McPadden 29 Daragh Daly 15 Tomás Corrigan 14 Luke Turley