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Trinity News
Jessie J to play at Trinity Ball Karl McDonald TN2 Editor
The first acts for this year’s Trinity Ball have been announced, with Jessie J and Glasser lined up to perform. The Ball will take place on the 8 April, and tickets are set to go on sale on 23 February. Jessie J is the most prominent of the two acts, with her new single “Price Tag” featuring B.o.B. entering the UK chart at number one this weekend. Her first single “Do It Like A Dude” remains in the chart at seventh position, eleven weeks after its release, having peaked at number two. She was named at first place in the BBC’s influential Sound of 2011 poll. The poll is voted on by music critics and industry insiders in the United Kingdom, and a mention on its final list tends to foreshadow commercial success. Previous winners have included 50 Cent and Mika, and acts such as Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine and last year’s Ball headliner Dizzee Rascal have also featured. At twenty-two, she has also starred on in a West End production and received plaudits from a wide range of people including Justin Timberlake who called her “the best singer in the world right now.” Glasser, though less familiar, promises to be worth seeing. It is the
Est 1953
Trinity nurses protest against salary cuts
An mothaíonn tú an ghrá? Éigse celebrations kick off.
Freya Findlay Staff Reporter
Trinity Nursing students voiced their concerns over pay cuts at an open meeting held in the College last Thursday. Fourth year student nurses and midwives are facing pay cuts to their mandatory ninemonth internship. Currently, fourth year students earn 80 percent of the minimum of qualified nurses. This number is set to drop every year until 2015 when payment will be completely abolished. All nurses and midwives must do this internship as part of their curriculum in order to qualify. The students carry out almost the same role as fully rostered nurses. Steph Fleming,
project of Los Angeles native Cameron Messirow, consisting of icy, ethereal electronica that recalls Bjork and Fever Ray. She has toured with The XX and Jonsí of Sigur Rós. Fabric Magazine said, “Check it out, and when your “There’s lots more to come!” Darragh Genockey, Entertainments Officer friends find out about her six months from now you can say, ‘I told you so.’” Ents Office Darragh Genockey commented that “it’s brilliant that we’ve managed to get an act who’s set to become one of the biggest chart artists of 2011. She’s already had two songs in the top ten within a week.” He added that “there’s lots more to come.” The remainder of the line-up will be announced on Monday 21st February, two days before tickets go on sale. The Trinity Ball, which was until recently Europe’s largest private party, is organised by MCD in co-operation with the SU Ents Officer. As with recent years, the Trinity News team will be producing a Ball Guide complete with interviews and profiles on the whole line-up as well as features on the Ball experience as a whole.
“This is not a case of a group of students losing their bonuses” Steph Fleming, Welfare Officer
SS The annual Irish language week began last Monday with members of An Cumann Gaelach creating a heart, or chroí, in Front Square. Photo courtesy of The Irish Language Office.
Redmond inspires faith in “woeful” USI Aine Pennello Staff Reporter
Education Officer Jen Fox has accused the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) of spending “so much of its time on staying strong, that it has no time to actually use its strength”. She was speaking at an anti-fees talk with Trinity Youth Labour and UCD Professor of Equality Kathleen Lynch last Thursday 3 February. Fox went on to say that in the past, the USI “have been an awful organisation, absolutely woeful”. The comment was made in response to a question from the audience asking why
the USI has not put more pressure on the political parties and TD’s to stop the increase in third-level fees. “Their priorities have been put on, oh God, the most incredibly silly “It’s very easy to be a big fish in Ireland.” – Jen Fox, TCDSU Education Officer things,” Fox continued. However under the direction of current USI President Gary Redmond, Fox said she had more “faith” in the organisation “than I ever did when I was a student, because of the different
change-over of people”. Still Fox insisted that she was not defending the USI in “any way, shape or form”. Speaking about Trinity College’s own influence in the matter, Fox lamented the College’s lack of crossover between SU offices compared to other third-level institutions. “In UCD and on other student unions, you see officers going from Welfare Officer to President of Education to President so there’s a consistency, over at least even a couple of years. “But in Trinity, because there’s so many bright, opinionated and great candidates, that the idea of staying on for more than one year is almost a
negative. So we don’t actually use our consistency to our advantage”. Fox encouraged the Trinity Youth Labour society to pressure the Labour Party on the issue. “It’s very easy to be a big fish in Ireland,” Fox said. “The influence that you have, even in terms of proximity, is incredible for such a small population. It’s very easy to influence people if you are proactive about it”. Speaking on the policies of the Labour Party, Fox said she would like to see the it become “more vocal” on their plans for educational funding, “to get up and say something and come out with their radical change.”
SU Welfare Officer, stressed that “this is not a case of a group of students losing their bonuses.” Many student nurses and midwives are afraid that they will find themselves in financial difficulty because of these planned cuts. Tara Deane, a Nursing student in her second year at Trinity, commented: “It’s something you look forward to for the whole course and it lets you plan things with the thought of that money in the future.” Students voiced concerns at the meeting that patient care could suffer as a result of tired and stressed student nurses and midwives. There were also worries that nursing could become elitist, since prospective students may be deterred by the cuts. According to students, the Health Service Executive spends more money on teabags a year. Fleming and the SU are in support of the student campaign against the cut. On Wednesday 9 February there will be a lunchtime protest in all major hospitals where rostered placements take place. Trinity students will be campaigning at St James’ Hospital. This will be followed by a protest march on Wednesday 16 February, which will begin from Parnell Square at 12:00.
Vol 57
Full background to the story – National News p. 6
Issue 6
8 February, 2011