FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE A YEAR ABROAD ST PETERSBURG & MOSCOW TRAVEL SPECIAL 16-17
WHO WILL HEAD THE NEXT SU? ELECTION SPECIAL 4-6
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TOMB RAIDER 2012
INTERVIEW WITH THE CREATORS
TRINITY NEWS Est 1953
Prof Green put on the bill for Trinity Ball ‘12 Kate Palmer Editor
THE FIRST act for the Trinity Ball 2012 has been confirmed as hip hop pundit Professor Green – who recently emerged in the charts as one of the UK’s most promising rappers. A ticket to the Ball – famed for being Europe’s largest private party – will set students back €78. But Students’ Union Ents Officer Chris O’Connor says the price tag should not put off would-be partygoers. “It’s not just going to be as good as last year – it’s going to be better,” he boasts. That said, the 2011 line-up will be a tough act to follow – headliners Jessie J, The Streets and Bell X1 signalled a high-profile comeback from former Ball flops (think The Script back in 2009). Professor Green (née Stephen Manderson) is no stranger to Trinity’s legendary soirée – he featured in the early-hour slot of the Pop Tent in 2011’s Ball alongside Jenna Toro, Katy B and Chipmunk. But don’t be put off by his relative Ball obscurity – the Hackneyborn musician’s profile has soared in recent months with the likes of I Need
You Tonight and Before I Die. A record deal with Virgin, collaboration with Lily Allen, No.3 UK-chart album and Hollywood set of teeth later, Green’s profile has soared on a scale that rivals the Irish deficit. “The Trinity Ball was crazy, you lot just fucking have it,” reminisced Green in an interview with TN2 last October. No small compliment from an individual who has seen his fair share of crazy in life: from his father’s suicide, the drugs, to being stabbed in the neck outside a London nightclub. What was an epic party for one performer was a tough gig for less hardened acts – Jessie J infamously tweeted after the 2011 Ball: “I was upset to see so many young people not with it,” much to the delight of an Irish media keen to confirm the Trinity-student-rich-lout stereotype. O’Connor says he is “absolutely delighted” with this year’s big names, and that organising the event is not too stressful: “Everything’s falling together at this point.” Exclusive interviews releasing the full lineup, along with fashion shoots and general Ball hype will be released in Trinity News’ annual Ball Guide – out 20 February.
RAG week raises record funds for Trinity charities and hardship funds in a week of competition
The Trinity News staff team beats the University Times hands down on the pitch, winning 19-7 at the RAG Week charity grudge match. Other events included a Pie Your Sabbats day, Quidditch match, and individual fundraisers to the tune of over €11,000
College charities get €11k in aid Manus Lenihan & Kate Palmer College News Editor & Editor
RAG WEEK witnessed a memorable series of events including three-legged pub crawls, Pie your Sabbats day, Trinity’s first-ever game of Quidditch and the TN vs UT Grudge Match. This year there was an emphasis on online donations using mycharity.ie – the site raised €5,000 from individual fundraising bids alone. Along with money made from sign-up sheets and society efforts – including Players’ Eighties Drinks Reception – the charity drive
raised an estimated €11,000. Chris O’Connor deserves a special mention for raising €898.99 for a merciless programme of piercings, along with agonising videos, which appealed to the sadists on campus. O’Connor put his success down to online publicity – and said he might even keep a few of the piercings. This was the most profitable of the mycharity.ie ventures, though several other efforts raised impressive amounts of money – one of which was the Polar Bear Dip, which raised €200. Organiser Hannah Cogan said it was “absolutely worth it – a
huge thanks to the brave souls who jumped with me!” All proceeds went to St. Vincent de Paul, Amnesty International, Suas, Cancer Soc, the Student Hardship Fund, the Voluntary Tuition Programme and the Student 2 Student society. Students’ Union Welfare Officer Louisa Miller said the event was “really important for the societies involved – the individual fundraisers are a crucial source of funding for these groups. We made around €75 from the Pie Your Sabbats event – not bad going for an hour’s work!”
Redundancies deemed in breach of Croke Park deal IFUT concerned for job security in Trinity Academic staff demand deal is kept to IFUT slams “ill-informed” Fine Gael party Manus Lenihan College News Editor
IN RESPONSE to three compulsory redundancy notices served to Trinity College staff members, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has suspended all co-operation with the Croke Park Agreement. IFUT general secretary Mike Jennings said the Labour Court should decide by late March on the three compulsory redundancies in Trinity College. He says the case has “massive ramifications” for the 2010 Croke Park Agreement, in which the Government and public sector unions agreed not to impose public sector layoffs or further cuts in the area. Speaking to Trinity News, Jennings claims that the redundancies are in breach of the Croke Park deal, disputing College’s arguments regarding Contracts of Indefinite Duration (CID) and questions of funding. He also criticised Fine Gael TDs and councillors who have called for the deal to be scrapped. The Government promised no
compulsory redundancies until 2014 in return for productivity increases on the part of public sector workers. The end of the deal would very likely put large-scale industrial action back on the agenda. When asked what the long-term implications of a Labour Court decision in favour of Trinity College might be, Jennings said that IFUT is “pretty confident” that the Labour Court will decide in favour of IFUT. On the other hand, “If it turns out that Croke Park doesn’t give us what it said it would give us, which is job security for our members, you would have to “What Trinity is trying to allege is a complete fiction in law, but would have massive ramifications” ask yourself why anyone would bother staying in it.” Academics are “giving massive productivity” claims Jennings. Academic staff numbers in Ireland have declined by 10-20% since the agreement came into
effect while student numbers have risen to historic levels. The system is only kept going, according to Jennings, because “our members are doing the work of absent colleagues”. Redundancy notices served to the staff in question – two lecturers and a librarian – are justified by the College on the grounds that their wages came from non-core funding. The dispute also revolves around the definition of their contracts. Around 1,100 college staff are regarded as being paid from non-core funding. Jennings said: “Either I work for Trinity or I don’t work for Trinity. What Trinity is trying to allege is a complete fiction in law, but would have massive ramifications – it would mean that no worker would have any job security at all.” Jennings insists the contracts of the terminated staff are permanent: “Right across the world, every academic trade union will tell you if you don’t have security in employment, you don’t have academic freedom. This could be the thin end of the wedge.” A university spokesperson declined to comment on IFUT’s grievances: “The matters that you raised are subject to ongoing Labour Relations Commission proceedings which is the appropriate forum, but which also precludes the College from further comment.”
However, Jennings plays down the role of college management in this dispute: “I have no doubt whatsoever that the Department of Education is pulling the strings behind the scenes,” he said. “It’s very difficult to conduct trade union negotiations with the public sector because the people you’re facing across the table are often powerless, they’re given their marching orders by, for instance, the Department of Education.” Jennings posed a question for the “The issue is subject to an ongoing Labour Relations forum which precludes the College from comment” Department: “Do they stand over Trinity’s breach of [the Croke Park deal] or do they not? If they don’t, I think they should get their fingers out and do something about it.” In recent weeks, a survey found 73% of Fine Gael and Labour councillors want the deal renegotiated or scrapped. Meanwhile, a group of Fine Gael backbenchers including Dublin South TD Olivia Mitchell and Wexford TD Dr. Liam Twomey echoed this call. “Public sector workers have to tackle their leaders,” Twomey said,
“and force them to stop frustrating the process of reform. We can’t afford this any longer.” Mitchell said that: “People have said Croke Park is the price of industrial peace, but it is too high a price.” Trinity News asked Jennings if the compulsory redundancies could be a result of political pressure – in response he hit out at “ill-informed Fine Gaelers”. Jennings elaborated: “Those Fine Gaelers literally do not know what they are talking about. They have no appreciation whatsoever of the extra productivity given. I doubt if a single one of them could have given you the information I have just given you about the number of staff that are down and the number of students that are up.” He urges the Fine Gael backbenchers to “wake up and smell the coffee and see what’s happening in the real world.” The Trinity College branch of Fine Gael refused to comment on Jennings’ statements regarding the party. The three redundancy notices were served in March and December 2011, with another following in January 2012. The Labour Court are due to examine the case on 22 March. A determination usually takes up to six weeks but it is possible the court will fast-track this decision due to its implications for the Croke Park Agreement.
Vol 58 Issue 6 07 February, 2012