Every election candidate interviewed
TRINITY NEWS ELECTION SPECIAL
www.trinitynews.ie
Hilary term, Week 6
Staff member advertises office for sex
Issue 8, Volume 54
Leading lights: Science Gallery fashion show impresses
Buffoonery lands Scholars in hot water and extra latin classes DIEGO CORTEZ
Staff member places internet ad inviting people to have sex and drugs with him in his College office KASIA MYCHAJLOWYCZ INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR Trinity News has learned that a member of College staff has been offering. on an website. to let members of the public have sex with him in his Trinity office. Last Thursday, an advertisement was placed on Gumtree.ie, an Irish listings website, by an anonymous poster. The poster offered to perform several lewd acts if contacted by text and offered their Trinity office as the location. He stated that he had “a private office and will be here until 11pm”. He posted their phone number to be contacted on and urged that somebody should get in touch that night as he had “a private office and will be here until 11pm”. The individual also encouraged those willing to take up on his offer to bring drugs with them if they had them. He stated “anyone with a bit of hash is especially welcome”. Trinity News was made aware of
the advertisement by a Trinity student who stumbled across it. The student was searching for Trinity related listings when she came across the ad. “I thought it was funny at first, but then when I realised that the person was a staff member with their own office, I was shocked” the student stated. Previous ads from the same individual were also found on the site offering to perform lude acts in his office. Trinity News was made aware of the ad last Friday morning and immediately contacted the College to ask what the College policy is on such behaviour. College Communications Officer Caoimhe NíLochlainn responded that “the reference to "location in Trinity" as posted on this website, does not necessarily confirm that this does in fact relate to a TCD member of staff or student.”
STAFF WRITER
A screenshot (above) of the ad placed on Gumtree.ie last Thursday However despite this she went on to say that the matter “has been referred to the Gardaí.” as of Monday morning. The individual in question refused to answer phonecalls or texts from Trinity News. Gumtree.ie could not be contacted at time of going to print, however this ad does not seem to be an anomaly on their site. • Continued page 2
“Lightware” on display at the Lightwave fashion show in the newly open Science Gallery. The gallery has seenlarge crowds turning up daily. Photo: Martin McKenna
RTÉ comedy star invades Hist debate Damien Clarke, of “I Dare Ya!” interrupts Hist debate in attempt to abduct Auditor and fulfil dare DEIRDRE ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER I Dare Ya! comedians Andrew Stanley and Damien Clarke seemed to reveal an inter-society feud during their gig in Trinity on Wednesday 30 January when they took on a dare to invade the GMB and interrupt a Hist debate. I Dare Ya! is a new RTÉ programme that sees the comics act as puppets to the Irish public by accepting any dare that does not break the law or involve gross bodily harm. Dublin
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University Comedy Society invited them to perform in the Ed Burke Theatre on 30 January. Part of the Trinity act involved Mr. Stanley and Mr. Clarke performing dares they had not yet shown on RTÉ. During the gig, they displayed an email from one Tim Smyth challenging them not to come to Trinity. Mr. Tim Smyth, Auditor of the College Historical Society states “The I Dare Ya! comics received no email from me ‘daring’ them not to turn up to the Comedy Society gig. I have no idea where that rumour originated.” Eoin Ó’Braoin,
Head of ComedySoc, likewise asserts, “The dare did not come from Tim.” In response to the email, however, one spectator dared Damien Clarke to fetch Mr. Smyth from the GMB, where he was involved in a debate on Russia chaired by former Taoiseach, Garrett Fitzgerald. Mr. Clarke headed to the GMB and interruped the denate but was unable to lure Mr. Smyth away, despite even sitting down beside him at one point. He returned to the Burke alone and incorporated the story into his stand-up act. When asked for his
Scholars under fire for poor Graces
version of events, Mr. Smyth concurs “A man from the ComedySoc did indeed show during the debate”, but declares he “left promptly when he saw the former Taoiseach chairing the debate.” One source claimed Mr. Smyth would lodge a complaint to the Central Societies Committee citing security issues, as there were high profile guests present at the debate. Mr. Smyth disputes this replying, “no complaint was lodged against my friend on CSC, Eoin Ó’Braoin”. Mr O’Braoin also contests the allegation, saying “Comedy
Soc and the Hist enjoy good relations and fully support each others’ efforts in their very different fields of interest. Tim and I are both members of the CSC Executive Committee and…had there been an issue or problem, it would have been aired. Neither Tim nor myself are known for biting our tongues.” Members of the audience maintain that the email displayed on a large screen was from Tim Smyth, but Mr. Smyth releases himself from all association with the occurrence, saying “The Hist does not interfere with events organised by other societies.”
Trinity’s Scholars have a reputation as a diligent and conscientious bunch, more concerned with academic endeavours than rowdy horseplay. But that reputation now lies in shreds after the Scholars invoked the chagrin of Fellows and were threatened with punishment by the Junior Dean for their loutish capers during Grace at evening Commons. One of Trinity’s most enduring traditions, the Latin Grace is said before and after Commons, the traditional evening meal for Fellows and Scholars. Scholars take turns in reciting the ancient rite – which pays homage to Queen Elizabeth I, King James and King Charles – from the Dining Hall pulpit wearing traditional academic dress. The buffoonery began during Grace before meals one evening last term, when some Scholars began making noise, attempting to distract the Scholar saying Grace, laughing and audibly discussing how long it takes to say Grace. One of the Fellows – Trinity’s elite academics – took such umbrage to the antics that they brought the matter to the attention of the Junior Dean, Emma Stokes. “The behaviour succeeded in unsettling the Waiter [Scholar assigned to say Grace], who was otherwise completely competent”, the complainant noted. The Junior Dean summoned the Scholar Secretary, David Hughes, to a meeting and warned him that “any repeat of inappropriate behaviour during Grace – or indeed any time during Commons – will be met with disciplinary proceedings.” Earlier in the year, some Fellows had complained about the apparently deteriorating quality of the Grace, accusing the Waiters of rushing through the prayer and not enunciating each syllable clearly enough. A series of lessons in Latin elocution was arranged for the ten Waiters. The Fellows were impressed with the results and passed comment on the “dramatic improvement” in the standard of oratory. In recent weeks, some Waiters have raised their grandiloquence to a new level by delivering the Latin prayer in an Italian accent.
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The pick otwork: of th shoes fo e best r Spring
Fancy footwork, more shoes than you can shake a stick at • Eating cheaply but romantically on Valentines • Nigella Lawson’s latest book • Brendan Kennelly
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TRINITY NEWS
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Hilary term, Week 6
CollegeNews The Numbers Game
€2.2million The deficit in the financial statments approved by the college board for the year ending 30 September 2007. The total deficit accumulated over the years now stands at €8.9million.
15 The registered candidates in this year’s Student’s Union sabbatical elections.
250,000 The number of people that may end up in a “super-constituency” if proposed Senate reforms regarding university seats go ahead.
24/30 The Financial Times requires a minimum enrolement of 30 to place an MBA in its list of top 100 MBAs worldwide. Last year, only 24 enroled in Trinity’s programme, resulting in it dropping from the rankings.
“
He said, she said
”
“the ongoing delay in resolving the pension issues in relation to the Fixed Term Workers Act is a matter of grave concern” The College Board minutes describing the problems facing Trinity, according to the Acting Treasurer. “There is a huge danger that independent voices in the Seanad will soon be muzzled. The political parties are intent on seizing the university seats by stealth. They are likely to conspire --under the guise of Seanad reform-- to ensure that independents are elbowed out...But the party machines would clean up.” Trinity Senator Shane Ross, when asked what he would identify as the biggest problem facing the Trinity constituency. “Tim and I are both members of the CSC Executive Committee and…had there been an issue or problem, it would have been aired. Neither Tim nor myself are known for biting our tongues.” Eoin O’Braoin of the Comedy Soc refutes any allegation that a complaint was made after Comedy Soc guests from RTÉ’s I Dare Ya! attempted to kidnap Hist Auditor Tim Smtyh. “The reference to ‘location in Trinity’ as posted on this website, does not necessarily confirm that this does in fact relate to a TCD member of staffor student. However, the College is taking it seriously and it has been referred to the Gardaí.” College Communications Officer Caoimhe NíLochlainn on Trinity’s latest sex scandal
Editorial Staff Editor: Gearoid O’Rourke editor@trinitynews.ie Deputy Editor: David Molloy deped@trinitynews.ie Business Manager: Conor Sullivan buisness.manager@trinitynews.ie Copy Editor: Nick Beard copyeditor@trinitynews.ie Photographs: Martin McKenna photos@trinitynews.ie Deputy Photographer: Emer Groarke emer.groarke@trinitynews.ie College News: Caoimhe Hanley collegenews@trinitynews.ie National News: Lauren Norton nationalnews@trinitynews.ie International News: Kasia Mychajlowycz internationalnews@trinitynews.ie News Features: Eimear Crowe newsfeatures@trinitynews.ie Society News: Sophie Davies socities@trinitynews.ie Features: Sam Hannaford features@trinitynews.ie Opinion: John Lavelle & Kevin Lynch opinionanddebate@trinitynews.ie World Review: Peter Doherty worldreview@trinitynews.ie Travel: Andrea Mulligan travel@trinitynews.ie Business: Danielle Ryan businessandcareers@trinitynews.ie Science: Sebastian Wiesmair science@trinitynews.ie College Sport: Jonathan Drennan collegesport@trinitynews.ie Sport Features: Connel McKenna sportfeatures@trinitynews.ie TN2 Editor: Catriona Gray Photographs: Rachel Kennedy Film: Conor O’Kelly Music: Carolyn Power Fashion: Ciaran Durkin Books: Paul Earlie Theatre: Polly Graham Art: Caroline O’Leary Edibles: Beth Armstrong Endnotes: Ailbhe Ni Mhaoileoin
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Thanks to: Joey Facer; Pat Morey and College Security; Prof. Mike Jones; Peter Henry; Ed O’Riordan; Daithí Ó Malley; Nicholas Moustache; Orla Gordon; Daire Hickey; Daithi MacSithigh; Niall Morris and everyone in MCD; David Adamson; Rosscrea Express; and everyone in Midland Web Printing. This publication is funded by a grant from DU Publications Committee. Serious complaints about the content of this publication should be addressed to: The Editor, Trinity News, 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2. This publication claims no special rights or privileges. Small...far away...
DBC Pierre starts on his second can of Heineken while delivering his lecture in the Jonathan Swift Theatre. Photo: Caroline O’Leary
DBC Pierre drinks his way through Literary Soc lecture CAROLINE O’LEARY ARTS EDITOR The Dublin University Literary Society paid host to a visit by colourful author DBC Pierre on Thursday 30 January last. A large turnout filled the Jonathon Swift theatre, making it the Literary Society’s most successful event this year with “eight to ten times the turn out of previous talks”, according to President Tom Morrisson Bell. In keeping with his rather unconventional image, Pierre kept the subject of his talk a secret until his arrival. Instead of following the standard “writer’s speech” of talking about himself and his previous works, Pierre immediately announced that he was having trouble finishing his current novel and offered to give everyone in the audience credit if they could help him. Engaging the audience and their opinions from the beginning, he
went onto explain the premise of the new “decadent” novel and stated his strong ideas on the rise of the decadence and hedonism in society, as well as the ever-growing commercialist culture all over the world. Though he frequently mentioned his own lack of university education, he argued his points strongly, referring to sources such as Edward Béarnaise, nephew of Sigmund Freud and considered one of the founders of modern PR and celebrity driven commercialism. After fifteen minutes, the “talk” descended into a combined political, philosophical and literary debate between himself and several members of the audience and Pierre seemingly enjoyed agreeing with and shooting down arguments in turn. Eventually getting the talk back on track, Pierre gave the audience an overview of the new novel, explaining its evolution from the initial idea of a “guy who wants to go to the best seven parties ever”, to the current story of a man trying to sort out the
questions of life and party like mad after he is released from a mental institution. Pierre won the 2003 Booker Prize for his first novel Vernon God Little, a black comedy that satirises middle America and people’s perceptions of it. At the announcement of his win, Pierre famously stated that the £50000 prize would pay only “a third of what I owe in the world”. A latecomer to writing, Pierre has been open about his past “discretions”, which include spending nearly nine years in a drug induced haze and keeping nearly $200000 profit of the sale of a friend’s house. Characteristically Pierre finished the talk by draining his second can of beer and (waving the cigarette he had been rolling throughout) asked who in the room smoked. After inviting everyone outside to talk and smoke, he thanked the audience for their help and declared he would see everyone back there in a few months for the follow up.
He also joked that since this was the first talk he had given without reading from one of his books, he had brought his bank statement in case he ran out of things to say. Refusing the audience’s applause, he instead chapped them for their opinions and help. Once outside, Pierre amused an increasingly growing audience with the story of how he ended up paying for his own hotel after a mix up between him and the society. The cold finally drove everyone to Doyle’s where Pierre bought drinks for several people and discussed topics ranging from psychological testing to animal rights. At nine o’clock, he left for an interview in another venue, “While I’m still sober”, but not before giving his phone number to several people and promising to come back for a night on the town. At one o’clock, he reappeared, rather merrier than before, and insisted that everyone who remained immediately head for D2 club. His fans would have been disappointed in anything less.
Pav heaters row continues PADRAIC O’MEARA STAFF WRITER A row over the proposed use of outdoor heaters in the Pavilion Bar sparked up again after Students’ Union Entertainments Officer Ed O’ Riordan made the proposal for outdoor heaters to Dublin University Central Athletics Committee administrator Drinda Jones earlier last week. The row originally surfaced late last year during the elections for the Students’ Union’ in which O’Riordan promised to have outdoor barbeques with heaters in the Pav in his manifesto.
However, he promised this without first consulting the possibility with the Pav’s bar manager Darren. As a result the bar manager refused and the issue has been ongoing ever since. Annoyed by this refusal, O’Riordan made his proposal directly to DUCAC administrator Drinda Jones via email last week. The proposal is now currently under review by DUCAC, although a decision is not expected soon. When questioned about the proposal, management at the Pav stated that the primary reasons for the refusal were for health and safety reasons and fear of vandalism. The manager
admitted that he “didn’t quite see eye to eye with the Ents Officer on the issue” and was “annoyed” by his lack of consultation on the issue. He also stated that he didn’t want to be portrayed as “cheap” and reiterated that their safety concerns were genuine and not an excuse. O’Riordan said he disagreed with the health and safety reason given by management, stating that he had consulted with nightclubs in Dublin who use similar outdoor heaters and had found they had few, if any, safety problems with their heaters. He said that he regretted not consulting with the management before
he made the promise and could understand the bar’s position. However, he also said “if nightclubs in Dublin, where people are generally a lot drunker, have no safety or vandalism problems with their heaters, then surely the Pav would have no problems either.” He also went on to say that he believed it made financial sense to have the heaters, as they would encourage more students to use the bar on cold winter nights. In his email to Drinda Jones, O’Riordan mentioned that if the decision took long or was unfavourable, he intended to start up a student petition for the outdoor heaters in the Pav.
“Have private office and will be here until 11” • Continued from page 1 Speaking off the record to Trinity News, one College Head of Department said that this staff member could be subject to College disciplinary procedures for this indiscretion. In this case the matter would be referred to the Senior Dean for investigation. Last year, Trinity News revealed that Trinity College was being advertised on the website squirt.org as Dublin’s prime location for “Cruising”. This is the practice where two men or a
man and a woman meet in a public place to have sex. These meeting were often arranged through the website and it seems that now Gumtree.ie is being used for a similar purpose. Following the Trinity News article last year, the College denied that “cruising” had ever been an issue in Trinity. Despite this, repairs were effected immediately to the College toilets in question. One cruiser that Trinity News spoke with last year felt that Trinity was a safe location and that the College
authorities should continue to allow cruising to take place on campus. Though unwilling to comment on this case last year, the College told Trinity News that it “has a security policy which aims to protect the human and physical assets of the College. This policy incorporates the monitoring of buildings and persons on campus using both CCTV and the physical presence of security officers and attendants.” Despite these claims, it is apparent that College is either completely unaware of cases such as this one or refuses to
acknowledge them. When asked what the College’s policy on sex in the workplace was Ms NíLochlainn replied that “the College advocates dignity and respect in the workplace at all times amongst its members of staff and students and has a number of policies in place in order to ensure this.” This is the latest in a series of incidents of misuse of College buildings and follows on from recent problems with heroin addicts using the toilets of the Arts Building to “shoot up”.
collegenews@trinitynews.ie
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Students’ Union launch note sharing service AOIFE GRIFFIN
to add features such as assignments, quizzes and forums as the project develops. Bartley Rock, the Students’ Union Education Officer who advocated the site as part of his manifesto last year, is optimistic that “TCD Notes” will be a practical and stress-free study aid for students who may have difficulty keeping up or who want to stay ahead. “For people in courses with long hours, Two Subject Moderatorship or offcampus courses, this should be a great resource. You can have access to course
STAFF WRITER The Student’s Union are in the final stages of creating a new peer-orientated study forum called “TCD Notes” with the intention of establishing an online resource for those who wish to upload and download notes beneficial to their chosen field of study. The site will initially only provide for the uploading and downloading of notes, though the administrators hope
information quickly and easily, so [it] should help fill in the gaps if you can’t make it to the Library or if you want to share notes but don’t see people often enough,” he said. When asked about problems regarding copyright and plagiarism, Rock assured Trinity News that he is currently developing a set of guidelines regarding fair and legal use of the service. These will include the requirement that no material distributed by a lecturer may be uploaded, though material gathered by
students will be permitted. Regarding plagiarism a serious offence within the College, Rock states clearly that “TCDSU strongly discourages plagiarism, as its academically fraudulent and unfair to other students. However, the responsibility for ensuring that you don’t fall foul of College’s policy is with the student. The risk of plagiarism occurring is minimal, as students are far too wise to the rules to fall foul of them. I don’t see a tiny risk as being reason enough not to launch the
service.” The programme has been developed using “Moodle” software, a high power, multi-disciplinary software that students utiliaing its fee-based equivalents, Blackboard and Web CT, will already be familiar with. Moodle has been used by other third-level institutions for many years, including Dublin City University and National University of Ireland Maynooth. However, both these institutions officially support the initiative and are set up at sub-domains of the main
College networks. In contrast, the Trinity service is being hosted and operated by the Students’ Union, following a number of talks with College officials. The system is not yet up and running, as it requires authorisation from Council to enable its administrative structure. A publicity campaign to advertise the launch of TCD Notes will be enacted once the site is fully functional and details of the official guidelines will be provided to class representative.
Student wins BOC Bursary
Trinity College dropped from MBA rankings
NIAMH NÍMHAEOLAOIN
CONAL CAMPBELL
“Giuseppe obtained very good results in his first year of his Ph.D and has already published some of his work.” Mr. La Spina is working on a project with the core aim of developing methods of storing hydrogen gas, along with other members of Dr. Schmitt’s group. This technology is expected to change the way economies are powered. When asked why this work was singled out for the award, Dr. Schmitt commented that the panel “recognized the importance of this research project. Hydrogen storage technologies are critical to achieve a sustainable hydrogen-economy in order to reduce CO2 emissons and the demand for oil.” La Spina feels that the College environment and the School of Chemistry have been a significant factor in his work based on its reputation, the excellence of the research facilities and the new CRANN Centre. “The chemistry department is very active, composed of many young and enthusiastic researchers”, he commented. “This environment helped and stimulated me in my research project over this time.”
STAFF WRITER Giuseppe La Spina, a Trinity student from the School of Chemistry, was recently presented with the BOC Gases Postgraduate Bursary Award. The Bursary is awarded to a student who has completed one year of research in Chemistry made significant advances with their work. Mr. La Spina’s award-winning research project dealt with the frameworks surrounding the shift to sustainable enegry systems. He described that award as “a great honour based on the work I have achieved so far and a great motivation to continue to work in Trinity College.” Mr. La Spina is from Italy and received his diploma degree from the University of Catania, preparing a thesis on inorganic complexes for optoelectronic applications. He moved to Ireland in 2006 to commence his Ph.D. studies in Trinity in the research group of Dr. Wolfgang Schmitt. According to Dr. Schmitt,
STAFF WRITER
Giuseppe LaSpina is presented with the BOC Bursary. Photo: BOC Gases
86-2-8= '300)+) (9&0-2 WIRED 4 RESEARCH? You are invited to the Trinity College Research Open Day on Tues 4th March 2008 Time: 2.00pm – 8.00pm For more information contact: Tel: +353 (1) 896 2968 www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/PGOpenDay or Email: research.opportunities@tcd.ie
20 0 collegenews@trinitynews.ie
College’s Masters of Business Administration programme has disappeared from the Financial Times top-100 Global MBAs list due to insufficiently large enrollment. The programme featured in the Financial Times rankings for nine of the last ten years. Speaking to Trinity News, Dr. Gerard McHugh, Head of the School of Business, suggested that the sole reason for Trinity’s disappearance from the rankings was due to the fact that the graduating class of 2004, the class that formed the basis for the 2008 ranking, had just 24 participants. The Financial Time’s criterion is that a class of at least 30 is needed to qualify for ranking. “Our programme is top class, which is proven by the awarding of accreditation from the International Association of MBA’s until 2011, the maximum allowable period. The FT’s ranking is biased towards the large United States universities that enroll MBA classes of up to 900, as is the case in Harvard. Our programme is tailored towards professionals with five to fifteen years of work experience seeking an intimate educational environment”. This year’s enrollment figure is 30 and current applications suggest that the school will accept nearly 40 for next year’s programme. The corresponding programme at University College Dublin, with an enrollment of 37, was at number 98 in the list.
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TRINITY NEWS
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CollegeNews
News Briefing Hamilton Library now to open on Sundays In keeping with the Colleges increasingly student-friendly initiatives, the Hamilton Library, like its BLU counterpart, now will open on Sundays in a move to facilitate the growing demand for library resources. Like the BLU complex, the Hamilton’s Sunday opening hours will be 11am- 5pm, being practical but still humane, with the costs associated with the extended opening hours being covered by the College. Although there are some minor issues of security and staffing to be resolved before the provisional opening date of 24 February, Students’ Union Education Officer Bartley Rock, is confident that all will be in place for the grand opening. Asked how the initiative was proving itself so far Bartley replied, “The BLU launch has proven to be highly successful with an average of 250 people in the BLU on Sunday at 3 pm. This is comparable to Saturday’s average of 190-210 people.” The strategic plan is to have both library complexes open on Sundays from the 24 February through to the end of Trinity term and then continuing from the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic year. Rock is keen to emphasise the success of the initiative has been through the dedicated collaborative efforts of library staff and student body representatives, in particular Deputy Librarian Jessie Kurtz, last year’s Education Officer Robert Kearns and President Andrew Byrne. Aoife Griffin
Suas volunteer scheme in doubt amid Kenyan crisis JOHN CALLAGHAN STAFF WRITER A SUAS annual volunteer programme, which sees up to 40 volunteers, predominantly students, spend ten weeks working in schools in Kenya, now seems unlikely to go ahead, due to safety fears after recent outbreaks of violence. Speaking after the Suas organised talk held in Trinity last Tuesday, Suas CEO Colman Farrell said that that while the final decision was not yet made, the instability in Kenya appeared too great to risk endangering the volunteers. The placements in India will go ahead as planned. Tom Lyons, an Irish journalist who was in Kenya during the elections and also spoke at the Suas event, recalled feeling a
TRINITY NEWS.
See page 19 for further details
Richard Limoshira, First Secretary at the office of the Kenyan Embassy to Ireland. He began his speech by addressing the audience, in relation to the violence, “I want to believe you are all as sad as I am”. Again, speaking of the Irish in general, he said, “I know you have been silent, but I know that you support us”. Mr Liroshima also spoke of the current negotiations, led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. “I want to believe this process will succeed” he said. The talks, which both Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga are involved in, are seen as the most viable solution to the crisis. Mr Liroshima concluded his speech by reaffirming Kenya’s position as leader among African nations. He vowed that future development would not be impeded by the violence, and that through Kenya’s strategic location, skilled population and
large economy, it remained a viable and attractive location for foreign investors. the violence is believed to have already cost the Kenyan economy over US$3.6 billion. Violence erupted in what had previously been considered one of Africa’s most stable democracies after Presidential elections, which were held on 27 December. Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki defeated rival Raila Odinga in the elections, which were later deemed “flawed” by the EU’s election observers. Kenyan politics have historically been divided along tribal lines, with Mr Kibaki getting the support of the majority Kikuyu tribe, while Mr Odinga is generally supported by the smaller Luo and Kalenjin peoples. Following the inauguration of Mr Kibaki, which took place on 28 December, there were some violent outbreaks. According to the Kenyan Red Cross, “In
Rocketing pension deficit acknowledged by College DAVID MOLLOY DEPUTY EDITOR In a Board meeting which highlighted several issues for the College’s finances and the current deficit of €8.9 million, an increase of €2.2 million in the past year, the Acting Treasurer highlighted the fact that the College pension scheme continued to cause major problems for the College’s finances. Earlier this academic year, Trinity
News revealed that the pension fund was insolvent, with only 72% solvency, the equivalent of a €97.2 million deficit. At that time, it was claimed by one source that funds from the strategic innovation fund were being used to cover the substantial shortfall. The minutes of the meeting in question state that “the ongoing delay in resolving the pension issues in relation to the Fixed Term Workers Act is a matter of grave concern and, despite the prudent approach currently
being adopted, the Board may be required to make difficult decisions in the future should the matter not be resolved satisfactorily.” Past measures to contain the problem were also noted, with the statement that “The Board noted the impact which the Fixed Term Workers has had on the college’s deficit, noting that, to date substantial provision has been made in the accounts to meet possible future liabilities in this regard.”
11 April 2007, at which the Pro-Dean of
the five weeks since the disputed elections, more than 1000 people have been killed and 300,000 displaced from their homes.” Violence has been most prevalent along the country’s western border, and in particular, in the fertile Rift Valley. Tensions dating back to independence from the British Empire in 1963 have fuelled the violence, after which land was redistributed. Tensions within these ethnically d were said to already be running high before the elections. A final decision as regards the Suas Volunteer Programme in Kenya may be as late as March, however the topic is expected to have been discussed within the organisation over the weekend. Unless extraordinary calm descends immediately, there will be little option open to Suas but to cancel this year’s Kenyan summer programme.
However, the HEA have decreased
Though minutes from 11 October
Pension scheme creates €90m deficit College Pension Fund lost €100m in four years, with funding from other sources used to plug the hole CONOR SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER Trinity News has learned that the college pension fund is insolvent. In the four years from 2001 to 2005 the fund has gone from a surplus of €6.9m to a deficit of €97.2m. Furthermore, shortfalls in the college pension fund have been funded from separate college resources, according to a confidential valuation report on the pension scheme by Mercer Human Resource Consulting leaked to Trinity News. The report was completed in 2005 and is the most recent valuation of the fund, the next valuation is due in 2009. A source within the college with knowledge of the scheme has told Trinity News that funds from the Strategic Innovation Scheme (SIS), amongst others, are being used to finance the shortfall in the scheme. The SIS is a fund that seeks to rejuvenate the university in non-capital intensive ways, such as funding research projects as opposed to new buildings. Trinity News’ source gave the example of a scholarship research team from the school of dentistry that had funding removed in
order to fund the pension scheme shortfall. The figures indicate that the fund has seen a loss of €100m in just four years. This is equivalent to a loss of €1m every fortnight in the four years from 2001 to 2005 The college is obliged to prepare accounts in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) which were introduced in the early 2000’s. To date the University’s pension fund liabilities were classed under “Miscellaneous”. Trinity News understands from a confidential source that KPMG, the University’s auditors, are refusing to tolerate this oversight of GAAP any longer. They have requested that the pension deficit be shown in the colleges annual accounts, or they will refuse to approve the College’s financial statements. According to the report the scheme is only 72% solvent, that is the total value of the fund’s liabilities are equal to 72% of it’s assets. The report also states that “no allowance has been made ... for future early retirements” and it states that costs arising from future early retirements should be funded separately by college. In the past year alone there have been close to 20 early
retirements in College. Other explanations for the shortfall include the possibility of bad investment decisions by the fund’s managers. The report states that the deficit is due to a combination of high salary growth and lower investment returns than calculated. Nevertheless it appears the college is undertaking to resolve the problem. Trinity News has learned that the University Secretary is in private talks with the Government to get the state to act as guarantor for Trinity’s Pension Scheme. This would mean that the fund would lose some of it’s independence and become more like schemes run in other universities like the NUI universities.
The magnetic resonance imaging
Office itself.
Surge in new student connections brings down network THERESA RYAN STAFF WRITER Recent changes to the college network have increased login times and reduced the reliability of the network. Students wishing to connect their computer to the College wireless network will now do so using the selfservice network access control system. The new authentication system was not able to cope with the number of requests for connections during the first week of term, and the authentication process failed on Friday 5, Sunday 7, Monday 8 and Thursday 11 October. Bartley Rock, the Students’ Union Education Officer, said that college is working towards providing a more secure, yet user friendly system for the students in the college and “it will mean that students will be able to rely more on the network than before.” This is the same system already in use in College residences and the Library communal areas. However, all computers now require a lengthier authentication time for the passwords, as a result of increased security measures being undertaken by the College. Using the internet now requires a the user to log in, wait for at least 40 sec-
onds, and then restart their browser entirely. Further, the native Mac OSX browser, Safari, is not compatible with the new authentication procedure. Mac users must download and use Mozilla Firefox to authenticate themselves on the network. In the previous year, concerns were raised by various members of staff with regards to the Student Administration System, which hosts student records and student timetables, among other things. A source told Trinity News, that this system was “flawed from the beginning”. This has led to it being axed recently by the College Board. Early in 2007, IS Services introduced a new SPAM filtering service for the College email system. All mail coming into College is now filtered and quarantined by a Microsoft product called Exchange Hosted Services (EHS). While SPAM has been reduced by 95%, there still remain integration problems with the system. Initially many computers on campus did not have the correct proxies set up for the service, meaning that some students couldn’t access their emails through the college network, but had access through outside computers. IS services are working on this; however, the process is not yet complete.
in corporate cover all Un ers’ Week e The Ents secured back companies s while the Ir supported o paying for e as well as pr packs that w Students’ Un The Unio prominent a stand for Fre Though he c figure, Stud Officer Bart as “a capital Student’s Andrew Byr Union had r sponsorship had covered more than u Freshers’ W “Pav party” a rented infl bungee run, available fre “This ye dwarfed any previously. “ after the reb even stronge was several In additio finish Fresh deficit, whic positive beg was the Uni Freshers’ W wise”, he cl In additio cial contribu made by the terials for di ficer Úna Fa “Think Con USI free of
Several other issues were raised during the course of the Board meeting. These included the fact that the Trinity News Issue 2 where pension deficit was revealed arrangement with the Higher Education Authority also present to give the external regarding state funding fluctuate each auditor’s opinion on the college She welcomed the year, making it exceptionally difficult finances. for the college to plan its finances in introduction of risk assessment in the form of a “high level risk register” and detail. A representative from KPMG was encouraged For general information on Pensions rights and entitlements; contact the Pensions Board on (01) 613 1900 or email info@pensionsboard.ie
collegenews@trinitynews.ie
French Erasmus temporarily suspended JOHN CALLAGHAN STAFF WRITER
You can now apply to be next year’s Editor of
“sense that something was going to explode” within the country. Mr Lyons carried on to talk about many of the atrocities that he had encountered, or had been informed of, including the alleged killing of several people on the grounds of Kongowea Primary school, a partner school where Suas volunteers have been placed. He also spoke passionately of the work of many Irish missionaries in Kenya, including Fr. Paddy Highland, whose church came within yards of being torched. He also warned of where this violence may lead as he recounted an interview with a member of the Mungiki, a mafia type organisation present in the Nairobi slums, which had been effectively suppressed by the government until now. Following Mr Farrell and Mr Lyons at the event, was His Excellency Mr
The French Department has removed the option for students to spend their third year abroad in a French institution. The reason supplied for such a move was dissatisfaction with the time taken by some French institutions in providing Trinity with the relevant marks achieved by Trinity students while on Socrates exchanges. There was general dismay this week among Two Subject Moderatorship French students at the news. “We have encountered
administrative difficulties with some French institutions. We have had to take action to prevent a reoccurrence of these issues. We do this in the best interest of our students”, the French Department has said. In some events, these delays were so prolonged as to interfere with students’ progression into their final year, and even the awarding of degrees. The frustration arising from these delays has caused the French department to sever many of its ties, preventing students from travelling abroad in their Junior Sophister year. However, Trinity News can confirm that the cancellation of this service is only temporary. According to both
Professor David Scott, Head of the French Department, and Dr. Paule Salerno-O’Shea, Socrates Co-ordinator, it was announced that a new partner university has been secured, and that plans to establish a Socrates exchange for Junior Sophister students are in the advanced stages. The University in question is L’Université d’Orléans, situated about an hour outside of Paris. This university is smaller than universities Trinity has previously worked with and, therefore, it is expected that the problems of other years will cease to exist. “This university is less likely to be affected by wide-scale political events than bigger Parisian
universities. It is therefore hoped that this would reduce the risk for potential future JS students spending a Socrates year abroad”, Dr Salerno-O’Shea said. Also, while students will be placed in the equivalent of the Arts Department, they will be able to choose modules from any course offered within the Univerity of Orléans. An agreement has already been reached, according to which Trinity can send three Junior Sophister students to Orléans on Socrates exchanges each year. Dr Salerno-O’Shea has said that she does not believe the exchange will be established in time to send students there in October 2008, but that it should
be realised by October 2009. The French department also confirmed that a new bilateral agreement with Paris III (Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle) has been reached, which sees the number of exchange places for Senior Freshmen students travelling there increase from three to five. Paris III is seen by the French department as “our most reliable partner to date”. The French Department has also stated that it will support the decision of JS TSM students to take a year off-books and study in a French institution. It sees the unavailability of Socrates exchanges for next year’s JS class as “regrettable”.
Your View Has College Green Week made you change anything about your attitude to the environment? Compiled by Emer Groarke
Sean Froudist Walsh
George Silla
Magda Bodzan
Cormac Ryan
Franzi Hensel
Erasmus, English and Linguistics
Erasmus, Law and Politics
SS Irish
JS Theology and Classics
I haven’t taken part in Green Week at all. I’m quite aware of the problem, though. I try to recycle at home in Spain. Ireland is much more conscious of the problem than Spain, I think.
I did notice a tree in the canteen and wondered why it was there! No, I haven’t changed anything, but when I saw the person dressed as a tree, I did start thinking about trees, so that’s a good thing!
Yeah, I’d say so. I’m trying to cycle to College instead of take the bus, which is because of Green Week. It was very well advertised around College too.
I wasn’t even aware of it, so honestly, no. But I am pretty aware of the environment. We try to be energy efficient in the house, turning off lights and turning down heat. And we recycle, too!
JS Maths It has to an extent, I suppose, with turning off lights and the like. I haven’t really made any major changes. I just make sure I turn off stuff around the house. It was definitely well-advertised around College, though.
collegenews@trinitynews.ie
TRINITY NEWS
Hilary term, Week 6
CollegeNews
College politics: the bigger picture With the Student’s Union elections beginning, it can be easy to forget that Trinity’s politics extend far beyond campus. David Molloy got in touch with Trinity’s Senators.
Q
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“ ”
uite often, college politics are thought of as revolving around the Student’s Union elections each year. Yet, here in Trinity we are in a rather privileged position- we are a constituency. The graduates of Trinity College elect three Senators to Seanad Eireann, as does the National University of Ireland (who only elect three Senators between all of their colleges around the country). Trinity News contacted the Trinity Senators to catch up with their working progress this year so far. Shane Ross and David Norris are old hands at the job, while Ivana Bacik, Reid Professor of Law, is new to the position when she was elected in place of Senator Mary Henry who retired last year. Each Senator has their own priorities and pet projects, but one issue which they all hold similar opinions on is that of the proposed Senate reform. As outlined above, currently Trinity elects three senators, while the graduates of all the NUI colleges elect three between them. Graduates of other third level institutions have no representation in the Seanad at all. All three Senators told Trinity News that they firmly believed in Seanad reform. “Reform is fifty years overdue,” said Senator Shane Ross. “The government’s current Seanad reform proposals fall far short of the radical reform needed to overhaul the upper House.” Indeed, all three seem very open to the idea, even though many suggestions from other quarters would reduce the advantage that Trinity holds in the Seanad. “I believe that reform of the Seanad is long overdue and that the university seats should be opened up to graduates of all third-level institutions,” said Ivana Bacik. “However I also believe that reform of the university seats should take place as part of a comprehensive reform of the Seanad more generally,” she added. There is, however, a fear that the proposed reforms could be used as a way for the major political parties to seize some seats in the Seanad. “There is a huge danger that independent voices in the Seanad will soon be muzzled. The political parties are intent on seizing the university seats by stealth,” Ross said. “They are likely to conspire —under the guise of Seanad reform— to ensure that independents are elbowed out, leaving TCD and NUI in a massive bloc. Such a huge constituency would be open season for Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour. We independents would have little chance of election if the number of voters hit 250,000! But the party machines would clean up.” Senator David Norris agrees that this is a possibility. “If as some have
collegenews@trinitynews.ie
The political parties are intent on seizing the university seats by stealth... they are likely to conspire...”
suggested they create one super constituency with half a million or so voters it will make it impossible for energetic young people to get on board and open up the possibility of the invasion of the constituency by political parties,” he said. Norris also believes the other universities should be included. “My personal belief however is that the existing character of the two constituencies should be maintained as far as possible by including the Dublin colleges DCU, DIT etc. in the Trinity constituency confirming its Dublin ethos and the others such as the University of Limerick going in with the National University Constituency which has always had this 26 county flavour,” he said. While the graduates of the university elect the three Senators, they are more than aware of the undergraduate population. Each was asked what they believed to be the main problems facing the undergraduate population. “I think the most relevant political issues to Trinity students are the lack of affordable, decent accommodation in Dublin, the failure of the government to introduce the Student Support Bill, and threats to services due to cutbacks in college,” Ross said. “But if students at any time feel that there is an issue important to them which is not being raised in the Oireachtas, they are always free to contact me.” Bacik, like Ross, sees cutbacks as a major problem. But she also believes that wider world events affect
people’s lives- “that students like all other citizens are exercised by more global political concerns - the threat of climate change, the disastrous war in Iraq and the current Government’s dreadful record on healthcare, among other things.” David Norris, on the other hand, doesn’t pretend to know what his future voters want. “It’s up to you to tell me about the current issues and if you want me to act upon them to brief me,” he said. “It would be presumptuous of me to select the priorities for Trinity’s undergraduates.” The senators have a variety of different views on their own priorities. Asked about their greatest successes so far, all three have been at work on different projects. Senator Norris identified his biggest success as “getting a motion requiring the banning of land mines and cluster bombs etc. passed unanimously by the Foreign Affairs Committee and secondly helping to open up for full discussion the catastrophic failure of the international community to validate the human rights of the Palestinian people.” Senator Bacik, on the other hand, cites the introduction of a Climate Protection Bill. “I was really delighted to be able to introduce this Bill so soon after being elected and have had a significant success in that the Bill was not immediately defeated by the Government, and remains currently before the Oireachtas.” Meanwhile, Ross has campaigning on upgrading the country’s internet infrastructure. “The broadband situation in Ireland is a disgrace and an embarrassment overseas. The Members here in Leinster House are broadband blind – they fail to see the importance of this vital piece of infrastructure.” Finally, I ask each Senator how they believe their positions are viewed by the students and graduates. “Hopefully, as both accessible and radical,” Ross said. “Above all we should be seen as on their side against the establishment which so often seeks to crush independence and individuality. Trinity Senators have always supported the underdog. We try to fearlessly challenge the big battalions.” Bacik gave a slightly more traditional response, saying, “I think that the Senators are seen as effective political representatives both by students and graduates. Trinity Senators have a good track record of being more vocal and articulate on issues of concern to their electorate than the majority of Senators. But perhaps Norris, who replied to Trinity New queries while at home ill, was most frank: “I hope they are perceived as the very considerable political asset that they are.”
Shane Ross
Ivana Bacik
David Ross
“...the most relevant political issues to Trinity students are the lack of affordable, decent accommodation in Dublin, the failure of the government to introduce the Student Support Bill, and threats to services due to cutbacks in college.”
“...students like all other citizens are exercised by more global political concerns - the threat of climate change, the disastrous war in Iraq and the current Government’s dreadful record on healthcare...”
“It’s up to you to tell me about the current issues and if you want me to act upon them to brief me...It would be presumptuous of me to select the priorities for Trinity’s undergraduates.”
Interest free travel Student loan* for 9 months Credit card*
for 6 months
Talk to Helen, Linda or Gavin in Bank of Ireland Trinity Branch or call (01) 6799029
www.bankofireland.ie *Lending criteria, terms and conditions apply to the student travel loan and credit card. Applicants must be aged 18 or over and parental guarantee may be required. Applicants must be students attending a full time course, proof will be required. Bank of Ireland is regulated by the Financial Regulator.
TRINITY NEWS
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Hilary term, Week 6
NationalNews
Cross Campus Queens Blair and Ahern to get honourary doctorates Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern are to receive honorary degrees from The Queen's University of Belfast. The two leaders, who played a major part in the peace process, will both get doctorates of laws for “distinction in public service.” Also on the university's list of honours in its centenary year are Fr Alec Reid and Rev Harold Good, who witnessed IRA acts of decommissioning. The honours will be conferred at various ceremonies throughout the year. The institution is marking 100 years since it became a fullyfledged university with its own charter, having originally been established as Queen's College in 1845 as one of three colleges in Ireland. Actors Joanna Lumley and James Ellis will be honoured by the university for their services to the performing arts. Also receiving honorary degrees will be Booker prizewinning novelist Anne Enright, broadcaster Laurie Taylor and Dr Chitra Bharucha, haematologist and Vice-Chairperson of the BBC Trust. Former Conservative Party chairman Lord Mawhinney and computer game developer David Perry are among the Queen's graduates returning to the university. A university spokeswoman said those selected for honorary doctorates were chosen because they are “role models for our students and the wider community.”
DCU Historic deal signed with three Dublin colleges In a historic move, Dublin City University has signed an agreement forging links with three of the best-known colleges on Dublin's northside. Under the agreement, All Hallows College now becomes a constituent college of DCU while the existing links with St Patrick's College teacher training college in Drumcondra and the Mater Dei Institute are strengthened, allowing them to be more closely integrated into the university's academic structures. The new agreement is good news for DCU, which tends to be associated with science and technology in the public mind. The new deal gives it a much stronger presence in the education/ humanities area. "St Pat's" in Drumcondra has been booming in recent years under the direction of its president, Dr Pauric Travers. While many third-level colleges are struggling to fill places in science-related areas, demand for primary teacher training has soared. The colleges offer full and part-time courses leading to degrees that are validated and accredited by DCU and their students are recognised as students of DCU.
Stiff opposition to condom VAT reduction from Catholic Church Reduction acclaimed by health organiations and student unions is declared “wrong, regrettable and contrary to the common good” by Church GABI O’CONNOR STAFF WRITER Among other measures introduced 31 January in the Finance Bill, the VAT on condoms has been reduced from 21% to 13.5%. This decision comes after long campaigns by such organizations as the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, the Union of Students Ireland and Labour Youth to reduce the cost of condoms. Under the new VAT regulations, the price of a packet of twelve condoms will be reduced from €13.20 to €12.40 and a packet of three condoms reduced from €4.20 to €3.94. The Director of the CPA, Caroline Spillane, commented: “While the
reduction in cost to the consumer is not large, it will have an impact on the purse of the low-waged and younger persons who reports that cost is an issue for them.” “Pharmacy chains such as Unicare, Hickey’s, McCabe’s, Sam McCauley’s, Bradley’s and supermarket chains Tesco, Supervalu and Centra have said that if there was a reduction in VAT, they would pass it on to their customers. “The Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships (2006), a nationally representative study, found that one in five people aged 18-24 say that the cost of condoms would discourage their use of them”, she said. Audrey Simpson of the Family Planning Association noted that while
the measure was an improvement, more should be done: “It would be better if condoms were sold VAT-free. They are not luxury items; they are essential in reducing rates of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.” Despite the recent reductions, condoms in Ireland are still among the most expensive in Europe. Under EU provisions, a minimum of five percent VAT is permitted on “pharmaceutical products of a kind normally used in health care, prevention of diseases…, including products used for contraception and sanitary protection”. In March of last year, the UK reduced the VAT rating on condoms from 17.5% to the EU minimum, to widespread acclaim.
The Catholic Church has roundly condemned the recent measure, with Martin Long, the director of the Catholic Communication Office, stating that the reduction is “wrong, regrettable and contrary to the common good”. The Catholic Church, he said, “utterly rejects the use and promotion of condoms” and that the decision was “effectively promoting their widespread use”. “The Church's teaching is clear: within the sacrament of marriage, the use of condoms as contraceptives is wrong, though there may be mitigating circumstances”, he said. “Outside of marriage, the use of condoms encourages sexual activity, which is always gravely sinful. This decision sends the wrong signal to our
young people as the promotion of condoms promotes promiscuity.” However, a study of 4100 American high school students conducted in the June 2003 issue of American Journal of Public Health indicated that making condoms available in high schools does not increase adolescent sexual activity. Susan M. Blake Ph.D. of the Department of Prevention and Community Health at George Washington University, said that: “Condom availability was not associated with greater sexual activity among adolescents but was associated with greater condom use among those who were already sexually active, a highly positive result.”
James Joyce Award lures Izzard and Ferrell to UCD Hollywood stars continue comedy trend at Ireland’s second university JESSICA YOUNGSMITH STAFF WRITER Comedian Eddie Izzard was present at University College Dublin’s Literary and Historical Society last Thursday 7 February to receive the society’s James Joyce Award. Due to the Writers Guild of America strike, his television show, The Riches, has been cut short this season and Mr. Izzard was available to be in Dublin to receive the award. He is far from the first major star to visit the society. It seems that societies are more intent than ever on attracting big names to their campuses and one popular way of doing so is to present them with awards or honorary patronage. It has become common to see such high profile political and entertainment figures gracing the halls of Dublin’s large universities as the guests of various societies; just earlier this year, Academy Award winning actress Helen Mirren was a guest of the University Philosophical Society here at Trinity College. On 23 January, University College Dublin’s Literary and Historical Society
presented their James Joyce Award to actor, writer and comedian Will Ferrell. Michael McGrath, Auditor, 153rd session, Literary and Historical Society stated: “Mr Ferrell receives the James Joyce Award for his tremendous contribution to the field of comedy entertainment as a comedian, writer and actor.” In his acceptance speech, Mr. Ferrell, dressed in an Irish rugby outfit, quipped “As I perused my leather bound volumes of Ulysses, Finnegan’s Wake, Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, standing in my mahogany library, a lot of feelings ran across my head, like, man, I should have read these books.” Mr. Ferrell also commented on similarities between himself and the author. “James Joyce spent a lot of his life living outside of Ireland. I too have spent a lot of time living outside of Ireland,” he said. Previous recipients of UCD’s Literary and Historical Society’s James Joyce Award have included former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, author Bill Bryson, philosopher Professor Richard Swinburne and actor Ralph Fiennes.
Ferrell makes an impressive entrance to receive his award in UCD decked in full Irish rugby kit. Photo: Neil Dorgan
Student Support Bill revamps grant process LAUREN NORTON NATIONAL NEWS EDITOR The long-awaited Student Support Bill, aimed at streamlining the process of application and payment of maintenance grants, has been published and is expected to take effect in the 2009-10 academic year. Under the new Bill, Vocation Education Committees will have sole responsibility for the administration of students' grants. At present, students seeking grants must apply to local authorities and to VECs. The new Bill will halve the number of awarding authorities to 33. "This will significantly simplify the range of different grants and awarding
authorities which students must currently negotiate in order to apply for a grant”, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said. The new arrangement will also include guaranteed time frames for more timely payment of grants and more efficient arrangements for handling applications and making payments, she added. The Bill also provides for a new independent appeals board for people who are refused support and tougher sanctions for those who make fraudulent claims. The Union of Students in Ireland welcomed the Bill as a major step forward for the 57000 third-level students, including those taking postLeaving Certificate courses, who receive
maintenance grants every year. But the union called for centralisation of the grants system. The Bill also sees the introduction of a new residency requirement. Students applying for the grant must prove they have lived in the state for three out of the previous five years of their application. “On balance, the Student Support Bill represents a substantial improvement for students who depend on receiving timely grant payments”, said USI President Hamidreza Khodabakhshi. He went on to say, however, that the legislation was not fully satisfactory. “The legislation is imperfect because it won’t centralise the grants system under a single agency at national
level. Ultimately that would be the best way of maximising efficiency. Even so, there is much to welcome in this Bill. It responds to longstanding criticism of the present system – certainly by USI – by streamlining and simplifying. The Support Bill should slash delays to grant payments and cut administrative errors. It must be a stepping stone to centralisation of the grants system." Speaking about the new independent appeals board provided for in the Bill, USI Education Officer Peter Mannion said: “The timeframe allowed for adjudicating appeals is excessive. “Students cannot wait up to 45 days for an initial decision on an appeal, then up to 90 days more if the independent board considers the appeal. That’s four and a half months –
just ridiculous. There is no reason why appeals couldn’t be decided within 21 days or less.” Minister Hanafin concluded by saying “my core objective in implementing change is to enable improvements in the service provided to the 57000 students in receipt of grants and to those potential students, currently at second-level, who are considering their future options. While 2008/09 will be a transition period in which the existing arrangements will continue to apply, I hope to be in a position very shortly to announce more immediate service level improvements by publishing the student grant schemes for the coming academic year, some months ahead of their publication in previous years.”
nationalnews@trinitynews.ie
Hilary term, Week 6
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TRINITY NEWS
There will be blood Allen
Sullivan
Tension rises as the election draws closer. Without question, the toughest race this election will be between Hilary Allen and Hugh Sullivan for the position of Education Officer. The two candidates are both well qualified, experienced and determined to get the position. Who will win? We predict drama…
Students’ Union Election Special
Nominations close with fifteen declared MICHAEL RONSON NEWS REPORTER
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or the last number of years, Trinity News has published an election special of sorts. Often this has taken the form of a simple question and answer section, tossed on the page for the reader’s perusal. That is not the case this year. This year, the candidates have been extensively interviewed by our staff, and thier views, ideas and messages have been condensed into managable portions. What results is, we hope, a good starting point for students throughout the college to approach the elections and get an idea of the candidates. The fifteen potential sabbatical officers divide up into four candidates for Deputy President, three each for President, Welfare and Entertainments and two for Eduation. The race for Deputy President will be a particularly interesting one to watch, as it has the greatest number of candidates with little to seperate them. The issues at the core of that race are non-controversial: each candidate would like to improve The Record and raise the Union’s profile. What will seperate them are the small issues and, importantly, personality. The race for President has three very different and very distinctive men in the running. Each has a strong personality, an absolutely essential component in a President, yet all have different backgrounds. Gathering support and generating publicity within their own courses and society contacts could have an impact on the final result. Predictably all three potential Ents officers are colourful characters with big ideas. Each of them coontibuuted one of the following ideas: open-air Pavilion concerts, Q-Zar in Front Square and fake weddings in the College Park. All are highly unlikely to get past the authorities, but big ideas are important nonetheless. Welfare will be a tightly-run race as well, with three well-qualfied and friendly females up for election. Again all three hope to raise the profile of the Welfare Office, though they have different areas of specific focus for their campaigns. Finally, then, there is Education, with only two candi dates. Nonetheless, it could be the tightest race of all as both potential officers have a secure sense of what they want to acheive and seem to have similar targets in the expansion of student services, while keeping a wary eye on the developments in a changing university. In addition, netiher of them has a significant social advantage over the other through other involvments, which means the capaign could come down to how they approach the isues. All fifteen will be seeking your votes in the coming weeks and remember, due to voter apathy and low turnouts in recent years, a small number of votes can have a significant effect on the results.
Ents hopeful Cillian Gray (right) looks on as Students’ Union Education Officer Bartley Rock (far left) announces the candidates for this year’s elections from the steps of House 6. Photo: Martin McKenna
Campaign Finance • At the beginning of campaigning, candidates surrender a deposit of €60 to the Student’s Union Administrative Officer Simon Evans. • Candidates are fined by deduction from this deposit for every violation of the rules of the elections. If this deposit exahausted, the candidate’s place on the ballot is
The Electoral Commission reconsidered. Examples of violations include early campaigning, having posters in the wrong locations, or using class or society mailing lists to campaign. • All candidates have €600 to spend on the election. They are not allowed to exceed this limit and all receipts must be present to the Electoral Commission
• The Electoral Commission (EC) is comprised of of seven students. They are responsible for running elections and referenda- they determine whether or not motions have passed at council and they interpret the Students’ Union Constitution. The EC can be identified by their purple hoodies.
TRINITY NEWS Students’ Union Election Special
Editor: Deirdre Lennon Big Cheese: Emer Groarke Design: Gearóid O’Rourke Copy: David Molloy & Cationa Gray
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Hilary term, Week 6
TRINITY NEWS
One of the duties of the President shall be to coordinate Union work on a day-today basis and to coordinate Union campaigns. TCDSU Constitution
President
Photo: Martin McKenna
Three’s a crowd
The The Comedian Politician
R
ob Donohue approaches his campaign on two fronts: “I think I could achieve the transendental form of excellency. And I could achieve things that are realistic,” he says. Donohue claims that he’d like to change some policies like the draconian alcohol Key points policy and the compulsory room checks for residents on campus and in Halls, both of which he • Tackle college’s antibelieves treat students like student policies. children. “College has implemented a lot of anti-student • Unite student body. policies that will be very hard to • Completely revise reverse unless we have the complete backing of the students.” Student’s Union In fact, this anti-student agenda is structure. what he identifies as the main concern facing students. “A •More publicity and president needs to be able to involvement in the stand up like Amy Winehouse and Union by ordinary say “No, no, no”! (But they should stay clean and wash their hair)”,he students. says. One thing Donohue is keen to push is the idea of a collective body of students working together. In comparing himself to previous presidents, he states that they all have broadly similar aims, and the real test is who can pull together the student body into an organised movement. “Every student is a part of the Union, whether they want to be or not, so the Union represents us whether we want it to or not. So if we want the College to be as we want it to be we’ve got to work together and elect people who we think can get the job done.” While Donohue has vey little Union experience (though he has indeed worked in the JCR), he doesn’t see this as a disadvantage. He believes that talking to and listening to students is far more valuable experience than “submitting motions which don’t do anything.” The most important expereince, he says, is being actively involved in College life every day for five years. “I’d say you can pick it up from when you enter the office fairly easily.” In fact, he believes the Union structure needs to be looked at and potentially completely revised. He also believes more publicity and involvment in the Union by ordinary students is absolutely essential. When asked what sets him apart from the other candidates, he says he sees himself as quite diferent from his “long haired opponents” because he has “dreams of sending the first Campanile to space.” He also says there’s no point in saying bad things about the competition “because they’re nice people.”
E
oin Moore, one of the mighty trio involved in this year’s presidential race, believes that he is more than adequately qualified to deal with the demands of the job. He considers the role to entail many different aspects but will primarily focus on acting in the interests of students, listening to Key points their needs and ensuring that the Union agenda he presents reflects • A more student this dialogue. Moore wishes to orientated campus. achieve a more student-orientated campus and discussed the fact that • Work more closely Trinity, despite being the largest with class reps. university, takes a painfully long time to get anything done on • More progress campus. towards proposed Moore is not afraid to student centre. criticise the recent opening of the BLU library on Sundays and feels • Bring an end to that more should be done to commencement fees. ensure that this is implemented in all libraries. “The opening of the Arts Building library was a hollow and biased victory because it benefited only one section of the student body. I want to represent all Trinity students and achieve meaningful results for everyone”. To do this, Moore believes that it will take the entire student populace to achieve results and that it would be better if the Union could work more closely with class representatives. He mentions the lack of progress in relation to the proposed student centre, deeming it “unacceptable” that it has not happened yet. He discusses his ample Union experience, beginning with class rep status for Junior Freshman BESS and this year for Junior Sophister Politics. Moore is keen to highlight his ongoing campaign regarding the commencement fees in college, as Trinity is currently the only university in Ireland that charges this fee. He is eager to stress his readiness to take on the College authorities and declares that he has sufficient drive to get the students voices heard. “When it comes down to it, knowing how to listen to, represent and argue students’ views at Board and committee meetings is the most crucial factor. I have relevant experience both within the Union and outside it, but this is only one side of the coin.” “I have a real fear of a president who will not be strong in opposition to cut courses, an increase in the number of students and diminishing facilities. We need someone who will fight for an educatory model rather than a business model in Trinity.”
The Scientist
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athal Reilly, like his opponents, has plenty of Union experience and considers the fundamental role of the President to one of representation and essentially, “the students’ voice on campus.” Reilly is aware of the diversity in students’ backgrounds and wants to ensure that the Union is open Key points to all and that the campaigns that the embarks upon are ones • Union accessible to relevant to students’ lives. all. Reilly discussed how he had • Ensure campaigns several “high profile campaigns” on his agenda, focusing generally are relevant to on matters such as student student’s lives. accommodation in Dublin that • 24 hour student affect all students and the muchdiscussed 24 hour student study study space. space. Reilly wishes to go a step • Fully extended further from this year’s Sunday library opening opening hours achievement and campaign for fully extended hours. library hours. He stated that: • More microwaves. “Having a world class library that closes at 10pm is a joke”. In addition, he has smaller changes that he wishes to implement such as more microwaves and investigating where the registration fee goes. As for Union experience, Reilly was a first year class representative and was involved in various well-known campaigns around campus, such as the library opening hours and extending the hours that the Pavilion Bar is open for. He claims to have all the adequate qualities that are required to be President of the Union. “I believe that I am the only candidate that has, not only the experience, but the ability to stand up now and lead the Union.” He attributes this sentiment to the fact that he has worked on behalf of the students for the last three years and organising events in his role as Engineering, Mathematics and Sciences Convenor. If he achieves this office, he plans to guarantee that the Union is more visible than ever before, as many students aren’t aware of what goes on in House 6. They should be given the choice in deciding who chooses what the Union as a whole is going to campaign for and invest energy and funds into achieving. He wants to convey to all students how important the Union is in day to day lives and plans to instigate both small and greater changes to improve general quality of College life.
Hilary term, Week 6
P9
TRINITY NEWS
Education Officer
The only head to head
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Photo: Emer Groarke
Photo: Tom Gillespie
ne candidate in the heated head-to-head race for Education Officer is Hugh Sullivan, a Senior Sophister student of Management Science and Information Systems Studies; he appears to be eager to move with College as it faces very specific changes. Sullivan believes that he would be a good representative for students due to his experience in dealing with the issues that effect students’ day to day lives. Involved in the Union every year since he became a class representative in his Junior Freshman year (although admittedly, he gained the position by default!), he has enjoyed his experience and believes that he has an in-depth insight into how the Union works, having sat on many committees, including Executive and the Electoral Commission. In relation to the type of officer Hugh would be, he states that he would be competent enough to face up to issues such as the impending financial crisis that the College is facing, the discontent over library opening hours and the changes that modularisation will bring. Modularisation, being the topical issue that it is, was addressed by both Sullivan and Allen in detail. Sullivan’s approach would include addressing changes in workloads and confronting the disproportions between allocated results and the amount of work students are assigned. In addition, he believes that a lack of a 24 hour study space is a major problem, as there is be no facility for students who face deadlines. He feels quite strongly about timetabling issues and wants to centralise exam timetables so that they are available to students much earlier on in term time. Like many of the other candidates, Sullivan believes that the current Sabbatical Officers have made the Union more accessible as a unit for students who may find it daunting to enter House 6. He says that he will try to continue this trend, “get out of the office and let people know what’s going on.” And although he may state that “the thing about the job of the Education Officer is that a lot of it is uninteresting”, he sees the role as fundamental to suit the need for students to have a point of contact between themselves and College authorities.
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illary Allen, (Junior Sophister Economics and Social Studies) is clear as to why students should vote for her for Education Officer and it is not only about what Union experience she has. “I know what I’m doing in the role of Education Officer; you really have to care and to understand.” Having gained the standard entry into the Union by becoming a class representative, Hilary was the Social Science Faculty Convener in her Senior Freshman Year, sits on the BESS Management Committee and has had direct interaction with many of the committees that the Education Officer is linked with. In addition to her Union experience, Allen has been involved in the College Historical Society and this year in Comedy Society, helping to establish the new committee last year. When asked about pressing issues facing students today, Allen discussed modularisation, problems with the library opening hours, printing, ECTS and timetabling. She believes that modularisation is an extremely relevant issue, but claims that “it’s not working at the moment, but if it is correctly implemented, it could bring massive benefits for students”. The weighting assigned to some courses needs to be resolved, according to Allen, and it will be the role of the Education Officer to act as a mediator. Another priority that she discussed was that of the need for a group study space so that students in all areas of College could be facilitated. Allen echoes several other candidates in the notion that the old gym should be converted into a student centre for this purpose and wishes to campaign further from Bartley Rock’s success. In relation to printing services, she believes that printing services in College are diabolical and must be made more easily available for students. Allen believes, like most of her fellow candidates, that the Union is not as accessible as it could be and many students don’t know how the Union is meant to affect their daily lives. This could be resolved by explaining to class reps what their role is from the outset and she will attempt to ensure that all students know how the Union works. It is not about what a small group of people can achieve, she says, but the Union needs to involve all students at some level. With two ambitious candidates in the running, it will certainly be a closely fought campaign from both parties. It will only become clear from the start of campaigning who will emerge the stronger.
The Insider
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ick Beard, self-confessed “omni-hack,” and one of three running for Welfare believes that, for her, this year’s election will be focused on outlining achievable campaign promises. Having being involved with College bureaucracy for the past year in her role as the International Students’ Officer, she has also dealt with welfare issues by sitting on several committees, such as the College Health Service Committee and the College Counselling Service Committee. Beard emphasises that not only does she have experience within the Union, she has overall College experience due to the range of societies that she has been involved in, including the CSC Executive Committee. She wishes to build on the foundations that previous Welfare Officers have shaped and stresses that it is not only traditional welfare issues that are important within the role, but concerns related to accommodation and tenant rights, something that can be quite daunting for students to deal with in first year. Though her involvement with the Free Legal Advice Clinic, Beard has first hand experience in dealing with students on a one to one basis. Like many of her fellow candidates, Beard believes that the students should vote for whom they think will make the most difference in their respective roles. “Elections should be about what priorities you want for your union. I’m the candidate who can really set simple, understandable priorities for everyone. Because of my experience, I can get these priorities done.” She discussed how each sabbatical officer has their respective role and that the role of Welfare Officer is fundamental in providing students with a certain type of security within College that differs to the rest.
The Gaelgeoir
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rlaith Foley, (Junior Sophister Economic and Social Sciences) defines the role of the Welfare Officer as one which takes into account many qualities such as “approachability, sensibility, trustworthiness and discretion.” Foley has a wide range of experience welfare-wise, having been involved with the counselling service and S2S, formally known as the Peer Support Network. She has taken the S2S counselling training course several times, giving her the ability to get to know a wide range of students through this. Foley was Welfare Officer of Trinity Halls and worked closely with Denise Keogh, Welfare Officer last year, as well as helping the Union to run SHAG week and Health Week. Society wise, Foley has been involved in An Cumann Gaelach and VdP, which means she has worked in conjunction with the Union, gaining an insight into the working of the roles of the officers themselves. She emphasises the need to be a presence around campus itself, and create an accessible persona, of whom students can approach. She is aware of the difficulties some students have in relation to approaching the Welfare Officer and if elected, she would attempt to reassess this system. “Some people find it difficult in openly approaching the Welfare Office, be it because they are too shy or they just don’t want to be seen walking into the Welfare Office and this is something that I would work to improve.” Not only does Foley believe that the position is important in relation to welfare issues, but sees that there is a financial dimension attached to it. She says she would try to provide the relevant information needed to make weeks such as SHAG Week and Mental Health Week a success.
Photo: Martin McKenna
Photo: Martin McKenna
Photo: Dominique English
Welfare Officer
The Dentist
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hloe Kassis-Crowe, third year Dentistry student and welfare candidate, emphasises experience in her approach. She’s keen to make sure everyone knows that she doesn’t simply look at people’s teeth all day.
She claims to already have experience in helping patients with their problems, in addition to working in St. James’s (recording patient histories) and having some education on infectious diseases. Her priorities include easing the burden of finding accommodation (hoping that her “Cribs Week” plan will have plenty of people lodged before the end of the summer holidays), getting Halal food served “somewhere” and improving the publicity of the Welfare Office. Over the last three years, Kassis-Crowe moved from a class representative to a school convenor to an assistant faculty convenor and has represented the union at the Union of Students in Ireland congress. She feels it’s important to have an understanding of the union and its procedures to get important issues through the “lengthy processes”. While she claims she has heard no complaints at all about the current Welfare Officer, she also says many student’s she’s spoken to have no idea who the Welfare Officer is or what she does. KassisCrowe claims she’ll make sure students know the services available to them if elected. When asked how important she feels the role of welfare officer is, she replies: “Let’s put it this way, I wouldn’t decide to take a year out of an already five year long course if I didn’t think it was really important.”
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Hilary term, Week 6
TRINITY NEWS
Deputy President
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eamus Conboy, if elected, promises to bring “experience, commitment and innovation to this job.” He is aware of the importance of the Record within College life and as a voice for the Union to outline its campaigns and upcoming events, regardless of whether the issue is big or small. “The University Record is central to this, as the voice of the Union, and is a huge responsibility in its own right.” Conboy emphasises how he would bring a degree of professionalism to the role of Deputy President and would incorporate editorial and writing workshops to attract new writers, as well as increasing funding from advertising. Stemming from this year’s “Know Your Union” campaign, he discusses how he could take this aspect of the Union further and use the campaign to enhance the connections between students and the Union. The website is a matter that he is willing to address, as he feels that it is a “grossly underutilised tool.” Also on a national scale, he is seeking to raise the profile of the Union. Students turning out in sizeable numbers to vote is the best indicator that campaigning has worked and it is important to know that the sabbatical officers have the backing of the student body. It also emphasises the mandate of the Union in its negotiations with the college. Conboy’s involvement in promoting the Irish language within college has helped him gain experience in working with the Union and see College life from both a society and a Union perspective.
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onor Smith, Senior Sophister Computer Science student, is another candidate running in the hotly contested race for Deputy President. Smith emphasises how he will use his communication skills, “technical experience” and involvement in many aspects of College life to sustain the essential groundwork that Claire Tighe has achieved. Smith spoke about the need to keep websites updated and an open channel of communication for students to know what is happening generally within College using flyers, the website and posters so that students won’t have to look for information themselves. With regards to the Record, he wants to attract more writers and bring out an edition in Freshers’ Week of next year to heighten the profile of the paper from the outset. Naturally Smith plans to focus on updating the eRecord website as often as possible as one of the aspects of communication to make students aware of what is happening on a weekly basis. “I’d like the eRecord to be the first port of call when a student wants information about something that happens in college.” Within the Union, Conor Smith has been a class representative and is no stranger to the communications role of the Union, having worked with Claire Tighe on the communications committee itself and in the “Know Your Union” Campaign. He has also gained an in depth insight into the Union’s inner workings, having participated in the Constitutional Review Committee. Smith is keen to emphasise that the Union is not just a clique of people in House 6 but extremely active around College and students should take this on board.
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essie Gurr, a Junior Sophister TSM French student, believes that if she were to become Deputy President, she would “bring a fresh perspective and freshen up the Union”. She believes that her experiences both with the Union as a class representative, participating in Council and being a regular contributor to The Record will allow her to do this. At the moment, she feels that the Union is a little bit exclusive and wants to reach out to students using the aspect of publicity. To encourage feedback from the students themselves, she indicated that it might be an idea to open a suggestion box so that it wouldn’t be as daunting to approach the officers face to face. She indicated the need to make the Union more relatable to students and include more people in the Record, so that it can be as diverse a paper as possible. She noted that she did not intend to revamp the paper, but in agreement with several of the other candidates, build on what Claire Tighe had achieved. She mentioned that the website was an issue that needed to be addressed for next year’s Deputy President, to ensure that it is kept regularly up to date. Gurr also wants to make students aware that the role of Deputy President is about forging a link of communication between the Union and students and wants to enhance this if she is elected next year. “Students need to know what’s happening in College from week to week so that they can plan what to go to. I’d like to have a more advanced system in place whereby communications are stronger and more present in everyday life on campus.”
Photo: Conor O’Kelly
Photo: Conor O’Kelly
Photo: Conor O’Kelly
Photo: Emer Groarke
A very crowed house
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aura Buttigieg, a Senior Sophister History student, also believes that she has what it takes to become the Union’s next Deputy President and is ready to tackle many of the issues head on. She is aware from working in the PR industry how important it is to know your audience and states that she would “love to make the Union a more approachable thing,” as many students aren’t aware of how it functions and how relevant it is for their daily lives. She believes that it is important to get feedback from students on how they feel the Union itself is progressing and emphasises the importance of communication between the two through the different types of media that College has. Like many of the candidates, Buttigieg remarks on how the “Know Your Union” Campaign was an excellent way of making the Union itself more accessible and wishes to expand this through the year. Buttigieg is well aware of how the Union functions, due to her experience as a class representative for two years and having sat on the Library Committee with Bartley Rock. Communications wise, Buttigieg has written for Trinity News, worked in public relations companies and been involved in various Union campaigns over her year,s including sitting on the Ethical Trading Committee. In relation to the Record, she praised Tighe for her efforts and wishes to “build on its foundations and go a bit further again.” She is eager to emphasise her society work committee-wise in both the History Society and Dance Society, which she thinks has given her an insight into fundraising and organisation, as well as valuable work with local media, which makes her a strong candidate in the race for Deputy President.
The Card Shark
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illian Gray, Senior Freshman Science student, captain of his club basketball and hockey teams and health care assistant for St. Vincent’s Hospital, enjoys “having a laugh and things that make me laugh, like South Park or jocking a mate.” As Entertainments Officer, he’d “like to organise Ents trips to places like Berlin, Barcelona, Biarritz and other fun cities in Europe as these are the type of events where you make new friends as well as have great fun. I’d organise them over long weekends and week-long ones over the holidays.” Gray’s experience organizing events began with his Debs. “I’ve also done a lot of fundraising for the Irish Guide Dogs, organising nights out, pub quizes, poker tournaments and concerts. Then I was voted head of the Cards Society within my first few months in College, for which I organised at least one tournament every week.” Gray has big plans for Trinity Term Pav Fridays, including open air gigs like a Battle of the Bands competition. His other ideas for new types of events on campus include cinema nights in the Ed Burke or the Basketball Hall in the Sports Hall. The Trinity Ball under Gray would be distinctly a dance event, with a big DJ headlining. Though he admits he is perhaps shooting above his budget, Gray nonetheless invokes dance legends Daft Punk and Faithless. Overall, Gray regards the most important characteristic of an Entertainments Officer as simply being fun. He feels that this is a quality that’s necessary for collaboration with class representatives, societies and clubs.
The Old Hand
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avid Byrne, Senior Sophister Economic and Social Studies student and self-confessed lover of organisation and itineraries, says that he’s running for Entertainments Officer because he “gets a buzz off seeing it all come together and seeing people enjoy something that I’ve been involved in.” Byrne hopes to add a lot more variety to the role if elected and move the focus away from club nights. He emphasises the need for a proper student venue in the College due to the increasing number of society-based activities such as quizzes and gigs. The function of Ents officer includes the creation of new events to introduce students to something different. According to Byrne, he would try to organise a Trinity Comedy festival, being a massive fan himself. He isn’t afraid to be completely original in his suggestions. “Why not bring in a gig rig or have a massive game of Q-Zar in Front Square, giant scalextrics around the crease in front of the Pavilion Bar, human football or giant chess.” To appeal to a broader range of students, he would like to hold more uniquely themed club nights, involving “shots of sake and possibly even karaoke…” Byrne endorses both Tripod and Crawdaddy’s as venues that provide students with a mixture of music and both have “something for everyone.” Experience wise, Byrne has been involved in the Ents crew, helping out with RAG Week last year, Freshers’ Week, along with numerous gigs and nights out. He is the Ents Officer for the Voluntary Tuition Programme and Comedy Soc and helped organised VDP Day in 2006. Byrne says“Students should be able to demand to have events that they want to go to and Ents should deliver.”
Photo: Tom Gillespie
Photo: Tom Gillespie
Photo: Tom Gillespie
Entertainments Officer
The Wild Child
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ick Longworth, Senior Sophister Natural Science, promises to bring great enthusiasm to the position if elected, as well as “dynamic and exciting things.” He wants to raise the profile of Ents to such a degree that it gains as much publicity as it possibly can. He doesn’t believe that a good night out should revolve around cheap drinks or clubs, but around something that is imaginative. He says that College nights out should appeal to a more diverse group of students and not be focused on particular themes and would focus perhaps on band nights and gradually begin to organise big nights out. Longworth has quite a bit of experience when it comes to organising nights out, having been a class representative in his Senior Freshman year, and used “limited resources and word of mouth” to organise events in places such as Frazer’s and Kennedy’s. If he had one dream act to headline Trinity Ball, it would be Led Zeppelin, or alternatively, Radiohead or Muse. He sees no reason why it isn’t possible to have big names at the greatest enclosed party in Europe that receives a lot of publicity. He is critical of his predecessor and he states that his focus may have been too narrow on certain clubs or types of nights out, and for not having shown enough “novelty.” One of Longworth’s major ideas regarding the “silliness and mayhem” that he promises next year, involves a “big mock wedding” involving a marquee, a false vicar, sponsorship from Black Tie, flower companies, lots of press coverage and the cricket pitch in front of the Pav! Stay tuned…
TRINITY NEWS
Hilary Term, Week 6
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SocietyNews
Charcuterie evening brings meat to the table TAJA NAIDOO CONTRIBUTING WRITER Last Tuesday, Dublin University Food and Drink Society members were treated to an evening of delectation and delight in the College Atrium. The Charcuterie night, hosted by the effervescent Kevin Brazil, proved to be as much a feast for the mind as for the palette. The knowledgeable host led the assorted “tastees” on a jaunt through the history and intricacies of the branch of European cuisine that is sometimes referred to by the Italian “Salumi”. Charcuterie is a staple of the continental diet, but is something that has only come to prominence in Ireland quite recently. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, much as I was prior to the event, Charcuterie literally means “cooked meat” from the French char
TAF Diary
cuit. Today, it refers almost exclusively to cooked or processed pork sold by a Charcutier and includes items such as ham, sausages, terrines and so on. These items are preserved through processes of drying and salting, which was necessary in order to preserve them in the hot Mediterranean climate where they originate from. The most famous examples of this would be Spanish Chorizo and Italian Parma Ham. The evening started with members being greeted and seated at tables of five arranged in a semi-circle in the centre of the Atrium. The wine glasses were filled as each member sat down and they were given a little information about the wine and the format of the evening. Contrary to popular belief, white wine is actually the best accompaniment to fare of this kind, slightly sparkling aperitif wines are preferred and in light of this, a fine Berry Brothers
www.trinityartsfestival.com
Mosel Riesling was selected for the evening. Everyone being comfortably seated, Kevin proceeded to talk us through the origins of Charcuterie and on the particular charms of the selected cold meats arranged before us. Each table had two platters, one large platter for the ham and larger meat cuts and a smaller platter filled with salamis and terrines. Bread, rice cakes and fruit slices were provided on each table to complete the ensemble. As the tasting wore on, wine and conversation flowed and by the end of the evening, each person drifted off saited into the fresh night
Charcutier refers to a selection of cured or treated meats such as Parma, Chorizo or terrines. Photo courtesy of the cooked meats association of Ireland.
air. The food and wine, as you might expect from an event of this nature, were faultlessly selected and presented and the sociable atmosphere created was as conducive to chat as it was to consumption. The society re-created this cordial atmosphere at the launch of the Trinity Arts Festival (11 – 15 February) on Monday night. Moreover, they will be getting into the Valentine’s mood with a romantic raffle for members on 14 February, plus free chocolates and goodies! So look out for them in the Arts Building and return the love.
SOCIETY IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Trinity Arts Festival Name: Mieke Van Embden Who? Auditor Event: Tour of the Provost’s House – Tuesday and Thursday 12pm “If I had only one hour to spare for T*Artfest ’08, I would spend it on a tour of the Provost’s House. Behind the reserved exterior is one of the most stunning Georgian interiors the city has to offer, and it comes with a suitably scandalous history to boot! Entry to this building is a rare occurrence, as it is home to John Hegarty and his family. Accordingly these tours led by Dr. Eddie McParland are an opportunity not to be missed. Trinity students are lucky to have such a beautiful and historic campus, especially in the middle of the city. When you’re attending lectures over the cobbles every day, it’s easy to take the campus for granted. The hour-long tours, given by lecturers and students alike, are an integral part of the arts festival, and are a great way of rediscovering the wealth of architecture found in our daily surroundings in bite size chunks. Don’t miss them!” Name: Taja Naidoo Who? Treasurer Event: Make-up for Film Workshop – Tuesday and Wednesday 2pm (€2) “During TAF week, there is such a great variety of stuff on that it’s hard to pick just one or two…but I have to say that I’m really looking forward to the make-up for film classes being held in the Trinity Arts Workshop. We
have a final year student from the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology coming to college to give the class and it’s going to be really interesting to see how you can create such diverse looks with simple materials. I’m hoping to pick-up some tips that might come in handy for next Halloween!” Name: Kasia Murphy Who? Secretary Event: Architectural Association of Ireland exhibition – Iveagh Hall, BLU libraries “This is such an impressive exhibition to get at Trinity! It will consist of 40 A1 boards detailing the workings and thought processes of architects as he or she formulates his or her ideas on a given building design. It’s pretty incredible because all too often you think plans and blueprints are boring and dull, but seeing someone’s inspiration literally on a page gives a nice insight into the mind of the architect as a person and as a designer. Otherwise I’m excited about the Campus Canvas because it’s arty-fun and you get to avoid the library for an extra 15mins and paint something random....!” Name: Ciara Cavanagh Who? PR Officer Event: Amadeus Octet – Thursday 6.30pm “What better way to begin Valentine’s Evening than with a romantic performance by the Amadeus Octet in the beautiful Trinity College Chapel. The concert will see the octet
(two string quartets combined) perform the powerful and moving “Octet for Strings in E flat major” by Felix Mendelssohn followed by W.A. Mozart’s exhilarating “Divertimento in D major”. Apart from the fact that Trinity College can boast musicians of a high enough calibre to play such challenging works, this concert, combining two of the greatest composers and compositions of the chamber music repertoire, will uplift and enlighten all who attend.” Name: Fionnuala Mc Geough Who? Events Coordinator Event: “I Want to Score” – Tuesday 8pm (€5) “Following last year’s epic sell-out show, I’m enthused by what this year’s “I Want to Score” has in store! Held in the Sugar Club (Leeson Street), T*Arts, music lovers and film buffs will be flocking to this event to be entertained by what I believe will be one of this year’s most exciting collaborations. Silent films executed by some of Film-makers’ most talented directors and actors will be accompanied by live scores of original compositions written by Trinity musicians, which will no doubt entertain and engage. Furthermore, a condensed performance by the acclaimed Mercer Island Rodeo will transform the night into one that embraces all facets of artistic creativity. If all this culturing is a bit much, there’s always a good pint to be had and a bit of craic - I want to score? … Yes, please!” All events are free, unless stated otherwise.
Society Diary Tuesday 12 February FLAC: Free Clinic – get free legal advice 6pm, Room 4012, Arts Building. Chess: Weekly night of friendly games, club competitions and coaching. 7pm in the Maths Seminar Room, Hamilton Building. Literary: Creative writing workshops, 7pm in room 32, House 6. Players: Dr. Faustus, in the Players’ Theatre 8pm as part of the 75th Anniversary Celebrations. Wednesday 13 February Historical: Debate “This house believes that marriage is an outdated institution”, GMB 7.30pm. Geographical: Table Quiz in the Ginger Man Pub at 8pm. Trad: Wednesday Trad. Session in Cassidy’s of Westmoreland St, 9pm. Thursday 14 February Chapel Choir: Evensong 5.15-5.45pm, Trin-
societynews@trinitynews.ie
ity Chapel. Falun Dafa: Exercise classes, 7-9pm, room 50 in the Atrium. BESS: Valentine’s Ball, 7.30pm in the Leopard’s Town Pavillion. Philosophical: Debate, “This house would ratify the EU Reform Treaty”; GMB 7.30pm. Friday 15 February Joly Geological: Field trip to Sligo! Capoeira: Classes (a mix of Brazilian martial arts, music and dance), Regent House 45.30pm. Afro-Caribbean: Djembe drumming classes, 6pm Regent House. Monday 18 February Yoga: Classes, Regent House 5.30-7pm. Muslim Students: Abdul-Kareem, “Shadows Tour” 6-8pm Davis Theatre, Arts Building. This American converted Muslim will discuss the topic of “Perished Nations”.
Tuesday 19 February Juggling: Weekly practice in the Goldsmith Hall, starting at 7pm. Japanese: Kendo beginner (7pm) and intermediate (7.45pm) classes, held in the Ancillary Hall (€20 per person for the term). Players: “The Infernal Machine” 8pm, Players Theatre, directed by Dan Bergin. Wednesday 20 February Historical: Debate “This house believes Ireland should ratify the EU Reform Treaty”, GMB, 7.30pm. Players: “The Infernal Machine” 8pm, Players Theatre, directed by Dan Bergin. Thursday 21 February Physoc: Blood Drive II, meeting in the SNIAM lobby 6pm to go and donate blood! Philosophical: Debate “This house believes that student politics have failed us”, GMB 7.30pm. Mature: The Big Gig, in Whelans on Wex-
ford St., for €25 see Mundy, Declan O’Rourke and Shay Cotter. Doors at 7.30pm. Friday 22 February DUPA: Weekend trip to Edinburgh – a weekend to see the historic city of Edinburgh with plenty of opportunity to take photos! Dance: Weekly classes in Regent House starting at 7pm! Saturday 23 February Orchestral: Concert Castalia Hall, Camp Hill, Ballytobin 8pm. Monday 25 February Players: Feminists are Funny – The Guerrilla Girls on Tour! Starting at 6.30pm, contact Players at info@duplayers.com for more information.
DAY 1: MONDAY 11 FEBRUARY: Architectural Association of Ireland Awards 22 : All day, all week on display in the Iveagh Hall in the Berkeley Lecky Ussher Library intersection (library opening hours 9am – 10pm). Costume Customising: Book at stands in the Arts and Hamilton Buildings, from 1–2pm. Pinhole Camera: Workshop in the Photography rooms, in the Atrium. Architectural Tour of Front Square: Meeting at the Campanile at 2pm. Educating Rita Installation: An installation by Stephen Mulhall based on the film, Educating Rita in the Graduates Memorial Building, 5-9pm. Opening Night: In the Atrium from 7pm, with music by CoCoPhOnE, visuals by the Visual Arts Society, art work by the Arts Workshop and Photographic Association “One Day, One Mile” exhibition, and a live interactive audiovisual installation by Roberto Pugliese. All this is followed by after-party in the Bleu Note Bar, Capel St. featuring the Jazz Society. DAY 2: TUESDAY 12 FEBRUARY: Campus Canvass: From 9am until 5pm, let your creativity flow. Students of all disciplines can create art in the Arts and Hamilton Buildings. Photo Exhibition: “One Day, One Mile” exhibition from DUPA, in the Atrium, all day. Tour of the Provost’s House: Meeting at the Campanile at 12pm; book at the stands for a tour given by Dr. Eddie McParland. Drumming: Workshop in association with AfroCaribbean Society, 1pm in the Trinity Arts Workshop, 191 Pearse Street. Make-up for Film: Learn how the make up artists in Hollywood create their art! 2pm in the Trinity Arts Workshop, 191 Pearse Street. Berkeley Library Tour: With Ms. Ellen Rowley, at 2.30pm. I Want to Score: Silent films, accompanied by musicians from Trinity. In association with FilmSoc, in the Sugar Club, 8pm. DAY 3: WEDNESDAY 13 FEBRUARY: Campus Canvass: From 9am until 5pm, let your creativity flow. Students of all disciplines can create art in the Arts and Hamilton Buildings. Photo Exhibition: “One Day, One Mile” exhibition from DUPA, in the Atrium, all day. Camera Obscura: In the Amnesty Society room (21), House 6, 12-2pm, come and paint Front Square using the projection formed by the Camera Obscura. Architectural Tour of the East End: Find out more at the stands in the Arts and Hamilton Building. Make-up for Film: Learn how the make up artists in Hollywood create their art! 2pm in the Trinity Arts Workshop, 191 Pearse Street. Sculpting with Latex: Bridging the gap between Cartoons and 3D animation: a workshop hosted by Mr. Balloonatic, British Balloon Modeller of the Year 2007. At 3pm in the JCR, Goldsmith Hall. DAY 4: THURSDAY 14 FEBRUARY: Pollock Painting: On the Physics Green, but dependent on weather, so check at the stands in the Hamilton and Arts Buildings for times! Campus Canvass: From 9am until 5pm, let your creativity flow. Students of all disciplines can create art in the Arts and Hamilton Buildings. Photo Exhibition: “One Day, One Mile” exhibition from DUPA, in the Atrium, all day. Tour of the Provost’s House: Meeting at the Campanile at 12pm; book at the stands for a tour given by Dr. Eddie McParland. Beat Boxing: Workshop held in the Trinity Arts Workshop, 191 Pearse St, at 2pm. Book at the stands in the Arts and Hamilton Building. Graffiti Art: A workshop with Aran Young, at 5pm in the Trinity Arts Workshop. The Amadeus Octet: A performance of “Octet for Strings in E Flat Major” by Felix Mendelssohn and “Divertimento in D Major” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the College Chapel at 6.30pm. DAY 5: FRIDAY 15 FEBRUARY: Campus Canvass: From 9am until 5pm, let your creativity flow. Students of all disciplines can create art in the Arts and Hamilton Buildings. Photo Exhibition: “One Day, One Mile” exhibition from DUPA, in the Atrium, all day. Juggling: Workshop in the JCR at 12pm. Old Library and Book of Kells Tour: At 1pm more details found at the stands. Architectural Tour of the libraries: Meeting outside the Berkeley at 2.30pm. Drum’n’Bass: Workshop at 5pm, find out more at the stands. Educating Rita Installation: An installation by Stephen Mulhall based on the film, Educating Rita in the Graduates Memorial Building, 5-7pm.
TRINITY NEWS
P12
AfricanTurmoil Throwing light on the world’s hidden crises
Hilary term, Week 6
Western television brims with Oxfam adverts and reports of famine in Africa, however in reality we are oblivious to the majority of humanitarian crises. Médecins Sans Frontières are trying to raise awareness of the disasters in the countries which the media have forgotten. Caroline O’Leary talks to the head of the Irish MSF branch, former Trinity BESS student Ross Duffy.
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ith the development of world media systems twenty-four hour news channels, such as BBC 24, Sky News and CNN, pride themselves on worldwide coverage of all news stories worth hearing. Yet at the end of December, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders to the Americans), the world-wide emergency aid organisation, released their list of the “top ten most underreported humanitarian stories of 2007”. This list highlights the major humanitarian crises across the world which go unreported by the world’s media and are generally unknown to the public at large. MSF, who provide emergency aid to more than 70 countries worldwide, are attempting to raise awareness of continuing disasters in countries which the world has forgotten. The situations in nations such as Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chechnya and Somalia have been reported on in the past, but as more recent conflicts such as those in Iraq and Kenya develop, these counties and their continuing problems are left to be solved by those few who remain behind. Even cases such as Darfur, which are recognized yet little reported, are regarded as well publicised in comparison to the majority, for example, the worsening health-care crisis in Zimbabwe or the humanitarian aid restrictions in Myanmar (formally Burma). As well as country-based crises, the list includes problems such as the lack of drug trials for drug-resistant tuberculosis and insufficient use of nutrient dense ready-to-use foods to treat malnutrition in starving children. Though the political situation in countries such as Columbia and Burma is sporadically reported upon by the media, the desperate plight of their civilians is generally ignored. These situations, if allowed to continue unchecked, will lead to even further humanitarian emergencies, possible pandemics and almost certainly a greater number of unnecessary deaths. MSF are one of the world’s leading non-governmental emergency medical aid organisations, who work in areas affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and armed conflict. Founded in Paris in 1971, they dispatch approximately 2500 doctors, nurses, logistics specialists and engineers of all nationalities on assignments in over 70 countries. Their success won them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 “in recognition of the organization’s pioneering humanitarian work on several continents”. Ross Duffy is the head of MSF Ireland and has been working with the organisation since 2004. He admits that the reasons for this media neglect of certain situations are varied and much debated, though personally he believes it comes down to two main reasons, “I think it’s a combination of the decision makers in the media deciding what is news and what isn’t, tied with the level of public interest. Of course this asks the question: who controls what is news? The people or the press?” He also admits that there is an element of fatigue and overexposure of such humanitarian disasters in the media. With little reporting of the successes, people become depressed and jaded by the apparent hopelessness of the situation. This disempowerment leads to the individual person thinking “What can I, as one person, do?” The aim of MSF is as much about
raising awareness of these situations as helping them, “We try to give a voice to people who have no voice and speak to people who can do something about it. In all matters our aim is to try and preserve the dignity of our patients and the people we help”. Unique to most other charities and aid organisations, MSF particularly focus on making people aware of these often forgotten crises they work so hard to try and help. It was originally founded by a group of doctors on the international council of the Red Cross, who had become increasing unhappy with their inability to be outspoken concerning the crises which they were witnessing. Along with a group of journalists, they created the organization to both help and observe in these situations and established in their charter the equal importance of both, as well as absolute neutrality. In this way, MSF have, in some ways, begun to take over the publication of the situations that mainstream media cannot or will not report on. Duffy explains the importance of MSF volunteers as witnesses to these atrocities, “we have testimonials, we have medical records, with have all the evidence to prove what is happening in these places. In many of these countries, journalists simply cannot get in to report on the situations, even if they wanted to. In a lot of places, we are the only link between the people and the rest of the world.” All press releases must be approved by the international council that sits in Geneva due to the major possible ramifications, “it’s advocacy verses access. It’s a big decision to speak out, as it can compromise our access and may hurt the people we are trying to help. However, it can also lead to civilian protection and even the ending of a situation.” MSF were the first organization to report on the horrendous
Underreported 1. Displaced fleeing war in Somalia face humanitarian crisis. 2. Political and economic turmoil sparks health-care crisis in Zimbabwe. 3. Drug-resistant tuberculosis spreads as new drugs go untested. 4. Expanded use of nutrient dense ready-to-use foods crucial for reducing childhood malnutrition. 5. Civilians increasingly under fire in Sri Lankan conflict. 6. Conditions worsen in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. 7. Living precariously in Colombia’s conflict zones. 8. Humanitarian aid restricted in Myanmar. 9.Civilians caught between armed groups in Central African Republic. 10.As Chechen conflict ebbs, critical humanitarian needs still remain.
abuse situations in the Darfur of internally displaced people (who do not leave their own country) in camps and the continuing violence and corruption in the Rwandan refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Though they have gained something of a reputation for blatantly speaking out in
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the past, they have ultimately helped and even, Duffy believes, gained respect for it, “I think Irish people, in particular, respect us because we speak out and are ballsy enough to say what needs to be said.” In the last few years, numerous charities and non-governmental organisations have come under scrutiny for diverting too much funding to administration and contributions to questionable governments. It has come to light that most “non-governmental organizations” are actually up to 80% government funded, which curtails their choice and ability to decide how and where money is spent. MSF determinately remain independent of any government or other organisation’s influence, choosing instead to rely on public donations for funding. In the past, they have controversially refused to work with governments they perceive to be corrupt and refuse to accept any government handouts. This neutrality ensures they have the freedom to go wherever they feel there is need without restrictions. Neutrality is also essential to their ability to work safely in these areas without being perceived to have allegiances or agendas. Though MSF are fully independent, they do coordinate with other organisations for the benefit of the people in affected areas. In order to prevent the administrative problems which have plagued other organisations, a rule is in place that for every one administration person employed, there must be seven volunteers in the field directly helping people. They maintain a seventeen percent administration cost, most of which is used to have planes and other transports on standby and ready to go in the case of sudden emergency such as an earthquake or flood. MSF also train a minimum of twenty local volunteers to every one international volunteer in healthcare and other jobs so they can continue the work after the international volunteers leave. MSF have a strict code when out in
“ ” In many of these countries journalists simply cannot get in to report on the situations, even if they wanted to. In a lot of places MSF are the only link to rest of the world
One of the MSF doctors treat a child patient in Zimbabwe. Photo: Michael G. Nielson
MSF train a minimum of 20 local volunteers to every 1 volunteer in healthcare and other jobs so they can continue the work after the international volunteers leave
the field in order to help the greatest number of people possible. This includes treating any person who needs help, be they victim or attacker. Once a person is injured, they are classified a noncombatant and will be treated, though strict rules must be adhered to, such as no military uniforms and no weapons allowed on site. An unusual aim of the organization is that in every group of volunteers dispatched, an attempt is made to have 20% to 30% of the group made up of first time volunteers. This is to ensure that there are always fresh eyes observing the practices, questioning possible ineffective methods and suggesting new ones to ensure the people they are helping are getting the best help possible. Establishing acceptance in an area is a key part in MSF’s presence in a situation. In order to help people, they must be accepted by those in control of the arms and to do this, they must ensure that their total neutrality is acknowledged. This is done by staying in close proximity to the people and living in similar simple conditions (unlike many organisations that deliberately stay close to cities to maintain their quality of life.) MSF volunteers keep a visible presence, socialising with national volunteers and mingling on days off in markets or cafés. This is especially important with the recent blurring of the lines between NGOs and “armed actors” such as the American military, who similarly distribute food and supplies.
This poses a massive threat to MSF volunteers, as this blurring means they can easily be confused with these “actors”, which can pose major security concerns. Duffy comments “a lot of the time they just see white people, all doing the same thing, driving around in the same white jeeps. They simply can’t tell who is who and so can perceive everyone as the enemy”. In an attempt to distinguish themselves as much as possible, volunteers try to talk to as many people as they can, making them aware of who they are and what they are there to do. They have even begun to paint their cars in a different colour to other organisations to ensure that they stand apart. Despite all security precautions, dangers do remain. On 28 January, three MSF volunteers were leaving a morning of emergency surgery at the Hospital in Kismayo, Somalia when they were attacked by a roadside bomb which destroyed their car and also killed two bystanders. As a precaution, MSF were forced to remove the eighty-seven international volunteers then working in Somalia until the reasons for the attack can be determined. Dr. Christophe Fournier, International Council President of MSF, stated that “although life-saving medical activities continue under the supervision of our dedicated Somali colleagues, the suspension will clearly hamper the essential medical work of MSF in Somalia”. Volunteering for MSF can be difficult to get involved in and even more difficult to continue in. Originally from Dublin and a former student of Business, Economics and Social Studies here at Trinity, Duffy has been working with MSF since 2004. It was in his final year in College that Duffy decided that working with MSF was what he wanted to do. “I went to Uganda with an Irish volunteer program, but I quickly became disillusioned. They had white students with no experience of construction building schools and it didn’t seem like they were doing anything directly to help people.” Leaving after a few weeks, Duffy decided to travel to the refugee and IDP camps on the Ugandan-Congo border, hitching a lift with another NGO. There he first came across MSF working with the people and coerced his way into being allowed to observe them for a day, “we got into a jeep and drove for four hours into the jungle to a camp with about 20000 people. Within twenty minutes, the team had enormous tents set up and began treating people for illness, malnutrition, inoculations and dispatching other aid. It was then that I decided that this was the organisation I wanted to work with because they really help people.” After graduating, Duffy went to work for another NGO to gain experience before he could join MSF.
“Getting involved is difficult if you are not a qualified health worker, but they recruit a lot of people as logistics managers (logistician) who are responsible for management of resources, supply lines, security management, communications, IT and ensuring that the right materials are in the right place at the right time.” Almost immediately after joining in 2003 the organisation sent him to an area just outside Baghdad in Iraq. It was a situation he describes as his “Baptism of Fire”. After recovering from a bad accident in 2004, he moved to MSF and was sent to the Congo as a logistician. On his return, he had one day off before the Pakistan earthquake resulted in his being deployed there for four months. After spending time in Kashmir, Central African Republic, Chad and Darfur with the emergency response team, he returned to Ireland to take over the running of the Irish branch of MSF, though he tries to still spend as much time in the field as possible. Duffy freely admits that the work is not for everybody. “It can be frustrating to work in these places. You are surrounded by violence, needless death and suffering on an enormous scale. Yet the generosity and humanity you experience is incredibly inspiring. These people have nothing, yet they will give you their bed and sleep on the floor. It gives you great hope in humanity.” He encourages people to get as involved as possible. “The world we are inheriting is not in great shape. We all need to make a decision whether we will fall into the trap or whether we will act on our moral and humanitarian impulses” As Bob Geldof once said, “Africa is fucked due to apathy and indifference. The individual is simply not powerless in this world in the face of that sort of inhumanity.” Though students cannot join MSF until they are fully qualified and have some experience, the group have a huge student following and support. “Friends of MSF” is a student run group which has a branch in nearly every third-level institution in England. There are several also at colleges here in Ireland, including, for example, University College Cork, though a branch does not exist here at Trinity. The group organises meetings, fundraising and information evenings for prospective future volunteers. MSF also do information meetings in primary and secondary schools in an attempt to motivate people before they become disillusioned. They encourage students to attend their information meetings where they highlight their plans for the future An information evening will held on Tuesday, 19 February at 7.30pm in the Carmichael Centre, North Brunswick Street, Smithfield. Information on MSF is also available on their website www.msf.ie.
features@trinitynews.ie
TRINITY NEWS
Hilary term, Week 6
P13
AfricanTurmoil
South Africa: The enduring struggle The life-expectancy of South Africa’s black population is just 42. With a continual struggle against HIV and AIDS, poverty and high crime, many observers have named the country as the most dangerous region outside of an official war zone. Chris Jackson looks at how the glossy Cape Town to which tourists are exposed is simply a façade in a nation still struggling since the end of apartheid.
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n first impressions Cape Town is a city of the most astute calibre. It’s wide, carefully planned avenues ensconced between structures of pristine concrete and sheen glass suggest it to be a modern metropolis, not unlike those that can be found in the Antipodeon reaches of the North. The densely vegetated Southern suburbs at the foot of the imposing Table Mountain are similar to the burgeoning margins of Dublin, Los Angeles or Barcelona. The beach front properties of Bantry Bay, with their unhindered vantage of where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, provides an idyllic paradise for those fortunate enough to afford it. The trendy cafés, the untarnished esplanades and the throngs of bronzed bodies which litter the unblemished beaches of the Cape seem perhaps a product of a countywide rejuvenation. However, to presume this sunned-kissed utopia is a ubiquitous expression of post-apartheid South Africa would be incredibly misleading. I pictured South Africa to be a country of sizeable inequity, where the white population lived comfortably in conditions similar to that of those who populate any prosperous Western nation whilst I imagined the disadvantaged black community to be poor but still able to avail of the material required for a decent living; insulated homes, electricity, running water and access to adequate transport. I also assumed that this Rainbow Nation, the “New South Africa” so constantly and effectively publicised was one where the alleviation of
A little history... President F. W. de Klerk, who will speak here at Trinity later in the year, announced the end of Apartheid on 4 February 1990. It lifted the ban on the African National Congress party; people both black and white flooded the streets in celebration in Johannesburg. Nelson Mandela was released on 11 February 1990, following 27 years on imprisonment. President de Klerk lifted the remaining Apartheid legislation on 1991. The ANC became South Africa’s first democratically elected government in April 1994. Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black president on 10 May 1994, aged 75. He retired in the middle of 1999 and was replaced by Thabo Mbeki.
millions of South Africans. The façade of Cape Town’s skyscrapers, tree-lined streets and spacious squares gives way to an expanse of ground that portrays South Africa for what it really is, a place of deep-seated division and massive inequality. The modern view of a South African highway is flanked with scenes of such a rustic nature that they would seem to be more suited to a Dickensian novel than to a “modern” economy. The vast sprawl that reaches to the horizon is that of the Cape Flats. It’s an amalgamation of tin shacks; decrepit, miniscule bungalows and decaying local authority housing. On viewing this sheer melting pot of humanity I came to assume that the South Africa of hope and prosperity, so brightly aspired to by men such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Steve Biko, was far from reality. The dirt floors, the steeled walls and fibre glass roofs of Soweto and Cape Flats are not mere remnants of the Apartheid era but a continual provision of the new South Africa. Water is a precious commodity and those who may have the opportunity to receive electricity fail to experience the perpetual 24 hour flows which furnish almost every form of accommodation in the developed world. The division of wealth is immense and the stark contrast between rich and poor is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. If a car of recent manufacture is on the road, chances are its occupants are white. Those who frequent nice restaurants are whites living in relative luxury while those that wait on them are black and live in conditions we would deem unacceptable by European standards. The plethora of wealth to be found in the worlds 21st largest economy is reflected in the infrastructure; the telecommunications, the commercial and industrial districts of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg and in the gated and fabricated homes of an ethnic group that accounts for just
“ ” The Republic of South Africa is a first world economy with a third world population.
poverty transformed the people from a subjugation and segregation to a new and modern society was constant. Such optimism is promptly extinguished on venturing beyond the lush surroundings of the Southern Cape. Journeying north through the exquisite vineyards of Constantia on the route leading east passed Cape Town International Airport, I could easily deduce that the prominent districts of Bantry Bay, Stellenbosch and Clifden lulled the inexperienced traveller into the pretence that South Africa was a nation of prosperity and advancement. On leaving Cape Town, I was faced with the grim reality that confronts
features@trinitynews.ie
Families try to make the best of life (above) in one of Capetown’s many slums. Photo: Arndt Husar
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twelve percent of the population. The one place you will not experience the fruits of South Africa’s prosperity is in the townships that populate the length and breadth of the nation. The Republic of South Africa is a first world economy with a third world population. The vast arrays of denizens that constitute the majority black population live in circumstances of an appalling nature. The life expectancy stands at only 42, the numbers living with HIV or AIDS is 5.3 million and counting, while the infant mortality rate is that of 59 per 1000 live births. The numbers of unemployed is immense, the most conservative estimate puts it at 25%, the rate among black South Africans is significantly higher. Whilst the growth presided over by Thabo Mbeki has consistently been at five percent per annum, high unemployment has remained. The harsh realities of unemployment are brought home by the stratospheric rate of crime that is now an ever-present characteristic of present day South Africa. Violent crime is spiralling; the murder rate stands at almost 50 a day, whilst the levels of rape, assault and robbery point to a growing sense of resignation amongst South Africa’s poor. Many observers proclaim it to be the most dangerous region outside of an actual war zone, the manifestation of such a threat can be seen in the actions of the middle class. Those who can afford it live in gated communities. Armed security groups enjoy constant demand for their services and weapons and other measures with which to guard against attack are readily purchased. Whether it be health or crime, the anxieties faced by South Africans are consistently compounded by an enveloping crescendo of new crises; the spread and threat of HIV and AIDS, overwhelming numbers in the corrections system and a new wave of refugees fleeing from the hell that is Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. The African National Congress
The dirt floors, the steeled walls and fibre glass roofs of Soweto and Cape Flats are not mere remnants of the Apartheid era, but a continual provision of the new South Africa.
legislative branch. The government saw it fit that South Africa, a state devoid of any competent public services, should seek private sector solutions to public sector problems. Clean water, a valued and rare commodity in some African countries, is abundantly available in South Africa. The government, if it wished, could provide the entire populous with a readily available source. Rather than permit such quantities through public means, the government instead took a leaf from the book of Thatcherism; it installed pre-paid water meters in the poorest districts of Johannesburg. The consequences for such measures were horrific. In 2000, Madlebe in KwaZulu Natal was fitted with the pre-paid meters; it was an area where few residents could afford to pay. As a result, they drew water from the nearby rivers. The subsequent outbreak of cholera infected over 100000 and killed 260. The gross mismanagement and total ineptitude displayed by the ANC belies the era of hope it inspired amongst the masses in its fight against racial subjugation. The current spate of infighting and political wrangling has added to the despair of its followers and pointed to the fragility of a party that was once in supreme solidarity behind the inspirational figure of Nelson Mandela. Inequality is a constant problem within a liberal democracy and to an extent, this should be accepted. The problem lies in the degree of economic imbalance. The disadvantaged of modern nations benefit the provisions of a welfare state; they have access to modern housing, health care, public transport, education and the opportunity to progress in life. The current administration has failed to adequately deliver the means with which to further the development of their nation toward a new dawn of greater equality, prosperity and most of all, opportunity. The quandary of South Africa is not a problem that will be solved overnight and to blame a single entity for the present state of the country would be unfair. The white population do hold the majority of wealth, but they are diligent workers and despite the nightmare of apartheid, they managed to construct the means that allowed South Africa to become the wealthiest (though inequitable) state in sub-Saharan Africa. There is also no doubt, in my mind at least, that the majority of the white population hold no malice towards the black
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government, headed by Thabo Mbeki, the one source that should be responsible for the welfare of the suffering, has so far failed to deliver the solutions necessary for a fairer, healthier and safer society. The ANC, once a focal point of leftist ideology, has abandoned its roots in favour of a more “pragmatic” policy. The growing incompetence and fragmentation of a party devoid of its principles manifested itself in a situation that occurred eight years ago. It illustrated the betrayal of its original cause and clear lack of foresight among the hierarchical members of the
community and wholly accept the further integration of South African society. The government, despite its recent difficulties, has tried to alleviate the problems of mass poverty. Mandela sought to construct millions of homes so as to adequately accommodate those who resided in the slums; this was an initial success but since his departure, the problem has persisted and reached new heights. It seems that the only way forward is for the ANC, or whoever resides in power, to take more positive measures with regards to the redistribution of wealth and the provision of public services. The government must free itself of its vices and take firm convicted actions against those who may wish to manipulate it so as to further their own material ends. Those that may feel the pinch of government legislation must accept that the provisions of their taxation shall be for the progression of South African; they should embrace the virtues of civic duty and aid those less fortunate through whichever means they deem necessary. In a climate of such empathy and compassion, the progression of the “Rainbow State” will become an achievable reality. The revolution of change heralded with the end of Apartheid has been painfully slow and, in many cases, has been regressive in nature. There are more South Africans living in dire poverty than ever before, unemployment is rampant and for those luckily enough to obtain work, the pay is so meagre that it offers mere ration and little opportunity to achieve a better and more secure livelihood. Until the shackles of greed and intolerance are snapped, the capacity for South Africa to take its place at the table of the modern world shall be continually thwarted. The fruits of this great nation need to be spread along more egalitarian lines; those that suffer in silence need to be afforded not just the opportunity, but the means with which to live a better and more prosperous existence. The environs of Soweto and the Cape Flats need to become districts of hope where the habitation of tin clad shacks is no more than just a fading memory. South Africa is a country of immense beauty; the rolling hills, the sun-kissed beaches and the lush vineyards are immensely alluring and its people are generally friendly and goodhumoured. It is a country where the struggle continues, but hope still resides.
TRINITY NEWS
P14
Hilary term, Week 6
InProfile People say...
Corey Delaney, surrounded by friends and fellow party goers displays just one of the newspapers that covered his now famous house party. Photo: AP
YouTube and wild party create legend Emily Monk profiles notorious party-boy Corey Delaney
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e is sixteen years old and famous for organising “the best party ever” at his parent’s home in Narre Warren, just outside Melbourne, Australia. Corey Delaney, (born Corey Worthington), has gained international notoriety for advertising a “free house party” on myspace.com and causing AU$20,000 (€12,500) of damage, whilst his oblivious parents were holidaying on the Gold Coast. But it is his lack of remorse and self-proclaimed “attitude” in the subsequent weeks that has caused such disdain from critics and onlookers. On 12 January 2008, more than 500 “alcohol-fuelled” teenage revellers attended, partaking in “acts of debauchery” such as “semi-naked twister”. It is reported that when police initially turned up they were “driven away” by the “rebels” and consequently sent for back-up. Eventually 30 police officers arrived at the scene, including a helicopter and dog-squad. According to the BBC, the police were attacked with “bottles and stones” and many of the neighbours were “terrified”. When Delaney’s parents were informed, they were understandably furious, but his mother’s only response was, “we’re a good family…”.
Perhaps predictably, Delaney went “missing” soon after the incident, in order to avoid the inevitable wrath from neighbours and “livid” parents. A Current Affair, the Australian news programme, caught up with him for a live three-minute interview. Standing nonchalantly with an open fur-lined jacket, demonstrating a nipple piercing and bare torso, Delaney refused to take off his oversized yellow sunglasses when making his “official” apology to the neighbourhood and police of Narre Warren. When asked why he would not remove the comic specs, he mumbled that “they’re famous”. In a hope to prompt some repentance, the appalled presenter then asked the question, “What advice would you give other teenagers planning to have a party when their parents are away?” Delaney’s casual reply is “Get me to do it for you…yeah.” Resulting from his now infamous reputation as a “party boy”,Delaney has assigned himself to one of Australia’s leading celebrity agents and is soon to embark on a “world-tour” of party organising and promoting whilst in training to be a DJ. There’s nothing like using notoriety and ill-repute to lucrative effect… Just a couple of months ago, he
E Evelyn Tent Send all your gossip to evelyn.tent@trinitynews.ie
was starting an apprenticeship as a carpenter, having recently left school. When asked how he feels, now the commotion is waning, Delaney, still sporting his “trademark faux-fur jacket”, says that “A week ago, I was on the building site working hard and now they put me on a national tour… life’s good.” His parents are supposedly supporting, (after some persuasion), his latest career plan and have even met with “the agent” – Max Markson. Who wouldn’t be content when his annual earnings are expected to exceed AU$100,000? But what is most astounding about the whole debacle is the amount of press coverage and web space the affair has incited. There are endless groups on chatrooms and social-networking sites, solely dedicated to discussions about the teenage “legend” slash “arrogant twat”, not to mention the pages printed in every national newspaper the world over. From what I can gather, support is rather outweighed by disparage. On Facebook, for example, there are 216 groups devoted to this sixteen-year old’s namesake, three quarters of which offer derogatory comments. One only needs to type his name into youtube.com to be inundated with, often hilarious videos and spin-offs. Markson however, thinks that
As my dear friend Emily Dickinson said “truth is such a rare thing, it is delightful to tell it”. Evelyn, of course, relishes the truth. I simply cannot but indulge in it. Many don’t seem to appreciate my nuggets of wisdom; in fact, some get quite annoyed when they read what I write. Some bluster about campus, some complain to the authorities and if you’re the authorities, you have a meeting to discuss my good self. How proud a day it was when Evelyn got a call to say that she was indeed the topic of conversation at a meeting of the most senior College figures. Darlings, please… I’m blushing. And I’m delighted that you’re such fans. Speaking of truth, will we ever find out how that fire stated in the Hamilton? Was it those heroin addicts shooting up in the toilets or was it the cruisers trying something new fetish with candles; or maybe it was College Security finally burning all those cardboard cut-outs of the Provost we’ve all seen photgraphed in newspapers? Carly Simon said it best when she said, “You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you” and it seems one person thinks so many of my “songs” are about him. This week, he has been attempting to woo a disinterested Law Soc girl and featured on RTÉ’s “I Dare Ya…”, after daring the comedians to not come to this college. Oh, what a terribly boring boy he is. The fine comedian Andrew Maxwell also paid a visit to Trinity last
Delaney, “the most famous and popular sixteen year old in Australia”, will have the last laugh. The well-known agent concedes that the “party scene” is not perhaps a long-term proposition. Delaney himself says that, “Once this is all finished, I’ll go and get a job” and Markson responds with “I think any family would love to have a sixteenyear-old like that”. Possibly. Some members of the Irish media have drawn comparisons between Delaney and the “reprobates” in Trinity Hall who were responsible for organising a stripper to attend a birthday party. (Reported in Trinity News at the beginning of term and the Irish Independent on 25 January). Both incidents were described as “out of control” and both claimed to be the result of “excessive intake of alcohol” by “young revellers.” Possibly justly, Delaney has received more scorn than the Freshers in Halls, although understandably, neither incident was appreciated by those in authority. He is yet to move back in with his parents, having received death threats and more than 700,000 people have given him a “virtual slap”. Some of the (astonishing amount) of opinions voiced on the web are printed to the left.
week and really did get down and dirty with the students. The beautiful “married with children” Mr. Maxwell spent quite some time down in the tunnels of Trinity. Oh, those boys in the Comedy Soc and Ents crew do know how to entertain. In House 6 the imminent publication of the annual Power List has made leading lights get quite paranoid. One member of the Students’ Union told Evelyn that “if another sabbat gets ahead of me, I’ll fucking kill them”, while a member of CSC has been declaring loudly, “I’m far more powerful than the SU”. The self-same CSC ninny told Evelyn the secret of that august body’s success in College: “Well I think we are the most successful because every other capitated body has somebody working against them – us!” But one does wonder if they, or any other Exec members, really do know what real CSC policy is. It seems Der Führer has been keeping everyone on his delegations mum at recent meetings – could you find record of a CSC student delegate having spoken at any recent Capitations meeting? When one minion was asked if that was the case, the minion replied “oh, no”. When asked if he would question what Der Führer had declared CSC policy, he said, “oh, it would be quite inappropriate”. Democracy at work darlings. Evelyn also wonders how inappropriate it would be for a senior College official to insure their Trinity pension scheme against collapse? Is there something wrong with the scheme that
“I wish there were more young people like this instead of the many spineless little fakers there are out there. Corey Delaney is much like a young Frankie Wilde staring in It’s All Gone Pete Tong: The Prequel. Of course Corey now has an agent and throws parties for cash. It’s refreshing to know that at least someone out there gets to live the dream” chantillybass.blogspot.com Good on him, I can remember having parties at my parents’ house and it was easy for them to get out of control. All of these old funny duddies have either never had enough friends to hold a good party or have forgotten what it’s like to be sixteen and have some fun. Personally I would be worried if my three children didn’t have any secret parties in their teenage years - true, I wouldn’t be too chuffed with a huge bill such as this lad’s family did but, what the hell, you only get one life - LIVE IT! Sarah Handley, Thailand This is just an ordinary teenager whose party got out of hand. It is not an extraordinary occurrence, although providing grist for the news mill. William, Padstow, Australia Who was admiring this moron, definitely not the majority of people in Oz. If you are so keen on him then let him move to live with you and organise any parties he wants in your home!!!! Liz Scott, Adelaide, SA The world has gone totally mad. This moron with his so-called friends caused havoc and we seem to welcome this? And he is going to earn some serious cash! Surely this is only an invitation for other kids to go one better, it is like extreme partying. Who can cause the most havoc? I have a solution: round them up, create a battalion, train them and ship them to Iraq or Afghanistan, where I am sure they will be welcomed with open arms. Or if the prefer it I am sure that comarade Putin has some space in that land east of Moscow, where they can get rid of all this energy. MAD just MAD Loris, Milan, Italy Yet this kind of person appeals to todays youth, what a sad state of affairs. He should have been arrested, What an embarresment to Australia. Karl, Brisbane, Australia
they help to administer? Do they know this, and is that why they talked to the good people in Lloyds about getting a hefty payoff if the scheme goes belly up? Well, I suppose they are of age and retirement isn’t far off. As for the privileges staff enjoy, the Junior Dean and Joe O’Gorman of CSC have been enjoying the benefits of hot showers while all the poor students living in the Rubrics have been told they’d have to trek down to the gym if they would like to indulge themselves underneath a showerhead. One rule for the powerful and another for the likes of ex-Phil wildboy Barry Keane, who now resides above the Junior Dean. There’ll be no parties this year and one hopes he won’t take issue with another car mirror like he did last year; Emma’s beautiful red mini is parked right outside his door. He-who-shall-not-be-named and “Boobs” Faller were hauled up to the Provost’s Board Room last week. Evelyn gleefully thought the two were due for a good spanking, but apparently not. Members of the Communications Office, Enquries, Security, the CSC, the Junior Dean and others were present, but no lashings were meted out. Perhaps the pen pushers just had a free afternoon and wanted the free coffee and biscuits, but Evelyn thinks something was amiss. Why were no minutes taken, darlings? But it seems they did achieve one thing: a promise from He-who-shall-notbe-named that his society would agree in writing to never invite a controversial speaker to Trinity. That could make for
quite the dull few years ahead. “Boobs” made no such promises. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the inaugural Evelyn says! The beloved Students’ Union Electoral Commission is busying itself making up nicknames this week. Well, this is their one moment of glory what with the elections looming. Apparently this year Cathal Horan, the chair, is “The Voice”, Nikolai’s “The Brawn”, Shane O’Brien is “The Brains” (god help them), Anni Dai is “The Beauty” (very true), Eoin Dornan is “The Comic Relief” and Ray Healy “The Gentlemen”. How sweet. Finally, Evelyn always likes to leave you wondering so I thought I might pose a few questions before I go – answers as always on the back of a postcard. Which engineer was seen recently on a mid-afternoon walk across Front Square in nothing but his dressing gown? Which student was caught by the Gardaí “caressing” a homeless person outside the Palace? Which society figure’s name features most prominently in the ladies toilets? And finally, which member of College staff recently advertised their availability of their office for sex in Trinity? Do you know? I do. Until next time darlings,
E.T.
opinionandanalysis@trinitynews.ie
Hilary term, Week 6
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Opinion&Analysis
Yes vote on Treaty will move Europe forward As the eyes of Europe turn to the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, a comprehensive debate is almost as important as an affirmative vote, writes Beatrice White, International Officer of the Young Greens
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ublic transport brings out the worst in people. Why can’t everybody wait for everybody to alight from the Dart before pushing on? What’s up with the security guards in black uniforms at a lot of the stations these days? I think CIÉ hired Serbian paramilitaries to stamp-out fare evasion. I’m not saying Michael Jackson is guilty, but if I was a billionaire paedophile, I’d buy a funfair for my back garden - Jimmy Carr. I don’t know whether the Gardaí are more a) incompetent, b) corrupt or c) rude. A) If it involves paperwork and isn’t a driving offence or murder, they won’t bother their arse. B) Some petrol stations sell “Garda rolls” (ie sandwiches) and Gardai getting free heating oil is a well known story. C) Call me “Sir” and I’ll call you “Guard”. A friend and I were stopped last week and he actually said “How ye, lads?”, it sounds pompous, but someone with the powers a Guard has can’t talk like that. Lenin came to realise that manners aren’t bourgeois, they are an important glue holding society together. Apple should use “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison in an ad. It’s amazing the way your environment dictates how mature you act. Junior Freshmen act like they’re on far more of a sugar-buzz than sixth years in school. The murder rate in Ireland shot (ba-dum-che) up last year. A former Minister for Justice always maintained this was actually a sign of good police work as there is no need to kill any fellow drug-dealers when everyone is making plenty of money. Obviously not the type of comment you can make on the record but probably true nonetheless. You know you’re getting old when you prefer eating to drinking. I think I go out just so I can really enjoy a Subway on the way home. Because of some culture fascist all cigarette box warnings are now going to be in Irish and English. College Green Week included a few dozen light projectors powered by carbon-footprint enhancing mobile electricity generators. I know they were for something to do with the Science Gallery, but it's still ironic. I’ve kept my New Year’s resolution so far: no more Chinese food. The radioactive coloured sweetand-sour sauce has to be ridiculously unhealthy. And you feel like shit within ten minutes of eating. Everyone hates a music Nazi but choosing a song off the iPod at a house party is stress I can do without. There is a statute of limitations for birthday celebrations. You can celebrate it on the weekend if the actual day is during the week, but anything beyond that is just taking the piss. Oh, your birthday is during the summer, so everybody is away and you’d like to celebrate it in October?! Tough shit, it’s not a birthday party. Does everybody else not get back into bed for a few minutes after your shower to dry your back? I can’t stand the media misnomer “members of the Polish community”. They do have their own shops but apart from that, referring to “Polish people in Ireland” is correct. A sports team having a good patch of form being “in the ascendancy” is another howler of a media cliche. Since I got caught trying to take a Stacks book to the computer room, my heart skips a beat every time I go through the magnetic force field that stops you stealing books from the library. Is there a small piece of metal sellotaped onto the books or how do the machines detect Trinity library books? In 1995, the Finnish Parliament discussed forcing any pregnant woman who was drinking heavily or doing drugs into a care institution until the child was born. Good debate topic. A lot of the girls I went to primary school with have at least one child out of wedlock. This equals about €1000 rent cheque and €1000 spending money a month from welfare. Add a tradesman boyfriend earning about €3000 a month and this all comes to a largely tax-free household income of €60,000 per annum. I wonder how many people going to the Welfare Officer to get free condoms make the obvious joke “times are hard”? I wish my garden was a Goth, then it would cut itself. I watched a documentary on George W. Bush. I know he has pursued policies that are easily hateable, but as a man, he’s just a giddy child that looks completely out of place in the White House. Two of my best friends were in the same class in St Andrew’s Primary School, were prefects in The King’s Hospital together, are in the same BESS class, play hockey for the College and are going to start working for Deloitte later in the year. Who said the Prods don’t still run this town?
opinionandanalysis@trinitynews.ie
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hether organised by lobby groups, political parties, associations or impartial bodies uniting generally concerned citizens, the Lisbon treaty debates have definitely begun and are likely to continue to rattle on to the referendum and beyond. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe looks on with keen interest, speculating what the outcome will be. The Battle for Europe will be fought in Ireland, or so it appears to a number of European political commentators whose grandiose terms suggest a great deal is at stake. They suggest that since the rest of the European citizens have been denied the opportunity to exercise their democratic right and freedom of speech, the Irish now bear the weighty responsibility of speaking, not only in our own name, but also in the name of our disenfranchised fellow Europeans. With this comes the responsibility to ensure the Irish population makes the “right” decision. Many members of political groups in Europe take exception to being steered in a particular direction by their superiors. European populations have reacted with great distain at being bypassed in the decision on the Treaty through the insidious manipulations of their respective governments who will not consult them as the “risk”, as Sarkozy allegedly explained, is too great. Such an undemocratic process is hardly likely to endear the citizens of Europe to their new treaty or to those individuals and institutions who constructed it. A treaty should be one of many devices
Let us not stop the process in its tracks because it fails to live up to the dizzying heights of our expectations. When both the far-Right and the far-Left are united in voting against a document, for vastly different reasons, something is clearly amiss.
view, this is essentially the reason why it is so crucial for the populations of Europe to vote the right way - that is to say, not to vote against Europe. In this sense, Europe has always been about building a compromise. Yet the attitude of European citizens seems to generally be one of uncompromising scrutiny and perfectionism. xamining the famous NO votes in France and the Netherlands testifies to the energy that many are willing to invest campaigning against a treaty that is perceived as somewhat wide of the mark. The European Constitution was not good enough for the socialist left and of course, did little to allay the fears of the nationalist right of increasing integration, eroding national borders, merging cultures and generally precipitating a crisis of national identity. Although the latter objection is perhaps more fundamental, many on the left are keen to stress that they do want “Europe” just a different Europe. The outcome of Europe should not be a foregone conclusion and if it is portrayed as such, it is likely that there will be a costly backlash from those who feel that a supranational organisation is questionable enough without its massive democratic deficit. We should examine and scrutinise the kind of Europe that is being driven forwards, from its historical roots to the most trivial of clauses, ideally and we should not let the Eurocrats off the hook at any stage. We should not stumble blindly towards what is perceived as an inevitable finality, the outcome of a fixed process of integration. However, a cursory look
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geared towards a more coherent and integrated Europe, a goal that has so far proved elusive. On a recent French televised debate, author and commentator Camille de Toledo spoke of the “Fatality of Europe”, which can be traced to the fact that Europeans today are “haunted by the events of the 21st century”. In his
over the history of the Union and its evolution over the past five decades demonstrates that here is nothing predetermined about Europe, one of the primary causes for optimism. It is not the case that we need to know in advance exactly where the process is going to lead us; were such advance knowledge even feasible, we must fashion the path ourselves in line with our convictions and values. We should not wait to be told by the leaders of Europe which is the way forward. This being said, it is not constructive to flatly say NO and doing so should only be a last resort. Europe was a compromise at its birth and will remain a compromise. The Treaty will never be a fully satisfactory document so long as the diversity of political opinion that exists within Europe remains. But let us not stop the process in its tracks because it fails to live up to the dizzying heights of our expectations. When both the far-right and the far-left are united in voting against a document, for vastly different reasons, something is clearly amiss, and the resulting amalgamated NO certainly will not send a clear or useful message to those formulating this and future treaties. In this debate a lack of consensus among politicians might well be interpreted by some as evidence of healthy debate, democracy in action and accountability, but ultimately it leads to paralysis, stagnation and in the worst case scenario - a crisis of leadership and legitimacy. It can do nothing to move the process forwards. Neither will a negative vote on the Lisbon Treaty.
Varsity Let’s all give Talk the Students’ with Barry Devlin
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any people, with a certain smug cynicism, bemoan the Students’ Union and what they see as its general failure to achieve anything except the establishment of innumerable working groups and committees. In truth the Union may in many regards be little more than a self perpetuating bureaucracy, but the criticism it receives is largely misplaced. In part, the Union does its job simply by existing. The Union is able to call attention to the College’s slip-ups and by being there, the College knows that if it does slip up, it’ll get caught out. The University is fully aware that there is a ready made protest waiting for it to go too far. Militant student activism may have largely died out with disco music, but that activism was a backlash against the situation at the time – the College’s complete disregard for its students. Although largely invisible, the case work of the individual Union officers is an necessary service to students. The work done by the Education and Welfare Officers goes largely unseen, the advocacy provided by the President in the media and to the College keeps the needs of students in the minds of the College authorities. People often complain that the elections are simply a large and pointless popularity contest. Each year, the same promises are re-hashed: fees, space costs, the student centre, lecture clashes, discounts at bars and clubs and much more of the same, most of which will be forgotten come Michaelmas term. Candidates’ manifestos inform us of little more than a candidate’s talent with prose. The winner will largely depend on who has the most connections about the College, who has most effectively made their way slowly up
Union a break
through the Union’s hierarchy over the years and probably, most importantly, it will depend on who runs the best campaign. That is, who shakes the most hands, memorises the most names and gives the best speeches. These are all legitimate criticisms of the Union elections; however, they are legitimate criticisms of any election. In a country whose political system is dominated by a party that is totally bereft of ideology and bases itself entirely on family names, back room connections, fear of change and media spin, the Union elections are, by comparison, a worthwhile and meaningful contest. The constant haranguing that no matter who becomes SU President, they won’t have the power to make any real changes is simply an echo of the wider dissatisfaction with our politics. Beyond criticism of the Union based on the flaws in the wider democratic process, there are reasonable complaints. The Union shouldn’t emphasise student participation as an end in itself. The overly complicated and innumerable committees do ensure a certain amount of involvement and oversight, but what is gained in that regard is much more than lost when it comes to efficiency and longterm focus. The Union doesn’t exist to consult students, student consultation exists to help the Union serve its members. The Union wouldn’t seem to fail to achieve if it did not continually set goals that are clearly beyond its abilities. This is in some part down to electioneering candidates who are happy to set ludicrous goals without any intention to fulfil them, and even lack in-depth knowledge of the problems they hope to deal with. It is also down to a lack of realism
and appreciation of the Union’s political capital. Launching a campaign on the Irish flag is senseless, as the Union officers only have so much leeway to expend with the College. Investing the efforts of the Union’s staff in an entirely trivial exercise reduces its ability to actually do meaningful work. Also, the Union putting its name to campaigns that are doomed from the start to failure weakens its position with the powers-that-be and undermines it in the eyes of ordinary students. Those who insist every year on putting their names on the ballot as “joke” candidates really do disappoint. So taken up they are in their little piece of avant-garde surreal performance art that they don’t realise that what they are doing is not in the slightest bit funny to anybody at all. Strangely for people who claim a certain grasp of comedy, the irony of their actions must be completely lost on them – criticising the ineffectiveness of the union by publicly ridiculing it is perhaps slightly inconsistent. The UK’s “Stark Raving Loony party” is amusing, the first time anyone ever ran as a joke candidate in an SU election it was probably funny. However, whoever did it for the second time should have stopped for a moment to think about what they were doing. Running as a joke candidate is never funny. It is very easy to criticise the Union, but such criticism is often little more than empty cynicism. The Union is of great benefit to its members and we would be much worse off without it. It does have problems – in some cases simply the problems inherent in any democratic system in others. There are problems specific to the Union that could be resolved with some work, but unfortunately for us it doesn’t seem like they will be anytime soon.
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Hilary term, Week 6
Editorial&Letters TRINITY NEWS D
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Issue 8, Volume 54 Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2 www.trinitynews.ie
Trinity’s enforced code of silence Last issue a reporter for this newspaper was told by a senior member of College staff that he couldn't talk to him about a story because "the Communications Office want to make sure that the right version of the story goes out". It is now the official stated position of Trinity College that no questions by this paper or any other, for that matter, should be directly asked of a staff member of this College. All comment must be filtered through the Communications Office with "consistency" as the goal. We have been informed that: "All Trinity News queries related to the College should be channelled through the Communications Office. The Communications Office will contact the relevant section and/or Staff Member within the College on your behalf." The first part of this statement is laughable, the second part has proven unworkable. We have been given no reason why the views of an intelligent and articulate academic community need to screened like this. Admittedly the College may be within its rights to request this indulgence from the media; however, any suggestion that staff of this College are equally bound by this policy is false. Staff, students, everyone is entitled to freedom of expression under the Irish Constiution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Charter on Human Rights. You are free to talk to any members of the press if you so wish without fear of reprisal or repremand. Any punitive actions by the College as a result of your commenting would be a detestable breach of your basic human rights. As the Irish Times has noted, Trinity College "houses some of the cream of Irish academic talent, well used to defending their viewpoints in the academic forum". We believe that if the College administration feels the need to shelter you from student media enquiries that they have made a grave underestimation of your critical faculties and intellectual abilities. Therefore we respectfully ask that you bear this in mind if you do receive a query from a staff member of Trinity News or any other media outlet in the future.
Vote now or shut up later It is that time of the year again and the Students’ Union elections are upon us. This means we have ahead of us two weeks of squabbles about where posters are hung, how many t-shirts are being worn and how close to the Arts Building foyer polling station candidates are allowed to stand. This collection of minor tiffs and the hubbub of mouth candidates can distract from the importance of this process, which is that in two weeks you will decide what five students can rightfully walk into any meeting and speak, act and decide on your behalf. This may not seem important to you, but it should be. If you went to a restaurant, would you sit quietly while somebody else told the waiter that you really wanted the smoked haddock instead of the roast beef? Or would you allow a complete stranger to use your credit card or spend your money? Whether you like it or not, the Students’ Union do speak on your behalf at the most important tables in College - Board, Student Services and Sites and Facilities, among others. They decide how money set aside for the benefit of students is spent and they do so with the authority of being recognised as the legitimate form of student representation. Again, you may say you don’t care, but you should. The Students’ Union helps decide policy on everything from academic funding to student discipine and the price of food in the Buttery. The decisions they influence do affect your lives in College and they can influence them because they are given the right to every time they are elected by the students. Students regularly complain about the Union. Complaints range from not even knowing what it does to fundamentally disagreeing with what it says. But here is the rub - if you don’t vote in two weeks, then you really have no right to complain. There are and will be for the foreseeable future student representatives. Ignoring your responsibilities to help choose the best possible ones doesn’t change this fact. Every year fifteen to twenty percent of students vote in the Students’ Union elections while the others sit idly by. The other 80% are neglecting their duty to ensure the best representation possible. They are also throwing away their right to complain afterwards if they are not happy. This year either vote or shut up for the next twelve months.
Letters
All letters to The Editor, Trinity News, 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2 or letters@trinitynews.ie
LGTB rights not best served by “eccentric” coverage Sir, - I write on behalf of the LGBT Society to thank Ciara Finlay for her article on the gay rights struggle in Ireland and to correct some inaccuracies and misinterpretations arising from her coverage of our Rainbow Week events. Firstly, Ciara reported that we distributed posters saying “If you are gay, wear blue jeans this Friday”. In fact, we did not. Our posters read “Everyone who wears blue jeans this Friday is gay”. The difference is simple but critical. The intent behind this campaign - to encourage non-LGBT people to think about the stigma attached to homosexuality - was well understood twenty years ago when it was first carried out in Trinity, as we believe it was in our recent Rainbow Week. We regret Ciara’s misunderstanding. Secondly, Ciara refers to “degrading” posters, including one featuring the slogan “I don’t mind straight people as long as they act
Wasteful new “stacks” request system in Library is unecessary Sir,- Having been a library-attender for the past three years, I am slightly confused by the new system of getting books from stacks. Whereas in recent years, your student ID sufficed to collect the book and to return it, it now appears, in our increasingly environmentally conscious society, that the library has decided to insert folder sheets of A4 paper into each stacks book with the requester’s name and student ID information printed on this slip of paper. If this is not enough, every single book you request from stacks will also come to you complete with a green sheet reminding you, as many as four times, not to take the book out of the library (“fines from €20”). Having covered the lack of recycling in the library for your newspaper last year, I am quite concerned about this amount of paper waste. How many students are getting books from stacks or santry every day? I asked, on a second attempt requesting stacks books, that the librarian withhold from placing the two green cards in my books, as I was in my Senior Sophister year and familiar with the protocol and he complied. However, last week asking a different librarian to do the same she replied: “we have to put these in the books so we know they are from stacks”. Really? Is it not enough that I tell you they are from stacks? Is it not enough that you scan my ID card and the number inside the book? This is shameless, wasteful bureaucracy and I am demanding that the library explain itself. This was not necessary previous to this year; why change the system? Yours etc, Joey Facer SS English Studies
From the archive
gay in public”, which, she explains, springs from the same rationale from which “one might easily conclude that they don’t mind gay people as long as...” et cetera. We are surprised that Ciara did not understand that that was precisely the point. The slogan is a joke based on the reversal of a homophobic trope familiar to most gay people. In posting it, we credited the average Trinity student with a sense of humour which Ciara seems to lack. Finally, Ciara implies that Rainbow Week may have been responsible for “redrawing the divide between “us| and “them”. We would like to remind Ciara that all Rainbow Week events (with the possible exception of the Wednesday Fag-Tag) were fully inclusive of and overwhelmingly attended by non-LGBT students. The LGBT Society and Rights Officer feel that all Rainbow Week campaigns were successful and well-received. It is therefore
distressing to think that they will be retrospectively robbed of some of their impact by Ciara’s eccentric coverage. Anything you can do to address this would be greatly appreciated. Yours etc. Ronan Hodson, Committee Member, DU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Society -----TRINITY NEWS strives to include as wide a collections of opinions as possible in each issue. Ms Finlay’s opinions, while not necessarily those of the newspaper, represent one view of the state of LGBT rights in Ireland. If they have served to stir further debate about these rights then the article will have served its purpose.
New Hampshire not so bad after all Sir, - I was not impressed by Jane Madden’s article on New Hampshire and her description of the horrors encountered while on a J-1 visa. I find it disappointing that, instead of using her summer to increase her understanding of a different culture, Ms. Madden chose to complain about the quirks and cultural differences. American small towns are no more boring than those in Mayo or Donegal, but it is a completely different experience to live in Mayo versus Maryland; if she was interested in a more exciting town, perhaps she should have done her J-1 summer in New York City, Chicago or San Francisco. I grew up in a small town near Philadelphia and it continues to amaze me how different growing up there was
from growing up in Ireland. My sister rode an authentic yellow schoolbus; I have been to a drive-in movie. My high school experience was a lot of hanging around ice cream parlors and movie theatres; once I was old enough to drive, my sister and I would regularly decide to take off to Ocean City, Maryland at eleven on a Friday night. It was not nearly as exciting as growing up in Dublin, but I think that living in small-town America, with my own viewpoint, is one of the things that makes my contribution to the Trinity community so unique.
Sir,- As a life-long New Englander, born in Portsmouth, NH I can not begin to tell you how offensive I found the J1 Special article by Jane Madden. The comments made by Ms. Madden, (i.e. “bloody weird Americans” and “Godforsaken place”) were not only smallminded, they were downright rascist! First names, lobster rolls and phrases like “wicked” are the ingredients a culture is made from and it is a real shame that Ms. Madden did not respect them as such. I have been to Portsmouth many times in the past few years and, while I admit that it is no Malibu - it is still a lovely city to visit. Small? Yes. Quiet? Absolutely, but it is also filled with a number of great restaurants, bars and pubs, shops and galleries. I don’t know where Ms. Madden was eating, but I’ve never once had anything “pre-chewed” at either The Friendly Toast or Blue Mermaid and I resent the author’s inference that ALL American food is covered in batter and bad for you. I believe the
only real problem the author had with Portsmouth was an unfair expectation of the experience. Dawson’s Creek and Desperate Housewives are TELEVISION SHOWS. We don’t all live like the kids on The O.C.! If she was looking for excitement and pretty people with tans, she should have done her homework and found a city better suited to her interests. Believe me - the United States is a BIG country and there are MANY! I sincerely hope that readers of this meanspirited article are not put off by the prospect of travelling to New Hampshire or to any other state in America. Foreign travel can and really should be a meaningful and life-changing experience if only you can withhold your own personal judgements long enough to celebrate the differences. Future J1ers will do well to remember the old adage: When in Rome!
Yours Etc, Nick Beard Students’ Union International Students’ Officer
Yours etc, Sarah Churchill
Compiled by Peter Henry
Advice to the Junior Dean
Y
our office being attended with the greatest labour and the least profit of any in the College, which are filled by the Fellows, it is but reasonable and fair that you should make yourself some compensation by a proper exercise of your power; which is extensive and incontrollable. Upon your first appearance after being appointed, which is in the Hall at night-roll, you must carefully observe, as the omens of your future administration, what marks of applause you receive, and by whom given. By this means you can judge of the different sentiments of the lads towards you, and treat them accordingly for the year. As Magister Morum, as Inspector and Reclaimer of Morals, it is to be supposed that your time is so taken up with those of others as not to be able to attend to your own. Therefore while you are employed in punishing the impiety, intemperance, etc of the Students, you will not only be excusable in overlooking them in yourself, but shew that you prefer public to private good. You are generally an object of envy to some, and of hatred to all the Students. And as it is very hard that a man should be hated
without cause, you must punish every offender in the most rigorous and exemplary manner, whether the measure of the punishment is adequate to the offence or not. That will be rectified at the Board, where your care and attention must be applauded. You ought however to make some distinction between those of your own and the opposite party, between your favourites and others. And you have it in your power to protect a friend, if he should happen to get into any dangerous scrape. Chapels and night-roll are the constant channels by which you can drain the purses of the Students; besides numberless other accidental ones. And although your oath of office obliges you to execute that duty punctually, you have still further inducement, namely, your wishes to promote the Christian religion, by persecuting its enemies; and to serve the College, by increasing its revenues; which you will, one of these days when you get to be a Senior Fellow, participate in the sweets of. Some nights you must find it very disagreeable to be dragged away from your company or bottle to attend night-roll: in that case, you need not mind much keeping the porters and the lads in the Hall before you
arrive for a quarter after the bell stops; the latter may divert themselves leaping over the tables and pelting at the branch, while you will appear a man of consequence in having such a number waiting for you. While you stand waiting until the roll is called, your vigilance must be very trifling if you cannot lay on half a score punishments at least, either for want of bands, wearing boots, or any other offence equally heinous. You must endeavour to render the duties of your office as numerous and as difficult as your can; even trifles must be regarded with the strictest severity. This will be correcting and improving on the conduct of your predecessor, and giving a proper example to your successor. You need not fear that you are creating trouble for yourself at any future time; for in all probability it never will come to your turn to bear the office again. When your year is ended, get some one to attend for you’re the last night in the Hall; at least do not attempt to go there yourself; by which you will escape the hisses, or probably something worse, that you might receive from the lads. From Advice to the University of Dublin (Dublin: P Byrne, 1791)
letters@trinitynews.ie
TRINITY NEWS
Hilary term, Week 6
P17
Opinion&Analysis
Face Off with Joey Facer
W
Bob Richmond-Watson twirls Harriet Johnson through a step in the Dining Hall at the Dance Society’s annual Strauss Ball on Wednesday 1st February. Photo: Martin McKenna
Trinity must find a place for Dutch Studies Despite plans to end the Germanic Languages degree programme, the university and the country would benefit from maintaining Dutch language and culture courses MARTINE VAN BERLO DUTCH LECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF GERMANIC STUDIES Even a relatively rich university like Trinity College has to make the most of scarce recourses. For almost 25 years Dutch has been part of the Germanic Languages degree programme, which is offered by the Department of Germanic Studies. Prof Tim Jackson, who is the current Director of GL, will be retiring this coming September. This is one of the mean reasons that the Germanic Languages degree will be discontinued from the beginning of the academic year 2009-2010. This decision has grave consequences for the future of Dutch (and also Swedish), an essential part of a degree which is the only one of its kind in the whole of Ireland. This shift in departmental interest can be traced back to 2002 with the departure of Dr Nicola McLelland, a lecturer in Medieval Studies and Linguistics. She hasn’t been replaced. The GL students have had their German modules merged with the TSM students. Subsequently, the department decided to elevate the status of Dutch at Trinity to a minor subject in the degree programme. This was done with financial support of the “Taalunie”, which envisioned a future for Dutch Studies in Trinity. The Dutch Language Union is an institution directed by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Belgium and the Netherlands. In the space of six years ,the department received €76,540 from the Taalunie and the promise was made to develop the Dutch culture and language studies on a university level in Trinity for another twelve years. In the meantime, the Department had to seek its own means to finance the Dutch lan-
“ ”
guage courses. However, all costs can not be covered by private funding alone – without the financial support of Trinity on a basic level, continuing the course may not be possible. The Department partly succeeded in raising funds. In the last three years, very successful evening classes started up, with an income of more than €10,000 euro (and around 50 participants). For this purpose, three additional external teachers have been involved since the beginning of this academic year. Additionally, since October 2007 a kind of sponsored language course for companies has been initiated with support of the embassies through which the Department earned an extra €5,000. As a result of organisational and administrative problems it was not as successful as it should have been. I intend to repeat the whole initiative because I am convinced that there is a need for the Dutch language in Irish companies, a view which is shared by the managers of such companies as Google, UPS and IBM. For me, it is clear that Dutch is not a drain on the Department’s resources. I am paid €23000 for a full-time position. The search for funding required extra efforts from the staff involved. The extra work detracted attention from the day-to-day classes but was seen as a necessity to allow the continuation of Dutch. It is not a surprise that in the last seven years there have been four lecturers in the post that I currently occupy – greater continuity is necessary to ensure teaching quality. I am currently in my fourth year as Lector of Dutch at Trinity and have a Master’s degree and a diploma in teaching Dutch and German. I have been teaching for eighteen years in different countries, holding posts in Dutch at three universities in Germany. I
opinionandanalysis@trinitynews.ie
I hope that the Dutch language can find a future at Trinity in combination with other subjects
hope that the Ministry of Education of the Flemish Government will initialise a “teacher in residence” post in Trinity. I am currently involved in finding funding for this post. My experience is that Dutch can be made popular through good teaching practise, enjoyable courses and good publicity directed towards school pupils in particular. As a result, I have developed a brochure and a website, efforts which haven proven invalu-
able in attracting new students. There is a high drop-out rate among students taking the Germanic Languages course, but I believe this gives an inaccurate view of GL student motivation. The GL degree has an overall cohort of just fifteen students, but we mustn’t forget the average of three TSM students each year who chose Dutch as an option and share a class with the first year GL students. International contacts are important for a university. The Dutch classes are attended by an annual average of five exchange students from France, Italy, French-speaking Belgium, Germany and other nations. The exchange students from the Netherlands are involved in teaching as language assistants in the Dutch section, which is a part of their study abroad. This amounts to a total of 2225 day class students. It could be argued that the teaching of Dutch at Trinity is healthily reaching its annual quota of students. Excellent employment opportunities are available to graduates of the GL degree. Graduates have found excellent jobs in areas such as translation in Dutch companies, evidence of which can be see in letter I recently received from an recruitment office in the Netherlands. The Fagel Collection in the Long Room is the focal point for Dutch at Trinity. There exists a real possibility to integrate a cultural Fagel-chair into a Dutch teaching programme at Trinity. This position could be paid for by the Netherlands and Belgium, similar to those chairs that already exist at American universities. I am grateful that Dutch has been hosted by the German Department for so long. I hope that the Dutch language can find a future at Trinity in combination with other subjects.
hen my eighteen year old self looked forward to university, there was one thing I did not envisage: minimum wage. I would like to have it noted that I have not had a day off since Chrstmas Day. Unfortunately, part-time (or even, as I found myself last year inadvertedly undertaking, fulltime) work is becoming increasingly necessary for College students. The social divide this precipitates may appear to be but a small sliver, but I this will have metamorphosed into a gaping hole before the government’s target percentage of students embarking on higher education has been even barely touched on. Most people I have met at university would probably have no qualms in supportin the idea that education is a right, not a privilege. We have clearly moved on from 250 years ago, when many men and most women would not have been so lucky as to have read even one single book or written one single word in a lifetime. However, as governments emphasize the importance of further education university is increasingly seen not as somewhere a select few go, but rather the welcoming bosom for anyone who displays a certain level of intelligence, whether they are from an upper, middle or working class background. Has this led to a social divide? In Ireland students have parents or jobs and occasionally loans. In England, the student loan is now ubiquitous, with all range of social classes taking this opportunity, on the surface lending an air of equality to the process. In reality, however, those lucky enough to have family accountants to fiddle the books can avail of the full loan and put it in a handy high-interest account for the duration of their studies. And those who actually require this loan as a precedent to attending university are free to - pay it back. Is this what some students have to look forward to? The availability of grants, meanwhile, is lamentable. A government grant would hardly keep a hamster in sawdust, let alone a student in books. Who else should have to pay the fee, apart from banks and relatives? Self-sufficiency is a workable option, but it is not an easy one. It would seem that education is not a right – it is a choice you make, and one in many situations one you have to finance alone. Waitressing is ever a potential. In some places, you can live on your tips, and the hours are conveniently far from early morning. However, be warned: having spent the best part of your day intellectually duelling with the philosophical heavyweights to be met with some ignorant eejit demanding their water with lemon, no ice, for example, or letting you know that your inappropriate interference in clearing the empty plates at one precise moment rather than another has not only ruined their day, but their entire life, can be slightly disheartening. Bar waitressing is hideous, although if you want to be convinced not to touch drink again ever, this is certainly an option you should try. One St Patrick’s day in to my Irish sojourn was quite enough for me, with every leering customer in turn either grabbing me in some inappropriate manner or else lecturing me for minutes on end about why it was so wrong of me to be English (“downright rude”), particularly on this day of the year. Shop work is even more gruesome. If you think clearing tables is boring, it is nothing on working in a shop. Spending hours trying desperately to look like you are doing something (when, in reality, you have plenty of study to actually be doing) is completely spirit-breaking. In addition, being constantly around people spending money is likely to induce similar actions in your own spare time, thus negating the whole point of getting a job. Cushy jobs are good. I currently have one, which is fortuitous. Because if I did not have it, I would fail. Miserably. Although this is good in a way, I am still perturbed by the surveys that say working more than fifteen hours a week could be detrimental to study. With average rent costs in Dublin soaring, fifteen hours at the pay of most part-time jobs is not going to cover your room, let alone the cost of living. Bear in mind also that even if employment has escaped your fancy-free undergraduate years, the dedicated studier will not be long so unburdened. Speaking to one friend who could probably write her PhD thesis now with both eyes closed, she commented that whilst she would love to continue to study, the thought of being poor for another three to five years put her off it. Is it worth it? Sometimes it seems so, when you think really hard about what brought you here in the first place and the years of hard work. And other times, when you are hallucinating in the middle of a French presentation due to lack of sleep and all you can say to the lecturer who asks if you understand is “de rien”, maybe not. In a supposedly egalitarian society, why do these choices still have to be made? Where is the University fairy of years gone by who could wave her magic wand and give you rooms on campus? Maybe it is time for governments to face up to the two-tier University structure and redress the unbalance.
TRINITY NEWS
P18
Hilary Term, Week 6
WorldReview
Thousands of children (left and right) have already been orphaned because of the turmoil in Chad and neighbouring Darfur. Photo: Kyle DuFord. The Irish Army Rangers (above) have been assigned the task of path-finding for the EUFOR mission. Photo: Irish Army
Can the mistakes of Darfur teach us about the developing crisis in Chad? ARRAN SADLIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER As the situation in Chad worsens, a crisis looks imminent. Following an important reconnaissance mission by a group of 50 specialised scouts, it had been the plan to send nearly 4000 EUFOR troops under the command of Irishman Lieutenant-General Pat Nash to Chad. However, the storming of the capital N’djamena by rebel soldiers from the east, apparently backed by Khartoum, forced the scouts to cancel their mission and led to two days of confused and bloody conflict inside the city. There are at least a thousand injured and an unknown number are dead as a result of this latest conflict. However, international bodies fear that there is worse to come, as the rebels are
slowly regrouping outside N’djamena. Chadian officials are insisting that Sudan is deliberately exporting its war eastwardly in their direction. For the moment, a French force of 1500 soldiers are keeping President Idriss Déby in power. The EU force was to join them by early March, but now everything is uncertain as EUFOR waits for events to unfold. So how did this situation evolve? Chad became independent of France in 1960 and François Tombalbaye, as colonial leader, initiated a fifteen year dictatorship. During this time, he fomented ethnic tensions by excluding Muslims until eventually his irrational behaviour isolated the southern elites who had initially backed him. This led to a coup in 1975 followed by three years of military rule. Actual fighting took place between members of the three way leadership that followed,
which resulted in Hissène Habré’s rise to power. Habré was an ex-militia leader who had formerly been backed by the army and his decade in power, from 1980-90, was beset by war with the previous government, backed strongly by Libya and Sudan, and the massacring of other opposition. He was kept in power by France’s continued support, although ethnic tensions flared (between the Hadjerai, Zaghawa and Gorane groups). By 1989, one of the most prominent generals, Idriss Déby, defected to Darfur, where he gathered Zaghawa support for a series of attacks on Habré (a Gorane). As French support waned, Déby, with Libyan assistance, led an unchallenged march on the capital in December 1990. Just three months later on 28 February, he was established as president and his Patriotic Salvation Movement approved a new
national charter. Déby survived at least two coup attempts early in his term, and spent most of the next decade fighting various combinations of government factions, militias and rebel groups. The majority of his opposition comes from the southern region, where he enforces strict government control. He initiated agreements with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and ultimately foreign companies interested in exploiting Chad’s oil reserves. Work began on extracting oil and running a thousand kilometre underground pipelines through Cameroon to the Gulf of Guinea in June 2000 and the ambition was that oil profits would benefit local populations through a series of agreements between the various factions. The success of this project relied wholly on the unbiased sharing of in-
formation and a feeling of mutual trust amongst the parties, something wholly missing in Chadian politics. Déby has twice won what were deemed flawed elections by international observers, first in 1997 followed by another questionable win in 2001, during which time opposition supporters were arrested and at least one killed. Chad has been receiving refugees from Darfur since 2003 and persistently fighting rebel opposition in its eastern regions since 2006. It has officially been at war with Sudan since 2005 over the apparent sponsorship of these militias who are committing atrocities in both countries. This conflict, it seems, can only deepen. EUFOR’s stated mission in Chad would be the protection of some 200000 Darfurian refugees who have fled the violence of the Janjaweed.
However, given the current turbulent climate, there can be little doubt that deploying four thousand well-equipped European soldiers to a former French colony, now in the midst of a war, cannot but have serious unknown consequences. EUFOR forces will be entering a quagmire. How can the local population tell pre-positioned French troops from their French EUFOR counterparts? The colonial history and residual animosity towards “white” power in Chad can only further endanger the lives of the other nationals in the force; Poles, Swedes, Austrians and of course, Irish. An undermanned and minimally researched deployment will help no one. Serious thought ought to be given before taking such rushed and unconsidered action in such a turbulent region.
China.com: Big Brother is watching China’s MySpace users are encouraged to report on fellow users who “disturb the social order” ARRAN SADLIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER 2008 is set to be the year when China could topple the United States off the top of the medal podium for the first time with the Beijing 2008 Olympics fast approaching. Feats of athletic prowess are not the only thing that China looks to conquer this year. Less widely known is the fact that China has the fastest growing number of internet users in the world. It is widely predicted that by the end of the year China will top all other countries to have the highest number of internet users, replacing the USA off the top spot. Last year alone China’s internet users increased by more than 50%. Compare this against the other rapidly developing Asian giant India which has a third of the number of users as China. Proportionally of course this only represents 16% of the population. This low figure is yet another reason why the rapid expansion is set to continue. These figures stand out starkly against the government’s repressive policy when it comes to information and entertainment. News is censored; television is controlled by the state, while foreign books and cinema are still scarce. Yet the internet, often recognised as that bastion of irrepressible free speech and opinion, has not proved overly problematic for the government, at least within the country. Access to many foreign websites is forbidden such
as Wikipedia. Google, one of the last technological giants to bow down to Chinese regulations, eventually gave way for entry into the market in return for allowing strict filters to be imposed on its Chinese site relating to politically sensitive issues. This despite the majority of shareholders demands that Google not go ahead with if these restrictions were to be applied. Blacklisted search terms include Falun Gong, Taiwan and Tibet amongst others. The recently launched Murdoch owned Chinese version of MySpace includes a link on every users page where viewers are encouraged to report the user to the authorities if politically sensitive topics are discussed or if the user has engaged in ‘misconduct‘ which involves “spreading rumors or disturbing the social order” according to the site’s terms and conditions. In 2005 journalist and poet Shi Tao was being monitored by government authorities. The government demanded of Yahoo access to his email account, of which Yahoo obliged. Correspondence relating to reports on claims of Chinese government propaganda was discovered and the journalist was promptly jailed with a 10 year sentence at the end of his 2 hour long trial. He had breached the government notice issued to all journalists in 2004 entitled “concerning journalistic work for maintaining stability”. In August 2007 the World Organization for Human Rights sued Yahoo! for allegedly passing information, email and IP related, with
the Chinese authorities that caused the arrests of Shi Tao and another journalist. On November 6, 2007, the U.S. congressional panel criticized Yahoo! for not giving full details to the House Foreign Affairs Committee the previous year, stating it had been “at best inexcusably negligent” and at worst “deceptive”. On November 13, 2007, Yahoo settled with Shi for an undisclosed sum - his sentence remains unchanged. New rules governing what is acceptable in online video came into force at the beginning of February. The regulations will ban all but state-owned corporations from making and uploading video to the Internet. The main aim is to stop cyber-dissidents and netizen journalism of the kind which has proliferated amid growing civil unrest across the country as well as targeting foreign investors. The new law states that “web sites that provide video must obtain government permits and applicants must be either state-owned or state-controlled companies.” All in all China’s sensors do an excellent job of restricting access to content that might cause political problems. Despite the government’s best efforts towards censorship one section of society that they have not managed to veil is the increasing migrant population. It is the only chink in an otherwise impressive armor of whispers and suspicion and may be the eventual undoing of the current strangle hold on information.
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
Applications for Editorships of Trinity News, Piranha!, Miscellany, Icarus & Analogue The Dublin University Publications Committee is accepting applications to edit the above publications next year. If you’re interested, contact the secretary at molloyd1@tcd.ie for an application form and more information. The final date for completed applications is 5pm on Friday, 22nd February, 2008. The editorships will be announced at the Annual General Meeting of DU Publications.
Annual General Meeting DU Publications is holding its Annual General Meeting(AGM) at 7pm on Friday, February 29th, 2008, in the Phil Conversation Room, GMB. Editorships of all recognised publicaions will be appointed, and all positions on the executive will be elected. The positions to be filled are Chair, Secretary, Treaurer, Amenities Officer and Alumni Relations Officer. If you are interested in applying for a position, you can get more information by emailing the Secretary at mollyd1@tcd.ie. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday, 22nd February, 2008.
worldreview@trinitynews.ie
TRINITY NEWS
Hilary Term, Week 6
P19
WorldTravel Musical Travels by Brian Barry
Eurotripping: A guide to InterRail N CAELAINN HOGAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ow the countdown to exams is on and you’ve fully pillaged your bank account, having wasted all your money on Christmas debauchery, it’s clearly the time to ease your mind with thoughts of brighter things. Summer, for instance. If funds won’t stretch to Australia or South America, you can’t stand Yanks and lugging bricks around in the African sun isn’t your cup of tea, the answer is quite simple: InterRail. You have the whole of Europe in spitting distance, and if you go by this guide, you can travel through eight countries in one month for the price of a return ticket to Peru. It’s idiot proof. For anyone unfamiliar with the term, interrailing is travelling throughout Europe by train. Traditionally it involves a chaotic number of cities visited in a short space of time while in a fluctuating state of inebriation. It’s a relatively easy trip to plan, but the earlier you start, the better. Firstly, decide who you are going to travel with. Travelling in a large group can be entertaining, but involves huge stress. Eleven people is too many, trust me. The smaller your group, the easier it is to get into hostels, come to decisions and the more likely you are to meet other travellers. Next, choose a general route: a start point and an end point, so you can book your flights enough time in advance to get them cheap. Anytime is a good time to travel Europe so the best bet is choose your dates according to the cheapest flights available that suit your schedule. At this stage I’d recommend investing in a rail map, the best being the 16th edition Thomas Cook Rail Map Europe. This is your bible. It shows all the railway routes throughout Europe, the standard of rail line, main airports and all major cities and towns. You’ll also need the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable. These timetables may as well be enigma codes, so learn to read them before you go. Finally, purchase your InterRail ticket. This is generally where people get confused, due to the many different types of ticket available. If you’re going for a month and want to travel through more than three or four countries, the best value ticket to buy is the InterRail Global Pass, ten days within 22, youth 2nd class (€239) if you are under 25, or adult 2nd class if you are over (€359). Ten days of travel within 22 days is plenty, seeing as you will generally stay more than one day in each place. Bring a zip lock bag to keep your ticket safe (it’s only a flimsy piece of paper and is not replaceable if lost or damaged). Also, a pencil or erasable pen can come in handy for “editing” dates of travel. All InterRail tickets can be purchased at the USIT office, 19/21 Aston Quay in Dublin, just off O’Connell bridge, or online at www.interrail.net. Tickets can be bought at anytime within three months of your first travelling date. I went InterRailling last summer for roughly a month from the end of June to the start of August and travelled from Amsterdam to Istanbul. The following is a short guide to the highlights of the eight countries I travelled through.
TRAVEL TIPS Bring a travel towel – saves huge amount of precious rucksack space. Credit card – for booking hostels online. Easiest to book a day or two before, almost all hostels have free Internet. (www.hostelbookers.com or www.hostelworld.com) www.xe.com - for all those pesky currency conversions. Sleep on top of any valuables – Passport/wallet ect. Train food – We lived on bread rolls and cheese, usually brie. Very cheap, tasty and filling for those long train journeys. Drinking games – Know a few. You don’t want to end up at the hostel’s ‘International Beer Olympics’ and let your country down, now do you? Put your bed sheets on before you go out – You’ll never be sober enough to put them on after, and who wants scabies? Mixed signals – In Belgrade a nod means no and shaking your head means yes. Hang out – Open the door when if the carriage’s empty and swing out. Just keep an eye out for approaching trees/pylons. Ouch.)
worldtravel@trinitynews.ie
Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
N
o trip around Europe would be complete without it. Ryanair offers cheap flights to Eindhoven, only an hour or so by train from Amsterdam. We stayed at a place called Camping Zeeburg (http://www.campingzeeburg.nl), a quirky campsite only fifteen to twenty minutes by tram from the city
Prague,
Czech Republic
P
rague can be daunting at first because it feels like the first real step “abroad”. Suddenly you can’t rely on everyone speaking English, and the language is
centre. It’s cheap and has its own bar, which also serves food. As for the city, there is, of course, the unavoidable Red Light Zone. Unfortunately, boys, you’ll be in for a disappointment. Most of the window “girls” are fat, saggy and old. If you’re feeling adventurous, go to one of the €2 peep shows for a more intimate performance, but be warned, the “actors” can hear you talking in the booths. My friends and I didn’t realise this and, due to our giggling and commentating,
provoked the star of the show to run outside stark naked and try to force his way into our booth to tell us off. Not for the faint of heart. To relax, head to one of the many cafés, the Bulldog chain being the most reputable and trendy (http://www.bulldog.nl). Coco’s Outback is a restaurant/bar near Rembrandt Plaza, where all the main clubs are, which fills up later in the night with lively music and table dancing.
impossible to read. Say goodbye to Euros and hello, Kruny (roughly 26 to the euro). Comfort yourself with Tesco noodles for under a cent and general easy budgeting all round. Away from the modern area of Prague, the old parts of the city are stunning. A trip to Prague Castle is definitely worthwhile. If you’ve got the money, stay in the chic Czech Inn
(http://www.czech-inn.com), if you don’t stay in Hostel 5, next door to the derelict crack house. As for nightlife, Prague seemed to be completely dead apart from one massive five-floor club on Charle’s Bridge, Karlovy Iázne, which has a sign as you go in warning “No knives, no guns, no hand grenades.” I recommend the absinth.
Belgrade, he Chillton Hostel is a lovely set up, and very central. (www.chilltonhostel.com). They have a kitchen and free tea and coffee. An interesting night out
is a trip to the “floating clubs”, large barges moored on the riverbank and converted into swanky looking clubs. If you are in Belgrade, try not to get in any accidents. Serbian Accident and Emergency rooms are not pleasant places, especially not at four in the morning. Expect to pay twenty quid to a doctor who looks drunk.
the metro with plenty of cheap restaurants nearby. Baghdad Kebab, which is open practically 24 hours a day is good after any night out for food and the owners are wild characters. The best way to see the city is by bike. Free bike tours run from outside the Postfuhramt building on Oranienburger Straße and cover all the highlights of the city. Do this on the first day and then go back to places of interest in your own time, such as the Reichstag and
the surviving section of the Berlin Wall. The same company that runs the tour operates a nightly pubcrawl which is simply epic. It includes beers in a giant urban beach bar, enclosed by derelict factories used as alternative art galleries, as well as finishing the night in Club Matrix, which boasts its own pool. After this crawl, my friend hailed down a police car, thinking it was a taxi, and actually got in. Evidence enough.
stargazing hanging your head out the train window, but for the gypsy smugglers who hide boxes of cigarettes in the panels of the train carriages (the ones you’ll be sitting in) and then throw them out the doors into fields with waiting cars. Brasov is a small mountain town with an illuminated Hollywoodesque sign. It’s also supposedly the location of Dracula’s
Castle, but the reality, “Brasov Castle”, is disappointing .The views from the train on the way are spectacular. Bring your walking boots and go exploring. Stay at the Kismet Dao Hostel and if you’re a couple, request the “Shagging Room”. All guests get a complimentary beer every night. (http://www.kismetdao .com).
Serbia
T
Belgrade city is a beautiful sight at night
Berlin,
Germany
I
f you haven’t been to Berlin before, GO. Everyone I travelled with agreed it was one of their favourite cities in Europe. Even the train station is impressive. Hostel Xberger (http://www .hostelxberger. com) is in a laidback, arty district five minutes from
Brasov, Romania
I
f you’ve ever seen the movie Cold Mountain, Brasov is in the area where it was filmed. If you want a story to come back with, take the night train from Belgrade to Bucharest, not only for the
Istanbul, Turkey
I
t’s a pain to get to (it took us 24 hours travelling and stowing away in a sleeper cabin we hadn’t paid for), but Istanbul is more than worth it. You must purchase a visa at the border, but for most EU citizens, it’s only about €10 (French enter free and British get charged 5 quid extra!) Sultahnamet is the main cultural and most interesting sector, with almost all the hostels on the same street. Sultans Hostel is one of the best. They’re all cheap and have their own rooftop bars where you can sit back and enjoy a cold beer
and a shísha (water pipe with flavoured tobacco). Must-see sites include the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque, both of which are minutes walking distance from the hostel. Across the river is Taksim, the student area of the city with more modern restaurants and shops. Take a boat trip down the Bosphorous or just explore the port area with its markets and stalls. For a bit of retail therapy, hit the Grand Bazaar, the giant covered market and be served apple tea while you haggle prices. If you want to pamper yourself, go for a traditional Turkish bath, where a big old Turkish woman in her knickers comes and scrubs you clean on a marble slab. It’s a whole lot better then it sounds, believe me.
Istanbul’s famous Blue Mosque. Photo: Tim O’Brien
SZIGET Partying on an Island in Budapest Sziget is one of the largest music festivals in Europe. It takes place in Budapest for one week every August and is certainly, at least in the eyes of Irish people, one of the best-kept secrets for the festival-goer. The sheer scale of the event is more than enough to impress, but this is a party that has everything going for it: good value, great weather, a friendly, safe, clean environment, an almost baffling array and variety of musical talent from the world over and perhaps most unusually for a festival, a level of comfort and ease that really sets it apart. The word “Sziget” is Hungarian for “island” and the event itself is set up on the Óbudai-sziget, a wooded national park island on the river Danube, a few miles outside central Budapest. Every year, 400000 people (five times the size of Oxegen) descend upon the island, coming from every corner of Europe and beyond, resulting in a veritable melting pot of languages, accents and hilarious stereotypes – everyone seems to find their compatriots as the week passes. A whiskeydrinking, tricolour-laden “Camp Ireland”emerges, German folk in their camper vans form ordered rows of picnic tables and the French always seem slightly more earthy and moody, listening to reggae from ghetto-blasters and smoking whatever they manage to get past the (friendly) security at the one bridge leading onto the island. The line-up of main acts is always of a very high standard, and unlike Glastonbury or Oxegen, the fact that the festival is a week long means you aren’t always frantically looking at your programme lists making compromises on what acts you must see and what acts you have to. I have been to the last two Sziget festivals enjoying the likes of Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand, Robert Plant, Scissor Sisters, Iggy Pop, Prodigy, The Killers, Tool, Nine Inch Nails and Chemical Brothers. And Sinead O’ Connor. It was epic. But the beauty of Sziget lies not necessarily in these big draws, but rather, in hearing a Hungarian Led Zeppelin tribute band or a seven piece harmonica group or stumbling upon thousands of people bouncing to African tribal music on the ever-surprising World Music Stage. There are five main stages and many more minor stages littered around the festival grounds offering every musical concoction one could imagine 20 out of 24 hours of the day. Sziget is so much more than a concert, though. Themed bars, a beach, bungee jumps overlooking the main stage at €25 a pop, an adult-sized playground, wonderfully varied ethic food stalls, free bike taxis to take you around the island, a rollerblading disco, a free 24 hour internet tent, long rows of stalls selling clothes, second hand vinyl records and quite useless but irresistible paraphernalia, a foam bath bouncing castle, lifesize foosball, random circus and theatre acts, and the usual zany carry-on that comes with being at a festival all combine to make Sziget such a tour de force. Oh, and pints are €1.50. In addition to all this, you’re within an easy fifteen minute train journey from central Budapest, a remarkable city itself, which has a grandeur and gravitas that is quite unique. The stunning views from the riverside of the remarkable Parliament Building on the Pest riverbank and the “Castle Quarter” hill on the Buda riverbank (the city Budapest is an amalgamation of the two cities Buda and Pest on either riverbank) are unforgettable. A trip to the Szechenyi Public Baths to scrape off festival grime is a must. Budapest is still a fairly inexpensive city by Irish standards and one can eat out in a very good restaurant for 5000 Forint (under €20). The city is the perfect antidote to the colossal party taking place just down the river and taking a couple of day trips to the city during the week is a perfect way to prepare for the main acts when the sun goes down on the main stage in the evening. Sziget is about as big, as fun and as mud-free as music festivals get. It is the ideal focal point for an inter-railing trip and in itself is well worth the flight over to Budapest. • Aer Lingus flies Dublin-Budapest return for about €170 return. • A week long camping ticket is a mere €120, and one-day tickets are €30. • Sziget takes place this year from Tuesday 12th Monday 18th August. • Website and ticket order: www.sziget.hu/festival_english/
TRINITY NEWS
P20
Hilary term, Week 6
Science&Technology
Bipolar Disorder
Tech Specs SIGMA DP1
Confuses • Shames • Kills LUKE MAISHMAN STAFF WRITER
Photo buff’s compact finally arrives Sigma’s long-awaited “photographer’s compact” digital camera has finally gotten a ship date. Though the digital revolution has made enormous strides in almost all aspects of photography, development has hitherto been limited to single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras. While SLRs are the right type of camera for lots of applications, including almost all professional applications, in the digital age we have nowhere near the diversity of professional-grade camera types that we enjoyed during the days when film was the only option. Back then, professional photographers could choose between compact, discrete, pocketable cameras; waist-level Hasselblads; folding 6x9 medium format; and of course the allround SLRs we know today. These fundamentally different paradigms provided photographers with fundamentally different styles of photographs, thus enriching the medium of photography itself. So it is sad to see this diversity being homogenised into cookie-cutter SLRs. The only currently viable alternative is Leica’s M8, a small, light, quiet rangefinder in the greatest tradition, but at around €4,500 before you buy any of Leica’s very fine and expensive lenses, it can hardly be called viable. The only glimmer of hope has been the elusive Sigma DP1. They promised a large (APS-sized) sensor in a small body with a sensible fixed lens and without any goofy “sports” or “flowers” settings, for a price in the reach of mere mortals. It seemed the closest photographer’s could come to the perfect compact camera. As always though, the dream was dogged with uncertainties. The lens is f/4; the sensor uses an unusual way of counting pixels; not least the question of whether or not it would ever make it’s way from the drawing board into production. Sigma finally moved towards making the dream a reality just before the PMA photographic conference by announcing officially the camera and quietly mentioning “spring”. The camera later showed up on Amazon on pre-order for March 25th at $800 (€550). Could this prove to be the elusive and fabled photographer’s compact? Only time will tell. Martin McKenna
VISTA SERVICE PACK1 Home (or Business) Improvements On February 4th, Microsoft released the Windows Vista Service Pack1 to manufacturing, which means it should be available via Windows update in mid-March. Service packs are a natural part of an Operating System’s (OS) lifestyle: Windows XP released both SP1 and 2. However, Vista’s first major upgrade has been long awaited by users of the OS since its release last year. Some drivers and software have consistently proven incompatible with Vista, to the extent that many manufacturers, particularly of custom-built PCs, are continuing to offer Windows XP as an alternative to Vista (though this is becoming difficult as Microsoft attempts to push Vista sales). Microsoft’s development team have reported that, in using the beta version of the service pack, they have found their systems to be more responsive, and the service pack promises improved compatibility and reliability. Performance and power consumption issues have also been improved. All in all, the release of the first service pack is a good thing, particularly with the fact that Vista now ships on nearly all new machines. However, with the number of problems encountered in the last year by Vista users, it probably hasn’t been soon enough. David Molloy
For a disease with 40000 recorded sufferers in the Republic of Ireland and present in about five percent of the population worldwide, bipolar affective disorder is remarkably unknown to the general public. This is perhaps due to the stigma historically attached to depression and similar conditions – “It’s all in your mind, just snap out of it!” Sentiments such as this have long caused those attempting to cope with all kinds of depression to conceal their condition, suffering in silence until the inevitable breakdown. Most worrying, though, are the rates of suicide among bipolar sufferers. They have a higher risk of suicide than any other psychiatric or medical illness; a survey in 2005 showed 50% of patients attempting suicide and 20% succeed in killing themselves. Bipolar disorder (until recently also called manic-depressive illness), like all clinical depression, is entirely out of the control of the patient. It is defined as a disorder in which a person can experience recurrent attacks of mood disturbance, either depression or mania. Genetic inheritance as the principal cause is now undisputed, although not fully understood. We are all familiar with the shifts and moods of everyday life, but the mood-swings of bipolar disorder are far more intense and prolonged. They disturb the sufferer’s everyday pattern of living to a considerable degree. It is a distinguishing factor that the person can neither snap out of the depression nor stop their "high" behaviour completely. Depressive episodes are characterised by feelings of worthlessness, sadness, lethargy and guilt. Patients in a depressed phase may experience insomnia and have no interest in their usual activities. While in a manic state, sufferers can engage in risky behaviour (overspending, unwise betting) and experience agitated, hyperactive behaviour, a strong pressure to keep talking and racing thoughts. An anonymous Trinity medical student diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder reported the sensations that go with a manic attack: “I had more energy, I needed less sleep . . . I had the self-confidence I always wanted. My speech became louder . . . my jovial banter became threatening. . . .I experienced everything from being paranoid that an atom bomb would strike at any moment . . .I have walked for miles thinking that I was part of a spy operation. I would see blue and green lights on the streets and follow them . . . [my friends and relatives] have told me that it can be quite frightening. My major episodes have both ended with police intervention, hospitalisation and powerful antipsychotic
medication.” The disorder affects men and women equally, normally beginning between puberty and the age of 40 (though it can start at any age). Those showing symptoms of this condition will normally avoid getting help and try to hide its effects from those around them out of fear and a lack of understanding of what they are going through. Even those diagnosed with bipolar disorder often still conceal their mood swings and hide the condition, worried that friends/family/employer will think worse of them for it. For those patients who recognise that there is something wrong and go to their doctor straight away, it is still a rocky road to correct diagnosis. The tendency is to report only the depressive episodes, particularly if the manic episodes are less severe at first (which is often the case). This leads to the prescription of antidepressants, a recipe for disaster when combined with the manic episodes! After diagnosis, the biggest problem with the clinical treatment of the disease, at the moment, is that the treatments available, which are nonetheless a great help for most patients, frequently have undesirable side-effects, such as diabetes, weight gain, tremors and excessive sedation. They target the symptoms of the illness but not the underlying causes ,which remain unknown. In addition, there have been no new drugs developed to combat this condition for over 30 years! “It is a critical illness . . . it’s not something you can control” emphasises Fiona Cassidy, one Trinity student fully aware of the pains of bipolar disorder. Her PhD research is on the genetic cause of this crippling condition and as she tells me “Until I started this project, I was not aware of anyone with any psychiatric illness and then suddenly they all started telling me about it!” It turns out there are cases of the disease in her extended family, but the people in question felt unable to tell Fiona until they realised that she had an understanding of what they were going through. Such is the extent of fear among sufferers in Irish society even today. Fiona works with Elif Dagdan, another postgraduate student, under the supervision of Dr. Siobhan Roche in the Smurfit Institute of Genetics. The research is headed up by Prof. Patrick McKeon, consultant psychiatrist in St. Patrick’s Hospital. A keen surfer, she originally completed a science degree at Trinity, but it was her work in a lab outside of College that got her interested in clinical research. However, the disorder itself has been one of the biggest enlightenments of her work – “It’s proved really interesting . . . I am really grateful for it now”, she tells me “It’s also so stigmatised in society.” The research is part of a partnership between Trinity and St Patrick’s Psychiatric Hospital, the latest
The symptons Signs and symptoms of the depressed phase of bipolar disorder •A persistently sad, empty or anxious feeling. •Loss of interest in food, sex, work and other activities. •Tiredness and feeling slowed down, despite rest. •Trouble getting to sleep, wakening too early or over sleeping. •Reduced or increased appetite and weight disturbance. •Poor concentration and indecision. •Feelings of guilt and worthlessness. •Chronic aches and pains without a physical cause. •Thoughts of death or suicide. Signs and symptom of elation or mania • Feeling "high", "on top of the world", "better then normal" or "better than ever before".
Fiona Cassidy (above) at work in the Lab researching the causes of and cures for Bipolar Disorder Photo: Siobhan Roche
Think you might suffer form bipolar disorder? -Talk to someone you trust. -Contact your GP if in any doubt. - The Aware helpline is open 10am – 10pm every day of the year for confidential, non - judgemental advice; locall 1890 303 302
• Uncharacteristic anger or irritability, • Great energy and not needing to rest. • Overactive, restless and distractible. • Racing mind that cannot be switched off "pressure in the head". • Talking rapidly and jumping from one topic to another. • Decreased need for sleep. • Excessive and unrealistic belief in ones abilities • Poor judgment. • Increased interest in pleasurable activities; new ventures, sex, alcohol, street drugs, religion, music or art. • Demanding, pushy, insistent. domineering or provocative behaviour, not able to see the changes from ones usual self – "There is nothing wrong with me".
of a history of collaboration lasting twenty years. People diagnosed with the disorder, and their families, sign up to be part of the research and give blood samples for analysis. Fiona’s research involves categorising the samples and using genetic results from lab work done on the samples to build up a statistical database. Essentially, she and Siobhan explain to me, DNA variants from genes of the patients are compared to those of their non-bipolar parents (disease controls), in an attempt to identify those that are co-inherited with the disease. The hope is that the effort and time put in by Fiona and other researchers like her will eventually build up a picture of the genetic causes of the disease. Theoretically at some point after a lot more work like Fiona’s has been done, it will be possible for scientists to look at a map of the genes that cause bipolar disorder. They will then be able to start designing medicines to combat the underlying causes of the disease. Fiona and Siobhan also take part in an annual presentation at St Patrick’s
Hospital to give an update on the progress of their research. These talks are organised by Aware, the Irish voluntary organization providing support to those with affective disorders, who also support the research. How far away from a complete map are we? A long way, Fiona thinks. “We really don’t know a whole lot about the underlying causes”, she explains. Unfortunately because it is known to be caused by many different genetic factors all working together, bipolar disorder has for a long time taken a back seat in medical research. Other diseases, where only one gene causes the disease (such as cystic fibrosis), got more attention as it was easier to identify the underlying causes. But things are looking up; Fiona’s research is evidence of that. She will publish her results soon, and hints that she has quite “strong results” for one particular chromosomal region. Meanwhile several other large groups around the world have been doing similar studies, especially in the United States and Japan.
Some Bipolar sufferers you might know
Kurt Cobain, Nirvana lead singer
Beethoven, famous composer
Neil Lennon, Glascow Celtic
Stephen Fry, respected actor
Vinvent VanGogh, famous painter
science@trinitynews.ie
TRINITY NEWS
Hilary Term, Week 6
Business&Careers
P21
Socially responsible business more popular than ever DANIELLE RYAN BUSINESS&CAREERS EDITOR My term paper for Business Studies this year requires me to revisit an essay written in 1970 and published in the New York Times magazine by the late American economist, Milton Friedman, in which he explains why he believed business does not have social responsibility. The whole topic of social responsibility in business has been confusing me since I received the title of the essay. I switch back and forth from one opinion to another every time I think about it; the main aim of a business is to create a profit while adhering to the boundaries of the law and ethics and therefore should hold no social responsibility. Then there’s the argument that of course business with huge power needs to hold some level of social responsibility and that
governments should put more time into ensuring that they do. I think that’s the opinion I’m sticking with. Now, I’m not saying that we should all be allowed to go around suing McDonalds for millions if we suddenly get fat, but I am more in favour of ideas such as Marks & Spencer’s new “corporate responsibility” plan, “Plan A: because there is no Plan B”. While researching for the term paper, I remarked to someone that if we’re going to accept that business technically has no social responsibility, even if it should, what have we got left but the hope that all of a sudden every big businessperson is going to become highly socially conscious? Well, it turns out that corporate social responsibility is becoming more mainstream than ever. Included in the Marks & Spencer do-good plan are goals to provide better education to 15000 children in Uganda,
save 50000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in a year, recycle 48 million clothes hangers, convert twenty million garments to fair-trade cotton, and on top of all of this, to triple their sales of organic food. Big business, it seems, is more willing than ever to tell the world about their endeavours in pursuit of the social good. They all want us to know how passionately they care about the universe. It’s getting harder for big companies to ignore the message. If society itself is becoming, for example, more environmentally conscious and society is what these companies rely on, more of them are deciding that they can hardly be willing to take the risks of appearing to be the ones who don’t care about the world. Major reputations are at stake here. There’s also a ready pack of NGOs ready to attack any wrong doers in business and that would be enough to scare anyone into social responsibility.
Governments too, are beginning to take a bigger interest in corporate social responsibility than they previously have. In Britain a requirement for companies to report on social and environmental matters was introduced in the 2006 Companies Act. The United Nations is promoting corporate responsibility through a group called Global Compact and there’s been a huge rise in demand for CSR courses and activities in business schools around the world and surveys are showing that society has far higher expectations of business in relation to CSR activities than it ever has before. One of the questions people will ponder in business schools and MBA programs is “does this company I’m going to work for share my values and ethos?” People want to work somewhere that shares their beliefs and where they’ll feel they’re doing something good and worthwhile.
Companies want to attract staff and be motivational to the employees they attract. CSR is one way to do that. There has been a change in what CSR actually means though. It’s not just companies signing cheques to various charities picked at random to make them look nice anymore. There are two more layers to CSR. The second layer is risk management. Companies can’t afford to suffer too many blows to their reputation. Clothing companies find themselves facing fire for using child labour to manufacture their goods. Big Pharma was attacked for not making drugs for HIV/AIDS cheap enough. Companies want to avoid these situations as much as is possible. The last layer of CSR is where companies insist that it can create more value for the company; the idea that if they approach CSR activities in a clever and strategic way, they won’t just be throwing money away for the sake of
looking like good samaritans. “Doing well by doing good” is turning into the new mantra in many companies. Approached or executed in the wrong way, however, and CSR can be a total disaster. It’s a relatively new idea and it’s not totally engrained in business mentality yet. Companies haven’t found the perfect way to deal with CSR activities or even how to measure their performance, but social responsibility in business has to start somewhere and I think that some companies, at least, are on the right track. The new wave of corporate social responsibility is a bit like businesspeople getting into the green energy industry because they are “just so passionate” about saving the earth. Obviously that’s not the reason, but why should we care what their reasons are? I think it might just be time for us to drop Friedman’s cynicism on the whole matter.
Finance Bill finalised SARAH CASEY STAFF WRITER The new Finance Bill has been finalized and has given effect to the measures announced in the budget last December. Brian Cowen, Minister for Finance, published the bill on Thursday 31 January and it must be enacted by the Oireachtas by April 5, but the scheme will also require EU clearance. The European Commission will determine whether the scheme meets all state guidelines. Further changes have been made by the government to as incentives to greater levels of efficiency in energy with the publication of the Finance Bill. The budget targeted
Signs of trouble for Ryanair? DANIELLE RYAN BUSINESS&CAREERS EDITOR Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary warned last week that the company’s profits may halve next year. Rising fuel costs, the weak pound and waning customer confidence and demand are all beginning to take their toll on Europe’s largest low-cost airline. O’Leary is confident that passenger growth will remain strong, as it gambles on adding more aircraft and cutting margins to keep fare costs low. Shares dropped by more than fifteen percent in Dublin trading last week but managed to recover and end the day at 2.2%. Third quarter profits dropped by 27% to €35 million. O’Leary predicts that the aviation industry in Europe is heading into a recession, but rather than sounding gloomy about it, he says he welcomes the recession and predicts that it will leave his company stronger and with fewer competitors once the storm dies down. The soaring oil prices are the reason O’Leary is welcoming the recession. Fuel accounts for more than one-third of the company’s operating costs and
businessandcareers@trinitynews.ie
their oil costs were locked at US$65 a barrel during this fiscal year. No such protection for the coming year exists and every US$1 move above US$65 can add $21 million in additional costs to the company. As well as plunging shares and looming recession, there has been an increase in the number of low-cost airlines competing for business in Europe. Clickair in Spain, Germany’s Air Berlin and Hungary’s Wizz Air are among Ryanair’s new competitors. Luckily for Ryanair, analysts believe that they are in a better position to weather this storm than their competitors. Air Berlin and SAS have all delayed or cancelled orders already, sufferings which are likely to help Ryanair stay on top. Carrying 50 million passengers a year, Ryanair still has a stronger business model than any other European airline. O’Leary says his response to growing uncertainty from his customers will be to intensify the price war with his competitors and promote new routes. If, as expected, Ryanair’s profits halve in the coming year, it will be only the second time since 1997 that the company has suffered profit losses.
Flying facts Ryanair operates 516 routes across 26 countries. Ryanair was voted the world's most disliked airline in a survey by TripAdvisor. In 2005, Ryanair were forced to pay Bob Ross £1,336 in damages after charging him £18 to use a wheelchair. Ryanair plan to launch a new long haul airline around 2009. Ryanair carried 42.5 million passengers in 2006. Irish airlines attracted 24% of all complaints about EU airlines in 2006.
motorists, linking Motor Tax and Vehicle Registration Tax to carbon dioxide emissions. Further measures were announced which focused on the business community. The bill introduces tax incentives to invest in equipment which is more energy efficient. According to Cowen, accelerated capital allowances will be available on a range of environmentally friendly equipment. The new scheme is set to run for a three-year trial period. The new scheme allows the entire cost of illegible equipment can be written off against tax in the same year that it was bought. A minimum level of investment in equipment is required to avail of the tax incentives and equipment is broken up into three groups: motors, lighting and
energy managing systems. The minimum level of investment on motors and drives is €1000, €3000 for lighting and €5000 must be spent on the building of energy managing systems. Eamon Ryan, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will make the final decisions on criteria for equipment and will establish a list of approved products. That list should be finalized in just a couple of weeks. The bill has been compared to the Enhanced Capital Allowances scheme in Britain, which also provides 100% first year capital allowances. The Finance Bill also extends tax relief for investment in films for a further four years and will cost approximately €148 by the end of 2012.
TRINITY NEWS
P22
Hilary term, Week 6
SportingLegends
From back to banker The once golden boy of Irish rugby, know for his weaving and jinking is now a globe trotting businessman. He takes a few minutes out here to talk to Deputy College Sports Editor Eoin Fleck about his Trinity days.
H
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ugo MacNeill has always been a man on the move. In days gone by, he was weaving and jinking his way past opposition defences. Today, he is a high roller in the world of business, jet-setting around the globe closing bigger business deals than one can imagine. In the 80’s MacNeill was the golden boy of a very successful period in Irish rugby. Rugby has always been his destiny. From the moment he set foot in Blackrock College, he became hooked. “I’d always played at a young age and I became addicted to the whole school system”. He played one year of Junior Cup rugby and two Senior cups. “Still my biggest disappointment, even more than losing internationals, was losing the schools cup in ‘76’”. A year later, however, Blackrock defeated St. Mary’s winning in extra-time. MacNeill played against Paul Dean, whom he would later go on to play alongside in the green of Ireland. He still has very fond memories of his school boy career. “I think the competition is terrific. People criticise the Leinster Schools system, but it still throws out a lot of high quality players”. At the end of 1977, he was selected to play Ireland Schools. “Playing Ireland Schools was great fun, it was the first sort of experience for my family. My mum and dad were really keen on the rugby and it became something for the whole family, which was really very special.” After leaving Blackrock, his route to Trinity College took something of a detour when MacNeill went to University College Dublin for a year, following in the footsteps of his family, including his great grand uncle Eoin MacNeill, founder of the Gaelic League. In hindsight, he says, “I think I’d always had a very strong attachment to Trinity and its traditions and I thought ‘don’t die wondering’, so I switched after the first year to study Economics in Trinity, where I had a wonderful time.” MacNeill is not your stereotypical rugby player. When talking, one is struck by his genuine affection for academia. At the end of his first year, he emulated his sporting success in his studies and was awarded scholarship. Before leaving to study in Oxford after his finals, he decided to take a year studying Anglo-Irish literature with poet Brendan Kennelly and Senator David Norris. It was, according to MacNeill, “the best year” he had in the College. Nowadays, he believes there is a lot of pressure on students to study subjects such as Business and Economics. He observes, on the other hand, “some of the best people I have seen working in Business have studied subjects such as Classics or Philosophy, where they have a real
It was like this huge arena with this quadraphonic noise. It was so uplifting, I recall thinking ‘I feel fantastic’ and I wondered what the Welsh felt like!
Ireland in my back garden for years, so to actually play was a terrific experience”. He recalls the first time he got the ball; “I tried to kick it a huge distance, the French guy caught it and dropped a goal from the halfway line! I just thought ‘Oh my God, this is going to be disastrous, but luckily I kept my calm and managed to score a try in the second-half” . While Ireland lost the game narrowly, MacNeill’s international career took off, playing in legendary battle grounds such as The Cardiff Arms stadium. He remembers being struck by the sheer passion of the Welsh supporters. “It was like this huge arena with this quadraphonic noise. It was so uplifting, I recall thinking ‘I feel fantastic and I wondered what the Welsh felt like!”. He was at Trinity at the time and remembers the great excitement. All his friends were in college with him. “The Irish rugby dinners used to be held in the Shelbourne Hotel and I used to slip out to come down and join them all in the Pavilion Bar.” His finest moment was in 1985, when the Irish team turned Wales over in Cardiff and eventually beat England in Lansdowne Road to win the Triple Crown and the Championship. Under manager Mick Doyle the Irish played an attacking brand of flamboyant rugby. MacNeill says “We didn’t have a place kicker at the time, so Mick just kept saying ‘run the ball, run the ball from anywhere’ and we did, scoring some amazing tries. The whole country was going crazy. This was before the Celtic Tiger had dawned. For somebody to come out and say that Ireland was the best captured the imagination of the country. The great thing about playing in the amateur days was everyone was doing different things. They were, never mind the most remarkable sports people I ever met, but the most remarkable people. The rugby players today get paid to do what they love, but we got to live two lives.” MacNeill’s international career spanned eight years amassing thirtyseven caps and ten tries in the process. Like all good full backs, he was as safe as houses under the high ball, but his ability to bounce off challenges and tackle men twice his size earned him the reputation as one of Irelands great no. 15’s. Rugby at that time in Irish history was a breath of fresh air, unifying the country North and South. He explains, “the thing about rugby was we all played together and never talked about The Troubles”. In 1996, when the IRA ceasefires broke down after the IRA bombed Canary Wharf, MacNeill phoned his former International teammate Trevor Ringland and the two decided to organise a peace international. They aimed to get the best players in the world to come to Lansdowne Road as
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passion and have developed first class minds.” He found mixing College life with rugby very complimentary. “I lived in rooms, which were amazing. Today they are divided into a couple of rooms. My room , No.35, was right beside College Park and I was able to play and study at the same time.” He fondly remembers the Colours matches against UCD “The first year I played , Trinity won and I was getting an awful time, having gone from UCD to Trinity. I think we played four times, winning three and drawing once. We had a very strong Trinity side. The Colours was a wonderful experience, it’s very hard to describe to people who aren’t involved”. At the age of 22 and still a student in Trinity College, MacNeill was selected to play France on 7 February 1981, in a Five Nations game in Lansdowne Road. He clearly recalls finding out about his selection. “I remember the team was picked. I was down at a 21st birthday party in Naas. In those days, you didn’t get a call. One guy, Mark Ryan, knew that the team had been picked and rang the newspaper asking for the Irish team. He came back into the party and said ‘you’re playing’. There was a wonderful celebration!”. He expresses how lining up in Lansdowne Road for the first time and singing the national anthem was “a dream come true”. “I’d played so many games for
Hugo MacNeill sets up an attack (right) against Wales in 1968, and (above) with Trevor Ringland at the Peace International in 1996 at Landsdowne Road. Photos: IRFU
a gesture of antiviolence. Francois Pienaar and a host of household names from the world of rugby committed to the idea. On 18 May 1996, Lansdowne Road was filled to capacity playing host to the Barbarians. MacNeill says, “it was very special, there were no politicians at the game and the guests of honour were four children who had lost family members through The Troubles. It demonstrated how special rugby can be.” For many rugby players, the ultimate honour is to be selected for a Lions Tour. MacNeill was selected on the 1983 tour to New Zealand with players such as future Lions coach Clive Woodward and Nigel Melville. The Lions lost the first three tests narrowly before being thumped by a New Zealand side containing players such as Hobbs and Wilson. As regards the current state of Irish rugby, he believes a lot of progress has been made in the last few years. The lack of organisation has, howeve,r resulted in the team trying to force games. MacNeill does believe Eddie O’ Sullivan is the right man for the job. “I think Eddie is a very good head coach, but they need a backs coach who can give them shape. Individual ability without organisation is not good enough.” As regards to the World Cup, he was more disappointed for the players themselves, but he believes the future is bright with young emerging talent like Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald and Cian Healy. So would he have like to have been a professional rugby player? “There are two things I would have loved about the professional game. I would have loved to train like a professional athlete, doing proper training, weights and stretching. The second thing I would have loved, was to play in the Heineken Cup for Leinster.” However, he maintains certain scepticism about the current state of professional rugby. “All in all, I think this is the guinea pig generation playing rugby. It’s not clear what they are going to do afterwards. They are not going to have a full choice. We live in a world where it is no longer good enough to be big, strong and willing to work, you need to have some sort of craft or trade.” You get the impression MacNeill is happy how things have panned out for him. “I feel incredibly lucky to have a life outside and to be able to look back on rugby with nothing but good memories.” MacNeill confesses to saying two prayers every night. The first was
God bless Mum and Dad and the second was thank God that Ollie Campbell wasn’t a fullback. He says Ollie Campbell was the best player he ever played with. The two opposing players he admired the most were Serge Blanco and Jonathan Davis for their unpredictability, pace and flair. Nowadays, although the stakes are just as high, things are different. He has traded the long socks, boots and shorts for a suit, tie and a Blackberry. MacNeill is head of Investment Banking in Ireland for Goldman Sachs. After working in England for an extended period, he is delighted to be back home. “It was great to work internationally, but to come back home and be involved in quite an extraordinary changing Ireland gives me a real buzz.” Everyday is different and that’s what he loves about the job. The day before we met, he was in London for internal meetings, flying back to Ireland that night. On the day of the interview he met with companies pitching for new businesses. The next day he was off to London to attend an aviation lunch. If one thinks he has time for a rest, be reminded that he is also Chairman for the GOAL in the UK. This charity is something that means a lot to him. “The challenge for GOAL is to make it more well known in the UK, because anybody that comes across it sees the life changing work that they do. He stresses the importance of sports personnel promoting projects, and identifies the involvement of fellow sportsmen such as Gordon D’Arcy and Pat Cash. If that’s not enough to keep him busy, he manages to commentate for BBC Radio 5live. While MacNeill resembles a larger than life character, there is something instantly engaging about him. You get the impression MacNeill was made for the big occasions but perhaps he is, himself, the personification of the old Latin saying, mens sana in corpore sano, a healthy mind in a healthy body.
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TRINITY NEWS
Hilary term, Week 6
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CollegeSport NETBALL
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Hockey Clubs concede Colours JONATHAN DRENNAN COLLEGE SPORT EDITOR The Annual Colours Tournament against University College Dublin is the reason many of us still play hockey. The combination of crass insults, athletic prowess and alcohol make it a cherished and unique event in the sporting calendar. On Tuesday 5 February, Dublin University Men’s and Ladies’ Hockey Clubs supplied a combined total of nine teams in their quest to defend the coveted title of Colours winners. A gruelling schedule of matches started at 9am and finished by late afternoon, with UCD being crowned champions at the day’s close. The day opened with the respective Trinity 3rd XIs fighting valiantly to give their College the best possible start. Lead by the irrepressible Alan Bell, the Men’s team took an early lead through a deft touch by Willy Wilshire after a speculative free from the top of the circle. Unfortunately a combination of the early start and fatigue combined to leave the side
conceding possession cheaply and they gave away a late goal to draw the game. The Ladies’ side fared better, controlling their game from the opening whistle to give Sinead Sheerin’s charges a two goal win courtesy of standout player Holly Jones’ two goals. After a relatively bright start to the proceedings, the Ladies’ 5th, 4th and 2nd XIs lost their ties to lose momentum. The 5ths and the 4ths were both unlucky to lose 1-0, with the latter team blaming a dubious umpiring decision that lead to a UCD goal being scored outside the circle. The 2nd XI played relatively well, with Laura O’Connor and Anne Cunningham enjoying busy games; however, lax defending ultimately cost them a game they could have easily won. By midday, an eerie hush had descended on the National Hockey Stadium as the partisan Trinity crowd realised that their grip on the title was loosening quickly. Only one win had left the Men’s 2nd XI under huge pressure to deliver and they enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession for much of their game. Ian Gorman was the standout
player in midfield, dictating much of the offensive play and he was duly rewarded with a goal from a short corner. Chris Tyrell’s excellently taken goal breathed life into a jaded crowd, who sensed a comeback. However, a comedy of errors saw the team lose 4-2, the victims of excellent counterattacking hockey. On the rutted back pitch; the Men’s 4th XI managed a 2-1 win against a technically superior outfit. Jack Woods and Ben Rodger were the scorers. On the main pitch, the Ladies’ 1st XI were engaged in an incredibly tight game that finished 4-3 to UCD. Captain Rebecca Murphy opened the scoring from a short corner, joined by Maebh Horan and Claire Hearndon. The final game between the Men’s 1st XIs filled the main stand; Colours had been lost long ago and pride was the only consolation prize on offer to a demoralised club. Athletic ability may have been conceded to some degree, but Trinity fans were quick to remind their Belfield counterparts of their superior academic and social standings in the wider world. An early goal from
Trinity battle tough against the ultimately victorious UCD players (above). Photos: Jessica Packenham
Trinity’s Jason Bryan sent the crowd into raptures as he expertly bladed the ball into the bottom of the goal from a short corner. UCD were quick to aggravate, particularly using a ginger attacking catalyst who earned the bile of the crowd as much for his hair as for his hockey ability. UCD frequently managed to catch Trinity on the backfoot and equalised quickly. However, Barry Glavey, a cult figure in Leinster Hockey circles, scored a trademark drag flick to give some hope for redemption. Two cheaply taken UCD goals left the final score at 3-2 as Trinity fans and players hastily bade their retreat from Belfield to the welcoming arms of the Radisson Hotel for the Colours Ball. Disgraceful scenes ensued; complaining of unfounded loutish behaviour, the hotel management unceremoniously threw all teams out into the cold night’s air at the stroke of midnight. At least when Cinderella’s ball ended, she had the prospect of a happy ending engineered by Disney, Dublin University’s Hockey Club will only have a long year of waiting before pride can hopefully be restored again.
CIARA MCCORMICK
It’s 10pm and the Dublin University Netball Club, clad in short skirts and radiating determination, are huddled outside a seemingly-shut Tallaght Leisure Centre. Already having got lost in the industrial estate depths of Dublin suburbia, they are now trying to persuade the security guards to open up the Sports Hall in order to partake in their weekly match. There are only minutes until the match begins, as a certain four members of the team seem to have a knack for finding the completely wrong sports hall in completely the wrong part of town, always convinced they’re on the right route- they’ve promised to buy a map for next Wednesday. Ciara, the ever-optimistic Netball Captain, had to pick them up from the nearest Luas stop this time. However, they weren’t to be fazed by a warm-up cut short. The last few weeks have seen very good form from this group of young players! Ninety minutes later – yes, we are now talking 11.30pm: knees are grazed, limbs are broken and the opposition’s confidence has been crushed. Wednesday nights never fail to amuse the players; our most recent match became especially brutal. The opposition physically dominated the court and the verbal exchanges, including those with the referee! Meanwhile, Trinity battled on, spurred by the apparent frustration of the other team, notching up a nice ten goal dominance by the end of the match. With the prospect of a tournament more serious than the matches we’ve been playing so far, we’ve upped the level of keenness. As from last week, you might be fortunate enough to see the team on their fitness sessions, which involve a leisurely (!) run to the beach and back whilst they discuss plans for the weekend. Another current hot topic is trying to sort out some sponsorship; if anyone is interested, please get in touch with DUCAC, alternatively come and see us in action on a Monday evening on the indoor court! For a sport that is not considered a “major” sport at Trinity ( to the point where the newly built gym forgot to paint in the lines for a Netball pitch), one should expect great things from this year’s Trinity Netball Club. If you would like to join the Netball Club, please email club captain Ciara McCormick on cmccormi@tcd.ie.
The Angel of the North JONATHAN DRENNAN COLLEGE SPORT EDITOR Dr Jack Kyle has never really understood the fuss that is made about him, even today. He is flattered but also genuinely baffled that a student publication would find an elderly former Irish rugby player of any interest. Within moments of sitting down in the Jury’s Inn at Croke Park, Kyle’s status as Ireland’s greatest player has been unwittingly established. A bearded man approaches our table tentatively, apologising politely for the interruption, “I can’t pass a legend without saying hello”, he says. “Jack, great to see you again, Sean Kelly.” Both men can claim to have left an indelible mark on the game of rugby in Ireland. Kelly may have used his powers of persuasion as GAA President to open Croke Park’s turnstiles to rugby fans; yet it is Kyle who will remain forever revered. A shining jewel in Ireland’s solitary grand slam winning side of 1948: Kyle was the perfect fly-half capable of tearing an opposition back-line in pieces through his spontaneous displays of skill and pace. Educated at Belfast Royal Academy,
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Kyle was introduced to the game by his headmaster. After leaving school, he went to the Queen’s University of Belfast, where he studied medicine, regularly playing for his College XV. In today’s game, an aspiring professional rugby player can still go to university. However, studying medicine remains a difficult proposition due its time constraints and workload. In Ulster a young flanker named David Pollock, who has been capped by Ireland A was recently forced to leave his studies to the pressures of combining two careers. In Kyle’s early career, rugby acted as an aid rather than a deterrent to his intense studies. “There was only one official practise at the University a week, on Wednesday afternoon, when we had no lectures or clinics, but sport never impacted on your studies, if anything, it recreated you to go back and work, yet today, it’s very sad that you can’t do both.” The professional game has been a mixed blessing for Ireland; increased revenue and interest is coupled with a generation of young adults desperately seeking employment after their rugby careers have finished. Kyle is emphatic that today’s aspiring young professionals and their families carefully think about their
long-term futures before signing their first contract. “If parents come up to me and tell me their son is thinking of university but has been offered a £50,000 contract by a club, if he’s not sure, I’d say go and get a degree, I like to quote George Bernard Shaw’s ‘passions of the mind’; of course you get ‘passions of the body’, but it’s the ‘passions of the mind’ that are key and I really feel you have to have another aspect in your life outside of sport.” Winning his first cap for Ireland in 1947, Kyle went on to gain 46 caps in a career that spanned eleven years. His consistently excellent performances for his country earned him selection for the British Lion’s tour to New Zealand and Australia, earning him acclaim in the Southern Hemisphere. Tours were gruelling affairs that lasted six months, leaving Kyle unable to contact his parents for the whole period. Media coverage was scant, the team was accompanied by a solitary reporter from the Sunday Times who got homesick and had to leave the tour halfway through. He remembers the experience fondly. “It was a remarkable experience for a young guy, it really was like travelling to the end of the earth, we visited schools and got to see all
Hubie O’Connor in full flight against England with Jack Kyle inside ready for the off-load. Photo: IRFU of the sights, there was absolutely no pressure on us at all, we had no coach, I suppose you didn’t really need a plan when you played for the Lions, it was all spontaneous.” Always engaging, Kyle has an incredibly warm personality that has helped him make friendships throughout the world. He is widely read and he remains extremely proud that he once gave the celebrated Northern Irish poet Louis Macneice a lift home after a chance meeting at a rugby game at his club in Belfast. The fame that unavoidably came with his talents was always going to sit awkwardly on such modest shoulders. Nursing a desire to travel the world after he hung up his boots, Kyle ended up working as a surgeon in Zambia. After the adulation in Ireland, his African experience was incredibly refreshing. “Part of the attraction of getting away was
nobody had a clue who I was; I remember hearing a story about the Chief Medical Officer telling a lady about the new surgeon and his rugby prowess, how many times he played for Ireland and the Lions etc, she looked him up and down and said ‘Dr Thompson, if some of us were lying on a trolley going into an operating theatre, we would be much more interested in the surgeon Mr Kyle is rather than how many times he played for Ireland!’” After 34 years enjoyable years in Africa, Kyle decided to return home to County Down at the age of 74. He continues to lead a busy life filled with family and friends. His grand slam season of 1948 remains his proudest achievement, but like the rest of the country, he is unable to understand why it hasn’t been replicated. “We didn’t realise at the time it was so special, we certainly didn’t think we’d be
the only grand slam winners of last century, we thought plenty of other teams would do it, but we’ve been dining out on it ever since!” Despite being in danger of missing his train home to Belfast, Kyle insists on sitting for as long as I need him. At the end of interview, he urges me to work as hard as I can in my final year studies and to not get too distracted by the various diversions that College provides. The perfect gentleman, Kyle is proud of everything he has achieved in his life, his family, medical career and sport have all complimented each other. “It’s great to have maintained so many friendships after so long, sometimes I wonder what would our lives have been without our sport? It enriched our lives, we were born with the ability to do certain things on a rugby field that you dreamt you could never do.”
TRINITY NEWS
P24
Hilary term, Week 6
CollegeSport
The Team DUFC 5 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Paul Gillespie Shane Hanratty Volney Rouse Conor Donohoe Killian Stafford Johnny Watt Joey Burns Tristan Goodbody Ben Cunningham James Gethings John Byrne Max Cantrell Richard Morrow Shane Young Brian Coyle
MAN OF THE MATCH Johnny Watt Despite playing behind a beaten pack for the majority of the match, Watt did well with the scraps of possession he was given. Constantly trying to impose his will on the game, he fearlessly ran with the ball, often finding himself on the receiving end of huge tackles from the opposition who were keen to stifle his attacking work. His out of hand was solid and his place kicking gave the frustrated Trinity crowd something to cheer. An extremely difficult match to play in, Watt ended the game getting brutally upended by an opposition secondrow. It symbolised DUFC’s performance-incredibly bravery set against a physically imposing outfit.
The Trinity and Malone front rows engage in another crunching scrum. The game was a full physical affair with the Northerners giving no quarter. Trinity competed well in the scrum but to no avail. Photo: Martin Mckenna
Blinded by Northern lights Tough physical contest sees Trinity boys left trailing impressive Northerners but some positives can be taken from this bruising encounter DUFC: MALONE RFC:
9 32
GERARD CONNORS STAFF WRITER On a beautiful sunny autumn day in College Park on Saturday 9 February, DUFC 1st XV was pitched against a visiting side from Northern Ireland, Malone RFC. It was an AIL Division Two game, with Malone RFC currently 2nd in the league with 35 points. Like Dublin University Football Club, Malone RFC has a long and proud history dating back to 1892, DUFC
being founded some 38 years earlier! Of the last nine games that DUFC have played, they have only lost three, winning four and drawing two, they have recorded two bonus points and currently sit in sixth position in the League table on 22 points. When DUFC was controversially relegated from Div.1 at the end of the 05/06 season, the club lost over 25 of its top players in one swoop. The fact that the club can today line out such a strong 1st XV is a testament to the deep reserves of rugby talent in Trinity. Malone RFC won the toss and kicked off into the sun. The first score of the game came after only four minutes,
a well executed pushover try. A Malone RFC scrum on Trinity’s 22 was driven on, which allowed their scrum half, Simon Cahill, to score. The out-half, Gareth Fry, failed to convert. On the restart, Malone RFC were penalised for obstruction. DUFC out-half Johnny Watt then kicked a penalty goal after six minutes, bringing the score to 5-3 to Malone. Watt kicked a second penalty after twelve minutes to bring Trinity into the lead. Approaching half an hour gone, Malone RFC started to use their backs, with their centre, Andy Lowe, bursting through a tackle over the line to score a second try and it was not converted.
With 29 minutes on the clock, Malone winger Johnny Burgess came infield in support to score their third try, close to the posts for out-half, Gareth Fry, to convert. Trinity began to use their forwards, with some very good work, in particular from DUFC no.8, Brian Coyle. Watt kicked his third penalty goal after 35 minutes, with Malone’s Fry answering three minutes later, bringing the score to 20-9 to Malone and ending the first half. During half time, Trinity made two substitutions in their pack, prop Graham Murphy came on for Gethings and Kieran Condron came on for John
Byrne at second row. After five minutes had elapsed in the second half, Trinity’s Johnny Watt kicked for goal but missed. More substitutions for Trinity after 60 minutes with no.15, Paul Gillespie, coming off to be replaced by no.21, Andrew Wallace. According to sources, the no.20 is currently torn! At 65 minutes, Malone RFC’s scrum-half, Simon Cahill, ran from close in to score a try, this score was almost foiled by Trinity’s no.14, Shane Hanratty, who was narrowly beaten. This try was not converted. Trinity’s inside centre Connor Donohoe made a great run into Malone RFC’s half. The first and only card of the game
was given to Malone RFC Simon Cahill, the scrum-half, at 77 minutes left the field. Wing forward Bradford came off the pitch in order to facilitate the replacement scrum-half, Phil Coulter. At 78 minutes, Watt was dumped by a large Kiwi second row for Malone RFC. The spilled ball was intercepted by Watt’s opposite number who not only scored a try, but converted as well. Leaving the score at 32-9. In the dying minutes of the match, DUFC prop forward, Tristan Goodbody was injured and came off the field. A terrific tackle by Hanratty ended the game. An eerie silence permeated College Park after the final whistle.
Good showing for DU Kendo Club at Irish International Goodwill “Taikai” SIOBHAN BELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER Although the Dublin University Kendo Club is yet to receive official recognition from the college, it is already gaining an international reputation as a professionally run and competitive outfit. Huge steps were taken to continue the club’s rapid growth on the weekend of 18 – 20 January with the participation of two Trinity teams in the Irish International Goodwill Taikai 2008. Each year, the tournament, one of the highlights of the European Kendo calendar, draws to Dublin teams from as diverse locations as Italy, Poland and Sweden. Although the relative novices of Trinity were not expected to progress far beyond the preliminary rounds, the experience
gained at such events is invaluable to any developing kendoka. The squad was formed by Toru Takenaga, fourth dan, current Irish National Champion and Head Coach of the Irish international team. As the founder of the Trinity Kendo club, his vast competitive experience was invaluable to the College representatives competing in their first tournament. The competition was structured so that each team was placed in a pool of three, with the winners of each group taking a place in the quarterfinals. While neither of the trinity teams managed to advance to the latter stages of the Taikai, each match was fought with the tenacity and grace required for this martial art, which draws inspiration from the Japanese samurai of old. At the end of the tournament, Takenaga, a semi-finalist with his own team, was bestowed with the Fighting Spirit Award as the competitor who displayed zanshin beyond that of any
other participant. This acknowledgment of his honourable attitude and desire to win ensured that the Trinity Kendo Club now has a reputation and record worthy of the college’s sporting history. Despite its position as minority sport, the numbers of people practicing Kendo in Ireland is rapidly increasing. The existence of the Trinity Kendo Club has played a crucial role in this development and it is now the third largest club in Ireland. Danny Lennon, Secretary of the Irish Kendo Federation, remarked on Trinity’s participation in the Taikai “It is both refreshing and encouraging to see a younger generation of dedicated kendoka beginning to make a name for themselves…clubs like Trinity College will guarantee that Kendo has a future in this country.” With priceless international experience under their belts,
HOCKEY COLOURS TRINITY RELINQUISH TITLE TO UCD COLLEGE SPORT, P23
the Trinity Kendo Club now look forward to sending a delegation to the European Championships in Helsinki this March. This trip will strengthen the ties with similar clubs abroad formed during the Taikai and further strengthen the reputation of Trinity as the new home of Irish Kendo. However, despite recent support from hundreds of students across all faculties, the University is still unwilling to legitimise the club as an official College society. Regardless of this disappointment, the Trinity Kendo Club will continue to represent its College with pride and more success is sure to come. Trinity Squad for Irish International Goodwill Taikai 2008: Siobhán Bell, William Burbridge, Kathryn Cassidy, Toshi Fujita, Ezanul Harriz, Megan Huxhold, Toru Takenaga, Steven Tobin.
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EOIN FLECK MEETS HUGO MACNEILL SPORTING LEGENDS, P22 collegesport@trinitynews.ie