Irish Student Newspaper of the Year 2008
FEATURE 10
LOSING OUT BY DEGREES
BOTTLE KICKING
Student research in the field
What are these Leicestershire men doing?
OPERATION
Is your course a waste of time?
WALLACEA
Tuesday 25 November 2008
SCIENCE 19
TRAVEL 20
www.trinitynews.ie
Issue 5, Volume 55
Protesters split at visit of Minister » » » »
library
SU “Silent Protest” against Batt O’Keeffe FEE group attack concept SU criticised for not publicising event enough Reilly shakes hands with O’Keeffe
By Rory O’Connor A “SILENT Protest” against Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe in Trinity College last Tuesday ran into problems when protesters were divided as to whether they should stay silent or chant. SU President, Cathal Reilly, was unwilling to protest loudly as it would disturb the launch that Mr O’Keeffe was attending. The Students Union has been criticised by student activist group, FEE (Free Education for Everyone) for failing to publicise the protest effectively. Approximately 100 students attended the rally, organised by the SU. A large presence from FEE (Free Education for Everyone) chanted, |”Batt O’Keeffe, hear us clear, keep your fees out of here!” and “They say cutback, we say fight back.” However, the protest revealed important tactical differences between the two organisations: the SU had called for a silent protest, while FEE had brought their megaphones. The poster advertising the protest read, “He won’t talk to us, so we won’t talk to him.” Mr O’Keeffe was attending a launch of the programme for excellence in PhDs in the humanities. It only became clear that Mr O’Keeffe was visiting the College late on Tuesday. Posters arrived in the Arts Block on the
“A society does not exist only in virtue of the aspiration of individuals” said Joseph O’Gorman
morning of the event, but were not visible on boards in the Hamilton Building. FEE leaders thought the SU should also have issued a general email to students informing them. The SU felt it was wrong to send more than one that week. The regular circular email contained information about the Student Activist Summit, which was to have been held in College, but was cancelled. A SU desk in the Arts Block was
Campus Security attempt to remove a UCD protestor. Photo: Anna Laine
“Union leaders have no experience in organising effective protests, it’s not the kind of thing they do” Aidan Beatty
By Jessica Ryan and Deirdre Robertson
publicising a Voter Registration drive on the day of the protest. But it was not publicising the protest, as FEE members felt they should. A person at the desk told Trinity News that he was “aware” of the protest. To the annoyance of some of the protesters, Mr Reilly was on the far side of the Garda barriers, and shook hands with Mr O’Keeffe. Aidan Beatty of FEE called the meeting “pretty despicable”. Mr Reilly defended greeting the Minister, saying, Continued on page 2
CSC introduces ‘overpostering’ fine A COLLEGE crackdown on “illegal’ postering has led to heavy fines, student rivalry and calls for more postering space in College. In an email from the Central Societies Committee last week, societies were warned not to put more than one poster advertising an event on a society board. After a first offence warning, societies will face a 10% cut in their grant. SUAS was the first society to receive a warning for over-postering. Spokesman Shane Garahy said the society would not appeal the warning, “I think it’s fair that the regulations apply to all societies even those that are charitable organisations…
If (the fine) was too small, people won’t take any notice.” Other societies disagree. Chair of PsychSoc Michelle McMahon says “the PsychSoc has received its first official warning and to be totally honest can’t afford to receive another which would result in a cut to our grant.” Thomas “They’re not new regulations, they’re just being more strongly imposed. People complain.” Kinsella, Auditor of the DU Historical Society, and Barry Devlin, President of the Philosophical Society, which societies boast the largest memberships in College, both agree that the 10% fine is “huge” and “disproportionate”.
Rob Kearns, Secretary of the CSC, said to Trinity News “Realistically, the best way to create a disincentive to break rules is to threaten to hit societies in their pockets, and that’s what we’re doing.” Emma Matthews of the CSC stated that excessive postering was a major litter problem and that the time had come for tougher action. “They’re not new regulations,” she said, they’re just being more strongly imposed. The reason we’re doing it is because of the amount of postering around the campus... We’re doing it really because people are complaining about it”. The CSC is encouraging student involvement in the policing of the regulations saying “if you pass a CSC board and you see a poster which you believe contravenes the rules, you may remove
it and dispose of it in as environmentally friendly way as possible.” There are some concerns that societies competing for student attention and money may use the sanctions to engage in society warfare by tampering with rival posters. SU representative Stiofán Ó Broin, said, “People already engage in this type of thing, but I don’t think it’s malicious... it’s a waste of time, space and paper” Mr Ó Broin noted that many societies place posters on the SU boards where they should be putting their material up on CSC boards. Mr Kinsella independently expressed an opposing view that the SU puts posters on CSC boards which is unfair to societies. The issue, he said, is not the sanctions but that there is a lack of postering space in College for events.
FIRST XV SNATCH Library opening hours COLOURS VICTORY to be extended again AT THE DEATH By Emily Monk
SCORE
DUFC UCD
20 18
NOBODY GAVE them a chance. Not the bookies, not the pundits – not even Trinity News, which reluctantly predicted a 10-20 point UCD victory. But the rugby team added another chapter to its proud history (over 150 years, for those keeping score), taking the Colours trophy with a converted try in the final minutes of the game. Although the side won in 2006/07 – by a similarly slender
margin – that could well have gone down as an aberration given UCD’s comprehensive victory in last season’s match, and their dominance over the past decade. The passion evident in the side’s performance shows that the fixture retains its prestige in the professional era; the result allows us to hope that Trinity will be competitive against their great rivals for years to come. Insofar as the rest of the season goes, this victory over Division 1 opposition ought to leave the First XV confident that they can take on all comers and mount a strong promotion challenge.
INSIDE
MATCH REPORT, ANALYSIS & REACTION: PAGE 24 & 23
FOLLOWING STUDENT demand the Berkeley/ Lecky/Ussher library complex will, beginning immediately, open on Sundays from 11am - 5pm. These facilities were initially introduced during Hilary Term 2008 and, proving successful, it was decided to continue these opening times to the Michaelmas term and extend the new times to the Hamilton library. However, the College Library Committee, describing last year’s opening hours as a “pilot project,” reverted to Sunday closure on the grounds that the Library budget couldn’t stretch to cover the costs involved. Cathal Reilly, president of the Student’s Union, says that upon first hearing of the Sunday closure, he “questioned college on a number of occasions about this and found that they were reluctant to provide the funding for this service, as the level sector (sic) was subject to some funding cuts.” After negotiations between Reilly, Education Officer Hugh Sullivan, the Librarian, and the ViceProvost, it has been agreed that necessary funding will be provided by revenue generated from tourists visiting the Book of Kells. Without Sunday openings, Trinity has the shortest library opening hours of any university in Ireland (though equal to Maynooth.) At the moment,
the libraries in Trinity are open for up to 77 hours per week, five hours less than the average Irish university and considerably less than UCD’s 103.5 hours a week. Reilly recognises that “it is essential the library opens on Sundays and it has always been a priority for the SU. For a university that is ranked 49th in the world, we should have the facilities of a top university.” Despite the improved opening hours, there is still no access to the usual counter reserve service and books cannot be taken out. Reilly, speaking with Trinity News, described the development of extended opening hours as “fantastic news,” despite the limitations imposed. Last year the Students’ Union distributed a survey asking students to rank eleven issues in order of importance. Library facilities and study space were ranked top from a sample of 1100 respondents, illustrating enormous demand. The new opening hours will be in place for the rest of the year and will be extended to the Hamilton after the Christmas break. There will be an assessment of the feasibility of continuing this facility in future years, depending on library turnout over the next couple of terms. Sullivan has warned that even with the increase in registration fee, “cuts of up to 15% are due in the next college budget.” and that “library opening hours could be targeted.”