Trinity News 09-10 Issue 7

Irish Student Newspaper of the Year 2009

GLOBAL POST-PUB DELICACIES TRAVEL, P 20

CLIMATE CHANGE SPECIAL NEWS FEATURES, P8

Tuesday January 26 2009

TOP 10 SCIENCE DISCOVERIES SCIENCE, P17

www.trinitynews.ie

€50,000 application fee for student centre

Issue 7, Volume 56

FERGUSON AT THE PHIL

Trinity Ball sale date set

»» Third application adds another €16,714.80 in fees to the bill »» More information requested on new application Kate Palmer College News Editor DUBLIN CITY Council is requesting “additional information” after Trinity College lodged an additional application for the proposed student centre. This leaves College with a total bill of €54,781.80 in application fees alone for the Luce Hall development, excluding fees for design, architecture and administration.

College have been undergoing plans for the student centre since submitting the initial design to the Council in 2003.

The facility is set to include student accommodation, a library, seminar rooms and entertainment facilities with a licensed bar and gig venue. The Director of Buildings, Mr Paul Mangan, says the College has allocated €250k towards bringing the design to this stage.

Despite previous applications being approved by DCC, College decided to lodge modified plans last November to the tune of €16,714.80. Additional proposals include the removal of the existing walls and railings along protected structures in Pearse Street, to the north of Luce Hall.

College have previously sought permission to alter the buildings in Pearse Street, which date back to the nineteenth century. In a design submitted in 2006, permission was sought from DCC to demolish the terraced houses at numbers 183-187.

The plans were rejected bar minor refurbishments, despite an appeal to An Bord Pleanala, which upheld the Council’s decision.

This set back a major element of the design proposal, which was to create a new entrance to College, ‘North Gate Square’. It is understood a number of Dublin City councillors are opposing the College’s renewed application to alter the buildings.

After submitting the application last November, DCC have requested further details from College regarding the drainage system, including a professional flood risk assessment in collaboration with the Council’s Drainage Division.

College is no stranger to planning rejections from DCC. Last August College were refused permission to convert a former Victorian banking hall in Foster Place into a large venue.

The plans were rejected on the grounds of concerns for alcohol-related social problems. It received strong opposition from public businesses and associations, such as Gary Solan from Architectural Construction Technology, who claimed it would introduce “the more unsavoury aspects of late night revellers”.

The National Trust for Ireland wrote to DCC in support of the student centre plans. Kevin Duff of the Dublin City Association Planning Committee says, “the proposal is an important one on account of the prominence of the site within Trinity College and the city”.

David Molloy Editor “The overall objective for the city is to create a dynamic, mixed use, visually attractive, world-class city able to compete with other cities on a global basis”, says Duff, quoting from the Dublin City Development Plan 20052011.

The development will reconfigure Luce Hall to include a Students’ Union area and a redesign of the building’s frontage. The improved facilities will be added alongside the building’s current use as part of the Department of Botany.

Students’ Union Entertainments Officer Mick Birmingham is an outspoken advocate of the development since his sabbatical campaign early last year. “It’s ridiculous that we don’t have our own venue to host gigs”, says Birmingham, “The last time the College tried to build a new student venue- Goldsmith Hallthey forgot to soundproof it, rendering it useless!”

The plans for the 4,400sqm, sixstorey development also propose seminar rooms, as well as 8 retail units including a café.

The College Board say the development will bring “significant benefits, not just to Trinity College and the city, but also to the immediate surrounding area”.

“The variety of new and lively uses to the street frontage will assist in its day time and night time vitality”, say the College Board. Board members approved the quarter of a million Euro budget in July 2007.

THE FINALISED dates for this year’s Trinity Ball have been announced, with tickets due to go on on sale next month.

The ball will be held on April 16, and tickets will go on sale on Wednesday February 24 at €78, the same price as last year’s event.

The line-up for the event is still being kept a closely-guarded secret

by Entertainments Officer Mick Bermingham, and will be released days before tickets go on sale. Bermingham did, however, say he is very happy with the lineup as it stands and that “we will be kicking off the decade with the biggest, best lineup the Trinity Ball has ever seen.”

“With the success of the last few years the Trinity Ball is now an internationally renowned event and this has helped us secure talent that a few years ago we could only dream of,” he said.

There will, according to Bermingham, be a few slight changes to organisation, with less leniency shown toward students arriving already intoxicated to the event, despite last year’s Ball being one of the safest on record.

The event will also use Ticketmaster tickets to combat forgeries.

The event, which was formerly the largest private party in Europe, is set to be eclipsed by the UCD Ball, which has been granted a license for 8,000 Sir Alex Ferguson during his appearance at the Phil last week; tabloid journalists were turned away at the event (page 2). Photo: Caroline O’Leary

continued on page 2

26,000 journals at Rescheduling of Schol exams comes under fi re risk of vanishing David Molloy Editor ACCESS TO over 26000 electronic journals is under threat following the expiry of funding agreements.

The Irish Research eLibrary, which provides digital access to 18000 journals in the humanities and social sciences and 6000 in science, medicine and technology is funded jointly by the Higher Education Authority and Science Foundation Ireland.

The funding agreements expired in December, with an expected cut of up to 75% announced.

“The funding authorities indicated that continued funding for the service would be very significantly reduced, which would lead to greatly restricted access for researchers across all disciplines,” said Robin Adams, Trinity Librarian.

“College officers and Fellows were briefed on the situation and there has been much activity within Trinity and in other universities, arising from the real concern at the negative impact of this on research activity, and also on teaching, as many of the resources provided are also used by students and in undergraduate and postgraduate coursework.”

The library is not managed by Trinity, but by the Irish Universities Association Librarian’s Group. As such, the negotiation of any new agreement goes beyond any single university.

In an e-mail to postgraduate students and staff, Postgraduate Director of Teaching and Learning Stephen Connon said “if funds are not found for this (either from the university or the HEA) we will very much end up holding the short straw. Most of you are not here long enough to have been postgraduates before we had widespread access, but please take my assurances that not being able to access the literature the instant a paper appears is a very serious handicap in the modern, mostly electronic era.”

The IReL initiative provides access to many of the most popular electronic resources in college, including JSTOR, LexisNexis, and the publications of the British Medical Journal group.

Although there is still access to such resources from the library’s website, the IReL database lists these contracts as expired. It is unclear what the official status of this access is. There exists a list, circulated by the Librarian, which details the expected likelihood of cancellation for a number of resources.

This list was not available to Trinity News when requested.

Student’s Union Education Officer Ashley Cooke confirmed that he “had received a number of complaints from final year students and postgraduate research students, particularly in the natural and health sciences, that they could not access eJournals and in some cases had to purchase essential journals themselves.”

At a meeting of the University Council

last Wednesday, the issue was raised by a number of academic staff.

“Council were told that IUA were negotiating to get the service returned.

Nothing was mentioned about the source of the funding to be provided for the return of the STM phase,” said Cooke.

“No deal has been reached as of yet,” he confirmed.

Adams is also optimistic about the impact of the cuts.

“The HEA has indicated that there will be a significant amelioration to the funding reduction, which is very good news. The IUA Librarians’ Group is in regular contact with HEA on the precise situation, and awaits confirmation of the final budget.”

There is, however, no provision from within Trinity for further funding in the event that IUA negotiations prove unsuccessful, according to Adams.

“As the anticipated funding will not equate to the current investment and journal subscription rates continue to increase, there will inevitably be some cancellations of subscriptions and we are preparing to identify which titles will be involved.”

The IReL scheme was originally set up with seed funding from SFI in 2004, to which the HEA added funding for the humanities in 2006.

The expected shortfall is thought to number in the millions of euro, though no exact figures are available as negotiations continue.

»» Delays due to weather put numerous exams on the same day Claire Acton Staff Writer TRINITY HAS come under fire from students and staff after disruption to the Foundation Scholarship examinations.

“Adverse weather conditions” meant the exams, which were meant to commence Monday 11 January last, were postponed until later that week. Students undertaking Schols were notified of the timetable change the day before exams were due to take place, despite previous notifications that exams would proceed as planned.

Criticism over College’s decision lay with the timetabling of rescheduled exams, which left students with up to three exams in one day. The students themselves were notified of the change of plans on 10 January, less than 24 hours before the exams were due to commence. This contradicts a previous notification issued two days before, confirming that all exams would take place as scheduled.

Dr Donal O’Donovan, Head of the Maths Department, has been outspoken on his views of the disruption. In an email to his students O’Donovan acknowledged that those taking the Mathematics Foundation Scholarship examinations faced a “difficult task” because of the timetable change. The revised exam dates meant Monday’s

exam was deferred to the Friday afternoon, even though they already had an exam on the Friday morning.

This left prospective Mathematics scholars with two thirds of their overall examinations in one day.

Professor Richard Timoney, Associate Professor in the Mathematics Department, objected strongly to the new timetable scheduling, but to no avail. Timoney says the reallocation of the exams was “unfortunate and not the best way it could have been done”.

According to O’Donovan, Timony felt there was no need to alter the schedule.

Timony says there was the obvious option of putting exams scheduled for the Monday on the following Saturday that week. Alternatively, he suggested Monday 18 January, which was implemented in other courses.

When he raised the matter with the Examinations Office on the morning of Tuesday 12 January, he was told that the decision had already been made and his solutions were deemed “impossible”.

“It is clear that College did not have proper contingency plans in place”, says O’Donovan, higlighting the lack of anticipatory action displayed by the College. In spite of O’Donovan’s objections, the Examinations Office maintain that there was a contingency plan in place. The rest of the examination schedule went ahead

as planned. O’Donovan notified his students that the “examiners will bear in mind the difficulties students faced” by the disruption.

College claims the disruption was “in view of the deteriorating weather conditions and snowfall”. Furthermore, timetables for the rescheduled exams were posted on the Trinity website by the close of business on Monday January 11, which all prospective Scholars were notified of. The General Regulations of the College state that, “the College reserves the right to alter the published time and date of an examination in exceptional circumstances”, a clause which the College saw fit to utilise.

The extreme weather conditions over the Christmas break affected Library opening hours, as well as the Schol exams. The library was forced to curtail opening hours in the days approaching the exams. On the Saturday before examinations all Library services shut at 1pm, and remained closed throughout Sunday.

A Library representative says the staff experienced extreme difficulties in accessing the college due to the deteriorating weather condition, and that closure was an inevitability.

Front Arch was also closed because of hazardous icy conditions on the cobblestones, for health and safety reasons.

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COLLEGE NEWS

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

THIS FORTNIGHT THEY SAID...

More essays, uglier lecturers, and more uncomfortable seats” Dave Preston’s election campaign slogan

“Threatening” The response among SIPTU Library staff members after receiving an e-mail from Librarian and College Archivist Mr Robin Adams

one day

“A sign of maturity on the part of Trinity College” Students’ Union President Conan O Broin on the recent installation of oncampus GAA

Compiled by Kate Palmer

“A voice of independent radicalism” Senator Shane Ross on Senator Ivana Bacik

“Unfortunate... Not the best way it could have been

done... it is clear the College did not have proper contingency plans in place” Dr O’Donovan Head of Mathematics Department on the rescheduled Mathematics Foundation Scholarship examinations, which left students taking 2/3 Schol exams in

NUMEROLOGY

“already in disarray before the earthquake even struck” UCD student and Haiti volunteer Marc McCabe “only the broadsheets” Curran to tabloid newspapers keen for a shot of Alex Ferguson, despite entry being allowed to the Irish Times.

“henious attack against humanity” SM Krishna, India’s External Affairs Minister, who denounces violence against Indian students in Australia

BROADSHEETS ONLY, THANKS

Ball date set for April 16

Compiled by Kate Palmer

50-60 » GAA players a year Conan O Broin says were being lost due to facilities being in Santry, an hour away

€250k

continued from page 1

» Amount spent so far on the student centre, which is still undergoing planning approval

€16,714.80 » Spend on additional modifications to plans for student centre, yet to be approved

€50k » Damages to college property due to freezing weather conditions

€200m

Ferguson signing autographs for members of college staff at his appearnce at the Phil. Photo: Caroline O’Leary

» The amount overseas students contribute to the Irish economy

CORRECTION Eoin Silke was ommitted from the list of copy editors on page 2 of the previous issue of December 1.

INFORMATION Editor: Deputy Editor: Website: Business Manager: Copy Editors:

Photographs: College News: National News: International News: News Features: Features: Opinion: World Review: Travel: Business: Science: College Sport: TN2 Editor: Deputy TN2: Film: Music: Fashion: Books: Theatre: Art: Food and Drink: Television: Games and Technology:

David Molloy Aoife Crowley Tom Lowe Jennifer Finn John Colthurst Aoife Fleming Bina Dangol Eleanor Friel Eoin Silke Tess O’Leary Cal McDonagh Yuliya Bespala, Jean Morley Kate Palmer Fearghus Roulston James Coghill, Stuart Winchester Hugh Taylor, Peter Martin Charles Baker, Sarah Fulham Claire Brett, Shane Quinn Grace Walsh, Paul McDonnell James Lee, Ralph Marnham Jason Somerville, Lisa Keenan John Engle Paul Galbraith, Alexandra Finnegan Michael Armstrong Karl McDonald Rebecca Long, Alex Towers Verity Simpson, Karl McDonald Patrice Murphy, Ana Kinsella Niall O’Brien, Cillian Murphy Rachel Parker, Jamie Leptien Theresa Ryan, Aisling Deng Kara Furr, Kiera Healy Dan Kennedy, Conor McGee Andy Kavanagh, Saoirse Kerrigan

All Trinity News staff can be contacted at firstname.lastname@trinitynews.ie.

Trinity News is funded by a grant from DU Publications Committee. This publication claims no special rights or privileges. Serious complaints should be addressed to: The Editor, Trinity News, 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2. Appeals may be directed to the Press Council of Ireland.

Trinity News is a full participating member of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. This scheme, in addition to defending the freedom of the press, offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to www.pressombudsman.ie

SIR ALEX Ferguson made an appearance at the University Philosophical Society last week, which saw students, staff, and media alike turn up in large numbers.

Among the guests was Provost John Hegarty, but not, oddly, the tabloid staff which so often follow Fergusons’s every move. This was picked up by Miriam Lord in The Irish Times the following day.

On the recommendation, apparently, of a Dublin-

based acquaintance of Ferguson’s, the Phil invited only The Irish Times, the Irish Examiner, and the Irish Independent. As Lord notes, the only Trinity Graduate represented in the assembled media was the Sun’s Neil O’Riordan.

“I was told to invite the broadsheets and I’d get better publicity,” Brendan Curran, President of the society, was reported to say. “It seemed like the best decision to make at the time.”

attendees this year, 500 more than Trinity’s 7,500-ticket event.

The date for the ball itself was uncertain until quite recently due to the new term dates brought in following semesterisation. Trinity Week now falls outside teaching term, and so the traditional Friday date of that week was only provisional when set last year.

Indeed, the dates for ticket sales were flexible until last week.

“I placed an ad in the last issue of The University Times,” said Bermingham.

“Sadly with the new term structure this date is no longer ideal– it clashes with the Student’s Union elections.”

The length of time it takes for all tickets to the event to sell has decreased rapidly in recent years. In 2007, it took almost three weeks to sell completely, while the following year it took one week. In 2009, the duration was less than three days.

“I’m not condoning camping out to get your ticket but it might be something to consider,” said Bermingham.

The full line up will be released on Monday the 22nd of Feb, applications will then open on Wednesday 24th at 9am. Once you have applied online you will be given a code which will allow you to buy your ticket from the Union Shop.

HE SAID, SHE SAID...

Compiled by Michael Armstrong

WHO WOULD BE YOUR DREAM HEADLINE ACT FOR THIS YEAR’S TRINITY BALL? 1

3

1

VANESSA COLESWORTHY SS RELIGIONS AND THEOLOGY “Marina and the Diamonds.

They’re ridiculous, but I love them. They have crazy outfits, crazy music, they’re so much fun.

Or the Vengaboys, either one. If I were pushed, I’d probably go for the Vengaboys, now I think about it.”

2

ORLA TIGHE SS CLINICAL SPEECH AND LANGUAGE STUDIES

4 “I’d like to see MGMT headline Trinity Ball because their songs are really cool and I like them.

I think Kids is the best one, it’s a good dancing song.”

3

DEREK MORRIN SS MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS STUDIES

“Temper Trap, they’ve got new songs out like Sweet Disposition, you’d know it if you heard it.

They’re one of those bands who you might not’ve heard of but you’ll have heard their songs.

2

5 They’re sort of an indie band, and they’re really good.”

4

AXEL KELLY SS HISTORY

“REM, they’ve been my favourite band since I was very young.”

5

JENNIFER BYRNE SS ANCIENT HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY

“Garbage, but that’s not gonna happen so probably Placebo. I missed them two months ago and they’re absolutely fantastic.

6 My friend prefers Muse, she says they’re musical genius, but I’d definitely go for Placebo.”

6

GILLIAN MUIRHEAD PHD NEUROSCIENCE

“Florence and the Machine, they were here a while ago so maybe they’d come back. They’re a great new band, they’re fresh and different and I think they’d get a proper party going.”

COLLEGE NEWS

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Trade dispute at centre of library service cuts Kate Palmer College News Editor IT’S A new year, but the old issue of government cutbacks continues to affect Library services. Trinity students and staff alike are facing a significantly reduced service and staff shortages as Hilary Term commences. Worker unions are particularly unhappy with the situation, and Library employees are involved in a long running dispute with Trinity over semesterisation working hours, according to SIPTU representative Dr. Jack McGinley.

The government embargo on recruitment in the public sector has led to the non-filling of 11 full-time posts among the Library staff, including a blanket ban on all promotions. As a result Library facilities have been significantly reduced.

In an email to the student body last week, Deputy Librarian Jessie Kurtz announced cutbacks in Counter Services, Inter-Library Loans, Santry delivery and Early Printed Books.

Students are now faced with the earlier closing times of the Library Counter at 8pm on Fridays, 3.45pm on Saturdays, and no service at all on Sundays.

The 30pc reduction in staff members has led a Library spokesman to say they feel “unfairly punished” by the measures.

Staff are currently embroiled in a conflict with the College over working hours. Library employees represented

by SIPTU are concerned with the semesterisation of term durations, which recently led to a number of staff being sent home. Staff who normally worked 9-5 hour shifts were required by senior Library management to work an evening duty shift, without prior trade union agreement. In an email sent to SIPTU Library staff members, Librarian and College Archivist Mr Robin Adams says, “Any action contrary to the above direction will be viewed as industrial action, with the inherent associated consequences”.

On 4-7 January, SIPTU staff members who were included on a rostered week with which they had not agreed presented themselves to work 9-5. They were sent home and advised to report back at 3.30pm. SIPTU representative Dr Jack McGinley says this has led to

Library staff working “unsocial working hours”, many of whom found Adams’ email “threatening”.

“Many staff members viewed the conduct of management on the issue as the lowest nadir of the University’s colourful industrial relations industry”, says McGinley, who is Supervisor of Campus Bookstacks. McGinley points that there is currently no agreement between Trinity and SIPTU over the 2010/2011 Academic Year, and that “the likelihood of the matter continuing, unresolved, into a another academic year is not as far fetched as it seems”.

Library staff were among the 250,000 workers taking part in industrial action last November, bringing College services to a halt. Following talks with the Government, a further strike was deferred “in light of the progress that has been made in negotiations”, according to union representative Peter McLoone.

Cuts in Library services have come as a blow to the Students’ Union, which organised a Library sit-in last term protesting against a 38% cut in the book-buying budget. The protest also campaigned for opening hours on a par with the national average.

“Trinity has the joint second lowest opening hours in the country with NUI Maynooth at 71.5 hours” says Union President Conan O’Broin, who points out to Trinity News that “the Student’s Union has attempted to meet with the Deputy Librarian twice and the Vice Provost- tipped as the next Provostbut meeting has been repeatedly postponed”.

The College insists that its Sunday opening hours were contingent on a “temporary basis”. Despite operating extended hours preceding the Foundation Scholarship examinations, the Library remains closed on Sundays.

Issued in March by the Minister for Finance, the Recruitment Moratorium and freeze on public sector pay has affected staff across the board. The measures were introduced in an attempt to reduce the public sector pay bill, which currently accounts for 36pc of the Irish economy.

SIPTU representative Jack McGinley on the staff dispute: Opinion, P 16

Student’s Union nominees declared Kate Palmer College News Editor NOMINEES FOR the Students’ Union sabbatical elections have been announced. Sunday week will see the beginning of a 3 week-long contest for the 2010-2011 titles of Education Officer, Welfare Officer, Entertianments Officer, Communications Officer and, of course, Students’ Union President.

While a number of positions have only one or two candidates, many familiar names are competing for a place in the “ivory tower” of House 6, as named by Education nominee Jennifer Fox. As ever, presidency of the Students’ Union is a highly sought after position, giving an individual a platform on a College-wide and even national level.

The incumbent Conan O’Broin has campaigned on a number of issues, including the fight against fees and reduced Library services. Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem aims to continue in the same light. “The main issue I’m concerned with is the Trinity Library, which has one of the worst opening hours in the country- I want to bring these up to the national average”, says the student in Engineering with Management, who also expressed a concern with sports funding and problems within the USI. Final year Natural Sciences student Fearghal Hughes tells Trinity News he wants a simpler grant process and better academic services. Hughes is running for President after being an events organiser, class representative and society co-ordinator, and is currently a Students’ Union executive.

Fellow candidate Declan Harmon paints himself as an “outsider” in the campaign

for presidency, describing himself as “the candidate for those who want to take back the Union so it works for all of us”. Harmon is currently involved in various community and voluntary groups.

Bringing some light-hearted conservatism to the presidential campaign is self-confessed Anglophile Dan Reilly, History and Political Science SF and founder of the Trinity Intellectual Traditionalist Society (TITS). Reilly proposes a statue be erected in Front Square of Edward Carson, crossexamining a “cowering” Oscar Wilde.

His election manifesto stipulates TAP candidates should be “well groomed and proficient in Medieval Latin”, and that SHAG week should be replaced with “Courtship with her Father’s Permission’ week.

Competition for Entertainments is similarly fierce, as fellow JS BESS students Darragh Genockey and Keith Florea announce their nominations.

Genockey describes himself as Mick Birmingham’s “second in command”, and has worked with Birmingham’s Ents team, along with being Social Secretary in DUBES and the Cancer Society.

Florea has worked as a club promoter in Noize, Decadance, the Twisted Pepper and Warehouse Raves, and says “we need students getting a choice in music acts, outside of the Trinity Ball and Freshers’ Ball”. The second-year Engineer Conor O’Toole also intends to run, stating that his “main selling point is that he doesn’t do BESS”. O’Toole is a Sports Writer for The University Times, and is a fan of “free ents” and “an oncampus tea room”.

In a surprise nomination, current

A late change to closing dates for nominations, (as a result of the incorrect date being printed on nomination forms) as Trinity News went to press allowed for last-minute candidates to be nominated up until 5pm Monday: see trinitynews.ie for the most up-to date information.

FOR THE first time, a fully constituted Oireachtas Committee will sit in Trinity College next Tuesday. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution will be hosted by the Department of Political Science in the Examination Hall. The meeting will consist of student interaction with the twelve-member cross-party committee, followed by a panel discussion by a group of experts including Honorary Fellow Dr John Bowman, Senator Ivana Bacik, and Head of the Department of Political Science, Prof. Ken Benoit.

Students who wish to attend the invite-only event should email tcdirishpols@gmail.com to register their attendance.

Tom Lowe

EDUCATION

ENTERTAINMENT

Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem

Jennifer Fox

Darragh Genockey Keith Florea

Fearghal Hughes

Dave Preston

Dan Reilly

Cormac Cashman

COLLEGE HOSTS HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL TRINITY COLLEGE’S annual Holocaust Memorial Lecture was given by Professor Jan Gross last Wednesday. The Polish historian has attractd much controversy for his work on the involvement of Poles in the Holocaust, where over ten million Jews, ethnic minorities, prisoners of war, homosexuals, and political and religious opponents were murdered.

He drew on his book Neighbours during the talk, where he demonstrated that it was the native Poles who carried out an execution of Jews in Jedwabne, an area of Nazi-occupied Poland, and not their German occupiers.

The talk was organised by the Department of History, along with the Hezog Centre for Jewish and Near Eastern Religion and Cultures and the Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland.

Conor Sullivan

PRESIDENT

WELFARE

SHORT CUTS

Welfare Officer Cormac Cashman decided to re-run for the same position.

This is the first time a Students’ Union Officer has decided to run again in 6 years. At the time of going to print, it seems prospective nominees Ann-Maria McCarthy, Margaret Donnelly and Stephanie Fleming have dropped out in the face of the competition.

Tom Lowe is also in a one-horse race for Communications Officer, previously named Deputy President. He hopes to become editor of The University Times, the newspaper of the Students’ Union, and has worked as a Copy Editor and is currently Web Editor for Trinity News.

The position of Education Officer is going relatively unopposed, between Genetics student Jennifer Fox and Dave Preston, who ran as ‘joke’ candidate for the elections last year. Fox says her first years at Trinity were spent outside the “SU bubble”, and as such wishes to make the Students’ Union “accessible, approachable and accountable”. In a more radical campaign, Preston is insisting on “putting the Protestant back in Trinity”, arguing the College is a “bastion of Anglo-Saxonism”. He plans to introduce fees (“we are not Maynooth”), demolish the “paddy” Engineering building and create “more essays, uglier lecturers and more uncomfortable seats”.

NOMINEES

Declan Harmon

3

COMMUNICATIONS Tom Lowe

OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE TO SIT IN TRINITY

Postgraduate Open Day 2010 Taught & Research Opportunities Meet the experts and discuss your options at the Postgraduate Open Day Date: Thursday 28th January 2010 Venue: Public Theatre/Exam Hall Time: 4pm-7pm

www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/openday2010/

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COLLEGE NEWS

SHORT CUTS PROVOST NAMED EDUCATION PERSON OF THE YEAR THE IRISH Times have named Trinity’s own Provost, John Hegarty, as Education Person of the Year 2009.

Hegarty won the ‘award’ jointly with UCD President Hugh Brady. The announcement was made as part of an end of year report, which named the best speeches, personalities and schools from 2009.

Compiled by the newspaper’s Education Editor, Shane Flynn, the report also asked questions such as “Is Batt O’Keefe a dead man walking”.

“Despite the appalling underfunding in the sector, both men managed to push their respective colleges up the world rankings”, says Flynn.

Trinity are ranked 43 in the world according to the Sunday Times Higher Education supplement, and UCD have broken the top 100 for the first time.

Kate Palmer

WATER CONSERVATION IN FULL SWING TRINITY STUDENTS and staff are being implored to save water whilst on campus.

Water-saving measures have been introduced due to shortages throughout Dublin, leaving a number of homes without running water for extended periods of time.

Major water leaks during the cold snap earlier this month have created a huge demand for drinkable water across Ireland.

College are giving out a number of tips to save water, such as taking shorter showers, flushing toilets when necessary, saving water use in laboratories and reporting any dripping taps to College Repairs.

Courtesy of Engineering Services Manager Kieron McGovern, the advice comes with the warning, that wasting water in College makes it more likely the supply will be reduced.

Kate Palmer

€1.4 MILLION GRANT FOR ECONOMICS PROFESSOR PROFESSOR KEVIN O’Rourke of the Economics Department has been awarded a €1.4 million Advanced Research grant by the European Research Council (ERC).

The grant will provide funding for his research of the inter-relationships between trade, trade policy and the Great Depression. Professor O’Rourke noted that previous “economic literature on the Great Depression had focussed on macroeconomic policies...[and] very little is known about the causes of the slump in trade, and the role of protectionism and about the consequences of interwar protection for employment and growth in the short and long run.” The ERC Advanced Research Grants are targeted at projects such as Professor O’Rourke’s because of their inter-disciplinarily nature and originality.

Ben Hutchinson

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Senator Bacik to leave University constituency

SNOW EXAMS TOMORROW

»» Senator Ivana Bacik nominated as Labour candidate for next general election »» Seanad reform means Bacik’s seat may not be filled by a University representative

Kate Palmer College News Editor SENATOR IVANA Bacik has nominated herself as a candidate for the next general election, it emerged at a Labour meeting last Tuesday. The Seanad representative for Dublin University hopes to contest the Dublin South East constituency on a Labour ticket, according to discussion website ‘politics. ie’. This potentially leaves a seat open for representing the Dublin University constituency in the Senate for the next election.

Bacik was among three hopeful Labour candidates who put themselves forward for selection in Dublin South East. Among them were Cllr Kevin Humphreys and the incumbent Ruairi Quinn TD, a previous Minister for Finance and erstwhile leader of the Labour Party.

Bacik is a relatively new member of the party, having joined the Seanad Labour group last September. Previous to this, she stood as a Labour candidate in the Dublin Central by-election in June 2009. She was defeated on the seventh count by the now incumbent Independent Maureen O’Sullivan TD. Since her election to the Seanad in 2007, Bacik’s voting pattern whilst an Independent was predominantly on Labour Party lines.

There has been much speculation among the political community as to whom Bacik’s Senate seat may go. Speaking to Trinity News, fellow Dublin University Senator Shane Ross says, “Ivana Bacik’s replacement will most likely be a voice of independent radicalism”.

The independent member points out that, in light of proposed Seanad reform, “The seats may be changed by the time the next election comes along”.

Although President Mary McAleese

may dissolve the Daíl at any time, a general election could take place as late as 2012.

“There’s no one obvious successor for Senator Bacik”, says Ross. “It is very difficult to make a decision because Trinity may not have as many seats by the time the election comes around”.

Currently Dublin University holds three seats elected by the graduates of Trinity College, seats currently held by Senator Ivana Bacik, Senator Shane Ross and Senator David Norris. The remaining three University seats are shared among graduates of the National University of Ireland.

Fianna Faíl are outspoken advocates of Seanad reform, and recently presented a document to the Minister for the Environment arguing that the Seanad seats should be reduced from six to two. Issued in August 2009, the document points out “currently unrepresented institutions” such as DIT and DCU that presently have no constitutional provisions for legislative representation.

Senator Shane Ross describes Ivana Bacik as a “first class senator, and one of the best influential radical voices in the Seanad. If she chooses to step down, it would be a great loss to the Seanad”.

Currently Bacik’s programme is concerned with the “highly prejudicial nature” of rape trials, whereby judges are given evidence of the sexual history of rape victims. Bacik says, “The argument that the victim was “promiscuous” unfortunately strengthens the myths about rape and can undermine the victim’s evidence in court”.

Ivana Bacik is an outspoken advocate of rights for same-sex couples, women’s equality and says student charges are “fees in all but name”.

It is understood the Labour Party plan to run two candidates in Dublin South East.

ON A cold Sunday before the scheduled beginning to Scholarship exams, College Park was covered in a blanket of snow before the scheduled “inter-faculty snowball fight.” The library packed full of scholars soon emptied out onto the field, though, at the announcement that the following day’s exams had been postponed due to the weather conditions.

The area immediately outside the BLU library complex was soon filled with a large number of students celebrating their temporary reprieve. College security arrived on the scene shortly, but after a brief word with one student, decided to let the spontaneous snow fight continue, despite regualtions regarding walking on the cricket field.

TRINITY’S BIGGEST & BEST SOCIETY BALL

Freezing conditions cost €50k »» Burst pipes and water damage to numerous buildings over holiday period Kate Palmer College News Editor DUBLIN’S ‘BIG Freeze’ has cost College an estimated €50k in damage to buildings and equipment, it emerged this week. Adverse weather conditions over December and January have caused a number of problems for College, leading to Library closures, postponed exams and ongoing water shortages.

The cold snap over the Christmas break has caused freezing pipes to burst, creating water leakages across Campus. Director of Buildings Mr Paul Mangan says the “prolonged spell was an exceptional weather event”, which has led to water pipe damage in the Chemistry Building and Trinity Technology and Enterprise Campus.

Pipe bursts on the rooftops of the Trinity Centre at St James’ Hospital, O’Reilly Institute, Ussher Library, Foster Place and College Green have also caused damage due to the prolonged freezing conditions.

“The Buildings Office dealt with these problems swiftly”, says Mangan, who tells Trinity News “all pipe leaks have been repaired and we are awaiting delivery of some replacement parts for the rooftops”.

The freezing conditions, which have been cited as the coldest in over thirty years, brought College to a temporary standstill. Front Square was closed due to hazardous walking conditions, and the Foundation Scholarship examinations were rescheduled. Trinity Library was forced to close the day before Schol exams were due to begin, because staff were unable to travel to work.

The extreme weather caught public services off-guard, disrupting Dublin Bus, Luas and Iarnród Éireann timetables. During the week commencing 28 December, eight gritting lorries were out in Dublin from 3.30am every day, spreading up to 80 tonnes of grit.

Mangan describes the total damage costs to Trinity as “relatively modest”.

Currently, buildings expenses due to unforeseen damage such as weather conditions are covered from a Maintenance Allocation Fund, which also deals with routine maintenance. In the event of significant damage, costs incurred would be covered by College insurance.

The Trinity Buildings Office has yet to confirm the costs of damage to College property or equipment.

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COLLEGE NEWS

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Students and staff trade blows online Conor Sullivan Staff Writer DEBATE ON Library service cuts is raging online, with many students and library staff weighing in on the cuts and the Students’ Union campaign. The “Save Trinity Library� Facebook page set up by the Union has amassed nearly 3,000 members since it was set up last November.

A major flashpoint has been allegations by the Students’ Union that the book-buying budget was cut to pay wage increases, and many library staff have reacted angrily to the accusation online. Garret McMahon, who works as a librarian in the Library’s Research Information Systems division says, “If anyone has one of those great ‘Pages not Wages’ posters we’d like to have one to hang in the office alongside ‘Will work for food’�.

Maria Kelly, a Counter Assistant in the Berkeley Library, added, “A few people have asked why the library staff are critical of the SU protest. We are critical because of the link the SU has drawn between the library pay budget and the book budget [and] opening hours... why do you feel the need relate the book budget to our pay when the two are completely separate?�

Students’ Union Education Officer Ashley Cooke notes that pay increases were provided because of the Government’s Benchmarking program of publicsector pay increases and the Fixed Term Workers Act; and that “we understand [the increases] must be paid by the College due to agreements made in the public sector�. He continues, “though the pay and non-pay budget are separate most of the Library budget comes from College central funds and when money goes to one area it must be cut

Weekly guide to entertainment

from another.�

Students have also complained of overcrowding in the new 24-hour study area, and of the lack of heating in the new facility, which was opened last November.

Louisa McIndoe writes, “as of now‌ 10 [people] on the floor. Come on, sort it outâ€? on the page, six minutes after closing time Saturday December 12th last. Tanya Housman adds, “100 people on Sundays?

There are 40+ people on a single floor of the Ussher.

Come and count ‘em� the next day.

Furthermore, the 24-hour study space, which is opened only when the Library is closed, was sporadically shut without warning. Elaine McDaid writes, “Once again, Trinity College excels itself.

Not only does it hire staff who act like sixteen year old school kids on a social networking site, but it continues to deny access to library facilities.

The 24-hour computer room is full of people right now, myself included, and I have no doubt most have commuted in to use the 24-hour study space, which is unavailable without notice, and without a very good reason. Congratulations, Trinity, 43rd in the world, and very undeserving of it�.

A Library service counter assistant, Derek Birney, and a prolific commenter on the page, drew criticism for attacking student borrowing habits and the library sit-in last November. One post, on the sit-in, says, “yeah well done on the action, the only person you pissed off was the senior library guard who has a sick wife...

Our wages are down substantially and we can expect further pay cuts in December, maybe you can remember last Tuesday when we striked to protest against cuts, you could’ve shown solidarity then instead of taking ridiculous ‘action’ based on spurious information�.

President achieves ‘goal’ of GAA posts Siobhan Margolis & Marcus Spray IN WHAT has been described by Students’ Union President Conan O’ Broin as “a sign of maturity on the part of Trinity College�, Gaelic goal posts have been installed at College Park after years of conspicuous absence.

Prior to the formation of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884, there was a significant presence of Gaelic games on campus, with the first meeting of the Irish Hurling Union being held in Botany Bay in 1879. In fact, future Unionist leader Edward Carson represented Trinity in hurling in 1877.

After a long period of absence, GAA managed to establish itself in Trinity in the 1950s producing iconic figures such as Kerry all star, Colm Kennelly.

Although GAA has come to occupy an important place in Trinity sports life, with over 400 students actively involved, its development has been hampered over the years by a disinct lack of on-campus facilities.

Due to an absence of goalposts, GAA players have been forced to train in Santry, located over an hour’s journey from the city centre. O’ Broin estimates that Trinity GAA “was losing 50-60 players every

year� due to this inconvenience. Darragh Byrne, Goalkeeper for the Gaelic football first team and manager of this year’s Freshers, feels that the presence of the new goal-posts will be a “huge relief for the team�, describing previous training arrangements as a “load of unnecessary stress�.

Over previous decades, repeated requests from the GAA club to have goalposts installed have been rejected by the Department of Sport. According to O’ Broin, “issues of ground safety and maintenance� were cited as grounds for refusal, reasons which were contested by the Club given the extent to which College Park is used by other sports clubs. The installation of GAA posts this January represents a triumph for Conan O’Broin who campaigned on the issue in the SU presidential race last year.

Given Trinity’s traditional, and somewhat outdated, image of being less than active in the promotion of Gaelic culture, this move can be viewed as a sign of significant progress on the part of College authorities; one that will be greatly welcomed by members of the college community and will hopefully lead to future successes on the field.

Director of Sport retires Dave Molloy Editor DECEMBER SAW the departure of Terry McAuley as Director of Sport after more than 30 years of seervice in the college. He is to be succeeded by Michelle Tanner.

McAuley retired under the Incentivised Scheme for Early Retirement, brought in with the national budget in 2009. His departure necessitates the restructuring of the Department of Sport, as Mrs Tanner takes over as Head of Sport and Recreation.

The difference between these two roles is not immediately clear, though they are thought to be broadly similar in scope. “The College is very appreciative that Michelle Tanner has taken on the role of Head of Sport

to ensure the high standard of service of the Department and that other members of the existing Sports staff have taken on additional duties to cover the workload, all of which forms part of this restructuring process,� said Tony McMahon, the Interim Acting Chief Operating Officer.

Tanner holds an MBA in Sports Management and was previously employed in the Sports Department in DCU before joining Trinity 13 years ago, and was previously an international Volleyball player.

McAuley’s departure closely follows that of Trevor West as Chair of DUCAC earlier in 2009, after a similarly long history of involvement in college sport, though the two are unrelated. Former Senior Dean Cyril Smyth took on that role following the DUCAC AGM in October.

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NATIONAL NEWS

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Third of grant spent on booze and socialising

SHORT CUTS SURGEONS CELEBRATES BECENTENARY COUNCILLOR EMER Costello visited the Royal College of Surgeons last week as part of an event celebrating the institution’s 200th year in its premises on St. Stephen’s Green.

The commemorative reception invited student representatives, RCSI staff and nearby businesses to mark the anniversary of the historic college, which was given a royal charter in 1784.

The charter granted by King George III made the college the sole legally recognised body representing the science and art of surgery.

It moved to its current site in 1810, which was formerly a Quaker burial ground. The college has been the scene for many dramatic moments in Irish history- it was occupied during the 1916 Easter Rising

by Countess Markievicz and 150 soldiers.

Professor Frank Keane, the President of RCSI, said: “For over 200 years, RCSI has been central to the advancement of surgery and medical education in Ireland. From our earliest days we have trained doctors and surgeons who have given exemplary service throughout the world and the advances in surgical procedures that we use today, represent the culmination of centuries of learning and enquiry. Surgery, as well as being our heritage, is fundamental to the delivery of healthcare in Ireland and our responsibilities reach into the training, standards and practice delivery of surgery in Ireland to ensure that safe surgery saves lives.”

A book on the history of RCSI will be published in February, and tours will be hosted throughout the year to introduce the public to the institution’s history.

Fearghus Roulston

DCU DISMISSAL RULED UNFAIR TAXPAYERS WILL face a legal bill of up to €1.2 million after Dublin City University lost their three year battle to dismiss an associate professor. Sources described the DCU President, Professor Von Prondzynski, as ‘embarrassed’ by the decision.

The Supreme Court has affirmed the High Court judgement finding that Dublin City University had not used fair procedures in dismissing Professor Paul Cahill, a former associate professor of biotechnology in DCU. In March 2006, Professor Cahill had a meeting with Professor Ferdinand Von Prondzynski, the president of Dublin City University. The meeting was to inform Von Prondzynski that Cahill had been offered a position as chair of molecular medicine in NUI Galway, an offer which required his research team to join him, and to ascertain whether he would receive an improved offer from DCU. Although Von Prondzynski stated he had been given the clear impression Cahill was accepting the NUIG position, Cahill denies he indicated that such a departure was a certainty.

Von Prondzynski admits he did not receive a formal resignation.

Cahill would not name a date for his departure and the university decided the only option available was to dismiss him.

Cahill challenged this in the High Court, which found his dismissal to be unlawful. DCU appealed to the Supreme Court but it was found again that the dismissal violated the terms of the Universities Act 1997 and the university’s own statutes, because Cahill had not been given the opportunity to make a submission as to why his contract should not be terminated.

Mairead O’Casey

The pontifical university, now part of NUI Maynooth’s South Campus. Photo: Bart Busschots

Minister O’Keefe dissolves NUI Fearghus Roulston National News Editor THE MINISTER for Education and Science, Batt O’Keefe, has announced plans to dissolve the National Union of Ireland. The NUI incorporates four of the main Irish universities- University College Dublin, University College Cork, NUI Maynooth and NUI Galway.

Minister O’Keefe acknowledged the important role the NUI has played in Irish education for more than a century, but said the changing nature of the university infrastructure in the country had drastically reduced its function.

“The central role of the NUI was significantly reduced in the Universities Act, 1997, and the need to have a separate body undertaking what is now a limited set of functions has been outlived. The NUI’s four constituent universities - University College Dublin, University College Cork, NUI Galway and NUI Maynooth - have the same statutory status as the State’s three other universities but a small number of administrative and academic functions are still carried out on their behalf by the NUI.” ‘Work will now be carried out on redistributing the remaining functions of the NUI and it is envisaged that many of them will be undertaken by the constituent universities,’ said Minister O’Keeffe.

In the October 2008 budget, the government announced that the role of the NUI would be reassessed. The McCarthy Report recommended the dissolution of the organization. A Bill to establish a new qualifications and quality assurance agency for the further and higher education sectors is now being drafted.

The Minister explained that he felt the small number of administrative functions carried out by the umbrella organization were no longer necessary, and could be easily managed between the universities in question.

This move comes despite a strong lobby from the NUI led by current chancellor Dr. Maurice Manning. In a document designed to support this lobby, the NUI said last month: “It has taken over 100 years of distinguished and highly credible service to build up this unique national brand for Ireland; to dismantle it would be a disaster for Irish education and for the country as a whole. It would dismantle a national institution which has a proud record of support for the language, culture and tradition of Ireland.”

The NUI has met with opposition in the past, as UCD president Hugh Brady and former UCC president Gerry Wrixon saw the NUI as a block to establishing a strong ‘brand’ for their own universities. The NUI also blocked UCD’s 2006 decision to award

an honorary doctorate to writer Edna O’Brien.

Minister O’Keefe’s announcement has met with attacks from Fine Gael, who claim the decision was taken without proper consultation with universities and graduates. Brian Hayes, the party’s Education Minister, said, ““The decision of Minister O’Keeffe to unilaterally abolish the National University of Ireland has been taken without consultation with the universities concerned and is totally pre-emptive of the Government’s own strategy on higher education which Colin Hunt has been asked to identify.”

“The abolition of the National University of Ireland was proposed in the McCarthy Report. That Report suggested that €3 million could be saved. The truth of the matter is that the NUI does not receive €3 million from the taxpayer and is an important academic alliance for those universities that are members of the NUI.” He claimed this decision was typical of the government’s piecemeal and incoherent planning for education in Ireland. The decision was also criticised

by Conradh na Gaeilge secretary Julian de Spainn, who said that “We would hope that the universities that were under NUI retain the Irish language as an entry requirement.” The possibility of a change in this requirement is one of a number of unknowns in the weake of the NUI’s dissolution.

»» €132 spent monthly on socialising, alcohol and cigarettes, claims report »» Books “causing significant financial strain” Fearghus Roulston ACCORDING TO the Sunday Independent, a government report is set to reveal that grant-aided students spend three times more a month on alcohol and socialising than they do on academic resources. Despite this, students questioned by researchers considered books to be causing the most financial difficulties. “Books were cited by most students as causing significant and sometimes unexpected financial strain”, the report will explain.

The report, commissioned by the Economic and Social Report Institute, will show that students spend €132 a month on socialising, and only €30 a month on books and other study aids.

One source quoted in the Independent suggests that “students who receive the full maintenance grant of €3’250 may be spending more than a third of this on alcohol and cigarettes.”

Over the nine month college year, students on the full grant receive just under €400 a month. 25 percent of third-level students receive financial assistance, which is intended to encourage students from low-income families to progress into third level education. A student questioned by the survey said that “everyone in my class goes out once or twice a week. I’d say socialising is the biggest expense outside trying to actually live.”

The Sunday Independent’s report quoted “an education figure”, who argued that the research, which is based on figures from 2007, proved “this constant moaning about the college grant is just a joke. They have been found out here. It’s time now to stop doing their degrees by going on the beer, get off the booze bus, and get back to the lecture hall with their sandwiches

in their pockets”.

The publication of the report follows a cut of the grant by five percent in December’s budget, after a year in which many grants remained unpaid until midway through the college yearsome have still not received their initial payments.

Professor von Prondzynski of DCU had this to say about the cut. “Asking students from wealthier families to contribute to the cost of their studies was seen as politically undesirable; cutting the support for poorer students was not such a problem.” Peter Mannion of the USI echoed these sentiments.

“These new student grant restrictions will seriously decrease the potential for thousands of students around Ireland to make the leap into Further and Higher Education. Mature students, in particular, were badly hit by yesterday’s Budget. Many of these students have children and will also feel the effects of the cuts in child benefit. How can people be encouraged to enter, or re-enter, education if at every turn the access is being made more difficult? It will be impossible to tempt the unemployed back to education, if financially it becomes unbearable to continue with further or higher education.”

The Independent’s report has prompted some discussion amongst students and professors. Liam Delaney, an Economics lecturer in UCD, posted this on Twitter. “Student grants, like any expenditure, need to be looked at. Irish Indo attempts to whip up anti-student sentiment not a good way to do this.”

Students on popular form Boards.ie admitted that in some cases the report’s argument was fair, although accepting the unfairness of generalizing. One student explained that “not a cent of my grant is spent on books. It all goes to my landlord and the ESB”.

UN medical officers on the ground in Haiti. Photo: United Nations Development Committee

Lucky escape for students John Fitzsimons TWELVE MEMBERS of the UCD Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO) charity organisation arrived back from Haiti on Monday January 11, just a day before the massive earthquake that measured 7.0 on the Richter scale struck the Caribbean nation. The team of volunteers had spent two weeks building two houses in Gros Morne, a town that is a seven hour drive north of the capital Port-au-Prince.

While still recovering from jet lag, the volunteers were faced with the devastating news of the earthquake and their immediate thoughts were with the many friends they had left behind on the island. Eventually, after some degree of difficulty, they managed to contact their partners in the project and the new friends they had made over the two weeks.

According to Commerce graduate Marc McCabe (25), from Clonskeagh, despite one nun, a member of the UCDVO’s missionary partners the

Sisters of Jesus and Mary who suffered a shattered shoulder, “the majority seem to be OK.” This is in part thanks to the fact that the town of Gros Morne was not directly affected by the disaster, as unlike the capital Port-au-Prince, the town was not sufficiently near the epicentre of the earthquake for a great deal of damage to be caused.

The volunteers have also expressed great relief at having made it out of the country safely themselves. Speaking to the Evening Herald, Accountancy student Patrick O’Neill (24), from Murrintown, Wexford, said: “It has definitely crossed our minds that we could easily still have been there because everyone has been saying ‘thank God you’re home’ so there is great relief.”

UCD has been sending volunteers to Haiti since 2005, a country that student Marc McCabe described as being; “already in disarray before the earthquake even struck.” Despite the volunteers now being back in Ireland, they are continuing to strive to help the country in its time of need. Since Wednesday January 14, UCDVO have

been running an appeal for funds to aid the relief operations and its Manager, Caroline O’Connor, has called on any students with ideas for events to raise funds to contact the group.

Events that have already taken place include a nightclub fundraiser in BaseBar last Friday 22nd January, while members of UCDVO have been visible on Grafton Street collecting money over the past two weeks.

Haiti continues to be in disarray, after a new earthquake jolted Port-AuPrince late last week complicating aid efforts and prompting the US to pledge 4’000 more soldiers to the relief force.

Seismologists said the epicentre was about 35 miles south-west of the city and the focus was six miles deep. They warned of possible stronger aftershocks to come as the earth adjusted to new stresses caused by the original quake.

“Sometimes [they] die out very quickly. In other cases they can go on for weeks, or if we’re really unlucky it could go on for months,” explained Bruce Pressgrave, of the US Geological Survey.

Attendees at the launch of Fire and Ice. Photo: Gerard McCarthy

UCC Antarctic exhibition opens Mairead O’Casey Staff Writer A PHOTOGRAPHY exhibition called “Fire & Ice: A Photographic Journey of Antarctica,” by Prof John Gamble, was launched on the 20th of January at the Jennings Gallery in UCC. The exhibition was opened by Dr Clare O’Leary, who in 2008 led the first Irish team to walk 1,100km across the Antarctic ice to the South Pole.

John Gamble is a Professor of Geology in UCC. A PhD graduate of Queens College Belfast, Gamble made seven field trips to the icy tundra of Antarctica, where he researched the geochemistry of deep Earth and the processes that lead to volcanism. He even has three terrestrial

landmarks named after him –Gamble Glacier, Gamble Cone and Gamble Volcanic Complex, a submarine volcano in the South-West Pacific.

Considered a desert, Antarctica is on average the driest, coldest, windiest and highest continent on the planet.

“Fire & Ice,” is compiled of a collection of beautiful, previously unseen photographs taken by Gamble during his time in Antarctica. They include stunning images of volcanoes, and shots of the wildlife able to survive the harsh conditions. The exhibition also showcases a visit to the historic huts of Arctic explorers Scott and Shackleton, on Ross Island. “Fire & Ice” will run from the 21st of January until the 3rd of February.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TRINITY NEWS

Indian students fear more attacks Monika Urbanski Staff Writer THE PROBLEMS faced by Indian students in Australia brought thousands of students to the streets in June 2009.

International, as well as Australian students, were marching against violent attacks against Indians in Melbourne and Sydney.

But it is another international racism row that is dominating the headlines these days. It surrounds the knife murder of 21-year-old Indian university graduate Nitin Garg in Melbourne. Garg was stabbed on January 2nd on his way to work at a restaurant. Additionally, farm labourer Jaspreet Singh (29), was attacked by four men who poured a flammable liquid on him and ignited it in the early hours on January 9th.

These attacks have led the Indian government to issue a travel notice, warning its nationals to take extra precautions when travelling to Australia. Never before has such an advisory been issued by an Indian government targeting a developed country, particularly for students.

SM Krishna, India’s External Affairs Minister denounced the murder as a “heinous act against humanity” and she urged the Australian government to act over the “uncivilised and brutal attack on innocent Indians”. Indian newspapers have overcompensated for the lack of in-depth reporting in the Australian media. A cartoon in New Delhi’s English-language Mail Today newspaper depicted an Australian policeman in a Ku Klux Klan outfit saying: “We are yet to ascertain the nature of the crime.”

The Indian media and expat community claimed that the attacks were racially motivated, while the Australian government have attempted to downplay the attacks.

Australia’s acting Foreign Minister said, “Melbourne is not the only place that deaths happen. They happen in India. They happen in Mumbai. They happen in Delhi. It’s an unfortunate

UNITED KINGDOM A child protesting agains the recent spate of attacks on Indian citizens in Australia. fact of life.”

Activists of the All-India Students Association protested against attacks on Indian students in Australia in front of the Australian Embassy in New Delhi on January 12th. They carried placards that read “Down with Aussie” and “Stop racial attacks”. Official figures state 1,447 people of Indian nationality were victims of crime in Victoria in the 12 months to July 2008.

Educating students from overseas earns Australia $AUS15.5 billion per year, with Indians representing the second-largest source of students. Last year the Australian government sent a delegation to India led by Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard to improve bilateral relations. Nevertheless, bbc. co.uk reports that the number of Indian students studying in Australia is projected to fall by about 20% in 2010. This is the first assessment of the impact of negative publicity over alleged racial violence and exploitation of Indian students last year.

Some critics like Guardian journalist Tim Soutphommasane acknowledge that there are in fact two sides to the story: “The reality is rather messier than either side of the debate might like to concede. Both the Indians and the Australian authorities are right, to some degree.” Also, FISA, the Federation of Indian Students in Australia that stands for “Integrating, Representing and Empowering Indian Students in Australia”, expressed concerns at the manner in which the present crisis is being managed. Mr. Gautam Gupta, FISA spokesmen said, “It is too early to rule in or rule out any cause for the death of Mr. Nitin Garg. We must make an environment that is conducive to let the police do its job in the best way possible.”

On the current media hype he comments, “We do not condone or control any action of the media in India or Australia.”

Nevertheless, many Indians remain terrified, as bbc. co.uk blogger Soutik Biswas writes: “If Australians believe that sections of the Indian media are hyperventilating over

the attacks and behaving irresponsibly, Indians believe that there is not enough information coming from the Australian authorities ... many Indians I have spoken to find the discourse in the Australian media on the spate of the attacks superficial.”

Other Indian organisations like the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria plan to hold a media conference in India to say that the murder was not a racist attack. The Association’s president, Vasan Srinivasan said, “To characterise such a criminal act as ‘racist’ inflames unnecessarily community sentiments and fears and presents a totally misrepresented picture of life as it really is in Melbourne. Sadly, on the same evening a young Australian man too, was the victim of a random stabbing.”

Despite the current debate, the problem of racism remains a real one in Australia. In November 2009 Amnesty International issued a report that the “Australian government must end state-sponsored racially discriminatory measures.”

Moreover, racial struggles were evident in “White Australia” immigration policies, which limited the immigration of nonwhite individuals to Australia up until 1985, and also the prevention of citizenship for Aboriginal people until 1973.

Only in 2008 Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised to the Indigenous people who were members of the Stolen Generation and their families in Parliament.

It is student demonstrations like those in 2009 and FISA’s activism, which has already called on the Australian government to stop student killings in September 2009, that seek to work against racism in a much more constructive way.

On a way forward Gautam Gupta said, “It is on us, the silent majority that is tolerant and inviting to not let a small minority of bigots and zealots to ruin it for the majority. It is high time that we come together and stand united behind every newlyarrived in Australia and say yes to a ‘fair go for all’.”

German students march against change Eviction of the occupied University in Tübingen, Germany in December.

Elaine Jennings Contributing Writer POST-RECESSIONARY IRELAND is not the only place where students fear the return of tuition fees. But while the recent student agitation in Ireland was concerned only with the possible re-introduction of fees, the students of Germany have a considerable list of grievances they wish to draw attention to. As well as pushing for the abolition of tuition fees, German student unions are trying to publicise inequality in access to education and deficiencies in the Bologna Process.

Protests took place across the country in late November and early December to draw the attention of politicians, the public and, most importantly, other students to these issues.

The fees issue was given pride of place in order to draw the attention of the student body by pointing out the possibility of an immediate financial threat.

In the University of Konstanz in Baden-Württemburg, Students’ Union representatives handed out leaflets while wearing tuxedoes and carrying slogan-bearing placards: “It’s ok – I have rich parents!” The entrance lobby to the university was festooned with slogans saying “Give your last shirt for an education!” and invitations to a sit-in in the university’s senate hall.

Students in Leipzig expressed their frustrations by staging

a street protest bound together like a chain-gang with gags over their mouths, bearing placards with a similar sentiment: “Rich parents for all!” This was strongly tied up with a request for more governmental financial help for the education sector: “Money for Education instead of Education for Money!” At the Ludwig Maximillian University in Munich, students annexed one of the largest lecture halls for six weeks before agreeing to clear up and be escorted out by police. Students also took possession of lecture theatres in cities such as Potsdam, Münster, Berlin, Heidelberg and Munich.

The Europe-wide Bologna Process has come under heavy fire from German student groups. The Process was designed to bring tertiary education structures in Europe into line with one another. The main change that affected students was the separation of third-level education into graduate and postgraduate strata, with a 3-4 year Bachelor degree followed by a 1-2 year Master’s programme. While this is exactly what universities in Ireland have been doing all along, the change has come as a shock to German students, who were accustomed to the old system consisting of a 4-6 year course culminating in a Diploma or a Master’s degree.

Their main grievances with the Bologna system are that it impedes flexibility of seminar choice and pushes what had previously been five years worth of work into three years, while also being geared too narrowly towards a future career

rather than offering a comprehensive general education.

The protests have also tried to draw attention to some less tangible matters. They have expressed concern over “elite universities” and the “economisation” of education.

Not all students are in agreement with the protesters: in Münster the Ring of Christian Democratic Students (RCDS) accused them of being indiscriminately critical, and a Facebook group entitled “Studieren statt Blockieren” (study instead of blockading) has amassed over 28,000 followers who wish to distance themselves from their protesting colleagues.

As for drawing political attention, it seems the protests have succeeded at the highest level – Education Minister Annette Schavan has extended an invitation to student representative organisations to attend a “Bologna summit” that is due to take place in Berlin in April. However, the Conference of ThirdLevel Rectors has stated unequivocally that there will be no u-turn on the introduction of the Bologna bachelor-master’sdoctorate system, and Chancellor Angela Merkel has declared her support of the Bologna reforms.

Protesting is set to resume at the end of January; although the implementation of the Bologna Process by the German government now appears to be non-negotiable, only time will tell whether German students, like Irish students, can succeed in pushing against the introduction of third-level fees nationwide.

UK universities face massive cuts Andrea Marrinan Staff Writer BRITISH UNIVERSITIES are facing cuts of more than £900 million over the next three years, according to a new report.

Leaders of Britain’s most celebrated universities have warned that government plans to cut funding will lead to a higher-education “meltdown”.

They are at risk of losing funding in public spending cuts after the next general election.

“It has taken more than 800 years to create one of the world’s greatest education systems, and it looks like it will take just six months to bring it to its knees.”

The government’s arrangement to cut university funding may lead to many problems for British students and will equally put Britain’s world-class university reputation in danger.

The Russell Group, representing twenty leading research universities, said the gold standard education they offer would be reduced to one of “bronze or worse”. They continued by saying that the cuts would have “a devastating effect, not

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January 26, 2009

only on students and staff, but also on Britain’s international competitiveness, economy and ability to recover from recession”.

The Russell Group, which includes Oxford and Cambridge universities as well as Warwick and Glasgow among others, said the end result would be universities facing the closure of hundreds of courses, with less academic staff and larger classes. Reports suggest as many as 30 universities might not carry on in their present form if even the smallest funding cuts were introduced.

Unlike the UK, the German government has recently contributed a total of €18 billion into promoting worldclass research alongside university education, while Nicolas Sarkozy has just announced an investment of €11 billion in higher education in France, stating he wants “the best universities in the world”.

The general secretary of the University and College Union, Sally Hunt said her organisation had already identified over 5,000 jobs at risk in higher education and that it was now looking at thousands more. She said, “Unless these savage cuts are reversed, we face the very real prospect of many

universities being forced to close, over 14,000 staff losing their jobs and some of the biggest class sizes in the world.”

In defence, the government has noted that higher education funding had risen by 25 percent since 1997. Higher Education Minister David Lammy continued by saying it was now time for the higher education sector to “tighten its belt”.

British universities, however, have little chance of raising their own funds as they rely almost exclusively on taxpayers.

British student fees by law are capped at about £4,000 a year, and endowments are generally no more than modest.

Many universities have already begun making forfeits, with the University of Gloucestershire, in the southwest of England, having to sell its new London campus. Other universities have already scaled back certain programs, especially in foreign languages. Oxford, the world’s oldest English-speaking university, wouldn’t say which, if any, of its programs might be cut if there is a reduction in funding, whereas Cambridge have acknowledged such a possibility.

The Russell Group concluded “If politicians don’t act now, they will be faced with meltdown in a sector that is vital to our national prosperity.”

OXFORD STUDENTS OUTRAGED BY SPOTIFY BAN STUDENTS AT the University of Oxford expressed shock last week at the prestigious institution’s decision to ban the popular music-sharing program Spotify. According to the university newspaper Cherwell, students were “baffled” when Spotify suddenly stopped working, with no explanation, last week. The newspaper quoted a second-year student as saying it was, “a discrimination against music lovers”. The university’s computer services, the OUCS banned the program as “… the use of peer-to-peer resource sharing software on machines connected to the Oxford University Network is prohibited”.

The OUCS claims that the problem with allowing peer-to-peer software is that it requires an enormous bandwidth. It elaborated, “Bandwidth that seems insignificant for one user will soon add up when scaled up to many thousands of users connected to Oxford University’s networks. It is one thing attempting to justify a network upgrade on the basis of a genuine academic requirement, such as the petrabytes of data expected from CERN when their latest collider comes online.”

STUDENT ATTENTION SPAN AVERAGES A WHOLE TEN MINUTES ACCORDING TO new research carried out in a survey for the technology firm Olympus, students at universities across the UK have an average attention span of just ten minutes. In a survey of 1,000 students, the average length of time a student could concentrate for in lectures was ten minutes, many blaming a lack of sleep and being overworked. Among the students surveyed, 13% admitted to missing up to five hours of lectures a week, while 17% said they had to prioritise their part-time jobs over lectures in order to support themselves. The survey suggested that when it came to student life, the majority of students are ill-prepared both for learning and for living an independent life, with money and lectures being the biggest hurdles. Meanwhile one in ten said they feared their university degree would be a waste of money, with almost a quarter believing they will not stand out to supporters once they graduate. National Union of Students president Wes Streeting said, “Given that students are graduating with record levels of debt, and job prospects are at an all-time low, it is no surprise that so many are having to take on part-time work which is adversely affecting their studies.”

UNIVERSITIES AWARD RECORD NUMBER OF FIRSTS OFFICIAL FIGURES show that last year a record 43,000 firsts were awarded by institutions in the UK, almost double the number of a decade ago.

Published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, figures also showed that almost twothirds of graduates gained at least a 2:1 in 2009 as results increased for the fifth straight year. The figures come amid plans for a drastic overhaul of traditional degree classifications as UK universities are currently trialling a graduate “report card” which is intended to represent a more accurate picture of students’ achievements, after saying the existing 200-year-old system had “outgrown its usefulness”.

FRANCE

STUDENT GOES ON STABBING SPREE IN SLEEPY FRENCH TOWN A CHINESE student stabbed to death a 49-yearold secretary and wounded three other people in an attack at a university in France officials said last week. The 26-year-old sociology student killed the woman with a butcher’s knife and wounded three other people, one of them seriously. Police arrested the student from the northeastern city of Shenyang, “who appeared to be suffering from an attack of dementia” said public prosecutor Jean Pierre Dreno. President Nicolas Sarkozy offered condolences to the victim’s family and praised the courage of bystanders who came to her aid and managed to subdue the attacker. In a statement issued by his office, he expressed “support for the whole university community and hopes that investigations will shed light on these events as soon as possible”.

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NEWS FEATURES

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

CLIMATE CHANGE SPECIAL

Climate change inaction: reactions to Copenhagen While the failure to reach any substantial agreement marks a crucial opportunity missed, we must adjust to the slow pace of global politics.

JOHN O’ROURKE WITH AN agreement that is in no way legally binding and no real figures for emissions cuts, the Copenhagen Climate Conference of December 2009 has been widely derided as a failure.

Despite assertions from world leaders that speak to the contrary, it appears to many that this conference has made no tangible progress toward the longterm goal of combating climate change through policy measures.

Looking back on this issue with a month’s worth of hindsight, we can see that the anticlimactic outcome was ultimately provoked by optimism prior to the conference. An atmosphere of global confidence seemed to permeate after arriving on the heels of new US leadership and clear policy goals within the EU. The well-publicised ruptures in the conference quickly stalled this momentum. The media lingered on a short-lived boycott from a band of small, developing nations early in the conference — a protest to what is perceived as a refusal from members of the G8 to acknowledge their own role in creating an overwhelming percentage of the pollution that cripples the global climate.

Moreover, the United States —

whose new leader, Barack Obama, was an inspirational figure in the hope surrounding the conference — failed to deliver any significant compensation to G77 nations for their role in creating the current climate situation, and insisted on holding industrializing nations to the same standards it holds for itself. While Europe offered a figure of $15 billion to assist in tackling problems unique to developing countries, the US refused to follow suit.

Four weeks later, we still find ourselves asking: was anything actually accomplished in Denmark, or are world leaders just senselessly racking up air

The events of the conference suggest that the G8 nations, and the United States in particular, have condemned poorer nations to another century of environmental havoc. miles? “We are confident that we are moving in the direction of a significant accord,” attested Obama after the conference, with China’s representative summing things up succinctly: “The

meeting has had a positive result [and] everyone should be happy.”

The world has met these public remarks with scepticism, but such assertions might be closer to the mark than an initial reflection suggests. We must keep in mind that other threats, such as nuclear proliferation, world hunger and AIDS, have been on the global agenda for much longer than climate change — and these issues remain largely unimproved. We should indeed mark (“celebrate” may prove to be too poignant a word) the progress the world has made in moving environmental issues to the top rank of global affairs, a feat many would have thought impossible two decades ago.

Rome wasn’t built in a day — or even a decade — and perhaps we should hold Copenhagen to similar standards. The mere fact that the conference took place takes a key step toward a policy solution on global warming.

A comparison to the Kyoto summit of 1997 reveals just how far one decade has brought us toward “fixing” global warming. Though it offered a potentially galvanising proposition, the Kyoto Protocol failed to unite nations under a shared mission or agenda regarding emissions reduction. The protocol pursued a worthwhile set of goals that were rendered dead in the water by a recalcitrant United States. Kyoto taught us the difficult lesson of patience: without giving deference to the world’s biggest polluters, those countries may well pull out of any deal, in effect neutering its potential benefits.

Photo: Darren Kumasawa Last month’s conference marks the first stage of what is bound to be a long healing process from the wounds of geopolitical negotiation suffered in Kyoto. Looking ahead, a smaller followup event is planned for Bonn this summer before another full-scale attempt in Mexico City before Christmas.

The gruelling pace of global policy negotiations is, undoubtedly, a frustrating modus operandi to adopt.

Large, developed countries are used to seizing on fast, logical solutions to identified domestic problems. For the time being, however, these baby steps seem to be the only way to create a

The science controversy Jonathan Lee Staff Writer OBSERVATION IS the basis of science, and while a philosopher may argue that objective perception is impossible, that is precisely the scientific philosophy: to collect and analyse empirical data, without bias, in order to develop an understanding of curious phenomena.

In part, it is this pursuit of unprejudiced knowledge that earns scientists the respect of many - though certainly not all - members of society. However, this esteem quickly evaporates if science is seen to be in any way politicised.

The public image of climate change research has suffered in recent months.

In November, hackers leaked emails that allegedly revealed a conspiracy among researchers at the University of East Anglia to manipulate data to fit the anthropogenic climate change theory, and to intentionally exclude contradictory data from publication.

Last week, albeit less sensationally, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) admitted publicly that a claim in its 2007 Assessment Report that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035 was a mistake.

These events do not necessarily

undermine the validity of climate research, but they are certainly useful for sceptics seeking to discredit the methodology of climatologists. The same sceptics might invoke the comically simplistic logic of dismissing global warming because Ireland and the UK suffered an unusually cold winter this year. The likelihood of a rise in average global temperature concerns scientists as this could shift weather patterns and alter local climates in different ways.

For a country above 50° latitude, Ireland enjoys surprisingly mild temperatures, thanks primarily to the Gulf Stream.

If the Gulf Stream were to shift, Irish winters might become more like those experienced at equivalent latitudes such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The processes governing the Earth’s climate are incredibly complex, and modelling them requires the world’s most powerful supercomputers to run simulations. People cannot flawlessly forecast local weather more than a few days ahead of time, so it is maybe a bit unreasonable to expect reliable, specific predictions on future changes in the global climate from such simulations.

However, the science behind the mechanisms of possible changes is well

IN THE aftermath of the perceived failure of the climate change conference at Copenhagen, pessimism abounds regarding the ability of the world’s leaders to formulate an effective and universally acceptable strategy for tackling climate change. This is due in large part to the hyperbolic media frenzy that surrounded the December summit, dubbed by some commentators as “Earth’s last chance”. In addition, the triumphant reaction of climate sceptics to the recent leak of hundreds of email exchanges allegedly demonstrating the collusion of a number of global warming scientists in exaggerating climate data has contributed to the current air of gloom among those who believe climate change is a very real phenomenon.

Whatever the reasons for the

Copenhagen disappointment, it is imperative that the focus shifts to the future of climate change politics rather than morbid post-mortem examinations of the conference. Encouragement can be drawn from the participation of the emerging powers of the East in the Copenhagen conference. With China and India ranking among the top greenhouse gas emitters in the world, the importance of their participation is evident. One must acknowledge, however, the injustice inherent in asking these states to curb their usage of those energy sources with which the Western world fuelled its prosperity.

Moreover, the economic consequences of an industrial slowdown as a result of reduced energy consumption in the East would quite obviously be disastrous in the current global financial situation.

Therefore, it seems clear that a multi-strand approach will be necessary

superpowers in one fell swoop.

Perhaps we were too quick to dispel our aspirations for change after Copenhagen. Under Obama and a fully unified Europe, the world is much better suited to negotiate global policies than it was at the time of the Kyoto meeting.

The hype surrounding the conference swelled our expectations beyond any sense of pragmatism, but we ought not to lose hope before Bonn. After all, our current atmosphere of false despair could, in the clarity that a few more months may bring, prove to be the Conference’s biggest failure.

Students can take up the slack Omar Mothersill Staff Writer

Glacial shrinking is one indicator that the Earth is warming. Photo: P. Morgan established, and the raw data collected by climatologists is unambiguous. In 1958, long before “global warming” was making headlines, David Keeling began measuring atmospheric CO2 concentrations from the top of Mauna Loa on Hawaii. The Keeling Curve plots CO2 concentration versus time, and revealed the remarkable “breathing of the Earth”, the periodic, seasonal consumption of CO2 by plants for photosynthesis in the spring and summer and the subsequent release of CO2 in the autumn and winter as the same plant matter wilts and decays.

Furthermore, and most significantly, the Keeling Curve shows a steady increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration since measurements began.

The effect of anthropogenic greenhouse gases on climate change could be overstated. Paleoclimatologists have shown that dramatic changes in the Earth’s climate have occurred naturally and over short time scales, and similarly the changes we currently observe may be part of a natural cycle. If so, fine. But if human activity is in fact changing our environment, it is vital that we augment our behaviour to minimise our impact.

No time to dwell on past failures Gavin McLoughlin Staff Writer

solid foundation for a permanent policy solution. We must accept the hard reality that progress occurs much more slowly on a global scale.

Though not legally binding, the current agreements establish a loose framework within which global leaders can construct their negotiations over the next few years. A cursory glance at the events of the conference suggests that the G8 nations, and the United States in particular, have condemned poorer nations to another century of environmental havoc. Nevertheless, it is fickle to believe that a single meeting could make altruists of global

in order to forge an effective solution.

Myriad options exist. First, legallybinding emission reduction targets, the goal of the Copenhagen negotiations, could still be introduced for those countries who wish to participate on an opt-in basis. Meaningful economic incentives could be provided to developing nations who endeavour to curb their emissions, with sanctions for those who do not. Multilateral negotiations must continue with the large developing emitters. Despite the current financial difficulties in the West, subsidising the development of clean energy in developing nations should not be ruled out. In tandem with emission reduction, serious consideration must be given to further development of technology-based solutions, not just in the development of clean energy, but also for the removal of harmful gases from the atmosphere utilising

techniques such as carbon capture and sulphur injection.

In refusing to describe Copenhagen as a failure, world leaders alluded to the conference as “the beginning of a process”. What is certain is that a limited timeframe exists for this process to be completed. The consensus among scientists seems to be that drastic action will need to be taken within the next decade if we are to avoid the more devastating consequences of global warming. Indeed, some researchers have suggested that we may already have passed a “tipping point” leading to the inevitable loss of the Arctic ice sheets. Time is clearly of the essence. As a result, every citizen has a responsibility to play their part in ensuring that the world does not fail in its struggle against the greatest challenge in our history, and that our leaders do not fail us when we need them most.

GLOBAL WARMING can make you feel powerless. In the face of growing deserts and rising seas, can people really do anything to save the planet? Luckily, the answer is yes. What’s more, the way we tackle the problem could save money and create new jobs. Here are some of the ways we can all push for a future containing hope, prosperity and polar bears.

1) Learn about climate change With so much confusion surrounding climate change, it’s important to know the facts. The subject is bewildering at times, but there are some excellent sources available that present it in an understandable way. Although it is a few years old, Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth is still a good place to start. For a more detailed discussion of the science, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has a great FAQ article covering topics like how human activities contribute to climate change and how they compare with natural influences.

2) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions The first step you can take to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions is to calculate your carbon footprint. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a useful carbon calculator on its website, which is simple to use and takes only a few minutes to complete.

After getting your results, the site then suggests ways of cutting emissions.

Some of these suggestions are really easy to follow, like turning off computers instead of leaving them on standby, or taking showers instead of baths.

Another effective way to cut greenhouse gases is to eat less meat, as livestock production makes up nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.

For example, the Meat Free Monday campaign encourages people to have one meat-free day a week. Students can also sign up to the 10:10 campaign, which is encouraging people, businesses and schools to cut their carbon emissions by 10% over 2010. Visit their website to sign up and get more information about how to cut down on the carbon.

3) Contact your politicians It is vital that we give our politicians a clear message that we want strong policies on climate change. One place to start is to send an e-mail to your local TDs telling them that this is an urgent issue and asking what they and their party plan to do to help Ireland cut its carbon emissions. If many students did this, it could at least send a strong

message to our political parties that we are very concerned.

Government action on climate change also necessarily includes investment in renewable energy, including wind, wave and tidal power. This may prove to be a powerful source of growth in the Irish economy over the coming decade, creating thousands of new jobs.

4) Raise awareness about climate change Many events were held last year to raise public awareness about climate change in the run up to the UN climate conference in Copenhagen. For example, 500 people took part in the Blue Wave march through the streets of Dublin on December 5th. Stop Climate Chaos, who organised the march, has many more events planned for 2010.

Visit the campaign’s website to join their mailing list or Facebook group.

Students can also get involved in Trinity College Green Week, which is running from February 22nd to 28th.

Green Week is held every year to draw attention to some of the more topical environmental issues and this year’s theme is the 10:10 campaign.

Finally, tell a friend about some of the above points. By spreading information we can begin to curb Ireland’s impact on the environment and develop new technologies to meet a low carbon future. And with the internet, this is easier than ever. Even the recent success of the UK campaign to get Rage Against the Machine to Christmas number 1 highlights the power of websites like Facebook to rally public action. Many scientists believe we have the means to completely solve the climate crisis right now. Our ability to do so depends not just on governments around the world, but on the actions of ordinary people.

CLIMATE CHANGE WEBSITES Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): http://www.ipcc.ch/ EPA Carbon Calculator: http://cmt.epa.ie/en/calculator Meat Free Monday Campaign: http://www.supportmfm.org 10:10 Campaign: http://www.1010.ie Stop Climate Chaos: http://www.stopclimatechaos. iew

FEATURES

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Justice may be blind, but the people in the courtroom certainly are not The new, technologically advanced Criminal Courts pose a threat to the right to personal privacy, according to Sarah Fulham-McQuillan. She examines the murder trial of Eamonn Lillis for evidence of this problem.

Sarah Fulham-McQuillan Deputy Features Editor THROUGHOUT HISTORY there has always been a huge interest in the intimate details of murders. Perhaps this comes from an appreciation for inoffensive murder mystery novels, members of the public believing they are the next Ms. Marple or Hercule Poirot. Or maybe it’s the insatiable need for trivia so closely related to the gory killing that it’s almost impossible to believe we have access to it. Yet, it is this “trivia” when published, that is unfortunately horrifying and damning for the people involved.

The new Criminal Courts complex in Dublin contains two courtrooms with full information technology at their disposal, and we are witnessing these in full swing at the moment. In the current ongoing trial of Eamonn Lillis, accused of murdering his wife at their home in Howth, Co. Dublin, jury and the general public alike are shown clear images

of grisly evidence on large plasma screens. What was once reserved for the twelve men and women in charge of influencing the outcome of a man’s life, is now exposed for every Tom, Dick and Harry to savor. Whilst the court retains some discretion as to what is shown on these screens, and what is merely held up for the courtroom to try and catch a glimpse of, it appears that little is to be left to the imagination any longer. Whether this is a step forward in criminal law proceedings in this jurisdiction remains to be seen.

Juries in high profile cases, or cases with a major human interest, are ordered not to discuss the case with anyone, nor to be swayed by media reports. This was so in the case mentioned above - understandable for obvious reasons. However, is it consistent then that courts can be given the go-ahead to display items of an extremely personal nature to the world at large? (Or to those who have decided to take a day trip to the courtroom on

If we are not permitted to see an accused being led by Gardai into their trial, surely the displaying of evidence that often may or may not be damning should not be permitted so freely either?

that particular day, which according to reports of overflowing courtrooms, are many.) It is now substantially simpler to review evidence as the trial progresses, and hence convince oneself as to what really happened on the fateful day of the alleged murder. This was always possible of course, by listening or reading any of the numerous media outlets. Nevertheless, considering that it is now viable that no matter where in the courtroom you happen to be seated, even in the sepcifically built overflow room, you can scrutinise said items on large screens for yourself, and journalists reports become ever more detailed, the idea of innocent until proven guilty enters a different stratosphere. In the current case, as reported by one of the major broadsheets, every Irish citizen can now, if so inclined, know that the accused wore Armani jeans, striped Abercrombie and Fitch boxer shorts, white Gap socks and was the owner of a Breitling watch. All blood-stained by the way and found in a Rip-Curl suitcase hidden in the attic, under a doll’s house. We can visualise the 5’11” accused man doing his daily exercise routine of sit-ups, at 6.30 am no less, before bringing his wife and daughter a cup of tea, and heading off to the local shop on Howth summit to buy his daily copy of the Irish Times. As caught on video camera by Gardai a week

after the event, an exercise bike with a Christmas stocking hanging out of it, the Christmas tree in the living room, strands of tinsel bedecking photo frames in the kitchen where the seemingly cold and calculating husband reportedly washed his hands as his wife lay dying on the decking outside. Apparently the husband and wife slept in separate rooms due to the wife’s snoring, she downstairs, whilst he slept upstairs in a sparsely decorated bedroom, with a note of his doomed love affair on his bedside table. All this was eerily broadcast in a video tour of the house, ghoulsh almost, and according to reports of those sitting in the courtroom, weirdly voyeuristic.

Is it really necessary for the world at large to know these intimate details of the surrounding events of the alleged murder? Does it help the trial in any way, by us knowing that Eammon Lillis dons wire-rimmed glasses, under which he rubs the bridge of his nose at inetrvals during the trial or wears black v-neck jumpers? Or does it only serve to sate the appetite of the readers of newspapers and watchers of tv, increasing revenue for the organisations behind such outlets, and more importantly and perhaps more damaging, give everyone the authority to be an authority on the subject.

It is also now established that those on trial are not to be photographed

W is for Writer.

Be one.

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entering or exiting the courtroom, and the new complex allows for this by reason of an underground passage.

This is clearly in accordance with the principle that the accused is not to be tried by the public but by those in the legal profession and the appointed jurors. However, if we are not permitted to see an accused being led by Gardai into their trial, surely the displaying of evidence that often may or may not be damning should not be permitted so freely either? Media reports are allowed to describe (in extraordinary detail) what journalists see and hear in the courtroom, but are not authorised to reproduce such images. Thankfully.

Some would be of the opinion, and I count myself amongst such people, that the exhibiting of evidence in such a manner to the general public, can only lead to a more vehement public determination regarding the status of the accused prior to the conclusion of the trial and the judges pronouncment of guilty or not guilty. No matter what happens within the courtroom, the accused must exit the building and reenter society at some stage, and it is here that the affects of the presumption of innocence principle may be diluted pending the outcome of the case.

Eammon Lillis, at the time of writing, pleads “not guilty”.

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FEATURES

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Could it be that the Large Hadron Collider is being clock-blocked?

Following a series of delays, some physicists have begun to ask if the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is being sabotaged by the future. Aoife Crowley investigates this strange hypothesis to see if God really does hate Higgs Bosen particles.

P

ICTURE THE scene. In an unspecified but not too distant future, we are doomed. A giant blackhole has opened up in the centre of the universe, and it’s only a matter of time before the entire cosmos is swallowed.

The remnants of mankind have turned feral, eking out an existence in caves, or perhaps on islands made out of rubbish, like that film Waterworld.

Who knew that a simple flick of a switch way back in 2010 could set in motion the chain of events that led to such disaster? Luckily, due to that very same machine that caused our downfall, wormholes and wrinkles in time are now abundant. Our only hope is to send something back to change the past. And so, the human race entrusts the future of the universe to a bird, carrying a chunk of baguette. As the noble bird soars through the wormhole, a species holds its breath. But we’ll return to that later.

The alternative explanation for the series of unfortunate events that have befallen the LHC is hardly less bizarre.

Two otherwise respected physicists are now claiming that the much hypothesized Higgs Boson particle might have a “backward causation” effect to stop itself being discovered. In other words, the particle does not wish to be created, or

its creation would have such cataclysmic results that the actual universe itself does not wish for it to be created. Thus, at the moment that it is created in the future, forces travel back in time to sabotage the collider before it gets the chance to be made. In pop culture terms, this is basically what happens in Back to the Future, when Marty McFly travels back in time and accidentally erases his future self by stopping his parents from falling in love.

But before we go any further, it would possibly be beneficial to explain what the LHC and the Higgs Boson particle actually are. The LHC, or Large Hadron Collider, is the most expensive and massive science experiment in history.

The 27 kilometre circuit track, buried nearly 200 metres below the FrancoSwiss border, has so far cost over $9 billion. CERN scientists are hoping that by smashing proton beams together on this track, they will be able to recreate the conditions that existed during the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang.

At this point in history, it is believed that the universe was still evolving out of endless potential into the forces and particles that make up our reality today.

One of the main hypotheses that they hope to prove is the existence of the

FUTURE SABOTAGE IN THE USA ANOTHER POTENTIAL victim of future sabotage has been pinpointed in the USA. The United States Superconducting Supercollider, which was also designed to create the Higgs Boson particle, was cancelled in 1993.

If it had been built it would have been the world’s largest and highestenergy particle accelerator complex, with a planned ring circumference of almost 90 kilometres.

By the time it was cancelled, nearly $2 billion dollars had already been spent on the project, and 22.5 km of tunnel and 17 shafts to the surface were already dug. Its cancellation after such an amount of money and time had been invested was seen to be so unlikely that Dr. Nielson terms it an “anti-miracle”.

Had it been completed, the SSC would have been nearly three times as powerful as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The site at Waxahachie, Texas lies abandoned in the Texas desert — the tunnel intentionally filled with water in order to preserve it.

Higgs Boson particle. This particle, if it exists, is what imbues other elementary particles with mass. Proving its existence would prove the Standard Model, which rules almost all of physics.

The only problem is that the future has cursed the project.

The hypothesis seems so bizarre as to be laughable, but for the fact that it is supported by two leading physicists, Holger Bech Nielsen, of the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, and Masao Ninomiya of the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics in Kyoto, Japan.

They have postulated this idea over the last two years, publishing it in a series of scientific papers with titles such as “Test of Effect From Future in Large Hadron Collider: a Proposal”.

The most interesting aspect of this is that Nielsen and Ninomiya began pushing their theory that all Higgs producing machines would be cursed by bad luck before the LHC’s string of setbacks and problems started to occur.

But surely on a project of this scale, setbacks and problems are to be expected? Naturally that is the case, but the regularity and the nature of these setbacks have led some naysayers to wonder if Nielsen and Ninomiya might be on to something.

The first main issue occurred in March 2007, when a magnet support broke during a pressure test. Fermilab and KEK had provided the magnet.

Director of Fermilab, Pier Oddone, stated that they were “dumbfounded” as to how they had missed “some very simple balances of forces”. The fault which caused the collapse had been present in the original designs and gone unnoticed in four engineering reviews over the subsequent years. This setback caused delays to the LHC’s planned startup date.

The next major problem happened on 19 September 2008. A rupture leaked six tonnes of liquid helium, again delaying

operations for several months. Two further vacuum leaks were identified in July 2009, and the start up date was again pushed back to November 2009.

During the lead up to November, a short hiatus was necessitated again after one of the particle physicists working on the collider was arrested on suspicion of conspiring with Al Qaeda.

But November 2009 was when things really started to get a bit meta. Once again, scientists noticed something was going wrong. An inspection of their cooling system found that one of the high voltage installations was being jammed.

What was causing the obstruction? None other then that chunk of baguette we mentioned earlier, which had become wedged in the wiring.

According to CERN, “nobody knows how it got there”. Using her loaf, a

spokeswoman speculated that “the best guess is that it was dropped by a bird, either that or it was thrown out of a passing airplane.”

After repairs, the collider was started up for some tests briefly in December, setting world records for most energetic particle collisions ever achieved in a lab.

It was then shut down for the Christmas season, and the current plan is for it to begin doing “real physics” in early March.

Whether the future will again intervene to cause delays is not yet known.

But perhaps we should not mock these theories. After all, Einstein himself wrote, “for those of us who believe in physics, this separation between past, present and future is only an illusion”.

Perhaps the LHC really is being clockblocked. We’ll just have to wait until March to find out.

That joke isn’t funny anymore: why it’s time to stop listening to the irony excuse Irony has been an unfortunate centerpiece of popular culture for too long. Charlie Baker hopes this tiresome reverence doesn’t carry on.

By Charlie Baker Features Editor MY COMPULSIVE addiction to lists and listing really reached a high water mark in December, at the culmination of the incongruently named “Noughties”.

Each major news publication competed to reach the most definitive summation of the zeitgeist of these past years.

There was a surfeit of countdowns of the top cultural expressions of the years (The Wire, The Wire, The Wire).

Some editors hired heavyweights to give their view – usually a case of style over substance but occasionally rewarding.

My favourite essay was a sharp piece by the playwright David Hare aptly titled “The Decade of Looking Away”, remarking with poignant alacrity on how the Western world ignored a unique chance to help others, instead focusing on invented issues and tepid politicising. Even this paper couldn’t resist the temptation with its century of the defining moments of the 2000’s.

For suckers like me, it was manna from heaven.

But in an egotistical bent of satisfaction I noticed that few, if any, of these lovingly compiled records had bothered to point to perhaps one of the major facets of our contemporary culture – the tiresome reverence for irony.

It is difficult to think of any other thematic concern which has been so dominant recently. I suppose that one

could consider nostalgia a pertinent issue, or perhaps one could mention the materialism that has been so perceptible, especially here in Ireland.

And it would be foolish to ignore the power that the internet has exerted over so many mediums. But if one was to look for something that was detectible in fashion, film, music and art, but most vitally in the way that our generation relates to each other – then look no further than irony.

There are some things that are synonymous with irony, indeed even trade on it – the Vice publishing empire is the easiest example. Indeed, the whole Shoreditch/ Brooklyn scenester has been parodied to death (most brilliantly in the first episode of the 2006 TV show Nathan Barley, if you care).

At this oversaturated level, a critique is simple. Rich idiots, devoid of ideas and originality, make shock value out of simplistic concepts – take a bow Nu Rave, American Apparel, and Hadouken!. Too much rainforest has been expended on the matter for me to take the argument further, or to whet your curiosity (though I hasten to add, if you feel curiosity to write for this section – email me at charlie.baker@ trinitynews.ie) But it is interesting how irony as a concept has filtered into general interactions. Facebook is case in point. When you leave your account unguarded and a pack of marauding brigands decide to play around with it,

“She’s dragging me into the twenty- first century…with its meaningless logos and ironic veneration of tyrants.” – Mark Corrigan

sending relationship requests to people you are quietly interested in, and other such hilarities, it is termed a “rape”.

How funny. The irony lies in the gulf in grief that lies between your transient shortfall in online dignity; and the actual grief that is associated with the act of rape itself. How is this acceptable on any level?

It’s typical of a type of humour that could be termed “social irony”.

Originally a source of obvious chuckle for general deadweights, (think of grannies listening to gangsta rap – these sort of basic dichotomies) it has crossed over into the mainstream. In some circles, it is acceptable to use racially offensive epithets as a term of greeting between friends. If any opposition is raised, it is of course relayed to the offended that the term was deployed in strictly ironic terms.

I think that this masks not a genuine desire to offend, but a type of arrogant laziness that is utterly deplorable.

But I’ll try not to sound overly holierthan-thou. At my secondary school the departing year put together a classbook of house groups in “relaxed” photos.

Our house furher hit upon the charming idea of us walking around the local town in our distinctive uniforms, standing amongst the local populace with rented top hats and supercilious expressions.

When I look at the book now, the printed record of my formative years, I feel overwhelmingly embarrassed. Why did we think it was acceptable to display

such ignorance?

One could say that it is the inevitable by-product of a generation that has grown up in an enormously wealthy yet relatively stable background, thus becoming desensitised to the everyday struggles that our parents’ generation endured.

This is well seen in the episode of Peep Show. Mark Corrigan has just been dragged round a trendy clothes boutique by his fiancée. Having avoided being bought a T-shirt bearing the face of Chairman Mao, he remarks to his flatmate Jez on the futility of their relationship “she’s bringing me into the twenty- first century… with its meaningless logos and ironic veneration of tyrants”. This is a much finer distilment of the essential truth of modern day irony than this article could ever manage.

Certainly irony has its place, and when positioned correctly can be a brilliant tool. Just look at Jane Austen and Woody Allen. But it is when it is used as a substitute for originality or a veneer for arrogance that murky waters are rapidly reached.

The essayist Thomas Carlyle once stated the following on irony’s cousin: “Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the devil”.

An awkward paraphase could be made – Irony, as a rule, can be the medium of the moron. Let’s hope that we can fine tune our sensibilities for this new decade.

WORLD REVIEW

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

11

Google’s world ethos: don’t be evil

Photo: Josh Chin

Grace Walsh World Review Editor FOLLOWING A “sophisticated” cyber-attack Google, the world’s most popular search engine, has threatened to withdraw from China, the world’s largest internet market. It has been reported that the attack, which resulted in the loss of intellectual property, may have been facilitated by staff working in the Chinese offices.

Further to this, security analysts have said that the malware used in the attack was a modification of a Trojan called Hydraq, which allows the user unauthorised system access.

The sophistication in the attack was in knowing whom to attack, not the malware itself, leading many to believe that Google employees may have been involved in the attack. Crucially, Google itself has declined to comment on recent events within its Chinese division, merely stating that talks are due to begin with government officials in the near future.

It has been reported in the local media that some staff have been transferred to other branches in the Asia Pacific region whilst others have been put on leave.

Google has been operating in China since 2006 but has failed to conquer the local search engine market, due to the overwhelming presence of rivals Baidu

and Taobao. Baidu operates a wide range of internet services including chat rooms, social networks and security software.

The company is also the market leader in music sharing, providing links to websites that some critics say offer illegal downloads. It is unclear whether Beijing promotes the use of this site over foreign rivals. In 2006 Baidu launched a Chinese-language encyclopedia, similar to Wikipedia, after access to the popular site was denied, as it contains information on censored topics in China.

Though Baidu has a market share estimated at 60%, Google’s potential departure would open a vacuum to be filled by smaller players and Tencent Holdings, China’s largest internet firm by market value. Google has not confirmed any reports that it will discontinue its Chinese operations.

The news that Google may leave the country was greeted with “illegal flower donations” at its Beijing offices.

Government officials responded simply by stating that foreign firms were welcome to trade in the nation but must follow Chinese laws. The spokesperson also added that the internet was “open” in China.

Following the cyber-attack, Google announced that it was no longer willing to censor search results as the

“We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience ... because this information goes to the heart of the debate about freedom of speech.”

government required. Sites such as Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube and Twitter are banned and the list of prohibited searches includes keywords relating to dictatorship, tyranny, freedom of expression and the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. Chinese netizens were able to search for these topics and others for the first time and did so in unprecedented volumes.

The Wall Street Journal reported recently that on some searches the disclaimer “in accordance with local laws and regulations, a portion of the search results are not displayed” is still in effect. However, it could take weeks for Google to remove all search barriers.

On its official blog Google released information stating that these attacks were also perpetrated against at least twenty other companies in areas including finance, media, chemicals and technology. Google did not state whether these firms were foreign multinationals, though given the fact that they are now working with the appropriate authorities, this is a distinct possibility.

The company announced that they had gathered evidence to suggest that the primary goal of the attackers was to access the Gmail accounts of several Chinese human-rights activists.

The attackers were interested in the date the account was created and the subject line of emails as opposed to the content of the messages themselves.

Google stated that only two accounts had been compromised.

Finally, and perhaps most worringly, the company also announced that it discovered that the accounts of many users, who happen to advocate Chinese

human-rights, in the US, Europe and China appear to have been regularly accessed by third parties using phishing scams or malware.

The debate of how to handle the rising tensions between Chinese authorities and Google has even caused conflict between the co-founders of the internet giant, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Mr. Brin was apparently the loudest voice in favour of Google’s non-compliance with Chinese law whilst Mr. Page argued that a more favourable outcome could arise by maintaining good relationships with China and not withdrawing from the country.

Washington has also issued a diplomatic note to China, formally requesting an explanation for the attacks, following rumours that a nationstate was behind the attacks. American ties with China are already strained over issues pertaining to US arms sales to Taiwan, trade protectionism and the yuan’s exchange rate which critics argue is kept unfairly and artificially low.

Washington has been aware of Beijing’s cyber-spying programme for some months; a congressional advisory panel said in November that the Chinese government appeared increasingly to be penetrating US computers to gather useful data for its military.

Fellow search engine competitor Yahoo has supported Google’s stance against the invasion of internet privacy, saying it was “aligned” with its rival’s position. Yahoo unsuccessfully attempted to enter the Chinese market but sold its share to the Alibaba Group, of which it has a 39% share.

Yahoo is a passive investor in the Alibaba Group and, though it is a board member, has very little direct influence.

A spokesperson for Alibaba criticized Yahoo’s statement as “reckless” and stated categorically that it did not share this view. Yahoo refused to comment as to whether it would now sell its holdings in the Alibaba Group.

Previously, China has either ignored or responded poorly to international criticism and so the negative attention that these recent events have caused is bound to cause friction within the international and domestic political arena. This debate is likely to span a lengthy period of time as the internet giant and general hero battles against the invasion of privacy and one of the world’s most powerful nations.

FORBIDDEN SEARCHES » Chinese Communist Party » Puppet government » One-party system » Dictatorship, tyranny » Human rights in China » Freedom of expression » Gao Zhisheng (Chinese lawyer and activist) » Falun Gong (Banned cult in China founded by Li Hongzhi) » Keywords related to Military, Gambling, Brainwashing & Sex

Commotion in Stormont threatens devolution Paul McDonnell World Review Deputy Editor EVENTS IN Northern Ireland thus far in 2010 have read like a tabloid writer’s dream. Defamation has plagued the upper echelons of party politics, none more so than in the case of Liam Adams, brother of Sinn Féin leader Gerry. The prominent Republican remains at large after making his whereabouts known to Gardaí in Sligo; the warrant for his arrest is invalid south of the border.

The allegations of sexual and mental abuse Adams subjected his daughter to have implicated his brother in the controversy, with claims he covered up the story. Gerry Adams vehemently denies these accusations stating he immediately “dumped” his brother from the party upon hearing of the abuses.

However with evidence suggesting that Liam not only chaired commemorative ceremonies as late as 1997, but also ran a youth SF Cumann in his hometown, and two further allegations of exploitation, negligence on the part of the Sinn Féin leader has left the party with a lot of questions to answer.

The UDA, a key paramilitary group implicated with 400 murders between 1971 and 2001, finally announced the successful decommissioning of their arms, five weeks before the amnesty deadline. In an act of unparalleled cross-border partisanship the loyalist fraternity worked alongside with Martin

McAleese to ensure a smooth transition into peaceful methods. The disarmament has been praised as “deeply important” in the progression of values inscribed in the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement.

Perhaps most significantly, the dawn of this new decade in Northern Ireland has centered around Iris Robinson’s affair with 19-year-old Kirk McCambley.

Peter Robinson has slammed the media in the fallout of his wife’s affair(s), in outrage at the frivolous glee with which it was handled in some cases: “There has been the baying press pack who treat you and your family as if they are a commodity without any though of the lives they impact, without any thought of the accusations they say. Simply put the accusation is sufficient.” The mental health of Iris Robinson and the implosion of her social standing are not likely to receive an outpouring of sympathy, however, following her holier-than-thou persona and a shocking condemnation of homosexuality as “disgusting, nauseous, shamefully wicked and vile”, a wholly contradictory preaching that led one commentator to describe the events as “John Calvin meets Jackie Collins”.

Whether Robinson has actively sought to save political face and ensure his future position in the wake of the story breaking is a contentious issue. In predisposing the shock factor of BBC’s Spotlight program, his remarkable

interview hours earlier appears to have been an effective means of damage limitation. However, while staunchly criticizing numerous facets of his BBC alter ego portrayal, such as a clip of a jovial first minister actively embracing his political agenda hours after his wife attempted suicide, he admits certain

Reports of paedophilia, homosexuality and extra-marital affairs have rocked the people of Northern Ireland. aspects of his wife’s exploits remained unbeknownst to him until seeing the show himself. It is these very personal, thoroughly human insights provided by the politician that seem to be stemming the tide of outcry and garnering public sympathy. While Iris’ career and political stature are in tatters her husband continues to receive thousands of messages of support.

It is this most captivating of scandals, embracing the trinity of enthralling factors - sex, opulence and fundamental religion - that threatens not only to crumble the Robinson empire but indeed destabilize the entire Northern

Irish political system. As remarkable as it is to fathom a governance being so drastically affected by the personal affairs of one member, one must consider the barriers and safety nets present in the current system and the unique necessity of co-governance in the fragile democratic climate.

Following mass disarmament, unprecedented cross-party cooperation, and international endorsement for the new Stormont configuration, the recent series of events could manifest into an ironic travesty where the sexual exploits of Iris Robinson and the failure of her husband to report her malpractice could even raise the question of a significant division. While numerous obstacles have been overcome, and critics silenced, these questions raised will undoubtedly give food for thought on the long-term stability of the fledgling government. A permanent resignation on Robinson’s part could result in a power vacuum with a formidable clamber to the top.

With the Northern Ireland executive encompassing all parties with significant representation in the Assembly, the second largest party, Sinn Féin, could find itself with enhanced bargaining power. One possible knock-on effect of Sinn Féin refusing to automatically renominate Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, could see a three-way unionist split, resulting in a Sinn Féin First Minister.

Fears of disruption to legislative

Photo: DUP Photos progress may be short lived as Robinson, having temporarily stepped down, has adopted a back-seat role in the running of his party. In leading the DUP delegation in talks with Sinn Féin he has exhibited clearly his intention to be reinstated as First Minister, assuming his acquittal by the senior council investigating his wife’s affairs and his ability to command the support of a majority of the DUP’S MLAs. In the eyes of his supporters Robinson’s misdemeanour of failing to report the financial dealings of his

wife pale in comparison to the likes of the expenses scandal in Westminster, the benefactors of which often received a slap on the wrist or a barely more significant censure. In all likelihood, and primarily for the sake of sustained peace, most parties concerned will excuse the shortcomings of the respective leaders in this case and continue with the business in hand. The events of January serve as a stark reminder of the weaknesses of an executive resting on the cooperation of previously bitter rivals.

12

WORLD REVIEW

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Barack Obama’s judgement day Debra Wigglesworth Staff Writer THE RELIEF effort continues in Haiti with the US Navy taking the lead in co-ordinating the aid for the 3 million people in the capital Port-au-Prince affected by the earthquake on 12 January 2010. President Obama has promised the people of Haiti ‘you will not be forsaken’, but the devastation is still unfolding and the logistical difficulties threaten the safety and lives of survivors who are in desperate need of food and water. The death toll is still rising in excess of 50,000. The US humanitarian response to the apocalyptic nature of this disaster marks the end of an extremely challenging first year for Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.

Since his inauguration on 20 January 2009, Mr. Obama’s approval rating with the American public has dropped from 70% to 49%. Certainly it seems some election promises have been compromised as he finds running for President and running the United States of America are very different things.

Maybe one can better understand the learning curve he has been on since he took office as Commander-in-Chief by remembering that dramatic scene in ‘A Few Good Men’ where the latte drinking liberal Kaffee is told some of the cold facts of life by the Col. Nathan R. Jessep, “Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns... I have a greater responsibility than you can

possibly fathom... We use words like Honor, Code, Loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line! I have neither the time

Obama’s first year in office will always be remembered. The foundations of his legacy lie in social justice, healthcare and the financial crisis but is yes we can still enough for the people of America? nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it!” Another name for this monologue is Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff Mike Mullen’s welcome note.

Even though a key bye-line of his stump speech was his promise of a swift but responsible withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan and the closure of Guantanamo, since coming to office Obama has had to retreat from these positions. In February he approved

sending an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan and in December he ordered a further 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, nearly tripling the force he inherited as Commander-in-Chief, these decisions demonstrate a necessary seriousness about winning in Afghanistan. Since he took office, fatalities in Afghanistan have risen from 295 in 2008 to 519 in 2009.

The situation in Iraq is stabilizing with military withdrawal set for 2011.

One of his first actions as President was to sign executive orders to close Guantanamo detention center, ban secret CIA prisons overseas and bar CIA interrogators of detainees from using harsh techniques. However the closure of Guantanamo is still a work in progress and has been significantly stalled by the recent homeland security breach when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was allowed to board a Detroit-bound flight with a bomb in his underpants.

Since then Mr. Obama has suspended plans to send any more detainees from the Guantanamo prison back to Yemen, where Al-Qaeda appears to have been trained the bomber in question. Obama described this lapse in homeland security as a failure to “connect the dots” in terms of intelligence interpretation, it was also a very near-miss. The fact remains, no matter how many Nobel peace prizes he collects or how he sugar coats it, he is a war president.

Obama’s handling of the economy since entering office has been effective under the circumstances and overall the economic situation has stabilized. In

February he took decisive action signing an $800 billion stimulus package into law rescuing the American financial system from disaster following the fall of Lehman brothers and the sub-prime market crash.

Although Wall Street has stabilized unemployment is the issue affecting most Americans. The unemployment rate at present is 10 per cent, this is one of the toughest domestic challenges facing Obama, for the whole of 2009 the economy shed 4.2 million jobs.

He recently proposed a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee “to be imposed on major financial firms until the American people are fully compensated for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street”. The measure is a response to reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses “at the firms who owe their continued existence to the American people.” A more positive economic outcome for Mr. Obama was the successful rescue of two of America’s largest car makers General Motors and Chrysler.

Although Mr. Obama has, as of yet, failed to make any progress in regard to climate change and domestic energy, a key initiative of his first year was the progress made in getting the Health Care Reform Bill through the Senate and the House. The final merged document which is to provide a health insurance framework for 30 million Americans has not yet been signed off but many feel disappointed that Obama has not asserted a stronger will in negotiations to include a commitment

to a government-run health insurer, the ‘public option’. Indeed he largely left it up to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid the top democrats in the House and Senate to design the health bill.

Since his inauguration Obama

Obama gave his performance year a B+, not bad for a Harvard law graduate

has been consistently attacked by the Republicans who believe that he is soft on terrorism, that he is a secret Muslim communist, that he is not really an American citizen and also according to John McCain that he is “leading an extreme, left-wing crusade to bankrupt America” and to end the free market economy. Due to the decline in his approval rating and the economic situation it is predicted that Democrats will lose seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives following the Mid-term elections.

The issue of employment is his Achilles heel, as lack of job creation means that once government stimulus runs dry, a recession relapse could kill any green shoots. Pundits have mentioned the possibility of him being a Jimmy Carter one-term wonder due to the immense challenges and obstacles to a successful

four years, but one year in, it is too early to reasonably judge.

In governing Obama has not lived up to the inspirational heights he reached while campaigning. Many who voted for him feel they still like him but they don’t know him that he is lofty and above-the-fray, still speaking in broad generalizations when people want to connect on a personal level with his leadership. They want to see his empathy for the nuts and bolts of life, not just empty grandiloquence, similar to the current Democrat Candidate the Senate seat for Massachusetts, Martha Coakley.

Personalised persuasion and inspiration is a key function of the modern American President to galvanize the national spirit.

Despite this domestic downturn in popularity, he is still extremely popular in the rest of the world. Foreign relations have improved since he took office and America has certainly gone some way to restoring its image and recovering its moral authority on the world stage.

Analysts estimate that “Brand America” has risen due to the ‘Obama Effect’ from $9.7 trillion to $11.8 trillion.

Speaking on Oprah, Obama graded his first year as a B+, this result is somewhat generous and slightly insulting to the 10 million Americans unemployed. He has come through his first year with adequate success and the challenges he faces in his second year will not be any easier. It would seem at this point he is a President saying ‘maybe we can’ much more than ‘yes we can’.

French idealism: vive le revolution Alison Spillane Staff Writer 2009 WAS a turbulent year for French politics, and neither the Left nor the Right escaped unscathed. The credibility of the old order was well and truly tarnished in a series of high profile court cases which saw various members of Jacques Chirac’s government in the docks before the former President appeared in front of the judges in October. The Parti Socialiste (PS) continued to embarrass itself with incessant infighting whilst Sarkozy’s ‘politique d’ouverture’ (literally ‘politics of openness’) showed signs of cracking towards the end of the year.

For the Left the year began with some surprising developments; in Febuary, led by Olivier Besancenot, the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (LRC) was subsumed into a new – and promising – party; the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA). Uniting the various factions of the far-Left around an anti-capitalist platform, the party has a popular figurehead in Besancenot, a former presidential candidate.

However thus far the NPA has failed to make any real waves on the French political scene.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit’s Europe Ecologie was undoubtedly the dark horse in the European elections, much to the shock and displeasure of the PS. Europe Ecologie is a movement which brings together environmentalists from a wide range of parties, most notably the Greens, as well as non-politicians such as the well-known trade unionist José Bové. In the June elections the movement walked away with a startling 14% of the vote, the highest result ever achieved by an environmental coalition in European elections in France, and placed third overall with the PS only slightly ahead in second, while Sarkozy’s UMP came in first with 31%. What will no doubt give the PS more discomfort is Cohn-Bendit’s decision to continue on the movement to participate in 2010’s

regional elections.

However, the PS had more than enough to worry about within its own camp. Things have not run smoothly for Martine Aubrey since she became head of the party in November 2008.

For one, her main opponent for the leadership, Ségolène Royal, has been a persistent thorn in the side of the Parti Socialiste, publicly going against the party line on issues such as the carbon tax and the sending of reinforcements to Afghanistan. Ms.Royal was on a one-woman crusade to form a Leftwing equivalent of Sarkozy’s politique d’ouverture encompassing politicians

The French political scene was rocked with scandals of nepotism and bust-ups whilst the Parti Socialiste continued to embarrass itself all across the political spectrum.

Embarrassingly, her offer of an alliance was publicly rejected by MoDem leader François Bayrou but Royal has a talent for instigating conflict and it is clear that she created tension within the party; the Communists and the members of Europe Ecologie will all have their guard up.

Royal’s year was also marked by the very public break-up between her and her closest ally Vincent Peillon. The relationship between the pair has been strained for over a year now; Peillon publicly stated that Royal’s efforts to create a Left-wing coalition will be her own undoing and he expressed doubts over her chances of securing a presidential nomination. When Ségolène turned up uninvited to a debate organised by Peillon in Dijon

forced civilities went out the window and what ensued the following week was an ugly exchange of words through the media. Furthermore, as if to signal once and for all his independence from his former chief, Peillon began 2010 by inciting controversy all on his own when he failed to show up for a televised debate on national identity with Immigration Minister Eric Besson.

The French media have had a field day with this most recent scandal, which is perhaps exactly what Peillon had hoped for. Sadly though, the scandal centres not on political convictions or personal integrity but on a clear case of bruised ego as the reason for Peillon’s no-show is because his debate was moved to the second part of the show in order to make way for a face-off between Besson and extreme Right-wing politician Marine LePen. Although Peillon’s stunt was premeditated and he informed party leader Martine Aubrey in advance, the incident has divided the PS once more with several of Peillon’s fellow party members openly criticising his actions. Peillon has since called for the resignation of the show’s presenter, Arlette Chabot, and her superiors at France 2. While Aubrey defended her colleague, she also stated that the party as a whole has made no decision to boycott the popular television channel.

The UMP have described the incident as a ‘scandal’ and Peillon as manipulative but one wonders if they are secretly relieved that Peillon is taking the focus off the problems the national identity issue has created within the UMP itself. The debate has not had the effect anticipated by the party; denounced by the Left as a publicity stunt with the aim of mobilising the Right before the regional elections, it has resulted in nothing but a massive headache for Sarkozy with several members of his party making controversial statements. The President has also met with resistance from within his own camp over structural reforms which some see as an attempt

Ms Ségolène Royal. Photo: Parti Socialiste to recentralise power. Potential dodgy dealings also reared their ugly head this year as allegations of nepotism were thrown at Sarkozy when his 23 year old son Jean looked likely to become head of the agency which manages the Parisian business district La Défense.

At the same time, Sarkozy made a public speech declaring that from now on hard work, rather than familial ties, would be the key to success in France.

The irony is almost too much to bear, and amid much public embarrassment for both father and son, Jean withdrew his candidacy.

That said, Sarkozy’s reputation is definitely bolstered by any comparison with his predecessor Jacques Chirac.

As sentencing was handed down in the Angolagate controversy (investigation into the secret sale and shipment of

arms by the French government to the Angolan government in the 1990s), Chirac’s former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua receive three years in prison, two suspended, and a hefty fine of €100,000. In September, headlines were dominated by the Clearstream affair which saw Sarkozy go head to head with Chirac’s former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin over accusations of forged lists aimed at discrediting the current President, the verdict is expected at the end of January.

So what lies ahead for 2010? At present, the Europe Ecologie movement would seem to offer the most plausible alternative to Sarkozy’s government although the regional elections in June will seal their fate. The PS meanwhile have lost a lot of ground in the last year,

something Aubry will have to work hard to regain in 2010 if she wants her party to present a credible candidate for the presidential elections in 2012. That said, a recent survey saw public opinion name her as the best opposition for Sarkozy but she will still need to whip the PS into shape. Ségolène’s onewoman crusade has been her downfall – in the eyes of many her personal ambition has obstructed several attempts to form a coherent alternative to Nicholas Sarkozy. And, although she clearly desires it, at the minute it seems unlikely that she will secure a second presidential nomination. The recent loss of her second-in-command Vincent Peillon has also been a heavy blow, but she has time on her side and we may see her on the road to the Elysée once more.

EDITORIAL

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

TRINITY NEWS Issue , Volume 56 Tuesday, 26 January 2009 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2 www.trinitynews.ie

TO SOCIETY TREASURERS AND CLASS REPS On Tuesday evening, there is a meeting of both the CSC, and, seperately, the Student’s Union Council. At these meetings, it is hoped, a matter regarding the Capitations Committee will be discussed: namely, that Committee’s terms of reference, which contain a provision for the Senior Dean to seize student publications when he deems it necessary to do so.

The onus is on the editorial staff of this paper to implore the student representatives on these representative bodies to oppose this amendment with any and all power they have. There are enough student votes to oppose this measure, but only if those representatives are mandated by their members to do so.

Most of the discussion on these changes had centred on weighty issues of law and liability for many weeks. Yet it is only in the last few weeks that anyone has begun to ask whether it is right to grant an individual the right to seize and, we can assume, destroy, copies of printed material they disagree with.

It is not right. It has happened before, yes, but failure by previous editors of certain student publications to defend their right to free speech does not constitute an endorsement of blatant censorship.

Nowhere is it written that this power exists already, though some of its proponents would have us believe so.

It is not in the Statutes, nor the calendar, nor in the disciplinary code approved by Board.

It is not in line with the law, nor the code of conduct of the Press Council.

It is not in line with the constitution of this country, which is by no means soft on censorship itself. To have the college police its own court is farcical.

The reality is that many individuals in college believe that student apathy will allow them to bring about any change they wish. This particular item was first placed on the agenda for a meeting of the Capitations Committee less than 24 hours before its scheduled start, and no student representative had seen or heard about it before that time. It had been drawn up by three senior staff behind closed doors. For that reason, student representatives were unwilling to pass it then and there, and the issue never went to a vote.

This paper believes little has changed since then. Should this power be formally granted to the Dean in coming weeks, let us commit to record that many opposed it, and it fell to student representatives of the Central Societies Committee and Student’s Union to defend the right to free speech. We hope that they rise to the occassion.

LIBRARY STAFF HAVE THEIR STORY TOO Two weeks ago, the students of Trinity received an e-mail from Jessie Kurtz, the deputy librarian, informing us of widespread disruption to library services, for example, the cutting of hours in early printed books and the fact that certain desk services “may be affected by staff absences.” These cuts are attributed to the ban on recruitment, “which has resulted in the non-filling of 11 full-time permanent posts.”

Interestingly, though, an hour before the arrival of this e-mail in the inboxes of the student body, a SIPTU representative in the library contacted Trinity News with an opinion piece, outlining the history of the current staffing dispute in the library (which can be read on page 16 of this issue).

This type of contribution is always welcome, as students are often quick to lay blame for any cuts or unwelcome changes to student services at the foot of the amorphous entity that is “college.” Yet in this case, as in many others, there is a much more subtle interplay of vested interests at work, and an overly simplistic view of the dispute is unfair. Whether one agrees with the stance of the trade union or not on this issue, the onus is on those who would complain to familiarise themselves with the distinction between seperate interested parties. It is not impossible that many participants in the Student’s Union “Save the Library” campaign who have complained so vehemently about the library, and in some cases its staff, would also broadly be in favour of a unionised workforce which staunchly opposed pay cuts and the enforcement of working hours outside those agreed.

This is not and should not be taken as an endorsement of SIPTU’s cause. A full library service is essential to the student body, and any disruption to that can only be a bad thing. Rather, we encourage the reader to acknowledge that employment disputes are always complicated, and to inform themselves fully of the facts. The collective staff are as much a part of this university as the student body, and are just as numerous and diverse in their opinions and actions. And informed opinions are always the best kind to hold.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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LETTERS TO THE Editor should be sent to letters@trinitynews.ie or to Trinity News, 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2. The Editor reserves the right to edit submissions for style and length.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Trinity News, its staff or its Editor.

letters@trinitynews.ie

On corrections and apologies Sir– I write a public not private letter to you as the present editor of Trinity News (and hence in no way responsible for the issue of 14 October 2008 which is the occasion of my writing today). I should explain that it has been my deliberate policy since 7 October 2002 to write public e-mails on the question of (sexual) harassment and intimidation since it is the only way of attempting to preserve my name and reputation in the face of a series of scurrilous public allegations against me on this matter. If you have a better method for a person to defend his/her innocence I should be grateful to learn of it. As it is the whole College has been deaf and dumb on the question of my innocence in all this time.

I make the following itemised points: 1. I have never been accused of sexual harassment and intimidation. It is an insult to me to suggest it and I think that any innocent person (like myself) would be angered and insulted by these persistent insinuations.

2. On 7 October 2002 I was the subject of a complaint by a female colleague interpreted by the Senior Dean as a complaint of physical harassment and intimidation (also an insult to me) who summarily suspended me from all my teaching duties and banned me from the Arts Building under the spurious pretext of posing a violent threat to the complainant (a yet more outrageous insult).

3. It was in the wake of this suspension and ban that I put up a notice which included a reference to the complainant as ‘dumb without the merit of being blonde’. My intention then, as now, was to make the complaint as public as possible. That was the only way in which I could (and can) clear my name. It ought to have

been obvious then to the complainant and to the School of English as a whole that a serious error of judgment had been made. I was after all at that time already a distinguished Fellow of the College of long standing. If the complainant and the School had not lacked humility they would have withdrawn the complaint at once and the whole matter could have ended there.

Instead they pursued me unremittingly, using all the punitive measures of the College’s disciplinary code available to them (at great public expense), to a Disciplinary Panel and thence to the High Court and the Supreme Court. I do not know how many protestations of my innocence I made in all that time, but they were simply not interested in them. I might just as well have addressed my protests to sectarian bigots rather than to fellow academics.

4. By 2008 I had been summoned by the College to yet another Disciplinary Panel under the threat of banishment from my rooms in College and indeed from the College itself.

Session 13 of the 17 sessions took place on 14 October 2008. On that day Trinity News chose to publish a high profile piece purporting to set out the background of the case for the benefit of its readers. It was so full of inaccuracies as to be laughable (that is, if you were someone other than me, tainted once again and without a shred of evidence to support the charge with sexual harassment and intimidation).

My solicitor, Gavan Carty, at once made representations to ‘Trinity News’ on my behalf, but no withdrawal of the libel and apology to me for it was forthcoming.

5. Now I learn that a correction was made in the issue of 21 April 2009 (why so late, with the allegation hanging over me through all the intervening period?) as follows: “An article

published in Trinity News’ on 14th October 2008 incorrectly stated that Dr Gerald Morgan was accused of sexual harassment. Dr Morgan wishes to make it clear that he was never accused of sexual harassment”. If the intention was to bury this correction it was entirely successful. It did not come to my attention until yesterday (22 January 2010). I had not been consulted about it nor informed of it and neither had my solicitor. Needless to say this abject correction is no satisfactory response to the original offence.

6. The Disciplinary Panel of 2008 ran to 17 sessions, concluding on 19 October 2008. The Senior Dean and the School of English failed to provide any evidence in all these sessions of guilt on my part in respect of the complaint of physical intimidation and harassment brought against me on 7 October 2002. I am not only innocent of allegations of sexual harassment, then, but I am also innocent (as I have always made clear) of allegations of physical intimidation and harassment. Surely it is the duty of Trinity News (and of all those newspapers so eager to broadcast my name in connection with the original allegations) to make this finding known to the College and country at large. I have been a faithful servant of Trinity College for 41 years and the College has repaid that service by this terrible wrong against my name and reputation. It is surely time for the College to make good for its errors of judgment and to restore my name to its rightful place in our deliberations.

Very best wishes, Gerald Morgan FTCD (1993-2002)

From left: The royal coat of arms, the coat of arms of Trinity College, the arms of the marquess of Waterford and the arms of Lord John George Beresford, archbishop of Armagh. Photos: Martin McKenna

The Campanile’s arms identified OLD TRINITY

by PETER HENRY

THE CAMPANILE has been a recognisable symbol of this college since it was erected in 1852. Descriptions of its architectural merits can be read in many books about the college, most of them pointing out the four philosophers and the figures representing the branches of learning which are visible on the tower.

All, however, seem to omit any description of the four coats of arms which can be seen on the structure. Perhaps these were easily identifiable by earlier generations and recording something so obvious was not thought necessary. This column hopes to remedy the omission.

The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom can be seen on the Parliament Square side of the Campanile. This version of the royal arms has been in use since Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837. The blazon, or heraldic language, describing the royal coat of arms is: Quarterly, first and fourth gules three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langued azure, second quarter or a lion rampant within a double tressure florycounter-flory gules, third quarter azure a harp or stringed argent.

Facing Library Square can be seen the coat of arms of Trinity College. In 1901 the Ulster King of Arms issued a confirmation of arms to the college which gave the blazon as: Azure, a Bible closed, clasps to the dexter, between in chief, on a dexter a lion passant, on the sinister a harp, all or, and in base a castle with two towers domed, each surmounted by a banner flotant from the sides, argent, the dexter flag charged with a cross, the sinister with a saltire, gules.

However, the Campanile displays a version of the college arms which was popular in college in the 19th century. In this version the lion is passant guardant, or facing the viewer,

and the castle’s towers are flamant, or issuing flames, rather than domed and topped with flags as in the definitive arms. This version can also be seen above the entrance to the Museum Building.

On the side of the structure facing Botany Bay are the arms of the marquess of Waterford.

Lord John George Beresford, Archbishop of Armagh and Chancellor of the University of Dublin, was the second surviving son of the first marquess of Waterford. Beresford was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University 1829 and Chancellor in 1851. The Campanile was his gift.

The arms of the marquess of Waterford are blazoned: Quarterly, first and fourth, argent, crusilly fitchée three fleurs de lis, within a border engrailed sable; second and third, argent, a chief indented sable.

Facing Fellows’ Square can be seen the arms of Beresford as archbishop of Armagh. The arms of Lord Waterford, as above, are impaled with those of the archbishopric of Armagh – that is, the two shields are joined in one. The arms of the Armagh diocese are described: Azure, an episcopal staff argent, ensigned with a cross patée or, surmounted by a pallium of the second, edged and fringed or, charged with four crosses formée fitchée sable.

THE CENTRAL Societies Committee introduced a new scarf last term. The committee members should be commended for creating a garment which is consonant with tradition, and for not contributing to the vast number of forgotten hoodies and T-shirts which satisfy individual designers’ desire for novelty, but little else.

Despite the garment itself being likely to stand the test of time, one wonders why the CSC needs a scarf at all. The group’s purpose is to distribute students’ money to the societies, and it requires no identity of its own. I did seek information on the rationale behind the scarf’s introduction, but received no reply. The committee members’ sartorial efforts would surely be better directed towards encouraging societies to resurrect their own forgotten identities.

The scarf is black with two off-centre touching stripes of just under an inch in width each, one white and one maroon.

WHAT HAPPENED to the doctor of divinity degree? The DD has only been awarded only 43 times since 1949, with decreasing regularity as the years have gone by.

The last recipient was the heresiarch Hans Küng, who was awarded the degree honoris causa in 1995. The statutes of Sir William Temple, who was provost from 1609 to 1627, prescribed that candidates for the DD must “deliver three praelections on the errors of the Roman Catholic religion”. Küng has surely done that, having spent a lifetime penning screeds against the Church.

But perhaps it would be best to forget about Fr Küng’s unfortunate degree and return to awarding the doctor in sancta theologia to deserving churchmen – unless there is some impediment of which I am not aware. It would be unfortunate if one of the university’s 10 original degrees were completely abandoned.

THIS COLUMN recently pointed out the sad fact that a hood of the incorrect shape is provided to bachelors of arts when they attend Commencements. Since then it has come to my attention that bachelors of medicine are taking their degrees in a hood of Irish simple shape, not the hood shape peculiar to Dublin University. The School of Physic will mark its tercentenary in 2011, and those preparing for the celebrations might take some action to correct this travesty and ensure that the university’s doctors are wearing the correct MB hood by then.

THANKS TO Barry Devlin Sch, who wrote to confirm that “plucked” in the poem The Examination Hall means failed. He points out that it is used in Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Its synonym “cautioned” can now be confidently added to the college lexicon.

pehenry@tcd.ie

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OPINION

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

“Dear Readers, today I ate cake...”

Women are dieting themselves out of existence, but how has it become an acceptable norm?

Jean Morley believes that certain media outlets must share a proportion of the blame.

Jean Morley TN2 Photo Editor “SUNDAY 1 January: 129 lbs. (but post-Christmas), alcohol units 14 (but effectively covers 2 days as 4 hours of party was on New Year’s Day), cigarettes 22, calories 5424.”

This is not, dear readers, the results of a recent medical or indeed my post-festive shopping list, these are the opening lines of Bridget Jones Diary. Much of the adoration of Helen Fielding’s novel revolves around the fact that it’s “just so believable”. Even the New York Times Book Review took off its sceptical spectacles for a moment, reviewing the book in 1998. “James Joyce it may not be”, it conceded, “but show me the woman to whom this sort of stream-of-consciousness, selfassessing mental clutter is unfamiliar, and I’ll show you the person who will not think Bridget Jones’s Diary is both completely hilarious and spot on.”

Excuse me? While it may seem bizarre to pick an argument with a

“

newspaper review published nearly 12 years ago, I’m still a vicious opponent of the “Bridget Jones effect”. Reading the review online last week, the quote epitomised a cultural phenomenon that has been bothering me since my early teens. Somehow, in the last decade, female self-purgation has become not only a truth reflected by media outlets, but one which is laughed at and glorified too. “Hilarious” and “spot on” are two words typical of our treatment of a troubled female psyche, a mindset gesturing far more towards female body dysmorphic disorder than a healthy participation in everyday life.

Bridget Jones, the size twelve woman who monitors every calorific bite is the hidden author of our glossy magazines.

Celebrities and mere mortals are interviewed in hushed confessional tones and, in a growing trend, invited to mathematically deduce their everyday intake. A most crass example, although I’m sure there are more, is the ‘What I ate today’ column in Now Magazine.

The tagline that “former Atomic

Kitten, 25, admits to skipping breakfast and guzzling tea” reels in readers, perched as they are on the edge of their scales. “Calories 1, 519” says the token nutritionist at the end of column, with the gravity of a state coroner delivering their report. “I’d suggest ditching the champagne and the mozzarella (which is packed with fat) and having fromage frais with the berries instead of cream.”

Maybe it’s unfair to blame magazine editors for women’s attitudes. They have copies to sell and fit female bodies are marketable. A friend of mine, a recent intern in an advertising agency, always stresses the idea of media-as-mirror. If readers are turned on by the rampant of excesses of hysterical womanhood, sell it to them at less than €1.95. Can we really apply harsh ethical standards to the magazines rating the week’s best-dressed? Given their founding principle as momentary diversion in the hairdressers, should we be analysing their alliterating articles at all?

Yes. The press doesn’t just print our opinions; it sanctifies and vilifies certain

attitudes as well. The process of printing and circulating words immortalises them. It gives them an authority beyond the tinkle of everyday chat. And words are constantly moulded by the worlds of print and type. In a time when people’s greetings sound more like Facebook status updates, when we ‘poke’ and ‘tweet’ at strangers more than we wave, the terminology of popular media negotiates our behaviour. It would have been ludicrous to complain about ‘carb overloads’, ‘food comas’ and ‘total binges’ a generation or two ago, but we’re fast becoming numb to such guilt-ridden expressions. If the mockshameful testimonies of brightest stars tell us anything it’s that all women are bound to self-hatred, together.

During the course of one’s entire education, certain words and expressions stick in the brain. First year of English in college left me with the title of a book. The Madwoman in the Attic is a wonderfully-named tome famous for a few controversial feminist arguments on 19th century fiction.

Although much of the main arguments have evacuated my brain, I can’t forget its commentary on the female body. In much Victorian literature, female characters are transient, feeble souls. Much like the kind of period drama heroines gracing our screens, these women melt on moors with the forecast of rain.

Through writing women as weak and diminishing in body , male writers could simultaneously write female characters out of the culture of the time.

Could we see a similar motion at work in our magazines and Sunday supplements? By convincing us that foodanxieties are standard and more or less endorsing the will to starve, the media is writing women away. It’s time to exorcise Bridget Jones from our pages. Let’s make that our New Year’s resolution for 2010.

HEAD TO HEAD: CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME

“ARE WE CREATING A DEPENDENT UNDERCLASS?” valiant but futile attempt to end world hunger through Live Aid. The country is still suffering from food shortages and while its population has dramatically increased the Ethiopian government has done little to improve food supplies or their economy.

Perhaps polemecist Kevin Myers’ was right when he wrote last year, “It’s long overdue that the Irish people abandoned their patronising and racist conceit that we can save Africa. We can’t. Only Africans can save Africa… the longer we continue to reward the outstretched begging bowl, then the longer it will take Africa to learn that basic lesson.”

We are now being forced to face the bitter truth that charity may have to begin at home.

The Simon Community has warned recent budget cuts will force more people onto the streets in the coming year. Focus Ireland have recently reported that the numbers of homeless on our streets has increased exponentially during the downturn.

How many of us in the privileged enclave that is Trinity enthusiastically support aid for Africa while at the same time treat our own poor with barely concealed suspicion and hostility?

Natural disasters have reaped a bitter harvest in the third world and any comparison with the impact of recent flooding on communities west of the Shannon appears on the face of it to be ludacrious. But the responsibility of our Government must be to look after our own people first and to make sure that any monies spent on overseas aid finds its way to those who need it most.

John O’Shea, founder of GOAL, has argued that the way we spend money on overseas aid requires a radical rethink. He wrote recently: ”The success or failure of our efforts in these countries depends heavily on the willingness and the ability of governments to govern effectively and tackle corruption. But the simple fact is that good governance for the most part does not exist in the African continent. Africa is not badly governed because it is poor. It is poor because it is badly governed.” Mr O’Shea is right, despite anyone’s best intentions.

FIRSTLY LET us establish the glaringly obvious – the impact of reducing foreign aid on the lives of ordinary Irish people will be minimal, but the impact on the people who rely on aid as a way of surviving, as a way of maintaining hope, will be huge.

Cutting aid almost certainly isn’t going to stop unemployment being 4.2 percent and it definitely isn’t going to reverse the predicted 9 percent contraction in the Irish economy, but it is going to mean that hundreds of mothers in Pakistan will be forced back into prostitution to provide food for their families; it is going to mean that thousands of children in Ethiopia aren’t going to be able to attend school like they have been and it certainly is going to mean that hundreds of thousands more people will die unnecessarily from HIV related-illnesses.

The point is that whilst a few million euros is relatively small fry to us (the government shelled-out 400 billion euro to help the banks), to the people in developing countries it is a vast sum (average income in Zimbabwe is under $1 a day) which could go a long, long way to solving big issues like clean water and malaria. If this money is spent in Ireland nothing will change, if the money is spent as aid abroad hundreds of thousands will benefit.

Another obvious point is that to stop spending on aid now would effectively render all the money spent previously pointless. Over the last two decades the money donated by Ireland has helped a great many developing countries set-off on the road towards prosperity -surely it is nonsensical to stop spending when we are the closest to reaching this goal that we have ever been. The spending of the future is what enables the spending of the past to have

block during the months of January and February.

I must admit that I am a self-confessed virgin ballgoer. Apart from the yearly Trinity Ball (which let’s face it, isn’t so much a ball as a music festival, where we arrive dressed formally but leave wrapped shivering in every coat and scarf available) I’ve never been to any of Trinity’s society balls. In my first year at college and as a recently returned gap-year traveller, still in the hippy mind-set, I felt that dressing up in expensive formal wear wasn’t my thing. Unfortunately in second year, when I did contemplate attending some event, my negative financial situation offered a clear cut answer: you’re not going anywhere. Having spent a year abroad where balls in universities aren’t the norm, I’ve come to think that I have an obligation, as a fourth year unfamiliar with the ball scene, to attend this year’s biggest society ball.

Still, I can’t help feeling that these balls and formal events are a product of the Celtic Tiger years. Doesn’t it seem somewhat hypocritical that the newspapers are constantly publishing articles about the dire straits that we soon-to-be-graduates are in, facing into the job sector, yet we still have the time and funds to lash out a minimum of €60 for a good night out? And the even bigger question is, will the night out be worth the money we pay?

It was with this question in mind that I approached Matthew Smyth, a member of the committee of Dublin University Business and Economics Society, and therefore one of the main organisers of this year’s ball.

Was it worth spending my carefully saved funds on

a night with the general Arts block population? 80th anniversary was Smyth’s answer. He went on to explain that this year is the 80th anniversary of DUBES, and so this year’s ball was aiming to be bigger and better than ever before. I still wasn’t convinced.

Every society on campus claims to hold the best events, bring in the most enthusiastic members and have the strongest student appeal. I had never even considered joining this business and commerce orientated society so my interest in its activities would have been minimal up until now. Yet, somehow I walked away from my meeting with Smyth having promised to attend the society’s ‘event of the year’.

How did he manage to convert a non-believer to a vision of ball-bonding? Was it because of the promises of an ice sculpture, fake paparazzi, a magician or an incredible lights display? Was it the allure of spending an hour drinking champagne in the Bellini bar in preparation for what was to be a fabulous night?

The reason for my conversion was simple. The easiest way to make a final year student uncomfortable is to point out that they only have a few months left in the cosy, safe environment in which they belong, better known as Trinity College. Moreover, pointing out that they only have a mere matter of weeks to make the most of their college experience puts a real black cloud over the situation, especially when constant assignments are reducing their capacity to have a proper social life. So, what about a distraction, an event to take your mind off the reality of stress and exams? This is how Smyth sold me the BESS ball, a

DAN REILLY SO WHO needs our help most – a starving child in sub-Saharan Africa or a youngster being taught in sub-standard conditions in Athlone?

Not much of a moral conundrum really. The basic human right of having enough to eat must take precedence over the less pressing, though desirable aspiration of equal educational opportunity for all.

Sadly it is not as simple as that. It is time to examine our commitment to overseas development aid on a number of fronts- not least whether our tax euro is being used to prop up regimes that are essentially corrupt.

Throughout 2009 the government has been accused of breaking a “solemn promise” to the world’s poor with cuts to the overseas aid budget down 24 percent to a still eye-watering $671 million.

Concern, Trócaire et al demand the government gets back on track towards its 2012 target of giving 0.7pc of national income.

Protesting against any cut in overseas aid is the knee jerk response of the caring classes.Those that question the received wisdom are branded heartless and uncaring. But questioning how we spend our money, especially at a time when more and more of our citizens are living in poverty, is legitimate. To build schools in another country when our children are being educated in overcrowded, unhygienic prefabs is not the question. But we must establish if our money is actually helping Africa and its people or is it simply creating a dependent underclass incapable of helping themselves.

E t h i o p i a ’ s population has more than doubled since the infamous famine of 1984 and Bob Geldof’s

SOCIETY DIARY SORCHA POLLAK SHALL WE DANCE? ARRIVING BACK to college with those January blues after a relaxing and gluttonous Christmas is never the most pleasant experience, especially when it is overshadowed by essays and presentations and a voice ringing in your ears telling you that the library is where you belong. As a fourth year student I’ve suffered this unpleasant experience. But walking through the Arts block a few days ago the glum, winter surroundings chose to reveal a poster with a rose on it. My initial reaction was to sneer resentfully at the poster, thinking that it was an advertisement for some sort of special Valentine’s day event. However, I was later informed that this was in fact the poster announcing an upcoming ball. And not just any ball, the all too recognisable BESS ball, two words which constantly fill the air in the excited buzz of the Arts

“CUTTING AID WON’T HELP THE IRISH ECONOMY” JOSHUA ROBERTS

its desired effects. There are schools in Malawi, for example, which have enough medicine to vaccinate children against typhoid (spending of the past) but do not have enough syringes (spending of the future) to do so.

To cut foreign aid now would be like draining a saucepan of pasta moments before its cooked, or like waiting 15 minutes to get into the Button Factory only to leave on reaching the front of the queue - if we cut aid now, and even if we start giving again later, we would be consciously choosing to run backwards in the race against poverty which just seems ridiculous.

Although there are a great many more altruistic reasons to continue donating aid, let’s now focus on the selfish ones. Firstly, especially in recent years, a large amount of foreign aid goes towards helping poor countries become more ecologically friendly. Withdrawing this money would result in higher future levels of greenhouses gasses which, as every school boy knows, means melting icecaps (goodbye polar bears),rising sea levels (goodbye Cork) and escalating food prices (goodbye 3 am kebabs).

Another large slice of foreign aid pie goes to establishing and maintaining stability in areas like the Middle East and Central Africa which is hugely desirable as it’s these places, where incomes are low and people are vulnerable, that seeds of extremism often germinate and quickly grow.

If we chose to stop supporting the governments and citizens in these areas in their fight against extremists, we would not only be abandoning innocent citizens to lives of tyranny and danger, but also opening ourselves up to fresh and escalated threats of global terrorism.

It’s just too risky.

Cutting foreign aid would, one way or another, directly or indirectly, ruin and possibly end hundreds of thousands of lives – and all this just so some overpaid, greedy, fat cats can go on pretending like they haven’t crippled this country’s economy. Helping other people didn’t get us into this mess and turning away from them now won’t get us out of it.

”

window of breathing space from the jungle of books and essays. It would provide for me a night filled with rose petals and dancing, from a classical quartet to a jazz band and most importantly, a chocolate fountain!

The reminder that this would be an opportunity to hang out with not only close friends, but also acquaintances made throughout the years, in the beautiful surroundings of the Burlington Hotel, made me question my negative view of society balls. Had I been closed minded about these events?

My discussion with Smyth led to his giving me an overview of DUBES. This is how he sees it: an organization growing in membership, profile and ambition; holding events relevant to every Irish person’s current situation, such as the post-budget analysis, and joining up with other societies such as Cancer Soc, Players and the Student Union, pulling together the enthusiasm which this society has for not only entertaining students but educating them also.

One of the key requirements of student life is to enjoy oneself, to make the most of our lack of responsibility and enjoy freedom of thinking, choice and lifestyle. The BESS ball is the amalgamation of all of these aspects of our college life, or so I’ve been told. So with ticket reserved and the night of the 12th of February cleared on my calendar, am I making the right decision? Will the €60 I spend on that night be worth it? I’ve decided that a night out dancing in pretty gowns is exactly what we need, not only for us longsuffering fourth years, but as an excuse for everybody to forget reality for one night and live the fairytale.

OPINION

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

15

IN PROFILE: FRANCIS BACON

Francis Bacon; valid retrospective or academic voyeurism?

The most recent exhibition of Francis Bacon’s work features his rejected pieces, and is presented as much as an insight to the man as an artisitc endeavour.

THE HUNDREDTH anniversary of Francis Bacon’s birth was celebrated last year. By all accounts he displays the virtues recommended to tortured artists. His highly prized angst is considered a prerequisite for depicting the so-called ‘modern condition’.

Whatever the catalyst was for his art, the results are clear. Bacon was one of the highest selling painters of his time.

Born in Dublin at 63 Lower Baggot Street, his life was all cliché. His father, a military man, disapproved of his son’s foray into art, leading to a predictably strained relationship. Such friction lead Bacon to Europe where he could ply his intended trade free from the untoward influences of convention. Or so say the critics. There are two schools of art criticism, one is interesting while the other is not. The first method attempts to find value in the art work while assessing the technical merits (if any) of the piece. The second method aims at an unnecessary archaeology of the artist’s life and thought. The artists are usually dead, before these critics feel free to extrapolate wildly and attribute significance as they please.

‘A Terrible beauty’ is the title of the Francis Bacon exhibit currently in the Hugh Lane gallery. The exhibit is an exercise in exploitation. Everything ranging from rejected works to refuse is on display if Bacon so much as touched it. His library, paints and studio are displayed so that each voyeur may garner a sufficient degree of empathy for the man, and his interests. The Egyptians buried their dead with much fanfare, but no one could say that they

profited for it. Civilisation has marched on somewhat since then, we still have fanfare, but now we’re also willing to profit from our famous dead. Walking through the Hugh Lane you gain a considerable education, but it’s an odd process somewhat like tearing through your sister’s diary. What you find is of no particular use. Bacon was well known for masochistic tendencies, with highly destructive and violent relationships with his partners and muses for his disturbing works.

His revulsion at his own homosexuality, something he was open about all his life is equally well known.

One of his defining relationships was with a George Dyer, thirty years his junior, who he claimed to have met when he had burgled his apartment, Dyer, a colorful personality himself, committed suicide just before Bacon’s biggest retrospective in Paris, just one instance of tragedy in his life.

Bacon’s exhibition is the visual narration of a plausible life story.

Scrap books, photos and random notes are interspersed between a collection of sketches, paintings and slashed paintings. The main themes to note are progression and influence. Seeds of the final results can be seen in earlier endeavors. The ‘slashed paintings’ are failures by another name. They usually evince the same sparse background of the complete works with a hole where the central image was supposed to reside. The desecration of all the paintings displays a violent and brutal editorial hand. So the decision to display them seems counter-intuitive. This

posthumous abuse is no betterr than aundry. the gratuitous airing of dirty laundry.

But for all the flaws to be found in the exhibit there are some positive points namely, the paintings.

Bacon paints his scenes in a primed strangely figurative style on un-primed ficu fi ccult lt canvas. This method enforces a diffi constraint upon the painter, by which mistakes become difficult to alter, and so ge. This must be incorporated in the image. engenders some strange effects. Theree een his is an obvious disconnect between images and reality but at the samee time, essions he paints hugely evocative expressions ted at of the human form. Contorted bizarre angles or at rest, there is always a degree of isolation to the figures depicted. As a result, one cannot look on kes one with indifference, and what strikes nicates as figurative nonetheless communicates a literal truth. mpathy It is by this principle of empathy unicate that Bacon’s paintings communicate ed. The the sense of the situation depicted. ples of miserable and wretched examples humanity in Bacon’s painting serve ation a cathartic effect. The appreciation marily of such paintings follows primarily from the knowledge that such is not my lot. The miserable nudity of the ess human body seems so defenceless sh and brittle under Bacon’s brush es that the survival of our species ng strikes one anew as an amazing he miracle. The recognition of the suffering or loneliness seems to be eel instinctive, such that I do not feel isery able to dismiss such scenes of misery as melodramatic extensions of the existentialist ‘epiphany’.

The clear emotive success achieved by Bacon’s stark depict tio i ns makes depictions the trip to the Hugh Lane worth it, but bear in mind that while it may give a degree of insight into what was, as with many a creative mind, a troubled existence, however, as with much of todays art cr riticism, it should criticism, be taken with a pinch (or four) of salt.

Making a difference to freedom of speech Tom Lowe Web Editor ON TUESDAY 2nd of February, the Capitation Committee will vote on a new Terms of Reference document. Included in this document is a controversial article – numbered 4.6 – which has proved a bone of contention since the first draft of the document was circulated before the start of this academic year.

Since last I wrote on this topic (University Times, Jan 20th), the proposed wording of the article has changed significantly. A sentence giving the Senior Dean the right to withdraw a publication in cases where College might be sued as a result of its content has been removed, leaving the proviso “to avert any risk of violence to person or damage to property”.

This reduction is a welcome one: as I have argued in the past, the Senior Dean is not a legal professional – to give him the power of accuser, prosecutor and judge in one fell swoop would have been unacceptable.

However, the current revision of the proposal remains, at its core, one which

damages freedom of speech and gives a single member of college staff the role of censor. The article damages freedom of speech in three specific ways.

First, the Senior Dean is not capable of being independent in his judgements by virtue of his position. Second, the criteria for the withdrawal of a publication are subjectively defined and liable to deliberate misinterpretation.

Third, the weak provisions in cases where a Senior Dean is found to have abused his/her power are not enough to dissuade such abuses.

There are cases where freedom of speech can be abused, and they have occurred in this college in recent years.

These abuses are to be avoided, and the only way to do so is to set in place clear and fair rules which define what is and what is not abuse. In addition to this, it is also necessary to have an independent arbitrator to interpret these rules. The independence of this arbitrator is vital – otherwise the implementation of the regulations will not reflect their intentions.

As a result of some of the abuses of freedom of speech which took place in

college over the last few years, every publication in Trinity has voluntarily subscribed to the Press Council of Ireland. This was a huge step in the right direction – where before someone unfairly targeted by a publication could either mount an expensive legal battle or keep quiet, now there is a cheap, quick and independent avenue for dispute resolution.

The excellence of the Press Council as an arbitrator of Irish media law merely highlights the inadequacy of the Senior Dean in this role and the poor and subjective definition of College’s proposed rules.

As a high-ranking member of college staff, the Senior Dean obviously has an opinion and agenda on any topic relating to how the college is run, and whether he intends it or not, these will determine to some extent his opinion on what constitutes “risk of violence to person or damage to property”. I don’t think the Senior Dean is proposing this rule because he wants to control newspapers. I do think that giving him, and all future Senior Deans, the opportunity is a bad idea.

This is an especially bad idea when the rules to be enforced are so open to interpretation. Under the proposed article, “the Senior Dean may withdraw any publication where, in his/her opinion, such immediate action is necessary to avert any risk of violence to person or damage to property.”

The Senior Dean’s opinion is quite simply not enough evidence to merit muzzling the college’s newspapers. It is also distinct from an interpretation in that an interpretation can be logically justified, while an opinion has a subjective element – and subjectivity in legislation leads to bias in its execution.

When the person responsible for its execution is, by virtue of their title, biased, the problem becomes even worse.

The provisions for post hoc assessment of the validity of a Senior Dean’s decision to withdraw a publication mean that he would be essentially unmonitored in his use or abuse of his new powers.

The article makes a feeble attempt to ensure that the power of seizure is used in the spirit intended. It allows the Capitation Committee to

“require full information regarding the circumstances” prompting its use, and it allows it to “investigate the nature” of the offence. These would be welcome measures, were the Senior Dean himself not the Chairperson of the Capitation Committee. The futility of an investigation headed by the subject of that investigation would be laughable were it not so serious.

Crucially, the article makes no provision for the outcome of this investigation. What I would like to know is what happens when a Senior Dean is found to have abused his power of censorship. Will the Capitation Committee remove him from the position of Chairperson? Will he face disciplinary action? I somehow doubt it. This paragraph was tacked on in the assumption that it would never be used to try to assuage the few people on the Capitation Committee willing to defend freedom of speech: I see through it.

It’s not all bad news however.

The proposed Terms of Reference document has changed from the staffwritten Behemoth circulated in June which threatened to withhold funding

from publications who refused to toe the line, to the more considered (yet still imperfect) version discussed here, which was composed with some student consultation.

The student body’s response to this issue when it was first made aware has had an effect. The convenor of the subcommittee responsible for drafting this article, which had held its final meeting in December, circulated this diminished version last Thursday, and has reopened negotiations, proposing another meeting to be held tomorrow. For the first time, I will have the opportunity to represent Trinity Publications in my capacity as Treasurer at this meeting. Needless to say, I will fight to make sure that the issues outlined above are addressed.

Those interested in the outcome of this meeting should join the “Save Freedom of Speech in Trinity” Facebook Page.

It can be found at www.facebook.com/ freedomofspeechTCD. Tom Lowe is Treasurer of Trinity Publications, of which Trinity News is a member.

Home defence: just how much is too much?

Sarah Clarkin Staff Writer WHEN TWO youths dressed in the most threatening off all items of clothing; the dreaded ‘hoodie’, peer through your window of a cold January night, while you are minding your own business, peeling the spuds or chopping the carrots, what way would you react? Keep in mind the fact that your baby daughter is sound asleep in her cot upstairs, and you are alone apart from her, in this situation, rather unhelpful presence.

Surely it is only human nature to wave the knife that you are already holding to scare off these ‘yobs,’ and insure the safety of your family? This is the debate which has been raging through the newspapers of both Ireland and England for the past few years, but has gained momentum in more recent weeks. The woman in the story described above is former Hear’say singer turned I’m A Celebrity contestant turned Marks and Spencer swimwear model turned judge

on forthcoming show that seeks to turn celebrities into opera singers, Mylene Klass.

According to her spokesperson, Klass was not seeking to be a vigilante and does hold the law in the highest regard, but was merely attempting to frighten the trespassers off. Yet, she received a warning from police against brandishing an illegal weapon, even in her own home, that was said to have left her ‘bemused.’ It is a preposterous story, one where it seems the law has more respect for would be burglars than defenceless young women and children in their own homes, but is this the case?

With the Conservatives vowing to make it harder for a person tackling a burglar in their home to be prosecuted and the Irish government hot on their heels proposing similar laws, it is an area that needs to be properly addressed.

The last time such a case was in the spotlight in England was the occasion Munir Hussain was jailed after beating a man who tied his family up in their

home. On one hand, it is possible to justify Hussain’s actions, but then you read the full story. The intruder was beaten with a cricket bat, and was left permanently brain damaged, reportedly as he was running away. Across the Irish Sea, we are not immune to such cases, there is of course the infamous Padraig Nally tale, of the man jailed for six years for killing John Ward. The outcry at the jailing if the farmer for what was perceived as an act of defending his home against an intruder saw the sentence quashed and Nally acquitted after serving eleven months.

In the reporting of all these stories, the slant that was given was that the law was protecting the criminals at the detriment of the weak, vulnerable and innocent. It is all too easy to perceive such cases in this manner, and dangerously, the Law Reform Commission has been reviewing the area of self defence and has made some recommendations which could culminate in a complete defence of murder and acquittal under the new

term ‘legitimate defence.’ Alongside this are proposals that would allow gardaì and prison officers to use lethal force whilst making arrests, dealing with serious public disorders or preventing prison escapes. The Commission has also recommended that the defense of provocation be allowed in murder trials, even if the killing in question does not immediately follow the provocation.

Stated is that the use of force be only allowed as a defence when it is necessary and proportionate, but this appears a mere afterthought, given the strength and ludicrous nature of the recommendations. Whatever gloss that is put on this report, make no bones about it, what it promotes is nothing more than a ‘shoot to kill’ policy, despite the denials of the Law Reform Commission. The idea of “legitimate defence” should make everyone feel uneasy; we are told it will amount to an enhancement of our civil libertes, but in reality it leaves homeowners more vulnerable. The Irish Council for Civil

Liberties condemned the legislation as a ‘having a go’ policy.

When one considers the practicalities of actually ‘having a go,’ the proposals seem all the more ludicrous. If we lived in the US, where licensed firearms were the norm, it would make more sense.

In Ireland, very few possess licenced firearms and those who do are bound by the law to keep it locked away.

Firearms restrictions leave the householder with no choice but to defend themselves with any household appliance to hand, from the child’s novelty drill to the meat cleaver to the microwave. Unless of course we want to introduce our own Second Ammendment to include the phrase ‘the right to bear arms’ into our own Bunreacht na hEireann!

Or maybe the government should simply supply the nation with tasers, which would simply stun the intruder.

Except of course, this would most likely lead to intruders carrying tasers of their own, and hence we have just

made robbery a more violent crime, introducing a right to life and self defence competition.

What is the point in attempting to follow the American model, when I’m certain we can all agree that America has very little to teach us with regards to equal rights and liberties in a democratic society? Robbery is a problem in Irish society, but it general, aggravated burglaries are small. There is no need for this new legislation to be enacted; if the government focused instead on getting the youth of society back to work (youth unemployment has risen 149% since the last general election, and now stands at almost a quarter within the under 25s age bracket) then the numbers of burglaries would naturally decline. Surely this is a simpler solution, but knowing the present government, they will shun these suggestions in favour of wreaking more havoc on our society.

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OPINION

ROUND UP SHANE QUINN & AOIFE CROWLEY STATISTICS

DONEGAL SEES HUGE RISE IN UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES WITH AN overdependence on the construction and hospitality industries, it was inevitable that Donegal would feel the pain of the recession. It now seems that the figures are proving just that.

The numbers on the live register in Donegal in December showed an increase on the November figure with an extra seven hundred people signing on in the run up to Christmas.

Statistics published by the Central Statistics Office on January 12 show that in the space of a year the numbers signing on in the county have risen by over five thousand.

There are now 20,748 people signing on the live register in Donegal, an increase of just under 700 from November to December.

Inishowen showed the greatest rise – an extra 239 people joined the live register in December bringing the region’s total to 4,888.

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson Orla Donnelly Staff Writer

and around affairs of state. Instead, remove politics from the equation and we have a script worthy of Albert Square or at the very least Carrigstown and rather, examine the infinitely more enjoyable examination of the often colourful court of public opinion.

The reception that greets a cougar is most intriguing, as the nation is not divided based solely on gender. Young men would high-five the now 21 year-old Kirk for bagging himself a MILF (and a GILF for that matter) and as she herself may be said to fit into the mould of such a mother and grandmother, they do not seem appalled by her actions. A relatively unpopular but to my mind

Speculate on public reaction to a man who made a death bed promise to his dear friend to care for his teenage daughter... and then began a sexual relationship with his ward.

Loathed, physically disgusting, nauseous, shamefully w i c k e d and a vile

... remove politics from the equation and we have a script worthy of Albert Square or at the very least Carrigstown and rather examine the infinitely more enjoyable examination of the often colourful court of public opinion.

abomination to human kind might not be too harsh nor an uncommon view.

Indeed, paedophilic tendencies could be levied against the man, who although innocent in a court of law, could be condemned as guilty by an unsworn jury of his peers.

Bill Clinton suffered for his feelings for a woman less than half his age. On that the politicians of the North were not so tight lipped; Ian Paisley quipped that they would “have to lock up their women” prior to Bill’s Belfast visit. Where is the lock and key for the young men that wander freely on the hunting grounds of any Irish cougar?

There is however one disadvantage to infidelity amidst women that even such a cougar as the prolific Mrs Robinson cannot avoid. While an adulterous man must simply shrug his shoulders saying ‘he enjoys sex’, the adulterous woman must explain her conduct.

Citing depression and medical illness, Mrs Robinson removed herself from public office early in the New Year. “Psychiatrists may suggest that my mental illness was a significant factor explaining my irrational behaviour. I do not, in any way, question or doubt their judgement, but in order to master my life, I do not want to dilute the blame or resist taking full

THE RUSSELL Group (a group of leading research universities in the UK) has warned that further cuts to higher education could lead to British universities moving from their current gold standard to a bronze one.

In a letter to The Guardian, the group claimed, “It has taken more than 800 years to create one of the world’s greatest education systems and it looks like it will take just six months to bring it to its knees.

“Such huge cuts in university budgets would have a devastating effect not only on students and staff, but also on Britain’s international competitiveness, economy and ability to recover from recession.”

Higher Education Minister, David Lammy, has rejected the group’s assertions. “The suggestion that the savings we have asked from universities will bring higher education ‘to its knees’ is as surprising as it is misleading,” he said.

With both Labour and the Tories making their plans for the unprecedented cuts which will inevitably follow the election later this year, it is hardly surprising that such fears are prevalent throughout the public sector.

THE SEASON of giving is still upon us; so as we share a moment to think about the worst affected by the BIG FREEZE this time of the year, think not of the plight of the Peoples Republic of Cork, those forced from flooding businesses to drowned homes, nor of the ducks rescued in carriers more suitable for canines. No, do not shed tears for the ducks. For there was no such escape from the frostiness radiating from a particular home this festive season as temperatures dropped to a bone-chilling low in one Irish dining room.

“I love my wife”, the First Minister of Northern Ireland said last week. Perhaps he was alone in this sentiment. Outrage gripped both sides of the border as a 60 year-old woman, First Lady of the North admitted to a salacious affair with the then 19 year-old youth whom she described as “the other son [she] would have loved to have been a mother to”.

The poster lady for Christian values had a long way to fall from the moral pedestal she spent a lifetime building, largely on the back of those she frequently dammed by her comments.

The focus of reports adequately assesses the reactions and fallout of the £45,000 the young man received, the countless infringes of the Councillors Code of Conduct Rulebook that she herself is alleged to have breached in assisting her teenage lover’s business venture, and her failure to declare such a pecuniary interest in the Lock Keepers Inn Café in Belfast. It also seems that there is little more need to discuss the political implications of the North’s First Ministers possible knowledge of such illegal dealings. Nor is it necessary to further contemplate the probable effect the affair could have on the devolution of Policing and Justice to Stormont. It would also be an affront to public intelligence to assume that any amount of shock ensued by further evidence that those in power may on occasion use their positions for self gain. As such I will venture none and assume that naivety has not sunk to astronomical proportions of stupidity.

So let us not be dragged into the duller repercussions of sex in

MEDIA

LIBRARY STAFF DISPUTEE

EDUCATION

BRITISH UNIVERSITIES WARN OF IMMINENT “MELTDOWN”

PALIN JOINS FOX NEWS CHANNEL AS CONTRIBUTOR WHEN SARAH Palin abruptly stepped down as Governor of Alaska in July before the end of her first term, many questioned how she could maintain a national presence without the platform of elected office.

Palin, however, has already proved her talent for raising wry smiles and giving people the occasional fit of the shudders. With a bestselling book, an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and controversial Facebook postings, Palin hasn’t been far from the spotlight.

The great cause of McCain’s election loss has now found another way to entertain us all: by signing on as a contributor for the (not so) much respected Fox News Channel.

Palin, who made her debut last week on “The O’Reilly Factor”, will appear regularly as a commentator on the network. She will also be one of the hosts of an occasional series called “Real American Stories”, a fascinating show about how everyday Americans cope with challenges…

WORLD NEWS

MURDER TRIALS ARE NO JOKING MATTER ATLANTA A MURDER trial in America has been reopened by the Supreme Court after it came to light that in a bizarre move, the jury had presented the judge with an edible chocolate penis and the bailiff with a pair of chocolate breasts.

Marcus Wellons of Atlanta had been convicted of the 1989 murder and rape of a 15 year-old girl.

Wellon’s lawyers were not aware of the strange gifts, and only found out about them during the preparations of his appeal.

The Supreme Court declared that judicial proceedings which could result in a death sentence must be conducted with dignity and respect.

poignant facebook group asks the most paramount of question; Iris Robinson- Would You? “Hell yes I could use 50k”, Andy writes, which is a most logical of responses from the younger male generation.

Whereas older men frown slightly on the fact that one of those young pups is taking a hot-fish from their proverbial over 50’s sea, the majority of women are outraged openly, which is warranted given her comment on the fact that she would have liked to have been his mother.

However a smaller contingent of the fairer sex might admit that they too would not be opposed to the idea of a toy-boy. The cynic might make the assumption that the former are merely revolted by the emergence of a certain green-eyed fellow at dear Iris’ fortune.

How would we react if Mrs Robinson were a Mr Robinson?

responsibility for my actions. I am completely ashamed and deeply embarrassed… though my medical condition was a factor, I was not, at this time, true to the values, I professed.” She justified and excused her actions in a solitary statement before retreating into hiding after the BBC Spotlight programme revealed the details.

Should a horny 60 year-old claim mental illness for engaging romantically with a (rather attractive) 19 year-old? Or is it warranted because the 60 year-old is not male? She explained thatthe relationship was self destructive and out of character. No man would have to go so far as reveal medical problems to brush past a romp or two. So why did she sully her achievement as the island’s solitary cougar?

In earnest this is most definitely a private family matter, but the

media and general consensus would most likely assert that public figures are fair game. One positive outcome has been overlooked in the scandal that erupted over the holidays- that Nationalists and Unionists agree on something; not one of their members wishes to speak openly about the relationship.

And anything that keeps Ian Paisley’s mouth clamped could be classified as a good thing, could it not?

Iris may have humbly sought forgiveness from God and her husband (in that order), but nonetheless it seems that public opinion has the true final judgement.

But for the moment; here’s to you, Mrs Robinson, it’s still unclear if Jesus loves you, or God blesses you - but some of us salute you.

Semesterisation battle turns ugly Dr Jack McGinley SIPTU representative,Trinity College IN A long running dispute in Trinity over the semesterisation of term durations the University has, in recent weeks, sent home library staff who were working to ‘contract’.

Semesterisation refers to the movement of the academic year structure. Staff who turned up for regular 9-5 hour shifts were advised by senior library management that they were required to work an evening duty shift from 15.30 to 22.00 hours despite the fact that there is no agreement with their trade union on the matter.

Late last year the Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer (Patrick Prendergast) advised the university board that, further to implementing the new academic year structure in Michaelmas Term 2008, discussions had taken place with staff representative groups.

He stated that significant progress had been made and that, although there were still some outstanding issues to be resolved, the discussions had been positive and had not identified any issues that would prevent the implementation of the new academic year structure.

The board, noting that negotiations with trade unions and staff representative groups will continue throughout the implementation phase, approved the move to the new academic year structure effective from 2009/2010.

Discussions took place locally in an attempt to resolve issues which SIPTU had identified as blockages to the smooth implementation of semesterisation. These discussions had begun before the Board decision but meetings were slow to take place until the Fellows of the College and the Board had given their assent.

Indeed, some managerial areas saw this as an opportunity to cut budgetary costs and services. In March 2009, a very tempestuous meeting took place with the TCD personnel

department to no avail. The matter was raised by the 3 SIPTU representatives on the Board of TCD and assurances were given that everything would be sorted before too long.

The Board repesentatives met the Chief Operations Officer (COO) and he assured them that a solution would be found. An offer of two days annual leave on a once-off basis was refused as staff were of the view that the settlement in the Waterford Institute of Technology V IMPACT dispute of five days was the least they would accept. The university parted company with the Chief Operations Officer around this time and the Staff Secretary was appointed as the acting COO. At the beginning of the 2009/10 Academic year, despite the assurances of all concerned, there was no agreement in place with the ICTU trade unions on semesterisation although the main organisation representing Academic staff in TCD, IFUT/ASA had come to some agreement on academic issues of concern including no end of term examinations, and the placing of a reading week within the new term structure.

The matter trundled on over the summer of 2009 without resolution. Eventually, SIPTU referred the matter to the Labour Relations Commission and a solution was brokered. At the insistence of the university, staff were balloted by the TCD ICTU Group of Unions.

SIPTU members showed their good faith in the matter by working a revised evening duty roster for September and December including many weeks of unsocial hours while the matter was under discussion.

SIPTU balloted on the issue and accepted by a wide majority the LRC proposal which brokered the solution over a 2 days +3 days formula. SIPTU notified the university at a local meeting that it had accepted the LRC recommendation.

At the same time the national talks on the Public Sector were progressing before the

On the final day before the holidays SIPTU members in the library received an email from the librarian, Robin Adams, which many staff members took as threatening Budget date of December 9th. On December 4th the government pulled the plug on the sectoral discussions and with that decision any hope of identifying a change agenda.In the absence of any agreement SIPTU advised management that its staff in the library would work to their contracts and would work 9-5 the week after the festive holidays as they had done for nine of the last ten years.

On the final day before the holidays SIPTU members in the library received an email from the librarian, Robin Adams, which many staff members took as threatening. It advised: “In this regard staff, who are rostered to work on the evening roster in the week commencing 4th January 2010, should report for work at the prescribed 3:30 pm start time each day, as normal.

In accordance with agreed Trade Union/ College Grievance Procedures, and in line with industrial relations best practice, where local agreement cannot be reached on a dispute the matter is progressed to the Labour Relations Commission and ultimately the Labour Court, if necessary. I can confirm that College management is committed to a resolution of this matter through such participation.

I am to confirm that any action contrary to the above direction will be viewed as

industrial action, with the inherent associated consequences.”

On January 4th-7th SIPTU members who were included on a rostered week with which they had not agreed presented themselves for work from 9-5. They were sent home and advised to report back at 3.30 pm.

Many staff members viewed the conduct of management on the issue as the lowest nadir of the university’s colourful industrial relations history. The dispute had been to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) where a solution was brokered. However, following the collapsing by government of discussions with the Public Service unions in December and despite the fact that SIPTU had balloted in favour of an LRC recommendation, the University has unilaterally decided to impose changes in work practices.

SIPTU has over 110 members in the Library on the grades affected. The spotlight now turns from SIPTU to other ICTU unions which have difficulties with the fact that there is no agreement in place for the old Hilary and Trinity terms. UNITE trade union are believed to be consulting staff in the matter and word from that quarter is expected imminently.

As for the 2010/11 Academic Year, there is no agreement in place with SIPTU and the likelihood of the matter continuing, unresolved, into another academic year is not as far fetched as it seems. The possibility of staff changing their view in the light of managerial intransigence, and students being without Library evening facilities in late August, September and into October is looking ever more likely unless somebody brokers an equitable solution.

So much for World Class Universities in Ireland!

Dr Jack McGinley is a SIPTU representative in Trinity, and Supervisor of Campus Bookstacks.

SCIENCE

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Top 10 scientific discoveries of 2009 2009 has been a red-letter year for scientific discovery. From anthropology to zoology, new finds have abounded, marking the closing year of this first decadee of the century with distinction. National Geographic compiled a list of the top 10 0 most read-about discoveries of 2009. Adam Seline takes a look at the winners. s.

17

IN BRIEF JOHN ENGLE BIOLOGY

ARACHNOPHOBIA RESEARCHERS AT Tel Aviv University have isolated certain toxin in the venom of scorpions to create an e ecologically friendly a and safe pesticide.

S Some of the toxins tthat make up the p powerful cocktail of scorpion venom only affect iinsects. By isolating these, the researchers can ccreate a pesticide that can only harm the actual p pests. Further research has allowed the researchers tto manipulate these toxins to further reduce their ttoxicity to non-harmful insects and to humans.

N NANOTECHNOLOGY

10

An exceptionally rare 13foot long megamouth shark was caught on March 30 by mackerel fishers off the city of Donsol in Philippines.

The 500-kilogram shark, only the 41st ever observed since the species’ discovery off Oahu, Hawaii in 1976, was butchered for its valuable meat and prepared as a popular dish called kinuout. The unfortunate shark represents a very important discovery for marine biology.

The highly unusual species was so distinct from other sharks that it has been classified into an entirely new family and genus. Like the whale shark, the megamouth is a filter feeder that preys on tiny animals much as baleen whales do.

9

Thousands of teeth from as early as 2500 years ago examined from collections in Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History have been found to indicate that ancient peoples of Mesoamerica went to early “dentists” to decorate their teeth with engravings, grooves, and semiprecious gemstones. This practice was apparently not symbolic of social class, but was rather a widespread practice in early Mesoamerican culture.

8

Nine alien species of giant snake threaten ecological catastrophe if they establish themselves in the US, the entire southern third of which is vulnerable. Two species of snakes have

already established themselves in Florida. The most populous species, the Burmese python, has the potential to spread across much of the southern US. Several of the species have been known to attack and kill people. Such attacks are rare, and represent a minimal risk compared to the overall ecological threat the reptiles pose.

7

The finding that the world’s biggest snake was a massive anacondalike beast that dwelt in sweltering tropical rain forests about 60 million years ago represents the second appearance on this year’s Top 10 list by giant snakes. Measuring 42 feet in length and weighing 1135 kg, Titanoboa cerrejonesis was truly a monster.

6

An almost perfectly preserved gold rush-era sternwheeler steam ship was discovered at the bottom of a lake in the Canadian Yukon.

Sinking in a storm in 1901, the A.J. Goddard remains virtually pristine. The crewmen’s boots, kicked off in haste as they abandoned ship, were found on the deck.

Fresh firewood was still in the boiler, and cooking and eating utensils were strewn about. The ship represents an unprecedented find.

5

Ardipithecus ramidus, or “Ardi”, was identified in October as the oldest human ancestor fossil. Discovered in the Afar desert of Ethiopia, Ardi shows an unexpected mix of advanced characteristics and of primitive traits seen in much older apes that were unlike chimps or gorillas. The skeleton offers insight into what the last common ancestor of humans and living apes might have been like. Radiometric dating of two layers of volcanic ash that tightly sandwiched the fossil deposits revealed that Ardi lived 4.4 million years ago. All of mankind’s previously known hominid ancestors walked upright on two legs, like humans.

But Ardi’s feet, pelvis, legs, and hands

SSPEED RACER

suggest she was a biped on the ground but a s. quadruped when moving about in the trees. th Wear patterns and isotopes in Ardi’s teeth s, suggest a diet that consisting of fruits, nuts, and other forest foods.

4

A specimen of a Worcester’s ’ ct buttonquail, thought to be extinct ed and known only through painted nd representations, was discovered and s photographed in the Philippines.

The buttonquail was evidently then sold and eaten. This may be the last gasp of the species, but the buttonquail is from a “notoriously cryptic and unobtrusive family of birds,” according to the nonprofit Birdlife International, so the species may yet survive undetected in other regions.

3

A new cloud type has been identified, the first time a new type has been identified since 1951. Nicknamed “Jacques Cousteau clouds” by their discoverer Gavin Pretor-Pinney after their resemblance to a turbulent ocean observed from below, the new cloud type has likely never been identified due to its extreme rarity.

2

foundwithitssoft found with its soft transparent dome intact.

1

Darwinius masillae, or “Ida”, the 47million-year-old fossil represents a key link species in the chain of primate evolution. Ida bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs. The lemurlike skeleton features several primate-like characteristics, such as grasping hands, opposable thumbs, clawless digits with nails, and relatively short limbs. Ida is incredibly well preserved. Scientists were able to examine fossil evidence of fur and soft tissue and even picked through the remains of her last meal: fruits, seeds, and leaves.

It is rarely thought about in the mainstream, but issues in science, from its methodology to their meaning, are regular fields of debate among philosophers. One of the most contentious of these is the question of the nature of unobservable entities.

What are unobservable entities? They are objects or particles that cannot be directly viewed at all. Such objects include electrons and other infinitesimally small subatomic particles. The reason there is a debate concerning such particles is the fact that they cannot be directly observed. The only way to “observe”, or rather detect, electrons is through a cloud chamber in which the trails of the electrons can be observed.

There is a wing of the philosophy of science, called the anti-realists, that contends that a scientist is not justified in believing that electrons truly exist, because they

are impossible to observe directly through empirical means. By this reasoning we can never know that whether electrons are real things or simply convenient models that happen to fit the observed pattern.

The scientific community, who generally ascribe, either explicitly or implicitly, to the other wing of the philosophy of science, the realists, largely ignores such an argument as this. After all, physicists assume electrons exist for use in practical experiment application on a regular basis. Physicists use electrons to generate new phenomena.

It certainly seems farfetched to claim that we can use an entity we are not convinced really exist to generate and test other novel predictions.

For this reason, the skeptic position has largely fallen by the wayside from the perspective of the scientific community.

Rather, the vast majority of experimental scientists generally ascribe to the realist school, though in practice it can be said

that they tend to think little about the philosophical justifications of their work.

A contemporary example of this divide over the reality of unobservable objects can be seen in the form of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s highest-energy particle accelerator. One of the great ambitions of the LHC is to detect empirically some of the minute subatomic particles currently described now only in theoretical models. Such particles, like the Higgs-Boson, the particle attributed with being the source of mass, if identified by the LHC could revolutionize the discipline of particle physics.This ambition seems to be a perfectly legitimate one, but if we look at it from the perspective of antirealist thinkers, the indentifying of these directly unobservable particles has reduced significance. Fortunately for the operators of the LHC, the overwhelming majority of physicists, and people in general, are willing to accept the existence of such things so long as they are detectable by some means,

TRINITY RESEARCH UNDERSTANDING CELLULAR SUICIDE PROF. SEAMUS Martin has a longstanding interest in how and why cells die and how other cells in the body respond to the death of one of their neighbours. You might think that cells simply die by accident or due to old age, but there are many situations where cells actually commit suicide by activating a set of enzymes that coordinate their own death. This type of deliberate cell death (called apoptosis)

is very important because it goes on in the body literally every minute of the day where it functions to protect us from the development of cancer and numerous other life-threatening conditions. In essence, when a cell becomes badly damaged, or acts abnormally in some way, apoptosis is used to rid the body of that errant cell. Seamus Martin is in no doubt that advances in our knowledge of how apoptosis is regulated will lead to new treatments for cancer, autoimmunity and other conditions where cell death control has become disrupted in

MEDICINE

EYES WIDE SHUT

The 6-inch Pacific barreleye ma) has (Macropinna microstoma) been known since 1939, but only from mangled specimens dragged to the surface by nets.

We now have photographs o the very first live specimen ever observed. Described by TV’s Stephen Colbert as the “craziest fucking thing I’ve ever heard”, the bizarre-looking fish has a head like a fighter-plane cockpit, with highly sensitive, barrel-like eye topped by green, orb-like lenses. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) discovered the fish alive off California’s central coast. It is the first specimen of its kind to bee

The philosophy of particle physics Victor Nightingale Contributing Writer

RESEARCHERS IN Texas have birthed a new generation of molecular machines. The tiny so-called “nanodragster” molecular machine, only one 1/50,000th the width of a human hair and wheels consisting of a mere 60 atoms each, resembles a racecar. When exposed to heat or an electric field gradient, the nanocar travels along a gold surface. This new nanocar makes several improvements on previous designs and can operate at lower temperatures than its predecessors and with greater agility. This vehicle is also much easier to control than previous nanocars. The nanocar represents a key step in the development of operable nanomachines that could one day be used extensively in the manufacturing of computer circuits and electronics.

even if those means be to an extent indirect.

Ultimately, the realist position held by the scientific community at large seems to be perfectly justified in its position. Electrons and other “unobservables” serve a great deal of practical purpose, and so long as they do there is no practical reason to question their validity. This debate is interesting not so much for the practical arguments posited by the anti-realists, but rather because it highlights the generally understated value of philosophy in the realm of scientific enquiry.

Often science portrays itself as purely an empirical venture, yet normative judgments regarding such things as what even qualifies as an explanation abound in scientific discourse. The philosophy of science remains a fruitful, if overlooked, branch of philosophy and does serve a clear purpose in helping establish issues of debate within the scientific community, helping it to come to consensus and to consider issues that might well be overlooked otherwise.

RESEARCHERS FROM UC Davis Medical Center have developed artificial muscles that restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis due to injuries, strokes, or nerve damage, to blink. This development has the potential to help thousands.

In addition, the technique, which uses a combination of electrode leads and silicon polymers, could be used to develop synthetic muscles to control other parts of the body.

This artificial muscle is designed to provide a long-lasting eyelid blink that will protect the eye and also improve the facial appearance of people suffering from muscular paralysis. It acts like human muscles by expanding and contracting, based on variable voltage input levels. This development represents the first of many potential uses for this technology. Eventually synthetic muscles could be developed for usage in other muscles regions of the body. This technology has great potential for use in rehabilitating patients with other forms of muscular paralysis.

TRUE BLOOD RESEARCHERS AT the University of Essex have synthesized an artificial form of hemoglobin that is less toxic than natural hemoglobin. This represents a necessary step in the effort to develop functional synthetic blood. Such a development would represent a gigantic achievement for medical science and end the chronic pressure on blood banks to maintain their stocks.

FORGET ME NOT RESEARCHERS AT Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a “longevity gene” that helps to slow age-related decline in brain function. This gene, the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene variant increases blood levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the so-called good. Participants in the study who carried two copies of the favorable CETP variant had a 70 percent reduction in their risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease compared with participants who carried no copies of this gene variant. Drugs that mimic the gene’s effect are now under development as a preventative treatment.

ASTRONOMY some way. Working within The Smurfit Institute of Genetics at Trinity College, The Martin laboratory are one of the most highly cited labs in the world in this area and their work is funded by major and prestigious research grants from Science Foundation Ireland and the Wellcome Trust UK. Seamus Martin was also recently elected to the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), a European-wide academy of scientists that includes 50 Nobel laureates, and is only the sixth Irish scientist to be elected to EMBO in its 45 year history.

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

BY STUDYING a triple planetary system that resembles a scaled-up version of our own Sun’s family of planets, astronomers have been able to obtain the first direct spectrum -- the “chemical fingerprint” of a planet orbiting a distant star. The spectrum of a planet is its cosmic fingerprint. It provides information about the chemical elements in the planet’s atmosphere. Using the information gained from this analysis, researchers can better understand how the planets formed, and may eventually be able to help identify signs of extraterrestrial life.

18

BUSINESS & CAREERS

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Bruton: the next man of the hour?

Staff Writer Alex Hamilton and Business Editor Jason Somerville sit down with the man who could be the next Minister for Finance.

Alex Hamilton & Jason Somerville IRELAND IS currently going through one of the most brutal recessions in living memory. Policies have never been so hotly defended and opposed as economists, politicians, business people, and the general public grapple with the issues at hand. The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, recently defended his party’s economic policies in this paper, and we felt it was only fair to give his most vocal critic, Mr. Richard Bruton of Fine Gael, that same chance. As support for the government plummets, and its wafer thin majority constantly under threat, Mr Bruton could well be the next Minister for Finance. We sat down with him to discuss his alternative prescriptions for restoring economic growth.

Mr. Bruton is quick to acknowledge what a difficult position we find ourselves in; “we are in a vicious circle.”

Although the recent budget brought in cuts of around €4 billion, he points out that €1.5 billion will be given back in unemployment payments, and an another €2 billion will made to debt payments, therefore “virtually all of this effort in this budget has been running hard to stand still, and the reason for this is that there is not a credible jobs strategy that would break us out of this cycle.”

Fine Gael have put forward a program to promote employment that revolves around establishing a holding company where they would invest state equity; it would be comprised of the water network, the state broadband, the electricity system to name but a few.

The private sector would then be able to invest in this company and Fine Gael hopes to raise 8 billion from this scheme as part of their plan to invest 11 billion in these key infrastructures. Mr Bruton is adamant that these infrastructures are the key to making us competitive; “our electricity is in the red zone, we’re the worst at water with 40% of it leaking in to the ground.” So what does this all have to with jobs?

Mr. Bruton argues this considerable investment will be employing the best in our country in areas such as science and engineering, valuing the “knowledge” parts of our workforce.

This emphasis on job creation can also be seen in Fine Gael’s Graduate Placement Program which would aim to help recent graduates “get their foot on the ladder so they would at least have their first notch on the C.V. of credible experience.”

He stresses the need to balance the long term prospects of the economy with the short term need to implement measures to dissuade graduates and young people from emigration. “66% of

the jobs lost have been amongst people who are under 25, and almost 90% among those under 30, so this has been very much a young person’s recession.”

But while the need to increase jobs is of course still apparent, is a jobs creation

... those with the potential to go to college should not be turned away at the gate. In the long-term, however, there will have to be some sort of contribution... plan of this magnitude necessary given recent Live Register figures?

“Absolutely,” he says. “The government themselves are predicting 70,000 jobs lost in 2010, a 40% fall in investment, a decline in GDP, and we have already lost 220,000 jobs.”

Relating to the issue of young people in this country, we turn to key student issues such as university fees and the registration fee. These were not affected by the budget; however what is Fine Gael’s plan when it comes to these crucial issues? “Well we have said very clearly that we’re going to freeze all government charges, and our ambition is to reduce those charges.

However I think the reality is they [the government] have asked people to take a 13 drop in wages over two years, and I think public servants have the right to turn round and ask why there is not a 13% drop in the registration fee.”

However, universities up and down the country continue to complain about the need to decrease deficits, and a credible argument can be made that universities should have their budgets left intact as important drivers of success in this knowledge economy.

But Mr Bruton argues that there is a need to eradicate the bad practices of administration and service delivery which are, he says, apparent in all areas in the public sector: “If we are to ask the taxpayer to pay more, then we have to show they are going to be empowered by this.”

On student fees, Fine Gael is very clear. They do not support the idea and think that those with the potential to go to college should not be turned away at the gate. In the long-term, however, there will have to be some sort of contribution; “we believe that this should be a contribution after you’ve

become employed, but we fully believe that any introduction of any such model has to be based on a high quality service at efficient market rates.” With the two largest political parties in Ireland now advocating student fees in one form or another, it seems inevitable that they will be introduced in the not too distant future.

We turn to the divisive issue of leadership. Fine Gael has consistently bemoaned the lack of strong leadership from the government. Mr Bruton complains that soft-option politics has been used where government has effectively failed to reform public service, and consequently we cannot afford the cost of the public service even after the recent budget cuts. He puts it bluntly, saying “they’ve bottled it when it comes to confronting the reform agenda. We would introduce a bidding system on performance… we would make them accountable for results, and if management do not shape up then they will have to ship out.”

One of the greatest controversies to surround the current government has been t h e setting up of

for government but it may not be feasible. When asked what sort of message it would send to investors to see Anglo wound down, Mr Bruton argued that “shareholders in the banks and bondholders in the banks are not the measure of confidence in the bank system.” Banks are simply “a means to an end.”

This refusal to acknowledge the important role that investor confidence plays in restoring independence to the banking sector is a major area of concern. Banks need to be able to raise capital in a self-sufficient manner and central to this is private investment.

After the worst financial disaster in 80 years, investors need to be confident that their money is safe in these institutions.

Mr Bruton, perhaps

justifiably so, appears more concerned with the broader social implications of NAMA and with punishing reckless investors. “The stable should be cleaned out,” he says. If Fine Gael get into power and make good on their proposals then we can expect a shift in power in the banking sector. As Deputy Bruton rightly points out, what we had isn’t normal banking, w e had lost the run o f

ourselves. He adds that “a new banking culture should not be feared.”

Mr Bruton closes by addressing the issue of Ireland’s international reputation as a place for investment.

He argues that the talent and ingenuity that brought us success in the private sector is still there, however, it has been severely impaired in the last six years, with higher cost structures, inefficient utilities, and poor working practices in public services. “To drive the engine back, you have to address all these issues. Leadership in the public sector is what is needed.”

NAMA. Mr Bruton i s advocating a radically different course of action. As he puts it “the government has created an unholy mess in the banking system.” What Fine Gael is proposing is a new, staterun, “good” bank with the aim of getting credit flowing to the economy.

Furthermore, while accepting that it would be a difficult exercise, Fine Gael “are not pretending that AngloIrish is supportable,” and believe it needs to be wound down. A review of NAMA has also been flagged.

From our discussion with Mr Bruton it’s clear that NAMA has no place in Fine Gael’s vision of banking. Indeed, Fine Gael’s proposals for the banking sector represent the most radical deviation from the current program

Why Tobin Taxes wouldn’t have prevented the financial crisis Jonanthan Wyse Staff Writer THE ECONOMIST recently discussed Gordon Brown’s populist rhetoric on the subject of the Tobin Tax, a fee that would be levied by governments on any financial transaction. Suggested by the economist James Tobin in 1973, the measure was initially designed to reduce short-term currency speculation and thus cushion exchange rate fluctuations. Since it was first proposed however, the concept has expanded to encompass a charge on all financial transactions. US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner admits that such a policy would be useless unless adopted worldwide, because trading would simply migrate to unregulated jurisdictions.

Public support for such measures is worrying though, as they would be ineffective in preventing risk-taking in financial markets or harmful asset price bubbles (which can lead to crises such as the Great Depression, Japan’s Lost Decade, and the recent financial crisis).

It would certainly be extremely effective at making markets inefficient.

To be sure, the Tobin Tax would deter speculation, but only in the sense that it would deter all kinds of financial transactions. In reality, this policy suffers from classic adverse selection because those targeted under the scheme are the people most likely to ignore a Tobin Tax. Such a measure could create a disincentive effect by deterring sensible trading in efficient markets, where the spread (the difference between the bid and offer prices available in the market) is small and liquidity (the degree to which you can buy and sell without affecting prices) is high.

To understand how ineffective such a measure would be, we must look at the way in which the behaviour of traders would be influenced. Investment banks and financial institutions attract capital by promising return to investors. Then, by leveraging their assets, a typical investment firm can borrow multiples of their holdings from banks to bet in the markets. How does the Tobin Tax come

a trader’s ability to take huge risks through leverage and general financial adroitness is unaffected by taxing individual transactions.

He can adopt a hugely risky position through a handful of trades. Thus, the Tobin Tax doesn’t solve that problem. into this? Well, a trader’s ability to take huge risks through leverage and general financial adroitness is unaffected by taxing individual transactions. He can adopt a hugely risky position through a handful of trades. Thus, the Tobin

Tax doesn’t solve that problem – which most regard as the primary cause of the financial crisis.

Because the Tobin Tax has no means of distinguishing risky and safe firms, it would have to be low enough not to completely destroy highly-liquid markets. Invariably, this means that it will have minimal impact on lowfrequency trading for the purposes of achieving highly-leveraged, risky positions.

Similarly, traders can still maintain very little risk through frequent highvolume trading. If they are responsible and understand financial markets very well, that can be very profitable and makes the market more efficient.

Indeed, many financial firms specialise solely in types of ‘arbitrage’, riskless profit earned when traders buy an asset from one actor and sell it immediately to someone else at a higher price.

What happens once firms are trading in markets where risk is present?

They buy and sell risk to each other, according to their ability to hold it

while maintaining profit. Depending on what else is in their portfolio, different firms can more easily hold an asset than everyone else. For example, buying a risky asset might suit you very well if it correlates negatively with another asset in your portfolio. Suppose the other asset is a bond belonging to a green technology firm, and you already hold stock in an oil company. When one does badly, the other is more certain to do well either today or tomorrow.

This is known as ‘diversification.’

Although perhaps unattractive individually, financial assets look nicer depending on how they’re bundled with others. This efficient bundling of financial assets reduces risks all over the system. When transactions charges like the Tobin Tax preclude such trades, they can actually expose the market to more risk. The markets most susceptible to this levy are the most efficient financial markets (those that operate on incredibly low profit levels for any given transaction) so that means that many trades won’t happen in these markets if

a tax is levied.

Many of the most important international markets are efficient and highly liquid (for example, foreign exchange markets). Indeed, that’s why they’re efficient and highly liquid. But when these markets are brought to a stand-still, you reduce the capacity of that market to efficiently allocate risk.

If the precedent of government bailouts makes it necessary to regulate the financial sector, the government should head for the root of the problem. Capital ratios (the amount of money that financial firms need to keep in reserve) may need to be increased, in order to reduce the necessity for massive government intervention. This is the true source of risk and instability.

Indeed, progressive capital ratios may offer a long-term solution to government involvement in banking.

It is worrying that the head of the International Monetary Fund recently admitted that he will be considering the case for the Tobin Tax. Let’s hope it was just a publicity stunt.

FORTNIGHT IN FIGURES

€1.5 BN the amount that the country’s biggest property developer, Bernard McNamara, owes to a number of banks.

5.0% the decline in prices yearon-year in December 2009, according to recent CPI figures.

£13.3 BN Kraft’s offer for British chocolate giant Cadbury; at £8.40 per share it is the biggest one yet.

146 the number of new routes already announced by Ryanair this year.

€200M the amount that The Irish Life & Permanent group is expected to release as part of the securitization of its Life book.

BUSINESS & CAREERS

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

19

JOKE OF THE FORTNIGHT

Unilever: when life hands you lemons, make Ben and Jerry’s

Q: How many central bank economists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: Just one - he holds the lightbulb and the whole earth revolves around him.

BOOKS

There’s nothing half baked about Unilever’s business plan. Business Editor Jason Somerville explores how, despite the global recession, Unilever have been able to rake in the dough.

IRAQ, INC PRATAP CHATTERJEE

Jason Somerville Business & Careers Editor THE PHRASE ‘don’t let a good recession go to waste’ has become a cliché over the last 12 months. Nevertheless it is the companies that have embraced this belief that are beginning to distinguish themselves from the pack. Ryanair and IKEA are obvious examples of low-cost businesses that have thrived in the current climate, but a source of real innovation can be found beneath the surface of multinational consumer goods giant Unilever.

Unilever is a global company, manufacturing around 400 brands which span 14 sub-categories across Food, Home Care and Personal Care.

Brands range from global favourites such as Dove, Cif, Lipton, Knorr and Omo, to trusted local brands such as Blue Band, Suave and Marmite. With an employee payroll consisting of over 174,000 people and worldwide revenue of €40.5 billion in 2008 it is hard to envisage how any further cost advantages could creep into the organisation. However, the recent appointment of new CEO Paul Polman has proven to be the catalyst.

Mr Polman’s appointment marks a crucial turning point for the company.

Not only is he the first external candidate to be made Chief Executive, but he is also under no illusions about the inefficiencies that are rife amongst the ranks of Unilever. Since taking up his position in January, Mr Polman has tried to increase the speed of decisionmaking in a company, known for its sprawling yet cautious bureaucracy.

A former employee of rival consumer giant Nestlé, he quickly set about reversing the pricing strategy of his retired predecessor, Patrick Cescau. Mr. Cescau jacked up prices last year as the recession was taking root, causing some consumers to stop buying its products and consequently driving down sales volume in the first quarter. It is a simple economic fact that in a recession, consumers respond to a reduction in disposable income by substituting their preferences toward cheaper brands.

In order to avoid this, established brands need to reduce their prices to compensate consumers for the loss in income.

Not only has Unilever achieved this, but it has reduced prices by an even greater amount with the goal of boosting sales volumes as well as its alreadyimpressive market share.

A n average price reduction of 11 percent across 70 percent of its 900-strong brand portfolio has ensured its remarkable success.

“We’re looking at opportunities to drive costs out of the system to reinvest the savings back in growth,” Mr. Polman said at a recent media briefing in London.

The immediate impact; secondquarter sales rose 4.1% after stripping out the effect of currency changes, divestments and acquisitions - a strong result given the global recession. By comparison, at rival Procter & Gamble Co., sales measured on the same basis over the same period fell 1%.

A recent report by Nomura Securities reaffirmed its confidence in the company and noted that a “commercial and cultural change is underway to better leverage Unilever’s strong brands and category positions”. It added that we can expect to see more from the cost control story which will prove vital given that retailers are expected to have another tough year in 2010. “In a consumer/competitive environment which we believe will become more challenging in 2010, we favour groups like Unilever that are coming from a relatively low base for cost efficiencies and consumer and channel propositions,” the report concluded.

The global recession has been at its most intense in places such as Ireland. It is therefore here that some of the greatest opportunities lie. Acutely aware of this fact, Unilever has launched an ambitious expansion into the Irish market to take advantage of the worst recession of any country

in the OECD or European Union. The ‘Ireland says “Yes!” to Unilever’ price reductions adverstising campaign has facilitated this by drawing consumers’ attention to the new lower prices offered on Unilever products ranging from Bathroom cleaner Cif to Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream. With Ireland’s unemployment rate set to hit 13 percent, its citizens need all the help they can get.

Unilever trimming its prices positions the company as an ally in trying times, and will help to instil goodwill in the consumer not only now but in the years to come.

While Unilever’s performance is certainly impressive, there remain considerable risks to its further growth.

A combination of a weak consumer environment, lower margins, higher finance and tax costs, as well as an increase in pension costs has contributed to a 17% decline in profit year-on-year for the first half of this year. Going forward, Unilever is exposed to a number of commodity inputs, all of which are subject to price fluctuation. Significant increases in commodity prices could potentially wipe out any cost cutting advantages that the company has gained over the course of 2009. In addition, any further deterioration in emerging market economies could materially impact profits.

Despite this, when all the variables are factored in, it seems likely that Unilever will continue to perform well in the current climate.

The real challenge lies in restoring profit margins once economies return to strong growth. If it attempts to do so prematurely, it could choke off any of the gains from the initial price reductions, and if it does so too late then consumers, accustomed to lower prices, may be turned away from the brands all together. It is a risky game, but one that has so far ensured growth in the midst of an economic and financial crisis.

UNIFACTS Lever Bros brought out their first product, Sunlight Soap, in the 1890s. By the first decade of the 20th century, Unilever’s founding companies expansion nearly outstriped the supply of raw materials of oils and fats. Business was fast expanding, and companies entered into discussions on forming cartels. But instead they agree to merge, resulting in Unilever.

Through the Great Depression, World War II and the post War period, Unilever diversified into the foods market. it continued to diversify in the subsequent decades.

The psychology of shopping Lisa Keenan Deputy Business & Careers JANUARY IS traditionally the month to break out of old patterns and to form healthier ones. Although cynics argue that we shouldn’t wait until the New Year to make changes, I always feel that it’s easier to be good when everyone else is trying to be good too. With this in mind, I decided to join the rest of the country in resolving to reign in my spending and get control over all matters financial. I pulled out my bank statements; I made a list of all my outgoings and drew up a tight budget; I even identified the products I waste money on and gave myself strict instructions to avoid them like the plague. So far, so good. But about six days into the New Year I fell off the wagon.

I ventured into a shop to spend a voucher which had been floating around my wallet for weeks – and left after fifteen minutes with more bags than I could carry. Two hours later, when I got home, and the madness had subsided, I discovered that I had spent more in cash than the value of the voucher on products I had never intended to buy.

Two days later, I was still searching for a plausible explanation. Initially I blamed my friend for encouraging me, but I quickly began to suspect that there might be darker forces at work.

We are all aware at some level of the various tricks which retailers employ in an attempt to get us in to their store and persuade us to open our wallets. Window displays are one obvious example of an attempt to lure us inside, and they serve two

main functions. Firstly, they are clearly a means of signalling which products are available in-store. Clothes shops in particular spend a great deal of time creating ‘looks’ in their windows which make their products appealing.

Secondly, window displays represent an inexpensive means for stores to demonstrate the kind of lifestyle they are selling. Is the window display minimalist like Molton Brown? Is it chaotic and oozing luxury like Brown Thomas’ Christmas display? Is it screaming decadence and indulgence like The Butler s Chocolate Café? Whatever its flavour, the goal of the window display is to get people through the doors.

Once in, retailers have a whole range of techniques which have people reaching for their wallets.

Dr. Rajagopal Raghunathan, marketing professor at The University of Texas, points out the importance of the gender differences which must be taken into account when laying out a store. He argues that men will tend to pursue their objective, say to buy a pair of jeans, with single-mindedness; while women will be more likely to browse in an attempt to gather information for use in both current and future purchases. Apparently, this is why many men’s clothes shops will tend to engage in colour co-ordinating: men will not wander through the shop to search for matching items, so these must instead be close at hand. For an extreme example of this phenomenon, visit a Lacoste store. Disturbingly, their clothes are only available in around five sickly shades, each of which is segregated from the others. Whether this strategy has been successful

in turning visitors to the shop into customers, I cannot say. Clearly I am not their target market.

Stereotyping aside, there are many other non-gender-based techniques which are employed by retailers to get us spending: tiles or wood to make you walk fast; carpet to slow you down; music to make you feel more relaxed; small luxury products strategically placed at tills; expensive products at eye-level while cheaper ones are higher up or lower down; hiding essential items at the back of the store or on another floor so that you have to walk through a host of non-essential ones to find the paracetamol you came in for in the first place; and constantly re-organising the store so that every time you go shopping

... tiles or wood to make you walk fast; carpet to slow you down; music to make you feel more relaxed; small luxury products strategically placed at tills ... you get to play ‘hunt the eggs.’

Actually, store re-organisation has the keepin the shopping added benefit of keeping ‘n new’ and d keeping the environment ‘new’ customer awaree of hiss surroundings, mo ore likely likely to notice the making him more ailers want him products which the reta retailers

to notice. Although these methods are to an extent accepted by customers as part of the shopping experience, that is not to say that they go uncontested.

For example, there has been a relatively recent backlash against supermarkets’ practice of placing sweets at checkouts.

Parents felt that their children were being unfairly targeted and that they themselves were being pressured into buying junk-food in order to stop their children’s nagging. Many supermarkets responded to criticism by removing the sweets from some of their tills.

But if we are aware of retailer’s methods, why is it that we still end up succumbing to them? Back in 2006, Psychology Today was reporting on studies which showed that the reason so many of us find spending money to be a pleasurable experience is that it realises dopamine into the brain “in a manner not dissimilar to that experienced by a drug addict getting a fix.” Triggered by the excitement of newness and unfamiliarity, this chemical is responsible for the “shopping high,” and ultimate crash – the emptiness that we feel once the dopamine has subsided. And, like an addict craving a fix, we keep chasing the high. Of course, it is useless to look at shopping as an undifferentiated phenomenon. Everybody has their poison. Some people can’t stand clothes shopping, but let them loose in a HMV and they go a little crazy.

So much for what drives us to spend, but what are the factors which determine what we spend our money on? Well, if we were in fact rational actors as the economists claim, we would probably get

most of our information about products from sources such as the Consumer Report (a document which reports how a wide variety of consumer products have performed under testing). In reality, as Barry Schwartz states in The Paradox of Choice, anecdotal evidence and direct experience carry much more weight when determining what to buy. If the Consumer Report were, for example, to confirm Toyota’s claim that its cars are among the best built in the world, but a friend were to tell you that her Toyota was very unreliable, what would you do?

If you were to act completely rationally, you would ignore your friend and buy the car. In reality, you probably wouldn’t get it.

Similarly, if people selected products out of truly rational motives, advertising would be largely redundant: it would serve merely to show that a product is available. In truth, advertising is designed to appeal to people at a psychological level. What kind of person are you? What kind of person do you want to be? The potential to negotiate and renegotiate our identities is endless.

This is why celebrity perfume is a multimillion dollar industry. Want to be Kate Moss? The next best thing is to smell like her! Irrational? Yes. But consumers are shelling out millions to feel like a star.

All of this suggests that this time next year many of us will be making the same resolution to cut down on our spending.

And we will probably do the same the year after that. More importantly, it shows that even when it comes to buying a sliced-loaf, there are significant psychological factors at play which reveal the modern myth of the sovereign consumer.

WHEN PRESIDENT George Bush Jr. appeared on the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1 2003 to celebrate the American’s “mission accomplished” it seems safe to say that his administration believed that the hard part of Operation Iraqi Freedom was over. Little did they realise that their problems were just beginning.

Pratap Chatterjee explores the failure of the allied forces’ attempt at the reconstruction of Iraq. Painstakingly researched, and incorporating interviews and anecdotes from his time as a reporter in Iraq after the ‘liberation’, he paints a picture of a people let down by the Allies. Rather than striving to help ordinary Iraqis, Chatterjee argues that the invasion and its aftermath triggered a gold rush, causing companies to fall over themselves in order to cash in on a chaotic situation.

Although the author expects the Allies to take their share of the blame, it is clear from the outset that they were not in direct control of many aspects of the reconstruction of Iraq. Various private corporations have contracts which make them responsible for areas as diverse as schools, energy plants and ‘nation building’. How companies such as Halliburton, Bechtel, CACI, Titan and SAIC actually won these contracts is explored by Chatterjee. What becomes clear is that the cronyism which exists between politicians, as well as those at the head of intelligence agencies, in the United States and these corporations makes real competition and oversight impossible. Competition for the contracts, which might reduce the cost to the American taxpayer, was also hampered by the fact that companies originating from countries which had opposed the war were not allowed to make bids.

Although the difficulties of ordinary Iraqis are very much centrestage in this book, the real story is the profiteering which has been made possible by the occupation.

‘Costs-plus’ contracts, whereby contractors are awarded their costs plus a percentage of the total cost, have resulted in companies over-spending to increase their profits. In some cases, companies took on a huge influx of staff then ordered their employees to engage in pointless tasks such as driving empty containers from one depot to another. In others, companies would deliberately buy more expensive products in order to drive costs up.

One memorable example of this is when Halliburton insisted on buying orange embroidered towels for a US exercise facility which were over three times the price of other estimates. When questioned, officials stated that their intention was to avoid theft.

Iraq, Inc. is essentially a catalogue of failures on the part of the allied forces, and greed on the part of those companies which the Allies outsourced reconstruction to. Reading it is tough going at times because the inclusion of so many figures disrupts the narrative. Also, the author provides a mere overview of activities of these corporations in Iraq and his desire to be comprehensive here means that the histories of these companies and their employees are often frustratingly brief (many of these companies have a history of human rights abuses and collaboration with totalitarian regimes which would merit further exploration). Chatterjee does, however, manage to dispel the myth that the war in Iraq was just about oil. Reading Iraq, Inc.: a Profitable Occupation, we get the sense that whatever about oil, there are much easier ways to make money in an occupied nation.

Review by Lisa Keenan

20

TRAVEL

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Grease on the street 1 CANADA ITS INTERNATIONAL reputation as an emblematic cosmopolitan city is due largely in part to its delectable cuisine. Though not its classiest, Montréal’s poutine is by far its most infamous, artery-clogging disaster. You’ll find many variations on the poutine, but the original is still where it’s at. Comprised of chips and special cheese curds (some claim it’s only a real poutine if these curds are quebecois), it is doused in a gravy that the importance of is all too often underrated. For one of the world’s best, look for La Banquise, open 24 hours.

Having lived in the area for some time, a special mention must be given to the infamous Window Noodles. Just about anyone who has strolled down St. Laurent past midnight has seen the lineup (often longer than that of the discos) for the special $2 deal.

Sold out of a shop window, these are essentially chow mein noodles covered in a mysterious peanut butter sauce. This simple combo has been a staple of the infamous Montréal nightlife for years, and draws people out whether its 30c˚, plus or minus.

Wash it down with: a St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, probably one of the best beers in the world.

Since the dawn of man, the primary driving force behind the movement of people has been one basic necessity: food. Not much has changed today, except that in our excess, our migration is less about a lack of local goods, but a craving for the exotic. The following are a collection of street foods made with only the greasiest of pans from around the globe. You’d be hard pressed to find most of these delicacies served up in most of the usual hostels, let alone the 5-stars.

REMEMBER WHERE YOU COME FROM SURE, YOU’RE a poor student. You have every right to haggle down the price of your eats. It’s e, but it’s an intricate an accepted part of the game, ng and can tu turn rn n dance that often borders on insultin insulting e proverbial arro og ga an ntt the everyday traveler into the arrogant g ov ver-priced, d,, b d ut ut Westerner. No one likes being over-priced, but he ere re yyou ou o u always remember to think in context of w where m. are and where you came from.

4

3 EGYPT

2 MOROCCO WITH COUNTLESS streetside feasts, it’s a tough call choosing only one. Lemkhenfer (Moroccan Galettes) are more a snack than a meal, and are easier to grab on the go than some of the other sultry parcels you may pick up at the market. They come in a variety of fillings, but my favourite rendition is the basic cheese lemkhenfer. Be sure to stay away from open flames, as it doesn’t take long for the oil to slick all over your hands.

Wash it down with: what else, but Mint Tea?

FUL IS one of the cheapest and most common foods you will find on the streets and in the homes of Egyptians. If you’ve paid more than 2 Egyptian Pounds (the equivalent of €0.25), you have been taken for a ride, my friend.

You’ll find many variations of spices and vegetables thrown in, but Ful is at its core just Fava beans, often served with pitta bread. Though typically a breakfast meal, the serious shoestring budget traveler can survive off Ful for weeks, at a click of €15 a week.

SOUTH KOREA

IT’S HARD to put into a small paragraph the whole culture of street food in Korea. Prices are a bit higher than the avid street food connoisseur might be used to, but the multifariousness of choice is worth it.

One of the most popular dishes one might find on the street is Dukk-BohkGi. A medley of flavour, it’s essentially a rice cake in a sweet and spicy hot pepper sauce, with an assortment of vegetables and often a hard-boiled egg. For those of Caucasian descent, you may need to learn the phrase, “may I have another water, please?”

Wash it down with: Soju – a rice liqeur that tastes about as harsh as vodka, but half the proof. Sounds rough, but you’ll see old Korean grandmothers sipping it from shot glasses at family luncheons.

Wash it down with: Water fountains are everywhere, and out of these filthy spouts flows a water that Evian wishes they could bottle.

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7 6 5 USA LIKE MONTRÉAL, New York is spoiled in its variety.

If you can’t find it here, you can’t find it anywhere. Though Brooklyn still reigns supreme as my favourite of the five boroughs, the Lower East Side in Manhattan offers up a plethora of greasy options for the local and tourist to enjoy.

With the selection available, it is almost a travesty to choose pizza as the recommended greasy street option. But if Dublin is the only place you’ve had pizza, a classic New York pie will be as exotic to you as the rat-on-a-stick I had mentioned elsewhere (which I’m sure you could find in NY without looking too hard). For the best last-call slice on the Lower East Side, Ray’s on Houston between Orchard and Ludlow is your best bet. If the lineup is too much to handle, try Stromboli on St. Marks and 1st Ave, or even the bodega on the corner of 4th and Avenue B. Wash it down with: a Brooklyn Lager.

8 INDIA

7 KENYA 6 TANZANIA PROBABLY THE simplest, greasiest late night food you’ll find in Tanzania, “Chips-in-Egg” can be found at any corner pan in rural Tanzania. Ingredients include eggs, chips, and a litre of grease in a pan that is more a makeshiftdeep frier than anything else. For an extra kick, ask for a little Peptang sauce top-off. There really is no better way to cap off a night at the police canteen than a litre of grease and egg. Warning: just like the booze, this hearty snack will also leave you wondering “why?!” But, also like alcohol, you will likely keep coming back.

Wash it down with: Kilimanjaro Beer

MATATU BROKEN down? Hamna Shida friend, for the food will come to you. Fear not the mystery meat, and satisfy your hunger with a delicious Mbuzi-on-astick. Just what is this wondrous delicacy?

Mbuzi is actually just goat meat, but that claim is sometimes questionable, as raton-a-stick is also a rare, but not impossible, occurance. That’s not to knock rat, however.

You don’t even have to move, as vendors will come to you, with mbuzi clad in hand. A word to the wise: look out for the no-meat, all-fat sticks.

They’ll leave you with a pasty mouth for days.

Wash it down with: Tusker Lager. And if you’re feeling especially saucy, a Tusker Malt.

FIVE SECOND RULE WHEN IT comes to street food, usually the only thing holding one back is the question of hygiene (because it certainly shouldn’t be the price). It’s true, trying just about everything will probably leave you on the sidelines once in a while. But as a fervent believer of the Hygiene Theory (which suggests the increase in immunological disease is due to our modern aspiration to achieve the cleanliness of a vacuum), I can only say that what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. That being said, when there is a lack of water, soap, combined with a noticeable absence of toilet paper, a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer might go a long way.

INDIA (NORTH) INDIA IS so rich in spice and flavour that dividing it into North and South doesn’t even come close to doing it justice. There is so much choice that when it comes down to accessibility and the grease factor, vegetable biryani is the hands down winner.

Just about any train station in India is a safe bet for fantastic streetside biryani. However, in this editor’s travels, it is only here, despite dining from the widest range of streetside delicacy, that my immune system faltered. See the side note on cautions.

INDIA (SOUTH) FOR STREET food in the South, it’s all about the chutney, especially when it comes to samosas.

Though they may run you as much as €1 each abroad, find the right streetside vendor and you can easily provide yourself with a meal a day for the equivalent of roughly a 20 cents piece.

A special mention must be made about streetside watermelon carts. In 40c˚ weather, at 5 cents a piece, there is no debate.

Just do it. You won’t regret it.

Wash it down with: Kingfisher Lager

SPORT

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

21

Listen up Leeds and Ireland, it’s time to leave political football behind Darragh McCashin sees many similarities between the recent past of both Ireland and Leeds United. With Leeds now managing to turn things around, it remains to be seen if Ireland can do the same Darragh McCashin Contributing Writer IRELAND ENTERS an icy 2010 with much trepidation circling the economic recovery. In the sporting world, the biggest football shock of the decade thus far was arguably Leeds United’s victory over premiership giants Manchester United in the FA Cup in early January. A lot has been made of Leeds United’s demise over the years, a fair comparison between Ireland’s economic mismanagement and Leeds’

The sudden reemergence of Leeds United and its juxtaposition with the Irish case will, and should, be a lesson to all armchair economists, fat cats, sport fans and society in general. story was even explored in this paper last year, and predictably, a lot was written about their success over their rivals after the match. However, a few points are missing. The sudden re-emergence of Leeds United and its juxtaposition with the Irish case will, and should, be a lesson to all armchair economists, fat cats, sport fans and society in general.

Top of the premiership at the turn of the millennium, Champions-league semi-finalists in 2001, a young squad build largely upon a world-class youth system – Leeds had the potential, the dream and the ambition. To chase that dream, one has to play the game. Blind indulgence in a rip-off transfer market,

over-paying under-achieving players and expensive fish for the offices became the behaviour of the powersthat-were at Elland Road. This is allowed should the dream be achieved, one might ask? Perhaps in the football world. To progress towards their dream, Leeds needed to ensure participation for the £20million-for-qualification Champions League; ‘so finish at least 4th in the league’, instructed the board.

5th place resulted. And what followed was the start of the demise: a plethora of unsuccessful managers that could not achieve their aim with a hugelytalented squad of internationals and a devoted fan-base. Bafflingly, this lead to relegation to the Championship, and ultimately league one, as liquidation, unity and politics were battled.

The best place to invest! A small open economy with a young well-educated workforce equipped with a hard-working attitude in a low corporation taxed environment. This was Celtic Tiger Ireland’s proclamation to the world, this seduced countless multinationals to overpay us with money, promises and fill us with dreams the morning after.

At one stage, The Dubliner magazine suggested most of Irish people were middle class, yet the gap between the immensely rich and inexcusably poor was increasing dramatically. At the same time, government ministers were being chauffeured around airports for sickening amounts of money before dutifully engaging in the widespread culture of corruption. Such officials, however, were re-elected; Fintan O’Toole in Ship of Fools recalled of how many Irish people across the country reinstated corrupted politicians, all in the name of the Celtic Tiger dream we were all promised. We all know what followed.

Global rip-off financial markets full of untrustworthy boards contributed to the international recession hitting those who had dreamt (and acted upon such

dreams) the hardest.

Combining the two summaries sheds similarities, of course. Reflecting upon the two, we can depressingly observe further similarities in what has since transpired only. I speak of the overall culture and thinking attached to the management of both Leeds United and Irish economic-society. Obviously, one can speak all day about the need for regulation and transparency which was missing so very alarmingly in both cases. Instead though, I think it is more worthwhile to look at the quest involved for both Leeds and Ireland. For all the

A lack of transparency and a decision to sweep things under the carpet where possible was evident here; all within a system of cheaply-run institutions supposedly for the control of crime. dreaming, did neither party think they would one day wake up? Whether you are a corrupt politician, an overpaid upper-class consultant who knows the local TD all too well or a student, why was it that you continued to plough ahead with the ambitions of money, success, money and success? Because you were allowed to, encouraged to, lead to believe that is normal and expected.

5th place was never going to happen, but what if it did? And it did. What if 3rd level fees are to be re-introduced and taxes heavily increased thereby decreasing long-term employment opportunities?

They might.

Aside from such quests and their eventual outcomes, the culture of

misguided ambitions, corruption and macho-men embedded within Irish life and the Leeds United story is probably the worst aspect. This is because we are now, on a quantitative level, witnessing the true mess such a culture has delivered us to (1 in 3 males under 25 are now unemployed; Leeds’ debt eventually peaked at £90m) yet, on a qualitative level, we cannot instantaneously learn of such realities, rather they are only now filtering through uncomfortably.

Ex Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale spoke of how his Irish manager David O’Leary arrogantly interrupted a transfer meeting by throwing over £7m on the table for a player which should have sold for under half that.

A painful example of this in Irish society, although indirectly linked to this articles central theme, is Ireland’s coming to grips with the findings of the Ryan Report. A lack of transparency and a decision to sweep things under the carpet where possible was evident here; all within a system of cheaply-run and class-conflicting institutions supposedly for the control of crime.

It was control. It was “political football”. Truly digesting the horrific nature of this report is not possible but honouring the national heroes and heroines who survived it and are turning a formalised report into a qualitatively digestible human reality is imperative.

The victims of this national scandal were repeatedly accused of seeking money, or labelled insane by national psychiatric journalists who are now nowhere to be seen in the columns.

Yet even though they could well be given vast amounts of money, victims are adamant that all they want is for someone to stand up and say this is what happened and apologise. It is borderline disrespectful to directly compare this

example with the theme of my article but the principles from this case deserve to be applied because they are inescapably human, extinguishing political bullshit and bypassing the plentiful timewasters in society along the way. No matter what our quests are or the outcomes of them (previous or eventual), the Ryan Report story has the capacity to make u s

freeze and remember what really matters, and not a lot does matter. Aside from delivering justice, I believe we should use the report for such reasons, and not shy away from being (for want of a better description) constructively inspired by it. It was the inspiration for the “political football” quote I adopt here, taken from the infamous outburst on Questions and Answers.

It was Sunday 3rd January 2010 at approximately nineteen minutes past one in a cold but sunny Old Trafford stadium in Manchester when the young

Jermaine Beckford slipped the ball over the Manchester United goal line, and the match finished 1-0. Predictably, the mainstream media leaped on the story, initially for the result but the following days saw many a columnist romanticise over the nature of the victory. It was the fiery undying passion, hard-hitting tackling, genuine honest determination and speed of the Leeds team which earned them worldwide applause.

Apparently, hope is there for us all because this league one Yorkshire team have deservedly walked over the Manchester giants who have long represented the dominating purchasing-power of international club football.

Pat Dolan on Setanta spoke of the refreshment derived from the fact that once a committed eleven man team are put out against another team, anything can happen (Leeds were 18/1 to win).

It was a success story for football, as lower league clubs struggle for their survival. Leeds, now earning profits annually unlike Manchester United (£700m in debt), six points clear in their league with a game in hand and a highly rated young manager, appear to symbolise all that one should hope for in hard times when everything can hit rock bottom all at once. Leeds are back playing the game, a game similar to that which nearly destroyed them, except now they are playing it a different way – playing it in a way which seems to have communicated something genuine. I sense this is what really fuelled the media’s recent fascination with Leeds.

Will Irish society do something similar? Collectively, if we can all learn something, we can only hope that the old cliché proves to be the case: ‘it’s a game of two halves’. Until the time arrives that Irish society believes that something genuine is being communicated from all corners of society, then we all might as well live in dreamland and see where that gets us. One thing is for sure, political football appears impossible to avoid.

It’s time to dress-age to impress Kate Rowan Staff Writer I AM going to go out on a limb and make a prediction for the coming years this decade. I believe we are going to see interest in the equestrian sport dressage grow. During the noughties we saw the influence the power of celebrity has had on creating trends and increasing the profile of particular diets or exercise routines.

Recently, dressage has found itself splashed across the pages of many red tops. This coverage has not been confined to the sports pages.

Lately the equestrian event has found itself at the centre of celebrity gossip. Two ladies in particular have caused quite a stir with their new-

found and much publicised passion for dressage.

Probably the biggest name to don jodhpurs and jump on a saddle is the former glamour model turned onewoman business empire Katie “Jordan” Price. The other high profile convert Toni Terry, wife of England and Chelsea captain and centre-back John Terry.

It is probably no coincidence that the fashion and style conscious would choose this equestrian sport. Trinity’s own Anthony Byrne, the current Irish Under 25 National Dressage Champion and Junior Sophister student of Clinical Speech and Language therapy, explained to me “dressage is about aesthetics, it’s all about how the horse

looks and I think that it carries through to the people who get involved. The fashion at the big shows would knock you out! There is a definite glamour factor that would attract celebrities.”

As well as dressage being concerned with the appearance of the horse, it importantly tests the flexibility and suppleness of the animals’ muscles.

Byrne likens his sport to “gymnastics but for horses, the aim is to maximise a horse’s physical potential.” I ask him about what particular talents or qualities a rider would require to excel at the sport and he replies “dressage is all about something in horse terms you would call feel, it is about empathizing with horses.”

Byrne, a native of Gorey, Co. Wexford, himself obviously possesses this “feel” having last summer represented Ireland internationally at the European Young Rider Championships and twice at senior level. He hopes to break into dressage’s elite Grand Prix level “within the next year to 18 months”. He has been riding since the age of eight and chose to specialise in dressage when he was 14.

Price has not been a devotee of the sport for quite as long. She caused quite a stir in horsy circles when she made her competitive debut at Hicksted in 2008, just three months after first taking up dressage, although she had been riding as a hobby since childhood.

Later that year she made high profile exhibition appearances at the prestigious Horse of Year Show and the Olympia Horse Show.

Since announcing her Olympic ambitions for the London Games in 2012, the former lad’s mag favourite has added a distinctly equine flavour to her

already burgeoning enterprises with a series of children’s books Katie Price’s Perfect Ponies and a line of predominantly pink and glitzy equestrian fashions and accessories KP Equestrian. The range boasts the tag line “Put some glamour and sparkle into your riding”!

However, once you scratch the surface into the world of this highly skilled yet elegant sport it is obvious that Price’s Olympic ambitions are rather far-fetched and seem to have more to do with gaining publicity for her equestrian business ventures.

Even Price’s own trainer Andrew Gould had been on the record as saying that his protégée did not hold any hopes

think she is changing the image, which is a positive thing, taking it away from the stereotype of being an elitist sport only for toffs. Not everyone walks around in tweeds with a beagle!”

Despite not everyone in dressage being tweed clad Byrne admits “some of the stereotypes are founded” and goes on “there is a huge cash flow in the sport”. As a result of this wealth, dressage has long been a draw to royalty and aristocrats. The president of the body that governs dressage; the FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale) is former Olympic show jumper Princess Haya of Jordan who is married to Sheik Mohammed, the Ruler of Dubai. One

The former lad’s mag favourite has added a distinctly equine flavour to her already burgeoning enterprises with a series of children’s books and a line of predominantly pink and glitzy equestrian fashions and accessories. The range boasts the tag line “Put some glamour and sparkle into your riding”. of qualifying for the Olympics in two years time.

Byrne believes her much reported about ambition is “for publicity and not at all feasible, it takes years and years of practice to get to Olympic level. Most riders usually don’t reach the peak of their career until they are about 40, it takes until your mid-thirties to build the sort of connections and get the sort of sponsorship required to get a top horse.” The Olympics are also a goal for Byrne but he says “tentatively I hope for 2016 but maybe more realistically it will be 2020.”

However, the Wexford man feels the increased attention Price has given the sport is good for its future “she brought a lot of papers with her to shows that wouldn’t normally cover dressage. I

of dressage’s current crop of Grand Prix riders is Danish Princess Nathalie Zu Saeyn Wittgenstein. Of course British Royal Zara Phillips, daughter of Anne, the Princess Royal is a World Champion at eventing, which dressage is a component of.

Many have argued since professional footballers started picking up vast pay packets and with high earning celebrities, a new “celebrity class” was replacing the old aristocracy and landed gentry in England. Perhaps, at some level the likes of Price and Terry want to cement their place in the upperechelons of society by participating in a sport that has long been associated with those whose status they long for.

Also, the legions of WAGs with a lot of time and money on their hands and

with an desire to show they are more than just a wife, could find dressage the perfect outlet to prove themselves.

Amidst the renowned humans partaking in dressage, the sport’s equine stars should not be forgotten. At the moment in Byrne’s words dressage is being “blown-away by a horse called Totilas who burst on the scene only a year or so ago.”

Moorlands Totilas to give him is full name is being touted as very special, sparking admiration from those involved in all equestrian sports.

He is ridden by Dutchman Edward Gal and together they shattered the world records in dressage last summer, winning the World Dressage Masters and the European Championships.

Gal is dressage’s current idol and gained huge recognition for what is still relatively speaking a minority sport by being nominated for the 2009 Sports Personality of the year in his homeland.

He also keeps up with dressage’s fashion conscious image, always sporting a flashy Hermés belt when in competition.

Byrne is happy with all the attention dressage is getting and makes it clear that it is only natural that the glitterati would be attracted to his sport laughing “I wasn’t exposed to the huge glamour until I went to big international shows. At the World Dressage Masters in Hicksted last summer it was all champagne and Gucci!”

He expounds that it makes sense for celebrities to get involved with dressage as they have long been involved with racing “but with dressage they can have a hands on involvement and actually ride themselves”.

This comparison between dressage and the sport of kings got me thinking.

Imagine if some of the luminaries who own race horses decided to defect to dressage, so they could saddle-up themselves? The bombastic Ryan Air boss Michael O’Leary taking on the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson at dressage would be quite the sporting spectacle!

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SPORT

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

Could the FA Cup have a Cinderella story? them next week. As cup competitions go the Carling or League Cup does not possess quite the same allure and one could probably say it is the Cinderella tournament of the English domestic season.

In recent years the Carling Cup has been used by many of the top managers as an opportunity to blood young players. As a result, some believe that despite their strenuous denials, the likes of Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson do not take the competition seriously.

However, this year it looks as if we may get two Cinderellas in the final fighting it out for the glass slipper or as I should say the League Cup. Aston Villa proved with their 6-4 roller coaster ride of a semi-final second leg against Blackburn Rovers that they truly deserve and desperately wanted their chance to go to Wembley.

Villa’s opponents we know will have Manchester in their name. At the time

Kate Rowan Staff Writer THERE HAS always been something of a fairytale image connected with the FA Cup. The phrase “the magic of the cup” gets bandied around a lot. So far this year we have been granted our wish with Leeds United of League One bedazzling Manchester United. Having secured a home replay with Tottenham Hotspur, they will have a chance to vanquish

of writing, whether this name will be finished by United or City remains to be decided. In order to have a battle of the Cinderellas I hope that Manchester City edge past their historically more successful neighbour. Some will argue that if City make it to Wembley, it will not have been due to their fairy godmother

been given time and space to grow a team and he now looks to be reaping the benefits. In a league packed full of expensive foreign imports it is refreshing to see a team bursting with young English talent, as well the more experienced figure of our own Richard Dunne who has been flourishing at Villa Park after being unceremoniously dumped by Manchester City after nine years of loyal service.

Due to actions such as Dunne’s transfer and the dismissal of Mark Hughes one could mistake Manchester City as the ugly sister in this fairy story.

I should probably be the last person to mock City’s new found fortune and subsequent displays of power as I am a Chelsea fan. But I know that being the rich kid of the league does not win you over many neutral admirers.

In spite of the great joy I have gotten out of seeing Chelsea do so well since Roman’s Revolution I sometimes secretly wish I supported a club with a slightly more likable reputation. These sentiments have led me to harbouring a secret affection for Aston Villa.

Growing up I could have decided to become a Villa fan as my older cousin who I always looked up to and thought had cool taste supported the club.

Due to actions such as Dunne’s transfer and the dismissal of Mark Hughes, one could mistake Manchester City as the ugly sister in this fairy story. but wads of Middle-Eastern cash!

As Cinderella stories go Aston Villa’s would be just a tad more romantic. The Birmingham side also have a wealthy foreign owner in the shape of American Randy Lerner. But he has not pumped in the same quantities of money and since taking over in 2006 has allowed the club to rise in a more natural way.

Villa manager Martin O’Neill had

However, my head was turned by Frank Lampard’s arrival to Stamford Bridge in 2001 and as a result of this crush and the fact that then manager Claudio Ranieri seemed rather exotic cemented my status as a Blues fan.

I still would have always kept an eye out for Villa’s results and last summer when I realised I would have a free day to spend in Birmingham I decided to pay a visit to Villa Park. The stadium tour furthered my respect for the club. The

We may get two Cinderellas in the final tour cost £10 and was excellent value.

We spent two hours being guided around the stadium by a genuinely very helpful man in his sixties who was a life long fan and had played for them at youth level. Such was his enthusiasm for the Villa I didn’t have the heart to admit that I was a Chelski fan! I was also touched by the passion and support I saw in the club for the Acorns Children’s Hospice whose name is emblazoned on the club’s shirts to raise awareness of the charity rather than gaining financially

CHAIRTY POKER TO LIGHT UP TRINITY

Trinity put their best foot forward at road relays superbly to give Clonliffe athlete Becky Woods the nod to finish the relay in 5:16 – a well earned silver medal, behind DCU. Fierce competitiveness was again the vibe among the men, with Queen’s the surprise package grabbing silver behind DCU. Trinity, missing key new recruit Liam Tremble (also running European’s) among others finished 10th.

After a superb start thanks to Carl O’Sullivan bashing out a 4.33 mile to let the ever-improving Sam Mealy deliver 2 miles in 9:48. Triathlete Wayne Reid travelled the 3 mile distance in 15:30, with Risteard O’Hannrachain following up with 10:38. The last leg was finished in 4:54 by sprinter Frank Hutton-Williams who did a solid job in what was a tough task for the depleted squad. The other Trinity teams saw impressive debuts by Natalya Coyle, Yvonne MacAuley, Daniel Donohoe and Sjoerd Lammers among countless others which ensured a superb outing for a club punching well above its

Darragh McCashin Contributing Writer DUBLIN UNIVERSITY Harriers and Athletics Club (DUHAC) sent a squad of 27 athletes to the road relays which consisted of 1-2-2-1 mile legs for women, 1-2-3-2-1 for men on what was an ideal day for running. Female harrier’s captain Mairead McMorrow (currently injured) had a selection dilemma on her hands prior to the event, with a host of elite athletes vying for the A-team.

It turned out that the A team medalled as predicted, with the B team in 6th spot, a very tight outcome between the top 8 colleges. Louise Reilly was the fastest TCD female athlete starting the relay with an impressive 5.13 mile to allow the in-form (and recently selected for Ireland to run the European Cross Country) Bryony Treston to continue the momentum in the 2 mile leg (11:20) before handing over to her fellow DSD runner Aoife Byrne (11:04) who ran

Photo courtesy of Darragh McCashin weight on the intervarsity scene when one considers the scholarship systems and facilities of other universities.

SPORTS ROUNDUP MEN’S HOCKEY

LEINSTER DIVISION 2 Team Suttonians Avoca Weston Dublin University Navan Bray

Pl 7 7 7 8 7 6

W 7 4 4 3 1 0

D 0 1 1 1 1 0

L 0 2 2 4 5 6

GF 22 24 12 22 9 9

GA 11 12 10 17 20 28

GD 11 2 2 5 -11 -19

Pts 21 12 13 10 4 0

Team Lansdowne D.L.S.P. Old Wesley Bruff Belfast Harlequins Bective Rangers UCD Thomond Terenure College Corinthians Malone Dublin University Highfield Old Crescent Clonakilty Greystones

P 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 7 8 9 9 9 8 9 8 9

W 9 6 6 5 5 5 4 3 4 4 3 2 3 2 1 2

D 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0

L 0 2 3 2 4 2 4 2 4 5 5 7 4 7 6 7

F 280 191 186 171 173 150 186 137 141 118 135 167 117 152 88 77

A 104 138 167 153 125 136 151 113 127 180 165 191 150 208 159 202

TB 6 2 3 2 2 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

LB 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 1 3 1 2 6 1 3 4 1

Dublin University

9- 1

Bray

23/01/10

Lansdowne

17 - 12

Dublin University

30/01/10

Dublin University

v

Suttonians

30/01/10

Dublin University

v

Malone College Park

Pts 42 28 27 27 25 23 20 19 19 18 16 15 15 11 10 9

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. * Bray

Pl 8 9 8 8 10 8 9 8 10 10

W 8 7 7 5 4 3 3 1 2 1

WOMEN’S RUGBY D 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1

L 0 1 1 3 6 4 6 5 8 8

GF 27 16 25 20 7 8 9 12 9 9

GA 3 6 6 13 18 8 25 17 32 15

GD 25 10 19 7 -11 0 -16 -5 -23 -6

26/09 - Registration infringement (1 points deducted)

16/01/10

Bray

1- 2

Trinity College

Pts 24 22 21 15 12 10 9 7 6 3

ALL IRELAND DIVISION 2N

*

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Team Old Belvedere Cill Dara RFC City of Derry Portlaoise RFC Belfast Harlequins Cavan Malahide RFC Dublin University Carrickfergus

P 7 8 5 5 7 6 6 6 8

W 6 5 4 4 3 1 2 1 1

D 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1

L 1 3 1 1 3 3 4 5 6

F 169 97 124 192 56 20 37 20 15

A 45 89 31 21 101 102 56 82 203

TB 2 3 3 4 1 0 0 0 0

17/01/10

Dublin University

10 - 12

Cavan

21/02/10

Dublin University

v

Portlaoise RFC

LB 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Team Postal United St. Patrick’s CYFC Dublin University FC Sacred Heart Alpine Express Newbridge Town Portmarnock FC Ballyfermot United Larkview Boys Templeogue United Swords Celtic St. James’s Athletic Fairview CYM

P 13 12 10 13 12 11 7 9 11 11 13 10 0

W 8 7 6 6 5 5 3 4 2 1 2 1 0

D 2 3 4 2 3 2 3 0 4 5 2 2 0

L 3 2 0 5 4 4 1 5 5 5 9 7 0

F 40 28 22 20 23 26 19 12 16 22 18 15 0

A 22 17 10 22 21 26 12 17 21 31 30 32 0

MEN’S BASKETBALL

DMBB LEAGUE

LADIES HOCKEY

Team Railway Union Hermes Loreto UCD Trinity College Old Alexandra Corinthians Pembroke Wanderers Glenanne Bray

famine, HIV, and political turmoil.

With Jackpot Card club training all dealers, providing a tournament director, and a professional dealer for the final table, the Classic guarantees a standard of professionalism suitable to any serious player.

Poker not your thing? Then come for the Fun Casino night in which you can enjoy live music, drinks, and the chance to win prizes ranging from shopping vouchers to spot prizes.

Scott LaValla

SAT MAJOR 1C

16/01/10

LEINSTER DIVISION 1

ON FEBRUARY 5th, the Dining Hall and Atrium will host the first annual Trinity Poker Classic and Casino night. The Classic will be a 150 person no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em tournament, with high stakes, spot prizes, cash prizes, and even a Jaguar up for grabs.

In aid of M.O.V.E, the Classic will be a first of its kind event in terms of magnitude. By supporting this event, participants will be glad to know that every euro spent contributes to communities ravaged by natural disasters,

MEN’S SOCCER

AIL DIVISION 2

Results and fixtures

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Onwards and upwards as the indoor and cross country season rolls in.

MEN’S RUGBY

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

from a lucrative corporate sponsorship deal.

I have been lucky in the past year to have also visited both Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu and the San Siro, home of Inter and A.C. Milan. Although Villa Park would be comparatively dwarfed in size by the two continental stadia it was by far the most pleasant of the three.

There was a very friendly atmosphere around the club with all the grounds and hospitality staff waving at the tour. I was surprised by how the Villa fans’ lacked any huge hopes for this season and seemed quite pessimistic about their future. I suppose they could not blamed because at the time their star player Gareth Barry had just been snapped up

by City and their captain and defensive lynch pin Martin Laursen had just retired before Dunne’s arrival.

The other thing that struck me was that a club with such a great heritage was devoid of any relatively recent silverware in their trophy cabinet. The last trophy they won was the League Cup in 1996 and I am delighted to see them reach the final again. Aston Villa may be known to their fans as “the Villans” but very soon they could be cup winning heroes!

Pts 27 24 19 18 14 8 7 7 3

Date 29/01/10 3/02/10 5/02/10 12/02/10 19/02/10 22/02/10 26/02/10

Home Team Killester Rathmines Trinity UCD Trinity Templeogue St. Vincents

Away Team Trinity Trinity Eanna Trinity Rathmines Trinity Trinity

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

UK WOMEN’S INDOOR NATIONALS Date 5/12/09

Winners Urielle

Spirit Trinity 1 Chichester 16th out of 16

Pts 26 24 22 20 18 17 12 12 10 8 8 5 0

SPORT

TRINITY NEWS January 26, 2009

23

NFL UPDATE

THE COMMENTARY BOX JAMES HUSSEY

COULD MUSIC BE THE ANSWER? SNOOKER PLAYS TO A DIFFERENT TUNE BREAD AND circuses, that is what the people need. Juvenal, the Roman satirist wrote these words two millennia ago and they continue to hold truth today. The gradual development of sport as escapist fantasy from the drudgery of everyday life is the reason why Cristiano Ronaldo cost €94m and the reason why having an advert during the myriad of Super Bowl breaks increases product sales dramatically. This preamble introduces my address to the state of two sports today, darts and snooker, both connected by a recent struggle to survive in the high octane pantheon of the sporting world.

Is there a more ironic spectacle than the beer-bellied, unkempt darts players waddling towards sporting fame? What would our Roman friends say if these “athletes” made their way into the Coliseum to the sound of “Eye of the Tiger”? The lions would no doubt lick their lips!

Yet, with all the scathing criticism thrown at the sport for the nature of its participants, the popularity of darts has exploded in recent times.

The once ailing sport, suffering because of the image portrayed by the corpulent competitors, has been resurrected by the marketing impresario Barry Hearn with clever usage of theme songs and flashing lights. Speedier matches have drawn new crowds to the oche, to compete and to observe.

So where does snooker fit into this article on sporting Lazarus moments? Long associated with smoky, ill-lit cellars and unfashionable waistcoat-wearing men, snooker has found itself energised by the influence of the aforementioned Mr. Hearn, who has worked a little bit of magic since being elected as chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The introduction of signature tunes for each player has been lauded. We are told that they offer a unique insight into the player’s mind and energise the audience for the crucial opening frames.

Why do these sports need such razzmatazz to draw popularity? In today’s world of fast access, fast knowledge and fast culture, there is no desire to watch a sport which could take four skilful hours of play to reach a result, when soccer, rugby or GAA pack in the excitement in well under half that time. So now that we have a reason for crowds flocking from the game, why the sudden reversal of fortunes? Surely the melodious tunes of Kasabian’s “Underdog” or The Hours “Ali in the Jungle” weren’t enough for snooker’s popularity to rise again.

“The Rocket”, Ronnie O’Sullivan, the abiding genius of modern snooker, had pleaded for years with the sports bosses to up the tempo and draw the modern crowd, citing darts as his main example.

His famed, highly-paced style of play was what the game needed overall, but without compromising the dignity of the sport. Snooker hasn’t sold its soul to the devil in return for higher television ratings, nothing has really changed if we’re being perfectly honest, and music aside, snooker remains a sport of intense concentration, steely nerves and often interminable frames. It is the promise of change that has provided the allure for a new audience. The anticipation of new, faster invitational tournaments, higher prize funds and more regular competition has not only excited the public, but the players as well. In the past, referring to himself as a “part time snooker player”, Ronnie O’ Sullivan often complained of the six week gap between competitions, with plans to incorporate newly established competitions into the calendar, these lengthy lay-offs will become a thing of the past. The introduction of new league-table style events may lead to an increasingly exciting form of snooker, promising rapid matches removing the slow, gritty games of old.

2010 is a pivotal year for the sport, maybe Rocky theme tunes and vibrant waistcoats aren’t the answer, but they are surely part of the solution.

Brash is back as Jets fire for Super Bowl win Frederik Rasmussen Staff Writer WHO WOULD have thought that the New York Jets of 2009, which at the time of writing this article, are one game away from representing the AFC in the Super Bowl in Miami February 7th. When the Jets overcame bitter division rivals the Patriots 16-9 in their week 2 clash at the Meadowlands, the team celebrated the win as if they had just won the Vince Lombardi trophy.

Little did most people think that the team would find itself in a situation later on in the season, in which it would be one game away from celebrating a true Super Bowl victory. Whether or not the Jets will be able to overcome the challenge of the undisputed number 1 seed Indianapolis Colts is one thing, something that will be known when this article is published. The important aspect is that first-year head coach Rex Ryan has instilled a relentless and unwavering confidence throughout the team.

Every single member on that team expects to win every time he steps on the field. More importantly, every player on that team believes that the team has the talent and brass to go all the way. This confident, cocky and at times “trash talk” mentality has ignited fires under already heated tensions. Before the win over the Patriots in September, Jets safety Kerry Rhodes claimed the team wanted to “embarrass” New England.

This outspoken behaviour can be traced all the way back to one man: Rex Ryan.

His outspoken antics have landed him in several hot spots since he took over as head coach. He has been branded funny, cocky, arrogant, disrespectful, brash and confident among other things. And it is hard to argue with any of these descriptions.

Whatever your opinion of him may be, there is no arguing the fact that Ryan has been consistently entertaining, and his bravado persona has translated to the rest of team and its surprising playoff run. Fans, journalists and players outside the Jets organization will claim that Ryan sometimes goes overboard with his trash talking, but that is not the view held by fans and players alike. Jets right tackle Damien Woody says “Rex tries to build you up, make you feel like you can do anything.”

And boy has that worked. Although, when the Jets were in the midst of a severe downward spiral, a stretch in which they lost six out of eight games after starting the season with three wins, including the “Super Bowl” win over the Patriots, Ryan was made to look like a comedy sideshow. His trash talk seemed to be nothing but empty smoke, without any relevant substance.

Most would deem his antics as merely a means to remove as much focus from the dismal performances by the team, including rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. But it was not just some diversion act put on by Ryan. It was all part of the master plan; instilling a belief

New York Jets lineman Matt Slauson, left, blocks Matt Kroul at the rookie football mini-camp Friday, in Florham Park, N.J. Photo B. Kostroun in a talented and under-achieving team.

A general consensus is that the attitude of a team is usually projected from the head coach himself.

Ryan firmly believes in his team, and in turn, the team believes in itself. Ryan expects his defense to go out on the field and shut down opposing offenses, and that is what they have done most games throughout the season so far. He believes that his team can win games the old fashioned way, by relentlessly running the ball, not asking too much of their young quarterback. And it has worked, as the Jets have the best running attack in the league. And so the team has found itself in a situation not many of us would have envisioned at the start of the season.

In previous seasons the team has started with a bang, only to experience a meltdown, and subsequently miss the playoffs or experience early elimination.

This season, despite a similar slump, the

In previous seasons the team has started with a bang, only to experience a meltdown, and subsequently miss the playoffs or experience early elimination.

team finished strongly, winning six out of its last seven. Few believed that the Jets would be a legitimate Super Bowl calibre team. But the Jets themselves always believed, a belief that is the main reason for them getting this far. It is one thing to talk the talk, and another to be able to walk the walk. This team has certainly been able to do that.

Another example of how Ryan has been able to motivate his team with cocky and confident proclamations is when he posted the team’s Super Bowl schedule in the days leading up to the wild-card game at Cincinnati. As outside linebacker Calvin Pace said, “Rex came out and put our Super Bowl schedule up.

I’m sure people hate that. But we gotta back that up, and we thrive on those opportunities. We’re just rolling right now, man. Seriously. We really believe in the plan that Rex has laid out for us, and we’re riding the wave and seizing the moment.”

It is clear that Ryan has been able to get the team firmly behind him, and every player and coach feels obliged to back up the talk. It speaks volumes about Rex Ryan that he has been able to earn this level of trust and loyalty in only his first year as head coach.

Whatever happens this year, the Jets have clearly come to play for years to

come. They look a serious challenger to the New England Patriots for supremacy in the AFC East division.

And in some sense there are several similarities between the Jets of 2009 and the Patriots of 2001 that won its first ever Super Bowl, and first of three under Bill Belichick. Both teams had rookie quarterbacks. One could argue that Tom Brady had a bit more responsibility and the more impressive season, statistically. Nonetheless, it is a striking similarity.

Also, both teams coached by former defensive assistants; Rex Ryan was defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens for four seasons until he took over as head coach of the Jets this season. He was a defensive assistant at the Ravens when they won the Super Bowl in the 2000 season. Bill Belichick made his name as defensive coordinator at the New York Giants, his defensive game plan helped upset the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. Both take pride in good defense, but in different ways.

In some sense this season could have marked the passing of the torch between the two teams, but let’s not get carried away just yet. However, what is not in doubt is the fact that Rex Ryan and the New York Jets are not just talking trash.

They are backing it up. Big time.

Vancouver set for victory in Winter Games Keith Hennigan AS THE New Year rolls in, the numerous great sporting events that will be taking place throughout 2010 begin to feel that little bit closer. One in particular will be upon us before we know it, a long four years since it was last hosted. No, not that one - I’m talking about the Winter Olympics.

This year sees Vancouver and the nearby resort town of Whistler host the 21st Winter Olympic Games. The torch, lit from the flame in Olympia back in October of last year, is right now making its way around Canada in order to appear in time for the opening ceremony on February 12th. Interestingly, this will be the first ever Olympic opening ceremony - summer or winter - to be staged indoors, and it is set to be quite

a spectacle. Considering that these are the twenty-first Winter Olympics to be staged, a count including a twelve year gap caused by World War II, no-one can claim that these winter games are a recent invention. The first official games took place in France in 1924, with a history stretching back even further to the ‘Nordic Games’. Canada host for the third time in 2010, on the back of a successful showing in Turin 2006, when they finished third overall in the medal tables behind the USA and Germany.

Surprising, then, that these games have managed to retain a rather low profile.

The most avid sports enthusiast can ask for no more than extremes of athletic ability, perhaps a little controversy, and a home team to cheer for - Vancouver 2010 will undoubtedly have all of these.

Considering the ever-present furore around the summer Olympics, the

winter games tend to get overlooked, despite comprising this year of 86 events in 15 different categories, with athletes from over 80 countries already qualified. The notion that these games are only contested by traditionally cold, wintry countries is a misconception: Morocco, Mexico, the Bahamas, as many countries with warm climates as you can think of are represented. Jamaica, having rather famously entered for the first time with only a bobsleigh team in 1988, are still competing.

In terms of controversy, the upcoming games have already been clouded by more than their fair share.

Quite aside from local and national groups in Canada protesting over the negative environmental and economic impact that they can foresee, the biggest upset has been caused by the decision of the International Olympics Committee

(IOC) not to allow the women’s ski-jump a place among the events in Vancouver.

From a shortlist of seven, the IOC selected skicross as a new event back in 2006, just after the Turin games.

The official reason for not including women’s ski-jump was that as a sport, it had ‘not yet developed enough and did not meet basic criteria for inclusion’.

This ruling prompted claims of gender discrimination, made to the Canadian Human Rights Board and the Supreme Court, the latter ruling that although gender discrimination was taking place, it was an IOC responsibility and fell outside the jurisdiction of the Canadian courts. The IOC is yet to respond in any way to these claims.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) has meanwhile created trouble for themseleves, by registering a trademark for some lyrics

from the Canadian national anthem, “O Canada”. Despite being in the public domain, lawsuits have already been filed against people trying to use these lyrics for other businesses, and VANOC have stated that they will prosecute anyone attempting what is known as “ambush marketing”, unofficially associated with the games.

Setting aside these problems, we Irish may have quite a lot to look forward to come February, as the most recent statement from the Irish Olympics Committee confirmed that we will have between three and seven athletes competing in Vancouver. Of the four who represented their country in Turin 2006 only one will be returning to the games, Kirsten McGarry from Dublin, who competed in two alpine skiing events and will hope to better her final standings this time around. Also likely

to be making the trip to Canada is Paul Griffin, who has already competed twice in the Summer Olympics. As part of the Irish rowing team, Paul finished 6th and 10th respectively in the games in Athens and Beijing, picking up silver and bronze medals at World Championships in between. He is now aiming to compete at a similar level in the cross-country skiing events in Vancouver. Since crosscountry skiing formed a ‘significant part’ of his training while on the rowing team, Paul has said that his aptitude for it soon became apparent, and after much consideration he has decided to pursue the challenge.

With five other hopefuls also aiming to book a place in the Winter Olympics, this year’s games could be very important for Irish sport. Above all else, they should provide plenty of excitement for the Irish fans.

SPORT

TURN IT UP: SNOOKER ON TV SPORT, P23

U20’S RUGBY

MATCH STATS

Trinity win places team third in league SCORE

TRINITY CLONTARF

24 5

Felix Bolton Staff Writer TRINITY U20S hosted a physical Clontarf side at College Park on Sunday in their second game of the Super 6 Leinster League. Having successfully dispatched of the old enemy Blackrock a week earlier, Trinity went into the match full of confidence. Before the clash with their north Dublin rivals Clontarf, Trinity lay in 4th spot and knew nothing less than a victory would ensure their dreams of All-Ireland qualification stayed alive.

Conditions at College Park were heavy underfoot with a slight downhill breeze in favour of the visitors in the first-half. The students began the game in an intense fashion, bombarding the Clontarf defense with phase after phase of running rugby. Trinity enjoyed early territory courtesy of the boot of FlyHalf Ciaran Wade. After continuous

infringements at the breakdown, the students were awarded a penalty on the Clontarf 10m line. Captain Paul Galbraith was operating in an unfamiliar role at inside centre but continued his kicking duties to give Trinity an early lead.

From the restart, Trinity continued to dominate territorially and won a lineout just inside the opposition half.

Trinity hooker Derek Whiston threw accurately to set up a solid platform for the students to attack. With quick ball supplied, centres Paul Galbraith and Peter Finnigan found holes in the Red and Blue defense. After a series of dynamic carries from the students, Whiston again found himself in the thick of the action and powered over the line to give his side a crucial score just before half-time. Galbraith added the extras to leave Clontarf trailing by 10-0 at the half-time interval.

Now playing with the breeze and down the College Park hill, Trinity were strong favourites to build on their lead in the second half. However, Coach Smeeth was keen to remind his players that conditions would not hand them

The comortable home victory for Trinity was hard-fought in a physical contest on College Park. Photo: Daniel Wu

the victory. Nothing less than dogged determination and supreme execution would suffice if the students were going to succeed in this close encounter.

The Trinity back-row of Hugh Kelleher, Dylan Greene and Jack Dilger posed a serious threat throughout the match. Whether it was at the breakdown or in the loose, all three men were comnipresent. With outstanding performer Dominic Gallagher absent (promoted to senior squad), replacement Greene more than proved his worth and displayed a burning desire to succeed in what was a tireless performance at openside flanker.

Minutes into the second-half, Clontarf again struggled to gain any territorial advantage. A lineout on the

opposition 22m line provided Trinity with an opportunity to employ a setpiece move. After a series of drives from the brunt of the Trinity pack, Prop Ian Hirst burrowed under tight defense to add to his sides lead. The conversion attempt was successful from the boot of Galbraith and Trinity now lead the visitors 17-0.

From the restart Clontarf began to enjoy some possession with their halfbacks beginning to thrive off cleaner ruck ball. However, this purple period for the visitors was only greeted by a red and black wall in defense, and it wasn’t long before the students again found themselves deep in the Clontarf half.

Under serious pressure at lineout time, the Clontarf pack began to look

SQUASH

chip kick, the visitors spun the ball wide and crashed over in the corner. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful and the match finished 24-5.

This victory over the weekend is another example of the continued improvement of the Trinity side. Having played and lost to the same Clontarf side earlier in the season, the students are beginning to show signs of real potential.

Yet nothing is ever won in January, and Coach Smeeth will not allow his players to get carried away just yet.

Lying third in the league at present, and three points behind league leaders UCD, even tougher tests await for this talented crop of players.

LADIES HOCKEY

Renewal of annual tie THE SQUASH players in Trinity College renewed a rivalry with Oxford University that stretches back over 60 years when the annual tie was held in the Oxford University sports grounds last week. Snow in south-east England meant that the travel arrangements for some of the travelling contingent were compromised. But thankfully a sufficient number of our players had either got a flight to an airport that was open or were based in England so the snow was less of a factor.

Play was spread over two days, with a “warm up” match played against a strong college side on the Wednesday followed by the “Oxford-Trinity” Cup played on the Thursday against the Oxford University Blues. The tie has been held in recent years in January which offers the perfect test to both teams before their respective Varsity matches in February.

Christchurch College were the opponents on Wednesday afternoon, with Trinity fielding a weakened team with players strung across airports and the transport system around England. Nonetheless the tie was highly competitive with Trinity doing well to push their opponents close in a 3-2 narrow defeat. Notable performances were put in by Harry Gilbertson and this year’s Captain Ed Miles who both won difficult individual ties by the tightest of

increasingly vulnerable when close to their line. After conceding a penalty inside their 22m line, the visitors once more faced the unenviable task of stopping the Trinity lineout. Following an accurate catch and drive, scrum half Howard Jones astutely opted for the blind-side and offloaded to the tenacious Greene for the third try of the game. The extras were added wide out on the left-hand touchline by Galbraith to increase his sides lead to 24-0.

In the dying moments of the match, Trinity chased the four try bonus point by chipping and chasing from their own try line. However, the elusive fourth try was not to be, and instead the final score of the game arrived on the side of Clontarf. Following the ambitious

margins. However this wasn’t enough to see Trinity across the line as no other wins were achieved. Despite this, the tie was deemed successful and offered the Trinity players a taste of the high level of competitive squash that Oxford play at.

Later in the evening the rest of the Trinity players arrived in Oxford following delayed flights The photo is a photo of the first team that took to the court. From left to right; Ed Miles, Doug Doherty, Harry Gilberson, David Lowry, Kevin Kerrigan and aligned with those already there for a brief sample of the Oxford pubs. However, with the next days play firmly on the minds of the group an early night was opted for.

The next day saw the team playing at the University Sports grounds, made famous by Roger Bannister who was the first man to break the 4 minute mile on the track at the grounds in 1954. Unfortunately heavy snow meant the track was unusable, denying the touring party an opportunity to match the incredible feat achieved by Roger Bannister over 50 years ago! The squash tie kicked off with the ladies of both sides pitted against each other. Trinity have been playing in the Premier division of the Leinster leagues and were confident of picking up a victory. Trinity didn’t get off to the best start with Trish Ryan losing in straight sets. However this was followed by two victories by the Trinity

Victory brings IHL qualification closer Maebh Horan

The first team that took to the court: Ed Miles, Doug Doherty, Harry Gilberson, David Lowry, and Kevin Kerrigan. second and third strings. Leaving only one remaining win needed to pick up the ladies tie. Ellie Setford put in a brave performance but ultimately lost out 3-1, leaving all hopes lying on Oxford native, but Trinity student, Alice Bentley. Trinity ladies need not have worried with Alice winning comfortably in straight sets. Lower down the order good performances were put in by Alice Walpole and Bronagh Flanagan against strong oxford opposition.

The men’s tie was next and the challenge was a daunting one, with the Oxford blues at close to full strength.

The tie got underway with Club Captain Ed Miles up against Oxford’s Simon Clover. Ed played with a nice touch and moved well but ultimately control of the “T” was Simon’s and Ed found it difficult to make a break through going down in straight sets. There was a similar story for Harry Gilberston who was playing simultaneously on court two. Trinity were now two matches to love down and could not afford anymore mistakes. Next up was Kev Kerrigan, a badminton/Harrier turn squash player.

Kev’s transition to squash has been smooth which is evident from the strong seeding he was placed on the team.

However he did not do enough to pick up a victory on this occasion meaning

Oxford retained the trophy they won last year in Dublin. With two matches left to play, and the tie already decided you would forgive the Trinity players for heads dropping. But there was plenty of fight left in them. Doug Doherty put in the performance of the tour winning an incredible match 11-9 in the fifth.

The match was watched by a packed gallery, with spectators appreciating the level of energy both players were putting into the rallies. The last match was between the first strings. Playing number one for Trinity this year was David Lowry, a player who probably has more experience at university ties than most! He was against Ben Button from Oxford. The gallery, fresh from the entertainment provided in Doug’s match were keen to see another highly competitive match. Whilst David’s match did not match Doug’s in terms of drama the standard of squash was high with tight drives and wall nicks achieved with regularity. However, despite taking the opening set David couldn’t win the match, losing 3-1.

In the second’s match, particularly good performances were put in by Mark Woods and Dave Mulligan, both of who won their matches. But Oisin Sheegan was unsuccessful in the crucial tie that gave Oxford the honours.

THE SNOW and frost cleared just in time for the Ladies Hockey team’s first match after the Christmas break. Trinity, with high hopes for qualification for next year’s Irish Hockey league (IHL), were facing a big challenge as they set out to play a team that caused a lot of upsets for some of the top teams in the first half of the season. Having beaten Bray in an away clash back in October of last year, the Trinity girls were confident as they took on the Wicklow side on their home turf in Santry.

The game got off to a shaky start for the college side as Bray’s pacey midfield made a couple of breaks through the centre. Right from the whistle you could tell this was going to be a tight game. Trinity’s defence, strong as usual, were under pressure right through the first half of the game. They kept their composure and some tough tackles and steady hitting around the back four saw them out of trouble. On more than one occasion, long hits from defenders Ailbhe Coyle and Maebh Horan, were controlled well by the forwards providing numerous chances for them to penetrate the oppositions circle. The Bray keeper made a good save when, nearing the end of the second half, Trinity defender, Katie O’Beirne, took a well judged shot at goal. The two sides gathered at half time with nothing on the scoreboard.

During the second half, the training sessions over the Christmas period

showed their worth as Trinity began to outplay and outrun the Bray side.

Passing among the students became stronger and there were some lovely passages of play down both sides of the pitch. A diagonal ball from the left cut across the Bray midfielders onto the stick of Trinity forward Kylie Deverell.

With the Bray defence on the back foot, she drove into the circle drawing the international keeper off her line.

A perfect slip past the goalie’s left foot landed on the stick of Orla Callanan who calmly pushed it across the goal line.

Trinity’s second goal came soon after from a perfectly timed short corner routine. The ball was stopped cleanly at the top of the circle and a one two was played out between Caroline Murphy and Rachel Scott who easily beat Bray’s first runner. Scott, finished superbly with a raised shot from the penalty spot, securing Trinity’s lead.

In the closing minutes of the game, Bray won a series of short corners.

Confusion between the umpires as to the amount of time remaining may have been a distraction to the University side and Bray slotted one past the Trinity defensive team to bring the closing score to 2-1.

This win has secured a place for Trinity mid-table proving that the College side are a force to be reckoned with in qualifying for next year’s IHL. Their goal is to build from this great start to the second half of the season and really prove that they are good enough to compete at the highest level in the country.