Trinity News Issue 2 2010-11

TALES OF MONTREAL

THE HOOPS OF WHITE

SPECIAL REPORT

AND GREEN

DISCIPLINE IN TRINITY HALLS FEATURES 10

HANGING WITH ROVERS: SPORTS FEATURES 22

KARL MCDONALD FINDS OUT WHAT MAKES THEM TICK

SOMETHING STRANGE IS AFOOT: OPINION 17

UFOS AND THE UN

Two

TRINITY NEWS Est 1953

University Lack of transparency over €1 million of student funds highlighted at DUCAC AGM Times in ffSU claims students have no say in Sports Centre ffLack of transperency in fund allocation ffDirector of Sport accused of ignoring students

libel row

UCD Med Day: Girls on Tour

Caitriona Murphy & Aoife Crowley College News Editor & Editor

THE UNIVERSITY Times Editor Tom Lowe was forced to issue a full apology following the publication of his Trinity Top Twenty supplement.

The Trinity Twenty ranks various student figures in the College community in terms of perceived spending power, influence and prestige. Education Officer Jennifer Fox’s entry at number three caused the libel controversy for Communications Officer Lowe.

Fox’s entry contained a number of unsubstantiated rumours about her personal life, including an insinuation of a romantic relationship with ViceProvost Patrick Prendergast, which Lowe later declared had no basis in fact.

Prendergast responded by threatening to sue the paper and demanded a retraction of all copies of the University Times which were in

Eleni Megoran College Sport Editor

A FIERY exchange broke out at the DUCAC AGM last week when the Students’ Union raised the issue of where over one million euro of students’ money is allocated.

The money in question is raised by the annual student sports charge of ¤77 paid by each student as part of their registration fee, a stipulation which was introduced by a student referendum in 2007.

The Sports Centre and the Students’ Union started a heated argument on the lack of student representation in the running of the Sports Centre at the AGM. Michelle Tanner, the new head of the Sports Department, has complete control over the allocation of this large sum of student money.

Students’ Union President, Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem, stated in an interview afterwards that “students give the vast majority of the funding [to the Sports Centre] and [they] have no say at all [...] a case of taxation without representation.” He went on to say that the Union has no issue with the sports charge but with the lack of accountability that the Sports Centre has to students. “Students should have a say where their money is going, the sum is massive, and no one has a say.”

Tanner said that the only option for students is the open door policy, through email and the suggestion box in the sports centre. However TrigoubRotnem claimed that this informal measure is ineffective, and that it just leads to a talking shop. With such informal approaches in communicating “We’re the hired professionals. Do students go to the health centre and tell the doctor how to treat his patients?” with the students, Tanner, he argues, is a gatekeeper with the ability to cherry pick suggestions. The lack of student Continued on page 2 

Lowe stated that it was meant to be “tonguein-cheek”, but that some people “hadn’t taken it that way”.

SS In keeping with tradition, Trinity campus was invaded last Monday by UCD Medical students in drag as part of their Med Day celebrations. Security quickly responded by shutting Front Gate to those not in possession of a student card and ejecting the invaders

Costing of greenhouses as teaching space deemed to be “unreasonable” Aoife Crowley Editor

THE BUILDINGS and laboratories of the School of Natural Sciences are “technically unsuitable for some of the research carried out in them”, an external review board has found.

The Review of the School of Natural Sciences, which has just been made available, was carried out last spring. It states, “There already seems to be too many students for the available space and resources.” This has led to a large number of Senior Sophister students being denied access to the subject of their choice, though the Review notes that some of their dissatisfaction is ameliorated by good quality attention in Senior Sophister year. The recent reorganization of the school has not

watch out for society events during

alleviated teaching loads, which are seen to be high in comparison with similar European institutions. New Masters courses have imposed extra burdens, with staff in desperate need of increased administrative, technical and financial support.

The review goes on to say that teaching facilities and space is so limited, that in some cases parallel classes and lectures have to be carried out all year, as the rooms are too small to accommodate the full class. This obviously puts a further stress on teaching loads. One of the problems facing the School is College’s classification of unusable space as normal teaching or research space. The classification of the Botanical Gardens and some other very low-grade space as teaching space is deemed to be

“unreasonable”. Though this problem occurs in many other universities, the Review believes the problem to be “particularly acute” in Trinity.

In response to the review, Professor John Parnell, the Head of the School, agreed that this costing of all space as of equal value was “unhelpful” to schools such as Natural Sciences, where a large proportion of the space is unsuited to class space. “This seems particularly unfair in our case as we have greenhouses which are completely unserviced with no water, light, or heat and which are costed at the same level as our best laboratory space as are our basement areas,” Parnell commented.

The report also recognized that the School had raised in excess of ¤26 million in the last five years for research.

circulation. Following negotiations, the paper’s staff agreed to gather all distributed copies, and go through each one with a marker to censor the paragraph in question.

An apology was later issued online: “We wish to state unequivocally that this assertion has no basis in fact. We would like to apologise to all parties for this lapse of editorial responsibility and any damage or hurt that it has caused”.

The Trinity Twenty supplement was not added to the paper’s online archive.

Lowe confirms that he takes editorial responsibility for the article, which was written without credit to any writer. He acknowledges that the incident was an “editorial oversight” and that he had tried to make “too much of a splash” with his first issue.

He admits he had learned a lot from the error. He claims that the supplement was supposed to be “tongue-in-cheek”, and that “some people just hadn’t taken it that way”. Lowe acknowledges that the tone was “uneven” across the Trinity Twenty supplement, many articles of which were cut off midContinued on page 2 

brought to you by the Central Societies Committee

Fourth Week

www.trinitysocieties.ie Vol 57

Issue 2

19 October, 2010

2 NEWS THIS FORTNIGHT THEY SAID

“Poverty is soluble”

€6,944 The amount of unapproved remuneration the Provost received between 2002-2006

27

“Gay and lesbian love leads to death and suicide”

Michelle Tanner, Director of Sport on Nikolai Trigoub Rotnem. The two argued at the DUCAC AGM over student input in the Sports Centre.

“Teary-eyed, conspiracy minded Pied Piper” Time Magazine on Glenn Beck, the American conservative political commentator and Tea Party advocate.

Bishop Amfilohije, leader of Serbia’s Orthodox Chruch on the idea of the Gay Pride parade.

NUMEROLOGY

1

“I’m not sure about his political motives”

“Tried to make too much of a splash” Tom Lowe reflecting on The University Times’ first issue, which had to be recalled after the Vice Provost threatened legal action.

Bob Geldof, debating in the Hist, on the issue of development aid doing more harm then good.

Geldof won the debate.

COMPILED BY CAITRIONA MURPHY

The number of candidates confirmed for the Provost election

The age of Kim Jongun, successor to Kim Jong-il of N Korea

€500 The amount one Halls student was fined for letting in three non-residents

173,000,000 The number of people who squatted in support of Bono’s charity ONE

Continued from front page

involvement in the Sports Centre, and the ad hoc accountability measures in place, such as reporting to the Finance Committee and Services Committee, further highlights the reasons why the Students’ Union has taken such a firm position on this.

Tanner stated that “We’re the hired professionals that come in, do students go to the health centre and tell the doctor how to treat his patients?

Students pay for that service just like “Students are on the highest committee in College... they are 100 percent qualified to make decisions.” they would pay for our services. We are qualified and experienced in our field, likewise the health centre doctor is qualified in his field. There has to be a certain level of trust that we’re doing a good job.” Comments like these suggest an unwillingness to have any formal student involvement in decisions on where the one million euro should go.

In response to these comments, Trigoub-Rotnem said that “students are on the highest committee in College ... they trust us to be on that and have our voices heard, and she doesn’t want to have our opinions heard because she feels she is a professional. I think that is offensive that she doesn’t value the voice of the general student.”

Tanner has a certain level of mistrust in the Students’ Union President, stating that “I do not accept that students do not have a say in how sports are run. I think that’s inaccurate, the SU President is looking for something a bit bigger then that. Some power control over our department. I’m not sure about his political motives.”

She went on to say that “I think there is a certain amount coming from last year’s SU President, I don’t know what his agenda is.” Allegations that the Students’ Union planted questions in the audience at the AGM has further unbalanced the relationship between Union and the Sports Department.

However Trigoub-Rotnem denied any allegations of planted questions, saying that such measures were unnecessary, “The question is really

should we have a say in where our money is spent or not?”

Trigoub-Rotnem stated that he hopes that Trinity will see the value of involving students in the decisionmaking process and that it is to the benefit of the community as a whole.

The lack of student involvement in the Sports Centre could seriously aggravate the student body. He said that students are “100 percent qualified to make decisions on sports.”

THE SPORTS DEPARTMENT’S FINANCES FOR 2009-2010 •

• •

60 percent of the Sports Department’s funding comes directly from students via the registration fee and the Sports Levy.

The total income for the period 2009-2010 was €2,333,122.

With the balance carried over from the previous year, this raises to €2,665,122

Alan Rickman addresses DU Players

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Sports Centre Head questions agenda Feminist network launch

Aoife Crowley Kate Palmer Cillian Murphy Caitriona Murphy Conor Dempsey Shona McDonald Ralph Marnham Ines Novacic James Coghill Manus Lenihan Josh Roberts David Barrett Jonathan Creasy Iseult McLister Alice Stevens Jimmy Lee Sinead Gillett Owen Bennett John Engle Anthea Lacchia Christine Shields Daniel O’Callaghan Kate Rowan Eleni Megoran Michael Gaskin Conor O’Toole

Printed by NWN Media. Printed at The Guardian Print Centre, Longbridge Road, Manchester, M17 1SL. 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

RENOWNED ENGLISH actor Alan Rickman visited Trinity College last fornight, where he treated a small audience to an interview with Myles Dungan. Rickman entered the packed theatre to rapturous applause before answering questions about his life and career.

When asked if his Welsh and Irish parents meant he had been given a “Celtic upbringing”, the actor responded, “Well yes, it was full of guilt”. Rickman also talked at length about his time spent studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, of which he is still heavily involved in.

The actor spoke about his portrayal of former Irish Taoiseach and President Éamon de Valera in Neil Jordan’s 1996 film Michael Collins.

However Rickman revealed that he was disappointed with the portrayal of de Valera in the finished film and expressed disappointment over the films original ending, which showed de Valera expressing regret over not being able to stop Collins death being replaced “Julia Roberts in a wedding dress”.

The actor finished his visit with a few audience questions before being awarded an honorary patronage of the Dublin University Players.

Alex Towers

SS Photo by Martin McKenna

University Times issues full apology Continued from front page

sentence due to poor layout.

Lowe was “forced to defend the honour of his paper” at a Students’ Union meeting discussing the matter.

Despite this, Lowe continues to stress the editorial independence of The

University Times. Currently the paper is primarily funded from the upwards of ¤300,000 Students’ Union budget.

In response to the article, Fox states that the sabbatical officers had “had it out” and that Lowe had “made a pledge to keep overly gossipy comments of that nature out of the paper”.

She comments that The University Times should provide “critique, not criticism” of the Students’ Union, but that the editorial independence of the paper was of “key importance”.

Patrick Prendergast declined to comment on the matter.

Iseult McLister World Review Editor

THE LAUNCH of the Irish Feminist Network took place a few weeks ago with the intention of promoting equal rights for both genders in Ireland.It was an evening packed with young women from a broad spectrum.

The Network was launched by Masters students from the Trinity Department for Women and Gender Studies. The aim of the network is to remain mainstream, up to date and relevant, highlighting inequalities in the media, politics and the poor image that feminism still has amongst the general public. This was shown through a short film of people interviewed around the streets of Dublin giving their opinions and perceptions of what feminism means. They asked people to name important women from history and very few could name any. It documentary demonstrated the negative attidtude that many women have towards feminism, feeling that their idealogy is irrelevant. The film was made by Madeline Hawke, a post graduate student and officer for young women in the IFN. Hawke, who is spokeswoman for the networks stated that “We want to destigmatise feminism and draw new women who are not self-identified feminists and who never thought about getting involved”.

During the launch of the network there were three speakers; Susan McKay, Senator Ivana Bacik, and Anthea McTiernan who edits the Ticket in the Irish Times. Each took their turn to explain why they saw the feminist cause as necessary in their industry of work.

One of the primary aims of the Network is to “To promote the participation and inclusion of women in politics” and with only fourteen percent of women politicians in Ireland, this is perhaps the most startling representation of inequality in Irish society, The speakers also covered interesting facts about women and girls’ representation in the media.

It was proposed that positive discrimination be put in place that would ensure that political parties must offer one third of their places to female candidates, a move which could be counterproductive in the campaign for equal rights and equal worth and would have to be treated with much sensitivity and care. Also it was suggested that pornography and female exploitation be removed from mainstream newspapers.

The topics raised at the launch served to highlight the necessity to continue the efforts of the feminist cause in Ireland and the arguments preseneted served to show that there is much work left to be done.

For more information, visit www.irishfeministnetwork.com

TRINITY NEWS

3 news@trinitynews.ie

PUZZLES COMPILED BY CONOR O’TOOLE WHO’S GOING TO FRESHERS’ WEEK? CAN YOU FIND: DAVID O’DOHERTY CHRIS DE BURGH OSCAR WILDE SAMUEL BECKETT COURTNEY LOVE OL’ DIRTY BASTARD QUEEN ELIZABETH I TOM LOWE, MEDIA MOGUL CHERYL COLE

Bonus Maths points to be introduced Fund cuts

imminent, warns Provost

 Bonus for all LC Higher Maths students  SU condemns decision to approve plan Conor Dempsey Staff Reporter

TRINITY COLLEGE has approved the plan to introduce Leaving Certificate bonus points for students who sit higher level maths. Bonus points are to be awarded in the Central Applications Office to students taking higher level mathematics, it was confirmed last week.

The points will be awarded to students applying for courses in any Irish university. All seven of the universities have backed the venture, which will apply from the Leaving Certificate class of 2012 onwards. This means that students currently in fifth year will be eligible for the points bonus.

“This is a short term strategy which does nothing to solve the problems associated with Maths teaching.”

Under the new scheme, all students who sit the higher level paper will receive a bonus of 25 points, provided they achieve a minimum of a D3 in the exam. For example, a student achieving a C3 will receive the current 60 points plus the 25 points bonus, giving a total of 85 points.

The Students’ Union has condemned the Irish universities’ decision. Union President Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem says, “This is a shortterm strategy which does nothing to solve the problems with second-level mathematics teaching in this country.

“The majority of second-level maths teachers are not fully qualified, and until that is resolved, students’ understanding of maths will reflect the

poor teaching they receive.”

The Head of the School of Mathematics Dr Donal O’Donovan thought the plan was a positive move.

O’Donovan comments, “I think it is a good thing, but it is only one part of a three-part plan. The first part is Project Maths, the second part is the bonus points, and the third point is improving the training of mathematics teachers.” O’Donovan says he hopes the bonus points scheme will “only be a temporary measure.”

In response to Trigoub-Rotnem, O’Donovan comments, “While the Department may not be taking the necessary steps, the universities are taking steps. In Trinity for example, we plan to introduce a Masters in Education in teaching maths from next year.” Currently NUI Galway is the only university in Ireland to offer a course, its BA in Mathematics in Education, combining both subjects.

However, he adds, “It would be a mistake to view bonus points as a complete solution to the Maths problem in Ireland,” claiming that the teaching of mathematics in secondlevel schools by under-qualified teachers was a more pressing concern.

A spokesman for the Irish Universities Association said the new system is hoping to target those students who would drop down to ordinary level during the year, viewing the higher level course as “too much effort for too little reward.” It is also hoped the additional points on offer will reduce the number of students who change to ordinary level on the day of the exam.

Tánaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughlan welcomed the decision.

In a statement issued on Monday, she said, “It sends a clear signal to our

Caitriona Murphy College News Editor

SS Bonus points are being introduced in response to the low levels of Honours Maths students at leaving Certificate level

Leaving Certificate students about the importance we attach to the study of mathematics.”

She added that while bonus points were not a “silver bullet” that would completely solve all issues in mathematics in schools, their introduction should see an increase in the number of students taking the subject at higher level.

NUI Galway was the last of the seven universities to approve the controversial scheme. NUIG Registrar and Deputy President Professor Jim Ward hinted that while the university was sceptical about the effectiveness of the new system, it did not want to stand in the way of its development.

A recent report entitled Out-of-Field Teaching in Post-Primary Mathematics Education: An Analysis of the Irish Context carried out by Dr Máire Ní Ríordáin and Dr Ailish Hannigan from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Limerick found that 48 percent of post-primary mathematics teachers “did not have a mathematics teaching qualification.”

Many opposed to the idea of bonus points for mathematics in the Leaving Cert claim there is a lack of evidence to suggest that it encourages students to pursue courses in engineering, science and technology. Others claim it will only succeed in increasing points for all courses throughout the universities.

Currently the only university offering bonus points for higher maths is the University of Limerick.

However, some of its courses have significantly higher points than similar courses offered in other colleges.

Physiotherapy, for example, was 560 points this year in the first round of the CAO, compared to just 530 points in Trinity.

Both the Government and industry have been pushing for the introduction of a bonus points scheme for higher Maths for some time. Maths is regarded a crucial skill for success in the current “knowledge economy” the Government are keen to build.

Currently, Irish teenagers are not rated above average international levels in Mathematical subjects.

Union spends €16k on training Kate Palmer Deputy Editor

THE STUDENTS’ UNION held its annual class representative training last weekend, to the tune of over €15,000. The two-day event was held at the four-star Carlton Hotel, which was completely booked out for 210 Representatives, 40 Students’ Union Executives, as well as Union Faculty Convenors and Graduate Students’ Union Officers.

The Students’ Union found it necessary to employ extra security during the event, in light of the incidences of violence and vandalism that took place last year. At the 2009 training, members of the Union caused damage to the Carlton by throwing a table out of a window, setting fire extinguishers off and staining hotel carpets and wallpaper. This year security guards acted as hall monitors to prevent any damage being done.

Extra measures such as free items for arriving at meetings on time and

19 October, 2010

a Trinity Ball ticket draw were made to ensure the training weekend went smoothly.

Students’ Union Education Officer, Jennifer Fox, admits the behaviour from last year “hinders the efforts of SU bodies by diminishing their reputation in the eyes of the various authorities and the groups they have to deal with.” Nevertheless, Fox still sees the 2009 event as successful: “I think last year’s event was an enormous success in many ways. Unfortunately a couple of isolated incidents, involving a small number of people, dominated the reports”.

The Union claims that, despite last year’s events, they did not have trouble booking a venue for 2010 training. Fox says, “It is both mine and Nikolai’s priority that this year’s event is not seen as a ‘piss up’”.

The Students’ Union of 2010 to 2011 is the biggest Trinity has had yet, and everyone on the training was provided with free accommodation, food, travel and a late bar for the event.

The Students’ Union were forced to pay for most of the event, as their main sponsor Bank of Ireland decided not to contribute. The Union managed to accrue €4,000 in funds . The remaining expense was taken from their grant of over €300,000, provided from the “The time put in and the dedication shown by the Class Representatives justifies the cost of training.” compulsory registration fee paid by all students.

Fox stated, “The time and dedication the reps put in justifies the cost”. She said the price of €20 per Representative is “not a high cost for a year of work”.

The all-inclusive training event is provided on top of class representative expenses provided at Students’ Union conferences.

Fox describes the representatives as “miniature versions of all five sabbaticals”. During the weekend,

they participated in a mock Council, attended a briefing on the USI and were provided with entertainment including a band, DJ and late bar.

Collum McGovern spoke to the Union for a €700 fee.

Despite the evening entertainment, Fox insists the focus of the weekend was on class training. She says that class representative training is “hugely important for establishing a high profile for the Students’ Union – high profile for the right reasons, that is!

“The increased enthusiasm, dedication and activism we have observed in TCDSU class reps over the last two years has undoubtedly been directly related to the fact that the class rep training event was altered and expanded to provide more diverse training for our class reps. TCDSU is only as strong, passionate and powerful as it’s reps”.

According to the Students’ Union, “Appropriate training is paramount.

Ergo, a successful class rep training event is paramount”.

THE PROVOST advised members at a recent Board meeting that College could expect a seven to ten percent cut in HEA recurrent funding this year.

At the meeting held last month, the Provost delivered his review and outlook and advised that the core grant will be decreased, resulting in a struggle to maintain quality standards in College.

The cut could be damaging to Trinity’s international academic reputation, which has already suffered a blow from the drop in QS ratings.

Furthermore, an increase in the amount of students attending Trinity will put additional strain on the budget of the College and is causing difficulties in the staff to student ratio.

The Board noted in the meeting that in order to maintain the current ratio, 70 additional staff members would have to be hired. The money to fund these recruitments, as well as staff for the Ussher Lectureship Scheme that will be launched this year, would have to from non-Exchequer sources. Last year College received €165,234 from the HEA. The recurrent grant has been reduced in previous years due to the huge increase in registration fees.

Therefore a further reduction in the grant could signal that next year will see another jump in the registration fee that students pay.

This news adds pressure to the student fees debate with many fearing that the approaching Budget will forego the registration fee and introduce full fees for incoming students.

The Provost clarified in his report that the College has the legal right to introduce fees but that the introduction would further reduce the core grant that the College receives. He also reiterated that the €1500 registration fee does contribute to the provision of student services, after a recent report showed that the majority of the charge is used for other purposes.

The Provost had another financial report to contend with this month after the Special Report 75: Irish Universities was released. It investigated College resource and monetary management including remuneration.

In the report the Comptroller & Auditor General, John Buckley, found that between the years 2002-2006 the Provost received €6944 of unapproved remuneration.

However in a statement released by the Communications Office it was claimed that this money was as a result of “the requirement for the Provost to reside in the Provost’s House and the treatment of the costs of utilities in the House (much of which is used for College business)”.

The College stated that such costs were resolved with the HEA and resulted in the remuneration costs in 2007, 2008 and 2009 being within the limits set by the Department.

4 COLLEGE NEWS news@trinitynews.ie

STUDENT SERVICES

Problematic printers causing havoc PRINTING machines around the College have been a source of great annoyance to many students in recent weeks. Students have reported that printing service in College is inefficient, with a number of broken printers, and problems with cash machines and the swipe card system. Many students have complained about losing money and having to avail of the expensive printing service in Reads. The situation came to a head last week as Students’ Union President Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem received over fifty complaints from agitated students when he set up an independent email account, (printers@tcdsu.org), to deal with the problem.

Trigoub-Rotnem credits the problems to insufficient maintenance staffing and a lack of response by the printing company RICOH. College set up a three-year account with RICOH in 2009 for student and staff printing services.

Now only one year into the contract, the College service is being called unsatisfactory. Trigoub-Rotnem has complained on behalf of the students on several occasions, but even after four meetings with a company representative, reactions are slow. He believes that to truly fix the situation, it is the students that need to complain directly.

“RICOH need to see the level of student dissatisfaction with their service, otherwise nothing will change”. RICOH were unavailable for comment.

Rachel Lavin

On a Roll: College honours active students Caitriona Murphy College News Editor

STUDENTS ACTIVE in building the College community will now be rewarded for their efforts with the introduction of the Dean of Students Roll of Honour. Announced in an email sent to all students last week, the Roll will begin this year and cover the period from April last to March 2011.

The Roll is a move by College to recognise that learning on campus stretches beyond the lecture hall and to acknowledge the vast amount of extracurricular learning that goes on within societies, clubs and external volunteer programs. The aim to introduce this recognition was set out in the Strategic Plan last year and has culminated in the Roll.

In a conversation with Dean Of Students, Gerry Whyte, he said that

“there’s a whole load of learning that goes on for ordinary members of clubs and societies, but even more so those who move into officership positions.

You learn organisation skills, leadership skills and communications skills”.

The Roll will have many benefits for both the students and the College.

Students have the opportunity to be recognised for all the hours “There’s a whole load of learning that goes on for ordinary members of clubs and societies” campaigning for the SU, rehearsing for Players or debating in the Hist and Phil and to receive credit for getting elected to officer positions within clubs and societies.

The scheme is not just limited to activities within Trinity, but also recognises programs outside the College that people do in their free time.

A significant aim of the College is to promote civic responsibility and the Roll encourages students to get involved. The most notable benefit that it can provide for students in the current climate is the boost which being on the Roll will give to their CVs. Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem, President of the SU, welcomed the Roll, saying, “I’m glad to see that College is acknowledging the extracurricular activities of students which help build the Trinity community.”

The requirements for entry on to the Honour Roll are basic as the College is keen to keep the Roll open to as many students as possible. Each student must participate in at least 20 hours a year of service for a club or society.

Freya Findlay Staff Reporter

Scientists combat Autoimmunity

“Blocking IFI16 with a drug may be a useful way to combat autoimmunity” Prof. Andrew Bowie scientists to reel them in and analyse them. To find out which proteins were the most important, they “tested a number of proteins on the list to see which ones were increased during a virus infection.” It came as a surprise to Bowie and his colleagues to discover IFI16 was one of these proteins. “As we understand this process more, we can use that information to design therapies to boost the immune response to viruses. Alternatively, since IFI16 may sometimes get triggered by human rather that viral DNA, which can lead to autoimmune diseases such as lupus, blocking IFI16 with a drug may be a useful way to combat autoimmunity” he added.

There were several scientists involved in the research including other Trinity scientists Dr Leonie Unterholzner, Dr Sinead Keating and Marcin Baran. It also involved collaborations with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the University of Aarhus in Denmark and also with the National institutes of Health in Maryland.

Mairead Cremins.

Applications for the Roll will become available in Hilary term online at www. tcd.ie/Community and the closing date is in March 2011.

SU Loans in high demand

SCIENCE BREAKTHROUGH

SCIENTISTS in Trinity made a groundbreaking discovery on 4 October. In a study funded by the Science Foundation of Ireland, the scientists uncovered a key way in which our cells detect invading viruses. Professor Andrew Bowie, an associate professor in Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology, said that the search for virus sensors in a compartment of the cell called the cytosol has been a source of great curiosity in recent times. “We have been working on this specific project for about three years” said Bowie.

The discovery involved chopping up segments of DNA from viruses and then casting them into immune cells called macrophages in the lab. Several of these proteins took the bait and bound to the viral DNA, allowing the

These hours must then be signed off by the respective organisation. Students then fill out an application form that requires a certain degree of thought and planning. The applications will be vetted before being approved.

There is no cap on the amount of students that can be on the list and Dean Whyte welcomes a large response. The only students that cannot apply for the list are students that are paid to be in their officer position such as the SU sabbatical officers.

Students who are successfully placed on the list will receive a certificate and attend the inaugural Roll of Honour ceremony, anticipated to be held sometime in March.

Geldof addresses attentive listeners at the Hist debate on development aid Photo: Kevin O’Rourke Anti-poverty campaigner Sir Bob Geldof recently joined the College Historical Society to contribute to their first debate of the month on African Aid. Debating on the motion “That this house believes that development aid has done more harm than good,” guest speakers in opposition Sir Bob Geldof and Justin Kilcullen of Trocaire joined Professor Yash Tandon, Ugandan activist and policymaker, arguing for the proposition.

The knighted former rocker Sir Bob stole the show. Bringing the debate down from intellectual theorising he

reminded the audience that human life was at stake in this arena; individual, vital life was the commodity that was being coldly balanced in such a cost benefit analysis of development aid.

Portraying development aid as a way of voicing support for those bowed beneath the yoke of economic deprivation, Sir Bob delivered his challenge: “I don’t care who they are, but if they are made mute by poverty you will hear my voice on their behalf. Whose voice will be raised with mine?” His bold appeal had the desired effect as the congregation rose and lending loud voice to

Sir Bob’s tune, the verdict deafeningly passed.

“Poverty is soluble,” Sir Bob said giving his final word. “Africa since 2000 has 2 per cent growth per annum, poverty reduction is down 1% ongoing ... the logic of it works”.

He also addressed the Irish economic situation criticising the culture where banks became “casinos”, although he would not be pressed to comment on whether the time has come for a change in Government.

Mark Davidson

THE NUMBER of students applying to the Student Union for a loan has increased again this year. Each week of term sees about 25 people applying to the Students’ Union for a €100 loan. This follows on from last years significant rise in applications.

Steph Fleming, the SU Welfare Officer, thinks that this increase is due to the fact many County Councils have not approved students’ annual loan applications. Less than half of the County Councils have paid any money to students. It can take the Councils months, and cost up to €400 to process one application, largely due to the seasonal nature of the loans. In the Council, people are moved to the Education Department from June to November who often have little experience dealing with loans. At a basic administrative level it is a “disaster”, and Fleming plans to campaign for all loans to be centralised.

The start of the year is an expensive time. Whilst some students have the option of second hand books, others in courses such as Science may have no other option but to buy the latest edition. Dublin is also an increasingly expensive city to live in and the financial crises adds to the problem.

The SU gives out loans up to €100 which are taken on condition that they are repaid in one month. This step is critical as the loans are recycled - as soon as one person repays another can be given money. However, some students may now find themselves struggling as living costs continue to soar.

Exams, abortion, illness: Tutors hear it all Aine Pennello Staff Reporter

FRENCH LECTURER Dr. Claire Laudet has returned to the position of Senior Tutor this year for a third time, after serving two consecutive threeyear terms as Senior Tutor from 2001 to 2007.

The Senior Tutor works closely with Student Support Services and oversees the Undergraduate Tutorial Service. For this term, Dr. Laudet hopes to improve the quality of the Tutorial Training Service, which includes training and briefing sessions from the Student Support Services to “get a better sense of the issues that students are facing” and to start the process of decreasing the number of students per tutor from approximately one hundred to eighty.

While every student is assigned

a tutor from the academic staff, Dr. Laudet laments that too few students avail of the service: “Students should feel that if there is something that gets in the way of them achieving their full potential as students, they can discuss it with their tutor.” She also warned against students deeming any problem as “too small” to warrant “bothering somebody with it”. Even apparently unsolvable problems should be shared as “often tutors may know a way around it.”

Dr. Laudet, who is originally frm France, has lived in Ireland for the past twenty-four years and vividly recalls her introduction to the Tutorial Service. While on a part-time contract with the French Department, Dr.Laudet was approached by a student concerning a classmate’s eating behaviour, and she was then redirected via a colleague involved in the Tutorial

Service to the Senior Tutor who invited her to attend a Tutor Training Session on eating disorders. Dr.Laudet went on to gain nearly seven years experience as a tutor. “But it was partly starting with that student case,” Dr. Laudet remarked, “and realizing that the tutor role both for that student and also for “This year we’re more aware of students saying ‘My dad was made redundant’” – Dr. Claire Laudet the other students in the class was an extremely important thing and that they all needed support. I think a lot of people would be amazed at some of the difficulties some students are struggling with.”

Academically, such problems range from missed essay deadlines

to academic appeals and failure to sit exams. “Every year there’s a number of students who show up at the wrong time or at the wrong place for their exam”, said Dr. Laudet, who strongly recommends students check their student handbooks and emails to avoid such confusion. Dr. Laudet said students should feel comfortable speaking confidentially to their tutor about physical and mental illnesses, alcoholism, abortion, drug abuse or problems at home. Speaking of the current economic situation, Dr. Laudet said, “This year we’re more aware of students saying ‘My dad was made redundant’ or ‘My mother’s part time hours have been reduced’”.

For students who feel uncomfortable speaking to their tutor, students can either request a change of tutor, or “as a last resort,” Dr. Laudet said, “they can always come directly to me”.

TRINITY NEWS

5

NEWS FEATURE: OPEN HOUSE 2010

news@trinitynews.ie

From Old to New: Open House in Trinity Conor Dempsey

LONG LIBRARY

1641 Exhibition to go on display

Staff Reporter

THE LONG Room Hub, the newest addition to Trinity’s campus, welcomed visitors last fortnight as part of the Open House Dublin Architecture Festival. Visitors were lucky to be given tours of the new building by one of the designing architects Valerie Mulvin or Niall McCullough of McCullough Mulvin Architects.

Irish architecture has been enjoying something of a golden age over the last decade. Many Irish firms have earned a serious international reputation with McCullough Mulvin, O’Donnell & Tuomey, and Grafton Architects among the best.

During the tour I attended Valerie Mulvin led a host of attentive guests through the Long Room Hub explaining the thoroughly considered features of a building designed as a place for creativity and scholarly interaction.

The facade is broken up with the windows on various levels and some areas protruding more than others; as you walk through the building this makes for a variety of surprising and interesting views of the college. On the floor designated as the reading and lunch area the windows align dramatically allowing light to pass right through the open space giving fantastic views and a sudden feeling of expansiveness to this narrow building.

The site was found by a process of elimination and part of the challenge was to a location suitable for a 13,000 square foot building in the tight confines of Trinity. The current location was the only viable option. It was decided early on that the building should not rise above the height of the Old Library, but it would need to be quite slender as a large fire access area had to be left between it and the 1937 Reading Room. Ms Mulvin explained that the home of the postgraduate reading room was originally designed as a pavilion for a garden to its rear.

This area had trees that defined the skyline from both Fellow’s and Front Squares but these were removed with the garden when the Arts Block

was built in 1985. The Long Room Hub is modeled on a medieval Tower House and is intended to resolve the unfinished end of Fellow’s square and give more definite closure to Front Square.

There were considerable technical challenges once the the site had been narrowed down by these various factors. The most major of these was the location of the Edmund Burke Theatre below the building. The presence of a large theatre below meant that no support columns could extend directly down from one side of the building.

To overcome this problem the architects used large diagonal support beams attached to the main structural components of the building at either end. These beams have been incorporated as shelving in many of the offices and are visible throughout.

The building is connected by a new tunnel to the 1937 Reading Room which is in turn connected to the Long Room.

This allows transport of documents and rare books underground from the Old Library to the digitization suite in the Hub where Trinity’s collections will be converted to digital form for the first time.

The detailing of the interior is considerable. All of the flooring is made from an engineered walnut board compatible with the underfloor heating used throughout. There is a lecture theatre with an acoustic ceiling and a smart glass wall at one end. This smart glass can be made opaque at the flick of a switch to separate the hall from the adjoining offices.

The outer walls are made of stone cladding hung on steel. The thickness of the walls was chosen so that windows

“I was undecided about this new addition to Fellow’s Square before the tour, but I must say that I left in a state of admiration for the thought that had gone into its design.”

Potential Candidates

AN EXTENSIVE collection documenting the 1641 Depositions has just gone on display in the Long Library. Containing witness accounts from over 5000 people, the project received 1 million euro in funds and took three years to complete.

The exhibit covers the period in history when Irish Catholics launched a violent rebellion against protestant plantation. Visitors to the exhibit are greeted by the warning that it ‘contains many images which some visitors may find disturbing’ and this is by no means an understatement. Part of the exhibit documents the mass murder of Protestants by Irish natives in the River Bann and numerous accounts mention assault, burnings and imprisonment.

The project was a collaborative initiative by scholars, including Professor Jane Ohlmeyer and Dr Micheál Ó Siochrú of Trinity College, Dublin, Thomas Bartlett of the University of Aberdeen and Professor John Morrill of the University of Cambridge. The exhibition runs until April and is open every day.

LAST LAUGH SS Above: Visitors gather at the Campanile. Below: PhD student Myles Campbell gave an engaging presentation on TRIARC in the Provost’s Stables. Both photos by Alice Clancy. Top right: A view inside the Long Room Hub. Photo by Conor Dempsey

become reasonably deep recesses that the architects hoped would naturally come to be used as study or reading areas. The study floor has a dark grey carpet throughout to reduce noise and has automatic blinds which regulate sunlight during the day.

The lunch floor is described as the “living room” of the building by Ms Mulvin and is intended to be the cockpit where the casual interaction between scholars of various disciplines will take place. The entire building is designed in the hope that casual exchange of ideas will occur and fuel a more creative and interdisciplinary approach to humanities research.

The Long Room Hub is the first of three new Trinity buildings to be completed in less than two years; the next will be the Biosciences Centre on Pearse Street, designed by RKD architects to be completed before

the end of the year. 2011 will see the opening of The Lir, a centre for acting and theatre studies, designed by Smith Kennedy Architects.

And finally...

SPARE A thought for the unfortunate Senior Sophister who unwittingly invited the Junior Dean back to her illicit on-campus party.

Last fortnight, a group of students held an impromptu gathering in a New Square apartment. Security were soon called and the revellers told to leave. Disgruntled, the hostess went out to New Square to have a cigarette, and struck up conversation with a man who was engaged in a similar activity. She told him that though her party had been disbanded, they would probably continue anyway and he was welcome to come up.

He informed her that this would be inappropriate, as he was the Junior Dean, but replied in kind by extending her an invitation to meet in his office.

Aoife Crowley

AS THE race for the postion of Provost begins to heat up, several high profile names are being thrown around as potential candidates. At this early stage, only one candidate has publically decreed his intention to run, and his competition will wait to announce their candidacy at strategic points in the process. Below, MARK MOORE takes a look at some of the possible frontrunners.

PROFESSOR JANE OHLMEYER

VICE PROVOST PATRICK J PRENDERGAST

PROFESSOR COLM KEARNEY

Candidacy status: Yet to declare

Candidacy status: Yet to declare

Candidacy status: Confirmed

Candidacy status: Yet to declare

Candidacy status: Yet to declare

Ohlmeyer is Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History and currently the principal investigator of the Long Room Hub (LRH).

A founding member of the LRH project, Ohlmeyer was also instrumental in securing funding of more than €10m for the ‘Humanities Serving Irish Society’ collaborative effort.

If she decides to run, Ohlmeyer could plead a case for funding of the humanities on the national stage, an area so often dominated by a ‘Scientific knowledge economy’ dream.

Prendergast is from Oulart in Co. Wexford. He is a Fellow of Trinity College and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He served as a College Tutor before becoming Dean of Graduate Studies in the University.

He currently holds the appointed position of Vice-Provost(VP)/Chief Academic Officer(CAO) and is Professor of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering.

Instrumental in the College ‘Restructuring Policy’ and the Innovation Alliance, Prendergast has made headlines throughout his current role as VP/CAO as so many policy decisions, such as semesterisation and the on-going debate on ‘Christmas examinations’, have dragged out significantly longer than originally expected. Then again, it’s tough at the top.

Born and raised in County Dublin, Kearney’s BA (economics and politics) is from UCD; he holds masters degrees in economics from the Universities of Essex and Western Ontario, and his PhD in economics is from the University of Warwick.

Kearney has studied and worked in universities in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the UK and has extensive academic leadership experience.

He has published widely in open economy macroeconomics and international finance.

Joining the College as Professor of International Business in 2002, Kearney has immersed himself in the academic life of the College. He was elected Dean of the Faculty of BESS in 2004, and served as Senior Lecturer from 2005-2008.

A graduate of Medicine from Trinity College, Kelleher completed specialist training in Gastroenterology in Dublin and received a Fogarty Scholarship for a research fellowship at University of California San Diego.

He returned to Trinity in 1989 as the Wellcome Senior Fellow in Clinical Science and was subsequently appointed as Professor of Clinical Medicine in 2001.

Kelleher in collaboration with Prof Hugh Brady at UCD has obtained collaborative grant funding to establish the Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre, a joint venture between the three major medical schools in Dublin. He is also the inaugural director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine, a TCD facility at St James’s Hospital.

Fitzgerald is currently the Conway Investigator at the Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research and Professor of Molecular Medicine in University College Dublin. This makes Fitzgerald the foremost external candidate tipped to run who has not yet declared candidacy.

Fitzgerald has served as the Director of the Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

If Fitzgerald does indeed declare himself as a candidate in the forthcoming elections, a colourful campaign will no doubt spill into the quadrangles and corridors of Trinity.

No. 1

Grafton St countdown to the election

19 October, 2010

PROFESSOR DERMOT KELLEHER

PROFESSOR DESMOND FITZGERALD (UCD)

For information on the election guidelines, see our online special at www.trinitynews.ie/election

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS 7 internationalnews@trinitynews.ie

Serbia

Student shame at Gay Pride ff 400 protesters, many of them students, rioted against Pride parade in Belgrade ff Facebook groups used to spread intolerance ff City left with damages exceeding ¤1m

Gomorrah. Amfilohije said that “gay and lesbian love leads to death and suicide.” He added, however, that the church could not condone violence.

According to statistics from the 2008 annual report by Gay Straight Alliance, a key Serbian LGBT advocacy group, seven out of ten citizens consider homosexuality to be an illness. One in two view homosexuality as dangerous and think the state should work on its suppression.

The 2009 GSA opinion survey, “Prejudices Exposed – Homophobia in Serbia”, revealed that 67 percent of the

Ines Novacic Deputy International News Editor

SERBIA’S SECOND Gay Pride parade took place in Belgrade on Sunday 10 October, with 5,000 police officers and members of special anti-terrorist Gendarmerie guarding the procession. By the time the parade was set to begin, police faced over 400 protesters chanting “death to homosexuals”. Most of these were students between the ages of 17 and 21. They argued that the money put aside by the State to provide Pride security could have been used to pay student fees.

According to The Guardian, “the 2010 parade, though imperfect, provides an illustration of the progress Serbia has made.” Following the parade, the rights of LGBT people and their status in society has seen modest exposure in the media, as news coverage focuses on the events that took place a few hundred metres beyond the protected procession.

Serbian newspaper Danas wrote that more than 1000 Pride participants marched safely through the planned parade route, while mobs of young hooligans rioted in the city streets.

According to the Serbian minister for health, Tomica Milosavljevic, more than 140 people have been injured in the day-long riots, including 124 police officers, 17 citizens and one Pride participant. Before the Pride parade,

“Gay Pride is a parade of shame.

Gay and lesbian love leads to death and suicide.”

graffiti reading “We’re waiting for you” appeared on Belgrade buildings, courtesy of ultra right-wing nationalists and clerofascists. Organisations such as Obraz and 1389 publically demonstrated their against of LGBT people.

Mladen Obradovic, chief secretary of Obraz, was arrested the week preceding the Pride parade.

Groups of young protesters gathered around Belgrade from early hours on the morning of the parade, indicating that the violence carried out was planned and deliberate. Serbian Newspaper Blic wrote that the parade itself presented an “excuse” for violent youths to mobilise on the streets and

riot. Rather than certain key groups leading anti-Pride riots, intolerance among students was largely spread via websites and Facebook groups. Many used their Facebook pages to state their support for violent action against homosexuals.

Belgradian student Adrijana Zoric, 21, told Trinity News that among her colleagues at Belgrade Megatrend University, she was part of a minority that supported the Pride cause. “Most students consider homosexuality a sickness. One student I know published on his Facebook page: ‘The family is sacred, not these gays! Well done to hooligans for their bravery!’”

This is Belgrade’s second Pride in nine years. The parade that took place in 2001 saw 50 policemen and a few hundred participants attacked by more than 2000 demonstrators. Last year, Gay Pride was cancelled the evening before it was scheduled to take place, when the ministry of internal affairs and the Serbian state police claimed they could not guarantee the safety of the participants if the procession went ahead in Belgrade’s city centre.

In 2009, Bishop Amfilohije, the leading figure in Serbia’s Orthodox Church, identified the idea of Pride as a “Parade of Shame”, and evoked God’s punishment of the Biblical cities Sodom and

population regarded homosexuality negatively, while 11 percent considered homosexuals to be the same as everyone else.

In 2009, Serbia adopted an antidiscrimination law in accordance with EU legislation on human rights. On 31 August, article 387 of that law was expanded to recommend up to four years imprisonment for those who “publicly threaten a person or a group of people because of their race, skin colour, faith, nationality, ethnicity or any other personal beliefs and practices”. Under the same clause, all hate propaganda is prohibited.

“The problem is that students and youths now publicise their hate and promote intolerance through their Facebook pages,” Zoric said. “On the day of Pride, Belgrade was under attack by tear gas and Molotov cocktails, bins were set on fire, window displays smashed, and shops looted.”

More than 200 demonstrators have been arrested and damages to the city are estimated at one million euro.

New Bill will threaten New Zealand’s student unions A controversial bill, allowing voluntary student union membership in New Zealand, may be on its way to becoming law

US police accused of brutality by students Ralph Marnham International News Editor

A GROUP of Yale undergraduates stood before reporters on Tuesday 5 October at Phelps Gate on the university campus to give their versions of what had happened when police interrupted a private party in downtown New Haven the previous Saturday morning.

They recounted an incident in which they say police, some in SWAT gear, barged into Elevate club, barked orders and profanities and provocatively threatened arrest for anyone who questioned their presence or asked the most basic questions.

Some students were said to be crying even before an officer used a stun gun on one sophomore. The police said the student had assaulted three officers.

Another student said an officer had punched him.

Raids on bars are not unusual these days in New Haven, where huge crowds in a cluster of downtown nightspots have lately turned rowdy. Yale deans have urged students to write up accounts of the police action, and have sent counsellors to the two residences,

19 October, 2010

Ezra Stiles College and Morse College, which organised the event. The following Thursday, a group of students walked to police headquarters with their formal complaints.

Mayor John DeStefano Jr. said in an interview that the presence of two officers in riot gear, who were members of the police SWAT team, was “excessive and inappropriate” and “should not have been part” of the inspection.

“We undertook 16 inspections over the past two weeks, and most went fine and accomplished our mission of enforcing under-age drinking,” DeStefano said.

“Clearly, there were some things that could have been better handled Friday night, and this department needs to look at that.”

“I’ve never felt any danger in New Haven before this event,” recalled Jaya Wen, an undergraduate who was present during the raid. “It was the police action that caused our feeling of being unsafe – of terror.” Students also say police threatened them with arrest for taking video and pictures of the raid. Chief Frank Limon has said that there would be an internal affairs investigation of Saturday morning’s raid.

Ralph Marnham International News Editor

A NEW government bill has been given the green light by a select committee in the New Zealand’s parliament. The Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill was proposed by Heather Roy, an MP with the ACT New Zealand political party, and has the backing of the majority National party.

Roy has argued that “tertiary students are currently compelled to join a student association if they want to study and are the only people who are forced to join a union, although many of these associations don’t actually represent the views of the majority of students.” She also stated that “in many cases student organisations undertake partisan political activities against the views of the wider student body, and waste student resources.”

This view has come under attack by student leaders who argue that “[This Bill] would destroy representation, advocacy and services students received from their associations” government support for the bill will put tertiary education in jeopardy. In a statement published in the New Zealand Herald, the New Zealand Student Union Association (NZUSA)

labelled the bill a “disgrace”. They argued that “Students, the key stake holders, will be sidelined because “In many cases student organisations undertake partisan political activities ... and waste student resources” their voice will not be clear and strong.”

They also warned that institutions will now be receiving many competing messages from students and without clear signals will look towards the government for funding priorities. They pointed out that there are many other ways of changing membership rules that would allow students real choice without preventing students coming together as a universal collective.

The Union finished its statement with the dire warning that “we will have a tertiary system that cannot contain its rising fees, fails to offer student services that respond to their needs and cannot provide some of the courses that it advertises.”

Some student union executives point to the case of Auckland University in Australia. When membership was made voluntary, the association fee income fell by a staggering 95 percent.

This forced the Australian government to spend 120 million dollars of “transitional support” to maintain key services.

The bill and the student union’s reaction have been greeted with a mixed response in New Zealand.

The following week, the New Zealand Herald published an editorial criticising the reaction of the NZUSA. They argued that “their view overstates the importance of the student unions in providing services to their members, as opposed to the input of the universities and polytechnics.” They pointed out that the NZUSA had paid no heed to the fundamental question underlying the bill: why does compulsion to join the union still remain?

They also asked why a student association had the right to take students’ money, even though students might disagree strongly with its viewpoint and policies. The newspaper finished by suggesting that if the unions were providing adequate services then they had nothing to worry about.

However, an education spokesman for the New Zealand Labour party, Grant Robertson warned that “voluntary membership would destroy representation, advocacy and services students received from their associations.”

He went on to say that student associations would struggle which would in turn reduce the quality of student experience. The Green party also warned that the long-term survival of the unions were under threat. A crucial second reading of the bill is planned for the middle of the month.

8 NEWS FEATURES newsfeatures@trinitynews.ie

Bono and the box of cookies Bono’s charity ONE comes under fire for persuasive marketing

Biorhythm closes in a beep bop Martin McKenna Staff Writer

Manus Lenihan Deputy News Features Editor

RECENT WEEKS have seen a sudden surge in criticism of ONE, the non-profit organisation led by Bono and other philanthropists. In late September the New York Post called attention to the fact that in 2008, the most recent year for which records are available, ONE took in almost $15 million in donations and spent under $150,000 on aid. Meanwhile, about $8 million was spent on the salaries of ONE’s 120 executives and employees.

The story spread and the Post’s website buzzed with furious user comments. While some rallied around ONE after its response that the organisation is an advocacy group and not a charity, others were not so sympathetic, calling Bono a “typical jet setting elite” and a “limousine liberal”.

In the past, aid experts such as Jobs Selasie have claimed that Bono’s charitable efforts do more harm than good. Bono dismissed Selasie, saying that they he and other critics were simply “carping from the sidelines”, but like the aid question, high-budget advocacy groups merit examination rather than unconditional praise.

The incident that sparked the media criticism is in itself worth outlining.

As the Millennium Development Goals summit opened in New York, ONE attempted to raise awareness by sending boxes containing expensive items to several major newspaper offices.Each box contained a $20 bottle of water along with a note explaining that this was a reminder of the need for clean water in the developing world.

The note went on to say that many poverty-stricken African children live on less than $1.25 a day – “about the cost of the cookie in this box”. As well as the large black-and-white cookie in question, boxes contained a $15 bag of Starbucks fair-trade coffee, a small tin of band-aids, two pens shaped

SS Bono’s non-profit organisation ONE has faced increased crticism of late.

like syringes, a $15 Moleskine leather notebook and a ruler inscribed with the words, “measuring progress on the Millennium Development Goals”.

The New York Post, one of the recipients, published a scathing article on the stunt, leading with the words “Nothing says ‘wipe out AIDS and poverty’ like band-aids and a blackand-white cookie”. These “media kits”, to use ONE’s own term, came in for widespread mockery and criticism, and the spectacle drew attention to the organisation’s poor charitable record.

In response, a ONE spokesperson insisted that the organisation does “advocacy work, not charity work”.

Norman Coleman of the American Accountability Network has praised ONE’s work. He claimed that attacking its charitable record is “like criticising General Motors for not making iPods.”

ONE, according to its statement on the controversy, raises no funds from the public, instead relying on wealthy philanthropists. As for the boxes, “In

Aid experts such as Jobs Selasie have claimed that Bono’s charitable efforts do more harm than good

hindsight, [they] were not the best way to gain attention for the issues and we regret that sending them distracted from the work we are trying to do.”

For those who are curious, the work in question is described at length on ONE’s website. The verbs alone say a lot about the organisation’s tactics: over the years it has “called for”, “asked”, “encouraged”, “urged” and “helped convince” governments to meet their aid targets. According to the web page, Haitian debt cancellation talks following the earthquake happened “thanks to the more than 200,000 ONE members who signed a petition worldwide.” At the G8 summit in 2008 “ONE used billboards, an open letter and chocolate” to highlight extreme poverty.

On the 2006 Global Day of Action “more than 6,000 ONE members organized house parties across the US.” Last year between 16-18 October, 173 million people around the world, including a U2 gig audience, squatted down then literally stood up to show their support for ONE’s cause.

Thus ONE gives us a curious version of recent history, in which governments are swayed toward

making greater aid commitments by petitions, house parties and large numbers of people rising from a squatting to a standing position.

Certainly Live 8, which ONE helped to promote, raised awareness about the world’s inequalities. Exactly how much it contributed to the cancellation of 12 per cent of developing world debt is a difficult question to answer, however.

An equally difficult question, because advocacy is difficult to quantify, is whether spending $15 million annually on advocacy produces $15 million worth of results for the world’s poorest people.

This year’s Millennium Development Goals summit came close to being an admission of failure.

Already modest progress toward the targets has been thrown off-track by crises in food, fuel and finance.

Governments, now driven by a need for austerity and fiscal restraint, are unlikely to make any significant donations for the foreseeable future – never mind meeting the required $30 billion annual increase in aid between over the next five years. It is hard to imagine groups like ONE persuading them to do so.

Final year University of Limerick students told their course not accredited by Teaching Council Ciara Anderson Contributing Writer

LAST WEEK, 20 final year students of University of Limerick were told that their course was not accredited by the Teaching Council, the regulatory body for teaching in Ireland. Students of the Bachelor of Arts (Education) in Modern Languages course are scheduled to graduate next summer. However, their diploma will be effectively worthless as students will not be able to register as a teacher with the Council. This lack of full qualification could impede any future job opportunities.

Newly created in 2007, this course has a unique and innovative structure.

The course, run by Nancy Serrano, aims to teach two languages through the target language as well as traditional modules in education. In addition, third year students are given the opportunity to pursue an Erasmus year, which includes a job placement and study as an Erasmus student in a European university.

The unorthodox structure of the programme is the apparent reason for the delay in accreditation. The Teaching Council is striving to ensure the course meets all technical standards stipulated in the Teaching Council Act, 2001.

The Teaching Council is still consider-

SThe S University and the Teaching Council have taken steps to reassure students of the Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages course.

ing the final submissions from UL. The qualification by the Teaching Council is a separate accreditation to the regular academic accreditation every course must receive from the Higher Education and Training Awards Council.

Aoife Finnerty, UL Students Union education officer, was previously quoted as being concerned for the students as they dealt with the uncertainty and fear regarding graduation and job opportunities. However, after meeting with the Head of both EPS (Education and Professional Studies) and LLCC (Language, Literature, Culture and Communication) the students were assured that the University is dealing with the matter. Students’ fears were quelled as they were extensively briefed on communications between the University and the Teaching Council, as well as the University’s plans for handling the matter.

Trinity News asked Cliona McLoughlin, Head Executive Officer of Communications and Education in the Teaching Council, if it was standard practice for a university to initiate a new education course without such accreditation from the Teaching Council. She stated “it would be usual for course providers to seek accreditation prior to offering a programme.” This points to a possible oversight on the part of UL. However,

the course director was not available to respond to this query.

Limerick’s Live95FM.ie states the UL Students Union was concerned that the Teaching Council had refused accreditation to the new course. However, this appears inaccurate as the Teaching

“The Teaching Council has stated that it would be usual for course providers to seek accreditation prior to offering a programme.

This perhaps points to oversight on behalf of UL.” Council is now reviewing final submissions from UL regarding the course.

The University expects the Teaching Council to finalise accreditation in the coming months. Students can thus look forward to graduating not only with a diploma but a formal qualification to teach.

THE NOISE is only coming from his throat, but every part of the body of human beatboxer Shlomo is moving. The fingers on his left hand play imaginary bass and scratch imaginary decks while their sounds tear out of the speakers behind him and into the chests of the audience. His right hand grips the microphone to his mouth and follows his head as it flails to the rhythm. The lights spinning around the room struggle to move as quickly as he does.

As he loops his own sounds, a layered crescendo builds. Finally, he summons impossibly deep sounds from his neck and the beat explodes into the room. A rail delineating the stage visibly oscillates with the sound waves.

Every puff of air in his microphone feels like a clap to the chest. The lights strobe red, then green, blue, pink and yellow.

The audience are exhilarated and stunned to find themselves at the centre of a one-man rave.

They have come to Trinity College’s Science Gallery for the closing night of the Biorhythm exhibition.

The evening promised to explore the voice in music and the physiology that facilitates it.

Róisín Elsafty opened proceedings with sean nós from

SS Shlomo’s beatboxing technique is a sight to behold.

her native Connemara. Jennifer Walsh followed, performing implausible vocal feats to mimic the shrill sounds of birds, crickets and maggots. The audience was then treated to a video of a transnasal endoscopy of Walsh. A fibre optic camera inserted into her nose as she performed the piece showed her vocal chords dance and flit in the fleshy cavity of her voicebox. Professor Conrad Timon from the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin took the stage to explain the footage and took questions from an inquisitive audience. “Why does the voice break?” “How do we become hoarse?” “What’s the role of the epiglottis?” The Mornington Singers, founded as the graduate choir of Trinity, closed proceedings for the evening.

The Science Gallery sets out to “ignite creativity and discovery where science and art collide”, and as host Gerry Godley pointed out, it is easier to talk about that than to do it. But Timon’s endoscopy video inspired real curiosity in the audience. Having just heard the results of the vocal chord movements, they were now watching them – impossible without the fibre optic technology in the camera.

It is the development of curiosity that makes a scientist.

Raving with Shlomo at 200 vocal chord vibrations per second, it is hard not to feel that this development is being accelerated.

Like the sound of Biorhythm? Science Gallery’s new exhibition, Green Machines, will run until 17 December.

For more information, see www. sciencegallery.com

TRINITY NEWS

SOCIETY 9

Spinning a yarn with KnitSoc Eoin Silke Staff Writer

BELLA FITZPATRICK and Hannah Cagney were brought together by a love of knitting.

During their Medicinal Chemistry lectures, they would knit to pass the time. In March, they decided to share their passion with the rest of College, and Knit Soc was born. The aim of the society, according to their webpage, is “to promote, share and teach knitting and other yarn crafts.”

The first step in setting up Knit Soc was talking to the Central Societies Committee (CSC).

“The CSC was very helpful,” Fitzpatrick, who is now the Treasurer of the Knit Soc, told us.

“The process wasn’t complicated at all.” She said that once you’re sure that what you want to do isn’t covered by other societies already in existence, there’s a lot of support and information available. She explained that the CSC wants to make sure that the proposed society is viable and will make a contribution to College life.

The next step was collecting 100 signatures from Trinity students who would like to see the society recognised. This is to make sure there is significant interest on campus, but

for Knit Soc this wasn’t a problem. “We just talked to people around College,” said Fitzpatrick. “We basically got 100 in a day.” Once they had the signatures, the society was granted associative recognition by the CSC in April. Associative recognition is given to societies that fall under the remit of the CSC, but require only small-scale financial support.

Since then, Knit Soc have been active in promoting knitting around campus. During Freshers’ Week, Knit Soc held a picnic (or “pic-knit”, as Fitzpatrick says) for their members. The society provided wool and needles to any beginners who hadn’t brought their own. Since then, the society has hosted a weekly stitch ‘n’ bitch, and on Wednesday 13 October they held a pub crawl. Fitzpatrick describes Knit Soc as an “alcohol-alternative way of socialising”, which is quite different from many other societies. Along with providing beginners workshops, the society caters for its more experienced members with a needle library and yarn exchange.

Fitzpatrick says she has been knitting since a young age, but that she doesn’t know a lot of the more expert technique. She says she has learnt a lot from other members who are more proficient, and that one of the great rea-

sons for having a knitting society is for that kind of information exchange.

Whether running an established society or trying to set one up, Fitzpatrick stressed that the most important thing was to “be committed.” She spoke about the responsibility involved. She also said that it was a little daunting being at the helm of a society which now has 440 members, especially since it is her first time as a society officer. But on the whole she was very optimistic about the future of Knit Soc. Did she have any other advice for anyone wanting to set up a society? “Just talk to the DUBLIN UNIVERSITY KNITTING SOCIETY To get involed, contact knittingsoc@csc.tcd.ie, alternatively visit their website at www.groupspaces.com/duknitsoc.

The Knitting Society aims to promote, share and teach knitting and other yarn crafts.

The Society holds beginners workshops, regular informal knitting circles as well as resources for experienced knitters, including a needle library and yarn exchange.

Wilde enthusiasm for CSC project Emma Matthews CSC Administrator

THE FOURTH Week initiative was launched last year by the Central Societies Committee, to highlight the one hundred and six student societies on campus and the central role they play in providing a rich and varied student life in Trinity. Societies are fundamental to the college experience, and Trinity has a particularly rich tradition to be proud of.

To celebrate Fourth Week in style, the CSC designed and executed the Dorian Gray project, which will be launched online during Fourth Week.

The Dorian Gray project was carried out last year, where close to 1000 members of the Trinity community took part during Fourth week. Staff and students had their portraits taken in the Exam Hall; since then each individual portrait has been made into a digital tile, with each tile then being manipulated to produce a large-scale mosaic of front square of College.

The finished piece has been printed and will be hung in the Arts Block in the coming weeks. During Fourth Week, this image will be launched on the CSC website, where it will also be possible to zoom in to view each individual tile up close.

The project is currently being block mounted and will be hung in the Arts Block in the

coming weeks.

The second part of the Dorian Gray project will be carried out in 2019, when each individual who took part will be emailed their portrait using his or her College e-mail address.

On top of this marvellous work, the CSC

“In 2019, each individual who took part will be emailed their portrait using his or her College e-mail address”.

has organised for the Chairperson of each society to be invited to attend commons on Monday night.

This is a chance for them to meet each other, the CSC and members of the college community, and will hopefully allow them to expand their horizons and enable them to work together this year to bring Trinity many more enjoyable society experiences.

Get extra extra-curricular in College Freya Findlay Staff Writer

LIKE MOST students in Freshers’ Week, I signed up to what seemed like all the societies and then proceeded to attend none of them for the rest of the year. I could say the bright lights and glamour of the stands wooed me or that I really wanted to get involved with college but the truth is I feel seriously awkward saying no to people, a trait which has landed me in some pretty sticky situations. I find it especially hard when it seems so important to these advertisers that you join them. The lame “Oh yes well I’ll come back later” or “I don’t have enough money” just don’t cut it.

Everyone knows the former is just a stalled no and the latter a stingy no - who can’t find a spare €2? Though I noticed some prices had gone up this year, apparently not even societies can escape the economic crisis.

After a year of my inbox being bombarded with emails, which if they were lucky I skimmed but more usually just deleted on sight, I decided in 2nd year I’d have to be stronger during fresher’s week and just politely, but firmly say no. In the end I’d gone

19 October, 2010

along to one or two first meetings and then decided that actually I couldn’t really be bothered. Every week a friend and I would say “next week we’ll go to this” or “we’ll definitely join that society next week”. But I think that in reality if you don’t get stuck in and involved from the start it’s much harder to do so later

or tutoring and rushing around balancing my time. I suddenly had lots of time to do whatever I wanted or just simply do nothing.

I took lots of afternoon naps, watched a ridiculous amount of films, went out, did some college work and deleted society emails. But I did have a feeling that I was missing out on

“It is slightly embarrassing when people presume I’m a first year as they’ve never seen me before, but who cares?” on in the term.

Its also very easy to let it all slip by and you could be fooled into thinking that there aren’t actually any societies in Trinity, it was just a big joke during fresher’s week and even if there are, all they do is try and sell things to you on their stands in the Art Block or Hamilton.

Having been very involved with all the extra curricular things going on at school I found it quite a novel experience not having any commitments. No netball practise, or orchestra or play rehearsals, no more debating

something.

So this year I was more select with my choices and awkward though it was I did say no to most advances. I made a conscious decision to go to events and get involved. It is slightly embarrassing when people presume I’m a first year as they’ve never seen me before but who cares?

I am, at least for now, a committed society member, and I’d urge you to do the same because otherwise though I’m sure you’d have a great year, you won’t make the most of it and it won’t be as good as it could be.

This Charmless Man MARK WALSH charts the dizzying highs and breathtaking lows of promotional gift bags, as well as giving his advice on decorum for drinks receptions

I WAS really looking forward to being back at college. “I’m really looking forward to going back to college” I said. That’s well and truly worn off now anyway. I planned to be more frugal with joining societies this year – failed that one. Signed up to a good few, and not just the ones with the best free stuff.

The highlight for me was TFM. They had a big bag of stuff, which was basically just leaflets and a couple of vouchers. And then, at the bottom of the bag, I saw it. An envelope. A plain white envelope, lurking there with nothing written on it. I got very excited. It must be something really good if they decided to put it in an envelope. It might be something important. It might be loads of money that fell in there by mistake. I opened the envelope. The contents? A teabag! A fucking teabag! Bless their little radio-loving hearts. I reckon they were sat around the room going “lads, the goody bag is a bit shit looking, we have to find more stuff to put in there”.

They looked around the room and all they could see was teabags and envelopes. “Fuck it, throw ‘em in.

What harm?”

The free pizza on Freshers week causes me so much stress. Even if I’m not hungry I feel like I absolutely have to get some of that free pizza. Then

They think you’re looking at their name and job title, but no. You’re assessing the ol’ mammary glands. everyone starts pushing. Free food? I need food to live!

If I get free food I’ll stay alive for longer without having to spend money, because it’s free! GIMME THE PIZZA! Last Monday I went to a Publications wine reception. I remarked about how I hadn’t drank wine in so long. That is because I only ever drink it at these things, when it’s free and the only option. I fucking hate wine. The highlight was that the important people had to wear stickers with their name and publication info on. Most of the women wore these on their breasts. This is good because usually they point at the sticker when introducing themselves.

This means they’re accidentally giving you a perving opportunity. They think you’re looking at their name and job title, but no. You’re assessing the ol’ mammary glands.

It was actually a really nice evening. The only problem was that I had a bit of a cold. It’s impossible to fully enjoy yourself when you’re focussing at least 50% of your brain power on trying to figure out how to test just how snotty you are. I’ve never been one to blow my nose in public – it’s too risky. You could make the whole situation worse. I think maybe I’m just not the most proficient in the nose-blowing department. I remember when I was younger and used to see footballers doing that thing where they blow their nose without tissue. The put their hand to one nostril and the snot flies effortlessly out of the other. Sheer brute force. I tried that myself once and it went horribly wrong and I said never again. Tissues were invented and are still selling, so I mustn’t be the only one who needs ‘em.

There’s been a good few events in MacTurcaill’s lately. Not that I went to any of them. I was at a going away party in there recently. I was buying a drink at the bar and began chatting to my mate who was doing the same. When we both went to pay, the barman said “are you two together?”

We said “no no, we’re paying separately” and gave him our money. He took it and said “yeah but, are you together?”

We looked at each other with our confused and unquestionably heterosexual eyes. I didn’t quite know what to say, so just decided to completely clarify the situation, and said “eh, not sexually”.

The barman laughed and said “Fair play mate, you’re on the ball, you”.

I was delighted with myself. I’d engaged in some barman banter. I considered starting to use gruff man terms such as “suckin’ diesel” and “fierce” and stuff like that. I then decided that I wasn’t ready for being THAT manly just yet, so I’ll stick to knowing about football and enjoying my own farts.

Later on I was at the bar with a girl. The same barman again asked if we were together. Again I clarified we were paying separately. And of course, he said “yeah, but are you together?”

It worked before, so I just said “eh, not sexually”.

Again, he laughed and said “Fair play mate, you’re on the ball”. The exact same exchange! I don’t know if he remembered our previous conversation or not.

Not to worry anyway. I’ll never go back there ever again, just in case he asks me that question. Problem solved!

See more at www.walsho.net

10 FEATURES Spotlight on: Discipline in Trinity Halls

Can’t pay the fine? Don’t do the crime Features Editor Josh Roberts investigates why some residents are calling for urgent reform of the current discipline system operating in Trinity Halls

VOX POP We asked Halls residents how they felt about the issues raised in this article

Niel Stillman, BESS; never fined "It's right that the money goes to the Hardship Fund. It's about giving something back which is surely a good thing".

Cian Lynch, MSISS; fined for throwing water bombs “The level and reasons for fines being passed down are massively inconsistent. Yes I broke the rules, it was stupid, but I got a similar fine to someone holding a 50 person party”

Niamh Hely, Economics and Sociology; fine revoked “I don’t agree that the appeals process is flawed.

The Warden let me off a fine for incorrectly parking my car after I made a good case. The system is fair and works well”

T

hirty degrees in the August heat, and I’m sitting in a restaurant in Greece having a chat with an eighteen-yearold bloke who has just been accepted to Trinity. His parents, the mum in particular, asked me to explain to their son all the various oddities of Trinity life, “so everything will be a little a less daunting when he arrives”. It was the third time over the summer that I had been asked to give this chat and between you and me I really couldn’t be bothered. Just give him the set menu, I thought – you know, “Join as many societies as you can, don’t worry about making friends because everyone will be in the same boat”.

But after dropping as many platitudes (“you only get out what you put in”) as a politician on Paxman, our conversation took a distinct turn

“According to Senior Tutor Dr Claire Laudet, ‘This money is a great help to us as it allows us to support more students’.” towards the a la carte. “Looking back, do you think Trinity Hall is the best place to live as a fresher?” enquired the mum.

Weighing up the pros and cons I decided that it definitely was. The pros seemed numerous: the fact that all your friends are within a two-minute walk, the fact that the JCR organise near nightly fun and the fact that the on-site provision of stuff like the Internet and laundrette made living in Halls largely hassle-free, not to mention a right laugh.

The only negative which I felt was worth mentioning was the issue of discipline, or more specifically the fact that almost all of my friends had, at some point over the year, been summoned to the Warden’s office for “breaking the peace”. On several occasions they found themselves paying hefty financial fines for their sins.

I must investigate this further, I remember thinking. I should try to find out what other people think about them. I wonder where the money goes.

I wonder if the system is fair. Maybe write something for the paper. And, three months later, here it is.

The first thing I wanted to find out was whether or not the system of punitive fines followed any sort of structure. What offences merit someone being fined? Is there a rigid process by which the level of a fine is set? Is there an effective appeals process by which someone can argue against a fine?

Remembering back to my first night in Halls, I can recall the Warden, Brendan Tangney, telling us that the first (and only) rule of Halls is not, that “on your first night you must fight” (Fight Club, 1999), but instead that residents have “to be reasonable”.

At first glance this relaxed maxim

SS Breaking the rules in Halls can earn you a meeting with a Warden, where you may be fined

might seem fair enough. But as a direct result of its broad nature some feel that this phrase prevents there being a rigid system for punishment, and instead permits wide and varied interpretation by those charged with maintaining good discipline – one person’s “reasonable” may be another person’s very unreasonable.

Second year Politics student Magnus Williams, who was fined €100 for hosting a gathering in his apartment, is one person who sees the system as unfair. “An Assistant Warden came into our flat at ten thirty in the evening and requested that everyone leave,” he said. “Which they did, and yet I was still fined €100. €100 for obeying the rules is utterly unreasonable”. Was there an adequate system of appeal?

“Certainly not. I was simply instructed not to give backchat and pay the fine.”

He believes that the disciplinary framework is hypocritical. “Not necessarily in a malicious way. But asking residents to be reasonable, and then fining them extortionate amounts for petty violations does stink of hypocrisy”.

Tangney himself doesn’t see the potential for unfairness in the system, saying, “I do not subscribe to the minimum sentencing philosophy, but believe each case needs to be dealt with on its own merits.”

Phillip Blake, another ex-Halls resident, disagrees. He was ordered to pay a total of over €150 what he refers to as “very trivial issues” (such as failing to attend a fire safety talk) and he

“In Knox’s opinion the Warden is essentially saying, ‘If you’re rich you can do whatever you like’.”

blames the lack of “an encompassing list of offences and their respective punishments” for much of the confusion and anger among residents.

“The current framework allows those in power too much leeway,” Blake said.

“There is a culture of ‘fine first, discuss later’ which needs to be changed.”

Not only do residents seem to be riled by the reasons and structure through which fines are doled out, but the level of fines themselves also

appears highly contentious. According to Tangney, “fines start at €10”, but fines of this size are rarely seen and those for more serious offences have been known to reach much higher sums.

One such example is that of BESS student Niall Knox who was fined a whopping €500 for allowing three nonresidents into Halls. He argues that the amounts given out to people “often don’t justify the crime”, and says, “I was fined a huge amount of money for a crime that I didn’t even know I was committing. Luckily a friend knew the three guys and they thankfully paid the fine between them. But the issue remains – the fines are far too big, not to mention regressive”.

This more theoretical argument against fines on the basis of their being regressive is rarely mentioned but is, nevertheless, compelling. In Knox’s opinion “the Warden is essentially saying, ‘If you’re rich you can do whatever you like’. Surely there is another fairer and more constructive mechanism”.

Perhaps the most obvious alternative to the current system is one based around the idea of community service hinging on the principle that you should give back to the community which you have damaged. Within this framework those found to be in violation of the rules are ordered to take part in manual or other work in Halls and the surrounding area – it could be cleaning litter off the street, it could be removing graffiti from the bus shelters, or it could be repainting the squash court.

The arguments in favour of such a system number many. Primarily it effectively ends the question of punishment being financially regressive and, from my discussions with residents, is a much greater deterrent of disruptive behaviour (surely the main aim of disciplinary procedures).

One current resident, who asked not to be named, endorsed this approach saying, “If I was at a party in an apartment and the Warden simply asked me to pay €20 to carry on I might go along with it. If I had to spend two hours of the next two Saturdays sweeping Dartry road I certainly wouldn’t”.

As Tangney states, “Fines are just one of a variety of mechanisms used in the disciplinary system in Halls,” but the community service approach has only been rarely implemented.

Switching to a full-blown community service-based framework backed up by fines is seen by many as the fairest and most civic minded way of solving the problem of antisocial behaviour.

That said, and as mentioned briefly above, a community service-orientated approach to punishment would need to be backed up with hefty fines to ensure that people do actually complete the sentence passed down to them. This raises the important question of where this money should be spent.

At present, the money raised (which totalled €7315 last year) is donated to the Senior Tutor’s Hardship Fund.

According to Senior Tutor, Dr Claire Laudet, “this money is a great help

“According to Tangney, fines start at €10, but fines of this size are rarely seen, and more serious offences have been known to reach much higher sums.” to us as it allows us to support more students”. But, as worthy a cause as it is, many residents believe that money raised in Halls should be spent in Halls.

One proponent of this view, Geography student Oli Cassels, says “it seems bizarre that money raised in Halls is spent in College”. He added: “Commendable as it is, the Hardship Fund appears to be using Halls residents as a cash cow”.

Others disagree and feel that putting people through college or providing the financially unstable short-term loans is a much better use of the money. They argue that yes, the music room could do with a new keyboard, but providing textbooks to those who can’t afford them is clearly a better allocation of the resources.

Whatever your view, the issue of fines in Halls is important. If the level of discontent among the many residents I spoke to is reflective of the wider community, there is an urgent need for far more open and frank dialogue between those living in Halls and those governing them.

Without exception, everyone I spoke to insisted that Halls is a wonderful place to start your college career, to live and to work. However, if the issue of discipline isn’t dealt with swiftly, there may be trouble ahead for this slice of paradise in Dublin 8.

TRINITY NEWS

11 features@trinitynews.ie

The perks of being an intern

Playing the fame game

Has Careers Week left you keen to climb the ladder? Josh Roberts shares his insider tips on summer internships

A “It was Winston Churchill who once said, ‘without a good luncheon, people cannot function’”

s Trinity Careers Week draws to close and the hordes of lovely (but rather annoying) graduate recruitment folk with their shiny suits and free pens head back to their desks, many of us may well have been tempted to apply for a Christmas placement or a summer internship. Interning deadlines are approaching fast.

Placements like those in investment banking, accounting, tax consultancy or even freelance deck chair design offer significant sums of money and the kind of CV-bulking that would have Bill Cullen foaming at the mouth. Not to mention, they effortlessly fill those cavernous early months of the summer holiday which (if you’re anything like me) are usually occupied with eating crisps, watching sport and looking for cheap internet deals.

That said, last summer I was roused out of my summer slumber to a threemonth internship with a “Big Four” accountancy firm where I worked in the audit department (checking other companies’ accounts for discrepancies). As well as spending time in my firm’s office, I worked with many of the companies whose recruitment rats (as they are affectionately known) graced the Arts Building last week.

It is with this in mind, that I feel compelled to share with any fellow wouldbe Gordon Gekkos what I think employers are looking for from us students. My advice may not be conventional, but given that they all pay roughly the same and the work is all roughly the same (and your life ends up being roughly the same), these pointers might just be worth considering.

First up is the on-site grub. It was Winston Churchill who once said, “without a good luncheon, people cannot function”, and this is no less true today than it was then. Having been cajoled into the office at 8:30 in the morning, an intern’s lunch break is crucial. Therefore the catering facilities (or lack thereof ) is a hugely important factor when deciding which employer to plump for. The gastronomic industry leader has to be Google. Not only are breakfast, lunch and dinner offered for free, but on Friday night their gargantuan canteen is

What is going on inside A-listers’ minds? Miriam Sorace tries to find out

W SS No such thing as a free lunch? Tell that to Google. The company offers free meals in its offices, and as the example above shows, you won’t go hungry.

transformed into a complimentary cocktail bar serving, as they say on Ryanair, “a truly tempting selection of soft and alcoholic beverages”.

A close second, in my mind, are the restaurants of the “Magic Circle” law firm.

Meals at Clifford Chance LLP, for example, can be spent lounging in the airy restaurant and tend to be themed throughout the week: made-to-order fajita day (usually Thursday) was a popular hit with famished barristers during my two weeks there.

Unluckily enough for me, accountancy firms score low in the lunch stakes (especially true in regional offices) offering stale sandwiches to be eaten “al desko” or, at the very most, a hot plate of questionable curry with about as much taste as Elton John.

A different type of facility is, to use the term of our friends across the Atlantic, the “washrooms”. To some this may seem utterly trivial, to others it might be rather repulsive, but anyone who’s been hit with a spot of the “Aztec two steps” during office hours will know how truly important this is. Indeed, unlike any other public conveniences, a visit to the facilities at work will almost certainly involve an encounter

with a fellow colleague, your boss or a client meaning that sound-proof floor-to-ceiling walls are a must.

In a friend’s experience (definitely not my own), all of the big firms tend to live up to these necessities, with law firms again leading the way (especially true in terms of showering facilities; if you cycle to work this will be similarly imperative).

Food and bogs aside, the most important thing to take into consideration is the type of people with whom you will be working.

The brochures, pamphlets and websites are full of people propaganda. “Our people are creative, skilled and exceptionally driven”, claims one website. Fair enough. But are they funny and outgoing? Are they going to give me evil eyes for being three minutes late?

There are of course many other things that need to be considered – working hours, proximity to home, the ease with which the stationery cupboard can be looted and the amount of naughtiness you can get away with in emails are all fine examples.

If you are applying this year, best of luck.

If not, enjoy your flip-flop and t-shirt clad summers while they last because at some point we all have to face the real world.

Razzle Dazzle them, and they’ll beg you for more Sehreen Qureshi looks behind the scenes at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games

T

he Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India began earlier this month. On 3 October, Prince Charles and Indian President Pratibha Patil jointly declared the Games open at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in front of a crowd of almost 60,000. The audience stood for India’s national anthem while drummers beat the countdown to the opening. As soon as the countdown ended a pyrotechnics display signalled the launch of an enormous helium balloon which rose 80 feet above the ground and exhibited the names of each country as its athletes were led out. Before the entry of 6700 athletes participating from 71 countries into

the enormous stadium, a welcoming performance by schoolchildren, dancers and singers brought the crowd to its feet.

It all began for India in 2003 at the Commonwealth Games Federation general assembly in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where, by a process of bidding, India was declared the next country to host the Commonwealth Games (CWGs). India won by a margin of 46 votes to 22 against Canada, marking Canada’s fifth attempt to host the Games.

Under the motto “New frontiers and friendships”, India promised each participating country that it would provide $100,000 along with air tick-

ets, boarding, lodging and transport.

Business Today Magazine estimates that the Games’ cost exceeded the organiser’s expectations, reaching almost $15.47bn. This makes the CWGs 2010 the most expensive Games ever. Earlier that year, India had shown that it had the resources and infrastructure necessary for a large sporting event when it hosted the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad.

The organisers of the CWGs this year signed a memorandum of understanding with the UN Environment Programme to show their intention to host “sustainable games”. The Thyagaraj stadium which was constructed for the Games was intended to be completely environmentally friendly.

Despite this intention, a number of environmental controversies arose.

City residents protested against the felling of heritage trees in the Siri Fort area for a road-widening project. Protestors went as far as to file a public interest petition to the Supreme Court of India.

The Court appointed Charles Correa, an architect, to assess the situation and he severely criticised the designs on ecological grounds. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court allowed construction

to continue on the grounds that “much time had been lost and the damage caused to the environment could not be undone”.

The CWGs village, located on the flood plains of Yamuna, has also been the subject of some controversy. In the run up to the Games, there were concerns over living conditions for the athletes staying in the village. A day before the opening, an official on the Indian lawn bowling team was taken from the village to hospital diagnosed with dengue fever, the first case of this mosquito-borne disease at the Games. There were renewed fears over the spread of the illness, which already struck at least 3500 people in Delhi this year.

At one point in the run-up it seemed unclear whether the country’s first ever CWG event would go ahead, as both national and international media heavily criticised everything related to the Games. There were reports of corruption scandals amongst members of the organising committee, as well as the reports on the “filthy and unliveable conditions” of the athletes’ village.

Regardless, a dazzling opening ceremony kicked off the CWGs in Delhi, watched live by an audience of three billion people around the world.

“The Supreme Court [decided that] ‘the damage caused to the environment could not be undone’.”

19 October, 2010

hile Lady Gaga prances around in a dress made of sirloin and chops, Charlie Sheen leaves rehab after rehab and paparazzi favourite Lindsay Lohan (who recently said, “I’m a celebrity, I can do whatever the fuck I want”) riles against the US courts for giving her the minimum possible probation period, you could be forgiven for thinking that the celebrities or cultural icons (as Gaga prefers) have gone truly bonkers.

Further than that, if you consider the attention these few people are afforded by “the great unwashed”, you’ll have serious reason to believe our society has completely lost its marbles.

Interestingly enough whilst the requirements for fame have changed – in the past you actually had to be good at something, and installing large fake breasts didn’t count – personality cults and their associated superiority complexes have existed for centuries.

But what is exactly a superiority complex? The psychologists A. Kumar and A. Adler in their work on the subject say it is intimately related to the more common inferiority complex. They suggest that displays of self-interest, extreme confidence and pride are in fact signs of a deep-

“But what exactly is a superiority complex? And what are its causes?” rooted dissatisfaction. The superiority complex is then a defence mechanism to an all-pervading sense of inadequacy.

Artists’ unattainable desires to be godlike were most abundant in the Romantic era. Poets like Wordsworth and Blake are perhaps the best examples. For the poets of France, superiority and artistic credibility lay in bohemianism exemplified by violence and addictions to alcohol and drugs.

Elements of these accursed poets, the prototype of which was undoubtedly Francois Villon, are evident in celebrities of today – Robbie Williams and Russell Brand are two public figures whose substance abuse prompted far greater public attention than would otherwise be lavished on them. Artists as far back as the fifteenth century ignited the tradition of grandiose delusion and superiority complexes in those lucky enough to call themselves famous.

Furthermore, just like in the past, the cruel world of today’s celebrity jet set involves close personal scrutiny. In today’s world this personal inspection leads those in the spotlight into a ceaseless run towards public recognition. Jim Morrison’s life epitomises this dramatic and deadly rush to overstep the borders.

Indeed, the title of Morrison’s first autobiography, “No One Here Gets Out Alive”, seems a fitting place to end.

12 WORLD REVIEW

Tea Party or third party?

In the wake of the “Restoring Honor” rally, the Tea Party Movement continues to grow in popularity. But who or what is behind its rise and what does this mean for American politics?

Kate Rowan Deputy Sports Features Editor

“I really don’t think there is a true malevolence here.

Instead, people drawn to Washington with the vague worry that somewhere, something is terribly wrong.”

IN MID-SEPTEMBER I arrived in Philadelphia and the first thing I did in my hotel room was turn on the television. I had been vaguely aware that primaries for candidates for the forthcoming midterm elections would be taking place while I was visiting the USA, but the barrage of cutting, personal and sometimes nasty attacks on opposing candidates made me well aware of what was happening.

Despite being in the state of Pennsylvania, as chance would have it I had selected a local news channel from just over the state line in Delaware. This was how I was first introduced to Christine O’Donnell.

Since then many bizarre facts about her past, from dabbling in witchcraft to an anti-masturbation campaign aired on MTV in the 1990s, have been revealed to the world. However, before I knew any of that I was confronted by a “message” backed by her rival Republican candidate and former governor of Delaware Mike Castle. A jigsaw of a face was being constructed while a corny-sounding male voice told us “this woman had not paid all her college tuition” and various other revelations about her shoddy financial records including that she spent $20 of her campaign funds on gas for her own personal use. As the voice-over continued, the puzzle revealed the smiling face of a woman and proclaimed “This is Christine O’Donnell!”

Later, not just the local news channel from Delaware but all the major news channels were reporting on the shock victory of O’Donnell over the Republican-establishment-backed Castle. I was informed that this result had been helped by the Tea Party

These images were taken at the Tea Party protest on March 21, 2010 outside the US House of Representatives.

The protestors rallied against what they termed the “obvious policical socialist agenda” of Obama’s Healthcare Bill.

KEY FIGURES IN QUOTES • • •

•

CHRISTINE O’DONNELL •

• • GLENN BECK

“There’s just as much evidence, if not more, to support [Creationism].”

“I dabbled in witchcraft.”

“American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains.”

“Because authorities are too afraid to be called, quote, unquote, ‘homophobic’, these homosexual special rights groups get away with [anything].”

“Progressivism is the cancer in America and it is eating our Constitution, and it was designed to eat the Constitution, to progress past the Constitution.”

“Not a single time have we gotten a right from Congress or from the President. We get them from God.” “The most used phrase in my administration if I were to be President would be ‘What the hell you mean we’re out of missiles?’”

Movement. I knew this was a grassroots organisation of the more rightleaning Republicans and that Sarah Palin was a key figure.

This group derives its name from the Boston Tea Party protesters who took a stand against British taxes on their tea in 1773 in the build-up to the American War of Independence. The Tea Party movement of today has many causes but one at its heart is the belief that ordinary Americans are being too highly taxed by the Obama administration.

I spoke with Trinity student Alex Towers who found himself in the midst of the Tea Party movement’s “Restoring Honor” rally which took place in Washington, D.C., on the 28 August.

There were numerous speakers but the star attractions were Palin and Fox television host and conservative political commentator Glenn Beck.

The event was oraganised by Beck and the Special Operations Warriors Foundation (SOWF) which sounds a bit ambiguous but is in fact a charity which supports former special forces

In power, but without power to change?

Dilma Rousseff looks set to become Brazil’s first female candidate in the run-offs at the end of this month. Alice Stevens investigates what this means for gender issues in Brazil

A

t the moment, it appears likely that Dilma Rousseff, Lula De Silva’s chosen successor, will succeed in the run-offs of Brazil’s presidential election at the end of October and become Brazil’s first female president. Rousseff’s election will continue a trend of increasing female leadership in the countries of South America. She will join the ranks of Michelle Bachelet, who became Chile’s first female president in 2006, and Christina Fernández de Kirchner, who is the current president of Argentina.

However, while the political leadership of these women is a success in itself, female leadership does not guarantee that issues involving wom-

en’s rights will be addressed. Luiza Erundina de Sousa, former mayor of São Paulo, said that having a woman as president “is not enough to drive changes towards gender balance, however capable she may be. She needs support from men and from civil society organisations.”

These female leaders have done little to disrupt the status quo. While quota laws have been introduced in South America over the last twenty years, women are still poorly represented in Latin American politics. Though female participation in Argentina’s parliament has risen under non-voluntary quotas, in Chile’s parliament women comprise only 14 percent in the lower chamber and 13 percent in the senate. Participation in Brazil’s parliament

is even lower. Patricia Rangel, of the Feminist Centre for Studies and Advisory Services in Brazil, insists that it is no good just electing women, what is needed is the election of women with an awareness of gender inequity.

As far as she has indicated, Dilma Roussef will do little to deviate from her predecessor’s politics. In the last two years, Lula enjoyed an 80 percent approval rating.

A great number of Brazilians asserted that they would vote for whomever Lula

thought best. In fact, Lula’s endorsement of Rousseff is probably the single most important factor to her success in the polls. Rousseff has never held elected office and has given little indication of her policy

initiatives, other than continuing Lula’s. It’s hard to tell whether Rousseff’s gender is a help or a hindrance given Lula’s extensive involvement in her campaign.

However, the success of the third party candidate, Marina Silva of the Green party, took analysts by surprise when she received almost a fifth of the vote in the election of October 3. Silva’s popularity, more so than Rousseff’s, suggests that Brazilians are embracing the notion of a female leader and that gender may be a motivating factor in the success of female candidates in this election.

In a recent survey, the Pew Research Centre found that 70 percent of Brazilians think it would be a good idea to have a female president, compared with 33 percent of U.S. citizens who answered this question in 2007. While the trend of female leadership may not indicate a radical transformation of Latin American gender issues, it is a sign of progression towards gender equality.

TRINITY NEWS

13 worldreview@trinitynews.ie right wing but Towers said: “As worrying as some of the movement is, I think there is a large proportion of relatively normal, decent, hard-working people that are simply ignorant about the workings of government.” As for being against causes such as national healthcare, “they are against taxation as they feel their hard-earned money is being taken from them at a time of great economic depression and being used to fund things they either have no idea about or are inherently against.

I really don’t think there is a true malevolence here. Instead, people are drawn to Washington with the vague worry that somewhere, something is terribly wrong.” There has been huge variation in reports of the figures who attended the rally with pro-Tea Party media putting figures at towards a million and others reporting a turn out of 80,000.

However, the character that perhaps we should be worrying about is Beck

“Time Magazine called Beck ‘the teary-eyed conspiracy-minded Pied Piper’.”

troops such as Green Berets and Navy SEALS. Towers explained, “The rally was incredibly well-organised, even the bottles of water that they had for sale had ‘Restoring Honor’ and ‘SOWF’ printed on them”. The proceeds of all merchandise sold went to SOWF. Continuing in the area of organisation, Towers was surprised by how quickly and smoothly the event passed. “As soon as it was over, it was like everyone just disappeared, it was a bit like flash mob in that way”. As well as watching some of the speeches on big screens the self-proclaimed “news addict” spoke to some of the rally’s attendees and he told me “they came from a very broad spectrum of American society”. Many of these people were in Washington because they were worried about, as one woman from Sioux Falls, South Dakota said, “Spending, tax hikes, the socialization of our healthcare, the atheist direction our country is being taken, the leftist media hijacking”.

Many of the views and values of the Tea Party supporters seem extremely

who, despite having organised the rally and provided all the information to attendees, says he is not the leader.

Towers describes him as a “charlatan and opportunist”. Time Magazine recently painted this conservative activist as “the teary-eyed conspiracyminded Pied Piper”. During my time spent channel-surfing in Philadelphia I happened upon his programme on Fox News. It involved him explaining various conspiracies relating to the current US government and the “liberal media” using a giant chess set and a blackboard. In one way it was comical, but still rather sinister and I think this is where many have concerns about the Tea Party movement. Also some of their particular beliefs about the media and the merits of Fox News are worrying because the media has so much power to shape preferences, particularly in a country as big as the US. The Republican establishment are feeling the strain as their candidates such as Castle are losing out in almost guerrilla-style campaigns by Tea Party candidates. On the current home page of the Republican Party website there is a large picture of Palin inviting Republicans “to join her” midterm “victory rallies”. This could show that the Republican mainstream is trying to embrace the Tea Party message in an attempt to gain popularity. Yet there are many who see a gulf developing between the centre-right Republican Party and the further right views of the Tea Party. Could this difference in ideologies lead to the birth of a third major political party in the US?

The situation in Palestine: civil conflict or simple colonialism?

Neil Warner analyses the circumstances of Israeli-Palestinian relations and their perception by the World’s media

W

e are in familiar territory once again in the Holy Land: bland statements of mutual cooperation from people who openly despise each other cover an underlying consensus that is entirely pessimistic.

It is negotiations time again, a now fairly reliable and predictable festival in the region since being inaugurated 17 years ago in Oslo.

The general agreement is that the recently initiated talks have been doomed to failure from the beginning, and they have already stalled with Israel’s refusal to continue its settlement-building freeze in the West Bank, an agreement which had always excluded East Jerusalem.

Much of the language of even neutral sources relating to the situation in Israel and Palestine is so misleading as to make one think that they were documenting it in a different time or place, except that this rhetoric is so effective that it has, in the minds of many people, indirectly managed to turn fiction into reality. It has created a conflict whose terms of reference in public and elite consciousnesses are invented or at least refracted into something almost totally different from what logic and history should tell us.

What am I referring to here? Consider the way the peace process is presented. An analogy which is frequently drawn is with Northern Ireland.

The peace process is regarded in the media as a case of two sides coming together, overcoming their intractable and irrational differences for the greater good of peace. Moderate leaders in both Palestine and Israel, just like the two sides in Northern Ireland, must come to terms with reality. Peace will finally come when the two sides reach an understanding of each other’s perspectives and the grievances. That is the account at its most neutral, but many have an anti-Palestinian slant, particularly in America, giving the impression that the Palestinians are the main extremists.

This is all nonsense. The reality is that the “peace process” is a fraud

which, though increasingly obvious, continues to be publicly swallowed by most foreign leaders and commentators. Remember the context of all this.

The Zionist movement from its beginning promised Jews around the world that its project was to regain control of this “land without a people” that is modern Israel-Palestine.

The Palestinian presence in their historical homeland is quite simply a nuisance to be gotten rid of, and it has been the isolated problem of the Israelis for 60 years. Starting with a population of approximately 12 percent in 1900, the Jews numbered only about one third of the population at the time of a favourable partition plan which gave them 55 percent of the land in 1947. Arab rejection of this unfair plan gave the Israelis an excuse to turn their dream into reality, and force the exodus of 700,000 people from their homes. The land already has a people?

Well too bad, we’ll just force them out.

This worked once. The current, undisputed lands of Israel consist of 78 percent of the former British colony of “Mandate Palestine” out of which they were established in 1948. But the conquest of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 left them once again with the problem of wanting the land but not its people. Nonetheless, they pursued colonisation of their new conquests for 20 years, but when the Palestinians got uppity in the 1980s they were forced into a new approach.

It was then that they discovered the wonderful “peace process”. Yitzhak Rabin initiated it with Arafat in front of the world’s media in 1993, and to show his good will, immediately began acceleration of settlement-building. He never intended to give up anything he wanted. The most Israel has ever even allegedly offered was at Camp David in 2000, when it proposed a Palestinian state with no control over its border, without the Jordan Valley or East Jerusalem and with no compensation for refugees. The peace process essentially hopes to isolate the Palestinians and keep all of their land that’s useful.

Negotiations usually involve a series of incremental compromises on both sides. How has this happened in this case? Israel has given in on things it never wanted in the first place and Palestine has clung on to the least it is entitled to because they have no alternative. That is the full glorious history of the peace process.

Israel will not compromise because it is under no pressure to. The conflict will only be solved once we stop seeing it as a case of ethnic and religious tension and instead see it as a racist colonisation of the weak by the strong, once we stop comparing it to Northern Ireland and start comparing it to South Africa, and once we stop trying to solve things by mutual understanding and start to realise that the simplest way forward is simply to turn the screw on Israel.

The dangers of North Korean nepotism Conor Dempsey looks at the situation in an unstable and closed-off North Korea as they prepare for the succession of the third generation of the ruling family and the potential consequences

F

or the past year diplomats have suspected that the youngest son of North Korea’s enigmatic dictator, Kim Jong-il, was being prepared to succeed his ailing father at the head of a nucleararmed state with one of the largest armies in the world. In recent weeks this has become a certainty.

Kim Jong-un is estimated to be only 27 years of age. Kim Jong-il succeeded his own father Kim Il-sung, the nation’s founder, who ruled until his death aged 82. Kim Jong-il took over power already aged 53 and having had 14 years of political experience during which he consolidated support within the ruling Korean Worker’s Party, the only party that truly exists in North Korea. In contrast, Kim Jong-un has no political and little military experience. Until recently he had not been mentioned by name in the North Korean media. The heir to the leadership of the only dynastic communist state in the world is said to have been educated at a private Swiss school under a pseudonym.

19 October, 2010

Kim Jong-un, now known as the Young General, was promoted to fourstar general on 27 September. The next day he was appointed to the number two military position in the Worker’s Party. This was the first large party gathering since 1980 when Kim Jong-il was promoted to the position he occupied until his father’s death.

The bizarre business of succession in North Korea would be of little more than esoteric interest to the outside world were it not for the potentially severe threat posed by North Korean instability.

North Korea has the fourth largest standing army in the world and has tested nuclear weapons. Approximately 25 percent of GNP is pumped into the military. It is estimated that as much as 20 percent of the male population between 17 and 54 is in the army.

In October 2006 North Korea became the eighth nation to acquire nuclear arms. The country’s history of nuclear development is a tale of diplomatic failure and brinkmanship. American satellites identified the construction of a

nuclear reactor at the start of the 1980s and by the mid-1990s it was suspected that North Korea possessed nuclear weapons.

The Clinton administration’s agreement to halt the nuclear programme never amounted to anything, a pattern diplomats have come to expect in negotiations with North Korea.

In 2002 George Bush named North Korea as part of the “axis of evil” and senior Korean government officials interpreted this as a declaration of war.

In 2003 Kim Jong-il threw out the remaining international inspectors of the Yongbyon reactor facility.

Experts estimated that North Korea had enough plutonium to build five or six nuclear weapons. When the first test occurred in 2006 the blast was significantly weaker than expected prompting speculation that the weapon had malfunctioned. Despite its failure the test was condemned by other nations. This aggravated North Korea and it announced its permanent withdrawal from all talks and renewed its nuclear programme.

In May 2009 a second nuclear bomb was tested making it clear that North Korea will do as it pleases in the development of a nuclear arsenal. Thankfully there is some indication that the technology needed to mount a nuclear

“In 2002 George Bush named North Korea as part of the ‘axis of evil’” warhead is not within reach of North Korea at present. On two occasions it has failed to launch a satellite, though on one of these occasions it scared Japan by sending a rocket over it and into the ocean.

Kim Jong-il has led his nation on a course of extreme isolationism so that North Korea has only one, albeit important, ally: China. It is for the most part because of Chinese support that Kim Jong-il has been able to ignore economic sanctions. China is concerned with stability; it does not want hundreds of thousands of refugees cross-

ing its border in the case of an upset.

If the Young General is to take power the outside world will watch in trepidation to see what sort of leadership arrangement emerges. It may be the case that the best outcome in the short term is for Kim Jong-un to seamlessly take power and thus avoid much of an upheaval. That is not necessarily a likely outcome. The massive military is kept in check by the appointment of generals to positions of political power and by appointment of those close to the dictator to positions of high military power. If military leaders consider the young leader easy to displace North Korea could be plunged into a civil conflict. It is possible that China and the US would find themselves on opposing sides of a struggle involving a nucleararmed country under military rule.

This possibility is just one of many where further instability might be introduced into international relations with North Korea in the event of succession. The world will be keeping a close eye on one of the most secretive and erratic nations.

TRAVEL 14 travel@trinitynews.ie Price watch: Venice, Italy • Ryanair flights: €39.99 • Traghetto ride: €0.50 • Pasta dishes: €8-€14 • Museum pass: €18 • Hostel accommodation: €22 • Bottle of Prosecco wine: €2

How to stay afloat in Venice Aine Pennello Travel Writer

IF VENICE makes you think of lovedup couples whispering sweet nothings while canoodling in a gondola, or of an expensive family holiday, well you’d

be right – to an extent. As a first-class jewel of the tourism industry, Venice may not be the next Amsterdam or Ibiza, but it certainly has much more to offer student and budget travelers than you’d think. For instance, the best (and only) way to discover Venice is just to

wander around – and don’t tell me you can’t do that on a student budget. The great thing about this city is it’s essentially a maze of small, cobbled streets and centuries-old gothic homes, buildings and bridges so there’s something breathtakingly beautiful to admire at

almost every corner. And with masked carnivalers, beautiful churches, and Europe’s oldest Jewish ghetto you’ll also get a great (and free!) sense of Venetian history and culture.

Venice is also a relatively small city, which means a long weekend is plenty of time for you to see everything on your checklist without having to decode a confusing public transport system or trek miles out of your way to see all the sights. In fact, you won’t even need to perform the typical tourist routine of consulting your map every few feet since most Venetian streets are signposted to bring you to the Rialto Bridge or St. Mark’s Square, among other locations.

Even Venice’s most iconic (and expensive) experience, the €80 gondola ride, can be adjusted to suit student travelers by taking the traghetto for just 50 cents. Italian for “ferry”, traghetti are fashioned from older gondolas so there’s still a hint of romanticism.

Sure, your gondolier is more likely to exchange heated words with his fellow oar-man than serenade you Andrea Bocelli-style, but what would an Italian holiday be without a passionate show of elaborate hand-gestures?

Of course Venice does have several other tourist traps: the cafes and restaurants of St. Mark’s Square certainly know how to put a price on its surroundings, while Venetian masks can easily cost €50 or more in specialty shops. But if you don’t mind haggling with a street vendor you can easily get a great mask for €20-30 and there are plenty of good Italian dishes to try for €7-15 once you get away from St. Mark’s Square. Unfortunately there’s no easy way of getting around the admission prices at St. Mark’s Basilica (free + various) and the Doge’s Palace (€12; €6.50 for students under 30) but once you’re inside there’s no reason you can’t squeeze every euro’s worth out of it by bringing a sketchbook and joining the flock of artists atop St. Mark’s Basilica Venice has a small number of student hostels some of which might expect you to follow 11.30pm or 12.30am curfews. If you want a bit more freedom, the Foresteria Valdese is located just a few minutes away from St. Mark’s Square and offers a dorm-style bed and breakfast for just €22 a night. But be sure to book your accommodation and flights early so you don’t loose out to those smug honeymooners!

The people’s republic of craic Over the past decade, Cork has made considerable progress in shaking its status as Dublin’s little sister, earning a coveted pin on the map of European city destinations. As the city’s confidence grows, so too does tourist confidence, writes Sinead Gillett

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he long term strategic planning of Cork City Council, notably based on recommendations made in the landmark Land Use and Transportation Study (1978), have made Cork a much more economically vibrant and tourist friendly location.

Major pedestrianisation and redesign have transformed the city centre into an impressive shopping district and social hub, home to an increasing selection of gourmet restaurants and a diverse and lively nightlife scene. Cosy pubs and cafes nestle between trendy bars and music venues along the wellkept side lanes that lead off Patrick street.

The city also boasts larger venues, most notably the wonderful Cork Opera House, that regularly host high profile concerts and theatrical productions. A number of tourist attractions, such as the English market, Shandon Tower and the UCC campus – one of the oldest in Ireland – with its renowned Glucksman gallery, also provide an incentive to visitors.

Further contributing to Cork’s elevation has been its designation in 2005 as the European Capital of Culture. This title, awarded on an annual basis by the European Union, brings with it a remunerative opportunity to generate significant social, cultural and economic benefits.

This opportunity was embraced by Corkonians, who used their year of cultural events and celebration to buff the city’s image and raise its international profile.

The buzz induced by the 2005 spotlight did not leave Cork with the European Capital of Culture title.

Rather the city continued to develop its image, positioning itself as a lively

SS The city by night. Photo by Gavin Golden.

XX Cork has a vibrant student scene, if you know where to look. The smaller streets off Patrick St. are a good place to start. Photo by Erik Charlton TT Bell X1 at the Marquee, one of Cork’s largest venues. Photo by Gavin Golden.

and dynamic location, rich in spirit and cultural assets, including a wide range of arts and entertainment festivals. The largest of these are the upcoming Guinness Cork Jazz Festival and the Corona Cork Film Festival.

The city’s heightened visibility and appeal has been recognised by the authors of the Lonely Planet, who, in their recent publication Best of Travel 2010, have named Cork as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit this year.

Praising the city, the guide states: “Cork is at the top of its game right now: sophisticated, vibrant and diverse, while still retaining its friendliness, relaxed charm and quickfire wit.”

The book’s editor remarks: “Cork has been in Dublin’s shadows for far too long, it has emerged as a fantastic destination in its own right with great

restaurants, galleries, bars and shops as well as stunning scenery on its doorstep.”

Indeed, Cork city is a threshold to some of the most beautiful landscapes and seaside towns in Ireland. Bantry, Blarney, Kinsale, Schull, Crosshaven, Cobh and Fota, to name but a few, are all popular with both Irish and foreign visitors.

With recent improvements to road and rail, as well as the addition of a new terminal at Cork airport, the city is now even better positioned to facilitate tourist traffic to the greater Cork area.

With international lights shining on Cork, the city is blossoming. 2010 is the year to visit, or revisit as the case may be. And there is no better time to do this than the upcoming October bank holiday weekend (22 – 25), during which the annual Guinness

Cork Jazz Festival takes place. The festival is one of the social highlights of the Cork calendar year, the city’s atmosphere and charm peaking as the jazz beat leaks out onto the streets.

A jewel in the crown of Cork city, the festival has grown from strength to strength over the years to become one of Ireland’s largest cultural events, as well as an internationally celebrated fixture on the jazz calendar. With music lovers flocking from all over the globe to mingle with the industry’s leading jazz musicians and attend the festival’s usual array of first-rate concerts and workshops, the city tends to fill up quickly. Early booking is advised.

If jazz is not your thing then perhaps film is. Another great time to visit Cork is during the Corona Cork Film Festival, taking place this year between the 7 and 15 November. Now

in its 55th year, the festival has grown in size and reputation to become one of Ireland’s leading film events. With an eclectic programme of big budget movies, independent productions, world cinema, documentary and short arthouse film there is something on screen for everyone.

With two of its most popular festivals still to come this year, Cork city refuses to forfeit itself to seasonal blues. One measure of a city’s success as a tourist destination is its ability to attract visitors year round, rather than on a purely seasonal basis. Cork is proving itself on this ground, and on so many others too.

Ireland’s second (but by no means least) city has exploded onto the tourist scene with the vivaciousness and celebration of a champagne toast.

For now at least there appears to be no corking it. To Cork!

TRINITY NEWS

SCIENCE 15 science@trinitynews.ie

Nobel cause?

MEDICINE

Male infertility linked to faulty gene

The pioneer of IVF treatment is this year’s recipient of the Nobel Prize for contributions to medicine. However, many critics accuse him of playing God. John Engle reports

T

he winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine was announced at the beginning of this month, Dr Robert G. Edwards, “for the development of in vitro fertilisation.” Edwards joins an elite group of men and women who have distinguished themselves through discovery in the fields of physiology or medicine. Since the Prize’s inception in 1901, it has been awarded 100 times to 195 individuals.

Edwards’ achievement has had great and lasting effects on the world of science and medicine, and has served to revolutionise the fields of fertility and embryonic development. His recognition for his great contribution to medicine is richly deserved.

Human in vitro fertilisation, or IVF as it is often called, is a process by which human egg cells taken from a woman are fertilised externally by sperm cells, in a test tube. The sperm and egg interact in a controlled fluid medium. Once fertilisation is complete, the zygote, or fertilised egg, is transferred to the patient’s uterus. If the process works, a successful pregnancy will develop.

Edwards’ work on in vitro fertilisation began in 1960, while working at the University of Cambridge. He first succeeded in 1968 to achieve fertilisation of a human embryo in laboratory settings, a crucial step in the process. In collaboration with Dr Patrick

Steptoe, Edwards was able to develop a method of successful external fertilisation and implantation. The first human product of Edwards and Steptoe’s new method, Louise Brown, was born in 1978. She was heralded as the first “test-tube baby.”

Edwards’ work has become a major tool in the arsenal of fertility specialists, and has come to serve as the last resort when other forms of assisted reproductive technology have failed.

According to the Nobel Committee, over four million births have been the direct product of Edwards’ discovery.

Less directly, Edwards’ research laid the groundwork for much of today’s embryonic development and stem cell studies.

The great success of Edwards’ work was not universally well received at the time of its development, and was the target of a great deal of political attack. The British government had refused funding to the project initially, and Edwards was criticised for trying to play God. Religious groups, including the Catholic Church, spoke out against in vitro fertilisation. The controversy has not entirely dissipated, nor have all people’s fears been

assuaged over time, as has been made clear in the wake of the announcement of Edwards’ winning of the Nobel Prize. Since the announcement, religious groups have once again found reason to speak out against the process and Edwards’ work. On 4 October the Vatican condemned the Edwards’ award as “completely out of order.”

Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, the Vatican’s bioethics spokesman, cited as the reason for its objection the destruction of many excess embryos during the in vitro fertilisation process.

However, while some naysayers may yet remain, the process of in vitro fertilisation has changed millions of lives, and allowed countless people become parents. It seems unquestionable that Robert Edwards’ contributions to medicine, and to society, is receiving just recognition.

“The Vatican condemned Edwards’ award as ‘completely out of order.’”

A BRIEF HISTORY OF IVF The first IVF pregnancy was reported in 1973, although it lasted only a few days and would today be called a biochemical pregnancy.

Louise Brown was the world’s first IVF baby, born on 25 July, 1978, in Oldham General Hospital, Greater Manchester, UK. Her birth was the result of the pioneering work done by Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards.

The subsequent use of stimulated cycle, and the ability to control and time oocyte maturation converted IVF from a research tool to a clinical treatment.

Other milestones in the treatment include the development of methods to freeze and thaw embryos, and the development of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which enabled men with limited sperm production to achieve pregancies.

Trigger for nickel allergies discovered, paves the way for new paths of study Enda Shevlin Contributing Writer

IT IS often said that women have expensive tastes. But taste does not necessarily equate to means, forcing many cash-strapped young ladies to resort to wearing fake jewellery. It is often the case that women, when wearing fake or impure jewellery, break out in an itchy rash, known as contact sensitivity. The reason for this uncomfortable effect is that fake jewellery is often made from an inexpensive nickel core coated in an alluring gold or silver veneer. Nine times out of ten they are indistinguishable from the real thing, until the itching starts.

Tiny amounts of perspiration corrode the underlying nickel of the fauxgold and silver jewellery during wear, releasing salts or “ions” of the same which triggers an allergic response, resulting in an ugly rash.

In the end, all allergic reactions have a trigger as their source. In this case it is nickel, which in some way agitates the immune system, causing it to awaken and destroy the allergen as if it were a virus – even though in reality, allergens often pose no systemic threat to our health. Immunologists, who study the immune system at the level of atoms and molecules, have recently discovered exactly why a large portion of humans respond to the nickel aller-

19 October, 2010

SS Prolonged wearing of nickel-based jewelery can lead to painful and unsightly skin irritation.

gen as if it were an infection, and have documented their findings in Nature Immunology.

Our immune cells use many different surface receptors to sense potential danger but among the most fundamental are the “Toll-like receptors” or TLRs, so called because the German scientists who discovered it, exclaimed “Toll!”, the German word for “great”.

If one were to imagine our bodies being locked in a war against harmful mi-

croorganisms, our tissues and organs would be the battlefield, the immune cells would be our soldiers and TLRs would act as lookouts for invading enemy bacteria and viruses.

What has been discovered for the first time by Marc Schmidt and his colleagues in Germany is that one particular TLR, TLR4, which normally senses harmful bacteria, has the additional function of specifically recognising the same nickel contained in any fake jew-

ellery, be it a pair of earrings, a bracelet or a watch.

Doing what it is supposed to do, upon activation by the nickel ion, the TLR directs an inflammatory immune response, producing the offending rash. The researchers narrowed the pathway down to the individual molecules that sense nickel and found that mice, which are not normally allergic to nickel, whose immune cells were engineered to express human TLR4 on their surfaces, would suddenly develop allergic responses.

This groundbreaking study into the causes of allergic responses is quite revolutionary. It opens up another avenue of thought about how the immune system recognises various allergens, an important step in figuring out how to reduce or eliminate their negative effects on humans. Researchers hope to repeat their success in future by isolating other allergens in a similar fashion.

But of immediate importance, now that the exact mechanism of sensitivity has been discovered, there is now a specific drug target for the future prevention of nickel based allergies: any drug that can block the TLR4-nickel interaction will also prevent, or at least significantly reduce, the symptoms of nickel allergy in humans.

Good news for anyone with a soft spot for shiny trinkets but a softer spot for a bargain.

THE CAUSE of male infertility, long shrouded in mystery, has had some light shown upon it by researchers in the Pasteur Institute in France and University College London. The new study provides new insight into the reasons for male infertility.

The research shows that genetic defects could be responsible for at least some of the cases of currently unexplained male infertility.

Mutations of the NR5A1 gene were found in a small percentage of infertile men and linked to physical defects in the development of the testicles.

The research team sequenced the gene in 315 men and results suggest that, even when there is no physical manifestation of the mutation, the defective gene may still be affecting sperm production. However, the process involves the interaction of many genes and is not yet fully understood.

As Dr Allan Pacey, a fertility expert at the University of Sheffield points out, there is still “embarrassingly little” known about the genetics behind male infertility. Hopefully, with this new development, steps toward curing male infertility will soon be possible.

GEOLOGY

Human evolution fuelled by volcanic extinction NEW RESEARCH suggests that volcanic eruptions drove Neanderthals to extinction, allowing modern humans to establish themselves in Northern Eurasia. This theory is reported in the October issue of Current Anthropology.

Researchers have linked the massive eruptions that took place around 40,000 years ago to ash layers found in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia, where Neanderthal bones and tools have been found.

The ash cloud that was funnelled into the atmosphere following the eruptions would have led to global winter conditions and severe damage to many ecosystems. Carbon dioxide levels would have also undergone a sharp increase. Millions of years before this, eruptions of a similar scale are thought to have contributed to the demise of the dinosaurs.

However, it is likely that the eruptions in the Caucasus region did not have a direct impact on early modern humans, who occupied more southern parts of western Eurasia and Africa.

The research team concluded that modern humans benefited from the newly opened niches of northern Eurasia, allowing them to colonise these new areas unimpeded by competition with Neanderthals.

Anthea Lacchia

16 OPINION PROFILE LADY HARRIET BRIDGEMAN

Picture perfect Upon talking to Lady Harriet Bridgeman Catherine Gaffney learns just what inspired her to create the world’s largest image gallery

F

ounded in 1972 by Lady Harriet Bridgeman, the Bridgeman Library facilitates the legal use of an image for a variety of purposes – its licensing arrangements covering all things from Penguin books to the framed ‘Waterlilies’ seen in Titanic.

Lady Bridgeman, who is a Trinity graduate and one of this year’s recipients of the 2010 Alumni Awards, came up with the idea while in magazine publishing, when she realised the difficulty in getting hold of illustrations in time to meet weekly deadlines.

The Library, according to Bridgeman, meant that museums and organisations gained “greater control, because the pictures became their property and they could hold onto them and they could charge for re-use.”

Before this, every use of an image by different publications might have required them to be photographed again and again – which “wasn’t good for the pictures” and likewise was not a good use of gallery resources, with staff having to go on duty when the photographer called after hours to re-photograph. “So it was really, as one of the museum directors at the time said, a win-win situation, because we gave them fifty per cent of any money we made, and we marketed and distributed their images in a way that they couldn’t themselves. Also, building up a large database meant people were much likely to come to us and use an image from us when they had a wider choice, than they were to go to a museum,” where it might not have been so clear which images were available, as “there weren’t many illustrated catalogues then – people couldn’t afford them and they were difficult to get ahold of.” Bridgeman says that this is of particular importance in publishing, as “a lot of book editors have no idea what they want for their front covers…

FACTBOX Studied: English (received a first) and a General Studies course which enabled her to take Art History – Art History being unavailable at the time in its own right Favourite Artist: No-one in particular – but is very interested in the Surrealists In 2006: started the Artists’ Collecting Society, which represents Lucian Freud, Paula Rego, Frank Auerbach, and Howard Hodgkin, to name a few.

SS Line drawing by Cat O’Shea, colour by Aoife Crowley.

you have to see an image to feel what is going to work for the book, and you can’t really think of an image in the abstract.” Any design-based decisions probably benefit enormously from a good browse around, and the choice presented in an ever-amassing collection of readily-available images must have been far less daunting than the variety one might encounter by travelling huge distances or attempting to investigate the protected recesses of museum storage rooms.

A great deal of that sort of exploring has been done by Bridgeman herself, who photographed or arranged the photography where very few works had been captured on camera before, particularly in the countries that were “behind the Iron Curtain”. It has also enabled her to make discoveries – “it’s an opportunity to go to a country where you know there’s going to be some good art but you don’t know what it is, for example in Estonia the National Gallery has some good things, or Cuba has some wonderful paintings. Wherever you go you’re likely to fall across something that you have no idea about, and also to see things which connect which in the old days, before computers, was extraordinary serendipity. I remember being in the National Gallery in South Africa and seeing a sketch of a painting that we had just acquired from Manchester City Art Gallery, an oil by

a pre-Raphaelite artist, but in those days there was no way anyone could see what was where, and couldn’t make those sort of connections. There used to often be advertisements in museum journals, saying ‘I’m putting together an exhibition of so-and-so, could anyone please advise me the whereabouts of his paintings – well nowadays, Wikipedia and Google and all the other advantages brought by the internet this isn’t a problem, but it was a real problem in the old days.”

The increased digitalisation of art has, in Bridgeman’s view, “got an enormous amount of pluses”, with the fact that “art is reaching many more people on account of this wider distribution, which must be a good thing.” On the other hand, however, is the fact that there is an “increase in piracy”, and “lack of control.” Proper licensing and legal distribution of images is important for getting funding to museums and galleries – in order to help with the conservation and exhibition of the original works – and it also means that the “owner or creator [of the original work] can maintain control over what it is they own or have created.”

The Library’s efforts to seek out particular images is largely driven by demand on the part of publishing companies – which comprise over 60 percent of their business, as well as cards, calendars, stationery, and television. Region is also a determining

factor, with increasing demand for African-American and Hispano-American material in the United States, for example, expanding the holding of the Bridgeman Library’s New York office.

Opportunities arise, such as the Library’s recent signing up of the British Royal Collection, and different phases of taste determine things. The Library has a growing collection of photography, which Bridgeman calls “a fascinating social chronicle of history,” and so the Library does not limit itself to art photography but has extended into history and culture as well. They also “supply a lot to films, because obviously you can’t borrow genuine oil paintings”; these are “pretty accurate reproductions” that are usually very much part of the background, but are also seen on art programs on the BBC.

Definitely, from our generation’s viewpoint – where images are instantaneously duplicated, downloaded, tagged, altered, parodied, cropped, enlarged, compressed – we see a landscape completely unlike the one that inspired the Bridgeman Library. “I think it’s interesting,” says Bridgeman, “to the extent that one never quite thinks about how people get hold of paintings – you see somebody wearing a t-shirt with a Salvador Dali image on it and you don’t realise that you have actually to go get the image itself in the first place to make that happen.”

Free education for now, but for how much longer?

Lochlainn Coyne Contributing Writer

LAST TUESDAY the findings of the Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance were presented to the UK Government.

It had many suggestions for the government which is struggling to curb a deficit, a mere fraction of the one faced by the current Irish Government.

The two main suggestions from this finding are that the cap on tuition fees be cut completely, and that graduates only pay after they are earning over £21,000 up from £15,000. This may seem beneficial to students, but if these proposals are implemented we can be certain that uncapped fees will increase by a lot more than 40 percent, this be-

ing the increase on the minimum wage before graduates pay their fees.

Here in Ireland the government has been worryingly tight lipped on the subject of protecting our precious “free education”. While various students’ unions across the country campaigned to elicit promises and guarantees from various TD’s that the status quo would be maintained, a similar movement was happening in the UK, but now we are waiting with bated breath to see what will become of the Lib Dem’s when they bring down the wraith of 50 percent of the voting student population. Will the country fall to pieces or will it simply pave the way for governments around the world to turn their backs on promises made in good faith to students.

The Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan announced that Welfare and Pensions “are on the table” for the upcoming budget in December. It would be a very bold and frankly insensible move for the government to financially cripple the poor and elderly while those with the best chances of viable employment, ie those with University Degrees, continue to coast through without funding their own education. Even those of us in our final years may not be out of the woods. It is entirely possible that the government will introduce a retrospective fees system where those who graduated in recent years will have to help fund the deficit which the government faces. If someone suggested this even a year ago, it would have been laughed off as impossible or

insane, but then who thought five years ago the celtic tiger would come crashing down, or that a financial institution worth €23.75 per share at its height in 2007 would have to be nationalised. We are living in the midst of the impossible and to deny this is folly.

If fees are introduced, it is most likely to take on the suggestions from the Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance in the UK. So, we will probably be facing a 9-10 percent tax on all our earnings from a fixed threshold onwards. Assuming parity between UK and Irish third level education, we can speculate that this will be around €25,000. However, the duration we will be expected to pay this is entirely unpredictable.

There is a distinct lack of clarity by the

College on where the fees money we claim from the government twice a year at registration ends in the system. We cannot determine the actual cost of our education, and so the government are able to place a graduate tax on us potentially indefinitely. Evidently, we have to look honestly at ourselves and ask, do we deserve free third level eduction. Is it not in the interest of the greater good for us to be forced to pay off our debts to the Government at a time when we will be in a financially sound position to do so. We as students are in serious danger of alienating ourselves from discussions by taking a hard line policy on fees rather than acknowledging that every sector of public spending is going to have to take cuts and that possibly a graduate tax is the answer.

TRINITY NEWS

OPINION 17

The UN, UFOs and the world-wide conspiracy Laura Twomey Staff Writer

You may have read recently about the proposed appointment of a space ambassador by the UN. The ambassador would be tasked with coordinating humanity’s response if (and when) extraterrestrials make contact. You may laugh at the notion, but you cannot deny that the headline was intriguing.

Well, tin foil hats at the ready, readers! There’s a lot more to the story than a job vacancy. The articles suggested that Mazlan Othman, a Malaysian astrophysicist, was about to be offered the job. So what’s the problem? Well, it was all a lie. Completely made up. The whole story, with its name dropping of Stephen Hawking, its apparent wish to appoint Othman, and complete with big-cheese UN sources, sounded credible. And who is going to discredit a UN source these days? Othman, later contacted by the Guardian, said she had no knowledge of the job but that ‘it sounded cool’. The UN office in question later denied any reports too, hitting out at the initial article in the Sunday Times.

So I asked myself, as a closeted enthusiast of all things interstellar, why was this story released, to such traction with the media, when it was based on not much more than folly and wishful thinking?

Why did it receive so much coverage when, on the same day across the Atlantic, a much more interesting story was unfolding?

You may argue that such is the nature of modern news coverage, but when it comes to matters extraterrestrial, there’s always a more crazy explanation. So here comes the interesting part, and please allow me to indulge in a bit of conspiracy theorising. (And

“The Air Force men present claimed that the mysterious craft were sending us a message via their behaviour and activities.” who doesn’t like a good conspiracy anyway?) Just hours after the ambassador story broke, and the media got their ‘crackpot’ story of the day quota filled, a press conference was held in The Press club in Washington D.C. Held to promote a new book, the conference was organised by author Robert Hastings. Seven former US air force personnel were in attendance.

There was a surprisingly lacklustre turnout of journalists, for a conference that dropped a shocking bombshell. The revelations contained in the book were nothing short of explosive.

And before you ask, the following is all fact, not the script of a Will Smith movie...

That afternoon, it was revealed by the men present, that UFOs had been interfering with American nuclear weapons. It was claimed that these alleged UFOs had descended from the skies, activated and deactivated launch codes, and that they had disabled all the weapons. The author of the book released declassified documents and witness testimony in his possession from the aforementioned air force personnel. These men confirmed beyond doubt the claims laid down in Hastings’ book. They had all been in charge of the missiles at various points in their career.

The men clearly understood the act of perjury and had signed affidavits.

The claims seemed legitimate. Even to the most hardened skeptic, the information revealed is hard to dispute.

Well, that may be stretching it, but it must be at least acknowledged that this is among the most credible accounts of UFO activity in recent times.

The Air Force men present claimed that the mysterious craft were sending us a message via their behaviour and activities. The signal was that we are ‘playing with fire’. They claimed that the weapons in our poss e s s i o n threaten the future of the human race, and the integrity of the planet’s environment, which is frankly an indisputable reality. This is probably a lesson Moscow, Washington and Pyongyang should learn.

They almost

ROUNDUP

Torture claims to be investigated

certainly won’t, not least because most people heard nothing about the conference, while reams were published about the fake ambassador post. Although the Washington Post was present, a bastion of good journalism, the author of the follow up article stated he had only gone to the meeting because the press club “had good cookies”. For such an important revelation, any reporting of it had an air of parody. No doubt if the conference had revealed that a terrorist group had been remotely controlling nuclear weapons, the coverage would

“Othman, later contacted by the Guardian, said she had no knowledge of the job but that ‘it sounded cool’.”

have been significantly more extensive.

So, was the ambassador story a big cover up from the corridors of power to overshadow the press conference? Do the UN and other governments know a lot more about potential intelligent life beyond our world than they are letting on? Are we letting the mainstream media distract us from what’s really going on in our universe? Should I just take The X-Files out of my life and replace it with The X Factor? Answers on a postcard please, because I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s in the dark about this...

Conservatively speaking

W

Ciara Finlay outlines the beginning of her love affair with the British Conservative Party 19 October, 2010

hen I came to Trinity in 2006 to read Sociology and Social Policy for my undergrad I was your stereotypical lefty student. I wore hippy blouses with ripped jeans, I used the words ‘fairness’ and ‘justice’ like they were sitcom catchphrases. I was determined to change the world, and having grown up in France I believed that a good revolution was the ideal path to reform.

In my first Social Policy lecture Margaret Thatcher was quoted as saying “there is no such thing as society”, and I thought to myself “what a wench! Is this really what Conservatives think?”

Once there was agreement that society did indeed exist we set about debating the issues.

First and foremost there was the matter of “Equity vs. Equality”. We talked about trying to ‘level the playing field’. Equality meant giving everyone equal benefits – that should we give resources to those who need them.

Liberty and equity were about equality of opportunity. About giving people a choice, as they knew best what was in their own personal interest. This question led to another, and while some of my friends asked themselves “am I gay?”, I asked myself, “am I Conservative?” Now, I have answered this question for myself, and am coming out as a Conservative.

Admittedly, I did spend some time on the fence. Blair as the heir to Thatcher had represented my beliefs with surprising accuracy, and so it was not until David Cameron took centre stage that my allegiance was won over.

When friends expressed their political

crush on Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg I scoffed them off. However, the election of 6 May proved that we were both over-confident. Nevertheless, the generous offer to form a coalition by the new Prime Minister was eventually accepted by the soon-to-be Deputy Prime Minster Clegg.

The next milestone was the June Budget and our first sense of what

“While some of my friends asked themselves, ‘am I gay?’, I asked myself, ‘am I a Conservative’?” was yet to come. Chancellor George Osborne assured us that the NHS was safe with us, as Baroness Thatcher had once promised during the so-called welfare state crisis of the 1970s. However, cuts needed to be made and were going to be made. It was time for a new kind of revolution, that of the Big Society. The Prime Minister, addressing the party conference on 7 October in Birmingham, reminded us that the big ideas still mattered. Notably, the idea of the Big Society, and the small state in which power is taken from the bureaucrats and entrusted into the hands of the people. Furthermore, fairness featured heavily in his address. This

is not the fairness of the Labour party with its hand-outs, but rather a variety which seeks to tackle the root cause of what is unfair. “Society is not a spectator sport … citizenship isn’t a transaction … it’s a relationship” the Prime Minister declared reminding voters that we all ought to do our duty ‘in the national interest’.

In this spirit George Osborne announced on 5 October that child-benefit was to be cut for high-rate taxpayers, starting in 2013. He was met by a multitude of reactions. Many cited the 1942 Beveridge Report in defence of child benefit, but this is a mischaracterisation not only of the report, but also of what it sought to achieve through its implementation. Namely, to rid Britain of the ‘Five Giants’: want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. The Conservative party are explicitly committed to dealing with all of these and so, I was brought back to that question of equity and equality. That question had also cropped up around the matter of universal child benefit. I believed then as I do now that in theory it is a good idea, but, when there are limited resources we must reach out to those who need it most.

Citizenship is a relationship between the people and their government, and between the members of the society of which we are all part. I believe in the Big Society, in the value of liberty and in government’s need to have a real relationship with people. That is why I am a Conservative, and should the worst happen, we could always go ‘on a break’.

The Guardian has launched an investigation into allegations of police brutality by Northern Irish police forces during the Troubles.

Victims of the alleged abuse by the Royal Ulster Constabulary say that the confessions used to establish their guilt were beaten out of them.

These inmates, numbering in the hundreds, now plan to appeal their prison sentences.

For decades the Castlereagh interrogation centre in east Belfast stood accused of torture and coercion, brought on by a court ruling which stated that suspected terrorists could be sentenced based solely on their own confessions.

One must hope, after decades of virulent animosity and violent outbursts on both sides, that the current climate of peace will afford adequate justice for those who were mistreated. The victims of torture ought to be allowed full recourse to defend themselves properly, both in the press and the eyes of the law.

Media moguls unite against Murdoch An unlikely group of media bosses have coalesced in an attempt to block a massive buyout of the Sky satellite network. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has put in a £8 billion bid to buy the remaining 61 per cent of British Sky Broadcasting not already owned by the American based media empire.

Newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph, which openly backs conservatives, and the left-leaning Guardian have come out together against the deal. Critics claim that it will give News Corp a dangerous advantage in the media market.

When the decision on Murdoch’s move is made by Britain’s business secretary, Vince Cable, hopefully he will see reason and tame the burgeoning Berlusconi of America.

Internet providers not responsible for illegal downloads Ireland’s third largest internet service provider, UPC, won a court ruling last Monday after the Irish record industry tried to hold the service provider responsible for its subscribers’ illegal music downloads.

Since Ireland has failed to implement EU copyright laws properly, the judge was unable to grant an injunction against UPC. Setting aside the inherent embarrassment that Irish regulators have not implemented the law adequately, a more pressing matter exists. Though those who download music illegally may be miffed at the assertion, there must be someway to drastically cut down the amount of music being stolen on the internet. The basic fact is, the more music we steal on the internet, the fewer musicians will be able to support themselves solely by making music.

Now, we are not talking about musicians who sell millions of copies. Rather, we must think of those recording artists who have not got the benefit of mass marketing and international exposure. Surely they deserve their bread as much as any of us?

In the meantime, it appears musicians will just have to string nickels together the old fashioned way – by hittin’ the road.

Jonathan Creasy

18 EDITORIAL

HEAD TO HEAD: THE STUDENTS’ UNION

TRINITY NEWS Est 1953 towards some revival of the collegiate spirit, which modern conditions tend to discourage

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BONUS POINTS DO NOT ADDRESS THE ISSUE TRINITY NEWS welcomes the fact that, at long last, steps are being put in place to combat the crisis in mathematics eduction at primary and secondary level in this country.

However, the bonus Leaving Certificate points which Trinity has agreed to dole out do not address the crux of the problem.

The problems in mathematics education in this country are no secret. The main issues facing the subject are the perceived difficulty of the course, its abstract nature, and the lack of suitably qualified or competent teachers, which leads to students with large gaps in their basic mathematical knowledge. Bonus points have no positive impact on any of these problems. In fact, they seem to confirm the perception of mathematics as extremely hard.

Mathematics is not instrinsically more or less difficult than other disciplines, but the problem is that it requires a “pyramid of knowledge”. Students must have a full grasp of the basics before trying to tackle more abstract problems.

Project Maths makes a ham-fisted attempt to address the abstract nature of the course by introducing project-based learning. However, it is the emphasis which is placed on abstraction that is at fault, not the abstract nature in and of itself. Project Maths, with its over-reliance on calculator work, will go no way to promoting an understanding of basic mathematical principles.

Two steps must be taken if we are to increase numbers of students sitting Higher Level papers. Firstly, teachers must be trained and competent in the course. The current situation, where teachers without any mathematical training are left to fudge their way through, is not good enough. The second is that the course must place equal emphasis on both the basic skills of numeracy and algebra, and the more abstract applications. Bonus points are a mere band-aid solution.

“It’s clear that voluntary membership would lead to increased accountablity.”

JOHN ENGLE

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TANNER’S COMMENTS LAMENTABLE SPEAKING AT the recent DUCAC AGM, Michelle Tanner, Head of the Sports Centre, showed a distinct lack of respect for student concerns about the running of the Sports Centre.

Comments such as, “We’re the hired professionals that come in – do students go to the Health Centre and tell the doctor how to treat his patients?” show this lack of interest or due regard for holding the organisation accountable to the students who fund it.

Her attempts to paint Students’ Union President Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem’s motives as politically suspect when he inquired into how the student money was spent were both bizarre and offensive, and only served to highlight a lack of understanding about the purpose of his position as President.

This is not the first time DUCAC has been involved in controversy for neglecting student input. At the beginning of last year, a number of College sports clubs reported dissatisfaction with how the body was structured. Speaking at the time, the Students’ Union President Cónán Ó Broin said the set-up was “authoritarian, and brow-beats students involved in sports.” A number of Captains banded together, and agreed a programme to reform the DUCAC structures and make it student-run.

Stemming from the reorganisation of its executive, DUCAC was mandated to review its constitution at the end of last year, which it duly did. The main changes that were proposed in the new constitution were to make a number of committee positions reserved, in practice, to staff members, elected for a term of multiple years.

The constitution was voted in at an EGM held on the last Friday before exams. The timing of this EGM points, at the very least, to a lack of interest in ensuring a representative student attendance at the meeting. At worst, it could be seen as an attempt to lessen the number of students in attendance, so as to prevent a repeat of the events of the past year, where the Captains pushed for more student representation.

All things considered, Tanner’s comments are just the latest manifestation of the low level of interest the Sports administration has for student input and concerns.

THE RIGHT to free association is a cornerstone of Western liberal society. People are allowed to choose what groups they wish to join and those that they wish to be representative of their interests. The Students’ Union actively ignores this principle.

The Students’ Union is the only student organization in College that is not only able to claim every student as a member from the moment they register, but to also extort money from each of those students’ registration fees.

The very nature of the current system is abhorrent. Telling students that only way they can represent students in College is if they are all members in the SU, as SU hacks are wont to do, is just silly. Labour unions the world over often speak on behalf of their whole industry without needing to boast every worker in that industry as a member. Their logic does not follow in any setting anywhere. To force students to be members of an organization that they might want no part in has serious moral ramifications. A student may fundamentally disagree with the policies of the SU, or with unions generally, and yet this student has no recourse or means of egress.

The SU structure also lends itself to inefficiency, as there is nigh zero accountability over how it spends its money and abuse is rife because of it. The SU manages to provide its limited range of services with a budget more than ten times the size of that of the two largest student societies combined. The amount of waste the SU represents is shear insanity. It is unnecessary that it should make new t-shirts for every one-day campaign, nor is it necessary

for its officers to be paid a salary and given free housing on campus when their workloads are barely more taxing than those of the larger student societies who receive no such benefits.

I am not saying the SU should cease to be, but that it must change if it is to be an effective and genuine representative of the student body.

Establishing an opt-in policy of membership means it can be held accountable through the mechanism of competition. The best solution is to make membership in the SU optional and to force its leadership to actively campaign for members in the crucible of Freshers’ Week, just as student societies and clubs must. The SU will have to set a price of membership that the student market will find acceptable, rather than simply levy money regardless of result.

Prices are a great mechanism because they reflect the relative demands of billions of consumers in the global economy. Every day people cast “euro votes” that determine how scarce resources get used. The price system is thus a communications network that makes it possible for people to navigate a world of many choices. Sellers who lose through consumer spending of euro votes suffer losses and must either improve their service or fold.

Fresher’s Week is a beautiful example of market forces in action that results in wonderfully efficient distribution of wealth and resources among student associations.

Why should the SU be exempt from this competition? It is not special and offers little for the price students pay.

It is time for the SU to match its grand promises with grand action.

“Nobody comes into college expecting to fail exams or suffer depression.”

NIKOLAI TRIGOUBROTNEM

EVERY STUDENT who walks through the Front Arch of Trinity is automatically a member of the Students’ Union. All members of the union, all 17,000 of them, are represented by us. We work for you. Some might ask what exactly it is that we, as a union do. What do we do to make us worthy of every student being an automatic member? To put it frankly, we fight for you.

In the current economic climate we are representing you, and your friends. If you are one the few who isn’t feeling the pressure of the recession, you can bet you are very much in the minority.

As we stand right now, the country is in the worst state it’s ever been in. The SU is more relevant now than it ever has been. Most of us are fully aware of the impending threat of a hike in the registration fee. As it stands, the fee for students is €1500 which is already a high price to pay for a supposed “free” education. Our current government wants to re-introduce fees. And while they can’t do it overtly, they are doing it by the back door, by using a fee designed to fund student services as an academic charge. This will exclude many people, and perhaps you’re one of them. We are fighting for you on this.

And what about the grant? There is a huge danger of the government cutting the grant again. To people who aren’t on this they may not realise how severe this could be for a student dependent on it. It may be the difference between a student having rented accommodation or having to sleep in their friend’s houses because they can’t pay the last

month’s rent. It may be the difference between a student eating for a week or having to survive on hand-outs from the chaplaincy. Or it may be the difference between a perfectly capable student graduating from college and reaching their full potential or dropping out and having to find a job or sign on. This should not have to be the case. Is it not in the interest of this country to be educating as many capable people as they can, to the highest level they can, regardless of their financial situation?

But perhaps the most important work that the Students’ Union does is the one that is the least visible. Nobody comes into college expecting to fail exams, suffer depression or have to get a student assistance grant. Few people expect that they will have to report a lecturer who is biased. But in all these cases the Students’ Union is there to help you out. Many students never expect to have to get this kind or support, nor would pay in advance for it, but are glad it’s there when they do need it.

If you’re one of the people who could afford a registration fee increase, who never has to worry about their grant coming in on time, who goes through college without feeling lost or who has never had a problem with their academics, then consider yourself lucky. I can guarantee you that someone close to you in college has, and if you can’t see the merits of being a member for your sake, try and see it for theirs.

Nikolai Trigob-Rothnem is the President of Trinity Students’ Union

TRINITY NEWS

OPINION 19

LETTERS

Letters should be sent to letters@trinitynews.ie or to Trinity News, 6 Trinity College, Dublin 2. We reserve the right to edit submissions for style and length. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Trinity News.

LETTERS@TRINITYNEWS.IE

ISS – SERVICES WHOM EXACTLY? Madam – I note that IS Services’ quest to find devilish new ways to inconvenience us continues apace. They have thoughtfully divided their online timetable system into half-hour increments, notionally doubling the accuracy of the system. However, since lectures have been one hour long for as much of the last 400 years as I can remember, everything just appears twice.

Before long this organisation will deserve having a “D” added to the start of their name.

Yours, etc, Martin McKenna SS Biochemistry

HOW TO MAKE A BALL OUT OF IT Madam – It seems that the Trinity Ball for 2011 is in some doubt in the light of Trinity’s sad decline in the World Ballroom Dance Rankings (more dramatic, indeed, than in strictly academic matters). The College authorities in the wake of the successes of restructuring and semesterisation are naturally looking for a remedy for this sad state of affairs. I give some idea below of preliminary thinking on this matter.

It will no longer be sufficient to qualify for entrance to the prestigious Trinity Ball (Dublin’s Social Event of the Year) by getting drunk by 8:00pm in evening dress. Students and staff wishing to attend will henceforth need a Diploma in Elementary Dance (under the supervision of the Senior Dean for staff and Junior Dean for students). The following paper will be compulsory: 1. Old Time (Viennese) and Slow (Ten-

nessee) Waltz.

2. Quick Step.

3. Foxtrot.

4. Rock ‘n’ Roll.

This will naturally not be difficult for Trinity students. Skilled performers in these dances can be seen regularly at Jury’s in Ballsbridge on a Saturday night and at the Regency Airport Hotel in Whitehall on a Sunday night.

There will also be an optional paper for more advanced students in: 1. Rumba (for romantics).

2. Cha cha cha and samba (for agile exhibitioners).

3. Tango (for real men and real women).

Dance instruction can be made available in Hilary Term for the inexpert if need arises.

Anyone showing discourtesy to a lady at the Trinity Ball will be summarily ejected by the vigilant security guards.

Two important considerations have emerged in recent years, requiring the implementation of further regulations to ensure that: 1. Dislocation of the world of learning (still the primary concern even for a university in the embarrassingly low position of 76 in the World University Rankings) will be kept to an absolute minimum.

2. Care will be shown for the precious architectural heritage of Trinity, especially now that it has been enhanced by the iconic Hub Building in Fellows’ Square.

Yours, etc, Gerald Morgan FTCD (1993-2002)

GET YOUR PAPERS, PAPERS FOR SALE Madam – Congratulations on Issue 1 of the

Trinity News, which in my opinion was very good. John Engle’s piece criticising the lame and irrelevant Student’s Union was particularly enjoyable. Careful though, there’s no real reason why the Trinity News shouldn’t be put to the same test, i.e., why shouldn’t it have to seek at least part of its funding from sales revenue if that could be supposed to improve the quality so dramatically? Surely we deserve a great paper as well as a great union.

However on the basis of the current issue the News would probably do much better than the Union.

Yours, etc, Joanna Staunton

FEMALE TOUR GUIDE ALIVE AND WELL Madam – In response to Ms Mullins’ letter of 21 September (Vol. 57, Issue 1) regarding the employment of female tour guides – I work for Trinity Tours, and have done so for the past three years. I am most surprised that she has never seen me standing inside Front Arch.

Yours, etc, Aoife O’Gorman Granduand, European Studies.

STUDENT SERVICES MUST BE PRIORITY Madam – It was enormously disappointing to be confronted in the foyer of the Berkeley last Sunday morning with “Library closed” signs, but more worrying perhaps, was the fact that the feeling of helpless frustration was all too familiar.

I am a fourth year student at Trinity and have, like most of my peers, learned to silently accept Trinity’s consistent, and in some cases significant, inadequacies under the increasingly insufficient and jovial justification that “Trinity has character”, or enjoys a (rather flattering) “impeccable international reputation”.

Of course, the issue of funding is fundamental to the progress that College can realistically make. But the issue of how and where the current funding is spent is, I would argue, equally fundamental, In the context of a university that is not only unable to offer sufficient 24-hour study space for its students (I am sure you have all had that very character-building experience of sitting on the floor of Ussher 1 waiting for a desk), but is unable to offer any library services at all on a Sunday, it seems to me an absurd decision to spend money on the annual wage of an employee, whose only role is to check the ID of any student wanting to use the Library (Arts Building entrance to the Lecky, and Berkeley foyer) – a job which is tirelessly fulfilled by the simple, reliable and non-pensionable card-swipe machine that permits entrance to the 24-hour study space.

Similarly bizarre was the decision to spend substantial amounts of money on (apparently) technologically advanced, solar-powered, self-compacting refuge disposal units around the College. The question that these examples provoke in me, and I hope in you, is to what extent is Trinity College committed to the academic success of its student body?

It seems to me, that rather than a case of “funding” it is much more simply a case of priorities. Trinity College and the Students’ Union would be well served by remembering the founding purpose of the institution is to deliver the highest possible standard of thirdtier education and academic support,

to the brightest and most capable students from around the world.

An accurate measure of the standard of facilities currently available to students manifests itself so obviously in the embarrassment felt by me (and again, I hope by you too) when I have to explain to a hapless Erasmus student that yes, the library does close at 4:00 on Saturdays and no, it is not open on Sundays – and I don’t know how to fix the printers.

Please remember that academic excellence begins with the availability of sufficient study-space and academic support systems to enable Trinity’s intelligent and enterprising students to get the most from their all too brief time at College, not with posh bins.

Trinity College, Dublin (1998) give some insight.

variant used before 1980.

Yours, etc, Thomas Raftery SS English Literature

A SOLUTION TO DRUGS PROBLEMS Madam – In your most recent edition of Trinity News, Alice Stephens had an interesting article on Mexico’s losing battle on illegal drugs. It was long on facts relative to illegal drugs in the Western hemisphere, but short on solutions, like most articles published on the issue.

Permit me to offer a modest solution to this worldwide problem. It is time for the Irish Government in unison with the European Union and the United Nations to start the debate on the decriminalisation of all illegal drugs.

Incidentally the group most opposed to this solution are the drug pushers.

Yours, etc, Vincent J. Lavery Chair, Decriminalise Illegal Drugs

The College at prayer

D

IVINE WORSHIP was once an integral part of college life. An early 18th-century English translation of the college’s statutes allows us to see how this was so, with its detail on the routine of prayers here.

Robert Bolton’s 1709 translation gives the college’s schedule of supplication: “Prayers shall be publickly offered up to God in the Chapel thrice every ordinary day, at the six of the clock in the morning, afterwards at ten in the forenoon, and lastly at four in the afternoon.”

There was to be a sermon on Sunday mornings, with an exception: “Except, that on the Sundays in Lent, we will and ordain, that the Provost, Fellows and Scholars, and all the students dwelling in the college, shall solemnly go to the cathedral church of St Patrick, and there have a sermon, but in the afternoon, according to the ancient practice of the church.”

The correct get-up was prescribed, with a penalty of five shillings for transgressors. All attending wore “clean surplices, and (as many as are graduates) with hoods proper for their degree”.

These ancient college statutes record Trinity College’s unique and peculiar prayer, which was recited in English: “O Lord Jesu Christ, who art the eternal Wisdom of the Father, we beseech thee to assist us with thy heavenly Grace, that we may be blessed in our studies this day, and above all things, may attain the knowledge of three, whom to know is life eternal; and that, according to the example of thy most holy childhood, we may grow in wisdom and years and favour with God and Man. Amen.”

This prayer, which alludes to Luke 2:52, was later incorporated into the Book of Common Prayer of the Church

19 October, 2010

OLD TRINITY PETER HENRY of Ireland, to be used “in colleges and schools”. The old statutes did not tolerate dissent – particularly of the Catholic kind. “The Provost and Senior Fellows”, read the document, “shall take care that no Popish or heretical opinion be maintained or abetted within the limits of the college.”

It continued: “Moreover, no one shall be elected Fellow, who shall not, by a solemn and public oath, renounce the Popish religion, as far as it differs from the catholic and orthodox faith, and the jurisdiction of the Pope of Rome.”

These sentences reflect the sentiments of Archbishop Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the mid-17th century, according to Dixon in his 1902 history of the college. Despite the clauses, Dixon writes, no students were required to make religious declarations on matriculation, and even those living in rooms were not forced to attend services if known to be dissenters of some kind.

Nonetheless, while the Catholic student could get through a few years in college, the oath against Transubstantiation at Commencements would have prevented him taking a degree, until it was removed in 1795.

Catholics nearly won the day in 1689.

When King James II’s soldiers took over the college, the chapel – not the present building, which was finished in 1798 – was turned over to Catholic worship. On October 21 that year “the chapel was sprinkled and new consecrated, and Mass was said in it”. But that situation was short-lived. That year may have been the last in which Mass was said publicly in college using the ancient Roman rite – today the missal of Paul VI is used.

A detailed study of the liturgical life of Trinity in years past would be a worthwhile endeavour. In the meantime, these references and some pages in Lesley Whiteside’s The Chapel of

THE UNIVERSITY of Dublin Calendar is admirable in its pedantry but irritating in its omissions. Why do the committee members of the Graduate Students’ Union have no postnominals? Are we to take it that this year’s committee is not made up of graduates?

Similarly, again, the members of the Scholars’ Committee do not have “Sch” appended to their names , yet the CSC “chair” (read chairman, unless he is an item of furniture) correctly does. The Students’ Union’s communications officer lacks his – along with others, no doubt.

I must repeat another complaint. The editors of the Calendar have jumped on the minimalist buzz about 30 years too late. The change to Arial is jarring and unnecessary. Next year, switch back to Times – or, much better, to the Century

A HERALDIC snippet. The awarding of degrees is the main function of the University of Dublin, as distinct from Trinity College. One would think, therefore, that the coat of arms of the University of Dublin would have been seen on degrees of this university from the time the arms were granted in 1862.

However, on October 24, 1963, Trinity News recorded that they were not used until that year: “One hundred and one years after a coat of arms was granted to the University of Dublin, they were first used on the degree certificates. The first person to receive one of these was JF Kennedy, President of the United States, who had conferred upon him an honorary degree of doctor in laws in St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle, on June 28, 1963.” pehenry@tcd.ie

20 BUSINESS business@trinitynews.ie

Toyota fails to accelerate

SS Recent controversy has beleaguered the Japanese car manufacturer. Photo by Caitriona Gallagher

Lorcan Clarke Contributing writer

SINCE SURPASSING General Motors to become the world’s largest car manufacturer in 2007, Toyota has suffered a rather ill fate. In the last year Toyota has recalled over ten million cars. The company’s largest recall ever, 3.8 million cars, occurred in September 2009. Where did it all go wrong for the company who could once credibly claim to produce “The best built cars in the world”?

Flashback to 1995 and Toyota was a company with modest profits (3.4 percent of total sales, only half that of GM at the time) and relatively small market shares in Europe and America (2.5 percent and 8 percent respectively).

It was built on a combination of cutting edge manufacturing; an obsession with

customer satisfaction; and a culture of excellence and empowerment. This ruthless trio was instrumental in the realisation of Toyota’s global ambitions over the next decade.

America’s “Big Three” of GM, Ford and Chrysler had no answer to Toyota’s revolutionary Just-InTime production system. A system built on the principles of eliminating waste and continuous improvement.

The American companies had no option but to copy elements of the Japanese system, ironically modelled on US Second World War production techniques.

Production was fully synchronised and empowered workers could halt assembly at any time, should they discover an error. This contributed to a brand built on quality assurance. High petrol prices drove Americans to the

economical Toyota models, and high quality kept them coming back.

Toyota had enviable flexibility owing to its ability to produce as many as eight different models simultaneously on its assembly lines, and a product development process which lasted just 18 months. This meant that when the market began to lean towards environmentally friendly cars, Toyota could react quickly by bringing out the Prius, a trendy hybrid.

One strength Toyota had, which could not easily be replicated by its competitors, was its culture. This was founded upon half a century of treating its employees with respect and dignity. A lifetime employment policy is one such example of the confidence it placed in its employees.

Toyota had flexibility, low cost, high quality, and it could not be beaten on

technology. It seemed unstoppable.

The Japanese titan grew rapidly as the world watched in awe. On the eve of overtaking GM as number one in 2007, danger was on the horizon.

Product recalls, albeit small ones by the standards to come, were starting to become a theme. Toyota models were slipping in consumer reports.

The first signs that Toyota had overstretched its assembly lines in efforts to chase volume were beginning to show.

A consequence of its breakneck expansion was that it became increasingly reliant on suppliers outside Japan with whom it did not have prior working experience. In other words, Toyota began to cut corners by its old standards - the old standards upon which all of its success was built.

Generally speaking, things were not all bad. It was financially healthy, posting returns of 6.7 percent and profits of $11 billion (over twice its nearest competitor, Nissan), and its image of reliability and quality was still largely intact.

With the recession came Toyota’s first annual losses in 50 years as the whole industry took a hit. Then the cracks in the armour really started appearing.

Recall upon recall was followed by appearance after appearance of Toyota President Akio Toyoda making public apologies. The most notable was in December 2009 when he rather dramatically spoke of the demise of Toyota to stunned Japanese journalists. Share prices tumbled as more models were recalled, mainly due to acceleration problems.

The flexibility which was once Toyota’s hallmark began to be replaced by sluggishness. In China it failed to take advantage of tax breaks for vehicles with smaller engines. In Europe it did not respond to scrappage schemes. The company which prided itself on staying ahead of the game was being left behind by its rivals.

In January of this year, the firm announced that it would halt production temporarily at six assembly plants in North America and suspend sales of eight of its most popular models, including the Camry, the best-selling car in the United States.

The mystique of the Toyota brand was gone. To be seen as just another car manufacturer was once the worst nightmare of Toyota management, but it soon became a flattering prospect.

So, after a year of embarrassment, what does the future hold?

In July it appointed its first nonJapanese head of European operations, Didier Leroy, as part of its strategy to give regional branches more autonomy.

Over the coming years, Toyota will

“Toyota had flexibility, low cost, high quality, and it would not be beaten on technology. It seemed unstoppable.” look to emerging markets for much of its growth.

It is enjoying some success in the environmental end of the market, with the Prius passing the 2 million sales mark last month.

On the supply side, Toyota should recover without much trouble. It still has some of the best engineers in the world, and capital to invest. As for demand, the scars on Toyota’s hardearned reputation will not be so quick to heal. For another brand this would not be so bad, but for a brand built on quality assurance and reliability, the extent of the damage remains to be seen.

The world owes a debt of gratitude to Toyota for its contribution to the evolution of manufacturing. Its place in history is assured; its place in the future will be decided over the coming years.

Credit where credit’s due: the problem with agencies Learning from Japan Vanessa Chanliau Contributing Writer

There are two vastly diverse predictions about the future of the Irish economy. Some optimistic commentators hold that Ireland is in a secure funding position, given that there is still high demand for Irish government bonds. Moreover, in the unlikely event that the state is unable to secure funding on the international market, the National Pension Reserve Fund, as well as the European Financial Stability Facility, remain available to fill the gap.

Pessimists would like to compare the current situation to the economic events that Japan experienced after the burst of its housing bubble in the early nineties. Today, Japan is still feeling the effects of the so called “lost decade”, with deflation and unemployment continuing to stifle growth.

Japan witnessed major growth in the post-WWII period. The standard of living increased greatly, and low unemployment allied with easy access to credit helped facilitate a property bubble. When the bubble eventually burst, house prices fell dramatically and the economy was plunged into deep recession.

Like Japan, Ireland’s own property bubble has collapsed, leading to a banking crisis and a ballooning deficit.

This has forced the government to implement a number of austerity budgets, further depressing the economy.

In both the case of Japan and Ireland, confidence, or the public’s

propensity to spend, remains an issue, and a key factor in the direction of the economy. In the Japanese case, to counteract the fall in consumer spending, the government pumped money into the economy. However, this measure had only limited success.

Here in Ireland, household savings have doubled. Danny McCoy, director of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation argues that this is money that can be spent and that Irish citizens need only know exactly how much they will be paying in taxes for consumption to pick up.

But Japan is not the only nation to have a property bubble burst, and plenty have come out of such a crisis far less shaken. Is our comparison to Japan really warranted?

Recent figures have shown that the fall in Irish consumer spending has eased. Also, the increase in people signing on to the Live Register has fallen.

When Japan entered recession, the government employed “conventional” stimulus packages that were not suitable for the economy’s quandary.

Europe, on the other hand, has had a quicker and more coordinated response to the downturn.

In Japan, retirees make up over 20 percent of the population, resulting in a smaller workforce and increased pension funding costs. In Ireland, the figure is 11 percent.

In this context, there is hope that Ireland will avoid our own “lost decade”. However, economic trends are notoriously difficult to forecast and thus fears will remain that Ireland may follow in our Japan’s footsteps.

Hannah McCarthy Contributing Writer

CREDIT RATING agencies are key players in the financial market. They assess the ability of corporate and governmental borrowers to incur and service debt, and the interest rate cost that they face. These agencies have teams of analysts who grill executives about operations, finances and management plans. They then use these data to assess the company’s rating.

All the agencies use letter-based grading systems. S&P’s ratings range from AAA for the most financially stable companies to D for a company in default.

Last year Ireland was downgraded from AAA rating to Aa1. It has since been further downgraded to Aa2 after failing to convince the agencies’ analysts that it can afford to shore up its banking sector and cut the biggest budget deficit in the EU, given its weak economy and growing risks of a political crisis.

The Irish government’s borrowing costs have increased with the yield on ten-year bonds up 22 basis points to 5.478 percent. That is more than the 5 percent rate which Greece is paying in return for its European Union bail-out package. But if the yield stays at this level over a long period it will be very difficult to stabilise the fiscal debt. And it would become even more difficult to do so if Ireland’s credit rating is further downgraded – as Moody’s has warned it may be if the necessary austerity cuts are not put in place.

Originally agencies like Standard & Poor and Moody’s worked by acting as information brokers for the capital markets. Since 1975 these opinionbased agencies have become required “seals of approval” for those companies needing access to the capital markets.

Moreover, access to capital markets became increasingly difficult without quality assurance from these agencies.

This caused the agencies to completely change their business model and revenue stream. They were no longer agencies selling their ratings to investors looking for information before investing. They were now getting paid to issue ratings on companies for the companies themselves. This transformed rating agencies from information brokers to “unofficial gatekeepers” to the financial markets.

This new model created inevitable conflicts of interest, mainly the challenge for rating agencies to remain neutral while evaluating companies that they relied on for revenue. Presently, the agencies are paid to assist in structuring a security that they will be paid to rate. There are strong incentives for the rating agencies to please t h e

issuers. Moody’s in particular have been criticised for enabling subprime lending to develop into a global financial crisis.

Some critics have suggested abolishing the agencies’ special status altogether and giving the responsibility for ensuring credit-worthiness back on banks and other regulators. But such a drastic move would force the rewriting of hundred of regulations that require pension fund and others to hold securities that meet specific risk standards. Some have also said that the rating agency business might function best as a monopoly as the temptation to give companies good ratings would be diminished.

While these agencies continue to wield huge influence Ireland will have to inflict some tough blows on its taxpayers or risk not making the grade.

“This transformed agencies from information brokers to the ‘unofficial gatekeepers’ of the financial markets.”

TRINITY NEWS

19 October, 2010

22 SPORTS FEATURES sportsfeatures@trinitynews.ie

Hoops at Home Kate Rowan spends an afternoon at the Tallaght Stadium with Shamrock Rovers

M

y grandfather lived until he was 86 years of age despite ill health.

When asked what his secret to a long life was, his answer was always the same: “Say your prayers and follow Shelbourne”. In a very dark voice he would mutter, “Whatever you do, don’t follow Rovers!”

He of course meant Shamrock Rovers, who until their loss against Sporting Fingal on the 9 October looked like they had a very good chance of regaining the League of Ireland Premier Division title for the first time since 1994.

This match was my first foray into an Airtricity League press box.

Growing up, my grandad tried to condition me to develop a deep-rooted hatred for Rovers or The Hoops. Like many who attended League of Ireland matches as a child, I was seduced by the glamour and riches of the game across the Irish Sea and as a teenager abandoned interest in domestic footballing affairs.

Due to my defection I can’t claim a special connection with Shels, so I didn’t feel too conflicted about visiting the Tallaght Stadium.

Throughout my visit to Dublin 24, my prevailing thought was that of family and friendship. There were several newborns kitted out in green and white hoops. On my walk from the Luas to the stadium I happened to meet a workmate of my Dad. When I explained that I had press accreditation to the match,

he pointed to gentlemen accompanying him exclaiming, “He’s your very man!”

His son plays for Fingal, wears the number eight jersey: “He’s like lighting, he is! Blink and you’ll miss him, Ronan Finn is his name, remember that.”

Finn certainly played his part with some great runs and quick passes in helping to vanquish Rovers. How likely would you be to bump into Gareth Bale’s family on your way from the tube station to a Tottenham game?

Back in the summer of 2005, with financial difficulties pushing Rovers to the edge of survival, it was the fans who came to the rescue. The formation of what was then called “The 400 Club” has since outgrown its name and is now known simply as “The Members Club”. It is they who own the club.

The situation may seem quite alien to fans of the Premiership, but as longtime Rovers’ Fan and member Shea Carroll explains: “Clubs owned by fans are quite common on the continent, especially in Germany, but the most famous example of all is probably Barcelona.

“You see what is happening now over the ownership of Liverpool that could never happen if the club was fan-owned like Rovers because they wouldn’t let it happen”.

Carroll has been attending Hoops matches since he was 14: “Growing up around Rathmines, it was just the thing to do. It was so close to the ground in Milltown”. He still watches the matches with childhood friends and fellow members Jimmy O’Byrne and Shay

“ He was clad head to toe in green and white, with a fetching pair of green underpants and a billowing cape”

SS A show of enthusiasm from Shamrock Rovers’ mascot, Hooperman

McGlynn. Carroll laughs when I ask what perks comes with this membership: “You do it for the love, but seriously, it gets you a vote on important decisions like who should be on the board of directors”.

When I entered the press box, I noticed that one announcer was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a slightly bizarre-looking, cartoon-style masked superhero. Just as kick-off approached, I spotted the same figure patrolling the sidelines, clad head to toe in green and white, with a fetching pair of green underpants over his body suit, accessorised with a billowing cape. Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s Hooperman!

At the end of the ninety minutes, the fans and players are despondent. I noticed Rovers striker, the usually talismanic Gary Twigg, sitting on the grass.

His hands were cupping his face and,

quick as a flash, arrived Hooperman to comfort him.

Such displays of heart and passion is something that this club has in abundance. This is evident, from the dedication of the members and fans, to the cheering and groaning of the announcers.

At the end of the game I spoke to one of the club DJs, Paul O’Connell. He explained how it wouldn’t be right to play a song as fans depart after such a heartbreaking defeat.

The same feeling of dejection was shown by the manager, Michael O’Neill. During the press conference, he seemed genuinely upset, his head bowed down the whole time.

O’Neill confirmed how “angry and frustrated” he was with how his team gave away the lead in such a vital game.

When asked if he knew what was hap-

pening to the mind set of his players in recent games where they had lost four of their last five league fixtures (including the Fingal game) he replied: “If I knew that I would be working for NASA.” With just two league games left, Rovers will be hoping that their title rivals, Bohemians, will slip up. As the Fingal manager, Liam Buckley, said to the press after his team’s victory: “It’s a funny old game, you can never tell how things will work out”.

I am sure that is what those faithful to the Hoops will be hoping for in one final twist to the season.

If, like me, you had not been fully engrossed in the Airtricity League, now would be the perfect time to take a trip to Tallaght. Soak up the atmosphere as Rovers and Hooperman fight to rescue their season.

No rest for the Vick-ed as tales of notoriety spread James Hussey examines the return of shamed American football star, Michael Vick

T

his should have been the year that Green Bay’s renaissance was complete, when the shackles created by Brett Favre’s interminable “retirement” would be cast aside and Aaron Rodgers could assume his position at the top table of league quarterbacks.

Failing that, the golden-toothed Chris Johnson’s attempts for a second successive 2000 yard rushing season was bound to grab all the headlines.

Welcome on stage your pantomime villain, Michael Vick!

Vick, jailed three years ago for his role in a dog-fighting ring, quickly became the pin-up boy of modern American anger and resentment upon his release. White America was disgusted by his inhumane treatment of dogs and the lies he told to cover his tracks. Black America disapproved of his cruel pastime but also railed against the fact that Vick had made himself a negative black stereotype.

His fall was complete by the end of 2007, stripped of his position as Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback, imprisoned and with public dismay at its zenith, Vick was the “bust flush” of his sport.

Fast forward three years and Vick has a new team, a positive outlook, and most importantly, a new lifestyle, away from what he deemed as his “ghetto antics”.

He is still, according to a recent Forbes magazine poll, “The Most Disliked Person in Sports”. Vick has been out of prison for over a year.

He has publicly apologised in front of ex-coaches and team mates, his family and friends, yet his image rehabilitation has been painfully slow.

The race card has undoubtedly been used on Michael Vick throughout his NFL exile and subsequent return.

Sports writers the length and breadth of America questioned the suitability of Vick’s return to a professional stage after charges of brutality brought against him were proved correct. In this writer’s opinion, the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback was, and continues to be, victimised by the American press for, among other things, being a privileged black man who threw it all away.

Vick has often spoken about the violence of his childhood and how, as a youngster, football kept him off the streets and into the view of prospective school scouts.

Modern America is not short of

success stories from “projects” across the country. Vick, upon attending Virginia Tech, joined countless other athletes who had worked their way out of the ghettos and into college due to prodigious natural talents.

Michael Vick’s story (without the national stardom) is one familiar to many young black men throughout America who are passed through the system, return to their original neighbourhoods and get involved in behaviour that leads to incarceration.

His story should not be looked at in isolation, but rather in a larger, societal context. I do not want to excuse Vick’s shameful crimes, but rather implore that they be viewed against the background from which he came.

The opinion held by many in African-American society of canines is very different to that of the stereotypical view on man’s best friend. Dogs were used as a tool by white slave owners to seek out runaway black slaves. They were used again to quell race riots by the predominantly white police force in the face of “black violence”. In various “ghettos” across America, dogs are baited on a regular basis. A dog can be seen as anything from a companion to an extension of the white man’s historical, racially motivated oppression to various members of American society.

This sets the scene for Vick’s complaint that he did not realise the implications of his actions, having being brought up in an

area where dog fighting was a widely accepted past time. Never having viewed dogs as tame pets, merely as pseudo-contestants in illicit organised canine fights, goes some way to explain his behaviour.

The media jumped on the aforementioned statement, questioning the suitability of Vick to appear on an international stage when he could not, apparently, tell the difference between cruelty and sport. The race card was well and

fallen back in with people from his old neighbourhood, got involved in the ghetto lifestyle again and restarted the habits that were prevalent during his upbringing in Newport News.

This is no excuse for criminal activity but goes some way to explaining why Philadelphia’s newly “re-born man” participated in such heinous practices.

That Vick saw nothing wrong with fighting pit bull dogs indicates the deep-rooted habits of his community.

Vick’s origins had never left him, his

“Vick’s conviction should have acted as a catalyst for some social change, instead he was placed on a perverse pedestal and crucified by the national media.” truly played by the press throughout the period following Vick’s comments.

America’s writers jumped upon the ex-Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback as another example of depravity bred by the poverty in “ghettoes” across America. I would proffer that, far from excusing Vick’s actions, his statement indicates the improvements needed in social housing projects, especially regarding young African-American men. Michael Vick’s conviction should have acted as a catalyst for some social change, instead he was placed on a perverse pedestal and crucified by the national media.

I am not, in any way, lessening the significance of Vick’s horrific crimes. He bred approximately 60 dogs in his Virginia home in cramped conditions, purely for the purpose of fighting them in grubby settings across the Southern state. Vick, in a recent interview, claimed that he had

“Bad Newz Kennels” enterprise merely a latent expression of the childhood he had experienced in a poverty-stricken Virginia City.

His crimes were horrific and the falsehoods he told in the aftermath of his discovery made everything worse, but the media deluge Vick has faced in his rehabilitation has been nothing short of shameful. The question that I, and others, continue to ask is would the same treatment be meted out to a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?

Michael Vick wasn’t the wholesome character expected of quarterbacks in a league where the image of a team’s “man under centre” is integral to media success.

He has, in returning to the starting job in Philadelphia, without a doubt changed his ways, but one must wonder will Michael Vick’s career continue to be reported on in such an unforgiving, media-driven society.

TRINITY NEWS

COLLEGE SPORT 23 collegesport@trinitynews.ie

Feel-good hit of the summer Aoife O’Gorman reveals the joy’s of fencing at the oldest fencing club in Ireland, Dublin University Fencing Club

SS Dublin University fencers take on Mullingar

I HAVE a confession to make. I have always imagined myself to be a great athlete. One of those people with a natural talent for sport – the underdog who rises to the top against all odds to take the heavyweight boxing title, or score the winning goal in the cup final. As it happens, I am the underdog

waiting for it to change miraculously of its own accord, and always slightly surprised when it doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I am perfectly content with my uselessness on the pitch. At 5’3”, I am unlikely to take a heavyweight title any time soon. And it turns out that at least a semblance of hand-eye coordination

“‘En garde’? Could we not maybe settle this over a nice slice of cake instead?” who remains the underdog – the one in training who stands at the back, and looks, in a vaguely hopeful manner, in the direction of the scoreboard,

is useful in most sports. So, dear reader, I have chosen a different path.

I, my friends, am a Master Spectator.

From my days of hiding from

footballs in the relative safety of the goal, and being subbed out to the opposing netball team when they were a man down, I have risen to the heady heights of the sidelines of hurling and rugby, badminton and baseball, archery and ice hockey. I have flinched from the rebound of an Olympic handball, languidly applauded the surfers from the sands (nursing the facial bruises from an ill-fated attempt to join them).

I have watched – and appreciated – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and The Karate Kid. I have even, and I tread on sacred ground here, contemplated entering a Cheese Rolling or Wife Carrying Contest. But come closer, as I whisper, I have always had absolute faith in my capacity to fence.

Forget my complete lack of speed or agility, my inability to even attempt to defend myself (“’en garde’? Could we not maybe settle this over a nice slice of cake instead?”): somehow, my brain has convinced itself that foil in hand, I will transform into the lovechild of Zorro and Inigo Montoya, channelling Cap’n Jack and all three musketeers plus d’Artagnan as I swashbuckle my way through college. I will parry, I will riposte, I will not fall flat on my face when I trip over my own feet.... I have yet to test this theory.

The problem is that my fallback position is impossible. Fencing, famously, is not a spectator sport. The joy is in the perfect hit, the flèche (a sort of jumping attack, all very dramatic and Count of Monte Cristo), that split second where your sword slides almost flirtatiously around your opponent’s and you score.

It is a joy that only a participant can really feel. With three minute bouts, it is a sport of speed and precision, steeped in tradition, but constantly innovating. Supposedly, it is only fun to watch if you know what is going on.

I do not agree – having attended the South of Ireland Open in Cork, even

without knowing that A had countered B’s lunge with a counterparry sixteterce, I found myself thoroughly caught up on the intense clashes, the drawnout pause as antagonists eye each other, taking their measure, before the sudden leap into fierce activity.

Fencing is not a sport for spectators, not because of any elitism or exclusivity, but because one cannot remain a spectator. As you watch, your fingers are itching to fold lovingly around the grip, don that mask and try for yourself.

“It is a sport of precision, steeped in tradition, but constantly innovating” And really, I have no excuse not to.

With the oldest and best fencing school in the country on my doorstep, I could have been denying my true potential for years. Through training with the best fencers in the country – Trinity fencers are the Intervarsity Champions, some National Champions in their chosen weapon and comprise almost half of the Irish team. I will hit the national and international scene, fighting in competitions in Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Croatia, Budapest and Mexico to name a few. Obviously, there will be a dramatic injury, seriously damaging my Olympic prospects, but worry not, a last-minute recovery, or possibly, my determination to fight on, will lead me to the victor’s podium and the laurel crown. Box-office hit, right there.

So I’ve decided. This year will be my move from spectator to actual participant. Expect frequent challenges to duels from here on out.

DUCC mounting biking picks up speed Tom Heavey talks about the cross-country craze that has gripped cyclist enthusiasts in Trinity MOUNTAIN biking has its origins in 1960s Europe, when cyclists used to freewheel down wide gravel roads of mountainous terrain. Early pioneers such as Gary Fisher and Fred Wolfe put oversized tyres on cruiser bikes and began to race the dusty bumpy trails that interweave the hillsides of Marin. Since those days there have been major developments in suspension, hydraulic disk brakes and more advanced frame technology which have allowed the sport to progress at a phenomenal pace.

“The National Championship course is not for the faint hearted, and demands the utmost respect from its riders” No longer do mountain bikes ride the wide and relatively mundane gravel roads, today in Ireland there are endless kilometers of singletrack, painstakingly designed to allow the rider to experience as much flow, speed and fun as possible while descending from top to bottom of their chosen mountain, before riding all the way back up to the peak again to take another descent through forests, hillsides and valleys.

Downhill discipline has a number of differences to cross-country. The terrain often has large obstacles such as rocks, boulders, tree roots, large

19 October, 2010

drops and jumps. Built to withstand the pressure of riding such tracks, the bikes are too heavy and too highly geared to cycle without gravity’s assistance.

Once at the top of the mountain or hill, the rider dons the appropriate safety equipment and begins an intense high-speed descent down a purpose built track. The entire race takes about 4 minutes, in which the rider must control a 40lb bike at the fastest speed possible.

Dublin University Cross Country has recently embraced mountain biking. In the last three years, the club has gone from strength to strength, and last year it hosted the hotly contested Irish Downhill Intervarsities in Wexford. Here, club rider Richard Smith took second place. Smith is one of Ireland’s top downhillers, having represented his country on several occasions. DUCC captain Steve Scrivener was crowned 2010 Leinster Champion.

While Ireland does not have many mountains compared to the rest if Europe, they are albeit easily accessible, lending themselves perfectly to mountain biking. There are endless cross-country trails in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains.

Driving one hour from Dublin to Rostrevor will take you to one of the country’s most demanding downhill courses: the National Championship course. The NC is not for the faint hearted and demands the utmost respect. It has endless rocky slabs, tight steep switchbacks and high speed narrow sections with minimal room for error. The Northern Ireland Forestry Service are currently constructing 27km of cross-country trails in

SS On yer bike! Tom Heavy at Bree cross-country trail

Rostrevor as well as two high-level downhill courses, one of which will provide riders with numerous jumps and drops. This means large amounts of airtime for the riders, and another trail which will be more technical and steep, akin to the existing course.

There is a form of biking to suit most people, and trails that will keep all riders content. At the moment DUCC is running beginners’ outings every weekend, where they take novices

Ultimate Frisbee continues to grow

and introduce them to the appropriate trails. In my opinion, DUCC takes its bikers to the most exhilarating and adrenaline inducing trails the country has to offer.

With the racing season set to start in January, the club will be focusing on the development of new racers and encouragin current riders to continue to improve. DUCC hopes that the pace of involvement in the Mounting Biking will continue to quicken.

SS DU Frisbee’s IV team

Hugo Fitzpatrick Contributing Writer

IF ULTIMATE Frisbee is your sport it involves not only an item commonly associated as a dog’s plaything, but also calls itself “ultimate.”

Nevertheless Ultimate Frisbee is known as one of the most accessible and enjoyable sports around. Even with the majority of people being unfamiliar with how the sport works, it does not take away from the variety of skills and tactics that are found in an Ultimate Frisbee match.

The simplest way to explain Ultimate Frisbee is by comparing it to American Football. Two teams of seven play on a pitch roughly the size of a Soccer or Rugby field, defending their “End-Zone” at either end. The object of the game is to work the disc up the pitch, you can’t run with the disc, only pass it to your team mates – and catch it in the opposing teams End-Zone for a score. Fast paced and physically demanding, a game of ultimate can be engrossing to watch.

Not least because of there can be some amazing catches and spectacular throws that often accompany the game.

Where Ultimate is set apart from other sports, is with something known as “Spirit of the Game”. There is no referee in a game of Ultimate. Fair play and good sportsmanship play a large role especially since players call their own fouls and resolve their own disputes. All Ultimate tournaments have a prize awarded to the most spirit team, as well as the winner’s trophy.

Trinity are known as one of the more spirited teams, especially abroad where last year they won the Spirit award at the U.K. Nationals.

Ultimate Frisbee in Trinity began in 1995 with the setting up of DUUFC. The club has grown exponentially since then. What used to be a few dedicated players sporadically getting together for a game is now regarded as one of the best clubs in Ireland and has dominated the national university scene in recent years, winning four Intervarsity Championships in a row. The streak ended last year when Trinity lost the final to a strong UCC side. DUUFC has also seen many of its players representing Ireland at an international level with seven men and six women playing for the country at the various divisions of the World Championships this summer.

The coming year looks promising with several new players taking up the sport for the first time. Their aim is not only to take back the Intervarsity Trophy from UCC but also to grow the club and encourage more people to try the game.

Anybody who has wanted to do something new should definitely look to Ultimate Frisbee. With tournaments held for people that haven’t played before in DCU, UCD and Edinburgh.

New players are welcomed at training on Monday and Thursday in the sports centre and Wednesday in Santry.

SPORT

collegesport@trinitynews.ie

Rugby ladies pipped at the post

DIT win over DU Michael Gaskin Deputy College Sport Editor

SS Derry players hot on the trail of Trinity’s Number 10 player. Photo: Caitriona Gallagher

Michael Gaskin Deputy College Sport Editor

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY was desperately unlucky not to come away with the points from this Division 2N clash with City of Derry. In a game that they dominated from start to finish, Trinity will rue their inability to punish a Derry team that was rocking at the start of both halves.

Derry never lost hope that they could come away from the game with the spoils, and put in a brave aperformance throughout the game, constantly looking for quick breaks from their back line.

Trinity dominated most of the game and put the scrum to excellent use at every chance. Time and again they stole the ball from Derry and number 8 Kyra O’Sullivan, who was brilliant throughout the game, always looked to break off the back of the scrum and power her way through the heart of the Derry defence.

Trinity began the brighter of the sides and were camped in the Derry half for the opening 15 minutes of the game. However a dogged Derry team slowly grew into the game and eventually got themselves out of their

own half and began to put Trinity under increasing pressure.

On the half hour mark, it was the visitors who got the first score of the game. After Derry’s number 8 picked the ball up off the back of a scrum, she went on a rampaging run to the corner where she played a neat one-two with

“Trinity immediately upped the tempo of the game” her scrum-half and then powered over the line. The resulting conversion was slotted effortlessly between the posts, to put the away side 7-0 up after 30 minutes.

They were not in the lead for long however, as Trinity immediately upped the tempo of the game and put the Derry on the back foot. Kyra O’Sullivan once again broke away off the back of a scrum and was dragged up just short of the Derry. The ball was eventually shifted out to the far

side of the pitch and after a series of rucks, Elish O’ Byrne pushed her way through a Derry defence and touched down in the corner.

The conversion was missed, a miss that would ultimately cost them getting at least a draw in the game.

In injury time at the end of the first half, Elish again touched down in the corner for her and Trinity’s second try of the game to give them a 10-7 lead at half time. Trinity worked the ball well across the pitch to give themselves an overlap, however Elish took the chance all on her own and slide in corner just as she was tackled by the Derry defence. The attempted conversion taken right on the sideline fell just short of the posts.

The second half began with Trinity looking to build on their impressive performance in the first half. The game got bogged down in scrums and line outs that killed off any chances either team had of putting together successive phases of play over any period of time. The best chance of the half for Trinity fell to inside centre Elish O’Byrne who was dragged out over the sideline just short of the line, for what would have been a game deciding score. Derry always looking

to break from deep were a constant threat and went ever so close on numerous occasions. Their fly half put went on a particularly good break were she ran from her own five metre line to well inside the Trinity 22.

It was with the last move of the game that they stole the win.

After successive attempts out on the sideline, the ball was switched

“The conversion was missed, a miss that would ultimately cost them getting at least a draw in the game” in field to their outside centre who ran through a devastated Trinity defence and touch down for the match winning score. Trinity will take confidence into the rest of their season, with the knowledge that they put in a great performance.

TRINITY GOT their season off to a solid start despite this one point loss to DIT last Thursday. The match was played out over the course of three 20 minute periods opposed to the traditional two 30 minute halves, in order to give both management teams a chance to try different tactics throughput the game.

With the light fading quickly, DIT began the brighter of the two sides and quickly got the first score of the match with a free on the Trinity 14m line effortlessly slotted over. After 15 minutes and DIT having built themselves a 5 points to 2 advantage, Trinity drew level after the visitors gave away a needless penalty. Thomas Corrigan was bundled over in the box and picked himself to put away the resulting penalty. With the end of the first period drawing near both sides put over points to leave the game poised at 1-3 to 0-6 and all to play for.

DIT came flying out of the blocks at the beginning of the second period, tagging on the first three points of the half. However Trinity once again drew level, after an excellent run

by Aaron Hurley from the midfield he laid it off to Luke Thurley who powered the ball past a helpless DIT keeper. Further scores followed from Trinitagainst a DIT side that began to look tired after some players played the previous night.

Trinity had built themselves a 3 point lead, when DIT missed a golden opportunity to draw level. After a defence splitting run from the centre forward for DIT, he drilled a shot straight at Trinity goalkeeper Conal O’Hanlon who parried it away only for an opposition forward to fist the ball over the bar, to make it a 2 point game. Trinity can count themselves lucky, that in Conal O’Hanlon they have a very fine goalkeeper, after he pulled off a number of fine saves throughout the game including a penalty save after 40 minutes to keep them in touch with the DIT who peppered his goal with shots continually but to no avail.

In the third period of the game DIT put over 5 successive points, to give them a 3 point lead going into the final ten minutes. In a pulsating final, Trinity drew level thanks to some consistent fouling among the DIT backline. However they ultimately came up short as DIT tagged on a further two points to close out the game against a brave Trinity team who battled throughout the game and who scored with the final kick of the game, to give the visitors one point win.

Bright start for Trinity in opening match vs. Queen’s ff Trinity win 30-10 to 2009 Division 3 champions, Queen’s University Belfast ff First try scored by Conor Colclough after assist by O’Loughlin and O’Donoghue Michael Gaskin Deputy College Sport Editor

TRINITY GOT off to a flying start in their opening league game of the season, with an impressive 30 - 10 win over last years division 3 champions, Queens University Belfast.

Queens got off to the brighter start during the opening exchanges and continually probed the Trinity defence looking to gain an early advantage. However a well organised Trinity defence repelled all attempts to infeltraite their lines by the visitors.

After weathering the early storm,

Trinity slowly but surely got the upper hand on their opponents. As Trinity began to apply continual pressure to the Queens defence, the visitors succumbed to the pressure and began to give away very kickable scores. Full back James O’Donoughe effortlessly slotted over three first half penalties to put the home side 9-0 up after half an hour.

Shortly before half time and with the visitors looking increasingly ragged in defence, Conor Colclough scored Trinity’s first try of the game.

After some excellent build up play from Trinity duo Mick O’Loughlin

and Colin McDonnell, Conor Colclough slide in in the corner. James O’Donoughe, who was in impervious form throughout the game slotted over the extras to give the home side a well deserved 16-0 lead at the break.

In the second half Trinity took complete control of the game against a Queens team whose thoughts had already turned to the trip home.

Trinity’s pack which was dominant and provided the platform for attacks throughout the game, allied with the help of bad weather conditions made for a miserable afternoon for Queens and who gave numerous penalties to

the home side in and around their own 22 meter line in the second half.

It was on the hour mark that Trinity’s dominance in the half finally paid off, as after an excellent piece of attacking kicking from James O’Donoughe, allowed him to off-load to Shane Hanratty who showed some deft foot work by gliding past two opposition players along the sideline and put the game beyond doubt by scoring Trinity’s second try of the game.

With both sides having emptied the bench, Queens finally got points on the board with a well worked try that split the Trinity defence. This was quickly followed up with a successfully converted penalty against a Trinity side that looked like they were going through the motions in the closing stages of the game. With ten minutes

left the score was now 23-10 in favour of Trinity.

It was ultimately in vain however as it was Trinity who had the final say in the game. With the Queens pack on its last legs, Trinity gave it all in a series of scrums on the visitors 5 meter line. The referee eventually awarded a penalty try under the posts for the home side after Queens repeatedly collapsed the scrums when the went over their try line. James O‘Donoughe continued his fine form with the boot and slotted the extras for 30-10 lead.

Trinity went in search of a fourth try for an added bonus point in the closing few minutes of the game but the visitors defence held firm and time eventually ran out on them. They were delighted to get their campaign off to such a good start and hope it bodes well for the rest of the season to come.

TRINITY NEWS