Trinity News, Vol. 67, Issue 9 by Trinity News

LIFE

Gender quotas in the workplace

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Trinity must tear down its elitist image

TRINITY NEWS

Ireland’s Oldest Student Newspaper

ESTABLISHED 1953

Vol. 67, Issue. 9

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Head of Facilities and Services “off duty” following sexual assault charge Shannon Connolly News Editor

T Looking ahead

a series of electoral problems that have led me to conclude that the GSU cannot represent me, and that it cannot be trusted with running a fair and democratic election”. “As thus, I am in support of a vote of no confidence for the GSU President and Vice President.” The new GSU Constitution, which was deemed to have passed yesterday, stipulates in Article 15a that “any representative of the union may be removed from office by way of a motion brought by at least 51% of the total number of individuals who initially appointed them”. Scanlon was elected GSU President in May, with 85% of

RINITY’S HEAD OF FACILITIES AND SERVICES Brendan Leahy is off duty pending an investigation, a College spokesperson has confirmed. Last month, Leahy received a suspended sentence in court in March, for sexually assaulting an AirBnB guest nearly three years ago. Speaking to Trinity News, a College said confirmed: “The individual in question is off duty at this time, pending the outcome of an investigation, as is the norm.” “As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to comment further,” the spokesperson said. Leahy appeared in front of a judge at Dublin District Court in March, after having pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman in the summer of 2018. The assault occurred at Kehoe’s Pub on South Anne Street and involved Leahy repeatedly pushing the front of his body against the woman from behind. A garda told Judge John Hughes that the victim had been staying in Leahy’s spare bedroom, which was in use as an Airbnb. CCTV footage of the assault that lasted six and a half seconds was shown in court. The judge imposed a threemonth sentence but suspended it on the condition that Leahy does not reoffend in the next

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TCDSU President-elect Leah Keogh and Provost-elect Professor Linda Doyle pose on the day of Doyle’s election beneath a statue of former Provost George Salmon, who famously said that women would enter Trinity over his dead body

Petitions launched to call votes of no confidence in GSU leaders Shannon Connolly News Editor

WO PETITIONS HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED TO CALl for a vote of no confidence in Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) President Gisèle Scanlon and GSU Vice President Abhisweta Bhattacharjee. The petitions followed the union’s Executive General Meeting (EGM) on Wednesday, which saw an unprecedented turnout with around 540 members in attendance on a Zoom call. The petition calling for a vote

of no confidence against Scanlon, which is collecting signatures from postgraduate students through a Google form, says that “based on the events of the recent GSU EMC, we hold the president unfit to continue in their present role”. It continues: “Therefore, we see fit that they should be removed from their current position.” The petitions against both Scanlon and Bhattacharjee require an individual to give their name, declare whether they are a graduate student, provide their Trinity email for verification, and indicate whether or not they support a vote of no confidence. Trinity News has contacted both Scanlon and Bhattacharjee with requests for comment.

Trinity News spoke to the creator of the petition calling for a vote of no confidence in Bhattacharjee, Jeffrey Sardina. He said that the “lack of proper proceedings at the EGM on April 14, including initial refusal to admit over 250 students, breach of article 27a of the constitution when unduly enacting the third constitutional amendment, and refusal to listen to raised constitutional concerns in the meeting have led me to believe that a vote of no confidence is due for the GSU VP.” Sardina is an ordinary member of the union, and does not hold a role on the executive committee. In an open letter to graduate students, Sardina wrote that “at the EGM [on Wednesday], there were

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

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In this issue News

Students to be asked to vote in referendum on TCDSU boycott of gambling ads - page 6

Features

The rise of Anti-Asian racism in Ireland - and the students fighting against it - page 14

Comment

Academia remains an inaccessible career choice for many -page 18

SciTech

“Bringing data to life”: Statisticians in the fight against climate change - page 26

Sport

Trinity’s Mark McGauran takes on the Wim Hof method challenge - page 28

TRINITY NEWS EDITORIAL STAFF Editor Deputy Editor Assistant Editor Online Editor Deputy Online Editor Life Editor Deputy Life Editor

Lauren Boland Finn Purdy Jack Kennedy Lisa Jean O’Reilly Saba Malik Maeve Harris Heather Bruton

News Editor News Analysis Editor Features Editor Comment Editor Gaeilge Editor Scitech Editor Scitech Editor Sport Editor

Shannon Connolly Kate Glen Olivia Flaherty-Lovy Dearbháil Kent Gráinne Caulfield Lucy Fitzsimmons Cian Lynch Shannon McGreevy

Photo Editor Video Editor Video Editor Art Editor Social Media Editor Head Copyeditor

Vicky Salganik Melanie O’Donnell Kallum Linnie Márta Menta Czinkóczky Brigit Hirsch Ciara Olden

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Leahy “off duty” after assault charge year; completes a sex offenders education course; pays a €1,000 fine; and gives another €1,000 in compensation to the woman. The judge ordered Leahy to no longer provide Airbnb services. He could have faced a 12-month prison term and a €5,000 fine in the district court, but in a mitigation plea, defence solicitor Ruth Walsh said that Leahy was remorseful and “absolutely devastated”. Leahy is the Head of Facilities and Services within Estates and

Facilities, a role which he has held since January 2015. Trinity sets out a definition of sexual harassment in its Dignity and Respect Policy, but not of sexual assault. The policy states that “assault, including sexual assault, is not within the University’s disciplinary jurisdiction and, as a matter of criminal law, should be referred to An Garda Siochana,” the policy states”. A list of examples of academic

staff misconduct governed by College’s statues includes sexual harassment on College premises or in the course of employment, but does not make reference to instances of sexual harassment offcampus. A similar list setting out examples of serious misconduct governing support and technical staff includes “serious breaches of the College’s policies regarding sexual or other forms of harassment”.

Linda Doyle elected as Trinity’s next provost in historic win Doyle is to be the first woman to hold College’s highest leadership position Lauren Boland and Kate Henshaw Editor and Assistant News Editor

INDA DOYLE HAS BEEN ELECTED TO SERVE as the next provost of Trinity for the coming decade after a unique two-month campaign period. Doyle, who is set to take over from incumbent Patrick Prendergast, is becoming the first woman to hold the role in Trinity’s history. Doyle has won the appointment of provost after receiving 517 votes, while Hogan received 270 votes from the electorate. Out of an electorate of 867 votes, 792 votes were cast in the last round of voting, with four members of the electorate abstaining from voting. After eight weeks of online campaigning, Doyle has succeeded over fellow candidates Jane Ohlmeyer and Linda Hogan in securing the majority of the electorate during two rounds of voting. Ohlmeyer was eliminated from the ballot after the first round of voting earlier in the day where she secured the fewest votes of the three candidates. Doyle and Hogan progressed to the second round, which saw Doyle emerge victorious. Registrar Brendan Tangney confirmed that Doyle received the highest proportion of votes in the second round, securing her elec-

tion as provost. Speaking to Trinity News in Front Square after her win, Doyle said that there is a “huge amount of planning to do” over the next three months. “We have a lot of officership roles and the provost chooses who those people are and the Board approves them, so there’s a lot of things to think about around who would take on roles, a lot of planning,” Doyle said. “I’m a real believer in a team approach to things. It’s about sitting down with people and all of the things I spoke about in the manifesto around drawing on our expertise - it’s about doing those in preparation,” she said. On how she envisions her relationship with the government, Doyle said that it is “really, really important to have a deep, trusting, meaningful, constructive relationship - constructively critical on both sides”. “I think there’s an awful lot we can do systematically to improve that. I think there’s a big mixture where you do things behind the scenes based on that trust and then sometimes you have to bring it out into the open and draw attention to issues, so it’s finding the balance between those two.” When asked if she would place more focus on local or national issues, Doyle said that they’re “very interconnected” and that there’re “many things you have to tackle together”. “If we are to really soar and excel, there’s things we need to get right here,” she continued. She believes “we have to work nationally across the sector” and “we have to have national responsibility” as well as being “constantly international and outward”. To a question on how she would spend the rest of her weekend, Doyle said: “Probably sleeping would be a fair answer!”

Doyle is Trinity’s Professor of Engineering and the Arts, a role she has held since 2014. Between 2018 and 2020, Doyle was the Dean of Research. She was the founder Director of CONNECT, a national research centre. She is the Chair of Trinity’s Douglas Hyde Gallery and of the Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board in the UK. In an interview with Trinity News earlier in the campaign, Doyle identified handling the aftermath of the pandemic, securing investment, and “the obstacles we put in our own way” as the three key challenges that College faces over the next decade. “I would be the kind of person who would have a very open door and being regularly in contact and in communication would be really important for me,” Doyle said. Doyle wants to redistribute “some of the functionality that we have centrally to faculties and schools” as part of efforts to balance out power in College. The two students’ unions – the GSU and Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) – each cast their votes as a block. The GSU had four votes, while TCDSU had six. After polls of their members, TCSDU gave its votes to Ohlmeyer, while the GSU voted for Doyle. After Ohlmeyer was eliminated in the first round, TCDSU voted for Doyle. Doyle’s name is to be forwarded to College Board, which needs to officially approve her appointment. Board is scheduled to meet next on April 21. Provost Patrick Prendergast is due to leave office on July 31, paving the way for Doyle to assume the role on August 1. Additional reporting by Jamie Cox, Shannon Connolly and Audrey Brown.

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

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No confidence petitions launched voters casting a ballot in her favour. 547 students voted to elect Scanlon, who ran unopposed, and 93 voted for the option to re-open nominations. Bhattacharjee was elected to the union’s vice presidency with 72% of the vote against opponent Joseph Keegan, who received 21%. 36 students voted to re-open nominations. Before changes to the constitution were voted on at Wednesday’s meeting, Article 23 of the constitution covered removal from office. Article 23 said: “Any member of the Executive Committee may be removed from office by a vote of no confidence which may be effected by a simple majority of the members at a General Meeting. The charges brought against the member of the Executive Committee must be signed by at least sixty members of the Union and posted in a conspicuous place in the Common Room and circulated via email to Union members only at least fourteen days before the meeting at which the resolution will be considered.” With the passing of a motion last night to amend Article 15a to

reflect the same rule as Article 23 of the old constitution, the GSU are required to update the new constitution. This would allow a member of the union to be removed “more easily”. This means that old constitution stipulation on removal from office still holds. The GSU deemed to have passed three motions Wednesday evening that have introduced a series of changes to the union’s constitution, despite members raising serious concerns over the structure of the meeting and its voting process. The meeting was scheduled for 7pm, and initially had a maximum capacity of 300 attendees, which left a large number of other union members unable to access the video call. PhD student Tenaya Jorgensen raised concerns over members being unable to join the Zoom, saying that “not letting the GSU members vote is unconstitutional”. Bhattacharjee, who was chairing the meeting, said that it would need to proceed with the members who were in attendance because the Zoom room had met its maximum capacity. Scanlon suggested pausing the meeting

and sending a fresh link that would allow a higher number of attendees. The meeting was suspended and resumed around 7.25pm. The constitutional amendments were voted on through three motions. During discussions on the motions, where one speaker was allowed to speak on each side, the Zoom chat was disabled. Members used handwritten notes held up to their screens to raise concerns that some were unable to vote; that the voting platform allowed users to vote multiple times; and that there was no verification process to check that voters were members of the union, which went unresolved. Bhattacharjee repeatedly asked members to remove the handwritten notes, describing them as a distraction, and said that she would remove students from the call if they did not cease to show the notes. A separate motion on divestment from Trinity College Dublin Students Union (TCDSU) was initially said to have passed, but later failed by a wide margin when the vote was reran. In the second round of voting, 180 total votes were cast. 115 voters, or 65%, were against divestment from the TCDSU, whereas 65 voters, or 35%, voted in favour of the motion.

Trinity Ents announces virtual Trinity Ball replacement “Trinity Festival” is to be streamed live on April 23 Audrey Brown

Deputy News Editor

RINITY COLLEGE Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Ents Officer Hugh McInerney issued a statement announcing the upcoming “Trinity Festival”, to take place on April 23. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated the

Government to cover cost of mandatory hotel quarantine for returning Erasmus students Minister Simon Harris has announced a €1 million plan to ensure students returning from Erasmus are not left “out of pocket”

Jamie Cox Higher Education cancellation of Trinity’s largest entertainment industry in general Correspondent event, Trinity Ball, for the second year in a row, but this year, the Ents team have organised a virtual replacement for the event in the form of the Trinity Festival. The concert, which will be made available at no cost to participants “to watch from anywhere in the world”, will commence at 9pm on April 23 and feature headlining performances by Malaki, Nealo, and Ailbhe Reddy. Pre-recorded performances filmed “in some of the most recognisable Trinity locations” have also been prepared by artists such as Big Sleep, Tertia, and Ellie O’Neill. “We are super excited to support these wonderful artists in such a tough time for the

PHOTO CREDIT: PATRICK PRENDERGAST

and can’t wait to give our students the best possible alternative to a live music gig in Covid times,” said McInerney in a press release about the event. The Festival is also to feature segments “highlighting the wonderful ways societies and services in Trinity have adapted and thrived during the pandemic”. “The theme of Trinity Festival is a simple one: hope,” stated McInerney. “It will highlight the ways our college has coped with such a tough time for everyone in our community and serve as a reminder that no matter how distant it seems normality will soon return.”

HE STATE HAS agreed to pay for the accommodation of roughly 550 students who are set to face mandatory quarantine upon their return to Ireland. Beginning in late March, Government arranged a scheme mandating a two-week hotel quarantine for anyone entering Ireland from a list of predetermined “high-risk” countries, and starting from April 15, this list is set to expand to countries including the United States and several EU member states with high numbers of current Irish Erasmus students. These students expect to return from Erasmus programmes taking place in EU states recently added to the list of countries from which, upon return to Ireland, citizens must pay for a mandatory 2-week quarantine spent in a hotel. Concern had been raised in Higher Education following the addition of EU member states France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg to hotel quarantine lists, due to the cost that would be required of students returning to Ireland from study-abroad

programmes in those countries. Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris is working on a €1 million plan to cover costs for mandatory quarantine for Erasmus students returning to Ireland. A spokeswoman of Harris has said: “Minister Harris can confirm agreement has been reached to do this and further details will be provided over the coming days.” There are currently 1000 Irish students on Erasmus, with roughly 550 on exchange in the member states that have been placed on the list due for mandatory quarantine. Many students are due back on a staggered basis between now and August. The Minister has described his plan as a means for government to “foot the bill” for students returning to Ireland. However, Minister Harris has said that any students who have been vaccinated fully and procure a negative PCR test should not have to enter mandatory quarantine, as to do so would be “illogical”. Minister Harris has asked officials to engage with the Higher Education Authority to ensure that, as countries were added to the list of countries required to quarantine, students returning were not left “out of pocket.” He likewise expressed that students abroad should not panic and that he was working on a mechanism to cover these costs, ensuring that students returning did not have to “put a hand in their own pocket”. Describing mandatory quarantine on RTÉ with Claire Byrne, Harris expressed that hotel quarantine was a short, sharp and blunt intervention against Covid-19 risks and not something that government wants in place forever. Whilst some of the 550 students returning may arrive before mandatory quarantines come into effect later this week, Harris has spoked of the possibility that others may return in the late summer “to a very different scenario.”

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Trinity is “looking at rapid testing” to get students back on campus by September Doyle said there is a need for “clarity” from the government in order for College to “plan and move forward in a constructive way” to get students back on campus Kate Henshaw

Assistant News Editor

ROVOST-ELECT PROFESSOR LINDA DOYLE has said that there is more that universities can do to get students back on campus, including rapid testing. “There’ll be students now who have had two academic years disrupted,” she said. She continued saying that Trinity is “looking at rapid testing”. This comes after Minister for Further and Higher Education,

Innovation and Research Simon Harris announced the rolling out of four rapid testing schemes across four college campuses. In an interview with Bryan Dobson on RTÉ Radio 1, Doyle said she was “really delighted” to see this new proposal and she believes that this can “really help effectively”. She emphasized the need for “clarity” in order for College to “plan and move forward in a constructive way for our students”. Doyle also said that she is “absolutely hopeful” that students will be back on campus in September and that this is “so so important for the welfare of students and for their learning”. However she believes “there will be some restrictions” such as mask wearing in gatherings Later in the interview, Doyle was asked about proposed changes to universities governance in a new bill brought forward by government. The bill would slim down the size of College Board and see government appointees make up a portion of the board members. Trinity has previously expressed its opposition to this bill citing concerns over the College’s institutional autonomy. To this question, Doyle said although the bill’s focus on “accountability and good governance” “absolutely hugely important” but the bill “sees there

PHOTO BY SABA MALIK FOR TRINITY NEWS

only being one way to have that good governance”. “To me it’s really important to have strong autonomous independent institutions,” she added. “The autonomy piece is very important to us as well.” Doyle expressed her openness to the idea of having an independent chair of the board, a seat which the provost traditionally fills. She said she is “completely happy for there to be an independent chair” and “that could be one way of improving things”. Doyle was also asked how she plans to deal with Trinity’s colonial past in light of the spotlight the Black Lives Matter movement has placed on historical figures who were associated with slavery. She stated that “we in Trinity are addressing that”. She believes it is College’s responsibility to “dig into our past” and “take appropriate action”. Professor Doyle is the first woman to ever hold the position of Provost in Trinity. Dobson closed the interview by asking Doyle what she believes this means for young women and girls. “It’s a really powerful symbolic message,” Doyle said. She wants to see diversification of the role in the future saying that although last Saturday “was an extraordinary day” “this needs to be an ordinary day”.

Analysis: On-campus rapid testing could make next year look very different

Bonnie Gill College correspondent

rovost-elect Linda Doyle, in an interview on RTE Radio 1 last week pointed towards the possible introduction of rapid Covid-19 testing on campus next year. In the interview, Doyle expressed that she was “hopeful” about students returning to campus in September, and indicated that the introduction of rapid testing could “effectively” help in this effort. On April 1, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly published an Expert Report of the Covid-19 Rapid Testing Group. The report suggests conducting widespread pilots, or feasibility studies of rapid tests in third level institutions. Minister for Higher Education, Research and innovation Simon Harris showed his support for the possibility of these studies, saying “these pilots will provide learning on the potential role rapid testing can play as an additional tool to assist our plans for additional onsite education in the next academic year.” In the same announcement, Harris also mentioned his ambitions to finalise plans to begin pilot testing in four universities. Trinity is among one of the third-level institutions already conducting pilot screening through the use of rapid antigen Covid-19 tests. Back in September, it was announced that Trinity would be opening a free Covid testing facility on campus, making it the first university in Ireland to do so. The service offered free tests to any student showing symptoms of Covid-19, as well as regular screenings for residents of residents of Trinity Hall, Goldsmith Hall and oncampus accommodation The regular testing was launched as part of a pilot screening programme which aimed to further the understanding of how the virus can be spread, and how best to control transmission of infection. The study, which was denoted the name ‘Triniscreen’, has since been operating as a voluntary programme which relies on student participation. Students who wish to participate in the tests can provide a saliva sample and deposit it at a designated collection point around College. It is disclosed on the Triniscreen website that students would only receive results if they were positive. A College spokesperson asserted that College “believe this

approach has helped minimise outbreaks on our campus.” They expressed that “consideration has been given to expanding the Triniscreen programme to other cohorts of students.” The test kits, which are supplied by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to Trinity use the LAMP technique, a method of testing that is now being used more widely in laboratories and industry settings. These kinds of rapid Covid-19 tests detect the presence of antibodies and can provide results in a few hours or less. This method, as well as ‘lateral flow antigen tests’ (LFAT) are being proposed as a way of reintroducing on-campus activities in the academic year ahead. It is unclear whether or not these tests will be conducted in a similar way to the already existing screening programme in Trinity, or if the use of LFAT will be introduced. However, Minister Harris has expressed that he is “determined” to roll out these tests across college campuses, stating that getting students back on site is a priority. It has also been indicated that Trinity is in talks with other universities such as University College Dublin (UCD), University College Cork (UCC) and National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), to discuss the possibility of a national-scale Covid-19 pilot study involving multiple institutions across the country. With regards to the upcoming college year, Trinity has said that they will continue to take public health advice when it comes to measures that may need to be put in place. However, advances in testing technology and the vaccination rollout suggest students can have hope in a return to campus come September, although students are also aware that similar hopes of campus returns have been misplaced before in the 2020/21 academic year.

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Kate Glenn News Analysis Editor

Analysis: Looking back on a year of firsts

n September 7, the highest Leaving Certificate results on record were announced after predicted grades with points rising nearly 75% for some Central Applications Office (CAO) courses. Students at the beginning of the year expected College to take place at least partially in-person. As international students begin arriving in the country, there is outrage in Trinity as it is discovered that some international students isolating in College accommodation would be charged over €350 for meal plans. On September 10, College announced a new Covid-testing facility as one measure which would facilitate on-campus learning. Teaching Assistants were initially told they would need to clean their classrooms between tutorials, but College quickly rolls back on this after opposition from staff. The CAO chairman Pól Ó Dochartaigh encouraged students on September 12 to not return home on the weekends in the hopes of preventing Covid-19 spread. There was confusion as timetables are released one week before orientation begins, with some students being scheduled to have in-person classes on online classes back-to-back. College erected marquees on campus as spaces for students to study, and attend online classes if necessary. Tuesday, September 15, government announced its five level plan. The guidance under the plan for higher education institutions is “consider enhanced protective measures”, a vague instruction which concerns student and university representatives. With Covid-19 cases rising, Dublin anticipated being raised to Level 3. At Level 3 in the roadmap, universities were told to stay open but escalate protective measures and limit congregation. On Friday September 18, days before College was meant to resume, the Taoiseach announced that Dublin was to be raised to Level 3. Trinity made a conservative interpretation of

the Level 3 guidance at the time, after being asked by the Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris to go further than suggested guidelines and minimise all in-person teaching. The provost sent out an email that same evening announcing any teaching that could happen online would take place online for the three weeks Dublin was expected to be at Level 3. The following week Minister Harris asked all higher education institutions to temporarily move online regardless of their counties’ Covid-19 levels, a move from which meant they would not return. In the first week of October in anticipation of the entire country being moved to Level 5, the provost announced that teaching restrictions in Trinity would be the same in Level 5 as they were in Level 3. This announcement confirmed the College shut down as much as was possible at Level 3. The main changes were the closing of the Sports Centre except to elite athletes, and the shortening of Library hours. By October 7, the Union of Students Ireland (USI) expressed concern for the uncertainty students were facing, with no clear answer about the future of online teaching in universities. On October 15, the Taoiseach announced the country’s move to Level 5 but made no mention of higher level education, which was the beginning of a theme. Universities never returned in the 2020/21 academic year, despite students being repeatedly promised throughout the year that they would get some level of in-person learning. International students had moved countries in the midst of a pandemic to attend university, renters found themselves trapped in a continuous cycle in the first semester of the academic year, constantly expecting to need to be on campus just a few weeks in the future. However, the unpredictability of Covid-19 alongside the refusal of government and College to admit they were moving entirely online for the year kept students hopeful. On November 9, concerns

about growing student disengagement became evident with Simon Harris publicly encouraging colleges to increase in-person teaching in the new year in an effort to decrease dropout rates. Similarly, that month the provost promised students could expect more on-campus activities in the next semester even if Level 5 restrictions continued. Evidently, this was not a promise the minister or the provost were in positions to make. On December 22, after a sharp increase in cases in a matter of weeks when Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed to facilitate Christmas shopping, the Taoiseach announced that higher education institutions were to remain online until 21 January 2021. On January 8, the provost announced that Hilary Term would be held primarily online. Some students had once again returned to Dublin in the expectation of in-person teaching. Students in Trinity accommodation who left before March were to be entitled to refunds. In January, Trinity announced

mitigation measures for the Michaelmas assessment period, with students able to defer essays and exams until May. In February, with the country still in Level 5, College announced that while exams in Trinity term would take place online, there would be no similar mitigation measures for them. After backlash from the student body, the College announced a reversal the next day that, confirming there would be mitigation measures in place and the Senior Lecturer and Dean of Undergraduate Studies apologised for “the confusion and for any stress caused”. By the second semester of university in lockdown, with many students still in accommodation, tensions between students and accommodation management grew. In October, Kavanagh Court had closed all communal spaces in response to student parties and gatherings. Similar tensions began to emerge in Trinity Hall (Halls) in January, with a meeting of TCD Renter’s Union revealing Halls students felt “terrorised” by assistant wardens enforcing restrictions. At the beginning of February a Covid-19 outbreak in Goldsmith Hall prompted mass testing for all residents. Poor communication from College on the outbreak and testing process led to confusion and stress, with some students missing their testing appointments. Mass testing among Irish students generally grew more common in the second semester of the year, with an outbreak at University of Limerick (UL) at the end of that same month. UL made national headlines in March, with footage of a large party near campus going viral. While reports of student gatherings led to scapegoating from some quarters, it is important to note that many students were essential workers this year. This includes those

working in retail as well as the important frontline work done by students on clinical placements. Public conversation grew this year about the fact student nurses and midwives were working on the frontline while not being paid. On December 3, government voted against paying student nurses and midwives. In mid-January, the government announced that students nurses and midwives were to be pulled from their clinical placements so that senior nurses could focus on rising Covid-19 cases instead of teaching. TCDSU called on the minister for Health to treat students on placements better. In March there was outrage after 39 Trinity students were passed over for vaccination in the Coombe on the night relatives of staff were vaccinated at the hospital. While it has been a difficult year, it is important to note the successes we have seen. Trinity became a university of sanctuary this year. In the second semester Trinity also saw elections for provost and TCDSU take place online, with voting and following the campaign made incredibly accessible. A record number of students registered to vote in this year’s TCDSU elections. After an election run of all-female contestants, Trinity elected its first female provost in its 429 year history, Professor Linda Doyle. The vaccination roll-out continues in Ireland and expected to increase dramatically in the summer. Despite dissatisfaction with the pace of the roll-out, it is worthwhile remembering that at the start of this year there was no guarantee that a vaccine would be created at all, let alone so quickly. Further, the introduction of rapid testing for Covid-19 could potentially allow College to return next year even if restrictions remain in place. Overall, there is some hope for a return in September, and if things go well there might even be a Trinity Ball next year.

PHOTO BY SALLY NÍ THUAMA FOR TRINITY NEWS

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Students to be asked to vote in referendum on TCDSU boycott of gambling ads A yes vote would prevent the union from accepting sponsorship from gambling companies Connie Roughan

Unions correspondent

RINITY STUDENTS are to be asked to vote on whether Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) should take a long-term stance against accepting gambling advertisement as part of its commercial practices. A motion passed at Council on Tuesday mandates that union will host a referendum on making a boycott of gambling advertisements a long-term policy. A successful referendum would prevent TCDSU from accepting advertisements or sponsorship money from gambling and betting companies and mandate the union to lobby against targeted gambling advertisements. The motion was proposed by current TCDSU Ents Officer Hugh McInerney. Speaking to Trinity News, McInerney said that the motion is not “against gambling itself; what students do with their money is completely their business. This is to ensure we do not support the parasitic gambling advertising business”. He went on to emphasise the efficacy of targeted gambling advertisements and in-game mechanisms to maintain lossmaking players as customers, saying “gambling companies know exactly who to target and how to do it”. “In a recent premier league [sic] match from 15 mins before kickoff to the end of the game, gambling was mentioned, shown on screen or advertised over 200 times. Mandating TCDSU not to take their advertising would be a step towards ensuring we do not support an industry whose one goal is to make losing money as attractive as possible.” STEM Convenor Daniel O’Reilly asked a question at Council on whether TCDSU had ever hosted gambling companies’ advertisements. In response, TCDSU Communications and Marketing Officer, Philly Holmes, noted that requests “do actually come across our desk” but had been refused.

GSU motion to divest from TCDSU fails after rerun of vote A motion for the GSU to divest from TCDSU was initially deemed to have passed, but then failed by a significant margin when it was rerun

Lauren Boland, Shannon Connolly, Audrey Brown Editor, News Editor, Deputy News Editor

HE GRADUATE Students’ Union (GSU) has voted against a motion to divest from Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) on a second vote. The motion was voted on twice after an initial decision that the motion was deemed to have passed sparked concerns among members. In the second round of voting, 180 total votes were cast. 115 votes, or 65%, were against divestment from the TCDSU, whereas 65 votes, or 35%, voted in favour of the motion. The initial vote was deemed closed after 309 votes had been cast during 90 seconds of voting. At the moment the ballot was declared to have closed, there were two votes in the difference between both sides, with more people voting to oppose the motion. However, because the link to vote did not close, more votes continued to come through. GSU Vice President Abhisweta Bhattacharjee, who was chairing

the meeting, said that both sides had received 50% of votes and that she would cast a deciding vote. Bhattacharjee stated that with her own vote cast in favour of divestment, the motion had passed. The GSU requires a 51% majority vote in order for a motion to pass. The motion to divest from TCDSU would have meant that the GSU would no longer no affiliate itself with TCDSU, whose membership comprises all undergraduate and postgraduate students. TCDSU has affirmed that it would continue to represent postgraduate students even if the GSU passed the divestment motion. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) scheduled for April 1 was pushed back a fortnight and took place tonight, April 14, instead. The motion stated that because the “Graduate Students’ Union of Trinity College Dublin was created in order to represent the interests and wellbeing of all members of the Trinity Postgraduate community”, the current undergraduate students who head the SU are “unable to properly advocate on behalf of Postgraduate students as they lack the lived experience of Postgraduate students”. The motion proposed that College Statutes state that “there is a right for students to representation by a union, but not a specific union”. GSU School of Chemistry representative Mark Berney, who proposed the divestment, said during the EGM that although “there’s been a little bit of negativity about the proposed divestment”, he felt that “it can be a positive thing”. According to Berney, divestment would be about

“ensuring the independence of the GSU, and clarifying the relationship between the two organisations”. He stated that at the moment, it appears that the GSU is “subordinate” to the TCDSU, and divestment would “strengthen the organisation going forward” and provide “clarity on who represents us”. Berney continued that even if the GSU divested from the SU, the GSU would strive for collaboration between the organisations. Speaking in opposition of the motion, Serena Foo, Research Officer, stated that this would be “detrimental for GSU” as she claimed they “have not been able to prove that they can stand on their own two feet”. She added that “if the GSU divests from the SU, they will lose 70 thousand from capitations”, and as officers are currently funded by TCDSU, it’s “going to be quite an issue”. Berney responded by saying that the proposers of divestment had “done their homework” and, contrary to Foo’s belief that divestment would result in a loss of funds, “the divestment could in fact make it easier to attract more funding”. “Postgraduates have more experience, and that’s to be expected,” he continued, referring to beliefs that the undergraduate representatives of the SU are unable to advocate on behalf of postgraduates. At the request of GSU President Gisèle Scanlon, Trinity Associate Professor of Law Eoin O’Dell said that the College Statutes “do not say that there is an SU and a GSU and they don’t prescribe the relationship between them”. Instead, the only official documents which refer to the organisations and their relationship are the school calendars.

A previous motion on changes to the GSU constitution was also re-run after the recount of votes following the motion on divestment, and resulted in the motion passing for the second time. Two other motions that concerned changes to the union’s constitution were not run a second time. The EGM concluded abruptly after the rerun votes. The meeting’s agenda outlined that results of the union’s student survey discussed would be presented, along with the next steps from that survey. Originally outlined in the agenda also was an opportunity for members of GSU to discuss any other business relating to the union, alongside anything “ancillary to the issues raised, considered, and discussed within the meeting”. This did not take place. GSU members raised major concerns throughout tonight’s meeting over the voting process, with some saying they were unable to cast a vote. The link to the voting platform allowed for an individual to cast more than one vote and there was no verification process to check whether voters were GSU members. Speaking to Trinity News, one postgraduate student said: “I am a postgraduate in the AHSS and a member of the GSU for some time. I’ve seen some shambolic meetings over the last few years but this was ridiculous.” “Even when amendments were proposed, we were given no opportunity to properly scrutinise them; this meant many members resorted to holding up signs on camera or changing their names to register dissatisfaction,” the postgraduate said. The student described the voting process as a “shambles”. “Firstly, there was no means of registration, meaning anybody who had access to the link could not only attend the meeting but also vote. Voting was held on a third-party website, which simply did not look secure; I tested this out by opening the link of multiple devices, and managed to vote several times. This surely invalidates all of the polls that were held,” they said. On the TCDSU divestment motion, the student said that “what I saw here demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the democracy of this institution”. “At the end of the vote, no further business was discussed, and there was no opportunity for members to raise further issues. The meeting was clearly void, and myself and several others informed the chair via email (and through signs and Zoom names) that we had found irregularities in the voting process, but these were ignored. I am shocked and appalled by what I witnessed this evening, to such an extent that I am now questioning whether the GSU should even exist in its present form.”

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

TCDSU to lobby for a phasing out of cars on campus Kate Henshaw

Assistant News Editor

T AN extraordinary Council meeting on Friday, the Trinity College Dublin Students Union (TCDSU) passed a motion mandating the President and the Environment Officer to lobby for the phasing out of all vehicular parking on campus “within a reasonable timeframe”. , There will be exceptions made for staff and students that “require on campus parking due to disabilities and other access issues”. The motion was proposed by SF Physical Sciences class

representative Dillon Broaders and seconded by TCDSU Environment Officer Áine Hennessy. Proposing the motion at Council, Broaders encouraged TCDSU to “Lobby the college to reduce the number of cars parked on campus to an absolute minimum”. Deputy STEM Convernor and Education Officer-elect Bev Genockey spoke against the motion, believing that it “trivialises” and “individualises” climate change. She raised the point that staff “won’t stop driving to campus, they’ll just be parking in the city centre” and that Trinity’s carbon footprint may be reduced but that the larger problem would not be solved. Boarders responded to this by

saying that parking on campus is equivalent to “smoking indoors” and that “it’s been government policy from the start to get people to start using public transport”. He highlighted Trinity’s position in the city centre saying, “we are not in the middle of nowhere” and “we’re not UCD”. In response, Genockey said that many of those who drive onto campus “are coming from places where there are not good public transport links”. There were concerns raised by other students over whether on-campus residents would be permitted to drive onto campus. However, TCDSU Education Officer Megan O’Connor clarified that “no students are permitted to park on campus” and there is a

“two year waiting list” for staff. Speaking to Trinity News, Broaders expressed frustration at the current speed of Trinity’s sustainability progress, saying he “became fed up with reading the vague policies proposed by the college’s climate committees”. He believes that “Trinity has too many committees full stop”. “I’m sure the people on these committees have many letters after their name but unfortunately not a single clear solution can be found between them in most cases,” Broaders said. “There’s been too much rhetoric, too many aspirations, too many goals and not near enough substance,” he said. Broaders believes that “2025 is a reasonable time to have this fully implemented”, but a timeframe is not set within the motion. Broaders said that “there will be people who require on campus parking due to a disability and other access issues and [he] makes it very clear that this would not apply to them”.

Major concerns raised by members over voting process at GSU meeting left unanswered One motion was passed by a fourvote margin as some members said they were unable to cast their vote Lauren Boland, Shannon Connolly, Audrey Brown Editor, News Editor, Deputy News Editor

HE GRADUATE Students’ Union (GSU) deemed to have passed three motions on Wednesday evening that have introduced a series of changes to the union’s constitution despite members raising serious concerns over the structure of the meeting and its voting process. The Executive General Meeting (EGM) saw an unprecedented turnout, with around 540 members in attendance on a Zoom call. The meeting, which was scheduled for 7pm, initially had a maximum capacity of 300 attendees, with other members of the union unable to access the video call. PhD student Tenaya Jorgensen raised concerns over members being unable to join the Zoom, saying that “not letting the GSU members vote is unconstitutional”. GSU Vice President Abhisweta Bhattacharjee said that the meeting would have to proceed with the members who were in attendance because the Zoom room had met its maximum capacity. GSU President Gisèle

Scanlon suggested pausing the meeting and sending a fresh link that would allow a higher number of attendees. The meeting was suspended and resumed around 7.25pm. The constitutional amendments were voted on through three motions. During discussions on the motions, where one speaker was allowed to speak on each side, the Zoom chat was disabled. Some members showed handwritten notes on their screens asking for the chat function to be enabled, and Research Officer Serena Foo, who spoke against the motions, asked for the chat to be turned on, particularly as some members had contacted her to say they could not vote through the links to the voting platform. These requests were denied by Bhattacharjee, who was chairing the meeting. As the call progressed, members continued to show notes saying they could not vote and asking for the chat to be turned on. Bhattacharjee repeatedly told members to cease holding handwritten notes, saying it was a “distraction”, and said she would remove members from the call if they continued. Other concerns were raised over people being able to vote multiple times in the poll and a lack of verification process to check that voters were GSU members. The first motion described the constitution as a “bloated document” and “in no way user friendly nor practical during times of Covid”. The motion, proposed by the union’s Oversight Officer and constitutional review group member David Donohoe, said that there was “no clear formatting

within the document”, and due to amendments, it had become “entirely unworkable”. The motion set out that the constitution of the GSU is “not only unclear but in various sections, it is contradictory which means that transparency within the union is impossible and what we as members can expect from our Executive is inaccessible and unclear”. Significant changes include Article 15, which would allow union representatives to be removed from office “by way of a motion brought by at least 51% of the total number of individuals who initially appointed them”. Changes to the constitution will also include defined roles and responsibilities for each executive member, which were not all outlined in the previous document. Donohoe said that the previous constitution was “quite a mess” and executive oversight officers “didn’t really know what they had to do” and general members “could not hold members of the executive to account because it wasn’t very clear”. Speaking in opposition, Foo said that both the old and new constitution should be presented side by side, “so we know what’s being removed”. She continued that there was a “lack of transparency” with the revisions, and “most unions have a referendum for the proposed changes”, and “this would give people enough time to take into consideration what these would mean”. The new draft of the constitution saw the procedural and “overly technical parts” removed and placed into By-Laws

which “shall be enacted ancillary to this Constitution in order for the Constitution to remain short, concise, and to enable accessibility”. Donohue denied any claims that the amendments to Article 15 were “unconstitutional”, with Foo countering that it bordered on “tyranny”, as it made it more difficult to remove officers. The amendments were voted on through three motions. Out of approximately 540 attendees at this evening’s EGM, 344 cast a vote on the first motion. This revision of the constitution was deemed passed with 73% for and 27% against. The second motion passed with 67% to 33%. The third motion passed with 51% to 49%, with only four votes between the two sides as members continued to say that they were unable to vote. Usually, amendments to the constitution require a two-thirds majority. The union’s constitution says: “Motions for amendment to the Articles of this constitution may be added to, deleted or amended only by resolution at General Meeting, provided that no such resolution shall be deemed to have been passed unless it is supported by not less than two-thrids of the members of the Union present and voting”. However, the use of a simple majority to say the motion was deemed passed was defended by Donohue on the grounds that the motions were implementing an entirely new constitution.

What they said “Our vaccination programme continues. Over 34,500 doses administered on Thursday this week.” Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Health “The time to act is now. The longer we wait, the more we intensify the injustice of climate change, and risk being regarded as having colluded in the destruction of the most vulnerable peoples of our human family and the biodiversity on which our planetary life depends.” Michael D Higgins, President of Ireland “It is time to end America’s longest war. It is time for American troops to come home from Afghanistan.”. Joe Biden, President of the United States “Great to see schools reopen fully today, the easing of the 5km limit, and residential construction return. Soon outdoor activities like golf, tennis, and underage training will return too. We are making good progress in the fight against #COVID19. Michéal Martin, Taoiseach “I want to thank Linda Hogan and Jane Ohlmeyer and their teams for running excellent campaigns, which demonstrates their huge commitment to Trinity. I was proud to be in their company over this campaign.” Linda Doyle, Provost-elect

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Beyond Trinity

New and old TCDSU President-elect Leah Keogh, Provost-elect Linda Doyle, Provost Patrick Prendergast and TCDSU President Eoin Hand on the day of Doyle’s election.

The University of Limerick (UL) is trailing a “Covid-19 day pass”, in which students are tested upon entering campus. For the past week and the next two weeks, every student on campus in UL will be asked to complete a Covid-19 symptom tracker, with a green pass allowing entry onto the campus. A red pass means students must stay at home and contact their local GP or the student health centre. The deputy president at the University of Limerick, Nigel Healey said: “The use of the UL student Covid-19 day portal will further strengthen Covid-19 protocols which are already in place and ultimately help prevent the spread of Covid-19 within the UL campus community.” As every other university under Level 5 restrictions, UL has almost all of its classes online.

PHOTO BY LAUREN BOLAND FOR TRINITY NEWS

€9 million funding Trinity launches allocated to research the Brendan in technological Kennelly literary institutions The SFI funding aims to increase research capacity in technological universities and institutes of technology Jamie Cox

Higher Education correspondent

NEW SCIENCE programme is investing €9 million over five years in expanding the research capacity of technological universities (TUs) and institutes of technology (IoTs). Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris announced a €700,000 investment in 2021, with €9.1 million over five years. The aim of the programme is to increase the research capacity of TUs and IoTs through facilitating teaching replacement. Likewise, the programme aims to increase the number of PhD students

in TU and IoT institutes and to expand the areas in the country where Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funds research. The funding comes under the Science Foundation Ireland Frontiers for Partnership Awards programme (SFI). The programme is now accepting proposals that are led by TUs and IoTs. Using the new funding, SFI has developed a new stream to support research capacity and developing TUs and IoTs alongside universities. In a statement, Harris said he was “delighted to announce this new initiative to increase geographical involvement and research engagement across the country, building on the unique strengths of both sectors”. “A key element of the programme is to increase research capacity in Technological Universities and Institutes of Technology by facilitating teaching replacement and increasing the number of PhD students,” he said. Successful awards will be used to support teaching buyout and recruiting PhD students. Awards for the programme will be between half a million to one million euro and are to be handed out over the course of 48 to 60 months.

archive in Library

The archive will include the life’s work of the poet and novelist Bonnie Gill

College correspondent

N THURSDAY Trinity launched the Brendan Kennelly Literary Archive at Trinity’s library. The launch was made over a Zoom webinar, by a collection of speakers including Provost Patrick Prendergast, Librarian Helen Shelton and niece of Brendan Kennelly, Mary McAuliff. The archive will include the life’s work of poet, novelist and Trinity alumni Brendan Kennelly. Alongside his notable body of work, Kennelly was also Professor of Modern Literature at Trinity until 2005. After his retirement he received the title “Professor Emeritus” by College. Speaking at the webinar, Prendergast expressed that the launch of the archive is a

“momentous occasion for Irish writing”. He stated that it contains almost 200 cartons, and said that they held off announcing its launch until they had an archivist to provide a detailed description of the archive. Prendergast also expressed that he hopes it’s launch will encourage others with important literary and historic archives to donate them to the Library, as College is “currently embarked on a large scale library renewal project.” Trinity Librarian Helen Shenton spoke on the launch, saying she is “delighted” to be celebrating the launch of the archive. She stated that the “large” archive has been held in the Library for some time, and declared that it “reflects several aspects of Brendan Kennelly’s life” including his “national and international role” as a poet, teacher and public figure. She asserted that the archive is going to be of interest to scholars, and “will become a broad launchpad for many scholarly careers in generations to come”. Niece of Brendan Kennelly and founder of the Brendan Kennelly Trust, Mary McAuliff said the archive will “allow scholars to fully consider his work and literary legacy”.

The National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway) has received funding for ten research projects, collaborating with community and voluntary organisations working in healthcare, human rights, rural crime, and the arts. The Irish Research Council has awarded over €113,000 for work that will see NUIG researchers partner with organisations such as Croí Heart & Stroke Charity and The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland. Prof Jim Livesey, Vice-President of Research at NUIG, said that collaboration with community organisations is “integral” to research at NUI Galway. Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said “These research collaborations are helping with some very important community and voluntary sector projects.” Dublin City University (DCU) has rolled out a “e-scooter scheme” on its campuses, which is a pilot scheme to monitor scooter safety and will be open to 18,000 students and 2,000 staff. This project was launched in a bid to allow students and staff get around its campuses more easily. The electric scooters are being made available as part of a research pilot project intended to monitor how artificial intelligence and computer vision can improve safety for both riders and pedestrians. The initiative will also consider how e-scooters could be used to replace other modes of transport. While the project will be restricted to the university’s grounds and its 18,000 students and almost 2,000 staff, it is hoped the information gathered will be of use more widely, both to scooter scheme operators and to authorities who are weighing up the introduction of them on public roads.

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Analysis: Survey on sexual Analysis: Divisions harassment has potential to in the Graduate inspire legitimate change Students’ Union Jamie Cox Higher Education correspondent Growing awareness on issues surrounding student and staff safety could see more provisions made in third level institutions

he Department of Further and Higher Education has released a survey to students and staff in every Higher Education Institute (HEI) that has been described by the department as “ground breaking”. The survey has invited students and staff to speak out about experiences of sexual assault and harassment, as well as inviting staff to share their awareness of existing policies to prevent such incidents. That this survey has come off the back of the announcement last summer from Minister Simon Harris of a “zero initiative” policy in regarding sexual harassment among students suggests that awareness of this issue is now one that will not be overlooked by Government. However, the fact this survey has been only released following public concern raised by the disturbing evidence found by another survey conducted by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) reflects a complacency or non-awareness that has existed regarding sexual violence in college. The survey conducted by the USI found that out of 6,000 students, 30% had experienced non-consensual penetrative sex. This issue has received further publicity following events in University College Dublin (UCD), in which it was found that academic Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin had been harassed by a colleague for years. However, the findings gathered by the USI and the subsequent release of this survey implies that,

at the very least, the conversation regarding sexual violence in college is not being ignored. That the Higher Education Authority (HEA) has been asked to compile results in the aim of informing future policies intended to protect students implies that genuine change may be generated in the near future. This sentiment is being further exacerbated by comments from HEA Chief Executive Dr Alan Wall, who has said that: “There is no longer a situation where reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment can be simply regarded as a bureaucratic issue or referred to external agencies. “Staff and students need to be supported and the HEA, through this and other work in the area, is committed to ensuring a national higher education culture which is safe.” Whilst it is simple for the HEA to make these comments, we will have to see whether the evidence collected from the survey is utilised to make any genuine change. However, the fact the poll conducted by the USI has resulted in government action and a commitment from the HEA suggests a desire for change among administrative bodies. Coupled with the announcement last summer of a “zero tolerance” policy, the conversation around student and staff safety from sexual violence certainly appears to be broadening. What may hopefully be a secondary consequence of this survey would be that students may feel more comfortable in coming forward with their experience and feel more assured that they would be supported in doing so instead of punished. That 30% faced sexual violence in the USI survey reflects a depressing truth; that administrative bodies until now have not done enough to protect thousands of students. That the Department of Further and Higher Education has described this survey as ground breaking hopefully implies that it is one that will pave the way for similar actions that will be

taken in the near future to further benefit safety on campus. And whilst the actions of the government and of the HEA reflect a desire for change, it will be the responsibility of the student body in general to push for improvements in how we protect students. New publicity being given to the issue does not mean that it will remain in the public eye for long and students need to capitalise on this attention to its fullest potential. The publicity and promises that have been generated by the government and HEA, following the USI survey, have provided an opportunity for students to ensure these promises are kept and that the conversation around sexual violence in college does not lose the publicity it needs. Dr Ross Woods, of the HEA Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion has said of these surveys that they are “an important step in quantifying the prevalence of sexual violence and sexual harassment across Irish campuses. “However, we already know that a problem exists. Clear and transparent systems to review the effectiveness of institutional policies will be key to ensuring that we tackle this issue and that all staff and students in our campus communities have the confidence that we can do so.” Woods’ comments inspire confidence as to the HEA’s commitment to frankly address the issues. Coupled with the potential of these surveys to inspire students to feel safe in sharing experiences of sexual harassment or assault, the broadening awareness surrounding these issues is one that could cause legitimate differences in the lives of students and staff, making all involved in third level feel safer in their workplace.

Connie Roughan Unions correspondent

he Graduate Students’ Unon (GSU) held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Wednesday. The controversial motion to separate from Trinity College Students’ Union (TCDSU) did not pass. Two motions at the EGM however were successful, both aimed at improving the working environment of graduate students at College. The meeting was characterised by concerns raised by members over a shaky voting process. Since then, two petitions have been launched calling for votes of no confidence in Vice President Abhisweta Bhattacharjee and President Gisèle Scanlon. All this begs the question: What does the future of the Graduate Students’ Union look like? The answer lies in the electorate. Successful motions at the EGM focused on employment rights for PhD students: one mandating the union to lobby for a living wage for PhD students working at the College and another that will create an additional sabbatical officer to represent PhDs. Criticism was levied against the voting platform at the meeting, which had no verification check for membership of the union. allowed users to cast multiple votes, and which some members said they were unable to cast a vote through at all. The dysfunctional EGM induced the calls for votes of no confidence. Despite a two-vote difference on the voting platform being visible on the divestment motion at the moment the voting was declared over, the Vice President, who was chairing the meeting, said each side had received 50%, that she would cast a deciding vote, and deemed the motion to be passed. In a digitally muted protest, students held up notes and renamed their Zoom profiles to messages against voting irregularities and their inability to vote. If the votes of no confidence were ran and passed, the union will face a crisis of leadership on top of the uncertainties brought this year by the pandemic. If they see out the end of their terms, new officers will be elected under normal processes in the coming months. Either way, the incoming officers are faced with a difficult task of balancing the internal

desire for radical change with the need for diplomacy at the College level. The GSU’s reformative policies and attempt to divest from Trinity can be interpreted as a testament to the dissatisfaction of postgraduate with their working conditions, and the lack of advocacy for them. However the current exacerbation of tensions in the union seems to be partially due to the treatment of postgraduates during lockdown. During the pandemic, pressures on postgraduates have mounted. The GSU conducted a survey of 510 PhDs’ experiences in collaboration with TCD Postgraduate Workers’ Alliance. 88.7% of the respondents reported that their research was negatively impacted by the pandemic and that the majority of them had to purchase materials needed for remote-working out of their own pockets. The Provost-elect Linda Doyle won the votes of the GSU bloc, pledging to recognise postgraduate students as workers with a “fair and reasonable hourly rate”. While only time will tell whether the reforms will be satisfactory, this indication from above may help to smooth over fault lines. Regardless of the results of the votes of no confidence - if they are ran to begin with - the new executive team taking power in the summer will be more familiar with the constraints of the pandemic and be able to seek a dialogue with the new provost on campaigning for postgraduates’ rights. With some fortune, the rapid testing programme currently in pilots may let students ease back onto campus, preventing further disruption to postgraduates’ studying and working conditions - but GSU officers will still need to take a long-term look at the union’s purpose.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Jack Kennedy elected editor of Trinity News Kennedy is the paper’s current assistant editor and will begin his tenure as editor on May 17 Shannon Connolly News Editor

ACK KENNEDY WAS unanimously elected the next editor of Trinity News at the paper’s annual general meeting (AGM) last week. Kennedy, who ran unopposed for the position, is the paper’s current assistant editor and a former online and deputy online editor. Kennedy will serve as editor for the 2021/22 academic year, the 68th volume of the newspaper.

The vote to elect Trinity News’ next editor was held by a ballot among editorial staff at an AGM that was conducted over Zoom for the second year running due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kennedy is a fourth year computer and electronic engineering student, and has also served as the treasurer of Trinity Publications in the last academic year. Kennedy’s tenure as editor will begin on May 17. Speaking to Trinity News following his election, Kennedy said: “I’m so honoured to have been elected by the Trinity News staff.” “I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of the work TN does, and I’m really excited to be part of continuing that work in 2021/22,” Kennedy continued. “Even in an unpredictable and difficult year, Lauren has done an incredible job running the paper and I hope I can uphold the standard set by her and

the paper’s entire 67-year legacy.” “I’m looking forward to putting together a team and getting to work delivering the high standard of journalism and commentary that Trinity students have come to expect.” Trinity News’ current editor Lauren Boland congratulated Kennedy on his appointment, stating: “I’m delighted to see Jack elected as the next editor of Trinity News. Jack has been an incredibly valuable member of the paper over the last several years, and particularly this year in his capacity as assistant editor.” “He has always brought his enthusiasm, ideas, and dedication and I know that he’ll continue to put his heart into the paper over the next year,” Boland continued. “Working with Jack has been a pleasure and I wholeheartedly give him my congratulations. I’m excited to see the new heights that Trinity News reaches under his editorship!”

PHOTO BY JOE MCCALLION FOR TRINITY NEWS

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Features

To unmute or not to unmute Zara-Grace Hussey

page 12

The rise of Anti-Asian racism in Ireland Ella Sloane

page 14

Religious diversity in Trinity

Rev Steven Brunn speaks to Trinity News about the introduction of new ‘faith representatives’ Sean Gordon Dalton Deputy Features Editor

uesday lunches in the college Chaplaincy have been a staple of student life in Trinity for years; up until the Covid-19 pandemic led to the closing of Trinity and the postponement of in-person services. The effects of this have not only been felt by students, as Covid-19 has also interrupted the opportunity for the college chaplains to meet and get to know the students. Speaking to Trinity News, the Reverend Steven Brunn said: “In chaplaincy it’s an odd thing, we experience students over four years and it’s great building relationships, but it’s a weird experience because after the four years we would bring in new students and get to know them. For me as a chaplain it’s been very strange to get to know people on Zoom in the Choir services and yet I’ve never met them - it’s been great. I’m looking forward to when in-person is resumed, services are resumed, lunch in the chaplaincy is resumed.” However, Covid-19 has not stopped the work of the chaplaincy, with efforts to broaden the chaplaincy’s faith appeal ongoing. “The chaplaincy from my point of view”, says Reverend Brunn, “is there for all faiths and none. We get students of all faiths on Tuesday for the free lunch in the chaplaincy. I have become friends with many people of the Hindu faith because I’m a member of the Indian Society and from my time in India. It’s one of those spaces where you can sit down, have a coffee, have lunch and be at peace. It’s quite a unique space.” He also acknowledges that while some students are just happy with talking to a chaplain, others want to speak with someone of their own faith. This led to the creation of a proposal that would look to members of the Trinity staff to become “faith representatives”: “People who are of a different faith to the Christian faiths, and who are

supported by their local, ordained faith to give support to students who are coming to the college, and who would be able to advise them and help them.” Reverend Brunn says: “You might have a Sunni Muslim representative, a Shiite represenative, a Hindu representative. So they could be points of contact... existing Trinity staff who would be able to help students with their understanding of their faith and to support them in their faith.” The plan was introduced two years ago by the Reverend: “The proposal started with the realisation that all colleges in Ireland have changed significantly over the last few years in terms of their religious identity. Given the last two years we have had more Hindu and Muslim students coming to the college than even Protestants, it seemed like something we needed to look at. Particularly from a college religious organisation.” When the plan was unveiled back in 2019, the aim was to see it implemented the following academic year. However, the process was delayed “mostly because of Covid, however, the proposal was accepted initially

“

Ireland has a history of Christian religion which is unique, however the whole land has changed, in that we’ve got people coming from all over the world that celebrate different faiths

and is still in process. The ins and outs of the selection process is still under review, but the interview process has been accepted in terms of people from the college being accepted by their religious leaders and going forward as candidates for faith representatives. It’s obviously something that would be really helpful and beneficial for people of different faiths and from different countries.” A number of people have been involved, with the Inclusion and Diversity office playing a major part, alongside the Provost and secretaries’ office. The Reverend notes that the Dublin Church Council and Dublin Interfaith Mission have also been involved in the initiative. According to Reverend Brunn: “While Trinity is represented by the traditional Catholic traditions, as well as two Muslim prayer rooms, it was clear we needed to understand and appreciate the religious diversity of students coming to Trinity for two to four plus years. So we wanted to create a community of people for all religious points that could be a point of call for people from other faiths. To communicate to someone in the college who understands their faith.” In terms of different faith groups in the college, Reverend Brunn noted that Trinity “is majority Catholic, the next is probably Church of Ireland, then Muslim then Hindu, then others faiths.” He points to the increasing number of Hindu students, and a strong Muslim population for whom there are two prayer rooms. “I am working on getting new signage for the prayer rooms, because they’re in Goldsmith and a lot of

p e op l e might not know about them.” The Reverend believes that awareness of other faiths plays a deeply important role in college life. “Ireland has a history of Christian religion which is unique, however the whole land has changed, in that we’ve got people coming from all over the world that celebrate different faiths, and as a college I think we should celebrate this. And it’s great to see festivals like Diwali being celebrated in the college.” The Reverend does not envision any problems going forward with the plan, pointing to the

fact that Trinity is a multi-religious as well as an international education centre: “I think the idea of a faith representative is really important. It’s still there, with Covid-19 putting it on the back burner for a year and a bit, but we’re pushing ahead. Obviously we’ve got a new Provost coming on board who will get things going. My hope was that it would have started last year, but it hasn’t because of Covid.” “I don’t think there’s anyone who isn’t enthusiastic about seeing this plan realised. Hopefully in the near future, when we’ve gotten back to some normality, that we can implement this project as soon as possible.”

ARTWORK BY SARAH MURNANE FOR TRINITY NEWS

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

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To unmute or Women’s und workplace: ar not to unmute How online teaching has affected class participation Zara-Grace Hussey Contributing Writer

earning has looked entirely different for all of us this year. The switch from lecture theatres to recordings and tutorials to breakout rooms has significantly shifted the ways that we can interact with our lecturers, teaching assistants, and fellow students. In theory, a move to online provides scope for new methods of teaching and engaging with classes. In practice, has online teaching impacted the way we participate in classes - and does it vary by gender? Figures available from 2019 show that women students form the majority at Trinity, with 60% of registered students being women and 40% being men. Dr Yekaterina Chzhen, Assistant Professor of Sociology in Trinity, says that in her classes, female students form the majority. However, even though women dominate the classroom in attendance, they do not always dominate in participation. This imbalance in participation becomes apparent when the gender gap is defined in relative terms. “For example, if I have a tutorial of 20 people, of whom 15 are female and five are male, I’d have three male students (three of five) and three female students (three of fifteen) speak up,” explains Dr.Yekaterina. “So, if there is no time for every student to take part in the whole group discussion because there are other activities in the tutorial (e.g. student presentations, break-out groups, quizzes), it will often happen that male students are more likely to speak up, as a proportion of their smaller group.” Some lecturers have reported that even though they are not speaking face-to-face, they feel as though they know their classes better than in previous years of teaching their courses. In a previous interview with Trinity News, Dr Jacqueline Hayden said that although her classes were online, she wanted to ensure that her students “knew I was a human being, I wasn’t alien to them”.

Students have also reported a better understanding of the course material and greater interest in the topics. These are some of the benefits created by any increase in class participation, and research suggests that the knock-on effect of greater participation goes beyond gaining higher grades in college. In a 2002 study by Harvard Business Review, a subtler source of inequality was discovered: “Women often don’t get what they want and deserve because they don’t ask for it.” The HBR study revealed that initiatives taken to negotiate for oneself are a key factor to the success of one’s career, a skill which women avoid from using. As Sheryl Sandberg once wrote, “While compliance and raising your hand when called-on behaviours might be rewarded in school, they are less valued in the workplace”. This active participation and voluntary discussion within students’ academics could translate better into a successful career. While students and staff alike are all looking forward to the day when they can sit within two metres of each other in a lecture hall of 400 students, the findings of the past year suggest that when this day comes, a change in the college teaching environment must be created to accommodate the maintenance of these high levels of participation. Many students and staff alike feel that having now experienced the benefits of greater participation, it will be hard to return to in-person lecturers with the standard lecturing for an hour straight. Speaking to Trinity News, a business lecturer admitted that in the past, “the extent of our in-person lecture interactions with the students was the odd poll”. The degree to which this system will remain postpandemic life is unclear, however. Although the increase in participation has occurred across all faculties in Trinity, in order to strive for this high level of participation in business, one must shine a light on women. It’s very encouraging to see that in an industry where women are working hard to be equally represented, the women of Trinity business undergraduate courses are flourishing and breaking out of industry norms. Speaking to several second-year business students, one male student explained that in moving to online classes he wished that he had the “confidence that they (his female

peers) have in participating in class”. “In my experience, those individuals who enjoy participating, asking questions and discussing tend to be female,” he said. Most students agreed that in their experience of in-person lectures and tutorials last year, a gender gap in participation was unnoticed. In an online environment where discussion in class seems to be a lot easier, women are finding comfort in this and are participating more than they did in in-person classes. As one student put it, “lecturers having to teach online are trying to facilitate discussion a lot more than maybe they had seen in in-person”. Another agreed, saying, “I think participation as a whole has been encouraged more online”. Research has found that in third-level education in which class participation rates are high, students have an easier transition into the world of work and achieve leadership roles quicker than those who aren’t used to practising this high level of participation and discussion, which is normally found in the collaborative business environment. Gender certainly seems to have a role to play in class participation, but the extent to which this will change and fluctuate as a result of in-person versus online teaching is still inconclusive. According to a 1995 study on Understanding Classroom Interaction: “Males are more likely to offer comments or raise questions in their classes. Females respond to the emotional climate of a class more than do males, and most importantly, females’ participation is related to their confidence. In contrast, faculty gender has no significant impact on class participation.” It’s a conclusion that perhaps plays into some gender stereotypes the idea that women are more emotional than men, for instance - but acknowledging the way that gender - along with other social factors - impact students’ experience of education remains important more than twenty years later. As vaccination rollout continues and Trinity looks to return to in-person teaching, many students and lecturers are looking forward to the changes in class participation that may come from this past year.

The advantages and setbacks of gender quotas Anna Sheehan Staff Writer

t’s no secret. Underrepresentation of women as workplace leaders remains a pressing problem. According to Deloitte, women hold only 16.9% of board seats globally. McKinsey (2019) further highlights the issue by reporting that females represent just 38% of first-level managers, despite constituting 48% of entry-level hires. To generate workplaces in which young men and women advance equally into leadership roles, we must first address the blatant gender disparity in ascending to the peak of the corporate ladder. We ought to figure out why we see so few females in top positions, despite most graduate employee pools being gender equal. According to Dr. Stephen Murphy, Assistant Professor in Marketing at Trinity, “women’s under-representation in leadership positions is not due to lack of skill or ambition. Organisational research consistently highlights that historically and culturally entrenched notions about gender hierarchy are at play in reproducing systematic discrimination against women at work.” “In the workplace, women are frequently cast as nurturers and caregivers, and therefore lumbered with the additional burden of emotional labour, while their male counterparts reap the rewards of longstanding associations between the breadwinning role and masculinity”, Dr Murphy explained. “Promotion opportunities that evince the value of merit remain constrained by these ideological power dynamics and are maintained by those who stand to benefit from them.” In the quest for top talent, companies are yearning for ways to enhance competition, particularly surrounding the underutilised female talent pool. To attract more women, many organisations are enacting gender-based affirmative action solutions. Of these, one of the most contentious is the gender quota, where companies allocate a definitive percentage of roles for female employees. A muchcontested topic, it remains to be decided: how necessary are they in the battle towards workplace

gender equality? Laura Gilligan has experience working in organisation design with one of Ireland’s top consulting firms. Her postgrad in Human Rights and involvement in Women in Business events have afforded her a breadth of knowledge around the gender quota issue and she is fervently in favour of them. “Gender quotas are the first step towards bringing diversity and inclusion into your organisation”, Laura began. “They are a brilliant tool for ensuring representation and promoting gender equality. I truly believe ‘if you can’t see it you can’t be it’, and therefore we need ample female representation at the top if we want lower-level females to progress.” Gender quotas are often lauded for the “trickle-down effect” they can catalyse. “By using quotas to drive women up the ladder, more female leaders are available to provide mentorship to younger women and help them progress”, Laura went on. “Males often get promoted because they have access to an abundance of male mentorship. An absence of women in leadership positions means there’s no one from whom younger women can get that gender perspective, and thus they don’t get as much empathetic support. Having more female leaders to guide other women will culminate in an expansion of females in senior positions, over time.” Laura also touched on the

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Historically and culturally entrenched notions about gender hierarchy are at play in reproducing systematic discrimination against women at work”

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

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derrepresentation in the “ re quotas the answer? critical mass element that comes to light with gender quotas. “Having a sole female director on the board is much less impactful than having a few”, she said. “By using quotas to ensure representation by multiple women, you avoid the single woman sticking out and make more of an impact, especially at lower levels of the organisation.” One of the main arguments against gender quotas is their capacity to potentially deprive a more deserving person of a job, which Laura disagrees with. “I think that argument is flawed because there isn’t equal opportunity for getting there. There are systematic issues

like the mentorship piece, for example, which make it harder for women to get to an interview or nomination stage even”, she said. When groupthink is so prevalent in organisations, gender quotas are necessary to ensure women get to the stage where they can be considered for a role.” Laura recounted a point made at a Women’s Day Speech she attended on design. “A female guest speaker discussed her experience working in gamification. Because gaming is such a male-dominated industry, quotas had to be implemented as games weren’t taking the female mindset into account”, she said. “Another example of this is

ARTWORK BY SARAH MURNANE FOR TRINITY NEWS

car design. Seatbelts and airbags are more dangerous for women because they were designed through a male perspective”, she continued. “Genders process and navigate through situations differently. Therefore, it’s imperative to combine the spheres of thinking of both males and females to ensure optimal design. By neglecting the female perspective, tools can be designed in a flawed way, which can cause harm and cut off an entire consumer base.” As a caveat, Laura added, “Quotas won’t work, however, if they’re employed only at the top level. If we don’t start from

the bottom, the pipeline of highquality candidates won’t exist, and this can cause scepticism around whether the woman who gets the job is actually worthy of it. Therefore, quotas must be implemented at all levels of the organisation to ensure there is a continuous channel for women to advance to the top.” Trinity News also spoke to Gillian Talbot, HR manager at one of Ireland’s leading airlines, who presented the other side of the argument against gender quotas. “Quotas spark the problem of merit”, she explained. “Women want to get to high places on the back of their own hard work and

If you can’t see it you can’t be it, and therefore we need ample female representation at the top if we want lowerlevel females to progress” skills rather than via a quota. They don’t want to be seen merely as a ‘token woman’ who is there to fulfil a legal requirement. It undermines someone and people respect them less knowing they got their job because of their gender. In a way this can in fact affect career progression.” “Not only that, quotas exacerbate the problem of Imposter Syndrome among women- a worry that they’re not good enough for the job”, Ms. Tabot went on. “I believe gender quotas can make a woman doubt herself and hamper her confidence. She begins to question whether she really deserves to be there and this in turn may affect her work.” Ms. Talbot also pointed out that quotas may spark frustration and irritation among men, which can lead to more workplace disputes and tensions: “I don’t think gender quotas can solely induce equal gender representation. Existing barriers for females, like having children, cannot be cleared up by gender quotas. If being in a leadership position requires working until 10pm every night, it’s just not attractive for mothers, and most will steer away from that kind of lifestyle”, she said. So, in the battle for gender equality, will quotas really help matters? According to Dr Murphy, “the failure to reconfigure the gender composition of organisations based purely on merit, has meant that gender quotas are frequently proposed as a possible method of overcoming the systemic inequalities that hamper women’s progress at work.” “When women are equally represented in the boardroom, notions about what it means to be a leader and how leaders should act will surely develop in kind”, he concluded. Whether quotas are the best means of achieving gender equality remains up for debate. But, one thing’s for sure, as Laura outlined, if they’re worth doing, they’re worth doing right.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

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The rise of Anti-As racism in Ireland In the midst of rising levels of antiAsian racism, the Trinity community needs to do more to educate themselves and raise awareness of the issue Ella Sloane Contributing Writer

ince the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic just over a year ago, there has been a visible rise in antiAsian racism worldwide, and Ireland is no exception. The Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) reported a significant increase in racist crimes, with 700 cases being reported last year, including 60 coronavirus related incidents in the first four months of 2020. However, many more cases go unreported and the true extent of the problem is far more sinister. Anti-Asian racism in Ireland has long gone unaddressed, with the concerns of the Asian community too often being swept under the rug, dismissed and invalidated. In the wake of the recent mass shooting in Atlanta, US, which tragically resulted in the deaths of six Asian women, an open letter to take action against anti-Asian racism in Ireland has been launched. The letter, composed by two Trinity postgraduate students, Xi-Ning Wang and Moonyoung Hong, was modelled off a similar letter that has been

circulating universities in the UK. Speaking to Trinity News, Moonyoung explained that the letter aims

“to bring greater awareness to the issues of racism” in Ireland and that they “want universities and other institutions to show their continued commitment in taking action to protect and offer support to their staff and students, whether they are Black, Asian, Travellers or of other ethnic minorities”. After seeing Moonyoung’s powerful tweets regarding her experience of racism in Ireland, Aaron Koay, a fellow Trinity PhD candidate and scholar, reached out to show support and share his own experiences with racism and anti-racism advocacy. Aaron subsequently joined Moonyoung and Xi-Ning in creating their petition letter, which has already reached over two hundred signatures, and the formation of the “Anti-Asian Racism Ireland” group who recently had their first meeting over Zoom. The meeting, co-hosted by Xi-Ning and Moonyoung, was held on April 9 and served as an open forum for Ireland’s Asian community to share their personal stories and voice concerns about the rapidly growing rates of antiAsian hate crime and discrimination. The group discussed how progress can be achieved in the future and some

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It is exactly the time when we should hear more about antiAsian racism advocacy

ARTWORK BY ELLA SLOANE FOR TRINITY NEWS

attendees expressed their frustration at the lack of acknowledgement of antiAsian racism within Ireland’s universities. Although there is still far to go, Aaron shared some of the work that he has been doing already to advocate for policy change within the College and beyond, particularly in regard to the Irish healthcare system. After writing an article for Trinity News last year, in which Aaron interviewed a number of fellow pharmacy students on their experiences with anti-Asian racism, some progress has been made within the pharmaceutical field. The Head of School and School Administrative Manager reached out to Aaron and arranged a meeting with him to discuss some of the issues that were raised in his article. Following the meeting Aaron

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We need more political leadership; Hazel Chu cannot be the only one fighting the battle

drafted up a document for them to consider, outlining suggestions on how the School can improve their Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) policy. He also contacted APPEL (Affiliation for Pharmacy Practice Experiential Learning) who manage the experiential learning placements of the integrated pharmacy programmes of the three Schools of Pharmacy in Ireland- UCC, RCSI and Trinity. They have since updated their handbooks and incorporated the EDI updates into placement preparation lectures. Furthermore, APPEL organised a seminar with INAR, targeted at community pharmacy supervisors, on how to ensure an inclusive pharmacy environment. There have also been plans made to roll out unconscious bias training to all pharmacy supervisors. On a national level, Aaron reached out to the Irish Pharmacy Union who agreed to develop their EDI policy going forward. Evidently, Aaron’s article led to multiple streams of impactful changes that leverage equality, diversity and inclusion on the level of school, faculty and national pharmacy placements, signalling how raising Asian voices and lobbying together can create a positive snowball effect that materialises visions for progression. Aaron highlighted the need to continue engaging in discourse on antiAsian racism saying: “In light

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

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sian of the current wave of Asiantargeted racist attacks, I think it is so important to keep the conversations about anti-Asian racism going. It is exactly the time when we should hear more about anti-Asian racism advocacy and it is the time when the public and policymakers are attuned to that, creating a window that is conducive to policy and structural change.” So, what more can be done to keep carving out a path towards an inclusive, safe environment for Ireland’s Asian community? In an interview with Trinity News, Moonyoung outlined what actions she would like to see being taken on personal, educational, and governmental levels to combat anti-Asian racism. “On a personal level, we need everyone to listen and be supportive. Treat everyone with respect and dignity. It sounds quite obvious and basic, but somehow it is not exercised enough. Often, we don’t express incidents of racism to our friends, colleagues or tutors because of the dismissal, defensiveness and even mockery. We are afraid that when we call out and share our experiences, they will be met with silence and repercussions. Reflect on your own unconscious biases, be critical consumers of the media, news, and stories,” she said. “At the university/ education level, I know there are EDI officers/committee/working groups in every university, but we need an easier reporting system and to make information more accessible, better representation of ethnic minorities in staff and higher positions, to provide

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Know that when we speak of Asia, we are referring to a multitude of differences

support and resources like counselling in racial trauma, more education and programmes on diversity and inclusion – the first Black Studies module in TCD is a good example and UCC has been doing very well in terms of organising equality weeks and monthly panel talks on race.” On a governmental level, Moonyoung says that the same mentality applies. “An easier reporting system is needed, while the reluctance and refusal to recognise certain crimes as ‘hate crimes’ or ‘racially motivated’ does not help,” she said. “We need more political leadership; Hazel Chu cannot be the only one fighting the battle. She has been racially abused more than ever since she has become the Lord Mayor of Dublin. There needs to be a comprehensive national action plan and willingness to listen to organisations’ call for action (INAR is a good example).” When asked what students and staff at Trinity can do to support and show solidarity for our Asian community, Moonyoung responded: “Sign the letter and share it! Let people around you know and have that difficult ‘race’ chat. These are uncomfortable conversations, but it is important that everyone becomes aware of what is going on and is able to talk about it. The most common response I got when I shared my story was that people just had no idea. That in itself is telling. Listen to the Asian community, do your best to pronounce our names right, and check in to see how we are doing. Call out your friends and family when you witness racist jokes/remarks being made, and offer support by reading and learning about race, about our different cultures, histories, and backgrounds.” She also touched on the problem of the homogenisation of multiple East Asian countries. “For instance, Korea was colonised by Japan, so when people mix us up, it’s like mixing up Ireland and England,” she said. “A lot of the racial slurs we hear often equate “Asian” with “Chinese”. Asia is complex; the version we are talking about here also leaves out South East Asia altogether. Know that when we speak of Asia, we are referring to a multitude of differences.” The organised collective approach of the newly-formed Anti-Asian Racism Ireland group serves as a promising step towards long-awaited institutional action, within education and healthcare sectors, government policy and further afield. Together the group hopes to continue lobbying for change and demands attention to the serious racial discrimination and attacks that many of them fear daily. Change is urgently needed to ensure the protection of Ireland’s Asian community and uphold equality for all, and Ireland’s universities and government need to actively listen and engage with these conversations around anti-Asian racism if this is going to be achieved.

Education for all, and fees for none? Five years after the Cassells Report, the fight to reduce fees continues

Olivia Flaherty-Lovy Features Editor

oupled with the winding down of an unprecedented academic year, this April is also set to see the return of the Cassells Report from review in Brussels. Published in 2016, the report assessed the long-term funding requirements of higher education in Ireland and identified three funding options for increased investment in higher education. However, the events of the past year, let alone the past five, have led to a wave of newfound attention around these issues, particularly given the fact that the exit of Britain from the EU has left Ireland with the highest university fees in the bloc. For TCDSU President Eoin Hand, the issue of the student contribution charge is one of the biggest injustices of Ireland’s higher education system. “Higher education has been severely underfunded for a long time and Ireland is a country that prides itself on high quality education,” he said. “All we’re trying to do is level the playing field, to have it as an egalitarian society where everyone and anyone has an equal and the same option to access higher education.”

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Higher education has been severely underfunded for a long time and Ireland is a country that prides itself on high quality education

To put this policy into action, this December Hand and the TCDSU launched a petition to reduce the student contribution charge, which has now garnered over 3,000 signatures. For Hand, the next steps will be to present the petition to both the Provost and the Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris, but he also stressed that students can affect change at the local level through using social media to raise awareness and through encouraging conversations on the issue in their own communities. “It’s not just a small group of students in USI and student representatives in student unions - it’s actually a national issue,” he said. “Obviously nationally, we row beyond USI, but we want to see change and see change now.” In response to the pandemic and subsequent economic recession, the USI has run a campaign called Education for All which, among other things, aims to end the current student contribution charge of €3000. For USI President Lorna Fitzpatrick, the future of higher education funding in Ireland is publicly funded, coupled with greater investment in technology, digital platforms, training for staff and students, and student academic and wellbeing support services. “I think the last year has shown us that our sector was too heavily reliant on external sources of funding or non-exchequer funds, which is everything from conferences & events to international student fees,” she said. “It has shown the dangers associated with running our higher education institutions like corporate businesses, and the negative impact that this operating style has for staff and students.” The Cassells Report determined that Ireland’s current funding system for education “fails to recognise the current pressures facing higher education institutions” and set out three options to rectify this. The first option was a student loan system, which would have required an additional €100m in funding and which Minister Harris was adamantly opposed to, saying last year that he did not want to see “students emerging from third level heavily indebted”. The report also proposed the idea of core funding, which would require an additional €600m by 2021 and €1bn by 2030, and capital funding, which would call for an increase of €5.5bn in capital investment. The USI has long called for a €500 reduction to the student contribution charge, which Hand

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The only thing missing is the political will to do it feels is “a good starting point”. “I think the €500 euro reduction is a good starting point because it’s enough money that it makes an impact directly for students and families, but it’s not enough that it makes an impact on funding to third level education, or that it’s too adverse that the government are against the idea,” he said. “Unfortunately I just don’t see a government committing to halfing student contribution and then picking up that bill, but by gradually phasing out the student contribution charge it allows the government to put in the structures and procedures in place to actually cover those charges. But I suppose it’s all about bearing the brunt of the difficulties of our time, knowing that in the future people below us will have it better off.” Though much has changed in the time since the Cassells Report was sent to Brussels for review by the Oireachtas Education and Skills Committee, Fitzpatrick believes the policies it outlines are still applicable and relevant. “The Cassells Report symbolised the opportunity for publicly funded education,” she said. “It clearly showed that it was not just a pipe dream of the student movement, it was a socially and economically beneficial funding model that would allow for proper funding of the sector while also removing the financial barrier placed upon students through the student contribution charge.” As vaccine rollout continues in Ireland and College prepares for the gradual return to normality, both Fitzpatrick and Hand stressed the need for students to continue pressuring the government to reduce fees. “The economic and social arguments are there – for every €1 you invest in higher education, there is a €4 return to the economy,” Fitzpatrick said. “Attending higher education has a positive impact on your life and your future career prospects and you develop skills both for life and employment. The only thing missing is the political will to do it.”

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Éigeantas an Ghaeilge inár gcóras oideachais “ Pléann Gráinne Nic Cathmhaoil na tuairimí agus na staitisticí a bhaineann leis an díospóireacht

Gráinne Nic Cathmhaoil Eagarthóir Gaeilge

agann an díospóireacht chonspóideach seo d’éigeantas na Gaeilge suas bliain i ndiaidh bliana nuair a thagann Seachtain na Gaeilge. Bíonn díospóireachtaí ag na cumainn sa choláistí agus ar fhoirmeacha ar líne, ach ní fhaightear freagra díreach riamh. An bhliain seo, d’fhoilsigh AMLÉ suirbhé ar an 10ú Marta 2021 le taighde faoi mhúineadh na Gaeilge in Éirinn. Ghlac 1,539 duine páirt sa suirbhé, agus d’athmhúscail sé an díospóireacht ar Ghaeilge éigeantach don Ardteist, agus ar cheart athchóiriú a dhéanamh ar an gcóras acadúla Gaeilge. Eascraíonn ceisteanna faoi churaclam na Gaeilge in Éirinn nach mór an trua é go ndéantar ceithre bliana déag de Ghaeilge, agus ní thagann tú amach líofa? Nach mór an trua é go bhfuil

fuath ag daoine dá dteanga dúchais féin? An teanga mharbh í? An bhfuil aon luach ag baint léi a thuilleadh? Ach sula dtéann muid i ngleic leis na gceisteanna seo, féachfaimid ar staid na Gaeilge faoi láthair in Éirinn. Ag tus na dianghlasála, tháinig an borradh is mó ar fhoghlaimeoirí na Gaeilge ar an aip Duolingo, le méadú 43% i mí Márta agus i mí Aibreáin. Sin ráite, níl Gaeilge riachtanach i gcomhair an chuid is mó de chúrsaí coláiste. Tá pas de dhíth i gcomhair Ollscoil Chathair BÁC, An Coláiste Ollscoile BÁC agus Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh, ach níl sé de dhíth ar chor ar bith ag Coláiste na Tríonóide nó i gcomhair institiúidí teicneolaíochta in Éirinn. Ach maidir le luach na Gaeilge, dar leis an daoináireamh ó 2016, labhraíonn 185,276 duine Gaeilge go laethúil nó go seachtainiúil, ach ní chónaíonn ach 14.5% de na Gaeilgeoirí seo san Ghaeltacht. Tugann na huimhreacha seo le fios go bhfoghlaimíonn daoine Gaeilge ar scoil seachas sa bhaile, agus b’fhéidir go léiríonn sé chomh maith go bhfuil luach agus fiúntas ag baint le Gaeilge éigeantach ar scoil. Tugadh Gaeilge riachtanach isteach sa bhliain 1934, nuair a bhí polaiteoirí ag súil go dtógfadh Gaeilge áit an Bhéarla taobh istigh glúin amháin. 87 mbliana ina dhiaidh, ceapaim go bhfuil sé sábháilte a rá nach bhfuil Gaeilge

ar an leibhéal céanna de Bhéarla ar chor ar bith, agus go bpléitear a luach fós. Ar thaobh amháin den díospóireacht faoi éigeantas na Gaeilge, tá eagla ar dhaoine go dtréigfeadh mic léinn an Ghaeilge má tá sé roghnach, agus tá a lán daoine den tuairim go bhfuil éigeantas na Gaeilge sa scoileanna tábhachtach i gcomhair fadsaolaí na teanga; ar an taobh eile, ceaptar go bhfuil an t-éigeantas ag cur bacainní ar an teanga seachas ag tacú leis. Bíonn siad ag argóint gur chóir do mhic léinn a bheith in ann roghanna a dhéanamh ina gcuid oideachais, agus go gcruthaíonn an t-éigeantas olc agus réamhchlaonadh in aghaidh na teanga. Sa shuirbhé a rinne AMLÉ, bhí an-tacaíocht don Ghaeilge éigeantach, le 67% de rannpháirtithe ag rá gur cheart í a bheith éigeantach don Ardteist agus le 26% ag rá “gur cheart di a bheith éigeantach suas go dtí leibhéal an Teastais Shóisearaigh.” Ní raibh ach 7% i bhfabhar Gaeilge roghnach tríd an córas scoile ar fad. Sa shuirbhé céanna, dúirt 81% de rannpháirtithe gur fhearr leo níos mó béime a chur ar an scríobh agus léamh na teanga sa churaclam. Cuireann sé seo leis an teoiric go bhfuil an fhadhb leis an gcuraclam agus an éigeantas, seachas an Ghaeilge í féin. Inár suirbhé ar leathanach Instagram Trinity News, ghlac 228 duine páirt i votaíocht faoi éigeantas na Gaeilge taobh istigh

Titeann an plé seo isteach ar na deacrachtaí roimh Ghaeilge in Éirinn, agus an meas atá ag daoine dá dteanga dúchais

de 24 uair. Vótáil 70% dena rannpháirtithe chun Gaeilge a choimeád éigeantach don Ardteist. “Is í ár dteanga dúchais agus ba cheart dúinn a bheith in ann í a labhairt,” a scríobh duine. Bhí rannpháirtí amháin den tuairim, “nach féidir leat tuiscint ceart a fháil ar stair na tíre gan tuiscint éigin a bheith agat ar an teanga.” Ar an taobh eile den díospóireacht, dúirt duine ar Instagram nár chóir Gaeilge a bheith éigeantach mar “gur chóir gach ábhar a bheith roghnach”. Dúirt sí, “dá mbeadh daoine in ann a gcuid ábhair a phiocadh, d’éireodh níos fearr leo tríd is tríd.” Ceapann daoine eile nach mbaineann an fhadhb le héigeantas na Gaeilge, ach ina ionad sin baineann sé le “conas a múintear é.” Nuair a tugtar an rogha do dhaltaí a gcuid ábhair a phiocadh, taispeántar nach bpiocann siad teangacha. Sa bhliain 2004, lig an stát Briotanach do dhaltaí gan teanga iasachta a dhéanamh. Idir na blianta 2002 agus 2019, tháinig laghdú ar líon na ndaltaí ag déanamh Gearmáinise de 67%, agus de 63% i gcomhair Fraincíse. Anuas air sin, nuair a thugadh an rogha do dhaltaí an bhliain seo, phioc beagnach 40% daltaí chun gráid chreidiúnaithe a fháil seachas an scrúdú a dhéanamh.

Ón stór ábhair a bhfuil ar fáil do dhaltaí, is é sa Ghaeilge ina bhfuil an sciar is mó de dhaltaí ag roghnú gan scrúdú a dhéanamh. Tá caint ag dul thart faoi ábhar na Gaeilge a bhriseadh suas sna meánscoileanna, le cuid éigeantach faoi ghramadach agus Gaeilge labhartha, agus cuid eile le prós agus litríocht na Gaeilge. Chinnteodh sé seo go mbeadh gach duine ag déanamh staidéir ar an teanga, ach go mbeadh seans ann na riachtanais a líonadh amháin, nó níos mó a dhéanamh dá mbeifí ag iarraidh. Titeann an plé seo isteach ar na deacrachtaí roimh Ghaeilge in Éirinn, agus an meas atá ag daoine dá dteanga dúchais. Ach i mo thuairim, is é bun agus barr an scéil ná go bhfuil níos mó staitisticí de dhíth le níos mó rannpháirtithe chun tátal a bhaint. Faoi láthair, deireann na huimhreacha go bhfuil formhór muintir na hÉireann i bhfabhar foghlaim na Gaeilge sna meánscoileanna, ach tá an chuma ar an scéal go dtagann na fadhbanna chun cinn nuair a labhraimíd faoi conas a múintear é. Gluais (Glossary) • Conspóideach Controversial • Éigeantas - Compulsion • AMLÉ - USI (Union of Students in Ireland) • Teanga dúchais - Native language • Borradh - Growth • Ollscoil Chathair BÁC DCU • An Coláiste Ollscoile BÁC - UCD • Daonáireamh - Census • Fadsaolaí - Longevity • Bac a chur ar X - To hinder X • Olc - Resentment • Réamhchlaonadh Prejudice • I bhfabhar X - In favour of X • Teoiric- Theory • Votaíocht- Poll • Ina ionad sin - Instead • Teanga iasachta - Foreign language • Gráid- chreidiúnaithe • Stór- ábhair • Sciar - Proportion • Prós - Prose • Litríocht - Literature • Riachtanais a líonadh - To fulfill requirements • Bun agus barr an scéil The fact of the matter • Tátal a bhaint as X - to draw a conclusion from

Enacting change in a world put on pause page 4

Dublin’s best donuts page 11

Learning under lockdown page 14

LIFE

TRINITY NEWS

Inside: Megan Nolan on combining the personal with fiction

ARTWORK BY THENA JAMES FOR TRINITY NEWS

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Table of contents Fuelling up this exam season - page 6 Society spotlight: DU History - page 4 How to write a dissertation - page 6

A year of digital society events

- page 13

Deconstructed vintage garments turned display of Irish heritage

- page 10

Let’s get intimate with body confidence - page 14

Life staff Editor-in-Chief Life Editor Life Deputy Editor

Lauren Boland Maeve Harris Heather Bruton

Arts & Culture Editor Arts & Culture Deputy

Elena McCrory Róisín Daly

Food & Drink Editor Food & Drink Deputy

Alfie Fletcher Seán McElroy

Sex & Relationships Co-Editor Sex & Relationships Co-Editor

Kerry O’Sullivan

Societies Editor Societies Deputy

Ciara Cassidy Grace Fannon

Student Living Editor Student Living Deputy

Cian Dunne Isha Neurgaonkar

Eva O’Beirne

Careers in the Arts

Megan Nolan on combinin Robyn Gill chats to the Acts of Desperation author about her renowned debut

egan Nolan’s debut novel Acts of Desperation was published in March to critical acclaim. Waterford-born and living in London, Nolan already had an established reputation as a writer. Her essays, fiction and reviews have been published in The New York Times, The White Review, and The Guardian, and she writes a fortnightly column for the New Statesman. Acts of Desperation, which depicts an intense and destructive relationship, has ensured her prominence as one of the most exciting new novelists of 2021. Growing up with a playwright for a father, Nolan was immersed in a creative world from a young age. “He’s just a very creative person and loves writing and loves language and books,” she explains, “so in that way, they were always around our house and if I was bored I’d just pick up a book of his. I got started reading adult stuff fairly early which was probably quite useful.” Seeing how her dad worked also gave her a sense of

the reality of being a writer. “I had that knowledge already, that it was never going to be easy, even when you did ‘make it’ and got yourself a publisher. It was good that I grew up in an environment where I knew that wasn’t going to be the end of your problems or how you make money.” As a teenager, Nolan joined a creative writing group in Waterford where she focused mainly on poetry until the age of 18. “I was always sort of tinkering with it in my spare time,” Nolan explains. It wasn’t until after she dropped out of Trinity, however, that she began to write personal essays. Ronan Burtenshaw, editor of Trinity News at the time of Nolan’s departure from college, asked her to write an essay about her experience leaving university and being unemployed while her friends were still in university. The piece was published in TN2 Magazine. “That was probably the first personal essay I wrote that was like other essays I went on to write later on. I started taking it seriously around then and it wasn’t until a good few years later, when I was maybe around twentyfour, that I started to get anything published or any attention for anything I was doing.” Upon moving to London, she started to freelance and pitch to newspapers. “It wasn’t anything I planned out very much but I think moving to London was definitely one of the better things I did in terms of my career.”

“

I was trying to portray what her actual inner monologue would be, which is often in short little bursts of thinking and getting distracted Nolan’s career began to gain traction when she started to publish essays and columns about culture and politics. Acts of Desperation is her first novel, but her background in writing personal essays helped lay a foundation for Nolan’s approach to writing fiction. “I thought to myself—just write in the same tone and register as you write your personal stuff and apply that to this fictional story—and that helped me get started. You

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Gaeilge at ng the personal with fiction the Gallery don’t have to stick with that and things can change but I think it’s good to start off in your comfort zone and in a register that you’re familiar with, just to get you going and to get some confidence, and then you can experiment more and change it and change the perspective,” Nolan says. Although her initial approach was similar, fiction afforded the author a level of freedom she hadn’t previously experienced with personal writing. “There’s a level of separation that lets you play with things in a more enjoyable way. When I write a personal essay, it’s just hard going because you’re trying to represent the truth, and represent your emotions in a real way. With fiction, obviously you don’t have to do that and that makes it a lot more experimental so that was fun.” Nolan’s flair for the personal essay is evident in her debut novel. Acts of Desperation is rich with astute and often amusing observations about people and society, provides reflective selfinterrogation, and interactions and events within the book are vividly brought to life. The structure of the novel, with brief chapters depicting a memory, moment, or idea, reflects the meandering thoughts of the protagonist: “I was trying to portray what her actual inner monologue would be, which is often in short little bursts of thinking of something and then you get distracted by another thought.” And while, as readers, we get to delve fully into the internal world of the narrator, we never learn her name. “It wasn’t as if I just forgot to name her,” Nolan laughs, “I’d written the first couple of chapters and I realised I hadn’t given her a name and I was thinking ‘oh what should I call her?’ and then reading back on it I quite enjoyed the way it read without her having a name. Then I thought it might be a good way to suggest the fact that she doesn’t have an identity outside of this relationship and that’s obviously the main point of the book, so I thought that might be a good way of subtly portraying that with that absence,” Nolan states. The result is very effective; an intimate portrait of a young woman who becomes lost in an intense and unhealthy relationship is revealed. Nolan depicts the complexity of the narrator’s emotions with immense skill and nuance, capturing the destructive nature of her relationship with Ciaran while also exploring the power of love to elevate the ordinary and to suffuse the mundane with wonder. Moments of tenderness and connection were important for Nolan to depict: “It’d be a much easier world if bad relationships were bad all of the time because then nobody would stay in them. I think the problem with unhealthy dynamics in romantic

relationships is that there’s always going to be these redeeming moments where it is nice and you are connected and all the bad stuff has receded for the evening or the day.” Although interspersed with future reflections from Athens and a few brief trips to Waterford, the majority of the novel takes place in Dublin. Moving away from the city gave Nolan the necessary distance to evoke it: “I would have been just over a year out of Dublin by the time I began it so it was still very close to me and very vivid to me because I had lived there for seven years,” the author admits. “I think there was a sense that I wouldn’t have been able to write that book if I lived in Dublin still because it’s hard to see the reality all around you if you’re living in it all the time. When I left and I did move to London, I was processing a lot of what went on for me in Dublin, especially in my late teenage years when I first arrived. I was still probably quite angry with Dublin at the time that I started writing it so I think some of it reads a bit snide towards Dublin even though it’s not a totally negative portrayal and, I think - I hope - you can see that she also loves it as a place.” An ambivalent relationship towards Dublin is just one element of the novel that reflects Nolan’s own experience. Despite many authors insisting on their work as purely fiction or trying to seperate themselves from their characters, Nolan seems unperturbed by how people might perceive the autobiographical aspects of the novel. “I decided early on that I’m not going to sit down and outline what’s true and what’s not true, because that just seems so tedious for everyone and probably takes away a lot of what’s good. I don’t really care, people can think it’s me if they want. It’s not me, it’s based on certain experiences I’ve had that are exaggerated. I genuinely think that once it’s out in the world you can’t control what people are going to think about it,” the author explains. Nolan isn’t offended by any autobiographical assumptions people might have about the novel. In fact, attempting to differentiate reality from fiction is futile in Nolan’s perspective. “Even the parts that are true, and I say true in a very loose way, but the parts that are to do with real experiences I had, are still not documentary versions of what actually happened in reality. They’re heightened and exaggerated, and that’s even just the ones that are to do with reality, there’s plenty that are totally fabricated. You’re never going to have a totally clear idea of what is reality and what isn’t.” Looking back on the development of her own career as she offers advice to aspiring writers, Nolan emphasizes the unhealthy obsession in the

industry with achieving success at a young age: “There’s not an age limit on when you publish and that includes everything from novels to articles, essays, and smaller form things. In every public facing artform there’s a real fixation about getting things done when you’re a certain age and I think getting rid of that is a really important step. There are plenty of twenty-three year olds that are publishing things but there are plenty of people that only start when they are in their forties and fifties who are doing really interesting things too.” She explains that there is no cutand-dry equation for becoming a successful writer. “For me, that’s one lesson I wish I knew then; you don’t have to be publishing loads of stuff by the time you’re 18 or 19 to get a foot in the door. There’s a writer called Joanna Walsh who says quite a lot about this, where certain prizes and grants all have age limits. There’s no reason why, if you’re giving a grant to an upand-coming writer, they have to be under 35 for instance, so I think it’s important to talk about that.” Nolan is currently working on her second novel, which is a very different experience to that of writing Acts of Desperation. “I’ve got a two book deal so they gave me the advance for the second one. It means I can work on it pretty much full time whereas Acts of Desperation was written in my spare time, so that’s a big difference and it makes life a lot less stressful,” Nolan confesses. Although the details of the plot are still somewhat nebulous, the themes and perspective of this novel are also quite different from her first. “It’s set in London and it’s got a much wider cast of characters than Acts does. It’s told from multiple perspectives and it’s involving something of importance to a whole community rather than just one person as it is in Acts of Desperation.” With a highly praised debut and an everincreasing reputation as an essayist and columnist, it will be exciting to see how Nolan’s distinct voice and style develops in her future fiction.

Seirce Mhac Conghail

disccuses Íomhánna na nGael, one of the first all-Irish language events at the National Gallery

omhánna na nGael, one of the first all-Irish language events at the National Gallery, was a virtual presentation that showcased works of Irish life. Presented by Caomhán Mac Con Iomaire, it happened entirely through Irish. The familiar set up; a Zoom call with a shared screen of the gallery’s paintings. While online classes, meetings, and events are now native drills for most people, the running of this event showed clear indications of the teething stages of Zoom, with unexpected unmuted microphones, screen sharing glitches, and awkward small talk. Not a major detriment to the event, yet with online formats, a degree of choreography is necessary to smooth the virtual blemishes of social interaction. For an event focused on learning and discussion a structured, conversational format would have added an extra layer of polish and ease, but the presentation prevailed without major hiccups. The event celebrated the infamous visual depictions of Irish people through time we have in our gallery, including island-wide works that spanned centuries. It was an offering of snapshots; some morsels of history, and commentary varying greatly in style and subject. There were vast classical scenes of Ireland’s near mythic history, like The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife by Daniel Maclise, the largest painting in the permanent collection. Works such as this were replete with tiny details, uncovered by the keenest of eyes. Then there were strikingly intimate portraits of ordinary Dublin families in the late 19th century, such as Walter Osborne’s In A Dublin Park, Light and Shade. The subject far from traditionally grand, and had an emotion-led commentary on the rights of poor people in urban Irish environments. The Yeats followed; wild, expressive, modernist works of colour and movement, animated and dazzling. This array of art presented its own diversity from the 19th to the 20th century, but did not present from the 21st. A distinct benefit to this online presentation was how controlled it was. We are all currently

soaked in images, with humans being exposed to more visual language than any other previous generation, and at a constantly accelerating rate. Therefore there is an unusual comfort to having to stop and consider an image. Historically, galleries were places to see a plethora of images, to be bombarded with art, especially in the case of French salons, where paintings were stacked high upon the walls. Even still in modern times, where there is a more considered structure and layout to gallery art, the idea has usually been to be a place to view a multitude of images, to attend something of a visual feast. However, the dominance of increasingly advanced digital technology means that we are constantly surrounded by images. We embellish our communication with GIFs and Emojis, take and send photos often on a daily basis, and are being advertised to from all sides at a profound rate. Our lives are overwhelmed by images. Oddly enough, the tables have turned so that galleries are places to slow our image consumption; places of highly curated, managed viewership. It is a strange release to be able to consider each painting carefully, getting background detail, historical context, shallow yet relevant information. Flicking through twenty or so images in an hour at a talk such as this would once have been something of luxury for its excess; now it seemed a luxury for its slowed, more restrained approach. . As a portrait of Irish people in art through history, and as an event billed to celebrate the Irish language, Íomhánna na nGael was lacking in any sparkling insight and in an ultimate connection to contemporary Ireland. It might have been better served as a dialogue with the past rather than a brief, untethered visit. Inspiration is still very much possible in a forty-minute Zoom talk, even if scattered, and as a Zoom-like medium may be with us now forever to some degree, a bit of razzle-dazzle can actually be expected. However, as a chance to see some paintings in a pandemic, in a controlled, curated fashion, this event was also a gentle delight. Surprisingly, the ultimate effect of this talk was quite similar to wandering in a physical gallery, in the sense that it teetered constantly between tranquil and tiresome. If nothing else, the presentation made me hungry to visit a gallery in person as soon as possible, as the joy of being made to stop and consider some visual art without distraction is almost totally absent from today’s digital world. More talks of this nature would certainly be welcome.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Enacting change in a Cian Dunne interviews Laura Dennehy, Country Manager of Enactus Ireland, on the changes enforced by Covid-19

Society spotlight

DU History

Grace Fannon talks to the Auditor of DU History, Shane Macken, about the society’s unorthodox approach to history

his past year has seen an undeniable refocusing on social issues on social media platforms, especially from younger generations. There has been a movement toward reeducating oneself, becoming more aware of deeply rooted biases that continue to have consequences on our lives today. If this growing awareness has taught us anything, it is the importance of understanding our history, and the realisation that events that happened in the past – far from being confined to the seemingly unreal word of history books – are still very much alive in the way we think, the stereotypes we consume, the political and economic structures in which we live. History is a tool for understanding. Unsurprisingly, Shane Macken, auditor of DU History, is very aware of this, and tries to bring that mindset into the society. “History is so much more than books about dead people collecting dust on a shelf. There’s a fun, contemporary spark we try to bring into our social events and I think that is so unique.” According to Macken, the society is always looking to “push the boundaries’’ and “try to bring history into events in fun and unconditional ways.” What does this actually look like when it comes to events? Macken cites a favourite example of his, which took place back when he was in first year; the Fall of the Wall club night with Trinity Ents. “Tramline was divided into East and West Berlin with the mighty Berlin Wall in between coming down at midnight! I’m sure [the society’s] founding members would have loved the sound of Nena’s 99 Red

Balloons as the paper-maché wall came down!” Having personally attended the event when I myself was in first year, I can assure that it was as fun as it sounds. Despite the unusual and challenging circumstances that we have found ourselves in this year, the creativity of DU History has not faltered, and the society recently won Best Event at the 2021 CSC Awards. The event in question was Trinity’s Hidden History, back in week 5 of Michaelmas term. A virtual tour of Trinity campus, Trinity’s Hidden History “broke down the history of areas on campus, such as student activism in Front Square, Social Darwinist science at the Anatomy lab, and murder at Rubrics.” The motivation behind the event was in part to help recreate an on-campus atmosphere through a virtual medium, especially for first year students, who haven’t had a chance to experience it yet. Rather than describing this past academic year in terms of its limitations, Macken switches the script and takes a noticeably positive outlook. “This year has been really eye-opening as it allowed us to see the full potential of DU History. We pushed our limits to run brand new events.” This included virtual tours, cocktail making sessions, baking tutorials, along with virtual guest speaker events, game nights and pub quizzes. An innovative step taken by the society was also the introduction of its podcast, Many Moons Ago, now well into its second season. The process of creating the podcast began in June last year, when the reality of an online academic year was still just starting to become apparent. Macken says, “DU History wanted to challenge itself to devise a new method of engagement with history in ways that would not only push boundaries but push our society out of its comfort zone.” The podcast has covered an impressive range of topics, from the pilot episode on the relationship between history and art, to Ireland and the Spanish Civil War, to the history of gaming. The final episode comes out in Week 12, and Macken hints that it “provides a very fitting end

to the year that brought about the podcast!” Many Moons Ago featured collaborations with different societies, and a variety of guest speakers, including academics, comedian Bláithín de Burca, and Reverend David Latimer, previously the Minister of The First Presbyterian Church of Derry, who spoke about his experience of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Guest speakers have always played a prominent role in the society’s line up of events, and creating a podcast was an “opportunity to take a new approach to historical discussion through a more engaging platform.” Founded in 1932, the society’s original purpose was to “provide supports for History students.” To this day, they run workshops on essay writing, the schols exams, and dissertations, along with their social events. A large proportion of the society members study history, which is why Macken originally joined in first year, but there are also many members from other courses who use the society as an outlet to maintain a love of history, especially if they are no longer formally studying it. For Macken, “It’s great talking to society members who come from all ends of campus, because you see just how far DU History reaches.” Although he has clearly decided to look on the bright side of this past year, this is not to say that Macken did not miss typical society traditions and events. This includes their Michaelmas Term Reading Week Irish Trip, Hilary Term European Trip and the Apollo Ball. Restrictions also meant that simpler traditions couldn’t take place - as Macken recalls, “One of my favourite things about being on the Freshers’ Week stand was talking to new students and seeing their reaction to all the unconventional angles from which we try to approach history.” Indeed this unconventional angle is what the society is all about. Incorporating history into socialising, and engaging students with the past via fun events, is clearly the main aim of the society, and one that they achieve successfully, even if it has to be done over Zoom.

he events of the past year have left many of us with the feeling that our usually hectic lives have been temporarily put on hold. No one will deny that the effects of the pandemic have resulted in unprecedented challenges for everyone, regardless of their social status. Yet, there is a sense that some sectors of society, some communities, will be adversely affected to a more considerable degree than others. With this in mind, I spoke to Laura Dennehy, country manager of Enactus Ireland, to learn about Enactus and the work they have been engaged in over the past year, and the ways in which social enterprise has continued to flourish amongst students. In terms of a general mission statement, Enactus maintains three principal goals. The primary focus in Enactus is toward “the students themselves, and developing all the skills and abilities that are necessary for the future of work”. Secondly, Enactus recognises that the student’s personal journey in the programme as a social entrepreneur will mean that they are encountering tangible and important issues in our society. With this awareness, Enactus provides the support for this “practical experiential learning, where students are given the time and the space to really understand an issue”. Thirdly, with this co-operation between the student and Enactus, the results are practical outcomes and enablers for positive change: “ideally we create a scenario where social enterprise can flourish.” With a strong emphasis on inclusivity, diversity, and co-operation, Enactus advocates for social change which benefits as many people as possible. In this respect, the work done by Enactus impacts positively on those instilling change as well as those benefiting from its implementation. “We All Win”, the Enactus mantra, succinctly encompasses this attitude to social enterprise. Dennehy elaborates as to how “everyone can get something out of this. It’s not about not making money, it’s about ensuring that we protect what’s important to us in our lives as we do business.” Today’s world, barring the recent effects of Covid-19, is a fastpaced one, with new problems and solutions to these problems being created at a frantic rate each and

every day. However, it is important to take a step back and to identify exactly what is entailed in a certain issue, and to reflect carefully on the means to solving it: “The truth is that society’s problems are really complex. The very first thing that we want students to do is to really look in depth into a problem, to really understand it, to pause our solution-focused brains, just for a second and focus on what is the issue.” Of course, the solution to the world’s many and complex social issues is not going to be found over the course of an academic year. Yet, students can begin with a focus on one particular aspect of a wider issue, and “ensure that while working in partnership with communities, we can instil positive change.” Prior to the unprecedented events of the past year, many of us were under the illusion that we were the masters of our own destinies. Reflecting on the challenges that have come with adapting to the effects of Covid-19, Dennehy says that “the last year has shown us how small we are in the world, how little we can control.” However, in spite of this loss of agency, Enactus has not found students to be wanting: “The best thing the last twelve months has been seeing the resilience of the students.” In addition, Dennehy has been further impressed by the high standards that have been maintained as well as the rate at which they have continuously managed to be innovative, giving little indication of the difficulties that have been endured: “We haven’t seen the amount of ideas decrease, people are still coming up with the ideas. We have been really pleased with what we’ve seen and how students have continued with their responsibilities on top of all the pressures they’ve had.” Indeed, it shows a particular strength of character

The Enactus TCD team after being crowned the E

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

PHOTO BY DONYA BAGHAIE FOR TRINITY NEWS

a world put on pause when students are feeling such stress arising from the lack of certainty with regard to assessments and career options that they still manage to think of those in a less fortunate position to themselves. As an example, Dennehy remarks on the adaptations made by students in the University of Limerick (UL) to convert workshops online to adhere to social distancing guidelines enforced by Covid-19, and the work done by students in University College Cork (UCC) to continue to deliver materials to Direct Provision centres in a manner that is Covid-safe. Though many people may feel as though their lives have been suspended for the past year, for some, the best way to cope with this lack of agency has been to engage even more actively in social issues: “To create some sort of change allows us to exert some sort of control over our lives. Where we’re setting

“

The sad reality is that ‘for huge swathes of society. they’re going to be semipermanently, if not permanently negitivately affected’

Enactus Ireland National Champions in 2019

the plans, we’re setting the targets, and it allows us to hope for something better.” With this, Dennehy notes the importance of perspective, and the ways in which different sections of society have been affected in different ways by the pandemic, both in terms of the severity and likely endurance of the negative impacts. For many of us, our lives will return to “some sense of normal”, and we will be fortunate to look back on this as a very tough period in our lives. However, the sad reality is that “for huge sectors and swathes of society, they’re going to be semi-permanently, if not permanently negatively affected”. In an attempt to counter this in some way, Enactus is currently running their Uplifting Youth Programme, which “aims to overcome the double disadvantage that Covid-19 has created for so many in our communities”. In addition, during the pandemic Enactus has also launched their Live Like Never Before programme, “aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and positive well-being for young people aged between 16 and 25 years across Ireland”. Enactus has a strong alumni group which aligns with its philosophy that social enterprise should be a lifetime commitment, with people engaging and contributing in any capacity that they can manage. Being mindful of others, seeking solutions for society’s problems are goals that “should continue right into everyone’s careers whether you are managing partner of a big firm or whether you’re a teacher or working in finance in a bank”. Regardless of the path one takes in life, we should maintain “this consciousness that people are really important, people are not just customers or clients. That needs to stay with us beyond Enactus and into the rest of our careers.”

Tionchar na pandéime ar mhic léinn na céad bliana Labhraíonn Hazel Ní Bhroin le mac léinn sa chéad bhliain faoi éifeachtaí na paindéime ar eispéireas an mhic léinn

s cuimhin liom a bheith sceitimíneach agus mé ag smaoineamh faoi shaol an mhac léinn sa choláiste. Bhí mé ag tnúth go mór le bualadh le daoine nua agus a bheith i dtimpeallacht foghlama úr, agus sin gan trácht ar an siamsaíocht oíche i measc mac léinn. Táim an-bhuíoch go raibh seans agam blaiseadh a fháil ar na rudaí sin agus eispéireas an mhac léinn ceart a bheith agam, fiú ar feadh cúpla mí. Faraor, bhí mí-ádh damanta ar mhic léinn na céad bliana 2020. Mar gheall ar an gcoróinvíreas tá léachtaí ar líne don chuid is mó agus mar thoradh air seo, níl an deis ag an gcéad bhliain na gnáthrudaí a dhéanamh lena a raibh siad ag súil mar mhac léinn ollscoile. Shocraigh mé ceisteanna a chur ar mo dheartháir Seán atá sa chéad bhliain sa choláiste faoi láthair i leith na ndeacrachtaí atá cruthaithe dó de bharr na paindéime. Ba chóir go mbeadh an chéad bhliain sa choláiste saor ó bhuairt an tsaoil. Níor chóir go mbeidh tú sáinnithe sa bhaile gan aon siamsaíocht oíche le dianghlasáil ina luí go trom ort. Deir mo

dheartháir nach raibh sé “in ann [mé] féin a shamhlú ag déanamh cairde nua agus ag freastail ar na heachtraí go léir eagraithe ag na clubanna agus na cumainn”. Ar ndóigh deir sé “go raibh díomá [orm] nuair a dúradh linn go mbeidh na léachtaí don téarma ar fad ar líne.” Níor féidir liom a chreidiúint nár bhuail an chuid is mó de mhic léinn sa chéad bhliain lena bpiaraí go fisiciúl. Nach mór an trua é gur bhuail formhór na mic léinn seo lena bpiaraí don chéad uair trí scáileáin ríomhaire. Is dócha go bhfuil sé fíor-dheacair cairde nua a dhéanamh gan a bheith ar champus an choláiste. Aontaíonn mo dheartháir go mór leis seo: “Cheap mé go mbeadh seans agam bualadh le go leor daoine nua ag na hócáidí agus cóisirí go léir, go háirithe i gcomhair Sheachtain na bhFreisear, ach mar gheall ar chúrsaí reatha, bhí na heachtraí seo ar fad ar líne”. Ní iontas ar bith go bhfuil iarracht de dhíomá ar mo dheartháir, agus an chuid is mó don chéad bhliain is dócha. Goilleann sé orm go bhfuil mic léinn sa chéad bhliain ag cailleadh amach ar ghnáthrudaí agus ar eispéireas an choláiste. Tuigeann mé féin agus mo dheartháir go bhfuil na srianta ag teastáil sa tír chun daoine a chosaint, ach ní hé sin le rá nach bhfuil éifeachtaí diúltacha ag na srianta seo ar dhaoine chomh maith. Deir mo dheartháir nach raibh “an seans [agam] bualadh le daoine nua agus mar gheall air sin, níl aithne agam ar éinne sna léachtaí.” Lean sé ar aghaidh, ag rá go mothaíonn sé “an-scoite mar thoradh air sin’. Ní féidir linn neamhaird a thabhairt ar mhothúcháin na céad bliana mar is léir go bhfuil

mic léinn áirithe ag streachailt. “Tá sé deacair go leor a bheith ag éisteacht leis an nuacht le daoine ag tabhairt amach faoi mhic léinn agus cóisir ar bun ina dteach acu, gan trácht ar bith ar na mic léinn atá ag cloí leis na rialacha ar fad.” Tá an-trua agam do na mic léinn bhochta seo. Tá an próiséas aistrithe ón scoil go dtí an choláiste deacair go leor, ach i rith na n-amanna gan fasacha seo, tá sé níos dushlánaí ná riamh. Ba scáfar an smaoineamh é go mbeidh an dara bliain ag tosú sa choláiste gan aon taithí le saol an mhac léinn i ndáiríre. Mar sin, bheartaigh mé cúpla nod a fháil ó mo dheartháir faoi conas is féidir leis fanacht dearfach: “Tuigim go bhfuil sé deacair ach déan iarracht ballraíocht a ghlacadh sna clubanna agus cumainn. Is bealach iontach é chun cairde nua a dhéanamh, fiú nuair atá gach rud ar líne.” Deir sé, “Chabhraigh na hócáidí fíorúlal a bhí eagraithe acu go mór leis an uaigneas, agus mothaím i bhfad níos sceitimíní agus muiníní faoin mbliain seo chugainn anois”. Ná déan dearmad nach ionann an cás ag gach duine faoi láthair ach má tá tú ag streachailt, tá go leor seirbhísí ar fáil ar líne don chéad bhliain anseo. Táimid ag teacht chuig deireadh an téarma agus dár liomsa, tá moladh tuillte againn ar fad tar éis na bliana crua seo. Tuigim nach raibh an bhliain seo mar a bhí beartaithe againn ach tá saol níos fearr i ndán dúinn. Deir mo dheartháir gur chóir dúinn ar fad a bheith dearfach, go háirithe rang na céad bliana 2020. “Coinnigh leis, beidh saol na mac léinn ceart againn go luath.”

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Fuelling up this exam season Lisa Jean O’Reilly details tips and tricks on surviving a pandemic study season by rewarding yourself and fueling your body

This article contains specific references to eating and food habits. s the academic year comes to a close, we face the annual hurdle of examinations and end-of-term assignments. This year, having spent over 365 days now in a pandemic, most of us have reached burnout stage and few of us have the energy and willpower to maintain good nutrition. With that said, here are some tips and tricks to help you overcome this final hurdle before summer, including how to eat well, how to stay hydrated, and how to form effective study habits. Fueling your body is the foundation for meeting all of your other needs; to get on the right track, prioritizing your health is crucial. The most important part of this is striking a balance between the things you are eating. It is also important to have a healthy relationship with food. If you or a friend are struggling with disordered eating, speak to a counsellor or go to eatingdisorderhope.com for resources on how to get help. Habits and habit-tracking I recently began using a habit-tracking journal which has helped me organize my food prep for the study week ahead. Food is fuel, and once I realised that I wasn’t getting enough energy from my meals, things started to

change. My habit-tracking journal is just a grid that I’ve drawn up with a list of habits that I want to achieve each day in the side-column and the days of the month in the top column. Each day I achieve a habit I get a tick in the conjoining box. At the end of each month, I can see how many days I achieved the things that I wanted to do. It was extremely rewarding realising that, for 28 days out of 31, I ate three full meals a day. Not only are you making sure to fuel your body, but you’re also recording tangible proof of what you’ve accomplished that day, week, or month. The key to using a habit tracker for the first time is not to set unrealistic goals. In fact, I would go so far as to say set easy goals—ones you know you can achieve—and then you won’t become quickly disheartened because of a lack of progress. This is not to say you can’t indulge—in times like these we have to indulge—but setting realistic goals is great for getting simple tasks accomplished. For example, eat different types of food at the times of day when they work best for you. Don’t try radically adjusting your diet; it’s much easier to stay on track with goals that are realistic and manageable. The following two tips in particular have kept me motivated in my final year of college while also tackling a dissertation. Firstly, create a countdown on your wall of the amount of days until your final assignment/exam is due and tick off each day as you go. This has kept me aware of the time that is passing and of how long I have to go. It has helped me with meal planning and ensuring that I don’t get stuck unprepared on a busy day. It has also given meaning to my time. Because I know that each day I don’t optimise my study routine I am losing precious time, I’m more likely to push through my workload. The second

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tip involves setting specific habits for myself every day. James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, has been very helpful to me during the unpredictability of this pandemic. The best tip I’ve come across so far in the book is that setting vague goals like “I will eat healthy tomorrow” does not work, whereas setting specific goals does. Try setting a goal to incorporate certain vegetables into your diet and watch how much easier it is to accomplish. The sense of accomplishment that you will feel after achieving the goal will be enough to make you want to do it all over again. Hydration The brain is composed of 73% water, so don’t expect to be able to concentrate if you’re dehydrated. There are apps you can download such as Hydro Coach, WaterMinder, or Daily Water Tracker Reminder, that help you to log the water you drink. You can use your habit-tracking journal to hold yourself accountable for the amount of water you drink each day. When you hit a lull in the day and feel drained of all energy, try a glass of water instead of another coffee. You will see a difference. It works, I promise. Oh, and buy an ice-maker for your freezer. Icey water at your study desk mixes things up and changes the game. Eating well The best food tip of all time is to eat for energy and for pleasure. If you’re a total foodie like me and you survive the day solely because you envision a takeaway at the end of it, then exploit this! Fantasize about the delicious takeaway you’ll get once you complete work for the day and you might just be more productive. As you power toward your reward at the end of the day, eat for fuel. Do NOT skip your meals because you’re full on coffee and do NOT switch out your breakfast for a coffee either. Food is sustenance, and if you

want your body to perform and complete tasks, you have to fuel it for the day ahead. Breakfast Eat slow-release foods in the morning. This can be your usual cereals or breads, but try the wholegrain or wholemeal version instead and keep an eye out for the difference. White breads and cereals are processed and don’t have the energy supplies that brown and wholemeal foods do. Opt for a brown bagel over a white one, or wholemeal cereals over sugary ones. Porridge or eggs on toast are always a safe bet if all else fails. If you want to try something new, try baked oats or porridge bread. Lunch Baked beans on wholemeal bread is a nice, simple meal for a slow release of energy after lunch. A baked potato, put in the microwave for five minutes, with tuna and/or cheese on top is easy too. Avonmore or Cully & Sully soups from the fridge can also be quickly heated up and even accompanied with a quick cheesy toasty or some brown bread. Omelettes are another quick and easy way to eat a healthy lunch that provides you with both nutrients and energy. Dinner An easy, wholesome stir fry is my go-to these days, and I usually make two portions so that I can eat the other half for lunch the next day. In general, a two-portion dinner is always a good idea if you fancy having the same thing twice to save time cooking, or if you’re feeling extra hungry. Another tip is to cook a good, delicious meal in one big batch and freeze it in containers. Pre-prepped meals make dinner time a very easy and relaxed affair. Snacks My preferences for study snacks at my desk include a hot coffee, sugary tea, an iced coffee to mix it up, dried fruits in packs from Lidl or Aldi, or normal fruits like berries or bananas. Chocolates and sweets are definitely permissible, especially during study season. You know that picture of the guy who ears a Swedish Fish every 500 words or so in an attempt to reward himself while reading? Swap a fish for your favourite treat and get working. Make sure to do something fun as a reward for studying hard. If you can’t find fun in this pandemic-labyrinth, then try something different instead. Eat your meals outside in the sun, meet a friend and eat together, watch a genre of movie you’ve never watched before, or cook something outside your palette’s comfort zone. Make sure to break the repetitive lifestyle that we have all become accustomed to and change up your day, if only to a small degree. Try it out and see how much your mood can change—your brain will feel a sense of achievement for tackling something different and new. If you or someone you know is struggling with disordered eating habits, go to eatingdisorderhope. com for resources on how to get help.

How to w From forming a proposal to printing it professionally, Ciara Olden advises next year’s Senior Sophisters on putting together a capstone project

he dissertation is probably one of the most daunting aspects of any undergraduate’s degree. Knowing how to tackle it, or even just start the blasted thing can feel overwhelming. However, as a seasoned veteran, I am here to lend a hand and share the wisdom I have learned while writing my own dissertation. Many of you will already have submitted a proposal or title for your own dissertation at this point. For those of you who have yet to do so, it is never a bad thing to have a few ideas in mind. What you put down on these proposal forms is not a legal and binding contract, ideas can and do change. If you happen to have a light-bulb moment over the summer you will usually be able to alter your topic accordingly. That said, these proposals are often for the purpose of assigning a supervisor, so try not to propose a dissertation on Revolutionary France and then turn around and say you want to look at Medieval Ireland. Once you have your topic you need to decide on your research question. Some people are terrifyingly on top of things and seem to have this all done well in advance. However, if like me, you did not have a research question right away, don’t be daunted by the prospect. You may get some reading suggestions from your supervisor or have some overview books in mind. This is a good place to start. Start reading and ask yourself questions. Even the most basic innocuous questions can inspire an idea. For me it was the simple question: “Why are all the river gods dudes?” So truly, there are no stupid questions. Once you have some ideas for research questions, let your supervisor know. More importantly, listen to your supervisor. They know what they are doing, they have done it many times before. Furthermore, there are no “spoilers” in your dissertation. Speaking from experience, keeping a sense of suspense with your supervisor will do you no favours. Be sure to check in with your supervisor regularly. Make sure to write down your questions and ideas somewhere where you are not going to lose them, like a notebook, and

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

rite a dissertation remember to take notes during the meetings. Trust me, you will forget what was said. The next step is to start reading. Obviously, you do not have a handy reading list in the module handbook, so you need to make your own. The best way to do this is to read the footnotes. I know, I know, those extra bits at the end of the page that you normally get to skip to lessen the reading. Yeah, you need to read them now, sorry. Make sure you keep a record of what you have read and what you want to read and make sure you have the author’s name, the title, the year, city of publication or whatever information you will need for writing your bibliography. Not only will this help you later, but it will also help motivate you and remind you of how much work you have already done. Even though your handbook unfortunately does not have a reading list, it is now your sacred text. Read it. Odds are if you have a question your supervisor will tell you to read your handbook. Look at your deadlines early and write them down along with all your module deadlines and plan around them. There is nothing worse than having to rush an assignment because you forgot about it. Your dissertation is only part of your degree, remember that. Write as you go, I cannot emphasise this enough. Set yourself personal deadlines if you need to and stick to them. This is definitely not an assignment you will be able to pull a few all-nighters the week before to complete – or maybe it is, but I would not recommend it. No one needs that stress. The other reason to write as you go is because editing will definitely take you longer than you think it will. Whether it is revising the content, proofreading, or trying to adhere to the infernal word count, it is going to take time. For proofreading, many word processing programmes have options which will read your text aloud for you. Even though Microsoft Sean cannot pronounce the name “Styx” to save his Yorkaccented life, he is a fantastic tool for picking up those odd articles and prepositions that get lost or added in the wider editing process. Another good idea for proofreading is to temporarily change the font of your document with each revision. This tricks the brain into thinking that it is looking at a completely new document and will make it easier to spot mistakes or places where sentences can be trimmed. Perhaps the bane of any student’s life is cutting words to comply with a word count. Fortunately for you, my last week has consisted of trawling forums looking for ways to cut down my document. The first place to look is your footnotes. Is there a different system you can use that will use fewer (or more) words? If you still

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Whether it is revising the content, proofreading, or trying to adhere to the infernal word count, it is going to take time

have problems, look for words that can be hyphenated. See if you can cut out conjunctions (“and”, “but”, “so”, “or”), unnecessary adjectives and adverbs (search for “ly” to find them) and also unnecessary filler words we all know and love such as “however”, “indeed” and “also”. While these words help your writing flow, they often can be removed without changing a sentence’s meaning. Also look out for “orphan words”, those one or two words in the last line of a paragraph. These paragraphs can often be edited to tuck these orphan words into the body. Finally, and a bit unorthodox perhaps, is to look for “of ” in the genitive which can often be rewritten to use less words. So, for example “the poems of Chaucer” can be rewritten as “Chaucer’s poems” and save you two words. Once you have submitted your dissertation, you still have one or two more things to do. Firstly, it’s not compulsory, but I would recommend getting your dissertation printed professionally, even if it is for the simple pleasure of showing it off and getting a picture in front of the Campanile as per college tradition. Secondly, treat yourself, celebrate! You have just finished writing your dissertation, your masterpiece, your magnum opus. If anything should be celebrated, it is this. Your dissertation is something to be proud of and a huge achievement for any student. It can be tough, and it can be hard, but count your victories and mark your milestones. There will be days where you fly and there will be days you get stuck in the mud, and that is okay. Whatever happens, rest assured you will get it done and you will finish, and it will be amazing. Trust me on that too.

ARTWORK BY VIRGINA GINNY BERNARDI FOR TRINITY NEWS

Socially distanced dates

Nights out spent inside

After over 100 days in lockdown, Patrick O’Mahony discusses ways to make these monotonous evenings more interesting

iven the fact that it has been over 100 days since Ireland entered Level 5 restrictions, people are increasingly likely to try anything to make the most boring lockdown yet a bit more bearable. One way my flatmates and I have done so is by having themed evenings. This would work great in a flat, if you live with a significant other, or even if you just want to spice up the monotony of family dinner every night and have a bit of fun. Although some of these examples may seem a little cringey at first, it’s important to remember that you can make these activities as worthwhile as you want. After all, what else are you going to do? Here are a few ideas to make your evenings a little more interesting, and remember: there’s nothing wrong with embracing the kitsch and cringe for the sake of taking your mind off things. International dinners We’re missing out on travelling internationally and many of us have favourite cuisines that we’re dying to order on a next trip abroad. For me, my desert island food is Italian, so my flatmates and I decided to devote an entire evening to making an Italian dinner. Like all good Italian meals, this included homemade bruschetta, pasta, and tiramisu. We even played Dean Martin’s That’s Amore on repeat for extra flare. Of course, you can take this as far as you like. We went all out and even wore our fanciest clothes. What is great about these types of evenings is that they offer great flexibility; you can just order an Indian takeaway and watch a Bollywood movie or serve up a home cooked four-course french meal in a room full of french tricolours and makeshift eiffel towers made out of paper, that way you can travel all over the world and not have to leave your living room. Pub quiz If you want something a little more low key, pub quizzes are always a great way to go. Whether it is simply general knowledge, Eurovision or 90s pop culture, it really is up to you. You can each prepare questions for each round and make it a running competition over multiple evenings. Everyone loves a bit of competition to blow off that lockdown steam and what better way to do that than the pub quiz to end all quizzes? A way to make pub quiz evenings

more interesting is by incorporating a theme, like one in which people must dress according to decades, Disney princesses, sports teams, or whatever interests you. This is particularly fun when you have to make do with the slim selection of clothes you brought from home. Cocktail night You may have seen this across social media; the concept is quite simple. Everyone makes a signature cocktail, making sure to have enough ingredients for everyone involved. This is a great way to test out your bartending skills, and because everyone will be making different drinks, you’re less likely to get sick of drinking prosecco-inspired cocktails over and over again. Be as adventurous as you want here—if you are lacking inspiration, my signature cocktail is a Hugo which entails a refreshing mix of Prossecco, mint, elderflower cordial, and sparkling water. If you or someone involved doesn’t drink alcohol, you can easily transform these cocktails into mocktails. A tip to ensure that your cocktails are superb is to invest in a cocktail shaker set—not only will you look super attractive as you make your cocktails, but they will also taste much better than if you simply mixed them with a spoon. Plus, your arms will be super buff after a night of furiously shaking drinks. Movie nights A great way to elevate a simple evening film is to create a theme around it. Take Pirates of the Caribbean for example: you can watch the movie in a pirate inspired outfit whilst drinking rum based drinks like Mojitos or a Pina Colada. You can even commit to using Johnny Depp’s strangely mystifying accent throughout the night for a bit of flare. Another option could be to watch Coco whilst dining on your favourite Mexican takeaway. Afterall, the options are limitless. While this may exude uncomfortable levels of cringe, just think: what else would you be doing anyway? Obviously, these are only suggestions of things you can do to fill the lockdown void; you can make up your own themed evenings according to inside jokes, current events, or TV shows. There really are endless options once you get a little creative and don’t take things too seriously. Everyone is having a hard time at the moment and we all need little things to look forward to just to keep us going. In my flat, we have planned a themed evening every Friday night and it really has helped us get through the year—it’s something to look forward to after a week of endless zoom classes and assignments. Even if you’re managing to cope with the stress of this year, an opportunity to be silly and have some fun is definitely something we should avail of after the year we’ve all had.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

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For the final issue of the year, the Trinity News art team have marked the coming to the end of a year like no other.

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

What’s on(line) in Dublin Thursday Climate Comedy Night Axis Ballymun and Viral Comedy CLub, 8.15pm The Visting House The Gate Teatre, running for three consecutive nights at 7.30pm Friday New Music Dublin Online festival running until next Monday Saturday Beckett Brunch 2021 10.00am

What’s on(line) in Trinity Wednesday NO ID, NO ENTRY DU Players, Trad Soc, DU Dance, TMT, and Trinity FM, 9pm Thursday Rewilding Ireland Webinar, TCDSU, 7pm Friday Trinity Festival Trinity Ents, Zoom opens 6pm main event starting 9pm All Week DU Film Festival DU Film Soc

What we’re listening to

ARTWORK BY ZAHRA TORABPOURAN, SARAH MURNAN, MÁRTA MENTA CZINKÓCZKY, AND GRAINNE QUIGLEY FOR TRINITY NEWS

Californian Soil London Grammar

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Political activism in DIY fashion Taryn DeVere uses fashion as a tool for activism, writes Caroline Ebbs

he expression “you vote with your money” has never been more relevant than it is today. With increasing awareness of the benefits of shopping sustainably, fast-fashion businesses that benefit from unethical labour are trying to mask their environmental wrongdoings by promoting false activism. Many brands attempt to promote their businesses by falsely claiming to be environmentally conscious. This particular phenomenon was brought to the forefront in 2014, when the infamous “This is what a feminist looks like” t-shirts, and the three groups, Elle Magazine, Whistles and The Fawcett Society, that collaborated in making them were accused of using sweatshops in the Republic of Mauritius to produce these very t-shirts. The conflicting message of companies profiting from the term feminist while allegedly paying women only 62p an hour was catastrophic. However, this trend has never quite gone away, with thousands of t-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with the slogans “feminist” and “don’t call me honey” available in almost every high-street shop. The wave of brands selling political statements has prompted a significant rejection of vague platitudes that don’t align with many fast-fashion business practises. Instead, protestors often sport homemade t-shirts and signs. This gives the public full control not only over the sentiment of what they write, but also over how they source their clothes. Taryn DeVere, a jewellery designer and fashion activist, is an excellent example of how you can deliberately craft your own pieces to express your beliefs. For Trans Day of Visibility 2019, she made a headpiece shaped like a heart and painted the colours of the transpride flag. It read: “I Love My Trans Kid” in vivid gold letters. Given her own experience as both an artist and political activist, she was the perfect candidate for the National Museum of Ireland’s series, OUTing the Past Dublin 2021, where she teaches people how to make their own posters for protests while chatting enthusiastically about her experience attending marches and designing her own political statements. DeVere encourages us to write messages that come from the heart but mentions that “[her] sort of personal philosophy around that is that [she] wants to be sort of careful and mindful of what sort of messages

[she’s] putting on [her] body, and putting out in the world”. She explains how to make the posters as practical as possible, using affordable materials like colourful paper from craft shops, printed letters or using colourful whiteboard markers. She also mentions how she likes to laminate them in case of poor weather and points out that she has yet to attend a protest in Ireland where it has not rained. She likes to string them on some ribbon and wear them around her neck, leaving her hands free. Her advice is nothing but genuine and sincere; it is clear that she feels passionately about both politics and expressing her views through art, advising that when appropriate, she likes to make her posters colourful or humorous. These elements can be seen in her Let Me Be Perfectly Queer poster that she shows her audience in the workshop. DeVere also mentions the particular charm of home-made posters and their imperfections, pointing out that her writing isn’t perfect, nor are her letters completely aligned. However, it certainly gives her posters a much more genuine appearance than the kinds of mass-produced-slogan t-shirts that are available on the high-street. Towards the end of the workshop, she shows us how to make a necklace from unwanted odds and ends we might have lying around. She recommends buying an old necklace from a charity shop to use as a base. When turning a necklace into a piece of activist art, she says, it will be slightly more difficult than a poster or placard as the space is limited. Come up with a short slogan first that can fit on the necklace and be concise and effective. She recommends using hard or thick types of cardboard so that it has weight and doesn’t flap in the wind if you are wearing it outdoors to a protest. The final piece she shows us is a pink panel that reads “Notorious Bi” and hangs on a rainbow ribbon—as concise and colourful as a political statement can get. As much as DeVere’s advice and tips were brilliant, the real takeaway from this workshop was how much joy creativity can foster alongside politics and protest. She, as well as her posters and necklaces, are charmingly earnest. Her workshop is practical and the materials affordable; she expresses as much passion and personality in her activist art as humanly possible, and most importantly, she exposes the lack of authenticity in fast-fashion slogan t-shirts and the vague political sentiments they often display. At just under half an hour long, I would highly recommend this workshop for anyone looking to start their own journey into making political art and, in turn, making a political statement.

Deconstructed vintage garments turned display of Irish heritage Elena McCrory talks to Designer and Director Faye Rochford about her authentic Irish brand

“F

éRí is a vibrant and imaginative brand, born out of creativity and nostalgia, designed to bring joy to the wearer.” This is how director and designer Faye Rochford describes her independent label. The FéRí brand is driven by its deconstruction of pre-worn clothes into distinctively Irish garments to showcase Irish heritage. What is most fascinating about Faye’s brand is the social consciousness of its fabrications; FéRí pieces are handmade in a studio in county Wexford alongside a family-run factory in India. The brand’s ethical production and sustainable manufacturing highlights the importance of sustainable fashion. After receiving her first sewing machine at age 11, Rochford’s childhood formed her subsequent path into fashion. The artist then received her bachelor’s degree in Fashion design at NCAD. “Growing up on a farm, I was surrounded by salvaged and repurposed furniture. My parents were very creative and resourceful, renovating and designing our 200-year-old home. Their eclectic style and creative approach to life influenced me as a child and I knew from a very early age that I wanted to work in a creative field,” Rochford says. She continued to discuss how her love of textiles developed: “I upcycled my own clothes and made fabric handbags from a very early age. I did home economics up to my Junior Certificate and hated it. I wasn’t very good at sewing and hated the rules and restrictions put on the projects.” When asked about her process when creating garments, she says: “it starts with a feeling or a memory of an experience. My designs are very much inspired by emotion and nostalgia. After my fabric selection, I do rough sketches of the collection. Then I begin painting and I make final colour selections. I try not to be too rigid in my process and embrace the natural way the collection comes together.” Indeed, FéRí’s launch collection is a graceful mix of vibrant floral patterns, with statement cuts and shapes. Rochford uses organic cotton—a vegan product made from natural seeds with a low environmental impact. Orange fiber, a textile made by extracting the cellulose from the

fibers discarded from citrus fruits, saves the by-products that would otherwise be thrown away. Her brand is so ethically mindful—it is energizing to hear its uncompromising nature when it comes to resources. “Natural ﬁbres are biodegradable, unlike polyesters and other petroleum derived or plastic based fabrics which shed particles into the water system, and do not decompose over time, often ending up in landﬁlls. Each print we design is hand-painted in our Wexford studio and digitally printed on these natural fabrics in India. The fabrics we use are silk, organic cotton and orange crepe”, Rochford admits. “Starting the business alone, you have to be self-motivated all of the time”, she explains. She mentions how important networking and social media is. While she doesn’t enjoy the social media aspect of things, she deems it necessary when kick-starting a brand and claims it is responsible for helping her business to grow in just under one year. “I received a feasibility study grant from my local enterprise office and subsequently did their ‘Start Your Own Business’ course and self-funded my first collection. I am a member of The Council of Irish Fashion designers, The Design and Crafts Council Ireland, The Acorns Programme and Women in Business. All of these groups are a great support network for me”, the artist asserts. What is most striking about the FéRí story is the focus on Ireland and its display of heritage. From wild flowers hidden throughout the countryside to the authentic farm life and the omnipresence of the colour green, Irish culture

is being represented in such a beautiful way. “We are really interested in the story of clothes, where they are coming from and where they are going. We use Irish made fabrics where possible, along with locally sourced, pre-loved textiles that have a story to tell. Unlike a new roll of fabric, pre-loved textiles evoke a sense of nostalgia and curiosity of their history, their story. FéRí pieces are an evolution of these stories, capturing the energy of old and new”, Rochford says. “This is something I have been interested in since I was younger, my BA in Fashion Design concluded a final thesis on Re-made Culture in 20th Century Ireland Farming communities.” One of Rochford’s biggest achievements to date was selling out her first design. With the brand’s commitment to an individualistic approach, she will surely see more products sell out in the future. Rochford claims that “we don’t engage with trends. Our designs are vibrant and colourful, designed mindfully for forward-thinking, individualistic women (#ferifolk) around the globe who want clothes they can love, cherish and pass on.” Like all businesses, her’s came with various challenges, including “funding, a lack of knowledge in running a business, setting up a website, and finding my customer base.” “Wear, Care, Mend, Lend” is FéRí’s motto, and it only takes a look through their eclectic pieces to see the homage paid to Irish craft and design. Rochford leaves me with a piece of advice fit for any business starter, or student for that matter: “Just trust yourself, you are on the right path.”

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Fill the hole in your social calendar with Dublin’s donuts Lara Monahan explores the best donuts the city has to offer

Foraging in Dublin Alfie Fletcher breaks down how to swap supermarket plastic for leafy greens

hen you live in a big city like Dublin, it can be difficult to reconnect to nature. Foraging, however, can be a solution. Instead of driving to a supermarket to put a plastic-wrapped vegetable into a plastic bag, try foraging, which acts as a reminder of the magic of the natural bounty of the earth. There are plenty of opportunities to forage your food in Dublin throughout the year. I have focused on a few basic ones to get you started, all of which you can find in Phoenix Park at different times throughout the year. Wild Garlic Daffodils may be the more recognisable symbol of spring’s advent, but it is wild garlic that gets the culinary circles most excited. From March to the end of April, the leafy greens invade woodlands, lending a beautiful garlicky perfume to the air. It can be found in Wicklow but, more excitingly, also in Phoenix Park. Make sure to have a root around the American embassy. Wild garlic comes in three stages, all of which are edible. The first stage is the leaves, which you can cut with a knife or scissors. Leave the bulbs even though they, too, are edible — you need the landowner’s permission to take them. You can treat them rather like garlicky spinach; the leaves can be tossed sparingly into salad, or quickly sauteed in olive oil. I like to do half wild garlic and half spinach here, especially if you have to talk to anyone in close quarters for the rest of the evening. I particularly like to make it into risotto; follow your usual risotto recipe, but blend the wild garlic into the stock so that

the sharp flavour mellows with a longer cooking. I also made a wild garlic oil, blending the leaves and letting them infuse in olive oil, before draining it. Now I drizzle it on everything. The plant then begins to flower, making it bittersweet because it marks the approaching end of the leaves but the beginning of new opportunities. The flowers are beautiful and make a tasty decoration to any salad. I don’t think that their beauty is at all marred by the sharp punch of garlic that goes with every bite. The seeds can be turned into capers. Leave them in salt for over a week to dry them out and then place in the vinegar of your choice — apple cider works well as more neutral vinegar. Keep them in an airtight jar for a month before opening and, after that, they will keep for the year. Nettles — foraging for the notso-faint-hearted Before I had ever eaten nettles, I imagined that my poor throat would be covered in the same little red stingy bumps that covered my knees as a child. I thought my parents had innovated a peculiar form of torture: death by risotto. However, harvesting, cooking, and eating nettles is not as perilous as I had imagined. If you wear gloves, cut the leaves with scissors, then blanche the leaves for 30 seconds, the stings will be gone and you’re left with a nutritional delicacy. The River Cafe in London made nettles famous with their risotto, which had the creamy funky addition of taleggio known for counteracting the minerally taste of the nettle. Make it in much the same way that I described with the wild garlic. A tip for risotto in general: you don’t have to stir it nearly as much as you’ve always been told. Add the stock in large ladles and leave it to absorb without overly disturbing the pan — this lets the rice hold its structure, and not turn into a grainier porridge. The rice, like pasta, should also be cooked al dente. Risotto shouldn’t be mushy. I also think there is a beautiful poetic revenge on the stinging

nettle by eating it. You hurt me as a child, and in return, I will eat you as an adult. They’re leaves are best eaten young, so look for them around early spring. Dandelion When somebody told me that dandelions were edible, I was surprised. But really, what marks the difference between their juicy leaves and those we’re accustomed to eating? Dandelion leaves can be eaten in a salad or sauteed with chilli and garlic. They’re bitter, but delicious. Mushrooms I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you that you can find and eat mushrooms in Phoenix Park. The others were probably talking about the more magic variety, which can certainly be found all around the park — just follow the deer — but there are plenty of edible mushrooms in the park which you can have for breakfast without hallucinating during the day’s lectures. Picking mushrooms is daunting and more dangerous than picking the stinging nettles. Many of the varieties can be fatally poisonous, so it’s important not to step into the park and munch on the first fungi you find. There are plenty of resources, however, to help you sort yourself out. From books and websites, where you can identify them yourself, to Facebook groups where experts can identify the mushrooms for you, information about identifying mushrooms is everywhere. Alternatively, The Mushroom Stuff runs events in Dublin where you can go on a foraging tour, finishing up with a hearty bowl of mushroom soup. Their expert guides can identify anything you find. Mushroom hunting primarily takes place from late September through to early winter. Foraging for your food will be a return to nature, even if you don’t find anything. The worst that happens is you take a pleasant walk through the wilderness of Phoenix Park. But if you go to the right spots right now, you will find wild garlic and nettles. Plus, the joy of cooking something that you found is insurmountable.

s an international Fresher arriving in Dublin for the first time last autumn, I was certain I had missed crucial aspects of Dublin’s social and cultural scene. This year has been characterised by irregularity; between fluctuating cancellations, the transfer of in-person classes to Zoom for some and a desperation to sit in a pub for others, it can be difficult to get a real sense of Dublin’s culture. With that said, one semblance of consistency has emerged out of this chaos: donuts. Donuts are not new to Dublin - this craze has been taking over Dublin since at least 2017. Since then, the obsession has only grown. Though the monotony of lockdown has certainly set in and restrictions don’t seem to be lifting anytime soon, we can still rely on meeting up outside with someone from another household for the purpose of exercise. While a donut and a walk may seem like low intensity activity, it is a surefire way to get yourself out of the house and get a snack in at the same time. As many of us are feeling isolated and overwhelmed, it can be a good idea to get out, even for an hour, and talk to someone who might also be struggling. Plus, doesn’t any exercise sound more appealing when baked goods are involved? The title of “Best Donuts in Dublin’’ is apparently a highly contested one; with so many great spots in the city to pick up this doughy treat, any and all preferences are catered to. A personal favourite of mine is Offbeat Donuts. They offer classic donuts such as those of the glazed, jam-filled, or sprinkle-topped variety, and also cater to more adventurous tastes with donuts that verge more on patisserie-treat than the traditional doughnut. The visually stunning Lemon Meringue donut from Offbeat certainly fits this description with toasted meringue topping shaped into a floral design. Offbeat Donuts competes with The Rolling Donut, an older business derived from a small, but incredibly popular, kiosk on O’Connell Street that expanded to locations across the city centre. It offers an arguably similar experience to Offbeat with donuts paralleling in flavour: Offbeat’s Biscoff-inspired Caramel Crumble and The Rolling Donut’s The Lotus Biscoff are obvious examples. For the vegan doughnut enthusiast, however, The Rolling Donut is an obvious winner. It offers a broad selection of nine different vegan donuts in comparison to Offbeat’s meagre range of three.

However, both have their advantages, as Offbeat is located just a five minute walk from college and offers a 10% student discount. The Rolling Donut, on the other hand, is not only on O’Connell Street, but there is also another next to St. Stephen’s Green, a perfect spot for walking around while sinking your teeth into a ganache-topped treat. While the allure of Krispy Kreme prevails with plans to open a new store, supporting Irish businesses tastes sweeter. The Hot Donut joins the league of Irish donut shops in the city centre. Though small, this place is certainly mighty. Located on O’Connell Street, this is the go-to place for fruity and floral flavours. Think the sophistication of flavours like Rose, Mango and Passionfruit, or Sour Cherry. Of course, The Hot Donut also covers other bases flavour-wise with adventurous choices like their selection of Cheesecake donuts, the Strawberry Bailey’s donut, and the Bacon and Cheese donut particularly standing out. Adam Hussey, a first year student, commented on the range of donuts available; he was particularly pleased with the Jaffa Cake donut. If not for want of a delicious treat, The Hot Donut is worth a try just for the exciting flavours. This shop also has the widest selection of vegan donuts I’ve seen thus far. With both savoury and sweet donuts on offer, you really can’t go wrong with this place, not to mention their 10% off student discount, too. Krüst, the first company in Ireland to give us the Cronut, is another gem and is rumoured to have some of the best coffee in Dublin. It has become part of any donut fan’s trip around the donut shops of Dublin and is typically home to delicious breads, sandwiches and other pastries. While the Dublin-centric specialized donut shops really give you the proper experience of what has become such a staple food in the city, there are many other donut options. The famed Dame Street Spar, open 24/7, can be relied upon for a late night donut from their Boston Donut stand. If you are passing a Londis, popping in for a Boomerang donut can be great for a quick sweet treat. Whether you’re on the hunt for a recreational donut or an emergency one, Dublin is certainly the place to be. If you’re thinking of awkwardly texting a classmate - who you’ve only seen in pixels so far - to see if they would like to meet up for a socially distanced chat, maybe going for a delicious donut could ease the process. With an array of options and newly-added vegan alternatives, Dublin Donut Shops are a foolproof snack destination. Regardless of your preference, this city has what it takes. And who knows? With restrictions likely to ease in the coming months, Dublin’s donut shops won’t be the only place packed with customers.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Do more. Do better. We’re waiting. Trinity needs to act against sexual abuse, writes Eva O’Beirne

This article discusses sexual assault. ealising that a person you know or are even friends with is an abuser is always a harrowing experience. Knowing that you could have somehow enabled their abusive behaviour— that you didn’t see the signs or that you possibly ignored them because you didn’t care or didn’t want to get involved—weighs heavily on your mind. Too often I have been scared to voice my true opinions of someone out of fear of what could happen to me; too often I feel scared of what will happen to me, as well as other bystanders, once I start talking about my experiences. Recently, one of my close friends was outed as an abuser of women. Someone who abused me was also outed. Over several days, in a slew of tweets, my eyes were opened more than ever before. Even as a victim of abuse myself, I was willing to ignore potential signs of a close friend being a

perpetrator because he manifested so much kindness towards me. I realise now that this was an act of manipulation; he tricked me into thinking he was harmless whilst causing so much emotional distress to so many others. My own abuser has refused to take accountability for their actions. They have simply put their social media on private for a “mental health break”. Perhaps they do need a break, but at the same time, I don’t want to have empathy for them; I don’t want to feel responsible for their wellbeing. I don’t want to worry about their current mental state because I know they never cared about mine. I want to scream about what they did to me in the middle of Front Square, to make them feel as powerless and lost as I was. I despise this sense of belonging abusers have to victims, that “my abuser” is a common term. I think about the people who have hurt me so much, knowing they probably aren’t thinking about their victims much, if at all. In recent weeks, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I was sexually assaulted while passed out at a college gathering in my first year. I know if I named who did it, no one would believe me. I know I couldn’t consent to anything, but I

know if I came forward about this people would try to change what I feel or invalidate my trauma. I don’t know what I can possibly get out of outing any abuser of mine other than ensuring other people’s safety. I want to make sure that they can never hurt anyone like they hurt me again, but I am terrified of the public backlash I will inevitably receive. I feel like I’m not strong enough to name either of these people and it tears me apart. I feel like a failure for not being able to stand up and say their name without my voice breaking. I have come to realise, though, that it isn’t my fault; I am not a failure for not being able to stand up and denounce my abusers’ actions. Ultimately, how we as a society treat victims of abuse is unacceptable. It is too easy to forget about victims because there are no real supports in place to protect students from abuse. Currently in Trinity, there is no policy in place to address issues of sexual assault within the college. There is no system on campus—at least no tangible one—that directly helps sexual assault victims. Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union’s (TCDSU) website offers this line of information for victims of sexual violence on campus: “If you have been sexually assaulted

it’s important to contact your support services in college and/or the police”, alongside the following instructions: “To make an official report against another member of the TCD college community you will need to log it with the Junior Dean. If you need information or advice on this process you can contact your tutor, the SU Welfare Officer, or the GSU Vice President.” While the college is making strides towards sexual assault education, there is still no guarantee of support and no gentle way of approaching the process of reporting sexual assault. During Freshers’ Week, condoms are handed out by the bucketload but but we don’t talk about what students should do if they are assaulted. The SU website promotes consulting the Welfare Office or availing of emergency appointments with the counselling service, but do these guarantee any real support? Recent allegations of abuse within Trinity’s societies have made me think of similar cases played out on the global stage such as those of David Dobrik and Paddy Jackson. With these cases, we see parallels of people almost refusing to believe victims because they have a set perception of a person’s personality. David Dobrik alleged

that he didn’t want to believe that one of his best friends was capable of abuse. As a college, we need to stop questioning victims before questioning potential abusers. We are told that reporting inexcusable behaviour, often, statistically, behaviour by men, and making abuse allegations harms abusers’ careers and mental health. What we don’t do is provide enough space for victims to come forward safely—Trinity doesn’t even provide them with a sexual assault policy. I see the actions that societies are taking in light of these allegations and I’m left unsatisfied. If Trinity’s societies are so determined to protect previous, current, and potential victims of abuse, they need to do more. Personal statements or thoughts on Twitter accounts that are followed only by your friend group aren’t revolutionary. In cases of abuse, you can always do more, because all too often victims are left with nothing. Share every resource you can; call for internal reviews of how your society works; create an anonymous reporting system; write a sexual assault and harassment policy into your constitution; campaign for better policies on a college-wide scale. It’s 2021 and there is still no system in place in college to protect and support victims of sexual assault. To Trinity: do more; do better. We’re waiting.

A vision for a new-normal September Ella Bleu-Kiely interviews TCDSU Ents Officer-elect Greg Arrowsmith on the role of societies in college life

hen one hears Trinity Ents, it’s not uncommon to immediately think of first years in Halls and those crisp event photos with their distinctive logo in the corner, or maybe even fresh-faced students experiencing the wonders of Harcourt Street for the first time. However, newlyelected TCDSU Ents Officer, Greg Arrowsmith wants to overthrow this conception. Freshly victorious from this year’s TCDSU elections. he spoke about his campaign, Ents for Everyone, his own college social life, and his hope for future club and society collaborations. The third-year Economics and Politics student said that he benefited significantly from college life and events during his time in Trinity, but not so

much from Ents. “I wasn’t in Halls in first year and I feel like that’s where a lot of people get into Ents, but through clubs I’ve gotten a huge amount out of college socially, and I know a lot of people haven’t. There’s a whole range of people that miss out on social events for so many reasons; be that commuting or a language barrier or a disability.” When asked why he ran for the position of Ents Officer, he said that not only did he feel he’d do a good job, but also wants to pass the feeling of enjoyment that he’s gotten out of social life in college on to other students. Having been the Social Secretary for Hockey Club and Ents Secretary for Sailing Club, Arrowsmith stated that “one of the most pleasing things is bringing new people into the club and seeing them enjoy stuff and going to events or training sessions. Knowing that you brought them in is a really lovely feeling.” Throughout his campaign, Arrowsmith promised to organise more charity events for causes that are important to students. The basis for this is in 2019, when he organized a charity event during his time as Social Secretary for the Hockey Club in conjunction with the Sailing Club, DU Snow Sports and the Dublin University Management Science Society (DUMSS) in aid of Pieta

House. That year, a member of the Hockey Club had taken their own life, and Arrowsmith said that it lit a fire under him about mental health. “People were so happy to go which was great, but also on the night there was really a recognition from everyone, that it wasn’t just about raising money but why we were there raising awareness to the issue. It showed me how much good events can do rather than just having a night out.” He feels that Ents can play a huge role in collaborating with Trinity’s charitable societies, and this “won’t only boost engagement but do some good, and most importantly raise awareness for certain causes”. “Ents always has to be cautious so as not to infringe on society life, and to an extent there’s only so much we can do. We can offer to reach out and collaborate. I think smaller societies can sometimes struggle and could benefit from Ents platforming them a bit more.” We all know at least one society that has been referred to as a “cult” in our time, with some students potentially dissuaded from signing up as a result. Arrowsmith is conscious of this pattern: “I feel a lot of people see some societies as being quite insular. This is what a lot of people see when, say, a close-knit group of friends are on a committee. I’d

like to work with some of these bigger societies.” For many, time spent in societies and the friends born from them can certainly shape a college experience. They are a dominant feature of Trinity life, and as Arrowsmith said, it “makes it all more personal. It can be hard in any course to make connections with people, so I think societies and clubs give you that common interest and just expose you to a whole other group of people. It’s definitely the springboard of a lot of friendships made. I know it has been for mine.” As for his future vision for Trinity’s societies, Arrowsmith returned to the idea that TCDSU cannot overstep when it comes to infringing on society life, but he hopes to maintain “a supportive and collaborative relationship always”. Arrowsmith revealed that he is currently working with Leak Keogh (TCDSU Presidentelect) on running welfare training for social secretaries in which he’d like to open up to the Ents Committee and also the CSC. “The whole idea of this is to try and get more people in tune and aware of the potential dangers and pitfalls of nights out. In line with that I’d also more than happily run a training session for society and sports club committees. They’d be given a list of venues and contact

details, and a few pointers on how to organize a good and safe night out”. In light of the world’s current state, TCDSU are hoping to get back to some form of normality by September. “I’d imagine it to be all outdoor events at that stage and we’ll have to get creative”, said Arrowsmith. “From speaking with this year’s first years during the campaign they made it very clear that they want a week of nights out” — as advertised in his manifesto promise for a Senior Freshers’ Week. Finally, when asked what he’s most looking forward to during his time as Ents Officer he gave a rapid reply: “I’m most looking forward to getting back to events, but also truly the Pav getting back open. I think it’s a stepping stone and a bare minimum of social standard… if we just have [the Pav], it’ll make such a difference in people’s lives, even if we are sitting metres away from each other!” Arrowsmith concludes with a hopeful idea for the future: “I have a vision for September. I’m looking forward to it all, and I’m really starting to get excited. I feel like it’ll start to hit people that life’s coming back.” The image of such a time is certainly tantalising; Friday evening in the Pav, pint in hand, wilfully forgetting the last lecture of the day.

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

A year of digital society events Grace Fannon looks back at how societies have adapted over the last twelve months

rinity is heading into the final few weeks of a year that is hopefully unlike anything we will see again. Between online lectures, frustratingly short library booking slots and an absence of sneaker-wearing tourists meandering around campus, it has been difficult to get used to the changes this year has brought. In the midst of this upheaval, Trinity’s societies have been a bastion of normality, providing much needed social interaction and the reminder that there are other people in existence besides your flatmates or family members. Society committees have had to push their creativity to the limit this year as they figured out what kind of events work best in a virtual format and how to make it easy for people to engage via online events. Although the year is not quite over, the season of AGMs is upon us, bringing with them a turnover in society committees and a reflection

on the future of Trinity’s many societies. With this in mind, we’re looking back on this strangest of years at some of the societies that have persevered through the pandemic and the new types of society events have been born out of Covid-19 restrictions. I think most would agree that DU Players is one society that has definitely earned a round of applause this year for the continuous effort they have put in to keep theatre up and running at Trinity. Their Resilience festival, back in the long-forgotten days of summer 2020, was only the beginning of a constant stream of shows, events and festivals, including Freshers Fest, Lorde Fest, Glitter Fest, a pop up Grá festival and their recent Millennium festival. Festivals of this kind bring us all something to look forward to in weeks that can seem to meld into one long and boring Tuesday. Rather than wallowing in the closure of the beloved Samuel Beckett Theatre, DU Players accepted from the beginning that Trinity theatre would have to adapt to online formats, and has been undeterred in their commitment to keep producing and creating. Their festivals and events have provided a welcome outlet and motivation for student creativity. Another festival of note is of course Trinity Arts Festival (TAF), which came back in February

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2021 with a bang. TAF brought an impressively packed schedule of workshops, speaker events, performances and exhibitions, with a number of different societies taking part, from DUDJ, to Trinity Visual Arts Society, to Trinity Yoga Society. Trinity Musical Theatre Society (TMT) should also be mentioned as a performing arts society that has kept up momentum and enthusiasm during the year. The society started a workshop series over the summer that continued into the academic term and is still up and running. Workshops have been led by a mix of Trinity students and musical theatre professionals, including Ellena Vincent, a cast member of the West End production of Hamilton. Along with a stream of musical theatre inspired weekly events, TMT also produced a virtual production of Into the Woods for the 2020 Musical Theatre Intervarsities and announced in February that they will be producing Carrie as their 2021 Intervarsities submission. If there are any silver linings in the transition to online life for societies, one of them is the potential for a greater range of guest speakers who otherwise may have been unable to come in person. As a result, virtual panel discussion and speaker events may be something that is carried over into future years. Trinity

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Societies play an important role in keeping morale at least a little higher than it would otherwise be

Law Society boasted an exciting lineup of different speakers over the past few months, including Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Stephen Fry; Niall Horan and Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland. TCD Environmental Society has been another prominent presence this year, providing a range of different events each week, along with constant updates and information about environmental issues and initiatives. During Green Week,

the society held a Climate and Inequalities event, which used art, music and storytelling to highlight climate injustice and the varied impact of climate change across the world. The event was introduced by Mary Robinson, and featured a list of impressive guest speakers. The society’s efforts to engage students in discussions around climate change and environmentalism in interesting and inventive ways are praiseworthy. From the depths of Zoom events and social distancing restrictions, another society initiative was born– the podcast. Earlier this year DU History kicked off their new podcast, Many Moons Ago, with an episode on The Relationship between History and Art, which is now into its second season. With podcasts being so popular nowadays, it is unsurprising that societies have turned to them as another way to get members involved. TMT is another society to have recently started a podcast, called Spill the M.T., and many other societies may follow suit in the future. It goes without saying that this year has been a challenging one for students’ mental health, and Trinity societies play an important role in keeping morale at least a little higher than it would otherwise be. Especially for students feeling isolated, whether they are living at home in more rural areas or unable to meet up with friends on campus as they usually would, this year has made it harder to reach out for company and support. With this in mind, Q Soc - Trinity LGBT should be mentioned for their closed space meet-ups that supplement the society’s regular coffee hours. The closed space events are safe, non-judgemental and supportive spaces where people can come to talk about their sexuality, meet others with similar identities, have a chat, and discuss the challenges associated with being queer in today’s world. This is a truly excellent initiative and particularly important during lockdown. When it comes to creativity and commitment, there are too many societies to name. In a year when it would’ve been easier to reduce events and acquiesce to the limitations of Zoom, Trinity’s societies have kept coming up with different and interesting ways to facilitate social interaction. Craft workshops, cook-alongs, discussion panels, quizzes, stand up nights, magazines and exhibitions are just a handful of the things which have been organised this year, all online. Run solely by students, Trinity’s societies have managed to keep the spirit of student life alive at Trinity, even if they are unable to actually be on campus.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

ARTWORK BY MARIA PANAGOS FOR TRINITY NEWS

Learn Heather Bruton discusses how to stay motivated to study despite the pandemic

I Let’s get intimate with body confidence Kerry O’Sullivan relects on how sex can be a journey to loving yourself and your partner

’ve always had an issue with the idea that you have to absolutely love yourself before you can truly love another person. In a society where we are told at every turn how to improve to fit a particular mold of “perfect person” - how to get skinnier, how to dress like everyone else, how to have complete confidence, and more, it can be difficult to accept yourself. I think there is value in loving others, even if you haven’t fully come to terms with loving yourself first. One of the ways you can explore external love as a means for hyping yourself up is through physical intimacy. Sex is where intimacy and body confidence intersects in a tangible and inescapable way - it’s time we confront that intersection. The body positivity movement has made leaps and strides in the past couple of years. Every day that that inclusivity improves, the diversity of what we call beautiful expands. There is a beauty in simply existing. Sometimes, it can be easy to call our bodies beautiful when they are not doing anything. When you are looking at a picture, or in the mirror at your own

stagnant form, it is much easier to convince yourself you’re confident than it is when your body is fulfilling a function. I think the body positivity movement is lacking the discussion around intimacy and the way this can impact your body image. There are people in committed, trusting relationships who still will not get fully naked during sex for fear of their partner seeing their body rolls or areas of their body they’d prefer to keep hidden under layers of clothes. It’s scary trusting someone enough to be involved romantically and physically with them, but not so much that our personal body image is unimportant to the way that we allow ourselves to feel pleasure. For so many people, that is the most vulnerable part of having sex: simply being naked around your partner. The best piece of advice I ever received in relation to the intimacy confidence problem is that regardless of how you feel about yourself, you are the sexiest person in the world to your partner at that moment. Have you ever seen someone naked in a moment of physical vulnerability and looked at their cellulite, or cared about their body acne? No, because to be blunt, you generally have other things on your mind. You need to put yourself into your partners’ skin - they most likely feel that discomfort that you are feeling about their own insecurities. They are not analysing and categorising what you perceive as your imperfections just as you are not doing the same to theirs.

In that moment, you are letting someone into your space, but your body is still yours and you need to love it just as much as you are loving your sexual partner. I really do think this has to be said for sex within a relationship and casual sex. Whichever way you look at the situation, it is still an exposition of each other’s most precious entities. Our bodies serve us every day and they deserve love and respect. Of course, you don’t need to love your partner to have sex with them, but at the very least, you have to respect their body. The moment you are comfort-

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It’s okay and, I would argue, the norm for sex not to be perfect

able with your own nakedness is also probably the moment when the sex you are having gets better and more pleasurable. Sex is one of the few times where you are confronted with solely the function of your own form. Try to let go of worrying about what you look like and how you are being perceived and hopefully you’ll find more room for experiencing that actual moment of enjoyment and satisfaction that sex is meant to provide for the participants you’ll be far too focused on your own appearance than on the act itself. I suppose the way we learn about sex is to blame. Let’s face it, porn creates unrealistic ideals where everyone involved looks beautiful at all times and nothing is ever awkward or messy or funny. It’s okay and, I would argue, the norm for sex to not be perfect - you’re going to get sweaty and messy and you aren’t going to come out of it with perfect hair. The constraints of perfection take away from the experience itself. The only solution is to properly embrace the situation. Sex can’t possibly be embarrassing when you trust yourself and embrace your own body. That is not to say that you can love yourself overnight; that you can peel back years of deeply-ingrained body-image toxicity and emerge with a perfect body image. Every time you feel physically vulnerable will be a challenge, but you are not alone in feeling that. What you can do is appreciate the journey of learning to love yourself, and along the way, loving someone else can help. While this may not be for everyone, it might be worth trying if all else has failed you. When efforts to defeat your own inner saboteur by yourself falter, you could give celebrating the beauty of the human body through sex with the support of a partner a try.

t’s 8am and you wake up to the loud blaring of your alarm, knowing you have to face another day of studying at home during a national lockdown. This thought alone can be enough to cause anyone to hit snooze and shirk all responsibilities for the day. Knowing that we are going to be under restrictions for the rest of this academic year, and, in my case, until the end of my undergraduate degree, keeping good study habits is more important than ever. In the past, if I was feeling particularly unproductive, a change of scenery was all I needed to shake up my routine and get focused on work again. Now, with a location change like a trip to your local coffee shop out of the question, most of us are stuck studying and taking classes from our bedroom. Sleeping and working in the same space is naturally going to affect your productivity. If you have the option, try incorporating a switch

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

ning under lockdown of study spot every now and then into your work schedule. For example, try working in another room in the house if it’s possible, or if you live in Dublin, book a slot in the library or one of the other spaces on campus. Working in the Exam Hall is a real vibe. If you’re living at home, finding a new space to work isn’t always possible, so make sure to take plenty of breaks. If the weather permits, do some reading or light work outside. Go on a short walk. Make a coffee or tea. Get a snack. Even small breaks will help with productivity. As the weather warms, leave a window open when you study — the fresh air and natural light will help keep you focused. Identify what time of the day you work best. For me, it’s the morning. So if I really want to get a good day of work in, it makes sense for me to wake up at 7am or 8am in order to maximise that time. Once I’ve had lunch, I slip into an afternoon slump where I’m completely unproductive. For others, it takes a good few hours of mindfulness in the morning to properly wake up, and the afternoon or even the evening might be your time to shine. Whatever time works best for you, try to make sure you work your sleep and work schedule around it. There is no point trying to force yourself to work when you are half asleep — unless you are

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I’ve gotten to the point where ‘book library slot’ and ‘read emails’ will nearly always be on my to-do list for the day

approaching a deadline, then it might be necessary. Making a schedule for the week, and for the day, is really important. To-do lists are your friend. Give yourself small, achievable goals every day. Write anything and everything down on your list. I have gotten to the point where “book library slot” and “read emails” will nearly always be on my to-do list for the day; anything for the satisfaction of ticking something off the list. Even seeing that I have completed one or two tasks for the day gives me the motivation to do more. Similarly, waking up and immediately making your bed, even if the rest of your room is shockingly messy, is a great way to start your day. Though it may seem pointless, making your bed right after you wake up is a great way to accomplish a minor task to inspire greatness for the day ahead. A to-do list is a great way to keep yourself accountable when it comes to academic work as is telling someone what your aim is for the day. If you are anything like me, accountability is everything when it comes to studying. If I am in the library, I know I will likely get more work done because I’m hardly going to open up Netflix in the library where everyone can see me. At home in my room, on the other

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If you have a bad day, don’t let it get you down

hand, who will know if I binge watch an entire season of a TV show instead of working? My new strategy is to tell someone — a family member, a friend, a flatmate, anyone who will listen really — what my goals are for the day, however small. Just knowing that someone other than myself expects me to get a certain amount of work done often motivates me to achieve that goal, mostly so I don’t feel guilty if they ask me about it later. That being said, if you have a bad day, don’t let it get you down. One significant issue at the moment is students and lecturers assuming that just because you have more free time to study, it

PHOTO BY ZAHRA TORABPOURAN FOR TRINITY NEWS

means you are physically capable of working more. This can cause us to set overambitious and unrealistic goals for ourselves, when in fact it is likely that the impact of the pandemic on your mental health will actually have a detrimental effect on your study habits. If you find yourself being less productive than ever, you’re not the only one. Ask for an extension or talk to your class rep about potentially getting a blanket extension for your course if you are struggling to keep up with your academic work. Lecturers, for the most part, are very understanding about how the lockdown is impacting students’ ability to study, so if you need more time, don’t be afraid to ask for it - it doesn’t hurt to try. Make time to take care of your physical and mental health. Aim for those eight hours of sleep, go for regular walks, don’t check the coronavirus cases too often and make time for the things you enjoy, whether it be reading, painting, exercising or cooking. Schedule calls with friends and family even if you are feeling sick of Zoom. A quick ten-minute catch up with a friend is a good distraction from everything going on. However, also make time to get away from your screen. Putting the laptop and phone away for a period of every day is a great way to wind down. Sometimes the pressure to stay constantly connected via social media and video calls can be draining. Consciously taking that break from technology can give you the space you need to relax and de-stress. Keeping up with lectures and readings for seminars is one of the most difficult aspects of attending college remotely. The accountability that comes with having to physically attend a lecture or seminar is no longer there, so it becomes really easy to fall behind with your work. I am a big fan of changing the speed of lectures to x1.75 — watching it at twice the speed is just a little too fast for me. Granted, I will have to pause at times to take some notes. I still find that listening at this speed gets me through any prerecorded lectures much faster. Use your judgement on this, though, because lecturers talk at different speeds; you might be only able to go up to x1.5 for fast talkers. We are all struggling with studying right now. Sometimes it feels like there’s no point to it, with so much going on in the world. Talking with a friend about how you’re struggling to keep up will make a huge difference because they are more than likely in exactly the same boat. Have a rant. Get all of those frustrations out. You won’t be able to study if you’re feeling fed up and unmotivated. Use the summer and the potential for an ease in restrictions to fuel your study. Lectures, and then exams, will be over soon; there’s not much more of this left. Fingers crossed this is the last lockdown-studying we ever have to do.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Puzzle page Crossword solution, March 30 Across 1. Sagittarius 4. Marmalade 9. Cava 10.Faffarelle 12.Oragami 13. Lawrence 14.Harrods 15.Exhausted

CROSSWORD BY DARRAGH CREAN FOR TRINITY NEWS

Across

Down

4. Viper Higgins Productions; Black _____ (5)

1. Marine conservation organization, Sea _______ (8)

6. Innocuous stealing (6) 8. Immoral, corrupt behaviour (6) 9. Come between; cut off (9)

Down 2. Italian 13. Fond of company; sociable 3. Hague (10) 5. Aswan 6. Embroidery 7. Pagliacci 8. Beamish 11. Delorean 13. Laois

2. Embarrassing blunder; slip (5) 3. Capital of Taiwan (6) 5. U.K. ‘right to protest’ protests (4,3,4) 7. Deathly; grim, gruesome (7) 10. Timon and ______ (6) 11. BTS member gone solo; Japanese PM (4) 12. Ponzi Prince (6) 14. South Asian traditional dress (4)

AQUATIC CIRCUMSTANCES DEFERRAL DONATION ECUMENICAL EXTRAORDINARY KANSAS KOALA LEMONADE MARSUPIAL MARZIPAN ORIGINAL ORTHOPAEDIC SANITARY SEMINARY SUPERIOR SUPERVISOR TILLAGE

Trinity shouts and murmurs I think it’s very romantic and cinematic to turn off your camera to start weeping for no reason during a zoom call -@furtiso One of my mam’s junior infants asked why they didn’t just Sellotape Jesus to the cross -@fluffernutter99 “If bread is so bad for birds, then why do they eat it?” I wonder to myself as I eat my chicken fillet roll -@GlassHalfArsed my card out of the blue started getting denied and now I’ve been on hold with B*nk of Ir*land for 45 mins waiting to know when I can buy food again if I have to hear their classical music swell on the phone one more time I’m going to vandalise something -@dylan_mc_carthy trinity people- anyone else just daydream about the day they finish their dissertation or the day they graduate, and the photo shoot they’re gonna do with the george salmon statue? excited for it tbh -@rectangulrhalos

PHOTO BY RÓISÍN GUIHEN

PHOTO BY VICKY SALGANIK FOR TRINITY NEWS

WORDSEARCH BY JULES O’TOOLE FOR TRINITY NEWS

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Academia remains an inaccessible career choice for many Alison O’Brien

Comment

page 18

Kate Henshaw

Assistant News Editor

The new vaccine rollout plan ignores the plight of young workers

he Covid-19 pandemic has impacted every single person in the country. Many have lost jobs, been isolated from loved ones and many are feeling the effects of one of the longest lockdowns in the world. Students are no different. However, with the new plan to administer the allimportant Covid-19 vaccines by age, students may well be the ones who feel these effects the longest. When the government announced the overhaul of the vaccine roll out plan from a categorised vaccine priority list to priority based on age, there was uproar. Teachers and SNAs were perhaps the loudest in their outrage. However, there are also thousands of students who

work on the frontline every day in retail, as baristas, takeaway drivers and elsewhere. This overhaul of the vaccine roll out system is yet another way the government has let students down during this pandemic; while frontline healthcare workers receiving vaccine priority is vital, as more non-essential retail opens, the situation for many student workers is increasingly tenuous. Students have undoubtedly been ignored by the government; this is evident from the complete lack of mention of college students in government announcements. Even with the new Department of Higher Education, colleges and universities are consistently left out of government leaders rhetoric.

With a string of opposition motions being voted down by the government (including a People Before Profit motion to scrap college fees), it appears that not only are students not mentioned, but the government is actively working against us. It is difficult, if not impossible to remember the last time the Taoiseach mentioned college students. For all the rhetoric emphasising the importance of reopening schools, it is beyond insulting that college students are not included in considerations. While reopening schools is important, colleges also deserve a seat at these discussions. It is beyond frustrating that we are not afforded the same importance as schools at a government level,

College must make a conscious effort to shed its elitist reputation David Wolfe

page 20

especially given that we have been expected to perform at an extremely high level for over a year now without many of the supports that we would normally have on campus. Many are burnt out and clearly struggling; it should not be too much to ask that the government acknowledges this and tries to do something to ensure that next year is better. Now, with college students being at the very bottom of the vaccine roll out list, the hope that we could be back on campus by September is waning. The new vaccine roll out plan becomes even worse when you think of all the students who have spent the last year working on the frontline. Thankfully, the majority of student healthcare workers are now vaccinated. However, there has been zero acknowledgement of all the students who work in retail or in any other frontline job in the new roll out. This is of course, not exclusive to students; anyone who has worked through the highest level of lockdown and cannot work from home deserves to have that acknowledged in the vaccine roll out plan. Workers, including students, in public facing jobs, are inherently at greater risk of not only catching but spreading the virus. It just so happens that a larger proportion of these workers are students. The government has asked so much of these workers over the last year; these workers are not only putting themselves at risk by working on the frontline - they are also full time students with coursework and deadlines they are struggling to keep up with. Many of these students need to work to pay their college fees and are not eligible for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The very least the government could do is

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There has been arguably more conversation about students gathering in parks than there has been about mismanagement of vaccine doses

to acknowledge this in the vaccine roll out, considering how much these students have sacrificed in the last year. Not only have students suffered a lack of recognition for their work during the pandemic, we have been consistently vilified and blamed for every spike in Covid-19 cases. The rhetoric surrounding students gathering in parks has permeated coverage of Covid-19 cases in the last month. While obviously not every student has followed every restriction in the last year, the vast majority have stuck to guidelines. Not only is this blaming rhetoric unfounded, it also fails to mention the huge proportion of older people and families gathering in these green spaces. Of course, there have been incidents such as the street party in the University of Limerick, but that doesn’t represent the majority. There has been arguably more conversation about students gathering in parks than there has been about mismanagement of vaccine doses. It is also worth mentioning the recent incident at Coombe hospital where medical students were passed over for vaccination in order to vaccinate family members of the Master of the hospital, and the infamous incident at the Beacon hospital where several teachers from a private school which the children of the chief executive of the hospital attend, were given “spare” vaccine doses. These individuals are still in their positions at the time of writing. This does not exactly foster confidence in the management of the vaccine roll out. It is bad enough that student frontline workers are not being prioritized - it is far worse when you consider how students have been vilified in conjunction with this. It is important to emphasize that students are not asking to be vaccinated before the most vulnerable in society. We are just asking that consideration be given to the fact that many of us have worked to keep essential services open over the last year, and have put ourselves and our families at risk by doing so. It is hypocritical that young people have been villainized and blamed for spikes in cases, while powerful hospital executives vaccinate their families and teachers at their children’s private schools without major consequence. We want to go back to college and all we are asking is that we be included in the narrative. Student frontline workers are at huge risk and that should be recognised in this roll out. We are all trying to get back to normal, but it is difficult to imagine how that will happen for us if we are not even included in the discussion.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Comment

Alison O’Brien Contributing Writer

Academia remains an inaccessible career choice

e are often told by those older and wiser than us that if we do what we love we will never work a day in our lives. While we may strive for a career that we will love, reality can be quite different to our ideals. This is particularly pertinent for those who wish to pursue a career in academia. Practical barriers, the persisting conditions, and academic bureaucracy means many are faced with insurmountable deterrents. There is undoubtedly a tendency by some to view the pursuit of a PhD and a career in academia as a luxury or a hobby. However, a PhD is not something that is undertaken lightly. It requires at least three to four years of full-time research. We frequently hear anecdotally of

the gruelling hours and loneliness that PhD candidates experience. Under the guise of “experience” many PhD students are expected to undertake unpaid work such as tutoring or lecturing. TCD’s Postgraduate Workers Alliance was established last year with the aim of protecting working rights for PhD researchers. They recently presented a Charter for Postgraduate Workers Rights to Trinity’s three Provost candidates. The Charter proposes a number of measures to ensure that adequate supports are provided to PhD researchers and to tackle the persisting exploitative working conditions that exist which includes precarious and unpaid work. Whilst progress and improvements will undoubtedly take time, the rise of such advocacy groups will help to raise public awareness of these important is-

sues and will spur change. Furthermore, for PhD students a PhD is not just something to fill four years of one’s life but is also a life-long career choice. For those who love to research, to write, to engage in debate and to impart knowledge there can hardly be a more rewarding or fulfilling career choice. Academia also offers unquantifiable benefits to society as a whole; we need research. We need curiosity. We need to search for answers to all kinds of questions. Without research and without a diversity of candidates pursuing PhDs and subsequently careers in academia, society will stagnate. Pursuing a PhD is unfortunately a prohibitive undertaking. It is not uncommon to hear students say: “If I don’t get a scholarship, then that rules me out.” A PhD is an expensive path to pursue. Min-

Dearbháil Kent Comment Editor

It’s not too late to rethink our semesterisation approach

can still remember my set of first year exams. Seven exams over the space of two weeks with three weeks of revision allocated for the end-of-year cram. Of course, this is before the Trinity Education Project (TEP) came and changed everything. Before TEP, there was plenty of time to revise at the end of the year, to get involved with as many societies as you want during and still be able to work a part time job. My favourite thing about life before TEP was that there were no Christmas exams either, so you were able to take your first term back at your own pace. Since the beginning of TEP, 76% of those operating within society committees said that

semesterisation has negatively impacted them. Let’s not forget this year for Fresher’s Week, when society committees were asked to go ahead with events despite it clashing with many of students timetables. With increased assignments and pressure to perform well in a new academic structure, semesterisation has meant that some students have had to face an ultimatum: either take a part-time job and miss out on society life to some extent. There of course, those lucky ones who can afford to go through college without a part-time job, but they are probably the minority. Trinity has created many successful alumni and for many

of them, this is in part due to their engagement with societies as students that had nothing to do with their degree whatsoever. Mark Little, one of Ireland’s finest journalists, engaged in Trinity Publications during his time in Trinity. As someone who graduated with a philosophy degree, Lenny Abrahamson talks about his experience with DU Players as being integral to his college experience and his future career. There are many more who undoubtedly were shaped by their involvement in societies during their time in Trinity but this in itself should be more than enough for College to recognise that society life is integral to student life, both recreationally

ister for Higher Education Simon Harris recently announced that scholarships under the Irish Research Council scheme would be increased to €18,500 per annum (increased from a meagre €16,000 per annum). However, obviously nobody can bank on being awarded a scholarship. While scholarships are few and far between at the best of times, the Covid-19 pandemic may also impact the availability of funding for doctoral studies. It is to be hoped that governments and private industry alike will support those who wish to pursue further studies during these uncertain times, and the increasingly uncertain post-pandemic economic conditions which await us when lockdowns lift. It is clear that candidates are deterred from pursuing the academic career simply because they cannot afford it. Despite Minister Harris’ increase in funding, it is simply too little. Terminology is also an issue. Financial supports to pursue PhDs are frequently referred to as “scholarships” or “stipends”’ Why are they not called a “wage” in return for work done (in this case research and teaching)? Many somewhat cynically suggest that by clothing these payments in the language of awards, sponsors avoid establishing true employment relationships and thereby dodge employment rights. Indeed, this is problematic from a gender equality perspective due to the inevitable inability of female PhD scholarship recipients to obtain maternity leave. After three to four years of

undergraduate study, plus the increasing societal expectation to complete a Masters, ageing students have little extra cash to sustain further studies. Even if one is lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship, the likelihood will be that the vast majority of that payment will be spent on ever-increasing rent. Faced with the choice of less than minimum wage for four years, versus the €30,000 average graduate starting salary available in other career paths, it is understandable that many allow their heads to rule their hearts, and will favour careers which enable them to pay rent to the detriment of their own self-fulfilment. The problem extends beyond the financial aspects. A very practical matter is that applications for PhD scholarships often appear ad-hoc on university websites and often in the months of February to April. These are months when current students often simply do not have the time to dedicate to lengthy and detailed application processes as exams and assignments for their current studies are usually impending. It is imperative that those who have been through the process provide effective guidance and information to interested students. A good mentor has the power to change the course of one’s life for the better. More supports are urgently needed. For individuals who are deterred from pursuing careers in academia, the situation is heart-breaking. For society, the situation is intolerable.

and professionally. When you think about the wealth of skills that students from all sorts of disciplines can learn through society life that they may not have had the opportunity to have otherwise learn, it seems fruitless to obstruct it. The vibrancy that society life brings to campus has suffered greatly in the face of the pandemic over the last year. With a new Provost and the end of the pandemic in sight, College ought to rethink semesterisation in favour of society life as we return to campus - we’ve suffered enough already. TEP sought, among other things, to improve continuous assessment, but simply splicing exams between winter and summer is not a truly continual approach. In previous years, there was never enough time to study for exams before Christmas. This year, there was arguably too much, with exams being held in the New Year; having the exams creep up on everyone over the break was without a doubt exhausting, and there was no real sense of rest from studying or taking time to enjoy the holidays. Getting rid of a mammoth set of Christmas exams in favour of smaller pieces of continuous assessment could help student engagement with societies and provide a more genuine means of continous assessment. Students

could host more events in the lead up to Christmas and the end of the semester, engaging in societies that they perhaps may not have had the chance to have done before, because now they have more time to explore some of the 120+ societies Trinity has to offer. Another compelling idea to help student engagement with societies is to accredit it. Such an idea almost seems ridiculous given the strong enthusiasm from Trinity students with society life. It isn’t a foreign idea though. DCU already does this. In fact, they were the first to formally acknowledge and offer academic credits for the extracurricular activities of its students all the way back in 2004. The Uaneen module, set up by the late Uaneen Fitzsimmons formerly of RTE, sets out to motivate students and reward them for personal development and society engagement. It would be incredible to see such a move put in place in Trinity. Considering how deprived we have become of face-to-face social interaction and society life with the pandemic, I don’t think that dedicating two weeks at the beginning of term to societies would do any harm to any of us whatsoever. This year has shown that College can change its plans at the drop of a hat it’s time to give its approach to semesterisation another look.

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Comment PHOTO BY MARCO VERCH. LICENCED UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS

College must implement a specific sexual misconduct and assault policy

Grace Gageby

Deputy Comment Editor

Fionnán Uíbh Eachach Contributing Writer

Irish citizens living outside of the Republic should be allowed to vote

hile many nations around the world can claim to be countries of immigrants, Ireland’s claim is somewhat unique given our distinct historical relationship with migration and because huge numbers of Irish people live abroad. Despite this large and politically-engaged emigrant citizenry, however, Ireland refuses citizens living abroad the right to vote in Irish elections. Given that many of us at university will later move overseas, we ought to consider the benefits of allowing citizens living outside of the Republic the vote. Why allow expatriates the right to vote? It might be better to begin by asking why we should deprive them of that right, as it is common practice not just in Europe but around the globe to allow citizens living outside of the state to vote in national elections. American and French citizens living in Dublin, for example, are as capable of deciding their own countries’ future as they would be back home, yet Irish citizens are left completely disconnected from national politics the moment our feet leave Irish soil. This is despite the fact that Irish citizens living overseas have consistently proven that they remain invested in, and passionate about, domestic politics — one need look no further than the flurry of flights carrying citizens back to Ireland in the days preceding the 2018 abortion referendum. It is laudable that so many citizens living outside of the state flew home to vote in that referendum, yet they can hardly be

expected to pay for a flight every time an election comes around — and there were surely many who wished to do so but unfortunately lacked the funds. Students in particular would likely find the costs of returning home to vote cumbersome, and we therefore owe it to our friends studying at foreign universities and on Erasmus+ placements to ensure they can retain a voice in Irish politics. Refusing Irish citizens living outside of the state the right to vote does not only affect emigrants, however, as it also disconnects those living in Northern Ireland from engaging fully with politics in the Republic. Northern nationalists have justifiably long felt ignored by the government in Dublin, and allowing them to vote if not in Dáil elections, then at least for the largely ceremonial presidency, would go some way to rectifying a century of exclusion. While the geographic basis of Dáil elections makes extending the franchise difficult, giving Irish citizens living both in the North and overseas the right to vote for the president (who is intended to represent the entire nation) would add to the legitimacy of the office without many drawbacks. There is also a rather strong argument now for allowing the citizens of Northern Ireland the right to vote in Irish elections to the European Parliament, given that EU rules continue to apply in the North following the UK’s departure from the European Union. Any future reform of the Seanad might also conceivably involve a minimum number of seats for emigrants and for those living in Northern Ire-

land. It is often argued by those opposed to extending the franchise to emigrants and people in Northern Ireland that only those paying tax in the Republic ought to choose its governments. While the logic behind such an assertion may at first seem sound, it leaves one in an awkward position; what about people who receive more from the state in benefits than pay into it in taxation? Should they be refused the vote too? The fact that no rational or caring person would accept this demonstrates clearly that taxation is not in fact the basis for representation, and that to limit democracy in this way would frankly be to disfigure it. The fact that, in the Irish case, so many of those living overseas initially emigrated because of government mismanagement of our economy makes opposing their right to vote even more difficult — why should they be punished for the actions of the government that forced them to leave? Every Easter, we hear Ireland’s “exiled children” praised as the 1916 Proclamation is read out at the steps of the GPO. Yet while nations as dispersed and different as France and Namibia or Austria and the United States allow their expatriates to engage with domestic politics, we instead exclude them. Those who only hold an Irish passport because of an Irish-born grandparent should of course have no automatic right to vote here, but we do owe that right to our expatriates and to those living in the North and it is high time we include them.

he topic of consent has been brought to the fore in recent years, particularly in the wake of the Me Too movement which sparked discussions about the prevalence of sexual misconduct in all echelons of society. College campuses are in no ways exempt from a culture of misogyny, sexual assault, or victim blaming. While a broad cultural shift is needed to take on such ingrained societal attitudes, the least universities can do with regards to sexual assault is to have a robust policy in place that enables victims to report assault in a way in which they feel comfortable, and can be assured that due process will be guarenteed. While student movements and representatives have taken positive steps with regards to creating a culture of consent on campus, College itself often lags behind. In March 2019, TCDSU voted to bring in an intern to handle education around sexual consent. The union overall makes an effort to hold campaigns and workshops around the issue of consent; during every SU election season, the topic of consent workshops and Ask for Angela schemes for nights out are brought up time and time again. College’s current consent intern, Aoife Grimes, was employed by Trinity to research a new Sexual Misconduct Policy, and work on a Bystander Intervention Programme, as reported by Trinity News last October. However, within College itself, the procedure for reporting sexual assault or misconduct is far from perfect. Sexual misconduct is an extremely sensitive issue, and those who handle allegations should be trained to deal appropriately with the matter. But the online information readily available for reporting sexual assault are the following words on the SU website: “To make an official report against another member of the TCD college community you will need to log it with the Junior Dean. If you need information or advice on this process you can contact your tutor, the SU Welfare Officer, or the GSU Vice President.” As it stands, the Dignity and Respect Procedures encompass sexual misconduct, rather than having a separate set of procedures and guidelines, something College has acknowledged is inappropriate. If College is to release their Sexual Misconduct Policy, given the long wait for it to materialise, it is vital that it hits the mark.

A USI survey released in June of last year revealed that nearly a third of female students had experienced non-consensual penetration, and 70% of victims claimed they didn’t understand college procedure relating to assault. This makes it all the more clear that promoting a culture of consent must rapidly jump up the list of College’s priorities. High-profile sexual assault cases cases relating to members of the Trinity community further emphasise the need for College to take swift action. Brendan Leahy, Trinity’s Head of Facilities and Services, received a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting a woman in Dublin city centre in 2018, which was reported in March 2021. How College responds to convictions like this are crucial. It needs to show leadership on taking a zero-tolerance stance against sexual misconduct now and in the future to make it clear that assault will not be tolerated within Trinity or by its students and staff.. While an online tool for anonymously reporting sexual assault at third-level was recently developed by the Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education Ireland (PCHEI), the silence from colleges themselves has not gone unnoticed. A research lead approach is of course important, but so are the decisive steps colleges take based on the data at hand. While the incoming Sexual Misconduct Policy is a welcome step, it is also worth asking why it took so long in the first place. While many (Minister for Higher Education, Simon Harris included) have paid lip service to the epidemic of sexual assault on campuses, the real indication of whether or not students can trust their education institutes to protect them, is to be found in action, not words. It is not enough to rely on the SU providing consent workshops during Freshers’ week; College must act to roll out a transparent procedure for reporting and handling sexual assault and misconduct on campus.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

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David Wolfe

Contributing Writer

College must make a conscious effort to shed its elitist reputation

erhaps unsurprisingly, the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth has often stood apart from Ireland’s other third-level institutes in many regards. While the college prides itself on being an institution of Ireland’s best and brightest (admittedly supported in this claim by annual world university rankings), through other lenses it has long been regarded as being exclusive and elitist. Its legacy as an institution of the Protestant ascendancy class, and more recently, a reputation for South Dublin snobbery, result in an overrepresentation of students from affluent areas of the capital, while the rest of the country focus instead on

the constituent colleges of the National University of Ireland, such as UCD, UCC, and NUIG. However, the phenomenal increase in undergraduate applications to Trinity reported recently suggests that Trinity is shedding such appearances and, consciously or otherwise, taking on a new image with a broader appeal. Data released by the CAO indicated a significant 38% overall increase in demand for places on undergraduate courses. Courses across all schools rose remarkably, including a 58% boost in first-preference applications for medicine, and an extraordinary 90% rise in the same for history, to name but two. Of course, in discussing Trinity’s boost in popularity, we

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must address the elephant in the room. In the initial months of the first lockdown last year, a certain limited series in which Trinity College featured prominently reached an audience of over 62 million on BBC iPlayer alone, and was viewed by millions more on streaming services and television networks worldwide. The resounding international success of said series, as well as the original novel by Trinity graduate Sally Rooney, was credited by many media outlets for a significant 10% increase in applications to the college between May and June. While the series in question may not have presented the most optimistic vision of college life, featuring bad breakups, traumas, and mental

health issues, it also romanticised Trinity to a significant degree. A combination of beautiful photography, the stunning architecture of College campus, and an infamously attractive cast no doubt piqued the interest of Leaving Cert students suffering the combined pressures of lockdown and looming exams (as they stood at the time). The series certainly did not shy away from the notorious “elitist” attitudes found in the college. Numerous characters sporting pronounced D4 accents, represented the wealth and social status which Trinity students are stereotypically obsessed with flaunting. There was no illusion that one is not bound to run into many such individuals in Trinity. The series did remind its viewers, however, that for every member of this arrogant and privileged minority, there are a dozen friendly, approachable, and like-minded peers around campus - normal people, one could say. Whatever may have sparked Trinity’s newfound popularity, such change will likely prove to be self-perpetuating. More applications from across the country will mean a student body more representative of the population, encouraging others from areas outside of the capital to apply. When school friends and neighbours advertise their student life on social media and in the parish, College becomes a more attractive option; the experiences of friends offer a far more informative insight into the college than any open day could. As well as this, College will likely be eager to embrace a new image of openness, and consequently make good on the changes which have come about rather suddenly through increased demand from students around the country. While the jump in CAO applications may signal a broader appeal and perhaps a decline of exclusivity, it is altogether possible that such a rise may have the contrary effect in the long run. As CAO points are determined by demand, popular courses consequently become much more competitive and places are awarded to those achieving the highest Leaving Certificate points – disproportionally private educated students. Discussions around the holding of the Leaving Cert in the midst of Covid-19 have revolved around questions of fairness and equitability; however, the reality is that the Leaving Cert was never a level playing field to begin with. 2016 research by the Irish Times showed that private schools dominate high-points courses in third level, with 20 out of the 25 schools which send the highest proportion of students to third level are fee-paying.There is a myriad of reasons that private schools consistently outperform their public counterparts. Some will argue that the quality of tutoring and education in these institutions is simply higher, however, it is also true that students who attend these schools come almost exclusively

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The considerable room for College to become more inclusive does not regard opening geographical borders, but rather closing gaps of wealth and class from affluent backgrounds, and are often free from the pressures of part-time jobs, and can afford private tutoring or “grinds” outside of school hours. Therefore, while Trinity may enjoy a significant boost in applications from all demographics, and pat itself on the back for openness and inclusivity, the consequent rise in points ultimately leads to a greater proportion of students from affluent backgrounds to the exclusion of socioeconomically disadvantaged candidates. As the “most international” university in Ireland, it may seem ironic to suggest that there is any urgency for Trinity to diversify. However, research by the Higher Education Authority last year revealed that Trinity has both the lowest proportion in Ireland of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and highest of those from affluent areas. Trinity’s exclusivity is not simply a matter of national or ethnic demographics, but also social and economic. The considerable room for College to become more inclusive does not regard opening geographical borders, but rather closing gaps of wealth and class. Trinity’s domestic reputation certainly seems to be undergoing a favourable transformation. However, College must go beyond appearances by fostering genuine economic diversity and encouraging and enabling those from disadvantaged backgrounds to bring their skills and talents to Ireland’s leading third-level institution.Trinity’s long-term priorities must be to educate and nurture questioning minds, wherever they may come from. College has a responsibility to bridge the class divide, and take initiatives to both attract and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds if Trinity is to move past its elitist reputation not only in appearances, but in reality.

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

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Editorial: The Graduate Students’ Union has a

long way to go to restore postgraduates’ trust

t’s been a tumultuous week for the Graduate Students’ Union. After initially declaring itself to have made the monumental step of divestment from TCDSU, it was forced to re-run that vote and ultimately reach the opposite conclusion. Then, on consecutive days, petitions were launched calling for votes of no confidence in both the union’s President Gisèle Scanlon and Vice President Abhisweta Bhattacharjee. Alongside re-evaluating its relationship with its sister union, the GSU has also been working of late on the drafting and passage of a new constitution. The document from the union’s constitutional review group set out, among other things, measures that would make it more difficult to impeach members of the GSU’s Executive, remove some of the term limits on union officers, and move some of the organisation’s standing orders from being enshrined in the constitution to mere by-laws. An extraordinary general meeting was held on April 14 to deal with these two matters and it was, not to mince words, somewhere between a shambles and a disgrace. First, the GSU was forced to

postpone the meeting by almost two weeks after it was pointed out that the initial date violated the constitutional provision mandating two weeks’ notice for all general meetings. Next was the way the meeting was conducted. Vice President Bhattacharjee declined to engage with members’ concerns, first when she wanted to go ahead with the meeting despite more than 200 members being unable to enter the Zoom call, and again when she threatened to remove members from the call for pointing out that the voting system was not working, which was done by holding handwritten notes up to the screen as the call’s chat function was disabled, despite requests for it to be turned on. Either of these actions alone could constitute unacceptable conduct for an elected representative. Taken together they suggest an environment where members feel serious disconnect from those who are meant to represent them. The GSU’s executive serves at the pleasure of its membership and participating in the union is the inalienable right of that membership, not a privilege to be granted or revoked by the

sabbatical officers. Finally, one of the three motions on the union’s new constitution was passed by a margin of just four votes. Despite an existing constitutional provision stating without exception that the document may only be “added to, deleted or amended” with a two-thirds majority. GSU Oversight Officer David Donohue - in his capacity as the proposer of the motion justified this by arguing that the vote was to establish an entirely new constitution and thus may be passed with a simple majority. By definition, replacing an old constitution wholesale involves “deleting” something – and it is simply shameful that it was allowed to happen. The entire shambolic meeting also needs to be placed in the wider context of the GSU’s recent history. The conduct of the union’s executive – passing motions using almost-certainly unconstitutional methods and not taking action when members said they were unable to vote – looks particularly bad given it happened at an EGM held to pass a constitution which significantly increases the power of the executive. Readers may also recall that

a meeting of the GSU Council in December was marred with similar obstructionism. The GSU Council was forced to reject the President’s annual report after only three members of the Council were allowed to ask questions about that report, one of whom had their audio deliberately cut off by the Chair while still speaking. Given this pattern, backlash was almost guaranteed to happen eventually and indeed it did, in the form of the petitions against the union’s two sabbatical officers. As well as being embarrassing and unbecoming, the GSU’s struggles are more than a little ironic. The point of the constitutional reform was to simplify and smooth the running of the union, and the rationale given for the proposed divestment from TCDSU was that the officers of the GSU are “most effective” at advocating for postgrads. Yet this week has been anything but simple or smooth, and the organisation’s officers have proven themselves to be somewhere between unable to and uninterested in serving their constituency. It is not the place of this newspaper to make a

determination on whether or not the proposed motions of no confidence should be passed by the GSU’s membership. But the petitions’ authors were correct to call out the sabbatical officers’ conduct, and to send a message about the respect with which the union’s members deserve to be treated. In many ways the outcome of the petitions is unimportant anyway, as we enter the last weeks of the academic year and the union’s sabbatical officers approach the end of their terms in office. What can be hoped for, then, is for a precedent to be set that destabilising or undemocratic conduct by officers will not be tolerated, and that the organisation’s membership will push back if treated with contempt. Everyone, no matter their opinion on the new constitution or divestment from TCDSU, seems to agree that the GSU is a valuable organisation. With issues like PhD working conditions in Trinity still unresolved, it’s more important than ever that postgrads are represented and able to collectively bargain. It is imperative then that the union’s next executive steps up and does better.

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Trinity’s Women on Walls Lucy Fitzsimmons page 24

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What is true randomness?

It’s a little different to what we think it is Luke Rabbitte Contributing Writer

s almost a third of English words do, “random” stems from Old French. However, the original noun “random” had a meaning closer to “speed” or “impetuosity”. Over time the sense of haste embedded in the word wrought new meanings like “careless”, “unforeseen”, and ultimately the sense we accept today – that of something bizarre, unplanned, or strange. Random is a useful word. It peppers our everyday conversations, emphasising the sheer craziness, excitement and unpredictability of our lives, and seems to just roll off the tongue when talking about those moments where, for example, the author of a randomness article randomly began by talking about English etymology, or the fact that he has randomly interrupted this article to shuffle into the third person. However, true randomness is

far rarer than the everyday usage of the word leads us to expect. Pulling short straws, rolling dice, flipping coins – these are some of the many time-tested methods used to generate randomness and preside over fair contests. Ignoring irregularities of the sort discovered by researchers at the Akademia Podlaska in Eastern Poland, who claimed the embossed design on the Belgian €1 coin causes the coin to land on heads more so than tails, we can take it as given that a single coin flip is random. We know intuitively, though, that while one coin flip is random, many coin flips become predictable and will tend towards a fairly even 50/50 split. So, how well does our intuition serve us when it comes to other puzzles of probability? Were you really listening in maths class? How well-based are your assumptions? The truth is - maybe less so than you thought. Consider the following scenario. 22 people have signed up to a new Probability and Statistics module and are walking into the tutorial room on campus for the first time, oblivious that after a single class their brains will have melted and oozed out onto the linoleum floor. The teaching assistant strolls through the door once all the students are done filing in, bringing the room count

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What are the odds that a pair of people in the room share the same birthday?

to 23. What are the odds that a pair of people in the room share the same birthday? The bemused students shuffle around the room, perhaps approaching the problem by organising into January rows, February rows, etc. Soon, they discover that the odds are not as long as they originally thought – in fact, virtually the same odds as flipping a (non-Belgian?!) €1 coin and watching it land on heads. How can this be?

Statisticians in the fight against climate change Nina Chen page 26

From a group of 23 people, there are in fact 23C2 possible pairs – 253 pairs, to be clear. This turns out to be well over half the amount of days in a year – 182.5 or 183. Mathematically, it is easier to calculate the probability that two people don’t share the same birthday, and then subtract this from 1 to find the probability that they do. Back in our stuffy room, the teaching assistant grabs a student at random and asks them what their birthday is. Ignoring leap years, this student has the luxury of 365 options, as they are the first to be asked. Moving on to the next student, they still of course have 365 possible birthdays, but if they don’t want to break the not-having-thesame-birthday streak, they must not repeat the first birthday and thus have 364 options. Moving on again, the students are getting a bit impatient, but after asking everyone in the room and crunching the numbers ( 365⁄365 × 364 ⁄365 × … × 343 ⁄365 ), then subtracting this number from 1, we find that the chance of any two people in the room sharing a birthday is in fact 0.507297, or just over 50%. Repeat the experiment in a larger lecture hall of 70 people, and the odds soar to 99.9%. Try it yourself! This sort of confusion arises from several irreducible human factors. Over many tens of thousands of years, the human brain has learned that the best way to deal with the stunning amount of information presented by our surroundings is to make predictions and seek patterns. The brain is upset by pattern-devoid input. As the Ganzfeld experiment famously shows, participants who sit in a comfortable chair for half an hour with halved pingpong balls over their eyes and a constant red light shone towards them, with nothing but white noise playing out through their headphones, will have starved their brains of patterns for just enough time to undergo mild hallucination. Sensory stimulation is like oxygen to the human brain; the confiscation of this basic need is what makes solitary confinement such a malevolent method of punishment and what makes people shock themselves rather than sit idle in a room (as entertainingly demonstrated in Michael Stevens’ Pain vs Boredom experiment uploaded to one of YouTube’s most popular science channels, Vsauce). The pendulum, however, swings both ways. Input that is indecipherably random can be as jarring as no input at all. Comedians like Andy Kaufman and Eric André consciously challenge the threshold at which something passes from the

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iTunes altered its shuffle function, ‘making it less random to make it feel more random’ hilarious into the haphazard – leaving punchlines undelivered, flitting between personalities, or even walking onto a crowded New York subway wearing pyjamas and an Elizabethan dog collar, pouring milk everywhere and eating Froot Loops (looking at you, Mr André). The greatest works of art successfully toe this line between structure and disarray, forte and piano, action and inaction. They strike the optimum balance in our brains – enough pattern to satisfy and enough randomness to subvert. When we hit shuffle on our music library, we expect a roundabout trip through

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

SciTech discographies, eras, and genres, and can be left frustrated if five songs from the same artist come up in a row. After complaints from begrudged customers, iTunes decided to alter their shuffle function for this very reason, “making it less random to make it feel more random”, in the words of erstwhile CEO Steve Jobs. Of course, a random system with such a large user base can be reasonably expected to serve up an oddly specific string of similar content from time to time – for example, with over 120 billion videos on YouTube, it is not that surprising that one random broadcast snippet from a Greek radio show contains the word “Hello” in its randomly generated URL. All this is to say that what looks random to the human eye often isn’t. The odds of showing 3, 1, 6, 4, 5, and 2 upon six rolls of a die is the exact same as the odds of showing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, despite the former looking a lot more random. Genuine randomness is hard for us to understand. An experiment carried out by Dr. Christopher Wetzel of the Rhodes College Department of Psychology asked participants to create a list of 100 coin flip results from thin air, and to make the results seem as random as possible. Subsequent analysis showed that humans are surprisingly incapable of behaving randomly. It’s not that we as humans lack the imagination; more often than not, we will actually overcompensate. We will create chaotic lists that flit around unpredictably, just like the roundabout iTunes shuffle that sounded more pleasantly random to our ears. True randomness, like serving up those five Bob Marley songs in a row, will occasionally hit a “run” of similar results, creating an illusion of order that

contradicts our understanding of randomness. The subtle difference between chaos and randomness has lain at the heart of the debate of what counts as true randomness. Rolling dice and flipping coins are serviceable means of generating randomness, but when it comes to national sweepstakes, data encryption, drug screening, military drafts, and university entrance lotteries such as those used by the Irish Central Applications Office (which must sometimes revert to randomly selecting new entrants among equally qualified candidates), we obviously need to seek out the highest quality, crème de la crème randomness. Computers, to begin with, are terrible at producing truly random numbers. Most programming languages rely on Pseudo-Random Number Generators (PRNGs), which vary in implementation but rely on formulae and algorithms to produce strings of random numbers. The trouble is, these formulae are deterministic and require a term zero or seed to get the ball rolling. From this starting point, the same subsequent randomness will always be reproduced. They are also periodic, in that the sequence of random numbers will eventually repeat itself. Dr Mads Haahr, founder of Random.org, identifies simulation and modelling as suitable use cases for PRNGs, owing to their efficiency. However, to acquaint computers with true randomness, we must get them to listen to external phenomena. True Random Number Generators (TRNGs) are the sort of computer systems we must use if we want the fairest and highest quality randomness demanded by some of the lottery and encryption situations mentioned

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earlier. A popular approach is to observe large-scale, chaotic systems. In fact, Random.org uses this very approach – the service is based on randomness generated by atmospheric noise, which is picked up by radios and is caused by all sorts of natural phenomena, including thunderstorms. If you have ever been foolish enough to hinge your plans on the suggestions of the weatherman, you’ll realise that despite truly awe-inspiring leaps in technology over the past few decades, weather forecasts still get it spectacularly wrong. If you wanted to know exactly what the weather was going to do over the coming days and weeks, you would have to know the position and status of every single molecule in the earth’s atmosphere at any given moment in time, and extrapolate into the future based on a set of laws that describes nature predictably 100% of the time. A quote from French polymath Pierre-Simon Laplace deserves to be reproduced in full: “We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future. An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed, if this intellect were also vast enough to submit these data to analysis, it would embrace in a single formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the tiniest atom; for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes.” At a time when solar eclipses and planetary movements can be accurately predicted hundreds and even thousands of years into the future, you could be led to believe the scientific cause has been edging ever closer to such an overarching “intellect”. However, if such an intellect truly existed, we would not only know whether or not we ought to wear our wellies and raincoat when we leave the house tomorrow morning, but for the morning after as well, and the morning after that, and, well, every morning ever until the sun stops rising. Back to iTunes – where previously the dice had been rolled afresh between every song, the new system that Steve Jobs was going on about took a starting point, or “seed” song, and generated the entire playlist there and then, determining from the beginning what song would be the 10th, 20th, or 30th, in the list, for instance. If the universe were truly deterministic, as if someone pressed play on a certain song at the exact moment of the Big Bang and everything that has ever happened since has been the slow shuffle through a predetermined playlist, then nothing could ever be truly “random”. The atmospheric noise providing randomness for Random.org must have come from somewhere. Perhaps if we could find the butterfly that beat its wings somewhere halfway across

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Einstein was sceptical of true randomness and tried reaching around for proof of a deterministic universe, maintaining that ‘God does not play dice’ the globe, the little “seed” that triggered the series of whispers, breezes, winds, gales, and storms that caused the atmospheric noise in the first place, we could open up Random.org in front of a friend and gobsmack them by accurately predicting every next number that came up on the screen. Yet, when we are talking about such chaotic systems as the weather, we know the odds of anyone ever being able to do this are vanishingly small, so it is safe to say these numbers are about as bloody random as it is going to get. Some, however, prefer to peer closer and look at the seemingly random behaviour of electrons and other subatomic particles. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle tells us that there are some things about these minute particles that can never be truly known – the corresponding position and momentum of a particle at any given moment in time, for example – and implies that it is not always possible to predict the value of a quantity or the behaviour of a subatomic particle with full certainty, even if we did possess Laplace’s “intellect” and knew the precise starting conditions. As with many questions of quantum mechanics, the jury is still very much out on this one – Einstein himself was sceptical of true randomness and tried reaching around for proof of a deterministic universe, maintaining that “God does not play dice”.’ The question is whether this behaviour, along with others, is truly random, or whether we simply have not glimpsed the underlying pattern yet. There was a time when someone who claimed that on 7 September 2993, there would be a solar eclipse for exactly 5 minutes and 33 seconds would have been laughed out of the room, sent to a psychiatric

hospital, or worse. But hundreds of years of scientific enquiry later and here we are. Human civilisations have been obsessed with randomness, for better or for worse, for as long as we can tell. Surviving Roman frescoes show men playing at dice, and examinations of hordes of ancient cultures reveal the very human obsession with the determinism debate, manifested in ritual sacrifice and offerings, art and sacred texts, and the reverence laid upon oracles, prophets, and seers. Although the belief that everything unfolds from the whims of omniscient, bloodthirsty deities has gone a bit out of fashion over the years, the relentless search for meaningful patterns seems to be as much a preoccupation of the human mind as ever. In 1898, American author Morgan Robertson released a novella entitled Futility, within which he introduces an enormous, 800-foot long vessel named Titan, the largest of its day. As the Titan progresses through the North Atlantic in mid-April, it hits an iceberg and, carrying only the minimum legal quota of lifeboats, many of the passengers are doomed to an icy death. Fourteen years later, and firmly outside the domain of fiction, the RMS Titanic sets sail across the North Atlantic, destined for Newfoundland. The ship is 882ft long, the largest of its day. Tragically, the ship hits an iceberg in mid-April and, carrying only the bare minimum quota of lifeboats, proceeds to sink into the midnight depths, dooming all but the most blindly fortunate passengers to an icy death. On such a large playing field as the earth, such bizarre coincidences will of course eventually happen, just like how the word “hello” can be reasonably expected to be nestled in the random URL of at least one of those 120 billion videos on YouTube. Morgan Robertson is no more or less prescient than your neighbour down the road boasting that it was their superior knowledge and insight that led them to bet on the winning horse at the races last weekend, rather than blind, startling luck. So, take a moment to pause and question yourself the next few times you throw around the word “random”. True randomness is not bizarre, wacko, out of the blue, unplanned, or strange. It is just random. That’s it. Trying to look further into it, to take it in your hands and declare dominion over it is a fruitless exercise. That being said, what is fruitless can still be revelatory. Gazing into the abyss and seeing little fictions unfold is as strong an affirmation of your humanity and the power of your pattern-hungry brain as you will likely ever experience. True randomness is neither beautiful nor ugly, neither predictable nor chaotic, neither provocative nor banal, neither jarring nor soothing, neither human nor robot, and it is for precisely these reasons that you ought to be more in awe when you come across it.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

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Dear Demystifying Medicine Every issue, Trinity News’ SciTech section bringing you this new column called Dear Demystifying Medicine, where students can ask questions that spark their curiosity about health, fitness, or human biology. Dear Demystifying Medicine: What effect does binge drinking have on the body? It may seem fun to forget about the stresses of college and studying through alcohol, but it can have a serious, immediate impact on your immune system. Binge drinking is a common pattern found not only amongst university students, but also among the general population as well. It is defined as having four to five drinks in a short period of time. Ireland has the second highest rate of binge drinking in the world. 40% of individuals in Ireland participate in binge drinking on occasion, with 25% of the population binging at least once a week. These are startling statistics. Furthermore, it is important to note that increased alcohol intake can increase the risk for traumatic injuries impair the body’s ability to recover from injury; delay wound healing; increase blood loss; increase the risk of infections; and cause an increase in immune cells in just 20 minutes of exposure. Binge drinking causes an increase in endotoxin in the blood that’s recognized by certain receptors called toll-like receptors, which detect a potential threat to the body and react appropriately. Endotoxin is a toxic substance found on bacteria and is released when bacteria explode. The increase in endotoxin in the blood is a clue that bacteria from your gut is travelling and releasing into your blood. Furthermore, there is an increased level of cytokines, which are molecules released from your immune cells that exert various effects. In this case, the cytokines promote inflammation, which is characterized by redness, heat, pain, and swelling. The study that confirmed the increase in endotoxin in the blood had a group of people who didn’t drink and a group of people who voluntarily binge drank. Blood samples were taken from individuals in each group at various time periods throughout the experiment. In the drinking group, this increase in endotoxin in the blood was detected as early as 30 minutes into the study and remained high for at least 3 hours afterwards, whereas in the control group, there was no increase in endotoxin. So, what does this mean? Your gut leaking bacteria into your blood could actually put you at an increased risk of obesity, complications from burns, coronary artery disease, and Crohn’s disease. Overall, alcohol is alright in moderation. Binging can damage your short term, non-specific, or

innate immune response to cause inflammation and release nasty, unhelpful bacteria from your gut into your blood where it doesn’t belong. How do antibody tests for Covid-19 work? Covid-19 antibody tests are used to see whether an individual has been previously infected with the virus, not for diagnosis. These tests looks for specific antibodies to the Covid-19 virus. Antibodies are molecules in the human body that are made in response to foreign substances or pathogens such as viruses or bacteria. The generation of antibodies follows an intricate immunological process. In the human body, there are B cells, which are part of the immune system. These B cells have receptors on their cell surface that are specific to a particular antigen which are generated during foetal development and the first few years of life. An antigen is a fragment of a pathogen. Therefore, a B cell requires the receptor on its cell surface to bind to a specific antigen. The receptor will not bind to any other molecule other than the specific antigen. The binding of the antigen to the receptor causes the B cell to become activated. This activation can lead the cell to multiply, as well as cause a transformation of the B cells into plasma cells or memory cells. The plasma cells that are generated produce antibodies. The plasma cells make the copies of the exact same type of antibody that is specific to the antigen that initially bound to the B cell receptor. These antibodies can function to neutralize the pathogen and help other cells to destroy it. Memory cells are also important because when you are exposed for a second time to that same pathogen, your immune response will be faster and more effective which leads to decreased infection. This is because your body remembers what cells it used to combat the foreign entity the first time. Therefore, the Covid-19 antibody test is just looking for the presence of these specific antibodies against Covid-19 which are critical in the immune response against the virus. Antibodies are tested for in a blood sample using specific lab techniques. You would only have antibodies if your body has seen that pathogen before – therefore, this test is used to see if you were ever previously infected with Covid-19. Just because someone has antibodies against Covid-19, it doesn’t mean they have enough to completely evade infection again. This is where the vaccines come in to help to boost immunity. The vaccines help to increase antibody production to ensure there are enough to fight off the virus as best as you can. Stay healthy and stay safe!

Trinity’s Women on Trinity professors look back on a 2016 portrait as part of the Women on Walls campaign after a third round of portraits were unveiled in Dublin City University Lucy Fitzsimmons SciTech Editor

or centuries, Trinity’s Long Room sculptures stood unchanged, telling a story of geniuses and scholars, all with something in common apart from their brains: their sex. Then in 2019, we saw a historic vote to select four great female minds to join this formidable line-up. In some ways, these are superficial changes, that have a faint bitter taste of “too-little, too-late”. But in others, it is quite symbolic to think of these historically outspoken or gifted women holding their ground, outnumbered by men. Representation does matter, and this goes far beyond busts in the Long Room. In a similar thread to our own renewal of the Long Room, the Women on Walls campaign was born out of a need for female representation. The campaign

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The picture shows the eight scientists in an impactful line-up, each with an object or icon illustrating their research interests

began in 2016 in an effort to have greater representation of women on the walls of the Royal Irish Academy. The RIA was founded in 1785 as a society for learning and scholarship. It boasts past members such as Seamus Heaney, Erwin Schrödinger, Edmund Davy, and Mary Somerville. But until 2016, portraits of members on its walls were almost completely male-dominated, save one picture of a non-member female novelist which was part of their wider art collection. And though the society has had many notable female members, this wasn’t reflected as one walked around their Dawson Street Academy House. So, with backing from Accenture and Business to Arts, the RIA commissioned five portraits of notable female academics to better reflect the diverse nature of Ireland’s great thinkers on their walls. Four of the portraits were the first four women to be elected to the RIA in 1949: Dr Sheila Tinney, Dr Françoise Henry, Dr Phyllis Clinch, and Dr Eleanor Knott. The fifth is a group portrait of a selection of eight scientists who received European Research Council grants between 2012 and 2015. These women were chosen to represent the current generation of female scientists, across a broad range of disciplines. Four of these women are Trinity professors. Selected for the portrait from Trinity were Professor Tríona Lally of the Department of Mechanical, Manufacturing, and Biomedical Engineering, Professor Lydia Lynch of the School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Professor Sarah McCormack of the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and Professor Aoife McLysaght of the Department of Genetics. Alongside the four other scientists, they were depicted in a striking group portrait by Irish figurative painter Blaise Smith. The picture shows the eight scientists in an impactful line-up, each with an object or icon illustrating their research interests. The portraits were unveiled in the RIA along with an RTÉ documentary detailing the process of the portraits and the lives of the women behind them. Since this first round of the Women on Walls project, Accenture and partners have installed two other sets of portraits: eight in RCSI in 2018, and five in DCU were unveiled on International Women’s day this year. The RCSI portraits show eight female leaders in healthcare, including Dr. Mary Hannon, the first women to train and qualify at RCSI. The latest portraits, which will be hung in the Future-Tech building in DCU, are of mathematician and pioneering computer programmer Kathleen McNulty, biochemist Dr. Marie Maynard Daly, engineer Beatrice Alice Hicks,

X-ray crystallographer Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson. The project has expanded greatly since the original portraits were created five years ago. Dr Michelle Cullen, Managing Director and Head of Inclusion and Diversity for Accenture Ireland remarked of the project: “The contribution of women in society is too often invisible. Who we see on the walls, tells us about what we as a society value, about who is welcome, about who fits in. We set out on the journey of Women on Walls with the ambition of making women leaders visible to inspire future generations.” Five years since they were first captured in paint for the project, and on the heels of the latest round of portraits, some of the featured

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Participants collect their own sample and leave it in a designated collection point without coming into contact with researchers

PORTRAIT BY BLAISE SMITH FOR THE ROY

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

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n Walls Trinity professors involved weighed in on their experience of WOW in the RIA. When first asked about their experience of being chosen for the project, they seemed in agreement that it was a great honour, but that they were greatly surprised at being chosen from the many Irish women in science. “If I’m honest, at first I was a bit embarrassed and somewhat reluctant to be involved as I didn’t think I had done anything that warranted having my portrait done but the more I found out about the initiative the more it made sense to do this. It became clear that the choice of the 8 women was quite random and that we just represented so many women working in engineering and science that go unseen and are in the minority,” said Professor Tríona Lally. Professor Aoife McLysaght echoed this sentiment of “why me?” when asked about her experience: “It also was a bit funny, because they picked the eight they picked and they could have easily picked other people. So, you always have to kind of wrestle with the ‘they picked me and they could have had somebody else who would have been more deserving, or equally deserving’ kind of thing. I’ve been told over the years to just accept these things with a smile and with gratitude, and they tumble as the way they tumble out. But there was a part of me that was slightly embarrassed to be singled out, well eightled out.” she joked. But after the initial shock at being selected, representing women in science in Ireland for the portrait was an exciting prospect: “It was one of the greatest honours of my life so far! I love the RIA and what it means, so to be on the wall there was a major achievement for

YAL IRISH ACADEMY

me and my family,” commented Professor Lydia Lynch. “The experience was a really positive one, where I got to know seven great scientists and engineers and a wonderfully talented artist, who shared with us the fascinating process of capturing the essence of someone in a portrait. I am humbled and delighted to have been a part of the WOW portrait which has resulted in a really unique piece of art and the highlight of the whole process was when I got to bring my children in to see it where they delighted in seeing their ‘mammy’ on the walls of the RIA!” said Lally. McLysaght also remarked on the rare experience of having her portrait painted: “It was an honour to be asked to do it. I never had my portrait painted before… It was really nice interacting with the artist as well, in terms of seeing a bit of the process, because he talked to us along the way a bit about how he was planning as to how he came up with the layout and things like that. And so that was an interesting thing as well, definitely different from the normal day.” For the group portrait, artist Blaise Smith initially did a group phone call with the eight scientists to get a clearer vision of the portrait. Smith initially had the idea of all the scientists dressed in lab coats, but this was quickly shot down by the group: “We were all quick to go ‘you can’t just stereotype us like that, we don’t all wear lab coats by the way!’ Aren’t we trying to ditch the stereotype?” McLysaght jokes. “And so he really listened to that, and he was like ‘well come as you are then’. If you look at the painting, you’ll see like Maria [McNamara] is in hiking boots and carrying a hammer, because she’s like, ‘this is how I go out into the field’. Catríona is extraordinarily glamorous because that’s the way she dresses every day. We said we would go in what we were comfortable in.” And she is right, this is one of the first things that jumps out at

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For the important work being done by TriniScreen to have a real impact, they need a greater uptake from those on campus

you when you look at the portrait. It captures different personalities, different research fields and different working environments. All these scientists look very at home in themselves and comfortable in their own skin, and this was crucial for the message behind the portrait. “I think that it shows scientists are women too, and not just one type of woman and not one type of person becomes a scientist scientists look different, we don’t all look like Albert Einstein, whether you have long or short hair, glasses or not, high heels or hiking books, scientists can be any race, gender, shape or size, so everyone can feel it is for them. It is not a career that is off-limits,” explains Lynch. The second thing to jump out is the sheer powerful female energy that radiates from the

picture. Partially due to the terrific Avengers-like assembly the researchers are in, standing tall, facing the viewer. This isn’t accidental, in early shots for the project Smith had the participants walk towards a camera with purpose in a way that McLysaght describes as “very much like a superhero scene, where we’re all striding confidently towards the camera.” The addition of the icons representing their various fields also gives a strong image of them wielding their superpowers. Lynch says that since the project she has received many messages through social media from women that she went to school with “Telling me that their kids visited the RIA with their school, or else they brought their kids at the weekend to see the portrait, and they all said the same thing. They told their kids ‘I know her, we went to school together, you can be a scientist and you could be on a wall too’. To me this said two things - it normalizes scientists (as regular human beings) and as a regular career choice, and secondly scientists are women too - and when young girls in primary and secondary school see this at their age, then it’s hopefully normal to them when they are deciding on their career.” Lally points out that the choice of younger women, at earlier stages of their careers (at the time they had all been recently awarded ERC starter grants) is important: “I would like to think that the project has encouraged more young women to consider pursuing research careers in science and engineering and that they can be confident that there are opportunities for success and impact in these fields that can yield a very rewarding career. I think the choice of eight women in relatively early stages of their careers, most of whom are working mothers and at a career stage of aspiring for senior roles in academia themselves, is a significant factor in how relatable the portrait subject is to younger women. It is important that young women do not see success in academia as something that is in any way elitist or beyond their capabilities and that it does not require excessive personal sacrifices for success.” When asked about the effect she thinks the project has had on women and girls hoping to pursue research, McLysaght, ever the scientist, says that it is impossible to quantify the effect of this project, amongst the many efforts being made in recent years to attract more women to STEM. “If you were doing this as a scientific experiment, you would do this and nothing else, and that would not be a good strategy!” But joking aside, she, like the other participants, does cite the importance of visibility. “I think all of these things do contribute. I think visibility is important. And I know myself that when I was younger and thinking about what would I do and everything, I had never met a scientist, male or female. I didn’t think it was a thing you could do… So I think

it is important that people see examples just so that it’s in their mind that it’s one of the options that are there.” Lynch agrees that “the more projects and portraits showing diversity in science, the better for the future prospective scientists. And WOW was the first and many have followed since.” In the same vein Lally says: “I do think that at both a conscious and subconscious level that being surrounded by images of predominantly successful older men in areas such as engineering, science and entrepreneurship may have a significant impact on how both young men and women see young women fitting into these roles and therefore influence young women considering these sectors as viable career options. I think there are multiple ways we can address this issue in art, culture and the media and the WOW portraits are a critical step in the right direction.” The participants agree that though the representation and visibility of women in research is important, there are a lot of other issues that need to be combated also. “I think we still have some way to go before women are fully represented at the most senior levels in academia but making women more visible in these roles via initiatives like WOW is a great start,” says Lally. McLysaght describes a comic from XKCD comics, which talks about the few token famous female scientists held up as this ultimate goal for women in research: “There’s this person kind of slaving away at the bench and talking to herself and she goes, ‘Oh, my supervisor tells me if I keep working hard, I could be the next Marie Curie, you know, Marie Curie’. Then the ghost of Marie Curie appears and says, ‘would you ever stop with the next Marie Curie thing?’ Like just having this one example to hold everybody else up against. And it was such an extraordinarily, excessively successful female! It’s like, you’ve got to get two Nobel prizes, and in different subjects!” “So I think having high profile, high achieving women [represented] is great, but it’s not enough on its own, these things have to filter back through as well, and they have to filter everywhere. You only have people to put in your portraits if you support them when they aren’t famous, and when they’re just starting. And give them an equal shot at all these stages. So I think you can’t do a thing like this and think ‘Job done!’ We’ve done the thing, we don’t need to do anything else, because we’re good people who put nice portraits on the wall. So I think it’s good, but it’s not all of the story by a long way.” says McLysaght. So the message is clear. Representation on walls is great. Seeing women and having them clearly visible in formerly maledominated spaces is important. Visibility is crucial in ensuring we eradicate any gender inequality in STEM, but it isn’t everything. The Women on Walls project is a wonderful way to pay tribute to

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

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“Bringing data to life”: Statisticians in the fight against climate change Dr Caroline Brophy’s research uses statistical methods to assess biodiversity and ecosystems Nina Chen SciTech Deputy Editor

tatistics, according to Dr Caroline Brophy, an Associate Professor of Statistics at Trinity, is the ability to give data meaning. “Statistics is really about making a story from data,” Brophy says. “It’s really about bringing data to life.” Data refers to units of information that are collected through observation. These days, our ability to collect data is staggering. With new technology and machine learning, the amount of data we collect is impressive. In 2012, it was noted that over 90% of the world’s data has been

c re ate d in the last two years, and this has o n l y increased with time. H o w e v e r, large amounts of data are meaningless if there is nothing to interpret from it. The role of a st at ist ician? T o c r e a t e something meaningful from these data sets. Though there is data to be collected e ve r y w h e re , the main f o c u s of Dr B r o p h y ’s r e s e a r c h is in understanding biodiversity and ecosystems, fields that are no doubt crucial when discussing climate change. She started her academic career wanting to teach but discovered throughout college that she had loved statistics. “I got an opportunity to work in the Department of Statistics in UCD,”

she said. “I was teaching in the computer labs, combining my two passions for a little while. It was then that I started to do some research, and think about the environment based applications.” Now, she is a researcher and associate professor in the School of Computer Science and Statistics (SCSS). “I get the best of both worlds because I get to teach and I get to do research in a field that I find very interesting and am passionate about.” One of Dr Brophy’s first research projects had been observing the effects of climate change on an invasive species which affected people with allergies. This project, which linked environment and health, is an early example of her research focus; sustainability, agriculture, and climate issues. It i s not often that w e associate

which represent mathematical relationships between variables. Because statistics has a grounding in maths, many of the modelling tools developed by statisticians can be applied to a wide variety of disciplines. “From a research perspective, it’s about taking statistical tools, but adapting them to particular situations.” By adapting and creating models to help encompass the effects of climate change, we have a better understanding of the impacts and effects of global warming. Additionally, a statistician provides a more detailed understanding of the parameters in certain mathematical models when it comes to modelling a real-world i s s u e . “I work with a lot of ecologists, they’ll have a background i n maths but their training is in e c o l o g y. So they have an

mathematics and statistics with a fight against climate

change, but the role of a statistician is indisputably important when it comes to environment-based research. Statisticians create models

ARTWORK BY SARAH LARRAGY FOR TRINITY NEWS

understanding of the statistics from a higher level, rather than a detailed level”, Dr Brophy said.

She also stressed the importance of open communication: “The lines of communication between a statistician and those with environmental training is key.” The research that is done to better understand our environment can never be done with only one discipline, but with many researchers working together to create better understanding and knowledge. Not only is statistics of importance in climate research, but also in policymaking. The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) states that “accurate statistics on climate change drivers, impacts, vulnerability, mitigation and adaptation are of critical importance to support global environmental policies.” Statisticians are necessary for probability-based decision making. “When it comes to a statistical model, there is no black and white… it’s often about weighing up the probabilities”, Dr. Brophy says. “If we go down this road, what are the probabilities and consequences associated with them? Whereas if we go down this road, what are the probabilities and consequences associated with that?.” With hard evidence and probabilities to back up certain decisions, this allows for betterinformed policymaking, which benefits everyone. The research done, and policy decisions made, require interpretations of data. Even though the collection o f data is more than we could have

previously perceived, Dr. B r o p h y expressed that gathering i n f o r m at i o n from data is at the forefront of research: “What we have is huge volumes of data. but we don’t want big data; we want big information. So if your data set is small, and you get big information from it, that’s brilliant.” This is not to say that large data sets are not useful. Open science is the movement to make scientific research accessible to all levels of scientists. The benefit of open science is that even if one researcher chooses to focus on one aspect of the data set, other researchers can use other parts of the data set to gain new insights. “If you have someone that does

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What we have is huge volumes of data, but we don’t want big data; we want big information

an experiment, and they collect a certain amount of data, it wouldn’t necessarily be considered big data. They could focus on one part of the data, or maybe one or two responses. But they may have collected more. And if they make it open once they’re finished with it, other people can come in and use that data again and again and gain more valuable information.” Last year, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded a research project which involved looking at the statistical method for the biodiversity and ecosystem function relationships. Dr Brophy is currently developing statistical models which are able to handle more complex situations, which include multiple species, multiple responses, visualisation, and more. “Science Foundation Ireland funding this work really shows that this type of work is really important”, she said. “It validates the statistical work and shows that it is valued. It’s really great to have that kind of support and know that this support is out there.” Some other projects she is working on include species diversity in Ethiopia, as well as overseeing a PhD project on how drought affects single-species grass versus multiple species grass. The work of statisticians is meaningful and increasingly relevant in a time where we have large amounts of data and complex problems that require many minds working together. Whilst there are no easy ways to solve the issue of climate change, statistics education and research are fundamental in the search for a more sustainable planet.

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Out of Left Field: DU Sailing Lauren Boland page 29

Sport

A combo of music, football, gymnastics and volleyball Shannon McGreevy page 32

Online exam season presents new challenges for staying healthy and active Tech neck, sore eyes and disrupted sleep are but a few of the problems posed by solely digital learning Grace Gageby Deputy Comment Editor

ach time exam season rolls around, students are inevitably inundated with reminders on the importance of eating healthily, drinking enough water and staying active during exam season, for the sake of our mental and physical health. Whether or not you take heed of this advice, the new found prevalence of online learning poses a unique set of problems: hunching over a laptop causes so called “tech neck,” watching lectures and reading notes solely off screens strains our eyes, and being cooped up in the house is far from ideal for mental wellbeing. Here are a few solutions to common problems that you can try out this exam season. If you frequently experience tension headaches accompanied by aches at the junction of your head and shoulders, it is entirely possible that you are suffering from tech neck (also called text neck). If you spend countless hours at your laptop watching recorded lectures, answering emails or taking notes, it is extremely important that you do so with good posture. Having the screen at eye level will help to avoid hunching. Stacking your laptop on top of a large book, and attaching a wired keyboard which you type on at table level will do wonders for your ability to keep a straight back and relaxed arms and shoulders. If this isn’t possible, try taking regular breaks from your computer. Stand up, stretch and walk around. Try rolling your shoulders slowly backwards and forwards to loosen them up, and

slowly turning your head left, right, then up and down. If lockdown one taught us anything, it is that online yoga classes are plentiful. Yoga with Adrienne has some excellent and relatively short classes focused on back and shoulder pain, which you can easily fit in around a busy study schedule. Additionally, the DU Yoga society offers classes with their membership which are great for relieving stress and muscle aches. If yoga isn’t your thing, going for a run or a jog is a great way to get in some exercise and boost your endorphin levels. While we are of course currently limited to exercising within 5km of our homes, there are plenty of running apps that can make this confined journey a little bit more fun. The Adidas Running App by Runtastic links to Google Earth which is optimal for easy route mapping. It also syncs with Spotify so you can listen to music as you run. If you’re looking for something a little more novel, Zombies, Run! is a fun app. The more miles you run, the more supplies you get to help your village survive the zombie apocalypse. If you run too slowly, the zombies will catch you. While this may not be the most relaxing pre-exam activity, it is good if you want to get the endorphin high of covering a few miles, but aren’t feeling too motivated. If the weather is terrible and you don’t

feel like venturing outside, the YouTube channel Fitnessblender offers countless indoor workouts, most of which don’t require any equipment. They have easy to follow tutorials on kickboxing,

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Before assessments start, it can be helpful to cook something in bulk to eat for dinner or lunch during the week. Chili con carne, vegetable stew, curry or your favourite pasta sauce

ab and upper body workouts, cardio, jumping rope, pilates and stretching, most of which will take you less than thirty minutes. Ultimately, don’t be afraid to take to the App Store or YouTube for some free guided workouts to get the blood flowing and give your mind a break from intense study. Between computers and smartphones, we are currently taking in huge amounts of blue light which can cause eye strain, and also wreak havoc with your sleep cycle. Try turning down the brightness on your phone and computer, and try to distance how close your face is to the screen at any given time. There are also certain screen filters you can use to render the light more amber, or there are plenty of apps that offer blue light reduction modes. It is a good idea to sleep with no blue light in the room; turn off your phone or laptop, and ideally leave it in a different room. Avoid using screens for at least an hour before bed to improve the quality of your sleep. If you’re interested, there are also blue light filtering glasses available relatively cheap, which can be great for those long study sessions. Eating well and drinking enough water is of course vital for staying healthy around exam time. While radically shaking up your diet and exercise routine isn’t a great idea around assessments,

try to limit your caffeine, nicotine and alcohol intake (you can save indulging until after term ends). It is best to stay energised with slow release carbohydrates and healthy proteins and fats, rather than Monster energy, excessive coffee or sugary snacks that will cause you to crash soon after eating. Try and keep tasty and easy to prepare snacks like nuts, granola bars, or hummus with carrots on hand. If you find you struggle to drink enough water, when you begin studying in the morning, fill a full jug, and add some flavourings such as sliced lemon or lime, mint or berries to encourage you to drink more. Herbal tea such as chamomile, oat flower, ginger or cinnamon can also be a good way to relax before bed. Pukka tea does a large range of herbal combinations aimed at soothing stress or restlessness, which are available in many supermarkets. You obviously won’t want to spend large amounts of time cooking during exams, so the week before assessments start, it can be helpful to cook something in bulk to eat for dinner or lunch during the week. Chilli con carne, vegetable stew, curry, or your favourite pasta sauce are all good choices which should keep quite well in the fridge for a few days. Try to avoid eating large quantities of simple carbohydrates midday; lots of pasta or bread can often make people sleepy, so if you’re going to eat this, try to save it for dinner rather than lunch, or risk conking out in the middle of a test. These are but a few suggestions for how to keep healthy and active as we approach another challenging exam time. If you find you are suffering persistently from sleeplessness, anxiety or similar issues, there are a number of supports available in College such as the Student Counselling Centre and Health Centre. None of the above information is a substitute for medical advice.

ARTWORK BY CELINE DELAHOY FOR TRINITY NEWS

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Sport

Trinity’s own Mark McGauran on the Wim Hof method chall With a focus on breathing, cold exposure, and concentration, the challenge is supposed to deepen the connection between body and mind Shannon McGreevy Sport Editor

ommonly known as the “Iceman”, Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof has come to fame by breaking cold exposure records including running a half marathon north of the Arctic Circle barefoot, hiking Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts, and even standing covered with ice cubes for 112 minutes. He says his secret to success is mindfulness and undergoing special training to connect the body and mind. Wim Hof ’s successes are not unachievable though, which is why he has developed a method

to help people lead stronger and healthier lives. With Hof ’s own guiding motto, “what I am capable of, everyone can learn”, Trinity Sport’s own Mark McGauran is undertaking the Wim Hof Method Challenge and is currently more than six weeks through the course. With unbelievable performances not just dealing with cold exposure like he is typically famous for, Hof has hung on a single finger 2,000 metres above ground and ran a full marathon in the Namib Desert without drinking. This just goes to show how his method has allowed him to not only be a phenomenal athlete, but to withstand extreme conditions and risky situations in a calm collected way. Some benefits to the Wim Hof method which is claimed to be backed by science includes: better sleep, increased energy, reduced stress levels, increased focus, determination, willpower, and a stronger immune system. Rooted in the power of breath and cold, there are many success stories of users with chronic inflammatory diseases who have committed to the method. McGauran here in Trinity has truly committed to the method and is putting its benefits and effects to the test. Throughout the past couple months, McGauran has taken to

Trinity Sport’s Instagram page with updates on how he is feeling upon implementing the practices. McGauran said, “The first time I saw Wim Hof was in an episode of Stan Lee’s Superhumans back in 2014. He trained in hard, natural environments, particularly under condition of extreme cold.” Hof later shared the three

keys to his successes: breathing, concentration, and gradual exposure to cold. These make up the basis of the challenge and the training that people around the world undertake in order to reap the rewards sworn by Hof himself. McGauran said about his decision to start the challenge back in February, “I decided to take on the Wim Hof Method to push myself outside of my comfort zone and see where it takes me!” Cold is a form of stress on the body and week one is about focusing on trying to control that stress response. The first tasks were to take a 30 second cold shower for seven consecutive days and focus on breathing techniques. Additionally, stretches are geared towards putting the body into a relaxed state. In response to the beginning cold exposure, McGauran jokes, “I would have given Jim Carey a run for his money in the face pulling department.” An extra challenge for the first week is to put both hands in ice water and keep them there for two minutes. Interestingly, McGauran said that after the first minute his body began to adapt and heat came back in. This really shows the power of the mind and breathing to overcome that initial shock response and push through even when it gets uncomfortable. By week three, McGauran shared the benefits of cold showers. They not only save time and money, but are also great for your skin, help with depression and anxiety, wake you up, and

boost immunity. It is clear how in the present times that boost in immunity could be useful! He said the theme for this week was inflammation. Inflammation is part of the immune response and the body’s defense against toxins, but too much inflammation can contribute to many chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis

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Everything Hof has claimed so far hs been backed completely by science and it is hard to dispute when looking at his complishments

and Crohn’s disease. The benefits to controlling inflammation are immense and a key area of research. This week the showers changed from beginning with the cold shower then finishing with the warm shower, rather than the other way around. On this, McGauran said, “Psychologically, this has been relatively easy but the thought of starting with a cold shower made me realise I had probably been in a comfort zone.” Next up was endurance. Not to get too scientific, but muscles perform best in an alkaline environment. A way to increase alkalinity is to perform deep diaphragmatic breathing, which helps to oxygenate the blood and make it more alkaline. A challenge for week four was to perform as many push ups as possible after 40 deep breaths while holding onto the inhale of the last breath. Before trying the Wim Hof method challenge, McGauran did a push up test and got 35 repetitions and then with the breathing challenge got 42 repetitions. His endurance in fact did increase and he even said: “I have gotten to the point where I’m enjoying my cold showers too! This will become a part of my lifestyle because of the way I feel afterwards.” From Wim Hof himself, “With deep breathing and the right mindset, you can actually influence the neurotransmitters in your body. You can protect the enzyme around the cell division, which will increase your longevity.” Everything Hof has

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Sport

n takes lenge

Out of Left Field: DU Sailing Club claimed so far has been backed completely by science and it is hard to dispute when looking at his accomplishments. Week five of the challenge saw the cold exposure ramped up even more in preparation for the first ice bath at week eight. With the ice bath looming near, McGauran said he was both apprehensive and excited. No doubt that will prove to be quite a challenge to both McGauran and the method itself. The latest update from McGauran has been in his sixth week of the challenge where he has continuously learned the value the breath has in pressure and stress situations. It is not only a skill to learn to undertake cold exposure challenges, but also in life to cope with all of the ups and downs associated with each and every day. “I am up to three minutes with the cold shower times and that will change to five minutes next week, but I know I will be fine because I feel I have a certain level of control over my breath now,” McGauran remarked. It is great to see all the progress he has made and how he is already benefiting from his commitment to the method and program. There’s much to learn from McGauran as he takes on this journey to control his body and mind. It will be interesting to see what is ahead for him as he continues through and stays committed. Keep up with his updates on the Trinity Sport Instagram - maybe you’ll be inspired to give it a shot yourself.

Trinity Wind and Wake committee members reveal a sports club that is passionate to maintain the vibrant community it has created Lauren Boland Editor

orty people, thirty days, a daily jump into the sea - last November, DU Sailing Club members raised funds for men’s mental health charities by swimming in the sea each day of Movember. The fundraiser was one of a handful of times the club have made it out to the water this year - albeit not on their boats. With university sailing competitions cancelled and restrictions on training over the last twelve months, the club is set to introduce not one, but two years’ worth of new students to its fleet come September. DU Sailing Club - more commonly known as Trinity Sailing - sails out of the Royal St. George’s Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire with a fleet of Firefly dinghies. Its primary focus is team racing, which involves two teams of three boats with two sailors each. The club also offers keelboat training and competes in the student yachting nationals.

In team racing, “the aim is to use speed and the sailing racing rules to be the team with the lowest combined score,” Kate Lyttle told Trinity News. Lyttle, a Law and Business student, is the club’s newly-elected captain. She previously served as Freshers’ Rep, Sailing Captain, and International Officer. “We go to international events with Trinity Sailing, but I did not have to organise, unfortunately, any teams to go to international events this year.” In a usual year, the clubs trains every weekend in Dublin Bay. “We train at Dún Laoghaire, so it’s very easy to get the Dart straight out, which is what most people do if they’re staying in town,” Lyttle said. “We train every Saturday, so it usually starts at 9am. We get everyone down, we bring the boats up - the Royal St. George Yacht Club are very accommodating to us - and we head out in the water, set up our course and train for a few hours. We’re usually finished by about two o’clock.” In addition to its Saturday sessions, the club started to offer midweek training to accommodate people who were busy at the weekend. While members usually bring their own gear, there’s some that the club can provide: “There’s usually an abundance of life jackets going around!” But since the start of the pandemic, the club has been mostly stuck on shore. Along with other colleges around the country, Trinity shut down from the middle of last March and pushed students to return home. On March 24, then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that all sporting events were cancelled.

The Irish University Sailing Association (IUSA) followed suit by calling off its events. Since then, restrictions have fluctuated nationally and within Trinity. “The pandemic did prevent us from training for most of the year,” Lyttle said. “All the IUSA events were cancelled, unfortunately, but following Irish Sailing’s Covid-19 guidelines, we managed to get out sailing on the water a few times in between lockdowns.” Members have stayed connected through game nights over Zoom and attending webinars and talks on sailing, as well as its charity work swimming in the sea to raise funds for Movember and an Ireland-wide run last May in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Jigsaw

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We’ve really experienced sailors sailing with us, but we also encourage people who’ve never sailed before to join

Youth Mental Health. Next on the agenda is introducing another cohort of Junior Fresh students into the club. “The Freshers did really well this year and it’s a shame that we haven’t gotten to meet them personally, but we’re very excited to welcome two years into the club next year,” Lyttle said. The club is open for students with any level of experience to sign up, whether they’re a master or a novice. “The great thing about Trinity Sailing is that we’ve really, really experienced sailors sailing with us, but we also encourage people who have never sailed before to join, so we cater for all levels of abilities in the club.” “Sign up during Freshers Week, or if you want contact us during the year, we’re pretty active on Instagram, on Facebook, on our website. Everyone’s super accommodating and friendly,” Lyttle said. “We’ll help you provide you with gear, if that’s an issue, because I know lots of international students can’t come over with their life jackets! I’d really say just reach out to us because we cater for all levels of abilities. It’s really fun sports-wise and we’ve got a great social side as well.” The club’s first wish is to “get back out training every Saturday” in the next academic year, or as soon as possible in line with restrictions. DU Sailing has been tasked with arranging the first IUSA event of the year, which would see it organise an event for all the university sailing clubs throughout Ireland. “That might be able to go ahead in October, so we’re starting to plan that,” Lyttle said. “We’re hopefully very excited for a busy season next year!”

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

Sport PHOTO BY DU FENCING

From co of influ

The fight between Jake Paul and Ben Askren is a perfect example of influencers trying to make it in the world of professional sports

DU Fencing’s inter-varsity relay lasts the distance

Raising much needed funds for Jigsaw Youth Mental Health, the virtual event brought the fencing community together among universities Jonathon Boylan Stafff Writer

ue to Covid-19, the annual fencing intervarsities were cancelled – this didn’t stop DU Fencing though. Despite the less than fortunate circumstances, the club rose to the occasion and decided to make the most of the situation and raise €3,500 for Jigsaw Youth Mental Health through its virtual intervarsity relay. As they were supposed to host the intervarsities this year, the club notes that it “wanted to come up with an event that was still capable of bringing all university clubs together. Although we couldn’t compete with each other, we could still come together for a good cause.” Noting that there has been a “plethora of virtual running events,” the club decided to put

together “something different and more interactive” - the result was an ambitious, albeit perfectly executed virtual relay. Many members participated in the event and made it one to remember and look back on fondly, with all the effort going towards a great cause. “The main goal of the event was to record the longest continuous relay through any distance covering sport. Fencers from participating universities joined in with running, cycling, swimming, and even horse riding and canoeing!” This bonkers event had an incredibly strong social media presence, and attracted attention from around the country. “We set up the hashtag # F e n c i n g Va r s i t y R e l a y 2 0 2 1 , through which everyone could share photos and records of their activity, as we were keen to maximise interaction while also adhering to social distancing protocols and with virtual handoffs between relay legs.” If any of you avid Facebook users decided to have a scroll through your feed, you probably saw a post or two come up relating to it if you keep up with Trinity sport clubs! The photos were funny and entertaining to say the least, and also motivating to get up off the couch and get moving yourself. Although it may not have had the usual in person contact of a fencing intervarsity, the event certainly managed to unite all those who were taking part, with a clear emphasis on community and interaction. However, there is more to an intervarsity than community – competition is important too!

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What meant to be an 86 hour relay turned into a 215 hour one

DU Fencing managed to replicate this effectively. “There was a fun competitive edge to the event. We started with a 36 hour relay, and NUIG responded with a 72 hour one. We then aimed for 86 hours, and UCD’s 60 hours then kept going to match ours! In the end, what was originally meant to be an 86 hour relay turned into a 215 hour one. From 8am on Friday April 2 until 7am Sunday April 11, at all times, day or night, rain or shine, there was a Trinity fencer out running, cycling, or walking.” Undoubtedly this is an impressive feat of dedication and commitment. Not many people would be able for exercise in the dead of night! If this didn’t make you feel bad enough about opting for a spice bag instead of a lockdown jog, in total, participants

covered “1712.79 kilometres, the equivalent of travelling from Malin Head to Mizen Head, the length of Ireland, over three and a half times!” That is one way to at least psychologically circumvent the five kilometre limit that currently has us all constrained. Most importantly, this colossal event managed to raise €3,500 for Jigsaw Youth Mental Health. This charity was chosen as a means of “promoting mental health and well being of students and young people through sport.” Now more than ever really, there is a widespread need for mental health services in order to combat these isolating and scary times. What this virtual fencing intervarsities relay did was bring attention to an issue that truly does affect so many young people out there, and shows that with the right effort and intention, great things can come out of dark times. There were also notable mental health benefits for those taking part, as it is noted that “it was a wonderful experience to connect with our Alumni, as they joined the teams and helped out relay efforts. Certainly, for DUFC, it brought us closer together, motivated us to stay active, and brought back the community spirit we miss from cheering on our team mates at competitions.” This event is just one of the many amazing innovations Trinity’s sports clubs have made this year, with its impact for both its members and beneficiaries of its philanthropic aspect obvious. It just goes to show that despite Leo Varadkar’s annoying use of the phrase, you really can stick together while staying apart.

Shannon McGreevy Sport Editor The highly anticipated bout between Jake Paul (YouTube star and social media personality) and Ben Askren (former Bellator and ONE Welterweight champion) saw the pair facing off in a boxing ring on April 17. This fight was a major event within fan bases of both combat sports and social media platforms. Although it was surrounded in hype, many are of the opposite standpoint and believe it is making a mockery of a sport that was built on pride, honour, and principles. As the world is trying to evolve to be more open and accepting, should our forms of entertainment have metaphorical barriers, preventing superstars in one avenue of sports or media crossing over?

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This has aided his almost sharp turn to his boxing career making him marketable as the bad guy or the person everyone wants to fight out of sheer frustration

TRINITY NEWS | Tuesday 20 April

Sport

ontent to combat: The crossover uencers to entertainment sports superstars in one avenue of sports or media crossing over? To start, I want to begin with Jake Paul. Jake Paul can be considered like Marmite, you either love him or hate him. He has seen astronomical success on YouTube from 2013 up to present. He has made a name for himself with comedy sketches, pranks, teenage wildness, controversy and even a role on a Disney television show. Jake Paul and his brother Logan Paul, were very skilled wrestlers in highschool, and have always been keen sportsmen. From his current credentials, you wouldn’t expect him to have two previous boxing wins under his belt, but alas he does. Paul has been in the public eye for many different reasons, and all may not be the most flattering for someone who is trying to keep a large following on a platform populated by many under the age of 18. Deeming himself as a near “villain” of YouTube. This has aided his almost sharp turn to his boxing career making him marketable as the bad guy or the person who everyone wants to fight out of sheer frustration, giving him an abundance of credible opponents to choose from. After defeating popular YouTube stars Deji Olatunji and Ali Loui Al-Fakhri, commonly known as AnEsonGib, Paul has gone on to extend a challenge to Ben Askren.

Ben Askren however, has been in the fight game and that is how he has made himself known in the public eye. Askren competed in wrestling in the Olympics and fighting promotions such as Bellator, ONE Championship and the UFC, having been a champion in two of these. Askren is a skilled grappler, known for his tough chin, laid back persona and his ability to jest and humiliate opponents with a microphone. Askren has gone on record himself to state that his striking is not the best, or anywhere near his grappling abilities. So why would he agree on a primarily striking fight, against someone who has been training in that particular skill? Money. Cold hard cash, and the satisfaction at having potential to cause an upset and make himself the man who was first able to take down Jake Paul. With the back stories aside, it is interesting to see how online influence can allow people who are established in one outlet of media, to switch, emigrate to or even integrate new methods of income and notoriety that is drastically different to their original. In this case, Jake Paul switched from online video creation and social media which is quite a modern and new phenomenon going to a combat sport that was established centuries ago. Modern boxing is a widely beloved sport. It is easily

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From the press conference, Paul seems bold, brash and cocky comparable to being a rogue personality on video streaming platforms. The most popular boxers, such as Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and even looking back to Floyd Mayweather or Muhammad Ali, all have their own signature personality. Tyson Fury being titled as the “Gypsy King”, Muhammad Ali renkowned as “The People’s Champ” and so on. They all have something they can market themselves with easily. In a similar vein to social media personalities. Jake Paul, a so-called “villain” on the internet, has already established himself with a persona and a marketing ploy. All he needs to do is to get a professional boxing license and some skills to match, which he has. Making this new potential career path completely viable for

the Paul brother. Askren on the other hand, from his track record has fought under many promotions and competitions and has competed in different combat sports. Askren has the combat skills on his CV, but it is unsure if he has the personality to be marketable enough for these overly hyped contests and shows. From the press conference, Paul seems bold, brash and cocky. Askren however, sits in his jeans, t-shirt and flip flops as if he is in his front lounge with his feet up, very nonchalant. However, when it comes to the mental warfare on display, it is clear Askren knows what he is doing, progressively getting deeper and deeper into Paul’s head, as he has had to attempt to do so to over 20 opponents. Ben has also gone on to do many different podcasts and internet show interviews that have been posted all over YouTube and other streaming platforms. Becoming more comfortable with online interactions and how the internet works and how to grow his name and his popularity online, only aids Askren to gain more confidence and more hype around him as a personality, especially if he defeats Jake Paul. To conclude, this bout is a pinnacle example of influencers and stars from one form of media or entertainment, seamlessly transitioning to other avenues,

along with integrating skills and tricks from the new experiences that come with them. Askren already possesses many years of training in wrestling, basic level striking, and discipline. All this, along with mental toughness, and ability to wear his opponent down before even lacing up the gloves, makes him a formidable individual. He has now gained more marketability and hype, allowing him to establish a name for himself and get a deeper understanding of a plethora of potential opponents or collaborators for the future. Gaining knowledge, and friendship with superstars from a wider variety will only benefit his pocket. Jake Paul, who seems to be an unpredictable and undisciplined character, has learned how to focus, acquire skills and stick to regimens of high difficulty. He has learned to stick to strict routine and habits. All in all, regardless of debates of whether or not these bouts are good or bad for the sport of boxing, it has to be said, more people will be watching boxing, and newer viewers may stick and become fans of further promotions and/or divisions and fighters. More hype, means more eyes, more eyes means more money and money is everything when it comes to entertainment.

Tuesday 20 April | TRINITY NEWS

PHOTO BY VOLLEYBALA ISALA-COMMONS

Sport

McGauran takes on the Wim Hof method Shannon McGreevy page 28

DU Fencing’s intervarsity relay lasts the distance Jonathon Boylan page 30

A captivating combo of music, football, gymnastics and volleyball If you love music and hanging out with friends in the sun, the Spanish sport Bossaball would be right up your alley Shannon McGreevy Sports Editor

f you love music and hanging out with friends in the sun, the Spanish sport Bossaball would be right up your alley. Combining elements of football, volleyball, and rhythmic gymnastics, a game of Bossaball will leave you happily winded. Translated from Brazilian Portuguese, “bossa” means style of flair – and it is clear that this game is not without flamboyance. It is most definitely challenging, with a rich cultural root that aims to bring people together through sport, dance, and song. If you ever get the chance to see or play a game the next (hopefully soon) time you are in Spain, join in on the positive vibes and relish in the summer days.

The concept of Bossaball was created by native Belgian Filip Eyckmans who was living in Spain for more than ten years around the early 2000s. Eyckmans was a tennis player on the national team in Belgium in his youth, making him quite the athlete. However, outside of practice he enjoyed assisting and watching live soccer matches and DJ-ing private parties. It is not hard to imagine how the concept of lumping all Eyckmans interests together gave rise to the now increasingly popular sport. Back to that backstory though, in the early 90s Eyckman became the manager of a band called dEUS, among others. On a tour with dEUS through Brazil, he was exposed to and became obsessed with the Afro-Brazilian capoeira. Capoeira in itself is a mix of acrobatics, martial arts, and lively exotic music. The dance style is characterised by lots of jumping and inverted kicking, making it quite the attention grabber. It is no surprise that capoeira caught the attention of Eyckman on his tour. Relaxing on the beach of Recife, seeing how engaged everyone was around him got him thinking. Plus, around this same time beach volleyball was booming and more people were playing casually on beaches as well as competitively. So, in an effort to combine all he had learned and appreciated into one amazing sport and experience, Bossaball

was born. It is the perfect blend of football, gymnastics, volleyball and upbeat music. It is no doubt a captivating sport that is not only enjoyable, but requires a great deal of athleticism and skill. The rules of the game are rather simple, but another surprising feature that only makes it more impressive of the skill you see when watching a game, is that it is played on an inflatable court featuring a trampoline on each side of the net. The net is in the middle like a typical volleyball court, dividing it in two. Typically played out in the sun on the beach, the trampolines allow players to jump high enough to spike the ball over the net and score. Bossaball is played between two teams of four players and the primary objective, again similar to volleyball, is to hit the ball on the group of the opponents’ half. Depending on the skill level of players and teams, the net’s height can be raised to make it more difficult to score and lowered to make it easier to play. Although it may be surprising that this sport is actually played professionally, if you have ever seen a YouTube video of Bossaball this surprise will quickly be dampened. You will see people flying up into the air, kicking and dancing to the music. It is sometimes easy to forget the close similarities of it to volleyball and football. Players are not allowed to touch the net at any point in the game, and

must keep at least one body part on their own respective side. One player, conventionally called the attacker, starts off in the center on the trampoline, with other players on the inflatable part. A player from the serving team then either throws or kicks the ball so that it lands in the opposing team’s court. The receiving team then has no more than five touches to attempt to return the ball and begin a volley back and forth. There are two types of touches

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Bossaball is not only an internationally recognised sport, but an encapsulating watch that is quickly becoming more popular

in typical Bossaball: volley touch and football touch. A volley touch follows traditional volleyball rules, where the ball can be bumped, set, or spiked. Throwing the ball or holding it for more than a second is against the rules. The other touch, a football touch, is where a lot of the real acrobatic skill is apparent and shines through, is done by touching the ball up to two times without using the hands or arms. It can also be called a double football touch or DST. A DST is counted as a single pass and an example could be hitting it first with the chest and then kicking it to a teammate or over the net. Of the five contacts, the football touch has to be used after the second pass has been played. Again, this forces the creativity and gymnastic like techniques to exemplify themselves and characterise game play. An official match is the best of three sets, the first two sets being played to 21 points and the third to 15 points, being two points ahead to win that set. The different touches allow for different points to be earned in successful grounding of the ball, with football touches being awarded more than volley touches due to the increased skill level required. More points also can be earned if a team scores by hitting it into the opponents’ trampoline area rather than the whole playing area. Referees oversee the game very similarly to volleyball, with three referees making sure gameplay is adhered to. The primary referee focuses on the net and has the final say in decisions. Meanwhile, the other two assistant referees oversee opposite ends of the court and keep track of the maximum amount of touches, football touches, and deciding whether or not the ball is hit in or out of bounds. Perhaps even more important and interesting, the main overseer of the game, called the “samba referee”, not only makes calls, but also serves as the Master of Ceremonies by using a whistle, microphone, and music facilities like a DJ set and drums. Several international championships have been played since 2005 all over the world, including but not limited to the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Turkey. Ultimately, Bossaball is not only an internationally recognised sport, but an encapsulating watch that is quickly becoming more popular around the world. With its origins in Spain and Brazil as well, it is quite the combination of athletic ability and entertainment. Teams are really put to the test in a competitive game of Bossaball, with lots of onlookers cheering them on and enjoying the energy. Who knows, maybe it’ll even come to Ireland one day.