University Observer, Volume XVIII - Issue 12

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End of Year Reviews UCDSU Officers

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Vince Gilligan Creator of Breaking Bad

The year in sport v o l u m e

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Avicii · Magnetic Fields · Buzzcocks i s s u e

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USI preferendum on third-level fees postponed

by Katie Hughes · News Editor

The Union of Students in Ireland’s (USI) “preferendum” to decide what the national student stance on thirdlevel education payment should be was postponed from last week’s Congress until the next National Council.

An Emergency USI Council is being held on Thursday to decide what course of action should be taken for the preferendum. USI President Gary Redmond believes that the most likely course of action would be an Emergency Congress being called, at the earliest, twenty-eight days from Thursday’s Council. The only item on the agenda of the Emergency Council would then be the preferendum.

UCD Students’ Union President Pat de Brún was disappointed with the postponement of the preferendum, “I’m very worried that the can will get kicked down the road and that people who don’t want this preferendum will use it as an excuse not to hold it, and that’s why I was concerned. It was possible that at Special Congress we may not get quorum or not all colleges will bring their full delegations, and I’d be very worried that it won’t occur.”

Redmond disagreed with these sentiments and felt that despite the postponement, it was paramount that the preferendum go ahead with no delays.

“I think that a decision will be made quite quickly, and it’s of the utmost importance that we make the decision before the new officer board comes into office, because at that stage we’re six months away from the next budget and I think that it would be a ludicrous and farcical situation if we hadn’t got a comprehensive funding policy in place for the 1st of July. So while we’re taking some more time to consult membership, I wouldn’t accept for a minute that we’re kicking the can down the road.”

However, de Brún’s statement that “those that are in favour of continuing the free fees policy would be very happy for the preferendum to not go ahead because that would mean we continue with the same policy,” was confirmed by Free Education for Everyone (FEE) Galway organiser, Joseph Loughnane, who stated that “we (FEE) believe that the USI should stand for free education and they should not really be putting these other options to students, because these other options are almost like they’re giving in to what the government wants.”

Loughnane continued to say that FEE were glad the preferendum did not go ahead as planned, “We thought that was a great decision because we believed that if the vote had gone ahead during congress it would have been very undemocratic because a lot of … the students were not being asked what voting model they would have chosen, so we were glad that it was postponed.

We just hope now that this means that the preferendum will go back to the students.”

The eight members of the Irish University Entrepreneurship Forum team who met at the UCDTCD Innovation Academy on Thursday March 29th.

For full story see page two.

Photographer: Anita Murphy

Students’ Union Loyalty Card losses amount to approximately €30,000

by Denis Vaughan

UCD Students’ Union have officially suspended the loyalty card scheme following their announcement in November that the service would be withdrawn in order to cut its losses, which now stand at approximately thirty thousand euro. Students who were availing of the scheme may now no longer redeem the points earned on their cards.

The card was introduced by last year’s sabbatical team and was made available to students during the 2010/2011 term. Current Students’ Union President, Pat de Brún, defended his decision to remove it, stating, “Obviously when all the finances came to light I knew we had to make some cutbacks, and this was one area

I thought it was pretty reasonable to cut back on because the maintenance costs were quite high. The second reason was the U-Card being rolled out across the campus, and while the loyalty card was an excellent initiative in itself when it started, the roll out of the campus U-Card undermined it, I felt.”

De Brún also mentioned the introduction of laser card facilities, stating that it would “roll into the overall business plans of the shops.” However, the introduction of laser card facilities had also been promised by the Students’ Union for the 2010/2011 academic year.

Former Students’ Union President, Paul Lynam, stated at the time that “we mean to introduce a loyalty and a credit card simultaneously,” although this credit card scheme has yet to be in-

troduced and the loyalty card has since been suspended.

The establishment of the loyalty card scheme and the introduction of laser card facilities in SU outlets were part of the 2010/2011 Union’s priority list, which was formulated in July 2010.

This list aspired to “make financial supports available to students who are most at risk of financial problems and avoid any cutbacks to vital student supports.”

De Brún explained that there had been other costs in addition to the general running costs of the loyalty card system. “The running costs [of the loyalty card] were in the region of twenty to thirty thousand euro annually, so that’s the saving we’re going to make, but there were additional set-up costs in that. There was some capital invest-

ment required in the tills in the shop but I wouldn’t really put that cost on the loyalty cards because we did need new tills anyway. It has improved our till system.”

When asked if the U-Card would be incorporated into the Students’ Union shops, de Brún responded that “it may or it may not be, we haven’t made a decision on that yet. I’m due to meet the project leaders for the U-Card in the coming week and we’re going to discuss it further then, but we need to very carefully weigh up the pros and cons.”

De Brún also apologised for the large sign that is still on display in the Students’ Union shop in the Library building reminding students to show their loyalty card. “That is misleading, I actually wasn’t aware that there was one there.”

UCDSU LTD to become effective this week

by Katie Hughes · News Editor

Should Union Council approve the memorandum and articles of UCDSU Ltd at Union Council this week, UCDSU Ltd will be set up as effective immediately after council.

According to Students’ Union President Pat de Brún, the change will not be as drastic as many people believed it would be upon hearing of the incorporation. “I want to clarify because I think that people … assume [there will be] change in terms of how our affairs are managed and the entire structure.

In reality all it really means is that we will have a Board of Directors responsible for financial oversight and that we’ll have to audit our accounts every year, that’s the only really major impact that becoming a company will have.”

De Brún stated that the Board of

Directors’ main role will be to provide financial supervision, “Technically they have to follow the memorandum, articles, and the Constitution, make sure everything is running smoothly.

They’re non-executive directors; they don’t have any decision making power.

They have a role in financial oversight and to ensure that the finances are being run smoothly and to appoint external auditors and make sure the accounts are done every year.”

The structure of the Board of Directors will closely mirror that of the new Finance Committee, including former presidents, a legal advisor for the Union, and an accounting expert, “it’s similar to the way the Union of Students’ in Ireland (USI) are doing it; they’re setting up companies as well.”

It has not yet been decided who will be taking on the role of accounting expert,

although de Brún confirmed that former Union financial advisor, Dave Carmody, would not be filling the position, “As far as I am aware he is [still employed by the University] but when it comes to our Constitution, he has no role in there.”

Under the new structure the recently instated General Manager has taken on most of the duties of Carmody’s role; “We’re still finalising a few things, we’d like a commercial person as well under the General Manager but we’re still ironing that out. We need to see what our resources are like.”

UCDSU Ltd is set up as a company within the current Students’ Union to manage its affairs, “while the company is managing the affairs, the Union still owns them. The Union owns the company and the students own the Union.

In the new constitution, we created powers that Union companies could be

set up but it’s not the case that everything is becoming a company – you can move certain aspects into a company but it’s still owned by the Union as it is.”

Because of this, all students coming into UCD will not automatically become members of UCDSU Ltd, as it is a body managing the affairs of the Union of which the students are members, “it’ll be still owned by the students on a purely technical level, you need to name a minimum of seven members - we just named the five sabbatical officers and two others, but they don’t have any power and they don’t have any liability.”

The company is one limited by guarantee, not shares, “This is a company that is just mirroring the constitution and the ownership will lie with the membership so it’s not something that can bought or sold, it’s not a commodity.”

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The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Observer News news@universityobserver.ie

News in Brief Construction of Sutherland School of Law begins

by Katie Hughes · News Editor

Sexual Health App to Launch at UCD A sexual health app for smartphones is expected to be launched in UCD in the next two or three weeks. According to Students’ Union Welfare Officer Rachel Breslin, the app provides “all sorts of information with no gender specifics.”

“At congress, we passed a motion about creating a sexual health website.

There are a lot of different websites with sexual health information but I found that the content that Dr Siobhan O’Higgins was describing to me in this app was very, very relevant to students and it was very broad.”

She explained that students would be able to access the app wherever they went, “the app idea is that a lot of students are getting smartphones so it’s something that is easy for them to access and once it’s there they can check it as often as they want and it’ll be in their head. It’s just a different way of promoting the sexual health message and its something that’s year-round; once they have it they have it forever and we can promote it as often as [we need to].”

The app is being provided by AIDS West.

CPR training to be made available to students CPR training is expected to be available to students within the next two weeks.

Students’ Union Welfare Officer, Rachel Breslin stated that “following recent events in the media of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, we wanted to have it soon as it highlighted the need that anything can happen.”

The training will be provided free of charge by volunteers, “There are so many people that are willing to do it now, people that would do it for free that I’m just trying to nail down a date with them.”

The opportunity will be available to all students, “I’ll be trying to get as many class reps involved, and the Welfare Crew of course, because class reps are so spread out over all the faculties, but anyone that wants to can do it. We’ll try to get as many as we can, depending on the amount of free volunteers that will do the training.”

Breslin explains that she would eventually like to branch out into First Aid training for students, “You could be the person that’s called upon and particularly with the situation with the services desks, I think that there’s a need to equip more students with First Aid because those staff members aren’t around … We did look into it and it’s quite costly, but it’s something that we need to prioritise now that the services desks are gone.”

Student Card printing machine secured for exams A student card printing machine will be available at the RDS for the Semester Two exams. Students who forget their student card will be able to have a new one printed on the spot for thirty euro, rather than paying the customary fifty euro fine. The University’s Budgeting Committee introduced the fine last year.

According to UCD Students’ Union Education Officer Sam Geoghegan, the system was not in place for Semester One exams due to technical issues. “I think that if that was in place in Semester One, it would have saved students between 4,000 and 5,000 euro - we kind of calculated it. It’s a lot of money at stake and especially with how the economy is at the moment, every little helps.”

Geoghegan has ordered “the regular amount” of pens, pencils and highlighters for distribution to students at the upcoming exams. He approximated that “a couple of thousand” pens and pencils were ordered and “a couple of hundred highlighters”, although he admits the figures are “very rough estimates”.

The pens are expected to be blue, “they’re the exact same pens that we’ve ordered before with the Students’ Union logo on it and stuff.”

Photographer: Katie Hughes

by Katie Hughes · News Editor

Heavy machinery arrived at the building site of the Sutherland School of Law last week, marking the commencement of the School’s construction.

The aim behind the UCD Sutherland School of Law is the “development and the creation of new initiatives, to enriching the educational environment of its student body, to working in partnership with the practicing legal profession and to establishing a major, wellregarded and authoritative presence in the international legal community.”

Following the government retracting its financial backing for the

project in late 2011, the European Investment Bank (EIB) donated ninety million euro to fund the development of several buildings on the UCD campus, including the Sutherland School of Law, as part of the ‘UCD Campus Development Plan 2010-2015’. The aim of this plan is, according to a University spokesperson, “to make the campus more compact, concentrating related activities, and separating academic and leisure functions.

The overall redevelopment aims to consolidate and enhance this position of pre-eminence by providing future generations with a sustainable, healthy, and living campus.”

UCD President, Hugh Brady, stated that the agreement with the EIB will be extremely advantageous for UCD in terms of strengthening its position in the European university rankings; “The cutting edge teaching, research and student support facilities which this partnership with the EIB will enable will ensure that UCD consolidates and enhances its position at the top table of European universities.”

A University spokesperson stated that the “development of the campus follows European efforts to increase investment in research and higher education, and will strengthen UCD’s role in an increasingly competitive academic environment. The ability to

locate both industry and academia on the same campus will help increase links between the University and key Irish companies. The new campus development combines refurbishment of existing award-winning buildings and provision of new facilities.”

UCD alumnus Peter Sutherland donated a part of the funding required for the building, which is expected to stand at 5,100 square metres and house both undergraduate as well as postgraduate UCD Law students. The building will include a clinical legal education centre, lecture and tutorial rooms, PhD spaces, and a boardroom, as well as social spaces.

Ents to hold non-alcohol Student success with entrepreneurial event events before exams

by George Morahan

by Katie Hughes · News Editor

UCD Students’ Union Entertainments Officer, Stephen Darcy, is planning on holding several non-alcohol events in the two-week lead-up to exams, as part of what has been provisionally labelled as ‘Craic Week’.

Possible events include paintballing and airsoft trips, as well as go-carting, five-a-side football, an ice-cream van, and possibly buskers on campus, although Darcy admits that the latter is unlikely, “they may not allow that because people are studying.”

Darcy admits that non-alcohol events had not been his priority for the year, although he insists that it was something he had aimed to do “once the summer months came along”, as some of the events were not suitable for the winter months, “the paintballing I had originally planned for January but you can’t really do that in the middle of winter because that’s just painful.”

The week had originally been scheduled from April 2nd to 6th, but was put on hold as, according to Darcy, “the UCD Ball has had to take preference at the moment.”

Darcy explained that one of the main reasons that non-alcohol events were going to be held was the poor ticket sales Ents has experienced in the past six weeks. “It’s been really hard to sell tickets to events, particularly in the last six weeks because people are start-

ing to panic for their exams and they’re studying a lot … [I’m] solely basing it on non-alcohol stuff and not to take up their whole day and not have people out late at night so they can still be up and studying the next day … then again, everything is dependent on people actually wanting to go and on there being enough demand for it.”

He also acknowledges that it is very late in the year to be holding such events, but maintains that “there’s just not enough weeks in the year, it’s the one thing I’ve realised this year. We’ve had more events this year than Ents have ever had before, especially in Semester One.” Darcy states that this high volume of events was the reason the Mystery Tour did not go ahead this year, “during the summer months, I had planned to put the Mystery Tour on in October but we had ticketed events, [going to all of which would cost] sixty to potentially eighty euro for October alone so there’s no way students can afford that … I put it back to Semester Two just after the mid-term but then I realised that it’s going to be really hard to sell 500 Mystery Tour tickets when people are on their mid-term break so I put it off to the following week but … we weren’t confident that it was going to sell.”

According to Darcy, a survey will be sent out to students to gauge the demand for a Mystery Tour on the Monday or Tuesday following the end of exams.

The Irish University Entrepreneurship Forum 2012 took place at the UCDTCD Innovation Academy on Thursday March 29th, and has been declared a “big success” by its organisers. The Forum, arranged by the Irish University Entrepreneurship Forum (IUEF), was held in the hopes of providing an opportunity for student entrepreneurs to mix with prominent business leaders from across twenty-five differing industries.

Kevin Glynn, co-founder of the IUEF, states that the idea for the Forum came over the Christmas break and that he and co-founder, Michael Magee, “wanted to create a studentrun initiative where we could promote entrepreneurial culture within universities … We wanted affiliations and endorsements from colleges, but we just set about doing it ourselves.”

Business leaders present at the forum included Norah Casey and Gavin Duffy of RTÉ’s Dragons’ Den, Chris Horn of Iona Technologies, and Raymond Coyle of Largo Foods, as well as Raymond Turner, the designer of Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2. Eight student businesses were chosen to present to the assembled businesspeople, six of them already being profitable, and Glynn has now found that “a lot of them are now in talks with the business leaders.”

The IUEF was founded in January, with a team of thirteen students from UCD, TCD, National University of Ireland, Galway, and University College Cork being put in place, and after arrang-

ing for twenty-four leaders in Irish business to attend last month’s forum, they then “went around recruiting student entrepreneurs to apply,” according to IUEF Marketing Director, Lucy McLean, who goes on to state that the Forum “had a website that [student entrepreneurs] were able to register on, and we contacted all the universities and all the institutes of technology as well.”

Glynn further reveals that, after attending a recent conference, the IUEF will “probably have to change the name to the Irish Student Entrepreneurship Forum, because all the institutes want to get involved now as well,” so the Forum can extend its mandate to include the institutes of technology and higher education establishments from around the island of Ireland.

Since its formation, the IUEF has accrued sponsorship from KPMG, AIB, Accenture, and the UCD Newman Fund, which contributed €2,200 to their finances; the Forum has also been featured in the Sunday Business Post twice during its lifespan. The IUEF is a nonprofit organisation and was set up to assist “companies out there with great ideas” that do not have the “means to go about progressing further,” according to McLean, while Glynn declares, “We felt there was a communication gap between student entrepreneurs and the business community, and a lot of the registrations we got were just people that needed very small pieces of advice; we got over twenty-five company registrations from every single university on the island.”

First Mature Students’ Conference takes place at DIT

by Emily Longworth

The first Conference for Mature Students, which was organised by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) in conjunction with Mature Students Ireland (MSI), the Board of Irish College Societies (BICS), and DIT Old Skool Society took place on March 24th in DIT Bolton Street.

USI President Gary Redmond deemed the event an overall success. He emphasised the importance of providing support for mature students studying in Ireland, “One of the criticisms that USI often gets is that it doesn’t represent all its members, and

that we focus purely on undergrad ‘traditional’ students, so this is one of the first steps we’ve taken to try and rectify that situation.”

The conference was open to all mature students studying in Ireland and featured a series of workshops taking place throughout the day, which aimed to provide useful information for mature students, as well as allowing networking opportunities between colleges. “It’s really important that we’re out there representing the interests of the mature students … because often the issues affecting mature students aren’t the same as the issues affecting undergraduate students.”

Redmond explained the growing importance of such events for mature students in Ireland, as their numbers throughout the country are rising, “Given the current economic crisis there are more and more mature students returning to education trying to up-skill and re-skill.

“Because of the knowledge-based economy we’re trying to build, we want to instil this ethos of ‘lifelong learning’ … The number of mature students has continued to grow over the past few years, and I think it’s a very positive step that both USI and students’ unions across the country can take to help mature students out.”

Redmond was happy with both the smooth running of the event and the turnout, which he approximated to be around fifty students. The ten euro admission charge covered most of the costs for the day, including a lunch and dinner for participants.

Issues addressed at the conference included grants, budgeting, time management, parenthood, and tips for running a successful mature students’ society. Speakers came from USI, MSI, MABS and Reachout. com.

Redmond expressed hope that the event would be run again in the future on a larger scale.

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Kylemore to provide food vouchers and barista training schemes

by Sara Holbrook

The Kylemore Food Group has devised a scheme in conjunction with UCD Students’ Union Welfare Office to provide food vouchers for students in need, as well as agreeing to provide barista training in order to make students more employable for the summer.

The idea behind the food vouchers is to support students who may be struggling to afford meals. Students’ Union Welfare Officer, Rachel Breslin, describes it as a voucher that “comes in the form of a prize voucher. Kylemore would give out prize vouchers for various competitions. The main thing for me about it was that it wasn’t anything obtrusive… and it will guarantee them a lunch everyday until it expires, which this semester is until the end of June.”

Breslin stated that the barista course “is something that has never been done before … so it was around the idea of students who need some skills for the summer, and something that would help them become more employable … and [we] came up with the idea of barista training, which is a basic qualification in the ability to make coffee.”

While Kylemore have been receptive to the idea and have agreed that they will commit to training fifteen students, there is no application process in place as of yet. It has not been decided if the training will be held in the Kylemore head office or in the outlets on campus.

Breslin insisted that the students being trained were not being exploited for free labour by Kylemore, “They won’t be working in the café at all during the training, it

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will literally just be showing and demonstrating, and anything they produce would just be to demonstrate how the machines work or to practice. So, no, they won’t be doing any work for Kylemore, they’ll just be learning from them.” The students will receive a certificate and a recommendation once the training is complete.

Kylemore have also told the Welfare Office that they are interested in hiring more students in their outlets on campus. Breslin has promised to follow up on this interest, “The responsibility lies with us, the SU, to make sure that that does happen next year, and that’s something that I’ll be

following up … and make sure that when they are hiring that they are considering students first and foremost.”

The Kylemore group operate the majority of the food outlets on campus, including Readers, Starbucks, and the Java Café.

international

News in Brief

by Jack Walsh

Californian university massacre leaves seven dead Seven people have been confirmed dead and at least three others injured following a shooting in Oikos University, Oakland California on April 2nd.

Police have stated that a suspect had been detained after the attack, which happened just after 10.30am local time at Oikos University. The suspect, One Goh, 43, was a former student of the college, expelled due to behavioural problems. He was a South Korean national, although the Korean consulate in San Francisco was unavailable for comment at time of going to print.

Police first received a 911 call at 10:33am, reporting a woman on the ground bleeding. As more calls came in from the school, the first arriving officer found a victim suffering from a “life-threatening” gunshot wound. More officers arrived and formed a perimeter around the school.

“Potential victims remained inside the building trapped by a locked door, which officers were unable to open,” stated Chief of Police Howard Jordan.

Jordan went on to say that the suspect was searching for a female administrator, and when she could not be found, began firing systematically.

Canadian Department of Defence cuts funding to universities

UCD to take on unemployed interns under JobBridge scheme

Photographer: Brian O’Leary

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UCD is offering those who are currently receiving jobseekers’ benefit internships in a number of administrative positions within the University under the JobBridge Scheme. The University Observer is aware of at least three placements being offered within UCD, including a position as a Publishing, Sales and Marketing Assistant at the National Folklore Collection UCD, and as an Administrator Assistant with UCD Sport.

JobBridge is the National Internship Scheme, which aims to offer internships to those who have been receiving jobseeker’s allowance or benefit for three months or more. The internships last between six and nine months in a host organisation.

Anyone who is taken on under the Scheme receives their normal unemployment allowance with an additional fifty euro payment every week, paid by the Department of Social Protection.

Auditor of the UCD Socialist Workers’ Party, Karl Gill, believes the scheme serves as a means for UCD to exploit an opportunity to employ people without paying them, stating “I think it’s just UCD taking advantage of the opportunity given to them to avail of cheap labour, and I don’t think that’s acceptable for any company or State body to do. From UCD’s point of view, it’s a money-saving exercise but it’s completely unfair on the staff… [The jobs] should be available for students.”

UCD Students’ Union President Pat de Brún fully supports the scheme, “I’m in support of it because obviously there’s a recruitment embargo in the sector so it’s extremely difficult to be able to hire anyone. Obviously I would love if we were in a situation where the Employment Control Framework wasn’t in place and the University were free to hire students, but that’s not the case. We see it time and again across the University… when staff are leaving, they’re not being replaced because of the Employment Control Framework, so this is just one way of ensuring that services can remain for students.”

However, Student Centre Supervisor Charlie Solan stated that they while a “skeletal lifeguard crew … between twenty [and] thirty people” would be taken on when the new Student Centre opens, he does not foresee any of these jobs being advertised under the JobBridge Scheme. “No, what we’re looking for is primarily UCD students … Ideally, if we can get students here that are on our doorstep and are ready, willing and able to work, we’re more than happy to have them.”

Gill proposed a motion at UCDSU Council for de Brún to ask the Governing Authority to prevent UCD availing of JobBridge positions, which was defeated. However, should UCD make wider use of the scheme, he would consider taking the issue further, “I’ve already spoke to the Right to Work campaign because they’ve been vocal in opposing the JobBridge initiative on a national level, so I would like to see it taken further if UCD were to really start pushing ahead with it and availing of loads of jobs with it, instead of availing of reasonably paid workers rather than cheap labour.”

A spokesperson for the University was unavailable at the time of going to press.

The Department of National Defence has begun to reduce its academic funding across Canadian campuses, although recruitment campaigns in universities such as the University of British Columbia will continue.

“At the height of the war on Afghanistan, people wanted to join the army so it was easy to recruit”, stated UBC postdoctorate fellow in Political Science and Army Reservist Allan Craigie, “But now there are more people in training that the system can handle, so there’s a backlog in the army. Some trades have shortages, but overall the recruitment drive has definitively toned down.”

UBC ties with the Department of National Defence (DND) primarily through the Liu Institute. It is one of thirteen centres across Canada with funding from the Security and Defence Forum Program.

The funding is used to pay for academic research as well as student groups’ activities, with a “hands-off” approach being employed, ensuring that no recruitment is conducted during the program. The Security and Defence Program funding is expected to come to an end across Canada at the end of the month.

While DND funding to universities may be seen as a loss to its proponents, anti-military activists want potential recruits to continue questioning the role of the Canadian military.

Cambridge PhD student suspended following anti-Willetts protest British Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, has declined to offer any support to PhD student Owen Holland, who was suspended for seven terms from Cambridge University last week, following his involvement in an anti-Willetts protest last year.

Owen Holland was among a group of protesters from activist group Cambridge Defend Education who interrupted a talk by Willetts on November 22nd last year. Willetts was prevented from speaking, as several students around the hall began chanting a twenty-five-minute long poem. The protest divided opinion among Cambridge students, many of whom, including Cambridge University Students’ Union President, Gerard Tully, claimed that it had violated David Willetts’ right to freedom of speech.

The protest was followed by a weeklong occupation of Lady Mitchell Hall by Cambridge Defend Education activists.

Two days after the protest, the University Council issued a “Statement on the Principle of Freedom of Speech in the University”, expressing “its deep regret” that “the actions of a small group of protestors [sic]” had prevented Willetts from speaking.

A petition was soon launched by Cambridge University Students’ Union (CUSU), entitled “This Is Not Justice: Stop the Sentence”, calling on the Septemvirii (the University appeal court) to quash the “extreme sentence”. It has so far gathered 2,900 signatures from Cambridge students and academics.

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The University Observer · 10 April 2012

USI to lobby for renegotiation of Croke Park Agreement

by Katie Hughes · News Editor

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) was mandated to lobby the Government for the renegotiation of the Croke Park Agreement during National Council held last week.

The motion was proposed by UCD Students’ Union President Pat de Brún, who felt there would be huge benefits should the Agreement be renegotiated, “This is something that I personally feel very strongly about and something which I’ve spoken about before in public, but I just felt that it was the appropriate time to propose it and make it a national policy at congress.”

De Brún cited UCD’s budget and the cuts to student services that have occurred over the past few years as one of the main reasons he proposed the motion, stating “the fact that eighty per cent of the UCD budget is caught up in pay costs means that for the last five years, budget cuts have gone directly into student services and it’s having a huge negative effect on the quality of student supports and services.”

He believed that the USI lobbying the Government for this renegotiation to take place was an effective strategy, “I think that we’ll be listened to because at the end of the day we’re the biggest stakeholders in higher education and you can’t really ignore the voice of the entire student body when the staff only makes up a small proportion of the entire population … I think we’re not the only sector in so-

ciety who think that it’s about time it was renegotiated. A lot of people do agree and think that the Government needs to face up to the trade unions.”

He continued to say that “I think first of all that the recruitment tree in the sector is absolutely strangling any kind of progress that we might be able to make, and secondly the fact that the there was no room for any reduction in pay for the entire sector, it’s mad. The quality of teaching and the class sizes are changing for the worse all the time but our staff are completely protected.

You don’t see it; it’s completely incomparable to the private sector.

“In the good times when benchmarking was introduced, the public sector got pay increases in line with the private sector year on year, but we’re not seeing the same thing happening when it comes to reductions in the private sector and once again we see the public service being blanketed. I just don’t think its sustainable, I don’t think it can last any longer.”

USI President Gary Redmond was specifically mandated to address the motion. De Brún believes the issue is an important one that needs to be prioritised at the next Government lobby, stating “there’s another lobby coming up in a month or two and it’s going to be a prominent part of that. I think it’s hugely important. If we do succeed in having it renegotiated, it would have a hugely positive impact on the sector so I do think its something that needs to be prioritised.”

BT Student Business Bootcamp winners revealed

by Ciaran Loughlin

A group of thirty-two secondary school students recently took part in the BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp, which was aimed at fostering entrepreneurial skills in the young people of Ireland, and was held at Nova UCD. The students, who all participated in the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition earlier this year, were selected from over 1,200 participants for their ability to recognise the commercial viability of ideas.

The programme, which was established in 2010, aims to provide students with the means to further develop their enterprising skillset. The four-day workshop featured talks from prominent leaders from the realms of business, academia, and sport.

One speaker at the event, Dame Ellen MacArthur, commented on the significance of the programme, “In a

rapidly changing world, the most important skills available to us are our creativity and imagination. Initiatives like the BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp can help unlock that potential. Working together we can encourage young people like these to re-think, re-design, and build a positive future.”

The students were given projects to develop strategies for creating real-life business start-ups. Workshops on business planning, communication skills, and design planning were provided, as well as coaching by a BT Business Mentor in presentation skills.

The group judged to have developed the most throughout the programme had designed a project called, ‘Smart Pipe: An automated water circulation anti-freezing system’. Members of the team included Matt Murtagh White (17) from Kilkenny College, Kilkenny; Emer Creedon (16) from Regina Mundi College, Cork; Adam Torrens (19) from South

Eastern Regional College, Bangor; Deirdre Harford (17) from Loreto Secondary School, Balbriggan, Dublin; and Megan Doyle (16) from Skerries Community College, Dublin. Daniel Hobbs (17) from Maynooth Post Primary, Co. Kildare was named the best individual student. Members of the group were awarded summer placements at NUI Galway, University of Limerick, UCD or University of Ulster.

BT’s Managing Director, Shay Walsh, congratulated the winners, stating that “The programme is a great example of how a platform like this can imbed an ethos of entrepreneurship and innovation in talented second-level students who are inspired by science and engineering.”

UCD Vice-President for Innovation, Prof. Peter Clinch, also expressed his hope that the students “might find ingenious ways to combine inputs to create new and better products and services and, perhaps one day, their own companies.”

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The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Observer Features features@universityobserver.ie

Working your summer away

With summer fast approaching, Natasha Murtagh explores the alternatives to stereotypical student holiday plans

W

hat are you doing this summer? It’s that niggling question that distracts you when you’re trying to focus on your exams. Nobody particularly wants to spend the whole three summer months in Ireland, as the weather can be a little depressing, so any sort of ‘getaway’ is welcome. There are the student-typical choices of two weeks partying in Marbella, a two month Interrail trip around Eastern Europe, a J1 to America, or a visa to Canada or Australia, all of which are going to cost you between 500 and 1,000 euro minimum, and maybe more. But what if you don’t have that much money, or you prefer to do the unexpected? What about something different, something you might not have heard of before and that could be a bit of a gamble? What about something that could only cost you €22, for as much as six months in Melbourne, or the beautiful coast of Panama, or maybe even in the heart of Tuscany? All this is available, but what’s the catch?

cerned about when considering travelling using one of these organisations is safety and security. “There was only one time we had a negative experience and even then, it wasn’t really too bad,” explained O’Connor. “We stayed with this guy who had an open plan apartment, so we were sleeping in the sitting room but it didn’t have any doors. He had been overly flirtatious with me, and my friend had gone to sleep … It was my place to assert that I wasn’t interested and it wasn’t what I was there for, but at the same time it kind of made me uncomfortable.” However, there are provisions put in place to help you avoid such scenarios. Both WorkAway and CouchSurfing have their own rating systems, where you can see the profile of host families, with input from their previous guests. “We used the rating system to judge who we stayed with and to see how many people had stayed with them. In general, we decided that if they’re involved in city groups, it means other people in the city know them, and so it was pretty safe,” O’Connor continued.

“The work was just weeding, which was incredibly boring but we’d just talk all the way through it. At night we’d sit on sofas outside and just chat, and on the weekends we’d walk the hour to town to go out to the clubs or to the Great Barrier Reef”

“We used the rating system to judge who we stayed with and to see how many people had stayed with them. In general, we decided that if they’re involved in city groups, it means other people in the city know them, and so it was pretty safe”

Tracey O’Connor,

former UCD student and CouchSurfer

Organisations such as WorkAway, Couch Surfing and World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) are offering students, and anyone in need of a cheap getaway, a different experience. Here’s your opportunity to stay with a host family who will provide you with accommodation and food, in the destination of your choice, in exchange for just a few hours of work a day, or to stay with a local in their own city and have them voluntarily show you around the area.

These organisations are offering a different kind of holiday, one that won’t cost much but will give you a lot more back than most; a true cultural insight from locals who know the area best. In the case of Workaway, the idea is that the traveller, or ‘workawayer’, pays a small sum of money to select a destination and host family from their databases. The traveller can see where the host family lives and find out more about their lifestyle, what they do, and what they are hoping the traveller will provide for them. Most want a little help around the house, with their children, or in the garden or farm, while there are some families who are simply looking for company. After the traveller has completed their two to four hours of work each day, the rest of their time is theirs.

“It enables a traveller to integrate directly with that culture or country without having to stay in hostels or hotels,” explains David Milward, founder of WorkAway. “The business was designed with the intention of making a rewarding, fulfilling experience, without the bank-breaker prices of a trip such as Interrailing.” Milward was

inspired to set up his company after a holiday in Hawaii in the early nineties, which, despite being scheduled for one week, turned into a two month stay.

WorkAway is a portal where people can contact host families all around the world who are looking for a small amount of help, in exchange for accommodation, food, and an insight into a new culture, with the further possible advantage of the improvement of a foreign language. “For twenty-two euro, WorkAway gives you access to the list of host families and their details, and also the ability to create your own profile, almost like a Facebook page,” said Milward, continuing that “Twentytwo euro is about the price of one night in a backpackers hostel, whereas with WorkAway, you are getting a possible two, three or even six-month stay and a truly unique experience.”

But what if a traveller or host is unhappy with the way things have turned out? Are you subject to a contract and have to finish your time there? “You are a volunteer, so it’s important to remember you’re free to move on whenever you like,” Milward explained. Likewise, is should be noted, the host may ask you to leave. “It is a bit of a gamble.

What you get might not be what your expectations had in mind, but what it isn’t, is a free holiday.” Milward stresses the importance of this, stating; “You must commit yourself to the family and the work you have agreed to do, and respect the family and their way of living.” Maybe it’s not for everyone, but WorkAway does try to bridge that initial social gap by encouraging travellers to have a few Skype sessions with your host family beforehand, in order to get to know one another, get comfortable, and get rid of any preliminary ‘awkwardness’.

CouchSurfing is another volunteerbased network, connecting travellers with members of local communities, who offer free accommodation and advice. If you want to meet other travellers in the area or nearby, it is possible to see where they might be on the CouchSurfing website. CouchSurfers

also organise events in all 230 countries in which they operate, encompassing everything from Thursday night karaoke in Rathmines, to trivia nights at the Trinity Bar in Sydney, Australia.

These events are all visible to the users of the website, who can get in contact with one another to arrange a night out or to meet for a coffee, providing an instant social network for the lonely traveller.

“Twenty-two euro is about the price of one night in a backpackers hostel, whereas with WorkAway, you are getting a possible two, three or even six month stay and a truly unique experience”

David Milward,

Founder of WorkAway

“Naturally, not having much of an income [CouchSurfing] was of interest to me,” said Tracey O’ Connor, a recent graduate of Agri-Environmental Science, who had played host to ten different CouchSurfers before taking the plunge and ‘surfing’. “My first or second time [hosting] I thought, ‘oh God, this is going to be a drag showing this person around the city, I have so many other things to do.’ I was in final year, so naturally I was obsessed with my research projects. But it was really

fun - you get to see your city through new eyes when you’re hosting.” Since taking in CouchSurfers, O’Connor has kept in contact with a couple of her guests, and has since been to visit them in their home countries.

Her adventure began when she decided that after graduating in 2011, she wanted to travel; “I had this ambition to walk across Europe when I graduated, and when it finally came to it, I didn’t really have much money. I think I had about 2,000 euro, which to get all the way across Europe was not really going to be enough.” 2,000 euro is the average spending money needed to complete an Interrailing trip around Europe for just one month. O’Connor travelled with an acquaintance who was also a CouchSurfing member. The two of them stayed with a total of twenty different people, in England, France, Belgium and Germany.

The first place they stayed was London; “The first two stays were a little awkward … we weren’t very prepared, as in not having our hosts’ phone numbers.” But after a couple of other stays with hosts, the two soon began to see how things worked. “I found bringing your host gifts really important,” said O’Connor. What started off as a habitual gesture, turned into something of a game; “It actually became part of our trip - the day that we were going to stay with somebody, we thought about what could we find that was unusual and interesting … we brought a mini ship to a sailor we were staying with!”

While admittedly not the traditional lazy holiday experience, those who partake in a working holiday often attest to the more rewarding, authentic nature of the experience. Hazel Crane, a final year law student, went on a WWOOF trip to Sydney. “The work was just weeding, which was incredibly boring but we’d just talk all the way through it. At night we’d sit on sofas outside and just chat, and at the weekends we’d walk the hour to town to go out to the clubs or to the Great Barrier Reef.”

One thing many people are con-

Hazel Crane, Final Year Law and WWOOFER

“We have a star system whereby you can rate the host family of the Workawayer,” Milward explained, advising both traveller and host to make the effort to talk before the trip to avoid any issues. It is this advice, and the fact they keep a sharp eye on both their host families and travellers, that probably explains why ninety per cent of responses and reviews on WorkAway’s website are positive.

So what were the benefits for Tracey? “It was nice … not just because you got a nice bed, but because it was social and you got a real insight into what people thought about their own country and about that area - you don’t get that if you’re staying in a hostel.” When asked would she recommend CouchSurfing, O’Connor responded positively; “Well I’m going to the Netherlands to start a Masters soon … and I’m hoping to join the city group there to get to know people, and they often have city tours too. I also have two CouchSurfers staying with me next week from Germany.”

It seems that the ‘city groups’ that are developed through CouchSurfing and other similar companies are well established, very active and clear in their ambitions, in that it’s all about swapping cultures and helping one another to see the city through the eyes of a local. “I would certainly never choose to go Wwoofing over Interrailing, but if you have a few weeks to kill, no money, and can get flights for the same cost as merely existing at home, I’d say why not,” Crane exclaimed. These alternative trips offer an experience at once decidedly different, culturally rewarding, and seem to be worth a lot more, while being far less expensive, than a standard two week session in Majorca.

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features

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Station for the nation As RTÉ comes under scrutiny following some grievous research errors, Evan O’Quigley examines the role of the public broadcaster

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t is frequently argued that the internet will be the death of RTÉ. Noel Curren, the Director General of RTÉ recently said in a public lecture at DCU, “The future of broadcasting [is] clear. It’s all going online; the future is in the cloud and traditional broadcast media – both television and radio – are soon to be relics, antiquated curiosities we’ll watch with bemused amusement on future online versions of Reeling In The Years.”

This was followed by the somewhat contradictory argument that “despite the increases in online and mobile usage, despite the explosion of social media, consumption of television in Ireland is actually growing. Year on year, more people are now spending more time watching television, not less.” Dr. Colum McCaffery, Professor of Politics, specialising in Media at UCD agrees, pointing out that traditional forms of media are not inclined to die out, but instead often expand. “Media tend not to disappear; what tends to happen is they pile on top of one another. One [form of media] doesn’t abolish the other”, McCaffery explains.

Curren has argued that the advent of the internet as a major media competitor will work favourably alongside television viewing, rather than being a direct form of competition. “A feature of the current Presidential election is that many viewers are watching the live debates while following and contributing to the live commentary on Twitter, Facebook and other online social media. Much the same experience is found as families gather to watch reality shows, big sporting events, and entertainment spectaculars - sharing

“The future of broadcasting [is] clear. It’s all going online; the future is in the cloud, and traditional broadcast media – both television and radio – are soon to be relics, antiquated curiosities we’ll watch with bemused amusement on future online versions of Reeling In The Years”

Noel Curran, Director General of RTÉ

the experience as groups, but interacting individually.”

RTÉ’s credibility was called into question by many news sources following a complaint made by failed presidential candidate Sean Gallagher to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), following a “fake tweet” that The Frontline host Pat Kenny erroneously claimed to have been sent from the Twitter account of Martin McGuinness’s campaign. The tweet, which Kenny read out on air, suggested Sinn

Fein would hold a press conference the following day with a person who gave a €5,000 fundraising cheque for Fianna Fáil to Gallagher. The tweet was later revealed to have been sent from a fake account that was not affiliated with the McGuinness campaign.

The BAI deemed the reference to the tweet to be unfair and RTÉ apologised to Gallagher, although the station has continued to face criticism for the incident. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has accused RTÉ of having a “liberal” and “centre-left” bias. However, Labour Party ministerial colleague Pat Rabbitte responded to the comments saying; “I am not quite sure what might sound liberal and left-wing to Leo.” James Downey wrote in the Irish Independent that while he did not believe RTÉ have any ideological agenda they were guilty of “appalling errors” nonetheless.

The channel, which is semi-state run and partially funded by the TV license paid by television owners, has come under criticism from TV3 for continuing to be both funded by the TV license and advertising revenue. McCaffery dismisses these criticisms and argues

With new environmental measures to be unveiled by the government in the coming weeks, Matt Gregg examines why Ireland is likely to introduce domestic water charges

Phil Hogan,

Minister for the Environment

T

edly [accept] that the allegations made

by Prime Time against Fr Kevin Reynolds are baseless.”

McCaffery disagrees with the programme’s cancellation and argues that, while a mistake had been made, it would now not be repeated. “In my first job, I worked in a development laboratory, I was sent to test a couple of [electronic] prototypes, which were enormously valuable. I made a mistake and blew the arse out of both of them; I was convinced I was going to be sacked. My boss said to me ‘do you want to know why we’re not sacking you? We’ve just invested thousands of pounds in your education; you will never make a mistake like that again. If we bring in someone new – they might, so you’re being kept.’”

RTÉ have learnt a number of lessons in recent times, both from mistakes made and the swiftly changing differences in the fields of both Irish and global media. The broadcaster is still a stronghold of our national media, and while it must adapt to the demands of 2012 and beyond, it is quite likely bound to remain an important media source for the foreseeable future.

Turning water into gold

“We are the only country in the OECD where households do not pay directly for the water they use.

Our current model of water provision, where unlimited quantities of an expensive product are provided at no charge, is simply not sustainable”

he world is full of resources that are scarce. Turn on any news station and you are bound to hear of fierce competition for sub-Saharan African mining rights. Likewise, unfortunate reports have confirmed that the world’s chocolate supplies are dwindling. Then there’s crude oil, a resource that has become synonymous with scarcity and seen its price rocket in recent years. Yet, considerably more worrisome are reports that the world is running out drinkable water.

Of course, Ireland is much better placed to deal with this scenario than many other, particularly equatorial countries, but this does not mean Ireland’s water supply system is in peak health. “In terms of precipitation and rain and consumption, we’re in very good shape,” explains Dr. Frank Convery, UCD Professor in UCD’s School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy. “However, to use the water you have to store it, you have to treat it, you have to transport it and all of that costs a lot of money. It costs us about €1.2 billion a year to do that. So it is extremely expensive. The system

that having a public-funded television station is fundamentally important. “In the papers and the other media at the minute, a lot of the criticism [of RTÉ] has been caused by a lack of money; also what you have is an extreme liberalism that would oppose the state being involved in anything,” says McCaffery. “If RTÉ were to disappear, and we deregulated all Irish television, and we just followed the market, we would have a situation very quickly where broadcast current affairs would be largely dependent on whatever would spill over from other countries … The ideological belief that the free market can supply everything is wrong.”

RTÉ recently announced the cancellation of its decade-long running investigative programme Prime Time after an episode titled ‘Mission to Prey’ contained allegations that a Catholic priest, Father Kevin Reynolds, had raped a minor in Kenya and thus fathered a child.

The programme led to Fr Reynolds being removed from his parish and his reputation being seriously damaged. It later emerged that the allegations were entirely false. RTÉ apologised and announced that they “fully and unreserv-

Photographer: Conor O’Toole hasn’t been working because we have an awkward fit between the resources you need to provide water long term and our low funds.”

It is this awkward fit that has led Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment, to announce a program of extensive water reform that will be presented to the cabinet in the coming weeks.

One of the key reforms, and one most likely to create resistance, is the introduction of water metering. Back in 2000, the last time the government attempted to introduce metering, a fierce campaign spearheaded by socialist TD Joe Higgins caused the government to back down, and he has announced on his website that “any proposal to reinstate the water charge will be vigorously resisted.”

Yet, this time it appears there will be no backing down. “We are the only country in the OECD where households do not pay directly for the water they use,” Hogan said in a press

conference earlier this year. “Our current model of water provision, where unlimited quantities of an expensive product are provided at no charge, is simply not sustainable.”

Convery echoes the view that metering must be introduced and highlights Ireland’s unique position as compelling evidence. “We are the only country in the OECD that doesn’t. That tells you something,” he exclaims. “Either we know something that nobody else does or they have a way of thinking that makes sense and I essentially agree with the latter proposition …

When something is scarce, and water is scarce, then you need to charge for it and charge for it based on use.”

One of the principle concerns with the introduction of metering is that it will disproportionately affect those members of society least able to cope with it. Indeed, Higgins’ principle argument is that “the reintroduction of water charges as a new tax rather than

from the general taxation as at present would be an intolerable new burden on low and middle income households.”

While Convery agreed it is important to ensure that nobody is cut off from water due to income level, he believes that the government’s metering proposals, where a certain volume of water is provided free of charge, could in fact ensure that low and middle income households shoulder a more appropriate burden.

“Rich people, all but invariably, consume more of everything, including water. People that don’t have a jacuzzi, who don’t have a pool or don’t have a power shower, all those accoutrements, [don’t consume as much],” he argues. “When you give away water for essentially nothing, you’re giving far more to rich people than to poor people usually. The idea that the user pays is fundamental … the argument is, why should I pay out of my general taxes for you to waste our water? It’s as simple as that in a way.”

A further advantage to metering outlined by Convery is its potential effect on consumption patterns. He maintained that consumption in remote areas dropped by as much as two-thirds following the introduction of metering, as people reigned in wastage and were more likely to repair leaks immediately when they had to pay themselves.

“Ireland is a very peculiar country,” muses Convery. “We’re the only country in the western world that doesn’t have property taxes, and we’re the only country in the western world that doesn’t have water charges. Why we are such dramatic outliers, I must say, is a puzzle to me, particularly because most of us have lived in other countries where both of those are normal.”

A recent Eurobarometer poll on water revealed that roughly half the Irish population would be willing to pay some form of water charge. However, in such populist times, it is unlikely that any attempts by the government

to introduce further taxes on a population increasingly suspicious of the state will pass without contention. Indeed, the arguments made in resistance to the household charge parallel many of the issues involved in the introduction of metering.

Nevertheless, Convery argues that the introduction of metering is a “fundamental issue. For example, the people in Galway went six months without water at one stage, so the cost of not doing these things properly is huge. It was tanked in, so you could get water,

“The reintroduction of water charges as a new tax rather than from the general taxation as at present would be an intolerable new burden on low and middle income households”

Joe Higgins, Socialist Party TD

but you had to queue up. It was like living in an African village. I think we are, compared to other societies I’ve lived and worked in, very immature in some respects and that’s one of them. We are just going to have to grow up is my attitude to that, but it is going to take time.”

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

features

Verona

Postcards from Abroad As his time in Verona comes to an end, Sean Finnan finally gets to grips with the Italian language

T

he transition from winter to spring here was sharp. Within a week the Arctic weather that grasped continental Europe thawed to the heat of the Mediterranean climate. With the emerging sun, Verona shook itself clean of the monotony of winter. Little wonder then that the quiet life continues to be popular here when days can be spent dozing in the park or lying by the pool under a twenty-three degree sun in March. Once again, however, my itchy feet got the better of me and I headed south for a week to Rome.

The train to Rome was cheap, dirt cheap. The last of our Erasmus funds dictated that we avoid the modern carriages of the Frecciarossa high speed trains in favour of the Italian rail equivalent of a rickshaw. The train pushed itself from Verona to Bologna to Florence and finally to Rome in just over seven hours. Our night train left at eleven thirty, just when the station was adjusting from commuter hub to vagabond refuge. To make it stranger still, outside our carriage was what seemed to be the entire Veronese regiment of the Italian army. The price of the ticket seemed clearer to me now.

After battling through the soldiers in the carriage (with unsurprising ease), we got to our compartment. The seats were still free despite the carnage seem, but when you’re surrounded by a in the hall and we shared the journey small group of English speakers you bewith three Neapolitans, greeting them come oblivious to the outside world. My with “Va fa Napoli,” which at the time apartment had become an Anglophone I took to mean “Go, go Napoli”. After ghetto in the heart of Verona. There the weird reception in the carriage, I was initially no incentive to learn Italrealised it had a completely different ian. If they didn’t speak English, screw insinuation. I blame Joey from Friends. ’em. But eventually it grew wearisome Settling in Verona was tough with- to be unable to communicate or assoout speaking Italian. Obvious as it may ciate with anybody but the handful of

7

English speakers. This barrier had kept my knowledge of Italians and their view on their own society a secret. I started communicating with a local guy almost daily to improve my grasp of the language, and in the process realised how callous it was to disregard a whole people by not being able to communicate with them.

I always thought that the language

barrier was the main stoppage to communication in Verona. The trip to Rome highlighted the difference between Italians in the North and the South. The Italians I met over bottles of wine at the Campo de Fiori (a favourite hangout for both Romans and foreigners in Rome) were each as enthusiastic at the next. After complimenting a Jim Morrison lookalike on his appear-

ance, he proceeded to drag us along with his friend to some quiet side street before unleashing a rendition of ‘Roadhouse Blues’. We drunkenly lapped it up, howling “I got myself a beer” until Jim’s friend got himself nicked for busking. Jim ran towards the Vatican with the guitar. We stood singing for more.

I was learning more about Veneto from my tandem partner. Venetians are terribly proud of their heritage, with the Veneto area once having been part of the Republic of Venice. This historic pride is still tapped into by modern day political parties such as Lega Nord, which has been in a coalition government along with Berlusconi’s various parties for eight of the past ten years.

The party has, at times, campaigned for secession for the North of Italy away from the South. It’s not just on the political front where the divide in Italy is evident, but also in the footballing world, where Hellas Verona has often greeted their archrivals Napoli with ‘Welcome to Europe’ banners.

For anyone considering Erasmus next year, I highly recommend it. Despite my love-hate-love relationship with Verona, the time here has been fantastic. This town may be tame but when you’re given a generous Erasmus grant and living on the continent there is no excuse to stay put. The best thing about doing Erasmus (as has probably been said by everyone who has ever been) is the people that you encounter.

Few I met here were from the University, but mostly expats living in Verona, providing a different but much more interesting experience than I expected.

If you’re doing Erasmus next year it’s worth getting in touch with people who previously lived in your city of choice and talking to them to find out more.

Arrivederci da Verona!

De réir na dtorthaí dúirt 1.8 milliún dóibh siúd a bhí 3 bliana d’aois nó níos sine go raibh Gaeilge labhartha acu. Má chuirtear é sin in iúl i dtéarmaí céatadáin, dealraíonn sé go bhfuil níos mó ná 40 faoin gcéad dúinn in ann an teanga náisiúnta a labhairt. Fós féin, bheadh an-chuid daoine amhrasach go leor faoin bhfigiúr sin agus nuair a dhéantar na figiúirí a iniúchadh i gceart, is léir go bhfuil níos lú ná dhá faoin gcéad dúinn ag baint úsáide as an nGaeilge ar bhonn laethúil taobh amuigh den chóras oideachais.

I measc na dtorthaí is suntasaí eile ná go bhfuil cónaí ar níos mó na leath de dhaonra na Poblachta i gCúige Laighean - ní bheidh na Muimhnigh róshásta faoi sin!

Bhí an fás ba mhó daonra ag na contaetha sin atá taobh istigh den chrios taistil ón bpríomhchathair – Laois, An Cabhán agus Fine Gall ina measc. Os a choinne sin tháinig meath ar an daonra i gCathair Chorcaí agus i gCathair Luimnigh. Ar ndóigh braitheann líon na dteachtaí sa Dáil ar na figiúirí daonáirimh agus beidh an Coimisiún um Thoghlaigh ag baint

úsáide as na torthaí agus athbhreithniú ar na teorainneacha toghcháin á dhéanamh acu as seo amach.

Léiríonn an daonáireamh chomh maith go bhfuil méadú de 150 faoin gcéad tagtha ar líon na ndaoine atá colscartha agus an ráta is airde ar fad acu i gCathair Luimnigh. Bíodh sin mar atá, tá an ráta colscartha fós íseal go leor i gcomparáid le tíortha eile na hEorpa. Agus nuair a bhristear an daonra síos de réir gnéis, dealraíonn sé go bhfuil 42,854 níos mó mná ná fir sa Stát, ábhair dhóchais d’fhir shingile na tíre!

Beidh an chéad daonáireamh eile ar siúl sa bhliain 2016 agus is dócha go mbeidh pictiúr eile ar fad againn faoin am sin. Ach gach rud curtha san áireamh is deascéal don chuid is mó a bhí sna torthaí daonáirimh seo. Tá an leibhéal is airde daonra againn ó laethanta an Drochshaoil. In ainneoin na ndeacrachtaí geilleagracha tá daoine óga ó cheann ceann na cruinne ag cur fúthu sa tír seo. Agus cúis áthais dheireanach: De réir suirbhé de chuid na Náisiún Aontaithe a eisíodh an tseachtain seo caite, táimid ar an deichiú cine is gliondraí ar domhan!

Éire na hIlchineálachta Caitheann Séamas Ó Meachair súil ar na torthaí ón Daonáireamh a eisíodh coicís ó shin, torthaí a thugann léargas cuimsitheach dúinn faoi thír atá ag éirí níos flúirsí agus níos ilghnéithí in aghaidh an lae

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oilsíodh na chéad torthaí críochnaitheacha ó dhaonáireamh na bliana seo caite le deireanas agus tá réimse leathan eolais le fáil uathu - eolas maidir le haois, creideamh, dáileadh geografach an daonra, náisiúntacht, próifíl aoise na tíre, teangacha is araile. Taispeánann na torthaí go bhfuil an daonra ag fás go láidir agus go bhfuil thart ar 4.6 milliún duine ina gcónaí sa Phoblacht seo.

Nuair a chuirtear an figiúr sin i gcomparáid le daonáireamh na bliana 1996, faightear tuiscint níos fearr ar an mborradh as cuimse atá tagtha faoin daonra le blianta beaga anuas. Sa bhliain sin - nuair a bhí formhór na mac léinn de chuid na hollscoile seo díreach tosnaithe sa bhunscoil – ní raibh ach 3.6 milliún duine sna Sé Chontae is Fiche. De réir na bhfigiúirí seo is léir go bhfuil an ráta is mó fáis daonra againn as na tíortha ar fad atá san Aontas Eorpach, údar amháin dóchais dúinn sna laethanta deacra eacnamaíocha seo. Agus a bhuíochas sin ar mhná na hÉireann a bhfuil an ráta torthúlachta is airde san Eoraip ar fad acu! Os a choinne sin tá titim ag teacht ar an daonra i dtíortha eile na hEorpa: an Bhulgáir, an Ghearmáin agus an Úcráin ina measc.

Gan amhras soláthraíonn na torthaí seo eolas úsáideach d’údaráis áitiúla, don Rialtas agus do na heagraíochtaí ar fad a bhfuil baint acu le beartas pleanála agus tithíochta. Beidh na torthaí fíorthábhachtach agus polasaithe á leagan síos maidir le cúram sláinte, fostaíocht agus oideachas as seo amach. É sin ráite áfach, is deacair gan gáire a dhéanamh agus roinnt de na ceisteanna a bhí ar an daonáireamh á léamh agat – ceisteanna mar gheall ar líon na seomraí inár dtithe nó ar an saghas saoráide séarachais atá in úsáid againn!

Níl aon amhras áfach ach go dtugann torthaí an daonáirimh pictiúr cuimsitheach dúinn de shochaí na tíre seo

agus muid sa dara deichbhliain den aonú haois is fiche. Is pobal ilchultúrtha muid mar shampla: an tríú tír is ilchultúrtha san Aontas Eorpach ar fad – iontas na n-iontas! De réir na staitisticí is ionann daoine ón gcoigríoch agus 17 faoin gcéad den daonra iomlán.

Ar ndóigh áiríonn an figiúr sin Éireannaigh a rugadh thar lear (i Sasana nó sna Stáit Aontaithe mar shampla), ach ní bhaineann sé sin den chlaochlú radacach atá tagtha ar chúrsaí déimeagrafacha le blianta beaga anuas. Cuir i gcás líon na bPolannach is na Liotuánach in Éirinn: Sa bhliain 2002 bhí thart ar 4,000 dóibh sa tír seo, ach beagnach 160,000 acu naoi mbliana níos deireanaí!

Ní haon ionadh mar sin go raibh impleachtaí ar leith ag an mborradh faoin daonra neamh-Éireannach ar dhéantús cultúrtha na tíre. Don chéad uair riamh bhí ceist ar an bhfoirm maidir le teangacha seachas Béarla nó Gaeilge a labhraítear sa bhaile. De réir na dtorthaí labhraíonn níos mó ná deich faoin gcéad den daonra iomlán teanga iasachta ar bhonn laethúil, agus is léir go bhfuil níos mó daoine ag labhairt na Polainnise sa bhaile ná mar a labhraíonn an Ghaeilge.

D’éinne a thug geábh ar an mbus nó ar an Luas i mBaile Átha Cliath le deireanas ní haon ábhar iontais é sin ar ndóigh.

Maidir le cúrsaí creidimh tá borradh ollmhór tagtha faoi líon na Moslamach is na gCeartchreidmheach in Éirinn. Ach cé go bhfuil an tIoslamachas ar an tríú creideamh is mó sa tír agus go bhfuil líon na n-aindiachaithe ag méadú, is léir gur tír Chaitliceach muid go príomha.

Caitlicigh Rómhánacha a bhí in 84 faoin gcéad de na daoine a chodail sa Stát oíche an daonáirimh. Ach de bharr nach raibh aon tagairt ar fhoirm an daonáirimh ar mhinicíocht freastail ar Aifreann , ní fios go beacht cé mhéad dóibh a chleachtann a gcreideamh.

Ach thar n-ais linn go cúrsaí teanga.

Gluais: ilchineálacht .................................................................................... diversity daonáireamh ............................................................................................ census ráta torthúlachta ............................................................... fertility rate saoráid séarachais ......................................................... sewerage facility Ceartchreidmheach ....................................................................... Orthodox aindiachaithe ...................................................................................... atheists colscartha ........................................................................................... divorced An Drochshaol .............................................................................. The Famine

8

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

End of Year Reviews

As the academic year draws to a close, the University Observer interviews the five Students’ Union sabbatical officers about their achievements and failings so far and asks whether or not they have lived up to the promises contained in their manifestos

by Matt Gregg, Jon Hozier-Byrne, Katie Hughes & Kate Rothwell

Pat de Brún UCDSU President

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e Brún views his achieving constitutional, financial and funding policy reform as his greatest achievements this year, but regrets that he “didn’t have the time I would have liked to devote to ensuring all officers are completing their briefs fully, and encouraging them enough maybe, but I was a victim of circumstances to a certain extent with that.”

He identifies a “lack of work ethic, once or twice” and his frustration with poor keeping of office hours as issues that arose with his team during the year, while being otherwise “happy with most respects – it’s been an exceptionally difficult year.” He also identifies the fact that he, as President, has had no greater power than any other member of the Students’ Union in disciplining his team, as his only available power of reprimand has been to refer a matter to the Independent Appeals If you had give yourself a rating out of ten, how well do you feel you’ve done this year?

“I want to let students be the judge of that, genuinely. Ok, I’ll put it this way – I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I’d give myself a high rating. I’m not going to say. “

Board (IAB), an issue that he hopes to have resolved by bringing in “more accountability measures” in the new constitution.

His promise to implement a ten per cent pay cut for all sabbatical officers, disregarding the fact that the financial reform meant they now have to pay tax on their wages, did not come to pass.

This was due, according to de Brún, to the rejection of the idea by the IAB. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to go into too much about the IAB, but I’ll just say this: that I have been frustrated on more than one occasion by their decisions this year.”

De Brún’s tenure has been marked by his revelation in Semester One of the SU’s worrying amount of debt and non-existent accounts from the past number of years, which have since been compiled by an accountancy firm.

While his efforts to tackle the financial crisis are undeniably commendable, his reluctance to directly name any of his predecessors as responsible smacks a

little of the ‘boys’ club’ mentality that he believes his year has succeeded in quashing, while his talk of “looking forward” rather than “pointing fingers” is decidedly politician-like. Perhaps he is making an astute political move in waiting for the final accounts to identify the culprits rather than apportioning the blame himself.

He also believes that criticism of the SU has in the past often been about “laziness, work ethic, and political opportunism” but states that criticism directed at him this year has been “about policy, decisions, and the direction of the union,” a change which he interprets as a positive sign of student interaction with Union policy, “I think we’re a more professional outfit and I think we’re a hell of a lot better off now than we were when I took over in July.”

That he still speaks primarily of criticism rather than praise however, is indicative of a continued lack of faith in the Union amongst the general student body.

Our Analysis Few could deny that Pat de Brún has been at the helm of the Students’ Union during a particularly troublesome year, and it would be just as difficult to deny that he put his own stamp on the Union with his measures of reform, both in the form of the new constitution and the push to open up both UCDSU’s and USI’s stance on funding for third level education with preferendums.

Yet with great change comes greater criticism, and the contentious points of the new constitution, such as the paying of convenors, as well as the argument that the change of stance is equivalent to waving a white flag to the government, may overshadow the perhaps less prominent progress that de Brún has made. The overall performance of his team, excluding the admittedly continual dedication of

Breslin to Welfare, has not always been optimal, and a certain amount of this blame must be proportioned to his focus on other priorities. With one million euro of debt having accumulated under the reign of perhaps only the last three to four years’ Presidents, the marked difference that de Brún has brought to the role must at least be a step in a more measured direction.

Brendan Lacey

UCDSU Campaigns & Communications Vice-President

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acey cites UCD students’ involvement with the Stop Fees Campaign, which “showed that students in UCD still care about the Stop Fees Campaign,” and the passing of the new Students’ Union Constitution as two of his biggest achievements during his tenure as Campaigns and Communications Officer this year.

With regard to his presence and visibility on campus, he explains that he had to make a choice between being a Sabbatical Officer who was present in the office “working as part of the team to help everybody with their projects,” or one who prioritised “getting the face out there.”

He concedes that he is not well known to the student body but is nonetheless “happy with the work I did with the Union.”

Aside from assisting with the national Stop Fees Campaign run by USI and local executive campaign weeks, Lacey did not run any campaigns on his own initiative.

He defends this by saying it was not his responsibility to find the issues but to organise the campaigns for issues brought forward, “I’ve been involved with a number of the campaigns across the board so I don’t think you can take all the campaigns away and say ‘what campaigns were you involved in?’”

Complaints were raised at a recent Union Council surrounding Lacey’s failure to publish the Officer reports online.

He admits that this is one area he fell down in, but emphasises that unlike previous Campaigns and Communications Officers, he did not have the support of a Media Officer for the majority of the academic year. He also cites problems with the website as a reason for not completing this “menial task”, despite later stating that “the website works very well” when questioned about its promised upgrade, which also failed to materialise.

One of Lacey’s top priorities when running for office last year was to “revolutionise” the way in which the Students’ Union communicated with students. While admitting the term may have been “grandiose”, Lacey feels that communication improved this year, “but it’s difficult to revolutionise something that is quite good.”

More bike shelters and improved showering facilities are two initiatives Lacey claims he has been “fighting with Buildings and Services” about all year.

However, he anticipates that more bike shelters will arrive by the summer and confirms that planning permission has been sought for a new commuter facility, which would include showers.

The Students’ Union’s current financial situation has led to several initia-

tives promised by the Sabbatical Officers when they were running for office not being carried out. For Lacey, this included the bulk buying scheme and the designated drivers scheme in the Student Bar. Regarding the failure of the latter, Lacey states “we’re at a time where there’s a bit of confusion – who’s running the bar, the financial aspect of it.”

Lacey acknowledges that one of the primary objectives of his job is campaigning heavily on issues he is mandated to by students. Despite November’s ‘Stop Fees’ protest due to be followed by both UCDSU and USI preferendums regarding a new stance on funding for third level education, he does not believe that there has been a communication issue regarding UCDSU’s stance on the matter.

Following the December 2011 budget, graduate loans became a contentious issue and one that Lacey insists he has done his utmost to follow through on. However, he admits that “it’s not something I can do just from this office, it’s something I need to work on as part of a team nationally,” but maintains that he and the SU President have been working on a contingency loan plan solely for UCD students, similar to the one found in DCU, should the national USI postgraduate loan scheme fall through.

Our Analysis While it is difficult to see the fruits of Lacey’s labour in day-to-day college life, it is worthwhile noting that although he has fallen short on several of the more fundamental parts of his job, such as updating the website on a regular basis, he If you had give yourself a rating out of ten, how well do you feel you’ve done this year? has made steps towards securing several of his promised initiatives, such as the “Six, maybe seven out of ten. I achieved a huge amount of things in my manifesto: I think we did open up the Dublin Bike Scheme. Whether these steps have been significant enough to make communications of the Union, the class reps communicated brilliantly with their classes this year … There are a lot of an impact remains to be seen, however with only two months left of his tenure, we things that I’m happy with, there are still things on my manifesto that aren’t finished so I’m not happy with that. I’m may never find out. always striving to do better so six out of ten is fair. I’d like to do a lot more.”

9

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Rachel Breslin

UCDSU Welfare Vice-President

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reslin views her biggest achievements this year as the “taxi scheme and getting that set up, and then secondly the College Dinners …

Clever Cuisine, so it’s four meals for ten euro every week” while her main regret is “the Republic of Loose gig that was on Mental Health Day. It’s kind of the one thing that I look back on my year as something that could have been different and probably shouldn’t have happened.”

In an office where the now blatantly necessary cutbacks are arguably the most painful to make, Breslin says she has made cuts across the board, “every campaign has been done on an absolute shoestring”, and believes she “operated on about a quarter of the previous budget.” However she sees none of the cuts as regrettable, instead stating that they made “a better use of the budget.”

With issues on campus residences coming to the fore in recent weeks, she refers to a residences report conducted during the year, and states that its nine or ten meetings replaced the quarterly residences association meetings that she

had originally promised. “I didn’t want to get everyone over and back and keep discussing the same issues when we’d done such a thorough report.” She acknowledges that there are issues which still need to be dealt with on Residences and believes that filming by security and RAs “needs to be stopped straight away”, but maintains that those overseeing Residences can be made accountable with the reintroduction of a Residences Committee, and would not call for the resignation of the head of residences. “I think that there still is scope with the current management in residences to make the [necessary] changes ... It’s better to hold someone to account, rather than ask them for their resignation.”

The changes made to the ‘1,000 Condoms, 1,000 Stories’ scheme and its accompanying website were, according to Breslin, due to the logistical issues of maintaining the campaign throughout the entire semester and not because of any pressure students might feel to use the numbered condom they had been given, however she did acknowledge that the website did not provide the ideal educational environment. “I think that some of the accounts were too ste-

reotypical of being laddish behaviour, showing off, so I think perhaps if I were to do something like that again I would accompany it with more sexual health information, more education classes.”

Having produced a video to promote Shag Week that highlighted places where students might have sex, Breslin acknowledged the difficulty of educating students about sexual health without making them feel pressurised to have sex. “It’s very hard to run a sexual health campaign without being seen to promote sex, and I completely accept that, but we have to run one and we have to run it in the knowledge that from this survey [USI student sexual health survey conducted this year] most students have or currently are having sex and sexual relationships. It is important to bear that in mind and to be able to tailor a sexual health campaign that they feel is relevant. If we run a sexual health campaign that is very much based on the methods of abstinence or just waiting and waiting then there will be a lot of students who will say ‘the SU isn’t in touch, they’re not in any way comprehending that I’m going and having casual sexual relationships’.”

If you had give yourself a rating out of ten, how well do you feel you’ve done this year?

“That’s really a difficult question; that should be up to the students. I would give myself a seven and a half. I think there are things I would have loved to take on that I don’t feel I had the time to do this year but I certainly would think I’ve done a good job. I’ve loved it, I’ve learnt so much from this year. I will be incredibly, incredibly sad to leave this office.”

One service provided for the benefit of students’ sexual health that has suffered a blow this year is oncampus STI screening, the SU supplementary funding for which ran out on the 1st February. Breslin states that this wasn’t something they had “par-

Our Analysis Having kept campaigns and services running on a greatly reduced budget, Breslin’s tenure is perhaps more difficult to find fault with than most officers. Ultimately, Breslin has proven herself one of the most capable Officers to serve in the SU for some time, and minor complaints are largely over-written by an unusually high success rate. Her friendly demeanour has stood to her as Welfare Officer, but it is her business acumen that will be put to an even greater test as President.

Stephen Darcy

UCDSU Entertainments Vice-President

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Our Analysis Darcy’s reluctance to give a figure for Ents’ expenditure this year, in comparison to Breslin’s stating that Welfare was run on approximately a quarter of last year’s budget, is yet another disquieting indication of what the accounts may reveal. To his credit, Darcy has brought two of the largest acts in recent memory – LMFAO and Lil’ Jon – to campus, however, his continuation of UCD Ents’ over-emphasis on dance music to the expense of other forms of entertainment will have disappointed many. Ultimately, the UCD Ball will be the real test of his tenure, although many will view the somewhat numerous cancellations and PR errors as the defining aspect of his year in office.

If you had give yourself a rating out of ten, how well do you feel you’ve done this year?

“I’d say about seven. Obviously the cancellations really affected me - they weren’t my fault and I tried to recover as best as I could from them… I’ve dropped the ball a couple of times but I’m only human as well at the end of the day.”

ticularly anticipated” but although she considers the screening a frontline service, the decision was made not to increase the level of funding due to budgetary constraints and the fact that free screening services were available off-campus.

arcy confidently describes LMFAO’s visit to UCD as “probably the biggest accomplishment of Ents in the last ten years or so” but expresses disappointment at cancellations during the year. However he maintains that the acts returning to play on another date for Cheesefest “softened the blow for me personally” and states that “none of the cancellations were down to any fault of myself or any of the staff here.”

Regarding the clashing of the UCD and Trinity Balls he states that “Trinity Ball doesn’t really affect my job”, also explaining that the clash was down to Trinity’s change of their traditional date and not UCD Ents’.

Speaking about his proposed on-site entertainment for the Ball, Darcy said that there was “still a chance” of a headphone disco, that the Gardaí “wouldn’t allow” a carnival but that it would be replaced with “inflatable games and so on, that aren’t as big as an insurance risk.” Magicians, fire breathers and henna tattoo artists are still due to be present at the ball and Darcy believes that there is “something for everyone in the line-up.”

When asked whether he feels his events have catered to a broad enough range of musical tastes during the year, he answers

“I hope so” and classes Charlie Simpson’s visit as catering to a “niche” rock audience, a statement which may seem a little dismissive to those whose musical interests did not include DJ Rankin or Cheesefest.

Darcy’s manifesto predicated monthly comedy nights with acts on the scale of Flight of the Conchords, Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan but these “never really happened.” “We were very close to confirming Tommy Tiernan at one stage for semester two but that fell through and we had David O’Doherty coming as well but we couldn’t fit him into our schedule.” While still hoping to have David O’Doherty come to campus before the end of the year, this will not make up for a distinct lack of comedyrelated entertainment this year so far.

Having promised entertainment for UCD residents including foam parties, silent discos, and raves, Darcy stated that with the increased involvement of Res Life he feels he doesn’t “really have to come in and do more for them if they’re being looked after by Res Life already.” When challenged on this, he said that as Res Life do not focus on alcoholic events his involvement has been organising Res parties in the bar, which he hopes to conclude with a ‘Farewell to Res’ party.

Regarding whether or not he felt he had delivered on his manifesto prom-

ises, he believes he has “delivered on the major parts. The [other] parts I may have been a little bit naive about when writing my manifesto.”

Darcy was reported to have caused a disturbance in the Radisson Blu hotel in a room originally booked for LMFAO and paid for by the Students’ Union earlier this year, an incident which he “absolutely” regrets after “letting myself down and letting the students down”, although he believes it not to have tarnished his or the SU’s reputation.

Although the new constitution aims to prevent sabbatical officers profiting privately from their position, Darcy denies that this indicates a problem with the Ents office during his tenure; “I haven’t made any money this year privately so I disagree with that wholeheartedly.” He also supports his implementation of an exclusivity deal with the Signature Group and maintains that he hopes it will stay in place for a number of years.

With Ents expenditure and the profit or loss of events coming under increasing scrutiny, both Darcy and his predecessors’ budgets will be reviewed with interest by students when the final figures come to light. However, he maintains that he has no access to figures and doesnot think he would “be allowed to comment” on an estimated figure. “It goes through the accountants - I don’t have them in front of me, I’d have to compile [them]. Ents is … it’s substantial money that goes in to all these gigs and there is probably a valid point to argue that maybe it does spend a little bit more than is necessary.”

Sam Geoghegan

UCDSU Education Vice-President

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ith the student contribution fee continuing to rise and an embargo imposed on the purchasing of new books for the UCD library, it has been a tough year for Education Vice-President Sam Geoghegan. Indeed, with 2011/2012 also likely to mark the end of the SU’s stance on free education, it is difficult not to agree with his own assessment of his year that “some of the results aren’t there.”

Nevertheless, Geoghegan has proved successful in increasing library opening hours and introducing a late-night study area in the lead-up to both examination periods. The provision of the latter is cited by Geoghegan as his “biggest accomplishment … I saw the success at the Christmas exams of the study area and a couple of thousand students used it and it really was a great feeling to [know] you made this happen.”

The late-night study area is a success story, but is only one of many election promises that were made. Some, such as a name-and-shame campaign of local councils that did not pay the grant

on time, proved unnecessary while the “I investigate everything and tried Education Vice-President admits that he everything. You can’t fault me on that. realised others were unfeasible upon tak- There are some things that will come in ing office. down the line,” said Geoghegan. “I think Geoghegan admits that he has not “de- education, out of all the sabbatical posilivered on all [his promises]”, such as col- tions, is the hardest role to fulfil anything. lege and school specific career fairs, but It’s a long, slow process and there are argued that over-ambition is a charac- some things that only come in after three teristic of many election manifestos. In- or four years.” stead, he suggested he should be judged When asked how he felt his peron his core goals. In addition to a 24-hour formance was perceived by students, study area, he highlights the proposed Geoghegan responded somewhat cagily. electives exposition and a text service “I help students; I give it my all every to warn students of cancelled classes or single time … I can only take it from the exams as his “three sexy ideas you have students I deal with. I hope they’re happy when running in an election.” but that’s the only barometer I can judge,” Unfortunately, neither of the latter he said, no doubt wary of allegations that objectives have been achieved as of yet. Education remains the least visible of the Geoghegan explained that he is “still in Sabbatical Offices. dealings with the registry at the moment” While Geoghegan stated that low visconcerning the electives exposition and ibility was the “nature of the job”, the Eduis “quite confident that it will be in place cation Vice-President has not remained enfor Semester One next year.” His position tirely out of the public spotlight. Earlier this on the texting service is somewhat more term, many students were left outraged ambiguous. He stated that regarding the following the discovery of second-hand text system he was “told in no uncertain books from the Students’ Union Bookshop terms over the summer that it’s just not being thrown out. Geoghegan maintained feasible,” but has confirmed in previ- that these books had little prospect of beous interviews that there were plans to ing sold. Nevertheless, the incident demonlaunch a smartphone app instead. strated poor communication skills at the

If you had give yourself a rating out of ten, how well do you feel you’ve done this year?

“Well I know that I’ve tried, I’ve given it one hundred per cent but obviously some of the results aren’t there, so by that I’d maybe give myself a seven out of ten.”

very least while, at worst, it could be seen “Shane [Comer’s] excellent campaign” as a violation of his mandate. rather than because people felt he did Geoghegan’s unsuccessful bid for re- a bad job, it does not reflect well on his election suggests that the student body in time in office. general were not aware of or perhaps not “I’ve enjoyed the year. I’ve made satisfied with his performance as Educa- some great friends. I’ve learnt a lot about tion Vice-President. While he suggested the job, about myself, and I wouldn’t have the loss was down to “complacency” and any regrets,” said Geoghegan.

Our Analysis While low visibility is often an element of the Education office, students may feel disappointed by a term where many manifesto promises have gone unfulfilled, perhaps explaining

why Geoghegan’s bid for re-election proved unsuccessful.

Unfortunately, there is a danger that the book-binning incident will remain the most memorable event of his time as Education Vice-President.

10

Observer opinion

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

opinion@universityobserver.ie

Your country needs you

Following the Minister Phil Hogan’s declaration that those paying the Household Charge are patriotic, Hannah Dowling looks at what patriotism means in the current economic crisis

“I

t is morally wrong, unjust and unfair to tax a persons home”. These are not the utterings of a member of opposition, but the words of Taoiseach Enda Kenny in 1994. While undoubtedly the economic situation is drastically different, never let it be said that the present government won’t let irony stand in the way of a good argument. This is coupled with the actions and words of Minister Phil Hogan, who refused to take a solidarity pay cut for the good of the country while calling those who paid the Household Charge patriots. However, the ironies of the situation aside, it has emerged that just under fifty per cent of those eligible to pay the charge did so, which raises the question: along with an economic deficit, does Ireland have a patriotic deficit?

Blandly defined, patriotism is the unwavering love and support for one’s country. Similar to concepts such as justice and liberty, patriotism is an idea shrouded in romantic imagery. But is it more patriotic to obey your government or defy it?

Blind patriotism is dangerous to democracy as it allows corrupt and unjust leaders to rule without

question. Indeed, blind patriotism corrupts; absolute blind patriotism corrupts absolutely. It should be a citizen’s duty to question and defy a government when it is acting against the wishes of its people. Therefore, it is not unpatriotic to stand up for something you believe in that goes against the policies your government espouses.

If patriotism is acting to protect the ideals of your country, then it is not unpatriotic to defy your government when you believe it is betraying these ideals. As George McGovern wrote, “the highest patriotism is not blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one’s country deep enough to call her to a higher standard.” Patriotism is about protecting the moral basis of a country, such as freedom, truth, and respect for human beings and their dignity. All of these are the cornerstones of democracy and are above the jurisdiction of government.

When addressing patriotism in the narrower scope of the recent household charge, there are two sides to the debate. The charge was designed as a short-term solution to a long-term problem. It is not a litmus test of a citizen’s sense of patriotism. Those who paid the charge are as well in-

tentioned as those who didn’t.

However, it also has to be acknowledged that many of those who paid the charge did so out of fear of what would happen if they did not, but the majority of the country’s citizens made their opposition to the charge clear and did not pay. Instead, stories have come out that families have been using the €100 to spend on necessities or expenditure such as their children’s exam fees. A campaign led by Today FM encouraged listeners to donate their money to the financially vulnerable Crumlin Hospital instead of paying the charge.

The actions on both sides of the debate by citizens cannot be criticised as they have acted in the way that they saw fit, and in their views, in the best interests of the country. The real culprits in this debacle have been the government. Cut off from the realities of the day-to-day struggles its citizens face, they continue to impose more and more burdens on the public, while refusing to share the cost. From Ministers Hogan to Alan “get a life” Shatter, it is obvious that they are removing themselves from the problems the public face under the guise of saving Ireland’s future. It

is no wonder that the public are now finally taking it upon themselves to defy, in a loud and reasoned way, that they are no longer willing to accept the burden alone.

While they may be portrayed as breaking the law, those who refused to pay the charge were protesting against the inequalities of our political system, a system that

is not working. In this broken political hierarchy the government have shown very little patriotism and solidarity. The Irish people showed true patriotism in defying a political system where, in the words of Bob Dylan, “they say patriotism is the last refuge, to which a scoundrel clings, steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you a king.”

In the wake of the final report by the Mahon Tribunal, Elizabeth O’Malley examines the role played by whistle-blowers in unearthing corruption

whistle while you work

D

Mark Felt, better known as Deep Throat

espite the outcries against the rampant corruption seen in governments and corporations around the globe, it’s often those with the courage to speak out who suffer the most. Those who dare to speak out against abuses can lose their jobs, find themselves ostracised from their profession, or even put their lives

at risk. There is very little in place to protect them, and their bravery often goes ignored by the public.

The Mahon Report is perhaps the most damning indictment of a culture that existed in Ireland over the last decade – as long as a profit was being made, it didn’t matter how. This was true of government, banking and business. “It continued because nobody was prepared to do enough to stop it.

This is perhaps inevitable when

corruption ceases to become an isolated event and becomes so entrenched that it is transformed into an acknowledged way of doing business,” Judge Mahon concluded in the report. The long, costly, but ultimately necessary process of tribunals began when James Gogarty, a former Garda and senior construction worker, revealed that his firm had bribed senior government minister, Ray Burke. Without whistle-blowers like Gogarty and dozens of others to give testimony about this state of affairs, we may never have discovered the degree to which corruption had become “endemic and systemic” in our political system.

The economic downturn, the failure of ‘light touch’ regulation, and revelations of corporate corruption have acted as a catalyst in the search for transparency. In America this has been characterised by the creation of Wikileaks and the release of the Pentagon Papers, which revealed the extent to which the American government had lied to its people and congress about the Vietnam War. In Britain, we have seen revelations of phone hacking by the News of the World, and the parliamentary expenses scandal.

However, the unfortunate truth is that there are thousands of abuses perpetrated at all levels of organisations, businesses, and governments that go unreported. This can be for a number of reasons; fear of reprisal, misplaced loyalty, or the belief that blowing the whistle is equivalent to being a snitch.

Most importantly, there exists a negative attitude to whistleblowing. Sometimes exposing problems within a system can be rewarding, as was the case with Jesselyn Radack, who exposed the ethical violations in the interrogation of suspected terrorist, John Walker Lindh, by the FBI. Since then, Radack has been promoted to the position of national security and human rights director for the Government Accountability Project in Washington.

However not everyone is so lucky. Thomas Drake, a former senior official at the National Security Agency, spoke out against illegal surveillance of millions of Americans that had been implemented in the Bush era. Although the felony suit against him was later dropped, he lost his job, his retirement savings, and is seen by many as betraying his country.

Many whistle-blowers report that there exists a widespread ‘shoot the messenger’ mentality by corporations and government departments.

One of the recommendations made in the Mahon report was creating more robust whistleblower legislation. The upcoming ‘Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill’, known commonly as the Whistle-Blowers Bill, has been cited by Minister Brendan Howlin as being the best in the world. It is based on the existing models in South Africa, New Zealand and Britain. The comprehensive bill includes protections from any penalisation by their employer, including harass-

ment, dismissal, discrimination or any threat of reprisal. The proposed Electoral Amendment Bill, which proposes donation limits and registering lobbyists, also displays a move in a promising direction.

While all legal protections are welcomed, this may not go far enough to tackle the perception of whistle-blowers. The decision to report on an employer is not one made in a vacuum, but it is heavily based on external factors, such as fear of ill-treatment, belief that the wrong-doing is ‘run of the mill’, or ‘needed to get something done’, or, indeed, beneficial to the employee.

More needs to be done to change our attitudes towards corruption. Not only does the Mahon Report condemn politicians, developers, and the business elite, but it also denounces the wilful ignorance on the part of ordinary citizens and points out the “general apathy on the part of the public towards . . . corruption.”

We can no longer call ourselves a democracy if we allow the rule of law to be undermined consistently by those who believe themselves to be above the law. We can no longer afford a culture of ‘I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine’ and business as usual. We need to accept our personal responsibility to stand up and expose abuse when we see it. As a country we need to take a long look at ourselves and make the decision not to let the wave of anger pass without some kind of change.

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Opinion

11

Hacked Off With the recent arrest of an Irish student for hacking, Emer Sugrue takes a look at the trend of incompetence in technology, and the treatment of those who expose it

W

hile hacking is signed specially by the foreign not as glam- consultancy firm Accenture at a orous or all- cost to taxpayers of sixty-one milpowerful as lion euro, which is apparently so portrayed in faulty that it is standard practice fiction, it is to forward emails to private unstill a problem secured Gmail accounts, which is faced by official institutions. Last what one hapless member of the month Donncha O’Cearbhaill, a Gardaí’s Computer Crime Investifirst-year Trinity student, was ar- gation Unit did with the details of rested for allegedly hacking into the conference call. O’Cearbhaill and recording a conference call already had access to this Garda’s between the FBI and SOCA, the account because he had, once UK’s Serious Organised Crime again, guessed the password.

Agency. The call was to discuss The question is not whether international plans for dealing it was illegal or even wrong; of with the hacking groups Anon- course it was. It’s the digital equiv- A University Observer re-enactment of what hacking may or may not look like Photographer: Conor O’Toole ymous and Lulzsec, of which alent of breaking into the TaoiseO’Cearrbhaill is a member, and he ach’s office just to tip-ex “HA HA have been exposed with no malice, We are in a society that always institution finding themselves duly put the contents of the ex- HA” on his desk. But if the person and instead of making an effort to shoots the messenger. hacked: Hire the hackers. Hire the change on Youtube. He has been breaking in was a security expert fix the system, they are throwing This isn’t corruption, it’s incom- people who find the loopholes; charged in the US with one count and Enda Kenny didn’t know how the people who revealed it in jail. petence. Corruption isn’t good, they clearly understand the sysIf this is the kind of lazy in- but it implies that the corrupt are tem better than you do. Hacking of computer hacking conspiracy a door worked, there might be a and one of ‘intentionally disclos- better use for the burglar than let- competence at the highest levels at least able to achieve something is not as thrilling or mighty as it of our state, it’s hardly surpris- if given proper motivation. In- is often portrayed to be. It’s not a ing an unlawfully intercepted ting him rot. wire communication’, facing up This astonishing level of techni- ing that that same generation of competence is worse, because it femme fatale in a catsuit fighting to fifteen years in prison if found cal misunderstanding is endemic people managed to destroy the can’t be either fixed or deterred. to recover her identity, it’s not a guilty. For context, the average in world institutions. The genera- country. We have seen the insti- If we continue this tactic of shut- Hollywood nerd who’s only pretime served for murder in Ireland tion in charge has very little un- tutions of this country collapse ting up whoever dares to show a tension to intellectualism or unis twelve years. derstanding of computers, de- around our ears in the last five flaw in the system, whether it is attractiveness is a pair of glasses, This was not O’Cearbhaill’s first spite the huge number of social years. They have mismanaged the in law enforcement, government, nervously typing in an abandoned offence. Last year he hacked into and criminal interactions that take government, the banks, the hos- or finance, we are doomed to re- warehouse, ready to pull a gun the Department of Foreign Affairs place through them. This was not pitals, and the police, and we are peat these mistakes over and over out when the bad guys arrive, and simply by guessing their pass- a dedicated terrorist organisation the ones who have to pay for their again. In the lead-up to the eco- it’s not a terrorist group trying to words. Three of the passwords using the information to blackmail stupidity. We are the ones who nomic crisis many people cried take down the indulgent bourused by these government of- or destroy, it was a bored teenag- face unemployment, fees, pay out about what was going on, and geoisie. Hacking is some teenager ficials were ‘password’. The al- er doing it for a laugh. The CCIU cuts, and tax increases to cover how it couldn’t last, and they were dicking around on a laptop while leged hacking above stretched not only couldn’t stop him, they for the mistakes they have made. silenced and scoffed at. Do we drinking Revamp, and if he can Mr. O’Cearbhaill’s supernatural couldn’t choose a more inventive And when someone comes for- need a technological crisis before outwit a system purpose-built by hacking skills even further. The password than ‘password’. The ward and reveals that the emperor hackers are taken seriously? highly paid officials, they are the Gardaí have an email system de- huge gaping flaws in the system has no clothes, they are punished.

Here’s a suggestion for any ones who are at fault.

Let’s get fiscal With the Fiscal Compact referendum looming, Cormac Duffy argues the case for a cautious yes vote

T

o many, the impending referendum on our ratification of the Fiscal Compact (with the catchy formal title being the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union) is the strongest case for wanting to dwell in some fantasy Carlsberg world, with an omnipresent Option C. To take the most cynical tone, as many will between now and May 31st, a yes vote is one to shackle us further to the domineering sway of the European Union, while a no is a death knell for our role in the global markets. Can’t we just have a ‘sometimes’ option on the ballot?

That said, the truth is that we should not approach this with the trepidation we did previous referenda. This treaty is a concise, accessible plan for economic stability in the Eurozone, which may give it the potential to engage voters in a way that the tome of jargon that was Lisbon failed to. In fact, the worst thing the yes side could do is patronise the electorate by shouting the word “Jobs!” at them again à la the first Lisbon referendum. Clearly explained as what it is and taken on that one criterion, as a plan for getting the continent out of the dire straits it is currently floating in, there is a lot to be said for the treaty.

The media spectacle that com-

plemented our planet’s financial meltdown meant that we all know what went wrong and how it was allowed to happen. The treaty aims to respond to this by setting limits on public debt levels, as well as deficit levels, with mandated balanced budget legislation. The proposed debt ceiling of sixty per cent is one that Ireland held mostly throughout its boom years, only to be hoisted well over it by the need to socialise bad bank debt to keep the markets (and the EU) happy. For these extreme, unanticipated cases, the treaty establishes the European Stability Mechanism, a formalised bailout fund of €500 billion. A common criticism has been that this entrenches austerity over stimulus as the go-to policy in a downturn, but room is left for stimulus as long as it is tenable to do so within the existing target. High stimulus spending often only increases debt levels, making it difficult to access money markets due to high yields on what are now risky bonds, making the situation far worse than it started out. The adoption of the treaty itself is likely to send a strong signal to money markets about our commitment to stability, a step along the process of restoring our international standing.

The accumulation of public debt is a domestic problem, one that arises from a political willingness to keep the masses appeased with

current high spending, putting the short term ahead of the long term.

In as much as the policies here are relatively more technocratic and less pressured by the public, they’re more likely to be a fair judge of how our debt accumulation should go, particularly in comparison to the parochial vote-buyers that too often fall into power.

Yet that hits on the problem. The treaty, no matter how you put it, is a surrender of sovereignty. While that word alone will get the republican left foaming at the mouth, the sovereignty we lose is real policy power, not just symbolic identity.

The common currency and earlier agreements removed our capacity for independent monetary policy; now we are constraining our fiscal policy, but it is a trade-off. To reap the gains that we get from our shared currency, capital markets, and powerful union, we have to accept that the risks of our policies no longer affect just us. While this time around, the centre was bailing out the periphery, we do not want to end up in a future situation where we are bailing out a country for their flippant behaviour.

At that point, the only question is whether or not you believe the European project is still something we want to be part of. Each referendum and each crisis we face is a functional spillover to a more centralised union. Many have made the interesting argument that we should use this referendum as a bargaining chip to get better terms on our bailout, especially given how stringently we have stuck to its terms so far. While there is a lot to be said for pursuing this for our long-term stability, we have much less bargaining power than we did with Lisbon and prior treaties. Although the former sta-

tus quo was unanimous passage of treaties for implementation, that is no longer the case. The Fiscal Compact, approved by all EU countries bar the UK and Czech Republic, is to become a reality; our decision is whether or not we want in, and whether or not we are happy to be in the slower part of a two-speed

Europe. In that sense, the yes option seems pertinent. What it will come down to is how we weigh our own sovereignty and independence against fiscal stability, and while a no vote is not the end of the world, it should warrant us to rethink our place in the future of the monetary union.

&

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science

Facing the Future

The Observer Guide to Surviving a bear attack In this year’s final ‘Surviving’ column, Conor O’Nolan gifts you with the necessary information to help you persevere through a situation you are extremely likely to get thrown into on your summer adventures The eternally wise Bill Bryson wrote in his book A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail; “What on earth would I do if four bears came into my camp? Why, I would die, of course. Literally shit myself lifeless.

I would blow my sphincter out my backside like one of those unrolling paper streamers you get at children’s parties — I daresay it would even give a merry toot — and bleed to a messy death in my sleeping bag.” While we can’t offer much in the way of telling you how to escape four bears while stuck in a sleeping bag, we can try and help you escape some slightly more promising circumstances involving bears.

Bears are mainly distributed across North America and Eurasia, so if you’re going on a J1, travelling across Asia, or casually exploring the Arctic you should be wary of these fearsome animals.

Brown bears (Ursus arctos) are the most widely distributed of all bears on earth, ranging from parts of Eastern Europe, most of Russia, parts of Northern Asia as well as Alaska and some of Canada. The most famous of all of these is the notorious grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis). If you come across a grizzly bear, running away is the worst thing you can do. If you’re still far away from the bear, sticking your hands in the air, clapping and shouting while slowly backing away is probably your best bet.

If the bear manages to get close to you, you have two choices; climb a tree or assume the fetal position covering your head with your hands, and play dead.

Bear spray is essentially a can of mace that is designed to confuse a bear, but it should only be used when absolutely necessary as it could simply anger the bear. Using a wearable bell while hiking in places where you could encounter a bear is a good idea; this way you’re less likely to surprise the bear and possibly even scare it away. A cowbell could easily be used for this purpose.

Next time, we’ll teach you how to deal with a rogue ostrich; with our guidance, those disproportioned turkeys won’t stand a chance.

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

health Organ donation has allowed for dramatic advances in medicine, with even human face transplants becoming commonplace, but Irish people are often reluctant to part with their organs when they’re no longer needed, writes Alison Lee

In order to train for human face transplants, some surgeons first train on rabbits

F

ull face transplants may seem like the stuff of sci-fi movies (with the bizarre Face/Off, starring Nicholas Cage and John Travolta, being a prime example) but readers may be surprised to hear that a total of twenty-three face transplants have been carried out worldwide to date. Facial transplant recipient Richard Lee Norris recently hit the headlines after a gruelling seventytwo hour surgical marathon, featuring a team of over 150 medical staff, at the University of Maryland Medical Centre.

Norris had suffered a gun injury fifteen years previously which left him devoid of his lips, nose and part of his tongue, and unable to move his mouth.

Since the accident, he lived as a recluse, shopping for groceries at night and wearing a mask in public, but this operation has given him the chance to catch up on the decade and a half of life he has missed out on. The term “face transplant” doesn’t do justice to the intricacy of the surgical procedure carried out by Eduardo D. Roderiguez, who is board-

certified in the fields of both plastic and reconstructive surgery, and oral and maxillofacial surgery. The maxilla and mandible (upper and lower jaws) and part of the tongue were included in the transplant, as well as all the soft tissue from neck to scalp along with associated underlying muscles of facial expression. Despite the complexity and extent of the surgery, Norris’ transplant may be more likely to succeed in the longterm than your “average” skin graft.

This is because his transplant included a large amount of bone - a tissue well supplied with blood that contains marrow to make its own white blood cells.

This renders the transplant less likely to be rejected by Norris’ immune system.

Even so, he will still have to take immunosuppressive drugs for life.

Although Norris is still in the early days of recovery, it is likely that his life will be dramatically changed for the better. Doctors reported him re-learning how to talk, brushing his teeth, and shaving just days after the extensive operation. However, it should not be forgotten that this operation

Splinter Cell After a series of recent breakthroughs, it has been shown that stem cells might plays a pivotal role in cancer development, Katie Hughes explains

S

tem cells are cells that can divide through mitosis before differentiating to become a more specialised cell type such as a nerve cell, muscle cell or skin cell. The two main properties of stem cells are that they are capable of both this differentiation and of self-replication.

By these two properties, stem cells produce daughter cells that differentiate into specialised cells, while also producing daughter cells that remain as stem cells, which keep up the stem cell lineage.

Evidence has been found suggesting that cancer stem cells exist, their purpose being to maintain the tumour cell population. Like regular stem cells, these cancer cells produce rapidly dividing cells but also identical daughter cells.

In some tumour cells, the cancer can come from a stem cell, which over time has accumulated a series of mutations due to external factors. This cell then becomes the tumour stem cell, which renews itself as well as producing numerous cancerous cells.

Other tumour stem cells are formed from cells that are already more differentiated and that are multiplying at a very quick rate, such as transit amplifying cells. This type of cell will only become a tumour stem cell if a mutation occurs or if an epigenetic factor is introduced that gives it the stem cell properties: the ability to self-renew and to be retained in the body. Once this type of cell has acquired these properties, it can accumulate other

mutations and epigenetic changes to become a cancer cell.

Some B-cell lymphocyte leukemias are formed by this second method. In this type of leukaemia, the cancerous cells were found to contain the same genetic rearrangements of their antibody genes. This consistent rearrangement suggests that they came from a stem cell that had already slightly differentiated into a B lymphocyte precursor cell, rather than a cell that had yet to commit to a specific cell type. Therefore, while many cancers can come from a stem cell, others do originate from cells that acquired the stem-cell capacity to self-renew.

Drug and radiation cancer therapies very often target the quickly proliferating cells. The tumour stem cells tend to divide much more slowly and may consequently be less sensitive to these types of treatments. When a sample of the cancer stem cells and the rapidly proliferating ones were taken from a tumour sample and injected into a mouse, it was found that only the stem cells grew. Therefore, by not eradicating the stem cells during cancer therapy, they are likely to regenerate the cancer.

Recent experiments have found that stem cells can regulate the way in which their chromosomes are segregated – the DNA template strand can be segregated into each daughter cell that will remain a stem cell. This makes tumour stem cells even more resilient to regular treatments, and explains why cancers recur despite positive initial responses to therapy.

could never have taken place without the consent of the anonymous man who not only donated his face to Norris, but saved the lives of five other people through the donation of his organs.

Organ Donor Awareness ran from March 31st to April 7th, and aimed to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation, and to boost numbers of organ donor cardholders. Currently in Ireland there are approximately 650 people awaiting organ transplants. Most require organs like kidneys, hearts, and livers for fairly ‘routine’ transplant procedures, a far cry from Richard Lee Norris’ groundbreaking facial reconstructive surgery. However, an operation like this seems anything but ‘routine’ to the person awaiting the organ, or their family and friends. Ireland had an extremely poor rate of transplants in 2010; only fifty-eight deceased donors donated their organs in comparison to ninety donors in 2009. The situation improved in 2011, when ninetythree deceased donors allowed for 270 organ transplants to take place. There is currently no organised database of organ

donors in Ireland, something that Mark Murphy, Chief Executive of the Irish Kidney Association, would like to change. He called for the establishment of a National Organ Donor Registry at the launch of the Awareness Week, where the public could voluntarily identify themselves as being willing organ donors.

Despite the obvious benefits offered by the process of organ donation, there are still misconceptions and myths that put people off making the decision to become donors themselves. It is admittedly a rather morbid topic to dwell upon, but considering it could be the difference between life and death to several people, it is definitely a topic worth taking seriously.

One of the major fears people have regarding organ donation is that their organs may be removed before they are truly dead. However the chances of this happening are almost non-existent; brainstem death must be confirmed by two senior doctors before any decisions concerning organ donation are made.

In Ireland kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, corneas, and heart valves can potentially be removed for transplant purposes - however only organs which are actually required at that time are removed, and the donor’s next-of-kin must specifically consent to their use. Even if one carries a donor card or has the organ donation section of their driver’s license signed, the next-of-kin must consent to donation and their wishes overrides those of the deceased. Another common misconception is that many major religions oppose organ donation, but this is not the case: Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism are just some of the faiths that encourage organ donation.

The area of transplant medicine is still young and decades more research is required before we solve the problems, be they medical or ethical, surrounding this complex field. Although the success stories of patients like Richard Lee Norris mark important advances along the road, organ donors are the backbone of this process, allowing vital research to be carried out, new surgical procedures to be developed, and most importantly, allowing lives to be saved.

Anyone interested in becoming an organ donor can pick up a card from most pharmacies or alternatively email donor@ika.ie or freetext DONOR to 50050 to request a card. However, the most important step an Irish organ donor can take is to discuss their wishes with their next of kin.

University College Dublin An Coláiste Ollscoile, Baile Átha Cliath

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Science & Health

13

Doctor Doctor

PhD student James Cogley talks to Kate Rothwell about his involvement in developing search engines designed specifically for retrieving medical data

What is the official title of your PhD? ‘PhD Computer Science, Biomedical Literature Search Engine.’

Explain the official title in English, please.

Online search engines enable us to effectively navigate the vast amounts of data available on the web. As large amounts of medical data are becoming digitised (patient records, for example), there is a very clear need for a similar service in the medical domain. My PhD research forms part of a project developing search engines to help healthcare professionals deal with this new problem. My primary focus is on finding ways in which linguistic analysis can improve these search engines.

What undergraduate degree course did you do?

I studied Computer Science, Linguistics and French at Trinity, graduating in 2010.

What made you chose to do a PhD? Research projects during my degree were always much more interesting than sitting in classes or working on problem sets. At the risk of reusing an old cliché, it’s about constantly discovering new things. Beginning PhD research shows you just how little you know about your field. There’s always more to learn, more to investigate. That’s something that really appealed to me.

What is the best thing about research?

It constantly evolves; even when you feel you’re at a standstill you’re still making progress, regardless of good or bad results. Being able to constantly further my own knowledge while also contributing to my research area is a good feeling to have.

What is the worst thing about research?

It’s like a clingy partner; it never lets you stop thinking about it. It’s quite easy to get wrapped up in it and not pay attention to the rest of the world. This is probably the worst thing you could do, as it’ll do damage to your social life (not paying attention to friends) and your research (not paying attention to other work). It’s important to find things to give you a break from all of that, so you can come back with a clear and refreshed mind.

How could your work make a difference to the world?

It would be conceited of me to think my work alone could change the world. There’s a lot of research in this area with some very good ideas being put forward.

The research area as a whole can definitely make a difference to the world as it focuses on a practical issue that impacts healthcare on a daily basis. If I could contribute to that difference, I’d be very happy!

Photographer: Conor O’Toole How do you hope your PhD will affect your career prospects?

Positively, I hope. Career advancement wasn’t my primary motivation for applying for a PhD program, apart from the fact that it’d make a career in research a lot easier to get into. There’s a lot of talk of how having a PhD

can negatively affect your career prospects as it shows you’re “overqualified”. That strikes me as being the grown-up equivalent of screaming “NERD!” at somebody reading a book in the school library. True, it takes you out of the normal working environment for a considerable amount of time,

but you still have work to do. In that time, you’ve honed your skills, identified your weaknesses and figured out how to address them, and you are inhumanely motivated to apply yourself. Surely prospective employers, if they are aware of all that, at the very least wouldn’t be put off hiring you?

curriculum which is not required to fit together in any way. It’s not like you’re on this track and you’ve got these two electives, it’s completely à la carte, which I really liked.” Despite having found an ideal course, it was not long before he and his brother started planning their next business venture; Stripe.

“How I came to take time off was during the spring of my first year, Patrick and I started working on Stripe.

At first we were just messing around a bit and then it got more serious and we got a few customers. We decided

to move out to Palo Alto for the summer to work on it full-time. We had no plans as to what we’d do at the end of the summer - we hadn’t thought it through, but by this time the team was bigger and we had raised some money, so we decided that we’d take some time off just to see where it went and we’re still just taking time off to see where it goes.”

Palo Alto is one of the many regions encompassed in Silicon Valley, the infamous part of California where an exceptionally high concentration of technology companies are based, from giants like Apple Inc and Google, to smaller start-up level companies like Stripe. Collison outlined how it is an ideal place for a technology company to operate from. “For people working on start-ups it’s definitely the centre of the world. The thing that people always talk about and attribute the Valley’s success to - and it’s totally true - is the people here. There’s a huge base of technical talent and if you’re looking to raise investment, this is where all the investors are too. In our case, we’re doing an online business that very much caters to other businesses, and so if you’re looking to get customers, they’re here too - everything a business needs, whether it’s customers, employees, or investors, is here and in a huge concentration.”

Despite only being founded in mid2010, the company has been valued at one hundred million dollars. When asked about future plans, John outlined the company’s highly ambitious hopes for the future; “What we want with Stripe is to make a really high quality payment infrastructure for the web, where it’s much faster, lightweight and more secure than it is now.

We think payments on the internet are immature in the sense that they work just like they did ten years ago, and there’s been no real advance since. Five years from now we’d like to see Stripe as the way in which most people pay online.” His own personal interests outside of Stripe are just as grand; “I find aerospace stuff quite interesting, exploring the possibilities of making faster planes or air ships for transportation, making cheap space craft and stuff like that.”

A Stripe of Genius

One of the co-founders of the online payment company Stripe, Declan Knittel talks to John Collison about his education, his life and work in Silicon Valley, and his aspirations for the future of his company

J

ohn Collison is a twenty-oneyear-old entrepreneur from Limerick, who, along with his brother Patrick, became a teenage millionaire when they sold their first company Auctomatic. Their current venture is Stripe, a company aiming to change the way payments are processed online. They have received massive attention online and are considered a potential threat to the massive corporation PayPal. Auctomatic was a software company that built tools for the eBay platform,

making it easier for power sellers on eBay to sell their goods. The brothers travelled to America, where they obtained an initial investment from the well known Y Combinator start-up investment firm. The company was sold for five million dollars in 2008, before John even finished the Leaving Certificate. He later went on to receive ten As in his exams.

Collison continued his studies in Harvard, and when asked about his experiences there he was keen to outline how it would have

differed from if he were to study in Ireland. “One of the things I really liked about Harvard is that you’re not picking a course starting off with. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, and one thing that really attracted me about going to what’s called a Liberal Arts institution in the US, is that you’re able to decide very late what it is you want to major in. My first year I took Maths, Physics, Chinese, Writing, Statistics and Astrophysics and so you have this completely broad

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The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Observer OpEd editor @ universityobserver.ie

A Year in Review As yet another academic year draws to a close, Yvanne Kennedy looks back at the high and lows of 2011/12

Talleyrand

Photographer: Caoimhe McDonnell

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any things have changed over the course of the last year, both in UCD and further afield.

We’ve seen a new Government take control of the country and our lives, as austerity measures were forced onto us from the international community.

Although unemployment has remained steady, a renewed awareness of the importance of a third level education to the job market has led to an increase of more than ten per cent in the numbers applying to UCD via the CAO. We may have slipped out of the top 100 universities in the world, but Irish students are obviously still anxious to avail of the opportunities on offer to those who get accepted to study here.

UCD students were out in force in November campaigning against an increase in the student contribution and the re-introduction of fees. Far too many students who left the campus in May were unable to continue with their studies due to the previous year’s increase. Five hundred euro per student seems to mean little to the Government, but for the individuals concerned, it was the amount that saw a necessity for them to postpone their degree and attempt to find a job. However, the upcoming ‘preferendum’ on fees may change the SU’s stance, currently that the Exchequer should be willing to pay for our education, with many students considering alternative options to the ever-rising student contribution fee.

An indubitable highlight of the year saw UCD watching from the sidelines as we hosted the qualifying heats for Olympic men’s hockey, while the best of our players represented us abroad on the ladies’ side. The apparently imminent and long-overdue opening of the new Student Centre should give us hope that achievements like these

won’t be confined to 2011/12.

Something that has exemplified the determination of UCD as a whole is the continued national success of the Please Talk campaign, which has now celebrated five successful years. As just one of the many projects to take off from the University, those involved with student welfare should be proud of the progress with this project, as should those involved in with Relay for Life, an innovative experiment on a campus level that has raised much needed funds for cancer research.

Complimenting the long series of socially-minded events held by UCD students this year, we have been supremely successful in attracting the stars of stage and screen, as well as politics. Perhaps the single most successful appearance was that of the presidential candidates back in November. Theatre L was packed out to resounding applause as four of the seven candidates spoke on why they believed the Presidency was relevant to us as students, as well as, of course, why we should vote for them. Word on the street is that the welcome the subsequently elected President Michael D. Higgins received on this visit prompted his return at the end of term.

That’s not to say that every event ran this year went off so smoothly.

The First Annual Residences Ball, that was to have the anticipated theme of ‘Harry Potter’, had to be cancelled days before it was due to be held because interest wasn’t sufficient to allow it to run. A similar situation occurred with the Health Science Ball in March, although a lack of ticket sales wasn’t the only thing stopping events taking off on campus. Despite the success of an appearance by LMFAO, the Ents’ Crew were embarrassed during the year by a number of gigs that were less than stellar, with acts not showing up at the last minute.

Anticipation surrounding the UCD Ball seems to be sustained, and it

should be hoped that this years’ Crew can go out with a bang.

The issues with the SU and societies didn’t stop there. Unfortunately, the SU has reached a crisis point, with a substantial debt hanging over the Union as we approach the end of the year. Attempts to reduce the deficit were both welcomed and despised, particularly when it came to cutting out certain ‘surplus services’.

The Union’s decision to let go two women working in the Copi-print Bureau in the James Joyce tunnel provoked outrage and protests from many, as it was felt there had to be a better way to trim the overflow than to fire employees. The resulting protests culminated in the first Students’ Union General Meeting to be called in twenty-four years, which debated the motion to re-open the Bureau. The Meeting failed to reach the requisite attendance to provide a binding motion, and as such, was deemed inquorate. In a somewhat unfortunate irony, the final cost of the Meeting was estimated at over €3000.

We have had our successes, it’s undoubted, whether it’s sweeping the boards at the Irish Student Drama Awards, in sports, or in debating, but we wouldn’t be students in an Irish university if we didn’t want something to give out about, and when elections came around this year, we were ready to get out and shout – either for our cause, our candidate, or against those that dared block our route to the SU Bar. The elections didn’t run quite like clockwork this year, however, with Law Society elections being held as early as February. Usually held in April, dissent among the LawSoc ranks led to the 101st session shutting its doors much earlier than was planned.

The transition has been smooth enough, but issues with the way the election was run, including claims of an inconsistent voting process and missing membership lists, caused

further controversy. Other societies on campus knew well enough to keep their elections under wraps, and even the Literary and Historical ended up with a single candidate race. Not so with the SU, however.

RON dared make his presence known in both the Presidential and Ents elections this year, but the candidates needn’t have feared, both Rachel Breslin and Eoin Heffernan were elected with huge margins in their favour. The most contested position was that of Campaigns and Communications, where four candidates vied for the opportunity. In the end, only ninety-two votes separated the men from the boys (and girl), and Paddy Guiney was deemed elected. Close calls reared their ugly heads in Welfare and Education, but in the end Mícheál Gallagher and Shane Comer triumphed.

Besides the new appointments, the SU is going to be overhauled with the passing of the new Constitution. New forums to encourage student involvement are coupled with the introduction of Campaigns Officers to try and ensure that a wider range of needs are catered to across the University. After the next academic year, we will no longer have an Ents Officer, and the Irish language, as well as students’ rights, are deemed to be high on the list of priorities for the Union. However the decision to pay Convenors, formerly PROs, has proved contentious, and goes against the idea of a more streamlined Union.

A lot has changed in UCD, and in Ireland, since we began in September.

Some of the changes have been for the better, and, of course, some have not; we are all under more pressure and stress than we were this time last year, for different reasons and on different scales, but we can continue to hope that our time at UCD will prepare us for life thereafter. With a little bit of luck, we might just enjoy ourselves along the way.

Salut and so long, scoundrels, So the USDie Congenials are over for another year, and aren’t our Sapbats looking the poorer for it. Having grieved at their various losses of vomit-inducing ‘awards’ bar the coveted ‘Sap to tweet the most self-gratuitous twaddle’ and ‘Hickie that most closely resembles the USI logo’, they arrived back to their abandoned Horridor to check only that Darcy hadn’t set the place alight in their absence before ignoring their email inboxes, switching off their Hackberries, and running home to mother. The sight of Exprick election posters has them quivering in their boots in the realisation that their time is coming to a none-too-early end. And Judgement Day is also a’coming - Talleyrand hasn’t had so much wailing, gnashing of teeth and denial to look forward to since the closing festivities of the Mahon Tribuffoonral. April 12th folks, have your popcorn handy to throw at those that spent your registration fee on the vilest of hoodies.

Stephen “I didn’t want to go to congress anyway” Darcy might not have been allowed along to the love-in for fear that he’d reduce the other boys’ chances of cornering a few teenage class reps, but that didn’t mean that he darkened the doorway of his office any more often than those who jet-set it to the Wesht for the weekend. Talleyrand can only hope that he was out giving away UCD Ballsup tickets with ice-cream again.

First years do love ice-cream.

Pat “Bladder” de Brún did his best to add the final touch to his hack-cumhipster look by requesting a severe short back and sides at a blind barber’s, and ended up looking like he robbed his own bike as a result. Time to stop denying those shameful Carlow roots, laaad.

As for Brendan “Definitely not my fault” Lacey, he has started to share some of his colleagues’ concerns. Shame it’s too late for someone to tell him the difference between his Fifa team players and his fellow Vice-Hesitants.

Rachel “Out of my way” Breslin has been busy making plans to tear down the wall between the Welfare and Presidential offices, creating an almighty hack utopia in which Mìchéàl Gállâghër will be her Head Minion.

Poor Gallagher thinks he’ll be making a difference; Brezzo knows he’ll just be editing videos of Res for her own personal use.

And as for Sam “What about me?”

Geoghegan, he’s been saying a sad farewell to the bins and ordering the odd pencil. Consider yourselves educated, kids.

It’s been a long year and the future of Belfield looks as dull as a Sapbat’s career prospects are dim. Good thing no one likes change around these parts.

Now move along, don’t you reprobate reptiles have exams to fail?

Talley-ho!

Talleyrand

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The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Observer Editorial editor @ universityobserver.ie

“The people I have mentioned above don’t put in the insane amount of hours that they do for nothing – they do it for you, in the hope that somehow, in some small way, the Observer improves our campus.”

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hile at times, admittedly, so closely together, I would count you did last year. You should be very proud office and the group. You have supportthis year as editor of amongst my very best. What’s more, I of what you’ve achieved with this Vol- ed me over every late night, every forthe University Observer don’t believe I know of anyone more ume; you’ve proven yourself a born film gotten text, and every long production has seemed obscenely dedicated than you. You should be im- critic many times over. weekend. You have kept me sane, and long, on reflection, it has mensely proud of the job you’ve done Alison and Stephen, both of you have you have been understanding, generous, passed far, far too quickly. Rarely does this year. brought so much to the office and the and immensely kind. I appreciate every a job offer you the opportunity to do Emer, you are a remarkably special paper this year, and have done truly day how much you do for me, and how something you love, with the people person. Emotional displays aren’t nec- stellar jobs as our Chief Writers. Alison, kind you are. You are my friend. you love, but that is exactly what this essarily our bag, but I will say this; you you light up the office every time you Conor O’Toole, since you joined us newspaper and its staff have offered have not written a bad sentence all year, pop in, and it’s difficult to imagine the you have changed the paper completeme. Every one of the editorial staff have and everything you’ve produced has Observer crew without you. Stephen, ly, and immensely for the better. Every worked harder, longer, and with more been an absolute joy to read. What’s you have made Games a legitimate, aca- minute of sharing an office with you has commitment than I could have ever an- more, you have made the office, and my demic section, and I honestly think you been a joy, and every page you’ve deticipated, let alone expected of them. day, immensely better every time you have started a legacy in the Otwo that I signed has proven, again and again, just Paul and Quinton, since I began as come in. You are a very cool lady, and hope continues for years to come. how talented you are. If I know one geeditor, the two of you have been to- a great friend.

Sophie, you have completely nius, it’s probably you. If I know one lutally and utterly supportive of me, and Jim, I don’t know you particularly changed the tone of the fashion section natic, that’s probably you too, but that’s you have helped me and influenced me well, but I do hope that changes soon. – you have given it a substance and just part of what makes you the undenimore than I can express. Perhaps the You stand out, however, due to the re- an academic sensibility that it never ably special person that you are. biggest impact the two of you have had markable passion you have shown for had before. Your fashion shoots have Kate, you have been my partner, on me, and on Volume XVIII, is the im- your section. You have turned a section been nothing short of stunning, and my teacher, and my best friend. I am mense pressure of having to follow af- that was all too often overlooked into the fashion features have been artistic, uniquely privileged to have had you as ter you, and your example. Like all edi- an essential part of the paper. You have intelligent, and astute. Perhaps most my deputy, someone who is at once imtors towards their predecessors, I can done an outstanding job. remarkably, you’ve made me appreciate mensely talented, furiously intelligent, only try to live up to the legacy left for Cormac, when I first met you, you your field, and take fashion seriously, and totally kind. Our disagreements, exme, but without a doubt, yours has been were a fairly quiet, yet clearly cerebral and I am quite certain I am not the only tremely rare as they were, are immedian exceptionally difficult year to follow. man. Little did I know the true extent of one. Very well done. ately forgotten under the weight of the Katie, rarely can one say they are your remarkable intelligence, wisdom, Elaine, as the first Food and Travel joy I have had working with you, sharmade better by another person, but I and wit, which thankfully, you have Editor, you were always going to be ing in making something as special and am positive that knowing you has im- doled out in bi-weekly instalments. The striking out into new ground, but you as remarkable as the Observer. No matproved my life and myself incredibly. Duffington Post is one of my very favou- have done nothing short of turning the ter where we go from here, nothing will You are one of the most genuine, kind, rite Observer segments, and you are one food section from an afterthought, to an ever compare to coming in every mornand caring human beings I have ever of the very best writers I have ever had innovative, intelligent, and irreplace- ing, sitting beside you, and fighting had the pleasure to know, and I am the pleasure of working with. able part of Otwo. I really think you may tooth and nail to get our paper onto the absolutely certain you will go on to do Big Chief Nowak, you have been have started a legacy within the Ob- concourse. This year has been the best truly remarkable things. I can’t wait to crucial in a very important transition server, and for that, you should be im- of my life, and I thank you, sincerely, for see what they are. for the Observer, and you have helped mensely proud. Nom nom nom. putting up with me, for sharing your Matt, I have sung your praises so of- us put an emphasis on photography Ryan, you have had one of the hard- year with me, and for being Kate. ten and so readily this year that to do that has advanced our design leaps and est, and most thankless jobs in the ObFinally, thank you to our readers. so here seems almost silly. Suffice to bounds. I am absolutely certain you will server this year, but you have always Whether you only pick up a copy to scan say, you are a true professional, an out- go very far. tackled it with enthusiasm and aplomb. through Mitten’s horoscopes, or whethstanding journalist, and a leader in your Danny, you are a fantastic sports writ- You are also one of the most persistent, er you are one of the amazing people own right. It frightens me to consider er, a brilliant editor, and a truly hilarious talented writers I know, and I’m sure who call the office to ask when the next the skill and the potential you have, man. Your section has never been stron- you’ll go on to do remarkable things. issue is out, I thank you. As ludicrous as and hey, that chin doesn’t hurt. ger, nor has that monochrome alter ego Conor O’Nolan, I’ve learnt a lot about it sounds, the people I have mentioned Aoife, you are unique. You are in- of yours. You have brought more to the you this year, and I can honestly say, I above don’t put in the insane amount of credibly hardworking, generous, and office and to the paper than I can ade- respect you more than I can adequately hours that they do for nothing – they do very, very funny. You have made Otwo quately say in the space provided, but to convey in this short space. You are a true it for you, in the hope that somehow, in your own this year, with all the lolz and sum it up, you sir, are a real man’s man. gentleman, and have shown a quality of some small way, the Observer improves bantz that are singularly you. I doubt Dermot, you are one of my oldest character like no one else I know. You our campus. I sincerely hope that it has.

I will ever meet anyone quite like you friends, and one of my very best. You are a good friend, and a great section ed- A person can only really give two truly again, and I have enjoyed every mo- have done nothing short of an out- itor. We’ve had our ups and downs this special things in their lifetime – their ment of it. standing job this year, and I couldn’t year, but hey, it’s not Darfur. love and their labour. Everyone I have George, when we started this year, be prouder of the way you took the Donna, although you haven’t had mentioned has given the paper, and I would have already counted you as film section and made it your own. The a position with the Observer this year, myself, an incredible amount of both. a good friend. After a year of working Christmas poem alone beats anything I you have brought so much to both the Thank you.

Letters to the editor

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Clarifications & Corrections Letters should be sent by email to letters@universityobserver.ie or by mail to The editor, The University Observer, UCD Student Centre, Belfield, Dublin 4

University Observer Volume XVIII Issue XII

Telephone: (01) 716 3119/3120 Email: info@universityobserver.ie www.universityobserver.ie The University Observer is printed at The Guardian Print Centre, Longbridge Road, Manchester M17 1SN.

It is the policy of the University Observer to rectify any errors as soon as they arise.

Queries and clarifications can be addressed to info@universityobserver.ie.

Editor Jon Hozier-Byrne

Chief Science & Health Writer Alison Lee

Deputy Editor Kate Rothwell

Sports Editor Daniel Keenan

Art & Design Director Conor O’Toole

Irish Editor Séamas Ó Meachair

Design Assistant Robert Kearns

Music Editor Cormac Duffy

Otwo Editors George Morahan Aoife Valentine

Film Editor Dermot O’Rourke

News Editor Katie Hughes Features Editor Matt Gregg Opinion Editor Emer Sugrue Science & Health Editor Conor O’Nolan

Fashion Editor Sophie Lioe Food & Travel Editor Elaine Lavery Chief Games Writer Steven Balbirnie Online Editor Ryan MacKenzie

In last issue’s Science and Health section, in the article entitled ‘Doctor Doctor’, a typographical error resulted in a paragraph from the previous edition of the same article being mistakenly included.

The second paragraph following the question “What is the worst thing about research?” is instead attributable to Mr Adam Molloy, and not Mr Paul Lavin as the piece indicated. We are assured by Mr Lavin that he has never accidentally poured a beaker of acid down his back while attempting to scratch his neck.

We are happy to correct this, and apologise to Mr Lavin for the error.

Copy Editors George Morahan Aoife Valentine Chief Photographer David Nowak Contributors The Badger Elizabeth Beecham Kevin Beirne Dixon Coltrane Stephen Connolly Aisling Daly Tadgh Dolan Hannah Dowling Donna Doyle Chloe Duane Sean Finnan Sara Holbrook Aaron Kennedy Yvanne Kennedy Declan Knittel Emily Longworth Ciaran Loughlin Jordan McMahon Mystic Mittens

Quotes of the Fortnight “I just want to tick the box, I haven’t let it go” Stephen Darcy on non-alcohol events

“I’m sure any of the Observer could probably do the media and communications side of the job slightly better than myself ” Brendan Lacey

“We don’t want the preferendum to happen at all” FEE spokesperson

“You do the best with what you have”

Emily Mullen Natasha Murtagh Caitriona O’Malley Elizabeth O’Malley Evan O’Quigley Tallyrand Olivia Van Walleghem Denis Vaughan Jack Walsh Illustrator Olwen Hogan Photographers Caoimhe McDonnell Brian O’Leary Ed Scannell Special Thanks Peter, Ian, Tim, Malcolm, Ade, Jonathan, Dave, Emma, Ged, Bob, Steve at GPC Manchester Eilis O’Brien Dominic Martella Colm, Sabrina, Rory and Guy at MCD Promotions

Pat de Brún on the overall performance of his sabbatical team this year

Mary-Kate at PIAS Priscilla at Universal Giselle Jiang Dominic, Grace, Charlie, Jason, Gary, Stephen, Mark, Sandra, Paul and all the Student Centre Staff Very Special Thanks Amy Bracken, Sarah Doran, Donna Doyle, Bríd Doherty, Paul Fennessey, Bridget Fitzsimons, Danielle Moran, Joe Murphy, Dave Neary, Quinton O’Reilly, Rob Lowney, Ruth McCourt, Gav Reilly, Natalie Voorheis, Blue Öyster Cult, the inventor of the cowbell, and all other friends and family, most especially our parents, who have supported and encouraged us during our twelfth and final issue.

Again, thank you.

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The University Observer 路 10 April 2012

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

sport

opinion

The Badger wrestles with boredom

Scrum of the Earth

Kevin Beirne looks at two major issues in Rugby Union at the moment; disciplinary procedures and the scrum

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ince turning professional in 1994, rugby union has developed hugely as both a sport and a global brand. The technical abilities of the players, the quality of the equipment, and the level of coaching have all improved immeasurably. It has become, in effect, an entirely new game.

In Ireland, the amount of registered players is growing by ten per cent a year, an incredible increase in popularity. These increased numbers of players also mean increased responsibility for the IRB. Rugby is a physical sport, so its governing body must take steps and introduce rules in order to make it as safe as possible. The IRB not only has to introduce these rules, but also enforce them.

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One of the most frustrating things for supporters of the game is the disciplinary process. When a player commits an act of foul play that is missed by the referee, a citing commissioner can highlight the incident and a disciplinary committee can choose to retroactively punish them. This method should be applauded, and many fans of other sports have called for its implementation in their own. However, there are still problems that come from this system, mainly through how the process is carried out.

Too often it is the case that we see players commit an offence, but see them have their bans reduced for things such as an “entirely exemplary demeanour at the hearing” or due to the “glowing testimony” of the player’s coaches. One would assume that such things are a pre-requisite for appearing in front of a disciplinary committee.

The above quotes are taken directly from the RBS Six Nations’ press release concerning Dylan Hartley’s recent ban for biting Stephen Ferris in a Six Nations game. Hartley received the standard twelve-week ban for the lower

Dylan Hartley’s reduced ban for biting Stephen Ferris is just one of a number of inconsistencies of the rugby discipline committee

end of biting offences, which was then reduced to eight weeks, in part because of the reasons stated above.

The most upsetting factor in the Hartley case was the way in which the committee chose to ignore his history as an offender. In 2007, Hartley was banned for six months for eye-gouging two different players in one match. The committee’s explanation for this was baffling. They claimed that “the easiest course for the committee to follow was to ignore what they had heard and take the player’s previous suspension into account. However to do that would have been to rely on the anecdotal baggage surrounding the player and not on the facts before them.

“It would also fail to acknowledge that the purpose of sanction is also to cause an offender to think again about his behaviour and that, the committee felt compelled to conclude, was what the player had done.”

How the committee was able to decide that the player had learned his lesson about committing foul play by committing more foul play is confusing to say the least.

This is not an issue about Hartley as an individual; this is about player safety.

For some reason, these disciplinary committees put more weight on player co-operation with the committee than the player’s history. Last November, Delon Armitage appeared in front of a disciplinary committee for his fourth and fifth offences that year. His previous three consisted of pushing a doping officer, a dangerous high tackle and striking an opponent. He was found guilty of all three.

This time around, Armitage was found guilty of both striking an opponent with his knee and another high tackle. He was given three weeks for striking and six weeks for the tackle.

Shockingly, the committee decided to allow these two suspensions to run concurrently, meaning that Artimage would serve both suspensions at the same time, effectively making the smaller ban non-existent. The committee added two weeks for his history, but then reduced the ban by three weeks because of “his guilty plea, his contrition, and the impressive way he conducted himself at the hearing.”

It is, quite simply, disgraceful that these committees give such little weight to the fact that the player before them has just committed his fifth offence of the year. Five offences in one year does not tell the story of a remorseful player, or of one whom can be trusted to take the field and not cause serious harm to his fellow professionals.

The IRB have already shown that they are concerned about player safety, although they do not always get it right, with the scrum being the most obvious example of this. The laws surrounding the scrum were recently altered in an

Scrummaging has become a major issue in Rugby Union in recent years, both in terms of entertainment and player safety

attempt to make the game safer. In a nutshell, the distance between the two teams before engagement was reduced while the time it took to engage was increased.

The logic in these changes was clear and simple: if you give the players less distance in which to build up an initial drive, the scrum will be sturdier and less likely to collapse. In practice, however, things have proven to be slightly different.

During this year’s Six Nations tournament, forty-nine per cent of all set scrums collapsed. When Ireland played Scotland in the Aviva Stadium, more than a quarter of the entire game was spent on scrums, with just over twentyone minutes on the setting and resetting of scrums. These figures clearly show a problem in the way the scrum is currently being dealt with. Instead of reducing the chance of serious injury, the new rules appear to be increasing it.

Some have gone so far as to say that the scrum should be removed from the game completely. They believe that it is an outdated component of the game and ruins it as a spectacle. Although few offer any alternative, and none seem to offer a sensible solution, they are sure that the scrum needs to go the way of the dodo.

Yet with all the negative comments being made about the scrum, one can often forget its beauty. When executed correctly, the scrum is the best attacking platform a team can ask for. It is effectively man-on-man, with a fullback creating an overlap on either side.

When a scrum is set properly and the ball comes out cleanly, we finally see the attacking style of rugby that we all so desperately crave.

The scrum is an integral part of the game. Without it, the positions of prop and hooker become useless. The scrum is a highly technical battle that takes place primarily between the front rows.

The loosehead prop, with the help of his hooker, tries to get under the opposing tighthead prop, drive forward, and lead the charge for his team, while the tighthead will try to prevent this by driving forward while applying downward pressure to the loosehead.

Obviously a change needs to be made to the scrum for the sake of the sport as both a source of entertainment and, most importantly, for the health of the players. Whether the rules should be changed back to what they were previously, or a whole new set of rules be introduced is difficult to answer. One thing is for sure however; if the game of rugby is to keep growing at its current rate, the safety of its players must be paramount.

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he Badger has a secret, and like the face of an acne-ridden beauty queen, it has been concealed for many years. The Badger likes wrestling.

There was a time when it was cool to like wrestling; the Badger does not remember exactly when this was, but people’s hair was higher, shirts were more flaming, and dungarees were hip and happening.

Nowadays, the Badger must hide this interest away from the general public, for fear of being stoned. But the Badger will defend his watching of last week’s WrestleMania, because he believes that there is nothing wrong with watching greased up, muscle-clad, tights-wearing men toss each around a ring; it’s like a masculine ballet, but with grease.

Wrestling may be scripted (and while the Badger is ruining childhoods, he might as well tell you that Santa doesn’t exist) but having watched sport over the past few months, the Badger is now of the belief that other sports should be scripted. Collapsed scrums, Man City falling off the top of the table, Barcelona on course for the Champions League; it all reeks of inevitability.

Sadly, the most intriguing thing about football at the moment is Mario Balotelli and the re-runs of Dream Team on Sky 2.The Badger knows that Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, and is completely bored by it. The Badger wishes that Messi would hit the referee on the head with a steel chair, take the La Liga trophy and run off to join Real Madrid. It’d be a lot more interesting than scoring another sixty goals.

Post-match interviews have become duller than the Badger’s bath water, although, in fairness, the Badger has some very interesting bath water. It’s the land of the neutral, where PR personnel have more control of the mic than those speaking. With the exception of some fantastic Ian Holloway quotes, nothing ever comes from these interviews. Is there really a problem in letting players cut a pro wrestling style promo? To go on the air and talk about how large their genitalia is and how far they’ll stick their boot up someone’s ass in the next game?

The Badger sees no problems with it.

Having an Irishman at the top end of the WWE is another plus for wrestling in the Badger’s eyes: current World Heavyweight Champion, Sheamus, is Irish, though the Badger never would have guessed it from his name. Rory McIlroy is sitting pretty at the top end of the Golf World Rankings, but let’s face it, golf sucks; Katie Taylor is one of the world’s best female boxers, but the Badger has seen Million Dollar Baby, so stays clear of women’s boxing. There are few other Irish people who can claim to be the one of the best, although Paul Green and Glenn Whelan are certainly pushing for a spot on next year’s Ballon d’Or shortlist.

And so, as the Badger prepares for a summer of fruitless transfer talk, Ireland losing on their tour of New Zealand in rugby, and putting up a fighting spirit in the Euros, which will ultimately culminate in Spain once again winning the prize, he must ask, who writes the awful script for sport, and why won’t they let the Badger write it instead?

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sport

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

End of Season Report Card With the last semester grinding to a halt, Daniel Keenan looks at how some of UCD’s clubs fared this season

rugby UCD RFC almost went undefeated in Division 2A of the All-Ireland League last year, losing on the final day to archrivals Trinity. This season, despite gaining revenge over their city centre opponents in the Colours match in November, the league has not been so kind to them. Having earned promotion to Division 1B, it would have been unrealistic to expect them to continue winning every game. Now facing much stronger opposition in the form of Belfast Harlequins, Dungannon, and Buccaneers to name just a few, as well as being the only Leinster side in the league, making away games all the more daunting, avoiding relegation was always going to be the objective for 2011/12.

Currently sitting in eighth place in the table, one position above the relegation zone, with two games left to play, Collidge’s season is far from over.

Important games against Belfast Harlequins and Dungannon lie ahead.

“We’ve found Division 1B a big step up,” says Bobby Byrne, Director of Rugby at UCD. “We’ve done reasonably well, and we’re hanging in with two matches to go, but we had a really good win against Ballinahinch last week, which gives us a chance of staying up.

Considering we have about ten guys in our first team squad that are Under 21, if we did manage to stay in Division 1B this year it’d be very positive for next year. Survival depends on how Galwegians and Bruff do. We suspect that Bruff will beat UCC, so it’s likely that we’ll need to win at least one game, if not both.” UCD have the toughest of the three run-ins and are probably favourites to go down, but two wins will almost guarantee their safety, depending on bonus points.

Judging UCD RFC by league standing alone is unfair, as the youth coming through the system, and individual player performances from young Leinster and Ireland prospects have to be taken into account. The U21 team won the JP Flanagan League, and are in the final of the Fraser McMullen cup, as well the semi-final of the McCorry Cup. There was also strong representation on the Ireland U20 team this season. “We’ve had five guys in the Irish Under 20 squad with Conor Gilsenan, Jordan Coughlan and Barry Daly along with Luke [McGrath] and Sam [Coughlan Murray],” says Byrne. “Those guys are young players who have a bright future not just in UCD, but in Leinster rugby and maybe further up than that.

There won’t be any issue with them staying on next year.”

Grade: B

It was always going to be a season of survival in Division 1B, and even if they go down, they will do so fighting. There is a huge amount of talent coming through the system.

Photographer: Caoimhe McDonnell

hockey

Photographer: Caoimhe McDonnell

Photographer: Caoimhe McDonnell

gaa The health of GAA in UCD is invariably going to be measured by the success of the Sigerson Cup campaign for Gaelic football and the Fitzgibbon Cup campaign for hurling. While the O’Byrne Cup and Dublin Championship are realistic goals for UCD, the prestige of the intervarsity tournaments means they are held in the highest esteem for both codes of GAA.

Photographer: Caoimhe McDonnell

It’s difficult to gauge the standard of a football team from the O’Byrne Cup, since university teams are preparing for the Sigerson Cup while county teams are only beginning to train, but UCD’s four point victory over Laois made a good run in the collegiate tournament look all the more likely. It was to be a false dawn however, as UCD went out to Maynooth in the quarter-finals. A strong 0-13 to 0-4 home victory against Athlone IT set up an away clash with NUI Maynooth. Colm Murphy was sent off for the Belfield side in the thirty-seventh minute for lashing out at Tommy Moolick, and despite a late fight back, Maynooth went on to win 2-8 to 1-8, to continue UCD’s sixteen-year trophy drought in the tournament.

UCD hurlers also had a disappointing campaign in their intervarsity tournament, the Fitzgibbon Cup. A 0-15 to 1-17 home loss to Cork IT in the first game of the round robin qualifier was followed by a 0-13 to 1-13 away win against Waterford IT, to set up a quarter-final clash with University College Cork. UCD had relied heavily on the scoring of Tipperary’s Noel McGrath in both qualifying games, and when UCC were able to keep him to just 0-5 in the quarter-final clash, they were able to claim a seven point win of 1-23 to UCD’s 2-13. UCC went on to lift the cup.

Grade: D

Despite early victories, neither team progressing past the quarter-final is a poor return.

It was an eventful season for hockey in UCD. Belfield played host to the Men’s Olympic Qualifying tournament, witnessing Ireland’s bid for a place in this summer’s Olympic Games curtail at the hands of a last-minute south Korean goal.

Despite the disappointment, the event as a whole was a success and a good advertisement for the sport in UCD and Ireland, attracting large crowds throughout the tournament, including the final, which saw a full house and was televised at a prime time weekend spot.

UCD’s Men’s First team had a mixed season. While a ninth place finish in the league (second from bottom) is an obvious disappointment, making the final of the Neville Cup on St Stephen’s Day is a positive step, despite the 3-1 loss to Railway Union. Neither side had won the competition before, but goals from Fiachra Maher, Rob Abbott, and Karl Chapple were enough to see off the Belfield side. The Men’s league form has left much to be desired; with just three wins this season, they must now play a Division One/Two play-off in order to keep their top-flight status. As is to be expected from a university team, they are very young, which is reflected in the fact that there are nine UCD players competing in the Ireland U21s Interpros this season.

UCD Women’s First team had a very successful season, winning the Leinster Division One League last week, to add to the Jacqui Potter Cup won in March.

The combination of Nicola Gray’s penalty corner slap-shot and former Belfielder Caitriona McGilp’s late goal for Hermes, secured UCD their first ever Leinster Division One title by the narrowest of margins. UCD and Railway ended the league tied on forty-six points, but UCD win the title by virtue of having more wins than their opponents.

basketball Hopes were high for UCD Marian this season, having won the National Cup last year. They failed to live up to expectation however, with choppy form in the Superleague due to injuries stopping the team from building any momentum: “The loss from last year’s team of Barry Glover and Neil Banes was significant,” says UCD Marian Head Coach Fran Ryan.

“The other negative was that Dan James missed approximately half the season.

Individually a lot of players improved during the year; what people keep forgetting is just how young this team is because there are so many students in it.” Despite their inconsistencies, Marian caused a massive upset in the quarterfinal of the league play-offs, beating Bord Gáis Neptune 80-83 in Cork. Though they could not replicate this performance against DCU Saints in the semifinal, the victory in Cork went a long way to restoring confidence for next season.

Their defence of the cup ended early, as they lost out to Limerick in the first round: “We had an away draw in the cup, which is always difficult; the one thing we wanted was a home draw. We ended up being drawn away to Limerick, who won the double in the end, cup and league, and they barely got past us,” says Ryan.

Grade: c

First round cup exit and inconsistent league form, but a big quarter-final win against Neptune gave the season some semblance. The fantastic performance of the Division 1 team also adds to their score.

Grade: b+

Two cups and two finals between the two teams, but the Men’s performance in the league drags the score down.

Photographer: David Nowak

The University Observer · 10 April 2012

sport

a messi situation

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Opinion

What constitutes ‘The Greatest Ever’? Ryan Mackenzie attempts to answer an age-old question

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ionel Messi is in unstoppable form at the moment, quite literally. He is on course to eclipse seventy goals for the season as well as a rack of assists, with the potential of a second consecutive Champions League title to go with it. It is therefore not surprising that people and pundits are crying out and professing his brilliance, with the tag of ‘the greatest ever’ following not far behind. It’s true that we have seldom, if ever, seen a player do what Messi does and with such consistency, but is that enough to call him the best to have ever played the beautiful game?

Of course, it’s tempting to make such a claim, as often the excitement his wonderful talent brings out in us can lead us to say so, but perhaps it is somewhat short-sighted. While the

young Argentine has proven his worth on almost every stage, he has thus far failed to do it without his supporting cast of Barcelona stars. His Argentinian teammates did not manage to flourish alongside him at both World Cups and Copa Americas since he made his major tournament debut back in Germany six years ago. This may seem like an innocuous issue and possibly even a mere blemish on an otherwise flawless career, but it is unfortunate enough to excuse Messi from the ‘greatest ever’ title challenge, because in football, World Cup heroes, rather than those of the Champions’ League, are historically considered the best in the game.

The truth of the matter is that Argentina have faired no better with Messi than they did without him. In four major competitions the Argentinians have failed to impress, with their best performance coming in the 2007 Copa America, where they were runners-up to Brazil. In fact, last year they failed to progress past the quarter-final stage of the competition on home soil.

Messi will have to wait until Brazil 2014 before he can prove himself on the biggest stage in world sport, and there will be no room for failure, given the strength of the Argentinian squad and the favourable environment of South America.

American team sports are, of course, different to football. There is less of an emphasis on international competition, if any. They measure sportsmen on their achievements at club level, a luxury Messi doesn’t have. In baseball, there was Babe Ruth, ‘The Great Bambino’. Ruth won seven World Series with the New York Yankees and is widely considered to be the finest baseball player to ever take to the plate.

In basketball, we had Michael Jordan, while in ice hockey, it was all about

Canada’s national icon Wayne Gretzky.

It is with Jordan, however, that the most cogent comparisons to Messi can be made, some even coming from Barcelona’s manager Josep Guardiola.

Jordan was a phenomenon. As much as people like to compare him to the likes of Kobe Bryant or Kareem AbdulJabbar, when it boils down to it neither comes close to the Chicago Bulls legend. Jordan dominated in every facet of the game and remains the most prolific scorer of all time. All in all however, it was Jordan’s clutch play and ability in the big games that divorces him from the rest. The number 23 won two back-to-back three-peats in his career - achieving one is something that has eluded most of the greats of the game – which were separated only by a brief stint in baseball. To put Jordan’s accomplishments into perspective, for Messi to emulate it he would have to win La Liga six times in seven years, and even this does not quite equate to the comparable challenge in the NBA. Of course, to hold these shortcomings against Messi is in many ways an equally unfair measurement of his ability. The fact of the matter is that all signs point towards the Argentine ticking all of them off the list at some stage, but sport has taught us not to count our chickens before they hatch – such has been the case with Tiger Woods and his now wayward pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record.

Ultimately, Messi has demonstrated a talent worthy of the title ‘best footballer ever’, but in sport it is never so simple as to crown a player on talent alone. If Messi is to stake his rightful claim to that title he is going to have to take Argentina all the way. In the meantime, however, while we are awaiting his coronation we should just enjoy the show.

UCD Observer

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The University Observer · 10 April 2012

Honours even at the Brandywell Derry City

A home win against Monaghan United and a stalemate against Derry City on Friday wrapped up a good week for UCD AFC, writes Aaron Kennedy

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Inside...

UCD AFC

We looks back on the highs and lows of UCD sport this year

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T

he last two weeks have proven to be a success for Martin Russell’s UCD outfit, as they managed a well-deserved victory over bottom side Monaghan United, as well as a somewhat fortunate draw against Derry City in the Brandywell. The two results have left the Students in seventh position in the Premier Division table, and with an impressive home record, UCD can look forward to the arrival of Bohemians on Friday night.

The Students picked up a vital three points last Friday against a struggling Monaghan side in the Bowl with a 3-2 victory. UCD halted the possibility of four consecutive losses with this result after defeats to Sligo Rovers, Bray Wanderers and Dundalk F.C. The Students took the lead in the fifty-third minute after Daniel Ledwith crashed in a goal past the Mon’s goalkeeper Chris Bennion. Monaghan then showed great determination to level on the sixty-ninth minute, when Conor Murphy headed in a Jordan Keegan cross.

UCD did not hesitate to push on for the win, and punished the Mon’s defense with two late goals from Cillian Morrison and Paul O’ Connor. Jordan Keegan grabbed a late consolation to make it 3-2 to the Students at the final whistle. Monaghan United manager Roddy Collins will begin to worry after he cited the game against UCD as vital to their season. Martin Russell, meanwhile, can’t be any more content at his homeground, as the Students have won seven out of their last eight games in the Belfield Bowl.

Both UCD and Derry City failed to return to their recent winning ways on Friday night, only managing a 0-0 draw

page 18 The Badger tackles pro wrestling and all the other sports

Photographer: Ed Scannell in a close affair under the lights in the Brandywell Stadium. Praise may be given to the away side, as UCD showed great organisation to avoid defeat to a rampant Derry City, who currently sit at fourth in the Premier Division. The Candy Stripes dominated throughout the match, but were left frustrated at full-time after squandering numerous chances.

The game began slowly, with neither side able to create much in the opening exchanges. Just minutes after the halfhour mark, Dermot McCaffrey threatened with a corner from the right, which was met by Kevin Deery, only for the attempt to be saved by McGinley. David O’Connor showed great awareness to keep out Simon Madden in the fiftythird minute after an aggressive burst into the UCD area. On the hour mark, Patrick McEleney showed quick feet and an array of skills to open up a shot for himself, but could only see his leftfooted strike parried away by McGinley.

The first genuine opportunity of the match came in the seventy-seventh minute, when Ledwith’s free kick found David O’Connor in a dangerous position. O’Connor’s header clipped the outside of the post, highlighting the poor finishing that was evident throughout the game. The Candy Stripes may have had claims for a late penalty but Referee Derek Tomney waved away protests after David O’Connor appeared to foul Farren inside the six-yard box.

The Students nearly caused a potential smash and grab late on after Kevin Deery’s header sailed just inches wide.

Derry hit back on the counter attack immediately and nearly broke the deadlock themselves, after Robert Benson teed up Mark Langty, but could only see his close range attempt swatted away by Candystripes keeper Gerard Doherty.

In the final moments of play, Farren was only inches away from getting a late goal for Derry City. Stephen

Derry City: Doherty, Madden, McCallion, McBride, McCaffrey (McDaid 84), McEleney, Higgins (McGroary 87), Deery, McLaughlin; Patterson (Morrison 74), Farren.

UCD AFC: McGinley, Langtry, Nangle, D O’Connor, Leahy (Burke 33), O’Connor, Rusk (Lyons 67), Benson, Douglas, Ledwith, Morrison.

Referee: Mr. Derek Tomney (Dublin).

UCD Sailing claimed both the Intervarsity and Colours Trophies on the same day in Dun Laoghaire, writes Daniel Keenan Gold Fleet Winners and Champions 2012: UCD 1: Simon Doran & Aoife Cooney, Barry McCartin & Eimear McIvor, Aidan McLaverty & Bella Morehead Gold Fleet Bronze Medallists: UCD 2: Michael Harrington & Ciara Browne, David Fitzgerald & Zoe Flood, Alyson Rumball & Caitriona Ni Mhurchu

O

Silver Fleet, Bronze fleet winners

vided an excellent day of racing in near perfect conditions.

As with any Colours Event, competition was fierce, with UCD and Trinity both putting in eight teams apiece, although the destination of the Colours Trophy depended solely on the results of the First Teams.

In what was a fairly even affair between the colleges, wins for UCD came from UCD 2, UCD 4 and UCD 6, before the Ladies team dominated affairs in their race. Trinity won the Thirds, Fifths and Alumni, making the battle of the Firsts all the more interesting. In the best-of-five encounter, UCD 1 prevailed, showing superior speed to win

We report on the state of scrummaging and discipline in rugby union today

McLaughlin sent in a testing ball and the resulting header from Farren went straight at McGinley, to the disappointment of the Derry fans. UCD will go into their next fixture beaming with confidence, as they face Bohemians on April 13th in the UCD Bowl.

UCD Sailing Club win IUSA Intervarsities and Colours 2012

n Saturday March 31st, in Dun Laoghaire, the destination of the 2012 Irish University Sailing Association (IUSA) Intervarsity Championships Trophy was decided.

The event was originally scheduled to take place on February 15th-19th in Westport, County Mayo but was cancelled due to excessive wind on the last day of the finals. The new date was scheduled to coincide with the annual UCD/Trinity Colours Event and pro-

page 17

3-0, as they did in 2011, and won the Colours Trophy for the third year in a row.

UCD 1 and UCD 2 were far from finished for the day, as at 1pm, shortly after securing the Colours trophy, they readied themselves to take on University College Cork and the University of Limerick in the IUSA Intervarsity Championships.

page 17

In the quarter-finals UCD 2 upset the odds against UCC 1, comfortably winning 2-0 in the best-of-three race.

UCD 1 dually raced UL 2, easily winning 2-0 and setting up a race with familiar foes and 2011 Winners, UL 1.

Showing greater determination and hunger for the title, UCD 1 won 2-0 to move into the final. UCD 2 had the chance to follow them, and in their way stood the Trinity First team; Trinity came out on top 2-0, to set up a repeat of the Colours final.

They used the final experience from 2011 to their advantage, sailing fast and more tactically astute than their opponents to prevail 3-0 in the best-of-five race, to the scene of jubilation as they crossed the finishing line and secured the Intervarsity Championship trophy.

Bouncing back from semi-final disappointment, UCD 2 won the Petite Final against 2011 Champions UL 1 2-0, and collected their ISA Bronze medals.

In what was a strong year for UCD Sailing, UCD 1 ended top of the IUSA rankings and will now represent IUSA at the BUSA Team Racing Championship in West Kirby, Liverpool this week from April 9th to 13th.

Previously, at the race in Westport, UCD 5 won the Bronze Fleet, with UCD 3 winning the Silver Fleet, to make it a Grand Slam of IUSA Intervarsity Fleet wins in 2012.