Vol. XXVI, Issue 2, UO

News

Features

Science

Sport

1 in 3 Students Need Help with Fees Mark Jackson

Belfield 50 Doireann de Courcy Mac Donnell

Return to the Pre-Penicillin World

Video Killed the... Moment Gráinne Daly

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Vanshika Dhyani

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THE UNIVERSITY VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 2

OBSERVER 8th October 2019

universityobserver.ie

UCD represent highest level of sign ups to “sugar-baby” website in 2018 Gavin Tracey and Aoife Mawn Leading sugar baby website, Seeking Arrangement, has reported that UCD had the highest number of new sign ups to their site in 2018, with 93 students registering stating they attended the university. UCDSU Welfare Officer Úna Carroll has described the surge in sign ups as “not surprising at all.”

Trinity College Dublin continues to have the highest number of students registered to the site, with 762 of their students signed up, around 4.5% of total students in the university.

UCD ranks fifth nationally, behind Dublin City University, University College Cork and University of Limerick, with 579 students signed up in total from the south Dublin campus.

‘Sugaring’, as it is more commonly known, has become known as a practice in which younger people, mainly young women, agree to enter into ‘arrangements’ with older individuals, mainly older men, in exchange for benefits such as covering living costs, college related fees and childcare. Some people enter into sugaring for non-monetary reasons, such as seeking advice on business and future careers. Its founder, Brandon Wade, has spoken at length in the past about his disdain for “traditional” relationships,

stating in an essay for CNN in 2014: “Love is a concept invented by poor people.”

Seeking Arrangement, the most popular sugaring site, has a campaign expressly aimed at university students called ‘Sugar Baby University’. The site actively markets to students by promising the prospect of having college fees, living costs, and rent covered. In total, there are 22,000 students signed up to Seeking Arrangement in Ireland alone. UCDSU Welfare Officer, Úna Carroll says this is reflective of the financial struggles faced by students in the capital city; “Dublin is not designed for students.”

“Students will try anything to cover costs,” she said, speaking to The University Observer. In relation to the sometimes sexual nature of the practice, she expressed concern for student welfare. “Sex work is work, but there is not a lot of protection or rights, particularly for vulnerable groups such as trans students or migrant students.”

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, states that “a person who pays, gives, offers or promises to pay or give a person money or any other form of remuneration or consideration for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity shall be guilty of an offence.” The penalty for those charged is a class E fine, and a class D fine on the second occurence. The Act does not penalise those who sell sex. Carroll told the University Observer that with the Act up for review

Credit: seekingarrangement.com

in 2020, the Students’ Union would be “prioritising having a mandate for the Students’ Union to support and lobby for the protection of sex workers.” She also stated that the Union signed a letter from the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) to the Garda Comissioner demanding that sex workers health and safety were prioritised over the enforcement of sex worker laws.

Speaking to The University Observer, one student told of her experience of being a sugar baby. “It really was a last resort for me at the time.” She added that “I only met up with 3 or 4 guys and had to call it quits, I felt really uncomfortable with the whole thing.” She said that while one man she met seemed very genuine, some of the others “hinted inappropriately that they would be willing to pay extra if I was willing to sleep with them. The whole thing made me

feel f*cking gross.” She acknowledged that not everyone who chooses to become a sugar baby has these experiences, but it was enough for her to stop; “To be honest I’d rather not be able to buy food than go through with that whole thing again.”

“Nine out of ten of the students that come into my office have money problems,” Carroll said, while discussing the prevalence of the sugaring trend. “It is the main issue I deal with.” According to the Higher Education Authority there are 231,710 students enrolled in third level education in Ireland. Taking into account the 22,000 students that are registered to Seeking Arrangement, this would suggest that around 1 in 10 students in Ireland are turning to ‘sugaring’ as a way to ease the financial burden.

State of higher education in Ireland should be viewed as a “national crisis” says former UCD President Gavin Tracey Former president of UCD Hugh Brady said that the current state of Irish higher education and research should be viewed as a “national crisis”. In a speech delivered as part of Eversheds Sutherland Expert Policy Series. Dr. Brady, who served as president of UCD from 2004 until 2013, and is currently the president of the University of Bristol, called for the issue of funding to be addressed by the Irish government.

The past ten years have seen many major Irish universities fall steadily in world rankings.

As of 2019, UCD sits at 185 in the QS rankings.

Trinity sits at 108, and DCU at 429. He highlighted the two different approaches taken by the UK and Ireland in higher education. The UK embraced the student loan system, although this was met with fierce backlash from students at the time. In his speech, Dr. Brady said that “relative to other sectors, the UK’s response to the global financial crisis, from a higher funding base than Ireland, was to steadfastly protect its higher education and research budgets”.

Expenditure on Higher Education as % GDP

He lambasted the Irish government for its inaction on the Cassells report, published in 2016. The report outlined the future of higher education funding. It found that the higher education budget would require an increase of €600m annually by 2021, increasing to €1bn per annum by 2030. It outlined three possible funding models; 1) Abolish the student contribution charge and create a fully state funded model, 2) Retain the contribution charge and increase state funding or 3) Introduce a student loan scheme, which would be dependent on income.

In 2018, the government announced that any decision on funding would be delayed until 2019. This year they announced yet another delay, as the report is still with the European Commission after the government asked for economic advice on it. Dr. Brady condemned the Irish government; “Ireland continues to sit on its hands – ignoring yet another in a long line of reports”.

Source: OCED Education At A Glance 2015, Table B2.1 (2012 data), Investing in National Ambition: A Strategy for Funding Higher Education Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education

In the forward to the report, titled “Investing in national ambition: A strategy for funding higher education’’ Peter Cassells wrote that “there is a need and a desire for urgent reform of the funding landscape. The funding system is simply not fit for purpose. It fails to recognise

the current pressures facing higher education institutions or the scale of the coming demographic changes.” Despite modest increases in third level funding, it is clear that Irish universities and IT’s will continue to fall in world ranking without a major change in government policy.

8th October 2019

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NEWS Campus News in Brief Andrea Andres UCDSU to encourage homeowners to rent their rooms to students in campaign scheme UCD Student Union has launched a campaign urging private homeowners to rent a room to a student. They could earn up to €14,000 tax free. UCD is situated in the highest rent pressure zone in Ireland. Recent numbers also reveal that there has been a hike in the prices of on-campus accommodation in UCD.

Speaking to Joe.ie, UCDSU Campaigns and Engagement Officer Katie O’Dea said that: “Renting a room from a homeowner or ‘digs’ is the most affordable option in this area but we still do not have enough beds for all of our students.”

“Students urgently need a place to stay and homeowners can earn up to €14,000 tax free income if they rent out a spare room (or two) in their house. It’s a win-win situation.” “We are asking homeowners to keep in mind that students will need access to cooking and laundry facilities, and we encourage homeowners and students to agree to a Tenancy Agreement so that everyone knows what they can expect from the other.”

The scheme will be promoted in the coming weeks with flyers near the main centres near UCD and leaflets being dropped to houses along the bus routes: 46a, 145 and 39a.

Elections for Class Representatives held unconstitutionally late Students’ Union Class Representative Elections are taking place this week, one week later than they are constitutionally obliged to be held.

The new constitution was written over the 2018-19 academic year after consultation with current and former employees and officers of the union. It was adopted by referendum during the Student Union Elections of the same year.

Article 20.1 of the 2019 constitution states “The Class Representatives shall be elected annually in elections held in the first four weeks of the first Semester”. However, Article 18.4 (i) states that notice of the times and location of any election must be posted with “At least one week’s notice of the close of nominations”. Nominations for Class representatives closed at the end of week three, 27th September, meaning that at that stage either Article 18.4 or Article 20.1 had to be violated.

Complaint against The University Observer not upheld by Press Council of Ireland A complaint by a student of UCD against an article in The University Observer’s satire section, The Harpy, has not been upheld by the Press Council of Ireland. The complainant alleged that the Observer breached Principles 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Code of Practice of the Press Council of Ireland. The Press Council’s decision was that the Observer had not breached any of these principles.

The Press Council’s decision read: “I am rejecting the complaint that the article breached the Press Council’s Code of Practice,” adding, “I accept the argument put forward by the solicitors acting for the University Observer that its readers would be aware that The Harpy column is satirical in nature, that it could not be confused with any news, fact or information offering by the newspaper in general, and that its contents are not supposed to be taken literally.”

The decision acknowledged that “no reasonable person...… would believe ... the contents to be true”. They ended the decision by stating. “This is especially the case in this particular complaint as the activities described in the article are manifestly fictitious.”

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Help Wanted: One-third of Irish Students Need Help Paying Their College Fees Mark Jackson New research commissioned by Bank of Ireland as part of its Financial Wellbeing programme which helps “inform and educate students on spending and saving in a way that suits their needs,’’ has been recently published. The third level research was conducted by iReach on behalf of Bank of Ireland and was carried out in August of this year. The study surveyed a total of 550 people, 53% of which were female and 47% were male. When asked about the incentive for this study Bank of Ireland stated “we understand that going to college can be a time when students can feel under financial pressure.”

The findings have revealed that more than one third (36%) of third-level students require financial aid from their parents to pay their college fees. Their parents either pay in full or partly contribute to their fees. It has also been revealed that the average third-level student has a mean income of €258 per month or just €9.20 per day. 35% claim that they only have a disposable income of less than €100 a month. It was found that two in three (65%) university students live at home in order to ease the financial pressure placed on their shoulders. This was found to be the most common financial aid with more than half of all participants (53%) receiving rent-free board at home. Meanwhile one in four (24%) of those who travel to college have their travel expenses or tickets paid by their parents.

For those renting privately, 23% receive financial assistance from their family along with 22% needing parents to contribute to the cost of utility bills either in part or in full. A little over half of students (51%) are sharing accommodation with three or four other people. 50% of those living in shared accommodation live with people they haven’t met before. This causes conflicts about keeping the kitchen tidy (47%), the common area tidy (43%), and doing the washing up

after meals (39%).

It was also found that around 35% have a disposable income of less than €100 per month.

This income is either saved or earned through a part-time job with 63% working part-time and 8% working full-time throughout the college term. Overall, eight in ten students save during the year with €164 being the average saved per month. These savings are most commonly set aside for student life expenses such as fees (24%), a vehicle (25%) or summer holidays (34%). The Head of Youth Banking, Rory Carty, stated that: “From finding affordable accommodation to making time for studies, students in Ireland are working part time and trying to enjoy their social life too.”

One-third (33%) of students admit that they bring their laundry home while 28% say that they raid cupboards for food to take back to their rented accommodation. 27% of students who live away from home found it difficult to be without their family and 23% struggle to cook their own meals for the first time.

Despite financial pressures, Irish students won’t skimp on social life (30%). 19% of participants in the Bank of Ireland study admitted having skipped a meal in order to pay for college nights out. A large chunk of participants (82%) use subscription services for music and enter-

tainment, but half of them borrow login details, with consent, from a friend or family member.

Similar data were recorded in 2018 with the publication of the sixth Eurostudent survey in which over 20,000 Irish third-level students took part. Around 36% of the participants were reported as experiencing serious or very serious financial problems. It was the older students who were more likely to experience financial difficulties with 42% over the age of 24 stating this was the case.

Although prevalent in Ireland, financial pressure associated with college fees does not exist in all European countries. A report published by the European Commission in 2017 - and as reported by the Irish Times - found that Irish third-level students pay the second highest fees in Europe, surpassed only by the British; Irish students have to pay €3,000 in fees while British students pay an equivalent of €10,000 in fees. In total, eleven jurisdictions, of which Denmark, Finland and Germany are a part, charge no fees for first-time undergraduate students.

As part of the ‘free fees’ initiative, the first-time undergraduate student in Ireland must pay the full €3,000 of the student contribution charge along with any college-specific costs, for example the €254 student centre levy requested here in UCD.

Mary Mitchell O’Connor Sets Up Task Force To Deal with Drug Abuse in Third-Level Institutions Andrea Andres Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor has set up a Rapid Response Group to address the issue of drug abuse among college students. The group involves “a group of experts, including academics, gardaí, students and first responders within institutions, who are going to consider what the key issues that are facing us are, and what the solutions will be,” she said. She aims to “thrash” out an implementable plan alongside the gardaí while considering the differing views of the expert group she put together.

The Rapid Response Group is to be chaired by Dr. Andrew Power of the Institute of Art Design and Technology. It also includes Assistant Commissioner for Special Crime Operations John O’Driscoll, Assistant Commissioner for Special Crime Operations, and Assistant Commissioner for Community Engagement and Public Safety Orla McPartlin. There are 19 members altogether.

As well as setting up a task force, the Higher Education Minister is also seeking “a clear and accurate account as to what we are dealing with” and said that current statistics on drug use among students are “anecdotal.” To paint a fuller picture of student’s habitual and recreational drug use, Dr. Michael Bryne, head of student health department in University College Cork and also a member of the response group, is tasked to collect data from third level institutions. Third level institutions will be invited to carry out the survey on their students.

Students will be questioned on what substances they use, why they use it, and if they abstain

from any use, why they abstain. The study will also focus on students who tried to obtain help through their institute’s counselling services, and on occurrences on college campuses.

He believes that it’s “important to build on the number of students who don’t take a substance and have actively decided not to, so we might have some interventions for that group so they never proceed to take it”.

In an interview with the Irish Independent, Mary Mitchell O’Connor said that: “We have an issue around substance abuse in Irish colleges” and that “it really concerns [her].”

She added that “you don’t expect in a higher education institution that there would be drugs freely available, but I have heard about drugs being sold within colleges” She also had an “eye-opening” meeting in June with college stakeholders including the leaders of the Union of Students in Ireland. “There is a laissez faire attitude to this issue in colleges but I am going to show leadership on this,” she said.

The Higher Education Minister acknowledges that there is work already done by third-level institutions, but “we were not doing enough in a planned and joined-up way across the sector to counteract the negative impact of drug and substance abuse”. She hopes that the joint forces of the task force and the study will “give us the opportunity to build a sustainable strategy on how we message our young students around drug taking”. She also adds that “The messaging is important, but it is also critical that we work in partnership with institutions and groups to ensure the success of the final action plan.”

Mary Mitchell O’Connor has been prompted to take action after parents have asked her to tackle the issue and witnessing the consequences first hand. In an interview with the Irish Independent she said: “The last funeral I was at, I walked toward them to sympathise with them and the father and mother asked me to do something about the issue. Another mother wrote to me from Tipperary and said they wouldn’t want anyone else to die.” “Some students are suffering serious harm. Some are dying and lives are shattered. We all have a responsibility to protect and educate students and parents”.

The move to organize a task force comes after the recent deaths of John Ryan, NUI Galway student, who died after ingesting an illegal substance at a house in Limerick and Jack Downey, a Cork Institute of Technology student, who lost his life after taking either ecstasy or MDMA at the Indiependence music festival in Mitchelstown.

She wants the initiative to also hammer home the role of the “responsible” bystander.

She has encouraged to “always ‘step in’ when there is any indication that a friend or fellow student is at risk after consuming drugs by calling the emergency services.” She also said that: “The messaging is important, but it is also critical that we work in partnership with institutions and groups to ensure the success of the final action plan.”

“It is my intention that this response will be embedded within the Healthy Ireland Healthy Campus initiative which is being rolled out within all our higher education institutions by the Department of Health later this year.”

Waterford Academic awarded €10,000 in sexual language case Nathan Young A College Lecturer in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) has been awarded €10,000 by the Labour Court after a series of incidents of sexual harassment by a large group of male agriculture students. The lecturer, a woman named Louise Walsh who had lectured in WIT since 1999, told the Labour Court that she had been sexually harassed by a large group of male students in her class on various dates between October 10th 2014 and March 19th 2015.

In the case, the Labour Court has ordered WIT to pay the €10,000 compensation to Ms Walsh forn“the distress and the effects of sexual harassment and harassment based on her gender”. Ms Walsh also told the Court that WIT took no adequate steps to respond to her complaints, took no adequate steps to reverse the effect of the sexual harassment and harassment based on gender, and further took no adequate steps to avoid a reoccorance.

The incidents include being told that students “Would do her”. Ms Walsh also told the court that said male students in her class blurted out inappropriate sexual references and sexual language including coarse words referring to parts of a woman’s body, references to sexual acts, and explicit sexual questions.

The class was made of 100 students from three courses, 85 of whom were male. Ms Walsh told the court that she first informed WIT of the sexual harassment on the 10th of October 2014.

Arising from another incident on the 24th October 2014, Ms Walsh informed the Head of Department of the experience and advised that the harassment had the purpose and effect of violating her dignity and creating an intimidating and hostile working environment. On the ninth of

November Ms Walsh once again informed WIT of the continuing sexual harassment, and WIT subsequently split the class. Ms Walsh, a Waterford native, stopped teaching the class in March 2015 but continues to lecture in WIT to this day.

WIT contested the claim, telling the court that it had taken all practical steps to avoid sexual harassment or harassment based on gender in this case. The Chairperson of the Labour Court, Kevin Foley, however, said that the Labour Court was satisfied that WIT is liable for the sexual harassment and harasment based on gender suffered by Ms Walsh. To the Labour Court Mr Foley said that while WIT had responded to the complaints made by Ms Walsh, WIT “cannot be found to have taken such steps as were reasonably practicable to avoid a recurrence of sexual harassment and harassment based on gender”.

Mr Foley said that course heads, the Head of Department, and the then President of the Students’ Union had spoken to the class involved, but that “No evidence has been put before the court which established that the issue of sexual harassment and harassment based on gender were specifically raised during any of these interactions with the class”.

Mr Foley also stated that for unrelated reasons WIT’s Student Disciplinary Committee was not functional for a date beginning before October 2014 until a date in early 2015. He stated that that this meant in effect that there were no mechanisms in place to facilitate a response to Ms Walsh’s complaints about sexual harassment or harassmnet based on gender where the identity of the students who were allegedly responsible for the acts was unknown to the victim.

Further to the €10,000 payment Mr Foley ordered be made to Ms Walsh by WIT, he has also ordered WIT to review the operation of its Dignity and Respect Policy, and in particular the effectiveness of current methods for communicating these policies, and in particular WIT’s intolerance of sexual harassment and harrasment based on gender, with students.

The Labour Court also ordered WIT to review the effectiveness of its current arrangements to respond to complaints made by teaching staff of harassment and sexual harassment by students, including in cases where the identity of the alleged individuals is not known to the victim.

Commenting on the case after the ruling, Ms Walsh said that the sexual harassment had “had a serious impact on me”. She said “I took the case to ensure that WIT take steps to have proper procedures in place to ensure that no one else go through what I had to go through”. Ms Walsh also called the complaints procedure for harasment and sexual harassment “outdated and still not fit for purpose”. She also said that the ruling vindicated her decision to take the case to court, and that the overriding emotion she feels about the decision is “relief”.

In a statement, WIT said it “is committed to providing a safe working environment to all employees and takes this matter very seriously...At this juncture we are taking the time to reflect on the decision of the Labour Court and continue to work with staff and their representatives in the monitoring and review of our policies and procedures to ensure that such an environment is free of all forms of bullying, harassment and discrimination”.

DCU to build 1,240 student beds Dublin City University (DCU) has applied for planning permission for the construction of new student accommodation, which will include 1,240-bed spaces to be added to the existing 1,441-bed spaces across the three academic campuses. A spokesperson for DCU has also confirmed that ‘the University is also considering adding to the existing accommodation on the St Patrick’s Campus.’ According to the plan, an additional 990 beds will be allocated to the Glasnevin campus.

If the plan is approved, the report proposes to construct seven blocks ranging from five to ten storeys which will ‘accommodate 213 cluster units’. Each unit is set to contain from 3 to 7 ensuite bedrooms with a shared kitchen and living room area per unit. The units combined will offer approximately 1,240 beds.

Each housing block will have a ‘cosy space’ where comfortable seating will be provided ‘where people can engage in leisure activities from gaming to knitting and reading to napping’. Gathering spaces will be ‘distributed throughout the development.’ According to the report, these spaces would contain ‘a pool table, ping pong and football table.’ There will be one common space located in ‘Block V6’, and this is where the laundry and café are to be located.

The new complex will increase the number of bike racks, allowing space for a total of 620 bikes.

The report also included additional retail spaces to be constructed inside the sports complex, moving the management offices to within the new complex.

DCU is seeking to demolish the current Larkfield accommodation which currently provides 240 beds to students at the university. The College View, DCU’s student newspaper of record, reported that “one apartment in Larkfield currently costs €5,665 for the academic year.”

With the demolition of the Larkfield residences, approximately 123 parking spaces would be removed. However according the College View, a new basement parking is included in the plan to increase the overall car spaces to 176, “of which five will be disabled parking. Only 5.4 per cent of the increase in student accommo-

dation are provided with a car parking space.”

Speaking to the College View, USI Vice President of the Dublin Region Craig McHugh showed his concern over the loss of bed spaces between the demolition of the Larkfield residences and the opening of the new complex. He told the paper: “There’s a price to pay when you knock down student accommodation.”

The Larkfield accommodation was built in the late eighties. The planning report states that ‘upgrading the buildings were not considered to represent a sustainable option’ and that ‘any future redevelopment becomes logistically challenging and disruptive once the remaining lands were developed.’ Additionally, due to issues with structure and providing adequate sunlight, they felt it would be in the best interests by demolishing the existing building and in starting anew.

The report also states that ‘a new Student Residence Management Office and a retail services/café/education unit’, will be built on the site. The report details a range of amenity spaces proposed for the accommodation. These have been described as ‘cosy’, ‘gathering’ and ‘common spaces’.

Clodagh Healy

The project has been designed to be built in phases, should that be necessary, due to funding and ‘site constraints’. A spokesperson for DCU has confirmed that they will be ‘examining options for the phasing of the development to bring beds on-line before the demolition of Larkfield.’

According to the Irish Independent, the project will be funded by loan finance. DCU is seeking ten-year planning permission to finish the project. Particulars relating to how much this will cost has not yet been confirmed for the new site, but DCU is ‘very conscious that there is a need not just for additional student accommodation but affordable accommodation.’

Speaking to the College View, ‘the secretary of DCU’s sustainability society, Ríonach Hurley said the sustainable aspects of the plans were ‘a really good idea’.’

““If we’re building new, we might as well build sustainably and incorporate more sustainable practises into the building… things like solar panels and using rainwater as wastewater, that’s a really good idea,” said Hurley.”

An Bord Pleanála is due to decide the case by the 9th of January 2020.

NEWS National News in Brief Andrea Andres EU research reports reveals “worrying patterns of racism”.

A research report entitled “Being Black in the EU” has revealed the racism that black people face in the EU. 6,000 migrants were surveyed across 12 member states with a sizeable portion from Ireland. Michael O’Flaherty, head of the Fundamental Rights Agency said that this report reveals “worrying patterns of racism” and that “Ireland is one of the countries that come out worse, frankly.”

17% said they have suffered discrimination at work due to their background compared to less than one in ten on average. In Ireland, 38% have been harassed while the overall figure was a quarter. 8% have suffered racist violence in Ireland in contrast to only 3% across the European Union.

Two-thirds of migrants in Ireland feel like they can complain if they are badly treated compared to 38% who feel like they can do so across the EU. 71% said that they are treated with respect by the police here in Ireland as opposed to the EU average of 59%.

Mr. O’Flaherty adds “Our figures demonstrate that Ireland has a problem with racism. People who should talk about these issues should be talking about them more.” “We are not dealing with some abstract problem, we’re dealing with something that’s blighting the lives of people living next door to us.”

Dublin City Councillors vote to limit hotel construction despite warnings of “shortfall” of 1,100 rooms Councillors voted in favour of the motion to change city development plans to limit the building of more hotels despite concerns that Dublin is still short of 1,000 beds.

Councillors will also review the plan to put forward any changes that “urgently protect and promote nightlife and creative culture in Dublin”.

They have also unanimously agreed to reassess any council land unsuitable for social house for use as a cultural space rather than putting it for sale. However, city planner John O’Hara warns that restricting hotel construction could lead to legal trouble for the council. He said: “Any talk of a ban or curtailment without evidence runs the risk of legal challenge,”

According to a spokeswoman from Fáilte Ireland, demand for hotel rooms is exceeding supply. Despite the construction occuring in the city, she expects there will be a “shortfall of 1,100 rooms.” The lack of hotel beds will also affect the rest of the country because if a tourist “cannot access Dublin, it is highly likely they may not visit the country at all.”

This council meeting follows the planned closure of the Bernard Shaw pub and venue in Portobello and the council’s decision to sell the land near the venue to developers.

Homelessness rises to 10,338 according to latest figures Official figures from the Homeless Quarterly Progress, released by the Department of Housing, has revealed that at 10,338 people are in emergency accommodation.

This involves 6,490 adults and 3,848 children.

Overall, 1,726 families were affected by homelessness in the month of August.

This is a modest increase from 10, 275 in July. Children afflicted with homelessness has risen by more than 100 in July and has increased once again in August. The number of homeless children has risen to a quarter in the last two years. According to the children’s charity Barnados, 170 children have been rendered homeless since the end of the last school year.

The latest numbers show that homelessness is highly concentrated in Dublin with 4,312 in need of emergency accommodation. Cork is second at 583, followed by Galway at 311 and Limerick at 255.

The Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy has stated that: “As housing minister, it is my responsibility to secure a budget that will see more homes being built. We will have a budget that will ensure when our teams go out on the street, they can help people. That’s what the housing budget is going to be about.”

8th October 2019

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NEWS International News in Brief Jade Wilson & Gavin Tracey Canada’s Conservative leader criticised for attacking academics Andrew Scheer, the leader of the Canadian Conservative party, has been criticised for election material that targets academics and universities. Scheer, who will be facing Justin Trudeau on the 21st of October in the Canadian elections, has often been compared to Donald Trump due to his rhetoric and willingness to parrot right-wing talking points.

Scheer is facing criticism for a poster campaign at York University in Toronto that read; “Because you can only hear the same leftwing talking points from your professors so many times.” He has defended the poster, stating that it was not meant to be taken seriously. Academics however have condemned the poster campaign. David Robinson, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers told Times Higher Education “It fits into their very stereotypical and frankly untrue vision of universities and colleges as somehow these indoctrination centres that are intolerant of conservative views.”

Supposed “ideological indoctrination” and campus free speech issues have become hot button issues on the right, with figures such as Trump and Brazil’s Bolsonaro targeting academics in recent years.

Formal impeachment proceedings launched against President Trump On 24 September, Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Speaker of the House announced the House is launching a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

The announcement came after the administration’s refusal to hand over a whiste-blower complaint related to Trump’s interaction with a foreign leader.

“The president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically,” Pelosi said. “The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”

The inquiry marks just the fourth time in American history a president has faced a viable threat of impeachment. However, with the Democrats in the minority in the Senate, it remains unlikely that this impeachment attempt will result in Trump being removed from office.

Leader of Hong Kong bans protestors from wearing face masks Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam moved to ban face masks at protests last Friday in an attempt to further clamp down on rallies that have been taking place since June against proposals to allow extradition to mainland China.

The ban went into effect from Saturday, October 5. “Violence is destroying Hong Kong,” Lam said. She said the ban on face masks would act as an ‘effective deterrent’ for protestors due to the inability to conceal their identity without them.

“If the violence escalates, we will have to look at things we need to do to counter [the protests],” she said. However, soon after, thousands of masked protesters marched in the streets in opposition to the ban. Some protesters are calling for the resignation of Carrie Lam.

Clashes between police and activists have been becoming increasingly violent and the situation shows no sign of dying down.

It was also reported last week that during a private phone call in June, President Donald Trump promised Chinese President Xi Jinping that the US would remain quiet on the protests in Hong Kong while trade talks continued.

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UK Government Increase Graduate Jade Wilson Student Work Visa The British Government is to return to a pre2012 policy regarding foreign graduate work visas, which Theresa May called ‘too generous’.

The Government is set to announce plans to ensure international students will be offered a two-year work visa upon graduation from a British university.

At present, under immigration policies implemented by Theresa May, graduates with bachelors or master’s degrees are allowed to look for work for only four months in the UK. The return to the pre-2012 policy will take effect for those graduating in the summer of 2021 onwards and could increase international graduates’ chances of finding long-term employment.

Students currently enrolled, however, will miss out on this extended visa. Over 20,000 people have signed a petition calling on the government to extend the new visa rules to those international students currently studying in the UK.

With the aim of recruiting talented graduates in disciplines including maths, engineering and technology, the new policy would have no cap on numbers and would also allow graduates to apply for jobs regardless of their skills or the subject they studied at university.

The Home Office’s latest immigration white paper proposed extending the fourmonth limit by just an extra two months. For doctorates, the proposal recommended limiting the work period for doctorates to a year. The decision to extend the permitted work period for international graduates to two years goes beyond this recommendation.

As home secretary in 2012, Theresa May described the two-year post-study work visa as ‘too generous’. A 2016 EU directive required countries have a minimum post-study period of nine months for graduates seeking jobs. However, the UK, Ireland and Denmark did not participate in the directive.

Following the 2012 decrease in the length of the post-study work visa, international student enrolment numbers dropped significantly in the UK.

However, after the United States, the UK remains the second most popular destination for international students, with international students making up 36% of master’s students and 43% of doctoral students at UK universities in 2016, according to the OECD International Migration database.

As part of the new policy, the govern-

ment aims to grow the number of international students studying in the UK (not including those from within the EU) from 460,000 to 600,000 over the next ten years. Jo Johnson, former universities minister before resigning from his brothers cabinet in September, tabled a motion in April to extend graduate work visas.

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, said the cultural and economic contribution international students make to the UK ‘benefits Britain’.

““Our universities thrive on being open global institutions. Introducing the graduate route ensures our prestigious higher education sector will continue to attract the best talent from around the world to global Britain,” Williamson said.

Home Secretary, Priti Patel added: “The new Graduate Route will mean talented international students, whether in science and maths or technology and engineering, can study in the UK and then gain valuable work experience as they go on to build successful careers.”

Chancellor Sajid Javid tweeted that the move was “about time”, adding that the government “should have reversed this silly policy years ago”.

Prospects Bright for Recent Graduates Entering the Irish Job Market Arshdeep Kaur Career prospects appear to be bright for fresh graduates entering the Irish labour market in 2019, as figures show accelerated job growth.

Despite numerous concerns, the economic environment is largely optimistic, and there is an increasing range of opportunities across various sectors of the economy.

The Central Bank of Ireland estimates that unemployment is down to 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, and employment growth is expected to remain positive for the foreseeable future. Female labour force participation has also shown an increasing trend. Recent graduates have much to celebrate: The Higher Education Authority’s latest report on graduate outcomes states that job prospects for graduates are improving, with over 78 per cent of graduates in employment or due to start a job within nine months of completing their third-level studies.

Of these, 90 per cent have secured employment within Ireland.

Others were engaged in further education, seeking employment, or engaged in other activities such as travelling or volunteering.

The average full-time salary was reported to be €33,574, with graduates in the field of education, engineering, and information and communication technology (ICT) commanding the highest entry-level salaries. International graduates have fared well too, with 75 per cent having found employment since graduating.

Data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) complements these findings: A decline

was registered in the number of emigrants since 2018, and Ireland saw a net inward migration of 33,700 between April 2018 and April 2019.

As business confidence remains high, graduate recruitment is set to increase across all major sectors of the Irish economy. “Over 80 per cent of employers are planning to increase or retain their levels of graduate recruitment”, gradireland.com’s Ruairí Kavanagh told The Irish Times. The largest sectors in terms of employment include accounting, consulting and financial services, engineering, information technology, law and legal services, retail and consumer goods, recruitment and human resources, and science. With employment growth at ‘full employment’ levels, job seekers can now expect to demand higher salaries.

Students’ disciplinary preferences mirror their preoccupation with future employment prospects, with CAO points required for entry into economics, finance, and engineering courses seeing a sharp increase in 2019. Employers are looking to attract flexible and dynamic graduates with a global outlook, and cite severe shortages in foreign language skills a major concern.

“This need will be amplified by Brexit, as Ireland will be the only English-speaking country in the European Union. If you can match business acumen with data analytics and a foreign language, you would be perfect for a company looking to project abroad – especially

in EU markets,” says Kavanagh.

In light of this fact, the falling demand for courses in modern languages (including business courses with a language option) is a cause for concern.

Unfortunately, not all is rosy: The prospect of a No-Deal Brexit threatens the Irish economy and consequently, jobs on the island.

Increasing female participation in the labour force remains a challenge, given the lack of availability of affordable childcare, reflective of a structural issue that necessitates policy intervention.

Simultaneously, concerns over poor working conditions faced by teachers and medical professionals remain ripe, with many graduates in these fields moving abroad to pursue better opportunities.

Employers are also confronted with inflationary wage pressures: With wages increasing at an annual growth rate of 3.5 per cent according to the latest data from CSO, there is a renewed fear of consumer price inflation and overheating. Furthermore, the housing crisis and rental shortages in Dublin add to the difficulty of retaining employees.

With immigration being a major driver of job growth, an overhaul of the strained and at times frustrating visa and immigration regime is needed, in addition to housing reform. Lastly, with concerns of a global recession on the horizon, Ireland must take strategic policy measures to ensure labour market resilience.

COMMENT

Is there anything to be said for having another sabbatical term?

With a historical precedent for multiple term Sabbatical officers, Nathan Young examines if there’s anything to be said for bringing this tradition back.

During the last two years UCDSU had it’s first taste for a while of having sabbatical officers with experience as sabbatical officers, with Niall Torris having been President of Carlow College Students’ Union before having two terms as Graduate Officer, and Barry Murphy serving one and a half terms as President of the SU. This is standard practice in many Students’ Unions, and the Union of Students in Ireland tends to recruit to its sabbatical team people with sabbatical experience from member SUs. This was standard practice in UCDSU also, until a few years ago. Between 2000-01 and 2013-14 there were only 4 years where the president was new to the sabbatical team, as most years either the Welfare Officer or the Education Officer would step up to the top position.

The most obvious reasons for a sabbatical officer to serve multiple terms is experience. A large portion of the summer is spent by the Sabbatical Officers doing handover training, attending workshops and training days in external organisations such as the Rape Crisis Centre, and so forth. While the majority of union work happens during term time, there are some students, mainly post-graduates, who are on campus for the summer who may need union support. Even after the training is over, a welfare officer who has been dealing with case work for a month will be somewhat less helpful, all other considerations aside, than one who has been doing it for thirteen months.

Institutional memory, however, is the most sa-

lient advantage to having a sabbatical team with returning members. Each year Andrew Deeks meets the new team, listens thoughtfully to their ideas, and even gives advice. Then they start working on plans which are too complex to finish within a year, what with all the reviews and committees involved. The charade can begin again the following year, when a new line up propose near the exact same ideas to Deeks and the Governing Authority (GA) of UCD. If there were some continuity among student representation on university committees, then the university itself would have to be less brazen in their ignoring of student concerns.

“Institutional memory, however, is the most salient advantage to having a sabbatical team with returning members”

This isn’t just conjecture, either. The

President of UCDSU has for a long time had a seat on the Finance, Remuneration and Asset Management Committee (FRAMC) of GA. As this is the committee that advises GA on financial issues, it seems like a powerful seat, however it has its limits. Submissions to the committee tend to be about risk assessment and appeasing the Higher Education Authority, so union submissions that address student issues tend to be ignored. Figuring this out relatively early, Barry Murphy requested a seat for the Union on the Capital Projects Group. Having been informed that that was a good idea, it nevertheless wasn’t

until during the early months of his second term that he was given a seat, allowing his future teams more input into UCD projects. It seems highly unlikely that if a new SU president had been elected, the university would have felt the same pressure to provide this seat.

“Actual attendance at protests among UCD students, however, is low, and none of the protests organised by the union ever take aim at the university itself”

Most of this experience and applied pressure relates purely to committee work within formal university structures. This makes sense, as the roles of the college officers and campaign coordinators provide much of the relevant experience for internal union work. With the exception of case work, participation in GA and its subcommittees is the biggest difference in job description between a Sabbatical Officer and any other member of UCDSU’s executive committee. This may have drawbacks, however.

For the past several years it has been impossible to talk to the president during semester one and not be told that Deeks is really interested in their ideas, and coming around to their way of thinking. It’s a naivety that may be somewhat diminished by having a multi-term sabbatical officer on the team, especially in the role of president, but ultimately one that exposes a more systemic problem in UCDSU, which is the reliance on

formal university structures.

It is a running gag that at Hustings each year, candidates will say “I’m down for a protest if you are”. Actual attendance at protests among UCD students, however, is low, and none of the protests organised by the union ever take aim at the university itself. Organisation for participation in the Climate Strike included successfully petitioning the University for permission to skip class, which by definition makes it not a strike. Activists in Trinity College, on the other hand, have had major success in recent years with campaigns such Take Back Trinity, and currently are embarking on a campaign for rent strikes which USI’s deputy president, Michelle Byrne, has promised to support. Murphy may have gotten himself a nice committee seat in the Capital Projects Group, but at the end of his second term this seat was his only tangible answer when asked if his extended tenure as president had been beneficial.

What all this means is that if any member of the current team is eyeing up a second term, or a move into the role of President, it may be time for them to start figuring out how to most effectively use committee seats and which committees they would like the union to get a seat on.

The lesson for low tier union hacks aiming at becoming sabbats is roughly the same. For everyone else though, when it comes to election time Sabbatical experience should be seen as a plus in a candidate, but it has nothing on a serious commitment to bringing a real fight to Deeks.

Does sports punditry have a racism problem?

Following the recent fervour surrounding rugby’s residency rules, Garrett Kennedy considers whether this debate fits into a broader theme of acceptable racism among sports pundits.

Among the excitement surrounding the Rugby World Cup and Ireland’s inevitable quarter final exit, there has been a significant revival in the ugly debate surrounding rugby’s residency rules. There are reasonable and unproblematic arguments on both sides of this debate. Despite this, much of the criticism of these rules strays dangerously close to a broader trend of racism and xenophobia which is prevalent among sports pundits and fans alike.

One of the stupider arguments people have made in opposition to the residency rules is that made by Luke Fitzgerald. He argued that only individuals with Irish passports should be allowed to play for the national team. An Irish passport can be obtained by individuals who have not actually spent any time in the country.

Given one can normally obtain an Irish passport if they simply have an Irish grandparent this seems a particularly arbitrary metric.

There are obviously reasons to worry about national teams using players with no actual relationship to the country. The Irish football teams of the 90s had players who had hardly set foot in the country before playing for the national team. This obviously makes the argument that they were representing their country rather tenuous. Despite this, there seems to be a sensible middle ground between that scenario and only allowing domestically born citizens to play.

What this debate, and what similar debates concerning immigration more generally, seem to miss is how much Ireland gains from having these individuals here. It is not just the national team that benefits. Connacht and Munster are much better clubs for having Bundee Aki and CJ

Stander play for them.

Aki in particular was integral to Connacht winning the Pro12 in 2016. He also showed much more loyalty to Connacht than many players who departed for Leinster soon after. He helped them reach their peak and stayed with them when they were no longer on it. A man who has shown such loyalty to an Irish province deserves eligibility to the national team.

It is obviously annoying if you are a player who has come up through an academy and miss out on a squad to one of these players. Nonetheless, this anger does not seem significantly more justified than if they lost their place to an Irish born player. These players have a right to play for Ireland. If they are the best available players, then they should be picked.

“Connacht and Munster are much better clubs for having Bundee Aki and CJ Stander play for them.”

One of the more interesting features of this debate is which particular players seem to get the most criticism. Obviously, recently this has been Jean Kleyn however, this is probably just because he is the most recent example and his inclusion occurred in particularly controversial circumstances. The next player who gets the most criticism, and the main other player who has been mentioned by Fitzgerald and other critics of the residency rule, is Bundee Aki. Some criticism of Aki has been blatantly racist.

The New Zealand assistant coach, Ian Foster remarked that “They’ve turned him into an Irishman…he looks like an Irishman now, doesn’t he?”. Other critiques have been more coded.

Pundits constantly complain about his passing and technical abilities despite him probably being the best offloader in the Irish team.

This dismissal of Aki’s technical abilities is to some extent understandable given his immense physical abilities. Nonetheless, this elevated criticism fits neatly into a broader trend of sports pundits offering extra scrutiny towards people of colour.

“It does not seem a coincidence that the players who are most frequently criticised in this way are not white.”

The Premier League is rife with examples. The two most obvious are Paul Pogba and Raheem Sterling. Raheem Sterling is one of the best players in both Manchester City and the English national team but comes in for far more criticism than anyone else in those squads. This is obviously not because he is untalented. Nor can it be explained by him receiving extra criticism because of higher expectations because of said talent. Harry Kane does not receive anywhere near the same level of vitriol despite being roughly of the same quality.

The criticism of Pogba is similar. There are myriad reasons Manchester United are playing badly at the moment. Pogba’s performances probably play some part in this. Nonetheless, he still seems to receive much more than is proportional to his level of actual blame. He is undoubtedly one of the best players in the squad and one only needs to see his performances in the last World Cup to understand how good a player he is when surrounded by a functioning team. This implies that most of the blame for United’s terrible form lies elsewhere.

A more interesting observation is what happens when pundits cannot find a way of calling these players out on being lazy or mentally weak. This strategy is normally to instead praise them for their physical attributes and ‘attitude’ while crit-

icising their lack of technical skills. This clearly fits the example of Bundee Aki but similarly fits the case of N’Golo Kanté.

Both of these problems clearly have incredible physical abilities, but they are by no means bad at the technical side of their sports. As already stated, Aki is the best offloader in the Irish team.

Similarly, Kanté is one of the best distributors in the Premiership. His main skill is as a defensive midfielder, but his passing is in no way a weak point.

While it is obviously the case that lots of sports punditry is just ex-players shouting about how players were gutsier back in their day, the frequency and acceptability of these views seems to be a large problem. It does not seem to be a coincidence that the players who are most frequently criticised in this way are not white.

Whether conscious or not, these pundits and fans are judging these players by a higher standard than their counterparts. This needs to be acknowledged if we want to make sport as inclusive and welcoming as FIFA ads seem to think it is.

8th October 2019

5

COMMENT

UCD is watching the world burn and pretending to care.

In terms of environmental policy, it is a case of very little done, a lot more to do by UCD, writes Cora Keegan.

Looking around campus in the weeks after freshers week is always haunting. Campus seems to die down. It goes from a bustling campus with the Clubhouse packed to the brim, to a ghost town with the tumbleweed of plastic bags passing your feet. You see all the bags branded with the society logos in the bins and on top of lockers. They are everywhere you look. It is almost impossible not to notice single use plastic these days.

All we seem to be hearing about are all the disastrous things we are doing to the environment. A handful of news headlines surround us. Plastic straws are bad for the turtles, the school strike, the US abandoning the Paris agreement, the Amazon is on fire. Students are clued into the environment and know the danger we are facing. They know that we have about 12 years until we reach the climate tipping point, when we will have no control over what happens and the dangers that will bring. Young people are ready to make some serious systematic change. Universities have historically been huge catalysts for progressive thought and changes in policy. But that doesn’t really seem to be true in this case. Is it time we push UCD to do more?

In short, the answer is probably yes.

UCD has in place a sustainability policy, even if it takes a lot of digging to find an updated one. It states that UCD is planning to switch to greener energy and reduce their carbon footprint, but it’s listed as a lower goal than campus development. This includes constructing buildings no one seems to have asked for and in the process creating a higher carbon footprint and taking away green space on campus.

Although UCD has brought in initiatives like recycling on campus in the last year or two, this is grossly insufficient. Recycling is better than throwing away but is still not great. It uses an awful lot of energy to recycle something and has been used as an excuse by companies to excuse producing more plastic. Plastic can only be recycled 2 or 3 times and much of the paper and cardboard often ends in up landfills anyway.

UCD has not even gotten to grips with the basic green ideas which most kids are taught in primary school. Many rubbish bins do not have a recycling bin beside them. You would be hard pressed to find a recycling bin in the Student Center. Furthermore, most recycling bins on campus are only for paper or cardboard. This ignores the massive amounts of plastic that could be recycled.

UCD should be trying to turn away from producing waste rather just half-heartedly encouraging us to recycle. They should be prioritising this over giving Deeks a legacy with pretty new buildings. Instead they are ignoring some of the biggest issues facing students.

The SU are at least trying to improve things. They introduced discounts on coffee for students who use a keep cup and they did an awful lot to help with the recycling on campus.

Nonetheless, they often fail to think big enough.

It is not good enough to keep taking baby steps when the planet is at such a huge risk. Holding a fast fashion clothes sale with Pretty Little Thing two weeks after taking part in a climate march is just hypocritical. We do not have time for slow and steady improvements anymore.

UCD has a wealth of resources at its fingertips. It has some of the best minds in Ireland. Ask anyone around town and they know you can trust UCD when it comes to research.

They have the power for interdisciplinary collaboration. You could have the environmental policy department collaborate with the social justice department to inform people on what exactly Ireland needs to do, and how to inform the public on what is happening around the world.

They could make plans on how to get the average person or students to fight for much needed changes in government.

The reality is UCD isn’t doing much of this. They have classes on environmental law and environmental policy. However, the re give amnesty to students for the climate strike. UCD societies didn’t even support societies who wanted to strike. Tent officials tried to drown out chants with music. They ignored the reality that this is important. Some societies claimed to have been threatened with losing some of their basic grant for not following freshers’ week rules by attending the strike.

If UCD cared about the environment they would have encouraged faculties, committees and every member of staff to participate in the strike and to be sustainable in as many ways as possible. Instead they sit back and relax. After all they have written a sustainability policy.

There is no need to really enforce sustainability, not when they can keep up appearances.

UCD is educating Ireland’s thinkers and leaders. These are the people who are going to have to create a sustainable world, whether we like it or not. There needs to be more of a focus on it. I know not every class can be about the environment but the reality is that so much more could be done in offering modules, funding research and informing both students and the average population. At the very least they should not actively hinder students when they want to be part of making that change.

Should UCD make its prices for student accommodation proportional to parental income?

With the rising cost of education and income inequality, Moxie Lofton asks if UCD should make its fees proportional to parental income?

To ensure accessibility of education and the well-being of its students, UCD should make its fees proportional to parental income. Not all fees are covered by the free fees initiative and Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). The most daunting factor of university is accommodation. With the rising cost of living in Dublin, any undue financial burden could keep a student from being able to attend school.

Tuition fees for EU citizens range from €5,880-€20,700, with the lowest cost being for arts degrees and the higher costs belonging to STEM majors, especially within medicine.

These fees are covered by the free fees initiative, unless the student has lived outside the EU for three or more years. The free fees initiative, however, does not cover the €3,000 student contribution cost or the €254 student levy.

The student contribution charge is, for EU citizens, usually covered by SUSI. As noted by the UCD website, “depending on the rate of grant awarded, it may not cover the full Student Contribution Charge for Undergraduate Students, the Tuition Fees for Post-Graduate Students or other fees not covered by SUSI.” While this is reflective of SUSI already making its grants proportionate to parental income, the grants do not directly cover the student levy.

SUSI provides a monthly maintenance grant based on income which may be used to pay the student levy. This maintenance payment is only given if the student’s family makes below €49,840 with increases in the income thresh-

6 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 2

old based on the number of dependent children and additional persons in the family attending college. Depending on where the student is living, this may make a noticeable difference in their monthly budget.

The cheapest accommodation on campus, Belgrove, costs about €790 per month, typically paid in three lump sums over the term.

For students living far away from campus, this could be the economic barrier between them and college. Living at home may not be a feasible option due to transport times and if their family makes above €43,380 their SUSI maintenance grant would not cover the cost of living on campus.

Additionally, on-campus accommodation is only guaranteed to first-year international students. Off-campus accommodation has similar problems as the housing crisis continues, which leads to a shortage of space for students and an average rent of €1,391. Cheaper options exist in shared housing, but the issue of availability remains. For students unable to live at home, this will have dire consequences.

Students are not considered independent by SUSI unless they have documentation proving they are living independently. For students above the age of 23 this comes in the form of proof of address, while those under 23 would need documentation of estrangement from their parents. This documentation may come in the form of Garda reports, proof of court proceedings or letters from the HSE. Therefore, a stu-

dent could be living on their own and still have their grant tied to parental income if they lack proper documentation.

A deficit in funding could be dealt with through a student loan, but they are an unwieldy option. Bank of Ireland offers loans up to €10,000 with a 5% annual percentage rate (APR), but if the amount needed exceeds €10,000 the next option, Allied Irish Banks, has an APR of 8.5%. With either option the cost of credit increases heavily with each additional year.

The debt incurred in the course of a degree is considerably higher for the part of UCD’s international students born outside the EU. For non-EU students the range of tuition fees is €16,000-€55,140, the highest fees being those of STEM majors. Not only are the fees higher, there are no services available to cover any of them and, like all international students, living at home is not an option.

If UCD is committed to making education more accessible, adjustment of fees is the first step. One of the most effective ways of achieving this would be to make accommo-

dation fees proportional to parental income.

This would ensure students unable to commute would still have an option to attend UCD if they cannot find off-campus accommodation.

This brings back the issue of students without the documentation to prove they are living independently from their parents. In this case, being charged based off their parent’s income rather than their own would place them at an obvious economic disadvantage. However, with the framework of income-based fees in place, residence on campus could give them the opportunity to obtain said documentation and then be charged based on their own income.

Tying all fees to parental income would fulfil the goal of having a wide range of backgrounds within UCD. This would prevent the university from losing a unique student’s contribution to the academic environment due to that student being unable to access the financial assistance they need. This would not only lead to a more diverse university, but to one in which students can concentrate on their studies rather than worrying about their finances.

COMMENT

Head To Head

Is the CAO a good method of deciding university admission compared to other countries?

YES Manasa Bramhanya

NO Adesewa Awobadejo

Education can be defined in simple words as the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values and applying the same for innovation purposes. Education undoubtedly enhances people’s lives and plays a key role in a country’s development.

Every country in the world has a different approach to the education system. Ireland follows a distinguished system which has been laid out by the regulatory bodies and one part of this is the CAO points system. Central Applications Office, abbreviated as the CAO is an establishment whose primary function is to supervise the applications to various colleges and universities for undergraduate courses in the Republic of Ireland.

The CAO has aspects which make it reasonably unique compared to systems in other countries. Through the years, the CAO process has been very fair and transparent and mainly emphasizes on the academic performance of the prospective student. When the CAO was created in 1976, its goal was to centrally process all the received applications in a structured and equitable manner. It does this in two ways.

The first is that students apply to the CAO instead rather than applying to individual universities. This makes the application process much easier for students and universities alike. The CAO goes through each application and ensures that they have the minimum requirements for their various courses. It then distributes courses based on which students get the most points, and whether they gained enough points for their preferred course.

This means that all students have to do is fill in their application, do their exams and then accept or reject their offer. On the university side, there is no need to organise interviews or go through applications. This simplifies the whole process for everyone involved, reducing manpower requirements, and potentially creating more time for the development and improvement of courses.

This is a much more equitable approach because it uses such an objective metric to decide which students get in. Each student has an equal opportunity and no other factors such as family connections or economic status play a direct role in deciding which prospective students get admitted. This is because there is no way to construe one individuals points total as better than anyone else’s just because they have the correct accent.

Other methods of choosing students such as interviews or extra curricular activities obviously bias the system in favour of wealthier students to a significant extent. If you have a certain accent, are a certain gender, or simply look a certain way, many interviewers are likely to judge you excessively in ways which should not matter. Evidence of this bias can be seen in how few students of colour and working class students get into Oxbridge. If you went to a private school, an interview process generally helps you disproportionately.

There are obviously problematic factors with Leaving Cert results which disproportionately advantage students from certain demographics. Going to a private school or having parents who can afford to send you to grinds obviously helps improve people’s points tally enormously. Despite this, it is still less directly biased than other metrics.

If talented students put sufficient work in it is easier to bridge the gap than in an interview where their exam results are counted to an extent but more likely to be overshadowed. To a large extent, it is a metric which measures the effort students put into their secondary education. Given this, it can be argued to be a pretty meritocratic system.

Of course, the CAO does not take extra-curricular activities or students’ suitability for the course into account. However, this could be argued to be less important than having a system in which everyone gets a fair shot. Extra-curricular activities are important but if the CAO means that more students who work hard get access to third level, then that seems to be a net positive.

In comparison with other countries, the CAO system can be considered to be quite lenient. Applicants can apply to any course and if they make the requirements, they are in. However, this processing method can prove to be faulty.

According to the CAO themselves, they are only responsible for processing applications and recording acceptances for higher education institutes. However, it is the processing of the applications that can be considered questionable.

Before an applicant can be deemed eligible for any course, the CAO checks if the applicant meets the minimum requirements for each of their chosen courses. In some cases, the grade and subject requirements for courses can be quite undemanding. Science courses in UCD such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology do not require you to have studied a laboratory science at second level, as geography or applied maths can be used instead. The absence of specific subject and grade requirements causes people to focus on overall points rather than subjects.

No subject taught at secondary level is exactly the same as university courses in that field, but the subject can lay a foundation. It can prepare and give students insight. Not having studied a specific subject in school and majoring in it in college is by no means crippling but it can be a slight disadvantage to students as they attempt to catch up.

One could still argue that a system that focuses on points when awarding applicants with university entries can be detrimental in many ways. Let’s take nursing for example - For applicants to gain admission into general nursing, applicants would need to have a minimum of grade of O6 / H7 in English, Irish, Maths and one laboratory science for most universities in Ireland.

In comparison with the UCAS system, the British equivalent of the CAO, when processing a nursing application, candidates are required to undergo a formal interview and write a personal essay which is considered as part of their application. But unlike other systems, personal essays or interviews are not needed for level 8 courses under CAO. This can be harmful as it leads people into courses with little preparation or prior knowledge. One could argue that the onus should be on the applicant to research and prepare themselves, but the CAO system undoubtedly aids the lack of mental and physical preparation to courses like nursing.

This system wrongly measures the capability and suitability of an applicant by their grades and their grades only. Simply making the point requirements is not always enough on all spectrums, especially for healthcare courses, like nursing, that are mainly practical and completely foreign to what the vast majority of students would have been exposed to.

This problem can be reflected in the dropout rate. There are many reasons students may drop out, but it is not hard to see how the CAO system might be partly to blame. Students may expect something completely different from a course. Although it seems inevitable that some students will be surprised by their course, ensuring that students are a bit more prepared could make the difference. Essays, work experience, and interviews all improve this in different ways.

Another major problem that renders the CAO unreliable is that it becomes merely a probability game. If there are more applicants to a specific course with identical points than there are spaces remaining the CAO will pick the successful applicant randomly. Instead of the CAO being an individual and personal application, it is more about numbers and algorithms. Which becomes more about chance than anything else. The student’s aspirations and are replaced by a ‘luck of the draw’ type of system.

There should be more. People should have the opportunity to express their interest in a course through things other than their performance in a series of exams. Just as they deserve to be assessed not only through marks tallied in each exam and ultimately how many points they get.

We’ve seen cases of people missing their courses through the CAO by as little as 5 points, for cases like this, if supporting content could be considered, it might make all the difference.

A lot of people believe that the Leaving Certificate is a bad method of deciding who gets what course. The CAO system is partly to blame. The system is not particularly subject orientated, nor does it allow grace through interviews/extra curriculum work. This means that you get people into courses they should not be in and people missing out on courses in which they might prosper.

Rebuttal

Rebuttal

In the article, it is mentioned that the CAO system is quite lenient and faulty. However, it is not the case. If it would have been the case, then the same system would not have been followed until today.

In fact, the CAO is proved to be very fair and gives utmost importance to only “merit”, thereby ruling out the other factors completely.

The CAO system hinges on educational prowess, which puts certain (classes of) people at a deficit.

The CAO is a simplified process but it is too simplified. The mention of objectivity still brings about the question of whether or not applications should be subjective, catering to an individual’s personal situation. ‘Equal opportunities’ in fact rarely ever serve the purpose intended. Class and social issues will always persist. Perhaps what students from disadvantaged areas need isn’t grinds or an The CAO has often been in the limelight for other reasons such as, not conducting personal inter- elevated economic status but is extra support via interviews. views for the students and solely giving importance to only “grades”. Grades are the main reflection The interviews themselves are not the problem. The flaws reflected in interview processes of a student’s sincerity, hardwork and dedication towards studies. are part of a larger societal problem. If interviews are given the correct focus, and seen as a way of supporting applicants, the chances of bias may be slim.

Throwing some light on personal interviews, statements of interest and so on, it is a known fact that the students are informed of the interview well in advance. This means that they have ample time to prepare for it rather than offering an honest portrayal of themselves. The same goes with writing statements of interest. It is very easy to paint a rosy picture when the reality is very different.

8th October 2019

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FEATURES

Belfield 50, a celebration Doireann de Courcy Mac Donnell, in conversation with Dr. Ellen Rowley, discusses plans for Belfield 50 and the architecture of UCD. Belfield 50 is not an event, it is a celebration.

A celebration of the campus of University College Dublin being here. In actuality, the UCD campus has been in development in Belfield since the 1930s, when the university was investing in buying land for sports facilities.

However, 1970 was chosen as a significant date to celebrate as it marked the opening of the Arts, Law and Commerce Building, now the Newman Building. In conversation with Dr. Ellen Rowley, on the first floor landing of the Tierney Building, I discussed Belfield 50, what it is and why it matters; “UCD are saying that this is a moment to celebrate where we are and also to step back and look at the buildings that we have made.”

In 1933 University College Dublin officially began making the move from Earlsfort Terrace to the green fields of Dublin 4, when they purchased Belfield House. In the years between 1948 and 1958 the university continued acquiring adjoining properties in an effort to create a large campus, a far-cry from the cramped accommodation in Georgian Dublin.

“The president at the time, Michael Tierney, in 1947 is really keen on doing it. [He] is over looking at campuses in the states. He has some interest in campuses in the Nordic countries, probably Sweden – we’re not sure, as he’s sending people over as well to look at student residences and different typologies of models – very international thinking. He’s doing that from 1947 but he doesn’t get the go ahead until the late 1950s and then a competition is launched in 1963”

The competition, referred to by Dr. Ellen Rowley, was an open competition to design the master plan and key buildings of the new campus .The project was awarded to Andrzej Wejchert, a young architect who had never built anything. Having moved to Ireland and set up his practice, Wejchert strived to create a utopia in Belfield, a brave new world.

“A young architect Andrzej Wejchert, had never built a thing and he moves over to Ireland and he sets up a practise. He has to partner with an Irish firm RKD, who are still engaged. [The Tierney building] would be the apotheosis of the plan. This is the building for the President, Communications. The campus plan is about making a utopia, it’s about creating a whole new world. You have water, you have green. Those things are already here. There were amazing walled gardens, [though] a lot of them [were] compromised through making roadways through the place”.

According to an article written in The Irish Times at the time, South Dublin is not much different from the hinterland we know today. In 1963 it was published that “the prospect

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of finding lodging for students (was) causing more and more concern …The area is not one in which students will easily find places to stay, since most of the houses there are designed as family homes’’, a sentiment which rings true today. Rowley mirrors the 1963 article’s point in saying; “What [the master plan] lacked, it has [since] made up for... When it was finished it had no services initially… There wasn’t a single shop – imagine how desolate that was...

The restaurant came after the arts building, pretty quickly. But there were no homes here and when people aren’t living in a place it lacks something.” Student housing was only built from 1989,1990 and 1991, and have consistently been added to since.

I asked Rowley whether or not she thought the architecture, and the masterplan of UCD was successful; “I would say the original campus design is hugely successful and I think if you see the enduring relevance, in fact even more lately, of the walkways. They really are something. Obviously they are a physical spine but they are also a metaphysical spine as well.” she responded. “Wejchert continued to be engaged by the university after the initial things were done...The initial things [are] the walkway, the Arts, Law and Commerce building (which is now the Newman building)...the water tower and The Tierney Building (the administration building and the Aula Maxima). The [true] Aula Maxima was not actually built for twenty years, and that was the O’ Reilly Hall. The Aula Maxima is venue for all the ceremonies. They are the main pieces. After the water tower his practice engaged with the sports centre. The original sports centre is an incredible concrete pour. The buildings are very high quality, and as a conceivable idea, and as a people of cohesive planning I think it is really intact. [Wechert’s] plan enabled something like Robin Walker’s restaurant building to be slotted down and then immediately after that Paddy Rooney’s agriculture building again to sit off the spine.

You have J V Downes science building, you have the chapel, you have the walkway, you have the agriculture building and you’re moving all the way down towards the big celebration which is marked by this piece of water. Then you turn the corner and you have the library, by Sir Basil Spence, again another architect. Wejchert’s plan enabled other architects to come in and put staple buildings but to link them off this walkway.”

I was very surprised to hear the number of architects involved in the creation of the cornerstones of UCD, their incredible cohesion; “Isn’t it uncanny? I agree [they are very cohesive]” Rowley responded. “[First there is] the rectilinear. I know that is only a

form, but that form has an essence to it. And it is just like this palette of materials is very limited; concrete, some timber, there are hexagons, some hexagonal and octagonal planters, there are waffle slabs. These things are repeated everywhere around the campus. There is a coherence with that. And even Robin Walker comes along, and he is from a very different school of thought. He is very Miesian in his thought.

He is looking at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, and still his building emerges from the ground as if it is anchored and means to be there.

Similarly Paddy Rooney’s agriculture building is pretty 1980s post-brutalist… and again it has this palette of materials that works.”

“[The buildings] are to be built and dispersed in a very connected, organised way off the walkway. The walkway turns corners, it cants, it shifts its horizon. It is not that emphatic.

It is open both sides. It’s only emphatic nature is that it’s very low, so it keeps you sheltered. Even on a bicycle, when you’re higher up it still really works with your scale. Wheelchair, walking, buggy, cycling – very tall very small it works with human movement. I feel that is the genius”.

When asked what was her favourite building of UCD, Rowley answered “For me it is this building [The Tierney Building]. All of these stairs. This is a really luxurious space, it is like a baroque room, so much of the space of this building is about circulation; the generosity of free space that Shelly and Yvonne [of Grafton Architects] were talking about last year in Venice [when they curated the ‘Discovering Venice: Free Space’ exhibition at the Biennale Architettura 2018]. This wouldn’t happen now, this little area here, because it is unprogrammed.

That is what Robin Lee tried to do with the Confucius Institute. He tried to make loads of unprogrammed space because in a university there is such a diversity of function needed.”

However, a problem which has consistently been faced by Irish architecture for generations is that, as so deftly put by Rowley; “this generation of buildings, from the 1940s to the 1980s are the generation of buildings we love to hate. We have this consensual hatred and, as a result, their value is down the toilet.” In an age where the campus of UCD is changing before our eyes Belfield 50 could not have come at a more pertinent time; “Only by intellectualising; finding out why something was built, who built it, where they came from - the whys, whats and hows of a structure, and constructing the history… do you unveil... the whole interpretative world, phenomenology, of that building - the whole life of that building.”

Yet Rowley equally acknowledged

that the architecture and inhabitation of the buildings must be sympathetic to the current user; “there are various publics here; there is the student body, which comes and goes – which is really invested at the time but it is transient.

There is the staff, which is probably the most invested, and then within the staff there are academics [and] there are administrative staff.

[Within] the administrative staff there are the Estates Staff, who are in charge of the buildings.

For Estates, these buildings speak a language of obsolescence. They are over 40 years old, they have had enough. They are really unadaptable, especially the concrete buildings, and so then some of the more hybrid [roles], like librarians, who are both academics and administrators, find the building really difficult to deal with.

They are getting small pots of money, and they [are trying to informalize] all spaces.” Yet since these efforts are short-term, and building specific Rowley admits; “[a lot of] work [which] has been done of late is really problematic and really reflects the lack of value around the original meaning, impact and intention that these buildings had. The architectural intention is disappearing.”

“I mean the architecture isn’t a story that is told as we know, it is very fringe, very peripheral, but because the campus is developing in new ways this was an opportunity to celebrate the whole campus as a layered entity. Obviously I am more interested in the old stuff but the future of campus is extremely important with the Stephen Holl development and obviously the university wants to be proud and loud about that because it is ‘star-chitetcure’.”

As part of the Belfield 50 celebration, Rowley and Finola O’Kane Crimmins, a Professor in the School of Architecture, will co-edit a book of essays on UCD; “that unpacks old scholarship and brings new scholarship to the fore, keeping the campus as a central thread”. Rowley is also constructing a walk-through experience for the campus; “an architectural walking tour which is downloadable on SoundCloud. It will be a forty minute long experience. I would like to overlay other pertinent voices on the campus, so when you stop somewhere, you hear about a certain initiative in a certain building, not just the bricks and mortar, the concrete blocks.”

Finally, an exhibition will be held, celebrating the campus. As part of the Belfield 50 initiative Rowley is also teaching Masters students in the School of Architecture; “working with them, seeing the campus through their lens, through their eyes and uncovering the research, new archival research, with the students. So there is a pedagogical slant to it.”

FEATURES The Science Building JV Downes 1964

O’ Reilly Hall Scott Tallon Walker 1995

The Tierney Building Originally known as The Administration Building Andrzej Wejchert 1971-1973 RIAI Gold Medal Winner

The Agricultural Science Building Paddy Rooney 1977

James Joyce Library Sir Basil Spence 1973

The Newman Building Originally known as the Arts, Law and Commerce Building Andrzej Wejchert 1970

Eight Ways to Spend €7.5 million

The Restaurant Building Robin Walker 1968-1970 RIAI Gold Medal Winner

You and 33 friends can take a trip to beyond the earth’s atmosphere, having an out-of-this-world party while you orbit the earth through Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism company.

1,973,684 pints of Foster’s in the Clubhouse.

You could pay for the accomodation of 1282 students for this college year.

1.5 million student meal deals in the SU shops.

2.3 million Dublin Bus journeys.

You can employ 5 counsellors for 50 years.

1071 One year Master’s programmes.

1 Office.

8th October 2019

9

FEATURES

Is Go Vegan changing the advertising standards?

Rory Clarke delves into the prominent Go Vegan campaign, taking a look at its singularly unapologetic advertising methodology.

Some advertising campaigns are subtle and creep up on us, delicately converting people to opinions and states of mind. Others shout at you, from every direction, “HERE I AM!”. The Go Vegan campaign sits firmly in the latter category. There are few in Ireland unfamiliar with the striking campaign. In recent years the provocative billboards have widely proliferated our society.

The campaign, which describes itself as a public advocacy group, is notorious for its provocative images and captions, such as “They trust us. We butcher them” accompany images of lambs being fed on a farm. Other notable and provocative captions include “Dairy takes mothers from their babies” and “She has one precious life. Will your dinner take it?”

The group’s primary goal is to challenge the legal status of animals as property. Founder of Go Vegan World, Sandra Higgins, in an open letter on their website describes how “a vegan world is only the starting point; our goal must be [animals’] freedom from us”. Launched in celebration of World Vegan Month in 2015 in Ireland, the eye-catching campaign caught the imagination of a public more attuned than ever to alternative lifestyles such as veganism. Such was the success of the campaign that it extended to other countries in 2016 under the banner of Go Vegan World, and has since become a global campaign.

The campaign, never shying away from conflict, often actively targets certain areas

which are dairy and farming heartlands. The billboard erected on the main thoroughfare out of Castleisland in 2018, gained national notoriety after locals took exception to its presence in a town “heavily reliant on agriculture and farming”. Shane McAuliffe, of McAuliffe Pig Producers, spearheaded this protest in an open letter to the campaign. He explained that while he had “no issues with how someone should live their life or what lifestyle choice they choose, [he did] have issues with people whose sole aim is to close down Irish family farms”.

Unsurprisingly, this impassioned defence triggered the questioning of the true objective of the campaign. Were they simply an aggressive movement to highlight the cruelties of non-veganism, and thus promoting their own lifestyle choice or was their aim more discreet, and for that, more sinister? Were they anti-farmer? Was it a negative campaign, designed to alienate and shame all non-vegans into conversion?

Virtue signalling, the conspicuous expression of moral values, is becoming ever more prolific, as people adapt increasingly singular and niche views. Each are convinced that their own is the only way, and fear becoming zealotic in their determination to convert. Are they shaming others with the actual aim of conversion, or merely to flaunt their own superior morals? There are other campaigns that preach the benefits of veganism, rather than the flaws, as they may be, of a carnivorous and dairy-inclusive

life. Many argue that these positive campaigns are actually more effective, as it avoids playing on the ‘social-Nazi’ label which many ascribe to vegans, and which is a significant deterrent to those contemplating veganism.

However, Go Vegan World founder Sandra Higgins refuted this suggestion and states that their billboard adverts “show animals for who they are. The ads merely refer to standard, legal practices inherent in all forms of animal use. These allegations serve the purpose of distracting from the real victims: animals at slaughterhouses who are killed for something we do not need. Go Vegan World does not condone threatening or abusive behaviour to anyone - other animals, vegan activists, or farmers.

We are not against farmers; we are against animal use”.

Although Higgins is technically correct that they don’t threaten farmers, it is appropriate to question whether or not this position stands up in reality. Rather than threatening the farmers, the campaigns threaten their livelihoods and social and moral standing. Higgins is technically correct that the advertisements don’t condone abuse - but their campaign has been consistently linked with death threats sent to notable farmers by ardent vegans.

Higgins also mounted a frontal media assault on the National Dairy Council’s campaign, which many described as a counter-attack to the Go Vegan campaign. Its lead ad, where a youngster berates a woman for ordering an ‘oat-milk latté’ - apart from being familiar to many millenials - was subject to a barrage of complaints. 109 complaints were lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland

(ASAI)I within a week - where in the previous year 126 complaints in total had been directed at food and drink advertisements.

Although the ASAI refused to disclose the number of complaints which have been made to it regarding the Go Vegan campaign itself, there is anecdotal evidence of people registering complaints under section 3.20 of that code which details that “They [Campaigns] should not use offensive or provocative copy or images merely to attract attention.” It is important to note that what the ASAI describes as ‘distasteful’ advertisements may yet be code-compliant.

Donations to the campaign increased tenfold between 2016 and 2017, with the majority of the €1 million euro donated coming from an anonymous sources. Of these donors, Go Vegan’s website says only that they are ‘like-minded’ individuals and that, as the campaign is not a registered charity, they have no obligation to disclose the identities or amounts concerned.

The animals featured on some of the billboards hail from Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary, which was founded by Higgins in 2008.

“A vegan home” in Co.Meath, Eden’s residents (the animals) taught the campaign’s founder about the “personhood” of animals and inspired her to become the ‘at-the-coal-face’ activist she is now.

Whatever your thoughts on veganism, or on Go Vegan World’s push to convert wider society, it is clear that it is a singularly unapologetic campaign - perhaps emblematic of the stricken and divided world in which we live.

The “Environmental Vandalism” of Tallaght’s Wetlands A newly-discovered wetland is in peril after a dumping of silt by the local county council; Alex Hale investigates.

On a Saturday in September, Collie Ennis ventured to The Sean Walsh Memorial Park in Tallaght to check on a wetland he recently discovered. What he found didn’t resemble a habitat at all: the area had been completely decimated. Ennis, a research associate at Trinity College, and science officer at the Herpetological Society of Ireland, discovered an enormous amount of silt on top of the wetland, the workings of a dump by the local county government. The effects of this ill-considered disposal of silt on Tallaght’s natural wetlands will be felt for years to come, and for decades if action is not taken soon.

The South Dublin County Council claimed responsibility for the dump, just months after committing to protect the area in coordination with the Herpetological Society.

Ennis had presented his findings to the Council, and preservation plans for the wetlands were instituted into the Council’s six-year plan for Tallaght. Goodwill between the two sides’ cooperation was represented through an April tweet by the Herpetological Society, expressing support of the Council’s plan after a “productive meeting” about conserving the area. A more recent tweet on September 21 reflected that the society showed a change in tune to the Council’s actions, deeming the dump “environmental vandalism.”

Following local uproar over the discovery, the

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tweet on September 21 reflected that the society showed a change in tune to the Council’s actions, deeming the dump “environmental vandalism.”

Following local uproar over the discovery, the Council released a statement regarding the dump. It expressed dismay for what happened, but argued that it followed standard policy. “Following these works in Sean Walsh Park, the silt mounds were levelled. The council will immediately review the practice of the disposal of silt drained from lakes. However, best practice dictates that the material removed is placed as close to the origin as possible.”

The statement did not appease the criticism, drawing backlash from ecological leaders in the community. Green Party Councillor Liam Sinclair was “disappointed” with the Council’s statement, and said that the news of the destroyed wetland “was like getting a blow to the solar plexus.” He stated: “The response to it has been completely wrong. They should’ve put their hand up and admitted they made a mistake and got straight back in there and start to fix the problem.”

Councillor Mick Duff said in a tweet that a new statement will be made, while also saying that the Council admitted that “spreading the sieved silt removed from lakes across the Wetlands was a mistake.” Ennis told the University Observer: “The law has been clear about

the protection of this habitat. It was heartbreaking for me.”

Ennis discovered the affected area in December 2018, reporting the undiscovered habitat to the Council and receiving the aforementioned protections. He called the area “unique” in The Times, most notably because of the rarity for this sort of habitat to develop in an urban area. “It was a miracle, a mosaic of habitats, with muds, grassy areas, reed beds, willow trees — everything you can imagine within a small space,” he told The Times.

Within the habitat, there lived the protected smooth newt and common frog species, as well as the endangered European eel. Jane Stout, professor of botany at Trinity College, commented on the impact of wetlands in a blog post. She said that wetlands are “important habitats for humans, contribute to immediate and vital solutions to climate change and provide an amazing place for wildlife to live.”

The dumped silt, according to Ennis’s estimation, covered about 80-90 percent of the wetland area with what the environmentalist called “waste” that “should’ve gone to landfill.”

The destruction’s reach will run further than just these wetlands, as well. Since the damaged area connects to surrounding waterways, the destructive forces will spread throughout the ecosystem, causing a continuous cycle of corrosion.

“As we get rainfall, that filth is going to wash back into the same stream, back into the same pond and re-silt it. [Dumping here] just makes no sense at all.” Ennis said. Although

damage to the area is inevitable at this point, acting quickly to remove the silt could potentially aid the wetland’s recovery time.

According to Ennis, if action to remove the silt was taken within days of the dumping, then the wetland “won’t be pretty initially,” but would recover within a couple of years. If action is not taken quickly, the effects can last 20-40 years. Along with many words regarding environmental degradation, Ennis pointed out a more political issue at hand, as well. “This is not just a biodiversity thing. I cannot see a more affluent area accepting their local council going down, dredging the river and pond, and then dumping much of that out onto their parks.”

Others’ responses to the dump labeled it political dysfunction, calling for better governance regarding the environment. Sinclair told GreenNews.ie that the Council did not “acknowledge the importance of the wetland area,” and Stout wrote that “it’s about time that nature was put first.”

“This incident is a classic illustration of our continuing failure, despite formal recognition of the biodiversity and climate crisis, to put coherent environmental policies into practice,” The Irish Times said in an editorial.

In terms of moving forward, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) investigation unit has reached out to the Council to try and find out more about the incident.

STUDENT VOICES

The Cost Of Being A Woman Doireann de Courcy Mac Donnell As a young woman in a (generally) progressive, optimistic society, it really bothers me how expensive it is not to become pregnant.

Twice a year I visit my GP to renew my prescription, which costs €60 each time. I have to buy my contraceptive pill every month, which can range from €11 to €14, depending on the pharmacy and brand. In short, for me not to fall pregnant it costs me the guts of 300 quid a year. Considering I began taking my pill when I was eighteen, and estimating I will be able to conceive for the guts of thirty more years, that brings the total financial burden to approximately €9,000; €2,000 more than my Masters of Architecture.

And whatever about getting knockedup, chemical contraceptives do nothing to prevent STIs. Condoms add a further cost to a safe bedroom. I count myself lucky that I can budget every month to pay for it, but I am sure that this is not the same for others. It is desperately unfair.

What perhaps I find most troubling is that, according to the Department of Health, should I fall pregnant, it would cost me nothing to terminate it. In the run up to the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment, the ‘vote no’ side used the argument that ‘free abortions’ would encourage promiscuity and unsafe sex throughout their campaign. Whatever side of the highly emotive argument you fall on, I find it hard to believe that anyone would argue that an every-day, unobtrusive contraceptive should be financially less accessible than an abortion.

I have no qualms about having to visit my GP to be prescribed my contraceptive in the first place. I have a good relationship with my GP and count myself lucky that she is extremely knowledgeable and creative having, in college, specialised in contraceptive health. It was comforting to be guided through a process which ultimately would change my body’s natural chemistry. After my first prescription I revisited my GP after

three months, just to make sure there were no unforeseen side effects. My next prescription lasted for six months, and once again I was comforted by the fact I was being monitored. However, four years on, I take issue with having to renew it every six months.

I am fine. I have taken my contraceptive at 7.45am everyday for the past four years. I have no side effects and, on the contrary, have found it has eased some of my PMS. I do not need a check-up every six months. I could probably begrudgingly attend once a year - although at this stage, even that seems a little excessive. And the appointment itself; checking my blood pressure and asking how I am feeling does not quantify a €60 session to me. I have taken to renewing my prescription when I am visiting my doctor for other reasons, so it does not feel like a waste of my money and time. Even if the appointment

was half-price I would take issue with it, since it is not by my choice that I attend.

As it stands, free contraceptives are available in Ireland to holders of medical cards.

And after the Eighth Amendment was repealed, Minister for Health Simon Harris claimed; “if our underlying principle is that abortion should be safe, legal and rare, then we must do all we can to reduce the number of crisis pregnanies and support women in every way”. He said that he hoped that the number of women to which free contraceptives are open to would have changed by the end of the year. I directly beseech the Department of Health; help me and my friends, because it takes two to become pregnant, to protect ourselves and our futures.

The thing is, I love my pill. It is my personal protection - safeguarding my immediate future. It works well with my body. But it is in-

credibly frustrating to consider it a luxury. Even using the word ‘luxury’ triggers the infuriating notion of all women’s menstrual products being seen as discretionary.

I understand that this issue is highly emotive and personal. This column was not written to push my beliefs and opinions on anyone. Rather it was written as a result of my frustration, that the difference between two girls becoming pregnant could come down to money.

As a side note I would highly encourage everyone to avail of the free condoms provided by the Students’ Union, although it seems awkward the staff are always friendly and discreet.

Again, they’re free.

“Poland’s a very conservative country and the Catholic church is idolized, the priests are idolized so God forbid you talk badly about the church or about the priests.” Andrea Andres Matylda, from Poland, talks about being at [She] was crying in the mornings. [She] was odds against Polish culture, the culture shock of begging my mum not to take [her].” Despite secondary school and being the coolest kid in the having some English thanks to lessons, she felt like she was at “point zero” because of accents. block.

Recollecting her memories of her first day of “I was eight when I came here,” Matlyda recalls. school in Ireland: “Even though I understood a “My dad had come here three years before. I bit of English, I couldn’t understand anyone bethink there was a big kind of depression in Po- cause of the accents. It felt like I had no English land. A lot of people lost their jobs and Ireland at all. I got really lucky because I had a Polish girl was booming around the time of the Celtic Ti- in my class so she could speak Polish. She didn’t ger. He moved first and he spent three years in seem too happy at first. We were 8 and she had to act as my translator. It’s not the easiest for a Ireland on his own.”

Matylda and her mother stayed behind kid, but because of her we later became really in the “small city” of Jastrzębie Zdrój situated good friends“ But she had an overall positive exin the south of Poland. His three year absence perience in her “fairly [culturally] mixed” primawasn’t marked in Matylda’s mind; “I didn’t no- ry school. “My school did provide me with extra tice it that much.” But it made his visits to Poland English classes. Half way through third class I “more exciting.” He would come home bearing was fairly well adjusted,” A “culture shock” occurred to her in gifts and allowed her to “[get] away with a lot of stuff” such as not having to attend school so secondary school. “I moved to a school in the “could spend time with him instead.” She fondly city centre, up in Dublin One and pretty much remembered getting a Wii for her Communion. everyone was Irish” she said. “I kind of didn’t “I was unheard of. It hadn’t been on the market develop an Irish accent. I had a very neutral acin Poland and I got it. All my friends were like: cent that suddenly made me stand out. In pri“That is so cool!” I was like the coolest person mary school it didn’t matter because there were so many different accents. But suddenly against in our apartment block.”

Matylda’s father eventually the Irish accent my neutral accent stood out a lot brought his family to Ireland. “He had bet- and people would make fun of that. I very quickter prospects and he felt that he could support ly tried to adapt a stronger accent because a lot us even if my mum didn’t have a job straight of people found it weird. I did get kind of bulaway,” she said. “He decided it would be better lied for that. The Irish thing again, just culture, for everyone to move, to be together as a family like slang words. I felt like I missed out on that rather than live in two separate countries where because of my primary school. Not a lot of that was taken into consideration because everyone it just gets iffy.”

She describes her first few weeks as was so mixed, while here it was very much so that “terrifying.” “[She] didn’t want to go to school. people spoke a certain way, people behaved a

certain way and when you didn’t fit in to that it was very much “so you’re different”, and that’s bad.”

“Even though a lot of people tell me when I speak to them that they can’t tell that I’m Polish until they see the way that my name and surname are spelled where then they realize that ‘Oh you’re probably a foreigner’, but they can’t tell from the way I look or speak.” But in Poland, Matylda stands out and “sticks out like a sore thumb.” “I speak like an old person. I don’t know any slang. I am missing some words. My vocabulary is more basic than a lot of people my age so it’s a lot harder to make conversation with them. I didn’t grow up in the culture and my connections from the culture were cut off at the age of eight. Even though I come back for the summer to visit my grandparents, my interactions with people are limited to family and people at the stores. Because I left so early, it’s hard to keep in contact with people so I wouldn’t have friends that I would have kept in touch with because I was eight. I didn’t have best friends. Even now I don’t remember half the names of the people I was in class with. It’s kind of lonely in Poland to be honest aside from the family.” Her remaining connections to Poland are through her family, language, and food.

She’s also at odds against the conservative culture of Poland. “The culture shock is huge and it’s definitely there. Poland’s a very conservative country and the Catholic church is idolized, the priests are idolized so God forbid you talk badly about the church or about the priests. I remember I mentioned that as well and it sparked up a huge debate.

It’s very, very different. Even stuff as simple as tattoos, I was going to get my first tattoo during the Summer in Poland because it’s a lot cheaper in Poland. I remember I asked my granny not to tell the rest of my family because I knew they wouldn’t react well even though it’s a lot more normal now. It’s still very much so that “oh thugs or gangsters”, people who don’t have an education, people who don’t care about themselves get tattoos. When we were celebrating my granddad’s birthday, my granny after a few drinks brought it up. I remember my entire family turned against me so quickly to the point that I cancelled my first tattoo in Poland. I waited until I came back here to Ireland even though it was more expensive. I’d rather get it done outside of their influence. When I come back they know it’s already been done and they can’t influence it. They just have to deal with the fact that I already had it done.”

She sees herself as a “weird mixed breed” who’s “not quite there.” She doesn’t belong to “either place.” She doesn’t feel quite as Polish as those more in tune with Polish culture through TV, music, traditions or religion.

But she doesn’t feel quite Irish either because of “missing a huge chunk of the culture like the food and everything else and [she’s] not in touch with that at all.” “Some parts of me, like food wise I have a preference towards Polish food and I speak very highly of Polish food.” She concludes: “Polish food totally beats down Irish food in my opinion.”

8th October 2019

11

SCIENCE

Return To The Pre-Penicillin World Did the omnipresent use of antibiotics lead to the development of resistant strains in bottlenose dolphins? Vanshika Dhyani investigates.

The World Health Organisation regards antibiotic resistance as a threat to global health and food security. In the summer of 2003, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution conducted an extensive health assessment alongside Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research. Scientists examined over 733 samples collected from 171 dolphins.

It was concluded that 88% of the samples contained at least one pathogen that showed resistance towards an antibiotic. Data recorded over a period of thirteen years suggested that antibiotic resistance in bottlenose dolphins, mimics the antibiotic resistance developed by humans.

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistant bacteria make their way into the seawater via untreated wastewater containing an appalling quantity nitrates and phosphates. These chemicals give the bacteria the leverage of evading antibiotics. Scientists suggest that the resistance to broad spectrum antibiotics in various strains of E. coli has increased by a factor of two from 2009 to 2015. Public Health England discovered a shocking nineteen new types of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the last decade, itself.

Studies have led researchers to anticipate the ill effects of antibiotic resistance on public health.

Over half of the population of the United States lives along coastal freshwater or marine ecosystems, living with a risk of developing drug-resistance. Apex predators are known to reflect the condition of the ecosystem. Their health is a direct indicator of the health of our ecosystem, since marine mammals are often laden with zoonotic pathogens that are easily transferable to

other animals and humans, posing an astronomical public health risk.

The research conducted to investigate the genetic behaviour in Bottlenose Dolphins extricated samples from Indian River Lagoon, Florida and Charleston Harbor area, South Carolina. Two different sites were chosen to ensure that samples were collected from an area characterized by a mix of residential, urban, agricultural, and undeveloped territory. Interestingly, the location where the sample was collected from, played an integral role in determining whether the animals showed resistant towards at least one isolated antibiotic. Upon observing the influence of antibiotic resistance in organisms cultured from the Indian River Lagoon and Charleston Harbor area, it was concluded that the results were similar.

“Unlike humans, wild dolphins are not taking antibiotics and seeing an increase in resistance among the dolphin isolates was not expected,” A Kirby–Bauer test was conducted to examine the antibiotic sensitivity of bacteria. Once standardised concentration of antibiotics were determined-by employing techniques of antibiotic resistance, screening-Antibiograms were built. (Antibiogram refers to tabulated data that depicts the susceptibility of pathogens towards antibiotics). When the data was analysed collectively, four different antibiotics were found to be ineffective in Bottlenose Dolphins from the capture sites. It was revealed that E. coli extracted from Indian River Lagoon had a high-

er resistance to piperacillin, tetracycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole as compared to isolates from Charleston Harbor area. Most samples showed antibiotic resistance towards erythromycin (91.4%), followed by clindamycin (87%), ampicillin (77.2%), cephalothin (53.3%), piperacillin (51.1%), and amoxicillin clavulanate (46.1%).

Dr. Gregory Bossart, who has been studying wildlife pathology marine mammals, for over three decades believes that “Antibiotic resistance is one of the most significant risks to public health,”. He believes that an increase in antibiotic resistance will lead to a significant decrease in the probability of successfully treating infections. Adam Schaefer, an epidemiologist at Florida Atlantic University pin-points the adversity: “It is concerning because it means that antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotics are getting into the marine environment. Once in the environment, the resistance genes are being exchanged between bacteria in the water, some of these bacteria are potential human pathogens.” The trend, he says, appears to mirror the pattern of antibiotic resistance developed in humans. In recent years, the seawater has started to operate as a massive reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes, at a global scale. Pharmaceuticals building up in the sea water lead to an extensive and chronic exposure of medicinal chemicals to aquatic life.

“The increasing resistance is a sign that

human activity is affecting the coastal environments where the dolphins live.” Adam Schaefer, told Inverse. “Unlike humans, wild dolphins are not taking antibiotics, and seeing an increase in resistance among the dolphin isolates was not expected,”

Schaefer believes that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are either being released into the water along with chemical waste or antibiotics are being discharged, transforming bacterial populations. “Both processes are likely going on,” he presumes.

Antibiotic resistance is referred to as a ‘Silent Tsunami’ because it has become a global challenge that threatens our entire biosphere.

With the ability to treat common infectious diseases at stake, antibiotic resistances puts medical advances like surgeries in jeopardy. A recent study conducted by University of Southern California found antibiotic resistance gene prevalent in groundwater. Researchers anticipate 6 out of 10 people carry multidrug-resistant bacteria along with their normal bacterial flora, in some regions. Antibiotic resistance is said to be accelerated by the abuse of antibiotics,along with inadequate infection prevention and control. In 2015 the World Health Assembly presented their global action plan which aims to tackle antimicrobial resistance by ensuring prevention and treatment of microbial diseases with safe, effective and potent medicines.

From Studying Mammoths To Underrepresentation In STEM There’s No Challenge Too Big For Dr. Beth Shapiro Prior to Receiving the George Sigerson Award from UCD Lillian Loescher interviews Dr. Beth Shapiro.

The UCD Biological Society gives out the George Sigerson Award for Inspiring Aspiring Scientists approximately once a year to a scientist who has not only contributed greatly to the field of Biology but acts as a role model for the future generation of scientists who are just beginning their careers. In 2017 the Biological Society gave this award to Nobel prize winner Sir. Paul Nurse for his genetic research with the cdc2 gene, a gene that is responsible for encoding a kinase enzyme that “ensures the cell is ready to copy its DNA and divide”. This year the Biological Society gave this prestigious award to Dr. Beth Shapiro for her research into ancient DNA and for her commitment to supporting scientists in under-represented groups.

Sitting in a lecture hall at the University College Dublin campus a crowd of onlookers awaited the much anticipated talk by Dr. Beth Shapiro.

Between the eager students and astute lecturers everyone could feel the buzzing energy in the room. Dr. Shapiro strolled in with grace and began to describe her past and current research projects.

Dr. Shapiro, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute runs the UCSC Paleogenomics lab. In this lab they are interested in using genetic material that can be recovered from things that used to be alive to learn about how species, populations and communities adapt to climate change.

In our interview with Dr. Shapiro, she describes her research as “using the past as if it were a completed natural experiment. [We] hope that we can learn from the past new things that we

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can apply while coming up with new ideas [or] new approaches to conserving and protecting species that are still alive”.

We are all taught to not judge a book by its cover and this is literally true in the case of Dr. Shapiro’s book titled: How to Clone A Mammoth where she explores the process of her work in depth. While the mammoth is not the main focus of her research, she explains that a mammoth “is a large exciting animal that we could use to engage people on the idea of using technologies [to analyse extinct populations]”. Citing that it is a bit silly to think that we can actually bring a mammoth back to life, Dr. Shapiro offers a different interpretation than is commonly believed. “It depends on what you are willing to accept as a Mammoth. Is it an Elephant that is slightly hairier? Well maybe that will happen in a couple decades…But their ecosystems are gone…The environment that one is surrounded in is just as important [as one’s DNA]” Fascinated with the study of how populations change over time Dr. Shapiro has dedicated a substantial amount of energy trying to answer questions like: how big was the population, what impact did the first human contact have on the population, what do these creatures look like, how did they act, why did they change over time, what caused this change? Working in conjunction with a larger project called The Genome 10K project, Dr. Shapiro and other scientists are trying hard “to understand how complex animal life evolved through changes in DNA and use this knowledge to become better stewards of the planet”. Making the age-old adage “there is no better predictor of the future than the past” come to life Dr. Shapiro describes

that by comparing populations that are extinct to populations that have survived very long periods of time we can potentially learn what it is that makes some species resistant to extinction or more resilient when things are happening in the world.

As more species are becoming extinct, new technologies are being born and growing to the point where it is possible to sequence large amounts of DNA very effectively. Scientists like Dr. Shapiro and those in her research group contribute to the UC Conservation Genomics Consortium, where a multitude of advanced analytical techniques are being developed to better understand the biodiversity of our planet. Dr. Shapiro’s interest in biodiversity runs alongside her vested goal of promoting gender, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity within the study of science.

Describing that the University of California Santa Cruz “recruits heavily from the local community and has a very large first generation Mexican American community”, Dr. Shapiro emphasises that “you need to be open to different people working in your group and in your lab.

I think it is important to have an ethnically and socially diverse group of people because then you have better ideas…I think it has clearly been shown that if you have mixed genders and mixed socioeconomic backgrounds that you end up having a more creative group together because people have different perspectives. It’s really important to do that…When I was an undergrad I used to think this was going to change in my lifetime and it was something that was over, but it hasn’t changed…We need to do a better job supporting women and people who are underrepresented in science”.

As she describes her work and goals of promoting diversity within her realm of reach Dr. Shapiro is very animated in her body language, she is equal parts charismatic and brilliant. A potent combination that would inspire any student, professional or child to pursue their passion with class and vigour. She embodies exactly what is needed in the STEM field. With the Biological Society at UCD giving her The George Sigerson Award for Inspiring Aspiring Scientists a new age of inclusivity within the STEM fields may finally be upon us.

SCIENCE

Eyes, Sleep and the Aging Population Signs of Alzheimer’s disease begin slowly, Lillian Loescher investigates this insidious phenomenon.

Whether it be your grandfather, a neighbour or a close friend of your family everyone seems to know or know of someone who has Alzheimer’s disease. Statistically, about 2 out of every 300 people are currently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, this comes out to be 50 million individuals globally, and there are 10 million new cases every single year. Hallmarked by a decline in cognitive abilities over time, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is not something anyone wants this holiday season.

In the past decade sophisticated positron emission tomography (PET) scans that use tau-specific tracers have been used for clinical diagnosis as well as for the tracking of disease progression. Tau proteins are present in healthy individuals as well as individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The difference is that when an individual has Alzheimer’s disease their Tau proteins no longer function the way that they are meant to, which is to help stabilize important structures in the brain called microtubules.

These microtubules respond to mental events and some scientists believe that the quantum vibrations within these microtubules in the brain are responsible for consciousness. In healthy individuals Tau proteins stick to microtubules. But when an individual has Alzheimer’s disease these Tau proteins detach from microtubules and begin to attach to each other. This results in large Tau tangles, which inevitably disrupt the communication between different regions in the brain.

Tau accumulation in the locus coeruleus and cell death within the locus coeruleus begins very early and is preceded by any noticeable symptoms of cognitive impairment, this is called preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Within the brainstem, a properly functioning locus co-

eruleus is critical for mediating stress responses in the body as well as modulating memory and attention. How an individual’s locus coeruleus functions can be partially detected by how much their eyes dilate during cognitive tasks, such as memorizing flashcards or reading a book. The harder the cognitive task, the greater the pupil dilation.

A study published in the September 2019 issue of The Neurobiology of Aging, scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine explored this pupil dilation phenomenon. The study included men between the ages of 56 and 66 some of whom had genetic predispositions to Alzheimer’s disease and exhibited mild cognitive impairment as well as a set of men who were cognitively normal. The scientists found that the individuals with mild cognitive impairment, which often precedes Alzheimer’s disease, had larger pupil dilation during cognitive tasks as compared to the cognitively normal group. This indicates that early detection of Alzheimer’s disease may be seen with a simple eye screening. The scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have shown a proof of concept study that could save patients and their families thousands of euros.

The Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland had an income of 19.4 million euros in 2018 and has spent over 90% of that income on direct care provision for those with the disease. This includes Day Care, Home Care, Respite, and Information and Advisory Services. The leftover funds, which total between 1% and 9% of their income in 2018 (between 194,000 euro and 1.75 million euro) was used for governance, advocacy, research and fundraising costs. Thus, no matter which way one looks at it, the costs

associated with living with Alzheimer’s disease far outweigh the funding that is given towards research on the disease. It does not take a neurologist to understand the negative feedback loop that this causes. Therefore, early detection of the condition is paramount to breaking this cycle.

In an article published by JAMA Neurology in March 2011 researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that sleep quality is an indicator of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease as well.

The scientists took 145 individuals between the ages of 45 and 75 and looked at samples of each of their spinal fluids for markers of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.

They then analysed each participants sleep quality over a period of 2 weeks. The scientists cited that there is a potential relationship that goes both directions, meaning preclinical Alzheimer’s disease can cause poorer sleep quality and poorer sleep quality can contribute to the development of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. In the end the study found that those with the worst sleep quality where more than 5 times more likely to have preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.

At a different date, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine found that preclinical Alzheimer’s is associated with abnormal mood states, including depression.

Meaning adults who exhibit clinical symptoms of depression are more likely to have preclini-

cal Alzheimer’s disease compared to adults that do not have depression. A study published in JAMA Psychiatry further emphasises this stating that within groups of individuals with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease, “those with elevated anxiety symptoms had a greater decrease in cognitive domains during a 4½-year period than older adults [who also have preclinical Alzheimer’s disease] with non-elevated anxiety symptoms”.

With links to eye pupil dilation, anxiety, depression and sleep quality, preclinical Alzheimer’s begins years or even decades before any cognitive decline. The evidence supporting clear and noticeable symptoms of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease is increasing. Many of these symptoms mask as other illnesses to start with, but as time goes on become part of a common disease shared by 10% of the population that is 65 years or older.

It should be kept in mind that these are the current statistics, and research into preventative measures are plentiful. Researchers at Waterford Institute of Technology and Cambridge University have found that individuals who took special fish oil compounds significantly slowed their onset of Alzheimer’s disease. This is touted as “one of the most important medical advancements of the century”.

In addition, it appears that moderate alcohol intake, not smoking, eating a well-balanced diet, keeping fit and remaining mentally active all help to protect against the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Our Bicycles Are Not ‘Use and Throw’, Then Why Are Our Rockets?

Vanshika Dhyani asks “What does it really mean to be a successful rocket company in the 21st century?”

The new space age has taken over the pop culture with marvellous human and robotic accomplishments and sometimes with equally bizarre conspiracy theories. Which space exploration organizations are on the rise, you ask? It looks like reusability is the new black, when it comes to age old space race. SpaceX, Blue Origin and ISRO are revolutionising the space industry with their ambitious plans to build reusable rockets and rocket parts. SpaceX’s ‘Big Falcon Rocket’ is a completely reusable launch vehicle with spacecraft system. Blue Origin is working away on its two-stage rocket: The New Glenn; while ISRO’s RLV-TD has successfully completed its first atmospheric test flight as at 23 May 2016.

Even though the European Space Agency, the Russian Roscosmos and the Chinese National Space Agency all plan to advance into the world of reusable space technology, no significant efforts have been made to test or build prototypes.

SpaceX’s BFR is completely reusable like the American wide-body commercial jet-Boeing 747.

It is the only company in the world to possess knowledge on how to land rockets safely from hypersonic speed. This follows from the fact that it is the only Engineering company in aeronautics that has all the data for landing rockets vertically. SpaceX started as an independent firm operating on one hundred million dollars from its founder’s pockets. Today it is one of the leading space exploration corporations in the world. “SpaceX was founded one year before

the disaster of ‘Columbia’, in an era where reusable rockets seemed impossible. Its mission is to make human species interplanetary. “I would like to die on Mars.” says Elon Musk.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is an aerospace manufacturer and a sub-orbital spaceflight services provider. The organization’s name refers to Earth- the blue planet- as the point of origin.

The company’s motto is Gradatim Ferociter, Latin for “Step by Step, Ferociously”. The New Glenn rockets are designed for transportation in the Earth’s orbit. They were named after the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, John Glenn. Bezos claimed to be the first one to reuse a rocket, three years after the feat had already been achieved by Musk. The New Shepard, named after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, is a vertical-takeoff and vertical-landing rocket currently being developed by Blue Origin. It is a reusable suborbital rocket system designed to commercialise space. It aims to provide the experience of a lifetime. “Sitting atop a 60-foottall rocket in a capsule designed for six people, you’ll listen to the countdown and then feel the engine ignite and rumble under you as you climb through the atmosphere. Accelerating to more than Mach 3 and experiencing forces equal to three times Earth’s gravitational force, you will count yourself as one of the few who have reached these speeds and crossed into space.

You will then return to Earth as the capsule’s parachutes deploy for a gentle landing back in the West Texas desert.” reads Blue Origin’s

website. “Experience the overview effect firsthand when you fly to space on board New Shepard. At the apex of your 11-minute flight, you will float above the thin limb of the atmosphere and gaze upon the Earth below.”

The Indian Space Research Organization is a government funded agency, unlike SpaceX-owned by the 40th richest man on the planet and Blue Origin-owned by the richest man on the planet. ISRO is known to be cost-effective and result oriented with a budget of only 1.7 Billion USD, per annum. In 2016, RLV’s prototype was launched. It is designed in a fashion similar to the space shuttle and lands horizontally. Its nose is covered by heat resistant material to protect it from its high velocity reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. However, unlike SpaceX’s BFR and Blue Origin’s New Glenn, ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstration Programme will not work on the moon or any of the planets. This is due to the fact that RLV-TD requires a runway for its winged, horizontal landing. This aligns with ISRO’s motto: मानव जाति की सेवा में अंतरिक्ष प्रौद्योगिकी which translates to “Space technology in the Service of humankind”.

After Blue Origin landed its first rocket, space-consumed Jeff Bezos addressed the entire nation. “When you throw a rocket away, an expendable rocket, you use it once and you throw away all that expensive space hardware,” He made the following statement, hoping it would serve as a wakeup call on a global scale: “It’d be like getting in your [Boeing] 747 and flying across the country and then throwing it away, just using it one time. Imagine how expensive traveling would be.”

SpaceX’s founder, Elon Musk believes

that reusing rockets would make space more accessible, practical and affordable. His goal is to reduce the cost of outer space transportation and make interplanetary travel possible. “At this point, I’m highly confident that it’s possible to achieve at least 100-fold reduction in the cost of space access,” he says.

Reusability is at the pinnacle of ISRO’s space craft development. Currently, they are working on a rocket with two reusable stages, the very first of its kind. Chief of ISRO, K Sivan believes that India’s future in space technology is far greater than its low cost launches and missions.

The market for ‘space race’ had been dominated by NASA, Roscosmos and CNSA for many decades. With the demand for reusable space vehicles on the rise, would these organizations be eligible to compete with the aforementioned rockets and rocket prototypes? The global market for rocket launch is anticipated to touch the $7 billion mark in the year 2024, who will get there first?

8th October 2019

13

SCIENCE

Why did the Titanic really Ruby O’Connor evaluates the impact of the climate sink? on the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

What do you think of when you think of the Titanic? The 1997 film hit “Titanic” may lead many to imagine a tragic story with their favourite lovebirds – Jack and Rose. However, the origins of the fatal tale are often forgotten. The RMS Titanic was a passenger ship built by the White Star Line in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Titanic took over two years to build, and was completed in 1912. Equipped with the latest technology, it included reciprocating steam engines, a turbine engine, a double-plated bottom, and sixteen watertight compartments on the hull, and a staggering cost of $7.5 Million (approximately $200m adjusted for inflation) to build. The ship carried 2,224 people, including the crew.

The ship was ironically considered “unsinkable”, although the origins of this belief are debated and found to be largely based in the press reports at the time about the ship.

Nevertheless, the sinking of this enormous vessel– 270 meters long, and more than 28 meters high – resulted in the deaths of 1,514 people. On April 14th, 1912, at 11:40 P.M., The Titanic hit an iceberg, filling several compartments with water, and causing the ship to sink. The main reason for the sheer quantity of deaths from the wreck of this ship was the fact that it did not have enough lifeboats for everyone on the boat.

In fact, they were equipped with a mere 20 lifeboats, that would be enough for only about a third of the passengers. Surprisingly, this was not illegal. The law did not require ships to carry enough lifeboats for all their passengers.

The pop culture phenomenon almost never sparks interest in environmental factors which may have contributed to the sinking of the ship. However, it makes you wonder how are icebergs even formed? Icebergs are sculpted through a process called iceberg calving, where chunks of ice slides off glaciers and plunges

into the water. The icebergs encountered by the Titanic were likely formed in Greenland, and promptly carried northwest by the West Greenland Current. The West Greenland current ends at the furthest west point of Greenland, and intercepts with the Labrador Current, which runs down alongside Newfoundland and Labrador on the Canadian coast. The icebergs are then carried by the Labrador Current south and very slightly east, at which point-if they have survived this journey,- they intercept with the North Atlantic Corridor, the route taken by the Titanic.

It may come as a surprise to reveal that icebergs rarely float down in high numbers to the location at which the Titanic collided with the iceberg, at around latitude 41° north. Rarely do they cross south of latitude 48° north. But, in a study published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the Royal Meteorological Society, Bigg and Wilton assert that “1912 was indeed unusual, with 1038 icebergs observed to cross 48°N”. They also explain that “in 1912, the peak number of icebergs for the year was recorded in April, whereas normally this occurs in May, and there were nearly two and a half times as many icebergs as in an average year.” In recent years, scientists have investigated what factors in the climate permitted larger numbers of icebergs to travel all the way down to the North Atlantic corridor. As it seems, the immediate weather conditions encountered by the ship, as well as long term factors such as increased iceberg calving, temperature, and wind all contributed to a high risk of the Titanic encountering an iceberg in the North Atlantic corridor.

The immediate weather conditions on the night the Titanic sank may have contributed in distinct ways to the ship sinking. Bigg and Wilton argue that at the time of the collision, the ship was in a high pressure area which extend-

ed from Novia Scotia to Ireland, causing “near freezing” winds to “transport […] icebergs and sea ice further south than is currently normal for the time of year, but not beyond the known limits to icebergs during the twentieth century.”

This cold wind could thus have contributed to the survival of icebergs to the location at which the collision occurred. Another theory, “the superior mirage”, takes into account the temperature of the air and water at the time of the crash. According to Perspecta Weather, the air temperature was “in the low 40s to near freezing”. The “superior mirage” is an optical phenomenon where warm air, sitting atop colder air bends light rays downwards, warping vision.

The theory asserts that the weather conditions may have generated a superior mirage and inhibited the crew of the Titanic from seeing the iceberg soon enough, or even interfered with the ability of crews of other ships to see the Titanic and its warning flares.

Biggs and Wilton assert that there was an enhanced risk of icebergs in 1912 due to weather in Greenland in the year of 1908. They say that it was “a moderately warm and wet year over Greenland” which “produced enhanced snow accumulation”. This snow in turn, according to the study “gradually soaked through cracks in the ice sheet and accumulated around

its margins, which probably led to enhanced short‐term outlet glacier sliding, with resulting enhanced calving.”. In this way, Biggs and Wilton determine the cause of the enhanced number of icebergs in the shipping lane in the North Atlantic.

In contrast, they reject the astrological theory put forth by Olsen et al. in 2012 that the close position of the Moon to the Earth increased tidal stress, and therefore iceberg calving in Greenland. They also reject another common climate theory put forth by Lawrence in 2000 that low sunspot years in the cycle are associated with an increased risk of icebergs. This is done on the basis that the correlation efficient is -0.043, which is not a very strong association.

Although the sinking of the Titanic cannot be solely attributed to external factors, it is not unreasonable to say that the climate did indeed play a role in the risks it undertook sailing in April 1912. Other causes, such as proximity of other ships, and number of rescue boats aboard certainly could have saved lives. However, the climate in the years before, and in the immediate context of the Titanic’s journey increased its risk of collision with icebergs.

Weight Gain and Obesity – Is It All in Your Head?

With the rising cost of education and income inequality, Moxie Lofton asks if UCD should make its fees proportional to parental income?

From the global obesity epidemic to yo-yo-dieting, to the recent rise of social movements like the body positivity movement, body weight and particularly obesity are hot topics of conversation. Body weight is determined by multiple factors – the interaction between genetics, environment, psychology and social factors influences the way we intake and expend energy. Obesity is the excessive accumulation of fat which affects one’s health and reduces life expectancy. It is defined via body-mass index or BMI, calculated by dividing the weight of an individual by the square of their height. According the World Health Organisation (WHO), a BMI of 25-29kg/m2 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater is considered obese. The exact role of genetics in weight gain and obesity is not fully understood. However, a recent study conducted by researchers in the university of Gothenburg, suggests that the risk of weight gain can be linked to the interlukin-6

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(IL-6) neurotransmitter in the brain that affects whether we gain or lose weight. Hence, influencing our risk of obesity.

Mouse models are the most common experimental animals in obesity genetics as mice experience obesity in a way that is comparable to humans. In the experiment mentioned above, mice were fed regular food as well as calorie rich foods (a mixture of fats and sugars).

Results from this study, suggest that male mice with reduced levels of IL-6 neurotransmitter located in the parabrachial area of the brain had put on more body fat and become obese. To confirm their results, the researchers altered the genes of the mice with higher levels of IL-6 neurotransmitters so that they had less levels of this neurotransmitter in the brain. These gene altered rats once again put on more body fat and gained weight. This study led researchers to believe that brain-induced IL-6 influences the risk of obesity.

“Being overweight or obese is the 5th leading cause of death worldwide and it is estimated that at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese.”

The parabrachial area is a small area in

the brain stem, which functions include regulating food intake. IL-6 is a protein that plays a role in the immune response by alerting the body to infection and mediating inflammation.

In the past, studies have investigated the relationship between IL-6 and obesity, as obesity is often accompanied by chronic low-grade inflammation and increased levels of IL-6 in the blood. These increased levels of IL-6 are due to the increased production of IL-6 by adipocytes or fat cells. While circulating levels of IL-6 are increased with obesity, the levels of IL-6 in the brain are reduced. The exact mechanism for how IL-6 contributes to obesity is not well understood, however various studies have linked IL-6 to appetite and metabolism which is the way our bodies regulate and maintain energy.

In one study mice that had their IL-6 gene deleted increased in body fat and gained weight. In contrast, obese mice who had IL-6 transferred into them had reduction in body weight. In humans, studies have shown that patients being treated for inflammatory disease using IL-6 inhibitors (drugs that decrease the level of IL-6) experience increased weight gain.

Why is understanding the role of IL-6 in obesity important? Obesity is a global health issue affecting people in the developed and, more recently, people in the developing areas.

In 2016, more than 650 million adults (aged 20 years and older) were obese and the number of obese individuals increases each year. Being

obese is a major risk factor for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, some cancers, sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease. This is because increased body fat leads to changes in bodily functions – these changes are dependent on where in the body the excess fat accumulates. Obese individuals with excess fat in the stomach region are at increased risk of negative health outcomes. Being overweight or obese is the 5th leading cause of death worldwide and it is estimated that at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. This global epidemic of obesity results from a combination of the increased availability of high-energy foods, socioeconomic-dependent access to healthy foods, the decreased requirement for physical activity due to technological advances and genetic susceptibility.

“However, current pharmacological treatment for weight loss are limited.”

Current guidelines for obesity treatment recommend that individuals who after 6 months of treatment fail to respond to lifestyle changes, such as diet changes and increased physical activity, and have a BMI of > 30 kg/ m2 or a BMI of > 27 kg/m2 with an obesity-related condition may be considered for weight loss medication treatment. However, current pharmacological treatment for weight loss are limited. Better understanding of how IL-6 is linked to obesity in humans may lead to the development of novel drug therapies to treat obesity. However, additional studies are needed to assess the potential side effects that IL-6 may induce due to its function in the inflammatory immune response.

GAEILGE

Raidió trí mheán na Gaeilge.

Tá guth na Gaelgeoirí sa tír fós le cloisteáil go láidir agus go soiléir gach lá ar líne, ar an teilifís agus ar an raidió. Le Shane MacDomhnaill Tá réim ollmhór ag tionscal na raidió in Éirinn sa lá ata inniú ann. Éisteann 85% den daonra sa Phoblacht le seirbhís raidió ar aon lá faoi leith.

In ainneoin an mhóréilimh seo, ní chuireann na stáisiúin príomhshruthacha tuilleadh ar fáil do Ghaeilgeoirí.

De réir staidéar déanta ag an Dr. John Walsh ó NUIG agus an Dr. Rosemary Day ó UL, ní chuirtear ach 3.5 uair an chloig in aghaidh na seachtaine ar fáil d’ábhar Ghaelacha ar stáisiúin raidió in Éirinn - cuid mhór den mhionlach seo, ní mhaireann sé ach ar feadh 60-90 soicind. In ainneoin an fhadhbh seo, tá cúis ann le bheith dóchasach - Stáisiúin ar nós Raidió na Life agus RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta a chuireann ábhar tiomnaithe don teanga ar fáil chuile lá.

Tuairim atá cloiste agam ó roinnt ealaínteoirí agus scríbhneoirí raidió ná an easpa saoirse tugtha ag na mhór-stáisiúin do láithreoirí agus cumadóirí maidir leis na h-ábhair a bhfuil cead acu a phlé. Tá meon ann nach áit é stáisiúin phríomhshrutha raidió d’éinne a bhfuil ag iarraidh blas cruthaitheach a choimeád ina chuid oibre. B’fhéidir gurb fhearr d’éinne le suim sa chruthaitheacht aghaidh a chasadh ar a leithidí de Raidió na Life, stáisiúin Ghaelach atá lonnaithe i mBaile Átha Cliath, a chuireann ábhar trí mheán na Gaeilge, a bhfuil árd-caighdeán ag baint leis, ar fáil go laethúil. B’iad cláracha ar nós Meon na mBan a bhíonn ar siúil chuile Mháirt ag a 8-9 ina seoltar ard-caighdeán na stáisiúin seo.

Sa chlár, pléann Brónagh Ní Chuillin agus Emma Ní Chearúil, chomh maith le painéal baineann agus aíonna speisialta, cúrsaí reatha agus scéalta nuachta. Chomh maith le seo, tá ábhar na cláir dírithe ar shaol na mban agus na

tuairimí atá acu i leith an saol in Éirinn. Clár athnuachan é a thugann peirspeictíocht ailtéarnach ar fáil d’éisteoirí trí mheáin na Gaeilge.

Is oth liom a admháil nach éistim le h-oiread raidió lán-Ghaelach is ba cheart - ní éistim le mórán den raidió ar chor ar bith. Tá sé soiléir, áfach, go bhfuil acmhainn fhiúntach ann d’éisteoirí a bhfuil Gaeilge acu - ach cad é a ligeann do raidió lán-Ghaelach seasamh amach ón tslua?

Feictear ar Raidió na Life go bhfuil réimse fhairsing cláracha ar fáil ar gach saghas ábhar. Tá cláracha ar nós Cluastuiscint, clár ina ndéantar neamh-ard a thabhairt ar seánra agus déantar ceol spéisiúil, suimiúil, spreagúil a chur ar fáil nach mbeadh le fáil ar na mhórstáisiúin. Is féidir podchraoltaí an chláir a aimsiú ar shuíomh idirlín Raidió na Life.

Clár eile atá le fáil ná An Cúinne Dána a bhíonn ar siúil ar RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, le Tristan Rosenstock. Clár a dhéanann plé ar chúrsaí éalaíonna é. Idir dhrámaíocht, litríocht, scannáin is ceoil a bhíonn á bplé sa chláir. Freisin, bíonn agallaimh ann le h-ealaínteoirí mhóra le rá sa tír. Tráthnóna Dé Domhnaigh, chuile sheachtain, a bhíonn an clár á gcraoladh.

Ní ach sampla bídeach de na cláracha iad na gcinn seo ón réimse fhairsing cláracha atá ar fáil, ní amháin ar Raidió na Life agus RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, ach ar fud na stáisiúin lán-Ghaelacha. Ní amháin an bhfuil na staisiúin seo ag déanamh na stáisiúin príomhshrutha a mheaitsáil ó thaobh caighdeán agus ábhar de, ach in iliomad cás tá siad á shárú.

Seachas na cláracha iontacha atá le fáil ar stáisiúin lán-Ghaelacha, is tearmann iad

na stáisiúin seo le haghaidh Gaelgeoirí atá ag iarraidh iad féin a thiomnú ina dteanga dhúchasach. Ní amháin sa Phoblacht, ach sa Tuaisceart freisin. Tá rath faoi leith tagtha ar Raidió Fáilte i mBéal Feirste le bliain no dhó anuas.

Aithnítear Raidió Fáilte an bhliain seo caite, don chéad uair i mí Bealtaine nuair a ainmníodh iad mar “Stáisiúin na Bliana” sna Celtic Media Awards sa Bhreatain Bheag. Freisin, ainmníodh Raidió Fáilte mar “Stáisiúin na Bliana” sna Community Radio Awards i Sheffield. Éacht atá á bhaint amach ag Raidió Fáilte, go háirithe sa Tuaisceart, áit nach bhfuil acmhainní ar fáil do Ghaelgeoirí go bhforleathan.

Deis eile a thugann raidió lán-Ghaelach do Ghaeilgeoirí ná go mbíonn éisteoirí in ann blas a fháil de gach saghas Gaeilge. Is cúis bróid é an éacht seo. Tá Gaelgeoirí i mBaile Átha Cliath ag freastal ar an mheánscoil nach gcloisfidís rian den Gaeilge atá á labhairt i gCorca Dhuibhne, nó i nGaoth Dobhair, seachas an méid atá le cloisteáil ar stáisiúin raidió lán-Ghaelacha. Is mór an bhuntáiste í seo: saibhríonn sé Ghaeilge na h-éisteoirí; agus freisin tugann sé árdán do Ghaeilgeoirí in áiteanna ar fud na tíre, áiteanna nach bhfuil na h-oiread acmhainní céanna is a bhfuil i mBaile Átha Cliath.

Cé nach bhfuil ach líon bheag bídeach de

stáisiúin lán-Ghaelacha ann, feictear ón mhóréilimh atá ann do sheirbhísí ar nós na stáisiúin atá pléite agam thuas gur buntáiste agus buntáiste amháin é a bheith ag craoladh ábhair trí mheán na Gaeilge. Cé nach bhfuil ach láithreacht imeallach ag an nGaeilge ar an raidió, tá iliomad cúis bheith dóchasach agus spreagtha. I mbliana, thiomnaigh an Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) go bhfuileadar ag iarraidh leathnú amach ar líon na gcraoltóirí trí mheán na Gaeilge. Cuireann an BAI ceathrú dá chuid maoiniú ar fáil i gcomhair clárú lán-Ghaeilge agus tá siad ag iarraidh níos mó airgeadais a chuir ar fáil dó amach anseo. Tá na coinníolacha ann anois chun fás a chur ar an raidió lán-Ghaeilge.

In ainneoin na cainte i rith an tSamhraidh mar gheall ar stádas na Gaeilge sa chóras oideachais, tá guth na Gaelgeoirí sa tír fós le cloisteáil go láidir agus go soiléir gach lá ar líne, ar an teilifís agus ar an raidió. Tá gluaiseachtaí á stiúriú trí mheán na Gaeilge agus tá acmhainní á thosú ag Gaeilgeoirí - taobh thiar dóibh siúd tá an lasair á choinneáil ag obair ar son ár dteanga sa thionscail raidió. Tá guth ag Gaelgeoirí mór thimpeall na tíre, agus cloisimid an ghuth sin sa charr agus sa chistin agus muid ag cócaireacht.

Cloisimid an ghuth sin á gcraoladh ar an raidió.

Gaeilgheansaí: An-tóir ar gheansaí trí Ghaeilge.

Tá deis faighte ag Gaeilgeoirí éadaí a cheannach lenár dteanga álainn scríofa orthu. Le Danielle Nic Gill.

I mí Eanáir 2018 bunaíodh comhlacht nua darbh ainm Gaeilgheansaí. Geansaí de gach dath faoin spéir atá ar fáil leis na focail “tá Gaeilge agam” orthu. Le déanaí tá an-tóir ar an nGaeilge ar na meáin shóisialta agus léiríonn sé seo an tsuim atá ag go leor daoine ar ár dteanga dhúchais. Bunaíodh Cecily Nic Cionnaith an comhlacht nua seo. Theastaigh rud éigin simplí uaithi chun a bród agus a cumas sa Ghaeilge a léiriú. “Cé go bhfuil an Fáinne agam, theastaigh rud éigin a d’fhéadfainn a chaitheamh gach lá go héasca. Rinne mé roinnt taighde agus cheap mé go raibh bearna sa mhargadh d’earra simplí nua-aimseartha do Ghaeilgeoirí bródúla agus is as sin a rugadh Gaeilgheansaí.”

Chreid sí go raibh rud éigin nua-aimseartha ag téastáil agus bhí an ceart ar fad aici.

D’éirigh thar barr leis an gcomhlacht. Bhí daonra na hÉirinn an-sásta gur tháinig an faisean seo chun cinn. Anois tá seans ag Gaeilgeoirí na tíre seo éadaí a cheannach lenár dteanga álainn scríofa air agus mo bhuíochas le Cecily Nic Cionnaith don deis seo a thug dúinn.

Faoi láthair tá Máistreacht á dhéanamh aici sa Ghaeilge mar aon le Gaeilgheansaí a réachtáil.

Tá leathanach ag Gaeilgheansaí ar Instagram áit ina mbíonn sí ag déanamh fógraíochta agus ag chur an Ghaeilge chun cinn. Beagnach gach uile lá bíonn ceacht beag curtha suas aici ar líne chun cabhair a thabhairt do haon duine atá ag iarradh Gaeilge a labhairt. Is bean ghnó amach is amach atá inti agus níl cuma ar bith uirthi go bhfuil sí ag dul a stad.

An teideal atá in éineacht leis na geansaí ná “Eadaí as Gaeilge chun bród a léiriú. Sin an phríomh fheidhm atá ag na geansaí seo. Bealach eile dúinn lenár mbród don theanga a léiriú.”

Tá éilimh ollmhór ar na geansaí seo go háirithe i measc na mic léinn ollscoile. Bíonn siad le feiceáil ar fud na háite i gColáiste Ollscoile, Baile Átha Cliath.

Is iontach an smaoineamh a bhí ag Ceci-

ly Nic Cionnaith na geansaí seo a chur chun cinn. Bean ghnó amach is amach atá inti atá ag tabhairt tacaíochta don Ghaeilge. D’éirigh léi an chraobh a bhaint amach i gcomórtas Dragons Den in UCD leis na gaeilgheansaí. D’éirigh go hiontach léi agus is léir gur obair chrua ba bhun lena rath. Leis na hailt ar fad atá le fáil sa nuachtáin atá diúltach faoin nGaeilge nach deas an rud é go bhfuil comhlacht mar seo ag éirí níos láidre le himeacht ama. Ní raibh ach geansaí amháin le fáil ag an tús agus anois tá go leor roghanna ar fáil, T-léintí ina measc chomh maith.

Tá eolas faoin gcomhlacht tar éis scaipeadh ar na meáin shóisialta, Instagram ach go háirithe. Bhí ionadh ar Cecily Nic Cionnaith faoin bhfreagra a bhfuaireadar. “Bhí ionadh orm ag an tús as an suim a léirigh daoine agus ní raibh mé cinnte an éireoidh leis in aon chor.

Tá ardán láidir ar Instagram anois don Ghaeilge agus chabraigh sin go mór leis ach caithfidh mé a rá go raibh aiseolas an-dearfach againn ón tús agus sílim go raibh rud simplí ag teastáil ó lucht na Gaeilge chun a mbród a léiriú.”

Le níos mó ná tri mhíle á leanúint ar Instagram ag Gaeilgheansaí ní iontas ar bith é go raibh deireadh díolta ann agus b’éigean dóibh athstocáil a dhéanamh. Tá na geansaí le fáil sa Siopa Leabhar ar Shráid Fhearcair chomh maith leis an suíomh gréasáin.

Ó thaobh na todhhaí de tá go leor i ndán do Ghaeilgheansaí dar le Cecily. “Tá pleananna suimiúla againn don todhchaí cinnte! Tá dearadh nó dhó eile againn le haghaidh éadaí ach freisin tá cúpla rud eile nach mbaineann le héadaí inár n-intinn! Beidh seastán againn ag Oireachtas na Samhna freisin agus táimid ag súil go mór leis sin, chun buaileadh le daoine agus daoine a chur ar an eolas faoi Ghaeilgheansaí.

Tá Cecily mar shampla iontach de dhuine atá go hiomlán tógtha leis an nGaeilge. “Ní féidir liom mo shaol a shamhlú gan Ghaeilge. Is pribhléid mhór í dom a bheith ag caint le lucht

na Gaeilge ar líne agus ag cur postálacha amach ar Instagram. Is í an teanga is fearr liom a úsáid agus bím á húsáid le mo chairde agus mé ag caint leo san fhíorshaol nó ar líne. Is teanga álainn í agus bím in ann mé féin a chur in iúl míle uair níos fearr as Gaeilge ná as Béarla mar sin tuigim go bhfuil an t-ádh liom go bhfuil sí agam.”

Anuas ar seo bíonn an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn aici ar an leathanach Instagram do Ghaeilgheansaí. Ní hamháin go bhfuil geansaí trí ghaeilge a dhíol aici ach tá sí ag cur ceachta Gaeilge chun cinn ar an leathanach chomh maith. Ón tuiseal ginideach go nathanna cainte is mór an chabhair iad na ceachtanna atá curtha ar leathanach Gaeilgheansai. Ní hamháin go bhfuil na geansaí ag díol amach arís is arís ach tá feabhas ag teacht ar ár nGaeilge chomh maith.

Tá an tacaíocht don Ghaeilge ag dul i neart lá i ndiaidh lae agus le daoine mar Cecily

Nic Cionnaith ag chur an Ghaeilge chun cinn don ghlúin óg níl aon imní orm faoi thodhcaí na Gaeilge. Tá guth faighte ag na Gaeilgeoirí arís agus tá an-spiorad sa phobal seo. Tá an spiorad sin le feiceáil ar leathanach Instagram Gaeilgheansaí. Na céadta duine ag seoladh pictiúir isteach dón leathanach. Pictiúir dóibh agus iad sa gheansaí le meangadh deas orthu. Lán le bród don Ghaeilge agus an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn acu.

Tá mórtas cine a chur i réim arís. A bhuíochas do Cecily Nic Cionnaith leis an gcomhlacht iontach seo a bhunú agus an seans a thabhairt dúinn ár dteanga a chur chun cinn. Tá mé féin agus Gaeilgeoirí na tíre seo ag súil le todhchaí na Gaeilge agus todhchaí Gaeilgheansaí.

8th October 2019

15

AGRICULTURE & RURAL AFFAIRS

Beef Farmers Avail of €100m Reparation for Market Irritation The Beef Exceptional Aid Measure amounted to €100m and was awarded as a result of market disturbance caused by Brexit, writes Ellen Durkin.

Details of the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) were first announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed on July 29 of this year. The €100m Brexit beef package has been funded by the EU exceptional aid and Exchequer support, provided due to the uncertainty and market volatility arising in the lead up to Brexit. Support will be paid to suckler farmers and those who slaughtered animals in the reference period between 24 September 2018 to week commencing 6 May 2019.

The scheme is targeted at farmers most affected by recent market disturbance and is demand-fed. The voluntary opt-in style system of registration was opened to farmers who met the initial criteria. All participants must be a member of Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme and reduce the amount of bovine livestock manure nitrogen produced by their herd by 5% for a target period from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

In terms of payment, rates of €100 per head

and €40 per head will apply for finishers and suckler farmers in the scheme. Finishers were able to apply for a maximum of 100 animals, all of which were to be over 12 months of age when sent for slaughter. Suckler farmers could apply for a maximum of 40 suckler cows which calved in 2018 with a rate of €40 per head to be paid for these animals. Dairy, dealer, and agent cattle herds were not eligible to apply.

The Department has not proposed a cut in herd size in return for eligibility, but instead encourages farmers to reduce the level of nitrogen produced through cattle manure by 5%. The 5% reduction will be based on a reference period and a target period within 12 months. This effectively translates into a 5% reduction per hectare as on most farms each hectare farmed is directly linked to the number of entitlements under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). Reducing nitrogen output from farms can be achieved by selling cattle off farms at a younger slaughter

age. Ultimately, it will be up to individual farmers to decide how to adjust their nitrogen levels.

In terms of the final statistic regarding uptake of the scheme by farmers, the total number of applicants deemed eligible across the country was 34,547, with the highest eligibility in Co Galway.

The second highest eligibility occurred in Co Cork, with 3,091 applicants accepted.

Of the 34,547 applicants, 9,295 are eligible for a payment on suckler animals only, while 10,245 are eligible for finishing animals.

A further 14,977 mixed enterprise applicants were deemed eligible. The total amount of the fund dedicated to suckler only farms was €6,517,240. Finisher only farms received €32,399,600 while mixed enterprises came in at €39,275,540, amounting to €78,192,380 in total for the scheme. The average payment to be received by farmers under the scheme is €2,265. As it stands, 560 applications are under appeal, according to a spokesperson from the Department of Agriculture.

70,000 beef and suckler farmers were eligible to apply for the scheme when applications opened on July 29. President of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Joe Healy raised

questions regarding the Irish Government’s financial commitments under the scheme, commenting “€50 million of the funding came from the EU, with a further €50 million allegedly ‘committed’ by the Irish Government. Real questions now have to be asked as to whether the Government genuinely intended to spend this amount of funding at all.” It has now been confirmed that at least €20m has not been claimed and will be left behind, with further applications likely to be withdrawn due to the nitrogen restriction. Farm representatives have called on Minister to Creed to ensure no part of the fund is returned to Europe.

“Of the 34,547 applicants, 9,295 are eligible for a payment on suckler animals only, while 10,245 are eligible for finishing animals.”

Calls for an additional scheme have been made with beef farmers predicting an unavoidable market disturbance when Britain finally leaves the EU.

CAP Paves Its Way Without The UK CAP is seen by many as the crown jewel of EU membership, with opportunities for producers to access lucrative markets and benevolent funding, writes Noel Bardon.

It is unclear, even at this late stage, which path the UK will follow in their replacement of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) following the looming Brexit deadline of October 31st. One surety is that any deviation from the policy is likely to increase bureaucracy for farmers and administrators. Added complication to the agri-food supply chain has the potential to spell financial ruination for producers on both sides of the Irish Sea. The movement of livestock between the UK and Ireland is likely to be hindered by border controls, and the effects of extended haulage stoppage times at ports could have great implications for perishable farm produce.

Introduced in 1962 by the founding six states of the European Economic Community (EEC), the Common Agricultural Policy has become one of the dominant driving forces behind farming, rural development, and food production in today’s Europe. Since its inception, CAP has grown, evolved, and in recent years began to shrink after it peaked at 73% of the European Commission’s budget in 1985. Enormous changes to the policy have increased the sustainability of the programme, both economically and environ-

mentally, with most farming enterprises reliant on the European Union’s system of farm payments for the very survival of their holdings.

In simple terms, CAP is a tandem of regulation and support payments for agricultural producers. Many developed states have similar systems of agricultural subsidies paired with rules and procedures specifying the parameters necessary for the receipt of these monetary aids. Under CAP, farmers are subjected to a plethora of protocol governing the conservation of vulnerable ecosystems, food traceability, and animal welfare. These controls are designed to ensure adequate levels of production for Europe’s affluent and growing population, without negative compromises on environmental standards, the quality of rural life, or consumer wellbeing.

Most of the financial aid provided to farmers is done so through the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). The BPS is intended to allow farmers a degree of autonomy in choosing the way in which they choose to farm their land, keeping the concern of value for taxpayers’ money closely to mind.

This is unlike the original system of farm payments provided under CAP, whereby farmers received

payments proportional to their farm’s level of output.

More of the focus on CAP is now with the intangible assets provided by landowners to society. The extent to which farmers supply the wider public with aesthetic beauty, wildlife habitats, as well as clean water and air, gives policymakers confidence in arguing to continue income supports for farm businesses. It is argued these positive externalities of sustainable agriculture will not necessarily be rewarded adequately in the conventional marketplace. From the revenue created by tourism in rural areas, to enhanced mental wellbeing and the resource of clean water, many assert that landowners, in the decoupled era, should continue to be remunerated for the public goods and communal assets which they work to supply.

Future CAP reform will tackle issues such as the distribution of EU funds to large landowners, the increasingly relevant role of farms as agents of sequestration for greenhouse gases and further progress on food traceability for the consumer. The growing average age of Europe’s farming community may also take more of a prominent role in the reform of CAP. Many see youth in the sector serving to catalyse progress in areas of increasing difficulty within agriculture.

Brexiteers have used the talking point of cheaper food prices for the consumer as a champion call to leaving the European Union, an alarming

prospect to both British and Irish producers. The extent to which farm advocacy group lobbying grows in Westminster is likely to play a major role in agricultural policy in a post Brexit Britain. It is yet unclear if the administration in London will favour isolationist trade policies, with heavy tariffs on agricultural imports.

Agricultural policy in post-Brexit Britain, it can be argued, is unlikely to deviate too far away from the current environmental protections offered under CAP. The recent Climate Extinction protests in the UK are an example of the action consumers are willing to put behind words, in the name of environmental protection. The alliance of the farming community and Green politicians across Europe uniting against Mercosur is likely to be mirrored in the UK in the event of similar bilateral trade agreements, as both factions are likely to resist the importing of food from nations with poor records in environmental and agricultural sustainability.

The exit of the UK is, in itself, doubtful to cause any wide scale reform in the policy. It may, however, coincide with a period of growing consumer concerns, taxpayer demands and restructuring in the name of ecological necessity.

African Swine Fever a Cloud with Silver Lining for Irish Pig Industry While African swine fever poses as an alarming threat for Irish producers, a silver lining has presented itself through increased price and market demand, writes Niall Hurson.

As a powerhouse of global pig production, China had 440.6m sows in 2018 and produced over 50% of the world’s pork. This number has dropped dramatically to roughly 200m sows after an epidemic outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in the region. In turn this has heightened the demand on imports in order to meet population demands and help reduce the strain on domestic production.

The demand and price of pork has risen across the globe as a result, with Irish producers reaping the rewards.

For most of 2018 pig prices were below the cost of production in Ireland. Farmers were concerned for the survival of their enterprises in what was a challenging marketplace. Now, with Chinese production merely a shadow of its former self, demand for pork has grown and so has the price for Irish produce. EU prices are well above average with farmers receiving €159.83/100kg/ carcass-weight (cw). Pig price in Ireland on 25 September 2018 was €137.30/100kg cw while on September 24 of this year prices had risen to €171/100kg cw, significantly above the EU

16 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 2

average.

In 2018, 330m tonnes of meat was produced globally, and of this 120.71m tonnes was pork. Pigmeat is the second most highly produced meat on the planet falling just short of poultry by 1.6m tonnes last year. In 2005 the global demand for pork was 100m tonnes with projections for this to grow to 143m tonnes by 2030. China has the highest pork consumption per capita with the country importing an additional 1.8m tonnes last year. The average Chinese person consumes over 40 kilos of pork and with this huge appetite, pig numbers have inflated in East Asia in recent times.

In a sudden turn of events during 2018 African swine fever virus took hold and has been the causative agent for the decimation of China’s pig population. The virus causes a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs and some isolates can cause death of animals as quickly as a week after infection. ASF can result in devastating losses for pig farmers and the pig industry in affected countries. There is no cure or vaccine available for ASF and cases of the disease

has been identified across the world. Within the last two years the disease has spread to a number of previously unaffected countries in Europe and Asia. A part of the reason for the widespread occurrence of ASF in China is in the way they produce their pigs. Backyard farming is much more common with households keeping a small number of pigs for private consumption. Biosecurity measures aren’t as vigorous in these smaller production systems and so make containment of viral diseases significantly more difficult.

Experts have forecasted China’s pork meat output to drop by 25% in 2019 which will lead to an even lower production in 2020 and will continue to be felt in coming years. A large restocking is expected to take place in 2020 as the chances of a new wave of the disease declines. ASF has made its way to Europe with most cases restricted to wild boar populations and a minority of domestic pigs.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in Ireland has instructed holiday goers to not bring meat products into Ireland from outside the EU as a precautionary measure. Meat and meat products are not to be brought onto Irish pig farms as a strict biosecurity measure. DAFM has also encouraged the correct disposal of waste food, so that it cannot be accessed by farm animals, or wild birds.

In order for the Irish pig industry to remain ASF free it is key to adhere to the strict biosecurity measures outlined by the DAFM. Farm invasions are a prime example of a lapse in common sense and pose a concerning threat to farm biosecurity. Dozens of animal rights activists invaded a pig farm in Co Westmeath for over six hours in June 2019. The action raised concerns for animal health and biosecurity at a time when pig farms are under heightened surveillance to prevent the risk of ASF spreading from continental Europe. IFA president Joe Healy condemned the sit-in by vegan activists at the farm saying, “with heightened risks to the Irish pig sector, it is reckless that people would enter a facility without observing proper biosecurity procedures.”

To date Ireland is free of African swine fever, but a potential outbreak of the disease would have a huge impact on the pig industry here.

Through reinforced biosecurity on pig farms and awareness from the general public, Ireland will continue to mine into the silver lining of the ASF dark cloud.

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11

8

Literary Alpaca

PUZZLES

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1 10

Across 6. A brief history of the theory of everything 11

2

3

4

5

7. Into electric cars and grime(s) 9. Nabokov's most famous novel 10. Eric and Tiffany's dad

6

11. "Don't call me Shirley"

7 8

10

Across

Down

9 history of the theory of everything 6. A brief

1. 8th in line to British throne

7. Into electric cars and grime(s)

2. American beauty turned American disgrace

9. Nabokov's most famous novel

3. Jackie Chan's co-star in three films

10. Eric and Tiffany's dad

4. I did not have sexual relations with that woman

11. "Don't call me Shirley"

5. Led the investigation into Monica Lewinsky 8. Married his step-daughter

11

*The first person to come into the office with the crossword completed and the link that ties the clues together will win a six pack of cans of their choice.

Across

Down

6. A brief history of the theory of everything

1. 8th in line to British throne

7. Into electric cars and grime(s)

2. American beauty turned American disgrace

9. Nabokov's most famous novel 10. Eric and Tiffany's dad 11. "Don't call me Shirley"

The Harpy 3. Jackie Chan's co-star in three films

4. I did not have sexual relations with that woman 5. Led the investigation into Monica Lewinsky 8. Married his step-daughter

“Volo mori”

Student Arrested For Possession Of Filmsoc Announce Screening Of “lofi hip hop radio - beats to chill/study to” 300 Grams Of Coke Young Man Belfield

Lennard Cone A UCD student has been detained after members of campus security discovered he was in possession of over 300 grams of Coke with an estimated street value of €1.10.

The student, who cannot currently be named, was in Theatre L in the Newman building when another student noticed the can in his bag and notified security. He was detained shortly after and the lecture was cut short as the lecture hall was placed under quarantine

Inside sources reveal the student was startled and confused as staff members in hazmat suits patted him down and searched through his belongings for further contraband. While no other incriminating pieces of evidence were found, it has been reported that his bag was full of old worksheets, some of which looked like they were from as early as fifth year.

The status of this student is currently unknown. When The Harpy contacted the college for comment, they replied with “Who cares?”.

While his location also remains a mystery, other students have reported hearing screams and rattling sounds from the Newman tunnels over the past week.

As of June 2018, there has been a ban of high sugar drinks on campus with the goal of encouraging students to choose healthier drinks.

We met with a representative from the student health board to discuss the ban.

We began by asking how this ban came to be implemented and learned that the idea came from the government’s sugar tax. Following a successful trial period in January, the ban came into effect.

Next, we inquired as to why high-sugar drinks were banned while chocolate, crisps, jellies, sweets and cakes as well as red meat, pizza and fried food were still available everywhere on campus. We also asked why low-sugar soft drinks evaded the ban despite their links to weight gain, headaches, tooth decay, type 2 diabetes, Metabolic syndrome (including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and excess stomach fat), heightened risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, increased risk of stroke and decreased bone density. In response to this, the representative took a swig from a hip flask and then winked at our reporter. The meaning of this response is unknown.

A 2014 report found that 100% of third-level students in Ireland have experimented with Coke on at least one occasion. It is unclear how this recent ban has affected this number. However, it is believed that this number has fallen radically since its implementation.

In an email circulated this week to members, UCD FilmSoc has announced their debut screening of the widely successful Youtube video “lofi hip hop radio - beats to chill/study to”.

The announcement of the screening has been met with much discussion and controversy, with some questioning the legitimacy of showing such a clip as a piece of film.

In an interview with the Harpy, auditor Odin O’Sullivan was quick to quell any concerns that this was not some sort of marketing ploy.

“We’ve been wanting to screen this video for years now, and we finally got the go ahead from Youtube to be able to screen it for our members. In our eyes, any use of animation or visual illusion of movement is recognisable as a film, because if we were to limit ourselves, how far would we go? Is Charlie Chaplin not a film star because his movies are silent? Is Toy Story not a film because it doesn’t have actors on screen?

Is Fast and Furious 8 not a film because it has no plot? We can’t limit ourselves like this!”

Any sort of criticism of the piece seemed to be off limits in this interview as well. “So what if it’s one short moment over and over again? So is half of all the Back to the Future films! And just because it has a live comments section doesn’t make it any less of a film. You could click away

in Bandersnatch and not one of you said it wasn’t “art”. “ At this point Odin began foaming at the mouth and was escorted from the Harpy offices by three members of the Filmsoc committee.

A spokesperson for the Society’s Council in UCD spoke out against the screening in a statement released earlier today. “This screening goes totally against the ethos of what UCD societies stand for. The main purpose of every society should be to make as much profit as possible off the backs of students. Free screenings of Youtube videos will not further that cause in any way, shape or form.” Students seem to generally be interested in the screening, and there are discussions as to which Youtube videos should be screened next. A poll on Filmsoc’s official Facebook page has “(HQ) Man slips on ice on RTE’s Six One News” as the top choice for the next screening with “Family Guy Dark Jokes -Family Guy-” coming in with a close second.

The screening of “lofi hip hop beats” will begin at 8 o’clock this Thursday. Entry is free for members and the event is strictly BYOSM, or Bring Your Own Study Materials for short.

8th October 2019

17

EDITORIAL

Talleyrand

Welcome back, children into the cold, reptilian-like arms of your friendly neighbourhood Talleyrand, fresh off a €2,200 flight from Paris (thanks Deeksy, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal). Well, what’s to be said of the past three weeks since we spoke last? Read more to find out, from the premium source of ‘indepentent’ news on campus.

You’ll be happy to hear that I found myself a few lacy numbers in the Pretty Little Thing sale (psst... it was me who deleted the Facebook comments). Hey, clothes in 18th century Paris are expensive, we don’t have small children from the Third World making them for us. Ah modernity, you big beautiful bitch.

Has anyone seen the SU? Genuinely I’m worried, I cannot seem to find them anywhere. Maybe Conor Anderson has been the first Graduate officer to actually visit Smurfit and can’t find his way home, that would explain his absence. What about the ones I actually care about though? Úna-countable Carroll and Tom Monaghan are getting along swimmingly - I spotted them just the other day almost talking to each other.

Monaghan has come off the drink for the month, which will give him ample time to indulge in his other hobbies such as... anyway.

Joanna has spent the last couple of weeks chatting up Andrew Deeks and bribing the editors of this rag with cheap Spanish cigarettes. They know what you’re doing, Siewierska and they’re 100% falling for it. Don’t worry, Jojo, they’re refusing to write about the time when XXXXX tried to XXXXX in Brian Treacy’s face.

Speaking of Treacy, his undying crush on the editor of this scrap of loo roll is unquenching. He has been spotted shoving love letters under the door of their office, which it

must be noted are becoming more inappropriate by the day. You naughty boy. Also, you’ll never get your hair like his, Treacy. Stop trying, it’s a bit sad.

Finally, where is O’Dea? Not seen much since the Climate Strike, it seems she has fallen off the face of the earth. She’s nearly as invisible as UCDSU’s climate policy. Some say she was taken on Freshers’ week by a mysterious man wearing camo shorts, marching around his empty tent shouting into the void, but these rumours are unconfirmed.

Hopefully, our A-Team will reappear once more and continue their blind optimism, only to follow the precedent set by each team before them and realise that this place is doomed to die a slow, corporate driven death, and their hopeful, yet depressingly naive efforts to enact actual change will be ultimately futile.

On that cheerful note, I bid you adieu once more.

Until next time, Talleyrand

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER TEAM Editor Gavin Tracey Deputy Editor Aoife Mawn Art and Design Editor Alex Fagan Assistant Editor Nathan Young Design Assistant Orla Keaveney News Co-Editors Andrea Andres Jade Wilson Comment Editor Garrett Kennedy Features Editor Doireann deCourcy Mac Donnell Science Editor Lillian Loescher Deputy Science Editor Vanshika Dhyani

Editorial: Funding crisis in Irish universities In a speech made last week, former President of UCD Dr. Hugh Brady highlighted just how serious the funding crisis for higher education in Ireland is. For the past decade the Irish government has, through its inaction, overseen the decline of Irish universities and IT’s, and unless serious measures are undertaken, this decline will continue.

The effects of their inaction are felt by all students, whether they are aware of this or not. Take a look at many of the issues facing UCD and nearly all of them have their roots in this funding crisis. The ever increasing rents for on campus accommodation, the push to bring in as many international students as possible, the across the board rise in points for most courses; all of these are a result of a lack of funding. It was reported in The Irish Times recently that Trinity College was considering cutting 3000 places for Irish students, as international students are more lucrative to the university. If our universi-

ties and IT’s are not given the funding they need, they will be forced to make up this gap in any way they can.

This is not to say that we should not welcome international students; we should of course embrace students from all over the world who wish to study here. Reactionaries who lay the blame at the feet of international students totally miss the mark.

In 2016, the Cassell’s Report was published. It found that an additional €600 million a year, increasing to an additional €1 billion a year by 2030, is needed to ensure that Irish universities can grow and improve to the necessary levels. We have been falling steadily, year upon year, in world rankings, and this trend shows no sign of abating. It found that there were three ways to do this; abolish the contribution charge and introduce a state funded model, keep the charge and increase funding to bridge the gap, or introduce a student loan scheme. Since its

publication, the government has repeatedly delayed taking any action on it, and it is currently with the European Commission to assess each options economic viability.

Although Varadkar has ruled out any increase in the contribution charge or the implementation of a student loan scheme, it is hard to see him or his government committing the amount of money that is required to fix the crisis. I would be firmly opposed to a student loan system being adopted, as would many students, but governments, be they Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, or Labour, do not listen to student’s voices, we are not their voter base. We are no one’s voter base. To assume that any government will do what is best for students is naive.

It is vital that the government take immediate action on this, but we must not let the rhetoric of crisis and emergency allows the government to take action in a way that would be detrimental to students.

Eagarthóir Gaeilge Danielle Nic Gill Fhinnéin Agriculture and Rural Affairs Editor Niall Hurson Law and Politics Editor Arshdeep Kaur The Harpy Editor Hugh Carr Sports Editor Andrew Dempsey Chief of Photography Alex Fagan Deputy of Photography Sofia Dragacevac Chief of Videography Eleanora Dzhungurova Deputy Videographer Fiadh Melina Brosnan Columnists Doireann deCourcy Mac Donnell Andrea Andres Contributors Mark Jackson Clodagh Healy Cora Keegan Moxie Lofton Manasa Bramhanya Adesewa Awobadejo Rory Clarke Alexander Hale Ruby O’Connor Eniola Kasin Shane McDonnell Ellen Durkin Noel Bardon Lennard Cone Young Man Belfield Grainne Daly Edward Leonard

********************************* Letters, corrections, and clarifications pertaining to articles published in this newspaper and online are welcomed and encouraged.

Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, University Observer, UCD Student Centre, Belfield, Dublin 4 Correspondence may also be sent to editor@universityobserver.ie

18 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 2

Special Thanks Dylan O’Neill Production Ingredients Google Translate lady, salt in coffee, Manhattan popcorn, Fiachra’s couch, Joanna’s cigarettes, dozens of Clubhouse dinners, dril tweets, getting no response from the SU on anything, rich white men not getting their way, Dylan’s infinite love and wisdom, Diet Coke and Nathan’s never ending supply of Starbucks coffee.

SPORT

Data in Sport

Andrew Dempsey examines whether new data has made sport become too robotic or it is a result of increasing professional standards, or perhaps both.

“Are we as a human race becoming tired of seeing professional standards win all the time?”

In a bygone era, traditionalism was key in many facets of sport – it’s what arguably made it so appealing to so many before, but what the dawn of modernity has brought to the table is nothing short of extraordinary.

We have seen how data driven highend and elite sport has become – who can forget a certain Marcelo Bielsa showing all sorts of information to a room full of journalists to explain ‘Spygate’ – but what has it really achieved for sport as a whole? That’s a question that has been bugging plenty of ‘traditionalists’ in a sense. Clearly, the days of off the cuff football, rugby, Gaelic games and many other sports are numbered given such advances in sport. With so much analysis taking precedence over playing the game – what has this advance in data achieved in sport?

It is no secret that many are fascinated by sport – both in a purist’s sense and also within a tactical and psychological sense. It really is something that is universal at the best of times. The concept of ‘Moneyball’ is key in understanding this article. The phrase or term was coined by the American media – and was popularised in 2011 by the creation of the movie which has a name that will surprise nobody; ‘Moneyball’.

Anyway, the concept attempts to remove many of the former and supposedly ‘dated’ methods of sporting research. It also places a major emphasis on statistics – for example what player to play where based on his/her technical ability of a given sport. Naturally, this is where grey lines begin to emerge. How is human judgement to tell us where we are to go to next? Are we really becoming that reliant on computer models?

Perhaps as Irish people we’re just used to playing with no sort of a game plan, with the hope that ‘something may fall our way’, a shining light despite the clear and obvious shortfalls of our nation in a sporting sense. Is that maybe what endeared the O’Donovan brothers to the Irish sporting public in 2016 when they said all they did was ‘pull like a dog’ despite winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics? Maybe it was a factor along with their charismatic charm and genuine bewilderment at all of the interest that accompanied their success on the boat during the 2016 Olympics. That, to many, is the beauty of sport at the best of times – an underdog story that all of us can get behind. Sporting achievements are only made possible by a serious drive and determination to win – but is that starting to slowly change?

A few weeks ago, we saw Dublin lift their fifth consecutive Sam Maguire crown having defeated age-old rivals Kerry in an absorbing replay at Croke Park. Following the conclusion of the game – the customary trophy lift – there was a feeling that this achievement was not as special as it really should have been. A feat that had never been achieved before was almost brushed aside by some commentators as ‘inevitable’ and ‘routine’ – something that arguably should not be the case. This is perhaps the main part of the argument, are we as a human race becoming tired of seeing professional standards win all the time? From the reaction to Dublin’s clear domination of Gaelic games – it appears so,

justifiably or not, and that is clear. In a way Dublin have become the beacon of what ‘should’ be the standard for many clubs and counties within the GAA but is it feeling like it’s all too systematic and structured to be something to crave? Professionalism should be craved, but are we getting too bogged down in this mindset at times?

Perhaps.

Take the example of Manchester City – they are a strange example to be fair. There has clearly been a lot of money pumped into there from major benefactors, who are mostly based in the Middle East – a perfect target to be hated – look at RB Leipzig in Germany for example – but City, for some reason don’t experience that same level of hatred or jealousy. Maybe it was because of Liverpool last season in the Premier League, who nobody, bar Liverpool fans themselves, wanted them to win the league for the first time in decades. Why aren’t they subject to criticisms for clearly going down the route of robotism?

It’s an interesting debate to be had, nonetheless.

It is clear that traditional values are creeping out of sport, and in a way that should be viewed upon as a tragedy. Like many things in everyday life, sport has become a victim to commercialism at the elite-level. Clearly, commercial practices have its benefits but when it is clearly abused, it needs to be addressed, which it doesn’t appear to be at the minute.

Who knows what kind of a sphere we will be looking at sport through in the future?

That’s the beauty of it all. The emergence of sports science and data has definitely improved the viewing experience, that much is certain, but is it too much at times?

Club Focus: UCD Volleyball Andrew Dempsey chats to the UCD Volleyball Club after a summer of international recognition.

After a summer of notable achievements, things are looking quite rosy for the UCD Volleyball Club. Situated within the enclave of the UCD Sports Centre, UCD Volleyball has established itself as one of the most exciting and engaging sports on campus.

To the unaware, Volleyball was first named as an Olympic Sport in the 1960’s – prior to the 1964 Olympics that took place in Tokyo, Japan. The rules of the sport are extensive to say the least. Both teams consist of six players, but essentially the key to the game is as follows; a player on one of the teams begins a ‘rally’ by serving the ball from behind the back boundary line of the court, over the net, and into the receiving team’s court. The receiving team must not let the ball be grounded within their court and the same practice is continued until a side wins the point.

A sport that has been gaining plenty of traction in recent years with the presence of the Olympics – Volleyball can be played both indoors and outdoors – but there has been a split between both the outdoor and indoor game in recent years. However, this is no such issue within the UCD Volleyball Club – with success coming the way of the club. With plenty of success fuelling a feel-good factor around the club, the University Observer caught up with the club in recent days, where they explained why one should join forces with them; “People should take up Volleyball because it’s a great sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels. It can be played both indoor and outdoor or even on the beach.

“It’s a fun way to burn calories as it improves your balance, reflexes and hand-eye coordination. It provides students with a strong team environment. Every player is important and holds a specific role. UCD Volleyball is very welcoming to all skill levels and provides a great space to learn and grow.”

Sarah Escalante, a club member, added; “I personally chose to get involved with the UCD Volleyball Club because I was in first year and I was excited to join as many clubs as possible. I was more of a beginner as I only played for

Photo Credit: Fintan Lawlor

one year in Secondary School. I felt a sense of community within the Beginners training. I quickly began to see improvement in myself as well as creating a solid group of friends. Second year, I was involved in the student team and I continued to feel a sense of community which I hadn’t experienced as I was mainly a tennis player which isn’t really a team sport. Now, I’m in the final year of my course and I’m a part of the committee for a second year and I’m still loving the volleyball and constantly improving my skills.

“Our men’s student team coach (Benny O’Regan) along with 7 players from our women’s premier team (Miriam Gormally, Marie-Claire Sabogal, Regina Halpin, Fiona Lamont, Alex Graves, Orla Lynch and Emily Frazell), have all competed for Ireland internationally this year, whether it was the women’s indoor European Championships in Luxembourg in May, the CEV Continental Cup Olympic Qualifier in Bettystown this past June, or the Small Nations Beach finals in Perth, Scotland. We’re growing some talented players! Miriam and Marie-Claire also help coach the women’s student team, imparting their years of wisdom.”

Escalante concluded; “The main highlight of mine within the club was being recognised by the Bank of Ireland UCD Sports Awards with Club Event of the Year for hosting Intervarsity’s 2018/2019 and our annual Blitz tournament.

I was a part of the Events team who managed both tournaments. We ensured that the matches were on schedule and the players were happy and playing as much volleyball as possible.”

“Our men’s student team coach, along with 7 players from our women’s premier team have all competed for Ireland internationally this year.”

the UCD Volleyball Club represented Ireland in Perth, Scotland – with success on the podium just escaping the talented stars in the United Kingdom.

There is plenty of exciting talent to watch out for in the club, with Alexandra Graves and Miriam Gormally both agonisingly missing out on a medal in Scotland recently while a whole host of other talented players such as Marie-Claire Sabogal, Regina Halpin, Fiona Lamont, Orla Lynch and Emily Frazell all gained recognition for their sterling effort. Should you wish to join the UCD Volleyball Club, you can contact them via their social media channels or by email (volleyball@ucd.ie).

With plenty of goings on at the minute with the UCD Volleyball club, it is no surprise to see many trying out the sport during Orientation Week and beyond. With indoor competition beginning soon – the 13th October to be exact – the club have been busy in recent weeks, represented on the international stage as recently as September 22nd. Seven competitors from

8th October 2019

19

SPORT

Video Killed the… Moment Gráinne Daly takes an in-depth look into how the introduction of VAR has concerned fans of the Premier League.

In 1978 the Buggles sat in a flat in London and wrote their number one track ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ out of concern with the ill effects of modern technology; We can’t rewind we’ve gone too far, Pictures came and broke your heart, Put the blame on VCR. Four decades later, a band of experts gather around screens in Stockley Park to adjudicate on live video feeds from Premier League games. Their Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology is accused of sucking the life out of the beautiful game.

The integration of technology into sports has been ongoing for decades and to great effect. From baseball to NASCAR racing, Aussie Rules to Gaelic games – they have all introduced various systems. Replay technology has become an expected norm in an era of mass sports broadcasting. 2001 saw the roll out of replay systems for Rugby Union and the International Cricket Council with the introduction of TMO and Hawk Eye respectively. In fact, technology and sporting innovations are no new concept – let’s not forget that horseracing first embraced photo finish innovation in 1881. But it’s 2019, and the Premier League appears to have difficulty embracing its shiny new toy.

“But it’s 2019, and the Premier League appears to have difficulty embracing its shiny new toy”

According to VAR’s mission statement;

‘the VAR philosophy in the Premier League is “minimum interference – maximum benefit’.

But since its introduction at the beginning of the season, there has been rumblings that it does the opposite: maximum interference – minimum benefit. Fans and former players have spoken out against it. Gary Lineker took to Twitter in

his criticism “the way VAR is being used is crap.

Could and should benefit the game but at present it’s sucking the life out of it.” This in the aftermath of a controversial decision that ruled out Serge Aurier’s goal for Spurs when VAR deemed Heung-min Son to have been offside in the build-up. Of course, Spurs are no strangers to big VAR decisions; the penalty awarded for Moussa Sissoko’s handball in the Champions League final still fresh in their minds. In Stamford Bridge, César Azpilicueta’s goal was also disallowed for an alleged offside. It was the turn of Blues boss Frank Lampard to speak out against it, saying the technology ‘kills the moment’. Last weekend there was further controversy surrounding decisions to award Bournemouth a goal but deny Aston Villa theirs in what looked like similar circumstances. Fans took to Twitter with terms like; ‘Football is dead’ and ‘VAR has had a shocker at Bournemouth.’

VAR has four terms of reference: goals, penalty decisions, direct red card incidents, mistaken identity. So why are fans and former players apoplectic? Some feel that the delay in consulting the VAR regarding goal decisions leads to deferred celebrations which in itself detracts from the overall buzz of a game.

Others believe, as was the case around the Raheem Sterling’s offside in City’s opening game against West Ham, that the slow motion aspect of HD playback is adding to microscopic analysis which is leading to these ‘close calls’ being awarded.

But can an offside ever be just a little offside? A whisker? No. You’re either on or you’re off. VAR is currently in operation across leagues in 33 countries. It was introduced in top flight European football by Bundesliga and the Serie A at the beginning of the 2017/18 season and resulted in a dramatic increase in the num-

ber of penalties awarded, largely attributed to VAR catching fouls which would otherwise have remained unpunished. In the 2018/19 season, the Bundesliga saw the highest number of penalties for handball awarded since it was founded in 1963. So, is it this that fans worry about? That foul play will be called out for what it is, foul play.

“But can an offside ever be a just a little offside? A whisker? No”

The opening 10 games of the Premier League warranted 65 VAR checks. With an average of 6.5 checks per game, it causes delays in play. Throw into the mix the fact that in stadia without big screens, such as Anfield and Old Trafford, fans are not aware of when an incident is under review. If VAR were to have audio made

publicly available, as is the case in other sports, would that go some way to allaying the scepticism of fans? In a nutshell, Premier League fans are not happy with interruptions to their beloved spectacle. VAR can be a mood killer, that is not in doubt. However, as has been proven on the playing fields of rugby union and cricket, replay technology can and does function as a worthy tool in refereeing. The question for Premier League spectators seems to be: at what cost?

Maybe the Buggles were ahead of their time…

Rewritten by machine on new technology, and now I understand the problems you can see.

Dublin’s Dominance Spearheading Congress’ Proposals on Championship Reform Edward Leonard asks if the GAA need to introduce a tiered football championship with Dublin’s dominance showing no sign of fading.

In September 2011, there were scenes of joy all over Ireland as Stephen Cluxton converted a 40-metre free resulting in Dublin winning their first All-Ireland senior football title in 16 years.

People were delighted to see a new crop of Gaelic footballers emerging and the start of a new era for the GAA.

At that time, no one thought that 8 years later, Dublin would become the first men’s senior team to win five consecutive All-Ireland titles and most people would be people crying out for Dublin’s dominance to come to an end. With this current football championship structure producing far too many one-sided matches, people are now turning to the hurling championship for enjoyable matches. The reason for such a hurling renaissance is down to the success of its tiered championship.

20 VOL. XXVI, ISSUE 2

was facing the same dilemma that the football championship is currently facing. Teams ran the risk of losing their first provincial championship match, losing their first qualifier match and being forced to end their championship campaign

Dublin’s domination is not something winless, despite only playing two games. Tipperthat has come out of the blue. In 2002, the GAA ary in 2013 had the unfortunate scenario of losdecided that Dublin needed a major financial in- ing to Limerick by 3 points away in the Munster vestment to improve the quality of its footballers. championship and then Kilkenny in the qualifiDespite taking over 10 years to reap the fruits of ers. their investment, Dublin are now considered to “The GAA need to act fast otherwise be long time superpowers of the GAA.

Players like Dean Rock, Cormac Costel- the hurling renaissance will continlo and Paul Mannion all shot onto the national stage at the start of the decade, after winning ue to blossom and leave Gaelic footAll-Ireland titles at underage level, and now are ball behind.” proving to be some of the finest Gaelic football- It was then when the hurling community ers in the country. While money certainly was a began to realise that major reform was needed. factor in providing the players with the level of In 2018, the hurling championship was reborn training they required, no money in the world with a five-team round robin group in both Leincan train players to have the natural talent that ster and Munster. This mixed with a five-team these Dublin players hold.

Joe McDonagh Cup which would allow teams

The hurling championship for years like Kerry and Laois the opportunity to play both competitive matches and the opportunity to play against the third placed Leinster and Munster sides in the All-Ireland preliminary round. This new structure led to the 2018 Championship being dubbed one of the greatest of all time due to the increased number of competitive matches.

The question now is why the GAA feel that such reform in the football championship is sinister.

On October 19th, a special GAA Congress will vote on trialling a two-tiered football championship. The proposed second tier championship is a straight knock-out tournament featuring the Division 3 and 4 teams who fail to make their provincial finals. This proposal is almost identical to that of the failed Tommy Murphy Cup which saw Division 4 teams compete against each other instead of entering the qualifier series.

The competition did not provide half of the teams with more games and was ultimately

seen to quickly lose the interest of competing counties. The football championship needs saving, and this two-tiered proposal is not the solution. A complete revamp of the championship is needed, and the first port of call should be the abolishment of the provincial championships.

The idea of a Champions League format has merit and is worth discussing further but the GAA already have a championship format in place which has proven to be effective: the club championships. The honour of being county champions is one that every club craves for and regardless if it’s the Dublin senior championship or the Longford junior championship, the pride is the same.

“The answer falls in that which provides the greatest number of competitive matches and that is in the club championship format”

Look at the Leitrim hurlers last June after winning the Lory Meagher Cup: The joy on the player’s and supporter’s faces after receiving a standing ovation at half-time during their footballer’s qualifier match against Clare was no different to Dublin’s joy after completing their ‘drive for five’. The five-tiered hurling championship has proven to be a massive success and there is no reason why the football championship can’t benefit from a similar structure.

Is a second-tier championship a solution? Do we need further tiers? Should we maintain the status quo and continue to watch the ‘weaker’ teams being held victim to Dublin’s dominance? The answer falls in which provides the greatest number of competitive matches, and that is in the club championship format.

The current format is only supporting Dublin’s dominance and leaving the remaining counties behind. The GAA need to act fast otherwise the hurling renaissance will continue to blossom and leave Gaelic football behind.