EDITORIAL: WHAT ABOUT THE STUDENTS?

I had begun chatting to Úna Carroll, the former UCDSU Welfare Officer, weeks ago. Over the course of several phone calls and messages we had discussed her relationship with the role and difficulties she had encountered. Two of the biggest and most challenging issues that the UCD Welfare Officer comes into contact with are those surrounding Direct Provision, and those associated with sexual harassment and violence. At the time of our conversation, neither of us could have predicted the deluge of information which has since come to light on the pervasive nature of sexual harassment and assualt in UCD.

Since TheUniversityObserver has printed its last issue, the world has been left to grapple with a dystopian reality. Sometimes I find it difficult to wrap my head around what the world is living through. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted entire economies, societies, and environments. In our own UCD-centric world, students, academics,