The University Observer: Volume XVI, Issue 9

SPORT

GALWAY SNATCH DRAW IN FITZGIBBON CUP BACK PAGE

Observer Digest NEWS 27,000 surplus printer credit donated to Candidates declare intentions to run in Sabbatical elections PAGE 3

FEATURES

SUPPLEMENT

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INSIDE

OTWO LOVE-IN OTWO’S WITH THE KING OF COOL

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Observer The University

FEATURES

VOLUME XVI ISSUE 9

NE QUID FALSE DICERE AUDEAT NE QUID VERI NON AUDEAT

Pro Ana Websites

16th February 2010

IRELAND’S AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER

The shocking online anorexia forums PAGE 12

Country & Nursing UCD’s very own Dolly Parton PAGE 13

SCIENCE & HEALTH

SU to consider mandatory student health insurance NATASHA WETTEN

Cannabis and the law PAGE 18

Suas go round the twist for world record RUTH ARAVENA

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CD Suas Society will attempt to break the world record for the biggest game of Twister this week.

The event is being organised by Suas in conjunction with UCD Ents, and will take place tomorrow Wednesday 17th February on the artificial rugby pitches adjacent to the Sports Centre.

Speaking to The University Observer, Suas’s Dave Hegarty expressed his hopes for a large turnout of students, adding that he felt that there was a “good buzz around campus” for the event, and expressing his satisfaction that a large amount of people seemed to be aware of the event before posters had been put up.

Hegarty stated that although there was no particular inspiration behind the decision to attempt to break this particular world record, he and the other members of the Suas society had always hoped to stage a big event to coincide with Rag Week.

Hegarty also explained that the organisers had had to seek a special order of mats from MB, the manufacturers of the Continued on P5 >>

16th February 2010 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY...

1959 Fidel Castro

becomes President of Cuba

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tudents’ Union class representatives will meet tonight to discuss the possibility of holding a referendum advocating the implementation of a mandatory health insurance scheme for which would cover the UCD health centre.

Proposals have been put forward to introduce a health insurance premium, up to a maximum of €100 on all students, which would be paid at the beginning of term. The premium would also cover travel and dental insurance for the year and would see the end to pervisit fees for the Student Health Service.

It is understood that, should the referendum be approved and subsequently carried, one of the major insurance companies would be contracted to provide the insurance cover for all students.

Medical Card holders would be offered a refund under the scheme.

The proposals will be heard at an emergency convening of SU Council, which will also hear a motion to hold a referendum overturning the boycotts on Coca-Cola and Nestlé products. If Council votes to approve the proposals, the referenda will be held alongside the SU’s sabbatical elections in two weeks time.

Representatives of an SU boycott review committee, class reps Justin Brayden and Maggie O’Connor, will explain their findings on the relevance and effectiveness of the Coca-cola and Nestlé boycotts at the meeting tonight.

Members of council are expected to re-examine the reasons why Coca-Cola and Nestlé were initially boycotted, and will then decide whether these

Samuel L Jackson on the red carpet for his ‘Night of Love’ event in O’Reilly Hall Photo Colin Scally reasons still stand for today’s students.

It is expected that they will be referencing a briefing document, seen by The University Observer, which reports on the allegations made against the two

companies.

The initial Coca-Cola boycott, which was introduced after two separate referenda, was implemented throughout all SU outlets in 2003. A second referen-

dum, to overturn the boycott, was held shortly after the first following objections over the campaigning of the pro-boycott side in the original referendum. The falling of the subsequent referendum meant that no Coca-Cola products could be bought or sold in SU run outlets. The Nestlé boycott was introduced in 1989.

The document also explains that Nestlé boycotts began in the United States as early as 1977 in response to accusations that the Swiss multinational had pursued unethical methods of promotion for an unsafe powdered baby formula for mothers in third world countries.

UCD Students’ Union was the first institution in the world to introduce a boycott of all Coca-Cola products, following allegations that the company was mistreating workers and union members at their main bottling plant in Colombia.

According to the SU briefing document, a 2004 New York City fact-finding delegation found there to have been 179 major human rights violations, including nine murders. Other allegations include child labour violations in El Salvador and alleged use of unhealthy water in India.

If the referendum goes ahead, at least 15 per cent of the SU membership – approximately 2800 students – must vote in the referendum in order for quorum to be reached and its result to be declared valid.

The Council meeting takes place in the Astra Hall in the Student Centre tonight at 6pm, and may also discuss a proposal to hold a referendum on a student health insurance scheme.

Investigation launched into Ag bus crash EILEEN CROWLEY A bus carrying over fifty UCD students crashed last week, sparking the launching of an investigation into the causes.

The bus was carrying the students on the evening of Thursday 4th February when it skidded into a ditch on the R522 between Killeenleagh and Mitchelstown, Co. Cork. The students were returning from the funeral of Damian Buckley, a UCD Agricultural Science student who had died in tragic circumstances.

Two buses had been organised by the Students’ Union and the office of the Agriculture Programme Director to allow students to travel to the student’s funeral in Dromore, Co Cork.

The accident occurred when the bus driver failed to slow down for an approaching tractor. Upon realising the road was too narrow, the driver skidded

to the side and the bus left the road, falling into a ditch.

SU President Gary Redmond confirmed that an investigation into the incident is being carried out by both the university and the bus company involved. Redmond would not speculate on the cause of the crash, but did suggest adverse weather conditions may have played a role in the incident, calling the conditions “absolutely horrendous.”

Redmond stated that the bus company in question has been the SU’s regular bus provider for a number of years, and also has a longstanding record of working with the university.

A passenger on the bus in question told The University Observer that students had expressed concern on the return journey about what they felt was the excessive speed at which the coach was being driven. The passenger also

described how the bus driver had left the motorway and appeared to be lost. He also appeared to be “twiddling with the GPS” but was continued driving at high speed on a rural road.

After the crash, students and staff members on the bus were taken in by a local woman who provided the passengers some refreshments. Gardaí were then alerted to the incident.

No students were injured in the accident, and Redmond has stated that the matter is now in the hands of the UCD transport safety officer and the Gardaí. The driver of the bus was subsequently interviewed

by Gardaí at the scene. After a delay of several hours, another bus arrived to bring the students back to Dublin.

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Irish universities pay over €800k to IBEC BRENDAN MAY

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Polling stations at the Students’ Union elections

Low number run for Election BRIDGET FITZSIMONS Eight people have put their names forward for election for the five UCD Students’ Union sabbatical officer positions. With three of the candidates running unopposed, this year’s number of applicants is a major reduction on last year’s elections, which saw 14 people run for election.

Final year Social Science student Paul Lynam is the only candidate for the position of SU President.

Lynam has previously worked as both UCDSU Education Vice-President and Union of Students in Ireland (USI) Eastern Area Officer.

Two candidates are seeking the position of Campaigns & Communications Vice-President: final year Arts student Colm Maguire and second year Law student Pat de Brún. Both currently sit on the SU Executive, Maguire as LGBT Rights Officer and de Brún as Law Programme Officer.

Current Welfare Vice-President, History graduate Scott Ahearn is the sole candidate for Welfare Officer. This will be the third time that Ahearn has

run for the position.

Education Vice-President is the most contested position, with three candidates seeking election to the role. Third year Science student and current Science Programme Officer James Williamson will be campaigning for election as will second year Law student John Logue and postgraduate Law student Lisa Henry, who is the only female candidate in this year’s elections.

The sole candidate for Entertainments VicePresident is final year Arts student Jonny Cosgrove, who has previously worked in Arts Society, St Vincent de Paul and with UCD Ents.

This year’s elections will take place on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th March, and formal campaigning will begin next Monday. The Literary and Historical society will host a series of Hustings debates throughout the campaigning season. A Law Society debate which will question the relevance of the SU and the true motives of those who run for sabbatical election, will be held this evening (Tuesday) at 7pm in the Newman Building.

Science Day 2010 all set for this Thursday KATIE HUGHES Science students have been fundraising for Crumlin Children’s Hospital ahead of the annual Science Day, taking place this Thursday, 18th February. Proceeds will specifically be donated to the Crumlin Medical Research Foundation, which fund all the research and buy equipment for the hospital. The day’s organisers hope to raise €10,000 over the course of the day, a significant increase on last year’s total of €6,000.

The day will begin at 8am with a mass bucket collection all around Dublin, in which over 100 science students will participate.

The Science Hub, which will host the majority of the day’s events, will be transformed with “a great buzz in the air”, according to Science Day committee member Gavin Nolan. Events taking place on the day will include a performance by a major Irish comedian, who is yet to be confirmed at the time of going to press, as well as a hypnosis show and a display by street soccer performers. Other activities will include a ‘Dunk the Lecturer’ game, and sumo wrestling in padded suits.

The traditional Jock Walk, which kicked off the fundraising drive, took place last Thursday, 11th February, as a group of about forty Science students interrupted morning lectures across campus with bucket collections while wearing lab coats – with only their underwear underneath.

Earlier in the month, 38 students cycled from Dublin to Galway – a distance of 215km – stopping for bucket collections in towns along the route, including Maynooth and Loughrea. Each cyclist was required to raise €450 to participate.

Science Day committee member Amy O’Brien described the cycle as a “massive success”, with €14,000 being raised.

Fundraising efforts will continue after this Thursday’s activities. 29 students are taking part in a sponsored sky dive later in the year, with each entrant required to raise €650, half of which will be donated to the charity. A date for the sky dive has not yet been set.

This year’s Science Ball takes place on 25th February in Clontarf Castle. 350 tickets are being sold for the event, priced at €65 each – €10 of which will be donated into the Crumlin fund.

new report has revealed that UCD and the six other Irish universities paid a total of €874,083 to the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) between 2005 and 2008. The report, which was released by the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), stated that the colleges’ payments to IBEC were given “for advice” on labour matters. The costs to UCD for legal services during that time amounted to €94,714. These costs were in addition to human resources wages paid by the university.

IFUT, the primary trade union representing Irish academics, also notes that free resolution services are provided through the State’s Labour Relations Commission and its Labour Court.

At the report’s launch the General Secretary of IFUT, Mike Jennings, expressed his worry that the use of what he called “needlessly expensive legal teams” was a potential waste of university resources. He expressed further concern that such groups may act as potential deterrents to employees wanting to voice grievances.

Professor Gerard Casey, executive member of IFUT at UCD, has condemned the spending, saying that UCD’s current debt makes the college’s employment of IBEC “extravagant”, “pointless”, and “largely a violation of the whole [industrial relations] procedure.”

While acknowledging that the use of lawyers is justified in complex cases and in the upper levels of the legal system, Prof. Casey stated that their presence in the earlier stages of cases is the basis of this transgression and that such practices “cannot be the norm.”

The typical process of resolving human resources disputes, according to Professor Casey, is intended to

be a process of conciliation and arbitration that takes place in what he described as “lawyer-free zones.”

Litigants engage in a “straightforward… informal” process that results in a non-binding recommendation by the mediator. IFUT policy declares that action in higher courts should only be pursued if such conciliation fails.

Prof. Casey said that the local branch of IFUT “have indicated, informally to the universities, [that] we don’t quite understand why they’re [paying IBEC such sums]”, adding that IFUT would be contacting the university to ensure that it was dealing with industrial relations matters in an effective and sustainable manner.

A spokesperson for UCD defended the amount of money paid to IBEC, describing the services as “excellent value for money,” and said that UCD’s subscription to IBEC “gives the university unlimited access to information, representation and advice on best practice in the areas of employment, trade and international relations, taxation, and regulation.” He went on to say that IBEC “is engaged to represent the views of the university in complex industrial disputes that require expert or legal opinion which is otherwise not available.”

While UCD incurred legal expenses of €94, 714 when dealing with employees or ex-employees in 2008, it was considerably lower than the other six universities. UCC incurred costs of €900,169 for the same year, while TCD accrued legal costs of €480,300 for 2008. DCU spent €476,506 on legal costs purely in respect of dealings with employees in 2007, while NUI Galway spent €247, 794 in the same year with UL spending €300, 445. NUI Maynooth totalled legal costs in respect to employees of €199, 835 in 2007.

SU Welfare Update MABs Clinic

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This Wednesday from 12-2 p.m. in the Students’ Union Board Room, we have a drop-in centre for students who may want to have an appointment with an expert Money budget and finance person. They will be able to help you with financial problems and inform you about your entitlements.

Rag Week As many you know Rag Week is starting this week, but please remember to drink sensibly. Look out for the Drink Aware information in the Student bar. We also have a special Shandy Beer (1/2 Beer and 1/2 white lemonade) at a price of 3.50 for all students next week.

Shag Week Next week is Shag and the wel-fairies will be out at large to deliver you your ‘shag pack’, which will give you information about safe sex and contain a free condom. Also, don’t forget the special welfare deal of 144 condoms for the price of 15.

CONTACT Remember,the SU Welfare Officer Scott is always there to help if you encounter any difficulties. Email welfare@ ucdsu.ie or call (01) 716 3112 to get in touch.

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Exam results delayed as SIPTU initiate work-to-rule action RACHEL BOYLE

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he release of students’ exam results has been affected by industrial action, after the UCD branch of SIPTU decided to instigate a workto-rule policy. The action, which will be the second industrial action taken by SIPTU’s members in UCD this academic year, began on 1st February and follows recent pay cuts averaging 14 per cent for all public sector workers.

UCD Sociology lecturer and head of SIPTU’s educational branch, Dr Kieran Allen, said the action was being pursued by SIPTU’s members in an attempt to register their dissatisfaction with the Government over their pay cuts. Dr Allen described the pay cuts as an unfair attack on public sector employees, commenting that “it is a profound injustice that workers should be penalized by 14 per cent, while banks get billions in bailouts.”

A circular email has been sent to local SIPTU members containing advice on how workers can comply with the work-to-rule conditions. Workers

have been advised not to answer the phone every time it rings, to refuse to help with the workload of absent colleagues, to work overtime, and to wait 24 hours before responding to any emails. Staff are also refusing to carry out any work not performed by staff who have left or been made redundant.

Both undergraduate and postgraduate students have been affected by the action, with the release of grades for undergraduate continuous assessment being delayed, while postgraduate tutors have been forced to cover the workload left by the work-to-rule action.

Dr Allen said that the members of his branch had objections to “a situation where jobs are being whittled out of the public sector, and people are being asked to do the work of other people who have left.”

He added that the SIPTU branch “won’t be doing that, and we are not happy with that.”

Dr Allen said that he felt the majority of UCD students supported the staff ’s cause, despite the impact on their studies. Dr Allen told The University Observer that “we think that most students sympathize and support the staff,” and that students will continue to stand by staff in a display of dissatisfaction with “a government that is determined to penalize the young.”

When asked how long the work-to-rule would continue, Dr Allen said that student input would play a part, feeling that that “the more students that come out in support of this, the sooner the industrial action will end.” Dr Allen added that further industrial action, such as a repeat of the one-day strike that took place last semester, will continue as long as the government continues to refuse to rule out more pay cuts.

A UCD spokesperson stated that “the university is currently monitoring the situation regarding service delivery at UCD,” and that “UCD HR is liaising with the Irish Universities Association in order to take on board any sector based recommendations that may emerge as the action progress across all universities.”

UCD is not the only institution to be affected by a SIPTU work-to-rule action. In Waterford Institute of Technology, students staged an organised walk-out of classes in protest at the late release of their first semester grades, which had yet to be released at the time of going to press.

77% of adults ‘believe in free college education’ ALEX COURT A nationwide poll commissioned by UCD Students’ Union and conducted by external company Red C has revealed that 77 per cent of adults believe the government should continue to cover fees for thirdlevel education.

Students’ Union President Gary Redmond has expressed his satisfaction at the survey’s findings, describing the result as “a clear indication that the people of Ireland want third-level education to remain free.” He also said that the results “fly in the face” of Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe’s previous proposals to re-introduce tuition fees, and his repeated remarks that the issue will revisited at the end of his Government’s term.

When asked how the results of the poll might be used, Redmond said that the SU planned to “use the results of surveys to influence how we work with ongoing campaigns and future campaigns, and also how we may direct our lobbying.”

1,000 adults – including samples from a diverse range of age groups and from various geographical bases around the country – were questioned as part of the survey, which was conducted by telephone.

The strongest support for continued state funding

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of third-level fees came from the 18-24 year-old age group.

However, before the results were published, Redmond was reticent to comment on whether or not the SU were carrying out surveys relating to public opinion on third-level education. When previously questioned, Redmond said that “there’ll be a number of issues and I’m not going to say whether fees is or isn’t something we’ve been polling on, but certainly we’ve done polling on national issues in the past.”

However, Redmond was keen to clarify that a substantial effort is made to “…ensure that the questions were unbiased and were balanced. [We don’t] weight the questions in favour or against an answer that we might like.”

The results of the survey come just weeks after the heads of the State’s main universities, including UCD President Hugh Brady, acknowledged at a Joint Oireachtas Committee meeting that the student registration charge is a veiled form of third-level tuition fees.

Fine Gael Education Spokesman, Brian Hayes TD, has accused Minister O’Keeffe of introducing fees through the back door in the form of the annual increase to the student services levy, which last year stood at a maximum of €1,500.

StudentWelfare Fund to receive €27,700 in unused print credit NIAMH HYNES Unused printing credit from dormant graduate students’ accounts is to be donated to the Student Welfare Fund. The credit, which amounts to €27,700, will now be utilised by the Student Welfare Fund in providing financial assistance to students who suffer unexpected difficulties during their time in UCD. The donation is the result of an agreement between the Students’ Union, IT Services and the Ricoh Group, the providers of printing services throughout campus.

The initial deal was made by the SU with the Ricoh Group in September, after it was discovered that dormant printer accounts had not been closed for four years. At the time it was unknown how much money had been left dormant in these accounts. However IT Services confirmed last week that the credits from these accounts amounted to €27,700.

Students’ Union Welfare Officer Scott Ahearn and SU President Gary Redmond have been working on the agreement since the summer.

Ahearn described the transfer of the money as going towards “a fantastic fund that aids students who fall upon difficult times while in college.”

Ahearn added that his election manifesto “contained the plan to increase the monies available to the fund, and I’m happy I was able to achieve it.”

The scope of the Student Welfare Fund includes students who find themselves outside the normal channels of assistance. Its governing committee meets regularly during the year, making it pos-

Caption: Scott Ahearn accepting a cheque on behalf of the Student Welfare Fund from UCD Medical Society sible for students to apply for the fund at any time during the academic calendar. This year has seen a record number of applications for assistance from the fund.

Residence fines from the last academic year, amounting to €14,000, were also donated to the Student Welfare Fund last November.

Redmond told The University Observer he was “delighted” with the developments, and described the deal as being one of “various different initiatives” this year through which the SU has been able to “secure just under an extra €100,000 for Student Welfare.”

Class rep slams Ó Súilleabháin performance

BRIDGET FITZSIMONS

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CD Students’ Union Education Officer Donnacha Ó Súilleabháin has come under fire from a Science class rep who campaigned for his election last year. Noel Doyle, a second year class rep, claims that Ó Súilleabháin has failed to deliver on the bulk of the promises contained in his election manifesto.

Doyle attacked Ó Súilleabháin at an SU Council meeting last Monday, 8th February, as Ó Súilleabháin delivered his fortnightly report to the meeting.

Reading aloud from a copy of Ó Súilleabháin’s election manifesto, Doyle heavily criticised the Education Officer for his failure to implement many of his election promises, specifically identifiying the issues of resit fees and proper tutor and demonstrator training, which featured significantly in Ó Súilleabháin’s manifesto.

Doyle told Ó Súilleabháin that he and the other

students who had campaigned for him felt that Ó Súilleabháin had betrayed their trust, and asked whether Ó Súilleabháin “would be lying to us again,” referring to Ó Súilleabháin’s intention to seek election to the position of President at next month’s elections. Ó Súilleabháin has since withdrawn his interest in the position.

When contacted by The University Observer following the meeting, Doyle declined to comment further on what he had said, saying that his comments “speak for themselves.” Ó Súilleabháin declined to comment on the questions and allegations specifically, but stated that he and the other sabbatical officers “welcome questions at Council,” and that each officer prepared reports for each meeting in order to facilitate this. Ó Súilleabháin defended his work rate and told The University Observer that he is “proud of my work for the year.” Ó Súilleabháin also faced criticism from Arts Programme Officer Jonny Cosgrove, who criticised him for his failure to attend to a meeting of SU Executive.

It is unclear whether the combined criticisms from a number of representatives were a factor in Ó Súilleabháin’s decision not to seek election to the position of SU President, leaving Paul Lynam unopposed for the role. Three people are running to succeed him: Science Programme Officer James Williamson, Law postgraduate student Lisa Henry, and second year Law student John Logue. Ó Súilleabháin will remain as UCDSU Education Officer until his eventual successor takes office on 1st July 2010. However, it is understood that Ó Súilleabháin now intends to seek election to the position of Union of Students in Ireland (USI) Education Officer, which would require him to take another sabbatical year from his degree in Neuroscience, from which he has been on leave since 2008.

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Flippin’ great Tuesday from UCDVO and Brava HUGH MCLAUGHLIN

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CD Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO) will be fulfilling the pancake needs of Belfield students today, 16th February, in Café Brava. The group are holding a fundraising event in the Student Centre to celebrate Pancake Tuesday.

All proceeds raised will go to the Haiti earthquake emergency appeals, Saint Vincent de Paul projects, and various other charities chosen by UCDVO. UCDVO officers will be stationed throughout Belfield campus during the day, selling tokens for the event at a cost of €2. These tickets can then be exchanged at Café Brava for a pancake, accompanied with a choice of tea or coffee.

UCDVO’s Events Officer, Brian Deeney, has high hopes for the

success of the event, stating that “if we sell a thousand pancakes we’ll be raising €2,000, which is our target. Last year we ran a similar event and we raised, I think, €1,600 – so this year we’re definitely hoping to top that.”

The UCDVO’s Pancake Tuesday fundraising efforts will not cease after pancake sales finish. According to Deeney, “Copperface Jacks has agreed to give us the proceeds from their door on Tuesday night, and that’s going towards the earthquake fund. They’ll cover their own costs for the first six hundred tickets and then anything beyond six hundred tickets will be given to us as a donation.”

Deeney also shared details regarding the upcoming UCDVO day, which is scheduled for Thursday 25th March. On the day, fundraisers will be collecting in the centre of town, and also be on the Stillorgan dual carriageway to

meet the morning’s traffic. Various events will take place on campus throughout the day, ranging from sporting competitions to carnival games. It is also intended to round the day off with a nightclub event.

Deeney was quick to praise the independent fundraising efforts of UCD students and estimated that, to date, over €70,000 has been raised by the UCDVO for the Haiti earthquake emergency appeals.

Deeney also explained that much of this figure has been raised independently of UCDVO, revealing that “students on campus have been very good about going off and organising their own events that we have no idea about, and then they just come back with a cheque.”

Deeney then stated that he had been “stunned at the generosity of people” and wished to “thank the students for supporting us and making it a little bit easier.”

UCD Fashion Show to return next year

Ball strictly for UCD students ZOE AUSTEN

UCD Ball organizers are to employ new ticketing measures designed to ensure that the majority of students attending the Ball this year will be UCD students.

Tickets for the Ball, which are usually sold online as well as in SU shops around campus, will now be mostly sold online using an advanced and custombuilt new system. To buy tickets, students will have to use their computer on campus on the UCD network or be logged into their account on the university’s online Student Information System (SIS).

Speaking to The University Observer, SU Entertainments Officer Mike Pat O’Donoghue said that students will only be able to purchase a maximum of four tickets each through the online service. He explained that the reason behind this change in ticket sales is to en-

sure that the event “offers UCD students a chance to make the most of their last day on campus, surrounded by their fellow UCD students.”

This year, the event will be relocated from its traditional home beside the Student Centre to the football pitches opposite the Quinn School of Business.

This move allows for the capacity to be increased from 5,000 to 8,000 students, making it the largest private party in Europe.

In line with this rise in capacity, the organisers have had to take greater measures to ensure that students will not only have a better chance of being able to attend this year’s event, but also to guarantee the safety of patrons as soon as they enter the vast venue.

In tandem with the new ticketing system, students will be monitored when leaving and re-entering the site so that the organisers will be able to tell exactly how many people

are in attendance at any one time. Although this system has never been trialled on a student market before, O’Donoghue explained that it had been successfully used on large UK festival events such as Lovebox and Global Gathering and said he was excited to see how the arrangements would work in an Irish setting.

One thousand ‘Early Bird Tickets’, priced at €25, are scheduled to go on sale at noon tomorrow, Wednesday 17th February, with the remainder of the tickets going on sale at a later date priced at €35. Details of the acts confirmed to appear at the event are to be released in the coming days.

O’Donoghue said that with the help of a “massive” team of UCD staff members, event management organisations and other SU representatives, he hoped the UCD Ball would be “the biggest event based on the Belfield campus ever”.

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UCD Fashion Show auditions NIAMH BEIRNE The UCD Fashion show is to return in November 2010 after a two-year absence.

Although no definite dates have yet been set, the Students’ Union’s Arts Programme Officer Jonny Cosgrove and Ents Officer Mike Pat O’Donoghue have announced that they plan to run the event next year.

The event, which has previously been Europe’s largest student fashion event, has not taken place for the past two years due to a lack of funding – despite a large number of students having expressed interest in contributing to the show.

According to Cosgrove, outside agents had been involved with some of the more recent shows, including the most recently organised event, held in aid of the Down Syndrome Centre, in 2008. As a result, UCD students were essentially “co-opted in to be involved.”

A meeting is to be held tomorrow, Wednesday 17th February, with the aim of forming an organising committee and offering all interested parties a chance to become involved in the project.

Cosgrove said he hoped that a committee could begin to form extensive plans for a “bigger and better” November show without the academic commitments of the committee’s members being compromised.

Though the event was previously known as the UCD Arts Fashion Show, Cosgrove was quick to dispel notions of the event being restricted to the involvement of Arts students only, and appealed to students from all disciplines to get involved, should they wish to.

Cosgrove hopes that with innovative ideas and new perspectives the UCD Fashion Show can once again become what he felt was the university’s highlight event of the year.

While no definite plans will be made until a committee is formed after Wednesday’s meeting, fundraising tactics such as bag-packing and morning collections are likely to be repeated owing to their past success.

With young designer competitions seeing continued success in DIT and DCU, organisers plan to allow submissions from design talent in UCD as well as from designers studying fashion at other institutions. High-street stores will also be featured in the show. Models will be sourced exclusively from among the UCD student body.

Cosgrove is hopeful that a modelling contract will be secured for the best male and female models of the 2010 show.

Tomorrow’s meeting takes place at 1pm in the Astra Hall, Student Centre. Those who are interested in getting involved are asked to email their details and ideas to fashionshow@ucdents.com.

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47 percent of UCD students unable to name any SU officer GAVAN REILLY

A

n exclusive poll carried out by The University Observer has revealed that most students are unable to name any of the five Students’ Union sabbatical officers.

47 per cent of students surveyed were unable to name any of the five full-time officers. Just seven per cent of students interviewed were able to name all five of the officers, who are elected in high profile university-wide elections each March.

Only 39 per cent of students were able

to correctly name the Students’ Union President as Gary Redmond, while 27 per cent of respondents could successfully name Mike Pat O’Donoghue as the Entertainments Vice-President.

35 per cent of students were able to name Scott Ahearn as the current Welfare Vice-President, while Paddy Ryan was identified by 24 per cent of students as the Campaigns & Communications Officer.

The Education Vice-President, Donnacha Ó Súilleabháin, scored lowest, being correctly named by just 16 per cent of the students surveyed.

Ó Súilleabháin also came last in a separate survey, where students were asked to identify the person being shown to them in an A4 photograph. The Education Vice-President was recognised by just 24 per cent of the student body.

Redmond was the most recognised, being successfully recognised by 68 per cent of the student body.

Ahearn was recognised by 51 per cent, while O’Donoghue and Ryan were correctly identified by 44 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.

The results will be a blow to Donnacha

Sabbatical Officer recognition polling YES 39%

NO 61%

President Gary Redmond

Campaigns & Communications Officer Paddy Ryan

Education Officer Donnacha Ó Súilleabháin

Can you name the SU President?

Can you name the Campaigns & ComNO 61% munications Officer?

Can you name the Education Officer?

YES 39%

YES 18%

YES 39%

YES 18%

YES 16%

YES 16%

18% WhoYES is the person in this photo?

SU President – 68% NO 82% No/Incorrect – 32%

Who is the person in this photo?

NO 84% Campaigns Officer – 33% No/Incorrect – 67%

YES will 16%be satisfied with the frequency Redmond with which his face was correctly recognised by NO 84% the membership, and will claim that his 68 per cent facial YES 26% recognition will be sufficient to NO offset 74% the relative infrequency with which students could name him as YES 27% the SU President. The fact that he leads his NO 73% colleagues in both polls is an endorsement of his ‘one voice’ policy, though the low scoring of his vice-presidents is an argument against it.

As the Union’s Communications officer, Ryan will be disappointed with the fact that fewer NO than 74% one in five students can name the person holding his position.

YES 27% Nonetheless, the fact that one third of studentsNO could73% recognise Ryan’s face – even though Ryan sits on few committees and has seen his President commandeer most of the Union’s public campaigning – is a testament to his likeability and personal touch.

YES 26%

NO 84% YES 26%

UCD’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr Philip Nolan, has conceded that “substantial and meaningful communication did not take place” before current Masters and PhD students were informed of a hike in their academic fees, according to Students’ Union President Gary Redmond.

Details on the decision, which reverses the earlier tradition of halving a student’s fees in the fourth and subsequent years of their research Masters or PhD programmes, were communicated to the students affected in a circular email last semester.

Redmond explained to The University Observer that the decision to increase the fees had been made three years ago, but its implementation had been deferred so as not to affect current PhD students, and to allow prospective students to be fully aware of the financial commitments they would be taking by enrolling in a PhD programme.

“It doesn’t appear that any communication – or certainly any meaningful communication – took place,” Redmond explained, adding that current students were therefore “very surprised to get an

e-mail telling them what their fees would be for next year.”

A group of graduate students complained to the Students’ Union in the wake of the email, and set up an online petition lobbying the university to reverse the decision. The SU have since raised the matter at a number of meetings, including the December meeting of the University Governing Authority, at which Dr Nolan agreed to investigate the manner in which the decision was communicated to the student body.

Redmond and other SU representatives met with the Registrar last Friday to discuss the decision.

this year’s elections in two weeks’ time.

The University Observer invited all five sabbatical officers to comment on their statistics but each declined to offer any comment.

The poll was carried out by The University Observer last Thursday and Friday.

Several hundred students were polled in each of the two surveys, which were carried out separately and surveyed separate YES 39% pools of students.

Respondents were split evenly between genders and NOrepresented 61% programmes from all five UCD Colleges.

YES 18%

NO 61%

Analysis by Gavan Reilly YES 16%

NO 82%

YES 18%

Welfare Officer NO 82% Scott Ahearn CanYES you16% name the Welfare Officer?

NO 84% YES 26%

NO 84%

Entertainments Officer Mike Pat O’Donoghue YES 26% Can you name the Entertainments Officer?

NO 74%

YES 27% NO 74%

NO 73%

Who is the person in this photo?

Education Officer – 24% NO 74% No/Incorrect – 76%

YESperson 27% in this photo?

Who is the Welfare Officer – 51% NO 73% No/Incorrect – 49%

Who is the person in this photo?

Ents Officer – 44% No/Incorrect – 56%

Without doubt, sabbatical officer who will be YES the27% most disappointed with his performance in our surveys is Education NO 73% Officer, Donnacha Ó Súilleabháín, who scores lowest in both polls. Although one in six students could successfully name him when asked who holds his position – forgiveable given the near-universal role of UCD’s Programme Offices – the small number of people who recognise his face, when he has shared so many posters with the better-performing Ahearn, is a failing.

Scott Ahearn will be quite pleased with his performance in our photographic poll; over half of students can recognise him, which is no mean feat in a university of UCD’s size, though the fact that Ahearn has run for the position on two occasions, and for Arts Programme Officer in the year before, will account somewhat. Nonetheless, Ahearn will be pleased with his performance as he runs a third time, seeking another twelve months in the Welfare office.

It is probably fair to argue that the role of an Entertainments Officer is to be neither seen nor heard, but to organise behind the scenes – meaning that conversely, for someone who has been involved in campus life for six years now, this has been Mike Pat’s least visible year around Belfield.

Nonetheless, enjoying a 44 per cent facial recognition, and coming second to Redmond in terms of name recognition, should be considered a reasonable feat.

Registrar acknowledges communication problems MATTHEW JONES AND GAVAN REILLY

YES 39%

NO 82%

NO 82%

NO 61%

Ó Súilleabháin as he seeks election to the position of Education Officer with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).

Ahearn, however, will be buoyed by the news that his face is recognised by more than half of students surveyed as he seeks re-election to the position of Welfare Vice-President in next month’s elections.

Redmond will also be pleased with his facial recognition as he seeks the USI presidency.

The poll will also offer food for thought for the seven other candidates who will run for election to the five positions at

A UCD spokesperson said that the decision to charge full fees was in line with UCD’s move to “the international model of fees for graduate research students,” and that the decision “was brought forward by the Colleges during the normal fee setting process. As such, from September 2010 the fees for all years of PhD or research masters [programmes] will be charged at the

same rate.”

The spokesperson added that “the university would always encourage students to complete their PhDs within the normal four year period.”

Redmond said that the practice of halving the fees from the fourth year onwards dated from times when PhD students would traditionally complete their research within three years.

Postgraduate students in Humanities and Social Sciences are currently charged €5,200 per annum in fees, while those in Science and Engineering pay €5,800.

CONTINUED FROM P1

Suas go round the twist for world record Twister game, in order to collect the 720 mats needed to break the record.

These mats will be placed side-byside across the pitches to form a giant Twister board which will be used to create the mat for the game.

Tickets for the world record Twister attempt, which are priced at €3, can be purchased from the venue at the day of the event. The current world record for the largest game of Twister was played on 4,699 square feet of mats by fraternity students at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, who constructed a board measured 128ft x 119ft.

This event will not be the first attempt made by UCD students at breaking a world record. As part of Commerce Day 1990, a giant Christmas card measuring nine metres by six metres when closed, and nine metres by twelve metres when opened,

was made by students to help raise money for communications equipment for a local health clinic. More recently, in 2006, Science student Liam O’Reilly broke the world record for most hugs received in an hour (727) as part of a fundraising initiative for that year’s Science Day. This year’s Rag Week will see events taking place across the campus throughout the week. A number of charities are involved in organizing the events, including Suas, UCD St Vincent De Paul, Amnesty International, the IPA Society, Rotaract, UCD Volunteers Overseas, and Gaisce. All proceeds from Rag Week events will be divided amongst these charities.

UCD Ents has also organised 13 different events for the week, including Rag Ball, a headphone disco and a charity slave auction.

6

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

16.02.10

ANALYSIS

news@universityobserver.ie

A Degree of sympathy?

While students might support the SIPTU work-to-rule strike in theory, it will have a regrettable impact on the lives of students, writes Amy Bracken

T

hroughout their organised

history, students have always been ready to support protests, and have had a strong record of being ready to fight social injustices.

We’ve had no qualms when it came to protesting against third level fees, despite the considerable chaos that some of the demonstrations have caused, and supporting causes is what we are known for.

SIPTU announced last week that it was operating the work-to-rule as part of nationwide action being taken in protest against governmental pay cuts across all sectors. However, UCD itself has already been affected by industial action last semester, the effects of which were quite disruptive.

In theory, students will support a strike initiative – but since it emerged that the work-to-rule is affecting the processing of exam results, students will be slow to find satisfaction in what workers have been forced to do.

The SIPTU protest means that lecturers are refusing to work overtime, outside of their designated hours, or in any way that exceeds the strict definition of their job conditions. Put simply, they are working by the rules of their employment, hence the name ‘work-to-rule’. If they do not complete some work on time, they simply don’t do it; the only alternative is

to rush the process. Whichever of these two alternatives ultimately occurs, a large percentage of students will be affected.

Firstly, there is the obvious frustration of having thousands of students anxiously await overdue exam results. Secondly, there is the pondering over whether or not a student deserved a better grade – in which case, the ‘skewed’ result might be

attributed to a rushed job as a result of the work-to-rule. The students who are most affected are those who are applying for further study, such as final year undergraduates applying for Masters degrees or other postgraduate places. Students who are unable to choose writing samples to submit, or to see their GPA, may find the added time constraints an extra pressure

in their application process.

There have also been complaints by a number of PhD students about the additional correction workload they are being assigned, thanks to the action SIPTU are undertaking. Lecturers and professors appear to be giving the work they cannot complete within the work-to-rule timeframe to senior students working as tutors

to undergraduates.

SIPTU’s President, Jack O’Connor, has stated that unless the pay cuts imposed by the government are reversed, the work-to-rule will continue. Thus it is likely that many more applications are set to be affected.

Students look set to find themselves in a situation where they have no idea of their continous assessment results when they are entering into their final exams.

Depending on the length of the workto-rule, there remains a possibility that some students will enter their summer exams without having received any of their continous assessment results.

Though students are generally regarded as a protest-happy subset of society, in a strange twist of events, we are not only external to the protest group in this case, but we are also baring the full brunt of the effects posed by this industrial action. We might sympathise with the strikers, but surely the timing of the work-to-rule should have been taken into account by the education representatives in SIPTU who voted for it.

While students clearly have a degree of sympathy with their protesting lecturers, the purposes of this industrial action need to be urgently reviewed – or, better yet, a different type of action should be considered in order to prevent work piling up on lecturers’ desks. We are not denying that we excessively use our voices when a government policy affects us, but this industrial action could affect us drastically too. All that students ask is that those at the centre of the work-torule consider a less disruptive – and perhaps a more effective – form of action.

The state of our Union With three candidates running unopposed for SU elections and student recognition of the union at a new low, Bridget Fitzsimons asks if students care about the SU

News Editor Depending on your point of view, this time of year can be either incredibly exciting or horribly annoying. The Students’ Union’s annual sabbatical elections mean that the university walls are cluttered with the faces of those running for election, with hopeful electioneers making lecture addresses several times an hour. On the day itself, crowds gather in buildings to jostle for the attention of voters, and end up managing both to create a tense atmosphere, and to annoy almost everyone.

This year, however, it looks as if the excitement and annoyance of the SU elections are to be greatly diminished. In previous years we have become used to highly contested races, fraught debates, and an atmosphere of huge competition. But now that three of the races – those of President, Entertainments Vice-President and Welfare Vice-President – are uncontested, it is time to ask whether students even care about the SU. Another reason for examining the worth of the SU comes with the poll conducted by The University

Observer elsewhere on these pages, showing that student recognition for the five current SU sabbatical officers is embarrassingly low.

Students cannot take all the blame for being uninterested in UCD Students’ Union – it can often seem like no effort is being made to make the Union more

accessible to the average student. While there are far more class reps this year than in previous terms, a visit to Union Council is ample evidence of the fact that many of these reps – whose job, among other duties, is to attend Council on their classes’ behalves – simply do not show up. It is the same old faces that inhabit Council every week. Some classes have dedicated class reps who take their job seriously, but quite a number of the inhabitants of Union Council are everlasting students whittling away a year of their varsity lives.

While nobody can deny that the SU does achieve things and that its officers work hard, it must be asked why these officers aren’t interacting more with the

people they claim to represent? In saying that they speak for the 22,000 students enrolled in UCD, the SU sabbatical officers claim a responsibility to know, and be known, to their constituents. Collectively, students pay €2,000 in wages every week to the five sabbatical

officers; the least that they can expect, in return, is proper value for money in the form of openness and transparency.

The SU has essentially become a closed corridor, not being particularly open to the average student looking to get involved. To say that it is riddled with cliques is an understatement: to put it bluntly, if you don’t know the right people already within, there’s no point in an average student attempting to do anything within the SU. You may have a passion for education, welfare or campaigning, but don’t count on being elected unless you know a lot of people – and they must be the right people – even if you do manage to get into the electoral race.

Perhaps this is why there are only eight candidates running for the five sabbatical positions, and why only one woman has decided to run. In a university where the majority of students are female we have become forced, year after year, to tolerate an overwhelmingly male-orientated and biased SU. Similarly, different races and ages are barely represented, nor are those with disabilities. For an institution with a population as diverse as UCD’s, our student representation is depressingly uniform. We have all stopped caring about a Union that doesn’t itself care about being visible to us.

It is clear that change needs to occur when people do not know who the sabbatical officers are, or what they do, and fail to recognise them from posters that are clearly not doing what they are intended to.

A Union must represent all of its members. Unless the Students’ Union is visible, the roles within it will continue to be irrelevant. Why would students vote for, and how are they meant to recognise, people who won’t make themselves known to them?

The next crop of sabbatical officers will be the same as the generations that came before it – unless they take real action to engage with the people that put them where they hope to be. Hopefully they will take the results of The University Observer’s survey on board, and use them as motivation to become more visible and relevant to students for the next academic year.

But students too must take action. If posters and campaigns are not grabbing students’ attention, it can’t be all the fault of the Students’ Union. We need to engage in our Union if we’re to get any benefit from them at all. To change, we must all be involved, and the SU, not just its officers, must make an effort the make this happen.

16.02.10

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

7

COMMENT

comment@universityobserver.ie

It’s not easy being Green

Speaking out on environmental issues hasn’t worked for the Green Party in Ireland, says Conor Murphy, so a different tack needs to be taken

T

he Green movement has a problem. Though a seemingly timeless cause, there is an immovable and imminent ‘kill’ switch inside its most important issue: global warming.

That switch is the ‘tipping point phenomenon’. Once the level of carbon in the atmosphere has exceeded a certain point, there is nothing we can do – an avalanche of change has been set off that no amount of measures can ever hope to reverse. This means simply that if the international Green organisations want change, it needs to happen soon, or it will largely remain forever pointless.

Though this all sounds a Doomsday scenario, the Green movement all round the world know that simple but strong cuts now can stave off this threat of irreparable ruin, but the world’s various Greens have no support to enforce such cuts.

In Ireland, the Green Party is a somewhat underrated entity. Though it has shrugged off most of the naïvety that its members once held, its approval rating in opinion polls still rests on its core support of three per cent. After two years in power, no new ground has been gained with the electorate – in fact, it has been lost, given the results of last summer’s local elections – and it must be admitted that most people simply do not care about the issues they see the Greens represent.

Let’s think for a moment about the headline ‘Green’ initiatives you can remember from the Programme for Government. The increase in investment

on renewable energy was rather limited and mostly a positive spin of funds that had already been earmarked, while the two other headline issues that a straw poll might identify would relate to genetically modified (GM) crops and stag hunting.

This is where maturity and logic should come into it. Why should the Greens specifically attack stag hunting? Because there is only one Hunt in Ireland, and almost nobody within the electorate would be affected. But the Greens should be either seeking a ban on all bloodsports, or on none at all. A headline-grabbing ban on a single hunt in Connacht only marginalises the group, when the country is in economic turmoil with no large scale benefits. Meanwhile, GM crops have been eaten for more than 15 years by billions of people, with no recorded adverse affects – and some are endorsed by the FDA, WHO and Royal Society of Medicine.

Artificially enhanced crops could save thousands of lives in many drought-ridden territories, but elitists like Greenpeace still attack GM foods on the grounds that they haven’t been ‘tested enough’. As one character in the political satire In The Loop coyly quipped, “We don’t need facts when we’ve got the truth!”

It is time for the Green Party to abandon the crazies in the closet and to face the real world. It must make its policy choices on a strictly scientific basis, and avoid the fiascos of GM crops and biofuels. This need becomes all the more evident in light of revelations concerning major British environmental committees,

who have been found to have been basing their arguments on falsified statistics from unqualified members of Greenpeace.

The idiotic mistrust of science needs to thrown out now.

The way to most clearly inform the public about this change of tack (and the easiest way to earn more votes) is to completely rebrand the party in the style of its counterparts from the Nordic countries.

These Scandinavian organisations are not purist Green parties (for whom the average borderline income family will, in all probability, never vote) but a much more palatable type of Socialist Green.

As the media focus switches from the environmental conscience of the party to its position on broader societal issues, so too will the focus of the general public.

This rebranding would allow the party to deal with typically ‘Green’ issues, but to disguise them as being largely economic moves. Investment in new wind farms, for example, will become a ‘jobs boost for the local economy’ and ‘capital investment in the construction industry’.

The Green Party needs to learn to bury its environmental issues until it has the power to actually make their cases. The global environment doesn’t care for fanfare, and merely needs action taken any way it can. This will hurt the ideal of a single-issue party, but a singularly-focused party is a lonely one in modern politics.

This may be a cold and alien tactic to a relatively warm, open and honest party – but if flower power can’t help the environment, underhand tactics just might.

Old dogs and older tricks As the Students’ Union Sabbatical elections loom, James Fagan contemplates how students’ unions could do more to represent their members, and argues the case for a more effective national union

Comment Editor As I write this article, I am travelling by train through the countryside. The fields are seas of emerald, flowing past in stark contrast to the bare skeletal branches of the trees which line them. Yet, as it is spring, the scene has an aura of renaissance about it. Every tree is waiting to bloom back into life and complete the picture.

In many ways it’s fortunate that the Students’ Union elections fall at this time of year. They bring the promise of injecting life into UCD by making it a university of the students, providing them with what they need. The bleak winter of student politics, however, isn’t so cyclical.

Every year brings promises of a greater focus by the candidates on what they think we want. We have Ents candidates promising wild parties that would rival the orgies of olde, Campaigns & Communications candidates pledging to stick it to The Man, while the President guarantees to change the world in the name of UCD. But yet, it’s a rare occurrence that meaningful policies and initiatives actually come about as a result of Union elections.

Most promises are unattainable – and, at best, populist hooks to secure votes.

A students’ union is an important facet to any college; it’s the only method of focusing the needs of the student body into a coherent form and bringing it to the attention of the governing authority.

The office of the Welfare Vice-President provides vital information regarding counselling and sexual awareness. The

Education VP helps to voice students’ concerns regarding curricula and related issues. However, it would appear that some candidates want to use it as an opportunity to bolster their CV or to extend their time in college, their commitment to the job half-hearted.

It’s rare for one of the sabbatical officers to actively seek out and meet with the students they have been elected to represent.

They need to take the time to invite in views of the students during term-time, and not just when drawing up a campaign manifesto. Since when have the student body’s pressing concerns only existed in March? All sorts of problems crop up during the year, but there is no clearly visible or promoted channel for raising them. Why should this year’s troubles have to wait until next year to have action to resolve them taken?

The other problem is that unions can find themselves working to fulfil outdated and unwanted mandates. Seven years ago, our predecessors voted in two referenda about the sale of Coca-Cola products in Union shops. Ever since, candidates have run for office pledging to once again put the Union’s Coke boycott to a vote. To date it hasn’t materialised – at the time of writing there are whispers that it may take place this year, but I’ll be a Doubting Thomas and wait until I see it with my own eyes.

The impetus required to bring about such a referendum isn’t so large – particularly when you’re taking a sabbatical from

“Most promises are unattainable – and, at best, populist hooks to secure votes”

college and you have no academic worries. If you’ve promised to do something, you have no excuse for not following through with it. An elected job comes with the expectation that you are an instrument of your electorate, and will toil hard to achieve what they want in an expedient manner.

More worrying, however, is the position of the Union of Students in Ireland, our national union.

USI’s officers aren’t elected directly by its members, yet it claims to represent the interests of all Irish students. This hardly appears to be very democratic; this can lend itself to the use of extreme approaches to issues without any form of a rational debate. Take the example of sit-ins at government ministries: as a tame and impotent way of campaigning; it cheapens the value of the student viewpoint by perpetuating the belief that we are all grouchy extremists in our approach to politics.

An appropriate example is an incident which took place at Durham University, where a public debate was to be held, featuring two speakers from the British National Party. The response from the National Union of Students, USI’s British counterpart, was a lengthy letter to the Debate Union and the President of the University filled with quasi-legal nonsense and threats of disruptive protests. The

debate was called off. What must be questioned is what gives the national union the right to dictate the lives of its member students, empowering it to prove nothing and to stifle debate. It is paramount that our Union works to ensure that such an incident can never happen here.

Moreover, we need to ask ourselves whether membership of the national union is essential. It can work as a unified voice when there are issues, but paying it over €100,000 per annum in affiliation fees means that money that can be spent

on the concerns of students is going to waste.

Democracy is, by its own essence, about representing people. Unions have an onerous duty to look out for our welfare.

The officers have achieved great things in the past but at the moment there is a serious stagnation in UCDSU. Whoever comes into power this March needs to fully understand this, get out of the office and meet us, the students. Until then our university will never see its full potential come to bloom.

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THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

16.02.10

COMMENT

comment@universityobserver.ie

Home Rule or Rome Rule Gary Dunne examines the downfall of the Roman Catholic Church as a moral yardstick for Irish society, and asks what might take its place in helping an increasingly complex and diverse society evaluate right and wrong

I

n recent weeks, Pope Benedict XVI has courted controversy by opposing an equality bill in the United Kingdom. The Pope believes that the bill, which ensures discrimination is not a factor in people being refused employment, goes against “natural law”.

He urged UK bishops to defend their faith and to ensure the Catholic Church’s moral teachings remain. Various humanist bodies, such as the National Secular Society, reacted angrily to this news. However, the question remains: how relevant is the Pope to today’s world? To what extent does the average citizen still pay attention to the latest offerings from the Vatican?

The teachings of the Catholic Church do not seem to be followed by the average young person today. Colleges around Ireland are not filled with pious students, carefully acting according to papal wishes.

Is this a change for good or ill? Will society slowly decay without the moral preaching of Rome? On the other hand, is society heading towards a more equitable existence, one where simply loving the person you want is not deemed an abominable offence?

Hypocrisy can be seen in many areas of church teaching. While forgiveness and openness are said to be core functions of Catholicism, there does not seem to be much of that shown by Benedict XVI towards those who do not follow canon law to the letter. Gay? Forget about it.

African and use a condom? Immoral to the core. The man dubbed the “defender of the faith” in his earlier life sees no grey areas in life: either you follow the Church’s teachings or you are wrong.

Seemingly somebody who falls in love with someone of the same gender and wants to live their life with that person, is abominable. For a religion based on the actions of a man who taught his followers forgiveness and love, whether you had leprosy or were (gasp!) a tax collector, this intolerance seems to go against core Christian aims. Many have pointed out the obvious issue of a Pope who wants the

world to lead restrained lives, free from excess whilst living in the most opulent, extravagant space in the world. Whilst the Irish taxpayer foots the bill for the abuse scandals, the Vatican retains its vast collection of artwork.

The abuse scandals have had a crippling effect on the Vatican. Like Adam and Eve when they tasted the apple, we have all gained knowledge that means there is no return to a past existence.

People today, especially those under 30, cannot view the Church as the moral core of society. After all, what is worse – two people from the same gender in a loving relationship, or a child being abused by a priest? Students of today have grown up seeing the Catholic Church as either a source of comedy (Father Ted et al) or as a source of unforgiveable crimes. How can a man that is in control of an organisation that has committed some of the most horrendous deeds imaginable to children be taken seriously when he lectures society on its moral failings?

Today’s students are not in awe of their local priest. The days of having the parish priest as a prized reference on a CV are long gone, and a picture of the Pope does not have pride of place in too many homes today. In his place are pictures of graduations, weddings and every other form of personal, familial photo. Instead of venerating a faraway man in robes, family is top priority.

Family leads to an area that is mentioned when the end of religious relevancy is spoken about. A lack of a guiding moral compass for society may be a downside. While it is to be celebrated that a foundation that preaches intolerance no longer shapes our social mores, what has – or will – take its place?

The church may have serious flaws, but at the heart of religion are simple values that are desirable in life. Basic Christian beliefs would lead to a better life. The world would be better if everybody prac-

“Whilst the Irish taxpayer foots the bill for the abuse scandals, the Vatican retains its vast collection of priceless artwork” ticed love and forgiveness and religion is an excellent means to instil these values in society. Many argue that the negatives associated with students today have arisen due to growing up in a valueless society.

Religious devotion has been replaced by clothes, TV, movies, sport and every other

pleasurable activity imaginable. This is not to say that people enjoying themselves is negative, just that extreme over-indulgence is not good for society either.

However, it is difficult to see the church regaining the relevancy it once held in the lives of Catholic people; indeed, all

religions in the Western world are suffering. The past twenty years have seen an irrevocable shift in attitudes. Students of today have less and less contact with the church. The fall from relevancy can only decrease further unless serious changes happen within the Vatican.

The Hallmark Lonely Hearts Club Amy Wall argues that Valentine’s Day is a needless attempt to pressurise loved-up couples and singletons alike So the chocolates have been eaten, the flowers have been thrown out, the embarrassing stuffed animals with ‘I love you’ embroided across them have been chucked into the wardrobes, and once more the world settles back into its normal routine. People have stopped asking, “Are you seeing anyone?” and rather than being decked out in various shades of red and pink, the shop windows have turned to a myriad selection of greens, awaiting the next big celebration.

Valentine’s Day… Some will be sad to see it go, but the other (single) half of the Irish population will breathe a heavy sigh of relief that it’s done and over with, and we can all get back to business without having couples shoved in our faces every five minutes.

Sure, Valentine’s Day is great: if you’re in a couple, you get showered with gifts and some special quality time with your other half; and for some of us, being single offers a night of great craic – you can get dolled up, and go out and scope the market of fellow Single Pringles to see just what’s on offer.

But for some people, February is a hard month. It is estimated that eight out of ten long-term relationships that don’t make it to marriage split up during the month of February. The weather is cold, the evenings are still dark, and it is during this time of year – when everyone is celebrating the grand idea of love – that many people realise just how lonely they are. It is no surprise, then, that during this time of year, levels of depression and anxiety show a distinct rise.

Since the middle of January, we have been assaulted by images of Valentine’s Day, which is all well and good, but this

can have a damaging effect on people who already feel isolated during this time of year.

The media is saturated with images of happy couples furnishing articles regarding relationships. While love in itself is, of course, a fantastic thing, it seems that during the weeks approaching Valentine’s Day, if you are single,

you don’t exist.

Reading my own horoscope for fun, pre-Valentine’s day, not one reference was made to all my fellow single Sagittarians out there. ‘Not in a couple? Not interested,’ seems to be the mantra of this holiday, which is quite sad. It is easy to see how many people can feel alone during this time of year.

Couples don’t have it so easy when it comes to Valentine’s Day either. February, aside from being a graveyard for long-term romances, is also the month in

which many people get their loved one the greatest surprise of all for Valentine’s Day: a divorce. While Valentine’s Day seems to inadvertently exclude those of us living a single life, it also puts mass amounts of pressure on people who are coupled up.

Traditionally, Valentine’s Day revolves around the giving of gifts to your loved one to show them just how much you care. During the years of the Celtic Tiger, these gifts began to get more and more extravagant. The measure of love seemed to be calculated by the amount spent on the gift. Given our current economic climate, many people are put under pressure to afford that special piece of jewellery for their girlfriend, or that latest video game console for their boyfriend. What if you don’t get your sweetheart exactly what they want? You’re probably headed for a fight in which you may get accused of not caring enough, and you may find yourself spending your own Valentine’s night alone anyway.

People find themselves under intense amounts of pressure, and in some cases, people even run themselves into debt that

they can’t afford to repay – a night in a swanky hotel? A romantic meal? A piece of bespoke jewellery? These things add up.

The Beatles once sang that ‘All You Need is Love’ – but in modern day Ireland, unless that love comes wrapped in a small blue box from Tiffany’s, we’re just not interested.

So what can be done? How do we celebrate love and the idea of Valentine’s Day without firstly running ourselves into intense debt, and secondly, without excluding the countless numbers of people who feel so alone and isolated during the month? The answer is simple.

To all couples: recognise that love is the only gift you need to give your other half.

Don’t waste money on material things that will most likely go down in value once your sweetheart opens the box. Surely the greatest gift of all is the ability to tell them: “I love you… yes, even if you leave the toilet seat up.” Cheesy? Maybe. But enough to show them you care? Yes. And for all those singles out there? Get dressed up, go out and have the time of your life. Who knows who you’ll meet...

16.02.10

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Tipping at the Scales of Justice Sally Hayden argues for the need for more transparency and uniformity in sentencing for manslaughter cases

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very so often there comes a murder trial that captivates the nation. Two weeks ago, Eamonn Lillis’s stint in the dock culminated in a seven-year sentence. With our now regular media masterclasses in the ins-and-outs of these crimes, the country seems now able to easily differentiate between murder and manslaughter, and many awaited with baited breath the final announcement of Lillis’s sentence while learning that this act – sentencing – is the only remaining segment of the judicial process in which judges hold true discretion.

But what a discretion it is. Last July the O’Riordan brothers from Kerry were sentenced to fourteen years’ imprisonment. Ronnie Dunbar (2008) was given life; the Colclough case (2006) earned ten years for its perpetrators; and Wayne O’Donoghue received a four-year sentence for his role in the death of young Robert Holohan – all for what was, technically, the ‘same’ crime – where each death was purported to be ‘accidental’ and an apparent element of surprise.

It’s the question mark over the facts, though, that really separates manslaughter cases from other, more clear-cut crimes.

But in a situation where the defendant

certain matters such as media intrusion, the importance of which surely varies from opinion to opinion.

Though judges are presumed to be impartial, the lack of transparency here is enough to fuel pointing fingers and accusations of judges’ personal biases because of race, socio-economic class and other issues. A justice system is supposed to be a tool of the people for the people, and yet many simply fail to trust in it. Mandatory sentencing also ensures consistency which itself enhances public trust in the law.

In addition to legislation, the government could consider introducing the crime of second-degree murder – a halfway house between first-degree murder and manslaughter. In the US this label covers non-premeditated killings resulting from an assault in which the death of the victim was a distinct possibility. The decision of which applied would then be transferred to a jury, lessening the judges’ freedom in this area once again, and increasing the transparency of the entire system.

Unfortunately murder and manslaughter charges are, by their nature, the ones that the media and masses follow – and consequently largely influence the national view of the legal system. Until something is done there will indisputably be the annual communal uproar following the sentence in every high profile case.

“Why is there such a disparity in sentences?

And what is the solution?”

is often a proven liar, and an exact play through of events will regularly never be known, why is there such a disparity in sentences? And what is the solution?

If we are to judge the gravity of the crime by the recklessness of the accident, then one could argue that it is much more shocking for Lillis to accidently kill his wife who he has known and lived with for years and whose personal strength would be very familiar to him, and for O’Donoghue and Dunbar where an obviously weaker child was involved, than for the other cases where the victim was an unknown quantity. Similarly if we

are to look at the untruths told, nobody can argue but that O’Donoghue was the worst perpetrator here, followed closely

by Lillis. Previous convictions, of course, should be – and are – taken into consideration, as are victim impact statements and remorse on the part of the defendant. But it is questionable whether these factors are enough to merit the difference of a decade in retributive terms.

We do not live in an eye-for -eye society, where killing is met with killing and rape with rape. Therefore it is nigh on impossible to weigh a certain offence as being exactly equivalent to a certain

sum of years in prison.

However it seems apparent that there is a deficit in the system when sentences are regularly being met with public outcry for either their brevity or longevity, and even senior counsel are having trouble predicting what an outcome could be. The old maxim that justice must both be done, and be seen to be done, falls apart when citizens begin to lose faith in the system.

The arguments for mandatory sentencing are many, and include the idea that democracy is brought back into the courts. Giving unelected judges the option to choose to lock someone up for between four years and life for one particular crime is surely too broad a berth for legislation to remain inactive in, especially when judges must measure the weight of

A load of old Blarney, to be sure Turf, plastic Paddies and exaggerated alcoholism: Donie O’Sullivan asks exactly what it is to be Irish

“All Paddies run after sheep on mountain-sides in €100 jumpers. Obviously” “What does it mean to be Irish?” a foreign journalist might ask an Irishman on the street. “Ah sure, you know yourself,” might be a typical reply. While the journalist might be bewildered at the answer, we Irish would know perfectly what the response means. Irishness is a club – a club with a secret technique of communication that involves a series of nods, winks and expressions like “there or thereabouts” and “gas craic altogether”.

80 million people across the world claim to be of Irish descent, but in reality – as they might say in their apparent

homeland – most of them are “no more Irish now”. Just last week, an English union rep with Irish heritage was paid thousands of pounds in compensation by the Kent local council after his Councillor told him a ‘racist’ Paddy the Irishman joke. Are these types of ‘Irish’ really the ones we want to claim as our own? Spotting the fakes is easy: they’re the ones who come to Ireland looking for their long-lost great uncle’s house in the depths of Cavan, asking if we know ‘John’; who carry a sod of turf back with them on the plane home and call it peat; who buy

Aran jumpers in the gift shop and think it’s “traditional Irish dress” (all Paddies run after sheep on mountain-sides in €100 jumpers. Obviously).

Our use of the English language is something that makes us quite distinct.

We fought for 800 years to be free, and for the right to speak our own language; it was undoubtedly a disappointment to all of us when we finally got freedom but found out that Irish was too bloody hard.

Since then, we have done everything we can to make English our own. Take the adverb ‘now’: to the rest of the English speaking world it means ‘at this moment in time’, but to us it means ‘here you are’.

If you present someone with a cup of tea,

you say ‘now’.

We’re also very fond of ‘enough’ (“ah, ‘tis bad enough”), not to mention the numerous meanings of the word ‘mad’ (“sure he’s a mad fella altogether”, “he’s mad about her”, and a personal favourite, “the price of houses in Dublin are gone mad altogether” – a favourite during the property boom).

The property boom, incidentally, was the one thing that almost put a dent on the true meaning of being Irish: the Celtic Tiger allowed us to become cultured, a thing Irish people were probably never meant to be.

The bit of brown bread with a slice of ham, half a block of cheese and a lump of onion was replaced with deluxe paninis filled with parma ham, goat’s cheese and caramelised onion with a dash of relish. No longer are there families with four daughters, named Mary, Catherine, Elizabeth and Mary-Catherine-Elizabeth (the youngest), now they’re calling their kids ‘Fuschia’, ‘Fiachara’ and even “Protestant names” like ‘Oliver’ – mad altogether, to be sure.

We Irish are genetically programmed to be poor; it gives us something to complain about. We didn’t know what to do with the money the Celtic Tiger brought us. Now the bubble has burst we have gone back to our old ways. Where else

in the world would the majority of the public still have a soft spot for a politician who has been proven corrupt? The reason people still like Bertie Ahern is that just like all of us, he’s a chancer: he replies to questions with ambiguous answers, he accepts the odd payment that he’s not entitled to by law (“but sure, what harm?”), he’s into the GAA and he’s fond of his pint – a role model for all of us.

Bertie Ahern is the embodiment of Ireland: he became our leader for being a nice lad, the kind of fella intending to do a FÁS course but who became Taoiseach instead. A hallmark of his popularity is that he’s known by a single name, spoken in the same breath as Bono, Gay, Pat and Dev as if we knew them personally. Our small population on our small island allows us to get to know public figures in a unique way.

Ultimately, what it means to be Irish is difficult to explain. It’s really about all those little shared traits that collectively make us a nation: loving tea, standing at the back of Mass, having “a cousin in Australia who is doing very well”, saying ‘the Gaeltacht’ and expecting people to know which one you mean, having fish on a Friday, having a fascination with converting attics into “spare rooms”. No amount of cappuccinos or rice will change that: we’ll always be mad characters who are up for the craic.

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Signing the Times Just on the edge of UCD’s Belfield campus, a small church has rapidly built up a particularly unique place in the hearts of passing commuters on the N11. Natalie Voorheis meets Reverend Gillian Wharton of St Thomas’ Parish Church on Foster Avenue – you may not know the name; but you’ll almost certainly know the spot…

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ee������������������ t the wayside pulpit. Never heard of the concept? Perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise. But you’ve

almost certainly seen one.

Still unsure? Next time you’re walking, cycling, or driving down the N11, make a point of craning your neck just on the Stillorgan side of Belfield. The little church standing where Foster Avenue meets the dual carriageway is easily Ireland’s best-known – if not only – example of the roadside preaching device, with its witty, light-hearted slogans now a firm fixture of south Dublin commuting.

A parishioner had been impressed by a wayside pulpit she had seen while away on holiday and suggested the idea to the Rector at the time, Steven Ford, now Archdeacon Ford. They decided to proceed with the idea, given that St Thomas’ seemed to suit the project so perfectly because of its prime location. The sign was an instant success, with the location of the church on the junction of one of the busiest roads in Dublin fundamental to the renown that it has gained.

The sign changes in September each year, with the new slogan chosen from the material that has been sent into the church throughout the year. A committee of three people, led by Reverend Gillian Wharton – the current rector on duty – votes for their favourites and decide from these which to use.

Rev. Wharton explains that there has been a huge amount of material to choose from ever since the billboard was featured on Derek Mooney’s RTÉ radio show a few years ago, sparking a frenzy of interest

While the wayside pulpit read ‘Jesus the Carpenter is looking for joiners’, a local taxi man arrived on Rev Wharton’s doorstep and simply said to her, “I’m a joiner” and suggestions from the public. “Because it’s quite established, people actually send us in suggestions. People send me emails or drop them into the parish office. Some of them come from parishioners but also people who have nothing to do with parish would say, ‘Oh Gosh! I’ve got a suggestion for when you next change your sign.’”

Rev. Wharton explained that the St Thomas’ wayside pulpit is a source of intense pride for her parishioners. “If people say to them, ‘What church do you go to?’, and they say, ‘I go to the church at the end of Foster Avenue…’, people say, ‘Oh, is that the church with the wacky sign?!’ So it’s quite well known at this stage. People do seem to really respond to it.”

A few years ago, while the wayside pulpit read ‘Jesus the Carpenter is looking for joiners’, a local taxi man arrived on Rev. Wharton’s doorstep and simply said to her, “I’m a joiner.” In that instant,

Rev. Wharton knew that the signs were having an impact. The man had been searching his faith for some time, and felt that the clever wayside pulpit was a sign from God and an answer to his prayers. He has had an ongoing active involvement in the parish ever since. “People come to see what’s there behind the sign,” Rev. Wharton explains. “People tend to come out of curiosity and some have stayed.”

In America, the fashion for wayside pulpits is pronounced, most noticeably within the Baptist and Evangelical Churches which have used signs that are extremist and political in nature. Slogans such as ‘The nation that rejects Christ seals its doom’, ‘If you don’t love God, go to Hell’, ‘Don’t let the next time you go to church be in a ten foot box’, ‘God needs your prayers, not your opinions’, ‘What is politically correct may not be Biblically correct’, ‘Remember the banana - When it left the bunch, it got skinned’ and ‘What would Jesus do? Choose babies and life’ are representative of these styles of slogan writing. Rev. Wharton is quick to note that this is not something which St Thomas’ is trying to emulate, describing it as “brimstone and hellfire stuff ”. The aim of her wayside pulpit, she explains, is to bring a smile to people’s faces.

“The idea behind the signs really is to, as people are sitting in traffic or whizzing past, be something that will make them think – something that will make them feel good about themselves, and remind them that they cherished and loved.

We are very much into having positive signs… I really don’t want any of that kind of negativity so we try to keep them upbeat and positive, not judgmental but maybe bringing a smile to somebody’s face.”

Examples of St Thomas’ past wayside pulpit slogans include: ‘This sign may change – God’s love remains’, ‘Global warning, the Son will return’, ‘CH__CH. What’s missing? R U?’ and ‘No God. No peace. Know God. Know peace’.

It’s refreshing to pass a billboard which isn’t visually assaulting you with promises of a better internet service or more toned abs – and yet, this isn’t something

you realise until you pass the sign and unexpectedly find yourself sparing a smile for some thought or clever pun. Organised religion in Ireland is so publicly under attack, and feelings of unrest and distrust in the church are dominant with believers and non-believers alike. So it’s a sign of hope that one parish at least is it trying to take themselves out of the dusty old box marked ‘out of date’ and ‘useless’ in which they have been put by so many, and placing themselves in the position of being relevant and present in the lives of countless students and members of the wider public every day.

Do rogha shamhraidh Cén sórt shamraidh ba mhaith leat an bhliain seo? Tá an taighde déanta ag Maria Ní Shíthigh

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eis na hoícheanta ag éirí níos faide agus gan ach sé seachtaine teagaisc fágtha, tá an-chuid dúinn ag smaoineamh ar an samhradh atá ag teacht.

Ag pointe áirithe le linn ár dtréimhse ollscoile, tugaimid go léir faoi deara go bhfuil deireadh tapa ag teacht lenár gcuid samhradh breátha fada.

Don chuid is mó dúinn is ionann dul amach sa saol mór agus laghdú mór ar ár gcuid laethanta saoire.

(Seachas na daoine atá ag dul ag múinteoireacht dár ndóigh!) Nuair a smaoinímid ar an bhfíric mhíchompordach seo tá sé fusa dúinn a fheiceáil an tábhacht a bhaineann le samhraidh ollscoile.

Dá bhrí sin is cinneadh tábhachtach é an chaoi a caithfidh tú do shamhradh.

Féachaimis ar an J1 i dtosach. Is cosúil le deasghnáth aistrithe saoil é J1 le daoine óga sa tír seo le blianta beaga anuas agus le féidearthachtaí fostaíochta, aimsir álainn agus an-chuid daoine óga ann ní haon ionadh é go bhfuilimid ag iarraidh ár gcuid féin den ‘fhís Mheiriceánach’ a bhaint amach.

Ar chostas thart ar €100, tugann an J1 deis duit cur fút agus post a fháil in aon

áit sna Stáit Aontaithe ar feadh ceithre mhí. Tá scéalta cloiste ag an saol faoi dhaoine a chuaigh amach ansin, a fuair poist mar ghardaí tarrthála agus a raibh saoire bhreá shaor acu ach ar an taobh eile den bhád téann an-chuid daoine amach ansin nach bhfuil in ann post a fháil agus a bhíonn orthu teacht ar ais go luath de bharr easpa airgid.

Chun é seo a sheachaint, molann USIT post a shocrú sula dtéann tú más féidir.

Murar féidir, ba chóir duit dul ann go luath, chun buntáiste a thabhairt duit féin.

Ina theannta sin deirtear go bhfuil poist níos flúirsí ar an gcósta thoir ná thiar. An píosa comhairle deireanach ná bain úsáid as pé teagmhálaithe atá agat agus bain taitneamh as!

Mura bhfuil tú ag iarraidh an samhradh ar fad a chaitheamh thar lear b’fhéidir gurb fhearr leat Interrailing.

Is éard atá i gceist le Interrailing ná ticéad amháin a cheannach a thabharfaidh deis duit taisteal a dhéanamh ar fud na hEorpa ar thraein. Is féidir ticéad a mhairfidh 15 lá a fháil (€279), ceann a mhairfidh 22 lá (€309) nó ceann a thugann deis duit 10 lá de thaisteal a dhéanamh i 22 lá (€239).

Is rogha cliste é an ceann deireanach más mian leat trí lá nó níos mó a

chaitheamh i ngach áit mar tá sé i bhfad níos saoire agus ní gá duit é a bhailíochtú go dtí go bhfágann tú an chéad chathair.

Is deis iontach í seo an Eoraip a fheiceáil agus má tá tú sásta fanacht i mbrúnna óige beidh an deis agat bualadh le daoine óige eile ó thíortha éagsúla ar bhealach neamhchostasach.

Rogha nua i measc na ceannphointí samhraidh is í an Téalainn. Is féidir leat dul agus teacht ar ais ar chostas €450, mar sin níl sé i bhfad Éirinn níos chostasaí ná dul go Meiriceá. Ina theannta sin, tá lóistín i bhfad níos saoire sa Théalainn ná in aon cheann do na roghanna eile.

Tá réimse leathan rudaí le déanamh sa Théalainn idir dul chuig cóisir an luan nua nó dul ar ‘Pub Crawl’ ar abhainn. Ag an am céanna is iomaí ní atá le déanamh nach bhfuil bainteach leis an alcól, a thabharfadh blaiseadh do chultúr na tíre seo duit.

Cibé rud a dhéanann tú an samhradh seo is amhlaidh go mbainfidh tú taitneamh as agus go mbeidh cuimhní ceanúla agat ó do thréimhse ag taisteal. Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin…ach amháin sa samhradh

16.02.10

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Ciúnas bóthar campus bainne!

As a successful Seachtain na Gaeilge ends in UCD, Amy Bracken hits campus and flashes the Fáinne to see just how relevant the country’s native language remains for the students of UCD

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h, the cúpla focail – the subject you either loved or despised in school, the supposed language of the State, the italics you avoid on road signs... the number of definitions being coined for the Irish language never cease.

Anyone entering the education system in the Irish state before the age of eleven is subject to it. Radio stations, newspapers and magazines, and even a television station interact with the public through it.

Yet surprisingly, it is the household language of only three per cent of the people.

With Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish language week) having just ended in UCD, just how much Irish can students speak today – and does it disappear after the Leaving Certificate? Is Irish dead?

Matthew is a First Year student in Arts, taking Irish as one of his subjects.

His ambition to become an Irish teacher stems from the fact that he has spent time

When asked if her level of Irish has deteriorated in the years in which she hasn’t been using it, Carla concedes that she hast definitely lost bits of it, but that her time spent in UCD has helped to revive it. She participated in the No Béarla campaign during Seachtain na Gaeilge, and has been availing of free Irish lessons to improve her levels of Irish.

“I went for the first time last Tuesday.

It was a helpful class; they gave us plenty of notes to take home, and there were lots of different levels to choose from-elementary, leaving cert. level, etc. Afterwards there was a céilí, so that was fun.”

Carla has also previously spent two summers in the Gaeltacht. “One of them was very strict... some people were expelled from it for speaking English.”

She describes her level of Irish as “normal”, and took the Leaving Cert standard Irish language class, although she was not intending to take the Irish exam in her Leaving Cert.

Hugh, a Final Year History student History from Donegal, describes himself as having a “fair standard” of Irish and credits this to his primary school teacher. Despite not having attended a Gaelscoil, Hugh credits his teacher with providing him with a strong level of Irish – the majority of which he still possesses, though admitting that some of it “disappeared” when he finished school.

However, Hugh was very dissatisfied with the way Irish was taught in his secondary school, stating that his Irish teacher encouraged him to learn off essays she had written by heart before exams.

Micheal Ó Muircheartaigh at Seachtain na “I was basically just writing down words I Gaeilge last year photo Colin Scally didn’t understand.”

When asked if he believes the standard in the Gaeltacht in An Cheathrú Rua in of Irish demanded for the Leaving Cert Galway. is too high, Hugh says no, but stresses “I spent three summers in the Gaelhis belief that whoever is teaching the tacht - when I was 14, 15 and I returned language can have a huge influence on as cúintóir a few years later. I’ve gotten a whether or not someone will try to keep job there for this summer, as cinnire.” using Irish after school – saying that you Matthew took Higher Level Irish for “need someone to make it interesting for his Leaving Cert and decided to puryou.” sue it in college due to his passion for It seems clear that different degree facit – apparently not being the only one, ulties and different backgrounds can have citing a mature student in one of his Irish a major influence on levels of Irish and in modules, who will ‘definitely’ send her maintaining an interest in the language. children to a Gaelscoil, due to the fact Both Matthew and Carla visited the Gaelthat by holding conversations, it is easier tacht as teenagers and both participated to practise your language. Matthew also together in the No Béarla day, despite emphasises his belief that unless people their different degree programmes. Hugh are actively using the language, they will has never been to the Gaeltacht, and did lose it. not participate in No Béarla.

As most could guess, Matthew’s enthuUnlike Hugh, I grew up in the vicinity asiasm for the language is not universal of a Gaeltacht, but I am participating in among the student body. Carla, living in No Béarla and spent some time working County Dublin, is a First Year student of with An Cumann Gaelach in my first year Biochemistry. in UCD. Despite being born abroad, she studied This goes back to Hugh’s point on Irish Irish for three years, to Junior Certificate teachers and the need for them to make level, before receiving an exemption for the subject engaging for students. I can the Leaving Cert. “My Mum didn’t want accredit my own personal passion for me taking it for my Leaving, because of the language to my second year teacher. the extra workload involved. I didn’t want Hugh accredits his level of Irish to his to abandon it as I loved it, but I knew she primary school teacher who provided was right.” him with an incentive to build up his

knowledge of the language; however, it is probable that his second-level teacher discouraged him from doing so. Either way, Carla’s desire to learn Irish means that she is often speaking it among her friends, despite not having taken it for a number of years. Surely this is proof that the language is coming back?

Despite the statistic that only three per cent of Irish households using the language by default, the influence of the media and the growing use of campaigns such as Seachtain na Gaeilge and No Béarla shows that the language is, in fact, growing in popularity – as is evident in the fact that every third person understands Irish to some extent.

Just over three years have passed since

“Just how much Irish can students speak today – and does it disappear after the Leaving Certificate? Is Irish dead?” the government introduced its 20-year strategy to make Ireland a fully bilingual country.

Is Irish dead? Hardly. It’s on our radio and television. Irish tourists abroad are plagued with foreigners shouting “Conas atá tú?!” Even the makers of Carlsberg - a Danish beer - know a few lines: “Is maith

liom cáca milis... agus Sharon Ní Bheolain!

Ciúnas bóthar cailín bainne!”

Whether Irish will make it through the current millennium remains to be seen, but even if it’s just as a comic device in an advert trying to sell you a crate of imported beer, it seems there might well, after all, be hope for the cúpla focail yet.

Couples Therapy Our resident love god, Doctor McSeamy, tackles all your relationship woes. Note: Not actual picture Dear Doctor McSeamy, Against my better judgment I come to you for advice. Last month I had my 21st birthday party, and my new boyfriend was there. I broke up with my ex-boyfriend a few months back, but because we have lots of friends in common, I totally had to invite all of them to not be rude. My ex was a real dirtbag, and we had a terrible breakup, and my boyfriend knows this, so when my ex came in, he totally picked a fight with him and ruined my whole 21st party!! He also got thrown out, and totally embarrassed me in front of my family and friends!

I was really upset, but my boyfriend refuses to apologise, and says that my ex deserved it, and shouldn’t have come. He’s totally retarded and doesn’t even understand why I’m upset. I really don’t understand why he’s like this. Can you please, like, explain it?

Smigo Hey Smigo, I’m sorry to hear that your 21st party was ruined. Unfortunately, this was probably mostly – almost totally – your fault. But not to worry, because most people don’t have a cool interesting story to tell about their 21st, and you do, so in a way you owe your boyfriend a thanks (I’ve got your back, brotha).

Men are like dogs – simple and very predictable – and every man will react a certain way to a given situation. In general, there are two types of men: the protectors and the chillers. You have a protective man, and from his behaviour in other circumstances I’m sure you know this to be true. He will defend your honour – kick a guy’s ass who slapped your behind when you were shaking your ass on the dance floor.

The chillin’ guy, on the other hand, will probably just slap his ass, and

everyone will laugh. Different strokes for different folks.

Your boyfriend definitely did not react ideally to this situation – he probably should have chilled until you called him over, then protected.

But you must understand that this is as much about his pride and reputation as it is about his affection for you. He is the Alpha, if you were to be harmed under his watch, it would reflect badly upon him – and yourself, your girlfriends and your Daddy must too agree with this.

Am I right? Yes I am. It’s a territorial thing (yes, another dog metaphor). Dirtbag came in trying to pee all over you like ‘I can just walk up into this motha’, but your boyfriend peed on him - that is to say, ‘you can’t just walk up into this motha’. Boyfriend 1, Dirtbag 0.

So you really left him no choice.

You don’t properly understand your man, and as a result you put him in a situation where he was forced to defend you (in his eyes). It’s like going to the park with your pitbull, and then getting some old homeless guy to hit you with a stick. Your pitbull is going to bite that man in the ass, and your boyfriend did pretty much the same thing (actually, I hope not).

Undoubtedly you could defend yourself amicably against both the dirtbag and the homeless guy (who incidentally has a PhD in psychology). But in your boyfriend’s mind, his job is to protect, and yours is to be rescued. This might be macho, unsophisticated… whatever, but there’s nothing you can do to change it. This type of behaviour is deeply ingrained in such men, by awesome movies like Rambo and Jumanji. It is something you’ll have to accept in your boyfriend, and to

account for always. If you want peace, and you want him to feel good, it isn’t your job to be rescued, as much as to trick your man into thinking he’s rescuing you – for better or worse, that’s the truth-bomb.

Now, I must also assume that your ex was probably of the same variety (macho, protective, etc), with a bit of jerkface mixed in. Women, for whatever reason, are always attracted to the same type of guy, whether or not it’s good for them. You must recognise the pattern of your own behaviour if you want to avoid the cycle of ruined parties.

Do you disapprove of this protective quality in your boyfriend? If so, can you learn to live with it? Do his other attributes outweigh this one? Or, is it time to find a chiller?

Ladies, its simple, understand your man. Then train him like a naughty puppy.

A happy belated Valentine’s day to one and all.

12

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16.02.10

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Linking to danger With eating disorders remaining a consistent problem amongst the student demographic, Leanne Waters is shocked by what she discovers as she visits extreme internet sites purporting to help those struggling with such disorders

I

n the 1970s, Karen Carpenter took the world by storm when she formed the hit duo The Carpenters with her brother Richard. Her vocal performances silenced audiences across America and engraved the star’s name in music history forever. An emotive entertainer of incredible vocal ability, Karen’s legacy has transcended generation after generation.

To this day, her music and career remain ultimately timeless. On February 4th 1983, Karen Carpenter died from heart failure, later attributed to complications related to her long-term battle with anorexia nervosa. She was 32 years old.

Nowadays, anorexia is a much publicised illness, along with many other complex eating disorders, including bulimia nervosa. In contrast to the somewhat deficient medical knowledge of Karen Carpenter’s time, awareness of such disorders today is ever-growing. But with the fast-paced workings of contemporary western society, it also seems that dangers are forever lurking.

On this note, allow me to thus introduce the stars of our discussion: Ana, Mia and Ed – three veterans of our beloved worldwide web. Though seemingly innocent, these three names delicately curtain an entire world of emotional, psychological and physical depravity. As it is only common courtesy to give one’s full title upon any first introduction, allow me to explain. In all their glory, these three characters are personified acronyms, standing for Anorexia, Bulimia and (more generally) Eating Disorders. Together, they accommodate the now densely-populated ring of pro-ED websites that deeply infect the veins of today’s internet.

Such websites act as advocates to the aforementioned diseases and more; promoting eating disorders as a lifestyle and not as illnesses. Far from even merely condoning the behaviours of anorexics and bulimics, the sites encourage these alarming endeavours through a variety of blogs and categories. In my own quest to discover more about this rather darkly ambiguous topic, I delved deep into one such site, presenting myself as a novice to the underground universe of pro-Ana. My eerie findings were nothing less than haunting and utterly menacing to the core.

Among the many facets to peruse, one can easily see the popularity found in one noted section entitled ‘Tips & Tricks’ – dedicated purely to assist any site member struggling with their chosen “lifestyle”.

One member writes: “I need some help with hiding this from my mom and everyone at home… Do you have good tips/tricks to hiding skipped meals from parents?” The responses that follow are, quite simply, harrowing and overwhelming. Along with advice regarding how to lie effectively, members enthusiastically provide pointers on matters such as suppressing hunger pains and “purging” (vomiting).

Horrified at the contents of the screen before me, and yet still unable to look away, it starts to become very clear that the majority of users on this site are female and all relatively young. Most fall between the ages of about 16 to 35 and come from all corners of the world and all walks of life. The secrecy of their disease and the very evident extent of their disorders is profound, with many leading perfectly normal lives and even raising children of their own. Despite the façades they maintain, however, the site is plagued with blogs and entries full to the brim of guilt, shame and relentless desolation.

“I’m not just a down, lost and stupid idiot but I’m a f*****g FAT, down, lost and stupid idiot!”

Aged 39, one blogger writes: “I did so well and got down to 87 lbs [approximately six stone]. My goal weight is 80. But now I keep slipping up and I know, even before I eat, what I’m doing and know the outcome yet still do it regardless...

Am I totally dumb? And I’m back up to a massive 94 lbs. I’m just getting fatter. I’m really fed up; the depression is really starting to kick in and then I want to eat and I’m irritable all the time.

“I’m also starting to wonder about something: I was diagnosed as Ana and have always believed it, but am wondering now if I have Mia tendencies? Although, I don’t purge or even binge as such; in fact I think what I call binging isn’t even what ‘normal’ people eat.

But I’m scared, scared that I’m not Ana and that I’m ‘normal’. That really does frighten me, which is so dumb and I just don’t understand myself at all. Why the hell would I feel like that? Shouldn’t I want to be ‘normal’?”

Mental illnesses such as Depression, Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are all strongly linked to eating disorders.

The deeper a victim falls into the disorder, the more susceptible that person becomes to a vast range of other mental health struggles. It becomes clear, from reading entry after endless entry, that many of the site’s users can all testify to this, and that most are also dealing with many, now far-reaching, problems as a result of their apparent lifestyle. More than anything among the fevered blogs, there seems to be a recurring theme of dangerously low levels of self-worth and a very definite sense of feeling lost.

Another, rather young, pro-ED junkie comments: “I don’t know what I’m doing half the time, my concentration is almost zero. Even my brains have stopped working properly. I can’t even concentrate on a conversation anymore. I’m just lost with it all. I really, really am. And I’m not just a down, lost and stupid idiot but I’m a f*****g FAT, down, lost and stupid idiot!”

And yet even with the overwhelming bombardment of bleak – and often suicidal – blog entries, the website seems to attempt a ridiculous air of light-heartedness. Not far from such melancholy thoughts and feelings, we stumble upon sub-categories that are just bursting with “oodles of thinspo [thin inspiration]!”.

And so begins the sickening journey through picture after picture of Size Zero celebrities and emaciated “model” bodies.

Favourites include celebrities such as Mischa Barton, Nicole Richie, Lindsey Lohan and even our lovely Karen Carpenter. Evidently, it is through the use of such teen icons that emaciation has been glamorized to look attractive and desirable. Moreover, in imitation of this, the site outlets a Show Yourself section, which proves to be just as fruitful with its images of skeletal girls and women, shadows of the people they probably once were.

It is clear that there is a tremendously strong sense of support felt for the ‘Ana’ and ‘Mia’ of others, with members chatting freely and constantly encouraging one another. But among the superficial niceties of “Wow, you look so beautiful and skinny” and “I wish my legs looked like yours”, there also lies pressure and malice. Though my finger hovers for a time over the mouse, eventually even I succumb to clicking into the section

entitled Competition. Dedicated to providing “enthusiasm and motivation”, competitions involve teams of the online members who battle it out for the glory of being seen as most disciplined. From weight-loss competitions to prolonged fasts and extensive exercise, the duelling teams – ‘Fading Obsession’ and ‘Addicted to Ana’ are both determined and ruthless.

In the spirit of these ‘motivational’ facilities, I am once again struck with one particular blog entry. As a source of encouragement, one Ana-dedicated woman goes on to provide ‘57 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Eat’. Responded to with tremendous gratitude and thanks from other members, the post includes outrageous arguments such as the following: “09. Starving is an example of excellent willpower … 33. You will be able to see your beautiful bones … 35. Bones are clean and pure. Fat is dirty and hangs on your bones like a parasite … 40. When you start to get dizzy and feel weak, you’re almost there … 53. People who eat are selfish and unrealistic.”

When reading such aggressive words as above, it becomes all too incredibly easy to condemn the author – and indeed, many of those who participate in such destructive websites. However, the judging public must always keep in mind is the severity of such illnesses. Pro-Ana websites are not always established necessarily to harm people, but rather, have been created by sufferers themselves. A distorted attempt to reach out, creators are often looking for support from other sufferers but instead succeed in creating an outlet for the disease itself.

Even with famous deaths such as that of Karen Carpenter, eating disorders are as real as they have ever been. And with the progression of such illnesses to the internet, they’re fast becoming even more dangerous. As monitoring the hundreds of thousands of sites dedicated to this horrid cause is near impossible, it is the caution of internet-users that is now being challenged. But still, the great fear remains: without the awareness of such horrifically dangerous sites being constantly emphasized, this “fading obsession” may haunt our web for some time to come.

16.02.10

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Just say no For the tenth anniversary of No Logo, and as UCD SU once again considers its Coca-Cola and Nestlé boycotts, Cormac Duffy examines the murky world of international branding

T

en years ago last month, the world was introduced to Naomi Klein, a young Canadian author and political activist. Her calling card was her anti-consumerist tract No Logo, a heady mixture of sociology, economics and politics. Subtitled ‘Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies’, the book was a huge success, in terms of both sales figures and impact, provoking discussion around issues such as brand proliferation and sweatshop labour.

Unfortunately, the book’s ideas fell out of favour quickly, as its opposition to using brands as status symbols seemed less admirable once having a copy of the book became a status symbol in itself. The book does not deserve to be forgotten though.

Its key ideas, such as the massive influence of the big brands, the questionable ethics of the companies behind them, and how we can fight back, are still relevant today, especially in the lives of students, and should be considered as the debate about the Coca-Cola boycott in UCD Students’ Union shops continues.

Klein’s main thesis was that what truly makes a brand a brand is not the products it makes, or the symbols it puts on it: it’s the mystique it builds up around it.

Klein argued that companies stopped selling products long ago, and began selling lifestyles. There is a certain truth to her statement: wearing a certain brand says something about you, and leads people to make snap judgements. Abercrombie & Fitch is D4. Ralph Lauren is preppy.

We’ve heard it all before. A brand is more than a logo on our clothes, it is indicative of what its wearer is like, how they view themselves, and which clique they belong to. Of course, large amounts of us have evolved past these ideas – or, at least, we like to think we have. Sure, we may not believe that a brand defines an entire lifestyle, but how many of us stop to question the image put forward by advertisers?

John Connaughton, auditor of the UCD Socialist Workers Party society, sums it up neatly by evoking the CocaCola example. “You always hear about the ‘Coke Side of Life’ and it is always said that Coke is happy and Coke is good, and it is nearly impossible to combat that [despite how Coke are] exploiting the Environment in India and exploiting workers in Colombia and Ireland.” Such is the power of the brand: with enough media and advertising it can distort reality in its favour.

In a section she titled ‘No Space’, Klein charted how a brand acquires the powers to do so – by pumping its profits into self-promotion, and buying itself busi-

ness advantages. In Ireland it can be seen in no better place than the live music business. Anyone who attended a music festival over the summer will tell you that whichever brand of alcohol sponsored the event held a monopoly over much of the campsite. As usual, such a monopoly is acquired by pledging profits towards the events they sponsor. Having such financial weight puts huge bargaining power in the hands of corporations – even in how they deal with governments.

This is precisely what makes Coca-Cola so formidable. Commenting on the cutting of workers’ wages and outsourcing of jobs by Coca-Cola in Ireland, Connaughton believes that “Government and State did very little to help the workers, because they would be afraid to lose a big corporation within Ireland, like Coca-Cola…. [the state] stays quiet about exploitation and oppression, because it’s afraid of losing multinationals.”

If brands continue to proliferate across campuses, will they soon be able to exercise similar power? Could they censor economics professors from decrying their practices, or silence biology professors from outlining the damaging health effects of their product? From where we stand now, such Orwellian practices may seem absurd and unlikely, but that is no reason not to keep an eye on them.

This evening (Tuesday), UCD Students’ Union representatives will decide whether to hold a referendum on revoking its boycott on Coca-Cola products.

Some opponents of the boycott say it is useless when Coca-Cola products are available for purchase elsewhere on campus. Others say that the company has cleaned its act up, and that the original grievances it based the boycott on are no longer relevant.

But Coca-Cola’s practises are still controversial, especially in its treatment of labour. Connaughton sees it as a simple issue: “We do not believe saying you can buy it somewhere else is justification for selling it.” For him, and most likely for many of its supporters, “The boycott is symbolic and about principles. It’s about people realising that if they go into an SU shop and see it’s not there, they’ll go and find out why its not there and see what Coca-Cola are doing.”

In this light, the boycott does seem a noble declaration of opposition to big brand capitalism. Maybe we should continue it. As Naomi Klein would have us believe, we should do everything we can to take aim at the brand bullies, and boycotting may be right on target.

13

Belfield Hoedown Country and Western music? In UCD? Intrigued, Matt Gregg goes to meet Belfield’s own answer to Dolly Parton to find out more “It’s like I’m leading a double life,” exclaims Christine Cooper, fresh from an all-nighter in Bambridge. “It’s so exciting. I mean, I’d say I do have quite an exciting life.”

Late nights and trips away from home, along with an energetic alias, are just some of the pleasures of leading a double life. Last week, someone even approached her after a gig and offered to market her quite unusual talent.

C.C. Cooper is UCD’s very own country and western singer.

From a very young age, Christine had frequent exposure to country music. Her grandfather was an original member of the Clipper Carlton Showband, an innovative Irish musical outfit from the post-war era, and it seems that his musical touch was not lost to his generation.

“My Mam has always loved music.

Whenever she was growing up, she and her siblings, they could all play instruments and sing and stuff,” she explains animatedly. “So anytime that we were on journeys back up to the North it would just be pure country in the car. From a really young age that would’ve been the music I’d be listening to.”

However, it hasn’t always been her style. After a yearlong media course, Christine auditioned for a show similar to ITV’s Popstars (the one that

brought the lovely Nadine Coyle, and the lovelier Cheryl Cole, to our attention) where she was paired up with two other girls to form a group called ‘Nickel and Dime’. Unfortunately, they weren’t quite as catchy as Girls Aloud, though some of their songs did enjoy slightly longer shelf lives.

“We sang two original songs on the show that BMG Records gave to us but in the end they didn’t take us on or whatever,” she mutters wistfully, visibly deflated for the first time. “Instead, those they were given to Luanne Pearl who went on to win five Meteor Awards that year with the songs. I was devastated but, like, she kind of had changed the songs a little bit, made them a bit more moody and not as fun and poppy as we had them.”

Though a kick in the teeth, it was during her brief sojourn in ‘Nickel and Dime’ that Christine realised Country and Western music was her real calling. So when a country radio show launched a nationwide singing competition, with a trip to Country and Western’s Mecca – Nashville, Tennessee – as the prize, she leapt at the opportunity.

“I applied online, and then I got a phone call not too long afterward about the Dublin heats,” she begins, her enthusiasm making a welcome return. “I won that so I went on to the final which was held in The Well, in

“It was during her brief sojourn in ‘Nickel and Dime’ that Christine realised Country and Western music was her real calling”

Moate.”

Going into the final, Christine was confident but certainly far from assured of victory. In fact, she’d already booked holidays to Australia that overlapped with the Nashville jamboree. Nevertheless, playing with Martin Cuff ’s amusingly named band, ‘Off the Cuff ’, Christine blew the judges away to secure first place and her dream trip to Nashville. Australia – not for the first time – would have to wait.

“I’d been to Nashville before, two years ago now, and that was actually the first time I’d planned to go to Australia. It seems every time I plan to go, I get redirected to Nashville.” Suggestions that it was her ‘destiny calling’, however, are quickly laughed off.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of her victory was the opportunity to perform at UTV’s annual Country Fest. Christine herself admits that she probably wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without that performance and the contacts she made there.

Now halfway through her first year of Children’s and General Nursing here at UCD, Christine seems decidedly non-commital when pressed on her future. However, one thing she seems very certain about is raising the profile of country and western music around campus.

“I’d love to perform in UCD. There’s no country and western society, but Ents run events, or I could do an open mic night. I know the girls in my class and all of them are dying to hear me sing. Maybe UCD could hold a country night?”

Nervous laughter. Would dungarees finally become acceptable apparel around Belfield?

“Sure! If they wanted, I could probably dress them all up! I’ve got about a million cowboy hats,” she exclaims enthusiastically. “Given half the opportunity, I’d love to work with the Ents crew or whatever to design UCD’s very own barn dance.”

Now there’s an original manifesto idea.

14

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

16.02.10

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Living Next Door to Campus UCD’s Belfield campus caters to nearly 20,000 students. Yet, for those living close to campus, the area doesn’t just represent a place of study or a base for the semester – it’s home. So, just what do they think of us? Matt Gregg goes to meet the neighbours…

L

Chief Features Writer

iving in UCD is like living in your own self-contained universe. In fact, you could quite conceivably survive an entire week without setting foot outside Belfield and feel none the worse for it.

Need something to eat? Well, just pop down to Centra. Can’t cook? Not a problem, the Restaurant or Elements will cater to all your nutritional needs. If that’s all a bit too heavy, you’re never more than five minutes away from one of the campus’s numerous delis.

Of course, there are other things in life besides food, entertainment being an essential one. UCD seems to have that pretty much covered as well: Two bars, free WiFi, a pool hall, a gym, countless pitches, even a hairdresser – it’s hard to imagine anyone running out of things to do on campus.

If worst comes to worst, you could even study in one of the many libraries scattered across campus (I particularly recommend Health Sciences; the most comfortable chairs bar none).

Its facilities are hardly surprising when you think that UCD caters to roughly twenty thousand students alone. If UCD was listed as an individual town its population would see them slot in as eleventh biggest in the country, just ahead of Tralee and Naas. As a county, it wouldn’t be much smaller than Leitrim.

However, Belfield is not a separate entity.

It can sometimes be hard to remember that life in Donnybrook does not begin and end with students. There was a neighbourhood here before UCD relocated from its city centre buildings in the 1970s.

Truth be told, we collegegoers are just a small part of what makes up the larger Dublin 4 community. But what does the community think of us? It’s time to meet the neighbours.

Having been to my fair share of house parties and seen firsthand the chaos that often ensues, I did wonder if UCD’s neighbours would have anything to say. So it was with a deserved sense of trepidation that I ventured out on a cold Wednesday night, through the Clonskeagh gate and into the real world.

As I approached the first in a long line of Georgian houses, it was not difficult to establish which ones I could skip over.

Driveways with a Fiat Punto, a dented Micra and a couple of bikes lashed to railings overrun by ivy, were unlikely to know much about the problems of living in an area dominated by students.

A patio lined with potted plants, though, seemed more promising. Taking a moment to compose myself, I quickly ran over the questions I’d prepared before ringing the bell. Nothing. Maybe they hadn’t heard me? I rang again, then conceded defeat.

This pattern was repeated until I struck the fourth house. Sheltering in the doorway, contemplating moving on again, the curtain nearest me snapped back to reveal an aged women peering out at me.

Expecting her to at least hear me out, I tentatively moved back towards the door.

She recoiled, even with a heavy set door between us, and gave me a look that said “Not tonight, sunshine.” I retreated, tail firmly between my legs, and wondering what could possibly have evoked such a vehement reaction.

Soon after, it struck me how suspicious I must have seemed – walking up each drive, ringing the doorbell, peering through the entrance, desperate for

the sign of movement that would herald an invitation in from the cold. I could quite easily have been casing the joint.

Suddenly, her reaction seemed perfectly acceptable. Normal even.

I found myself wishing the Observer made official press badges – and not just to feel self important. Knocking door to door, they would have come in real handy.

Slightly crestfallen, and now really regretting jettisoning my scarf back at the office, I continued to work my way up the street.

Briefly after crossing over to the other side, my luck began to change. Maybe this wouldn’t be a waste of an evening after all.

“It’s a bit of a mixed bag,” admits Michael, walking me into the kitchen. “There are good and bad sides. I mean, it’s nice having all that open space behind me, but students going out at night can cause quite a lot of noise.”

Beyond this, Michael’s only gripe with living in such close proximity to UCD is the extra traffic clogging up his entrance every morning. After a quick discussion of the George Lee subject (“a bottler”, in case you hadn’t heard), I was on my way.

Though brief, my visit had exponential benefits. As a veteran of the neighbourhood, Michael was able to point out which houses were definitely not students and, more importantly, which ones’ occupants wouldn’t mind giving up their time to help me.

His first tip was an instant success. Following a couple of seconds spent weighing up my back story, mother-of-two Jane beckoned me into her living room and placed a mug of reassuringly hot tea in front of me.

“Well, there are a lot of students living down in The Maples and they do tend to have a lot of parties. So just noise would be my only problem,” she says settling into the chair opposite me. “Though, to be honest, I wouldn’t really have any interaction with students.”

On the other hand, Jane is particularly positive about “the lovely grounds” UCD has and believes that, if nothing else, the college provides a great place to walk the dog. Though not the intended purpose of any third level centre of education, walking featured highly on the important advantages offered to the local community. In fact, to some it seemed important enough to balance out the sporadic noise problems.

It certainly featured prominently in Sarah’s assessment of living in such a student dominated area. “Maybe it’s an advantage because people can walk there,” she begins. “Yes on the basis that it’s a green area, I’d say it’s good for the community.”

However, this is not to say she doesn’t have her grievances. “Students coming home very late at night, drinking their cans on the corner outside the house, drive me demented,” she pauses, the sound of her vegetable chopping filling the kitchen. “I have a small child who sleeps at the front and it would be lovely if they just noticed that people do live around here or stayed further towards the

centre of campus.”

Though an understandable problem, a funny pattern concerning noise pollution began to emerge. Funnily enough, those closest to students often complained the least. Brendan lives with his family, fast approaching middle age and practically encircled by student digs, but seems rather blasé about the whole situation.

“Truthfully, you rarely see your neighbours when they’re students. It’s no advantage to them and no advantage to me because there’s no interaction,” he points out the window, across the way. “There’s a few sets of students in that redbrick house there. I mean they have parties, because I hear them leaving late enough but they just, sort of… have their party and leave.”

“You’ll get a gang coming home in the morning and they’ll literally just walk up the road talking really loudly, then they’re gone,” he continues matter of factly. “The occasional vodka bottle will come flying but no real damage. We have no issues

really.”

His daughter Sally, hereto silent, interjects that it’s just the facts of college life that when living nearby people of a different age profile and demographic, there’ll always be a minor culture clash.

“Exactly,” her father agrees. “Somebody going down the other night, for a bit of fun, put all the plants on top of the car.

You don’t usually expect the plants to be there, but that’s no damage,” Brendan trails off into laughter.

And maybe that’s the truth of the matter. For the large part, living so near to students doesn’t have that much of an effect.

Aside from intermittent noise disturbances, our neighbours go about their lives in pretty much the same way we do: in almost blissful ignorance of each other.

“I feel we’re two separate blocks,” muses Michael, summarising my thoughts rather nicely. “If there wasn’t beer up here, I don’t think we’d ever see each other!”

Case Study: Living next door to University Brendan lives close to UCD. He initially had trouble when when a group of students moved in near his house, but soon came to a workable compromise.

“I was a bit stressed, and the next thing the gang moved in next door, and there was a party rocking on until quite late. So I went in [to the student house] and I was very nasty. The next morning, I got up and I was really sorry, so I scribbled a little note and I put it in the letter box. I said: ‘Well, look, we’ll come to an agreement here… make as much noise as you like up to eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock, and then we’ll have a curfew at that point – we’ll all get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll all be happy’. I think it’s worked out very well since.

I’m happy with that, as long as everyone else is happy with that.

Other than that, there are no issues at all. You rarely see your neighbours when they are students.”

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Away in the head

A

t my very first psychiatry lecture, my lecturer gave my class a survey.

In it we were asked to truthfully document our understanding about certain well-known psychiatric conditions. Comparing notes afterwards, it became clear that most of our class – despite being over halfway through a degree in medicine – had very little understanding of what the word ‘schizophrenia’ meant. Not only that, but a fair number of us had made the common mistake of equating schizophrenia with multiple personality disorders.

It’s a mistake very frequently made, but the illnesses are very separate entities, with one being rather common, and the other exceedingly rare. Sadly, the mistake is made with alarming frequency. Even in the course of writing this article, I’ve endured the standard jibes and quips, from being asked whether I was co-authoring with myself, to poems about ‘me and me’ having schizophrenia.

It’s no exaggeration to say that schizophrenia is one of the most misunderstood illnesses in the world. It’s also one of the most debilitating – and yet, there is very little coverage in the media. Mental illnesses have enjoyed somewhat of a glamourisation in the media of late – depression, in particular, has become widely acceptable and much talked-about – yet schizophrenia remains firmly sequestered behind the closed doors of GP surgeries and psychiatric facilities. So what is it about this illness that makes people so wary to talk about it?

It must start with all those misconceptions – the stigma surrounding schizophrenia is immense, and the myths and old wives’ tales prolific. But what is schizophrenia? To answer that question, I went back to my original source of knowledge on psychiatry – my tutor from my days in the UCD School of Medicine, Dr Seamus MacSuibhne, the man who handed out those fateful surveys – and indeed, reissued them in our final lecture, to see if we had learned anything.

The word ‘schizophrenia’ is derived from the Greek for ‘splitting of the mind’ – so it’s not the public’s fault, he tells me, that so many misconceptions about split personalities abound.

While the name dates back many years, psychiatrists now understand that those two illnesses are entirely different. So now, having left split and multiple personalities to the realms of television dramas, what is schizophrenia?

To understand scizophrenia, we must first understand psychosis. “Psychosis is essentially losing touch with reality,” says Seamus – most appropriately illustrated when people begin to suffer from delusions: “They may have false beliefs that have no basis in reality; these beliefs are not religious in nature.” People suffering from psychosis have a different sense of the world around them; they may misinterpret other people’s behaviour and intentions. Paranoia is a common feature.

They may even begin to suffer from hallucinations – usually auditory.

But what does this mean to the layperson, exactly? My own first encounter with schizophrenia was during my psychiatric rotation as a medical student, when my partner and I were sent to interview a patient without being told their diagnosis.

After 45 minutes, we were none the wiser as to what their condition might be – all we could say was that the person we talked to was a little, well... odd. The rhythm of their speech was completely disjointed, jumping from one topic to the next and onward – all the while producing fantastical reasons and ideas for why things had happened the way they had. Everyone in the patient’s life had been in on a ‘conspiracy’ – what the purpose of that conspiracy was, they didn’t know, but they were very certain it had played out that way. Trying to get further details, we were led down another path of fantasy. I am certain that

should my partner or I ever be presented with a case of psychosis again, we won’t not recognise it.

Psychosis is a major factor in the diagnosis of schizophrenia – but they are not the same thing. Schizophrenia is just one cause of psychosis; other causes include severe depression, bipolar affective disorder, medications or medical illnesses, and drugs. Of particular interest is cannabis, the use of which at an early age has been found to double the risk of developing schizophrenia, and thus psychosis. The advent of Head Shops popping up around the country presents another risk.

So if psychosis is one symptom of schizophrenia, what are the others? According to MacSuibhne there are also ‘negative’ signs of schizophrenia, such as “social withdrawal, lack motivation and willingness to participate in social events.”

To say that someone may be suffering from schizophrenia, some or all of these symptoms must be evident for a period of time (“at least a month” is a good indica-

15

portrayal of people with schizophrenia as dangerous, criminal typecasts who should be feared rather than helped. MacSuibhne is quick to refute this image – “people with schizophrenia are at much more risk of being attacked than anything else” – adding that while there is an increased risk of someone being more aggressive during an active psychotic episode, the risk is “not as great as people think.” In an extreme example, research has shown that although the number of murders in the UK has dramatically increased in the last fifty years, the number linked with mental illness has stayed the same.

People with schizophrenia are perhaps of more harm to themselves than to others, and given the stigma attached to the condition, the increased risk of suicide among those affected is a major concern.

Schizophrenia carries an eight to ten per cent lifetime risk of suicide – higher than that of depression, and one of the highest of any mental illness. MacSuibhne explains that one reason for this is that when people recover from a first episode of psychosis, and gain a more balanced insight into their condition, they become embarassed or ashamed about the illness and find the fear of relapsing too great to bear.

People suffering from schizophrenia may also endure hallucinations where they believe they’re being told to harm themselves, or to entertain other negative thoughts. It’s strange, then, that so much emphasis is placed on talking about depressive episodes, while psychosis and schizophrenia are all but ignored.

So how is the condition to be managed and lived with? One of the biggest factors in determining the outcome and prognosis of schizophrenia is the duration of time between the first symptoms and the formal diagnosis. This Duration of Untreated Psychosis, or DUP, is the key area targeted by the Detect early intervention initiative in south Dublin and Wicklow. Dr Brian O’Donoghue is a psychiatrist assessor with the programme, which comprises a team of thirteen staff operating from Blackrock.

The idea behind Detect, O’Donoghue explains, is that people approaching their GPs with psychotic symptoms can be referred quickly and directly to the Detect team for a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, thus minimising the DUP. Those requiring further treatment can then be referred to consultant psychiatrists for long-term care. Many patients are referred to Detect by their GPs when concerns are raised by a patient’s family and friends.

As well as reducing the DUP, Detect aim to educate patients about the “warning sides of relapse”, so that assistance can be sought quickly in the event of a subsequent episode. Detect take a holistic approach to the treatment of psychosis, encompassing drug treatments as well as therapy sessions and support services for family members.

Detect have succeeded in reducing the average DUP within their area from six months to two months – a result which also reduces the chances of people with psychosis needing hospitalisation. “More people are being treated in outpatients clinics, without the need for hospitalisation,” explains O’Donoghue. “The impact of reducing the DUP is that the symptoms aren’t as severe.” This, in turn, helps to reduce the associated risks of self-harm.

O’Donoghue is also keen to emphasise the importance of an early intervention service, given the average age of onset of schizophrenia: “It’s a crucial time in someone’s life, their late teens or early twenties – they’re starting higher education or establishing their career and life friendships.”

While the Detect pilot programme currently only operates in the St Vincent’s and Cluain Mhuire catchment areas of

With the highest age group at risk falling neatly into the student population, Catriona Laverty looks at the many myths surrounding schizophrenia

“People suffering from psychosis have a different sense of the world around them; they may misinterpret other people’s behaviour and intentions” tor). Schizophrenia, he says, is a pervasive illness – its symptoms and signs are not intermittent, but a constant feature of someone’s personality during this time.

Although there’s no one cause that can be pinned down, there are several risk factors for developing the illness. “The biggest risk factor is probably family history,” says MacSuibhne; “there is a genetic link.” Other factors can play a part: there are traditionally higher rates of schizophrenia in people living in urban areas, compared with those in rural. There’s also an increased risk in people born under obstetrical complications.

The most worrying factor of all is the age of onset. Schizophrenia tends to develop in men at around the age of 20, while women have a mean onset age of 25. According to MacSuibhne, men also tend to have a worse prognosis than their female counterparts. Although previously more prevalent in lower socio-economic classes, more and more third-level students are presenting with symptoms of psychosis and schizophrenia. “There are theories about dislocation stress,” MacSuibhne explains. “When you go to college, you can go from a fairly settled environment to one where you’re living alone and you’re a bit more isolated, and you mightn’t have the same support network you might have had.” Students in third-level education therefore fall into the very age bracket that is most at risk – and yet, we know and are taught almost nothing about the illness.

One reason for this may be the media

south Dublin and Newcastle, Co. Wicklow, O’Donoghue hopes that its success will prompt the HSE to roll it out nationwide.

While acknowledging that such schemes are difficult to promote (“there’s a lot of stigma around mental illness... People are reluctant to come out and support these types of groups, and subsequently there’s less pressure on politicians”), he is positive

about the future of the scheme as a nationwide service.

If you are worried about any of the issues presented above, contact the Student Health Service, who can advise you on any concerns and put you in contact with the Detect programme, or visit http://www.detect.ie/.

16

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

16.02.10

OPINION

opinion@universityobserver.ie

TALLEYRAND Regimes may fall and fail, but I do not…

Happy New Year, cretins – what is it this time, the year of the rat?

Talleyrand had the extreme misfortune to find himself in Dundrum Town Centre last week, and the greater misfortune to wander into a music store at the same time as tens of thousands of whinging prepubescent Arts-girls-in-waiting. Apparently, they were all standing around hoping to get a glance of Ireland’s “hottest young twosome” whose (apparent) boundless talent and energy is about to make them stars across the globe.

But as the lord taketh away, the lord giveth: and Talleyrand took enormous pleasure in breaking each and every one of those cold, affluent hearts by telling them their heroes wouldn’t be appearing today: unfortunately, everyone’s favourite blond airhead duo, Jedmond were busy sequestering themselves in the Situation Room, scraping the barrels of KBC election promise of yore.

Aye, ‘tis that time of Spring when the leaves bud on the trees just as quickly as the haemorrhoids on Talleyrand’s weary rear. One underperforming batch of misfits is offered one final draw from the deck of hackery and pulls the one reading ‘lame duck’, while another clambers up, ready to PhotoShop itself to within a glossy A4 inch of its collective lives. It could only be Sap-batical Election season, and what a pack of half-arsed tosswits we have on our plates this time around (mark my words: Token Girl gets Token Battering).

So before the duck is made lame by a long overdue knife to the kidney, this year’s squad of shitheads have been doing their best to milk the teat of recognition (ha!). Chief among them is Paddy Who: having first played a cameo role in the Stupids’ Spew-nion for eight months, now Paddy The Plasterer Because I Won’t Get Any Other Work will be togging in for a cameo role in that Fartin’ Butler singalong of olde, the Vommunity Musical. Cheer up, Pancake Paddy – with any luck Samuel L Jackson will have left some snakes behind him in O’Reilly Hall and your exit shall be quick and painful.

Elsewhere, Donnacha de Burca (let’s face it, who else’s exit would be so barely noticed?) has been conspicuous in his absence; first from Exec and secondly from the Crapbatical candidates’ meeting. Maybe Council is the new Liveline – “So Noel, your class was being eaten by snakes, and Donn-used-cha did nothing?” At least there’s USI, the haven for the unelectable and the unclean.”

Then there’s Scottie Stallone, slugging it out for a third time when nobody asked for a sequel to begin with. Hey Jackie – it’s me, Rocky! With any luck Scottie, as Balboa before him, will fail miserably in his third attempt; with additional good fortune, it might be Mr T who’ll knock seven shades of student support out of the Tipperary Tiddler. Ah Scottie, when will you learn? You’ll never be the deadliest catch: that honour is reserved for the corridor-specific strain of chlamydia.

Where’s Mike Pat this weather, by the way? It’s Ash Wednesday this week, maybe he’s at home having a lie down and a pray, God love him; he must be wrecked after having to help Redmond carry some helpless prey back to their trolleys earlier in the week.

Still, enough for now. It’s Rag Week, after all. Have a quick glance at the posters as soon as you get a moment: notice the meaningless red line in the words ‘Rag Week’? Bet you didn’t think it was going to be a week spent on that kind of Rag, did you?... Still, Talleyrand will get into the festive mode just this once – he’s treating the Class of 2010 to a lads’ bonding weekend away at everyone’s favourite new adrenaline fix: luge.

One last word, dear cretins: keep an eye out for minority foods on campus in the next fortnight. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Talley-jai-ho!

Talleyrand

Quotes of the fortnight “He agrees with “Johnny Depp our point that should get substantial and meaningful another job!” communication did Samuel L. Jackson offers not take place” SU President Gary Redmond reports a concession from UCD Registrar, Dr Philip Nolan, on the issue of postgraduate fees

his take on actors who don’t watch their own films

“It’s Paul Lynam, isn’t it?

Several students give the same, year-old

response when asked who the SU Education Officer is, as part of our survey “My designer is dyslexic”

Mike Pat O’Donoghue gives a questionable explanation of why the sale of UCD Ball tickets was delayed

Soft-Lee Surrendering If Ireland’s political system cannot exploit the talents of its parliamentarians like George Lee, writes Gavan Reilly, then the system needs major reform

I

t began as a ripple – but it didn’t stay that way. It was 12:45pm and it was a dull Monday. The weekend had been politically quiet, with the political heat building around Máire Geoghegan-Quinn and the unravelling secrets of her financial affairs. Despite her appointment to the European Commission, it seemed that Geoghegan-Quinn was refusing to sacrifice her Dáil and ministerial pension – worth another €100,000 per year on to of her €350,000 commissioners’ salary.

And then the news broke out. George Lee had quit the Dáil – and, what’s more, he had resigned his membership of Fine Gael, only nine months after joining and only eight months after being elected to represent the constituency of Dublin South in one of the highest by-election margins of victory since a young Brian Cowen took his seat in 1984.

News cycles were immediately torn to shreds. Having only released his statement to the public at a quarter to one, rendering the pre-packaged 1pm TV and radio news bulletins entirely moot, the mainstream analysis of Lee’s decision was unusually instant – and, refreshingly, unusually raw as a result.

Political correspondents had no time to meditate and survey the lay of the land; they were sat in front of a camera and microphone with little time to call their contacts at the various HQs on either side of Mount Street and gauge the how and the why. Instead, they had to fly blind. In front of the microphones they went, scrambling their sentences together.

As a result, much of the analysis of George Lee’s departure ended up, whether deservedly or not, falling into two categories. Lee had either proven what the country had already suspected – that Enda Kenny is a leader built for recovery mode, but not to lead, and that Fine Gael under his stewardship will never make best use of its assets – or he had shown himself, as Charlie Bird had done less than a week previously, to be entirely unable of sustaining himself beyond the nestled and mollycoddling environment of RTÉ – and massively disenfranchising his constituents in the process.

There is certainly a lot to be said for each school of thought. Lee’s complaints – “that despite my best efforts I have had virtually no influence or input into shaping Fine Gael’s economic policies at this most critical time” – would carry weight from any TD, but when they come from a man headhunted for his public profile and knowledge, that weight is multiplied many times

over.

Here was a man with the werewithal to formulate genuine, credible economic alternatives to the government… and yet Fine Gael left him to wither on the backbenches, having made such a public act of his being taken on board.

On the other hand, Lee’s decision to resign his membership of Dáil Éireann as well as his membership of Fine Gael bears all the hallmarks of a man who got bored too early – and, what’s worse, didn’t feel up for a fight.

Being frustrated (in both senses of the word) by the mass inertia of mainstream Irish politics is one thing, but vacating his parliamentary seat and deserting the 27,768 people who elected him to the George Lee resigned after just nine months in office Dáil, as well as his dream of reform, is quite another. shortly after being elected to fulfil them, he George Lee is an intelligent man, with an has also become a victim of the system. His almost peerless knowledge of the localised constituents, curiously, will be the people economic world. Having been Econommost irritated by his resignation – but ics Editor with RTÉ News for almost two they’re also the ones who have no right to decades, his place in the public hearts – complain. having been there from bust to boom and For too long now, Ireland has been a back to bust again – was matched only by political black sheep, with a constitution the revere held for his political and financial that requires over-representation on a scale insight. far exceeding that of other countries more Thus, regardless of whether one believes comparable in size. TDs are intended to be Lee’s decision was a brave condemnation or legislators – but how many of them do so? a heartless hari-kiri, it follows that someIreland’s parliamentarians have become thing in Irish parliamentary politics must custom-bred in a culture that treats them as be rotten. One of the Dáil’s worst failings glorified local councillors with no function is that far from carrying out the legislative to exert any real influence. function intended of any parliament, it The departure of George Lee, therefore, has become just as much a playground for isn’t just a sad day for Fine Gael or for the meaningless ranting on inane parochialisms people of Dublin South. It’s a sad day for as much as a legislative factory.

Ireland: if our political world cannot make While Lee has undoubtedly failed his the most of a man with his talent, then constituents in abdicating his duties so something is very lamentable indeed.

16.02.10

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

17

EDITORIAL

editor@universityobserver.ie

Editorial

Photo of the fortnight

16th February 2010

There’s a well known song that tells us “everybody needs good neighbours”, and it was with pleasant surprise that we heard our own neighbours don’t view us as the social pariahs we had thought.

That UCD’s surrounding inhabitants can view our presence here with a favourable eye rather than a scathing one is encouraging news for students, and will perhaps go far to dispel the long engrained stereotype that we are the bane on suburban existence.

What is worrying about the remarks of our extra-campus neighbours is that very few appeared to actively engage in the UCD Community Dr Martin Butler is so doggedly trying to build. The notion that those living in the surrounding areas do little to interact with their student neighbours surely isn’t the best news for Dr Butler’s endeavours.

Using the campus for walks is one thing, but surely for UCD to be a true community, it can’t close the borders on those living just beyond the gates.

While we talk of a population of 22,000 students, the actual number of inhabitants of Belfield is closer to 2,500. At the weekend, that number drops even further.

Developing the campus for this small a group is simply unsustainable – we need the surrounding

community to start using the facilities here. A community project such as the Gateway one in a place like Belfield needs to incorporate the needs of the surrounding residential areas if it is to thrive.

These are not people hoping to encroach on our library places or use all our plugs to charge their laptops, but they should be using our shops and restaurants, buying pints in our bars and supporting our football team. ****** If the results of our doorstepping the community were a pleasant surprise, the results of our official poll were no surprise at all. The fact that 47 per cent of students polled could not name any of the five sitting Sabbatical Officers is probably not a new phenomenon, and while some of the blame lies with the Officers of the Union, students must accept responsibility for their own ignorance.

With the elections only weeks away, it’s time to sit up and take interest in the Students’ Union again. While they might not be recognisable, some of them at least are working hard behind the scenes for our continued benefit.

And yet some are simply using their year as a year out from

Letters to the Editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@universityobserver.ie or by mail to: The Editor, The University Observer, Student Centre, Belfield, Dublin 4 All letters are subject to editorial approval. The Editor reserves the right to edit any letters.

Campus Accommodation Rates

Library opening hours

Madam, I read the article by Claire Leyden (“Belfield the most expensive campus to live on”, 2nd February) and was disappointed with the lack of explanation as to why students have opted out of living on campus, or even addressing the issues regarding the subpar living standards in residences compared to the price we have to pay.

As an international student living in Glenomena currently, the living conditions are horrendous and do not match the expensive price tag.

Examples include mould causing health problems for many students in Glenomena, lack of sensible kitchenware (such as having only two small mini-fridges for six people in an apartment), electricity cards (two houses pay a flat rate while the others pay with cards, meaning a big difference in utility bills), and a lack of transparency in the residence and accommodation management. The list goes on.

I don’t know if it’s just Irish students who have become acclimatised to this kind of living conditions, but for international students the conditions are despicable and do not justify their price.

Yours, etc, Andrew S. Lee

Dear Madam, I am writing to you to express my annoyance at the changes made to the library opening hours. The cutbacks of opening hours during the weekend will, if not already, have a detrimental effect on those students who rely on this service during this period.

As some students would have to work part-time jobs or have other commitments during the week, studying during the weekend can be the only opportunity they have to keep up with their coursework. These cuts will cause a great inconvenience to those who avail of these services, be it conducting research for their thesis accessing secondary sources to complete assignments and essays or just simply having a quiet area to work.

Simply introducing these cuts by stating they will only effect the month of January before implementing them for the entire term is one thing but doing all of this without even taking the opportunity to even notify students is disrespectful at best.

Students deserve to know about any changes that may occur since it is we that are availing of this service and rely on it constantly during the term for a multitude of reasons.

Yours etc, Matthew Soden 3rd Arts

News Editor Bridget Fitzsimons hasn’t quite gotten the ‘Fantasy’ part of her travails through Fantasy Premier League - but here she is with the League of Ireland First Dision trophy. Photo: Gavan Reilly college, doing little in the way of helping students or indeed fulfilling the promises they made this time last year. The only way we can deal with Sabbatical Officers not pulling their weight is to make our voices heard – through our class reps especially. Ask questions of your class reps, find out if they’ve

been to SU Council – many are absent on a regular basis – and ask them what your Union is doing for you this week.

The campus is about to bombarded with election material, and yet only two of the positions are to be contested in the election race.

If this sorry trend is to be bucked

next year, we need more students to get involved and take an interest in how the Union works.

Our Students’ Union is far from perfect, but for now it is our only voice. We must all try to make sure that it’s saying the right things.

Contributors: Volume XVI, Issue 9 Editor Catriona Laverty Deputy Editor Gavan Reilly Art & Design Director Kristin McKnight otwo Editor Colin Sweetman News Editor Bridget Fitzsimons Comment Editor James Fagan Features Editor Peter Molloy Chief Features Writer Matt Gregg Science & Health Editor Farouq Manji Sports Editor Killian Woods Image Editor Colin Scally Music Editor Grace Duffy Film & TV Editor Conor Barry Fashion Editor Seán McGovern Image Editor Colin Scally ~ “Why am I listening to The Fugees?!” ~

Contributors Agony Anto, Ruth Aravena, Zoë Austen, The Badger, Niamh Beirne, Rachel Boyle, Amy Bracken, Richard Chambers, Jordan Clynch, Alan Coughlan, Alex Court, Eileen Crowley, Stephen Devine, Ciara Doyle, Cormac Duffy, Gary Dunne, Caitríona Farrell, Paul Fennessy, Deirdre Flannery, Kris Goodbody, Micheal Halton, Sally Hayden, Jon Hozier-Byrne, Katie Hughes, Niamh Hynes, Matthew Jones, Alison Lee, Sophie Lioe, Ryan Mackenzie, Tom Mardy, Jamie Martin, Michelle McCormick, Diarmuid McDermott, Hugh McLaughlin, Doctor McSeamy, Conor Murphy, Mittens Mystic, Maria Ní Shíthigh, Jake O’Brien, Claire O’Gorman, Donie O’Sullivan, Umer Rashid, Fionnuala Ryan, Martin Scanlon, Emer Sugrue, Ekaterina Tikhoniouk, Selva Unal, Natalie Voorheis, Amy Wall, Stephanie Wallace Chavanne, Leanne Waters, Natasha Wetten Photographers Dáire Brennan, Emer Igbokwe

Tel.: (01) 716 3119/3120 Email: info@universityobserver.ie Web: www.universityobserver.ie

Special Thanks Richard, Peter, Graham, Malcolm, Ian, Tim, Dave, Jonathan, Ade, Emma, Jed, Bob (and the robots) at Trafford Park Printing; Paul at Higgs; Eilis O’Brien and Dominic Martella; Colm, Claire, Rory and Danielle at MCD Promotions; Dan and Orla at Friction PR; Laura and Darren at Warner; Bernie Divilly at PIAS; Rob Lowney; Giselle Jiang; Dave Carmody; Dominic, Grace, Mark, Sandra, Charlie, Jason, Paul and all the Student Centre staff; Ciara Brennan; Ger Kenny; Philip Bourke and all at UCD AFC; Seamus MacSuibhne and Brian O’Donoghue; Not Jonny Wilkinson; Mega Meal Man; Bistro Bianconi, Sunkist, Bombay Pantry The University Observer now produces a weekly Sports podcast. To listen to the show or to download it, simply visit universityobserver.ie/sportspodcast or search for ‘University Observer’ in the iTunes Store.

Bridget Fitzsimons and Catriona Laverty also maintain regular blogs following their progress at Fantasy Premier League and Fantasy Six Nations respectively.

You can follow their adventures at universityobserver.ie/blogs

Clarification It is the policy of The University Observer to rectify any errors as soon as they arise. Queries and clarifications can be addressed to info@universityobserver. ie.

18

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

16.02.10

SCIENCE & HEALTH

science@universityobserver.ie

Marijuana: A friend or a foe?

As the global debate on marijuana legislation rages on, Ekaterina Tikhoniouk examines the merits and failings of one of the world’s favourite recreational drugs and the case for its legalisation

R

ecorded usage being in the third millennium B.C., marijuana has been around for thousands of years.

Over five thousand years ago, Chinese physicians used it as anaesthetic, while the shamans of the Dacians – as well as the Hindus of Nepal and India – believed it to be a sacred drug and burned cannabis flowers in order to induce a state of trance. Many other cultures, such as the ancient Assyrians, Persians and Aryans, used it during important religious ceremonies.

But presently, there has been a large amount of debate and controversy over the legality of marijuana. One side is trying to legalise marijuana, while the other side battles to close the increasing number of Head Shops dotted around the country, which are sell ‘herbal’ cannabis by means of a loophole in legislation.

Marijuana has had a turbulent legal history – but ironically, the first cannabis law to ever exist was enacted in the state of Virginia in 1619, which actually ordered farmers to grow hemp, a variety of the cannabis plant. The next significant legislation, called the Marijuana Tax Act, was about in 1937.

This tax stamp led to an instant halt in the production and usage of hemp and marijuana, declaring all forms of cannabis to be illegal. Illegal it would stay, except for a brief stint during the Second World War – the main reason for its original ban being that it was believed to make people violent.

Certainly this notion was not true. In this day and age we know that, for the most part, marijuana has the opposite effect: it induces relaxation. Short-term effects include a notable change in mood, increased heart rate, lowered blood pressure, and impairment in motor coordination and short-term memory.

Long-term effects are a lot less clear,

but some studies report a shift in perception, and loss of drive and energy.

The user is more likely, in the words of one particularly opinionated study, to “become relaxed and lose interest in engaging in society, being content to sit around and smoke pot in their basement all day.” There’s also uncorroborated evidence that excessive use can lead to a decrease in mental capacity – in short, that it kills off brain cells.

But official studies have shown that prolonged use in young teens right through to adulthood can have damaging effects on their development, both social and psychological, as well as exacerbating existing genetic conditions of mental illness such as schizophrenia or psychosis. Other research has shown that the children of mothers who used it during pregnancy were more likely to develop problems with psychological development.

Another argument against marijuana is that it can act as a ‘gateway drug’ – that using it increases the probability of the person graduating to harder drugs.

Some theorists have described pot as a stepping stone to cocaine. The ‘gateway’ theory has a valid point – because of the illegality of cannabis, its users are more likely to find themselves in situations which allow them to meet people who deal stronger drugs.

The legality of cannabis has been much debated, however, because it also has its benefits. Recent research has shown us that small amounts of unadulterated marijuana may be even good for you. Experiments showed that there’s a solid possibility that controlled amounts of clean marijuana could stimulate the brain cells, improving memory and overall intelligence.

Cannabis actually has significant medicinal value – it can slow Alzheimer’s, relieve pain and stress, increase appetite,

and alleviate nausea. Indeed, many medical conditions respond favourably to it, such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, depression, anxiety and others.

Yet another myth about the drug was busted recently by Dr Donald Tashkin, emeritus professor at UCLA, who has published evidence finding that marijuana – when smoked the correct way – is not a direct cause of lung carcinoma.

In fact, other studies have shown that excessive alcohol consumption has a much worse effect on an individual’s brain cells than a couple of ‘joints’. In fact, during the ten thousand years of marijuana usage, there hasn’t been a single documented case of death from marijuana alone.

Many experts predicted that keeping

marijuana banned would do very little to actually stamp out its usage. And they were right – the States currently have one of the largest underground markets of any country, and approximately 0.8 per cent of the world’s adult population use it on a daily basis.

Activists for the legalisation of hash often liken the ongoing ban on marijuana to the prohibition of alcohol in America in the 1920’s, which failed disastrously – alcohol abuse escalated during those years of prohibition, creating even more social problems. Many believe that the same is happening with marijuana.

Keeping marijuana use illegal has created many problems. With no quality

control, anything can be added to the bag, which makes underground cannabis potentially dangerous to a person’s health.

No control also means anyone who knows the right people can access itthere’s no way to stop it from falling into the hands of children or adolescents.

Thus, many believe that shutting down the Head Shops would merely push marijuana even further underground and cause even more damage.

The legality of marijuana is a strongly contested issue, and many people believe that marijuana should have no criminal penalty attached to it – and yet, marijuana remains as illegal now as it was seventy years ago.

Stock up your wine cellar before it’s too late Global warming has the potential to scorching our fine wine industry, reports Caitríona Farrell The fact that wine is greeted into the goblets of both fine nobles and the humble mug of college students is proof that its appreciation has not fizzled out.

Wine is notably a stimulant – an agent needed by the body – as claimed by some well-respected figures in the fields of politics and science, like Benjamin Franklin, Sir Alexander Fleming, and Sir Winston Churchill (who famously quipped that “Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for – it’s Champagne!”).

The winemaker – traditionally known as a ‘vintner’ – can produce a reasonable vintage over a hot year in a warm climate. Thus, one might think that the general trend of global warming may be beneficial to the winemaking industry.

However, it seems that excessive climate change could cause disastrous effects to the vineyard – as increasingly hotter climates tend to produce over-sweet wine with a high alcohol component.

This may seem like good news, but such qualities are generally not appreciated by wine makers.

Global warming has spurred several problems, including challenges in

irrigation, soil erosion due to flooding and heavy rain, and diseases spreading within the vineyard and annihilating the batch. A certain rise in temperature may be welcomed, but global warming hasn’t even began testing its limits yet.

During the European heat wave of 2003, vineyards in the North of France profited while waves of alarm propagated down South as temperatures soared too high for the harvest to cope.

It is in Southern Europe and California, in particular, where global warming can really take these effects. Climate strain has left a burden on clusters of grapes, with experts forecasting a massive reduction in wine output. By the end of this century, California’s coastal wine growing areas may be the only settlement for grapes to thrive in the entire United States, where the sea breeze is the only breath of fresh air keeping the vines alive. As much as 81 per cent of California will be rendered unfit for grape growing in the future. Let us not drown our sorrows yet, though – a century might pass before only one fifth of the Golden State’s soil is still golden.

Although global warming’s danger

to the wine industry isn’t immediate, the warmer regions have already began forming strategies as they commence the battle to cope with higher temperatures, such as planting vines in shallow soil to reduce their water consumption, shading the grapes from the scorching sun, and introducing controlled irrigation schemes. Switching to different grape varieties could also be another shortterm solution, as would be the breeding of heat-resistant grapes through genetic engineering.

Wine is obviously big business in the World when an international emergency summit is called – who would have imagined a World Congress of Climate Change and Wine being gathered to challenge global warming as a principal worry? Yet two years ago the second such meeting attracted over 350 vintners from over 40 countries to Barcelona.

There’s no point dodging that global warming will reign. The wine industry will not be immune to climate change, and cannot adapt at its pace.

Grapes are a sensitive bunch – they require a stable temperature within a narrow range if they are to produce a

high quality of wine. A variation of one degree Celsius in temperature is significant – these tiny changes can be the distinct difference between an expensive Chardonnay and cooking wine. When global warming causes a major shift in the thermal equilibrium, the imbalance in alcohol and acidity will make most wine taste less like Chardonnay and more like a bottle of ethanoic acid.

A few startling facts will leave any wine lover in despair. Global warming will lead to a loss in colour in red wines,

an inherent increase in alcohol content, and a reduction in the ageing potential for classic wines. With a higher yield in low-quality wine will come lower-priced, bad quality wine (though the average student punter might not think this such a bad thing). Higher-quality booze will bear a heftier price tag as a result, with its supply declining by half. Global warming has Earth’s tipple in its hands.

Had he lived in a different era, Sir Winston Churchill would probably argue that our wine is worth fighting for.

16.02.10

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

19

SCIENCE & HEALTH

science@universityobserver.ie

Medicine turns Homeo-phobic It’s one of medicine’s most hotly-debated topics – could something as unscientific as ‘the memory of water’ really hold the cure to healing the body? Alan Coughlan investigates the cloudy and controversial world of homeopathy

I

t’s often said that ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. In practice this is a mantra for life’s struggles, and it is this guiding principle that underlies a type of medicine that defies the laws of science.

The first of the two guiding principles of homeopathy is the concept that ‘like cures like’. First formulated in the 18th century, homeopaths attempted to cure hayfever by using a substance which causes the same runny nose and watering eyes as an allergy to pollen. It was allium separ: more commonly known as onion. The modern list of substances administered ranges from the simple to the absolute bizarre. Nylon, red spider venom, deadly nightshade, chalk, snake venom… even the tuberculosis gland of a cow has been used in homeopathic remedies. Something that was quickly noticed in administering these substances, though, was that some of them were highly poisonous.

This brings us to the second guiding principle of homeopathy, serial dilution – the idea being that the more you dilute a substance the more effective it becomes, provided it is done in a special way. 1ml of a liquid is dissolved in 99ml of water, violently shaken and hit against a hard surface (an action all homeopaths regard as essential). This is known as a ‘1C’ solution. 1ml of this is now dissolved in another 99 drops of water to make a ‘2C’ solution.

It is here that the real clash with science begins. At 6C, the medicine has been diluted a million million times – the equivalent to one drop in twenty swimming pools. 12C is equivalent to one drop in the Atlantic Ocean. However, a typical homeopathic solution has been diluted 30C – less concentrated than a single drop in all the oceans of the world. Homeopaths believe that one drop of this solution is sufficient.

Science, understandably, has a prob-

become active, causing the telltale symptoms of a runny nose and itchy eyes. Benveniste devised a test using a dye that turned inactive basophils blue. One of his technicians, however, noticed that a solution which had been diluted homeopathic levels was activating the cells. Benveniste was suspicious, and so set about conducting hundreds of experiments, at the end of which he declared to have discovered a ‘special’ kind of water that seemed to be remembering the substance it had once contained. He called the phenomenon ‘the memory of water’.

This was the evidence the homeopaths needed, and Benveniste knew it as he sent his results to Sir John Maddox at scientific journal Nature, who agreed to publish them if Nature could come and inspect the lab. Nature found, in due course, the same results as the ‘memory of water’ predicted.

One of the Nature team noticed, however, that Benveniste’s technicians knew which tubes contained homeopathic water and which didn’t, and suspected that this knowledge might be influencing the results. The experiment was repeated blind, where nobody would know what tubes contained what kind of water, and with each tube labelled by a secret code. When the experiment was concluded and the code was cracked, it became clear that the

“A typical homeopathic solution has been diluted 30C – less concentrated than a single drop in all the oceans of the world” lem with this, suggesting that one can only dilute a solution to the point where only one molecule of the original substance remains. According to research chemist Walter Stewart, there is less than a one-in-a-billion chance that one molecule would remain in a homeopathic solution. For a medicine to have an effect on the human body, there must be a sufficient quantity of an active ingredient. Thus, if there’s not even a trace of the original substance, there can be no

reaction.

In the 1980s, one of the big names in French science was Jacques Benveniste.

With a string of discoveries to his credit, many felt he was on his way to a Nobel prize. It was in his research into allergies whilst working with basophils – a white blood cell involved in allergic reactions – that he made a discovery which ultimately ruined his career. When a person comes into contact with a substance to which they are allergic, basophils

NUI Awards 2010 NUI Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Humanities This one-year Fellowship, valued at €40,000, is open to NUI graduates of doctoral status.

The Fellowship is in Literature (including Theatre and Film Studies).

Closing Date: 23 April 2010

NUI E J Phelan Fellowship in International Law This is one-year Fellowship, valued at €25,000, is open to NUI graduates of law or any appropriate discipline who wish to pursue research in any aspect of International Law. Closing Date: 16 April 2010

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Each Studentship is valued at €42,000 over three years.

At least FOUR Travelling Studentships in the Humanities and Social Sciences and TWO Travelling Studentships in the Sciences will be awarded.

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special water was having no effect at all.

Benveniste was criticised at large for not applying scientific methods as rigorously as he should, and his reputation was ruined.

Homeopathy has been shown in the lab, time after time, not to work – so why do millions of people use it? The answer may lie with the placebo effect.

Doctors have known for a long time that people can be cured with pills containing nothing more than sugar. Bizarrely large pills can work better than small ones, and coloured better than white pills. The key is that the patient believes the pill will help them. This belief is enough to lower the production of stress hormones, with the physiological effect is to feel better.

Another stage in the application of homeopathy may use this effect: the consultation. A homeopath will, before creating a medicine, sit down and talk with their client. Everything is discussed, from eating habits and sleep patterns to tension in their lives, and advice is even given on how to lower stress levels.

On the face of it, the evidence seems to refute the possibility that homeopaths produce anything more than water – and an explanation for the effects of the medicine has not been given by either side.

Dr Stephen Novella, a neurologist, says that “homeopaths target the worried well who have self-limiting or chronic symptoms – things that don’t need real medicine,” and points to an anonymous online quote to explain the public’s use of this particular alternative medicine.

“It’s curious that with low grade chronic conditions, like back pain, seasonal affective disorder etc, that people are eager to try alternative hocus pocus – but bring on something virulent, acute and truly terrifying, and roll on Western medicine. Nothing like your eyeballs leaking blood to bring things into perspective.”

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PGA continues without Woods Comprehensive defeat highlights problems With the media attention surrounding

T

Tiger Woods’ supposed imminent return to the game, you might forget that the Accenture World Match Play Championship is taking place, writes Stephen Devine

he main rumour in the week leading up to the World Match Play Championship has been the return of Tiger Woods from his self-enforced absence.

It always seemed unlikely, however, that Woods might choose this event to stage his comeback, as Accenture were one of the sponsors who had decided that Woods no longer fitted the profile they were looking for at the tail end of last year.

The field for the event was finalised on Friday evening and in the absence of Woods, Steve Stricker will become the number one seed, having regained the number two spot in the world rankings with his win at the Northern Trust Open last week. The 2001 champion will start the competition against England’s Ross McGowan who – along with fellow Englishman Chris Wood – has benefited from Woods and Mickelson’s absence to claim the final two spots.

Irish hopes for the tournament rest on Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington. McIlroy was an injury concern last week, flying home to Belfast for a scan on his back that revealed a slight nerve impingement. The

injury is thought unlikely to affect the world number seven’s participation, however, and has been attributed to his swing style, and in particular his hip movements. “I do all the exercises I can to make everything stronger around the joints,” McIlroy said. “It is a matter of resting and managing my schedule so that I am not playing too many weeks in a row.”

Harrington’s preparations for the event have seen him playing in the Pebblebeach Pro-Am, where the Dubliner carded a five-under-par round on Friday to leave him two shots off the lead going into the

weekend. Harrington, who was knocked out in the first round last year, will look to regain his 2005 form in the tournament, which saw him reach the quarterfinal stages. The threetime Major winner normally has a slow start to the season, not reaching his peak until the Majors roll around, but if his form this week is anything to go by, he may be moving away from tradition.

Another interesting competitor is England’s Ross Fisher, who finished fifth in the US Open after a fourth place finish in the tournament last year. Fisher enjoys the Match Play format, having won last year’s Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain. He will start the championship against Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee.

All this, however, still leaves everyone wondering when Tiger will return from his absence. The likely comeback will be at the CA Championship in Miami in the second week in March, though Woods could opt for a more low-key comeback at the unofficial – and private – Tavistock Cup match on his home course Isleworth in Florida a week later. It will be up to the rest of the PGA tour to make the most of his absence.

Fionn McCool Runnings Proceedings in the court and a tragic training accidnet overshadowed the action taking place at the Vancouver XXI Winter games, writes Richard Chambers The Irish women’s bobsleigh team were last week cleared to enter the Winter Olympics despite an appeal lodged by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) as well as a further challenge by Brazil. The two-women team, compromising of Claire Bergin and pilot Aoife Hoey, will now participate in an expanded event at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

The initial dispute centred on Ireland’s qualification as the twentieth entrant ahead of Australia. The AOC contended that as the only representative of Oceania at the Vancouver Games, under the guidelines of the FIBT (the sport’s international governing body) they were entitled to be part of the women’s bobsleigh event. This argument was deemed justified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who approved of a 21-team competition including both the Irish and Australian crews.

This was not to be the end of the legal wrangling. Following the success of the AOC’s appeal, Brazilian Ice Sports Federation launched a petition, believing that Ireland’s participation at the women’s bobsleigh was invalid owing to Ireland’s late replacement of France in qualification. In a decision released ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony the CAS rejected the plea of the Brazilians, allowing the event to commence as planned. The decision was praised

by OCI Chief Executive Stephen Martin, adding that it had been a “difficult week, but now we can look forward to the Games commencing.”

For Hoey there was an added reason to be cheerful, as the Portarlington native was selected as the flag bearer for Friday’s spectacular opening ceremony. The 26-year old-was overjoyed with the honour.

“It’s been a rough few days out here in Vancouver with all the legal action swirling around the bobsleigh team,” she said, “but this move has lifted our spirits in a big way.”

The opening ceremony of the Vancouver games itself was overshadowed by the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Despite the death of the 21-yearold, the ceremony carried on with the full participation of the Georgian contingent, who were greeted with an emotional standing ovation at the BC Place Stadium. The 2,500 athletes representing 82 nations at the Winter Olympics, as well as the thousands in attendance, united in a minute’s silence for Kumaritashvili.

The passing of the

Georgian is the latest in a line of controversies surrounding the Vancouver Games. These incidents have included anti-globalisation demonstrations, arguments over practice times allotted to Canadian athletes, as well as the women’s bobsleigh quagmire.

The attention garnered is seen as a positive by Stephen Martin, a man who believes that all publicity is good publicity. “The profile of winter sports has certainly been to the fore over the last week or so”, he told the press at the CAS hearing, “and that has to be a good thing.” The Irish women’s crew is the first of its kind to participate at an Olympics. As the final team to qualify for the Games, Ireland may not be favoured to win medals, but the fact that they are in Vancouver at all is a fine achievement.

A first defeat for Ireland since autumn 2008 is food for thought on changing personnel for the now must-win fixture against England, writes Killian Woods

Sport Editor

Missed chances were the story of Ireland’s night as France ran riot The bitter taste associated with defeat is one that accumulates a certain zest when not experienced for a prolonged period of time, meaning Ireland’s loss to France in the second round of the Six Nations was that bit harder to palate. Along with being a hard result to assimilate, Saturday’s defeat has forced many heads to turn and reconsider their perception of this Irish team.

In times when defeat is comprehensive, it is very easy to advocate making wholesale changes to a side that looked second best all over the pitch. Declan Kidney can no doubt see certain facets of Ireland’s game that require improvement, though following the absolute manner in which the French disposed of Ireland, wholesale changes may be the solution.

The Irish match-day squad of 22 that faced France had been built up as the best-equipped team in ten years to go to Paris and come away with victory.

Looking through the side’s form over the past year, it was typical to make this assumption that Ireland would defeat a very similar French team to that which took field in Croke Park last year.

Unfortunately, there is one key aspect of this Ireland team that was never of sufficient quality to defeat France on their home patch.

Ireland’s issues at scrum-half have managed to go unnoticed for the majority of Kidney’s reign, due to reluctance from the Irish management to change a winning formula. During this time, Tomas O’Leary has been a weak link in the Irish backline and has been at fault for bringing the Irish side under much pressure, due to his poor ability to complete the basic duties of a scrum-half.

O’Leary’s constant need to take a step back from the base of a ruck in order to make his pass has been slowing his delivery to the backline for too long. Another of his failings – the Munster man’s inability

to box-kick – regularly gives the opposition a good platform to attack from and just adds to the list of reasons for his omission, and the inclusion of a no-nonsense character like Eoin Reddan.

But it would be wrong to lay every shred of blame on O’Leary and challenge Ireland to change their entire ethos after one poor performance. Intrinsically, the team does not need to change the mentality which has been engraved in their persona. The never-say-die attitude that comes without saying in any Kidney team is precisely what pulls the Irish team through crunch, low-scoring games. Ireland’s main issue revolves around being able to sustain a game plan that doesn’t involve all out attack.

The opening stages in the Stade de France saw Kidney and his team attempt to play to their strength as they implemented a tactical kicking game and took on France at the lineout. This strategy nullified the French only for as long as the

“Ireland’s issues at scrum-half have managed to go unnoticed for the majority of Kidney’s reign due to a reluctance from Irish management to change a winning formula” Irish put it in place. But on 18 minutes when Morgan Parra gave France the lead against the run of play, Ireland reverted to their typical style of open and expansive of rugby – exactly the wrong manner to go about beating the French in Paris.

Ireland lost to a superior French side who, although looking impressive, are still likely to throw up another performance similar to that of Murrayfield, where they stuttered to victory. With England still to go to Paris, Ireland may have to hope for an English favour come the final game of the tournament.

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New season’s greetings for UCD UCD winger David McMillan speaks to Gavan Reilly about his side’s chances in the top flight this new season

S

eeing David McMillan in person, you mightn’t immediately suspect him to be a top-class soccer player. You certainly won’t think you’re meeting one of the rising stars of domestic soccer.

That’s precisely what McMillan is however; as one of the lynchpins of UCD’s successful push for First Division glory last season, McMillan’s prowess on the wing and sharpshooting ability was invaluable for the student side in returning to the League of Ireland’s Premier Division after just one season at the second tier.

McMillan is honest about UCD’s need to have bounced back after the disappointment of relegation. “It was such a new squad, that people didn’t know where we’d stand. It was always going to be a difficult season. That’s what made it such an achievement – that it was a brand

Competition The University Observer is giving you the chance to win your very own UCD AFC replica jersey. All you have to do is answer the question below, and email the answer –

new squad and they didn’t know what to expect from us, and that maybe gave us an element of surprise for other teams. It was brilliant to get straight back up.”

How realistic it might be for a club of UCD’s stature and means to remain competitive is another matter though. When the students were relegated in 2008, UCD were one of the few Premier League sides to have remained within its means.

Since then, other sides such as Kilkenny City have folded altogether; others such as Galway United remain in precarious financial times, while Derry City have been ejected from the league entirely in a financial dispute with the FAI over its players holding dual contracts.

So how, being essentially restricted to the status of a feeder club, is UCD to survive? McMillian believes the club shouldn’t feel any lesser for its own status.

“They’re not ever going to run out of busi-

with your name and mobile phone number – to comp@universityobserver.ie. Entry is free; only one entry per person will be accepted.

Question: By what scoreline did UCD recently beat UUJ in the College and Universities Football

ness the same as some of the other clubs, they stay within their limits, and I think that’s a fair enough thing to do,” says the 21-year-old architecture student. “A lot of clubs don’t respect UCD for what they do but every club in the League of Ireland will have UCD players in it and I think it’s a club that should be admired rather than put down.”

That in mind, what are UCD’s goals for the season? McMillan remains optimistic of UCD’s chances of cutting it with the bigger and more experienced outfits. “It’s difficult to know until we start. I think people will underestimate us again like last year; I think we can do quite well.

The main aim will be to steer clear of relegation… Some teams like Cork [City] haven’t even signed any players yet and it’s difficult to know who’s even going to be in the league, but we think we can stay clear of relegation and push further than people

League Cup? The deadline to enter the competition is 5pm this Thursday, 18th February. Winners will be contacted shortly after the deadline.

Europe’s big guns ready to resume fire For a second year running, Chelsea and Manchester United’s passages into the quarter finals of the Champions League are in no way assured, writes Martin Scanlon

The Badger

Hello ladies. Look at your man. Now back to The Badger, now back at your man, now back at the Badger. Sadly, your man isn’t the Badger.

Since the Six Nations has restarted, the Badger has had many restless nights. He has been tossing and turning in bed (a king-size bed in a five-star sett, naturally) pondering what it must be like to be England’s illustrious and celebrated World Cup winning hero, Martin Johnson.

Some dedicated rugger fans call Johnson a charismatic leader and a commanding presence on and off the field.

Others praise him as the defining light of English rugby.

Now the Badger isn’t normally one to disagree with others’ opinions, but he doesn’t really agree with these Anglo-centric views.

In the Badger’s superior opinion, Martin Johnson is a cauliflower-producing machine that shares many common characteristics with a tree.

Like a tree, Johnson cannot devise a tactical rugby system that is capable of convincingly winning a game. Like a tree, Johnson would struggle to carry out any other profession than blocking sunlight in his surrounding area. Finally, like a tree, Johnson is unable to hear anything that people say because he has the second largest cauliflower plantation in the United Kingdom growing in his ears (second only to that of Graham Rowntree, of course).

The Badger is being very harsh on the King of Rugby, Martin “MJ”

might expect.”

With a new season on the horizon and hopes of a more regular home crowd (“I have friends who are college students as well, and I ask them, ‘Why don’t you come?’) brimming, things could be worse for McMillan, who is happy to stay put with UCD for a few years yet. “Studying architecture is over 30 hours a week and it’s quite difficult, but UCD gives you a chance to go straight from college to training and a great opportunity to play at the top level while still studying. It’s very difficult to do that at any other club.”

The League of Ireland Premier Division kicks off in early March.

blindness that anyone can suffer from, known as black-, white-, green-, blue-, mauveand mango-colour blindness. Leave the poor man alone.

******

On another quick note, curling is not a sport. Of all the nonsports in the world – classic examples being wife-carrying, extreme ironing and bog snorkelling – curling is the lowest of the low.

If darts is a sport for men who are good at throwing pins at a board, then curling is a sport for women who Sweep those floors! You go, girls. are good at sweeping the floor.

The Badger couldn’t Johnson, and feels that people be bothered researching the proper should know of his embarrassing scoring system for this game (hey, disability. Poor Johnson is lambastyou try using Wikipedia with no ed with showing a lack of respect opposable thumbs), so he’ll just to our prestigious President, Mary give you a very basic, uneducated McAleese, when Ireland faced Engand condensed overview of what land in the 2000-and-something he thinks the game is about.

Six Nations Championship. Being A person throws a brick of the England captain at the time, he granite over some ice; for some led his team into the wrong area of reason it slides; two (maybe three?) the pitch, which forced McAleese people then frantically clean the to walk on the grass. path the brick will follow; then the His supposed ‘intentional’ move brick stops. was slated by pundits across the Did you wet yourself with exciteworld and until now, no one has ment reading from that commenspoken out in defence of the mantary? The Badger did, but like most tree – meaning that the Badger will people who compete in curling, he have to do so himself. Johnson is, suffers from OAB. Look it up. On in fact, colour-blind; he is cursed Wikipedia. With your thumbs. You with the worst condition of colour cretins.

Whilst this summer’s of games to be played World Cup may be the and lessens the disruptive most anticipated event influence which wholesale in 2010, the highest changes for cup matches quality football will bring to the side. Much undoubtedly be in the will rest on the shoulknockout stages of ders of Wayne Rooney the UEFA Champions and if he can mirror his League. recent form and receive

The headline support from the recently stories of the first rejuvenated Nani among knock-out round of others, Milan should be this year’s competition confidently overcome. are undoubtedly the re Chelsea, now turns of two former heunder the watchful eye roes, David Beckham of Carlo Ancelotti, retain and Jose Mourinho, to the same squad that has their past clubs. In all come so agonisingly the hype and focus on close to glory these past the personalities and two seasons; however, Real Madrid have not tasted European Mourinho’s Inter will their respective histosuccess since 2002 prove a stern test to their ries, less has been said about the difficulty of ambitions. Leading Serie the match-ups for both Manchester United and A by nine points, all focus will be on improvChelsea, than would have been expected. ing Inter’s relatively poor recent record in the

Beckham returns with his AC Milan competition. Nobody is better equipped to side to face United for the first time in a commastermind the downfall of his old club than petitive fixture since he left for Real Madrid than Mourinho, who will know many of the nearly seven years ago. It seems as if people players intimately. Expect a tight defensive conhave been commenting on the age profile of test and a moment of brilliance from Drogba or this Milan squad for nearly a decade, yet many Eto’o to decide the match-up. of the old players remain in pivotal roles. Seven

Although inconsistent at home and of the starters in the 2003 final – coincidently unable to beat their main domestic rivals, played at Old Trafford – should feature again at Arsene Wenger will fancy his side’s chances of some stage in this two legged tie: Dida, Nesta, progression. European football tends to offer Kaladze, Seedorf, Pirlo, Gattuso and Inzaghi. players much more time and space on the ball,

This brings a wealth of European suiting Arsenal’s slick pass and move style of experience to a team that some have neglected play. However, without a top-quality fit striker, to consider as genuine threats to United. Carlo their overall chances are severely restricted.

Ancelotti’s departure for London at the end of The Spanish superpowers of Real and last season and the appointment of Leonardo Barcelona will feel confident of progressing in his place has injected freshness into those against both Lyon and Stuttgart. Real, after old bones, which was evident in their 3-2 away their extraordinary summer spending spree, victory against Real Madrid in the group stages. will consider anything other than outright They also possess a genuine attacking threat in triumph as an abysmal failure – especially with the form of Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato. their own Estadio Bernabéu hosting the final.

United themselves have come into a These factors, combined with life in shadows relatively rich vein of form since the shock loss of Barcelona, in the last year may be the key to to Leeds in the FA Cup. Ironically, that defeat them claiming their tenth European Cup on could prove profitable as it reduces the number 22nd May.

16.02.10

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UCD overcome UUJ to reach cup decider UCD reached the final of the College and Universities Football League Cup after overcoming the challenge of UUJ, writes Killian Woods Sport Editor

U

CD qualified for the final of the College and Universities Football League cup thanks to a comprehensive 6-1win over the Univeristy of Ulster, Jordanstown (UUJ). With a host of first team players, UCD always looked the better side and were worthy winners.

UCD got off to a good start through Gavin Falconer who gave his side the early lead. Once on the front foot, UCD maintained the pressure, with great link-up play from James Timmons and Robbie Creevy

Scoreline: UCD 6 - 1 UUJ exchanging deft passes and kept UUJ on the defensive.

Though the northerners levelled the match against the run of play, UCD were able to quickly step up a gear, and Mick Leahy gave UCD the lead once again when he latched onto a Pete McMahon corner kick.

From this point on, UCD never looked likely to lose the contest. They continued to make the best use of their technical ability to open up the UUJ defence, and UCD extended their lead thanks to good link up play between Dave McMillan and Sean Houston. McMillan was first assisted

Super Bowl XLIV threw up a contest that showpieced just how American Football should be played, writes Ryan Mackenzie daring fourth down attempts, and a shocking second half onside kick recovery gradually chip away at the confidence and resilience of the often over-cautious Colts. In effect, the game was won on the sidelines where the superiority of the New Orleans head coach’s tactics and play calling ability undoubtedly trumped those of Colts rookie coach Jim Caldwell.

However, this year’s Super Bowl represents more than just a great upset or the emergence of a new champion. It demonstrates a shift in the NFL from the previous belief that ‘defence wins championships’ to proving the old maxim that ‘attack is the best form of defence’. The league has become a passer’s playground, as the run game – which so often carried teams to Super Bowl success in the past – has become merely a decoy for teams to open up opposing defenses for big gains through the air.

This is evident in the success of the Colts and Saints, who boast two of the best passing threats in the league, while having no shame in limiting the run game.

Moreover, the league’s number one defense and rush offense of the New

‘Fenno’ on Sport The third instalment of Paul Fennessy’s column asks if Arsène Wenger’s knack for saying the wrong thing might be the sign of a tragic hero

by Houston for his opener of the game, returning the favour by sending the newcomer through on goal.

Houston rounded the keeper to open a three-goal lead.

UCD rounded off the game with two more goals – one each from Falconer and McMillan, the latter being in particular good form throughout the game and unlucky not to grab a hat-trick after seeing one of his blistering efforts ricochet off the post.

UCD now go on to face DIT in the final of this competition and will be buoyed by their performance in this enthralling victory.

Payton Saints of an NFL Offence Another Super Bowl has come and gone, and as expected it provided the flamboyant and gripping spectacle that we have come to expect from our bigger-is-better, larger-than-life neighbours to the west. From the dramatic entrances of the game’s combatants, to the fighter-jet climax of Carrie Underwood’s Star Spangled Banner rendition and the glittering extravaganza of The Who’s half-time show, viewers could be forgiven for overlooking the fact that the biggest game of the year lay somewhere in between the hysteria.

Super Bowl XLIV saw the clash of two of the league’s most explosive and exciting offenses, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints.

The meeting held a number of intriguing sub-stories that boosted this already mouth-watering matchup.

For the Colts, a victory could mean the crowning of Peyton Manning as the finest quarterback to have tossed the pigskin, while a Saints upset would cap off the Cinderella story of a traditionally lousy team winning the big one for a town that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina five years ago. The spoils went to the ‘Who Dat Nation’ of the Big Easy by a rather flattering scoreline of 31-17.

While the New Orleans Saints were able to close out the game from a two-touchdown lead, the contest was for the most part a seesaw battle to the end. An uncharacteristic interception thrown by Manning late in the fourth quarter enabled Saints defender Tracy Porter to race to the endzone for the deciding touchdown that all but handed Sean Payton’s team the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

This, however, was merely the finishing touch to Payton’s bold and at times ingenious gameplan that saw

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York Jets failed to make it to the title game, while the Colts made the Bowl with the league’s worst rushing attack – after barely sneaking into the playoff ’s as AFC East runners-up to the New England Patriots. What’s even more poignant is that the 2,006-yard rushing effort by Tennessee Titans runningback Chris Johnson this season was not enough to help his team to earn as much as a winning record.

Should this trend continue and this year’s Super Bowl proved to be a sign of things to come, we could be looking at a new generation of the NFL. Performances such as the 96-point thriller between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals in this year’s wildcard game could become more common. For the time being though, we should simply enjoy what is a truly exciting time to be a football fan.

Arsène Wenger is bearing greater resemblance to the real-life incarnation of King Lear with each passing week. The Arsenal manager’s increasing tendency to make ill-advised, deluded comments – coupled with a stark refusal to acknowledge his side’s fallibilities – means that this revered manager risks tarnishing the respect he has acquired since his dramatic arrival onto the English football scene in September of 1996.

Granted, since that fateful day when he was appointed as Arsenal manager, there is no doubting that Wenger’s footballing philosophy has enriched the English game considerably. His continual ability to produce title contending teams of immense talent is nothing short of extraordinary, given the dearth of transfer funds which consistently afflicts his club.

Last week though, a less commendable feature of the Frenchman’s managerial reign reared its ugly head once again, following yet another loss to one of Arsenal’s main Premiership rivals – Chelsea.

Wenger, as he has often done in the past, accused the opposition of cheating and provided an array of statistics which supposedly proved that Arsenal were the better of the two sides.

Wenger’s argument outlined how his men were the victims of unsavoury tactics employed by Chelsea which revolved around their constant fouling.

He thus accused Carlo Ancelotti’s side of deliberately disrupting the flow of his own team’s fluidity, with its emphasis on slick passing movements and speed of thought – in contrast with Chelsea’s more robust approach to playing the game.

Chelsea’s playing method was untenable, claimed Wenger, who essentially equated it with anti-football.

Even the most ardent Chelsea fan would admit that Wenger has a point in stating that Arsenal employ a brand of football that is more attractive to watch than Chelsea’s play – along with all the other teams in the Premiership. Yet to imply that Chelsea’s approach is somehow unworthy of the beautiful game smacks of sour grapes on Wenger’s behalf.

Bafflingly, the Frenchman described his team’s performance as “great” and said specifically, in relation to Chelsea, that: “We didn’t get a demonstration of football but they were efficient.” Such familiar and tiresome comments, from an experienced coach who should know better, are at this stage beyond embarrassing.

It is as if he considers the final outcome of a game to be a mere triviality and that all teams with lesser technical ability should bow down to Arsenal’s magisterial skills.

And this instance, of course, was by no means the first time Wenger has conducted himself poorly in post-match interviews. In the aftermath of a similar defeat to Manchester United this season, he again criticised what he perceived as the opposing team’s overly combative approach. Wenger even had the temerity to single out Darren Fletcher for the numerous fouls he endeavoured to commit.

The fact that Wenger chose to ridicule Fletcher was telling. The Scottish international’s uncompromising, take-noprisoners footballing style represents the antithesis of all that Wenger stands for in the game. However, Fletcher’s technical ability is often underappreciated – he would hardly have acquired such success in his career without a certain degree of skill.

Moreover, such nuances are what make football a wonderful game – both to watch and to participate in. Players such as Darren Fletcher, who do not possess the exceptional talent of opponents like Cesc Fabregas, can nonetheless triumph through sheer work-rate and determination.

Along with Wayne Rooney, Fabregas has arguably been the player of the season thus far. Nevertheless, his mercurial qualities need to be complemented by a player who compensates for the Spaniard’s lack of physicality. Denilson appears to be too similar a player to provide effective support for Fabregas, while Abou Diaby has the physique but not the ability to emulate Patrick Viera.

Although it is unlikely that Wenger would admit it, Fletcher is precisely the type of player that Arsenal should seek to invest in. His admirable drive and unflinching tenacity are qualities which have been absent from the Arsenal midfield since Viera’s departure to Juventus in 2005.

Therefore, until Wenger rectifies this glaring problem – possibly in addition to finding a suitable back-up striker for the injury-plagued Robin Van Persie – Arsenal will persist in flattering to deceive.

While beating Liverpool last Wednesday constituted a positive step, there remained a noticeable lack of confidence in Wenger’s team which a more clinical side than Liverpool would have undoubtedly exposed.

Ultimately, Wenger’s unbridled idealism leaves him prone to the type of stubbornness which renders him unwilling to sign a battling midfielder. If the Frenchman persists in making a fool of himself whenever he opens his mouth, tolerance for his eccentricities will soon dissipate.

24

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

16.02.10

SPORT

sport@universityobserver.ie

UCD fall to Trinity in the Fred Tiedt Cup See below

OBSERVER

sport

Galway snatch draw at the death UCD 0-17 NUI Galway 2-11 In their second group game of the Fitzgibbon Cup, UCD showed flashes of their best form - only to lose their slender lead in the last minute, writes Micheal Halton

U

CD welcomed NUI Galway to Belfield last Wednesday afternoon for the second fixture of this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup group stage. The game was played in ideal conditions and both sides took full advantage, to produce a highly entertaining encounter in which UCD fought back from four points down to move ahead in the final minutes, before Finian Coone levelled with the last puck of the game.

David O’Connor opened the scoring for UCD with a point, after a good delivery by John O’Loughlin put him into space, before Coone replied for Galway with a 30-yard free. Inter-county star David ‘Dotsy’ O’Callaghan notched his first point of the game moments later, as the game opened at a frantic pace. John Lee, NUIG’s star man at centre back, drove over a superb point from his own 65 to level the scores again. UCD recovered well, however, with Joey Boland tapping over after a storming run through the centre of the NUIG defence.

The home side tore up the field yet again after a poor effort from Lee dropped short, with UCD’s John O’Loughlin lashing over to open his account, but defensive indiscipline proved costly for UCD as two pointed frees from Coone brought NUIG level. Galway substitute Caimin Morrey brought a fine save from UCD keeper Jamie Ryan, followed

by O’Connor adding his second of the half to edge UCD ahead.

As the host side pushed on, O’Callaghan knocked over a brace of points from acute angles to put UCD three points ahead. NUIG’s powerhouse centre-back John Lee lobbed over a point in reply, however, to keep his side on terms. Peter Atkinson worked a point for UCD under pressure, before David Barrett responded with a long-range effort

to reduce the gap. Good defensive work from both side kept scores to a premium until Maurice Nolan and Coone traded frees to leave UCD ahead by two points at the break.

UCD opened the second half well with points from Nolan and Atkinson extending their lead. The visitors roared back, however, notching 2-2 without reply inside ten minutes. Dangerman Coone blasted home a 21-yard free and added two pointed frees before substitute Caimin Morrey scythed through the UCD defence and lashed the ball past a helpless Jamie Ryan. UCD looked in trouble as Galway took control in midfield, and could have been further in front if they had not missed some gilt-edged opportunities.

Refusing to roll over, though, UCD fought back in the remaining fifteen minutes with Liam Rushe leading the charge. Rushe pointed a free before another fine save from Jamie Ryan kept UCD in the game. Coone grabbed his seventh pointed free of the day to leave UCD four points down with fifteen minutes remaining. Still the hosts refused to panic, and dug deep as Rushe added his second of the day after some fine play from O’Callaghan and Atkinson.

O’Callaghan swept over his fourth point of the game from the right sideline before three frees from Rushe – the second a monster from his own 65 – nudged UCD into the lead before Coone stepped up in injury time to spoil the day for the Belfield boys. UCD showed a lot of threat in attack but their discipline will need to improve if they are to entertain major Fitzgibbon Cup ambitions this year.

UCD: Jamie Ryan; Eoin O’Shea, David Lyng, David Langton; Neal Prendergast, Oisin Gough, David Kenny; Liam Ryan, Joseph Boland; Maurice Nolan, John O’Loughlin, Peter Atkinson; David O’Connor, David O’Callaghan, Liam Rushe. Sub: Ciaran Lyng.

UCD and NUI Galway played out an enthralling tit-for-tat encounter. Photo: Dáire Brennan

Trinity boxers deny UCD fourth straight Colours title Some of the finest boxers from UCD and Trinity fought seven compelling bouts in the Astra Hall to contest the Fred Tiedt Cup, creating a riveting Colours spectacle for the near-capacity crowd in attendance, writes Killian Woods UCD Boxing Club were though for the second “The event drew a near capacity crowd to –time unlucky to lose out to their of the night, Trinity the Astra Hall and those in attendance pegged back as UCD’s old rivals Trinity in the Boxing Colours held in the Astra Majeed came off did not refrain from cheering on their Hassan hall last Tuesday evening. worst in a hard-fought fellow students who took to the ring” battle against Jay CumTwo spilt decisions in the final two bouts of the ‘Brawl mins of Trinity. mons who quickly finished off his Trinity in the Hall’ gave victory to After the interval, opponent, Stephen Murray. For the secthe visitors in a contest that could have UCD’s Shane Murray got off to a flying ond fight, Trinity gathered themselves as gone either way. start against Monty Lowry Corry, though the more experienced Ed Fitzgerald saw The event drew a near-capacity crowd Lowry Corry managed to regain his off Neil Dowling of UCD in a tightlyto the Astra Hall, and those in attendance composure and saw Trinity take the lead contested bout. did not refrain from cheering on their for the first time. Entering the sixth bout UCD regained the lead during the fellow students who took to the ring. With of the night and with the scores narrowly third fight – John Kirby comprehensively the crowd roaring them on, UCD got off in favour of Trinity, UCD’s James Wallace defeating his opponent Hugh McGeady to a good start through Jonathan Timwas charged with levelling the scores.

UCD 2 Trinity College 4 In his efforts, Wallace battled hard against Luke Healy to the end, as the two boxers created a spectacle that was worthy of being billed the fight of the night. The two lightweights fought valiantly and even after falling on the ropes and sustaining a bad injury to his nose, Wallace continued on. With the crowd brought to their feet, the fight went down to the judges’ scorecards. Unfortunately, Wallace lost out on a split decision, which ensured a

Colours Cup victory for Trinity College boxing club.

Rob Thompson of UCD took on Thomas Spencer of Trinity in the final fight of the night, where for three rounds the two boxers stood toe-to-toe. UCD side yet again losing on a split decision, denying the club a consolation point.

Following the final bout, Michael McClure, President of the Trinity Boxing Club, accepted the Fred Tiedt Cup.