The University Observer: Volume XVI, Issue 11

SPORT

UCD SECURE FIRST HOME WIN OF THE SEASON BACK PAGE

Observer Digest NEWS

Second fire in Science PAGE 3

FEATURES PAGE 13

30th March 2010

ArtsSoc and B&L fine halved BRIDGET FITZSIMONS

The Arts Society (ArtsSoc) and Business and Legal (B&L) Society have had their fine of €5,000, issued by the Societies Recognition Committee halved to €2,500. The fine was originally handed down for posters for the event ‘The Virgin Ball’ which were considered to be “insidious and dangerous” to students by the committee.

Chairman of the Societies Council, Stephen Whelan, said that the fine had been reduced in recognition of an apology issued by the Auditor of ArtsSoc, Niamh Kiely, and the Auditor of the B&L Society, Aoife McGuinness, who had “understood, in hindsight, that the posters were offensive and that perhaps they hadn’t given them enough consideration in the first place.”

Considering an appeal from the societies to rescind the find entirely, Recognition Committee found that the societies’ apology was not sufficient in itself to merit a complete dismissal of the fine.

“The appeal didn’t make any substantial changes to the last committee meeting,” Whelan said, explaining that “the committee decided that the appeal that they had made didn’t change any of the original findings of the first sitting, so decided to uphold their views on the poster.” He also said that the auditors’ quick response to the request of the UCD Societies Officer, Richard Butler, that they remove the offending posters was also considered by the committee, which decided that “the fine was excessive and decided to make it a little more, as they saw it, lenient.”

The posters in question were distributed around campus advertising The Virgin Ball, an event that the two societies were running together during the first week of Semester One. The poster advertised the event by encouraging attendants to “lose Continued on P4>>

30th March 2010 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY...

1867 US Secretary of State William H. Seward purchases Alaska from the Russians for $7.2 million

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HEAD TO HEAD: ABORTIONPAGE 6

AARON JOHNSON IS KICK-ASS

INSIDE

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VOLUME XVI ISSUE 11

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SUPPLEMENT

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UCD Flashmobs SCIENCE & HEALTH Sci-fact or Sci-fi: Perpetual Motion

COMMENT

NE QUID FALSE DICERE AUDEAT NE QUID VERI NON AUDEAT

IRELAND’S AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER

UCDSU refuse to back Ó Súilleabháin for USI KATIE HUGHES AND SIMON CANTWELL

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CD Students’ Union Education Officer Donnacha Ó Súilleabháin has withdrawn his candidacy for the position of Union of Students in Ireland (USI) Education Officer, after a UCDSU Council meeting mandated UCD reps to vote against him at this week’s USI elections. The move follows allegations made against Ó Súilleabháin’s performance as Education Officer this year, and as Chair of the Science Day organising committee last year.

The USI elections take place at the organisation’s Annual Congress, which takes place this week in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. At the time of going to print, however, it was unclear whether Ó Súilleabháin’s withdrawl had been formally recognised by USI’s Elections Committee.

UCDSU decided to oppose Ó Súilleabháin’s candidacy at its special USI Hustings meeting of SU Council last Tuesday, which saw past, present and future SU sabbatical officers questioning Ó Súilleabháin’s capabilities as an officer at a national level. In a private ballot of Council members, 58 members expressed their desire to vote ‘re-open nominations’ (RON) for the USI position, while just seven wanted UCD’s Congress delegates to vote in Ó Súilleabháin’s favour.

Former UCDSU President and current USI Irish Language officer, Aodhán Ó Deá, condemned Ó Súilleabháin’s lack of initiative in dealing with promises made in his election manifesto last year, including a pledge to hold late clinics at

Irish rugby star Luke Fitzgerald is swarmed by autograph hunters on his way through campus last week Photo Killian Woods least once a week, keepping an online calendar through which appointments could be made, and guaranteeing to stop cutbacks in library hours.

UCDSU Welfare Officer, Scott Ahearn, raised issue against Ó Súilleabháin’s ongoing refusal to speak to SU Campaigns

& Communications Vice-President, Paddy Ryan, who stated that he too could not support the candidacy, adding that “there are better candidates out there.”

Meanwhile, Ó Súilleabháin’s successor as SU Education Officer, James Williamson, questioned whether Ó Súilleabháin had

the ability to communicate at a national level, to all SU Education Officers in the country, when “he was incapable of organising a Science Day committee of twenty.” Ó Súilleabháin asserted that he had fulContinued on P4>>

Coca-Cola back in SU shops MATTHEW JONES

UCD Students’ Union’s longstanding boycott of Coca-Cola products has been lifted after students voted to rescind the boycott. 52 per cent of students voted to rescind the 2003 embargo, while the No side earned the support of 48 per cent of voters.

In the aftermath of the referendum the agent for the No side, Aideen Carberry, expressed her confidence that that a large majority of the students would vote in favour of reintroducing the boycott if the matter was to be put to a student vote again.

Carberry remarked how some students she had spoken to said they would have voted No if they had had more details about the reasons for the ban, and com-

mented that “there’s definitely room for a campaign here for next year.”

The prevailing opinion of the students, however, was to re-introduce the sale of Coca-Cola products, with a majority believing that the choice of whether or not to purchase Coke should be left to individual students. A large Facebook campaign was initiated to revoke the boycott, with the founders of the page claiming that a minority of students felt the urge to impose the boycott upon the entire student population.

In the course of the referendum, the No campaign was forced to remove all of its posters from the campus after it was found to have breached the Union’s election campaigns policy. Carberry conceded that her campaign had breached the rules but believed the punishment

to be unfair, and suggested that a lighter fine – suggesting the removal of half of her materials – would have been more appropriate. Carberry also spoke of her dissatisfaction at the SU’s refusal to run an information campaign on the referendum, despite having made earlier assurances that impartial details would be offered.

The boycott was introduced in 2003 after Coca-Cola became embroiled in a legal case over its alleged involvement in paramilitary murders at two of its bottling plants in Colombia. The United Steelworkers Union and the International Labour Rights Fund, along with the Colombian trade union SINALTRAINAL, lodged the case with the US Federal Court in July 2001. However, the court decreed that Coca-Cola was not in

breach of human rights in September of 2006, and in August 2009 the US Court of Appeals affirmed the Federal Court’s dismissal of the legal case.

UCD was the first institution in the world to put such a boycott in place and several other institutions, including the SU at Trinity College Dublin and the National Union of Students in the United Kingdom, have since followed suit.

Trinity’s boycott was rescinded after a referendum there last year.

With this decision, the Students’ Union are now free to sell Coca-Cola products including Fanta, Sprite and Lilt, and are allowed to seek sponsorship from the Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola was already available in several of the SU shops as The University Observer went to print.

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SU Exec candidates announced

Vox Pop Should we have overturned the Coke boycott?

BRIDGET FITZSIMONS

Niall Fahy wins L&H Auditorship BRIDGET FITZSIMONS

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econd year Law and Economics student Niall Fahy has been elected Auditor of the Literary and Historical (L&H) Society. Fahy beat two other candidates, Janine Ryan and Dearbhla O’Gorman, to the post.

Fahy expressed delight at the election result and said “I think that it was one of those things that could probably go either way, but I wasn’t expecting to win.” He praised his campaign team and that of his opponent Ryan, saying “I think that both of us had very strong campaigns and I think the credit for that would go to our campaign managers and the campaigners themselves.”

Fahy accredited his success to the variety of people who chose to vote for him, rather than based on the promises of his manifesto. He told The University Observer that “I think that what the possible difference was that a lot of friends in my class in Law are more likely to be

L&H members because they’re in second year, whereas Janine’s class would be in third year so they’re less likely to join the society and thus vote.”

The newly elected Auditor has expressed his high hopes for L&H next year, despite the society’s relatively low profile this year. Defending this year’s committee, he stated the society’s ability to attract high-profile guests “just comes down to whether the guests are available or willing to come out, as opposed to measuring the work of someone one year,” adding that the success of an L&H auditor largely “does come down to luck.”

Fahy has expressed his hope to secure celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench, Michael Bublé, Kelsey Grammer and Hugh Laurie to UCD to receive the Society’s James Joyce award.

The L&H is UCD’s oldest society, and was founded by the University’s own founder, Cardinal John Henry Newman, in 1855. Next year will see the society enter its 156th session.

UCD Students’ Union has confirmed details of the candidates for next week’s SU Executive elections. Four campaigns officers will be elected with the positions of Women’s Officer, Environmental Officer, Irish Language Officer and Postgraduate Officer up for election, while nine faculty-based Programme Officer positions are also to be filled. Almost all of the positions are set to be contested, in contrast to last month’s sabbatical elections in which three positions were uncontested.

The election for the two Arts Programme Officers sees current SU Council Secretary, Edel Ní Churraoin, face James Doyle, Rebecca O’Higgins, Micheal Gallagher and Andrew Halligan.

Current Law Society Auditor, Conor O’Hanlon, will be competing with class representative Nadine Feaheny to become Law and BBLS Programme Officer, while the elections in Business, Engineering and Architecture and Agricultural Science are uncontested with Emma Fortune, Patrick Alvarez and Cian O’Donnell unopposed in each race respectively.

SU Irish Language Officer Aoife Nic Samhráin contest the position of Health Sciences Programme Officer against Aidan Conroy, and current class reps Justin Brayden and Maggie O’Connor will compete for the position of Science Programme Officer. At the time of publication, there were no candidates put forward for the position of Veterinary Science Programme Officer.

Executive positions are also heavily contested. Sarah Ní Mhuirí and Ruairí Ó Maoilmheana will compete for the role of Irish Language Officer, while three candidates – Regina Brady, Mandy Power and Suzanne Lee – are seeking election to the position of Women’s Officer.

Four candidates are competing for the position of Environmental Officer, with Dylan Broomfield, Tracey O’Connor, Anthony McElwee and Alan Pierce all putting their names forward. In the election to the position of Postgraduate Officer, current SU Mature Students Officer Martin Lawless will face Patrick Conroy, the current chair of UCD’s branch of Fianna Fáil, the Kevin Barry Cumann.

Polling in the elections will take place across the Belfield, Blackrock and hospital buildings on 7th and 8th April.

“If people don’t want to buy it, it’s simple, don’t buy it.”

David O’Reilly, 1st Arts

“I didn’t even know there was a boycott.”

Rachel Caffola, 4th Commerce International

“If Coke have improved their company, then why shouldn’t we sell it here?”

Charlotte Fenning, 2nd Arts

Staff complaints can’t stop office relocation COLIN SWEETMAN AND GAVAN REILLY UCD has pledged to pursue a project forcing two schools within the College of Arts & Human Sciences to swap office space, despite significant staff complaints at the proposal.

A spokesperson for UCD said that staff in the School of English, Drama & Film Studies would be relocated to the premises currently occupied by the School of Languages and Literatures this summer, as part of an ongoing project “to provide appropriate space for the delivery of programmes.”

The assertion comes only days after the Director of the Newman Regeneration Project, Cliona de Bhaldraithe Marsh, assured staff in both schools that the relocation plans had been shelved for the forseeable future.

Academics from both schools held a staff meeting during the mid-term break to discuss the matter, to which both schools have significant objections.

The relocation undertakings had been intended to collate the office space currently occupied by the School of English, Drama & Film Studies which has become scattered across the Belfield and Blackrock campuses as a result of the growth of student numbers and the gradual academic restructuring undergone in UCD in recent years.

The intended co-location of the school’s premises, however, would have decentralised the School of Languages and Literatures by redistributing all but one of its own departments across the Newman Building, from their current home on the fourth floor of the D Block to the second floor of the J Block on the other side of the Arts complex.

One staff member of the School of Languages and Literatures said that staff in their school were “not happy in the slightest. Part of the reason is that we don’t want to move – you get attached to your office if you’ve been in it for a few decades – but the main reason was that the proposed co-location of the School of English was apparently to be brought by splitting up the School of Languages and Literatures into two different locations.”

The academic added that when UCD first informed staff members of the proposed reallocation of their office

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space, “many of us were opposed because we felt we had departments with strong identities, and that they were all going to be amalgamated into this thing that didn’t really have a reason to be.”

This dissatisfaction was echoed by Professor Alan Fletch-

er of the School of English, Drama & Film Studies who conceded that while there was a small practical benefit in the co-location of his School, the benefit was insufficient to merit swapping the offices of the two Schools.

“Coke should be boycott because it’s a massive corporation that’s supercorrupt and abuses international law.”

Victoria Tuttle, 3rd History

“Since we’re the consumers of the future, I think it’s important to put your foot down about stuff like this.”

Heather Vance, 2nd Science

Newman Fund/Student Capital Fund A small amount of money is left in the Newman and Student Capital Funds. Applications should be lodged before April 15 by email to: elizabeth.cronin@ucd.ie or sent by post to the Forum Office, Student Centre, UCD.

“Coke, Pepsi… sure what’s the difference anyway!”

James Doyle, 1st Arts

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Quinn withdraws support for Comm Day KILLIAN WOODS Following much confusion surrounding its cancellation earlier in the year, the traditional Commerce Day charity event will now be taking place under a different name. The event cannot use the established title of Commerce Day as it has no longer has any formal connections to the Quinn School of Business, who have refused to endorse the event.

The Commerce & Economics (C&E) Society and QSoc will run a series of charity events this week in aid of Concern’s Haiti appeal.

C&E Auditor Laura Arnold told The University Observer that “technically [the event] is just a society event this year. QSoc and C&E have come together to organise a similar event to Commerce Day. Obviously it doesn’t really have the backing of the Quinn School, as it is entirely a different event, so we had to use a different name.”

Since its inauguration in 1995, Commerce Day has been one of the most notable charity events hosted in UCD. The auditors of both societies were disappointed that the fundraiser will have to go ahead under a different name, but have chosen to focus on positive aspects of the event rather than to dwell on the issue.

“It is something that we have had to deal with from the start and get over it,” commented Arnold. “At the end of the day it’s for charity and everyone coming together in the Quinn School.” QSoc Auditor Matthew Gleeson echoed Arnold’s feelings, saying: “It’s unfortunate because Commerce Day is such a well known name, entity and brand. However, it is really the spirit that will come through on the day.”

It is understood that the Quinn School are reluc-

tant to support the event following a delay in the release of funds from last year’s Commerce Day to its designated charity, Cara Malawi. This in turn has been attributed to a delay in the release of PayPal funds raised by the event through an online auction.

Director of the Quinn School of Business, Professor Aileen Pierce, declined to comment on the event when contacted by The University Observer.

Regular Commerce Day sponsors Certified Public Accountants (CPA) have retained their role as title sponsors for the event, with Jack Willis and Spin 103.8 also affiliated with the project. Numerous events will be held throughout a three-day programme to raise money for the Concern Worldwide Haiti Appeal.

On Tuesday, a charity poker night at the Voodoo card club in Arran Quay with, a portion of the buy in and re-buy in money going towards charity according to Gleeson. A campus-wide bucket collection will be held on Wednesday, while collections will also be held throughout the city centre and the south side of Dublin.

Though Commerce Day traditionally takes place in the first weeks of the second semester, when students’ academic commitments are less restrictive, neither auditor has reported difficulty in securing help to run the event, saying that Quinn students have been more than happy to help.

“We have had a surprising amount of interest given the amount of reshuffles and off the cuff stuff we have been doing,” stated Gleeson. “We have had a very committed committee of thirty to forty people who have consistently turned up for meetings and have been churning out the sign-up sheets so far.”

UCD and Smurfit entrants compete in Miss University BEN STOREY Two entrants will represent UCD in this year’s Miss University competition. Miss UCD 2010 Hannah Saunders, and Zarah Shah from the Smurfit School of Business, will compete with women from many of the country’s third-level institutions for the title of Miss University 2010.

Second year Arts student Saunders told The University Observer that she is excited about the event but will be “in the gym a little bit more” than usual.

Shah said that she would “love to win” the competition, which has prizes including a year’s contract with Assets modelling agency, a €1,000 voucher for Brown Sugar hair and beauty salon, and automatic entry into the Miss Ireland competition.

The competition has aroused much controversy since its foundation in 2007. In its first year, many people objected to some of the entry requirements that entrants had to meet, which included a prohibition of pregnant and married women from entering. The following year, reports arose of a split among the SU sabbatical officers in UCD over the Students’ Union’s support for the Miss UCD heat of the competition. Proponents of the contest argue that these requirements are not strictly applicable to the Miss University contest itself, but are imposed by the organisers of the Miss Ireland competition upon the winning entrant.

Co-ordinator of the Miss University event, Ivano Cafolla, feels that “there’s a lot more support for it this year” in comparison to previous years. Cafolla added that in spite of a small number of colleges choosing to refrain from the competition due to some people being “stuck in the

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THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

Second fire hits Science building renovations NATASHA WETTEN A fire broke out in the Science building on the evening of Thursday 18th March as a result of ongoing construction work to the Chemistry Hub of the complex.

According to a spokesperson for UCD the fire broke out as construction workers sought to remove the footbridge connecting the Chemistry and Science Hub buildings, when sparks fell on a pile of discarded roofing felt near the site.

Workers continued with the process, but then noticed the smouldering flames and summoned the fire services before attempting to smother the fire with available fire extinguishers. The fire brigade arrived promptly, and ensured that the smouldering was safely extinguished before leaving the scene and permitting construction to resume work as planned for the rest of the night.

No one was injured by the fire.

This is the second fire to occur in the complex in recent months in the midst of ongoing construction work. The last fire, which occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday 13th January, was caused when an overheated boiler exploded. The previous fire was also extinguished without injury.

The entire UCD Science complex is currently undergoing major a restoration and upgrading programme. Plans were put to Dún Laoghaire/

Fire crews respond to the latest fire in Science Photo Gavan Reilly

Rathdown County Council in 2005 and work began on the reconstruction and expansion of the Chemistry building in September 2008. It is hoped that the construction and refurbishment would place UCD at the forefront of scientific research, and thus attract more funding to the college as well as postgraduate students. The construction work is being pursued in phases, with Chemistry work ongoing for the foreseeable future.

STI screening clinic funding delayed

past”, the contest has had its “highest entrance so far” with a wider range of students from post-leaving cert courses “embracing the concept.”

Cafolla remarked that the competition consists of more than “looking at the picture” of the contestant and judging them on their beauty. He maintained that the competition does not contain a specific swimwear section, but a sportswear section instead, so that it was still the individual prerogative of each contestant to “wear what they want to wear.” Shah also commented that competition is “healthy”, while Saunders acknowledged the contest’s flexible rules, saying “no one’s forcing you to get into a bikini.”

The event, run by entertainment directory afterdark.ie, will be held in the Dandelion Bar and Club on St Stephens Green on Wednesday 14th April.

HUGH MCLAUGHLIN The security of UCD’s subsidised STI screening clinic was threatened last term when its funding was delayed by UCD Students’ Union, The University Observer has learned.

Questioned as to the cause of the delay in funding, Dr Ciara O’Dowd, the doctor in charge of running the service, suggested that the service may have been overlooked by the SU when paying their invoices. The University Observer understands that a clerical mistake is to blame for the delay in funding.

The STI clinic operates on Wednesday and Friday mornings in the Student Health Centre at a charge of €40 per student, which is 50 per cent of the overall cost of the service. The SU subsidises the remaining 50 per cent of the charge. An invoice is sent to the SU by the clinic at the end of each term and the payment of the last invoice was delayed.

Dr O’Dowd stated that, due to budgetary restrictions, the service is no longer allowed to order anything unless it has money in its account, and explained that the delay in funding “was just kind

of putting pressure on us.”

Dr O’Dowd was keen to assert that, in spite of the funding delay, the service continus to run as normal without any delays reported. She was also quick to praise the speed with which the SU Welfare Officer Scott Ahearn responded when alerted to the delay in funding, saying that “on contacting the Students’ Union, we received our funding within a week […] we are very happy with the support we have received from the Students Union.”

The STI screening service was started in the 2007-08 academic year and was relocated from an off-campus site to the Student Health Centre last October. The clinic previously operated out of the private surgery of Dr Ian O’Grady in Donnybrook.

This relocation has led to a remodeling of the service’s funding structures.

Dr O’Dowd has praised the clinic’s relocation to its current on-campus site, revealing that student uptake of the service has been “very positive”, and added that plans were in place to continue running the service next year. In this regard, Dr O’Dowd considered the funding delay “to be merely a teething problem and to be expected when any new service is set up.”

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Redmond looks set for USI Presidency KIERAN MURPHY

U

CD Students’ Union President Gary Redmond looks set to be elected to the Presidency of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) at its annual Congress, which takes place this week in Ballinasloe.

Redmond has described himself as being “absolutely delighted” with the support he’s received so far in his campaign. He also reported that his campaign had been well received in other colleges around Ireland, commenting that he was feeling “an awful lot of positivity throughout the country.”

UCD Students’ Union gave Redmond near-unanimous backing at its own USI Hustings last Tuesday, 23rd March. Redmond is opposed by current USI Equality Officer Linda Kelly, a graduate of University College Cork.

Speaking at UCD’s meeting in an effort to secure UCD’s support, Kelly detailed her experience of being involved in campaigns such as the anti-fees campaign and the

campaign for civil marriage as part of her USI duties. Kelly said she believed that “the President of the organisation needs to be experienced in order to realistically effect change in the next twelve months,” and said that if elected she “can hit the ground running.”

Redmond responded by saying he was “running on the merits” of his campaign and countered that Kelly had “worked for USI for two years as the Equality Officer; she’s been away from the coalface of students and may not have the understanding of the student’s issues” that he possessed as the president of a local SU. Redmond has received the backing of students’ unions in Trinity College, DIT and NUI Galway, whose delegates have been mandated to vote in his favour at the presidential election. Kelly, meanwhile, has secured the votes of UCC as well as the support of Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster.

Asked if he felt optimistic about his chances for election, Redmond

said that he is “taking absolutely nothing for granted” and would “fight for every vote.”

If elected, Redmond has promised to use the combined resources of USI and its member unions to lobby the government on the reformation of the grant system, seeking the introduction of online applications, the direct payment of grant money into students’ bank accounts, and the establishment of a centralised grants authority.

Redmond also expressed interest in attracting non-affiliated students’ unions, such as that of DCU, back to the USI fold.

USI’s Annual Congress began yesterday and continues until Thursday. At Congress, all USIaffiliated unions send delegates to elect the officer board for the following year, as well as vote on a number of motions and constitutional amendments. Elections will take place today. Redmond would become the first UCD student to lead the national student movement since Tom Duke was elected USI President in 1993.

Continued from front page

ArtsSoc and B&L fine halved

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Redmond addresses UCD Hustings last week Photo Killian Woods

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your V-plates”. In a statement released to The University Observer when the fine was first issued, Butler said “the Committee considered that the message conveyed by the poster was insidious and dangerous, and that it constituted a deliberate act of emotional manipulation designed to prey upon the gears and worries of students at an especially vulnerable time in their university career.”

The fine will be split equally between the two societies, and will be donated to the Student Welfare Fund.

Governing Authority elects two new members BRENDAN MAY Two vacant spots on UCD’s Governing Authority were filled after by-elections were held on Friday, 19th March. Professor Patrick Guiry, Director of the UCD Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology, was voted in by the professorial academic staff by a margin of 73-52 over Philosophy colleague Professor Gerard Casey. Thomond Coogan was the sole candidate nominated to take up the nonacademic staff vacancy, and was deemed to be elected unopposed.

Both positions had become vacant following the retirement of previous Governing Authority members. Professor Guiry will take up the professorial post left vacant by the retirement of Professor Maurice Boland of the UCD Institute of Food and Health, while Coogan – an Access Coordinator at the Adult Education Centre – succeeds Mary Buckley.

Professor Guiry expressed his satisfaction with the election result, saying he “very much appreciated the opportunity this afforded me to discuss a range of issues with my colleagues, and I look forward to keeping in contact with them in the future.”

In seeking support for the election, Professor Guiry explained that he had spent time

emailing, phoning, and meeting with fellow professors explaining his reasons for running and requesting their support.

Coogan told The University Observer she had experience with many committees – albeit “none as big as this one” – but that she is confident that her connections and history within the university will help ensure that the democratic sphere of the school continues into the future.

When asked about what particular developments she would like to see brought about, Coogan said she “would like to see widening participation and matters of equality moved further up the agenda. We should be thinking in terms of knowledge as exchange and innovation in terms of public scholarship.”

Professor Guiry has worked in several similar capacities before, both within UCD and abroad, and adds that “the maintenance of high academic standards and scholarly excellence is crucial for UCD and Ireland.”

The Governing Authority is composed of 40 people and was formed in 1997, evolving out of the Governing Body established under the Charter of UCD in 1908. Its membership is comprised of professors, academic personnel, non-academic staff and members of external or-

ganisations such as the National University of Ireland. There are also four student reps on the body, including three Students’ Union reps and one postgraduate student. The current members are finishing the remainder of a five-year term ending on 31st January 2014.

The primary duty of Governing Authority is to manage the strategic direction of the university. Its specific responsibilities include appointing and working with the President to oversee policy, monitoring the performance of the university’s management, and handling the administration of all lands and properties of the university.

Professor Patrick Guiry

UCDSU refuse to back Ó Súilleabháin for USI Continued from front page

filled “90 per cent of the promises made” on his manifesto and insisted he stood by his achievements this year, saying he was “running on his record” for the USI position. Ó Súilleabháin said he had enjoyed “fantastic support” from other colleges across Ireland, having secured the votes of Congress delegates from other large unions including those of NUI Galway, UCC and Trinity College. However, both NUIG and UCC were believed to be reconsidering their support for Ó Súilleabháin in the wake of UCDSU’s decision not to endorse him.

The vote also followed an anonymous RON campaign which had been set up on the social networking site Facebook, which listed Ó Súilleabháin’s alleged shortcomings as a current member of the SU Executive, as well as in his roles as Science Day Chairperson last year and also as a Residential Assistant this year. Ó Súilleabháin told The University Observer that he was ‘’disappointed at the anonymity’’ and insisted that the material on the site was libellous.

The University Observer understands that a motion of no confidence against Ó Súilleabháin is to be put forward to a further meeting of SU Council in the coming weeks. A number of class reps in Science were believed to be drafting a motion to be put forward at the time of print. According to Williamson – who succeeded Ó Súilleabháin as chair of the Science Day organizing committee – the idea had been discussed among Council members, but that no formal action had been taken at the time, and that he could neither confirm nor deny any plans.

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De Brún canters to Campaigns and Communications victory

As this race was one of only two contested positions problem. this year, it attracted a relatively large interest among the Maguire meanwhile said he felt that the election Pie chart againwas please: student population. “definitely fair” and emphasised his thanks to his Pie chart againand please! [if you have time: infographic pie chart? The Campaigns Communications[ifVice-President [if you have time: infographic pie chart? you have time: infographic pie chart?

Ahearn 77%, RON 23% De Brún hasLynam named increasing the public profile of the campaign team for their work for him, in particular his Williamson 52.4% Logue 41.3% RON 6% Cosgrove 83%, RON 17%] de Brún: 67%, Maguire 24.5%, RON 8.5%] 68%, RON 32%] election was won by current Law Programme Officer Pat Students’ Union as one of his top priorities for next year, campaign manager Andrew Halligan. de Brún, with 67 per cent of the vote. saying he believes that students should see the union as The Campaigns and Communications Vice-President He had been in competition for the position with SU RON RON being part of their daily lives, that they “should know is in charge of overseeing much of the SU’s activities LGBT Rights Officer Colm Maguire. Maguire received RON what’s going on, and they should care.” throughout the year, including organising protests and 24.5 per cent of the vote, with eight-and-a-half per cent 17% DeRON Brún has been quite critical ofRON the current sabthe Union’s annual Class Rep Training, as well as encourof students voting to re-open nominations.

23%invisible to Maguire batical team, saying that they are largely aging people to run for election to sabbatical, executive 32% The election was largely seen as a fair contest, de Brún Williamson Logue the student body. He told The University Observer that and class rep positions. The C&C Vice-President is also 24.5% told The University Observer the two candidates had “a de Brún “I want maximum representation and I want the beat responsible for SU communications including all publi41 .3% 52 .4% very fair, clean election” and how he hasCosgrove “great respect for Ahearn Lynam 67% representation possible.” De Brún promises to make the cations and circular emails.

Colm.”

68% 83% SU “relevant and visible” in an attempt to77% counter this

MATTHEW JONES

6%

8 .5

%

RON: Re-open Nominations

Williamson pips Logue in Education race

that on the “first day in office I’ll be working on the reg fee and grants and stuff like that. They’ll be my priority.”

John Logue, of 2nd Law, conceded that “the people James Williamson emerged the winner of a fraught and have spoken and I can’t argue with that.” Logue repeated divisive campaign to become UCD Students’ Union EduPie chart again please: his intention to remain involved in the Students’ Union Pie chart again please! [if you have time: infographic pie chart? [if yousupport have time: infographic pie chart? [if you have time:for infographic pie winning chart? cation Vice-President next year, the Ahearn 77%, RON 23% next year by running for class rep, joking that “whether Williamson 52.4% Logue 41.3% RON 6% de Brún: 67%, Maguire 24.5%, RON 8.5%] Lynam 68%, RON 32%] Cosgrove RON against 17%] of 52.4 per cent of83%, voters John Logue’s 41.3 per my class will forgive me enough for neglecting my cent. Six per cent of students voted to re-open nominalecture-attending duties to elect me I don’t know, but I’ll RON tions in the contest.

RON run for it anyway.”

Asked RONhow he felt having won the race, Williamson Tension was rife between the two campaign teams stated17% that he found the entire campaign “extremely RON throughout the two polling days as both were accused RON enjoyable.” He paid tribute to the campaign run against 23% Maguire of intimidation and bullying tactics. The SU’s Returning 32% him, stating that “John Logue ran a very good campaign Williamson Logue Office called a disciplinary meeting with both candidates 24.5% de Brún against us as well, and he didn’t make it an easy ride for on the evening of the first day of polling, in an attempt to 41.3% 52.4% Ahearn us at all.”Cosgrove Lynam 67% diffuse the building rivalry between both camps.

Williamson stated that the matter of the Student Serv68% 83% Deputy77% Returning Officer Stephen Whelan told The ices Fee would be his top priority when he succeeds curUniversity Observer that “there were a lot of problems rent officer Donnacha Ó Súilleabháin in July, explaining

HUGH McLAUGHLIN

6%

8.5

%

with inexperienced campaigners… they were being rude, they were pulling people away, they were shouting over each other.” Whelan added that campaigners conducting themselves in a disruptive manner were taken aside and told not to “let it happen again because that undermines the Union, it undermines the elections and it annoyed people.”

Commenting on the meeting, Williamson said that “there were allegations made by either side that the other team weren’t canvassing in a respectful manner,” adding that “the Returning Officers called a meeting to clarify everything and to tell us all if we have any problems sort it out now so that it doesn’t continue.” Williamson described the meeting as a success and said that the situation “was just hearsay that kind of got out of control.”

Logue insisted that reports of any campaigners misbehaving had been “blown massively out of proportion.”

Cosgrove “very pleased” with Ents result

RON: Re-open Nominations

have a really good election team who decided to still show up every day and do everything for me.’”

Asked if he was worried that he may have been Jonny Cosgrove was elected on the first count to the defeated by the RON option, Cosgrove revealed he was position of Entertainments Vice-President. The race was Pie chart again please: people would not vote for him because of perworried Pie chart again please! art? [if you have time: infographic chart? onepie of chart? three uncontested, meaning thatpie Cosgrove’s only 77%, RON 23% [if you have time: infographic Ahearn Williamson 52.4% Logue 41.3% RON 6% Cosgrove 83%, RON 17%] sonal reasons. “There’s one thing people just not liking 8.5%] Lynam 68%, RON 32%] opponent was the Re-Open Nominations (RON) option. me personally, but its another thing to say that I am not Cosgrove received the highest mandate of any of the the right person for the job,” Cosgrove commented. “A candidates in this year’s elections, beating RON 83 per RON lot of my thing was to show, through my manifesto, I do cent to 17.

RON know what I’m doing. I have the experience to do it and I Cosgrove told The University Observer RON that the elec17% RON think I’ll be good for the job.” tion had turned out “the way I wanted – I’m in anyways, 23% 32% Cosgrove thought that the turnout at this year’s elecso happy days.” He described the period preceding the Williamson Logue tions, which was over 20 per cent lower than the turnout voting, which took place on the 3rd and 4th March, was 41.3% 52.4% last year, was a result of the smaller number of candidates “fun [and] aLynam lot of work.” Cosgrove praised his campaign Cosgrove Ahearn seeking the available positions. Disagreeing that student team, revealing “I was quite sick during the actual main 68% 77% 83% apathy had played a part in the turnout, Cosgrove said election time, so that [made me think], ‘Thank God I that “in the end we had a very high turnout considering

ALEX COURT

6%

there were three uncontested elections.”

Although current Ents officer Mike Pat O’Donoghue remains in office until 1st July, Cosgrove says he has already started working on his projects for next year, “at the moment we are still in term, and I’m still doing my exams, unfortunately […] I’m doing research into everything and seeing what do I actually need to start before I take office. As soon as we’re all finished exams we can look an awful lot more into it.”

Cosgrove was keen to express his eagerness to get started as part of next year’s team, explaning that “I’m looking forward to working with them all. We’ve all worked together at some stage already so I’m really looking forward to us working as a team.

“A lot of people are saying that I’m losing my summer, but I’m gaining time on next year. I am really looking forward to getting planning on everything.”

Lynam ‘to prove himself ’ after large RON vote BRIDGET FITZSIMONS

Former Students’ Union Education Vice-President Paul Lynam is to become next year’s SU President. Lynam ran uncontested for the role and won with 68 per cent of the ballot. Re-open nominations garnered the remaining 32 Pie chart again please: [if you have time: infographic piethe chart? [if you have time: infographic pie chart? per cent of vote. Ahearn 77%, RON 23% 1.3% RON 6% Cosgrove 83%, RON 17%] Lynam 68%, RON 32%] Lynam declared himself “relieved and delighted” with the results of the ballot, despite receiving the highest RON vote of the three candidates that were running unopposed. When asked about this, Lynam said that “even if RON I got 88 per cent I still wouldn’t be happy, because you’re RON 17% RON not going to be happy unless you’ve got 100 per cent,” 23% 32% but that he is aware he would “have to do it to the best of my ability next year, and have a great year,” due to the exceptionally high RON vote.

Cosgrove Ahearn Lynam Lynam is77% keen to start work with his colleagues for 68% 83% next year, telling The University Observer that the group

“really seem to gel,” and that they have already met to talk “about confidentiality and looking out for each other.”

Lynam has said he is keen to avoid the problems that have plagued this year’s SU, explaining that “I’m quite clear on confidentiality with infighting, because every time that there’s infighting, we’re not selling out gigs or we’re not getting money for the Welfare Fund. It means we won’t get out there to students.”

Lynam has cited “the prioritisation of student services and the welfare of the student body in general” as his main priorities during his term as President. He has also declared the maintenance and development of the Student Health Centre as a priority for the SU, saying that he will investigate models in other universities in both Britain and Ireland to see what could best work for UCD. Another topic that Lynam has pledged to tackle next year is Union visibility – something he acknowledges as being a problem this year. “I think it’s generally accepted

that you need to show students your achievements, but you also need to show them that you’re representing them as a go-to body if there’s an issue,” he said, adding that if there are “any failures, you need to look at them and see how you’d do it yourself.”

Lynam also emphasised the process by which he hopes to achieve the promises outlined in his manifesto, and in those of his Vice-Presidents-to-be, saying “we need to let students know what we’re doing. We’ll take our manifestos and go through how we’re going to achieve this, not just the goals themselves.”

The final year Social Science student has resigned himself to budget cuts during his term of office, but is adamant that if “I feel like they’ve [the University] crossed a line and are making excessive cutbacks, then I do think that we need to respond in the campaigning manner as well.”

Ahearn re-elected for second term CATRIONA LAVERTY

graphic pie chart?

7%]

[if you have time: infographic pie chart?

Lynam 68%, RON 32%]

RON

RON

23%

32% Lynam

68%

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Ahearn

77%

Pie chart again please: Ahearn 77%, RON 23% Incumbent SU Welfare Vice-President Scott Ahearn

will retain the post for another year following his victory in the uncontested Welfare race. Ahearn won the election with a majority vote of 77 per cent to Re-open Nominations total of 23 percent.

Ahearn stated that he was “honoured and privileged” to have been re-elected to the Welfare Office, and that he hoped it was a “testament that people feel I’ve done a good job and they’re willing to take me on for one more year”.

For the coming year Ahearn says he would like to see a “united Union” and that his priority for the year will

be the personal student cases dealt with through the Welfare Office. He says he will work to further highlight the services available to students including running new advertising campaigns.

Ahearn has run for the position of Welfare Vice-President three times, and felt that this year’s race differed greatly from those before as he was uncontested, and found it more difficult to assemble a campaign team. “It was harder to get people to commit to canvassing, to ask them for the third time to take two days to campaign.”

Ahearn was criticised by some for actively campaigning for James Williamson during the polling days, despite denying that he was on a ticket. “I supported James because I felt he was the best...if it was two way [that would

have been being on a ticket]”. There are reports that many students chose Re-Open Nominations as Ahearn wasn’t fully committed to campaigning for his own re-election.

Ahearn refutes the idea that he was canvassing for Williams first and himself second “I had my manifestoes in my hand...there was one person in every building [campaigning].”

However he stands by his record as Welfare Officer and said that he felt the RON vote was “the norm” for an uncontested election despite any criticism. “To be honest I expected higher because of the Facebook campaigns [for RON].”

29/03/2010 05:56

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THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

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COMMENT

comment@universityobserver.ie

A Foetus is a Human Being Auditor of UCD’s Life Society, Maras Ó Cribín, argues that we cannot be selective about what constitutes a human life

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bortion is a complicated and multi-faceted issue. For prolifers, the fundamental issue is a scientific one: the humanity of the unborn. If it could be proven that the foetus is not a human being, then pro-lifers have no argument. But the simple fact is that scientists and medical textbooks categorically state that a unique, individual human being is formed at conception.

It is hard for many to look at a clump of cells and agree that it is indeed as human as you or me. But science tells us that this clump of cells has an assigned gender, natural hair and eyes, and is a separate member of the human species – albeit at its earliest stages of development. The zygote, embryo, foetus, baby, teenager and adult are all stages in the human development cycle, and it is the moment of conception that this growth and development for human beings begins.

If the foetus is a human being, then it is entitled to the fundamental and basic human right: the right to life.

There are those from religious or philosophical inclinations who accept the scientific consensus that it is a human being, but argue that an embryo is not, in fact, a “person”. They argue that without sentience or consciousness or a soul, we lack “personhood”, and thus the unborn are not “real” people in the same way as you or me.

This is impractical, as science cannot tell us when one becomes conscious, sentient or self-aware.

Peter Singer, an Australian philosopher, argues that because a foetus can feel neither pain nor desire, it cannot be considered

equal to the mother. He applies this logic to newborns as well, because newborn infants do not have the same capacity for emotions as adults, and says that “killing a newborn is never equivalent to killing a person”. Singer qualifies this by saying it is still wrong to kill a newborn, because there are loving parents willing to adopt the newborn. This implies that because someone, when “wanted”, has a moral value, and because an unborn can sometimes be “unwanted”, they have very little moral value.

There are many who society considers “unwanted”, but being wanted does not determine one’s right to life. The right to life is universal, fundamental, and independent of personal prejudices. Excluding certain individual human beings from human rights because they lack a certain characteristic, are at a certain age, or are “unwanted” could lead to all sorts of humanitarian problems.

Most moderate pro-choice people accept a limit of around twenty weeks for abortion.

The problem with these cut-off points is that each human being is different. We all grow and develop at different speeds; our physical and mental capabilities are unique to us individually. With the development of artificial wombs the idea of viability may soon become a non-issue. But why should our current level of technology determine which human being has a right to life and which doesn’t?

I have no problem with making choices.

We all make choices everyday – some good, some bad – but all of them have consequences and responsibilities. When those choices harm another human be-

ing, the law intervenes to restrict our choices, preventing such harm. The pro-life ideology is not against choice, but against a choice that kills a human being. The only precedent we have for taking the life of a human being is that of self-defence, i.e. when that human being is endangering your life. The Irish constitution protects the right to life of the unborn, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother. Thus operating to save the life of the mother during a pregnancy is permitted under Irish law because it’s self-defence, even if the unintended consequences result in the death of the foetus.

Abortion is a very emotive issue and there is obviously more to this debate than the semantics and the science of whether or not the foetus is a human being. Women can be in very distressing and often traumatic situations, and there are many circumstances that affect the choice to have an abortion – the influences of parents, partner, poverty, and age among many others. The irony is that a woman might feel she has no choice but abortion. Thus the problem is not the lack of abortion, but the lack of sympathy towards women in this situation. Society needs to care for its citizens and with a support network in place women would not feel the need to resort to abortion.

There are, of course, many more issues I have not adequately covered in this article.

But ask yourself: if it is not a human being, what is it? Why can’t it have a right to life? If

it is a human being, what justifies killing it?

Can you apply the same reasoning and logic to other human beings? Would we not be better placed putting our efforts in supporting women in these situations so they don’t feel the need to resort to abortion?

Maras Ó Cribín is Auditor of the UCD Life Society. Next week LifeSoc hold a series of events discussing the issue of abortion from various perspectives, including an atheist/scientific conference (8th April) and a Women’s Conference (9th April).

Allow Irish Women a Mature Choice Bridget Fitzsimons believes that a modern and democratic society should offer its women the right to choose for themselves

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News Editor

bortion has always been a topic that has provoked extreme reactions and a topic that I have always felt incredibly strongly about. Ever since I found out what abortion was, it struck me as strange that it is illegal in Ireland. Surely, a democratic country that allows its citizens to vote in a government, pay taxes and generally live their lives should allow said citizens to decide whether or not they wish to have a child?

Abortion, to me, is a human right. We are humans with free will in a grossly overpopulated world.

Surely if a woman or couple decide that they do not wish to bring a child into this world, they should be offered a service by which they can safely and legally abort a foetus, without having to make the journey across the Irish Sea to avail of an abortion?

For me, abortion can only take place up until a certain point; I am not in favour of late-term abortions. Safe and legal abortion up until 24 weeks is something that every woman is entitled to. Why aren’t we campaigning for this louder? Pro-life activists fail to realise that pro-choice campaigners are not pro-abortion. I am not forcing anyone to have an abortion: I am simply asking that the choice is there. If someone does not agree with abortion and falls pregnant, they are perfectly within their right to carry their child to term, keep it, or give it up for adoption. I simply do not appreciate the mentality that it’s okay to make a woman or a couple feel like guilty criminals for making an informed choice about their lives.

Pro-life activists seem to think that prohibitive laws like the ones in Ireland will stop people from having abortions, but this is simply not the case. According to one pro-choice website, at least 123,258

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women from the Republic have travelled to the United Kingdom for an abortion between 1980 and 2005. This figure only measures women who choose to give Irish addresses at abortion clinics, and women that have travelled to the UK. The real figure is probably a lot higher. With this in mind, surely it is time to repeal these laws? They are not stopping Irish women from getting abortions – they are, in fact, putting them in grave physical and psychological danger.

“I am not forcing anyone to have an abortion: I am simply asking that the choice is there” The problem of rogue crisis pregnancy agencies is rife in Ireland. Crisis pregnancy agencies are unmonitored by the government, meaning that rogue agencies can advertise services using psychological methods to dissuade a woman from terminating the pregnancy. Former ‘clients’ report being shown pictures of foetuses, encouraged to name their child, and told that the guilt of an abortion will consume

them if they go ahead with it. These agencies thrive on governmental apathy towards women’s rights, and would not exist should proper legislation be written on crisis pregnancy agencies.

In legislating for abortions, the government would be helping numerous citizens. We cannot put faith in a country that does not allow us to make basic decisions that affect our lives so greatly.

Personally, I feel let down by a government that has allowed the religious minority to dictate to me how I should live my life.

In a true democracy, a pregnant woman should have all of the options and should be fully supported by the people she has voted into the Dáil, regardless of what option she chooses.

The current laws are incredibly extreme.

Women who have abortions can go to jail for life, and there are no provisions in place for pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest, or for severely deformed foetuses that cannot live outside the womb.

Our country denies our basic rights. To expect a woman to carry a baby that is the product of rape is not only negligent, but barbaric.

Ireland needs to move with the times.

We live in an era that means that safe, sterile and legal abortion should be an option for all. We can no

longer be slaves to those who wish to control our lives. I am not asking for forced abortion; I am simply asking for the opinions, rights and choices of people to be recognised. If TDs expect us to vote them into government, then they should be ready to represent us and our views. It is time that democracy truly meant choice in Ireland.

29/03/2010 05:56

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THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

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COMMENT

comment@universityobserver.ie

‘Sorry’ seems to be the Hardest Word As the scandals hit religions, politicians and bankers alike, Conor Murphy asks why so many public figures struggle to atone for their actions

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hen a politician calls an innocent politician a ‘pimp’ during an election and then calls himself a victim, we can sense something is wrong. When one of the worst rapists we have ever seen is allowed continue on as he likes, and his bosses only apologise three years after the

story originally broke, we know something is wrong.

There’s a famous story about a perfect scientist who, after seeing his life work being taken apart and destroyed for an hour by a younger colleague, went and genuinely thanked the upstart for teaching him something new.

While the self-deprecating abilities of our brightest and best will

never reach that level, we should hope they do better than they currently are doing. The elite and the famous have always found it hard to see fault in themselves while the rest of us are expected to be contrite if we screw up.

It is in the most important of things that this trait hurts and destroys people’s lives and hopes for the future. The

Catholic Church carries an arrogance one might expect from an organisation that believes itself hand-picked by God. But the breathtaking superiority complex displayed by Cardinal Seán Brady when he said he did nothing wrong by the day’s standards, when he refused to report the actions of a paedophile colleague, goes beyond a joke when ‘nothing wrong’ meant allowing a mass rapist continue on his merry way. The Church has been an incredibly slow learner of the painful lesson that the sooner it fully admits to everything it allowed be committed on children in their care, the sooner it can move on and try to salvage its creaky organisation. We must wonder if the Church will ever learn this lesson, or try merely to placate the angry mobs every time the drip feed of horror stories starts up again.

The highest among us have the furthest to fall when they fail this test – and none more so than Seán Fitzpatrick, the shamed ex-head of Anglo Irish Bank, currently under investigation for fraud while loaning himself €87m from his own failing bank.

Fitzpatrick acknowledged in an interview that it “would be very easy for me to say sorry”, but has failed to do so because (appar-

“The Catholic Church carries an arrogance one might expect from an organisation that believes itself hand-picked by God” ently) the bank’s problems had nothing to do with him.

Firstly, the banks wouldn’t have been affected by the global crisis if it had not loaned millions to those with no money to repay it. Secondly, Fitzpatrick fully admits concealing his loans from the public during his eightyear tenure. He has no regret, and his bank – and our tax bill – suffers for it. As long as he, and bankers still in such organisations, accept these positions and don’t pay for their mistakes, how will the organisations learn to do things differently next time?

We were given a lesson by junior minister Trevor Sargent, who resigned immediately once his name was tarnished, and before the tabloids had even gathered the breath to sling insults. This was sharply contrasted by Willie O’Dea, who screamed blue murder as Fianna

Fáil desperately tried to stop a perjurer calling himself a ‘victim’. O’Dea has not clearly acknowledged his fault and has instead tried to portray his act as a misspoken word, rather than an attempt to criminalise his opponent in the eyes of the public.

No matter what road we take in life, we will all make mistakes. The threeyear-old who catches his finger in the door learns his lesson and grows as a person. Our whole society made mistakes by turning a blind eye to the clerical abuse of children when it happened – and again by ignoring not only the stupidity of bankers, but also the stupidity of the people who took loans when they had no means to repay them. The mistakes of the credit crunch were made by everyone in Ireland, and all of us must hold our hands up and show our leaders by example. All our leaders need learn is that regret is the sweetest of poisons.

New Politics, Same Old Infighting

As Fine Gael propose sweeping constitutional reform, Hugh McDowell wonders if the plans have done more harm than good to the party

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ine Gael’s recent ‘New Politics’ document outlines radical reforms of Ireland’s electoral system which the party would implement in the event of victory at the next general election. Enda Kenny will hope that the much-publicised policy proposals will deflect attention from his flat performances in the media of late, and the embarrassing resignation of George Lee. However, while many of the concepts contained within New Politics are eye-catching and headline-making, the wisdom behind them requires further

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examination. Furthermore, the issue of political reform has caused a rift within the Fine Gael front bench, once again calling Enda Kenny’s leadership credentials into question.

The abolition of the upper house of the Oireachtas, Seanad Éireann, has been the subject of public debate for some time now. Kenny believes a unicameral parliament will be ‘more responsive and more dynamic’. If anything, however, a parliament consisting solely of Dáil Éireann would be less responsive, as the checks-and-balances of the legislative

process would be eroded away by a simple parliamentary rule-by-majority. Removing the Seanad would save the exchequer a mere €30m per five-year term – hardly a substantial boost to the public coffers.

While the Seanad in its current form is clearly not serving the needs of Irish people, it is its reform – rather than its abolition – which would strengthen our democracy.

A far more progressive measure proposed is the election of 15 members to Dáil Éireann by a list system. These deputies, elected (presumably) in super-

constituencies similar to those used for European elections, would “devote 100 per cent of their time to the legislative process.” While the Fine Gael propaganda machine speaks of reducing the number of TDs by 20, in real terms there would be a net loss of five TDs, due to these listelected members. In theory, these reforms could liven up debates in Leinster House, which in their current guise are poorly attended and consist of ministers reading at length from mundane speeches penned by civil servants – an embarrassment when compared with the vigorous and off-the-cuff exchanges during Prime Minister’s Questions at Westminster. However, it is unclear whether (and how) the new electoral system could bring about a departure from the faceless mass of quiet backbenchers who currently occupy many of the seats in the Dáil.

Other important aspects of Fine Gael’s political reform agenda include a reduction of the President’s term of office from seven to five years; a system of public petition to Dáil Éireann, similar to that created by the Lisbon Treaty in relation to the European Parliament; and constitutional recognition for four committees of the Oireachtas. In reality, it is difficult to see how these policies will really affect a major change in how Irish democracy works.

Of more worry for Deputy Kenny will be the internal divisions created by this document. Front-bench opposition at the party’s recent Árd Fheis caused Enda Kenny and his local government spokesperson Phil Hogan to remove any mention of list-elected TDs from the final, published

edition of New Politics – though Hogan told the Árd Fheis that the issue would be considered in the future.

Meanwhile, Lucinda Creighton – considered by many to be one of the party’s rising stars – successfully spearheaded a revolt against Enda Kenny’s plans for gender quotas in the candidate selection process. It is not the first time the pair have been at odds with one another; reports in March of last year suggested that a visibly-upset Creighton walked out of a parliamentary party meeting following ‘patronising’ comments the leader made over positive media coverage she had received. Young Fine Gael, too, expressed considerable unhappiness with the contents of New Politics, branding various elements of it as ‘tokenistic’, ‘almost meaningless’, ‘piecemeal’ and ‘a knee-jerk response to public anger’.

While the main opposition party’s proposals have generated plenty of column inches, it is hard to see how the area of electoral reform will capture the imagination of a public more concerned with unemployment and the banking crisis.

Enda Kenny’s pledge to put these reforms to a referendum within one year of taking office has rendered himself and his party hostages to public acceptance of New Politics; rejection of the proposals at the ballot box would deal a potentially fatal blow to a government still in its infancy.

For now, the Fine Gael leadership should focus on uniting the party behind Kenny and convincing the Irish people that he is the right man to lead the country.

29/03/2010 05:57

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THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

30.03.10

COMMENT

comment@universityobserver.ie

A Masters in Disorganisation Conor Feeney criticises the closure of the Smurfit School’s Careers Advisory Office as short-sighted in these troubled times

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onsiderable dismay and anger has swept across the Smurfit Business School in recent weeks. The faculty has decided there is no longer need for a careers centre offering advisory services to students. As a result, the contract with Smurfit’s sole careers advisor has not been renewed. In a time when students are probably finding it extremely difficult to find employment, this really represents a remarkable act of ignorance.

In June of last year the President of the Smurfit Business School, Frank Roche, revealed that his school had “about 1,700 applications, which is about double where we were this time last year.” Keeping in mind the now-defunct careers service, he also commented the reason for the surge in applications was due to “the poor jobs market.”

Professor Pat Gibbons, Associate Dean of Smurfit, recently commented on the closure through Blackboard. “It has come to my attention that there is some disquiet being expressed about changes to the careers function,” he said. “While the design delivery of this function is being modified, I want to assure you that your success is our success, and any changes are guided by that principle.” This has proved to be what it reads like: flowery yarn. Gibbons further noted that he would communicate with students subsequent to meeting with class representatives. Such further communication never occurred.

A recent update by one class rep noted, “We asked that someone from Belfield come to Smurfit to talk to people who are doing interviews as we speak.” A further comment in the email – “Who knows what will happen, but it’s out there” – did not exactly convey confidence in a person expecting change. There seems to be a blatant lack of cohesive communication between the college faculty and student representatives.

It is now a year since Hugh Brady voiced concerns that UCD could be €20m in debt if a review of expenditure was not

undertaken. Other recent cuts have included assisted registration labs, which had not been budgeted for, despite the attendance of 1500 students in the past.

While the blame for these cuts can be firmly pinned on fiscal conservatism on behalf of the government, the recent careers service cut in Smurfit School just does not resonate in reason. More students are engaging in Masters Programmes than ever before. The present Irish unemployment stands at 12.6 per cent. Yet now a decision has been taken to end a lifeline for students desperately seeking employment.

No doubt Hugh Brady and the Smurfit faculty will keep reminding us of why these cuts emphasise the need for college fees. I’m not in the business of conspiracy theories, but considering the levels of registration in Smurfit this year were double that of the last, why the need for cuts? One consideration is the possibility the excessive cuts are purposefully being made to facilitate the call for even higher college fees for students in the years to come.

The one issue of which I am certain is that full-scale college fees should – and must – never be introduced in UCD. Smurfit Masters courses already have fees starting at over €11,000 for a one-year programme. I am personally aware of a number of students who were unable and unwilling to attend, simply due to the current level of fees.

Further increases are not justified and I would strongly urge against preventing access for even Irish students currently considering the postgraduate option.

Idiotic cuts in services will only serve to damage the reputation of one of Europe’s most prestigious and acknowledged business schools. If the administration were unhappy with the services being offered by the current careers advisor, a secondary contract should have been set up in advance of the current contractual cessation.

One student commented that the college’s

“Another alluded to the affair as “farcical” and noted the irony of a careers advisor no longer having a job” organisation was of “shocking quality” with “no accountability.” Another international student remarked that she was “disappointed” and “expected more” from the school, while another alluded to the affair as “farcical” and noted the irony of a careers advisor no longer having a job.

This level of disgruntlement has contin-

ued since no appropriate solution has yet been proposed.

Overall there is a simple solution to this problem, and it amazes me that no resolution has been reached. A careers advisor has a fundamental role to play in any university environment, especially in the current economic climate. Not only do I

strongly recommend that Smurfit fix this problem as soon as possible, but endeavour to avoid alienating their students in the future. One matter is certain: the college will not have trouble filling the vacancy.

Where do Babies come from?

Inspired by a New York exhibition of childhood paintings, Donie O’Sullivan shares his memories of a Kerry childhood Just recently, a New York museum opened an exhibition showcasing the work of various American artists, who had submitted works portraying their childhoods. This got me thinking about my own weird, wacky and wonderful memories of growing up in County Kerry – the result was... traumatic.

My earliest childhood memory is hard to pinpoint. I know for a fact I can’t remember my birth – but if I could, judging by my baby photos, I would probably recall midwives, doctors, nurses, relatives and my parents (they were there too – or so they say) recoiling with horror at the ugly baby before them. Not unlike the work of Picasso I went through several distinct phases of childhood. For the first eight years of my life I was an only child; I can only assume my parents’ reluctance to have another was based on the fear that the second might turn out like me. I could certainly understand their trepidation.

Being an only child, my imagination was exploited to the maximum. Much like Prince Charles, I enjoyed talking to plants: I can distinctly remember having

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compelling, enthralling and stimulating conversations with the weeds on an old wall at the bottom of my garden. My parents, having read about the ill-effects of a dependency on weed, eliminated them with weed-killer. Alas, I continued speaking to the dead and rotting plants; my mother, terrified I was speaking to the dead, made my father knock the wall.

I think my parents may have regretted this. No longer needing to discuss the world’s problems with the plants outdoors, I developed a keen interest in television.

I remember my parents allowing me to

watch Jaws with them; by the end I was in tears. My sympathies, however, were not for the victims of the bloodthirsty beast.

I, unlike everyone else, cried when those evil fishermen eventually, without a shred of remorse, killed the shark.

If I was able to make a connection with a vicious shark, learning to love a friendly purple dinosaur was not going to be a problem. My first encounter with Barney is something I have always remembered.

It was a sunny midweek afternoon, I had arrived home from play-school and my mother turned on the television for me.

Although the Celtic Tiger had arrived, we still had not embraced digital TV and had only two channels, whose programming at the time consisted of Glenroe, Bosco and the News. You can imagine our surprise when we turned on The Den and saw an eight-foot purple dinosaur surrounded by children in a schoolyard singing “I love you.” Obviously we had only caught the end of the programme, and when it had finished my mother asked cluelessly: “What was that?” Today I can understand my mother’s initial shock: she

grew up in America in the 60s and 70s, and I can only presume that her Barney experience resembled almost exactly an hallucination she experienced while high at a Rolling Stones concert.

Of course, the perennial question – “Where do babies come from?” – still confused me. Obviously not wanting to tell her five-year-old about the Birds and the Bees whenever I asked, she told me that a woman would have to go visit a priest and pray “really hard”, whereafter the priest would get God to put the baby in the “lady’s belly” (let’s just hope the priest wasn’t Bishop Casey). I can, however, remember the moment I realised the lie: a British sitcom called Teachers was on TV, and a character in the show made it perfectly clear that a girl became pregnant “because she had sex”. I didn’t know what ‘sex’ was but it didn’t sound like a prayer, and at that very moment I began to doubt the legitimacy of other aspects of life which I was suspicious – namely the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus – suspicions which may have never developed if only my parents had allowed

me to keep talking to plants in the back garden.

After eight years of being an only child, my mother must have done a lot of praying; within the space of 17 months I had two new baby sisters. The first time my parents told me there was a baby on the way, I was ecstatic. Only a few months later when they told me that the two children in the O’Sullivan household were to shortly become three, my reaction was a meek “Oh”, clearly fed up that my parent’s attention was no longer undivided.

The whole concept of childhood is a strange one. Looking back on my upbringing I have come to realise that at no point in life does one consider themselves a child. As children we constantly pretend to be adults, whether it be a policeman or a shopkeeper. I have written about my childhood as if it were something in the past – and although I’m almost 19, I’m sure in thirty years time I will consider my 19-year-old self a child. And even though I now know where babies come from, I still have a lot of growing up to do.

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Observer The University

The University Observer has undergone significant expansion in recent years. In 1998 the newspaper converted from a tabloid format to its current broadsheet format with an entertainments and cultural supplement. The newspaper has been honoured in a variety of student media competitions in recent years, winning ‘Runner Up’ newspaper of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards. In 2006, the newspaper won the Irish Student Newspaper of the Year award. The University Observer has won this award four times in the past six years.

The newspaper is one of the largest student newspapers printed in Britain or Ireland.

The newspaper is printed fortnightly with a print run of 10,000.

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SITUATIONS VACANT

Applications are invited for the positions of: Editor

Deputy Editor

Art & Design Director

Applications are invited for the position of Editor of The University Observer for the academic year 2010/2011.

Applications are invited for the position of Deputy Editor of The University Observer for the academic year 2010/2011.

Applications are invited for the position of Art and Design Director of The University Observer for the academic year 2010/2011.

THE POSITION:

THE POSITION:

THE POSITION:

The Deputy Editor of The University Observer, upon direction from the Editor, is responsible for all aspects of the newspaper. The Deputy Editor, subject in all matters concerning the newspaper to the direction of the Editor, shall be responsible, with the Editor, for the management of the newspaper, the publication and distribution of the newspaper, the content of the newspaper and is responsible for the coordination of the newspaper’s writers.

You will be responsible for the design and layout of the newspaper, working in conjunction with the editors and contributors. The position will require work at alternate weekends, whilst working hours during the week are flexible. Although this work is highly demanding it is also highly rewarding. The successful candidate would be expected to constantly strive to improve the overall design of the newspaper. The University Observer’s design has been honoured at the Student Media Awards, winning Best Design & Layout. The designer is not responsible for any content, rather on its presentation. The designer is to report to the Editor and Deputy Editor.

The Editor of The University Observer is responsible for all aspects of the newspaper. The Editor is responsible for the management of the newspaper, the publication and distribution of the newspaper, the content of the newspaper and is responsible for the co-ordination of the newspaper’s writers and sub-editors.

The position of Editor of The University Observer is an extremely demanding one and applicants for the position should be aware that the role involves working long, unsocial hours in a highly pressurised environment. The position includes working alternate weekends.

The Editor is responsible for all deadlines being met by the newspaper.

The University Observer is editorially independent from the Students’ Union, as enshrined in the Union constitution. The Editor has complete authority over the content of the newspaper, subject to the standard regulations governing newspaper content (e.g. libel etc).

The Editor will be appointed for the full academic year, 2010/2011.

Applicants should note that no formal training is offered to the successful candidate.

THE CANDIDATE:

The position of Deputy Editor of The University Observer is an extremely demanding one and applicants for the position should be aware that the role involves working unsocial hours in a highly pressurised environment. The position includes working alternate weekends.

The Deputy Editor is responsible for all deadlines being met by the newspaper.

The University Observer is editorially independent from the Students’ Union, as enshrined in the Union constitution. The Deputy Editor has authority over the content of the newspaper, subject to the standard regulations governing newspaper content (e.g. libel etc).

The Deputy Editor is appointed for the full academic year, 2009/2010.

The candidate should exhibit a serious commitment to journalism.

Ideally, the candidate should have at least three years experience working for a newspaper or media organisation.

Applicants should note that no formal training is offered to the successful candidate.

Applicants must be or have been a recently registered student of University College Dublin.

The candidate should exhibit a serious commitment to journalism.

Ideally, the candidate should have at least three years experience working for a newspaper or media organisation.

The position is a full time one and the candidate must be in a position to prove to the interview panel his/her ability to meet fi xed, nonnegotiable printing deadlines whilst working at speed and under pressure.

Applicants must be or have been a recently registered student of University College Dublin.

The candidate should exhibit a clear sense of duty towards the newspaper and a familiarity with the culture of UCD, combined with sharp commercial acumen.

REMUNERATION: The successful applicant will receive €500 per issue to be reviewed in June 2010. As well as this, expenses incurred during production of the newspaper may be reclaimed. In addition, the successful candidate is entitled to a commission rate on all income secured from advertisements placed within the newspaper. More details are available on this matter.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Applicants for the above position must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae and a detailed proposal, outlining how the candidate intends to operate and manage The University Observer. The proposal must include a comprehensive outline of strategic changes that can be made to improve the newspaper. Specific areas where the newspaper can be improved should be dealt with in some detail. The applicant should also outline his/her proposals for the day-to-day organisation and management of the newspaper.

Applicants with further queries should contact Ms Catriona Laverty, at 01 716 3120, weekdays during business hours.

Short listed candidates will be called for an interview, where they will be expected to answer any questions raised in relation to their proposal. The interview panel will include the current Editor, two previous Editors of the newspaper, the fi nancial administrator of the Students’ Union and the current Union President.

NOTE: • Applicants are only permitted to apply for this position individually.

Joint applications will not be accepted.

• Canvassing members of the interview panel will lead to an automatic disqualification.

• No formal training is offered to successful candidates.

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THE CANDIDATE:

The position is a full time one and the candidate should be aware of the pressurised environment under which newspaper editors operate.

The candidate must be in a position to prove to the interview panel his/her ability to meet fi xed, non negotiable printing deadlines whilst working at speed and under pressure.

The candidate should exhibit a clear sense of duty towards the newspaper, combined with sharp commercial acumen.

REMUNERATION: The successful applicant will receive €450 per issue to be reviewed in June 2010. As well as this, expenses incurred during production of the newspaper may be reclaimed. In addition, the successful candidate is entitled to a commission rate on all income secured from advertisements placed within the newspaper. More details are available on this matter.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Applicants for the above position must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae and a detailed proposal, outlining how the candidate intends to operate and manage The University Observer. The proposal must include a comprehensive outline of strategic changes that can be made to improve the newspaper. Specifics areas where the newspaper can be improved should be dealt with in some detail. The applicant should also outline his/her proposals for the day-to-day organisation and management of the newspaper.

Applicants with further queries should contact Ms Catriona Laverty at 01 716 3120, weekdays during business hours.

Short-listed candidates will be called for an interview, where they will be expected to answer any questions raised in relation to the proposal.

Members of the interview panel will comprise of the current Editor, two previous Editors of the newspaper, the fi nancial administrator of the Students’ Union, the current Union.

REMUNERATION: This position will be paid €450 per issue, subject to review in June 2010. The designer should also leave with a strong portfolio.

THE CANDIDATE: The successful applicant will have good computer skills and be proficient in Adobe InDesign and/or QuarkXpress as well as Adobe Photoshop. A good working knowledge of Apple Macintoshes is essential. A personal interest in graphic design and typography would also be preferable. As a person you should possess ability to meet tight deadlines and manage a large workload. You must also have the ability to meet technical guidelines from printers and have a basic knowledge of the four colour printing process.

NOTE: Applicants will be required to present a portfolio of work upon request.

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Applications should be sent to the following address: Ms Catriona Laverty, The University Observer, Student Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4

Closing date for all applications is 5pm, 16th April, 2010.

NOTE: • Applicants are only permitted to apply for this position individually. Joint applications will not be accepted.

• Canvassing members of the interview panel will lead to an automatic disqualification.

• No formal training is offered to successful candidates.

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Faith in troubled times In the wake of the Pope’s Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland, Leanne Waters examines the strength of her own faith in Roman Catholic Church

F

rom biblical stories to white Communion robes, and even wondering how much money we’ll get on our Confirmation, I was a typically reared child of Catholicism. Like most, when I was apparently old enough to “make my own decisions” as regards my faith, I abandoned it completely. Uninterested in weekly mass attendance, rosary beads and the good book itself, it seemed easier to choose a life without this supposed God. It soon became apparent, however, that this aforementioned faith would prove difficult to shake off. And as fate, I suppose, would have it, I re-entered a system that I once thought of as strict and – quite simply – painfully dull. In doing so, I found a surprising comfort and eventually, even a home.

So let us begin this with the clarification that I would greatly be a person of unwavering spirituality.

Moreover, these religious endeavours fall under the guidance of the Roman Catholic Church; partly by choice but mostly by chance of upbringing. Like many of the Catholic community, however, this very idea of faith is being called more and more into question. With the ongoing eruption of sexual abuse cases coming to light, it seems the Church is beginning to show a number of cracks in its interior. And with so many holes to be found, the question remains, can this religious flock still trust in this longstanding shepherd?

Recently, there have been an overwhelming series of media reports as regards our current Pope Benedict XVI. Allegedly before his ascension to pontiff, Benedict may have overlooked the evidence that a fellow man of cloth abused a staggering figure of some 200 deaf boys.

The man in question was reportedly not defrocked despite warnings forwarded to the Vatican and, more notably, to Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger (Pope Benedict).

The Vatican has denied any cover-up in the abuses executed by Reverend Lawrence Murphy in Wisconsin.

Whether religious, atheist or otherwise, response to the bombardment of disturbing allegations seems complicated and contentious among the general public. “I think Pope Benedict needs to commit to the twenty-first century.

The only way of doing this is by treating the perpetrators like men and like the criminals they are. Children are innocent and need all the protection they can get.

It doesn’t matter if the abuse was carried out decades ago; justice still needs to be served. God help the victims.”

Another individual had the following to say on the matter: “My only feeling about what’s going on in the Church is that it’s very sad. But it seems the entire clergy is being tarred with the one brush as a result of what individuals have done.

It’s a shame. There are a lot of people losing their faith because of it. You start to wonder - as someone said recently on television – is it a case of priests becoming pedophiles or a case of pedophiles becoming priests? I’m just wondering was the decision to enter such a position of power to lead? Or was it a result of sick calculation? ” The controversy has particularly hit home with many here in Ireland. With scandals emerging such as that of Irish Bishop John Magee, who stepped down from his post a year ago after it came to light that he kept crucial information regarding two paedophile priests in his diocese of Cloyne from the police. It was discovered that Magee, who had been aware of the complaints

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“Divinity and righteousness cannot be found in any creation made by man. To believe such, is to misplace our faith”

against the two priests since 1995, did not come forward with this information until 2003. Bishop Magee reportedly offered his “sincere apologies” for his actions for so many years and had asked for forgiveness from the abuse victims. This provided little reassurance and only proved to further damage the moral credibility of the Vatican itself, to which Bishop Magee had been strongly linked for many years.

With so much confusion and utter deception to be found within the institution itself, it seems only natural that young adults, like all other facets of our society, would also be greatly affected by the horrific revelations and accusations. It appears to be the general consensus that the Church has lost touch with the youth of today: “Young people just can’t relate to the Church. The same rules just don’t apply in society anymore. People do have sex before marriage and people do use contraception. To be honest, I reckon they just need to realise that times have changed and unless they modernize their teachings a bit, people just won’t be able to incorporate religion into their lifestyles.

“When you consider that and then the fact that there have been so many coverups, how do they expect people to follow them? The people involved in all the abuse scandals need to be brought forward and punished as anyone else would be. But the Church seems too old-fashioned to even do that by modern standards. ” Despite opinions such as that of a UCD student above, it seems not all youths

have yet strayed from the establishment.

With countless youth groups and choirs around the country, a ray of hope is yet to be seen for the future of the Catholic Church. In saying this, it is also important to perhaps note the many positive outlets which the institution caters for and works with. From missionary volunteer work abroad to the setting up of numerous youth groups, it remains to be said that the Church still plays a vital role within society. Even here in UCD, we have the opportunity to avail of our own chaplaincy if support is needed. This is coupled with the on-campus Church, which has a number of wonderful services that act as a crucial part of student life for many UCD alumni.

Though these are indeed challenging times in the history of this 2000-year-old establishment, there still lies a foundation of hope amidst the rubble. The real question is how is this international scandal affecting the devoted followers of the Church? I believe it true to say that “every man has rights that are neither conferred by, nor derived from the State--they are God-given”. And by this statement, we must forcefully advocate the upholding of these rights. Namely, in the case of the countless victims, the right to be safe and the right have justice carried out to its full extent on their behalf. What many – myself included - struggle to come to grips with is the reality that such aptly-named God-given rights have been abused by a number of the very people whose voca-

tion it was to carry out the word of God. Thus, it can become all too easy for a wary mistrust of the entire establishment to arise. In my opinion - feeling as powerless as I’m sure most do - the real conflict we all must face is that between our internalized faith and the religious institution which claims its properties. It is an impossible task for any individual to give answers on such sensitive matters and so, I apologise for a seemingly would-be righteous feature. However, given the personal nature of spirituality, I feel it just barely acceptable to voice my own opinion in saying that any institution, religious or otherwise, is man-made.

And within any man-made organisation we will always find corruption. Divinity and righteousness cannot be found in any creation made by man. To believe such, is to misplace our faith.

What I have found to be the most important aspect in such a menacing scandal is to bear in mind that though cracks can be found in this man-made order, the foundation behind it is built on something much stronger. In personal faith versus the institution, faith will continually win out. And perhaps it is this faith that will ease many through what has become a worldwide controversy. In such a horrific chapter that has deeply affected so many, “let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us; to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it”.

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Couples Therapy Belfield Barber Let Doctor McSeamy sort your relationship woes. Note: not actual picture. (The real McSeamy’s wayyyy hotter than that) under threat CONTINUED FROM P1

Dear Dr McSeamy,

My boyfriend and I have been going out for a few months, and there are a few the current economic climate wastotobug me. things that are really starting blame, stating thatstarted “basically people don’t When we first dating, he totally haveruined as much loose and someone it on our money, first date, when he kissed might but he’Coppers. d say, ‘I have meneed in thea haircut alley outside I’ve liked onlyhim twenty quid, so I’ll have leave itour first for a long time, and Ito wanted untilkiss next ’ They might be getting to week. be romantic, and not in standing twoin less haircutsofaurine. year, but if everyone a puddle starts that you’ll notice a slight Hedoing generally turns potentially romantic drop. ” moments into disgusting ones – after our Asfirst well as problems relatinghe to fell the asleep renight in bed together, cession, barbers nowto overcome rightthe away whenmust I wanted talk. And the interference to really their business then, he farted loud, andcaused really by the construction of the new Student and smelly in his sleep. It was disgusting, Centre. has expressed concern I wasCoffey so embarrassed I didn’t even bring about the effect the construction work it up. might havewe ongo hisout business, andhe’s told When for walks, always The on University Observer that he hoped his phone, talking to his mates about to counter displaying a night this out,hindrance or footballby match.

It’s really “some signs along that really annoying, andhoarding I just feelsaying like he ‘Business as Usual’”.

He also expressed only wants one thing from me (you know hopewhat). that the Sports Centre would assist withAm theItask of makingtostudents aware over-reacting all of this?

My that,friends despitetell itsme main entrancesettle, beingand I’m I shouldn’t blocked all business would operatprettyoff, happy, but these littlebe things get ing as usual inside the building. on my nerves, and I’m not sure if it’s that Coffey has instigated some promo-things important, or if I’m just blowing tional to boost the business such outevents of proportion. as “posters, and we hand out flyers with a couple Maryof euro off a haircut.” Coffey reported that he had seen “a few of the flyers come back in,” and deemed these recent promotional efforts to have been relatively successful.

UCD Pharmacy to find new management

QSoc’s Apprentice raises €1,500 for Red Cross

RUTH ARAVENA

NATASHA WETTEN

The Quinn Society (QSoc) have raised €1,500 The Student Centre pharmacy may be taken over for the Irish Red Cross following the final round by new management in the coming months. Stuof its adaptation of the popular TV series The dent Centre manager Dominic O’Keeffe explained Apprentice. The money was raised through tickets to The University Observer that although plans sales at the first round of the event, and by a colwere not definite, the manager had approached at thegirls final. him about “relinquishing his licence” due these to things – but lection Hey Mary, if like most you The finalI suggest round of the competition took place increased workload. know nothing about sports, I understand your predicament, and I in the School The pharmacy’s lease is currently held by youSean go with food and sex.Quinn I know this of Business last Thursday, think you should talk to your boyfriend th 25 February, where Foley, who also owns another pharmacy on Meath sounds sexist, and it probably is, but it’sthe four remaining teams about it right away. That way, you will pitched their terms final business strategies to the judgStreet in the city centre. According to O’Keeffe, the truth. Both in evolutionary reveal ‘the crazy’ to him early, and he’ll ing panel.women Team Apollopact were declared the Foley has found his schedule becoming increasand in life, men appreciate who realize what he’s getting into sooner eventual winners and scooped the €2,500 prize. ingly busy, and feels he may need to relieve him- good food and good sex – appreciate The winning team are presented with their prize rather than later. No seriously – you’re The judging panel included prominent self of his responsibilities to the UCD outlet. especially because they generally have Photo Natasha Wetten just griping because you’re not ‘number businessmen women, including Senator Himself a graduate of UCD, in recent years Fol-their bollocks to work off to get and them. one’, and if you want that to change, you’ll magnate Denis O’Brien, and Bobby Kerr of Insomnia Feargal ey has founded a professional skincare company, So you have to be good in Quinn, bed, anddeveloper of SuperQuinn. Others have to change a few things. and Dragons’ Den. involved were senior partner in charge of Ernst and who market and manufacture a range of psoriasis good in the kitchen; or superb in bed, I think I’ve mentioned somewhere Each of the four teams were given ten minutes to Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Competition, Frank skin care products. It’s understood that heand is in shite in the kitchen. It’s totally up along the way that men are really only pitch their ideas to the panel. The presentations were O’Keefe, NicolatoByrne, founder of the 11890 directhe process of introducing hissex, skincare to to youthe – but you need something interested in three things – food, and line followed by question and answer sessions led by the tory enquiry service, telecommunications and media United States. hang over his head if he starts getting sports.

This is a universal truth; it defines panel.

The judges commended the students, the change in inany manageuppity. If he’s being a jackass and everyDespite man, everywhere, nation. who were predominantly final year students mentmen at the O’Keeffe was farting under the covers, threaten him When areoutlet, ‘sensitive’ , or ‘in touch studying in the Quinn School, for the variety keen to stress that there be a with a sex-free evening – he’ll behave with their feelings’ , they are will just using and professionalism of their presentations. littleresourceful visible change ingetting the level of himself, especially because you’ve more way of those The winning team, Apollopact, proposed a services provided at clubbing the phar-someone learned that ‘special move’. three things, instead of solar-powered waste compactor which would macy.

Or, if you suck in bed (figuratively) over the head. Because these three things help cities deal with waste management. The O’Keeffe added that the UCD then reward him with awesome food. are such primary animal drives, it is very Boru Team were awarded second place and ESPECIALLY after a session out with pharmacy has been managed byyour easy to both predict and condition won mobile phones for their Aspire Consulhis mates – it creates a homing instinct various different independent opman.

Let me elaborate. tancy proposal, while all-female group Les so that he always comes back to you. erators sinceon itsthe opening When he talks phone,inhe2002 is getting Filles took third place and won an iPod each.

Trust me, it works.

Finally, I am not and has employed over a dozen something from his mates that he can’t The other participating team was Team advocating using sex as a tool, but pharmacists fact hething getdifferent from you.

Now, this is–aanatural Alchemy, who pitched a car rental business simply as a means of bending your – believes men will has chillgone withrelatively other menunand do Citicarz. very malleable boy-toy into shape. noticed by students. manly things.

That’s just the way it is. You QSoc auditor Matthew Gleeson, who Eventually, you will break his will, and Asked if discussions had should be confident enough with that acted as Master of Ceremonies for the event, he will no longer want to hang out with been held with anyreally major chainyou, I scenario – but if that annoys explained that although a student competition, his boys – and then you will get bored, pharmacies alternative guarantee you or canother get his attention back the teams that taken the compilation of their and move on to the next project. teams the sex, or bymanagement bringing up the topicabout of food, business plans very seriously and that each was future of the pharmacy, O’Keeffe sports.

I hope this helps. intended to face the real-life business market. said that you no such had been Eventually, needtalks him to Mairead Fortune, representing the Irish Red McSeamy out!

Chaplain Fr Leon Ó Giolláin with student representatives from the held but expressed hisonly opinion subconsciously associate YOU with Cross, agreed with the judges’ complementary world’s religions met in UCD’s St Stephen’s Chaplaincy last week to that the new management would appraisals of the proposals, noting that “there’s likely be a lone operator. unite UCD’s various faithful communities as part of International some ideas there that I think any of [the Week. Photo Alex Court judges] would be lucky to sign into.”

“How many pints do you drink?”

Take the ePub survey and check how your drinking habits compare with your fellow Irish students. Log on to www.ucd.ie/studentadvisers and click on the ePub icon for more information and instructions on how to complete the survey.

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Cooking up a Storm Bridget Fitzsimons rolls up her sleeves and whisks her way to a healthier homemade diet

M

y first forays into cooking and baking came at a very early age, when my parents encouraged my sister and I to get involved in helping with a variety of small jobs to help them make dinners and desserts. I’ve always been able to cook, but recently a variety of reasons have encouraged me to start thinking about food and the way in which it is produced.

Students hardly have a reputation for being wonderful chefs at the best of times. Though I suffer from some food intolerances, college has made me incredibly lazy when it comes to cooking and baking. Along with my intolerances, my father was recently diagnosed with coeliac disease, an intolerance to a protein called gluten which is found in numerous grains.

Hearing his comments on how his change in diet had made a world of a difference to his general wellbeing, I decided to change my ways.

Cooking things from scratch is one of the best ways to make sure that you decide what’s going into your body – you can control the levels of bad foods, artificial additives and other junk entering your bloodstream and try and live that bit healthier. My first attempt at doing this involved my baking a ham for sandwiches for the week, instead of buying prepacked sliced ham from the supermarket.

10374 BNAG Ad:Layout 05/03/2010 Armed with aObserver small ham, some 1mustard and sugar for the glaze and a hot oven,

I was ready to go. I’ll admit I rang my mother several times for detailed instructions and panicked a lot. But, when I was finished, the feeling of achievement and satisfaction – while seeming sad and pathetic – was really quite calming. I had spent a lazy Sunday making sure that fewer chemicals were entering my body, and had given myself a tastier alternative to the plastic meat that comes in a packet.

The next step was to try a dinner.

Instead of buying a mechanically reconstructed chicken kiev filled with overly greasy butter sauce, I attempted to make my own, this time with the help of my boyfriend. While it wasn’t a total success, we had a lot of fun breading and frying the chicken, and attempting to taste the garlic sauce that had leaked out during cooking.

Not only did we have fun making his kitchen messy, but the food was delicious – and cheaper than if we had bought the processed version.

The reality is that cooking your own food is really quite fun. Yes, it’s time consuming, but the modern world means that you don’t have to drag your mother’s copy of Delia Smith’s Guide to Cooking around with you anymore. Websites like videojug.com and Channel 4’s streaming service on 15:40 Page 1 YouTube mean that recipes are

“There really is no excuse for not donning the chef’s hat”

everywhere and begging to be tried out all over the internet. The latter service, in particular, means you can watch any of their cookery shows for free online at your own pace – so you can benefit from the expertise of Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey and Heston Blumenthal from the comfort of your kitchen. Videojug’s encyclopaedia of video recipes mean that you need only type what you’re looking for into its search engine and it’ll tell you exactly what to do, step by step. Be prepared for failures, as no one is perfect, but learn to laugh them off. Cooking is a creative process that you can use to relieve stress and have fun with. There’s nothing quite like beating cupcake batter to get your aggression out.

Learning is a slow process: I’ve been doing ham and chicken, but hope to get back into baking soon. This will begin with prettily iced cupcakes, again, which will not be pumped full of additives, and I’m hoping to progress onto bread once I mas-

ter cupcakes. In a world where fast food is king, there’s really no satisfaction like eating something that you’ve made yourself. Of course it’s important to remember basic kitchen tidiness and hygiene and to use the proper materials – but after that, it’s incredibly easy.

Amazon is great for cooking materials, as is your local hardware shop. You can buy basic utensils and mixing bowls in a hardware shop for less than €3 each, and Amazon’s selection of cake tins and prettily coloured muffin moulds is unparalleled.

The beauty of cooking your own food is that it is completely down to your personal taste and any recipe can be altered slightly to suit your choices and moods.

There really is no excuse for not donning the chef ’s hat: your body will be grateful and you’ll have endless amounts of fun.

Once you start, you’ll never look back.

Channel 4’s online streaming service can be found at youtube.com/4oDfood.

Scéim Chónaithe Ghaeilge Bhord na Gaeilge UCD 2010/2011

-2011 0 1 0 2 n i a i l h b don scoile l l n n O i h é l a c n a d i m u 4 h áil do 2 sa de c f r r ú a c í h a c t a h c g a s e a r i n Scolá hic léin m o d e t l i a ag c s Comórtas o s ar fáil ar: www.ucd.ie/bn Foirm iarratai h d'iarratais

eirid d a t á d n a n á 30 Aibre

a cinn na teang n u h c r u c g i cu hfuil ríspéis a b a í ir ó th r r ia , ar den chíos iad % 0 4 ú fi r a í chta ireachta Bronnfar scolá nn cumas láidir gníomhaío aío agus a chruth is Tuilleadh eola 387 ilge, uthán: 01-716-7 Oifigeach Gae , G la al ch ua Bh í eilge@ucd.ie Clár N st: oifigeach.ga , ho 08 hp L5 m , ío D R C U e llscoile, Bord na Gaeilg cd.ie/bnag e, An Coláiste O nn ai rl ha Idirlíon: www.u ab Le na h m ea 4 gn Foir ile Átha Cliath th, Belfield, Ba lia C a th Á ile Ba

ObserverIssue11_B.indd 12

29/03/2010 05:59

30.03.10

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

13

FEATURES

features@universityobserver.ie

Flash Mob in the Pan Intrigued – if a little mystified – by the world of flash mobbing, Natalie Voorheis does some research to try and clear the air, and chats to Lyza O’Halloran, the founder of UCD’s very own flash mob community

W

hen my mum inquired over dinner last week as to what this fortnight’s article for The University Observer was going to involve, I responded through a mouthful of her delicious mashed potatoes that I would be researching flash mobs. Mum’s head swivelled towards me, her brow furrowed, and (cue the culchie accent that so many of us students use to express the meandering sentiments of the old pair) said dismissively, “Oh! That’s that violent teenage thing, they give out ASBOs for that stuff nowadays! Don’t be getting yourself mixed up in that kind of thing.” The next thing I know, splat – another spoonful of mash lands on my plate. Case closed – well, for her peace of mind maybe; for my own, not so much.

I won’t try and bluff my way through this article; you UCD readers are worth more than that. I admit that when I was given this assignment, for all I knew I was going to end up with an ASBO, as my mum had put it. However, research into the world of flash mobbing has blown my prejudices out of the water and opened my mind to an underground cult – and one, surprisingly, that constitutes an exciting side of UCD student life.

A flash mob is defined as a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a matter of moments, and then quickly disperse back into a crowd.

Usually flash mobs are organised by text, social media sites such as Facebook, or by

email. The stunts involved vary from simply standing still or lying on the ground, to enormously complicated and intricately choreographed versions of popular songs such as Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ or Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. A pleasant hour or so can easily be wasted next time you’re having a procrastination session, by typing ‘flash mob’ into the search bar on YouTube: a wealth of hilarious videos are thrown up, each one more riveting than the next.

The first flash mob was organised by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper’s Magazine, in Manhattan during May of 2003 – but the attempt ultimately failed, as city officials were tipped off about the organized mass event. Wasik’s second attempt in June of the same year, however, was a huge success. This gathering saw over one hundred people converge upon the ninth floor rug department of Macy’s department store in Manhattan.

Anyone approached by a sales assistant was instructed to say that the large group present lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York, were out shopping for the day with the purpose of buying a “love rug”, and that they made all their purchase decisions as a group.

Wasik didn’t explain the purpose of the organisation of such a flash mob to the press until 2006 when he published an article in Harper’s claiming that the whole thing had been a social experiment with the aim of ridiculing a hipster community always so intent on being part of the next big thing, and to thus challenge a culture

of conformity.

On Monday of last week, amidst the hustle and bustle of the L&H electoral campaign and the general mêlée of students walking from lecture to lecture in the Arts block, a group of 23 students outside Theatre L – no different from you or I – simultaneously froze on the spot as their synchronised watches rang for two o’clock. There wasn’t a blink or twitch from the twenty-three participants until, as one, they moved at the sound of their individual alarms each sounding 2:02pm – and then on with their day, off in their separate directions, and back to the worries of that two-weeks-late essay (maybe that was just me). All to the sight of incredulous onlookers whose boring Monday lunchtime had just handed a major shot of variety.

Later, I caught up with Lyza O’Halloran, a second year Arts student studying History and Information Studies – and who is responsible for the formation of the first ever flash mob community in UCD – and grilled her about this strange pastime.

O’Halloran explains: “I came across flash mobbing in my course and I though it might be cool to try it out. I did a presentation on flash mobbing as part of a module, and I decided to set one up to see how hard or how easy it would be to do.”

And how, I ask, does one go about organising something like this? Surely it must take a ridiculous amount of effort to get right? O’Halloran set me straight, ex-

plaining: “I set up a group on Facebook and sent an invite to everyone I know in UCD so that’s about fifty people, and then my friend sent it to another fifty people. We had about 55 of those accept it. Within about three weeks we had 164 members – which was fantastic, we couldn’t believe it. So I set up the event for last Monday. We had about 23 people show up, which wasn’t realistically too bad. Only seven of them were actually friends of mine; the rest came because of the online event we had set up.”

O’Halloran later adds, “We’re thinking of doing another one soon – maybe trying it some different way.” O’Halloran is currently inviting anyone who is interested to join her group on Facebook and comment with any ideas they might have on what the UCD Flash mob Society’s next event should constitute, and is careful to express that “We are open to anyone who wants to come.”

But what is the purpose of her flash mob events, I ask, a question to which O’Halloran offers only this succinct and concise answer: “It’s a really harmless thing. We are not going to cause any hassle or anything… There’s no reason for it, it’s just a bit of a laugh.”

Feeling excited and inspired by the events of the week and after resolving to keep my eyes wide open for signs of any other underground activity going on under my very nose, I noticed some handwritten posters along the concourse outside the James Joyce Library. They immediately caught my eye as being

very out of the ordinary. Entitled ‘Job interview’, they listed the job’s position as “unspecified” and the salary as “hope”.

What followed were instructions to any interested party to meet in the Arts Block’s green couches at one o’clock on Friday.

Friday rolled around, and despite the lecture I should have been dutifully taking notes in going on just metres away, I decided to sit where instructed and see what would happen. The moments ticked by – but the most exciting thing that happened in that time was a guy sitting down next to me and eating a chicken fillet roll. After twenty minutes of boredom, I got up and walked off with a sense of disgruntlement at the waste of time and at the chicken fillet crumbs now stuck to my coat.

Later, however, I reflected that considering the strange nature of the posters, maybe what had just happened actually was my interview, and I simply had been rejected. Maybe something crazy would have happened if the anonymous and silent interviewers had liked the cut of me and decided to approach. It’s nice to believe anyway.

Next time you walk through this concrete jungle, take a second to actually look around you. Look past the grey slabs and the 70s architecture… you’d never guess what you might catch a glimpse of.

Flash mobs usually take a fairly innocent form, such as this example at a train station in Switzerland

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29/03/2010 06:00

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THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

30.03.10

FEATURES

features@universityobserver.ie

The Colour of Money It beats the average student job because it pays more, carries extremely flexible hours, and you have better chances getting a raise. Colin Sweetman speaks to semi-pro student poker player John Daly to see what’s so perfect about his job…

M

any of us have been these things. woken by our phones as “At the time I was incredibly broke our boss calls frantically, and I wasn’t playing for the money,” Daly trying to get us to go to continues. “I mean, I wouldn’t have gotten work because we’re already an hour late – any decent money out of it so it was just and so we cycle/walk/run hysterically to for fun. But eventually, I was getting very work, arrive there, only to be berated and poor in the pocket and noticed my skills told to clean the toilet. were getting better, so I decided to start But in some students’ lives, there is no making money from it.” Shortly thereafter, such early morning anguish. John “Poker he informs me, Daly managed to pay his John” Daly is an engineering student in rent with money won from poker.

UCD who has managed to find the perfect Playing with your own money is risky, job for himself: online poker. But how did however, as you could lose a lot of your it all begin? hard-earned cash. This is why John “Well, very bored one Christmas Break doesn’t play with his own money. Instead, in first year, I was on my own in the he plays as an investment to others. “I house. I found Paddy Power’s website, played about $5 stakes. I found a comand saw that they took Laser payments, munity of poker players, on a site called so I just went onto it. It was just me being parttimepoker.com, learned the strategy really bored, and I said, ‘Oh, poker – I’ve and began playing seriously. I also found heard of that, I’ll give it a go.’ I had no a site that tracked your results, so it tells interest in card games – I didn’t know too you your profit and loss… With those stamuch about them. But I started playing, tistics, people can check and see if you’re and then I think what motivated me to get a good investment to them. In terms of better was that people were berating me investors, if you lose money, you’re only on the tables – [saying] ‘Oh, you’re doing losing their money… if you win, you get it so wrong’ and all that.” to keep part of the profit and so do they.

But surely it couldn’t be that easy?

When you’re playing poker like me, you’re Surely you’d need a rule-book to find out referred to as an investment because you more? “Eventually I did – I had to try get will get money out of it if you are playing down on the rules. Eventually I started correctly. This in the long term will always realising that there is strategy, method make you money.”

1878 advertorial 16/03/2010 17:42 Page 1 and information out there to approach One of the major differences between

playing poker online and in person is that you cannot read your opponent’s face expression. John believes this isn’t a problem: “It’s such a common misconception that there is no reading into your opponent’s gameplay. There’s so much information! Even the best poker-players will tell you that when you’re playing live, the facial expressions count for about ten per cent of your read. The rest is about betting patterns. Players typically play consistent strong hands and then you see that they’re playing something really small or vice-versa. You look for a pattern, and when you see something out of character, you say, ‘Something’s up’, and then you can tell.”

But if it happens to you, and you’re out of character? “Well, then you have to manipulate them. Be aware that you have a character too,” Daly advises. “You should try to mislead them, as if you had a bad hand. Then they don’t know what to believe.”

Of course, the main attraction to playing poker comes from the monetary benefits. “My earnings depend on the volume of games that I play. When I was playing full-time, in a typical week I’d play 200-300 games a week. So I’d earn about $600 a week, which I get 70 per cent of, so that’s $420. Usually you get a 50:50 ratio for profit, but a player’s cut can go up

depending on their skill-level.”

So does John see this as a viable career?

“I’d like to keep a balance of both, but having a degree and a job is far more stable a life than just depending on poker.

As a full-time income it’s hard to rely on – it’s just too stressful for that kind of thing.

Hopefully I’ll keep it as a money-making hobby, which I hope to make a lot from.

But I certainly don’t want to count on pay-

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ObserverIssue11_B.indd 14

ing my rent and bills from it, which I was doing for a long time.”

I conclude by asking how someone gets started on the road to financial security.

“The absolute hardest thing is finding the right information… But you should find a good coach – they only take a certain amount of your profit, so you don’t have to pay them directly. If you’re not winning, neither are they.”

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29/03/2010 06:00

30.03.10

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

15

ADVERTISEMENT

Vote MARTIN LAWLESS for

Post Graduate Officer

ObserverIssue11_B.indd 15

29/03/2010 06:01

16

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

30.03.10

OPINION

opinion@universityobserver.ie

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

Hi-ho, halfwits!

Is that the smell of summertime in the air? Or the waft of fresh daffodils breezing across our fair pothole of a campus?

Actually no – just the smell of freshly-stirred bullshit simmering in the Student Centre as next year’s squad of talented young individuals (and Scott, James, Pat, Lynam and Jonny) measure the windows of the squalor they’ll call home next year.

Your weary hack’s last missive was quoted three times in the diabolical ditherings of this year’s electoral imbeciles – a touching reassurance that your correspondent’s nuggets of gold are still taken without the avalanche of salt they likely deserve. Still, Talleyrand was touched by the tributes from Colm “I’m from the same part of Ireland as Mick McCarthy: England” Maguire, John “the Butcher of Gorey… probably” Logue and Pat “Don’t mention the war” de Brún, who all perhaps ought to have paid more attention to their damning unemployability than to your weary writer’s journalistic musings.

Still, it’s all uphill from here, lads – your doting Il Duceto-be will take your valued opinions as importantly as he possibly can: by treating them just the same as those of Gary “Leader of the free world, except for UCC” Redmond and Aodhán “I went for a job in the SU bookshop and all I got was this lousy PowerPoint” Ó Deá. With Slynam doing his best to abolish the Goonion clique culture by bringing his impressionable underlings on a golf weekend (waaay to make yourself approachable, sir!) there’s everything to look forward to… as long as Lynam doesn’t do a Tiger Woods on them and decide that 18 holes aren’t nearly enough. Safe to say, dear students, that it’s going to be a long year.

Perhaps Talleyrand is just being petty after an election campaign so uninspiring that even Paddy “I’m so ronery” Ryan could have gotten a job out of it. When the most scandalous thing that happens in a two-week window is James “Do it so much better in broken heels” Williamson lobbing the gob on Lisa “Ah yeah, I’ll run. No, wait…” Henry – and getting a fist to the face from his frustrated campaign manager Jacqui “I run elections because I can’t run in elections” Brennan for his trouble, you know it’s been a quiet one.

At least there were two instances of justice being served this year – WhelanSte getting his just desserts for working so hard with a quick tour of Aoife “Nic” Samhráin (happy birthday Stephen, love TR xxxx) – and more importantly, the Coca-Cola Is Crap Crew having their electoral arses handed to them by a campaign that didn’t actually exist. Ah, bless.

Talleyrand was somewhat annoyed by the assertion that the boycott will return, though: this is a university, isn’t it?

Why are these crusties still knocking around a college where they never seem to learn? Perhaps they’re being given every possible collegiate crutch by everyone’s favourite Education Officer, Donnacha “that money was just resting in my account. Srsly” Ó Súilleabháin.

Talleyrand must be losing it in his old age – either that or a few too many Tequila Fridays are playing havoc with Donnac*nt’s island brain. A quick refresher course (sorry, Donnacha – not that kind of re-fresher course) is in order, Talleyrand suspects. So, dear Donnacha: the general idea of elections is that you actually have to run for jobs, and not just say you’re going to, ok? Talleyrand reckons the word ‘re-sit’ needs the letter H in the middle in this case.

Finally, a further word of acknowledgement for Paddy “This means nothing to me. Ah, Vienna” Ryan, who runs his final campaign of the year next week. Now that he’s nearly finished, we’re almost allowed to call him an official failure and not just an amateur one.

And in a new recurring segment, Talleyrand’s Wheelie of the Week: a victory for Scott “I’m getting harder!” Ahearn, after falling out of his wheelchair three times in a desperate attempt to look popular (silly Scoot. Didn’t he know he could have auditioned for Artie in SingSoc’s glee production? That’s what all the closet kids love these days). Honourable mention to the poor Ger-iatric (geddit?) with the low battery getting pushed up the hill to Glenomena.

Talleyho!

Talleyrand

ObserverIssue11_B.indd 16

Quotes of the fortnight UO: “I’ll ask you some of the questions and if you don’t have an answer we’ll just move on” “No we won’t.

This is where the conversation ends” Quinn School director Professor Aileen Pearce refuses to discuss her withdrawl of support for Comm Day

“I just think RON-ing one of our own candidates is wrong…

“His performance as a Sabbatical Officer hasn’t been up to standard really”

Incoming UCDSU Education Officer James Williamson well…” pulls no punches A crisis of conscience for SU as he comments on class rep Katie Galvin as she argues against rejecting UCD’s his predecessor’s candidate for USI LGBT officer, performance Siobhan McGuire

A safe ship in stormy waters?

Internal turmoil and flagging performance in the polls, why would anyone want to join Fianna Fáil? Ciarán Fitzgerald on why he abandoned Sinn Féin and to become a Soldier of Destiny

S

inn Féin will always have a place in my heart, and I have many comrades there, but it is now obvious they are completely out of touch with the people on the ground in the Republic of Ireland. This has become more evident in the wake of the 2007 General and 2009 Local Elections, where Sinn Féin lost seats but managed to retain its percentage share of around 7 percent. SF is the only opposition party not to have made electoral gains during the recession.

During the last local elections I became disillusioned with the party and the leadership. In the last few weeks of campaigning, party activists were instructed to abandon their own constituencies and assist Dublinbased sitting councillor Daithí Doolan in one last gasp at keeping his seat. The alarm bells were ringing loud.

There is an increasing Northern-biased leadership within Sinn Féin, who are more focussed on the Northern Assembly than on politics in Dublin or anywhere in the South. The average 26-county voter sadly doesn’t care about the stop-go peace process in the North.

Sinn Féin do not address the bread-andbutter issues that affect people in the South.

It has zero concrete economic policies, just idealism. At the 2008 Árd Fheis, a motion was put asking the party to clarify its economic, and specifically taxation, policies after the leadership had been embarrassed on television by Michael McDowell. The reply was shocking: “This party will make specific economic and tax policies when the time comes to go into government.” But how can Sinn Féin expect people to vote for them without stated ideas and policies on something as important as economics and taxation!?

It is for these particular reasons that Sinn Féin is losing its activist base in the South, and Dublin in particular. The party is bleeding members and elected officials – Cllr Christy Burke being a recent high-profile defection. Bad policies and organisation has cost the party dearly: the party has been decimated in North Dublin, where there have been six motions of no confidence in the last two years. I had certainly lost all confidence in Sinn Féin and so decided to leave the party, I would not go down with the ship.

I thought about looking into membership of Fianna Fáil, as they appealed far more to me than Labour, and Fine Gael was an absolute non-runner. Paddy Conroy, the chair of the famous Kevin Barry Cumann (KBC), the UCD branch of FF, invited

me to some meetings. Some brilliant politicians have passed through since my time in UCD; including Senator James Carroll.

I can honestly say I was welcomed with open arms. I was struck by their honesty and passion for politics.

The KBC has massively increased its active membership reflecting that Ireland’s youngest and brightest are ignoring the media’s populist attack on the party and believe that FF is the only party who will bring Ireland back to prosperity, economic growth and social equality. Not the Greens, not Fine Gael, not Labour – and certainly not Sinn Féin!

The popularity and consistent growth of FF nationally at youth level sends a clear message to the other political parties.

Fianna Fáil have the policies, the talent, the determination, and 71 years of government experience to prove it. The electorate is never wrong.

I believe that the government are making tough but necessary decisions at present to get Ireland back on track and back to work. This country was hit very badly by the global recession and ordinary people are suffering because of the construction bubble. The sad reality is that nobody saw the recession coming to the extent and speed in which it came in 2008.

The government requested an independent investigation of a possible bubble in the construction sector in 2006 and 2007, and were advised that there was “no bubble” and that the economy would continue to grow until 2011 – a statement endorsed by IBEC. Let’s face facts: Ireland was borrowing €450m a week at 5.5 per cent interest rates – a billion a fortnight! Revenue was at 2003 levels, while state expenditure remained at 2009 levels! Any budget had to be harsh, but at present Fianna Fáil seem to be blamed even when it rains.

The ERSI recently predicted that the recession is nearly over, specifically because the government has made the recommend-

ed €4bn in cuts. The ERSI also states that higher earners have been hit the hardest in the last three budgets, contrary to claims by Labour et al suggesting the government was “protecting the rich”. Workers earning the most were cut the harshest.

No government is ever popular in a recession, but I am backing Fianna Fáil because it is putting the welfare of the state and its citizens above its own. Popularity and opportunism are luxuries that only the opposition can afford. Good governments make the right choices and take unpopular tough decisions. I believe in the current government’s ability to steer us through these stormy waters.

Fianna Fáil is committed to eventually contesting elections up North. As a Republican this is something close to my heart.

The Ógra cumainn in the North passionately believe that Fianna Fáil can offer a real alternative to the politics of failure. FF has made the brave and right decision to sign up to the UK Electoral Commission, and represent passport holders and citizens of the Republic in the North who cannot even vote for their own president (including the President herself).

See you at the next Kevin Barry Cumann meeting. The future of Ireland is in safe hands.

29/03/2010 06:01

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THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

17

EDITORIAL

editor@universityobserver.ie

Photo of the fortnight

Editorial

30th March 2010

UCDSU has turned its back on Education Vice-President Donnacha Ó Súilleabháin. By not backing his candidacy for USI Education Officer, student members of UCDSU Council have sent a clear message to their counterparts around the country that their patience and their faith in his abilities has all but run out.

It’s admirable, then, that they refuse to back him as a national representative and advocate for third level education.

While many students may not know, approve of or agree with the existence or functioning of the Union of Students in Ireland, they are our representatives on a national level and should therefore have the best possible candidates vying for the positions come election time. According to UCDSU, Ó Súilleabháin is not that candidate. Although this paper has never been particularly kind to USI, or indeed its affiliated unions around the country, the people running for election must be admired for stepping forward to represent our itnerests.

And some admiration must be reserved for the UCD students who stood up against one of our own officers when they believed him unsuitable for the job. Ó

Súilleabháin asked members of Council to judge him on his record, and they duly complied. His record, according to his critics, is a myriad of broken promises, lies and inaction. The scandal surrounding last year’s Science Day finances could be one that Ó Súilleabháin never lives down. While none of the allegations have been definitively proven, the lingering suspicion alone can only follow Ó Súilleabháin through his college career. All in all, his record does not recommend him to USI – and neither, quite rightly did UCDSU. But the question remains: if his capabilities regarding the position of USI Education are so questionable, if his standing as an honourable person has been so disputed, and if his record is so mediocre, why then is he still acceptable as the Eduction Officer for Ireland’s largest university?

If Ó Súilleabháin is unsuitable for USI, surely he is unsuitable for UCDSU. The argument that a bad officer is better than no officer was summararily rejected last week with regards USI. In that case, is no officer better than a bad officer for UCD? There were students that defended Ó Súilleabháin’s performance on a personal level, saying

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.

Resit and Repeat Fees Madam, I noticed with great interest the promises of the two candidates in the Students’ Union Education election earlier this month, particularly in regard to seeking a reduction in the fees charged to students for repeating exams.

One might argue that it’s only fair for students resitting an exam to be charged less then those repeating.

By definition, students sitting a repeat exam have already been missed their first chance to pass a given module – if they’ve been unlucky due to an illness or bereavement, they should have secured an extenuating circumstances form to merit a resit exam as opposed to a repeat. I’m not saying that no student deserves a second chance to pass an exam – everyone makes mistakes. But there exists now a sweeping culture in UCD where it would almost appear every effort is being made to facilitate students who, for one reason or another, don’t do the work expected of them to pass a module.

As a postgraduate student and parttime tutor, I have been through both sides of the academic process and can understand the demands on undergrads. Given the burdens placed on a student by multiple modules, it’s simply too much to expect a student to get through each with flying colours.

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UCD’s top-down policy of trying to minimise dropout and failure rates, means that it’s now virtually impossible to actually fail a degree. When was the last time you heard of a student leaving college not because they’d dropped out for whatever reason, but because they were deemed simply not good enough by the college to earn a degree? Students either quit college of their own volition or spend a few more semesters earning their undergraduate degrees than originally planned. Rarely does UCD concede the honest truth that some of its students are not good enough.

Too few students are being given F grades and being told they lack the intellect needed to earn a degree. What good is a group of students with First Class Honours if almost every student who attends the University earns a degree? Without the failure there is no glory – the measure of a degree is made useless.

Sadly I must conclude that the University has become so greedy for cash that it tries to extort every possible grant off the HEA, while the student body seems to expect a degree to be awarded without having to go out of its way to earn it.

Yours etc,

Name and address with Editor

that his dealing with students one-on-one have always been exemplary as far as they were concerned. Perhaps UCDSU President Gary Redmond should step up then and remove all other responsibilities from the Education brief and let Ó Súilleabháin concentrate on his strengths. Redmond has a responsibility to his students, the vast majority of whose representatives have voted against the current Education Officer, maybe now is the time to do something to ensure a message is conveyed to any other student considering a career in student politics – a message that a poor officer is not better than no officer, and that poor performers will be substituted with just that.

Winner of our recent competition, Kieran Murray proudly displays the UCD AFC jersey he received from Sports Editor Killian Woods Photo Catriona Laverty

Contributors: Volume XVI, Issue 11 Editor Catriona Laverty Deputy Editor Gavan Reilly Guest Art & Design Director Shane McIntyre 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

Contributors Agony Anto, The Badger, Fergal Casey, Richard Chambers, Alan Coughlan, Alex Court, Stephen Devine, Caitríona Farrell, Conor Feeney, Paul Fennessy, Ciarán Fitzgerald, Sam Geoghegan, Patrick Guiney, Sally Hayden, Rita Jacob, Aileen Johnson, Matthew Jones, Alison Lee, Jack Logan, Ryan Mackenzie, Jamie Martin, Brendan May, Michelle McCormick, Hugh McDowell, Hugh McLaughlin, Doctor McSeamy, Conor Murphy, Grace Murphy, Kieran Murphy, Mystic Mittens, Maras Ó Cribín, Vincent O’Boyle, Jake O’Brien, Lynda O’Keeffe, Breffni O’Sullivan, Donie O’Sullivan, Ben Storey, Emer Sugrue, Talleyrand, Keith Thompson, Selva Unal, David Uwakwe, Natalie Voorheis, Amy Walsh, Leanne Waters, Natasha Wetten, Dr John K. White Photographers Casey Germann, Dáire Brennan Special Thanks Peter, Malcolm, Ian, Tim, Dave, Jonathan, Ade, Emma, Jed, Bob, Steve (and the robots) at Trafford Park

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

Printing; Paul at Higgs; Eilis O’Brien and Dominic Martella; Colm, Claire, James, 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, Gary and all the Student Centre staff; Diarmuid McDermott; Bombay Pantry (but only just – give us our Coke next time); Having Florent Malouda as emergency captain, the Russian teenager who invented Chatroulette, Jem the Car, Foreign Countries Beginning With A Vowel, British TV, Rubik’s Megaminx, loads and loads and loads of daffodils Very Special Thanks Graham Wood 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.

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.

~ “I think it’s stylish. It makes me look like I’m on Hollyoaks” ~

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SCIENCE & HEALTH

science@universityobserver.ie

The Scientific method as Soundbite — Mr Bacon your Time is Up An Irish company has claimed to have achieved the impossible and created perpetual motion. UCD research fellow Dr John K. White is not convinced

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n Irish company claims that it has broken the laws of physics with a so-called “free energy”, or over-unity device.

The contraption involves an arrangement of magnets that somehow breaks the holiest of physic laws – that energy cannot be created from nothing.

But the real news is that the scientific method has been broken. It isn’t the physics that is suspect: it’s the hype.

Francis Bacon is credited with defining the “scientific method” in 1620, although the phrase only became fashionable in the mid-20th century to help codify science and to formalise research and experiments. There is no ‘one way’, but repetition is stressed so others can verify unknown claims, no matter how far-fetched or potentially ahead of their time.

Many have followed such stricture from Robert Boyle (‘pressure is inversely proportional to volume’, 1662) to Louis Pasteur (the existence of bacteria, 1862) to large scientific and engineering teams that invented the transistor (1948), the laser (1960), or now those who smash sub-atomic particles at speeds approaching the speed of light to explain mass (2009 onward).

Alas, when an Irish company placed a full-page ad in The Economist three years ago, claiming that they could power mobile phones and cars without recharging, and thus save the world, Bacon et al were discarded and the media came running.

The company challenged twelve scientists to dispute their findings on “free energy”, their euphemism for perpetual motion, even quoting George Bernard Shaw to tug at our sympathies: “All great truths begin with blasphemies.” Three

years on, they are still making the claim, despite not having published one piece of information on the how or incited one scientist to verify the why.

We all know that there is no such thing as a free lunch, let alone free energy.

A simple refutation suffices: hook the output of the contraption to the input, and you will continuously get more energy out. Keep doing so and you will ultimately create more energy than in the universe: a logical impossibility. Indeed, the physics is simple, in the same way that throwing cards in the air make a mess rather than reforming as a perfect deck. Science is not that hard.

As for the Irish company and free energy… come on. In my role as a public scientist, I was invited to look at the device, which didn’t work on the day. Nor did it work in a great public demonstration when the public was invited to see the whirling ‘science’. And yet people still ask and hope.

Alas, the scientific method has become a soundbite, tossed away like a contestant on a television reality show. But we shouldn’t be that gullible. Learning and knowledge are being short-changed. The only thing a working engine and this story have in common is that they are both powered by hot air. As a scientist and natural sceptic, I saw nothing scientific about such a device.

Something for nothing? Yes - or rather, for the cost of an advertisement and a lot of free publicity. No method, no science.

And why one seeks scientific verification by advertising in The Economist seems, to me, to be economically and not scientifically motivated.

As media guru Marshall McLuhan warned, “the medium is the message” – how we do something is as important as

what we do. Science and learning are not soundbites. Both take time and work and organised thought.

But when content goes unquestioned or unsubstantiated, we end up with cold fusion, over-unity devices, and Star Trek masquerading as science (sorry guys – hyperspeed spaceships are a fiction too).

And so we end up with poor scientific understanding in our schools and in our lives.

Perhaps the problem is that science cannot publicly inform in 15 seconds about seemingly impenetrable ideas such as the first law of thermodynamics, magnetic fields, or the impossibility of over-unity devices. Science is not sexy enough and has to be hyped up with flashy claims.

It is true that science can confuse an uninformed public, despite its increasing impact in today’s world. This only means that we need to communicate better. But anyone worth his or her sodium chloride knows that some kind of method is needed to show how things work – not slick marketing or magic shows that cuts corners on real science.

Dr John K. White is a research fellow in the UCD School of Physics.

“It isn’t the physics that is suspect: it’s the hype”

The future’s bright – the future’s ionic Caitríona Farrell reports on how Ireland is leading the international research into a new, wide-ranging branch of chemistry that could rid our hospitals of MRSA and our pavements of chewing gum

Chemistry has definitely come a long way from the propositions of the ancient Greek that all matter on Earth was comprised of four elements: wind, fire, earth and water. The elders of ancient Athens obviously forgot to account for the scores of elements that form the modern periodic table. Man has undergone an epic journey of discovery in the intervening years, gaining a better understanding of the natural world and its properties – and learning how to exploit its abilities to ensure a safer and healthier environment for its species. Today, our standard of living has been largely determined by chemistry.

One of the latest hot properties in the world of chemical industries is the research of what are called ‘ionic liquids’, which were discovered as recently as the late 1940s. Frank Hurley and Tom Weir, working at the Rice Institute in Texas, discovered that they could make some salts turn liquid at close to room temperature. They mixed a powdered organic salt known as alkylpyridinium chloride with another salt, aluminium chloride, before gently heating the mixture. They observed that the two powders reacted

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together quickly and – to their surprise – formed a clean, colourless liquid: the world’s first ionic liquid.

Ionic liquids are a particularly attractive prospect, because of the manner in which the cations and anions can have their physical, chemical, and biological properties modified to cater for whatever specific purpose required. The applications of ionic liquids are vast, and interlinked with vital everyday processes: new ionic solvents can be easily tailored to address the needs of a specific chemical reaction across a wide range of applications.

To understand the economic importance of ionic liquids – also known as ‘ionic salts’ – and liquid electrolytes, we must consider their properties. As the name suggests, ionic liquids contain clusters of ions (or electrically charged atoms), characteristically associated with salts.

Ionic liquids, just like the powdered sodium chloride you sprinkle on your food, are salts. But distinguishing theses fine salts from your standard everyday table salt couldn’t be any easier: while table salt has to be heated to over 800 degrees Celsius to become a liquid,

the anti-biofilm agents in ionic liquids remain fluid at the ambient room temperatures found in hospitals. Thankfully, therefore, there’s no chance of you accidentally grabbing a bottle of ionic liquid next time you’re in the chipper.

The ionic salts consist of an organic ‘cation’ (or positively charged ion), typically an ammonium or phosphonium salt, and an inorganic ‘anion’ (or negatively charged ion). The beauty of such salts is that anions and cations can be fine-tuned to offer a wide range of solvent properties, which in turn can be manipulated and utilised to their full chemical or medicinal advantage. Ultimately, ionic liquids possess properties similar to many other polar solvents with high boiling points.

Many types of bacteria (such as the hospital superbug MRSA, which is resistant to antibiotics) exist in colonies that reside on the surfaces of materials.

Such colonies are typically cloaked in coatings, known as biofilms, which protect them from antiseptics, disinfectants, and antibiotics. These microbial biofilms have not only blanketed our hospitals in recent years, but have also been seen

to lodge and thrive inside water pipes and cause pipe blockages in industrial processes. The aim of the game in tackling this bug therefore, from a medicinal point of view, is to concoct a medicinal mixture that strike a balances between having the lowest possible toxicity to humans, while being potent enough to erradicate the colonies of bacteria that live on our skin.

Luckily for us, the shield of resistance built by these biofilms has been breached, thanks to ionic liquids – and what’s more, it’s Ireland that has left the rest of the planet green with envy, as we emerge as one of the world leaders in mastering the chemical application of ionic liquids. The Queen’s University Ionic Liquid Laboratories (or ‘QUILL’) in Belfast, considered to be one of our island’s hidden gems in the field of green chemistry, is the world’s first specialist facility in the research of iolic liquids.

Experts at QUILL have recently developed new agents to combat MRSA in the form of ionic liquid which attacks the infection in two ways – by killing colonies of these lethal microbes, and by disabling the ability to produce the biofilms that

provide shelter for such bacteria. “We have shown that when pitted against the ionic liquids we developed and tested, biofilms offer little or no protection to MRSA, or to seven other infectious microorganisms,” reports Martyn Earle, QUILL’s assistant director.

There are a multitude of applications for an ionic liquid-based antiobiofilm – mostly, such as the aforementioned effects on MRSA, in the medical arena, where they can be used to improve infection control and reduce patient morbidity in hospitals, thus alleviating some of the financial burden to healthcare providers. But another project QUILL and other institutes have initiated deals with the application of ionic liquids for the removal of chewing gum on our streets.

After all, if ionic liquids can dissolve rock and plastic, dissolving chewing gum is a bite-sized problem that ionic liquids can most certainly resolve.

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SCIENCE & HEALTH

science@universityobserver.ie

Belief in Disbelief

Alan Coughlan shows us why we must start to question the common beliefs around us

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uring the space race back in the 1960s, NASA was faced with a major problem.

The astronaut needed a pen that would write in the vacuum of space. NASA went to work. At a cost of $1.5m they developed the ‘Astronaut Pen’. Some of you may remember it – it enjoyed minor success on the commercial market.

The Russians were faced with the same dilemma.

They used a pencil.

This story is both interesting and amusing – reasons why people repeat and enjoy the story. Versions of this email can be found all over the internet which take small pot shots at American engineers. The only problem, though, is that it isn’t true. The initial Soviet and American space missions both used pencils, and NASA never spent any money developing a space pen. American inventor Paul C. Fisher invented the pen independently as a writing device to work in extreme conditions of pressure and temperature, and on substances as diverse as butter and steel. He offered the pen to NASA, who promptly bought a batch of 400 pens for the small sum of $2.95 each. The Fisher space pen also offered greater safety, as broken pieces of pencil lead getting caught in the electronics could be hazardous.

Even when faced with evidence that has always been there, people choose to believe the myth. Naturally it makes for an amusing anecdote but like in many stories the truth in this case seems just as interesting. So what is it about urban legends, common misconceptions and conspiracy theories that capture people’s imaginations? Why do people in the face of contrary evidence choose to believe differently?

Ask anyone what the only man-made object is visible from space and they will invariably respond with the Great Wall of China. If we take space to mean ‘low earth orbit’ (160-350 miles up) then this theory fails as highways, airports and components of the Kennedy Space Centre are discernible. Further than low earth orbit, and nothing man-made is visible.

Why then is this not common knowledge? Richard Halliburton wrote in Second Book of Marvels: The Orient that “the only man made thing on our planet visible to the human eye from the moon is the Great Wall.” Strangely, he wrote this in 1938 when no human had even travelled to space.

Wide belief in something false requires propagation of the myth, and Halliburton’s books were quite popular in the first half of the 20th century. Without any other evidence his assertion became common knowledge and thus the common ‘truth’ is believed over actual reality.

According to Michael Shermer, some common traits observed in those who tend to believe in myths are patternicity (the act of finding meaningful patterns in random noise) and hindsight bias (tailoring explanations to suit what we already know happened). When a person is stung with a nettle, a common response by most people is to rub the sting with a dock leaf. Both nettles and docks are perennial weeds with deep roots that take over recently disturbed ground. This is usually in areas not subject to grazing, which is why they grow alongside each other.

The practice of applying the dock to the nettle sting has apparently grown out of parents trying to calm young children who have been stung, seeking out something close to hand to solve the problem. Fascinatingly there is absolutely no scientific evidence to show that anything in a dock leaf neutralises the sting – nothing above the anecdotal has been proven. I will not postulate on what happens when a person rubs a sting with a dock leaf, but common belief is that it helps. Perhaps the mind in this case is powerful enough to make this myth true.

Another example. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a scale used to estimate a healthy weight for a person based on their height. Dieticians and many medical professionals use this scale to help gauge a person’s overall state of well-being. A person’s weight in kilos is divided by the square of their height in metres to calculate the figure. The cut-off for a healthy weight is a BMI 25. It is true that some forms of heart disease can be linked to higher BMIs but a recent study of 33,000 adults have shown that life expectancy reaches a maximum at levels far higher than the supposed BMI of 22. Life expectancy is at its highest for men at 26 and at 23.5 for women.

According to current standards, this level for men is considered overweight. This belief is fairly prevalent, and those interested in fitness and their diet may

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actually be doing themselves more harm than good in the long run simply because they are adhering to what is presented as the ideal.

A certain level of trust in authority figures is required as we go about our daily lives but as we can see from BMI, questions should always be asked.

In 1958 an Oscar-winning documentary by Disney entitled White Wilderness depicted a large group of lemmings partaking in natural behaviour by scampering of cliffs. Once committed to film, this long standing myth was given a visual backbone, and has become a commonly-held belief. The truth is that lemmings don’t commit suicide: the lemmings in the movie were actually launched off the cliff for use in the documentary.

Some of the strangest things in nature and indeed the universe seem almost impossible to believe, seemingly more like works of fiction than that of reality. Indeed, the first scientists to document the duck-billed platypus thought it so bizarre as to be a hoax – an animal stitched together from many specimens.

Perhaps the best mantra to keep in mind when dealing with any story or situation though is that known as Occam’s Razor, which states that “the simplest solution is usually the correct one.”

“The initial Soviet and American space missions both used pencils and NASA never spent any money developing a space pen.”

SU Welfare Update ‘‘How To’’ Talk The last talk of the year in the How To talk series is on April 14th at 1pm in Rooms in 1 & 2 in the Student Center. The talk is on “How to cope with Exam Stress” and is given by Ros McFeely, student adviser and Karoline Nicholson, clinical counsellor.

Student Health Fund If you’re finding it difficult to pay your Student health charges you can apply to the Student Health Fund for assistance. Please email welfare@ucdsu.ie for more information.

Finding times hard

w 2010 Welfare Cre yo needs u. ew@ucdsu.ie Email: welfarecr

As it’s coming up to Exam time and end of the year things can getting daunting and if your looking for support don’t forget our fantastic free counseling service, your Student Adviser or myself are here to help at anytime or anywhere.

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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SPORT

Yankees Open New Season in Earnest

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Ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around, hundreds of games, and a World Series to eye up – it can only be a new baseball season, writes Sam Geoghegan

hat a decade of baseball we’ve had. It started and finished with the New York Yankees becoming World Champions, though the Yanks were left experiencing a trophy drought in the intervening years. Two World Series appearances in 2001 and 2003 ended in defeat and to add insult to serious injury, their great rival the Boston Red Sox lifted their first championship in 2004 after an 86-year wait, and again in 2007.

The Yankees opened Free Agency last season by acquiring the three marquee free agents on the market, pitchers CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett and first baseman slugger Mark Teixeira, for a staggering combined fee of $423.5 million. These acquisitions, along with their already starstudded squad that includes captain Derek Jeter and third baseman Alex Rodriguez – the highest-paid baseball player with a contract worth $275 million – allowed them to become World Champions for a record 27th time in the first year at their new $1.5

ly, with Curtis Granderson the only player of note to move to the Bronx.

New York’s other team, the Mets, have always lived in the shadow of their more illustrious and glamorous neighbour – yet the Mets have an excellent squad that was only improved with the signing of former Boston outfielder Jason Bay. Along with third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes, Bay provides the Mets with an excellent offense for the forthcoming season. Coach Jerry Manuel is seeking a first playoff berth for the Mets since 2006 and hopes that injuries don’t hamper his hopes once again. Ace pitcher Johan Santana must stay healthy if the Mets are to challenge the Phillies in the National League.

Two-time defending National League champions the Philadelphia Phillies were involved in the blockbuster deal of the offseason. The deal involved four teams and nine players, in which the Phills had to part ways with award-winning pitcher Cliff Lee (who is now in Seattle with the Mariners) and a host of other top prospects in

will lead coach Charlie Manuel’s chase for a third consecutive National League title.

The Dodgers in LA are the Phillies’ primary contender – and led by former Yankee manager Joe Torre and slugger Manny Ramirez, they should again be playing ball come October. LA’s other team, the Angels, are managed by Mike Scioscia, and although they lost a host of key players to Free Agency, Scioscia is such an experienced general that he should have enough talent at his disposal to guide his team to postseason play once more.

One of these players, pitcher John Lackey, has signed with Boston. The Red Sox now have possibly the best pitching rotation in all of baseball, with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield and now Lackey on their books. The latter’s arrival is a significant move for Terry Francona’s team as they look to quell the power offense of the Yankees in a hope that Boston might emulate their successes of 2004 and 2007.

It promises to be a fantastic and

“New York’s other team, the Mets, have always lived in the shadow of their more illustrious and glamorous neighbour – yet the Mets have an excellent squad” billion ballpark.

This season however, their cheque book hasn’t been as busy. Outfielders Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui – the World Series MVP – have gone on to pastures new with the Detroit Tigers and the LA Angels respective-

exchange for arguably the best pitcher in the majors, Roy Halladay.

A former Cy Young award-winner himself, Halladay has spent his entire career to date at the Toronto Blue Jays. Along with infielders Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, Halladay

fascinating year ahead and what better way to start a season than with the champion Yankees facing their fiercest foe, the Red Sox, in Boston at Fenway Park this Easter Sunday.

The New York Yankees celebrated their 27th World Series win in Autumn against the Phillies but will face stiff competition this season

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‘Fenno’ on Sport Paul Fennessy questions Lionel Messi’s degree of greatness and examines the prospects of Leinster’s future stars

Over the course of the past twelve months, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has been described variously as the greatest footballer of all time and as an overrated, poor man’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Both these claims constitute ill-conceived exaggerations.

Messi’s spectacular hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-2 victory over Real Zaragoza last week provoked the latest avalanche of tributes to the skilful Argentinian – but while his talent is indisputable, one would be forgiven for mistaking the latest plaudits attributed to Messi as descriptions befitting people who have just witnessed Christ’s second coming.

“If we had scored four, he would have scored twelve,” gushed the Real Zaragoza manager José Aurelio Gay, undoubtedly attempting to deflect attention from the inordinately generous defending that contributed to Messi’s achievement.

Meanwhile, Stuttgart’s incumbent coach, Christian Gross – hardly a bastion of football knowledge if his spell in charge of Tottenham Hotspur is anything to go by – compared him favourably with Diego Maradona.

Nevertheless, the most galling exclamation was espoused by Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta. Laporta – himself no stranger to eliciting grandiose, PR friendly statements – opined that Messi was the greatest ever player to wear a Barcelona jersey. Hence Laporta went one better than Gross by adjudging him to be a superior player to Maradona – whose brief, unsuccessful two-year spell with Barcelona was marred by a broken leg, in addition to a series of disputes with the club’s directors.

Let’s rectify this undue comparison.

Maradona appeared in four World Cups, spearheading Argentina’s 1986 triumph and playing a vital part in helping his side reach the final in 1990 – while injured.

Messi, by contrast, only has a peripheral role in the 2006 tournament to his name thus far.

Secondly, though Messi has already garnered numerous accolades with Barcelona, he has been surrounded by several of the world’s best players during his tenure. Maradona, after his career failed to ignite in Spain, exceeded expectations when he moved to Napoli. The unfashionable Italian club comprised largely of journeymen – unlike the current Barcelona team – yet Maradona still managed to guide them to their first ever Serie A title in 1987, repeating this accomplishment three years later.

Moreover, Maradona managed to score what is generally regarded as the greatest goal of all time in the 1986 World Cup against England. Admittedly, Messi’s famous goal against Getafe was comparable in its execution. Nonetheless, the latter effort occurred in a Spanish Cup match when Barcelona were already 2-0 up and cruising to victory. On the other hand, Maradona’s goal took place amid a crucial, tightly-fought World Cup quarter

final with the world watching.

The aforementioned facts do not mean Messi is incapable of eventually outdoing Maradona’s success: they merely highlight the ludicrousness of describing him as better than Maradona, when his career is still (fate permitting) only in its infancy.

Countless players have showed excellence or potential sporadically – Michael Ricketts was once regarded as a top class striker and Wes Brown (“a footballing genius” – Sir Alex Ferguson) was touted as the “future England captain” by no less than Alan Hansen.

A more apt comparison for Messi would be with Ronaldihno during his prime. At his peak when playing for Barcelona, the Brazilian attacker remains the most naturally gifted footballer this writer has ever witnessed, but he cannot be deemed the best player ever on account of his erratic level of performance. Ronaldihno clearly began believing his own hype, as his form declined steeply and he is now only showing glimpses of his past brilliance in a poor AC Milan side – his team’s ineptitude was, of course, blatantly exposed during their pathetic capitulation to Manchester United in the Champions League last-16 stage this year.

Therefore, in order for Messi to be deemed truly great, he must maintain such exceptional standards for the duration of his career. A player’s ability – in the context of the greats – should always only be measured following his retirement. John Giles, not unreasonably, considers Bobby Charlton to be the best footballer ever – not purely because of his considerable talent, but also due to the extraordinary consistency and professionalism that enabled him to make more appearances and score more goals than any other Manchester United player in history (at least, until Ryan Giggs exceeded the former record).

And ultimately, as Messi himself cogently put it last week: “To be a legend, one needs to win the Word Cup.” ****** Recent injuries to Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy have left the duo doubtful for Leinster’s upcoming Heineken Cup clash with Clermont Auvergne. Yet irrespective of whether they manage to regain their fitness in time for this encounter, the injuries have invoked a vivid reminder – if any were necessary – that these players’ outstanding prowess does not render them immortal. Their bodies will defeat them eventually and so, it is paramount that this inevitable void is swiftly filled.

Accordingly, players such as Fergus McFadden and the precocious Andrew Conroy must outline their credentials in upcoming fixtures. As long as these players can deliver on the promise they have demonstrated in spades, and assuming more established youngsters such as Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald continue their development, then the security of a stable future will surely be guaranteed.

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SPORT

sport@universityobserver.ie

A Different Ball Game Another year and a fresh set of experimental rules has Jack Logan pondering whether Gaelic football deserves to be tinkered with so often

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s has become customary in recent times, this year’s National Football League features a number of new rules, some of which may never see the light of summer when the All-Ireland Championship begins in May. The square ball rule has been reformed, bouncing the ball has been redefined, Australian Football style marks are now awarded for clean catching in the middle of the park, and tackling has been reassessed, among other changes.

The problem with the 2010 batch of rules is not necessarily the rules themselves but the amount of sudden change, and the way these fiats are to be interpreted by referees. And so, some inter-county managers have found themselves in recent weeks spouting out the annual observation: If there is doubt as to how a rule should be interpreted, then surely there is doubt as to the clarity of the rulebook itself.

The new regulation in relation to a form of tackling is a case in point. The rule as it stood since 1975 was a ‘side-to-side charge’; this has now been amended to a ‘shoulder-to-shoulder charge’. The

vagueness of the original rule has not been addressed, but rather its potential for confusion increased.

The shoulder is not the side, and one man’s shoulder does not always correspond with another man’s shoulder. Consequently, many teams have questioned the consistency of the rule’s interpretation by referees so far this year.

The Kildare manager, Kieran McGeeney, speaking in the wake of his side’s win over Westmeath, stressed the need for a stricter definition.

“You couldn’t have the likes of Darragh Ó Sé hitting the likes of Jason Sherlock.

It just isn’t allowed. Even though it is within the rules. It just looks unsafe.

That’s like asking Paul O’Connell not to tackle Ronan O’Gara. It doesn’t make any sort of sense but that is just what we have.”

The annual rule trial period has consequences for the calibre of competition too. Supporters, commentators and speculators can talk and talk all they want about the perceived lack of respect some managers and counties show to the league, focusing instead on the Championship and simply using the spring com-

petition as an extension of the training ground, but ultimately this lack of respect goes beyond the participants.

Rule 6.35 in the GAA’s Official Guide allows for annual experimentation: “Playing Rule changes recommended

by Central Council may be experimented with in national and County Leagues of the year prior to a Congress at which motions for revision of Playing Rules are tabled.”

Congress will be afforded the opportunity to vote on the new rules in April. A two-thirds majority will be necessary in order to carry any new rule and each will be considered separately.

Why, then, should managers be expected to treat the League as seriously as the Championship, which is considered sacrosanct by the Official Guide? For all intents and purposes, it can be a completely different ball game.

The Badger

No more of The Badger’s articles can be considered for the upcoming Smedias, so expect a sharp decline in quality

Did you know that there was a time when the Badger nearly made the Down Underers’ under-13s soccer team? It’s an interesting story, as the Badger contests Aussie Cup finals, has a run-in with Dwight Yorke and causes bodily harm.

In the early 2000s, the Badger found himself residing in the Oceania region of FIFA’s broad world map. At the time, Australian soccer was at an all-time high of monotonously qualifying for the Oceania vs CONMEBOL World Cup playoff game that continuously pitted the Socceroos against Uruguay. Unfortunately they lost out 3-1 to Uruguay on aggregate in the 2002 FIFA World Cup playoff, but the Aussies took immense pride in their remarkable 1-0 home win at Cook’s Harbour.

This content attitude that sees the Aussies satisfied to nearly qualify for the most prestigous football competition sums up the entire ethos of the nation – and, to be honest, it took the Badger by surprise. When this young bruiser took the long 23-hour flight down under, he was expecting to see a country full of over-exuberant and cocky weight-lifting sports nuts.

At first this is the profile which the Badger was met with, and from the start incessant attempts were made by Aussies to intimidate him using their confidence developed through greater physical disposition. (Their true identity was to soon shine through, though, but back to the story.)

Upon his arrival, the Badger signed for Maroubra Soccer Club, a relatively small club based in the

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Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, who play their home games in Coral Sea Park. The club was in dire straits at the time as during the 2000 season they had suffered multiple relegations. All 15 age grades at the club – from the senior side to the under-6s – had suffered relegation, with every side finishing last in their league.

After signing for Maroubra, there was a lot of hype surrounding the impending arrival of this international signing from Ireland. This hysteria was typified by the turnout at the Badger’s first training session for Maroubra. Upwards of five vibrant fans showed up in the scorching heat to see the Badger display his skills, and he did not disappoint.

Playing for his place in the team amongst thirty other 11 or 12-year-olds, the Badger lined up in his typical playmaker position and gave a masterclass in the art of box-to-box midfield play. The stats didn’t lie and depicted the sheer quality of the Badger. Over one-hundred passes completed, assisting three goals and hitting the

cross bar on two seperate occasions, the crowd was in awe at the Badger’s skill set. The only reason the Badger didn’t win the Man of the Match award because his side lost 6-2.

The coach blew his whistle to bring the first training session to an end and naturally began sorting the players into the respective A, B and C teams. The Badger’s name was first to be called as he was drafted into the under-12 B side, a team who had not known the sweet taste of victory since February 1999. But the Badger was going to change that.

After impressing consistently in training and making the strongest claim to be awarded the number 10 jersey in an Argentinian-esque Maroubra side, the Badger made his first start in a Sunday fixture against the Maccabi Hakoah. Now the Badger can be sketchy on the exact details sometimes, but he is definitely sure that he made his debut on a Sunday, only due to that fact that Maccabi are an all Jewish team, and due to their commitment to some religion, refused to play on a Saturday. Wimps.

Although the fans did not appreciate the result, they were optimistic about the overall display from the team, but more importantly the Badger.

Pick up the next edition of The University Observer to catch the second half of this exhilarating story.

Provincial powers to make amends Patrick Guiney previews Irish chances in the upcoming Heineken Cup and their prospects should they overcome their stiff opposition With the quarter-finals of the competition will be Heineken cup fast approachthe most daunting ing, scourers of Irish rugby of opponents, as all players and fans can turn French opposition their attention to the nailbithave a vast pool of ing encounters of exciting talent with players European rugby ahead. It is returning from a chance for the returning an unbeaten Six Irish internationals to put Nations. The first the ghosts and missed tackles of the two quarterto rest, and once again show finals on French the clinical finishing and raw soil will launch the passion that Irish club rugby Saturday sequence is notorious for. of matches when A potential clash of the Biarritz Olympique titans is almost inevitable entertains the Munster and Northampton will face off for Ospreys. as Leinster and Munster the third time in this year’s competition The Pool Two could meet in the final of this year’s Heineken Cup winners will after the sides were kept apart in the semi-final be taking their fixture across the border into draw. The Irish sides will have to do it the hard Spain, to play at the 32,000 Estadio Anoeta in way, however, as both will have to travel away San Sebastian. It will be the fourth knockout from home if they get through their respective match Biarritz have played at the venue and quarter-final clashes. their sixth game overall.

Should Leinster beat Clermont Auvergne, they As well as beating Munster and Sale Sharks in will travel to play the winners of Toulouse and the last eight in Spain, they also defeated Bath Stade Français, while Munster must once again there in the semi-finals in 2006. Their only overcome Northampton at Thomond Park to Heineken Cup defeat in San Sebastian came in face either Biarritz or Ospreys in the semis.

2007 when Northampton Saints pipped them Reigning champions Leinster have an appoint7-6 in the quarter-finals. ment with Clermont, which should prove the Meanwhile, Connacht received a favourable must-see match of the quarter-finals. “First up draw in the quarter-finals of the Amlin Chalfor us is Clermont,” said Leinster captain Leo lenge Cup after they were handed a home tie Cullen. “If we can get past them then we will against French side Bourgoin. start looking at the challenge of facing either Whatever the fate is for our remaining Irish Toulouse or Stade Français in Paris. The quality provinces in European cup rugby, it will unof the teams left in the Heineken Cup is just doubtedly be an enthralling final which once unbelievable, and this season the French teams again shows the quality of rugby being played have really hit back with their teams winning by the Irish clubs and European counterparts in four of the six pools.” the northern hemisphere.

For both provinces, the French teams left in the

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SPORT

sport@universityobserver.ie

Tiger’s circus a distraction for Masters

S

The media frenzy has begun with Tiger Woods announcing his return to the sport – but Stephen Devine reports that there’s a golf tournament to be played too

o the circus seems to be finally coming to an end, as the world number one makes his much anticipated return to golf at the US Masters in a couple of weeks’ time. Tiger Woods seems to finally be able to put the scandal about his private life behind him.

It was thought that Woods would choose a lower-profile event to mark his return, such as the Tavistock Cup or the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. However, he has chosen the first big event of the year – and those that have seen him practice at his home club of Isleworth in recent days are of the opinion he could easily make a winning return at Augusta.

Seve Ballesteros has backed Woods’s prospects of winning the US Masters and described his return as “the best news that golf can have.” Speaking at the launch of Madrid’s Ryder Cup bid for 2018 the Spanish golfer said, “He is very used to playing long off the tee and he knows the golf course very well so I think he has a great chance to win.”

All the talk of Woods’s return will take the pressure off the other competitors, which could play right in to the hands of Padraig Harrington. The Dubliner’s form has been impressive recently; a second successive top-ten finish on the US Tour has allowed him return home for a short break before resuming his build-up to the Masters. He will use the Houston

Open – where the tournament organisers set up the greens as closely as possible to those at Augusta – to iron out any chinks before settling into the Masters week.

The other major Irish interest in the competition will come in the form of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. The two Northern Irishmen’s progress in recent seasons haven’t reached the heights of Harrington’s: McIlroy has spent the last number of weeks at home resting up and making a full recovery from the back injury which has halted his progress this season. McDowell, meanwhile, will warm up by competing in the Bay Hill Invitational where he finished second back in 2005.

One wonders if the focus on Woods will take away from the actual golf at Augusta and if it was right for him to choose such a high profile event to launch his return. At this point, it’s anybody’s guess as to how Woods will fare in his first foray into competitive

golf in five months. Even if Woods has got himself back to peak physical condition, the old saying that golf is played “in the six inches between your ears” will surely have a major bearing on Tiger’s performance. The months of therapy can hardly have his mind in the right place for 72 holes of Masters golf.

Some may see it as hard to bet against Woods when he tees off at the Masters next week. Due to attendant circumstances, he may not be due for a good start; then again, he has never broken 70 in the first round, so it won’t be an extraordinary development. It’s his finish that counts, and because he’s such a sucker for drama, he’ll no doubt be doing his best to make his comeback memorable.

It will be interesting to watch the next chapter of his career unfold back where he belongs on the greens and fairways and far away from treatment centres.

“The old saying that golf is played ‘in the six inches between your ears’ will surely have a major bearing on Tiger’s performance”

New Era of United Generals

Tiger Woods announced his return in a lucrative interview with ESPN

Successful Swimming Intervarsities for UCD UCD’s swimming club enjoyed a successful outing at the intervarsities in December, Killian Woods reports

Sport Editor

In the past they relied on a solid defence, but now a solid midfield trio provides Manchester United’s ammunition for Wayne Rooney, writes Richard Chambers When the draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League was announced, there was almost immediate talk of a repeat of last season’s final with the juggernauts of Manchester United facing the immaculately graceful Barcelona.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side will have been delighted by news that they will meet old rivals Bayern Munich before a potential duel with either of the French sides left in the competition, Lyon or Bordeaux.

Many spoke of a prospective duel between two of the world’s finest players, Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi. While it has seemed at times that United are driven solely by the irrepressible will and talent of their talisman, there is more to the Red Devils’ European ambitions than first appears.

Ferguson’s tactical approach to European football has developed comprehensively since he first conquered the continent in 1999. His traditional 4-4-2 replaced over time with a five-man midfield and a lone striker in an effort to combat the creative ‘carousel’, as he referred to the midfield of Barcelona and other European giants. The disappointing failures in Europe preceding 2008’s victory over Chelsea have forced him to humbly reconsider his approach.

Wayne Rooney – and before him, Cristiano Ronaldo – has been the central force of his side, but behind these marquee names the harrying influence of Darren Fletcher and

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Park Ji-Sung - and more recently the service provided by Antonio Valencia – are helping United to progress towards their goals of a fourth consecutive Premier League title and a fourth European Cup. Fletcher, so sorely missed in last season’s final, was once billed as the new David Beckham in his early days at Old Trafford. He is now the combative midfielder that United have lacked since the departure of Roy Keane. The protestations of Arsène Wenger against Fletcher’s midfield aggression are as good an epithet as any that can be paid to Scotland’s captain.

Another international captain has an equally important role in United’s sojourns abroad. Korean Park JiSung has often been criticised as a mere marketing ploy by Manchester United pandering to the lucrative fan base in the Far East, but he is far more valuable to Alex Ferguson than as a shirt salesman in Seoul.

His role in the Champions League squad has been to frustrate and stifle threatening elements of the opposing midfield, regardless of position.

His constant harrying of AC Milan’s Andrea Pirlo in the previous round is a fine example of why he has earned the nickname ‘Three-Lung Park’. It is likely that his manager will order him to ‘do a job’ on Bayern’s quick and imaginative wingers Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben in the upcoming tie.

The countless headed goals from

Wayne Rooney can be attributed to hours of practice by the in form front man as well as the quality of the delivery by his teammates – none more prominent than Antonio Valencia. The Ecuadorian purchased as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo is a winger in the classical sense of the word. His attributes have reminded many of Andrei Kanchelskis, an archetypical winger for United in the early nineties. Following a slow start to his Old Trafford career, the former Wigan player has earned plaudits for his displays.

While no one can belittle the efforts of Wayne Rooney, these players offer the capability of United to challenge in Europe once again. United carry a reputation for attacking football, but the utilisation of Fletcher, Park and Valencia add a layer of responsibility prerequisite for success in the Champions League. Through this, progression to a third successive final – and perhaps more – should be a realistic goal.

December 2009 was a very successful month for UCD’s Swimming and Waterpolo Club as they recorded one of their greatest successes to date when the Club competed in the annual Swimming and Lifesaving Intervarsity Championships.

The event, hosted by DCU in Donaghmede Leisure Centre, was a tremendous success for the 21-strong UCD team.

The women’s team in particular were very successful, winning the overall best team award with 62 points, beating Trinity College (45 points) and NUI Maynooth (34 points) into second and third place respectively.

Their male counterparts finishing second in their category to NUI Maynooth, who boasted a 35 strong swim team, and who finished just six points ahead of UCD’s point tally of 111.

There were many standout performers for UCD at the event, with 2008 Olympian Aisling Cooney, Julie Galloway, and Grace Sweeney all winning medals, while David Cooney, Vincent McArdle and Paul Mur-

phy also did well throughout and deserved their medals in the men’s events.

Even though UCD were pipped to victory in the men’s event, the club’s medal haul was very impressive and reflected the strides that they have taken in recent years. The club contested 18 out of 29 finals and won a remarkable 25 medals, which included 13 golds as well as six silver and six bronze medals.

UCD’s coach and former Olympian (Atlanta 1996) Earl McCarthy spoke to The University Observer about the event, saying the competitions “was one of the most competitive in many years. Overall it was a fantastic performance from UCD Swimming. Our women’s team dominated, winning overall best team award and UCD men’s team fought a tough battle gaining second place behind Maynooth.”

McCarthy continued that “NUIM have been running a well established scholarship team for many years now so it looks like Varsities swimming is going to have a challenging yet successful future.”

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SPORT

sport@universityobserver.ie

Can Tiger Woods really make his big comeback at Augusta asks Stephen Devine

OBSERVER

sport

UCD leave Bray wandering at foot of league UCD 1 Bray Wanderers 0 UCD claimed their first home win of the season with victory over struggling Bray Wanderers, watched by Ryan Mackenzie

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ast Friday saw lowly Bray Wanderers visit the Belfield Bowl in search of their first win of the season in a must-win for both sides. In a match neither team would afford to lose, the Students secured a priceless 1-0 victory that boosts their chances of avoiding immediate danger, while banishing the Seagulls even further into the wilderness of relegation.

The first ten minutes saw much of the play focused in midfield, as neither team seemed capable of coordinating any significant offensive threat.

The first opportunity came in the eighth minute when a Bray free kick forced a mistake from UCD keeper Billy Brennan, gifting Wanderers a decent – though squandered – half-chance to open the scoring.

As time progressed, the balance of play began to swing in favour of the hosts, who utilised the wings through Peter McMahon and right-back Andy Boyle – the latter displaying encouraging offensive mentality throughout the match. UCD were unable to make their possession count, however, and it seemed clear that set pieces posed the main threat of a goal for both sides.

However, the best chance of the match fell to Student Graham Rusk in the dying moments of the half. When Brian Kane in the Bray goal was unable to deal with yet another hazardous long distance shot, tenuously parrying it away, the ball fell into a cluster of Wanderers defenders, with the lone blue jersey of Rusk miraculously capturing the ball. At point blank range with an empty net, the UCD attacker looked certain to put his side in front but for a perfectly timed lunge from a Bray defender blocking his goal-bound effort.

The second half began with a flourish of optimism and exuberance from both sides, as the fears of dropping vital points were succeeded by a desire to earn victory. The visitors began the brighter side, but it wasn’t long until their efforts were sincerely thwarted by UCD striker Ciaran Kilduff,

who found the back of the net five minutes into the half to put his team in front. After a barrage of shots from the Students were deflected by the Bray defenders and keeper alike, the ball fell to Kilduff at the edge of the six-yard box and, showing a terrific combination of compossure and opportunism, he slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

For the visitors, the sudden realisation of a fourth straight defeat and another week at the foot of the table was evident, as Bray enacted a new sense of urgency to their play. They bombarded the UCD defence with a wave of crosses and long-range shots that met with strong defence and clever counter-attacking from the Students. Indeed, Bray’s pounding left their defence increasingly vulnerable, paving the way for a breakaway run by College defender Michael Leahy who failed in a one-on-one with keeper Kane.

This was the story of Wanderers’ fruitless attempts at a comeback, as it was the Students who enjoyed the better opportunities in front of goal. A lastditch siege on the UCD goal by the entire Bray unit in the final minutes of the match was unable to produce the coveted goal that could mean so much to the struggling Wicklowmen.

The victory keeps UCD firmly planted mid-table in the Airtricity League, and further cements Bray’s unenviable last-place standing. Now only four points adrift from league leaders St Patrick’s Athletic, College can lay claim to dreams of a potential title-chasing season, and will look to enact that ambition next week when they visit the ever-threatening Shamrock Rovers.

UCD: Billy Brennan; Brian Shortall, Evan McMillan (Michael Leahy 45), Andy Boyle, Ciaran Nangle; Robbie Creevy, Greg Bolger, Peter McMahon; Graham Rusk (Keith Ward 72), Ciaran Kilduff, David McMillan (Chris Mulhall 72)

UCD took the spoils in a close encounter against the struggling Bray Wanderers Photo: Casey Germann

Marian survive colourful scare to beat rivals UCD claimed victory in this year’s Basketball Colours with an effective win over Trinity College, reports Killian Woods UCD Marian took on Trinity College last Friday evening at the Trinity Sports centre in a thrilling encounter which saw UCD originally build up an early lead, only for their rivals to come roaring back late on.

The first quarter of the game saw UCD Marian establish a healthy 16-point lead over their opponents. Both sides exchange points in the first five minutes of the game, however, impressive scores from Matt Kelly and Daniel James’s six-point haul set them apart from their opponents.

Ending the first quarter with 26 points to Trinity’s 10, UCD were very much in con-

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trol of the game and used this comfortable platform to maintain their lead throughout the second quarter. Conor James was one of UCD’s standout performers in this quarter as his 12-point haul in this quarter alone was the difference between the two sides.

With a 15-point lead at half time, Marian looked likely to go on and claim a comfortable victory. However, they could not have expected a resurgent Trinity to peg them back in the third quarter and heavily reduce UCD’s established lead.

By the end of the third quarter Trinity

Trinity College 72 UCD Marian 79 had managed to cut the gap to just three points, with only UCD’s ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over sustaining a narrow lead.

After building momentum towards the end of the third quarter, Trinity looked set to overhaul UCD’s lead entirely. Their efforts were met with stiff opposition as UCD relentlessly continued to counter-

attack, and UCD further extended their lead before the end of the game through Daniel James, Paddy Young and Conor James. Marian saw out the game with a long period of possession to secure them the Colours bragging rights.

Overall it was an impressive performance from UCD Marian. Brothers Conor and Daniel James were standout performers

for their side throughout scoring 25 and 15 points respectively.

UCD Marian: Mike Higgins, Conor James, Daniel James, Paddy Young, Matt Kelly, Donal O’Sullivan, Dave Guilmartin, Cathal O’Brien, Barry O’Connor, John Young, Conor Gordon

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