VOL. XXV, Issue 3, UO

THE UNIVERSITY VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

OBSERVER 31ST OCTOBER 2018

UNIVERSITYOBSERVER.IE

Illustration: Michael Donnelly

UCD branch of Young Fine Gael found to be in breach of society regulations

Dylan O’Neill DEPUTY EDITOR The UCD Young Fine Gael (YFG) society is in breach of society regulations by societies that are branches of political parties are to be run, The University Observer has learned. A source informed The University Observer that the YFG society is an affiliate branch of the Young Fine Gael national party, and by having members pay to become official members of the national party, it is in breach of UCD society regulations which bar individual societies requiring their members to pay and affiliate with external organisations.

Chair of UCD YFG Killian Bourke responded to these claims by admitting that the society is an affiliate branch of Young Fine Gael, but stating, “students who register at recruitment pay €2 similar to all societies, and they are registered as a member of the UCD society. This money is not used to pay Young Fine Gael national headquarters, it is used for society events throughout the year.” Bourke added “members who wish to become a member of YFG as well as the society, pay an additional €2 to join the organisation, giving them rights as a member of the party including for selection conventions, leadership election, attending party events and having votes on party policy.”

However, Article 3 of the UCD YFG society’s constitution states that “each member must be a member of a Branch, his membership of the Organisation [Young Fine Gael] remaining effective only while he is a member of an affiliated Branch.” National Youth Officer for Fine Gael Ciara McMahon confirmed that the UCD Young Fine Gael society is an official affiliate branch of Young Fine Gael. According to McMahon “each member pays an affiliation fee, there is no cost to the branch as a whole.”

This is in direct contrast to how other UCD branches of political parties operate. Ógra Sinn Féin UCD Public Relations Officer Ryan Brogan said that in the case of their society, “we do not pay any fees to the [national] party at any time as this is against university regulations.”

He explained that Ógra Sinn Féin acquired the naming rights of the national party when “the party had to second the name of our Cumann, but that is merely a formality.”

Brogan stated that the society regularly “invites TDs, Senators, MEPs, MPs, MLAs and Councillors in to speak to our members,” but any involvement from members of the UCD society and the national Sinn Féin organisation is completely voluntary.

This was reiterated by the current Cathaoirleach of the Kevin Barry Cumann James Mulholland, who explained that their society also do not pay fees to the Fianna Fáil national party, “as the recognised UCD FF Cumann, our role is to act as a university platform for the party.”

A source also claimed that a meeting took place between Killian Bourke and the Societies Council, which Bourke confirmed. “I requested to meet with the Societies Council to ensure that procedure was being followed correctly in conjunction with the societies policy. I know the societies council take the policy in relation to political parties seriously, and as a new Chairperson of the branch, I wanted to ensure I was not in any way in breach of that policy.” The University Observer reached out the Societies Council for comment, but they refused to answer questions on whether YFG pay for the affiliations to the Young Fine Gael national party, what was discussed at the meeting or what possible sanctions Young Fine Gael might face for

Comment Doctors & Objection Jason Conroy & Sophie Carberry

P7

Closure of Common Room ‘inevitable’ and will not be reversed, says Deeks University’s claim that extra academic space required is contradicted by study showing up to 90 teaching rooms available on some afternoons

Brían Donnelly EDITOR UCD President Andrew Deeks has dismissed the possibility that a proposed boycott of the controversial €14 million University Club will have a material effect on the number of faculty and staff who use it. In an interview with The University Observer, President Deeks stated that he would be “very surprised if, after the Common Room is closed, that all those 500 will actually boycott the University Club.”

Asked whether he would accept an invitation from the Common Room Committee (CRC) to visit the Common Room and address arguments for its continued existence, Deeks stated that while he was “happy to engage with them” in relation to transitional issues such as that of the Common Room’s three employees and transferring membership, this would only happen “once they realise that this is absolutely inevitable and there’s no chance that this decision is going to be reversed.”

University Management and the CRC have locked horns over the forced closure of the 43-year-old staff and faculty Common Room on the First Floor in the Newman Building. The doors to the Common Room, through which many former-Ministers, ex-Taoisigh and notable academic visitors have come, are scheduled to close for good on 21st December 2018. The space the Common Room currently occupies will be refurbished and converted into academic space, which President Deeks and University Management insist is in “great shortage”.

This claim, however, has been challenged by Professor Thomas Unger of the UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics, in a report seen by The University Observer.

The report, carried out in Week 6 of Semester 1 used the University’s URooms Booking System to identify the level of available teaching space at any given time. Prof Unger’s report finds that “there is not a single time slot when there are no spaces available for use”, with up to 87 teaching rooms available at 9am across Belfield campus on Friday and between 9 and 67 rooms available at midday throughout the week. 137 teaching spaces were available at 5pm on a Friday, the most at any one time, while 12.00pm

during the week.

In response to claims by staff and the CRC that refurbishments which widened corridors in the Newman Building had led to a reduction in overall teaching space, President Deeks stated that the intention behind the refurbishments was that it “will make better use of space and make it much more appealing space.”

“This will involve knocking out solid walls and replacing it with glass walls. The objective in terms of the refurbishment of the Newman Building is to upgrade the facilities, and all of the feedback I’ve had in terms of the refurbishment that’s already been done in there has been very positive. So, I’m a little bit surprised to hear that people are concerned that corridors are being widened and space is being lost - as I said, the overall intention is to improve the space both in terms of the quality of that space and the utilisation of that space.”

Addressing the gap between the closure of the Common Room and the opening of the University Club, planned for the end of Semester 2, President Deeks pointed to the 18-month period between the closure of the old Student Bar and the opening of the current Clubhouse Bar at the Student Centre. “The situation is quite different for the Common Room because there are multiple tea rooms within the Newman Building and we will also be providing more”, Deeks said. “There is also the Clubhouse Bar if academic members or members of the Common Room wish to have a drink in these, effectively three months.”

“If they want to have a drink there are facilities on campus for that. It’s a relatively short period of time and, as I said if the students can survive for almost two years without a bar, then I think our academics should be able to survive three months.”

Central to the disagreement is the issue of control, Deeks states, claiming that minutes from Governing Authority meetings show that it was clear “at the time the University Club was presented to the Governing Authority... that the Common Room would close as a result.” The University Club will be managed by a team employed by the University and a Club Manager who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Club. An advisory committee of faculty and staff will have a representative from the CRC and will provide input into the Club’s operations. Deeks, however, admits it has not been “formulated and still under discussion in terms of exactly how that’s to be constructed”.

Although Deeks states that he was surprised by the CRC’s campaign and at the decision of UCD Students’ Union to support the boycott of the University Club, he said that it should not affect their working relationship going forward. “I’m content that we will get over this issue and clearly there is a disagreement that doesn’t have to flow into any other issue. Every issue should be dealt on its merits and the communication I’ve had with the President of the Students’ Union suggests that that will indeed will be the case.”

Science Feelings care about your facts Emmet Feerick P13

Column An ode to Saxy Molly Greenough P14

Law & Politics EU Parliment set to alter Ciaran Crowther P16 31ST OCTOBER 2018

1

NEWS

UK and EU universities attempt to Campus news ensure research and international in brief students remain after Brexit Dylan O’Neill, Brían Donnelly & Gavin Tracey

Co-founder of UCD Spin-in company wins 2018 EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award Dr Elaine Sullivan was awarded the 2018 EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) on Friday 26th October.

The co-founder and CEO of Carrick Therapeutics, Europe’s leading oncology company, said “it was a privilege to take part in the EY Awards programme and the award is a great recognition of the hard work of the whole Carrick team.” Carrick Therapeutics, a spin-off company with headquarters in NovaUCD, received the award for raising $95 million in funding for cancer research and drug development.

Kevin McLoughlin, Partner Lead for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Ireland said, “Elaine Sullivan and her team at Carrick Therapeutics are doing truly life altering work. They have set out to make a real difference to people’s lives and I look forward to seeing what they can achieve. All the finalists, their families and their employees can be proud of their achievement.”

The EY Entrepreneur of The Year programme is a highly prestigious awards given to business entrepreneurs.

The programme operates in 60 countries around the world.

This year’s judges’ included Joe Healy (Enterprise Ireland), Evelyn O’Toole (CLS), Anne Hegarty (CPL Resources) and Edmond Harty (Dairymaster) among others.

Compensation over construction noise reportedly received by on-campus residents Council members raised the seemingly haphazard manner in which compensation has been allocated to residents on campus affected by construction work at the UCDSU Council on 21st October. The UCD Residences Refund Policy, available online, does not stipulate the level of interference necessary before compensation becomes available. It does not mention the construction work currently on-going or provide any indication of how to apply for compensation. Council heard that management at UCD Residences had “drawn a line” beyond which residents would not be entitled to compensation. This has allegedly resulted in students not receiving compensation despite being next door to a student who has received 25% compensation on residence fees.

In her sabbatical report, UCDSU Welfare Officer Melissa Plunkett stated that posters which had been put up on the Eastern side of the building to promote the It Stops Now campaign had permanently marked the exterior.

“That’s what happens when you’re sexually assaulted - it scars you for life.”

Caitriona Nicholls and Niamh Scully were elected Mature Students Coordinator and LGBTQ+ Coordinator respectively. Nicholls, a 2nd year Social Science student cited her experience with the Mature Students Society, where she actively contributed to events and their blog, The Mature Student Voice, and was elected without opposition.

Scully, a Classics student, was also elected unopposed.

Jade Wilson:

Imperial College London, one of the top ten universities in the world, is signing a partnership with the Technical University of Munich to allow academic staff to work in both of the universities post-Brexit. The university also partnered with France’s National Centre for Scientific Research earlier in the year to co-fund a maths laboratory. Alongside avoiding a significant downfall in funding, these partnerships will allow the university to remain up to date with the latest scientific and mathematical advancements across Europe.

Researchers and other academics will have something akin to academic dual citizenship that will allow them to continue to conduct shared research in science subjects, even after the UK has left the European Union. Imperial College London has long been among the top four biggest recipients of EU research funds and the agreement will enable their researchers to remain eligible for EU research projects and funding in the future.

There has been concern that the relationship between UK and Irish universities may be affected by Brexit and will have an impact on thousands of students and academics.

The primary concern is how fees for Irish students in the

UK might change and to what extent. Currently, fees in UK universities for Non-EU students are three times higher than EU and domestic fees. While other EU citizens will have to pay international fees after Britain leaves the European Union, it has been confirmed that Irish students will pay the UK citizen rate and will still be able to access student loans.

Students and academics have expressed concern about the potential rise and have suggested a special agreement in which Irish students will be deemed “home” students so that fees will remain the same.

Speaking at a high-level conference in London in the summer, organised by the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored by the Higher Education Authority and Science Foundation Ireland, British government Minister for Science Sam Gyimah assured Irish students that he is committed to maintaining their current rights. “We are keen to maintain our partnership with Ireland as the UK leaves the EU. Indeed, we want it not just to continue, but to get stronger,” he said. “We welcome Irish students to the UK. And we have no intention to cut or cap international student numbers.”

Of 15,000 Irish students studying abroad, two thirds

Female academics: More widely read, greater educational impact, but underrepresented at highest levels.

Racist and derogatory comments made about Masters student Last week, UCD Masters student, Kathleen Laurence reported on Twitter that she received a verbal abuse in the form of “racist and derogatory” from a group of students in the Newman building, directed at her for being a traveller. Ms. Laurence then confronted the group, took a photo of the person who made the comments initially and threatened to report them to UCD management. The person allegedly replied “report me to who you like” according to Ms. Laurence. Speaking to the University Observer, Ms. Lawrence said “I am just trying to go about my life” and “nobody deserves to be treated the way I was on Monday.”

The University Observer contacted External Communications and Media Relations Manager, Dominic Martella for comment on the incident. Mr. Martella told the paper “the university is committed to promoting and upholding the values of dignity and respect for all and supporting every individual’s right to study and/or work in an environment free of harassment, intimidation or bullying.”

Mr. Martella said the procedure for reporting incidents of harassment, intimidation or bullying “ students should, in the first instance contact a student advisor. The student advisor will guide the student through the formal reporting process and support them with resolving the issue.” He also directed students to the University’s Dignity and Respect policy, which outlines the measures in place to help students and staff report and resolve issues or breaches. UCD are investigating the matter.

2 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

of them are in the UK. The number of Irish students in UK universities is particularly high in disciplines such as nursing, medicine and physiotherapy.

Not only do Irish universities not have the space to increase their yearly intake in these subjects to accommodate those students, but there is also severe lack of student housing in Ireland at the moment, causing students to defer places or drop out.

Additionally, some Irish students prefer the UK system of applying to university over the Irish points system. For some, it makes it easier to get a place on their course. In those ways the UK may seem more appealing or accommodating to prospective students sitting their leaving certificate exams. UK Science Minister Gyimah said “they bring welcome income to UK universities, and to the economies of our towns and cities. In the longer term, they offer something even more valuable: the prospect of ongoing business, political, cultural and research links between our two countries. Long may this continue.”

It is also important that existing research collaboration arrangements remain the same between Irish and UK universities, otherwise Irish academics will have to look elsewhere in Europe to form partnerships in their research.

Currently, the UK is Ireland’s second most frequent research collaborator in Horizon 2020 projects, conducting research on the energy potential of our oceans through the Marinet project, the Joint Programming Initiative for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, and on the EBODAC project (Ebola Vaccine Deployment, Acceptance and Compliance), to name a few. The UK Research Council also frequently funds projects involving researchers in Ireland.

Ireland is ranked first in the world for nanotechnology, and third in the world for the quality of materials science research. Because of its reputation in these sciences, and because of its European location, Brexit could possibly lead to international researchers choosing to settle or study in Ireland instead of Britain. Nine of the world’s Top 10 ICT companies and nine of the world’s Top 10 pharmaceutical companies are already operating in Ireland. As a result of this, high-tech companies may also consider setting up their businesses in Ireland, which will provide jobs for science and technology graduates here.

Since the Brexit vote, applications from Irish students to UK universities has already decreased by 18% as students look elsewhere in Europe to study.

Orla Keaveney:

A recent study by a University of Wolverhampton professor has concluded that research papers authored by female academics are more likely to be read and considered useful by students.

However, it found that this preference was not shared by academics, who tend to read more research papers written by men. The study suggests that this difference is due to the trend where there are more women in teaching-roles within academia, and are therefore more likely to write in a way that is accessible and useful for students.

The study based its findings on data from five countries: the UK, USA, Spain, Turkey and India; and across 100 subject categories. In all regions except India, students from both undergraduate and postgraduate courses read up to 6% more female-authored articles, even when the gender imbalance in the number of articles published was accounted for.

In contrast, such articles were less popular among professors, lecturers and librarians. There is no evidence to suggest that any group consciously chooses what to read based on the researcher’s gender: rather, the study suggests that the topics researched by women are more likely to be

relevant, useful or accessible to students than those written by male counterparts.

The study was published in the Journal of Altmetrics, a newly-launched open-access journal that focuses on the credibility of “altmetrics”. These are new methods of evaluating academic research, such as online engagement or media impact, as an alternative to relying solely on traditional metrics such as citations.

Public engagement with research papers is currently a significant aspect of academia, as the quality of the research is often evaluated based on factors such as peerreviews and citations by others working in same the field.

Peer support can therefore be vital for a researcher when seeking funding for future studies or promotion within their institutions.

Papers that are read and well-received by fellow academics are therefore more beneficial for the author’s career, than those that are widely read and cited by students. Mike Thewall, the data science professor who authored this study, concludes that the contribution of female researchers to undergraduate and post-graduate students may be under-valued within academia due to an over-reliance on the opinions of senior researchers.

Thewall suggests that the benefit a paper has for students should be given greater weight when judging the merit of research, especially as the student population is much larger than the senior academic population. The implication that female researchers’ contributions in this area are under-recognised may point to larger issues within academia.

Gender inequality in third-level institutions has been a widely-recognised issue. According to a 2017 report on UK institutions by the University and College Union, there is a 12% gender pay gap in academia, which is not expected to close for another 40 years at current rates. In Ireland, botanist Dr Micheline Sheehy Skeffington won a 2014 Equality Tribunal case against NUIG which ruled that the university had discriminated against her based on gender. Given this historical record of overlooking female academics, it’s credible that the Journal of Altmetrics study reveals another aspect of the bias against women among academic staff.

However, Thewall’s conclusions suggest that the reason for the discrepancy could be due to how the topics that female researchers cover can differ from their male colleagues.

While he does not offer any evidence for the claim, it is likely that he is basing this conclusion on the fact that women tend to remain in teaching-based roles, such as lecturing and running tutorials, than men. This could mean that their topics of interest maintain greater relevance to students, or that they have developed a writing style that is more accessible to those who are relatively new to a field of study.

The trend of women remaining in primarily teachingbased roles, which are often less prestigious or wellpaid, is in itself an indicator that there is limited upward mobility for female academics. She Figures, a 2015 European Commission report based on 28 EU countries, found that women account for just 20.9% of top-level (“Grade A”) academic positions, despite making up 40.6% of the overall academic population. Women make up 49% of researchers under the age of 35, though this proportion drops in older age brackets. While this bodes well for future generations, the report also notes the gender pay gap appears to increase with age.

The report also found that men have a significantly higher success rate in their funding applications, and that just 8.9% of patent applications were registered to female inventors between 2010 and 2013. These findings could be a consequence of the under-appreciation of women’s research, as the relative lack of peer reviewing and citations could mean that female academics have less evidence of their abilities. In this regard, it could be a step towards improved gender equality in academia to take student engagement with research into account when evaluating the merits of papers, as the Journal of Altmetrics suggests.

However, since this study was the first of its kind, and had relatively limited scope, it may be too soon to begin implementing policy based upon it.

The rise of predatory journals

Rory Clarke:

In recent years a widespread network of so-called “predatory publishers” have been churning out sub-standard, and in many cases, entirely fabricated scientific/academic research to turn a profit.

Five of the largest predatory journals have published 175,000 academic articles between them in recent years.

These journals, including Indian publisher Omics, are willing to publish anything and everything submitted to them, once the required fee is paid. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has since opened investigations against Omics’ American subsidiary. According to the FTC there were “in numerous instances,” evidence that the peerreview practices of Omics “are a sham.”

From a different perspective, the growth of these journals has become a real problem for aspiring authors.

Their rise has led to growing concerns in the academic community, as authors and researchers must, by necessity, adopt a level of paranoia in dealing with any such offers.

They are now having to spend an increasing amount of time searching for the telltale signs of such journals, including hidden (and exorbitant) fees, lack of indexing, and ambiguous publishing processes. This has led to worries

surrounding both the inclusion of sub-standard articles and studies, but also the inclusion of a genuine article in a predatory journal can lead to it being ignored or deemed as “unworthy” of peer review.

Not all articles in these journals are “fake science”, but their association with such a disreputable publication may cast doubt over what could be stellar and worthwhile academic research. This is further cause of anxiety for authors, who fear that their reputations may be tarnished by association with these journals.

Recently, these journals and their lack of editorial rigour have led to embarrassing headlines. In May of this year, an article on canine sexual misconduct was published in Gender, place and culture: a journal of feminist geography, supposedly written by Helen Wilson, who claimed to have a doctorate in feminist studies. This journal is accessible to all UCD students through the library. The article, which made questionable arguments including that public parks were “petri dishes for canine ‘rape culture’” was in fact one of a number of hoax articles written by a trio of professors in the United States to prove “that certain aspects of knowledge production...have been corrupted”.

The group consisting of James Lindsay, a maths doctorate,

Peter Boghossian, an assistant professor of philosophy and Helen Pluckrose, a London-based scholar of English literature and history, had submitted 20 such hoax articles, four of which have been published.

The academic world, defined by collegialism and mutual respect, has been attempting to fix these issues.

The growth in popularity of these predatory journals, led by profit, and as some have claimed, an attempt to undermine academia. While individual researchers strive towards their own goals, guided by their own interests and priorities, the development of a field is based on collaboration and knowledge exchange.

The impact factor of academic journals is a measure of its influence on a field. It is a measure derived by dividing the number of times, on average, the journal’s articles are cited in a particular year by the total number of articles published in the preceding two years. These “predatory journals”, if recognised as such, have low impact factors, while the household names are considered to be highly influential.

Those who are fighting the practices of such journals stress that they do not want to establish an academic homogeneity but are simply seeking a fair and reputable platform on which they may add to their field of research.

Some, notably Professor Milton Wainwright, from the University of Sheffield, have claimed that the peer review system allows close-minded academics to “actively deny” access to their research. He believes that publications external to this system allow the publication of “risky” science, which will be useful in the future. This is not a widely held opinion, however.

Well known journals such as the Harvard Business Review, the Cambridge Law Journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, whose names carry weight in academia, contains research that show peer-reviewed publications are automatically granted respect. Those who do not see this new wave of what some may label “predatory journals”, see them as an opportunity to challenge the status quo, and bring balance to a field that at times can be notoriously rigged against smaller or newer institutions. relevant, useful or accessible to students than those written by male counterparts.

UL to halve the salary of whistleblowers Gavin Tracey: The

salaries of two whistleblowers at the University of Limerick are set to be halved unless a resolution can be found to a dispute with University Management and have called on Minister for Education Joe McHugh to intervene.

A review of some aspects of the University of Limerick’s internal management practices, the Thorn report, noted that the issues should have been dealt with at a much earlier stage. Many have speculated that it was a key factor in the implementation of new legislation which will provide powers to inspectors to investigate cases of malpractice in universities. The Comptroller and Auditor General has drafted a separate report into the findings of an internal audit carried out by UL, which found that it had given false information to a number of government departments.

As well as this, it highlighted the poor manner in which the whistleblowers were treated. Two of the whistleblowers, employees known as person B and person C, have yet to return to their jobs, a year after their suspensions were lifted. UL offered them €60,000 to leave their posts, with an agreement of confidentiality - which they refused.

Following this, UL has said they will cut their pay in half until a solution is reached.

In late 2009, Leona O’Callaghan was hired in the University of Limerick (UL), and put in charge of verifying expense claims for UL’s financial department. She began to notice large discrepancies between how staff members were treated, and she claimed that so called VIP staff were allowed to get away with far more than others. These ranged from some staff being reimbursed for commuting costs to and from their homes to the University, with one staff member claiming for the delivery of a fitted kitchen.

She left her job, and spoke out about the problems, such as massive severance packages, an average of €212,000 per case, some of which were paid to staff who were reemployed to more well paid positions. She, and others in UL, spoke out about these issues, triggering press backlash as well as an independent review of the University and its financial practices.

The treatment of whistleblowers has been covered extensively in the media in the past year, with the publication of the Charleton report detailing how poorly whistleblowers, such as Sgt Maurice McCabe were treated in the Gardai Siochana. Speaking to the Limerick Leader, a source said “for me, I don’t feel there are enough mechanisms to protect whistleblowers, in the format that

is currently there.” They claim that the 2014 legislation to protect whistleblowers has not been properly tested yet.

Niall Collins TD and Willie O’Dea TD have called on the new Minister for Education, Joe McHugh, to intervene, in order to resolve the situation. The new UL President, Dr. Des Fitzgerald, has said that he will respond swiftly to the recommendations made in the report - but the cases of Person B & C still remains. Dr Fitzgerald hired Kieran Mulvey, former Head of the Workplace Relations Committee to take charge of the mediation process, however it has been reported that he has only met with them once, after the publication of the Thorn report last year. Dr Fitzgerald has contacted Person C with the offer of a “redeployment opportunity” for them, but failed to acknowledge or deal with any of their outstanding issues, which they told the press had left a hugely negative impact upon their mental health.

As of printing, no substantial movement has been made on the case of the UL whistleblowers, and it is likely that their pay will be deducted by 50%, as they refuse to return to work until the mediation process has been completed.

NEWS National news in brief Gavin Tracey

Resignation letter of former HEA executive indicates strained working relationship with Department of Education The risk posed to the higher education system by inadequate levels of funding was among one of the concerns raised in the resignation letter of former Chief Executive of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) Dr Graham Love.

Dr Love wrote that his former role had not matched his expectations and that the “actual nature of the job militates against any realistic opportunity to deliver muchneeded strategic development in the sector.” Speaking before the Public Account Committee earlier this month, Dr Love told the members that strategic developments in the sector were difficult to deliver upon. He gave several reasons for this, telling the committee that “a lack of role clarity between the agency and the department” as well as “the difficulties posed by the lack of resolution to the funding crisis.” He spoke also of his disagreements with the Department of Education regarding the remit of the HEA. Tensions between the Department of Education and the HEA have been growing over the past few years; many inside the HEA believe the DoE is micromanaging them.

Paul O’Toole, former Chief Executive of Solas, the state organisation responsible for Further Education and Training in Ireland, has taken over as interim chief executive.

Presidential Elections and Blasphemy Referendum Michael D. Higgins has been re-elected President in the first count, with a landslide 55.8% of the vote. In his acceptance speech, he told the crowd that he would be “a President for all of the people”. The favourite to win from the beginning of the race, none of the other five candidates seemingly posed any threat. Peter Casey followed Higgins with 23%, trailed by Sean Gallagher on 6.4%, Liadh Ní Riada on 6.3%, Joan Freeman on 5.9% and Gavin Duffy placing last, with only 2.2%. Turnout was low, with only 44% of registered voters turning up to vote.

The real surprise was in Peter Casey’s performance.

Initially polling at around 2% in the weeks before the election, Casey jumped to a relatively impressive 23% finish. Casey drew a considerable amount of criticism during the campaign, after making disparaging comments about Travellers and what he labelled an overly politically correct culture.

As expected, the referendum to remove blasphemy from the constitution passed with ease, with 64.85% voting to remove it, and 35.15% voting to retain, as reported by the Irish Times.

Irish Universities Association launch “Save our Spark” campaign for better funding Director General of the Irish Universities Association Jim Miley launched the “Save Out Spark” campaign on 15th October, to raise awareness of the crisis in funding third level education in Ireland. The campaign was launched nationally by the seven constituent universities, Trinity College Dublin, UCD, DCU, UCC, NUI Galway, University of Limerick and NUI Maynooth. The IUA seek to encourage the government to address the underlying gap in the funding allocated to third level institutions following the “inaction” more than two years after the publication of the Cassells Report. The report recommended meaningful and immediate funding reform for higher education.

In a statement released by the IUA, Miley said “If the higher education crisis is not addressed by Government urgently, then we risk a serious drop in quality or a shortfall in places for students in the future. Our universities are where the Irish spark burns brightest and the key to protecting that spark is securing better state funding. The Government simply can’t continue to ignore this crisis.”

31ST OCTOBER 2018

3

NEWS TCD allocated 9 times more EU funding than Maynooth University

Brían Donnelly: Trinity

College Dublin (TCD) has been allocated an estimated total of €130 million in funding by the European Commission between 2007 and 2017, data from the European Commission’s Financial Transparency System (FTS) shows. This is more than any other Irish university, roughly €11 million more than University College Cork (UCC), which was allocated the second-most in EU funding over the same period.

TCD has benefitted from European Commission funding towards research on graphene-based disruptive technologies, advanced radio astronomy, and an environmental history of north atlantic fisheries. TCD’s Systemic Action for Gender Equality project, which seeks to advance gender equality in seven European universities,

International news in brief Gavin Tracey

was also funded by the Commission.

FTS data indicates that University College Dublin (UCD) has been allocated over one-fifth of all Commission funding to the seven Irish universities, coming in at approximately €113.9 million. UCD has been allocated the third most in Commission funding over the last decade, and almost as much as the combined allocations towards NUI Galway, Dublin City University (DCU) and Maynooth University (MU). Available data shows that over half a billion worth of Commission funding has been allocated to Irish universities.

Although TCD has been allocated almost €17 million more in funding by the Commission than UCD, Ireland’s largest university has been a party to a greater number of funding projects with multiple partners.

MU was allocated the least Commission funding. At €14.2 million, the allocation represents less than 3% of all funding towards Irish universities over 10 years.

Beneficiaries of Commission commitments can be allocated funding as a sole recipient or as one of multiple recipients.

DCU and NUIG were allocated €50 million each over the 10-year period, while UL was allocated €33 million, representing approximately 6.5% of the total funding.

Although TCD is the sole recipient of almost half of its total allocation since 2007, much of the funding towards

university projects is received through joint commitments with other European universities. In 2009, MU received a single allocation of €444 under a multi-recipient project and no allocation whatsoever in 2007.

Last year, MU was not allocated any funding as a sole recipient, in contrast to the more than €4 million of funding allocated solely to TCD projects by the Commission. In 2016, MU was allocated just under €30,000 towards Jean Monnet modules and a summer school on ‘EU External Relations in Times of Crisis’. They also received €265,000 towards training early stage researchers in the field of structural biology.

Most Commission funding to Irish universities is allocated under the Horizon 2020 programme, the EU’s 7-year €80 billion research and innovation programme which aims to “complete and develop the European Research Area”. For example, in 2017 alone, over €116 million was allocated to public and private research and innovation in Ireland. A great deal of funding is also allocated under the Erasmus+ programme, the EU’s student exchange programme which was established in 1987. In a statement released last week, the European Commission indicated that Erasmus+ funding is to increase by 10% to €3 billion in 2019. Irish education, sport and youth groups were allocated more than €11 million in 2017 under the

US university paid $215 Asian students sue Harvard million in sex abuse lawsuit over alleged discriminatory practices The University of Southern California paid a total of $215 million in settlement fees to hundreds of women who reported that they were sexually abused by a former gynecologist that worked in the University’s student health centre, claiming “that school officials did not address their complaints,” as reported in the New York Times.

Dr George Tyndall was accused of sexual misconduct by nearly 500 women women who came forward and told the University that he had molested them as patients.

One of the plaintiffs said that when she first reported the incident to University authorities in the health centre, they told her that they would “look into it,” but according to the woman, there was no follow-up to her complaint.

As part of the University’s settlement, the women who were under Dr Tyndall’s care while he was working at the University, were eligible for $2,500 payments, with additional $20,000 made eligible to women who suffered worse abuse and offered additional information. Finally the court ruled that women “who are willing to be screened by a psychologist could receive a maximum of $250,000.”

The trial between Harvard University and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) has begun in Massachusetts over Harvard’s allegedly discriminatory admissions process against Asian-Americans. The lawsuit was filed in 2014, after SSFA claimed that Harvard had in effect used a quota to cap the number of Asian American students, who outperformed white students in almost every metric. They argue that Harvard engages in “racial balancing”, in order to maintain a particular quota of races and ethnicities on campus. Harvard denies this, saying that they never use an applicant’s race against them.

The case is gaining national attention in the US, as a win from SFFA could spell the end of “affirmative action” programmes throughout the whole country. Affirmative action was introduced in the United States in the 1960s, and sought to redress historical problems of discrimination against African American and other groups. Affirmative action has been the cause of many court cases. However, if this case is appealed to the US Supreme Court, which many legal experts believe it will, it could spell the end for affirmative action programmes on a federal level, resulting in serious repercussions for universities and companies alike.

European Union’s Erasmus+ programme.

UCD has benefitted from allocations towards researching sustainable technological solutions for agriculture, the use of ‘Big Data’ to combat childhood obesity and a Jean Monnet Chair of European Integration and Employment Relations. In 2016, the university was allocated almost €800,000 towards leading a training network which focuses on technology-enabled mental health services for young people (TEAM). TEAM is led by UCD’s Dr David Coyle, a researcher in human computer interaction at the School of Computer Science.

Funding from the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) is often high-profile and has received a great deal of media attention in the past.

In December 2017, researchers at NUI Galway received €6 million in funding for their ‘Starstem’ project, focusing on the cutting-edge of imaging for stem cell therapy.

In mid-October of this year, the EIB announced €100 million investment for four capital developments in TCD, including new student accommodation at Trinity Hall, an expansion of the School of Law and a refurbishment of the Arts Block. The EIB provided UCD with €90 million for the construction of the Sutherland School of Law and for on campus accommodation.

Calls for Australian universities to be fined for failing to protect free speech The Australian think tank “The Centre for Independent Studies”, a libertarian organisation, is calling on the Australian government to fine universities who fail to protect freedom of speech on campuses. This comes as the debate surrounding freedom of speech on campus has grown more fervent in recent years, with the Australian government becoming increasingly concerned about campus politics in lieu of recent controversies. Practices such as “no-platforming” have led to many conservatives to claim that college campuses are becoming spaces that are increasingly hostile to conservative and right-wing thought.

Jeremy Sammut, a senior research fellow at the Centre of Independent Studies, said of the issue that “freedom of speech is under threat” and “young students are like snowflakes and if they encounter different opinions it will do them harm and be offensive.” The think tank has proposed that to counteract this, the government should begin to implement fines. Sammut has said that universities should be a place that should foster debate, with speakers from all ideological backgrounds being allowed to speak “If they can’t do that, they should be fined.”

Same Place: Stunning New Face Everleigh is an award-winning club, bar & venue.

With 3 distinctive & luxuriously appointed spaces with 3 bars, open 7 days a week and available for Group Bookings & Events.

Wednesday Special Start your night in Captain America’s – Grafton Street and enjoy complimentary entry into Everleigh before 12 Midnight.

Collect your wristband from your server.

Mon – Wed: Selected Drinks from €3.50 Mon – Fri: BOGOF on all Main Menu Items T&C’s Apply Valid Student I.D. required

Get In touch: E: hello@everleigh.ie T: 0879769619 A: 33 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2

4 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

COMMENT Healthy UCD is a trick of smoke and sugars With UCD claiming to lead the way in having a healthy campus with bans on soda and tobacco, Nathan Young examines whether the motives are as clean as UCD’s image In 2014, the first step of UCD’s smoke free campus was rolled out, with the banning of the sale of cigarettes on campus. Since 2015, the University has been announcing further steps in this policy, with maps showing which areas are smoke free. In reality only the first of these rules is known by the majority of smokers, which is the prohibition of smoking within 10 meters of the entrance of a building.

Even with this rule being well known, it is often flouted.

One of the most popular buildings to smoke within 10 meters of is the Newman building, which has had a ban independant of the smoke free policy, on smoking near the entrance since 2008. With no knowledge of the rules, and

much less enforcement of them, the Smoke-free Campus Working Group seem to be talking to no-one when they claim to be on stage three of their plan.

Another campus wide health policy was introduced last year with the ban on the sale of ‘sugar sweetened beverages’, this time without the support of the Students’ Union. Initiated by Hospitality Services Manager Odhran Lawlor and the Healthy UCD Working Group, the ban applied to drinks with added sugar, leaving fruit juices and drinks with sugar alternatives available. It began with a “seven week trial”, after which the University declared the initiative a success and decided that the ban was going to

remain. There are two categories of success here, first that sugar free drinks sales increased, and second that there was no complaint about the lack of sugary drinks. The fact that alternatives to unavailable sugary drinks were chosen is a given, but the claim that there was no complaint is untrue. Posts on social media by Union shop employees show that there was plenty of complaints, it’s just not from the people that UCD asked.

Another point which makes the sugar ban something of a farce is the nature of the drinks still available. The sugar in fruit juices and water flavoured with fruit juice, is similar to the sugar content of many traditional sodas, and

has a similar effect on the body. Changing from one source of sugar to another because one is deemed an “added” but the other “natural” does scant for one’s health.

There is an incredibly healthy option for thirsty students, which is water. Currently there are 13 drinking water fountains in UCD excluding those in the gym. Many faculty buildings don’t have a single drinking fountain, leaving many people having to buy their water from a catering service. Ignoring the environmental impact of vast numbers of disposable bottles, the price difference between water and one any of the less healthy alternatives is negligible, with some drinks costing less than the bottled water. The health-conscious have already been choosing the healthy option, but if the aim is to guide the decisions of the rest of the student body to health, it’s beyond misguided to price drinks this way.

Implied above is a clear solution to the supposed problem of people drinking unhealthy drinks. Install more drinking water fountains. The health of those who are thirsty and in a rush would be protected from the scourge of sugary drinks, and those who want their energy drinks and juices wouldn’t be prevented from getting their hit, not to mention the waste of plastic would reduce dramatically.

From a health perspective there’s no down side to this as a policy. The only arguments against this policy are monetary, a common theme in University Management’s decisions despite claims of wellbeing being the concern in question.

The two reasons for not installing fountains would be the expense of the instillation and the potential loss for the hospitality services. Incidentally, these are the arguments against microwaves in faculty buildings. However, microwaves would violate the rights of contractors such as the arts cafe to be the sole providers of hot food in certain buildings. No such clause exists around drinking water fountains, which essentially amount to potable tap water.

As for the cost of installation, the budget for building new buildings and renovating old buildings is clearly high enough to provide for the construction of drinking water fountains.

Another issue to consider is that the drinks banned are the same as are taxed under new legislation. The conclusion that money is the major concern in this decision, rather than student health, is neither reasonable nor inconsistent with UCD’s decisions on funding for the mental health services, the closing of the staff common room, and so many other areas.

The question, then, is how this ties in with the failed smoke-free campus, or other similar health initiatives in universities across the country. Banning unhealthy activities or substances, while failing to aid in the alternatives, is a poor way of helping students improve their health, especially when many students involved are perfectly aware that their health is put at risk by sugar and tobacco, they simply choose their vices because it gives them some pleasure. Claims that we are a “smoke-free” and “sugar-free” campus are fantastical claims, however, can be found in literature and prospectuses aimed at potential students and investors. Fantastical in both senses, as they are both appealing and positive, the image of a healthy and clean environment, but fantastical mistruths that accurately describe our campus.

The DUP are putting the Brexit cart before the horse With Brexit negotiations continuing to dominate headlines, Heather Reynolds examines how The Northern Border question will impact communities on both sides of the border.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), by virtue of a mistimed snap election, now holds more power than it ever has before, on an international level. Due to its role propping up the current Conservative Party government in the UK, which can be rescinded at any time, their views and demands cannot go unheard without the risk of further destabilising the Tory control of Westminster. Due to this change in the DUP’s priorities, many issues regarding the governing of Northern Ireland have gone ignored, most notably the fact that home rule in Stormont has not yet been resumed since its dissolution in January 2017. Aside from this, their elevated power in Westminster has also blocked

“Arlene Foster was 28 years old when the Omagh bombing occurred, she is not young enough to have forgotten the pain and violence the border once caused” English intervention in issues of equality in the North, in regards to both reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, neither of which line up with standards and practices in the rest of the UK as it stands.

However, one area of great importance to the North of Ireland that the DUP has not ignored is the case of Brexit, and more specifically the case of the border. The case of the border in the event of a ‘No deal’ Brexit is only in the early days of planning in Westminster. The DUP holds the majority of the cards in this deal. With the underlying threat of governmental collapse if they withdraw support, border issues such as the Tory trade bill which would make the EU proposed ‘Backstop’ deal illegal under UK law, must be given time and credence in international discussion. This particular decision on behalf of the DUP made headlines due to the fact that it is a very recent decision. As recently as early October, all sources claimed that the DUP were vying for a different Brexit and border deal than the Tories, with The Guardian, among other papers, publishing articles on how the DUP were threatening to withdraw their support

over the differences.

Due to this, one half of the Stormont assembly has a say in Brexit. One half has a say in international relations, in how the North is portrayed in the Brexit talks, and what is decided about the North in the House of Commons, due to the fact that Stormont is not currently assembled. As the DUP now hold a position of influence in Westminster, they seem to have lost all interest in reinstating home rule in the North. Elected officials, voted in by the people of Northern Ireland, now have no say in governing the North, on top of the fact that the DUP, who were unable to secure a majority in 2017, now represent the entirety of the North in Brexit talks. This is particularly egregious due to the DUP’s pro-Brexit stance, as 56% of the voters in the North voted against Brexit, and recent polls show that, should a second referendum take place, this figure would rise to 69%.

This decrease in support for Brexit is mainly due to fears of the troubles returning if the border were to return, an aspect of Brexit which the DUP now supports. While those in border towns fear for the reignition of sectarian violence and terrorist organisations on both sides resurfacing, close to four out of five leave voters in Northern Ireland prioritise Brexit over the peace process. Arlene Foster, the leader of the DUP, recently said that Brexit must be prioritised over the Good Friday Agreement. This statement may be understandable if incidents such as Bloody Sunday and the Omagh Bombing were outside of living memory, but they are not. 1998 was not that long ago, as any parent of any UCD student will tell you. Arlene Foster was 28 years old when the Omagh bombing occurred, she is not young enough to have forgotten the pain and violence the border once caused, and the fact that she prioritises leaving the EU, an action that her electorate voted against, over preventing that violence from reoccurring, speaks volumes about how she and her party view the lives of the people she has sworn to represent.

With a ‘No deal’ Brexit looking more and more likely as the March 29th deadline looms ever closer, the state of the border is of massive concern to both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Aside from potential tariffs on goods and services, it will massively impact the day to day life of those who live in border towns, whose local supermarket may now be across a checkpoint, or who may need to bring their passport to visit their nan on a Sunday afternoon.

This rising uncertainty will not end with the close of Brexit talks, as currently, there is no official border plan in place,

“With a ‘No deal’ Brexit looking more and more likely as the March 29th deadline looms ever closer, the state of the border is of massive concern to both Northern Ireland and the Republic” and logistics aside, we simply do not know how the border going back up will affect sectarian tension in either the short or long term.

§Many view a ‘No deal’ Brexit as the starting point from which the process for a united Ireland could be formed, but others, perhaps more logically, simply worry about the continued upholding of the Good Friday Agreement, and the prolonged success of the peace process. The DUP do not seem to share these fears, they do not acknowledge these worries, and for this reason their impact on Brexit negotiations will most likely not benefit Northern Ireland in the slightest. Given their actions in recent years regarding proper reproductive healthcare and the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the North, they have repeatedly demonstrated that they will put the wellbeing of those they represent after their own agenda, and their agenda right now is supporting the Conservative Party in securing Brexit. Not a good Brexit deal, or even a deal, but simply ensuring that Brexit goes ahead. All else is simply background noise to be shouted down on the Parliament floor.

31ST OCTOBER 2018

5

COMMENT We consume news in the same way we consume social media

With so much of what’s happening not getting attention from western media, Eva O’Hara wonders whether Social Media is to blame It would be easy to analyse and discuss this year, both now and in the future, with the kind of end-of-days rhetoric we’re used to seeing in some of our favourite corners of the internet. Rhetoric about how we’re spiralling head first into climate catastrophe, about how Donald Trump and his presidency is the beginning of the end of Western leadership and values, about how Brexit and the alt-right are going to return us to the racism and misogyny of the past. We’re used to seeing stories like these, whether it be on the news, online, in the papers, or simply on our favourite Instagram pages.

There should be no doubt at all that we live in the era of the ‘Global Village’. This phrase was originally coined

by Canadian educator, scholar, and philosopher Marshall McLuhan. The ‘Global Village’ is the concept that the world should be viewed as a single community, in which far reaching distance and isolation have been dramatically reduced by the modern wonders of television, telephone, and crucially the internet. The ‘Global Village’ is a place of cross-community dialogue, a place for people’s plights to be heard, a place of sympathy and togetherness. In 1970, an article in the Saturday Review commented that “there are no boundaries to this global village. All problems will become so intimate as to be one’s own.” This prediction on what the future held reigned true, especially considering our current circumstances. Our world has shrunk thanks to the internet and our modern means of receiving the news.

However, it can also be argued that this idea of the allencompassing and empowering ‘Global village’ has made us desensitised. The constant 24-hour news cycle largely consists of the same Western stories about what Donald Trump tweeted 5 minutes ago and in what way Brexit will destroy our futures. The immediacy of violent and horrific news stories has also lost its impact in some way, with Psychology Today warning that it’s this nonchalance towards acts of terrorism that’s causing more harm than good.

The Vietnam War may have been deemed the first living-room war in terms of television coverage, but we live in an era now where you don’t just see a war on television.

You can google it, see live coverage of it and fully immerse yourself in the inconceivable, whether you chose to or not.

What still needs explaining, then, is why people lose interest in stories. More specifically, we should explain why we care more about stories from Europe and North America, a developed bloc of countries, than stories from places such as Yemen, Myanmar, and Syria. As we are part of the global village, we are still impacted, and have an impact on, the plight of all our fellow inhabitants.

The explanation is simple, but a bitter pill to swallow here in Ireland, or any developed country. People in rich, developed nations care about problems they can identify

with. The inhabitants of developed nations find it hard to keep focused on something as distant as millions of Rohingya people fleeing Myanmar due to horrific acts of violence and religious persecution. They struggle to imagine a famine, like the one in Yemen, that is due to be reach its worst point in 100 years. There will be some coverage in traditional news outlets and broadsheets such as the BBC and the Guardian, but usually events in places like South Sudan, Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of Congo will never gain such traction with the general public here in Ireland.

So the explanation lies in how we get our news, and most of the time, it’s from social media. Consider the following: The first thing that we do in the morning is to look at our phones, with research conducted by Business Insider finding that 90% of 18-29 year olds sleep with their phone in or right next to their beds. Social media is generally the first point of call as you scan through the notifications you have collected in the past 8 hours.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media sites for idle browsing. There’s a post of your mate out last night.

Scroll again and you’ll see your favourite meme pages and celebrities. Post upon post of celebrity falsehood. But you won’t see the breaking news about the ongoing crisis in Syria. Real life hardship doesn’t fit into the perfect and blemish free images of Instagram.

Other forms of social media fare better, despite the ongoing accusations of platforms such as Twitter and Facebook facilitating hate speech and ‘fake news’. These platforms often seem to perform better in highlighting major world events or catastrophes through ‘newsfeeds’ and ‘moments’. However, upon serious analysis, you really start to see where these news stories stem from and the source is in fact ourselves.

You ‘follow’, ‘friend’, and ‘like’ pages and posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. This action in direct correlation to your personal likes and dislikes, telling an algorithm exactly what to show you. If you follow someone from Love Island, you’ll be suffocated with sponsored posts, but you probably won’t see any BBC news if you don’t follow them.

A study by Oxford University found that 84% of our news is obtained from online, corresponding to the fact that we tailor our own media intake and what we see on the apps we spend time on. We can’t blame the mass media for ignoring interest when we simply never had the interest to begin with.

It’s a desensitized world we live in, and only the lucky ones spurn the numbness. The ‘Global Village’ makes the world a little smaller, but that doesn’t matter when we only care about what we deem important here in our corner of the community.

What are my options, doc?

With advancements in personalised medicine being made, specific to a patient’s genetic code, Dylan O’Neill asks whether a patient can really give informed consent on treatment options.

Imagine you go to your local GP with a stomach ache.

Upon initial assessment, they decide to order some tests to further determine the nature of what’s wrong with you.

After a slew of tests and x-rays, your GP sits you down and explains that the pain is caused by an “abnormal growth” in the lining of your stomach and that it could possibly be a malignant tumor. They then proceed to calmly explain your options as how best to go forward with your treatment, offering their professional opinion of what options are more favourable. With this devastating news, you are expected to make the final decision based on the advice from your doctor; but without the knowledge and experience of years of medical training, how can you really make an informed decision on treatment?

All medical professionals are legally obligated to inform the patient of their treatment options and risks of said treatments, before any medical procedure can be carried out. This is to ensure that the patient has as much autonomy as possible in the decisions concerning their health. However, informed consent is not simply repeating a medical procedure verbatim from a textbook. Not only is a patient at a disadvantage from a lack of understanding of the terminology used to explain the mechanisms of disease, but medical professionals also face the struggle of effectively communicating the severity of the disease as communication skills are not taught in the same way as classroom learning. Herein lies the major problem in making decisions surrounding informed consent.

The Medical Council released a booklet Good Medical Practice In Seeking Informed Consent To Treatment in 2008, which outlines the five crucial elements in consent.

Through the elements of: Disclosure; Comprehension; Voluntariness; Competence and Agreement, these five points are to ensure that the patient has the best possible understanding before deciding to go forward with their treatment. Particular emphasis is placed on “Comprehension” which states that “where possible, time should be given to reflect on the information and questions must be answered.” In some rare cases, time is not always affordable to patients, and with current strains placed on the HSE, it is not outside the realm of possibility that patients can make decisions without fully weighing their options.

However, there have been attempts to better facilitate healthcare to those in risk groups, for example the elderly.

When it comes to the competence of the patient, care assistants are on hand to bridge the gap between clinical diagnosis and care for the individual. Focusing on the care

6 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

side of treatment allows the care professional to better

“This development into medicine promises to usher in huge advancements in healthcare, providing a better understanding of rare genetic diseases, hereditary diseases and how heterogeneity affects the phenotype of the disease.” communicate to the patient what the treatment would mean in terms of what is directly on their mind i.e. the pain that may come from a specific treatment.

In 2014, the Telegraph reported that “43 percent of adults fail to fully understand information that contains text, such as signs in hospital, leaflets and health guides, whilst one in three adults struggle with doses.” In the wake of this report, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) advised that the NHS in Britain introduce clearer signs and publish comprehensive leaflets on top of requesting that GPs “double check that their patients are fully aware of their condition, prognosis and treatment before they leave the surgery.” This point was emphasised by the Chair of the RCGP, Maureen Baker, “too often, our healthcare environments fail to recognise the needs of people with different levels of understanding about their health, meaning that patients are failing to receive the right care at the right time.”

Four years later, and personalised medicine is being introduced from the work carried out by Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) identification. This development into medicine promises to usher in huge advancements in

healthcare, providing a better understanding of rare genetic diseases, hereditary diseases and how heterogeneity affects the phenotype of the disease. Doctors will be able to tailor the required drug dosage to the individual to manage the symptoms of their illness.

On the other hand, this advancement will proceed to widen the information gap between clinician and patient, thereby alienating further the patient from their treatment.

To solve this, there are two possible approaches: educating people of the intricacies of genetics and how that plays into disease and health, or providing links between the doctor and the patient in form of nurses, and other healthcare professionals who are versed in the terms necessary to understand the situation and can relay the information back to the patient. Investments need to be made, not only in research, but in the workforce that allows to bring the findings to fruition. The point of research is to

be of a practical benefit for the people who need it: the patients. Adult learning is another factor to consider, as Malcolm Knowles’ studies have shown that children retain knowledge in a different way to adults.

“Without the knowledge and experience of years of medical training, how can you really make an informed decision on treatment?”

COMMENT Head-to-Head

Should doctors be able to object to providing abortions?

Illustration: Michael Donnelly

YES

NO

Jason Conroy

Sophie Carberry

If a person comes to an Irish doctor pregnant, distressed, and looking for an abortion, no doctor will ever say, “you’re on your own”. A doctor’s job doesn’t consist of just dispensing certain desired functions. A doctor is one human being caring for another, using the skills and expertise that they’ve spent their life acquiring for this very purpose. If a doctor truly believes that they have two patients to treat rather than one, the woman and the infant in the womb, then they’ll give the same top-class professional care to both patients, not abandon them both.

Doctors become personally invested in their patients - they’re on the patient’s side, fighting for them to get their health, their full life, back. In such a relationship, it’s always personal. There are few nobler and more privileged vocations.

The example of New Zealand, shows in practice that conscientious objection never means pregnant patients are on their own. There, doctors are not required to provide treatment which they think will be harmful, and all doctors still support and care for their pregnant patients for the duration of the pregnancy, conscientious objection or no. No one’s health or life is put at risk. Medical professionals may opt-in to the performance and facilitation of abortions. Doctors who wish to treat their patient in the womb as well as the pregnant patient remain outside the country’s abortion regime, and they aren’t obliged to refer for abortions either. This is the freedom of conscience that we need in Ireland.

The right to conscientious objection isn’t just a rhetorical point, used by religious bigots to justify discrimination, it’s the foundation of our pluralistic, liberal society. For most of history, people have reacted to differences of belief with violence and coercion, accounting for most of the wars not only in Ireland, but in the whole world. In recent times, however, we’ve found a way of living in peace with those we fundamentally disagree with. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

In the words of UCD’s founder John Henry Newman: “In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself but which holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love well and avoid evil, the voice of conscience, when necessary, speaks to his heart: do this, shun that … Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man.”

Conscience is a person’s sense of right and wrong, and everyone has one. To force someone to perform an act that they sincerely believe to be wrong and harmful is an immense violation of their dignity and humanity. To be protected from this form of tyranny is a right that everyone has. Doctors cannot be obliged to facilitate an act which they believe harms their patient and takes the life of a child.

Let’s have a society that allows everyone to serve, regardless of our different beliefs and worldviews. Let’s not push world-class healthcare professionals out of Irish healthcare, their patients are the ones who will lose out.

Abortion being regarded as a moral, rather than medical, issue has facilitated a debate that will ultimately do more harm than good. The notion that conscientious objection is a physician’s ‘right’ is to the detriment of the patient to whom they have a duty of care. While there is something to be said about individual moral standing on a personal basis, a medical environment should not accommodate for each and every one of these beliefs as it would entrench upon the operations of the health service by putting patients in a vulnerable and undignified position. The laws surrounding conscientious objection in countries where it is an option are often unclear, unenforced, and result in a great deal of unnecessary harm.

The choice to enter into this profession is one that must inhabit the medical ethical principle of ‘do no harm.’ To disregard the very foundations of medical practice in favour of a subjective belief endangers patients, restricting their access to safe abortion services.

When a patient presents to a GP’s office looking to procure abortion services for a myriad of reasons, it is expected that they will be treated as any other patient, with dignity and effective care. For a practitioner to deny them this on personal moral grounds is directly in conflict with their duty of care. This also makes the process longer and arduous. Conscientious objection will endanger the health of any patient seeking the service on the grounds of a pre-existing condition, as these cases are time sensitive. Additionally, even if the damage is not physically visible, it is also psychologically detrimental, undermining the patient’s autonomy and dignity. The World Health Organisation condemns the practice of conscientious objection as being a “barrier to safe abortion” in all circumstances.

Returning to the argument that the medical professional may conscientiously object to providing abortion services on the grounds of morality – why should it be the case that this field allows for this kind of exemption? Additionally, how can we be sure that, given the choice to conscientiously object, there would be absolute accordance with the law?

In countries where doctors may choose not to perform abortion services, such as Italy, there is a startling amount of abuse of this power due to ambiguous and unenforced laws. That is to say, doctors not referring patients for abortion services elsewhere, and instead using their position to coerce patients into progressing with a pregnancy. This is due, in part, to the non-verifiable nature of conscientiousness, and the staggering numbers of refusals that make it difficult to control.

Why, then, should we assume Ireland would be any different?

Many of the commonly cited reasons for conscientious objection fall outside of the presumed religious beliefs. Of course, there are doctors who do not morally agree with the practice. However, research suggests that ostracism from peers and general stigma around the topic is something that motivates much conscientious objection in the field. How, in these circumstances, can we argue in favour of it? Prioritising one’s pride and reputation over the wellbeing and needs of the patient is in direct conflict with the ethics of the profession, wilfully allowing harm to be done. As long as it is supported, the stigma remains tenacious.

To allow practitioners to practice medicine on the grounds of their own personal beliefs would be doing more harm than good. It imposes further restriction to abortion services, and the process becomes more difficult than is necessary for the patient. The potential physical and psychological consequences of delaying or obstructing care undermines the profession as a whole.

REBUTTAL

REBUTTAL

The fundamental issue with these arguments is that they are subject to the personal beliefs of the doctor, whilst disregarding the consequences for the pregnant person entirely. The argument that there are two patients presenting to a doctor hinges on a subjective belief that has no standing in the medical field, particularly when there is a real and imminent threat to the life of the pregnant person.

Someone who is devoted to the Islamic faith may not believe in the practice of selling alcohol, and should therefore avoid working in a bar. These situations are incomparable with regards the seriousness of the nature of the matter, but the principle remains. In a country where abortion is a procedure that pregnant people are entitled to, they are being denied care that could ultimately save their life as a result of the personal convictions of the doctor being employed in a professional capacity.

The argument about the practice of conscientious objection in New Zealand is far from compelling. What exactly is to be derived from the fact that a doctor will deny a patient care while also refusing to refer? It is the job of the doctor to provide care regardless of the decision of the patient. It is also bold to argue that ‘no one’s health […] is put at risk.’

There is no evidence to suggest that on a case by case basis. To completely deny referral for treatment is to undermine the autonomy and dignity of the patient, as well as being a violation of informed consent. It perpetuates an ongoing hurt by putting patients in a position whereby they feel their judgement is being disregarded in lieu of a subjective belief that is being projected onto them.

The argument pertaining to the UN should be read in accordance with the OHCHR Information Series on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, wherein it affirms that a state where the practise of conscientious objection is permitted should immediately be proceeded by referral. Although this is not quite the case in New Zealand, the doctor is obliged to explain to the patient that they cannot provide this care but that the patient has a right to seek another doctor.

Tolerance and acceptance of disagreement is absolutely conducive to a harmonious society, but when it begins to influence medical practice in a way that has been proven to do more harm than good, it should be re-examined. It is not sufficient to simply agree to disagree in a situation where someone is presenting to a medical professional in seek of the care to which they are entitled.

It’s ironic that the “Do No Harm” principle would be cited as a reason to deny conscientious objection when this very principle is precisely the reason why medical professionals object to participating in abortions. The argument made against conscientious objection succeeds only by ignoring the reality that there are two patients involved, the mother and her child, when in fact this is the heart of the issue. This is not “personal moral grounds”, this is a real ethical issue, a matter life and death.

Doctors object to abortion because it violates the principle of “Do No Harm.” A poll by GPBuddy.ie shows roughly 70% of Irish GPs will not provide abortion pills. The sentiments of most GPs were voiced by Dr Brendan Crowley last week when he said “I became a doctor to save lives, not to take them.”

There is an important distinction to be made between medical treatments for a woman which indirectly endanger the life of her child, and procedures whose sole purpose is to directly end the life of the child in the womb. The former has been accepted medical practice in Ireland for several years. The latter is abortion.

When a pregnant woman is given necessary medical treatment which indirectly endangers her child, the goal of the treatment is to help the woman, not to harm the child. There is no ethical problem with this - it’s just a sad and tragic reality that these medical situations happen. In these situations, doctors do their best to save the child as well. This can involve delivering the child prematurely. As medical technology continues to advance, more and more premature babies are living to see their first birthday. In 2014, a baby girl was delivered at just 21 weeks - she is now four years old, alive and kicking.

Even if the child does not survive, doctors still apply palliative care to make the infant’s short life as comfortable and painless as possible, using Calpol and warm towels. The child’s life and humanity are acknowledged and respected. This is not done in abortion.

To oblige doctors to refer women to an abortion provider is to oblige doctors to become party to abortion. If medical treatment is needed for the mother, medical treatment will be given - and if this indirectly endangers the child, doctors will do their best for her too. Conscientiously objecting doctors ask for nothing more than to be allowed to practice medicine, to “Do No Harm,” and to treat both patients, both human beings.

Sophie Carberry

Jason Conroy

31ST OCTOBER 2018

7

FEATURES Recycling facilities in Sutherland mark positive move towards Green flag Shivani Shukla investigates how the trial run with recycling facilities in Sutherland will affect UCD’s chances of winning a green flag in the future.

The decision to install recycling and composting facilities in the Sutherland Law Building in UCD has come to be after a year-long student-led campaign. According to Matthew Mollahan, a stage 3 law student, the campaign started when “a group of law students met at a campus meeting last year and wanted to do something about the recycling facilities in Sutherland. It has been between this group and UCD Estates.” In an age and time when recycling must be a basic facility in every public space, the establishment of such an infrastructure is late to UCD. However, it is here now and the group of law students who worked for it feel it represents the start of a bigger phenomenon.

A survey was sent out to the students in Sutherland last year to gauge interest regarding the matter and it showed substantial support for the installation of facilities.

Edwin Alblas, an international student of law involved in the campaign, told The University Observer that the UCD Estate Services have a proposal form to submit suggestions, “so we submitted a proposal and sent it to the Green Campus Initiative. Some were quite enthusiastic and some people from the Estates [Services] came over and made plans and maps on where we should set the bins.”

Mollahan added, “the Estates [Services] micromanaged everything from there, procurement and other matters.”

The bins were initially set to be installed over the summer months. However, certain dealings with the waste handling company, Greyhound, went awry and led to a setback.

Other barriers recognised by all parties involved in the campaign were financial restraints.

“we need to rethink more than one aspect of our lifestyle when it comes to being environmentfriendly.”

In addition to funding, the leading factor that held back the authorities from spreading recycling bins across campus is risk of contamination. It has been noted from

talks with UCD Estate Services that the degree of proper waste segregation is unreasonably low. Students in campus residences and users of the campus facilities have been found to contaminate available recycling facilities by placing waste types incorrectly in the recycling bin. The Agriculture & Food Science building is struggling with this issue.

The group of law students that brought along the change in Sutherland as well as UCDSU Environmental Officer Katie O’Dea, are keen on starting off information campaigns with instructions on proper disposal of waste.

Social media is the primary platform for such campaigns.

Michael Callaghan, who is also a part of the drive in Sutherland, said, “we are sending out emails to staff and students about what goes in the bin. It might take a couple of weeks for the information to embed and for people to get used to the presence of recycling bins.” Monitoring is set to take place by the waste handling company and further action would be derived from the results. On the SU side, Katie stated, “we have launched the Eco-UCD group on social media platforms and already have a good following on that. The SU did not have anything to do with this particular campaign but now that it is happening, we are supporting it.”

Alblas also said, “when I came to UCD last year and wanted to recycle paper and I realised there was no recycling bin. I was so surprised. It is ridiculous that we don’t already have infrastructure set up for proper waste disposal.” As iterated in a recently held ideas42 conference, a meeting of policy-influencers from across the globe, “successful infrastructure breeds more successful infrastructure.”

The installation of recycling and composting facilities in Sutherland is almost a field experiment and O’Dea states, “it is a precedent for the rest of UCD to follow.” UCD Estate Services are onboard to spread further facilities across campus if this move is successful. Arts College Officer Sophie Gibbons, has expressed interest in having these facilities in the Newman building. The litmus test of success lies not only in the increased use of such facilities but also a reduction in the rate of contamination in the bins, as this costs the institution a substantial amount of money.

The relative ease of use of single-use plastics is the prime reason this unsustainable form of consumption has entrenched itself into everyday life. Even as some of these plastic articles are recyclable, awareness about what can and cannot be recycled is still a grey area. For instance, coffee cups are perceived to be recyclable but in reality, most of these cups have an inner lining of plastic that makes them unsuitable for recycling. Moreover, containing more

than 5% moisture renders such articles unrecyclable. This essentially points to the realisation that we need to rethink

“...Success lies not only in the increased use of such facilities but also a reduction in the rate of contamination in the bins.” more than one aspect of our lifestyle when it comes to being environment-friendly. Although reduction of plastic use is the best strategy, recycling plays an irrefutable role in addressing plastic waste.

UCD as of now is designed in a manner that gives instant gratification to its users through plastic-clad products.

Lack of sufficient water fountains and recycling facilities exposes students to plastic packaging because carrying a reusable water bottle or coffee cup requires what is known as an “effort tax”, which is simply the hassle factor behind such actions. It has been recognised in academia and in live experiments that making a green action easy is the most effective way to get more individuals to engage in it.

This almost sounds like common sense but this aspect of planning often eludes policy-makers. The Estate Services in UCD and the Green Campus Committee are keen to obtain the Green Flag by the end of 2019. The Flag is awarded by An Taisce to third level institutions sufficiently engaged in sustainability drives, and towards this end, the committee accepts proposals and ideas from students.

Ireland is estimated to generate the highest amount of plastic waste per person in Europe, an equivalent of nearly 2,000 water bottles, or 5,550 disposal coffee cups, per person annually. Higher education institutions, like UCD provide mini-environs to effectively implement pro-environmental measures. Even as some of the Union sabbatical officers have brought in environmental clauses to their agenda this year and plastic-free SU shops is one prospective plan, it is the imperative that all students and staff make some effort to make UCD a sustainable institution.

Recycling and correct waste handling is a major component of a circular economy. Individuals and communities need to shake out from the current state of inaction about climate change, which is largely a result of inertia, and become saviours for ourselves, if not the coming generations.

Zero is the only acceptable target The RSA have reported a 15% decline last year in the number of fatal collisions on our roads. With this downward trend continuing, Doireann de Courcy Mac Donnell takes a look at how they plan on keeping this going.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) recently released their new winter advertisements. Focusing on tyre safety, this campaign is in addition to their catalogue of ongoing movements; including the hard-hitting “crashed lives”, anti-speeding and anti-drug driving movements. The RSA is Ireland’s primary road safety organisation and an official statutory body. Its aim is to “reduce the number of deaths and injuries on Irish roads and make them safer for all users”. Even with the significant decline in the number of fatalities on our roads since the establishment of the RSA in 2006, the organisation still sees zero as the only acceptable number.

The RSA have been very active over the past few weeks with campaign after campaign, reminding the Irish republic to take care on our roads. Project Edward and Irish Road Safety Week have taken place since our return to college.

The RSA also supported the National “Slow Down Day” in conjunction with An Garda Síochána.

From the 11th to the 19th of September events took place across Europe, these event included a Victims’ Vigil outside Dáil Eireann which was supported by the Minister for Transport Shane Ross TD and a free bike mechanic and High Vis gear offered to the students of UL, as part of Project Edward. “Zero is more than a number”- their slogan outlines that zero means no wrecked lives left behind, no heart-breaking knocks at the door and no enormous cost to families and society.

Irish Road Safety Week (IRSW) took place from Monday 1st October to the following Sunday. With many events held nationwide, the campaign targeted all road users, from the annual academic lecture hosted in the Royal College of Surgeons to the ‘Beep Beep Day’ which allowed pre-schoolers to become involved in and aware of the importance of road safety. One of the stand-out features of the 2018 IRSW was a seminar given by Dr. Aoife Kervick. The lecture discussed pedestrian safety, a topic very relevant to students. As a policy and research analyst with the Road Safety Authority, one of Dr. Kervick’s main focuses is to analyse data regarding fatalities as a result of road traffic collisions. In 2017, 30 pedestrians lost their lives, almost 20% of all fatalities.

Dr. Kervick’s findings showed that pedestrian deaths occurred most frequently during the darkness of the winter months from October to January. In the majority of these cases the pedestrian in question was not wearing highvisibility clothing at the time of the fatal incident. Although there were more deaths on urban roads, many of the victims in rural locations had consumed alcohol. More shockingly still, it was not uncommon that these victims would be standing or lying in the middle of the road. In her seminar, Dr Kervick outlined “[In] 1990, a total of 150 people were killed while out walking. When you consider that 157 people were killed in total last year it really does highlight the unbelievable levels of carnage we tolerated decades ago.” Although across the country events took place for all ages, there were no events targeting universities. With a population of approximately 37,000 in UCD, many of the campaigns running during IRSW could have reached

8 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

a large audience and provided relevant safety advice, especially for many new drivers.

A spokesperson for the RSA told The University Observer, “We do have 10 National Promotional Road Safety Officers that are based around the country that visit schools, business, colleges and communities to give road safety talks. Colleges usually do this around their own Road safety week… The Road Safety Authority... put(s) a particular emphasis on the age group 17 to 24 year olds, many of whom would be students. From our research and fatality figures we know that they are the highest risk group on our roads.”

Many people will be aware that National Slow Down Day has recently been completed for 2018. Taking place on the 19th of October in over 1,000 high visibility speed enforcement zones, 276 of the 164,032 drivers surveyed were caught speeding. An Garda Síochána conducted this 24 hour national speed enforcement operation, which ran from 7am on Friday 19th to 7am on Saturday 20th. The aim of this initiative was to encourage compliance with speed limits and to deter drivers from seeing these numbers as a target rather than an absolute limit. Excessive speed was found to be a factor in a third of all fatal collisions from the year 2008 - 2012 according to a recent RSA report on road traffic fatalities. On National Slow Down Day, speed in excess of 175 km/h was clocked on the M9 in Kilkenny,

, a road with a speed limit of 120 km/h. In Piltown 155 km/h was recorded in a 100 km/h zone. “When someone decides to speed they put members of their community at risk, including children, older people, cyclists and other motorists. Nobody has the right to do that” Chief Superintendent Finbarr Murphy, Roads Policing Bureau said.

According to the Commuting Survey done by UCD in 2016, 21% of the 27,000 students travelling to UCD every day cycled. Cycling can be a nerve-wrecking business, especially on busy roads with substandard or even no cycle lanes. In 2017, 10% of road fatalities were pedal cyclists.

Many of the roads leading to UCD are not adequate to deal with the number of cyclists (especially at peak morning arrival times) using them in conjunction with motorists.

“The advice we would give [students] would be the same that we would give to all cyclists. It is so important that they make sure they are seen and protect themselves when using the roads, so make sure they have a working white light on the front of their bike and a flashing red on the back,” the RSA responded when asked for advice on how best to navigate these tricky, busy areas. “There really is no excuse for anyone to be out on the road without a high visibility jacket, especially when you can order one free of charge from the RSA website. The other vital item is a helmet. We would advise cyclists to give oncoming

traffic plenty of notice if they have to swerve to avoid an

“we need to rethink more than one aspect of our lifestyle when it comes to being environmentfriendly.” obstruction or damage on the cycle lane. Please use hand signals so that motorists can see what they are planning to do. We would recommend that if the students are finding the roads in bad repair that they report them to their local authority and see if they can repair them so that they are safe to use again.”

2017 saw a decrease of 15% in the number of road fatalities from the previous year. In 2016 186 people died on our roads and in 2017 that number dropped to 157.

This downward trend seems to be continuing as the current number of fatal incidents for this year is 117, down 3 on this time last year. Although since the establishment of the RSA in 2006 there has been a 56% decline in the number of road fatalities, zero is still the only acceptable target.

FEATURES The not-so-suite life of living in Dublin Caoilfhinn Hegarty argues that a supposed “housing budget” fell short on providing homes for families in hotels.

Illustration: Michael Donnelly

The face of homelessness in Ireland has changed. Whereas in the past the factors contributing to homelessness were largely individual or personal issues that varied from case to case, for example addiction or domestic violence, a new epidemic of homelessness has emerged from a more structural cause: the housing shortage. The amount of social housing available has dropped drastically in Ireland since the 1980s, when the Government encouraged county councils to sell off the properties. This privatisation of social housing was not matched with the building of new units, leaving the country with a huge lack of affordable housing. As a result, low income earners are finding it harder and harder to secure accommodation in the private sector, where rental prices are soaring.

Dublin is now second only to Luxembourg in terms of expense. In addition to this, the building of private housing has halved in the last decade, driving up the costs for those looking to buy property. Faced with no affordable options, entire families are being forced into homelessness, with numbers reaching crisis levels. In August 2018 alone, 113 families became newly homeless. A significant number have ended up staying in hotel rooms, sometimes for months on end.

Caroline Fahey, who works with homeless charity St. Vincent De Paul, explains that the situation is less than ideal, especially for families with young children, from

‘very practical things, like not having a kitchen to table to eat around’ to children not being able to learn how to walk ‘because they don’t have the space’. She also emphasises the long term effects this living arrangement will have on children who have to study for exams and do homework in such cramped conditions: ‘If they don’t achieve their full academic potential…It will have an impact on them for the

“The “Raise the Roof” rally held on 3rd October 2018, brought together workers unions, students unions, and political parties to protest against high rent prices in an event that attracted around 10,000 people to the streets of the capital.”

rest of their lives.”

Two events, occurring within a week of each other, highlight how important tackling this crisis has become to the public. The “Raise the Roof” rally held on 3rd October 2018, brought together workers’ unions, students’ unions, and political parties to protest against high rent prices in an event that attracted around 10,000 people to the streets of the capital. Fahey feels that there is a place for these kind of movements, as they help raise crucial awareness and “hopefully spurring people on to think about solutions”. It was hoped that these solutions might present themselves in the second event: The Budget for 2019, which was released shortly after on 10th October.

Like the two budgets before it, it has been dubbed a ‘housing budget’, due to its emphasis on tackling the crisis.

In the Budget, the Government allocated a total sum of €2.3 billion to housing. Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government Eoghan Murphy TD noted in his budgetary speech that the Government has already made strides in eradicating homelessness with the 20,000 new houses built last year, also noting that affordable homes are being constructed at an improved rate. He is confident that “next year will about driving even greater delivery [of houses] now that the machinery is in place and delivering.

This will be possible not only because the money is available but because we have the tools and systems in

place to spend that money and because as a government we continue to prioritise housing”.

According to the Budget “a critical focus of 2019 activity is on prevention and delivery of services for homelessness”, which will include expanding the Family Hubs being used as emergency accommodation. However Focus Ireland says that although the €2.3 billion housing budget allocation is extremely welcome “the reality is, it is not enough”. The group criticises the ‘fire-fighting’ approach to the crisis as opposed to tackling the situation in a practical and meaningful manner, as emphasised by “the fact that the numbers of men, women and children experiencing homelessness has rocketed” in the past months.

CEO of the group, Pat Dennigen, addressed the issue, saying “in our pre-budget submission we called for urgent action in the form of a €400 million investment in social housing in 2019, which would have delivered 2,000 homes. This budget falls significantly short.” He was also “disappointed that [Focus Ireland’s] call for the introduction of a vacant home tax to help bring units back into the active housing supply was not heard... A vacant home tax (which has been brought in in countries such as Canada) would’ve been incentive for landlords to put properties on the market for lower prices.”

The Government’s main housing scheme, Rebuilding Ireland, was launched in 2015 and is comprised of five pillars: addressing homelessness by focusing on taking immediate action to help rough sleepers and those in emergency accommodation such as hotels; accelerating social housing by delivering 50,000 houses under various social housing programmes; building an average of 25,000 homes every year in the period to 2021; improving the functioning of the rental sector; and utilising existing vacant homes.

Fahey still feels that the Government isn’t doing enough, “there’s been a lot of research to be done on what needs to be done, but we don’t see Government changing their direction…Rebuilding Ireland, which is our housing strategy, they’re saying it’s working, but there’s been no decrease in the numbers becoming homeless.” She thinks a total change in policy is needed, not only to assist the lowest income workers, but also a more middle-class group that “may not be able to afford staying in the private sector their whole lives.” Above all, she fears that there will be “a whole generation of people who will not be able to afford social housing” and that this will lead to a knock-on effect down the line of homeless pensioners, a scenario she describes as “distressing.”

The scale of the “Raise the Roof” rally, and the media attention it garnered, is more than indicative that the public at large is as equally determined as Dennigen, Fahey, and the respective groups they represent to hold the Government to account. But it remains in the hands of policymakers to enact real change. Meanwhile, across the country families in hotel rooms are waking up to begin a new day.

UCD’s gender imbalance problem Jade Wilson investigates the problem of low female representation in Head of School roles within UCD. appointments will be female. We’re also encouraging schools to seek a school level of Athena Swan recognition,” he explained. So far, no individual faculties have earned an Athena Swan recognition.

Mr. Tristan Aitken, Director of Human Resources at UCD said that several Heads of School are due to complete their term in the next twelve months and added that “proactive discussions will take place with college principals in relation to the pipeline of potential female faculty that could fill these positions.” Aitken said the

“we have a norm in the university that we should be at a minimum of 40% in respect of gender. We don’t think that 30% is good enough.”

Despite the fact that more women complete undergraduate and postgraduate degrees than men, and 51% of lecturers in higher education are women, the gender imbalance in higher education leadership is particularly prevalent.

According to reports by the Higher Education Authority, women are grossly underrepresented in senior academic positions at third level institutions.

Teaching is a female-dominated profession at primary, secondary and third level, yet men are significantly more likely to advance and be promoted in their teaching careers.

Currently, only 30% of UCD Heads of School are women and only 24% of UCD full professors are women. Not once in UCD’s history has there been a female president of the university.

The issue of gender equality at universities was brought to the fore in recent years after a High Court action by four women lecturers at NUIG alleged gender discrimination when they applied for a promotion. The Equality Tribunal found that Dr Sheehy Skeffington was discriminated against in a round that saw the promotion of sixteen men and only one woman. The court ordered the college to pay Dr Sheehy Skeffington €70,000, to promote her and to review their promotion appointment system.

Professor Colin Scott, who is Vice President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at UCD has said “we have a norm in the University that we should be at a minimum of 40% in respect of gender. We don’t think that 30% is good enough.” The lack of gender diversity and

under-representation of women across several faculties no doubt fails to represent the diverse student body at UCD and further entrenches ideas of gender roles into students’ minds.

However, Professor Scott says that the University has adopted a gender equality action plan in the last year.

“Our gender equality action plan has a very wide range of measures. We received a bronze recognition from the Athena Swan Scheme for that plan,” he said. “We’ve got a good understanding of where our challenges are and we’ve got a credible plan to address them.”

The Athena Swan Charter was launched in 2015 to identify barriers to equality in universities. The aims of the initiative include increasing the proportion of women employed in higher education institutions, improving representation of women on committees, and enhancing the transition from postdoctoral researcher to first academic post. Securing the Athena Swan bronze award entitles UCD to apply for research funding from Science Foundation Ireland, the Irish Research Council and the Health Research Board.

Among the actions UCD plans to undertake to further gender diversity includes encouraging women to take part in a training programme called the Aurora Leadership Development Programme. The programme is aimed at women in academic and professional roles to encourage them to think of themselves as leaders, to develop their potential as leaders and also includes workshops such as

“Identity, Impact and Voice” and “Power and Politics”.

According to Professor Scott, there have been good levels of participation in the programme to date and all current Heads of School have taken part. The programme also runs year-round on campus for pupils to participate

“The programme is aimed at women in academic and professional roles to encourage them to think of themselves as leaders, to develop their potential as leaders and also includes workshops such as “Identity, Impact and Voice” and “Power and Politics.” in, and has been taken by over 600 students so far. “We’ve set a target that by next year, 40% of all new head of school

University has plans to discuss with current Heads of School any barriers they experienced in applying for or obtaining the role and how they can support female faculty to be able to achieve the position in the future. “Targeted discussions will take place with female faculty to identify the barriers they face to obtaining Head of School roles and leadership roles more generally.”

Aitken says that a further 21 participants are expected on the 2018/19 Aurora Leadership Development Programme.

He also acknowledged that female representation is particularly low in STEM disciplines. Currently, there are no female Heads of School in UCD STEM subjects, whereas in subjects such as Social Sciences and Law, almost half of the Heads of School are women.

A UCD Women in STEM group was formed that aims to “recognise the achievements of women in STEM and to empower female scientists to engage equally in all aspects of scientific and academic life.” A new promotion system was introduced to UCD in 2016. “The idea is to accelerate the rate of promotion and we hit our target in the first year of the Cascade model,” Professor Scott said. Under this promotion system, the University moved from 19% to 24% women as full professors in UCD in its first year. The figures for 2017/18 have not yet been released.

The Higher Education Authority is “actively seeking to foster gender equality among staff in Irish higher education” year-round, and a government task force was formed to work on gender equality in third level institutions. The task force has recently completed a report on their findings, sponsored by the Minister for Education, which is expected to be published by the end of the year.

31ST OCTOBER 2018

9

FEATURES Turkey’s purge of academia With scholars in Turkey being imprisoned in their thousands, Gavin Tracey examines the political forces driving these increasingly totalitarian policies On the 25th September, 2018, Sedat Laçiner, a world renowned political scientist, once described as a “rising star of Turkish academia”, and the youngest man ever appointed as a rector to a Turkish university, was jailed for 9 years and 4 months. In a letter sent to the Times Higher Education, his attorney wrote that the judge handed down the sentence before they had even read his defence. He was charged with alleged ties to the Gülen movement (followers of the exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen), despite no evidence corroborating this, as well as his denial of any wrongdoing. The only evidence brought against him was two columns he wrote for a Turkish newspaper, criticising the government’s “efforts to deviate Turkey from its western direction.”

The charge of being a “Gulenist” is frequently levelled against those who criticise the Turkish government, somewhat akin to being called a communist by McCarthy in 1950s America - a claim that can be asserted without evidence and can have an extreme negative impact upon your life. Similar scapegoats have been used by autocratic regimes throughout history. Laçiner’s case is by no means extraordinary in Turkey, where academic freedom is being eroded at an alarming pace.

Scholars at Risk, an “international network of institutions and individuals whose mission it is to protect scholars and promote academic freedom”, have studied the state of academic freedom in Turkey. In their “Free to Think 2017” report, they found that “authorities continue to take sweeping and targeted measures against Turkey’s higher education sector”. This was reiterated in their 2018 report of the same name, where they write “for the third consecutive year, SAR has reported a high volume of attacks by Turkish authorities against the country’s higher education communities, directly impacting more than 880 university scholars, students, and staff.”

Annabelle Wilmott, from Scholars at Risk, told The University Observer that “the Turkish government is using imprisonments, prosecutions, dismissals, expulsions, and travel restrictions to punish and restrict academic and student expression” According to the reports, since the failed coup in 2016, at “least 990 scholars, staff, and students have been detained or arrested, with warrants served for at least 318 more.” On top of this, 5,717 academics in 117 universities have been sacked, as well as 15 universities being shut down altogether. According to Turkish press, the Ministry of Justice announced at the end of 2016 that the number of detainees in prison as a result of purges and mass arrests after the coup, was almost 70,000.

What exactly is going on in Turkey? It is important to remember that only a decade ago, it was a country that was seen as having made significant progress in various areas. The frequent military coups that toppled Turkish governments in 1960, 1971, 1980, and 1997, frequently led to the rewriting of the Turkish constitution, and the instalment of new governments. This changed in the early 2000s, when Turkey’s attempts to join the EU had left the military with little power. EU reform packages had reduced the power of the military in civilian affairs. Westernisation and modernisation were seen as the guiding forces in

Turkish politics from the late 1990s onwards, with Turkey on the way to joining the EU and becoming a westernised liberal democracy.

The reasons as to why Turkey veered so violently off their charted course is multifaceted and complex, but it is safe to say that it would not have happened without one man; Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Former mayor of Istanbul, former Prime Minister, and now President of Turkey, Erdogan has been eroding many of Turkey’s democratic institutions along his rise to power, purging the judiciary, and filling courts with the party faithful. He has been using his position as President to change the very nature of the Turkish presidency from a largely ceremonial role, to one with its own private military wing, and vast executive

Despite the repeated attempts to silence those who are critical of the Erdogan regime, many are cautiously optimistic for the future. Clare Robinson, speaking on Turkey’s future, told us “this is hope of change, yes, because there are universities, scholars, students, individuals within and outside of Turkey who continue to seek the right to think, question, and share ideas.” Other universities

across the globe are providing temporary positions to Turkish scholars, allowing them to continue their work.

This alone is not enough says Robinson, who says that “we must encourage a robust response to these attacks on higher education communities, at the international and state levels, from within higher education itself, and from civil society and the public at large.”

“Former mayor of Istanbul, former Prime Minister, and now President of Turkey, Erdoğan has been eroding many of Turkey’s democratic institutions since his rise to power, purging the judiciary, and filling courts with the party faithful.” powers. As is the case in nearly all authoritarian states, charismatic and powerful leaders, such as Erdogan, dominate the political landscape.

In order to consolidate power, Erdogan has sought to silence all dissent, which is where the attacks on academia stem from. If Erdogan’s goal is to become an autocratic leader, it makes perfect sense to start silencing the group that all autocrats silence first – teachers, academics and students. Control what is taught in the classrooms and universities across the country, and the ability to hold on to power becomes that much easier. These sorts of attempts have been increasing as of late; with the AFD in Germany setting up a website where children can report if their teachers say anything negative about the party, and Orban in Hungary defunding certain university courses for ideological reasons. Clare Robinson, also from Scholars at Risk, told The University Observer “the Turkish government is attacking students and academics to suppress critical voices, and to maintain power.”

This began before the failed coup of 2016, when hundreds of academics signed the “Academics for Peace” petition, a call to end the brutal treatment of the Kurdish people by the Turkish government. This resulted in 27 academics being arrested over alleged “terror propaganda”.

Since the coup, things have only gotten worse.

Changing a society with the “It Stops Now” campaign.

With previous reports finding 93% of women feel targeted because of their gender, Dylan O’Neill asks Tara Brown of the “It Stops Now” campaign to find out what students can do to change this culture.

On Thursday 25th October, UCD Students’ Union posted a video campaign on their Facebook page, in conjunction with the launch of the It Stops Now national campaign.

This movement aims to “end sexual harassment in third level institutions.” Speaking to the University Observer, Tara Brown, Ending Sexual Harassment and Violence in Third Level Education (ESHTE) Project Coordinator for the National Council of Women Ireland (NCWI), explained that the campaign “funded by the EU Commission, under the Daphne III funding, which is around the advancement of women’s rights...violence against women is intrinsically linked to inequality, and that’s what underpins violence against women.”

Prior to the release of the video, the NCWI prepared a review of the data surrounding sexual violence and harassment of women students in higher education in 2017 for the ESHTE Project. Meta-data from previous reports through the years found that in 2015, the “National Sexual Assault Trauma Unit Activity Report recorded that

10 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

from 685 people who attended for rape or sexual assault: 92% of patients were women; 45% of patients identified themselves as students.” Despite the high number of reports received in 2015, according to Brown,“there is a huge issue of under-reporting on this issue for both women and men.”

Another, more recent, report was released last week on the results of the “safer city” survey. Brown reported that “about 75% of those that engaged with the survey... about 500 in Ireland, were under the age of 25.” The survey asked participants: “do you feel specifically targeted because of your gender?” The results showed that 93% of women said they felt specifically targeted with only 12% of men responding with the same answer. “Anyone can experience sexual harassment and sexual violence, however statistics, both in Ireland, in Europe and across the world showed that survivors of sexual assault are women.”

In the lead up to the It Stops Now campaign, the NWCI brought together members of their national advisory

committee consisting of “government departments, the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochana, specialist NGOs, staff representatives from nine universities in Ireland and also student representative, in addition to the

“The campaign relays three key messages to third level students: to believe and support survivors, to speak up, not stand by, and to recognise consent.” student health services” to take a collaborative approach that “put student experiences at the centre.” Together, when the group were developing the campaign, they carried out “focus groups with staff and students from institutes around the country, and got feedback about what they felt about the issue, what experiences they had and what they felt could be done.” Brown said that they also “brought students from around the country together for a campaign development session,” which was a large portion of the work behind the video and subsequent poster campaign.

The campaign relays three key messages to third level students: to believe and support survivors, to speak up, not stand by, and to recognise consent. Working on bystander intervention Brown mentions the work of Louise Crowley from UCC, “she’s been running bystander intervention programmes for the last 2 academic years. Her main findings said that when they asked the students in their first module ‘do you think other people would intervene if they saw someone, say misogynistic comments or chatting up someone who is really drunk?’... when they got their data back in module five, they found that everyone thinks it’s important to do it. It’s just taking that first step is difficult and knowing what to do and how to go about it, and how to intervene in a situation.” With this in mind, the second key message of the current campaign is attempting to educate students “when they see something that makes them feel uncomfortable to find a way to intervene, and that might not always be directly, it might be calling someone, it might be checking on someone, there are many ways that you can do it without confrontation.”

The third key message is “bringing in consent to other areas besides what traditionally people thought of just physical sexual contact. What we’re finding is there is an

increase in inappropriate imagery being shared online, so we’re really asking people in all spheres to think about what, whether it’s online or in person, to see if that other person is consenting and is okay with it.” On the work that UCD has done with consent, Brown commends the work of the Students’ Union and the “brilliant campaigns about what consent is and obviously the consent workshops are happening.”

The campaign is working with several Government officials, namely Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor, who has highlighted the work of the It Stops Now campaign at the European Gender Equality conference that was hosted in Trinity College Dublin. Others involved in recent consent workshops organised earlier in October were members of An Garda Síochana, UCC Law Lecturer Dr Louise Crowley, Senior NUIG Psychology Lecturer Dr Pádraig MacNeela, USI Vice President for Welfare Damien McClean and members of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland.

Building on the work of the #MeToo movement, It Stops Now is geared towards what happens next. “what is our responsibility as a society to make a change? Basically, we want to change the culture and support survivors and everyone realises they have a role to play”, Brown says.

To date, the work of the campaign has found that “the most at risk group is women between 18-29.” Within the student groups this campaign is trying to engage with, Brown wishes to focus “on the impact that sexual violence has on the prevalence amongst ethnic minorities, migrant communities, LGBTQ communities. In Ireland, the second largest indicator of being a survivor of sexual assault is living with a disability. We want to take an intersectional approach to how all that operates.”

“The campaign is working with several Government officials, namely Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor, who has highlighted the work of the It Stops Now campaign at the European Gender Equality conference that was hosted in Trinity College”

SCIENCE Climate change: the real world war James Donaghey looks into the latest IPCC report and outlines the dangers posed by ignoring it.

On 8th October this year, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released their latest report.

Using over 6000 scientific papers, the group found that the dangers posed by climate change are much more pressing than previously anticipated. They estimated that we have 12 years to keep global warming to a maximum increase of 1.5°C, beyond which even 0.5°C will cause catastrophic and irreparable damage. The changes necessary, as outlined by the panel, would need to be swift, drastic and

“They estimated that we have 12 years to keep global warming to a maximum increase of 1.5°C, beyond which even 0.5°C will cause catastrophic and irreparable damage.” implemented as soon as possible.

In UCD, the environment is certainly a growing concern.

Organisations such as UCD Environmental Policy, UCD Earth Institute and Eco UCD are committed to furthering the fight against climate change. Improvements such as the addition of recycling bins in the Sutherland building and concessions for using reusable cups are milestones in combatting UCD’s overall contribution to the environment.

However, these are small steps, and much more is needed, even in UCD. The day after the IPCC report was released, the Irish Budget was announced. Over 300 people protested outside Dáil Éireann on 16th October, including many UCD students, on the topic of climate change and for the government to increase their role in combating it. Minister Paschal Donohoe mentioned a few measures that would be taken to reduce emissions, but these look unlikely to see Ireland reach its carbon reduction goals in 2 years.

Policies mentioned by Donohoe may increase the amount received by the Exchequer, but won’t necessarily act as a deterrent to the targeted parties. A prime example of this is a 1% surcharge on diesel vehicles.

Climate change also has its fair share of naysayers, as it is with any debate that has become politicised.

One of the more vocal deniers of global warming was US President Donald Trump, who recently changed his stance from calling it a hoax, to acknowledging its existence but offering the vague, unsupported rebuttal that it “could very well go back.” Despite America having the second-highest carbon dioxide emissions after China, its stance on global warming is far out of line with other advanced countries.

For a topic of its magnitude and gravity, climate change is given proportionally little coverage by the mass media.

When the news broke that we have only 12 years at most to drastically change our ways, coverage waned within a

couple of days. In a world full of sensationalism, clickbait and bite-sized information, important news like this gets scrolled past and ignored. In fact, in a bid to make the US government address climate change, US students are suing the government for its unconstitutional negligence. This shows the lengths at which people will go to be listened to. It is becoming ever easier to turn a blind eye to climate change and avoid the harsh truth.

There are many harmful views and perspectives on climate change, some of which can be easily debunked.

Even if the world is doomed, as some say, why would someone use that as a reason to accelerate the rate at which the Earth is dying? This is the same logic as saying “You Only Live Once” before performing something idiotic which reduces, either slowly or at breakneck speed, one’s lifespan. This could be rebutted with “You Only Die Once” which is equally true for humans as it is for our planet.

Every action still has consequences. With every right comes a responsibility, and we would do well to remind ourselves of this when we consider global warming especially.

Additionally, the cost of implementing preventative measures is miniscule in comparison to the cost of what will happen to the Earth in the long term if global warming continues on its current track. Droughts, storms and rising sea levels will be become even more frequent as time progresses. Trump argues that he doesn’t want to put America at a disadvantage by dealing with climate change at the level advised by the IPCC. While this may be an economically sound decision in the short term, the US has way more to lose in the long term by doing nothing.

Preventive maintenance proves to be more effective than corrective maintenance time and again.

While they are few, there are reasons for optimism in the face of global warming. While we don’t have much

time, 12 years is not nothing. It’s not just the responsibility of government bodies to make changes - everyone has a role to play. We control how much we consume, and we have the power to change. Even small changes we’ve been taught since we started school, like turning off lights and taps, and using public transport instead of cars, add up to cause a large reduction in our carbon footprint.

Climate change is far from just our generation’s problem, but it is a problem for our generation. It is vital that we make the necessary changes now to reap the longterm benefits. While we may not see these developments immediately, they will be tangible, with cleaner air, less pollution and hopefully fewer natural disasters. There is a lot of work involved but by accounting for the climate in our daily lives, we can make the load manageable. The small changes will add up, and if we begin now, the bigger changes for the future won’t have to be as big.

Credit: Jan Tik

Individualised medicine is on the rise Evelyn Elias explores the background and latest developments in the field of personalised medicine.

Individuality and personalization are on the rise in most aspects of society. Why then do we group everyone together when it comes to medication? With broad-spectrum antibiotics proving to be less effective against bacterial infections than ever before, medicine is moving towards a more individual approach of treatment.

Personalized medicine tailors therapies to groups of individuals based on their predicted response or risk of a disease, which is dependent on their genome. Indeed, an individual’s risk of disease is contingent on both their genetic predisposition as well as environmental factors, and how these two may interact. Once an individual acquires a disease, these two factors continue to play a role in how that person may respond to the treatment. This idea of personalized medicine is not new, in fact it dates back to the 1960s. However recent advances in technology and diagnostic tools have allowed us to take the theory to reality.

There is huge variation in the human genome. Genetic variation contributes to both an individual’s risk of getting a disease and also with how they may respond to the treatment. Each individual’s genome can therefore impact the way different individuals respond to or react to drugs.

Personalized medicine is used for a number of reasons: to determine the optimal drug, and optimal drug dosage for subgroups of patients, or whether targeted treatment options are available for individuals.

This is seen in a variety of situations. For example, cystic fibrosis is caused by a mutation in a specific protein found in cell membranes. The genetic mutation impairs the function of that protein causing the symptoms like mucus accumulation and chronic pulmonary infections.

However, different genetic mutations can lead to the same disease with varying severity. This discovery led to the development of drugs that target the specific gene that is affected. By knowing the genetic makeup of an individual with cystic fibrosis, we can therefore determine which medication will work most effectively and efficiently for that individual.

However, this concept can also be broadened to include the idea of withholding treatments. In prostate cancer for example, DNA biomarker tests can be used in order to determine whether treatments can be delayed, therefore sparing patients from the debilitating side effects of prostate cancer therapies. If the genes that normally cause aggressive forms of the cancer are not found, that can indicate that the cancer will remain stable for decades and so invasive treatments can be avoided.

Biological markers, or “biomarkers”, are a staple in the personalized medicine world. Biomarkers have been defined as “any substance or biological structure that can be measured in the human body and may influence, explain or predict the incidence or outcome of a disease”. It is a marker that can be objectively measured and can indicate normal biological processes, pathogenic processes or

pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention.

Biomarkers are often used in order to test the susceptibility that someone has for cancer as well as how they may respond to various chemotherapies. In some cases, biomarkers can determine a specific mutation that has a targeted therapy associated with it. For example, certain aggressive breast cancers have a mutation in the HER-2 gene. Those with that mutation will have different treatments options available to them than a patient with breast cancer who does not have that mutation. Similarly, in melanoma, an aggressive cancer of the skin, the individual can have a mutation called BRAF, which is present in approximately half of those affected with the disease. There are therapies that target the specific BRAF mutation and can stop the cancer from growing. By testing for the mutation, we can therefore improve the outcomes of those patients.

Although cancer is one of the main focuses of personalized medicine, it expands beyond that. Statins are a common class of cardiovascular medications that are used to lower cholesterol. Four of five adults in Ireland have high cholesterol, and it is a main cause of heart related disease. Although statin treatments can be very effective, there are large variations to the response to statins, where nearly half of those who are prescribed the medication do not reach their cholesterol level goals. This is due to the variation in genes, bringing us to the same theme that because of variation in our genes, some individuals respond differently to the same medication. Not only is statin treatment not effective for everyone, but also in some cases these medications can cause muscle toxicity, which can be potentially life-threatening. Predictive screening may therefore be recommended for patients receiving statin treatments for high cholesterol.

Personalized medicine is the way of the future. But, it is not always so simple. Firstly, a large population sample is needed to determine different genetic variations within a population and how these correlate with disease outcomes as well as response to treatment. It is therefore difficult to find biomarkers that can be used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Genome-wide association studies allow the genetic makeup of an individual to be crossreferenced with that of the human genome sequence.

However, these studies don’t always give an accurate description of the individual’s genes and are therefore not always predictive. When more biomarkers are discovered and gene sequencing becomes more effective, personalized medicine will improve treatment efficacy and reduce toxicity and improve the lives of patients across diseases.

Illustration: Emma Reidy

31ST OCTOBER 2018

11

SCIENCE

Possible discovery of an exomoon shows there are more worlds beyond Earth than previously imagined

Fiona Gallagher explains how researchers discovered a moon in another solar system and what conditions on this other-worldly body might be like.

Scientists have spent centuries investigating the many moons in our solar system. From Galileo’s first discovery of the four moons of Jupiter in the 17th century to the imaging of Pluto’s moons by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015, the fascination with these planetary satellites is enduring.

So far, the search for moons has been restricted to our closest planetary neighbours.

However, NASA’s launch of the Kepler spacecraft in 2009 has revolutionised the search for planets outside of our solar system. To date, there are 2,327 of these exoplanets confirmed to exist and a further 2,244 candidates proposed. It would be natural to assume that some of these exoplanets have moons in their orbit, but good science does not tolerate guesswork. Evidence is needed to assert that such exomoons exist, and the first piece of such evidence may have been found this month.

Researchers David Kipping and Alex Teachey from Columbia University, New York claimed to have discovered the existence of a large exomoon orbiting an exoplanet called Kepler-1625b 8,000 light-years away.

The exoplanet was originally discovered by the Kepler mission in 2016 through the method of transit photometry.

This method involves the use of the 42 charge-coupled device (CCD) arrays (like the technology used in digital cameras) on board the spacecraft to capture light from a distant star. It looks out for dips in the star’s emitted flux of light. These dips correspond to a transit of the planet around its host star, effectively blocking some of the light emitted. Exomoons could theoretically be discovered in a similar way; a moon trailing a planet could block some of the starlight too.

The potential existence of the exomoon, called Kepler-

1625b-I, was first gleaned from raw data from Kepler using this transit photometry method. Kipping and Teachey analysed the host planet’s transit and noticed some irregularities in the emitted starlight that grabbed their attention. These blips were attributed to another object: a potential exomoon. An exciting find – but more accurate data was required to confirm their hypothesis.

The Hubble Space Telescope conducted a more thorough observation. Its sensitive equipment was scheduled to point towards star Kepler-1625 in October 2017. The resulting light-curve (a plot of the emitted starlight against time) showed a significant dip after the planet transition, a full 3.5 hours after the planet had disappeared from Hubble’s field of view. Kipping described it as “a moon trailing the planet like a dog following its owner on a leash”. The next year was spent analysing the

Hubble data before their trailblazing paper was published this month detailing the new exomoon.

Kipling and Teachey even have some idea of the conditions on the moon. Like its host planet, which is about the size of Jupiter and mostly composed of hydrogen and helium, the exomoon Kepler-1625b-I is predicted to be gaseous, and it is approximately the size of Neptune.

To understand the significance of an exomoon discovery, we need only take a look at humanity’s fascination with our own moon. The “Space Race” lead us to achieve a feat which was unimaginable centuries ago: Man walked on the moon’s surface, making it inhabited by life for a few hours.

That dream of exploration has now extended to other worlds beyond our neighbourhood, be it exoplanets or exomoons.

The same enduring questions have permeated science and pop culture since the dawn of modern astronomy: Are we alone in the universe? Are there others like us? Where do they live? Can we visit?

For life as we know it to develop on a world, it must lie within the so-called “habitable zone” of its host star; the sweet spot where liquid water can exist on its surface because it is not too hot or too cold. Astrobiologists agree that liquid water is an important prerequisite for life. Any potential habitable world must also have an atmosphere, meaning it must be massive enough for its gravitational pull to keep the molecules in the atmosphere from drifting off into space. These two conditions have yet to be confirmed for any moon in the solar system, but that’s just one star and one planetary system. It would be audacious to claim that from the billions of stars in our universe that there are no planets with an exomoon in the habitable zone, and Kepler has already observed planets in the habitable zones of their stars. If technology continues to improve at its current astronomical rate (an appropriate adjective in this context), we should expect to hear of a lot more exomoon discoveries in the years to come, and more exomoons means even more habitable zone hopefuls. Things could be looking up for the alien conspiracy theorists. Although, when are they not looking up?

We might have found some potentially habitable worlds, which begs the question: Could we get there if Earth were no longer become a feasible option for our survival? The answer is a definite “no” with our current technology. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, is working hard to get to Mars, but the truth is that a trip to an exoplanet or exomoon such as Kerpler-1625b-I is unfathomable compared to the 12.5 light-minute distance to Mars. That does not mean scientists will stop looking for these elusive worlds, and perhaps there are even similarly curious beings watching Earth transit our Sun and watching our moon trail behind us today.

Going with your gut instinct: The microbes that control how we feel

Sean Mooney looks at the intricacies of life in the human gut for the bacteria living there and asks whether they’re the ones calling the shots.

A thousand bacteria can fit into a single human cell, but what bacteria lack in size, they make up for in numbers.

In fact, you are outnumbered by the microbes living inside you, where only approximately 43% of the cells in your body are human cells. Similarly, just 1% of the genetic material in your body is human, due to the diversity of microbes in your gut.

The population of bacteria, archaea, viruses and eukaryotic microbes that reside in our intestines is known as the gut microbiome. These microbes are in competition with each other for resources such as space on the lining of your gut and food, which they need to proliferate. All microbes do not rely on the same foods for energy, though.

Some may thrive on simple sugars whereas others might prefer to digest fibrous foods. In this way, what you eat determines the microbial make-up in your gut and, given the vast array of possibilities, it is quite likely that specific set up in your gut is unique to you.

Whether a species of bacteria thrives in your gut depends on what you eat, so it may come as no surprise that they have evolved ways to communicate their desires to us. These bacteria can send crude messages to the brain along what is called the “gut-brain” axis, commandeering

“Only approximately 43% of the cells in your body are human cells.” your mind and controlling your tastes. For example, a craving for something fibrous might originate from the bifidobacteria species in our gut that require it to grow.

In return for feeding these bacteria, they produce a fatty acid called butyrate which heals the lining of the gut, improves your mood, and dampens inflammation. In this way, bacteria can condition you to keep them fed.

This intricate relationship with the bacteria living in our gut is a remarkable example of symbiotic evolution.

We inherit the bacterial make-up of our microbiome from our mother, and several species have evolved to live a life solely confined to the human intestines. Without us, they’re toast. On the other hand, these bacteria protect our gut lining, a vulnerable part of the human body often targeted by pathogens. It is essential we care for the beneficial bacteria because, although we have struck a deal with many strands, they don’t all have our interests in mind.

The challenge for the immune system is then to know the naughty bacteria from the nice. If our immune system loses track of which bacteria are dangerous and can be eradicated, numerous health issues can result. With possibly a thousand different species of bacteria living on or in you at any instant, this is quite the task. Harmful strands can begin to flourish in our gut if the immune system is poorly trained, leading to problems such as

12 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Alternatively, our immune system can begin to attack itself, resulting in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn’s disease.

The health issues can be more even more widespread.

Certain pathogens can leave microscopic holes in the gut, through which food can leak into the bloodstream.

The immune system kicks into overdrive attacking these food particles, leading to food allergies. Curiously, curing underlying gastrointestinal issues such as IBS and IBD often resolves mental disorders too, and microbial imbalance in the gut has links to anxiety and depression.

In May 2000, the water supply of a town in Ontario became contaminated with E. coli. Over two thousand people were taken ill and, after recovering from the initial infection, hundreds of these people developed IBS and depression.

The microbiome has also been linked to conditions such Parkinson’s disease, autism, and even obesity. In one study, researchers took feces from lean and obese humans and transplanted the bacteria into mice. The mice then became thinner or fatter, depending on which microbiome they received.

Researchers have hypothesized that the overuse of antibiotics and the shift to a diet higher in artificial sweeteners in Western societies may be contributing to the dramatic rise in allergy conditions, autoimmune diseases, anxiety, and depression. Antibiotics are excellent for treating infectious diseases such as smallpox, tuberculosis and MRSA, but they destroy the healthy bacteria in the colon too. Such research has a profound impact on how we treat disease and stay healthy in the first place. Many experiments have shown how gut function, and hence the food we eat, has a measurable impact on our mental health.

Conversely, studies have shown that cognitive behaviour therapy can help people suffering from IBS. Such is the sway that the gut has over our decisions, the gut microbiome is known by some as the “second brain”.

While it may seem like we are giving these microbes a lot of credit, the gut has its own nervous system independent of the central nervous system, and this “second brain” relies on the same neurochemistry to process information (90% of the body’s serotonin is found in the gut). When researchers at McMaster University transplanted feces between mice with an exploratory nature and timid mice, the exploratory trait transferred too, demonstrating that the gut can affect personality characteristics, in rodents at least. Professors Ted Dinan and John Cryan at University College Cork found that mice raised in a germ-free environment tend to be more anxious. Dinan and Cryan also found that rats became depressed when they transferred fecal matter from humans with depression into the rats, thereby transferring mood between species to some extent.

Psychobiotics, a term coined by Dinan and Cryan, are microbes that, when ingested, can affect your mood by acting on the gut. Dinan and Cryan are two of the leading researchers in the field of psychobiotics and, although

the science is still in its infancy, their work is upending long-held beliefs about gut function. Dinan and Cryan hope someday to treat patients suffering from psychiatric illnesses with psychobiotics and early results are promising.

Experiments with rats have shown certain psychobiotics to have antidepressant or anxiety-reducing properties.

When humans were given psychobiotics, they became less anxious and showed improvements in cognitive functions such as memory.

Cryan opens his recent book with Dinan, The Psychobiotic Revolution, by saying “if microbes are controlling the brain, then microbes are controlling everything” so maybe we’ve no choice but to trust our gut instincts.

“These bacteria can send crude messages to the brain along what is called the “gut-brain” axis, commandeering your mind and controlling your tastes.”

SCIENCE

Cannabis on the brain: does it inspire creativity, or is the claim all just smoke and mirrors?

With the legal status of cannabis set to be a major social issue of our time, Sean Mooney looks at its effects on the brain.

Canada has become the second country in the world to formally legalise cannabis for recreational use, following in the footsteps of Uruguay, and analysts suggest the Canadian cannabis market will be worth more than $4.2bn annually. This legal change, alongside its decriminalized status in Portugal and the Netherlands, reflects the change in public perception of the drug. Recent reports show the number of adolescents who believe that regular cannabis use is harmful is declining, but cannabis has become the dominant reason for young people to seek addiction treatment across Ireland. Recent research has aimed to measure the impact of cannabis on brain function, but the extent of its effects remains poorly understood.

There are a variety of active substances in cannabis, but the two most prominent are D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC is the psychoactive cannabinoid that produces the “high”, and it effects memory, motor functions, pain response, and sleep. THC interacts with the cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells.

When activated by THC, nerve cells are less likely to fire messages to their neighbouring cells, and this triggers the brain’s reward system to produce pleasure chemicals such as dopamine. The way in which CBD interacts with the body is not fully known due to its complexity, but

“Recent reports show the number of adolescents who believe that regular cannabis use is harmful is declining, but cannabis has become the dominant reason for young people to seek addiction treatment.”

quantify creativity, the researchers divided the problem into divergent and convergent thinking. Divergent thinking refers to brainstorming, where one is seeking many solutions to a problem. (e.g. “How many words can you list that rhyme with ‘boat’?”). In contrast, convergent thinking involves trying to find one specific solution to a problem (e.g. “Which of the following words rhymes with ‘boat’: observer, goat, university”).

These two types of creative thinking relate differently to the levels of dopamine in the brain, where divergent thinking is expected to peak with medium dopamine levels. THC has been shown to indirectly induce dopamine release in the brain so, coupled with the fact that THC is known to reduce one’s inhibitions, it was theorized that THC would have a beneficial effect on creativity stemming from divergent thinking.

The results were clear-cut: The researchers found that high doses of cannabis for regular users was detrimental to their divergent thinking, and less potent cannabis had no effect, positive or negative, on this aspect of creativity. The researchers note that the feeling of heightened creativity from the user’s point of view may be illusory, concluding that “a joint may not be the best choice when in need of breaking the writer’s block, and smoking several of them might actually be counterproductive.” However, one drawback of the study is that they looked at the effects on heavy users, not non-users or even casual users.

Not only has cannabis not been shown to lend a creative hand, several large studies go further and highlight the detrimental effects of long-term use on the brain. Professor Zalesky from the University of Melbourne examined MRI scans of marijuana users and found that the neural connections between the two hemispheres were impaired, relative to the non-users. As well as this, the earlier someone started smoking, the more pronounced the impairments were. A New Zealand study followed over a thousand people from birth until the age of 38 and found that those who started smoking cannabis during their teenage years had a lower IQ in their thirties than they did in their childhood. As in the study by Zalesky, those who were youngest when they started smoking and those who smoked most heavily showed the greatest decline in cognitive performance.

It is unclear the extent to which abstinence can alleviate the negative long-term effects, but we know that the neuroplasticity of the brain makes it remarkably good at compensating for damage. While a 2014 study found that cognitive impairments associated with cannabis use can persist even after abstinence, a different experiment found no cognitive defects in former users after only three months of going cold-turkey.

Perhaps the most serious side-effect is the evidence linking cannabis use to an increased risk of developing psychosis. A Swedish study of 45,000 individuals found

that those who used high amounts of cannabis were six times more likely to develop schizophrenia. The higher the THC content, the greater the risk, and Dr Johnny Connolly, University of Limerick, claims that this can be seen in Ireland, where the THC of cannabis and the rate of drug induced psychosis are both rising.

Cannabis use may provide short-term relief from anxiety because THC binds to cannabinoid receptors in the amygdala, reducing the brain’s threat response. However, while some suggest it as a treatment for mental disorders like anxiety, the consensus of medical professionals is that using cannabis will ultimately exacerbate any underlying conditions. The plant is not without any medicinal value though, and some benefits for treating specific conditions have already been identified. For example, there is evidence that THC and CBD medications can help people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and CBD can reduce seizures in children with Dravet syndrome.

While the question of prevention and prohibition versus education and decriminalization is not straightforward, it is clear that legislation is currently outpacing our scientific understanding of the drug. Establishing the positive and negative effects of cannabis should be a research priority as the information is needed to shape the public debate.

In many respects, the Canadian situation should provide a novel research opportunity for this.

CBD is not psychoactive, and it has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Some research indicates it counteracts the disordered thinking and anxiety caused by THC. The effect of cannabis on creativity has been the subject of several studies recently, to bring some clarity to the situation: On one hand, some cannabis users claim, based on experience, that the drug leads to more unusual and original thoughts, with more than 50% of users reporting heightened creativity while high in a 2003 study. “[Marijuana] would make me relaxed and creative,” Steve Jobs once said, and there is no shortage of great musicians who wrote music while high. However, the results from experiments have not backed this up, but the way in which researchers define and measure creativity has made it difficult to take into the laboratory.

A recent study aimed to settle the debate by studying how cannabis affects creativity in regular users. To

Feelings care about your facts Emmet Feerick takes a look at new research which shows that we are poor at reasoning about morally charged topics about which we have an opinion.

You know you have been successful as a scientist when a phrase of your invention works its way from the academy into public usage. Nowadays, we all unselfconsciously use phrases that originated in scientific journals, like “placebo effect”, “acid test”, and “confirmation bias”. The lattermost of these phrases, also known as “my-side bias”, has become increasingly widespread in recent years.

Confirmation bias is when we seek out information which supports our viewpoint while ignoring or giving less weight to contradictory information. It explains how we tend to become entrenched in our opinions over time. Even if your “media diet” consists of perspectives from both sides of the political aisle, you will still give more weight to evidence from the side which supports the position you already have. When it comes to politics, even a balanced diet will not guarantee healthy thinking.

A recent study published in the Journal of Cognitive Psychology found that “my-side bias” applies not just to facts and opinions, but to the process of reasoning itself.

Focusing on the ever-touchy topic of abortion, the team of researchers behind this paper tested people’s ability to assess the logic of various pro and con arguments. To get a baseline for logical reasoning ability, participants were first asked to evaluate the logical validity of a neutral syllogism such as: i) All mastiffs are dogs. ii) Some dogs are black. iii) Therefore some of the things that are black are mastiffs. This is an invalid syllogism, as the final

“When it comes to politics, even a balanced diet will not guarantee healthy thinking.” statement does not necessarily follow from the first two.

In this case, it is possible that none of the black things are mastiffs. Participants were also assessed on their ability to identify a valid neutral syllogism.

After this, participants were presented with one valid and one invalid syllogism for both pro-life and pro-choice positions. For instance, the logically invalid pro-choice syllogism was: i) All abortions are women’s rights. ii) Some of women’s rights should be supported. iii) Therefore some of the things which should be supported are abortions.

This syllogism is invalid in the same way as the mastiff example above. In this case, it is possible that none of the things which should be supported are abortions.

However, participants who identified as pro-choice were less capable of identifying it as being invalid than they were of identifying the invalidity of the mastiff example.

The same was true of those who identified as pro-life, but for the opposite syllogism. As it turns out, we are worse at identifying fallacious reasoning when it supports our views.

A natural reaction to this study might be to say that those who took part may not have been clear on how syllogisms work. After all, it is easy to assess the logical validity of an argument which has no moral valence. It is quite a different story when, as a pro-choice person, you have to mark statements like “some of the things which should be supported are abortions” as invalid. This was exactly the point of the study, however. Those same people who reasoned effectively about morally neutral statements about mastiffs were unable able to do so for equally valid statements about which they had a moral opinion. The form stayed the same, but people had trouble seeing past the content.

Furthermore, the study found that those who had formal experience with logic actually performed worse than those without such experience. A similar effect was found in a 2013 study which asked participants to evaluate a piece of research on gun control. It found that those with greater numeracy skills were more prone to bias. In this study, when the results of the piece of research were in line with their views, they evaluated the research as being of high quality. However, when the results went against their own stance, they used their numeracy skills to discredit the findings. This is especially dispiriting given that the obvious solution to poor reasoning is more education. What else could work?

The role of intelligence on confirmation bias has also been investigated. In this case, the weight of evidence also suggests that greater intelligence provides no immunity against the effects of confirmation bias. Indeed, some researchers have proposed that more intelligent people are better at justifying and defending their positions against contradictory evidence. When it comes to our political beliefs, we act more like lawyers than scientists.

One lawyer you may be familiar with if you have spent much time browsing politics online of late, is conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro. Mr Shapiro is perhaps best-known for coining the mantra “facts don’t care about your feelings”. While this is doubtlessly true, the research on confirmation bias shows that the inverse – that your feelings don’t care about the facts – is not true. In fact, as the weight of evidence reveals, your feelings dictate the facts that you care about.

The real question, then, is not whether facts care about your feelings, but to what extent the facts you take onboard are filtered by your feelings. Furthermore, this latest study

“As it turns out, we are worse at identifying fallacious reasoning when it supports our views.” on moral reasoning shows that even given the same set of facts, people will systematically differ in their reasoning as a result of their feelings. Perhaps Mr Shapiro would do

well to pay a little more attention to his feelings from time to time!

If what we want is a rational public debate, then these studies show that our common enemy is certainty.

The internet has given us access to the entirety of human knowledge, and with it, the means to find support for all of our most cherished viewpoints. However, part of this knowledge is that we are natural-born lawyers, not scientists. This fact should not escape the attention of anybody who wishes to take part in public discussion.

Neither should we fail to notice that it took the age of information to hammer home the truth in Socrates’ assertion that wisdom consists in being aware of the extent of your ignorance.

31ST OCTOBER 2018

13

STUDENT VOICES

Accessibility Audit: Accessibility isn’t a joke, but UCD is Aoibhs Magills On the 17th October, a group of us set out onto campus in UCD to test and experience what so many students in UCD have to deal with on a daily basis- relying on the “accessible” ways around. Six able-bodied, opinionated women going across campus; testing every door ramp and elevator. A group of six of us in total, two ready to help if needed and four people of little or no experience with physical difficulties in wheelchairs.

We had one rule: no one was to leave their chair until an accessibility audit was complete. This proved to be rather difficult for us- even though I was not surprised by the lack of working wheelchair doors and awkward fitting lifts. The thing that struck me most however this time, was the arrogance of a large sample of the UCD population, who prioritised their laziness over the facilitation for the students not able to take the stairs.

Alyx Giandola, an active member in UCD societies said “I’ve been a student at UCD for the past three years and I’ve always known that the campus is not the most wheelchair friendly, but it wasn’t until my friend asked me if I wanted to participate in an audit of the campus that I realised just how inaccessible most of it was. In the Agriculture building, the only accessible bathroom is on the basement floor. Now imagine being in class on the second floor and having to go to the bathroom. How much class do you think you’d miss?”

These are questions that people forget to consider when coming to UCD. How would you deal with this situation?

Heave fire doors, entrances that won’t work or aren’t wide enough, not to mention that in between lectures the paths and corridors are already packed to the brim of people living in their own heads or buried in their phone.

This is one of the biggest struggles in Science. The O’Brien building is new, top of the art, architecturally incredible and yet there is a significantly tiny number of working accessibility doors and an abundance of ignorant students taking the lift instead of the stairs for their own convenience.The UCD Students’ Union Science College officer, Emily Bollard, had this to say: “The O’Brien Centre is one of the most utilised buildings on campus. Despite the high volume of students passing through this building on a daily basis, the facilities for people with disabilities leave a lot to be desired. The main issue with the Science building

is the doors. Half of the buttons don’t work when you press them, and when they do work, only one door opens, which cannot accommodate the width of a standard wheelchair.

The reason these buttons do not work is because they are used too often by students who do not need them.”

“Furthermore, these students are aggressive when pushing the button, which causes the system to fail. It is appalling to see a lack of consideration by fellow students for those who consider these automatic doors to be a daily necessity. Overall, there is a complete lack of respect for those with disabilities using the Science building and this is something that I would encourage everyone to be aware of.” Overall our audit was an eye opening experience for all of us involved.

A UCD veteran and active member in societies, Laura Cradock felt this from her experience around UCD: “As disability rights campaign coordinator, my job shouldn’t include having to ask and fight for things that are already supposed to be provided... wheelchair doors. The idea of accessibility is that a person can go anywhere without having an assistant to help them with doors, lifts, bathrooms etc. UCD have made it impossible for wheelchairs to traverse the campus while maintaining their dignity.

There were several times throughout the day when I had to be physically assisted to go up hills, to get back onto footpaths, to use the ramp outside of James Joyce onto the lake. Being a wheelchair user is hard enough, but UCD have done nothing to make the campus accessible.”

The overall reaction to the audit has been extremely effective and eye opening for those unaware of the daily struggles of students. The aim of the audit was not only to sort the broken and faulty doors, but also to start some frustration and conversation to spread awareness and support for all students - fitting in nicely with UCD’s new approach to equality and inclusion on campus. Although this will not have any immediate effect or conclusion, we all hope that this will start a chain reaction in improving and maintaining a more inclusive and operational campus and community.

Aoibhs Magills is UCDSU Health Science College Officer and Captain of the Wheelchair Basketball Team

On the nature of my friendships

Ode to Saxy Molly Greenough

Veronica Rozynek

In an age of increasing digitalization and media usage, virtual communication has become a standard practice.

A message, Snapchat or post has become the rule, rather than an exception. In an effort to save time, we bypass in-person communication and favor the use of screens. We place implicit trust in our iPhone, with all its elegant simplicity, to convey our abstract emotions and thoughts, and code them into transmissible bits of data.

However, this form of communication has never been satisfying to me, as I am a physical person. To forego the pleasure of hearing someone’s voice, or reading their body language is to miss out on a quintessential part of the human experience. I find it difficult to infer the tone in someone’s voice without looking into their eyes. There remains a fraction that is left unsaid in conversation which is traceable through the minute expression of our faces. To speak face to face is intimate, the sheer physicality of the experience allows us to engage more than through a screen.

Thus, a conversation with a friend has always had the power to be incredibly regenerative for my spirit.

Burden and stress seem to dissipate when they are shared with someone else. Spoken language serves not only as a form of self-expression, but as relief for many.

To carry the full weight of your thoughts and sensory stimuli you experience may be overwhelming. However, the ability to share my fears, my happiness, and all the flavors in between with my friends, is what makes my connection with them so strong.

In this era of globalization, where mobility is readily accessible, the unfortunate reality is that many of my friends live in other countries, other continents. Thus, while it is not possible to see them; I love to call, to hear their voices, to know what they are doing in locations so remote from mine.

14 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

My best friend Keah, living in Waswanipi, Quebec, sends me pictures of snow in mid-October. The first few minutes of our calls nearly always consist of fluctuant laughter, intermixed with a variety of enthusiastic “Hi’s”. Our chatter fluctuates between mindful and mindless, as she tells me her stories of teaching in a Cree community, and I, of my hospital placement. I know the colors of her voice, instinctively and characteristically.

When she is red, she is pure electricity-fire spreading through her veins. Yellow is more solemn, but cheerful and her blue, though never mellow, is more pragmatic, when she feels more careful. This polychromic spectrum of her personality is so familiar to me, though our relationship remains transcontinental.

My friend Luis calls in the ungodly hours of the early morning. Spanish time is notoriously different from any other time in the world. A party ends when it ends, and life is felt deliciously slow. We speak in Spanish and I feel myself take on a different character, through this romantic language.

My grandma in Poland always calls me on Sunday.

Her voice always painted with concern, if I am eating, if I am breathing, if I am living. The warmth in her voice is nearly tangible, our conversations always feel like a hug.

The relationships we have with others, affect us in ways that even we can’t discern. We are the sum of our relations, rather than individual entities. To be able to define myself, I need my friends and my family as they are necessary descriptors of my character and values. What I choose to take and what I reject from my everyday surroundings is a personal choice, but nonetheless, I am directly and indirectly affected by my environment. These external inputs are important, as they become part of us and undeniably form our character and identity.

When I was 9 years old, I wanted to learn to play the alto saxophone. Most of the other kids in music class were going to choose flutes or clarinettes, or just join the choir.

I however, had my heart set on the saxophone. I begged my parents for days to get me my very own, until I was informed how much my beloved instrument would cost.

We settled on a rental. I named that beloved saxophone “Saxy”, and believe me, she was sexy. Probably half of my height, beautifully gold, and she sparkled so brightly under the fluorescent lights of the gymnasium where we rehearsed. I loved everything about that instrument, except the fact that I was slightly horrible at playing it.

I was frustrated. I loved playing music, and I even practiced at home, despite my parents’ begging to stop the sound of several cats being strangled simultaneously.

I continued onwards, practicing with all of my might.

And eventually over the course of a year, I got better.

I’d go as far to say I was semi-decent. Not to brag, but I even got a solo during one of our concerts. It was my time to shine, to showcase my love for Saxy and all of the hard work I put in. I’ll set the scene: a poorly lit gymnasium filled with metal chairs. In those chairs sat parents, grandparents, siblings, and the losers that couldn’t play instruments. My name was called, the song was announced. And let me tell you, I bombed it.

I messed up a few notes, and when my parents greeted me excitedly at the end of the show, I couldn’t contain my tears. And there lies, God rest her soul, Saxy. Not to mention my future career as a jazz musician.

I never played the saxophone after that night, and not to say I stay up constantly dreaming about what could have been, but sometimes I get mad at my younger self for giving up so quickly. I knew at 9 that I’d likely never be a professional musician, and I can confirm that theory at 19. However, I also know I gave up something I loved just because I didn’t classify myself to be “good enough.” Those words are tossed around casually, but it’s really quite sad to think that at such a young age I gave up something I was passionate about solely because I failed once, and knew that I would never be the best.

Although I don’t have Saxy anymore, I still carry the lesson she taught me. I don’t care about being the best, I care about trying my best. It’s cliché, but I do try to apply Saxy’s wisdom to all aspects of my life. I am no longer afraid of failure, but instead it’s the thought of missed chances and opportunities that trouble me. If you’re a horrible singer, sing as loud as you can. A selfproclaimed artist that can barely draw a stick figure?

Maybe don’t make a career out of it, but never quit something you love doing. With the stress of college work and our impending future careers, it can be easy to push hobbies or passions to the side, especially if you believe you’re not “good enough.” Some people spend their entire lives searching for something that they love doing, so if you found your passion, please don’t let it go. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to hunt for a saxophone on eBay now.

GAEILGE

“Noinín i measc na neantóga; an tábhacht leis An Triail” An gá dúinne an drama cáiliúil a phlé níos mó? Le Hugh Mac Giolla Chearra.

Is é An Triail le Maighréad Ní Ghráda an drama Gaelach is cáiliúil sa tír, ach ní mar gheall ar an cáilíocht amháin.

Tá an méid sin tuairimí difrúil ar an drama seo, fórmhór daofa ó an eispéiris a bhí ag daoine leis agus iad ag déanamh stáidéar ar an Ard Teiste. Ach is drama fíor sean é. Scríobhadh é i 1964, i rith an am nuair a bhí i bhfad níos mó chumhacht ag an Eaglais sa tír seo, am roimh colscaradh agus coiscíní. An fíor é le rá nach bhfuil gá dúinne an drama seo a plé níos mó? An bhfuil sé ró-difrúil ón sochaí inniú le bheidh conspóideach sa lá atá inniú ann? Ar cheart dúinn drama eile a phlé?

Ar an chéad dul síos, caithfidh mé a bheidh go h-iomlan soiléir agus mé ag scríobh an alt seo. Ní bheidh sé ceart dom chuir tús leis an alt seo gan an stair atá agam féin leis an drama a phlé ar dtús. Mar sibhse, roinne mise stáidear ar An Triail agus mé ar an meánscoil don Ard Teistiméireachta. Chuaigh mé chun léiriú don drama a fheiceáil i Dún na nGall agus ní raibh sé an drama is fearr da bhfaca mé riamh, dár ndóigh. Bhí sé soiléir le cloisteáil nach raibh Gaeilge ar bith ag an aisteoir a bhí ag déanamh an páirt do Phádraig, agus níor chuala muid leath do na líontaí a bhí aige. Bhí cuid de na aisteoirí uafasach, agus fiú ag pointe amháin chuir cheann daofa teachtaireacht

abálta feiceáil agus fhoghlaim faoi an sean sochaí sa dóigh go bhfuil níos mó eolas acu faoin cheann úr.

Fosta, tá sé fíor tábhachtach go mbeidh an drama ar siúil an bhliain seo go háirithe, mar gheall ar an aisghair den ochtú leasú. Níl an dlí fiú istigh go fóill ach tá muid ag déanamh iarracht mar tír faigh réigh le sean dlí ón am seo a chuir isteach ar teaghlaigh thart ar an tír iomlan. Beidh am ann sa todhchaí nach mbeidh daoine abálta creidiúint an scéal uafasach a tharla go Máire sa drama, agus is maith an rud sin. Ach tá sé ró-luath go fóill le fáil réigh leis an drama seo as an curaclam. Tá scéaltaí cosúil le cheann Máire go fóill ag daoine go dtí an lá inniú. Ní go díreach

chomh dona is atá an scéal atá sa drama, ach cheannaí cosúil leo. Le léiriú maith, is féidir go foghlaimítear daltaí rudaí tábhachtach faoi an éifeacht a bhí ag an eaglais ar an sochaí.

Leis an argóint “níor cheart an drama a dhéanamh mar nach bhfuil sé go h-iomlán ábhartha”, cuirim an ceist seo ar na daoine seo – ar bhuail tú le prionsaí ar bith as an Danmhairg le tamall? Nó ríthe as an Albáin a maraíonn a lán daoine? Tá na scéaltaí seo agus scéaltaí cosúil leo déanta sa Bhéarla i gconaí, agus ní deireann daoine a choíche nár cheart do na dramaí nó leabharthaí seo a dhéanamh agus daltaí ar an meán scoil. An leithscéal a

úsaidtear an formhór do seo nó go bhfuil rudaí eile gur féidir le daoine a foghlaim ó na dramaí seo. Ach tá seo fíor le rá faoi An Triail fosta. Níl fáth ar bith ceart nach táispeantar an meas céanna do an drama seo agus dramaí eile atá ar an curaclam Ard Teistiméireachta.

Sa deireadh, is libhse an tuairim deireanach. Níl gá ar bith duit féin léamh no a bheidh le bainte leis An Triail agus sibh críochnaithe leis an meán scoil. Molfainn daoibh é a léamh arís agus seans eile a thabhairt do. Tá rudaí uair le foghlaim achan uair a léitear é, agus tá seans maith go mbeidh suim agat a bheidh bainte leis taobh amuigh den coras oideachas.

“Ach tá sé ró-luath go fóill le fáil réigh leis an drama seo as an curaclam.” chugainne sa lucht féachanta agus iad ar chúl an stáitse.

Ansin nuair a thainig mé go UCD, bhí mé mar stiúrthóir do An Triail agus é i Dramsoc. Cé go raibh am ar dóigh agam ag obair leis an foireann agus na aisteoirí uilig, bhí mé faoi an-bhrú ag an am, agus d’fhág an táithí sin blas searbh ar mo teanga faoi an drama é féin.

Ach cé go raibh mo fadhbanna féin agam agus mé ag stiuriú, bhí mé go fóill in ann an tábhacht don scéal a tuigfeáil. Tá sé fíor tábhachtach go bhfuil fhios ag daltaí Éireannach faoi an saghas sochaí a bhí ann sna seascóidí, le táispeáin cé chomh difrúil is atá an sochaí sa lá atá inniú.

Tá an méid sin léiriúcháin de An Triail feicthe agam agus mé ag déanamh staidéar agus taighde ar an drama, agus in achan uile cheann, ní athraítear an am a bhfuil an drama ar siúil. Ní dheánfaidh sé ciall da chuirtear é ar siúil sa lá atá inniú, mar go bhfuil an méid sin níos mó eolas ag daoine óga faoi na dáinsearachtaí a baineann le toircheas agus le daoine sleamhain. Ach tá sé tábhachtach go mbeidh daltaí

Gnéas agus an chathair – ag lorg grá trí Ghaeilge Léiríonn Hugh Mac Giolla Chearra an deacracht le coinní a dhéanamh trí Gaeilge.

Tá fhios agam níl muid ach ina dhiadh Oíche Shamhna a bheidh againne, ach tá spiorad na Nollaig anseo faoi láthair.

Tá mo chuid cairde ag éisteacht le amhranaí Michael Bublé ar Spotify, tá mo chuid comrádaí tí ag labhairt faoi cén scannáin Nollaig is fearr leo, agus tá na maisiúcháin Nollaig suas ag Brown Thomas le cúpla seachtain anuas.

Is é an rud is mó a fheicim achan bhliain thart ar an am seo nó go dtagann daoine le chéile i rith am na Nollaig.

Druideann tú do chuid súile agus nuair a osclaítear iad arís, tá do chuid chairde uilig ag dul amach do dinnéar le daoine nár chuala tú iomar orthu roimhe nó ag labhairt faoi an ghrá geal uair atá acu. Leis na leanúin úr atá ag dul thart ar an cathair faoi láthair, caithfear an cheist a chuir – an bhfuil spás don Gaeilge i lár an grá nua thart ar an tír?

Nuair a labhair mé le cheann do mo chuid cairde i mo rang Bhéarla faoi an ábhar seo, an chéad cheist a chuir sí

orm nó “an ndéantar sin?”. Ní raibh sí in ann creidiúint go raibh daoine thart ar an cathair a bíonn ag úsáid an teanga do níos mó ná saghas cumarsáide amháin, má thuigeann tú mé. Déanann sé ciall go bhfuil an tuairim seo ag daoine taobh amuigh de saol na Gaeilge, le bheidh ionraice. Tá na scéalta is cáiliúil as Gaeilge faoi grá nach bhfuil ag obair. Ní féidir leat creidiúint go bhfuil aon grá sna scéalta “Dís” nó “Hurlamaboc”. Tá ceann na dántaí is cáiliúil faoi colscaradh, grá ag theipeadh. Cén dóigh an mbeidh daoine abálta creidiúint go raibh daoine in ann grá a tháispeann trí Ghaeilge?

Is fíor le rá go bhfuil sé deacair bualadh le daoine go romansúil trí Gheailge. Chuaigh mé ar coinne Tinder uair amháin agus leath bealaigh tríd, d’fhoghlaim mé go raibh Gaeilge ag an bhean a bhuail mé suas leis. Shíl mé go mbeidh seo an rud is fearr a tháinig amach as an coinne

iomlán, agus go mbeidh muid abálta labhart go h-iomlán as Gaeilge don cuid eile don am a bhí againne. Dúirt sí liom áfach nach raibh sí ag iarraidh an teanga a labhairt ar an drochuair, mar gheall nach raibh sí go h-iomlán compardach ag labhairt an teanga os ard agus go poiblí.

Níor chuir mé aon bhrú uirthi an teanga a labhairt ach shíl mé nach mór an trua é nach raibh muid in ann an comhra a leanst ar aghaidh ag úsáid ár teanga dúcháis. Agus le cuir freagair ar an ceist, níor buail muid suas lena chéile riamh arís.

Ní raibh seo an céad iarracht a dhéarna mé grá a lorg trí Gaeilge. Nuair a bhí mé ag obair sa Ghaeltacht, bhí mé i gconaí ag titim in ngrá le na girseachaí a bhí ag teacht chuig an cheantar le obair mar ceannairí. Ach nuair a d’éirigh liom agus bhí mé leo, Béarla amháin a labhair muid, cé go raibh muid ag labhairt i nGaeilge nuair a bhí a

muid ag obair le chéile. Níor smaoineamh mé ar cé chomh choimhthíoch is a bhí seo go dtí na bliantaí ina dhiadh seo, ach feicim anois gur rud an-suimúil. Cén fáth nach raibh muid in ann cúpla rudaí dána a rá agus muid ag labhairt trí teanga an cheantar?

An bhfuil grá as Gaeilge marbh? Nach bhfuil seans ar bith do Gaeilgeoirí bualadh suas lena chéile agus b’fhéidir titim i ngrá? An beidh muid ag pógadh a chéile sa Chonradh agus ansin ag déanamh neamhaird ar a chéile nuair a buaileann muid trí thimpiste ar an sráid nó ar gcampas? Nuair a bímse ag smaoineamh ar na Gaeilgeoirí atá aithne agam orthu a bhfuil cailín nó buachail chara acu, ní labhrann an duine eile sa leanúin Gaeilge ar chor ar bith. B’fhéidir tá muid ró-ardnósach do a chéile. Tá muid

Má téann tú chuig Pop Up Gaeltacht, tá daoine ag bualadh le chéile achan uile mí agus seans maith go bhfuil leanúin ag úsáid iad mar leithscéal le bualadh suas le chéile agus a chuid Gaeilge a úsáid. go lorg daoine atá ag iarraidh páistí a tógail tríd Gaeilge, ach níl muid sásta muna bhfuil sé inár canúint féin. An é sin an cás?

Ní féidir liom é a chreidiúint, a chairde. Tá grá ar fáil do na Gaeilgeoirí i mo thuairimse. Má téann tú chuig Pop Up Gaeltacht, tá daoine ag bualadh le chéile achan uile mí agus seans maith go bhfuil leanúin ag úsáid iad mar leithscéal le bualadh suas le chéile agus a chuid Gaeilge a úsáid. Tá mé chor a bheith cinnte go mbeidh scéaltaí fiain as an Oireachtas an deireadh seachtaine seo chugainne mar gheall ar na méid daoine a mbeidh ann i gCill Airne.

Agus b’fheidir fiú má faigheann tú póg beag sa Chonradh, tá seans beidh an duine sin ag iarriadh bualadh leat sa todhchaí.

Ní bheidh morán imní oraimse faoi stadás an Gaeilge agus mé ag déanamh coinne le daoine amach as seo. Seans maith go bhfuil mí-ádh orm an chéad uair ar tharla sé nach raibh an girseach ag iarraidh an teanga a úsáid, i níos mó na dóigh amháin. Leis an méid daoine atá ag iarraidh a chuid páistí a tógadh tríd Gaeilge, tá seans go maith go mbeidh daoine ag cuartú muid amach as seo. Beidh orm mo fíor buíochas a tabhairt chuig an Conradh agus an athbheochan Gaelach atá ar siúil faoi láthair agus mé ag fáil pósta. Tá grá ag fanacht dúinne, agus níl le dhéanamh ach brat beag Éireannach a chuir sa píosa fút féin.

31ST OCTOBER 2018

15

LAW & POLITICS

European Parliament landscape set to alter postBrexit With the Presidential election over, it’s time we started thinking about the next vote on the horizon for Irish citizens: the EU parliamentary elections. At seven months out, Laurence Childs asks: how does the political landscape seem to be developing?

When it comes to the European Parliament, it’s important to be aware of the seat distributions. This will be the first EU election since the Brexit vote and, as a result, the parliament is getting that bit smaller (going from 751 to 705 total seats). Of the 73 seats currently held by UK MEPs, 27 are being redistributed to other member states.

It’s Ireland’s lucky day - we’ll be receiving two of these new spots, bringing our total number of representatives to 13.

To balance these new positions, constituency lines are being redrawn slightly. While the previous three constituencies of South, Midlands—North/West and Dublin remain, Laois and Offaly are being moved into the South constituency. The South and Dublin constituencies will each be gaining a seat and while Midlands—North/ West retains only 4 representatives, its shrunk size is intended to balance this out.

In a slight curveball, Nigel Farage has emerged from his cave to announce that in the instance of the Brexit transition period being extended a further three years, he will seek to compete for re-election. He is insistent that he will not allow Britain to be a ‘rule-taker without having any say’. Whether or not you agree with his politics, Farage is highlighting a significant issue surrounding the Brexit talks fallout. If no agreement is reached, then Britain will be unrepresented within a political body in which it is largely still a participating member. Whether Farage’s insistences go beyond mere posturing remains to be seen; at this late stage it would require a hasty turn-around to reorganise the elections and include Britain once again.

But what are you actually voting for?

For those less EU-fluent, it can be confusing as to where Irish candidates factor into the overlying parliament. We’re still half a year away from the vote, so many candidates are yet to announce. Instead, let’s look at how Irish parties have traditionally aligned with Europe.

In the last parliament, the largest parties were the European People’s Party (EPP), Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats from Europe (ALDE). These would all be roughly centrist, with the EPP being a little more right and S&D being more left of the others. Traditionally, MEPs would choose which EU party reflected their values after their appointment.

Fine Gael is currently firmly aligned with the EPP. All four of its elected MEPs: Brian Hayes, Seán Kelly, Deirdre Clune and Mairead McGuiness, are members of the party.

Mairead McGuiness, who is also Vice-President of EPP, was briefly tipped to take over the party leadership and by extension the parliament presidency when the domestic Italian elections looked to threaten President Tajani’s position.

The other party with the most Irish MEPs is the European United Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE-NGL).

Three Sinn Féin (most notable among these being Liadh Ni Riada, the recent presidential candidate) and one independent (the inimitable Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan). This party is hard left and so it makes sense as the natural home for Sinn Féin on the left-right spectrum.

In the last race, Fianna Fáil had only one successful candidate: MEP Brian Crowley. While FF assert themselves as aligned with ALDE, Crowley broke rank following his election in 2014 and instead joined the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) against party wishes. The ECR is a Eurosceptic party first established by the UK’s Conservative party. While not as hard-line as Farage’s EFD, it is nevertheless notably rightwing. Crowley insisted that ECR was a ‘non-federalist, pro-EU party’ with the goals of creating long-term jobs and prosperity within member states. This sudden switch between ALDE and ECR, while an embarrassment for

had much effect in the long-run, given Crowley’s abysmal attendance to the EU. Vote Watch currently ranks him at 0% attendance to roll-call votes. Prior to his election concerns were raised around MEP Crowley’s health and this is widely considered the reason for his absence, calls have repeatedly been made for Crowley to relinquish his position.

As Crowley’s switch to ECR shows, there is no guarantee that candidates from particular Irish parties end up in the same EU ones, but for the sake of simplicity, the current token alignments are as follows: Fine Gael - EPP Labour - S&D Fianna Fáil - ALDE Sinn Féin - NUE-NGL Green Party - Greens Solidarity/PBP - NUE-NGL

As always there is the chance that new independents or hitherto unaligned parties are elected, in which case we will have to see where they choose to base themselves. How is the EU party distribution likely to change as a whole?

Aside from the removal of British MEPs from the mix, there remain two key factors for change that are likely to

“If no agreement is reached, then Britain will be unrepresented within a political body in which it is largely still a participating member. ” impact the 2019 elections: a) President Macron and b) a rise in right-wing populism.

Since his election to the French presidency, Macron has positioned himself as a man of Europe – taking a hands-on approach to France’s EU involvement. While the spitzenkandidat process for commissioner appointment seems to have failed, Macron’s self-founded party, En Marche, remains free to throw with any of the top EU parties. It looks likely that En Marche may affiliate itself with ALDE, which would reduce the power of the EPP, skewing the EU landscape slightly more to left of centre. It is also possible that En Marche could set up its own party, separate to those currently in place.

Since the last EU elections in 2014 right-wing populist movements have blossomed across Europe. It is likely that there will be a significant swing to the far right and Eurosceptic parties in this term. Countries like Hungary and Italy that now have anti-Euro governments will be seeking to undermine the system in the EU parliament.

While there is little sign of populist movements entering mainstream Irish politics, the European Parliament has previously proven a springboard for Eurosceptic parties from other member states. Representatives have been able to gain election there more easily and use the platform to support populist movements at home.

While these issues may feel a little distant to Irish politics, they are important matters to consider. As more hard-line Eurosceptics enter the parliament it will become harder for legislation to be passed quickly through the system. The EU is often criticised for being slow to act or overly bureaucratic, but these qualities will only become more apparent as the left-right divide widens and the lead in representation held by parties like EPP diminishes.

Low voter turnout highlights a hollow Students are excluded election - but it didn’t from rent-pressure zones need to be like this Katia Gillen explains how students are left exposed to rising rent prices due to poor protection, and what legislation is being brought in to combat this.

Claudy Dalby discusses what lead to a low voter turnout - nonsense, the media and local councils

The exorbitant price of student accommodation has dominated news headlines every year as students return to university. This summer, both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin proposed legislation to introduce rent caps on accommodation built purposefully for students. Over the past year, prices on student accommodation have seen increases of 15-20%, according to An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. This has been allowed to happen as student accommodation does not fall under the legislation for rentpressure zones, which limit annual rent increases to 4% in specific areas. This is the case for most student digs, as agreements are made using licences and not tenancies.

Hence, students are not classed as tenants and do not receive the same protections.

The issue of student accommodation came to national attention after DCU students held several protests against the large rent hikes last May. Students that resided in Shanowen Student Residences were protesting 27% rent increases.

Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin, who introduced The Residential Tenancies (student rents, rights and protections) Bill 2018 in the Dáil, commended DCU students for the protests. The Bill aims to class students residing in purpose-built accommodation as tenants and therefore to afford them the same protections. Ó Broin urged all students availing of student residences to speak to the residential tenancy board, so as to clarify how the law operated in regard to licensing agreements currently in use.

A 2015 Higher Education Authority (HEA) report revealed that there was a serious lack of accommodation for students to live in while attending university. Over the last year, 3,000 new spaces for individual students were built and 7,000 more are currently under construction.

Moreover, planning permission was given to another 7,000 other places.

Speaking of residences that are currently available Varadkar said “this student accommodation is great, it is high quality, it is brilliant that we have it.” He also noted the price hikes in his statement, which he said he didn’t think “anyone [could] stand over”.

Varadkar also stated that “what we don’t want to do though is throw the baby out with the bathwater. And the problem sometimes with legislation is that it goes too far... you might actually cause developers to stop building the student accommodation. The risk with the Opposition legislation is that their legislation might go too far”.

The 2018 Presidential election saw the lowest turnout of voters than ever before at 43.87% of the electorate.

President Higgins was re-elected, coming at little shock after polling high continuously throughout the campaign.

At the same time, almost discreetly, the referendum on blasphemy was voted to be repealed at 64.85% voting yes.

No one has ever been prosecuted for blasphemy and so, the vote had low stakes as it was and people likely saw their vote as a symbolic statement, if they did end up voting at all.

Why such a low count, when 64% of the electorate were out to vote mere months ago? What’s more, Irish people have actually seemed more politically motivated since the referendum, rather than less so. The Stand for Truth protest against the Pope’s visit had 5,000 attendees, and Take Back the City had 10,000 out demanding attention on the housing crisis. Despite the fact that the eighth amendment has been repealed, September’s March for Choice saw thousands still marching for reproductive rights. So Irish people haven’t shown apathy towards social issues, or started to believe that political action does not make a difference.

It was surely the bread and circus being presented to them. As the figurehead role of the president is more honorary of a person’s merit and values, rather than a matter of convincing a people that their quality of life in society will improve under one’s representation, the many candidates could do with re-reading the job description, which seemed to be lost on them.

We saw this in 2011; six or seven candidates is simply too many. People disconnect from the pageant; the bellowing their voices above one another, loudly vying to simply be the better option over someone else, becomes too much to stand to listen. To reach this platform the candidates - except for the incumbent president - had to receive nominations from local Councils. Gemma O’Doherty achieving even one nomination calls into question the standards set by County Councils. They do not seem to fully appreciate the weight that the number of candidates adds to the quality of the election, and their method of nomination clearly needs to be revisited with appropriate standards set.

Particularly when focusing on the financial aspect of the race, a lot was spent allowing five hopefuls the chance to say why they are a better choice than a president that was already polling far above them all combined. They all seemed to vaguely attribute their reason for running to be

16 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

The Taoiseach and the parties proposing the legislation agreed to promote digs and the rent a room scheme.

They also set out “to work over the summer on legislative proposals to limit the increases in the price of students accommodation.”

The protest gathered the support of the Union of Students Ireland (USI) who said they “welcomed the comments made by the Taoiseach proposing legislation on rent caps for purpose built student accommodation,” in a statement they released on the 17th July of this year. In their statement they explained that “spikes in rental costs are making student accommodation and higher education unaffordable for students, and are pushing them back into the already overcrowded private rental sector, away from third level institutions. Legislation would ensure that student accommodation providers would have to adhere to rent pressure zones. It’s time we stopped treating students like cash cows.”

With the new legislation being formed so at it will stand against the Opposition’s criticism and reach the High Court, many students are criticising the government for focusing on “long-term solutions” and neglecting to offer short term, immediate solutions for students currently facing deferring their course or dropping out completely due to rent prices in Dublin. In a panel discussion with Minister Maria Bailey on housing, UCD Students’ Union President Barry Murphy said “students who have to commute 2 hours to college, are not the getting the college experience they are paying for… there needs to be more short term solutions.”

The response from Deputy Bailey in which she recounted that she travelled from “Killiney to Finglas, I just did it, I didn’t think twice”, highlights the disconnect the current government have with third level students and the fees they pay not only for housing but also university.

Rent caps are not only affecting students’ experiences in university. During the presentation of the Budget 2019, Finance and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe acknowledged that more work was needed to provide “permanent solutions for those in temporary and emergency accommodation and to improve affordability for those on low and middle incomes,” as there are currently 10,000 homeless people in Ireland, forced to live in hotels or on the streets. The Budget 2019 saw €2.3 billion allocated to the housing programme in the coming year. €93 million was channeled into funds for local authorities to begin construction of new accommodation.

because it was “time for change”. Each candidate had their own side-scandal of the election - from Liadh Ni Riada claiming to earn a “living wage”, to Sean Gallagher trying to turn seven years as a landlord into valiant heroism for his community. Nonetheless, Irish people could make out who understood the limits of the role, and who was there to satisfy a personal need for attention.

Perhaps, if the election were treated less like an entertainment spectacle, we may have been better off.

Why were the candidates permitted to drag one another in RTE studios? Why was unbridled and disproportionate attention given to Peter Casey’s prejudiced comments against Travellers and people on social welfare? The Irish media are stunned at the 18% leap Casey made in the final result, as if they weren’t giving his statements attention above everything else.

Indeed, Michael D. Higgins was elected on a landslide, and yet Peter Casey was the one bombarded by cameras flashing for images making it to the front page of The Sunday Times Ireland. 3.2 million people were registered to vote as of May 2018. Peter Casey achieved 342,736 just 9% of the electorate.

When vulnerable people are used as a political tool for politicians, it is at their expense. Travellers identities and ethnicity was rung out in the wake of the blunder of Peter Casey. And it was a blunder - there was no method, no deeper thought behind flinging prejudiced and racist statements to see what would stick. The Irish people who saw their beliefs echoed in these words, voted for him because they too, do not respect the ethnicities of Travellers, and see a place to lay blame or hatred. This prejudice does clearly, have a place in Irish politics, until Traveller heritage and culture is fully welcomed in Irish society. But you would be mistaken to believe that Casey’s comments deserve anything more than media scrutiny over, somehow, the benefit of the doubt.

Had the media treated the election responsibility, there may have been more time taken to the discourse surrounding the blasphemy vote, surely in line with familiar sentiments of separating church and state that cropped up during the eighth amendment referendum, and have carried since during the visit of the pope. Given the results, it would seem that Irish people can make their minds up about something without the need for televised debates, damning opinion pieces and abuse as a form of entertainment.

PUZZLES

The Literary Alpaca

The Literary Alpaca 1 2

3 4 5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12 13 14

Across

Down

2. Highest grossing horror film of all time.

1. These archetypes always survived the until the end of the horror film.

4. LA Duo notorious for committing murders on Halloween night.

5. This Fury is nothing like Desire.

6. Referred to as the original scream queen.

9. The Celtic festival that Halloween originated from.

10. The deputy editor's favourite time of year.

12. Romanians refer to Halloween as: Day of ____ 14. Sabrina can't hold a candle to this New Orleans resident.

3. The master of literary horror.

7. A dish served by a brainless delivery boy who was like a bat out of hell.

8. The type of ritual associated with festivals such as Halloween and Pride.

11. This carnivorous flora is one mean green mother from outer space.

13. The director who pumped new life into the slasher genre in the 1990s.

14. A popular low-budget horror film that spawned several sequels.

31ST OCTOBER 2018

17

EDITORIAL Editorial On 25th October, the European Parliament voted to ban the use of “single-use” plastics, which would mean that plastic straws, disposable plastic plates and cutlery would be banned in the near future, pending the ban being incorporated into EU law. This ban will also mean that 90% of plastic bottles will be recycled by 2025, according to the Irish Times. Undoubtedly, the UN climate change report that stated we have less than 12 years to mobilize a complete conversion from fossil fuels over to green energy played a role in gathering support prior to the vote on the ban.The vote passing the ban on single-use plastic was heralded as the pust the Irish government needed to take action on a national level for promoting recycling and other environmentally friendly practises.

Currently, there is only one policy concerning recycling in the most recent updated Policy Book for UCD Students’ Union. This policy was brought to forward to council by then Stage 3 Science class representative, Katie McDermott in the academic year 2015/2016. After the motion was discussed, Council mandated the Students’ Union to “back an increase in the number of general litter bins and recycling facilities throughout campus.”

THE UNIVERSITY OBSERVER TEAM Three years on and it is only now do we see a significant trial run of recycling being introduced to one part of the UCD Belfield campus, the Sutherland School of Law building. After numerous attempts and petitions from groups of students, most recently the Biological Society’s petition in April of this year that gathered just shy of 2,000 signatures, highlighting the lack of recycling and brown bins on campus, it raises the question as to why it took this long to see practical measures being carried out.

Lack of recycling facilities on campus is just part of the issue at large. Much like the “Consent is Tea” video that was shown to many incoming students during orientation week, there needs to be a greater emphasis on effective recycling and what practical steps students can take to ensure a more environmentally-friendly campus.

If the Union divert time and funds into launching more campaigns that involve students at grassroots level, it will most likely see a return from students across campus. The petitions have shown that the will is there, students just need a little more guidance from sabbatical officers who have influence and resources.

The Green Campus Committee, is chaired by Professor

Michael Monaghan and run by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The Committee have rightly turned their attention to achieving An Tasice’s Green Campus Flag. The project will introduce Green Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the sub-theme of Climate Justice to students in UCD as a way to introduce the management systems as day-to-day operations.

It is unfair to say that, because the Union have received few mandates surrounding environmental sustainability, they have been sitting idly by on this issue. Earlier in October, Katie O’Dea and the UCD Green Campus created a Twitter so students and staff of UCD could receive updates and information on the work this initiative is undertaking to make the campus more environmentally-friendly. This work is being carried out in conjunction with UCD Estate Services with a goal of achieving a Green Flag by the end of 2019. This obtainable goal sets clear points for students to work towards, as a large portion would be familiar with the Green Schools programmer from first and second level education in Ireland.

ART AND DESIGN EDITOR Fiachra Johnston NEWS EDITOR Gavin Tracey INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR Úna Sinnott SU AFFAIRS EDITOR Katia Gillen SOCIETIES EDITOR Chloe Maguire Sedgwick

FEATURES EDITOR Vacant Dampen the earth with your tears of reverence, and scrub thine eyes with coarse grit: Talley’s in the house.

Did you festering peasants enjoy the long weekend? No, Talley neither. It seemed longer than most, given the ‘hot takes’ coming in thick and fast off the back of that tortuous election. Many have remarked that the farcical contest of would-be King or Queen of Ireland was remarkably similar to the pantomime of an election that transpired in the grounds of Belfield campus just last year. Unfortunately, such an analogy would require us to believe that one Barry Murphy is as soft-spoken as a poet and that he stands as a principled bastion of loving embrace against an otherwise racially charged challenger to the throne. If there is one similarity between Murphy and President Higgins, it’s their remarkable last-minute affinities for second terms.

Murphy only wishes his terms lasted seven years.

Truthfully, Talley very much doubts that Murphy even likes dogs (although in this respect it must be said that his lunch meat is of unknown origin and therefore highly suspect). On the subject of Murphy’s poetic tendencies, Talley can confirm that the illustrious President has spent much of his time locked away in his office trying desperately, against all odds, to find something to rhyme with “luxury 6 pin bowling”. Rhyme or no, Talley suspects Murphy’s soundbites are more trick than treat. Still, Talley will grit his teeth and be forever grateful that Gemma O’Doherty is not among the sabbatical team.

Speaking of people retiring into obscurity, Talley wonders what becomes of sabbaticals once they expire?

Former Education Officer Robert Sweeney has been spotted roaming the corridors of the Smurfit Graduate School of Business, begging for spare change to fund his commoners’ MSc. On the subject of commoners, Talley attended the annual graduation dinner for UCD’s noble Ad Astra Scholars this past week. When I emerged three days later from the cocoon of self-indulgent tripe, covered head to toe in fecal matter, I paused to wonder whether they are truly born gifted or if the Academy taught them to fit their entire cranium up there. Of course, we are all very proud of their achievements and Talley wishes them the best of luck in their future endeavours (“don’t forget your roots” chime UCD Alumni, holding a bucket of loose change), however I do wonder whether there are enough notable rugby-playing commerce alumni?

Talley is merely jealous, of course. He only wishes he were celebrated half as much as those graduate scholars who didn’t even bother to collect their personalised pens.

To quote the Ad Astra Academy’s mantra: “Follow. The. Money.”

Op-Ed: HealthyUCD and the University as public relations machine We are members of HealthyWealthyUCD, a grassroots organisation dedicated to making the UCD Sports Centre accessible to UCD staff in a way that it is not at present.

18 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

DEPUTY EDITOR Dylan O’Neill

HIGHER EDUCATION EDITOR Brian Treacy

Talleyrand

The HealthyUCD strategy was launched by UCD HR in March 2016 as both a ‘Health Promotion Strategic Plan’ and a public relations campaign, accompanied by a lot of high-flown and inspiring rhetoric. The objective? Nothing less than to ‘change the mind-set, culture and attitude of our community towards positive and beneficial health promoting structures, practices and policies across the full spectrum of physical, mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing.’ And if that seems ambitious, well, how about this?: ‘UCD as a health promoting university will enhance the success of our institution, create a campus culture of compassion, wellbeing, equity and social justice.’ Cures for all known diseases are apparently only just outside the scope of the strategy.

While a measure of cynicism toward some of it is justified, when you cut through the pea soup of managerial newspeak in which the strategy parts of the strategy document are written, the general ambitions of the project are good ones. UCD did lack any kind of coordinated approach to staff and student health and it was a good idea to take steps to acknowledge the importance of staff and student health and to put such an approach in place. Every workplace should provide opportunities and encouragement for their staff to maintain and improve their health. Even in the narrow economic terms in which so much policy at UCD is cast, it makes sense to improve the health of the workforce if only because healthy workers cost less. Or, to put it another way, there are costs involved in neglecting the health of one’s workforce.

However, this high-minded strategy had one enormous and glaring omission: the role of the Sports Centre in the health of staff. Where for students, ‘usage of sports and fitness facilities’ is one of the strategy’s Key Performance

EDITOR Brían Donnelly

Indicators’, when it comes to staff, those facilities are not mentioned. Imagine: the very new state-of-the-art sports facility with its 50-metre pool and dozens of fitness machines hardly features in the Health Promotion Strategic Plan. UCD Sport and Fitness (which controls the pool and the fitness equipment) is mentioned exactly once in the document but seems to have no role in the strategy for staff health.

The reason is that UCD Sport and Fitness (UCDSF) is being run as a private company, wholly owned by UCD. Despite UCDSF being headed by the same person who heads HealthyUCD, nothing about the way it is run would lead anyone to believe that concern for the well-being of UCD staff plays any part in its operations. Not surprisingly, the prices charged to staff are, by far, the highest charged by any university in the Republic to its own staff to use oncampus facilities, almost 55% more expensive than Trinity when paid for on a month-to-month basis.

UCDSF charges staff €450 per annum, payable in advance. For staff who don’t happen to have €450 lying around or are worried about injury or not using the facility enough to justify that kind of outlay, there is a monthly rolling direct debit option of €45 per month (€540 per annum), each and every month. Over the course of a 40year career, that comes to over €21,000 of after-tax income.

Unlike UL, UCDSF offers no pay-as-you-go option for the use of either the pool or the gym. Those who are just starting out, those who are injured or recovering from injury, those on modest incomes: none of these people have any option suitable for them or that represents value for money. Keep in mind that a great many salaries at UCD remain quite modest. For example, Library Assistants start at €24,000.

It is simply not within reach of most of those to pay €45

every month out of their after tax pay packet, especially while living in Dublin.

Effectively, what this pricing policy (high prices and zero flexibility) achieves is to segregate UCD staff by income in their access to fitness facilities. On the one hand are those who make enough money to pay such prices.

Their fitness needs are catered for. On the other hand are those who are paid less: they are effectively excluded from the use of any campus-based fitness equipment. Yes, they can take spinning classes for a fee and they can run around the campus for free. But that is it.

Meanwhile, UCDSF makes great efforts to attract outside punters who pay princely sums for membership: they are given a dedicated car park, towel service, dedicated changing rooms so they don’t have to mingle with actual members of the UCD community. These people need not have any connection to the university, yet they are given priority in all kinds of ways over the staff and students of UCD. One might wonder how dividing the staff into two classes, one of which is effectively excluded from using the on-campus sports facilities, is compatible with the stated desire, as expressed in the Strategy document by the Chair of HealthyUCD, to ‘create a campus culture of compassion . . . equity and social justice’. It’s a cynical game, one that undermines the ability of the administration to engage its staff.

We urge UCD Staff who are fed up with the current inflexible and expensive pricing arrangement to sign our petition at: https://u.nu/24z0. You can also find it by searching on Change.org or by following us on Twitter (@ HlthyWlthyUCD) or Facebook (@healthywealthyucd/)

COMMENT EDITOR Nathan Young AGRICULTURE & RURAL AFFAIRS EDITOR Dáire Brady PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION EDITOR William Higgins LAW & POLITICS EDITOR Vacant SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Emmet Feerick DEPUTY SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Séan Mooney EARARTHOIR GAEILGE Hugh Mac Giolla Chearra SPORTS EDITOR Rory Clarke DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR Colmán Stanley CHIEF OF PHOTOGRAPHY Alex Fagan CHIEF OF ILLUSTRATIONS Freya Williams CHIEF OF VIDEOGRAPHY Orla Keaveney COLUMNISTS Molly Greenough Matthew Tannam-Elgie Veronica Rozynek STAFF WRITERS Sofia Dragacevac Jack McNicholl CONTRIBUTORS Jade Wilson Orla Keaveny Eva O’Hara Jason Conroy Sophie Carberry Shivani Shukla Doireann De Courcy McDonnell Caoilfhinn Hegarty James Donaghey Evelyn Elias Fiona Gallagher Aoibhs Magill Laurence Childs Eoin Leeson Ódhran McDonnell SPECIAL THANKS Evan Ryan and the staff at Everleigh CONGRATULATIONS The staff of the University Observer would like to congratulate Catherine Condron on her recent nuptials last week. Congratulations Mrs. McGrath, enjoy the honeymoon!

SPORT Sports shorts Eoin Leeson

The curious case of octopus wrestling To many of us, the extinction of our favourite sports seems both unrealistic and unimaginable, but for fans of octopus wrestling, this became an unfortunate reality in 2013. Competitive octopus wrestling had its golden era in the 1960s. Hundreds of divers would compete in the World Octopus Wrestling Championships with crowds of thousands flocking to take in the spectacle and network TV broadcasting the event.

The competition saw the athletes attempt to catch as many octopi as they could in 2 hours, with points awarded per pound the octopus weighed. Gary Keffler, a 3-time World Champion, once wrestled an octopus that was 21ft long and detailed that the best way to catch them is to ‘grab them where the tentacles meet the head’. The furore around this sport dampened majorly in the ‘70s as the cruelty of it became clear and people began to appreciate the intelligence and complexity of the animals. Extinction arrived when the harassing of octopi was outlawed by the State of Washington.

Playing club trumps Ibiza If there are any young GAA players out there looking for a lesson in commitment, they need look no further than County Down star Connaire Harrison. The All-Star nominee flew home in the middle of his 5-day stag do in Ibiza to play his club’s (Neadsen Gaels) intermediate Championship final in London, before flying straight back to the party island after the game.

The forward, despite having recently admitted that his ‘toughest opponent’ is alcohol, tweeted his manager to assure him he wouldn’t be drinking before the game.

Indeed he certainly didn’t seem to be feeling the effects of the getaway; he landed 3 points and won 2 penalties as his team completed a league and championship double with a 2-13 to 0-13 win over St Joseph’s. A happy man in the Departures lounge so, even if he did pick up a busted nose and lip during the game.

Bolt bangs in brace Usain Bolt continued his quest to earn a professional contract in the Australian soccer league as he scored twice in a recent trial match for the Central Coast Mariners. Sporting the number ‘95 in reference to his world-record sprint time, he netted his first goal with a well taken individual effort; holding off the defender before firing the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot.

The second goal was rather simpler; tapping into an empty net after a defensive mix-up. Signs of improvement from his twenty-minute cameo in his first trial game were clear. His running off the ball is smarter but despite leaving the field in the 75th minute to a rousing standing ovation, there is still work to be done with Bolt himself noting that his ‘vision’ needs to improve.

The scariest man in boxing There aren’t many boxers in the world who can instill such fear in their opponents that they make them leave the ring without throwing a single punch, but that’s exactly what Efe Ajagba did to Curtis Harper – at least, that’s how Ajagba’s promoter sees it. Harper lost the heavyweight bout in dramatic fashion after exiting the ring as the bell rang for the first round to start! The crowd watched, dumbfounded, as Harper walked alone back to the locker rooms. Ajagba was ruled the winner by way of disqualification just one second into the fight.

Whether the fear of Ajagba was actually the reason for Harper’s hasty exit remains ambiguous. Harper has reportedly said it was due to him not being paid enough to fight and because he wants respect.

The W-Series: a pathway to success or a token gesture?

Odhrán McDonnell asks does the newly created series offer aspiring female drivers a springboard to Formula 1, or is it simply another barrier for them to overcome?

While the on-track events in the world of motorsport have been petering out into an end-of-season anticlimax, the off-track news has provided fans with plenty of topics for discussion. The futures of Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon have been subject to much heated debate, but a potentially more divisive and less discussed recent development has been the announcement of an exclusive womens’ feeder category, to commence in May 2019.

The organisers of the W-Series believe that women are not being presented with the opportunities to reach the promised land of Formula 1, and that the new series can provide female drivers with a platform to showcase their talents. They are basing their new model on a “firm belief that women can compete equally with men” despite the

“Does creating a womenonly series really give female drivers opportunities to progress to F2 and F1, or is it merely a token gesture towards them?” current lack of female representation in the sport. They are offering free entry for 18-20 female drivers based on merit alone, and the winner will receive $500,000 to fund future endeavours in the sport.

Gender inequality in motorsport is not a new issue by any means, but history suggests that it has never been a priority for motorsport authorities. The statistics are shocking: only two female drivers have started a Formula 1 race since the inception of the F1 Championship in 1950. No woman has ever scored a full championship point. Lella Lombardi is the only female points scorer in F1 history, having scored half a point in a shortened race in 1975. In recent history, Susie Wolff drove in some practice sessions in 2014 and 2015 for the Williams F1 Team, but retired from the sport after 2015 citing a lack of further opportunities. Tatiana Calderon, a Colombian driver, currently leads the way for women in motorsport as the test driver for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team, but with the current shortage of seats on the F1 grid, it would hardly be surprising to see her being forced to backtrack as Wolff did before her.

David Coulthard, a former F1 race winner and a member of the advisory board for the W-Series, believes that the struggles of the likes of Wolff to pursue their F1 dreams are because of a “glass ceiling” between women and the top tiers of motorsport. It is hard to argue with this claim given the lack of female competitors in F1 history.

It seems that they can progress through the karting ranks to Formula 3, but that any further progression requires a

significant level of funding in addition to an incredible level of natural talent. The organisers are presenting the W-Series as a stage on which female drivers can progress towards the next level, and as an opportunity for them to develop the skills which will hopefully see them break the “glass ceiling” in the future.

However, in the meantime, the W-Series can be a competition through which the best female drivers can inspire young girls to pursue a career in motorsport. The unfortunate truth is that young girls often turn away from karting at a young age in favour of another sport due to the lack of female role models in the higher Formula categories. The W-Series would be well placed to show aspiring female stars that there are opportunities for them in the sport.

Unfortunately, while the intentions of the organisers of the new series are honourable, the concept is not without its flaws and notable detractors. Claire Williams, the deputy principal of the Williams F1 Team described the idea as a “regressive step.” Pippa Mann, a British racer who has competed six times at the Indy 500, was even more scathing in her criticism, labelling the announcement of the W-Series as a “sad day for motorsport” as the concept will only serve to “segregate” female drivers “as opposed to supporting them”. While this stance does not acknowledge the positive intentions of the series organisers, it does raise a critical question: does creating a women-only series really give female drivers opportunities to progress to F2 and F1, or is it merely a token gesture towards them?

It is unclear as to what the next step would be for successful drivers in the series: there is no guarantee that F2 or F1 teams would ever recruit W-Series winners. There is a chance that they might look to the W-Series for drivers, but recruitment decisions will always be based on performance alone. It could be argued that the W-Series will present more female drivers with a platform on which to showcase their talent, but if the end goal is to increase female competition in the male dominated environment of F1, is it not a counterproductive step to segregate them into their own exclusive series?

While the creation of the W-Series clearly displays the willingness of the governing bodies of motorsport to address the challenge of gender inequality in the top tiers of the sport, it is unclear as to whether their solution will produce the desired changes. If the funding is there to create a whole new series for women, surely this money could be better spent on helping the top current female drivers to compete in the existing feeder series of F1 against their male counterparts?

While the W-Series will inspire young girls to pursue a career in motorsport, it may not provide more women with the opportunity to compete against men in the top tiers of motorsport. If women like Lellu Lombardi and Tatiana Calderon can reach F1 without a women’s feeder category, there is no reason why other aspiring female drivers can not do likewise with some serious funding. The W-Series has been created with all the best intentions at heart, but it is unclear as to whether it will address the problem of gender inequality in F1.

Club Focus: Athletics, running the good race The UCD Squash Club is in the spotlight in this issue’s Club Focus, as.

Rory Clarke discovers how this Club attracts such a loyal following.

The UCD Squash club is well known for being one of the most friendly and accessible clubs campus, with more health benefits than we have space to describe! I chatted to David Lynch, Club Captain for the 2018/2019 session to learn how and why this unique racket sport is worth ‘squashing’ into your timetable.

The Squash Club is well catered for in the student centre, with 4 courts available for any and all who wish to play. This offers the Squash Club enviable flexibility in training times and court access. Training takes place twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday from 17:20-21:20, with members “free to attend at whatever times best fit their schedule”. With all the necessary equipment provided at training - namely rackets, balls, and protective eyewear there is no excuse not to give it a try.

Indeed Lynch stresses that although “the Club aims to develop the ability of players at all levels” there is “a massive focus on beginners”. Newcomers are welcomed with open arms and taught the basics of technique and strategy by professional coach Ed Dunne each Thursday.

To further entice newcomers this year, the Club has introduced “a ladder system [which] allows members to arrange matches against similarly skilled opponents”. This avoids demoralising heavy defeats and encourages healthy competition, hopefully avoiding alienating new members.

Forbes has consistently ranked squash as the world’s healthiest sport because it requires “agility, endurance, and power”. Squash is an energetic racket sport that rewards quick thinking and quick feet. There are few other activities that can match the breadth of muscles used in squash. According to captain Lynch, “one of the main advantages of playing squash regularly is that your fitness level and coordination will be improved”.

The Squash Club also competes - very successfully in several competitive tournaments during the academic year. The annual ‘Colours’ tournament against Trinity takes place in mid-November. Further complementing their focus on new members Lynch comments that “all members are encouraged to participate, regardless of how long they

have been playing.” Most matches are followed by free food and drinks in the Student Bar, and the festivities generally continue into town. Intervarsities is the highlight event of the Club’s year. This year’s edition will take place in Belfast during the second semester - where UCD will be vying with five other Irish universities over a full weekend of squash for the prestigious title. In addition to Colours and Intervarsities, a number of in-house social tournaments will be convened over the coming months including a Ladder Tournament and the Club Championships.

“Lynch stresses that although “the Club aims to develop the ability of players at all levels” there is “a massive focus on beginners”.

UCD dominated at both the Colours and Intervarsities championships last year. Lynch is ambitious for the Club this year, as he looks to follow up on a stellar year under the stewardship of Oliver Reid. The Captain is “aiming to defend [their] titles in the 2018/2019 season. A number of talented players have joined the Club this year, so we are poised for success”.

There really is no reason not to give squash a try. It is one of the most inclusive and active clubs on campus and with such comprehensive training times it would be difficult not to find a time when you could play! What better way to relieve the stress of deadlines and midterms than with a sport where you can hit the ball as hard as you like! The Club can be contacted through email at squash@ ucd.ie or join their group on Facebook.

31ST OCTOBER 2018

19

SPORT Clonskeagh - the original home of Gaelic football.

Colmán Stanley details the surprising history of the first All Ireland final, played on UCD’s own doorstep.

‘Men lovingly at war’ was how the founder of the GAA, Michael Cusack, described the early games of Gaelic football. Unbeknownst to many, the most prestigious of these ‘wars’ took place on the outskirts of UCD itself.

At the back of the Thornton pitches on Belfield campus there is a gap in a wall, about a foot wide. Behind it is a rundown basketball court, a football pitch, a block of flats, and an old-fashioned Dublin housing estate. This is Beech Hill, hidden away in the heart of Dublin 4, and the site of the very first All-Ireland Football Final. It feels strange that the scene of such a monumental moment in our sporting and cultural history is not more widely recognised.

Only for a plaque at the estate entrance, one would not be aware that this unassuming place had such a rich sporting history. Not only is the match important for being the first of the main event in the Irish sporting calendar, but the events surrounding it reflected the wider political and social issues of Ireland in the late 19th century.

The concept of an All-Ireland competition was born out of a need for funds, and to increase the popularity of Gaelic football, and thus the GAA decided to launch the hurling and football All-Ireland Championships in 1887.

The plan was that clubs would compete in their county championship and the winner would represent their county in the main tournament. Nine counties competed in the first Championship, with some games also being played in Elm Park, just a five minute walk from Belfield.

A large aspect of Irish politics at the time was the differences and disagreements between different groups.

On one side, you had the Parnellites who were aligned with the clergy, and the other side were the Fenians. This was no different within the GAA, and the rift between the two sides threatened the survival of the Championship and the GAA itself. Thankfully there was a resolution, with the Parnellites and clergy forming a new committee, and the competition, which was scheduled for 1887, was able to reach a conclusion the following year.

The two teams involved in the final reflected the dominance urban clubs had in football at the time, while the rural clubs dominated hurling and athletics. The two teams involved in the inaugural final were the Limerick Commercials, and the Dundalk Young Irelands. The Commercials had been founded by and for businessmen of Limerick City and their employees. Their team featured the best footballer of the time, Malachi O’Brien, then only a teenager. On their way to the final the club defeated the representatives of Meath, Kilkenny, and Tipperary.

The Dundalk Young Irelands had been founded by the Young Ireland Society to help revive Irish national identity, language, and culture. Their route to the final featured wins

against the champions of Wexford and Waterford.

At the time, the venue for the final was known as ‘The Big Bank’ or Byrne’s field, and was home to Benburb Football Club. It was played on Sunday the 29th of April 1888, and was a somewhat disorganised affair. The Dundalk Democrat claimed that their team only found out

“Unbeknown to many, the most prestigious of these ‘wars’ took place on the outskirts of UCD itself. ” about the fixture on the Friday before it was played, and the Freeman’s Journal commented that while a crowd of 3,0004,000 was respectable, it certainly would have been larger had the competition not been postponed. Despite these setbacks, the event was a success, and as was written at the time “the remembrance of an unpleasant past [referring to the rift in the GAA] is completely obliterated.”

The game was played in ‘glorious weather’, and refereed by future MP John Cullinane, who had recently been in prison over his participation in the Land War. The Dundalk team took a 0-3 to 0-1 lead into half-time, with their ‘hand punting’ being a stand out feature of their play.

The Commercials fought back in the second half with ‘fast, determined charging’, and won 1-4 to 0-3. However, there was controversy for both sides following the match. The Dundalk Democrat wrote of contentious decisions from the referee, and went as far as to say he was cheering after Limerick had scored. The Dundalk club also attempted to get the result overturned as Commercials player, William J. Spain had previously played for the Dublin Kickham’s Club. The Limerick club remained bitter towards the GAA for years regarding transport costs, and for not receiving their winner’s medals until 1912.

Only a few weeks later, on the 21st May, the same ground hosted the ‘Whitsuntide Athletics Carnival of the Gaelic Athletic Association’, to which another large crowd showed up. The staging of these events cements Clonskeagh’s place in the history of the GAA and Irish sport. This townland that is now associated with tennis and rugby clubs was once the home of one of the nation’s great pastimes.

‘The … meeting at Clonskeagh was of absorbing interest … to those of every county … of every supporter of our National pastimes’. Freeman’s Journal, 1888.

Africa’s time is now: Senegal & the Youth Olympics Rory Clarke tracks the development of Africa as a modern sporting host, as Senegal is awarded the Youth Olympic Games.

Sunny Buenos Aires was the backdrop for a piece of sporting history earlier this month, as the International Olympic Committee unanimously voted to award the 4th Youth Olympic Games in 2022 to Senegal, Africa. This will see the celebrated Grecian rings visit the world’s 2nd most populous continent for the first time in their illustrious history. Although some will say this is solely as a result of the IOC decision to actively target the continent as host for these games, such cynicism cannot be allowed to trivialise such a momentous moment.

Far from being a shock, this result was in fact, long overdue. Although many citizens of so-called ‘developed

nations’ have an inherent bias and mistrust of Africa - it is nearly completely unjustified. The prevalent misconception is of roaming tribes and lawless deserts. Little to no respect is afforded to the African people for the growing strength of their economies and moreover their determination to be at the forefront of global development, all the while maintaining their unique culture & tradition.

Since hosting its first major sporting event, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Africa as a modern sporting host, has gone from strength to strength. The 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa was rightly celebrated, its organisers lauded and its adoring crowds applauded. Both events

came off relatively hitch-free, despite the difficulties many expected. Nelson Mandela’s awarding of the Webb Ellis Trophy in 1995 has become an iconic moment, while the silky Spaniard’s victory over an ultra-aggressive Netherlands team in 2010 served to vindicate those advocates of the ‘beautiful game’.

In the prelude to each tournament many pointed to the relative lateness to which South Africa had come to the

“This will see the celebrated Grecian rings visit the world’s 2nd most populous continent for the first time in their illustrious world of fundamental and universal human rights; namely the apartheid crisis in the early 1990s. There were fears of further mass xenophobia, violence and kidnapping none of which came to fruition. Indeed both were widely recognised as some of the most successful events in recent memory, with laughter, joy and a fierce appetite for sport evident throughout.

Compare this to the hosts of the World Cup just gone.

Although martial policing in Russia prevented widespread violence during the World Cup itself, the attitudes of Russian football fans was made perfectly clear in France in 2016. Roving gangs of ultras terrorised the streets while racism and other vitriol poured down like rain from the stands. Never have African fans occasioned fear and terror akin to that inspired by the sight of these mobs; masked men, attacking each other, throwing bottles, breaking bones and spilling blood. In fact the two groups could not be more dissimilar. One, the essence of anarchy, the other warm, welcoming, and always, always, smiling.

It is true to say that South Africa has always been one of the most European of African nations. The first European to step foot on African soil landed in South Africa. South Africa was a European colony for over 300 years. It has, if not kept quite apace with European development, been the least far behind. These games mark a departure then, from a European Africa to a truly African Africa. The international world will descend therefore, on an Africa that has nary, if ever, been exposed to a spotlight as powerful as that of the Olympic movement.

The security concerns are not of course, completely unwarranted. There have been notable international incidents across the continent, notably a series of attacks in neighbouring Burkina Faso earlier this year. But this itself does not serve as a damning indictment. What nation - what continent - can claim universal safety and constant peace? None. As of February this year, America had experienced 1,624 mass shootings in just 1,870 days.

Africa, notwithstanding the huge population disparity, had a fraction of such incidents. Closer to home, the UK, host of the 2012 Games was ranked 5 spots lower than Senegal on

20 VOL. XXV, ISSUE 3

the peace index of the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Brazil, the 2016 hosts, were ranked 57 below Senegal. We need to overcome our inherent, unconscious bias towards Africa. It deserves better than our close mindedness.

The infrastructural improvements that have swept the continent in recent decades were admired by the IOC Evaluation Commission, which had recommended the Senegal bid. Of the deadly Ebola virus, there was one single case recorded in Senegal - again less than the UK - with zero fatalities. The country successfully coordinated with the World Health Organisation to combat the spread of the disease, setting up a world renowned Institut Pasteur in the capital.

Furthermore the bid includes plans to construct an entirely new city, Diamniadio, a 50,000 seat Olympic stadium and state-of-the-art transport links across the country. Indeed the bid was the keystone of the national government’s ‘Emerging Senegal’ plan, which envisions further substantial improvements in infrastructure. It was a “project based on a strong vision for youth and sport”, according to IOC President Thomas Bach. “There are many opportunities, and we will endeavour to deliver together, as part of a strong partnership, visionary, responsible and inspiring Youth Games”.

Responding to concerns over the games’ budget, African IOC member and ANOCA (Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa) president candidate Lydia Nsekera commented on the collegiate nature of African hosts “in Africa, when a family organizes a party all the neighbors chip in and they help organizing the event”.

Much like the World Cup in 2010, the whole continent would share the responsibility of its first Olympics, with typical African pride-in-place and congeniality.

Never have African fans occasioned fear and terror akin to that inspired by the sight of these mobs” The IOC also cited Senegal’s youthful population as a key part of their decision to award the Games to Dakar.

There is much hope that of the 6 million odd Senegal citizens under the age of 14, many will be inspired by the feats of incredible (and youthful) athleticism that are sure to grace the country come the summer of 2022.

This proportion (41%) is double that of America (19%) and substantially more than the host of this years’ games, Argentina (25%).

This increases both the likelihood of increased crowds and sustainable use of facilities after the Games, a key aim of the Olympic movement. To borrow a phrase from London 2012 the aim of the Olympics is to “Inspire a generation”.

The younger generations of Dakar, of Senegal, of Africa, are ready to be inspired. In the words of Shakira: “It’s time for Africa”. She is, simply, quite right.