Volume XX – Broadsheet – Issue 4

uo The University Observer

Bad Blood Investigation into the ban on homosexuals giving blood

Astronaut

The Great Divide

An interview with the last man on the moon

A look at inequality in Irish society

Michael O’Sullivan p8

Shane Hannon P12

Robert Nielsen P6

above UCD set up for a scrum during their 61-0 victory in the Belfield Bowl on Sunday photo james healy

C&E Society under investigation over sexist poster content » Cullen refused to liaise with Gender Equality Co-ordinator before event » KPMG brands the event as sexist

UCD Societies Officer Richard Butler has revealed to the University Observer that he will be investigating the Commerce and Economics (C&E) Society in relation to their Rappers and Slappers event held on Thursday, October 24th.

Concerns were raised by many students about the sexist connotations attached to the name of the event.

In addition to the investigation into the society’s conduct, KPMG, a sponsor of the C&E Society, have moved to distance themselves from the group in their branding of women as slappers.

Speaking to the University Observer, a spokesperson for KPMG condemned the theme of event and revealed their intention to be immediately disassociated from the society’s actions.

“We were recently made aware of a specific event taking place in UCD organised by the C&E Society. This event was organised without our knowledge and we strongly disassociate ourselves from the event theme.

“We immediately asked the organisers to remove any reference to KPMG from the event materials. KPMG would like to reiterate that we disapprove of sexism in any way and that we are proud to actively promote equality in the workplace.”

Before the event last Thursday, C&E Society Auditor, Karl Cullen, said that they intend to work with gender equality groups in UCD in the near future.

“We realise that the title of this event has caused controversy in

UCD,” said Cullen. “To prevent this occurring into [sic] the future recommendations have been passed onto the societies council and members of the committee so that we may work with members of UCD’s gender equality group so that this does not happen again.”

Speaking to the University Observer, Gender Equality Co-ordinator, Rebek’ah McKinney-Perry, disclosed that the C&E Society has made no approach to her or any established UCD gender equality groups to rectify the issue or discuss the sexist content of their posters advertised across campus since Thursday, October 17th, despite attempts on her part to contact Cullen personally.

In 2009, a precedent was established for disciplinary action being handed down for offensive

We were recently made aware of a specific event taking place in UCD organised by the C&E Society. This event was organised without our knowledge and we strongly disassociate ourselves from the event theme

posters being advertised on campus. ArtsSoc and the Business and Law (B&L) Society were fined €2,500 for the content of their posters publicising The Virgin Ball being deemed “objectionable and crude.”

The Recognition Committee of the Societies Council further considered “the message conveyed by [The Virgin Ball] poster was insidious and dangerous” and felt “holding an event with such a title was also in breach of the basic standards of propriety and consideration that should be upheld by any student society.”

» Labour Court had previously ruled there was no gender discrimination

the role of professor within the UCD School of Law and Business. Both of the women promoted were appointed professors in the Arts faculty.

The claim of gender bias is based on the comparative treatment of the six male applicants, who were all promoted within that year. Dr O’Higgins’ claim had previously been dismissed by the Equality Tribunal, as they said there was not enough evidence to ground her complaint.

The Labour Court heard her case in November 2012, but it was determined that there was no gender discrimination in the decision process of UCAATP. Dr O’Higgins has appealed this decision to the High Court.

The case Dr O’Higgins has brought before the High Court is concerned with the manner in which the Labour

Court properly assessed the material before it in relation to her promotion.

Mr. Justice John Cooke heard evidence that the Labour Court raised concerns over aspects of the UCD appointments process and her lawyer Mark Connaughton SC, purported that the Labour Court’s account of the evidence presented was “formulaic.”

Dr O’Higgins also asserts that it is significant that the two women promoted that year were to professorships in the Arts faculty and that the committee that considered the applications included a female professor from this same faculty.

During the High Court proceedings last week, Cliona Kimber, BL for UCD, said that Dr O’Higgins was “somewhat subjective in her view of her own superiority and the inferiority of others.” Kimber also

Laura Bell otwo p12

Hozier Hozier reveals to Rebekah Rennick his humble beginnings

Rebekah Rennick Otwo P15

Read Page 4 for Analysis

KPMG Representative

Yvanne Kennedy

» Dr O’Higgins claims to have been denied promotion because of her gender

Sam Lloyd Laura Bell catches up with all 37 versions of Sam Lloyd

Killian Woods deputy editor

Senior UCD lecturer brings gender discrimination dispute to High Court Dr Eleanor O’Higgins, a senior lecturer in the UCD School of Law and Business, has alleged that it was her gender, and not the quality of her application, that is the reason behind the university promotions committee not promoting her to professor.

Recommendations were passed to UCAATP, the promotions committee that is chaired by the President of UCD, in 2007 by a committee from the UCD School of Law and Business and also an external assessor that suggested offering Dr O’Higgins a promotion.

She was among 19 candidates, of which 15 were men and four women. Two of the female candidates, and six male, were promoted to professor; three of the men who achieved promotion were given

29/10/2013 Volume XX issue iv

stated that a professor at UCD is recognised as a “gold standard” and that awarding promotions factors in a lot of subjective analysis.

Dr O’Higgins initially applied for professorship in 2006 and was unsuccessful due to not having held an Associate Professorship for five years and also not receiving an exemption to this requirement.

This necessity was removed in 2007, and she told the Court that she regarded her achievements under all of the criteria used to assess candidates for promotion to be at least equal, and in some cases superior, to those of the male candidates who were subsequently promoted.

As of yet, there has been no resolution to the proceedings, which are ongoing.

ucd weather

Smart Casual

The balance between less effort and effortless Otwo P20

Papers, Please

In fictional communist Arstotzka, games review you Niall Gosker Otwo P6 by cathal nolan

Tuesday

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News

News Arts Day raises funds for ISPCC in Brief Rebecca Hart

Emmet Lyons

Phase 2 of Science Centre Complete Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, officially opened the second phase of UCD’s new state of the art Science Centre on October 18th. The opening of the UCD O’Brien Centre for Science has been heralded as a step forward to improving Ireland’s contribution to the international scientific community.

UCD now plays host to over 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a significant number of researchers across a variety of scientific disciplines. The €175m second phase of the Science Centre stretches to over 38,000sqm of new and revamped facilities.

The Science Centre, costing an estimated €300m, has been hailed as a statement of intent for UCD towards consolidating the university’s international standing as a scientific leader. The government has jointly funded the project through the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, while contributions from the University itself and from private backers also helped to cover the costs of redevelopment.

UCD hailed the “extraordinary philanthropy” of some of Ireland’s top business leaders, whose personal donations had played a “great part” in the project’s success. Large corporate partners, including Intel and AOL, also helped fund the project. The third phase of the development of the Science Centre is still in the early stages of planning.

Governing Authority candidates nominated for election Twenty-three candidates have been nominated to contest elections in three staff panels for the fifth UCD Governing Authority (UCDGA). Successful candidates will serve a five-year term, beginning from February 1st, 2014. The current Government Authority has been in office since 2009.

Six seats will be filled in the professorial staff panels, five seats in the academic panel and three in the non-academic staff panel.

Voting papers will be circulated this week to members of the three respective elective bodies.

UCDGA consists of forty members in total, with the objective to guide the strategic direction of the University.

This involves overseeing policy, reviewing the performance of top management and working with the University President to achieve UCD’s main goals. The Governing Authority is also responsible for the control, and administration of, all lands and properties of UCD and the appointment of its president.

Arts Day 2013 took place last Wednesday, October 23rd. The event, which has not been hosted since 2011, was in aid of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC).

Events that took place included sumo wrestling, a comedy debate declaring ‘This House Believes that God was an arts student’, makeovers, busking, a tea and coffee morning, and performances by DanceSoc. The slave auction that took place in the new student bar, which

managed to raise nearly €700 for the ISPCC, was one of the notable successes of the day. Auditors and convenors were sold among others to raise money for the cause, with Literary and Historical Society Auditor, Alex Owens, the most expensive of the lot, as he fetched €180 for his personal services.

Speaking to the University Observer, Vice-Auditor of ArtsSoc, Ian Fahey said, “It was important to provide a solid fun packed Arts Day so that future sessions could build upon its success.”

Highlighting the importance of raising money for charity as part of the event, Fahey said, “The ISPCC are heroic in what they do. Even if it is only one child that benefits, it’s down to the generosity of UCD students.”

The ISPCC is Ireland’s oldest and most well-known children’s charity and they aspire to see an Ireland where all children are heard and valued. They provide 24-hour support to children via their Childline service, but receive no government funding.

Their support workers and volunteer

october 29th 2013

Arts Day. It gave individuals who might not have had a chance to get to know too many people a chance to sit down and have a tea or coffee with people who are there simply to chat, not rushing off to lectures or meetings.” Ó’Briain said there were lots of people who could be credited with helping the event run, but Ellen Metzger deserved special recognition as a main organiser of Arts Day 2013.

The exact quantity of money raised during Arts Day will be released when the counting by the ISPCC has been carried out.

Two students take part in the festivities of Arts Day, which took place last Wednesday. photo Sean Kinsella

Students to be hit by transport fare hikes Kevin Beirne editor

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has announced that fares for all bus, train and Luas services will be increased over the next few weeks. Monthly and annual tickets on Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann and Luas tickets will see an increase in price from Friday November 1st onwards.

Fares for other services, such as cash tickets, pre-paid tickets and Leap Cards, will see the increases come into effect on Sunday December 1st in an attempt to counteract the low levels of revenue public transport services are currently experiencing.

Cash fares for Dublin Bus services will rise by as much as 25 cent per single-journey ticket, with all fares rising by at least 15 cent. The exact change in each fare will depend on the length of the journey, with longer journeys seeing a larger increase in price.

A journey of 1-3 stages will see a rise from €1.65 to €1.80, while the cost of a journey of 4-7 stages is to increase from €2.15 to €2.35.

Similarly, it will cost an extra 20 cent to travel between 7-13 stages, as the fare increases from €2.40 to €2.60. The new maximum fare, for journeys of more than 13

Rural Entrepreneurship Programme aims to attract employment Professor Suzi Jarvis, head of UCD’s Innovation Academy, has launched a new initiative called the Rural Entrepreneurship Programme that looks to improve the living situations of those who live in rural areas by attracting sustainable employment to the more isolated parts of the country.

This initiative looks to tap into the fact that more than three thirds of the Irish population is located in rural areas, compared to the EU average of just under a quarter.

The programme will be introduced over the space of 18 weeks, with the introductory process running into the new year. Its focus will be on educating people to innovate in their local area despite limited resources.

mentors work with over 1,500 children and their families each year.

In terms of numbers, Arts is the largest faculty on campus. UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) Arts Convenor, Aonghus Ó’Briain, feels that ArtsSoc and Arts Convenors need to put emphasis on using their roles as representatives of Arts students to reduce the stigma around social interaction and make arts a friendlier faculty that encourages its students to branch out and meet new people.

“We need to develop the community spirit which is why we wanted to push

stages, is to rise above €3 for the first time, 25 cent from €2.80.

Customers have been urged to purchase Leap Cards if they want to save money, as each Leap Card fare for Dublin Bus services has only been increased by 5 cent, with a journey of more than 13 stages now costing €2.50.

Leap Card fare for the DART are also set to rise, with most zones costing 5 cent more than the current rates, with the exception of the shortest and longest journey zones, which will rise by 15 cent, and the second longest journey zone, which will rise by 10 cent.

Cash fares for the DART have risen at a much higher rate than those on the Leap Card, with 15 cent representing the smallest increase, and 50 cent representing the largest.

Luas prices have also gone up, although there is a €6.40 a day, or €23.50 a week, cap on an adult Leap Card. For student Leap Cards, which are embedded into the new Student Travel Card, the cap is set at €5 a day and €18 a week.

The student short hop monthly ticket, for both Dublin Bus and Irish Rail, will increase from €108 to €119 as of Friday.

NovaUCD and Innovation address economic challenges Lucy Ryan Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, recently revealed a report exposing the economic impact of NovaUCD in Ireland and its effect across international waters.

The report, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of NovaUCD, reveals that its novice and commercialisation activities spanning the last decade currently sustains overall 1,341 jobs, both direct and indirect, worldwide, of which 1,056 are located in Ireland.

At NovaUCD, Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs, innovative, state-of-the-art and intelligence-intensive companies

are created and cultivated to enable them to annually input €47.7 million Gross Value Added (GVA) into the worldwide economy, of which €36.6 million GVA is contributed to the Irish economy. These achievements and more are published in NovaUCD - Celebrating 10 Years of Entrepreneurial Success 2003-2013.

Since 2003, UCD has maintained 126 companies through Nova and in the next three years it is predicted that these companies will generate another 851 new job opportunities, 630 of which will be based in Ireland.

UCD Vice-President for Innovation, Professor Peter Clinch, said, “They say a journey of a thousand miles

starts with a small step. The impact of NovaUCD has been far greater than could have been imagined ten years ago when it officially opened and I have no doubt that an exciting future lies ahead for NovaUCD.” Bruton surmised at the unveiling of the report on Nova that “a key part of the government’s plan for jobs and growth is ensuring that we derive more benefit, in terms of commercial outcomes and jobs, from the State’s investment in science and technology; turning good ideas into good jobs.

“Today’s report showing that over 1,300 jobs have been created as a result of NovaUCD’s activities, illustrates clearly what can be

achieved in this area. I commend them on all their work and wish them every success for the future.”

These jobs have been created due to the specific success of spin-out companies that have boosted the profile of NovaUCD. HeyStaks, Oncomark and Equinome are companies that recognised as commercialising research projects that are undertaken by UCD. Other initiatives including Biosensia, Tethras and Enbio are spin-in companies that relocated to UCD in order to benefit from closer interaction with in NovaUCD. Speaking about the success of NovaUCD in overhauling Irish

innovation, Frank Ryan, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, said, “The results of the NovaUCD economic impact survey are very positive and demonstrate that NovaUCD is a key component of Ireland’s technology transfer system and is an example of what we excel at here in Ireland.

“From Enterprise Ireland’s point of view our objective is jobs and increased exports and we welcome being involved in leading-edge applied science that can be commercialised. This is key for Enterprise Ireland and we believe an ecosystem that includes NovaUCD is very attractive and advantageous for the country.”

Class Rep training goes over budget Cian Carton UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) President, Mícheál Gallagher, has sought to justify the Union spending on its recent class rep training weekend after it was revealed that the total cost exceeded the previously budgeted amount for the trip by around €2,000.

UCDSU brings its newly elected Union Class Representatives (UCRs) on an annual training weekend every October, with the aim of maximising their effectiveness throughout the year. This year’s gathering took place in Co. Wicklow two weeks ago, where €8,000 had been allocated to cover the entire cost of the event.

Despite going over budget, Gallagher felt that the cost was justified, highlighting the expense of bringing away 120 class reps and feeding and housing them for two nights.

General Manager of UCDSU, Phillip Mudge, pointed out how the sheer number of people participating severely limited UCDSU’s accommodation options, saying that “there were only two or three options near to Dublin.” He highlighted how cheap the venue was in Co. Wicklow was in stark contrast to the extra transport costs that would have been associated with a trip to Co. Galway or Co. Mayo.

Mudge praised Gallagher’s negotiation skills whilst organising the trip, acknowledging how the venue owners “can hold their line on what they want to charge,” but that he “got the price down as far as he could.”

Despite going over budget, class reps were asked to contribute towards their meals on the Friday of the weekend.

Mudge accepted that “there was kickback from that from some of the people saying that we were asking them to go away for training and then asking us to provide money for some of the meals,” but claimed that it was a necessary cutback.

He also dismissed claims about how this overspend might impact upon UCDSU’s overall budget, referring to how they are “coming in under for the year overall because we are running a sensible organisation” and that it is merely a budget, not an “exact science.”

Overall, Gallagher was delighted at how the training went, with the reps gaining valuable knowledge through a wide variety of modules designed to aid everything from their public speaking skills to their ability to organise a class trip.

They were also taught about how the Student Council works, how they can create policies and motions and how to keep their Executive Officers to account.

He emphasised how UCDSU believes in “training good class reps because they are the future of our Union,” and that this goal ultimately reaches far beyond any financial cost.

News

national UCD Welfare promotes message of suicide awareness News

in Brief

Yvanne Kennedy The third welfare crew meeting of the year, chaired by UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) VicePresident for Welfare and Equality Officer, Cian Dowling, focused on suicide awareness and the expansive network of support available to those students who are experiencing any sort of problem in their lives.

The topic was prioritised over the course of the 90-minute meeting where the Welfare Crew Secretary took “seven pages of pure ideas” to make suicide awareness a focus for the Welfare Crew for the near future.

Around 50 people attended the meeting, and Dowling is hopeful that that is the number can be maintained over the course of the year to promote positive ideals throughout campus.

Speaking about the success of the meeting, Dowling also revealed that he made arrangements to double the

hours that an external counsellor will be available to students in a reactive step to the large increase in students who need to be seen by someone as a matter of urgency.

Dowling admitted that certain things had to be moved around in the welfare budget, but that “there was no question of it, that’s the most important thing; student support, student safety.” He also highlighted the myriad of support systems available for those who need to talk.

Within UCD alone there is the welfare service, student advisors, the chaplaincy and the counselling service. All are non-judgmental outlets to talk, vent or just sit and be supported with any problem or issue you are experiencing.

Dowling was keen to stress that there is a united front from all services on campus to pro-

mote mental health awareness.

“Everyone’s number one message this week is to have a look at all the support networks.

“There’s a massive network of people, the cornerstones being the Welfare office, the counselling service, the student advisors and the chaplaincy. We all have this combined effort at the minute of making sure everyone knows what we do, that we’re here.”

Dowling is also in the process of taking “practical steps” towards promoting those services through a series of videos going to the core of the availability of support including how to get to the counselling service.

The recent mental health week also prompted the promotion of the message of Please Talk and the hope that it will be possible to break the stigma of mental health by actively seeking to make it trend

on Twitter and Facebook.

All these campaigns and support urge openness and acceptance and are available to anyone no matter what their situation. The counselling service, in particular, is a free resource based in the Student Health Centre that is utilised daily by students with all types of issues. Lack of finance is no barrier to seeking help as the Welfare Fund and numerous other supports are available to those for whom money is a constant worry.

Dowling encouraged those who are interested to contact him at welfarecrew@ucdsu.ie to get involved in raising awareness of those issues that most effect student welfare on a daily basis.

The crew is open to all students and is always looking for vital student input and support.

Megan Fanning

CIT Lecturers Criticise Cutbacks Education cutbacks are having a “detrimental effect” on Cork Institute of Technology(CIT), according to a group of lecturers who have voiced their annoyance at what they see as the deterioration of conditions to the Department of Education. Chair of the CIT branch of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) , Cillian Ó Súilleabháin, says that the lecturers are “overworked and under-paid.”

According to TUI, since 2008, CIT has seen a fall of 11.4% in its academic staff, losing 74 of its 649 full-time lecturers. This is despite the fact CIT has seen an increase in student enrolment by 9.5%, or 899 students. They claim that this has led to a 40% increase in workload for staff who have received sizeable pay cuts over the same period of time.

CIT has also seen a decrease in funding; which fell by 18.4%, or €13.5m, between the years of 2008 and 2012. Further cuts are expected when the Higher Education Authority allocates its reduced funding from the Department of Education.

Independent Review of DITSU Ltd The Edition are reporting that there will be a review into the operations of Dublin Institute of Technology Students’ Union (DITSU) Ltd, so as to determine whether or not the company is “operating in line with its articles of memorandum.”

This investigation comes as a reaction to a board meeting that took place during the summer that ended in resignation of the Chairperson and External Director of the Board.

Director of Student Services, Dr Noel O’Connor, said of that “DIT is satisfied that DITSU is taking appropriate action to ensure that it is fully compliant with its constitution in all matters of governance.”

The board meeting saw DITSU President Glenn Fitzpatrick put forward a motion to have a sub-committee investigate the performance of the company and the benefits it provides to DIT students.

DCU group calls for university reform Lucy Ryan A group of academics in Dublin City University (DCU) have initiated a campaign, Defence of Irish Universities (DIU), which endeavours to combat what it perceives as massive under-funding combined with commercialisation and managerialism within third-level education.

Its instigator, Professor Ronaldo Munck, has formulated a concise tenpoint agenda that will be proposed to the Irish government, boosted by a public petition. The initiative will be publicly launched on November 25th.

It seeks to bridge the current gulf in the Irish university system, stressing the “importance of academic freedom over a fear-driven consensus, creativity over blind compliance and collegiality over managerialism.”

The DIU campaign is endorsed by SIPTU, which represents university academic staff nationwide. Another

party involved is the Irish Federation of University Teachers, who denounced the “reckless endangerment” of Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn’s proposed financial measures for 2014. The government has, however, said that the cuts are vital to economic sustainability.

Students, meanwhile, have also established resistance movements condemning educational austerity. DIU is encouraging as many students as possible to sanction the movement and support its appeal for educational reform.

The campaign targets every level of the university chain as “the arguments put forward here are of direct relevance to the lives of all of us engaged in academia and of relevance to the kind of society we wish to live in, in the future.”

This political movement condemns

the Irish government’s shifting economic approach to university funding, which the campaign believes has altered Ireland’s fundamental principles of education.

DIU aspires to redefine the “aim of teaching as the dissemination of knowledge and the fostering of creativity” coinciding with their desire to safeguard university as a “dignified and collegial workplace free of surveillance and control and the arbitrary degradation of working conditions.”

According to the organisation’s manifesto, however, its primary focus is to reaffirm “students as the lifeblood of the university, and the next generation of enlightened and humane citizens.” Those in opposition of the campaign have defended the universities institutional structures, endorsing the managerial benefits

rather than the hindrances of the education process.

UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) President Mícheál Gallagher stressed a need for universities to preserve a level of professionalism.

“While I agree with the sentiment that Irish students are not just consumers in the university process, it is important that Irish university management teams retain their professionalism.”

He continued, “A respect for academic freedom, proper funding of universities and oversight and scrutiny of work and teaching carried out are not mutually exclusive. It is important for student, academics and society at large that we have both points of view considered and implemented thoughtfully and correctly in the Irish university system.”

UCD student wins Undergraduate Award Caitriona O’Sullivan Aidan Connolly has secured an Undergraduate Award for his academic contributions to International Relations and Politics.

The UCD Alumni was awarded the prize for his essay on the AngloIrish Agreement, titled ‘Outline and explain the political effects of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement.’

Talking about the awards, UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) President Mícheál Gallagher commended the achievements of all students who were in contention and also stressed what an achievement it is to even be considered for such an honour.

“The Undergraduate Awards are a highly prestigious accolade.

We would like to congratulate all

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students from UCD on being selected in the highly commended category.

“The standard is extremely high and we feel that UCD’s high number of students selected in this category across the disciplines reflects strongly the calibre of students in UCD.” While UCD claimed many commended spots, a single overall win represents a decrease from three awards in 2012, but is in line with the solitary award garnered in 2011.

The Undergraduate Awards are an international academic awards programme that celebrates and supports undergraduate students by recognising their best coursework and projects.

The programme, which commenced in 2009, has been under the patronage of President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, since February 2012. Penultimate and final year students on a degree course are open to put themselves forward for the awards, with each participant allowed to submit up to three pieces of research or project work.

Two winners are selected in each category; one from Ireland and one from overseas. The categories are wide ranging and allow students from many schools within UCD to apply and be in with the chance of winning an award. They are available in Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, Business & Economics,

Computer Science & Information Technology, Irish Language, Law, Nursing and Midwifery, Social Sciences, Teacher Education and Visual Arts, among many others.

Trinity College Dublin (TCD), garnered six awards overall while the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) received three awards. This year, the Undergraduate Awards received 3,771 submissions in total from 184 academic institutions located in 26 countries.

Deadlines for entering coursework for the 2013/14 academic year are yet to be released, but usually coincide with the end of the Irish academic calendar.

UL launches key research project An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, launched the University of Limerick’s (UL) Bernal Project last week. Kenny said at the launch of the project that it is “the development that Ireland needs… for inward investment and jobs in research and development”. The project will be directed by ten of the world’s leading academics in the field and the new facility will be chaired by Professor Mike Zaworotko, who is considered one of the world’s top twenty chemists.

Speaking of the project, Prof Zaworotko said that he believes UL “is close to a unique opportunity…to turn ideas and inventions into products.”

The project will be housed in a new building, scheduled to be complete in two years. The building work will provide 150 construction jobs and up to 75 multinational researchers will be employed to manage the project.

The UL Foundation has committed €36 million to the project, the majority of which is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, the remainder from the state and university funds. UL President, Don Barry, says it “will stimulate the development of high-end industry.”

october 29th 2013

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news analysis

Rappers and Slappers

With controversy kicking up over C&E’s annual Rappers and Slappers event, Aoife Valentine asks if “slappers” is more than just a word

It is difficult to assess the value in a Rappers and Slappers event without being keenly aware that the only response you’ll receive on the matter is that you should get a sense of humour. Forgive those of us who don’t find misogyny funny, but this event, and events like Stockbrokers and Secretaries or Suits and Sluts, are getting extremely old.

Apart from lightening up, those who complained about the Commerce and Economics (C&E) Society’s event were told that they should stop being offended by mere words. After all, they said, slapper is just a word and the only way it could be offensive is if those complaining continued to apply an offensive definition to it. It’s for this reason that we continue to sling simple words like “nigger” and “faggot” around with wild abandon.

Except we don’t, because those are offensive terms designed to demean and degrade certain groups of people. The fact a long argument took place over whether or not it is acceptable to bandy “slapper” around is an indication of how far lad culture has spread on campus.

By using “slappers” in the event title, it not only attempts to normalise an offensive term, but it associates women very closely with sex, and the accompanying poster made sure to hammer that home. In a society where women can’t go out at night without their bodies being seen as public property, do we really need a whole event that portrays them as little more than prostitutes?

When ‘Blurred Lines’ isn’t just a sexist anthem but a commonly held viewpoint among many young men with regards to sexual consent, must we label women as slappers before they even get in the door? Sexual harassment, sexual assault and indeed rape are far too often excused by placing the blame on the woman for dressing or acting a certain way, usually described using derogatory terms such as sluts, whores and, UCD’s favourite, slappers.

Women are told to stay safe by

By using “slappers” in the event title, it not only attempts to normalise an offensive term, but it associates women very closely with sex, and the accompanying poster made sure to hammer that home

avoiding dressing provocatively, because the poor menfolk can’t help themselves when they see a short skirt. Their lack of self-control and indeed, respect are the constantly seen as the woman’s fault.

This is rape culture. It is not going away any time soon, and events such as Rappers and Slappers only serve to perpetuate it. The issue here is not how women choose to dress, but creating a pressure to

dress in a very specific way and the assumptions made by others based on that. C&E could never have called the event ‘Get your tits out for the lads’, but they may as well have.

It might just be one event in the academic calendar and the society may have only meant it as a bit of fun, but the issue is far bigger than that. Associating offensive terms with fun makes it seem like sexism is acceptable, or in

fact, sexism isn’t an issue at all. It creates expectations for women and expectations of women, and at no point does the woman appear to be seen as more than just an object.

C&E’s main sponsors, KPMG, immediately disassociated themselves from the event and emphasised their commitment to equality in the workplace, but the society continued to deny the issue. The event ran on Thursday night as planned, as it

would have required new posters had the event title been changed, and that cost would have, apparently, been through no fault of the society’s own.

A decade of Rappers and Slappers events was justification for another, it seems, and €120, the approximate cost of a new set of posters, was simply more than C&E felt respect for their female members was worth. In 2013, we shouldn’t still have to demand more.

Mental Health Some perpetual problems seem to never go away in UCD, but the emphasis on positive mental health in this college still manages to restores some pride, writes Killian Woods

Self Portrait

by Vincent Van Gogh

Some topics can suffer from overkill in the media. Eyes tend to roll if the same issues are given column inches year in, year out. As tiring as it is to read about the same problems confronting UCD students each year, it can be even more draining to see that there is no end in sight.

Class rep training costing an exorbitant and unnecessary percentage of the Union’s budget every year is perfect example of a story that comes to the fore on an annual basis; along with the same tired excuse being relayed to students to justify the cost of the event. When will the ‘we’re training the future leaders of the SU’ excuse finally run out of legs? Spending €10,000 on improving the interpersonal skills and public speaking of 120 odd UCD students clearly isn’t translating into candidates for sabbatical election. october 29th 2013

Another thing that seems to crop up every year is the inherent sexism and lad culture that reverberates in certain societies. Whether it is Stockbrokers and Secretaries or Rappers and Slappers, it is damning indictment of the authority that governs societies that they personally fund sexist conduct and see no reason to immediately stamp out such behaviour.

Focusing on these issues, however, can give a skewed notion of how backwards UCD can be. This college can hold its head high in saying that the stigma of talking about mental health and discussing personal mental health problems is being addressed after decades of ignoring mental health as a problem that was crippling Irish students going through crucial developmental years of their lives.

Mental health has been to the fore of the agenda of the UCD

Students’ Union (UCDSU) and this publication for many years. Only by pushing this topic to the front of your agenda can you begin to circumvent the stigma that is attached to talking about mental health.

The progress made in the past five years in this University alone should be heralded as a major triumph and attributed to a successive set of years, in which a significant emphasis was focused on ensuring that the SU’s most important service, the welfare office, was receiving the funding and time it needed to help the most vulnerable of students.

Former Welfare Officers of the SU, Scott Ahern, Rachel Breslin and Mícheál Gallagher, have put in the ground work to ensure that the names of student support groups like Please Talk and the student counselling service are on the tips of student’s

tongues and spread the word that mental health is worth keeping on the agenda. And now, Cian Dowling is keeping on the pressure.

The emphasis placed on suicide awareness at the Welfare crew meeting last Tuesday highlighted that the pressure being placed on the stigma is not waning, but in fact showed that even more momentum is building behind the movement of promoting positive mental health. Dowling is reacting to the demands of students by restructuring his budget to increase the number of hours that counsellors are available due to a sharp increase in demand for such a service.

When there is clearly a demand for such services, students need to hear that their needs will be met at all costs. It is refreshing to see a Welfare and Equality Officer, without haste, stressing that

students’ mental health is the most important priority on his agenda.

Mental health and the stigma around discussing it should never reach a level of saturation. As a community, we should never reach a stage where we are rolling our eyes at the latest campaign to promote positive mental well-being in students. The masses of Facebook statuses and Tweets about mental health awareness that populated newsfeeds and timelines alike on World Mental Health day depict a scenario where the UCD students are opening up more about their mental health issues, but that does not mean the battle is won.

The fight to overcome this stigma is far from finished, and it will test everyone’s motivation. The victories may seem few and far between, and the losses always too devastating, but now is not time to let up.

This college can hold its head high in saying that the stigma of talking about mental health and discussing personal mental health problems is being addressed

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Losing Our Religion

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With Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn attempting to reduce the number of church-owned schools, Fionnán Long examines the role of religion in the classroom

Metanarratives like religion impose their worldviews onto readers.

Children and young adults are more vulnerable than any other group in society to becoming victims of ideology and dogma

Controversy has erupted within the UK over state-funded Muslim schools. One school, Al-Madinah School, requires girls to sit at the back of the class and female staff members to wear headscarves. By contrast, in Ireland, Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, has spearheaded initiatives to remove Catholic patronage from church-owned schools.

These actions mark two different approaches of multicultural societies seeking the appropriate role of religion in education. It is worth pausing to consider what exactly religion’s place in the classroom ought to be.

The Department of Education reports that 90% of Irish schools are

under Catholic patronage; meaning that they are owned by the local Diocese, but the state pays for the upkeep and the staff of the schools. The present primary school curriculum in these schools is Catholic with a decisively small ‘c’. Catechism and dogmas have been abandoned in favour of vague spiritualism backed up by parables. The aim is faith formation.

Even though Catholic faith formation may seem relatively harmless, it is problematic to fund it. Single denominational schools alienate adherents of minority religions.

There are entire lessons that are not intended to educate these students.

The alienation is particularly

acute during preparation for Communion and Confirmation, which take a large portion of class time.

This educational process explicitly isolates non-Catholic students.

Moreover, it highlights the differences between students. This can lead to upsetting outcomes in the schoolyard.

Additionally, if the state supports à la carte Catholics, by what token can it legitimately avoid funding the dissemination of religious beliefs that are repugnant to the values of our society?

Consider a community of extremist Wahhabi Muslims that want a school that supports their beliefs for their children. What basis do we as

a society have to say no to them? If the state is in the business of funding religious education, it has to give them their school. To do anything other than give them the school amounts to religious discrimination.

By funding all other religions except the ones we deem to be too extreme for our tastes, we are directly interfering with their right to practice their religion. Furthermore, it should not be the state’s place to decide which religions are valid.

A western liberal democracy that supports religion in the classroom is left with the ultimate political Catch-22. Does it support movements that seek to dismantle the values

of the state, or does the state go against its own values by curtailing the religious freedoms of extremist groups? The only escape from this ethical conundrum is to not support any religion in the classroom.

A central question to consider is what should education try to achieve?

Firstly, education ought to ensure the social and emotional development of students. Secondly, education should give students the means to reach their own answers.

This is achieved by ensuring every child has a minimum level of literacy and numeracy. The next step is to develop logical reasoning and to foster an appetite for enquiry.

These skills should be used as tools for evaluating questions and allowing students to find their own answers through critical thought.

This understanding of education avoids the dangers of imposing a “correct” worldview. Like any good philosopher or scientist, it does not assume anything is right or wrong.

Metanarratives like religion impose their worldviews onto readers.

Children and young adults are more vulnerable than any other group in society to becoming victims of ideology and dogma. They do not have the intellectual tools to defend themselves. History is not short of episodes where education has been deployed to exploit that fact.

That is not to say that religion should not be discussed in the classroom. A non-denominational approach should be adopted and religion examined critically. An awareness of the customs and rituals of each religion should be developed, but no one religion should dominate the discourse.

The curriculum should be tailored to the community that uses each school so that students develop an understanding and awareness of the religions that surround them.

This should never be done with the aim of proselytising children.

Any integration for a new community of immigrants must begin in the schoolyard. To allow religion to come between students exacerbates cultural tensions that already exist, which society should strive to remove.

Many minority groups have failed to integrate in the UK, Germany and France. Integration is not an easy process. The state ought not to allow religion to come between children.

Parental autonomy is a biological and social reality of the human condition. Irish legal institutions recognise that parents should be given the space to decide their child’s best interests. Many parents may have a vested interest in giving their child a religious education.

They rightly perceive their religion as part of their cultural identity.

This is equally true for immigrants and natives. Some argue that the state should respect parental autonomy by providing a faith formation education if parents believe this is in the best interests of their child.

The state, however, must operate in the best interests of society.

A secular education, as set out above, does not undermine cultural identity or parental autonomy. It is not a violation of freedom to practice religion if no other religion is supported by the state.

Parents are free to educate their child however they please in their own free time. They are also free to opt out of state schooling and give them a private education that supports what they believe in. Most religious communities provide some form of free religious education to children. A secular education does not raise obstacles to these options.

It seems strange to think now but there was a time that cosmopolitanism was a radical idea. It held that behind superficial differences of culture, language and race lay a shared common humanity. For a multicultural society to survive it must focus on what we share; not what divides us.

Rise of the Right With UKIP and the BNP growing in popularity in Britain, James Brady examines why extreme right wing groups have struck a chord in Europe and abroad.

Groups such as the English Defence League and Golden Dawn claim their civil liberties are at threat when they’re prevented from marching and chanting abuse in areas that have high concentrations of immigrants living there.

The freedoms of democracy may only be healthy some of the time

The extremes in society have been the source of malcontent and unease in social commentary throughout history. The Blueshirts in Ireland, Il Duce in Italy and the Fascists in Spain and still today, nations around the world have right wing elements convinced of the need for strong nationalist policies.

In various forms, the agendas and ideals of the conservative and protectionist groups in society have filtered into the mainstream political discourse. In today’s democracy, is there value to be had in engaging with these groups?

The basic psychology of group behaviour demands strong social

bonds within groups and a fear of others. It’s prevalent in nearly all groups of humans and primates.

Economically and socially, the acceptance of others has never been easier. The physical barriers to cultural integration are more accessible and have allowed for the movement of ideas and people faster than ever before. The fear of the unknown isn’t irrational or unhealthy until there’s a failure to engage in challenging your own prejudices.

Here in Ireland, the political right has yet to emerge in as strong a force as elsewhere. The United Kingdom’s colonial past has influenced its political development. Parties such as the UK Independence Party and the British National Party have gained significant media attention for their long-held views on immigration and viewing England as ‘a Christian nation’ for white Christians.

Their support base is white, low-income earners of England and they have taken advantage of social dissatisfaction with unemployment rates and crime, often promoting an oversimplification that if England had less social and economic migrants, England could return to its “glory days” of the mid 1940’s, where patriotism was not just accepted but a necessary tool for bringing a nation together in an era of crisis.

Globalisation of Labour and Thatcherite policies created a vacuum of jobs for those in the unskilled labour market and led to the establishment of a “two-tier” workforce: those in professional services and those in part-time, poorly-paying service jobs. In the absence of long-term opportunity, discontent and pessimism grows.

The political ideals held by nationalist groups such as UKIP seem attractive: a great, proud nation. The appeal is understandable when prospects are bleak. The basic tenet of being able to “be proud of

something” underscores a part of human dignity and contentedness.

A lack of recognition of the position of low-skilled workers, fostered by disparities in wealth, have allowed for the disaffected and unengaged to be challenged and encouraged to voice their discontent.

Their anger is being misdirected by right wing political groups at immigrants; a group who are largely underrepresented politically and from diverse backgrounds so as to lack a shared voice and vision. Lacking a comprehensive defence provides an opportunity for xenophobia in the public discourse to go unchallenged.

The political goals of antiimmigration policy and of homeland values being “under threat” are the mainstay of those on the right. The visible nature of high-profile crimes such as the London tube bombings gave groups such as the English Defence League and the British National Party a clear enemy: Islam.

Media sources sympathetic to the days gone-by of “Great” Britain offer up a regular diatribe of suspicion and distrust of anyone who has immigrated to Britain, or fails to fill the criteria of being a white person having a traditional English name.

The media’s acceptance of the interchangeable nature of the word ‘Islamist’ and ‘terrorist’ serves the goals of right-wing political parties. It is easier to label and identify some sort of spectre than it is to dive into the realities of the sources of terrorism; the political disengagement, social marginalisation and economic failures that are too complicated and unappealing to short-form media.

Grasping one aspect of an actor’s characteristics, and using that to define them, harms both the actor and the viewer. It allows ignorant and misguided information to proliferate and this is damaging to social cohesion. It is in this paradigm

that right-wing parties grow.

In the absence of a method of engagement with groups who feel underrepresented or ignored, political radicalism occurs. In a process that has occurred throughout Europe and the US, the political right emerges.

Golden Dawn, the various Tea Party groups and Front National in France have succeeded in solidifying antiimmigrant sentiment and prospered on their protectionist policies.

The free trade agreements found in the World Trade Organisation and the EU help economic development in many regards; what they fail to do is recognise that the financially least well-off are left behind by big businesses. In a surprising clash of ideologies, the Marxist left and the Republican right both have a mistrust of strong powers going unchecked.

In what could devolve into a discussion of political outlooks, the most telling, visible aspects of political extremism are the crimes carried out in the name of politics.

The political manifestos claiming immigrants are the causes of a nation’s problems are translated into the racism encountered by ordinary immigrants and foreigners.

Groups such as the English

Defence League and Golden Dawn claim their civil liberties are at threat when they’re prevented from marching and chanting abuse in areas that have high concentrations of immigrants living there. The freedoms of democracy may only be healthy some of the time.

The opportunities presented by a liberal society lend themselves to those who can take advantage of it; that is, the wealthy and intelligent. Systemic failures by government to challenge levels of inequality in society are only

worsened in a globalised world.

As political power is increasingly challenged by international influence, the power of the common man is diluted.

Feelings of hopelessness and marginalisation are the breeding grounds for violent polarisation.

Extremism in all its forms comes from a disparity in wealth, authority and control; it has been seen in the past and will be seen in the future. Until the social dynamics of inequality are challenged, the rise of the right will continue.

october 29th 2013

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The ‘Real Rape’ Myth With almost 90% of sexual assaults in Ireland being committed by someone known to the victim, Patrick Kelleher examines the origins of the ‘real rape’ myth and how society can overcome it

The ‘real rape’ myth has existed for a long time, and continues to pose problems for survivors of rape. The myth surrounds the idea that rape only happens in a dark, secluded place to a virtuous woman. In this image of rape, the man is always a faceless attacker who promptly disappears, leaving a woman to piece her life back together.

While this scenario certainly happens, it is not particularly common. In most cases, the attacker is known to the victim. According to a 2009 report by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI), 89% of the perpetrators of these violent acts were known to their victims.

This immediately casts the ‘real rape’ myth into doubt. Our perception of rape, and the circumstances in which it can happen, is flawed and this only adds to the ignorance surrounding the issue today.

Rape is defined as sex without consent. This definition doesn’t include ‘unless they were drunk’, ‘unless they didn’t specifically say no’ or ‘unless they were wearing revealing clothing’. Women who dress provocatively or get attacked on a night out seem to completely form the concept of what society believes rape is.

Why would survivors report an attack to the Gardaí if they are not sure if it was what they would deem ‘a rape case’ at all? Survivors are left feeling confused about their experience; the ‘real rape’ myth has taught them an entirely different concept of what rape is.

Rape remains one of the most under-reported crimes worldwide, and is notoriously hard to prove. Women and men alike have seemingly little reason to report these crimes, as the conviction rate is abysmally low, and a trial would leave them open to the possibility of being cross-examined as if they were the one who had committed the crime.

According to statistics released

in 2012 by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC), of 322 cases where the reporting status was known, 115 were reported to the Gardaí, of which only 3 were tried, all of whom either pleaded guilty or were convicted. While it is likely that most women don’t report these crimes because they are still learning to cope, statistics released by the DRCC show that those who knew their attacker were less likely to report the crime than those who didn’t.

The ‘real rape’ myth has fed into other areas of sexual life, namely in the belief that if a woman is dressed provocatively, she is ‘asking for it.’ This is a common thread amongst nightclub promoters. An advertisement for Alchemy nightclub caused controversy when it depicted a woman pulling down her underwear in what is presumably a nightclub setting, accompanied by the slogan: ‘If you’re not up for it, don’t cum.’

Perhaps more alarming was the ‘knickers for liquor’ promotion run by another Dublin venue, where if a woman gave her underwear into the bar, she would get a free shot.

Both imply that a woman who is drinking or wearing revealing clothing on a night out is an object waiting for a man to have sex with her, a belief as old and as threatening as misogyny itself. Promotions like these give little consideration to whether or not women are consenting to sexual activity, as if stepping inside a night club means agreeing to anything.

It is attitudes like these that have created the ‘rape culture’ we find ourselves in. While the western world has been sexually liberated, rape has filtered into the mainstream, but not in the way we might expect.

Nightclub promotions like that of Alchemy, and a more recent one for UCD’s Commerce and Economics Society, entitled ‘Rappers and Slappers’ portray a somewhat disturbing image. The ‘rape myth’ of a woman getting attacked down

In most cases, the attacker is known to the victim.

According to a 2009 report by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI), 89% of the perpetrators of these violent acts were known to their victims

a dark alleyway remains alive and well. People still do not realise how misogynist advertising can help to create an entirely different rape myth; that it is not rape when it happens in a party environment.

This attitude was most recently expressed in the ‘Slane Girl’ controversy that emerged from viral photographs of a young man and woman engaged in a public sexual act at Eminem’s summer Slane concert.

Little is known about the finer details of the case, but what was evident was the incredibly alarming reaction represented by men, and even more so women, to the case.

The young woman was dismissed as a ‘slut’ and a ‘whore’ by masses of Twitter crowds, the man was heralded as a ‘legend’ and a ‘hero.’

While the ‘Slane Girl’ controversy was more than likely not a case of rape, it represented a key concept to sexual attitudes in Ireland. The reality is that if this had been a rape case, the reaction may not have been that different. The woman would

still be seen as a slut who had worn revealing clothing, and had therefore walked into a trap. Essentially, the woman ‘asked for it’, and therefore must face the consequences.

It is time we acknowledged the rape myth, and looked at it in its wider context. Rape can happen to anybody,

and can be done by anybody; not just women who are walking home alone.

As a society we must stop shaming women who wear revealing clothing or who drink alcohol as being sluts who brought it on themselves. We need to examine rape with greater clarity, and develop compassion for survivors.

To correctly identify the Irish problem surrounding the rape myth, everybody needs to look at their own perception of rape and examine why they think in the way they do. In this way we can work to overcome the devastating effects rape has on the lives of victims.

The Great Divide With inequality becoming even more widespread during the recession, Robert Nielsen examines the causes of inequality

Children whose parents are professionals are more than 3.5 times more likely to get four or more Cs on Higher Level Leaving Certificate papers than the children of the unemployed

october 29th 2013

Let’s play a game. What country is so riven with inequality that the top 5% have 40% of the country’s wealth? Is it some backward African country where a tiny elite controls the resources while the rest live in dire poverty? Is it a Latin American country where the rich live gilded lives in mansions while the poor are crowded into shantytowns?

Perhaps a post-Communist country whose collapse allowed an oligarchy to seize the country’s resources? Or does it belong to another time when landlords controlled the wealth while everyone who had the misfortune to be a peasant had to eke out a squalid survival? Believe it or not, but it was, in fact, our native Ireland in 2007.

The top 10% in Ireland have as great an income as the bottom half of society. When home ownership

is excluded, the top 1% has control over 34% of the nation’s wealth.

This is not a small gap of some people getting slightly ahead, this is a massive divide. When almost half of the country’s income is concentrated in such a small elite, this is unhealthy for Ireland socially, economically, and politically.

Most people think that such inequalities only exist in developing countries, not in countries like our own. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This inequality is not relic of the past; to the contrary, the rich have doubled their share of the national income since the ‘70s and ‘80s. There has always been a divide between rich and poor, but the inequality has grown enormously in the last 30 years.

There is a common saying that

Why have the gaps continued to grow when, in theory, we all have the same opportunities in a country with free education, free healthcare and social welfare to ensure that everyone has enough? Unfortunately, inequality touches on all aspects of our life including education.

It is commonly thought that how well you achieve in school is due to intelligence and hard work.

There is, however, a third factor that plays just a big, if not bigger, role; that is the class and wealth of the parents of the student.

In their exhaustive examination of inequality, British researchers Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett found that the biggest influence on how well a student does at school is the social class they come from. Even when working-class children have identical IQ to middle-class children, they are still less likely to do as well.

Children whose parents are professionals are more than 3.5 times more likely to get four or more Cs on Higher Level Leaving Certificate papers than the children of the unemployed. Education is supposed to be the great leveller that gives everyone an equal opportunity, when the reality is that it is home a rising tide lifts all boats. What to gaping inequalities that continue does it matter how much wealth the divide the next generation. the rich have, so long as everyone The rise of private schools has only is getting richer? Sure, didn’t we made the division worse. Middleall party during the boom? While class parents can now afford to pay there was a significant increase for top-quality private schools to in the share of wealth going to the give their children an advantage. rich, the poverty rate was more Private grinds are available too, or less constant during the Celtic so that you can buy good grades.

Tiger. The level of poverty actually More money equals more increased between 1994 and 2001. private tuition, which equals Ireland was doing fantastically, more points, which then equals but its poor were left behind. In better qualifications and better 2005, when we were all supposedly jobs. All of this makes the class living the high life, without social structure more rigid and social transfers, 40% of the population mobility harder to achieve. would be in poverty, compared to only Where you come from becomes 18% who actually were. There was more important than how smart you huge money being made in Ireland are. Even the brightest of workingduring the 2000s; the problem was class children will struggle to reach that it was only a very small number their potential if they cannot afford of people who were making it. private tuition or college fees. It is

said that the cream will always rise to the top, but what people forget to mention is that the main feature of cream is that it is rich and thick.

It can be said that inequality begins in the womb. Children from lower social classes suffer from higher infant mortality and lower birth weight. Evidence shows that nutrition and diet have a huge effect on things like intelligence and energy. The cheapest food available is often the unhealthiest, a factor that impacts lower earners more greatly.

The death rate among the lowest socio-economic group is 3.5 times that of the highest in the Republic of Ireland. This is a shockingly high level of inequality and shows the deep divide between Irish social classes. It has been calculated that 5,400 people die each year in Ireland from poverty and inequality. Poor people suffer disproportionately from mental illness, with twice as many patients coming from the lowest social group as from the highest.

Inequality is not a matter of concern only for academics; it is a serious problem of life and death consequences. Part of the reason for this is that the health system in Ireland is fundamentally unequal; where the rich can pay for better healthcare while lower social classes who cannot afford private insurance suffer longer waiting lists.

Inequality affects us all in multiple ways. It leads to high crime rates and increased social tensions. It destabilises the economy, makes recessions more likely and inhibits the economy’s recovery.

The richest countries in the world, such as those in Scandinavia, are some of the most equal.

We like to think that success in life is due to hard work and Ireland is a fair country where people have equality of opportunity. If only it were so. In reality, the luck of birth can determine how far you go and if you really reach your potential.

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Head to Head—Which Education system is better?

yale

irish System

US System

Irish universities have a proud history of producing top-quality graduates and that is something we shouldn’t mess with, says Megan Fanning

With foreign companies criticising the standard of Irish graduates, Liz O’Malley argues that we should try a new approach

Imagine finally graduating, years spent earning your degree, with plenty of hours put in but you’re now 27-years-old compared to your European equivalents who are only 22 or 23. Are you too old? Can you compete?

That’s the age that American graduates come out at and that’s the age that we would graduate at should we change our higher education system. Most businesses, particularly multi-national companies, are looking for younger, more innovative workers who have learned their skills applicable to their course, and are then able to continue to apply these skills to real life situations.

One of the attempts at justifying the US system that has a more broad undergraduate degree is that it allows for the development of critical thinking skills, and that it gives the student the opportunity to gradually adapt and be smoothly transitioned into college life, but it’s not as simple as you would think.

The first year is supposedly there to improve these skills, making way for a wider education. But Forbes magazine showed 45% of students in the US showed no improvement in critical thinking, complex reasoning or written communication after their first year of college.

The aim of the broad education system in America is to develop these skills, so if it’s failing, why would Ireland consider changing from a system that is working well for us?

In Ireland, we are expected to make mistakes in our first year of college. Of course we won’t understand referencing for our first essay. We’ll be overwhelmed with time management and have palpitations about end of semester exams. But we should make these mistakes now, as we go along, rather than trying to

What is the purpose of the education system? This is a question which ultimately decides the debate of whether the US or the Irish undergraduate system is better. If you believe that the main function of universities is to train students for jobs, then you probably support the Irish undergraduate system, which immediately divides students into special areas, such as law, medicine and engineering. But college is, and should be, far more than four years with a degree at the end.

The American system isn’t perfect, with its extraordinarily high fees and focus on research to the detriment of teaching, but there is a case to be made against courses with one singular focus.

The American undergraduate system requires a general degree before students can study medicine or law. Students have a chance to try a number of different subjects before declaring a major. They are also required to fulfil general core requirements, such as ethics, writing and courses on critical theory. Courses can be tailored to interests with students free to pursue any module they want.

What does this mean? Students who come out of the US system have a far broader knowledge base than Irish students. They spend more time interacting with people who are different to themselves. Importantly, there is an emphasis from colleges on ensuring their students develop a broad range of skills.

All of this is important because a student graduates a more wellrounded person as a result of this system. This is good for the personal development of students, and has a knock-on effect of making them more employable.

The Irish system asks 17 and 18-year-olds to choose immediately what career they want at the end of university, when most of us have

apply the solutions a year later.

The American higher education system has continuously been called the “dropout factory”, because it is ranked as having the lowest graduating percentage of the eighteen countries monitored by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. It comes in below former Soviet country, Slovakia.

Just 46% of Americans complete college once they start. This is an alarming figure and it begs the question of whether those coming from the broad-based system are overwhelmed by too much choice and too little structure.

The Harvard study ‘Pathways to Prosperity’ showed that only 56% of those who start a bachelors degree programme finish within six years, struggling with the rigorous workload that they are unused to after developing a lackadaisical approach to learning in their first year.

Some argue that a broad-based entry year is just what Ireland needs in our higher education system, but why? Ireland has an incredibly broad and adaptable higher education system already that incorporates the skills taught in the US entry year.

If we take UCD as an example, we can note that every student taking Arts, single honours or joint honours, takes the Introduction to Arts module which teaches us the essential skills that it takes the US universities a year to teach. We don’t need to take a year to learn these skills, when it’s clear that fifty minutes a week for nine weeks suffices.

This doesn’t only apply to Arts courses, as the majority of courses in any college, institute or university, teach these skills. It’s just integrated in the learning, there’s no fuss about it. It’s subconsciously developed.

We should not even consider changing our higher education system. Ireland has one of the

Just 46% of Americans complete college once they start. This is an alarming figure and it begs the question of whether those coming from the broad-based system are overwhelmed by too much choice and too little structure

most highly acclaimed higher education systems with young, prepared graduates, keen to apply themselves and further their studies.

They come out of the system with the essential skills in their field.

It is not our country that is being hailed as a ‘dropout factory’, we have managed to find a balance between efficiency and specialisation and this should not be altered.

rebuttal It is not true to say that only an American general degree can provide a taste of different subjects, when in Ireland un-denominated courses such as Arts and Science allow students to try a range of subjects from philosophy to maths to chemistry. An un-denominated course is ideal for those unsure as to what they want to do, and they still provides the skills necessary to continue on in postgraduate studies or into employment.

It would be unfair to add further

years to college for those who know what they want to study and what they want to in life to. Remember, there are those who can barely afford college as it stands. Adding extra financial strain on families will inevitably see a decrease in enrolment and for the little improvement shown from these general courses, is it worth it?

In response to saying that you will probably only spend time with those who are on your course, the same applies in America, you still see

no idea. What ends up happening ultimately is that graduates still have to spend more time in college in order to retrain, or they end up working in the area of their degree because it just seems like the easiest thing to do. It makes more sense for graduates to be able to choose later when they know more, and get to study a wide variety of subjects now.

Once you enter college you will probably only spend time with people studying the same subject as yourself, unless you branch out and join a society. UCD is better than most in that it has the option of an elective module, but it is the exception and one module is not enough.

As it stands, the extent to which Irish students get a broad education is limited to preparatory courses specific to their degree, such as a general writing course for Arts students and a legal research course for those studying Law. Our students fail to learn those general skills required by US colleges, such as the ability to write and communicate effectively and to think critically.

A single-subject degree limits the skills of our graduates. The skills needed to master English are not the same required by medicine, or law, or science. Each course requires a specific way of approaching problems and speaks its own language.

We produce graduates who are fit for purpose, but not much else. Employers don’t just want someone who is good in one particular area. There is a reason that, for example, law firms are increasingly hiring arts and science students instead of those who have only studied law. Having people who can approach a problem from a different point of view adds value.

A special report by the Chronicle of Higher Education in March of this year found “When it comes to the skills most needed by employers, job candidates are lacking most in written and oral communication

The Irish system asks 17 and 18-yearolds to choose immediately what career they want at the end of university, when most of us have no idea

skills, adaptability and managing multiple priorities, and making decisions and problem solving.”

This sentiment was confirmed by the Expert Group for Future Skills Needs, which found that Irish graduates lack basic skills such as oral and written communication skills, project management and team working.

PayPal’s Louise Phelan argues “Irish students are, generally speaking, lacking in skills such as referencing and academic writing ability, certainly compared to their peers from the United States.”

A more general education with a focus on skills building is not a panacea. For example, core requirements in building computer and technology skills are vital as international companies are increasingly turned away from Ireland due to our lack of competency in this area. Our programs need more vocational elements, as learning by listening is simply not enough to provide our graduates with the experience they’ll need in order to get a job.

By forcing students to study just the one subject, they don’t become wellrounded, they don’t become adept at adapting or thinking differently. This is a fundamental flaw with our system.

rebuttal the same people each week as your classes wouldn’t change. That’s the great thing about societies, it allows you to meet people with a common interest but not necessarily doing the same course, that’s why they’re at large in both Ireland and America.

Yes, a general course to develop key skills would be ideal, but when it has been in practice in another country with no return we should not consider amending our system which isn’t broken.

Ireland does not have a “highly acclaimed higher education system”. Only one of our universities is in ranked top 100, and companies such as Accenture have argued that they are finding it impossible to fill jobs in Ireland, despite nearly 460,000 people on the live register, a high number of them graduates. Those companies that do fill jobs find that they are having to devote more time and money into training its employees

because they lack even basic skills.

While 45% of students may have showed no improvement in critical thinking skills after one year in the US system, 55% did.

That’s more than half; hardly a failure. Meanwhile, Ireland has no statistics which show any increase of critical thinking after the entire course of their degree.

The higher drop-out rate is less likely to do with a lack of structure and more to do with the

fact that the average degree in the US in 2011 cost $28,500, not including living costs. Students may have to drop out because they can’t afford college.

Meanwhile, the majority of students who drop out of university in Ireland cite choosing wrong degree as the reason. These students would be more likely to finish out their degrees if they had the choice within their degree of which modules to study. october 29th 2013

8

Features

Bad Blood

With the recent blood drive on campus, Michael O’Sullivan looks at why some people will never have the option to donate

a man once or even someone who is in a monogamous relationship.”

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is largely recognised as an embodiment of the selflessness of people, but by excluding a certain group of the population from assisting in their cause, are they going against their own agenda and hampering themselves in the process?

Marketing Director for the IBTS, Sarah McLoughlin, says, “The blood supply from today stands at an average of 6 to 7 days which is where we, ideally, would like to be on any given day, on any given blood group. Currently, B- is quite low, with only a 3 day supply.”

When the supply for certain blood groups are low, the IBTS targets their donors with that blood type via various tele-marketing campaigns in an attempt to increase their supply.

When asked if the inclusion of the currently banned gay population would help to alleviate the deficits Auditor of UCD LGBT, Jack the service sometimes suffers, Ms Carolan, is one of many who have McLoughlin claims that, “considerbeen affected by the rule. “If given ing there’s no research, I can’t the opportunity I would definitely actually answer that question.” donate blood. Every member of Therein lays the rub for many. my family donates blood because, There is a lack of evidence on both as a collective family, we all have sides as to what a repeal of the a rare blood type. Unfortunately current ban would actually mean. this rule means I cannot.”

Very few countries have carried out This particular policy holds some research in the area, and the lack of emotional weight within the LGBT information surrounding the issue is community, as HIV and AIDS were fuelling exasperation and frustration. first prevalent amongst their populaThere may be a ray of light tion and they were heavily persehere, however, as the UK may now cuted for it. The stigma attached to serve as a guinea pig of sorts. The contracting blood-borne diseases such country has recently repealed its as HIV/AIDS has dissipated, but permanent ban to a ban on any man never truly disappeared. As a result, who has had sexual contact with many LGBT people see the rule that another man within a year prior to prevents them from donating blood donating. As it is a new policy, the as an extension of the persecution full effects of the change may not they suffered throughout the 1980’s. come to light for quite some time.

According to Carolan, “You Not all people are in agreement could also argue that a heterosexual with the UK’s repeal, however. The person who is awfully promiscuIBTS reviewed its current policy ous would be a far greater risk to on the ban after the UK repealed receive a blood donation from than their law, but didn’t change their a person who has only had sex with ruling. Dr Ian Franklin, of the IBTS

You could argue that a heterosexual person who is promiscuous would be a far greater risk to receive a blood donation from than a person who has only had sex with a man once or even someone who is in a monogamous relationship

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is famed for its well-known and much lauded Give Blood campaign, with a strong response by the Irish public nationwide. The response to the campaign in Belfield is no different, and the frequent campus visits made by the service show just how well the message has permeated into the minds of students.

october 29th 2013

But their visits are never without controversy. With one of the largest LGBT societies in Europe, UCD students have the same issue with blood donations every time the Give Blood campaign arrives on campus.

Since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993, the LGBT movement has come on in leaps and bounds, with the recent advent of civil

partnerships heralding a new era for the group. One area in which there has been no advancement however, is blood donation. As the rules stand at the moment, a man who has ever had sexual contact with another man at any point in his life can never donate blood. Understandably, this is a cause of upset for many within the LGBT community, especially in UCD.

medical board, believes the repeal in the UK was premature. “Well we very carefully looked through those and on reading their report, we felt that their decision to go for one year was not based on their own evidence, let alone any other.”

He claims that the UK effectively jumped the gun in their repealing their deferral or ban, and that the effects of this change may not become apparent until further down the line. That is not to say however, that they are not looking to change.

“What we’re doing is we are actually working with a couple of the other countries who currently have a lifelong deferral or ban, like the Netherlands and also the USA.” It is Franklin’s belief that the ban will be repealed at some point, but not until there is evidence to prove that donations from gay men will be completely safe for use.

He believes, “I would be foolish to think that a permanent deferral can be indefinitely justified.”

The safety of the blood donated is always the main priority of the IBTS, as they are required by EU law to hold safety to the highest standards. “The EU directive does require that all necessary measures are taken to safeguard the health of individuals who receive the blood.”

The main reason for the current state of affairs therefore, is that the IBTS doesn’t feel they can completely guarantee the safety of their blood with the evidence currently available to them. Blood can only be stored for up to 35 days, and because some blood-borne diseases take up to six months to show up on tests, they cannot store blood for long enough to completely guarantee its safety.

But many within the LGBT community would argue that to exclude an entire group from donating is discriminatory at best, and highly prejudicial at worst. The IBTS is looking towards change, but it may take a significant amount of time for this change to come about.

Operation Intern

features

9

As Budget 2014 doubles the length of JobBridge internships, Tadhg de Sales Reddan examines both positive and negative intern experiences

Earlier this year, a Donegal national school advertised a vacancy for an Assistant Principal to teach pupils, develop the school’s education policy, and plan the curriculum. The catch? This advertisement was for an internship.

The successful applicant would receive €50 on top of their weekly dole payment. It wasn’t a joke.

This is most likely not the sort of internship the government had in mind when it launched JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme, over two years ago. The scheme was designed to provide entry level placements for inexperienced jobseekers, especially graduates.

Applicants are offered up to three consecutive internships, for a total of 18 months. In return, they receive a €50 top-up on their social welfare payment.

The scheme has many detractors, but others vehemently defend its value to young people. One proponent of the scheme is James Doorley, Deputy Director of the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI). Speaking to an Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection last year, Doorley described the benefits of participating in internships.

“First, they give young jobseekers the opportunity to gain employment and obtain experience. Second…[it helps] to network in employment situations, and jobseekers get to meet people. I am aware of a number of young people who took up internships [and] have obtained further employment, not with the organisation with which they served as interns, but with other organisations.”

On the other hand, a JobBridge parody website called ScamBridge.ie describes the nature of internships being offered as “little more than superexploitation of the unemployed.”

Earlier this month, ScamBridge organised a protest outside the offices of FÁS in Dublin demanding that the government reverse a decision to double the duration of JobBridge internships from nine months to eighteen.

Speaking to the University Observer, James Doorley explained one of the reasons behind extending the internship scheme to 18 months. “Some employers were requiring people to have 12 months experience in job advertisements, so someone who had done nine months on JobBridge didn’t qualify.”

There are presently over

The best part would definitely be the fact that that’s on my CV now, and whether I had a good experience or not, it’s something that would allow me to apply for better jobs

6,000 individuals on JobBridge internships, and 12,000 internships have commenced since the scheme began, although 60% of these internships have not run to completion.

According to the recent Indecon Report on the National Internship Scheme, 36% of participants secure immediate employment after their internship, and over half of these individuals go to work for the host organisation. Although 57% of participants remain in the ‘jobseeking’ or ‘other’ categories when their internships end.

Interns themselves appear divided in their experiences of JobBridge. Andres O’Keefe is a UCD graduate with a degree in languages, who worked as a customer service intern for a large multinational. O’Keefe had previous experience in similar roles, and his treatment relative to paid employees clearly left him disillusioned. “I actually had the same workload as everyone else…I didn’t see any difference when I was working there. I was treated as an employee, I had the same schedule. I had the same hours. I had the same responsibilities.”

Like 80% of those who participate in JobBridge internships, O’Keefe was not offered a paid position by his host company. As such, he feels that some employers are taking advantage of the internship scheme. “There are many things I’ve seen, not just in my case, but I’ve seen that some employers, not all of them, do take advantage of the situation, because it looks a bit like cheap labour.”

He also suggests the scheme is not properly regulated, with inadequate oversight from the authorities. “At no point had I any follow up or even any feedback from the department of social welfare… because of that, interns are at the employer’s mercy a little bit.”

The possibility that an intern may be open to exploitation is further aggravated by fears that failing to complete an internship may cause financial problems if they re-apply for jobseekers payments, although the Department of Social Protection insists this is not the case. There is also a danger that an intern will remain silent about unfair work practices, for fear that speaking out may harm his or her job prospects with the employer.

Clearly this is a concern for the NYCI too. Doorley explains, “A key

issue for us is to improve [the] type of internships provided, improve mentoring and greater and more effective monitoring to prevent exploitation and job displacement.”

There are many positive reactions to the JobBridge scheme, such as that of Robin Farrell. Farrell is a graduate of DIT, with a degree in Tourism Management. After becoming unemployed, he was offered an internship with a Dublin tourism company, working as an administrative assistant.

Although still unsure whether he’ll be offered a job when his internship ends, Farrell has found the scheme worthwhile. “At the end of the day, it’s a great experience.

At that stage [when I finish], I’ll have been here almost a year.”

While O’Keefe feels he was asked to do the same job as paid employees, Farrell feels that his employer trained him well and appreciated the purpose of the internship: “I did get a lot of training… there’s a manager as well, and they were sort of my mentor… We would all do similar roles, but other people would have a lot more responsibilities than me.”

After completing a four year degree, including a six month work placement, shouldn’t Farrell already have been well equipped for an entry level position? He doesn’t necessarily agree. “Maybe not so much in dealing with customers directly…that’s something you can’t really get training for.”

Farrell’s experience echoes the stated objectives of JobBridge.

Launching the scheme two years ago, Social Protection Minister Joan Burton said that unpaid internships would “give young people the opportunity to gain valuable experience as they move between study and the beginning of their working lives.”

Indeed, 64% of all JobBridge participants have degrees to undergraduate level or higher, of which 22% have postgraduate degrees, according to the Department of Social Protection.

Nevertheless, it is necessary to exercise caution in associating internships with inexperience. The department also say that 72% of interns have previously held full-time employment. Speaking to the media earlier this month, Minister Burton conceded that the scheme is “not for everyone.”

Pathways to employment via internships have been attempted

elsewhere in the EU, and not without controversy. Last year, UK companies like Argos, Sainsbury’s and TK Maxx were forced to withdraw from a similar work placement scheme devised by the British government.

Public outrage saw one Tesco store over-run by Right to Work protestors after it advertised for nightshift staff, who would not be paid, but instead be allowed to keep their benefits. Tesco subsequently improved its offer, but the scheme has been irretrievably tarnished.

On the other hand, the UK has had success with other employment schemes particularly aimed at young people who are not in employment, education, or training.

Instead of offering extended, unpaid internships, the UK scheme provides financial incentives to employers who hire unemployed youth, in the form of a cash subsidy.

Indeed, during the Irish Presidency of the European Union earlier this year, EU Social Protection Ministers agreed a €6 billion Youth Guarantee scheme for Europe. The scheme would guarantee to offer a job, work experience, or training to every young person aged between 18 and 24, although the Minister has not clarified whether this will replace JobBridge, or operate alongside it.

Similar Youth Guarantee schemes have attracted praise for their success in Finland and Scandinavia.

For some, it’s a welcome change from a broader EU policy focused on fiscal austerity as a response to the economic downturn. In the recent budget, the Irish government have invested €14 million in the Youth Guarantee scheme, but it has yet to be fully implemented.

In a press release, the NYCI welcomed the initial investment, but said it is “far below what is required,” estimating that over €270 million would be required to implement a Youth Guarantee in this country. To put that in context, it would reduce the savings in Budget 2014 by 10%. On the other hand, it could provide a strategy to take 40,000 young people off the live register.

Employer Jonathan Healy, who runs a B&B and tourism company in Co. Tipperary, is disillusioned with the government’s strategy on unemployment. Healy has hired an intern under the JobBridge scheme, but remains sceptical about JobBridge, which he

doesn’t think goes far enough.

“I think [JobBridge] should be there for everyone who is unemployed… especially young lads,” says Healy, who would favour increasing the overall payment, and making participation mandatory at the same time.

Although he has hired an intern, Healy says that JobBridge “doesn’t make a huge difference to the bottom line”, and doubts whether he will be in a position to offer a job to his intern when her placement ends, except maybe if business improves.

Healy cites wage costs as one obstacle to hiring new staff, but also cites current welfare rules, whereby any claimant working more than three days per week will not receive a jobseeker’s payment, regardless of hours worked. “When the internship scheme ends, we could just afford to pay [our intern] part-time, but… she would lose her jobseeker’s money.”

Like the interns who spoke to the University Observer, Healy claims there has been no on-going monitoring or interaction with the Department of Social Protection.

The latter issue is a concern; whether JobBridge is either inherently exploitative or empowering is a matter of continuous debate. But for public confidence to be maintained in the scheme there must be proper regulation of the type of jobs that can be offered, and the quality of training that is provided to interns.

As well as the Assistant Principal’s role referred to earlier, other JobBridge vacancies have included those for a school cleaner, a fully qualified solicitor, and a retail manager “with previous experience in a similar role.” Clearly, these are not vacancies that empower well educated, inexperienced young people to take their first steps on the employment ladder.

Despite his bad experience of the scheme, O’Keefe does not completely write it off. “The best part would definitely be the fact that that’s on my CV now, and whether I had a good experience or not, it’s something that would allow me to apply for better jobs.”

Overall, the criticisms of JobBridge are many, and often valid, but remedies to the unemployment crisis are a lot scarcer.

october 29th 2013

10

Features

Changing the culture Although many students may not have witnessed or been subject to racism, that doesn’t mean a problem isn’t lurking, writes Dawn Lonergan

photo conor O’Toole

Racism in Ireland is an ever growing issue. Historically, the Irish have experienced racism at the hands of the British and Americans, and as such, we are reluctant to readily accept the flux of immigrants brought in by the Celtic Tiger. But in an institution such as UCD, a centre of academia with a strong level of social awareness and a population of highly educated individuals, is there still an undercurrent of xenophobia lurking below the surface?

While the general opinion is that racist attitudes reside with the older generation or the ignorant, this is simply not the case. Presently, there seems to be no place free of racism; public or private. People have preconceived ideas about those from other countries. We believe it to be natural to fear the unknown, however, it is when people begin to act on this fear that racism becomes a major issue.

Dr Patricia Kennedy, of the School of Applied Social Science in UCD, reported that 60% of foreign nationals have witnessed or been subject to attacks. Approximately 71% of these attacks were verbal, and around 42% consisted of racist gestures.

Actual threats were not as common, at approximately 28%, and 23% reported being physically attacked.

Do these figures ring true in an institution of highly educated students?

An anonymous 2nd year student explains. “I’m sure that racism is present on campus, but personally I don’t think that it’s racism, rather a social divide.”

UCD markets itself as a global university, and according to University data there are almost 5,000 international students, which makes up 20% of the overall student population.

The creation of the International Lounge aims to foster a positive attitude towards foreign students, and the International Students Society was also formed to serve the needs of international students.

The Constitution of UCD Students’ Union also offers protections against racism. Article 4.1 of the UCDSU

A serious racist attack on a UCD student occurred as recently as 2009, when the house that a foreign student was residing in during the academic term was firebombed and the family car destroyed

constitution states, “Every Union member is entitled to all the rights and freedoms as set out in this Article irrespective of race; colour; gender; age; religion; language; sexual orientation; gender identity; political or other opinion; nationality; ethnicity; socio-economic or other status; provided that in enjoying such rights, the rights of others are not infringed.”

In the past, UCD had an Anti-Racism Society, but this is no longer active. The society’s most noticeable act was a 2005 protest against a campus visit from Minister for Justice Michael McDowell. This protest, which occurred during a Gardaí football match, was based on the society’s belief that the Minister’s agenda was racist.

A serious racist attack on a UCD student occurred as recently as 2009, when the house that a foreign student was residing in during the academic term was firebombed and the family car destroyed. The Union of Students

in Ireland (USI) condemned the attack, and praised the quick response of UCD in supporting the student.

After the attack occurred, the UCD College of Human Sciences organised a workshop entitled ‘Raising Awareness of Racism in Ireland.’

Unfortunately, the workshop was poorly subcribed, with only 14 people attending, seven of which were presenters. Whether this implies that UCD students believe racism is not an issue, or that they simply have no interest in it, is unclear.

An anonymous final year student believes the former to be true.

“Racism is not an active concern

in UCD. In my time here I have never witnessed or even heard talk of a racist attack, whether verbal or physical. If racism is occurring, it is isolated and not very publicised.”

In stark contrast to this view that UCD is free of racism is Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where racism became a live issue in 2011. Kurt Nikolaisen, organiser of the Love Music, Hate Racism event, was “disgusted” with the Ents team in Trinity after they refused to let the anti-racist event take place on the same day as a visit from BNP leader Nick Griffin, who is known for his farright policies on race and immigration.

He accused the Students Union of “burying their head in the sand.”

In defence, TCD Students’ Union (TCDSU) stated “The TCDSU Executive does … not condone or agree with the political views expressed by [Nick Griffin’s] organisation, or indeed any other political organisation.”

A more recent example of racism in action on a national scale would be the removal of two Romani children from their families in October. Many TDs are calling for Justice Minister Alan Shatter to launch an independent enquiry through the Children’s Ombudsman to determine whether the removal was an act of racial profiling.

Speaking in the Dáil, Aodhán Ó’Riordáin, TD described the event as an “unbelievably appalling scenario… [At the centre of] this whole circus has been a pure, raw, naked, poisonous racism.”

The section of the Childcare Act used to remove the children is only supposed to take effect where there is an immediate and serious risk to the child. If this was the case, however, authorities would not have left the other four children in the care of their parents. This obvious flaw in the removal of the two children has brought racism to the forefront of the public eye once again.

Newman Fund

Have you a great idea for an event on campus?

Why not try the Newman Fund for funding?

The Newman Fund is a sum of money arising from that part of the Student Registration Charge which the university allocates to support organised student activities. It is designed to fund activities which are organised by individuals or groups, other than the recognised clubs and societies in the University, whose aim is to improve student life on campus. Any individual or group of students may apply for financial support for their project. The Newman Fund is administered by a committee of the Student Consultative Forum Last year, the Fund provided substantial support for the UCD Fashion Show, for an academic conference organized by PhD Law students, for a sports blitz for Res students, for Belfield FM, for a reception for postgrad Engineering students in Newstead, for the Please Talk campaign, for Relay for Life, for an Entrepreneurship Forum and for a Vet student Rugby event.

Applications are now invited for grants from the Fund for the current session. There is no standard format for applications but they should include full details of the applicants, the use to which any funds granted will be put and detailed costings. Applications for support in this session must be submitted by November 15th at 5.30pm to: Elizabeth Cronin, Student Consultative Forum, Student Centre, UCD or email to: Elizabeth.cronin@ucd.ie. Further information may be obtained from Liz or from Paddy O’Flynn at 1patrickoflynn@eircom.net.

october 29th 2013

Irish

An Chalaois Shoiniciúl

11

Le caint faoi láthair ar chárta dubh a thabhairt isteach sa Chumann Lúthchlas Gaeil, fiosraíonn Ruairí Ó Meachair an spórt mar atá

Is ábhar conspóideach í an chalaois shoiniciúil sa Chumann Lúthchleas Gaeil agus is fadhb é atá géar gá le ceartúcháin chun ár spórt logánta a chaomhnú.

Is mór an trua nach bhfuil réiteach againn go dtí seo ar an bhfadhb. Ó thaobh rialacha an Chumainn de, níl aon dlí in aghaidh an chalaois shoiniciúil a gcuireadh stop leis sa chluiche.

Más rud é, mar shampla, go raibh imreoir ag rith tríd na páirce ag lorg cúil le nóiméad amháin fágtha sa chluiche, ag bualadh imreoirí eile ar an mbealach, bhuel, ní bheadh i gceist sa chluiche ach cic soar agus carta buí a bhronnadh ar an íospartach.

Chonaiceamar fianaise den eachtra seo os ár gcomhair i rith na craoibhe, nuair a bhris Conor McManus an chosaint agus thaispeán sé bua an ocrais agus cruthaitheacht dúinn chun cúl a aimsiú agus bua a fháil do Mhuineacháin chun an leathchraobh a shroichint. Is dócha gur cheap Seán Cavanagh ó mhuintir Thír Eoghan gur rugbaí a bhí á imirt acu nuair a chuir sé McManus bocht ar an talamh gan stró aige. Éiríonn an ceist arís arís eile agus eachtraí mar seo ag tarlú: an é seo peil Gaelach sa chéad dul síos?

Cá bhfuil spiorad an spóirt? Níl sé seo spórt na nGaeil ar chor ar bith, ach an ndearna Seán Cavanagh an ghluais ceart? Rinne, gan dabht.

Caithfear a luaigh go raibh Joe Brolly ar an bpainéal i ndiaidh an cluiche ar buile. Ghlaoigh sé caimiléirí ar Sheán Cavanagh, ar Mhicky Harte agus ar mhuintir Thír Eoghan ar fad. Tuigim an frustrachas agus an feag a bhí air an lá sin, ach ní caimléirí iad Cavanagh, Harte agus a gcontae. Is fadhb leanúnach é seo sa CLG agus déanann gach foireann in Éirinn an ‘caimiléireacht’ seo ar shlí amháin nó ar shlí eile i gcónaí.

Déanann na foirní is mó é seo an t-am ar fad, sna páirceanna de gnáth

chun an liathróid a mhoilliú agus stop a chur leis an bhfrith-ionsú. Straitéis sa chluiche nua-aimseartha é seo atá á fhorbairt ag foirní an Thuaisceart ar nós Dún na nGall agus Tír Eoghan.

Tá na rialacha éasca le briseadh le gualainn sa dhroim, lámha ar an liathróid ar an talamh, calaois ar an bpáirc, agus go leor eile. Ach ní dhéanann na gníomhachtaí seo toradh an chluiche a bheartú i gcomparáid leis an gcaolaois atá taobh thiar den chúl.

Droch-gné den chluiche é amach is amach ach ní feictear aon phianós trom i bPáirc an Chrócaigh ar mhaithe an aois óg nuair a tharlaíonn a leithéid de chaimiléireacht ann. Dúirt Cavanagh an lá sin dá mbeadh na rialacha i bhfeidhm a gcuireadh ón pháirc é – smaoineodh sé arís ar an gcalaois a rinne sé.

Ní chreidim go bhfuil bainisteoir ná imreoir ó cheann ceann na tíre a bheadh míshásta le Cavanagh ar an lá sin. Rinne sé a dhícheall ar son na foirne, gníomh neamhuasal a bhí ann ach shroich Tír Eoghan an leathchraobh de thoradh air. Mura thóg sé an fear anuas, maródh a bhainisteoir agus a chomhimreoirí é.

An carta dubh. An ndéanfaidh sé aon mhaitheas don spórt seo?

Dar ndóigh, déanfaidh sé.

Tugann sé an cumhacht do réiteoirí an chiontóir a chur ón pháirc agus imreoir eile a thabhairt isteach. Caithfear a chuimhniú gurb é an Cumann Lúthchleas Gaeil an t-aon spórt ar domhan a ligeann an chalaois shoiniciúil tarlú gan aon phianós dáiríre.

Is tús maith é an carta dubh ach tá fadhb fós ann nach bhfuil an phianós sách trom. Ceadaítear imreoir áirithe eile a thabhairt ar an bpáirc nuair a bhaintear an chiontóír ón pháirc – ach an gcuireadh sé seo stop le Cavanagh agus a chuid calaoise ar McManus sa cheathrú craobh chun stop a chur le Muineacháin leanúint ar aghaidh go dtí an leathchraobh?

Ní chuireadh ar chor ar bith.

Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach go ndéantar riail thromchúiseach a chur i bhfeidhm chun stop a chur leis an gcalaois shoiniciúil agus sa deireadh thiar thall, níl gá athraithe ollmhór a dhéanamh ach ba é an carta dearg an feidhm is éifeachtaí timpeall na tíre i spóirt an domhain.

Caithfimid breathnú ar ár spórt náisiúnta go cruinn agus an ceist a chur orainn féin: an bhfuil muid ag iarraidh leanúint ar aghaidh le rudaí mar atá?

GLUAIS

Calaois—Foul Play Logánta—Áitiúil Íospartach—Victim Caimiléirí—Cheaters Gualainn —Shoulder tackle

Ról an chreidimh in Éirinn an lae inniu Le reiligiún in Éirinn níos laige mar a bhí fadó, labhraíonn Stiofán Ó hIfearnáin ar dheachrachtaí na hEaglaise sa lá atá inniu ann

photo james brady

GLUAIS Aindiachtaí—Atheist Mahamadaigh—Muslims Mór-Roinn—Continent Ionadaí—Substitute Íospartaigh—Victims Péindlíthe—Penal Laws

in aon chor dos na múinteoirí, go háirithe iad nach gcreideann. Ar an taobh eile, áfach, cad a dhéantar maidir le ginmhilleadh in ospidéil Caitliceacha na tíre, an mbeidh ar dhochtúirí agus an t-ospidéal féin a gcreideamh a shárú chun rud atá glan i gcoinne a mianta a chur i bhfeidhm?

Táimid i ré nua agus feictear domsa go bhfuil líon na n-aindiachtaí ardaithe go mór le blianta beaga anuas. Don chéad uair i stair na tíre beidh ról de shaghas éigin ag Mahamadaigh – níl le déanamh agat ach breathnú ar a n-iarrachtaí chun moscanna nua a chur ar fáil ar fud na tíre, táid ag adhradh i bhfoirgnimh in eastáit tionsclaíochta faoi láthair.

Bhí an-chonspóid ann i gcathair Chorcaí le déanaí maidir le hiarrachtaí na Mahamadach thall ansin mosc a bhunú i lár na cathrach – bhí sé an-ghreannmhar a bheith ag éisteacht leo ar chlár Sheáin O’Rourke ar RTÉ. B’é an rud is suimiúla ná go raibh Éireannaigh ó dhúchais ina measc – tá sheik acu leis an sloinne McCarthy air!

Cén tuairim a bheas ag de Valera agus an Piarsach dá gclunfidís a leithéid de sin 100 bliain ó shin?

Is cinnte nár cheapadar go mbeadh an ilchultúrthacht chomh coitíanta agus atá se anois. Níl sé sin le rá nach raibh taithí againn ar a leithéid – Is minic a thagaimid ar alt éigin in iarthar Chorcaí – dhein an tháinig na Pailitínigh agus na hÚgóni nuachtáin na tíre a chuireann neamhspleáchas dochar dochreidte aigh chun na tíre sa 17ú agus sa 18ú ceisteanna deacra orainn maidir d’Eaglais na hEireann sa Tuaisceart, aois agus d’iompraíodar a gcreideamh le ról an chreidimh sa lá atá ann go háirithe in áiteanna iargúlta ina Protastúnach ón Mór-Roinn leo. Is inniu – tuairiscítear scéalta rabhadar ag brath ar chúpla clainne féidir comparáid a dhéanamh idir uafásacha ó cheann ceann na tíre a agus na giollaí a bhíodh acu. iadsan agus na grúpaí Protastúnacha chuireann síos ar an ndrochslí inar Tá athraithe móra fós le teacht éagsúla a tháinig anseo le déanaí ón caitheadh le páistí soineantacha i i mbunscoileanna na tíre má Afraic agus ón Bhrasaíl, ach tá an scoileanna agus i séipéil na tíre. fhaigheann Ruairí Quinn cad chuma ar an scéal go bhfuil grúpaí Címid go bhfuil an Pápa nua sa atá uaidh – brisfear an dlúthbsoiscéalacha an lae inniu ag déanamh Róimh i bhfad níos nua-aimseartha haint láidir atá idir an Eaglais tréaniarracht daoine a thiontú. ina thuairimí ná iad a tháinig Caitliceach Rómhánach agus Tá sé fíorshuimiúil a thabhairt roimhe (an Pápa Eoin-Pól II go formhór na mbunscoileanna. faoi deara go bhfuil ionadaí don háirithe) agus a théann i gcoinne Cé gur Caitliceach mé, ceapaim phósadh eaglasta ag teacht chun an tsaibhris mór a bhíonn le feiscint gur smaoineamh an-mhaith é seo. cinn ó cheadaíodh do dhaoine sa Vatican. Ach cad atá ar siúl Tá an-chuma ar an scéal go bhfuil searmanas daonnachais a bheith acu againn sa tír seo faoi láthair? a lán tuismitheoirí ag brath go huile go dleathach – is cinnte go bhfuil Mar tír, táimid fós ag deileáil le is go hiomlán ar mhúinteoirí chun aithne ar dhuine amháin a bhí ag a torthaí an Chogaidh Neamhspleáchais bunchloch an chreidimh a mhúineadh leithéid de phósadh. Bíonn sochraidí agus marú na bProtastúnach dá bpáistí – rud nach raibh cothrom daonnachais ar siúil ó am go ham

faoi láthair – ceann a tuairiscíodh sna meáin ná sochraid Justin Keating, an t-iriseoir agus polaiteoir.

Tá seans maith ann go mbeidh a leithéid de shocraid níos coitíanta agus sagairt na tíre ag dul i loimeacht – b’fhéidir nach mbeidh an dara rogha ag daoine in aon chor.

Teastaíonn ról nua ón Eaglais Chaitliceach Rómhánach – nílid chomh cumhachtach agus a bhíodar ach trua mór a bheadh i gceist dá ligfeadh dóibh titim as a chéile.

Tá leasuithe móra i ndán don Eaglais in Eirinn – beidh orthu an rud chéanna a dhein Eaglais na hEireann 100 bliain ó shin – paróistí a chur le chéile agus sagart amháin i gceannas orthu agus séipéil in áiteanna éagsúla a dhúnadh. Mar thoradh ar an méid airigid atá ag teastáil ó íospartaigh a d’fhulaing in Institiúidí na hEagalise thar na blianta tá an Eaglais i bhfad níos boichte ná mar a bhí sé tráth, ach cad is féidir leo a dhéanamh? Tá siad ag brath ar sheandhaoine na tíre maidir le hairgead agus cad a tharlaíonn nuair a fhaigheann na daoine sin bás?

B’fhéidir gur chóir dúinn a bheith dóchasach – bhí scéal cosúil le sin ar siúl freisin sa tréimhse roimh an nGorta Mór mar thoradh ar nádúr dian na bPéindlíthe, b’iadsan an chéad glúin de na Caitlicigh à la carte.

Deirtear go minic go láidrítear an credeamh i ndiaidh géarchéim – ceapann daoine go bhfuil siad tar éis peaca éigin a dhéanamh agus iarrann siad a bpeacaí a mhaitheamh ina dhiaidh sin. Chonaiceamar an dochar a dhein an tsaint don tír seo – dá mbeimís in ann teacht ar ais go dtí deireadh na 90idí is cinnte go ndéanfaimís athruithe móra. Gan an Chriostaíocht ní bheadh clú agus cáil ar an dtír seo mar oileán na naomh is na n-ollamh, ní bheadh sé ciallmhar in aon chor an chuid sin dár n-oidhreacht a thréigint. É sin go léir ráite, beidh ar an Eaglais na dúshláin atá roimpi a shárú. An éireoidh libh é sin a dhéanamh? Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir! october 29th 2013

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science

The last of the Moon Men Almost 41 years since his footprints were the last to leave the Moon’s surface, Apollo astronaut Captain Eugene Cernan speaks to Shane Hannon about his remarkable life

Cernan in the lunar module on Apollo 17

Many people are aware that it was Neil Armstrong who took that first “one small step” on the Moon in July 1969. The Commander of the Apollo 11 mission spent two and a half hours exploring the Sea of Tranquility with his lunar module pilot, Buzz Aldrin, in what would become the culmination of President John F. Kennedy’s pledge eight years before of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” before the end of the decade.

Man’s first period of exploration of our celestial neighbour came to an end in December 1972. Twelve American men stepped on the lunar surface on six separate landings, eight of whom are still alive, and each of them have phenomenal stories to tell.

When it comes to ranking them on how eloquently they describe the experience of walking on the Moon, it is easy to argue that Captain Eugene Cernan comes out on top. Cernan was born in a suburb of Chicago in 1934 and will enter his eighties next March, but one could be tricked into thinking his time as an astronaut was only last week after speaking to him.

Prior to being selected by NASA, Cernan was commissioned as a United States Navy Officer through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at Purdue University.

Flying jet interceptors off aircraft carriers was what he had always longed to do, and so he became a naval aviator and did just that.

Cernan spoke about the real life ‘Top Gun’ experiences and saying, “Landing aboard a carrier at night, particularly in reduced visibility and rough seas, may be the biggest challenge a human being can have in his life.”

NASA made a habit of choosing these early astronauts based on their ability to handle pressure situations, and flying jets in testing conditions certainly comes under that heading. It is clear from Cernan’s description of his early days in the Navy that his retiring rank of Captain was hard-earned.

“You’ve got to land on three, four hundred feet of runway bouncing in the middle of the ocean like a cork, and then they turn out the lights at night-time, and it’s only

october 29th 2013

Cernan also has the distinction of holding the lunar land speed record in the Rover at 11.2 miles per hour

you and your maker. When you train to get to that point as a naval aviator, I think it demands more of you, and as a result you end up demanding more of yourself.”

Selected as one of fourteen astronauts in NASA’s third group in October 1963, Cernan’s first assignments were related to Project Gemini. This follow-on program to Project Mercury achieved missions long enough to get to the Moon and back, perfected extra-vehicular activity, which involved spacewalks outside the spacecraft, and orbital manoeuvres necessary to achieve rendezvous and docking; all of which were essential if NASA were to be successful in their attempt to land men on the Moon.

Originally assigned as back-up pilot on the Gemini 9 mission, he and Tom Stafford were promoted to fly the mission when the original prime crew were killed in a plane crash just four months before launch.

The June 1966 mission is mostly remembered for Cernan’s ‘Spacewalk from Hell’, as he described it in his 1999 autobiography. During his two-hour excursion outside the spacecraft, he lost an incredible 10 and a half pounds in weight and suffered second-degree burns on his lower back after a suit malfunction.

Only two men have flown to the Moon twice; those two are Cernan and John Young, who incidentally flew around the Moon together, along with Commander Tom Stafford, on Apollo 10.

That mission was a dress-rehearsal for the Apollo 11 landing two months later and is known for attaining the universe record for the highest speed by any manned vehicle. The

crew reached 24,791 miles per hour, the equivalent of 11.08 kilometres per second, in the command module on the journey home from lunar orbit on May 26, 1969.

Cernan and Stafford descended to 47,000 feet above the lunar surface in the Lunar Module while Young flew alone in the command module, and he reveals that this whetted his appetite to ultimately fly that final descent himself someday. “I felt like I hadn’t finished a job at 47,000 feet. It was like getting your finger close to the honey jar, but not getting the whole thing.”

Cernan mentions that after his first trip to the Moon on Apollo 10, he “desperately wanted to command” his own crew and that “the riskiest decision I made in the entire space program was telling my boss I didn’t want to walk on the Moon from the right seat.”

The final three Apollo missions are often termed the ‘J’ missions. They had a larger suite of experiments to conduct, and were longer-duration missions than the earlier flights.

Armstrong and Aldrin spent only a matter of hours on the Moon on the first landing. In comparison, Cernan and his geologist-astronaut crewmate Jack Schmitt spent three days essentially living on the Moon in 1972.

One major new feature of these ‘J’ missions was the addition of the lunar rover to take the astronauts further away from the sanctity of the lunar module than ever before.

When asked what it was like to drive, Cernan describes it as, “Wonderful, you know, in one-sixth gravity you hit a bump, you hit a small crater and you’re on three wheels most of the time.” Cernan also has the distinction of holding the lunar land speed record in the Rover, 11.2 miles per hour.

Landing his lunar module in the Moon’s spectacular Taurus-Littrow valley, Cernan seemed almost emotional as he described the crucial descent, “The clock is ticking all the way for fourteen minutes, all the way from 50,000 feet to when you touch down. And when you do touch down, all the noise, all the vibration, all the talking, is gone. It was the quietest moment of my life.”

Touching down on the Moon is a challenging test for any pilot,

even after all the years of training and simulations. As Cernan puts it, “This is the real world, it has to happen now.” There really are only three options, he notes, “If you do it early enough you can abort with the ascent stage and get out of there; if you do it too late below 200 feet you’re gonna crash on the Moon, or you can do it successfully.”

Many have said that the Apollo astronauts journeyed to the Moon only to discover the Earth in the process. The first ‘Earthrise’ picture taken from lunar orbit on Apollo 8 showed people just how fragile we are here on planet Earth.

Cernan’s view of home on Apollo 17 is one he still recalls to this day.

“On the rest of the landings, the Earth was up on top, they couldn’t see it.

Mine was right out my window, so involuntarily you’re looking at gauges, you’re concentrating, you’re looking at the landing site, but the Earth is just staring you in the face. Unbelievable.”

Cernan says he appreciates that as one of only twelve human beings in the history of mankind to have walked on the Moon, people look at him differently to how he looks at himself, but he says he considers that “a compliment.”

Even the most visually stunning photographs astronauts took on the Moon only tell us a fraction of what it would be like to walk there, but Cernan hopes the experience hasn’t changed who he is. “I’d like to think I’m the same person I was before I went to the Moon. I still put my pants on one leg at a time, I bleed when I cut myself, I understand joy and happiness, and there are still challenges in my life.”

One such challenge came about in September 2012, when Cernan was asked to give the eulogy at Washington’s National Cathedral at the memorial service of his good friend Neil Armstrong. “I had to talk about Neil Armstrong in less than three minutes, how about a challenge?”

Landing on aircraft carriers and flying to the Moon are undoubtedly pressure-filled situations, but this was a different kind of pressure.

“I’m in a cathedral, on a big pulpit like the Pope looking at all those people, and knew the world was

I’d like to think I’m the same person I was before I went to the Moon. I still put my pants on one leg at a time

listening.” He admits that he went through a dozen drafts in a week before settling on a final eulogy.

The emotional few minutes that Cernan spoke were a fitting tribute to Armstrong, and also highlighted Cernan’s incredible way with words.

Armstrong’s first words when stepping onto the Moon are indelibly engrained in the history books, but Cernan’s last words were equally as impressive. “As we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.

Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17.”

When asked to draw upon any personal regrets from his own mission, he says that one thing in particular stands out. “That I didn’t have a camera in my hand to take the picture of the last footprint of Apollo, and take the picture of my daughter’s initials that I left there.”

With no atmosphere on the Moon, those footprints and initials will be there until someone someday goes back to the landing sites.

That day, unfortunately, looks to be in the distant future, and Cernan makes his feelings on the current administration well known, “The current administration has destroyed the space program, 100% and then some.”

Looking ahead to the future of manned space travel, one can only hope that the next lunar or even first martian explorers are able to describe the events as articulately as Cernan. His philosophical side comes out when he describes the moment after landing. “As the dust cleared we were looking out the windows, seeing what has never been seen with human eyes before.”

Approaching his eighties, Captain Cernan’s exploration days are behind him. Cernan is now an old man, but he still possesses that twinkle in his eye that symbolises a life well-lived, so far.

The above interview with Captain Eugene Cernan (Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, Apollo 17) was exclusively conducted during the ‘Autographica’ event at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham, UK on Sunday September 22nd, 2013.

science

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Girls just wanna have some recognition From bullet proof vests to chocolate chip cookies, women have contributed enormously to the scientific community over the years.

Ellen Murray asks where the recognition is

Franklin, who discovered the structure of DNA, did not receive the 1962 Nobel Prize along with her male colleagues, who conveniently neglected to mention that her contribution was the basis of their work

Scientists, as a general rule, go woefully uncelebrated by our society as a whole, with a larger emphasis focused on praising celebrity culture.

Women in science, however, have been ignored to an even larger extent and even though the gender balance in research is reaching more acceptable levels, women are wholly less recognised for their achievements.

This recognition is evident in people’s general knowledge about famous scientists. If many people were asked to name a scientist that made a very notable impact on the history of science, most would be inclined to recommend the name Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking.

The most scientifically illiterate person would probably even be able to vaguely recall Newton’s theory of gravity or that E=mc².

An answer they probably wouldn’t give is the name of the world’s first computer programmer. They wouldn’t know that it was a 19th century mathematician called Ada Lovelace, the only legitimate daughter of the

infamous poet Lord Byron, who was the creator of the first encoded algorithm to be processed by a machine.

Next time you are watching a funny cat video on YouTube, think of her.

Back in 2012, popular online blogger Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal published a comic on his website titled ‘Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived.’

The comic highlighted the many great achievements of one Nikola Tesla, who discovered alternating current and changed the face of modern science as we know it.

What the comic also pointed out was the outrage of Tesla’s contributions to the world being misrepresented by history as the inventions of Thomas Edison. This shocking revelation that Edison was an idea-stealing, profit-oriented jerk ensured that The Oatmeal’s fundraising campaign to buy Tesla’s Tower in New York had,

by May 2013, raised $2.1 million for the purchase of the property.

Plans are now underway to build a Nikola Tesla museum there, and rightfully so. The monument will be a testament to humanity’s inability to recognise and celebrate its most brilliant minds. Rosalind Franklin is another example of a scientist who didn’t get her due praise in a similar fashion to Telsa.

Franklin, who discovered the structure of DNA, did not receive the 1962 Nobel Prize along with her male colleagues, who conveniently neglected to mention that her contribution was the basis of their work. Then there is Celia Payne, the first female Professor of Science in Harvard University, who discovered that the composition of stars was made mostly from hydrogen and helium.

Never heard of her? That’s because her theory was dismissed by the astrometry community upon its

initial publication. That is, until four years later, when a man called Henry Norris Russell confirmed her theory and got the credit.

These are two examples of women scientists who have been ignored by history, despite the immense importance of their discoveries.

Similarly to Tesla’s recent rebirth of cultural significance, there has also been an increase in the desire to acknowledge the impact women have had on the scientific world.

Optimystical Studios, an online company that designs jewellery based on pop-cultural phenomena, have launched a ‘Heroes and Inspirations: Lady Scientists’ jewellery line whereby people can purchase items of jewellery that reflect the amazing scientific work by these women.

In their mission statement they write, “Albert Einstein, with his crazy hair and inspirational quotes, has been the king of the popular scientist. We’d like to change that.

Each of the ladies of science we’ll be introducing has just as much claim on the throne as Albert.” It’s a great start, but is it enough?

The main problem is rooted in in all forms of media is stifling our historical and cultural view of the curiosity of a young generation the sciences as a ‘male-only’ area of girls pursuing a career in of discovery. This outdated view is science. The world around us being reflected in the gender gap and the enthusiasm to learn as in scientific studies today, with much as we can should have 59% of graduating third-level no gender constrictions. science students being male.

We must translate this While the statistics of women ungendered desire to discover graduating with science degrees the world around us in our and holding high-level jobs in their recognition of women scientists particular field of science have and their contributions to the world, shown a slight increase over the alongside the ones of their male past two decades, the numbers counterparts. To all the women still remain mournfully low. This scientists out there who have lead is perhaps to be expected with the way for others, we salute you. the underrepresentation of female scientists and inventors in our A Google Doodle celebrated history books and current media.

Ada Lovelace’s 197th Birthday This lack of acknowledgement on the 10th December 2012.

Big Brother is watching you As Google change their usage policy again, Michael O’Sullivan looks at what exactly this means for everyone’s privacy illustration rory mullen

It has happened again. Google has altered its user settings to allow it to personalise advertising further.

Marketing companies are hailing the move as a masterstroke, while internet privacy advocates are up in arms.

What could they possibly have done to cause such a divisive response?

It all boils down to this: you see a product you like or dislike online; you rate it or write a review for others to see. The practice seems innocuous enough. You’re being a good Samaritan and informing others of the merits of a product, or you’re feeling mean and decide to tell prospective shoppers that the latest Pez dispenser got you pregnant when you sat on it, because people will believe everything they read on the internet.

The problem people have with Google’s new policy is that it will use these reviews as part of targeted advertising towards people’s friends.

If you give five stars to a random mug on eBay, should your friend search eBay or mugs, your head (probably not the mug they were looking for) will pop up underneath a search result spouting the merits of the ergonomic handle of the latest in ceramic tea-holding technology.

This seems innocent enough, and possibly even seems like a natural progression on Google’s part. If you write a review, would it not make sense to show the review to your friends, who are more likely to trust your judgement than the average stranger?

Marketing companies love the idea, and are falling over themselves to support it. “From a user perspective, there is a higher chance of them buying a product if it is endorsed by a friend,” said Kunal Jeswani, Chief Digital Officer at Ogilvy & Mather, India. Jeswani’s view has been reflected by marketing firms across the globe.

Internet privacy groups, however, are furious with the developments.

“We are not comfortable with user

information being used without their permission, especially since Google’s privacy standards are not very high,” said Uday Mehta, associate director at Consumer Unity and Trust Society International.

Their anger is understandable.

Google has been slowly but surely chipping away at people’s privacy by introducing minor changes to their usage policy over the past few years. While they claim most of it is for advertising purposes and that your information will not be shared with people other than those you know, many are understandably uncomfortable at the invasion.

Hypothetically, what would happen if you reviewed a product on the Ann Summers website, with the notion that very few people you know will ever be likely to look at it? What happens when your parents decide to get a bit more adventurous with the passage of time? They do a cursory internet search to see what’s out there, when all of a sudden they are presented with your head placed beside a picture of an emotionally distressing object, touting its merits to the universe. A case of too much information if ever there was one.

Google have said they will be keeping your information private and not selling it on to third party advertising groups. They are also pointing out that there is an opt-out feature should you want your information kept completely private. Most are starting to doubt their integrity, however, as they introduced a series of changes before this announcement.

Anyone who has a YouTube account may have noticed a few weeks ago that their entire setup was hurled into disarray. Google had generously decided to give all its users Google+ accounts, and so asked its users to merge their details from one account to the other for better connectivity. What has resulted is an unmitigated mess that results in users having to decide whether they

want to enter YouTube via their old account or through their new Google+ account every time they log in.

This wouldn’t be so bad, except for the fact that if you pick the wrong one, all your subscriptions are gone and you must log out and back in again to pick the right account.

The fact that they introduced this messy integration mere weeks before their latest announcement says a lot about where Google is going.

By giving people a free social networking account, they gain access to their friends and family members details should they start using the service, allowing them to target advertising even better than they could before. They are now being accused of attempting to integrate everything people do on the internet into one area that they can exploit for advertising purposes with little to no regard given to user friendliness.

The argument remains, however, that if you review or rate a product online, you are waiving your right to privacy by posting in a public forum. Whether people agree with this latest shift in policy or not, it is unlikely people will stop using the service. What remains to be seen is how far Google will go before people will turn against them, and if by that stage it will be too late.

Google has been slowly but surely chipping away at people’s privacy by introducing minor changes to their usage policy over the past few years

illustration rory mullen

Psycollegey —fear With Halloween just around the corner, Louise Dolphin suggests that maybe we have an inherent desire to be scared horror experience resonates with a profound, instinctual awe of the unknown; a cosmic fear. Arguably, the most iconic horror monsters are not the slimy toothed beasts of the natural world, but illusory, mythical fiends like werewolves, zombies, vampires and ghosts.

In the modern world, we encounter such fiends in horror films.

Dr Brendan Rooney researches psychological engagement with horror and disgusting films. He emphasises emotional arousal as a central function of film entertainment; suggesting that a good film is one that elicits strong emotions, even when they are negative.

Dr Rooney claims that viewers’ curiosity and interest draws them to horror films to experience feeling intense negative emotions in a safe When planning our inter-railing environment. Things like horror films, ghost stories and Halloween route after third year, my friends offer people an opportunity to control and I were determined to get off the and play with feelings of fear. beaten track, so we mapped a route This may explain why I was drawn through Eastern Europe. Undoubtedly, the most exciting stop was going to a place like Dracula’s Castle. Our to be Transylvania; a place inextrica- motives for seeking out horror include need for excitement; desire to feel bly linked, in the English language, intense emotions, and distraction to vampires, mystery and magic. from everyday life. But what about Upon arriving at Dracula’s Castle the paradox of why humans are on a suitably misty July morning, attracted to, and simultaneously I was deeply disappointed by our repulsed by the grotesque? tour guide mentioning that, not Sigmund Freud addressed this only is there no evidence that Bram notion of concurrent attraction and reStoker knew anything about the pulsion in his concept of the uncanny. castle when writing Dracula, but He argued that the uncanny unmore importantly, the surrounding consciously reminds us of our own area has only tenuous associations forbidden and repressed impulswith Vlad the Impaler, the alleged es, perceived as a threatening force inspiration for Count Dracula. by our super-ego, which fears punishStrolling through the castle, ment if societal norms are violated. half-heartedly viewing art, furniture In a similar vein, Stephen King and ornaments collected by Queen believes that horror’s job is to Marie of Romania, I pondered my deliberately appeal to the nasty or disappointment. What had I hoped uncivilised side of us. King believes to see? Why was I drawn to a place that most of us keep our uncivilised where I expected a gruesome and terrifying monster to have lived? And selves, our Mr. Hydes, under wraps, but “the potential lyncher is in why, did I feel a twinge of excitealmost all of us... and every now ment and adrenaline alongside the and then, he has to be let loose to anticipated horror? To a broader extent, I wondered, is horror alluring? scream and roll around in the grass.”

By feeding these nasty instincts, In his book On Monsters, Stephen conceptualised as alligators by Asma explores how every era has Stephen King, we keep them at expressed different fascinations bay. “Lennon and McCartney... with monsters. Medieval Christians said that all you need is love, and had demons, while the Gilded Age I would agree with that. As long called their version “human freaks”. as you keep the gators fed.”

The face of monsters may vary by With Halloween upon us again, age or culture, but their universal have a ponder about what it means dimension is constant. Monsters to you to indulge in horror-laden personify an endangerment of our fantasy. Curious crowds swarm to sense of security in the world. places like Bran Castle, Loch Ness, H.P. Lovecraft, the father of Loftus Hall, and The Hellfire Club. modern horror fiction claimed, “The Perhaps we are drawn to the seducoldest and strongest emotion of tive illicitness of horror, and the mankind is fear. And the oldest and intense emotional reaction it instils. strongest kind of fear is fear of the Perhaps we also seek horror unknown.” Thoughts of drowning, in a safe environment in order to injury and death induce fear in overcome repressive constraints. us, but are natural occurrences.

Possibly, as King suggests, we On the other hand, for Lovecraft, crave horror to feed the “hungry horror involves the disturbance alligators” of our civilised minds. of cosmic law. Something in the

Rooney claims that viewers’ curiosity and interest draws them to horror films to experience feeling intense negative emotions in a safe environment

october 29th 2013

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opinion

LGBT Outreach—Biphobia Discussing bisexuality, Eoin Ó Laighléis outlines how a biphobia is an inherent problems in society and also surprisingly within LGBTQ+ circles

What is biphobia? Contrary to what some people might assume, it has nothing to do with having a fear of bicycles, binoculars, or even bifocals. If you’ve read this fortnightly column before and know what the B in LGBT stands for, you’ll know it’s to do with bisexual people.

There are a lot of misconceptions about bisexuals and bisexuality floating around in the world.

Bisexuals are greedy. They always cheat. They love orgies. While any of these might be true for a select few, they certainly aren’t true in general.

Biphobia is the fear, hatred or distrust of bisexuals, often manifested by the spread of these untruths as fact. As a result, a lot of people aren’t aware that biphobia exists, and there are some who will even vehemently deny that it does.

Although I often wish that they were right, ignoring an issue never fixes it.

The vast majority of the time that I’ve mentioned to people that I’m bi, I’ve heard a biphobic remark within the next few sentences. Most people don’t even realise when they’re being biphobic, and will protest when it’s pointed out to them.

For example, when I first told a friend from one of my tutorials that I was bi, the first thing they asked me was if I’d had a threesome. When I said no, and that I didn’t intend on it, they told me that I wasn’t really bisexual.

That’s not the only time I’ve been told that, but it’s still a shock to hear it. What makes it worse is that, upon correcting him and saying that his definition of bisexual was wrong, he insisted that he knew better, as “I’ve seen them on TV, and that’s what they always say.”

This image of bisexuals is probably the most common, and it goes hand in hand with the myth that everyone who is bi is just greedy. I know for a fact that I’m not the only bi person who is sick of hearing that word by now.

Apparently, being bi “widens your catch,” so bisexuals are just trying to get with as many people as possible? I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either. I mean, aren’t you more likely to see someone

Do I have to pick between driving and cycling? Can I only like either biscuit or cake?

Yes, at any one instant, I might prefer one over another, but why do I have to be limited to liking just one forever?

trying to hook up with lots of people in Coppers than in the George?

Bisexuals are often seen as promiscuous, or almost guaranteed to cheat on a partner. Why should the fact that we can like different genders mean that we must therefore cheat? In the Broadway musical Rent, the only bisexual character, Maureen, is often referred to as having cheated. This is only ever said by the bitter ex-boyfriend and the jealous, possessive current girlfriend. Could it be that they’re insecure about their ability to keep someone as talented as Idina Menzel?

A friend of mine recently started calling me a “half-gay.” While it may be close to the truth, it does make it seem as if I’m straddling the fence between straight and gay, almost indecisively. Plenty of friends of mine have experienced something similar and have even been told, as I have, that we have to “pick a side.”

Apparently it’s physically impossible for anyone to like people of more than one gender. This has got to be the most ridiculous thing ever. Should all my friends have to be the same gender? Do I have to pick between driving and cycling? Can I only like either biscuit or cake? Yes, at any one instant, I might prefer one over another, but why do I have to be limited to liking just one forever?

Worse again is when bisexuals are assumed not to be bi when they’re in a relationship. Even on “the scene”, this is quite bad. On the straight scene, you’re assumed to be straight. On the gay scene, you’re gay. Unfortunately for many, there is no significant bisexual scene or social group in Ireland, unlike in some other countries such as Britain, where BiCon, an annual convention for bisexual people, is a major event.

Worryingly enough, biphobia has even cropped up in Glee, a TV show

known for combating homophobia.

In a recent episode, one of the characters is told that she never had a real lesbian relationship, as all her previous girlfriends were “only bi,” implying that being a lesbian is somehow better than being bi.

For fans of the older seasons, try to recall when Kurt said, “Bisexual is a term that gay guys in high school use when they want hold hands with girls and feel normal.”

That could have been ok, except for the fact that nobody has ever called him out on it in the show.

Even the new Netflix series Orange is the New Black has a bisexual main character who is constantly referred to as being either straight or a lesbian. Considering how many issues are dealt with in that show, it is rather disappointing that this is never explicitly discussed.

Although it is quite rare, something irritates me even more is the

biphobia from inside the LGBTQ+ community itself. The point of there being a community is that we support each other, right? There are people who don’t identify as either male or female, breaking the gender binary, and some of them feel that people who use the term bisexual reinforce that gender binary.

Clearly those people have never seen the Bisexual Pride flag. This flag has a pink strip for homosexual attraction, a blue strip for heterosexual attraction and a third, purple, strip in the middle to signify attraction to people of non-binary gender identity.

Hopefully this piece has helped some of you understand what bisexual people can be offended by, and what bi is not. For those of you who were expecting this article to be full of terrible puns on the word bisexual, you should all bi ashamed of yourselves.

How to be cool with Conor O’Toole The Art, Design & Technology Director waxes lyrical on feminism and possibly another thing

Without constantly seeing naked men in advertising, how will man ever develop enough selfconsciousness to stop wearing tracksuit bottoms like they are actual clothes?

I believe in feminism, the idea that men and women are equal. Thus, I am very hard to beat at poker. I was playing against my friend Gary last week. At one stage he declared, “Two kings; I win.” “Ah, ah.” I said, “I have two queens. It’s a draw.” He protested, as he had a queen as well, and thought he should win on high card.

Unfortunately for him, I had a jack.

I also believe in anti-monarchism, and so I consider the jack to be higher than either the queen or king, as the jack has at least earned his place in society, instead of acquiring it through birth, marriage, or from being a certain kind of snake (like the king cobra). The ace remains the highest card and transcending the gender argument, as it is ace-sexual! Little joke there.

october 29th 2013 photo killian woods

Language is a very oppressive tool, and a little part of me dies every time a women is referred to as an ‘actress’, is only able to get Halloween costumes that are ‘sexy’, or is accused of ‘manslaugher’.

In a better world people would complain that an actor dressed as a creepy nurse personslaughtered a group of misogynists when the liquid in her rusty needle turned out to be less non-toxic that the box suggested. In an even better world than that, she would be a mad doctor, not a creepy nurse.

Films are often sexist, without even featuring any sexist dialogue. I consider any film in which I see a pair of women’s breasts, but do not see any testicles or penises to be sexist. I decree that whenever I shoot film in the future I will balance every shot of breasts with a pair of testicles in the foreground. Like an over-the-shoulder shot, but instead under-the-junk.

‘Art’ photography has a similar and worrying trend of featuring comparatively few male nudes.

Without constantly seeing naked men in advertising, how will man ever develop enough self-consciousness to stop wearing tracksuit bottoms like they are actual clothes? I, for my part, will do my upmost to appear in the nude from now on, although I may need to move to a warmer climate.

Feminism isn’t just being nice to women, like some people [citation needed] seem to think. Last year, it was ruled that you couldn’t charge men and women different amounts for car insurance. A feminist act, which means that women have to pay more than they did before! See men, we can get things out of feminism too! One day we might even get rid of that terrible self-loathing!

I have often considered boycotting pornography as part of my feminism. Not because I think it’s degrading to women (who am I to tell women how to spend their time?) but because the men get paid so much less in those films. I now only watch ‘blue movies’, as they are so inaccurately called, (their dominant colour in my experience is a kind of beige, flesh tone) so that I can admire the cinematography.

After all, I am a filmmaker, as I mentioned. Pornographic cameramen are amongst the bravest in the business, only outdone physically and emotionally by the nature documentarians that film really fast birds killing really cute things.

Lana del Ray frustrates the heck out of me. I think she’s a powerful singer and she’s got some good songs, but she keeps hiring video directors who want to make her look as vulnerable and submissive as possible. I’ve seen two of her videos now where scary tattooed men kiss her while she looks unhappy. In one of the videos she gets a firm grasp around the neck and swims with a crocodile and in the other a dude shoves his fingers into her mouth.

LIKE A COCK WOULD DO. On a sightly separate issue, I noticed that now that eCigarettes are a thing, advertisers are trying to stop people using the verb ‘smoking’, as technically their products produce vapour, not smoke. ‘Smoking’ has too many negative connotations.

Instead, they’re going with ‘vaping’.

Because people don’t want to say that they are smokers, but they will be totally cool with being called ‘vapists’. Great work, guys.

Editorial

Editorial

It seems that every six months, the secret powers that run the country’s public transport system conspire together to raise the cost of getting places by a few cent. This has become an accepted nuisance of living in Dublin, like the constant protests blocking off parts of town or giving directions to Americans.

The reason that people usually give to explain why the cost of public transport is constantly rising is that companies like Dublin Bus need to make money. I used to agree with this wholeheartedly, but I have changed my mind over the last few years.

Why should our public transport make a profit? Surely the whole point of getting the government to organise public transport rather than hand

everything over to a private company is so our public transport can focus on being a service, not a business.

Quite frankly, €3.05 for a single bus ride into town is ridiculous. It feels like only yesterday that people were outraged about the maximum fare going over €2. Despite what some might say, these price increases are not in line with inflation. In fact, they are one of the main contributing factors to inflation.

People with lower incomes tend to rely more heavily on public transport than higher earners.

This means that price hikes in this area disproportionately affect low-earners. Once again, the system works by picking on the marginalised and hoping that they

are too disillusioned to fight back.

This brings me to a certain video that has been making the rounds on the various social media platforms over the last few days. If you haven’t already seen Russell Brand’s chat with Jeremy Paxman, it basically involves Brand listing off the many things that are wrong in our society today.

Although I agree with many things Brand says, there is one part that stands out to me that I cannot get behind. Brand admits that he has never voted, because he believes to do so would be to tacitly endorse the current system, a system he feels is entirely corrupt.

For all the intelligence Brand appears to have, it is amazing that

he sees abstaining from voting as a way to voice his anger, and not as the tacit endorsement of the system that he so heavily criticises.

Back in the year 2000, American author David Foster Wallace wrote a rebuttal to people like Brand, who don’t vote because they think doing so somehow shows acceptance of the system. In fact, Wallace says that it is the complete opposite.

“If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don’t bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched establishments of the two major parties, who rest assured are not dumb and are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible

psychological reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV Spring Break on Primary Day. “By all means stay home if you want, but don’t bullshit yourself that you’re not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard’s vote.”

Brand wants us to join him in revolting, yet gets visibly annoyed with Paxman when pushed about the specifics of his plan. This is a frustrating problem with leftist politics in Ireland. It’s all bark and no bite. Sometimes, it feels like the left are more interested in achieving martyrdom than any sort of real change.

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It is quite a sight to see someone who claims to be speaking for ‘the people’ imply that the majority of people are too stupid to be trusted with their own decisions. It is also curious that Brand calls for the mass redistribution of wealth, yet he lives a lifestyle that is so far removed from the average worker.

I’m afraid that I don’t quite share Brand’s certainty that there is about to be a revolution.

It’s hard enough as it is to get people to show up to a march, let alone an overthrowing of the government, and it’ll be especially difficult now that the bus is so expensive. Who knows, maybe this is just Russell Brand’s attempt to Andy Kaufman us all.

the university observer

talleyrand

Editor Kevin Beirne Deputy Editor Killian Woods Art, Design & Technology Director Conor O’Toole

Ahoy frakskanks, It is time for some retrospective panicking. The vestibule that is the Students’ Union fell into disrepute before the Bank Holiday weekend as each of your sabbatical heroes were locked in a heated battle over who gets to assume the role of Acting kind of Deputy Vice-President when current Acting-President, Míchéál Gállághér, was swept away on the Union’s private jet to attend IRA War Council meetings in the homeland of poorly-spoken Irish and cod fishing, Donegal.

The intra-squabble over who will step into Gállághér’s moderately sized TK Maxx children’s section brogues brought out the worst in Lorcan, Adam and Cian alike. The heated argument in which UCD’s version of the Marx Brothers (with Lorcan playing Karl, of course) were embroiled for hours upon only came to an abrupt halt when Colonel Cian FlexiFit showed true leadership and lied, telling his colleagues that there had been an election and he had won. The other two, having never actually experienced an election, were none the wiser.

According to Talleyrand’s

sources, Adam “No Hats” Carroll was quick to second Cian’s lie, while Lorcan had realised that the clock had struck 5pm and that he would soon be turning back into a pumpkin, and we all know that this is a particularly dangerous time of year to allow that to happen.

Talleyrand could focus the rest of his stridulous column documenting the Friday schedule of the new Acting kind of Deputy Vice-Deputy President, but he feels poor Adam “Captain Kind of Helpful” Carroll needs some attention and, to be honest, it mainly consisted of Cian “Bigger Than Jesus” Dowling trying to find a printer that would send out 15,000 “Acting kind of Deputy Vice-President” business cards on such short notice.

Captain Kind of Helpful has endured a harrowing week trying to assert his power over the corridor.

This is mainly due to the fact that Lorcan has been spewing his social clout all over the hallways, with his sheer confidence substantiated by his insistence on strutting around UCD in flip-flops without a care in the world that his feet are open to attack by a solitary horse sized duck, or a hundred duck sized horses

alike. Or the numerous STI’s no doubt present in the Union’s toilets.

Talleyrand can say from experience that wearing beach attire during working hours definitely requires you to have a sexual synergy rating of at least 8.8. Lorcan’s significant sexual domination over the other males in his vicinity is a sight to behold. All this overpowering sexual tension being emitted from Lorcan does nothing for Captain Kind of Helpful’s mojo; it’s like his kryptonite.

Poor Adam’s diminutive efforts to enact small changes to improve students’ lives are being constantly drowned out by the sheer moisturised sexual prowess oozing from Lorcan.

In the eyes of many, Captain Kind of Helpful may appear to be achieving very little, with his conduct fitting the brief of a man who actually does nothing, but he has in fact had a very productive week in the eyes of Talleyrand.

President Gállághér has been driving home to his sabbatical lapdogs that they need to fight for reductions in all the supplies they order to keep their relevant offices running at peak efficiency, and Captain Kind of Helpful has taken this advice very much to

heart. Captain Kind of Helpful, the hero this college deserves, but doesn’t technically need, or want, struck this week when no one was looking. Struck a deal that is.

Captain Kind of Helpful knows only too well that the reason most students fail exams is because they run out of ink for their fountain pens. He fought. He bargained. And negotiations even extended into his scheduled naptime, but Captain Kind of Helpful powered through and displayed all the characteristics of a superhero that is kind of helpful.

When all was said and done, he had penned a five-year agreement for 100,000 red fountain pen ink cartridges per annum. No more plain blue retractable ballpoint pens for UCD students, as Captain Kind of Helpful ensured that you all will be writing your exam scripts in the colour of justice this Christmas. Carroll Cares.

Talleyrand wholeheartedly implores you all to pen a crimson tinted letter of acknowledgment to your gallant crusader, Captain Kind of Helpful, in your finest calligraphy to demonstrate your gratitude.

Tally out

News Editor Yvanne Kennedy Comment Editor Elizabeth O’Malley Features Editor Nicole Casey Irish Editor Cian Ó Tuathaláin Science, Health & Technology Editor Michael O’Sullivan Sports Editor Shane Hannon Otwo Co-Editors Steven Balbirnie Jack Walsh Games Editor Niall Gosker Film & TV Editor Laura Bell Music Editor Rebekah Rennick Fashion Editor Emily Mullen Chief Otwo Writer Emily Longworth Staff meterologist Cathal Nolan

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Send your letters to editor@ universityobserver.ie

Christin McWeeney Staff Writers The Badger James Brady Louise Dolphin Orla Gartland Rebecca Hart @tila the Hun Mystic Mittens Robert Nielsen Talleyrand Aoife Valentine Laura Woulfe Contributors Cian Carton Tadhg de Sales Reddan Megan Fanning Sean Finegan Sean Flanagan Séan Hayes Beth Kirwan Patrick Kelleher Stephen Larkin Dawn Lonergan Fionnan Long Emmet Lyons Jack McCann Conor McKenna Aaron Murphy Ellen Murray Stiofán Ó hIfearnáin Eoin Ó Laighléis Ruairí Ó Meachair Joanna O’Malley Conor O’Nolan Cathal O’Reilly Catriona O’Sullivan Claire O’Sullivan Lucy Ryan Anne-Marie Stacey Ciaran Sweeney Karl Quigley Alex Vickery Illustrations Emily Longworth Rory Mullen Michael Vance Photographers James Brady Erica Coburn James Healy Joanna O’Malley

Thanks Eugene, Maeve and all the folks at Smurfit Kappa. Alex, Sorcha and everyone in the L&H. Sarah, Orla Gartland, Foil Arms and Hog, Martin Russell, Rory Murphy. Glen Crowe I’m trying to figure out the rationale behind the Talleyrand piece.

Seems to consist of arcane wittering about a set of insignificant people from another, and less interesting,

planet. The writer’s tired tropes add nothing to the value, currently less than zero, of the column; maybe when he learns what “solipsism” means he will desist and spare readers

further puzzlement and boredom.

In the meantime, I suppose the Observer should be commended for its contribution to employment by creating a sinecure like Talleyrand.

Yours etc, Mike Norris

Special Thanks CHEESE14, Michael O’Sullivan

october 29th 2013

Dear UCD Students, We're in our 8th academic week now which means we are one third of the way through the year. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you of the fantastic supports around UCD should you need them. Whether it's the student advisors or the SU welfare and education officers, they are here to help you do your best in UCD. All supports can be found on www.pleasetalk.ie/ucd My office door is always open to students who have an issue around UCD and the Students' Union is dedicated to protecting students' rights across campus. If ever you feel your rights as a student are being infringed upon, or simply have a suggestion about what could make UCD a better University please do get in contact.

I'd also like to encourage you to come to the UCD Ents Halloween Ball, the Freakshow on the 31st of October, which will see a full bar set up in Astra Hall and a great occasion to celebrate a successful term so far. This is our first major on campus gig in over 18 months! We are responding to the feedback on the ground that this is what you want! Tickets are on sale in all SU Shops for only €10.

Mícheál

october 29th 2013

“MY DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN TO STUDENTS”

Brewing a new Heineken Cup

sport

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Following a provisional discussions between European rugby unions about restructuring the Heineken Cup, Jack McCann assesses who benefits from the proposed changes

If these negotiations fail, rugby fans across the world face the possibility of there being three different competitions

European rugby has enjoyed a lot of continuity ever since the beginning of the professional era.

Since onset of the Heineken Cup 18 years ago, the format has been the same, until this season when the English Premiership (PRL) teams and the Top 14 (LNR) teams announced that once this rugby

calendar year was finished they would set up their own competition.

The reason for announcing a breakaway tournament came from disatisfaction that there was a significant imbalance in the financial distribution of funds and that qualification for the tournament was skewed to favour the teams that enter the cup competition via their ranking in the RaboDirect Pro 12.

The format that has been in place since 1995 was that 24 teams from the different leagues and competitions would be picked. After this, the winners of the previous season’s Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup automatically entered into the competition. The winners could also earn their country an extra spot than they already had earned in the competition. In practice, Leinster and Toulon earned Ireland and France an extra spot in the 2013-14 edition by winning last season’s competitions.

The current format has been heavily criticised by clubs within England and France, with the aformentioned nations feeling they deserve more berths in the tournament. Currently, six teams from each of France and England join three Irish and Welsh teams, while the other four places are divided in two between Italian and Scottish sides.

The two additional places left for the Heineken Cup are awarded to the winners of both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup or, if they already have secured qualification, to another team within their country’s union.

English and French teams didn’t like the fact that the Celtic teams were guaranteed an easier entry into the Heineken Cup due to the ratio of places to teams on offer to

clubs within the RaboDirect Pro 12 compared to the Top 14 and Aviva Premiership formats. Only six of the fourteen teams in the Top 14 and six of the twelve in the Aviva Premiership are guaranteed entry.

Promising news about the future of the Heineken Cup as an entity emerged last week, as independent mediators Graeme Mew and Stephen Drymer proposed a new format for the competition that would cater towards the requests for reform.

The meeting from which the decision was announced was held in Dublin over two days between the 23rd and 24th of October, with representatives from all parties involved in the dispute having round table discussions in order to address the problem confronting the future of European rugby. At this meeting, a new format was provisionally agreed upon, based loosely upon the English and French leagues’ demands.

The new competition would involve only 20 teams instead of 24. Six would still come from the Aviva Premiership and the Top 14, but only seven teams would be guaranteed entry from the RaboDirect Pro 12.

That means the Celtic clubs would lose 25% of their places, whereas the English and French would lose none. The representatives did agree to guarantee at least one entrant from each competition.

For the 20th team allowed into the new competition, in year one it would be allocated through a play-off match between the seventh placed clubs in both the Aviva Premiership and French Top 14. In the following years it would involve a play-off between the seventh place Aviva Premiership and Top 14 teams and also the next two unqualified teams from the RaboDirect Pro 12.

After the first year, the winner of the secondary competition, which is currently referred to as called the Amlin Challenge Cup, would also qualify for the play-off if they hadn’t qualified by right themselves already. While the English and French teams would have home advantage against the RaboDirect Pro 12 teams in the play-off.

This was the only real bone of contention that came out of the new arrangement, as granting this home advantage could certainly be seen to be favouring the English and French teams.

Focusing on the financial element of the negotiations, it was suggested that all revenue be divided in thirds among the three leagues so that the influx of wealth into the RaboDirect Pro 12 remains at the same level.

The English and French teams have ensured that they get the best deal possible, provisionally anyway.

The representatives have agreed to meet within the next ten days to discuss the implementation of these principles together, with important operational and management issues.

If these negotiations fail, rugby fans across the world face the possibility of there being three different competitions. The manifestation of three tournaments would not be desirable for any of the teams, as there would not be as much interest in each competition that the Heineken Cup annually garners in its current format.

It is desirable, however, that they can fix their differences before the end of the season, or else sports fans across the world will lose a competition that has provided captivated audiences for the past 18 years.

Horse racing’s new approach With the hazards of horse racing being widely discussed, Shane Hannon takes a look at both the positives and negatives of the sport in general

It was just last March when jockeys JT McNamara and Jonjo Bright suffered life-changing falls within a matter of weeks of each other. It was after these falls that the Jockeys Emergency Fund was set up in support of these two jockeys and their families. A charity race-day took place in Limerick on October 14th to help raise funds for the jockeys’ rehabilitation.

Other jockeys have had their lives changed irrevocably because of accidents on Irish racecourses; Shane Broderick is paralysed from the neck down, while Jimmy Mansell and Matt O’Connor have both been very lucky to survive near-fatal injuries.

These incidents have highlighted the sheer danger of the sport; and the sad fact is, the aforementioned jockeys are the lucky ones.

Admittedly the names Kieran Kelly, Sean Cleary, Dary Cullen and Jack Tyner aren’t instantly recognisable, but they are four jockeys who have all lost their lives on an Irish racecourse or pointto-point track within the last ten years. Apprentice jockey Ronan Lawlor was also killed in a fall on the gallops in 2010. Any jockey will tell you that that is five deaths too many; safety should be the number one priority in the sport, and sadly that is not currently the case.

The so-called ‘Sport of Kings’ has been described as one of controlled chaos. One need only watch the start of the Aintree Grand National to understand that horse racing truly is chaotic at times; entertaining, but chaotic.

A Welsh racecourse has followed Limerick’s example and will hold a fundraising day for JT McNamara in November. The clerk and general manager of the Welsh Ffos Las racecourse, Tim Long, has himself joined the debate on jockey safety, saying, “It is terrible when an accident occurs and the safety of both horse and rider is always our number one priority, but there are dangers.

“The Professional Jockeys Association is absolutely serious when they say that being a jockey is the only profession in which you are followed around by an ambulance.”

It must not be forgotten that it is not only the jockeys who are impacted by injuries; the horses

The United States’ Department of Agriculture conducted a survey in 2005, which found that injuries are the second leading cause of death in horses, after old age

themselves are affected when safety is left wanting. The main problem with horse injuries, however, is the fact that they so often result in the death of the animal. The United States’ Department of Agriculture conducted a survey in 2005, which found that injuries are the second leading cause of death in horses, after old age.

One of the most notorious races of the horse racing calendar in terms of horse injuries is the Aintree Grand National in Liverpool. For this year’s race in April, some safety measures were put in place after accidents the previous year. The 2012 race saw falls for the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and early favourite Synchronized, as well as According to Pete. Both horses sadly had to be euthanised after suffering leg fractures during the race.

For the 2013 event, 12 of the 16

fences were rebuilt with the timber frames within them replaced by a softer material known as plastic birch.

The starting line was also moved 82 metres closer to the first fence, further away from the spectators’ stands and thereby reducing the overall distance of the race slightly to make it easier for the horses.

David Muir of the RSPCA responded to these changes by saying, “They have done more than I thought they would. Fundamentally, the changes that have been made are major already. They’ve taken the cores of the fences out, there is a cooling down area now, there’s a water system and there’s a reduction in the number of drop fences; [however] we’d still like to see changes to Becher’s Brook, the drop is still a concern.”

The sport may never be 100% safe, but this is certainly a start.

Gambling is undoubtedly an

issue that affects many sports, but it is safe to say that the punters and horse racing are inextricably linked.

Anyone who has ever been to a horse racing meet will know that sticking on a bet is pretty much unavoidable.

Without a doubt it adds to the excitement and interest in the event, but there is always the danger that attending the horses is just the starting point for deeper gambling problems. Most betting websites that cater for those who want to bet on horse racing usually have the caveat, “All customers are urged to bet within your limits. If you feel you have a gambling problem, you may request a voluntary self-exclusion from entering branch offices and/or limit the daily or weekly wagering on your account.”

Gambling is of vital economic importance to horse racing; in 2008 it generated a worldwide market of around $115 billion. All this said, it

cannot be denied that horse racing is an Irish national treasure.

Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC, so it undoubtedly has a rich history.

Some big names in the sport hail from the Ireland. Trainers like Aidan O’Brien and Dermot Weld, jockeys like Ruby Walsh, Johnny Murtagh and Tony McCoy, and horses too; among them multiple Gold Cup winner Best Mate, while the great Red Rum was bred here.

There is a tendency when critically evaluating horse racing to unfairly weight that focus on the negative aspects of the sport. It is far from perfect, but with the Irish thoroughbred industry attracting significant foreign investment, there is the scope to improve the safety of all involved, allowing this great sport will only go from strength to strength. october 29th 2013

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sport

Amy Given Tuesday— What’s in a name?

The supersub sensation Sporting history is littered with names that have gained a name for themselves as the kingpins of making late impacts as Ciarán Sweeney writes about the supersubs

Irked by the sheer lack of political correctness in American sports franchises, Amy Eustace discusses the etymology behind team names

America has a problem. With of the association. Nonetheless, a fifty states and five major professional shameful history doesn’t have to sports in play, there comes a point equal a shameful present. This when you have to get gosh-darn is a better late than never case. creative with your team names.

Whatever the motive was for The results are probably the best keeping it this way this long, single illustration of a very over retaining the Redskins name now the top culture. Some of them in the wake of all the recent debate are ingeniously ludicrous. Others is conscientious ignorance of the are wrong on multiple levels. damage being done. Sport operates in US sports names make little if a morally ambiguous zone, but by now any sense as a general rule. That’s there can be no uncertainty. Holding not to say we’re not guilty of it on to the name is the wrong call. ourselves. Like, what exactly is a Changing it is a matter of when, not if.

Kilmacud Croke anyway? It’s just On that note, here’s an elite, if when the name is beyond ridiculous incomplete, list of North American and downright derogatory that sports outfits who have committed things get decidedly messy. Take some lesser team name atrocities. the Washington Redskins, an NFL They don’t come close to the team based in the country’s capital.

Redskins in terms of sheer political Their poorly-chosen moniker has incorrectness, but they’re still been a source of ire for years, and offensive to advocates of common the controversy is coming to a head. sense and decent grammar.

Native Americans have expressed San Jose Sharks (NHL) their offence over the franchise, Their symbol is a shark biting an ice which borrows its name from an hockey stick in half, which seems sort outdated racial slur, but the team’s of counter-intuitive, and is exactly owners are refusing to budge on why sharks shouldn’t be allowed to the matter. Barack Obama has play hockey. They get away with it, said he’d “think about changing” because who’s going to tell a shark the name, and it’s commonplace he can’t play hockey? Nobody. among D.C. and national news outlets to refuse to refer to the team San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) by its full title in their articles.

Making residing in the vicinity of the The Kansas City Chiefs, the San Andreas Fault sound fun and Atlanta Braves, the Chicago sporty since 1994. Tectonic plates Blackhawks and the Cleveland are craic, just ask anybody who took Indians are just a selection of other GEOL10040: Earth, Environment US sports franchises currently and Society as an ‘easy elective’. utilising Native American imagery.

Unlike the Redskins, these teams Minnesota Wild (NHL) haven’t experienced as much An entirely abstract team name. I objection, but they all represent don’t even know what that means. a continued oversimplification Nobody knows what it means. But it’s of Native American traditions provocative. It gets the people going. and culture that contributes to They do get to play ‘Born To Be Wild’ a pervading stereotype; one the

by Steppenwolf though, and I guess ethnic group is trying to disinherit. that’s as good an excuse as any.

The administration and the team’s diehard fans stress that Utah Jazz (NBA) the Redskins handle is central to Formerly the New Orleans Jazz, which their history, and is only intended makes sense. The Jazz held onto their to honour brave Native Americans name when they moved to desert state who experienced persecution by Utah, which doesn’t. But, you know, settlers. A poll conducted of D.C. I’m sure lots of Mormons listen to jazz. residents from indiscriminate backgrounds suggested that the Real Salt Lake (MLS) majority wanted to keep the name, “We’re a soccer team! Real Madrid but could see why it was offensive is also a soccer team! Let’s ignore and most would continue to support the fact that ‘Real’ is the Spanish the side if they were to change it. word for ‘royal’, denoting association In reality, an intention-based with the monarchy, and that Utah defence, not wholly unlike Luis has a Hispanic population of about Suarez’s Rioplatense language 13%. We do what we want! Freedom! dicta during the infamous Evra U-S-A! U-S-A!” And so on. debacle last year, is the only argument put forward to justify Denver Nuggets (NBA) the retention of the Redskins’ The Colorado Gold Rush is so name, and it’s no longer enough.

1858, Denver. In modern day The franchise has no right to say language, you’re just a team that their name isn’t offensive to of dunking deep fried chicken Native Americans. They can’t say, “You shouldn’t feel ridiculed, we don’t pieces: the Denver McNuggets. mean any harm.” The point is that Houston Texans (NFL) they do feel ridiculed, it is causing How original. harm, and Native Americans are entitled to expect that a professional Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) football team cannot perpetuate Canada is arguably worse for terrible the use of a word used in the names, like this pathetic excuse for historical subjugation of their race grammar. Ardent Leafs fans will tell just because they “mean well” and you some long-winded explanation have been doing it for decades. about pluralising proper nouns, but The Redskins are no bastions of if you just respond with “Eh?” they’ll colour-blindness. Despite a base probably leave you be. Whatever, who in a progressive and culturally needs grammar when you have free diverse state, Washington was healthcare right? You wouldn’t see this the last NFL team to integrate kind of behaviour from the Minnesota African-American players. They did Timberwolves (NBA), that’s for sure. so in 1962, 16 years after the rest october 29th 2013

The supersub sensation; the very idea of it is slightly idealistic.

It’s like seeing a football match through the eyes of a dreamy child; biding his time on the bench before coming on and producing a heroic performance.

Yet, despite its apparent farfetchedness, the repeated impact of the supersub is more prevalent in modern day sport than ever.

Just think of the continuous string of names, from various sports, where this supersub phenomenon has now become commonplace.

Perhaps the most famous supersub of all time is former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. As is the case for many supersubs, the bigger the occasion, the bigger their impact coming off the bench. This was certainly the case for Solskjaer who, having already proven himself as a prolific striker coming off the bench, came on with ten minutes remaining in arguably his side’s biggest game that season, the 1999 Uefa Champions League Final against Bayern Munich.

After a stroke of genius from manager Sir Alex Ferguson, both Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham were brought on. Like Solskjaer, Sheringham’s impact coming off the bench had been lauded by many on a number of occasions.

Manchester United were struggling to make any major impression on the game in the second half, and the Germans held a 1-0 advantage going into injury-time. It was then that, in the space of only two minutes, the two subs produced a goal each to seal the Champions League trophy; their team’s third of that season. It if had not already been established before this game, both Solskjaer and Sheringham were baptised with this reliable supersub reputation thereafter.

In case one thinks that this double substitution impact was pure coincidence, if we fast forward only a year later, an identical series of events repeated themselves, this time in the final of the 2000 European Championships.

With France eager to become the first team to win the World Cup and Euros consecutively, having secured the 1998 World Cup, they found themselves 1-0 down against Italy in the final.

Desperate for some spark within the team, they turned to their bench in a last-ditch attempt to rescue them from what had been a stale performance up to then.

Off the bench first was Sylvain Wiltord, who, just like Sheringham, equalised and revitalised the French team. This paved the way for young striker David Trezeguet to come on and snatch a famous golden-goal winner for France to seal the Henri Delaunay trophy for Les Bleus. Once again, with the starting 11 not quite do-

Another stellar example of the impact a substitute can make is that of Dublin footballer Kevin McManamon.

He has rescued Dublin from the depths of defeat on a number of occasions, not least against Kerry in this year’s Championship

ing enough, the inspiration came from these trusted supersubs.

Another stellar example of the impact a substitute can make is that of Dublin footballer Kevin McManamon. He has rescued Dublin from the depths of defeat on a number of occasions, not least against Kerry in this year’s Championship.

The first time this occurred was when he came on as a substitute in the semi-final of the 2011 All-Ireland to score an important point against Donegal, before once again coming off the bench in the final to kick a vital goal that would claw Dublin from four points down against Kerry, a game they eventually won by a point. Like Solskjaer, McManamon’s repeated impact has earned him great respect throughout the GAA. If we go back further, to the 1995 Uefa Champions League final, we can once again see the impact of the supersub phenomenon. That year, the two teams involved were AC Milan of Italy and Dutch giants Ajax. Like many of the circumstances where these supersub sensations tend to shine, the game was a scrappy one.

At 0-0 after an hour, with neither side looking threatening or convincing in front of goal, Ajax manager Louis Van Gaal gambled and brought on teenager Patrick Kluivert to play as a striker with 20 minutes remaining in the game. Kluivert’s presence was felt immediately and Ajax were notably more fluid in their

play for the remainder of the game.

Despite his inexperience, Kluivert was influential and scored a goal with six minutes of normal time to play to break the deadlock and send Milan packing, a team he subsequently signed for when his contract with Ajax expired.

Although it may be a case of selective memory, those who are known as supersubs raise their performance as the stakes rise, particularly if they are given the chance to shine in the dying minutes of a championship or league final. Venturing all the way back to the 1982 All-Ireland Football Final, this was certainly the case.

Kerry were closing in on what would have been an unprecedented five All-Ireland’s in a row, and this looked to be assured with two minutes left on the clock as they were two points to the good. With Offaly now running out of options, they turned to their bench in a last gasp effort to save the game, bringing on forward Seamus Darby.

Amazingly, Darby went on to score the winning goal in the last minute with his only kick of the game to deny Kerry their record and ensure that he would never have to pay for a pint in Offaly for the rest of his life.

The impact of the supersub is well documented and, as we have seen, it often has a blistering effect. So, the next time you are put on the bench for a big game, don’t fret; you may well be the supersub sensation yourself.

sport

Student Teacher

19

After securing top flight status for his team on Friday evening with a 2–1 win over Shelbourne, UCD AFC manager, Martin Russell, talks to Shane Hannon about the team’s poor start, the unique aspect of UCD AFC and his future with the club UCD AFC finished up their season last Friday night on a positive note.

A 2-1 win away to Shelbourne at Tolka Park ensured ninth place in the Airtricity Premier Division for the second season in a row and the team’s status in Ireland’s top division was maintained once again.

Manager Martin Russell reflected on the season when speaking with the University Observer and his own role in the team’s success cannot be underestimated.

Russell himself was a talented player in his day and had spells at various clubs in England. A stint in the Manchester United reserves was followed by periods at the likes of Birmingham City on loan, Leicester City and Middlesbrough.

He also spent time at clubs on both sides of the Irish border.

160 appearances for Portadown in the North and 140 for St. Patrick’s Athletic topped off a successful playing career. When asked if the Irish domestic game has changed much since his own playing days, Martin admits that, “Football in general has got quicker, and I think that’s the case in the Airtricity League as well. I think in the last ten years the ball has been on the deck a lot more in games, there’s a more passing philosophy that coaches are trying to get into teams.”

Having picked up a solitary point from their opening nine games of the season, it looked for a while as if it was going to take a miracle for UCD to avoid the drop to the First Division. A run of seven games, however, saw UCD’s form pick up during which the team amassed 13 points, getting them back on track.

Many would argue that only sweeping changes could bring about a transformation as stark as that, but Russell says he “just asked the lads to train well and keep believing that things would happen.”

It was that belief which ultimately carried UCD over the line of safety last Friday night, but there were other pivotal moments throughout the season that Russell knows were crucial in his side staying up. “Probably the first win against Shamrock Rovers was a critical one because that gave us the belief going into the second round of games.

To get that win, you know there’s something to build on then.”

UCD undoubtedly play some of the most attractive football in the league, and Russell insists that this does not come without having the wisdom to sign players that are right for the club. “We sign young players that we think are going to fit into the way we want to do things.”

Knowing what players to sign is the difficult part, with the young talent seeping through the underage ranks in the country at the minute showing no signs of slowing down. “We go and watch schoolboy games, we hold scholarship trials… it’s a matter of whittling down depending on how many scholarships we can give out.”

Being a college side, it can be

Football in general has got quicker, and I think that’s the case in the Airtricity League as well.

I think in the last ten years the ball has been on the deck a lot more in games, there’s a more passing philosophy that coaches are trying to get into teams

tough for UCD to compete with the other teams in the Irish league.

“The bigger teams can go on and sign the better players. It’s always going to be difficult for our UCD setup to compete. To finish ninth this season with the inexperience that we have, that’s good for this group.”

Financially, UCD have far less cash at their disposal to hold onto their more experienced players, and they find it almost impossible to attract these types of players to the club for the same reason. Russell concedes that UCD AFC “don’t have major backers and it’s not an easy job when you’re competing against the bigger boys in the football sphere.”

One major plus that Russell and UCD AFC have on their side now in terms of trying to attract young talent is the new sporting facilities on campus. The new Sports Centre, which opened just last year, provides some of the best sporting facilites in Europe, and Russell is keen to show potential scholarship players just what this means.

“We do have some open days where we invite these young players to the college and show them the facilities, and we talk through with them what we can do for their development.”

The 50 metre swimming pool is perhaps the cornerstone of

the new facilities and Russell is keen to see his players capitalise on its quality. “In terms of the swimming pool coming on board, for example, it’s good to have that facility, and we could probably make more use of it than we do.”

Considering most of the other clubs in the league possess the financial clout to dwarf that of UCD, this is one area in which The Students have a clear advantage over their league rivals. “If you look at all the other Airtricity League clubs, they all don’t seem to have their own facilities, they rent places and stuff. So definitely for UCD AFC to have the facilities there in the college is a major plus.”

It is no surprise that other teams struggle to compete with the UCD Sports Centre, as many teams are struggling financially and this fact cannot be ignored. The demise of Roddy Collins’ Monaghan United F.C. in June 2012 was a muchpublicised example; the club pulled out of the League of Ireland with financial reasons cited as the main factor in the decision.

Russell has some words of advice on the matter, saying, “We need to take stock of where we are and where we want to be, and where the best place to put the revenue is.”

When discussing the state of the

Irish domestic game, Russell is fairly blunt, and he is of the opinion that “there has to be some radical reform.

We’re not bringing in crowds, the facilities at certain grounds have got to be improved, and we’ve got to make the game more attractive to the nation to get supporters out.”

For the Irish game to be improved, Russell affirmed that more needs to be done. Other countries are leaving Ireland trailing behind in the football stakes, and that is completely our own doing he claims, “I don’t think we’ve given the game enough respect, respect that others countries give the game by putting more resources in. We are where we are because we deserve to be there. We haven’t done enough.”

At the beginning of last season, the aim for the club would most certainly have been to maintain UCD as a top-flight side. Russell is sure that if the club had more money available and less key players leaving annually, the team would be doing more than just consolidating their position in the Premier Division.

“If we’d held onto those players maybe we would’ve won a cup and challenged a little bit higher in the league. Every year there’s four or five of your key players leaving.”

Considering the circumstances,

and the fact that this current squad is one that is admittedly quite inexperienced, the campaign panned out just as Russell and his backroom staff would have wanted. “The fact that we finished ninth and maintained Premier League status for the lads next year to keep the development going is the biggest thing.

“Going back to Dr O’ Neill [the late former UCD Director of Sport] when he envisioned the scholarship program, I think he envisioned it with the case in point that UCD were at the highest level.”

One thing’s for sure; the future looks bright for UCD AFC. With promising young players coming through to the first team all the time, there’s no reason why the team can’t get a good cup run going and keep their Premier Division status once again next year.

With regards to whether he himself will be in charge again next season, Russell is characteristically honest, saying that “there’s a bit of talking in different areas to be done; we’ll have to see about what’s going to happen… we’ll sit down and have a chat over the next couple of weeks.” For now though, Martin Russell and his players can reflect on the 2012/13 season, and know that it was a job very well done.

The Badger After growing tired of flicking between BBC One and Sky Sports News on his TV sett, The Badger takes time out of his busy schedule to write the words below

The Badger will be the first to admit that he has a tendency to complain about news from the sports world now and again. He has little to do with himself other than sit in with the kids and wife watching the television sett and considering the only channels we receive are BBC One and Sky Sports News, talking about sport is unavoidable for me.

The Badger loves his healthy dose of Gary Vinegar from the crisps ad and Chris Kamara, the chap who, unlike Spanish bulls, doesn’t see red cards. Between the adverts, The Badger seems to be forced to watch football more often than not.

He caught every glimpse of Ireland beating Kazakhstan in their final World Cup Qualifier, and although the campaign was relatively disappointing, the bright side is the fact that FIFA have just released their latest World Rankings. The good news is we are now in a wonderful 60th position, only 18 places behind the Cape Verde Islands and a mere five spots behind the mighty Uzbekistan.

So who will replace the mighty Trap in the hot seat? The Badger doesn’t know why they call it a hot seat, maybe because Steve Staunton farted on it out of nerves before every match when he was the gaffer. A tasteless joke, but hey, you’re reading a column by a Badger; an animal that doesn’t have thumbs. I’m pretty much the sporting equivilent of Malala Yousafzai; we’re both amazing at what we do.

Anyway, Noel King has the job on a temporary basis, and The Badger thinks appointing royalty in the role sets an excellent precedent. Although maybe appointing The King is aiming slightly too high, perhaps bringing in Joe Kinnear and his vast scouting networks that are keeping an eye on the local Cabaye and Chips shop.

There are two contenders who the bookies seem to be favouring at this early stage. Martin O’Neill is out of a job, and any manager who signs Emile Heskey for £3.5m surely knows what he’s doing. Mick McCarthy is the other being touted, but rumours are abound that Sesame

Street are desperate to resign him to carry on the role of Bert.

The Badger has also heard that the International Rules have come and left, and the only question on his mind is, did the attendance crack double figures? Donegal man Jim McGuinness was mentioned as a possible manager, but his mind games with the referee to protect his players weren’t seen as suitable for the role. Never mind, he’d probably win the tests this year and flop miserably next year anyway.

The first test was played in Cavan, home of The Strypes and the road out of Cavan, and The Badger is wondering how they got the farmer to lend them the field for the night.

The Badger was eager to find out which ball they were playing with at this year’s tests, the round one or the egg-shaped thing.

Unfortunately, when he tried to watch it, The Badger realised that he doesn’t actually care because it’s only the International Rules.

Badger Out. october 29th 2013

20

sport UCD steamroll lacklustre Old Wesley UCD 61 Old Wesley 0 UCD RFC home

Billy Dardis Jonny Mcdonnell Jack Hitchcock Garry Ringrose James Carroll Ross Byrne Bobby Holland (C) Ivan Soroko Dylan Donnellan Dermot Donlan Stuart O’Sullivan Ross Molony

Josh Murphy David Fortune Peadar Timmins Replacements

James Roche Sean McNulty Oisin Tegler Craig Kenny Robert Keenan Colm O’Corcora Conor McQuaid

photo james healy

UCD RFC Under 20s maintained their place at the top of the JP Fanagan Premier - Super Six - Pool 1 table with an enthralling victory over an Old Wesley side that never got out first gear.

The blustery conditions from the outset threatened to mar the occasion, but in the end didn’t deter the young Collidge side from being relentless in attack and steamrolling an Old Wesley team that never looked like threatening the UCD try line.

Both sides struggled to dominate the game during the opening stages, with Old Wesley being awarded three penalties for UCD indiscipline at the breakdown. Despite diving in and gifting Old Wesley an easy way out of their own half on three separate instances, UCD eventually kicked into gear when blindside flanker David Fortune broke numerous tackles in a crowded Old Wesley defence and powered into the opponents’ twenty-two.

Fortune’s ability to break the line and put Old Wesley on the back foot defensively gave UCD a great platform in their opponents’ half and following two phases, centre Garry

Ringrose bundled himself over the line in the corner. The difficult conversion looked like it was beyond any Collidge player’s kicking ability, but the immense Jack Hitchcock managed to slot the ball between the posts despite the windy conditions.

From the resulting restart, Ross Molony of UCD knocked on, granting Old Wesley a scrum just on the UCD twenty-two line. Old Wesley struggled to recycle the ball from the scrum and the sheer power of the UCD front row consisting of Ivan Soroko, Dylan Donnellan and Dermot Donlan saw the college side turnover the ball, with flyhalf Byrne opting to kick long and relieve the pressure.

Not many opportunities arose for Old Wesley during the afternoon, and their inability to recycle the ball for more than three phases at a time meant they posed little or no threat to the UCD try line.

On 14 minutes, UCD grabbed their second try of the game after Old Wesley were penalised for not releasing the player on the ground.

Byrne opted to kick for the corner.

From the resulting lineout, UCD gathered the throw from Donnellan and decided to pick and drive their way towards the Old Wesley try line.

Three phases on, Stuart O’Sullivan had a great opportunity to utilise an overlap by spreading the ball wide, but was taken to ground. From the next play, however, Soroko was fed the ball by scrumhalf Bobby Holland and managed to finish well from close range just beside the posts.

With score at 14-0, UCD were dominating their opponents, but were still giving away too many penalties in attacking positions, thus gifting Old Wesley an easy way out of their own twenty-two when their defense was barely coping with the UCD onslaught.

The chances for UCD to extend their lead continued as the game went past the twenty-minute mark. Off a lineout in the Old Wesley twenty-two, flyhalf Byrne received the ball and

cut across field to pass to his outside centre partner, Hitchcock, who straightened and broke the first tackle.

Hitchcock did well to keep one arm free to offload the ball to Ringrose following through on his left shoulder and the inside centre ran in an easy score from close range.

Old Wesley suffered a further blow before half time following an uncharacteristic lull in UCD’s play around the half hour mark. Two tries in quick succession by Holland and Byrne bravely taking on the Old Wesley forwards around the fringes of the ruck just before the break put the game completely out of reach for the visitors.

The second half saw Collidge extend their lead to 61 points, with Old Wesley virtually anonymous for the entire second half as they barely registered any plays of note.

It took UCD until the 44th minute to register another score, but had numer-

ous clean line breaks, as Fortune and the UCD centre partnership of Ringrose and Hitchcock continued to feed off pop passes from flyhalf Byrne to break the Old Wesley defensive line.

The try itself came off another very clean set piece drill that saw UCD pass the ball through the hands until Ringrose got the ball and straightened to break through Old Wesley. The inside centre was unlucky to be held up so close to the line, but support arrived from his pack and the ball was recycled, allowing the scrumhalf, Holland, to pick up from the base of the ruck, feign a long pass wide to his flyhalf and dart through a gap just under the posts.

Collidge continued to have spells of excellent play during the second half, while also having periods where too many unforced errors stifled their attacking opportunities.

Between the 52nd and 58th minute,

UCD were back to their clinical ways and racked up a further 19 points thanks to tries from substitute Robert Keenan, winger James Carroll and Hitchcock making his now trademark burst through the centre of the Old Wesley’s defence and then stepping their full back to bring UCD’s points tally to 61 for the afternoon.

After making it 61-0, the game trickled away as a long break in play was needed to take the injured winger Carroll off the pitch after he took a heavy fall and left the pitch clutching his collarbone. UCD settled for the points they had amassed and Old Wesley settled for the showers.

UCD RFC Under 20s fourth fixture in the JP Fanagan Premier - Super Six - Pool 1 is against NUIM Barnhall in Parsonstown next weekend.

KILLIAN WOODS

Marian outclassed by superior opponents photo james healy

UCD Marian 75 UL Eagles 93

UCD Marian suffered their second defeat of the season against the University of Limerick (UL) Eagles in the UCD Sports Centre on Sunday. Marian, who have won just one of their opening three games, now sit in sixth place in the table, with a game against the undefeated C&S UCC Demons in hand over fifth-placed Bord Gais Neptune, although UCD are five points behind.

Sunday’s game started out as it was to continue for the rest of the afternoon. UCD Marian took the tip off, only to have to hand the ball over to the visitors almost october 29th 2013

immediately because of an offensive foul. Marian’s discipline would prove to be an issue throughout the game, much like it was during their season opener against Killester.

That being said, it was the hosts who were first off the mark on Sunday.

Terrance King, UCD’s star player in the game, slotted home the first of his 24 points with around 30 seconds on the clock after finding some space for himself behind the UL defense.

The Limerick side was rebounding well to start the game, but they struggled to find any points in the opening minute of the game.

Neil Campbell finally registered the Eagles’ first points, and was fouled in the process, although he could not make the free throw and the so the score remained 2-2.

This seemed to wake the visitors up, as they opened up a six-point lead, largely thanks to their hightempo offense and their uncanny ability to take the rebounds from missed shots. UCD, on the other hand, were guilty of taking too many long shots and called a time out to try and halt UL’s momentum.

Although the timeout did slow UL down somewhat, it also affected

the home side’s rhythm, as both teams trade missed opportunities, until Scott Kinevane drove through the Marian defence to register a sweet basket and make the score 2-10 to the away team.

UL’s gameplan of utilising as much misdirection as possible was proving difficult to handle, although King was doing his utmost to keep UCD in the game. With half of the opening quarter over, King was the scorer of all seven of Marian’s points, with the stand-out moment being a three-point play after he was fouled in the act of scoring.

King’s opposite number, Delwan Graham, was quick to counter.

Graham showed off some silky footwork before extending the Eagles’ lead to 7-16. The teams exchanged scores for the next two or three minutes or so, until UCD committed their fifth team foul of the half.

UL could now attack with the confidence that any fouls would result in two free throws, regardless of the situation. Nevertheless, UCD still tried their best to claw their way back into a game that was quickly getting away from them.

With two and a half minutes left in the first quarter, UL Eagles coach, Mark Keenan, remained as vocal as ever, reminding his players that there was still a long ways to go before victory was secured. He was also sure to let the officials know about his displeasure at some of the calls.

Kinevane was the first player to reach double digits, after he sunk a field goal with less than a minute remaining in the quarter. Going into the second period of play, UCD Marian trailed by 27 points to 19.

It was a lead that UL would hold for the remainder of the game.

The second quarter started off much like the first, except this time UCD had the finishing to back up their frantic play.

Barry Drumm scored six points in quick succession to open the quarter and to draw the home team to within two points. Sensing danger, Keenan called for a timeout to allow UL to regroup.

Some strong words must have been said during the timeout, since Graham came out with a new intensity. A vicious slam-dunk left the travelling supporters overjoyed.

UCD Marian coach, Ioannis Liapakis, was desperately trying to bring Drumm up to speed with his gameplan on the sideline, as UCD drew to within two points of their opponents once more.

The home fans did their best to distract the UL players, employing underhanded tactics such as counting down to the end of the shot clock five seconds too early and shouting during free throws. None of this seemed to work, however, as UL put up eight unanswered points to open up an eleven point lead.

The closer it came to half time, and the more clear the gap between the sides became, as the score read 38-55 in the visitors’ favour at the break.

Unfortunately for Marian, this deficit was too great to overcome.

The second half was merely a formality, with UL leading by more than 20 points at some stages. In the end, UL won the game by a comfortable 18 point margin, and deservedly so.

UCD were no match for a more disciplined team like UL, and they can have few, if any, complaints about the final scoreline. Although players like Terrance King and Barry Drumm impressed, they were also guilty of going quiet for patches of the game and the rest of the team lacked the quality to carry them over the finish line.

UCD Marian’s next home game is against Dublin Inter on Saturday, November 2nd at 7pm in the Sports Centre.

Steven Johnson