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SUPPLEMENT

EXCLUSIVE

OPINION

Rag Week

Action Against Hotel

Opposing Privatisation

Trinity College authorities block the rebranding of the Trinity Capital Hotel to the Trinity Hotel in the midst of the university’s own identity initiative in news, page 4 »

Ciar McMormick opposes the privatisation of Trinity College, suggesting it would lead to the disappearance of true academic thought and the creation of factory-like universities in opinion, page 13 »

The first-ever raising and giving week supplement, giving you the low down on the list of events, fundraisers and causes that are supported during the week.

Magazine Mara wilson on going from child actor to acclaimed playwright

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Volume V, Issue VI

Scholars & Fellows Nude Calendar Faces Criticism from Former Fellow Dr Gerald Morgan attacks Fellows and Scholars in a series of widely circulated emails.

Hannah Ryan News editoR

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former Fellow of Trinity College and professor in the School of English, Dr Gerald Morgan, has voiced his disapproval of the Scholars and Fellows Nude Charity Calendar 2014 in a number of widely circulated emails, the recipients of which include members of the Irish press, Dáil Éireann and the U.K. Parliament. Morgan’s complaints primarily targeted the participation of Fellows in the calendar and the fact that the Senior Common Room was featured in one of the photographs produced.

In a public email sent to the Editor of The Irish Times on 27 December 2013, Morgan deplored the “illadvised” participation of the Fellows in the project, along with the “lack of originality” inherent in the idea of the calendar. He continued, “This is mere childish nonsense, and it trivialises the world of scholarship that the Fellows represent.

“As one who resigned his own Fellowship in 2002 in order to protect the dignity of Fellowship, I wish to dissociate myself from this illjudged Calendar as far as the Fellows are concerned.

I am astonished that this unwise contribution was countenanced by the Board of the College.”

The image concerned includes the former and current Chair of the Fellows, members of Board, serving officers, a former Head of School and other promi-

“

Fellows with bird brains and poor judgment disporting themselves in various states of disarray. dr gerald Morgan, former Fellow nent Fellows. Dr Morgan has not yet registered a formal complaint about the calendar, nor has he written to the Scholars Committee.

Furthermore, the Senior Common Room is a private, autonomous organisation separate from College gov-

Tuesday 21 January, 2014

RAG Week Trinity Students Fundraise for Charity

ernance, thus the Provost cannot interfere in its activities.

Morgan resigned over a disciplinary matter in 2002, then contested the resignation in a case which was brought to the High Court. The Court accepted the College procedures and a settlement was reached thereafter. He is currently a member of the Senior Common Room but has no other remaining links with the College. Morgan is known for sending large batches of emails to numerous people, which has resulted in his college email privileges being revoked; he previously issued complaints on a number of other issues, including the removal of borrowing rights in the College Library from retired academics.

In his next email sent on 28 December, this time to members of College staff, Dr Morgan put forth the suggestion that rather than participate in the calendar, each Fellow of the College should contribute €6,500 to the Trinity Access Programme, warning that “otherwise we shall be dismissed as mere exhibitionists and hypocrites masquerading as beautiful minds and great scholars.”

On 29 December, Morgan coNtiNued oN page 2

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photo by edMuNd heaphy FoR the uNiVeRsity tiMes

The Launch of RAG Week trinity students celebrate the launch of Raise and give week, a week where students fundraise for eleven trinity-based charities. this year, students have set a target of €20,000.

Capitated Bodies Offered Three-month Concession on Funding Cuts Emer Gerrard staFF wRiteR

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apitated bodies in Trinity have reportedly been offered a three-month concession on funding cuts by the College Board. The proposal would reduce the planned 5% cut in funding for 2013/2014 to a 3.7% cut, translating to a monetary reduction of the cut by €16,354. However, the offer does not affect next

the last academic year’s budget. However, a further cut of 5% is still set to be made in 2014/15. This would put the Capitations budget for 2014/15 at €1,150,920, leaving it a total of €107,130 lower than the 2012/2013 allocation.

President of Trinity College Students’ Union, Tom Lenihan, was unwilling to comment on this proposed concession, stating only that “there have been proposals on both sides and we are working hard to resolve

create a “high risk of losing alumni funding” and undermine the College’s Global Relations Strategy.

Furthermore, Lenihan stressed the detrimental affect the cuts would have on the student experience in Trinity and said that cuts could lead to “students dropping out of college”.

Student bodies in College would struggle to provide “student services and support” and “the university will not be able form a coherent goal for the Trin-

Expected Fall in Capitation The Role of Irishness in a Globalised Word

Award-season Celebrity Bodies

Fionn Rogan talks about the fallacy of nationality in an increasingly interconnected world page 10 »

Aisling Curtis and how celebrity body images are considered “normal” page 11 »

First decrease in over a decade

+1.6%

+1.5%

–

–

–

–

€1,170,561

€1,170,561

€1,170,561

€1,170,561

€1,170,561

€1,152,921

−3.7% €1,126,250

−5%

€1,070,888 2007-08 A14

NEWS

A2

SPORT

MUSIC

M20

FEATURES

A6

PHOTOS

M11

CULTURE

M10

OPINION

A10

FILM

M16

RAG WEEK SCHEDULE

S5

EDITORIAL

A11

FASHION

M18

CHARITIES LIST

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Editor: Leanna Byrne Volume 5, Issue 6 ISSN: 2013-261X Phone: (01) 646 8431 Email: info@universitytimes.ie Website: universitytimes.ie

This newspaper is produced with the financial support of Trinity College Students’ Union, but maintains a mutually agreed policy of editorial independence.

To contact The University Times write to: The Editor, The University Times, 6 Trinity College Dublin 2

2008-09

2009-10

year’s budget, in which a further cut of 5% is to be made.

Vice Provost, Professor Linda Hogan, suggested the three-month concession at a meeting last week.

If realised, this proposition would decrease funding for capitated bodies by €46,547 in 2013/2014 compared with

2010-11

2011-12

the issue”.

However, he expressed his fear that the capitations cuts announced last term could cause “serious damage” to Trinity’s reputation, “both nationally and internationally”. Lenihan also warned that capitations cuts, which would affect all societies in College, would

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

ity experience in the new strategic plan that is being drafted”.

The capitated bodies directly affected by the cuts include University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC), the Central Societies Committee (CSC), the Students’ coNtiNued oN page 3

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Department of Social Protection Defends PhD JobBridge Position Leanna Byrne editoR

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he Department of Social Protection has defended the company that have advertised on the JobBridge site looking for candidates with a “minimum” of a PhD. Following a request for comment on the ClaroChem Ireland Ltd. advertisement from The University Times, a spokesperson from the Department said that “the qualifications required by a host organisation are a matter for the organisation, which will know best the nature of the position that they are offering”.

However, in an interview with The University Times Magazine in November of last year Labour Party TD Joanna Tuffy expressed her concern about certain advertisements on JobBridge stating that “some people have been made to take their JobBridge ads down”.

The spokesperson also went on to say that JobBridge is a voluntary scheme and that “interns choose the host organisation they wish to work for”. Furthermore, the Department believes that highly skilled internships can offer an essential bridge of real workplace experience to those with relevant qualifications.

The Department went on to say that they have introduced a variety of control measures and criteria to “protect the intern and to ensure the integrity of JobcoNtiNued oN page 10

»

2

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

News

College to Increase Postgraduate Fees for EU students

Photo by ANDREW MURPHY FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

Catherine O’Callaghan staff writer

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ostgraduate Fees for European students in Trinity College are set to increase following a decision made by the College Board and Finance committee. It was decided to raise EU postgraduate fees by 3% across the board, affecting both future students and those currently enrolled. The proposal was first put forward at a meeting of the Finance Committee in November 2013 and was subsequently approved by the Board. This action follows an earlier decision to increase Non-EU fees for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses with effect from the 2014/2015 academic year.

The college has defended the increase on the basis of comparisons with other universities and the fact that this is the first time these fees have been increased in four years, although Trinity does review

fees on an annual basis.

A College spokesperson told The University Times: “College recently conducted a student survey of existing EU fee levels. Comparative analyses were also undertaken which benchmarked our fees with peer institutions. Based on the survey outcomes, the comparative analysis and the fact that there has been no increase of fees in the past four years since 2009/10, College proposed to increase the EU fee levels for postgraduate courses. The Finance Committee has approved a 3% increase in all EU postgraduate fees and this recommendation has been approved by Board.”

President of the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), Ryan Kenny, has recognised the argument for trying to increase the College’s income, but has also voiced criticism of the impact that this measure will have on current students, stating: “Postgraduate study, particularly at the doctoral level, is a serious, and often challenging, personal

and financial commitment - one which no student undertakes without a great deal of thought and careful financial planning.

“A fee increase of this kind, which is imposed not just on new entrants but also on continuing students, gives no regard to the challenges of multiyear postgraduate work - which is tremendously disappointing in an institution with such a strong reputation for its commitment to its postgraduate researchers.”

The Postgraduate students who will be affected make up a significant proportion of Trinity’s student population, with some 5,300 students on the postgraduate register, accounting for approximately 32% of the total student body.

The implications of the increase for EU students undertaking, for example, an MSc in Finance with the School of Business, will be an increase in tuition fees in 2014/2015 to €13,650, from €13,250 at 2013/2014 levels. The same qualifica-

tion in Civil Engineering will now cost €5,925 annually in tuition fees, up from €5,750, and a Doctoral degree in Clinical psychology will increase from €13,953 to €14,370.

Kenny has assured that “The GSU is actively engaged with College in our efforts to guarantee that postgraduate [students] in Trinity get the best possible educational experience, and will continue to be so. We must acknowledge that, as public funding for higher education continues to fall, achieving the standards to which the college aspires, and which the postgraduate students expect, has become much more challenging. It remains to be seen whether the proposed fee increases can address the challenges that the college faces, and that postgraduates students experience every day, but the GSU will continue to work to address those challenges, and to make sure that postgrads receive the very best an elite university like Trinity can offer.”

Members of Dáil Éireann and UK Parliament Included in Nude Calendar Email Thread « continued FROM page 1 sent another email, addressed to a member of the College Board, describing the offending photograph as depicting “Fellows with bird brains and poor judgment disporting themselves in various states of disarray”. He further complained of not being consulted on the matter as a member of the Senior Common Room, and accused the Fellows of treating “students on the Trinity Access Programme as the recipients of charity”.

The final email to which The University Times gained access was sent to the Provost and some 180 other recipients on 5 January 2014.

In this message, Morgan stated: “In a competition for the ten dumbest Fellows of Trinity College Dublin in 2013-2014 the public-spirited charitable nudists in the Senior Common Room will be hard to beat. In my view they ought to be banned from membership of the Senior Common Room for a year.”

In the face of this criticism, Secretary to the Scholars, Amy Worrall Sch., asserted that the College was “very supportive” of the idea of the calendar. Dr Eoin O’Dell of the School of Law, a Fellow and participant in the calendar, added: “[The College’s response] is another ex-

ample of the widespread support we enjoyed.

“In general, objectors shout the loudest, drowning out the majority who are supportive.”

On Morgan’s protestations in particular, O’Dell stated: “I find his correspondence tendentious. We do not dignify it with a response.”

Ms Worrall also spoke to The University Times about the reaction to the calendar more generally: “Ultimately the people in the calendar represent themselves,” Worrall stated. “There are people in College who are grumbling, but there is also huge support. Some of the complaints are legitimate, some are not. Some people expressed worries about objectifying women, but we were careful to maintain a gender balance - in fact, there are more men than women [in the calendar], and there are no lewd portrayals of women - or men.”

“We tried to deal with constructive criticism,” Ms Worrall continued. “We did not want to offend anyone. The most important thing was not to disrespect the institution.”

O’Dell added that there have also been complaints surrounding the photograph for July, in that it bears some resemblance to the Last Sup-

per scene, but Ms Worrall firmly stated that any such similarities were not intended.

On whether he felt that the Scholars and Fellows Calendar has been targeted by critics more than the Trinity Cancer Society Naked Calendar which was produced at the same time, Dr O’Dell commented that if so, this was because of the participation of the Fellows.

“The other calendar was of an entirely different genre,” Ms Worrall explained. “They chose not to have staff, whereas we made the strategic decision [to include staff].

It made it more legitimate for staff and adults to purchase the calendar, thereby increasing our market.”

Worrall said that the production of charity calendars by Scholars and Fellows in future years might be prevented by funding issues.

“90% of the cost of printing was sponsored, and we also had a grant from the Trinity Association and Trust,” she said. “As scholars are precluded from applying for CSC grants, our funding opportunities are limited and we are extremely grateful for their support.”

The Scholars and Fellows Nude Charity Calendar is still on sale and can be purchased for €5 in Mandela House and from the online library shop. €5,000 has been raised so far.

JobBridge Internship Seeking PhD Qualifications « continued FROM page 1 Bridge”. These measures include vetting of advertisements and the requirement for the host organisation to participate in monthly compliance reporting.

When asked whether or not the skill set gained from completing a PhD is of greater value than a JobBridge internship the spokesperson responded: “JobBridge gives opportunities to jobseekers across the spectrum of qualifications. In the recent independent evaluation of JobBridge, it was found that 35.9% of interns hold qualifications below primary degree level, with 22.4% of interns having a postgraduate qualification. Given the high numbers of interns holding graduate and post-graduate qualifications, it is necessary that JobBridge offers them an internship that meets their needs.”

ClaroChem Ireland Ltd is an APIs manufacturing plant, located in Damastown. The company say they are looking for an intern who will work as a Process Chemist. This intern will gain “practical experience in development and scale-up of chemical processes and their introduction to the manufacturing plant, gathering and reviewing relevant information/documentation”.

Although the internship is trying to attract a candidate with a “minimum PhD in Synthetic Chemistry”, the advertisement also states that there is “no experience required”.

The applicant must only be “keen to develop their industrial experience in a busy pharmaceutical/ chemical manufacturing plant.

Furthermore, the intern is expected to work for 39 hours per week for a period of six months with an allowance of €50 per week in addition to the current Social Welfare

payment.

In relation to the wage of €50 per week, on top of social welfare, the Departments wished to stress that this was not seen to be a wage, but a “top-up to take account of additional costs that may be incurred due to participation in JobBridge”.

The University Times first learned of the JobBridge advertisement on 16 January at 2:37pm when a tweet was sent to our Twitter account with the link to jobsireland.ie and published the story on universitytimes.ie.

In a bid to highlight the issues surrounding JobBridge, Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy staged a protest outside Advance Pitstop’s Dublin and Cork offices on Saturday evening. Advance Pitstop have also been criticised for advertising relating to twenty-eight JobBridge positions.

ClaroChem have declined to comment on their advertisement.

Trinity Economic Forum Maturing into Powerful Student Platform Campus Finn Keyes current affairs editor

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ne of the newest and most exciting dates on the college calendar is the Trinity Economic Forum and preparations are under way for the 2014 installment which is to take place on the 14th and 15th February. I sat down with this year’s coordinator and co-founder Gary Finnerty to discuss the history, mission and future of the forum.

Gary, a 4th year BESS student, and two fellow students, Patrick Lynch and Seán Gill, sat down three years ago and came up with the core idea of TEF which was to “engage students in economic discourse of contemporary issues, on issues which might not be to the fore in traditional lectures and business syllabi, and to create a platform from which student thinkers could influence policy making.”

The two forums which we have enjoyed so far have been notable for some very progressive speakers, especially the inaugural address delivered

by President Higgins which was a stirring appeal for a return to a socially

and ethically responsible business environment. Nonetheless, Gary is keen to stress that the forum is an “agnostic platform for students to make up their own minds” as to the best way to shape financial and economic policy for the future and the forum itself, perhaps by definition, doesn’t have a policy agenda or mission. “The forum remains unbiased and allows students themselves to shape policy though student perspectives will naturally tend towards a new or liberal standpoint.”

A key feature of the forum to date has been the policy workshops where like minded students have joined forces to create policy ideas and proposals which are then forwarded on to the Department of Finance. However, the Department receives a huge number of such proposals and often don’t act upon student initiatives as the proposals get lost in the mail bags. A major new initiative of this year’s forum seeks to build and improve on this, with the best proposal now receiving ‘The Department of Finance Award for Policy Advancement’ and a paid internship and opportunity to help oversee the implementation of their policy idea and get a substantial education in policy development more generally. Gary spoke of his ex-

citement at having “student ideas in government policy” and sees it as a major step forward for the forum to see a tangible policy result from student submissions.

This year’s forum will also seek to bring more international speakers to the event with a hope perhaps gaining new perspectives on issues. The two speakers announced so far are Casey B. Mulligan of the University of Chicago and Martin Hellwig of the University of Bonn, Germany, with more distinguished speakers from the UK such as Simon Kuper from the Financial Times to be formally announced soon. Previous speakers have stressed the value of student feedback and discussion and interaction and networking with the speakers is an integral part of the forum.

Acknowledging its setting and surroundings, the forum will address on the Friday night the state of the third level education system and the merits or otherwise of partial privatization as well as an investigation of teaching methods, with questions such as the role of online learning, in a discussion chaired by David McWilliams entitled ‘Third Level Education: Broke, Broken or Both?’. There will be a number of speakers on the topic including Professor Ferdinand von

35,800

34%

Irish people aged between 15–24 living abroad.

The number of youths employed in 2011 that have since emigrated.

Prondzynski, the former President of DCU and outspoken campaigner for third level education reform. Gary encourages students to get involved in this discussion and indeed to attend all of the exciting talks over the course of what promises to be an informative and enlightening weekend.

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The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

News Credits

College Prevents Trinity Capital Hotel from Rebranding to ‘The Trinity Hotel’ Clare Droney staff writer

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rinity College authorities recently met with those of the Trinity Capital Hotel, Pearse Street to discuss its proposed rebranding to ‘The Trinity Hotel,’ The University Times has learned. College confirmed that a meeting took place with the Trinity Capital Hotel regarding the renaming of the 4-star hotel, stating: “Trinity Capital Hotel consulted with the College in relation to their rebranding process where a number of suggestions were made, one of which was the Trinity Hotel.”

The move to rebrand comes just months after the sale of the Trinity Capital Hotel, widely reported in the national media to have been bought by a U.S. billionaire for approximately €35 million. Notably, the hotel was offered for sale “unbranded,” meaning that the new owner can “decide whether to trade under its existing strong name or re-launch the hotel with a top international brand,” according to CBRE Ireland, who handled the sale.

CBRE Hotels Ireland was keen to emphasise Trinity Capital Hotel’s “high profile position opposite Trinity College” in the process of the sale last year. The hotel’s website also emphasises this connection, stating that the hotel “is situated beside the iconic Trinity College Dublin.”

The proposed rebranding of the hotel to ‘The Trinity Hotel’ was possibly intended to suggest a closer identification with the nearby Trinity College.

Despite Decisionmaking Process, Cuts Are Still on the Table « continued FROM page 1 Union (SU), the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), and Trinity Publications.

Professor Hogan reportedly made the suggestion to grant a concession due to the manner in which the original decision was made. News of the cuts to College’s capitated bodies came in the form of an email last November, almost five months after they had allegedly been agreed upon by the College Board in July 2013. Senior Dean and Chair to the Committee, Moray McGowan, who sent the email argued that while he “had been advised” in the last academic year that reductions might be imposed in 2013/2014, he received “no formal notification of this decision” until 14 November last.

This caused consternation among many, including TCDSU Education Officer Jack Leahy, who argued that “the influence of Planning Group, which operates outside of defined Board and University Council structures without student representation” had led to a situation wherein the College Board did “not appear to have been given the opportunity to scrutinise the recommendation”. He went on to say that “This development in particular threatens the whole integrity of College governance.”

During the recent consultation process between the hotel and Trinity College, several names were put forward for the rebranded hotel. However, following intervention by the college concerning the proposed name ‘The Trinity Hotel’, the finalised name for the rebrand is now confirmed to be the ‘Trinity City Hotel.’ Earlier this week a spokesperson for Trinity told The University Times that “following discussions with the College, Trinity Capital Hotel subsequently decided to rename the hotel the Trinity City Hotel to which the College has no objection.”

The name ‘Trinity’ is a registered trademark and its use for commercial purposes is subject to approval by the College Secretary. Trinity College’s Licensing Programme specifies that “approval from the Secretary’s Office must be obtained for use of any of its trademarks and word-marks.” One of the objectives of the Licensing Programme is to “protect and enhance the ‘brand’ of Trinity College Dublin”.

In recent months, there has been a keener focus by College authorities on the Trinity name and brand and on developing a clearer and more cohesive College identity for Irish and international audiences. The renaming of the hotel is significant in the context of Trinity College’s new ‘identity initiative’ and the Strategic Plan 2014-19, to be launched this September, which highlights “the importance of a clear and distinctive brand” for the College and the importance of “a coherent identity” for an “external audience.”

Photo by LEANNA BYRNE FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

The University Times Editor, Leanna Byrne reported on the Trinity brand and the College’s ‘identity initiative’ in this newspaper late last year. During that interview, Provost Patrick Prendergast highlighted

the central importance of the name ‘Trinity’ in any possible future rebranding of the college. Director of Marketing and Communications, Bernard Mallee said that the name ‘Trinity’ “would remain, but a particular

variation of it would come from the consultation process.”

The issue of the Trinity name and brand recently came to the forefront in the controversy surrounding the ‘Trinity College Dublin War Memorial Project’,

in which Provost Patrick Prendergast demanded that the names Trinity, TCD, Trinity College and Trinity College Dublin be removed from the campaign.

However, last November the Provost gave the campaigners

permission to use the names ‘TCD’ and ‘Trinity College Dublin’ for promotional purposes.

Trinity Capital Hotel had not responded to our request for comment on the rebranding at the time of print.

Scholarship Fund At Risk of 10% Cut Another cut for students proposed by Planning Group.

Paul Glynn staff writer

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ollege is reportedly poised to reduce the amount of funding allocated to the Foundation Scholarship by 10% within the next year.

In a document submitted to the College Board for recommendation in June 2013, the Planning Group in College said it was deliberating options for how to achieve a cutback of €222,500 on the cost of Scholarship for the 2014/15 academic year onwards. This document, Planning Group Report Number 9, also recommended the cuts to the College’s cap-

itated bodies, as well as reductions in the cost of the College Postgraduate Awards and the Entrance Exhibition Awards for incoming students.

According to the Planning Group Report, a number of options were considered for how to “meet the required 10% reduction (€222,500) in the cost of Scholarship from 2014/15 onwards”, with the overall aim of achieving a targeted budget reduction in the non-Faculty and non-Chief Operating Officer area of €2,002,500 per year. However, the Planning Group did not come to a consensus on which specific options for cost reduction would be implemented.

Amy Worrall, Secretary to the Scholars, commented on the recommendation, saying that: “The Planning Group Report Number 9 suggests that the Planning Group sought to find a 10% cut in the cost of Scholarship, which to my knowledge was not taken any further as there was no

consensus on how the 10% cut could be achieved.” She added that: “Unless the issue has been re-opened then the Scholars’ Committee are unaware of the matter, but would hope that the Scholars would be consulted if measures to cut costs were to be considered.”

When asked to comment, Bernard Mallee, Director of Communications and Marketing in Trinity, at first denied that any decision has been made to cut the scholarship fund. In further correspondence he was unwilling to give details on the options under consideration, but offered a quote from a Trinity spokesperson saying: “Trinity is examining a range of revenueraising measures to continue funding Scholarship which has long been integral to our academic mission”.

Details of this spokesperson were not shared as “it is not university policy to directly comment on material circulated to members of the Board for

their consideration.”

The issue of Scholarship benefits has recently been under considerable scrutiny. At a meeting in May, scholars voiced concerns about the decision to move the free accommodation for students in their first month of Scholarship off-campus to Trinity Hall in Dartry, as a result in a shortage of campus-based accommodation.

Furthermore, in an interview with The University Times last September, Dr. Patrick Geoghegan, Senior Lecturer and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, claimed that although there was “nothing on the table” regarding reductions to Scholarship funding at the time, he did not rule out the possibility of such cuts in the future.

Geoghegan, who was charged by the College Treasurer’s Office with the task of reducing the College Central Funds (Cista Communis) – part of which subsidises the Scholarship – by 10%, stated in the interview that there

was “no fair way” of cutting the Scholarship fund, “especially for those already elected, as promises were made to them”. He suggested that the annual salary of €253.95 would “not be the worst thing to lose” when assessing where to make cutbacks. Geoghegan also assured that there would be extensive consultation with Scholars, as well as meetings with the Scholar Committee, should there be any need for cutbacks in the future.

A number of cost-efficient measures have already been taken by College concerning the Scholarship. A fine of €30 for students who register for the Scholarship examinations but do not sit them and fail to withdraw before the withdrawal deadline was agreed upon by the Undergraduate Studies Committee in April, and the entitlement to free Commons now extends to lunch on Friday instead of continuing to the Friday evening meal.

Students’ Union Discuss Abolition of Communications Office Fiona Gribben staff writer

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t the Students’ Union Council meeting on Tuesday 14 January, a set of motions was put forward under a Constitutional Review, including a number of recommendations concerning the Communications Office of the Union.

Most notable were the recommendations that the Office be abolished and a new sabbatical position, Editor of The University Times, be established. The Communications Officer currently acts as Editor of the paper.

Recommendations I and II of the

Review advise the abolition of the Communications Office and the subsequent creation of Editor of The University Times as a paid, off-books position similar to the other offices.

The proposal was designed so as not to infringe on the editorial independence of the paper.

The editorship would involve a lesser salary, in reflection of the smaller workload of the brief in comparison to the other sabbatical positions and acknowledging that the Editor will not be representing the students of the university.

In line with the proposed removal of the position, the role of Communications Officer would be redirected to the Entertainments Office. To re-

flect this new responsibility, Recommendation III proposes the renaming of the position to the Entertainments and Media Officer.

Finally, the Constitutional Review advises that the implementation of Recommendations Two and Three necessitate the appointment of a fulltime Union staff member to assist the Entertainments and Media Officer in their added duties.

Trinity College Students’ Union President Tom Lenihan spoke at the Council meeting against the abolition of the Communications Office, suggesting instead that a Communications and Marketing Office be introduced, which would oversee all social media and Union publications

except for The University Times.

Speaking to this paper, Lenihan said: “We will need to protect the newspaper’s interests, chiefly its editorial independence. In order to do that it is my view that we need a mechanism to arbitrate and limit interference from the Students’ Union in a scenario where the Communications role is separated from the editorship of The University Times.”

Current Communications Officer Leanna Byrne also commented on the matter.

“When The University Times was established they had a handful of writers and a couple of issues a year.

For the past few years, UT has grown and takes up a lot of the time of the

Communications Officer. Today we have over 300 writers, an editorial team of 25, and nine print runs that include a broadsheet, supplement and magazine.

“The question is that, to uphold this high standard, is the Editor’s time being spent more on UT than creatively engaging students in SUonly communication?”

However, Byrne does not support the transfer of the Communications Officer’s duties (bar the role of Editor) to the Ents Office. “I feel like that was just putting the workload issue onto another role,” she said.

Any changes which are approved will not come into force until the 2015/16 academic year.

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The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

News

SUSI Suspends Grant for Dental Hygiene and Dental Nursing Students senior staff writer

S

staff writer

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ugadh “cluas le fearg an phobail” ag cruinniú oscailte eagraithe ag Conradh na Gaeilge i Hall na Saoirse i mBaile Átha Cliath níos luaithe sa mhí maidir le cinneadh Sheáin Ó Cuirreáin, coimisinéir teanga na tíre, chun éirigh as a phost go luath.

Bhí baill ó Chumann Gaelach an choláiste i láithair ag an gcruinniú agus ag agóid taobh amuigh den Dáil roimh an Nollaig. Éireoidh Ó Cuirreáin as a phost ar 24 Feabhra de bharr na heaspa éisteachta atá faighte aige ón Rialtas maidir le cearta teanga an phobail.

Pléadh roinnt éilimh ag an gcruinniú, ina measc: go

Environment Society and Fashion Society Swapshop – 3PM, Atrium

Tuesday Comedy Society Comedy Night – 7.30pm, The Pav Featuring Stephen Ryan, the Comedy Society continue with their “infamous” (their words) €2 Comedy nights, which are probably nice and suitable for some light pre-drinks entertainment.

Wednesday VDP Quidditch Tournament – 1pm, Cricket Pitch

fears that some affected students may have to drop out and apply for social welfare.

The high workload of the two courses means maintaining a part-time job is very difficult.

SUSI has stated that the decision arose as a consequence of an internal audit review of awarded grants, which raised concerns about the two diplomas. The grants have been suspended pending an inves-

tigation. SUSI have also made payments towards the €2,500 student contribution fee, but are now debating withdrawing these too.

According to Ms Nunn, there is still a “huge demand” for graduates of Dental Nursing and Dental Hygiene, despite heavy cuts in funding to the dental industry.

SUSI was the subject of controversy in the academic year

2012/13, with many students experiencing major delays in receiving their grant. 565 student grants were still awaiting processing in July 2013. However, this year has seen an improvement thus far with twothirds of grants being awarded

by December 2013.

Stephen Garry, Welfare Officer for TCD’s Students’ Union, stated that SUSI’s decision to stop grant payments is “an

absolute disgrace”, due to the enhanced financial strain this will inflict upon students and their families midway into the academic year. Following the grant suspension, the SU is now liaising with the Union of Students in Ireland in order to determine a plan of action in response to this event, with representatives expected to meet throughout the coming week.

Easpa tacaíochta an rialtais maidir leis an nGaeilge pléite ag cruinniú oscailte Fionn Ó Deá

Monday

In association with Enactus TCD, the EnviroSoc and FashionSoc are teaming up to sell and swap clothes that have been donated by Trinity students.

A great way to kick off RAG week and hopefully get some decent clothes in the process.

Aisling Curtis

tudents of Dental Nursing and Dental Hygiene courses in Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork have had their grants withdrawn this week following a decision by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). In a statement to The Irish Independent, SUSI said that it has not yet made a decision as to whether students must repay grant money given between September and December of this academic year.

A letter sent by SUSI to the thirty-nine affected students stated that as the courses do not “lead to a major award at level 7 of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ)” they are ineligible for a grant.

According to student support regulations published last May, grant-approved courses must be full-time and lead to a major award on the NFQ . Some Level 7 diplomas are not considered major awards.

Head of Trinity’s School of Dental Science, June Nunn, stated that SUSI failed to inform the university of its decision prior to withdrawing the grants. Eighteen students in second year of the college’s Dental Nursing course did not receive their monthly grant installment this week, as well as first-year students of the same course, together with those enrolled in Trinity’s Dental Hygiene diploma and students in the same courses in UCC. Speaking on ‘The Joe Finnegan Show’ on Northern Sound FM, the mother of one of the students, Brid Moyles, voiced

This Week in Societies

leagfaí síos spriocdháta faoina mbeadh Gaeilge líofa ag fostaithe an Stáit ag freastal ar phobal na Gaeltachta, gan cheist, gan choinníoll; go nardófaí an líon earcaíochta san earnáil phoiblí ó dheas do dhaoine le hinniúlacht sa Ghaeilge ó 6% go 30% don chéad 10 mbliana eile; nach leanfaí leis an maolú ar stádas na Gaeilge mar theanga oifigiúil den Aontas Eorpach tar éis an 1 Eanáir 2017; agus go n-aithneofaí an pobal Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta mar gheallsealbhóirí i gcur i bhfeidhm na Straitéise 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge ó dheas agus sa Straitéis don Ghaeilge ó thuaidh.

Dúirt Julian de Spáinn, Ard-Rúnaí an Chonartha, gur “comhartha” é éirí as an gCoimisinéir Teanga ar atá ag tarlú leis an nGaeilge agus leis

an nGaeltacht, le cúpla bliain anuas: “Níor éirigh An Coimisinéir Teanga as de bharr nach raibh an toil nó an cumas aige an post a dhéanamh - tá pobal na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta lánmhuiníneach as cumas an Choimisinéara agus tá rudaí iontacha bainte amach aige ina thréimhse mar Choimisinéir - an fáth gur éirigh sé as, agus nach raibh an dara rogha aige, ná nach raibh an Rialtas ná ardbhainistíocht na státseirbhíse sásta éisteacht leis, ná na moltaí a chur sé chun cinn a thógáil ar bord.”

Anuas air sin, bhí an méid seo le rá ag Aodhán Ó Deá, Comhordaitheoir na Mac Léinn don Ghaeilge in Éirinn: “Is trua go bhfuil an Rialtas ó dheas ag tabhairt cluas bodhair do mholtaí an Choimisinéara agus do mholtaí phobal

na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta go leanúnach. Is gá struchtúr oifigiúil ceart a chur ar bun le héisteacht shásúil a thabhairt do phobal na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta amach anseo.

Ní amháin sin, ach creideann muid go bhfuil na Rialtais ag

cailleadh amach ar an luach agus ar na buntáistí a thugann teanga na Gaeilge don tír, bíodh siad sin ina mbuntáistí geilleagair, oideachais, féiniúlachta, uathúlachta nó eile. Is féidir leis an nGaeilge ról tábhachtach a imirt i sárú fhadhbanna na tíre seo ach an tacaíocht cheart a chur ar fáil di.”

Tá Ó Cuirreáin sa phost aige ó 2004 agus le blianta anuas bhí sé i láithair ag traenáil na gCumann Gaelach triú leibhéal, cúrsa ag eagraíonn Conradh na Gaeilge ag tús gach scoilbliana chun cabhair a thabhairt d’eagraíochtaí Gaelacha i gcoláistí ar fud an oileáin. Bhí breis is 20 baill ón gCumann Gaelach i láthair ag agóid maidir le teip an rialtais tacaíocht a léiriú dó i Mí na Nollag.

VDP will again hold their nowannual quidditch tournament, where anyone can participate for €5 and onlookers can expect such unfinished battles as “science vs arts,” “philosophical society vs metaphysical society,” and “fish soc vs The Frat.” Stand by.

Thursday Dance Society Trinity Come Dancing – 7pm, The Academy Although the same hype hasn’t quite rolled over from last year’s inaugural Trinity Come Dancing event, it will undoubtedly still draw a reasonably large crowd, with “celebrities” from various areas of college life participating. Tickets are €12 on the door.

Friday The Phil and The Hist Trinity IV – The GMB All day Friday and Saturday the Phil and the Hist will join together to host the Trinity Intervarsity Debating tournament, with teams coming from America, the continent, Essex, Cork, etc. Lurk around to help to get involved in the societies and take advantage of the free food and continental debaters.

Anna Harrington

In the Supplement Rag Week in Detail It’s rag week this week, and for an extended list of events check out our list of fundraisers to watch out for, RAG Week in numbers and our profiles of all eleven charities that the proceeds of the week go to.

In the Magazine I Hear You’re an Atheist Now, Father?

“God is quite an important concept. But to talk about the ‘existence’ of God is a nonsense. God ‘exists’ only as a human idea.”

— David Paterson, an Anglican priest M14

6

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

in Focus How We Cope

photo by aNdRew MuRphy FoR the uNiVeRsity tiMes

Daire Collins deputy Features editor

F

or arts students each college term seems to be split in two; the first full of laughter, cheer and ambitious plans to start that essay six weeks early. Come the end of reading week, reality bites: none of the essays have been started. Calendars are filled with impending deadlines week after week and lecture attendance collapses. This process is accepted as the norm amongst students and actively ignored by lecturers with an air of ignorance. Certainly this is my own experience for the past two and half years, and it seems unlikely to change.

The system of intense periods of work is the result of both the ill preparation of students and a failure of lecturers and Schools to acknowledge that all modules wish to have their essays at the same time. The notion that continuous assessment should be obligatory in every module only serves to increase this pressure. Time devoted to essay writing is not delineated by the mark the topic is worth, rather based upon the length of the word count.

The result is varied, some relying upon last minute splurges of excessive cramming, reading and writing, often resulting in doctored bibliographies citing obscure works, impossible for the TA to find. While others, presumably as the Professors desire, devote a week at a time to continuous work, committing to lengthy stretches of hard work. What is universal however, is the human reaction to seek a remedy for this stress. The desire for a brief respite or a substance which helps ease the pressure, has established almost ritualistic self-medication practices. The term self-medication infers a negative connotation, yet the physical aid is more often sought through the benefits of caffeine.

Caffeine is the world’s most widely used drug, alongside alcohol, it is unquestionably the most accepted. From energy drinks to cough syrup, it is synonymous with student living. While energy drinks are a staple of many late night cramming sessions, coffee drinking is the more socially acceptable form. For many, the first coffee signifies the moment the day begins,

yet it can also be used as a way to unwind and relax. Even in the 1970s, when Bewleys on Grafton Street was one of the few coffee shops in the city, Trinity students flocked there in their droves. Its survival at the heart of student life is unparalleled, bar our penchant for excessive drinking. Coffee consumption dramatically increases in quantity and reduces in quality as the levels of stress and pressure rise.

The shortcoming of this is notorious amongst the student population, yet, sore stomachs and bad nights’ sleep are all willingly accepted in return for the immediate advantage coffee offers.

Vivian, 20, who has a self-confessed coffee dependency, averages two to three coffees daily. As with most coffee lovers, for Vivian it’s both a matter of taste and an initiator of social events.

Both the social aspect and the chemical reaction become more desirable as the stress level and essay anxiety increase, thus the frequency of coffee breaks too rises. Once or twice a term, as essay deadlines get worryingly close, a pot of coffee becomes Vivian’s saviour, keeping her alert all night long to successfully finish within the deadline. This process has a pretty obvious setback and the morning after is usually grim. It takes a few days to properly recover. Despite this, coffee is the link tying some of Vivian’s best memories, sharing stories with friends or writing and reading on her own. She would vehemently disagree with the recent reports that coffee inhibits the creative receptors in the brain.

Caffeine is not the only way to increase one’s levels of concentration, with an ever increasing amount of

“

The desire for a brief respite or a substance which helps ease the pressure, has established almost ritualistic self-medication practices.

horror stories of the drug enhanced rat race for grades in the US college system, the fear has spread to Europe.

Illegal sale of Adderall, Modafinil and their substitutes created a booming black market trade in US colleges, and is causing headaches for the establishment. This is the darker, rarely mentioned side of self-medication in Ireland. However, the reality in the US is not being replicated in Ireland; ADHD drugs haven’t gained much traction amongst Irish students. One of the primary reasons for this is the lower rates of diagnosis of attention disorders. The number of ADD and ADHD diagnoses in the US has reached such

a high that the new American guidelines have caused concern amongst European doctors. In Ireland, the lower levels of ADHD disorders has the effect of keeping the drug out of normalised student behaviour. It is unusual for a student to openly admitting using, even amongst friends.

That said, as in the UK where these drugs are growing in popularity within the top universities, it is possible to obtain them illegally.

Tom, a second year student, used ADHD medication once, when under stress from a looming essay deadline.

There was no overwhelming feeling of focused attention, although he suc-

ceeded under the tight deadline in getting the essay finished.

“I can’t say I felt more focussed than I would have. For the essay where I used the drug, I’m pretty sure the looming deadline was the primary motivator.”

The combination of Modafinil, a lack of sleep and drinking large amounts of coffee led to a groggy, depressed experience the following day.

For Tom, it was a situation in which he was willing to take any help that was available, and this was one such aid.

Despite any uncertainties as to the effectiveness of the drug, Tom would be willing, under the same circumstances to use again.

Stress, whether self-inflicted or an institutional fact, is a part of life. Yet the stress that students undergo is often overlooked. While there are numerous other coping measures, some natural, some chemical, both ADHD medication and caffeine are taken with the intention of coping with the level of work, to ensure that they can concentrate. The reality of student life is that the lack of contact hours, the freedom to drink and socialise any night of the week and a whole host of other problems creates a system which places enormous pressure on students. Most of them are willing to accept any advantage.

7

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

in Focus

An Economist Walks into a Bar

Are economists boring? Ludo Dawnay explores the accessibility of economics to the average punter after Paul Krugman’s visit to the Phil.

Ludo Dawnay Features editor

A

tourist on Fifty-Seventh Street, Manhattan stops Jascha Heifetz to ask him, “Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?”

“Yes,” replied the violinist assuringly. “Practice!”

This gag was repeated by Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics at Princeton University, in his acceptance address to the Phil. The Nobel Prize winner was discussing making economics accessible in his New York Times column.

Economists, it can be assumed, aren’t very funny. The biggest laugh I’ve ever experienced in a lecture was when Andrew Somerville mentioned heroin. He wasn’t even making a joke. Yoram Bauman, the self-claimed ‘the world’s first and only stand-up economist’ has meshed the two trades of economics and comedy. He performs for colleges, corporate events and the military.

“There’s an idea in some academic circles that if you’re funny then you can’t be saying anything important, and that’s wrong,” the environmental economist tells me.

Dr. Bauman agrees with Krugman that humour is one way of explaining things, publishing a Cartoon Introduction to Economics. But does he find that some of his jokes exclude those with little knowledge of economics?

“In general, no, but of course there are some.

I have an econ-only joke about how ‘thinking at the margin’ is ridiculous because nobody goes to the grocery store and says, “I’m going to buy an orange, I’m going to buy another orange, I’m going to buy another orange.” And I have a joke about “convex hulls” that only makes sense to econ PhDs. (That’s a mathematical condition in micro models.)”

He’s even received economics-themed heckles.

“I once had a fellow tell me that I wasn’t ready for Prime Time, and in fact I wasn’t even ready for sub-prime time.”

Dr. Bauman uses his talent for stand-up comedy as a unique selling point to increase demand for his real interest, carbon taxes. He explains them as, “a revenue-neutral tax shift involving lower taxes on the things we like (working, saving, investing) and higher taxes on things we don’t like (e.g. carbon)”. In 2008 a revenue-neutral carbon tax was introduced in British Columbia that many economists consider to be the best climate policy in the world. Bauman is part of the CarbonWa.org initiative to bring a similar policy to Wasth-

“

He jokes by offering journalists the depressed comedian angle.

ington State. The organisation argues that the policy could reduce personal and corporate income taxes, boost economic growth and reduce carbon emissions.

“Climate change has the potential to be a huge issue this century” and “economics has a lot to add to this discussion,” he says.

He jokes by offering journalists the depressed comedian angle. As he’s requested it, let’s put it in. His mother is bipolar and he has face-blindness.

The goal of ‘reform[ing] economics education’ is an ambitious one, but strides have been made by others in that direction. Steven Levitt and The New York Times’ Stephen

Paul Krugman at the Phil photo by aiFRic chRiodaiN

J. Dubner published Freakonomics - A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, making economics more appealing by the theory to tackle issues from prostitution to gang violence.

According to them, “Most of us want to fix or change the world in some fashion. But to change the world, you first have to understand it.”

Bauman read mathematics at Reed college, where he was a contemporary of Steve Jobs.

He may not be a multi-billionaire, but he does charge two thousand five hundred Euro a show. Let’s hope the Phil will conclude the benefits exceed the costs, and they fork out for a worthwhile talk.

The Inter-Erasmus Experience While on Erasmus it takes a while to settle in and find your feet. Shona takes a look at how coming home for Christmas might be just as tough to get used to.

Shona McGarry staff writer

S

o last month I came back to Dublin after my first semester in Scotland.

Having just moved rooms – goodbye danger kitchen, hello party corridor – and having just finished my first-ever (and last-ever) round of Christmas exams, I was looking forward to getting home and having an actual living room, a bath, and seeing everyone I hadn’t seen in months.

As you find me, I am one month in, and I have not had a bath, or seen, well, anyone.

Granted, I am currently utilising the living room that I will have for another two weeks, but as far as my social life goes, I am pretending I am still on Erasmus. It’s cold, so therefore there is no need for me to leave the house.

(Similar logic to last summer – hot, therefore no need to leave house.) I don’t have a television in Scotland, so therefore television must be watched, and often. I’m starting to have a weird issue with having to go and socialise with people, even those I have known well for a long time. I think I’m getting reclusive in my at-home state. Did Dorothy have attachment issues when she returned from Oz? That question isn’t to say that I’m wandering around St Andrews trying to find a way home, but now that I’m at home, I just don’t feel like leaving the house. So much so that I think I need to go

back, and soon, just to make sure I remember how to say hello, goodbye, and other vaguely social things that people say to each other.

I do get out when I need to, though. I’ve been to a party or two, and have found myself squarely placed in kitchens, rambling on about how weird it is being here and how noone really ‘understands’. It’s all a cover – after all, what is there to understand? Not much, and even I know that. I think the reason I rant is because I have nothing else to talk about.

What can I say to them that isn’t all about me?

Maybe if I was in Chile or some other foreign outpost I’d have intriguing stories about that time I was on a bus for ten hours, or maybe I would have witty anecdotes detailing culture shocks, but Scotland is hardly the Galapagos Islands, and no-one really finds much to entertain themselves in the story of that time we went to Edinburgh and I spent ages looking for my eyebrow pencil in the car.

Maybe sometimes I feel like I would get more out of a day watching The Killing than

“

Did Dorothy have attachment issues when she returned from Oz?

hanging out and trying to get with the program all over again. I’ve decided to leave that for when I’m actually back, even though I am back. So why am I finding it such a bind to actually get back to Dublin in my head?

This problem is, gladly, all mine. Nobody else is to blame, and here is the proof.

I am the one who has forgotten faces. The other day I was waiting at the bus stop and I saw someone trying to catch my attention. I looked up, looked at him, and looked around me. Did he mean me? My face gave it away – I had, in that moment, absolutely no idea who he was. He gave a shrug and walked on. Of course, minutes later, I placed him. By then it was too late. I had already given him that warm, fuzzy feeling of I have no idea who you are, unmemorable stranger. To him – sorry.

And – I remember now. And – sorry.

I am the one who doesn’t want to talk to you. Earlier that day I had seen a friend from class on the bus and the first thing that flashed into my mind was don’t sit beside me DON’T SIT BESIDE ME! Of course, she sat beside me.

Of course, I panicked and abruptly embarked on some kind of story about a non-existent hiking club, like I had retained about 4% of already poor social skills from last year. To her, I sincerely apologise. I am actually (usually) kind of OK, I just don’t have any stories and I don’t speak English well anymore.

I am the one who has forgotten where you live. Two days before that I had turned up outside a house I had spent about three-quarters of my time in last year, only to end up ringing

the occupant asking if I had the right door number.

I am the one who’s just being weird. Every time I go near Trinity and see tourists I think, I’m like you, before actually slapping myself in the face and trying to get into the library, for which I have no student card. I don’t know why I’m trying to get in there. Maybe to sit next to the Classics section and silently weep into last year’s loathed collection of Terence’s plays.

Then I remember that the Classics library is up on the sixth floor and I stare at myself in the much-missed Arts Block toilets and wonder why I feel like I have been away for twelve years on a space mission instead of for four months on the closest Erasmus you could possibly do.

It could be that I am just too attached to being in my own bed after being out of it for so long. Or that I actually like hanging out with my parents now, which is a weird and, frankly, unsettling concept, even to someone as naturally reclusive as me. When I met some yearago acquaintances in a nightclub the other week, I curled up into a nervous shell like a sea creature, afraid that they were going to eat me. I managed to get away with saying ‘hi’ at Barbie-ballerina level and then high-tailing it out to the smoking area.

To sum up: during my awkward inter-erasmus, I have become a pariah. Ensure, for your own safety, that you don’t bump into me. Finally, it can be concluded that yes, it is better for me to be in bed watching Danish people kill each other. Candlemas term cannot come quickly enough for me or everyone I know.

St. Andrews in Scotland

8

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

In Focus

Somebody Else’s Problems, Far Away

Irish doctors show solidarity to Irish-trained doctors in Bahrain

One med student’s experience of being made aware of issues far from home.

Domhnall McGlackenByrne

T

o the alarm of my fellow passengers I inexplicably burst out laughing on the 145 home when I had suddenly thought of that classic moment in Father Ted where Ted unsuccessfully demonstrates to Dougal the difference between some plastic toy cows (which are “small”) and the life-sized cows in the field outside (which are “far away”). Dougal can see no difference. Strangely, I believe that this gem of a scene is also a profound illustration of how humans really relate to each other. Nonetheless, I reckon that among the most bemusing quirks of human nature is our apparent inability, like Dougal, to place our own immediate but generally small tribulations in any kind of context with those distant but often much larger problems that do not happen to affect us.

For example: say there is a man, residing in an immensely uncomfortable jail cell, far away. You do not know him and nor do I, but let’s call him Dr. Ali Al Ekri. He is a Bahraini surgeon; he has done precisely nothing to deserve such misery. He is only in jail because he and some gutsy colleagues refused to cede to a demand from the ruling Al Khalifa regime in Bahrain not to treat injured or dying patients arriving to their Salmaniya hospital, in Manama. Unfortunately for these patients, their injuries were dangerous evidence of the brutal, systematic crackdown inflicted on protesters who partook in their country’s extension of the Arab Spring, in February 2011. Dr. Al Ekri’s and several others’

brave refusal to compromise on the fundamental principle of medical neutrality was rewarded with arrest, torture, beatings and their ongoing imprisonment.

And that’s Dr. Al Ekri. Out of the innumerable problems that our brains happily consign to the irrelevance of the ‘far away’ file, his is but a randomly plucked example. The preacher Thomas Fuller once revised a proverb that is so ubiquitous that it is rarely questioned: “Charity begins at home - but should not end there”.

Awareness Before Christmas, as part of our Global Health module, my classmates and I were told a rather amazing story by a man named Professor Damian McCormack, an unassuming but eminent orthopaedic paediatric surgeon based in Dublin’s Mater Hospital. In his lecture, Prof. McCormack spoke of how, at first, he only casually followed the reports of the historic wave of revolutions that turned the Arab world upside down in early 2011. One can imagine his alarm when he learned that a former Mater colleague - his friend Ali - had somehow become implicated in the Spring, which had spread to the island nation of Bahrain. Along with senior hospital staff, Dr. Al Ekri - a graduate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RSCI) and an apparently apolitical man - had refused to obey orders not to treat victims of the crackdown that put a brutal end to the ‘February 14th Uprising’ in the capital, Manama.

A horrified Prof. McCormack immediately notified the Irish Medical

“

Frustrated at the stagnant collective response to the news that ‘one of ours’ was in need

“

I admit that by tugging at a “sense of duty” the issue becomes uncomfortably immediate.

Organisation (IMO), the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland (RCPI) and Dr. Al Ekri’s alma mater, RSCI. Frustrated at the stagnant collective response to the news that ‘one of ours’ was in need, Prof McCormack was left with a sense of completely unsolicited responsibility, yet equipped with little but his own initiative. Nearly three years later, he now heads the Irish delegation of BRAVO (Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation), in a complex campaign for the medics’ release, the fine details of which I am happy to confess I do not know. (For simplicity, just imagine Prof. McCormack as Erin Brockovich with a moustache and we’ll go from there.)

This was not the sort of lecture to which my classmates are accustomed; lids were placed back on highlighters.

A hand was raised: but what can we do about this? “Make some noise”, he replied after a pause. “Nobody else is.”

A Tragedy Or A Statistic?

One of the most influential authors I’ve encountered is an Australian philosopher named Peter Singer. Singer begins his confrontationally persuasive “The Life You Can Save” just as he means to continue: “Do you have a bottle of water or a can of soda on the table beside you as you read this book? Around the world, a billion people struggle to live each day on less that what you paid for that drink.”

Singer has written extensively on the origins of altruism (and selfishness), and describes the tribal nature of our allotment of moral resources. In the

forest, we simply did not have enough to give to care both for our kin and for strangers. Evolution duly directed our finite generosity toward those carrying our genes. If one’s genes were not made more likely to be carried on, there was no sense in assisting a stranger being mauled by a tiger.

Zoos, of course, were a handy invention, meaning that, nowadays, we no longer have to worry about tigers. Yet are we really all that more sophisticated than our ancestors?

Any charitable campaign you see will seek to manipulate this curious moral hierarchy we use to separate suffering into relevant and irrelevant: by instilling a sense of emotional immediacy. Be it via the doe-eyed little child on the Trócare box or a wet and sad-looking dog, our emotions must be stimulated before we are jolted - like Prof. McCormack - from cosy indifference into the much less pleasant sense of obligation to help. When I submitted a motion to SU Council suggesting a public statement of support for these Bahraini doctors nobody had heard of, there were a few puzzled expressions. Why support this campaign, of all things?

I admit that by tugging at a “sense of duty” the issue becomes uncomfortably immediate. Dr. Al Ekri trained in Ireland - ‘one of ours’. I have read a poem written to him by his daughter.

I have even seen a handwritten letter sent from his prison cell; there are a few misspelled words.

Mother Teresa herself lamented that “if I look at the mass, I never act; if I look at the one, I will”. In a similar vein, the morally more dubious Stalin rather bluntly stated that one death is a tragedy and a million deaths are a statistic. It appears that the more daunting and overwhelming is a tragedy, the easier it is to switch off.

If a “mass” of suffering that feels irrelevant to us (like the Arab Spring) is reduced to a single example (like Dr. Al Ekri), our conscience perks up.

How very strange.

Too much to ask?

Unfortunately, despite the best inten-

“

This understandable sense of powerless to avert suffering farther away than the plastic toy cows in front of us produces a third obstacle: selfpreservation. tions, dropping everything to help the Dr. Al Ekris of this world is inadvisable, if not insane. I can think of three main reasons why the floodgates keeping the innumerable sources of ‘faraway’ suffering at bay are, perhaps, best left closed.

Firstly, perhaps leaving our nets is simply unfeasible. The website of celebrated not-for-profit Partners In Health is framed by some rather imposing text, declaring that “the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that’s wrong with the world”.

Perhaps, but acting on this is largely incompatible with a lifestyle in which one must complete a busy college course, or hold down a job, or support a family. While Bill Gates admirably abandoned his ‘nets’ - Microsoft - in search of meatier challenges (such as polio), this is rather easier if one happens to be hilariously wealthy.

Secondly, we are inhibited by a sense of powerlessness. “What can we do?” asked my classmate. Like it or not, if tomorrow I spend my savings on a flight to Bahrain and handdelivered a strongly-worded letter to Señor Khalifa, the best assistance I am likely to provide our friend Ali is some company in his prison cell. The reason we often don’t vote, or don’t feel immediately compelled to stop burning fossil fuels, or don’t do something about human rights abuses, is the understandable sensation that our con-

tribution would be futile, a negligible drop in the ocean (though Mr. Singer might wryly point out that the bottle of water on our table evidences otherwise).

This understandable sense of powerless to avert suffering farther away than the plastic toy cows in front of us produces a third obstacle: self-preservation. Unlike most of us, the founder of Partners In Health, Dr. Paul Farmer, found the obstacles of unfeasibility and powerless quite easy to bat aside.

However, Farmer spends most of his year in Haiti, away from his family, or in Boston, teaching medical students. This means that he spends a rather unappetising nine months of the twelve away from his wife and infant child. Not great. Even if we can help Dr. Al Ekri and the other faraway cows, if doing so requires such a prohibitive sacrifice, perhaps not doing so is forgivable.

Anyway, for those who are interested, the Bahrain ‘issue’ meanwhile shows signs of slow progress. ‘Do No Harm: A Call For Bahrain to End Systematic Attacks on Doctors and Patients’, released by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) was instrumental in compelling the US government to include Bahrain in a list of major human rights violators submitted to the UN Human Rights Council. PHR currently is working to introduce a ‘Medical Neutrality Protection Act of 2013’, which would allow the USA to end military aid to countries violating neutrality and other substantial measures.

Optimism is tempered by the fact that Dr. Ali Al Ekri is still in his jail cell.

It would appear that a balance must be struck. Every day, the front page carries images of the latest faraway tragedy (a typhoon, a bomb, a famine), to be replaced unresolved by another the next day; this itself implies that we are being morally pulled in all directions, too many directions.

Unfortunately, before I could come up with an answer, my bus arrived in Bray. I forgot about Bahrain and went home to watch that episode of Father Ted.

9

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

in Focus

The Essay Season Conor O’Donovan Resident satirist

W

ith many deadlines looming, this particular stretch of January is often associated with essay related stress. As this period unfolds once again it remains difficult to gauge its effects on the student population. This could have something to do with the dynamic of the library, as it doesn’t readily lend itself to audible expressions of discomfort with many students only venting to their most trustworthy companions. Despite this, one young BESS fresher recently felt the need to make it known to UT that the Ussher is a place where “the sesh goes to decompose.”

In this context, leaving aside the odd pile of quivering flesh in the corner of the 24-hour room, the psychological strain of essay writing remains an abstraction. This has failed to divert the annual influx of goodwill from Trinity’s many

societies, however. Following the revelation that the SU’s tea vat doubles up as a bath for busy executive officers, there has been a distinct increase in Society efforts to reach out.

“I’ve always found the idea of a think tank rather unsavoury” quipped one SF Hist Pol, before falling off their ‘gobbeting stool.’

At the turn of the year, perhaps hoping to capitalise on the additional schols contingent, Lit Soc made an attempt to capture the BLU’s imagination. A female member of the society, roaming the Ussher dressed in period attire, reduced several students to tears with her disdainful remarks in an initiative named ‘Estella Search’. “Students oft wile away the hours searching for their favourite Dickensian characters in the Ussher, why not blow off steam by taking a more literal approach,” enthused a senior member of the society of a hearty stoop of ‘Vagrant’s Regret’ in the Gingermen.

Unfortunately, a recent poll has demonstrated that the reference was lost on 65% of those occupying even the Ussher’s most obtusely arranged seat-

“

The week of the 7th saw the secret installation of the now notorious “Dewey Decibel” sound system

ing.

Fish Soc’s efforts have proved more aggravating towards BLU staff. The week of the 7th saw the secret installation of the now notorious “Dewey Decibel” sound system, intended to provide students with “beats fresh enough to criticise to”.

For at least six hours, the expensive setup broadcasted a caché of obscure house demos recently recovered from the Mariana Trench and free form poetry contributed by members, known as “Haddock Rap”.

Attempts to assuage disgruntled librarians have proved even more provocative: the proposed “Plaice for a Place” initiative, under which students could reserve seats with a fillet of the popular white fish, was promptly shelved. Allegations have since been made that a rogue sect of Fish Soc quartermasters has been filling popular undergrad book hiding spots with spoiled Calamari.

Pandemonium returned to the Ussher last week when Food & Drink’s clandestine canapé smuggling operation was uncovered. Before staff could intervene, Food & Drink members were set upon by the

Classics Society. Eyewitness accounts indicate Classics read the situation as an attempt on Food and Drink’s part to forge an illegitimate trade route with Scandanavian Soc, who are rumoured to be wintering on the fifth floor. Many students mistook the outbreak of hostilities for a Trinity Communications shoot, perhaps part of the recent rebranding process.

“They were all flinging hummus at each other and one lad was wearing a Bombay Bicycle Club tank-top, it doesn’t get much more unay than that,” remarked one JS TSMer, in between sucking tapenade out of their keyboard.

Special dispensation of the Dean’s Roll of Honour has been granted to several members of DUPA for their role in documenting the “foodshed”. The college was less vocal on the candid shots of dismayed Social Sciences students taken in the Arts Block lobby. The renovations to the Lecky’s primary entrance have been the source of much confusion; “Well like, I can’t get in,” concluded one SS Economics student. Most departments have held firm in their stance that deadlines will

THE IRISH TIMES

“

Eyewitness accounts indicate Classics read the situation as an attempt on Food and Drink’s part to forge an illegitimate trade route with Scandanavian Soc

THE WORLD AT YOUR FINGERTIPS SIMON CARSWELL SUZANNE LYNCH MARK HENNESSY DEREK SCALLY LARA MARLOWE MARY FITZGERALD CLIFFORD COONAN PADDY AGNEW MICHAEL JANSEN TOM HENNIGAN BILL CORCORAN GUY HEDGECOE PETER CLUSKEY RAHUL BEDI DAVID MACNEIL PADRAIG COLLINS

WASHINGTON BRUSSELS LONDON BERLIN PARIS DUBLIN BEIJING ROME THE MIDDLE EAST SAO PAOLO JOHANNESBURG MADRID THE HAGUE NEW DELHI TOKYO SYDNEY

THE IRISH TIMES THE STORY OF WHY

not be extended. Those who have found their way into the Lecky have been reminded to read with the grain, as many surfaces remain unsanded.

With the “Leadership Race” beckoning, a key part of the vote may be secured in returning peace to the BLU. Fears that all hope for such a resolution down in the Hamilton was gone were confirmed in the last few days when contact with the library was lost. It is now believed to be under the control of Sci-Fi dissidents who may well be unwilling to facilitate a cease-fi. Representatives from the CSC are to travel to the Hamilton in the coming days to negotiate the release of certain key Players.

It could be argued that these events are, in fact, manifestations of the individual’s internal torment that comes with essay season. It is this reporter’s opinion, however, that this would be a failure to see the bigger picture. If one is to get to the core of the issue one must visit the libraries in order to get a sense of the outwardly calm atmosphere which has proved the catalyst for such unrest, both internal and external.

10

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

The Personality Revolution

Wasting My Time in Trinity doing a BESS Degree

Aisling Curtis

Hugh O’Neill

senior staff writer

contributing writer

“

I

n the words of Jennifer Lawrence: “If anybody even tries to whisper the word ‘diet’, I’m like, you can go f- yourself ”.

As the Internet’s darling, Jennifer Lawrence is celebrated not just for her acting talents but also for her frank and funny attitude towards fame, Hollywood, and the coveted institution of celebrity. In that world of stick-thin models and actresses who starve themselves for roles, Lawrence is the girl who trips over her own dress when trying to receive an Academy Award and orders McDonald’s on the red carpet, disregarding the unspoken rules that dictate the behaviour of both her famous and non-famous peers – rules that determine what a woman’s size should be, what she should eat in order to be that size, how any excess weight should be a woman’s small and secret shame.

In the face of this, Lawrence and her contemporaries – actresses like Zooey Deschanel and Mindy Kaling – shuck this longstanding norm in favour of something new.

Lawrence is “never going to starve herself for a part”. Deschanel says her healthy weight is “weird” for Hollywood. As refreshing as it is to hear the thin obsession acknowledged, there’s something troubling about the fact that these girls are not exactly pushing the boundaries of the “ideal” weight.

Sure, Lawrence isn’t a size zero, and – as she says – she may even be considered a “fat” actress in Hollywood. But the weight of these girls is not a weight that is in any way unhealthy, or derogated by our society at large; the “normal” body type that they are portrayed with may be normal in terms of health standards, but it isn’t the norm for a large proportion of young girls.

In fact, the obsession with these upcoming actresses fails in many ways to take into account that they don’t dare deviate far from Hollywood’s strictest rules.

Except the point is that that’s not the point anymore. The discussion on whether their body weight is “normal” and what this emphasis means for girls misinterprets what this new wave of celebrity is pushing for: though their body weight is as yet the topic of discussion, what these women are saying is that body weight is not what it’s all about. They aren’t defined by their

iLLustRatioN by MegaN McdeRMott FoR the uNiVeRsity tiMes

waist measurement, and their message is that the women who admire them shouldn’t be either.

It’s a revolution that’s been longanticipated in Hollywood, this rise of a tangible personality within celebrity, an emphasis on the contents of your mind over the contents of your dinner. As the media still obsesses over fatness, as the magazines still crop and blend and photoshop to give the public what they think they should have instead of what they want, this new wave of celebrity is giving the public something to talk about that isn’t what they wore. In interviews, Lawrence discusses being the “fastest pee-er ever”, her life motto of not worrying about the bitches in school, and wanting colouring books on first-class flights; she’s hilarious and honest, doesn’t censor herself, lets her personality out when so many celebrities rein theirs in.

And the fact that this is so new and refreshing and unexpected is why

she’s so widely adored. She’s not loved for her body, despite being gorgeous, and she’s not revered for being thin, even though she’s not overweight – she’s a new breed of celebrity, ringing true with her fans because the things she does are not constructed to create an ideal, but are the true actions of a an awkward, funny, real person.

Jennifer Lawrence refuses to be hungry to make other people happy, and she’s not alone. Many of the upcoming actresses are marketing this new-and-improved version of celebrity, eschewing the Barbieperfect unrealistic proportions but making up for that in spades with larger-than-life personalities. As Mindy Kaling put it, “being called fat is not like being called stupid or unfunny”. Being fat is no longer the be-all and end-all insult for Hollywood’s women. These days, being able to hold a conversation, having actual interests and being a real person are the criteria celebri-

ties are starting to have to meet.

Lena Dunham, the star of Girls, said recently that she’s going to live until 105 and show her thighs every day. The attitude is indicative of this new phenomenon in Hollywood: the long-lost, near-mythical personality. Dunham is an awardwinning filmmaker and actress; Lawrence is a celebrated actress and an Oscar-winner; Deschanel has starred in countless films and tv shows; Kaling has written, produced and acted for various highprofile TV shows. They aren’t defined by their bodies, and this is the message they are sending out to women across the world.

The point is no longer how closely they adhere to the thin-body norm. Instead, refreshingly, the things that are becoming most important – both in celebrity culture and the public sphere – are your smarts and your skills and your strength of character, and not the dress size you wear.

Redefining ‘Emigration’ Michael Bruton contributing writer

A

s my final term in Trinity College grows nearer I have discovered that I am more enthusiastic about entering the tritely referenced ‘Big Bad World.’ I have developed an emerging eagerness towards leaving, not only university, but the Emerald Isle. This desire has arisen due to a growing indifference towards what has become the mundane. After spending years here the characteristics that define this country as being Ireland have turned into dull traits. The regular surroundings of the city,

the repetitious commute into college and the recurrent topics of conversation have left me with an appetite to experience other surroundings and cultures. I have begun to do what most individuals in my scenario would do: apply for everything that is available abroad – jobs, Masters programmes, internships, etc.

As I prepare applications for my hopeful departure from this shore, I am struck by the fact that no-one has stated that I am planning to ‘emigrate’ but rather that they’re ‘going abroad’. Despite the identical nature of the two acts, a negative connotation has developed around Irish emigration.

The words ‘necessity’ and ‘employment’ have been directly associated with Irish emigration. While this association may be deemed

reasonable given the nature of the Irish economy over the past century and the traditional foundation for the development of the Irish Diaspora, it is unhealthy for Irish people to label it negatively. Some Irish have had no alternative but to explore abroad for their career development, but it is important to remember that emigration possesses an equally positive overtone as well.

While emigration is generally related to employment, there is also the wonder of experiencing the unknown that comes with living in a new environment. I am not suggesting that people do not realise the benefits of living abroad permanently or temporarily, but individuals never equate the positive qualities of living abroad with the act of emigrating.

While articles in newspapers tend to review emigration statistics with a degree of pessimism, they should also view them as a signal of the international opportunities being taken up by individuals to further their knowledge. In some cases this can be seen as a loss to the Irish nation, but most intend to return with their international education and foreign knowledge.

While the general media and the national statistics will define us as ‘emigrants’, and thus, will insinuate that we are members of Ireland’s lost generation, we will view ourselves as ‘emigrants’ and members of Ireland’s future generation.

A lyric from an American song has remained with me as I research and plan my voyage: “If you never leave home, never let go, you’ll never make it to the great unknown.”

Upon browsing through some pieces written by Trinity students one can often be left with a warm and contented feeling. The writer portrays the follies of their time in College, lacing the piece with anecdotes, both humorous and meaningful, but the same end result often prevails. The writer had a marvellous, well-rounded experience, the feelings of which they so endearingly pass onto the reader.

Ashamedly I have not had a brilliant College life filled with new experiences. Does this make me a pariah? Reading the writings of my peers in College publications may suggest so. Now you may think: why is this bitter idiot complaining about circumstances he created?

If he didn’t jump into College life head first then that’s his own fault.

And you would be correct. It took me three and a half long years to finally come to a realisation that the majority of students make on their first day at Freshers’ Week: grab this opportunity by the proverbial… you know the rest.

I had an unusual start to Trinity life. A ready-made excuse which I used as a shield against integrating into the College fold for two whole years. I started out as an arch rival of Trinity, as a UCD heathen. A CAO point anomaly, of which I was informed the day after my Debs, meant that I had been bumped up from Commerce to BESS, should I wish to make the switch. With my brain in a post-Debs vacuum, whereby all I could remember was the overwhelming swell of adolescent debauchery that prevailed the night before in the function room of a Meath hotel, and buoyed by my parents’ enthusiasm for me to take an opportunity that had not been afforded to them, I answered yes.

Those two months in Belfield were my safeguard from ever having to interact meaningfully with anything or anyone. I missed Trinity Freshers’ Week. I rationalized in my head that everyone in BESS had obviously already become inseparable friends, forming an impenetrable giant three hundred person clique, about which I could do nothing to gain access.

I dismissed Trinity in every way possible. I had a strong group of school friends, and being from Dublin it was easy to keep in regular touch with them. I didn’t attend class nights out, or look to join a society. My warped logic had led me to believe that only students from outside Dublin would bother making friends in College! This same ill-informed logic closed off every single society to me. With no disrespect to the Phil, Hist, or any other debating society, I honestly believed every society social occasion comprised of attending an endless number of debates. This was not something I had any interest in, especially coming from a school where first year students were forced to sit through drudging, predictable and poorly executed lunchtime debates. Thinking that the rock-climbing or DJ society involved debating leaves me rather worried as to how I chose to use my brain faculty not so long ago!

Armed with my excuse and ready to swiftly silence any detractor who suggested I take an interest in College life, I existed among the Trinity eco-system as a background extra who rarely, if ever had any lines. I revelled in my anonymity. I

took pride in the fact that I wasn’t part of whatever Trinity was. I can only rationalise this as a form of late teenage rebellion; completely ill-informed ignorance and stubbornness with not an ounce of logic used to determine my stance on the matter.

My detachment from College life was compounded after I failed my second year exams. I then ceded from Trinity completely when I was doomed to repeat the entire year.

This, I felt, was the ultimate injustice; to wear the conical dunce hat, to feel like Ralph Wiggum.

Entering a new class should have been my chance to assimilate, my ticket out of obscurity. Instead I chose to hold Trinity at fault for my failings. I resented having to repeat for two main reasons (other than the fact that it was a completely avoidable year taken from my working life). Firstly, being held back with students one, and some even two, years my junior. In my head, I was older and wiser. I felt I didn’t belong among these mere children. How in the world could I become friends with people whom I didn’t regard as my peers, as I had lived one insignificant year longer than they had! I mean, they were still planning their first J1 … I was booking my second.

Reason number two was a whole lot more frustrating. Every day I was hearing miraculous but vague stories of how others in my situation were able to somehow bend rules, find obscure loopholes, or simply keep repeating till they passed. I was not among these miracles. The events leading to my repeat year were very blunt; do exams, get results, fail, do repeats, fail, repeat year. No arguments, no appeals, no year X. This incident allowed me to further validate my stance towards Trinity; why should I bother with this place? After all it had chewed me up and spat me back out. I went through second year for the second time in a similar vein as my first attempt.

By third year, I finally regained a semblance of sanity. My epiphany was gradual. There was no eureka moment. I started to realise things didn’t have to be this way. The rumblings of change began when I started to see less and less of the five or so friends I had in Trinity as they were kept busy virtually non-stop with final year study. Rest assured these were old school friends. I had not inexplicably made acquaintance in Trinity by mitosis.

When I realised the error of my ways, I set myself the task of changing my attitude towards Trinity.

Fearing I had come to the party not just too late, but on the wrong day altogether, I struggled to etch out a personal presence within College. However my determination to leave some mark behind, no matter how insignificant, before I leave in four months’ time led me to write my thoughts down on a page. Those thoughts form this article. And this article is my one man resistance to the stubborn me from the past. When I didn’t care about Trinity I thought I would leave the place with no regrets. Now that I do care for it, having realised how wrong I was, I will still leave with no regrets. I’m just relieved I figured it out while there was still time to do something about it.

So if you, the reader, feel like I once did, just remember that it’s never too late to change.

11

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

Mandela house, 6 trinity college, college green, dublin 2 phone: (01) 646 8431 email: info@universitytimes.ie

Credits

Leanna Byrne, editor Vladimir Rakhmanin, deputy editor Conor Murphy, online editor Edmund Heaphy, creative director Colm O’Donnell, editor-at-Large Hannah Ryan, News editor Ludovic Dawnay, Features editor Samuel Riggs, opinion editor Conor Bates, sports editor James Bennett, Magazine editor Shauna Cleary, supplements editor Michelle O’Connor, copy editor Cailan O’Connell, Multimedia editor Andrew Murphy, photo editor

CUTS MADE WORSE WITH LACK OF CONSIDERATION FOR THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

I

t has recently been discovered that Trinity College will be making some sizable cuts to funding for its capitated bodies. Overall, it is rumoured that capitated bodies in Trinity will receive up to a €60,000 reduction in fund distribution. This means that Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC), the Central Societies Committee (CSC), Trinity College Students’ Union (TCDSU), the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), and Trinity Publications will all suffer substantial losses in funding, with less money available to spend on maintaining these organisations.

The ultimate goal of any College administration should be to ensure a well rounded education for its students. Just last week the Vice Provost for Global Relations, Jane Ohlmeyer, welcomed a new host of international students to Trinity with the promise that the students are the sole raison d’être for our university. With these cuts, it feels like this is no longer the goal for Trinity. Education does not solely consist of academic learning – society life and involvement in extracurricular organisations is vital for making sure that students leave Trinity as well rounded people.

However, this is not the main problem with the decision. What is even more egregious is the fact that the reduction in funds is not explicitly mentioned in the minutes from the Board meeting – surely a reduction of €60,000, a thoroughly significant amount of money, should have been publicly stated by the College, especially considering that it will affect a sizable amount of the student population? If you speak to any random student in Trinity, there is a high chance that they will be involved in at least one of the aforementioned organisations.

It seems that there is a lack of respect towards the students here in failing to disclose the cuts. If College had made these plans public from the start, alongside some reasons for why the cuts are being made, there would have been mild discontent. But because College chose to attempt to sneak this decision past the students and the relevant bodies, there is now a lack of trust between the student community and the administration of Trinity. This lack of trust and respect is far more damaging than a little bit of discontent from an honest statement would have been. The College will soon find out that it is not in their interest to divide the community by “us and them”.

Many students are disappointed in College’s decision to make cuts to organisations that make Trinity a more interesting place to study in – however, what is even more disappointing is the fact that College did not deem it necessary to announce their plans to the students. To repair the relationship between the College and their biggest stakeholder the administration needs to make sure that any further decisions of a similar nature are discussed openly, in a fair and honest way.

WHY ARE WE BEING FRAT FANATICAL?

W

ith the hype about the frat this year you would think that the students of Trinity didn’t vote against supporting a Trinity Fraternity two years ago at Student Union Council. As the rumours of a possible Trinitybased fraternity were being circulated many students took necessary steps to make sure this would not be supported. Council mandated the SU to oppose them, while the Central Societies Committee (CSC) came out against them before they could even apply to become a society. Regardless of the CSC’s collective opinion on the fraternity, they cannot support a society that discriminates on the basis of gender.

In the run up to Trinity Come Dancing, arguably one of the biggest events of the year, Tobe Arize was chosen as a contestant. While Arize is very well known amongst his peers, the organisers of Trinity Come Dancing felt it was more important to highlight his Presidency of Zeta Psi Fraternity over his positions in Fashion Soc, Enactus and the AfroCaribbean Society.

While Trinity Come Dancing believe that advertising the fact that the President of Zeta Psi is not an endorsement they are using his position to push their event, which in turn leads to promotion of Zeta Psi. Since the criteria for being chosen to participate in Trinity Come Dancing is to be a “Trinity celebrity”, claiming that being President of an organisation that does not and should not have anything to do with our university makes you a student of interest is actually endorsement. As mentioned before, it is not as if Arize has not been involved enough in college life for the event to make him a contestant without having to draw attention to a sexist, elitist group. The question is, are members of this “Dublin Fraternity” receiving as much attention in other universities and ITs? The fact is that the only other people who care if you have a position in a fraternity that has been denied access to a university would be seedy nightclub promoters.

If Trinity Come Dancing does not have a stance on the fraternity then they should not treat its membership as something that interests the students of Trinity. When you’re advertising it’s about the way you shape the message. Being called a “Trinity celebrity” lends for embarrassing enough criteria without adding membership of a disgraceful group to the mix.

www.universitytimes.ie

The Cart Before the Horse Daniel O’Brien staff writer

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reland’s millennials are facing a crisis of employment: roughly 30% are jobless without accounting for the hundreds of thousands who have simply chosen to leave the country. It is natural for those hit hardest by the economy to call most audibly for a solution. Ireland’s youth, however, should be wary of the calls for populist, pseudo-economic remedies that are so popular with politicians and their constituents in the short-term (i.e. before the next election) yet equally detrimental to long-term economic health.

It may first be helpful to put Ireland’s youth unemployment situation in a proper global context.

The Germans face a youth unemployment rate of 8%. In America that rate is 15%, while in Spain and Greece it exceeds 50%. It should be clear that these numbers vary primarily in accordance with recent economic performance as well as with structural differences like minimum wage laws and tax systems. More importantly the rate does not vary in any meaningful way with total or proportionate levels of spending on job training or similar programs that target youth unemployment. That is not to say that such spending has no place in the budget, but rather that it should be a purely supplementary concern in the context of promoting economic growth.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI), apparently, has a far different view on the issue. As part of its ten point plan for post-bailout Ireland USI criticises the €14 million recently budgeted for the Youth Guarantee scheme as inadequate

and argues that an investment of almost twenty times that amount is necessary. While throwing almost €300 million at almost any problem would make it go away, doing so presently would be short-sighted and entirely inconsistent with the goal of recovery. The biggest economic threat still facing the nation is a ballooning debt-to-GDP ratio: the result of taking on bad

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Why fixing the economy helps Ireland’s youth – and not the other way around debt from Irish banks combined with a decrease in consumption and output in the Irish economy.

The current government literally cannot afford frivolous budgeting, but the need for responsible policy should not leave students without hope.

Ireland is clearly in a better situation than its fellow bailout recipients. In the latter half of 2013 its output grew at double the forecasted rate, with particularly promising growth coming from construction spending (up 15% on the year). The return of construction jobs is particularly important for young Irish males, those who just half a decade ago looked forward to earning a desirable wage without third level education. Although such jobs have been relatively “gone” in recent years, there has been little underlying structural change in the economy. The Celtic Tiger jobs are waiting for a new Celtic Tiger economy, and barring significant changes at the European level that could hurt the country’s appeal for foreign investors, the future is bright. Ireland still needs massive improvements to its infrastructure and its wages, workforce and tax structure re-

photo by siNÉad baKeR FoR the uNiVeRsity tiMes

main attractive for multinational firms targeting European expansion.

The levels of unemployment sustained during the financial crisis are tragic on both a personal and a policy level, but the lessons taken from this tragedy should not be forgotten just as the nation appears poised for recovery. The government has had success with its austerity budgets, even if it may rightly be argued that those hurt most by austerity have not been those whose actions necessitated it. Regardless, the country should

move forward realistically within its present constraints and not be distracted by the panic and populist concerns that too often dominate Irish politics.

With policies that properly support (or fail to unduly impede) an acceptable level of growth, unemployment can be addressed without undermining the budget. After all, Ireland’s youth do not need to be re-trained for some kind of “new” economy; they need the economy that benefitted their parents to return and do likewise for them.

The Fallacy of Irishness

Fionn Rogan deputy opinion editor

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’m an Irish man. Twenty years old. But am I an Irishman? By simply omitting that space between Irish and man one delves into what Brendan Behan would describe as, the psychosis of Irishness. An Irish man is a modern creature who uses the word Irish merely as a classification tool. The word is stripped of its mythologies and becomes a clinical and simple geographical term like German or Sudanese. In a sense, Irish is dispossessed of its Irishness. Two distinct classes of Irishness are created.

The distinction between the two becomes more intriguing when it’s viewed from a more youthful perspective. To be Irish or to subscribe to any sort of exclusive idea of nationality will soon be an outdated concept. As society becomes increasingly multicultural nationality as a concept becomes obsolete.

A large spectrum of young Irish people along with other young people from across the world are denizens of an Internet age. They

subscribe to a homogenous and pervasive culture that exists without nationality. To be Irish, British or American on the Internet is defunct because for the most part there is no fundamental difference between our cultures. The idiosyncrasies that defined us waste away as we all ‘lol’ at Jennifer Lawrence and Benedict Cumberbatch making ‘Doge’ references. It has a certain vapid but peaceful harmony to it. To be Irish becomes a passive description and to a certain extent nationality is renounced in favour of joining this global network of people.

The fallacy of Irishness becomes glaringly apparent in this set-up.

This unnerves me. It upsets me because I’ve grown accustomed to an outdated model that I use to identify myself. I consider myself an Irishman but what does that mean? Am I being exclusionary when I identify myself as such?

Of course I am. Is that defensible?

No, it isn’t because when I do so I am describing myself as Irish in a bid to distinguish myself from those of other nationalities. I am not English because I am Irish. By making that distinction I’m inferring that to be Irish is in some way superior to being English, which is plain, illogical racism. Nationality is a segregating device. However by this logic any demonstration of national pride becomes an inherently racist exhibition, which is an extreme notion. Therefore can national pride be considered the one example of defensible, or at

least, acceptable racism? Is being proud to be Irish an admission to being a benign racist, or is that an oxymoron?

Perhaps a means of tackling this is to ask is there a role for the Irish in a globalised world? What does it mean to be Irish or even young and Irish in the 21st Century? I can only speak for my own sense of Irishness, which is an ideologically conflicted minefield of contradictions. It reflects the variety that exists in contemporary Irish thought.

I plan on living in London when I’m older yet I refuse to learn any of England’s geography because I maintain an immature animosity towards our former colonisers that has been engendered within me since primary school. I relish in the inoffensive mischief that defines the Irish. I decry the fecklessness of the Irish and in the same breath eulogize the numerous achievements of my country folk.

I hail from Kildare, live in Dublin, pretend to be urbane and know that a year cannot be spent with-

“

To be Irish is to be at odds with yourself and others and still feel completely intact.

out at least one visit to the West because it’s good for the spirit.

I’m a twenty-six county nationalist whose misguided patriotism was founded primarily upon Neil Jordan’s hopelessly inaccurate Michael Collins. I champion the local but abhor the incestuous and prying nature of parish-pump politics. I wish I spoke Irish and liked the GAA. I enjoy the informality of the Irish. I appreciate that we will always have an issue with accountability. I don’t scoff when someone waxes lyrical about the Irish landscape flowing through their veins, because I know it does the same for me, three-bed semi-d’s and all. I’m obsessed with my Irishness.

To be Irish is to be constantly at odds with yourself and others and still feel completely intact.

There’s a schizoid element to our distinctly Irish psychosis. However is there room for our contrary national identity? Truthfully I don’t believe there is. To be Irish is to be directly opposed to globalisation.

To be any nationality is. As a process globalisation requires its subjects to renounce the idiosyncratic identity that defines them so as to subscribe to a culture where everyone is one of the same. Nationality is a fallacy. It must be surrendered in order to achieve global harmony and peace through homogeneity.

World Peace is at stake and yet the notion of sacrificing my Irishness is too much for me. I know I never could. I’m an Irishman.

Twenty years old. Who knows what he should do but doesn’t.

12

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

The Edge of Joking according to conor Murphy no topic can be sacrosanct to comedy. however, we need to realise when a joke is a joke and when hate is hate.

Conor Murphy online editor

T

he issue of free speech versus comedy has reared its awkward head again under the guise of French “comedian” Dieudonné and his supporter, footballer Anelka. For those who don’t follow international news he’s a wildly anti-semitic performer whose show includes lines like “I don’t have to choose between Jews and Nazis... I don’t know who stole from whom, but I have my suspicions”.

His show also features a giant brick wall which he calls the ‘wailing wall’ and upon which he pisses during the show.

The story developed in a familiar pattern.

A comedian says something horrific. Subsequently everyone agrees the comedian is an arse. Then some idiot celebrity indicates his support and a lot of people say something must be done. Furthermore, a good few people say the topic he/she was discussing was “out of bounds” for comedy etc.

Now this as a news story is distant and irrelevant to the student population, but the conversation on the limits of comedy is absolutely relevant and a constantly interesting debate.

If you go to any comedy night of locals you’ll hear jokes that tread on the toes of race issues, child abuse, gender issues or sexual violence a little too heavily for people’s taste. You’ll hear a feed of jokes on these topics that are just terrible jokes; you’ll also hear an infinite number of people (usually the kind who in normal situations hold so tightly to their coveted freedom of speech), state the rather extreme notion that one of these topics is untouchable by comedy because it’s too sensitive a topic. Be it race, gender issues, or Islam, there seems to be an infinite amount of people ready to take up the sword on these political issues’ behalf and declare them sacrosanct, usually with the (sometimes true reasoning) that these topics are often causing far too much offense and horror when discussed. There is an obvious varying in the nobility of each of these causes but they are all misled in the same. No topic can be sacrosanct to comedy.

Now this isn’t affording comedy some special place. This isn’t glorifying comedy at all.

It’s just giving comedy its rightful place as an artform. Artforms need to tread on those sore

parts of society to really get at truth. Artforms need to raise a laugh to expose the sensitive underbelly of the issues.

Laughing at something isn’t automatically a lighthearted act. Sometimes it’s the bravest thing, an admission of the true nature of society and that there’s things to do on this issue. Even if you accept this there will remain a huge amount of the comedy done on these topics that is just awful lowballing low-witted lops of stupidity. There’s just not an awful amount you can do about bad comedians, and there’s a universal truth that most bad comedians will rest on shock tactics and that will draw them inevitably to the usual suspects of real political issues.

When this happens we should try to just dismiss it as bad comedy, like bad films, bad paintings or bad articles in newspapers [Ed note: Like this one]. If they’re too poor to do anything but cause offence then deride them as nonsense and try not to draw giant complex social rules to prevent such poor creations rearing their head again, even if it’s terribly

common.

By this dismissive nature, what I don’t mean is that all attempts at comedy are permissible in society. Some of the attempts were never really comedy to begin with. If Enoch Powell threw a Knock Knock joke into his rivers of blood speech it wouldn’t have suddenly become permissible. Comedy can’t become a bunker for societal hate.

It might seem easier to culturally blanket ban a topic for comedians than try to vaguely develop some distinction, but this conversation is just a distraction rather than the real issue. The “invisible” line is hate speech. Hate speech is something defined in many legal zones and has been used as a workable solution for many things already, and if the comedy, though edgy, is justified true satire can be used as a defence against malicious claims of hate speech.

This comes back around to what happened with Dieudonné this past month. The issue isn’t that his comedy is dealing with a topic he should leave alone, or that he isn’t dealing

“

It was an egalitarian idea that my drunken friends and I needed to understand and help to achieve.

with it in exactly the right comedic fashion.

His comedy isn’t comedy and that’s the problem. It’s hate speech. It is incitement to hatred and thus to violence. There’s no need to weigh into “what is comedy” to help stop his shows, hate speech laws covers this clearly and indeed that’s what Parisian police used to deal with him.

It’s the same with rape or gender jokes, the examples proffered are always horrific “jokes” that come across much more as specific threats or general hatred. If jokes do approach this then deal with them as hate speech, not as comedy that needs to be ring fenced from society or sanitised.

There is the not-so-slight problem that hate speech (to my amateur Wikipedia-fed brain) doesn’t cover gender-based hate but that’s something for the law makers to work out. In societal terms there’s no real justification for drawing battle lines around certain issues.

Deal with bad jokes as bad jokes and deal with hate as hate and let’s not sanitise one of the true remaining places of edgy conversation.

French Comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala photo by pauLiNe coNseiL

What Have We Learned from Nelson Mandela?

Ciar McCormick contributing writer

I

n the wake of the 10 days mourning I find it easy to believe that funerals are in fact not for the dead but for the living. Yes, we are honouring the memory of the recently deceased but this is in fact an outlet for the living, rather than the dead. This same attitude was present during the ten days mourning for Nelson Mandela. Yes, High profile world leaders publicly mourned his passing and praised his legacy; but has his universal hero status consumed Mandela and moulded him into a caricature of a deity forever to be confined to the proverbial pedestal, rather than the faithful legacy of the man himself?

To properly realise Mandela’s memory we need to remind ourselves of what he stood for. We need to remind ourselves of what he wanted to achieve, and whether he actually achieved it or not. Simply worshiping Mandela will not evoke his memory in any kind of genuine way. Casting Morgan Freeman, a character who has previously played the character of God, as the character of Nelson Mandela will not help achieve the egalitarian standard that he set for himself and for humanity.

Nelson Mandela wanted to end apartheid

in South Africa. Although it is recognised that apartheid ended in 1994 – largely with the help and influence of Mr Mandela – it is still the undeniable fact that the miserable life of the poor majority largely remains the same as under apartheid. The main change is that the old white ruling class has been joined by the new black elite.

Mandela preached a legacy of tolerance and forgiveness. He set an example of how apartheid was to be tackled in South Africa and worldwide. Dean Burnett of The Guardian keenly evaluated that praising this legacy of tolerance and forgiveness as an example to everyone, before slandering David Cameron for previously saying Mandela was a terrorist, or exclaiming that the US only took Mandela off the US Terrorism Watchlist in 2008, even if valid, demonstrates neither tolerance nor forgiveness.

The old African National Congress, of which Mandela was a part, promised not only the end of apartheid, but also more social justice, even a kind of socialism during his time in power.

The rise of political and civil rights is counterbalanced by the growing insecurity, violence and crime. This has been well documented With the OSAC reporting that “Crime continues to be a key strategic concern for the South African government…In general, crimes continue to range throughout the full spectrum, from petty muggings to ATM scams to armed residential home invasions. These crimes oc-

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His political triumph and elevation into a universal hero was in fact the mask of a bitter defeat.

cur with great frequency and throughout every neighbourhood”.

In terms of the socialist position of Mandela’s ANC in his time in power, Slavoj Zizek observes that “South Africa in this respect is just one version of the recurrent story of the contemporary left. A leader or party is elected with universal enthusiasm, promising a “new world” – but, then, sooner or later, they stumble upon the key dilemma: does one dare to touch the capitalist mechanisms, or does one decide to “play the game”? … in essence …Nel-

son Mandela was celebrated as a model of how to liberate a country from the colonial yoke without succumbing to the temptation of dictatorial power and anti-capitalist posturing.

In short, Mandela was not Robert Mugabe, and South Africa remained a multiparty democracy with a free press and a vibrant economy well-integrated into the global market and immune to hasty socialist experiments.”

So we celebrate Mandela for transforming an apartheid judged by race to a racially diverse apartheid with the masses still living on the margins of the wealth present in the country, for creating a more dangerous and crimeridden Africa without a strong leftist party, and for not becoming Mugabe.

But if we want to remain faithful to Mandela’s legacy, we should forget about the celebratory crocodile tears. We should focus on the unfulfilled promises of his leadership and learn from them. To fully take this man seriously should we not criticise what he did so as to improve upon his legacy. In light of his moral and political greatness we can assume he came to the end of his life a bitter man. His political triumph and elevation into a universal hero was in fact the mask of a bitter defeat.

It could be noted, as it was by Slavoj Zizek that his universal glory may also be a sign that he didn’t really disturb the global order of power.

Could it thus be concluded for a political figure their greatest fear would be to be accepted, not to be ignored?

13

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

Credits

Letter from the Editor

Disappearing Academic Thought contributing writer

ciar Mccormick argues that a private university shuns the notion of the common good in education.

The Cost of Education In 2012, Minister for Education & Skills, Deputy Ruairi Quinn, promised to increased the student contribution charge to €2,500 and to increase it by €250 each year thereafter, until the 2015/16 academic year, when the contirbution will stand at €3000.

O

n 8 November Provost Patrick Prendergast announced in a speech to alumni on the future of Trinity College that he would consider privatisation as an option for the university. This is not the first time Prendergast has raised what he called the “key issue” of privatisation. At a debate held by the Historical Society (Hist) and the Philosophical Society (Phil) this motion of privatising the Dublin University, which was keenly suggested by the Global Graduate Forum, was chaired by none other than Prendergast himself. The idea of privatising Trinity College is not an isolated matter but in fact part of a scheme spreading throughout Europe which has been built up over a number of years.

The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries designed to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications, in which a widespread reform of European higher education has been planned. The underlying idea of these spurious reforms is the urge to subordinate higher education to the needs of society, to make it useful for the solution of concrete problems we are facing, to produce expert opinions meant to answer problems posed by society.

Through the Bologna Accords, the process has created the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) who oversee these reforms. Ireland became a signatory and thus a member of the EHEA in 1999. In 2006 Ireland became the first country to verify the compatibility of its national framework with the overarching framework of qualifications for the EHEA in cooperation with the Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA).

The Bologna Process has received much criticism from academics, one of whom is Professor Chris Lorenz of the VU University Amsterdam, who argues that: “the basic idea behind all educational EU-plans is economic: the basic idea is the enlargement of scale of the European systems of higher education, ... in order to enhance its ‘competitiveness’ by cutting down costs. Therefore a Europe-wide standardization of the ‘values’ produced in each of the national higher educational systems is called for.” A key goal of the Bologna process is to create a greater convergence between the U.S. and

Leanna Byrne editor

photo by aNdRew MuRphy FoR the uNiVeRsity tiMes

Ciar McCormick

Europe, therefore European higher education shall adopt aspects of the American system.

A fundamental element of the American system is the method of public-private partnership.

This illuminates the economic aspect of these plans, and the method of privatisation at the centre of this process.

In congruence with the dismantling of the welfare state all over Europe, in education, we are witnessing the gradual dismantling of the public university apparatus. The university system is becoming less and less the bearer of the enlightened values of “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” at the behest of the new formula of “lower costs, higher efficiency” which the public-private partnership system provides. But, what of this change in system? Is this just a change mantra? Why does it matter?

The implication of this will be the disappearance of the true task of thinking, or thinking in any authentic manner at a university level. In the words of philosopher and director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities in the University of London, Slavoj Zizek, the true task of thinking at an academic level is “not only to offer solutions to problems posed by “society” (which is defined by the conjunction of state and capital), but to reflect on the very form of these ‘problems’ in the first place, to re-formulate them, to discern the problem in the very way we perceive such problems.”

I

n one sense, a University is not a proverbial sausage factory producing homogenous students programed to function in society at whatever occupation they have chosen, but in contrast, to create free thinking intellectual human beings.

This ability to speak your mind freely as a scholar, or what Immanuel Kant called the “public use of reason”, is why the national motto of France is the unofficial ethos of any authentic University. Thought in the public sphere is essential to the rights we should possess as humans; it is part of our liberty, equality and brotherhood. The current student body of the college appears to agree with this public ethos after the students’ outcry when the Provost came out in support of a student loan scheme in an RTÉ Radio 1 interview in August of last year.

Privatisation would be a negative step for higher level education. The scholarly thought that should take place in a university cannot be lost by Trinity College. This University, with its long illustrious history and tradition, should remain a place that enables the public use of

Provost Patrick Prendergast came out in favour of the Student Loan Scheme on RTÉ Radio 1 last year reason. This University should remain a place where the arts and humanities are nurtured in an equal manner to the sciences and vocations such as medicine, nursing, architecture, etc.,

etc. This University should not abandon its values as an intellectual hub in favour of becoming ‘more competitive’.

This University should not be privatised.

I

f this were a country which valued its youth, when the Department of Social Protection was contacted by The University Times, the line they proceeded to take would not have been: “qualifications for JobBridge is at the discretion of the employer”. A government department that valued education and decent wage for a decent day’s work would have removed the advertisement, or at the very least, asked the employer to change their criteria. I would even go as far to say that if Joan Burton and her department had any sense that a JobBridge advertisement seeking candidates with a PhD qualification would not be up there in the first place.

Is it right for a multinational corporation such as ClaroChem Ltd to take advantage of an employment crisis so they can pay a highly educated individual a €50 top up a week? Even when the minimum wage is €8.65 per hour, the desperate individuals applying for the Process Chemist Internship are being promised 15% of what is owed. If you work 39 hours a week you should be receiving at least €337.35 for that week. Instead, this JobBridge participant will get their social welfare and a bit of pocket money for getting to and from their place of work. Of course the department are smart enough to admit that this is not a living wage.

The unfortunate thing is that this is just another extra instance where the government has showed their true colours in relation to the youth crisis. Back in September when Minister Joan Burton was walking around the stand on Freshers’ Week beaming at students and shaking their hands asking them what they were studying (there’s a JobBridge for that!), I grabbed her for a quick interview. At the time it was emigration season for graduates who had failed to get jobs, so I asked her whether or not youth emigration was a matter for concern. In response she told me a story about how she had worked in France for a few years and, well, look how that worked out! According to the Minister there is “no fear for a lost generation” and that sometimes getting out of Ireland can be character building. With a clear gaping hole of youths in the population I couldn’t believe how out of touch that statement was.

The ironic thing is that the minister of the department which promises to protect our well being even in its name, is doing anything but protecting us. What backalley internship schemes such as JobBridge illustrate is a governmental mentality where the company is king.

While speaking in Dublin at the launch of an initiative called Feeding Ireland’s Future, in which the food and grocery industry is seeking to provide young unemployed people with advice and an understanding of the sector, Burton said that she had no problem with companies seeking PhD interns. Sure won’t it help them get back into the workforce? Yeah, maybe, but breaking a cycle of unemployment with a cycle of exploitation is hardly something to defend, let alone be proud of.

So thank you, Joan, message received. The young and educated of Ireland are no longer assets for our economy, they are inexperienced burdens that employers must endure. Never mind a wage, a “top up” is all you need because experience is what we should value more than a wage that we can live on. And while we’re at it, three cheers for the firms taking in those worthless youths and giving them an opportunity to potentially be employed despite the fact that no economy can function without them.

The Summer Plans Rat Race Ellen Finn contributing writer

T

erm is over, essays are done, stress is finished. Yet, as I sit on my bed frantically googling lowbudget backpacking destinations, simultaneously involved in a heated group conversation online debating a potential trip Greek island-hopping in August, it seems college competition hasn’t ended. Instead the indirect boasting, casual name-dropping and friendly rivalry continues long after the

end of college term. The dreaded phrase of the moment for someone unsure of their plans is not the ‘Oh, you hadn’t studied that?’ of exam season, but the old favourite ‘So, what are you doing this Summer?’.

As someone whose response to the question this year consists of vague and self-admittedly over-ambitious ideas, my reply is often met by a detailed description of their own travels abroad. The question is not why this person seems hellbent on informing me of every minor aspect of their American dream, but why I feel some kind of fundamental need to have my own holidays so carefully prepared, planned and pack-

aged.

Going on a J1, getting an internship and interrailing are amazing opportunities to gain both cultural and professional experiences, but us poor creatures who are remaining at home this summer should not be condemned to the ranks of the uncultured or unambitious.

There seems to be this increasing pressure to really do something with our precious three months as the inevitability of a ‘real job’ is right around the corner. Never before had this realisation hit me so hard as when a lecturer asked our class what our plans were and I was shocked to be the only one who was working here in Ireland.

Long gone are the days where we were content with a ‘holiday’. As we grow older and ever more conscious of financial, professional and social expectations and attempt to make the most of any time we have as carefree students. The culture and experiences foreign destinations have to offer us have almost become currency in some social circles, stories of Thailand and San Diego replacing those of Coppers and D2s come September.

This anxiety about the lack of concrete plans for the summer months is entirely self-made and irrational; yet it increases with every Facebook check-in at Terminal 2. Like many other

“

There seems to be this increasing pressure to really do something with our precious three months as the inevitability of a ‘real job’ is right around the corner

students who yearn for a taste of the unfamiliar and exciting, I have a tendency to see Ireland’s lush green fields and extensive coastline only as obstacles to a foreign Other. My family home, treasured during the brief visits of term-time, becomes an unlikely prison and my challenging and engaging job my keeper.

I’m not keeping up with the Joneses this time, neither will I have built up a substantial catalogue of travelling anecdotes to pepper my conversation with throughout the year, but I am genuinely excited for what the summer has to bring. By purposefully staying at home this summer,I’m pretty much guar-

“

I’m not keeping up with the Joneses this time, neither will I have built up a substantial catalogue of travelling anecdotes

anteeing that I won’t have the best tan, tattered leather bracelets or dodgy tattoo come Freshers’ Week, and certainly I won’t have been lucky enough to experience things that people who have travelled extensively have. Yet I realise that ‘living in the moment’ doesn’t have to be at a Full Moon party somewhere in Indonesia, but exactly as described – living, right here, right now. So although I would love to be counting down the days until the ‘trip of a lifetime’, I never want to miss the unexpected moments, those with old friends and family on lazy sunny afternoons, moments that can truly define your summer.

14

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

Sport Six Nations Preview

Conor Bates & Cathal Groome Ireland

2013 finish: 5th Predicted 2014 finish: 4th Ireland had a very mixed November Series with the disappointing low against Australia and the encouraging performance against New Zealand, even with the heart breaking end to the match. Despite this positive performance Ireland are still adjusting to Joe Schmidt’s way of playing. It is unreasonable for people to expect that the players truly be comfortable with his style of play just yet. Often we have seen Ireland produce one-off world-class performances and then fail to back them up.

Ireland also have some selection issues to deal with due to the fact that Sean O’Brien is out injured for the vast majority, if not all, of the tournament.

Chris Henry is the obvious replacement for O’Brien even if he’s a different sort of player. The idea is that due to the fact that Henry is a more stereotypical openside, he will liberate Heaslip to become the primary ball carrier. Another option would be Jordi Murphy who has been deputising for O’Brien at Leinster and performing very well. There are decisions to be made in the midfield as well. This is Brian O’Driscoll’s final Six Nations and as such, the very talented Robbie Henshaw from Connacht should be given at least one start to ease him into the Irish 13 jersey, as he appears the heir apparent to O’Driscoll’s throne. Furthermore, at inside-centre, Luke Marshall must continue to be given opportunities given the fact that Gordon D’arcy is not far from retirement either.

Ireland have a lot of work to do in Six Nations rugby after last year’s performances. Poor play cost Declan Kidney his job last year, and Irish fans will be expecting a marked improvement from their nation. With trips to Paris and London, this year’s tournament will prove difficult for an Ireland team in transition. On top of this, the first match against a more settled Welsh side will be a tough task. However, Wales will be missing some crucial players and a victory against them could provide the team with great impetus going on through the tournament. If Ireland can replicate the performance against New Zealand on a consistent basis then there is a chance that Ireland could be champions. It is, however, hard to see this being the case.

Key Players: Johnny Sexton (fly-half), Paul O’Connell (lock forward), Robbie Henshaw (centre)

Wales

2013 finish: 1st Predicted 2014 finish: 1st Reigning champions, Wales, have a lot to look forward to this year.

Following an incredible 2013, in which they won the Six Nations, saw a great number of their players called up for the Lions tour to Australia and finished with some very solid autumn performances, it is safe to say that Wales can look forward to a bright 2014 as well.

They are also in receipt of a favourable schedule for this year’s competition, with their only away fixtures being against England, and their only conquerors last year, Ireland.

One of the other major potential determining factors in this year’s tournament is the return of Warren Gatland to the fold. Although his absence last year appeared to make little difference to the Welsh results, there are none as steely and ruthless in the game as Gatland, and his presence will surely bolster.

At this point in time, there are probably few more complete teams in the international game than Wales.

Starting with their pack, Adam Jones and Alun Wyn Jones are among the marquee names who are not to be messed with. Wales are strong in the scrum and clever at the lineout. Effective mauling has always been key to the Welsh game, and when they get pushing, it is very hard to stop them.

Similarly, their backs possess a fearsome quality. Jamie Roberts is deft and powerful at centre, while Alex Cuthbert and, in particular, George North, are among the fastest, strongest, most brutish wingers in the game.

Stature and pace are a potent combination, as Wales have proven time and again.

Last, but absolutely not least, Leigh Halfpenny is a dynamo at fullback.

Halfpenny epitomises the strength, speed and flair that Wales possess, and he brings security in the form of his accurate kicking. Halfpenny’s boot is fairly near immaculate with the dead ball, and he will punish any team with penalties.

Wales are dangerous. Very dangerous. Even with their current injury worries, they are not to be underestimated. The last time they had a bad run of form was late 2012. Many people wrote them off for last year’s championship as a result. Look how that turned out.

Key Players: Leigh Halfpenny (fullback), George North (wing), Alun Wyn Jones (lock forward)

England

2013 finish: 2nd Predicted 2014 finish: 3rd England are among the more consistent performers in the game. For the most part, they have turned out very solid contributions to recent Six Nations, World Cups and autumn internationals, and are rightly regarded as a serious challenge to overcome on the path to glory. Last year’s championship was very successful, with four wins for England, and only a hammering at the hands of champions, Wales, bringing a negative to their final standing. Their positive performances were reflected in a good call-up rate for the Lions tour to Australia.

Similarly, England have maintained some semblance of momentum in winning two of their three autumn internationals, including a victory over Australia, and only losing to the unbeaten All Blacks. The draw is also in their favour, with only a trip away to France seeming like a truly problematic fixture.

England are very powerful in the pack. The majority of their call-ups to the Lions touring squad came from the front-row, and they have shown great depth in these positions in recent years. Throughout the pack, Tom Croft, Geoff Parling and captain Chris Robshaw have been standout performers.

Their talent is not confined to the pack, however, with Owen Farrell taking the placekicks for the side.

Farrell is one of the brightest stars in the game, and big things should be expected from him. Manu Tuilagi is a force of nature at centre, and the tournament will surely not pass without a few moments of magic from him.

English rugby has drawn a large amount of criticismabout the development of homegrown players. The best part of England’s game for the last few years has been the aforementioned scrum, which contains a considerable amount of players qualifying on the “Irish granny” style rule.

Mako Vunipola, Dylan Hartley and Thomas Waldrom are mere examples of the extent of this practice. Similarly, Tuilagi is the prime example of foreign-English athletes in the backline.

While this is a problem for English rugby down the line, at the moment it leaves them with a very decent squad for the impending championships.

They will do well, as always, but maybe not well enough.

Key Players: Owen Farrell (fly-half), Chris Robshaw (flanker), Manu Tuilagi (centre)

France

2013 finish: 6th Predicted 2014 finish: 2nd France are an enigma that few rugby pundits can wrap their head around.

Man for man they arguably have by far the best team in the northern hemisphere but are often unable to transfer their obvious talent onto the pitch. In last year’s tournament they finished last after a hugely impressive and positive autumn series. Freddie Michalak had seemed to have finally brought some consistency to his obvious talent however throughout the tournament his performances were so poor that they bordered on comedy.

What can you expect then after a largely disappointing November Series? With France, form goes out the window. This year there is less pressure on the French. Perhaps this may liberate them and allow them to play some of the exhilarating rugby that they are known for. There is no question that they have the talent, led by the outstanding Wesley Fofana. Last year he was the best player for France and his outstanding solo try against England was without question one of the best tries the tournament has seen.

The greatest issue which faces the French is who plays at fly-half. Over the years they have experimented with many different options but to no avail. These issues can be seen that some of the biggest clubs in France have foreign players at fly-half. Playing Michalak last year backfired spectacularly and his chances are surely over. One of the options that the French coach, Philippe Saint-André, used in the November series was Remi Tales from Castres; hardly a household name but perhaps in a team of individualistic stars this is who they need at the helm, dictating their play.

Jules Plisson who has been keeping Morne Steyn out of the Stade Francais team this season has also been drafted in and could be an exciting, if risky call. He is supremely talented but throwing him in against England in the first round could be a flop due to his complete inexperience at international level.

If the French management get the fly-half selection right then they are in with a chance especially considering French teams usually perform well after a Lions tour. However, it is impossible to predict what type of French team will turn up on any given day.

Key Players: Wesley Fofana (centre), Louis Picamoles (number 8), Jules Plisson (fly-half)

Scotland

2013 finish: 3rd Predicted 2014 finish: 5th Scotland built a very solid Six Nations campaign last year when no one expected them to. Two wins may not seem like a lot, but given performances of years gone by, it was certainly an improvement. Despite a remarkable third place finish last season, it is hard to see Scotland repeating their effort once more. Although dealt a favourable schedule of France and England at home, their heroics of 2013 will likely be confined to yore.

Their change of fortune was down to a grinding gameplan instituted by interim coach Scott Johnson. Previous coach Andy Robinson had done a lot of work on improving the Scottish defence, without much return. Johnson seemed to make this hard-hitting defensive structure work, and through shoring up opposition attacks, Scotland began to profit. A weak pack, led by the contrastingly omnipotent Richie Gray and Euan Murray, made some unforeseen inroads.

There were also improvements in attack, with the introduction of Sean Maitland, and the pacey Stuart Hogg, causing problems for defensive players. Powerful ball carrying from Gray was also a feature of the Highlanders forward movements. It says a lot about Scotland that these were the only three players called up to Warren Gatland’s original Lions squad.

The only other player who may have deserved a nod was Greig Laidlaw.

The scrumhalf was very effective with his boot, scoring sixty-one points for Scotland, and finishing second in the points scorers’ standings. Laidlaw is very consistent, and may be able to ease the Scots woes again this year.

The reason that Scotland aren’t a threat this year is the same as every other year; the gulf in class that still exists. They beat two weak nations last year in Ireland and Italy, but failed at the other three hurdles, quite dramatically against England, proving their defence is still not quite there yet. This also proved to be the case in the autumn internationals, where Australia and South Africa dispatched them at home. Their back play is creative but not incisive enough. Their forwards, largely unchanged since last year, will struggle to deal with stronger packs.

Scotland were the surprise package last year. Surprises are usually only effective once.

Key Players: Richie Gray (lock forward), Greig Laidlaw (scrumhalf), Stuart Hogg (fullback)

Italy

2013 finish: 4th Predicted 2014 finish: 6th Italy’s prospects for this tournament are not very good. They had a very disappointing November Series with a narrow victory over Fiji their only victory.

In addition to this poor form, Italy have been robbed of some of their better players due to injury; veteran centre Gonzalo Canale, fullback Andrea Masi and wing Giovanbattista Venditti. Without this trio the Italian squad, especially the backline, is devoid of much needed creativity and experience.

The much heralded Italian pack is not what it used to be with the steady demise of the once great front-row.

Italy can no longer rely on their pack to grind down teams in an effort to win a game.

Similarly to France, Italy have huge problems at fly-half. Luciano Orquera is the current holder of the position, but he is a player scarcely capable of performing at club level, not to mention on the international stage. In his defence he does possess an average running game, but his inexplicable inability to defend his channel and his aimless kicking mean he is a hugely weak link in the Italian team and frankly, a liability.

It is evident that Italy must find a solution to these problems and as such they have called up Tommaso Allan.

Allan is a former Scottish underage player but qualifies to play for Italy due to his Italian mother. He currently is on the books at Perpignan and considering his age he has seen a good deal of first team action. He made his debut for Italy coming off the bench against Australia in November and perhaps it is time to give him a starting role. No doubt he will make mistakes due to his inexperience but he is worth the gamble in a position of real issue for Italy.

Even with the inspirational Sergio Parisse driving the team on it is unlikely Italy will have a successful tournament this year. Parisse has been something of a man mountain for the side, but even he is aging.

However, Italy are in a period of change and this year’s tournament could give us a glimpse into the future of this team. Sometimes the very essence of seeing the old can make way for the new – be it in rugby or anything else, for that matter.

Key Players: Sergio Parisse (number 8), Tobias Botes (scrumhalf), Tommaso Allan (fly-half)

15

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

Sport

sport in brief Equestrian The 2014 Student Riders Nations Cup will see a strong Trinity representation on the Irish team. The Irish Universities Riding Clubs Association has named Rachel Dowley, Sarah Dowley and scholarship student Melanie Young in its squad for the coming year’s competition.

Young was also involved in the 2013 panel, which won team and individual honours at the Student Cup finals in Belgium, in late December.

Soccer 2013 drew to a close with a 1-0 away loss to Portmarnock for DUAFC’s league team. The new year started with greater promise as the soccer team hammered CYM Terenure 4-0 in Terenure. Despite suffering another, 1-2, loss to Portmarnock, DUAFC are in good position in the Division 1B table, with a number of games in hand on their rivals. The college team face NUI Galway at home in a CUFL quarter final today.

The Collingwood Cup draw was made just before Christmas. This year’s competition is the hundredth edition and will be held in UCD. Trinity received a bye in the first round and will face UCC at the quarter final stage.

The draw for the fresher’s tournament, the Harding Cup, was made in early January. Trinity will face UL in the quarter finals on 7 February.

Sailing DUSC travelled to Leicestershire in December to compete in the Loughborough Lemming, hosted by Loughborough University. The two-day event saw Trinity beat the majority of their opponents, cruising through the preliminary rounds against some of the UK’s top universities. On the second day they beat Southampton in the quarter final, before narrowly succumbing to eventual winners, Cambridge, in the semis. The team consisted of Alva McDermott, Charlotte Murphy, Iain Irvine, Peter Duncan, Jack Hogan and scholarship student and Olympian, Scott Flanigan.

GAA The draws for the GAA university championships were made in December. Trinity’s footballers will take on UCC in the Sigerson Cup, while the hurlers have been drawn with Queen’s, St. Patrick’s, Thurles, and NUI Maynooth in the Ryan Cup. The camógs have been drawn alongside St. Mary’s and IT Carlow in the Fr. Meachair Cup, while the ladies footballers will pit themselves against NUI Maynooth, Ulster Jordanstown and Mary Immaculate Limerick, in the Giles Cup.

Athletics Harriers captain and scholarship student, Maria O’Sullivan, led home the Irish U23’s at the IAAF International Cross Country event in early January. The race, held in Greenmount, Antrim saw a world class field taking part, including Irish ace Fionnuala Britton, and recently crowned European cross country champion, Gemma Steel, from Great Britain. O’Sullivan, however, was not fazed by the standard on show, completing the 5.6km course in 19.28, finishing 12th place overall.

A Knight’s Tale President of the Knights of the Campanile, Danny Johnston, speaks exclusively to The University Times.

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s everyone who has set foot in Front Square during Freshers’ Week knows, Trinity is a college rich in sporting history and traditions.

What fewer people know is several of the university’s sports clubs are the oldest in the country. Bearing that in mind, the Society of the Knights of the Campanile is a relatively recent addition to the long and varied story of Trinity sport, and the society has had its ups and downs like any other.

The society was formed in 1926 to mirror already existing societies in Oxford and Cambridge. The Vincent’s and the Hawks’ clubs subscribe to largely the same ethos as the Knights do: to further sport in the university and to foster sporting excellence. All of these societies are fraternal and have sororal equivalents, the Heraens being the counterpart to the Knights in Trinity.

Since its foundation, membership of the Knights has been a source of pride and a badge of honour for Trinity’s most devoted sportsmen. By that, I do not mean that every Knight is an absolutely outstanding athlete, singlemindedly pursuing personal achievement or glory.

Rather, a Knight should be a devoted Trinity sportsman, with a passion for the university and its sports clubs at heart.

However, there have been lean periods in the society’s history, with years of little alumni activity and declining undergraduate membership. It is not so long ago that these were the prevailing circumstances, and it is only very recently that the society has begun returning to what might be called full strength.

On the other hand, while the society might be on its way back to more solid footing, the level of positive feeling towards it on campus is maybe not at an all time high. This is not always without reason, and there have certainly been misdemeanors in the past which would not endear the society to the college authorities or its student body and do not do

photo by aNdRew MuRphy FoR the uNiVeRsity tiMes

justice to the many excellent people who are proud to wear their Knights tie.

The Knights are often labelled elitist, and it would be churlish to suggest otherwise, but I don’t think that is a necessarily a bad thing. Sport in College is an excellent thing to be involved in, and the more that can be done to encourage students to participate the better. A group of individuals who are brought together without politics by virtue of their commitment to Trinity sport has the potential to do a lot of good for the college community. This potential has been tapped in the recent past, when the Knights and Hereans came together to hold a charity “Try-a-Sport” day which coincided with the College races in Trinity Week, raising €2000

for Goal.

Then-president, Mark Raftery-Skehan, said at the time: “It is important that sport be given its proper place in College life, particularly given Trinity’s proud traditions in the field. The Knights of the Campanile and the Heraens can play an important role in raising student participation in sport as well as in improving upon Trinity’s reputation as a sporting university.” That is a sentiment I echo.

From my perspective, this gathering momentum of the Knights represents an opportunity for the its members to return to the core values of the society and begin to make a more concerted effort to have a positive impact in College and more actively promote sport.

I hope that the increasing stability of the society’s alumni

network, which is now almost 1300 strong, will offer a framework for continuity which would lead to undergrad run events like this achieving perpetuity in time. In addition, I would like to see the society looking to highlight the individual achievements of its members to further enhance and encourage sporting achievement and participation in college.

Mark Pollock is a Knight and an excellent example for us all.

His sporting achievements in rowing and endurance events are immense, and his drive and ambition in the face of both blindness and paralysis are an inspiration to all those who hear his story. I believe that events like the ‘Run in the Dark’ are an ideal opportunity for the Knights to both support

a great cause and highlight the shining example that Mark is, in an effort to encourage students to follow his lead and keep challenging themselves in every way. These are opportunities we intend to get the most from in the coming years.

For me, this is what being a Knight is about. College sport has been a wonderful influence on my life, and I would love to see the unique potential of the Knights exploited to encourage as many Trinity students as possible to get involved and to push themselves to achieve better things for themselves and their club. The Knights are an important part of Trinity sport and the more we can do to encourage its continued success, participation and struggle for excellence the better.

Kayak Aisling Smith took victory at her first race of the new year.

The eight kilometre course in Avonmore, Wicklow was the venue for the race, which scholarship student, Smith, completed in 22.55.

the winter olympic snow storm

Cricket

Conor Walsh

Ladies cricket captain Jennifer Gray and Amy Kenealy were called up to the Irish ladies squad for a Tri-Series match against Pakistan. Gray was one of the standout performers, taking three wickets for forty runs. Despite some good performances, Ireland were comfortably beaten on the day.

Badminton Sports scholarship student, Prakash Vijayanath, reached the semi-final stage of both the Botswana Badminton International and the South Africa Badminton International in December. Vijayanath was seeded highly in both events but was beaten on both occasions by Slovenian, Roj Alen. With these performances, Prakash has improved his standing in the African rankings to third place.

Conor Bates

staFF wRiteR

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t’s been nearly thirty years since Russia last hosted an Olympic Games. The summer edition of the Games of 1980 was to be the showpiece for the preeminent Communist country in the world. That Olympics brought us the rivalry of Ovett and Coe on the track, the flawless performances of Nadia Comaneci on the gymnastics beam and the USSR and East Germany teams combining to win more gold medals than the rest of the competition combined. Despite this, the Games were remembered not for the prowess shown in the sporting arena, but rather because of the political ramifications of a Cold War spat.

Sport at the end of the day was made to feel like a loser, a casualty of a greater conflict of capitalism and communism.

Turning to the modern day and it is once again the colossal country in Eastern Europe which takes centre stage in the sporting context, this time

for the winter edition of the world’s biggest multi-sport event. For the second time Russia is embroiled in a cloud of controversy and scandal, this time for a myriad of other reasons.

The decision last year of the Russian Duma to pass legislation banning of the distribution of ‘’propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations’’, known in popular culture as the anti-LGBT laws, have prompted a wave of criticism of the Putin administration both on a national and international level. World leaders have refused to attend the Opening Ceremony on account of Russia’s ultra-conservative policy on the matter. The true extent of these archaic laws is seen in the fact that even a Pride House – a temporary location in the Olympic village celebrating LGBT athletes and their achievements – was outlawed by the Russian Justice Ministry on the grounds that it promoted ‘non-traditional’ relationships to minors. Such is the impact of these laws that even our own Students’ Union has banned the sale of

Coca-Cola and P&G products in their shops for the duration of the Games, noting their role in sponsoring the Games. In Russia itself, protests are such a regular occurrence that the media exposure surrounding it is diminishing quickly.

It essentially has been one debacle after another for the organisers of these Olympic Games. Aside from the gross human rights abuses at the centre of the Games the organisers have come under scrutiny for their haphazard dealings of economic and environmental matters associated with construction.

The Olympic Zero Waste Pledge was broken last year when it was discovered that lorries from Olympic event centres were offloading waste material into a huge landfill site in a water protection zone. Other environmental concerns include the construction of sites in the middle of the protected Caucasus Biosphere Reserve.

Sochi itself is unfortunate enough to also be located in one of the most politically unstable areas in the world. The threat of terrorism is a real one

with the provinces of South Ossetia and Chechnya lying just to the east of the city and the region, being a melting pot of cultures and a hotbed of political activity since the fall of the Berlin Wall, is frequently immersed in conflict. Security for the Games is a major concern, particularly since the Volgograd bombings of December.

With all this activity in the background, it would be hard to imagine the major winter sporting event of 2014 taking place at all in Russia, let alone a summertime retreat for wealthy oligarchs. The fact remains, however, that on Friday 7 February the very best that the world of winter sports has to offer will converge on this little known metropolis on the Black Sea shore. So far, none of the major countries have boycotted a contentious Games, though don’t expect the drama to end there. It is expected that protests of wearing Pridethemed attire and the painting of rainbow coloured nails will feature prominently among the Western nations opposed to Russia’s domestic policy; these actions are a breach of

the Olympic Charter which prohibits any form of political protest. If these Games are to be remembered at all, it is hoped that the quality of the sport on show will overshadow the lingering controversy surrounding it.

At the end of the day, in this arena, sport should conquer all, bridging the chasms that divide opinion and providing a platform with which to settle scores of physical and mental combat. The first victory of these Games is the lack of a boycott, and with that one hopes that the athletes of the winter sporting world, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or any discriminatory factor, can transcend the sequences of events which have unfolded since Sochi was awarded the Olympics and thrill us with their athletic endeavours. Hopefully, then, by the time these wonderful sports and sportspeople have concluded entertaining us on the last Sunday in February we can conclusively say that the 2014 Olympic Winter Games were memorable for the right reasons.

16

The University Times | Tuesday 21st January 2014

Sport Trinity 1 Oxford 3 Conor Bates spoRts editoR

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espite the generally poor weather, a decent crowd gathered to watch DUAFC play in a mid-season friendly.

This was not an ordinary game for the Trinity football side, as they welcomed Oxford University to College Park for something of an ‘international colours’ match. With the team doing well in their league and cup competitions, they would aim to give their illustrious visitors a good run and maintain their positive momentum into their forthcoming games. The recent tumults of rain had made the pitch very heavy and conditions somewhat tricky for both sides.

Club captain, Conor Bobbett, reflected on the midseason challenge as part of their productive season so far. “All in all, the season has been going well. Our second team is competing well in a very tough division while our first team are fighting for promotion.

The college team topped our CUFL group and have a quarter final to look forward to.”

Oxford made the best of early possession, pressing forward into the Trinity half. As an unknown quantity, the Trinity defence dealt with them well. Trinity responded with their own forward play, and made an unlikely breakthrough in the seventh minute. Against the run of play, winger Farhad Patel made a darting run down the left flank. Patel played a speculative ball into the box which was met by a flicked header from striker Ruadhan Stokes. Stokes’ connection looped tamely over to the near post, and beat the goalkeeper, who was left with egg on his face.

Even with a one goal lead, Trinity failed to gain any decisive impetus and Oxford put the pressure back on.

Perhaps some cobwebs still remained from the Christmas break, but whatever the reason, Trinity struggled with getting back on top.

Conditions also made the

photo by gabRieL NicoLi FoR the uNiVeRsity tiMes

Visitors Prove Too Strong for Trinity game quite scrappy as the ball was tough to control for both sides on occasion.

Nonetheless, Oxford began to march forward forcing a number of corners for their efforts. Notable attempts saw a header fly just over the bar from the six-yard box and three shots blazed wide from close range, as the half wore on.

Trinity were not without positives however. Creative play from Patel has been a hallmark of the DUAFC attack this year and his pace down the wing was on display once again. Simi-

larly central midfielder, Gus Shaw Stewart, was dynamic on the ball, bursting forward on a number of occasions with great flair.

Clever footwork from Shaw Stewart was utilised well as he made some electric runs into the opposition territory. His ability to weave around oncoming tacklers came in handy, and he had a few chances to convert, but his shots ultimately came to nothing. Others chipped in as well, with crosses and shots falling into the ‘keeper’s hands, or missing the target.

Trinity’s defence held firm through the half, showing strong resolution in the face of deft, skilful Oxford play. The visitors were experiencing a similar inability to convert goals, missing the target more often than not. Considering the game was a friendly, both sides put in some hard but fair tackles in a very challenging game. Again with a heavy, wet pitch, this is not untypical.

Oxford continued to build their game after the change of ends, troubling the home defence in the

second half. Trinity settled a bit more in the second half, but were still just missing something in their link up play to stretch their advantage. Ultimately, their inability to make any more inroads proved to be their downfall. After holding out for seventy minutes, the Trinity defence could guard the floodgates no longer.

The game got away from Trinity as Oxford finally made their dominance count where it mattered, on the scoreboard. Three goals in the closing stages gave the away side the win,

and shellshocked the Trinity students. While it would be hard to argue against an Oxford win being deserved, the scoreline definitely flattered Oxford.

Although the game counts for nothing significant, Trinity would rather have captured the bragging rights over their friendly international rivals. After the game, Conor Bobbett, spoke to The University Times: “We were all very disappointed after. To be honest, we felt that we made Oxford look good by not performing to our usu-

al standards and we know we’re capable of a lot more.

Some rustiness would have been expected but to concede three goals in the last twenty minutes is always very disappointing.”

The game drew a good crowd to College Park, and will have provided a positive distraction for the team, as their league and cup campaigns recommence. A tricky game in less than favourable weather conditions turned out to be the most adequate description for the match.

The most promising part

of Trinity’s play was definitely their solid defending, which held tight for the majority of the game. Attacking finesse made some appearances in spots, but DUAFC will need to shake of the cobwebs to ensure this kind of blip doesn’t happen again. Oxford were a strong and interesting side; good all round play and some very neat skills to report. Trinity’s season to date has been positive, there is no doubt that this will be a singular negative punctuation on their road to success this year.

DUFC Top Novice Epee League Table Trinity’s novice fencing team tops six-team intermediate league.

David Byrne FeNciNg coRRespoNdeNt

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ublin University Fencing Club’s intermediate team have had a great season so far, ending 2013 at the top of the Leinster Epee Novice League.

The league was established in September, featuring six teams: DUFC, Pembroke, FenceFit, Maynooth, Griffith College, and

Blessington. The fencers from each team have two or less years of experience in fencing, and as such it is an excellent platform providing fencers of similar levels competitive match experience. From September to December these six teams battled it out for a place in January’s final.

DUFC’s fencers have acquitted themselves brilliantly. They are unbeaten, having impressively won all five of their matches and were able to ring in the New Year as league leaders.

The team was made up of novices Camille Hindsgaul, Fionn O’Connor, and David Byrne. In addition, beginner Tim Porter fenced in the final league match, the victory which ensured DUFC’s top of the table position

and spot in January’s final against second placed Pembroke.

DUFC should have the psychological advantage going into the final in January, having already defeated Pembroke earlier in the season. The final was originally scheduled for 17 January, but has been postponed until a later date.

Confidence must not turn to complacency, however, as previous results have no bearing on the outcome of the final. It is bound to be a thrilling encounter, as both teams are made up of confident, promising and hardworking fencers. Although the outcome of the final is yet to be determined, one thing that is obvious is that DUFC is developing a team of promising fencers,

whose growth and progress is evident with each competition in which they compete.

With such a strong focus on beginner training, development and progression, with the high quality of coaching, and with the hard work and determination of each individual novice fencer, the future is bright for DUFC. In other fencing news, DUFC made waves at the Aldershot Open, as club captain, Maxton Milner, claimed gold in the men’s foil. Milner was 5-0 down in the final against Mark Sutton, before fighting back to win 15-11. Former captain Edward Mitchell also fenced in the foil, finishing 15th. Milner placed 19th in the epee competition.

photo by ciaRa o’coNNoR