Volume 4, Issue 4.

THIRD LEVEL IN IRELAND The University Times

Magazine

Hubie takes on exotic tea

Rev. Julian Hamilton discusses religion on campus in this issue’s Said with Authority.

Page 7

UT Magazine presents a view of the Isreal-Palestine conflict from the perspective of a soldier in the IDF and from a human rights campaigner in Gaza.

Page 12

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The University Times Tuesday, December 11, 2012

GRS pledges accommodation despite rent crisis Leanna Byrne Deputy Editor The University Times has learned that a number of places will be promised to fi rst year international students in Trinity Halls, Darty as part of Trinity College’s Global Relations Strategy (GRS). The information was relayed to a working group on student accommodation whose membership included Trinity Halls warden Brendan Tagney, Vice Provost for Global Relations Jane Ohlmeyer, and Students’ Union Welfare Officer Aisling Ní Chonaire.

The Vice Provost’s intention to offer places to international students comes despite struggles faced by domestic students to fi nd accommodation in Dublin.

Large numbers of wouldbe buyers opting instead to rent has created what a Daft. ie report in September labelled a ‘accomodation crisis’ that has hit students hardest. A formal accommodation taskforce is in the process of being put in place to tackle the shortening supply of accommodation for students.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Global Relations has flagged the importance of providing College accommodation for any international students who are in need of it - especially fi rst years. The GRS recognise that College needs to provide additional accommodation so any student who wishes to live in College accommodation will have access to it.

Vice Provost for Global Relations Jane Ohlmeyer told The University Times that Trinity would “like to be able to offer a place in halls to each fi rst year international student who wants to live in College accommodation”.

Despite rises in demand Prof. Ohlmeyer denied that there will be a rise in the price of College accommodation, whether on-campus on in Trinity Hall. Conversely, she hopes that the rise in demand will encourage College to build or to acquire

additional accommodation for students in need of TCD accommodation.

Speaking to The University Times from a GRS assignment in Malaysia, Professor Ohlmeyer also said that her department was currently unable to put a figure on the number of places that have or will be offered: ‘At this early stage I’m unable to give a figure. We would like to be able to offer a place in halls to each fi rst year international student who wants to live in College accommodation. Some may be from India but at this point we simply don’t know.

‘As part of the GRS, we flagged the importance of providing College accommodation for any international students who wants it, especially fi rst years. We recognise that we need to provide additional accommodation so any student who wishes to live in College accommodation will have access to it.

‘We are hoping that additional accommodation will be provided so that all students who want it have access to College accommodation.’

The accommodation promises for incoming international students comes as a series of incentives are being put in place by the College’s lucrative Global Relations Strategy charged with incentivising foreign students to pursue higher education in Trinity. Non-EU students do not qualify to have a portion of their fees paid by the Irish government under the fee remission scheme and are a lucrative source of income for the College. Specific scholarships exist for prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students from India.

The scholarships for Indian students will be valued at €9,000 per year and are being offered for four years.

The scholarships can be for any undergraduate course offered in Arts, Humanities, Social Science, Computer Science and Engineering.

“My whole life is a bus stop in the dark Shelley Stafford, Commuting, Trinity Style, page 7

“Practial

A Trinity Christmas: Provost lights christmas tree in Front Square Photo: Gabriel Nicoli

EGM called to revoke decision to relocate Sci-Fi from House 6 Jack Leahy & Hannah Ryan News Editor & News Staff AN EXTRAORDINARY General Meeting of the Central Societies Committee has been called for the 12th December, at which the college Science-Fiction society will move to revoke the decision to relocate them from their room in House 6 to a shared space in Goldsmith Hall. Sci-Fi managed to collect signatures from one sixth of all society treasurers to force the meeting. Society treasurers constitute the CSC committee and have the constitutional power to overturn a decision made by the executive.

The University Times has also learned of a meeting that took place late last week between the society and a number of influential College administrators. At this meeting, significant concerns were expressed as to the potential wider impact of the executive’s decision.

The controversial decision to relocate the society

was made at a meeting of the CSC executive on November 14th, the official reason being that the society is not making full use of the popular room 6.31, and that they cannot be justified in having sole use of the space.

It was proposed that Sci-Fi be moved to Arch 6 in Goldsmith Hall, shared with DU Gamers’ Soc - a suggestion that provoked outrage from members of both societies.

The exact motion, as included on the agenda of the meeting, is ‘that the decision made by the CSC Executive at its meeting of November 14th 2012 to move the Science Fiction Society from Room 6.31 to Arch 6, Goldsmith Hall be revoked.’ It was proposed by Sam Heavey of the society, and seconded by David Cullinan, Treasurer of the Film Soci-

Sci-Fi Treasuer Sam Heavey proposed the motion to revoke his society’s removal from their room in House 6.

However, the CSC’s constitution allows that ‘Decisions of the Executive may be reversed by a simple majority of those present, eligible to vote… at a General Meeting of the Committee.’

Sci-Fi members are hopeful that the resolution to relocate Sci-Fi will be rescinded at the EGM, which will take place this Wednesday at 5pm in the J.M. Synge Theatre.

ety.

Furthermore, The University Times has learned that a meeting was held on Thursday 6th of December between Sci-Fi Society, Dean of Students Amanda Piesse, and the head of the College Disability Service Declan Treanor. At this meeting, Dr. Piesse, while affi rming her neutrality, expressed her concerns as to the transparency involved in the

formation of the original decision. Mr. Treanor further questioned the decision on grounds relating to his own area of competency. He expressed his concerns that the Gamers room, if shared with a large and boisterous group, would no longer be a place that his service could recommend for students with autism.

CSC Chairperson Cian McCarthy did not attend the meeting as his email address was apparently copied incorrectly on the follow-up email from the office of the Dean of Students confi rming arrangements for the meeting.

Secretary of the CSC, David Doyle, has said that a second motion for the SciFi society ‘to create and submit a proposal for the moving of no fewer than two (2) other societies in to room 31 House 6’ was also put forward for the agenda but rejected. The motion called for the society itself to ‘create and submit a proposal for the moving proposal for the

TIMESFEATURES

TIMESOPINION

TIMESSPORTS

Molly Hamilton looks at the rise of ‘Renegade Ents’, a movement seeking to target those uninspired by the Students’ Union entertainment arm.

Tom Myatt and Samuel Riggs go head-to-head on whether Gaelge is a dead language

Jack Leahy reports the Ladies Rugby team’s clinching of the inaugural Bowen trophy.

Eoghan O’Sullivan argues that Christmas spirit still exists, albeit in a more mature form.

Arthur O’Dea assesses the enigma that is Roy Keane and finds some striking similarities between the Corkman’s playing and managerial fortunes.

Hubie Pilkington continues his discovery of the finer things in student living, casting his eye on exotic tea.

theatre meets world class tutoring

moving of no fewer than two (2) other societies in to room 31 House 6.’

It was excluded from the schedule on the grounds that it does not comply with the Constitution of the CSC; as section 8.6 of the document states, ‘Any and all motions tabled… shall not require of the Committee the exercise of powers outside of those Powers stipulated within this Constitution.’

Doyle said that ‘the excluded submission requires the Science Fiction society act as representative of societies’, contrary to section 2.1 of the Constitution, which assigns exclusively to the CSC the primary object of acting as the ‘sole representative within the University of Dublin’ of all recognised University Societies.

Continued on page 2

Shona McGarry, The Gem in the Crown, page 8

“Simply lock-

ing your bicycle is no longer good enough Colm O’Donnell, Locked on: Protecting your Bicycle, page 6

Tommy Gavin, Untangling the Deep Web, The University Times Magazine

The University Times

Magazine

D. Joyce-Ahearne takes to the streets of Dublin to learn to learn the ins-and-outs of prostitution in the city by speaking to a woman five weeks on the game, one week after giving birth.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 | The University Times

2

UTNEWS Whats happening on campus?

A week in the life of Trinity’s Twitterati Sean Byrne

PresWatch

Owen Bennett

Shona McGarry

@seanb12345

@PresWatch1

@ bennetto90

Societies Editor

Pints tonight, time to count the pennies #budgetaftermath

As the sun rises on another day in TCD, our leader farts and rolls over.

Should be in the office circa 10.30. He’s on the clock from 9. #Key

They’re playing Taylor Swift’s new song in the gym. After making that piece of trash, she’s officially off the list of girls I want to marry.

LIT SOC are keeping busy as the last week of term rolls around.

Last week saw the launch of their bi-annual journal The Attic, and tonight the last Speakeasy of the year will take place. Last week, Knit Soc got in on the action with Kniterature, an event that combined knitting with live readings. This week sees societies winding down for the holidays, as the Classical and Archaeological societies amalgamate for their annual Christmas Party this Wednesday evening in the Greek restaurant Corfu, while DU History prefer a bit of Christmas debauchery with their ‘now infamous’ Christmas Pub Crawl on Tuesday. Last week the Historical Society celebrated their Hist-mas Party with a debate followed by some mulled wine.

THE BIG event of last week was, of course, the Trinity Fringe Festival, with DU Comedy, DU Players, and some supporting societies. The opening act was the 24-hour Musical, ‘A Puppet Christmas Tale’, featuring dance moves, lines, and harmonies learnt within two days, and a particularly camp Scrooge, not to mention a surreal set that perfectly evoked the spirit(s) of Christmas. The comedy acts kicked off on Monday with Abandoman, who impressed the audience with his improvisational skills, with one song seeing everyone empty out their pockets in search of something for him to rap about. Audience members found it “mostly successful and definitely enjoyable.” Jarlath Regan offered his, as one viewer had it, “accessible socialcommentary-comedy rooted in Dublin’s culture clash with the rest of Ireland.” Anecdotes about everything from a Facebook confrontation with a taxi driver who could ‘have him killed’, to the sleep-deprived grumblings of the new father and husband made the show a worthwhile experience.

TUESDAY SAW Aisling Bea’s ludicrous routine arrive in Players, before the hilarious Jonny and the Baptists took to the stage with their particular brand of comedy blues songs. Their friendly attitude won the audience over instantly, as they performed hilarious songs that perfectly satirised English society and politics, including a number called Upper Middle Class Gangster Children, and an odd one about Quentin Blake coming up the stairs. Things continued in the same whacky strain on Wednesday with a free Frank Turner gig, followed by the all-new lineup of Trinity’s own Improve, She Wrote stunning the audience with their lightning-quick gags. Meanwhile, in Christchurch Cathedral, Trinity Orchestra performed Shostakovich, Beethoven, and Copland for their Michaelmas Concert.

The Phil debate on Thursday evening was chaired by none other than the Rubberbandits, as Players and the Phil battled it out in the motion: ‘This House regrets the rise of reality television,” while actor Liam Cunningham spoke in the Players Theatre.

FINALLY, THE festivities were wrapped up in the cold on Friday as the Trinitones, Trinity’s male a capella group, gave their last unique performance of the year in the Parlour, before Fish Soc and DU Food and Drink presented a wholly unique take on the feeding of the 5000 in 6 Strings, 5 Loaves, 4 Grapes, 3 Acts, 2 Fish, and 1 Needy Urchin. Needless to say it was an indescribable experience of music, food, and general Fishiness.

Players and the Phil put the ‘grot’ in Santa’s Grotto, but that didn’t stop the festive spirit from shining through in ‘Mrs Claus’ and a one-eared elf, while Santa gave out stale marshmallow.

It wasn’t the Santa’s Grotto of anyone’s childhood, that’s for sure. Proceedings closed with a bit of No Pants Thursday performing their inimitable sketch routine, and the Mind Heist of magician and mentalist Shane Gillen. Having previously entertained the likes of Kelsey Grammer and Denzel Washington, it was the perfect way to conclude a hugely successful week of Fringe festivities.

Additional reporting by Conor Clancy and Grace Nuttall

The University Times

This newspaper is produced with the financial support of Trinity College Students’ Union. It is editorially independent and claims no special rights or privileges.

Credits EDITOR Owen Bennett DEPUTY EDITOR Leanna Byrne NEWS EDITOR Jack Leahy FEATURES EDITOR Colm O”Donnell OPINION EDITOR Matthew Taylor SPORTS EDITOR Conor Bates DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR Fionn O’Dea DEPUTY FEATURES EDITOR Molly Rowan Hamilton DEPUTY OPINION EDITOR Conor Murphy PHOTO EDITOR Cat O’Shea Magazine Editor Tommy Gavin Magazine Deputy Editor Michelle O’Connor MUSIC EDITOR Eoin Hennessy FILM EDITOR Robert O’Reilly CULTURE EDITOR Maria Giulia Agostini FASHION EDITOR Aoife Considine CREATIVE DIRECTORS Caelan Rush & Rob Boland WEB EDITOR Josh Roberts

Emma Toby

Conor Cadden

Cian McCarthy @cianfmccarthy

@emztoby

@ConorCadden1

Dear Med students. You have your own library.

Several in fact. Go study there. Sincerely, student who wasted 20 minutes trying to find a seat.

Holy shit, I just contacted an office in Trinity to get a letter and they did it immediately with no hassle.

WTF is going on?

Package arrived in the post from home. 16 pairs of clean socks. #mammyknows

Students take budget hit Fionn O’Dea Deputy News Editor THE GOVERNMENT budget for the upcoming year, the country’s sixth successive austerity budget, was announced last Wednesday with the anticipated hike in the Student Contribution Charge realised. Students entering third-level education next year will be required to contribute €2,500, and increase of €250, in line with the Government’s commitment to increase this charge to €3,000 in increments by 2015. The grant applications of 8,000 students, meanwhile, could potentially be affected by the cut to the qualifying income threshold for the maintenance grant of 3%.

Despite the predicted fallout from the public following the announcement, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan took a cautiously optimistic tone in his opening remarks to An Ceann Comhairle. ‘The economy grew last year and will grow again this year and next year. There are manifest signs that the country is emerging from the worst of the crisis and that the efforts of the Irish people, despite the hardship, are leading to success.’

These words however will be of little consolation to those affected by a budget that will have serious impact on a broad range of people in the state. The introduction of a property

tax and a reduction in child benefit were among expected measures, as were tax increases on alcohol and cigarettes. A cut to the respite grant provided for carers, meanwhile, provoked a protest by 250 people outside Leinster House on Friday.

Reacting the The University Times’ online coverage of the budget, one student had this to say: ‘I lost my job weeks after the Lehman Bros. fiasco. I took a long view and returned to education Luckily my wife is a moderately well-paid civil servant. [T]hat didn’t last long. Pension levies, pay cuts, raised bin charges, higher registration fees, higher road tax, myhome tax are just a sample of the additional costs we faced before this budget. That moderately decent pay now looks paltry in the face of our new cost of living which has a continually descending standard.’

The budget announcement came soon after 15,000 people marched against austerity through the streets of Dublin, and follows the USI’s ‘Fed Up? Stand Up’ campaign that asked students to pressurise their local TDs in the run-up to budget day. The campaign may be viewed as largely ineffectual, having failed to achieve the improbable task of overturning prior commitments to increase the Student Contribution Fund.

Continued from page 1

for the societies’ needs to be accommodated for, while remaining in their respective rooms.’

Sam Heavey, Sci-Fi treasurer and the proposer of the motion to revoke the decision, spoke to condemn what he called ‘a lack of responsibility’ on behalf of the CSC: ‘Further to our own investigation as to our being moved to the arches, I emailed Karl Flynn, the fire safety officer, of the college.

I asked about having bookcases and books in the corridor outside the new room.

The bookcases in the corridor were an idea put forward by the CSC when we stated there would be no room to keep all our books. Karl informed me that this was indeed a fire hazard. I emailed again just to be 100%, and he said it wasn’t happening.

‘The decision to move two societies in together was not planned out correctly. They did not check the bookcase situation before moving us, and [the CSC] did not consider the damage it would do to the Gamer society and its members.’

Speaking to The University Times, DU Film Society Treasurer David Cullinan offered a statement on behalf of the society. The society affirmed Sci-Fi’s presentation of ‘fair and balanced alternatives’ to the initial decision and the society’s contribution to the atmosphere in House 6: ‘We understand the

Moreover, ‘the allocation and maintenance of University Society rooms and facilities’ is listed in the Constitution as the responsibility of the Amenities Officer of the CSC, a position currently held by Laura Greene; thus the Committee in itself does not possess any authority over the movement of societies between rooms.

Doyle further articulated that the rejected motion ‘is predicated upon the false assumption of possession of College space… The College space which any society that has access to a room uses, is NOT (sic) space given by College to the societies but is College space given over to the CSC to be allocated as the CSC sees fit for the furtherance of the constitutional aims of the CSC. (There are some exceptions in relation to College space; the Phil and the Hist are the most obvious).

‘The space that Sci-Fi has currently allocated to it is NOT Sci-Fi’s space, it is CSC space currently occupied by Sci-Fi at CSC’s decision.’

Doyle had previously told The University Times that the move is ‘part of a larger movement of all societies.

This was the decision that the exec felt was best for societies in general.’ However, Greene’s report for the December 12th EGM describes extensive efforts to ensure that changes in room usage in the Atrium ‘have allowed

Protests outside the Dáil following the announcement of the budget.

Following last week’s announcement, a USI spokesperson commented that ‘the Government has targeted those who cannot afford to be squeezed any further.

Coming after the debacle with the SUSI system, which has left thousands of students waiting on vital assistance, this is a cruel and unnecessary blow.’

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD, who was confronted by USI President John Logue at a

recent public meeting on the cost of education, stated that the budget was not the budget his party, Labour, wanted but ‘certainly not the budget Fine Gael wanted either.’ Logue himself commented that the budget is ‘a bitter blow to families who are struggling to get their children through college. Labour’s betrayal of students on this front is disgraceful.’

The USI’s anger at the

reasoning of the CSC in this matter, however we supported Sci Fi in their action to revoke the decision out of the belief that, while the use of space in 6.31 needs to be rethought, Sci Fi’s total eviction is not necessary to this process and a more mutually beneficial solution could have been reached through consultation and discussion with representatives from the affected societies.

‘Sci Fi have presented a number of fair and balanced alternatives since the CSC made their decision, which we think could better cater to the existing need for a reallocation of space and which we strongly believe should be entertained before a final course of action is reached.

‘Sci Fi contributes greatly to the House 6 atmosphere that constitutes a hugely important facet of many people’s college experience so, as well as a desire for transparency and fairness in matters such as these, we affirm that their removal from the building would be to the detriment of the whole of House 6, one of college’s most active student spaces.’

SU may hold gender identity referendum Elizabeth Brauders News Staff AT THIS week’s meeting of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union’s governing Council, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bisexual Rights Officer Eoin Silke will propose a referendum to pursue an amendment to the Student Union constitution that would formalize the Union’s opposition to discrimination against its members on the basis of

Labour Party reflects a preelection commitment by current Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn not to increase student fees should Labour, the junior party in the current coalition, succeed at the polls. Labour have also borne the brunt of TCDSU’s anger of late; the SU’s recent campaign targeted Labour Party TD Kevin Humphreys, a man who has, according to SU President Rory Dunne, ‘left his

Photo: Jack Leahy

Silke is proposing the addition of the words ‘gender identity, gender expression’ after ‘sexual orientation.’

The motion is expected to pass and will call a referendum to formalize the SU’s position on transgender rights, with the wider aim of eliminating discrimination.

The motion, asserts that ‘codifying the Union’s position against discrimination is an important first step in eliminating it’ and calls for a referendum be

SU LGBTRO is set to propose the gender identity recognition motion at SU Council on Tuesday night.

gender identity or expression.

The proposed amendment would insert terms into the constitution to include explicit protection for its transgender members.

At present, the constitution states that one of its aims is ‘To develop and maintain relations with other students’ unions, and the general public. These objectives shall be pursued without discrimination based on nationality, age, parentage, race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, creed or political group’.

held alongside the next sabbatical elections (February 2013), to amend section 1.3 of the Constitution to insert the words ‘gender identity, gender expression’ after the words ‘sexual orientation’.

If passed, this change to the constitution will require a referendum to be held in February, at the same time as the election of the sabbatical officers. The procedures for running referenda are already set the SU constitution: the Yes and No campaigns each nominate a manager and both are funded by the SU to run

principles at the door of the Dáil’.

Of rather less grave concern for students, meanwhile, will be an increase in the cost of pre-drinking incurred by some due to the across the board €1 hike in the price of a bottle of wine.

Hipsters will also feel a pinch in the coming weeks, with the price of a 25 gram bag of tobacco set to rise by 50 cent.

campaigns during the same period as the sabbatical officer candidates. If students vote to approve this amendment, it will henceforth appear as part of the SU constitution.

If the motion to call a referendum is successful, students will be balloted on a constitutional amendment for the second time this year after a referendum to disaffiliate from the Union of Students in Ireland was defeated in October.

There is no quorum for such referenda outlined in the SU constitution, though up to 4,000 students are expected to vote in the sabbatical officer elections taking place at the same time and most students who vote in one will likely vote in the other.

Speaking at the 30th Anniversary of Trinity’s LGBT society, Q-soc, the auditor, Joel McKeever, stated, “I was told once that the rule of thumb for trans rights is that they’re twenty years behind gay rights. I believe this is true… Just as so many helped to get us to the thriving point we are at now, it is our responsibility as a community, as empathetic people to offer the same support to anyone who wants to live as a gender variant to that assigned to them at birth.”

3

The University Times | December 11, 2011

UTNEWS

Peter McVerry visits Theological Society Jack Leahy News Editor ON MONDAY 26th November, TCD Theological Society played host to one of Ireland’s most high-profile homelessness volunteers in Fr. Peter McVerry SJ. Delivering a talk entitled ‘A Religious Life Combating Homelessness’, Fr. McVerry provided intimate evidence of his reputation as the benevolent voice of Dublin’s voiceless and vulnerable.

Speaking to a moderate but engaged audience in the chamber of the Graduates Memorial Building (GMB), McVerry detailed at length the characters and situations with which his organisations have dealt since he first opened a hostel for homeless boys in the inner city in 1979.

Most people conscious of Fr. McVerry and his organisation recognise his name from the media; indeed, he has a reputation for being reliable for a soundbite as an authority on social housing and youth crime issues.

Few who know him well will have expected an address with a deeply religious message; indeed, McVerry spoke with the air of someone who, while religious, derives his impetus from a sense of social responsibility that transcends religious doctrine.

The GMB rarely offers a humble setting, but the stripped-down surroundings engendered by the Theological Society in recent

Monday evening events in the chamber and their Bram Stoker Room seem a snug fit for the humble Jesuit priest.

The whole event was in stark contrast to the type of events traditionally witnessed in the chamber. Debates hosted by the Phil and the Hist are excellent events in their own right, but there was something distinctly different about the way in which the audience engaged with the speaker in a more intimate setting.

The streets of Dublin, to most of those present, are somewhat of an unknown quantity. We all know from visual evidence that there are large numbers of homeless people in the city, but these are the kind of facts that are routinely elided from our daily experience.

McVerry challenged the audience to engage with the homeless in the manner that they value the most: not with donations, but by treating them as people, worthy of your respect.

Respect is a core tenet of Fr. McVerry’s organisational ethos. The accommodation they provide for their residents is of a higher standard than most would expect. Why? ‘By providing someone with a nice place to stay, we tell them that “this is what you deserve.

You have to be safe, secure and comfortable to feel valued. If you’re worrying about your safety, your possessions, and whether or not you’re going to survive the

night then that’s very hard to achieve.

The event is typical of what the society has managed to achieve this year, taking a huge stride out of the shadows of its betterknown fellow GMB societies and establishing a space and a tradition of its own. Fr. McVerry is by no means an internationally-renowned name, but he caters perfectly for the society’s purpose.

Between himself and a visit earlier this year from American political scientist Norman Finkelstein, Theo have hosted two of the most relevant guests to their members’ interests.

Fr. McVerry began his priestly ministry in the inner city of Dublin in 1974. At this time he came into contact with young people who were sleeping on the streets because of the inadequacy of their home situation.

In 1979 he opened a hostel for homeless boys, aged 1216, from the inner city. He is still a member of the Board of Management of this hostel. It is now fully funded by the Health Board. It was as a result of his experiences with boys leaving this hostel at 16 or 17 years of age and having nowhere to go, except back to the streets, that Peter McVerry set about providing services and accommodation for this older age group.

Since early 1990s, the Health Boards have been given statutory responsibility for the under 18 age group

Fr. Peter McVerry spole of a religious life combatting homelessnes which means that services have improved and, while still far from perfect, most homeless young people in this age group are reasonably well catered for. However a shortage of appropriate

accommodation and services for the over 18s, who have no legal right to any accommodation, has created a crisis for this age group, who if they are not helped and supported at an early stage,

become much more difficult to help. It is the 18-25 age group that is now the primary focus of Peter’s time and attention.

In 2005, Peter’s operations were re-named The

Photo: Jack Leahy Peter McVerry Trust. The Trust now provides two hostels for the under 18 age group, three hostels for the over 18 age group, one drug detox house and two aftercare houses. Each house or

hostel caters for 6 or 7 people at a time. The Trust also provides twenty apartments to those seeking to return to a normal lifestyle, while still receiving support from The Trust.

Shock as man killed on Trinity’s doorstep Colm O’Donnell Features Editor

The Halls Clever Cuisine deal is modelled on one unveied in UCD earlier in the year.

JCR Halls set for Clever Cuisine launch Una Kelly Online News Editor

A DAILY diet of beans on toast and chicken fillet rolls may become a thing of the past as Trinity College Dublin Students Union and the student committee of the JCR Halls accommodation facility team up to launch Clever Cuisine Trinity. The scheme will provide four healthy and sizeable meals a week for students for €10.

The initiative, which is to begin after the Christmas break, will work together with wholesalers M&K Meats Ltd to provide weekly packs of four easy to cook meals made from fresh meat, potatoes and vegetables. Students can order the packages online for up to four weeks at once and the website - CleverCuisine.ie will feature recipies specific to the meals provided as well as food-handling advice.

The packages will consist of fresh ingredients and recipes for four meals, and will be delivered en masse once a week to Trinity Halls for those students who order online before the Friday evening deadline. Students will then print out the receipts and collect them in person at the pre-arranged time.

First launched in UCD over the summer, the idea sprang from a UCD Students’ Union survey of 500 UCD students, in which 81% said that they had skipped meals over the previous month in order to afford unavoidable college costs. The survey also found that students were moving away from home-cooked, nutritious meals towards unhealthy, cheaper junk food.

The scheme is being organised in Trinity by Jack Leahy, SU Finance and Services Officer, David Henry,

Michael Bermingham, owner of M&K Meats Ltd, was facilitated by UCDSU welfare officer Michéal Gallagher.

Bermingham has been invited by Leahy to address members of SU Council this evening to detail the intricacies of the scheme.

Onwards from its launch, the scheme will be managed by the JCR Halls committee.

The company are flexible and willing to accommodate particular dietary requirements based on allergy and religious beliefs.

The intersection of Dawson street and Nassau street.

Ciarán Nolan, a thirdyear student of Business, Economics, and Social Studies (BESS) was one of a number of Trinity students who were in the immediate surroundings of the incident when it occurred. He spoke to The University Times about his experience of the incident: ‘Myself and friends were sitting for coffee in Insomnia when we heard the commotion outside with fire engines, ambulances and guards etc all outside. The

Trinity economic forum 2013 officially launched

JCR President David Henry: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for the students in Trinity Hall’.

JCR Halls President, Tiarnan McCaughan, JCR Vice President and Treasurer, and Rosa Langhammer, SU Student Finances Committee member. Deliveries will only be made to Trinity Hall because the Students’ Union does not have the necessary facilities to store large amounts of food.

Non-residents will still be able to avail of the deal and non-students can do so for a higher price of €12. Of the extra €2 paid, €1 of that will go towards funding the JCR committee’s activities.

The initial meeting with

By now most of you are probably aware of the accident in which a man was struck by a Dublin Bus after he was pushed or fell onto the road following an altercation with two other people, both of whom fled the scene following the incident. The incident occurred on Thursday evening at around 5.45pm at the junction of Nassau street and Dawson street. The entire area was cordoned off as the Gardai conducted a full forensic examination of the scene. Traffic diversions were in place until Friday morning and the Trinity Nassau Street entrance was closed for several hours while the Gardai examined the scene.

The man was identified following the release of a detailed description of him,

but his identity will not be released until his relatives have been formally notified.

He died having been decapitated by a number 145 bus en route from Kilmacanogue to Heuston Station. The driver is said to be extremely upset.

At the time of print, the latest update in the Gardai’s investigation into the tragedy is that a man in his 20’s who was arrested and detained at Pearse street Garda station on Friday under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 has been charged in connection with the death of the victim. He was due to appear at court number one at the criminal courts of justice on Parkgate street yesterday at 10:30am.

Gardai are still appealing for anyone who witnessed the event to come forward and help their investigation and you can do so by phoning Pearse Street Garda station on 01-666-900.

Speaking to The University Times, JCR Halls President David Henry praised what he sees as a ‘fantastic opportunity’ for the students that he represents: ‘“This is a fantastic opportunity for the students in Trinity Hall to eat good quality food at a seriously cheap and affordable price. I cannot wait for Hall residence to start getting the packs, this is a game changer in Trinity Hall and for the JCR, nothing like this has been done before and I believe it will be a huge success.”

Owen Bennett Editor ON MONDAY last, the 2013 Trinity Economic Forum was officially launched. TEF 2013 follows on from the inaugural forum last February, in which students from around the country converged on Trinity for a series of workshops and guest lectures from notable figures in the field of economics.

Speaking at the launch of TEF 2013, program coordinators Seán Gill and Gary Finnerty said they hoped to

“encourage student participation in the policy making process, open discourse on a national level and share with students the knowledge, insight and expertise of professionals.”

The 2013 forum will follow a similar format to last year’s event, with student focused workshops on the issues currently dominating economic discourse in an Irish context. The workshops, facilitated by PricewaterhouseCoopers, will focus on such issues as the viability of property taxes, the

provision of health insurance and the allocation of spending within the education sector.

scene was a bit crazy, really chaotic I think the guards were shocked at the scene themselves and naturally it took a few minutes to get everything under control.

‘Everyone around was visibly upset and the street was really like a scene from a horrible horror movie, something you would never actually expect to see acted out in real life in the day time. I suppose like everyone else, myself and friends felt quite traumatised by the whole thing, it was a

horrible thing to have to see and to see so many adults and especially children in such shocked states.

‘Literally a few minutes later Trinity security came outside and ushered many people in off the street, it was like something from Titanic trying to get into the grounds before the gates were closed.’

speakers we secured last year and really appeal to all those with an interest in rethinking economics.”

He went on to say that President Michael D. Higgins keynote address to the forum last year, in which he urged students to question the failed assumptions and have the courage to consider bold new strategies, would be the defining characteristic of TEF 2013.

“We’ve been working really hard over the past few weeks to secure the guests who can help us take TEF 2013 to the next level. We have

The coordinators were quick to stress the networking opportunities for students present by TEF, with Finnerty commenting that many of last year’s student delegates had gone on to secure places on internship programs with the chief sponsor of the event PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Ticket prices for Trinity Economic Forum 2013 start from €10 and are available from trinityeconomicforum.ie. The full compliment of guest speakers and workshop topics will be announced in the coming weeks.

A special TEF 2013 will accompany the January edition of The University Times.

Gill: “Hopefully we can provide speakers and workshops that cater for every preference”

Speaking to this reporter, Gill said that while the coordinators were still working on confirming the full set of speakers for the forum, he was “very confident that we can build on the fantastic

Photo: Jack Leahy

some interesting speakers from across the economic field and hopefully we can provide speakers and workshops that cater for every preference”.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 | The University Times

4

UTNEWS

An Cumann Gaelach holds policy think-in Fionn O’Dea Deputy News Editor CUMANN GAELACH TCD hosted an open forum last Tuesday in Trinity’s Robert Emmett theatre ahead of the deadline for submissions for college’s Second Language Scheme. The scheme falls under the remit of the Official Languages Act 2003 and “will set out a range of commitments to enhance bilingual services in the years 2013-2016.” College’s Oifig na Gaeilge claims that the scheme will “build upon the commitments made in the fi rst scheme [covering] 20102012.”

The open forum, hosted instead of the society’s weekly Ciorcal Comhrá, was attended by a crowd of about 30 and consisted fi rst of a speech by Aonghus Dwayne, Trinity’s Oifigeach na Gaeilge, and then of a lively debate and discussion related to Irish language services on campus.

Opening proceedings, Dwayne explained what has been achieved under the current scheme, stating that almost everything planned for has been implemented, with more still to be implemented before the end of the year. He said that it was now a “basic right” in Trinity to receive a reply in Irish to a letters and emails written

in Irish. Before issuing an open invitation for submissions, Dwayne stressed other strides made of late regarding the Irish language on campus.

New Trinity College Secretary John Coman, who spoke earlier this year at the launch of Seomra na Gaeilge, is a fluent Irish speaker, while many Trinity resources such as the online pages for the Provost’s and Treasurer’s Offices are now available bilingually. Irish language tours of the Book of Kells are also now available with prior booking.

Dwayne stressed that soon students will be able to conduct business at the Berkely Library desk through the medium of Irish between the hours of 09:00 and 15:30, and stressed that it was up to Trinity’s Irish language community to make use of the service to show that the demand is there.

Suggestions made at the forum were broad and varied, and centred largely on increasing the visibility of Irish on campus. Some students expressed concern over the lack of permanence surrounding college’s Scéim Chónaithe; living quarters on campus for Irish speakers. The Scéim was moved and decreased in size this

year. Other students criticised lack of bilingual signage in certain areas with the suggestion made that at times, those who put up signage may be unaware of the requirement of them to include Irish alongside English.

Other suggestions of note included recommendations for campus’s new Seomra Na Gaeilge, as well as a peer mentoring system amidst Irish speakers in college.

Recommendations made at the forum will be included in the Cumann Gaelach’s own submission for the forthcoming scheme.

Cumann Gaelach Reachtaire Andrew King said that the forum was “a fantastic opportunity for students who speak and communicate in Irish on a daily basis to have their say, and impact on college policy. I can’t stress enough how important it is that the senior college authorities and policy makers listen to those voices that know the realities of speaking Irish on the ground every day.”

Students who wish to make a submission for Trinity’s Second Language Scheme may contact Oifig na Gaeilge at gaeloifig@tcd. ie. The fi nal date for receipt of representations is 5pm on December 31st 2012.

Coursehub.ie wins TES Dragon’s Den competition Ronan Mc Guire News Staff THE TRINITY Entrepreneurial Society Tata Dragon’s Den competition was held on Tuesday 4th December and awarded Coursehub.ie, a resource that helps second-level students with College choices, the grand prize of €1,350. The format consisted of three separate semi-fi nals, held earlier that day, to whittle twenty entries down to just six. Th is six then presented for four minutes in the Thomas Davis Theatre, with three minutes after the pitch to answer the judges’ questions.

The fi nalists were announced at 7pm, as the auditorium fi lled up with supporters and observers alike.

The six teams that made the fi nal were ‘Rad’, Coursehub. ie’, ‘50/50’, ‘Useby’, ‘Arbo’ and ‘J1 Accommodation’.

The independent panel of judges included Nicola Byrne of 11890, Martin Byrne from Tata Consultancy Services, Mairead Brady of the TCD Business School and Peter Sheridan from Enterprise Ireland. Christine Carty was also in attendance representing Tata.

Conor McGinn from ‘Rad’ opened up the evening. He unveiled his design for a robotic wheelchair aimed at the hospital market initially, with other applications in the pipeline. He is targeting the 10% of nurses’ time that is spent on transporting patients.

Next was ‘CourseHub.ie’, an impressive entry from final year BESS student Georgie Smithwick. Coursehub. ie’is aimed at Leaving Certificate level students looking for information on prospective colleges. Th is information comes from current university students in the form of specific course reviews, of which it already has 12,000.

Smit ‘J1 Accommodation’, founded by Conor Dolan.

It is an online accommodation broker for European students spending their summer in the US, aiming to capture some of this elusive market. Horse Racing Society auditor Jack Cantillon then followed with a confident pitch, describing his website ‘50/50’ as a “charitable Groupon”. The idea is to allow the consumer, charities and the shops to benefit from transactions, using charity-tax allowances. The Enactus TCD social enterprise initiative has already taken ‘50/50’ on board.

Second to last was Andrew Nagle, who wants to save the 1/3 of food that is wasted by Irish consumers.

His idea, ‘Useby’, is an app that reminds you when your food is reaching its sell-by date. As promised, Nicola Byrne wasn’t afraid get stuck into the nitty gritty details, and grilled Andrew on his research.

With €3,000 cash prizethe largest of any society prize in college this year, the heat was on from the get go.

Th is is the fourth year Tata

Consultancy Services have sponsored TES. They ‘have a great relationship’ according to TES secretary Colm Moore. Colm also remarked on the high standard, and that there was ‘a really diverse range of entries this year’.

Speaking to The University Times following her victory in the competition, winning competitor Smithwick said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted as the standard was so high that I didn’t expect [to win].

It’s a brilliant event because it encourages initiative and brings students with ideas together. Young people need as much support as possible when starting up so I think TES are great to sponsor it.’

‘Arbo’ completed the lineup with a humorous presentation on the serious issue of smoking and the associated health issues. Neil Fitzpatrick, Cat Bergin, Adam Hughes, and Ciarán Traynor are marketing their app idea as a personal coach that helps smokers become smoke-free through positive reinforcement.

Before the judges announced the results, Alex Mann, a recent BESS graduate, spoke of his experience in New York setting up his startup app company -‘rzerv’.

When the judges returned, the top prize of €1,350 was awarded to ‘Coursehub.ie’, 2nd place to ‘Rad’, 3rd place to ‘50/50’, and 4th place to ‘Useby’.

Taking a moment to paws: John McLean and Trinny united again

Photo: Owen Bennett

Crisis averted as Trinity Cat returns Shauna Cleary News Staff TRINNY, THE Trinity Cat has been reunited with his owner John McLean following his two day disappearance. Last spotted around campus on Wednesday at 8pm, the news concerning Trinny’s whereabouts sparked a campus-wide search involving students, security guards and staff.

Speaking to a student source, Mr. McLean reported Trinny as being “extremely nervous” both

before and after his disappearance. Often found trapped in the staircase of Berkeley Library, security guards were sent to search the area before concluding the cat was nowhere to be found.

With many conspiracy theories floating around campus as to his whereabouts – UT clawing for headlines, UCD ransom claims, exam procatstination, catnip overdose – Trinny was reportedly spotted by a student who was quick to spread the good

news about the beloved animal’s return, posting a photo of what appeared to Trinny reclining in his wooden cat house to Facebook and Twitter. However, the pawty was short lived as John had yet to lay eyes upon his four-legged friend and Operation #FindTrinny was still ongoing. The following day, University Times’ News Editor, Jack Leahy recalls “Myself and Colm [O’ Donnell, Features Editor] went out to look for him on Friday and fed him turkey.” Asked if this was indeed Trinny,

Leahy commented “It was…

Well probably… Only John knows.”

John and Trinny were finally reunited on Saturday morning and the pair were spotted cat-ching up outside the Arts Block.

Trinny shot to campus fame in 2011 during the College authorities’ re-scheduling of exam timetables.

Gaining access to undergraduate mailing lists under the email address ‘trinity. cat@tcd.ie,’ Trinny pleaded with college staff for a revision of the decision with the

simple message: “CAN WE HAS OLDD TIMETABLE PLZKTNX.” Speaking to The University Times, Trinny apawlogised for his absence and said that he was happy to be back with John. Refusing to respond to allegations about an alleged affair with Kim, the cat of Trinity Hall, Trinny sufficed to say that he would not be va-cat-ioning again anytime soon.

Curiosity may kill the proverbial cat but Trinny is an exception to the rule.

Seven lives remain…

Happy Christmas

to all Trinity students and staff

From all at Bank of Ireland your on campus bank

doh000668 - Trinity Christmas advert.indd 1

04/12/2012 12:39

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 | The University Times

6

UTFEATURES

Locked on: Protecting your bicycle Bicycle theft remains a persistent problem both within Trinity and the surrounding areas. Colm O’Donnell offers a few useful tips to avoid it happening to you.

Colm O’Donnell Features Editor

I

N A TIME of financial worry for many students, the last thing they need to happen to them is the theft of some of their most precious possessions, which, oftentimes, are their bicycles.. This sadly has been real concern for many people who take risks every day when they park up their bike on campus or when they wander around the library looking for books. I’ll be taking a look at how the situation has developed into an epidemic in recent times and what cheap, effective preventative measures students can take to ensure it doesn’t happen to them.

The phenomenon of bicycle theft is nothing new. My mother is very fond of telling the story of when she was training to be a nurse in Dublin in the mid 80’s and she stopped in a church on her way home. Being somewhat naive at the time she left her bicycle in the porch of the church as she went in for a quick prayer and was utterly dismayed to find it missing when she

went to leave. Now, times have changed from those more innocent days and nobody in this city would even dream of leaving a bicycle unlocked anywhere, which is in and of itself a sad statement on where we are as a society. The unfortunate truth is that crime is profitable, and bicycle theft is thriving as a result. Rumors abound of warehouses around the city where stolen bicycles are taken and resold from.

Late at night when most law abiding citizens are asleep, thieves drive around Dublin in vans and trucks, cutting locks and stealing the bicycles that are tied to gates and railings on quiet streets. The problem is that most, if not all bicycle locks can be cut

is also well lit at night. Keep an eye out for CCTV cameras too, if you have a bike parked in view of one then it’s just another in a long line of deterrents at your disposal. When parking off campus, don’t take unnecessary risks. There are many bike racks in this city, don’t park your bike somewhere out of the way, you are only looking to have it stolen. Simply locking your bike is no longer a good enough obstacle to prevent it from being stolen, you need to get creative.

But if you are going to rely on locks alone, a useful guide is to spend 10-15% of the price of the bike on locking it. Another useful tip is to never leave a commuting lock tied up somewhere you park

“It’s important to choose carefully where you park up a bike. When on campus, choose an area that is always relatively busy” through, if the thief is given the time and the tools to work with.

It is important to choose carefully where you park up a bike. When on campus, choose an area that is always relatively busy, and one that

regularly, it’s just asking for thieves to practise on while you are away and leaving them ready to pounce when you have the bike there. If you use any kind of a cable lock, make sure there is as little slack in it as possible.

Photo: Freya Foster One final piece of advice I’ll give is to spend an extra 2030 seconds making the lock as difficult to get to as possible, if it’s a pain for you to open with the keys, it will be worse for someone trying to steal it, if they’re going to get you, make sure they have to work for it!

One of the bigger problems is that once a bicycle is taken, unless you can prove ownership, it is almost impossible to recover. When I spoke to someone who recently had his bike stolen from outside his house he told me that he “wasn’t even surprised at it being stolen, just resigned

to it almost instantly, I was in a police station later that week and there was no point in even reporting it, I’ll never see it again”. A friend

generally look for nondescript, plainer ones. So one preventative measure is to take a trip to your local hardware store, buy a small pot of

“If you are going to rely on locks alone, a useful guide is to spend 10-15% of the price of the bike on the lock you use for it” who spent last year on Erasmus in the Netherlands told me that many bicycles are hand painted in distinctive designs and colors, to act as a preventative measure to thieves, who would

paint and a brush and make your bike the cutest polka dot bike in the city! Another, slightly more serious approach is to get a security tag for your bike. They come in a variety of types but are

usually bright and visible with a unique code on them that is registered to the website of the company you buy them from. These are almost impossible to tamper with and come at a reasonably cheap price of between 10 and 20 euro. These act as deterrents to thieves, who are usually looking for the lowest risk opportunity possible.

One of the saddest and most disturbing aspects to this growing issue is that in all probability, students are stealing from other students. It is a well known fact that many students are struggling to afford to live at

the moment and some have even been driven to selling drugs and prostitution, so why not theft.

It is also important to remain vigilant around campus, and report any suspicious looking activity to security. This combined with the preventative measures I’ve outlined above should help ensure that you don’t fall victim to a crime that is one that far too many of us students know the pain of far too well.

Laptops: Our inanimate lovers For a college student, a laptop can be one’s best friend. Leanna Byrne analyses our relationships with the glorified typewriter and the distress its loss or theft can cause.

T

HE PURCHASE OF your laptop may equate to a month worth of saving. If you’re lucky, your parents may have bought it for you. You might have even won it in a raffle. Regardless of how it’s acquired, the loss of a laptop can be more psychologically damaging than we might give credit to.

As students in our early twenties I should hope that the majority of us have moved on from carrying around our teddy bears with us. Instead our replacement is that vital piece of technology we use for virtually everything. Laptops make excellent companions in lecture halls, the library or even snuggled up in bed. Some laptops I see are sporting personalised stickers and designer cases. Not only that, we can store vast amounts of data in that little technological treasure chest. We rely on it to keep our photos, music, essays, movies... you get my drift. It is an accumulation of your lifespan from the point of purchase.

Despite the fact our laptop does so much for us we

treat it with very little kindness. We curse it when it’s slow, we throw it around and many of us even leave it down wherever without thinking. Our behaviour towards our laptops could not be more inconsistent.

When the day comes that we’ve been careless enough to leave our laptops open to thieves, its loss becomes a point of serious distress.

There is a diminished sense of self after a t hef t

She left her laptop in a bag with a pile of other bags.

Safety in numbers.

“I went to collect my stuff a few hours later and realised my laptop wasn’t there.

I assumed someone had picked it up by mistake so I tried not to worry too much, but soon realised my little Macbook was no more.

“I felt upset, because I was without a

anxious because I had to tell my Dad. I was annoyed at myself too because I had no password on it.”

Not only had she lost her laptop and essay, but years worth of photos and music were gone too. That amount of personal archiving is not easily resolved. Our collections that are saved on our computers are an extension of the self. Printed photographs, photo albums and CD collections are virtually non-existent in our generation. Despite this we still yearn for a bit of nostalgia. The sense of the past is central to the sense of who we are. A possession like a laptop is a very convenient way of storing mem-

and feelings that are attached with a sense of past.

This is not an unusual case. Students’ laptops are stolen all the time. The sto-

“Despite the fact that our laptop does so much for us we treat it with very little kindness. We curse it when it’s slow, we throw it around and many of us leave it down without thinking” ries and the reactions are always quite similar. A student was gutted enough about the loss of her photos, calendars and contact lists to say: “on that computer was a bunch of quirky and ob-

o r loss.

Students that were asked about their experience spoke about their “violation of personal space”.

One student had her laptop stolen in the Arts Block during Student Union sabbatical elections last year.

c om put e r, worried because I had an essay on it that was due two days later, angry because I should have been more careful and

ories

phone being taken from you – you feel lost”.

A Law student had his laptop stolen when he left his bag on the side of the

s e s s i v e things that helped me feel like I had a life and an existence”. Another student said, “it’s like your

road for a split second. “The laptop was a piece of shit, I wanted a new one but it had all my notes and everything was in it. Got notes from everyone else, not the same, I take my notes in shorthand.”

At best the experience of getting your laptop nicked is a massive inconvenience.

However, this is never really the case. The average student is now dependant on their laptop to access college resources since the computers on campus are limited. Students should be aware of the risks and take measures to protect their digital possessions.

The top tips Acquire and use both active and passive anti-theft devices such as cable locks and tracking software. Cable locks are only €1 in Euro Giant Keep records of your computer’s make, model and serial number

Always, ALWAYS back up the important files you can’t afford to lose Don’t leave your laptop unattended in plain sight If it’s expensive enough, get it insured

7

The University Times | Tuesday, December 11, 2012

UTFEATURES

Commuting, Trinity style Shelley Stafford spends roughly three hours every day commuting to college. Last week, she kept a diary of her experiences and ephiphanies during the 140 kilometre daily round-trip.

MONDAY Time spent on Bus: 220 minutes.

My whole life is a bus stop in the dark. Or so if often seems. My only comfort on a Monday morning is a late start. Well, what constitutes a late start for me. My first lecture doesn’t start until eleven, so I don’t have to drag myself out of bed until seven. In fact, it was almost bright this morning when I left the house. “Em, student, Dublin, 10 journey please?”

I mumbled as I handed over my fare to the (slightly disgruntled, but who isn’t?) bus driver. I graciously accepted my five day prison sentence and occupied my seat.

A friend of mine once compared commuting to living a “half-life.” And as the miles rolled away under my feet, and I watched children running disjointedly towards schools, and business men and women power-walking to the office in pristine suits and garishly white runners,

I knew I couldn’t possibly agree with her more. The ride home was much the same, of course, trapped in double decker purgatory for the best part of seventy kilometres. The entire world was bathed in navy and street lamp tangerine, the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre signs rising like shark fins from the swarms of traffic. Half-lives always seemed to be more mysterious, and desirable than this.

Why did you lie, Spiderman?

TUESDAY Time spent on Bus: 210 minutes.

My alarm sounded at 5:30am. I don’t think I will ever accustom to rising on the sharp end of six o’clock.

Deposited at the frosty bus shelter at exactly thirty three minutes past six, I stared blearily into the middle distance until that red setter emblazoned monstrosity pulled up. It was in that moment I realised that I was her bitch, not the other

way around. As I gazed out the window I caught my own reflection staring back, bug-eyed, bewildered and clinging to a travel mug like a deranged possum. My sole consolation is the sunrise. Clementine and pomegranate lay streaked across the horizon, a hazy dewy mist floating wondrously over endless emerald fields.

Cars strung up like fairy lights along the slip roads.

As the dawn breaks, the sky contorts itself into billowing slate clouds with seeping dusky pink fractures. In

I’m sure that even sunrises lose all their glory if you’re subject to them, day-in-dayout. I’ll soon learn, I suppose.

WEDNESDAY Time Spent on Bus: 210 minutes.

Commuting makes you bitter. Well, it makes me bitter, I can’t really speak

“I feel like I age ten years every single week. Oh, I’d protest if I wasn’t so tired. And if I didn’t have a bus to catch” the end it always falls away, leaving yet another grey grizzly day in it’s wake. Still, I think I’d rather be asleep.

for everyone else. I inadvertently scowl every-ime I hear someone moan about how it takes “twenty FIVE”

minutes to get in to college in the mornings, or whine incessantly about how incomprehensibly difficult it is to get up at a quarter past eight. I’m almost certain that commuting has warped my way of thinking.

I am now (somewhat) obsessed with traffic lights and bus lanes, I groan and reach near implosion when it’s three minutes past the hour and the bus is still vegetating in Busaras. I even view the world differently now.

As we are stationary at yet another stop in the middle of nowhere, I can’t help but notice how the trees stand stock still, rigid and stubborn, their spindly branches flayed in annoyance. I can see how the roads, like tarmac rivers, sever and

Mutha’cuppa!

Hubie Pilkington cares for only two things in life: tea and romance. Here he offers us an insight into his depth of understanding of the former.

W

ELL, THE BUDGET came in. Tuition fees have risen, the grant has been effectively cut and, most importantly, drink prices have been hiked. Overall, this means less money for us and drinks that are too expensive to drown our sorrows. But at least we know that there is one old reliable that will keep us going. A drink that will warm us after a day’s protesting, a pick me up after a long stretch in the library and a beverage that has motivated a nation over and over again during tough times – the trusty cup of tea.

Tea has been around since as early as the 8th century in China. It wasn’t until some 900 years later,

though, that it came to our part of the world when it became a drink fit for a king with Charles II obtaining some as part of his wife’s dowry. It took decades for the beverage to filter its way through (no pun intended) from the rich to the poor. As trade routes be-

a staple for Western Europeans. With its popularity came many intricacies and practices. Queen Victoria brought about the use of the silver teapot, the Duchess of Bedford established the “Afternoon Tea” or “Tea Time” and, during the Industrial Revolution, tea came to earn

“Today’s tea extends further than the regular cup of Lyons, Barrys or Bewleys.” tween the British Isles and the Orient became more routine the leaves became more available and less expensive. Over the centuries since then tea has become

its reputation for “building a nation”, with regular tea breaks proving necessary during long factory shifts.

It became a communal drink over which chat and

relaxation were inspired.

In fact, recent studies have shown that people who are assigned collective tea breaks at work are more productive. It is unsurprising then that Ireland, too, has followed in these trends and nowadays we can deem tea as a cornerstone of our culture.

But today’s tea extends further than the regular cup of Lyons, Barrys or Bewleys.

There has been a tea revival.

Whether it’s down to the rediscovered health benefits, the varieties available or the alternative/hipster statement that tea now seems to bring, tea shops across the country are making a stand.

If ever there was a metaphor needed between money

and taste this could be it.

Irish people are kicking the grande double-shot, skinny milk, frappuccino lattes associated with the affluent

snake their way through the mounds of grassy flesh.

Sometimes when I’m stuck thinking these things I have to ask myself, where and what am I being driven to?

Trinity College, or insanity?

THURSDAY Time Spent on the Bus: 200 minutes Another morning, another travel mug purse kerfuffle, ie, the method used to root your bus ticket out of your purse, whilst maintaining control of a cup of scalding hot tea and a cumbersome rucksack. It’s not elegant, but it works. Besides, it’s still pitch black outside, and the only witnesses I ever have are my fellow drowsy commuters, who are too tired and too pre-occupied with their own methods of ticket

retrieval to care. I tried to read on the way in this morning. Tried, and failed.

Half conscious in the half light I squinted at the tiny font and couldn’t ascertain whether it was in Times New Roman, Wingdings or Ancient Greek. When I put the book away I could scarcely remember even opening it.

It’s also difficult to concentrate when you’re being violently shaken every couple of minutes by bouts of ferocious sneezing – mine, as well as everyone else’s. As if free with your box of “Commuting: The No Social Life Cereal!” you receive a special shiny dose of the neverending head-cold. I swear, I’ve been ill more in the last three months than I’ve been in the past three years. I’ve

choice can be daunting. This article hopes to banish the possibly intimidating task through a brief introduction to the modern day cuppa.

Firstly there are five categories of tea: Green tea, white tea, black tea, herbal tea and fruit tea. The first three are often made from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. The difference in taste between these three tea types, then, comes down to their source and fermentation. The greater the fermentation the richer the taste. Herbal and fruit teas differ. They are not made up of actual tea leaves but, rather, are infused from various flavoursome herbs, spices, leaves and fruits. They are a representation of the intricacies and possibilities that tea possesses.

Green and white teas are the least fermented and many aren’t fermented at all.

They retain much of the natural taste of the tea leaves.

Green teas come in so many different varieties that in China, the largest producer of green teas, there are nearly more teas than towns!

Earl Grey Green combines the taste of the classic Indian black tea with that of citrus rinds. It presents a fresh taste that is coupled with a zestiness and leaves a pleasantly dry finish. Dragonwell tea is one of China’s most famous teas. Its popularity is credited to its vibrancy.

Composed of a toasty aroma as well as a full, nutty and buttery texture, it provides all of what tea has to offer.

White teas, meanwhile, are far subtler. They are made up of the best leaves from the tea plant and so are hardly processed at all.

Silver Needle is among the most revered white teas in China. With a soft and airy texture, alongside a delicate

the most popular tea in our neck of the woods and is a staple in every home. However there are other dark teas that are more adventurous. Darjeeling tea has been a common tea in the UK for a long time. It possesses quite a bite to it which runs alongside some very aromatic flavours and finished off with a touch of spice – a tea that certainly invigorates.

Herbal teas, or ‘tisanes’, meanwhile, are a blend of various herbs, spices and leaves that are infused to produce a non-caffeinated tea which is very popular due to health benefits.

They are commonly drunk as an anti-oxidant and are particularly good at shaking off a nasty hangover. One of the most popular herbal tea is peppermint tea which refreshes and warms simultaneously. For those who fancy a bit more of an exotic taste then Chocolate Honeybush tea is a great infusion.

Blended honeysuckle leaves combined with a hint of dark chocolate brings about a dry, crisp taste that is balanced with a velvety sweetness – the mocha of the tea world!

Fruit teas possess plenty of variety as a result of the many different flavours that one can make tea with.

Camomile tea has always been a favourite with its calming flavours and floral finish. However, the more exotic blends include watermelon, cinnamon and toasted almond, all presenting a refreshing version of their solid components. Fruit teas are the fantastic compliment to after dinner sweets.

Overall, tea does not just have the ability to warm and refresh but can also heal, console, invigorate, purify and relax. Its properties, depending on its components, are complex and exciting.

Each tea has a personality enabling each individual to discover a tea made for them. Undoubtedly, to find ones own tea a lot of cups must be drunk but, surely, that is all part of the process.

Whatever, the case, it is fair to say that tea has won over nations before and, once again, it is coming back to our own interests with a ferocity through its variety.

“Whatever the individual allure to tea though, there seems to be a tea for every mood or function” days for the simpler, unadulterated and cheaper alternative. Whatever the individual allure to tea though, there seems to be a tea for every mood or function be it detox or digestion, revitalization or relaxation, focus or fun.

But the problem with such a variety is that the

honeysuckle taste that provides a warming sweetness, it is hard to fault.

Black teas are the most fermented teas going. This delivers a far richer taste and gives a hearty feel to the tea.

English and Irish breakfast teas belong in this bracket of leaves. Undoubtedly, this is

been reduced from the invisible immune system to the girl who is forever sniffling and wielding a handkerchief. At least I made it home for dinner today.

That’s something of a rarity.

FRIDAY Time Spent on Bus: 190 minutes Friday afternoons are the only time I have in the week to attempt to cultivate my flailing social life. Not that, at this stage, I’m in any fit state to deal with people.

Weary, exhausted and teetering far too close to hysterics, I am a walking nuclear hazard. My brain switches off at an arbitrary point on Thursday afternoon, everything after that is auto-pilot.

This isn’t what they advertise in the college prospectuses. By the time I boarded the bus this evening I was so drained that even climbing the stairs was a gargantuan effort. Here I am, stuck in middle class limbo, not qualifying for a grant, but not quite well off enough to be able to move closer either. It’s only going to get worse, as, once again fees go up and grant levels go down.

This is the lifestyle being lived by an ever increasing number of students, and let me assure you, it is not what constitutes a “life”. Little sleep, no social life, no free time. Weekends are spent catching up on work you can’t get done during the week because you’re so utterly done in that you simply cannot keep your eyes open.

I feel like I age ten years every single week. Oh, I’d protest if I wasn’t so tired. And if I didn’t have a bus to catch.

“Overall, tea does not just have the ability to warm and refresh but can also heal, console, invigorate, purify and relax”

“Each tea has a personality enabling the individual to discover a tea made for them”

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 | The University Times

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UTFEATURES

The rise of the renegades Molly Hamilton takes an indepth look at the rise of ‘renegade ents’, a movement seeking to target those uninspired by the Students’ Union-run entertainments arm.

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HE STUDENT’S UNION Ents Office’s manifesto states that it exists for “the sole purpose of providing Trinity College’s 17,000 students with top quality entertainment during the academic year”. Despite this ambitious statement, it seems as if the Ents office is neglecting a growing part of the student body.

As Will Courtney (a Trin-

sector of the student populace, who are “uninterested in the boring, chart-topping tunes that fill the dance floors of almost every nightclub in the country” aren’t being catered for. As Courtney points out “they are becoming a majority and if Ents doesn’t feed them, somebody else will”.

Recently this (wrongly) dubbed ‘alternative’ Ents

“To make these events bigger with the aid of Ents would take away from their very essence; they would cease to be what people had originally wanted from them” ity student and DJ at both Southpaw and the up and coming Trinity Warehouse Project) told me; it’s baffling that this ever growing

scene has seen some progressive movement with the initiation of Southpaw by the Niall and James Rodgers and Sean Reynolds’s efforts

to divert this trend. Niall Rogers set his aim for Southpaw to “create a platform for great DJ’s to play the music they love to an engaging crowd”; a platform not sufficiently provided by Trinity Ents. Between them, they have shown immense initiative in seizing on this gap in Trinity’s student market.

Southpaw’s opening night was packed and Reynold’s club nights which aims to raise money for Focus Ireland are producing a similar effect.

Although it might seem a logical conclusion for Ents to start to turn its funding and motivations towards this crowd, quite simply, it can’t.

As Reynolds points out, the issue is structural. As a monolithic institution, providing for the musical interests of a student body as diverse and wide reaching as Trinity is next to impossible. Added to this is the short, yearlong tenure for every officer; the short time scale making

Along with the Rodgers Brothers, Sean Reynolds is one of the driving figures behind ‘renegade ents’

Photo: Molly Hamilton

it near impossible to establish the relationships to do anything ground-breaking.

“Red tape is everywhere” says Reynolds, and thus Ents falls back on the easy chart topping, drinks-pro-

Dublin’. In the 1970s bands as big as The Clash and The Smiths frequented campus rooms. This should be something to aim for, and right

people’s priorities. To make these bigger with the aid of Ents would take away from their very essence; they would cease to be what people had originally wanted from them.

“Intimate, smaller nights are coming to the forefront of people’s priorities” motion filled nights everyone has come to expect.

Into the gap Ents has left open, steps the likes of Reynolds, a committee member for the infamous Phish Soc., who tells me that Trinity’s societies are essentially “college-funded vehicles to have good times”. Intimate, smaller nights are coming to the forefront of

The Trinity Warehouse Project finally seems like a move in the right direction.

Closely modelled on the iconic Manchester Warehouse Project, which sought to bring up- and- coming, exciting DJs and acts to the forefront of the underground northern English music scene, David Whelan clearly has similar ideas for

his four night elementally themed series. We must applaud Whelan for finally adapting Ents to Trinity and Dublin’s changing tastes.

However, the fact that the Gardai even knew about The Warehouse Project takes away from its underground air of mystery. It’s kind of like your mum telling you she’s organising a really ‘cool’ party for you and your friends.

Importantly, the night is something new and stirring, a far cry away from what we’re used to seeing from Ents committee. Students are clearly impressed by the edgy air of a warehouse party; something they feel is subversive, daring and above all exciting (even if, ironically, it’s fully licensed, monitored by the Gardai

and run by the Students’ Union). It appeals to the stereotypically transgressive and rebellious element of being young. Whelan is right to

“As soon as you add scale, events often become too hard to manage” have capitalized on this.

Dublin is developing musically as a city, being flushed with a cohort of impressive emerging talent.

Rather than being promoted to by outside organisations, Trinity should be leading this movement. Reynolds’ attempt to make the most of the venues within campus is commendable. According to him they are some of ‘the most impressive (venues) in

now, though it might seem far away, it’s looking promising.

A gem in the crown between both schools, it’s easy to see why.

“It is the place to go if you want to be an actor or if you’re interested in stage management, costume, lighting, or design,” says Skeffington. At the moment, the centre offers undergrad-

of promoting the institution. “There’s so much that can be done with it, there’s a great team of people there who are very, very dedicated to it.” The aims for the future involve making The Lir known as the place to go in Ireland if you want to make

“The aims for the future focus on making The Lir known as the place to go in Ireland if you want to make a career out of producing plays”

The Lir is Ireland’s new National Academy of Dramatic Art and an affiliate of TCD. Last week, Shona McGarry caught up with one of the senior figures behind the project.

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PPOSITE A BOULANGERIE and in the middle of a quietly humming business district at the end of Pearse Street sits The Lir, Ireland’s National Academy of Dramatic Art. Behind the

angular grey exterior with its playful green blobs lies a place where practical theatre meets world-class tutoring, flexible spaces play host to all kinds of productions, and fifteen students every year take their first steps

into the colourful world of the dramatic arts. Seána Skeffington, the recently appointed Marketing Manager of the Academy, is adamant that it has the potential to become the next RADA, and with links already existing

uate courses in acting and stage management. “It’s not just for the acting community,” she says, and there is just as much interest in the technical side of things. The current Masters programme is in playwriting, but two more are planned for 2013, “one is in directing, the other in stage design. There are new courses coming on board all the time.” That’s part of what makes The Lir so dynamic.

Add to that the association with the well-established RADA in London and it’s easy to see the potential of the academy. “The courses are structured from RADA,” Skeffington explains, and some of the tutors worked there, while others have experience in Irish theatres such as the Gaiety. “The tutors are all at the top of their game, and with fifteen people in the class you really get the best opportunity possible.”

Skeffington is tasked with making this “fantastic opportunity” known to the world. “It’s local, it’s national, and it’s international,” she says of the academy’s focus. With a masters in marketing, Skeffington is excited about the prospect

a career out of producing plays. The relationship between those learning their craft and people already established in the industry is reflected in The Lir’s connection to the well-established RADA. And, like its British counterpart, it’s as much about education as it is about “meeting people within the industry. They

audition, you will get an audition.” There are no other deciding factors, and being a student in The Lir costs as much as any undergraduate course in Trinity. This is a drama school that is “part of Trinity, and yet independent,” that trains actors specifically for careers on the stage, and puts its fifteen chosen ones “in front of agents and producers as the best we have to offer at any given time.”

Aside from putting on private shows in their first and second years, students at The Lir produce plays that anyone can go to see.

With marketing The Lir as a school and as a venue comes promoting these shows, “making sure that people know that these are on and open to the public.” Skeffington has just seen ‘Opera Briefs’, a collaboration with RIAM (the Royal Irish Academy of Music) which is being staged in the 120-capacity Studio One in The Lir at the

“Although the only academic requirement is Trinity’s matriculation quota, just fifteen people are accepted ino the programmes each year” get the chance to meet famous directors and work with them.”

When Skeffington says that courses in The Lir are “very physical,” she means it. “It’s like a full day’s work, you’re very tired at the end.”

Admission is just as tough.

Although the only academic requirement is Trinity’s matriculation quota, just fifteen people are accepted into the programmes every year. “If you apply for an

time of our interview. RIAM students performed in the production, while “our students designed and built the set. It’s very much a collaboration, which is great.” This week sees ‘Forest Friends’ take over the space, another collaboration, this time featuring three plays and produced in conjunction with the Dublin Fringe Festival and the British Council. Come the new year, The Lir will be auditioning new

faces and finding the next fifteen undergraduates who will call the Academy their home. In the future, Skeffington expects to “see The Lir growing and growing.”

There will be more courses, more publicity and more opportunities for people who want to work in Irish and in international theatre. “It’s a kind of ‘watch this space,’ she says, as our interview

draws to a close. It certainly is.

To keep up with The Lir and it’s productions, check out their website at www. thelir.ie, or follow The Lir on Facebook and Twitter. Their next show, ‘Forest Fringe’, will be showing the The Lir from the 13th-15th of December.

Christmas gifts from under €10 Compiled by Rachel Cunningham and Éireann O’Sullivan Your token hipster friend Urban Outfitters €7 bike horn. (Bike not essential) Prezzie for ya bezzied Urban Outfitters €8 glow in the dark party straws Your attractive TA € 10 Costa Gift Card The person who hands out the Metro at the Luas stop - € 9 New Look gloves Annoying roommate € 9 Bah Humbug mug

The University Times | Tuesday, December 11, 2012

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Tuesday,December 11, 2012 | The University Times

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UTOPINION The issue before Christmas: A Yuletide Year T’was the night before Christmas, and all was so still, as on campus there hung yuletide tinsel and frill.

At the end of the year, we can look back with sage, On stories that graced the UT’s front page.

The Michaelmas term had dawned with a chill, But that didn’t prevent big guests at the Phil.

For the lineup featured not only Hugh, But Conan, Whoopi and Paul Howard too.

When some stories surfaced, they featured a twist, Like what was going on with the books at the Hist.

A new Auditor elected, talk of reform and change, And attention then turned to Constitutional exchange.

For the paper and college, there was some fixation, As to how we would vote on disaffiliation.

In the end, the plebiscite gave an answer of No, Saying USI was to be friend and not foe.

Late on in the year, news emerged that House Six was to have a new occupant thrown into the mix.

The powers that be evicted Sci-Fi, And Facebook lit up asking questions like ‘Why?’.

Facebook itself is worthy of mention, Since it’s soon to be the focus of legal attention.

It was thought that private messages from long ago, were appearing in public and most definitely on-show.

There was too other stories of more national import, Like Michael Noonan’s financial report.

‘Students shall have to pay more’, said he, And so followed an increase in the tuition levy.

It was a year of protest, of voices being heard, And on legislative inaction, the public were stirred.

Students took to the streets with their placards in hand, Saying lives can’t be lost because of a ban.

Across the pond, on the Hill in DC, The battle was waged between Obama and Romney.

‘Four more years’, was the call, the cry that was chanted, And though closer than thought, the wish was granted.

So that trot through the stories should help set the scene, For what might be big news in twenty-thirteen.

Austerity, reform, improvement and change, Are forming the bedrock of the UT’s front page.

The UT’s presses fall silent for now, As the halls are decked with holly in bough.

But before I leave, let me say with delight, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.

COMPOSED BY GRAHAM MURTAGH

A lot done, a lot more to do John Connor is a member of the first generation to be born after the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Here, he discusses the gains made by the LGBT community and what still needs to be done to realise equal rights.

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n 1993 homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland; it was after many years of dedicated protesting, campaigning and activism that saw this important achievement in the Sexual Liberation movement. A movement formed in October 1973 by only ten motivated and determined individuals. This movement was the first advocacy group for people of different sexualities in Ireland. It was the catalyst for change in Ireland, change that would soon lead to the first Irish lesbian conference in 1978, the first LGBT Pride Parade in 1983 and after years of lobbying, the decriminalisation of Homosexuality.

The law has changed, but has our culture? Is it still a scandal to be an LGBTQ person? Does my generation, the first generation since 1993, have the civil and social liberties those ten individuals envisioned all those years ago? My answer to you is yes.

When I realised I was gay, I felt different and alone, like I was the only one in the world. I told my family and a few close friends, and they were very supportive, but

I wasn’t ‘out’. There was no reason for my sexuality to be publicly known, I had nothing to gain. It was a dark and sad place to be. Then I came to Trinity, and everything changed. I joined Q SOC, the Trinity LGBT society, and from the first day, I can honestly say it was the best decision of my life. They are a group of wonderful, ded-

freedom to talk and explore their sexuality, to share their experiences of life as an LGBTQ person. We are free to experience the turbulent journey of love and loss, show affection in public, declare to the world that we are queer, and that we make no apologies for it. This is why I think that this generation has the freedom and liberty

icated and loving people, who have made me feel like I wasn’t the only one in the world that felt different, that was different. In the past few weeks alone, I have been exposed to a vibrant, diverse and an accepting community, within and outside of the society. There are people like me, and they have the

previous generations did not have.

I only realised, and fully appreciated the work that the sexual liberation movement did for my generation at the 30th anniversary of the Trinity LGBT Society, celebrating 30 years since the official recognition of the society in 1982.

“In the past few weeks alone, I have been exposed to a vibrant, diverse and an accepting community, within and without the society”

However, this was not a celebration of the society alone; it was a celebration of the sexual liberation movement, the organisations, the other university societies and the countless people that worked for the freedom my generation experiences today. It celebrated the progress made in Ireland; legally, socially and culturally towards a more accepting society of LGBTQ people, and a society where we have equal rights.

However, while immense progress has been made, the vision of the sexual liberation movement, a vision of equality in Ireland, has not yet been fully realised. Civil union between same sex couples has been brought into law in 2010, but it is not enough. There are 169 differences between civil union and marriage.

The differences that most stand out to me are that the home of civil partners is defined as “shared home” unlike “family home” which is the case for married couples. This has implications for the protection of children in the “shared home”.

Furthermore, civil partnership does not allow children to have the relationship with their parent to be legally recognised, only the biological relationship. This causes many problems with schools and hospitals for the children as well as guardianship of the child. We are not awarded the same rights

as couples who are married.

I was shocked to learn how the basic human rights of transgender people in Ireland are being abused.

Transgender people in our community are not recognised under Irish law. In Ireland, a person must be diagnosed with a Gender Identity disorder or they must have medical evidence proving they have undergone gender reassignment surgery to be recognised as Transgender.

A Transgender person cannot change the gender on their birth certificate under any circumstance. Ireland’s current law is violating the basic human rights of transgender people and is currently the only remaining European country that does not allow for the recognition of Trans people. We must work towards the equal human rights for Transgender people in Ireland.

I now consider myself to be a member of the sexual liberation movement. There has been great progress, but we have more to fight for. We must work towards full equality, for every letter of LGBTQ. The freedom we have today is because of the tireless work of people before us, and as a community, as one unrelenting force, we must make the future a better place for those who will come after us.

Dealing with accidental photobombing Rachel Cunningham gets to grips with every Trinity student’s pet hate - toursits in Front Square with cameras.

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here are some people among us who purposely set out to photobomb, filled with mischievous intent and a cheeky glint in their eye. For others, the invasion of a stranger’s photograph has become less of an art and more of an inescapable daily ritual. The inevitability of the accidental photobomb as you walk around Trinity campus is undeniable. Like a determined charity collector on Grafton Street, it simply cannot be avoided. It’s the burden that we students must bear. Even if you are totally unaware of ever having done it, you most likely have. Unless you just don’t

go outside. Ever.

For those of you who haven’t been brushing up on the urban dictionary and are offended by my use of such a nonsensical verb, ‘photobombing’ is the action of invading a photograph in which you do not belong. In the short space of time that I have been attending this college, countless precious holiday memories have been destroyed by yours truly. The problem with this is not so much my habit of inadvertently walking into various camera shots, if I were captured calmly walking in the background I wouldn’t feel the need to write this article at

all, what bothers me is that I cannot seem to grow accustomed to this situation. Every time I find myself looking down the barrel of the camera I am unable to suppress the look of horror on my face that accompanies the realisation that I am too late. Escape is futile- I am definitely going to be in that photograph. While I admit that this is rather amusing, there is also a small part of me that is unhappy to be rendered the future butt of a group of Italian students’ jokes as they reminisce over their time in Ireland and guffaw at my unwittingly comical face. I normally leave that sort of behaviour to my close friends and relatives.

Of course I’m not naive enough to believe that absolutely every photograph I stumble into will feature such humorous splendour

(sometimes I even look normal) but between my unreliable facial expressions and the large level of unintended

day log onto my facebook account, only to discover my face plastered with an entertaining meme slogan. En-

“Every time I find myself looking down the barrel of the camera I am unable to suppress the look of horror on my face that accompanies the realisation that I am too late” ‘bombing that I have found myself doing of late, suffice it to say that it is more than a tad disconcerting not to have access to that delete button. I fear that I will one

tertaining for other people, that is.

I feel compelled to raise this concern, not only for myself, but for every accidental photobomber out

there so that they may know that they are not alone. This article is for all those that are struck with fear in their hearts following every faint click of a shutter or a lightning-quick flash within close proximity. To be perfectly honest this sort of paranoid response really doesn’t help with the facial expression either, therefore I humbly offer a few simple guidelines to help such people along their merry college way. The best advice that I can give to those of you who find yourselves in such a photobombing pickle is to embrace the unavoidable. At least then you will feel as if you are in on the joke. I certainly would not recommend attempting to flee once the lens has clocked you with its beady eye. As tempting an option as this may seem, when executed incorrectly the ‘duck

and dodge’ escape can cause equally incriminating photography- and back

heavy panting being just a few examples.

Despite certain annoying

pain. However, should the circumstance arise that the tourist group are kind enough to wait until you clear the area, I suggest that you make like Forrest Gump and run like the wind until you are successfully seated in your lecture theatre. Although bear in mind that this method does have some drawbacks; falling over, bumping into people and

aspects, at the end of the day photobombing is hilarious.

You may as well enjoy the inevitable and fingers crossed your meme is at least a witty one.

“I suggest you make like Forrest Gump and run like the wind until you are successfully seated in your lecture theatre”

11

The University Times | Tuesday, December 11, 2012

UTOPINION The Budget: Good craic or no craic?

Analysing the moral context

Economise This Lorcan Clarke Student Economic Review 2012 Committee member

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ast Wednesday, Finance Minister Michael Noonan carved out the ever-shrinking fiscal pie for the year to come.

Th ree questions naturally follow on from this knowledge – What’s in the pie? How much pie will we students enjoy? How was the pie-giving and pie-taxing distributed across society relative to previous years? Persisting with this metaphor will just get confusing and patronising so let’s leave it there (until the last sentence where everything will be tied together in a magnificent pie-starring conclusion).

Since the Trinity student is a self-interested homo economicus, let’s fi rst consider how it affects us.

The most significant change, albeit expected, is the €250 increase in the Student Registration Charge to €2,500 starting September. Th is is set to further increase by €250 in each of the next two budgets.

Of concern to Trinity, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn revealed a “once-off ” €25 million cut in funding to third-level colleges. Th is is despite record enrolment levels this year. In a change which raises educational access concerns, there will be a 3 per cent reduction in the income threshold for student grants qualification.

To give context, Quinn has the unenviable task of cutting €90 million from the Education budget of €8.5 billion, 80% of which is pay and pensions protected under the Croke Park Agreement.

Significant saving will come from decreasing maternity leave for teachers and changes to sick-leave arrangements.

In his speech, Quinn stated that his aim is to protect “frontline services”. Consistent with Labour policy, he avoided cuts to priority areas - special needs, disadvantaged schools and class size (except in fee-paying schools where the pupilteacher ratio will rise due to cuts in state funding). No doubt memories of having to U-turn on cuts to disadvantaged schools last year were a factor here.

increase on 25g pouches of loose tobacco. However, cyclists can take schadenfroh pleasure in learning that motor tax is up 15 per cent.

Moving on from student interests, let’s now look at how the budget shaped up in general. In many ways, it was a budget of few surprises. For anyone who cared to listen, the details were flagged well in advance.

Nonetheless, spending cuts of €2.25 billion don’t pass without mention. One cut which has proved controversial was to the respite care grant (for families of the disabled) from €1700 to

“The grey lobby will be feeling fragile” On third level funding, the Minister said he wished to see evidence of greater collaboration and rationalisation across the sector before he addressed long-term funding issues. He said the cuts would have no impact on student services, which was much contended by Fianna Fáil.

But how will “life beyond the desk” at Trinity College Dublin be affected? In a very uncool move which demonstrates just how lacking in banter austerity budgets can be, drink and cigs have been targeted for tax hikes. There will be a €1 excise increase per bottle of wine and 10c on a pint of beer/cider and measure of spirits. Smokers will see a 10 cent increase in tax on 20 cigarettes and 50 cent

€1375. There has also been opposition to the child benefit being cut by €10. Maternity benefit will become taxable from July and nonmeans-tested jobseekers’ benefit has been reduced by three months.

The grey lobby will be feeling fragile, with prescription charges rising from 50 cent to €1.50. Over 70s earning in excess of €60,000 will no longer be eligible for medical cards and will also face a Universal Social Charge of 7 per cent of income.

On the taxation side, €1.25 billion will be raised while honouring Fine Gael’s commitment not to increase income taxes. The PRSI base has been broadened, seeing exemptions on low earners

abolished and the inclusion of rental, investment and dividend income.

The unpopular household charge is scrapped but those who have yet to pay it will be charged twice the original €100. As expected, a self-assessed property tax has taken its place, with 0.18 per cent on the fi rst €1 million and 0.25 per cent on properties of higher value.

Th is being Ireland’s sixth successive austerity budget, the public has gotten used to accepting bad news but this is offset by the government’s need to resort to less politically popular options in search of further savings.

The troika, fi nancial markets and fragile economic conditions act as further constraints on budget decisions.

Budget 2013 has avoided major cuts on households in favour of spreading the pain through multiple small blows. With the high unemployment rate in mind, Noonan has attempted to avoid increasing the cost of business as part of his strategy of “emphasis on small and medium-sized industry”.

While we can analyse the fairness of the individual decisions outlined, the crucial determinant of success will be whether Budget 2013 can achieve minimal harm to economic activity. The efforts of cleverly cutting the pie will be in vein if too many crumbs are lost in the process of cutting.

Ben Lennon disects the deeper issues in the abortion debate and puts forward an argument from rationality in support of the ProChoice cause.

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p until recently I had never been entirely decided on the question of abortion. I was largely in favour of the pro-choice campaign but never really had the conviction to back it fully as I had some reservations.

Pro-life groups, such as Youth Defence, argue to protect what they see as the rights of those that do not have a voice. Although never agreeing entirely with their arguments or methods I nevertheless considered this an admirable position to take, one that was necessary for a proper discussion in an open democracy. But when one looks at this question from a moral point of view in the abstract it is clear their priorities are misplaced.

The tragic death of Savita Halappanavar has rightly reignited the debate. There is disagreement from both sides about whether or not her death was caused by doctors’ failure to administer an abortion. The day the story broke, Youth Defence issued a statement saying that Ms. Halappanavar’s death was possibly a result of doctors failing to administer antibiotics early enough rather than, as suggested by the Irish Times, the refusal of the medical professionals involved to allow her to abort the foetus.

Both sides should refrain from defi nitively commenting on this issue until the

full medical report is published. But regardless of the outcome, the case for abortion being illegal in Ireland, under any circumstances, is not morally justified.

The American philosopher Judith Jarvis Thompson proves this in her essay, A Defense of Abortion, by using a thought experiment.

She asks us to imagine we wake one morning with the body of another attached to ours that is dependent on us to survive for nine months before they are able to continue to live their life freely again. Thompson concludes that you are legitimately entitled to remove the tube that connects your circulatory system to the other person even though this will cause them death. She stresses that the right to life does not entail the right to use another person to survive. If you continue to allow the other to live off of you, this is your own decision, one that may be seen by some as an act of altruism or kindness, but it cannot justifiably be made by anyone else. Your body is your property and you are not morally obliged to support another life against your will. Prolife groups such as Youth Defence do not trust women to make this choice- whether pregnant women want to allow their bodies to provide for another or not.

But yet they trust them to raise a child. What the pro-life advocates fail to

recognize is that a woman’s right to her body evidently supersedes that of a foetus. If women are denied consent in regards to their bodies then they are not being treated as equal to men.

It is an asymmetrical burden imposed on them whic cannot be morally justified.

To force a woman to carry a foetus for nine months and then give birth to a child against her will is coercion.

For the pro-life campaign to have a strong moral argument they must either prove that the nine month pregnancy process imposes no burden whatsoever or deny the equal standing of women. The pro-life movement instead argue that any life lived, no matter the circumstances, is better than one denied. But this is a subjective opinion that cannot be grounded in fact; their

unpalatable to think that a child would be conceived after consensual sex and the woman or couple involved then decide to have an abortion. But this is the choice of the couple alone. Pro-life campaigners have no moral case in forcing a woman to have a child against her will because it does not fit with their idea of what is right. To force her to do so is to impose their unjustified subjective belief of what is correct on others. There is no justification for such tyranny in what should be an open liberal democracy.

We have the ability to legislate to remove this injustice forced on women in Ireland and as a result we have the duty to do so, to liberate women by giving them the fi nal say in matters relating to their bodies.

It is important to re-

word is as good as mine. As a result, it is not enough for Youth Defence and others to impose this reasoning on individuals. To do so would be to fail to understand what circumstances are sometimes required to bring about a life, and the unfathomable trauma and distress that must be involved in having a child against one’s will. In truth, we cannot abstractly even begin to comprehend this; we must therefore allow the decision to rest with the woman alone.

Certainly, many fi nd it

member that if it emerges that Savita Halappanavar’s death was defi nitely caused by her not receiving an abortion that the Pro-life side do not allow this case to be used to only grant the right to abortion in our state in extreme medical cases. Th is is not enough. The moral argument shows that until abortion is made a free choice for all women to decide for themselves we are continuing to coerce their actions against their will and are essentially treating them as second class citizens.

“If women are denied consent in regards to their bodies, they are not being treated as equal to men”

UT Opinion head-to-head

Is the Irish language dead? A British perspective For

Against

Tom Myatt

A

t age six, whilst holidaying in co. Tipperary, I woke up one morning in a state of glee.

I raced downstairs, still in pyjamas, eager to watch my favourite cartoon – Dora the Explorer; however, my initial excitement quickly transformed into shock and confusion. The Spaniard and her comradeous chimp appeared to be speaking in tongues. Clearly this young adventurer had contracted a rather serious case of Glossolalia. Maybe little Dora there got on the wrong side of Satan. However, it later emerged that their dialect was in fact Irish – what I have since come to see as an utterly useless language.

The futility of the language is even accepted today by both Irish and nonIrish alike. Very few people are actually fluent in the language – most who do, teach it. The fundamental fact that leads me to believe Irish is such a ‘lame duck’ is that virtually everyone who speaks Irish speaks English.

Thus there is no need whatsoever to learn it. You might get to speak to a few extra folk over in the People’s Republic of Kerry but no more.

In contrast, Mandarin Chinese is spoken in a rapidly rising power by almost a billion people, and Spanish is used throughout much of the Americas. Heck, even

French is the joint working language of the EU. These are the languages Ireland needs to know to ensure it is kept up to date with Century no. 21. Not some medieval affi liation with a lingo on life support.

The Dail continues to pump millions into imposing the language on children in schools. However, it is seen as tedious and unnecessary by pupils. I mean, how many of you got a great buzz off studying it? Not only are we damaging Ireland by not focusing on other languages, but we are also robbing these children of great international opportunities to study or work which we have so available to us in this day and age. It seems criminal to disallow Irish pupils from being able to experience more of the diverse and fascinating world that is out there and instead restricting them to speak to whomever they choose in Donegal. The next generation of Ireland is facing becoming completely detached from the world in which even English is being rivalled.

The Irish seem to have become somewhat emotionally attached to the language for indeterminate traditional reasons. “It’s our heritage!” they tell me defensively. But why exactly does language in particular have to be preserved to ensure the

people’s identity is not lost?

Are you not Irish if you don’t speak the language? There are different ways to preserve culture. I could parade around Manchester trying to whip up enthusiasm for ancient Anglo-Saxon dialects. No one would care and I’d probably get beaten up on the bus. In Ireland, however, this language isn’t just being prevented from disappearing – its decaying corpse is all over the place. You can’t escape it. Why does a lust for tradition warrant the state use of the language to the extent that it is? Preservation, if at all necessary, does not require it to be all over road signs, information signs and government documents.

Trinity itself is even a culprit in this harmful lust for tradition. The Irish Language Office exists for the sole purpose of promoting the use of the language on campus, and to both students and staff. Enforcing the Official Languages Act is also a hobby. But all this poses the threat of great harm to our beloved institution. With a larger use of Irish language, the world’s top academics will have little reason to come to Trinity – entering a place where they have no proficiency for the tongue. Foreign and ERASMUS students’ numbers will also diminish. They

Samuel Riggs come here to learn English, but will just give their high fees to someone else. Why would we want to dissolve our brilliantly international character and turn our back on all these great minds?

Trinity cannot afford to isolate itself from the fully globalised knowledge economy. To promote and adopt Irish would imprison us to the history books of oncegreat establishments.

Despite being seen as tradition, the Irish people seem have come to agree with my view in the past 100 years: the number of fluent Irish speakers since independence has plummeted by about 90% from 250,000 to around 30,000. The Official Languages Act wants there to be 300,000 by 2030, but the futility and irrelevance is being widely recognised throughout Ireland.

Taxpayer’s money is being squandered. It’s all very well and good having national traditions but the focus on preserving the past is worsening the chances for the future. Irish is not the language of the 21st Century world – a fact that Dora and co. should be fully aware of.

L

ike most people, I originally viewed learning Irish in school with a kind of ‘I do it because I HAVE to’ attitude.

It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t useful, and it certainly wasn’t going to be used again afterwards, unless you had aspirations to become a teacher or some such. Irish was an uphill battle from the start for me – I came to learning it 8 years after everyone else had started, when I moved to Ireland from the UK, and only then because I was 3 months shy of the exemption date for not having to do it. So, I was lumped into Irish class, and made to start out on one of the steepest learning curves I’ve ever experience in a subject. For years, I fought against learning Irish, regularly entering into ‘What is the POINT?!’ arguments with teachers, backed up heartily by my enthusiastic, but tragically not very eloquent classmates. So, what happened to change my mind about the native language of Ireland, and why do I think we should all try and learn it?

On a personal note, the main reason why I threw myself into the study of Irish so vehemently in secondary school, is because one of my contemporaries made the mistake of telling me that I wasn’t actually able to learn it. Instead of seeing Irish as

a chore I had to get over in order to complete the LC, I saw it as a challenge, a way to sock it to the little sod who thought I wouldn’t be able to do it. In the end, I outperformed him in the actual test. So, HAH. Th is, coupled with a trip to the Gaelteacht, helped to cement in my mind why I needed to learn Irish more comprehensively.

The opposing argument to all this is that, in schools, students could spend more time on worthwhile pursuits like science, maths, music or another, more widely spoken language. Now, I hate to sound like a cliché, but the study of Irish does bring with it the idea of cultural and historical importance.

Without Irish, how would students tap into the rich vein of literature written through the Irish language?

It’s highly unlikely that even a few of them would have even come into contact with it, were it not for the study of Irish in the LC. The study of Irish brings with it a greater, deeper and richer knowledge about the culture it.

I really do feel like the presence of the Gaelteacht is a very real reason for the perpetuation of the language. Aside from the fact that it provides many teenagers with either an actual fi rst shift or a pretend one (‘I shifted a girl out in Galway

last summer, lads, it was grand, I’m not a fridget!’), and gives many parents a much-needed break from their part-time jobs as summertime entertainers for their school-less children, they also provide many jobs for people; whether they’re summer jobs for enthusiastic student Gaelgoirs, or

it to talk about hotties behind their backs. It’s probably the second most regular time that the language is used, coming a little before ‘Official Government Documents’, and a very long way behind ‘The Leaving Certificate’. We use Irish as a way to baffle other nations, and then quietly bitch about

“We use Irish as a means of baffling other nations” jobs for substitute teachers who would otherwise spend summer completely unemployed. My own Gaelteacht was incredibly fun, even if it was of the highly-organised variety. Not to mention the fact that, without the grant supplied by the government to host families for taking on students during the summer, many families in the border and western regions of Ireland would be living, officially, below the poverty line.

But aside from this brief interlude into economics, how can Irish be used in a modern context, once we’ve spent hours labouring over it during our teenage years?

Well, fi rst and foremost, let’s be honest here. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t learnt Irish, gone abroad on a holiday afterwards, and used

them behind their backs.

I mean, it’s very likely that nine times out of ten when you hear me speaking Irish, I’m probably having a quiet complain about them to my friend, and I don’t want any potential eavesdroppers to be able to figure out what I’m saying with ease.

The fact of the matter is, is that anyone who has been through the Irish education system will have some Irish.

It’s an important contributing factor to culture, childhood and to just having fun in general – if you get the hankering to speak it, you need not look too far afield to fi nd someone to practice with. Oh, and there’s all that lovely moral superiority which comes with saying you’re able to speak it too – always a plus.

e o

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 | The University Times

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UTOPINION

The merchants of self-help Ronan Mc Guire bemoans the rise of self-help books, and the raised expectations and false hope they encourage.

“

My flight was delayed, so I harnessed my rags-to-riches initiative, picked up my phone and booked another flight.

With this ‘instant innovation’ (scribbles note on iPadCoin ‘instant innovation’, you the man, James) I saved six hours, while all the other weaklings around me sheepishly accepted their fate.

What time wasted! Do they not realise they could have used it to change their shitty worthless lives?”

Th is is to crudely paraphrase James Caan, the UK business magnate, in his fallaciously named ‘Start Your Business in 7 Days: Turn Your Idea Into a Life-Changing Success’. He is not alone in promising so much and delivering so much waffle.

There has been a huge surge in this trend, and the plethora of ‘self-help’ and ‘can-do’ books is perhaps my biggest pet peeve.

As a business student and a small business co-owner, I feel embarrassed to operate

in the same sphere as these fame-hungry trolls. Writing isn’t the source of their success-business is. They undoubtedly deserve credit for their business success. Business is the most competitive activity in the world; the failure rate for businesses starting up is 50%, and only a tiny percentage of those that do survive actually generate anywhere near an eye-

developer and got stung, badly. Humans desire money like we do sex, and our innate greed factored in this heady behavior in a big way. But so did deceptive books such as Bill Cullen’s Golden Apples: Six Simple Steps to Success, which actively egged people on, telling them they deserve that sports car, that mansion.

Many people over-stretched

“A lesson on the dangers of the self-help fad can be learned from Ireland’s own boom years”

brow-raising amount of revenue. It is tough, but it does not give free literary reign to those who do succeed.

A lesson on the danger of the self-help fad can be learned from Ireland’s own boom years. Many working professionals tried their hand at playing property

themselves fi nancially and are now paying for it. The industry of ‘self-help’ glamorises individualistic behavior and gives people alluring notions of grandeur and wealth. Th is attitude is still prevalent today, but due to the newly-discovered shrewdness of Irish banks,

when your ambition outmatches your ability, you can’t really do too much harm to your credit rating anymore.

There is an even a darker side to this read-a-bookand-it’ll-all-be-better culture.

The U.S. is one of the most advanced and wealthy democracies in the world, depression rates have risen dramatically in the last five decades alongside this growth. There are several possible explanations, and one of the more plausible ones is that their subscription to the ‘American Dream’ belief has a devastating effect on the psyche.

The folly that anyone in the U.S. that works hard will be rich and happy is hurting people. They have misunderstood one of the beliefs central to being an American. Th is is the belief that everyone should have the access to the opportunities that make one successful.

Not the existing belief that anyone can be successful at anything with hard graft.

Th is is not true. Not everyone has the ability to be a scientist, not everyone has the nerves to craft a career in politics. The U.S. actually

has a low rate of social mobility, ranking last in a study of nine Western countries.

You’re limited by what cards you were dealt in the game of life. If there is a god, then he’s either terrible at what he does (creating us),

dominates the cover. I am stunned at the vacuum of inhibition that some people seem to have allowed hollow them out. There are many examples of businessmen and women who do not indulge themselves, and they

“Not everyone has the ability to be a scientist, not everyone has the nerves to craft a career in politics”

or he’s a sadist. There’s no doubt you can improve your chances in life, but this lie has propagated to the extent that it is causing widespread unhappiness. Raised expectations and regrets of ‘shoulda woulda coulda’ weigh heavy on the self-esteem of the squeezed middle.

I cringe when I think about ‘can-do books’. And when I see one of these beacons of self-importance on bookshelves, I want to throw my jacket over it so I’m not subjected to the smug grin of that particular permatanned entrepreneur that

are notable (to me anyway) by their absence. I could name them but I won’tthey’re not attention seeking narcissists.

Another of James Caan’s peers on BBC’s ‘Dragon’s Den’, Duncan Bannatyne, has also dipped his toes into the unenviable pool of self-help with ‘Anyone Can Do It: My Story’. No, Duncan, they can’t, and if your story is worth reading, then someone other than your PR team will have updated your Wikipedia page. And maybe then I’ll consider it.

The changing face of Christmas and disconnected from a holiday that is grotesquely over-commercialised and increasingly detached from any real meaning. However, I don’t think I’d agree with this.

The commercialisation of Christmas is annoying, and leads to unseemly levels of spending and consumption. It can and does place great pressure on people to buy gifts and often results

awareness of this as I got older wouldn’t necessarily have corresponded directly with my lessening enthusiasm.

As for the argument that Christmas has lost all meaning; certainly, Christmas has moved beyond being a solely religious holiday, although for many it still does have an important religious aspect, but I’d argue that this is a good thing. I think that this transcending of religion makes it a more inclusive holiday, as well as a more genuine human celebration.

What I think has happened is that as I have grown older my understanding and appreciation of the holiday has changed and matured.

The incredible levels of ex-

in people, particularly parents, spending money that they don’t have on presents they can’t afford. As damaging a phenomenon as this is, I still wouldn’t consider it responsible for the lack of excitement for Christmas that affl icts many people.

Christmas was over-commercialised long before I was born, and my growing

citement and anticipation that I felt when I was younger were mainly down to the fact that Christmas was a day on which I would get presents. The idea that I was going to receive something was indescribably thrilling, and I’d imagine most children would have felt exactly the same. Back then, in the days before I received any

Oftentimes, we bemoan the lost sense of Christmas spirt that defined our formative festive seasons. Here, Eoghan O’Sullivan argues that such a spirit still exists, albeit in a more mature form.

I

’ve been around for twenty-one Christmases, and can say without doubt that the build-up to last year’s celebration found me at my lowest ever level of excitement for the holiday season. In the lead up to the day itself I felt little of the anticipation and eagerness that I had felt in previous years; sleeping on Christmas Eve did not present the difficulty it once did, I even had a lie in on Christmas morning.

Th is wasn’t a new or unexpected happening; since I’d been twelve or thirteen my sense of excitement around Christmastime had diminished fairly steadily year on year, last year merely represented its nadir thus far. Th rough speaking with others over the years, it has become clear that I’m not the only one affected in this way, the vast majority of people I’ve spoken to have admitted feeling less excited about Christmas than they once did.

Some might say that this is due to a general lack of Christmas spirit; that we’re all growing dissatisfied with

“The Christmas spirit now means spending time with loved ones, enjoying the company of others”

The weakest link Conor Murphy Deputy Opinion Editor

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motional debates are always fraught with mistakes. People jump ahead of their thoughts and talk before those thoughts form into anything coherent. This is fine when all we’re debating is football tactics. However it is an innate problem with the abortion debate, particularly among students. It is emotive, it is popular among students, and it’s more than a bit of a bandwagon.

When I debate abortion, the biggest irritant is not the opposing side, as around our age group their beliefs seem to be at least honestly held.

The biggest irritant is ProChoice people who lump in their two cents when two cents seems to be the full extent of their wealth of knowledge and thought on the subject.

Those inane comments about religion being the only reason you’d be anti-abortion, or that idiotic chauvinism is the common denominator between the people on the other side of the argument, degrade the debate.

And that’s what it is, an actual debate. The civil rights movement, the suff ragette movement and same-sex marriage campaign are all not debates, they are one sided human rights issues seeking an indubitable positive change. They didn’t

have much grey areas, there wasn’t much nuance. Abortion is so heated and personal to a lot of people that they forget that abortion is just one mountain of grey areas and take others debate as woman hating rhetoric. Many also sadly get so angry and thoughtless that a lot of both side’s opinions on it are argued (if maybe not formed) on logical linchpins that shatter under a hard stare.

The side that gets away with nonsense the most is the Pro-Choice side. The anti-abortion side have probably more nonsense but at least that gets pointed out.

The flawed argument I take most issue with is all variations of “It’s a woman’s body”/”it’s under her skin so her choice”. Th is argument can be used helpfully to push the Pro-Choice cause gently when talking about ONLY the fi rst few months, and even then it’s incredibly

sort of pocket money or had a job, I got presents twice a year, on Christmas and my birthday, and that was it. The fact that something happens infrequently means that it is far more exciting when it does happen and this seems to have been an attitude my childhood self subscribed to whole-heartedly. It probably didn’t hurt either that it was one of the few days of the year when it was acceptable to watch television all day and stuff myself with sweets.

However, as I grew older and had more money of my own, I was able to buy things for myself, so the frequency with which I got things increased. I think it’s likely that this is one of the reasons why my levels of Christmas-related excitement began to fall. The mere fact that Christmas was a day on which I would receive gifts was no longer enough to make me feel the incredible enthusiasm I had felt as a small child. It’s entirely possible that other people’s feelings in the run up to the holiday have changed over time for the same reason.

I’d also like to think that my increasing maturity meant that I was less materialistic than I had once been, but I’d freely accept that this could be an indulgence in vanity on my part.

In the past few years, in spite of my excitement at Christmas decreasing, my appreciation of Christmas

as a holiday has not been diminished. I enjoy it just as much as I ever did, but for very different reasons. Beginning college general-

My perception and experience of the Christmas spirit has changed from what it once was, and I feel certain that it will change again.

ly results in students seeing home, family and school friends far less often than they were used to, and in my case this has resulted in the development of a fondness and appreciation for being at home that I never had before. Seeing less of people defi nitely makes you value them more and what Christmas now provides for me is the opportunity to see people who I might not have been seen for a while, or who I’d like to see more often.

For me now, and for many other students and young adults, the Christmas spirit now means spending time with loved ones, enjoying the company of others.

We’ve moved beyond being excited solely by presents, although of course we all still enjoy getting them. Th is is reflective of how experience of and attitudes towards Christmas change over a lifetime.

Should any of us go on to have families, it seems obvious to say that our idea of the Christmas spirit would then change to include us wanting to see them enjoying Christmas.

So I don’t think it’s necessarily a good thing that people would try to recapture the feelings they had about Christmas when they were young. Would others view it positively if we were to get unbelievably excited over the idea of getting gifts? I think it’s clear that there’s only one answer to that question. Nostalgia could certainly be taken too far. Just because our feelings towards Christmas have altered from what they once were doesn’t mean that we should appreciate it less, or think that it’s less meaningful than it once was.

weak. What people must start doing, on emotive issues more than ever, is test these arguments. Drag this argument through to the very end of the pregnancy and you can it verbatim to push for full term abortions

becomes weaker every time you decide to spew your bumper sticker argument all over the pub table.

Th is is the most important point every time someone in any walk of life puts forward a silly argument.

human rights issue. But not everyone does, and their fears and concerns are based on genuine fears and concerns. They do not want to control anyones womb.

It’s just a terrible consequence of protecting what they consider a human life.

And if you considered a fetus full human life equal to any of us, you’d probably be doing the same thing they are.

Pro-Choice side in Ireland would do well to accept that there are stupid people on both sides of the debate and instead of trying to get abortion legislated for through indignation,those who identify with the cause should talk calmly about the actual points. I realise a lot of people have been doing this for a very long time but maybe with a little bit less white noise from the band wagon crew those solid, rational and thoughtful points will be harder to ignore.

“Should any of us go on to have families, it seems obvious to say our idea of Christmas spirit would then change”

“Those inane comments degrade the debate”

on request. Full term abortion rights is something that nearly all those people who use that argument would not actually believe in.

If you don’t actually believe that all abortion no matter how late is ok to legalise then don’t ever use that inane family of arguments again. Please. Because that Pro-Choice lady or man beside you trying to argue on honest and thought-out means dies a little every time you do. And your side of the argument

It doesn’t add anything to the debate. It drags his/her side back a little bit. If a side puts forward five solid arguments, they will convince most people. If a side puts forward five solid and fi fty idiotic arguments you just look like a bunch of fanatics.

The opposition can win the argument by pointing out the horrific consequences of your worst fi fty arguments and don’t even have to address the five great points.

I consider the access to early abortion a basic

Said with authority Rev. Julian Hamilton

Religion in Trinity: A chaplain’s eye-view

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here are never two days the same. In being a Chaplain for five years in this wonderful institution, no two days have ever been the same.

The reason is simple. People. People make Trinity what it is, and people are different. We all have different needs, different perspectives, different gripes, different pains, different hopes and different dreams. More than the distinctions in our minds and spirits however, we then wear distinct masks in order to hide our difference from each other.

These are questions of real life. Authentic living and breathing - questions of joy and heartache, achievement and failure, meaning and purpose. And this is why no two days of my Trinity experience have been the same.

My life has indelibly changed since taking up this post. Now, I cannot hear reports of a road accident anywhere in this country – or read the news of a tragic death of another young adult – without automatically thinking “I hope it’s not one of ours?” That may be a shallow response. I don’t mean it glibly. I mean it sincerely because I have sat too many times with groups of students who have lost a classmate or colleague. And I have experienced the confusion that concerns life’s crazy contours oozing from professors and admin staff, as well as from students, in the face of such loss. Life is not simple, and more often than not, it throws curveballs our way.

Tough questions of existence must be honestly faced by us all at various times in our lives – and I, honestly, feel deeply honoured to work in a place where questions are encouraged and explored. Religion, after all, should be more about the questions, than the answers. Faith, at its best, promotes pondering, raises awareness, extrapolates exploration and heightens hope. Faith, at its worst, deadens the senses, kills questions, eradicates evaluation, and overthrows opposition. God help us have faith at its best – God preserve us from it at its worst.

The depth and length of the questions a chaplain gets asked in this institution vary wildly. To quote a few personal examples, questions ranges from, “But why shouldn’t I sleep with her?” to “Why did God kill my father?” to “Why would you base your life on something so stupid?” to “Why do I have to lose my faith if I continue to study theology?” Oh yes, and I have also been asked if I could pray about the lottery numbers and pass them on – seemingly without a hint of suspicion that should I ever receive a revelation concerning the Euro Millions, I will be acting on that revelation myself.

Whether it be the Christian denomination that I represent, the ecumenical chaplaincy I am part of, or another member of the world faiths that have representation throughout the community of Trinity College, questions of destiny, purpose and meaning fi nd the reverence they deserve.

For the Christian faith in Trinity, the ecumenical chaplaincy plays its own part – being the official arbiter of hundreds of years of Christian tradition on campus.

Its role varies from the pomp and circumstance of traditional memories being re-enacted, through to the feeding frenzy of Tuesday lunches in house 27. It also is one of the fi rst calls on campus when something is going / has gone terribly wrong. Working closely with the Senior Tutor’s Office and College Counselling Service, amongst others, it demonstrates the commitment that all of the chaplains have to serve whoever, whenever, however.

We are not a proselytising presence, we provide a peaceful panacea for anyone who needs it. We hope.

And so we live in the questions. Where every new days brings surprise – some welcome, some unwelcome but must be faced. We swim in the genuine experiences of day by day, facing whatever comes at us, as best we can.

And in so doing, we build the Kingdom of God bit by bit, in order to encourage the faith of all the Saints (whether they know they are or not!) who walk this treasured campus.

Rev. Julian Hamilton is the chaplian for both the Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Trinity

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The University Times | Tuesday, December 11, 2012

UTOPINION

The University Times TAKING STOCK AFTER BUDGET 2013 It is with a sense of dismay that we assess the fallout from last Wednesday’s sixth successive austerity budget. In a budget which offered little promise, one can find some solace in the observation that this budget, unlike its predecessors, has a more compassionate character, with high-earners taking a deserved pinch which had been lacking in previous years.

However, in an attempt to protect first and second level education, the government ravaged the higher education sector. As expected, the Student Contribution Charge rose by another €250, with a commitment from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to see the stealth fee increase to €3000 in 2015. More worryingly, the criteria for awarding grants has been altered, affecting over 5,000 students. At a time when the number of students qualifying for the grant is increasing, and the size of the funding pool remains the same, there is serious cause for concern.

Prior to the budget, the Minister for Education committed to cutting close to €90 billion from his department budget. In his pursuit of cutbacks and efficiency gains, the Minister is constrained fundamentally.

Most strikingly, the notorious Croke Park agreement commits the government to protect the payslips and pensions of public sector workers. It must be noted that in the education sector, staff pay amounts to over 80% of the budget. At a time of such austerity, when low-income earners and those in receipt of front line services are suffering the most, this state of affairs is no longer tenable. Moreover, Minister Quinn is known to entertain a sense of distain with regard to the current spirit of the Universities Act. The Act offers a huge degree of financial autonomy to Irish universities, a reality which facilitated profligacy during the boom years. The Union of Students in Ireland has made a concerted effort to highlight the continued administrative waste in our higher level institutions, but this waste can only be meaningfully tackled if these institutions can be compelled to exhibit more financial prudence, to which they have to this end resisted. An amendment of the Universities Act

would allow the Minister the legislative freedom to force the necessary cutbacks, a possibility he is acutely aware of.

In essence, the government has successfully pitted first, second and third level education stakeholders against each other. The continued devotion to the Croke Park agreement and the constraints of the Universities Act have resulted in a frontloading of cuts upon school goers, parents and third level students.

Indeed, the government have divided us against each other. In the times we are in, the most rational objective is to unite the various recipient stakeholders in education, those whom the Department of Education exist to serve. Speaking at last month’s Townhall meeting on the cost of Education, Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin epitomised the government’s divide and conquer philosophy with regard to education, and indeed all social services: “I could prioritise you, or I could prioritise the illiterate four-year old to whom I’m trying to give a chance of an education”.

This rationale is destroying, and will continue to destroy, the quality and accessibility of all education levels in this country. As a primary stakeholder in education, we must align ourselves with parents groups and reject the government’s cynical outlook on education. No front-line education service should be prioritised over another – all are of equal merit. It has time for us to say that we cannot take any more, the ravaging of front line education services has brought students and families to their knees and the human cost is rising. With the fatted calf that is Croke Park, a Universities Act which is unfit for purpose, and an entrenched division between the different primary stakeholders, the pillaging of our education will continue.

A COLLECTIVE IDENTITY On Friday night last, violence erupted on the streets of Belfast. That day, Belfast city counsellors had voted to limit the days on which the Union Jack flag could be flown from City Hall from 365 days to 20.

While anger and resentment among the Unionist community to this sweeping change was always to be expected, the sheer ferocity and intensity of that anger was startling. On Friday night, Belfast City Hall was surrounded

by Unionist protestors, with sectarian chanting, vandalism and brutality all on display.

The rioting continued on through Saturday, with the burning of tricolour flags, and the return of the hate-filled rhetoric which defined the era of The Troubles. Thankfully, the violence appears to have eased, in no small part due to the thoughtful and retrained response of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the political leaders in Stormond.

However, this regrettable episode in the North’s pathos filled history raises significant questions. It is often remarked that owing to globalisation and the democratisation of information, nationalism is dead. The events outside City Hall in Belfast last Friday night proved otherwise. For Unionists, the Union Jack flag above City Hall constitutes an endorsement, a societal understanding that the six counties remain, and always will remain, part of the United Kingdom. Over the past fifteen years, Unionists have seen their historically privileged standing in Northern Ireland steadily eroded. Unionist protestors on Friday night cited their frustration and despair at what they consider unjustifiable concessions to the republican movement.

It is important to appreciate the symbolism which continues to shroud British and Irish flags in Northern Ireland. The flag is more than a piece of coloured cloth, it is a symbol of identity, a homage to shared heritage and values. By even raising the issue of the Union Jack’s standing atop City Hall, those whom identify with it immediately feel under threat.

In that context, while the actions of rioters outside City Hall over the weekend should be unequivocally denounced, the sentiment which informed their actions

should not. The cherishment of collective identity, in this case manifested in the Union Jack flag, should never be considered fickle or reactionary. The afore mentioned globalisation has made the world a very open place, and for the most part, this is to be welcomed. However, the human condition perpetually strives to realise a sense of belonging, a sense of shared meaning.

Examples of this desire for collective identity inform many facets of our everyday lives. Two episodes last week strongly enforced the collective identity which exists within our college. On Thursday afternoon, it emerged that ‘Trinny’ the campus cat, had gone missing. Immediately, a huge outpouring of sympathy and tributes were paid to the cat and his minder over Facebook. A TCDSU Facebook status on the subject was shared by over 1,000 individuals and college bodies, and a photo of Trinny reunited with his minder John McLean was ‘liked’ by a similar number. Indeed, in many senses, John McLean and the cat he attends on are an exemplar of our collegial identity. Most students have come across the pair on their travels and only the coldest of us could countenance the estrangement of the pair without sadness.

Moreover, on the same evening, a man was tragically killed on Dawson street after an altercation with another man. When details of this tragedy emerged, the first question in many students’ minds was whether the individual in question was a student of the college, or as many put it “one of ours”. Indeed, it was with a somewhat selfish sigh of relief that many of us greeted the news that the individual wasn’t in fact a student. While the death was of course a tragedy, its impact on our community would have been exponentially greater had a student been involved.

These two episodes are prime examples of the sense of community, so often overlooked, which informs our everyday lives. Whether we realise it or not, we all possess a yearning for shared identity, a reality which should be embraced.

As such, before we criticize the actions of Unionists in Belfast, we ought to think deeply about the sentiment which informs their actions, in the context of our own sense of identity and it’s importance in our lives.

An outsider’s perspective Stephen Cox reflects on his experiences witnessing an anti-austerity demonstration in Spain, and its relation to the nature of protest in this country.

I

f it had been a normal day in Salamanca I would have been late for my morning class. I would have opened the creaky door of the lecture theatre, faced the stares of a hundred Spanish students and sheepishly found a seat at the back. But instead the hall was empty and dark.

There was an eerie atmosphere around campus; I had never seen it so empty before. It was 14 November, the day of the nationwide huelga (strike) called

by Spain’s trade unions, the shorthand for which was 14-N. As a foreigner it is easy to be in the dark about matters of concern to the Spanish populace. Strikes are no exception. Before today there had been two regional protests since I arrived, and

been organised for noon in the Plaza Mayor, but there was little sign of it now. Last month there had been a local demonstration at health cuts; a friend who lives opposite the regional government offices told me that the chanting began at 7:30 a.m. Perhaps I was expecting too much from the people of Salamanca this time, but it was still a shock to see no evidence of the crowds of young protesters I had seen on news reports and in the papers. Though the bustling street on which I live seemed unusually quiet, it was clear that most local businesses had ignored the strike organisers’ command to “stop everything”. Indeed, only the small, popular tea shop by the university seemed to have taken heed. Even there the owner felt the need to

The slogans? The placards?

Though it occurred to me that I had confused “strike” with “demonstration”, I still expected public disillusionment to have a more visible presence on the streets.

Suddenly I heard the cries of a crowd from the Plaza Mayor. My spirits rose.

When I arrived I was encouraged to see that the people gathered were roughly my own age, and were all wearing lab coats. Here was my chance to speak to Spanish students, and to get an understanding of their grievances, in particular the education cuts and the chronically high rates of youth and graduate unemployment.

I suppose it shows my naivety as an extranjero that what I took to be a political demonstration turned out

each time I’d done the same thing—wandering to the lecture theatre to see if my class had been cancelled, which it was on both occasions. If I’d known beforehand about 14-N I wouldn’t have bothered going to college that day.

When I went downtown shortly after 1 p.m., the most curious aspect of the protest was the complete lack of protesters. A rally had

qualify her decision, leaving a note that read “I’ve already protested so I’m taking the day off anyway.”

Walking down Calle Toro, Salamanca’s main shopping street, things were not much different. True, the striking red and white posters for “14-N” were everywhere, many shops had gone to great lengths to scrape the stickers from their windows.

Where were the indignados?

instead to be the engineering faculty’s annual party. In spite of the revelers’ seeming gaiety, some students were noticeably less excited than the freshers playing drinking games and laughing. As he surveyed the novatos’ initiation rituals one older student gave graphic expression to the disenchantment of Spanish youth. “After death there’s nothing, you know?” he

“In a Spain caught between past traditions and a fast changing present, it was hard to tell which businesses had closed for the traditional siesta time and which were closed for the strike”

said to me with half a smile.

“People say they are striking. I don’t see any. Today I just want to drink beer.”

I walked down the main street again to see if there had been any change. There was certainly a more subdued atmosphere than usual and fewer people out and about on the city’s busiest thoroughfare. However, in a Spain caught between past traditions and a fast changing present, it was hard to tell which businesses had shut for the traditional siesta time and which were closed for the strike. As I walked by a row of shuttered front windows I heard an American voice behind me. “I don’t know how these places make any money,” the girl said to her friend. “They’re closed all the time.”

If this was the full extent of Salamanca’s contribution to 14-N, it was far from impressive. Much is made in Ireland about our unwillingness to protest at the government’s handling of the debt crisis. The widespread disturbances in Greece have been the other end of the spectrum. I heard on the day of the strike that Spanish police were preparing over a thousand riot units nationwide. If so, none were to be seen in Salamanca. Maybe the apparent disinterest in demonstration reflected doubts in its effectiveness.

A cartoon in El País showed a dejected looking man sitting at the edge of a pier, his thought bubble read: “People protesting, take note of inflation too: every time we must protest more to gain less.” The ghost town approach to picketing might be effective in Madrid or Barcelona, but here it seemed to suggest that change would never come in a month of 14Ns. Feeling disappointed, I

went home. At about seven o’clock, however, I heard the sounds of whistles and drums from my bedroom.

This time I knew it wasn’t the engineering party. I walked quickly to the Plaza Mayor; the whole of Salamanca seemed to be crammed

hairs”) is an expression meaning “just barely”. I saw one man whose slogan read “Just barely a hairdresser – 8% VAT increase.” I was also intrigued to see more than a few Republican flags from the 1930s –a reminder of the leftist idealism crushed by

“It was as if she implied that the people were essentially protesting for each other, to let their fellow citizens know they weren’t alone in suffering”

into the square. There were placards, banners and people with megaphones everywhere. Some had clearly taken great time and effort with their protest props, most notably a life-sized guillotine emblazoned with the word “troika”. The most striking aspect of the gathered crowd was the age range on display. Young and old had come to voice their dismay, and there were even many families with small children present. It was heartening to see such a vivid cross-section of Spanish society united in their pains. Breathing in the atmosphere, I moved deeper into the crowd.

The prevailing opinion on the cuts in public spending was well expressed by one trade union’s banner: “Unjust to workers, ineffective for the economy, useless for jobs.” I was interested in the original and quirky placards I saw dotted around the square. Por los pelos (literally “by the

Franco. Others had made an effigy of a labourer with hammers and chainsaws imbedded in his back. While everyone seemed in good spirits, it was clear nonetheless that emotions were running high.

I asked an elderly couple for their take on the situation. “Oh, we know the government won’t do anything,” said the woman. “But we have the right to protest, and we must use that right.”

In a country where the economic situation can seem so hopeless, these were inspiring words. It was as if she implied that the people were essentially protesting for each other, to let their fellow citizens know they weren’t alone in suffering. I was pleased to have been proved wrong about what I had taken earlier that day to be the apathy and passivity of the city’s population.

As I walked home I recalled a Fintan O’Toole article I had read several weeks

before in which he had, for the umpteenth time, bemoaned the Irish populace’s unwillingness to give public voice to their political concerns. I had thought this a simplistic view that did not take adequate account of the complexities of the situation. After seeing the solidarity on display here I realised that, while I could not agree outright with O’Toole’s assessment, my thinking about the purpose and effectiveness of public protest had changed. The Spanish government’s decisions do not affect me personally, and, after just two months in the country, I cannot claim to have anything more than an outsider’s perspective on current affairs here. While I cannot do justice in writing to the atmosphere of the Plaza that night, I gained an understanding of how the protesters felt by standing alongside them in the square. I remembered the words of the old woman with whom I had spoken, and tried to put myself in the place of a Spaniard my age. It could be argued that, with Ireland also in the economic “doledrums”, our situations would not be much different. But it comes down to more than just that. The feeling of togetherness I noticed at the rally was potent and affecting. As a people, we in Ireland could do worse than consider dignified mass protest next time we feel like complaining about the situation here. If, as the old woman said, the government won’t do anything in response, perhaps we can at least take hope and strength from giving communal voice to our concerns and from the memory of a powerful, peaceful protest.

“As a people, we in Ireland could do worse than consider dignified mass protest next time we feel like complaining about the situation here”

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 | The University Times

14

UTSPORTS

Waiting for Keano

Arthur O’Dea assesses the managerial career of Roy Keane, and

discovers some striking similarities to the ethos which defined the Corkman’s playing days CORK’S PERENNIAL position as one of the forbearers of Irish sporting tradition has guaranteed a certain number of very memorable sporting fellows. Hurler Sean Óg O’Hailpin made it abundantly clear that no amount of relevant lineage was necessary to ascend to the pinnacle of Ireland’s native game. His teammate for many years Donal Óg Cusack razed to the ground any notions that Ireland was not yet ready for the amalgamation of homosexuality and sport. Cusack’s club, Cloyne, of course played host to the almost mythical name of Christy Ring,

and Olympic medallist of the highest calibre. One ceases to forget also two dead ball specialists, Ronan O’Gara with the oval and Denis Irwin with the sphere; both European Champions in their own pasture. Yet, amongst this slice of excellence, Cork’s most famous sporting export doesn’t aptly fit in. It’s with another fellow that Roy Keane falls into line.

In just under a century of independence, I don’t believe it too outrageous to assume that two Corkmen, in Michael Collins and Roy Keane, have caused more reason to divide. Of course

and the divide between Keane/McCarthy which is now simply acknowledged as ‘Saipan.’ As we closely approach the centennial anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, no doubt a façade of relevance will be attached the confrontation of Collins and De Valera again. Thankfully though, it shall be but a blemish – its significance having long since evaporated into greater political concern. This summer just gone, we remembered the ‘other’ incident which so greatly divided the country only ten years ago. That too passed by, many choosing to look back and laugh gingerly

“While most of us now like to look back on ‘Saipan’ and think we have grown, for Keane, old habits certainly die hard” arguably the finest example of what a hurler can be.

Sonia O’Sullivan was one of the most feared athletes in her field for well over a decade; a World, European

that which was at stake in both circumstances varies gravely, between the natal developments of nationhood which surrounded the Collins/De Valera debate

at the scale to which we allowed ourselves get caught up in the whole incident.

One could even claim that the fantastic showing the remaining twenty two players

Keane enjoyed great success initially with Sunderland, bringing the club to the Premiership at the first time of asking. gave us will one day take prominence.

Yet, even now, Roy Keane, retired as of 2006 and jobless as of well over twelve months can still be guaranteed to pop up in the Irish consciousness. His fascination lies not only in the fact that if reporters probe him enough with questions they will receive a sound bite worth printing, but also in the fact that love or hate him, every Irish sporting enthusiast and many usually indifferent to sport take great pride in Roy Keane and what he has achieved.

The adorers and disdainers alike realise his passion and heart and wish to use it as the pedestal upon which he may stand or the petard upon he may be hoisted. It is with this in mind that Roy Keane has become a topic worth discussing again. One

may be forgiven for forgetting that Roy Keane is an unemployed football manager.

It has become abundantly clear recently that he is back on the job hunt; I suppose a relative mystique creates an allure clubs may be attracted to, a method Alan Curbishly has taken to feverish extremes. Amid reports of moving to a recently moneyed Turkish club, to an open declaration of interest in the vacant manager’s seat at Blackburn Rovers only a month or so ago, it seems that Roy Keane will end 2012 as he started it – jobless.

Having once been openly touted as the man to take over Manchester United when Fergie stepped down, to bringing Sunderland back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, through a season rife with issues that took a firm managerial hand

to smooth over and deal with, and winning Manager of the Year in the process, Keane has seen and done a lot in this sphere. Throw in his bringing Ipswich Town in a circle back where he found them and Keane’s managerial C.V. on the surface makes for somewhat promising reading. However, God lies in the detail. In that detail one could scarcely count on one hand the very public acrimonies Keane has had in his relatively short managerial career.

Ferguson certainly doesn’t pay much heed to Keane’s credibility anymore, with another personality clash to blame between Keane and his bosses ending his stay in the North East of England.

While most of us now like to look back on ‘Saipan’ and think we have grown, for Keane, old habits certainly

Sea change and the rise of Ulster Ulster have quietly emerged as the leading

force in Irish rugby over the past two years.

Cathal Groome ponders what the future holds for the star-studded province.

The last few years in Irish provincial rugby have experienced great change. Over the past decade, Munster were the pace setters, with Leinster and Ulster aspiring to this level of play. The emergence of Leinster as the leading European team coincided with the decline of that great Munster team.

Now Ireland is ready for another change. Ulster are becoming the dominant provincial side, and can now be considered potential Heineken Cup winners.

Ulster’s march to the final last year was based on a quality core of foreign imports, primarily South Africans. These players included Johan Muller, their captain, and Ruan Pienaar . A World Cup winning scrum-half and an imperious secondrow. Not a bad start. Irish internationals Rory Best and Stephen Ferris provided the team with other world class players, and throw in a sup-

the first XV there seemed to be a notable drop in quality.

There was also a sizeable amount of luck en route to the final. In the group stages, their main contender for the second spot was Leicester, whose rank and file were still recovering from the World Cup, enabling Ulster to get vital results. In addition to this, Ulster avoided any of the big teams in the knockout stages. Munster in Thomond Park appeared a tough draw but in truth conquering Munster was not as difficult as it had seemed years before. Edinburgh in the semi-final was a kind draw; the Scots were inferior despite a win over Toulouse.

This is not to say that they did not perform well, but rather, in tougher circumstances they wouldn’t have made the final, where they were exposed by a rampant Leinster side.

There is something different to Ulster this season.

“Ulster’s march to the final last year was based on a quality core of foreign imports, primarily South Africans” porting cast of quality core players, who were maybe not full international level.

Up until last season, beyond

Last season the removal of Brian McLaughlin seemed a terrible decision considering the Heineken Cup Final

Craig Gilroy, one of the key figures behind Ulster’s recent success. scenario. His replacement, Mark Anscombe, has effectively made people forget about his sacking. 12 matches and 12 wins is an incredible start, especially if you look at the chequered nature of Joe Schmidt’s Leinster inception. In truth we should never have doubted a coach who had led New Zealand to the U20s World Cup in sprightly fashion.

Furthermore, it is clear that any great team must have talent spread throughout the squad and this is certainly the case. In Trimble, the returning Bowe and the exciting Gilroy they have three wings of genuine international quality. In addition to this Jared Payne, a player brought in last year has added further quality.

In the midfield Darren Cave has emerged as a viable successor to the thirteen jersey for Ireland. Paddy Wallace at inside centre will be pushed

Up front, Iain Henderson is powerful and could have an even more important role to play if Stephen Ferris’ injury problems continue. The ar-

“A year which started off with the tragic passing of Nevin Spence may yet bring a better ending” hard by the emerging talent of Luke Marshall who shone brightly in the nontest match against Fiji. Another Marshall, Paul, offers a completely different type of game to Ruan Pienaar.

rivals of Nick Williams and Roger Wilson will more than offset the loss of Pedrie Wannenberg at number 8. Chris Henry has also changed his game and appears to have the qualities of a genuine

openside flanker, capable of doing the dirty work in the rucks and thus giving balance to the back row.

The one position however that they may be short of strength in depth is at flyhalf. After Paddy Jackson, Niall O’Connor is the next option; he hardly set the world alight at Connaught when compared to what Ian Keatley achieved before him. Despite the depth issue Paddy Jackson is flyhalf capable of controlling a game.

He brings consistency and structure to Ulster’s play which his predecessor Ian Humphreys was incapable of bringing. With the powers of the aging Ronan O’Gara waning it is fair to say that he is next in line for the Irish number ten jersey after Jonathan Sexton.

All of these factors have added a sense of confidence around Ulster. They genuinely believe that they can win every game they play and this sort of confidence is a priceless commodity in sport. It’s the same confidence that Leinster have which has allowed them to win three Heineken Cups in the last four years. A year which started off with the tragic passing of the extremely talented Nevin Spence may yet bring a better ending, and you can be sure that his memory will be the forefront of any assault on silverware this season.

One thing is for sure though: teams around Europe will take notice of the Ulstermen. It is their time.

die hard. I don’t believe the popular theory that Keane’s problems lie in his professionalism and inability to communicate with players who do not share his hunger. Ferguson, arguably the greatest manager there is, was or will be, has standards that will not be questioned lest you want to lose your place at the greatest club in the English game.

Nor does he tolerate lightly those who don’t understand what it means to play for Manchester United. Keane’s problems, perhaps somewhat reminiscent of those Michael Collins possessed, lie in their disregard for ‘politics’ and the effect it will have on your progression. By no means an expert on the travails of Michael Collins, his famed actions as the outlaw, one man and his ‘Squad’ were pivotal for

Ireland’s independence.

This is much like Keane’s hard, and occasionally thankless, work in rallying his own squad was essential in the success of Manchester United. Both men were to find out however, when their roles in the thick of the action were no longer necessary, the world which waited them didn’t particularly suit.

As I sit here now writing, from my home on Collins Avenue, one man has been immortalised in concrete.

What shall become of Roy Keane is very much in his own hands. The fact may remain that what Roy Keane needs in order to get back into football management is another Roy Keane. He, the now stagnating old meteor needs the vibrancy of a young flame, for all too often he is seen as a forlorn man.

In brief Compiled by Conor Bates, Sports Editor

GAA Trinity’s men’s senior team can breathe easy after securing their Division 1 status for another season. The first team saw off tough Maynooth opposition, running out 0-16 to 2-7 winners last month. With the relegation battle out of the way, the side now set their sights on the Sigerson Cup in 2013.

The Fresher’s team have also recorded great success recently. In a breathtaking season for the first year team, they reached the semi-final of the Division 2 league, where they were narrowly eliminated by Mary Immaculate College. A two-point loss to the Limerick side ended Trinity’s run in the competition, which saw them beat UCD 3-8 to 2-9 at the quarter-final stage.

Rugby The men’s team saw their unbeaten league run come to an end at the hands of Buccaneers. The Athlone side, who sit third in the table at the year’s end, put Trinity to the sword in a close fought match. The final score of 2523 grants DUFC a losing bonus, leaving them second in the table on 27 points. They sit four points off the top as the league recesses for the Christmas period, with Trinity resuming play against Belfast on the 5th of January.

Netball DU Netball player Sacha Shipway represented Ireland at the 2012 Netball Nations Cup in Singapore. Ireland were playing in only their first Nations Cup, and were seen off at the group stage by formidable and more experienced opposition, as they failed to progress.

Soccer DUAFC recorded their first draw of the season against Mid Sutton in the week gone by. The 0-0 stalemate, which is also their ninth clean sheet of the season, took the side to the top of the table, albeit with an extra game played over second place rivals Swords Celtic.

If you wish to see your team featured in the In Brief section email sports@universitytimes.ie

15

The University Times | December 11. 2012

UTSPORTS

The biggest amateur game in the world Colm O’Donnell Features Editor On Tuesday the 8th of January, at roughly 1:30am Irish time, a College football game will begin. Th is game will feature two of the most historic Colleges in American sports; the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. At stake, the right to be called National Champions, and not to be too corny about it, immortality. 78,468 people will cram excitedly into Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida where the game is taking place. In America this is expected to be the most viewed game since the 2006 National Championship Game between the University of Texas (Lomghorns) and the University of Southern California (Trojans), that game was played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and over 36 million people watched it

domestically with millions more watching abroad.

In other words. Th is is a big deal.

Between them, Notre Dame and Alabama have officially 18 National Championships, and ardent fans of either team would tell you about the many more they each claim. The SEC championship game, which took place last week in Atlanta between Alabama and Georgia, was one of the best games in the last few years and it came down to the final play from inside the Alabama 10 yard line, where Georgia failed to score, and Alabama won 32-28.

As many of you will know, Notre Dame began their season here in Dublin on September 1st in a game which yours truly attended. Their blow-out win over Navy showcased many of the things which would become the backbone of this incredible season, the

aerial ability of their future NFL tight-end Tyler Eifert, a strong running game featuring the powerful trio of backs; Theo Riddick, Cierre Wood, and George Atkinson III, and a phenomenal defence led by star linebacker Manti Te’o and defensive linemen Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt. Their season featured impressive wins over Michigan, Miami Oklahoma and USC but also a few narrow miraculous victories over teams who weren’t quite as good such as Purdue and Pittsburgh. All in all it has been an impressive year from head coach Brian Kelly whose system and players, cultivated over the past three years, appear to fi nally have taken hold, with the results evident for all to see.

Old the other sideline is the unmatched Nick Saban, winner of three national championships already and probably the best recruiter

Star Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o (5) has led lead his side to the National Championship game against Alabama and coach in the game today.

Alabama’s season featured a number of impressive wins with the lone blemish being the loss to Texas A&M, led by star freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, known affectionately as Johnny Football. Manziel won the coveted Heisman

trophy last Saturday, for the most outstanding player in college football, becoming the fi rst freshman player to ever win the trophy. Second to him in the voting for that award was Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, who would have been only the third ever defensive player to win the

award. Te’o won a number of other awards this week however, and is expected to be a fi rst round pick in next year’s NFL draft. He is the spiritual leader of this Notre Dame team as well as being their captain, and has overcome tremendous difficulties this year. The 21 year

old’s Grandmother and Girlfriend passed away within days of each other in his native Hawaii, thousands of miles from Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The love which the fans have for him was expressed at the next home game where thousands of them wore the

traditional Hawaiian Lei to show their support.

With all that in mind; the storylines, the history, the players, this will be a game for the ages. And we’ll still be on our Christmas break, so you’ll have no excuse not to watch it! I know I will.

DUCC: Investing in success Eoin Healy focuses on the rise of DU Cycling Club, which has enjoyed great success thanks to an inclusive ethos and shrewd business dealings.

DUHAC captain called up to Irish squad Rebecca O’Keeffe Sfaff Writer “I USUALLY aim for 50 to 60 miles a week. Th is generally consists of 6 or 7 runs with, maybe, 2 swims.” With this kind of training regime, it’s little wonder that Sam Mealy represented Ireland at the European Cross-Country Championships last weekend. The championships were held in Budapest and the postgrad student spoke to University Times before making the trip to Hungary.

Sam has always been passionate about competition.

“I always played sports in secondary school, from tennis to football, but I got serious about running when I was 16 and competing in the various school’s competitions. My ideal distance would be 10 kilometres, cross-country.” On his selection to the under-23 squad for the European Championships, he informs us, “they picked the team at the National Inter-County Cross Country race two weeks ago.

I came fourth in the under-23’s and 21st overall, so

I was selected for the team.”

The selection is a great achievement for Mealy, who has quite a lot on his plate at the moment; Sam is a postgrad, a tutor and the harriers captain. “It is very difficult, especially with the postgrad. I’m much busier and the organisational side of DUHAC can be time consuming, but I’m lucky that my timetable is quite flexible this year and I can fit runs into it. It’s beneficial to have distractions outside of running because now I look forward to running and I’m enjoying it much more. I always push myself to the limit in training and I fi nd I’m much more successful in translating that training into the competitions now.” Sam was recently the beneficiary of some kind words from DUCAC Chairman Cyril Smyth, who praised his ability to excel in both academia and sporting endeavours. Sam feels that “there is a huge correlation between academics and running performance as it teaches you self-confidence and time management.”

About their chances on the weekend, Sam was optimistic; “We have a great team. We have Shane Quinn running with us who is on scholarship to Providence and competes in NCAA competitions. If the team runs well we should certainly be in the mix and could be top ten. As for a medal, I’m not sure, but the Irish team won two years ago so there will be a little bit of pressure. It’s my fi rst international competition and my preparation has gone well.

The conditions will be very different from the trials, but if I get in the top 40-50 I’ll be happy with that.”

Sam feels that with some work, the future is bright for Irish athletics. As for himself, “after the competition I’m going to have a little break from racing, but there is an International cross country race in Antrim in January and I’d like to run for Ireland again. With regard to my long term goals, I would love to aim for the World University Games being held in Russia in July.”

OVER THE past twelve months Dublin University Cycling Club (DUCC) has gone from strength to strength, experiencing exponential growth in membership and recording more victories than ever before.

While the generous support of one of Ireland’s most professional cycling stores, Cycleways of Parnell Street, has substantially contributed to the club’s recent development, the club has now secured significant endorsement from one of Ireland’s leading investors.

Previously the club focused solely on downhill and cross-country mountain biking, with ex-captain Stephen Scrivener leading the charge here in recording some impressive results in the National Gravity Enduro series. However, last year

the club expanded into road cycling and has enjoyed considerable success since.

Among others, Andrew Stanley progressed from an A4 category rider into an A2 rider in just one season, becoming one of only four people in the country to achieve this remarkable feat. While on his meteoric rise, Andrew saw off challenges from numerous high class amateur riders. Andrew is soon travelling to Hong Kong on Erasmus for Hilary term and is looking to take his biking success to an international level. DUCC’s captain, Eoin Healy, also won a silver medal at the Leinster track championships in September, fending off competition from some of Ireland’s top track cyclists including Anthony Walsh, who has just signed a

one year contract with proteam Astellas Oncology.

Confident in this success and the tireless efforts of the club’s committee, Sean Melly, of Powercourt Capital Partners has generously leant his fi nancial support to a club which he sees as a worthwhile investment. The success of the club is clearly telling, and with this backing, is sure to continue.

On October the 13th, DUCC proudly hosted the All Ireland Intervarsity Championship, which was attended by university students from the four corners of Ireland. Speaking to the University Times, the club’s public relations officer, Patrick Smith, was thrilled with the club success, noting that “we are very proud of Ian Richardson who won the men’s Time Trial, a victory which required him to best ex-professional rider Paudi O’Brien formally of Sean Kelly’s An Post team.

In a similarly encouraging result, Trinity’s Fiona Guihen powered through the women’s race to claim gold.

Particular thanks must go to Cycleways of Parnell Street who provide us with generous prizes for all of our intervarsity events and also to two-time Rás winner, Philip Cassidy, who graciously agreed to award the prizes on the day.”

Having also established a mutually beneficial sponsorship relationship with Spin 11, which provide custom cycle clothing at generous rates, the club is looking fi rmly to the future.

Building on these relationships, the club is looking forward to the opportunity of hosting another intervarsity event in either January or February aimed those new to racing. On March 17th the club will host the Cross-Country Intervarsities in association with www.biking.ie. The next Irish racing season will begin around May and DUCC looks set to take out at least 15 race licenses. Th is is an extremely large number for any Irish club and is a powerful reflection of the club’s strong fraternal culture.

When speaking to the University Times DUCC captain Eoin Healy had this to say: “While all of this race success has been key to building the club’s profi le, it is our solid relationships, both internal and external, which form the bedrock of our club. Training spins are well attended and club activism is healthy. We welcome riders of any discipline, of any fitness level and those with or without a drive to compete. We aim to foster an inclusive, health conscious and social environment. There is something for everyone within our club.” DUCC, it seems, is much more than just its race team; all involvement is encouraged, and clearly this has paid dividends in terms of results, prestige and college stature.

Sean Melly’s recent support not only substantially subsidised the cost of gear and other expenses, it symbolises the next step for the club on a journey to the heart of Irish cycling.

BUCCANEERS 25 - DUFC 23 Photos: Peter Wolfe

Top left: Colin McDonnell takes to the air over Buccaneers winger Billy Henshaw and Buccs captain Kolo Kiripati.

Top right: Jack Kelly scores for DUFC in the opening minutes of the game.

Bottom left: Second row Colin McDonnell charges forward, supported by flanker Brian DuToit and prop Ian Hirst.

UTsports

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Inside

Waiting for Keano, Page 14

Twitter: @Sports_UT

Photo: Peter Wolfe

Ladies Rugby claim inaugural Bowen trophy Final Score DULFC UCC

10

0

Jack Leahy News Editor THE OLD caveat against judging a book by its cover has scarcely been more relevant; a 10-0 scoreline, achieved over 80 minutes at the end of November, offers the image of a rugby game that is grim, joyless and pragmatic.

The inaugural Kay Bowen Trophy final was anything but the encounter dictated by its scoreline. A mesmeric balance of intricate skill and devastating force, the Trinity ladies rugby team did so much to illuminate a game when their opponents from

University College Cork offered a challenge steeped in steely abrasion typical of Munster rugby sides.

The trophy is recentlyestablished and is awarded to the ladies’ intervarsity championship. It is named in honour of Dublin University (Rugby) Football Club president Kay Bowen, who is the first woman to be elected to the presidency of an AllIreland League club.

I am not close enough to the inner-workings to estimate the regard in which Bowen is held, but if she is

an inspirational figure in the club then it was certainly evident in the performance of Trinity ladies in acquiring the trophy founded in her name. Trinity’s forwards began brightly, forcing several penalties in quick succession and driving their opponents onto the back foot.

Flanker Caitlin Crowe kept the momentum going with a series of quick and effective tap penalties, only for her side to be thwarted by strong defence from the Corkonians.

Despite some strong and committed tackling from the UCC pack, Trinity’s early dominance up front was epitomised by captain Tara Deane, who performed at a level above anyone else on the pitch throughout the game. An imperious lineout operator and guided by

a genuine rugby brain and instinct, the image of Deane towering above her opponents to claim the ball will live long in the memory as the epitome of Trinity Ladies’ tenacity.

UCC managed a rare turnover and burst out of their own 22 but the experience was short-lived as Trinity capitalised on a handling error to reclaim possession. Channelling her fellow outside-centre Brian O’Driscoll, Amanda Shovlin cleverly exploited the narrowest of gaps in the UCC defence to cut through the backline. Slick handling from Aoife Rowan, whose support efforts were excellent throughout, gave Trinity a platform two yards short as a frantic defence hauled her down with the line in reach.

Fittingly, Deane had a hand in the first try of the game after 20 minutes of breathless frenzy. Quick to support following Rowan’s near miss, Deane’s pickand-drive occupied several members of the UCC pack, leaving Louise Sullivan free to drive over off the back of a ruck with the majority of those on the floor tied up in a previous attempt to halt Trinity’s talismanic captain.

UCC responded brightly, with captain and scrum-half Mona Fehily dictating a play that eventually resulted in Trinity battling against Cork momentum in their own 22 for the first time. It looked inevitable that UCC would register and immediate response on the scoreboard, but some expert defending from second-row Caroline Von Konig salvaged

the situation. The German lock was her side’s principal source of defensive attrition throughout the encounter and her pressurising efforts eventually forced a well-taken interception from Shovlin. The interception allowed Trinity to reclaim momentum and enter the half-time break with a 5-0 lead.

The half-time break allowed UCC to regain their composure and the five minutes that followed the restart saw a renewed effort to breach the Trinity defence. Resolve, though, was the word of the day and the Trinity backline scrambled to thwart a dangerous Cork move before forcing a scrum in the home side’s favour.

From that scrum, number eight Abbey Deane surged powerfully into opposition territory and release the

pressure on her fellow forwards.

The UCC onslaught continued, though, and there was a danger that their swelling confidence would result in a score before a needless infringement on the floor gave Trinity a penalty in a good position. Rowan managed to find touch brilliantly five yards from the UCC line and the ball was sprayed out to the backline. Faye McKeown burst through a few meek tackles and offloaded to Shovlin, who danced through to register Trinity’s second try with 50 minutes played.

The final half hour was a matter of shutting up shop, with the marshy pitch and frenzied first half finally taking its toll. Trinity’s superior fitness was evident in the closing exchanges as the

relentless pack controlled possession and dictated the pace of play.

Immediately following the celebrations that greeted the final whistle, Bowen herself presented the trophy to Deane and thanked both teams for what she regarded as an excellent encounter.

It was an exciting spectacle of running rugby and expert forward play. Trinity Ladies, the devotees of attack, forced UCC to defend for all their worth and ceded very little. UCC lost, but with courage and dignity in tact.

This was never a game that was a foregone conclusion, but the side that wanted it more won out.

DUCAC award twenty scholarships for 2013 Conor Bates Sports Editor TWENTY STUDENTS were beneficiaries of DUCAC scholarships at a ceremony held on campus at the end of last month. On the night of November 28th, the scholarships, which aim to recognise and nurture sporting achievement within the college environment, were awarded to athletes in a total of eleven sports.

The honours were given out by Dr. Stephen Martin, MBE, who is the CEO of the Olympic Council of Ireland, and is a double Olympic medallist in hockey.

In keeping with Trinity’s

notable Olympic tradition, it was fitting that two of the scholarships were awarded to athletes who represented Ireland in London during the summer. Natalya Coyle, who took ninth place in the modern pentathlon, and freshman Scott Flanigan, who competed in the 470 class in sailing, were among the recipients. Both will surely look to replicate and further their successes at the 2016 Olympics, and scholarships like this can go a long way to bolstering the athletes.

Now in its twentieth year, the scholarship programme maintains its original aim of providing a solid support

package for students who excel in their sporting field.

This support package allows them to compete at the highest level and have a flexible environment for academic achievement. Head of Sport and Recreation, Michelle Tanner, espoused the importance of the programme in an official DUCAC statement, commenting that the recipients are “role models and an inspiration to all of us” and that the programme allows them to “excel both as a sportsperson and an individual.”

GAA club captain Tomas Corrigan received his second consecutive scholarship, and was joined by

teammates Daragh Daly and Stephen Cunningham on that front. Ladies footballer Jacinta Brady and Waterford hurler Paul Coughlan completed the GAA’s five honours. Aisling Miller picked up her second scholarship for her association with the air rifle club, and was joined by clubmate Victoria Mullin. Jack Reynolds and David Minihane picked up two scholarships for the soccer team, while Tom Brennan and Iomhar MacGiolla did the same for kayaking.

Rosalind Hussey and Brian Meehan received scholarships in orienteering and karate, respectively, while Harvard graduate Brian Hill

was awarded the honour for athletics. Lastly, Stephen Ludgate, Connor Montgomery, Eanna Horan and Nicola Walsh all received scholarships in hockey.

The presentation of the scholarships was shortly followed by the announcement of the Pinks to be awarded for the year. The aforementioned Natalya Coyle and Rosalind Hussey were successfully nominated at the captain’s meeting and will be joined by Rebecca Deasy of the ladies’ boat club in receiving Pinks for this year.

They will be presented with the college’s greatest sporting honour at sporting commons in Hilary term.

The 2013 DUCAC sports scholars.

Photo: DUCAC