The University Times, Issue 4, Volume 3, December 13 2011

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The University Times Irish Student Newspaper of the Year

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The University Times

We do not live in a perfect world

Budget 2012 for dummies

Magazine

Rónán Burtenshaw implores you to change it

Rob Farhat’s Economise This

Kebab Day/Moscow Protests/ Why Don’t Girls Play Videogames

FEATURES P6

Bartlett calls for referendum on USI disaffiliation

OPINION P11

A Trinity Christmas: Students and staff celebrate the festive season

» SU President condemns USI planning and execution of USI campaign, “Stop Fees, Save the Grant” » Says that he has already spoken to non-affiliated colleges to put a plan in place for TCDSU should it disaffiliate Ronan Costello Editor TCDSU PRESIDENT Ryan Bartlett has called for a referendum to be held on whether the SU should disaffi liate with the Union of Students in Ireland, the national representative body for most universities and institutes of technology in the country.

In an extensive interview with The University Times, Bartlett made it clear that he is no longer convinced that the USI represent the views of Trinity students and that a referendum was necessary to decide whether it was appropriate to continue participating in and paying for USI-organised campaigns.

“I’m not convinced that the “Stop Fees, Save the Grant” campaign has represented Trinity students and other colleges seem to have

accepted that there is a different sentiment in Trinity.

Th is means that students have to ask whether or not they want to continue being represented by USI,” said Bartlett.

While Bartlett was initially hesitant about making his long-building dissatisfaction with USI publicly known, events of the past few weeks have persuaded him of the need to re-evaluate Trinity’s position within the organisation. The much criticised occupation of the Department of Jobs by four SU Presidents, including USI President Gary Redmond, proved a step too far for Bartlett who sympathised with those in Trinity who viewed it as an embarrassing move

by USI, both in its conception and execution.

Bartlett said that, “the occupation was another step which seemed to come

about without it being discussed thoroughly and properly decided on. I was asked if people would be interested in taking part in it two days before it happened.

At that stage, the unofficial conversations lead me to believe that it would be happening at some stage later that week. However, I wasn’t given any further update on it until I was told that it was already underway.”

As regards the execution of the occupation, Bartlett said, “I think the execution of the occupation undermined the aims of it and thus it failed to achieve any of the proposed aims. It was something which I was concerned about all the time, the planning and the execution, and these concerns turned out to be justified. continued on page 4

Photos: George Voronov TRINITY BROUGHT in the holiday cheer by putting up a Christmas tree in Front Square on Friday December 2, thanks to the generosity of a private donor. The tree lighting was celebrated with festive singing led by the Dublin University Choral Society.

Many members of the college community and the public turned on the frosty evening at the invitation of the Provost. Dr. Pendergast said that he hoped the tree lighting would create a Trinity tradition for students and staff to enjoy.

The Provost recognised that it was “a difficult time in many respects” this Christmas, but that “we in Trinity are getting along reasonably well”.

“We’re having our fi rst Christmas tree and we can sing away some of our economic blues with Christmas cheer,” said Dr. Pendergast.

He also was particularly happy with the turnout and thanked the private donor for their generosity. It was the youngest members of campus, Pearse, Emer, Ailis Pendergast and the Burasrs children who had the honor of switching on the

lights.

“It was lovely and festive,” said Michelle O’Connor, Junior Sophister Irish Studies. “It looked really magical with all the lights and the beautiful carols. I hope they make it a tradition.”

To coincide with the event, tea/coffee and mince pies were also be available in the Buttery Restaurant on Friday from 2pm - 5pm at the special price of €1.

Leanna Byrne

Daily Mail banned from SU shops Sexual misconduct complaint » Apology for Mulrooney article was printed before Council suspended sales Fionn O’Dea News Writer THE SUSPENSION of sales of The Irish Daily Mail in SU outlets will continue until the end of January as a review of the paper’s apology is pending. The motion to ban the paper was passed overwhelmingly by the SU council last Tuesday, having been proposed by Environmental and Ethical Training Officer Stephen Garry. On Tuesday morning an apology was prinited for incorrectly reporting that the body of UCC student Caolan Mulrooney had been found in the River Lee. Garry’s proposal came in the wake of the publication of “The Importance of Being Honest” by Conor Kenny that was published earlier on that week in The University Times. To date, the piece has garnered 5,268 recommendations on facebook, becoming the most widely read article on the paper’s site with in excess of 40,000 views. Kenny, a former classmate of Mulrooney whose

body has since been found, lambasted Marisa Lynch, writer of the inaccurate article, branding her paper a “rag”. He then called on the people of Cork to boycott the paper, a call prompting the subsequent ban in Trinity.

However, the mandate to ban the paper came into force the same day The Irish Daily Mail’s apology was printed. The paper appeared

and expressing that he “cannot comprehend the anguish this must have caused for all of his friends, family and others connected to him.” Despite the immediacy of the subsequent apology, the paper will not be sold on campus until the SU Council reviews the issue on January 24. The delivery of the sought-after apology suggests that the ban will be

The Mail’s managing director, Paul Henderson, went to Cork to personally apologise for the article.

at pains to express “sincere apologies to Mr Mulrooney’s family and friends.” The paper’s Managing Director travelled to Cork to apologise in person.

SU President Ryan Bartlett had written personally to The Mail shortly beforehand, as mandated to at last Tuesday’s meeting. Bartlett wrote seeking an apology

overturned on this date.

The situation has raised concerns online over censorship and freedom of expression. One student on boards.ie complained that the action “[prevents] the publication of the rest of their issues, not the untrue one.” The issue differs from the boycott of Nestle and previous boycott of

Coca Cola as such products do not concern the right to free speech. Another student claimed on the thread that the “sensationalist lies” justify the ban, while another asked whether or not “the SU now fact check every publication it receives before allowing its sale.”

Kenny’s article pointed out the two possible realities pertaining to the publication: that the story was fabricated, or that it was improperly researched. The Mail pleaded genuine mistake, blaming “an error in the production process.” Editorin-chief Eric Bailey suggested that although the story’s origins came from “reports from friends and associates of Mr Mulrooney that a body had been recovered, the paper fell well below the high standards” set by it.

Whether or not students believe that the publication was genuinely erroneous, they are left to wonder whether lazy journalism and factual inaccuracies are sufficient to ban the sale of publications in a university.

Online content is uploaded to universitytimes.ie on a daily basis Follow us on Twitter @universitytimes and become a fan on Facebook

sent to College after Cork IV Jack Leahy Deputy News Editor THE UNIVERSITY Times has learned that a formal complaint has been submitted to the Junior Dean after a fractious weekend at the 2011 Cork IV debating competition that led to hostel staff labelling the University Philosophical Society group “the worst behaved in the history of [the] hostel”. The official complaint was made after a member of University Philosophical Society council allegedly encouraged an inebriated fi rst year student to strip naked and climb into the bed of a female member of the College Historical Society contingent while she tried to sleep.

A Times source revealed that the Hist dormitory in the Cork International Hostel, which hosted both societies over the weekend of the competition, was entered by the Phil contingent late on Friday night without permission for the entire group to enter. The Junior Dean

will be investigating the claim that residents of the room asked the Phil contingent to leave on more than one occasion before the council member, the equivalent of a society committee member, encouraged a fi rst year student to strip naked and get into the occupied bed of a Hist judge, who was attempting to sleep at the time. The unclothed debater is alleged to have then promptly fulfi lled the dare.

The same resident of the room told us that the girl “asked the perpetrator, calmly, to leave her bed”. Instead he reportedly touched himself in an offensive manner, before eventually heeding her request. A formal complaint has been made to the Junior Dean regarding the incident in question and that an investigation is soon to begin. The alleged victim declined to comment.

Further to this, a number of noteworthy incidents that took place over the weekend have come to light in this investigation. John Beechinor,

auditor of tournament hosts UCC Philosoph, received a complaint from University College Cork campus security. The campus security’s complaint concerned members of a number of debating societies, including those representing Trinity, consuming alcohol openly on campus and inside the chapel playing host to the tournament during the final on Saturday evening.

Speaking to this reporter, Beechinor said that the incident has become ’quite a big deal’ for the debating society: “Th is has become quite a big deal for us. We’re in a lot of trouble over it. There’s been a big inquiry into it and we’ll be writing to a few [involved] societies up and down the country in relation to it. We’ve been quite heavily punished.”

When asked whether the incident was isolated, Beechinor replied: “I suppose it was isolated in the sense that it only happened that one time, but it’s a big

The University Times

Editor: Ronan Costello Deputy Editor: Rónán Burtenshaw Volume 3, Issue 4

deal because it was during the fi nal of the debate and they were drinking inside the chapel where it was held.

As far as isolated incidents go, it was pretty significant”.

In a statement issued to The University Times, Phil president Eoin O’Liathan said ‘there were noise issues when a number of delegations, including the Hist and NUIG, returned on the fi rst night. We spoke to the hostel though and hope to stay there again in the future.’

On Friday evening, Hist member of committee Cormac McGuinness managed to successfully negotiate with hostel staff intent on evicting the entire Trinity group for excessive noise levels and inappropriate conduct stemming from the room invasion mentioned previously. The group was then kicked out of the hostel at 9am on Sunday morning, but were eventually given an hour to

continued on page 3

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

Tuesday, December 13 2011 | The University Times

2

TIMESNEWS Contents

A week in the life of Trinity’s Twitterati

TIMESFEATURES

Rónán Burtenshaw analyses the world we live in and concludes that young people must become more active in shaping its future

Tomás Sullivan discusses the Irish education system and says that it must be reformed from the ground up

Jeanne de Sutún

Fiona Hyde

Dan Ferrick

@jeannedesutun

@acowardhyding

@Danferrick

The new seats in the library under the glass pyramid mean I can’t make The Da Vinci Code jokes to myself anymore.

Watching the Late Late with my mother and a cameraman obviously walks into a shot. “Did you see that?” I said. “Big bum,” she replied.

At Trinity Christmas tree lighting. Hope paddy has some big ridiculous switch #Trinity Rónán Burtenshaw Darragh Haugh @ronanburtenshaw

@genockey

@DarraghHaugh

Only one thing makes finishing 7,000 words better, and that’s having to immediately start another 3,000 words straight after.

Rory O’Donovan talks about GroupOn and wonders if the benefit to the customer is shared equally by those supplying the deals

TIMESOPINION

Conor Kenny’s piece on the Daily Mail and journalistic standards has already been read 40,000 times online. Check it out.

Rob Farhat gives a simple but comprehensive analysis of Budget 2012 Hannah Cogan discusses the Russian demonstrations

TIMESSPORTS Trinity’s American football team proves victorious over rivals in Santry UT’s sports writers profile their all time sporting heroes.

The University Times

Magazine

Laura Gozzi gives an on the ground report on the protestes that have been rocking Moscow Luke O’Connell digests national kebab day in his characteristically whimsical style We ask why girls don’t play videogames The Culture section features the best student writing on film, fashion and theatre

» Likely that Capitations Committee will see funding cuts

» Cuts in funding would affect SU and student societies

James Hagan Senior Staff Writer

for decreases in third level funding over the next three years in the most recent budget.

Added to this, the committee is one of the few bodies in college which hasn’t been hit with funding cuts in recent months. Th is untouched status was defended at another meeting of the committee on the 24th November, in which the history of the funding method of the body was brought up as a point in its favour. It was said that up until 2002, students paid a separate “capitation fee” which was a direct funding mechanism for the organisations which cater to extra curricular activities for students. In 2002 this was streamlined and made part of the registration fee, with the same

and Damien Carr, Treasurer of DU Publications.

The formation of the working group comes amidst pressure from the college’s executive officers and planning group to cut the funding allocated to said committee. Rumours regarding cuts to the Capitation Committee’s funding began to gain ground when such a possibility was mooted by the Senior Dean at a meeting of the committee on November 10 of this year. Representatives of the capitated bodies who were present at the meeting were said to be panicked when Moray posed the question “how would we feel about a 10% decrease in funding?”

However, he quickly clarified that this was merely a hypothetical question

meant to assess reaction to possible cuts in funding, a 10% figure not having been proposed by anyone.

As it stands, no exact figure has been proposed by the executive officers seeking a cut in funding and the document the working group hopes to draft is seen as a preventative measure against any cut in funding whatsoever. SU President Ryan Bartlett gave an optimistic statement regarding cuts to funding to The University Times. He said “it’s fairly reasonable to hope that everything will be exactly the same as last year”.

Yet it seems likely that the Capitation Committee will experience continued pressure to accept a funding cut, with the government having laid out plans

amount of money going to the Capitation Committee as before.

Thus the argument for decreasing the funding allowance to capitated bodies comes down to an a difference in viewpoint between the executive officers of college, who view the entire budget gleaned from the registration fee to be flexible, and the Capitation Committee, who see the funding they receive as ring fenced and protected by historical precedent. Yet it is still unclear whether there is any protection outside of tradition and previous independence to protect the fund. There have been no indications regarding what the newly established working group will include in the document

which will be brought to the executive officers by the Senior Dean in justification of their budget.

Any cut in funding will be expected to affect all aspects of student life in Trinity since every officially sanctioned extra curricular activity receives part of its funding through this hierarchical model. These effects could come in the form of a reduced level of extra curricular activity across the board and also threaten to manifest in tension between the larger collective bodies as they fight to maintain their level of funding from a reduced budget.

SU President Ryan Bartlett.

Photo: Dargan Crowley-Long

USI votes to press ahead with more radical action Leanna Byrne News Editor THIS SATURDAY was USI national council, the equivalent of SU Council for the country’s sabbatical officers.

The big discussion item was the budget. After that it turned to what USI will be doing after the budget announcement.

Essentially there was a discussion about how USI could continue and do more and what should happen next. The plan for the occupation came together off the board. They mentioned that something could happen outside the Dept of Education the week of the budget.

Trinity College Dublin Student’s Union has voted against supporting further action in the “Stop the Fees, Save the Grant” campaign during National Council last Saturday. The mandate was passed as TCD was one of two colleges to oppose it.

The mandate for “stronger action” was proposed following an ad-hoc decision

Credits

We are young in a time of change. It comes with challenges. But also opportunity. The great generations were faced with these circumstances.

cooking Christmas dinner on the 10th, should be able to new years out of the way within the week at this rate #efficiency

Capitated bodies unite to fend off cuts in funding and potential conflict THE UNIVERSITY Times has learned that a working group has been set up by the Capitation Committee, which allocates funding to the five capitated bodies in college, to draft a document to justify its funding from college.

The working group will consist of the Senior Dean, Professor Moray McGowan, who chairs the committee, and one representative from each of the bodies who receive funding from the committee- Ryan Bartlett, President of TCDSU, Joe O’Gorman, Strategic Development Officer of The CSC, Cyril Smith, Honorary Chair of DUCAC, Mary O’Connor, GSU President

The Trinity Player brings some exPremiereship expertise to UT Sports

to stage a blockade outside the Department of Education last week. The blockade was due to take place on Wednesday after the Budget 2012, but was postponed until Friday. On Friday Gardaí became aware of the blockade, forcing USI decided to postpone a blockade. A decision was subsequently made

by USI officials to discuss stronger tactics for the campaign at National Council.

However, TCDSU President Ryan Bartlett went against the motion as he felt it “did not represent the views of Trinity students”.

“I told the Board that we would not support it because I didn’t think it was a good idea. In the end the decision was made to step it up, but we would not be a part of it,” said Bartlett.

During the discussions, several approaches were suggested to boost the campaign such as occupation, individual occupation, “bringing Dublin City Centre to a standstill”, national protests and regional protests. One measure that

Bartlett was willing to support was a video of personal experiences to give a powerful message to students about the difficulties some students had to incur as a result of increases in the registration fees.

Bartlett was particularly concerned about the planning on the original blockade, stating that “the whole point of USI is that the officers are to work on the task given to them by the students but this plan came from the top down”. According to Bartlett, this caused a number of issues for Trinity because they the general consent among students was not to abstain from increased action.

Other colleges were in overwhelming agreement with USI’s plan to continue with the campaign. Other members of USI questioned the decision made by TCDSU to opt-out of another blockade or protests. The absence of one of the leading universities of Ireland could be a negative sign for the campaign. In response,

other colleges suggested that “colleges that did not take part should not be allowed discuss the actions taken in public”. Despite this suggestion the Chair, Julian de Spáinn, reminded members of USI that National Council had no power to dictate what colleges do in this regard.

“There was some animosity towards the criticism of USI’s occupations,” Bartlett told The University Times. “I think there is a difference of opinion. Essentially the point is that colleges now recognize that Trinity have different views and they know that they are not representing them.”

Over the Christmas period USI have put a sub-group in place to dictate increased action in the campaign to limit leaks. A day of action has been planned similar to the postponed blockade which has now been approved to take place. The next National Council will meet in the middle of January next year.

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The University Times | December 13 2011

TIMESNEWS SU Town Hall Meeting on Fees: Modest attendance but lively discussion

The SU Town Hall Meeting was always going to be a hard sell. Discussing an issue that seems to be forever discussed doesn’t sound like the sexiest way to spend a Wednesday evening. Nonetheless, the debate at this meeting was well-informed and well argued.

Almost all conceivable viewpoints were aired, which meant that there was little agreement but everyone felt that their opinion had been heard.

The meeting ended with the agreement that an another, more specific meeting would be necessary before a conclusion was reached.

Photos: George Voronov

The SU’s post-Budget analysis Rónán Burtenshaw Deputy Editor TCDSU PRESIDENT Ryann Bartlett said that Budget 2012 had been “a hard one, that was also hard for students.” “The biggest fear,” he said, “was what would happen to those who can’t afford to pay.”

“When I started my degree I was paying €900 per year, when I finish it I will be paying €2,250. That’s substantially more than doubled in just a few years.”

An increase in the Student Contribution to €2,250

p/a and a 3% cut to the Higher Education Grant showed that they had not lived up to their stated promise of making provision for students from lower income backgrounds. “Those who will be hit hardest, and have already been hit hardest, are from those backgrounds.”

In a broader criticism of the measures in the budget he said that “the cuts from different areas will add up on the same people.” “We are not just talking about students but their families too. This will have a broad impact.”

He also criticised the ending of the post-graduate grant scheme for new applicants, saying “the opportunities people have to get education should not be affected by income. We should be concerned that this is what is happening at undergraduate and post-graduate level”.

Bartlett distinguished between the measures, however. While the end of the post-graduate grant was “wrong” it would only impact new applicants, he said.

“At least with those changes those who have started

their course can continue it.

This is not the case with the changes to the under-graduate funding system.”

In addition, Bartlett said, “students need to be aware that raising the student contribution won’t mean more money for college.” Instead college’s grant will be reduced by 2% even after the reduction for the extra funds from student contribution.

“The net result,” he said, “is that funding for higher education will be reduced. College will have to provide the same level of education with less means.”

He said it was “difficult to quantify” the effects that had been had by student actions in the run up to the budget. The protest march was a “success, given the short timeframe it was organised in”. “Lots of actions were undertaken. There is little way of measuring what effect each action has. I suppose we can say that people telling their stories to their TDs got a more positive response than the newspaper ad. But whether a €250 increase was their plan from the beginning we just can’t know.”

Ní Choill elected as Hist Auditor Cormac Shine News Writer URSULA NI Choill was elected the second Auditor of the College Historical Society’s 242nd session this week, after a by-election triggered by the resignation of Liam O’Neill due to health reasons. She was opposed in Monday’s election by the Society’s Treasurer, John Engle, former Treasurer of the Phil and last year’s editor of college satirical magazine, the Piranha.

“It’s a great privilege to be elected as Auditor of the Hist,” says Ursula. “The work ahead is huge but I have the support of a very hardworking committee and very enthusiastic Ordinary Members from all years in college. I am looking forward to meeting the challenges ahead and hope the Hist can contribute to public discourse and to student life in Trinity.”

Ni Choill is a fourth-year we have been fortunate to Irish student and has been maintain a high level of deinvolved with the Hist since bating,” she says. “That said, first year, becoming an Or- now that things have setdinary Committee Member tled, it is clear that we are a in 2009. She was elected to very strong committee who the post of Correspondance can pull through these chalSecretary in last year’s elec- lenges.” tion, a role that will now Ni Choill has a lot of work have to be filled in the com- ahead of her coming into ofing weeks.

This will necessitate another vote in Ní Choill said that it was a an already great privilege to be elected electora l ly and that the work ahead would be huge. busy year for the Hist.

Earlier in the year, Treasu rer Finbarr Goode Begley re- fice at a time of year when signed causing a number of debate attendance naturally by-elections. Ni Choill now begins to drop and the numhopes to move past these ber of enthusiastic freshers minor setbacks in order to clamouring to be involved concentrate on the Society’s falls. However, she points main activity, namely host- to strong attendance of deing debates. bates so far this year, and “Despite the difficul- highlights expected in the ties experienced this term coming months include the

Rubberbandits this Tuesday, the in-house Wolfe Tones competition running throughout Hilary term and the Trinity IV, to be co-hosted with the Phil.

Furthermore, Ni Choill emphasizes that the Hist hopes to continue its competitive successes this year, having scored many victories so far in competitions in Cork, Oxford, Cambridge and UCD, and first-year debaters such as Maidens winner Sebastian O’Shea Farren and serial winner Michael Coleman making an early impression.

“Wednesday night debates are, of course, the core of what the Hist does,” Ni Choill concedes. “We have another great term card of Wednesday night debates

planned on a wide range of topics: Free Speech, Palestine, the Irish Language, LGBT rights, and our second SER debate against Harvard on universal healthcare. We will also be holding panel discussions on women in Irish politics, economics, multiculturalism and the Arts.”

Ni Choill’s primary challenge will be maintaining numbers in a society that, as with all debating societies, is known for its “cliqueishness”. The electorate for the auditorial election consisted of 49 people. To be an eligible voter students must have attended and signed into at least three chamber debates this year as well as competing with the Phil, who have so far this year played host to actors Dominic West and Christopher Lee, philosopher AC Grayling and IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard.

Deck the Halls with Balls: The Cancer Soc Naked Calendar is on sale for 7euro

Teach First brings its vision to Trinity Niall Donnelly College Affairs Editor AT A time when many Trinity graduates are about to embark on the challenge of finding full time employment, Teach First may provide an interesting career avenue. Application for the programme opens on the 12th June 2012.

Teach First is a non-profit organisation set up to attract graduate students into the world of teaching. Founded in 2002, this charity was inspired to make amends for the alarming failures of the British, Irish and European secondary school education systems. It is currently recruiting graduate students from Trinity to pursue the challenge of providing excellent education to those who attend the most disadvantaged schools.

The failures in secondary school education are starkly illustrated in Teach First’s mission statement, “It’s a sad, almost unbelievable fact that one in six people leave school unable to read, write and add up properly”.

The group identifies that parental wealth is one of the main contributing factors to poor academic performances. Children from low income families are less likely to achieve success in their academic endeavours compared to their wealthier counterparts. Indeed, they highlight, “Just 24% of school children receiving free school meals achieved the benchmark 5A* - C grades at GCSE’s, less than half the average rate” Moreover, this financial barrier hinders future opportunities as the group further notes, “At the same time

just 16% of young people on free school meals progress to university, compared with 96% from independent schools”. Teach First states clearly that this state of affairs is totally unacceptable and must be ameliorated.

Research shows that high-quality teaching has the power to undermine this correlation and provide children with the opportunity to fulfil their potential, regardless of their family’s wealth. In response, it proposed an innovative new strategy for teacher recruitment and training that would seek to attract graduates who might not otherwise have considered teaching and place them in challenging schools.

Teach First was established to overcome the shortcomings in the current education system. Through its initial two year leadership programme it provides a forum on which graduates can impress some of the skills they have learnt at University to students from some of the most challenged schools. Graduates are tasked with teaching a range of subjects including English, Maths and Science to a host of different schools in many different regions.

What’s more, graduates are taught key skills such as leadership, teamwork and organisation that are attractive to future employers.

First Teach envisions this influx will make up for the dwindling number of graduates taking the career path into school teaching, and hopefully will attract many more into a profession that is badly in need of youth and inspiration. At the same time, it is hoped

the programme will provide inspiration to children who may not have even considered going to university and will develop graduates into well rounded candidates for their future careers.

After nine years, First Teach has attracted a huge amount of praise. Paul Durkin graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2003 with a degree in Economics. He enrolled on the Teach First programme and was assigned to Wembley High Technology School to teach maths and is currently an associate at the world renowned consultancy firm, McKinsey. He highlights some of the experiences and skills learnt on the programme noting, “The most important thing you will learn on Teach First is how to fail. It’s very hard to appreciate what success is until you’ve learnt to fail, and you will fail every day, but you will be stronger for that, and you will really appreciate it when you do succeed. Moreover Durkin noted the merits of undertaking the programme, “You know when you turn up at school that irrespective of how the day pans out, what you’re doing is possibly the most unselfish thing that you can do. It really is about giving yourself to others and whether you succeed or fail - it really is something that means that you know that you’re doing something right” The praise is not confined to those who undertook the programme. It is ranked the 7th most attractive graduate employer in the Times top 100, and ranked the number 1 Public Sector Employer of Choice in the Times top 100.

Sexual misconduct charge following IV continued from front page prepare themselves at the behest of Hist treasurer John Engle and pro-Debates Convenor Katie O’Leary.

Further investigation revealed that following their hosting of both societies over the weekend of 2nd4th December, the hostel in Cork City informed the Phil that their group were “the worst behaved group in the

history of this hostel”. The complaint was subsequently repeated by the Phil on their ‘Phil Freshers’ Facebook page in the form of a status issuing ‘belated congratulations to all our freshers this weekend for being “the worst behaved group in the history of this hostel”’.

The page is run by the VicePresident of the society, who is typically in charge of the society’s freshers.

The University Times contacted the hostel on Friday morning, and discovered that they were “unaware and disappointed” that the society had chosen to publicly celebrate their conduct over the weekend in question. The stand-in manager immediately recognised the group in question as Phil debaters and judges as “a group that caused trouble last weekend”.

Send your stories to news@universitytimes.ie

Tuesday, December 13 2011 | The University Times

4

TIMESNEWS

Postgrad grant cuts: Reaction Hilary Grubb News Writer

TCDSU President Ryan Bartlett watches the gatehring crowd in Front Square before the November 16 national protest.

Photo: Dargan Crowley-Long

Bartlett condemns USI in call for referendum on disaffiliation continued from front page Trinity students didn’t support it, from what we’ve seen.”

The SU President’s frustrations with USI are nothing new. For years he has been an outspoken critic of the standards to which USI have operated. During Cónán Ó’Broin’s year as SU President, Bartlett and then Education Officer Ashley Cooke were planning a similar move to disaffiliate but were persuaded to hold off by Ó’Broin, who was convinced that he and Redmond would transform the organisation as Deputy President and President.

Now, with Ó’Broin long gone and Redmond in his second term, Bartlett thinks that USI has slipped below the standard it set for itself last year.

The problems began during

the summer when there was no clear direction or idea of what this year’s national campaign would be.

“The national protest didn’t receive enough attention earlier on, which caused logistical difficulties and difficulties with getting the message out there to students and really getting students to understand what the issues were, what solutions were available and what the plan of action was,” said Bartlett.

“Last year, decisions were taken at an early stage in the year which meant that the campaign was fairly well organised. This year, decisions were taken later on, which caused major difficulties, which meant that less students knew what the campaign was about and which resulted in less students being involved than would otherwise have

been.”

Criticism has come from students at SU Council who have asked if the “Stop Fees, Save the Grant” campaign, and the November 16 national protest in particular, was ever fully supported by the student body. Council passed a motion in favour of supporting the campaign, but as it was proposed by Bartlett, its passing was somewhat inevitable. At the time, students had no literature on the mission or stated aims of the campaign.

Indeed, the SU had no long term policy on the the issue of fees, the previous policy having lapsed during the summer.

Bartlett says that this haphazard course of action was the only option open to the SU, because of poor planning on behalf of USI. When asked about this, Bartlett said “the way in which the

November 16 protest became a part of the national campaign seemed almost accidental. It was not part of any plans that were being talked about early on and seemed to come about without other options being fully explored.”

The end result was better than what many, including Bartlett, had expected. While attendance was down on last year’s march, the lack of violence meant that the media’s coverage was focused solely on the message being put forward

by USI and Gary Redmond in particular, who was judged to have acquitted himself well in all his media appearances.

Yet, Bartlett feels that the relatively low attendance from Trinity illustrated a certain detachment among students with the simplistic rhetoric of the campaign.

Thus, Bartlett is calling for the USI question to be settled.

A back-up plan is needed, however, if Trinity students are to maintain some semblance of representation on the national stage. After all, disaffiliation from USI does not remove the need to represent the interests of Trinity students to the government of the day.

In a pre-emptive move, Bartlett has already spoken with the Presidents of DCU and UL Students’ Unions, both of which have been disaffiliated from USI for a number of years. As it stands, TCDSU pays USI €78,000 per year to retain membership of the organisation. €5 of this comes from the €8 levy that most students opt to pay when they register each year. The other €3 is spent on USI-related activities by the SU.

Feachtas an seomra caidrimh ag leanúint

Universities asked to repay unscanctioned allowances Leanna Byrne News Editor TOP THIRD level institutions will be asked to repay unsanctioned allowances following an examination of college accounts by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). It was revealed that the total paid to senior professors and lecturers is €2 million higher than the HEA believed it to be.

Trinity College Dublin is reported to have paid €1.38 million to academics without permission from the HEA. In addition, The University Times reported in its last issue that a College Board meeting confirmed that paid promotions were to go through. The Board were confident that there

was limited amount of flexibility for a number of promotions since the university had delivered significant savings under the terms of the employment control framework. According to the Board it was not in the interest of the college to be constrained by the Employment Control Framework issued by the government in 2008.

However, the Board recognized that there were financial and compliance risks involved with the initiating a promotion process. The proposal was to undergo a rigorous review by the Senior Promotions Committee, the Human Resources Committee and the Planning Group. Also, the Department of Education

What has over 1,500 subscribers and goes out at 10am every Monday morning?

The UT Newsletter.

and Skills had yet to respond to the request of the proposal.

Secretary-general at the Department of Education Brigid McManus wrote to the the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) outlining “issues in relation to the [UCD] president’s own remuneration arrangements, including pension, remain outstanding”. Furthermore, “the department is addressing this matter with the governing authority”.

Following the report, the HEA has proposed that the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn, take the necessary steps to “re-allocate or attach conditions on the use of an appropriate level of funding in each

university”. Under this proposal, universities would have to repay the unsanctioned allowances by re-directing an equal amount towards student services.

Speaking to The Sunday Business Post, President of University College Dublin (UCD), Hugh Brady, felt that the payment of the allowances was a vital move to secure “academic leaders” in senior positions at the college. A move to penalise the system would be “inappropriate, counter-productive and of dubious legality”, said Brady.

University College Cork and NUI Galway paid €1.5 million and €578,000 respectively, according to the McManus. NUI Maynooth paid a sum of €272,000

Assuming that the SU pays its full membership fee, it will spend €111,000 on USI this year.

Bartlett’s hope is that students will be asked not only if they want to disaffiliate from USI, but if they would also replace the €8 levy with a levy to be paid to the SU for the purpose of conduction national campaigns.

He envisions this levy being smaller than the current one. Whether the College Capitations Committee would grant such a levy is not guaranteed, but Bartlett is confident.

Now, all that remains is for one student or a number of students to gather the 250 signatures necessary to mandate the SU to hold the referendum.

THE MINISTER for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin has announced that they will cut the maintenance grant for postgraduate students. The cuts are expected to impede development in research, leading to a fall in university rankings and more importantly, prevent postgraduate students from starting or continuing with third level education.

Mary O’Connor, president of the Graduate Students’ Union at Trinity College Dublin said that prior to the budget announcement, she and the GSU EMS Faculty Rep and the President of the UL Postgraduates’ Union met with the financial advisers of the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn, not “to debate about broken promises, criticise the government, or persuade them to cut other areas”, but “to ensure that education as a whole be conserved.” They “spoke on behalf of the University Rankings and the need of leading Irish research to drive Irish University reputation in an international landscape.” They claimed that: “If the rankings drop, external funding could also drop; which would ultimately decrease research and the number of researchers.”

O’Connor explained that postgraduate students are a benefit rather than a burden to third level institutions.Trinity PhD students, for example, tend to be a ‘cheap labour’ for third level institutions as most of them teach for a limited amount of money or volunteer, ultimately lowering costs for third level institutions and therefore the government.

Currently, the government pays a maintenance grant of €3000, the total grant for a postgraduate student being around €6000 including fees. The government pays around €10,000 for a person on the dole.

In statements to the Dáil, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin said: “While we have had to make savings by abolishing student support for some new

postgraduate students, we will make a contribution towards the fees of postgraduate students from the lowest income backgrounds.”

The abolition of the maintenance grant will prove detrimental for many, however. One 27 year old postgraduate student who wishes to remain unnamed told The University Times that will have no other option but to drop out if there are any further cuts. She was selfemployed for seven years before deciding to go into third level education.

“As a mature student I had done my research before applying to the college, had savings and was confident enough that with the help of the grant I would be able to pay my bills,” she said.

The student went on to explain how her grant was cut by 60% last year. As a mature student she had been getting her fee paid and just over €3000 in three instalments paid during the year.

“I get roughly €1200 per year spread over three instalments”, she said. “Bearing in mind that I don’t qualify for ‘back to education allowance’ it literally means I have €1200 to live on for eight months, which is a joke!”

Furthermore, she points out that she is in a “loop of social welfare”. She doesn’t qualify for the ‘back to education allowance’ because she was only four months on the dole before starting the college and not nine. Because she was running her own business before, she doesn’t qualify for many other social welfare payments.

“I don’t live with my parents; therefore I have to pay for everything myself. On the other hand people who live with their parents, but are a certain distance away from college get over €3000.

I think it’s unfair.”

The severity of the cuts to the education sector cannot be underestimated. The fact of the matter is that postgraduate students will suffer greatly under this budget, and it will, in the long run, have strong ramifications for research in Ireland.

and subsequently it has emerged that DCU have been paying out €3,800 per year to academics who held associate dean positions.

The sum of unsanctioned allowances is estimated to be in the region of €7.8 million, although this could rise as new revelations have emerged. The Comptroller and Auditor General, John Buckley, has been required to validate the exact figures before seeking the approval from Ruairí Quinn to approve a repayment sanction. However, no direct moves will be made to recover any revenue from academics who received increased pay.

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The University Times

»» Brú á chur ar an Phrópást i ndiaidh agallamh poiblí Ciara Heneghan Contributing Writer MAR CHUID den fheachtas atá ar bun ag an gCumann Gaelach agus Aontas na Mac Léinn le Seomra Caidrimh a bhunú ar champas tá dhá imeacht mhóra eagraithe don tseachtain seo.

Léirigh reachtaire an Chumainn Ghaelaigh, Pádraig Schaler, go raibh seomra caidrimh i ngach coláiste sa tír ach amháin i gColáiste na Tríonóide agus go raibh sé mar aidhm aige rud éigin a dhéanamh faoi.

Dar leis, “tá na céadta duine i gColáiste na Tríonóide le Gaeilge agus tá lár-ionad uainn dóibh. Áit gur féidir leo ar fad teacht le chéile agus an teanga a labhairt, mar atá in ollscoileanna eile ar fud na tíre. Tá sé deacair cuir síos a dhéanamh ar an difríocht go bhféadfadh seomra simplí a dhéanamh don Ghaeilge san ollscoil seo.” Faoi láthair na

huaire tá seomra beag ag an gCumann san Atrium, ceann a bhíonn plódaithe gach Mairt agus na Ciorcail Comhrá ar siúl acu.

Gealladh seomra caidrimh in Ionad na Mac Léinn, an ‘Student Centre’ a bhí le tógadh san áit ina bhfuil Luce Hall anois. Thiteadh an plean sin as a chéile sa reifreann anuraidh agus anois tá plean malartach ag teastáil. Rinneadh iarracht rud éigin a eagrú i rith an tsamhraidh ach dúirt an Space Allocations Committee ag an am nach raibh sé in a thosaíocht.

Sa Town Hall Interview i Deireadh Fómhar bhí an méid seo le rá ag an Propast “This is an issue that really is important. I do believe that the Irish language is important (…) and I look forward to going myself to the Seomra Caidrimh to speak Irish with students.”

Ar an Máirt seo beidh seastán i mBloc na nDámh

ó 10a.m. - 4p.m. áit go mbeidh an deis ag mic léinn agus foireann na hOllscoile a n-ainm a chur leis an achainí atá againn lena dtacaíocht don Seomra Caidrimh a léiriú. Tá os cionn 200 duine tar éis an achainí a shíniú cheana féin agus táimid dóchasach go mbeidh 1,000 síniú againn roimh Dhéaradoin.

Ar an gCéadaoin seo beidh an Parlour (sa JCR ar 44 Sráid an Phiarsaigh) á úsáid mar Sheomra Caidrimh sealadach idir 10am4pm. Cé go bhfuil seomra atá suite i gcroílár an champais de dhíth don Seomra Caidrimh, tá an seomra seo á úsáid don lá le léiriú go bhfuil géar-ghá agus éileamh ar Sheomra Caidrimh. Beidh tae, caife agus brioscaí ar fáil ann saor in aisce.

Tuesday, December 13 2011 | The University Times

6

TIMESFEATURES

We do not live in the best possible world Deputy Editor Rónán Burtenshaw examines the world we live in and argues that ours is a revolutionary world once more, waiting on young people to question the status quo and to campaign as they have before for a better, more equal society

I

T STARTS WITH an acknowledgement: we do not live in the best possible world.

The crisis we are living through has layers. If we take a small step back we see that nearly one in four Irish people are now experiencing two or more types of enforced deprivation. Our national suicide rate is the highest in the history of the state. 40,000 of us had emigrated in the year to April, a 45% increase on the same figure last year. 30% of Irish people between 18-24 are unemployed. We are not in this together, either.

Many people will live through this winter without the means to heat their homes or put food on the table. Medical bills, let alone Christmas presents, are luxuries they cannot afford. Yet 36,000 people – Ireland’s 1% - own €130.2billion in wealth. That’s roughly 77% of the country’s entire GDP last year.

And they’re getting richer.

Another step back sees the fi nancial crisis as a bonfi re of the myths of our system of governance.

Democracy has been fatally undermined at the behest of the markets, big fi nance and the German and French governments who are their enforcers. It was corrupted by coercion and distorted fundamentally when democratically-elected governments in Italy and Greece – whose ancient civilisations are the roots of the democratic republic – were replaced by technocratic regimes headed by bankers. Referenda were discouraged, as were any other forms of what José Manuel Barroso dubbed “political games”. There is now little doubt whether our representative democratic system is more representative – of the interests of those in power – or democratic – one that puts power in the hands of the people. It has largely been reduced to a mechanism for gaining our consent to the rule of the élites.

The structural deficit of democracy has been exposed. The rise to power of corporations, the fi nancial markets and a 1% who can just leave if they are made to pay their share has relegated the nation state to subordinance. (Europe’s 1% own €7.6trillion, 83% of the combined Eurozone GDP for 2010). As the prescient ‘money speech’ in the movie Network put it, “we no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies. The world is a college of corporations, inexorably determined by the immutable bye-laws of business. The world is a business.” And the recycling of governments in Spain, Ireland, Britain, Portugal, Croatia and, shortly, France and Germany will do nothing to change this. The distinction we thought existed between left and right in our representative system doesn’t when its sphere of influence is so miniscule.

But if we step further back we will see an even broader crisis. We live on a planet of fi nite reSee universitytimes.ie for sources, yet the system we live under demands ina fully referenced version of finite growth. We are using one-and-a-half times this article. what the planet can sustainably renew each year.

36,000 people Ireland’s 1% - own €130.2 billion in wealth. That’s roughly 77% of the country’s entire GDP last year.

And they’re getting richer.

The consensus amongst the scientific community is that anthropogenic climate change is pushing our environment towards disaster, yet the world’s leaders will miss the crucial 2020 deadline for irreversible damage. Our planet produces more than enough food to feed every person who inhabits it. Yet we waste one-third of the food produced (1.3billion tonnes) is wasted each year while 1 billion people remain malnourished and 6 million children under 5 die each year from hunger. In 2006 the United Nations University’s WIDER study on wealth distribution estimated that the top 1% of the world’s population owned more wealth than the bottom 95% combined. The figures were based on year 2000 estimates and all world wealth report indications since suggest this gap has widened. 80% of the world’s population live on a total of less than $10/day and there is almost no state in the world where wealth inequality and income differentials aren’t rising.

Instead of exploring the universe or curing disease the majority of all money invested in R&D each year is used to fund militaries and weapons that kill and maim. With each decade more states produce and possess weapons that if they were ever used would wipe out the population of the world many times over. And with each new state that possesses them a collection of their neighbours and enemies are incentivised to attain them. If the power of the technology we are developing continues to be harnessed by those who wish to control us our future will become increasingly Orwellian as our civil liberties are eroded.

The crisis is not a small one, nor has it any simple policy-based or technocratic solutions.

So, what does it mean to be a young person growing up in this world that we acknowledge is not the best possible? We are young in a time of change. It comes with challenges, but also opportunity. The great generations that we remember – those that fought against the injustices of tyranny and imperialism, racism, sexism and homophobia, war and poverty - were faced with these circumstances. They harnessed the power of young people - before they were burdened with the stresses of family, job or bank account - and used it to fight for their ideals. But most of them started by doing something relatively simple. They questioned things.

And that questioning is happening again.

Young people – from Egypt to Spain to the United States to those on the streets of Moscow at the moment – are asking questions again.

They are acknowledging, as the great generations of the past have done, that they do not live in the best possible world. Those generations created space for, and encouraged discussion of, alternatives. They refused to be bound by the structures of a world they did not create. But they didn’t

start by knowing what they were going to do, how they were going to do it or how it would end. They started by being a generation that questioned things. And often the deeper they were willing to go with their questions the more profound the social movement for change they produced.

The 1960s, the last great generation, one that really questioned things and sought to make change, left an instruction for all of those who wished to follow them scraweld on a wall in Paris in May of 1968. It read: “soyez réalistes, demandez l’impossible” – “be realistic, demand the impossible.”

Two years beforehand Bobby Kennedy, in front of a room of students in Cape Town, South Africa, had outlined the role of young people in a world of great change.

“The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress. Th is world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease… It is a revolutionary world that we all live in; and thus… it is the young people who must take the lead.”

We live in a world of crisis. But it is a revolutionary world again. And it’s waiting for a generation of young people to start asking questions.

Below: The early to mid 1960s saw a generation of young acticists campaign for civil rights and equality between all citizens in the US. Bobby Kennedy was an icon for those people.

Sympathy for the Occupiers Edward Flahavan Staff Writer

W

Billionaire Warren Buffet has sympathised with the sentiments expressed by the Occupy movement.

E CAN ALL sleep soundly in our beds once again.

The Red Peril of Occupy Wall Street has been put down in a flurry of batons and a haze of pepper spray. No need to worry about a Maoist Vegan uprising then. The attempts of anarchists, sloth affl icted layabouts and dope fiends to destroy the wealth of nations has been thwarted.

Job well done I say.

Well, not so fast. The sentiment of the ‘Occupy’ movement resonates in some unlikely circles, with people the ‘establishment’ would rather it didn’t.

‘Mortgage backed derivatives are fi nancial WMDs’, ‘US political parties are stooges of corporate America’. No these are not slogans on the placards of medicinal marijuana users outside the NY Stock Exchange, rather these are the respective views of Warren Buffett and Jeff rey Sachs (renowned macroeconomist).

The bosses of PIMCO and BlackRock, two of the biggest private wealth funds in the world along with many other notable businessmen have also expressed understanding and sympathy for the protestors.

Those supporting the Occupy movements from the sidelines outnumber those who rail against it. It’s not that Buffett is some manner of closet Marxist no more than he is likely to be baton whipped the next time he visits an investment bank. The lack of fairness,

efficiency and visible accountability in big business and high fi nance is what frustrates the real business community.

The deregulation of finance, lobbying and corporate enforcement has been in vogue around the world since the eighties, this has meant that the special interests have gained at the expense of not just the working classes but the open free market capitalism it was meant to encourage.

Just last week the New York City Judge Jed Rakoff halted the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) from settling a case with the bank Citigroup for their

settlement is neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest’ said Judge Rakoff as he ruled that the case must return to the courts in July.

Th is case and others like it annoy investors (be they fund managers or pension contributors) as much as blue collar workers. The functioning of fi nancial markets relies on an investor’s confidence that he or she is making decisions in an open market that operates under enforceable rules. While to the working classes it is just another example of corruption in a rigged game which offers no benefits to the public.

Those supporting the Occupy movements from the sidelines outnumber those who rail against it fraudulent mortgage trading. The SEC would have settled with Citigroup for a sum of money ($285m) which no more compensated stung investors than it hurt Citi’s pockets. The SEC frequently allows companies to settle without admitting guilt since this would open the banks to further law suits from investors.

The SEC is forced to allow this due to a combination of deregulation and a lack of funds to take on wealthy banks and corporations in the courts. ‘The proposed

I was amused to read the other day that last year a little known fi nancial services company (Spread Networks) completed building an 825 mile trench of fibre optic cable from the New York Stock Exchange to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Th is $300m feat of engineering shaves three milliseconds off high speed automated trading giving it a competitive advantage.

All of this while the passenger trains from New York to Chicago run barely faster than they did in 1950. Th is

is the reality of the disconnection between on the one hand consumer and business technology and on the other hand national infrastructure crying out for improvement.

The growing consensus amongst economists and commentators, one that echoes with businesses and shoppers, is that government has lost sight of its obligation to provide a fair regulated market and adequate public services. While the voices of Occupy Wall Street may be cacophonous the overriding theme of disillusionment and disaffection is not to be sneered at.

Conveniently parcelling the views of Occupy Wall Street as those of socialists, radical anthropologists and assorted ‘freaks’ and then sweeping them under the carpet will certainly alleviate the non-existent Red Th reat. What it will not do is repair the confidence of consumers, business owners and investors in the institutions of governance.

Stimulus packages and so called ‘supply side’ policies have their place in jump starting growth, but while people continue to have a cynical attitude towards government and business they will not resume normal economic activity.

Governments which continue to pander to high finance and big business while ignoring the frustrations and worries of consumers and businesspeople will continue to see confidence and with it the prosperity of the economy slide ever further.

7

The University Times | Tuesday, December 13 2011

TIMESFEATURES Groupon: Power to the consumer at whose expense?

The Groupon King: Andrew Mason

Features Editor Rory O’Donovan questions whether the success of Groupon has been attained at the expense of its commercial partners

A

S MANY OF those closest to me would testify, I love a free lunch. I am also partial to a discounted coffee, a reduced-price muffin and a price-cut pint. Functioning as a berated scavenger requires a thick skin, but I take solace in the fact that, amongst Trinity’s student population, I am not alone in my propensity for bargains.

Amid Dublin’s budgetaryconstrained masses, on any given day, it would not be inaccurate to estimate that hundreds, perhaps thousands of students are taking advantage of discounted offers on retail products and services. Many of these will be availing of vouchers they have purchased online through any of the blossoming organisations that promote themselves as discounting middle-men, squeezing snips from businesses on your behalf. At the forefront of this sector is a company recently valued in excess of $10 billion, a company many of you receive emails from everyday, a company called Groupon.

Having read the above, you might be forgiven for assuming that I am an advocate of organisations such as Groupon and, speaking truthfully, I would have to admit that I used to be.

As one of thousands of students living away from

home in Dublin, I have encountered my fair share of exorbitant pricing and stubborn, greedy proprietors.

Even now, in the Days of the Deal, it is often staggering to see how much business owners continue to charge a consumer market that is struggling to cope with the prospect of a generation of austerity. One only needs to recall the days of the Celtic Tiger to fully appreciate this nation’s recent history of excessive over-pricing that was, regrettably, matched by excessive consumption. But now the tides have changed, right? Now we, the consumer, have been empowered by online retail innovators and we can sleep easier, reassured that by the time we wake up, bargains will await us in our inbox.

Until recently, dizzied by the discounts, I never asked: At what cost?

More importantly, if there were costs – negative costs – I never asked whether I would care.

Would you?

First, consider the story of Rachel Brown, owner of Reading-based Need a Cake bakery. Mrs Brown has run her bakery for over twentyfive years and this October she decided to make her first foray into online discountmarketing with Groupon, by offering a 75% discount on batches of 12 individually

designed cupcakes. Unfamiliar with the technicalities of the undertaking, Mrs Brown quickly found herself overwhelmed as over 8,000 subscribed to the deal.

In the weeks that followed, Mrs Brown and her staff made 102,000 cupcakes, often working late into the night. All of the batches were sold at a considerable loss and, coupled with this Mrs Brown had to hire extra staff to deal with the sharp increase in demand.

The venture ended up costing her tens of thousands of pounds and she has blamed Groupon for crippling her business and decimating her profits. She described her Groupon experience as an ‘absolute nightmare’.

Next, allow me to direct you to the experiences of Hannah Jackson-Matombe, whose cleaning business was similarly adversely affected by a joint-enterprise with Groupon. She decided to offer a discount on her organisation’s specialist oven-cleaning service, usually £95. She affirms that despite her will to reduce the price to around £70, Groupon urged her to offer further reductions, with the discounted-price eventually settling at £19. After hundreds of users subscribed to the offer, her business was stretched to its limit. Mrs JacksonMatombe summed-up by

declaring that ‘we realised to our cost that we became Groupon slaves’.

I was sufficiently intrigued by these tales to delve into some Groupon research myself and, judging by much of the company’s coverage in the US media, Groupon’s reputation is seemingly tainted with scandal as much at home as abroad. In many corners it is derided for its aggressive marketing from both the business and consumer perspective. The Office for Fair Trading is currently considering claims that Groupon broke advertising rules 48 times in 2011: they are accused of conducting promotions unfairly, not making terms and conditions clear, not providing evidence that advertised deals are actually available and exaggerating savings claims. Further to all of this, a recent survey by social media marketer iContact, announced that 70% of small business owners – those one might reasonably assume that Groupon often help – ‘hate’ the company. Much of this negative press is attributed to causing the reduction in Groupon’s share price, which, following their floatation on the New York stock market in November, rapidly fell by 15%.

A statement issued by Groupon in response to

these incidents read ‘Groupon constantly strives for business practices that are in the best interest of consumers’ and perhaps this is the case. Many commentators highlight that those negative cases exhibited in the media represent a minority of experiences amongst Groupon users. Furthermore, they attribute the blame in most of these cases to the businesses themselves, for failing to

fully understand the enterprise before subscribing to it.

Other observers have stressed that struggling businesses can ill-afford to ignore discount websites as a lucrative new marketing tool and stress that small businesses need to be educated in how to exploit them properly. Are the dissenters criticising Groupon simply business-owners angered at the discount-demanding

generation Groupon and co. have spawned?

As many of those closest to me would testify, I love a free lunch. But as the old adage preaches: ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’. I might be getting a free lunch, but who is paying for it? Certainly not Groupon. Whilst I am not qualified to judge the relative integrity of companies like Groupon, my encounters with its apparent negative consequences has

led me to reconsider how I view the discount-inspired transaction: Next time you use Groupon you will undoubtedly be saving yourself money, but you’ll also be making money for a company worth billions, possibly at someone else’s expense.

Education sector must be fixed from the ground up Tomas Sullivan Deputy Features Editor

T

HESE DAYS, WHETHER it’s academics trying to preserve or increase their research funding, or student unions outlining the destructive effects of us and our parents paying for university, it’s impossible to escape the tremendous ego of everyone involved in Higher Education. The arrogance is pretty much explicit in the term. All the talk we’ve heard about a ‘knowledge economy’ and ‘innovation’ is centred around universities. This is in ignorance of the fact that Mr Quinn is really working within an education budget, for 1st, 2nd and 3rd level education, not a university budget. Not cutting the university budget would mean cuts for secondary and primary schools.

Unsurprisingly, these academics and student leaders are by and large concerned with nothing other than the level of education they’re currently involved in. You would think none of them bothered with learning to read, write and count before embarking on an extended PhD into whether or not Dumbledore is gay.

Sometimes, it is worth remembering how important the basics of education are before we start setting out how the education budget should be spent.

Like a lot of people I’ve never rated my leaving cert experience very highly. When you’re trying to get into Trinity, you tend to put learning for the sake of learning on hold. Any question you ask about the relevance of what you’re being forced to do in class is met with the answer: ‘you don’t want to go into your exam without it’. This is especially detrimental in fundamental subjects like English, maths and foreign languages, which have real

value for everyone. In terms of foreign language fluency, a spokesperson for Google recently highlighted the importance of having a foreign language, and Irish people’s poor level of fluency in a second (i.e. third) language.

This is perhaps not surprising, considering that the rest of the world is highly motivated to learn and speak our first language.

I’ve heard many friends complain about the way in which they were taught a language in secondary school: too much focus on the many ways to conjugate verbs, and not enough time spent just having a conversation. Ireland is one of the few countries in the world that doesn’t teach a foreign language in primary school.

Devoting our precious time to Irish is not an excuse. In Morocco for example, everyone knows French, Arabic and begins English before they leave primary school.

In Switzerland domestic languages include Italian, German and French.

As an English student, I found leaving cert English actually requires fairly complex analysis of a text in order to get an A1. But teaching the basics of writing was often lacking in my school.

One student, who was clearly very intelligent, decided at some point to not bother with paragraphs in his essays, and was never corrected by our teachers. Furthermore, grammar and the nuts and bolts of writing tended not to be seen as an end in and of themselves. I’ve always found American students to have been drilled better in the basics of structuring a piece of writing.

When you come to university you go through the depressing realisation that you need to forget how you used to write essays over the past six years and start anew. It’s no surprise that employers in a gradireland survey list writing and communication

skills as the biggest skills lacking in incoming staff.

But, much to my chagrin, no one cares about English. The shortage in maths is much more newsworthy.

The subject in itself is actually of a very high standard, though extremely high fail rates and low participation in higher level, suggest something is wrong with the teaching of maths. The ‘solution’ to this problem, was to give bonus points for taking the higher level. This policy drew strong criticism from the SU and GSU when it was announced, because it did nothing to address the underlying problem of how maths is taught and the scarcity of resources available to teachers.

We’re not the only country with these problems.

While American universities are ranked the best in the world, the percentage of 15-19 year olds participating in education is just over 80%, below the OECD average and around 10% lower than Ireland, which is ranked third. Ruthi, an American, commented that she felt in high school, ‘foreign languages always felt more like something you needed to get into college rather than to get around in the world’.

In general she spoke highly of her education in the basics, but commented, ‘I’m told that our math is more basic across the board,’ and ‘I think it’s worth pointing out that most Americans at Trinity would have come from above-average high schools.’

It generally seems to be the case that quality public education varies, compared to independent schools, which tend to be of a higher standard in general. William, from the UK, personally perceived this in his education. ‘Coming to Trinity, I was surrounded by English people who had been to either grammar or public schools, who had received a

better education than me.’

Specifically he found that in his school: ‘with mixed sets there were always stupid disruptive people who slowed the pace of the rest of the class (even in top sets).

There was little room for individuality in your exams and classes because it’s all so centralised.’ He found GCSE English was boring and impractical, ‘we seldom did any grammar and never wrote our own letters, stories, poetry etc.’ He now studies French, and felt, on entering college, ‘that I was at a much higher level in language terms than most of the Irish students as there was a clear gap in stuff like grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.’ However, he notes, ‘little effort is made by teachers to engage pupils in the languages they profess to teach. It is boring. We did comprehension, a lot of listening and random stuff about French people and their hobbies.’

The OECD, a think tank for the 38 richest countries in the world, has accepted that students not affected by their socio-economic background are rare: 31% of ‘disadvantaged’ students on average. They are called ‘resilient’. The UK is ranked 29th for resilience and Ireland 17th.

A big difference between the Irish and UK education system is of course the pros and cons of 3 A-levels vs 6 leaving cert subjects.

While the specialisation of UK schools is helpful for college, I’ve heard many people regret having to make such important choices very early on. In both jurisdictions, it is perfectly possible for students to choose subjects that are, let’s face it, ‘easier’ than maths and physics, such English, Geography and Business Studies. In the UK, the result is a crisis in maths education. The government pays large amounts of money to those studying to

be a maths teacher. In certain cases this is double the £9,000 in fees payable for teacher training. Such issues are the real problems with ‘education’ in Ireland and other countries; not problems with third level.

Being taught the fundamentals is what enables people to undertake the self-directed learning that college is all about. Primary and secondary schools are the only places where this elusive ‘knowledge economy’,

which professors keep talking about, can finally develop.

To return to student politics, the USI agree with Labour on one thing, that the purpose of free fees was to provide equal access to

third level, regardless of the ability to pay. But it is time we realised that it’s early intervention in education that will stop higher education being largely a privilege of the rich, and will allow it to become a right.

Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has had to deal with blinkered representations from Unions and University heads.

Tuesday, December 13 2011 | The University Times

8

TIMESFEATURES

Trinity students at the forefront of business innovation Ciaran O’Callaghan talks business with some Trinity students who have already taken their first steps on the entrepreneurs ladder

A

MERICAN MEDIA MOGUL and philanthropist Ted Turner, who is best known for founding the cable news channel CNN, once quipped upon the concept of entrepreneurship; “My son is now an entrepreneur… That’s what you’re called when you don’t have a job”. Entrepreneurship, or more specifically the individual pursuit of initiating a new business, undeniably encompasses the adverse notion of personal financial risk from the outset; a daunting concept considering the ubiquitous macro-economic circumstances in Ireland. However the prospect of reward, for some, far outweighs the negative potentialities. Trinity College presently contains an ambitious few who align themselves with the latter way of thinking and are actively engaging in setting up their own respective businesses. This poses the quandary: Is it worthwhile starting up a new business as a student?

Last June Robin Bennett, author of Start-up smart visited the University of Worcester, UK, in order to advocate individual business venture to students.

Bennett’s stance, that good planning and sensible cash flow management are imperative to small-business success, inspired his student audience, needless to say it is likely that many of those who attended his talk were enrolled in one of the college’s plethora of ‘Entrepreneurship BA Hons’ courses.

However, regardless of the extent of Bennett’s rhetorical impact at Worcester University, it is a precarious fact to all students of any institution who are looking to start a business that Jobs, Gates and Zuckerberg all dropped out of their undergraduate degrees, at the ages 18, 19 and 19 respectively. If such entrepreneurial titans have previously scorned their studies in favour of attacking the market, is it then a self-fulfilling prophecy that starting a business whilst at University is a recipe for academic subordination? Two Trinity students beg to differ…

Ronan McGuire, a Junior Sophistor BESS student, and Colm Moore, of the

same course and year, have both recently fashioned their entrepreneurial inspiration into the frameworks of comprehensive startup companies. Asking them of their early experiences and growing aspirations, it becomes conceivable that being a student whilst starting a business is not an incompatible feat.

Ronan, Galway native, accomplished windsurfer and part-time cassanova, has established an innovative company, Bearna Natural Care which he hopes will change the face of the cosmetic industry in Ireland (pardon the pun). Ronan’s sharp eye for business opportunity coupled with his affinity for travel and foreign culture resulted in a masterful brainwave.

Whilst in Morocco during the summer of 2010, Ronan

lies if I said I didn’t use it on my own hair and skin, and though I thought it impossible, it has made my external features more appealing”.

I took Ronan’s anecdote on board and tried the oil myself. Success, this product works; my hair is unreal to the touch and dazzling to the eye, surely a winning combination.

Asking Ronan of his experiences in setting up a business whilst balancing academic life he remarked: “It’s tough, time management is a crucial skill, however up to this date I’ve learnt so much about marketing, ecommerce and the business world in an entirely practical way. It’s relevant to my course and I feel I’m acquiring specific skills that I would not gain in pure academia. I’m doing really well with my college work,

When entrepreneurial ideas are fostered in the right manner, the possibilities are limitless became enthralled by a native substance, Argan oil, which has been around for centuries and continues to be employed by locals in a variety of ways. Argan oil, which is procured from the kernels of the Argan tree, is the leading product of McGuire’s Bearna Natural Care; he firmly believes that the oil is truly versatile natural resource.

Ronan is marketing his Bearna Natural Care Argan Oil as a cosmetic agent; the benefits of the oil in terms of the beautification of hair and skin are undeniable.

Bearna Natural Care Argan oil is 100% argan in composite (therefore it contains no added chemicals and is not diluted with any undesirable liquids) and is completely organic. Used to condition the hair before washing, and the skin for its enriching and anti-ageing properties, Bearna Natural Care Argan Oil is a natural super-food for the body.

Ronan says of his product: “It’s fantastic, I’d be telling

balancing it well with the business, at times the studies take priority. Nevertheless I have high hopes for the future of Bearna Natural Care.”

Colm Moore, Limerick native, gifted rugby player and remarkably amicable individual adheres to the notion that although it’s tough, initiating a business whilst at university is an extremely rewarding feat. Colm set up his business, Buzzing Bicycles over the summer of 2010 after injuring his knee playing rugby. Colm’s story confirms the mantra that necessity breeds ingenuity: “I had no method of getting from A to B back home – I couldn’t cycle with the dodgy knee”.

Entirely for practicalities sake Mr. Moore endeavoured in a project to attach a two-stroke motor to his bicycle; being proficient in the workings of small motors due to being a boating enthusiast, he was successful.

After receiving attention from a plethora of

individuals around Limerick whilst on his bike, Colm decided to take his project further, bringing it to Dublin and broadening his target demographic. Moore is now the most predominant importer and distributor of bicycle engines in Ireland.

BuzzingBicycles.com offers an all-encompassing service; one can purchase solely the engine; one can purchase the engine combined with installation and one can purchase a new bicycle fitted with an engine – all at an extremely affordable price.

I asked Colm how he has faired in balancing his studies with college: “It’s very tough… for example if I’ve a deadline I need to reach with an assignment, then I get a call from a potential customer, it’s hard to prioritise. However it can easily be managed – as long as you are proactive in jumping on opportunity yet pragmatic enough to align this with your studies”. He went on to advocate what he believes should be the process in university with regards to entrepreneurship: “Like our cousins in Havard and those lucky enough to attend Babson state University, Trinity should offer a credit-transfer system for those looking to initiate their businesses whilst at university”. Colm pointed out that “when or where else do you get the best minds… the cream of the crop with regards to Irish and international talent in engineering, mathematics, the arts who have the potential to come together to initiate new enterprise”.

Conceivably, support for entrepreneurial activity in an academic structure such as Trinity would create blissful opportunity for those with a sharp mind for business and innovation. Perhaps ideas like Colm’s would eventually have positive reverberations across the Irish economy.

After meeting with Ronan and Colm I thought back to Ted Turner’s aforementioned quote; I wonder what each of these individuals father’s would say about their sons? Many students resign themselves to full unemployment in order to satisfy the demands of their degrees, especially

Colm Moore and his buzzing bicycle at the recent Dragon’s Den event. in the more time-consuming disciplines. However, although they both agree that starting up and running a business is not without its difficulties, they feel that acting upon their ideas has been so far extremely

rewarding. The rewards may not be instantaneous, especially in financial terms, however the experience gained is second to none. At this point, a greater proportion of students should aspire to have both Ronan and

Colm’s individual ambition; when entrepreneurial ideas are fostered in the right manner, when cooperation follows suit, the possibilities are limitless. This is just what Ireland needs.

Find Ronan McGuire at Bea r na Nat u ra lCa re.com and Colm Moore at BuzzingBicycles.com

Self-important Trinity students: A reality or a myth?

Aoibhín Murphy talks to students about their perception of the cliques and geeks

O Stephanie: “The pretentious people of Trinity are the students who foster the idea that they are part of a special group or club that is Trinity.

SCAR WILDE MAINTAINED that everyone on the earth had a degree of self-importance.

However, it is a widely accepted theory that without even a degree of self-importance, we can deny ourselves and our true natures or even neglect our interests or basic human needs that we can’t get from other people. It goes back to the basic principles of life; selfishness and self-importance ensure our survival and endurance, but where must the line be drawn? What is an acceptable degree of self-importance and what is considered to be pompous, or dare I say, snobbish?

When I entered University College Dublin, people were unaware that I was an intruder. I could have been just another UCD student walking through the campus; I wore similar clothing to them, had similar books and held my head at just the right height above the ground. However, when I told people my college, I got the familiar chorus of “Trinity eh?” in a suggestive tone;

I had given myself up as an impostor. I therefore began to form the opinion that other colleges may be more prejudiced towards Trinity students than we are to them and that they may be unaware of how pretentious they then seem. Could it be that the air of arrogance given off by Trinity students is simply a defence mechanism towards the preconceptions of other students of our college?

When I asked students what the first word that pops into their head when Trinity is mentioned, a Radiography undergrad from UCD, Steve* immediately blurted out “privileged” another word he used was “spoiled”, claiming that Trinity is given more recognition than other colleges due to the high point requirements. A Maynooth student, Gary* tells me; “It’s like Trinity is so full of intelligence that it’s impossible for them to just act the fool and let loose”.

Judging by this statement, I can be sure that Gary wasn’t there for Trinity’s Fresher’s Week. Is the opinion that we

at Trinity are “privileged” and get greater recognition the stem of our self-importance, or do we simply foster this opinion of ourselves?

I think most of us can honestly say that we are proud of where we go to College, proud of being in what has been dubbed as “The Harvard of Ireland”, but there are times when it becomes a little more than intimidating to admit that you attend Trinity when surrounded by students from other colleges.

We know that it is a popular phenomenon to think that Trinity students are arrogant, but is it a valid one in our eyes? Upon asking a few of our own students about the apparent self-importance of Trinity, I am met with a disgruntled sigh and a roll of the eyes, they are familiar with the concept that we are discriminated against for our self-importance. I asked them whether they think the discrimination that other colleges seem to display so openly is justified from their inside experience of the college. One first

year Arts student, Stephanie* recounts her first day here at Trinity; “Everyone was really polite, they would speak to you when spoken to, but I got the feeling that most of the older students felt that they were above me”. I asked Stephanie if she feels as if the arrogance is an indication of self-importance fuelled by age-superiority or from college identity, to which she replied “The pretentious people of Trinity are the students who foster the idea that they are part of a special group or club that is Trinity, not everyone is pretentious, but the people are in such tight cliques it’s hard to notice them”.

I began to wonder whether this self-importance is a defining feature of our identity as Trinity students and whether it will one day become detrimental to our social identities. I asked a few students where they think this self-importance comes from an internal perspective. Sarah*, a second year Arts student claims “science students are the most up themselves, if I hear “Oh

you’re an arts student” in a snobby voice one more time I will go insane”. I sensed that there might be a degree of internal conflict in relation to self-importance within Trinity that may stem from clashing interests. Bethany*, another Arts student, tells me “drama students have a tendency to talk about popular plays and not accept the input of non-drama students, claiming that we “wouldn’t understand””. The opinion that drama is a pretentious discipline is not unique to Trinity and can indeed sometimes stem from a lack of understanding about the subject, but the idea of alienation or exclusion are not accepted in modern society.

To get an opinion from both sides of the spectrum, I interviewed a second year science student, Liam* who claimed “I think ‘The Phil’ are the most intimidating people on campus, they demand more respect than the lecturers themselves and are beyond cliquey”. Of all the people I interviewed, not one person could point me

in the direction of a downto earth department or faculty and seemed to always condemn a group that was not their own department or a society of their affiliation.

These are only some of the opinions of our community and if we think this about ourselves, what must other people think of us?

One must ask, from the statements and claims of both trinity students and external students whether these claims are valid and the extent to which they are justified. Are we the outcasts of the university world, and if so is it our own doing at the hand of our arrogance or is it due to the preconceptions of other colleges? If we truly are egotistical here at Trinity, will it one day become clear to us that beyond the high walls of our college, there is a huge world of harsh reality that is waiting to thwart our opinions of ourselves? *Names of interviewees changed to protect anonymity

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The University Times | Tuesday, December 13 2011

TIMESFEATURES

Shift and Drift Aoibhín Murphy Staff Writer

Y

OU WALK INTO a dark club, your eardrums are throbbing with the beat of Calvin Harris and your primal juices are flowing. You’re drunk, by god you are intoxicated, “floored”, “locked” or “scuttered” and your body warmth just doesn’t seem to be enough to satisfy. Your eyes scan the room for someone who catches your eye; someone who you hope shares the same feeling of bewilderment and wants the same fleeting chemistry. In the blurry haze of intoxication you spot a person who will be your temporary soul mate (at least until someone else jostles you in the appropriate way on the dance floor). What do you do? You do what any homosapien would do- you lob the gob of course, you move in for the kill, you shift and then, you drift. Why do we feel the urge to shift and drift? Is it a constantly fuelled need for intimacy due to teenage sexual frustration?

A yearn for a degree of physical proximity? Is it just a cultural convention of college life? Or is it in fact, a primitive feature of being human?

A kiss is ultimately a sensual experience and sends sensations directly to a part of our brain known as the Limbic system, which are the parts associated with love, passion and sex. According to “The Science of Kissing” by Sheril Kirshenbaum, as our neurons carry impulses from the brain to the tongue and facial muscles and vice versa, the endocrine system produce a number of hormones including Serotonin (the happy hormone) and Adrenaline (fight or flight hormone) and neurotransmitters such as Oxytocin and Dopamine are released. The kiss can result in a person “being on a natural high” due to the rush of endorphins, which are substances produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in the brain that make a person feel exhilarated.

Consequently, one may feel as if they are addicted to the substances produced by the body, thus we are addicted to the feeling of a kiss,

making us want to repeat the action over and over, often with multiple partners. One of the most important neurotransmitters, according to Kirshenbaum, is dopamine which is a natural drug of sorts and is significantly affected by alcohol and recreational drugs which are, let’s face it, often a prominent component in any shift-and-drift situation. Dopamine can be stimulated by alcohol and drugs, making the effects of it heightened when drinking is thrown into the equation, intensifying a person’s desire to kiss someone on a night out. The moment a person’s lips make contact, a feeling so pleasurable is released that one may feel as if they are in love. However, by the cold light of day, without

the effects of alcohol, it may be realised that alcohol rather than the person motivated a shiftand-drift situation. The sobering-up may be the main element contributing to the word “drift” being thrown into the equation.

So how do we choose our potential shift-and drift partner? According to Darwin’s “evolutionary psychology”, choosing our partners is based on the Theory of Natural Selection; “The human mind is, like the human body, a complex system of mechanisms shaped by natural selection” (Physical Attractiveness and The Theory of Sexual Selection by Doug Jones). In a way, Darwin proved to us that the desire to kiss someone was an integral part of humanity

and a primitive feature. Doug Jones, the author of “Physical Attractiveness and The Theory of sexual Selection” also explores the idea of “Domain Specificity”, discussing that humans have specializations for recognizing faces and that this idea overlaps with the devices for assessing facial attractiveness, helping us choose a partner that we are drawn to on a physical level. The mechanism for assessing potential partners is called the “mate value” of a potential partner.

We are essentially sexually active beings who assess our potential partners, just as heterotrophic organisms assess their potential meals.

According to Jones, how we choose a partner is mostly done on a physical basis, which

is the only information about a random person in a club that we have: bodily features such as facial and bodily proportions. As the face develops over time, it is influenced by a measurement known as “cardioidal strain” which, when positive, gives the appearance of an older age and when negative, gives the appearance of a younger age, or a “cute” appearance. Studies show that female faces are more attractive with a lower cardioidal strain, whereas males are seen to be more attractive with a higher cardioidal strain, which may be the answer to the question women ask themselves as to why men look better as they get older. Body ration is also a very significant factor. In a club environment, it’s usually the guys that have to make the first move in relation to shifting and drifting so it is usually the men who choose their partner. As human beings, we subconsciously choose potential partners on their suggested ability to produce offspring (although, I don’t think that is in the forefront of our minds after a few jaeger-bombs). Studies have shown that men find women’s waist–to–hip ratio more attractive when it is lower rather than higher and that men find bigger breasts and thighs more attractive than smaller breasts and thighs. When glancing over at a girl or guy in a dark club with blurred vision, facial features and bodily features can sometimes be the only thing to go on when you’re looking for the shift. This coupled with the chemical aspect supplying the urge to shit and drift gives a person a certain desire which they fulfil by “getting the shift”.

“Shifting and Drifting” may be an central aspect of our contemporary culture and society, but the idea of “lobbing the gob” sets its roots firmly in psychological and scientific factors.

While we may use these factors to console ourselves after a drunken night out, it’s up to the intensity of our desire, our willpower and our judgment as to whether we give in to the Shift.

Sing joyfully the chorus of ‘chivalry is dead’ Conor Murphy examines how feminisim has regressed in recent years and calls for the final nail to be hammered into the coffin of sexism

T

HE LABOUR PARTY have recently committed to bringing in legislation to mandate a minimum fraction of female candidates per party. It is legislation that is powerful and controversial; some leading female politicians have felt the need to speak out against the legislation, and as many have come out in support. The argument invariably crutches itself on the dangers of minuscule female representation in the Dail; this is misdirected focus. Why is a lack of female representation a problem in and of itself? It’s a nonsense to say that it will be better for the country if there’s suddenly more breasts in the Dail. The argument patronisingly goes that more feminine inf luences will help put the focus back on the important ‘people’ issues; health, education, child welfare, ridiculous when you consider that there have been women in all these prominent ministerial positions for the last decade and still no pulse of competence can be found.

The non-representation of women in the Dail is indicative of far more pervasive damage; the stale version of predetermined roles that men and women adhere to at every level of society.

These roles are not enforced, they are assumed; these roles are not genetic but they are drilled into our minds by accepting inferior roles for both men and women. It is this that the ‘feminist movement’ has

been consistently trying to crush. Yet today as the more literal practices of sexism have been banished by men in white wigs, self-serving men and women tend to disenfranchise themselves from some illiterate notion of feminists as bra-burning she-men lesbians. When I started this article, I had the intention of doing a survey gauging the rate of college women who are feminist, yet I soon realised that the answers were all mental coin-flipping and ‘I don’t knows’; a pointless misrepresentation but a good indication of apathy to the issue.

There were a few references to ‘well, I’m not actually one of those bra-burning ones’; I’m curious to see if anyone

onto the first rung of the ladder. The only real measure of equality in business is not how many women are at the top but is it the same ratio of men to women being promoted as came in originally.

Socially, though we are decrepit; languishing in faux equality rather than taking the final step and euthanising the hulking mass of sexual inequality altogether. Sexual violence is still at an epidemic level; rates of sexual violence against women are at levels higher than the molestation of children, yet no inquiry into how society is letting this happen is imminent. Lawmakers have done what they can, the criminally low levels of successful prosecution are a consequence of the immediacy of its evidence and its low rate of reporting.

A 2002 survey reported that out of 244 women who were sexually assaulted in their lives 19 reported it to the Gardai and of the 98 men who had been sexually assaulted 1 reported it to the Gardai. The actual levels are magnitudes higher for women, but the rate of underreporting for men is vast.

I know of two men who woke up being ridden by women they both barely knew and both just... continued. One told the story as a anecdote, and most men’s immediate, conditioned, low-self-esteem-triggered reaction is simple- ‘But were they hot?’.

Men are told from day one that we’re sexual deviants that should just do whatever she wants, because its all

we’re capable of. In that 2002 survey on sexual violence a half of all men believed rape was caused by overwhelming sexual desire. Not being

they have a right to inflict on men. Though most say they don’t feel this, they do and yet still (correctly) decry violence on women. If you

The Suffragette movement of the early 1900s has been replaced with ideas of gender quotas

I honestly know more young women who have been sexually assaulted than have been hit angrily by men still follows this mythical pagan practice.

While ignoring the history of feminism is perfectly fine, presuming its conclusion is at best lazy living.

Low female representation in the Dail shows either low female interest in politics in general or a low interest in politics as a career. The progression of equality has continued merrily on its way since the 1980s. Businesses are now full of women, thinning out slightly as you go up but that’s easily explainable; it takes a lot longer to dislodge the current crop of bosses than it does to bring in equal numbers of people

nuts; just being desperate.

An even more complex problem arrives around ‘just’ violence. This is something women usually feel

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think you aren’t apathetic, you’re lying. Simple test; if you don’t flinch and feel disgust every time a women hits a cheating or idiot man in a film then you think that violence on men is an adequate show of displeasure.

I have never seen a woman who actually reacts in anger to this depiction, and the few men who think like this have been accutely desensitized. Some would argue that there is an inherent biological difference between men and women that validates this.If you honestly think this and the only issue is strength, tell me then; how hard can a woman be hit in order to level the scales of Lady Justice?

Going back the other way is just as strange; I honestly know more young women how have been sexual assaulted than have been hit angrily by men, but I assume that’s underreporting. At face value, it demonstrates that young men have been more heavily indoctrinated to be dainty with women than not rape them. That women haven’t been taught not to do either is a crime against common sense. National bodies for victims would point out that however much I say that violence by women against men is obviously far more common (it is) violence against women by men is a far more serious event in each singular act (almost definitely true).

Violence on all levels is completely degrading. There is no justification, no matter how much or little your genetics can benchpress.

I’m focusing on both genders equally to try and see the path out of this drainplug of depressing statistics.

The only escape is a complete restructuring of how

we interact. Getting women to get off their asses and assume equal responsibility for initiating relationships might remove the need for men to dominate every situation. Getting men to remove the completely selfhating notion they have of their sexual needs, still seen as some sort of yipping pitbull on the fragile chain of female permission, is also essential. Maybe on your next first date, the financial relationship could be based on equal generosity of spirit and not on him buying her ‘friendliness’ by installments over the night. Maybe as the craziest of all notions; we could actually value ourselves. Sing joyfully the chorus of ‘chivalry is dead’ and talk about being polite to everyone instead.

Men and women are different, but equally stupid.

We are still inherently sexist in our day to day interactions. With an equality of spirit, girls and young women will feel compelled to actually be more interested in politics, will get through the ranks, and not accept it as a boys game from an early age.

The only argument you hear against this ‘extreme’ equality is one of Darwinan determinism, we are who our parents screwed and all that nonsense. There’s a crack in this monumental dam of idiocy; not caring. If you want to dance to the genetic drumbeat, go ahead, but I’d like to see actual equality rather than return to the pre-historic roles we so imperfectly emulate.

The University Times

Tuesday,December 13 2011 | The University Times

10

TIMESOPINION

LETTERS to the Editor

Letters should be posted to “The Editor, The University Times, House 6, Trinity College” or sent by email to letters@universitytimes.ie We cannot guarantee that all letters will be published. Letters may be edited for length and/or style.

Trinity Against Facsism respond to Vincent Lavery Trinity Against Fascism letter to the Irish Times in the wake of Mr. Lavery’s letter of 30th November, (Printed December 5th): “Sir, – In response to Mr Lavery’s letter (BNP leader invitation, November 30th), we wish to draw a distinction between free speech and a platform.

Nick Griffin is free to come to Ireland to speak whenever he wants. Trinity Against Fascism opposed the invitation to Mr Griffin on the grounds that it was offering him a platform in a prominent forum as an invited guest speaker.

We did this because his organisation incites hatred against, and seeks to marginalise, those from migrant and non-white backgrounds. The offer of a platform adds legitimacy to his cause and conflates immigration with white-nationalist racism. This is particularly irresponsible in a recessionary Ireland where there has been a string of recent high-profile racist incidents.

The struggle for freedom of speech involves sacrifice on the part of those struggling for it – not their engagement in tabloid sensationalism, with the risk being passed on to communities in more vulnerable positions than their own. Gaining platforms in prominent arenas is a tactic used by organised racist groups to legitimise their views, bring them into the mainstream and justify the racism of an often violent minority. We want no part of it. Yours, etc. – Rónán Burtenshaw, JS Geography & Political Science.”

There were thirty other signatories to this letter, representing each faculty and numerous disciplines. They also included representatives from other universities as well as anti-racist groups and a trade union.

Will Ron Paul get his day in the sun?

Eye on America

Tosy Mahapatra

E

dmund Blackadder once said “We in the Adder party will win this election on issues, not personalities.” When asked why he responded “Because our candidate doesn’t have a personality.” Sadly, presidential elections in the United States don’t follow Blackadder’s strategy; a strong character is key to electoral success.

US Presidents of recent years are men you’d be happy to leave your children with for a night, Nixon excluded. These are men with strong American values, a good moral backbone, and a charming smile. At least they ran on that character.

Voters don’t care so much about policies than personalities in Presidential elections. Presidents aren’t just lawmakers, they’re leaders.

The Republican party still believes it is possible to win with a nice, American personality and the occasional policy- Rick Perry has been trying to sell his homely church-going swagger and Southern drawl since day one. Hermain Cain believes it takes a businessman to solve a vaguely businessrelated problem, or indeed, anything with numbers in it. Romney, soaked in Brylcreem and fiscal moderation, will attract the voters who once chanted Obama’s slogans with optimistic vigour.

If you happened to catch the recent CNN debate you would’ve noticed the one candidate who stood out had none of these attributes.

Ron Paul is a Republican from a different crop of Republicans. He’s anti-war, anti-federal government and pro-civil liberties. Why then, has this libertarian not taken the polls by storm? A

study by the Pew Research Center shows that from May to October 2011, Ron Paul has been the subject of only 2% of election stories by the major newsmakers.

He’s received less than half the speaking time of Mitt Romney and less than any other candidate in televised Presidential debates. And yet, Ron Paul’s presence has proved too hard to blot out.

His debate performances have been sterling compared to the other candidates, receiving more standing ovations than airtime.

So why are the media so determined to impose a blackout? More importantly, why is it not working?

Ron Paul doesn’t fit into the Bush-Republican model; he shares ideas with the other candidates, but the difference is that he has an unshakeable belief in them.

Whereas Fox News refers to other media sources as ‘the lamestream media’, Ron Paul supporters refer to all major news sources as ‘The Establishment’. They share an underdog mentality; the Tea Party, despite being a fractional minority, could bring about real and effective change under Ron Paul.

His opposition to some core ideals and factions within the GOP explain the reluctance of Fox News and other conservative news outlets.

Paul is fiercely anti-war, and intends to slash the military budget and begin an immediate withdrawal. Considering the US spends roughly $1 trillion annually on defence-related purposes, it’s not hard to see the consequences for America’s military-industrial lobby, some of the keenest supporters of incumbent congressmen and senators. His views on American involvement in

Israel has seen the Republican Jewish Committee bar him from participating in their December 7 debate.

His stance on civil liberties is also at odds with other Republican candidates; he has been sharply critical of the Patriot Act since it was signed into law in 2001 calling it ‘unpatriotic’ at the CNN debate.

By contrast, current frontrunner Newt Gingrich wants to expand the scope of the much-criticised act.

To further distance himself from the standard Republican platform, Dr. Paul has been outspoken in supporting Wikileaks, one of the institutions most US politicians have been united in condemning.

It seems ridiculous to think that the Republican establishment would even consider giving Paul the nomination in light of his policies, although his support cannot be described as anything less than substantial.

Even if he beat Barack Obama in 2012, as a clear outsider within his own party, he seems unlikely to unite both halves of a dysfunctional congress. With the media cycling through not-Romney candidates, it seems inevitable that Paul will get his fifteen minutes of fame at some point, subject to the media’s forensic examination.

His ties to white supremacists would stifle any chance of candidacy. His last Presidential campaign was endorsed and funded by America’s largest white supremacist website and even his campaign coordinators, headed by Randy Gray, are members of various branches of the Ku Klux Klan. In the same vein as Blackadder, Paul intends to win on his policies, not because he doesn’t have a personality, but possibly because he doesn’t want to show it.

Moscow has seen the largest civilian protests since the Soviet era, with upwards of 50,000 people coming out against the Putin regime.

Russia rises against Putin Hannah Cogan Opinion Editor

T

he night after Russia’s December 4th election, some 5,000 citizens flooded the streets of Moscow to protest the conduct of the election. On Decewmber 6th, another 2,000, including some journalists were brutally dissapated by riot police. Russia’s bloggers and tweeters are now planning the next phase of reaction, a protest which, according to the Facebook page created for it, more than 30,000 people are planning to attend. Moscow has been packed with tens of thousands of Interior Ministry Troops and armoured personel carriers, already planning a crackdown, with air support, on Revolution Square.

Nominally, these protests are about contesting the results and conduct of the election. Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party garnered a paltry 49.5% of the vote, down from 64% in previous elections and far shy of the two-thirds majority needed to continue Putin’s program of aggressive constitutional reform. In Moscow, an exit poll by KOM found that United Russia had captured a mere 27% of the vote; the disparity supports broad allegations of electoral fraud and ballot stuffing, officially denied by the Kremlin and verified by half a dozen Youtube videos (search: Russia election 2011 fraud). Voter turnout in some eastern regions was a vigorous 140%. In Chechnya, United Russia received 99.5% of the vote. A similar result was found in a Moscow psychiatric hospital.

In actuality, these protests speak of incredible social

instability. Putin’s proffered alternative to a genuine democracy was an exchange of social freedom for economic progress, but both corruption and bureucratic inefficiency mean the budget won’t balance unless oil prices stay around €83 a barrel- unlikely given global economic meltdown. Putin’s use of the military to quiet election protests suggests his preferred system of government, but economic problems make repression difficult to sustain and a ‘managed democracy’ is harder with the Internet watching. Capital and talent are fleeing an economy that offers few opportunities. Twenty years ago, the same conflation of circumstance and failing public opinion was enough to bring down the Soviet Union Russia isn’t a truly autocratic state in the mold of Cuba or North Kore, but it’s superficial democracy may ultimately be more dangerous. Those living in absolute authoritarian regimes are more likely to demand change.

Boris Nemtsov, a former Prime Minister and cochairman of the democratic opposition movement Solidarnost, and one of

the founders of The People’s Freedom Party noted ‘It is tragic that the next generation is lost to our struggle.

I naively thought that our children would be more freedom-loving than us, but that is not the way it turned out. Surveys show that it is young people under 25 who are the most loyal to the regime. This is mostly a generation of kleptocrats and parasites looking to buy patronage and protection.

They dream of getting close to the state budget, to live and steal more easily. Organizations like Nashi [the United Russia youth party] are built on a myth of upward social mobility: acting like a spineless lackey is supposedly a guarantee of material success. Young people will do anything to make money and have a career, but they are not ready to join a fight, if they do not

Redmond vs Bartlett Can the USI President persuade Trinity students that USI represents their views?

Follow The University Times over the Christmas period for new developments on the disaffiliation battle.

know when they can collect their winnings.’ Elections were rigged in Moscow primarily by students, dispatched to blockade and strategically stuff ballot boxes. Those protesting in Russia this week have been representatives of an elite; a liberal middle class, for the most part with some education outside of Russia, and separated, not just in outlook, but in aspiration. It’s not a coincidence that last weeks protests were organised, for the most part, by Twitter and Facebook- platforms used almost exclusively in Russia by those with external political and social connections. Russia has seen similar liberal revolutions before, and they generally don’t end well, (see 1825, 1917, 1956, and 1991).

For years, polls showed that well over 80% of Russians believed they couldn’t impact political decision making. For the most part they were right, not least because people who don’t participatewhether through apathy or, in the case of Russia, disincentivisation- can have little effect. Polling data from the last election suggests a high turnout among those who had never voted before, and the wildfire spread of stories about the neccesarry level of voterigging has dented Putin’s aura of invulnerability; any time an

authoritarian apparatus demonstrates fallibility is a bad day for an authoritarian apparatus. Putin’s heavyhanded autocracy is rigid rather than stable, and its inflexibility could render the Kremlin vulnerable if a certain level of enfranchisement can be reached among the opposition When the Soviet Union collapsed, it had a clear structure and, in Mikhail Gorbachev, a leader who was unwilling to defend himself with force. Todays circumstances are very different.

Putin is unlikely to cancel the results of the rigged election and has demonstrated a willingness to react with force; Russia needs to reconstruct its opposition on a more unified basis to make a tangible impact.

The existing alternatives to Putin- The Communist Party and nationalist Liberal Democrats- are not appealing, and democratic and judicial instituions will have to be rebuilt from the ground up. Russia’s dissatisfaction with Putin’s Kremlin has boiled over, and a new level of civic engagement makes revolution and reformation possible, but only if long-term planning can outsmart the Kremlin, and unify the electorate behind a series of concrete reforms.

Unless Russia can build a system that demands accountability and initiative from its leaders, we may well see disillusion with Russia’s most succesful opposition movement in years. And that might be the worst outcome of all.

Left: Vladimir Putin, who is still recognised as the most powerful man in Russia. His people are showing signs of weariness with his rule.

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The University Times | Tuesday, December 13 2011

TIMESOPINION

Budget 2012: It’s boring business as usual Economise This Rob Farhat Editor of the Student Economic Review 2011

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udget 2012 was certainly the most drawn-out process of Irish budgetary announcement in recent memory. The details announced over two days as opposed to the usual one, and the more major aspects were flagged or even exaggerated in advance, either by Irish Ministers or their friends/overlords in the Bundestag. So how harsh is it? How will it affect students in particular? And how does it compare to the austerity budgets of the last few years?

Firstly, in accordance with the EU-IMF bail-out programme, the government is seeking to cut the deficit by a total of €3.8 billion – reducing the deficit to 8.6% of GDP – with €2.2 billion coming from expenditure cuts, and the remaining €1.6 billion coming from extra

taxation. This compares to a total deficit reduction of €6 billion and €4 billion in 2011 and 2010 respectively.

Whether this ratio of spending cuts to taxation is appropriate is a matter of contention. History shows that spending cuts are far more effective in cutting deficits and restoring credibility to a state’s ability to repay its debt, partly because they are far more certain to reduce the deficit than taxation. Resorting to taxation to reduce deficits cannot be relied upon, as tax increases harm economic activity in an unpredictable way. Ireland learned this harsh lesson in the early 1980’s and this year’s tax receipts are also €520 million below target, further supporting the argument for placing greater weight on spending cuts.

Although, the taxation measures were announced on day 2, it makes sense to start by looking at these. The big one is the increase in the upper rate of VAT from 21% to 23%, generating expected revenue of €560m. When it comes to increasing taxation, increasing indirect taxes like VAT is less harmful to economic activity than increasing income tax, as income tax both hurts consumers’ pockets and disincentivises work, while indirect taxes only do the former. On the other hand, they are highly regressive, as poorer people spend a greater proportion of their money on goods.

The decision not to raise income tax was probably a wise one. The income tax increases of the late Brian Lenihan’s first 2 budgets generated next to no extra

revenue, which suggests that Ireland’s income tax rates have reached their upper limit, above which work disincentives would in fact mean revenue would decrease (for the intuition behind this, read up on the Laffer Curve). So for a major revenue raiser, VAT is really the only option. But rather than making up for the disproportionate burden on the poor through benefits and reliefs, these have been cut even further as outlined below.

Importantly, Ireland finally has some semblance of a property tax, in the form of a €100 household charge. In truth, Ireland should have introduced a property tax long ago to put breaks on the property boom that got us into this mess. The blanket €100 charge is not ideal, but is purely an interim measure until a full value-based property tax is implemented in 2014. Carbon tax has also increased to €20, which will drive petrol prices up 1.4c a litre, and Diesel up 16c – another regressive but necessary move that both raises revenue and causes correctional behaviour that will off-set carbon emissions.

Motor tax will also increase,

the details of which will depend on the environmental efficiency of your car.

There are certain reliefs that will put help out some of the more financially constrained. The lower exemption threshold of the Universal Social Charge (USC) has been increased from €4,004 to €10,036, meaning many who work part-time or summer jobs will now avoid having to pay the USC. Mortgage interest relief has also been increased to 30% for first-time buyers who bought homes between 2004 and 2008, helping out those whose homes’ value would have been worst affected by the property crash.

On the other hand, a couple of rates have been raised that will hit the rich more proportionately. Deposit Interest Retention Tax is raised by 3% to 30%, while capital gains tax increases by 5% to 30%, both of which have more of an effect on the rich and also encourage greater spending on goods.

Other tax measures include an extra 25c on packs of cigarettes, a betting duty, and minor tax relief for start-up companies and research & development in attempt to stimulate job growth.

Anyone expecting a major stimulus here will be disappointed, but the government’s scope for job creation is rather limited by its means. Most importantly, our 12.5% corporate tax rate remains.

Expenditure cuts While each department has had their budget shaved, the main expenditure cuts of interest are in social benefits. The Department of Social Protection has had €475 million of its budget cut, the highlights of which are the removal of the higher rate of child benefit for the third and subsequent child, a reduction in the back to school clothing allowance, a reduction in the jobseeker’s benefit, and major reductions in the disability allowance for those aged 16 to 24, as well as reducing employers’ redundancy payment rebate – meaning it’s harder for employers to fire workers and thus they are less likely to hire- and reductions in rent supplement and fuel allowance Coupled with the increase in VAT, these measures are all highly regressive, and have rightly caused

controversy (at the time of writing, it seemed that the government was about to back down on the disability allowance reduction).

While the social welfare bill certainly needs to be cut, it could be done so more fairly through a comprehensive means test , or taxing benefits such as child benefit so that those who don’t need them don’t receive them.

Broadly speaking, the measures in this budget follow the same approach that the last government’s for the most part did, cutting the deficit merely through shaving spending here, and marginally increasing tax rates there. For a government with such a large majority’s first budget, it really disappoints in offering any radical structural changes to the tax system or public services, that will only become more politically difficult to implement as time goes on.

The Croke Park Agreement severely strains the government from making any such changes, and merely serves to preserve the status quo of a highly inefficient public sector. In exchange for protecting public servants’ pay rates, the Employment Control Framework means

whole public service suffers as areas that are overstaffed cannot downsize, while those which need more cannot hire (Trinity College is an example of the latter).

Most importantly, an ageing population means that public pensions must to be reduced, or contributions must increase, along with a rapid increase of the retirement age to at least 70. This is not an opinion, it’s just maths. An increasingly larger amount of government spending has to be diverted into pensions, until eventually the sums just won’t add up and the public pension bill will overweigh our tax revenue completely. It is an acute problem that all of Western Europe faces and the further off it is dealt with the tougher the changes will have to be.

Anyone hoping for a real change in approach to the government’s response to our economic crisis is in for disappointment. It’s business as usual, and it’s just plain boring.

Europe in Crisis We need a John Wayne

German Chancellor Angela Merkel: Saviour or the Emperor Palpatine of Europe?

Peter Kiernan

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Can the Euro survive this darkest hour?

Sehreen Qureshi

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hen German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared the Euro to be in danger in 2010, she foresaw one of the most destabilising financial crises of 2011. The EU holds a similar position to the US in terms of global influence; despite recent debt crisis in Ireland and Greece, the EU holds an equal role in the international monetary fund. A potential market of approximately 800m has attracted various different countries to set up or merge with existing companies only to attempt to acquire lucrative profits from this comparatively high-earning market. The Euro zone has become a leader on antitrust issues and privacy protection, setting global standards in several matters. In spite of its size and attraction, it has managed to also leave some issues unresolved and continues

to slowly address matters of currency, economic status and unity.

The global financial crisis has demonstrated the flaws Europe’s shared single currency had from its inception. Fund managers in London have already said that chances of Portugal, Greece, and even Germany leaving the currency are rising. It seems ever more likely that this currency bloc will fracture or shrivel; losing at a minimum, one of seventeen members, although the gigantic €750 billion international assistance has bought it time. As much as politicians declare that the return to their old currencies is not yet a likelihood, they have yet to dismiss it out of hand; Germany is the euro zones biggest creditor, but German voters do not want to bail out weak and reckless countries like Greece, Ireland, and now Portugal.

Conversely governments in Poland, Denmark and Sweden plan to adopt the euro, but their voters remain unwilling.

Problems in the bond

market could be resolved by fiscal transfers and debt mutualisation, but the number of “needy” countries is growing and it’s a fact that resentment is increasing on all sides. France and Germany push their “competitiveness pact” about closer economic integration and separate euro zone summits. Since the declaration of this pact in February, EU members fear that their input will not be taken into consideration when decisions are made in Brussels.

The British have said that many institutions and policies of the EU work only on the basis of not including all members, like the Schengen states, and defense corporations. As a comeback, the European court of justice said that it plans to stop any country trying to dupe the single currency and that the “outs” have enough veto power to stall whatever it is that the “ins” want to achieve, which is, for now, harmonising corporate tax bases. Germany believes that by achieving this they would be closing divisions

between threatening competitive and idler economies. The pact already faces critique as it could possibly risk competition in the EU. The EU faces serious unity issues with every country defending its economic interests to mutual exclusion. Even with almost six decades of existence and agreement on integration and national interests, national identities overpower European identity. So far European institutions, members and citizens work in a sui generis fashion. The crisis in Libya demosntrated this aptly, with most eastern countries remaining silent on the issue, Italy being a minor player even with the highest stake in Libyan oil, France and Britain taking the lead and Germany clinging to its pacifist image riddled with post-war guilt.

Thus once again the Libyan predicament has uncovered the ludicrousness of the idea of a joint European army.

Military usage is totally dependent largely on those countries willing and able to exert it and since Britain

and France already account for half of Europe’s total defense spending, they will most probably continue to dictate the provisos of EU’s military encounters.

In times of economic uncertainty, every country must defend its own interests. But the crumbling Euro will cause confusion, havoc, and instability for all of its members. A threat to the euro is not necessarily a threat to Europe, and so the currency should not be taken as the only reason to unite but economic integration is the cornerstone of the European Union. In recent weeks, news coverage has shifted from highlighting the dangers of Eurozone breakdown to predicting its inevitable demise. Such complacency takes no proactive steps to address the disunity that has plagued the EU since its inception. The death of the Euro would be catastrophic- the gravity of its consequences perhaps, can galvanize the political action that would save it.

onsider the position of a politician like Angela Merkel or Nicolas Sarkozy who, in day-to-day decision making, must consider an impossible net of consequences of each action as well as a vast tangle of unrealised possible future outcomes. This is the queer nature of history and by turn, politics; the mismatch of the definite presence of long term patterns of development that seem clear and methodical, which unequivocally demand the acknolwedgement of their presence and then the wild, electric multitude of decisions taking place now.

This is also the problem with Europe; a legacy of national self-interest faced with a present crisis of interdependence - a clear problem that Europe can address in a unique way, the organisation of nationstates into a union which does not equate to the assimilation of those states into a larger state-structure. A new kind of political organisation on a different scale requiring a different way of thinking about political organisation, a different kind of imagined space. As different as that imagined space which in the French Revolution became the Republic, the shared, common, theoretical ground on which all Frenchmen stood.

However the clarity of the problem - a different kind of integration - stands against the varied reaction of so many separate institutions, so many separate individuals to the same problem - leaving us that sense of how frightening the charged atmosphere of the historical is, the possibility that through a series of actions in response to that one problem any kind of future can suddenly manifest, come together effortlessly and gain the ability to affect that belongs to the real.

What we need now thus is leverage, leverage over our own history. A kind of John Wayne-esque ability to cooly stare down the violently bucking historical processes that would have us beneath the clattering hooves so to speak. If we genuinely believe in the idea of continental organisation that recognises our economic interdependence and the shared cultural space occupied by our incredible history without violating the real existence of nation-states then we need to put aside questions of treaty-change and do what needs to be done to preserve the EU and Eurozone as a European project with purpose. Recognition and acceptance of interdependence and then the pursuit of policies which will stabilise the Eurozone and, by extension, the rest of Europe. With the essential idea of the EU intact, we can move on to a discussion of how to reflect that economic interdependence in political structures on a continental level.

We need to decide what it is we want. If we want the EU as a new kind of union of nation-states within the context of a growing sense of what it means to share a continent - and a sense that this is clearly distinct from what it is to share a nation - then we must commit to stabilising the Eurozone by

whatever means possible. This should include talk of an increased role for the ECB and the possibility of debt restructuring. But if we decide to allow our decision making in this crisis to be determined by national selfinterest, if we try to preserve the Eurozone as a closely economically-integrated area dominated by German economic policy and structured in the interests of the larger European economies then we might as well indicate to the international markets that we invite the disintegration of the European project. That kind of policy towards Europe indicates that it is still only a union of nation-states strong when there is a happy intersection of national-interests and weak and infirm when there is not. The hesitancy of Merkel has not got the appearance internationally of the morally upright, ascetic economy refusing to carry the frivolous debt-ridden down-trodden nations of southern Europe but rather the appearance of a nation that suddenly is unwilling to compromise its national self-interest for others, that doesn’t want Europe.

You can’t ask investors to feel confident about a common market, and you can’t talk about restoring confidence through austerity to that market if you yourself at each turn show only distrust and contempt for many of the nations and their people that comprise that market. Imagine trying to tell the international markets to trust economies that you yourself would hold practically at gunpoint. Ireland has attempted a drastic rebalancing of the national finances and an incredible scaling back of national debt with serious consequences for its citizenry, if this Union is to last then I as an Irishman must see that this is met with policies that actively seek to stabilise Europe.

Austerity alone is based on a conception of individual nations entirely responsible for their actions that stand apart from one another and are linked only through voluntary union - in that scenario it would seem justified to insist on a purging of debt through drastic rebalancing of the budgets of the various nations in question with conditional support from the more stable economies of the region because such conditional support is the interest of those stable economies. Europe however is a continent of nation-states that are economically interdependent regardless of choice and which need a sense of unified action to restore stability - this does not in anyway rule out the need for austerity in the weak economies, it just means that Europe as a whole handles the debt crisis in the most efficient way for preserving and protecting that union, Europe as a whole soaks up that debt.

If we continue to hesitate, continue to insist on the divisions that separate us as morally responsible individually, if we do not begin to approach this matter with a unified policy that puts aside for the moment the national divisions within the union that do exist, the difficult questions that remain to be addressed about the kind of union we seek then it would seem that history will get the better of Europe yet again.

Tuesday, December 13 2011 | The University Times

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TIMESOPINION

Marginal Opinions

Seán McGrenaghan

History notes on the “sex scandal”

D Above and right: Some of the photographic highlights of the almost-yearly national protests are the humorous signs carried by those on the march. They do, however, undermine the protestors’ message.

Photos: Joseph Noonan

USI: Useless Students in Ireland Lucy Sweeney

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he Union of Students in Ireland (USI) organised a student march on the 16th of November 2011 to protest fees and the cuts in the grant system introduced by the current government as a means of solving the budget crisis. Despite pre-election pledges made to the USI last year, most notably by Labour TDs such as Eamon Gilmore and Ruairi Quinn, the government has gone back on its word, and according to The Irish Times, the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has admitted that ‘there is an inevitability to fees in some form’. It is being proposed that, at the very least, fees of four to five

thousand euro a year will be introduced and a cap will be placed on the number of students permitted to third level. The government have also proposed cutting the postgraduate grant completely, despite having already cut the undergraduate grant by an average of 8.8%.

These proposals are bad news for the student community in Ireland in the current climate. It goes without saying that, if put into action as proposed, the changes would be enormously detrimental to Ireland in the future, as they quite clearly provide a short term solution to IMF requirements, without any foresight as to what the country will need in years to come (like a highly educated workforce that hasn’t emigrated) to retain financial stability.

The USI have not only organised marches over the

last two years, but they are also continually promoting their campaign to call up TDs and reminding them of their promises regarding student fees. One of the main tag ines designed to incite outrage this year has been that, when asked, ‘not one stated that they would keep their promises’. This is all very well and good, but the cost of advertising this campaign in two of the main national newspapers has been estimated by USI President Gary Redmond himself as approximately 17,000 euro, a shameful amount to spend on what, in my opinion, is a largely superfluous effort towards change.

Governments lie when trying to attain power in times of election. It’s a given that one can’t trust government pledges made when their main focus is ensuring

votes. I’m not offering a solution to this fact, merely pointing out that an expensive campaign designed to remind us of the fact that we were told lies regarding student fees, is unlikely to affect the government’s behaviour now that they are in power. It is an inefficient and ineffective way of fighting the introduction of fees – no government minister is going to decide now, after a few phone calls telling him/her that they’re a liar, that they are going to amend their ways and resist changes to student financing. They have nothing to fear from this campaign, especially as they can assume that most of those protesting will emigrate, and thus be incapable of voting against them by the time the next election rolls around.

The main issue that arises from a study of the USI

anti-fees campaign though, is that of the march itself.

This year’s march was something to be marvelled at, for all the wrong reasons. The majority of students who could be seen participating in November’s march were not there for the cause, or due to any serious consideration or personal outrage at what was being protested against. Most of the students I could see were making a mockery of the serious and life-changing issues at hand. People made signs I’m told are hilarious, with slogans like ‘No fees, more gees’, or ‘first Dobby, now this’. It was an opportunity to socialise, to be ‘a student on a march’, not to incite any real change in government policies. It lessens the seriousness of the message from those of us who truly do want to prevent these devastating proposals from being

introduced.

I admire the attempts at change being made by the USI. It is an admirable cause, and undoubtedly the focus of their mandate. My issue lies with the methods adopted by the USI in making change, in grabbing the attention of government officials and actually affecting their decision making. One slogan at the march read ‘If this was France, shit would be on fire’. I’d prefer that to two girls chatting about how last year’s march ‘was a great place to meet people’.

Money, time and effort are being thrown into a campaign that will not in any way affect how the government decides to approach student fees and grants. I am not, on the other hand, proposing a better idea, but then, I’m not running the USI.

What is the Occupy movement trying to say?

Beginning on September 17, the Occupy movement remains without specific ideals and bereft of any suggestions as to how they would change how the worlds’ economies are run.

Derwin Brennan

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s the seasons change and camping out becomes a colder and wetter affair are we seeing the Occupy movement peter out? With the protesters cleared out of Zuccotti Park in New York and the death of public and media interest in the Occupy movement in Ireland, it seems that we may seeing the passing of a brief political fad.

The Occupy Movement took life as a protest of the growing levels of income disparity and the dominance of the financial service industry in the US with thousands of people marching on Wall Street in September. The initial Wall Street occupation was centred on the slogan that “We Are the 99%.” Its participants varied from the permanently disgruntled to the newly disaffected. Yet it has yet avoided involvement and campaigning for a particular party or a particular set of ideas.

The Occupy movement abhors any actions that would force a member to subsume their individuality to the group effort. The movement is one in which anything goes and every idea is as valid as the last.

Reporting from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart revealed divides between members on ideas, policies and lifestyle choices. It eschews leaders, organised speakers and any form of hierarchy.

No one is quite sure what the Occupy movement stands for except that inequality is bad and that finance is a dirty word. They promote no policy prescriptions that can be put on to the national agenda. Do they stand for higher taxes?

Banker salary caps? The greater part of the movement is most likely in favour of similar policies. But apart from not being 1% the movement and groups seem to be pushing no iron policy and certainly not finding, funding, fielding and pushing candidates in elections which reflect those positions.

The Tea Party movement in the US movement succeeded in bringing its issues on to the legislative agenda because its constituent groups organised, imposed their will and positions on candidates and actively worked to get them elected. This succeeded to the extent that it almost resulted in a failure to raise the US debt ceiling in August. The Party succeeded because it got itself involved with the messy grind of politics. It madepoliticians listen because it threatened them in primaries and unseated them in the general election.

The Occupy movement has put itself above the realities of involvement with mainstream politics at present.

This is their failing.

There are a limited number of political parties in most democracies. The larger of these parties have policies that are shaped by interest groups that fund them or segments of the public

which vote for and involve themselves in these parties.

Tea Party groups realised this and involved themselves with activism within the Republican Party, running conservative Tea Party candidates and forcing incumbents to move their position closer to where they stand. In one of its greatest achievements it managed to block the re-nomination of conservative Utah Republican senator Bob Bennett for the 2010 election and replaced him with the even more conservative Mike Lee. It also gave politics Christina O’Donnell (the Delaware Senate candidate who was famously not a witch). While actions such as nominating O’Donnell may have cost the party a Senate seat it forced the Republican Party to take its position and translated popular discontent with President Obama to a crushing Republican victory in the House of Representatives.

If the Occupy movement really wants to make change it and just pass into history as a brief protest movement needs to get over its aversion to mainstream politics and start campaigning on issues like income equality and supporting candidates in mainstream parties who share their ideas. It might be tempting to assert that it’s time to stop bitching and start a revolution it usually transpires that revolution does not turn out as gloriously as anticipated. It’s not as if the Occupy movement

invented popular disaffection. In Europe, where income is lower than in the US, the Occupy movement is more concerned with issues pointing out their distaste for the bank. 40 people

constructing a shack on Dame Street are not going to change core government policy affecting billions of euros just by waving a few posters and building a shed.

Gumming up the relentless

grind of politics is the most effective way of making change, and any political movement that isn’t interested in practical changes isn’t worth bothering with.

Below: An Occupy Wall Street protestor with a one dollar bill taped to his mouth. Many have questioned the specific political motives behind the protests, with criticism focusing on the lack of suggestions put forward by the worldwide movement.

uring the 1884 US Presidential election, rumors circulated that Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child with a widow while working as a lawyer in Buffalo. Keen to dispel the public perception of Cleveland as a moral authority, supporters of the Republican candidate James Blaine berated Cleveland with the chant, “Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa?” In what was a close election, Cleveland eventually triumphed and his followers retorted to Blaine’s attacks with, “Gone to the Whitehouse. Ha! Ha! Ha!” The political sex scandal is nothing new. It can excite a nation and swing an electorate in an instant. It simultaneously taps into the deepest perversions and evokes the greatest prudishness of society. When we see the headline, we cannot stop our minds from wandering towards the fleshy underpinning of the story. Perhaps scarred by that image, some adopt an ecclesiastical attitude and bay for blood. Others titter with juvenile amusement and are content to see the unfortunate subject squirm as his or her most private dalliances are exposed for public delight. As the former editor of the Sunday World noted upon publishing nude photos of the now Northern Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson frolicking on a beach in Normandy, “A public representative cavorting around in the nude, we had a bit of fun with it.”

If news of recent weeks is anything to go by, the political sex scandal is alive and well, but for Herman Cain, the former Republican hopeful for the US Presidential nomination, it seems that the game is up. Only a few short weeks after two separate women claimed sexual harassment, Ginger White has exposed details of the 13 year affair she enjoyed with the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. While Cain has remained defiant in his denial of any wrongdoing, the ensuing poll numbers and his suspension of his campaign suggested that the voting public were not persuaded of his innocence.

While sex may sell, it certainly does not in the electoral arena. Why, though, do the sexual indiscretions of elected representatives provoke such a profound reaction?

From a functionalist perspective, a politician’s personal life should have no bearing on his or her political judgment or value as a representative. What should matter to the electorate is what politicians do in their official capacity. While this represents a logical argument, even the most liberal of us know it not to be true.

While a politician’s private actions may have no bearing on their technical attributes, they directly affect the intangible qualities that make for good leadership. Most of us would not doubt our postman in his professional capacity if we were to hear that he was ‘doing the rounds’, but then again, the postman doesn’t have the mechanisms of the state at his disposal. While we may have little problem with the idea of the person running our country being a serial adulterer per se, the import of consistent infidelity is impulsiveness and an inability to stay a chosen course. In an occupation where national interest depends on the internal resolve of an individual, the electorate may view an inability to keep it in the pants as indicative of a more general lack of staying power.

It would seem that attitudes towards the extra-curricular activities of politicians are culturally dependent. For the French, sex scandal among political leaders is barely newsworthy. Félix Faure died in bed with his mistress and Jacque Chirac was rumoured to have fathered a child with a Japanese woman. Neither received the sort of press attention they would have in the UK or Ireland. Indeed, the authors of ‘Sexus Politicus’ argue that, in France, sex is a civic imperative and some overt seductive streak is essential to political success. In Ireland, the idea of our politicians engaging in extra-marital affairs is grossly unpalatable. Enda Kenny bouncing around in his string vest and black socks is off-putting enough, though this may be more a consequence of our lingering social conservatism than the unfortunate appearances of our politicians.

America, it seems, represents a hybrid ground. Sexual dalliances are treated pragmatically. Herman Cain has been crippled by recent revelations, while Newt Gringrich, the man expected to be propelled by Cain’s departure, maintains a groundswell of support despite leading the charge to impeach Clinton after the Monica Lewinski affair, whilst enjoying marital indiscretions of his own.

Gringrich’s sex life, however, like that of Grover Cleveland in 1884 is being brushed aside because, for the GOP, he represents a figure of solidity and experience. He is too valuable to the party to be tarnished by a little bit of tug and tickle. Cain, the Washington outsider, is dispensable and it will be back to the pizzas for him.

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The University Times | Tuesday, December 13 2011

TIMESOPINION

The University Times TIME TO SAY GOODBYE?

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nd so the clamour has been heeded. Having reluctantly committed Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union to the Union of Students in Ireland’s ‘Stop Fees, Save the Grant’ campaign, Ryan Bartlett has moved to address Trinity student disillusionment with its national representative body by calling for a referendum on disaffi liation.

Having attended USI national council over the weekend, SU president Bartlett has come to the decision that the radical anti-fee proposals passed by members are unrepresentative of how Trinity students feel the issue of third level fees and funding should be addressed by its representatives. In accordance with the due processes of the Union, Bartlett will now seek permission from his constituents to withdraw his Students’ Union from the USI network.

Bartlett’s stern words were not uttered lightly or without due reflection; a number of practical, representative, and fi nancial considerations have to be given serious weighting before discourse on the matter can begin in earnest. While many of the vociferous protests made regarding the USI’s penchant for protest occupation

SALES OF THE DAILY MAIL SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED

and hyperbole can be considered reactionary, it is essential that students engage with the pros and cons of the question being posed to them before a yes or no box is ticked.

For many on campus, the sight of student representatives making their way to state departments, chemical toilets and week-long supplies in hand, constitutes an embarrassment for which they are charged an annual subscription. For others, who would appear to be in the minority but whose opinion must be valued equally, it represents a willingness to devise measures of protest beyond the trite annual march and countless meetings with ministers that have so far failed to halt an annual rise in third level fees.

Beyond the simple ‘yes or no’ question likely to confront us in the near future, we must carefully consider whether or not the USI’s transgressions qualify a forfeit of our representation on a national scale.

If we do disaffi liate, what then for Trinity infuture negotiations in government?

Would we have any clout whatsoever or would the SU have to resign itself to simple provision of services and become an apolitical body?

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he Daily Mail is a deeply nasty institution. From its imperialist standpoint in justifying mass slaughter in the Boer War to the xenophobia, anti-poor and very often fabricated sensationalism it uses to whip the ranks of the ignorant who comprise its readership into faux-righteously indignant moral outrage today. But banning it from campus, not as a result of a prolonged debate about the role and responsibility of media in society, but in a reactive manner because of a factual error is a dangerous precedent to set.

There are important conversations to be had at a student-level, in a generation where we arguably have more opportunity to write the future of the mediated political discourse than any of our predecessors. The emergence of open-source and citizen journalism and how they are interacting with orthodox media through outlets like Storyful. The question of post-political neutrality as against objectivity and whether inherent biases exist and should be addressed. The scale of censorship from government-controlled hard censorship in countries with emerging geopolitical significance like China, Russia and Iran to soft censorship and corporate influence.

The pressure to produce material in an instantaneous news cycle, and to ‘sex it up’ to appeal to a consumer base with more options to choose from, compromising and undermining media objectivity and the pursuit of accuracy.

But it was not at the end of a broad-ranging discussion about media, and the kind our SU would stock in their shops, that The Daily Mail was banned. It was banned in solidarity with the family of the late Caolan Mulrooney. The Daily Mail had published a story falsely alleging that his body had been found in the River Lee while the search for him continued. As UT staff writer Conor Kenny pointed out, the truth about the case could have been obtained by the simplest contact with the Gardaí or those who took part in the search. The fact that this did not happen suggests that the story was run on the basis of hearsay. To run a story on such a basis that potentially puts at risk someone’s life (when it is clear, for instance, that shopkeepers were taking photographs of Caolan down from their windows in the wake of its publication) is reprehensible in the extreme.

But to ask the EETO to immediately suspend sales of The Daily Mail, pending

an apology the SU had already been sent when this issue was discussed, because of a factual error alone, was a mistake.

Our SU shops sell News Corporation papers The Sun and The Times, and the developing phone-hacking scandal involving News Corp is as, if not more, reprehensible than Ms. Lynch’s disgraceful journalism in this case. The SU shop sells tabloid papers like The Irish Daily Star whose modus operandi are not dissimilar to The Daily Mail.

But, in the broader picture, all newspapers have written stories that are factually incorrect, and ones that are actually based in falsehoods (including this one). Not all had the potential consequences that The Daily Mail’s one had, but many, many would have. And the standard applied to The Daily Mail in this case could easily be seen as applicable to those other papers, especially if they were ever to print a story of that nature about a member of the student community.

The article was reprehensible. The journalism was disgraceful. But a statement from our SU condemning the article and advising students against buying The Daily Mail would have sufficed.

The Importance of Being Honest The disappearance of Caolan Mulrooney and the subsequent finding of his body has caused immeasurable grief to Caolan’s family, friends and the UCC campus. Last Sunday, The Irish Mail on Sunday published an article which falsely reported that Caolan’s body had been found. Conor Kenny’s article below, a scathing criticism of the Mail, has been viewed over 40,000 times on our website.

I Only by refusing to accept hurtful and malevolent journalism such as this will the tabloids ever get the message.

n the early hours of Friday December 2, an old classmate of mine from Cork, Caolan Mulrooney, went missing. He was seen on CCTV cameras leaving Cubins nightclub in the centre of the town, and then spotted a short time later making his way up around St. Finbarr’s Cathedral on the south side of the city. He wasn’t seen by any of his friends or family the following morning or afternoon.

A search party comprised of hundreds of us subsequently searched the town inch by inch later that night, doing everything in our power to find him.

Inevitably, when the examination of the streets proved fruitless, the search parties were moved down to the banks of the Marina on the south side of the city. The Daily Mail, that great bastion of accurate news reporting, decided that this was sufficient evidence to claim that Caolan’s body had been recovered from the River Lee, and then published it in their Sunday morning edition.

It was astounding that the ‘journalist’ in question, Marisa Lynch, would choose to make up a rumour about a matter so serious, so upsetting, simply to sell a few extra copies of her vile bosses’ rag. I should point out that it is not an assumption on my part to say that Ms. Lynch chose to fabricate this story.

When a journalist is reporting on a scenario as devastating as

this, it is imperative that they get their facts straight. If she had asked even one person searching the Marina about the investigation, never mind the Gardai, then she would’ve been told the truth. One can only assume when confronting realities such as these that Ms. Lynch either; a) Had not sufficiently researched the matter and decided it would be easier for her to make up a fantastical news story, or, b) Had researched the matter, but decided that her version of events would make for a more interesting read. This is the state of journalism today – a collection of failed newscasters with no lasting friends, who choose to manufacture outright lies for the sake of satisfying the sadistic fantasies of their editors, and boosting their own overinflated egos.

A parallel can perhaps be drawn between events like this, to the wicked reporting of another gutter tabloid. In Sheffield, 1989, a devastating tragedy occurred which shook the foundations of my hometown of Liverpool to its very core. The Hillsborough stadium disaster was a heartbreaking catastrophe which resulted in the deaths of 96 people, caused entirely by the ineptitude of the South Yorkshire Police to sufficiently monitor the turnstiles.

Instead of allowing time for the families of the victims to come to terms with the event, and

for a full independent investigation to be made, The Sun chose to fabricate the lie that Liverpool fans had urinated on the bodies of dead people, and stole from their pockets. Again, a malicious story which broke the hearts of real people, and for what? For the sake of selling more copies? If there is a hell, these journalists are surely bound for it.

Caolan Mulrooney has not been found yet, and the investigation is still ongoing in Cork.

Anyone with any relevant information is encouraged to contact their local Garda station. But for Ms. Lynch to do what she did is a disgrace, not just to news reporting, but to human nature. I can only call on the people of Cork to react in the same way that Liverpudlians did to The Sun, by refusing to buy The Mail under any circumstances. Only by refusing to accept hurtful and malevolent journalism such as this will the tabloids ever get the message. Edward BulwerLytton once said that “the pen is mightier than the sword”. He may have been right, but it’s also more cowardly.

Right: The page of Tuesday’s Irish Daily Mail on which an apology was printed for the false reporting of the finding of Caolan Mulrooney’s body.

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TIMESOPINION

Tuesday, December 13 2011 | The University Times

14

TIMESSPORTS The Trinity Player CHAIRMANS OF clubs carry a lot of weight when it comes to public opinion and how the club should be run. The Trinity Player gives us an account of his experiences “A WIN buys you time”, as eloquently stated by our then Chairman in relation to a question from a journalist on whether the Manager at the club would be getting the dreaded vote of confidence.

In reality, when a football club Chairman responds in this manner, you just know he is preparing a troubled Manager for the departure lounge. All he needs is a few bad results, a bit of supporter unrest and his decision will be justified. In fact, the Chairman is probably lining up a replacement for the forlorn Manager who is clinging on desperately.

However, his timing must be appropriate before he wields the axe.

For example, the fans may genuinely appreciate the manager in charge and could turn against the egotistical Chairman for any unreasonable sacking decision. One such example last year was the termination of Chris Hughton’s contract at Newcastle and the subsequent falling out between the fans and the Executive Board who are still popularly known as the ‘London Mafia’.

The Manager of a football club is under enormous pressure to deliver results and even more so in the Premier League due to the financial consequences of relegation and also not qualifying for Europe. The very first Manager at my club was not hugely well known but a decent person.

He struck me as a man who was quite charming and although not exactly what you call male model material, he was high in the vanity stakes (Don’t know why!) and exuded confidence wherever he walked. During my first year as an apprentice at the club, something odd happened. Results were not going exactly to plan and the chosen First Team Strikers were firing blanks consistently. Something had to change and fast and the Chairman was breathing down the Managers neck. In this situation, a Manager may go out into the market and purchase a new centre forward. They could possibly get somebody on loan who will provide the missing firepower up front. Even better, you could convert one of your centre half’s into a makeshift striker as Paul Warhurst famously did with Sheffield Wednesday in the 90’s.

Our Manager, who was a very intelligent man, wanted something more radical. Therefore he enlisted the help of Britain’s most famous Hypnotist to essentially brainwash the players into scoring more goals. The Hypnotist arrived at our training ground much to the disbelief of some of the playing staff.

Even our groundsman thought he had taken a wrong turn into the training centre and did not realise the man was here on official business. Anyways, he took all the First Team squad into a room for a session whilst we the giggling apprentices listened through the paper thin walls.

At one stage I heard the Hypnotist say “OK, lads after me...Yes I will score goals” and the first team duly obliged their knight in shining armour...”YES, I WILL SCORE GOALS”!

The afternoon session was bizarre to say the least. We were partaking in a gym session and out of the corner of my eye on the training pitch I noticed our First Team striker doing double and triple summersaults and the centre half was celebrating wildly as if he had just won the lotto.

The hypnotist had asked the lads to score

a goal in an empty net and celebrate like never before. I guess the overall objective here was to bring the lads thoughts back to a time when goals were aplenty and to ingrain a bit more positivity and belief.

Whilst the techniques used on our first team were possibly strange I fully believe utilising any type of positive methodology that can enhance performance of a player.

As a young kid that day however, never mind the manager about the get the chop, I feared that the Hypnotist was signing his own death warrant by bravely attempting to get into the heads of a relegation threatened outfit.

The club were relegated that summer and our Manager unfortunately got the expected axe. The Manager conveyor belt continues; a new Manager comes in and has a fresh approach.

It is quite a stressful time when somebody new takes the helm as you don’t know whether they fancy you as a player. Different Managers have differing opinions and visions of how they want their team to play. One of our local rivals were lying perilously close to the relegation spots and the chairman brought in a Manager who would ‘sort out the mess’.

On his first training session, he brought all the Pro’s to their home stadium pitch and duly kicked the ball about 70 yards into the air and watched it land in the imaginary opposition box. “Right lads, that’s the way I want you to play. Just bang it into the box at every opportunity and we will survive..... good lads”. Nothing complicated, a playing style that can work if you have personnel that are physically capable. The Chairman doesn’t really care as long as survival is guaranteed.

Another high profile manager of mine was fired from his job harshly midway through the campaign due to poor results. The Chairman thought it would be a good idea to bring in one of the players in a caretaker capacity to bring inspiration and new life to the team.

The player in question was a very famous high profile foreign international who had been playing for the club for 6 months.

He had a reputation as a bit of a ‘diver’ to get free kicks and this was evident during matches. The funny thing was, he also dived in training!

A very nice guy, but he just could not string a sentence in English toget her.

It was obvious he was very uncomfortable in his new r o l e as Caretaker Manager as he delivered some team talks before training sessions. He would speak in Italian to his translator who had no football background whatsoever and he would revert this back to English for the lads.

If you think about it this way, it was something akin to Trapattoni’s translator Manuela Spinelli giving the team talk. I think you can probably imagine this does not go down well with a bunch of seasoned Pro’s and results subsequently got worse. I can say this was a romantic appointment by the Chairman who fully believed players would instantly be influenced by our legend manager. Saying that, our very own ‘Trap’ seems to get his message across but I would say this is more to do with his charisma, charm and respect he commands from the players. Firing Managers for short term inadequacies on the pitch can come back to haunt Chairman who self absorbed by nature and never admit to their own shortcomings and involvement in the initial hiring. Ultimately, it’s all about results and just unfortunate that clubs do not give a Manager more time to impose their own style. Can you imagine if that Hypnotist thing ever worked out? Sure the Chairman would probably take the credit!

All the Chairman needs is a few bad results, a bit of supporter unrest and his decision will be justified

ODDS ON: UT SPORTS BETS FOR 2012 Matthew Rye takes a look at the prospective bets turning heads over the next 12 months 1. Baltimore Ravens - AFC Championship @ 3/1 (Paddy Power) With lack of strength in both the New England and Pittsburgh rosters, the chance for a new power to emerge in the AFC is both likely and encouraging. Undefeated in their division, and with a attractive schedule coming up, their stalwart defence and new dominant running game could prove too hot to handle. Time to back B’more to reach Superbowl XLVI. 2. Wayne Rooney - Top Premier League goalscorer @ 4/1 (Paddy Power) Looking back to his best with a double against Wolves this past weekend, Wazza for the Premiership’s top goalscorer is an enticing prospect. Very much a feast-and-famine goalscorer, he’ll have to play a more attacking role for United, due to Chicarito’s injuries. Could be one for the bullish gamblers.

3. Wales - Six Nations winner 2012 @ 15/4 (Ladbrokes) Why not? Unlucky not to reach a World Cup final, and touting a young side brimming with talent, Wales could look to repeat their 2005 feat and snatch the coveted Six Nations crown while others are arguing about it. While Gatland’s men will be looking to exert revenge against France in Cardiff, an English side without direction, and an Irish side without O’Driscoll could fall victim to a solid young team.

4. Rory McIlroy - US Masters winner 2012 @ 7/1 (Paddy Power) After his apparent implosion at Augusta National last year, our Rory will be looking to avenge his demons and take home the coveted green jacket. Catching fire in Dubai earlier this autumn, and currently ranked at no.2 in the world rankings, McIlroy has been playing the golf of his life since winning the US Open last Spring. A steal at current odds.

5. Andy Murray - Wimbledon 2012 @ 8/1 (Ladbrokes)

The entire sporting world will heave a collective sigh of relief once a British man regains the single’s title at Wimbledon. Even if he is Scottish. Murray, on his home soil, could be that man. And he’ll have the British people scrutinising his every move until the tournament rolls lazily around in the summer. Still though, he’s beaten all of the main contenders before, and is now at the peak of his career. One bet to watch.

6. Australia to finish above England in the medals table at 2012 Olympics @ 4/1(Ladbrokes) -

That would be peachy. The British sports media’s inflated sense of self-worth has them convinced that they’re the greatest at every single sport in the world, purely because they invented it. The Aussies will be a long way from home, but will have the edge in swimming, water polo, volleyball and a rake of other semi-obscure sports. Could prove a winner.

7. Irweland to win ICC World Twenty20 @ 300/1 (Paddy Power)

We can dream, can’t we? Ireland’s form in recent months has been patchy to say the least. But we do boast a batting line-up to strike fear into the likes of Holland, Canada and Afghanistan. Overnight superstar at last summer’s World Cup, Kevin O’Brien, will have to have repeat performances against all opposition for us to capture the title. Bearing in mind, this must be backed up by unprecedented bowling figures.

Still though, look at those odds...

Check out universitytimes.ie for regular sports updates

Football to brighten up the festive season Jack Hogan Armchair Footballer WITH ALL this talk of cuts, taxes and budgets we run the risk of forgetting what the festive season is all about – football. We have a highly entertaining winter period to look forward to, as the Premier League heats up, the transfer window opens and we all plan our trips to the Poland and Ukraine.

With the city of Manchester ruling the footballing roost in the early part of the season, it would appear that the tables are turning. Both United and City

suffered humiliating early exits from the Champion’s League with the admirable FC Basel and Napoli taking their respective places in the knockout stages.

Apart from the obvious financial costs (as much as £20 million per club), the demotion to the Europa League will also serve as a disadvantage in luring foreign players during the January transfer window. With Javier Hernandez and Nemanja Vidic both suffering long term injuries in recent weeks, do not be surprised to see Sir Alex go on something of a spending spree next month in order to bolster his squad.

For City, the challenge is to

sustain their current domestic dominance. If they see out a successful January without the colossal Yaya Touré, who will be absent to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, it could see them home to a first Premier League.

However, let us not discount Tottenham who have also been showing the form of champions recently. Surely Harry Redknapp already has his name on the ‘manager of the season’ award – getting Emmanuel Adebayor to actually run for a ball is enough of an achievement as it is. But it is Scott Parker’s defensive efforts, Gareth Bale’s crosses and Jermaine Defoe’s finishing that

have been indicative of Spurs’ success thus far. With the aformentioned clubs looking good for Champion’s League football next season, it will be a tight race for that highly coveted fourth spot. Newcastle will be put to the test over winter to see whether or not their squad can uphold the good run of form that has seen them climb steadily up the table until now.

Arsenal also have put their early-season jitters behind them, although their reliance on captain Van Persie for goals lately could see them dip into the savings fund for some new talent.

Liverpool’s 11- match unbeaten

run came to a disastrous end recently against Fulham. With a season-ending injury to midfield kingpin Lucas and star striker Suarez being investigated by the FA for both racist taunting and an indecent hand gesture to opposition fans (well played Luis!), King Kenny has quite a task on his hands to calm things down on Merseyside and get their season back on track.

Finally Chelsea have silenced their critics for the time being with impressive domestic performances and advancing to the last sixteen of the Champion’s League. André Villas-Boas has secured some much-needed

respite from the wave of media specualtion about the security of his job.

At the other end of the table, Blackburn and Wigan will have to pull a few tricks out of the bag to climb out of their annual relegation battle. Irish eyes will be on Wolves as an injury to Stephen Hunt, Kevin Doyle or Stephen Ward could prove very costly as we look ahead to the Euros next summer.

Although we have been drawn into an extemely difficult group, we cannot simply look forward to the competition as a spectacle or great occassion. Some good solid Irish performances (dare

I say it?) could see us through to the knockout stages. Spain in particular have been showing some signs of weakness recently and rarely play a style that suits the strength within their squad. With Italy, you never really know what you’re going to get and Trappatoni is undefeated against the Azzurri in three matches. Finally, Croatia are the one team against whom the boys in green would feel no inferiority complex. It may be the mulled wine talking, but we have a lot to be optomistic about!

15

The University Times | Tuesday, December 13 2011

TIMESSPORTS

A QUESTION OF SPORTING CHARACTER STEVEN GERRARD

by Cal Gray Football changed my life. No, correction, World Cup 2002 changed my life. Having just made a huge move of address from South County Dublin to West Connemara, I needed to fit in somehow, and learning football was the way to do that.

The hype, the TV ads, and even the trading card game made the minuscule population of Renvyle, Connemara, breath football for that month of the World Cup. Knowing nothing about the sport, and desperately wanting to make friends, I basically copied everything the other kids did on the pitch, including claiming to ‘be’ some famous footballer prior to kick off.

“I’m Zidane” they’d shout or “I’m Ronaldo” (the now fat one, not the pansy one) so I of course wanted to follow suit, but there was a prowblem with that; I didn’t know the name of any players.

This problem persisted for the entire tournament, and most of the summer, until I discovered this thing called ‘The Premiership’ in late August/early September. Knowing all my new friends were Liverpool supporters, these were the matches I looked out for, and desperately tried to remember the entire squad off by heart.

When this was done, I decided to pick a player I admired, so I could always be ready with his name before matches. And that one player immediately stood out; Steven Gerrard.

He was everything I wanted to be, although realistically I knew he was fifty million times more talented than I could ever become, which has now been proven, as I still have two right feet (I’m left footed.) He was committed, brave, had a thunderous shot and displayed so much pride in everything he did.

You could always tell that he wanted the ball, and hated when the other team had it. Since then he’s only gotten better. Some incidents that spring to mind are his amazing slide tackle on Wayne Rooney, his goal against Olympiakos, (“OOHH YOU BEEEAUUTTAAAYYYYYYY”) his spectacular volley against Blackburn (YouTube it, your jaw will never again be lifted from the floor) and of course his displays in the 2005 Champions League Final and the 2006 FA Cup Final.

Whilst all of these things are sheer brilliance, and demonstrate the downright genius of the man, the main aspect of Gerrard’s game that kids should emulate is his character. He never sulks, never refuses to come off the bench like some (Although this might be because he always starts) and never kicks the dugouts if he has to come off. He will always give 110% on a football pitch, and do it all for the team. Not for himself.

He is not just a sporting role model, but a role model for a life lead honestly.

PHIL TAYLOR

by Matthew Rye PROBABLY AMONG the more inappropriate of sporting icons to have as a young child is one whose training regime incorporates a midday fry and a pint of stout. Nonetheless, Phil Taylor’s allure is one of both the more and the less obvious; I defy you to find one single person who has dominatedtheir respective sporting fiefdoms for as long as The Power has done. Since his entry into theprofessional game 23 years ago, he’s amassed an incredible 150 tournament wins, including 15 Grandslam titles. And he’s still here.

I don’t believe for a second that heroic sporting feats are measured in amounts of physical prowess, they are measured in terms of success. Another of my sporting heroes, Muhammad Ali once said, “Champions aren’t made in gyms”. Phil Taylor embodies this statement. Too many sporting successes these days are characterised by physical strength or speed, but sport is measure of skill and mental psychological nerve. Taylor’s strength of character and skill level is what sets him apart from all other sporting greats. Many a match he’s won based on his ability to block all external factors and concentrate his focus on the task at hand. His winning mentality, his competitive edge and will are the gold standard when it comes to sport.

Few can come close to matching Taylor’s level of dominance in any sporting field, but it is the way he has conducted this dominance, through

exciting and memorable matches that makes him so iconic. Disregarding that he has more unlikely checkouts than Tesco’s, his now legendary double 9-darter against James Wade in last year’s Premier League finals is an achievement without equal in sport. It can be paralleled to scoring two hat-tricks in one game, or serving a set entirely full of aces; feats yet to be achieved on such a grand stage. The only achievement that holds a candle next to it is Donald Bradman’s lifetime average of 99 runs in test cricket.

And yet for all his titanic achievements, Taylor still remains as humble as the day he took up the tungsten arrows and left his plastering career behind.

Sports icons come in many shapes and forms, but what truly defines one is the ability to break ground in a respective discipline. Johan Cruyff will be remembered for his namesake back-heel turn, The Power will be remembered for shepherding in a new commercial era of darts. Under his popularity, darts has gone from a local pub sport, to having one of the best live atmospheres of any sporting event. His rivalries with other prominent darting figures Dennis Priestly, John Part and Raymond Van Barneveld have brought the competitive standard of darts to new plateaus. Darts won’t be the same when he’s gone, but Taylor’s persona will continue to set standards of darting folklore until long after that.

Put simply, the man’s got the Power.

STEFFI GRAF

by Emma Tobin THERE’S SOMETHING refreshing about “old school” sports stars.

They were never as over exposed as todays leading athletes, didn’t have the technical advantages we have today, and still set the bar that so many hopefuls aim for.

One in particular, Steffi Graf, to put it lightly, puts all modern sports idols to shame.

Described as the top women’s tennis player of all time she won numerous titles during her professional career, spanning 1982-1999. Amongst these titles is the record for most Grand slams ever won by a single player – an inhuman 22.

Rodger Federer, the current male record holder has 16.

She was also ranked world number one for 186 weeks consecutively – a record to this day.

And these are just her individual achievements.

Her accomplishments are tantamount to the perfect tennis career. But that’s not really what entices me to her as one of my idols. Her ability to overcome huge personal struggles is.

A string of serious injury problems followed her throughout her career. Illness in 1991/1992 had most commentators questioning whether or not Graf would be able to continue in tennis.

Back problems, bouts of the German measles, and foot injuries and surgery – luck was, often times, not on her side.

The media’s blatant disregard for her family’s privacy and a scandal involving her father reduced her to tears in a press conference at one point.

Yet she continued on in the sport that she loved, competing unless under medical orders not to do so. While her career can be divided up into two segments of success, the sum of her victories is almost intimidating. In total she won 88.7% of all games played, with a multi surface style that was completely her own.

She exemplifies what it means to be a competitor who changed the name of the game.

What is to be respected above all else what that professional tennis was never a job to her.

She competed because she loved it, and her reason for retirement was that she “wasn’t having fun anymore”.

In an era when sport has become as much about the money and fame which accompanies it as the sport, competition and championships, I cannot describe adequately the level of respect such an attitude holds for me.

Oh and she managed to marry Andre Agassi, one time men’s number one and noted gigalo.

Not a bad way to round up a lifetime of achievement.

OLE SOLSKJAER

by Jack Leahy MY SPORTING hero never covered himself in glory, no matter how celebrated he was and how many trophies he won. He was never as ostentatious on the pitch as the likes of Steven Gerrard (wow, I really hope some poor sod didn’t pick Steven Gerrard as his sporting hero) and Wayne Rooney, or as stylish as Leo Messi. But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the greatest professional that the English game has ever seen.

Arriving at Manchester United from Molde FK in Norway in 1996, little was expected from the fresh-faced Norwegian, in spite of an impressive record of 31 goals in 42 appearances for the Tippeligaen side. 18 goals in his first season in a red shirt quickly changed that but despite his penchant for poaching, Ole never found it easy to hold down a regular place in the United XI with strikers Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Eric Cantona, Teddy Sherringham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Diego Forlan, Wayne Rooney, and Henrik Larsson all plying their trade at United in Solskjaer’s time.

Yet this is where Solskjaer found his calling; an astute observer, he had a knack for coming off the bench and changing a game. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once remarked that in all of his years, he had never seen a substitute as dedicated to the job as Solskjaer was, watching intently for 70 minutes before

applying what he had observed to what limited time he had available to him. In an age when even the great Frank Lampard throws a tantrum when his number shows up on the board and Carlos Tevez considers it beneath him to warm up, it seems strange to us that there could ever have been a player who made the role of the substitute an integral part of the game.

Solskjaer scored a record 28 goals off the bench for United before injury ended his career in 2007. If I am to give one example of how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves the status of a sporting hero, this is it: On Wednesday, May 26th 1999, Solskjaer came off the bench with an hour gone in the Champions League final. After fellow substitute Teddy Sherringham had pegged back Bayern Munich’s lead in injury time, commentator Clive Tyldesley prophetically declared that the game was heading for extra time ‘unless Ole Solskjaer can conjure up another’. 30 seconds later, Ole stuck out his right foot to meet Sherringham’s goal-bound header and the greatest comeback in European Cup history to date was complete. Solskjaer celebrated by running towards the corner flag and, in the heat of the treble-induced emotion, remembered to slide on his knees just as Mario Basler had done all of 101 minutes previously. Always observing, always ready, always scoring goals. Ole Solskjaer: take a bow, son.

UTsports December 13th 2011

Inside

More than a Game Cal Gray, Emma Tobin, Jack Leahy and Matthew Rye reveal their sporting heroes

Twitter: @Sports_UT

DU American Football edge to victory over rivals in charity match at Santry Melenie Gieldlin Mutlimedia Editor ON DECEMBER 3rd midday at Trinity College Sports Grounds in Santry, Dublin’s biggest college sport rivals went head to head. Played in aid of the Toys for Children Appeal in Temple St. Hospital, the game between the University College Dublin (UCD) American Football Team and Trinity’s own Dublin University American Football Club was a game carried by both team’s solid defense. Hesitant at first, TCD came back during the 3rd quarter with a touchdown and an extra point to cement the score at 7-0 for the remainder of the half and win the game.

The first half was marked by a struggle for each team’s defense to contain their opponents. In the first quarter, TCD seemed to have difficulties matching UCD’s energy, as their rivals gained significant rushing yards. Midway through the quarter, a throw to an uncovered gap near the end zone gave possession to UCD, who used it to lead a drive down the field until time ran out. TCD however, seemed to snap back in the 2nd quarter as their defense held back UCD’s solid offensive line. Early in the quarter, Trinity’s Stephen Carton proved his worth as he tackled UCD quarterback, Alex Walshe, driving them back on the 3rd down to force a turnover after their opponents failed to recover yards. TCD’s offense was led by a skilled reception by running back Rob McDowell in the end zone. By the 4th down, it was unclear whether they would be able to cross the plane as UCD’s defense responded by tackling McDowell at the 15-yard line. UCD’s tackles proved to be their best weapon in the rest of the quarter, anticipating the moves of the Trinity receivers, as well as TCD’s numerous drives up field.

By the end of the first half TCD had gained possession, only to lose it on an interception; UCD used this opportunity to drive the ball up field to the 20. By the 3rd down on the 15, Trinity linebackers again came in at the clutch to get at Walshe, pushing him back as the clock ran out.

In the 3rd quarter without any points on the board, it was unclear whether TCD would be able to make the drive to the end zone. An intense wind meant that pass plays were less reliable, hinging the game on which team could effectively use running plays and protect the ball carrier. After TCD kicked off to UCD, Trinity tackle moved fast to tackle on both 1st and 2nd down in decisive moves that showed his improvements in gameplay. When TCD got possession of the ball, their offensive drive was led by McDowell, who rushed faster than UCD’s linebackers could respond. If it had not been for a 15-yard penalty on TCD for a personal foul, and if McDowell had been covered by more downfield blocking, there would have been an opportunity for a touchdown. Near the end of

Dublin University American Football running back Rob McDowell evades defenders against UCD AFC in Santry last Sunday the quarter, a series of quick plays led TCD close to scoring. First, when Conor Morris missed a throw into the end zone on the 1st down, and again when McDowell was taken down at the 20 yard line. By the 3rd and 3, TCD was at the 18-yard line and on the 4th down decided to go for it and pick up the first down. McDowell ran the ball to the end zone, and the extra point by kicker Peter Quinlan was ruled good.

TCD was 7-0 at the end of the third quarter. At this point in the game, TCD’s defensive strategy was to get their offense back on the field. In the 4th quarter, they had kicked into high gear and early on Trinity cornerback, Conor Campbell intercepted the ball in a clutch maneuver.

It set the scene as TCD continued to make solid defensive plays. It seemed as if UCD would score a TD, but as UCD quarterback made a run

for the end zone on the 3rd down, a TCD linebacker swiftly took him down. Their last ditch attempts to score were met by TCD’s amped-up defense, and by the 2 minute warning TCD was in possession looking to run down the clock and close out the game. With 1:15 left the game was called. TCD 7, UCD 0.

In the end, winning came down to strategy and endurance rather than quick, risky plays.

The low-scoring game seemed to be played by both sets of defensive linemen and linebackers, who relentlessly pushed back their opponents. TCD’s offense seemed to work better as a unit, though, as evidenced by the amount of field they covered, their skillful pass blocking and the amazing receptions. When asked how his team finally broke through to score, the defensive coach simply replied: ‘Perseverance. We

played well together’. `Rob McDowell and Conor Campbell were particularly impressive individually, even though it was a tram performance which won them the game. McDowell enbodied a threat both on the ground and through the air, causing the UCD team problems all day long. Campbell played excellently on the defensive side of the ball, chasing everything and proving tobe a thorn in the side of the UCD offense all day.

UCD tried several diffferent strategies on their offense, but were ultimately dismantled by a tirelass Trinity defense, who generated multiple tackles-for-losses and never allowed their opponenets to get going. This, however doesn’t reflect the tireless work put in by the UCD defnsive players, any of whom were unlucky not to hav got someting out of the game.

Photo: Ben McQuillan

The result could prove a turning point in Dublin University American Football Club’s season, who went down against the Carrickfergus Kinghts in a shutout, during their last runout. Their defensive frailties, which Carrickfergus punished quite viciously, seem resloved, and their overall atacking prowess seems much more potent.

DUAFC will hope to test this winning formula against tougher opposition in the new year, as they look forward to taking on the likes of DCU, Craigavon, and the Dublin Rebels.. Their head coach Darren O’Toole will look to take advantage of the enthusiasm which these young men have for the game, and take thm to new heights this season.

DUFC move up to second with win over City of Derry Matthew Rye Sports Editor DUBLIN UNIVERISTY Football Club moved up into second place in the AIL Divison II last weekend with an impressive win against City of Derry last Sunday on a sticky College Park surface. Trinity played excellently against an expansive Derry side, who threw the ball wide early on. Trinity clearly had the better of the play on the day, but made life difficult for themselves on occasion.

Following tries from outside centre Ariel Roles, Tim O’Mahoney and Dave Joyce in the first half, Trinity had two players sin-binned, and allowed Derry back into the game, and the away side scored three tries in the second half to mount a comback. At 27-21, however, DUFC put the game beyond all reasonable doubt when Neil Hanratty scored their fourth try , to secure the four-try bonus point victory for the Trinity team.

The home side played some excellent rugby, both attacking and counterattacking, as City of Derry’s open style played right into their hands. Right from the kick-off, inside centre Ariel Robles and fullback James O’Donoghue caused probalem for the Derry defence, both running superb lines and getting beyond the gainline. The Trinity forwards also played outstandingly in the first 20 minutes; Back rowers Dominic Gallagher and Jack Dilger working hard to create quick ruck ball for Captain and out-half David Joyce and his backline to work with.

Sure enough their excellent patterned play payed off, with Ariel Robles beating his man before he got the ball, and chicaning thorugh the defence to run over for the opening try between the posts 10 minutes after kick-off. The try followed an excellent series by DFC who moved the ball very quickly to keep the Derry defence floundering. Joyce added the extras, and then slotted a penalty 5 minutes ater to take Trinity’s lead to 10 points.

Another try shortly followed from DUFC, as hooker Tim O’Mahony crashed over in the corner to take Trinity’s lead to 17-0. O’Mahoney’s try followed another good series of play by the trinity forwards, sucking the defence in with hard, direct running and aggressive rucking. O’Mahony evetually crashed over when he broke tackles, and ended up in the corner under a pile of bodies.

At this point the Derry team were looking exhausted, having spent the best part ot the first half chasing the flightly Trinity backs around the field. Their forwards, more heavily set than their Trinity counterparts, looked second best as they continually arrived at the breakdown in second place, and were unable to use their size and strength to gain an upper hand in the physical breakdown area. Gallagher, and Brendan O’Connell, playing at bindside, were irrepressible in the first half, not just at the breakdown, but also in defence, where they caused continous turnovers and didn’t allow the inside back play from Derry to gain any momentum. They weren’t alone in this regard, with inside centre Rob Cruess-Callaghan acting as the defensive stalwart and leading the defensive line.

Joyce then added another try himself, after second-row Colin MacDonnell nabbed the ball from an Derry lineout, close to the opposition line. After the ball had been recycled numerous times by Trinity’s dominating forward pack, Joyce recieved the ball at stand-off, stepped inside some covering tackles and go over under the posts. Joyce then nailed the conversion to tske Trinity’s lead to 24-0 at halftime, looking as if they were cruising. Derry were beginning to look mournful and it was expected that DUFC would continue their dominance into the second half. However after a brief respite and a swapping of the ends, the going got much worse for Trinity, very quickly.

Openside Gallagher was ajugded to have handled the ball on the ground, an offence that both sides had been warned repeatedly about, and the referee took action by sentencing

him to 10 minutes in the sinbin. Gallagher were shortly followed by fellow forward O’Mahony, who was sentenced for the same offence, leaving Trinity with 13 players, to defend against Derry’s full complement.

Buoyed on by their 2 man advantage, Derry managed to claw their way back into the game. Using their leverage in the forwards, and their size and strength up front, Derry applied unprecedented pressure on the DUFC line.

The Derry loose-head prop, Ryan Fitzpatrick, opened the account some minutes later, tumbling over the line after a good spell of possession by the forwards, who held the ball for numerous phases and earned themselves a score. Outhalf Kevin Jones then converted.

Barely two minutes later, when Trinity were trying to resrore their comfortable lead, Derry inside centre James Maurice intercepted Joyce’s errant pass to score under the posts with, which DUFC regarded, as a soft score. Jones again converted to take the match to 24-17.

Re-enter Gallagher and O’Mahony, and the Trinity forward pack began to influence proceedings again. Good proactive play from Ian Hirst led to another Joyce penalty to take the score to 27-14, and take Joyce’s total for the match to 12. DUFC looked like they had steadied the ship.

However, Derry were not finished with their rebuttle just yet, and responded forcefully with out-half Jones, who outstripped the entire Trinity defence and scored under the posts to take Derry within 6 points of the Trinity team.

However, Trinity held their nerve and with the finest move of the match capped off an incredible game of rugby.

Robles, who had a fine game at outside centre, used his footwork and speed to break a hole in the Derry defence, danced through flailing opposition tacklers before offloading to winger Neil Hanratty who scored in the corner to take the pressure off Trinity and give them a total of four tries for the game ensuring the win as well as the bonus point.

This was a good win for the Trinity side, who moved up

to second place in the division, and are now in a great position to succeed in the coming year, as we close in on the winter break.

Trinity payed some enterprising rugby, with all of the backline demonstrating an array of individual talent and skill as well as teamwork. The forwards look to be gelling together well and performed well in the set-piece to provide a solid platform for Joyce et al. to work with. However most importantly perhaps, the team seemed to have regained that winning mentality that has been evaded them for long periods last season.

The visitors, for their part, played some entertaining stuff as well, and were perhaps unlucky not to have gained something from the game. However, they did come up against an in-form and aggressive Trinity side, who were the better side on the day.

Special mention should also go to the overall effort of the trinity defence, who played intellgently and aggressively for long periods.

Man of the Match 7 - Dominic Gallagher In a tough game against some larger forwards, Gallagher was outstanding, and showed why he’s been capped by Ireland at Under-19 level.

His speed and tenacity at the breakdown were unmatched, and his tirelessness in defence was conducive to Derry’s inability to mount any serious attacking opportunities in the first half.

Leading from the front, and a thorn in the side of the Derry backline all day, Gallagher has more than earned his man of the match award for this performance.