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Magazine

IN FOCUS

OPINION

Nell Mescal

Screen Time

TCDSU

Ella Hussey sits down with the Irish singer-songwriter to discuss her music, her love for her home country and the importance of family.

Wynslow Wilmot outlines the impact of phones on mental health and explores solutions in features, page 6 »

László Molnárfi argues against suggestions to depoliticise the Students’ Union in opinion, page 6 »

Ella Hussey confesses her love for her February 14th birthday in a Valentine’s Day magazine special.

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Volume XV, Issue IV

Monday 29 January, 2024

A Look Inside Trinity Renters’ Union Leah Downey DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Discrepancies in DARE Admissions Revealed Clara Roche EDITOR

n 2009, the supplementary admission procedures operated by several Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Ireland were nationalised and relaunched as the Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) scheme. The scheme aims to recognise the challenges faced by students with disabilities by allowing them to gain access to courses of their choice without the required leaving certificate points. The scheme is conducted as part of the general CAO admissions system. However, an investigation by The University Times has revealed

star rating on each platform. One review from a Trinity student noted that unless connected to Trinity WiFi, the machines cannot be used through the app. Additionally, the review mentions the helpline hanging up when called. Molnárfi continued on to say that the Renters’ Union “has seen the success of the likes of Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) and that they are essentially replicating the same mechanism here at Trinity”. CATU is a union for tenants and communities, encompassing renters, council tenants, mortgage holders and people in emergency accommodation or other precarious living situations. The members of the Union support each other with issues regarding landlords, ilCONTINUED ON PAGE 2

PHOTO BY SINÉAD BAKER FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

rinity College Dublin (TCD) has recently seen a new group emerge by the name TCD Renters’ Solidarity Network. The grassroots organisation was established by TCDSU President László Molnárfi, Housing Rights Officer Siubhán Stockman and Central Societies Committee (CSC) Treasurer Adam Ó Ceallaigh. According to their Instagram page, @tcdrentstrike, “TCD Renters’ Solidarity Network aims to coordinate campaigns around the collective issues we face”. Speaking to The University Times about the newfound body of rent-

ers, Molnárfi explained that the campaign group first formed to “create a collective of renters at Trinity to attack the issues we face”, citing the 85 per cent of students “that found campus accommodation to be unaffordable”. Alongside this, Trinity has what Molnárfi referred to as “an overly restrictive and paternalistic overnight guest policy that strips students of their autonomy and puts them in danger”. Another large issue TCD Renters’ Union seeks to address is the cost of laundry on campus. The service has been privatised and is now owned by a UK based company called Circuit Laundry, charging students over €7 to do their laundry. The app required for this service has 4,412 reviews on the Apple Store and 3,256 votes on Google Play, averaging a 1

Israel-Palestine: Thousands Call Upon Ireland to Support South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel

that the publication of grade boundaries and the allocation of places to DARE applicants is not standardised, and varies by institution and course. Of the four universities in Dublin, three set the minimum entry requirements for each course for DARE eligible students as a percentage of the required points. Of these three, University College Dublin (UCD) offers the highest maximum points reduction to DARE applicants at 20 per cent. Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) offers the lowest at 12.5 per cent. In a statement to The University Times, a spokesperson for the admissions department at TU CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Local Elections

Irish Language

Leah Downey interviews Trinity student and Green Party candidate Adam Ó Ceallaigh and his passion for sustainability and youth advocacy, PAGE 5 »

Alex Payne examines the impact of the proposed €4 increase to the student levy to go towards a new Irish langugage initiative, PAGE 6 »

PHOTO BY BRÍDÍN NÍ FHEARRAIGH-JOYCE FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

Thousands of protestors demonstrated outside Leinster House to urge the Irish government to lend support to South Africa’s case charging Israel with genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice. Read more in news, page 8

PhD Funding Announced for Student of Sanctuary NEWS

B2 SPORT

B20 FILM & TV

FEATURES

B10 ART

R2 LITERATURE

OPINION

B15 FASHION

R2 MUSIC

EDITORIAL

B16 FOOD

R7 THEATRE

Editor: Clara Roche Volume XV, Issue IV ISSN: 2013-261X Phone: (01) 646 8431 Email: info@universitytimes.ie Website: universitytimes.ie

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

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

Alex Payne ASSISTANT EDITOR

n an email to all staff and students on Wednesday, January 17th, the Dean of Graduate Studies, Professor Martine Smith, announced that one student of sanctuary will have their tuition fees covered for four years and receive an annual stipend of €25,000. In an email to The University

Times, Smith stated: “All the Trinity Research Doctorate Awards are funded through generous donations to Trinity Development and Alumni and funding generated through the Commercial Revenue Unit.” She also revealed that the funding has, so far, only been approved for the academic year 2024/25: “We aim to bring a request to the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) to approve allocation of an award towards the Sanctuary initiative again

next year, so that we can offer a similar award into the future. “We currently see this award as an important element of the makeup of the Trinity Research Doctorate Awards and therefore are confident that we will have the support of the GSC to offer the same scheme at least in 2025-26.” Under the name ‘Trinity Research Doctorate Award to a Student of Sanctuary (2024-25)’, Professor Smith said that the award brings to reality the “vi-

sion for postgraduate education in Trinity” that “all students, regardless of economic circumstances, have an opportunity to thrive”. “We are delighted to have been approved to ringfence this award for a student of sanctuary.” University Council, a body comprising senior leadership and faculty representatives which controls the academic CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

NEWS

A Look Inside Trinity Renters’ Union

Leah Downey speaks to TCDSU President Lászlo Molnárfi about the recently established Trinity Renters’ Union and its plans to organise a rent strike. « CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

legal evictions and other strifes. When asked how TCD Renters’ Union and the partnership between TCDSU and CATU that was recently voted on by the Student Forum would interact, Molnárfi explained that the partnership would allow the TCDSU to work with CATU and have a recruitment drive, encouraging students to sign up. However, TCD Renters’ Union is directly for those who live in Trinity student accommodation, either on campus or in halls. Thus far, TCD Renters’ Union has successfully opened up a discussion on the overnight guest policy and has amassed over 100 mem-

bers. According to Molnárfi, TCD Renters’ Union wants education to be accessible and for students to be able to afford campus and halls accommodation. He stated: “We want Trinity to keep the rates reasonable and not treat it as a for profit enterprise but rather as a simple human need.” “We see that each year Trinity tries to increase rent. In fact, since 2015, rent has increased in some places by 25 per cent, in others by 50 per cent. There needs to be a force that opposes these adverse impacts on us students.” Students who are living on campus or halls (alongside any other Trinity managed accommodation) are not considered tenants, but licensees. Molnárfi said it is shocking, as students “pay rent, but are

not treated as tenants”. “We are actually treated as if we are residents in a hotel room.” “This is one of the ways that student accommodation managers can get away with so much — they can create restrictive policies like the overnight guest policy or random room checks, like not allowed to put certain signs or flags in your windows. It’s a loophole that allows landlords to exploit their tenants so we have little rights. All major tenant advocacy organisations have all appealed to the government to seize the use of licensee agreements so we are actively fighting against this”. Speaking about the future plans for TCD Renters’ Union, Molnárfi mentioned the petition they are currently running regarding the

overnight guest policy. They also intend to distribute flyers to tourists, sharing with them the issues student renters face on campus. Additionally, TCD Renters’ Union is partnering with TCDSU to try and establish a partnership with a local laundry service “to kill Circuit Laundry’s business”. TCD Renters’ Union demands are “to abolish the overnight guest policy, reduce rent by 30 per cent, ensure rent refunds for every day with severe maintenance issues, free laundry machines and making sure that staff visits are always communicated beforehand”. However, the organisation’s primary goal takes inspiration from the student movement in the UK. In 2021, out of 140 universities in the UK, 55 took part in rent strikes.

More recently, the University of Manchester withheld rent in January 2023 where over 350 students withheld rent, resulting in loss of £500,000. Molnárfi stated simply that TCD Renters’ Union “are trying to organise a rent strike”. “Many times people complain

protests do nothing — well, here is your opportunity to get involved and engage in a very effective form of protest where you are withholding money from your landlord. The best part about it is that you don’t have to do anything, just not spend money.” “Join the fightback.”

“How Can I Care About My Education When I’m Not Sure I’ll Have Somewhere to Live?”: TCDSU Housing Survey Revelations The Students’ Union Housing Survey details the perceived impact of accommodation type, cost of rent, work outside college and commuting to college on the student experience, mental health and education. Alex Payne ASSISTANT EDITOR

ronted by TCDSU Housing Rights Officer Siubhán Stockman and President László Molnárfi, the TCDSU Housing Survey Report 2023/24 was launched at an event on campus on January 25th, 2024. Key findings from the survey include: 79 per cent of renters do not find their rent affordable; 66 per cent of respondents said they had gone into financial difficulty to pay rent; 50 per cent of those paying rent work in order to do so; 32 per cent of respondents were unsure whether they were licensees or tenants, and so may be unsure of their housing rights. In a new role established this year within the Union, Stockman said at the launch that the survey aims to show “the extent of the housing crisis as experienced by Trinity students”. Molnárfi argued that it proves “what we have been saying for so long is true with statistics”. The survey, open for four weeks

between October and November 2023, had 857 respondents (4-5 per cent of Trinity’s student population) of which 673 were Undergraduates and 184 were Postgraduates. Just under 30 per cent of respondents live at home followed closely by those that live in private rented accommodation (28 per cent). Just under 20 per cent of respondents live in Trinity College accommodation (either on-campus or Trinity Hall) and a similar proportion live in Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA). The rest of the respondents, just over 5 per cent, either live in digs, temporary accommodation or currently have no home. Respondents were asked how they perceive their accommodation type as having an impact on their student experience, mental health and education. Students living at home, in private rental, digs, temporary accommodation or currently with no home reported an overall negative impact on all aspects. Only those living in Trinity College Accommodation reported an overall positive impact on all aspects. Considering student testimoni-

als, the survey describes landlords and conditions as “exploitative”. One student reported having “neighbours that have threatened me, locked me out of the building, and engaged in antisocial behaviour, but any time I reported it to the landlord, he wouldn’t believe me”. Others reported vermin infestations and having no ability to turn on central heating. In November 2023, the Irish Independent reported on testimonials detailing vermin in Trinity College Accommodation. A TCD spokesperson replied: “Minor issues do occur from time to time.” Of those that responded as currently living with no home, the survey said: “The reality that students are forced into such conditions of poverty and precarity in order to attain a university education is utterly disturbing and unforgivable.” One respondee said: “Homelessness destroyed me and it has wrecked my chances of getting a high grade and reaching any sense of life stability. It has robbed me of my future and robbed me of myself.” The survey also found that 30 per cent of respondents were

paying €1,000 rent per month or more. Those paying €1,200 rent per month were most likely in private rental or PBSA, of which between 85 and 90 per cent of reported not finding their rent affordable. With 50 per cent of renters feeling the need to work to pay rent, over two-thirds of those working reported that it was having a negative impact on their student experience, mental health and education. 7 per cent of those working reported working 36 hours or over per week. The survey claims “students are working to the point of exhaustion, cutting back on basic necessities such as food, and facing constant anxiety about funding their education - all to fund exploitative landlords”. One respondee highlighted how their financial situation is making them feel about college: “The only thing that relieves such pressure is the fact that I have only 2 years of education left. I cannot believe that it makes me look forward to finishing uni as soon as possible.” Others said that all their income was immediately spent on tax and rent and one nursing student highlighted the current funding shortage for payment of placement work: “when I am out on placement because of a lack of funding I work a minimum of 55 hours a week and will only get paid for 24 of them. Even though I am receiving SUSI which helps alleviate some stress in regards to college fees and commuting costs, it’s not enough to help with accommodation that has better conditions.”

A consequence of high rent in Dublin has led to an increasing number of students living farther from the city centre. Just under 25 per cent of respondents reported a commute of over one hour and 5 per cent of respondents reported they had to commute over two hours. One respondee reported having to “spend 5.5-6 hours a day travelling, most of the time for just 1 class a day” and they highlighted how this means they get to participate in the student experience less. Another respondee said: “I was clinically sleep deprived around exam season as I couldn’t get home to get enough sleep.” The survey also highlighted the unique situation of international students: “Not only do international students already pay more expensive college fees, but many have no idea of the severity of the Irish housing crisis before moving to college.” Non-EU Postgraduates reported the highest negative impact of their accommodation type on their student experience, mental health and education, above EU Postgraduates and all Undergraduates. 80 per cent of Non-EU Postgraduates reported that they have had financial difficulties due to paying rent and one respondee said: “Renting must be the worst thing in Dublin because I’ve seen a lot of people who wanted to seek a chance here but finally left because they couldn’t afford the rent.” Others drew comparisons with the cost of rent in other cities, with one claiming their rent is Dublin

was three times as much as what they were paying in Shanghai and another saying that theirs was twice as expensive as their rent in Paris. With Postgraduate students often taking on a teaching role whilst at Trinity, the survey argued that they “are fundamentally undervalued for the work they do within the higher education sector”. One respondee claimed that it was difficult to find a landlord who would accept their stipend as an acceptable wage, instead preferring “tenants with well paid, full time jobs”. The TCD branch of the Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation Ireland recently announced an intention to strike at the end of Hilary Term 2024. The organisation’s demands include worker’s rights, payment of a living wage, respect and fair treatment. In its concluding remarks, the survey takes aim at the government for their perceived under-provision of affordable student housing: “The state is in clear collusion with multinational companies, pursuing a housing system that is premised on neoliberal ideology.” Its recommended solutions comprise “the eviction ban, severe restrictions on no-fault evictions, seizing of vacant and derelict properties, and a ban on Airbnbs in Dublin” and there is also support for People Before Profit’s Rent Control Bill, Sinn Féin’s legislation to ban sex-for-rent and the Universal Housing Programme proposed by the Community Action Tenants’ Union, an organisation student council recently voted to officially support.

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

NEWS

Referendum Campaign Begins on Increase to Student Levy Towards Irish Language Initiative The TCDSU Electoral Commission has put a referendum to students asking whether they support a €4 increase to the student levy to go towards a new Gaeilge Initiative. Alex Payne ASSISTANT EDITOR

n an email to all students on January 9th, 2024, the EC confirmed the following: “In line with the motion’s requirements, following consultation with the College’s Capitations Committee, it was agreed that a levy referendum would take place on whether students support a levy to create the Gaeilge Initiative.” The EC also confirmed that if the referendum passes (any constitutional change needs a simple majority, of 50 per cent, to pass) “the proposed constitutional changes will take effect at the end of Trinity Term”. At 10am on Thursday 25th January, 2024, the campaign period began for the referendum on the Gaeilge Initiative. The referendum question is: Do you support a student levy of €4 to create the Gaeilge Initiative: a dedicated fund for Irish language initiatives for the CSC, TCDSU, Trinity Sports Union, and Trinity Publications, and therein, the creation of a full time TCDSU Oifigeach na Gaeilge? Voting on the referendum, which will be conducted by paper balloting, opens at 10am on Tuesday 30th January, 2024 and closes at 6pm Thursday 1st February, 2024.

The student levy is currently €199.75 for undergraduates, doctorates and undergraduate and postgraduate Certificate/Diploma students. For postgraduates on a taught programme, the student levy ranges from €233.50 to €301.00 depending on part-time or fulltime student status. Visiting students currently pay €166.00. The referendum has come about as a result of the passing, by a twothirds majority, of the motion to establish a Sabbatical Irish Language Officer and Long-Term Irish Policy, at the third student council of this academic year on November 7th, 2023. At that student council, TCD’s full-time Irish Language Officer, Áine Ní Shúilleabháin, spoke in favour of the motion. She encouraged students to recognise the importance of the Irish language in colleges, saying that establishing a sabbatical position and long-term Irish language policy would “help the development of Irish in Trinity and other colleges”. TCDSU Irish Language Officer Pádraig Mac Brádaigh spoke in favour of the motion, highlighting the “historical opportunity” of such a move. “Trinity has a colonial history, and voting for this referendum to happen shows big social progress in Irish society for the language,” he said. In a further statement to The University Times, Mac Brádaigh emphasised the challenges facing the Irish

TCDSU Launches First Bilingual Logo The Students’ Union has unveiled its inaugural bilingual logo, featuring acronyms in both English and Irish. Clara Roche EDITOR

n Friday, December 8th, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) presented its inaugural bilingual logo, featuring an acronym for the Union in both English and Irish. The updated logo now includes the acronyms ‘TCDSU’ and ‘AMLCT’, for Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union and Aontas Mac Léinn Choláiste na Tríonóide respectively. In a statement posted on Instagram in both English and Irish, the Union said: “Irish is an integral part of our cultural heritage, with a rich

history and tradition that we at the Union wish to highlight within the College even more this year.” The statement continued: “By launching our bilingual logo, this is the first of our many steps to promote the use of Irish within the college community, and we will continue to demonstrate our commitment to embracing linguistic diversity through creating a welcoming space for all those on campus one step at a time. In early November, the Union voted to establish the position of a full-time Irish language sabbatical officer and to implement a longterm Irish language policy. Following the passing of the motion, a constitutional referendum will now be held. PHOTO VIA @TCDSU ON INSTAGRAM

language today: “Tá a lán dúshlán roimh an teanga sa lá atá inniu ann cé go n-éiríonn an reachtaíocht teanga níos fearr i gcónaí. Mhionlaigh na céadta bliain de bheartas impiriúil Shasana an teanga go pointe ina raibh náire ar dhaoine í a labhairt go poiblí chun gnáthrudaí a dhéanamh ar nós dul go dtí an siopa.” “There are many challenges that face the language today, though language legislation continues to improve. Centuries of British imperial policy minoritised the language to a point where speaking it in general society to do things like go to the shop became seen as embarrassing and backwards.” “Tá píosaí den mheon sin ann nach fiú Gaeilge a labhairt, gur teanga gan mhaith í, mar dhea. Cumtar leithscéalta seafóideacha go minic chun dul ina coinne agus meas bunúsach a dhiúltú do Ghaeilgeoirí i bhfoirm seirbhísí.” “Part of that mentality still exists, that it’s not worth speaking Irish or that it’s somehow a useless language. Excuses are often given to go against the language and to deny Irish speakers basic respect in the form of services.” He also highlighted his issues with the government response: “Tá Fine Gael agus Fianna Fáil tar éis na blianta fada a chaitheamh ag déanamh neamhaird ar an éigeandáil sa Ghaeltacht agus ar éilimh phobal na Gaeilge. Tá sé in am d’athrú ó bhonn ó thaobh na Gaeilge de agus

an dóigh a gcaitear léi ar gach leibhéal sa tsochaí. Áit ar bith a bhfuil Béarla, caithfidh Gaeilge a bheith ann fosta.” “Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have spent decades ignoring the crisis in the Gaeltacht and the demands of the Irish language community. It’s time for a paradigm shift when it comes to Irish and how it’s treated on every level of society. Anywhere there is English, Irish must also be there.” When speaking about the future, Mac Brádaigh praised the work of those seeking to promote the Irish

language: “Déanaim mo sheacht ndícheall a bheith dearfach faoi thodhchaí na teanga in ainneoin na ndeacrachtaí a bhíonn romhainn mar phobal na Gaeilge ár saolta a mhaireachtáil trínár dteanga féin inár dtír féin.” “I do my very best to be positive about the future of the language despite the difficulties the Irish language community faces just to live our lives through our own language in our own country.” “Tá na mílte gníomhaí mar chuid den ghluaiseacht a dhéanann obair na gcapall gach lá chun an Ghaeilge

a fhás chomh mór agus is féidir léi a bheith agus táimse go huile is go hiomlán tiomanta chuige sin i mo shaol pearsanta féin. Tá neart fós le teacht maidir le cearta teanga agus an ghluaiseacht, ach creidim go láidir go n-éireoidh linn.” “Thousands of activists in the movement move mountains every day to grow the Irish language as big as it can be and I am completely driven toward that goal in my own personal life. There’s a lot yet to come in terms of language rights and the movement, but I strongly believe that we will succeed.”

TCDSU, College Health Service Urge HSE to Improve Transgender Healthcare The Students’ Union and the College Health Service have called upon the HSE to address the prolonged wait times for transgender individuals seeking gender-affirming care, citing detrimental mental health effects. Clara Roche EDITOR

rinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) and the Trinity College Dublin Health Service have called upon the Health Service Executive (HSE) to address the wait times faced by transgender individuals accessing care through the National Gender Service (NGS). In a letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the HSE on Friday, January 19th, President Lászlo Molnárfi, Welfare Officer Aoife Bennett, LGBTQ+ Officer Nina Crofts and College Health Director Dr David McGrath expressed their concern over the current wait times and asked for “urgent change”. The letter stated that the HSE was “ultimately responsible for the situation” due to the lack of funding and resources available to the NGS. Currently, individuals referred to the NGS between three and three-and-a-half years ago are only now receiving care, with projected wait times stretching

for nine years for those referred today. TCDSU and the College Health Service noted having witnessed “the detrimental impact of long wait times on the mental health of transgender students”, stating that scientific evidence points towards a decrease in depression and psychological distress for transgender students in receipt of gender-affirming hormone therapy. Conversely, a lack of access to such treatment “intensifies a person’s psychological distress, especially when

extended over a long period of time”. The letter noted that despite the Union and the College Health Service’s joint effort to support the social, academic and medical needs of students through their gender transitions, the inability to access gender-affirming treatment “still results in psychological distress for many transgender students and this can impede academic success and social and emotional health”. The Students’ Union and the

College Health Service concluded the letter by calling upon the HSE to uphold their responsibilities “by funding and resourcing the NGS appropriately” through “evaluating patients at a much quicker rate and providing a better quality of care than they are now”. Former TCDSU LGBTQ+ Rights Officer and Gender Equality Officer Jenny Maguire recently reported waiting three-and-a-half years to access gender-affirming care in an interview with The Sunday Independent. PHOTO VIA TRANS & INTERSEX PRIDE DUBLIN

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

NEWS

Discrepancies in DARE Admission Policies Revealed Disparities in the approaches Dublin universities take to publicising grade boundaries and allocating places to DARE applicants reveal inconsistencies regarding access to education for students with disabilities. « CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Dublin said: “TU Dublin’s CAO offering in 2023 included over 150 programmes, ranging from 556 points (not including portfolio programmes) down to AQA (i.e. “All Qualified Applicants” without regard to Leaving Certificate points). Due to this significant variance in the required points, a 12.5 per cent reduction has proven to be the most equitable option to accommodate both high points programmes and those at the lower end of the points spread.” Previously, the TU Dublin website stated that DARE applicants should present with at least 200 leaving certificate points. This “out of date” information was removed in response to questioning from The University Times, and the spokesperson clarified: “TU Dublin does not have any such restrictions.” The spokesperson noted that mature students and young adults from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds are guaranteed a place at TU Dublin on completion of the university’s Access Foundation Programme. Dublin City University (DCU) offers a maximum points reduction of 75 points, and both DCU and UCD require eligible candidates to present with a minimum of 300 points to qualify for a reduction.

In some cases, available data also indicates discrepancies between the number of places reserved for Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) and DARE applicants. The HEAR scheme offers school leavers from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds reduced-points places. Most universities reserve an equal number of places for HEAR and DARE applicants on each course, at 5 per cent each. However, in the case of Medicine at UCD, 10 places are reserved for HEAR applicants while only two places are reserved for DARE applicants. In response to questioning from The University Times, a representative from UCD said: “UCD is proud of its track record in enabling access for a wide range of diverse students, with 34.6 per cent of the student population drawn from access priority groups. UCD is a recognised leader in ensuring access and inclusion is a strategic whole-institution priority.” She continued: “UCD has developed several additional entry routes which offer admission pathways to priority access groups, including HEAR, DARE, Mature Entry, QQI-FET Open Learning and University Access; a quarter of first-year places are ring-fenced for these access routes.” “Within this access quota, eligible DARE applicants with sensory and physical disabilities and eli-

gible applications that are both HEAR and DARE eligible, are prioritised by UCD when allocating access places.” “While a minimum of 2 places are listed for DARE, within the access quota, there is flexibility to maximise the number of access students entering UCD each year, which means the access quota can be reallocated between the various admissions pathways (HEAR, DARE, University Access and Matures) to ensure the maximum number of eligible access students are offered places in Medicine in UCD.” While UCD publishes the average grade boundaries for HEAR and DARE applicants, Trinity does not. A representative from the Disability Service told The University Times: “For Data Protection reasons, Trinity cannot confirm the cut-off points for HEAR or DARE offers for specific courses. Due to the small number of students admitted through these pathways, sharing this information would risk breaching the privacy of individual applicants.” “We do have maximum points reductions that could be published but these may be misleading for students as competition for HEAR places on many courses is so high that the lowest points offer can be well above these figures.” The University Times has reached out to a representative from Trinity’s Disability Service for comment.

UCD offers the highest maximum points reduction at 20%, while TU Dublin offers the lowest at 12.5%. Discrepancies also exist in the number of places reserved for DARE and HEAR applicants, with some courses favouring one group over the other.

Trinity Announces Restrictions to Alumni Email Account Access Changes will include storage limits, the addition of multifactor authentication and app accessibility adjustments. Clara Roche EDITOR

a third-party company, CTS, to assist alumni in adapting to the changes. Resources, including user guides and FAQs, are available on the Trinity CTS Portal to assist users with the migration of data and other account-related queries. The emails reminded alumni that access to Trinity emails is “a privilege granted by the University and not an automatic right.” While efforts will be made to sustain the provision of @tcd email accounts, ongoing benefits will depend on costs.

Ents have confirmed this year’s event will remain on campus, following fears that construction may move the event off-site. Clara Roche EDITOR

rinity Ents has confirmed that the Trinity Ball will remain on campus in 2024. Last year, Ents announced that the 2023 Ball was likely to be the last held on campus for five years, due to construction works associated with the Old Library Redevelopment Project. However, in an Instagram post

published on January 19th, Trinity Ents confirmed that the annual music festival would remain on site. Due to construction works, last year’s main stage was moved from New Square to Front Square. As a result, the capacity of the event was reduced. It is unclear what restrictions will be placed on the 2024 Ball, or whether the event’s capacity will be further reduced. With the exception of 2020 and 2021, during which no Trinity Ball was held due to the COVID-19 pan-

demic, the event has been held on campus every year since it was established in 1959. In the same Instagram post, Ents announced that this year’s Trinity Ball will take place on April 12th 2024. Information regarding the lineup and ticket sales are expected to be released over the next few weeks on the Ents’ Instagram page. Trinity Ents welcomed submissions from Trinity-based bands wishing to perform at the Ball. Students will be invited to vote on the winner from a shortlist.

Status Update: Dublin DJs PHOTO VIA @MUNYAMARKET ON INSTAGRAM

rinity College Dublin has announced significant changes to its email service, affecting alumni accounts. The alterations come in response to Google Workspace’s implementation of fees for its services, previously offered for free. The updates were communicated to alumni through emails sent on January 15th and January 25th, which outlined changes to storage quotas, app accessibility and security measures. One of the most notable changes involves the reduction of storage capacity from unlimited memory to a maximum quota of 5GB for all alumni email accounts. Alumni will no longer have access to data stored in Google Photos from March 25th, and Google Drive from April 30th. After February 6th, alumni will no longer be able to create new files or folders in these applications. Trinity also plans to implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all email accounts. This additional layer of protection aims to safeguard users’ email services

from potential threats. Further instructions regarding the activation of MFA will be communicated to account holders. The communications sought to reassure alumni who commenced their studies before October 2023 that they would retain free access to their @tcd email accounts, with the university covering associated costs. Accounts owned by individuals who may not meet the eligibility criteria for alumni status, including students who did not graduate, are under review. Trinity has enlisted the services of

Trinity Ball to Remain on Campus

Maisie Greener speaks to some of of Dublin’s finest DJs to unpack their experiences in Radius, page 12.

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

NEWS

PhD Funding Announced for Student of Sanctuary University Council has approved the application process and evaluation criteria for the new Trinity Research Doctorate Award for a student of sanctuary, to begin in 2024/25. « CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 affairs of Trinity College Dublin (TCD), approved the application process and evaluation criteria for the award at a meeting on the morning of Wednesday, January 17th. To be eligible, the applicant must have already received an unconditional offer by May 1st, 2024 to the full-time PhD register at TCD with support of a Principal Supervisor, be residing in Ireland, be able to commence study between September 2024 and March 2025 and satisfy the requirements to be deemed a student of sanctuary. University Council have deemed a student of sanctuary as one who is currently in an international protection system, temporary protection, seeking asylum or have refugee status or permission to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds. In order to receive the above statuses, prospective students must apply to the International Protection Office (IPO) at the Department of Justice. In an interview with PA News Agency three weeks ago, Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman

described 13,000-15,000 applications per year to the IPO as “the new normal”, up from pre-2022 levels of, on average, 3,500-4,000 per year. According to the IPO’s December 2023 International Protection Summary Report there are currently over 18,000 applications awaiting determination and the median wait time is 75 weeks. Of the applications processed in December 2023, 32 per cent were refused, 9 per cent were granted permission to remain and 59 per cent were granted international protection. When questioned by The University Times about the accessibility of the award, Smith said: “We have worked closely with the Sanctuary Committee to define the eligibility criteria; a core element underpinning success as a PhD candidate relates to an individual’s ability to develop a research proposal so it is essential that candidates can demonstrate that potential in their application.” “The Sanctuary Committee have extensive experience, through their partnerships, in evaluating applications for admission at different levels and are keenly aware of the many unique challenges faced by students who are in the interna-

Kneecap Biopic Wins Au d i e n c e Favo u r i t e Aw a r d a t S u n d a n c e Clara Roche EDITOR

n January 26th, Irish language rap trio KNEECAP were awarded the Audience Favourite Award at the 2024 Sundance Independent Film Festival in Utah. The biopic is the first Irish language film to debut at Sundance. KNEECAP posted in response to the news on X, previously Twitter: “Holy Moly! Our movie has just gone and won the audience award at Sundance! Never in doubt.” Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí make up the group hailing from West Belfast. The rap trio’s music regularly broaches controversial topics such as Irish republicanism, Irish language rights and drug use. The film received funding from the Northern Ireland Screen, the Irish Language Broadcast Fund, Screen Ireland, the BFI, Coimisiún na Meán and TG4, as well as backing from Great Point Media. The Northern Ireland Screen Fund has come under fire from former BelPHOTO BY MICHAEL BUCKNER

fast Lord Mayor and Good Friday Agreement negotiator, Reg Empey for allocating over £800,000 to KNEECAP’s film. In a statement to the Belfast Telegraph, a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Screen Fund stated: “The film Kneecap was never going to be universally celebrated in Northern Ireland, but Northern Ireland Screen must consistently apply its assessment criteria”. “Against our criteria, Kneecap is performing strongly, already attracting very positive international reviews at its world premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.” Ironically, the group’s name was the traditional punishment enacted by Irish republican paramilitaries for drug-dealing in republican communities. In an interview for HotPress, Móglaí noted that the band’s name is derived from the trio “talking about things that would get us kneecapped”. KNEECAP are a socially conscious force within the Irish and international music industry. The trio have advocated for Palestinian people living under occupation and raised money from the proceeds of their single ‘MAM’ for the suicide prevention charity, Samaritans.

initiative in offering this award, which, we hope, will pave the way for many more Level 10 awards to be made available to students of sanctuary in Ireland.” Gillian Wylie, Chair of Trinity’s University of Sanctuary Steering Committee said: “Trinity was designated a University of Sanctuary in February 2021, committing us to creating a culture of welcome and inclusion for all those seeking sanctuary. Since then, we have awarded a total of 11 undergraduate scholarships to sanctuary students. This Level 10 award represents a logical progression for the University of Sanctuary programme and we are delighted to be able to offer it to a deserving student.” The PhD admission window opens on November 1st, 2023. The TRD Sanctuary Award window opens on February 1st, 2024 and closes on May 1st, 2024. The outcome of the evaluation process is expected on June 14th, 2024. Professor Smith encourages “all staff to be mindful of this award when considering potential PhD candidates and to share the information within any networks whose reach might include eligible candidates”.

PHOTO BY EMER MOREAU FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

tional protection system, and so we are confident they will be of great support in navigating this process.” In a press release posted on January 17th, Provost Linda Doyle said: “An award like this has the power to change lives and I’m glad that we have reached a point where we can offer funding for a doctorate, hav-

ing already provided a number of undergraduate scholarships.” “I want to thank the team in Trinity who have created this opportunity, and I am looking forward to seeing the applications that will now be made by students of sanctuary.” “Trinity is committed to providing a welcoming space for refugees

and people in the asylum system. At this time of global turmoil, it is vital that we extend a helping hand to those who are seeking sanctuary, and that we support them in fulfilling their academic potential”. Nick Henderson, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, said: “We very much welcome Trinity’s

Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation Announce Strike at End of Semester The organisation’s demands include workers’ rights, payment of a living wage, respect and fair treatment. Sáoirse Goes DEPUTY EDITOR

n Monday morning, the Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation (PWO) of Trinity College Dublin announced their intention to strike at the end of Hilary Term. This announcement follows calls from the PWO Ireland for escalating action on PhD and postgraduate researcher (PGR) rights, following two years of campaigning, which included open letters, petitions, and protests. The strike is organised around four core demands, including worker’s rights, in which the PWO specify sick leave, parental leave and labour law protections. They also call for a guarantee of livable pay, respect in the workplace, and fair treatment for non-EU and disabled PGRs. Although the strike is planned around these four branches, the PWO also outline a full list of their demands in the Fair Postgraduate Researcher Agreement (FRA). The FRA also requests the provision of training, equipment and representation for postgraduate workers and demands the right to live in Ireland and support a family. The announcement of the PWO’s intent to strike follows a survey of all postgraduates in Trinity in Michaelmas last year, conducted by the PWO TCD and the Trinity College Dublin Students’s Union (TCDSU). Accord-

ing to the survey, 84.4 per cent of postgraduates were willing to perform an examination strike, while 72.6 per cent were willing to perform a teaching strike. In a statement released this morning, the PWO TCD said “Workers’ rights and an employment-based model is the only way forward for postgraduate research programmes”. They continue, asserting that “as postgraduate researchers (PGRs) we have no parental leave, almost universally earn below a living wage, and are often not provided a dedicated work space”. Addressing Provost Linda Doyle, the University Board and the University Council directly, PWO TCD stresses that “the most severe problems we face (especially for non-EU and disabled PhDs) have gone largely ignored

both in Trinity College and nationally”. Citing their previous use of petitions, attempts at discussion with College and three mass protests, PWO TCD argue that “none of the issues we have raised, nor their severity, are news to the governing bodies of Trinity College”. The statement extends their claims: “[We] have repeatedly communicated to Trinity College exactly what changes we expect them to implement. These requests and demands have not been met”. Asking that College “take responsibility for the wellbeing of their College community and stand for the rights and human dignity of their PGRs”, PWO TCD announces their preparations to take industrial action. They further note, “we would rather not

have to strike, but are ultimately prepared to do so”. In a statement on behalf of the union, TCDSU President László Molnárfi expressed its support of the PWO “in their decision to take disruptive action”, firmly standing behind their core demands. The “overwhelming support from postgraduates” indicated by the survey “highlights the urgency of addressing these issues, as well as shows that previous methods of engagement have failed”. Expressing its “solidarity with the PWO in their pursuit of fair and just working conditions”, TCDSU further “calls on the College as well as on the government to engage in immediate and meaningful dialogue to address the concerns raised by the PWO”.

PHOTO BY GIULIA GRILLO FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

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TCDSU Constitutional Amendment a “Statement of Purpose”, Says Petition Organiser Niko Evans Removing the need for the Students’ Union to pursue its aims ‘independent of any political ideology’ and replace it with a mandate to act radically is a “statement of purpose” according to Niko Evans. Alex Payne ASSISTANT EDITOR

iko Evans, School of Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies (SLLCS) Convenor and the petition organiser, described the proposed change in wording as an opportunity for students of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) to “state to the world this is what we believe”. In conversation with The University Times, Evans outlined the logic behind his proposed change and highlighted the need to update the constitutional mandate of the TCDSU, the actions of which he described as “inherently political” at the student council meeting of November 21st, 2023. The proposed amendment seeks to replace the constitutional mandate of the TCDSU to pursue its aims “independent of any political, racial, or religious ideology” with the amended: “The Union shall pursue these objectives in a radical, egalitarian and autonomous way, and shall not affiliate with far-right groups, including, but not limited to, white supremacists and Christian extremists.”

Due to the historic and current activities of the TCDSU, Evans views the current wording as outdated. Citing examples such as the work of TCD’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), previous TCDSU actions on abortion information, apartheid and the 27th amendment as well as the recent Book of Kells blockade, which he has previously described as “explicitly political”, Evans believes it “only makes sense” to update the wording in order to better reflect the current actions of the TCDSU. One of the main concerns of the current TCDSU President László Molnárfi is the Union’s present inability to officially criticise the government. Evans agrees with this sentiment and says the constitutional change will allow the TCDSU, and that the TCDSU should be allowed to, “denounce specific political parties”. On June 7th, 2023, the Electoral Commission (EC) of the TCDSU ruled that it was not permissible for the Union to refer to the government’s policies as ‘neoliberal’ due to that being a breach of Chapter 1.4 of the TCDSU Constitution. The ruling stated: “The Union is committed to its objectives without being influenced by any particular political ideology.”

PHOTO BY SINÉAD BAKER FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

“The political parties comprising the government do not consider themselves to be neoliberal and would state they do not pursue neoliberal policies.” “Typically, the term ‘neoliberal’ is used by opposition parties on the left of the political spectrum to describe the government.”

“While the Union is allowed to oppose specific government policies and legislation if such opposition would align with the Union’s objectives outlined in Chapter 1.4, it is not constitutionally valid to label the government or its policies as neoliberal unless the government parties themselves identify with

that label.” Despite this ruling, the TCDSU, namely Molnárfi, has continued to denounce the government and, in a recent voter registration campaign, has called on students to vote the current government out, branding their economic policy as “neoliberal” and “capitalist” and making

claims of “social murder” because of how he perceives the government’s response to the cost-of-living crisis. The EC has delivered a cease and desist letter to the TCDSU/Molnárfi in response to this campaign and are expected to deliver a new ruling on Chapter 1.4. Molnárfi has chosen to ignore this ruling. Further to this, in an email concerning the class representative elections held in August 2023, seen by The University Times and sent from Conor Casey, Chair of the EC, to the sabbatical officers of the TCDSU, Casey said: “The EC has also noticed an increase in politically charged language appearing in SU communications, particularly referencing certain political ideologies. This is just a polite reminder that this kind of language is not permissible in accordance with Chapter 1.4 of the Constitution.” Evans was keen to stress that the proposed constitutional change would not constitutionally permit the TCDSU and its representatives to carry out actions as they please, highlighting that any official activities that the Union would carry out, if the referendum passes, will still need to be proposed as motions at student council and passed by the usual simple majority.

Section 1.4 Referendum Explainer and Definitions

A recently announced referendum seeks student opinion on a change in how the Union pursues its aims. Alex Payne ASSISTANT EDITOR

he Electoral Commission (EC) has called a student-wide referendum to amend the wording of section 1.4 of the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Constitution. The amendment seeks to replace the constitutional mandate of the TCDSU to pursue its aims “independent of any political, racial, or religious ideology” with: “The Union shall pursue these objectives in a radical, egalitarian and auton-

omous way, and shall not affiliate with far-right groups, including, but not limited to, white supremacists and Christian extremists.” The EC has called the referendum because a petition calling for a referendum, limited to TCD students, reached 500 student signatures. Previously, at the final student council of last semester, the motion to amend said section of the constitution failed to pass by two votes after students raised concerns about future interpretations of the word “radical”. Since then, petition organisers have added the wording in the pursuance of its aims: “[in an] autonomous way, and shall not affiliate

with far-right groups, including, but not limited to, white supremacists and Christian extremists.” Definitions (provided by Collins English Dictionary): Referendum means “a poll of the members of a club, union, or other group to determine their views on some matter”. With a poll being a vote conducted by paper ballot, the members of a union being all students currently enrolled at TCD and some matter being the above constitutional amendment. Current wording: Ideology means “a set of beliefs, especially the political beliefs on which people, parties, or countries base their

“The proposed changes show the objectives of the campaign behind the referendum to be motivated by a need for freedom in how the Union pursues its aims”

actions”. Political means “relating to the way power is achieved and used in a country or society”. When used to describe ideology, “political” indicates a particular type of preferred social order including but not limited to Anarchism, Communism, Fascism, Nationalism, Liberalism, Capitalism, Democracy and Socialism. Racial means “relating to people’s race”. When used to describe ideology, “racial” refers to a set of beliefs which enforce and set of identities and attributes upon a particular race in a superior or inferior fashion. Religious means “to describe things that are connected with religion or with one particular religion”. When used to describe ideology, “religious” indicates a preferred interpretation of scriptural teachings including but not limited to Monotheism, Polytheism, Atheism and their various denominations. Proposed wording: Radical means “favouring fundamental or extreme change; specifically in an accepted social or economic structure”. Egalitarian means “supporting or following the idea that all people are equal and should have the same rights and opportunities” Autonomous is used to describe an organisation or group “that governs or controls itself rather than being controlled by anyone else” (anti-)Far-right means “the more extreme supporters or advocates of social, political, or economic conservatism or reaction, based generally on a belief that things are better left unchanged”. The proposed changes show the

objectives of the campaign behind the referendum to be motivated by a need for freedom in how the Union pursues its aims. The EC decides whether the Union is pursuing its aims in accordance with the constitution. The removal of the checks and balances provided in the current wording will prevent the EC from determining whether the Union is pursuing its aims in an independent fashion, with the new wording giving the Union greater power to pursue its aims in a way it itself sees fit.

The proposed ‘egalitarian’ principle stands to quell fears of exclusion and discrimination and not affiliating with far-right groups implies that the Union will not interpret ‘radical’ to align with conservatism. This is an attempt to allow, by constitutional mandate, the TCDSU to operate in a politically radical fashion with the freedom to criticise political groups, especially the government, and affiliate with groups (especially those with a political message) they see as advantageous to their cause.

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

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Trinity Student Adam Ó Ceallaigh Runs for Green Party Seat, Prioritising Youth and Sustainability The final year Political Science and Geography student discusses his Green Part y campaign built on youth concerns, sustainabilit y and rural connectivit y. Leah Downey DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

dam Ó Ceallaigh, a final year Political Science and Geography student at Trinity College Dublin, has announced he will be running as the Green Party candidate for Leitrim County Council. Ó Ceallaigh is both the first-ever and the youngest Green Party candidate to run in his local area elections in Ballinamore. Running for a Local Election in a rural setting, particularly coming straight from university, has placed young people at the centre of Ó Ceallaigh’s aims within his campaign. Addressing the current challenges facing young people in his constituency, Ó Ceallaigh recognises “connectivity being one of the biggest issues in rural areas. With young people in mind, that may centre around getting to football training, a local event or a university”. His concern about connectivity not only pertains to his political campaign. Currently, Ó Ceallaigh is conducting research for his disser-

tation entitled ‘How Public Transport Infrastructure Affects Rural Social Change’. This project aims to understand “people’s perceptions of public transport in the North West”, investigating whether it has allowed them to live at home and commute to college as opposed to moving out or not attending college at all. It also focuses on whether public transport infrastructure has helped Ukrainian refugees in Leitrim with integrating into the community. According to Ó Ceallaigh, the most effective way to increase connectivity “is by promoting community values”, mentioning the Tidy Towns initiative, supporting local artists and “enhancing public transport capacity to allow for greater independence and allowing people to move around freely”. On the topic of increased funding within third level institutions, Ó Ceallaigh acknowledged that universities and sites of further education are greatly underfunded, which has knock-on effect for students who are struggling financially. He currently sits on the Third Level Policy Group within the Green Party, which allows him to advocate

for developing policies that can then be voted on through the policy council. In 2023, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, came under fire from third-level institutions for a €307m funding deficit in October’s budget. Provost Linda Doyle sent an email statement to students, staff and alumni, calling for more funding. She described the sector as “grossly underfunded” and that it has “major consequences for us and is constantly frustrating our ambitions for Trinity”. In regards to issues students face accessing supports for mental health, affected by poor accommodation and long commutes, Ó Ceallaigh endorses the Union of Students in Ireland’s (USI) call for a “sustained reduction in student contributions and a decrease in the counsellor-to-student ratios”. He notes his barriers to accessing the student counselling services, adding that it “highlights the urgency for improved mental health support”. “Addressing long commutes, falls under issues of housing and sustainability, necessitates a rent

“It is important to promote community sustainability, particularly in rural areas of Ireland that feel like they may have been left behind after a century of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments.” PHOTO VIA @CSCTCDIE ON INSTAGRAM

freeze and ideally a reduction in rental costs. Simultaneously, we must focus on enhancing Ireland’s public transport network to alleviate commute-related issues to allow for a faster and more interconnected transport network”. Of course, sustainability is at the heart of the Green Party’s local candidates’ concerns. Ó Ceallaigh advocates for a transition to renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, describing it as “crucial for universities”. In terms of local policy, he “would be keen to promote community energy projects as they have in mainland Europe. this is where the community would own the wind turbine or a solar farm and get their energy through

“Many communities need greater investment and this is being done through the expansion of public transport networks, the roll-out of broadband across the country and the Croí Conaithe scheme that offers €70k for bringing derelict buildings back to life”. “Community sustainability is when a young person can see a future for themselves in a town or village. Right now that is not the case, and is something I am passionately working to promote”. On the question of how he plans to work in collaboration with other government officials to ensure the voices of students are being effectively represented in the legislative process, Ó Ceallaigh firmly believes

engages with to raise issues”. Addressing another one of the most pressing issues for young people, Ó Ceallaigh affirms that he “cares deeply about” the effect of the housing crisis and the lack of affordable accommodation. He views access to accommodation as a barrier to education, stating that he has “worked this year with the President of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) to create the role of the Housing Rights Officer and [he has] supported their work on the Housing Survey”. Through his involvement with An Óige Ghlas and the Green Party, Ó Ceallaigh has “led on and passed a motion through the party’s Policy Council that ensures that the maxi-

“Young people don’t just want to be represented by politicians; we want to actively participate in making decisions about our future.” that without having to pay another provider”. Within Trinity, Ó Ceallaigh believes it would be a positive to move towards a car-free campus. In doing such, “car parking spaces could be repurposed to allow for extra spaces for students”. He continues to emphasise that sustainability, from his perspective, is not a purely environmental issue, but one that is also rooted in social and economic circumstances. Therefore, Ó Ceallaigh contends that “It is important to promote community sustainability, particularly in rural areas of Ireland that feel like they may have been left behind after a century of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments”.

that it is incredibly important for young people’s voices to be heard, adding that he hopes to “champion that”. He continues to say that “young people don’t just want to be represented by politicians; we want to actively participate in making decisions about our future”. “At no time in history has there been such a pressing need for greater involvement in politics, specifically from young people. It is vital that young people engage in the electoral process by registering to vote and turning out on election day”. He also notes that he has already established a strong relationship with a number of TD’s and Senators, with whom he “regularly

mum rent students can be charged in Purpose Built Student Accommodation is 30 per cent of the full-time monthly minimum wage”. A 2023 report by the Irish government noted that there have been 5,300 new student bed units built in the past six years, but that the pricing is unaffordable for many students, with prices reaching up to €1,800 per month. Ó Ceallaigh has been involved in the formation of the new grassroots group TCD Renters’ Union, a student-led organisation representing renters on campus and in halls. The Renters’ Union aims to organise a rent strike in the coming year, planning to target Trinity’s yearly rent increases.

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

TCDSU Launch Voter Registration Campaign Ahead of 2024 Elections The Students’ Union have begun a campaign to encourage students to register to vote in time for the European and Ireland’s local and national elections. Alex Payne ASSISTANT EDITOR

t 1pm on Monday, November 22nd, outside the Arts Building on campus, TCDSU President László Molnárfi and Citizenship Officer Ella Mac Lennan launched a poster campaign to encourage students resident in Ireland to register to vote in time for the upcoming elections outside College. In a statement to The University

Times, Molnárfi said: “This government has done undeniable harm to our communities. This is not by accident, or by incompetence. The system is working exactly as it is intended to. They follow a neoliberal capitalist economic policy, and represent big capital, vulture funds and corporations, not the people, our communities and workers.” He claims the government is “committing social murder, by refusing to provide people with the basic necessities — to have a home, enough money to buy groceries and live in financial security.” Molnárfi urges students to call

the government out and hold their representatives accountable. “The time for respectability, lobbying and sitting down with the Ministers for a cup of coffee is over,” he said. “Being neutral and lobbying them is not enough — we must, at the next general election, boot them out of power, remove them from their positions, every single last one of them.” There are three upcoming elections that residents of Ireland are able to vote in: The European elections, Ireland’s local elections and Ireland’s general election. The European elections, in which

Members of European Parliament (MEPs) are elected, run from June 6th to June 9th. Ireland currently has 13 MEPs, which will increase to 14 after a resolution to adopt 11 more MEPs Europe-wide was passed by the European Parliament in June 2023. The political party most represented amongst Ireland’s MEPs is currently Fine Gael. Local Elections, in which councillors are elected to a local electoral area (LEA), are expected to run later in June. The number of councillors elected to a given LEA ranges from four to seven and they are elected on the system of proportional rep-

resentation by means of a single transferable vote. The two current government parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, hold 534 LEA seats, with Sinn Féin holding 81. Momentum is currently behind Sinn Féin and they will be hoping for a big swing in their favour in the local elections to show strength ahead of the next general election. The latest date for the next general election in Ireland is March 2025, however it is expected that the election will happen soon after the last Coalition budget in November 2024. The number of TDs will rise from

160 in the 2020 election to 174. The current government parties in coalition are Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green and hold 36, 33 and 11 seats respectively. Sinn Féin currently hold 33 but are hoping for a majority. Current Tánaiste Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil, said there would be “huge difficulties” in going into Coalition with Sinn Féin, but did not rule it out. Sinn Féin may be hoping for a strong performance from other left-wing parties, such as Labour, the Social Democrats or People before Profit, in order to form a Coalition with them.

Thousands Attend Protest in Strong Support of South Africa’s ICJ Case

CMAT Nominated for International Artist of the Year at 2024 Brit Awards

Israel fails to have genocide case thrown from the International Court of Justice

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson receives nomination following release of second album in October 2023

Brídín Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce

Alexa

DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

n Wednesday, January 24th, thousands of protestors demonstrated outside Leinster House to urge the Irish government to lend support to South Africa’s case charging Israel with genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The protestors stood outside the Dáil during an amended motion raised by the Social Democrats. The motion was later defeated that night, with 71 votes against and 58 voted for. Speakers and organisations involved included Richard Boyd Barret, TCD alum and Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Mothers Against Genocide, Union of Students Ireland Campaigns Vice President and TCD student Zaid Al-Barghouthi, and Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham. A speaker from Mother’s Against Genocide read a testimony of children’s experience in Gaza who faced brutality at the hands of the Israeli Defence Forces. The speaker further noted that children are facing daily amputations in Gaza with no anaesthetic.

Israel’s bombardment on Gaza has killed more than 25,000 people and displaced the majority of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes in the past 100 days. The majority of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians have occurred in Gaza. A speaker at the protest stated that Gaza as it currently stands “is half the size of Louth”. The crowd lit up the gates of the Dáil with spotlights reading ‘Gaza’, and were led to sing ‘Óró sé do bheatha bhaile’ in unison. While speakers criticised government inaction on the genocide in Gaza, there was also discontent expressed for the government’s plans to pres-

ent President Joe Biden with shamrocks on St. Patrick’s Day, in light of his support for Israel’s military assault. As of January 26th, the ICJ has ruled that the South African government’s case accusing Israel of genocide has legitimate claims, and has commanded Israel to prevent acts of genocide and help civilians in Palestine. The court found that Palestinians are a protected group under the 1948 Genocide Convention. However, the United Nations backed court has stopped short of demanding an Israeli ceasefire in Palestine.

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

n the last year, recognition of Irish talent has been astronomical, and likely long overdue. Actors like Cillian Murphy, Andrew (Hot Priest) Scott, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, and Saoirse Ronan have been some of the biggest names in Hollywood. If you haven’t seen their fans swooning over them on the internet, you’ve seen them on the big screen delivering dazzling performances.

Adding to the endless accolades of Ireland’s very own, rising Irish musician Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, or CMAT, was nominated last week for International Artist of the Year at the Brit Awards. The chart-topping artist only released her second album “Crazymad, for Me,” in October of 2023 which quickly climbed to number 1 in Ireland and broke the top 25 in the UK. The singer songwriter is most notable for her hyper-feminine aesthetic and being unapologetically herself. She told the rish Times that femininity in the Irish music industry typically favors a more

androgynous look, painting a picture resembling the likes of Dolores O’Riordan or Sinéad O’Connor. “The kind where it’s very reserved, little or no makeup... and very much unbothered.” In taking this radical stylistic approach, she aims to break out of this cookie cutter formula to success, creating room for women outside of the norm to express themselves. Her songs echo her colourful and authentic exterior with catchy pop melodies, a relatable singer-songwriter edge, and an American Country twang making her music an irresistible novelty.

PHOTO BY BRÍDÍN NÍ FHEARRAIGH-JOYCE FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

David Norris Calls for Peace in Palestine in Final Address to the Seanad Ireland’s longest-serving Senator, who was instrumental in the campaign for LGBTQ+ law reform, has retired from the Seanad after 36 years of service. Clara Roche EDITOR

enator David Norris, Ireland’s longest-serving Senator, has delivered his final speech in the Seanad after 36 years of service.

In his address, Norris condemned the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and urged his colleagues to confront the “appalling” events unfolding in Palestine and to “push for peace”. He criticised the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of sentencing the “unfortunate, trapped citizens of Gaza” to death in “overwhelming numbers”. He also lent his support to the

Yes campaign for the upcoming referendum to remove the “women in the home” clause in the Constitution, and committed to “campaigning for their success” in his retirement. His speech was met with a standing ovation from other Senators, who commended his career. President Michael D. Higgins led the tributes, describing Norris as “a champion of equality and diversi-

ty”. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar celebrated his contribution to the LGBTQ+ rights movement in Ireland, noting that there are now three openly gay members of the Cabinet. Norris was elected as an Independent Senator for the Dublin University constituency in 1987. He is the first openly gay person to have held public office in Ireland, and he played a pivotal role in dismantling Ireland’s anti-homosexu-

ality laws following his foundation of the 14-year ‘Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform’. Norris graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature in 1967. While at Trinity, he was elected a Foundation Scholar and served as the editor of Icarus, Ireland’s largest literary magazine. News of Norris’ retirement was announced in a November edition

of Trinity News, where he confirmed that he would divide his time in retirement between Ireland and Cyprus. All alumni of Trinity are eligible to vote in the resulting Seanad by-election. The electoral register closes at midnight on February 26th. There is an upcoming referendum on the women’s role in the Irish constitution which will take place on March 8th, 2024.

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

NEWS

Students’ Union, Trinity BDS Condemn College’s Neutrality on Gaza Genocide In a statement released on January 8th, TCDSU called for “this hypocrisy to be remedied”. Sáoirse Goes DEPUTY EDITOR

he Trinity College Dublin Student’s Union (TCDSU) and the Trinity branch of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement have condemned college’s neutrality on the ongoing genocide in Gaza. In a statement shared to both the TCDSU’s and Trinity BDS’s online accounts on January 8th, the advocacy groups asserted that “the words ‘neutral’ and ‘genocide’ should never appear together in the same sentence”. TCDSU continued: “One cannot remain neutral when Israel has murdered over 22,000 people in Gaza [...] that is equivalent to the entire population of Trinity.” This comes after Trinity College’s

statement that “our stance is to remain neutral on issues such as this”, as uncovered by a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request carried out by The Business Post. The FOI request released an email exchange dating back to October 23, which addressed a complaint made to the Provost. The complaint alleges that Trinity College’s official X (formerly Twitter) account reshared a post which endorsed Trinity alum and WebSummit founder Paddy Cosgrave’s criticism of Western governments’ responses to “war crimes” enacted by Israel. TCDSU and Trinity BDS’s statement further cites Rez Segal, an Israeli professor of Holocaust Studies, who claims that Israel’s assault on Gaza is a “textbook case of genocide”. Stating the extent of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the statement further notes, “Experts have

“One cannot remain neutral when Israel has murdered over 22,000 people in Gaza... that is equivalent to the entire population of Trinity.”

estimated that, by February, all 2 million people in Gaza will experience crisis levels of food insecurity due to Israel’s inhumane blockade on Gaza. All of this is occurring as Israeli officials continue to make genocidal comments about the Palestinian people, comparing them to animals”. From this basis, the statement condemns the College, reprimanding that the institution“would prefer to remain ‘neutral’ regarding this”. Deconstructing Trinity’s claims of neutrality, the statement further cites college’s ties to 13 Israeli institutions, “some of which are directly involved in the war industry”. According to TCDSU, these ties violate the BDS movement’s call for an academic boycott. The statement continues that “Trinity maintains these connections despite multiple protests being called by students”. The statement claims “college staff have tried to suppress” these protests actions which TCDSU and Trinity BDS find “incredibly disappointing”. In response to recent allegations that security entered college accommodation to remove several Palestinian flags displayed in the windows of student flats, TCDSU and Trinity BDS condemn these ac-

Security Remove Palestinian Flags From Students’ Accommodation Students allege that Palestinian flags were removed by security entering accommodation without notice.

Brídín Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

tudents have reported that college security has allegedly entered accommodation to remove Palestinian flags hanging from windowsills on campus. The students state that the visits took place without prior warning. A number of Palestinian flags were displayed in collaboration with a TCDSU action to show support for Palestinian people facing genocide from Israeli attacks. This action occurred on Wednesday the November 29th on International Day of Solidarity with Palestine. On January 2nd, the news outlet Al Jazeera reported that over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 7th, according to figures provided by Gaza’s health ministry. Niko, a Computer Science student, described his shock when he alleged that security came unannounced into his kitchen in New Square. Niko states that the episode occurred approximately two or three weeks ago during the daytime. On returning from class, he found the flag was gone. He described the following incident as feeling “very intrusive”, adding that “they came into my apartment without any warning whatsoever”. Niko stated, ”I assume they took it down because it faced the new Book of Kells building”. A student of English and French living in Goldsmith Hall also experienced the alleged removal of a Palestinian flag by security on the

21st of December. She stated, “it’s so clear they did this thinking we’d all be leaving campus and busy”. She further added that security removed her “Palestinian flag without a word to me before or since, and it looks like they’ve done it to the others in New Square”. Security’s alleged removal of Palestinian flags from student accommodation comes after the College’s Central Society Committee (CSC) circulated an email advising societies against participating in a pro-Palestine protest. Societies that receive financial support from the CSC were reminded that “your opinions cannot be expressed under the guise of your society unless it is explicitly within your society’s aims and objectives”. On November 29th, the Accommodation Office sent an email to College residents to highlight section 13 of the Conditions Of Occupancy for residents. This section states that “Residents are prohibited from exposing any bottles, containers or other articles in any windows within accommodation, nor hang, or permit to be hung, or expose any clothes or other articles or

to exhibit any signboard, poster or advertising matter, or any placard, flag or banner outside, in or on the accommodation or outside residences”. Regarding this point, Niko added that the college “implicitly supports the genocide. The college collaborates on projects and has exchanges with Israeli universities that participate directly in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the racial discrimination in the Apartheid state of Israel”. It is unclear if students will continue to hang flags from College accommodations in solidarity with Palestine, following the alleged physical removal of the flags by campus security. A spokesperson for College commented to the University Times that “without being provided with specific dates and times and locations it is very difficult to investigate these allegations”. She further added “If residents have concerns they should contact the accommodation office directly with as much detail as possible”.

PHOTO BY ALEX PAYNE FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

tions, asserting them as indicative of “college’s intent to suppress students’ discontent with its complicity in the genocide”. “Trinity College clearly picks and chooses which issues it should remain ‘neutral’ on”, the statement stresses college’s hypocrisy in its silence on the situation in Gaza. The statement further notes the lighting of Front Gate in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The statement further cites Provost Linda Doyle’s “photo op with the Ukrainian flag at Front Gate”, posted to her Instagram account in early March 2022. TCDSU and Trinity BDS conclude their criticism of college’s stance, asserting that “If you choose to remain neutral in cases of grave injustice, you are siding with the oppressor”. They continue: “We cannot remain neutral on apartheid, genocide and war crimes.” The statement demands that Trinity College cut all ties with Israel, ultimately stressing, “We must hold our College to account”. The statement further concludes, “Trinity students refuse to be complicit, and College management must listen to our demands”.

EMER MOREAU FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES EMER MOREAU FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

Palestine Underrepresented Within Humanities Curriculum, BDS Finds A survey found that most students believe that Palestine has not been adequately represented in their course. Clara Roche EDITOR

recent report by the Trinity College Dublin branch of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, based on a survey conducted during the 2022/23 academic year, has highlighted the underrepresentation of Palestine within the humanities curricula, prompting calls for the decolonisation of the university’s curriculum. The survey received responses from 47 Trinity students. 29.8 per cent of respondents were students at the School of Social Work and Social Policy, while 23.4 per cent were students at the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies. 66 per cent of students felt that Palestine had not been adequately represented in their course materials, with 70.2 per cent reporting that Palestine had either never or rarely been featured in their course materials. 63.8 per cent of students agreed that Palestine should feaPHOTO BY ALEX CONNOLLLY FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

ture more prominently in their course materials. Student feedback highlighted varying perspectives regarding the incorporation of Palestinian histories and theories into the curriculum. While some advocated for greater inclusion and representation, others expressed reservations about student involvement in determining course content. One respondent said “The course curriculum is strictly Eurocentric and exclusionary of Eastern philosophies. Students have attempted on multiple occasions to address this but Trinity refuses to teach inclusive material, and professors do not often acknowledge why the problematic philosophers are problematic.” Another student corroborated, “Palestinian Cinema featured in one week of Intro to Non-Western Cinema module, and whilst it is understandable that there is not a breadth of information to study, but more study could be integrated into other Non-Western Cinema modules about how film operates under imperialism/colonialism/settler practices in terms of dominant

narratives and ideology.” By contrast, one student said: “The course readings adequately represent the topics the professors are teaching us. I don’t see how Palestine should be overrepresented in discussions around imperialism.” The student added that Trinity BDS should “stop trying to force [their] agenda on the staff”. Another student agreed with this statement, saying: “Stay out of what professors teach.” In response to the findings, the report offered a series of recommendations to address the perceived deficiency in the curricula, and foster a more comprehensive understanding of Palestine. One such recommendation was to ensure that “Palestinian authors and their works are integrated modules” in courses such as English Literature to introduce students to “perspectives on colonialism”. In courses such as Law, the report recommended incorporating discussions about Palestine in studies surrounding human rights and the European Union. The report also recommended developing dedicated modules to address the “Palestinian crisis” through study of the “historical, political and cultural aspects of the conflict”, and further diversifying the curricula by including materials from Eastern philosophies and perspectives. In discussing Israel, BDS urged lecturers to “consider the Palestinian perspective” and to provide a “balanced” view of the region. The report further suggested involving Palestinian students in the “development and expansion of the curriculum” to ensure a “comprehensive and culturally sensitive response to the subject matter.”

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

IN FOCUS

It’s All About Balance: Confronting Phone Addiction and Prioritising Mental Health

Wynslow Wilmot dists down with Marie Duffy of Mental Health Ireland to discuss the impact of phone over-usage on mental health, and the path to remedying this ailment. Wynslow Wilmot FEATURES EDITOR

he dreaded weekly screen time notification. I, like most people my age, am highly aware that I spend an inordinate amount of time on my phone. And yet, every week I receive another notification stating that my screen time ‘was up 23 per cent last week’, for a whopping ‘average of 8 hours 45 minutes per day’. My sister has taken to having her partner change her instagram password, effectively locking her out until she ‘needs’ to use it. I had taken the route of enabling Apple’s Screen Time Limit feature, but that proved ineffective when I realised I could bypass it mindlessly by simply hitting the ‘Ignore Limit’ button. Phone addiction has become such an integral part of our society, that even when we do notice it, it’s nearly impossible to combat it. In the spirit of the New Year, I resolved to cutting my screen time down, once and for all. I knew I had to do

this in a very intentional way in order to produce the outcome I hoped for. When contemplating the various ways in which our interactions with technology shapes our lives, the profound impact on our mental well-being resulting from excessive phone usage stood out as particularly significant. I sat down with Marie Duffy, the Communications Officer for Mental Health Ireland to educate myself and others into a reduced screen time. Marie began the interview by explaining how mobile phones are designed to keep you addicted, and in doing so this messes with our mental balance. She points out, “We have to remember that it’s in these mobile phone companies’ and technology companies’ best interest to keep our attention on their products.” The constant influx of notifications serves as a dopamine fix, creating a reward system that becomes deeply ingrained in our behaviour. Duffy explains, “Every time that you get a notification on your mobile phone, your brain has learned that it gets a dopamine fix. It’s very hard to get that dopamine hit when you turn

your phone off because it’s so quick and so rewarding. This instant gratification has a profound impact on our mental health.” The normalisation of mobile phone usage is alarming, as Duffy notes, “Mobile phone over-usage is so normalised right now that we need to keep reminding people that it’s not okay to wake up in the middle of the night to check text messages, it’s not normal to be anxious because you’ve left your phone somewhere and you don’t know if you’re getting notifications.” The constant quest for connection, even in the midst of face-to-face interactions, results in a detachment from the present moment and a hindrance to genuine connections with those around us. While we may feel that social media is enabling us to see what others are doing, and in a way making us feel connected with others, it is simply a mirage of connectivity. The real world is out there for us to explore, detached from our phones, and it’s a lot more beneficial for mental wellness! The psychological toll is significant, affecting not only our mood

but also our perception of reality. Duffy emphasises the need to educate young people about the deceptive nature of social media, stating, “It’s very important that we educate young people and teach them that what you see on social media is not always the reality.” The incessant comparison fueled by curated online personas can contribute to feelings of isolation and inadequacy, profoundly impacting mental well-being. While many of us are well-aware of this fact, it is one

seemingly easy to forget, “Awareness is one thing, but feeling it is another thing. You might be aware that everyone’s not out living your best life or that you’re not the only person that’s in their room not feeling great, but feeling that is a completely different thing. It’s about making it so normalised and talked about that people realise they should question everything.” By continuing to educate and remind mobile phone users of this difference in realities, we can hopefully keep this

top-of-mind the next time we decide to engage in a little over-scrolling. To address these issues, Duffy advocates for mindfulness and the importance of being present. She says, “Johann Hari in the book Stolen Focus talks about how most college students or young people only have an attention span of a few seconds. We can counteract that by teaching people to be more present in themselves, whether that’s through mindfulness or through simply doing one thing at a time.” In the pursuit of a healthier balance, Duffy suggests taking intentional steps to limit screen time. She concludes, “It’s all about balance, and the only way to find balance is to limit usage. Even if you reduce your screen time by one hour a day, you can use that time to go to the cinema, to meet with friends, to get a coffee, all things that are much more beneficial to your mental health.” In the quest for improved well-being, it’s crucial to recognize the impact of our digital habits and actively work towards reclaiming moments of genuine connection and self-awareness.

“Woke Guys Finish First”: Challenging the Contradictions of Sexual Liberation In an examination of gender dynamics, Wynslow Wilmot wonders whether the modern male feminist risks undermining the very movement they claim to support. Wynslow Wilmot FEATURES EDITOR

uthor Nona Willis Aronowitz coined the term “woke misogynist” to describe the man that talks big game about gender equality, has read more feminist pieces than you and labels himself one too - only to turn around and harass, belittle, and gaslight women. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Being a male feminist is admirable, it can even get you laid. Oftentimes these men who claim to be feminists can be found sleeping with girls they’ve met that night, hitting and choking in the name of ‘good sex’. I sat down with girls who have experienced hookup culture within Trinity, and it was increasingly evident this experience is not a one-off. In candid conversation among the group of girls, it shed light on the complex dynamic of modern day sexual encounters. How men that have successfully convinced women of their feminist credentials use the opportunity to make an advance. One of the girls shared a vulnerable thought that has likely crossed the minds of many: “I’ve wondered while in bed with someone, ‘if I asked you to stop right now, would you actually stop?” Another added: “And if he did stop, would he make me feel uncomfortable for asking to stop?” These queries reveal the uncertainty that can linger in intimate encounters, even among those

who outwardly portray and believe themselves to be progressive. Amidst these discussions, a profound observation was made: “I’ve found that guys change when they have sex. They often become animalistic, and it’s like ‘oh, I’m an object to you right now’.” A guy you may have felt relatively safe and comfortable with a moment before, changes when you get in bed with him. Putting on a performance that was not discussed beforehand, a performance perpetuated by internet culture and porn. One that often harms women. One of the many cancers sprouted by internet culture is the idea that anything short of Guantanamo Bay in the bedroom is considered ‘vanilla’. When asked about the pressure of societal expectations, one girl remarked: “It feels like there’s no other option than rough sex. If it’s not rough sex, there’s no sex to be had.” There is a cultural narrative suggesting that the default needs to be rough sex, and those that prioritise womens’ pleasure (i.e. feminists) are expected to partake in solely rough sex. This narrative is perpetuated by the ‘woke misogynist’. The conversation also emphasised the significance of safe and respectful environments for sexual exploration, especially in established relationships: “Experimentation and exploration of sex can be so healthy and so fun when in a closed circuit, which is why relationships where you are comfortable and safe work.” However, it was noted that introducing curiosity and experimenta-

“If I asked you to stop right now, would you actually stop?” tion into encounters with strangers can lead to problems when mutual respect and understanding are lacking. There is a time and place for experimentation and exploration, and if not previously discussed, the time is not when hooking up with someone you don’t know well. The finger is not just being pointed at men though, women play a role in this as well. When discussing how women perpetuate the norms of rough hookups. One of the girls states:“It’s as indoctrinated in guys’ minds as it is in womens. The idea that ‘if I’m not performing, or being super macho and manly, or if I’m not arching my back and moaning, then I am not sexy’, it’s two sides of the same coin. Both sides uphold the expectation of performance.” We’ve been culturally conditioned that rough sex is the norm, as is putting on a show and performing for the person you are sleeping with. And when a man doesn’t want to put on that show or wants to take it slow, it can often lead to women questioning themselves. One of the

girls stated: “Recently, I went on a couple dates with a man, who wanted to slow it down and when it came to hooking up he was very respectful and gentle. It was the first time that it was no until it was yes. What I found interesting was that I was worried he wasn’t attracted to me when he wanted to take it slow.” Illustrating the power that men have in sexual situations. Women are often considered sexually liberated today because we are free to enjoy sex, particularly rough sex, but the current cultural moment encourages women to mistake sexual liberation with sexual extremes. This, paired with the belief internalised by men that women want aggressive sex, perpetuates harmful hookup culture. In the culture we live in today, everyone has internalised misogyny. In order to reconcile this, we must acknowledge it and accept it. The most difficult thing to grapple with, though, is the hypocrisy of a man who covertly embodies the behavior he proclaims to denounce.

“One of the many cancers sprouted by internet culture is the idea that anything short of Guantanamo Bay in the bedroom is considered vanilla.”

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

IN FOCUS

“We Don’t Care”: The Apathy Epidemic Ella Sexton underscores the need to readjust our news consumption to avoid compassion fatigue in the midst of political turmoil and natural disasters. Ella Sexton DEPUTY FEATURES EDITOR

n the last decade, the world has changed so drastically to the point where it is hard to remember what it was like before the media took over. There have been huge downfalls and disappointments politically, natural disasters that have devastated everything in their way, the beginnings of what would be ongoing wars between countries, along with the obvious coronavirus pandemic. These are only the bigger, more notable moments that have happened, however, there have been more local and national-scale events which add to the overall negative trend of the world and where it is heading. It is no surprise that with one thing after another, we start to get tired - somewhat bored of the ‘same old, same old’ rhetorics cycling around the news and social media which leads to a certain type of apathy. We go from being avid activists to salient ignorants in little to no time, but why? Apathy is identified as having little or no emotion towards something. Most people only think of apathy in terms of relations with others, like “Mandy is so apathetic, she didn’t even care when I told her my grandad died!” But it actually seems to be more prevalent when it comes to the relationships people have with society and the world as a whole. According to the Harvard Health Publishing, this impassiveness is because “when a situation is overwhelming, your body protects itself by entering a ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ mode,” (Numb from the news? Understanding why and what to do may help. 2018. Harvard Health Publishing) We go from being in a ‘fight or flight’ state when headlines first break to then transferring to a general numbness or ‘freeze’ response. Of course, what plays a large role in this process are the types of headlines being pushed out daily. Instead of the media stating something with a sort-of calmness, there are exclamations marks, bold letters, and unnecessarily complicated words, so a title like “bit of a tiff with the aul politicians” becomes “NEVER BEFORE SEEN: VERBAL VIOLENCE IN THE DÁIL!!!!!” This is very obviously a tactic used to garner more traction so people feel the need to read on, and I respect that - it would be very hypocritical if I didn’t, considering I work for a college newspaper - but is it really that necessary to fearmonger instead of the occasional EMER MOREAU FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

dramatisation? With these blaring headlines and notifications we receive daily - if not then hourly - our instinctive reaction is fear, which is only human of us when we see something that is affecting humankind and could potentially pose a threat to our own personal lives. Our hearts start racing, we think of everyone we love and the danger that we may have to face if something like this were to happen in the future, maybe we even share these articles or tweets as if sharing our shock will help it dissipate, when the more likely scenario is that it is exemplified yet again by another individual. As the days go on, so do we, bombarded with more and somehow worse news as if reporters know we feel more vulnerable and alone and like this is ideal time to share that there is not only a new issue - it is worse, life-threatening and blasting through the streets of wherever we like to call ‘home.’ We become so accustomed to leafing through negativity that one day it becomes ‘the norm.’ There is no longer a certain shock or sadness that shakes us when we see the headlines, just like when we ask someone “did you hear that…” their immediate response is blasé as if wanting to demonstrate “what did you expect?” There spreads a societal numbness to the content of newspapers which only appears to be growing. It may appear from what I have just said that people do not care at all about what is happening in the world but the opposite is, in fact, true. Actually, the reason there is this widespread phenomenon of people feeling numb to world events is due to a large amount of empathy existing in the first place. There have been a few discussions regarding the idea of “compassion fatigue,” (Is compassion fatigue inevitable in an age of 24-hour news? Gabbert, E. 2018. The Guardian) the notion that we can only have so much empathy and compassion towards certain things and people, hence, burnout occurs when expected to demonstrate this same level of emotion constantly without time to ‘recharge.’ It seems that “the more such individuals open themselves up to others’ pain, the more likely they will come to share those victim’s feelings and devastation” (Compassion Fatigue. 2017, Psychology Today) which can obviously be harmful for someone’s

mental health. On a positive note, it shows that on a grand scale “we are becoming introspective” (Is it normal to feel numb right now? Fearn, H. 2022. The Independent) and taking the time to really reflect on the world’s ongoings. I think that even with the negativity of the media, what has come out of it is a newfound interest in being educated on subjects such as race, politics, climate change, road safety, and other various topics which means we are becoming more well-versed as humans. It gives us an inclination to take a stance and become a part of something bigger such as certain organisations that hold protests, which in turn, propels positive action. However, circling back to the topic of apathy, when some of these actions do not end with immediate results we become even more dissatisfied than we were originally were. A more specific instance of this would be if we take a brief look at people’s response towards the attack on Palestine. On Saturday, January 12th 2023 “thousands of people marched through Dublin city on a Saturday afternoon in a national demonstration in support of Palestinians and calling an immediate end to violence in the Gaza strip,” (Thousands march in Dublin and Cork calling for end to Gaza violence, Bowers S. & Kelleher O. 2023. The Irish Times) as quoted by The Irish Times. Even with the large and passionate turnout of this march, the Irish government still has not done much in solidarity with Palestine - even though they have stated that the actions of Israel are not being condoned. It is no surprise then that eventually one would be disheartened and unmotivated to continue advocating for peace when they are not getting the government backing that was initially wanted and - in some cases - promised. From this, it can be deciphered that, generally, there has been a trend in people feeling societal disenchantment and numbness due to the constant churning out of negative stories of positive news, alarming headlines and a feeling of ongoing disappointment that is had when we want action to occur nationally or globally, whilst not taken seriously. As the number of people reading the news has remained relatively the same for the last decade - surprisingly - with “2.5 billion

“We go from being in a ‘fight or flight’ state when headlines break to then transferring to a general numbness or ‘freeze’ response.”

[people] in print and more than 600 million in digital form” (More People Read Newspapers Worldwide Than Use Web, 2012. IFABC), it is our duty as the consumer of this media to ensure that we protect our mental health. Now, I am not discouraging anyone from staying up-to-date on current events. Rather, we should take an information over drama type of approach. What information can we take as fact and what can we discard as over-the-top nonsense?

Yes, some news articles sound more interesting than others but that does not imply that it is well-written, or even the truth of the matter. More specifically, when we read up on something and learn about a particular topic, before jumping to assumptions, we ought try to see what is being done by leaders or by others around the world. By this I mean seeing if there is any action deemed as positive occurring in the situation, before thinking about the

“It encourages us to stay out of that state of numbness, to feel the anxieties and to put them towards something beneficial...”

worst-case scenario. If the answer is yes then at least one’s focus can divulge in that. If - and most often - it is a no, the best thing one can do is see how they can make a difference. This can be protesting, donating, sharing reliable links to people to stay educated and keeping up with any progressions regarding the event of concern. Although it is not much, something is better than nothing, and by having individual actions, it encourages us to stay out of that state of numbness, to feel the anxieties and to put them towards something beneficial for the cause instead of hindering us into a shell of ourselves. It is the least we can do to stop or prevent the horrors of the world, but it is necessary if we want to feel like life is worth living in the 21st century.

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

IN FOCUS

In Conversation With: Simon O’Connor, Director of MoLI “We created this museum in the twenty-first century with all of these possibilities of approach coming alive for us”, Simon O’Connor tells Eavan O’Keeffe. “All art forms are permanently in flux.”

Eavan O’Keeffe CONTRIBUTING WRITER

one, coming out of an acknowledgement that the literary art form has always been a really strong influencer in Ireland on other art forms, that the museum should really try and amplify the cross-disciplinarity of literature in Ireland. Any time we’re presenting something to the public, we’re always trying to think where the opportunity is to make something new. For instance, where is the opportunity to commission a new piece of writing or artwork, or to invent a new way of making an exhibition? In that sense, it’s a little bit of a playground for us. We’re always trying to do things that are unexpected — and this is an unexpected museum, in a sense. We’re constantly trying to find new, inventive, creative ways of presenting and framing the literary art form for visitors. Of course, literature is a mass produced art form, and visitors will buy it themselves in shops and read it in private — they’re not coming to the museum necessarily to experience the art form. Our role, rather, is to recontextualise the art form for them, and to encourage them to come into it a bit more.

imon O’Connor is the Director of the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI), an award-winning collaboration between the National Library of Ireland and University College Dublin, situated at the heart of Dublin’s cultural landscape in the austere Georgian buildings of St Stephen’s Green. With rich, captivating exhibitions ranging from James Joyce to Nuala O’Faolain, and numerous empowering outreach programmes that aim to open up the democratic value of literature to all its visitors, MoLI’s innovative approach consistently distinguishes itself as a fine example of what it means to be a literary and cultural institution in the twenty-first century. MoLI is undoubtedly a different kind of museum. As you’ve said, it’s more than just a place to visit. What makes MoLI such a remarkably different space as to what one might conventionally expect? Well, from my perspective, MoLI is a very conventional museum — that is, a museum of the 21st century that works with very different audiences in very different ways. For example, I always felt that digital activity should be a primary activity within the museum and not simply a support activity, that we should be equally curatorial in the digital space, and that actually the ‘digital voice’ should always be present when we’re considering curatorial activity on site to create a kind of visual art space. Perhaps what may be unusual about MoLI is that so many different things are happening in the same place, but I think that’s also because we created this museum in the twenty-first century with all of these possibilities of approach coming alive for us as we were developing the idea for MoLI. MoLI finds itself in the centre of Dublin’s literary landscape, and one can imagine the characters of Joyce’s novels walking right outside of its Georgian facade as they traipse around the city. How significant is the museum’s place in the city’s literary heritage? How would the museum look — and feel — different, if it were located somewhere without this strong literary history? It’s a really interesting question, actually. I mean, in a way, when you create a cultural institution like this in a place such as this, you’re formally creating what the director Pat Cooke described as a ‘prestige machine’ — something that rubberstamps activities. By having a museum like MoLI in the middle of Dublin, it’s serving to emphasise Dublin’s importance as a literary city — a UNESCO city of literature, right? It adds to what you could refer to as the ‘literary campus’ which is Dublin. Nonetheless, I don’t think this museum would be out of place anywhere in Ireland. You could argue that Dublin, just by nature of being the capital city, gets the kind of lion’s share of projects like this. And that’s a challenge for us as well — how do we reach beyond the real-

ly important geography of this city in terms of literary history and get out to the rest of Ireland? We are a Museum of Literature Ireland, not a Museum of Literature Dublin! MoLI is deeply connected with the academic world. How does it negotiate and balance its role as both a museum and an academic space, accommodating the tourist and the scholar under one roof? Well, I often paraphrase the Director of the Tate, Maria Balshaw, by saying that you can’t be everything to everybody, but you can be different things to different people, in different rooms at different times. First of all, our concept of who the public is and who our audiences are is really, really broad and very segmented. We would see the presentation of activities that might be perceived as ‘niche academic’ equally as important as the presentation of something that might have a very broad public appeal. We would program, say, for audiences that might be coming from very specific socioeconomic backgrounds or different demographics and communities of interest. Each are equally important, but often we find it more effective to program very specifically for them in different ways. But then at the same time, we’re also trying to make things that are for — though it’s kind of an odd term – the ‘general public’. And it’s really interesting to be running a museum that is directly connected to a university, even though it’s a type of setup that you see more commonly outside of Ireland. It creates this really interesting flow of ideas and projects, and often it’s interesting for long form research projects that can lead you into unexpected curatorial spaces. After leaving Trinity, you trained as a composer, and one of the muse-

um’s most fascinating spaces is ‘A Riverrun of Language’, an immersive audio experience of Irish writing. Is it important to you to celebrate the qualities of the spoken word, not only the written word, in MoLI’s exhibitions? Our understanding of the public is something that we seek to broaden all the time, and similarly, our understanding of what constitutes the literary art form is something that we seek to broaden all the time. One of the things that’s a real core part of our mission is, in a sense, to rail against a very limited view of literature. For us, it’s not just the written words — it’s performance poetry, it’s writing that only happens online, it’s rap and hip-hop, it’s journalism, it’s political writing, it’s religious writing, philosophical writing. In a way, it’s anything that’s connected to the word as a transmitter of ideas. Music, writing, storytelling, and communication are all so intertwined, so there’s a real interest here in the proximity of music to literature, and the proximity of sound to literature as well. Joyce was obviously really alive to that in his own writing, as are most writers. We have an installation closing up at the moment, actually, with the writer Claire-Louise Bennett, called Nightflowers, which is primarily an audio-visual installation, even though it was a writing commission. Claire-Louise reads all her writing aloud as she writes, testing the sound of it out loud. You have a curatorial preference at MoLI for engaging living artists as guest curators on exhibitions. How do you think this impacts on the way in which members of the public understand your exhibitions as moving more into a space of artistic creativity and expression? It was a real core strategy from day

Joyce’s presence in the museum cannot be understated. His bust just across the road in St Stephen’s Green always seems to be watching! Still, how do you open up spaces for the voices of those lesser known artists, in particular women writers, those who haven’t found a place in the canon? The museum’s permanent exhibitions are very focused on Joyce, so we’re kind of holding up this massive pillar of the canon here as the ‘central access’ to the Pantheon, if you want to call it that. But this makes us ask the question, where is the anti-Pantheon, where are the other things that will balance out that amount of focus? It was really deliberate early on that, with our temporary exhibitions, we should send a clear signal that we were going to do things differently. The first four temporary exhibitions were on female writers, and our programming has always been, I would actually say, nearly imbalanced away from the canon. And that then becomes something that we need to address — I’m starting to think about what a really inter-

esting Oscar Wilde or Bram Stoker exhibition would look like in MoLI. For these figures that actually have really broad public interest, what are the aspects of their histories and art practices as writers that we could dig around in? For instance, we developed an exhibition on Brendan Behan this year where we brought in the writer Pat McCabe to work with us on making an art installation that was just truly surreal. But again, it felt like it was really focusing on aspects of Behan that were left out of the canonical story, trying to fill in gaps and shine light into shadowy corners, looking into places that you might not expect us to look. At Trinity, I’d studied the canonical names like Joyce and Beckett, but beyond that, not a huge amount. So the real joy for me of working in MoLI is actually working with Irish literature. It feels like being back in college again, doing a lot of the courses that I skipped, getting the pleasure of reading through the historical works of Irish literature that had passed me by, the works of people like Edna O’Brien or John McGahern. I suppose the Trinity degree probably confers some kind of validity on me, or something. “Well I actually studied literature” — but that’s not getting a word in edgeways in this museum. And that’s fine! Paul Lynch’s recent win of the Booker Prize for his novel ‘Prophet Song’ is one of many clear signs that the Irish literary scene is continuing to thrive. How do you keep the museum in touch with new faces in the country’s literary tradition? Well, I think that it’s actually really simple. It doesn’t really pose any difficulty as soon as you start having a completely pluralistic view of the art form. When you stop thinking about the art form in silos of quality or validity, it becomes really easy to do very different things in tandem

with each other, and often you’ll find that the relevance of something that’s quite far into our literary past can sing beside something that’s really new, really immediate. All art forms are permanently in flux, and they’re all permanently expressing this core thing out of humanity at different points in time. You place a particular emphasis on engaging with younger kids, especially those from socially-disadvantaged backgrounds. Why do you consider this such an important part of the museum’s vision? The two things that motivate me most in terms of my own work and composition practice are aesthetics and ethics. If you’re creating a museum in 2019, connected to a university, about an art form that’s really hallowed and almost evangelised about in the country, access to that art form is going to be a real challenge. So I always felt that we should be, from the get go, really good at access and education, prioritising access to the art form for age groups and communities that might not otherwise get it. We sometimes think about these things in terms of what you might call the ‘loyal audience’, the audience who are really into the literature side of things. But that’s only ever going to be about ten per cent of who comes into a place like this — if it’s successful. So that other ninety per cent, that’s who I’m really interested in, especially that chunk who would never come here if we didn’t otherwise reach out to them. To finish up, what excites you most about where the museum is going? I’m very excited about the increasing amount of international collaboration we’re doing in the digital space, and how that internationalism can start finding its way into our exhibition making and programming. And I’m really interested in seeing how much more we can have communities of artists take ownership of this museum, to use it and treat it as their home, in the way that so many writers already do.

“By having a museum like MoLI in the middle of Dublin, it’s serving to emphasize Dublin’s importance as a literary city.”

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

IN FOCUS

College Paves Over Climate Concerns College have chosen not to respond to whether they see it as appropriate to accept funding from CRH for the Professorship of Climate Science in the school of Natural Sciences. Alex Payne ASSISTANT EDITOR

University Times investigation can reveal snug ties between Ireland’s second largest company and Trinity College Dublin. What unfolds, between a company whose current Chairman sits on the Provost’s council and a university which claims “to be a leader in sustainability and climate solutions”, is a series of events which calls into question the College’s commitment to ‘sustainability’, the influence of big donors on College decision-making and therefore TCD’s compliance with its own policies. In 2020, four years after College announced its intention to divest from fossil fuel-related investments, TCD accepted funding from building material manufacturers conglomerate CRH to establish the professorial Chair of Climate Science. In a statement to The University Times, a TCD spokesperson said: “Discussions regarding the creation of a professorship in Climate Science took place between senior leadership, the faculty of STEM, Trinity Development and Alumni and the donor. The proposed donation was approved by College in 2020.” In response to the question Other than the salary of the professorship, how much money is CRH providing to TCD/the School of Natural Sciences? TCD’s spokesperson replied: “The donation is to be used to support the salary of the professorship for a period of 10 years. The host schools have been identified as the School of Engineering and the School of Natural Science.” In a job advertisement on the website scholarshipdb.net, with a closing date of September 12th 2022, the advertised salary was between €124,683 and €157,613 per annum. This means that TCD has accepted at least €1,500,000 in funding from CRH and likely more. College did not respond to the question: Why did the decision-making process involving the bodies listed think it was appropriate to accept a donation from CRH and, further, deem it appropriate to attach CRH’s name to a professorship in climate science given CRH’s poor environmental record/ purely its existence as a huge fossil fuel

emitter? Before CRH moved from the London to the New York Stock Exchange in 2023, Arabesque, a company which provides climate data to investors, included CRH in a list of 31 FTSE 100 companies, as part of a report in 2021, that are emitting fossil fuels at a rate consistent with a global temperature rise of 2.7C by 2050, well above the limit aimed at by the 2015 Paris climate accords of 1.5C. CRH disputed these findings saying it had science-based targets that had been independently verified to prove their emissions were in line with a rate consistent with a temperature rise of 2C by 2050, the upper limit imposed by the 2015 Paris climate accords.

Portugal and Bahrain. Since 2007 its emissions have grown from the equivalent of a third of Ireland’s to now close to 10 million tonnes over Ireland’s total emissions per annum. CRH, which stands for Cement Roadstone Holdings, headquartered in Dublin, is the largest building material business in both North America and Europe. Founded in 1970 after a merger between Cement Ltd and Roadstone Ltd, it has since gone on to acquire a large number of other building material manufacturers. In Europe, it acquired businesses in Poland in the mid-1990s before moving into Ukraine and Finland towards the end of the decade. Since the turn of the century it has moved

investigation in 2014 into the anti-competitive allegations faced by CRH but has since closed the investigation due to “insufficient evidence in breach of competition law”. It has also had supposed close ties with Irish politicians in its history, with questions being asked about acquisitions of public land by CRH without the process of public tender and payments between former Taoiseach Charles Haughey and Financier and former Chairman of CRH, Des Traynor, which became known as the “Ansbacher Affair” in the 1990s. The Provost’s council, members of which “give advice to the college on raising philanthropic funds”, has two current members linked to CRH. Terry Neill was a former Director in

“The Board minutes imply that the funder, CRH, of the professorship has ‘transgressed’ University values.” In 2008, The Irish Independent reported that CRH “spews out more damaging greenhouse gases than Luxembourg”. CRH’s 2007 annual report revealed that the company emitted 13.2 million tonnes of CO2 from its factories and cement plants. Add to this emissions from transport, external electricity supply and venture partners and the CO2 emissions associated with CRH totaled 20.5 million tonnes. In 2004, the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre, a now-defunct arm of the United States Department of Energy that monitored world climate change data, totaled Luxembourg’s CO2 emissions at 11.27 million tonnes. CRH’s latest annual report, for 2022, reveals that its total associated annual CO2 emissions have now reached 46.5 million tonnes. According to data on CO2 emissions by country from the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, a joint project between the European Commission Joint Research Centre and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, CRH’s current CO2 emissions would place it 61st out of the world’s 195 countries. CRH’s 2022 CO2 emissions are equivalent to the cumulative emissions of the 59 lowest-emitting countries in the world, just over a tenth of the total emissions from international aviation and more than countries such as Ecuador, Norway,

to acquire further businesses in Switzerland, Israel, the Netherlands and Portugal. In the Northeastern United States CRH began acquiring a number of businesses during the 1990s and 2000s. It began to acquire businesses in Asia, namely China and India, during the 2000s. Since the 2010s, CRH has continued to acquire businesses in all the above regions, building its revenue to just over €32bn per annum, with a profit after tax of just under €3bn, in the tax year 2021/22. Throughout its history CRH and its subsidiaries have faced numerous allegations of wrong-doing, including price-fixing in Poland and the US as well as one of its subsidiaries in the US being forced to pay punitive damages of $20 million for a wrongful-death lawsuit. In Ireland in 2012, CRH faced anti-competitive accusations which were initially dismissed by the Supreme Court. It later emerged that the presiding judge in the proceedings owned shares in CRH and was forced to stand down. The Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission opened a further

the 2000s and Richie Boucher has been the Chairman of CRH plc since 2019. In a statement to The University Times, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President László Molnárfi revealed: “At the Board meeting on the 18th of October, dissent was heard from all corners of the room which forced senior management to enact a symbolic change. It concerned the appointment of a climate science professor funded by CRH.” “The appointment had already been made but the discussion was sparked when someone pointed it out in the list of professorships that College has, as this was an item on the agenda. CRH is a huge polluter and is destructive to the environment. We thought that this was greenwashing and so we spoke up.” “It was a moment of realisation as to how tied capital is to the destruction of the environment and how corporatized our universities have become. By speaking up, we managed to take the title off the public listing of the professorship as a symbolic dissent - this has no effect, because the appointment had been

“What is detailed throughout reveals a disturbing discrepancy between what College says, and what College does.”

made years ago, but it still means something. The public listing of the professorship is now incomplete.” In the publicly available minutes from the university Board meeting of October 18th, 2023, under the agenda item “Proposed Changes to the 2010 Consolidated Statutes Schedule 1 to Chapter on Professors (Established Chairs)”, ambiguous reference is made to the (CRH) Professorship of Climate Science: “The Provost, responding to comments from a Board member in respect of the naming of a specific Chair, advised the Board that there is a committee tasked with managing the recruitment of Chair Professorships and the Gift Acceptance Committee (GAC) oversees philanthropic donations. In addition, she clarified for the Board that the funder of the post in question would have no input into the research to be undertaken by the post holder.” “Some Board members noted the need for careful consideration to be given to the naming of posts and the acceptance of philanthropic donations. In response to the comments, the Provost advised the Board that a significant level of due diligence is undertaken by the Gift Acceptance Committee in Trinity Development and Alumni (TDA) and that the drafting of a naming policy for the University was also in progress.” In the GAC’s Policy for Acceptance of Gifts and Donations it states: “TDA will not enter into a relationship with potential donors nor accept gifts that may seriously damage the reputation of Trinity College Dublin…, TDA will only accept gifts that fit with the University’s strategic mission and values,... and TDA will not accept gifts where a donor’s reputation has been compromised to the extent that an association with the donor would not be consistent with the mission and values of the University.” The Policy also outlines how “the GAC will take account of the wider University policy framework and ensure that its decisions are aligned with the University’s Ethics Policy.” Under Chapter 3, “Conduct of College Affairs”, of the University Ethics Policy, Section 3, “Funding”, it states: “The College shall not knowingly receive funding from organisations/ institutions whose activities include practices which directly pose a risk of serious harm to individuals or groups or whose activities are inconsistent with the mission and values of the College.” The GAC Policy also outlines the risk-scoring process applied to donations which includes assessing whether a donor has any connection to unethical (but legal) and/or illegal activity, with varying levels of how close the unethical (but legal) and/or illegal activity is linked to the donation itself. One such instance of alleged illegality happened in 1994 when the European Commission judged Irish Cement Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CRH, to have engaged in an illegal price-fixing cartel and Irish Cement Ltd. received a fine of just over €3.5 million. More recently, in 2015, CRH plc was fined €32 million by the Swiss competition commission for involvement in a price-fixing and market-sharing cartel. CRH claimed the basis for the fine was “unjustified”. The Board minutes imply that the funder, CRH, of the professorship has ‘transgressed’ University values: “In response to a query from a Board member, the Registrar clarified that should it come to pass in the future that a funder of such a position

has transgressed the values of the University it would be possible to rename the post and to amend the Statutes accordingly while retaining the staff member.” In the Trinity Strategy 2020-2025, one of the four parts of the CORE mission, is ‘Civic Action’, defined as: “Through our teaching, research and public engagement, we courageously advance the cause of a pluralistic, just and sustainable society.” The words sustainable and sustainability are mentioned 35 times throughout the strategy, and one of the nine “cross-cutting goals” aimed at achieving the College’s “Towards 2025” priorities is: “We will shape our organisation and focus research around the challenge of achieving a sustainable and healthy planet.” This strategy also highlights a renewed focus towards aligning College and its activities with UN Sustainable Development Goals. On the Trinity Global website, it states that “Trinity Global is committed to supporting and promoting Sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the world”. One of the UN’s SDGs is “promote sustainable industrialisation” which includes environmentally sound manufacturing. In TCD’s Sustainability Strategy 2023-2030, one of the stated aims is to reach net-zero emissions by 2040. College did not respond to the question: Does TCD see CRH as an environmentally sustainable company that is in line with the College’s own aims? Under Trinity’s sustainable approach to operations the report also outlines a ‘strategic vision’ which states: “All policies, procedures and operations in Trinity that underpin our academic endeavours will be viewed through the priority areas of tackling GHG emissions, halting biodiversity loss and building healthy futures.” During the launch of Trinity Sustainability Strategy 2023-2030, Provost Linda Doyle and Vice-president for Biodiversity and Climate Action Jane Stout took part in giving away 100 birch tree saplings on campus. Birch trees reach maturity after 2030 years at which point they can capture, on average, 22 kilograms of CO2 per year. With an average lifespan of 140 years, this means that the 100 birch saplings given away, assuming they all reach maturity, will capture around 264 tonnes of CO2, or 0.0006 per cent of CRH’s associated CO2 emissions in 2022 alone, in their lifetime. Although the above comparison is facetious and TCD is not responsible for the emissions of CRH, it serves to highlight the stark contrast between the operations of the cement-making conglomerate and the sustainable pretensions of Ireland’s leading university. Ultimately, what is detailed throughout reveals a disturbing discrepancy between what College says, and what College does.

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

COMMENT & ANALYSIS EDITORIAL: TCDSU Needs an Irish Language Officer

oting on whether to introduce a ne Irish language sabbatical officer to the Student’s Union will take place between January 30th and February 1st. With this in mind, the SU is already out in force to convince the student population to take on the 4 euro increase in student fees to make the whole initiative possible, exactly as they should. The initiative comes in conjunction with multiple schemes put in place by the administration or the Irish government: Including the Irish Residency Scheme and the introduction of the Irish language office. However, with the continuing decline of the Irish language in both the College and across Ireland, it is clear that more must be done. For too long has the Student’s Union operated without proper consideration for the linguistic roots of the land it rests upon. Pádraig Mac Brádaigh, the current provincial Oifigeach na Gaeilge in TCDSU, said it best: “If Gaeilge is to be fully respected, it must be everywhere from TBall to Blackboard to the Academic Registry.” The fact of the matter is, the Gailege community is not as ever-present as it should be on campus. It was, after all, only a few short decades ago when any Trinity student society would have scoffed at the idea of the Irish language on campus, placing itself alongside the presence of the English-speaking fanatics of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth. We, as members of a more inclusive Trinity, should be doing more than quietly dismissing the prejudices of the past. We should be correcting them. A good step towards correcting them is, for a start, cutting out one of the chicken fillet rolls allotted in your budget in favour of the extra 4 euro in student fees. The average Trinity student already pays an SLC of 298 euro per year, much of which goes towards the Trinity Sport Centre, which you never use anyway despite your New Year’s resolutions. The resolution includes a full-time Oifigeach na Gaeilge position in the SU, introducing the initiative across other Trinity organisations beneath the Capitations Committee, as well as comprehensive, long-term Irish language policy.

EDITORIAL: The Government’s Response to the FarRight is Woefully Inadequate Last summer saw far-right protestors blocking library entrances across the country. The protestors wanted books discussing LGBT issues banned from the children’s section. That same summer in Dublin, insurrectionists set fire to the tents of homeless refugees. In September, Dublin saw the ‘Let Women Speak’ anti-trans protests attended by ‘concerned’ parties. Three weeks ago in Ballinrobe, County Mayo protestors demonstrated outside asylum seekers’ accommodation. Local Fine Gael councillor Michael Burke lent his support to the uproar, and posted on X, previously Twitter, that he was “delighted” that the 50 asylum seekers were no longer granted a lease in the town. In the past year alone, multiple arson attacks have taken place outside asylum seekers’ accommodation. Likewise, the fires and violence of the Dublin riots did not start in November. Nor are they over. The riots were not the fault of a disaffected working class as some would like to believe. Unfortunately, Ireland, like the rest of the world, is becoming an increasingly polarised and alienated society. This means that politicians, elites, and populist figures like Conor MacGregor take advantage of the fears and concerns of ordinary people, and manipulate them for votes. Afraid people are easily led. The housing crisis and cost of living crisis may be a factor in Irish people targeting the most vulnerable people in society. Pair this with recent leaps in equality for LGBT people, and a sudden influx of refugees accompanied with negligible government messaging on integrating refugees in communities, and you have a situation ripe for hate. Wherever there is progress, a backlash isn’t far behind. Refugees, people of colour, migrants and LGBT people are not the problem; rather, it is an ineffectual government who have failed to provide housing to a record high of 13,000 people that is the problem. Ireland has a complicated and disgraceful history with race and exclusion, and this is something that we must look in the eye. We implore you to be kind to each other and stamp out bigotry wherever you see it. The fate of each other rests in our hands. Those inciting hate must not be tolerated on a state or personal level. For a fair, democratic society, Ireland must change.

Defending a Career in the Arts Begins with Defending an Arts Dissertation Sophie Coffey defends her right to self-deprecation while demanding respect for her dissertation and arts degree. Sophie Coffey OPINION EDITOR

he second semester brings with it an inevitable combination of excitement and stress. As a final year student, I have never been so acutely aware of the weekly countdown that marks off my various last days and deadlines. And of course the key deadline that looms in Hilary term is the dreaded dissertation. It is a mammoth document that is the pinnacle of your degree. It is a task that encapsulates all of the learning and knowledge gleaned across your undergraduate. It is an advanced piece of work to showcase your improved intellect. It is also, in my case, about Narnia and Neverland. So perhaps the level to which I am hyping up the work and intensity of it seems disproportionate. Admittedly, I would be inclined to agree. In fact, on many occasions, I have remarked or made comments to the effect of the childish and simplistic sounding nature of my dissertation. I have spent the past six months invoking phrases like ‘at the end of the day its about some children in a wardrobe’ or ‘Tinkerbell is as complicated as it gets’ to garner some comedic relief in the midst of dissertation stress. At the level of basic description, my selected approach sounds highly basic. However, if I was to describe my dissertation topic without using the names of my chosen texts, it’s a very different task. It becomes an assignment about the role of adults in the lives of children, about the sociological dynamics of sibling roles and about analysing the development of children’s agency across different environments. The actual material of my dissertation is grounded in sociology and psychology as well as literary theories. It is far from the level of difficulty that would characterise a medical student’s assignment

but neither is it quite as airy-fairy as most people would tend to assume. In the context of my habitual joking, it seems ill-placed to suddenly weaponise these jokes as a defensive shield. However,

of the jokes, I am also one of the first to make them. It is almost like a defence mechanism. At the first sign of the opportunity for an arts degree punchline, I jump straight in to deprecate my degree before someone else does it

has found itself the brunt of my limited comedy repertoire. As a result, I have become guilty of the very thing I have often professed against. Overlooking and undermining an entire sector of our society because of the difficulties quantifying its contribution. Our societies are not just organised around our economies and the value of arts roles and the arts sector should be recognised and celebrated. This is not something that will happen accidently or through chance. Recognition and appreciation for the arts needs to be emphasised as well as implemented across systematic structures. Where better to start than by challenging the cultural connotations of arts degrees. My first action, saving defending my essay for when it’s a PhD viva.

“Recognition and appreciation for the arts needs to be emphasised as well as implemented across systematic structures.” the tendency to undermine or joke about my dissertation topic speaks to a broader tendency for arts degrees in general to be overlooked for their perceived futility. I am proud of my arts pathway but I am also innately familiar with jokes detailing the “useless” aspects to it or assignments that appear to have limited meaningful outcomes or tangible progressions. But even beyond being prepared and accepting

for me. A key component of this inclination is the expectation that my degree will be made into the joke so I may as well make the comment before anyone else does. Previously I’ve written about the unerring value of arts degrees and I stand wholeheartedly behind this. However, the stresses of final year applications have contributed to my cynicism meaning my dissertation topic

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

We Must Work Now to Prevent a Trump-Like Candidate in Ireland

Luke Gibbons warns of the need to maintain our reputation as a welcoming nation amid a wave of right-wing rhetoric. Luke Gibbons CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ntil recently Ireland was somewhat of an outlier compared to some of Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom. One could confidently assert that unlike many nations where the far right regularly vocalised anti progressive views, Ireland continued to be a modernising country with overarching liberal perspectives. This may still be accurate with respect to Irish governmental policy. However, anti-immigrant rhetoric is on the rise. Examples include: demonstrations in rural Ireland, arson attacks on designated migrant buildings and of course the recent Dublin riots. What these examples highlight is a faction of society that is deeply unhappy with Ireland’s current immigration policies. With tensions increasing the door is potentially open for a candidate like Trump or Marine Le Pen to take office in Ireland at any level from presidential to local. A segment of society could even start lobbying for an Irish Brexit. Remember Trump’s rise was in part due to promises of a ‘great wall’ to tighten immigration and Brexit was largely won

on anti-migrant misinformation. Something similar occurring in Ireland would be disastrous to our country’s international reputation as a welcoming nation for people and business. Facts are facts and Ireland is economically dependent on European membership and the presence of US based firms, whether people like to admit that or not. Allowing recent anti-immigrant rhetoric to spill over into policy or the election of far-right officials will be much more damaging for our country in the long term than providing a safe haven for those fleeing war. Let us not forget that Ireland is a country with a deep history of emigration dating back to famine times when millions fled on coffin ships to the United States. Yes, restrictions were in place, but for the most part Irish people arrived and made a life for themselves Stateside. Today, 31.5m people claim Irish ancestry in the United States, more than 6.3 times the current population of Ireland. We cannot forget our past and it is our duty as a nation to help those presently in need. Current emigration from Ireland also poses a great concern. Over 20,000 Australian working holiday visas were issued to Irish citizens in 2023. Not only is this worrying from a brain drain perspective, but it means that young traditionally more liberal voters are leaving Ireland’s shores. While many travelled home to

Mandela House, 6 Trinity College, College Green, Dublin 2 Phone: (01) 646 8431 Email: info@universitytimes.ie Clara Roche, Editor Sáoirse Goes, Deputy Editor Phoebe Pascoe, Assistant Editor Alexander Payne, Assistant Editor

Hosanna Boulter, News Editor Wynslow Wilmot, Features Editor Ella Sexton, Deputy Features Editor Sophie Coffey, Opinion Editor Valentina Milne, Sports Editor Cleo Daly, Magazine Editor Emma Fitzpatrick, Magazine Editor Sajal Singh, Deputy Magazine Editor Ellen Duggan, Assistant Magazine Editor Barrett Ellis, Radius Editor Ella Hussey, Radius Editor Maisie Greener, Assistant Radius Editor

“These examples hIghlight a faction of society that is unhappy with Ireland’s current immigration policies.”

Joshua Hernon, Political Correspondent Charlie Hastings, Chair of the Editorial Board Aoife Kirby, Copy Editor Sarah McCarthy, Copy Editor Elizabeth O’Sullivan, Copy Editor Princess Omozusi, Creative Director Róisín Newman, Social Media Manager

Elly Christopher, Art Editor Clara Potts, Fashion Editor Eloise Sherrard, Deputy Fashion Editor Hanna Valila, Assistant Fashion Editor Sarah Murnane, Film & TV Editor Ella Parry, Food & Drink Editor Pearl Biggers, Deputy Food & Drink Editor Sarah Browne, Literature Editor Molly Wetsch, Deputy Literature Editor Sadie Loughman, Music Editor Repeal the Eight Amendment in 2018, the same incentive may not be present to prevent a conservative anti-immigrant candidate being elected in a local election. In any event we should not have to rely on the young Irish diaspora to save us from ourselves. As a people we cannot have our cake and eat it. Yes, it is wrong that so many young Irish people need to emigrate to Australia and Canada each year. Yes, it is wrong that the social contract in Ireland is broken. Yes, it is wrong that more young adults are living with their parents now more than ever. However, what if Australia and Canada started to say no to Irish citizens on the basis that we take their citizens’ jobs and houses? This is something we need to think about. Irish people are leaving in search of better job prospects, not from persecution. Returning home does not mean potential death. However, if a ban on immigration to Australia and Canada was implemented young Irish people would have something to say. The difference is that Irish people have the means to have our voices heard. Those fleeing from war to Ireland do not. There was a time when Irish people weren’t welcome to apply for work in the UK with signage exclaiming ‘No Dogs, No Irish’. This is something still frequently spoken about in Ireland. Do we really want other nations feeling similar resentment to our country? Are we at a stage that we feel no remorse for

allowing people to suffer rather than welcoming them to our peaceful country? Is Céad Míle Fáilte dying? If war broke out in Ireland and our country became unliveable forcing us to flee to other nations, of course we would think it was disproportionate and unreasonable to be left fighting for our lives due to the administrative challenges of full vetting. These are the circumstances many who arrive in Ireland are escaping from. It is an emergency situation and closing the door on our fellow humanity is not an option. People are people no matter where they come from. In recent times more conservative parties have failed to garner support in Ireland such as Renua in 2015. However, the momentum that local anti-migrant protests are generating signals the potential for a new movement. A Trump effect is bubbling on our shores and we would be wise to get ready for the wave. The rise of ultra conservative politics was fuelled by a war on immigration in The United States and United Kingdom. Both nations received little warning of what was to come under Trump and Brexit and the majority thought neither would ever happen. This war is emerging in Ireland and we have the chance to prevent our nation from following in the steps of the United States and United Kingdom. The time to act is now. Our country is better than this. Our people are better than this.

“The time to act is now. Our country is better than this. Our people are better than this.”

Eliora Abramson, Societies Editor

Corinne Mahon, Photographer Gareth McCrystal, Photographer Maisie Norton, Photographer Ella O’Brien, Photographer

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

Women in the Home: Your Voice, Your Vote

Dr Becky Long reflects on her personal experiences of voting in Irish referendums and emphasises the value of each and every vote in shaping societal change. Becky Long COLUMNIST

n 2001, Ireland voted in three simultaneous referendums. (Or is that referenda? Another debate all to itself). The twenty-first amendment to the constitution introduced a constitutional ban on capital punishment. The twenty-second amendment was about establishing an investigative body to oversee judges. (I remember not really understanding that one very well …) The twenty-third amendment permitted the Irish State to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. And the twenty-fourth amendment was about the EU’s Nice Treaty. Give that one a Google, for the laugh – I definitely don’t have enough space here to get into it! I wasn’t old enough to vote in the June of 2001. At the risk of revealing my age, I had just finished sixth class, and my secondary school career was looming at the end of the summer. But I walked into my local polling station – which happened to be my newly old primary school – with my nana, because I was curious. I wanted to see what went on when people voted, and I was not disappointed. I remember standing beside my grandmother as she

read each of the proposals. (This wasn’t strictly allowed but the man running the centre was a neighbour, so he smiled and pretended I wasn’t there). I remember watching her as she thought and thought before she cast her ballot on each piece of paper. I asked her why she was taking her time, because I thought she’d already made up her mind. I’d listened to her and my mam talking it all over endlessly. She said it was because it was important. And she wanted to be able to stand over the decisions she’d made. That was when I realised that voting was a big deal. Because my nana had high standards when it came to important things. I’ve been lucky enough to have the chance to vote in some pretty momentous referendums since I turned 18. I remember the elation that swept the country when we voted for equal marriage in 2015. And that one meant so much, because not only was it the least LGBTQI+ couples deserved, but it also represented a fundamental pushback against a No side who had tried to equate

equal marriage with the devaluing of “the normal family”. As though such a thing exists. But the vote to Repeal the 8th Amendment in 2018 hit differently, somehow. I remember the traffic on the way home to Wexford. I was stuck in a solid traffic jam in Ferns for about forty minutes, and it was 26 degrees in my 03 Golf. (I loved that car!) But I didn’t care. Because I knew that almost every single person in the cars in front of me and behind me was driving home to vote. And it felt fantastic. I collected my mam and we made for the school. This woman who’d been told, in 1988, by the senior matron in the hospital where she nursed, that she would give me up for adoption. Because she wasn’t married. We thought about all the women and girls who hadn’t made it this far. And we voted for them. Not for the first time, I realised how lucky I was to be this woman’s daughter. Later that night, I was sitting in a pub with a good friend, and for once neither of us cared that we were checking our phones constantly, because

“I remember the elation that swept through the country when we voted for equal marriage in 2015.”

“Get thinking. If you do one more thing after this, check the electoral register. Make sure your name is there, register to vote if it’s not.”

we were waiting for the exit polls to come in. And when they did, we couldn’t believe our eyes. We had been part of something amazing. And we were in the right place to celebrate! I’ll remember that day for the rest of my life, not least because the person I love most in the world made a huge sacrifice to vote to repeal the 8th Amendment. My partner, Fergal, was waiting for a lung transplant. His Cystic Fibrosis had gotten worse and worse, and life was hard. Life was harder than it should have been. He walked into his local polling station, carrying his oxygen concentrator, because he wanted to use his vote to make things better. He knew what it was like to not be in control of his own body, and he wanted to be a part of changing that for everyone he knew, for strangers he had never met. Don’t get me wrong, reproductive rights in this country aren’t perfect, even now, almost six years on. But that’s the work. It never stops. It’s never done. Voting is part of the work of making things better. And that’s the best work you can ever do. In this year alone, almost 4 billion people are eligible to vote in elections and referendums – but that doesn’t mean they’ll all be free or safe to do so. This is why anyone who says that they can’t be bothered voting or that they don’t think their vote will count utterly baffle me. Your voice, your vote, right? That’s how it works – but it only works if you step up! I wonder if we could introduce a by law that prohibits people who haven’t voted from complaining about the state of the nation. It’d probably be unconstitutional, not to mention practically impossible to police, but that’s beside the point. If you don’t contribute to the conversation, you don’t get to moan that your voice isn’t being heard. Just in Ireland, we’ll have two referendums – two!! – in March, followed by local and European elections, and (if my nerdy politic prayers are answered) a general election before the end of the year. And let’s not even talk about what’s probably the most important US Presidential election in generations looming in November. There’s a lot happening, folks. Referendums don’t come around very often, so you need to pay attention when they do. And I think it’ll be tough to find anyone who isn’t af-

fected, either personally or ideologically by the proposals to amend Article 41 and 41.2 of the Constitution, the first to provide for a wider concept of Family, the second to remove text concerning the role of women in the home and to insert a new Article 42B to recognise family care. Personally, because I come from a single parent family, my mother and I have never been recognised by the State as a legitimate, valid family unit. So, you can bet your next SUSI instalment that I’ll be casting my vote on that. I’m not sure about about the second proposal yet, because I don’t know if it goes far enough. But I have time. And I’ll figure it out. I hope you figure it out too.

Even if you can’t vote this time, this year, wouldn’t it be fun to find out what all the fuss is about? Never waste a learning opportunity, especially when it comes to politics. That old cliché about politics doing you even if you don’t do politics is a cliché for a reason. Because it’s true. Your access to education. Your access to housing. Your right to build a good life for yourself. That’s all politics. So, get engaged. Get thinking. If you do one thing after reading this, check the electoral register. Make sure your name is there. Register to vote if it’s not. Ok, that might be two things. Actually, do one more thing. Vote.

“Even if you can’t vote this year, wouldn’t it be fun to find out what all the fuss is about?”

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

Depoliticising the Students’ Union is a Right-Wing Attack on Students TCDSU President László Molnárfi argues against the notion of neutrality in Students’ Union politics and advocates for active student engagement. Lászlo Molnárfi CONTRIBUTING WRITER

e must give no oxygen to the idea of ‘neutrality’ in the politics of our student union. Such calls to depoliticize the union originate from a tiny minority of right-wing agitators who mislead students. The hinterland of this so-called movement is conservative ideology presented via populist rhetoric aimed to kill the union’s progressive policies and impede its ability to campaign for our rights. Ultimately, it is a demand for us to put our heads in the sand and refuse to live in the real world. The vision for a neutral union is as follows. The crux is that it is forbidden from engaging in politics. The term politics is an artificial creation in this instance. It refers to a prohibition on adopting stances that may alienate a portion of the student body. This is two-fold. Firstly, national and international affairs deemed controversial according to conservative standards. Secondly, expressing opinions on political parties, systems and ideologies. Both of these should be consigned to the sacred space of personal opinion which the union has no right to violate. This is the paradigm. Within it, the vision of the union has been narrowed. Its scope pruned. Immediately, we lose representation for our solidarity with Palestine as a student body because of a trickle of Zionist students. The representative arm of the union is reduced, serving to transform its holistic properties to piecemeal inputs in pre-existing institutional channels. Without a doubt, we are still represented in issues that directly impact us. The union continues to raise issues of housing, fees and transport. However, they have been stripped of their political context. Within College, our worries are raised via various committees, while in national matters, the union submits to government consultations, attends town halls and emails officials. The work done by the union will be immaculate, gathering feedback, producing policy papers and posing with College and state authorities at various consultative sessions on social media. The union is now embedded within the appendages of official structures. Although the social capital built

through this method of engagement with authorities is solid and incentivizes friendliness, the union is ultimately not restricted in its tactics and strategy. Should issues arise where students stand to lose massively, there is no prohibition on organizing protest. Being apolitical should not be confused with a lack of protest. It should not be confused precisely because it is so much more malign, being an ideological imposition that restricts the union at its singularity. This is reflected through the embrace of jargon firmly situated in the linguistic framework of the status quo. “Student representation”

is being done, the “student voice” communicated to improve the “student experience”. Ultimately, it is a substitution of the substance for the illusion. This approach, desired by those who support the status quo, underlines nothing more than the flawed ideals of liberal democracies. The community, and its interest group, is taking part in an exchange of views with the authorities to come to a higher synthesis. So, it follows, that societal issues arise because authorities are not aware, do not have the correct policies or fluked the implementation of correct policies. In

this world, the system is flawless, but the policy is adjustable via administrative means. Neoliberal capitalism and its bourgeois democratic form presents itself not merely as flawless, but as the irreversible logic of social reality. By appearing as logic itself, it dissolves ideology, system and history, which cease to exist. In its place appears the one-dimensional obsession with authority-citizenry feedback. As such, we cannot speak of structural forces, such as the role of the profit motive in decision-making under capitalist economies, the vested interests of the haves to exploit the have-nots, nor

can we speak of ideologies that drive these tendencies. In other words, the university and the state are mistaken in their ill-treatment of students and staff. There are no fundamental antagonisms at play and all that is needed is to engage with processes and convince the authorities of the righteousness of our requests. Thus, the call for neutrality in politics is a call for the status quo. It seeks to undermine the union by stripping it of its ability to understand and work against oppressive structures in capitalist societies, trapping them in an eternal cycle of dead-end dialogue with authorities. The demand for neutrality is an ignorance of the need for structural change at best and a weapon for right-wingers to criticize radical organizations at worst. Through substituting what is logical for the exploiting class for what is logical for society as a whole, those in power effectuate an attack on critical thinking. There are tens of thousands of homeless people in Ireland, yet more than 200,000 vacant properties as investors speculate on the housing market, enabled by law and funded by state coffers. Our society is built on constant growth and the accumulation of resources in the hands of the few. A union that embraces neutrality is left without understanding the class, and thus power, relations underpinning each interaction with the authorities. If it stays friendly with the authorities, it never understands why, despite the plethora of stakeholder structures, change is not coming with regards to housing, fees and transport. If it protests, it does so with nil understanding of historical, political and ideological context. Its actions turn kafkaesque. This is because campaigning without a theoretical understanding of society is like steering a ship unaware of where one is going and coming from. For example, Ireland is a class society, with a capitalist economic system and a parliamentary coalition that embodies laissez-faire market ideology. As a result, universities, stripped of state funding, are privatized and act like businesses. Unions thus have to fight fee and rent increases from senior management because of opposing class interests. Without correctly diagnosing the logic behind these adverse proposals and connecting it to the bigger picture, a union is unable to explain why the

trend is occurring, let alone muster up forces to challenge the system responsible. Instead of attacking the objective compulsion of capital to expand, and in its profound ignorance of everything political, it will be inarticulate in its opposition. Within committees and at protests, it will appeal to the university president citing value for money, thus reinforcing consumerist attitudes to education. Rather than confronting the conditions of our existence with sober senses, vegetative deference to the consumerist milieu takes place. There is in fact not a single aspect of the ‘neutral’ dogma which is not designed to force the closure of the political horizon. The prohibition on dissecting ideology compels us to not think too hard about the existence of alternatives. Similarly, encouraging students to vote against right-wing parties who hate students and staff risks opening pandora’s box of political analysis, so it is forbidden under the pretext of representing all students. International affairs, such as solidarity with Palestine, might put students at risk of charting a systemic critique connecting the Irish housing crisis, the colonial nature of our curriculum and imperialist domination of the third world. This goes hand-in-hand with the accusation of political bias on the part of activists that use a class analysis to connect struggles. Those that make this accusation are merely indignant that we have shone light on how the society whose resources they control truly functions. To analyze the world as it is is now decreed profane under this regime of neutrality; only praise for the powers that be is sacred. This is why self-appointed voices of reason call out for neutrality whenever the union dares to think too much about questions of oppression. The push for neutrality is thus a reactionary position that seeks to entomb us within the narrow confines of the status quo. In the ‘90s, it was those opposed to contraception; in the 2010s those opposed to womens’ right to choose; today, it is Zionist voices supporting the genocidal regime of Israel, as well as opposition to trade unions, the decolonization of the curriculum, and support for the current government. Instead of their wish for us to be ignorant, we students must march to take our place in history as part of a rising global movement of anti-capitalist resistance, the harbingers of a new world to come.

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

The ‘Wolfe Tone Library’ Would Honour the Best of of Irish History Jack Traynor proposes honouring the legacy of Theobold Wolfe Tone as a means to reconcile tradition with principles of equality and fairness. Jack Traynor CONTRIBUTING WRITER

rinity is an old institution with its own rituals and traditions. Whether deservedly or not, the college has a certain prestige around it because of this heritage. Anyone who has been lucky enough to attend a Trinity graduation knows that the ceremony is more akin to the conferring of a religious sacrament than simply ageing out of university with your degree in hand. Whilst other institutions may have deep reserves capable of funding state-ofthe-art buildings equipped with the latest scientific gadgets, no amount of money can buy the image of being a grand old university. This image is often associated with institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, Trinity, and a few others. But in recent years a critical lens has been turned inward, with an increasing awareness that Trinity — despite all its mummeries and appeals to tradition — must reckon with its own history. The decision to rename the Berkeley Library was

a significant part of this reckoning. Now we are faced with the onerous task of doing justice to the principles of equality and fairness whilst also honouring and remaining faithful to tradition. This means striking a delicate balance. I believe such a balance can be struck by naming the library to honour the legacy of Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1798). As a PhD student in the Department of History, I appreciate the historical importance of Tone, but also as a member of the committee of the 1916-1921 Club, I value Tone as a highly significant political figure whose legacy should be commemorated. The 1916-1921 Club was founded in the 1940s with the intention of healing the divisions of the Civil War by focusing on the period of republican unity achieved between the Easter Rising but before the divisive Anglo-Irish Treaty. Wolfe Tone was one of the college’s most illustrious alumni. A former auditor of the College Historical Society (the Hist), it was here that he honed his natural ability as an orator and leader. Writing in 1796, Tone acknowledged how he had been somewhat “distracted” as a student, but recalled: “I preserve, and ever shall, a most sincere affection for the University of Dublin.” This is surely a

“Wolfe Tone’s ideals have stood the test of time... Tone was a key figurehead for Irish aspirations of independence.”

feeling many graduates understand well. As a champion of Irish freedom, he gave his life in service of the noble cause of uniting Catholics, Protestants and Dissenters. The historical record is well known. Tone and the United Irishmen took up the struggle to establish an Irish Republic and break the link with England. Opponents of renaming the library argue that it amounts to cultural vandalism. It is said that although people like Bishop Berkeley may have carried out actions which are regarded today as deeply wrong, we should not spiral into a tendency of erasing the past just because someone’s halo has fallen. However, it is a fallacious argument to suggest that renaming things in light of changed cultural and societal mores is somehow a newfound ‘modernist’ phenomenon. This can be seen in many of Dublin’s streets – such as in 1924 when Great Brunswick Street became Pearse Street whilst Sackville Street became O’Connell Street. It cannot be said that renaming the library after Wolfe Tone is an act of spiteful dehistoricisation. Rather it points to a historical road not taken, yet one that ought to have been taken. It demonstrates that we care deeply about our history. Our institutions are not mindlessly tearing down tradition to make way for a modern blandness. We aren’t groping around trying to construct a synthetic pastiche historical legacy to replace the hideous British colonial legacy associated with Berkeley. Even philosophically Berkeley’s ideas are considered dated and unconvincing.

“In recent years a critical lens has been turned inward, with an increasing awareness that Trinity must reckon with its own history.”

“As a champion of Irish freedom, he gave his life in service of the noble cause of uniting Catholics, Protestants and Dissenters. The historical record is well known.” By contrast, Wolfe Tone’s ideals have stood the test of time. He left an indelible imprint on how Irish people think about our place in the world. Even amongst the constitutional nationalists of the late nineteenth century, Tone was always regarded as a key figurehead of Irish aspirations for independence. It should be noted that Robert Emmet, the leader of the 1803 Rebellion, already has a lecture theatre named in his honour. This is despite Emmet having been expelled by the college for political reasons in 1798. There is also a lecture theatre named in homage to Thomas Davis (the leading light of the nineteenth-century Young Ireland movement, which aimed to forge a distinct cultural and political Irish national identity) who was a devotee to the legacy of Tone and laid the first memorial stone at his grave in Bodenstown in 1844. It is perhaps somewhat curious that Trinity has recognised Emmet and Davis, who were inspired

by Tone, whilst largely overlooking the man himself (apart from a bust of Tone in the Old Library). Tone was a figure with a global significance who every Trinity student and graduate can be proud of. Tone’s ideas on Irish neutrality were articulated in the pamphlet The Spanish War (1790), which argued Ireland had the right to avoid being forced into participating in a war on the side of Britain, when the threat of war beckoned between Britain and Spain. This could be considered an early harbinger of Ireland’s proud

tradition of neutrality – a tradition which today is in danger of being overturned. Recognising the problems associated with certain figures in Trinity’s story is just the first leg of a journey. But that process should not solely be about pointing out the wrongness of some unattractive figures and tendencies associated with Trinity (colonialism, discrimination, slavery), it should also be about asserting the rightness of some people and worldviews which we believe were and are firmly on the right side of history.

“Recognising the problems associated with certain figures in Trinity’s story is just the first leg of a journey.”

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

Mindful Eating: A Rebellion Against Resolutions Ella Parry discusses her switch to mindful eating as a response to January’s restrictive food trends, highlighting the importance of paying attention to meals.. Ella Parry FOOD & DRINK EDITOR

he start of a new year is a terrifying time. When January rolls around, gyms fill up and everybody seems to have turned vegan. Not standard vegan - no, that would be too easy. Gluten-free while only eating those vegetables (not fruit, that would be far too much sugar!) that fall onto your plate. If food does not actively pursue you, you are not supposed to eat it. If it wanted to, it would! In all honesty, full gyms are not something I have experienced personally as the glass front of the Trinity Gym terrifies me: I might as well do Yoga on Pearse Street and would probably have both more space and privacy. While I can only hypothesise about the state of gyms in January, a yearly renaissance of restrictive food trends is something I can attest to. You only have to open TikTok or Instagram to be bombarded with creators showing you how easy and life-changing it is to heal your gut. No really, you only have to do a liver cleanse, throw away all your frying pans, give up caffeine (fat chance), and break off any contact with peo-

ple who fail to see the act of eating carbs as high treason. Do not get me wrong, I would love a healed gut. But I also enjoy my life and occasional free time and apparently, they are mutually exclusive. I am always fascinated by discoveries concerning health and nutrition and am anxious to learn more in order to make more informed

decisions about my eating habits. However, I am not interested at all in being told to heal my gut in a fashion reminiscent of Tumblr diet culture. I know Kate Moss said nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels, but I doubt she has ever had a Spice Bag. Not only are restrictive food trends harmful, but - at least for weak-minded people such as

“While I can only hypothesise about the state of gyms in January, a yearly renaissance of restrictive food trends is something I can attest to.”

myself - they are not sustainable. In my eyes, banning foods just makes them so much more appealing. For this year, I have decided not to attempt to restrict myself in what to eat but rather to change the manner in which I eat. I have been trying to eat mindfully. Like many people in my demographic, I am very guilty of distracting myself during meals. What do I mean by this? Watching Netflix and YouTube, checking my phone or even listening to music. Most college students I have talked to view this behaviour as normal unless eating in company. I live on my own, which

“Like many people in my demographic, I am very guilty of distracting myself during meals.” seems to facilitate meal-time distractions. There is something so cosy about sitting down with your bowl of food and watching your comfort show. I mean, what am I going to do while I eat - blankly stare at my food? A p p a r e n t l y, this is exactly what I should be doing. Until recently, I was unaware of the importance of the cephalic - or cerebral - phase of digestion. It is activated by food cues like smelling or even just looking at food. Your senses focus on what you are about to eat and prepare the body for digestion. As so many things our body does on the dayto-day, it is fascinating and makes a lot of sense. However, ignorant people such as myself decide to mess with the body’s complex plans and distract themselves and their senses from their food. If our eyes, our nose, and our touch are focused on other sensations leading up to and during our meals, the cephalic phase fails to be properly triggered. This, much like chronic stress, is linked to low vagal activity which disturbs the body’s gastrointestinal function. Who knew that you can not only eat the wrong things but also eat in the wrong way? I always enjoy discovering new dimensions in which I can fall short! With this specific issue, I decided to take a deep breath and actually change my behaviour. I enjoy keeping people on their toes. What I find appealing about mindful eating is that it creates an

antithesis to those restrictive eating trends and resolutions I mentioned earlier. Adding to that, there is no equipment or expertise required. The Golden Rule is made up of one do and one don’t: DO focus on your food with all your senses and DON’T distract yourself. In that sense, it is also an egalitarian resolution as it costs no money because it does not require any additional resources. Since starting my resolution a few weeks ago, I have realised just how addicted I am to food-time entertainment. It is ridiculous how difficult it was to sit down, put my phone away and not open my laptop. This reaction made me more resolute and determined to break this, honestly embarrassing, habit of mine. What kind of twentyone-year-old cannot spend a meal alone with her thoughts and her food? If you embark on this journey with me, you will be able to improve your eating habits by changing nothing whatsoever about what you eat. As an additional benefit, it would also make me feel less alone in my suffering. I know it is slightly too late to pitch a New Year’s resolution but this could be your February resolution or something to do during Lent to appease your religious grandmother. One warning must be issued: Embarking on this mission will give you a ridiculous god-complex. You will see people eating mindlessly on the go everywhere and think to yourself: tut tut tut… those iPad kids!

“Ignorant people such as myself decide to mess with the body’s complex plans and distract themselves and their senses from their food.”

“Who knew that you can not only eat the wrong things but also eat in the wrong way?”

The University Times Monday 29 January, 2024

SPORT

Football: A Game Money Can’t Buy? Diving into the Saudi Professional League’s investment conundrum, The University Times investigates why star-studded teams are left disappointed as game-attendance is pitiful. Valentina Milne SPORTS EDITOR

ith the recent surge of investment into the Saudi Pro League (SPL), huge international interest has drawn their attention towards the East. The state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) now owns over 75 per cent of the SPLs big 4 teams: Al-Alhi, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr. It has consequently spent over $1 billion on new players, drawing them over to the spoils and splendor of Saudi Arabian lifestyle.

One would think that a league containing big-name footballers such as Ronaldo, Benzema and Neymar Jr would result in packed out crowds the length and breadth of the kingdom, eager to catch a glimpse of these legends at work. In fact, it has been quite the opposite. In a country with 35 million people, making it about twice the size of the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia has a long history of passion for football. Their national team is one of the best in Asia, securing the title of the Asian Cup on three separate occasions. With a predominantly young demographic thick with apparent

football enthusiasts, the question remains, why is no one watching the Saudi Pro League? In a game between former-England captain Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq and Al-Riyadh in which the likes of Liverpool legend Jordan Henderson were playing, there was a pitiful crowd of just 696 supporters. This made it lower than an 8th-tier football match in Newcastle Town on the same weekend. In fact, the highest attendance recorded this season is just 16,919 and the lowest a mere 133. From the deafening roar of a 53,000 strong crowd at Anfield, it appears Henderson’s career has

taken quite the turn. It seems that the country’s geography is partly accountable for such a low attendance rate. Saudi Arabia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world (after Russia and Canada) meaning that journeys between main cities average 18 hours long. For an Al-Tai supporter to go to an away game against Al-Akhdoud, they’re looking at a 33 hour round trip for a 90 minute football match. Even some of the most passionate supporters in the Premier League would struggle to justify that commitment. Furthermore, the extreme temperatures in Saudi Arabia make both playing and spectating particularly difficult. With games reportedly being played in 43 degree heat, the stadiums become roasting furnaces and rapidly inhospitable environments. SPL stadiums are certainly a far cry from the state-of-theart air-conditioned stadiums built for the 2023 World Cup in Qatar,and therefore incentive to attend games is lacking. As a player, Henderson has complained of impossible playing conditions in such intense heat, consequently affecting the standard of the game. It seems both the difficult playing conditions and feeble crowds that await these players are negatively affecting their game and causing some to question their choice to move over. However, with Ronaldo’s reported wages of £3.4 million a week, perhaps the move across to Saudi Arabia does not seem so difficult at all. The SPL has already attracted some of football’s biggest names with jaw-dropping transfers and tax-free wages, and it does not appear to be stopping anytime soon. This huge investment on behalf of the state

is an attempt to bring football in Saudi up to speed with the likes of the European superpowers La Liga, Premier League and The Bundesliga and secure support from the younger demographic of the Saudi Population. But for the players, at what point does the love of football and unwavering support of fans outweigh the big paycheck? Besides, it is still evident that despite extortionate amounts of investment, the SPL still

has a long way to go if it will compete with Europe on quite the same level. The roar of the Bernabéu or the swarms of red marching towards Old Trafford are unforgettable scenes that represent tradition dating back hundreds of years. Irrespective of the money, football’s fervent commitment and support resembles a cultural religion. There is an essence to the game that some would say, no matter the sum, money can’t buy.

DUFC Subject Bitter Rivals Shannon to a Bonus-point Bruising in Thriller DUFC earned a bonus point win over Shannon last Saturday in a crucial Division 1 match to gain ground in their relegation battle. Valentina Milne SPORTS EDITOR

rinity’s Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) came head to head with long standing rivals Shannon RFC on 20th January. Reminiscent of last year’s result where DUFC lost in the final minutes, the tensions were high, apprehensive of whether history would repeat itself. In the heart of Trinity on College Park, DUFC boasted an impressive scoreboard beating Shannon 38-9. Shannon displayed a relentless defense but it was not enough to control the incessant Trinity attack. Some spectacular tries from DUFC captain Diarmuid McCormack, Bar-

ron and Dillon to display the hard work and practice that has been implemented in the team over the past weeks under Head Coach Tony Smeeth. As the lead grew ever larger, determination from both sides was not diminished in the slightest. A last minute cracker from a successful partnership of no. 14 Henry and 15 Colbert was a notable end to the match. As the ball was passed between the two, they seemed unstoppable as Shannon players fell at their heels. A final from Colbert to secure points in Energia AIL league. The scene is set for this upcoming Saturday as DUFC come head to head with Landsdowne FC on the Aviva Back Pitch. No doubt the team will bring equal excellence to an already brighter season.