The University Times www.universitytimes.ie
February 10th, 2010
Goodbye Highs
On Your Marks
Drugs are bad
Catherine Alice Nicholas examines the furore around legal highs. Features p6
Emma Keaveney interviews famed drug runner Howard Marks. Arts & Culture p14
Conor O’Toole gives his views on drug use in sport. Sport p22
Student service charge going towards animal testing centre Bio Resource Unit one of many ‘student services’ defended by the Provost at Oireachtas meeting. Robert Donohoe Editor Trinity College is spending a portion of the student service charge on an animal testing centre called the Bioresource Unit (BRU) according to the President of Trinity Students’ Union, Cónán Ó Broin. This accusation was put to the Provost, Professor John Hegarty by Deputy Paul Gogarty at the Joint Oireachtas Education Committee which met on January 28 to discuss the disbursement of the student service charge which is intended to pay for student services like health and counselling. The Provost told the Committee that the BRU was not always included in the apportionment of the student service charge. He said that ‘there is a facility there which provides samples for undergraduate teaching labs.’ Commenting on the funding of the BRU Ó Broin, the SU president said ‘the fact that Trinity College is now using money designated for services such as health and counselling to fund an animal testing centre shows how much of a scam the student services charge really is.’ The BRU supplies the College with live animals used for scientific research. It is located in Luce Hall which is the location of the proposed
Student Centre. The BRU was not the only item impugned during the Committee hearing. The inclusion of the library as an expenditure under the student service charge disbursement was also looked at by the Committee as being suspect. The Committee raised the fact that the College is now charging the library to the student service charge when previously it was funded from other sources of income mainly the grant paid by the State. In response to this the Provost told the Committee that ‘every action of the University is geared towards students; it is why we exist.’ He explained to the Committee that most services of the College are student services but traditionally were not included in the calculations on the student service fee but as it rose more of the services could be paid for with the charge. The Provost maintains that the core grant, which is the money paid by the State, never supported activities that did not include student services and that the College was just not defining those activities as student services for the purposes of the charge. In accounts released by Trinity Students’ Union the College wants to start charging Information System
Services (ISS), the Centre for Microscopy, and Innovation services to the student service charge. Ó Broin says that ‘the universities are attempting to rewrite history by saying that the costs associated with running libraries and computer systems in their respective universities have always been “student Services”.’ At the Committee the Provost said that the estimates for 2010 are the first to include the library as a system service. He also said that it is a proposal and the final decision has not yet been made. Pressed on if students will have input into the proposal to define the library as a student service for the purposes of the charge the Provost said that students are represented on all College committees relevant to this matter. The Chief Executive of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Tom Boland told the Committee that he sees no problem with the College changing the definition of the student service charge from year to year as more money is charged to students more items can be included under the charge. In a letter signed of the presidents of the students’ unions of the seven Irish universities to the Committee Continued page 2
Campaigners for the Students’ Union elections posing in Front Arch just after the campaigning period began at 11pm Sunday, February 7.
Digitalism is to play the Trinity Ball Carl Doherty News Writer Digitalism is to play the Trinity Ball it was announced by Entertainments Officer Mick Birmingham. This is the first act released for the 2010 Trinity Ball. The full headline is to be announced on February 22 along with the rest of the line up. The University Times is releasing this act while Trinity News will release two more acts on the same day.
In an advertisement placed in the last issue of The University Times Birmingham said that the line-up was to be announced on February 8 however, ‘due to the new year structure this date was no longer ideal.’ he said. The bands Example and Ou Est Le Swimming Pool have confirmed on their MySpace pages that they will be playing the Trinity Ball 2010. This year’s Trinity Ball will take place on April 16. This
is the first time that the Ball will not take place on the last day of teaching. This came about due to semesterisation as Trinity Week now falls outside teaching term. Most lectures finish on April 9, the week before the Ball. However, there is still the same amount of time between the Ball and exams as there was in previous years. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, February 24 and will be priced at €78. Last year the Trinity Ball sold out
in less than three days. Birmingham said that ‘tickets will go fast and I am not condoning camping out but you may want to think about it.’ In order to combat forgeries, Ticketmaster will be printing the tickets this year. Those wishing to go to the Ball need to apply online for tickets when the go on sale. Every student can apply for two tickets. The Trinity Ball first sold out in record time in 2007
under the tenure of Barry Murphy as Ents Officer. Ever since then it has sold out every year. Digitalism is a German dance punk duo founded in 2004 in Hamburg and consisting of Jens ‘Jence’ Moelle and Ismail ‘Isi’ Tüfekçi. They have released four singles to date: ‘Idealistic’, ‘Zdarlight’, ‘Jupiter Room’, and ‘Pogo’ The full text of the Trinity Ball announcment is printed on page four.
Capitation Committee settles on Senior Dean’s power
Former AG proposes Trinity-UCD merger
Simone Hall News Writer
Katie Haberlin News Writer
The Senior Dean has the power to seize copies of publications which present an ‘immediate and obvious’ risk to persons or property according the Terms of Reference approved by the Capitation Committee on February 2. The Terms of Reference are the first written promulgation of the Senior Dean’s power in this area. The Committee was keen to stress that it was not giving the Senior Dean these powers as he already had them but was just making the Committee aware of them and setting up a framework on how the Committee would interact with the Senior Dean’s use of his powers. The Terms of Reference make the Committee aware that the Senior Dean can remove from circulation copies of publications in order to prevent ‘immediate and obvious’ risk of violence to person or damage to property. The Committee at its previous meeting in December
was presented with a draft Terms of Reference that was rejected and a subcommittee was formed to redraft the impugned section of the Terms of Reference. The subcommittee chaired by Joseph O’Gorman met a number of times to consider the how to draft the section. There were representatives from all five capitated bodies, namely Students’ Union (SU), Central Societies Committee (CSC), Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), Dublin University Central Athletics Committee (Ducac), and Publications. A campaign was started by Publications Treasurer, Tom Lowe called Save Freedom of Speech in Trinity with the stated aim of lobbying capitations representatives not to support a terms of reference that does not protect freedom of speech. Lowe brought a motion to CSC’s Term General Meeting which sought to mandate the CSC capitations representatives not to vote for a terms of reference that ‘recognises the power of, or permits, the
Senior Dean to withdraw any publication.’ Lowe proposed his motion to CSC members at the meeting. Barra Roantree also spoke in support of the motion. The motion was opposed by CSC Chair, Robert Kearns and CSC Honorary Treasurer, Joseph O’Gorman. The motion was rejected in a vote by the members at the meeting. On the same night a motion was also put by Lowe to the Students’ Union Council which was similar to the CSC motion. It sought to mandate the SU representatives to not vote for terms of reference that ‘recognises the power of, or permits, the Senior Dean to withdraw any publication.’ An amendment was made from the floor by SU International Students Officer, Ryan Bartlett to insert the word unilaterally after Senior Dean to in the motion. This was accepted and the motion was passed by the Council. The subcommittee met the next day and made a couple of changes to the proposed wording for the draft terms of
reference. One of the changes requires the Senior Dean to get legal or medical advice before removing a publication from college. The subcommittee agreed to present this version to the Capitation Committee for its consideration. Lowe said ‘the concessions College made on the terms of reference strongly limit the circumstances in which a publication can be withdrawn, and the investigative powers it gives to student representatives mean that Trinity Publications were happy to vote for it.’ Capitation Committee passed the new terms of reference at their meeting on February 2. All members of the Committee voted in favour of passing them except the three SU representatives that felt that their mandate from SU Council did not allow them to vote in favour. Students’ Union President, Cónán Ó Broin said that ‘the Students’ Union representatives on the capitation Continued page 2
Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin (UCD) should combine to create a world class institution according to Former Attorney General and international businessman, Peter Sutherland. He made the comments when speaking at the Undergraduate Awards of Ireland and Northern Ireland at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin on January 22. Sutherland said that if Ireland wants to have world class institutions, retaining seven universities is unsustainable: ‘Surely seven is too many if we’re talking about comprehensive world class
research universities with undergraduate education, postgraduate training and research. Personally I can’t see how Ireland can afford this.’ A way to achieve this reduction seemed to come in his suggestion that Trinity and UCD should combine to create a world class institution.He said ‘at the moment both are in the top 100 with one in the top fifty. We would have a top twenty or even a top ten player to compete in the big leagues and, if so, wouldn’t that be the best thing for Ireland?’ He was careful to make clear that this could be done without compromising the ‘rich and very different histories and traditions of these
Editor: Robert Donohoe Deputy Editor: Marykate Collins Volume 1, Issue 6 ISSN: 2009-261X Phone: 01 646 8431 Email: info@universitytimes.ie Website: www.universitytimes.ie
important national institutions’ he said ‘surely, with a bit of imagination or even innovation this could be achieved.’ This is not the first time such a proposal has been put forward. In the late 1960s the then Minister for Education, Donogh O’ Malley, suggested that UCD become a constituent college of the University of Dublin. The idea was dropped after opposition from Trinity students. These comments come at a particularly difficult time for Irelands universities, which together are in debt of €32 million. UCD and UCC have recently agreed a debt cutting programme with the Higher Education Authority. The new deal will offer the
This newspaper is produced with the financial support of Trinity College Students’ Union. It is set in 9pt Utopia and Whitney – a classic newspaper typeface and a modernist sans serif respectively. It was printed by Mortons Print Ltd.
universities a chance to end the recruitment moratorium currently imposed on them if they can reduce their costs by three per cent a year. Sutherland, a UCD graduate, has also voiced his support to the decision of Minister Batt O’Keeffe to dissolve the National University of Ireland (NUI). This decision was made without telling the Dail, or indeed the University’s chancellor, Maurice Manning. The NUI is a federal institution with nine constituent and recognised colleges. The four constituent universities are NUIG, NUI Maynooth, UCD and UCC. It also makes awards to a number of Continued page 2
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