Volume 5, Issue 2 by The University Times

UT Magazine

Careers Week Supplement

“I’ll fold up my tent and that’s it. That’s the end of my political career.”

Your guide to life after college.

>> An interview with David Norris

>> Inside UT

The University Times vol. V - issue II //

Tobacco Free Trinity Proposal Gathers Momentum

Tuesday 1st October 2013 //

www.universitytimes.ie

TCD Mock Marriage

UT Exclusive: It has emerged that a Tesco supermarket will be one of a number of shops to occupy the ground-floor space of the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute on Pearse Street

>>News

Close the door on the way out

Finn Keyes Current Affairs Editor

Antony Wolfe takes a look at youth emigration and argues that young Irish people need the proper incentives to stay and work in Ireland. 16% Non-EU 25% UK 7% USA

Consultation process to begin this month

he project to ban tobacco smoking from Trinity and all its campuses across Dublin is pushing ahead and is beginning to gather momentum. The results of an online survey of all College Staff and Students last April showed significant support for the proposal and though the exact figures are as yet unavailable, it is known that as little as a third of respondents objected to the idea, with a solid majority giving the proposal their backing. A consultation process is to begin in October with a number of “Town Hall style” meetings around campus where students and staff of the college may weigh in on the proposal. An email will be distributed to all staff and students in the second week of October notifying them of dates and times for three town hall meetings. There will be a neutral chair who will encourage comments from the floor. A summary report on foot of these meetings will form the basis of a number of Working Groups to investigate the feasibility of the proposal in more detail. Students and staff are encouraged to participate in these groups. This will culminate in a straight up or down vote on the issue at a Board meeting in the Spring. Speaking on behalf of the Students’ Union, President Tom Lenihan stated that: “Students must be consulted on this and we will be putting it to the students so we can proceed with an effective mandate as to how we should interact with the project.” The Department of Public Health and Primary Care in the School of Medicine which is running the consultation has listed the following as possible problems with the implementation of a smoking ban: where smokers would go to smoke; where residents on campus would go; how a Tobacco Free Trinity (TFT) would affect banqueting, conferences and the campus bar; and how TFT would affect staff. The most frequently cited objection to the proposal is the prospect of hordes of smokers clogging the entrances to the college and posing a public safety hazard and as such this is likely to be the focus of the work carried out by the Working Groups. The proposal is likely to be the subject of much heated debate throughout College in the coming months.

6% Canada 13% EU 16% Rest of the World

17% Austrialia

>>InFocus

Students: not a care in the world

Warning of Possible Republican Presence at USI Demonstration lar would be attending the march, Guiney said, “They are former members of different national groups - the same people who were involved in the demonstration outside the Dáil he University Times has learned that the [on September 18].” On this occasion, roughly Union of Students in Ireland (USI) was 500 people gathered outside Leinster House to warned by An Garda Síochána that the stuprotest austerity measures and violence broke dent protest taking place today may be at risk out between protesters and Gardaí, with three of hijacking by Republican activists. people arrested and three others brought to St The “Fight For Your Future Now” demonJames’ Hospital with injuries. stration will take place on Molesworth Street, Guiney went on to advise participants: “My near the Dáil, between 4 and 6pm and it is advice for students participating would be: do intended to protest the further cutting of the make your voices heard, bring as many friends maintenance grant by the government in the as possible, but of course be respectful at the upcoming Budget 2014. same time.” Speaking to UT, Paddy Guiney, Vice PresiThe demo is part of a series of protests takdent for Campaigns of the USI, stated: “As it’s ing place across the country today. In Cork, a public demonstration, anything is possible… there will be a march from UCC into Cork [but] we are working very closely with the City at 1pm, and in Sligo, students will march guards on the matter. We were made aware from Sligo IT to Stephen Street at 1:30pm. that a republican group would be attending Dublin colleges, including Trinity, DIT, the demonstration. However we will have ofBlanchardstown IT, IADT and DCU will take ficers there and a heavy garda presence. Safety part in the Molesworth St. event, along with has always been my main priority.” Maynooth and Dundalk. Speakers will include Asked which Republican group in particuTCDSU President Tom Lenihan and USI News Editor Hannah Ryan

President Joe O’Connor. Speaking to UT, Joe O’Connor stated that: “The last march was a few years ago, and there is a benefit to having one massive day of publicity, a show of unity among all students. Last year we had regional demonstrations, in an attempt to bring the issue back into the community…this year we’re trying to combine the two.” On whether this approach can effectively influence government decisions, Tom Lenihan outlined: “in previous years it hasn’t worked… [but] I am confident that we could win on the grant issue. It’s a highly sensitive issue, as if the grant is cut there will be a huge dropout rate. I am confident that if we put the right pressure on the government, this will work. It’s a case of picking our fights and being more realistic. The grant issue is more up in the air; it’s like the medical card issue, and decisions can be reversed.” >>>Continued on page 2

Sinéad Baker tackles the issue of student apathy and looks at why students will not engage with political and social issues.

>>Opinion

TCD Global Relations - A Cash Cow?

>>Opinion

Trinity success in intermediate cup Trinity’s DUAFC will progress to the next round of the cup with their 2-1 victory in this year’s FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup.

>>Sports

UT News

Credits

Tuesday 1st October 2013 //

Tesco Branch Set for Biomedical Sciences Building

Editor Leanna Byrne

The Biomedical Sciences Institute forms part of Trinity Central, which also houses the new entrance to Pearse Train and DART station, Iarnród Éireann’s busiest hub, surpassing 9.3 million passengers annually.The building, which opened in June 2011, consists of 35,000m2 on 11 storeys, 11,000m2 of which were purpose-built for commercial use, rented out by Irish construction company and developer P.J. Walls. It received €80 million in state funding and €3.2 million from alumni of the School to build, and houses the School of Biochemistry and Immunology, School of Chemistry, School of Medicine, School of Bioengineering, and School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Responding to allegations that the space in question had not been put

Deputy Editor Vladimir Rakhmanin Online Editor Conor Murphy Editor at Large Colm O’Donnell News Editor Hannah Ryan Features Editor Ludovic Dawnay Opinion Editor Samuel Riggs Sports Editor Conor Bates

The University Times

Hannah Ryan News Editor

t has emerged that a Tesco supermarket will be one of a number of shops to occupy the ground-floor space of the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute on Pearse Street. These reports emerged amid speculation that the space in question had not been put out on tender prior to the arrangement, claims to which Trinity has responded stating that this was not necessary, as per the development agreement. “The ground level of the Trinity Bio-

out to tender prior to the arrangement in line with EU law, Trinity’s statement clarified that: “There is no requirement for Trinity to undertake a tender process in relation to the acquisition or disposal of property. The rental arrangement in the building are essentially the responsibility of the developer, subject to the terms of the development agreement.” The Walls Developments website outlines the company’s hopes for the space: “Trinity Central is bringing great vibrancy to Pearse Street and with the significant ground floor retail shopping concourse providing key amenities for local residents and the College population, it has dramatically changed and rejuvenated the streetscape.”

medical Sciences Institute will accommodate a number of retail units one of which will accommodate a proposed convenience supermarket that is to be let to the supermarket chain, Tesco,” a representative of Trinity stated. The remaining ground floor retail units will be allocated to various other shops, cafés and restaurants - one of which, Arabica Coffee Co., has already been set up. US education publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) have also rented part of the office space above.

Lenihan optimistic that grant cuts can be prevented

Magazine Editor James Bennett SUPPLEMENTS EDITOR Shauna Cleary

>> Continued from front page

Chief Copy Editor Michelle O’Connor

Asked what the USI’s response will be if student grants are further cut in the budget, O’Connor maintained that: “At the moment we’re more focused on winning the battle – we don’t want to have to be in the position where we have to respond.” Lenihan stated that if grants are cut, an emergency USI National Council meeting will be called for the day after the Budget and a Plan B will be discussed. While at the moment there have been no detailed talks of such a plan as it is believed that this would foster a negative attitude among students, Lenihan said: “I would imagine that the USI and

Multimedia Editor Cailan O’Connell Photo Editor Andrew Murphy

ourselves would be militant; we would be looking for direct action.” Lenihan went on to say, “I would encourage everyone to come along [today] even if you’re not political, just to show that you do have a voice, you do care.” The USI Dublin Demo will take place on Molesworth Street at 4:00pm till 6:00pm on Tuesday October 1st. The University Times will be live blogging the protest from our website www.universitytimes.ie

Photo of November 2010 National Student Protest by Andrew Murphy

Photo by Andrew Murphy

Suspended NIID Certificate Back on Course for 2014 News Editor Hannah Ryan

he Certificate in Contemporary Living course, offered by the National Institute for Intellectual Disability (NIID) at Trinity, is expected to resume next year after a hiatus planned for 2013/14. The Management Committee of the Institute decided not to accept students this year as they were awaiting the results of an external review of the NIID, carried out over the summer months. A statement from Trinity on the subject informed The University Times that: “Trinity decided to pause the intake of students into the Certificate in Contemporary Living course pending an external review of the structure of the National Institute for Intellectual Disability.

“We have received the report from the external reviewers and are considering the recommendations of the review. It is intended to advertise for a further intake of students in the next academic year 2014\15.” The course is a two-year, full-time Trinity College Certificate programme designed to make accessible speciallydesigned third-level study opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities. Over the two years, students are supported “as they make transitions towards independence, lifelong learning and employment.” It is the first full-time course for intellectually disabled adults to be offered in Ireland. “It is intended that the programme template being developed here in the

School at the National Institute for Intellectual Disability will be fully tested and evaluated,” the NIID website states. “Ultimately, the goal is to achieve a rollout of this model of provision across other interested third level institutions in Ireland and elsewhere.” The NIID was formally established in Trinity in 1998 with the aim of ensuring that “the basic human rights of people are upheld” with regards access to appropriate education, employment, housing and social amenities, community participation and health services. The Certificate in Contemporary Living forms part of the Institute’s programme to “support lifelong learning for people with intellectual disability”.

UT News

Tuesday 1st October 2013 //

The University Times

USI President: Mobilisation of 10,000 Students for Seanad Poll “Just the Beginning” Fiona Gribben Contributing Writer

10,000 student voters to be mobilised to vote ahead of the Seanad referendum on October 4

0,000 student voters will be mobilised to vote ahead of the Seanad referendum on October 4, according to the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). Following the launch of the Student Elector Registration Database (SERD) last month, voter registration drives have begun on college campuses across the country. The USI expect to have 10,000 students registered on SERD by this coming Thursday, polling day. Students who sign up to the database will be contacted by the USI encouraging them to vote ‘No’ to the abolition of the Seanad, and opt instead “for real and meaningful political reform”. Joe O’Connor, President of the Union, said: “Failed economic policies, broken promises and parochialism have led to a sense of disillusion with the political system, but abolishing the Seanad does nothing to fix our broken democracy.” “Free Our Voice”, the USI’s alternative reform proposal envisages a more robust Seanad Éireann that would review past legislation and produce evidence-based policy reports, monitor certain State appointments

Photo by Leanna Byrne and conduct limited public inquiries. Suggestions also include an emigrant panel to give a Seanad vote to the thousands of people who have moved abroad from Ireland, a Graduate Panel and an Education Panel. The USI believe that the positive response to the voter registration thus far will result in a projected number of 80,000 students signed up to SERD by next year’s local and European elections. O’Connor continued, “The mobilisation of student votes in the Seanad referendum is just the beginning. Decisions made by this and any Government will be held accountable by the students of

Joe O’Connor, USI President There may have been an impression in the past that students made a lot of noise but didn’t back it up at the ballot box.

Ireland using our new SERD technology.” The success of SERD strengthens the USI’s earlier warning to politicians that any attempt to target students in the upcoming Budget will cost them their seats. Speaking at the launch of SERD on August 15, Joe O’Connor said, “There may have been an impression in the past that students made a lot of noise but didn’t back it up at the ballot box. That ends now. With our organisation and new technology we have the capacity to radically influence the outcome of every single election in Ireland.” The launch of the voting database coin-

cided with the USI’s Pre-Budget Submission, demanding the protection of the student maintenance grant and the Back to Education Allowance, a more affordable and equal postgraduate loan scheme, and investment in the European Youth Guarantee. SERD is part of the USI’s “Fight For Your Future” campaign. In the coming year the USI also plans to marshal students and their families, totalling approximately 214,480 voters, for a referendum concerning the furthering of LGBT rights and marriage equality.

School of Medicine Expresses Concern at Lack of Irish Internship Places for Non-EU’s

Hannah Ryan News Editor

he School of Medicine, Trinity College has expressed its concern at the lack of places for Non-EU graduates on the National Internship Training Programme (NITP) in Ireland. This stemmed in part from the realisation

Shortage of internships for students from outside Europe may adversely affect funding, in lessening the international appeal of Irish Medical Schools.

that of the 124 students in their final year of Medicine in 2011-12, 82 were allocated internships upon graduating and, of these, only two were Non-EU students. A report circulated within the School of Medicine in February of this year states that: “the lack of places for NonEU graduates is a cause of concern and

may reduce the attractiveness of training in Ireland in the long-term. The development of new internship places in traditional and non-traditional specialties (Psychiatry, Obstetrics, Paediatrics and General Practice) is imperative if we are to continue to attract high calibre international students to Irish Medical Schools.”

Speaking to The University Times, Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning in the School of Medicine, Dr Martina Hennessy, stated: “As part of the curricular reform process the numbers of places for EU students to do Medicine across the various Irish University Medical Schools has increased. It is expected that eventually approximately 723 EU students will graduate each year. “A European Directive (not confined to medical internships) dictates that posts must be first offered to EU citizens, before being offered to Non-EU eligible applicants. A combination of these issues means [firstly] there is not enough posts available to take account of all Non-EU students who may wish to undertake their internship in Ireland, and [secondly] if there were more posts than needed for EU applicants in a given year the excess would have to be offered to other eligible EU graduates before they could be offered to Non-EU graduates. Despite this, a small number of Non-EU graduates secure a place for internship each year.” Speaking of the detrimental effect that this lack of internship places might have on Irish universities, Dr Hennessy said: “In the long term…[this] may impact on the attractiveness of Irish Medical Schools to International applicants; this would have a negative impact on the funding of Irish University Medical Schools and reduce the cultural diversity that is a very positive part of our programmes.” The current fees for Non-EU Undergraduate Medicine students stand at

€31,085 per annum. For European students, this yearly cost is €8,456. In 2011, 28% of the 823 Undergraduate Medicine students in Trinity were international, numbering roughly 230 students. It is estimated that Non-EU Medicine students account for roughly €5 million of the College’s annual income. Furthermore, the situation is made more problematic by the fact that students who have been living outside the EU for two of the previous five years must now pay Non-EU rates, which may affect the desire of Irish students to return home to complete their studies. Medical students from outside the European Union arrive to Trinity from three sources: an agreement between the Irish and Malaysian governments; the Atlantic Bridge programme in the U.S. and Canada; and private admissions from other countries. When the inter-governmental agreement with Malaysia concludes, Trinity School of Medicine plans to “strengthen student admission from new Non-EU sources.” “This issue remains a very active part of the debate on the future of medical training in Ireland,” Dr Hennessy assured. “I believe there is a great willingness across the sector to seek a solution that will recognise the value and potential contribution of all our students.”

UT News

Tuesday 1st October 2013

Letters of 1916: Public History Project Launched at Trinity

Clare Droney Contributing Writer

etters of 1916: Creating History, a crowdsourced digital history project, was officially launched at the Long room Hub, Trinity College as part of “Discover research night” last Friday, 27th September. The aim of Letters of 1916 is to create an online digital collection of both official and personal documents from around the time of the easter rising, 1916. It is a project by students of Trinity College’s M.Phil in Digital Humanities and Culture As part of the project, researchers at Trinity College are calling on members of the public to upload images of old family letters written between 1st november 1915 and 31st October 1916 to the digital database through the website http://dh.tcd.ie/ letters1916. Letters can be on any theme or topic. People can also get involved in the project by transcribing letters which have previously been added to the collection. Documents have already been donated by public institutions such as the national Library of Ireland, the national Archives

Disability Service Produces Placement Planning Guide Sinéad Baker Deputy Online Editor

he Trinity College Dublin Disability Service has produced a placement planning guide that aims to aid students with disabilities on professional courses. This guide is part of an overall strategy by the Disability Service to offer support to students with disabilities through placement and on to employment. It is the first stage in a project within the Disability Service titled “A model of support for students on professional placement in College”, which will help ensure that both students and staff are in compliance with the College Fitness to Practice Policy (2011). Disability Officer in Trinity, Declan reilly, is aware of the increasing number of students with disabilities in professional courses in College. In 2012/13, 6.4% of the college’s

of Ireland, Trinity College, University College Dublin and the Medical Missionaries of Mary. Trinity researchers now hope to expand the collection to include letters and photographs from private collections. These personal letters will provide a greater insight into the lives of ordinary people during an important period in Irish history. They may also reveal what ordinary people thought about the rising at the time. “Allowing letters from personal collections to be read alongside official letters and letters contributed by institutions will add new perspectives to the events of the period and allow us to understand what it was like to live an ordinary life through what were extraordinary times,” explains Dr Susan Schreibman, Associate Professor in Digital Humanities in Trinity’s School of english and the project’s Principal Investigator. The letters will go beyond the traditional historical narrative and allow the voices and experiences of ordinary people to be heard alongside the stories of more well-known

figures. “All too often our emphasis is on the grand narrative focusing on key political figures. But as we approach the centenary of the easter rising we want to try to get a sense of how ordinary people coped with one of the most disruptive periods in contemporary Irish history,” says Dr. Schreibman. At the event on Friday, members of the public were given an insight into the work of researchers in building the digital archive. Those who attended could learn about aspects of the project such as creating websites, scanning and transcribing. People were also invited to bring along relevant family letters and photographs to be uploaded to the collection. As the Letters of 1916: Creating History is a crowd-sourced project, content is gathered from a large group of people and the involvement of the general public is an important element of the initiative. The format of the project and the online collection brings historical research to a wider audience. “Digital humanities projects like this one open up the research process, giving everybody the opportunity to be a researcher,” says Dr Schreibman. The online database will be a resource “created by the public for the public.” The collection will make historical documents more accessible to the general public, as well as preserving historical evidence for future generations. The online collection of letters and photographs will be launched in 2016, in time for the centenary of the easter rising.

their needs can be put in place. The Disability Service recognises the importance of planning professional placements. Students meet with staff in the areas of academia, placement and the Disability Service before their placement begins to “develop a plan of action”, in which suitable supports will be made available for them onsite. The guide also emphasises the necessity of feedback throughout the placement, not just at the end of the process. It states that, if required, a review meeting will take place annually with all parties to ensure the student is fully adjusted. The guide encourages students with disabilities to contact the Disability Service in order to investigate what supports and accommodations may be available and relevant to them. Its focus is to “encourage disclosure through a supportive process that involves all parties concerned”.

Pictured: Project Manager Iseult Ward and Food Cloud teams from Launch Box and Launch Pad. Photo by Leanna Byrne Dean McHugh Contributing Writer oodcloud, a community-based social enterprise run by Trinity students, was announced as the winner of the Arthur Guinness Projects food category last week. The scheme received 3711 votes and, as a result of its victory, has received €40,000 in funding to continue its work. Foodcloud brings food businesses and charities together using a smartphone app, and is headed by Iseult Ward, a Business and economics graduate and 2013 Trinity Business Student of the year. The “deliciously simple” idea for the project came from co-founder Aoibheann O’Brien’s dissertation while studying for an MSc in environmental Science at Trinity. Alex Sloan, Communications Officer for the project and final year History and Political Science student, explains the process: “you type how much food you have and where you’re situated into an app. That sends out an automatically generated text message to the charity. If they say no, the text message bounces to the next charity, and so on, until someone accepts it. Once the charity says yes, they go around and pick it up.” The enterprise was first supported by TCD enactus, a college branch of the international enactus community that promotes sustainability through entrepreneurial action.Foodcloud then progressed into Trinity Launchbox, a threemonth incubator which provides funding, space, and mentoring for college startups. Iseult Ward credits Launchbox with helping Foodcloud to establish pilots with Tesco and Itsa Bagel, as well as helping the enterprise win the Arthur Guinness Projects. For Sloan, Launchbox was “a springboard” for Foodcloud, and he also talks about the culture of support Dublin offers to emerging businesses. “Dublin is the technical start-up hub of europe. If you’ve got an idea, Dublin is a good place to have it.” Mentioning Trinity in particular: “College has been very supportive. The business department has been fantastic.” Sloan is positive about working with

This week in societies Ira Glass Speaks to The Phil Monday 30th September, 4pm, GMB THE SECOND of The Phil’s Honorary Patronages of the year sees Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life, lead a presentation entitled ‘Reinventing Broadcast Journalism.’ Notably mentioned by Summer in The O.C., for those who don’t know who he is.

Q Soc Coffee Monday-Friday, 1-3pm, Q Soc Room (House 6)

Trinity’s LGBTQ Society, Q Soc, host a coffee session each weekday. This informal gathering takes place in the society’s surprisingly tidy room and involves free tea and coffee and free chatter. They are a very welcoming crowd and even if you have never thought of going before, there’s no harm to pop in and see if it’s for you.

The University Times

€40,000 Awarded to Trinity-led Foodcloud in Arthur Guinness Projects

Photo by Samuel Riggs student population were registered with a disability. The Disability Service said that feedback from both student and staff revealed a shortage of advice and information on how to support and accommodate for these students. The guide concerns courses with a practice element or a clinical placement in a public setting, including Deaf Studies, Dental Sciences, education and Medicine amongst many others. It deals with issues such as disclosure, confidentiality and fitness to practice, and helps to ensure that both students and staff are able to identify a student’s needs while maintaining academic and professional standards and ensuring the safety of all involved. The document aims to communicate to staff that greater numbers of students with disabilities have been succeeding on professional courses, and in most cases their needs are small and easy to identify. It also strives to make students aware that supports relevant to

student volunteering agencies around Trinity. “Most of [the Foodcloud team] have done VDP soup runs. We’re a big supporter. On several occasions we have donated food to Teach Mhuire, the charity that the VDP soup run operates out of. If we can, we’re going to donate food to the Student Hardship fund. It started out as a student voluntary thing, and we definitely want to keep that element of it.” However, Sloan also speaks about the difficulty of balancing Foodcloud’s professional image with its student roots. “We wanted to get away from the perception of being a student-run project. We had to be professional... Charities are very reluctant. They are usually stuck in their ways. That’s a big obstacle.” Iseult Ward recalls how Foodcloud faced the challenge of “trying to change behaviours and attitudes towards food waste and food poverty. Ireland is the fifth worst waster of food in europe… one million tonnes of food is wasted and over 600,000 people face food poverty in Ireland.” The company cites its past failures as an essential part of its development. “Don’t be afraid of failure,” advises Sloan. “We failed. Our first ever pilot scheme didn’t work out at all. We didn’t know our problem well enough. you have got to know your area inside out. “In Ireland there’s such a stigma about failing. That shouldn’t be the case. In other places such as America it’s seen as a success as long as you learn from your failure… just go for it.” Iseult Ward is keen to build on the recent success of Foodcloud in the Arthur Guinness Projects. “Foodcloud would like to expand to a national level. We see ourselves being set up in every town and city in Ireland and hope to capture a significant amount of the 250,000 tonnes of food that is wasted by the commercial sector in Ireland.” Foodcloud welcomes those interested in volunteering with the enterprise. They can be contacted through info@foodcloud.ie.

by Anna Harrington

Model Castings

Introduction to Role Playing Games

Trinity TV Meet and Greet

Wed 2nd October, 5-8pm, Itee2 (Panoz Institute)

Thursday 3rd October, 7pm, Arts Block

Friday 4th October, 7.30pm, Eliz Rooms

The Fashion Society’s annual Fashion Show takes place again this year, and they are already looking for models to get involved. A wide variety of male and female styles are welcome, so it wouldn’t hurt to go along.

No, not those kind of Role Playing Games. The Gamers Society are already extremely active this year, with lots of board games nights already having been held. This one is for those new to the word of ‘RPGs’ and should be an interesting experience for all, or perhaps a gateway to your new favourite hobby?

Perhaps just a glorified reception, Trinity TV are holding a ‘meet and greet’ evening this Friday which will apparently involve getting drunk in the Eliz Rooms (off the CSC office) and then heading out together. Sounds pretty ideal for those wanting to get involved in TTV and everyone else who likes fun.

For all your student banking needs Talk to us today

Talk to one of our student advisers www.bankofireland.com Bank of Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

doh000692 - Trinity press ad.indd 1

18/01/2013 15:01

InFocus

Tuesday 1st October 2013 //

The University Times

Close the door on your way out

Antony Wolfe Contributing Writer

migration out of Ireland has long been a staple of the Irish psyche. The present day is no different; the latest CSO data shows that 50,900 Irish people emigrated in the 12 months leading to April 2013. This figure equates to just fewer than 140 people passing through the departure gates of Irish airports every day to pursue a life abroad. What is worse is the cost to the Irish State of educating these emigrants, only to get a return of zero on their investment. In this respect, emigration is a waste of resources economically, not even taking into account the human cost of seeing loved ones depart for foreign shores. The 50,900 figure is not simply a huge number in itself - each and every person included in that figure is a son/daughter, brother/sister, relative and friend. Education and employment, and the policies linking the two issues, are among the main topics that will decide the outcome of the next general election in 2015. There is a growing concern that the weak labour market dominates the

list of push factors behind this emigration. What is the point of having a knowledge economy with young, highly-educated workers if they are leaving to work in foreign countries? The Irish economy will not gain a return on the money spent on educating these young Irish graduates. But exactly how much does the emigration per year cost Ireland? First, we need to find the cost per stu-

dent to the State. Education was allocated €8.5 billion in the 2013 Budget, and CSO figures show that there were 605,000 students still in the education system this year. A very simple calculation therefore gives a cost of just over €14,000 per student for the government. If we factor in the 14 years it takes to complete primary and secondary education in this country, this translates to a cost to the State

orkmans is nestled at the edge of Temple Bar, on the final frontier of Dublin’s south side backing onto the Liffey. The clientele can be seen to sport a jet black star stamp on their wrists, compared to the cattle mark branding of Harcourt street clubs. Previously the club’s emblem was a Facebook styled location mark with

an S at its centre, adding a lure of mystery to its origin. It’s the not so secret secret destination for Trinity undergraduates every Wednesday for the Somewhere? @ The Workmans Club night. On any given night you’ll encounter that guy who looks like Robert Sheehan, several lads with awkwardly angled snap backs, and a girl with hair dyed a myriad of greens and purples. Once I even saw a guy wearing ripped pyjamas. Generally you’ll spot half of D.U. Players and that guy from Fish Soc in the corner of the smoking room. It’s where the Arts block smokers migrate for their nocturnal fix. With the proposed ban, it may be their final haven. Whilst the venue itself has the run down chic of a crack den; akin to a house party where an ipod is playing in the dark of someone’s sitting room. Upstairs its indie with the Artic Monkey’s new album the fulcrum of the weekly playlist, and downstairs an RnB centric mix of Justin Timberlake to the Jackson 5. Last week Somewhere saw a huge turnout as Trinity and UCD had their combined freshers weeks. With people queuing for over an hour to gain entry, Facebook’s news feed was littered with selfies of their drunken shenanigans, as Trinity’s hipsters tried to keep themselves amused and their friends informed of their whereabouts. Clubbers were photographed in various states of inebriation; queue skipping, refused from entry and general tomfoolery in keeping with Freshers week’s high spirits. Trinity FM twinned with the venue to host its launch night the same week, and The Hist sent its capitalism enthused debators to that side of Temple Bar, after its inaugural debate of the year. The day before an unexpected demand for tickets, resulted in a Trinity Ents Freshers Festival event being cohosted by Workmans and the

equally Indie The Grand Social, either side of the Liffey. After speaking to several regulars of the club, who expressed their dismay at such a mainstream crowd, I approached the Somewhere orgnaisers themselves to see how this irregularly large turn out effected the night, and on an ongoing basis. Could one of the most trendily non mainstream club nights become too normal for its indie Trinity clientele? Most of whom use society cards like The Phil and Trinity FM to gain admission at concession prices. Niall of the Workman’s staff informed me that

Photo: Aodhagan O’Flaherty this is not the highest turn out the Somewhere? club night has experienced in its handful of years in operation. However the event did pull in high numbers, roughly a thousand, something they’ve experienced before, like several other student focused clubs during expected social weeks like Freshers, Reading and Rag weeks respectively. Could this popularity during Freshers week be simply put as Junior Freshmen exercising their new society cards, or an outpouring of Trinity’s established Indie’s prior to the commencement of the full scheduled week 6 timetables? When I asked whether the excessive popularity last week signaled an new intake of Junior Freshman regulars to the venue, and a shift or even a turnover in the club goers, I was told that the event, as per its norm, drew a crowd of largely twenty year old’s, despite its 18+ entry age requirements. This indicates that rather than the crowd of Workmans shifting towards a younger audience or mainstream standards, previous attendees turned up en masse verifying its centrality to Workman’s hipster circles. For now the ebb has subsided, and this week saw a large but more typical turn out of Trinity’s finest Indies. With Somewhere? @ The Workman’s Club celebrating its third birthday next week, there is the potential for an equally high number flocking to the club, and queues of an hour if not more. News feeds could be spammed by more queue selfies, and those waiting to gain admission might once again reiterate how mainstream Workmans has become, and how they were regulars before anyone in Dublin University even heard of it.

vain against the current of the brain drain of highly-educated graduates flowing out of Ireland. More employment schemes are needed to incentivise graduates to remain in Ireland. We all know Irish people who have emigrated to work abroad and, personally, I am sick of saying goodbye to friends and relatives destined for foreign economies. I am emigrating in a month’s time and my intention is to return here, should the right employment opportunity arise. I am sure many other emigrants would feel the same way once the right employment incentives are in place. Highly-educated graduates emigrating in the absence of suitable employment opportunities in their field is a waste to the Irish economy. This is an issue that will go a long way in deciding the next general election. Spending billions on education to produce a highly-educated workforce is pointless when there is no return gained.

Destination for migrants (CSO data April 2013)

The bottom line is that foreign economies will reap the benefits of Ireland’s investment in the education system.

The fall a hipster’s paradise Danielle Courtney Contributing Writer

of €196,000 per student to complete the education system. Naturally, some emigrants may not have completed the entirety of their education in the Irish system. Some may be leaving to travel with the intention of returning after a few years, amongst various other reasons. But as if the figure of €196,000 per student didn’t look bad enough, imagine if we assume that just

account other years or any potential contribution to the economy while working in the future, either through taxes, innovation or entrepreneurship. The bottom line is that foreign economies will reap the benefits of Ireland’s investment in the education system. Young Irish people need the proper incentives to stay and work in Ireland. The government should be commended for at least trying to curb youth unemployment through schemes such as JobBridge, intended as an internship with a bridge towards full-time employment with that employer. Joan Burton, the Minister who launched the scheme, declared it a success in May 2012, claiming that 38% of people in the scheme were now in fulltime employment. However, a Sunday Times article around the same period reported a 75% drop-out rate from the scheme. It appears the JobBridge programme, intended as a dam, is fighting in

16% Non-EU 25% UK 7% USA

half of the 50,900 Irish who emigrated will not return to work in Ireland (a very conservative estimate). Multiplying the cost to the state per student by only half of those that emigrated last year gives a loss of €4.98 billion. The waste of emigration becomes even starker. The scariest part of this figure is that it only includes the cost of educating those who have emigrated in just the past year. It does not take into

6% Canada 13% EU

16% Rest of the World

17% Austrialia

Ice Ice, Baby…. Daire Collins Contributing Writer

Ice, Meth, Methamphetamine... Why has this drug entered our daily language? Breaking Bad is the answer. Way back in 2008 is where it all began when Bryan Cranston was still better known for his role in Malcolm in the Middle, where he played a suburban father named Hal. Before Breaking Bad, no one had any idea what meth was - and we still don’t. Given its pop culture status, it’s surprising (or perhaps not) that the Irish population has little knowledge about the reality of the drug. Seizures of meth in Ireland, albeit in small quantities, have occured pre-Breaking Bad. Father Peter McVerry stated to Journal.ie last year that the drug was set to explode onto the Dublin scene. It may not have reached those apocalyptic proportions yet, but methamphetamine is still out there on the streets. How realistic is Walter White’s set up, this high school chemistry teacher turned full time meth chemist? In the show, he makes the highest purity concoction possible, re-

sulting in a deep blue translucent sheet of the drug. Judging from Wikipedia’s detailed plans as to how to make your own, for the most part real meth does not reach this rich attractive colour. More common than the industrial scale laboratories which the show eventually unveils are the very basic setups which use the pseudoephedrine method. This is created by collecting hundreds of tablets containing the drug. The most common types of tablets used are decongestants. Sudafed, for example, is so frequently used in such operartions in the States that pharmacists are often required to log the purchases of such drugs. Surprisingly, the reality of the high school teacher turned meth kingpin is more common than you might think. Two years ago, a former Tennesse judge, Shannon Jones, was charged with manufacturing, delivery and sale of methamphetamines. In April of this year, a priest named Kevin Wallen sold almost two kilos of meth. While this may be a ways off from Walter White, he still brought in an income of over seventy thousand dollars. In May, we saw a strange example of life imitating art. Stephen Doran, a resident

of Boston, was working as a maths tutor at a middle school when he was charged with trafficking meth through the school - it was also discovered that, like Walter White, he also had cancer. It seems that meth may be an educated man’s game. The appeal of Breaking Bad is not confined to one asset of the show - its acting, plot and cinematography all deserve praise. However, the idea of the average man being pushed too far and turned into a drug empire mastermind is what really draws people in. If meth does ever take hold here (fingers crossed it doesn’t), I, for one, won’t be surprised when a picture of my mild mannered civil servant neighbour ends up plastered across RTÉ One.

This was the drug set to explode onto the Dublin scene

Petition for government to spend more on mental health issues Eva Short Contributing Writer

queezed between the SU stand and a society handing out pizza slices to eager recipients, it may have been difficult to see Barbara Barrett and the petition she was holding. Thankfully it seems she was seen, as Barbara, on behalf of Mental Health Reform Ireland, collected over a thousand signatures while based at Trinity for a petition dubbed Do What Works. Do What Works is a petition that implores the government to make good on promises made in the two previous Budgets to allocate €35 million to mental health services in Ireland. Furthermore, the petition asks that the money be spent on community-based services, services that they feel would best meet the needs of people availing of the HSE public mental health service in this country. Newly appointed director Dr Shari McDaid, has said, “We know what works for mental health. We need to have mental health services based in the community, with a range of multidisciplinary staff who offer a range of treatment options.” The €35 million was one of many promises made by the previous government in the 2006 document ‘A Vision for Change’. The document details plans by the HSE to completely overhaul the mental health services in Ireland. It includes an emphasis on multidisciplinary services as well as a bid to promote awareness of mental health issues and prevention. Historically, Ireland has not been seen to allocate much of its health budget towards mental health in comparison to other countries. A 2008 WHO Europe report shows Ireland spending just 7.7% of its health budget on mental health services, in comparison to the UK and Wales where expenditure is almost double, at 13.8%. Mental Health Reform, in its mission statement, has said that they are working to ensure that the promises made in ‘A Vision for Change’ are kept, and all conditions met before 2016. The petition itself is running for eight weeks and was launched on August 19th of this year. Since that time, as of 26th September, the conglomerate lobbyist group, who work with Amnesty Ireland and Console

among other organisations, have gathered 17,000 signatures across the country. In particular, Mental Health Reform has been hosting the petition at a number of campuses as well as our own, such as NUI Maynooth, UCD and DIT. They were stationed outside Croke Park in the lead up to the Mayo-Dublin All Ireland Final, and their most recent venture sees them Donegal bound to talk to farmers with the Social Farming Across Borders project. Their fiercely enthusiastic campaigning, as well as a strong online presence, inspires confidence that they will gain plenty more names in the lead up to their October 15th deadline, the day of the Budget. For anyone who missed an opportunity to contribute to this cause while Mental Health Reform were at Trinity, the petition can be accessed online at mentalhealthreform.ie/petition2013.

The University Time

InFocus

Tuesday 1st October 2013

Is the Student2Student army a forgotten force? Sarah Leddin Contributing Writer

t’s Freshers week, and from the crowd of eager societies emerge an over-enthusiastic group of red hoodies heading directly in your direction. With smiles the width of the Campanile blinding you and their pen raised high like a warrior’s spear, your immediate thought is to duck behind a group of distracted Freshers in the hope that these naive students would become your Trojan horse. But why are students so reluctant to approach the Student2Student (S2S) peer mentors? Is it an ignorance of knowledge that deters them? The prolific need for independence as an incoming college student that denies the help offered to them? Or is it just that red screams danger? S2S is a student based peer mentoring programme. All undergraduate and visiting students are assigned a pair or triplet of peer mentors to guide them through the mechanics of student life. Up to five years ago, only select courses were provided with this service, but now each course is assigned peer mentors who are usually currently studying that subject. As part of orientation, first years are to meet peer mentors who take them aside to discuss the issues around their specific course and ease any nerves they have. The advantage that S2S offers is that it is a service by students for students. It offers freshers a unique perspective into the highs and lows of student life from people who have an enormous amount of empathy for their cause and can answer questions that lectures can’t. An issue that S2S face this year is the separation of the peer mentor meeting from the course meeting, which used to

run in succession. Students are now offered the choice of rising early to meet their peer mentors, or stay in bed to nurse their Fresher’s week hang-overs, meaning many don’t avail of the benefit from talking to more mature students and don’t understand the cheesy e-mails that follow. This year I volunteered as an S2S peer mentor but my enthusiasm and excitement soon dwindled when I discovered the reality surrounding the student perception of S2S. Un ike the secondary school role played by Prefects, Meitheal and similar concepts, whereby student mentors become allknowing beings in the eyes of frightened beginners, most students don’t feel they

200 students reported that S2S helped them to stay in college last year

need S2S so don’t participate or attend events. It is the student apathy toward the organisation, that has led to the knowledge of S2S slipping beyond the consciousness of the student body. We were warned in our pre-orientation our students won’t reply to our e-mails, but according to a survey administered by S2S last year 90% of students do read their S2S e-mails. event attend-

UT Blogs: the beginings of my life in Fife

ance rates can be poor (the mode attendance rate was 3-5 people) and this number becomes increasingly smaller as the year progresses but this is seen rather positively by the optimistic organisation as success of the students’ integration into college life. The vast majority of students that engage with S2S value and appreciate what S2S does for them with over 200 students reporting that S2S helped them to stay in college last year. This year saw the highest number of recruitment for S2S with just under 700 volunteers. Ian Mooney, president of Student2Student, feels that “it is the perception of the S2S, and most mental health services, that deters so many students from getting in contact when they need to. As mental heath is becoming more mainstream and more

open to talk about, a lot more students are accepting of situations they may be in personally and willing to make use of the service.” SU Welfare Officer Stephen Garry, former president of S2S, launched ‘Speak your Mind’ through S2S last year, which involved a number of high profile guests, including Senator David norris, and Trinity College students who discussed their history with mental health and worked towards openly communicating about mental health with the aim of abolishing the stigma around it. S2S also have a peer support service providing a one-to-one confidential appointment with a trained supporter. Their dropin service which will begin on Wednesdays in house 6 soon. Mooney hopes that Student2Student can continue to make the service as acceptable

and approachable for students as possible. First years in particular find peer mentors useful as a safety net-receiving the occasional reassuring e-mail reminding them that when times get tough, there is someone there, hearing older students expectations and fears reminding them that they are not alone in their thoughts and sometimes knowing you are not alone is enough. I would recommend Freshers attend at least one S2S event so they can gage for themselves how valuable the service will be. Those over-enthusiast people in the red hoodies who you ran from on Fresher’s week were going to offer you free gifts without any consequences. red doesn’t always mean danger.

Long road and still no turn Johnny Higgins Contributing Writer

Shona McGarry Blogger

t’s that time of year again, when some us bid goodbye/good riddance to Dublin, and head off to Scandinavia, Paris, or scorching California. In my case, it is St. Andrews, Scotland. It’s cold by day and freezing by night, this home of golf and the birthplace of royal love affairs. Sure, the only real differences involve sterling, BBC iPlayer (more traumatically, BBC Scotland, which shows highlights of the SPL whenever possible) and college merchandise you actually want. But it’s new, and a little break away from everything I’m used to. A little time on my own to meditate and figure it all out. A little bit of difference. The above exemplifies the kind of rubbish you tell yourself before you land on not-so-distant shores. It’s all wistful nonsense that vanishes into the coastal air once you arrive in a dingy, lime-green room and discover that the only people in your kitchen to talk to are, well, non-existent. When you put down your case and sit on the bare mattress, that’s when you’ve arrived. Well, you’re on your own now, Shona. And, worse: this is what you wanted, right? Freshers’ Week: Why Am I Here? Week one was weird, tear-inducing awkwardness. There are creatures in the kitchen, Americans everywhere and they don’t sell Marque de Leon. I had stern conversations with myself. I want to live in the pretty building. The societies are lame. I don’t want to eat dinner on my own every night and then cry on Skype for hours while watching five episodes of the Great British Bake Off and screaming at the contestants because IT’S JUST nOT A GOOD BAKe, MAry. Why am I here? Can I scuttle back to Trinity and into the warm, fluffy arms of Front Square? My first impressions: I want to go home. nevertheless, I decided to give the week a shot. Wandering the three streets of town I wondered if I should turn up to any society events and get this party started. With no Freshers’ Fayre until Sunday and no kitchen mates to make friends with, on Tuesday I decided to join the hall pub crawl. When I came downstairs, everyone was already in groups. I felt like Mildred from The Worst Witch (minus the cat to keep me company). It was too late to go back, though, so I had no choice but to wander up to a clique. That’s when I met my first friend - nat, a Canadian who introduced me to what is now my alternative kitchen, better known as the lovely, normal people you can meet in the daily course of your life, Kitchen

4.6. Mornings are the worst - a whole day of no class and no society stretches out menacingly, and you have no idea what to do with yourself. I decided to solve that problem by going to one of those society things where the event says: ‘Come along to meet new people!’ And then you go, only all the people seem to already have met and don’t really want to meet you, so you end up talking to someone called Horatio while taking advantage of the red and the white wine. After that, I spent another day doing what everybody ends up doing at some point - wandering around a graveyard by myself. By the time Sunday came I was ready to flee to the outer Hebrides, or at least back home. I thought, maybe this place doesn’t suit me. Maybe the fact that there’s a Jack Wills and not a Topshop is indicative of the fact that I do not belong here with these gilet-wearing folk. Maybe the fact that I want to yell at the next American who says ‘Oh my Gawd, it’s just like Hogwarts!’ means that I’m not quite ready to embrace the mythical St. Andrews conjured up by wistful yanks. Or maybe I am just being self-indulgent. It turns out that the latter is true. I was just being self-indulgent. I was doing the ‘I’m a privileged college student who got the opportunity to go to St. Andrews, my life is so hard’ act. When I stopped strewing tissues around my room like a tepid Hamlet and banging on the walls about missing my life, I realised that because you’re spending a lot of time in your own delirious company - despite your new friends - being on erasmus alone gives you a unique sense of self. Something about being away from everything you know is coolly liberating. Or lonely. Package deal. But it’s not all solitaire and dinners for one. Since those dark days of pop-tart-inhaling and moping to the accompaniment of every single Father Ted episode ever (it happened, I regret nothing), my alternative kitchen and I have been out and about in the wee hours (wee, being a Scottish thing, is a word I am now adopting for general use), to The Vic, a place that looks and feels and tastes like Workman’s, but is full of red-trouser-wearing posh boys instead of square-glasses-wearing hipsters. 4.6 have made those hours in my room trying to wrangle my way home seem like a lifetime ago. I still miss home, though. I still walk past the bus station on the way to town and sort of (sort of ) long to go back to Dublin and my friends and everything there was last year and years before. Maybe it’s not so scary here.

@ shozzmcgozz

s the final whistle blew on All Ireland final day 2013, an all too familiar feeling swept across Croke Park - the sheer pain of knowing Mayo yet again have failed to break their 62-year-long All Ireland hoodoo. The story of Mayo football is arguably the most agonising and heartbreaking tale in Irish sport. Since Seán Flanagan last lifted the Sam McGuire for the green and red in 1951, Mayo have competed in seven All-Irelands without being triumphant in any of them. Although it is an excruciating record, a certain beauty is to be found amidst the debris of crushed dreams - the people of Mayo’s staunch support and pride in their team. The county has traditionally been immersed in the sport of Gaelic Football, and has produced some of the greatest players to grace the hallowed turf of Croke Park, most notably Crossmolina’s Ciarán MacDonald, Belmullet’s Willie Joe Padden and Ballina native Liam MacHale.Their failure to make the breakthrough is a true enigma, as in the county of Mayo, it is seen as a disaster of a season if the team fails to reach the quarterfinals at least. The story of Mayo’s seven consecutive defeats first began in 1989, when a Willie Joe Padden and Kevin McStay inspired Mayo team qualified for the All Ireland for the first time in 37 years. A sense of real optimism swept across the county, which had been badly hit by emigration in this decade, like many generations before, with many Mayo diaspora returning home for the final against Cork. Although coming into the final as rank outsiders, Mayo gave a great account of themselves, only losing by three points in a match many believed could have been won. As this was the first final they had reached for many years, there was not the same sense of disappointment that would come in later years. In 1996 and 1997, Mayo narrowly lost to Meath and Kerry by margins of one and three points respectively. The back-to-back defeats would be a massive knockback to the county, and it wasn’t until 2004 that Mayo would contest a September fixture. Their return would not be victorious, and the team went on to be beaten comprehensively by Kerry in 2006. Mayo football went off the radar once again until a new young manager from Billintubber and James Horan, player in the finals of 1996 and 1997, assembled a new side with the likes of Aidan O’Shea, Andy Moran and Cillian O’Connor (who were the driving force of the team). A county which had experienced huge disappointment in the past would be very cautious to again have renewed hope, and in 2012, the Mayo following once again travelled in numbers to take on Donegal in yet another All Ireland final decider. However, after a disastrous start conceding two goals, Mayo would run out losers yet again by a margin of four points. The next year’s campaign of 2013 could well have been the most painful of all. After demolishing teams in their path in the Connacht Championship by an average margin of 16 points, Mayo would go on to breeze past Donegal by

a scoreline of 4-16 1-09 playing scintillating football, and being installed as the bookies’ favourite for the All Ireland crown. In the their semi-final, they would stumble past Tyrone winning by six points, meaning Mayo would now face an enormously talented Dublin team in the final. From the moment you woke up on the beautiful Indian summer morning of September 22nd, you felt a huge degree of optimism as a Mayo fan. Attending my fourth Mayo All-Ireland, I felt that maybe this could be the day we would end our 62 year famine. I collected my golden ticket at approximately 13:00, hoping that the next time I would meet my relatives after the match, it would be the start of a new era of history for the County. The day really could not have got off to a better start for the Green and red, seeing the Minor team end their own 28 year draught to be champions in front of an enormous amount of Mayo support in Croke Park. This was a truly memorable feeling for any Mayo fan, seeing a Mayo man lift a trophy on the Hogan Stand with the Saw Doctors classic “Green and red of Mayo” being blared in Croker. It gave all of us a taste of what might be in store later on in the evening. However, our team faced the mammoth task of defeating a rampant Dublin side, which had only lost one game all season (a league game against Tyrone) after already qualifying for the Semis. Similarly to Mayo, they had played some incredible football en route to the final, while also disposing of teams such as Meath, Cork and Kerry. Once again, the fairy-tale was not to come true, with the team losing by a margin of one point in a poor game of football. One cannot argue that the better team won on the day, and deservedly re-claimed Sam McGuire. The feeling amongst Mayo support-

ers after the game was that the event seemed like one defeat too far. After the game, we sat around a table in a Dublin pub, distraught in the knowledge of a case of so-close-but-yetso-far. It may seem like a lack of perspective, as, at the end of the day, this is only sport, but there was a big feeling of grievance for the whole county, with the phrase “life must go on...” seeming the only appropriate line to sum up our feelings. And yet, I woke up the next morning with a feeling of enormous pride in my team and county. yes, we are always the bridesmaid and never the bride, but the people of Mayo’s pride and support for their county is one which can never be denied. For a county that has suffered so much heartbreak over the years, it truly is a credit to them that they will always return next year to Dublin to get behind their team once again. There will always be a burning fire of optimism amongst Mayo supporters that will never be quenched, no matter how many Finals they may well lose. A clear sight which stands out in my mind from the defeat to Dublin was one of an elderly man with a walking stick, slowly making progress out of the stadium with his Green and red thread around his neck. It really hit home that the defeats of ‘04, ‘06, ‘12 and ‘13 would have occurred in the last few years of his life, and is a symbol of a generation who may never see Sam McGuire come to McHale Park in Castlebar. In a way, one could argue that Mayo supporters are luckier than most counties, in that they have woken up on seven September Sunday mornings wondering if their county will triumph in an All-Ireland Final today. The reality is that if Mayo lose another fifty finals, I, similarly to many others, will continue to support the Green and red no matter how much pain may be potentially involved.

InFocus

Tuesday1st October 2013

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Eye on societies:

Let’s Get (Meta)-Physical

Ciar McCormick Contributing Writer

A fresher’s first impressions of a society that is a lot more than it fizz-ically is.

s a single honours philosophy student I left it my duty to join a philosophical society. The reputation of “The Phil” had led me to believe that a philosophical society was one of the bigger societies in the college. I discovered the error of this societies name and soon went in search of the real philosophy society. Thus I happened upon the Metafizz at a small one table stand decorated with a small sign to represent themselves, and a table of books for what I assume was to entertain the occupants of the table who did not seem altogether too busy with potential applicants. This society was not selling itself with promises of discounts, free stuff and naggins but was present for anyone with a genuine interest to join. Without saying too much I signed up and gave away what in the society business is essential the two euro entry fee. My first proper interaction with the society came in the form of a debate against the Theological Society with The Metafizz proposing that “Theology was the study of nothing”. This was an altogether different experience for me as I looked around the high ceilinged room of the chamber; painted pictures, guest speakers, facial hair, a well-structured argument, is that guy wearing a waist coat? For a person who spends a lot of his time playing football and being proud of the meagre post-adolescent stubble I had, this was a different experience for me possibly an intimidating experience at first with academic-types quoting philosophers word for word and speaking with accents that would have made Stephen Fry sound common. The debate swayed from interesting argument to points of laughter which gave the event a light hearted yet engaging mood. The opposition of the Theological Society came out as winners in the

Emily Flaherty Features Writer

end, but that did not take away from the evening as the nature of competition was subdued by the convivial atmosphere. A post-mortem of the debate soon followed in the Phil room accompanied by free drink and loose talk. With my need to immerse myself in the society even more I attended their next event a day later. This was a talk by one of staff members of the Philosophy department in Trinity, Niall Connolly, on “the notion of biological species”. This gave me the best sense of the what the society was like: new ideas, wine, discussion and more wine. The idea of sitting around discussing philosophy and drinking wine first made me as awkward as a chap who might relate to drinking a can of Dutch gold in a field, below the legal drinking age at a certain point in his life. This was a much more civilised affair. But my new experience was made easier by the relaxed atmosphere as the wine bottles emptied and the ideas filled the room. This event ended with a migration to The Gingerman pub located close to campus (Fenian Street) that had a gastro feel to it. The regular Metafizz members shared their plate of starters and drank their select brew of ale, that as they said with pride, cannot be acquired in any other pub. Chat did sway from philosophy as the different topics came quick and fast. This is the society of existential ideas soaked in wine and left out to dry in a pub that you might find on a ski slope in Europe, quaint yet not without a busy bar. The society was founded in 1929 under the guidance of Professor A.A. Luce (this is also the man from which the Luce Hall got its name). The society runs an event almost every week with guests such as academics in philosophy and psychology to writers and journalists. The Irish

author Anne Enright shall be visiting the Metafizz society on Tuesday the 1st of October. As well as this, they also host coffee mornings, discussion groups, film screenings and cinema excursions such as their joint cinema trip with DUGES to see Hannah Arendt in the IFI which took place Monday the 30th of September. All Information can be found on their twitter page (@Metafizz). From a fresher’s point of view this is the society to listen to new ideas and if that isn’t enough you will more than likely make your money back in free wine, but you never know you may just find those ideas more stimulating in the long run.

The idea of sitting around discussing philosophy and drinking wine first made me as awkward as a chap who might relate to drinking a can of Dutch gold in a field, below the legal drinking age at a certain point in his life.

s a Trinity student, shuttling across campus between lectures, labs, debates, plays, wine receptions in House 6, and of course the Pav, it’s easy to forget that we are in the heart of the city. Sure, we venture into Dublin for chicken fillet rolls and noodles, drinks in Doyles and MacTurcails and onto Alchemy for dancing. But these off campus excursions seem to always come at the tail end of a society event - MacTurcails AFTER choir. The main event is almost always in Trinity. While it is obviously fantastic that there are so many social events at college; there is a vibrant, happening city out there, which it would be a shame not to take advantage of. Widely regarded as one of the best alternative nights around, Milk & Cookies Stories, is a free monthly open mic story telling show that takes place the second Tuesday of every month. Well attended by Trinity students, the event is mostly based in Moxie Studios, Lad Lane, just of Lower Baggot St. Although there are regular storytellers who are welcomed back monthly, anyone and everyone can get up and tell a story about just about anything; the first time storyteller is allowed as much time as the professionals. As storytelling is one of the more accessible art forms, this is probably the most open open mic in the city. There is no line between the performer and the audience and as a result, the show has a very sociable and friendly atmosphere. Meanwhile the audience make themselves at home on duvets and cushions, and help themselves to free, delicious, homemade cookies and cakes, chocolate biscuit cake, insanely addictive cake pops and butterscotch shots (a feature of the September show) baked by the Cookie Crew (the team of volunteers who run Milk & Cookies), and by the audience themselves. While the emphasis is strongly on storytelling, the Cookie Crew also organise other alternative events such as After Dark shows, Scavenger Hunts and The Secret Garden Festival. Plans are currently in the works for After Dark III, a wild, allnight variety show party featuring bands, storytellers, comedians, and all sorts of artists.

The next show will take place on Tuesday 8th October, venue to be confirmed shortly. Upstairs in The Stag’s Head, Dame Lane, is always packed to the rafters the last Wednesday of every month for Brown Bread Mixtape. Only €5 in, it is a variety show with a little of everything and a lot of craic. Bands, musicians, comedians, poets, novelists – there is something for all. The Brown Bread Players, led by poet and host Kalle Ryan, are also always on hand to provide imaginative, quality entertainment - whether speaking in Dublin-Deutsh (the language we will all speak when the Germans invade) or reading out personal ads. they “found” on craiglist, the in-house comic troupe are among the more popular performers. The night usually finishes off with everyone standing up and joining in in a rousing chorus of Brown Bread Mixtape’s alternative national anthem. The next event will be on the 30th October. The people behind Brown Bread Mixtape are also currently trying to organise a Spoken Word Festival. The proposed festival “Lingo” will focus entirely on Spoken Word, and hopefully will take place next April, all around Dublin, and will involve many of the city’s literary nights. People looking for a more regular event can catch the Monday Echo, downstairs in The International Bar Wicklow St. free in every Monday night from 8.00 (you would be advised to arrive early as seating is limited and goes quickly). A mixture of spoken word and songwriters, the show is followed by an open mic session. A great way to keep up-to-date with Dublin’s latest talent, it is also is a chance for new performers to cut their teeth and to meet other artists. Those who perform at the Open Mic are often asked to come back as an act, by the host Aidan Murphy, a talented singersongwriter himself. The cosy, intimate setting of The International Basement encourages conversation between sets; it’s almost impossible to avoid talking to someone. There is also always a raffle on the night to fundraise, with some really good prizes. Sure, what else is there to do on a Monday night? Milk and Cookies, Brownbread Mixtape and Monday Echo are just a tiny selection of the many amazing things going on in this wonderful city. Break out of the Trinity bubble for an evening and discover Dublin.

Break out of the Trinity bubble for an evening and discover Dublin

The University Time

First Impressions Anna Nicholas Contributing Writer

n some respects, my Freshers’ Week was pretty standard. My first week at Trinity was filled with tales of late night revelry, free food and new friends. It was hard to believe that eating burritos twice a day and lounging on beanbags was going to be my new daily routine. More importantly, it was hard to believe that anyone would pay full price for anything, ever, now that we’d been kitted out with enough cards and discounts to float a battle ship. All this freedom and frolicking was a far cry from the miserable drudge of revision notes and past papers that had been such an unwelcome feature of my life until as recently as this June. It didn’t matter that our new pals from engineering had a 25 hour weeek of as next Monday, or that I’d already received reading for the first week of lectures BeFOre THe enD OF FreSHerS’ WeeK, the sun was shining, glitter and vodka were in plentiful supply, and the future looked bright. While this all sounds terribly happy and optimistic, I’d also be the first to say that Freshers’ Week was also a mildly terrifying experience. Walking into the Pav for the first time last Friday was akin to jumping off a cliff blindfolded, with only this flimsy piece of newsheet for protection. Commuting from home everyday and knowing no one in my course made making friends (and even finding the nerve to chat to strangers) at times an unnerving and slightly uncomfortable thing to do. There were a number of moments when it felt like everybody was having was fun at Freshers Week, except for the Freshers themselves. This was only made worse by the fact that the majority of people from Halls stuck together, hadn’t much interest in talking to

InFocus 9

Tuesday 1st October 2013

Things no one tells you about Freshers’ Week:

anyone else and often didn’t come in during the day, leaving the rest of us, that is an increasingly unenthusiastic bunch of kids living at home or in digs around the city, to awkwardly fend for ourselves amidst a sea of society groupies and tourists. (Another thing no one tells you about Freshers’ Week: the Arts Block bathroom is never rid of people with bumbags and American accents who don’t actually attend Trinity. Avoid at all costs.)

1. The Freshers’ Ball is for Freshers only by name. The number of second and third years on the prowl will greatly surpass the amount of nubile young JFs present. Be prepared for serious creeping, an outrageous queue to get in, and some slight disappointment when you can’t find anyone else in the club who shares your excitement about starting university.

Walking into the Pav for the first time last Friday 2. was akin to jumping oﬀ The Investors’ Society will tell male a cliﬀ blindfolded recruits that they can help memDespite this, I’m glad I made the effort to come in everyday. I’m also glad I was eager enough to attend a number of the events that were on during the week, like the Colours Debate, which rendered UCD speechless and decidedly unhilarious, the LawSoc night out, with its fabulous face paint and homeless man in the smoking area, and the Halls Luas Challenge, where more MiWadi than vodka was sprayed into our eyes (some of those wielding supersoakers had a questionable aim). The start of this week was no less eventful, with the challenge of lectures, long days and the timing clashes of the 14 societies I’d joined all to be faced. reading lists were eternal in length, navigating the Law library was near impossible, and a trip to the gym after a 9am lecture proved to be a foolish decision. (Another Freshers’ week tip: Don’t have a look round the gym to see if any of your friends are working out too. everyone will assume you’re checking them out, even if their sweaty asscrack is an eyesore). All in all, it’s been a good start. Let’s just hope it continues that way.

bers secure internships and work placements. They will tell potential female members that they’re a “networking society” and that there’s free dinner in the Shelbourne. This says a lot about the members of the aforementioned group.

3. LUAS inspectors will have a hard time believing you’re a child if you’re hungover on public transport at 11am on a Tuesday. The DArT guys are far more agreeable when it comes to this.

Photo by Sinéad Baker

THE IRISH TIMES

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

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

THE IRISH TIMES THE STORY OF WHY

UT Opinion

Tuesday 1st Octoberr 2013 //

The University Times

Students: not a care in the world Sinéad Baker Deputy Online Editor

tudents are often branded as ‘ignorant’ about events that affect them and the rest of the world, yet it’s difficult to reconcile this with the image that sees students as well connected and, in theory, well educated. Put simply, in a world with everything from The Journal to The Daily Mail to Reddit, it’s almost impossible to know nothing about current affairs, whether they’re happening up the road in the Dáil, or over in the Middle East. Maybe what students can be criticised for is a wide range of knowledge that doesn’t go very deep. Most of us know that there’s a civil war in Syria, that there’s a siege going on in a shopping centre in Kenya, and that student hardship levels are continuing to rise. But how many of us can say that we’re truly knowledgeable or passionate about these issues; that we’ve moved past the headlines to fully research and have an educated opinion on them? Unfortunately, aggressive Facebook statuses rarely count. It seems unlikely that many of us have truly been monitoring even the issues close to home, such as the debate on the Seanad or the development of the campaign to impeach our Student Union President, Tom Lenihan. But we need to remember that this is true of almost every citizen across the county, regardless of whether or not you’re a ‘lazy’ student or self-important businessman. We, as an entire race, focus on the issues closer to home, and with an influx of information on the internet it’s easy to become desensitised. Like it or not, a bombing in Boston will get more coverage than an earthquake in Pakistan, and not getting a locker will, for most, result in more angry tweets than any development in Syria. Some may say that students are branded as idealistic, that we should be the ones who ussher in a new era of social change. But it’s really difficult to see that happening. Like it or not, students are people too and proportionately just as many of us are as self-involved as in the rest of the country. But the question is raised, what should we care about? To avoid a depressing dip into absolute cynicism, let’s take a look at the validity of tackling issues close to home. A recent example taking place on our own campus is the referendum on the Seanad, in which we are asked whether or not we want to support Seanad reform. Each campaign team has been given €200 to get their ideas out there and convince us which way to vote. Many students are deeply questioning the point of this referendum, doubting the influence of our Student’s Union on our government and citing the apathy of our students. You can argue that we are a body strong body of nearly 12,000 voters (hopefully), and a cry for reform

that is not being formally considered yet by the government cannot go amiss. In the past we’ve made some great progress championing social change, such as the 2004 referendum that banned the sale of Nestle products in Student’s Union shops. Yes, this decision won’t affect the world, or even Nestle, but will make a small difference close to home, where our opinions are listened to and appreciated. But we can’t take such a stance on every issue. Following this theory it seems that students, when putting together our collective youthful

It’s not right to get other people to care for us

energy and drive, can actually make a difference, at least on our campus. And it would continue to seem this way if we didn’t take a look at some of our previous failed efforts to find motivation to do vital things for ourselves and other struggling students; such as save the grant and cut the student contribution charge. Simply put, we’re apathetic. We criticize our local and national unions without knowing what they’re really doing, refuse to show our anger to those who can change anything and vote on the issues that directly affect us. Not many of us even vote in the referendums which I so highly praised earlier. So the broader question is raised; should students care more about issues, both wider issues and those that affect them everyday? It’s easy to say that, as individuals in a society, of course we should. As members of the human race we should be more concerned with what’s happening around us, and with our fellow man. But we don’t. So should we combine our menial knowledge and use our power as a body of students, mandating our officers to throw in support with every cause that arises? Of course it sounds like the right thing to do, but it’s worth is debatable. Some may say it could be worth it to fight for all issues just for the principle alone. For example, it’s great to think that we can mandate our officers to officially throw in support with students in the Middle East, but realistically it’s difficult to see how this could ever make a difference. A similar issue was raised last year at

The plight of the bouncer

‘

Stephen Cox Staff Writer

You mean clubs you go to actually have bouncers?’ I remember the shock in my father’s voice. I was only surprised that he was surprised. Things have changed since he was young. Some old style pubs may be exceptions, but it would be difficult, if not impossible, to name a Dublin bar or club that doesn’t employ some form of security on the door at night. Going out is an important part of student life, but one aspect of this that gets little mention are the bouncers, who, in theory, are there to safeguard our nights out. While most would agree that their presence is necessary, the relationship between bouncer and punter carries an air of tension - a few smart remarks and you’re not getting in. My recent interest in the world of nightclub doormen comes from an unlikely source. I don’t habitually watch documentaries, least of all ones as typically sensationalistic as churned out regularly by Channel 4 - in spite of this, after five minutes of watching their current series Bouncers, I was hooked. A fly on the wall look at club security guards in Newcastle and its environs, the insights into the job provided by the featured doormen, coupled with interviews with their customers and footage of beery nights on the tiles, make for compelling—if unchallenging—television. While the footage is certainly biased in favour of the documentary’s subjects, the programme nonetheless raises questions as to our own attitudes to drinking and going out. Clubs and bars depicted in popular culture are typically seen from the point of view of the customer, because this is how most of us experience them. In turn, we are used to interacting with doormen on nights out, but this rarely amounts to much more than a cursory greeting and an ID check. Kissing a stranger or dodgy dance moves will not raise many eyebrows, but how many of us have forcibly ejected a rowdy reveller from the door? Seeing a nightclub from a bouncer’s perspective is eye-opening. The security men featured in Channel 4’s documentary all agree that their job lets them see the worst in people; politeness shown on entry can vanish and turn nasty after a few drinks. It is worth remembering that the programme was never going to make quieter, less eventful nights ‘on the Toon’ the focus of its attention; a certain level of scepticism is needed to watch any factual TV show. That said, common drunken obnoxiousness one notices regularly in Dublin on Saturday nights is bad enough without having to deal with

How long it takes for the threatening preconception of bouncers to really be a thing of the past remains to be seen

it for a living; I am certainly not sure how well I would be cut out for working the door. Perhaps the reason for my dad’s disbelief at the continuing presence of bouncers lies in the stereotypes associated with them. Nightclubs and doormen contractors alike have been eager to move away from the image of the bouncer as an aggressive brawler more interested in violence than in customers’ well-being. Security agencies are now more likely to look for a candidate’s ability to defuse situations as opposed to pure physical intimidation. According to an article in The Independent, one in nine UK bouncers in 2006 were female, as part of ‘a deliberate attempt by the club industry to promote a softer, more customer-friendly image’. A FETAC Level 4 certificate, training and Garda vetting are mandatory in Ireland for a ‘Door Supervisor (Licensed Premises)’ permit, though this has not been without problems in itself. In 2011 there was controversy as Anthony Ryan, brother of the late Real IRA boss Alan Ryan, was awarded a bouncer’s licence from the Private Security Authority in spite of having a previous criminal record. While he did not reapply when the certificate expired, the Real IRA’s influence on the pub bouncer industry, their subsequent extortion of landlords and drug dealing taking place in certain pubs has done little to help to get rid of the violent stereotypes long associated with the club doorman. Furthermore, in past years there have been several criminal suits filed against nightclub security employees on grounds of violence; how long it takes for the threatening preconception of bouncers to really be a thing of the past remains to be seen. At the time of writing, Arthur’s Day is only hours away–surely one of the busiest and messiest days of the year for doormen. At the end of Bouncers’ second episode, one of the men featured comments disapprovingly on the drinking habits of the British public. He goes on to recognise, however, that the norms regarding alcohol consumption keep him in employment. Bouncers are not employed to prevent people from drinking; it would be naive and untrue to claim that nightclub security wouldn’t be necessary in a country with a less pathological relationship with alcohol than Ireland or England. Nonetheless, maybe some of my dad’s incredulousness about the need for bouncers is understandable; I, for one, don’t envy them their job.

Photos by Samuel Riggs the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) National Congress in 2013. The motion was put forward to mandate a USI officer to raise the issue of ‘Continued Discrimination against Arab-Palestinian Students’ with the European Student’s Union, with a majority of 2/3 needed to pass. It did. “Great,” you say, as it’s difficult to see any harm that can may come from this development. But can any good really come from these motions? This motion was rightly met with resistance from all sides. The fact of the matter

is that holding a referendum on a matter that we cannot directly help ends with us wasting our officers time and money; officers who have to spend their time trying to get us to do the right thing, not to mention the lack of effect it will have on any of these peoples lives. It can cost around €1,500 to run a referendum in Trinity, and thus it just simply doesn’t seem worth it for the who vote few of us to feel good about ourselves. It’s not right to get other people to care for us, on an issue about which they can

make no difference. Simply put, let’s start to care about the issues that we make a difference on first. Students must accept that they cannot change the world, especially running on the limited knowledge we seek out. For the sake of us all, let’s keep passionate on the world’s issues as individuals, but as a body let’s actually start to care about our local issues first and keep any widespread official campaigning to the pros.

Trinity: Much Ado About Nothing Jessica Thomson Contributing Writer

rinners is for winners. At least, that’s what I heard someone squeal girlishly back in Leaving Cert year, which was oh so long ago. She was offered her chosen course in Trinity and then dropped out. Does that mean she was no longer a winner? Here in Galway, we pass little heed on Dublin colleges. We live our own lives, comfortable in our own shoes, without the need to wear scarves that show off what university we go to. We don’t have the urge to brag about where we study - we don’t worry about what others think. Our opinions of Trinity College vary. Most of us see it as just another college: “I don’t see how it’s any better than NUI Galway or anywhere else. I think for some, saying that they are in Trinity is a status symbol. Entry requirements are the same as other colleges, student life is the same - a load of hype about nothing if you ask me,” said Lyndsay Hughes who spent four years studying in Trinity before she moved to NUI Galway - surely she’d know? “I’ve met students just as pompous, egotistical and competitive here at NUI Galway. I think it’s just that the ratio of stereotypical academically-gifted, socially-inept students is greater in Trinners than here in Galway. I like their scarves though - NUIG men should wear scarves more often,” said Jenna Hodgins, suggesting that there is a certain elitist attitude among some of the Trinity students. You can’t deny Trinity has a reputation for being elitist, high class and, quite frankly, posh. But with the number of students attending the college, surely there’s only a certain percentage that fits into that description? Michael, who spent two years in Trinity, suggests that “there are genuinely nice people, who are not at all stuck up or elitist. However, there is a minority who give the place a bad name.” He goes on to say, “I think that pretty much everyone in the country has this perception of people who go to Trinity as snobs, and that someone who goes to Trinity fancies himself or herself as better than them. I think the Irish media and the Irish people have a general animosity for the place because of its Protestant history, but that really shouldn’t still be an issue.” He does add in that “in my two years there I never heard people mention that Trinity is a

Is Trinners really for winners? great place to study, or Trinity does this really well. In fact, Trinity is quite far behind colleges like UCD or NUIG with regards to services like blackboard.” One NUI Galway student said, “the Trinity students that I have met seem a bit uptight and highly competitive – like the opposite of the laidback vibe that we have at NUI Galway.” When NUI Galway students were asked their thoughts on Trinity College, words like ‘posh’, ‘fake’, ‘elitist’ and ‘snobs’ were thrown around, with a few phrases such as ‘up their own holes’ tossed in for good measure. “Everyone has a grá for their own college, but I’ve heard one or two people say things like ‘that’s such an impressive degree... especially from Trinity’ – but never from anyone who didn’t actually go to Trinity,” one student said. “When I went to UCD I was always told that going to Trinity puts you ahead on the international stage because the name is known. However, you can’t get a job in Dublin because nobody wants to listen to you,” said another, adding a very important fact: “NB: no longer true; now nobody gets jobs.” There are some students who know Trinity College as a tourist spot in Dublin: “Isn’t TCD the ‘Harvard’ of Ireland?” asked one student. No, good sir, it is not. “The place has a bit of a Hogwarts vibe when you visit their Manuscripts Department. Most people can probably avoid that place, though,” said another. He was soon answered by a third student visiting NUI Galway from the US; “The tourist in me can’t wait to visit TCD to see the Book of Kells. But for school and atmosphere, I’d rather be in Galway than Dublin.” Yes, so would we. “It’s really the mix of the elitist Dublin attitude, the Protestant background, mixed with the artsy courses that gives Trinity the stigma of being a posh college stereotype. But in the end, it’s just another university... that happens to have nicer, non-soviet-style buildings,

unlike NUIG and UCD,” said Michael Finn, a DCU graduate currently doing a Masters in NUI Galway. The general NUI Galway attitude towards Trinners is indifference. Nobody cares. Almost all opinions end with “but it’s no different to any other university” or “they’re just the same”. Trinity has no relevance to us, so why should we care about Trinity? Perhaps Trinity should stop caring about what other colleges think about it because maybe – just maybe – the other colleges aren’t thinking about it at all. Now there’s a thought.

The Trinity students that I have met seem a bit uptight and highly competitive – like the opposite of the laidback vibe that we have at NUI Galway.

The University Time //

UT Opinion

Tuesday 1st October 2013

Illustration by Alicia Mitchel

TCD Global Relations - Caring College or Cash Cow? Samuel Riggs Opinion Editor

ince the launch and expansion of its Global Relations Strategy in recent years, Trinity has seen a massive influx of international students from all corners of the globe – countries as far flung as India, China, the States and Australia all have student representatives in this college, as well as the annual small army of Erasmus students from all over Europe. The strategy puts TCD at the forefront of internationalisation and student connectivity – as proudly boasted on the website, Trinity is on the “World Stage” in terms of students arriving from all over the world, wishing to take their first steps through Front Arch and into a wonderful third level experience here in Dublin. However, there is a slightly darker story in terms of the Global Relations Strategy. Last year, the story of TCD scholars being relegated to Halls in Rathmines broke to an outstanding outcry in the college community – for students who have put in a mindnumbing amount of effort into these examinations, the news that they were being pushed all the way to the outlying suburbs of the city was not

entirely welcome. Many argue that free housing is nothing to be sniffed at, especially during the year of what will no-doubt come to be called the Great Student Housing Crisis of 2013. However, the point of the argument is that this was not what was promised – scholars have traditionally been given accommodation on the grounds of Trinity, and to break with this is a massive oversight in the ethos of the university, which promotes ‘excellence in education’ above all else – another little gem from the TCD Global Relations home-page. Since then, and with the coming of the new academic year, stories have begun to bubble to the surface about international students being favoured over both scholars and Irish campus applicants in the accommodation process – students who have studied on the same course for 3 years previously are suddenly at odds and in competition for slots on campus, simply because one is an international student, who was granted campus accommodation, and the other is not – rooms that are ‘under repair’ have not been announced to campus applicants, who may be otherwise struggling to find accommodation in the city for their final years of college.

Can we pave the way for Russia?

Aisling Curtis Contributing Writer

n June of 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the hotly-contested, widely-derogated ban on so-called “gay propaganda”. Replete with vague definitions and hazy proclamation, the law effectively bans any positive words or actions regarding homosexuality, exposing the individual

making such illicit statements to possible arrest and fines. Even judges and lawyers can’t mention tolerance for fear of punishment under Putin’s draconian regime. Still more seriously, another law has recently been passed that forbids the adoption of children by homosexual couples, as apparently

For campus accommodation in Botany Bay, Front Square or Goldsmith Hall, you can expect to pay about €4,900 for the year, or about €540 a month. This is a relative bargain, when you consider how much you might pay to live in such an excellent location were you not a college student. However, given the suspected favouring of international students over Irish students in terms

of accommodation, sometimes the whole exercise feels like a cash extraction process. On top of this, there are the Inter-

national Fees. It’s a well-known and acknowledged fact that international students pay incredibly high fees for their place in TCD – in a general sense, this caps at around the €16,000 mark, but Medicine and Dentistry students pay up to a whopping €31,085 for their total fees every year. The art of educating students is not cheap, particularly in these disciplines. It’s tragic to say, but this process is not entirely unnecessary, nor is it designed to make life harder for us as students – if anything, it’s the opposite. Trinity isn’t exactly doing the best it’s ever done in a financial sense. There is a very real and very tangible danger of bankruptcy, and a high fees international programme is one of the ways in which the college is no doubt aiding itself in keeping afloat, bringing in students to fuel the research programmes, which in turn garner the college substantial grants and a wonderful worldwide reputation for excellence, which we must endeavour to maintain and improve. Similarly, the reason the Provost has breached the tentative subject of introducing steeper fees is not a case of cash-grabbing – it is so that the college can continue to educate us in the best way possi-

ble, providing us with the quality of education we have become used to, perhaps in a very unjustly privileged sense. However, the timing is not exactly excellent – it’s not an easy ride to be a student in Dublin, at least not as easy as previous years. And while it is in no way the responsibility of the college to provide housing for us, those who have worked for it and earned their place should be granted it, over those who are simply paying the college lots of money. As well as this, It should be noted that this article is in no way a “get the bloody foreigners out!” piece, the kind you’d hear down the local snug or yelled out of taxis – without the Erasmus and international students, Trinity would become droll – instead of a rank-topping university, climbing places every year, it would become dull and stagnant. Our vibrant community, both of Irish and international students, keeps Trinity the bouncing hub of innovation and front-running research and ideas that it is. Money makes the world go round, and money is exactly what the Global Relations Strategy is designed to acquire, in order to keep our college the bastion of learning that it is.

homosexuality can now be classified akin to alcohol, drug and child abuse. These violations of fundamental human rights may shock us. But chilling parallels exist between our own increasingly liberal society and the stranglehold of Putin’s regime. A mere twenty years ago, Ireland’s attitudes were an eerie precursor for Russia’s now; Catholicism gripped us with the same iron fist with which the Orthodox Church now chokes the former USSR. Our own pro-homosexuality law was initially rejected on the grounds that it posed a threat to the “Christian and democratic nature of the Irish State”; and in Russia identical medieval attitudes are touted by citizens and the government, as their society turns to religion to fill the void left by communism’s fall. The same year that Ireland relinquished its hold on its anti-gay tradition Russia also ushered in a new age of equality, decriminalising homosexuality in 1993. But while their advancement stagnated, and with the advent of Putin ultimately declined, we have somehow managed to do things right. Consistently and vigorously, student bodies in Ireland campaign to implement rights for LGBT people; no student institution would be complete without a statement proclaiming their efforts towards an elusive equality. In August of 2013, two months after Putin’s inflammatory law, 4,000 people marched in

Dublin in support of the right to marry; the age demographic was primarily studentformed. 79% of Irish students say they wouldn’t mind if their best friend came out as gay. But in a disturbing coincidence, this exact statistic is entirely upturned in Russia, with the same percentage of students proclaiming that homosexuality is “unacceptable”. The atrocities committed by some Russian young people on their peers are awful; people are lured into coming out, isolated and victimised, attacked and sometimes even killed. As Irish students open their arms to equality – it’s quite nearly vilified to be anti-gay in our social world – Russians raise fists against anybody who doesn’t sexually identify as it’s perceived they should. Is there hope for them? Can societal transformation be kindled, as it was with us? I definitely think so. As a whole, younger generations are more accepting than their older counterparts, allowing deviation from preconceived norms more readily than their parents or grandparents ever would. Twenty years ago the Irish polled as even less lenient towards the LGBT community than the Russians are right now – look how far we’ve come. And that’s taking into account how overwhelmingly amateurish we are at holding huge protests; we’re not ones for sudden flash-flood improvement, that’s

for sure. Grand sweeping gestures towards change have always been beyond our grasp, but we’ve come an unexpectedly long way from the close-minded attitudes held by our forebears. At a snail’s pace, perhaps. We certainly wouldn’t win any prizes for speed. But change has sparked nonetheless and change continues and will continue daily, incrementally, until we mutate into a society that we can’t really complain about anymore. All is not perfect. Gay marriage still eludes us. Adoption is still dangled out of homosexual couples’ reach. Inequalities still litter our social landscape. And yet Russian students can look towards us and take heart, because we’ve managed to tackle the problem of acceptance, which is arguably the most important step of all. Change doesn’t have to be epic and angry; Russian students don’t need to turn out in huge crowds and risk imprisonment, fines and beatings, because that’s not the only way it has to be done. As it did for us, change can arrive in small increases, in student groups that usher each other gently towards acceptance, creeping like subtle gossip into the minds of their friends. Ultimately, Irish student attitudes have changed; subsequently, through quiet grassroots pressure, so has Irish society. Russian students can certainly provoke the same.

Students who have studied on the same course for 3 years are suddenly in competition for slots on campus

UT Opinion

Tuesday 1st October 2013

The University Times

To impeach or not to impeach? that exists on behalf of students towards the SU. Whilst the SU has its work cut out for them in securing the full backing of the student body in any year, this gap cannot be bridged at a time with such divisive figures at the helm. All of us should be held accountable if or when we choose to break college rules. This is doubly true of those who occupy special positions of authority within Trinity, as arguably more is lost when those we look to represent us act adversely to the college as a whole. The consequences of cheating are

He has been discredited in the eyes of not only the student body but in that of his colleagues in the USI.

FOR David Walsh Contributing Writer

ubsequent to UT’s front page article on a college movement to impeach SU President Tom Lenihan, much debate over the issue has been sparked amongst campus on whether there is a need for such an action. It is my belief that Tom Lenihan should resign. Lenihan’s actions have brought his office into disrepute and carry highly damaging implications for the SU as a whole. The question at the heart of this debate is whether someone who decides to cheat in a college exam is a suitable representative for more than 12,000 students. It is imperative whilst answering this question that all personal bias should be left aside in order to determine what the best interests of the college are as a whole. Having weighed in

on the matter, it strikes me that those who do damage to the student body whether directly or indirectly are not fit to serve in office. As SU President, the confidence and trust of the student body are essential. Both these necessities were severely undermined by Lenihan’s statement last May in which he admitted to taking a note into one of his end of year exams. Speaking to many at the time and indeed subsequently, responses may differ but most concluded that those in authority have a duty to act in accordance with it. By his actions, it would seem that due notice was not given to the faith that the college community placed in him February last. At a time when interest in student politics is at an all-time low, those who act dishonestly are hardly the types required to effect change at college or indeed national level. Our elected representatives must be able to address the growing apathy

not confined alone to those who undertake such an action but also undermine the academic results of one’s peers. The College authorities imposed disciplinary action on Lenihan, exercising a punishment entirely at their own discretion. However, the issue does not simply end there. For the President also entered into a union of trust with the students when elected and this trust has been undermined irreparably by his actions. These circumstances are hardly conducive to a healthy Presidency and Lenihan’s his refusal to resign sets a dangerous precedent for the standards with which he hold our elected student representatives. Let’s consider if Lenihan does continue on in his role as President, how such a move will effect the university. He has been discredited in the eyes of not only the student body but in that of his colleagues in the USI. There have long been calls for an increased transparency in the workings of the USI as a whole. Trinity students in particular have pushed for this change. How will Trinity’s calls for greater reform within this institution be met if advanced by Mr Lenihan whose record on openness has to date proven patchy? Is it not the case that having barely launched into the academic year, Trinity’s seat at USI is already at a disadvantage? On a different note, is an individual who has proven incapable of dealing with the stress posed by a college exam, fit to tackle the often overwhelming difficulties that the Presidency entails. Taking on the role of President is not one which should be entered onto lightly. The student body require a President who is up to the task. In a recent interview with rTe, Lenihan expressed a sense of disillusionment with Ireland’s main political parties and the outdated politics they represent. It is high time we see a new style of politics, a politics of proper accountability whenever wrongdoing occurs. Lenihan’s resignation would make for a good first step. His position is untenable.

AGAINST Paul McNamee Contributing Writer

t is fair to say that Tom Lenihan has not had an easy time of it since taking office as TCDSU President. The Law and Business student, who suffers from a number of mental illnesses including depression, schizophrenia and panic attacks, has been subject to what can only be described as a brutal witch hunt after he cheated in an exam last May. While eoin Silke, a former Labour Party member, is the face of this campaign, the reality is shady forces outside the college have had a big influence on the debate. Such faceless characters have landed blow after blow on the Union President in a malicious campaign to destroy him. Much of the vitriol against Tom came in the wake of his statement on the incident, in which he clearly stated that he was not using his mental health as an excuse for his actions. He also stated in no uncertain terms that what he did was “wholly wrong and unacceptable”. Despite the clarity of this statement, the anonymous keyboard warriors took to the UT website to argue he had somehow tried to hide behind his mental illness. Such comments clearly come from people who either didn’t bother to read the statement or who have problems with basic english, for Tom made it explicitly clear that he takes full responsibility for his actions. His case does not give an incentive for others with mental illness to cheat. After all, the most such cheaters can get in an exam is 40% and remember they still have to actually pass the repeat. It therefore, would simply not be worth taking the risk. Conversely, if Tom is successfully impeached, it will send out a clear message to those with mental illness that we don’t trust them to hold a sabbatical office. Do we want to encourage this sort of backward discrimination in Trinity? It has also been claimed that Tom’s ability to represent students with authority when they come before a disciplinary board in college will be compromised as a result of this one mistake. The student politicians making such claims have clearly been blinded by their own self-interest to such an extent that they can no longer read the Union Constitution. Here, it is plainly stated that the education officer, not the President, has responsibility for representing students on such panels. Lenihan has no role whatsoever in disciplinary proceedings. It is therefore a bit odd, perhaps even a little embarrassing, that the witch hunt has placed this argument as the key reason as to why he should be impeached. (See their Impeach Tom Lenihan Facebook page) you might be forgiven for thinking that as Tom holds a student position, not a national position, such claims would be the worst he would have to deal with. Unfortunately however, as a Lenihan, Tom

was to face much worse. The murky forces from outside of Trinity have conjured up an incredibly distasteful conspiracy theory which tries to argue that he somehow got off lightly because his father was the late Brian Lenihan. Anyone with even the slightest hint of compassion would of course treat such verbal diarrhoea with utter contempt. How on earth could Brian Lenihan influence the Junior Dean’s office if he is dead? you may then argue Lenihan has other connections in Fianna Fail. However, would the party really want to help out an individual who has consistently criticised them in the media? Don’t you think FF would like to see the back of such high profile and indeed, embarrassing, opposition? The claim that the Lenihan family name has somehow helped Tom is further discredited when you take a look at the coverage of this story in the national media. every major media outlet in the country reported that Tom Lenihan cheated. It goes without saying that the media would not have taken such an interest had the person in question not been a Lenihan. Trinity do not need to put a black mark beside his degree, the media have already done that for them. This one mistake which he made, as a student, will be a permanent blight on his career prospects. How many of us have made mistakes during our college careers that we can now thankfully consign to history? As a Lenihan, Tom does not have that luxury. Tom has made a mistake and has taken full responsibility for that mistake. He never once sought to use the fact he was the incumbent Union President to get his punishment reduced nor did he try to hide behind his mental illnesses. As Trinity students we now have to look out for one of our own. Let’s stand up to the online bullies. Let’s give the boot to student politicians who only care about their inflated egos. Let’s say no to the mob wanting us to destroy a young student’s career. Say no to impeachment and let Tom get on with the job of representing and protecting the interests of all Trinity students.

Much of the vitriol against Tom came in the wake of his statement on the incident, in which he clearly stated that he was not using his mental health as an excuse for his actions

Terrible beauty, ingrained in our culture Julia McConway Contributing Writer

he Universal royalty child beauty pageant, which went ahead as the first of its kind in Ireland on Saturday last, has inspired much debate across the country, culminating in Independent senator Jillian Van Turnhout’s call for Ireland to follow in France’s footsteps; their own senate having recently voted to ban such pageants for children under sixteen years of age. Van Turnhout’s reasoning is that these pageants are responsible for the “early sexualisation of children,” this being a near-impossible statement to contest. There have been strong negative responses towards the trend of child pageantry spreading to Ireland. Their original location, a hotel in Balbriggan, pulled out of its role as host at the last minute upon learning the “true nature of the event,” while every other hotel approached followed suit in refusing to facilitate the pageant. A venue was eventually found in a pub in Monaghan, the location having been kept a secret until the very last minute. This kind of negative attitude towards these U.S. run pageants can be expected, or at least understood, considering that our only real exposure to the nature of these events in Ireland is through the television. While TV series’ such as ‘Tod-

dlers and Tiaras’ are bound to be sensationalised, it is still possible to gauge an understanding of these pageants through this medium. Leaving aside the outlandishly controlling parents, we watch children as young as one struggle as their hair is treated and styled, along with three-year-olds sporting skimpy costumes reflecting the pageant’s theme; hot pants and exposed spray-tanned midriffs. these outfits are a consistent feature in these get-ups. I have seen classier outfits on prostitutes in Amsterdam. A full face of make-up on these tiny girls is a must, and it is not uncommon to see them wearing false eyelashes and lashings of mascara. The main performances in these pageants feature each child stepping onstage in extravagant and inappropriate costumes; they twirl and hold their skirts out, wide smile plastered on while blowing kisses to the audience as their hobbies and interests are read out into a microphone. Children should be seen and not heard, so why allow them to tell the audience themselves? Their job is to look “pretty.” The talent section of the pageant tends to feature dancing far beyond the years of the child in question, reflecting their outfits - more at home outside Coppers on a Saturday night

than on a 3 year old. The irony in watching all of these children take part in what is called a “beauty” pageant is that they are all uniform in their false tan, fussy dresses, heavily made-up faces and perfectly curled and styled hair; their stage presence obviously rehearsed; false. As far as the pageants’ requirements seem to go, it is impossible for the children to be truly unique. Three women appeared on The Late Late Show the night before the pageant was due to take place, defending the institution of child beauty pageants: Annette Hill, founder of Universal royalty, as well as two mothers of child pageant competitors, one of them Irish. These overly-defensive women insisted that there was nothing sexualised about these pageants, describing them as “family events,” insisting that accessories such as wiglets, flippers (a cosmetic plastic cover for teeth) and spray tan are entirely optional, while make-up is “a theatrical mask that goes on and goes off.” It is unlikely that any pageant judge genuinely looking to see “kids that are smiling naturally and beautifully, from inside and out,” – as Annette Hill claims – would be involved in (let alone the organiser of ) any kind of event with thick coats of make-up and frilly dresses costing up to

$5,000 on children as unspoken prerequisites for success. Their defence of these pageants rang hollow, while their children, retired pageant winners aged 8 and 9, were only briefly interviewed. The main issue that I see with these beauty pageants is that children are being taken at an early age and taught certain things, which will result in a completely skewed set of values by the time they are older. Girls, specifically, are learning to attach their entire selfworth to their appearance through being judged on looks alone, and furthermore they are being schooled into thinking that they must be caked in make up and fake tan in order to look appealing; a girl’s natural appearance is not sufficient to be considered “beautiful.” Their appearance is judged against that of their peers’, and this likewise teaches them to compare their own looks to everybody else. At the very least, all of this could later result in some serious self-confidence issues, as well as a very superficial outlook on life. Banning child beauty pageants is certainly a step in the right direction, as it puts a stop to the promotion and widespread tolerance of these damaging ideals. However, we must acknowledge that there is already a problem in Ire-

land with this kind of shallow attitude: every spring we hear of small fortunes being spent on first holy communions, many girls spray-tanned and zipped into expensive mini-wedding dresses for the day. This type of extravagance – though not yet practised on much younger children – is not very far from ideals upheld by the child beauty pageant institution. results of these values can be seen even closer to home, with Trinity’s elusive fraternity rumoured to soon accept female students as members. The criteria? Good looks. We may end up banning beauty pageants for children, but these pageant ideals are perhaps more ingrained in Irish modern culture than we originally thought.

The University Time //

UT Opinion

Tuesday 1st October 2013

The National Day of Action: the perfect snapshot of student apathy

Editorial

Editor Leanna Byrne

t the time of writing, the USI National Day of Action Dublin Demonstration Facebook event has 314 ‘going’, 103 ‘maybe’ and 9,635 who don’t even care enough to respond. Above anything else, it’s the greatest snapshot of student apathy. To put things into perspective, lets take a look at the numbers. If we consider the possibility of a 314 turnout, there is no denying that this is extremely poor. Trinity College Dublin has approximately 12,000 undergraduates and 4,000 postgraduates. A figure of just over 300 is low before we even take into account that the demonstration is supposed to include all students from DIT, IADT, MSU, NCI, DKIT, ITB and ITT. To further the embarrassment, the original figure the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) were aiming for was 5,000. USI protests have become smaller and smaller each year. At the first National March the figure of “20,000 students marching” was bandied around and, more importantly, swallowed by the media. The year after that it was an inflated number of 16,000. Last year there was nothing but a few twibbons and a trending hashtag on twitter. Who’s to blame? The most obvious culprits are probably the students’ unions themselves. According to a lot of students, SUs are ‘out of touch with what the students want’. The question of the relevance of the SU can raise its ugly head whether

it’s the beginning of an impeachment campaign or an Ents night that went wrong. Some students would even argue that SUs should be more radical and that the work they do is really just another stepping stone towards a political career. Other students would even say that it’s simply because they like the sound of their own voice.

es supposed to swallow the idea that we’re fighting for your future? At the same time, all that is wrong the student ‘movement’ stems back to a deep seated phenomenon called student apathy; one that rolls its eyes when the words ‘protest’ or ‘action’ are mentioned. Taking a stance on something is

If the SU officers won’t even stick their necks out and spend a night in a cell then how then are the students of these colleges supposed to swallow the idea that we’re fighting for your future? And, you know what, they’re not entirely wrong. SUs are conservative to the point of inaction when it comes to things such as the national campaign. Officers are rarely eager to take part in radical demonstrations because there is no glory attached to it. If the SU officers won’t even stick their necks out and spend a night in a cell then how then are the students of these colleg-

only for ladder climbers and people who probably got bullied in secondary school. Student politics is a cesspool for wannabe politicians and sitting at the helm are the sabbatical officers. The idea of student radicalism is simply a myth. Students would prefer to sneer at those marching for issues such as the increasing cost of college and declining student supports.

Why? Because it’s a lot easier to be the cynic on the sideline rather than the one trying to make the difference. A poor turnout can only say so much about individual students’ unions. Students’ unions are what the students make them.The argument that SUs are out of touch with what the students really want is diluted when you take into consideration that it is these students that voted their officers in. This is the same population of students who couldn’t care less about grant cuts or protecting access to education. Even my friends who receive the grant wouldn’t be caught dead at a USI march. As the turnout for today’s demonstration on Molesworth Street is expected to be low, you can be sure that a handful of vocal students will talk about how it was a shambles and somebody might even spark the disaffiliation debate - you never know! However, even though there are a lot of things that are wrong with the student movement, perhaps the fact that those students who see it as an issue to critique that is separate to themselves is the real issue in the first place. In sum, who needs to radicalise? The students’ unions or the students?

Uselessly Educated Fionn Rogan Deputy Opinion Editor

hilst Ireland may have shirked off its saintly aspirations in recent years, it appears determined to preserve its scholarly ambitions, when perhaps, really, it should stop. Renowned for its well-educated workforce, Ireland has the second best qualified young people (25-34) in Europe with 41.6% of this demographic boasting a third-level degree. Whilst Cyprus is in first place, the European average is 29.1%. However, one has to consider what, exactly, the intrinsic value of a third-level degree is, especially now that unemployment rates amongst graduates are creeping ever skyward. Does a third-level degree have any value, or does it just serve as a reminder that you happened to spend three or four years travelling to and from a college you thought you might like back when you were 18? Did you actively and consciously decide back in your Leaving Cert year that ‘yes, I do want to go to third-level so as to continue my studies’? Or, like a great deal of Irish students, did you find yourself being herded into the third-level system because that was the natural progression from secondary school, and, as a college graduate, you would become a symbol of a well-adjusted and progressive society? One must ask oneself the vital question; ‘Are there too many college students in Ireland, and has the exercise become entirely unfeasible for the state to finance any longer?’ As the beneficiary of a highly discounted thirdlevel education, I can certainly see how unattractive the question might be on a personal level, but within the context of the nation as a whole, its merit soon becomes apparent. This year, there are one hundred and sixty thousand full time students studying in one or more of the thirty-eight higher education institutes in Ireland. Approximately twelve thousand of them will drop out of college this year. Statistics suggest that one in three students in Dublin institutions will drop out. ITs will see less than 80% off their first year class

progress to second year, whilst universities will ‘bid adieu’ to 9% of their Junior Freshmen. The Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) has even recorded dropout rates of more than 50% in courses such as tourism, hospitality and sports & leisure in recent years. There are several reasons for the grossly high dropout rates amongst third level students in Ireland. Cost is often presented as the primary factor in the case of dropouts, and while this is, of course, a legitimate reason, I would suggest that a more influential reasoning in a number of cases might be that that student should never have been in college in the first place. Some might regard this claim as elitist, but that only holds true if you believe that a third-level education is the highest accolade one can achieve. I would argue that it is not, and that college is not for everyone; in fact I would go so far as to say it isn’t for most, at least, not in its purest form of true academia. The truth is that Irish third-level institutions have spread themselves too thinly upon the ground by continuing to offer and develop courses that are of no earthly gain to anyone nor the economy, or courses that realistically have no place

There is no point in saying less people should go to college if we don’t provide an alternative path

in a college setting. Professions that traditionally employed on the job training are now clogging the colleges up with courses that are leading to ever increasing waste within the system. If one goes back to the 1980s, Nursing was such a course, where trainee nurses would be trained within the hospitals, and not in colleges. This setup appears to be a more logical one, as surely the longer a trainee nurse can spend in a practical hospital

environment, the better their preparation for becoming a nurse would be? By training within the hospitals, trainee nurses were also spared the headache of student contribution fees, registration, and inept timetabling issues, while the colleges were saved from difficult administrative duties and the expense needed to actually train a nurse for whom a job could not be guaranteed. Third level education is starting to be perceived as a right rather than a choice, and while some may argue that free third level education for all is the moniker of a truly advanced and egalitarian society, I would suggest that we have wrongly prioritised it and in doing so we have diluted any practical gain it could have provided to the country. Third level has become the natural next step for Leaving Cert students, and some may view it as the only step, when, in fact, it is perhaps the most limited of all the possible next steps. Secondary school students fail to recognize the potential for travel, apprenticeships and even entre-

preneurship, feeling that they cannot attempt such things without the supposed security of a degree. Our economy needs a revitalized manufacturing industry in order to kickstart it once again, and, ultimately speaking, that industry does not need several thousand graduates with a masters degree in twentieth century US literature - they need people with practical manufacturing skills. The solution to our problem of hyper-education involves large investment in vocational education, a societal re-evaluation of our primitive notions of vocational training and a streamlining of our third-level institutions. There is no point in saying less people should go to college if we don’t provide an alternative path. By investing in vocational education we are actively declaring that we feel students should be provided with a means to acquire actual practical skills that we, as a society, will value and benefit from. Being able to write a feminist critique of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise is admirable, but only in the eyes of a select

number of academics - it is ultimately useless to the Irish society and economy as a whole. However, investing in vocational training is moot if we do not tackle the regressive perception of vocational education as being inferior. We need to overhaul the societal paradigm that dictates this damaging opinion by creating high-class vocational institutions that mirror the prestige of third-level institutions. Finally, we must streamline the colleges. Access to third-level education should be restricted to no one on the grounds of finance. Admission should be based entirely upon interest in a chosen topic and success in examinations. Irish colleges should become a hotbed for pure academia and intellectual pursuits without the distraction of employment opportunities after graduation. Ideally, students would pursue a career in academia. Those not interested in such a career can be catered for by the state’s new vocational schools. We achieve this by reintroducing fees and adopting the UK Tuition Fee Loan system, whereby students do not start paying back their loan till they have graduated and are earning over £21,000 a year - even at that stage the repayments are miniscule. The loan scheme mitigates the rich/poor divide by placing every student on a more equal setting. Fees also serve as a deterrence, meaning that only those who are fully and entirely committed to academia will consider progressing to third-level, which will ultimately reduce the level of dropouts and improve efficiency within Irish colleges. The Irish have developed an unhealthy obsession with education in recent years, and it has come to the detriment of our economy and our values. We have overvalued unproductive education and have thus created a hyper-educated, but, ultimately useless, or, perhaps, skillless population. So we must ask ourselves, ‘should I really be in college, or are there better things I could be doing with my time right now?’

UT Sport

Exit Sandman: The Legacy of Number 42 James Hussey Contributing Writer

2. More commonly known in popular culture as the answer to life, the universe and everything, this pronic, abundant number has a deep history in baseball, and one that, in its annual celebration, reminds us of myriad aspects of the American past. The 2013 Major League Baseball season has been remarkable for many reasons, ranging from Todd Helton’s decision to hang up the cleats to the darker side represented in suspensions meted out for the use of prohibited substances. These noteworthy events in the inevitable churning of baseball’s calendar pale in significance to the retirement of one Mariano Rivera however. The Yankees’ closer will retreat from the spotlight of the Bronx, after 23 years in professional baseball, two months shy of his 44th birthday. Perhaps most significantly, “Mo” will be the last player sanctioned to wear the iconic “42” jersey, a number retired across baseball in 1997 in honour of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in the major leagues, breaking the historic colour barrier. Jackie Robinson was born into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia in 1919. Having moved to California, after the departure of his father from the family early in the young Jackie’s life, the Robinsons lived in poverty in a relatively affluent neighbourhood. Mariano Rivera was born in Panama in 1969 and lived in a poor fishing village where activities of baseball and soccer relied on the ingenuity of the players to fashion balls and bats from household waste products. To continue this article in a comparative way would be trite, and, on a human level, do a disservice to both players. It is from this renewed starting point that the “significance of 42” must be examined. Robinson was an outstanding young athlete, and by the time he transferred to

UCLA in 1939, American football or track and field seemed the most natural choice for the man from Cairo. Baseball’s personal status fluctuated during Robinson’s early college days, his statistics belying any future career, with only a .097 batting average. As has been noted in the careers of the great Ted Williams and Hank Greenberg, World War II played a seismic part in the legacy of Jackie Robinson. Fully intent on a career in football, Robinson joined the racially integrated Honolulu Bears, only for his nascent footballing efforts to be cut short by the attacks on Pearl Harbour. Like fellow Hall of Famers Williams and Greenberg, Robinson joined the army, and after a racially-motivated court martial was brought against him (and subsequently quashed), Robinson served his time as a coach for army athletics before honourable discharge. The convoluted journey towards superstardom was fraught with distraction, and Robinson only received an offer to play for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues after coaching the fledgling basketball programme at Sam Huston College, Austin. Robinson’s Major League career started inauspiciously. Farcical “trials” held by the Boston Red Sox to appease a desegregationist Councilmen offered little hope for any of the Negro League players. Other teams were, however, accepting of the idea of white and black players pursuing a baseballing career side-by-side. Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, selected Robinson and, in a now famous exchange, wished to find out if his new black talent would withstand the inevitable racial taunts of fans around the league. An angry, confused Robinson asked if Rickey was “looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?” Rickey’s famous reply, and one that encapsulates many aspects of Robinson sterling service to professional athleticism, asked for “a Negro player with guts enough not to fight back.”

Tuesday 1st October 2013 // Plying his trade initially with Dodgers AAA-affiliate, the Montreal Royals, in racially-charged Florida, Robinson excelled, garnering MVP honours in his first season. In 1947, a year removed from his exploits on the Gulf Coast, Jackie Robinson would become the first player to break the “colour barrier”, making his debut at the famous Ebbets Field. Robinson was prepared for insults from all sides, although, somewhat ironically, the invectives of opposing managers and players did more to unite the Dodgers than their own rhetoric. The continuing details of Robinson’s career, from Rookie of the Year to MVP honours, from All Star Games to a world championship were remarkable. The huge step of breaking of the “baseball colour line”, an execrable practice that had existed for 60 years preceding his career, was merely the beginning of his legend. Mariano Rivera, the boy with English and whose first plane journey brought him to Spring Training as a young Yankee prospect in 1990, worked his way through the organisation as a stellar pitching hope before making his major league debut in 1995. Wearing the number made famous by Robinson, Mo wound his way through the major league team as a starting pitcher before forming a formidable relief pitching one-two punch with John Wetteland. By 1997, Rivera had been re-signed by the Yankees at the expense of Wetteland, and was their designated closer. Allowed to wear the jersey he had been given previous to the league-wide retirement, Rivera produced amazing statistics, revolutionising the role of 9th inning closer, previously highlighted by such luminaries as Dennis Eckersley and “Goose” Gossage. By the time Rivera helped the Yankees to their first World Series victory since 1978 in 1996, he was established as the game’s premier relief pitcher, whose cut fastball was quickly recognised as baseball’s most effective pitch. To think of Mo’s cutter is to realise a force of nature that has blown through professional baseball for the last 17 years. For a pitcher to use one pitch is virtually unheard of, but the preternatural connection Rivera seemed to hold with his technique meant that, despite prior knowledge of what was coming, batters rarely dealt properly with its effects. By the time the Yankees’ scoreboard production staff began to play Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” upon Rivera’s entering a game in late innings, the simple player was beginning to become a legend. The phenomenal trajectory of Rivera’s career, from fishing boats in Puerto Caimito to 13-time All-Star and 5-time World Series champion, is down to a number of contributory factors. As a closer, pressure is a pitcher’s perpetual bedfellow. The final three outs are widely regarded as the most tense, so to record them consistently over the course of 18 years as a “one-dimensional” cutter exponent is miraculous. Rivera, like Robinson, is an institution, as much a part of the game as a Ruth or Cobb. When the Panamanian announced his retirement from the game at the end of the 2013 season, baseball teams across the league began a processional ceremony sequence that would lead into his last game

Clubs Report High Turnout for Freshers’ Week Conor Bates Sports Editor

he sporting diaspora of Trinity College appears to be receiving another great boost after many clubs reported large, and even record, signups during Freshers’ Week. While the sporting tradition of Trinity has been

evolving and improving over the last number of years, an increased volume of students signing up for clubs can only spell positive things for the coming year, and, indeed, future of Trinity’s storied sporting culture.

Dublin University Fencing Club, one of Trinity’s most successful clubs in recent times, reported a very large interest in the club. DUFC reported well over one hundred signups, with a number of experienced fencers

The University Times

Basketball Scholars Shooting for Victory Rebecca O’Keeffe Basketball Correspondent

rinity ladies’ basketball has had improving fortunes in the preceding few years. A semi-final appearance in last year’s league playoffs was the high point for a club very much on the way up. This season the team will hope to go one better, and will be massively aided by the addition of two top quality American players, who are participating as Victory Scholars in the Sport Changes Life (SCL) programme. Katie Ganser and Shelby Smith are the two latest players to join DUBC on the programme, and they bring a wealth of experience on the court. Ganser is a graduate of Merrimack University, Massachusetts, where she spent “two years as team captain. In that time we turned our college from a five-win season team to a 17-win team. It was the biggest turnaround in our division, and we got a trip to the conference semi-finals.” Shelby Smith on the other hand, joins following a four year stint in St. Joseph’s, Pennsylvania. As captain of that team, Smith led her team to the Atlantic 10 Championship, which earned us a place in the NCAA Championship for the first time in 13 years. “Basketball was very intense during my four years. It was almost like a full-time job, but I was afforded an opportunity that many don’t get, and I’m very grateful.” The two students are postgrads in Trinity, and are attending the university, in addition to their work in the Sport Changes

Life programme. SCL is a programme based in Belfast, Northern Ireland whose mission is to use sport to impact the lives of at-risk youth while creating ambassadors to Ireland from the US. This is the first year SCL is working with Trinity. Shelby explains the work of SCL; “we work in the local schools and community to promote good values through sport, and to play for a local club as well as our University. It’s a lot of commitment, but it’s a rewarding experience. We all keep blogs on our info website sportchangeslife.com.” The programme came to the attention of the girls in different ways. “My cousin, Frank Powell, played on the All-Ireland team for about ten years. He met the founder of SCL, Gareth Maguire, through that team”, says Katie. Shelby encountered the initiative when she travelled to Ireland with her university team. “I was introduced to SCL, and then later in the year I considered it as something I would like to pursue. I’m extremely thankful that I did.” On their plans for the year, and their experience of Trinity thus far, both athletes are very optimistic. Shelby says, “I love Trinity thus far. There is so much history and tradition associated with the institution that it is an honour to be a part of it. I am very excited to meet the team and start playing. I think it is going to be a fun year.” Katie espouses the same enthusiasm about the year ahead; “I cannot wait to start training with the women’s basketball team and we expect to have a successful season.

in the depths of September. Few players in sport are universally respected. Fewer still receive the treatment that Rivera has earned in his “farewell tour” 2013 season. While holding onto a 44 save year, Mo has been honoured in every visiting stadium with gifts and pre-game farewell celebrations. Tinged with sadness, these ceremonies nonetheless highlight his all-pervasive popularity across the league. The presentation formalities have been touching and often, amusing, as teams honour Rivera’s formidable talents, despite the fact that, through the years, he ended their playoff hopes indiscriminately. From Jackie Robinson and Rivera’s entrance into baseball at an opportune time, the number 42 has provided many of baseball’s answers throughout the years. Players like “Iron Man” Cal Ripken and Willie “Pop” Stargell were honoured in a similar fashion when their illustrious careers ended, but the special significance of his achievements and that inimitable jersey number make 2013’s farewell especially poignant. 42 will never be seen on a Major League Baseball field after Mariano Rivera retires his last batters in the New York Yankees’ season-ending series against the Houston Astros. The game is drawing to a close and Yankee stadium is on its feet as “Enter

Sandman” blares out over loudspeakers. Manager Joe Girardi is making his way to the mound to take the ball from Dellin Betances, a rookie pitcher with high hopes. A lithe, deceptively tall man is making his way from the bullpen. Tears stream from the eyes of the Yankees’ equivalent “Ultras” section, the Bleacher Creatures. Joe Girardi will hand the ball to Mariano Rivera for the last time in the Bronx. An inning and a third later, Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter will emerge from the dugout to relieve Mariano Rivera of duty. The Stadium erupts, and Mo is hugged by his long-term friends, as their broad shoulders hide his tears from prying cameras. It seems fitting to draw this piece to a close by looking towards the words of another of baseball’s greatest pitchers – Christy Mathewson. From the master of early 1900’s pitching, to the unflappable Mariano Rivera, the words ring true across decades of sporting turbulence: “No man can have a ‘yellow streak’ and last. He must pay much attention to his nerves and temperament. He must hide every flaw.”

joining their ranks for the coming year. Similarly, Trinity’s American Football Club reported an increase in signups for Freshers’ Week. Club captain Stephen Carton touted an improvement from last year, with around eighty new members in total. The club will also boast a number of new players with invaluable previous experience. Other traditionally well subscribed clubs - GAA, rugby and rowing - garnered impressive numbers, the latter perhaps pulling in participants with their hands-on approach; a rowing machine in Front Square to give students a dry run at the sport. The soccer team pulled in over a hundred players in the first two days - a truly remarkable achievement, considering the poor weather conditions, and will hopefully strengthen their squad, which is already performing well this season. Speaking for the basketball club, Rebecca O’Keeffe noted that the DUCAC scholarship system had prov-

en a great asset for the teams. Student scholarships, which have attracted some of Trinity’s most prominent athletes, have brought a few new American players, lauding many years’ experience on the court. Record signups were also reported by DUHAC, with around 350, and the tennis club, who signed up near to 400 members during the first week of term. With a majority of clubs announcing improvements in terms of regist e r e d numbers, the coming season for the fifty DUC ACaffiliated c l u b s should be a bright o n e . Within the rising quantity there is also great quality, and the depth of talent buying into the clubs on Freshers’ Week promises much in the tapestry of Trinity’s sporting history.

An increased volume of students signing up for clubs can only spell positive things for the coming year, and, indeed, future of Trinity’s storied sporting culture.

The University Times //

UT Sport 15

Tuesday 1st October 2013

Hiccups for the Heineken Cup Cathal Groome Staff Writer In recent weeks, the future of europe’s premier rugby competition, the Heineken Cup, has been put into serious doubt. For years there have been mumblings from english and French clubs highlighting the inequality that the clubs in these countries perceive themselves to be facing. These have taken a more tangible shape with the organisations in charge of the Premiership and the Top 14 declaring that next season they will set up an alternate competition to the Heineken Cup. So what are the issues that have caused this divide, and is there any possibility that the change can be avoided? On the face of it, the english and French clubs’ main concerns are based

on two factors. In their leagues, winning a place in the Heineken Cup is based on merit - a team’s final placing at the end of the season. This is not the case in the rabo Pro12, where places are awarded to countries irrespective of their final placing. Three places are awarded to Ireland and Wales and two places are granted to Scottish and Italian clubs. In the cases of Ireland and Wales, the top three of the clubs are granted the places. However, all the Scottish and Italian teams are granted places. This inequality is most clearly seen in the case of Zebre, the Italian club that, despite finishing a distant last in the league, is playing in the Heineken Cup this year. Clearly this offers an unfair advantage to clubs in the Pro12. The other main concern that the english and French have is based around the lack

of relegation from the Pro12. They believe that this allows Pro12 clubs to rest players in league games without any repercussions, and thus have fresh players available for european games. This is a valid concern for english clubs, but

ent entities to the Celtic clubs, as they are privately run and not tied to the national rugby union - as such, they have no duty to the national team. The Irish provinces, for example, are run by the IrFU and have a duty to work in the interests of the national team. As such, much of what has occurred has been perceived as a power grab by the english and French clubs, and that generating increased income is hugely important to them. So what can be done, then? The erC are meeting on October 23rd to try and reach a compromise which suits all parties. In terms of the meritocracy issue, the solution is quite simple: the awarding of places in the Heineken Cup should be based on the clubs’ performances within the Pro12. Some would argue that this may result in no Italian teams qualifying, potentially, but, in reality, if a team cannot compete in the Pro12, they won’t compete in the Heineken Cup. One wouldn’t think it fair if Cardiff Football Club were granted a Champions League place simply because they’re Welsh. The relegation issue is a more complex issue, but there is a possible solution

which could also benefit smaller rugby nations such as Georgia or romania. The Pro12 originally involved the Celtic nations, but with the inclusion of Italian clubs there is a more pan-european feel to the competition. Perhaps the solution would be to create a second-tier competition under the Pro 12 including some of the weaker clubs from around europe. Many of these clubs already take part in the early rounds of the Amlin Cup. This would provide huge motivation to the small rugby nations and also allow for prolonged competition in the Pro12, where, towards the end of the season, the excitement builds to final playoffs. The issues at play are far from simple. One thing is for certain, though - there will be many changes before the commencement of any european rugby competition in the 2014-15 season.

Much of what has occurred has been perceived as a power grab by the English and French

What are the issues that have caused this divide, and is there any possibility that the change can be avoided?

maybe not so much for French clubs that have the money to amass large squads filled with the finest imports from world rugby. Toulon’s current roster illustrates this perfectly. There is another idea which could be at play. Some believe that the current threat laid down by the english and French clubs is mere posturing, and that although they want the above changes to be implemented, they have no intention of actually leaving the competition. Although this may be the case, it would be extremely risky on the part of the erC to call their bluff. The fact also remains that english and French clubs are completely differ-

Strength to Strength For DUCC

Eoin Healy DUCC Secretary

“

18,000 revolutions, 3000 calories burnt, 1200 meters climbed, 100 kilometres travelled, speeds of up to 80km/h, heart pumping at 200 BPM, the wind in your face and the mountains at your back; all just using your legs, lungs and heart - a typical day in the life of a Dublin University Cycling Club member.’’ This remark from Dermot Cooney, a veteran DUCC member, encapsulates the essence of this demanding sport and why so many people are turning to the bike in an attempt to become fitter, and to experience that adrenaline rush that the body craves. There really is something for everyone in DUCC – its philosophy as one of inclusion and development, regardless of the starting point. Its mandate is to help everyone, so, to that end, coaching is provided for those who wish to race, and advice

is offered from experienced club members to those who want to know a little bit more and get fitter. There are four elements to the club, each of which has proven itself to be a winner, be it in a competitive aspect or a more leisurely one. The first element is, of course, road leisure cycling. Here, training sessions

to compete. They will take part in lactate threshold training, intervals, VO2 maximal efforts and more. There is very little that can match the experience of riding in a peloton with over 100 riders at average speeds of over 40km/h. everyone should try this at least once. Mountain biking is a practice of the club which is definitely for the real thrill seekers. Careening down hills at breakneck speeds, avoiding obstacles like protruding rocks, trees, ditches and other potentially dangerous objects is the name of the game here. Finally, we have track cycling. Think Chris Hoy, think maximal efforts, think speed. If one can liken road cycling to filling up a bath to the brim and letting the water out slowly by unplugging the stopper, the track is akin to taking a chainsaw to that same bath and hacking the bottom of it off, to see all of the water come out in one great torrent. Within each of these disciplines the club have enjoyed great success. Andrew Stanley, current DUCC road Captain, progressed from being an entry level Category 4 racer last season to an elite Category 1 rider, competing and winning at the highest level domestically. Since then, he has

There is very little that can match the experience of riding in a peloton with over 100 riders at average speeds of over 40km/h are relaxed, conversations flow, the distances are long, but the pace easy. Don’t worry about how far you can cycle just yet, you’ll get there! road racing is the second, more competitive facet of the club. Separate training sessions are held for those looking

raced semi-professionally in Asia while tional league and going on to take the on erasmus, notably reaching the po- national title in the team sprint event, dium at the Tour of Hong Kong. He has breaking records in the process. There also represented Cycling Leinster and has also been success on the mountain has become one of the brightest pros- biking front, with two members compects in terms of emerging young rid- peting in national events and achieving ers in the country – he is an ambitious top fifteen placings in the process. young man who has eyes set on the DUCC has gone from strength to World University Cycling Champion- strength, and will only keep climbing in ships next June. stature. Altogether, on the road we have over ten active riders racing competitively. Our distinctive jersey, complete with Trinity colours, is now well recognised and respected within the peloton. On the track scene, eoin Healy has had an excellent season this year in the DUCC colours, taking second place in the na- Photos by Patrick Smith from DUCC

UT Sport

Tuesday 1st October 2013 //

The University Times

Trinity Success in Intermediate Cup Conor Bates Sports Editor

Tuesday night trip to Clondalkin was the first port of call for DUAFC in this year’s FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup. The neutral venue, home to Peamount United FC, would see Trinity take on Ballyfermot United on a slick and dewy pitch. Although it was drizzling lightly at intermittent points in the game, Trinity’s major worry would not have been the conditions; their opposition were a tough side, playing in a higher division than the collegiate outfit. The game itself would be best described as difficult. The first half was frenetic and unsettled at times, with neither team playing really captivating football. Ballyfermot were the beneficiaries of an early breakthrough, giving themselves a 1-0 lead in the opening twenty minutes. A game that becomes bogged down, where technical play is not at a premium, 1-0 could often be a winning result. Trinity struck back soon after, however, with central-midfielder Colm Begley grabbing the equaliser on the half-hour mark. DUAFC were beginning to show something in the way of progress, perhaps settling more into the game, and penetrating the Ballyfermot side with numerous attacks down the wing. The right flank in particular was a focal point of many incisive Trinity attacks, with winger Farhad Patel standing above his teammates in terms of consistency and quality. Patel, who played semi-professional football be-

forehand, showed his class on a number of occasions, taking on the opposing fullback and supplying dangerous crosses to no avail. The weather worsened as the half drew near, a torrent of rain falling for a few minutes, keeping the potential of both teams well quashed. Much like the lashing of rainfall, the referee for the evening was handing out cards with force. A flurry of cards before the half saw a yellow awarded to Chris Allen, with many opposing players also finding their way into the notebook. This would prove to be vital after half-time. Despite the worsening weather patterns, the second half started brighter for both sides. The ball made its way up and down the pitch in rapid succession before ultimately being cut out by the last men. A neat move from Trinity gave them a chance to capitalise early after the restart. From a throw-in, a decisive run by Chris Allen cut through the Ballyfermot defence. Allen laid the ball back to his strike partner, Aaron Callaghan, who forced a brilliant save from goalie Graham Darcy. The resulting corner was cleared, but only as far as DUAFC centre-half, Niall Cullen. Cullen, from around 25 yards, took a fairly average strike at goal, which Darcy appeared to save. The ball trickled through the goalkeeper’s hands, á la Massimo Taibi, and DUAFC were 2-1 up. The celebrations were briefly put on hold as Trinity fullback, Andrew Cullen, picked up an injury moments later. Club Captain, Conor Bobbett, replaced the injured defender, but it could spell a few weeks out for Cullen,

Although we won, we could have made it a lot easier on ourselves

Sports in Brief Soccer

who went down of his own accord, succumbing to an ankle injury. Again, the majority of play was passing through the experienced Farhad Patel, who was making a case for a man of the match performance. Following an opposition free-kick, Trinity made another impressive break down the right wing, but couldn’t increase their lead any further. The right flank was becoming a source of much joy for the college side as they began to place a lot of pressure on their competitors. Ill-discipline in the Ballyfermot ranks provided Trinity with many freekicks around the box, but, again, DUAFC couldn’t make them count. They

were soon given a boost in the numbers battle, however, as a second yellow card for Ballyfermot mid, Glen McCabe, saw them reduced to ten men. An unnatural and theatrical dive from the player was enough for the referee to award a free against McCabe, and he had no hesitation in showing him a second yellow card for the offence. With an extra man, Trinity stuck to their previous style of play, and began to control the game dominantly. At this stage, Trinity were cruising, but not capitalising. Despite being in the ascendancy, Trinity’s forwards were failing to produce the goal that would put the game beyond doubt. Aaron Callaghan was consistently caught offside, although this was definitely in

we could have made it a lot easier on ourselves. Once we took the lead, we stopped passing the ball around as much and made harder work of it than we needed to. We’re happy to be through to the next round.” Certainly the better side won the day, and if DUAFC can use this as a platform, there is definitely the potential to progress through league and cup competitions this year.

Starting Team 1. David Minihane 2. Andrew Cullen 3. Raymond O’Malley 4. Aaron Cameron 5. Niall Cullen 6. Darren Burke 7. Farhad Patel 8. Colm Begley 9. Chris Allen 10. Aaron Callaghan 11. Ciaran McGahan

Substitutes 1. Eoin O’Driscoll 2. Brian O’Reilly 3. Conor Bobbett 4. Stuart Woods

Conor Bates Sports Editor

DUCAC

DUAFC are off to a flying start this season with two wins from their opening two games. Their biggest win to date was a 4-0 win over Skerries Town FC. Niall Cullen, Chris Allen, Aaron Callaghan and former captain, Darren Burke, scored for the college side. They are currently mid-table in Senior Division 1B, with a considerable number of games in hand.

During Fresher’s Week, DUCAC were the hosts of Sports Night, held in the gym. The aim of the evening was to encourage a range of sports within the college, and introduce new students to the sporting authorities. Run in conjunction with Elverys and Optimum Nutrition, the night featured a dodgeball tournament and a visit from the Nora Stapleton, a member of the Irish Ladies’ Six Nations winning panel, with the Six Nations trophy.

Judo

Athletics

Junior Sophister student, Adam Corcoran, will represent Trinity at the European Universities Judo Championships. Corcoran is a senior international for Ireland, and has been the champion in the 66kg weight class for the last three years. The geography student will compete at the event in Coimbra, Portugal, beginning on the 3rd of October.

part due to slow ball from the flank. The collegiate work-rate was high, but it was all a lot of bluster with no real tangible result. In the 62nd minute, Trinity were almost caught off guard when a Ballyfermot break saw the Tallaght club fire a shot in, against the run of play. The ball hopped just in front of goalkeeper, David Minihane, who dealt with it calmly, in what could have been a tricky situation. Highlights of the last fifteen minutes for Trinity included a deft flick from Callaghan to Patel, with the winger ultimately blasting wide, and a truly wasted opportunity when Ciaran McGahan rifled the ball across the face of goal. The winger was rightly aggrieved that none of his teammates threw themselves at the ball, as the probability of netting from his cross was very high. Patel, after a sterling performance, was withdrawn in favour of Brian O’Reilly. The 80th minute spelled disaster for Trinity as Chris Allen received his second yellow card, and his marching orders. Allen petulantly kicked the ball away after a free-kick was awarded, and saw the game brought back to a level footing on the pitch. This gave DUAFC a nervy final ten minutes, as Ballyfermot looked to equalise on the scoreboard as well. Two blistering strikes were the best they could manage, and both were spectacularly saved by Trinity ‘keeper Minihane. The old adage tells us that a win is a win. Trinity will progress to the next round of the cup with their 2-1 victory, in a mixed, tough game. After the match, Conor Bobbett spoke to The University Times; “Although we won,

Photos by Conor Bates

Postgraduate physiology student, Mark Kenneally, finished in 7th place overall in the Great North Run. The Great North Run, a half marathon taking place in Newcastle, England, is the second largest half marathon in the world, and was won this year by three time Olympic champion, Kenenisa Bekile. Kenneally, represented Ireland at the London Olympics, and finished the run in 1:04:04. He was the 2nd placed European at the event, with only Mo Farah finishing ahead him in that category.

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