The logo of the Graduate Students' Union (GSU).
The following e-mail was sent to postgraduate students by Graduate Students’ Union President Mary O’Connor earlier today:
“Fellow Postgraduate,
This is a campaign by postgraduates to secure proportional funding to allow the Graduate Students’ Union to maintain its services and to support further co-curricular activity, the postgraduate student experience, and enhanced scholarship.
It is my displeasure to inform you that the Graduate Students’ Union’s financial situation from the end of this academic year is precarious. As a result of an overall reduction in funding, the GSU is no longer in position to continue to support the office of the Vice President.ADVERTISEMENT
The Vice President is the Education and Welfare Officer for postgraduates—the only officer recognised in Trinity as having this responsibility. The Vice President defends the interests of postgraduate students in College and to College on all of the various academic and welfare committees, he balances this with a very heavy load of casework.
In a time when supports in College are threatened by diminished resources, and in the light of increased postgraduate numbers, the loss of the Vice President would represent a further, and most significant, loss in the quality of the postgraduate student experience.
As the President of the Union whose sole occupation is the postgraduate student body, and mindful of the specific regulations in the College Calendar which recognise that postgrads are entitled to similar supports as undergraduates, I am deeply concerned for the future well being of our members.
The Graduate Students’ Union, a body of the Capitation Committee receives the following allocation grant:
Actual Year to ended June 2011€
Central Athletic Club: 383, 829€
Central Societies Committee: 388,671€
Students’ Union: 352,541€
Graduate Students’ Union: 54, 955€
Publications: 51,924€In 2009, the GSU and SU assembled an Agreement of Understanding. The memorandum allows the Students’ Union to represent all students outside of Trinity allowing that the GSU receives 15,000 Euro (which funds the second sabbatical officer). It was the GSU’s understanding that this allocation would become permanent after a three year trial. Unfortunately, the Students’ Union has discontinued the agreement.
Although the Capitation Committee has increased the allocation the GSU receives by €10,000, the GSU will have a total income of €60,000 (a decrease of €10,000 compared to the current budget of €70,000), while the future budget was expected to be €75,000 (€60,000 from Capitations + €15,000 from the SU). The net effect of this is a loss of €10,000, instead of the expected gain of €5,000. As a result, the role of the GSU Vice-president (and the welfare and education services provided by this position) are in jeopardy.
Further, given that the loss in income stems from the discontinuation of funding, allocated to the GSU by TCDSU, and pending any further negotiation in this regard, the Executive Committee of the GSU has (without prejudice to the membership of TCDSU) dissolved the Memorandum of Understanding between the Unions and the GSU has formally assumed responsibility for the external representation of Trinity’s postgraduate students.
Please sign this petition to support the Graduate Students’ Union’s efforts to secure a proportionate amount of the funding allocated to both students’ unions to continue to support the above stated services.”
It follows this statement released by the Students’ Union on the “revision of GSU” funding last week.
