Domhnall McGlacken Byrne:
Edmund Heaphy | Creative Director
Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne, a twenty-one-year-old third-year medical student from Bray, is one of three candidates for the role of President of the Students’ Union this year. Currently the Health Sciences Faculty Convenor, McGlacken-Byrne has also served as Deputy Faculty Convenor and as a class rep. for two years.
His platform for the election centres around what he calls the “lack of continuity from year to year” – which he believes impairs progress and hinders the development of an “overarching sense of direction” for the Union.
If elected, he aims to tackle this problem by introducing SU Council-mandated four-year strategic plans for the Union, which he says would “constitute an ambitious step toward the continuity that this Union needs to mature”. He says that while a strategic plan may sound like a “laughably boring proposal to the ear”, it is a necessary step if we are to avoid the reversal of progress, especially given that many of the issues the Union faces are the same every year.
McGlacken-Byrne also promises that he’ll forge stronger ties between the SU and the college’s societies, will improve SU visibility with frank and widely accessible video updates and will introduce a way for students to make complaints.
He is also critical of the failed promises of the college in many areas, specifically in relation to how students are taught and assessed and equality of access. He specifically mentions that changes to the restrictive ways in which students can achieve credits are long overdue. On top of that, he says that the SU must be ready to interact more with College authorities, and must hold the college to account more.
McGlacken-Byrne, who in his spare time, enjoys running, reading and sleeping on the bus, says that a true leader is not one who shouts the loudest, but one who instead leads through informed and constructive dialogue.
Neil Cronin:
Aisling Curtis | Senior Staff Writer
Junior Sophister Chemistry student, Neil Cronin, aged 20, is set to run for the presidential position in the upcoming Sabbatical Officer elections.
Originally from Rathfarnam, Cronin has been involved in various aspects of College life, including becoming class rep in Second Year for the largest course in Trinity, Natural Science; and working as Deputy Engineering, Maths and Science Convenor in the Students’ Union this year. He also currently acts as the Ents officer for Trinity TV. Cronin says that his involvement in these positions has shown him that “things can be changed in college, that they are constantly changing and that the SU is the main representation for the students in that change.” Without the SU, Cronin claims that decisions could be made on a purely monetary basis, rather than in students’ best interests.
In terms of running for the presidential position, Cronin feels a number of changes would reduce student apathy towards the SU. In order to allow it “to connect to a greater extent with students”, the system of fixing the smaller issues in College must be changed. Effectively dealing with issues such as the sound not working efficiently in a lecture theatre, though minor in the grand scheme of things, is how Cronin thinks the SU can “overcome the vast indifference towards it around college”.
Cronin also believes that, in the college as a whole, one of the most powerful changes would be “to achieve an informed and passionate electorate”, as this would allow the student body to attain so much more. If the college board was aware that its decisions would be debated and challenged across College, Cronin thinks that “we could change almost anything for the better in College.”
Cronin spends his spare time with friends, as well as singing, playing guitar, and telling bad jokes. He usually has several TV series on the go, with his current obsession being The Newsroom.
Jasper Pickersgill:
Edmund Heaphy | Creative Director
Jasper Pickersgill, a twenty-one-year-old third-year Mechanical Engineering student from Westmeath, is also running for the position of President of the Students’ Union.
Currently the Trips Officer for the Fishing Society, Jasper also describes himself as a full-time party planner for the Horse Racing Society and has represented Trinity on the college’s J1 rugby team as well as on the 1st XI Trinity cricket team.
If elected president, Pickersgill wants to create an SU-sponsored employment agency that would provide students with part-time work that fits around their studies. This is part of what he calls an “employment, not just employability” policy, where students can build up professional experience.
As a student who has received the maintenance grant for the past three years, he wants to make the defence of this grant from further cuts his top priority. He also proposes to streamline the Erasmus application process and spend every second day at lunchtime listening to the concerns of students on campus.
Among the more radical reforms he proposes, he would like to introduce online voting for College elections and referendums.
Pickersgill also supports the college’s smoke-free campus proposal, but does not believe it is viable to force student smokers off-campus, and instead supports the introduction of purpose-built smoking areas on campus.
The library’s opening hours, according to Pickersgill, provide extremely limited accessibility, and he wants to work to ensure the introduction of longer opening hours over holidays and at weekends. Furthermore, he believes the lack of transparency regarding deadlines and procedures in the college’s accommodation office causes a “huge amount of stress in what is a crucial area of student life”. Thus, he wants to work to ensure greater transparency for applicants.
Pickersgill, a keen motorcyclist and avid environmentalist, also proposes the introduction of an organised shuttle to Trinity’s sports facilities in Santry, and the introduction of staplers alongside every printer in the college. He also thinks IS Services should introduce the ability to print on the college network from laptops.
