The Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) marched alongside Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) in the March for Choice on September 26th without realising they had no mandate to support the repeal the eighth campaign.
In an email apologising for the mistake sent to GSU members on October 2nd, the President of the GSU, Katie Crowther, stated: “Due to a miscommunication during handover a delegation from Trinity went to the March for Choice on Saturday the 26th. The Officers of the GSU were present and under the mistaken impression that the mandate that currently enjoyed by the SU also applied to the GSU. This was incorrect and a sincere apology has been extended.”
Speaking to The University Times, Crowther said that this was “completely a mistake” and put it down to “a communication breakdown”. She explained that the GSU did not properly ascertain whether they had a mandate on the issue due to a number of factors that made them exceptionally busy. This included a two-week orientation for postgraduate students, the reporting of a death on campus by The University Times the evening of the day before, which she said meant that they had to extend their welfare office hours, and the fact that she had to speak at a ceremony commemorating the staff and students who died in World War One on the morning of the march.
Prior to The University Times’s reporting of the death on the Friday, however, the union received a Swedish abortion rights delegation in their offices, according to a Facebook post made on their page at around three o’clock. The post said “See you on Saturday at 12.30”, referring to the March for Choice. The post has since been deleted.
Crowther confirmed that the GSU advertised that they were joining TCDSU in the March for Choice and said that around 12 postgraduate students attended. S At the march, doubt was expressed by Crowther and the Vice-President of the GSU, Gianna Hegarty, as to whether they were mandated to support the repeal the eighth campaign. Crowther then ensured that she did not speak up as a representative of the GSU at the march. She commented that “everything was SU and actually we were there supporting as individuals and that is totally acceptable [because] I am a student.” That evening, Crowther confirmed that they did not have the mandate when she examined the minutes of previous meetings, she said.
However, when Trinity News reported on the march later that day, they wrote: “Speaking to Trinity News the GSU said that their group was separate from the SU one, but they were here in collaboration with the SU. The GSU pointed out that they had before received their own separate mandate from their own members.” Crowther claims that she subsequently updated Trinity News on the accuracy of her statements, but the article has not been updated to reflect this.
The University Times contacted the previous GSU officers in relation to Crowther’s claim in the email that there was a miscommunication during handover. In an email to The University Times, Megan Lee, last year’s GSU President and the person responsible for the handover training, stated: “During our handover, we did not specifically discuss the GSU taking part in the Students for Choice campaign. That being said, the Students for Choice campaign was made part of the SU’s agenda for the year, and was undoubtedly a topic of discussion for elected representatives during – or soon after – handover. Wires were crossed at this time. A misunderstanding took place for which the current sabbatical officers have publicly apologised. It is my opinion that this issue has been addressed openly and transparently; the GSU’s involvement in the campaign will be discussed at the next GSU council meeting.”
In response to an email question from The University Times Adam Hanna, last year’s Vice President of the GSU, stated that he did not include mandates as part of the Vice President crossover.
In her interview with The University Times, Crowther outlined the course of action that is to take place in response to this mistake. A motion was recently passed at the GSU’s annual general meeting, she said, which would mean that “if anything in the public eye again, if anybody, if anyone from the GSU body wants to create a working group, they will nominate it at a council or an AGM, and in the future, we’ll have a working group” before a mandate is voted on. The GSU’s constitution is currently under review and the updated constitution will include this new process involving the establishment of working groups. Speaking to The University Times, Crowther stressed that they “do not impose any views upon anybody” and “support everyone having the right to having a view”. The GSU’s next meeting will take place on November 18th and members of the GSU will have the opportunity to bring up a motion on the Students for Choice campaign.
