Elections for sabbatical positions kicked off tonight with the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) hustings, to a large crowd of campaigners and union members. Candidates across multiple races focused on varied platforms of inclusivity and engagement, with support for students with disabilities being a hot topic in many of the races. However, perhaps owing to the majority of races being uncontested, questions to from the crowd were sparse and the majority of the audience members present were on campaign teams.
However, two more challenging conversations arose from questions put to candidates, which interestingly occurred in the only two contested races this year. With this year’s elections trialling a new format to lessen the fatigue of both candidates and the general student population, tonight’s hustings provided polished and prepared candidates but few curious onlookers beyond campaign teams themselves.
President
Fourth-year history student Thomas Emmet was the first of the presidential candidates to speak at the hustings. Throughout his deliberate and practiced speech, Emmet touched upon representation, the core theme of his campaign. Emmet opened by pointing to the over 17,000 unique student voices that the union represents and highlighted his desire to “create an environment where these voices are heard”.
Emmet then went on to emphasise the dedication he would show to each aspect of TCDSU’s activities, “from that broken kettle in the arts block to repealing the eighth amendment”. The history student then proceeded to go through his campaign promises, including his plan to organise town hall-style meetings for union officers and campaign-leaders “so you don’t have to go to council to have your voice heard”.
Pushing off his platform of representation, Emmet laid out what shape his presidency would take, declaring that “your voice as well as the voices of the 17000 are just as important as mine”. Emmet then called upon those in attendance, particularly those who “feel that the union doesn’t support you”, to “join me and build a more representative union”.
On a strangely coincidental note, Emmet noted his lineage to Irish republican Robert Emmet and his wish to carry on the tradition of Emmets involved in Trinity after a motion for TCDSU to hold a preferendum on supporting a united Ireland passing at a meeting of the union’s council earlier in the evening.
After concluding his speech, Emmet then fielded questions from two of those in attendance. When asked about how he would continue on the work done by the TCDSU lobby group, Emmet stated that he wished to expand the number of lobby groups by creating new ones, including an LGBT lobby group, a mature student lobby group and another for medical students. In response to a question as to what issues this LGBT lobby group would address, Emmet suggested that “one of the first things to deal with” would be the MSM blood ban and working to reduce the 12 month threshold.
Fourth-year law student Kevin Keane followed Emmet, calmly delivering his speech while touching upon the key themes of his manifesto. Behind each point however, Keane emphasised the core tenet of his campaign, empowerment, stating at one point that TCDSU “should be empowering and welcoming every single person into the community that we have built here”.
Beginning his hustings speech by stating that he “believe[s] in the SU’s potential”, Keane then went on to declare that he has “never failed to be astounded by the SU’s work on fundamental issues”. Like Emmet, Keane proceeded to then go through his campaign promises, briefly touching upon improving services and reducing waste.
When speaking about improving college and union services, the law student pointed to improving the current 24-hour library setup as an example of what can be done for students on campus.
Addressing the often lack of involvement by many students in the union and how for many, the union isn’t “the be-all and end-all, and that’s okay”, Keane pointed towards the important work that TCDSU has done and continues to do regarding higher education fees, stressing that this matter “makes a fundamental difference to everyone no matter how involved you are”.
Again touching upon his theme of empowerment, Keane declared that the union can provide the platform for many students “to act on our political convictions” and that as president he would “support everyone to do that”.
Keane was asked by an audience member about what he would do as president regarding LGBT issues. He explained that there would be two wings to how he would lead the union in this regard. Firstly, Keane laid out a “firm, clear lobbying and legal” standpoint to work from, in particular on a new gender recognition bill, before going on to mention a “softer”, day-to-day aspect of supporting LGBT students in Trinity.
The final presidential candidate to speak was fourth-year Irish studies student Bryan Mallon. As opposed to his opponents, Mallon stepped-out from behind the microphone to deliver his more informal-style speech.
Mallon began by speaking about his background prior to coming to Trinity, one which he described as “where not many were meant to come to third level education, let alone Trinity College Dublin”. Emphasising his own struggles, such as a cut to his personal grant and difficulties in finding accommodation, Mallon’s point was that he is just like many other students. From this, Mallon went on to stress the importance of accessibility to his campaign, not just from a socio-economic standpoint, but mentioning his own struggles with mental health and how the union can help make College more accessible for those with mental health illnesses.
Again pointing to his own personal experiences, Mallon spoke of cuts to his higher education grant and the loss of his medical card before launching into a refrain, asking those in attendance if it is acceptable that students should suffer “these hardships”, endure “socio-economic difficulties” and tolerate “not being treated as equals”.
Mallon then said that these problems are not “insurmountable”, provided that students work together to eradicate them, noting that “if we bring people together, we can bridge these gaps”.
Despite a frank and personal speech, Mallon had to field challenging questions. The first specifically questioned Mallon’s trustworthiness as a president as a result of tweets he had sent in the past and referred to himself as “derogatory”, with Mallon stressing that “I certainly don’t think like that now”, and offering a firm rebuttal. Mallon had also published a status on Facebook during the event, stressing his apology. The second question was about his interview with Trinity News and a perceived lack of support for consent.
Mallon firmly stressed his support for the ongoing consent campaign, saying “a year ago, I actually spoke for feminists of Trinity and I specifically mentioned how consent workshops were a wonderful thing”. He spoke of tackling the campaign in a “calm, measured and sensible” manner, and that to do so we would need to “take our time”.
Overall, each candidate set the tone for the shape that their campaign look likely to take, with each focusing on the area of the presidency that they have prioritised.
Education
The sole candidate for Education Officer, Alice MacPherson, took to the stage amid riotous applause. Imploring students, with arguably the most passionate speech of the night, to “vote Mac for support, equality and representation”, MacPherson succinctly encompassing the three themes she focuses on in her manifesto.
Opening her remarks on the theme of equality, MacPherson stated: “I stand for equality.” She spoke of how the issue of women running for election was “incredibly important” to her “as a woman running for election”, as well as pledging to “strive for equality for all students in everyday academic life”.
On the issue of representation, MacPherson first addressed the topic of the union’s council meetings, stating she would continue “implementation of rules that promote debate, that give students, rep or not, a chance to engage”. She then stated that “sabbatical elections should be far more accessible”, and pledged to make an online archive of manifestos from elections so students could “hold candidates to promises they make in these two weeks”.
In response to a question on how she would improve the use of the union’s convenors, MacPherson referred to her desire to expand the membership of the union’s Education Committee. However, she emphasised the importance of continuity, adding: “Whilst pushing for more [school convenors] I wouldn’t change the general purpose of them.”
The final theme she spoke on was the theme of support, where she spoke of the “need for the right kind of spaces where we learn in”. She spoke of how “spaces for off campus students [are] just as important as spaces on campus”. She also spoke of her desire to support first years with the transition to college, as well as pledging to run a campaign on academic failure to “make sure that everyone comes through our college knows how to cope with academic failure”.
In response to a question on her manifesto pledge to hold Skype office hours, MacPherson stated that whilst she refers to it in her manifesto with regards students studying abroad on Erasmus, she outlined how her “vision for it is far broader”, mentioning students with disabilities whose access to House Six is limited due to mobility issues. Given “there’s technology out there”, MacPherson discussed the importance of its use to “make sure they [students] feel supported”.
Welfare
The third group to take the stage were those in contention for the role of Welfare Officer. As the most contested race, with five candidates, the colourful t-shirts which occupied the stage were symbolic of the creative and diverse – although largely undeveloped – ideas that the candidates presented.
Third-year environmental science student Meabh Cullen was the first welfare candidate to take the stage. Referencing her experiences as an ambassador for the Disability Service and as the Current Officer for Students with Disabilities with the union, Cullen believes she has “gained a wealth of experience” that will help her in the role. One of the main manifesto points she concentrated on was the introduction of Mental Health Mondays which will work with the Sports Centre and societies to improve the mental health of students both on and off campus.
When questioned by the audience about how she would implement these, Cullen didn’t go into specifics about how exactly she would reach out to those off campus, but explained that she will be “reining in” the Welfare Committee to help. She also introduced the idea of an online forum where students could advise each other about dangerous drugs in circulation and her hope to get sanitary bins and vending machines in all bathrooms. Finally, she noted that she will “ be the one who is in office looking after your mental health”.
Next up was second-year BESS student Laura Grady. She emphasised the experience she has amassed over her three year involvement with welfare in college, arguing that she knows “what works and what doesn’t”. Grady stated that her “experience, dedication, passion and approachability” were key to the role. Active listening played an important role in her speech, a skill she claims to have cultivated through her involvement with the S2S Summer Committee. She made clear that, if elected, she would prioritise the task of engaging more with students with disabilities.
Grady echoed Cullen’s praise of previous welfare committees, while asserting her intention to develop on the work that has already been done. Concluding her speech, Grady reaffirmed her belief in the influence welfare can bring to bear in the running of college. In addition to her emotional plea that “I care so deeply”, she impressed upon the audience that “I don’t know if I’d still be in college if it wasn’t for welfare”.
Fourth-year mathematics student Damien McClean started off his speech by professing he was “so grateful” that he could run for this role. McClean stated that while he has been able to get involved in college and enjoy his time here, not every student is so lucky. “You don’t know me”, he said to the crowd, “and you’re coming to me with your issue and that is incredible.” When the audience appeared to question this trustworthiness, McClean almost immediately began listing anecdotes, such as nights spent in hospitals with family members and having people come to him with their problems, in support of his claims. His manifesto is one derived from his own experiences on campus which he hopes will make him a “representative officer”. While not going into specifics on any issue, a trend followed by all of the candidates, McClean noted that he wanted to work with international and LGBT students while focusing on broad issues like accommodation and helping students at their most stressful times.
Fourth-year world religions and theology student, Emma Purser spoke on her policy of drug testing, promising to launch a campaign based on “harm reduction”. A major discussion point arising from her speech was the potential for drug testing at Trinity Ball. Responding to a question from the audience regarding whether this policy would have the effect of promoting drug use, she cited its use at festivals such as Body and Soul where “injuries and fatalities were considerably fewer”. Another question related to the supposed impracticalities of this, in that TCDSU may be subsequently held liable should the policy backfire, Purser reassured that “the TCDSU will not be carrying this out, it will be done hopefully by the HSE”.
Purser highlighted the importance of supporting Erasmus students, whom she said “are too often forgotten about”. Purser made clear reference to her experience as PRO of the Welfare Committee and as liaison officer with Q-Soc, Trinity’s LGBT society, adding that her work as a Peer Supporter has been instrumental in her decision to run: “I want each and every student to know that there is someone there rooting for them, with their best interests at heart.”
The final candidate to take to the stage was third-year geography student Rachel Skelly. Starting off confidently, Skelly declared that “when” she gets elected, she “wants to empower students”. This confidence raised questions with the audience as to how exactly she was going to achieve her aims. When responding, Skelly asserted that students often come into the Welfare Officer with issues that they may not previously have been aware of. She used her personal experience of how empowering she found working with the consent classes to reassure the crowd. She stated that giving students the opportunity to contribute to college society “would be a really incredible thing to do”. She believes that through blogs and vlogs she can “make welfare more accessible”. Consent classes were a major theme of Skelly’s address, consistently referring back to her experience of setting them up and running them in the college. Ending on the same confident note with which she began, Skelly stated: “My passion is visible in everything I’ve done, I want to harness this passion for your benefit.”
Overall, no candidate strayed far from their manifesto points. Consistent ideas around greater accessibility, accommodation, improving LGBT rights, the developing drug culture and consent classes were broached by each candidate.
Communications & Marketing
Also running in an uncontested race, Úna Harty opened her campaign to become the third Communications & Marketing Officer of the union with a firm focus on modernisation and integration of student services, echoing the focus of her manifesto.
Speaking on her reasons for running, Harty highlighted her passion for communication and her enthusiasm for developing the role. Experience wise, Harty is the union’s current Irish Language Officer, and this is what she stated provided her with insight into the union, as well as providing her with the opportunity to spread the “cúpla focail Gaeilge timpeall an champais”.
As an executive member of the Central Societies Committee (CSC), as well as a writer for Trinity News and Lovin Dublin, Harty stressed her scope of experience in “writing, editing, and of course, design”. She is also a member of the capitations committee, which “decides how your money is spent” and is PRO for Trinity Publications. It is this, she said, that showed her that “communication not as simple as making a poster. It’s about listening to what students want and engaging with modern means”.
Central to her manifesto is modernisation, engagement, sponsorship and college services. On the modernisation aspect she hopes to redesign the union’s website and make the accommodation and jobs portals more friendly, as well as expand the communications committee to include more tech specific roles, which will be central to many of her other manifesto objectives.
She will also work to develop the framework for a TCDSU app that will be included in the next strategic plan. The development of an app has featured on previous manifestos, with no success, but perhaps Harty will do better given she has only proposed to develop a framework which could be used going forward. Further to her modernisation point, she hopes to create short graphic based videos that will autoplay on Facebook. She believes the videos will be useful in promoting a variety of college services as well as reporting on the work of the union.
She also hopes to engage students more by posting regular Snapchat updates. This will be especially useful for first years, who Harty believes use Snapchat more than Facebook. In order to ensure class reps are doing their job of representing the views of their class, Harty intends on introducing a class representative polling system but has not yet offered details on how this will actually operate or through which form of media.
Given that most graduate opportunities advertised don’t appear to directly appeal to science or health science students, Harty plans to work on sponsorship and graduate opportunities for people in these courses. Taking a question from the audience on this Harty acknowledged that she hasn’t contacted anyone about this yet, given that “you’re usually contacted by them”. But she would like to build a template where those interested in sponsoring the union can see online what kinds of opportunities are available.
The second question from the audience asked whether or not Harty would stick with the branding designed this year or would develop her own. On this Harty said she would “most definitely continue with Glen’s branding”, and that “changing branding would defeat the purpose of branding”.
Entertainments
Jonah Craig opened his entertainments officer campaign tonight in a reserved yet positive fashion. Craig who runs unopposed this year, spoke while sporting an eye-catching maroon t-shirt which had brandished on it the slogan: “Make Ents Class Again”. The content of his opening speech, however, stopped well short of Trumpesque promises, instead focusing on continuity in Entertainments and Craig’s own fitness to fill the role.
Craig, a third-year computer science and business student, began by citing his impressive history within Trinity Ents and emphasised his position as the brain behind the train, having founded the popular themed mystery train tours in first year, before serving as JCR Entertainments officer in second year and treasurer of the Ents Committee this year. Craig also served on the Dublin University Business and Economics Society (DUBES) council and has founded and operated the popular Bora-Bora club night.
Craig highlighted many of his manifesto points, but did not mention some key objectives such as his promise to host at least one big event every month and also his pledge to make more tickets available for sale in the union’s shop. According to Craig’s manifesto, he will look to introduce ticket sales in the shop for events external to Trinity such as local theatre, sports and comedy events.
Craig, however, did detail his plans to introduce an Ents-run “comedy festival”, which according to Craig “would be [run] quite similar to the Trinity Battle of The Bands”. Craig also explained, during his two-minute address on the night, his opinion that Trinity Ents should be using more unique venues such as the Science Gallery which he stated “some students don’t even know it exists.” Another point mentioned by Craig was his aim to make it clear to all students just what facilities would be available at each event run by Trinity Ents.
Craig emphasised focusing on “entertainments for all” as a core policy from which he hopes to expand Ents to cater for and engage further with, health science students in TBSI and St James’s Hospital rather than the traditional outposts of the Arts Block and the Hamilton Building.
The wait continues to find out what exactly will constitute the additional “big events” Craig referenced in his manifesto. With huge potential expansion in the activity of Trinity Ents, it is expected that Craig will elaborate on such a considerable promise.
Craig was greeted warmly with little dissatisfaction or curiosity from the crowd attending, none of whom took up the opportunity to question when offered. Craig’s cautious approach reflects his emphasis on realistic and achievable promises. With many key points yet to discuss, it is expected that the former JCR officer will elaborate further on his policies in the coming week.
Editor of The University Times
Dominic McGrath, third-year law and political science student, is the only candidate for the position of Editor of The University Times, who opened tonight’s hustings. McGrath began by stating his belief that “The University Times exists to provide a platform for journalism so students who are interested can take part”.
McGrath added that “Trinity doesn’t have a journalism school so I believe The University Times fulfils this role”. Developing on this, McGrath explained that, as editor, he will be holding a writing convention aimed at secondary school students from disadvantaged areas. The programme will be open to Trinity students and staff as well.
McGrath believes that The University Times is not just about the writing, calling the paper a “gateway” to other activities such graphic design, web development, and photography.
McGrath returned to the paper’s role of reporting on student issues saying: “Day in, day out students turn to The University Times to read about the issues which face them.” He referred to The University Times as a place where “people look to…to be experts on the issues that matter to them”. McGrath then chose to speak on his manifesto promise to improve the paper’s sports coverage, saying that in the past “sports has been an area where The University Times particularly struggles”. He said that in order to “raise our game” the paper will recruit new sports correspondents to ensure coverage of all Trinitys sports clubs and societies.
When questioned on the reasoning behind his planned writing convention, as it’s called in his manifesto, McGrath spoke passionately. Recalling the numerous opportunities he has had over his past three years as a result of working with The University Times, McGrath aims to use the position of The University Times editor to engage as many aspiring journalists as possible.
It was this belief in The University Times role – not just as a student paper which holds power to account and reports on campus life, but also as an educational service, teaching journalism to Trinity students – which was the underlying theme of McGrath’s speech: “The University Times should be the support and foundation for the future of journalism in Ireland.”
John Conway, Ciarán Molloy, Patrick Lavelle, Kathleen McNamee, Donal MacNamee, Philip McGuinness, Jamie Sugrue, Jake O’Donnell, Morgan Clarke and Brónagh Kennedy contributed reporting to this piece.
