The role of Welfare Officer is as multi-faceted as the broad heading of “Welfare” might suggest. The aim of the position is to represent the best interests of the entire student body, so the role of Welfare Officer can be seen as particularly testing given that their time is often consumed by one-to-one interactions with students over personal issues, alongside other responsibilities such as sitting on College Board. Responsible for running campaigns concerning student welfare and ensuring that there is always someone for students to speak to, the race for Welfare Officer has consistently been one of the most competitive in recent years, and this year is no exception.
This year has seen several highly successful welfare campaigns covering issues such as consent, mental health and gender identity. Last September saw consent workshops running in Trinity Hall for the first time, giving students the opportunity to discuss sexual consent. Body and Soul week, now in its third year, saw volunteers handing out free hot chocolates to students every morning while events included a puppy room in House Six and free fitness classes in conjunction with Trinity Sport. The second week of Hilary Term saw Rainbow Week descend on campus. Now a staple week in the Trinity calendar, students partook in clothes swap shops and various discussions on issues such as coming out and sexual health.
Speaking to The University Times, Aoibhinn Loughlin, the current Welfare Officer, admits that the role requires you to be willing to write reports, read documents and present cases “which can be quite time consuming” and something that candidates often forget. “I came into the job thinking, ‘I survived third-year medicine placements, I’ll probably be OK’, and it was still a lot more time than I had considered”, says Loughlin. From the emotional to the practical, it is the role of the Welfare Officer to organise everything from the Accommodation Advisory Service to free events to help raise awareness about issues concerning student welfare. For Loughlin, one of the most important aspects of the job is being understanding. “It is kind of like appreciating what someone is going through may be really difficult for them, even if somebody else might not think it’s a big deal”, says Loughlin.
I came into the job thinking, ‘I survived third-year medicine placements, I’ll probably be OK’, and it was still a lot more time than I had considered
With five candidates vying for election this year, the hopeful students will be aiming to demonstrate that they have the empathy, work ethic and innovative ideas to gain the support of the student body in the most hotly contested race of this year’s elections.
Meabh Cullen, a third-year environmental science student, is running owing to her experiences with the College’s disability service. She believes that the service is the perfect example of a “well-funded service” in College. Cullen, who uses the service, is also the current Officer for Students with Disabilities of TCDSU and has previously been an Ambassador for the Disability Service. She notes that since “becoming part of the students’ union, it’s incredible being able to get my voice, and my opinion heard, and being able to represent such a small portion of the College, and for students to be able to come to me with any issues”. She hopes to use her campaign as a platform to “up the profile of other services such as the Student Counselling Service, and the College Health Centre”. Cullen believes that her time as an ambassador will serve her well, with hours of active listening training as well as dealing with issues ranging from access to on-campus accommodation to the personal problems of students with disabilities. “You’re helping students from all different sorts of backgrounds, whether you’re giving financial advice, or just relationship advice. Being able to work one-on-one with students is really exciting”, says Cullen.
Laura Grady, a second-year BESS student, explains that it was her participation on TCDSU’s Welfare Committee that inspired her to run for the position of Welfare Officer. “My mental health really improved through being on the Welfare Committee”, explains Grady. “As that continued, I became more confident and realised I could go to the Welfare Officer for any problem and I became really passionate about it and because of that, I now want everyone to have that experience.” Having served as a first-year representative on the committee last year, Grady now holds the position of Volunteer Co-ordinator. Grady notes the importance of welfare campaigns in reaching out to students: “No matter what the issue is, it’s about coming across the best and that’s the element of any campaign I consider to be the most important.” Grady believes that many students have grown weary of the union or are just wary of approaching it. “There are a lot of people who are just disengaged with, or disenfranchised with the SU”, she explains. “So, I think there are an awful lot of people who don’t like the SU, who perceive welfare as something silly, when it’s actually not and there are a lot of things you just wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for welfare.”
Also running this year is fourth-year mathematics student Damien McClean. The current Citizenship Officer of TCDSU and a Global Student Ambassador for Trinity’s Global Room, McClean states that his reason for running is due to the enjoyment he gets out of “helping other people”. While enjoying the position is necessary, he believes helping others “is also so important”. McClean is aware of the responsibilities that come with such a role, noting that the students who approach a Welfare Officer are there because “they so strongly need your help”. He elaborates, saying that “you have to be the one to step up and take over”. McClean is conscious of the fact that an important aspect of the Welfare Officer’s job is catching an issue “before it becomes a problem”. He believes that understanding the role going in lessens the amount of time needed to adjust to the demands of the job: “It’s a learning curve, and that’s understandable, but I think we can try make the learning curve a bit quicker by understanding the role.”
The fourth candidate running in this year’s election is Emma Purser, a fourth-year world religions and theology student. Purser is running on the platform because she understands how difficult it can be for students to settle into college life: “I know how hard it can be to juggle classes, making friends, joining societies and actually having a chance to get your bearings and grow as a person and to be honest, it took me until third year to do that.” Purser is the current Liaison Officer for Q-Soc, Trinity’s LGBT society, and was heavily involved in Rainbow Week, which took place the second week of Hilary Term. “I’ve also seen people never attend an event and engage with us during Rainbow Week”, says Purser. “Trinity is such a liberal bubble where you can be who you want to be, and it’s amazing and I think Rainbow Week really encourages this.” Rainbow Week had a big impact on Purser, and she sees that reflected in other students as well: “Nobody is perfect and nobody sees themselves as so, and it’s a great way to communicate this to students, that as long as you feel comfortable, you shouldn’t care about anyone else.” Much like Grady, Purser recognises the fact that not everyone is comfortable with approaching the SU. She is hopeful, however, that the various campaigns throughout the year “gives the students the opportunity to see that the SU is open and there for them and it’s taken the strengths of each and every campaign”.
Empathy is important, with Loughlin saying that you “need to be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes”
The final candidate hoping to secure the position of Welfare Officer is third-year geography student Rachel Skelly. As the current Gender Equality Officer of TCDSU and a former member of the Welfare Committee, Skelly has been particularly vocal on issues such as sexual consent and women’s reproductive rights within the College. Skelly admits to having two reasons for running. “I’m running because I feel as if I’m the best person for the job, pretty plain and simple”, she explains. “Then why I want to run? This has a bit of a saga story behind it. About three weeks before I started college in first year, I was assaulted. Basically, every expectation that I had for university just crumbled around me, it was just horrific. I was so upset and angry and just didn’t want to be here.” This experience defined Skelly’s first year in college. In second year, however, she became involved in the consent campaign, and says that it completely changed her outlook: “I felt so empowered and it felt incredible to have had this problem and to be able to turn around and use it as an experience that could help others”, she says. Skelly believes that a large proportion of the college population “are sort of left to their own devices” when it comes to welfare. “It’s all well and good to sit in your office and listen to student on a one-to-one basis but you need to be able to take it that step further”, says Skelly.
Trinity and its welfare system are unique, according to Loughlin. So what does it take to be TCDSU Welfare Officer? Empathy is important, with Loughlin saying that you “need to be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes”. Patience is also necessary, and “giving people the time they need” along with allowing time for administrative work. “I would just hope that next year, whoever does happen to get welfare would be interested in casework and have the interpersonal skills that casework requires”, says Loughlin.
Donal MacNamee and Philip McGuinness contributed reporting to this piece.
Kathleen McNamee is Features Editor, and will edit the welfare race for The University Times. Donal MacNamee and Philip McGuinness are Junior Editors and will act as welfare campaign correspondents.
