Having been involved in the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) for the past three years, as a class representative, a deputy faculty convenor, and a faculty convenor, Alice MacPherson now runs unopposed for the position of education officer.
Equality is evidently central to MacPherson’s campaign policies. Gender equality and Women in Leadership campaigns receive notable mention in her manifesto, both due to her past experience with these campaigns, and due to her plans if elected. Speaking to The University Times, MacPherson stresses that the issue is a “big passion” of hers. In her manifesto, she pledges to set “clear goals”, which MacPherson explains “need to be clear on what out goal is year on year, but also what our goal is in the long term, so that’s how we can measure the success and the impact we are having”.
When asked to expand on what she meant by the campaigns needing to “be inclusive”, and where the current campaigns falls short in that regard, MacPherson explains that “we are becoming more aware of different gender identities, and it’s a wonderful thing, we’re becoming more aware of new communities who are under-represented, which is why I would like to be more trans inclusive in the Women for Leadership Campaign, but also just look to have a Diversity in Leadership Campaign, so that incorporates gender equality, but also students from ethnic minorities are underrepresented in student leadership, students with disabilities are”.
One aspect of MacPherson’s vision for these campaigns is academic equality. Asked to explain, MacPherson states: “We’ve talked a lot about leadership, but ultimately not everyone wants to run for a leadership position in a society, or in the students’ union or whatever. So, I think we should be focusing on equality in the classroom as well, making sure that people’s experiences with everyone from academic staff to administrative, that they’re the getting the help they need and that it’s tailored to them. The big one is gender pronouns in the classroom that’s coming up again and again”. MacPherson summarises her vision: “So a lot of my policies are about making tangible change on the everyday, whether you want to run for leadership or not, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be experiencing equality in your everyday life”, adding “it’s in Trinity’s interest to create a community where people are able to achieve their aspiration whoever they are”.
The education officer needs to liaise with college officials and staff, but MacPherson emphasises the importance of having student input on all issues
This emphasis on aspiration, MacPherson believes, should follow students once they leave college too. She has already spoken to the Academic Secretary, Patricia Callaghan, about organising a careers open day, which would involve asking “a lot of the main employers in to talk”, where “we’d be looking to organise maybe something like a careers open day specifically for Trinity students, and getting a lot of the main employers in to talk.” MacPherson plans to have minority-specific careers events, such as as what was seen during Rainbow Week, with the Queer Careers Network in association with Law Soc. “We’ve recently seen some success with LGBT and Queer careers, and Trans inclusion in the workplace events, and I think opening them up to have a students with disabilities careers event or a gender equality careers events, women in STEM, and more LGBT careers events, because people might not be comfortable asking the questions that specifically relate to their identity as one of those groups in a big room full of people.” She believes that TCDSU collaboration with different student services is important and that the union can help to promote events that are run by them.
College services and spaces are something that MacPherson has evidently given a lot of thought to. She pledges to improve teaching spaces, and alternative study spaces for different learners who learn differently. She believes that in order to do this we need to embrace the “idea of reimagining what the library is”. Having spoken to Helen Shenton, Trinity’s Librarian and College Archivist, MacPherson believes that the library can expand as Shenton is “open to experimenting with spaces” and “expanding online resources”. The education officer needs to liaise with college officials and staff, but MacPherson emphasises the importance of having student input on all issues, including any expansion or reinvention of the library, because “as the library expands and changes what it has, its making sures there’s student representation on those committees, making sure student ideas are getting put forward”.
A focus on improving study spaces, according to MacPherson, cannot be limited to campus. Trinity Hall, she believes, must be included in this and hopes that “my work with the library would hopefully include them and give them new study spaces”. She explains that she would like to see continuative design in off-campus spaces so that those off-campus in say St James’s feel that they are still a part of Trinity. She continues, stating that she wants to promote “this kind of idea that you’re still on campus and you’re still a Trinity student even when you’re not physically within the walls in the City Centre”. MacPherson would also like to see an improvement with off-campus engagement with the union. She explains that even though we have seen an improvement this year, as current Education Officer, Dale Whelehan, was a health science student, it is necessary for the union to keep working on “opening the channels of communication”. In order to do this, the union needs to break down the “mind-set that Trinity only exists within these walls”. “So one of my physical policies there are Skype office hours by appointment. I see this working for off campus students, in terms of off-campus studying in Dublin or on placement, but also off campus students in terms of students studying internationally on Erasmus or Study Abroad.”
TCDSU attempts to maintain a connection with students on Erasmus or a year abroad. This can be difficult for obvious reasons, but MacPherson offers solutions for those who opt to take the year or term abroad. She explains that she “has a short-term and a long-term plan for this, by creating Erasmus reps”. If elected MacPherson would “ensure the election of class reps in classes that are all abroad, so in things like Languages, European Studies, all of those”. These representatives “would not have the responsibility to come to council” but would “just have to communicate with me through email, get the general feel on the Facebook pages and from their class”. In terms of a long-term plan, MacPherson, hopes to create an “entirely new system of representation, where we have a representative student from our college in each of the colleges we are sending people to”.
One of the most recognisable and important responsibilities of the education officer is to ensure the smooth running and functionality of the union’s council. MacPherson, clearly well versed on the subject, explains that she’s “been doing a lot of studying of other students’ union councils and how they function”. There is variation in how these unions engage in with council. MacPherson, in her current role as Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) Convenor, has been “helping develop what we call an academic senate” which would “remove the need for a lot of those issues to go to council, although that would be an opportunity to do that, the minutes would come to council and they sign off on them, so if there’s an issue to be debated at council, it would go there”. She believes that to make council more “accessible and efficient” there is a need to “empower the Chair” by briefing them on the rules “such as limits on speaking time, proper ways to behave in terms of parliamentary language and things like that”. MacPherson thinks it’s a shame that students are talking about “disaffiliation” due to their own disagreements with the union taking a “big political stance” and explains that “the students’ union ultimately follows the prerogative of the students – the students tell the union what to do, it’s a union not a government”. She explains that there is a dual effect of getting students involved: “if they [students] get a chance to debate early enough on, they can then have their say in shaping the union’s policy, which is then what the union is run on” and that this is important as the union “need to get things done but we also need to make sure people feel included”.
That students are disengaged with the union is obvious, and MacPherson is “dismayed to see so many uncontested races”. Although “a lot of people might say it’s very convenient” for her to be running unopposed she believes it is not a good thing: “I think the foundation of good democracy and good representation is pitting ideas against each other and pitting candidates against each other, so we can make sure the best representatives come to the fore and get elected”. Acknowledging the lack of engagement with the union, MacPherson explains that because “we’re then not getting any new ideas in the students’ union, it promotes this insider culture, this hack culture, that people get really put off by”.
What people need to realise is that you can get experience for an SU sabbatical role in so many other places that are not within the SU
MacPherson wants to see the manifestos of previous successful candidates be made public and stay online so that those elected can be held accountable but also so that students can make informed decisions if they wish to run for election. “First of all you can hold people to account by the policies they promised, you can see what’s not worked in the past, but second of all, if you are thinking of writing a manifesto yourself and putting yourself up for election, you need to be able to see how it’s done.” She acknowledges that the current sabbatical officers have, through their blog, made an effort to engage with students but a large amount of text is not necessarily the best way engage with students who are “already weighed down by assignments and reading”. Instead, MacPherson wants to introduce a vlog, which would see something similar to a “day in the life” idea which would be “a vlog by each officer going through maybe what their typical day is, talking about which meetings they sit on”.
Referring to the generally held idea that in order to run, and be successful, in the TCDSU elections you need to have experience within the union, MacPherson explains that “what people need to realise is that you can get experience for an SU sabbatical role in so many other places that are not within the SU”. She believes that “the union should be functioning in such an open and honest way that people know how the union works, and know how college works. And I suppose it would be my job to get that information out there and find an innovative and engaging way to do it.” She thinks that in order to have fresh ideas the union actually relies on outsiders putting themselves forward for election. “We’ve seen, over the last few years, many candidates, who weren’t necessarily from a students’ union background, get elected to sabbatical roles and be incredibly successful, and I think we need to highlight this to all students,” explains MacPherson.
Opening the union to all is clearly very important to MacPherson. It is often stated in campaigns that there is a need for openness and transparency within the union, but it is difficult to engage with those who do not want to engage, as many students often decide to do. MacPherson, obviously passionate about solving this lack of engagement, explains that the union “need to make sure that encouragement is given to everyone. Experience is great but experience comes in many forms, and it takes a lot of passion, a lot of drive and just knowing what you’re putting yourself out there for as well.”
Patrick Lavelle contributed reporting to this piece.
