The main tenets of this year’s presidential race have been the focus on accessibility, empowerment and representation. All three candidates, Thomas Emmet, Kevin Keane and Bryan Mallon, have repeatedly stated that they feel the whole student body is not accurately represented in the union. Emmet began his speech at the beginning of TCDSU’s council hustings by stating that the union represents “17,000 unique voices”. However, accessibility and empowerment are not the only focuses of these candidates. Many perennial issues will challenge the future president. The three candidates all agree that these issues, such as accommodation, higher education funding, the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment, and others, are incredibly important to students and have different ideas on how to address and deal with these issues.
Role of the President
It is often asked, especially by students who are unsure who the president is or even what a sabbatical officer is, what the role of the president entails, as it is one of the most hotly contested races in TCDSU elections. And though there is no set definition on how the president should act and be seen, it is important that the candidates themselves have a strong idea of what the president’s duties are if they wish to lead.
Emmet
Thomas Emmet believes that the president is akin to a captain of a team, emphasizing that without the team, without his other officers, the role would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to accurately and effectively represent the union. However, he does believe that the president should lead the charge with most issues, even if he relies on his officers to help. Not only does he see the role as head of the sabbatical team, but also the head representative of the student body of Trinity, which he claims “is a huge responsibility and something that I’m looking forward to taking on”.
Keane
Kevin Keane took a more technical stance on the matter of what role the president plays in the union, claiming that “the specific role of the president in terms of logistics is that the president essentially acts as the head of the company”. He also states that the president leads the direction of the union, as anything done by the union has the president’s stamp on it. He also explains that the president sets the tone for the year, harking back to past president Lynn Ruane and her political stance, as well as current president Kieran McNulty’s focus on student spaces and fees.
Mallon
Bryan Mallon, when asked about the role of the president, touched on many tasks and responsibilities that he associates with the role. One of these points is the balance between internal and national politics, which he believes McNulty has done a good job of maintaining. In a recent Facebook post, he stated that his presidency would have a focus on internal issues in Trinity while also addressing national concerns. He also believes that it is the president’s job to put the “right people in the right roles and make sure they’re doing the right job”. Touching on the future classes to go through Trinity, he also stated that the president must lay down a foundation on which to work.
Accommodation
Accommodation
Perhaps one of the most pressing issues for students is the lack of affordable accommodation in Dublin City proper. This challenge was attacked by the current president McNulty through student housing schemes run through the union and the college, to what some might call a moderate success. Of course, this was only the start of a campaign to try and solve the crisis of accommodation, and next year’s president will have to continue the work done so far to help alleviate the pressure from the student body.
Emmet
Though accommodation was not addressed in his manifesto, Emmet said he’s “very happy to talk about accommodation”. In interviews with The University Times, Emmet believes that it is important to educate people not just on finding flats or homes to share, but to also look into digs. He also commended McNulty on his continued effort to relieve students of this burden, and wishes to continue his work. He also wishes to “maintain that relationship with the Accommodation Advisory Service”.
Keane
Claiming in his manifesto that he would work closely with the Union of Students Ireland on the issue, Keane puts forth the idea of setting caps on rent and creating a “Dublin-based rent certainty campaign”. He concedes the point that not all students are going to have perfect accommodation, but retains the idea that having students comfortable in their living arrangements creates a better community for all. “But the work doesn’t stop once someone has a place to lay their head. The work stops when people feel comfortable and happy in where they are.” He also emphasises the issue of isolation that some students face and believes he can remedy that by introducing “Know Your Neighbours” programs in neighbourhoods with a high population of Trinity students.
Mallon
A former commuter from Meath, Mallon moved to Dublin this year. He said he would continue to campaign for “increased availability and affordability of accommodation”. He also touches on the quality of accommodation, claiming that, while the accommodation crisis isn’t going to be solved overnight by the union, “one thing that we really need to talk about and one thing we can change is the perception that students will accept subpar accommodation”. Mallon claims that the students of Dublin should work together and help each other “through word of mouth”.
Higher Education Funding
In addition to accommodation, the fear of rising fees is all too real for students and is a future that will see many students unable to pay for college. What with the “March Against Fees” demonstration occurring last October, it seems to have become a much larger and tangible issue than in years past. McNulty has put this issue in the forefront of every student’s mind, and, in a much similar way to accommodation, his hopeful successors plan to continue his campaign.
Emmet
In addressing this issue, Emmet calls to attention the fact that some students may believe that loans help rather than hinder in the education process, to which he says that if he were elected president, he would try to represent those voices. That being said, however, he states that he is in full support of the motion passed on the 24 January in which TCDSU’s council voted to mandate that the union be opposed to the increase of fees, stating that he believes “it should be taxpayer funded, eventually”. He also touched on the point of persistent lobbying towards the government, which saw progress when McNulty addressed the Oireachtas on the issue on the 8th of December.
Keane
“I think that higher education funding is the fundamental issue that the SU needs to work on, because as the registration fee goes up. People are being priced out of education. People are being put under massive strain.” Keane also believes that loans, income-contingent or otherwise, are not the way to move forward. He also believes that an increase to the National Training Fund is necessary in order to “shift the burden away from students and onto employers”. It is his opinion that this is a pragmatic and tangible way forward without having unrealistic expectations or goals.
Mallon
Mallon understands that “there is a need to inject cash into third level education at the moment, but I don’t think loans is the right way to go”. He fundamentally believes that education should be free, but understands that there needs to be a realistic solution, stating that we “should not bite off more than we can chew”. Mallon also touched on the fact that he is a member of Ógra Fianna Fáil, and that even though they’re officially mandated to campaign for student loans, he is not running as a Fianna Fáil candidate.
Repeal the Eighth Amendment
Perhaps one of the most divisive issues to hit Ireland, the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment of the Irish constitution, which gives explicit recognition of the right to life of an unborn child, essentially banning abortion, will be a contentious topic of debate for years to come. TCDSU already has a mandate to support the campaign in support of repealing the amendment. The upcoming March4Repeal and Strike4Repeal demonstrations will also add a new outlook on the topic that already has so many students divided. All three candidates have similar stances on how repealing the amendment should be approached on campus and at council, and all candidates are in support of the campaign to repeal.
Emmet believes that the campaign is “in a weird place at the moment”. He believes that, unlike the YesCampaign in 2015, there is a lack of recognition of the complexity of the issue. There is also the issue, he claims, of vilification of the other side, regardless of where you stand on the issue. “I think it’s very important that we listen to what they’re [students who disagree with the campaign] saying but the student union has mandated to support Repeal the 8th and it’s important that they’re engaged in the topic as well without being shut down.” He also thinks that “men sometimes feel like they can’t engage with it without stepping too far into it”, meaning that men may sometimes feel like they are stepping too far into an issue that is not their own when they show support. Keane also touches on the point that students who are not in support of the repeal mandate should not be alienated from their classmates and friends. He believes that since there is an official mandate for the union to support the campaign, the union should be actively campaigning and actively supporting the movement. He believes that is right. “What is not right and what is not proper is the debate within college be shut down totally, and we assume that everyone is homogenized under the banner of repeal.” Similar to Emmet and Keane, Mallon touches on the issues of representation of students who do not wish to conform to the union’s mandate. “I might disagree with them, but I would still like to hear their voice heard.”
Consent
With the first year of introducing consent classes into Trinity Hall, and then extending the classes to the rest of college, the issue of consent has taken centre stage from its old position of being swept under the rug. As the issue is coming into the limelight, new challenges arise from it not having been addressed before. The consent classes were originally brought forth by then Citizenship Officer, McNulty, in January of last year. The next president’s outlook and stance on consent will help shape and drive the conversation further than before.
Emmet
Commending the welfare officer and committee for its great work with the consent workshops, Emmet states that consent will be one of the biggest issues the next president will have to face. He also believes that, although consent is very important in the times we live in, he hopes that we will reach a point where “there would be sex talks rather than consent talks, because consent talks are reactive … It’s constantly said that we’re a ‘sex-positive’ Union, but we don’t talk about sex enough, would be my belief.” The idea was also brought up during the Equality hustings, in which Emmet stated he would want to expand sex positivity classes in tandem with consent classes.
Keane
“A step in the right direction” were the words used by Keane to describe consent classes in the hustings with QSoc. He believes that a massive issue facing students are preconceived notions that develop when they are in secondary school. He said he would support a programme that went into secondary schools and engaged with 12 and 13-year olds to help hone their attitudes about consent. His presidency would want to see outreach and expansion of current consent classes.
Mallon
“I think that it can only be a good thing.” Mallon was quite vocal in his support for consent campaigns in an interview with The University Times. He claims that having spoken with Feminists of Trinity helped shaped his view of the consent classes. If elected, he would want to look at this year’s classes and look at “what went wrong and what we can build on”. When further questioned in the hustings with The University Times and Trinity News about what he thinks went wrong with this year’s consent campaigns, he answered by saying that he would want to extend the classes given in Halls to every first year, and then eventually to everyone on campus.
Reunification
A topic that none of the candidates were expecting to encounter in this election cycle was the question on the reunification of Ireland. In the most recent council, the motion was brought to council for the union to take a stance on the issue that has plagued Ireland since the inception of the Free State. The motion is sure to create rifts not only between students from the Republic and from Northern Ireland, but between Northern Irish students who see themselves as Irish and Northern Irish students who see themselves as British.
Emmet
Not mentioning Northern Ireland or Northern Irish students specifically in his manifesto or interviews with The University Times, it can be gathered that Emmet was not expecting this issue to rear its head. In an interview on TFM, Emmet stated that it is good for the union to have a stance on such a divisive issue, and that he will personally be voting for the union to support the reunification. He and Keane got into something of a verbal sparring match, however, in which Keane stated that there has not been enough deliberation or communication between class representatives and their classes and that the vote is happening too quickly. Emmet shot back that if the issue was brought to the union then “it’s coming from somewhere”.
Keane
Though claiming that in the referendum he would vote in favour of reunification, Keane also stated in his interview with TFM that “that’s irrelevant. I want to effectively represent the union”. He also stated that it was sprung quite quickly on class representatives without them being able to talk to their courses and hear their stance on the issue. He was also wary of alienating Northern Irish students and that this might be done by idly taking opinions. When challenged by Emmet who stated that “taking a stance is the point of the union”, Keane retorted by saying the union can’t “take a stance for the sake of taking a stance”.
Mallon
While being the only candidate to mention Northern Irish students in his manifesto, Mallon stayed out of the spat in the TFM interview for the most part. He wanted to be very aware of the fact that this is a decisive issue and that the union would have to safeguard unionist students. Highlighting the precarious choice placed upon the union, Mallon stated that “we can shy away from this for fear of doing the wrong thing”. He also stated that he personally would vote in favour of reunification, as with the other candidates.
Palestine
Another issue was brought to the candidates’ attention during the hustings with The University Times and Trinity News was in regards to the union’s stance on the issue of Israel and Palestine. When asked if the candidates would be in support of a formal academic boycott of Israel, Emmet, seemingly blindsided by the question, yet not dumbstruck, merely stated that he “doesn’t see why not” if it’s what the students want. He also said that the group should call for a mandate of the union as well. Keane was wearing the badge that supported the movement during the hustings, also highlighting the event that SUAS hosted that worked with the group Students for Justice in Palestine. He said that he would support a mandate. Mallon took a more diplomatic approach, saying that if that option was the best option, he would be in support of it. He also commended the group because he had “seen people sitting down and working very hard on this”.
