The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) cancelled workshops at its annual LGBT Pink Training event after a delegate’s allegations of “prior misconduct” against an event speaker came to light.
On social media, the union faced criticism for its handling of the allegation.
In an email statement to The University Times, USI President Mike Kerrigan said: “An allegation of prior misconduct of a speaker listed to contribute at USI Pink Training was made to USI. Organisers met to ascertain the necessary steps to ensure that the trainee was able to fully and comfortably participate in the event.”
“On Saturday morning, the delegate came into contact with the speaker and decided to leave Pink Training. On the basis of the desire to have the trainee fully participate at Pink Training, the speaker was approached to inform them that an allegation had been made and was asked without prejudice, and without making any determinations in respect of the allegations, in the interests of the operation to the event, not to deliver any more sessions”, Kerrigan added.
The allegation was also made in a public Facebook post by the delegate that did not name the alleged perpetrator. Though the post was subsequently deleted, it was online for over three hours. During this time, Aoife O’Riordan, the founder of Bi+ Ireland and a former Pink Training Speaker – in a widely shared Twitter thread – linked to the delegate’s Facebook page.
Another delegate, speaking to The University Times on the condition of anonymity, said that the General Manager of USI, Ben Archibald, told attendees that sessions with the speaker were cancelled because allegations had been made.
On Twitter, numerous individuals, using the hashtag #PinkTraining17, criticised the national union’s handling of the situation. Some criticised USI for not immediately cancelling the workshops with the speaker. On Twitter, Rosemary Kelly, an English and sociology student in University College Cork (UCC), said that Pink Training “was supposed to be a safe space for people” and that USI had “failed people”.
Sharon Nolan, a Bi+ Ireland co-ordinator and a member of the Galway Pride committee, tweeted that the statement from USI about the speaker being removed “left a lot to be desired” but that she “appreciate[s] that they anonymised the discussion”. It “still doesn’t address why they didn’t remove the speaker post-allegations being brought to their attention yesterday”, she said.
USI runs the national training event every year for students. Well-known speakers at the event in previous years include the Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, Colm O’Gorman, and LGBT activist and Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) National Development Officer Sam Blanckensee.
Pink Training was established in 1992 and is Europe’s largest LGBT training event. The workshop offers support and guidance on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues to 300 students from USI-affiliated colleges across Ireland. Open to LGBT students and LGBT allies, the weekend consists of a series of workshops covering issues like coming out, supporting a friend who is coming out, sexual health, running an LGBT society and media skills.
Hosted in a different city every year, this year’s workshop is taking place in Galway. In a press statement about the event, Kerrigan said “each year, hundreds of students’ lives are transformed for the better through the advice, support and life-long friends created here at Pink Training”.
Róisín Power and Kathleen McNamee contributed reporting to this piece.
