TCDSU has gone through great pains to save money and bring the union back into the black this year after posting a €15,000 deficit for 2016/17. So deciding to print 500 copies of a cookbook – with suggestions even more could be printed – seems counterproductive. The cookbook, released halfway through the academic year, could easily have been made available online. Though a good idea, it doesn’t seem practical to print a cookbook and make it available for students in the union’s front office, when most students don’t even know where that is.
Twice in one day this week, Trinity’s senior officers were sent out to mollify student concerns. First, Chief Financial Officer Ian Mathews was among three senior staff to be grilled by postgraduate students over fee increases, while Vice-Provost Chris Morash did his best to persuade TCDSU council of the merits of supplemental exam fees. If they had little success, it shouldn’t discourage them. These kinds of encounters with constituents might sometimes be bruising, but, as the sea of questions all day Tuesday proved, they’re almost always beneficial.
If Aramark was forced to defend its ties to direct provision centres this week, it was the student-led campaign that got proof it has touched a nerve. It’s important to bear in mind that this is the first time the company has engaged with the growing movement against it – and it’s unlikely to be the last. A weekly student protest outside some restaurants might sound trite, but Aramark has already shown its hand. It’s watching Trinity and it’s worried.
