James Cunningham has been elected Trinity College Dublin Students Union (TCDSU) Welfare Officer on the first count with 84 per cent of the vote,
Running uncontested in a usually closely-fought race, the third-year politics, philosophy, economics and sociology student from Belfast consistently supported his five manifesto points by discussing his strategy of engagement and outreach, raising awareness of existing supports available to students. He built on his experience as Welfare Officer of the JCR in Halls, as well as his time on the Welfare Committee and as an S2S volunteer.
Perhaps Cunningham’s most ambitious plan was the introduction of consent workshops on campus. The consent workshops, which were piloted in Halls in 2016, had a remarkably high turn-out last year of over 90 per cent. Cunningham promises to overcome the logistical difficulties encountered by previous attempts to introduce the project to campus by reaching out to clubs and societies to engage students and empower groups of students to educate each other.
Another key point for Cunningham was supporting students in need of financial aid in university. He hopes primarily to overcome the lack of knowledge among students as to the financial aid available to them, through campaigns in Freshers’ Week and ongoing information campaigns throughout the year.
Cunningham’s most innovative idea is for a food token system, allowing students to access lunch in the TCDSU shop and cafe, and that of food banks, distributing hampers to students who need them, after the model piloted by the University of Limerick Students Union (ULSU).
Cunningham also focused on drug harm reduction and decriminalisation, as well as stress management and mental health supports.
