David Flood has been elected as the next Entertainments Officer for the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) on the first count with 66.3 per cent of the vote.
Flood defeated his sole opponent Matt Dundon. A poll of 1,060 students conducted by The University Times last week predicted that Flood would win on the first count with 70.1 per cent of the vote.
With 3768 people voting in the TCDSU election, Flood received 2,361 votes with Dundon receiving just 936.
A third-year mechanical engineering student and Captain of the Surf Club, Flood ran his campaign on the grounds of inclusivity and expansion, promising to create a Trinity Ents that acts as an affordable service to students.
Departing from the traditional mantra of previous Ents candidates, Flood was keen to point out throughout the campaign that there is more to Ents than organising “nights out”, referring frequently to his main manifesto points of an international mystery tour abroad, a “big pride” event and cafe crawls around the city.
This ambition frequently came under scrutiny throughout the campaign, with Flood’s idealism and plans for expansion often clashing with Dundon’s calls for a more pragmatic approach. Dundon often directly disagreed with Flood’s ideas on stage at hustings yet Flood remained eager about his ideas.
Flood ran two successful nautical-themed nights out during the campaign. The first was held last Thursday in The Underground, and the second, a Noah’s Ark-themed event was held on Monday night in the Wiley Fox. Criticised for the lack of accessibility at the events, something that had been a key feature in his campaign, Flood responded by saying that this would not be an issue next year.
In an email statement to The University Times, he explained that this was due to his budget and said that should he be elected “this would not be the case”. “I want people to know that I am committed to including everyone in Trinity Ents”, he said.
Last year, incumbent TCDSU Entertainments Officer Jonah Craig, running uncontested, was elected with 84.9 per cent of the vote on the first count.
