Throughout this campaign, there have been questions around David Flood’s ability to pull off a big night out. With Dundon constantly pushing his experience with the popular Midnight Disco and his work as the union’s current Nights Officer, it was important for Flood’s first night of the campaign to be a hit.
There will therefore be relief in the Flood campaign this morning after last night’s event “Open the Floodgates” proved popular with students. It seems that his experience as Captain of the Surf Club has provided him with the necessary tools to run a successful event, something he has continually sought to emphasise.
Hosted in The Underground, the venue was full to capacity by 11pm. Where it could be argued that Craig’s campaign night last year was swamped by the venue size (it was hosted in the South William), Flood had the opposite problem. The event was packed well into the night, with doors opening sporadically to let more people in. In an email statement to The University Times, Flood said, “It was so great to see such an enthusiastic response to the campaign, exceeding my expectations with the capacity being reached before 12”.
The night began with The Gills, the official Flood campaign band, followed by Synk, a future electronic rock band. DJ Rory Hughes finished the night, and despite some technical difficulties – the music would stop when people accidentally caught the wires – his set was well received by the crowd.
It should be noted, however, that despite Flood’s continued emphasis on disability access throughout his campaign and repeatedly at hustings, the venue was not accessible. Speaking at last night’s Trinity News hustings, Flood said that wheelchair accessible events should be the Entertainments Officer’s “first port of call” when organising an event. He will have the chance to prove himself on Monday, with his second campaign night, a Noah’s Ark themed event launching later today.
In an email statement to The University Times, Flood said that he wanted to “acknowledge that my events during my campaign have not been accessible to everyone”. Explaining that this was due to his budget, he 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.
A number of other candidates in this year’s election race were in attendance last night. Seán Ryan, Paul Molloy and Shane de Rís all made an appearance, with Paraic McLean, Niall Harty and Eleanor O’Mahony also in attendance.
Flood said “The night was a great success, and I felt it was a great taste of the fresh approach I’ll bring to Ents.” Referring, indirectly to his manifesto points, he said “I showed that I can make my events different, inclusive and cater for a wide range of students”.
