The Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) has been granted extra funding from the Capitations Committee, after a period of uncertainty for its financial future.
The GSU will now receive 6.82 per cent of the funding, which will secure its second officer. The union currently gets 4.33 per cent of the Capitations Committee funding – around the same as Trinity Publications and has funded its second officer with Global Relations funding amounting to €30,000 per year. This funding is set to run out this year.
The decision was made at a meeting of the committee this morning. It is rare that there are changes in the balance of funding between the organisations that the committee funds.
The Capitations Committee funds the five organisations related to student life – Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU), Trinity Publications, Dublin University Central Athletics Club (DUCAC), the Central Societies Committee and the GSU.
The announcement came alongside the announcement of the election results for next year’s officers. Oisín Vince Coulter, a former Trinity News editor and former Treasurer of Trinity Publications, was elected president of the GSU.
Announcing the news to members of the union, who had gathered to celebrate the results of the election, current President of the GSU Shane Collins said: “The capitated bodies have really endorsed the work we have been doing in recent years.”
Dr Gogoal Falia was elected Vice-President for Education and Welfare of the GSU. This year’s election was arguably one of the most important for the union in recent years, with postgraduate students on campus facing a 5 per cent increase in fees after years of incremental increases.
