Over 500 Trinity alumni have signed a petition to Provost Patrick Prendergast and Trinity College Dublin Alumni Office demanding the reversal of the introduction of the €450 supplemental exam fee.
The petition was organised by former Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Education Officer Jack Leahy and former QSoc Auditor and Student2Student Equality Officer Katie Biggs. It said that the 519 co-signers “cannot support the institution and its recent actions, we regret to inform you that we cannot in good conscience act as ambassadors for the institution in any capacity, nor can we make any kind of financial contribution now or in the future”, unless the decision to introduce a €450 flat fee for supplemental exams is reversed and Trinity issue an apology “for its treatment of peaceful student protesters and introduces measures to ensure that the events of the evening of March 14th 2018 do not reoccur”.
In an email to The University Times, Biggs said that the reason they set up the petition was because “throughout the protests people had been getting on to us asking what was going on, and how they could influence it. Graduates have an important stake in the university’s reputation and so many of us were disappointed with how the College’s actions have affected that”.
“We hope that this shows the students of Trinity that alumni stand in solidarity with them”, Biggs added.
The petition, which was sent to Prendergast this afternoon, said that the fee would “disproportionately” affect “vulnerable students”.
The email to Prendergast with the petition, sent on behalf of the alumni who signed the petition by Biggs, said that alumni have “keenly monitored recent developments in the university through social media and international reporting”, adding that their “common response is one of deep regret”.
The email said that “to have studied at Trinity is a unique privilege” but continued to say “it is deeply saddening to see this damaged by predatory commercialisation and by excessive reactions against protesting students”.
“What is a university for if not for its students? Who do you work for if not for you students? Students are not stakeholders in Trinity – they are Trinity”, the petition read.
