Trinity might like to think it’s more democratic than most colleges – we elect our Provost, for instance – but it still too often succumbs to the managerialism and centralisation of modern higher education. So the launch of a new online voting system – trialled this week with a poll on plastic-free options – offers some hope that student and staff voices might actually be listened to in the future.
Universities were never intended to be democracies. They’re often elitist, high-handed organisations where decisions are increasingly made at management level. And for all the talk of a campus community, blunders like supplemental exam fees are still the types of blind spots that happen when a college doesn’t listen to its students.
But we should be cautious about hailing this new system as a sea change. This was not, for instance, a response to Take Back Trinity – it’s been in the works for months, nominally with the support of Patrick Prendergast himself. As welcome as it is, direct democracy can in fact offer little power to citizens: consultation, rather than choice. Under the current setup, for instance, students picked from three plastic-free options, giving College control of the agenda and ultimately the vote’s outcome. There is no provision for students to petition the Provost or initiate new ideas.
More crucially, it suggests there is something wrong with the representative structures in place already. Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) representatives sit on various senior College committees, while the union’s council, for all its flaws, is democratically elected. These structures exist to represent student voices, while staff trade unions play a similar role. If these organisations were properly consulted, a novel voting system would be superfluous. It’s somewhat ironic that a College, which only weeks ago was calling overwhelming student opposition to supplemental exam fees misguided, is now seemingly eager to incorporate the voices of students.
If this democratic experiment is to thrive, College will need to put contentious, difficult decisions to students, who are often cavalier about involving themselves in the College’s direct consultations. Unfortunately, such an approach is unlikely and things will remain no more divisive than paper straws or reusable cups.
