The President of the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Electoral Commission, Stephen Sheil, has condemned an antisemitic and racist Twitter page, Aryans of Trinity, that has been posting about election candidates.
Before the presidential candidates spoke tonight, Sheil took to the stage to condemn the social media account, which has called those involved with TCDSU politics “a small incestuous circle of communist runts”, among many other things.
In an email statement to The University Times, Sheil confirmed that there had been “a number of online attacks towards candidates and a horrific Twitter account created filled with antisemitic rhetoric”.
“The Electoral Commission and TCDSU cannot condemn in stronger words the attitudes and opinions on said page. The issue will be passed onto college authorities and dealt with”, he said.
Following Sheil’s announcement in Halls, a post went up on the Aryans of Trinity Twitter page with a picture of Sheil and the caption “fight me”. The account proposes to be someone “embedded within TCDSU politics”. The Twitter account, which appears to have ben set up today, tweeted consistently throughout this evening’s hustings. The account tweeted commentary of the TCDSU election candidates’ speeches, as well as posting screenshots of coverage from The University Times to criticise.
The Twitter account has also targetted specific Jewish students in Trinity, posting pictures of these students. The account also attempted to contact Trinity Jewish Society on Twitter.
This evening marked the last hustings event of the exam season, with three similar events held last week.
