Front Arch was blocked off for roughly 30 minutes today, as members of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU), the Union of Students’ of Ireland (USI) and Cut the Rent protested against proposed rent hikes on campus.
A group of around 25 protesters assembled on the steps of the Dining Hall, before proceeding to march across Front Square, and block off Front Arch. The group was heard chanting: “Cut the rent, freeze the rent”, “Paddy, Paddy, Paddy, out, out, out”, and “students’ rights are human rights”.
The protesters formed a human blockade, chanting “please respect the protest, use other entrances” and subsequently began labelling people who attempted to enter through Front Arch “scabs”.
Craig McHugh, USI vice-president for the Dublin region, attended the protest. Addressing the crowd, he said: “This is not an isolated incident, in University College Dublin they plan to increase rents by four per cent over the next three years. That’s the maximum amount you can increase rent under current legislation introduced last year.”
“Education has been formed from a public good into a now a commodity, less than half of the funding for higher education in this institution is public does that not scare anyone? Whose interests are at play here? Students or business?”
In an email statement to The University Times, Laura Beston, TCDSU President said: “TCDSU completely opposes any rent increases that Trinity College Dublin attempt to bring to the table. Today’s actions are merely a starting point and we hope that this action will encourage many more students to get on board.”
“We have launched our petition against rent increases on campus, calling for a rent freeze, in conjunction with today’s action. Any student who feels angered about the continuing increases to the cost of rent on campus should make sure to sign it. The more numbers we have opposing the proposed rent increase, the less likely it is to happen.”
“Far too many of our students are forced into precarious situations because of the Dublin rental market and the rising cost of on campus accommodation. SUSI hasn’t been adjusted to meet the rising cost of living and the austerity cutbacks have not been reversed.”
“Students are paying vast amounts of their wages on rent, as are their parents.We cannot speak of access to education and call ourselves champions in these areas when our actions and decisions are deliberately blocking students from accessing third level education.”
The proposed four per cent increase to the cost of campus accommodation was due to be discussed at the upcoming Finance Committee meeting. However, it has since been removed from the agenda.
This protest follows a string of colleges around the country proposing rent increases. This week University College Dublin Students’ Union (UCDSU), held a protest against a proposed four per cent rent increase on campus.
Speaking to The University Times, University College Dublin Students’ Union (UCDSU) President Joanna Siewierska said that the college has not issued a formal response to an open letter that the union sent to them nearly two weeks ago.
“We partnered with two other on-campus groups, UCD Fix Our Education and UCD Anticasualisation”, Siewierska said, “because this problem is a symptom of the commercialisation and privatisation of education, using students as an income stream”.
Siewierska expressed “solidarity with Trinity and with other institutions” facing “ridiculous” rent increases.
“We’re public institutions, we’re not businesses”, she said.
