Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Laura Beston has hit out at Trinity’s plans to potentially cut the number of student representatives on College Board from four to as low as one.
The latest set of proposals from Trinity’s Board Review Working Group – which has been working all year on changes to the makeup of Board – suggest that as a result of restructuring Board, the number of representatives from TCDSU and the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) will decrease to two if a 15-member board is agreed upon, and only one if there is an 11-member board.
Speaking to The University Times today, Beston said that it was “concerning and disappointing to see such a low number of student representatives on the Board as proposed”.
“I think that considering that there are so many other different members of staff portions, and considering that there would only allow one student representative from each of the unions, it would dilute a lot of opportunities and experiences from different officers and different cohorts of students”, she added.
“I think with having only two student representatives, it makes it incredibly hard for the student voice to be heard on Board and for it to gain support when it will be seen as such a small minority compared to others.”
The working group – which Beston has been a member of this year, as well as GSU President Shaz Oye – says reducing the size of the decision-making body “would lead to a more effective Board overall, supporting more focused and interactive discussion”.
A smaller Board, the document says, would allow more time for greater engagement by individual Board members, and improve the “cohesion and effectiveness” of the body.
The group has also recommended the presence of more external members on Board – a contentious issue for some current members – with an “optimal proportion” as high as 40 per cent.
In April, Beston told The University Times that she will push to retain the four student positions on Board, even if its size is reduced.
“Student representation is very important regardless of the size of the Board”, she said, adding: “We need to have accurate representation of students at that committee. And if you don’t have that many people representing that many areas, you can’t do it properly.”
