The Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) tonight voted to formally support independent lobby group Students4Change.
Students4Change, chaired by second year PPES student László Molnárfi, has a Marxist, anarchist ideology and aims to radically advocate for student interests.
At the virtual AGM this evening, 88.4 per cent of attendees voted in favour of the motion, with 11.6 per cent voting against. Five voters abstained.
Speaking in favour, GSU Environmental Officer Jamie Rohu described Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) as “very good” but “lacking a very strong political nuance and radical bite”.
“We need radical left politics in Trinity”, he said.
Molnárfi described the partnership as a “democratic alliance”, telling attendees that unity is the way forward.
He added: “We need to challenge the system and pave the way for change, for students and student parents, for PhD workers. So far cooperation has been very fruitful so I think it would be very good to formalise this cooperation.”
At the beginning of term, Students4Change advocated for in-person teaching and is now leading calls for in-person exams to be moved online.
GSU President Gisèle Scanlon, who co-created the #noinpersonexams campaign with Molnárfi, said that there is “huge room in Trinity for Students4Change to be tucked under the wing of the GSU”.
The result mandates that the GSU adopt a formal, committed stance in support of the group. This means the union must actively participate in all Students4Change campaigns concerning postgraduate rights and stand with the group when it takes direct action.
At tonight’s AGM, the GSU also voted to lobby for no in-person exams, as well as more non-traditional forms of assessment going forward.
The motion, which passed at tonight’s virtual AGM, cited “very serious implications” for postgraduate exam invigilators if in-person exams were to go ahead in the RDS.
Last month, the GSU co-signed an open letter with Students4Change asking Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to force colleges to cancel all in-person exams.
The letter, which has garnered over 5,000 signatures, raised similar concerns to the motion, noting a rise in coronavirus case numbers in Ireland.
Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has said that the government has “no intention” of introducing regulations for in-person exams, adding that a “one size fits all approach would not be appropriate”.
Instead, individual institutions will decide whether to hold examinations in person or not.
In their open letter, the GSU and Students4Change also described a “mental health crisis” among students.
“After 1.5 years of online learning”, it said, “a sudden return to in-person exams would be catastrophic for the mental health of students”.
