The University Times

In many ways, the work that Trinity College Dublin Students Union (TCDSU) carries out throughout the year is by consequence of a myriad of factors. From changes in the framework of third-level education to the resumption of work carried out by preceding union members, each year’s TCDSU sabbatical officers face different feats in their time in office.

However, a factor less often considered when analysing the potential workload of sabbatical officers comes down to the very core of every union. The beating heart of the incumbent team: the TCDSU president.

Unlike other positions within the union, the president has the sovereignty to steer their vessel in whatever direction they so please. From on-the-ground activism to local education reform, in many ways, the position of president is a malleable one – which over the many years of its very existence has seen a miscellany of different faces.

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And it is this – the direction these captains hope to steer their vessels – that may be the defining factor of this year’s battle for the position.

Whereas in elections gone by, candidates have nudged their way ahead based on their own savoir-faire of the inner workings of the union – or based on their grasp of Trinity’s society scene – this year’s contest sees the sparring of two undeniably adept candidates. This is down to just how much ground both final-year law student R. Kelly and final-year PPES student Gabi Fullam have managed to cover in their four years on campus.

For Kelly, this experience has been nurtured in the nuts and bolts of TCDSU.

“I have gotten to know every nook and cranny in the workings of the SU over the past four years … I’ve been so passionate and active within it, I understand the culture and the community within it, I understand what needs to change to make that better and more supportive for students.”

And this is reflected in the variety of titles she has held over the years. From her early days as a class representative, she has spent time as a member of the access committee, a former law convenor – now holding her current role as gender equality officer.

So, for Kelly, the work of the TCDSU president is something she has long prepared for.

“I understand how different areas such as campaigns, education and policy work.”

“There’s a lot that I have learned over the years, there’s a lot of interaction I’ve had with students, and even through casework or from interaction with my friends … I feel like I have all the institutional knowledge at this point.”

Her competitor, Gabi Fullam, is similarly well-equipped when it comes to union experience. Fullam’s bow possesses two strings of particular note: namely her role as class representative, and her current title of ethnic minorities officer.

“In terms of gaining a little bit of institutional knowledge, a bit of experience on Union Forum, as well as working for empathy and awareness of ongoing issues, it’s pretty good … so [through] casework and all that sort of stuff.”

However, it is around the fringes of campus life that Fullam’s reach is felt most palpably.

“I’m editor-in-chief of Trinity Women and Gender Minorities Review … I’ve worked as co-editor of Icarus.”

“I’ve been a mediator at the Science Gallery – right until the close … as well as that I was the house and archives manager of DU Players.”

Predominantly, however, Fullam has grounded her time in Trinity in activism.

“I worked as the Chief Organiser for TCD for Migrant Rights last year … I’m an access programme alumni ambassador.”

As a Laidlaw Scholar, Fullam’s work has centred around qualitative mixed-race experiences. Alongside this, in October 2020, she launched TCD Against the 27th Amendment – an on-campus campaign group to raise awareness about the 27th amendment to the Irish constitution, which stripped Irish-born children of their automatic right to citizenship, leading to dozens of deportation orders for children of immigrants.

So, as both contenders have earned their stripes in Trinity’s institutional pillar, it will be their plans for their time in office that make up the marrow of their campaigns. And when it comes to policy, these two aspiring branches diverge from the mother trunk as they seek their own place in the sun.

Kelly – a self proclaimed “serial hack” – has bedrocked her presidential plans in addressing pockets of discomfiture currently littering campus life.

“My mantra is that our union starts with you … So this ranges from things like working student accommodations, to activism support, to basic amenities … things like returning ATMs to campus, and introducing free gym classes.”

As well as catering to the more minor travails of student life, Kelly hopes to unearth the less documented and eminent tribulations of third-level education.

“[There are] education points that I would have picked up on in my role as law convenor. So these include the right to repeat past exams, a framework to establish funding for hidden costs in courses such as health science and also transparent procedures generally for things like plagiarism.”

“And there’s also a lot of points on equality and accessibility. So that will pertain to the maintenance of the hybrid learning model to better facilitate students with disabilities.”

She highlights the need for safety for all students on campus, most especially, she notes, in light of recent events.

“I think we all know how terrible things have been the past year, there have been the most awful headlines, and not just headlines but there have also been instances of things that happen to real people, people that are in your age group or people that you can relate to, and possibly even knew.”

“Something I’ve been working on this year as gender equality officer is I introduced a sexual assault policy with the welfare officer, and Aoife Grimes from the student counselling service. So there actually currently is no proper consent policy in Trinity, it’s all kind of lumped under the same thing. And so I’m really passionate about getting that going as well as some mechanism for drug testing and harm reduction … digital introduction of a sexual health awareness week and response workshops for people just to feel better positioned in situations of crisis.”

Fullam, however, leans more toward bigger picture policies – most especially in her plans to create a more welcoming campus for minority students.

“I’m a woman of colour, and this is a really important thing to me. Bulk bookings for immigration services and more systems for students who have residency permit renewals, it’s a hidden cost to being an international student or non-EU citizen.”

“Particularly at this time, before they come into college when they’re making those decisions, [it’s vital] to make sure that those children affected by the 27th Amendment … to campaign so to get a commitment from college to get a commitment from the government that they can get SUSI.”

“[George] Berkeley was a slave owner – I want to rename the Berkeley library. There’s not really much more to that one other than that – that’s our space that people of colour are supposed to go into … also starting to look at Trinity’s colonial past is really important.”

“It’s really unclear where students of colour can turn for support in any time of racial injustice … I’ve been racially abused on campus, and you don’t even know what to do or where people can get that kind of justice, or where those needs can be met. It’s a really frustrating thing to think about and really upsetting.”

When quizzed on whether amendments ought to be made following the incumbent president’s term in office, neither candidate was eager to disparage Leah Keogh’s time in the hot seat.

From recognising her work in mending ties with the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) to noting Keogh’s efforts to build a greater sense of transparency and accountability in TCDSU, Kelly saw lapses in the work of the incumbent in few places. Most notably, in the union’s treatment of the Irish language.

“I don’t think that the union has done a great job with Gaeilge … we can’t just celebrate for a week and then forget about it for the rest of the year. I think that the SU really has a long way to go with the Irish language.”

“I was at the USI council last year. And again, the biggest thing that stuck out to me was the fact that Irish was so normalised that if you go in, there’d be a discussion item and everyone would do their introductions. And there’s people that are fluent speakers, and there are people who just made an effort, they just threw in a bit of a focal here and there.”

For Fullam, praise was not withheld when it came to Keogh’s consistency in delivering student services, as well as her work in procuring funding for the establishment of the student centre. Oversights, however, were noted in her approach to direct action.

“The provision of services and library opening hours are really, really important to on the ground [students], and are just as important as really fighting for the 27th amendment [or] renaming the Berkeley.”

“I want to see more attempts to mobilise the student populace, to work with them, to outreach [sic] to different groups on campus … I would love to see probably more direct action from the union. I would like to see some more structural form for ethnic minorities.”

Whilst her focus was decidedly on outreach and inclusion of all students, Fullam was also keen to highlight some of the current shortcomings within Trinity, such as the tutor system.

“I think there’s a big problem which is that tutors are supposed to cater to a whole different wide variety of issues that you face. But firstly, they’re ill equipped or underequipped in many instances to do that. There’s a little bit of inconsistency. Sometimes very vulnerable students can end up being bounced around.”

In light of a recent discussion item brought forth at TCDSU council on the dignity and respect policy, Kelly also underpinned a need for a greater sense of community within the union.

“I was really glad that the motion was brought forward at council about the dignity and respect policy, because I think it’s so important that no matter what anyone says at council that they know that they’re going to be able to go away and feel okay about it and not be scared to do it again.”

“There is a feeling that people do feel stifled by potential responses to the point where they’re being bullied or criticised … I think it’s more important that everyone feels included and respected no matter what, they’ve just tried to get a message out at council and shouldn’t have to worry about being absolutely slandered on a hashtag on Twitter.”

Evenly matched and equally qualified, both Fulham and Kelly have ploughed distinct and unique ground upon which their respective campaigns can blossom. Time will tell which will serve to be more appealing to the electorate.