Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) has rejected an effort to send a new constitution to referendum.
Failing to receive the two-thirds majority required to trigger a referendum, Union Forum will now have the chance to update the document.
TCDSU President Leah Keogh promised that Union Forum would bring an updated constitution to council “within a month”.
The draft constitution was written by the constitutional review working group as part of the union’s five-year strategic plan to review the current constitution.
The terms of reference of the group stated that it could draft a proposed new constitution if it saw fit.
Speaking in favour of sending the draft constitution to referendum, Undergraduate Studies Committee representative Yannick Gloster said: “If you’ve read the document there are probably parts you don’t like, there are parts I don’t like. Voting for this isn’t voting to support the document, it’s voting for students to have a say.”
Several representatives spoke against the motion, arguing that there was no harm in allowing more time to make the new document “perfect”. Others said the CRWG was not representative of the student population.
LGBT+ Rights Officer Jenny Maguire asked: “How many women were on the CRWG? How many people of colour?”
Gloster pushed back against the assertion that the group was not representative. He said: “Some things said are blatantly untrue. On CRWG, there were people of colour, there were LGBT members and there were several women. The constitution isn’t light reading, but it shouldn’t be.”
“Right now”, he added, “the union runs on vibes – you need to know someone if you want the constitution explained to you”.
Speaking against the motion, Keogh said: “Union Forum doesn’t endorse this document in its current form.”
She went on to say that “there are submissions by people in this room that haven’t been considered”.
Welfare and equality Officer Sierra Mueller-Owens said that the document proposed does not address the dignity and respect policy currently under review, saying that it gives council “the ability to expel a member”, which contradicts the policy.
Education Officer Bev Genockey voiced similar concerns and suggested a lack of clarity over what was being voted on.
The document contained a rake of changes to how the union would operate, including the right to disassociate from the union, new provisions to deal with officer absences at TCDSU council and changes to the relationship between the union and The University Times.
However, the working group later suggested that the right to disassociate should be brought to council as a separate constitutional amendment.
