Student welfare is always a central tenet of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU), but the concept took on a new meaning as students navigated a college experience shadowed by the pandemic over the past two years.
But in the race to become next year’s Welfare and Equality Officer, the two candidates will have to look beyond lockdown and shine a light on the path forward in a “post-pandemic” era. While the familiar topics of student engagement, consent and inclusivity can be expected to play a role in the 2022 race, Cúnla Morris and Chloe Staunton must also grapple with new-found debates over the future of remote learning for vulnerable students and topical attempts to manage increasing pressure on the College Health Service.
Both Staunton and Morris are drawing upon their notable experience within the student union, but their manifestos and interviews paint a diverging picture when it comes to core campaigning points. Staunton’s campaign pillars will demonstrate a focus on the financials while Morris’s manifesto is ambitious in terms of promoting mental wellbeing.
Staunton, a final-year business and a sociology student, is not short of experience in student-run organisations. She currently is the TCDSU officer for students with disabilities and was an organiser of Trinity’s disability awareness campaign week. She also holds the role of secretary in Student2Student (S2S) and was awarded the Dean’s Leadership Award for her work as S2S Equality Officer.
Staunton says that this prior work has given her notable experience with dealing with student casework, which is a significant aspect of the Welfare and Equality Officer role. “Dealing with casework and dealing with sensitive topics is really important and I think everyone in the SU wants the best for people but you do need to know how to go about these things in a respectful and suitable manner.”
Final-year history and modern Irish student Morris also has extensive experience promoting student welfare – they point to their continued engagement with various College committees and student organisations. Morris is both a former and current class representative as well as former member of TCDSU LGBT+ Rights Committee and the Oifigeach na Gaeilge. Morris undertook the role of LitSoc’s Public Relations Officer 2018/19 and was an ordinary member of TCDSU Disability Committee in the same year.
Drawing upon the benefits of their multiple prior roles Morris highlights that they have “the experience of looking at TCDSU from a ‘hack’ perspective”.
They emphasise the benefit incurred by a year off books as a unique opportunity to combine direct union experience with an “outside, critical perspective” – they worked in a front-of-house role in the union for the year. Morris anticipates this capacity to have benefitted their approach and suitability to the role of welfare and equality officer, noting that when you “take a backseat at viewing the student union, it is far easier to see the grey areas and also the gaps that are missing in the service”.
For Staunton, areas of concern include broadening the scope of consent education and reviewing the T fund – particularly its function to help trans students with their “social transition”. “T fund covers the social transition but it’s not very well defined what a social transition actually covers. We need to refine this so students know exactly what they can get out of the T fund and how they can access it because we don’t want any student to feel disappointed because they can’t be supported.”
With regard to consent education, Staunton promises to “broaden the scope of the current consent and unconscious bias training and make it available to the wider student population as well as Trinity staff”.
She also aims to create a report structure which will allow students to report any instances of discrimination in College “to help alleviate any fear or confusion they may have during the process”.
Morris’ manifesto outlines a goal to develop free STI testing. They believe that a focus on sexual health must account for the expansion and development of the free condoms available from the Welfare Officer to reflect the fact that “it’s not just traditional, vaginal sex that needs protection”.
Both candidates are ambitious in their goals to develop inclusive promotion of sexual health, identifying the current period poverty campaign as an area of work they would continue. Staunton further aspires to provide “more sustainable period products such as menstrual cups”.
As much as student mental health was a pressing topic for TCDSU before the pandemic, various lockdowns and an utterly alien college experience meant that sabbatical officers’ duty of care to students has grown significantly since March 2020. Morris’s manifesto is very specific regarding mental health issues. They remark that the Student Counselling Service “is less accessible for neurodivergent students and students with personality disorders, as these cases often require long-term treatment”.
Morris cites their awareness of “the gaps in care and accessibility we have in Trinity” as developing from their own personal experience regarding “disability services on and off-campus as well as life as a member of the LGBT+ community”. Morris is adamant that the Student Counselling Service is a valuable resource, but is significantly under resourced.
Staunton’s manifesto is less focused on mental health issues, and neither candidate mentions issues in Trinity’s GP service.
Casework is a major aspect of the welfare and equality officer’s role – but equally important is signposting students in distress to the union and ensuring that the officer themselves is approachable and trustworthy. Both candidates are acutely aware of this: Morris details their own approachability. “I certainly give the impression that I am outspoken and extroverted but that doesn’t mean that I am not also a good listener.”
Staunton emphasises the importance of compassion. “I think it’s still important to be empathetic to what people are going through and just because it may not be my experience, I’ve learned to listen and take those points on board and implement them in a meaningful manner.”
Staunton and Morris have joined the welfare and equality race armed with experience and equally determined to translate this past work into a future sabbatical job with the union. While both candidates are relying on a similar path of prior experience their campaign priorities are already indicative of diverging routes to the polls. The question is whether they can consistently deliver viable solutions that match their ambitions. Only time and hustings will tell.
Correction: February 19th 2022
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Cúnla Morris is a student of early and modern Irish. In fact, they are studying history and modern Irish.
Faye Madden is a staff writer in The University Times and will edit the welfare and equality race in the upcoming TCDSU elections. Sophie Coffey is Deputy Opinion Editor and will act as race correspondent.
