With over fifty spectators, a dozen or more campaign teams, and eighteen candidates – Dining Hall Hustings kicked off with a bang. Highlights were Presidential candidate Giovanni Li’s promise to have the Trinity College Dublin Student’s Union build student accommodation, Welfare and Equality Candidate Nina Crofts’ promise to make Narcan accessible for students, and Charles Hastings’ promise to make The University Times the best non-daily student newspaper in the world.
Across campaigns, Gaeilge was a point on many candidates’ speeches, with four candidates (including two for Oifigeach na Gaeilge) conducting speeches in Irish as well as English.
Welfare saw big cheers and a whistle as candidates were brought to the steps. LENS reports came up again and again for Welfare. Student speeches were confident and spectators were engaged.
President
Patrick Keegan
Patrick Keegan, a third year business and politics student and current chair of Trinity Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, is running on a campaign promising to focus on issues important to students, including student fees, and student spaces. His experience working with BDS, he stated, has taught him skills in organising campaigns and events. He cited pressuring the administration to end all ties with Israel as one of his main concerns, as well as addressing the housing crisis, rising grocery costs. He will lobby the university for more emergency accommodation.
Sean Thim O’Leary
As a long-distance commuter, community organiser, and student, Sean Thim O’Leary is passionate about securing student spaces and kitchen facilities to heat food, and securing funding for equipment. He hopes to help make the Student Union “a strong voice to fight for justice in this city and on this island”. He promises to further fight for reduced fees and affordable accommodation. He wishes to bring back the Student Handbook, which lists student rights as well as how to fight for them. “If you give me your confidence” he ended his speech by saying, “I will dedicate to work with you tirelessly”.
Giovanni Li gave a vibrant speech that emphasised that he was not politically affiliated with any party. Li committed to a “Unified approach rather than taking everything on solo” for the Union. He mentioned how his friends have dropped out of College and how he wants to “Fight back against oppressors and show college we are not cash cows”. “No jobs available we will find you one” “No dining hall, we will build you one”.
Education
Conchur Ó Cathasaigh
Conchur Ó Cathasaigh, a fourth year maths student, criticized the inconsistent policies of College and stated that he wanted to ensure a clear and consistent approach. He highlighted the need for everyone, not just the Irish Language Officer, to implement and integrate Irish into the Union, and promised to push for a heightened focus on working through the medium of Irish and accommodating for students to speak in their language of choice. This emphasis was blended with a promise to bring the Irish language closer to the students and researchers it impacts most: “Our education, our union, our language.”
Buster Whaley:
Education candidate, Buster Whaley prioritised solving problems between students and education. Whaley stated his aim of increasing access to affordable food on campus by introducing new student cafes and perhaps even new dining spaces on Pearse street. He also expressed a strong interest in reforming Trinity’s module billing which forces extra fees for students repeating failed modules and even extra tuition on students who are obliged to retake a year.
Welfare and Equality Officer
Third year Political Science and Economics student Bhargavi Magadi talked of her own struggles with the administration at Trinity as her source of motivation for running for the Welfare and Equality position. She said having been wrongly charged the international student fare of 20,000 euro in her first year gave her an understanding of the challenges students face with the administration. She further listed the housing crisis, lens reports, and marginalisation as issues she wishes to tackle. She hopes to improve the accommodation advisory if elected.
Deirdre Leahy
With a mix of union and practical experience, Deirdre Leahy, a final year Occupational Therapy student, wants to “support and serve across every campus”. Highlighting the need for a push to increase functionality and funding of student services across the campuses, Leahy stressed the importance of continued awareness around accessibility, since many students have yet to be reached and accommodated for. Leahy also highlighted the need for a reporting system for when LENS and placement LENS reports are not met and stated her intentions to improve student spaces and facilitate campaign weeks for Diversity and inclusion.
Nina Crofts
Nina Crofts, a third year politics and sociology student, cited her experience as LGBTQ+ Rights Officer for the union, Equity and Inclusion officer for the Hist, as well as Sex and Relationship Co-Editor for Trinity News as her key qualifications for the role of Welfare and Equality Officer. She claims to understand how draining it can be to deal with mental health problems while in college, and has insight into how to tackle them. She said her experience working for Trinity News has taught her which issues matter to students. She therefore hopes to make campus a more welcoming and safer space for students.
John Garvey brought up his wish to get involved with QSoc and the Student Counselling services to enhance the student experience. Garvey ambitiously proposed lobbying the government to improve Queer sex education. He promised to “Push Trinity further towards equality”. He proposed Improving consent training by taking the workshop beyond Trinity Halls and instead also bringing it to campus and also online.
Comms
Channing Kehoe, running for the role of Comms and Marketing uncontested this year, started off strong, stating that she has “the hard skills, soft skills, and creativity to make the union impossible to ignore”. As a fourth year law and politics student with years of involvement in student leadership, Kehoe promises to use their role to further activism and efforts that align with student values with effective messaging and a focus on making the work of the students’ union engaging and accessible to students.
Oifigeach na Gaeilge
Bhí óráidí láidre ag an mbeirt iomaitheoirí don Ghaeilge. Dúirt Niamh Leddy gur tháinaig sí ar an nGaeilge trí chúrsaí samhraidh agus mar sin de thug sí faoi deara gur teanga “bheomhar, spleodach” a bhí inti. Tá sí ag iarraidh an Gaeilge a bheith “níos infheicthe ar na meáin shóisialta”. Ina theanna sin, dúirt Leddy go bhfuil sí ag iarraidh “leanúint ar aghaidh leis an bhfeachtas ‘Cá bhfuil an Ghaeilge?’”
Dúirt Aoife Ní Bhriain go raibh “Fadhb mhór inrochtanna i Seomra na Gaeilge” agus go bhfuil sí ag iarraidh an seomra a fheabhsú do dhaoine i gcathaoireacha rothaí. Bhí a foclaíocht i mBéarla beagán éagsúil. Dúirt Ní Bhriain go raibh sí ag iarraidh “Deis a thabhairt do gach mac léinn a shaol a chaitheamh trí gaeilge” agus mar sin de, tá sí ag iarraidh foclóir a thabhairt do mhic léinn na Tríonóide do théarmaí ETIM, go háirithe dóibh siúd a d’fhreastail ar scoil go hiomlán trí Ghaeilge toisc nach mbíonn na téarmaí Béarla acu.
Ents
Ents candidate John O’Hara emphasised how his experience as the current Public Relations officer for the Ents committee and his role as captain of DU Hockey has prepared him for this role. The essence of O’Hara’s speech revolved around reforming Trinity Ball prices as well as collaboration between students and college over the event. O’Hara pledged to open an anonymous student forum where students could voice their concerns directly to the Ents committee as well as introducing an Ents town hall to be held twice a semester. Finally, the prospective candidate promised to campaign for a motion to be passed in council whereby all Ents committee members would be provided first responder and bystander training. O’ Hara ended his speech with the motto “For incredibly high-craic levels, vote John”.
Fourth year Ents candidate, Yuv Garg stated how his experience as JCR sports officer in 2nd year cultivated his interest in student events seeing how much joy they brought. This interest was maintained by his positions as treasurer and President of the college’s Indian society as well as his current role as Ents’ Welfare and Inclusion Officer. Garg’s three major points were to make Ents bigger and better, improve accessibility, and make Ents work for all. In terms of the event themselves, Garg campaigned to use the extra pav hour to showcase a wider array of musical genres and to introduce a pre-pav Irish hour.
Orla Norton, running for the position of Ents officer, cited her experience as the organiser of events for the French Society. Norton said she’s passionate about organising events that everyone will enjoy, highlighting the talent we have on campus and wishing to create spaces and platforms to showcase it. Inclusion is also a central aspect to her campaign: she wishes to have more events for exchange and postgraduate students. Furthermore, she hopes to improve accessibility by improving graphics on the Ents page, as well as creating venue accessibility reports. She talked of plans to organise events in collaboration with other universities in order to make events “bigger and better”.
The University Times Editor Race
The Dining Hall Hustings kicked off with the return of Charles Hastings, running for the role of The University Times Editor for the second time. Highlighting an award The University Times had won in 2017 for best non-daily student publication in the world, Hastings stated that “We have not seen that paper in a long time”. Hastings further highlighted that he wants to bring increased representation to not only news but also to creative sections. He supported a letters to the editor feature and said if enough suggestions were made “I’ll probably do them”.
Running on a campaign that centres equality and representation, Sajal Singh, a third year English and Economics student, talked of her plans for creating an Erasmus and LGBTQ editor, as well as establishing representation for ethnic minorities on The University Times. She promises that a vote for her is a vote to make “ your college newspaper a place where every community is adequately represented”. She has previously worked as Features Editor for the University Times, and said she values honest journalism, citing plans to help further digitise the University Times.
