To the overpowering tunes of the Scooby Doo theme, the Junior Common Room (JCR) Hustings kicked off in the canteen of Trinity Halls on Monday evening. This year it was once again apparent that the majority of the SU candidates had neglected to include the JCR and Trinity Halls in their considerations. With the exception of Welfare Officer candidates, Deirdre Leahy, Nina Crofts, and John Garvey, as well as presidential candidate Seán Thim O’Leary, the candidates had failed to reach out to the JCR in order to discuss their campaigns. This neglect might also explain why the turn-out, once again, was so low at the Halls Hustings – the crowd of approximately forty overwhelmingly consisted of the JCR themselves or members of the campaign teams.
Although it seems that Trinity Halls and the JCR remain low on the priority lists, many candidates expressed regrets about this and emphasised how they wish to work more closely with the JCR to ensure that Halls residents and first year students in general are heard and integrated into the union. Channing Kehoe and Finn Hallwood did not attend the Hustings.
President
The presidential candidates, Giovanni Li, Sean Thim O’Leary, and Patrick Keegan were asked to comment on why all but O’Leary had failed reached out to the JCR during their campaign and how they, despite not having included the JCR or Halls in their manifestos, would ensure that the Student’s Union maintained a close relationship to the JCR.
Li emphasized his experience as a first year, acknowledging all the work done by the JCR and how they serve as an integral aspect of many first year students’ experience. Commenting on the neglect of the JCR in his manifesto and campaign, Li said that he had educated himself since the beginning of the campaign and that he “wants to be that person that supports you guys”.
O’Leary stated that the JCR serve a central role in understanding the day to day experiences of Halls residents and first years, and expressed that they would try to “engage regularly with the entirety of the JCR committee” to ensure that Halls residents are accommodated for.
Keegan, responding to the same question, echoed the sentiments of the other candidates stating that he will seek to have more meetings between the sabbatical officers and the JCR to ensure closer collaboration. Keegan also stated that he wants to implement office hours specifically at Halls and that he wants to see Student Union campaigns to be present in Halls as well as on campus.
Seán Thim O’Leary was questioned on their exclusion of Trinity Halls in their strategy regarding accommodation, and was asked how they would push to accelerate the construction of the planned new accommodation block, Cunningham House, at Halls. O’Leary re-emphasised the importance of lobbying, stating that it was one of the first steps to seeing delivery College commitments being fulfilled. They also stated that it is the president’s responsibility to ensure that everyone is engaged with the subject in order to make sure that the pressure on College to deliver is “relentless”.
Focusing on the better campus section of his manifesto, Patrick Keegan was asked how he would work to improve student spaces both on and off campus, and how he wishes to support the JCR in the running and maintenance of the new JCR Café opening this Thursday. Keegan commended the current SU for allocating the funds for the JCR Café and expressed his wishes to continue building on this and provide support when necessary. He also suggested bringing the SU catering training to the JCR and setting up communication between the SU café and shops to bring their experience to the JCR.
Li was asked how he could reconcile his wish to abolish the student contribution fee with promises to improve College amenities such as the sleeping pods and fully equipped kitchen in Teach a Sé that he included in his manifesto. To this, Li answered that he wishes to implement the same policies and tactics of Germany and Luxembourg – countries that, according to Li, have better student amenities without a mandatory student contribution fee. He also suggested that pressure from the USI would help secure funding for these initiatives and that the government could help subsidise these renovations. As the only presidential candidate, Li also repeated his answer in Irish.
Ultimately, the presidential candidates were asked if they had any final words or reasons why they should be elected, to which Keegan answered that he wants “to make the SU focus on you” and ensure that college has the students in mind – not only in the short term but long term as well.
O’Leary first and foremost wanted to express their thanks to all of the wonderful support they have gotten, stating that “it’s been incredibly lovely”. O’Leary expressed that they, if elected, hope to bring a real positive energy and “a sense of hope to the student body”.
Li closed off by emphasising that he could bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to the role, stating that he also “wants to be able to create an environment where students feel accepted in the community” and are able to develop both academically and personally.
Education:
The position of Education Officer hosts a demanding workload and Candidates Conchúr Ó Cathasaigh and Buster Whaley were asked what campus experience and campus involvement make them the best candidate for the role. Ó Cathasaigh spoke on his previous role in the union, emphasising that he would support the JCR with academic support during his time in the position. Although Whaley has no union experience he said that he has learned a lot in his four years. Whaley spoke about modular billing as an investment in the future of Trinity students.
When asked about his idea of module billing, Whaley explained that in the current system, if a student fails a module they either have to pay the full year or go off books. With a module billing system, students could carry the failed module to the next year and then repeat it there, they could “pay to repeat”.
Ó Cathasaigh was asked about Generative AI use in college and his plans for the future. Ó Cathasaigh explained that he wants to lay the groundwork to ensure that students are not unfairly penalized for AI usage. The different policies of AI usage require a “living document” to be published on concrete policy, said Ó Cathasaigh.
In response to questions on affordable food on campus Whaley said that the current SU cafe in goldsmith has been breaking even and that he plans to use the business as the blueprint for future campus restaurants. Whaley wants to attract business on campus, especially if they are competitive and cheaper than other cafes in the area because “everybody has to eat”.
Ó Cathasaigh’s manifesto identifies the issue of reasonable student accommodations not being met and was asked how a Learning Education Needs Summary (LENS) will help tackle this issue. Ó Cathasaigh cites the most recent LENS report saying that 48% of students have needs that are not being met by the housing provided and that there has been a lot of direct action that has taken place recently. Ó Cathasaigh wants to see how the current work will change the situation.
Welfare Officer:
Three out of the four candidates running for Welfare Officer, Deirdre Leahy, Nina Crofts, and John Garvey, had made sure to contact the JCR ahead of the hustings, although only Leahy and Crofts had managed to initiate dialogue with the Welfare Team.
The fourth candidate, Bhargavi Magadi, stated that she would love to keep in contact with the welfare team and wants to help international students and first years in Halls. She also expressed ambitions to streamline services and make sure that the areas of information such as accommodation advisory and disability services are centralized and accessible to Halls residents. Responding to points on her manifesto, Magadi stressed the need for Trinity to make a proactive policy to combat student homelessness, and expanded on extending her campaign on gender and sexuality fluidity to Trinity Halls by collaborating with the JCR Ents and Welfare Teams to spread awareness and host events spotlighting non-binary artists.
John Garvey began his allotted time by stating that he had sent an email to the JCR office but was met with confusion from the current JCR welfare officer who had not gotten it. Garvey continued by saying that his experience as a welfare officer would provide him with the skills necessary to take on the role, emphasising that he knows how much the casework can be and offered to work with the JCR welfare officer to relieve the workload “in any way possible”. Garvey said that he does not want to take away autonomy of the JCR welfare officer but wants to be there to help provide resources to the team. In response to a question on his manifesto discussing first responder training, Garvey shared that he wants to improve the training that is already in place and to specifically look at bystander training.
In a conversation with the welfare team, Deirdre Leahy said that she wants to instate a long term mandate for monthly meetings between JCR and the welfare officer in order to continue strong communication in the future as well as during her term. Leahy emphasised the difficulties that can come when transitioning into Trinity Halls in first year and shared that she plans to work with disability and therapists to expand their services and initiatives at the halls. Leahy adds that she wants to incentivise consent talks in an attempt to up attendance during refreshers week, in response to a question on her plans to expand the consent talks in Trinity Halls. Through contact between the JCR and more support from the SU Leahy wants to provide funding for the period products at Trinity Halls. Currently they are provided through the JCR budget.
In addition to ensuring better communication, Nina Crofts wanted to emphasise that the welfare team and the JCR as a whole do a lot of thankless work and touched on the point of compensation for the immense responsibility of the welfare team. When asked to elaborate on the creation of a support network for incoming students, Crofts admitted that this manifesto point was inspired by the JCR experience. She highlighted the importance of connecting first year students from similar backgrounds who are facing the same struggles as themselves, particularly highlighting visa and immigration issues as well as students in difficult accommodation situations. Crofts further stressed the need for adapting current approaches to consent education, stating that the current talks do a great job of teaching students when they are survivors, but not enough to prevent it. She specifically highlighted the implementation of bystander training and in addition wants to ensure that Halls has SU Bank which will make STI testing accessible to all residents of Trinity Halls.
Oifigeach na Gaeilge:
The two candidates competing for the position are Niamh Leddy and Aoife Ní Bhriain. Both were asked a general question about the new Irish officer position coming to JCR on Wednesday. Leddy and Ní Bhriain said that they plan to have monthly meetings with the JCR Irish officer. Leddy emphasized the importance of nurturing the Irish in Trinity Hall to foster community of the first years and Ní Bhriain plans to make a glossary in Irish to help people adjust to the change at college.
In response to a more specific question on their relationship to the Irish language, Leddy explains that although she didn’t grow up speaking Irish, she “fights everyday to really speak the language”. She says that she wants to make speaking Irish a natural experience and said “I really want to help bring Irish to everyone here.”
In contrast, Ní Bhriain has grown up speaking the language. She states that she is passionate to spread her passion for Irish and to give other people the chance to experience the same love of the language. In terms of working with the college to better integrate Irish she said “I’d love to be able to be the one to put the pressure on the college, because I understand what you’re entitled to”.
Communications & Marketing Officer:
Running uncontested, Channing Kehoe was not in attendance at the JCR husting and in a response told University Times that she was unable to attend due to a time conflict with her rehearsal for the intervarsity musical competition.
Entertainment Officer:
The four candidates running for Entertainment Officer are Yuv Garg, John O’Hara, Orla Norton and Finn Hallwood. Finn Hallwood was not present at the JCR husting.
Candidates were asked a general question on the level of segregation of the events, asking how they plan to ensure students in their first year to their final year feel included at all events. Garg responded with his plan to collaborate with the JCR on events and said that “It’s about making a place where everyone could come together”. O’Hara stated that he wants to mix year groups through shared hobbies and activities rather than through themed club nights saying “When they are coming together through hobbies it brings together different year groups”. Norton said that she wants to start working closely with the JCR to make freshers week feel safe and comfortable through a large variety of events, complete with a feedback form on the success of said events. Norton said that this will help with student retention “people start coming and keep coming until the end”.
Garg is currently the welfare and equality officer on the Ents. committee, and when asked about his plan of collaboration with JCR he said that he would love to reach out to JCR to help them run events and praised the welfare system that has been implemented by the JCR.
In his manifesto, O’Hara stated that he wanted to keep Trinity Ball tickets under 100 euro and expanded on the ball’s lineup. Trinity’s contract with MCD production company will expire in 2027, said O’Hara, and the Ents Officer position can be used to foster dialogue and place pressure onto the company in order to have more say in the performers.
Norton’s response concluded the section, and she spoke on her push for more events that are in multiple languages. She plans to liaise with the JCR international office to hold events and states “I would make sure that every student has something that represents them”.
Finn Hallwood was not in attendance at the event and told The University Times that he was running a sober squid game event that was planned before the date for the husting was released.
University Times Editor
Running for University Times (UT) editors this year are Charles Hastings and Sajal Singh.
When asked how they plan to represent the concerns of Halls residents and how to make UT accessible to them, Hastings emphasised the need to get first years involved, stating that he believes first years are easy to reach since “they are eager and want to be there”. He wants to ramp up the paper’s use of social media and once again emphasised his plans to implement themed mass pitch callouts, this time highlighting callouts focused on the first year student experience.
Singh stated that she wants to increase visibility on social media and host pitching and Irish workshops to make the paper more accessible to everyone – including first year students. Singh was asked how she would ensure that visibility did not become performative, to which she responded that she wants to add the roles of LGBTQ+ and Minorities Editors and collaborate with societies in order to make sure that everyone gets to tell their stories.
