The Media Hustings hosted jointly by Trinity News and the University Times took place shortly after 2 pm today. Trinity College Students’ Union (TCDSU) Sabbatical Officer candidates gathered at the Thomas Davis Theatre to answer questions from the Editors of both papers.
President:
During the media hustings, Trinity News Editor David Wolfe asked the candidates about the most prominent criticism of the SU: that it does not adequately represent all students. Giovanni Li stated shared his priorities as president of SU were to use money “to support people in their endeavors,” and “student issues that we face, such as accommodation, such as accessibility,” Li explained, “ these all need money, and the realistic idea of it is that we keep this money pulled together so that we can actually use it to advocate for these things”.
Addressing the criticism of representation, Li confirmed that an accessible and inclusive students’ union is required. “It is a priority to be able to have an accessible Students’ Union.” Meanwhile, Seán Thim O’Leary believes that the main issue lies in the communication, stating “that students don’t have a proper communication to them about what their union does for them.” Patrick Keegan countered, stating that there “already is a democratic mandate in place”.
Wolfe questioned Li about his role as Ethnic Minorities Officer, asking: “As ethnic minorities officer, you are mandated to chair the Black and Minority Ethnic advisory group as stated in your manifesto. How many times have they met under your tenure?” In response Li admitted that he has yet to hold a meeting for the BME under his leadership.
O’Leary was questioned about the emphasis on lobbying in their manifesto, which was mentioned 27 times in their manifesto. Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce questioned “ How would you propose to change higher education policy via lobbying?” While O’Leary did not have a clear answer on how they would amend higher education policy via lobbying, they did express why it was important stating that there is a “need for direct action for our right to sit on these committees.”
Wolfe asked Keegan about his public Instagram profile that contains separate photos of him with former Uachtaráin Sinn Féin Gerry Adams. Wolfe asked, “what specifically do you admire about him as a politician and leader?” While he did not give a direct answer, Keegan stated that he admires Adams for bringing “left-wing politics to forefront”.
Education
Candidates Conchúr Ó Cathasaigh and Buster Whaley were both asked two questions by Trinity News and The University Times. Ó Cathasaigh was asked by The University Times Editor about his plan to make a fund to cover the cost of mandatory field trips, specifically where he would find the funds to realise this and how much he sees being allocated. He said that the money would come from the Higher Education fund as well as that he sees around 5,000-10,000 Euros being dedicated to this fund, though he stressed that these figures are not final. Additionally, he plans to conduct a study to see the demand for this initiative.
Whaley, in turn, was asked by Trinity News Editor about his opponent’s “clear advantage” in terms of the “bureaucratic side of College” and what he feels his advantages are. Whaley answered stating that you don’t need experience to get involved and that there should not be a barrier to entry for positions in the Students’ Union.
Welfare
Welfare candidates Bhargavi Magadi, Deirdre Leahy, John Garvey and Nina Crofts were asked by the Trinity News Editor to assess how confident they are in their abilities to advocate for student parents to which they all stressed the importance of advocacy for student parents.
Notably, Welfare candidate Nina Crofts was asked by the University Times Editor for evidence of opioid usage on campus, as a prominent part of their manifesto is advocating for making Narcan accessible for harm reduction. While Crofts could not state any specific statistics for the use of heroin and similar opioids by students she stated that “drug use in students of college age is on the rise” and cited a particular problem with drugs like cocaine being laced with Fentanyl.
Candidates Bhargavi Magadi, Deirdre Leahy and John Garvey were asked by Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce about the absence of Irish in their manifestos and how they would rectify this. All candidates expressed their regrets about not including Irish in their manifestos and stated that they would either work with the Irish Officer (Leahy), push for Irish-language peer support (Garvey) or have an Irish speaker on their team (Magadi) for better inclusion.
Communications Officer
Comms candidate Channing Kehoe, who runs uncontested, was asked first about their ability to ensure that information is circulated on time by The University Times Editor and subsequently, if she thinks low turnout in student elections and referendums creates a problem for legitimacy for the Union, by the Editor of Trinity News. Kehoe said that they think they are equipped to handle the task of informing students on time as well as for her, low turnout is not a problem of legitimacy but it is something they would like to expand upon as Communications Officer.
ENTS:
All Ents candidates were asked, “What specific steps would you take to increase attendees’ satisfaction with the ball going forward?” Yuv Garg responded, saying that as a member of the committee, he would “provide an accessibility report before T ball.”
Finn Hallwood shared his desire to make events more accessible to students in general, hoping to create a timetable that is released before every semester. When asked how this system would work, Hallwood shared that he would plan to meet with every society at the start of each term. Orla Norton stated that her main priority is to ensure that all events are safe, specifically mentioning the need for “better fencing at T Ball” to improve security.
John O’Hara proposed that securing more sponsorships would help raise additional funds to improve the Trinity Ball lineup. He referenced the Union’s relationship with Coca-Cola as a possible sponsor for events, stating, “We have sponsors like Coca-Cola during the year, and there’s no real reason we can see that there shouldn’t be sponsors like this injecting more money into the ball,” despite the council passing a motion for ethical sponsorship in the future.
He suggested that sponsorships could help support events and stressed that the “point of Ents is not to profit off of students going to the events.” Instead, his focus is on putting “on events that people will enjoy.”
Gaelige: Both Irish Language Officer candidates talked about their previous experiences and goals for the role. Niamh Leddy stated that she “studies Irish as part of her degree” and thus is “well versed in translation”. She also referenced that she has written countless articles in Irish for student publication. She believes it is important for officers to collaborate with one another” stating that “communication is key in this role”.
Aoife Ni Bhriain has worked as an Irish officer previously and has taken part in helping people learn Irish. One of her main goals is to advocate for “better signage” She particularly criticised the “sign in front of the SU shop” that is “still not printed properly in Irish”. Additionally, she hopes to give students the chance to “take their tutorial in Irish” and to “normalise” Irish in the community.
University Times Editor
University Times Editor candidate Sajal Singh was asked about her initiative to create an LGBTQ+ correspondent by the incumbent editor of The University Times. Singh stated that she wants to make sure everybody in the community is represented. Further, she was asked about what she feels the major campus issues are by the Editor of Trinity News. Singh stated that one major unrepresented issue is employability. Adding to this, she said that she is in contact with people from The University Times team to find out what is lacking from the newspaper and finished her answer off by stressing the need for real, human stories, not just news.
Returning candidate Charles Hastings was asked why he chose not to return to the paper this year, despite being offered a place by the current University Times Editor. Hastings stated the importance of focusing on his Capstone project this year. He also stated that he found his former role as Chair of the Editorial Board unfulfilling. The Editor of University Times then responded to Hastings saying that he could have taken on a different role which was followed by Hastings saying that he assumed this was “off the table.”
Further, Hastings was asked about his promise to make The University Times the best student publication in the world by the Editor of the University Times, who asked Hastings if he was aware that the University Times was named the second-best student publication in Ireland this year. Hastings responded that he is aware, but the “goal is to be first best not second best”.
