Ents candidate Orla Norton has been criticised by the Ents Accessibility Officer for her points made on crowd control.
Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Comms Officer Beth Strahan sent a statement on behalf of Ents that reads “As Accessibility Officer, Annabel McAteer notes that the running Ents candidates who specifically mention safety and crowd control in their manifestos did not reach out to her to discuss the ongoing work from the current Ents Committee on these issues during the pre- campaign period.”
The statement goes on to read: “McAteer raised these issues to last year’s Ents Officer, and as a result, specifically tailored communications around respite areas and security positioning was circulated pre-Trinity Ball 2024. Since then the current committee has focused on increased security and crowd control measures at all Ents events, to include fencing and ticketing of large-scale Pav Fests.”
A University Times interview with the ENTS candidate reads “For Norton, crowd control and implementing spiking prevention measures are issues of priority. Although positive about the impact that the use of the second bar at the Pav for more crowded Pav Fridays has had, Norton feels that there are times when crowd control is still an issue.”
“I went to a couple of Fridays this year that were so busy and getting up and down the stairs felt a little bit dangerous even, and that’s why I talked about that in my manifesto, because I think that it is important to be able to have that [second Pav bar] as frequently as possible, to ensure that there’s no safety issues.”
Norton is the lone Ents candidate who has made points related to crowd control. Her manifesto reads “I will organise a second bar at the Pav for busy nights (such as Pav Fridays) to help with crowd control.”
In a comment to The University Times, Norton stated: “Regrettably, I did not directly consult the Ents Accessibility Officer during the pre-campaign period, but I did get in touch with relevant PTOs [part-time Officers in TCDSU], as well as the Ability Co-Op, to discuss safety and accessibility at Ents events. If elected, I would absolutely work closely with all relevant bodies, including the Ents Accessibility Officer, to ensure that there is in no instance where somebody feels unsafe or excluded at an Ents event.”
Results for the TCDSU Sabbatical Officer election will be counted on Thursday night.
