Comhairle 5 took place promptly after the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU/AMLCT) Election Hustings, in the Edmund Burke Theatre, at 7.41pm, on Tuesday, February 17th.
After the minutes were approved, the Officers gave their reports. Grace McNally, TCDSU President, was the first to give her report. She expressed her excitement about the first meeting of the campaign committee, as well as the sexual violence task force being formed. Buster Whaley, the Education Officer, spoke second. He said “we’re still fighting” for modular billing, citing ongoing progress: “it would take a lot […] but nobody is rejecting it”. He also mentioned preparing online voting for the upcoming sabbatical elections. Deidre Leahy, Welfare & Equality Officer, talked about her collaboration with Orla Norton, the Sexual Violence taskforce, as well as talking to the library about therapy dogs. Channing Kehoe, Communications and Marketing Officer, urged Class Reps to get their Class Rep hoodies. Next, Ents officer Orla Norton spoke about raising €13,000 through RAG week events, including Trinity’s first Relay for Life. She also mentioned Lovers’ Ball as well as the Trinity Wedding, which has already raised €4,000 for women’s aid and Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC). The Irish Officer was ill, and the report was taken as read. Charlie Hastings, University Times Editor, also took his report as read.
Following the reports, no one nominated themselves for the position on the Campaigns Committee, so the election didn’t come to pass.
The Motion on LTP Referendum on Opposition to Militarism as a Long Term Policy was then brought to Comhairle by ten non-council members including current presidential candidate Amy Kennedy, the current graduates office candidate Ava Tuohy, and the Chairperson and PRO of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), Harry Johnston and Seán Radcliff. Speaking in favour of the motion was Seán Radcliff who explained what the “triple lock” was and the upcoming Defence Amendment Bill which seeks to dismantle the “triple lock”. This will allow for the deployment of Irish troops abroad when unilaterally decided by the current Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments. The motion calls back to the recent Long Term Policy referendum that resulted in a vote of no confidence against the current government. A question was raised whether this referendum would be able to take place by the sabbatical elections, which Armstrong answered, stating that it will likely be during the second-last or last week of college. A question about additional costs was also raised, to which Armstrong answered, “Not off the top of my head” There were no speakers for or against this motion. Radcliff summed up the motion saying that the abolition of the triple lock did not “serve the interests of the students”. The motion passed with a majority vote and a referendum will be held in the coming weeks amongst the student body with a possible Hustings to debate the topic. The Student Neutrality Front (SNF) released a statement on the passing of the motion stating: “We are thrilled to see this proposal go to referendum and for Trinity students to take a stand against Ireland’s increased militarization”. They added: “As seen with BDS, organized student support on this issue will go a long way towards mounting effective opposition to militarism. We encourage students here and on other Irish campuses to start this conversation and defend Irish neutrality”.
Then, Grace McNally raised a procedural motion to suspend moving orders and raise a discussion order. McNally then brought up a discussion item concerning the policy that would have the security guards on campus wear body-worn cameras, proposed by Estates and Facilities. The body cameras would be for collecting student numbers, and are to “help students”, and that they wouldn’t record faces. When asked if security cameras were already on campus, McNally claimed that, while cameras are in public places around campus, none exist in classrooms or other private areas. She also answered a question about who would be watching the footage, stating that they would be monitored by an external company, but handed over to members of the college if asked. BDS Chair Harry Johnston asked if there was a possibility of security turning body cameras on and off as a tactic for “intimidation” to which McNally replied “probably”, “but they would also be using them because they think it is right”. A question was posed about the contractual obligations if the cameras were to be implemented; McNally answered by underlining the need to discuss the issue now: “we don’t have control”. Another question was raised about sensitive areas around on-campus housing, as well as whether they would be used to implement guest policies. McNally answered that they probably would, suggesting that there is no way of stopping the guards from passing proof on to college once they have it.
A motion was brought to sum up and vote. McNally then suggested turning the discussion into a motion, so that she will be able to answer Estates and Facilities. The discussion was then moved to the end of the agenda, where it was initially.
Next, the Motion to Renew Ad-Hoc Part-Time Officers (PTOs) was brought to Comhairle by Alice Moran. The motion would renew the positions of Environmental, Access, Housing Rights and Student Carer Ad-Hoc Part-Time Officers. The posts have to be renewed every two years to continue to exist. Emer Munelly, volunteer coordinator suggested to amend the motion to add the post of the volunteer coordinator so that it doesn’t elapse as well. The Access Officer spoke in favour of the motion. No one spoke against it. The motion was moved to a vote, and passed.
The Motion on the addition of an Environmental Officer to the Entertainments Committee was then proposed by Orla Norton, Current TCDSU Ents Officer. Norton explained the motion, stating “having the pressure from the Ents committee … big organisers at the Pav” would be valuable, citing the campaign to limit single use plastics in the Pav. The Environmental Officer spoke in favour of the motion, stating that they will be officially relaunching the environmental committee, and the single use plastics campaign. The motion passed.
A motion to advocate for the replacement of the €150 Hodges Figgis voucher as part of the Trinity Entrance Exhibition Awards was then presented to Comharile by Mary Groome, a Junior Fresh Class Rep. The voucher is presented along with a certificate to Junior Fresh undergraduates who achieve the highest points amongst other Trinity entrants from their respective secondary schools. The motion argued that the Hodges Figgis voucher should be replaced with a National book token so as to align with union mandates to support Trinity BDS. Groome argued that TCDSU’s long-term policy to support BDS conflicts with the college’s partnership with Hodges Figgis. The bookstore is owned by Eliott Investment Management, a company on the BDS list. Groome stated “I’m just proposing that we sort of detach from Hodges Figgis”. The motion would mandate the BDS Committee, Chair and the President to lobby Trinity to award students with National Book Tokens instead. The token can be used in multiple bookstores, leaving it “up to the students where they spend their money”. The motion passed.
The Motion on Actions Towards Fairer Admission Procedures was later proposed by Katerina Dimitrova, Class Rep for Junior Fresh Music. The motion would mandate the TCDSU President, the Education Officer, the Welfare and Equality Officer, and the Campaign Committee to begin active contact with the Academic Registry and other relevant decision-makers behind admissions at Trinity, to campaign against discriminatory policies when it comes to admission requirements. Dimitrova stated that she noticed that multiple countries’ respective national exams in many cases do not allow students to achieve the amount of points necessary for Trinity admission to multiple courses, even if a student attains the maximum score on such an exam. She stated that this would not imply lowering the admission requirements at Trinity, but rather making the marks of afflicted students higher, so that they can compete with their peers from different countries on an equal basis. The motion passed.
The Motion to Formalise PTO Handovers was proposed by Amy Kennedy, current LGBT Rights Officer. The motion would mandate PTOs to create a handover document, as well as the creation of a PTO handbook, and facilitate communication for handover. Kennedy cited personal experience in her two PTO roles, where she “knew nothing about the job” upon starting, due to a lack of communication. Harry Johnston, BDS Chair, suggested that the handbook be expanded to cover chairs of committees of Comhairle. The amendment was added to the motion by member of council Natalie Byrne with approval from Kennedy. Emer Munelly spoke in favour of the motion, stating “it’s really hard to get access to that older information … it would be really important for the union’s progression”. The motion passed unanimously.
The Motion on Contraception and Abortion Access was brought to the Comhairle by the Union Forum (UF), and seconded by SU President, Grace McNally. The motion mandates the establishment of a Working Group to research the feasibility of a Contraception and Abortion Welfare Fund. The motion was brought up at the previous Comhairle and then referred to the UF for amendments. Amy Kennedy, LGBT Rights Officer, introduced the motion after McNally ceded her time to her. The motion was moved to a vote and passed.
McNally then proposed the aforementioned Motion on Body Cameras, which was based on the discussion item. The motion would support the body cameras, which would allow the union and the wider student body to come to a decision and communicate the results to Estates and Facilities.
Speaking in favour of bringing the updated motion to the docket, McNally said that she thinks “it’s pretty clear what our decision is, but it’s important that we have that discussion”. The motion passed, and a discussion was then held. Harry Johnston, BDS Chair, spoke against the motion, bringing the Comhairle’s attention to the fact that the guards are not mandated to stop recording when asked.
Another question was posed: “Why is it necessary now? What has been happening that they feel the need?” McNally mentioned a racist attack on one of the security guards in previous months, stating that Estates and Facilities had been thinking about it for some time. Following another question, about a potential clause stating that the recordings would not be used against students, McNally suggested the possibility of bringing amendments to the policy.
James Butler, Class Rep for Senior Fresh Law, spoke against the motion. He mentioned that while it is a “great idea to protect both students and staff alike” there would be “disproportionate” negative effects on student privacy stating that the “policy is too unclear”. Chris Petrosky, a class representative, spoke in favour stating “It’s not perfect what we’ve got but it’s a step in the right direction”. “If I was at a protest and being manhandled by a guard, I would want some” sense of being on camera. McNally summed the motion up, finishing with “I don’t like it”. The motion failed.
With no other urgent business or questions, the Comhairle came to a close at 8.56pm, with the next one to be held on March 10th.
Additional reporting by Henry Brown, Manasvini Naren, Charlie Swan, Amalia Madrid-Lilly, and Charlie Hastings
