With the 2026 Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU/AMLCT) Sabbatical Election season underway, the University Times sat down with Ents candidate Danila Kitaev to unpack his plans from Ents for the 2026/2027 year, including loyalty schemes, sober events and how he hopes to shape Trinity’s social life.
When asked to reflect on his first experiences with Ents at Trinity, Kitaev recalled the Pav Marquee in Freshers’ Week as a defining introduction to Trinity’s social scene. For Kitaev, Ents stands apart from a club or society because it’s a “binding body” between students, class representatives, and clubs. It provides a shared space where students from different backgrounds, courses and years can meet: this openness, he says, is what makes Ents unique.
A central proposal of his manifesto is the introduction of an Ents loyalty scheme. The initiative would operate through SCOP, the pre-existing ticketing system that manages pre-sales and event entry. According to Kitaev, the infrastructure is already in place to track attendance, and the system is flexible enough to support a rewards-based model, whose benefits would include pre-sale tickets. However, Kitaev is clear that the scheme would not alter ticket pricing or disadvantage new students, but rather would reward consistent engagement.
Discussions then turned to Trinity Ball, which has faced substantial criticism from students in the past few years for its increasing ticket prices, lack of crowd control, and less well-known acts. Kitaev acknowledges student frustration, and provides reassurance on this this year, stating that “I also want to acknowledge that a lot of work and measures are being introduced in order to improve the lineup.” However, he also emphasised the Ents officer’s limited authority on this matter. While Ents can influence decisions and communicate student sentiment, they do not directly control artist bookings, which are handled through an external company. When asked about moving TBall to the RDS, a rumour that has gone around for the past few years, Kitaev expressed that a defining feature of TBall is the campus setting and the “party on campus” experience that distinguishes it from other events. Any change of scale, he notes, would require agreement from multiple stakeholders and provide a logistical challenge.
Having supported three previous Ents Officers, Kitaev highlights that collaboration is the most valuable lesson he has learned. In his view, Ents is strongest when the officer trusts their committee and empowers members to take ownership of events. Rather than acting unilaterally, the officer should take a more facilitative role bringing together ideas, resources and people. He says, “it’s this collaborative mindset that I think makes a great Ents officer, and it’s something that unites Livia, Paedar, and Orla. They’re so good at it. Bringing people together and bringing resources and ideas together.”
Kitaev also addressed a gap in the current Ents programming: engagement with mature students. This cohort, he said, is consistently underrepresented in Trinity’s social scene. While acknowledging he is not capable of fully understanding every mature student’s needs, he proposes working closely with the Graduate Student Officer to design events that are appropriately timed and structured. The aim would be to create social spaces that are accessible to those without pre-existing friendship groups in the College.
Sober events are another note in the campaign. Danila proposes establishing regular non-alcoholic events such as Tuesday afternoon gatherings, which creates consistent spaces where alcohol-free socialising is normalised. The hope is that embedding such events in the social calendar on a regular basis will allow them to become an integral part of campus life rather than afterthoughts. These events should also not be confined to daytime, and promoted with the same energy and visibility. He mentioned Board in particular, a venue which specialises in non-alcoholic drinks and events.
Kitaev also responded to a frequent Friday night complaint about Pav closure, proposing the idea of a structured “Pav afters”. He said, “this responds to something we hear every Friday whenever the Pav closes. People are slightly disappointed, and they’re left asking, where next?”. A more organised continuation of the Pav experience, he suggests, would include students seeking to extend their night in a safe and accessible way, and who might not know Dublin well or have a pre-existing friendship group.
On operational matters such as crowd control at the Pav, Kitaev calls for more predictable communication between Ents and venue management. Decisions around additional bars, security presence and traffic flow should be shaped by turnout estimates from weather conditions and event types. Clearer systems during peak times could improve safety and overall experience.
Looking ahead, the candidate identifies Freshers’ Week as an event they would be most excited to plan if elected. The first week shapes a Fresher’s perspective of Trinity’s social life. If elected, he says, he “can’t wait for next September”.
As voting and campaigning approaches, Kitaev encourages students to engage with the manifesto in full.
