Junior Sophister Social Policy and Sociology student Sam Brooks is running for Education Officer, and bringing with him a loaded CV of navigating bureaucracy and advocating for his community. He is currently the Social Sciences Convenor and Commuters Officer for the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU/AMLCT) and was formerly the Deputy Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) Convenor and Environmental Officer. Outside of college, he volunteers 20 hours a week and was the youngest candidate to run in the 2024 local elections in Co Roscommon.
“In that election I came 28 votes away from winning a seat, which would have meant I was the youngest politician ever elected in the Republic of Ireland, the youngest-ever councillor. So, I think that experience gave me a lot of experience because of that now I have run mass-scale projects in my area, I have presented projects to the Council, to the Government, been to the Oireachtas and presented on issues like public transport, mental health,” said Brooks.
“I have been secretary, I have been treasurer, I have controlled budgets of upwards of €20,000, I have managed teams of over 50 people for projects over multiple years. I think that shows that I can do the job, that I have the connections with other students’ unions, with other students. I think it shows that I can really get through to College.”
This passion extends to education as well, and has brought Brooks all the way to conversations with former Minister of Education Norma Foley. Brooks also said that he is a working student, a student from a rural background, a student with a LENS report, and one who has consistently demonstrated a drive to help his community. “I have spoken on the redevelopment of education in Ireland. I have spoken at conferences in Croke Park and in the Government on Leaving Cert redevelopment, redeveloping the Central Applications Office (CAO), redeveloping SUSI grants and grants for students. I was invited there because of my experience, because I could offer that perspective,” he said.
Now, he is looking to bring this experience and passion to the TCDSU Education Officership: “My message is that students are being ripped off, students are not getting the education they deserve, they’re not getting the support from either College or Government that they deserve. And I think I have that experience and ability to be able to fix those problems.”
His manifesto details a three-pronged agenda, focusing on Erasmus, student life, and student experience. Many people will be familiar with delays in Erasmus grant arrival and lack of information about Erasmus programs online, which Brooks is looking to tackle, and says he has partly confronted already. “I’ve received 200+ emails from students as Social Sciences Convenor, which is practically unheard of. Usually, you would get that in a year, and I got that in the two weeks over the Erasmus period, because I reached out to students and students had no one else to ask these questions to,” said Brooks.
He further discussed his frustration with the lack of payment provided to students on work placement for college, as many of these students are required to do this work on top of employment, paying for tuition and rent. “They say they’re supporting students, but they’re expecting them to work up to 40 hours a week for nothing during the summer or term time. They aren’t getting a cent out of the institutions who claim to support students and want to get students into their areas,” he said.
Brooks also is calling for lecture recordings to be published online again to accommodate students who have to work and commute, as well as calling for the college to develop a sustainable and ethical AI policy. He claims it is unrealistic to have a College-wide zero-tolerance policy for AI when many companies are now providing AI software for their employees to use. Further, this zero-tolerance policy is leading to a backslide into exam-based degrees, which he finds unacceptable.
If elected, Brooks does plan to continue some of the policies of the current Education Officer, Buster Whaley. “I like what he’s doing with modular billing. Buster, he’s done a very good job pushing for that, and obviously if the referendum passes I will continue that. It’s something I support …. Also, and this something I’ve included in my manifesto, his policy around food on campus and options for students. I’ve proposed an increase in the TCard or Trinity student discount from 10 per cent up. That has to be negotiated with College, obviously. I would say we need to prioritise upping this discount because every other college in this country has cheaper subsidised food for students.”
However, Brooks does plan to deviate slightly from the current approach of the Students’ Union by making his role more public. This means giving consistent progress updates to students on what he is saying in meetings, and hopes this will encourage the other officers to do the same to increase accountability and engagement.
“The SU faces a massive engagement crisis, and I think that this can actually be used. The SU Sabbatical Officers need to lead initially, and then they need to let the student movement evolve and take control of itself, because it’s the only way we’ll see results. The College does not care about a group of five students saying something, but they do care about a group of 1,000 to 10,000 students. That’s a start, if we can go into meetings and say we have this much engagement, we can get things done,” said Brooks.
“It’s about people power, it’s about people coming together, and that’s what I hope to be. I don’t want to be leading, I don’t want to be taking all the credit, I want to be the instigator, the person who brings it up and says we need to do this, and then I want to see people come and do it and see results. That’s my goal.”
In his time working with the bureaucratic forces of College and Government, Brooks has learned the importance of continuing to make big demands and pushing for what you want, and plans to continue doing that for Trinity students.
“If you hold back and you don’t tell them something out of fear, you’ll never know … if you put everything out there, that at least means you get something. If you don’t you at least have it on record, we want this, and then we can take further action if they don’t implement that,” he said.
Regardless of if he wins, Brooks says he’s going to continue pushing for the policies that he has outlined in his manifesto.
“I’m going to keep pushing and show students that I will keep trying to implement these policies, but I could do a much better job of it if I was elected Education Officer. That’s all I’m asking for: for students to give me that chance.”
For Brooks, it’s not about being able to add another qualification to his political resume, but about having an impact for the people of the various communities that he is a part of. It hasn’t stopped him from pushing for change in his home county despite his loss in the local election, and he says it won’t stop him from improving students’ education at Trinity either.
Brooks ended, “My dad asks me why I do it because it’s a lot of work and sometimes you don’t get a lot out of it, and I just say it’s bigger than myself … as small or insignificant as it may seem, if it’s important to a group of people or a community, it’s worth it.”
