College’s Capitation Committee is to withhold funding from the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) until the union deals with complaints made about its controversial April EGM.
The final report from the GSU Board, which was investigating the EGM, was referred to the Capitation Committee after the board could not reach any conclusions about the events of the EGM due to an inadequate lack of engagement from the union’s president and vice president.
In an email to committee members, seen by The University Times, Secretary Aidan Marsh said that funding will be withheld from the union until “such time as the GSU can be shown as to have dealt with the complaints in a satisfactory manner”.
“The report of the investigation indicates a clear link between inadequate engagement in the process from the GSU and the inability of the GSU Board to make any substantive findings or to offer strategic advice to the GSU in relation to the EGM under article 20 (i) (c) of the GSU Constitution”, Marsh added.
The senior dean, who chairs the Capitation Committee, “deemed that the internal procedures of the GSU have dealt with the complaint unsatisfactorily” and funding will therefore will be withheld from the union “until such time as the GSU can be shown as to have dealt with the complaints in a satisfactory manner”.
“This decision of the Senior Dean will be brought before the Capitation Committee to be formally ratified by them at a meeting to be held as soon as possible after the holiday period following the appointment of the new Senior Dean”, he concluded.
GSU President Gisèle Scanlon did not respond to a request for comment.
The Capitation Committee is a subcommittee of the Student Life committee in College. It gives funding to Trinity’s five capitated bodies: the GSU, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union, the Central Societies Committee, Dublin University Central Athletic Club and Trinity Publications.
Yesterday, The University Times reported that the GSU Board has said it could not make any “substantive findings” on the union’s controversial April EGM as it did not receive “adequate engagement” from the GSU president and vice president.
The Board received two complaints about the events of the EGM – a meeting that provoked outrage among members of the GSU.
Following the meeting, petitions to impeach Scanlon and Vice President Abhisweta Bhattacharjee – who were both re-elected to their positions last month – were circulated among postgraduates. The petition to impeach Scanlon reached the requisite 60 signatures.
The GSU Board’s summary of conclusions, seen by The University Times, said that “the Board communicated with the GSU Vice President in her capacity as Secretary to the Executive (on 1 May 2021) and the GSU President (on 17 May, 2 June and 23 June) to seek their response to issues raised in these submissions”.
“No such submission was received by the Board by the designated and extended deadline (Friday 25 June) following interaction over a period of seven weeks.”
The Board’s summary said: “Consequently, the Board is unable to make any substantive findings or offer strategic advice to the GSU in relation to the EGM.”
“It is our view that the Board has not received adequate engagement from the GSU and that in future the GSU should engage constructively with the Board. We are disappointed at the lack of adequate engagement in this matter.”
