In a contested TCDSU sabbatical race, one group is trying to ensure none of the three candidates for Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President are elected to the office next week.
RON on Pres, an anonymous group which encourages students to place Re-Open Nominations (RON) as their number one vote for TCDSU President, has placed posters around campus and was offered a formal candidacy by the Electoral Commission last night – which, if they accept, would allow them to access up to €250 in campaign materials.
The official candidacy of the RON on Pres campaign would mean that the group would have to instate a campaign manager and follow the election rules that the eighteen TCDSU candidates abide by.
The group relayed their main concerns with the presidential candidates’ campaigns via Instagram to The University Times. The group said each manifesto was “lacking in individual ways that raise concerns about the continuing function of the Union, both as a service provider and as a campaigning body.” They also highlighted issues with two of the candidates’ party affiliations – Patrick Keegan with Sinn Féin and Seán Thim O’Leary with the Social Democrats.
RON on Pres stated that they were concerned that the candidates were “notably lacking” in public speaking skills, which they say are “essential” to a successful candidate.
RON on Pres said Keegan’s failure to provide a plain text manifesto and his use of inaccessible Instagram graphics “essentially discounts a cohort of students” and expressed concern about his “hyper focus on direct action,” saying he “does not suggest any new routes beyond the lobbying already pushed by numerous school convenors and officers in the Union.”
In a statement to the newspaper, Keegan said his plain text manifesto was available on the Students’ Union website. Upon hearing of the RON on Pres campaign’s critique of Keegan’s materials, the candidate says he has since added a plain text manifesto as well as plain text versions of Instagram posts to his campaign’s Linktree.
Keegan said regarding his party affiliation that “I am an activist first and foremost … I view my national political involvement as a separate, disconnected channel in which I can fight for change.” In regards to concerns about his “hyper focus on direct action,” he said that ”to effect change, we must be radical. We must be willing to take actions to seriously challenge the status quo. Direct action is how we do this.” He indicated that pursuing routes the Union has already taken does not constitute a lack of action, saying “It’s not always about reinventing the wheel, it’s sometimes about taking tired and tested methods for activism and applying it to different situations to enact change.”
O’Leary’s “over-focusing” on lobbying was called “a significant step back from the effective actions taken by recent presidents” by the group. RON on Pres also criticised their “lack of ambition and general focus” as a move towards “complacency on student matters that cannot be delayed,” and noted a “complete non-mention of Palestine” in their manifesto.
In a statement to The University Times, O’Leary said that they “have no intentions on rolling back on direct action. Lobbying is merely step one in a process of escalated action.” They said they were confused by indications that Palestine is not a priority for them, stating: “I am unapologetically pro-Palestinian, and I have continually and regularly sought to applaud the achievements of TCD BDS.”
In regard to their affiliation with the Social Democrats, they said “I am not a party candidate, nor have I ever done anything remotely partisan in my engagement with the SU, nor have I run on this basis. I’m running for President of TCDSU, not President of people who agree with me.”
Ron on Pres cited candidate Giovanni Li’s proposal to integrate transgender mentorship through the DisAbility Service as “inefficient” and echoing a conservative narrative on trans identity. They also said his initiative to have students work as cleaners for their peers’ accommodation “without levels of exploitation, judgment, and exacerbated class stratification” is “impossible.” His push to introduce sleeping pods on campus was called a “welfare issue” and “not a viable alternative for a robust housing campaign.”
In a statement to The University Times, Li defended his policies: In regards to trans inclusion in the DisAbility service, Li said that discussion with trans individuals revealed that trans students are “often placed with the DisAbility Service”.
He said that criticisms of the student cleaning service were unfounded, saying that “having a part-time job is in no way shameful or elitist” and this mentality takes “away the right of the students to avail of opportunities that could really help them in their struggles.” Li also said that “the idea of the sleeping pods is not a fix for lack of accommodation” and “[he’s] seen students trying to sleep on couches, on floors and in the most unhealthy places so that they can get 5 minutes of shut-eye.”
All three presidential candidates have confirmed that they have received no communication from the RON group regarding their campaigns.
“I disagree with the R.O.N. campaign’s evaluation of my candidacy as relayed to me, but it is certainly their right to be concerned. However, I’ve received no direct communication from them or anyone on these concerns, and I’d genuinely welcome the chance to engage with them if they want to talk to me and try to clear things up,” O’Leary said in their statement.
RON on Pres stressed to The University Times that “none of these issues arise with the candidates as individuals, or as people outside of their presidential platforms.” The group disclosed that they are “decentralised” with seven students involved directly, and twenty students showing interest in being involved.
