There was an increased Trinity interest tonight in the hustings for the position of Vice-President for Welfare of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), as current Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Welfare Officer Damien McClean took to the stage to pitch himself to USI congress.
The incumbent Vice-President for Welfare of USI Niamh Murtagh and McClean said they want to further expand and nationalise welfare services for all students. But, University College Cork (UCC) student Rachael Sherlock presented herself as someone who has fought against the everyday student struggles and can help students around the country do so too, giving her campaign a more local focus.
Murtagh had the most work to do, defending her legacy and her work over the last year – USI’s new video doctor service, as well as sexual health and mental health campaigns, played a significant part of her speech this evening.
McClean sees his successful consent workshops in Trinity as something he can take to every union across the country.
While McClean emphasised the role of welfare in USI as an opportunity to bring student welfare issues to a government level, he did not disregard the importance of dealing with regional welfare issues that need addressing.
Sherlock said she wanted to use the year to address issues that students are facing today, such as accommodation and living conditions, and highlighting the importance of sexual health and sexual positivity.
Taking questions that members of congress submitted, the candidates were asked whether they would stand and fight for repeal. This conversation came after a year that saw many of USI’s member unions taking a pro-repeal stance. McClean said he would not – instead he will remain neutral to ensure that all students, from all sides of the referendum, feel able to come to him for help.
Murtagh, in justifying her support for a repeal of the eighth amendment, spoke about the issue as a matter of access to quality healthcare, because, she said, students “currently don’t have the access to the health that they need”.
Sherlock took a more curious approach – telling the audience she was pro-life, but clarifying quickly that she was pro-choice and supported women having a choice about what to do with their bodies. The eighth amendment, she said, doesn’t “protect the women or the unborn child”.
Tonight, students will have a tough choice to make. While it seems likely McClean will be able to rely on most of the TCDSU vote – delegates at congress have a free vote after TCDSU council failed to endorse candidates last month – the next few days will see whether he has won over the students needed to elect him vice-president for welfare.
Dominic McGrath contributed reporting to this piece. Róisín Power and Dominic McGrath were reporting from USI’s 2018 Congress in Ballinasloe.
