The College View Issue 12

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

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Rent pressure zones to be applied to student accommodation . Est. 1999 .

Tadgh McNally and Aoife O’Brien News Editors @thecollegeview

RENT caps for student accommodation are set to be introduced on July 1st 2019, a year on from the Shanowen Shakedown protests.

The rent caps, which will no longer allow hikes of more than four per cent in Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), are part of an amendment to the Residential Tenancies Bill.

The amendment presented by the Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy, will also allow for students to avail of support from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). Minister Murphy also clarified that accommodation owned by colleges would also be covered.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) welcomed the news, with President Síona Cahill explaining how students have had to suffer increasingly expensive accommodation since the housing market began to rise again.

“It is despicable that some of the most vulnerable people in society have been taken advantage of to the point where 429 students had declared themselves homeless on the night of the 2016 census.” said Cahill.

“We still have a long way to go until the student accommodation crisis is over once and for all, and the national student movement will continue to fight on this issue,” added Cahill.

DCU Students’ Union’s Vice President for Education and Placement Craig McHugh also spoke about the developments, saying that it was “great, but a bit late”.

“The entire higher education system is drastically underfunded... so all the institutions are trying to fill that funding gap by attracting international students who pay in excess of three times the amount of a domestic EU student,” he said.

According to McHugh developers have spotted this market of students who can afford to spend €10,00 or €11,000 a year. “Under the government accommodation strategy a certain amount of beds have to be built each

year but they are only building these luxury builds,” so while this cap will stop them raising their prices above four per cent per year they are already as expensive as you can get, he said.

Until now, PBSA’s referred to students as “renting under license”, making them licensees rather than tenants. The USI has campaigned to extend the tenancy protections to students, as licensees are in what the USI calls "legal limbo".

According to the RTB, a majority of the licensing agreements are actually tenancy agreements and that students should have the same rights as tenants.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney revealed to the Dáil that a number of changes would also be made to the law regulating RPZs. “One of the qualification criteria of having to be over the national average is a criteria that needs to change for outside of Dublin,” he said. Rent prices in Dublin are pushing the national average so high that areas outside of Dublin with lower rent prices - but where people are still having difficulty finding affordable accommodation - are not currently meeting the criteria for RPZs. Coveney believes that new criteria would allow for greater roll out of RPZs. In his address to the Dáil, Minister Murphy stated that: “We need to be aware of the political force we have unleashed with students because they have asked for something, and they got it.” These developments come just a year after the massive price hikes that started the Shanowen Shakedown protests. Both Shanowen Halls and Square increased their costs by 23.5 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.

Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin was among those celebrating the announcement. “This is a huge victory for all those students across the State, who were very vocal in their opposition to these unfair rent increases and firmly placed the issue of rent gouging on the political agenda,” said Ó Broin.

However while this legislation is welcome for students living in PBSA, those living in digs accommodation are still without protection.

DCU Student Media winners (from left to right): Gabija Gataveckaite, Ciara O’Loughlin, Aoife Walsh, Ryan Clarke and Cáit Caden.

Credit: Aoife O’Brien

DCU records a significant decrease in plagiarism IN 2018, seven cases of plagiarism were brought before the Student Disciplinary Committee, highlighting a significant decrease in cases in the first half of 2019.

The data obtained through the Freedom of Information request examines cases of plagiarism up to April 2, 2019. According to the DCU Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy: “Plagiarism is the act of taking and using another person’s work and presenting it as your own without adequate reference.”

“Most plagiarism is down to bad referencing and poor academic writing rather than malicious cheating,” said Dr Mark Glynn, Head of the Teaching

Enhancement Unit (TEU) in DCU. According to DCU Students’ Union Vice President for Academic Affairs, Callaghan Commons: “the Students' Union has not currently introduced any new initiatives to reduce cases of plagiarism in DCU.” “This is something I am mindful of and may potentially work with our colleagues in the Teaching Enhancement Unit to see if there is anything we can do about this issue in the future,” he added. Commons noted that the libraries on both the Glasnevin and St Patrick’s campuses offer a wide range of supports to students when it comes to citing and referencing academic work.

“Knowing how to reference properly is half the battle when it comes to issues with plagiarism so it is important that we make the students aware of these supports that are there for them,”

said Commons.

DCU TEU has used a software development tool to educate students on plagiarism by allowing them to submit draft assignments on Loop in advance of a deadline. This software allows the student to obtain a similarity report from the text matching software, that allows them to flag areas where plagiarism may have occurred.

“We have used the software tool as an educative way rather than a punitive way to help educate students about plagiarism,” said Glynn. The Freedom of Information request also found that five incidents of Exam Regulations Breaches were brought before the Student Disciplinary Committee in 2019.

2018 saw nearly twice the amount of cases of Exam Regulation Breaches brought before the committee than 2017, with a total of nine cases.

Aine O’Boyle Deputy Editor @aineoboyle99

Features

Sports

Opinion

Gaeilge

News

Exam season: studying, libraries and performance enhancing drugs

DCU Athletics crowned IUA champions in Athlone IT

Data regulation: Should Facebook be let off the hook?

Mála Stáin sa Pháirc?

DCU to hire library seat monitors

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Editorial

INSIDE The Hype

Editor-in-Chief Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque

Film/TV Jane the Virgin set to wow audiences in its final season Read on page 4

Travel

Festival bum bag essentials Read on page 15

Editor’s piece Music

The haunting power of Billie Eilish Read on page 2

Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque Deputy editor: Áine O’Boyle

News editors: Tadgh McNally & Aoife O’Brien Deputy News editors: Shauna Burdis, Megan Jones & Sally Madden Production editor: Sally Dobie Features editor: Róisín Phelan Deputy features editor: Béibhinn Thorsch Arts editor: Aine O’Boyle Deputy arts editors: Aoibhín Meghen & Peter O’Neill Lifestyle editor: Róisín Maguire Deputy Lifestyle editors: Kevin O’Meara & Niamh Quinlan Gaeilge editor: Cian Ó hÉidín Sports editor: Conor Breslin Deputy sports editors: Shane Brennan & Courtney Fitzmaurice Opinion editor: Clara Kelly Deputy Opinion editor: Calum Atkinson Social media editor: Tara McGahan & Anja Zauers Video editor: Dara Browne Deputy video editors: Joy Nderitu Illustrations editors: Bella Finn & Chloe Rooney

Chief Sub-editors: Natasha Lynch & Sara Rountree Images editor: Sonja Tutty Podcast editors: Sally Dobie, Clodagh Read & Lucien Waugh Daly Advertising and Marketing: Rachel Power Sub-editors: Lauren Allen, Alex Barrett, Shauna Burdis, Ryan Carrick, Emma Costigan, Ruth Delaney, Kirsty Dowdall, Cian Dunne, Courtney Fitzmaurice, Natasha Lynch, Aoibhín Meghen, Emma Nevin, Kinga Piotrowska, Rachel Power, & Tara McGahan Podcast logo credit: Róise McGagh Contacts editor@thecollegeview.com news@thecollegeview.com features@thecollegeview.com opinion@thecollegeview.com gaeilge@thecollegeview.com sports@thecollegeview.com

thecvvideo@gmail.com Thanks to Sportsfile, SLC, Office of Student Life

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THIS academic year’s final issue of The College View is out, incredibly enough. It’s also the first issue where I’ve served as editor-in-chief. More than anything, I’m just happy this issue exists. While I was always aware that a lot of people worked for the paper, it’s only now that I truly realise just how much work does go into each and every aspect of it. Everything in this paper is either written or designed by students, and anyone who worked on this issue should be proud to be part of this amazing collaboration.

I’ve only been in this position for a couple of weeks, but I now have a much greater appreciation for all the work our former editor - Callum Lavery - did. Working a parttime job and being a full-time student is hard enough, let alone being an editor on top of that. I commend him for the amount of time and effort he put into the paper, and I hope to keep up the high standard he set.

Of course I would be remiss to not mention the work of his deputy editor, Gabija Gataveckaite. She’s been a great source of inspiration for me and my journalism. Her most admirable quality is the simple fact that she just cares. There is no doubt in my mind she will go far with her sheer ambition alone.

That brings me on to my wonderful deputy, Aine O’Boyle. Even in just these short

few weeks, she’s been an incredible help. I know that I’ll be able to rely on her for anything and everything. I hope to always make sure we remain a team, and that her input is valued as much as mine. This paper is as much mine as it is hers.

In that same vein, this paper also belongs to every contributor. There are far too many names to list and I sadly don’t have space for each and every person who helps to make this paper what it is. I want to wish everyone who is graduating this year the best of luck with all their future endeavours. In particular, I want to shout-out my former news team, who taught me so much. There was never a question I had they couldn’t answer, and I know they’re all destined for great things.

I hope to revamp The College View in so many ways over the summer. I want to set out guidelines that can help budding journalists who want to get involved with our publication. Sometimes people will do and write inappropriate things not out of malice – but ignorance. It’s my job to help people avoid those pitfalls as best I can.

Looking at the new College View team, it’s clear it’s incredibly strong. I have complete faith in my team to deliver only the highest quality content. Words cannot describe how excited I am for what’s in store for The College View. September cannot come quick enough.

News

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DCU's Humanities Ball DCU launch deposit cancelled day before it and return reusable cup scheme takes place Peter O’Neill Deputy Arts Editor @thecollegeview

THE Humanities and Social Sciences Ball was cancelled on April 8th, just a day before it was meant to take place.

The ball, which had been named the “Scauldy Ball” was meant to take place in Tramline on April 9th.

Adam Healy, Humanities and Social Sciences Representative said that the ball was cancelled “in the best interest of the students”.

He was not able to clarify why exactly it was in the interest of students at the time of publishing.

Healy did add that this was a time of year when students were very busy and that there were a lot of different events going on.

News of the cancellation came from an e-mail sent by Healy to all humanities students on Monday, one day before the ball was due to go ahead on Tuesday the 9th of April.

All tickets bought for the ball were refunded according to Healy, which were on sale from the 26th of March up until the cancellation on the 8th of April. Healy said he could not comment at this time on how many tickets had been sold, however, he also said that keeping track of ticket sales was a job mostly done by the Students’ Union (SU).

The event named the “Scauldy Ball”, was due to commence at Tramline, a venue on D’Olier Street that night. It was described on its Facebook event page as a “Formal night in an informal nightclub.”

Attendees who had paid the €20

ticket price would have received finger food, pizza and an alcoholic can upon their arrival, according to previous e-mails from Healy. Lost Dublin, a DJ group was also scheduled to perform at the event.

SU Vice President for Education and Welfare, Craig McHugh, said similarly that it was “a difficult time of year to be having a ball”. He did not comment further on the cancellation, as the faculty balls are mostly the remit of the various faculties.

Other DCU related balls due to take place over the next month, include “The Grand Stretch Ball” on April 17th, run by the SU, and “The ED Ball”, an education faculty ball hosted

by WhyNotNetworks with the Education faculty.

Ireland’s first deposit and return cup scheme CO.Cup launched in DCU.

Only a day before the ball was supposed to take place, it was cancelled.

Credit: Rachel Power

DCUSU's "No smoking zones" referendum passes by a landslide Tadgh McNally News Editor @TadghMN THE referendum, which asked students would they want DCUSU to work with DCU to create "smokefree" zones across campus, passed with 1,224 yes votes. This is compared to 560 no votes.

The total valid poll, released on April 10th, came to 1,784 votes. This is just 89 votes ahead of the minimum number that DCUSU needed to make the referendum valid.

As it stands currently, DCU is one of the few institutions who does not regulate or restrict smokers on campus.

If these changes are implemented, DCU will join other institutions across Ireland that have introduced similar policies. University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and the University of Limerick all have regulations regarding where people can smoke, while Athlone IT and Westport College are completely smoke-free.

The Department of Health aims to have Ireland completely tobacco-free by 2025. As part of this plan, they have recommended that all third-level institutions promote tobacco-free campuses.

Speaking previously to The College View, DCUSU President Vito Moloney Burke spoke about how he couldn’t see these areas being policed.

“I wouldn’t imagine that we’ll have people going around the campuses with sprays of water,” said Moloney Burke. “I feel like it’s a good thing to block off areas for people who don’t smoke, so they’re not getting second-hand smoke,” said Ciara Byrne, a final year English and Media student, when asked about the referendum results.

“I feel like it would be good if they worked with the students to figure out what would be best for them,” said Byrne. In a statement to The College View, DCUSU’s Vice President for Education and Placement Craig McHugh said he was “delighted students engaged in the referendum”.

“A significant majority voted a certain way and this will provide us with a mandate to lobby the university in a way that accurately represents the view of DCU students,” added McHugh.

“I’m glad that the students have voted in favour of this work, and now we can begin to get going on bringing in smoke-free zones on campus,” said Aisling Fagan, DCUSU’s Vice President for Welfare and Equality.

Fagan also mentioned working with DCU Healthy on this initiative, who have said that the creation of smokefree zones could be key in creating a smoke-free campus.

The referendum, originally planned to take place in late March, took place on the 8th and 9th of April.

Credit: Anthony Sanchelli

Aoibhín Meghen Deputy Arts Editor @hereisaoibhin A new pilot reusable cup scheme was launched in DCU and Trinity College (TCD) alongside Dublin City Council last week.

The deposit and return scheme is called Co-Cup and it was launched on Monday, April 8th in both the DCU Glasnevin campus in the sports complex and in Java in St Patrick’s College as well as in TCD. It asks consumers to pay a one euro deposit for a reusable cup with their tea or coffee and if the cup is returned then they will get their deposit back.

President of DCU Brian MacCraith said at the launch that “the Co-Cup initiative is an innovative and practical measure that will enable every citizen to play a central role in reducing waste and contributing to sustainability.”

He believes that initiatives like Co-Cup will help DCU to achieve its goal in becoming the first university in Ireland to get rid of single-use plastics.

It designed for those who may not always have their own reusable cup.

Consumers can pay for the cup with their hot drink and the next time they want one they just swap the dirty cup for a clean one.

Samantha Fahy, Head of Sustainability in DCU explained that this scheme offers consumers “the convenience of a disposable but the reduced

Credit: Aoibhín Meghen

environmental impact of one of those reusable cups.”

If the project is successful in DCU and TCD Dublin City Council hopes to apply it across all higher education institutes in Dublin and eventually have them in coffee shops across the city.

Expansion is important because what makes Co-Cup so practical for consumers is its universality. If it is applied across the city consumers can go into any cafe with their dirty Co-Cup and get a clean one with their drink.

A similar initiative was launched in Germany in September 2016 with a company called RECUP. Their reusable cups can be seen in big chains like McDonald’s as well as smaller businesses across the country.

Fahy believes that in the future this type of initiative “could be replicated across all single-use materials” especially food packagings such as plastic salad boxes or pizza boxes.

Fahy explained that this idea would be perfect for companies like Dominos because if they had their own reusable boxes it would create brand loyalty as people who already have their box will most likely come back.

It is the hopes of DCU Sustainability that with Co-Cup the university will more than half the usage of disposable cups by this time next year.

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News

DCU to hire library seat monitors Aoife O’Brien News Editor @obrienaoife1

SEAT monitors are being hired in DCU’s O’Reilly and Cregan libraries to clear study spaces that have been saved but left vacant by students during exam time.

The Share the Chair campaign was initially launched as a pilot scheme in the Cregan library on St. Patrick’s campus during the Christmas exam period and will now be rolled out on a larger scale.

As part of the campaign seats that have been abandoned for more than 45 minutes will be cleared by seat monitors and items will be left in a box under the desk.

“Given the pressures on our spaces in recent times, we cannot permit students to hold a desk for themselves for a time longer than 45 minutes”, according to DCU Library Public Service Manager Shauna McDermott.

Share the Chair began as a result of a survey carried out by the library in April 2018 which showed that seat holding was an issue that students were asking to be tackled.

This issue becomes significantly

Students preparing for exams in DCU’s O’Reilly library. worse during exam time McDermott Dermott and she hopes “that the students who study in O’Reilly library said.

Seat monitors will be present will also get behind the campaign in a “around the key exam study period” similarly positive fashion.”

After receiving 39 applications from from April 29th until May 17th, she students, the library is conducting insaid.

Instances of seat holding fell 90 per terviews to fill the seat monitor posicent when the scheme was piloted in tions.

While four students were hired to the Cregan library according to Mc-

run the scheme in the Cregan library during Christmas exams the number is expected to be much larger this time around due to the larger seat ratio in the O’Reilly library.

An additional 68 individual study spaces have also been created in the O’Reilly library in the lead up to this busy period and the 24/7 opening hours

Credit: Rachel Power will also be returning.

“With our popular 24/7 opening hours returning for the exam study season also, we are confident now that we will be able to meet the demand we expect to see in May,” McDermott said.

New consent plan launched for third level institutions

McHugh elected USI VP for Dublin

THE Government released a new consent plan to end sexual violence and harassment in higher level education.

All institutions will be required to implement the consent plan and will be given funding of €400,000, which will be made available over the period of 2019-2020.

Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor, launched the Framework for Consent in Higher Education plan on April 5th, stating that “sexual violence and harassment has no place in our institutions.”

The plan aims to ensure a safe, supportive and respectful campus culture.

The project is titled “Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive: Ending Sexual Violence And Harassment in Irish Higher Education”.

The framework was developed over six months ago by an advisory group made up of academics, students and leaders in the area of sexual health among students.

The plan was created by the Expert Advisory Group chaired by DR Anne Looney from DCU, at a consent workshop in October 2018 that was held in Dublin Castle.

The four key outcomes of the plan will put effective structures in place.

Institutions will assign responsibility by a management team to implement the framework.

The plan also stresses the impor-

CURRENT DCU SU Vice President for Education and Placement, Craig McHugh has been elected as the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) Vice President for the Dublin Region.

McHugh first got involved in the student movement in 2014 when he ran for the Irish Second-Level Students Union. He was president there for two years.He thanked DCUSU for his success. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for DCUSU. My heart and soul is in DCU and I’ll be eternally grateful and I will miss DCU very much.”

In DCU, McHugh was class representative during his first year of Economics, Politics and Law in 2016. He was elected Humanities faculty representative in 2017 and was elected Vice President for Education and Placement in 2018.“DCU has given me so much that I wanted to give back to DCUSU and now I want to contribute to the national student movement,” he said.

Throughout the year he was involved with the USI and was part of many of their campaigns, such as “Fund the Future” and “Raise the Roof”, and helped to organise protests and lobby days.

However, his main focus was on student accommodation.

“Craig has shown himself to be an excellent Sabbatical Officer in DCUSU as well as an activist on student accommodation with the #RaiseTheRoof campaign and on the #FundTheFuture campaign on the funding of higher education, student fees, and grants.” said

Shauna Burdis Deputy News Editor @ShaunaBurdis

The consent plan was launched by Mar Mitchell O’Connor. Credit: Brian O’Neill tance of recording incidents of sexual harassment and violence and reporting the statistics to the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

Institutional policies consistent with the aims of the framework will be implemented, including targeted initiatives for students and staff, including direct student activities that promote an understanding of consent, and an education plan to support students and staff. Systems for measuring the initiative’s effectiveness will also be put in place.

Commenting on the outcomes of the plan, Minister Mitchell O’Connor said “Our institutions of learning should always be places of respect and inclusion. Institutions have a duty of care to their students and staff, and a responsibility to foster a campus culture that is clear in the condemnation of unwanted

and unacceptable behaviour.”

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), also welcomed the launch of the new framework and the provision of funding to third level institutions.

Director of the NWIC Orla O‘Connor said “we know that women aged 18-29 experience sexual violence and harassment at the highest rates. Therefore there is an onus on the higher education institutes to do everything possible to prevent and protect young people and embed a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence and harassment.”

The framework of the consent plan is drawn from international practice and research to provide institutions with standards on creating a safe and supportive culture.

Amy Donohoe Contributor @AmyDonohoe1

current USI VP for the Dublin Region, Colm O’Halloran.McHugh will have to ensure operations go smoothly between student representatives of the newly formed Technological University Dublin SU which includes Tallaght, Blanchardstown, and DIT. O’Halloran said he has “every faith that Craig will excel at supporting them.”

“The coming year is really about growth. I’d love to see a number of institutions students’ unions come back into the fold, particularly that of UCD and I’d love to see the day where they consider re-joining.” McHugh stated.

He continued, “I think the best student movement that’s united particularly in Dublin if all the major institutions got together we could do incredible things...We are always stronger together.”

His plans for student accommodation include trying to secure rent caps by working with the USI president and vice president for campaigns. “It’s a Dublin issue and a national issue,” he said. McHugh also wants to work towards tackling climate change and continue working on the “Fund the Future” campaign.

“There are exciting things coming up ahead, things like ‘Give Us the Night,’ which is directly relevant to most students who go on nights out and it’s about saving the nightlife industry in Ireland. There’s a potential for students who don’t usually get involved to get involved there.”

“It’s about young people realising their voice can change things and I want to help nourish that on different campuses,” he concluded.

Check out The Hype Inside

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Credit: Sonja Tutty

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News

DCUSU 18/19: Year in review

President: Vito Moloney Burke Tadgh McNally News Editor @TadghMN

AS DCU Students’ Union (SU) President Vito Moloney Burke’s time in office is coming to a close, The College View reflects on his year.

At the moment of his election, Moloney Burke told The College View that it was “probably best day of his life”.

While he ran uncontested in the race for DCUSU President, he received 80 per cent of the votes.

Over the last year, Moloney Burke has worked with the SU on a number of campaigns. While not all of these were successful, the most impactful was the work done for Shepherd Machaya.

The “Save Our Shepherd” campaign, which took place throughout the year, was run to prevent the deportation of a student who fled Zimbabwe after being threatened with his life. The social media campaign, which reached over 15,000 signatures on Change.org, as well as protests outside the Department of Justice worked, with Shepherd being granted extensions on his deportation order.

Moloney Burke said that the campaign was remarkable. He commented on the awareness that was raised for people living under Direct Provision, and how students have been getting

more involved recently.

“This is a modern-day crisis, and with campaigns such as Save Our Shepherd, it is evident that the students of Ireland are not going to stand for it,” said Moloney Burke.

Moloney Burke was also involved with DCUSU’s plans to hold a referendum to disaffiliate from the USI, despite not having a mandate from the Class Representative Council (CRC).

He was questioned by multiple Class Reps about DCUSU’s transparency.

A fourth year Education and Training (Further Adult and Continuing Education) class rep, Emma Tunnicliffe said she had seen “no transparency and zero to little engagement” from DCUSU this year.

Moloney Burke argued that a referendum was needed citing the fact that a “large portion of students were unaware of what USI does,” despite admitting to having no formal evidence of this.

When asked by The College View about the USI referendum, Moloney Burke responded “We put forward the proposal to have a referendum on USI as we believed the current generation of DCU students needed the opportunity to have their say.” This is despite the fact that DCUSU’s constitution requires a referendum on USI affiliation every three years, with one scheduled

to take place in the 2019/2020 academic year.

It was during Moloney Burke’s time as President that the DCU Student Centre, known as “The U”, was formally opened by Micheal D Higgins.

According to Moloney Burke, opening the student centre was “a very special day for DCU students past and present.”

During the campaign’s last year, Moloney Burke released his manifesto with ambitious plans for the year ahead. Smaller goals, like free pregnancy tests available in the SU, were completed. One of the biggest goals for the year was his plan to reintroduce an Events Officer for DCUSU as an elected official. He reasoned that it would allow other officers to more easily focus on their roles.

While he didn’t introduce a directly elected Events Officer, according to Moloney Burke there is now an events administrator within the Office of Student Life (OSL).

Moloney Burke also wanted to work on updating the DCUSU website to make it more accessible for students, as well as making it easier to find events that they were running. While this didn’t happen this year, Moloney Burke has said that the website is being looked at by the OSL.

for most of the academic year sabbaticals were more hands on with events leading to “brilliant engagement with majority of the events and campaigns.”

“We had loads of sell-out events including two huge events first semester (DCU Fest and Blizzard Ball) with near 2,000 capacity, two bingo loco and a live podcast with blindboy,” he said.

During his campaign McGovern also emphasised the need for commuter hubs on DCU’s campuses.

He previously told The College View: “I want to establish commuter hubs on all campuses so that commuters have a place to go to socialise… with access to basic amenities such as kettles and microwaves.”

McGovern was able to achieve this on St. Pats campus by renovating Java Café to more student friendly social space however, the Glasnevin campus remains without a commuter hub.

“Commuter hubs is a big one and I’m glad it stayed onto manifestos for next year as there is more to done,” McGovern said. “We are looking at a space in the U… and recently completed the first draft of a microwave usage policy” which he hopes will allow next year’s team to create this space.

McGovern also planned to provide students with more information on the options available to them during the summer months.

“A number of companies were brought onto campus throughout the year to give students advice on visa,” McGovern said. However he has also been working on developing a part time jobs portal which he says will be circulated to students soon.

McGovern was heavily criticised earlier in the year for failing to intervene to stop the inappropriate conduct which took place at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Accounting & Finance (A&F) Society.

In a letter, originally posted by DCU’s Feminist Society, 28 DCU societies criticised the fact that McGovern – who is a former chair of the society – was present at the AGM of the society and did nothing to stop the behaviour for over an hour McGovern said he has no regrets from his year in office.

“This year has been a whirlwind with huge highs and lows but all part of the experience and looking back I would not change anything as I feel I have a great year and my personal development is been great,” he said.

Vito Moloney Burke

Credit: DCUSU

Karl McGovern

Credit: DCUSU

VP for Engagment & Development: Karl McGovern Aoife O’Brien News Editor @obrienaoife1

ENGAGMENT with Students’ Union events across DCU campuses has increased according to the outgoing VP for Engagement and Development, Karl McGovern.

McGovern’s manifesto emphasised his ambition to revitalise SU events having previously told The College View, “I find there is a lack of engagement in events, people don’t really seem to want to go and they are mainly targeted at first years”.

Despite the recent cancellation of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HMSS) Ball and not having organised a Halloween Ball earlier in the year, McGovern believes he has achieved his goal.

The Halloween Ball did not go ahead because the Students Union’s focus was on preventing the deportation of DCU student Shepard Machaya at this time and when the HMSS ball got double booked in February it hindered ticket sales according to McGovern.

However, McGovern believes that there was no events officer in the SU

News

VP for Acadmeic Affairs: Callaghan Commons Sally Madden Deputy News Editor @SallyMadden17 CALLAGHAN Commons plans to build upon his “Don’t Drop out Drop in” campaign, as he enters his second year as Vice President of Academic Affairs.

The campaign was run with the aim of assisting incoming first years and their adjustment to university life by highlighting the support services available to them in DCU. “This was aimed at first year students who may have been struggling from the jump to college from secondary school and may be unsure about their course, university life, feeling isolated and may be considering dropping out altogether,” said Commons.

Commons said that often, it is welfare campaigns, and not education

campaigns, that receive the most funding and engagement, and so he was impressed with how “Don’t drop out.

Drop in,” was received. He said this has inspired him to launch another education campaign of some sort next year.

However, it seems that a lot of first year students were not made aware of “Don’t Drop out, Drop in” this year.

Ella McNevin, a first year multimedia and politics student, says she was never told about “Don’t Drop out Drop in.”

“I’ve seen a poster for it I think,” she told me. “But no, no one ever spoke to me about it, and I don’t actually know what it is.”

Chloe Carey, a first year engineering student, told The College View she had never heard of the campaign.

However, Commons says that he didn’t expect every first year student to engage with the campaign.

“If everyone’s engaging with it,

there’s an issue,” he says. “It’s the ones who aren’t sure about their course, or college life in general. They’ll see the posters and engage with it.”

He added that this year was a “trial run,” for the campaign.

Commons’ other major project this year was Careers Week, and notes it as one of his biggest achievements of the year.

However, Careers Week was criticised by some for having nothing to offer nursing students.

While Commons’ feels that the week went very well he admitted that having nothing for student nurses was unfortunate, and aims to get nursing agencies involved for next years Careers Week.

Commons will be returning next year as the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

He secured the position by beating Ailish Keating in a victory of 1,818 votes to Keating’s 857.

Fagan’s manifesto from last year was completed.

The consent classes were held in October for first years as promised, however they were only timetabled for some courses instead of all, which is what was stated in the manifesto.

According to Fagan there was a turnout of over 650 students for these consent workshops and she plans on the classes being run in a “similar fashion” next year. However, they will not be timetabled for any students.

Fagan said in November to The College View that she doesn’t believe consent classes should be mandatory as to do so would “defeat the whole purpose of consent”.

The VP for Welfare & Equality has high hopes for the continuation of consent education in campuses across Ireland. The Department of Education and Skills have recently published a national consent framework called “Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive

- Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions”, which Fagan believes “is a very positive step in the right direction”.

As for Fagan’s plans for Rainbow Week this too went ahead during Week 10 of the second semester. The DCU Drag Race, which was highlighted in her manifesto, took place on Wednesday 3rd April in The Button Factory and raised €3000 for TENI (Transgender Equality Network Ireland).

Fagan delivered on her promise to decrease counselling service appointment waiting times with an additional €75,000 allocated to the DCU Counselling Service Budget last November to contribute to the establishment of a 24/7 phone line, 365 days a year.

As part of her proposal of a “selfcare” culture in DCU, free STI checks were also made available to all students during KISS week, which took place during Week two of second semester.

Callaghan Commons

Credit: DCUSU

Aisling Fagan

Credit: DCUSU

Craig McHugh

Credit: DCUSU

VP for Welfare & Equality: Aisling Fagan Megan Jones Deputy News Editor @meganjones06

VP for Welfare & Equality Aising Fagan said it “wasn’t feasible” for a parttime Accommodation Officer to be implemented this year.

Fagan, who has been re-elected for the same position for the next academic year, had hoped for a part-time Accommodation Officer to be put in place in the Students’ Union (SU) in an attempt to ease the stress faced by many students trying to find affordable accommodation near campus.

While this part of her manifesto was not fulfilled, Fagan says more will be done by the SU: “The SU help-desk will be helping with accommodation queries during the summer months to help with the admin load which will make a huge difference”.

Aside from this, the majority of

7

VP for Education & Placement: Craig McHugh Shauna Burdis Deputy News Editor @ShaunaBurdis MCHUGH was elected for the DCU Student Union 2018/2019 team as Vice President for Education and Placement.

He took a sabbatical year from his studies to commit to the role.

McHugh ran for the DCU Student’s Union election when he was a 21-yearold second-year Economics, Politics and Law student.

Through his active involvement in the SU, some of McHugh’s most notable accomplishments are Shanowen Shakedown, Save Our Shepard and the Gaeltacht fees campaign. He used his position to push for issues not just involving DCU students but the students of Ireland, as he believes “DCU issues are national issues”.

“On accommodation prices, a glance at my manifesto will tell you it’s issue number one - Shanowen Shakedown

which I was fortunate to play a lead role in, put rent hikes and PBSA legislation on the political agenda and I will sure as hell make sure it is a priority within the Dublin Region next year” said McHugh.

As Vice President for Education and Placement, he split his time between both the St Patrick’s and Glasnevin campus. McHugh specified in his manifesto for the 2018/2019 election that he would want to get information and wellbeing talks provided for students going out on placement.

Although these talks turned out to be popular among placement students, McHugh felt that “these can be expanded upon more next year.” Stating “I regret not being able to put more time into them but they are quite a simple thing. I suppose I spent a lot of the year trying to chip away with the roots of issues as opposed to accepting them, more can be done but it’s a question of how you split your time”.

McHugh took a very active role ensuring that student issues would not be ignored. Campaigning for Gaeltacht fees to be subsidised by the government was a big part of his manifesto.

During his time as VP for Education and Placement, he took an active part in fighting these issues. McHugh said he was “so happy with the engagement we got on it and how it became a USI campaign that spread nationwide, which has led to numerous meetings with the minister for education”.

His manifesto delivered the idea of a book swap app that he believed would lessen the financial burden on students.

Although this idea did not get off the ground during his time in the SU, McHugh said “I don’t know if the SU’s priority should be on nice things when we’re facing damning statistics of teachers dropping out because of high costs and nursing students struggling with their mental wellbeing due to the realities of nursing placement in 2019”.

8

News

DCU ranked in top 100 universities globally for social and economic impact Megan Jones Deputy News Editor @meganjones06 DCU was ranked in the top 100 universities in the world for its social and economic influence by the Times Higher Education (THE).

THE published their first ever University Impact Rankings on April 3rd and placed DCU at number 98th globally. University College Cork was the highest ranking Irish university on the list placed at 21st.

In total, over five hundred institutions across six continents submitted data to be analysed by THE for the University Impact Rankings.

These rankings, which are based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), reveals a new hierarchy of global institutions based on universities’ work towards these

goals. There are 17 United Nations SDG’s in total and THE ranked universities on 11 of these.

The SDG’s include gender equality, good health and wellbeing, quality education, responsible consumption and production, reduced inequalities and climate action among others.

DCU was ranked at number 28 globally for the Climate Action category, and at number 48 for Partnerships For The Goals category.

Professor Pat Brereton, who is Chair of the MSC in Climate Change: Policy, Media and Society here in DCU, welcomed the news of the university’s ranking for the Climate Change category: “In particular, putting sustainability and climate change directly on the agenda for universities and having them measured is a good start and helps us call attention to the urgent need to meet low carbon targets, as we slowly

begin to face up to the prospect of Climate Change.”

DCU also placed at number 42 for its Responsible Consumption and Production, while University College Cork topped this list at 1st place.

In 2018, DCU was the first Irish university to go “plastic-free”. This was a significant development in the area of Responsible Consumption and Production and helped DCU in achieving this ranking.

Commenting on the university’s place on the list, THE said: “DCU’s inclusion in these rankings is in itself a great achievement and it marks DCU out as a global pioneer,”.

THE noted that Canada, Ireland and Australia are among the top national performers in these new University Impact Rankings for 2019. The universities in Ireland received an average overall score of 85.1 out of 100, which is just behind Canada with their uni-

DCU was ranked 98th in the list.

versities receiving an average score of 86.1. Australia follows closely behind Ireland with an average score of 81.6.

When it comes to overall represen-

Credit: Jonathon Lynam

tation, Japan topped the list having 41 ranked institutions.

USI wants free DCU's President presents contraceptives to awards for engagement be made available and innovation Mikey Walsh Contributor @thecollegeview

Béibhinn Thorsch Deputy Features Editor @BeibhinnJourno

THE Union of Students in Ireland (USI) spoke out about the cost of contraceptives hindering access to means of safe sex.

The USI, which represents over 374,000 students, believes that it is imperative that contraceptives must be accessible to all who are sexually active.

Minister for Health, Simon Harris, formed a working group in March to examine the feasibility of free contraception. Harris said: “Cost should not be a barrier to accessing contraception and I am determined to address this... this will help reduce the number of crisis pregnancies and promote good sexual health”. The USI has welcomed Harris’ “rapid” working group and believes that all students should be able to choose the contraception suitable for them.

USI president Síona Cahill said: “What is imperative here is the ability for people to choose and be comfortable with the best methods of contraception for them, without cost as a hurdle to that decision making.”

Contraceptives are taxed as a luxury item and are taxed at a higher VAT rate with a box of 12 condoms costing up to €20.

“We are [sic] calling on the Government to look beyond just condoms and the pill with this review and to look at long-acting reversible contraception as a matter of urgency. The upfront

THERE was no award given for the Enterprise Engagement category of the DCU President’s Engagement Awards, which were presented on Monday, April 8th.

This year there are also plans for student entries to be submitted to an international Irish and Vietnamese competition, held under the VIBE (Vietnam Ireland Bilateral Education Exchange) programme.

The similar DCU innovation awards were also announced on the same day, with projects tacking gender bias and disabilities announced as some of the winners.

Winning contributions to the Engagement awards include Dr Elizabeth Mathews’ work with the deaf community where she made huge contributions to the opening of the BEd Irish Sign Language, the first course of its kind in Ireland.

Other winner’s contributions included Prof Barry McMullin’s work with An Taisce Climate Committee, master’s student Austin Campbell’s work training homeless individuals in storytelling and confidence alongside tour guiding skills, and Jennifer Harrington’s role in helping to engage women in the engineering community.

The enterprise engagement award was designed to highlight social enterprise that specifically promotes social

The president of the USI has called for free Credit: Sonja Tutty contraceptives.

cost to such contraception is prohibitive for students in particular. LARCs [long-acting reversible contraceptives] are effective up to 10 years depending on the method and 99 per cent effective as a safe method.” said Cahill.

The long term contraceptives are among the highest price, costing up to €300 for a LARC, while it cost between €5-€14 per month for the pill.

The USI’s SHAG campaign, supported by the HSE, distributed over 30,000 condoms with sexual health information to students across Ireland last year. Despite this, DCU student Sinead O’Farrell said: “I don’t see how Harris plans to make them more accessible to students than they already are, considering certain contraceptives are free in every student union office”.

The rates of STI’s such as gonorrhoea, herpes and chlamydia are rising in Ireland according to figures released by the HSE earlier this year while a report from the Irish Family Planning Association in 2017 shows 24 per cent of women experienced an unplanned or crisis pregnancy.

regeneration and local economic devel- gagement. opment.

Entries to the award are nominatLast year Prof Deirdre Butler from ed through a google form available the DCU School of STEM Innovation to DCU students through their Loop and Global Studies received the award pages. All staff and students at DCU of €500 for her work in “Smart Partner- are eligible for the awards, which inship” to develop STEM skills as well clude the overall President’s Award for as multiple initiatives in that same area. Engagement (Staff and Student cateThe layout of the awards has changed gories, both with a €1000 award) and over the past ten years however the first the Special Merit Awards (Staff and winner of the Enterprise Engagement student both worth €500). award was in 2016, showing the award The selection process is conducted has been without a winner for the first by a panel established by the univertime in three years. sity’s Civic Engagement Forum and Professor Brian MacCraith said includes representatives from both of the awards: “We have always rec- academic and administrative staff, stuognised the mutual benefits that arise, dents, and an external member. for our university and the wider community, when we reach out to one another… this year’s award-winning contributions embody the mission and values of DCU to transform lives and societies.”

DCU’s website has outlined the various forms of engagement which would make an entrant eligible for the award, including civic and public engagement, enterprise engagement, sustainably, on societal progress and student en-DCU President Brian MacCraith praised DCU’s impactCredit: Senior Times

Science and Health

9

IFA wants new food DCU researcher guidelines from An Taisce works to prevent pancreatic cancer to be revoked Ryan Carrick Contributor @thecollegeview THE Irish Farmers' Association has called for guidelines from An Taisce, which promote less meat and dairy consumption by pupils in the name of environmental protection, to be revoked.

According to the IFA, the new green schools' teacher resource pack should be "withdrawn immediately".

The Green Schools Initiative is overseen by An Taisce and is Ireland’s leading environmental management and education programme for schools.

President of the IFA, Joe Healy, said the resource pack promotes veganism and should be withdrawn.

“The appropriateness of An Taisce’s involvement in the Green Schools programme should also be reviewed by the Department of Education and Science,” he said.

Healy said that the Green Schools Initiative was a positive programme but that An Taisce had operated beyond their authority by including dietary advice in their resource pack.

“This is beyond the remit of An Taisce and is not consistent with dietary advice given by the Department of Health, the competent authority, on balanced diets,” he said.

“Farmers are extremely angry that packs like this would be distributed in schools advising students to consume less meat and dairy when both are an important part of a balanced diet.

Conflict has arisen between the IFA and An Taise.

“What our children are taught in school should be based on scientific findings proofed by the appropriate state agencies and Government departments,” he said.

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton, announced that the Climate Action Teacher Resource would be available to all post-primary schools from March 27th.

When announcing the programme, Bruton said it would be an opportunity to "bring climate action into the classroom", by providing schools with lesson plans, presentations, surveys and data, to learn and discuss climate change.

“This is an area where we need to step up our response. Young people have shown their interest and their passion,” he said. “We need to make sure that the curriculum is there so that they can learn in a more structured way.”

The spokesperson for An Taisce, John Gibbons, said that the reaction from the IFA was "hysterical." He argued that the IFA only had an interest in representing the interests of dairy and meat farmers and overlooked the interests of farmers involved in horticulture, tillage and organic farming.

The pack, which is available to download online, encourages teachers to measure perceptions of climate change by asking students if they can reduce their carbon footprint by actively eating less meat and dairy products.

It also suggests that students should prepare an engaging presentation or

speech which would inform their peers of the carbon footprint and environmental impact of the meat and dairy industry in Ireland.

A vegetarian and vegan potluck taster is encouraged where "everyone brings in one dish to share and swaps recipes."

The pack also promotes the idea of running a "#MeatlessMonday" campaign to "give people ideas and recipes for healthy alternatives to meat and dairy products".

The HSE encourages the consumption of lean meat and poultry but suggests beans and nuts as suitable alternatives if one chooses to have ‘meat-free’ days.

According to research led by Marco Springmann at the University of Oxford, consumption of meat needs to be reduced by as much as 90 per cent to avoid an irreversible climate breakdown.

The Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Teagasc, says that agriculture accounts for 85 per cent of methane emissions in Ireland, due to the dominance of cattle and sheep livestock production in Irish agricultural output.

The main impact of methane on a global scale is as a greenhouse gas.

With a "global warming potential" 21 times that of carbon dioxide, it is ranked amongst the worst greenhouse gases.

Credit: Melissa Peterson

Students working in a DCU science laboratory.

Niamh Quinlan Contributor @thecollegeview THE possibility of preventive risk surveillance for pancreatic cancer is higher, thanks to research done by DCU. The biological pathways that are linked most to the variations in genes that cause pancreatic cancer were identified by Dr Naomi Walsh of DCU and her team, in association with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States.

Biological pathways are groups of genes that are related to how they function and work together in a network.

When something goes wrong along these pathways it can lead to a number of diseases, including cancer.

Dr Walsh compared the DNA of individuals with the most predominant form of pancreatic cancer, called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), to those without PDAC. Rather than looking at one specific variation in the DNA, research was performed looking at a combination of variations and how they relate to each other in biological pathways.

As a result, five major pathways were identified and now further research can begin into their roles and how this links to the development of cancer.

Dr Walsh hopes that their findings “will inform the research community about the biological pathways and gene networks involved in the development of pancreatic cancer”.

Credit: Dara Browne

She believes that with this newfound knowledge along with identifying other corresponding lifestyle factors, will lead to new ways to identify people more at risk from the disease and possibly new strategies to tackle the disease in those already diagnosed.

All of these promising discoveries were found in conjunction with Dr Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon of the National Cancer Institute, in the United States. Dr Walsh got the opportunity to work with Dr Stolzenburg-Solomon after she was awarded a fellowship to the National Cancer Institute Cancer Prevention Fellowship Programme and travelled to the US to work at the NCI. The two researchers began the study at the NCI together and the collaboration continued when Dr Walsh returned to Ireland. This work was supported by Dr Walsh’s Science Foundation Ireland Starter Investigator Research Grant (SIRG) and recently published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

PDAC is a largely silent disease, with symptoms only showing when the disease has become advanced and cancer has spread to other organs in the body. For this reason, the discovery of new preventative measures will be greatly welcomed thanks to the work of DCU and the NCI. While PDAC accounts for only three per cent of all cancers, it’s the third most common cause of death from cancer in the United States, the fifth in the United Kingdom and death rates are continuing to rise.

Science and Health

10

DCU researchers awarded funding for water pollution studies Sonja Tutty Images Editor @SonjadeJourno A DCU research team was awarded €425,000 by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) for their ground-breaking water pollution prevention project.

Lead by Dr Konstantinos Grintzalis, the biotechnology team was awarded funding by the SFI under their Starting Investigator Research Grant.

The research team plans to use water fleas to detect pollution in water before it can reach irreversible levels.

In 2017, the EPA reported a 3 per cent decline in the quality of Irish water. They also reported that while 197 areas had improved water quality, 269 areas had a decrease in quality.

Dr Grintzalis said: “We are the problem… When you used to have [in Ireland] rivers of super quality, they have now decreased.”

The EPA reported that between 2014 and 2017 18 per cent of Irish rivers were of poor quality compared to 22.5 per cent in 1995-1997, showing a slight decrease in these rivers.

However, between 2014 and 2017 15.3 per cent of rivers were of high quality compared to 23 per cent in 1995-1997.

Grintzalis has been an assistant professor for the School of Biotechnology in DCU since 2017 and hopes to use water fleas as a "canary in a gold mine" in detecting polluted water.

Water fleas (Daphnia magna) can gather information from water sources by collecting metabolic fingerprints from pollutants in the water.

The Daphnia is ideal as it is always female and reproduces by cloning itself, meaning they will all be affected in the same way by pollutants in water.

“The organism will tell me, molecularly, what is there and what I can predict before [the water] become precarious.” He said.

Within the first two years of this project, the team plans to collect and test a mixture of these fingerprints that will be collected by water fleas.

By the end of the four-year project, they plan to apply their research on actual environments and predict the future quality of the water.

Grintzalis explained that you can currently study the quality of water by looking at sewer bacteria in it or by measuring fish deaths, but this can only measure the current state of the water.

In collaboration with other institutes, the team hopes to create a method of preventative measures instead.

However, he suggests that alongside researching preventative measures, water quality standards should be updated.

“And of course, the primary cause of this is us, so we need to moderate our responsibility and role to the ecosystem.”

He added that while his study is focused on water pollution, that terrestrial and air pollution need to be researched

Science Foundation Ireland has provided Dr Gkrintzalis with funding that will allow him to work on preventative measures.

Credit: Sonja Tutty

and tackled just as much.

“We must deliver the [Earth] to the next generation at the same standard or at a better standard than we received it.”

On a global level, the Global Environment Outlook 6 published in March 2019 said, “Overall, the Earth suffers from land degradation; biodiversity loss; air, land and water pollution; and

the effects of climate change—and must prevent and manage further risks and disasters".

This UN report warned that “Without changes, the situation looks bleak for all of its inhabitants. A major extinction event is underway, compromising the globe’s 'ability to meet human needs'".

Joyeeta Gupta and Paul Ekins who oversaw the report told National Geo-

graphic that while the world is capable of change, it is the political aspect that remains an obstacle.

Check which invites women from the age of 25 to attend regular cervical screenings in order to assess the risk of future development of cancer.

HPV is the most common form of the sexually transmitted disease, most

sexually active people will contract it at some point, and it can be caught by having intimate contact with someone already carrying the virus.

Most forms of HPV will go away on their own however if it doesn’t clear

up itself that is when there is a risk of developing cervical cancer.

Uptake in HPV vaccine by 20 per cent Aoibhín Meghen Deputy Arts Editor @hereisaoibhin

THE uptake of the HPV vaccine has increased by 20 per cent over the last two years, making a future without cervical cancer all the more likely according to the HSE. Uptake of the vaccine now stands at 70 percent.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme began in Ireland in 2010 for first-year secondary school girls in order to reduce the risk of cervical cancer. A catch-up programme was also provided for sixth-year students until 2014.

The vaccines, which are administered in three doses are designed to prevent up to nine types of the HPV virus. Each dose protects against HPV type 16 and 18 which are closely linked to the development of cervical cancer.

It is the hopes of the HSE that they can manage to eradicate cervical cancer through the administration of the HPV vaccine. Scotland has had a HPV vaccination programme for the last 10 years and as a result, the number of cervical cancer cases between women

aged 20 to 24 has reduced by 69 per cent.

“It has been well articulated in recent months that eliminating cervical cancer is now an achievable goal, nationally and internationally,” said Dr Lucy Jessop, Head of the HSE National Immunisation Office to the Irish Examiner.

Minister for Health Simon Harris also commented on the exceptionally high uptake for this vaccine saying that despite the recent rise of anti-vaxxers spreading dangerous myths about the safety of vaccinations, women are still taking part in the process.

Despite this progress, there is still a lot of misinformation surrounding HPV as many believe that it is only women who are affected by the virus.

In fact men are at just as much risk of contracting HPV which could lead to genital cancer, however, the immunisation scheme is currently only offered to girls.

In July 2018 the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) made a recommendation to The Department of Health that the vaccine programme be extended to boys but there is yet to be a decision.

Ireland also has a cervical cancer screening programme called Cervical

Medicine Bottle Shot Needle Syringe Medical.

Credit: Max Pixel

Business and Tech

11

Lorna Lawless Contributor thecollegeview

users through audio or via smartphone/ watch alerts.

Deafbell was another prototype showcased at the Science Gallery Dublin which enables alerts and notifications to be communicated reliably and discretely to hearing impairments.

Their prototype involved a wristband that wirelessly connects to a range of smart home applications, including existing doorbell technology.

Senseable is an object detecting belt that helps people with visual impairments navigate more efficiently. The belt is equipped with eight ultrasonic sensors that can pick up nearby objects.

Guardian angels created a smart speaker system that can detect users in the vicinity and selectively provide alerts or notifications. They created a module containing a wirelessly operated speaker connected, a PIR sensor and a person-detecting vision system that could identify humans in an image.

The last prototype on display was Forget Key Not which helps people locate items within their home. The system uses a notification system, which triggers an audio alert to the users when they open the front door, ensuring they have no forgotten something important.

The future of smart home technology in Trinity College @

THIRD-YEAR Engineering with Management students from Trinity College unveiled prototypes of the smart home technology of the future.

The showcase was held in the Science Gallery Dublin on the April 2nd.

It was the result of eight month’s work, where teams of three or four students, were tasked with developing product concepts in response to a real-world design prompt. The year the idea was to “develop a smart technology for the home that addresses a problem”.

Assistant Professor in Trinity’s School of Engineering, Conor McGinn, lecturer of the Engineering with Management module, told <em>The College View that </em>“the overall goal of the course is to empower students to apply their creativity and technical skills to create products that address real problems and have the potential to make real impact.

This was an especially talented and driven group of students, and given the opportunities, I think they will go on to apply their skills in very positive ways for the betterment of the society.

With the help of Science Gallery Dublin, who partnered with us in organising the event, we were able to give the students a platform to showcase their skills and ingenuity to the

Increase

Ian Brennan Contributor @thecollegeview THERE has been a sharp rise in the number of planning applications for large housing and student accommodation schemes, a conference has heard.

An Bord Pleanala (ABP) chairman Dave Walsh was speaking at the annual Irish Planning Institute conference, held in Carrick-on-Shannon.

There have been 29 applications made under the Strategic Housing Scheme Developments Scheme (SHD) in the first quarter this year, compared to 16 in the last quarter of 2018 and only 14 in 2017 when the Scheme was introduced.

SHD provides a fast-track process for developments that contain more than 100 housing units as well as student accommodation schemes involving more than 200 beds.

Speaking at the conference, Walsh believes that behind application figures, there had been many pre-application consultations, meaning that the system is “ramping up.”

In 2018, ABP granted permission for 7,102 housing units and 4,479 stu-

Students in Trinity College create prototypes for smart home technology.

public as well as invite attendees from industry, government agencies and the broader college community.”

When developing ideas, these teams were required to first conduct product benchmarking as well as a detailed patent and standard reviews. After drafting a product design specification, which targeted the specific product identified,

in

also targeted demographic and product criteria the teams them went and made their prototype.

Then these projects were put through systematic evaluation processes, where a final concept was chosen. When the prototype was chosen then a proof of the prototype was developed, followed by a higher resolution prototype which

Credit: IrishTechNews

was then demonstrated at the showcase.

Pill-O-Clock was one of the prototypes at the showcase. This is an automated pill dispenser to help people better manage their medication schedules.

The device comprises three or more chambers where tablets can be stored securely and provides notifications to

planning applications accommodation

dent accommodation bed spaces under these schemes.

Land around Dublin has been marked for possible rezoning as Dublin City Council try to find a way to deal with the housing crisis, with the potential of building on the rezoned land as a possible solution.

Andrew Montague, councillor for Dublin North-West, believes that the possible rezoning of land has nothing to do with the surge in fast-tracked planning applications.

“I wouldn’t think it’s much to do with rezoning. I would say the fact is that it’s a very lucrative form of investment because it’s cheaper to build, it requires less standards and they can charge big rents,” he said.

“That’s why they’re building those sorts of apartments above anything else. That’s the way the private sector works, it goes for the most lucrative end of the market.”

Montague also believes that the SHD’s process for fast-tracking applications for large housing and student accommodation units does not play a major role in the sudden rise in applications.

“I wouldn’t think it’s to do with the fast-track nature of it, I would just

for

say it’s to do with the nature of the housing market, what’s the most lucrative part of it and the market moving in that direction.”

Montague also said that the way the market is in Ireland, and how it tends to work, can lead to other problems down the line when it comes to city planning.

“It doesn’t always lead to well-planned cities, it’s only one type of housing tenure that’s being provided.

You don’t get the mix of tenures that you like.

“You want stuff forFast track planning applications for student accommodation on the rise. students, you want than the rest, you can get a distorted stuff for families, you want stuff for re- market,” he said. tired people, you want stuff for young This pattern within the housing marpeople. You want a range of different ket is not only happening in Dublin, houses in one area,” Montague said. but it is also starting to spread to the This sort of behaviour and outcome rest of the country. can also have a detrimental effect on In the first three months of 2019, just the housing market itself, as Montague under half of all such applications were explains. from Dublin, with a further 20 per cent “If only one of them is making a coming from Kildare, 18 per cent from profit or one of them is more lucrative Cork and 10 per cent from Galway.

student

Credit: Chloe Rooney

What Walsh highlighted, however, is that the SHD process is spreading beyond even the larger cities in Ireland, with applications now also coming in from Waterford, Wexford and elsewhere in the country.

Business and Tech

12

Donegal wind Giveback.ie loses out on farm to power further funding Amazon Web Services Róisín Phelan Features Editor @_roisinphelan

Ian Brennan Contributor @thecollegeview AMAZON have bought the entire output from a wind farm which will be constructed in Donegal to supply Amazon Web Services data centres.

The wind farm will be developed in the Meenbog area, located just south of Ballybofey, by Invis Energy and, according to Amazon, will be done without any public subsidies.

This will make it the first Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to be completely unsubsidised, the company says, in Ireland.

John Callaghan, who lives a couple of kilometres from the site where the wind farm has been built, has said that residents in the area have accepted that the plans are likely to go through, even with any local opposition.

“I think in the Meenbog area, everyone’s just sort of ‘this is the way it’s going to be’. I think no matter what people think or say, this is just going to happen anyway,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s something we can do anything about, I think that’s the general consensus.”

Callaghan says he works out of the country in Britain, but that he also returns home every week.

Callaghan also added that despite the feelings of those in the Meenbog area,

there has been some backlash from nearby towns.

“I know there is backlash to it in the town (of Ballybofey) and surrounding areas,” he commented.

Amazon’s Web Services data centres in Ireland provide cloud services for businesses all over the world, and this wind farm would supply them with over 91 Megawatts of power.

The project is scheduled to be complete with the farm fully operational by the end of 2021 at the latest.

An Bord Pleanala’s decision to grant the permission for development was appealed in a high court application by birds of prey conservationist group, the Irish Raptor Study Group.

The matter, however, was settled between the two parties out of court and a full hearing never happened.

Data centres require significant amounts of power to run, with Eirgrid predicting that by 2027, data centres will be responsible for around a quarter of all electricity used in Ireland.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Environment Richard Bruton have welcomed the plans, with Minister Bruton saying that Ireland’s electricity will go from 30 per cent to 70 per cent from renewable sources.

Last year it was announced by Amazon that they would be doubling their workforce in Ireland over the course of two years, adding an extra 1,000 jobs to the market.

DCU student-led initiative Giveback.ie has failed to win further funding in the Google.org Dublin Impact Challenge.

The challenge, which Google launched to celebrate its 15th year in Dublin, aims to support local non-profit ideas and entrepreneurs.

Head of Google Ireland, Fionnuala Meehan said the aim of the challenge aim was to: “tap into innovation across the city to support great ideas to build stronger communities.”

Giveback.ie a “technology that empowers individuals to break the cycle of homelessness” was among many other initiatives that had the chance to win a share of the €1m up for grabs.

By making it to the final 15 nonprofits, Giveback.ie was awarded an initial €50,000, but as they did not succeed in winning the subsequent People’s Choice category they failed to win any further funding.

One of the students involved in setting up Giveback.ie, James Gallagher said the team were “just really honoured to be among such fantastic company in the top 15.”

“Going forward, we’re excited to see how these nonprofits begin to realise their vision, bring about economic opportunity and help to shape the future of Dublin together,” said Gallagher.

Victoria Ryan-Nesbitt, who was also involved in the setting up of the initia-

Credit: Isabella Finn

tive said that “doubling our funding to €100,000 would have accelerated our plants to end street homelessness in Dublin through a transitional housing program in partnership with Inner City Helping Homeless.”

She said that in the future they are hoping to work with DCU to “rollout” their Chrome extension to all students via the DCU Apps.” This venture she said: “would have the potential to raise over €1m annually with 17,000 students on board.”

The category in which Giveback. ie were aiming to win, the People’s Choice, involved weeks of campaigning to try and win the public’s votes.

This category along with €50,000 was won by Down Syndrome Ireland.

Head of Fundraising and Retail at Down Syndrome, Mark O’Doherty Ireland told The College View that everyone at the organisation was “delighted”

Credit: DCU

with the win.

He said the funding would go towards: “further developing our Ability Programme (Education and Employment) in Dublin”.

This Ability Programme “focuses on higher education and work skills training for adults with Down syndrome and helps them secure meaningful employment,” according to O’Doherty.

Back at DCU, member of the Giveback.ie team Cathal Curry said: “we’re delighted for Down Syndrome Ireland, the well-deserving winners.”

Curry said they were grateful for everyone who voted for them and: “while it wasn’t enough to win the award, it was a phenomenal campaign nonetheless and one we are incredibly proud of.”

Balbriggan launches free town wifi Leona Kenny Contributor @thecollegeview

Wind farm to be built in Donegal to power Amazon Web Services.

Giveback.ie did not get further funding.

A North Dublin town has become the first place on the east coast to offer free public Wi-Fi. Balbriggan town centre will offer free Wi-Fi and charging units as part of a new town improvement scheme.

Local businesses have joined up with Magnet Networks to install internet access points throughout the town which will allow for 250 simultaneous connections. Solar-powered Wi-Fi benches with wireless charging units have also been installed.

Chair of Balbriggan Leadership Group and DCU President, Prof Brian MacCraith said this launch is a crucial step towards improving the heart and culture of Balbriggan.

“As Ireland’s youngest town, we have the highest percentage of digital natives in the country. The free Wi-Fi will be critical to attracting people and businesses to a reimagined town centre and helping us meet future challenges.”

The scheme is funded by sponsor-

ship through local businesses, who can then run promotional offers to customers.

Speaking at the launch on Monday, March 8th, Managing Director of Magnet Networks Ireland Stephen Brewer said: “For example, Credit: Sally Dobie if a local restau-Free town Wifi in Balbriggan. steps being taken to improve the searant sponsors the Wi-Fi, they are able side town. A draft proposal by a comto send out a coupon at a set time to munity group was released in Novemeveryone who has logged on that day, ber, which included a new heritage trail giving them 10% off.” and a skate park as part of a €20 million Aisling Hyland, Digital Strategy town rejuvenation plan.

Manager for Fingal County Council This idea was first introduced in June said this launch is a big step forward 2018 as part of the ‘’Smart Bench’’ for a ‘"new" Balbriggan. scheme, which aims to introduce free "In recent years, Balbriggan has gotWi-Fi to all towns and villages across ten a bad reputation for vandalism and North Dublin. Councillors hope to roll anti-social behaviour. Hopefully, the out the scheme in other areas across the free Wi-Fi and other upcoming projects county within the next few months. will bring more people to the area and put this reputation to bed.’"

Free public Wi-Fi is one of many

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opinion

Are elitist attitudes a problem for Irish Universities

Clara Kelly asks if students are still judging their classmates based on accents and if bigger universities have a problem with elitist attitudes.

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Clara Kelly Opinions Editor @clarabkelly

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rinfess number 647 reads: “Can’t be the only one who gets uncomfortable when they hear a north-Dublin accent in the library or people wearing a tracksuit. Clutch my stuff just a bit tighter.”

The Facebook page Trinfess is a page liked by 2422 people at the time of writing this article, where students can share anonymous submissions about life as a student at Trinity College.

And while the page is usually filled with harmless musings about life as a Trinity student, this particular post that has since been removed from the page.

It raises the question, do classist attitudes still exist in larger universities?

The page now skips directly from Trinfess #645 to #652 which reads “lately I’m liking this page less and less” because it’s being used to complain about “certain lifestyles, groups, and societies.” Which, given the current situation, strikes me as a tad ironic.

This removed post was published on March 30th and on March 31st Trinfess itself released a statement on its page,

Trinity College Dublin photographed on a sunny day.

stating: “We’ve noticed a recent surge in malevolent, targeted submissions and so have decided to clamp down.”

They later added that these posts would no longer be published as this page was “solely set up for confessions/witty observations/ general life at college” in other words “light-hearted repartee that’s just for fun.”

But did this “light-hearted repartee” bring to light a larger issue? An article from December 2018 for the Irish Times showed affluent students are 14

Credit: Pxhere

times more likely to attend universities than their disadvantaged counterparts.

So for the students from low-income areas who do make it to these institutions, and began to sit in classrooms filled with peers from wealthier areas, it could be argued that the struggle is not yet over.

Being from Tallaght myself, I heard the occasional joke or jab I introduce myself, and it would be accompanied by a “well, you don’t have the accent.”

Otherwise I haven’t experienced any-

Snide comments and jokes seem more prevalent than outright discrimination, however, when it comes to classism, some people still clearly fear what they don’t know.

thing really sinister, although that might have been because because I don’t have the accent.

Luke Coulton Dylan, a Trinity Politics student from Tallaght, said “I can understand why people from places like mine (Jobstown) would be deterred from places like Trinity because of the stereotype of wealth that surrounds it” but noted, “I’ve found absolutely no grounding in it.”

Meanwhile, Naomi Carrie, a DCU communications student, said “I feel like I personally wouldn’t experience the classism as like heavy”, adding “it’s because I don’t feel like I have a strong Tallaght accent.”

Overall, It seems to me that classism in Irish Universities seems to be much the same as classism in Irish society.

Unfortunately, of course, when you have a melting pot of elites, working class and those from low income areas, some people will always feel and perhaps act entitled.

Snide comments and jokes seem more prevalent than outright discrimination, however, when it comes to classism, some people still clearly fear what they don’t know, even if they do it in secret, hiding behind the anonymous safety, of a Trinity facebook page.

A more progressive Ireland: fantasy or reality

Recent referendums for abortion and less recently gay marriage make it seem like Ireland is stepping in the right direction, and away from its staunch Catholic roots, Sally Dobie asks has enough really changed?

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Sally Dobie Production Editor and Podcast Editor @Sarah_or_Sally

reland has had its fair share of modernising in recent years. Last year we saw the Eighth Amendment referendum legalise abortion and not long before in 2015 samesex marriage was legalised. But is this enough?

The Social Progress Index takes into account a wide range of issues such as a country’s GDP, environmental quality, tolerance and inclusion, and health and wellness, and then decides how progressive that country is. In 2017 Ireland came 11th out of 128 countries. Pretty good, right?

In some ways, Ireland is more progressive than in many places. Having an openly gay Taoiseach is definitely something that wouldn’t happen in Brunei, where it has recently been decided that homosexuality is a crime punishable by stoning to death. There are another 72 countries where homosexuality is also still illegal.

There are also a lot more businesses moving into Ireland. With the looming threat of Brexit, many companies

are moving their offices out of Britain into cities like Dublin to stay within the EU, which means an increase in trade through the city.

As someone who only moved to Ireland two years ago, I’ve seen a lot of changes in that time alone. Ireland seems to be trying to make up for

“

As someone who only moved to Ireland two years ago, I’ve seen a lot of changes in that time alone. its mistakes in the past by creating a brighter future for all its residents, including immigrants like me.

That being said, it has taken Ireland a long time to get to this point. When most of the western world had sped into the 21st Century, Ireland was following behind at a crawl. Despite the modern, evolving voting population in Ireland, there are certain demographics within Irish society that consistently oppose change.

Either way, it seems to be the older generations deciding the fate of the youth. Over 60% of males and females over the age of 50 voted to leave in the Brexit referendum in 2016, while a vast majority of the youth voted to remain in the EU. If we compare this to the Blasphemy referendum that took place in Ireland last year, the only demographic close to voting to keep it in the constitution was the over 65s, with only 52% in favor.

So, and this is a very general observation, it seems like it is the older generations that are against change. It could be the Catholic upbringings and the belief that we shouldn’t lose the traditions that have been preserved for so long.

Or, it could simply be a fear of change.

Either way, it seems that certain numbers within the population aren’t ready to accept it just yet.

Yet, it seems there’s still more change planned for this year. Referendums are

A photo of a protester at the I believe her March in Dublin City Centre earlier this year.

taking place to liberalise divorce laws, giving Irish citizens living abroad a presidential vote, and to change the constitution in relation to women’s place in the home.

So it seems like Ireland is catching up, and progressive Ireland is not a fantasy. It’s up to us to welcome change and be the deciding factor in the new referendums. We have a say in our futures, and we should use it.

Credit: Sonja Tutty

14

Opinion

Gambling: A more socially acceptable addiction?

Calum Atkison asks why gambling is seen as a more socially accepted addiction, in spite of being just as harmful as other addictions.

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Calum Atkinson Contributor @CalumAtkinson

t seems as each day passes sport becomes ever more inextricably linked to the betting industry.

This has led to people watching sport being more focused on what it means for the balance of their betting account rather than enjoying the drama unfolding on the pitch.

The dividing line has disappeared between enjoying watching a sporting event and gambling on the outcome of it. Through advertising, betting companies have succeeded in normalising gambling and convincing many people that having a bet is part and parcel of watching sport.

Gambling is as old as the hills but the emergence of online gambling has changed everything. While a majority of people can gamble with no major problems, roughly 7% of gamblers in Ireland are at risk of developing a gambling problem.

According to the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, gambling addiction affects young people at 2-3 times the rate of adults.

Sports betting is a multi-billion-euro industry and these companies’ advertising strategies are creative, target-

Gambling addiction is less spoken about than other types of addiction. Unlike alcohol and drug addiction, there are few clear signs to others.

ed and ultimately very effective. Let’s take the example of watching a game in the English Premier League.

“And it’s live” roars Martin Tyler.

This line signals that the game we’ve waited all week for is about to start. But Tyler’s trademark line is also the cue for an advertisement from a betting company. This ad is forced upon us and plants a seed in our brain.

Then the game starts and advertisements for betting companies are displayed on the boards around the pitch.

Even a person who rarely bets like me can be drawn in by these ads so it’s hard to imagine how they impact on a compulsive gambler.

Scratch cards and lottery tickets on display at a lottery Kiosk in Dublin.

The Guardian reported that ITV broadcast around 90 minutes of gambling advertisements throughout the entire 2018 World Cup which amounted to 17% of all total ad breaks.

A whistle to whistle ban on advertising is set to be implemented in July 2019 after political pressure for action.

This is just television advertising though and we must also consider the targeted advertising facilitated by social networks that are also extremely effective.

60% of football teams in the top two divisions in England have a betting

company as their shirt sponsor. Closer to home, the FAI recently agreed to a twoyear-deal with Kenyan-based betting company SportPesa.

I believe major leagues, teams, and television companies have been extremely irresponsible in the relationships they’ve built with betting companies. They fail to consider the lives gambling has destroyed. Or maybe they do consider it and decide that the money being offered is more important.

Gambling addiction is less spoken about than other types of addiction. Un-

Credit: Clara Kelly

like alcohol and drug addiction, there are few clear signs to others.

Gambling addicts suffer silently and can run up massive losses in online accounts that they desperately try to win back, making the problem worse and destroying relationships in the process.

It’s depressing to consider how a sport that can often bring such joy to people’s lives has been hijacked by betting companies that ultimately bring misery.

Data regulation: Should Facebook be let off the hook?

Ross Boyd looks at who should be responsible for regulating social media, the government or the social networks themselves?

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Ross Boyd Contributor @thecollegeview

ark Zuckerberg visited Dublin last Thursday, where he met three TDs from Oireachtas Committee on Communications

on issues such as fake news, child protection and the regulation of social media.

This meeting was emphasised recently, by the live streaming of the Auckland mass shooting of two mosques which killed fifty people.

As well as nationally the criticisms for social media sites to filter foreign advertisements by “No” campaigners in last year’s abortion referendum.

A phone screen displaying social networking apps such as Facebook.

Both of which brought the issue of regulation of social media sites to the forefront.

This issue is echoed by many parents, particularly coming up to the local elections in relation to their children. This is due to fears of the increase of cyberbullying, exposure to extremist content, and the growing trend of social media addiction in the impressionable minds of young

Credit: Pxhere

teenagers getting their first look into the digital world.

However, in response, it appears politicians usually shift this problem to the multi-national corporations of Facebook, arguing it’s their responsibility to control and limit what gets posted on their site and that any loopholes are their culpability.

Is this really the case though, or are politicians deflecting the blame by not tackling this issue effectively?

It first must be noted that governments across the world are taking steps to tackle the use of social media. Ireland, for example, made a precedent by setting the digital age of consent to 16, which is higher than what Facebook & Twitter have set their minimum age at 13.

Australia recently enacted laws which would fine tech companies to “ensure that online platforms cannot be exploited and weaponised by perpetrators of violence”, although the laws are marred in dubious circumstances. However, It would be impossible to police the whole internet without a police state like surveillance, which would bring up its own concerns.

So what have tech companies done to regulate their own platforms? It seems that based on the vast number of content, they cannot do much at all, through no fault of their own. Despite hiring more staff to tackle fake news

in their Dublin offices and distributing content that goes against their terms of policy, they mostly rely on manual filtering by users of the platforms to manually report this content.

Facebook has also taken steps to reduce fake news through a factchecking annotation on a news article by an independent source, however, most of the description of links are from Wikipedia rather than factchecking websites.

Yet, unfortunately, and rather predictably, it seems to be a tennis match of blaming each other, social media sites and governments both not doing enough to tackle social media usage and addiction. We must wonder why Governments either take a light hand or heavy-handed approach to a major problem in society by punishing the companies financially.

I would say it’s impossible, and until governments realise this and that society cops on to the cons of social

15

gaeilge

Mála Stáin sa Pháirc?

Cén tionchar atá ag an aimsir breá ar nósanna óil mhic léinn? Labhaireadh le Adam Healy agus Aoife Brady, Cathaoirligh Sober Soc DCU i 2018/2019 agus 2019/2020 chun fáil amach.

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Cian Ó hÉidín Eagarthóir na Gaeilge @thecollegeview

á téacs mar seo seolta nó faighte ag beagnach gach uile mac léinn timpeall an am seo don bhliain, ach an bhfuil an treocht seo chuid don saol san ollscoil nó an hfuil sé fianaise do tréith mallaithe don cúltúr óil éireannach i measc daoine óga?

Dá laibhairfeá le mac léinn amháin, déarfaidis gur píosa craic atá i gceist le hól sa samhradh, déarfadh ceann eile go bhfuil sé bealach chun a scith a ligint i measc na mílte alt atá le scríobh aige riomh deiridh na mbliana agus déarfadh an triú duine gur seans maith hé sult a bhaint as an aimsir agus a bheith amach faoin aer.

Thagann na trí cúis seo suas arís ‘s arís eile nuair atá tú ag leabhairt le daoine faoin topaic seo, agus tá’n triúir acu suimiúl ina mbealach féin, ach tá siad ceangailte le chéile ar an lámh eile.

Gan dabht go mbeadh píosa chraic agat dá mbéifeása ag cruchadh amach le do chairde, an griain sa spéir, le deoch i do lámh, ach an bhfuil sé ceart go mbeadh sin an chéad snaoimeamh atá ag daoine chun piosa craic a bheith acu san aimisir breá?

Is druga é alcól; a dheanann dámáiste go dtí do chorp agus do meabhairshláinte. Tá dhá deochanna caighdeánach i stáin beor, dhá deochanna caighdeánach as na haon déag a deireann Fheidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte gur feidir le bhean* ól i seachtain, nó na seacht déag do fir*. Cén fáth go n-úsáidfidh daoine cuid do a liúntas ar stáin sa pháirc?

Tá an cheist airgid le phlé, gan dabht, tá sé níos saoire do ghrúpa neart stáin a cheannacht in ionad ag dul go pub do pionte, ach tá sé níos saoire fós gan ól sa chás seo. Chomh maith le sin, tá sé níos fearr gan ól sa dara cúis luaithe

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Cén tionchar atá ag an aimsir ar nósanna óil? shuas, mar má tú strus ort, agus ansin tosnaíonn tú ag ól, tá seans, in ionad ag cabhair thú le ag ligint do scith, go cuir-

An chóir go mbeadh daoine ag smaoineamh faoi alcól nuair atá siad ag féachaint ar páirc mar seo?

fidh an alcól thú i ngiúmar níos measa fós.

Ach is é an triú cúis atá is dona do mhic léinn, mar má tá ag ól an príomh rogha atá roimh daoine chun sult a bhaint as an aimsir, tá daoine chun a bheith fághta ar leith. Le phraghasanna lóistín mar atá siad, tá ar go leor daoine taisteal go dtí an ollscoil chuile lá, agus an-chuid dóibh i ngluaisteáin mar go bhfuil easpa séirbhisí taistil poiblí ina gceantair fhéin.

Mar sin, i ngrúpa chairde, má déannann daoine rogha tosnú ag ól i ndiadh léachtanna, caithfidh na comaitéirí sa ghrúpa rogha a dhéanamh idir ag imeacht nó ag suí timpeall leo gan ól, rud a mothaíonn deacair ar go leor daoine a dhéanamh. Níl sin fiú ag snaoineamh faoi daoine sa ghrúpa nach ólann,

agus tá go leor dóibh i nDCU. Chun plé a dhéanamh ar an topaic seo, shúigh mé síos le Adam Healy agus Aoife Brady, Cathaoirligh Sober Soc DCU 2018/2019 agus 2019/2020 i rith an seachtain.

Tá fréamhacha ag an fadhb i an bealach atá alcól fogairthe, a dúirt Aoife, mar taispeáineann na gcomhlachtaí seo a chuid alcól a bheith ólta san aimsir breá an for-mhór den am, agus mar sin tá an nasc déanta in intinn daoine, ar leibhéal intuighte.

Chomh maith le sin, luaigh Aoife an fadhb atá ann má tá cúpla leathanta deasa dar gcoinn nó nuair atá daoine ar saoire, mar tá seans gur feidir le daoine dul “thar fóir”. Mar sin ba chóir gan dearmad a dhéanamh go “bhfuil na éifeachtaí céanna ón alcól ar do chorp

agus do intinn” fiú san aimsir breá agus go bhfuil cothromaíocht “tábhachtach”.

Luaigh Adam gné eile don fadhb, go bhfuil na nósanna seo ar fad le feiceáil an bliain ar fad, agus athraíonn an bealach a ólann daoine len séasúr, sa gheimhreadh mar shampla, “téann chuile duine go dtí an teach tábhairne áitúil do Guinness in aice na tine”.

Ach tá níos mó tionchair ag an aimsir breá ar nósanna óil ná an aimsir dona, dar leis, agus luaigh sé na stáin agus buidéal beor a cheannaíonn daoine na trallaithe do sa samhradh mar shampla de sin.

Ach an rud is tabháchtaí a luaigh siad, rud a bhí an beirt acu ag labhairt faoi, na an tábhacht don spásanna gan alcól do daoine chun craic a bheith acu san aimsir, spásanna nuair nach bhfuil

Credit: Béibhinn Thorsch

aon brú cuirfe ar daoine chun ól. Mar sin, is feidir le daoine nach ólann a móthú “páirteach i saol na mhic léinn” a luaigh Aoife. Chomh maith le sin, tá sé tabhachtach do mac léinn mar tá sé an éasca dóibh, len méid strus agus brú a bhíonn orthu, eírí tuilleamaíoch ar an ól.

Tá an freagra soléir mar sin, níos mó spásanna a bheith eagraithe in a bhfuil cosc ar alcól i nDCU, cosúil len ‘Coffee Morning’ atá ag DCU LGBTA nó an ‘Hangover Hub’ atá ag Sober Soc le DCU Mental Health Soc. Tá céimeanna sa treo ceart ag tarlú, len ócáid ‘Soberstock’ mar chuid den ‘Grand Stretch Fest’ eagraithe ag Aontas na Mac Léinn DCU, ach tá fós go leor obair le dhéanamh chun an tionchar atá ag an aimsir ar nósanna ól a laghdú.

16

A

Caithfimid labhairt faoi Joyce

Gaeilge

Béibhinn Thorsch Deputy Features Editor @BeibhinnJourno

n bhfuil na litreacha grá a sheol James Joyce chuig a bhean chéile sa 19ú h-aois léighte agat?

Muna bhfuil, b’féidir cuardaigh iad ar líne, ansin bheidh sé níos éasca an alt seo a thusicint. Ach bí cúramach - níl na litreacha seo oiriúnach don obair.

Baineadh geit as daoine nuair a thuigtear go raibh litreacha grá le théimeanna gnéasach seolta idir an cúpla cáilúil, James Joyce, scríobhneoir de Ulysses, agus a bhean chéile Nora Barnacle. Ach, an bhfuil sé fairéalta preab a bhaint as daoine go raibh an sort iompair seo ar siúl acu?

Ar an gcéád dul síos, ní raibh Joyce stráinséir ar bith le scríobhneoireachta le théimeanna grá nó gnéas. Céard a thagann le grá rómansúil agus cruthaitheachta mar sin, ach an saol gnéasacht? Níl an píosa dochcreidte don scéal seo go raibh Joyce gníomhach go gnéasach, ach go raibh thuile ‘kinks’ aige - agus bhí sé lán réidh chun iad a roinnt lena ghrá.

Fiú sa domhan atá anois ann, níl mórán daoine a mbeadh compórdach labhairt faoi na nósanna gnéasach is fearr leo. Bhí sé dáinséarach, fiú, i laethannta Joyce chun an saghas topaic seo a lua. Bhí dáinséir go mbeifeá (go háirithe má beann thú) cuirthe in ospidéal sláinte meabhrach dá mbéifeá ag labhairt faoi gnéas go h-oscailte gan náire a bheith ort.

Ach, leis an tromlach do na dáinséirí seo thart sa lá atá inniu ann, cad is féidir leis an nua-dhaonna a thógáil ó litrea-

cha Joyce - ní amháin go bhfuil sé tasc dodhéanta de aon dhuine scríobh faoi gnéas i slí a bhfuil chomh galánta agus chomh salach, sa litir céanna.

Cad eile ach go bhfuil daoine agus daonnachta mar an gcéine tríd stair an domhain. Is é sin an rud a dhéanann stair chomh suimúil sin, na cosúileachtaí idir muidne agus ár laochra. Ní féidfimid thug an méid sin sonas as broim a ligean, nó as a bheith ag éísteach le n-ár leannáin nuair a bhfuil siad á ligean broim. Ní féidir leis an chuid is mó de dhaoine an saghas solas féin a bain Joyce ón ngíomh sin. Ach, is féidir linn meas a chur ar Joyce le haghaidh a féinmhuinín gnéasacha seo.

Ag déanamh malairt ar an béim ar Joyce, ní théann sé gan a rá go raibh na saghas nósanna gnéasacha céanna ag go leor de na scríbhneoirí agus ealaíntóirí stairúila . Mar shampla, Virginia Woolf. Sheol Virginia litreacha lán de grá rómánsúil chun a ‘cara’ Vita Sackville. D’impigh Virginia ar Vita chun a fear chéile a fhágáil agus caidreamh a thosnú léi.

An rud atá chomh tarraingteach orainn agus na litreacha seo a léamh ná nach amháin go raibh na nósanna sin ag na scríbhneoirí tréitheach seo, ach an bealach ina luaigh siad na mothúcháin go raibh ag fulaingt. Le Woolf, aithníonn tú cosúil léi - mothaíonn tú go bhfuil tú i ngrá ar taobh léi.

Ar deireadh, tá níos mó meas ar fáil ar na dhaoine seo, agus níos mó smaoineamh - gur nach bhfuilimid chomh difrúil faoi dheara. Is trampach muid ar fad.

Credit: Lucien Waugh Daly

Spraoí sa Samhradh Cian Ó hÉidín Eagarthóir na Gaeilge @thecollegeview

An bhfuil tú á lorg smaointe chun sos a thabhairt ón ól an samhradh seo, ach níl clú agat cad le dhéanamh i d’am saor gan í?

B Bíonn neart imeachtaí gur feidir leat a dhéanamh ar an trá, leat féin nó le chairde

Credit: Sonja Tutty

huel, léigh ar aigheadh mar sin, mar tá roinnt rogha maith ar fáil. An smaoineamh is fearr ná cúpla cairde a chúrdú chun na himeachtaí seo a dhéanamh leat mar ní hamhán beidh an-chraic agaibh, agus mar go gcuimhnóidh sibh na hamanta seo gut chaith sibh le chéile go seo.

Ach ná bí buartha faoi ag déanamh iad i d’aonar ach an iorad, uaireanta is feidir le na heachtraí siúd a bheith díreach chomh spraoiúil.

Ar lá grianmhar, níl mórán rudaí gur feidir leat a dhéanamh ar an trá nó sa pháirc is congaraí duit, agus fiú blas a fháil do am atá thart, ó d’óige. Is feidir leat bualadh bóthar agus dul amach ar siúlóid, ag thógaint cúpla pictúirí deasa do na meáin sósialta, nó liathróid nó camán a thart leat do poc thimpeall.

Téigh ar líne fiú agus cuirdigh má

tá cúrsaí yoga amuigh faoin aer i do cheantar agus d’fhéadfadh leat scill nua a piocfadh suas.

Ar an deireadh seachtaine, is feidir léimt isteach sa ghluaisteáin agus dul amach go dtí na sléibhte chun píosa rothaíocht nó marsháil a dhéanamh, amach sa timpeallacht, gan teicneolaíocht, chun píosa aer úir a fháil, agus sos a thabhairt ón sochaí.

Is feidir cuirdiú ar líne freisin má tá aon ócáid at siúil i do cheantar gan alcól, uaireanta bíonn siad diartha i dtreo teaghlaigh, ach ná lig sin thú a stopadh, uaireanta bíonn an-chraic ar fáil ann fós.

Déan seic ar na suíomh idrilíne do músaeim timpeall thú nó na níthe is díol speise do thurasóirí, uaireanta bíonn ócaidí ar siúil acu san óiche, ar nós pictiúrlainne nó amharclainne amuigh falin aer.

An rud is tabhatábhaí ná chun spraoi a bheith agat, i mbealach go mothaíonn tú compórdach le, agus na daoine go mothaíonn tú compórdach timpeall.

Déan iarracht triall a bhaint as rud amháin nua an Samhradh seo, ní bheidh a fhios agat cad a churadaíonn tú spéisúil go dtí go dhéanann tú é. Ná déan dearmad go leor uisce a ól freisin.

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features

What lies behind service with a smile Facing harassment from customers day and night has just become part of the job for many people working in.

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Alison Clair Contributor @aliclair_

t’s a bank holiday Monday. It’s three o’clock in the morning.

As the night is winding down, the floor is sticky with drink, the room smells like beer and sweat, and the last of the drunken customers make their way up the street to the ever alluring Chinese takeaway.

Lahinch is a treasure trove of loud laughter, drunken chatter and smashing glasses on a bank holiday Monday.

But what about the people still inside the walls of the pub?

The streets are strewn with half eaten three in ones and empty pint glasses with fag butts in them. The shouts of drunk people resonating through the windows of the bar. This is the only moment of peace David O’Gorman has had all night. Three people got sick on walls of the bathroom, and someone had to be thrown out, but this is only the beginning.

O’Gorman, now 28, began his career in the service industry at the age of 15 and has worked in and behind the bar for over 13 years now. He has spent over three of those being a bar manager.

“It started as a part time job and I stuck with it because of the fun of it, although it’s a young mans’ game.

You’re always meeting new people.

No day is ever the same when you go into work. You meet nice people, you meet weird characters, but you also meet bad customers. No two shifts are the same in my eyes.”

Not only is verbal harassment absolutely present in the industry today, but sexual harassment and violence in the service industry is something that is looked over as a problem in today’s society. Waiters, waitresses and bar staff are often shouted, spat at and even physically attacked by their

customers throughout their shift. This isn’t a new phenomenon.

“Someone could come in the door at six o’clock and be the nicest person in the world, and may be a horrible drunk after six pints and be a totally different person to deal with.” said O’Gorman.

People under the influence of alcohol can be easily agitated and narky.

Some customers can even get violent.

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Having a career in the service industry requires having a thick skin.

kill me and kill my family for barring him. That went on for six months. He still comes in every once and a while and threatens me. I know the type he is and he’s holding a grudge against me barring him.”

People often look down at service staff. People click their fingers and beckon waiters and waitresses still to this day. But harassment in the work-

customers like grabbing and touching them.

Aoife Rynne, a waitress working in a bar in Limerick City described how there were many a time where customers of the bar, mostly male, would beckon and call on the female staff in extremely inappropriate ways.

“I remember there was this one man called Frankie, that used to always

place isn’t solely down to verbal and sometimes, like in O’Gormans case, physical abuse. Staff in the hospitality sector receive harassment in many different forms, even sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment in the hospitality industry is prevalent mainly among female workers. There are countless stories from waitresses and bar women who have been harassed by customers in work. This could range from verbal harassment such as name calling and catcalling to physically harassing

come into the bar. He would always say such rotten things to us, so the girls knew to just stay away from him.

One time he called me over into the corner with him by waving his finger at me. I walked over to him and he told me to “come closer” but I refused.

He then said: “see look what I can make you do with one finger, imagine what I could make you do with two”.

It is derogatory comments and verbal harassment like this that are widespread among the hospitality

“Waiters, waitresses and bar staff are often shouted, spat at and even physically attacked by their customers throughout their shift.”

One of the many examples of this violence was experienced by O’Gorman and the situation is still going on to this day.

“There is this one customer who had been barred for ten years out of the pub. He got let back in by the owner, and he was coming in and out for about a month, until he went back to his old ways again. I obviously had to make the decision to bar this fella again. One night he caught me up by the neck and pinned me to the wall.

He threatened me that he was going to

Credit: Pxhere

industry. There are countless more stories like these experienced by both young women and men in the service industry.

“I think women are definitely treated differently. In the bar itself there are usually more male than female customers, so do the lads get sexually harassed? No not really. Not from customers. The shoe is on the other foot there. You’d see it now with bar maids working in the bar over the years. I have seen customers try to grope them or something like that, and inappropriate language as well, that is always used with the women behind the bar.”

Even in the tourism based industry the treatment of staff can be just as bad without the customers under the influence of alcohol. Aoife O’ Gorman, a student in NUIG who works in a very famous tourist attraction said “a woman once called me “a creature” because I wouldn’t serve her in the café before a group of Chinese tourists who were there before her, and another time a bus driver actually threw mashed potato at my manager. He got barred though.”

Surveys have been conducted into the treatment of employees in the service industry by both their employers and customers in the past two years.

However a lot more awareness and progress needs to made in order to

Features

18

Exam season: studying, libraries and performance enhancing drugs With exam season soon approaching, some students are turning to ‘study drugs’ to beat the stress

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Donal Corrigan Contributor @thecollegeview

ark was in the middle of taking a quick break from the library.

He popped outside for a quick rollie. While outside his heart started racing, he knew it had kicked in.

Coming back into the library he knew his brain had changed. His ability to focus was much stronger. He could now concentrate at a level that other students could only imagine. He had an edge over other students in his course.

For some students, like Mark, who’s name has been changed to protect his identity, performance enhancing drugs come hand in hand with exam season.

The heavy presence of Ritalin and Adderall as performance enhancing drugs for stressed students during exam season has become a growing issue across college campuses.

There drugs have been claimed to help improve concentration and productivity and are prescribed for

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After eating, she takes a Ritalin and after an hour, she is in the zone people with ADHD in order to help with concentration. They increase levels of stimulation in the brain and enhance concentration. Therefore some students see them as the ideal substance to take during exam season.

A study done by Pr. Alan DeSantis found that 30% of students had used a ‘study drug’ at the University of Kentucky.

“A large proportion of students that use these drugs take it to make up for the slacking off they did during the year. However, the other half use them merely to get an edge over their classmates. It’s pure competition.” explains DCU student Ciara.

Ciara’s name has also been changed to protect her privacy.

Ciara has been using Ritalin since she was in second year. A substan-

tial breakfast is needed during the exam for Ciara because a side effect of Ritalin is a loss of appetite. After eating, she takes a Ritalin and after an hour, she is in the zone. Concentration levels spike and can remain there from anywhere to four to sixteen hours.

Ciara explains that these drugs are beneficial because they adjusts the brain to the environment that exams make.

“The education system is not for the smartest people but for the person that can study the best.”

Ritalin and Adderall provide the stimulation to perform mundane tasks for a prolonged period of time. Yet they do not necessarily allow the brain to absorb the information that you are looking at for hours on ends.

The effects of these drugs can be often overlooked. Most medical studies warn of the negative side effects that these drugs can have on people who do not have ADHD which include; anxiety, insomnia, vomiting, loss of appetite and agitation.

“It f*cks with your brain.” explains Ciara Students should be wary when buying Adderall. Mark told The College View that the drug is not yet licensed in Ireland and as a result, drugs are sold under the name of Adderall but in reality students don’t know what they are getting. This can be concerning

considering the fact that these ADHD drugs vary in strength and purpose.

In other words, it can not be guaranteed what state you will be in the library.

The students interviewed both recalled similar experiences on the drug.

Mark and Ciara said they were in the middle of an intense flow of work when suddenly it stopped. The smallest thing can hold your attention for a prolonged time when taking study drugs. This can be a word or a number on a page but it can consume all your focus. One student remembered staring at the word ‘the’ for two hours.

So while it can heighten concentration, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are in control of your focus.

And while they are known as study drugs, both Ritalin and Adderall have a far more serious chemical structure. Ritalin shares the same chemical D.N.A as cocaine making it an addictive substance. Students may find themselves on an unwanted rush or high in the library. Equally, Adderall shares the same makeup as methamphetamine, more commonly known as crystal meth. This drug provides your brain with synthetic stimulants which allows you to concentrate far more clearly. Yet abuse of this drug can lead to your brain relying on artificial stimulants. This combined with the fact that it can be a highly addictive

substance means that these study drugs have a far more dangerous potential than some might think.

Students access these drugs in a va-

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The dark web has given people access drugs that previous generations couldn’t imagine riety of ways. The dark web has given people access to a variety of drugs that previous generations couldn’t

imagine. Another common means of distribution comes from over the counter prescription. In some cases, people will be prescribed these drugs and find themselves with an excess.

This excess of drugs can come from ether prescriptions or patients failing to comply with their doctors on taking their medication.

How many times have you not stuck to the full course of antibiotics? As exam season roles in some students find themselves sitting on a mini fortune, which at any other time of year would be worthless.

Interestingly, nobody that was interviewed said that they would take these drugs in a professional environment.

One of the students interviewed said that this is down to the system that is in place at university. It’s the age-old tale of students struggling to juggle part-time jobs, social life and then the unhealthy pressure of exam time.

Despite the fact that these are performance enhancing drugs the students interviewed said that they would not feel the need to use them once they enter the working life. Ciara explained that the work-life appears to be far less stressful. She said she felt that working life has a routine that is far from the chaotic lifestyle of college, which makes some students feel that they need to take study drugs.

Credit: Pxhere

Features

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The good, the bad and the ugly of student internships Student internships offer many experiences that lecturers can’t compare to however, these experiences can come at a price.

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Róise McGagh Contributor @thecollegeview

very year, a large amount of Irish students go on placement or complete internships, with universities such as DCU, NUI Galway and University of Limerick providing designated programmes to do so.

It’s no longer a case of placements for medical students and trainee teachers only.

DCU was the first Irish university to introduce a work placement programme as part of its undergraduate courses with its INTRA programme.

70 per cent of DCU students take part in INTRA work placement or study abroad, according to DCU. These internships range from two months long, in the case of the journalism course, to 11 months for students in the business school.

going to improve… things like interpersonal relationships, communication and project planning” he said.

“It was difficult at the start, it was my first full time job, at the time,” said Cox. “I’d say that after around a month I started to get my footing and now that I’m two and a half months in, I’m in.”

One of the main difficulties for students can be switching from the lecture hall to a work environment. Cox said he felt this himself, “for a student with projects and assignments and continuous assessments coming up all the time, there’s never really a time when you can fully switch off. Whereas when I leave here at 5pm, I’m switched off.”

“It’s very nice to have a very hard, very clear boundary of you don’t work now.” he said.

While the routine is beneficial, it can be a stark contrast to life as a student.

“The opposite of that is that there’s less freedom in my day, I can only go to the gym at night… I have to commute

action learning and for reflection.” said Executive Dean at DCU Business School, Anne Sinnott.

“Also it makes a big difference to students attitudes and their maturity when they come back and I think also almost 50% of students end up getting their first job with the organisation that they’ve done their placement with.” she said.

Sinnott said she noticed a big change in the students after they had returned to lecturers after their placement.

A business student going into final year, Eoin Treacy who is currently on INTRA placement in Volkswagen also found placement to be a worthwhile experience. His contract is for 13 months “It is very useful to get your foot in the door, not even in a specific company but a professional environment in general,” he said. In his opinion, the most beneficial aspect was “for me at least experience doing the job itself, in a professional environment.”

The College Viewasked how it compared to a summer job. “It is significantly better on multiple accounts, because the hours are consistent so you can actually have a routine, the pay in also consistent, which is very helpful for financial independence and freedom,” Treacy said.

“There was no way I was getting a health insurance benefit from working in a cinema for the summer, or a bike to work scheme.” he said.

Volkswagen take on around 20 DCU students every year. He said he and his

fellow student colleagues felt it was a total switch in lifestyle.

“Everybody else seems to acknowledge that it is a very challenging switch to go from complete freedom basically to regimented routine, early mornings as well.” he said.

The problem with some internships is that they are unpaid, or remunerated below minimum wage.

Particularly in media internships there tends to be a lack of paid placement “The options were limited depending on what you want to do, particularly in radio” said final year journalism student, Orla Dwyer. “Especially paid placements. It’s difficult for those who can’t afford to live on basically nothing for two month, while paying rent in Dublin.”

Students from DCU’s schools of science, computing, business and engineering are almost guaranteed paid placements. The nursing school,however, has come under criticism recently for not supporting students with regards to placements in terms of hours and pay.

Credit: Chloe Rooney

The idea is that employers benefit from the fresh skills and new ideas from students and that in turn, students get to put what they have learned in theory, into practice.

Third year science student from

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a lot” he said.

When asked what he thought about the length of his placement contract, he said the longer the better. He said he was happy to be working in it for eight months.

Credit: Chloe Rooney

Recently, student nurses and graduate nurses have begun to strike in their thousands for better rights and pay, and student nurses in particular have called for fairer placement options. . They are often unpaid and work shifts that are too long to sustain a part time job.

With the nurses movement and organisations such as Media Interns Alliance campaigning for fair, well paid internships, we have seen a shift in mood towards student work placement. One which is asking for a change. However, to many DCU students the experience they gain through INTRA placement is invaluable.

When asked whether placement, commuting, hard work, and swapping in his student lifestyle has been worth it, Cox said,“Yes , I think it is a worthwhile experience, purely because there’s no module that can compare to this.”

One of the main difficulties for students can be switching from the lecture hall to a work environment

DCU, Daniel Cox, started his placement two months ago in Pfizer. His contract is for eight months.

“It’s interesting in the way that it has improved skills that I thought didn’t need improving, or i wasn’t aware were

“My aunt says you don’t know if you like a job until you’ve done it for six months. I’m tending to actually agree with her.” he said.

“It’s beyond beneficial, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity not just for

Credit: Chloe Rooney

Features

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The secret life of a mature student For mature students, deciding to come back to education can be a scary prospect, but one which pays off in ten folds.

The ‘inspiration porn’ phenomenon L The late Stella Young coined the term ‘inspiration porn’.

Credit: GTEDxSydney

Sharing images of people with disabilities carrying out everyday activities has become motivation for able-bodied people, but it’s problematic nature is nowtry.”coming under fire. outline how inspiration porn may

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David Kelly Contributor @thecollegeview

osting images of individuals with disabilities taking on activities which may be more difficult for them, has been used as a way to motivate able-bodied people in their daily lives, but its problematic nature must be explored.

Type inspiration porn into Google Images and you’ll find photos of people with disabilities doing something physically inspiring captioned with something like “what’s your excuse?”.

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We are aided by everyday usage, where ‘porn’… does not refer to actual porn

This phenomenon is polarising, with some maintaining it is inspiring, while others claiming it’s objectifying.

The term 'inspiration porn' was coined (or popularised) by the late comedian and disability activist Stella Young.

“Inspiration porn is an image of a person with a disability, often a kid, doing something completely ordinary – like playing, or talking, or running, or drawing a picture, or hitting a tennis ball – carrying a caption like ‘your excuse is invalid’ or ‘before you quit,

Professor of Special Needs Education at the University of Oslo, Jane Grue amends this definition slightly to incorporate the changing examples of inspiration porn. “Inspiration porn is (a) an image of a person with visible signs of impairment who is (b) performing a physical activity, preferably displaying signs of physical prowess, and is (c) accompanied by a caption that directs the viewer to be inspired by the image in question.”

The primary critique of inspiration porn is that it objectifies people with disabilities to benefit able-bodied people. The major caveat comes from the accompanying caption; ‘what’s your excuse?’. Critics argue that the inclusion of the caption changes the photo from a celebration of accomplishment to an admonishment of guilt.

“However, when images of disabled people are accompanied by slogans such as, ‘what’s your excuse?’ or ‘your excuse is invalid,’ disabled people aren’t being lifted up or celebrated.

We’re being used as a tool to guilt abled people into trying harder,” said Saidee Wynn, a writer with a disability, who writes on chronic illnesses.

Some argue that this is a cynical analysis of the phenomenon. While it cannot be said that inspiration porn solves the problems facing people with disabilities, some examples of inspiration porn, like an able-bodied person doing something kind for a person with a disability, are to some, just examples of kindness.

“I’m a sucker for human connection–and I really believe that is what people are responding to when they click and share these videos, not the objectification of the disabled,” said Amy S.F. Lutz of the EASI Foundation: Ending Aggression and Self-Injury in the Developmentally Disabled.

Sharon Synder and David Mitchell

objectify disabled people. Within disabled studies, there is a term called ‘narrative prosthesis’. This refers to the narrative process whereby the disability of a person becomes their distinct and defining characteristic.

When Young coined the term ‘inspiration porn’ in 2012, she justified the usage of the latter word as the function of pornography is to objectify one group at the expense of another.

However, Prof Grue points out that new usages of the word have emerged since then.

“We are aided by everyday usage, where ‘porn’ – when it does not refer to actual porn – has come to signify uncritical esthetic appreciation of something or other. On the Internet forum Reddit, there are sub-forums dedicated to ‘architecture porn,’ ‘food porn,’ and even ‘airport porn’", explains Prof Grue.

Prof Grue argues that these are examples of ‘representational fantasy’.

These types of ‘porn’ present a single, impressive aspect of disability, while leaving out the negative, sometimes painful parts of being disabled. This supports Wynn’s argument that inspiration porn ropes all disabilities together.

“Inspiration porn is the representation of disability as a desirable but undesired characteristic, usually by showing impairment as a visually or symbolically a distinct biophysical deficit in one person, a deficit that can and must be overcome through the display of physical prowess” concludes Prof Grue with an amended definition.

Whether inspirational porn is harmful or not is arguable. However, as it has incited a myriad of representational voices to weigh in and discuss important issues, that in itself is positive.

Judy Williams and Cáit Caden Contributors @thecollegeview

ife can be a race. Many view it with a start and finish line. The beginning and end of this race is often looked at one of two ways. The young self to the old self or the start of a career and the end of the career. What happens in the middle is often overlooked. Yet there are some champions of energy that get a second wind and prove, that reaching a goal at any stage is not impossible.

Mature students accounted for 20 per cent of those studying in institutes, in addition with 11 per cent of those studying in universities. There were in total 1,966 people aged 30 years and over that entered undergraduate programmes by the 1st of January 2018.

Many mature students enter a system where they are surrounded by people young enough to be their children. However, some of those that go back into the education system thrive to even end up teaching third level students themselves.

“Going to university as a mature student was one of the best things I have ever done. It quite literally changed my life. I would say to anyone worried about keeping up with the smart students fresh out of school, not to lose sight of the value of life experience it is just as useful, possibly even more useful in university than leaving cert points,” said Adjunct Assistant Professor at the ADAPT Centre in Trinity College, Dr Sabina Brennan.

Brennan is currently the principle investigator in E-Health and a Neuroscientist. At the age of 40, Brennan went back to third level education to study psychology. She is now the author of '100 Days to a Younger Brain’.

Her book launch was attended by some of the best minds in the country such as renowned journalist Ursula Halligan. All of this would not be possible if she did not decide to become a masters student.

Whether it was financial, family reasons or indecisiveness that stopped them from achieving a burning academic desire, it is the general consensus that those who return to get higher qualifications do not regret their decision.

"I think adult education is fabulous and I'm so glad I got a second chance to prove to myself that I actually have half a brain,” said 3rd year History and Geography student in DCU’s St Pat's Roisin Flynn.

Yet, Flynn is even conscious of the age difference between her and her peers as she stated that even though she “love teenagers” and even has two of them herself, she does “wish there had been a few more mature students around.”Socialising with students in her course possibly half her age does not seem to be an issue for mature students such as Flynn.

“I do know a few, but the way our timetables are managed, I never seem to get a chance to hook up with them, as in between classes I'm too busy,” she said.

Despite some obstacles, Flynn stated: “while it has been exhausting, I'm glad I signed up.”

Being thrown back into college life can definitely be stressful, however, UCD Politics and History 2018

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Many mature students enter a system where they are surrounded by people young enough to be their children graduate John Morrissey believes it “becomes easier if you get things organised early in the course and don't leave things until the last minute.”

“Sometimes it is easier to be an adult learner or mature student, than a young person starting out - there is less pressure to achieve when you are older whereas the whole future of a younger person can be determined by what they achieve in college,” he added.

Even 100-year-old Joe Veselsky and 92-year-old Joe McGovern that are attending courses in Trinity prove that it is never too late for any average Joe wanting to go back to education.

Sport

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Padraig Foley wins Sports Personality of the year

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John Morley Contributor @thecollegeview

CU Dóchas Éireann hurler Paudie Foley was named Sports Personality of the Year at the DCU Clubs and Society’s ball at the end of March.

The Wexford hurler reflected on “a good night at the ball", saying that "It’s a great event to have appreciating all the clubs and societies that are in DCU".

Despite his own accolade, Foley still reflects on a disappointing year for the senior team, who crashed out of the Fitzgibbon tournament in an extra time thriller against University College Cork.

“I think a lot of lads are disappointed,

DCU

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obviously it was my last year playing Fitz and I would have liked to have finished off with a Fitzgibbon but it just wasn’t meant to be".

He also said that “It’s disappointing, we won the League for the first time ever and we were hoping to win the Fitzgibbon as well but we were just unlucky against UCC on the day in the semi-final".

Foley believes he attained the accolade of Sports personality because of his involvement and commitment to DCU hurling.

“I suppose it’s my fifth year here in DCU, I’ve captained the Fitz team and I’ve done coaching with the DCU fresher’s,” he said.

“Maybe I was given it for my contribution to DCU hurling overall,” he added.

Foley applauded the talent in the

DCU panel at present and attributed their first League triumph as testament to that.

“The strength and depth in the team at the moment is serious, the first twenty players are playing with their counties,” he said.

“Galway, Kilkenny, Wexford, Westmeath, nearly everyone is playing at the highest level and everyone is a leader,” he added.

Foley praised his Wexford manager Davy Fitzgerald for the recent resurrection of Wexford at hurling’s top table.

“Davy is a player’s manager, he does the best thing for the players and it’s probably going to be his final year with Wexford,” he said.

“This year we’ll be hoping to get some silverware whether it’ll be a Leinster or an All-Ireland,” “We know we can mix it with the

best teams so it’s just about what happens on the day,” “We’ll start preparations in a few weeks and see where it takes us,” he added.

Foley is hungry for provincial success, and noted that a Leinster victory would feel surreal for the team and Wexford supporters.

“Wexford haven’t won a Leinster title since 2004 so any silverware is worth playing for, for us,” he said.

“If we could win a Leinster that’d be massive for us,” he added.

Foley said Galway’s Joe Cooney was his toughest opponent in either inter-county or Fitzgibbon hurling.

“I’ve marked a lot of different players, I’ve marked big guys who are good in the air and I’ve marked small lads who are fast and nippy,” he said.

“Joseph Cooney from Galway was

my toughest opponent, he’s a big man but he can move,” “I’ve marked him a few times and it’s always been a good battle between me getting forward and trying to get on the scoreboard and him moving all around the place,” “He’s quick and good in the air, he kind of has a bit of everything and is a good hurler,” he added.

Foley loves going back to his club and spoke of the enjoyment he gets when playing the much less competitive football championship in Wexford.

“I love going back to the club and kicking a bit of football, there’s less pressure on you,” he said.

“It’s a bit of fun, I wouldn’t be great at kicking the ball but I can catch it and move around with it,” he added.

Athletics crowned IUAA champions in Athlone IT

Conor Breslin Sports Editor @thecollegeview

he DCU Athletics team retained all the overall team titles at the 2019 Irish Universities Athletics Association Outdoor Track &amp; Field championships hosted by Athlone IT on April 5th In retaining all their team titles, DCU achieved nine new DCU club records in addition to 2 new IUAA records.

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The weekend was a great success for our Athletics Club and Academy The DCU Ladies team accumulated a total of 176 points with 13 individual event winners, five runner ups and nine bronze winners. The new club record breakers were Michaela Walsh in both Hammer (59.57m) and Shot (14.01m), Zoe Mohan in the 8Kg Weight (8.10m) and Avril Deegan in the 1500m (4.33.91).

Other DCU Ladies winners were Alison Burke in the 100m Hurdles (15.61s), Kelly McGrory in the 400m Hurdles (62.81s), Jodie McCann in the 3000m (9.48.55), Claire Fagan in the 5000m (17.56.13), Orlaith Delahunt in the 1500m Walk (7.09.04), Sarah McCarthy in the Long Jump (5.69m), Saragh Buggy in the Triple Jump

Members of the DCU athletics team at the Irish Universities Athletics Association Outdoor Track & Field championships.

(12.40m), Grace Casey in the Javelin (40.30m) and the Ladies 4 x 400m Relay. In winning 27 individual medals in the ladies’ events, DCU broke another club record.

The Men’s team established five new club and 2 new IUAA records with Eoin Sheridan winning the Discus with 53.72m as well as the Men’s 4 x 100m relay, recording a time of 41.59s. Sheridan also broke the club record in the Shot Putt (14.74m). Brian Fay recorded a new club record in the 3000m Stee-

plechase (9.01.48), with Darragh Gaffney breaking the record in the 16Kg Weight with 8.55m.

DCU also had individual wins from Keith Marks in the Long Jump (7.16m), Adam King in the Hammer (60.60m), Andrew Coscoran in the 1500m (3.53.90), Cathal Doyle in the 5000m (14.39.25), Garry Campbell in the 10000m (30.13.39), Joe Mooney in the 3000m Walk (13.37.05), Shane Power in the Pole Vault (3.80m), Matthew Behan in the 110m Hurdles

(14.38s) and the Men’s 4 x 400m Relay in 3.17.47.

In total, the Men’s team won 23 individual medals with 13 wins, six runner ups and four bronze medals. In total DCU accumulated 165.5 points, well ahead of their nearest rivals UCD with 60.5 points and University Limerick with 59.5 points.

Head coach Enda Fitzpatrick summed up the event by stating, “The weekend was a magnificent success for our Athletics Club and Academy

Credit: Flickr

and great thanks must go to Athlone IT for hosting a wonderful IUAA outdoor championship.”

Final tallies in the various categories saw the DCU squads retain all titles - Middle Distance, Sprints, Jumps, Throws and the Combined Events.

After two days of impressive action, DCU were crowned the IUAA overall team champions for the 13th consecutive year – the Men’s 13th in a row, surpassed only by the ladies with their 14th team title in a row.

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DCU archery win at Trinity Open

Sport

DCU were successful at both the Trinity Open and the NUIG Intervarsity

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Eoin Harte Contributor @EoinHarte98

CU student Oskars Veide came first in the Recurve Advanced men category at the recent Trinity College Archery Open.

Chairperson of the DCU Archery Club Rihannon O’Connor came second in her category, Recurve Intermediate women, at the Open in what rounded off a successful year for the university’s archery club.

O’Connor spoke to The College View about both the Trinity Open and the final intervarsity of the year which was held in the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG).

“We had the NUIG Intervarsity this weekend after the Trinity Open and I placed 3rd in the Intervarsity which was a surprise as I hadn't been doing well this year compared to others. I had to put my final year project and archery committee duties first,” O’Connor said.

In the Student’s National Indoor League DCU placed well in the overall results, coming first in the compound team category second in the mixed team category and third in the recurve team category.

“I'm extremely proud of how the team did this year, as captain and chair I think they did amazingly and I'm very proud of them. We had fewer numbers than last year in Archery yet we still managed to do well in most categories.

“NUIGs Intervarsity was the final intervarsity of the year and overall DCU did very well. We placed second overall as a college and placed in five individual categories with seven medals,” O’Connor explained.

Kealan O’Connor, Fiachra MacDermott, Oskars Veide, Ryan Kirk, Luke Oonan, Niamh Merry and Tara McMullan were the seven DCU students

Members of the DCU archery club.

to pick up medals in the Student’s National Indoor League.

They placed in a number of categories ranging from recurve advanced men to compound women, with Niamh merry coming in first place in the compound women category.

O’Connor, a final year Multimedia student believes that DCU Archery have a bright future ahead of them

and believes that herself and her teammates have made significant progress throughout the year.

“At first, I wasn't that happy with my performance throughout the year as I had a lot of work to do. But by the end of the year, I had improved and I even hit a personal best in the last intervarsity.

“Being chairperson of Archery has made me become more assertive and

has helped how I communicate with my team. It has been a busy year overall with lots of intervarsities and events and I had to balance the committee work with my college projects,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor will have to take a step back from university archery as she is finishing college this year but is confident that the club will continue to improve.

Credit: Santiago De Arribas De Renedo

“As I'm finishing college this year I won't be able to commit to the club as much as I have and I want to wish the club all the best for next year.”

The club is open to all students, staff and graduates of DCU professional equipment and training to those interested in taking part in the sport.

DCU’s success at Irish Trampoline Open Niamh Ní Iceadha won gold at the Irish Student Trampoline Open

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Gerard Grimes Contributor @thecollegeview

iamh Ní Iceadha backed up her recent double gold medal winning performance in Trinity by winning gold at the Irish Student Trampoline Open.

Ní Iceadha had won the gold in the Open Advanced and Higher Synchro categories in the colour competition hosted by Trinity.

The Irish Student Trampoline Open, held in Galway, is the marquee event for trampolining for students and sees a number of colleges from the England, Scotland and Germany also send athletes to compete.

Ní Iceadha competed in the Advanced Ladies category, scoring 26.000 in her first routine and 29.700 in her second

routine to win the competition by .500 ahead of Lauren Cleave of Team Surrey Trampolining Club and Imogen Spooncer of Exeter who finished in third.

DCU Trampolining had five other members who competed at the Open, with Jean Dwyer placing 22nd out of 76 competitors in the Intervanced Ladies category.

Dwyer scored 24.450 in her first routine and 25.500 in her second to finish with an overall score of 49.950.

Shannon Quinlan scored 23.700 in her first routine and 24.650 in her second to finish with an overall total of 48.350 and finish 17th out of 57 competitors.

Marianne Quirkebolt also competed, finishing ninth in the Elite Pro Ladies while Katie Parker was in the Intermediate Ladies category.

Co-captain of the DCU Gymnastics and Trampolining Club, Claire O’Connor, also competed, in the same catego-

ry as Niamh Ní Iceadha, to finish 29th.

O’Connor praised Ní Iceadha on her medal wins and gave a special mention to UCC on being the first Irish club to win the cup for a number of years ahead of the clubs from England, Scotland and Germany.

“ISTO went well Niamh is heavily dedicated to her training and contributes so much to our

club life and the clubs medals.

“Although we only had one member who placed in ISTO, there was plenty of DCU trampolinists who scored high up in the results.

“It was the first time an Irish club has won the cup in years, well done to UCC,” O’Connor told The College View.

Next this year, DCU will have members competing at the 2019 Dublin Open, to

“

Niamh is heavily dedicated to her training and contributes so much to our club life and the club medals

be hosted by UCD Trampoline Club.

The competition takes place in UCD Sports Centre on Saturday, 13th April, with results not available at time of going to print.

Looking to next year, O’Connor hopes the club can be promoted further, encouraging new members to join.

“Looking forward, we would love to promote the club further to male students and alumni of DCU. “We would also like to present the club in a fun way that makes it less daunting to new members, for example a 24 hour bounceathon, or an outdoor bouncing session which will attract a crowd and create an excitement around the club,” O’Connor said.

Sport

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Double Delight as DCU lift Men’s & Women’s Sevens titles Womens’s team romp home while Men’s claim redemption for All Ireland struggles

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Shane Brennan Deputy Sports Editor @ShaneBrennan247

CU Rugby were victorious on Wednesday as both the Men’s and Women’s teams lifted the Sevens Festival Cup in Maynooth.

DCU Rugby development officer Rob Mullen said that he was proud that “the girls are getting used to wining” and that he was “over the moon” for the Men’s team.

The Women’s team won all 5 games, defeating the home side NUI Maynooth 42-0 in the final and conceding just 5 points all day.

DCU Rugby were victorious on Wednesday as both the Men’s and Women’s teams lifted the Sevens Festival Cup in Maynooth.

DCU Rugby development officer Rob Mullen said that he was proud that “the girls are getting used to wining” and that he was “over the moon” for the Men’s team.

Mullen praised the Women’s team for their all round performance, but highlighted Molly Scuffil-McCabe and Lucinda Kinghan as being stand out performers. “They were running absolute riot...McCabe scored about ten to fifteen tries and Lucinda was just ridiculous” Both Scuffil-McCabe and Kinghan are contracted players with Ireland.

The win was a welcome morale boost to the Men’s’ side, who are still recovering from defeat at the hands of Ulster University in the Brendan Johnston cup in February.

“There are really good individual players, It’s a really good squad but… there’s never really consistency for them to play college games on a Wednesday” Mullen said.

“They were unlucky in the first round

DCU Women’s sevens showed class in lending players to short-staffed Ulster University

of the All-Ireland, we should have won that game, and then we lost the final of the sevens last year… so to come back and win the final, it’s brilliant! I was delighted for everyone” Mullen added.

The Men’s side also won all 5 of their matches, defeating University College Dublin 19-17 in the final.

Mullen attributed the success to “Sevens probably suiting the players better than fifteens” “We never really had our best fifteens team out until the Ulster game, where (on Wednesday) we had our best sevens players playing”, Mullen added.

The DCU players crowned Japanese student Seiga Saiki as their player of the tournament. Saiki said he was “very happy” with the result, and said that playing in Ireland helped him to learn because Irish rugby is “very aggressive and very fast”.

The DCU team gave Saiki an IRFU t-shirt for him to take home to Japan.

Mullen described how, despite his

difficulty speaking English he still gave great dedication to the team.

“He’s been at every training session, played the Brendan Johnston cup and in the sevens yesterday he was just

“

They were unlucky in the first round of the All-Ireland, we should have won that game

awesome”, Mullen Said.

Looking ahead, Mullen described the difficulties in competing in the men’s tournament.

Credit: Bella Finn

“The Men’s side can be more complicated than the Ladies’, the clubs have more power over the players” Mullen said.

Speaking of the Brendan Johnston cup, he added; “It’s difficult with the draw… (IT) Carlow are strong, (IT) Athlone are strong, but even looking at players coming in next year…

I think we are really going in the right direction with Men’s rugby.”

Last season DCU finished fifth in the six-team Men’s Division 1. Mullen said their target this year is to finish top four in the league and have a stronger cup run.

In the Women’s tournament, DCU finished top of Division 1, winning all 5 games. They also won the tier 1 cup in March.

DCU have decided that coaches Evan Dixon and Brian Fitzpatrick will stay on for another year.

Mullen said this decision is important as it helps DCU to keep to a consistent

style of play.

“The last few years there’s been new coaches every year, so both Evan and Brian are staying on and players will know how they want to play… In sport continuity is so important” he said.

As for the Ladies’ team coaches, Alisa Hughes and Eddie Fallon, Mullen said “how can you change anything with such a successful team” Mullen also opened the possibility of another coach being brought into the club.

DCU decided to lend some players to Ulster University during the Women’s competition after the team found themselves with six available players.

Mullen said that the sportsman-like decision was made because “they came down to play rugby, there’s no point in letting a team suffer because a player got injured”.

All-Ireland victory ends a special year for DCU women’s

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Luke Redmond Contributor @thecollegeview

t’s been a highly successful year for DCU women’s rugby. Last year the club agonisingly lost out in the All Ireland Final, but this year has been more than success filled for DCU women’s rugby.

Victory in the Student Sport Ireland (SSI) All-Ireland cup final was the crowning achievement for the club.

DCU ran out 27- 22 winners in a pulsating final against University of Limerick.

It was a repeat of last year’s final, this time with DCU avenging their loss from 12 months prior.

The club gave The College View their thoughts on the cup glory.

“The success has just been the icing

on the cake, we’ve enjoyed every moment of this season. From the early Monday morning gym sessions to the cold dark evenings training, every single bit of this season has been enjoyable!” said the women’s team in a collective message to The College View.

“To the delight of everyone involved we were successful in the All Ireland Final, an achievement none of us will forget for as long as we live!” they continued.

The All Ireland glory was not the club’s only success this year. They also picked up silverware claiming the league title while being named DCU club of the year, an accolade well deserved based on the club’s vast success this year.

“We are lucky to have such a talented group of girls that work so well together. said the club, clearly proud of their achievements this year.

“We never settle for good we’re always

chasing great and I think that is evident in our achievements over the year” they added.

With such a strong base going into 2019/2020, further success must surely be expected.

sport

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INSIDE DCU Sport success in Archery and in both Men’s and Women’s Rugby.

The College View reclaim Bill O’Herlihy Cup The College View has won back the Bill O’Herlihy cup after a 13-4 thrashing over DCUfm Courtney Fitzmaurice and The View were winning 11-2 with

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Deputy Sports Editor @thecollegeview

he College View beat DCUfm 13-4 in the Bill O’Herlihy Cup on Wednesday, reclaiming the title after a disappointing loss last

year.

The match brought an end to this year’s intense rivalry between The College View and Media Production Society. On April 10th, sports fans nationwide had their eyes on John Delaney’s appearance before the Oireachtas Committee, but the real action was happening in Glasnevin.

With both sides only having to travel from their home grounds in the Henry Grattan, they got off to an energetic start.

Goals came quickly for The View, with Craig Shaaban finding the back of the net in the 5th minute. Shaaban had an excellent performance, getting back to defend as well as scoring.

The View put pressure on FM’s defence right from the start, and The View were two goals up in the 9th minute. The goals kept on coming for The View, with Shaaban scoring again two minutes later.

It’s fair to say The View dominated the first 20 minutes, with a strong defence and a confident goalkeeper in Calum Atkinson.

20 minutes in The View were 6 goals ahead, and although it was early

The College View Sport Editors after winning the Bill O’Herlihy Cup

days, one couldn’t help but wonder if FM would be able to come back from a poor start. With such a strong attack force for The View, there was little FM goalkeeper Cathal O’Rourke could do to stop them.

The View were 8 goals up in the 25th minute before FM managed to get two goals, and it was the end of the first half.

The View’s John Morley scored the first of his hat trick in the 45th minute,

“

Credit: Courtney Fitzmaurice

It’s an absolute honour.

Coming from the defeat last year, we just really learned and pushed on, and it’s just unbelievable

20 minutes to go. FM couldn’t stop the likes of Ruairi Carberry, Ian Brennan, Lorna Lawless and Joshua Freeman, who gave stellar performances.

FM got two more goals, but it was too late for the side, who gave everything they had in the game.

Before the cup trophy was presented to The View, Morley thanked FM and said they were a difficult team to beat. “I’m delighted to finally get the result and avenge our fallen brothers Alex and Gav,” he said, mentioning two players who were involved in the devastating defeat last year.

Speaking after the game, Morley said his side began training for the match two weeks ago. “We deserved to win but we went out there and we actually earned it as well so that was a very sweet way to end the three years in DCU.” The View’s new Sports Editor Conor Breslin, who Deputy Sports Editor Shane Brennan described as “the Gary Neville of the squad”, was overjoyed.

“It’s an absolute honour, to be honest.

Coming from the defeat last year, we just really learned and pushed on, and it’s just unbelievable.”

FM’s Sean Breslin said they weren’t prepared for the intensity of the game and it was too much for FM to catch up on the goals they’d conceded.

“It took us a while to get going, The College View really hit the ground running.”

DCU Star Oisín Gallen makes his mark on his Croke Park debut Gallen wins the Division 2 League for Donegal in his for run out in Croke Park

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Conor Breslin Sports Editor @thecollegeview

CU star Oisín Gallen was on fine form as he fired four points in his Croke Park debut as Donegal snatched their second Division Two League title in history.

The 18-year old from Twin towns was one of Michael McConilogues most important players on the DCU Fresher team who lost to NUIG in the All-Ireland final by one point just over a month ago.

He always had the ability to make something special happen on our team.

He was our top scorer the whole season and a real leader,” McConilogue told the College View.

Gallen admitted to feeling confident going into the League final against Meath and didn’t want to let nerves get the better of him. “Croke Park is the place you always want to play in as a footballer, I just wanted to get onto the pitch. I felt we had a good run of games the weeks before against Kildare and Cork and when you play on the same line as players like Michael Murphy and Jamie Brennan you know you have to perform to the best you can,” said Gallen.

The match capped a thrilling fightback from the Ulster champions who fell 1-6 to 0-1 down after a nightmare start.

Gallen has stated that he has learned so much from his teammates, manager and coaches since entering the Donegal senior set up, with Donegal manager

Declan Bonner saying, “I think Oisín might have kicked two wides early on in the League final but Oisín’s a brave footballer, he’s a smart footballer. As I say, he’s very young, he’s only 18 years of age but his feet are firmly on the ground and he works hard for the team. He’s been really good for us throughout the league.”

The DCU forward stated he has learned from his All-Ireland defeat in March and was not prepared to lose two finals this year. “We just never hit form in the final against NUIG compared to the football we played in the earlier rounds, but you have to learn from them mistakes and move on, I will be hoping to be pushing for the DCU Sigerson team now next year and hope to remain on the Donegal team,” said Gallen.

Gallan in action for Donegal

The Twin towns man told the College View that he is aiming for the highest honours he can achieve this season and that he has no time for

Credit: Sportsfile

anything less. “You train to win an All-Ireland and that’s what I Believe we are going to do,” said Gallen.