The College View Issue 8

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

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DCU to increase cost of campus accommodation by four per cent

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recent decision by DCU management to increase the cost of on-campus accommodation by four per cent has left students

outraged.

The College View became aware of this decision to increase the cost of on-campus accommodation on Wednesday, February 12th when questioning Chief Operations Officer, Dr Declan Raferty about the rent increase in UCD for the next three academic years and whether or not a similar situation could occur in DCU. DCUSU has condemned the decision with President, Christine Farrell saying: “students are already under huge financial burdens in the midst of the accommodation crisis with some facing long commutes from places such as Belfast and the west of Ireland.”

The rent increase of four per cent for the academic year 2020/2021 comes as part of a major refurbishment programme by DCU, with the university investing €3.8 million in accommodation over the past three

years, with a further €1.8 million refurbishment programme set to take place.

Vice President for the Dublin Region with the Union of Students in Ireland, Craig McHugh said: “This region is already in the grips of one of the worst housing crises in Europe, the decision to shift the cost burden of funding student accommodation on

to students further greatly undermines conversations around student wellbeing. ”This news comes alongside a recent decision by UCD to increase the cost of campus accommodation by four per cent per year for the next three years.

President of UCDSU, Joanna Siewierska said: “This rent hike will

certainly affect students who are living on campus.

“Students and their families will be put under an additional strain when budgeting to go to college, and it will mean anything from needing to work extra hours, or having to pause their studies entirely.”

Similarly to DCU, UCD also has plans to increase capacity across their

Credit: Sonja Tutty

Aine O’Boyle| Deputy Editor and Arts Editor @aineoboyle99

campus accommodation, hence driving up the price of accommodation for current and prospective students.

Dr Raferty told The College View that DCU secured planning permission back in December for the creation of an additional 1,240 bedrooms on the Glasnevin campus to help address the shortage of student accommodation in the region.

He added: “As there are no government grants or supports available for such developments this significant capital investment will be made by DCU itself through debt finance.”

Under the Residential Tenancies Bill introduced back in July 2019, purpose built student accommodation has fallen under rent caps of four per cent per year in rent pressure zones such as Dublin. Both DCU and UCD have opted to increase the cost of on-campus accommodation rent by the maximum amount legally possible, with Trinity College currently considering following suit.

It currently remains unclear as to whether or not DCU will follow the precedent of UCD and increase the cost of accommodation by a further four per cent in subsequent academic terms. According to Dr Raferty: “the pricing structure is reviewed annually.”

DCU lecturer wins seat in 33rd Dáil Tadgh McNally| News Editor @TadghMN

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DCU law and government lecturer has won a seat in the 33rd Dáil, after contesting the election in Dublin West as a member of the Green Party.

Roderic O’Gorman TD, who has contested the constituency since 2007, got the final seat on the sixth count.

He beat prominent sitting TDs Ruth Coppinger of S-PBP and Joan Burton

Highlights

of the Labour Party.

Speaking to The College View, O’Gorman said that it was a great feeling. “It was a great day for my team and my family."

After seeing RTÉ’s exit poll the night before the count, O’Gorman felt good with the Greens sitting on 7.9 per cent.

Early on in the count, O’Gorman said that he was nervous due to not having as many votes as he wanted to be comfortable. He was in direct competition with Coppinger, and a large amount of Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly’s

surplus went to Coppinger.

Coppinger had a lead on O’Gorman up until the final count, but with the elimination of Burton and Emer Currie, he overtook Coppinger to take the final seat.

“Only in the last 20 minutes that we saw there was [sic] enough votes coming to me that I was going to be able to bridge the gap."

“It was a very intense final half hour after a long and exhausting day…

It’s still only now sinking in,” said O’Gorman.

“Our decisions will be on the basis

of policy….Any potential agreement on government will have to have a very substantial number of Green Party policies committed to within it,” says O’Gorman. He also clarified that it didn't just mean climate policies, but also their policies on housing, health and transport.

“There has to be a very clear green stamp on any programme for government.” He explained that while the Green Party are open to going into a coalition, they aren’t desperate to go in with other parties.

O’Gorman’s own aims for his time

in office will be to help provide better public transport for his local area in Dublin 15, as well as improving childcare and education. “From a personal point of view, supporting my local schools in my area is something I’m interested in doing,” said O’Gorman.

Comment

Gaeilge

Features

Sports

Cyclists on Irish roads

Fiona Tully

Increase in cycling injuries pg. 17

In a league of her own pg. 23

Young Voters Sinn Féin’s youth support pg. 11

Cúpla nod chun uirlis a fhoghlaim!

An bhfuil suim agat uirlis a fhoghlaim? pg. 16

The Green Party also did well across the whole country, with them reaching 12 total seats. This is double their last highest result in 2007, where they entered into a coalition with Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.

Editorial

2 News JAM Cards pg 3

Political Violence

Contents

Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque, Editor-in-Chief

Comment Is Trump going to win again? pg 13 Features Vegan diets pg 18

Sports DCU Volleyball lose out at Intervarsity pg 22

Inside The Hype Arts Miss Americana pg 2

Lifestyle Valentine’s Day gifts pg 12 Editor-In-Chief | Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque Deputy Editor-In-Chief | Áine O’Boyle News Editors | Tadgh McNally & Aoife O’Brien Deputy News Editors | Shauna Burdis & Megan Jones & Sally Madden Production Editor | Sally Dobie Production Editor | Jonathon Lynam Features Editor | Róisín Phelan Deputy Features Editor | Béibhinn Thorsch Arts Editor | Áine O’Boyle Deputy Arts Editors | Aoibhín Meghen & Peter O’Neill Lifestyle Editor | Róisín Maguire Deputy Lifestyle Editors |Shauna Power & Niamh Quinlan Irish Editor |Beth Molloy & Naoise Darby Sports Editors | Conor Breslin, Shane Brennan & Courtney Fitzmaurice Opinion Editor | Clara Kelly Deputy Opinion Editor | Calum Atkinson

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ith all of the votes counted, it appears we’re at a bit of an impasse.

Sinn Féin, despite their best efforts, simply do not have the numbers to form a leftwing alliance.

It’s very likely that we may have to go to the polls again.

It took Spain two general elections to get a left-wing coalition, perhaps the same will be necessary here.

The main news story since the election has been Sinn Féin’s success. Surprising no one, many media pundits have reacted with shock and disgust that the electorate could ever vote for a party with historical ties to violence.

This is, of course, ridiculous. Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were founded by revolutionaries who partook in violence. Politicians like Éamon De Valera fought in the Easter rising and the civil war.

In fact, leaders like De Valera and Michael Collins are venerated almost because of their violence. They are part of the Irish mythos who are venerated for participating in the Irish struggle for liberation.

This is despite the fact that there were undoubtedly many civilian casualties who lost their lives in the rising, the war of independence and later the civil war. However, it was the IRA’s disregard for the death of innocents that gave it (and by association Sinn Féin) such a bad reputation.

Perhaps people are more willing to overlook the historical violence of the former main two parties because it’s almost a hundred years since the civil war. But it’s not like they stopped being violent after officially establishing themselves as political parties.

The last Magdalene laundry didn’t close until 1996. Is it not violent to punish women for getting pregnant out of wedlock? Is it not violent to take their children away from them

and to put them up for adoption?

But again, we need not look into the past to see that violence remains a part of everyday life in Ireland. How is allowing over 10,000 people to remain homeless not an act of violence?

For many, it’s not. And even the mere suggestion that it be viewed as violent is ludicrous.

But over 10,000 people are not homeless due to poor life choices.

They are homeless because of a disregard for human rights.

Because the rights of landlords are favoured over the rights of those with shelter. Because those in power cared more about a rising GDP than the wellbeing of all of its citizens.

It’s important the Sinn Féin are scrutinized for their behaviour and their actions - particularly if they do eventually lead a government. No party is above criticism and politicians should always be held accountable.

This issue’s sub-editors: Lauren Allen, Alex Barrett, Shauna Burdis, Ryan Carrick, Emma Costigan, Róisín Cullen, Ruth Delaney, Kirsty Dowdall, Cian Dunne, Courtney Fitzmaurice, Tara McGahan, Aoibhín Meghen, Emma Nevin, Kinga Piotrowska, Rachel Power

et g o t Want ved? invol

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News

DCUSU rock the boat for Barretstown

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CUSU will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the Largest “Rock the Boat” on Tuesday 25 February on the Glasnevin campus, all in aid of Barretstown.

The SU is aiming for 1,800-2,000 students to take part in the record attempt.

The previous record consisted of 1,701 participants and was achieved

by Stephen Murtagh, Brendan Kieran and the Carrick Carnival 400 Committee (Ireland). It took place in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, Ireland, on 2 June 2013. Funds were raised for the Irish Cancer Society.

Barretstown needs to raise €5.8 million every year to run therapeu-

tic programmes. DCU student, and Activity Leader for the charity, Paddy Murphy, says fundraising events, such as the “Rock the Boat” record attempt, are important for Barretstown in terms of raising funds but also for spreading awareness.

“Barretstown needs over 2000 volunteers a year to keep the sessions running,” he said. “Events like these that target students of a volunteering age are absolutely massive in getting awareness out there that will bring these volunteers in.”

Barretstown was founded by Hollywood actor Paul Newman in 1994. The charity offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness.

Paddy Murphy says the work Barretstown does for seriously ill children

is “unbelievably important” in giving something back to a child who has missed out on their childhood due to serious illness.

“A hospital will heal the illness, perhaps,” he said. “But it’ll absolutely destroy the kid in terms of confidence

and the childhood they might have missed out on.

“You have some of the top paediatric oncologists and consultants who are looking after seriously ill kids saying Barrettstown is just as important to their recovery as the treatment they get

Credit: Swiss Facades

Ryan Carrick | Contributor

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in the hospital,” he said.

According to CEO of Barretstown Children’s Charity, Dee Aherne, fundraising efforts are needed to run the charity’s therapeutic programmes and summer camps.

“The services provided to all the children and families who come to Barretstown are entirely free of charge, so volunteering and fundraising efforts are vital for us to help more seriously ill children to experience the magic of Barretstown each year.

In September 2019 DCU announced a 3-year partnership with Barretstown Children’s Charity to promote and raise funds for Barretstown and to increase volunteering.

Registration for the record attempt opens at 11am on Tuesday 25 February with the “Rock the Boat” starting at 1pm.

DCU becomes first Irish Clare Daly: Students' unions university to recognise became "totally the JAM card corporate"

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CU has become the first Irish university to introduce the JAM card, a card that helps people with disabilities to let someone know they need ‘just a minute’ without needing to explain why.

Launched in Ireland last year, the Belfast-based card by the NOW Group has until now only been recognised by public transport bodies. The purpose is to make it easier for commuters with disabilities to discreetly communicate that they have a condition and that they may need more time to complete a task.

The Higher Education Authority estimates that around 10.5 per centof all students entering Irish Higher Education in 2017-18 had disabilities, compared to less than 1 per cent in 1994.

“The condition could be anything from a learning difficulty, intellectual disability, to autism. The card could be used while getting a book out of the library, explaining a problem to a staff member, or getting a form from the registry” said Claire Bohan, director of Student Support and Development at DCU. “The reaction from the students has been quiet. The Neurodivergent society of DCU already uses the card, but not too many other students have responded yet” said Bohan.

When asked if students without disabilities can use the card, Bohan said, “In theory, I’m not going to ask you what disability you have as proof.

Mental health is also a disability, so we could expect students with depression

to use the card.”

“Even if you’re just having a bad day, the card can be used to alert those around you that you need some time and space.” she said.

The JAM card has been advertised on the college campus, website, and through email. However, details of what the card does may still be unclear to many students.

“I’ve been hearing about the JAM card lately, but I have no access to information on what it does unless I Google it myself” said Ala Buisir, an MA Journalism student at DCU who has dyslexia.

Asked if she’ll be using the card, she said, “I think the card is a great

idea. Quite often I find myself in situations where I have to explain to people that I have dyslexia and might take more time to read. I’d much rather use the card and skip the explanation.”

“The fact that I also have anxiety means that I’ll find myself using the card more often. Ideally, I’d like people to be understanding without needing a card to warrant it” she said.

The card is available at the Disability & Learning Support Office, through the Autism-Friendly Coordinator and at the Student Advice Centres on the Glasnevin and St Patrick's campuses.

A free mobile app can also be downloaded at jamcard.org.

Credit: DCU

Vishwajeet Gain| Contributor

Brendan Fernando Kelly Palenque | Editor in Chief @BrendanFKP

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tudents’ Unions have become totally corporate according to Dublin MEP Clare Daly.

Daly, who previously served as DCUSU president for two years in the 1980s, spoke to The College View about student politics and how it’s changed over the years.

“When I got into the Dáil, we were invited to the Shelbourne hotel the first time and they have these students organised from the different colleges kind of dressed up to shake your hand and tell you with a nice glossy brochure about the six priorities they had - it’s all very American and very corporate,” she said.

“You’re going to change absolutely nothing like that. Obviously they may just be looking for careers for themselves,” she added, “It’s very ineffective actually… I hate that sort of professional lobbying.”

Daly discussed how when she was elected to the Students’ Union she had a policy of bringing the union to the people. At the time, the president was the only sabbatical position within the union.

“The officers had to go out, and we constantly went out and addressed all the classes. Now I realise it wouldn’t be possible now because it’s so big,”

she said.

Staff representatives were also brought in to increase student engagement according to Daly. This would have included Veronica Guerin and Kieran Mulvey.

Daly’s main piece of advice to students’ union now is to get out of the office and talk and listen to people.

“I do appreciate it’s not as easy when the college gets bigger, but that’s not the reason. It couldn’t be they have extra resources now, they have stuff we never had,” she said.

“Nothing replaces that face to face and you’ve got to keep striving to do that.”

“They’ll only get involved in something if they feel that it’s purposeful.

I think that’s why we had so many students mobilised on the same sex marriage and abortion referendum - because they feel their vote would make a difference,” she said.

She explained why it can be difficult at times to get students more involved, what with it being many people’s first time away from home. Additionally, there’s academic pressure as well as new financial burdens.

Student engagement was discussed at the last class representative council (CRC). A class rep surveyed around 200 humanities and education students on St Pat’s campus and found that 95 per cent of students didn’t know what CRC was and what happens at CRC. The five per cent who did were class representatives.

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STIs on the DCU launches new online FinTech course rise by almost 16 per cent D Megan Jones |Deputy News Editor @meganjonesj

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ncidents of sexually transmitted infections (STI) increased by almost 16 per cent in one year, according to a new HSE report.

The Weekly HIV & STI Report produced by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) for the fifth week of 2020 revealed that incidents of HIV are up 79.41 per cent, chlamydia by 17.41 per cent, and syphilis by 7.69 per cent compared to the same time last year.

The data, which was collected by the Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting (CIDR), revealed there was a cumulative total of 15,122 of these STIs in 2019 which was an increase of 15.9 per cent rise from 13,047 in 2018.

Furthermore, the number of chlamydia events rose from approximately 500 in January 2013 to 800 in January 2020 while the number of HIV diagnoses rose from less than 20 monthly cases to over 60 a month in only three years.

As part of KISS Week, which promotes sexual health awareness, the DCU Students’ Union organised a number of events focusing on sexual health including an informal sex education podcast and a sex quiz.

DCUSU Vice President for Welfare & Equality, Aisling Fagan, said STIs are still on the rise despite efforts across the country to combat this.

“This could be because of misinformation, lack of awareness and

students not engaging in the content because it doesn't seem appealing although it is truthful,” she said.

“Students also may not feel comfortable talking about contraception and STIs so we must continue to try and open the conversation and combat this stigma.”

According to a survey conducted

by Let’s Get Checked, a health insight and STI-testing company, only 14 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds had an STI check in 2019.

A spokesperson for the firm, Mark O’Toole, said there is a double edged sword associated with this rise in STIs. “More people are getting checked,” he said. “More people are getting aware to get checked and that significant health problems can arise from not looking after your sexual health.

“But on the downside, this isn’t enough. Our survey showed that 4 out of 5 young people between the ages of 18 and 24 have no plans to get checked for an STI this year.”

On Monday, 10 February, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) launched a Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance campaign. USI President Lorna Fitzpatrick says the main focus of the campaign is to promote positive attitudes towards sex and raise awareness of all aspects of sexual health.

“In Ireland, talking about sex can still be considered a taboo subject,” she said. “USI believes it is important to break through these barriers and encourage people to practice safer sex and to look after their sexual health.”

“The FinTech Financial Innovation microcredential course is the first of a line of such flexible learning deliveries that the university is planning over the Future Learn platform,”.

The Business School professor, who is also the Deputy Director of the Irish Institute of Digital Business, described the course as an “academically rigorous micro-learning opportunity”.

Fintech, or Financial Technology, is the use of technology to deliver financial services and products to customers. For example, opening a bank account online instead of visiting a physical bank.

Car insurance providers have also started to rely on Fintech, by selling “telematic-based” insurance where the customer’s driving is monitored by a smartphone or a “black box” fitted to the car, which in turn determines the cost of how much the customer will pay.

Contactless payments is another example of fintech, and according to the Irish Central Bank the use of contactless payments has tripled in the last year in Ireland.

DCU has a range of other online courses on offer through the University’s National Institute of Digital Learning (NIDL) which was launched early last year.

Over 57,000 from 140 countries have already participated in DCU’s Fáilte ar Líne, the online Irish Language and Culture course.

HerCampus host ABBA night Shauna Power | Deputy Lifestyle Editor

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CU’s Her Campus society held "ABBA night" for the second year running in the Venue on Wednesday, February 12th, with proceeds going to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

Her Campus Correspondent Courtney Fitzmaurice said ‘‘I’m so proud of our committee who worked so hard to make ABBA night happen and overcame a lot of obstacles to make the night go ahead. Her Campus is such a small society, so to hold the event is an achievement in itself.’’

There were performances on the night from DCU Dance and DCU Eurovision society. Music on the night was provided by Dublin based DJ Funkmaster Flan and the night was hosted by DCU student Daniel Mannix.

Over 170 people bought tickets to the event online, however only about 50 attended the event possibly due to events held by other societies on the same night, exam results night. ‘‘Although we didn’t sell as many tickets as we hoped, there were positive aspects to the night’’, said Fitzmaurice. ‘‘We’re so grateful to DCU’s dance society, who gave a great ABBA medley performance, and we had a

Credit: HerCampus

Ryan Carrick | Contributor

Credit: Sonja Tutty

Credit: WikiMedia

CU has launched a new online accredited short course on Fintech in response to the rapidly growing sector of financial technology in Ireland.

The online course is aimed at professionals who wish to “upskill and keep pace with the rapid development of financial technology”, however it is also suitable for those seeking to move into the Fintech field.

The course is microcredential, meaning it is designed to upskill the student in a rapidly-growing industry without the time and cost commitment of a full degree.

Developed by the Business School, the course follows on from the

announcement of a global partnership with the major online learning platform, FutureLearn.

While technology has always played a part in the financial industry, the internet combined with widespread use of smartphones and tablets has meant the speed of this change has accelerated rapidly in recent years.

FinTech - Financial Innovation is led by Prof. Mark Cummins and Dr. Pierangelo Rosati of DCU Business School, and it examines how “key technologies, such as cloud computing, social media and artificial intelligence, are disrupting all aspects of the finance value chain and facilitating unprecedented levels of innovation in financial services”.

“DCU and FutureLearn have entered into a new and exciting global strategic partnership,” said Prof. Mark Cummins.

News

great host too in Daniel Mannix, and Funkmaster Flan who provided the tunes’’.

There were spot prizes and raffles on the night with prizes such as Penneys vouchers, hair/nail vouchers and tickets to an ABBA Orchestral performance in the 3Arena. There was also lip sync battles and karaoke on the night.

Her Campus is the number one online media brand for college women, with website HerCampus.com written entirely by student journalists, at over 390 colleges globally including prestigious colleges such as Harvard and Yale. The Her Campus DCU chapter that runs articles and stories in the areas of beauty, style, health, love, life, travel, LGBTQ+ issues, was first launched by DCU students on February 14th 2017. ‘‘As a society, we’re going to take what we’ve learned from ABBA night and apply it to the events we have coming up this year. In March, we have an exciting collaboration to celebrate International Women’s Day, so we’re all really looking forward to working on that’’said Fitzmaurice.

Early bird tickets to the event cost €5, standard tickets cost €7. All proceeds and donations on the night went to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre who help to prevent and heal the trauma of rape and other sexual violence.

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News

An Post goes carbon zero in Dublin Cian Dunne | Contributor

Credit: Joy Nwagiriga

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n Post has become the first postal service to become carbon emission-free in a capital city, the company announced on Friday 7, February.

In addition to the already existing fleet of electric vehicles, the postal service has introduced Ireland’s first 7.5 tonne electric trucks, FUSO eCanters.

All packages, letters and parcels delivered by An Post in Dublin City Centre are now carried by 47 zero emission vehicles, which will avoid 450 tonnes of CO2.

The reduction in the level of CO2 will improve the health and air quality of 512,000 people, who live and work in the city centre each day.

“We’ve proven that zero carbon emission delivery in a capital city is achievable”, said An Post’s CEO David McRedmond.

“If An Post can do this, delivering

100,000 parcels and letters to more than 70,000 premises daily in this area, there is no reason why other companies can’t. Let’s aim for a 100 per cent Green Delivery Zone in Dub-

Party has said that they want to make public transport free for students, but accompanied children would only get free travel on the weekend. They also call for 100 percent of new buses to be made electric or low emission hybrids.

While Dublin Bus does not have any electric buses at the moment, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has purchased 600 hybrid diesel buses to be shared across Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann. 100 of these buses are planned to come into circulation by the end of the year, with the remaining 500 to come later on.

“It’s a move in the right direction definitely, but I would love if possible to see the bus fleet going fully electric or fully renewable”, said Roderic O’Gorman TD, a DCU lecturer who

was elected in Dublin West as a member of the Green Party.

“The faster we move away from the use of diesel engines the better, from

lin”, said McRedmond.

An Post will introduce carbon emission free delivery to Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford by the end of 2020. This will benefit the air quality and health of a further 700,000 people across Ireland.

An Post has already invested €7.5 million in 212 electric vehicles, with the number rising to over 900 within the next two years.

“We commend An Post for leading the way to become the first postal service in the world to attain zero carbon emission delivery status in a capital city”, said Kate Ruddock, Deputy Director, Friends of the Earth.

“We also commend An Post for rolling-out their green delivery zone to other major cities and towns across Ireland whilst calling on other organisations to do the same benefitting the

health and air quality of the country.”

An Post has expressed t’s commitment to eliminating 50 per cent of carbon emission from all postal ad delivery services in Ireland by 2025, aligned with Project Ireland 2040’s vision of a low carbon economy.

The commitment has been brought forward from 2030, saving 20,000 tonnes of CO2, and will save 100 per cent by 2040.

“We need to increase our fleet to deal with the volumes of parcels but we know we have to do this responsibly which is why we are committed to being the leader in electric vehicles”, said McRedmond.

“Over the next five years we will also substantially rebuild our estate of sorting offices and mail centres, and we will ensure the highest AAA standard to vastly reduce emissions”.

Dublin Bus wants free public transport for under 18s

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ublin Bus has said that they want to abolish bus fares for anyone under the age of 18, to help create a more sustainable Dublin in the years to come.

Speaking at an SEAI conference in The Helix, the Chief Executive of Dublin Bus Ray Coyne has said that he wants to see Dublin become the greenest city in Europe and that public transport must be prioritised to do that.

Coyne reasons that by abolishing fees for under 18’s, they would be able to build better habits and increase the usage of public transport in the future.

As part of their manifesto, the Green

both a climate point of view and a wider air pollution point of view”, said O’Gorman.

Alongside this, Dublin Bus wants

Credit: William Murphy

Tadgh McNally| News Editor @TadghMN

to improve the frequency of all of their service. On this, Coyne said: “By introducing more frequent routes in advance of anticipated growth, capacity will be in place at all times to meet the customer demand, in particular at peak times”.

They also want to remove all existing barriers to accessing public transport, like allowing for “account based ticketing”, which would allow for citizens to use contactless payments through both cards and phones.

The company has also looked at their internal organisation, and how they can reduce the impact on the environment. They are working on reducing the amount of waste they produce, as well as minimising the amount of water they use when washing buses.

Postgrad campaigners seek improvements for PhD students

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ostgraduate advocates call for an end to the precarious position of PhD research assistants in a large Irish university, with inadequate financial and academic supports resulting in vulnerable employment for a roughly estimated 100 plus students.

Research assistants are reportedly among the lowest paid staff in academia, with an anonymous source in the Journal.ie reporting an annual wage of less than 16,000 a year.

The availability of additional stipends lies with the sole discretion of individual school departments and, if awarded, are described as insufficient at meeting academic costs. There has been no reported stipend increase for PhD students in Ireland since 2010.

Additionally, PhD students lack employment rights such as access to sick leave.

These financial strains partially result from most PhD research assistants being placed on Contracts of Indeterminate Duration (CID). According to

the Associated of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI), CIDs are paid on an hourly rate and differ from a permanent contract as holders are normally scheduled to work under 18 hours a week.

PhD students describe the university’s stance on pay and academic costs as ‘misleading’ and are calling for more funding from fees to be awarded to teaching costs as opposed to expansion of the college grounds and buildings.

International students in particular find themselves at risk regarding miscommunication on pay for work they contribute to the university as it creates confusion when reapplying for legal documents. Senior academic figures are described as being ‘sympathetic’ to the issues affecting research assistants but have no input on the university’s funding, which advocates argue would be of more value if invested in other areas outside of teaching costs, such as mental health services for students.

PhD students also state that the academic supervisor to student relationship can be problematic. Reported

instances include students being heavily encouraged to switch to a Masters programme rather than continue PhDs when their academic supervisor has ceased employment or transferred university.

From an international perspective,

their counterparts in other European universities are suggested as faring significantly better, with tutors being awarded generous scholarships for a combination of research work for the university, office hours and correcting scripts, without having to undertake

teaching hours. The disparity regarding the pay is a contentious issue, as campaigners argue that they are paid inadequately for a ‘core service’ they provide that ultimately benefits the university’s reputation both in Ireland on a global platform.

Credit: Flickr

Roisin Butler | Contributor

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DCU have announced partnership with Athletics Ireland

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ublin City University and Athletics Ireland have announced their three year partnership deal following the universities strong commitment to wellbeing.

The collaboration reflects DCU’s ongoing dedication to promoting wellbeing through physical activity. This will shine a light on the universities aspiration to be seen as the first choice destination for the most talented athletes.

DCU President, Brian MacCraith believes this is an important milestone in developing sport and wellbeing at DCU adding “This is a win-win outcome for both organisations and the

primary beneficiaries will be talented student athletes” According to DCU’s press release there are a number of key areas under the agreement for collaboration such as “Supporting the growth of athletics in DCU at performance and participation levels, provision of an environ-

ment that ensures that dual career athletes have access to optimum supports and coaching resources, collaboration on talent identification and talent development programmes, provision and development of coaching expertise, collaboration to support the delivery of high-quality athletics activities and

Credit: DCU

Joy Nderitu | Deputy Video Editor _joyire_

promotion of recreational running to increase participation numbers and enhance wellbeing.”

This programme will look specifically at areas of high performance and participation. As part of DCU’s motive to encourage wellbeing through physical activity, Moby Move bikes have now been introduced on campus. This e-bike sharing scheme allows students to be more active around campus and DCU Sport are providing shower facilities for those who chose to cycle before 9:45.

In the last eight years, there has been a large growth in the number of students by over 50 per cent to 17,400 according to DCU Sports and Wellbeing. In coordination with that, the campus has over forty sports clubs, two sports academies in Athletics and Gaelic Games.

DCU has been committed to promoting wellbeing throughout campus hosting various events called ‘Wellness Wednesdays’ which included HIT classes, healthy cooking demonstrations and guided cycles. The Student Union and Mental Health Society have also teamed up to encourage wellbeing throughout everyday life. Sports Panel Discussion and safeTALK training were among the many events held to encourage wellbeing through physical activity.

Hamish Adams, who is the CEO of Athletics Ireland believes the partnership reflects the primary objective to “promote, develop the sport at every level from recreational running and schools competitions, through to supporting Ireland’s elite athletes in international competition.”

Trinity College students Coronavirus union plan to fight cases come campus rent increase back negative

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rinity College Dublin’s Students’ Union plan to fight proposed increases of on campus rent.

The possibility of on campus rent increasing by four per cent is expected to be discussed in the next meeting of TCD’s Finance Committee. TCDSU has said they “fully oppose” this decision.

If approved and implemented a single room with a shared bathroom

in Trinity Hall would increase from €5531 to €5722 and a single room with an ensuite bathroom would increase from €7247 to €7536 At a town hall meeting held by the SU on Wednesday February 12th, SU president Laura Beston chaired plans to take direct action against the proposed rent increases.

TCDSU said they “encourage all students who feel angered by this news to come along.”

In a statement to The College View TCD said, “We will do whatever we must in the lead up to, and in the aftermath of, this meeting [Finance

Credit: Trinity College Dublin

Roisin Phelan | Features Editor @_roisinphelan

Committee meeting] to ensure that students are not burdened with an increase in rent. We are already working on ensuring that this decision does not pass and will fight this decision with all the resources we have.”

TCD student Tal Adler lived in Trinity Halls last year and told The College View that he thinks the possibility of such a rent increase is “ a grossly callous and purely self-interested financial decision with no regard for the students affected.”

TDCSU said they have, “seen an alarming increase in the number of students commuting, facing financial issues and even having to drop out of college due to the Housing Crisis.”

“We will not stand idly by while we have the power to oppose a decision at a college level that may help alleviate one of the biggest pressure points facing our students.”

The news of the possibility of TCD’s on campus rent increasing by four per cent comes alongside the announcements of identical increases in both DCU and University College Dublin.

All three of these on campus accommodations fall under rent caps issued by the Residential Tenancies Bill.

These caps prevent rent in any purpose built student accommodation from being increased by more than four per cent on a year to year basis.

TCD are expected to announce details on their plan to fight the rent increases in the coming days.

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Cian Dunne | Contributor

he 65 suspected coronavirus cases in Ireland have all been tested negative, according to the Department of Health.

Those that have been tested for the virus include children, and the suspected cases were nationwide, including Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Carlow and Kerry.

The World Health Organisation has confirmed that the new official name of coronavirus is ‘Covid-19’.

Despite all cases of Covid-19 testing negative so far, there is real concern and expectation that a case will appear in Ireland soon.

"We remain prepared for a confirmed case of Covid-19”, said Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan, in a statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team last week. "The Irish health system is currently operating a containment strategy in line with global practice, and all our efforts are focused on identifying suspected cases as they arise and initiating measures to prevent onward transmission of the virus”.

A Chinese student was kept in isolation in Waterford, after travelling to Ireland from Wuhan, the city where the virus was first detected. The student attends Waterford Institute of Technology, and travelled to Ireland

before the city of Wuhan was locked down.

DCU has called for all students who are currently on a semester abroad in China, to return to Ireland due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. The students will be able to finish their second semester in DCU. The DCU Health and Safety team, in conjunction with Estates Office, have installed alcohol-based hand sanitising units at 70 different locations, across DCU’s three academic campuses, St Patricks, Glasnevin and All Hallows.

“Our Health and Safety team have put measures in place”, said Jessie Byrne, Head, Student Health Centre DCU. “We also have gowns, glasses and masks should a suspected case come in to us here and we have a protocol in place should a person arrive feeling unwell with symptoms”.

“Most viral illnesses have the same symptoms, we can only distinguish what sort of virus a person has with a swab which we send to UCD”, said Byrne.

Byrne also emphasised the importance of hand washing in order to prevent the spread of the virus, if a case was to appear in Ireland.

“Nothing however suffices for hand washing. Hand washing an extra 8- 10 times per day is what is recommended. Scientists have proven extra hand washing will cut down on the spread of any virus”.

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News

NUIG launch new linguistics research centre Dara Browne | Video Editor @dara_b_

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UI Galway (NUIG) has launched a new centre for applied linguistics and multilingualism (CALM), which will provide a space for multidisciplinary research relating to linguistics and language studies.

CALM, based on campus in the Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences,will also create more awareness about language processing and learning.

The centre was opened due to

results from the 2016 Census, which revealed that Galway had the most diverse population with over 60 languages.

According to CSO statistics, 3,631 Polish, 781 Brazilian and 646 Lithuanian people were residents in Galway during the 2016 Census.

In a statement released by NUIG, these figures showed “significant impacts” on education and increased numbers of multilingual children in schools around the county, adding that “There is a higher percentage of children and a progressively higher number of adults in speech and language therapy and other related health

services in the city and county.”

Dr. John Walsh, Senior Lecturer in Irish and Co-Director of CALM said a main focus of the centre’s research will be on the Irish language.

“Language change in the Gaeltacht and the relationships between native and ‘new’ speakers are interesting fields for research in multilingualism, sociolinguistics, language acquisition and speech and language therapy,” Walsh said.

Th university’s proximity to the Connemara Gaeltacht links NUIG to the largest Irish-speaking region in Ireland. NUIG regularly incorporates the Irish language into university life.

Walsh is running the centre alongside fellow Co-Director Dr. Laura McLoughlin, Senior Lecturer in Italian, who said the launch of the centre will “increase interdisciplinary and cross-college collaboration and ultimately impact both students and the wider community.”

The opening of the research centre coincides with the introduction of the new MSc in Applied Multilingualism.

The course is the first of its kind in Ireland and is aimed at individuals with background in languages, social sciences and speech and language therapy.

Individuals conducting research

of their own in the area of linguistics or multilingualism are encouraged to contribute to CALM’s work.

At present, CALM has a diverse range of specialists and experts working in the centre.

Current members of the research centre include Dr. Sophie Arndt and Dr. Mark A. Elliot, doctors of Psychology and Dr. John McCrae and Dr. Paul Buitelaar, Insight Centre for Data Analysis.

Among them, are other experts in fields such as Speech and Language Therapy, Computer Science, French, Italian and Spanish.

Leaving Cert Computer Science to be held before all other exams

Equal pay for all teachers to cost 400m over 5 years Shauna Burdis | Deputy News Editor @ShaunaBurdis

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roviding equal pay for teachers across Ireland is estimated to cost approximately €400 million over a 5 years period.

Restoring pay equality for teachers is estimated to cost almost €400m extra, according to the Department of Education and Skills.

Unequal pay among teachers was introduced through the two tier pay system, which resulted in new teachers earning less pay than teachers who have worked in the profession longer.

The two-tier salary system was introduced almost a decade ago.

The system was heavily criticised for its decision to cut the pay and conditions of young teachers coming into the profession, while still protecting the terms for older staff.

In 2008 a primary school teacher with an honours degree could expect

to earn just under €41,000 in their first job as a full-time teacher.

After the two tier salary system was implemented, a new teacher with the exact same qualification and duties earns €8,500 less before tax than those in the profession longer.

The salary system triggered a strike by 19,000 teachers belonging to the Teachers Union of Ireland on the 4th of February.

The Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, who went on strike over the issue in 2016, are also balloting to renew its mandate for industrial action.

According to RTE News, a spokesperson for the Department of Education and Skills confirmed that the cost of resolving the issue for teachers will cost approximately €398m over the next five years.

This cost includes the price of restoring the ‘HDip allowance’ and the overall cost of correcting the salary scale issue.

Restoring the HDip Allowance

Image Credit: NUIG

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would cost €14m a year or €70m over a five-year period.

The estimated costs provided by the spokesperson are based on current numbers of teachers employed around the country. These estimate figures will increase with the entry of new teacher into the profession.

The figures also exclude the cost of eliminating two tier salary systems across the public service.

The spokesperson from the Department also stated that the Government had given full reassurance that these matters shall be given full consideration and that this commitment still remains.

He stated that the current series of restorative measures for new entrants into teaching has been achieved through continued engagement and collective bargaining between the public service unions and the Government, and the showed benefits that this engagement and communication is resulting in.

he State Examination Commission (SEC) has decided to set the Leaving Cert Computer Science exam on May 27th, ahead of the usual exam period.

40 pilot schools are set to begin the exams in May instead of the traditional start in early June in a moved designed to avoid any exam clashes.

Hundreds of students will attempt the first ever Leaving Cert Computer Science exam. The subject, which is currently only available for a specific pilot group, will be rolled out nationally across schools in Ireland in September 2020 for examination in 2022.

Students must complete a practical coursework project on a computer, totalling 30 per cent of the student’s overall grade.

This is followed by a final exam where the student must partake in a written and computer-based test, collectively worth 70 per cent of the total marks. The use of computers makes this the first exam of its kind in

Ireland.

The SEC will examine all elements of the subject externally.

Equipment and infrastructure played a huge part in selecting the schools where the first phase of subject roll-out took place. Pilot schools were given €3,000 to buy new equipment.

Ollie Cosgrove, a computer science teacher working in Terenure College, one of these pilot schools, said students were positive about the subject and there was “no issue with the exam being on earlier.” This subject is likely to provide difficulties to schools who have outdated computers or inefficient wi-fi.

Cosgrove went on to say the only issue is the lack of a syllabus and “the specification provided does not give enough information for a high stakes exam.”

Employers made it clear that there was a lack of skills in the STEM sector which resulted in a push for this new subject. The impact of computing technology on the world and how programming and computational thinking can help with problem solving are core elements taught in the course.

Image Credit: Sonja Tutty

Katie Lowry | Contributor

News

Proposed pay cuts for teaching assistants in Trinity College Dublin

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asual Teaching Staff in Trinity College Dublin are raising questions about the legality of their employment as talks to possible pay cuts are underway.

Several Teaching Assistants, who are employed by Colleges to give seminars, lab demonstrations and the occasional lecture have expressed how they feel ‘exploited’ and undervalued’ in how they are treated by the college.

On average most teaching assistants earn less than €10,000 per year, resulting in many seeking part-time employment.

On February 4th, around 70 protesters gathered outside a meeting of the College’s Finance Committee, chanting "hey hey ho ho, pay cuts have got to go," after the college announced they would be making pay cuts to its causal teaching staff.

Trinity’s Graduate Student Union (GSU) organised the protest and was supported by representatives of Trinity College Dublin Students Union (TCDSU), Trinity PhD Workers Rights group and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).

Katarzyna Siewiersak, PhD student in the School of Physics from Trinity College explained to Trinity News

that revised pay rates for demonstrators, who guide students working in laboratories, have been cut from €21.02 down to a bracket of €19 to €17 representing a potential reduction of around 20 per cent.

This pay cut will affect the number of PhD students as well as casual employees and was introduced to bring the hourly rate of casual staff in line with that of permanent staff.

The revised rates of pay were included in a document that said the rates of pay were reduced “on the premise that work carried out on a casual or occasional basis should not be remunerated at a higher rate than salaried staff carrying out similar work.”

Sara Dowling, the USI’s Vice President for Postgraduate Affairs

Béibhinn Thorsch| Deputy Features Editor @BeibhinnJourno

expressed how the USI is "delighted to support the PhD community in Trinity."

Laura Beston, President of TCDSU, attended the protest and stated how important it is for the union to "stand with PhD workers" and encouraged the finance Committee to reconsider their decision.

The following day, another meeting was held in the Maxwell theatre in Trinity’s Hamilton building where PhD students continued to express their anger at the college's finance committee to cut the pay of causal staff who work as lab demonstrators.

Trinity has since postponed its decision to cut the pay. However, the matter is set to be discussed again at the next Finance Committee meeting.

Credit: PxHere

Anja Zauers | Social Media Editor @anja_zs

DCU Access marks 30 years

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CU Access released it’s yearly review of the Access programme, noting that 2020 marked 30 years of the programme

in DCU. DCU President, Brian MacCraith, said of the review: “At DCU, we have always been committed to the principle that access to third level education should be based on ability alone, and not on a family’s socioeconomic background.”

He also noted that DCU Access is the largest initiative of its kind in Ireland, with 1258 students from 55 different countries currently in the programme.

Some of the stand-out points of the review were the details of the Access to the Workplace programme which was launched by Access in 2019.

The service identified an additional need for Access students who, due to financial pressure to save for the upcoming academic year, were unable to undertake unpaid summer internships to gain valuable professional experience.

The programme provided high quality paid work placements on a tailored summer internship, which was open to second year Access students. 53 Access students took on the placements in 38 leading Irish companies.

Roisin Maguire, a third year

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journalism student in DCU, took part in the programme last summer. She received an internship in Mastercard.

"It really built my confidence since it was my first real job. I got to understand what it was like to work in an office and really develop my communication skills,” Maguire said.

This year the DCU Access Service also held their first Leadership and Bravery event for transition year students from linked schools.

Linked schools are where the Access programme reaches out to schools in North Dublin to encourage less advantaged students to seek higher education.

The students at the Leadership and Bravery event heard from inspirational leaders on what it takes to lead. They were encouraged to step forward and face life’s challenges and achieve their ambitions.

Also in 2019, 25 girls from Mercy College, Coolock, participated in a workshop facilitated by 10 female researchers doing cutting-edge research at the ADAPT Research Centre on the DCU Glasnevin campus.

Cathy McLoughlin, Head of Access Service at DCU, said “The DCU Access Service, with the support of our corporate partners, aim to support equal opportunities for our target groups into and through higher education.”

Access students receive an annual financial scholarship, thanks to philanthropic donations through major campaigns run each year by the DCU Educational Trust (DCUET).

UCC joins European wide alliance of post-industrial city universities

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CC, along with eight other universities, joined the European University of Post-Industrial Cities alliance on February 5th in order to boost mobility and inclusion for impact in a diverse society.

UCC, along with universities in Bilbao, Bochum, Istanbul, Liège, Oulu, Rotterdam and Zagreb signed the mission statement of UNIC (Universities in post-industrial cities): The European University of Post-Industrial Cities in Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Post-industrial cities throughout Europe are ones that face similar challenges due to the transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy. Some of those challenges include youth unemployment, the impact of new technologies, a transition to renewable energy sources and health-related problems.

Another major characteristic of a post-industrial European city is superdiversity. This calls for the development of more innovative and inclusive modes of teaching and learning which respond to the needs of a diverse

population. Diverse knowledge and expertise are also needed to help European higher education keep up with a changing population.

Professor Rutger Engels from Erasmus University Rotterdam said that “Europe has a super diverse student

population, with a relatively high percentage of students from a non-traditional background. The other UNIC universities share these characteristics and the dedication to make our study programmes and intermobility more inclusive. UNIC does this by devel-

oping new approaches and models for education, tools and plans.”

The UNIC proposal, led by Erasmus University Rotterdam, is a long-term alliance and was developed in cooperation with students from the different universities. The alliance has three

Credit: UCC

Kinga Piotrowska | Contributor

main goals.

It must enable students, scientists and staff to "seamlessly" move between the eight UNIC universities to study, train, teach, do research, work or share services, regardless of socioeconomic and cultural background.

In addition, the alliance challenges the universities to become ‘super diverse’ and welcome staff and students from any background. The universities also wish to develop "city labs" which would be meeting places for sharing knowledge with the different cities.

Dr Jean van Sinderen-Law, Associate Vice President, Director of European Relations and Public Affairs at UCC, said that “UCC and Cork City Council are delighted to build on their existing relationships, particularly around the UNESCO City of Learning and the UCC Civic and Community Engagement agenda”.

Sinderen-Law also mentioned that “relationships and partnerships are critical for our future.” The UNIC proposal will be submitted later this month to the European Commission’s European University Initiative, in support of the ambition towards a European Education Area.

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Ryan Carrick | Contributor rish data regulators have launched an inquiry into Tinder and Google’s processing and managing of users’ data.

The Data Protection Commission, in its role as Lead Supervisory Authority for Google, received a number of complaints from various consumer organisations across the EU, in which concerns were raised with regard to Google’s processing of location data.

The issues raised relate to the legality of Google’s processing of location data and the transparency surrounding that processing. The inquiry will set out to establish whether Google has a valid legal basis for processing the location data of its users and whether it meets its obligations as a data controller with regard to transparency.

This inquiry is pursuant to Section 110 of the Data Protection 2018 which states that the Commission

may conduct an inquiry into suspected infringement of the relevant enactment. This is in accordance with the cooperation mechanism outlined under Article 60 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

DCU Communications student, Ben Delaney, says he chooses to stay oblivious to the use of his personal information on apps.

“After it has come out that companies misuse information, I should be more diligent,” he said. “But when I’m using Tinder I’d put up my personal information and location and not really think about it.”

According to a study conducted in 2019 by the Norwegian Consumer Council, dating apps Grindr, OkCupid, and Tinder are allegedly spreading user information like sexual preferences, behavioural data, and precise location to advertising companies in ways that may violate privacy laws.

According to the report, titled “Out of Control”, Tinder’s “privacy policies do not specify which third parties may

receive personal data from the apps for advertising or analytics purposes.”

A spokesperson from Google said people should be able to understand and control how companies like Google use location data to provide services to them.

They added: “We will cooperate fully with the office of the Data Protection Commission in its inquiry, and continue to work closely with regulators and consumer associations across Europe.

“In the last year, we have made a number of product changes to improve the level of user transparency and control over location data.”

GDPR, which came into effect in 2018, seeks to give users more control of their data and force companies to adhere to stricter rules around processing that information. If a firm is found in violation of GDPR, regulators can impose fines of up to 20 million euros or four per cent of a company’s total global turnover, whichever is higher.

Assembler: A new tool to detect misinformation Rachel Power | Advertising and Marketing Executive @Rachel_M_Power

Image Credit:: Patrick Gant

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free tool which could help journalists detect false images from real ones was developed by Jigsaw, a technology group owned by Google’s parent company.

The tool, known as Assembler, was made with the intention to verify genuine images from fake, photoshopped ones by using seven different built-in “detectors” that check against image manipulation techniques.

The tool will not be made available to the public as its primary focus is to aid journalists and those working in media organisations to provide a more accurate portrayal of the news.

The Chief Executive of Jigsaw, Jared Cohen said that the company “observed an evolution in how disinformation was being used to manipulate elections, wage war and disrupt

Image Credit: Sonja Tutty

Tinder’s use of data part of Irish probe

civil society.”

He continued by saying that as “the tactics of disinformation were evolving, so too were the technologies used to detect and ultimately stop disinformation,” in a blog post regarding Assembler.

Five of the seven detectors used in the tool were developed by research teams in universities, such as the University of California, Berkeley CA, The University of Maryland MD and the University of Naples Frederico II in Italy.

The New York Times reported that the instruments used to tell whether an image is fake or real check image colour irregularities and can tell if an area of a picture has been copied and pasted several times.

Using these tools, images that may have been merged together to form a different picture can be found to be untrue in their accuracy. For example, a fake image of former President Barack Obama shaking hands with the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani began

circulation which caused confusion for many who were unsure if the event actually took place or not. It was then revealed to be a fake image.

Cases like these are what has resulted in the Assembler applications development.

Professor Luisa Verdoliva, who works at the University of Naples said that the application “cannot completely solve the problem, but they represent an important tool to fight disinformation.”

The creators believe that by combining different detection methods, the accuracy rates for determining altered images is far greater than using a single detection technique.

As well as launching Assembler, Jigsaw launched a disinformation interactive platform where people can learn about disinformation.

News about both Assembler and the interactive platform were published on Jigsaw’s new research publication, The Current.

across the country to have one.

Speaking with the LauraLynn Children’s Hospice, they said “Their event means that we can help children who are living with a life limiting condition and support their families through this very difficult time. By supporting

Kevin and Killian you will be helping parents become parents again rather than feeling like full time carers.”

If you would like to donate or find out more information about the cycle you can visit: https://www.gofundme. com/f/600km4cancer

Roisin Maguire | Lifestyle Editor @roisin_maguire1

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wo students from University College Cork are cycling 600km to fundraise money as part of UCC’c cancer society.

Killian Burke and Kevin Harte are final year students who are cycling from Mizin Head in Cork to Malin Head in Donegal.

The two are members of UCC’s Cancer Society Committee and each month they focus on a different cancer.

February is for childhood cancer and 75 per cent of all donations will go to LauraLynn Children’s Hospice and 25 per cent of all proceeds will go to the Childhood Cancer Foundation.

The society raises money for many charities around the country that help those impacted by cancer and they also hold events to raise awareness of different types of cancer.

The two charities were chosen because of the work they do for children with cancer across Ireland and for the help and support provided to families.

Both Killian and Kevin are raising money through spinathons they did last week and they also have a GoFundMe page that people can donate through.

Every year, over 200 children a year are diagnosed with cancer.

Speaking to The College View, Killian said “The opportunity to help others by spreading awareness on cancer and through fundraising for

amazing cancer charities across the country were central in my decision to join UCC Cancer Society”.

Kevin mentioned that “as everyone has been affected by cancer in some way or another, the opportunity to help those affected by fundraising for fantastic cancer charities along with raising awareness on the different types of cancer within a university setting was an opportunity that I felt I could not pass up.”

He said that “being involved with such fantastic people all with the same goal in mind makes being a member of the UCC Cancer Society an extremely enjoyable and rewarding experience”.

They both mentioned that having a cancer society in university gives students a chance to give back and they would encourage other universities

Image Credit: Wiki Media

UCC students cycle 600km for cancer charities

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Young voters know about the past but are more concerned about the present Calum Atkinson talks about Sinn Féin’s youth support

Calum Atkinson | Deputy Comment Editor @CalumAtkinson

of living in general makes the idea of moving out of their family home a pipe dream for most and still forces many to move abroad.

Sinn Féin has ambitious plans to transform the country and solve the housing crisis. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have mismanaged housing in this country for many years and Sinn Féin’s alternative plan put forward by

the impressive Eoin Ó Broin attracted many young voters.

Much of the discourse around the youth support for Sinn Féin centred around politicians and pundits claiming that young voters don’t know enough about the party’s past. This point is not only condescending but it is also inaccurate.

The truth of the matter is that people

Image Credit: Sinn Féin

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verything has changed, changed utterly. For the first time in the history of the state, neither Fianna Fáil nor Fine Gael are leading talks to form a new government.

Sinn Féin surged in the election, winning the popular vote and returning 37 of their 42 candidates to the 33rd Dáil. Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have taken a step back and told Mary Lou McDonald to try form a government with independents and smaller parties.

Sinn Féin’s rise was in part fueled by its popularity with younger voters.

The election exit poll showed the party receiving 31.8 per cent of first preference votes among 18-24 years olds.

This was more than the traditionally big parties combined.

Many young people feel that the fastest growing economy in the EU is just not working for them. The extortionate rental market and the high cost

know about Sinn Féin’s past associations but voted for them anyway because they put forward an alternative vision for the country that many bought into. This vision set out how they would solve many of the problems facing young people.

Also, the exit poll shows Sinn Féin winning in every age demographic except voters over the age of 65. Even

in that age cohort, the party received over 10 per cent of the vote. Over half a million people gave Sinn Féin candidates their first preference. Do all those who voted for Sinn Féin not know their history?

Of course not, but many politicians and many in the media still explained Sinn Fein’s success among young voters by just saying the youth don’t remember the past. This lacks any deeper reflection into what’s really behind it.

The exit poll also shows that voters saw health, housing and homelessness as the most important issues by far in deciding how they voted. The scale of the problems in these areas meant that many who had reservations about voting Sinn Féin in the past decided to vote for them this time.

This is an indictment of Fianna Fáil’s and Fine Gael’s time in office of late. These parties have governed since the foundation of the state and citizens wanted change. Sinn Féin were the main beneficiary of that feeling but other smaller parties like the Social Democrats also added seats.

Not having children might be the most ethical choice Clara Kelly| Comment Editor @Clarabkelly

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S congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave voice to concern surrounding giving birth and climate change recently, pointing to the increasingly dire widespread government inaction as well as a scientific consensus on the issue.

“It does lead young people to have a legitimate question: is it OK still to have children,” she asked, and maybe we should be asking the same question.

Cortez’s question is a realistic one, the issue of climate change posed with governments unwillingness to offer a reasonable solution, means we must now ask, is it feasible to bring new life into an already crumbling world?

For a lot of us, the answer might just be no.

BirthStrike is a movement of women usually in climate change circles who believe that there is a moral responsibility to pause the pursuit of starting a family until life on this

planet is bettered.

The movement is distinct from the anti-natalist movement, which says that having children is morally wrong because sentient life is so awful.

The aim of the BirthStrikers is not to discourage people from having children, or to condemn those who already have, but to communicate the urgency of the crisis we now face.

It is an acknowledgment of the threat that human existence and future generations will face, a pressing one at that.

Opting out of family life on the premise of climate change issues may seem like a radical step for some, but in reality, it might be an ethical choice.

When we look at past generations, there is no denying that this particular issue was less of a concern. Yes, there was always an ethical question of bringing children into a time of war, famine, or poverty many times in the past, but never before did young people have to ask the question: will the human race survive long enough?

When we look at the data which suggests that parts of Ireland may be completely underwater in the next

couple of years, and the rapid decline of our natural resources, we have to ask: is it fair to bring a child into a rapidly decaying planet to deal with our mess? Combine this question with the problem of overpopulation, and it becomes difficult to think of choosing parenthood in 2020 as an ethical choice.

Some people will have natural parental urges. Maternal and paternal people may find it hard to not think of parenthood in a selfish sense of simply wanting to start a family, however, we can’t always put ourselves first.

The fact of the matter is, if we want to be parents, we must also want to create change, lobby governments about climate issues and make sure this planet is a positive and viable option for our future children, however, idyllic that may seem.

At the end of the day when it comes to parenthood, the choice is yours, and the choice is deeply personal, but there is no doubt that for this generation, we might just have to start asking ourselves if we have a moral responsibility to simply adopt instead.

“

Image Credit: Wikimedia

Clara Kelly looks at the moral issues with having children during a climate emergency

The aim of the BirthStrikers is not to discourage people from having children, or to condemn those who already have, but to communicate the urgency of the crisis we now face

Do celebrities have an obligation to speak out on political issues?

When it comes to politics and celebrities sometimes silence is the best option tells Aoife McMahon

Aoife McMahon | Contributor

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aking a political statement has almost become as popular as thanking your manager when it comes to celebrities’ acceptance speeches.

Was Ricky Gervais right to tell celebrities to shut up and that they are in “no position to lecture the public”? At the 2020 Golden Globes, Gervais held nothing back in his opening monologue when he told the audience that they shouldn’t use this as a platform to make a political statement because they “know nothing about the real world.”

This caused quite the stir and opinions were mixed on whether he was right to say this. While harsh, I believe it’s about time someone said

it so openly and plainly at an award ceremony.

Most of us live completely different lives to celebrities. They don’t tend to struggle to make the mortgage or student loan payments, they can easily afford childcare and they don’t have to support a family on minimum wage.

I usually agree with the political statements that celebrities make. I agree with those who say no one should vote for Trump, I support equal pay, a woman’s right to choose, gay marriage and gay adoption and I believe everyone needs to do more to combat climate change.

However, if a famous person speaks out against one of these issues, I wouldn’t support them, and I don’t think it would be acceptable for someone with a big following to publicly oppose these issues. In order to not

be completely hypocritical, I must reject the idea that celebrities should use their platform to make political statements at all.

Why don’t celebrities stick to lecturing each other instead of us? Perhaps if people want to help the planet, they should combat the Hollywood hypocrisy and lecture the people in the room and not us at home. If they want to positively impact climate change instead of telling the people to cut out plastics or drive less, tell the rich and famous to get rid of their private jets or helicopters.

Everyone has the right to lecture the government, which by default must include celebrities. No one can really say they don’t have the right to campaign for a party or share their political views. You would have to urge celebrities to really think about what

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Image Credit: Sonja Tutty

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Perhaps if people want to help the planet, they should combat the Hollywood hypocrisy and lecture the people in the room and not us at home they are saying and ensure that they are experts on something before they publicly announce their opinions.

Some might dismiss this issue by saying that celebrities don’t have as much influence as I am making out that they do. If we take Taylor Swift, for example, she is credited with getting a substantial amount of people to register to vote in 2018.

While they can’t say how many

people exactly she got to register, the site vote.org, that usually has around 14k visitors a day, saw 155K people visit the site in the 24 hours after Swift posted an Instagram encouraging people to register to vote.

I think Gervais said it best when he told the celebrities to just thank their agent and their God, and in a less polite way, get off the stage.

The problem with binge drinking culture in universities

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Conor Breslin asks where do we draw the line between harmless fun and dangerous habits

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hird level students like to drink now and again.

There is no surprise in that.

However, the university experience and life on campus have become synonymous with daily binge drinking and it seems to be a problem that could easily swing out of control.

Irish people aged 18 to 24 had the highest rates of binge drinking in the EU, according to the CSO in 2014 and not much has changed six years later. The data shows more than a quarter of men and more than 15 per cent of women aged 18 to 24 in Ireland engaged in binge drinking at least once a week.

Binge drinking is easily defined as six or more standard drinks in one session, equivalent to three pints of beer or six pub measures of spirits. However, despite these alarming statistics many university students typically do not classify their drinking as problematic, and why would they? They see their drinking patterns as normative for university life. It’s the first steps to a sense of independence and freedom.

You control your own life.

So, where do we draw the line between the typical college experience, which involves drinking and having a good time to the road that may lead to a dangerous path of alcohol abuse and

addiction?

There is no surprise that the most immediate risks of binge drinking include injury, assault and arrest. These are experienced by many students and present a growing problem for Irish universities. On a long-term effect, binge drinking is much worse but is only seen as a problem in later years with the increasing damage done to your organs, a high level of depression, high blood pressure, stroke, relationships in turmoil and cancer of the throat, mouth and other areas of the body.

The action of promoting drinking in an institute of learning makes it clear as to why students begin to drink excessively amongst themselves. You can go down with friends to the college pub for a cheap drink at 6pm or walk to the nearest off-license where you will buy and stack up on a rather large amount of alcohol for pre-drinks for the coming weeks.

However, a major issue isn’t the fact that all this is easily accessible, it’s the fact that the culture is easily accepted.

You can drink in the student pub any time of day with little or no judgment.

“He’s a college student, it’s what they do!” However, there is also a global pressure seen in marketing techniques that ties together the idea of fun with drinking, and I think almost every student has been a part of that at some stage. Certain social media accounts often glorify dangerous situations

The data shows more than a quarter of men and more than 15 per cent of women aged 18 to 24 in Ireland engaged in binge drinking at least once a week

Image Credit: Sonja Tutty

Conor Breslin | Sports Editor @conorbreslin10

brought on by intoxication. Yet, they tend to use captions that honour and laugh about it while posing questions asking who else can relate to being in these unusual situations.

While it is impossible to separate the life of a student from the presence of drink, many universities are taking action to try and diminish this relationship with physical student activities, introducing dry events, and sober spaces for students to go.

The main lesson to take is to find your balance on this issue, know when enough is enough, budget yourself and don’t feel that you’re missing out by not drinking. There are ups and downs to both arguments, there is the social, relaxing and fun side to drinking but also be aware of the dark elements that it can possess and know how to control it or it can torment you for years to come. The negative effects of alcohol will always outweigh the positives.

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The question on everyone’s mind: is Trump really going to win again?

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Emma Nevin looks at Trump’s chances of be re-elected

t is fair to say from a foreigners perspective that the Trump presidency has been a diplomatic disaster, as predicted by many pundits on this side of the Atlantic. Between countless examples of impropriety, a pointless and harmful trade war with China and constant brainless tweeting, respect levels for the American President have fallen in Europe.

It is difficult for us to understand how Americans could want to re-elect the possibly most divisive President in modern history. They surely won’t make the same mistake twice? Wrong.

As things currently stand (important to note that they are fragile at best) Trump is in a perfect position to shock the globe again on November 3rd and become a two term president. After being acquitted on all charges by a Republican led Senate, his approval rating is at its highest ever point, 49 per cent. This would guarantee him another four years.

He has a strong economy to boast about and the Republican party are loyally standing behind him in an almost perfectly unified line (shout out to Mitt Romney for going through his teenage rebel phase in his seventies).

But most importantly, Trump has the pleasure of watching Democrats kill each other in a dog fight to become the nominee.

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Trump has the pleasure of watching Democrats kill each other in a dog fight to become the nominee

Credit: Flickr

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Emma Nevin | Contributor

It is only February and there is still plenty of time for the Democrats to sort themselves out and fall in line behind a nominee. The only problem is, in the aftermath of what is the most divisive Democratic primary to date, it will most definitely be harder than before to get all Democratic politicians and voters alike to smile and support their chosen Trump opponent.

To say what everyone knows to be true, Bernie, who is the only candi-

date that beats Trump in any poll, was “screwed” by the Democratic National Convention in 2016 and may be “screwed” again. The establishment hate him, as Hillary Clinton claimed “Nobody likes him”. But defying all the odds and fighting constant battles against their exclusive clique, a blackout by the media and extremely shady business in Iowa to say the least, Bernie is still the front runner to become the 2020 Democratic party nominee.

The only possible way I don’t see Trump in the White House till 2024, is to combat his fake populism with genuine populism. He has admitted Bernie is the only person he fears, and he is right to be scared of him. If it is a Sanders-Trump debate stage, there is a real fight for the Presidency. If not, say hello to another four years of President Donald J. Trump.

Society needs to make more of an effort when it comes to invisible illnesses Aoife O’Brien discusses the complexity of hidden illnesses

Aoife O’Brien | News Editor @obrienaoife1

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ome disabilities are more obvious than others. Some are evident immediately, such as when a person relies on a wheelchair or mobility scooter. Society generally accepts the need to accommodate these disabilities in everyday life.

But some disabilities are not so obvious and when someone outwardly appears like any other healthy person there is an innate unwillingness to accept that they might be entitled to something that the rest of us are not.

For many people living with a hidden illness, it can often feel like society wants them to become as invisible as their disability. But health, like beauty is more than skin deep and we need to stop discriminating against it just because we don’t always

understand.

Invisible illnesses can come in many different forms including diabetes, autism, crohn’s disease and fibromyalgia.

People who live with them face particular challenges in the workplace and in their communities.

For a diabetic, their body is not able to regulate blood sugar on its own.

This means that they must take insulin to stop their blood sugar getting too high and eat regularly to stop it from getting too low.

However, in many workplaces regular breaks are not given despite legal requirements.

In restaurants and cafes people often work for more than eight hours without a break.

While all staff are of course entitled to their breaks, for a diabetic it is an absolute necessity. Not regulating blood sugar can lead to immediate problems such as fainting but also

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It can often feel like society wants them to become as invisible as their disability

more serious long term problems including sight loss and amputation.

While obviously there are some benefits to an illness being invisible as it allows people to hide it in front of strangers or it may help in the initial stage of getting a job interview the symptoms of the illness cannot stay ignored forever.

For someone living with fibromyalgia, a condition that causes full body chronic pain and intense fatigue, it is often not the occasional hospital stays that are the hardest part of the illness but the everyday mundane activities.

Washing their hair or making dinner can exhaust the person quickly so being allocated a parking space close to their work or being able to use the disabled parking space is a necessity so that they are able to carry out their job without extra obstacles.

Despite this they can often be subjected to dirty looks and abuse because

the person does not use a wheelchair or appear outwardly disabled.

Access to free public transport and being allowed to skip long queues are often things that people with invisible illnesses are legally entitled to but a lack of awareness means that they are often forced to explain themselves and their illness leading to frustration, anger and upset.

These people are not lazy. They are not greedy or looking for a free ride in life.

They have serious and often debilitating conditions but they are trying to live their lives in as normal a way as possible and just need a little extra understanding and support to do so.

We must work to increase awareness and understanding of invisible illnesses so that we can remove that barriers that the sufferers are currently facing.

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Who should be allowed to vote in Irish general elections?

Sally Dobie discusses the voting rights of immigrants in Ireland and Irish emigrants abroad

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eing able to express your opinion is nothing short of a human right, but every country has a slightly different view on whether foreign residents should be able to take part in that country’s democracy.

As a foreign national living in Ireland I definitely cannot speak for Irish people, nor would I want to. All I can share is my experience and thoughts on voting rights.

Irish residents with British citizenship can legally vote in General, Local and European elections here, but cannot vote in referendums. Similarly, EU citizens residing in Ireland are permitted to vote in Local and European elections; and non-EU residents can vote in local elections.

Irish citizens living abroad are not given the same rights: if you are an Irish citizen and reside, or plan to reside outside of the country for more than 18 months, in most cases you cannot be added to the Register of Electors.

The rules are slightly different in the UK, where British citizens can register to be an overseas voter for up to 15 years after leaving the country.

Irish citizens resident in the UK can also vote in anything up to a general election.

For me, this is the right choice.

Although I’ve been residing in Ireland for over two years, there’s always been the chance that I may move back to my birth country. In this case I’ve been given the opportunity to participate in decisions for the future of that country.

Unfortunately, despite any future plans, overseas Irish are not given the same privilege. This could mean in the long run they may even be less likely to return, if their voices aren’t heard back home.

Then there’s the issue of allowing certain residents more voting rights than others, without taking into account the length of their residency or plans to stay.

I made the controversial decision to not vote in the General election although I am legally allowed to. Due to my future in Ireland currently being uncertain, I may be moving out before the year is over. In this case, I don’t believe I have the right to have input

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Voting rights will always be a tough call because depending on what rights you afford each group, you’re effectively causing a rift between them

in the future of the country, no matter my political views.

On the other end of this, a non-EU national who has been in Ireland for years and plans to stay for many more should be able to have a say in who represents them in the future.

Voting rights will always be a tough call, because depending on what rights you afford each group, you’re effectively causing a rift between them.

Ireland is a special case in the way that

referenda make up such an integral part of legislation.

Only Irish citizens, to my knowledge, are allowed to vote in a referendum, even though UK citizens can vote in national and local elections.

At first this decision confused me, but maybe choosing your representatives rather than being able to change legislation is a good middle-ground for foreign residents. I hope overseas Irish can be afforded the same.

Credit: Joy Nwagiriga

Sally Dobie | Production & Podcast Editor @Sarah_or_Sally

The coronavirus is not an excuse to be racist Natasha Lynch | Chief Sub-editor @_natashalynch

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ince the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus an international public health emergency, it has undoubtedly been racialized.

It is normal for society to fear when there is an epidemic, however, racism and xenophobia towards Asian people has risen in the past weeks.

Xenophobia, defined by dictionary. com, is the “fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.” Members of the Asian community have witnessed a surge in racist behaviour and have taken to social media to share their experiences.

This is happening on the street, in the workplace and mostly on public transport. Accounts online have described people staring when an Asian person coughs or even clears their throat on a bus, seeing other passengers moving to change seats. This is highly discriminative and offensive.

Large groups of Asian people wearing face masks have also received derogatory comments and racial slurs. Fear or panic does not justify this racism.

There are extremely insensitive posts on social media such as cartoon drawings of hotel staff wearing bio

hazard suits whilst serving Chinese guests. The comments and reactions underneath the post did little to defend members of the Asian community. Traditional Asian cuisine is being attacked online with the sharing of food videos labelled ‘dirty’ or ‘disgusting’.

There are also reports of Asian children being singled out in schools, with white parents enquiring if their child is at risk. No child is born a racist, this hatred is either taught or learned.

Although some responses to the virus on a wider scale are rational such as cancelling flights to Wuhan, discrimination towards children is not justified.

This is something that should be taken seriously.

When it comes to racism there is never any valid excuse, and the coronavirus and outpour of intolerance surrounding it and stemming from the virus, should be no exception to the rule.

There needs to be a stronger regulation and faster removal of racist posts on social media, as although it is beneficial to spread awareness, it can also be used to fuel a hate campaign.

This mirrors the anti-Asian racism that we saw in 2003, as a result of the SARS epidemic.

In France, a front-page headline read “Yellow Alert” with an image of a Chinese woman wearing a mask.

This caused serious offence to French

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Credit: Pixabay

There is never a valid excuse to be intolerant and corona is no different, tells Natasha Lynch

Asians, who subsequently responded with the hashtag #Iamnotavirus on Twitter. This highlighted the widescale prejudices towards the Asian community, as they have to defend themselves and their culture.

Even local Chinese takeaways in Ireland are suffering from lack of business since the coronavirus was declared. The way in which the virus is contracted is being misconstrued and this lack of knowledge is hard to believe considering the resources available online to fact check and deflate any false information or conspiracies.

It is important to shed light on the ignorance of the Western world but most importantly on the victims of the virus. The obvious and only response should be education, not racism.

There needs to be a stronger regulation and quicker removal of racist posts on social media, as although it is beneficial to spread awareness, it can also be used to fuel a hate campaign

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Andúil i ndrugaí agus daoine óige in Éirinn inniu An fadhb le drugaí sa tír seo

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Naoise Darby | Irish Editor

í gá dom a chur i gcuimhne duit go bhfuil go leor contúirtí ag baint le drugaí, is féidir leat a rá mar freagairt go bhfuil dainséar ag baint le rudaí eile, béidir bia gasta, seacláid agus cearrbhachas? Tá siad seo díobhálach má baineann daoine úsáid as iad i méid mór. Ach i gcás drugaí tá caitheamh amháin fíor dainséarach agus uaireanta tá toradh marfach ag baint le úsáid aon uaire ag cóisir nó ag féile cheoil.

San alt seo beidh mé ag caint faoin úsáid in aoisghrúpa amháin, daoine óige. Tá an fadhb le feiceáil i go leor aoisghrúpaí sa tír seo agus tá sé neamhshrianta. Níl aon cúlra socheacnamaíoch sábháilte, tá an

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smaoineamh seo bréagach agus mífhreagrach. Tá an fadhb seo rábhach, ag fánacht le haghaidh seans amháin chun léim ar dhuine éigin.

Tá brú piarghrúpa ag baint leis an scéal i gcás daoine óige, tá an téarma seo luaithe i gcónaí ach tá sé gné macánta san eipidéim seo agus is eipidéim é. Tá an tír seo ag cur thar maoil le drugaí.

Tá an glacadh atá ag go leor daoine faoin deacracht beagnach níos measa ná na drugaí iad féin. Tá siad umhal

Credit: PxFuel

Tá an tír seo ag cur thar maoil le drugaí agus tá comhréireacht níos tábhachhtaí dóibh ná sláinte nó na hiarmhairtí do-aisiompaithe atá bainteach le na substaintí seo. Is féidir le mí-úsáid substaintí dochar uafásach a dhéanamh ar do shláinte fisiciúil agus meabhrach .

Tá úsáid mhídhleathach drugaí ag dul le fána, tá smaoineamh móréilimh go bhfuil rudaí mar cannabas ceart go leor, tá seo seo amaideach, cén fáth mar sin go bhfuil daoine ag dul go dtí athshlánú le hadghaidh cannabas? Tá

an dáileog i bhfad níos cumhachtach ná mar a bhí sé fiche bliain ó shin.

Ach tá tóir an druga seo ag dul i méid an t-am ar fad.

Tá mangaireacht drugaí chúlsráide rud atá imithe in éag, tá soláthar flúirseach ar na suíomhanna meáin shóisialta. Tá na daoine óige seo diongbháilte go bhfuil drugaí riachtanach chun oíche ar dóigh a bheith acu. Tá siad ar nós cuma liom faoi dhrugaí.

Tá creideamh go bhfuil úsáid ó

am go chéile ceart go leor agus nach bhfuil aon comparáid le duine atá úsáideoir seasta nó daoine atá atá ag tuisligh tríd na sráideanna agus ag brath ar hearóin. Tá sé seo bréag millteanach agus meon ardnósach.

Bíonn an smaoineamh go bhfuil drugaí galántacht gan stró ag chuir samhlaigh tharraingteach ar mhí-úsáid drugaí.

Tá sé beagán aisteach go bhfuil daoine buartha faoin tionchar atá ag athrú aeráide ar na daoine bochta ar

domhan nuair a bhíonn na daoine atá ag ceannach drugaí ceann do na cúiseanna go bhfuil daoine bochta i go leor cásanna faoi bhrú chun seasamh mar iompróir drugaí.

Tá cócaon thar a bheith coitianta, go hiondúil bhí an druga seo dírithe ar daoine uasaicmeach ach níl an smaoineamh seo le feiceáil anois, tá sé i ngach áit i ngach aois grúpa. Tá mí-úsáid drugaí líonmhar comh maith i ndaoine proifisiúnta agus léannta. Tá an fadhb seo dosmachtaithe.

Gaeilge

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Cúpla nod chun uirlis a fhoghlaim!

An bhfuil suim agat uirlis a fhoghlaim?

Naoise Darby | Irish Editor

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Credit Raw Pixel

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s bliain nua é agus caithfimid an seans seo a húsáid le haghaidh rud fiúntach agus taitneamhach, ceard faoi uirlis nua a fhoghlaim?

Ná bí scanraithe: Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil an moladh seo tiomantas mór agus beagán coscrach ach níl luas docht ag an caitheamh aimsire seo ar chor ar bith. Tá sé rud iontach chun uirlis a thosú agus níl aon brú ort chun a bheith cosúil le André Rieu i cúpla seactaine.

Bain sult as: Is turas a bhainfeadh an dallamullóg díot gan amhras ar bith. Féach ar an uirlis gleoite, an fidil. Tá draíocht na fidle dochreidte, is dócha go bhfuil mé ábhairín beag claonta mar seinm an uirlis seo. Bhí mé millteanach nuair a thosaigh mé ach cleachtadh a dhéanann máistreacht. Éist and éist arís: Caithfidh mé an eolas seo a roinnt, tá go leor deis agat chun éisteacht le cheoil. Éistim le réimse leathan ceoil mar tá rud éigin difriúil ag gach uile

Bhí mé millteanach nuair a thosaigh mé ach cleachtadh a dhéanann máistreacht

stíl, rudaí a dheanfaidh tionchar ar do chuid feabhsuithe san uirlis agus ar do stíl féin.

Is rud sásúil é: Beidh do chlann agus do chairde thar a bheith bródúil agus tú ag cleachtadh d’uirlis roghnaithe, b’fhéidir go bhfuil ceolchoirm ar na bacáin! Creid uaimse é go bhfuil sé seo scanraitheach ach tá an mothúchán tar éis an léiriú gan sarú.

Cairde nua?: Tá cuid mhór daoine dúghafa le cheoil Gaelach, beidh an chraobh áitiúil den Chomhaltas in ann cabhrú le do chuid cleachtadh agus is féidir leat cairde nua a dhéanamh ag an am céanna. Tá go leor comórtas sna Fleadh éagsúil timpeall na tír, taitníonn sé go mór le gach duine. Bíonn bús iontach sa Fleadh, daoine ag caint faoi na huirlisí difriúil agus iad ag cleachtadh amuigh faoin spéir. Ach tá roinnt iomaíochas freisin, d’fhéadfadh an teannas atá eatarthu pléascadh aon uair.

Níl an caitheamh aimsire seo éasca nó gan strus, ach caithfidh tú dírigh isteach ar an uirlis atá roghnaithe agat chun na sochair a bhreith leat. Ní bac í an aois ar rudaí a bhaint amach go háirithe sa cheol.

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Beidh do chlann agus do chairde thar a bheith bródúil agus tú ag cleachtadh d’uirlis roghnaithe

Is breá liom eití sicín, is breá leat eití sicín Déanann Beth Molloy léirmheas ar an bialann Wing It ar Stuara Shráid Sheoirse

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íl aon rud chomh maith le babhla eití sicín agus níl aon rud chomh maith le an bialann Wing It. Chuaigh mé go dtí a mbialann ar Stuara Shráid Sheoirse cúpla seachtain ó shin agus bhí uisce ag teacht ó mo chuid fiacla nuair a chonaic mé an biachlár.

Bhí mé ar bís faoin mbiachlár.

Tá sé lán de bia iontach. Tá réimse leathan blasanna ann. Tairgeann siad eití sicín gan chnámha agus eití sicín veigeánach. Roghnaigh mé na eití sicín buabhall agus b’iontach an radharc é nuair a thainig siad amach. Tháinig siad leis dip cáis ghorm agus bhí sé an blasta. Tá go leor roghanna eile sa biachlár cosúil le eití sicín satae agus eití sicín tequila agus líoma. Chomh maith leis sin tá athlíonadh saor in aisce ar fáil.

Má tá tú ag lorg rud éigin difriúl, na bí buartha, tá go leor roghanna eile ann. Tá burgair agus burgair sicín bláthach ar fáil. Comh maith leis sin tá

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Radharc dochreidte a bhí ann nuair a thainig an babhla amach

a lán mias tíonlacain den scoth ar fáil.

Is é Ultimate Fries an mias tíonlacain is fearr liom. Is carnán sceallóga é agus tá sé lan le uachtar géar, bagún, cáis agus ainniún erraigh. Radharc dochreidte a bhí ann nuair a thainig an babhla amach.

Tá an dearadh taobh istigh úr agus comhaimseartha agus tá an suíocháin compordach freisin. Is áit iontach é chun a bheith ag caint agus ag comhrá le cairde agus ag an am cheanna taitneamh a bhaint as an bia den scoth! Mar sin féin, nuair a bhí mé agus mo chara ann, ní ndearna muid alán caint mar bhí ár mbéal lán de bhia! Féadfaidh tú bord a chur in áirithe roimh ré.

Margadh maith atá ann ar an airgead sin. D’ordaigh mé méid an céad chúrsa babhla eití sicín agus bhí mé lán go béal. Creidim gur iontach an margadh é. Cosnaíonn an méid seo €7.95 agus cosnaíonn an cuid níos mó €14.50.

Cosnaíonn na creathán bainne €4.50.

Tá bialanna ag WingIt in Tamhlacht agus tá ceann nua ag oscailt in Dun Laoghaire go luath.

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Bhí mé ar bís faoin mbiachlár

Credit Pxfuel

Beth Molloy | Irish Editor

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Are cyclists safe on Irish roads?

According to data from the Road Safety Authority there has been an exponential increase in cycling injuries since 2003 and in 2012 alone there was a 59 per cent increase in the number of cyclists injured on Irish roads.

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It would be very difficult for anybody to get into cycling in Dublin because it’s so dangerous

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there was a 59 per cent increase in the number of cyclists injured on Irish roads.

Most recently, in 2017 the RSA and the Garda Siochana found that 17 per cent of serious road injuries belonged to cyclists. Of that 17 pre cent, 79 per cent occurred on urban roads and also of that 17 per cent, 29 per cent occurred in Dublin.

Another study published in the Irish Medical Journal entitled “Cycling Injuries Presenting to an Irish Emergency Department” analysed the number and type of cyclist injuries that entered St. Vincent’s University Hospital’s emergency department, from January 1 to December 31 2014.

The study reported that 534 cycling related injuries presented to the ED during the study time period. 40 patients required admission to hospital following their injury with 6 of these

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pedestrians, cyclists and motorists all to get along in Dublin.”

“It would be very difficult for anybody to get into cycling in Dublin because it’s so dangerous,” said O’Carroll.

“Particularly in the morning...it feels like the Tour de France, it feels like there’s not enough space there’s not enough resources, it’s the fact that they’re promoting cycling but not actually meeting the demand of what they are promoting.”

However, cycling in Dublin may not have always been as difficult and dangerous as O’Carroll has described.

In 2013 Dublin was ranked among the world’s top 20 bike-friendly cities, this was largely as a result of the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) promises to improve Ireland’s cycling infrastructure.

In December of 2013 the NTA summarized these promises in the Cycle Network Plan which comprised of “ a mix of cycle tracks and lanes, cycleways and infrastructurefree cycle routes in low traffic environments”.

The plan aimed to implement up to 2,840km worth of cycle routes in Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

This offer was promising for Irish cyclists as it would lessen their interactions with other motorists,

possibly decreasing the number of accidents.

However in 2018 key sections of the plan were abandoned and little progress has taken place in meeting the promised 2,840km of cycle route originally envisioned.

In November of 2019 Green Party Deputy Leader Catherine Martin TD spoke out on the dangers associated with cycling in Ireland. She referenced the eight deaths of cyclists that had occurred so far that year saying, “ I believe that these deaths

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rom the precarious placement of a bicycle seat Dublin’s roads can feel like a dangerous place. The vulnerability that a cyclist has while on the roads is one of the reasons why separate cycle lanes were first suggested and implemented in Ireland.

In 2019 the Irish Times reported that Irish hospitals treat one cyclist every three days for major trauma sustained in road traffic incidents.

Last March, DCU student Jennifer Keegan was nearly one of these statistics when she was hit by a car while cycling at night. This was the second accident involving a car she had been in in 2019.

“I think the person was just in a hurry and didn’t look...I had my lights on and everything and she just didn’t see me.”

Keegan had to head straight to hospital after the accident where doctors told her she was extremely lucky to not have sustained serious injuries.

“Apparently the way I landed I should have shattered my elbow and my forearm but I just by fluke didn’t.”

Keegan said the reason for both crashes was “drivers not looking into the cycling lane and looking just for cars.”

According to data from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) , there has been an exponential increase in cycling injuries since 2003 and in 2012 alone

patients spending time in the intensive care unit.

162 patients sustained a fracture. 83 patients were documented as having a head injury and a diagnosis of concussion was made in 70 patients Many students like Keegan use cycling as their main form of transport due to its economic, environmental and health benefits. Others have taken it up as a pastime.

Caoimhe O’Carroll cycled from Dun Laoghaire to DCU and back everyday while she was in college last year.

O’Carroll, who has been cycling since she was three years old says she feels safe and comfortable on Dublin’s roads most of the time but has also been involved in road accidents while cycling.

She described one example saying, “a pedestrian walked out in front of me and I braked and rather than putting my hands out I just went face first into the ground”. The accident caused O’Carroll to sustain extensive injuries to her face.

She said this accident was a “prime example of the culture in Ireland of pedestrians just not being aware of cyclists, and it’s because the infrastructure isn’t there for

Credit: Isabel la Fi

Roisin Phelan | Features Editor @_roisinphelan

were avoidable, and we are calling on the Minister for Transport to take immediate action to prevent further fatalities.”

In the same month, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD announced new legislation that “will make it an offence to dangerously overtake a pedal cyclist.”

The legislation issues a 120 euro fine and three penalty points for offenders.

For Keegan, who continues to cycle in Dublin, all road users cyclists and motorists have to acknowledge their shared responsibility to travel safely.

“Everyone has a shared responsibility on the road but I definitely see that there’s some cyclists that just do not know how to share the road and think they have the right of way all the time and end up endangering other people on the road.”

Even if there were cycle lanes on every road in Ireland Keegan said, drivers still need to “ be aware that there are cyclists around and not just forget about them.”

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Features

Vegan diets on the rise

Taking part in Veganuary is now easier to do in Ireland than it ever was. According to Trivago, Dublin is now the most vegan friendly city in the world with 20 per cent of restaurants having a vegan option

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en years ago, veganism was almost unheard of in Irish society and was often associated with hippies who protested animal rights and didn’t shave their armpits. However, over time Ireland has changed and now veganism is not only accepted, but embraced.

The Veganuary trend has driven this move towards plant-based and has encouraged almost one million people to try a vegan diet since it began in 2014.

According to their website Veganuary “is a non-profit organisation that encourages people worldwide to try vegan for January and beyond.

The organisation asks people to pledge to move to a plant-based diet for the month of January and in 2019 they had over 250,000 people sign the Veganuary pledge.

Shona O’Dwyer took part in Veganuary for the first time in 2018 after she heard of and followed it on social media for a few years. She also took the Veganuary pledge again in 2019. O’Dwyer, who was already a vegetarian, took the pledge with her friend so that they could give each other support.

“A few things made me take part in Veganuary. I was curious to see if

I noticed any health benefits which people claim the vegan diet has, like better digestion and clearer skin” said O’Dwyer.

Taking part in Veganuary is now easier to do in Ireland than it ever was.

According to Trivago, Dublin is now the most vegan friendly city in the world with 20 per cent of restaurants having a vegan option.

According to the food delivery company Just Eat, they experienced a 94 per cent increase in demand for healthy or vegan food options on their website in 2017. As a result, the company predicted that veganism would be the trend of 2018.

This was demonstrated by a 183 per cent increase in Veganuary participants from 2017 to 2018.

Speaking to the Irish times Just Eat Marketing Director, Edel Kinane said“we know that they are increasingly looking for more diverse, healthy, gluten free and plant based Vegan options”.

For O’Dwyer eating out during Veganuary was a lot easier than she expected. She explains that “many restaurants have at least one or two vegan options and the month encouraged [her] to go to fully vegan restaurants.”

This growing popularity in veganism could be largely due to many people becoming aware of animal rights issues within the meat and dairy industry as videos of slaughterhouses

“

I was curious to see if I noticed any health benefits which people claim the vegan diet has, like better digestion and clearer skin

and factory farming have circulated the internet.

Evelyn Suttle, one of the faces of the popular Irish Instagram account, Veghuns explains “When I found out that drinking milk does kill cows, whether directly or indirectly I decided to stick with [Veganism] for ethical reasons.”

Groups like Veghuns believe that the Irish public are becoming more conscious of the pressure the massive scale of animal farming in Ireland is putting on the environment.

However, this embrace of veganism is still very new in Ireland as Suttle recalls how getting soya milk in a cafe was rare when she first went vegan in 2013.

Veganuary has helped to grow the plant-based movement in Ireland and across the world. In 2020 400,000 people participated in Veganaury, breaking their original aim of 350,000.

The Veghuns Instagram account really shows how veganism has expanded across Ireland. In 2018 the account was sometimes gaining 200 followers in a day.

A key part of Veganuary’s growth in 2019 and 2020 was the launch of vegan products by large food companies. The Greggs vegan sausage roll was released in 2019 with huge success as shares in the bakery chain reached an all time high of £17.13.

This year they also released a Vegan steak bake and other businesses such

as McDonalds and KFC followed suit creating their own vegan products.

Cutting out animal products altogether can be extremely difficult when it is all you have ever known. These faux-meat products can be really helpful when trying to transition towards a vegan diet or to satisfy the occasional craving.

Dr John Allman worries that people may ignore the importance of a healthy, balanced plant-based diet, “People can be vegan and eat chips, coke and Oreos.”

Dr Allman is part of a group of doctors that set up plantbaseddoctorsireland.ie. These healthcare professionals are aiming to share the benefits that a plant based diet can have on people’s health.

Even though Dr Allman insists that it is possible to get all the right nutrients on a plant-based diet, for some finding this balance is too hard.

Many of these products from Greggs and others should be eaten in moderation, as you would the versions made from animal products.

After taking part in Veganuary O’Dwyer decided not to keep up the vegan diet.

“There wasn’t one main thing but more a few little things I felt I was missing out on,” O’Dwyer explained.

“Veganuary did make me realise the social aspect of food. It made it harder to enjoy meals with certain family and friends.”

Credit: Flickr

Aoibhín Meghen | Deputy Arts Editor @hereisaoibhin

Features

Being Lesbian, Gardai, Bisexual, Trans in Ireland

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This past June was the first year that uniformed gardaí have marched in the Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride parade. Dylan O’Neill investigates whether people perceive this as a genuine effort to bring the two groups together or just a smart Dylan O’Neill | Contributor @thecollegeview

Credit: Giuseppe Milo

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hat started on the streets in Greenwich Village, New York 1969 as a protest against police treatment of LGBTQ+ people, specifically trans people and people of colour, began the annual tradition of Pride parades through the major cities in the United States.

Ireland has a particularly interesting history in terms of LGBTQ+ culture.

Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1993, and within 25 years, marriage equality was legalised by public referendum, making Ireland the first country to legalise it by popular vote.

In 2019, uniformed officers from An Garda Síochána marched in the annual Pride parade alongside the organisations that protested them in previous years. Their presence garnered much controversy, leading to an “Alternative Pride” protest taking place on the Rosie Hackett bridge in Dublin City.

Despite historical events that have directly impacted Ireland, little is taught in primary or secondary schools about the history or the culture of the LGBTQ+ community. For Heather Reynolds, UCD’s current Visual Design Artist with the LGBTQ society, all her learning was self-taught.

“My first introduction to LGBTQ+ history is actually through my straight friend. She did the Stonewall riots for her Leaving Certificate History project and that got me interested in the history of it,” said Reynolds.

“I’ve looked a lot into it through the Irish Queer Archives, listening to queer historians give talks and then also, in the sense of the Americas, going and finding American history books on it.

One that I’ve read a couple of times is Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, which looks at lesbian history in 20th century America,” she added.

Nathan Young, an openly-gay journalist living in Dublin, believes “people talk about Stonewall as sort of the birth of the modern gay rights movement as if it was a beginning, although for it to have happened, it necessitated the existence of gay bars that had drag queens performing already for their rights, before the police tried to shut it down. Clearly it wasn’t the beginning.”

Reynolds found that for Irish history, aside from decriminalisation itself, events such as the Fairview Park murders, The AIDS epidemic and the 2004 KAL Supreme Court Case, where Katherine Zappone and her wife Ann Louise Gilligan fought to have their Canadian marriage recognised by the Irish State, were all important events that contributed to the Irish LGBTQ+ identity and informed her views on the relationship between the Gardaí and the LGBTQ+ community.

“Since decriminalisation, [the Gardai] have been a neutral force at face value, they are no longer raiding gay bars… but prior to that they were a very openly abrasive force towards the LGBTQ+ community – particularly gay men and trans women - as the police forces in most countries were at that stage,” said Reynolds.

“The law exists to enforce what the powers want society to look like, what they want us to feel is good…The State saying something is illegal is a very good way to get who wouldn’t have otherwise formed an opinion on something, to form a negative opinion,” said Reynolds.

“

However Young believes that the Gardaí have contributed negatively to public perception and failed to address issues within the LGBTQ+ community in a respectful and effective manner.

“I can think of very few efforts that the Gardaí have taken to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people, outside of some very PR centred “let’s have inclusive language” or “let’s have classes understanding gay culture”.

TheJournal.ie reported that even after the marriage equality was passed, assaults on LGBTQ+ people were on the rise, with most going unreported.

Reynolds believes that even though decriminalisation helped change the

social perception of LGBTQ+, this statistic doesn’t surprise her.

“If you look at cases of people being assaulted in the middle of the road for being perceived to be gay, people being beaten up behind gay bars, the cases never seem to have an end point, these people are never caught, or they are let go because the evidence is circumstantial,” said Reynolds.

This leads to the question of whether or not uniformed Gardaí should march alongside LGBTQ+ activists at Pride.

Reiterating her earlier point, Reynolds also holds the view that their participation at the last Pride march was just a “good PR move on their front...I’m not

Even after the marriage equality was passed, assaults on LGBTQ+ people were on the rise, with most going unreported

comfortable with uniformed police officers marching in any Pride, even just in solidarity with LGBTQ+ people in countries where it is still illegal, where the police are still an oppressive force for them.”

At some level, An Garda Síochána are aware of these concerns. The Garda press office was contacted for an interview and provided questions beforehand as to the type of training that is currently made available and whether it is mandatory for all employees, but referred back to their Diversity and Integration Strategy 2019 -2021.

The policy outlines its vision to “provide a responsive, equal and accessible policing service to all, particularly those who are marginalised in society, minority groups and persons from diverse backgrounds.”

It also includes a working definition of hate crime, that the Gardaí hope to use to monitor, respond to, and prevent the occurrence.

One outcome, concerning the training is to “develop a Garda training programme for Gardaí and Garda staff to build their competency and capacity to interact more effectively with…people from diverse and minority backgrounds,” suggesting that people may see more tangible changes with how interactions when reporting crimes are carried out.

It’s clear that while some progress has been made to bring these two communities together, from the perspective of some people within the LGBTQ+ community more work needs to be done to feel like the Gardaí are there to protect them.

The history of these two groups is one marred with tension and distrust, that has remained to this day.

While older generations of white, cisgender gay men may see the inclusion of the Gardaí as a step in the right direction to quell the conflict, younger LGBTQ+ activists remain steadfast in their convictions that there are still changes that need to be made. With this strategy published by An Garda Síochána are, at least, saying they will make changes to make LGBTQ+ feel included and protected in Irish society.

According to Young, change needs to begin at a higher level than the Gardaí, “There is very little that the Gardaí can do, other than to selectively decide, for community policing reasons, it’s just easier to not try to enforce the anti-prostitution of the anti-drug use laws and to focus on other more violent crimes,” said Young.

For Reynolds, more time and money needs to be invested in sensitivity training because, “if you are not coming from that community, you have no idea how to treat those people or how that relationship should work between you…and them as a person who has been affected negatively by that power, or whose community has been historically negatively affected by that power.”

Features

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Claiming your identity as a celebrity Recent years have seen an increase in hate crimes against the LGBT+ community yet two months into 2020 we have already seen the brave coming out of multiple celebrities

Beibhinn Thorsch| Deputy Features Editor @BeibhinnJourno

Credit: ITV

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ate crimes are on the rise. In 2018, the UK’s home office released a report which showed that since 2013, the number of hate crimes reported had doubled.

While most were racially motivated, part of the large increase was linked to hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Hate crimes against those who are transgender also increased.

Yet, 2020 has already seen the coming out of multiple celebrities of various backgrounds, experience and identities.

Kicking off the year was NikkieTutorials (Nikkie de Jager) of the Netherlands, who is one of YouTube’s top beauty gurus. A surprise to the vast majority, who had never even heard speculation of the truth, came when Nikkie uploaded her coming out video in January. She came out as transgender, saying she had transitioned from male to female as a teenager - “many years ago” she emphasised.

De Jager was open about the extent of her transition, saying she took hormones and growth stoppers.

By the time she was 19, she had fully transitioned.

She said she had been blackmailed into coming out when she received an email from a man who was unhappy that she was “lying” to her audience.

The man allegedly threatened to leak De Jager’s identity against her will if she did not do it herself.

“You don’t want to be known for that single part of your life,” De Jager said in her video when talking about having to come out to new friends.

“Especially after transitioning and going through everything and closing that chapter, but you can never truly close it off for good.”

While De Jager’s coming out was received exceptionally well, even being invited to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she spoke openly about coming out and her blackmailer - who is now being dealt with by the authorities.

The main negative reactions De Jager received were in regards to her revealing she hadn’t told her partner of her transition until the blackmailer had come to light. Many felt that while she did not exactly owe it to the public to come out, she should have revealed it to her fiancé.

Julia Chartienitz, Secretary for the DCU LGBTA society, told The College View: “NikkieTutorials was a particularly outrageous case where she was blackmailed and had no choice but to reveal she is a trans woman.”

While NikkieTutorials may have had the support of her unproblematic

past and loyal followers, this is not always the case when a celebrity comes out as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Jameela Jamil, an actress-turned-activist, came out as “queer” on Twitter. One thing her coming out does have in common with Nikkie de Jager’s, is that she also felt she was pushed into coming out against her wishes.

Jamil spoke on the different reasons for her fears in coming out.

Claiming the identity of queer, she explained how her South Asian culture and previous run-ins with being seen as problematic in the media led her to fear the reaction to her coming out.

Jamil felt pushed into coming out due to the backlash she received over her becoming a judge on the TV show “Legendary”.

“Legendary” is focused on the Ballroom culture of the ’80s and inspired largely by black and Latina/ Latino queer and trans people, with skills relating to queer culture such as Voguing.

“She had been falsely criticized for accepting an LGBTA related role on a new show and had to defend herself by admitting that she identifies as queer and still felt the need to apol-

“

You don’t want to be known for that single part of your life

ogise for coming out at an awkward time. This is exactly the opposite of acceptance.” Chartienitz, of the DCU LGBTA society, said.

Before coming out, Jamil had been criticised for being outspoken on topics which many viewed were not hers to speak out on.

“Sometimes it takes those with power to help a show get off the ground so we can elevate marginalized stars that deserve the limelight and give them a chance,” Jamil said in her coming-out tweet.

She also said that because she had little experience with ballroom culture, her place in the show would be a “window in for people who are just discovering it now.”

The vast contrast to Jamil’s experience is the recent coming out of Phillip Schofield. Schofield came out as gay live on air on ITV’s This Morning, with many of his closest friends around him.

Holly Willoughby, his co-host of many years, read out Schofield’s public statement while he sat next to her.

“I’ll be by your side forever,” Willoughby said to Schofield as they hugged afterwards.

Schofield spoke about his love and gratitude for his wife and daughters.

Schofield was embraced by other ITV hosts and applauded by the entire crew.

There were some comments online that Schofield had betrayed his family, but the response from the general public was overwhelmingly positive.

Many responses deemed Schofield “brave”.

However, rumours have emerged in recent days claiming that Schofield’s coming-out was a result of an affair he had been having. These rumours have not been confirmed, but they have spread far enough online that the sentiment behind Schofield’s coming out has dwindled into a mass of mixed feelings.

Schofield is still a beloved presenter on This Morning. He has thanked fans for their support and has encouraged people in a similar situation to him to talk to someone.

“Don’t let your head beat you and hopefully you’ll find out that your friends and family have a remarkable ability to surprise you with their love and understanding.”

Sport

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Daniel Phelan | Contributor

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ublin City University student Jennifer Lehane claimed the gold medal at the 2020 Golden Girl Championships earlier

this month.

The Championships took place in Borås in Sweden from the 31st of January to the 2nd of February and saw competitors from all across Europe take part.

DCU was represented at the Championships by two participants in the form of Jennifer Lehane and Renne Roache.

Speaking to The College View, Lehane said “we travelled over to Sweden together on Thursday, we weighed-in on Friday morning.”

“I fought Sweden in the quarter finals on the Friday, I then fought England in the semi-finals on Saturday and I had Portugal in the final on Sunday, I won all three fights by unanimous decisions”, she said.

All three of Lehane’s adversaries

were of a high standard and remarkably had more experience than her as she only began boxing 18 months ago.

Bizarrely, Lehane had registered just four fights before heading into the Golden Girl Championships earlier this month.

“I didn’t really think about it too much to be honest. I trained really hard for it and I knew I had put in the work, but at the same time I still only had four boxing fights under my belt prior to this competition. So I did set out to win, because that’s what I was training for”, she said.

Going into the tournament, Lehane wanted to challenge herself and see how she would fare against in a more experienced competition, “I was kind of just more looking forward to seeing how I would fight against the other international high-level boxers and just kind of see where I stood but I was delighted with my performances and obviously delighted with my results too,” said Lehane.

Lehane spoke about starting off in the sport and she believes that much of her success comes from her proficien-

Credit: Jenny Lehane

DCU boxer comes out on top at The Golden Girl Championships

cy in taekwondo in which she is also a European champion. “I initially just wanted to kind of try something new, whilst also improving my taekwondo but I fell in love with boxing instantly.

I guess my experience with taekwondo kind of set the foundation for boxing,” Lehane said.

While they are two very unique sports, Lehane draws on the parallels between the two disciplines. “They

both have one big thing in common and that is ‘to hit and not get hit’. So, I suppose a lot of the skills that I already had from taekwondo transferred over to boxing, things like movement, conditioning, distance and all that.

I’m a quick learner and I’m really competitive with myself so if I can’t get something straight away I’ll work hard to improve it until I get it.”

Next on the agenda for the

multi-disciplined fighter are the College Championships that will take place next month. She’s also looking ahead to the National Under-22 Championships in which she also hopes to be fighting in.

However, for now, Lehane is content with where she is and what’s ahead of her. “I just love getting in the ring, I love fighting and I’m just really excited to see what the future holds.”

Trampoline Club sends largest team ever to the Scottish Open

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Katie Lowry | Contributor

Credit: DCU Trampoline

he largest DCU Trampolining Club team ever to travel to Edinburgh competed in the Scottish Student Open at the University of

Edinburgh.

Upon arriving in the Scottish capital, the team spent the day marching around Edinburgh to see all the sites, such as the renowned Edinburgh Castle before jumping into an intense session in the evening.

The team performed their individual routines on Saturday, the first day of competition, and although nobody placed this year, team captain Jean Dwyer said, “overall everyone competed really well but the competition was really high, so we are proud of everyone who competed.”

The competition ended for the day, so it was time for the team to reward themselves with a gorgeous meal after all their hard work followed by an

Olympic themed night out.

This was the largest number of students the club has ever brought to the Scottish Student Trampoline Open, which was a huge achievement for the club. Niamh Ni Iccheadha, competitions officer for DCU trampoline club said, “it really shows DCU tramp club growing both in size and participation.”

The competition continued in full swing on Sunday and it was time for the team to compete in synchro, two tricks and DMT. DMT - double mini trampolining - is a new type of competition that DCU are trying to promote in their club.

Unfortunately, the competition was extremely high once again, but the team competed strongly and did their best.

Niamh Ni Icheadha competed in the elite women’s contest and came 10th overall. Niamh was the first DCU competitor to enter the elite competition in the last few years and managed

to place in Team Ireland, which is the top six Irish in the elite tier.

Jean Dwyer participated in the advanced women’s and came 12th overall followed by Aoife Lally who competed in the inter advanced ladies’ as well as the DMT level one. Aoibhe Drennan and Jessica McInery both competed in the intermediate ladies.

Mark Thompson, Lukas Stasaitis and Cormac Duggan all competed in intermediate men’s and Ciara Deegan, Miriam Meggar and Lea Delving all competed in the novice ladies.

Jean finished by saying “it was an amazing weekend. We got a late Sunday flight home and returned to reality.”

This competition came after a very impressive win at intervarsity’s earlier this year at UCC in Cork where DCU won the cup which was a huge achievement for the club and not something that has ever been done before.

Sport

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Comerford, Bugler and Small continue DCU-Dubs link

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Comerford cited DCU alumni Paul Flynn and Philly McMahon as inspirations Cian Dunne| Contributor

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Credit Sportsfile

CU produced 16 GAA football players that were part of the Dublin panel’s record breaking All-Ireland success, more than any other university.

The DCU players, of past and present were key to the Dublin side that has now won the Sam Maguire for a 5th year in a row.

Current DCU players such as Evan Comerford, Sean Bugler and Paddy Small were all part of the Dublin panel, while also being part of the DCU side that won a fifth Sigerson Cup on January 29th.

Sean Bugler and Paddy Small both made their championship debuts for Dublin in the 1-16 0-13 victory over Tyrone, in the final game of the Super 8s. Bugler gave a man of the match performance, scoring 0-3 points, while Small also was on target for 0-2.

Despite his performance, Sean Bugler did not play in Dublin’s All-Ireland semi-final, showing how difficult and competitive it is in the Dublin panel.

“When we were coming through secondary school, you see the likes of

It’s a special connection, and it’s really nice to tie in both club and county in the one success story

Philly McMahon, Paul Flynn, all these great names who we looked up to, playing for DCU and winning Sigersons”, said Ballymun Kickham’s Evan Comerford.

“Seeing these players was an extra incentive to try and get to a college, like DCU.” Comerford made his debut for Dublin against Longford in the Championship semi-final in 2018, after goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton had to be substituted 20 minutes into the match.

Comerford described the connection that DCU GAA has with the Dublin team as “crucial”. “It doesn’t matter what age you are, how many medals you have, whoever is playing the best football at the time is going to get the jersey.

“This pushes the younger players to be diligent, wait for your chance and when it comes, to take it”.

Bugler, Small and Comerford all came up through minors, under 21s and now to the senior Dublin panel and DCU GAA. “It’s a special connection, and it’s really nice to tie in both club and county in the one success story,” said Comerford.

DCU volleyball lose out at the Intervarsities Conor Breslin| Sports Editor @ConorBreslin10

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he DCU men’s volleyball team lost out by two points in the Intervarsities Plate final in a neck & neck match with Dundalk IT last Sunday in NUI Galway.

The metropolitan college started the tournament off on the wrong foot losing their opening two group games, which prevented them from entering the Cup competition and were instead put into the lower Plate division where they were grouped to play DKIT and Tallaght IT in two set matches.

Both games were a tight affair with DCU coming out the better on both occasions as they progressed to the semi-finals. Due to the way the fixtures fell, DCU once again came up against Tallaght IT. With the semi-finals playing the best out of three sets and the first to 25 points. DCU got off to a rocky start losing out on their first set, but recovered well to squeeze past Tallaght IT in the second and third set to progress into the Plate final where they once again came up against DKIT. DCU volleyball club chairperson Anna Colwell said, “I’ve never seen as many women screaming in my life at a sports match, the ladies’ team were eliminated on the final day so every

“

It’s fantastic to say we got to a final in the men’s and we competed in the Cup in the women’s competition

ladies player was down supporting the men in their final. We play Dundalk every year and it’s always a tight affair.”

Like the semi-final, it was the best out of three sets, first to 25 points and you had to win by two points. DCU were put on the backfoot early losing the first set on a score of 26-24. However, like the semi-final they came back strong in the second leg, edging past DKIT by 3 points on a score of 25-22.

It all came down to the final set, which was the first to 15 points and you had to win by two points. DCU were winning well until they got points deducted due to a technical foul involving the positioning of the players.

That proved to be the defining moment of the match and from here DKIT took full advantage winning the Plate final by a total of two points on a score of 17-15.

“We were all so proud of the men. To get to any final is a massive achievement and they represented DCU so well,” said Colwell.

The DCU women’s team on the other hand consisted of a group of players who haven’t played together. DCU volleyball are reliant on their international students to play, but when they leave the university, DCU volleyball struggle to make up the numbers, so many of the women’s players were beginners who never played.

Credit DCU volleyball

DCU lost the Plate final to Dundalk IT by 17-15

With all the chances stacked against them, DCU still managed to win all their group games which placed them in the Cup, beating Waterford IT and NUI Maynooth all in straight sets.

The second day didn’t go as well for the ladies’ team losing out to a much more experienced UCD and NUIG team.

Colwell summed up the tournament stating: “It was a great weekend hosted

by NUIG. It’s fantastic to say we got to a final in the men’s and we competed in the Cup in the women’s competition.

Our mind set all year was to breed new members into the club, bring a sense of enjoyment and be competitive. Even though our new coach Gerry White wasn’t at the tournament, he has been excellent all year around and brought a fresh approach to the University.”

Sport

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DCU defence stands firm to win Collingwood Cup

a cagey affair and Ulster University proved to be a challenging encounter for DCU who were “heavy underdogs” coming into the tournament.

Ulster University was comfortable playing the ball on the ground and for large swathes of the game dominated possession, although they lacked a cutting edge and largely failed in the attempts at opening up DCU. “I thought we defended very well, throughout the game and they were the better footballing team. They certainly had more of the ball” Butler said.

The best chance of the game fell to Jack O’ Connor, however, his brilliant effort was scooped off the line. It would prove to be O’ Connors’ first big moment in the game, but it wouldn’t be the last.

As the game progressed tiredness crept into both teams play and the ef-

fects of two tough games against UCD and the University of Limerick began to become apparent, but the same was also true of UU, who narrowly overcame last years champions, University College Cork, 2-1 in their semi-final.

It was a “fair representation of 22 players who had played three games in three days. The first half was a decent tempo and the second- half everyone was tired.” according to Whelan.

As extra-time loomed, DCU looked the far fresher side, despite the fact they had been forced to play without the ball for the majority of the game, and when penalties were required this gave hope to the players who were about to step forward.

The players hadn’t worked on penalties extensively in the lead-up to the tournament. Progressing in the tournament on penalties against UCD provided another slight advantage, and each DCU player confidently converted their spot-kicks, with O’Connor burying the penultimate kick to seal the victory.

It was a devastating loss for Ulster and delight for the Dubliners. After so many setbacks on the injury front, Whelan was ecstatic having come through three matches unscathed and now a Collingwood cup champion.

“It still hasn’t sunk in yet. I wasn’t aiming for this. I am absolutely delighted it’s so nice that the hard work has paid off.”

For Butler, having had spells as a coach with DCU before assuming his role as development officer, the win was “massively satisfying” and he feels the future is increasingly bright for DCU. As the dust settles on a hugely successful end to the year, the focus now begins to move toward next season’s preparation for DCU. An improved showing in the league would be hugely beneficial, before pushing forward in the universities attempt to retain the Collingwood Cup in 2021.

DCU also claimed the Women’s Open Doubles with Meadhbh Ní Dhálaigh for the third year in a row in Galway last November. Tully is also the holder of the US Open Doubles championship which she won in the Los Cabolleros complex in Santa Barbara

California min July 2019.

Tully who is now ranked fifth in the Irish rankings and is now set to make a return to the US this month to compete in the US Association Colleges Competition in Texas alongside her partner Meadhbh Ní Dhálaigh.

Ruairí Carberry| Contributor

rent crop of DCU players but was born out of necessity. Several high profile injuries derailed the beginning of the season and hindered coaches Johnny McDonnell and Declan Roche’s ability to work on the technical side of things early on.

Some quality players had graduated and moved on from last year’s squad and the team was going through a “transition period” according to Fran Butler DCU’s long-time Soccer Development Officer With new players arriving, “we didn’t really know what we had [in terms of] quality.” said Butler. The aim at the beginning of the campaign was to “have a good league campaign and build towards the Collingwood.”

This sentiment was echoed by captain Eric Whelan, who would go onto win the player of the tournament

Fiona Tully is in a league of her own

F

Conor Breslin| Sports Editor iona Tully created history in Belfast by becoming the first person ever in Irish Handball to hold all the possible trophies available.

Having won the 60x30 singles and doubles (with partner Meadhbh Ní Dhaláigh) she had to go on to do the same in the small alley in the centre of Belfast, winning both the singles and doubles in 40x20, something that has never been completed by anybody, male or female, before in this sport.

She also joins an elite group of players that have won the 40x20 singles tournament three times in a row.

DCU had a great weekend in Bel-

fast for the ICHA third level 40X20 Colleges Competition. The Northside University had 13 competitors, coming home with two gold and two silver medals.

Aoife Holden (DCU) won the Women’s A Title, beating Clionadh O’Connell (UL), while Meadhbh Ní Dhaláigh bowed out in the quarter final of the women’s Open to finalist Niamh Heffernan (UL).

Fiona Tully overcame Kelly Curran and Eilise McCrory (who Tully has claimed was her toughest ever opponent) to advance to the final where she defeated Niamh Heffernan on a score line of two sets to one. After claiming the Open title for the third year in a row and while reflecting on her mo-

award. The structure at the beginning of the year was not as smooth as previous years according to Whelan. On a personal level, this rang true as the former Dundalk U-19’s man overcame a series of unfortunate injuries, that forced him to miss over a year, to play three games back to back last week and ultimately scoop two trophies at once.

While the preparations for the year were less than ideal, several players, who had experienced success in the 2017 Harding Cup as freshers, such as Jack O’ Connor and Sean McCarthy, provided experience during last week’s Collingwood run.

It is difficult to navigate three games in as many days, but “all these guys know what’s involved in the tournament.” said Butler.

The final in Dalymount Park was

mentous achievement Tully stated: “It is an absolute honour and one I will cherish for a long time.”

“I didn’t get time to think about the occasion because I was so caught up in the moment. I was leading well in the final set, but Niamh never gave up and slowly started catching up, I was lucky enough to come out the winner.

It was only when the game was over that you start to think about what you have done and then you begin to enjoy it,” said Tully.

Tully’s dominance in gaelic handball originated when she took up the sport in her youth after following her sister and her sister’s friend to their local club St Colemans in their native town of Roscommon.

“My sister and her friend used to go down to the handball alley and one day I went with them and I’ve played ever since,” Tully said.

Tully has become a dominate figure in handball over the last year. Besides winning this trophy for the third year in a row, the third-year Arts student at

Credit:DCU Handball

Credit:Ruairí Carberry

W

hile glancing back at the history of football, many great teams come to mind.

Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions conquered Inter Milan in 1967, by thoroughly outplaying Helenio Herrera’s defensively minded team. The Brazilian side of 1982 led

by Socrates is considered in various corners to be one of the greatest footballing sides in international football history, even though they failed in their attempt to win the World Cup. The squad assembled at Barcelona during coach Pep Guardiola’s reign, that included the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Andres Iniesta are lauded by many as club football’s most exciting team in recent times. Largely this was down to how they cherished the ball, and exploited spaces left by opposing teams, and were sniper like in their ability to punish momentary lapses in concentration.

All of the aforementioned footballing teams possess many common traits, but the reason they are remembered fondly is because of their favoring attack over defence.

Rarely are defensively minded teams celebrated in the same vein, however very often in football, the team that makes the least amount of mistakes wins games.

There isn’t any doubt that DCU’s recent triumph in the Collingwood Cup was based around the above premise.

A 2-0 half-time lead against tournament favorites UCD in their quarter-final clash may have hinted at the teams attacking prowess, but it was the back four that proved to be the foundation of DCU’s success as the tournament progressed.

The focus placed on becoming a solid defensive unit, by no means diminishes the individual ability of the cur-

24

INSIDE

Champions

DCU claim first ever Collingwood Cup after tight final in Dalymount Park Ruairí Carberry| Contributor

D

ublin City University claimed its first Collingwood Cup, triumphing over Ulster University on penalties at Dalymount Park on Wednesday February 5th.

Speaking after the game triumphant DCU coach, Johnny McDonnell, described the victory as “fantastic.”

“We knew it was going to be tight, the way we played all week we didn’t deviate away from that. Ulster are a very good team. They tried to get it down and play but we were just strong, resilient, kept our shape all over the pitch and we just ground it out.”

The game, the third in as many days for both sides, was closely contested throughout with Ulster University controlling much of the ball without

causing much concern in front of the DCU goal.

The best chance of the first period arrived five minutes before half-time as DCU’s Jack O’ Connor latched onto a ball and managed to round Ulster University stopper, Matty McClurg.

The striker’s attempt was on target and would have opened the scoring had it not been for a last-gasp goal-line clearance.

The best play originated down the left-hand side for both teams. Craig Taylor was a constant menace for Ulster on the overlap, and he whipped several dangerous balls into the DCU box, while on the opposite flank Triston Noack Hofmann marauded forward and caused Ulster problems by linking up well with Sean McCarthy.

In the second half, chances were again few and far between. Ronan Wilson was a constant bright spark for

the Ulstermen, dropping in between DCU’s midfield and back four. However, his best work happened far away from the goal, so he did not trouble the Dubliner’s too much.

This continued for much of the second half with both sides probing tentatively without creating much in the way of clear cut opportunities.

O’Connor, who scored a brace in the semi-final against the University of Limerick was largely starved of service and struggled to make any headway against a solid UU backline.

As the game wore on, the toll of the past three days began to show. Both sides began to slow as extra-time got underway.

Neither team was willing to take any risks and concede the goal that looked likely to decide the affair, and penalties were inevitable.

After the first two penalties were

“

We knew it was going to be tight, the way we played all week we didn’t deviate away from that

Credit:Ruairí Carberry

Jennifer Lehane comes out on top at the Golden Girl Championships

routinely dispatched Ulster faltered first, missing their following two strikes, while each DCU penalty taker cooly converted each of theirs.

That left Jack O’ Connor, who stepped forward to bury the penultimate kick before wheeling away to celebrate the Dublin sides’ first Collingwood Cup victory in its 40year history.

DCU midfielder Sean Cronin echoed McDonnell’s assessment; “We knew we were gonna be tired but in fairness to Ulster they held on until the end. At the very start I thought we were gonna be in for a very tough match. Eventually, it was about - because we’ve played three matches in a row - who was gonna make the least mistakes, and I think we did on the day so we deserved it on the penos I think.”