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TRINITY NEWS ESTABLISHED 1953
Tuesday 9 November 2021
Ireland’s Oldest Student Newspaper
Vol. 68, Issue. 4
PHOTO BY JACK KENNEDY FOR TRINITY NEWS
Harris and USI to launch spiking awareness campaign Sarah Emerson Deputy News Editor
A COP on
Signs discarded in House Six after protests on Saturday November 6, coinciding with the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. TCDSU officers and other Trinity students marched as part of a crowd of several thousand in Dublin. Full report: page 3
TCDSU referendum on Irish Times boycott scheduled for November 24-26 Bella Salerno, Jack Kennedy Deputy News Editor, Editor
T
RINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN STUDENTS’ UNION (TCDSU) is to hold a referendum on whether to boycott the Irish Times from November 24 to 26. The wording of the proposal, if passed at referendum, would mandate that “TCDSU boycott The Irish Times in all TCDSU shops, trade, business and other commercial Union operations” over the newspaper’s coverage of
issues of trans rights. This would include refusing to stock or sell the newspaper in TCDSU shops, and refusing advertising and printing services from the Irish Times. TCDSU Sabbatical Officers would also be required to decline media requests from the Irish Times. It would also mean that TCDSU would join several other students’ unions and activist groups in boycotting the newspaper, including the unions of University College Dublin; Dublin City University; National University of Ireland Galway; and the Institute of Art, Design and Technology. The effort is led by the Trans
Writers’ Union and has received support from author Shon Faye, Community Action Tenants Union, and former Irish Times contributor Louise Bruton. Because the pro-boycott stance would constitute a “long-term policy” (LTP) of the union, it must be approved by the student body at referendum before it can enter into force. Existing LTPs of TCDSU include its support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and its stance in favour of abortion on request. LTPs remain in force until rescinded, which must also be done by referendum. The vote will run concurrently
with one on calling for Trinity to divest from arms manufacturing. College currently has approximately €2.5 million invested in the sector. Anyone interested in running a campaign on either side of either referendum is invited to contact the union’s Electoral Commission. TCDSU’s LGBT+ Rights Officer Jenny Maguire authored the proposal to hold the boycott vote. It received approval from the Union Forum on October 11, and then was brought to the union’s Council on October 19. The motion was seconded by Sierra Mueller-Owens, the union’s Welfare and Equality Officer. After Continued on page 2>>
N INFORMATION CAMPAIGN TO RAISE AWARENESS OF SPIKING is to be launched, following a number of reports in recent weeks of drink and needle-based spiking in Ireland and the UK. On November 5, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Innovation and Research Simon Harris announced the campaign in partnership with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). The decision followed the minister’s meeting with the USI on Thursday, November 4. Harris called the rise in reported needle spiking incidents a “worrying development which needs to be urgently addressed”, adding: “Thanks to students for discussing with me.” Harris said that he would discuss spiking with the Minister for Justice in the coming days, and the awareness campaign would be Continued on page 2>>
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