VOLUME XVII ISSUE 11
NE QUID FALSE DICERE AUDEAT NE QUID VERI NON AUDEAT
IRELAND’S AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER
29th March 2011
COMMENT
FEATURES
MEMBERS OF THE LGBT ARE INTERVIEWED ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES OF COMING OUT
WE DEBATE THE IMPACT OF THE NEW PRIVACY LAWS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
PAGE 11
PAGE 13
SU ELECTION SPECIAL WE INTERVIEW THE CANDIDATES FOR THE FORTHCOMING ELECTIONS PAGES 6-9
Republic of Loose and O Emperor to play UCD Ball AMY BRACKEN News Editor
R
epublic of Loose and O Emperor are among the acts that have been confirmed at this year’s UCD Ball on April 21st. While the headline acts are yet to be announced, other confirmed acts include Lyaz, I-Rate Sound System, Bluemoose, Royseven, Fourplay, Frank Jez & Tando, Hogan, the Battle of the Bands winners, Daft Funk, Brian Maher (Spin 103.8), Fight Like Apes, Lost in Flight, Brandon Block, Disco of Doom, Casette Jam, and Red n’ Head. UCDSU Entertainments Vice-President Jonny Cosgrove is confident that this will be the fastest selling UCD Ball yet, as a result of many months of preparation: “We have put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that the musical bill covers everything,” he said. “We tick all the boxes, from ensuring the best international festival DJs, to home-grown talent to the cheesiest of the cheese and our own UCD talent take the stage.” Confusion was rife since construction begun on the new Sutherland School of Law at last year’s Ball site as to where this year’s event was to be held, yet it is now understood that it will be held at the running track on the N11 side of the campus. Cosgrove spoke of the changes being made on last year’s event as well as the publicity he expects it to obtain: “This is looking to build on last year’s success as we move it to a more permanent home, bump up the lineup, our largest and most diverse to date, as well as adding in a carnival which was absent last year due to a licensing issue which we have built on this year. We are also looking to confirm that Spin 103.8, UCD Ents media partner for the first time this year, shall broadcast live from the event.” Cosgrove confirmed that he and his Ents Crew are currently in the process of implementing security measures in conjunction with the Gardaí and with university authorities. Cosgrove says the ball will be “a day to remember, an event you can’t miss” and expressed his gratitude towards the organisers of the event: “Finding the new location and setting what was an extremely tough budget, I am happy to say the UCD Ball will be the cherry on top and I’m so thankful to everyone who has and has yet to put blood, sweat and tears into this unique event.” Cosgrove concluded that the event will mark the culmination of a very successful Ents year and that he wants it to be the best Ents event yet: “I’ll only be happy when I see the thousands of attendees having a great day to cap off a year of high.” Tickets for this year’s end of term UCD Ball are set to go on sale tomorrow outside the library and on UCDEnts.com, with the headline act to be confirmed later this
Members of the UCD Mountaineering Club are left hanging around during the Intervarsities Cup. See page 22.
Olympic ambitions for new Student Centre SARAH DORAN
T
Chief News Writer he University Observer can exclusively reveal that the new UCD Student Centre is in the running to serve as the preLondon 2012 Olympics base for at least three European National swimming teams. UCD Student Centre Manager Dominic O’Keeffe told The University Observer that the Vice Chair of the Swedish Olympic Association and a group of Swedish National Swimming Team delegates visited UCD on March 22nd to inspect the facilities. “We had them on a tour looking for 900 bed nights for about 35 people to come here,” said O’ Keefe.
The delegation was taken on a tour of catering facilities including the Main Restaurant and viewed the accommodation facilities at Roebuck Castle, Roebuck 2 and Glenomena. Details with regard to the accommodation of entourage and commuting times to London were also discussed. “They were more than impressed with the facilities of UCD,” O’Keeffe said. “They looked at bringing a second sport along with swimming, so we said we could accommodate that but you know; all these things are negotiable.” However, the team are also looking at an area in Northern Italy for an Olympics base. O’Keeffe also pointed toward an educational advantage should the Swedish team
choose UCD: “They’re based in Gothenburg too so they spoke about the Erasmus programme and education and so there could be links improved as well there.” Sweden is not the only country to have expressed interest in the facility: “We have two opportunities with the Dutch Team who actually want to come and have a look at it and Germany want to come here as well. So fingers crossed we’re going well on that front in the international market,” O’Keeffe said. “If it’s not the Swedish it might be the Dutch and the Germans might even come here, so it’d be an even bigger team.” O’Keeffe understood that a final decision with regard to the choice of venue
by the Swedish team would be made around September of this year following consultation with the national Olympic Federation. However he was eager to emphasise that Olympic ambitions were “a byproduct of what we’re trying to produce. We’re trying to produce the student facility really at the end of the day.” O’Keeffe explained that as a result of a “slippage in the programme due to weather, technical problems and building ability,” the projected opening date for the new Student Centre is now January 2012. “It’s more about the quality of the building than the actual opening date,” he stated. “Hopefully sometime in January of 2012 we’ll be in it.”
UCD email service to be powered by Gmail RONAN O’KELLY
P
lans are underway for a major overhaul of the UCD e-mail system, which will see the existing IMAP Student Mail replaced with a Google-powered network. If the proposal goes ahead, students will have access to over 7GB of storage capacity, as well as a fully customisable e-mail interface and access to integrated Google Apps. UCD’s IT Services Department have confirmed that the new student Gmail system is currently being tested by members of the Quinn School along with 50 other students throughout the university. Speaking with The University Observer, IT Services’ Communications Officer, Olivia
Jackman, explained: “The process began with a panel of UCD students and staff reviewing the service offerings from a number of providers. “Many universities in Ireland and abroad have already moved their services to Google and feedback from the UCD panel indicated that customers would like a move to Google powered mail.” Having passed a technical assessment, the plan is currently in its pilot stage in which feedback from test groups is being evaluated. Students from the Quinn School of Business have been involved in this process from the start and took an active part in the customer review sessions. When asked if criticism of the current system is the reason for the switch, Olivia
Jackman stated: “The existing student mail environment has not received much criticism,” she said. “The replacement of the server infrastructure for the existing system would be required soon and this, as well as the possibility of offering greater e-mail capacity and integrated apps for students led us to assess the suitability of cloud services.” The Google Apps software is designed to allow freer and more effective communication within the entire campus body and is provided cost-free and ad-free to most thirdlevel institutions. IT Services have already introduced Google Calendar and access to Google Docs last year, but the new Gmail system will allow student mailboxes to integrate with these and numerous other Google ap-
plications. E-mail addresses will remain the same and will continue to be available to students even after they leave UCD. The system has proven extremely successful in many other Irish universities, including Trinity College, where students have been availing of the free service since its inception in 2007. IT Services have confirmed that the UCD Connect environment will continue as normal with access to the new e-mail environment being provided within UCD Connect. No date has been confirmed for the transition to Gmail, but IT Services will decide this in conjunction with Registry and other official bodies within UCD when the test period is over.