The University Times Year in Review Supplement

ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MCDERMOTT FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

Year in Review

SUPPLEMENT

Tuesday 1st April, 2014

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

Year in Review 3

News Round-Up Paul Glynn Staff Writer

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or its small size, there is always something of note happening within Trinity’s campus and its satellites.

2013-14 was a taxing yet significant year for elections as the Students’ Union oversaw the running of an impressive seven student referendums during the academic year. Students voted to oppose supporting Tobacco-Free Trinity, to support the Union’s long-term policy on abortion rights, support for ending direct provision, the introduction of amendments to the Student Union’s constitution, supporting reform of the Seanad, support for legalising same-sex marriage in Ireland and to not impeach Tom Lenihan, President of the Union, in the controversial impeachment referendum that captivated the campus.

The student body also elected their five news sabbatical officers for the year 2014/15 - Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne as President, Katie Byrne for Education, Ian Mooney for Welfare, Finn Murphy for Entertainment and Samuel Riggs for Communications. With well

over 4,000 valid votes cast, a record number of voters turned out for this election, thanks in part to a rebranding overhaul of the election process, moving away from an overly-generalised fortnight of campaigning and adopting the name “The Leadership Race”.

The current sabbatical officers offered increased education about the roles, and aimed to create wider appeal and transparency. Coverage of the elections became that bit more engrossing - with a change in language bringing about a “race” on the cards, interest in the event was arguably at a peak unlike any other year.

Trinity had an impressive share of well-known visitors to the campus. Sinéad O’Connor visited the GMB to debate, in her ubiquitously colourful rhetoric and an army jumpsuit, the motion “This House Believes that the Catholic Church can be Salvaged” with the Hist on February 12.

The Hist also welcomed President Michael D. Higgins and Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel to join the ranks of guest speakers, while writer Bill Bryson, zoologist Dr. Jane Goodall and musician Nile Rodgers paid visits to the Phil.

The most notable guest of the college and students was arguably German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who spoke at the Phil’s Inaugural Meeting on March 5. The college also paid homage to its long-time supporters during the

year: the passing of anti-apartheid activist and former South African President Nelson Mandela saw commemoration from the Students’ Union officially renaming House 6 to Mandela House.

Although now established as an event for many Irish universities, Jailbreak 2014 proved to be of particular pride to Trinity once again with the home team of Kyryll Chulak and Salim Sebaoui travelling all the way to Sydney without spending a cent of their own money. Four of the five furthest-travelled teams came from Trinity College, reaching as far afield as Seattle, Singapore and Hawaii. Jailbreak as a whole raised €37,411 online and through donations for charities including VDP and Amnesty International.

2013-14 was a strong year for student campaigning. A particularly potent issue for students formed on the heels of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, where there had been increasing concern over the country’s treatment of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens.

For the two-week duration of the Olympics, the Students’ Union successfully worked to suspend the sales of products by sponsors Coca-Cola and Proctor and Gamble in

The most notable guest of the college and students was arguably German Chancellor Angela Merkel Coll e g e’s catering outlets. The Union also joined the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) in protest outside the Russian Embassy. Trinity students made their voices heard about job placement controversies as well: in response to the highlycriticised pay level of €6.49 issued to student nurses, Trinity students not only from nursing courses but from all over campus joined the USI’s “Am I worth €6.49?” campaign, which culminated in a protest outside the Dr. Steeven’s Hospital on March 6.

The more commendable features of Trinity College’s year of current affairs faced considerable discouragement from more pessimistic turns of events, particularly through budget cuts. The budgets

for Coll e g e capitated bodies were announced to be hit by reductions of 5% in 2013-14 and 2014-15, which would affect Dublin University Central Athletic Club, the Central Societies Committee, the Students’ Union and Trinity Publications by reductions of around €60,000 in 2013-14. After strong opposition, the Capitation Committee offered a three-month concession, yet the affected organisations remain cautious. Trinity’s Scholars also faced setbacks, with accommodation for Scholars in their first year of such moving offcampus to Trinity Hall, as well as a threat of a 10% reduction in funds for the award.

2013 and 2014 were undoubtedly high-octane years for Trinity - whether faced with a welcome wealth of student referendums and esteemed guests, or an unwelcome series of cuts and causes to protest against, students turned to college news sources to keep informed and, most importantly, to get talking.

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

4 Year in Review

What got College Talking

Shauna Cleary Supplements Editor

We give you the low down on what articles students were talking about this year by listing you the top articles on universitytimes.ie from 2013/14.

2013

1 “

Sigh: So Kill Me Leanna Byrne

tunately blocked from the SoSueMe Facebook page - “She blocked me on facebook because I corrected the grammar in one of her posts once. I mean fair enough grammar nazis and all that, but she’s supposed to be some form of writer, no?”

I don’t feel there is anything left to be said.

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Horror of the Hunzos Jack Gibson

When you go onto the website it has all the glitz and glam that you To define a stunnah, it’s difficult really, but it generally appears would expect from a Bratz dolls hazed in a cloud of powdermusic video. foundation and apathy, and is more concerned with the Who better to take the top spot on our most popular articles of 2013 list than The University Times’ very own editor Leanna comings-and-goings of Made In Byrne. Leanna’s opinion article on the SoSueMe fashion and beauty blog run by model and socialite Suzanne Jackson Chelsea and Geordie Shore. made for some entertaining reading and received highly publicised attention from fans and foes alike.

Not only did Leanna attract the readership of the blogger herself, she succeeded in inspiring a series of motivational, “don’t let the haters bring you down,” quotes on Ms Jackson’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, making her a worthy recipient of our top spot.

Comment of the article goes to “Evie” who was unfor-

Moving from one hunzo to another (the computer facts don’t lie people) and coming in to snatch the spot for our second most popular article of 2013 is Jack Gibson. Jack’s witty portrayal of the attendees at this year’s Law Soc Ball caused quite a stir around Trinity back at Hallowe’en and awakened in college feminists an undoubtedly life-long re-

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

Year in Review 5

“SHE DOESN’T EVEN GO HERE!!”

What? Who said that? So rude. Ahem... 2013’s third most popular article goes to NUIG student Jessica Thompson and her article on perceptions of Trinity College Dublin to the average outsider/peasant. Culminating the opinions of a number of different students, Jessica’s attempt to source the root of the “Trinners for Winners” snobbery left her audience at odds with her opinion (was it serious or not? It’s all very confusing). No matter, whether you agreed with Jessica’s viewpoint or not she managed to snatch up our final spot as third most popular article of 2013. That’s right, third place... not first as first is for winners. Trinners for winners.* *Disclaimer: No snobbery intended xoxo Comment of the article: ‘Winner’ from ‘Trinners’: “Funny, as a Trinity student after reading this article, I think this is the only time I have ever felt like I am actually better than those in NUIG”

2014 PHOTO BY ANDREW MURPHY FOR THE UNIVERSITY TIMES

sentment towards the Law student.

While most took offence at Jack’s seeming attempt to order the women of college how to dress and act, many saw a facet to the article which was an attempt to empower them in a “you don’t need to dress like a slut to impress” sort of way. Whether you loved or loathed the piece, Jack’s article almost attracted the biggest audience of 2013 and bad publicity is good publicity right? RIGHT? Comment of the article goes to Emer O’ Toole: “I’m sad that I missed the party where The University Times was relaunched as the Secondary School Bully Times. Not.” Major lol.

3 “

Trinity: Much Ado About Nothing Jessica Thompson

I think it’s just that the ratio of stereotypical academicallygifted, socially-inept students is greater in Trinners than here in Galway. I like their scarves though – NUIG men should wear scarves more often...

1

The University Times Leadership Race Liveblog Leanna Byrne & Edmund Heaphy

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The Electoral Commission are currently sorting ballots. The atmosphere is tense.

“IT IS SO TENSE I CANNOT TAKE IT MUCH LONGER,” screamed a large proportion of the student body as you remained glued to your computer screens to make our Leadership Race Liveblog our most popular post of 2014. The night was almost as long as Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne’s name and as painful as watching PJ Moloney’s ‘Happy’ campaign video. Just in case you have been living under a rock for the past semester, the incoming Students’ Union will consist of: President: Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne Education: Katie Byrne Communications: Samuel Riggs Welfare: Ian Mooney Ents: Finn Murphy.

Furthermore, the Tobacco Free Trinity proposal failed to pass while the Abortion Referendum did.

Comment of the article comes from Aaron Barry: “Lads seriously I want to cry with NERVES. GIMME THE RESULTS” We were right there with you, pal.

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Trinity Has Most Irish Student Sign-ups to Escort Service Hannah Ryan

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A lot of the Sugar Daddies actually want to be mentors.

They take great satisfaction in moulding these young ladies Yes, not creepy at all. Taking second spot on our most popular article of 2014 list is News Editor, Hannah Ryan’s startling revelations that almost 397 female students from Trinity have become “Sugar Babies” to “Sugar Daddies” on an international escort site in order to pay college fees. Unfortunately we do not have a favourite comment for this particular article as those who read it to push it into our list were merely the Sugar Babies themselves, reading it to make sure that their names were not mentioned and too relieved to remember to leave a comment.

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Duke Dumont to play Trinity Ball 2014 Hannah Ryan

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The University Times can reveal that Trinity Ball 2014 will play host to Duke Dumont, 2ManyDJs and Le Galaxie, among others.

2014’s third most popular article really highlights the student body’s main priorities for Hilary Term - the early announcement once again made by News Editor Hannah Ryan (what’s next for her? World domination?) of the first three acts to play the April 4 Trinity Ball. While the hype was certainly there when clicking into the article, many were left disappointed with its content. Further to the revelation that Duke Dumont, 2ManyDJs and Le Galaxie would play the ball, the full line up revealed that they would be joined by Example, Ben Pearce and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs to name but a few.

Comment of the article comes from Gymbo who is just not feeling the hype: “UGH do we all have to pretend to like this shit now? “Man this stuff speaks to me, especially when I’ve had 8 pills”. Whats wrong with musical instruments?”

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

6 Year in Review The five sabbatical officers give us a run down of the highs and lows of the year.

Tom Lenihan, President I am very proud of what we have achieved this year. We certainly had the most cohesive team of sabbats in recent memory to bring about the change we wanted to see. That resulted in us achieving our goals that we set out at the start of the year.

There is still more for us to do as we still have plenty of time left in office. Plans for the student kitchen are under way and we are in the process of establishing a new website to ease next year’s team into using so they can better communicate with our members. The Strategic Plan for the college is still being formulated and we will want to have our say on what changes students want to see in the student experience. We shook a lot of things up this year and I am particularly proud of the awareness the SU has generated about mental health.

Tne as the relationship between college senior management and the students continues to worsen. The SU has been hit with unprecedented cuts and we are now facing challenges to our autonomy. College want to take our premises and attack our commercial output so they can charge students more so more money can go back to their aims. These aims generally do not contribute to the student experience. There are plenty of battles to fight. A lot of the work will be in fighting for what we already have.

Our members are often not aware of these issues and many don’t care. This is going to be our biggest challenge going forward. We need to communicate what these issues are and why the SU is beneficial to the college community. That can’t be the work done by sabbats alone. It’s going to need a team effort and for students to take a stand against the ones making decisions without student consultation.

It has been a whirlwind, but on reflection I can say that I achieved what I set out to do when I ran in the first place and I am confident that Domhnall will continue the great success next year. It has been an honour to serve the students and although there are many challenges I think we can tackle them as long as we continue to grow and stay focused on our central aim of helping students.

SABBAT YEAR IN REVIEW

Jack Leahy, Education In many ways, Trinity has always been a place of quirks and contradictions: a modern university, yet bedecked with 422-year-old cobbles. Located in a Catholic heartland it is historically seen as the university of the Protestant ascendancy. And now, the powers that be are satisfied to sustain the incongruity of marketing the richness of the student experience while simultaneously disempowering student organisations and services through

budget cuts announced four months into the financial year. Added to this the ill-considered tactic of committing huge resources to non-EU student recruitment while increasing the fees for the same cohort and you would be forgiven for concluding that the logic of the market has been injected

into the heart of Trinity.

The challenge for student representatives is clear: regain a sense of energy and purpose and embed it within the student body, and articulate your objectives within a movement which can challenge an ideology, rather than simply react against each new College policy. My year as Education Officer has reinforced my consciousness that budgeting is no removed, arithmetical exercise: it is an expression of priorities where, in a Trinity context, students are being swiftly relegated to the bottom of the list.

Skewed priorities, coming straight from

the top, dictate that the pursuit of academic excellence involves hiring consultants, experts, and directors to manage the university’s profile abroad, thus its non-EU recruitment and thus its coffers, while the library stays closed on a Sunday for half of the year and you get threatened with a €400 fine for a tiny mistake on a registration form. This has been a major source of frustration.

The strength of a university’s student experience - its academic and welfare supports, its student life - is one of the biggest factors in bringing students in the door, but it also has an inimitable role in retention. We know

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

Year in Review 7 Stephen Garry, Welfare Last year I ran for TCDSU Welfare Officer promising to strengthen the office on three major themes – Campaigns, Collaboration and Support. I’m fortunate that with the help of fantastic volunteers and a strong sabbatical team, I’ve managed to deliver on all three. I introduced the first ever Equality & Diversity week to promote awareness and acceptance of diversity across campus.

I strengthened already existing campaigns by rebranding SHAG to SHIFT, and by creating a strong online and offline presence for the new TCDtalks mental health campaign among others. I created a number of new schemes including the Gym Buddy scheme, the hugely successful bike reallocation scheme, and created a network of welfare ambassadors to provide much needed SU presence in off-campus locations. The campaign weeks this year have involved more societies and been more collaborative than ever before and they wouldn’t have been as successful as they were without the help of organisations like the GSU, DU Film, Q Soc, the Phil, Players, VisArts, S2S and many more.

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The challenge for student representatives is clear: regain a sense of energy and purpose that the College understand this - the challenge for future teams is to ensure that understanding translates into action.

My experience of College is that there are so many heads of service, librarians, tutors, and other staff members who are willing to align their objectives with those of students.

Unfortunately, these are also the people being removed from consideration when decisions are being made. Student representatives are uniquely privileged in their access to College’s decision making fora - for example, I’m the only person who isn’t a College executive officer who sits on Trinity’s academic council - and we need to continue exercise that privilege to stand in solidarity with those who share our sense of urgency.

Otherwise, things will change quickly, and for the worse.

This job has certainly been a challenge.

I’m unlikely to find a job where your time is divided across a number of different activities in such a dramatic way. I’ve contributed strongly to College committees, run effective campaigns, but most importantly I feel that I’ve managed to help hundreds of students in some small way with the non-academic issues they’ve been facing. It can be an emotionally draining task, but I am incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to be a listening ear for people who may never have spoken about their difficulties before. There is an extraordinarily strong support network for students in college, regardless of the issue at hand, and I’m delighted to have had the chance to be a part of that.

I’ve given everything I had to this job, and I’ll continue to do so until I leave office in July. I feel, or at least hope, I’ve served the students of Trinity well, as a representative, welfare activist, and support service over the past academic year. I’ve encountered some fantastic people during my time here, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget.

Leanna Byrne, Communications It’s a daunting task to sit down and review your year in the Students’ Union. As I enter into the SU retirement programme, I hope that what I achieved will continue to have have positive impact on the students of Trinity College Dublin in years to come.

This year I was the first Communications Officer to rebrand the Union in over 22 years.

Thankfully the illuminati symbol is no more and, despite my worst fears, everyone loved

the new logo. Even the Deputy President from 22 years ago sent me a nice email about it. The effects of the rebranding can been seen across all platforms of SU communications, including the new designs for the Front Office.

As with most other Communications Officers, being able to call the shots on the daily slog of The University Times is definitely the jewel in the crown. It’s not every job that lets you pretend like you work for The New York Times. This year UT restructured the editorial team by cutting all the online staff and changed our focus from print to an organisation focused on generating online content. Both the website and broadsheet have been redesigned to reflect the need for a cleaner media experience for our readers.

At the start of the year the editorial team set out with a goal of having a new front page every week so that students would use our UT App regularly. I am delighted to say that by the second month of Michaelmas we had surpassed this to update the front page every day. UT now has the highest number of articles published by any other student newspaper in Ireland which are frequently picked up by national media.

Then again, if I’m being perfectly honest, when I look back on my year I focused on the things I haven’t done. The fact that I haven’t yet been able to create a new SU website gnaws away at me every day. I can also list all the stories that UT missed out on or the times the website crashed this year off the top of my head. Every morning I wake up looking at a present of a framed photo of the first issue I designed only to pick out the numerous misalignments. It sounds stupid and obsessive, but it’s the truth.

Sometimes the biggest achievement is being comfortable with the knowledge that you didn’t mess up too often.

Seán Reynolds, Entertainments It’s hard to believe that over a year has passed since the nerve-jangling election night, yet here we are, less than a week out from the 2014 Trinity Ball, and myself and the sabbats soon to be old news! This year has been an incredible experience with no shortage of highs, but also one that posed challenges, both professional and personal. I am happy to have executed many of the ideas I campaigned on, as well as successes in areas that I hadn’t anticipated. Having said that, there are still areas where I feel there is much work still to be done.

The year started with the baptism of fire that is Freshers’ Week. While I was very pleased with wristband and Freshers’ Ball ticket sales, the most pleasing aspect of the week was the €4,500 donation we made to the Student Hardship Fund with the help of the Alumni Office. Other highlights of the first semester include the Surf Sail Salmon festival, which was a huge success, and our flagship club night ‘Night Moves’, which brought the biggest names in dance music

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While there are still a few projects on the way from myself for after exams, the sun is certainly setting on my tenure. I will always be grateful to Trinity students for allowing me to be their Ents Officer

to Dublin for Trinity students. The overall highlight of the first semester for me has to be the James Vincent McMorrow concert in the Chapel. It is the single event I am most proud of. We witnessed a sensational performance, in a truly unique venue, while raising over €3,500 for Headstrong, the National Center For Youth Mental Health.

Over the Christmas break, the main priority was putting together the RAG Week schedule. I had stuck my neck out setting the target of €20,000 to be raised from the week, almost double the previous record, so once planning began, I started to feel the pressure a bit! I’m happy to say it was a great success.

This is down to the fantastic volunteer culture in the college, Trinity’s superhuman charity societies, the incredibly generous support of Trinity Alumni and an exception RAG Week committee. Special thanks is owed to Nick O’Brien, Hannah Boles and Emily Kelly, the Trinity Volunteering committee for their outstanding work on the week. It was the most successful RAG week ever, nearly doubling the previous record.

We as a student body need to do more in terms of fundraising in the future, and there are definite areas for improvement, as I spoke about previously to the UT. If we can address these issues, then I have no doubt that RAG Week will grow and grow.

The next major item on the agenda was Trinity Ball ticket sales. While the Ents Officer doesn’t book the line-up, I am responsible for the marketing and sales, as well as some production and artist liaison work in the weeks preceding the event. The line-up announcement was greeted generally with a positive response, although there was some criticisms, which students are totally entitled to. Tickets went on sale three days later, when we saw the quickest sell out in the 55 year history of the ball, with 5,000 tickets sold in two hours, with the remainder selling very quickly after that.

While there are still a few projects on the way from myself for after exams, the sun is certainly setting on my tenure. I will always be grateful to Trinity students for allowing me to be their Ents Officer and wish my good friend Finn Murphy the best of luck with the job next year.

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

8 Year in Review

The Suffocation of Student Life

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

PHOTO BY SINÉAD BAKER

Year in Review 9

Student Cuts This year College has decided to cut the amount of funds allocated to capitated bodies in College by 5% for 2013-14, and a further 5% for 2014-15.

Overall allocations for this year will be €1,087,853, nearly €60,000 of a reduction compared with last year’s €1,145,109 distributed to capitated bodies. Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC), the Central Societies Committee (CSC), Trinity College Students’ Union (TCDSU), the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), and Trinity Publications will all suffer losses.

Possibly the most contenscious thing about the decision was that the cuts were not revealed to the Capitation Committee until nearly five months after the decision was made. The cuts were revealed in an email sent to all members of the Capitation Committee this morning by Senior Dean and Chair to the Committee, Moray McGowan. It was said that these were among a number of financial decisions approved by the College Board on 26 June 2013 on foot of recommendations made by the Planning Group in College.

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

10 Year in Review

Colm O’Donnell Editor-at-Large

What do we remember the most from this year? Capitation cuts, disregard for student opinion, big plans for Business Schools while coaxing international students with cosmetic branding. This hasn’t been a great year for students, and the future looks bleak for internal relations. To give you a recap, here’s our rant in review.

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he University of Dublin would like you to enjoy your student experience, providing of course that that experience doesn’t involve you partaking of any of those pesky student services, joining any clubs or societies, or getting involved in the Students’ Union. Au contraire, the esteemed TCD (TCUD? TC,tUoD?) would like you very much to sit quietly through four years of College, raise no fuss, and oh, if you could join your fellow Alumni in donating back to the College the second you graduate that would be just wonderful.

A recent survey sent out by College even asked students if they would consider donating while still receiving their education, as if constantly rising ‘registration fees’ and the cost of living in Dublin shooting up year on year wasn’t enough for students to cope with. External representations of the College by the College are focusing on the student experience, championing initiatives such as the Global Room and focusing on society life, and a vibrant sporting community. At the same time, internal bodies such as the Planning Group are attempting to push through massive cuts to the capitated bodies of the college; the Students’ Union (SU), the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC) and Trinity Publications. The Planning Group is a mysterious entity within the College structure that operates outside of defined Board and University Council structures without student representation. It is this lack of student representation which makes the cuts so reprehensible. There is no accountability; the Planning Group Report Number 9, in which the recommended cuts are situated, is not available to examine.

What stirs the ire the most about the whole situation is the delay at which the cuts were announced, and the totally unexpected nature of them. For example, DUCAC’s budget had remained the same for the previous seven years, they never saw it coming. The cuts themselves were made five months

Rant in Review PHOTO BY SINÉAD BAKER

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There seems to be in effect a College-wide initiative to remove student representation from decision making bodies, and it is this view of the student as a nuisance which could come back to haunt the College.

before the affected parties were informed of them. There seems to be in effect a College-wide initiative to remove student representation from decision making bodies, and it is this view of the student as a nuisance which could come back to haunt the College. One of the real determinants of international reputation is the quality of graduates, and the fondness with which they refer to their Alma Mater. Unless the College takes investing in the student experience seriously, this could be something they will regret in years to come.

Let it not be said that the entirety of the College structure is anti-student; however, I am neither cynical nor disillusioned enough to believe this to be the case. There is still fantastic work being done by staff members throughout Trinity, and the acknowledgement of the work of former Dean of Students Dr. Amanda Piesse, and the Senior Lecturer Dr. Patrick Geoghegan, by TCDSU last week shows that the student body appreciates this encouragement of the student experience; sadly these examples are the exception rather than the rule.

This hasn’t been a great year for students. The College continues apace with its ill received plan to change everything and anything so long as those lovely people in the university rankings office will notice us and stop being so mean every year. The latest announcements of a change in the name, and the crest colours and design gives pause for thought about just how much money has been spent on the consultation process for this scheme, and how much money could have been dedicated to something more tangible, such as the Student Hardship Fund. I have no doubt that there is a way for the College to regain its place among the elite academic institutions in the world, but I remain wholly unconvinced that the current strategy is the way forward. There is nothing quite as unappealing as desperation, and it is a distinct possibility that the College’s current path veers a little too close to it for anyone’s benefit. Change is good, and innovation with an eye on the future and the reputation of Trinity is welcome, but to paraphrase an old saying - change for change’s sake helps nobody.

Merkel Mania Chancellor Merkel was visiting Trinity as part of the Phil inagural with Taoiseach Enda Kenny this year.

In her opening speech Merkel discussed the common goals of Europe and the benefits of countries working together to form a strong alliance against other super powers. She went on to recognise the struggles that Ireland have faced under austerity, saying that she had “every respect for the trials you have been through�.

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

12 Year in Review

Conor Bates Sports Editor

A

s the academic year draws to a close once more, there will be much to reflect on in terms of the growth and development of the college. As the world continues to move forward, it is one of Trinity’s oldest and most embedded traditions, a commitment to sporting excellence, which will once again give us a resounding sense of pride in our university community. Trinity’s sporting diaspora has always proved to be one of the great sources of achievement, entertainment and endeavour on campus, and this year proved to be no exception, with many clubs and individuals contributing successes in the colours of their university.

The year began with a bang for many clubs, not least of all the soccer team, who stormed to the top of their league, and progressed markedly through early cup competitions. Performing at a high standard without exception, DUAFC have made strides toward winning their division of the Leinster Senior League, and promotion for next year is all but secured at this stage. While they ultimately failed to deliver any cup silverware to the college this year, they did bring home silver from both CUFL and Farquhar Cups, which is no mean feat in itself. The ladies club also provided some staggering results as they blitzed through their league with aplomb.

Their counterparts in American football, also DUAFC, maintained their position as one of Trinity’s premier growth clubs, and recorded more success in their intervarsities, beating a challenging UL Vikings side to reclaim the College Bowl. After a Christmas intermission, the regular season has begun in earnest, with Trinity taking two wins from their first two games. While the American footballers have had much success in recent times, it is regrettable that the traditional

Sports in Review “

While the American footballers have had much success in recent times, it is regrettable that the traditional oval-ball sport of the college has not been as fruitful this season oval-ball sport of the college has not been as fruitful this season. A defeat for the men in Colours is a microcosm of what has been a disappointing term for the rugby team, as they struggle in the Ulster Bank League 1B table. This is perhaps assuaged by the victory for the ladies team at intervarsities, and the promising return of rugby to campus in the autumn, as the pitch redevelopment is completed.

Positive redevelopment is also on the cards for another of Trinity’s traditional strongholds; hockey. A new state-of-the-art

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

Year in Review 13

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The possibility of a demolition of Luce Hall would mean the end of Trinity’s long established squash courts, leaving the club with an uncertain future

pitch is currently being laid in Santry. Hockey has borne the same fate as rugby this year, as the men have struggled, despite a good performance at IVs. The ladies have performed better, reaching the final of the Jacqui Potter Cup. Questions about redevelopment in the wider college sphere have plagued the squash club this year. The possibility of a demolition of Luce Hall would mean the end of Trinity’s long established squash courts, leaving the club with an uncertain future.

This is unfortunate as the club has had a sterling year, recording successes at IVs, a win in the men’s league and a final against Aer Lingus in the cup still to come. Hopefully there will be more positives to report for one of Trinity’s most successful clubs.

Racquet sports were profitable for the college this year as the tennis team added to squash success with their own triumphs. The recent intervarsity tournament saw the ladies team claim gold, while the men claimed silver, narrowly falling short of an unprecedented three-in-a-row. This was the feather in the cap of a sparkling year, which also saw the team take silver in the European Univer-

sity Clay C o u r t Championships. In the last of the clubs racquet games, scholarship student Prakash Vijayanath represented himself excellently on the African badminton circuit, increasing his world ranking significantly, and making his mark as one of Trinity’s premier athletes.

Throughout the year there have been many triumphs, each one as worthy of merit as the other. In terms of consistency, however, few have shone as brightly as athletics and fencing. DUHAC have converted themselves, in the last two years, from a collection of occasional winners to a solidified team who take home accolades with fervency and ease. Individual medals, particularly in women’s races, are a hallmark of the modern DUHAC way, and there were some powerful performances throughout the year. Maria O’Sullivan and Becky Woods, a recipient of Pinks, blazed notable, personal trails that set the standard for the women’s categories, and their teammates from all quarters followed

suit, making this year one of DUHAC’s more fruitful. Even when there were shortcomings, there were still more achievements.

Fencing have made winning a habit in the truest sense of the word. A remarkable seventh consecutive intervarsity title is the crowning achievement for them this year, and only a snippet of the victory they have enjoyed. Individually, the club members have stood out as beacons of Trinity sport, receiving personal accolades on the way to overarching and domineering team titles.

There was no one who could, or dared, stop them this year.

There were truly a record number of successes to report from college sports this year, ranging from winning two national shooting titles back-to-back, to call-ups for national cricket squads, for George Dockrell and Jennifer Gray. Frisbee, cycling and golf have reported routine accomplishments.

The ladies rowers reclaimed the Corcoran Cup, trampoline club claimed unprecedented medal hauls and the martial arts were dominated by Trinity success. All-in-all, the achievements of each individual and team are remarkable in their own regard. Certainly there were more positives than negatives to reflect on as the year draws to a close. It is fair to say that while all performances across the board have not been perfect, there is undoubtedly a lot to be proud of for Trinity sport. There are a lot of trophies in the cabinet this year, a lot of medals in the drawers of Trinity students and, if the continued investment into improving our sporting prowess continues, there will be many more to come.

Photos Conor Borbett Callum Brown Ash O’Flanagan Maria O’Sullivan Peter Wolfe

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

14 Year in Review

Best Events This Year

Hist Debate: This House Believes the Catholic Church Can Be Salvaged, ft.

Sinéad O’Connor This debate on the Catholic Church featured the following guests: Sinéad O’Connor, Michael Nugent, (Playwright & Chair of Atheist Ireland), Jerry Buttimer (openly gay Fine Gael TD, chair of Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children & former seminarian) and Father Tony Flannery (a religious writer and founder of the Association of Catholic Priests who was suspended by the Vatican for ‘heresy’ over views in favour of gay rights, contraception and women priests).

Vladimir Rakhmanin Deputy Editor

From Masquerave to Merkel, we’ve listed this year’s top events organised by societies, charities and captiated bodies.

Masquerave After a hugely successful first year, Masquerave continues to be one of the Law Society’s most well-known events, with many non-law students being in attendance. The formal masquerade in a mystery castle sold out in record time this year, definitely making it a contender for being one of the best events of the year.

Israeli Ambassador Boaz Modai, Ambassador of Israel to Ireland, addressed the Society for International Affairs (SoFIA) on the topic of the Middle East in the Global Room of the Hamilton Building.

Ambassador Modai has held numerous diplomatic positions around the world previous to his current posting in Ireland, which began in August 2008. A controversial series of questions from one member of the audience was asked, criticising the Ambassador for being too onesided. The discussion began to get heated, but the MC ended the discussion diplomatically before the events took a bad turn.

The University Times Supplement | Tuesday 1st April 2014

Year in Review 15 Trinity Come Dancing Trinity Come Dancing features some of Trinity’s most well-known students who step out of their comfort zone and into the spotlight with eight of professional dancers with lots of experience to perform everything from Ballet to Breakdancing, from Irish to Hip-Hop. The competitors this year were Conor O’Meara, Grace Healy, Tobe Arize, Rosalind Ní Shúilleabháin, Conor Cadden, Oilbhe Cahill Reid, Tom Lenihan, Ian Mooney. The event was won by Conor Cadden, DUBES auditor.

Merkel Angela Merkel spoke to the Phil in what was one of the year’s best events. The Chancellor of Germany spoke to Trinity students alongside Taoiseach Enda Kenny on various issues, such as the common goals of Europe, the crisis in Ukraine, and even her favourite books.

Jailbreak Jailbreak 2014, which took place last weekend, saw Irish students collectively travel over 191,520 km without any money and raise approximately €35,676 for charities Amnesty International and Saint Vincent de Paul.

Over 200 students from TCD, UCD NUIG and UCC competed, starting at 9am on Saturday, with 36 hours to get as far as possible from their starting point without a cent in their pockets. Destinations reached include Jamaica, Bali, Hawaii and Singapore. Ultimately though it was TCD team Kyryll Chulak and Salim Sebaoui who travelled the furthest, reaching Sydney, Australia, 17,223 km from home. The two confirmed their touchdown with just 17 minutes to go before the cut-off time, narrowly avoiding missing out on their win. The pair had organised sponsorship before the event and had their tickets sponsored by a tour company. The runners-up were Sean Kearns and Aoife Ní Shuilleabháin from NUIG who made it all the way to Denpasar in Bali wearing wedding dresses in an effort to promote marriage equality. NUIG are currently the top fundraisers, having raised an impressive average of €400 per team, while Trinity have travelled the furthest per team with an average of 2926km each.

Diwali Diwali celebrations were held by Trinity Indian Society last November. Diwali is an Indian festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil – the celebrations in Trinity featured several events, including a Bollywood dance performance in association with DU Dance.

Fashion Show The Trinity College Fashion Show 2014, the third annual catwalk event

by TCD Fashion Society, took place in the Smock Alley Theatre. The show continues to evolve and garner attention from the fashion world, and this year was no exception. Having raised €4,595 last year for charity, the organisers chose Barretstown camp for children as this year’s deserving cause. The theme of this year’s show was “Welcome to the Kingdom” and the models traipsed down the flower lined runway to a DJ set by Trinity’s own Sophie Murphy, including haunting tracks by London Grammar and Lana Del Rey.

Trinity Ball (?)

James Vincent McMorrow

Although the lineup reveal faced serious criticism initially, it looks like the hype has returned, with many students getting excited for one of Trinity’s most well-known events. The music lineup seems to be mostly dance-based, with acts such as 2ManyDJs, Duke Dumont, and Le Galaxie being the main headliners. Other acts that will be playing include Example, Ben Pearce and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

James Vincent McMorrow performed in Trinity Chapel during Mental Health Week for a special concert in aid of Headstrong - The National Centre for Youth Mental Health. The event was held in partnership with See Change (who have worked tirelessly over the past number of years to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health) and Niteline (an invaluable night time listening service with both phone and online facilities; running nightly during term time, a dedicated team of anonymous volunteers are there to listen and help students in need). TCD Mental Health Week aims to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health and to encourage students to get talking.