The University Times www.universitytimes.ie
March 10th, 2010
You sha’n’t go to the ball Steven Moloney explains why Ball season is so hard.
OH Balls
the cost of Charity
Conor Sneyd casts a critical eye over the Trinity Ball
Jonathan Wyse looks at how charity works Opinion p12
Arts & Culture p13
Features p8
College working party looking at the student service charge
Fellows reject plan to increase student vote in provostial election A proposal to amend the rules for electing a provost were rejected
Students’ Union will have input into the disbursement of the student service charge Sarah Grogan Senior Writer A working party of College Board has prepared a proposal that would change the way the student service charge is defined and applied in Trinity College. This working party, chaired by the Dean of Students, Prof. Gerry Whyte, has submitted their report to the Finance Committee whose recommendations will be discussed at its next meeting on March 19, following which the report will go to Board. It is thought that the report will contain proposals to form a new committee that will include student representation and will meet three times per year to examine the disbursement of the €1,500 charge on each student. The College will not confirm if the there is a new definition of a
Provost leaving Committee
student service included in the proposal. However, the Students’ Union is pushing for a change in definition that has been used in disbursing the charge. The charge is supposed to be used to pay for student services like health and counselling however when the Provost, Professor John Hegerty appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science he told the Committee that ‘every action of the University is geared towards students; it is why we exist.’ He explained to the Committee that most services of the College are student services but traditionally were not included in the calculations on the student service fee but as the fee rose more of the services could be paid for with the charge. The Provost was answering questions on why the charge was being used to fund the animal testing centre and core college services like the library. If the College changes the definition of what can be funded from the student service charge then it must reduce the charge to a level that matches the actual costs or admit that the College is charging students for core college services which is seen
as being tantamount to a reintroduction of thirdlevel fees. The College said that the ‘recommendations concerning the student service charge should be made available when due process has taken place, following the next Board meeting.’ The Minister of Education has been called to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science on March 25 to answer questions about the student service charge. The Provost maintains that the core grant, which is the money paid by the State, never supported activities that did not include student services and that the College was just not defining those activities as student services for the purposes of the charge. In accounts released by Trinity Students’ Union the College wants to start charging Information System Services (ISS), the Centre for Microscopy, and Innovation services to the student service charge. Ó Broin says that ‘the universities are attempting to rewrite history by saying that the costs associated with running libraries and computer systems in their respective universities have always been “student Services”.’
Carl Doherty News Writer The fellows of the College have rejected a proposal put to it by the Board that would give the students a four per cent vote in the provostial elections next year. This was part of a number of changes put to fellows for their assent. Another proposal was to change the statutes to comply with the Universities Act, 1997 which requires the College to have an interview process to get a new president that is, in Trinity’s case, the provost. In previous years candidates would put themselves forward and the academics and administrative staff voted. The proposal was that an interview panel would be set up, to screen the potential candidates. The panel would decide whether or not the candidate was qualified enough for the position before the election would proceed. The second change was that of a change to the electorate. As it stands, academics currently have one vote each, administration and technical staff have 0.25 per cent of a vote and students are allowed only one to two per cent of the total electorate. A change to the electorate failed to increase the students vote from about two to four per cent, which would leave the students with more swing power in whom they would want as a provost. In order for a change to be made to the electorate, half of the 239 fellows of the College would have had to vote in favour of it. This failed to happen as only eighty of the fellows assented to the change, leaving the students with very little say in who will run the College. Students’ Union Education Officer Ashley Cooke stated; ‘it is incredibly disappointing that we’re going to have to wait another ten years before students can have a significant and influential impact on the election of a figure who oversees the direction of the University.’ Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem celebrating after being declared president-elect in the SU elections
Photo: David O’Dwyer
Third-level grade inflation under investagition by Dept of Education
Trinity SU delegates mandated to vote for reforms to the USI
Marykate Collins Deputy Editor
Katie Haberlin News Writer
Minister for Education Batt O’Keefe is in the process of carrying out an investigation into the perceived ‘grade inflation’ that is occurring at Third Level Institutions. The Minister is concerned after a report was published by three researchers from IT Tralee – Simon Quinn, Brendan Guilfoyle and Martin O’Grady highlighting the considerable increase in the number of third level students receiving first class honour degrees. Research started in 2007 and took six months to collate, yet the three researchers claim that when they tried to gather further information they encountered significant opposition from higher level institutions. Dr Joseph Ryan, registrar of Athlone IT wrote: ‘I’m open to supporting a .
. . study into the matter but would not wish to see a series of public pronouncements that can serve only to undermine confidence in a system of education that, whatever its faults, has served this country well.’ The minister’s concerns about the increased awarding of higher grades at the end of second and third level education are also raised in the context of the statements made by Dr Craig Barrett, the retired Chairman and CEO of Intel, which were critical of Ireland’s education system and our only average performance in international rankings of maths and sciences. The percentage of university graduates getting firstclass awards in honours degrees in Level 8 programmes has increased from 8.3 per cent in 1997 to 16.2 per cent in 2008.
The percentage of HETAC graduates getting firstclass honours awards in Level 8 higher degrees increased from 11.2 per cent to 16.6 per cent between 1998 and 2008 in the institute of technology sector, excluding DIT. The Minister said a number of influential voices in the employer community have voiced their concerns about graduate quality and it was important to listen to those concerns and be responsive to boardroom demands. ‘In other words, our approach to developing education policy must be strategic and more aligned with industry needs......the key to addressing possible grade inflation is through better internal quality assurance and external quality review,’ he said. These tasks are being undertaken by colleges
themselves and HETAC; the Further Education and Training Awards Council; the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland and the Irish Universities Quality Board. All these agencies have been subject to external review by international panels and have been adjudged to be performing these functions to relevant international standards. Legislation is now being drafted to set up a new qualifications and quality assurance agency that will merge these bodies. Speaking in the Dáil last week, Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes described the findings as “very worrying”, saying they confirmed a trend that many in Irish education have suspected for some time. Continued on page two
Trinity College Students’ Union will be voting to remove a number of fulltime officer positions from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) officer board. The SU Council voted on February 23 to mandate the delegation going to the yearly USI Congress to vote in favour of various motions to remove a number of full-time and replace them with parttime officers. The full-time position of equality officer and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights officer will be removed and replaced with part-time positions and the three full time area officers will be consolidated into a single
Editor: Robert Donohoe Deputy Editor: Marykate Collins Volume 1, Issue 7 ISSN: 2009-261X Phone: 01 646 8431 Email: info@universitytimes.ie Website: www.universitytimes.ie
full-time position called the constituent organisation (CO) liaison officer. Trinity SU will be proposing the motion at the USI’s annual congress to replace the equality officer with a part-time officer. All the twenty-two delegates from Trinity SU are mandated by the SU Council to vote in favour of this motion. The Trinity SU Council motion says that ‘despite the best of intentions, and a strong work ethic from the officers involved, the USI Equality Campaign has not had a significant impact upon the lives of students on campuses on a day to day basis.’ The USI’s constitution says that the equality officer has ‘responsibility for the implementation and development
This newspaper is produced with the financial support of Trinity College Students’ Union. It is set in 9pt Utopia and Whitney – a classic newspaper typeface and a modernist sans serif respectively. It was printed by Mortons Print Ltd.
of all Union policy in relation to issues of discrimination caused by age, disability, family status, gender, marital status, membership of the Traveller Community, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, and/or socio economic circumstance.’ Speaking to The University Times Linda Kelly, the current equality officer said ‘while we fully understand and support TCDSU’s democratic right to submit motions to USI Annual Congress, the Equality Campaign will be asking delegates to vote against the motion which calls for the downgrade of the Equality Officer position to part time. Continued on page two
To contact The University Times write to: The Editor, The University Times, 6 Trinity College Dublin 2
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Wednesday, March 10th | The University Times
TimesNews www.universitytimes.ie Upcoming events Wednesday 10th MARCH
EMS Day
Cancer Society and Student Hardship Fund 8am, College
Cafe Litteraire
French Society 6pm, Cafe Des Amis, Alliance Francaise
VOX POPULAI
“What do you think about the Trinity Ball this year?”
Society of the Year Ball
CSC 7pm, Hilton Dublin Hotel
Aslan and The Hounds of Culann An Cumann Gaelach 9pm, The Village
Thursday 11TH MARCH
Dubes AGM
Dubes 6pm, Synge Theatre
Dubes Super Sweet 80th Mystery Tour Dubes 9pm, Pav, then Mystery.
The Maggies Final DU Philosophical Society 7.30pm, GMB
John Kelly SF Law and German ‘I will go regardless but there’s not enough rock. I’m not happy with it.’
Linda Coughlan SS Nursing ‘A lot of people haven’t heard of the smaller acts but if you listen to them they’re actually really good.’
Howard Helen SS Bess ‘I feel like I’ve been let down, but I’ll naturally still go anyway.’
Andrew Linn
Evan Byrne JF Ancient and Medieval History and Culture ‘I only like one of Dizzee Rascal’s songs so I’ll enjoy the three minutes of that.’
Aisling Deng
Gabrielle Mulcahy
Mairead McMorrow
Sarah Grace JF Law ‘I’ve only heard of two of the acts.’
Eleanor Mollett SS Bio-Chemistry ‘I won’t be going as I’m not really interested in it.’
Talya Hausmann
Daniel O’Keefe
SF Bess ‘It’s absolutely terrible. Good line ups were the only promise Mick made and he broke that.’
The Irish Ball
English Literature and History of Art and Architecture ‘It’s got a sort of electro feel to it. Trinity Ball is not about the music though, it’s about getting shit-
An Cumann Gaelach 9pm, Russell Court Hotel
Friday 12th MARCH
Clockwork Orange ISDA/Players 1pm, Players Theatre
The UN and Law- Patricia O’Brien Law Society 1.30pm, GMB
Jazz in the Pav Trinity Ents 8pm the Pav
Monday 15th MARCH
The Apollo Ball
DU History Society 7.30pm, Cill Airne, North Wall Quay, D1
SF Music ‘I am really looking forward to the night. Not exactly excited about the line up but it will still be a good night.’ and internationally.
SS Nursing ‘I think Mick and MCD did the best they could. A lot of smaller acts aren’t as well known but they’re actually really good.’
JS History and Politics ‘I’m not a huge fan. Don’t think its worth 78 euro, so I’m not going.’
FROM THE FRONT PAGE
Trinity SU will vote to remove equality officer and LGBT
JS Economics ‘Digitalism are plying, it’s going to be a great night.’
Grade infalation From page one
From page one We believe that the campaign is only viable with a full time officer.’ The position of LGBT rights officer is also subject to a motion to amend the USI’s constitution to make the position parttime. The motion is proposed jointly by Trinity SU and Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) SU. Again Trinity SU delegates are mandated to vote
in favour of the motion at the USI’s congress. Trinity’s mandate says ‘while much work still needs to be done on the LGBT campaign, when consideration is given to the amount of work being done by groups such as GLEN, BeLonG To and MarriagEquality, the amount of policy material within the USI LGBT rights officer role is not sufficient to justify it being a fulltime position.’ The LGBT rights officer is ‘responsible for carrying out the Union’s policy on lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender rights, encouraging the participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in the Union and working to eliminate prejudice against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community’ according to the USI’s constitution. The University Times contacted Laura Finlay, the LGBT rights officer to comment on the motion but she did not reply. There is also a motion going to the Congress that will
consolidate the three fulltime positions of area officers into a single constituent organisation (CO) liaison officer. Trinity are also mandated to vote in favour of this motion. The USI’s congress is also when the officers for the following year are elected. This year the candidates for president are Linda Kelly, the current equality officer and Gary Redmond UCD SU’s president. The race for deputy president is between Jono Clifford,
He claimed the Minister the USI’s Southern area officer and Trinity SU’s president and his department had been ‘in complete denial’ about the Cónán Ó Broin. problem of grade inflation for several years, and had only recently taken action following conservations with multinationals. O’Keeffe said similar problems relating to grade inflation had been experienced in other countries, such as the US and UK. ‘We must not underestimate or undermine the quality of the graduates that have gone through our system,’ he said.
Information Editor Deputy Editor
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The University Times | Wednesday, March 10th
TimesNews
NUI, Maynooth back in the USI The students of NUI, Maynooth have voted for their students’ union to rejoin the USI Katie Haberlin News Writer The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM) Students’ Union, has rejoined the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). The organization is the sole national representative body for almost 300,000 students in Ireland. It campaigns for the rights of students, on a range of student concerns including grants, and the abolition of third level fees.
Each institution has an allocated number of representatives, based on student population size, and these representatives attend Congress each year, to decide on policies. The USI President Peter Mannion said he was ‘delighted that the students of NUIM have decided that the Union of Students in Ireland is a worthwhile investment for their future. We welcome back NUIM to the organization wholeheartedly. Having
NUIM back in USI will bring about a new and enthusiastic viewpoint to the union. As we address important issues such as the funding of Higher Education and restrictions in the Student Maintenance Grant- we are delighted that we will advocate for our students as a more unified movement.’ The USI was founded in 1959 and is the only national student representative body with a seat on the Higher Education Authority and other
national bodies. The Minister for Education is also mandated to meet with the President and Education Officer at least three times a year. Two of Ireland’s seven universities’ SUs are not members, namely Dublin City University (who disaffiliated in 2002) and the University of Limerick. Other Unions have reaffiliated and disaffiliated at different times since the USI’s foundation. In 2002/03, both UCD and Trinity attempted to
disaffiliate, but both attempts were defeated at referendum. Many past officers of the USI have gone on to prominent positions within Irish society, for example Chief Justice John Murray was president in 1966/67 and broadcaster Joe Duffy held the post in 1983/84. Many others used the USI as a springboard for later political careers, such as Pat Rabitte, Mark Durkan, and Eamon Gilmore. Some argue that membership of the USI should be
compulsory for all unions so that all students will have a national voice, however there is opposition in some colleges to the idea of funding an organization that doesn’t do enough for individual institutions. Most of the USI’s funding comes from the €5 subscription that each full-time student pays.
Winners announced in 2010 students’ union elections Marykate Collins Deputy Editor The results for the sabbatical team of 2010/2011 were announced on the February 18. The count was held in the Mont Clare Hotel on Merrion Square. First to be announced was Education, with Jen Fox deemed elected after reaching 3090 votes. Dave Preston, her contester, and a joke candidate, received a total of 418 votes. Next to be announced was Communications, the only uncontested race, with Tom Lowe being declared winner over Reopen Nominations (Ron). Lowe received a total of 3084 votes, with RON getting just 495. These two elections were announced in quick concession, with the other races taking more time due to the fact that there were more votes to count as more people were running. Welfare, which was the closest race in the whole election process, saw Steph Fleming deemed elected over the incumbent, Cormac Cashman. With a difference of just twenty votes between them, it was the closest race
since 2007 when Nicholas Longworth beat Dave Byrne by just two votes. Fleming, who only decided to run on the day nominations closed, ran a well-organized campaign, despite leaving it so late to assemble a campaign team. The next race to be announced was Entertainments. Three candidates ran, Darragh Genockey, Keith Florea and Conor O’Toole. Genockey was elected with a total of 2129 votes, surpassing the quota of 1789. O’Toole, who claims to have run as a joke candidate, reached a very even 1000 votes, much to his liking. This race held no surprises as Genockey was the favourite from day one, yet O’Toole did have his supporters, many of whom were anti-Bess or did not want another club promoter as Ents Officer. The final race to be announced, and the most hotly contested, was that of President. Four candidates ran, Declan Harmon, Fearghal Hughes, Dan Reilly, and Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem. Reilly, a joke candidate, was eliminated after the first count, with just 145 votes in
his favour. being deemed elected afHowever during the sec- ter the third count with 1798 ond week Trigoub-Rotnem votes to Hughes’ 1515. appeared to have the lead, Throughout the two weeks with growing support. Har- candidates did their best to mon, a non-union candi- gain favour amongst the studate was eliminated af- dent body, with a few memter the first count with 911 orable stunts being pulled. votes. Between Hughes and Hughes for example had a Trigoub Rotnem the sec- flash mob and a human pyrond count saw further votes amid in the Arts Block, Trigbeing transferred to Trig- oub-Rotnem had his manoub Rotnem, eventually ifesto advertised on the
number they would be struck from the ballot. The Electoral Commission has final decision on this, and throughout the election they oversee the fair running of all the races. There was some controversy surrounding the supposed sending of an email in one of the races. One team is alleged to have sent an email out to first year science on their facebook page just an hour after campaigning began, which is not allowed under EC regulation. Another email was also sent out with the promise of free food whilst telling recipients to vote for a certain candidate. Anything viewed to be a gift is not allowed to be given out to students and the team were fined heavily for this action.
Photo: David O’Dwyer can-crusher outside the Pav, Fox had a fox costume, yet perhaps the most memorable was Genockey’s Captain America’s bus, in which he and his team arrived for the Halls hustings. Fines were of course given out for these stunts and many other ploys which teams used to gain votes. Each candidate is allowed a total of 60 credits. If they surpass this
This year’s winners President Trigoub-Rotnem
1798
Education Fox
3090
Welfare Fleming
1780
Communcations Lowe
3084
Entertainments Genockey
2129
Islamic cleric Anjem Choudary spoke to the University Philosophical Society (Phil) on February 18. Choudary was invited by the Phil to speak at paper reading and discussion. The paper being read was ‘Islam and the West: A Question of Reconciliation’ which was prepared by three Phil council members David Barrett, Eoin O’Liathain, and John Engle. Choudary’s organization,
Islam4Uk was banned in the UK under antiterrorism laws by the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson last month. Choudary said ‘it was a brilliant debate. I spoke for about ten minutes arguing that Islam is not compatible with Western values and there could be no compromise.’ ‘Islam should not give in to the ways of Western society and there can be no integration with liberal democratic societies. I also pointed out that the conflict can reach a
military level as in Afghanistan and Iraq. There will always be clashes. I spoke for the introduction of Sharia law and got a very good reception.’ Phil President, Brendan Curran commenting on the decision to invite Choudary said ‘the Phil’s debates and paper readings are organized by its Secretary with the assistance and advice of Council. In inviting guests, he has regard to whether their contribution will make for an interesting, exciting and
thought-provoking discussion, rather than his personal feelings on the validity or invalidity of their views.’ Choudary said the society paid all his expenses, including the flight, overnight stay at a hotel and food. ‘It was a lovely three-star hotel in a plush part of the city, which was great. It is always good to speak to open-minded students.’ Curran said ‘the Phil does not pay fees to any of its speakers, but does endeavour to cover any reasonable
College sells Garda Station premises to the State The State paid Trinity College €560,000 for Pearse Street Garda Station last month. The State exercised its legal right to buy out the ground rent on the site which it had been leasing from the College on a ninety-nine year lease since 1911. The College received an annual rent from the State of IR£390 which converts into €495. Owners of leasehold property can purchase their ground rent and enlarge their interest into a freehold. A leasehold interest is for a fixed term of years and subject to a rent whereas freehold has the capacity to last forever. The Office of Public Works (OPW) is in charge of managing the State’s property portfolio and it took the decision to buy out the ground rent on the Pearse St building. Simone Hall, News Writer
Societies create The Lil’ Book of Shame for Haiti relief fund DU Players and Dubes have teamed up to arrange The Lil’ Book of Shame in an effort to collect money for earthquakestricken Haiti. Since week five, students have had the opportunity to secretly submit their most embarrassing moments into one of the many colourful ‘confession boxes’ that could be seen around campus. Students have been eager to be shamed and not named as there has been around 300 to 400 postcard and online submissions. It seems the confession boxes have become Trinity’s newest form of Welfare Office as students sketched, painted and have even put lipstick to paper to shine the light on their darkest moments. Speaking to The University Times, Honorary Secretary for Dubes, Matt Smyth, was proud at what the project has achieved. ‘The project has been a great success so far. At first people were quite tentative but it all snowballed around week seven when we got most of our submissions. I’d say it took people some time to remember all the gory details of their lowest moments.’ Smyth also wished to urge students that have not taken part to take five or ten minutes out of their day and contribute a confession. ‘The project is a really great thing for campus as, instead of just putting money into a bucket, the student body actively contributing to the creation of a publication about the students, for the students. It will be nice to try and spot the stories that have come from the Hamilton and the ones that have clearly been products of the Arts Block.’ The Lil’ Book of Shame is due to be on sale in the Arts Block, the Hamilton Building and the SU shop in week nine, giving students another week to personalise their embarrassing stories. All proceeds will be going towards Unicef’s Haiti fund. Leanna Byrne, News Writer
Controversial Islamic cleric speaks at Phil paper reading Robert Donohoe Editor
News in brief
expense incurred by them in travelling to Dublin.’ Backbench Conservative Party MP Patrick Mercer, chairman of a Commons’ anti-terror committee, said the Garda should closely examine every word he said to see if he broke any Irish laws. Mercer said ‘it would be sensible of the Garda to look at his stream of bile to see if he has overstepped the mark.’ The University Times asked the Garda press office if they were investigating the nature of what Choudary said to see
if it broke Irish law, they said that they ‘are not in the habit of commenting on operational matters.’ In a previous visit to the College, Choudary said Ireland could be targeted by terrorists because of the government’s decision to allow US troops to refuel at Shannon Airport.
SU Bookshop goes online The Students’ Union bookshop, located in number six, now has an online catalogue. The catalogue can be found on www.tcdsu.org and you can browse through by book title, author, or category. The complete stock of the shop is included in the catalogue. Ashley Cooke, the Students’ Union education officer, had this to say about it ‘it’s a good step for the SU bookshop. By putting the catalogue online, that will be continuously updated; we hope that students would be more likely to use the bookshop to get fairly priced books. Our Technical Officer put a lot of work into this and I hope it will make things easier for both students and for staff in the SU bookshop.’ Conor Smith, the technical officer, was responsible for putting the catalogue together said ‘the new catalogue makes finding books a lot easier for students. They can check to see if the bookshop has what they need from wherever they are, without having to search through the shelves up in number six. This is another step towards having a Union website that’s actually useful for students and not just a seldom updated noticeboard.’ Jennifer Fox, the education officer-elect, who included this development in her campaign manifesto, reacted by saying ‘the credit mostly goes to Conor Smith, the technical officer for the SU. I hope to work with Conor and the bookshop staff next year to expand the services provided by the bookshop so that students can advertise their own books online as well as the possible introduction of a Trinity “buy and sell” like or a boards.ie style advertisement space for selling any student-related stuff (TVs, kitchenware etc).” Katie Haberlin, News Writer The SU Bookshop catalogue can be found online at http://www.tcdsu.org/bookshop
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TimesNews
Wednesday, March 10th | The University Times
“Everyone has a cause. Some people has cancer, some have literacy. Mine is proving that women smoke weed too.” Emma Keaveney p14
www.universitytimes.ie
College begins clamping vechiles
News in brief
Leanna Byrne News Writer
Photo: Keith Grehan
New trees don’t grow on trees A new tree has been planted in the spot on Nassau St. ‘There are currently six hundred trees on Trinity College’s Campus which contribute to an atmosphere that enhances study as well as the biodiversity of the city. We value and care for them all, said TCD’s Facilities Officer, Noel McCann. Emma Keaveney, Senior Writer
Trinity College Dublin has recently carried out the first car clamping on campus. The College Communications Office has declined to comment on the incident. According to campus regulations, parking permits are strictly issued to staff members only. In order to apply for a parking permit, staff members must supply a copy of their driving licence, vehicle registration certificate and insurance certificate. The precise reason as to why the vehicle was clamped
is not known. The maximum number of parking spaces is a quota of 1 permit to 0.24 spaces, which allows Trinity College Dublin to issue a total of 1565 permits. Despite the large amount of applications, the Car Parking Workshop Group agreed that no car parking permits could be issued in any of the circumstances outlined without setting a precedent. The Secretary of the Car Parking Workshop advised that difficulties could arise in recruiting high calibre staff in a situation where there is competition among universities at home and
abroad for such staff. He also noted that the College has no scope to offer financial inducements to potential staff with internationally recognised abilities whose appointment would be of significant benefit to the College. In certain situations, according to the Secretary, it is disadvantageous to the College that it is not in the position even to offer a parking space to such potential employees. The next Car Parking Workshop is set to meet later this year to study the long term implications of for car parking in the College.
Accommodation office charges €11,276 for cleanup of rooms Robert Donohoe Editor The College charged €11,276 in total to a number of residents of College and Trinity Hall for dilapidation of furniture last year. The College also charged €4,277 for room cleaning. The College charges residents fees when they vacate rooms in College or in Trinity Hall if they leave the room in an unacceptable state which they say ‘includes the presence of rubbish including
bottles and cans or a level of dirt or staining on appliances and surfaces that is excessive and beyond what would arise with a moderate domestic regime.’ There is no charge for room cleaning otherwise. Dilapidation charges only arise in cases where the defects are beyond ‘reasonable wear and tear.’ All residents on arrival in rooms are provided with an inventory and defects form on which they can record any prior damage. Although the College
makes clear in the conditions of occupancy that all unpaid charges, discipline fines, damage, dilapidations and costs associated with restoring accommodation to a reasonable condition should be paid when they are incurred outstanding fines or charges will be deducted from the deposit paid by residents. The College says ‘in considering these charges it is worth pointing out that a large majority of residents leave their rooms in a mostly satisfactory condition. The
purpose of recovering these charges is to maintain the condition of rooms for subsequent residents and to ensure that the costs are borne by the persons responsible rather than the general body of residents.’ The College conduct two visits to rooms during the year to inspect the rooms’ quality and rooms found in unsatisfactory condition to rechecked a week later to ensure that the resident has rectified the problem. The quality assurance
visits that are conducted in residences during the year have a particular role in allowing the College to notify residents of unacceptable conditions so that they have the opportunity to minimise cleaning charges on departure.
Trinity College Dublin finance students win all-Ireland equity research award Photo: Conor O’Toole
Brendan Benson The American singer-songwriter (and member of rock supergroup The Racanteurs) Brendan Benso visited Trinity to speak to students. Benson was invited by the Litt. Soc and spoke in the Public Theatre. Simone Hall, News Writer
A team of Trinity students studying for the MSc in Finance were recently awarded first prize in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Global Investment Research Challenge. The Trinity students were one of six teams that made it to the final and overcame competition from the University of Ulster, NUI Galway, UCC and UCD to take the award. During the final each team presented an investment report on a target company to a panel of senior representatives of the finance industry in Ireland. The winning TCD students were Conor Maguire, Robert Skelton, Andreas Schmid and Mason Chesla. Their team will go on to represent Ireland at the European finals of the competition which will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, this March. The CFA Institute is a global, not-for-profit association
of investment professionals and 2010 marks the second year CFA Ireland has taken part in the competition. The Global Investment Research Challenge aims to promote best practices in equity research to business students worldwide through hands on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis. The research challenge commenced in November 2009 following a presentation by the investor relations team from the target company, CRH. The TCD team were mentored by John Stokes from PI Investment Management, and their academic mentor was Dr Jenny Berrill of TCD’s School of Business. The College says ‘in considering these charges it is worth pointing out that a large majority of residents leave their rooms in a mostly satisfactory condition. The purpose of recovering these charges is to maintain the
Conor Maguire, Robert Skelton, Andreas Schmid, and Mason Chesla condition of rooms for subsequent residents and to ensure that the costs are borne by the persons responsible rather than the general body of residents.’ The College conduct two visits to rooms during the year to inspect the rooms’
quality and rooms found in unsatisfactory condition to rechecked a week later to ensure that the resident has rectified the problem. The quality assurance visits that are conducted in residences during the year have a particular role in allowing
the College to notify residents of unacceptable conditions so that they have the opportunity to minimise cleaning charges on departure.
Historical Society members win Irish Times debate
Photo: David O’Dwyer
Radiohead After the success of last year’s Sigur Rós performance, DU Orchestral Society were back with a full symphony orchestra and band to perform the best of Radiohead. Vocalists from Trinity joined the orchestra to perform some of the band’s biggest and most challenging songs in the Exam Hall.
The debating team of Trinity College’s Historical Society took the honours for the fourth year in a row at this year’s Irish Times Debate, the 50th anniversary of the event. The winners, Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin and Niall Sherry, beat off competition from debaters from five third level institutions to win the Demosthenes Trophy. Debating against the motion ‘This House Believes that Ireland Owes a Debt of Gratitude to Fianna Fáil 1926 – 2010’, the winning team achieved a confident victory to take the prestigious prize. Nobel laureate and former first minister of Northern Ireland Lord David Trimble chaired the debate which was held at the Helix at Dublin City University. Irish
Times editor, Geraldine Kennedy, presided over the adjudicating team. The winning Trinity team will represent Ireland along with Seán O’Quigley of Griffith College, the individual winner on the evening, on a debating tour of the best debating colleges in the United States. The Irish Times Debating championship was established in 1960 to promote excellence in oratory and debating and is open to students in higher education in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This year a total of 284 students entered the competition for one of the twelve places at the final.
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The University Times | Wednesday, February 10th
TimesNews News in brief
New Academic Collaboration between Trinity’s School of Medicine and University of Michigan
Standing and queuing in the rain There are two times of year when you see people standing in line in Front Sq. One is when they have to reregister so that the State will pay the second half of your fees and if you don’t do that then you have to pay them yourself but that’s why most people stand in line to do it because they don’t want to pay anything. The second time that you’ll see people line up like some kind of wet rat in a line is when they are trying to get their hands on Trinity Ball tickets. This time they are queuing to give away money 7,800 cent to be exact. Which is a lot of money if you were to get it all in cents and
fill a sock with it and hit your Granny with it she’d be all like ‘oh dude why the hell are you hitting me with a sock full of change it’s all really ouchy.’ It’s like the line for the toilets in the morning at a festival but not as smelly, well it was smelly, but that’s because the person in front of me was a skunk. Not like the animal but just really smelly. That’s beside the point in fact i cannot ever remember the point. Oh yeah it’s about the Trinity Ball ticket line. It was kinda cool being in the line because I got to make new friends and they were going
Photo: Robert Donohoe
to the Ball too. I asked them if they wanted to be my date but they said no! I was really sad
Conor O’Toole, Staff Comediest
A new academic collaboration between TCD’s School of Medicine and the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan will enable both institutions to develop their respective academic strengths and research strategies. There is significant commanality in research between TCD’s School of Medicine and the Department of Physiology at the University of Michigan particularly in the areas of physiology of ageing, neuroscience and signal transduction. The collaboration will enable PhD students and post-doctoral fellows from both institutions conduct research at the partner university as part of their training, facilitating the pooling of intellect and the creation of centres of excellence in the international arena. Speaking about the new academic collaboration Dr Thomas Connor, Director of postgraduate teaching and learning at TCD’s School of Medicine said: “This collaboration represents an excellent opportunity for early stage researchers to acquire new skills and expertise in high calibre academic environments.” Dr Bishr Omary, Chair of the Department of Physiology, University of Michigan commented: “I am very excited about this terrific opportunity for Michigan and Trinity trainees and faculty to develop life-long collaborations and friendships. It also meshes well with the interests of our Dean, Dr James Woolliscroft, and his global outreach efforts.” TCD’s School of Medicine will celebrate its 300th anniversary in 2011. Since its foundation it has played a pivotal role in internationalising Irish medicine and has a proud tradition of scholarship and research. The Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan is a research intensive academic unit and is home to a vibrant graduate training programme in biomedical sciences. Professor Dermot Kelleher, Head of the School of Medicine and Vice-Provost for Medical Affairs said: “This new collaborative initiative is consistent with the mission of Trinity College’s School of Medicine in advancing research and education in the life sciences through strategic partnership and collaboration”.
TCD’s Celebrations for International Women’s Day 2010 Launched
Photo: David O’Dwyer
ISDA brought Trinity by DU Carl Doherty Writer The Irish Student Drama Association (commonly referred to as ISDA) is the umbrella organisation of Ireland’s most prolific thirdlevel drama societies. It aims to provide a national platform through which student drama may be promoted and encouraged and acts as a forum through which students from the drama societies of different third-level institutions can come together and interact on a creative and social level. Membership of the organisation is open to any drama society from a thirdlevel institution on the island of Ireland. The highlight of the ISDA year is the association’s annual theatre festival and award ceremony – a week-long festival in which all member societies may display their shows and
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compete. This year Trinity is hosting the event with the festival running from the 8th- 13th of March. Twelve universities participate in the festival amongst them University College Dublin, University College Cork, National University of Galway, Ulster University, Dublin City University and Dublin Institute of Technology. The ISDA has produced the talent of actors such as Pauline McLynn, Fiona Shaw and Conor McPherson. This is its 62nd year running. Some of the events taking place during the week include ‘Bang Bang You’re Dead’ at DIT Black Box Theatre at 1pm on Thursday and ‘Frozen’ at The Project Cube at 5pm on Friday. DU Players will of course also be producing their own shows for the festival. On Thursday evening ‘Mercury Fur’ will be playing at 8pm in the Players Theatre.
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2010, Trinity College Dublin launched a week long schedule of exciting events throughout College with the opening of a photographic exhibition in the College Sports centre showcasing girls and women in developing countries around the world. TCD’s celebrations, which will run from Monday 8th to Friday 12th March, aim to celebrate women’s achievements in technology and the arts and at the same time raise awareness of the inequalities that women still experience, on both a national and international level. During the week a series of vibrant and informative talks, workshops, new research presentations, fundraising activities and sports classes have been put together organised by various academic and administrative units, schools, women’s and human rights societies at the College who collaborated to devise the schedule. Highlights of the programme include talks on both female artists and writers with a TCD focus on Wednesday 10th. Events focussing on ending violence against women will be taking place on Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th. The week will conclude with a concert of musical, audiovisual and performance works by female students and staff is scheduled for Friday 12th. All events mark the contributions of women in different artistic and scientific fields and recognise the role of both men and women in attaining equality of participation. Speaking about the international celebration Dr Maryann Valiulis, Director of the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies said: “International Women’s Day is an opportunity to value women in all their different roles, but it also helps us focus on the reality of women’s lives which, unfortunately, often times includes violence against women.” Commenting on TCD’s contribution to the day Karen Campos McCormack, TCD’s Equality Officer said: “The week of celebrations at TCD has proved a great catalyst of creative energy in College, fostering engagement between different schools and administrative units, staff and students in a very positive manner - we welcome new participants in this initiative every year.”
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Wednesday, March 10th | The University Times
TimesFeatures
France’s affair with the veil France’s long-running social and political controversy has come to the fore once again, writes Rónán Burtenshaw.
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n January 26th, a French parliamentary committee recommended a partial ban on Islamic face veils, marking the latest development in one of Europe’s most compelling political sagas. France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim minority, estimated to be in the region of five million, and has been strongly divided on the issue of the veil. L’affaire du voile, as it is commonly known in France, is at the heart of French struggles with identity, religion, immigration and integration and shows no signs of abating. In discussing the Islamic veil, distinctions are required. There are many types of Islamic veil, which differ greatly in terms of what they cover, when they are used and in what regions of the world they are most common. In France, the debate has centred around three in particular, the Hijab, the Niqab and the Burkha. The Hijab, which comes from the Arabic word for veil, covers the head and neck. The Niqab and Burkha are the more fundamentalist veils, with the former also covering the woman’s face and the latter covering her whole body. Mohamed A. Ahmed, Chairman of the Muslim Student Association in Trinity, describes the religious doctrine behind the veils as follows, “scholars are divided about the Niqab [and Burkha] amongst those who say that it is compulsory and those who say that it is recommended. However, there is no dispute that the Hijab is compulsory for all Muslim women”. The issue of the veil in French society has its roots in the French public school system. In October of 1989, three Islamic girls were suspended from their school in Creil for wearing a Hijab. At that time, French Education Minister Lionel Jospin decreed that
the issue of religious articles in French schools should be dealt with by school authorities on a case-by-case basis. However, this method of dealing with the problem proved unsatisfactory and similar cases throughout the 1990s, particularly in Paris’ banlieues, led to widespread public debate and numerous court cases. By the mid-1990s, l’affaire du voile was widely recognised as one of France’s most important political issues. What had begun as a question of public displays of religion in schools quickly spread to other areas of French society. To many in France the issue of the Islamic veil threatened some of France’s most cherished republican principles, secularism and equality. The secularist principle of laïcité had
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Accoyer who presented the report to the recent French National Assembly, veils that covered a woman’s face or body were of great concern. “Face-covering veils”, he said, “are the symbol of the repression of women... They are a denial of the equality between men and women and a rejection of coexistence.” This opinion was expressed again on February 3rd, when France rejected the citizenship request of a Muslim man who, according to Immigration Minister Eric Besson, “forced his wife to wear full Islamic veil”. This, said the Minister, was “radical religious practice” and was unacceptable as French law required everyone seeking naturalisation to demonstrate a desire for integration. The issue has caused an interesting realignment of the
Secularity, it is argued, should mean that everyone is allowed a freedom to practice their religion but not to force it on others.
been of central importance to all aspects of French civil life since the guerres sociales of the 1800s, when French government asserted the independence of the state from the Catholic Church. A 1905 law followed and officially separated church and state. One of the principle’s notable supporters, François Bayrou, summed up the distinction laïcité made between religious articles as that between “overt and discreet”. In short, while those who served in or availed of French public services may carry private or discreet religious articles, they may not do so ostensibly, in a way that might pressure or exclude others. To others, like Bernard
political spectrum in France, with the right and particularly left-wing divided over the issue. Feminists in France have regularly questioned a theology which views uncovered women as “seductresses” when outside the confines of their home or immediate family. However, many of their traditional allies on the left have pointed to the pressures that a patriarchal Western society puts on women to dress seductively and the negative image of women as sex-symbols that is often portrayed in Western culture through advertising, music or television. There are also those who question a ban on the veil as a challenge to the freedom
of expression. Secularity, it is argued, should mean that everyone is allowed a freedom to practice their religion but not to force it on others. A prominent theme of l’affaire du voile is the circumstance of the Muslim community in France. The French policies of assimilation and integration have been largely unsuccessful, with large, economically deprived communities of first-, second-, third- and fourthgeneration immigrés from Muslim countries found on the fringes of many French cities. These areas, popularly known as banlieues, meaning suburbs, have regularly been the sites of riots and demonstrations against the state. Many in these communities still do not consider themselves French, something that is confirmed whenever Algeria, Senegal, Morocco or Tunisia come to town to play France at le Stade. A result of this is a feeling of isolation and desperation in many communities, and a stigmatisation of those who live in these banlieues by many outside. A fear of further excluding this group from society has led to the French Socialists opposing a ban on the face-covering veil, fearing in particular that doing so could further stigmatise Muslim women. Opinion polls have shown that while the population of France as a whole is largely is favour of banning the face-covering veil, the Muslim community is strongly against it. This opinion has been echoed by Muslim states across the world. Mohamed Ahmed sums up one prominent reason for this opinion as the belief amongst Muslims that “the Hijab is compulsory and no one has the right to force a Muslim woman to take it off”. Others believe that it is simply another aspect of the French Xeno- and Islamophobia that
famously propelled JeanMarie Le Pen of the Front Nationale to the Presidential run-off in 2002. They view the issue of the veil as a wedge issue and point to the tabloid media’s promotion of a “Muslim threat” as evidence that fear is being used to motivate the French electorate. In 2004, Jacques Chirac supported and signed into law a bill that banned Islamic veils from French public schools. Although there have been cases of suspensions and expulsions since then, a large majority of Islamic girls have simply taken the veils off. However, studies have shown that many begin wearing them again outside school or in universities, where they are not banned. Indeed, French sociologists have noted an increase in the percentage of Muslim women wearing veils, particularly the more conservative Niqab, since the controversy started. Many believe that it is being used as a mark of Muslim identification in a community struggling with its own identity. The irony of this, of course, is that the French government have recently convened a series of “town hall” meetings across the country to debate the nature of French identity. These followed discussions about the veil in French society and were widely seen as evidence of a crisis of identity and culture in France as a whole. The issue is complicated further by its association with security fears and its relation to the international “War on Terror” and struggle with violent Islamic fanaticism. However, it is clear that little useful progress is being made in unifying those on either side in a debate that is filled with fear, anger, hate and vitriol. Increasing polarisation of the two sides is making a communitarian compromise almost impossible. For those that see valid
arguments on both sides, the need to respect religious views, prevent disenfranchised minorities from stigmatisation while fighting for equality in a religious movement that all too frequently seems chauvinistic, the findings about the increased proliferation of the Naqba are emblematic. It is a reminder
that those at the focus of this debate have all too often remained silent. Muslim women, rarely a part of the French political class or media and not adequately represented by the invariably male leaders of the Muslim community, need to be at the centre of an argument which focuses mainly on them. It seems
that both sides have forgotten a phrase from the great struggles of the human past with which they would both probably agree; there can be no emancipation without empowerment. L’affaire continue.
of you may argue that this is what an 8-10 year old does, I beg to differ. A younger adventurer would make their tent, most likely out of pegs, a couple of bed sheets and a clothes line. Anyway, camping out the back gives you easy, and most importantly free, access to a wealth of amenities, including a toilet and running water. And while you may not be able to catch your dinner in the confines of your back garden, you can certainly cook it if the family barbecue is close to hand.
Ireland. Randomers will not do a double take in the pub at the sound of your accent, and proceed to approach you, saying “Oh my God? Are you from Ireland? My great, great, great, great grandmother was from there!”
Rónán Burtenshaw
Here comes the sun I have entered panic mode. It’s official. It’s the middle of February, and I’m stressed over summer plans. Having spent the last week hearing friend after friend discuss J1s, exotic internships and far flung holiday destinations whose names I can’t spell, I have entered a state of craziness that is usually reserved for the week before exams. Apparently, while I had been engrossed in the Winter Olympics, an invisible signal had swept through the campus, that had led everyone to begin frantically organising their 16 weeks of freedom. Now I find I have fallen behind, way behind, and I’m desperately scrabbling around trying to catch up. You see, I can’t spend another summer like the last. I took an early holiday in June, and then found myself adrift for the following 3 months. Bored out of my tree, stuck watching reruns of Gilmore Girls and the Ellen De Generes show, going days on end without changing out of my pyjamas, I soon began to lose my mind. So desperate was I for college
to return, I downloaded my reading lists at the end of August and started making my way through them. It was a sure sign of cabin fever. Desperate to avoid a recurrence of this alarming event this summer, I began anxiously searching the internet and college notice boards for some ray of hope. Unfortunately no lightning bolt of inspiration struck me in the arts block, and with a bank balance lying somewhere around the 34 cent mark, most of the usual options for fleeing Dublin are out of my reach. But rather than merely accepting this limitation, I’ve decided to defy it, and come up with some alternatives to the traditional student summer plans. 1. Inter-railing... Dart style The joy of inter-railing across Europe can of course be achieved on a budget, especially in your choice of destinations and hostels. Visiting places like Budapest or Krakow instead of Barcelona or Milan will automatically reduce the cost of your trip, but a four week holiday can still
be a drain on the finances. For the exceptionally broke student like myself, there is an alternative, in the form of the Dublin Area Rapid Transport system. The magical green train travels from Bray to Howth and Malahide, stopping at a wealth of destinations along the way. If you’ve ever felt the urge to
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not least the fact that they sell tea, coffee and snacks, and have some exceptionally comfy seats. While maybe not as exciting as flying somewhere (no-one’s going to ask you for a passport at Pearse station, or make you go through a full body scanner), if you have to stay in the city for the summer, the train
For the exceptionally broke student like myself, there is an alternative, in the form of the Dart system.
visit Dun Laoghaire or Sutton, now’s your chance. A day ticket will cost you less than €10, but if you’re feeling really adventurous hop on a commuter train to Dundalk or Maynooth. If you’re looking for something a little longer than a day trip why not call up some distant relatives in Arklow, Cork or Galway and arrange a mini-break. The inter-city trains that will deliver you to their door have some major advantages too,
does give you a chance to escape, if just for a day. 2. Camping... close to home I’m not a big outdoorsy person, but camping always makes you feel like you’re on holiday...perhaps it’s the not sleeping in a bed part?? The only downside to camping is that the equipment you need can be quite expensive. That’s why I suggest borrowing a tent and pitching it in the back garden. While many
3. Island hopping...out West Who needs Greece when you have the Arran Islands? Oh yes, the three isles off the coast of Galway give the student visitor a low budget opportunity to do some island hopping. Firstly, the reduced number of islands means automatically there’s less places to spend your money. Also, it’ll feel like you’re abroad because everyone will be speaking as Gaeilge, and you won’t have a clue what anyone’s saying. Again, there are some advantages to staying within
4. J1s without the paperwork This option is probably the easiest to organise out of all. It is merely a job in Ireland. All it requires is for you to submit a CV somewhere, attend an interview and that’s it. No messy paperwork, no crazy apartment hunting, no trying to explain what the Gaeltacht is to confused employers. Simple. However if none of these options sound very appealing to you, there is always the option of escaping the country by other means. My plan B involves me building a boat from empty butter tubs and sailing to South America. And with every essay deadline and class test that gets thrown at me, this plan sounds better and better. Jennifer Duignam
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The University Times | Wednesday, March 10th
TimesFeatures
Why Howard Zinn would have been reading The University Times H
oward Zinn, one of Twentieth Century America’s most important political activists died on January 27th, aged eighty-seven. An author, academic, historian, playwright, political thinker and general pain-in-the-ass to the Establishment in the US, Zinn wrote the hugely successful book A People’s History of the United States, first published 1980. Described by his friend Noam Chomsky as the “most powerful and benign influence” on revisionist, some might say revolutionary, history of his day, Zinn laid down the gauntlet to younger generations to challenge the abuse of power. In amongst his determined campaigns for greater equality of opportunity, education standards, understanding of history and scepticism of modern power structures, Howard Zinn was also a fierce advocate of independent and objective media sources. “If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves.” Howard Zinn understood very well the importance of media in the modern society. As a boy he had
Roses are red, violets are blue, I hate Valentine’s Day and so should you February 14th, a day that lives in infamy on my calendar. Yes, it is the one-day amongst those 365 other days that reaffirms to me and should definitely reaffirm to you (in the event that you have no relevant significant other) that you are fat, ugly, most likely very awkward and above all probably, ok, possibly, wear too much pheromone-trapping perfume to attract the other sex. And so now, sitting in my kitchen looking out into the garden at some ducks folly about in the grass, tantalisingly teasing one another with their winged sexiness while the brown one chases the green plumed one around the grass in a kind of Swim-Fan sort of way, I can’t help but be re-remind of my hatred for Valentine’s Day, the day whose job it is to undermine and prompt us all as to the reality that we are a failed heterosexual, homosexual, in fact, any type of failing, sexually-non-elitistgroup and that we should all invest in a lot of high brow, good calibre makeup / surgery because the days are numbered it seems before we become one of those Susan Boyle Spinster types that are only invited to the dinner parties of our old-time, now-married friends for the LOL factor associated with the unfortunate moment when we get drunk, take off our wig, kick our legs about
inappropriately and possibly deep-throat a bottle of wine. Yay. Not that Valentine’s Day 2010 was just any kind of general fail, oh no. Unlike Rage against the Machine’s exciting lurch to Christmas number one, I decided to follow the Facebook Valentine’s Day group whose goal was to get The Smiths song ‘How Soon is Now’ to the Mid- February top count down. And overlooking my being
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and you cry and you want to die’… I can’t help asking what is around the corner? And like I said, if Morrissey can’t at least find some kind of fame chasing eighteen year old to spend the most depressing holiday with, well… I shudder to think about the rest of us. However I similarly realise there are a probably a standard percentage out there who don’t look like Susan Boyle (as previously mentioned as
If Morrissey can’t at least find some kind of fame chasing eighteen year old to spend the most depressing holiday with, well… I shudder to think about the rest of us.
a huge Smiths fan, this song essentially embodies what Valentine’s Day is all about. I mean, if the mid 1980’s Morrissey is ‘the son and their heir of nothing in particular’ (bar of course a huge musical legacy and undoubtedly a lot of cash) then what hopes do I have? None. That’s what. As the man coo’s through my headphones: ‘There’s a club if you got to go, you could meet somebody who really loves you, so you go and you stand on your own and you leave on your own and you go home
a hindrance in the post-adolescent dating scene) and who subsequently do have significant others yet manage to maintain an air of dislike towards Saint Valentine. I mean, you people that are forced to buy presents, tell me, how much is too much to spend on a present? How little is too little? Is it really more special if you made the thing from scratch, out of a shoebox, I mean, especially since you’re finished project is a little too post-modernist for the normal boy/girl to
ever really get and in reality looks like it was painted by an arthritic toddler. It’s seems impossible to give a proper answer to this question. Fear not though all people out there that are only starting to realise that Valentine’s Day is just another 340 days away from resurging the associated thoughts of failure and inadequacy, a plan has been concocted on my behalf and I invite all of you to join me. It seems that since our good martyred friend Saint Valentine whose ridiculous story I do not know but most likely embodies some sort of ideal message about love or something is: a Christian! Oh yes. How is this relevant? It is illegal in Saudi Arabia to discuss and/or practice a worship of Christian saints meaning. To celebrate Valentine’s Day is a jail-able offence and all who do so risk having the Fatwa (death sentence) imposed upon them. This sounds like my kind of holiday! So come one, come all on a flight to Saudi via the UAE airlines February 2011. We shall party up our disdain to the sounds of the Smiths and burn some Marvin Gaye records. Sexual healing? Not for us unfortunate fatties. Smiths healing, yes please. Michelle Doyle
left Brooklyn to fight in the US air force during the Second World War. After coming home from service, Zinn often wondered about the effects he had, had on the people of the areas he bombed, particularly those of Bayonne in southern France. As a pilot, Zinn had dropped napalm on that town towards the very end of the war and his later discovery of the sheer horror this had caused to both innocent bystanders and surrendered soldiers had led him to question the narrative of “The Good War”. Zinn became a firm believer in the need to have a media that was investigative. He understood that state propaganda in the fascist and authoritarian regimes around the world had been able to radically alter the mind-set of whole populations. But Zinn also saw a danger in monopolised media sources of other kinds. The corporateowned and -dominated media that he saw developing in many Western countries caused him to question their capability for objectivity and the bona fides of their desire to act in the public interest. “Most of what we get from mainstream media” he said, “is ideological - biased not in favour of the people, but towards the commercial and political interests of the men and corporations at the top.”
The increasing desire for owners of media and politically-appointed editors to want an input into the articles their journalists write is of particular concern. He noted the effective use of media to engender public support for wars in the US in every conflict from the Spanish-American War and its fabricated attacks, to Vietnam and its Gulf of Tonkin incident, to the
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have on tomorrow’s version of history, Zinn began to call for and work for a more effective independent media. This media, he argued, would need to be motivated not by profit, which had led to increased sensationalism and the exodus of unpopular stories from the news, but by the public interest. If the Irish people, say, did not want to hear the warnings
Zinn saw media as a rising but unrecognised fourth branch of government.
Iraq War and its nonexistent “Weapons of Mass Destruction”. He saw media as a rising but unrecognised fourth branch of government, as a medium that could be used by those with power to influence the mind-set and opinion of the rest of society with ever more frequent success. A fervent advocate of a democratic system that received its power solely from the mandate of the people, Zinn worried that the rise of a media controlled too much by corporate powers or one particular class grouping could rob the people of the ability to make an informed decision on polling day. Worried also about the effect current media would
about their economic train approaching a cliff, loaded with unsustainable levels of debt, worryingly close alliances between government and the construction industry and record levels of social inequality, then you would have to give them the warning anyway. Simply placating them with the tranquillising drugs of superficiality and reassurance would not do. If Howard Zinn were still alive and in Trinity College today, as either a student pestering the Senior Dean about censorship issues or a lecturer urging his class to remember that all great change starts from the bottom not the top, he would be reading The University Times, as well
as Trinity News, while listening to Trinity FM. He would be listening to community radio and berating the people in his community for not standing for a more objective, more investigative media after our corporate and state-run mainstream sources had, by and large, missed the biggest economic crash to ever hit the country. George Orwell once wrote that “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” It was one of Zinn’s favourite quotes and he used it regularly when referring to the media. Zinn believed that when the law is controlled by the branches of government and the economy is controlled by the corporations, the media should be the power of the people. It must also give voice to the sections of society that the other structures of power had left voiceless, because “by letting these voices speak, the alternative media preserve crucial parts of today’s history—and challenge powerful institutions’ right to control the future.” Rónán Burtenshaw Howard Zinn, August 24th, 1922 – January 27th, 2010. His most famous book, “A People’s History of the United States” is still in print in a revised edition.
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Wednesday, March 10th | The University Times
TimesFeatures Columns
The saddest goodbye It seems he has everything to live for: immense creative talent, a legion of loyal fans and the prospect of releasing his new collection at Paris Fashion week. He is 40 when he takes his own life. His name is Alexander McQueen and the day 11 February 2010. Everyone has a connection with a story of suicide. One night somebody I know was awoken by a phone call from their best friend to say that he had just attempted suicide. Luckily he got help in time and recovered, physically at least. But I saw the effect this had on my friend, who had received the phone call that night. I saw how he was struggling to come to terms with what could have happened, the grief he could have felt, and the tears he might have shed if his friend had carried out his intention. Thank God I have never been in a position where I have considered suicide. I can only begin to imagine the depth of loneliness and despair it must take to arrive at the belief that living is futile. I have always thought that I would be too afraid to go through with it: too afraid to take the steps to end my own life just as the people who go through with it are afraid to go on living. During a nursing placement in a busy accident and emergency department, I was shocked at the amount of people my age or younger who had attempted suicide. I couldn’t imagine what could ever be that bad to force someone to think that death was the only escape. Suicide cannot be undone. The problem was probably only temporary and suicide is the end. It is the end for the individual, the family who has been robbed of a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, a mother or a father. It is the end of friendships forged over years. The pain is etched perpetually in the hearts of those left behind as they struggle to answer the questions that will haunt them for the rest of their own lives-Could they have prevented it? Were there warning signs? Why? It is true what they say: more than one soul dies in a suicide. Thankfully the National Office for Suicide Prevention’s (NOSP) 2008 report notes the lowest suicide rate per 100,000 since 1993, when suicide was decriminalised. However they also noted an increase of 8% of people presenting to the accident and emergency following self harming. Many people put suicide on a scale, with ‘normal behaviour’ as the counter balance. Those that injure themselves consider selfharming to appear somewhere in the middle. Self-harmers use pain as a release. They would never consider suicide, and it is just a way of releasing pent up emotions, a chance to liberate their inner turmoil. Committing suicide is ending things permanently. Self-harmers just want a ‘quick-fix’ to make themselves feel a little better. The reality is that people who self-harm are 50-100 times more likely to attempt suicide than those who don’t, according to Rethink, the Mental Illness charity. According to a Samaritan survey carried out in 2001 to find out why people self-harmed, the top answer was ‘to find release from a terrible solution’. As in the case of suicide the victim sees it as the only possible way to resolve their suffering. Although the NOSP is taking large steps towards suicide and self-harming prevention, as a country it is our responsibility to provide an adequate Mental Health Service that ensures that no individual ever gets to the point where they think harming themselves is the only way to make themselves feel better or that ending their own life is the only answer to their problems. A strong counselling service is needed alongside proper education about the importance of positive mental health. We need to remove the ignorance and stigma that exists around mental health problems so that we can break down the barriers that prevent people from asking for the help they so desperately need. Ben Okri once said “The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.” I agree, but I also know that nobody can do it alone. We need to stand together and accept that life is hard. We need to acknowledge that there will always be times when we cannot cope on our own. We need to admire the struggle it sometimes takes just to keep going. But most of all we need to stop the spread of the idea that suicide is ever a way out of our problems.
You sha’n’t go to the Ball Steven Moloney discusses the pressures brought on by Trinity’s “Ball Season” and explains why
he can’t attend all the balls he would like.
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o, neck deep in Hilary Term the onslaught has truly gotten underway. We have reregistered for the semester that will unapologetically force our hand to search deep and hopefully into our pockets, rifle through our wallets, purses, and handbags manically, and scour between couch cushions desperately. Following this, with grimaced features we may drain what remains from bank accounts almost sucked dry and on life support, and with angelic faces extract all that we can from our similarly drained parents. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but these tactics simply have to be executed with military precision in order to survive the social highlights of the year. Sacrifices must be made; food rationed, only average weeknight jaunts curtailed, clothes unlaundered, Luas tickets forgone, and the wares of nearby Grafton Street admired only from afar. One by one the warnings shots are fired, the sirens begin to ring, and hushed gossip slowly spreads across the land. The posters slowly begin to wallpaper every noticeboard and door just as the mass text messages and emails are unleashed filling every inbox of the socially active student population. This is no Students’ Union election, no new club promotion, and no doomsday. No, this has much more significance. This is Ball season. Tis indeed the season of extravagance, a season epitomised by the climax of students’ discretionary expenditure. Slowly but with mounting momentum the costs flood in, but worse, add up. The ticket, the tux, the dress, the hair, the nails, the taxi, the drinks, the drinks, the drinks, the room, the munchies, the queueing, the stresses. All conquerable, but let’s not forgot to factor in the probable if not inevitable ‘dramaaa’ á la Lauren, Heidi et al. It’s at this point I sincerely offer my condolences if I have somehow managed to detract from the glitz, the glamour, the romance, one may associate with their college ball. With most sports clubs, societies and college communities worth their salt organizing a ball for their members, the list of such events appears seemingly endless. Bess, Medicine,
Law, Science, Players, VDP, and let’s not forget Halls. With the ball market well and truly saturated, many students will find themselves with multiple invites, from organization and friend alike. In a perfect world of eternally full pockets, an invincible liver, and a perpetual appetite for ‘meat and two veg’ dinners, this writer would gladly attend all five Balls officially applicable to him. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately) such conditions do not exist and it bodes well to be selective and to maintain a discipline previously unwitnessed, perhaps attending one or two. But really, I wonder if such a feat can be achieved? For the sake of argument let all Trinity students unify in agreement that the Trinity Ball is indeed of almost legendary status, truly marking us apart from any other university in the country (sorry UCD, and you were doing so well). To attend this event requires an immediate downpayment of €80 (undeniably a lot in student terms) before aforementioned additional costs are even thought about. In the case of the Trinity Ball, I would consider money to be well spent for a night likely guaranteeing the most savage banter, to put it in colloquial terms. Justifying the expense of this ball, not a bone in my body will allow to further justify buying a Bess, Mystery, or Hall ball ticket. Maybe it stems from empty pockets, or the fact that the Burlington or Santry don’t quite make it in my estimation as glamorous locations, begging to be visited and guaranteeing the best night out of my year. There’s no denying, costs aside, that a great deal of pressure exists for students deciding to attend or not to attend the balls. When even stating my indifference to attending the Hall Ball to friends , the looks of dismay and the horrified gasps convinced me I had broken some sort of unwritten rule, committed a cardinal sin, social suicide. When mentioning unassumingly how I wasn’t planning on attending, I honestly have never seen eyes pop as wide as they have or gotten the feeling I should probably retire to some sort of life in a cave. Like all of you, not immune to peer pressure, I naturally and instantly reconsidered and the natural order returned. Two sleeps
later and our good friend common sense had fought a winning battle, I remained at the very least fifty euro out of debt and unperturbed by the potential label of ‘dry’. Others not attending, have cited having few friends within Halls to share the night with as a reason, and it’s understandable, probably holding true for far more than those who care to admit. Not attending really isn’t a big deal, and my Wednesday evening will most likely end up as enjoyable, if not more so than those who have indeed selected ‘Attending’ on the Facebook page. I know this is a simple choice that I won’t lose friends over, that means virtually nothing to you, that will be forgotten as quickly as the night itself, the morning after. It
does mean something to me though, it shows me I can avoid the pressures of Ball season, and the peer pressure of the college social life that many presume fade away with transition from secondary school. I enjoy all the same things as you from a wild night out at a club, to the one or two at my local (and ending up getting wankered as the Facebook group dictates), or the Friday beers in the Pav. Above is why I won’t be attending, to all those who have previously convulsed in horror. And so there really isn’t much more to say except enjoy the Ball. Steven Moloney
The quality of sound There is a certain quality of sound; Robert Altman knew all about it. It’s that sound that puts you into your own personal bubble; it’s that invisible wall that surrounds you in a crowded public place. It’s composed of layers, you know, the ones that Altman tried to capture in his films using multi-track sound. From the high frequency tinkle of teaspoons that cuts through the bass of the background hubbub, to the undertone of distant (and unobtrusive!) generic jazz. In between is the friendly chatter of hurried lunchtime conversation, and right next door the quiet conversation of a three year old romance that has just tipped over into the mundane. This is a quality of sound that is comforting. Like an Altman film, if you really want to, and are interested enough, you can hear it all and eavesdrop to your heart’s content. Or, you can be lulled in to a long lunch by a familiar blanket of sound.
Suzanne Murphy
It allows you room to drift and think…and that glass of wine you wouldn’t usually have at midday. It’s punctuated with the clatter of trays and the impatient fussing of hungry infants, but these fade into the background if you let them. The soft step of busy feet is countered by the sharp bell calling attention to orders up. It’s euphonic; a simple pleasure, the knowledge that you are quietly alone and can remain that way, or you can step out of the bubble and into the babble. And like all good things, it’s easy to come by; sit in Bewley’s on Grafton Street for an hour and escape into the hustle and bustle, and after that if you don’t know what Robert Altman was up to, go and rent The Long Goodbye. Simone Cameron-Coen
No rest for the wicked – or the hungover We all know the scene: its 7am, every shrill note of the alarm clock is piercing through your skull; the morning light is streaming through the curtains and scorching your delicate retinas and somewhere in the back of your mind is the sickening realisation that A: you have a tutorial in 45 minutes and B: you’re still drunk. Yes people, it’s time to rise and shine. After ten to fifteen minutes of the kind of mental preparation that is worthy of a Japanese samurai, your just about ready to leap from the bed and greet a new day full of exciting possibilities and rewarding challenges. You fling the covers back from your bed, swing your legs out and make the first step towards another great college day. Alas, things do not go according to plan. Upon feet to floor contact, you come to the conclusions that not only are you still drunk; you also seem to have lost the ability to remain standing for more than 5 seconds. Feeling defeated (and ridiculously queasy), you collapse back onto the bed, on the way down, you fall into a pile of political science readings, the papers fly
everywhere in a flurry of fools cap and journal articles and you sink back into your only friend, the duvet. The scene is a disaster, your bedroom has, to quote ABBA, become your waterloo. Yes, since becoming a university student, the early morning tutorial (or EMT as it shall now be known) has become my sworn enemy. I can honestly say that seeing the words “9am, tutorial, arts block” on my timetable instils me with more fear than any of the Saw movies did. And the situation doesn’t get any easier when you’re sober. Many a time I have tucked myself into bed on a Wednesday night, consciously knowing that I have a dreaded EMT coming up the next morning. With a nice cup of tea, and one of Maeve Binchy’s classics (Tara Road guarantees that I’m asleep in less than 12 seconds), I feel that I’m setting myself up for the kind of night’s sleep which will undoubtedly leave me refreshed and ready to tackle even the most pedantic of teaching assistants. How wrong can one person be? 16 hours later I wake up. Its 4pm, my EMT has been and gone, and a Maeve Binchy
classic is lying upside down on floor looking as if it has been hit by a tornado. The battlefield scene is tragic but all too common. The casualty: my chances of getting a 2:1, the aggressors: my comfy bed and an evil timetable. The battle against the EMT has been lost yet again. I have often asked myself what is it that makes it so difficult for me to muster the energy required to wake up on time. Suggested reasons have ranged from not so likely (Leading a mysterious double life as a crime-fighter after dark) to more plausible excuses (incurable laziness and a bed that is just TOO comfortable). Whatever the reason, the situation appears only to have become a problem since starting my time in college. Back when I was in school, 9am starts (though not particularly palatable) were just something which I did automatically, maybe even without thinking. Perhaps the reason for this is that my university timetable lacks the regularity of its secondary school counterpart. Indeed, so irregular and unpredictable is my timetable that I have bestowed upon it the affectionate nickname of “lady
gaga” since, like its namesake, it looks unrecognizably different every day and gets scarier the more I look at it. Dodgy timetables and erotically charged pop superstars aside, I think that it’s safe to say that the EMT and its even more abhorrent sibling the EMS (Early morning seminar) are here to stay, so I might as well get used to the idea of actually leaving my bed before midday, right? Well, that’s the plan, but alas, my body clock has different ideas. An increasingly bizarre cycle of ‘Friends’ reruns, lectures, Pav Fridays, house parties the odd bit of library time has led to my body clock going into some sort of weird frenzy, the kind you might expect to see in an animal as it emerges from months of hibernation. At 2am, I’m filled with bursting energy, I could take on the world, but at 8am, it is all I can do to stay conscious during the long trudge to the bus stop. Likewise, at dinnertime, I’m not all that hungry (mainly since lunchtime only really starts at 4pm) but by 1am, my stomach is crying out for food and a flit to the kitchen under cover of darkness is inevitably on the cards.
So what can I conclude from this brief investigation into my bizarre sleeping habits and lack of enthusiasm for college before 12pm? You might call me lazy, and I completely agree! But whether you consider yourself to be a ‘Devoted Deborah’ or ‘Waster Wendy’, I challenge anyone reading this article to confidently stand up and say that they have never once lost their battle with the EMT and opted to stay tucked up warm and cosy in their beds instead of braving the elements (and a dodgy bus system) to make it into college for 9am. So as I save my article, brush my teeth and tuck myself into bed ready for tomorrow’s battle to be on time for class, I like to adopt an approach favoured by one of the greatest philosophers of our time: Kesha. She advises us to “wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy”. And while Colin McGrane may be on the attendance list for 9am Political Science, P. Diddy most certainly is not - Sorted. Thanks Kesha. Colin McGrane
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The University Times | Wednesday,March 10th
TimesOPINION
Smile politely, nod awkwardly: greeting people you barely know Sarah Walker
E
verybody has one. You know who I’m talking about, those people you see day in, day out, who seem to have the same strange life-schedule as you. You don’t know them, but somehow you both always manage to be in the same place. In the bubble-like world of Trinity College there is simply no way you can avoid these people. I saw mine five times yesterday. No matter how low a profile you keep, whether you’re in the library, in the gym, in the arts block, or even in the postgrad room your college stalker STILL somehow manages to find you. I like to give mine names, “brown coat guy”, “beard man” or “strange girl with crutch”. And if you’re lucky you can just get on with it and keep pretending you’ve never seen each other before in your life, several times a day. Until you’re at a party and have had way too much free wine. Then something compels you to slur to these people “I see you everywhere!” Never a good idea, as half the time they haven’t noticed you and you just seem like a total stalker. But of course we know the more we want to see a certain person, the less likely we are to see them. Well it works the other way too. If you go to extreme lengths you go to avoid someone on campus, there is no doubt that you will run into them. Last week I sat next to the same girl in the library all day, and then ran into her later on in the shop, then in Dunnes again that night. After a while I had to wonder if I WAS actually following her subconsciously.
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friend has not worn glasses for the last ten years even though she’s verging on blind. At this stage everyone knows, so she can get away with ignoring whosoever she wants without fearing repercussions. If you are in 1st year, it’s time to start cultivating this immediately. It’s also taken me until this year to realise the side road past Player’s theatre is a great friend if I want to avoid someone on the way home. Unless you’re avoiding each other and that person has the same idea. I have a rule usually. It’s called the rule of three. If I see a person I know well enough to say hello to but not well enough to actually stop and talk then I’ll say hello the first two times. Go out of my way; give a half-hearted wave and everything. But after the third time in a day, an hour, in five minutes, I become an unwelcome fortress of steel. I don’t have the energy for false enthusiasm after two cheery hellos. And I think that’s fine. As a society we’re reaching an unfriendly conclusion: it’s not who you know, but who you ignore. We’ve all been left licking our wounds after a friendly salute went unreturned. A nervous high-pitched “Hey!” went unanswered. I’ve turned the wave into a sassy hair toss more times than I’d like to recall. Especially since Erasmus, where upon my return I got burnt by six people in a day that didn’t recognise me. One of them was even my mother. You feel humiliated, less than zero. Especially if you’re with someone you’re trying to impress with your popularity.
anyone seeing you in a state of physical repulsion is terrifying. That’s why God invented the MP3 player. Another is the college health service. Firstly, you can hardly throw in a friendly “So, what are you doing here?” opening comment. That would be prying, (you’ll just have to console yourself with eavesdropping as they talk to the receptionist). Then there’s the forty minute wait for your appointment. The atmosphere in the waiting room can be so tense this time of the year, with students waiting to collect their post-ball STD test results clearly recognisable by their jittery composure. None of them want to hear your awkward small talk. I can’t imagine how previous generations dealt without the social crutches technology affords us. Take, for example, this familiar scenario: As you’re walking down a long straight road, a single figure heads towards you. They seem far away enough to strain your eyes and look at them. Terrible mistake. It’s that girl you went to dance class with for six weeks when you were twelve. Vague recognition, your gazes lock against your will, her beady eyes boring into yours like some sort of awkward-situation tractor beam. There’s still too much time to say hello, even a wave could be construed as an offensive gesture.
Out comes the phone. If you’re one of those people who pretend to make a call and turn your head away as she passes, then you are scum. But most of us will just stare at the tiny machine until the last possible moment, and then whip up our heads in a maniacal smile, trying to arrange our faces with into an expression both eager and nonchalant. The eyes usually end up crossing. There’s certainly some sort of naked fear that comes with tenuous human connection. The flash of sheer awkwardness that passes between two people who don’t really know each other, or want to, is one of life’s infrequent moments of truth. I find that there are some people in college who I’ve been saying hello to for four years, but have never actually spoken to. Well, I tried it at the start of this year, and actually found it takes less effort to get to know someone as it does to avoid them. The bridge between friendship and acquaintance can be an arduous one, put off for years in some cases. But most of the time, if you make the effort to get to know someone, it will pay off. And not only will you expand your social circle, but you’ll finally be able to walk through college without the fear of social awkwardness.
We’ve all been left licking our wounds after a friendly salute went unreturned.
The etiquette of the awkward hello needs to be laid down in our society. There’s an invisible hierarchy as to how we greet people. Mutual friends: A smile. Playschool friends: A look of faint recognition, then a nod. The man behind the counter at your favourite chipper: ignore. But that’s just to save face really. Because if he greets you like an old friend then you know you have a problem. So what can we do about the inevitability of running into people you just don’t really like? Apart from the obvious-drop out of college. One person I know systematically blanks everyone. There is no pattern, he simply will not say hello to anyone. Another
There are several places where I think it’s completely legitimate to not acknowledge someone. Obviously, somewhere like an AA meeting where anonymity is, well, half the name. And the gym. They should have signs up in the place. Especially in the swimming pool, you are morally obliged to ignore anyone that you would not normally see half naked. But if you’re forced to drop your gaze, make sure you’re careful to aim for the floor and not the crotch. Nobody appreciates that. It’s never acceptable to expect a response to your wave from someone sprinting on a treadmill. For one thing, they risk serious injury. For another, the prospect of
Iceland moves to the polls In 2007 Iceland was voted the best place in the world to live. Then the whole banking sector collapsed, bringing the country with it, seemingly overnight. People got angry; angrier than ever before. For the country that is undoubtedly the worst affected by this global financial crisis decided enough was enough. A year ago the Icelanders took to the streets, literally banging pots and pans in the ‘Saucepan Revolution’, outside of the parliament building in Reykjavik. They started a citizen’s revolt against the government and the bankers who had colluded in the financial collapse which saw the Krona collapse in 2008. The country went from 1% unemployment to having dole offices suddenly overwhelmed with professionals from all sectors as it soared to almost 10%. Last weekend they continued what will hopefully be a revolt against the banks. Not just a revolt in Iceland, but also in Spain, Greece and, most importantly, in Ireland. The referendum which they voted on (and which they demanded in the first place) offered Icelanders the chance to choose whether or not to repay 3.9 billion to the British and Dutch governments who had to compensate 400,000 of their own who lost money when Icesave accounts, run by one of Iceland’s failed banks, collapsed. . If the referendum passed the Icelanders would have had to pay between 12,000 and 20,000 euro each because of the greed of their banks. They voted no; overwhelmingly so at 93% . Indeed quite why the Icelandic government should be liable for the UK’s entirely voluntary decision to bail out Icesave customers is a mystery. The similarities between Iceland and Ireland are uncanny. It is no long-
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Last weekend they continued what will hopefully be a revolt against the banks.
er a question of ‘one letter and six months’, we are beyond that joke at this point. Both our governments refused a public inquiry into the cause of the financial crisis, the Icelandic government has shelved the results of a long promised investigation into their financial mess twice. As in Ireland, the banks have been bailed out, and many of the same people are still in charge. Since last year the Icelanders have been trying to fight the banks and prevent repossession. Demonstrations have taken place on a daily basis all because of the Icelanders commitment to not give in to a selfish government. One particular organisation, called the Hagsmunasamtok Heimlimna is at the forefront of these demonstrations. The organisation was established with the aim that they will have an ‘army’ of supporters ready 24/7 to help people if police try to evict them from their homes. HH supporters have been gathering outside of parliament buildings every Saturday for months in a bid to show the government their growing frustration. They are currently in the process of organising a strike where people stop paying the banks altogether. Those with money are being asked to stop paying in solidarity with those who can’t. In further echoes with Ireland, where the government has raided the national pension fund for Nama, the left wing Green coalition in Iceland is encouraging citizens to spend their pensions now. What Iceland has done should be considered a huge success. They stood up to their governments and their banks, something which the Irish seem to be too afraid to do. What we need to do as a nation is show some solidarity. We should be supporting the Public sector workers next Monday, we should be taking to the streets with the pensioners and we should be viral in our efforts. This is exactly how Iceland did it. Young people all over Iceland communicated in real time with each other on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. They invited members of the governments to answer questions publicly, without any help from aides or advisors. The government got scared. They felt unprepared and started listening to the plight of their fellow citizens. Then came all the ‘saucepan revolutions’, which managed to bring down the centre-right government at the time. The heads of the central banks and the financial regulator also resigned. So why can’t we do this in Ireland? Why can’t our young generation get together and show our dissatisfaction? We will after all be the people who will bear the brunt of this economic crisis in years to come. Apathy should not be an issue. The money that we are paying to Anglo Irish Bank is more than enough to give us a great health and education system. We should be holding our government accountable for this mess that they have put us in; a revolution is needed. I will leave you with this quote from one Icelandic voter; it may make you think. “I voted “No”. I voted “No” to an unfair deal, with a colonising mentality. I voted “No” to the oppression of the small by the big. I voted “No” to global capitalism. I voted “No” to greed. I voted “No” to standing by as my people take on burdens which do not belong on their shoulders. I voted “No”. Tomorrow the world will follow my lead.” Marykate Collins
Current Events
Television Debates – Scripted Democracy Niall Donnelly Last Tuesday, I was unfortunate enough to be stranded in Stansted Airport for a number of hours. Airports are relatively tedious places, and so I braced myself for a few hours of pacing up and down the Duty Free shops. However, somewhere in between assessing the difference in price of spirits, I noticed a “breaking news” headline on Sky News, perhaps this would provide something interesting to monitor until my flight. However, to my disappointment it was merely the story that the leaders of the three leading British Parliamentary parties were to take part in a televised leadership debate. I quickly went back to the duty free shops. There are a number of problems with
the proposed televised leadership debates. From the outset it appears to be a commendable idea. One can imagine a scenario where David Cameron is launching a passionate attack on Gordon Brown’s leadership, Brown then stumbling to answer but quickly providing a cheeky one liner that silences Cameron. Furthermore under the gaze of the world’s media, there would be nowhere to hide. Indeed, for years British political enthusiasts have looked to American presidential debates with an envious glance. The likes of Nixon and Kennedy criticising each other’s policy choices was compelling television. However, they did not realise that the Americans were giving the British similar aspiring
glances. The Americans have quickly realised the Leadership debates are nothing more than a demonstration of the candidate’s ability to memorise rhetoric and restate something that has been rehearsed numerous times. The debates are so rigidly structured, that no candidates are afforded an opportunity to provide any real justifications or a sense of their political beliefs. Indeed, if one remembers last year’s Presidential debates, both Barrack Obama and John McCain, both charismatic orators, came across as boring. Essentially, the leadership “debates” are not really debates at all. In comparison, the Americans have always applauded the British Parliamentary system and in particular, Prime Minister’s Questions. The opportunity to trade insults and numerous hard-hitting questions across the dispatch box is considered to be real democracy in action. It is much harder to prepare for such a contest. Furthermore, the British seem to be overlooking a fundamental difference
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The debates are so rigidly structured, that no candidates are afforded an opportunity to provide any real justifications or a sense of their political beliefs.
between the two political systems. The American Presidential elections are just that. The objective is to elect an individual President, whereas the objective of the British Parliamentary election is to elect a Government. Television debates essentially focus on the party leader and deflect attention from the party as a whole. This is counterproductive and will transform the process into a presidential election. Despite the aforementioned, the British are determined to follow the American example. Next week’s debate will be as rigid as its American counterpart. The news report explained how each leader will have one minute to answer the question ... Each leader will then have one minute to respond to the answers ... No question shall focus on one party or one leader ... Within [each half] of the programme, a maximum of three questions will be selected on a single subtheme (as listed in point 65 of this document) ... The studio audience will be asked not to applaud ... At the end of the
programme the three leaders will shake hands. Moreover, the debates will limit public input. Audience members will be permitted to ask one question, but in the interests of formality will be prohibited from repeating or persisting with a question, even if the leader seemingly avoids the issue. A scenario similar to Jeremy Paxman’s famous questioning of Michael Howard, when he repeatedly asked “Did you threaten to overrule him?” will be avoided. Thus it is increasingly apparent that the debate will only be exercise in window dressing. From the outset it will appear that the leaders are engaging in a stimulating debate, but in essence their communication or PR’s officers might as well be reading a carefully prepared script. Without a hint of exaggeration, the majority of the electorate will already be able to accurately predict what each leader will say and I have no doubt the only winner from the televised debate will be the channels not screening it.
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Wednesday,March 10th | The University Times
TimesOPINION
Letters
Are exams getting easier?
to the Editor
Letters should be mailed to ‘The Editor, The University Times, 6 Trinity College’ or sent by email to letters@universitytimes.ie We cannot guarantee that all letters will be published. Letters may be edited for length and/or style.
The student-run bookshop Dear Sir, I am disappointed with the reply of Padraic Lamb on behalf of the Student Union Bookstore (“In defence of a student run [sic] bookshop”, February 10th). It is clear from the onset of Mr. Lamb’s ad hominum attack that he knows little of my previous writings, as he accuses me of applying “stolid if steadfast neo-liberal fiscal ideology”. Fiscal policy describes the practice of government spending and taxing to influence the economy. There are no instances in which I have applied “fiscal policy” to any topic, given that I am neither the Minister for Finance nor do I typically comment on macro-economic matters even by parallel. Nor would my political persuasion be strictly defined as “neo-liberal”, which tends be used in these days of big government as a pejorative. Mr. Lamb describes my solution as “risibly impractical”, although he doesn’t explain why it is not practical. Meanwhile, I have argued persuasively why it is. Perhaps Mr. Lamb should explain his position using words as is the common practice? But he seems intent rather to not argue the issues, and instead merely attack me by association - referring to my suggestion as “American-imported” (although I am not aware of any such example?) and implying that I believe President Barack Obama to be a secret al-Qaeda terrorist. He also refers to “[my] time as an intern at [sic] neoconservative [sic] think tank [sic] in America”, and that I have “neocon [sic] mentors”. None of these things are true. I only trust that your readers are intelligent enough to see the lack of clear or persuasive argument in his piece, and his paltry defense. He claims that individual employees of the bookshop paid towards the fancy meal in Trocadero, but doesn’t tell us how much. He says that it is “economic” [sic] to source books in London, but doesn’t give us any figures. He describes the expenses of the trip as “modest” but doesn’t let your readers judge this modesty for themselves. Finally, Mr. Lamb never attacks the central thesis of my article in the previous issue. Why should all students pay for a service enjoyed by some students? For the same reason that I oppose the Sports Tax levied by the college on students, I oppose the Student Union book store. I hope they one day defend their existence adequately. Yours etc., Jonathan Wyse Sch.
Sinead Mercier, Illustrator
Top ten problems
Current Events: Grade inflation
Dear Sir, I read recently what I can only describe as one of the best articles I have ever read. In your edition of The University Times, published January 20th, I came across an article written by one Conan O’Broin, in the opinion section. The title of this article was ‘The top ten reasons why Ireland is in the state it’s in’. This man has managed to outline perfectly just exactly what is wrong with this country of ours. What really hit home for me was his point on begrudgery. To quote, ‘... people in Ireland are discouraged from being different, being successful or being ambitious. New ideas, new solutions and new ways of thinking are few and far between’. This young man has hit the nail on the head. We are a nation afraid to step away from our ties with the past and try something new to assuage the impact of the mess we are currently in. If more students took this stance rather than being content in their apathy maybe our government would wake up and consider that we, as students, are the future of this country, and we will be the people most affected in years to come. What we need to do is show solidarity with our fellow countrymen and women and take to the streets in outrage at what our government has led us blindly into. We should be demanding answers from ministers and bankers, and doing so in as public a manner as possible. Surely it would terrify them to be confronted over their wrongdoing without their aides or advisors there to help them? This is what we should be doing. Look at Iceland and all that they have achieved over the past 18 months. They managed to bring down their centre right government and many of their top bankers resigned due to Icelanders lack of apathy whilst their country was falling apart. Now things are slowly getting better for them. Yes, we are not in as much of a mess as Iceland, but what if we were? As a people we love a rogue, a chancer; and this must stop. We have numerous corrupt politicians yet somehow we allow this to continue. We are for some reason of the firm belief that if it’s not directly affecting us then we could not care less. What I want to see are more students supporting not only each other, but their fellow citizens who have also fallen upon hard times. We need to get out there with our saucepans and pots, a la ‘saucepan revolution ‘ in Iceland, and start giving our politicians a headache. We cannot afford to sit back any longer or we will only leave room for resentment in years to come. Resentment towards ourselves for not doing anything when our country needed it the most. Yours etc. Amy Burton.
Closing head shops is an attack on our personal freedom The recent debate around grade inflation in the second and tertiary levels is a complex issue that can be all too easily blamed on the “dumbing-down” of curricula. At the Leaving Certificate level students have become much more precise and focused in their studies, learning to take exams and answer standardised questions rather than learning to solve problems or think critically. The issue at second level of grade inflation is in part explained by the mechanism in which material is examined and not just the standard of the material or the curriculum. The proof is in the sudden prominence of grind schools in recent years. If not you I am sure that you know at least one friends that got grinds in some subject, usually mathematics or a language. It is hard to blame students who are in competition for third level places and it is just as difficult to blame teachers who are under pressure from students and their parents to teach in a way that maximises performance at the Leaving Certificate exams. College admissions are entirely based upon this inadequate metric. Methods used to improve and broaden assessment at entrance to courses such as the implementation of the HPAT for medicine have essentially failed in what they are intended to do. However, a radical overhaul of the Leaving Certificate isn’t on the cards and isn’t necessarily the correct thing to do. That examination is set to cater for students of all academic
standards and creating an examination that searches for one’s ability to solve problems or think critically wouldn’t play to everyones strengths. These are qualities that we look for in potential third level students but the Leaving Certificate isn’t there just for them. It is expected nowadays that nearly everyone should have completed the Leaving Certificate regardless of their future plans. One way to address this might be to have our third level institutions assess students in other ways such as an entrance examination or conduct interviews. This of course, would cost a lot and there would be
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the voices of academics who insist on this are numerous. However, the increase in students getting high grades cannot be attributed entirely to this. Trinity College’s Academic Secretary Patricia Callaghan reported that part of the reason for it’s grade inflation is due to “improved teaching and learning, and more transparent assessment regulations” and she is undoubtedly right that these are factors. Speaking as a student representative I can attest that there is also an increased awareness among the student population of appeals processes and the number of appeals in Trinity has risen in recent
It is hard to blame students who are in competition for third level places and it is just as difficult to blame teachers.
little political will to shake things up so much. Right now national attention is directed at the third level when there are so many problems at second level. At third level the situation is even more complicated and is exacerbated by the problems at second level. We hear anecdotal evidence from lecturers suggesting that students know less on arrival at college, especially in mathematics. It seems to be an operational fact that first year courses in particular have to be “dumbeddown” over time as a result. Though this may not be palatable to everyone,
years. Another factor not explored fully by the Trinity report is the push to increase student numbers and the unwavering focus on the desire to rise on the international ranking scales. Both of these actions taken by the universities are linked to funding of the higher education sector. To rise in the rankings means you attract more international students, which acts as a positive feedback loop, as an institution needs many international students to rank highly. International students bring in revenue in extravagant fees and the increase in the
size of the student body means an increase in the college core grant from the HEA. Another issue is the prominence of research over teaching. Research is an alternative source of revenue which when invested in can bring great dividends. I’m never really surprised when I see College acting in a way that negatively impacts on the quality of undergraduate teaching. Their funding from the government isn’t based on how much the college shape their graduates into well rounded, intelligent and scholarly individuals. It’s based on how many students you have. Many opinion pieces have recently criticised the universities for “dumbing down” their courses. Can you blame them? In a dog eat dog environment where you have to continuously compete for numbers of students and for research grants from a very small pot of money it’s no wonder that priorities get skewed. There are many College officers who slave away to the best of their ability to ensure that the quality of education is the best it can be in the funding environment we find ourselves in, but unfortunately it’s not enough. To tackle the problem of grade inflation we need to let our universities focus on the quality and standard of education and teaching as their top priority. They can’t do that at the moment. Next year’s income and where it’s coming from is the question on their minds. Ashley Cooke
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The University Times | Wednesday,March 10th
TimesEDITORIAL
The University Times What a nice bunch of fellows T
he fellows of the College have rejected plans to increase the power of the students’ vote in next year’s provostial election. By failing to assent to the proposal put to them by Board they have effectively said that they either want to keep all the power for themselves or that they do not
want to trust the students with what would still even be a very small vote. Whatever the reasons that the fellows that failed to assent have it gives a very poor reflection of them to the thousands of students that they educate. The College is about learning and the most important element
in this process is the students and their voices must be heard and heard loudly when it comes to choosing the person that will be head of the College for the next ten years. However, most of the fellows reject this argument. It is this paper’s opinion that what the fellows have done is perpetuate a power
grab and fracture the connection between students and fellows. The University Times will always stand with the students of the College for their democratic right to representation within the College and this is the biggest event in terms of democracy that this College sees. It occurs only every ten years so when it does we must take
it very seriously. It is a shame that the fellows did not on this occasion and have decided that remaining a powerful elite is more important than making the majority heard. We will see next year if the fellows maintain their ability to vote in a way that the students are not happy with.
No country for old men Jonathan Wyse
C
ompanies operate in a world of uncertainty. Candidates for employment can only communicate so much information to differentiate themselves, with the result that firms search for innovative ways to identify talented graduates. Whether you call it networking, cronyism or simply the Old Boys’ Club – using contacts and connections to obtain an edge in the job market seems necessary in today’s competitive world. Should proponents of meritocracy really condemn such mechanisms? Graduate recruiters spend an awful lot of time and money trying to identify talented prospects, something which is only profitable because it is so difficult to do well. For example, this author has been brought to dinner on more than one occasion by firms simply by virtue of being a scholar. This uncertainty can be a frustrating curse or fortuitous blessing, depending on your perspective. However, it is certainly something which can be
exploited for your interest. How? Since firms are seeking credible demonstrations of talent, students in their penultimate year of university should by all accounts be competing as vociferously for internships as they will for eventual employment – knowing that such a policy will reap dividends the following year. But such action though might not even be enough to land employment with the best firms. Why? Frustratingly, many positions seem to the outsider stitched up by virtue of connections and contacts. The solution: adapt to market conditions by choosing your references wisely, and considering any possible links that you or your lecturers might have to the organisation in question. Of course, the alternative would be to claim that the market is corrupt and full of nepotism. Does this imply that it’s not meritocratic? Not necessarily. When your connection make a plea on your behalf, it’s not a costless endeavour for them. If you secure a job for a
friend or (say) family member who turns out to be completely useless, it hurts. Your networking contacts will see you as either a poor judge of candidate quality or a more concerned with nepotism than providing reciprocal and mutually beneficial recommendations. Either way, they won’t be listening to your advice in filling future positions. So if a friend puts in a good word for you, it’s a credible signal of your talent because it costs your friend to put his reputation on the line. It’s a credible signal that you’re determined too. How can we deduce this? Presumably, because otherwise you wouldn’t be getting your friend to do the favour for you. After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch and
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through cronyism – After all, your recommendation need only be slightly better than operating under uncertainty to be worth listening to. But the central conclusion: Old Boys’ Clubs could be contributing to the separation of individuals based on merit. But there are limits to the extent that it does. If contacts are incredibly important in the actual business of work, then talent may eventually take a back-seat. This is clearly unfair to individuals who are talented but didn’t have the benefit of attending the right school or mixing in the right social circles. There’s also collateral damage to these same people even if cronyism does make the market more efficient. If
If you secure a job for a friend or (say) family member who turns out to be completely useless, it hurts.
you must be offering him something in return for getting you the interview (or whatever). In the end, employers will only adhere to recommendations from the Old Boys’ Club if they end up being profitable. Otherwise, such companies will lose custom to more efficient competition and perhaps go out of business. There’s still plenty of room for abuse
employers couldn’t receive advice from networks and connections, they would have to find the most talented recruit using more conventional methods. Unfortunately for some, that would make the company less profitable than under the status quo. Jonathan Wyse
What the Falk ‽ A
fter an extensive dispute over ownership of the Falkland Islands, between the United Kingdom and Argentina, a war broke out in 1982 the conflict lasted approximately 74 days and killed 649 Argentines and 255 Britons according to Sky news. The war started after the Argentines military rulers seized the islands, and nearly 900 people died before the British naval force debarred the military rulers. Since the early 19th century, Argentina has claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands also known as the Islas Malvinas and the associated islands around it but in 1833 Britain landed there to claim this remote territory as their own, they seized the islands expelling the few Argentinean occupants that remained there and since then has rejected Argentina’s claims to the islands. At the beginning of this crisis not a lot of Britons or anyone else for that matter knew about the group of islands Britain claimed as its own territory 8000 miles away, but as soon as the invasion took place the prime minister at that time; Margaret Thatcher made her opinion very clear in the house of commons that “It’s the Government’s intention to see the Islands are freed from occupation and returned to British administration at the earliest possible moment,” she said. This conflict was considered to be the UK’s last “colonial” war overseas. However last week the Argentine government announced that all shipping,
travelling between Argentina and the Falkland Islands, South Georgia or the South Sandwich islands would require a permit. But a British oil company is due to start drilling off the shores of Falkland Islands, and rows have started to break out once again between London and Buenos Aires over the territorial waters around the archipelago. Argentina is infuriated by the fact that, the company ‘Desire Petroleum’ wants to begin its drilling operations in the rich seabed in an area Britain claims to own. Actually the relations between the two nations were going quite well until it was estimated that there is 60 billion barrels of oil around the Falklands, and since then the UK has tried to get explorers and drillers over there for more information on this matter. Recently they towed a platform about 100km (62 miles) north of the islands which ‘Desire Petroleum’ says is strictly inside British waters, though the islands only lie 480km (300 miles) east of the Argentinean coast. Argentina claims that Britain, who is a UN Security Council member, is dodging UN resolutions. Nevertheless the county’s deputy foreign minister, Victorio Taccetti, insisted there would be no repeat of the 1982 war with Britain, but also said that “The day the United Kingdom has a tough time operating (on oil prospecting), they will negotiate with us”. The UK’s defence minister Bill Rammell responded to this by saying that
“There has been no change whatsoever to our policy and we have no doubt whatsoever about the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, and no change in our support to their legitimate right to develop a hydrocarbon industry within its waters”. Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez continues to uphold the view that the Falklands are occupied by Britain il-
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Argentina should not be oblivious to the fact that Britain’s intentions really lie in the hydrocarbon industry and not in the betterment of the Falklands but undoubtedly Britain can raise the same issue against Argentina.
legally, she also agrees with the deputy foreign minister by saying that the UK is not complying with the UN resolutions that oblige both countries to negotiate on their future relations. Argentina
has already started to lobby countries holding meetings in Mexico with the Rio Group of Latin and Caribbean leaders summit in Cancun next week to condemn what they called Britain’s “unilateral and illegal” exploration in the islands. Other leaders like the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has already stepped into the dispute by accusing Britain of flouting international laws. Now that matters have got a little serious the foreign minister of Argentina has asked “the UN secretary general Ban KiMoon … to stress to Britain the need to abstain from further unilateral acts,” in the meantime the UK has restated that they are ones who actually hold the sovereignty of the Falklands archipelago and that they will continue to support the Falkland government in this legitimate business. I believe that the issues that have risen are ones that need considerable thought, there is really no way to prove which country has the real right to ownership of the Falkland Islands, it is however obvious that considering the fact that the islands are much closer to Argentina than the UK, Argentina’s viewpoint on the issue should be given importance and if Britain has signed a UN resolution than it should simply follow its conditions as set out, in other words both countries should negotiate with each other about what should be done regarding this matter.
I seriously think that there is really a need for mid level negotiations, especially in this day and age where war is not the answer to anything. Argentina should not be oblivious to the fact that Britain’s intentions really lie in the
hydrocarbon industry and not in the betterment of the Falklands but undoubtedly Britain can raise the same issue against Argentina. Sehreem Qureshi
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Wednesday,March 10th | The University Times
TimesOPINION
There may be trouble ahead A
nother news cycle passes and further column inches are dedicated to events North of the border. Recent weeks have acted as a snapshot of the current climate. At Stormont, progress is at least superficially solid, with the First and Deputy First Ministers expressing certainty that the Hillsborough Agreement will be ratified in the Assembly this week. Such political buoyancy must, however, be set against a background of unrest. The murder of Ciaran Doherty in Derry, the explosion of a car bomb in Newry and rioting in Craigavon are all illustrative of a North that has escaped the Troubles but remains decidedly troubled. It is no accident that as the frequency and gravity of dissident republican attacks increase, political will at the upper echelons of the Stormont Executive has enjoyed a matching resurgence. Following the trepidation of the Hillsborough talks, the agreement to devolve policing and justice powers has triggered renewed faith in the institutions. In David Ford, a broadly unifying Justice Minister has been mooted and any creases in the fabric of the Agreement should be ironed out in the coming week. UUP objections are unlikely to halt the superior voting weight of a DUP-Sinn Féin pact. Following Peter Robinson’s assertions that failure to back the Hillsborough deal would, “ill serve the people of Northern Ireland,” fears of a DUP backtrack have been firmly quashed. It is noteworthy that even Ian Paisley, rarely a retiring figure - until last Tuesday, has
warned his predecessor to refrain from backing away from progress. The certainty and optimism of the language employed by both the First and Deputy Minister when asked whether the deal was still on is reflective of an attempt to ensure that Stormont is viewed as the only path forward by people in the North. Such statements are as much motivated by a desire to detract from dissident support as to promote progress in its own right. It is well documented that political stalemate in the North has proven deadly and Messrs Robin-
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The importance of political solidity cannot be underestimated at the moment. The relative unity that seems evident is a necessity.
son and Mc Guinness seem at pains to ensure that progress remains steady in order to calm a festering atmosphere. Gone are the thinly-veiled threats and political sniping of a few weeks ago, to be replaced by an air of relative calm at the pinnacle of the Northern Executive. Such shrewd leadership is characteristic of the pairing that has formed.
While never enjoying the media-friendly jocularism of Mc Guinness’ previous pairing with Peter Robinson’s predecessor, the current Office of First and Deputy First Minister is branded with an earthly sense of pragmatism and a knack for feeling the pulse of the electorate. Thus far, deals have been held off for long enough to appease hardliners but have been made swiftly enough to ensure continuing progress. Mc Guinness and Robinson at the moment seem equally adept in coupling the tasks of keeping their own camps in order while ensuring that cross-community support for the political process does not stagnate. That said, neither man has softened his ideological views. However each, through past experience, implicitly acknowledges that at critical points such as the present, partisan posturing must be forsaken in the name of genuine and unifying political leadership. The importance of political solidity cannot be underestimated at the moment. The relative unity that seems evident is a necessity. While the current dissident threat is unlikely to quell considerably in the immediate future, Mc Guinness and Robinson are determined that it cannot be permitted to grow. The bickering, barely-functioning institutions that have been characteristic of Northern devolution have the potential, at present, to prompt a groundswell in dissident support from disaffected youths influenced by those frustrated by a lack of political advancement. The growth of apolitical ‘recreational
rioting’ in West Belfast is representative of the dangerous potential that exists if granted political direction. It seems that a consensus to ensure workable government is evolving from within the Office of First and Deputy First Minister and such consensus is desparately needed to regain some of the political goodwill which was borne from the electorate in the infancy of the Good Friday Agreement. However, while a union of tact seems evident between McGuinness and Robinson, the same cannot be said for the Assembly as a whole. The UUP have threatened to vote against the Hillsborough Agreement unless education concerns are addressed. While education indeed presents an obstacle which the Assembly has consistently failed to surmount, the decision to attach it to the chassis of the Hillsborough Agreement seems politically futile. Indeed, the decision to take the old ground of Unionism in standing firm against governmental change is an exceptionally dangerous one. It can be viewed as an attempt to garner votes from hard line unionists disaffected by DUP ‘concessions’ but it carries with it the real risk of isolating the UUP’s core moderate support. Thus, what could be viewed as a possible postHillsborough tripartite split in the Unionist vote between Jim Allister’s hard line TUV, the DUP and the UUP has the potential to be even more divisive. In effect, the UUP’s current stance is indicative of a party that sees an obvious political opportunity but does not have the
acumen to grasp it. Against the background of the UUP’s noisy public floundering and rising dissident activity, the recent quiet and effective work of the DUP and Sinn Féin has gone largely unnoticed. The movement towards sealing a Northern agreement for once seems secure in spite of the usual rocky backdrop. It is unlikely that this current phase will herald a new dawn of functional government - the two parties are still by no means comfortable bed partners but both seem grasped by a short-term need to secure the future of devolved rule as expedient
to both their long term objectives. The leading parties know that a collapse of the institutions has the dual potential to enhance support for the growing dissident threat and to result in a severe electoral backlash. Thus, while the time will undoubtedly come again for bombastic tribal politics, at this critical stage, it seems that both Martin Mc Guinness and Peter Robinson are mindful of the conventional wisdom which dictates that great things are achieved better by whispers than bangs.
volunteers, you are making a difference in the lives of the world’s poorest people. Who knows? It might make voluntary work seem so attractive, that perhaps one more person might think it worth their while to join the Voluntary Tuition Programme. That makes the world a better place. Of course, there are costs when we reallocate social status because it’s fundamentally a zero-sum game. If people reward charity by looking upon the individual more favourably, there is less ’social status’ to go around and less to be gained in other ways. When these alternative means of achieving social status (being funny, looking attractive, etc.) yield lower returns for the investor, they
are going to invest fewer resources (time, effort, etc.) in striving for them. Basically: why bother trying to be the funniest guy in the class when Johnny Do-Gooder gets all the girls? Better to spend that time and effort elsewhere. So a philanthropic society that rewards altruism may end up being less funny, less smart, and more ugly than a self-interested Hobbsian wilderness. This author thinks that the charitable society is preferable, and will look upon you more favourably if you agree.
Sean McGreneghan
Charity begins at the margin A
friend of mine is a prominent member of a philanthropic business. The idea behind the organisation is very simple. They sell clothes along with the principle that you should commit an act of random kindness to a stranger each time you wear them. Profits finance charitable projects, large-scale ‘arks’. Their objective is to enable a positive culture shift towards every-day charity, with the founder and all the employees motivated to join the company by their desire to make the world a better place. So how does charity shape up as an economic motivation? Altruism can be explained by evolutionary psychology, as a system of
‘generalised reciprocity’ – like an insurance policy. The society would be more likely to thrive and survive if misfortune for one member could be smoothed by charitable transfers from other members of the group, but with the knowledge that you were safe from destitution if you suffered some bad luck too. Thus, humans rationally evolved to reward altruism. What impact does this have on our society? Firstly, individuals engaging in charitable activity receive different rewards to conventional entrepreneurs. Rather than receiving profits in accordance with the value they create for consumers, they receive praise from their peers – not to mention the positive feeling that they are making the world a
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By praising members of our college community who give time to SVDP, you are helping the poor.
better place. People reward altruism by looking upon the perpetrators more favourably, and this creates incentives for philanthropy. Of course, the recipients can’t recompense suppliers of charity in the traditional manner (payment through the price mechanism). Thus, granting social status to honor altruism is directly analogous to giving money to the poor – They can’t pay for the goods and services they need, so you are ‘paying’ instead. Thus, you should always remember your part to play in provision of charity. By praising members of our college community who give time to SVDP, you are helping the poor. By lauding Suas
Jonathan Wyse
Giving up rather than taking up Darragh Paul Haugh
O
n March 2nd of 2010 Jon Venables (27) was re-arrested for an unspecified breach of the terms of his parole. Venables along with Robert Thompson were given lifelong parole upon release after serving a 7 year sentence for the murder of 2 year old Jamie Bulger on the 12th of February 1993. Although the authority’s have not been forthcoming in giving details, rumors have begun to swirl that Venables was arrested for a variety of offences ranging from possession of child pornography to violence. Most shocking of all is the speculation that Venables is now a father of two and is engaged to be married. This raises the question, is Venables family aware of his past or has his government provided new id (at a cost of £250,000) to hide the truth? This has not only opened old wounds across Britain but has also resurrected the Nature vs. Nurture debate. This is the eternal debate of which has
a greater effect on the person we will become, the genes we are born with or the environment in which we are raised. In the Bulger case we would be quick to presume that Venables was born a monster due to his young age and the heinous nature of his crime, but that would be all too simple of an answer. Evidence produced during the trial seemed to indicate that Thompson was the instigator which would clearly show evidence of the Nurture side of the argument. Geneticists and psychologists have for decades been using cases of twin separation and adoption in the hopes of discovering which argument has the greater effect. In most cases it was shown that identical twins separated at birth, on average share more personality traits then the vast majority of strangers. However this is hardly conclusive. In only a very few cases is it fair to say that a trait is due almost entirely to nature, or almost
entirely to nurture. In the case of most diseases now strictly identified as genetic, such as Huntington’s disease, there is a better than 99.9% correlation between having the identified gene and the disease and a similar correlation for not having either. On the other hand in relation to animal husbandry, Huntington’s animal models live much longer or shorter lives depending on how they are cared for. At the other extreme, traits such as native language are environmentally determined. Several linguists have found that any child (if capable of learning a language at all) can learn any human language with equal facility. With virtually all biological and psychological traits, however, genes and environment work in concert, communicating back and forth to create the individual. Experimental psychologist Steve Pinker described the situation in the following way...” concrete behavioral traits that patently depend on content provided by the home or culture —which language one speaks, which religion one practices, which political party one supports— are not heritable at all. But traits that reflect the underlying talents and temperaments —how proficient with language a person is, how religious, how liberal or conservative— are partially heritable.” Then there are the volumes of statistics that show, in relation to crime,
children raised in lower socio-economic brackets or in broken homes are far more likely to commit a crime before the age of 25 then those raised in the wealthier more educated families. These suggest that environment can and does play a much more important role. The creation of sub-standard council estate in the past led to a massive surge in anti-social behavior, thus showing environments huge influence. However can we ever really calculate what makes us who we are? Can you honestly say which had a larger effect on your life, your genes or the friends, family and city with which you grew up in. All academics can agree on is the both nurture and nature playing roles, but if we fundamentally change the characteristics of an area then we change the very nature of the people in that area and the children they would have. Still today we can’t say which is more important. We may never know. What about Venables? Was he born with the urge to commit that monstrous act or was he a victim of circumstance. Did spending his entire childhood in prison, having to change his identity and the constant shame of his act force him to recommit? We may never know, however he is now and will remain a lasting reminding of the random acts of evil we all potentially have within us all and a symbol for the destruction of innocence in modern society.
Princes and princesses
Shooting stars
Rachael Shearer spends a night at the Palace. She won’t be returning.
Danielle Mahoney takes a look at this year’s Meteor Ireland Music Awards
Arts & Culture page 15
Music page 19
The University Times March 10th, 2010
Arts & Culture
Havin’ such a good time, havin’ a Ball? Conor Sneyd investigates public reactions to this year’s Trinity Ball.
A
t this stage everyone already knows all the details for this year’s Trinity Ball: dates, line-up, prices, etc., and most importantly, whether or not you’re going. The big question that remains then is what do people think of the whole thing? As what is unarguably the most anticipated (as well as the most expensive) music event on the Trinity calendar, opinions on it are always diverse and occasionally heated. Overall reactions this year are very mixed – judging by the views in our opinions column and the general word on the street. In terms of the line-up, it doesn’t seem like many people are too excited, but at the same time it doesn’t seem like anyone is getting too upset about it either. For example on the boards.ie thread for its announcement most posts are critical, but with most of them it’s a case of thoroughly unenthusiastic complaining which, when converted from online venting into real-life opinion, registers as a very mild lack of satisfaction - a sort of “meh”. Most of the positivity present on the boards page takes the form of complaining about the complainers, but there is some real excitement to be found too, mostly for Dizzee Rascal. Meanwhile facebook news feeds have been displaying countless posts asking for advice on whether it was worth going, with the most popular consensus being that people aren’t too pushed by the line-up but it’s worth it for the craic. Personally I was familiar with embarrassingly few of the acts on their announcement, and having since given them all a listen I can’t say I’m a huge fan of any of them. There are a few, like the Mystery Jets, I’ll definitely be happy enough to see, but nothing that really excites me. Though it must be said that several of them, especially Dizzee Rascal, are undeniably big names, which certainly merits some respect (though after Mr Rascal’s recent Brits collaboration
with Florence, I can’t help wishing we’d gotten the other half of that duo as our headliner). Reactions were similar last time round, though in fairness to this year’s organizers it does seem most people are more impressed this time (judging by ticket sales anyway, with this year’s Ball breaking previous records for time taken to sell out). All across campus in 2009 there were some people to be heard complaining about the lineup, especially when the headliners were announced; meanwhile a few bewildered fans of The Script nervously claimed that they didn’t think they were really all that bad (their recent Meteor Award success proves that they’re good at what they do, they just don’t seem to appeal to the average college student). The internet too was, unsurprisingly, rife with criticism; skimming over the last.fm page which is still up for the event, the words ‘terrible’, ‘garbage’ and ‘rubbish’ stand out, with not much positivity to counterbalance them. So why is there consistently such a lukewarm reaction? The obvious answer is that you’re just never gonna please everyone. Firstly, many people simply love to complain, and levels of bitching may well be arbitrarily linked to levels of quality in the actual product. Beyond that though, there are over 15,000 students in college, each with their own interests and tastes in music. Judging by societies alone we have the Music Society, the Alternative Music Society, Jazz Soc, Trad Soc, Orchestral Soc, Choral Soc, Singers, and the Chapel groups. Even within these societies individually there’re huge amounts of diversity, not to mention the thousands of other students who may not be active members of any of them but are still avid music-listeners. Generally this diversity is a great thing, it keeps things fresh and interesting and results in a wide range of music events being run around college. When this diversity becomes a problem though is when you’re trying to organise
a massive college-wide event that will appeal to everyone. It’s pretty much impossible. Your two main options are either trying to have as much diversity in the acts as possible so there’s likely to be at least one band of interest for everyone, or else trying to stick with acts that have the most mainstream appeal and will thus appease a large number of people but leave the rest with nothing to excite them. The latter seems to be the main approach taken with the Trinity Ball, which is fair enough, especially when you take financial considerations into account, but it makes the whole thing a bit monotonous. Not that there’s no diversity this year; there’s the hiphop of Dizzee Rascal, the indie rock of the Mystery Jets, the electropop of Uffie, and lots of stuff in between, as well as a nice mix of local and international acts.
Of course reservations about the lineup don’t necessarily stop people from going to the Ball – it’s only one aspect of the event, varying in significance to different individuals. The event has sold out consistently over the last few years, and doesn’t look set to slow down anytime soon. Ads on noticeboards around college with people offering to buy/ sell tickets at extortionate rates are a common sight in the interim between tickets going on sale and the Ball itself, and the urge to attend is of course also strong enough to tempt some people into trying to sneak in. Even if people are unhappy with the line-up there’s always the enticement of the chance to wander around college at 2am, off your face and in formalwear, with several thousand others, as well as the fact that in this environment acts previously unenjoyed may suddenly seem far more entertaining. As a personal example of this, take
Uffie; I’d never heard of her before I saw the line-up, but knowing that she’d be appearing live in Trinity in a few weeks I decided I should check her out. Sitting at home on a laptop, fully sober and in a critical state of mind, I was horrified at just how awful I found her. But I’m sure that on the night of the Ball, lost amidst a crowd of shitfaced students, listening to her cover of Siouxsie and the Banshee’s ‘Hong Kong Garden’ (apparently set to appear on her upcoming debut album, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans) and her sarcy ‘you may think my music is shit but joke’s on you cause I anticipated that and wrote this song about hatin’ the haters’ attitude, I’ll love her. Though just because the line-up isn’t all there is to the event doesn’t mean it’s not important or should be seen as something peripheral; people may be more than capable of having fun while listening to music they don’t necessarily love, but having good music surely can’t hurt; at the end of the day I know that regardless of context I’d rather be listening to Siouxsie than Uffie. There are some people though who are stubborn enough to skip the event due to dissatisfaction with the line-up. I was one of them last year; it was my first year in College, I loved music, and I was generally enthusiastic about attending collegey events, but just didn’t feel compelled to go. I told myself, as do many others, that I’d definitely go some year just for the experience, but if the line-up was always that uninspiring I
wouldn’t be arsed going repeatedly. Half the bands I’d never heard of and the other half I had little or no interest in. There were a few (most notably Fight Like Apes) I certainly would have liked to see, but I wasn’t prepared to pay that much for them. I ultimately regretted missing out though, and this year determined to go regardless of the line-up – whether this was a wise or foolish move remains to be seen, but I’m certainly not the only one taking this approach. The contract with MCD for the running of the Ball is due to expire in 2012; where things will go after that remains to be seen. No doubt the issue will come up in next year’s Ents candidates’ campaigns, but given the success the Ball has had over the last few years it seems unlikely that there’ll be any drastic changes, and a renewal of MCD’s contract wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Meanwhile, while we’ve been queuing in Front Arch in the rain for 2 hours, our neighboring universities having been running their balls. The DCU RAG Ball, aka Life-Wired Festival 2010, ran two weeks ago, featuring 14 acts (The Magic Numbers, Duke Special, Mundy, Mick Flannery, The Coronas, The Chapters, Sydney Sampson, Saccade, Neosupervital, Saving J, Grand Pocket, Orchestra, Japanese Popstars, Futures Apart, Silent Disco) for €25. Over at UCD they’ve apparently usurped Trinity’s claim to holding the biggest private party in Europe, since almost doubling their audience capacity this year. Not only that, but they’ve also managed to bag Jedward (an act whose absence at the Trinity Ball is clearly a sore point for many students, as our opinions column shows). Set to go down one week after the Trinity Ball, you can get yourself into this year’s UCD Ball for just €35. In practical financial terms then it seems like the Trinity Ball is the least sensible set-up for broke students, but judging by ticket sales it seems we’re more than happy to exchange sense for a more impressive lineup and a more unique location (as well as the luxury of having the lineup announced before tickets go to sale – something not afforded to UCDers). Conor Sneyd
Ball opinions Keepin’ it real with Joe I spoke with Joseph O’Gorman, Secretary and Co-Treasurer for the Ball, to get an insider’s opinion on the realities of running things. O’Gorman, who has been involved in running the Ball since 1988/9, described how things are vastly different now from how they used to be, with increases in size, legal dictates and professional involvement transforming the Ball from what he described as a jolly old dance-fest, the highlight of which would be the Provost decreeing that dancing could go on for another half hour to the hurrahs of the student revelers in Front Square, to a corporate event controlled primarily by the external company MCD. He viewed these changes as largely positive, commending the smooth running of the Ball today and describing
MCD’s work as “absolutely astonishing… the quality of the product that they deliver is second to none”. O’Gorman was dismissive of people who idly complain about line-ups and things, “individuals you hear on the grapevine and all this threading stuff that people do on forums”, pointing out that those calling for drastic changes, or what they perceive as improvements, “aren’t putting up the money” and that the Ball is just one of many events for students throughout the year, and to blow all the college’s designated funds on one event would render the rest of the college calendar fairly empty. Conor Sneyd
Mary Elizabeth Bruton If you’re like me, then watching Jedward perform on the X-Factor made you swell with pride in a way you haven’t done in years. The fantastic dance routines, the ingenious mash-ups and the amazingly bad singing are what make Jedward the best Irish export since the potato. So you can easily imagine my excitement when I first came across the group “JEDWARD FOR TRINITY BALL 2010”. Suddenly the ball, which I had been too cheap to go for the last two years, was going to become the social event of my life. I know that I’m not the only one that feels this way, as the group currently has almost 2,000 members. However despite the popularity of the group, and its awesomeness, Jedward are not playing at the ball. Personally, I have lost all faith in Ents for being unable to snag those babies. Listen, we’re not asking for a Vanilla Ice appearance (although that would be amazing), we’re just asking that while people are stumbling around the Trinity campus on the night, they can hear the magical
Students give their opinions on this year’s Trinity Ball
voices of Jedward calling to them, like only Jedward can. So I say to you Mick, if you want to go down in living legend as the best Ents Officer Trinity has ever had, then get them in it. If not for me, for Ireland. Michelle Doyle Ok, so a little extortionate given that I’ll likely only remember to go to the gigs as an alternative to spending another hour loitering at the chipper stand in front arch. That said, I’m by no means turning up my nose to this year’s lineup, even if it is missing Jedward… Yan Bourke There are actually pretty decent names this year, just not what I’m into personally. You’re never gonna get a Trinity Ball that appeals to everyone. Most people have shit music taste anyway. Caitriona Murphy They spent most of the money on one, not even particularly great, big act, and then
filled the line up with the typical electro-filled-unheard-ofs that only cater to one or two of the fan bases in Trinity. At least last year, with Calvin Harris, Ladyhawke and The Script you had three fairly big acts, each aimed at a different fanbase and all whose tents were packed. There may have been more complaining but last year sold out in three days, and at least everyone had something to go to. For a lot of people, this year’s lineup means being asked to pay €80 to see Dizzee Rascal, the only act they might have heard of. David Halligan When I first heard about the Trinity Ball last year I assumed, very naively, that it was an actual ball. I had anticipated a large ballroom with boys in white tie and tails and girls in floor length dresses. I saw cigars, monocles, top hats and waiters. I knew it was not going to be that cool. But I at least expected the college to provide something resembling a formal dance. I was soon shocked and
disappointed (as were others) to find out that the Trinity ‘Ball’ was nothing of the sort. What the university calls a ball is really just a fairly average concert where you get to dress up. In fact even this small piece of formality in the dress code is pointless as somebody (maybe yourself) will probably spill their drink or even vomit over your finest clothes. In this year’s SU election campaign presidential hopeful Dan Reilly proposed the Ball be headlined by “English baroque soloists”. Although his campaign was frivolous his proposal was not far off what many of us want from the annual event (if baroque soloists aren’t your cup of tea how about some eighteenth century symphonies or even pre-war big band music). At the very least the ball can be indoors and there can be actual ballroom dancing. Looking at the how the line up seems to get progressively worse I reckon we at least give this a chance. At the very least the college could stop calling what we have now a ball.
Wednesday,March 10th | The University Times 14
TimesArts&CULTURE
Have Hollywood girls gone to pot?
Emma Keaveney voices her frustration with female-oriented comedies - or the lack thereof.
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show alone. The noughties continued the trend of futuristic fashion that gave a nod to the past with shows inspired by Hitchcock, Jackson Pollock splash-like designs, the poignant and darker side of beauty and sea creature hybrids. In fact,
paraded by clothes-horses up and down a runway to some piece of bland music but rather a psychological idea was purveyed through the aesthetic of the runway show: In 1999, McQueen daringly decided to use a double amputee
one of the most defining shows I think of when I remember Alexander McQueen was the infamous Kate Moss hologram screen in which the fashion muse appears floating, defying gravity in a white gown, as if swimming in mid air, the scene set for something entrancing, alluring and electrifying. It’s a sad predicament we have been left in. McQueen, prior to his death had speculated on an interest in the company continuing on in the event of his death, however no successor has been drawn into the forefront and the future of the company has been left in the lurch since it is impossible to consider anyone who would have the vision and insight to carry on the designer’s legacy with the same psychological intensity as their predecessor and who does not take the short-term financially easier approach of simply moulding their designs into carbon copies of what McQueen pioneered before them, an outward visionary is what is required next. I personally hope that if the brand continues, it continues in the fashion forward way of the new artist that accepts but shirks its past rather than becoming a business coup that draws upon and clichés it’s legacy to create something hackneyed and inconsequential. Michelle Doyle
model to model a leather corset, when asked about this contentious choice his message was not one of apology or vindication but of strength and spirit: Why should models be stereotypically perfect? Why should our interpretation of beauty be put in a Pandora’s box that can never be opened in case it mingles with the outside air only to become rotten and rancid? A physical handicap should not take away from any woman’s beauty, however big or small it may be. Subsequent shows likewise drew from the mental deliberation and spirit of the designer, shows from the late 90’s using prints inspired by historical costumes from the 1850’s and combined with fitted bobby dresses similar to something out of the 1950’s, both images combined into one dress in a way that they were fresh and modern and could essentially be set in no other age than in that runway
of ‘the death of an artist and the loss of a legacy’, in spite of McQueen’s international success, I believe that any designer who’s clothes become so mainstream in their design that they openly influence high-street designers and push the fashion thrust forward in a direction that favours well fitting clothes that make any woman feel good about herself is a positive force that confirms the creation of something remarkable. Fashion may be far more disposable than literature and in years to come may not have the same kind of standing power as say James Joyce, but when, particularly with regards to women, a person feels empowered based solely on the cut of their outfit, you know you have stumbled upon an emancipator of misogyny and sexism and a liberator of all classes. What made McQueen’s fashion so relatable was that fashion was not merely
I never met and would likely never meet. And so, as I solemnly counsel myself on this unfortunate truth that I always felt I was beyond, I must admit that what I personally mourn and essentially miss is not so much the man himself but the fashion legacy bestowed upon the everyday shopper by the prints popularised over the last two decades as well as his futuristic vision of fashion coupled with the top tailoring and immaculate stitching associated with British haute couture traditions of more than two centuries. McQueen’s tailoring, learnt first hand in his late teens at Anderson and Sheppard and later Gieves and Hawkes showcased an artist and designer who was to become the flint that ignited new spark and gave clearer direction to a previously moribund fashion industry. His clothes demonstrated a new type of fashion primarily concerned with fitting a woman’s body immaculately. McQueen’s clothes were not merely cut, sewn and hung on a limp mannequin’s frame but cut and fitted, moulded and shaped in a way that was always considerate of the woman that would wear them. In the words of Kirstie Alley’s Tweet: “You made bigbottomed girls and not so big-bottomed girls across the world look stunning.” McQueen’s renowned mix of modernity and haute couture was what set his style apart. Teeming this alongside the dramatic and exciting runway shows there was always a sense of excitement as to what McQueen’s towering talent would bring to the fashion world stage and while some may ridicule the notion world’s chief renegades, I am starting to feel an affinity for those who mourned other stars before him and whose sadness I never before understood or respected, people whose sorrow and dejection I once ridiculed. And yet as the Twittersphere rotates with endless messages of sadness, love and respect towards the now late McQueen, I’m forced to admit that I have finally given in and am genuinely in mourning for this man find the cult of the celebrity an enigma. The notion that so many people could feel so strongly towards an individual they had never met, never knew and would likely never meet is something I have found difficult to understand or explain. And yet, sitting here poised over my keyboard, I find myself in a similar predicament. Following the news of Alexander McQueen’s death, one of the fashion
“It would be great if Kathryn Bigelow had any interest in this. I’m going to guess with her heavy workload and depressing subject matter that she smokes a lot of weed at night. At least, I hope she does. And if she does - Kathryn, we’re open to it.” Emma Keaveney project (admittedly still in the early stages of pre-production) still had no director at the helm. Denbo herself is interested in having a female director in charge. Although, considering that eighty three per cent of directors, producers and writers working on the top 100 grossing films last year were male, finding the right candidate for the job could prove to be a tricky proposition. would the world-famous vegan do if she got the munchies? Search for some sort of roadside diner that serves tofu? All in all though – Best Buds looks like a good career move for Portman. And, honest depiction or not, it at least means that actresses such as Portman are finally getting to experiment with different comedic roles, devices and situations. At the time of going to press, the that women smoke weed too.” How very noble. If you’re into that sort of thing. Denbo’s screenplay, Best Buds, has been green-lighted for production by Natalie Portman’s production company, Handsome Charlie films. The company was set up by Portman in order to source more interesting projects for the starlet to work on. So far, it’s working well. She’s already got ‘Hesher’ coming out this year – an indie comedy-drama co-starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt which debuted at Sundance this year. After that Portman has bought the rights to Pride and Prejudice with Zombies, the New York Times Bestseller. ‘Best Buds’ is lined up after that, the plot of which centres on a road trip taken by a group of friends on their way to a wedding, very much in the same vein as ‘The Hangover’. However, in this film, the female friends are racing across America to save their friend, the bride: they are bringing her weed. “It’s essentially about best friends and girlfriends”, Denbo reiterates. Natalie Portman herself is set to star in the film. Anyone who has seen the Saturday Night Live skit in which she pokes fun at her squeaky-clean persona will long have held suspicions that Portman may harbour a naughty streak. “When I was in Harvard, I smoked weed every day. I cheated every test. And snorted all the yay” she raps. Indeed. If, on the other hand however, you don’t buy that, you may find it difficult to accept Portman as a weed-addled stoner. For starters, what the cinema is an art form that is built on a system of identifications and women have been frustratingly mis-represented. Is it too much to ask that women have believable characters to relate to on screen? Three years later and this very same frustration is being voiced by screenwriter Jamie Denbo: in fact it was a scene in Knocked Up which proved the final eye-stabbingly irritating nail in the coffin. “Katherine Heigl’s character makes Seth Rogan give up his bong” she bemoaned, speaking to online magazine jezebel.com. “It just seemed like a metaphor of ‘Put down the bong and we can get married.’ That’s not how it goes in my house...and that was never the women I knew.” That was never the women I knew either. Or at least, any of the women I chose to spend my time with. After all, who wants to be friends with the bitch, the whore or the shrew? Denbo, armed with a script for a new oestrogen-soaked stoner buddy comedy, is determined to usurp what she sees as an imbalance in the films we have seen in our multiplexes thus far. As well as this of course, she just wants to make people laugh. “This is a comedy that’s going to be touted as a chick stoner movie, but hopefully it will be a stoner movie for all stoners...I just wished there was a movie where women got to be funny. Not just a crew of ragtag funny guys and the hot girl...Everyone has a cause. Some people have cancer, some have literacy. Mine is proving or me, it began with Knocked Up. Of course, rumblings of frustration had been building for a while before that. But Knocked Up really cemented the unfortunate situation in my mind. Katherine Heigl, the break-out star of the film, summed up this frustration perfectly in the January 2008 edition of Vanity Fair. Knocked Up, she claimed in the interview, was “a little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humourless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I’m playing such a bitch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you’re portraying women? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie.” For cinephiles such as myself, blessed with double X chromosomes, Heigl expressed an unfortunate truism of recent Hollywood: the distinct lack of funny films being made with women in mind. The ‘Bromance’ movement has brought us some genuinely brilliant comedies such as ‘Pineapple Express’, ‘The Hangover’, ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ and ‘I Love you, Man’ as well as the aforementioned ‘Knocked Up’. However, with the female characters in these films almost always relegated to the role of the ‘bitch’, the ‘shrew’ or the ‘whore, it’s all too easy for girls to get a little tired of the formula. We laugh along of course. But,
Fashion Victim: or is that cliché?
Michelle Doyle has a look at the life and style of Alexander McQueen, enfant terrible of British fashion
15
The University Times | Wednesday,March 10th
TimesArts&Culture
The princes and princesses of the Palace Rachael Shearer spends a night at the Palace. She won’t be returning.
A
ccording to its own superslick website, The Palace nightclub “offers over two floors of bars, light shows and dance areas, to enjoy and party the night away”. Surely there are only two floors unless they’re keeping one secret. Disappointing? Tip of the ice-berg. Your night begins with a daunting but colourful queue, jam-packed with your favourite stereotypes – rugger buggers and their scrummies, tangoed goons sporting deliberately dishevelled blondeness and an abundance of Bambi-on-ice legs tottering about next to those of the “older professionals” out for a quiet prowl among Team England and an embarrassing amount of Trinity College’s student body. Having spent your introduction to palace among these little treats for what feels like hours you are then greeted with the delightful bouncers. Rough would indeed be an understatement. With your heart in your mouth hoping you’ve met all the requirements to be allowed in – 20 or over, “smokin’ hot” and damn lucky because regardless of your age or looks, you might just get rejected for no apparent reason or because you’re “too drunk”. And lets face it, if you’re actually going to Palace, you probably are. Or they could just let you in without so much as looking at you as a female friend of mine proved by getting in on her male friend’s ID. Once inside you are greeted with the enticingly free downstairs with its banging vibe including the “traditional” side of Palace – pool tables. Original. People
here are generally the ones who are too stingy to pay in upstairs, and I don’t blame them. €10 in, which has to be one of the most expensive entrance fees for a nightclub, and it is absolutely not worth it. Since your pockets have now been emptied from simply getting into the place, you need some cash to pay for a drink, and probably a hot one having frozen half to death in that godforsaken queue. Seeing as you cannot avail of the convenience of paying by laser because, no, that’s not allowed, you have to queue up at Palace’s special money machine which often only dispenses fifty euro notes. Not exactly a cheap night out considering its usually swamped with students. Two queues down, now to actually get that drink you wanted, oh, an hour ago. Another queue at the bar where you’ll shell out another arm or leg for an abomination of a drink, only to drink it at a rapid rate so you can get to dance-floor for your favourite song! Unless of course you have taste, in which case, this would not be your reaction to the Palace playlist which has been compared to that of Coppers. What an honour. On asking various Palace Princes and Princesses what the appeal of this seemingly rubbish night out was, the responses were somewhat amusing. One girl, so orange I genuinely thought she had a disease, reported that it was “all the hot men buying me drinks!” while another insisted it was “the chandeliers! They’re so shiny...” However, the general consensus from the girls was that they enjoyed the cheesy tunes and splashing
out on a few cocktails for the weekend. Fair enough. We can all understand the appeal of expensive drinks along to a good old sing-along to Abba. Can’t we? The boys had a very different attitude. One enormous, presumably rugby-orientated, bloke made an interesting observation that “Palace is huge.” I sensed he may have suffered from a size-complex so I questioned him no further. What is the appeal of a giant nightclub full of people, most of which you probably don’t know? Do people actually enjoy being surrounded by strangers... hoping that after the night one of them, or maybe two, would be strangers no more? Is Palace just a desperate attempt at finding love? Doubtful. If the experience wasn’t enough, you can capture the moment thanks to the endlessly pestering women who will snap you with your man, swilling a pint or forking out another fifty (who’s counting?) and capture it forever in a signature Palace key-ring. Adorable. The general opinion of those who attend Palace every Friday is that yes, it is tacky, overpriced and an obvious waste of time and energy, but that they love it. Why? “I dunno, I just do.” Probably because you’re all smashed. But, once everyone’s having a good time and not getting hurt (besides those who are “escorted” out by the bouncers), does it really matter that this festering hub of “luxury” exists? Once I never have to go again, I don’t really care. Rachael Shearer
“Relax yourself girl, please settle down.” Rachael Shearer reports on Electric Relaxation: a new day time arts and chill out event run by two Trinity students.
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riginally designed as something to do on a Saturday, Electric Relaxation has become an immediate success. Held in the Bernard Shaw from 3pm onwards, this hit event, known among its regulars as “ElRel”, involves live music and comedy, art displays, delectable cheese toasties and an indisputably chilled vibe as banter, tunes and lols fill the venue up to the brim. Electric Relaxation is an extension of Pondrbox, a videoing and events group run by Niall Morahan and Anna Cosgrave. These two whippersnappers, second year Trinity students, have in the last year founded and developed their own business, making quite a name for themselves in the Dublin events scene in the process. Despite Anna also holding the position of Vice President in the Phil this year, a rather demanding post, close friends of the pair have said they work very well together and are “destined to go far”. They can often be spotted plotting their next adventure around Trinity Arts block, armed with laptops, cameras and an abundance of ambition. Saturday the 6th of March saw the third Electric Relaxation kick-off with a smashing line-up of DJs, many of which were Trinity students. We were treated to the talents of resident DJs Ronan Hayes and Stevie McDermott as well as guest DJs Alan Taylor and Frank Grimes, every set going down deliciously well as it was pumped into the outside smoking area where heads were bopping and mouths were munching in time to the beats. Inside, the atmosphere peaked during live performances by Dave O Carroll who electrified the early arrivals with electronic music, Nick Fitzgerald who relaxed the crowd with his voice and guitar, his songs leaving a smile on everyone’s face and last but certainly not least Giraffes. This jazz – pop band’s members are no strangers to the stage. Having performed at last year’s Trinity
Ball under the name Jools King, their confidence and comfort on stage left the Electric Relaxers assured that they were in for a treat. Despite arriving an hour late, the divas, they wowed the crowd with their astounding range of talent, Front-men Danny Forde and Pats O Leary sharing the mic, the piano and the guitar while Oli Welfare kept things up-beat on drums. The set was short and sweet, inspiring a few girls to really go for it on a make-shift dance floor (basically the stage) while the rest of the bar packed out with eager listeners. The trio can often be heard and seen at various Trinity musical events, mostly with the Jazz Society or Players. The Bus outside the smoking area also hosted a cluster of comedy acts including the charming Conor O’Toole, resident act Street Justice and Heber Hanly who sent the bus rocking with laughter. While all the acts were busy entertaining the Electric Relaxers’ ears, their mouths were concerned with the hot,
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The atmosphere, admittedly aided by the endless stream of pitchers and cocktails, didn’t cease when the event’s finish time of 9pm came as the Bernard Shaw regulars joined the day-goers.
fresh cheese toasties, (with or without relish, but obviously with) and the scrumptious baked treats of the lovely Lexie Hamblin who regaled customers with her charming tale of her quest to climb mount Kilimanjaro while slicing them a chunk of Victoria Sponge cake, or tossing them a cookie, brownie or cupcake, the proceeds of which were going towards the charity funding the climb. With treats in hand, one could then take a trip to the make-shift art gallery and allow their eyes to absorb the walls of colourful talent. Photography by Lucy Nuzum, Matthew Kelly, and Heber Hanly and Artwork by Holly Christine Ingram, Sinead McLoughlin, Kate Dalton and Caoimhe Leville was not only beautiful decor for the event but left many people gazing and dripping toasty and cake crumbs in awe. The atmosphere, admittedly aided by the endless stream of pitchers and cocktails, didn’t cease when the event’s finish time of 9pm came as the Bernard Shaw regulars joined the day-goers. The event leaves everyone on a high as,
while they might not have been doing essays or studying, at least they were doing something fun with their procrastination rather than spending hours on Facebook. Also, who’s going to turn down a day of free entertainment spent with old friends, new friends and everyone else’s friends with the option of an afternoon cocktail? The event’s success is evident in the numbers guests attending and the fact that one leaves the Bernard Shaw wondering why nobody had thought of a Saturday afternoon event before. Despite the organisation and work to get something like this together, all the artists and even Anna and Niall themselves could be seen bopping around enjoying the stress-free buzz of the day. When asked how they felt about the event, Niall silenced Anna and simply pointed me towards the ‘A Tribe Called Quest’ hip-hop classic ‘Electric Relaxation. “Relax yourself girl, please settle down.” Make of this what you will. Rachael Shearer
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Wednesday,March 10th | The University Times
TimesFILM
A-Depp-tations With the recent release of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, Niamh Keaveney takes a look at Tim Burton’s penchant for adaptation.
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here is a place, like no place on Earth; a land full of wonder, mystery and danger. Some say to survive it, you need to be as mad as a hatter. These opening utterances of the Alice in Wonderland trailer hint at the kooky nature of Tim Burton, and what exactly makes this mysterious man tick. Looking back over Burton’s various cinematic adventures, Alice in Wonderland is the latest in his list of novel (in both senses of the word) adaptations. In each one, Burton cooks up a fantastical and often macabre reflection of the original story. Examples include Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Big Fish, Sleepy Hollow and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When looking at these adaptations, we can see a recurring theme in Tim Burton’s films: that of the
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the Chocolate Factory. Played by Johnny Depp (a veteran of Burton’s work), he is presented to us in such a way that makes the viewer want to stand back and gasp, and yet equally take him out in the sunshine for some good old vitamin D. Though Burton must be credited for returning the film to the book’s original title, using ‘Charlie’ and the Chocolate Factory, the real star of the book in Burton’s eyes is clearly Mr Wonka himself. The finale deviates from the book because it seems that Burton himself needs to identify with Wonka. It has even been claimed Tim Burton sees himself represented in his leading characters, particularly those played by Depp. Indeed the detailed portrayal and de-mystifying of Willy Wonka highlights Burton’s personal attachment to the material here. And of course, there is Big Fish, an
It has even been claimed Tim Burton sees himself represented in his leading characters in his movies, particularly those played by Depp.
outsider, ostracized and misunderstood by society. Even in his own life, Burton found it difficult to relate to others and became somewhat of a recluse. Growing up in sunny California, Burton preferred drawing cartoons and watching old movies to going out to play with other children. Throughout his films pathos and humour surround and suffuse his characters. Burton takes each one under his wing, giving them the attention they deserve. Perhaps the same attention not shown to the young Burton, one might argue. Whatever may be said, Tim Burton always forges a deep connection with these literary characters. One such connection that springs to mind is of course Willy Wonka from Charlie and
adaptation of the novel by Daniel Wallace, about a son trying to reconcile with his father. The lead character’s desire to learn what his father was really like before his death is basically a plot device that Burton and adapter John August (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Charlie’s Angels) use to allow them to tell a variety of stories from the narrator’s past. Supposed to be the film of most personal significance for Burton because of the age old father-son story, he really nurtures the plot with his visual imagination. Without a doubt, here is a director that values composition of shot and highlights this with an expert focus on colour and movement. Burton makes the words jump off the page in a way that other directors would never dream
of. When the character Edward Bloom sees his beloved Sandra Timpleton for the first time, time stands still. In the film, time literally stands still as Edward Bloom walks through a circus frozen in time, brushing aside popcorn in the air. It is Tim Burton’s unique ability to capture our imagination and transform it into celluloid magic that makes him a worthy crusader for novel adaptations. Surprisingly enough, Burton was not a fan of the comic book as a child. He had famously never read one Batman comic before making 1989’s adaptation Batman. As Burton himself said: “I was never a giant comic book fan, but I’ve always loved the image of Batman and The Joker. The reason I’ve never been a comic book fan—and I think it started when I was a child—is because I could never tell which box I was supposed to read. I don’t know if it was dyslexia or whatever”. It was his attraction to the lead character of Bruce Wayne that led him to the project. The idea of a superhero plagued by so many demons, and loved yet feared by society, spawned his own love for this complex and troubled protagonist. Michael Keaton, especially chosen for this role by Burton, despite his largely comedic history, is surprisingly effective as the brooding Batman. The city of Gotham evoked Burton’s Gothic sensibility, and portrays excellently the cynicism and angst of a generation. Batman remains one of the better adaptations of a comic book character to the screen, and certainly one of the most stylized. It must be said that Burton showed true confidence in his talents when undertaking his adaptation of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, a short story which is among the earliest examples of American fiction still read today. Johnny Depp has been quoted as calling Burton “first and foremost, an artist”, and this artist’s approach can be seen everywhere in his attention to detail. Again Tim Burton enlists Depp, this time in the role as Ichabod Crane. The
Many of Burton’s adaptations star Johnny Depp, such as his role as the Mad Hatter in the new Alice in Wonderland (above) and as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (right).
beautiful Christina Ricci plays the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. The essence of the slumbering village of Sleepy Hollow almost transcends the screen with the help of spectacular cinematography and production design. Tim Burton’s direction is wonderfully focused and enables the film to become truly atmospheric. He is truly the master craftsman of the dark, macabre spectacles and his taking to certain literary characters ensures their safe passage from book to screen. More often than not, Burton has an invested personal interest in the characters he portrays, and will nurture their story with an eccentric yet thought-provoking touch. Not to suggest, however,
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Burton’s direction is wonderfully focused and enables the film to become truly atmospheric.
that his self-contained features, not adapted from literary sources, are less successful. Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and the somewhat overlooked Mars Attacks are classics on their own terms, however the heavily artistic communion between literary sources and
adaptations speaks to the variety of ways in which often classic texts can be interpreted and re-imagined, often centuries after the original source.
broader horror we’re supposed to enjoy. Despite reasonable computer graphics, nothing here is shocking or frightening or even interesting, in conception or execution. Films like this really illustrate a kind of ‘all or nothing’ quality of cinematic spectacle; when it doesn’t work, there’s so little to think about or feel about the unfolding scenes. The acting is terrible, it unfortunately goes without saying. The central concept of an agent of a higher power sent to destroy wayward humanity who then changes his mind through some trite display of human goodness (in this case a baby) shares much in common with the recent remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. And while it’s probable that the latter film has pretty clear biblical overtones, Legion’s use of Christian iconography (rather than science fiction iconography) is far less enjoyable, and needs to be handled with far greater care than Stewart is willing to provide. And there’s little of the crass but infectious abandon
of other films that dramatise god and the devil and angels etc. at war with humans, like 1999’s End of Days. In that film, the mixing of the action genre with Christian iconography seemed gleeful, frivolous and fun, however here, with all the fun vacuumed out, gun-wielding angles are just incomprehensible. I really doubt that this cycle of films could approach the popularity of the vampire genre. The most deft use of religious imagery can seem laboured and laborious and just ‘too much’ (not to suggest that recent vampire wmovies are all paragons of subtlety), and there’s nothing youthful and certainly nothing sexy about saviour babies and militant angles. The film is really no significant departure from the equally unsuccessful The Reaping from 2007; Legion’s producers obviously didn’t pay heed to that film’s prophecy of total narrative failure.
film cannot fail to impress. Egoyan plots everything very carefully, weaving a very impressive web of dreams, desires, and reality. Parallels emerge seamlessly throughout, creating a strange sense of deja-vu, while the sex and violence and subterfuge build and build on each other. As recipe this cannot fail to succeed. However, the film’s disappointment lies in its failure to build on the character
Chloe and the fact that the action is taken away from too often by the directors tendency to indulge his desire to show off his home town. One gets the impression that had he balanced these two elements more attractively the film would have been much stronger.
Niamh Keaveney
Film Reviews
Legion Directed by Scott Stewart Starring Paul Bettany, Adrianne Palicki, Dennis Quaid
It’s been suggested by critics that the hugely successful vampire cycle of films (epitomised in its shallowest form by the massively popular Twilight franchise, and perhaps at its most sophisticated by 2008’s Let the Right One In) is now being usurped by a new Hollywood fixation on the spiritual/supernatural/apocalyptic genre. If such is the case, Scott Stewart’s Legion certainly doesn’t bode well for the viewer hoping to get even a
modicum of superficial fun out of this up and coming cycle. Paul Bettany plays the Arch-Angel Michael, sent to Earth to Terminator style on a mission from God which will determine the fate of the human race. The absurd film takes place largely in a remote diner, whose inhabitants and patrons (including Dennis Quaid, the diner’s proprietor) become cut off from the outside world, and must fight off hordes of violent angels sent to
Chloe Directed by Atom Egoyan Starring Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried Running time 96 minutes
In a given year audiences will be bombarded with a handful of generic films. While some may be poor in quality or just plain awful (the musical Nine, and too many recent horror films come to mind) others can be remarkably good despite conventions. Chloe, the latest film from Canadian maestro Atom Egoyan, may not be one of the best thriller/melodramas you see this year, but it will definitely leave an impression
on you as you leave the cinema. The first thing that would draw anyone to this film is the slated acting talent. Julianne Moore plays a Toronto Doctor who is happily married with a talented teenage son. But when her husband David (Liam Neeson) misses a flight and his surprise birthday party, Catherine’s long simmering suspicions rise to the surface. Suspecting infidelity, she decides to hire an escort (Amanda
destroy humanity. One of the diner’s occupants is pregnant, and the baby is predictably revealed to be mankind’s last chance at salvation. Cue an obnoxious and pretentious struggle for the baby’s welfare or destruction. For some reason, there’s a certain type of third rate horror film marked by the fact that it strands its characters in a diner, or bar, in the middle of the New Mexican wilderness. I’m wondering whether these films all take their cue from some original, worthwhile film, however I’m at a loss to suggest what that film might be (perhaps it’s From Dusk till Dawn, though can’t really fathom why it would be so influential). Stewart populates his film with nasty depictions of crucifixions, boils and sores, acid bursting from various containers, and other biblical inflected unpleasantness. The special effects are redolent of last year’s body-horror films; jaded depictions of out-of-kilter joints, elongated limbs, and old women scuttling around the walls of the diner which only underscore the vacuity of the Seyfried, of Mean Girls fame) to seduce her husband and test his loyalty. Catherine finds herself ‘directing’ Chloe’s encounters with David, and Chloe’s end of the bargain is to report back, the descriptions becoming increasingly graphic as the meetings multiply. The line soon blurs between her own infidelity and her husbands that climaxes with an encounter to remember. Julianne Moore is brilliant, as usual, mastering the nervous ticks and actions that come with paranoia, while Liam Neeson matches her perfectly, despite the fact that most of his scenes were shot only a few days after his wife’s fatal skiing accident. However the surprise of the film comes from the very solidly acted part of Chloe, which shows that Ms Seyfried has more depth to here than her previous dumbblonde roles would have led to believe. Her opening voice-over describes how it is her job not only to perform as, but to become a prostitute; a role which she accomplishes very well throughout the film. It is only a shame that Egoyan did
not develop this character more, as she was by far the most interesting. Based on an infamous French film made only a few years ago, the Canadian remake does not attempt to tone down the almost violent sexuality that can be found throughout, which is sure to be a hit for many viewers. Instead, however, the sexuality has been paired off in different sections, almost juxtaposed with periods of quietness that really attempt to show off Toronto in its newly refurbished glory. Prior to important plotted scenes, such as Julianne Moore’s first meeting with Chloe after her reconnaissance, are almost always after almost random shots of the city’s expensive and ritzy Yorkville and Bloor neighbourhood. One has to think they were chosen by the director to show off the parts of Toronto that reflect his personality best, rather than vice-versa. Though they are beautifully photographed, like the rest of the film, they also seem to derail the action at some points. As a thriller on its own though, the
Tom Pepper
Tom Pepper
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The University Times | Wednesday,March 10th
TimesTELEVISION
Girls on film
from Carrie Bradshaw to Bree Hodge
An engaging look at stereotypes of women paraded accross our small screens.
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n June 1998, audiences all over the world were first exposed to the dulcet tones of peppy New York journalist Carrie Bradshaw, as she wound her way through the twists and turns of single life in the hit HBO TV series Sex and the City. Audiences couldn’t get enough of her. She had something that so many other female television characters at the time lacked – she had style, and not only the kind of style that allowed her to become one of the best dressed characters on TV. Instead, Carrie had the kind of style that made her bed-hopping antics, witty one liners and endearing (if not slightly irritating) inner monologue must watch TV for six seasons. And Carrie wasn’t Sex and the City’s only asset, together with sassy lawyer Miranda Hobbes, the hilariously inappropriate Samantha Jones and Wasp princess Charlotte York, the shows all female main cast showed audiences everywhere that, far from being sugar, spice and all things nice, these women were tough, street smart and taking the airwaves by storm. Of course Sex and the City wasn’t just for the consumption of Park Avenue princesses or hopelessly cool thirty something’s. Instead, Sex and the City appealed to a much larger audience, with everyone from teens to middle aged women and even men tuning in, even if only to be shocked by the salacious antics of four single women in Manhattan. Even I myself can confess that since being a twelve year old child, I have been hooked on the show, if only for the fact that it presented the kind of high calibre smut that you just didn’t see on The Den or Nickelodeon back then. Now, six years after the Sex and the City girls last graced our screens, audiences are as hooked as ever on strong, female characters, take for example the hit series Desperate Housewives. Following on a similar vein as Sex and the City, ABC television’s smash hit show follows the lives of four women living seemingly idyllic lives in suburban America. Just
like Sex and the City before it, the housewives have turned into a cultural phenomenon, with each of the female lead characters representing a different concrete persona with their own quirks and gags. And, just like Sex and the City, it’s impossible to watch Desperate Housewives without pondering to yourself: “which housewife am I?” The question may seem simple, but just like the burning question of ‘whether you were a Carrie or a Charlotte’ or whether or not you like marmite, it requires serious consideration. After careful deliberation, I have decided that I am undeniably a ‘Bree’. Of course I’m not a middle-aged, red haired housewife; I wasn’t married to a doctor who had a fetish for S & M and I’m not having an affair with my best friend’s ex-husband (not yet anyway). But it’s the little things that make you feel an affinity to a character like Bree, like whenever I run to find a scissors to cut a rogue thread from my shirt or get a sudden urge to bake apple pie, moments like those I can stand back, laugh and say to mself “ I am sooo Bree”! What is it about these characters that grab our attention? Be they sassy singles living the high life in Manhattan or sexually frustrated housewives harbouring dark secrets in Middle America, these women are a winning combination of gutsy personalities, cool dry wit and, most importantly: a killer fashion sense: Its undeniable that a slick set of threads is a key component of our love with characters like Carrie Bradshaw and Bree Hodge (or whatever name she is calling herself this season). Bree’s icy, cool demeanour is backed up by a style borrowed from the likes of Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn, with perfectly coifed beehives, sweater sets and pearls being the order of the day, while Carrie pulls off even the most obscene of looks with a certain grace and aplomb (trilby hats, playboy monogrammed scarves and jimmy choos? Yikes...). However, the representation of women in
these shows is not without its flaws. Take for example Sex and the City. Where the show falls down is the idea of the characters personalities’ aplied on the basis of their hair colour: The hyper-sexualized Samantha a blonde, the prudish Charlotte a brunette, the persistently PMS-ing Miranda a red head and Carrie, the quirky one, a sort of hybrid of the first two with curly locks to boot. Likewise, Sex and the City, despite often undermining the character of Charlotte as being fatally domesticated and overly dependent on men, showcases a certain yearn towards social norms all the same: Samantha is frowned upon in society. She is the quintessential floozy about town. But Carrie, the main character who plays by no-one’s rules but her own (to a point) is still hopelessly hooked on men, particularly the one that is her downfall, Mr. Big. This contradicts the overall tone of the show, as Carrie is forever drawn back to Mr.Big (and his unconvincing dye job) like iron to magnet. This idea of the over-importance of men in a woman’s life has also been a life-force in Desperate Housewives. Susan is deplorable with men and yet will go to any lengths to get Mike. Edie (the ‘Samantha’ of the show) will similarly jump every hurdle like a show horse, in a bid to catch a man’s eye.
Despite this, we keep coming back for more, because aside from the inaccurate depictions of women, single life and American suburbia, shows like Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City offer us everything that we could want from a TV show: glamour, saucy antics and a host of middle-aged actors and actresses playing a bunch of sexually charged thirty-something’s – TV bliss! But oh, I diverge. And now it’s conclusion time. So, in your best Carrie Bradshaw mental immitation repeat after me: Are the women presented on TV really accurate depictions of what it is to be a woman in the twenty-first century? Or are they simply homogenised and drones which have been marketed to TV audiences all over the world as a symbolism of everything glamorous and feisty? This writer doesn’t know, and to be frankly honest- doesn’t really care. But as long as I can switch on Paramount comedy on a cold winter evening and hear the droll musings of Carrie Bradshaw, I’m happy enough to sit back and ponder the eternal question – where did I leave that bag of Doritos? *cue Sex and the City music*
Box News
AMC sees the return of Mad Men This summer will see the debut of the next addition to the critically acclaimed AMC series Mad Men. Originally airing in 2007, Mad Men is another masterpiece created by Matthew Weiner, the mind behind the already classic series The Sopranos. Now preparing to enter into its fourth season, it has been eagerly anticipated following the dramatic consequences that culminated in the finale of the third season. Mad Men follows the frivolous, debauched, and dramatic lives of high-powered advertising executives working for Sterling Cooper, an advertising agency on Madison Avenue, NYC in the early 1960s. Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm stars as the enigmatic Donald Draper, a man of a secretive background with innate talents in both advertising and seducing women. His incredible performance is backed by Emmy nominee John Slattery as Roger Sterling, the hard drinking and woman-chasing founding partner of the agency, January Jones as Donald’s wife Betty, Vincent Kartheiser as the scheming young executive Pete Campbell, and Christina Hendricks as the femme fatale secretary Joan Holloway. No detail is spared in this series, from the perfectly tailored suits and appearance of the time, the excessive drinking and smoking, and the shameless philandering by married men. The developments of the era help shape the plot, with such events as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the liberalisation of American society that followed the deep conservatism of the 1950s, a culture many of Sterling Cooper’s ‘ad men’ still hold strong to. While the plot is not always action filled, the dialogue is quick and sharp, and the story and characters are rich, engaging, and engrossing. With Draper’s marriage on the rocks as well as the fate of Sterling Cooper, it seems like Mad Men might just be hitting its stride now. Dylan Moules
E4 turns away from teen trend with new comedy show Actor Simon Bird who plays character Will McKenzie or ‘Briefcase wanker’ as he is affectionately referred to in E4’s The Inbetweeners is set to co-star in a new E4 comedy: Friday Night Dinner, which will be aired later on this year. The show has been commissioned for a full season by E4 execs following a successful pilot episode launched earlier this year and produced by the same people behind Channel 4’s Spaced and Shaun of the Dead as well as being written by Robert Popper, writer of Peep Show. The show, which looks set to be trademark funny given the diversity of all those included in its production, will follow brothers Adam and Johnny Goodman and their Friday night Sabbath meals with their parents. Focusing on a non-secular Jewish family, writer Popper has said that he wants ‘the show to capture the way we all revert to being kids again when we go round to our parents’ house’, similarly speculating on a slightly autobiographical input. The show looks as though it will be a breath of fresh air to the often very teen-orientated E4, the two brothers being in their early twenties rather than late teens. Specific dates are still undetermined and Channel 4 have been rather tight-lipped on the subject but it looks as though the show will surface on our TV screens later this year, hopefully before Hanukkah, maybe even as early as Yom Kippur. Michelle Doyle
Gossip Girl set for comeback after network retooling It actually feels like forever since Serena, Blair, Chuck and Nate graced our screens in new episodes of Gossip Girl because, well, it has been! Even though season three of Gossip Girl hasn’t even begun to be shown on television this side of the Atlantic, all of us diehard fans have already watched the first half of the season through the miracle of Internet television. Suddenly though, in mid-November, the series was cut short. It seemed viewer figures for the season had been steadily falling and rumours swirled that it was on the chopping block. Then it came out that the network was simply re-working it to make it more exciting and bring it back to its former season one glory. So now we may rejoice, as news has spread that the second half of season three is beginning in the US on March 8th, and it looks bigger, better and bolder than ever before – just how us Gossip-ites like it! The CW network (which broadcasts the show in the US) recently released a thirtysecond action-packed and teaser-filled trailer for the new episodes on the Internet that went viral within hours and left me stunned with delight. People want their weekly fix of Gossip and they want it bad! This new lot of episodes seems to have Gossip Girl finding its outrageous feet again, as in the teaser we hear Vanessa mutter ‘And remember I’m not wearing any underwear’ to a typically befuddled looking Dan alongside Chuck uttering the classic line ‘I think that whore might be my mother’ Finally, it looks like Gossip Girl is back in full swing and that’s not even mentioning the fashion that the show brings to our screens, regularly showcasing designer pieces well before they’ve hit the shops and feeding our high-fashion addictions. Personally, I cannot wait! Beth O’Rafferty
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Wednesday,March 10th | The University Times
TimesLiterature
What happens next? Kevin Breathnach looks at the hidden world of a little known poet called Alun Weaver. Weaver’s work cannot be found online and even bookshops find it hard to source.
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ifty years ago, Alun Weaver published his second collection of poetry, The Man in the Mask. Hatchets sharpened, most Welsh commentators considered it a betrayal of his early promise, a hackjob comprising pseudo-quaint images of Wales and the Welsh, composed with a cynical eye on the English and American market, like an Irish pub in London or New York. Thereafter, Weaver was either ignored or impugned by the Welsh literati. Nevertheless, The Man in the Mask was celebrated outside Wales as one of the definitive volumes in modern Anglo-Welsh poetry, and in 1981 he made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). Shortly after his death in 1989, Weaver’s poetry took up residence is that well-populated district of literary history called Obscurity. Buying his work today proves a difficult undertaking: he has virtually no internet presence, and even the endevourous of bookshops have trouble ordering his poetry. I first learnt of Weaver’s existence in Andrew Lycett’s biography of Dylan Thomas, a poet behind whom Weaver constantly (and consciously) lingered. The Times once named him “Wales’s greatest poet since Thomas”, a title more notable its implicit judgement: not as good than Dylan Thomas. It wasn’t until two years after I’d read Lycett’s biography that I found a battered old copy of The Man in the Mask, Weaver’s most popularly acclaimed work, in a second-hand bookshop in London, beside which I found ‘The Masked Man’ by Miles Kainis, one of only two biographers of Weaver. Weaver’s Welsh critics certainly had a point. Sure, his work is sometimes poignant and busily allusive. But it is never far from collapsing into sentimentality, while his allusions are notable more often than not for their complete imprudence. Take, for example, these two lines, from the poem ‘Coming Home’: “Many things grave and gay and multi-coloured /But one above all: I’m coming home.” Now compare it to the poem from which it borrows, Gerard Manley Hopkins’s ‘Pied Beauty’:
“Glory be to God for dappled things— / For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow.” Beside ‘Pied Beauty’, Coming Home reads like a concluding line from a wordier version of Castaway, that film starring a volley-ball and its friend, Tom Hanks. But it gets worse. Whereas Hopkins bounces his syllables at speed for eight more lines before breathlessly concluding, “He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: / Praise him”, Weaver stumbles into the sunset, completely exposed but for the ragged Welsh flag draped around his person: “The short rich resounding word means / One simple thing to a Welshman / Such as I, born and bred in this land of river / And hill. And that thing, that miraculous thing is – Wales.” The reader might think it unfair to compare two works of evidently different standards, but by alluding to ‘Pied Beauty’, it is Weaver himself who demands the two poems be considered together. “Write about your own people by all means,” the Welsh critic Charles Norris once wrote regarding Weaver, “don’t be soft on them, turn them into figures of fun if you must, but don’t patronize them, don’t sell them short and above all don’t lay them out on display like quaint objects in a souvenir shop.” In this context, it is with a curious mixture of amazement and apprehension that one reads Weaver’s earlier work, Notes from the Undergrowth, a profoundly skilled portrait of the Welsh countryside, which found critical
acclaim, but only a tiny audience. Shortly before he literally drank himself to death, Dylan Thomas had offered a few admiring words on the poet and his poetry, which publishers attached to the dust-jacket of every subsequent collection by Weaver. The imagery of Notes from the Undergrowth – “the ground parched and cracked is like over-baked bread” – seems so far removed from the decidedly under-baked verse he was to serve up later in the century. There is the socalled “man in the iron street”, as well as his sometime friend, sometime foe, “the man in mask”, after whom the collection in question is named. Here, again, Weaver has at least on eye on the American dollar. He juggled two infantile phrases and, eager for a successor to Thomas, the other side of the ocean lapped the act up a supreme instance of childlike Welsh vision. It’s hard to know whether to label Weaver a cynical writer of poor poetry or simply a poor writer of poor poetry. Talented charlatanry or deeply flawed work of sincerity? Was Weaver destined to write terrible poetry, or did he ignore his talent in favour of the trappings afforded by fame and a considerable fortune? Perhaps, like many writers, he simply lost his way. Kingsley Amis, who in the late 1940s lectured an undergraduate Alun Weaver at the University of Wales, famously forgot how to write well in the early eighties. Unlike Amis, who famously rediscovered his form with The Old Devils, Weaver continued in the same varicose vein until 1985, when he died of an alcohol-induced stroke. Even as he gave up his own, he couldn’t shake the ghost of Dylan Thomas. Lauded and loved in his lifetime, Alun Weaver is the one posterity forgot.
Where are they now?
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our decades since the documentary Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory first aired, few have stopped to consider what the orangeskinned factory workers, commonly known as “Oompa-Loompas” (although this term is now regarded as derogatory), are doing with their utterly changed lives. Following the release of a “wartsand-all” memoir by Graham Adams, one of the most senior workers in the plant at the height of the 1970s chocolate boom, which paints Wonka and his close associate Slugworth (who passed away some years after the documentary in prison) as sex-obsessed pederasts, the six remaining former workers have taken a multi-million euro lawsuit against their employer, citing bizarre allegations of “chocolatey buggery” and “gobstopping”. Wonka could not be reached for comment but a close friend, who asked not to be named, has admitted that he is “taking his cocaine and seeing no one”, holed up in the now decrepit factory. All of the living workers claim that the decades since the factory’s demise have been filled with anguish and selfloathing, traumatised by the sick events that occurred during the boom years. Adams, 72, seems unable to control his seething rage for the man he was once forced to call “Daddy”. A close friend of Paul McGrath, the legendary Irish footballer, since his days volunteering as McGrath’s sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous in the ‘90s, Adams has battled his demons successfully and says he found writing the book cathartic. “It was a horrible period of our lives. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” he confesses. “Seven of my former colleagues committed suicide over the years and everyone
else has had a hard struggle [...] Did you know that I’m infertile?” Wonka refused to allow anyone else to work in his factory, maintaining that he feared “industrial espionage”, but the tell-all book reveals that his fetish for the men’s astonishing haircuts and sallow skin tone was a more compelling motive. Jobless and with little hope for the future, the men have turned to various pitiful methods of finding meaning in their lives. Jeff Hand, 67, who divorced from his wife many years ago, has recently fallen victim to the devastating “legal high” mephedrone, an increasingly popular synthetic drug which is said to produce similar feelings of euphoria to that of cocaine and ecstasy, and admits that he feels his life is like an “empty Malteser”. “Wonka is a crook,” he says, cutting himself another line of the heady powder. “All of the fantastical sweets that he went on about in the documentary were a complete fabrication. We were the ones who had to repair the hole in the glass ceiling when he broke it with that prick Charlie. We were the ones who took the blame for the way he callously murdered and disfigured those kids who came into the factory. You know?” He refuses to discuss the alleged sexual offences, but admits that he has zero confidence with regard to wooing women or establishing intimate relationships. Shunned from society since their entry to the outside world, most have since bleached their skin and learned to talk without singing. Paid only in cacao beans while working in the factory, they received a risible severance package following Wonka’s bankruptcy scandal when the huge chocolate economic bubble collapsed in the ‘80s, caused by inflationary prices and numerous
Kevin Breathnach
Erroneous Dan Brown in disguise encyclopaedia? As a result of the largely posthumous cult success his novels The Savage Detectives and 2666 have garnered, Roberto Bolaño’s British publishers have begun to commission translations from the increasingly eccentric back-catalogue of the late Chilean writer. Heralded by some as the saviour of contemporary fiction, one by one Bolaño’s works are surfacing on the English-language literary landscape. Nazi Literature in the Americas is one such book, an encyclopaedia of fictitious fascists throughout North and South America, which was recently shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award.
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appendices and bibliographies; the narrative is composed in 2021 at the earliest; and there are countless mises en abyme. These echoes of Borges and Nabokov are appetising; but they’re no more than well-presented side-dressing served to cloak the dearth of meat out in the plate. At times, the book seems like little more than a list of fake titles. Its content is the cloak’s new emperor. True, Bolaño produces a few striking images – “the famous photo of her baby self in Hitler’s arms”, “a black swastika tattooed on her left buttock” – and even raises a smile every so often. Full-time
The very idea of the book, paired with the gravity of the its title, Nazi Literature in the Americas, is enough to temporarily sedate the reader’s critical faculties.
The politics of the writers included is seldom overt, and fascism is often no more than passing interest, consistent to this thread of fictional writers in the motley tapestry of actual literary history. American football player and beat poet, Jim O’Bannon corresponds and eventually meets with Allen Ginsberg. Juan Mendiluce Thompson describes Borges’s stories as “parodies of parodies”. The very idea of the book, paired with the gravity of the its title, is enough to temporarily sedate the reader’s critical faculties. Impressively, these sinister writers are often referenced before they come to be profiled; there are
football-hooligan, part-time poet, Italo Schiaffino resented the Jewish plutocracy of Argentina because it “hadn’t produced a single good player.” But the content is forever overshadowed by the cleverness of form. Billed as ‘wildly playful’, the book seems merely frivolous. And though fictional, it avails insufficiently of fictional techniques. Without suspense, say, the book remains an encyclopaedia. And who would knowingly read an erroneous encyclopaedia? Kevin Breathnach
chocolate-related deaths. AJ Byrne, the lead singer in the group seen frequently in the documentary, released a rap single soon after resigning, attempting to cash in on his short-lived fame. “Chocolate Dick”, brought out under Byrne’s alias Brother Orange, failed to make any lasting memories in the charts and was described by one critic as “a veritable cause for another genocide”. Sadly, he died the next year following complications during a brain tumour operation. He is survived by his son, who has established an unsuccessful charity foundation for the former workers. According to Adams’s book, Nothing Sweet About It: Tales from a Chocolate Sweat Shop, Wonka routinely performed “gob-stopping” sex-acts on his employees, often in his dark river tunnel, but most were too afraid to report him to the authorities. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway; Wonka kept his employees in the factory at all times since birth and consequently few knew any different. Naturally, Wonka has dismissed all allegations of any wrong-doing and insists that anything that happened in the factory was just “confectionary banter”. Whatever the veracity of the bold claims made in Adams’s shocking prose, it is difficult to defend such an evidently psychotic chocolatier. Wonka once famously announced to a terrified boat audience “We are the dreamers of dreams”; perhaps he was right, but one suspects that only the unfortunate orange men will ever know the full truth of what went on in that factory so many years ago. Luke O’Connell
“And then there was that feeling one gets in a ride to a cemetery trailing a body in a coffin – an impatience with the dead, a longing to be back home where one could get on with the illusion that not death but daily life is the permanent condition.” This is Homer Collyer, deaf since adolescence, anxious to stop trailing death, and let death get back to trailing him. Narrated by the deaf Homer Collyer, E.L. Doctorow’s Homer & Langley is an exquisite nocturne, a necessarily aural narrative based on the strange lives of the Collyer brothers, two wealthy reclusive bachelors who lived together in a house on New York’s Fifth Avenue, hoarding junk on a until, found buried under their own debris in 1947, death
finally overtook them. It is one of the worst kept secrets in Parnassus that, a near-anagram, ‘E.L.
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It seems that the only way to not to have a newspaper go out-ofdate is to not have a newspaper.
Doctorow’ is the literary pseudonym of Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code. As one would expect, then, Doctorow chops and changes the occasions of recorded history with great nonchalance. The unhurried perfection of the prose seems alone enough to keep Homer and Langley alive until at least the beginning of the 1980s. But a history containing no lies is always tedious, as Anatole France remarked, and from the documented detritus, E.L. Doctorow has created a towering montage of the last American century. Langley believes in the possibility of timeless ephemera, an invented eccentricity which appears to be the cause of his compulsive hoarding. He buys every
newspaper every day, studying and categorising their every story, so that one day he might, “fix American life finally in one edition, what he called Collyer’s eternally current dateless newspaper.” And if even news reports can be timeless, why not the ten different typewriters, the half-dozen bicycles, the human brains in brine or the beat-up old Model T Ford in their living room? But Langley’s newspaper never materialises. It seems that the only way to not to have a newspaper go out-of-date is to not have a newspaper. Like death, or a collapsing column of old newspapers, Time is a mistress impossible to avoid. Kevin Breathnach
Entraped by a literary hoax France’s most public intellectual, Bernard Henri-Lévy, has lately become the laughing stock of Paris. In his newly published book, the philosopher cites The Sex Life of Immanuel Kant, a fictional account by Jean-Baptiste Botul, himself a fictional creation of a literary journalist, Frédéric Pages. As we will learn, Henri-Lévy had fallen victim to an inadvertent entrapment hoax. Telling Tales, Melissa Katsoulis’ new history of the genre, explains that academics divide literary hoaxes into three particular categories. First, there is the ‘genuine hoax’, such as the Hitler Diaries or The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, forgeries meant to remain unexposed. Next, the ‘mock hoax’ is the brainchild of genuinely experimental writers playing conscious tricks with the notion of authorship.
Finally, the ‘entrapment hoax’ aims to trick and embarrass a begrudged academic, publisher or literary community. When A.N. Wilson announced his intention to write a biography of John Betjeman, Bevis Hillier, authorised biographer of Betjeman and official adversary of Wilson, fabricated a scandalous love-letter from Betjeman, complete with false provenance, and sent it to Wilson under the guise of a lady named Eve de Harben, an anagram of ‘Ever Been Had’. On publication of Wilson’s biography, the scandalous letter, the first of letter of each sentence spelling ‘A N WILSON IS A SHIT’, was revealed as a fake. Hillier had executed the entrapment hoax perfectly. Telling Tales is a comprehensive
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On publication of Wilson’s biography, the scandalous letter, the first of letter of each sentence spelling ‘A N WILSON IS A SHIT’, was revealed as a fake.
enough tour through the history of literary hoax. But Katsoulis is no more than a tour guide. Her prose is clumsy throughout (“the money began rolling in in earnest,” “[they] were sick of this pair of time-wasters, and wasted little more attention [...]”), and never shows the courage of its convictions (“perhaps unsurprisingly”). Katsoulis is completely reliant on the opinion of others, and is wholly unphilosophical about her subject. She threads no line of argument or analysis, and entertains no consideration for the possibility of currently undetected forgeries. Telling Tales is not worthy of the tales it tells. Kevin Breathnach
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The University Times | Wednesday,March 10th
TimesMUSIc
A night at the Meteors Danielle Mahoney discusses the winners and losers at this year’s Meteor Ireland Music Awards.
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ith The Meteor Ireland Music Awards now in its tenth year expectations were high. The event was held last Friday at the RDS Simmons court with Amanda Byram on hosting duties for the second year running. Despite the smaller setting and budget than the Brit Awards, which were held earlier in the week, the Meteor Awards managed to hold its own with it attracting some of the biggest names in show business. Unlike other award shows The Meteors are known for having a mixture of mainstream artists and lesser know acts. Lady of the moment Florence and the Machine opened the show with a rousing performance of her smash hit ‘You’ve Got The Love’. Florence later took home the award for Best International Band, even though it is well publicized that Florence is not actually a band, but the recording name for Florence Welch, with ‘The Machine’ referring to the many collaborators that she works with. There were no surprises as Westlife won Best Irish Pop Act for the tenth consecutive year meaning that no other act has ever won the award with host Amanda Byram pointing it should now be re-named the Westlife award. Later in the night Westlife returned to the stage to perform their number-one hit ‘What About Now’. The winners of the highly competitive radio awards were Ray Foley from Today FM for Best Radio DJ-National and Leigh Doyle from
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that they were nominated in. They were beaten by The Coronas, who took home Best Irish Album for Tony Was An Ex-Con. Best Live Performance went to The Script for their performance at last year’s Oxegen. Relatively unknown Wallis Bird won Best Irish Female, with the surprising omission of Imelda May from the category. Best Traditional/Folk unsurprisingly went to Sharon Shannon. During the cermony tributes were paid to late singers Liam Clancy and Stephen Gately. After winning Best Irish Male, Christy Moore dedicated his award to Clancy when he accepted his award in a pre-recorded video. Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch than paid tribute Gately, introducing a video montage of his life. Colin Farrell made a surprise appearance presenting the award for Best International Album to Paulo Nutini for Sunny Side Up. Other presenters on the night included Jerry Ryan, Michelle Heaton, The Saturdays’ singer Una Healy, TV3 weather man Martin King, Inglorious Basterds star Michael Fassenbender and Liam Cunningham. In the non-public voting categories exproperty developer Niall Mellon was awarded the Humanitarian Award for his work in South Africa. In the past 8 years The Niall Mellon Foundation has built over 10,000 homes and housed 80,000 people in South Africa. U2 bassist Adam Clayton presented Lord Henry Mont Charles, Slane Castle promoter and owner, with the Industry Award. Dur-
Maria Copley
The Vatican releases Rock n’ Roll Top 10
Pixie Lott performing at this year’s Meteor Ireland Music Awards ing his acceptance speech Lord Mont Charles thanked “all the acts that had shownup to play Slane, with the exception of Eminem”. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Brian Kennedy by Louis Walsh and X-Factor mentor Sunita. Kennedy then performed with the Dublin Gospel Choir. In celebration of the 10th year of the awards a new category was announced called Most Promising New Artist of 2010. The new award is designed for up-and-coming artists and bands that are unsigned. Submissions opened in January. A music industry panel narrowed the entries down to ten acts then the public was invited to vote for the winning act, with Amasis winning on the night. As the winners Amasis will appear at Oxegen and have 150 copies of their debut single
Controversy arises as Google shuts down blogs linking to music files Bloggers have signed their lives away, yet still complain when they’re taken from the web. North American bloggers are asking for their right to be “innocent until proven guilty” when they know for a fact that the agreement they signed with Google Inc. states “although we may attempt to notify you when major changes are made to these Blogger Terms of Service, you should periodically review the most up-to-date version” (http://www.blogger.com/termsg). “Google may, in its sole discretion, modify or revise these Terms of Service and policies at any time, and you agree to be bound by such modifications or revisions and if you do not accept and abide by this agreement you may not use the blogger service” and so on, repeating the same quote several times in the agreement. This means that responsibility lies on the bloggers to update themselves on their rights to be on the web. Though many of these bloggers have the rights from the record companies to link to the files in question, the agreement signed, which is constantly being modified, will legally cover Google Inc. (Blogger Service) in taking them off the web. Controversy arises as there are actually no rights given to the blogger when signing this type of agreement, as the agreement is naively signed by individualss believing to be legally protected when actually they are putting themselves at the mercy of Google Inc., wherever in the world they are. The agreement also states that Google has the legal right of disclosing the detailed contents of bloggers’ information when legal proceedings take place.
The Meteors are known for having a mixture of mainstream artists and lesser know acts.
Beat FM, who had missed out on the award for three years, who was named Best Radio DJ-Regional. Snow Patrol was named Best Irish Band. The band were scheduled to perform but were forced to pull out of the awards when leadsinger Gary Lightbody broke his jaw. They were later replaced by Dizzee Rascal and upand-coming Aussie band The Temper Trap, who gave a stellar performance of their worldwide hit ‘Sweet Deposition’. Other performances on the night came from Bell X1 and Pixie Lott, who despite being nominated for Best International Female walked away with no awards on the night. But they were in good company. U2 received no awards for the first time in the history of The Meteors, losing out in all three categories
News and Views
released, perform live on Pop 4 on TG4, have one day’s recording in Grouse Lodge Recording Studios with an additional day’s mastering in Masterlabs, have a CD sleeve designed, have a photo shoot with top celebrity photographer Barry McCall and have radio/Pr distribution. After the show it was announced that Lady Gaga, continuing her winning streak at award shows had won Best International Female. However, despite being in town to play her sold-out concerts at The O2, Lady Gaga neither collected her award nor performed at the show. Michael Bublé was named Best International Male and Lenard Cohen won Best International Live Performance. Despite Bell X1’s 3 nominations they failed
to pick up any awards. Florence and the Machine only walked away with one of the 3 awards she was nominated for. Laura Izibor also walked away empty handed. The Script rounded of the night by performing ‘Breakeven’, but when the cameras stopped rolling The Script continued to play on as a thank you to fans for their win and to make up for missing the show last year. By the end of the night the band had belted out 4 of their hits. It was then time for the common folk to head home, as the winners and losers of the night were whisked off to their showbiz after-bash. Danielle Mahoney
One would expect that when the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano issued a list of the ten best pop and rock albums of all time, it would be comprised of choirs singing hymns, with some light guitar riffs and faster beats thrown in to make them ‘pop and rock.’ So it came as a shock when, on the 15th of February, the Vatican’s best rock and pop album of all time turned out to be Revolver, by The Beatles. Yes, the same Beatles that contained that joker John Lennon, who wasn’t forgiven until 2008 (28 years after his death, mind) for quipping ‘we’re [The Beatles] more popular than Jesus’, way back in 1962. Number two is Dark Side of the Moon, the Pink Floyd opus, third is Oasis’ (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, and fourth is Thriller, by Michael Jackson. An interesting amalgam of songs about drugs, anti-authoritarian songs, and songs by alleged child-molesters are all liked by the Vatican? Clearly, this is a shameless attempt by the Holy See to seem relevant and ‘hip’, after not many young followers appreciated them saying that rock music is the devils’ work. So while the list reads as a who’s who of safe choices (U2, Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon all also get a look in), there is one glaring omission that leaves one wondering, why does the Vatican hate Bob Dylan? Beth O’Rafferty
Album Reviews
Basia Bulat
Xiu Xiu
Yeasayer
Heart Of My Own
Dear God, I Hate Myself
Odd Blood
Label Secret City Records
Label Kill Rock Stars
Label Secretly Canadian
The first two songs on Canadian singersongwriter Basia Bulat’s album Heart Of My Own are perfect examples of why I can never quite make up my mind about her music. ‘Go On’ has a more pronounced American folk feel than any of the songs on her debut album, but like those songs, it really feels like she’s playing with her backing band, not just tacking some strings and piano on to yet another acoustic guitar-driven mopefest. The drums and strings actually dominate the guitar, though Bulat’s distinctive deep and husky voice remains the centre of the song. It’s a good song, but unfortunately it’s followed by ‘Run’, which has a depressingly Enya-like chorus and epitomises everything that just doesn’t sit right when I listen to Bulat’s music – she has proper indie cred, but there’s something about her music sometimes that calls middle-aged women to mind. The album takes a while to pick up again, but the title track is great, a ballad of lost love with well-judged violin and banjo accents. ‘Sparrow’ is a pretty, ukulele-driven song, the equivalent of ‘Before I Knew’ from Bulat’s debut
album but more airy and light. The album is at its best with songs like ‘Heart Of My Own’ and ‘If Only You’, both with a strong undercurrent of country influence that stops well short of affected Nashville accents and slide guitar, the latter being an upbeat acoustic-driven song with horns and piano, and choruses which are a little dull while the verses are better. Overall, though, it is a little lackluster. Most of the rest of the songs could have come off her first album, if it weren’t for the fact that they’re not as good. An exception is ‘The Shore’, one of the most distinctive songs on the album, with a hammered dulcimer playing a big part (thank you, Wikipedia), but even so, it’s not that interesting a song. It’s a shame that ‘Hush’, a bonus track exclusive to iTunes, isn’t officially on the album; it’s a lovely echoey a cappella track punctuated with foot stamps and hand claps. Aside from a few good songs, then, the album is a bit disappointing. Yan Bourke
Xiu Xiu have traditionally been seen as niche enough for trendsetters to not feel any particular duty to enthuse about them; something which has allowed them to drift from one politely-received album to the next without much fuss. The critical emphasis has always lain primarily on respect for what the band are trying to achieve, rather than on overwhelming praise for the end result. This may be because the music itself sounds like a by-product. The patchwork nature of songs such as ‘I Luv The Valley Oh!’ certainly give this impression, as the band usually flit between ideas with little concession to continuity. Superficially at least, the same aural archetype would seem to be in place on Dear God… Their same basic sonic texture is indeed present. Most songs still consist of Jamie Stewart’s transvestite Kate Bush falsetto coupled with atonal strings and guitar, sometimes complimented by a sporadically farting saxophone. However, this time round these elements are not employed wholly for the purposes of wilful obstruction. While this stands as a relief, it also signals a worrying trend. As here we find Xiu Xiu, if not courting, then certainly flashing
the mainstream; in doing so they risk tempering that which distinguishes them from, say, a band like Cobra Starship, to whom they bear a cloying resemblance during the synth-heavy middle eight section in lead single ‘Gray Death’. The promotion of Jamie Stewart’s vocals intermittently provides a listening experience as abrasive as their normal understanding of the concept of melody. The title track itself shows how, in refusing to let its ostensibly ridiculous content be rendered ironic by Stewart’s over-earnest delivery, Xiu Xiu risk undermining the strides they have taken towards a more accomplished experimentalism. Disarmingly accessible as it may be, Dear God… nevertheless still works best as a showcase for the band’s innate ability to craft songs that seemingly exist as urgent distillations of various forms of anxiety, most demonstrably on ‘Chocolate Makes You Happy’, a song that is simultaneously insistently upbeat while it passive-aggressively drums its fingers on the table. Michael Barry
Yeasayer; history repeats itself in the new era of grooving, or grooving back, to North America, this time from Brooklyn! Critics have called them hippies and they refuse to accept it as Cold War Kids shoot electric waves and have them in ‘Madder Red’, or was it ‘Mondegreen’? Synthesizing and reverberating, intonating the sounds of nature made into music. Yeasayer are the result of electropsychedelic-folk DNA. This band is easy to listen to when the Back to the Future movie has lost its impact and the public want to regain consciousness of their past. The charismatic and neutrally soft tones caress your ears like a muse that’s going to ‘Wait For The Summer’. Their music can make you dream or move rhythmically out of your bed after a strong hang-over. Sometimes I wonder how to approach a comment in music that is so familiar to your senses, but yet claims its place in the 21st century? Narration of the soul’s journeys, junglelike ambience and birds tweeting to the rhythm of butterfly wings flying on top of the ‘Ambling Alp’, clearly marks Odd Blood, as well as its predecessor All Hour
Cymbals, as having the spirit’s right to convey a message to mother nature demanding to be nurtured at ‘Sunrise’. If they had been around in the 70s they would definitely have been playing in Woodstock; competing with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, trying to imitate a bit of Blind Faith and most likely failing to become Pink Floyd. ‘O.N.E.’ is an electric-disco like song that could be played in a National Geographic commercial. They are truly a documentary of music decades and music retrospection fighting for their nonexistence. Yeasayer have ‘No Need To Worry’ because ‘Lablogoteque’ obtained an undisclosed self-agreement that has given them the right to let go of inhibitions and set them free to float their airy musical notes that honourably win them a place in the universe. Maria Copley Since releasing Odd Blood, Yeasayer have embarked on an extensive European tour, including a gig in Dublin on February 19th at the Academy. Once they’ve covered Europe they’re set to hit America in April, including appearing at Coachella Festival.
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Wednesday,March 10th | The University Times
TimesSCIENce & Technology
Cracking an ancient code Nicholas Bernard looks at the recent work of Dane Eske Willerslev, whose team has become the first to sequence the entire genone of an ancient human being found frozen in the Arctic.
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emember how excited you were when you saw Jurassic Park and considered the possibility of recreating an extinct species from a fragment of DNA? Of course the small issue of translating this genetic code into a fully functional living creature, without sexual reproduction, was of course only considered later. Nevertheless, all is not lost. This month, in the prestigious science research journal Nature, a team of evolutionary biologists, led by the Dane Eske Willerslev, have become the first to sequence an entire ancient human genome. This exciting work has overcome the difficulties associated with obtaining high quality, uncontaminated ancient DNA thus allowing the team to present us with a detailed picture of what an ancient human may have looked like. As an added bonus the work also solves a long running debate amongst evolutionary biologists and
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Willerslev’s work gives us a snapshot into who this man was and how he may have appeared.
ethnologists regarding migration patterns into the New World. The original sample used to obtain the DNA came from an excavation in Greenland in 1983 which recovered a small tuft of hair from a 4,000 year old Paleo-Eskimo of the Greenlandbased Saqqaq culture. The sample had been sitting idly in the basement of the Natural History Museum of Denmark for twenty years, just waiting for Willerslev and his team of DNA sequencers. Aside from the excitement of being the first to completely sequence an ancient human being, Willerslev’s work also gives us a snapshot into who this man was and how he may have appeared. By sequencing 80% of the three billion base pairs of DNA twenty times over, a standard twice as rigorous as that applied to the Human Genome Project, Willerslev not only cracked the ancient human code, he was able to determine uniquely personal facets of this ancient human’s physical makeup. The original owner of the hair and the DNA, now affectionately named Inuk,
was most likely a dark skinned, dark haired man with A+ blood, a propensity for baldness, and teeth that morphologically resemble those of people of Asian or Native American descent. No doubt, as we begin to understand more about our own DNA and the function of the genes it codes for, we will be able to go back to Inuk’s DNA for comparison, and infer even more physical characteristics. It may even be possible to one day determine characteristics of his personality and his lifestyle. Even more exciting for evolutionary biologists was that Inuk’s DNA sequence was able to solve a long running debate regarding the migration of the Saqqaq people into Greenland. By comparing the Inuk’s DNA to the DNA of various ethnic and cultural groups geographically related to Greenland, Willerslev’s work shows that the Saqqaq are not the ancient descendants of modern Inuit groups, nor were they descended from native Americans who might have migrated into Greenland. Instead the Saqqaq are most closely related to the Chukchis people of
Siberia. The genetic divergence between the two groups probably occurred just prior to the Saqqaq migration that would have seen them travel across the Bering Strait and across Alaska and Canada to Greenland. Whilst the conclusions regarding the migration patterns of the Saqqaq people no doubt solves an ancient riddle, for many of us the most impressive feature of this discovery lies in the sequencing method and the possible future applications and implications of this technology. Willerslev hopes to apply his methods to other human remains around the planet but admits that it will be difficult to extract good quality uncontaminated DNA from samples that have not been preserved by permafrost. Nevertheless, there is a real hope that more mysteries will be solved about where we came from and who we were. And just maybe, somewhere down the track, there may even be room for a Jurassic pet dinosaur. Nicholas Bernard
Where children have the upper-hand Enda Shevlin examines the advantages of the human child’s complete helplessness during the first few years of life.
Swine flu vaccine: premature panic? On first hearing of the H1N1 (swine influenza) virus, there was widespread panic and concern, both here and across the globe. Alcohol gel dispensers were installed in every public building and huge advertising campaigns were brought out to educate the public on how best to limit its spread. The race was immediately on to find a vaccine against the virus that seemed to be attacking indiscriminately – neither age nor geographical boundaries seemed to stop it. Then the vaccine came out, risk groups were assigned and many were inoculated. Now though, people are left wondering if this was necessary. Not only has swine flu all but disappeared from the public domain, but the number of fatalities has also been sig-
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however, and there was a rise in the death rate in February which could have been avoided had the correct precautions, including a sustained vaccination programme been taken. While this may not necessarily happen in the case of swine flu, it does indicate that the vaccine may not have been a completely unnecessary procedure. Even if this doesn’t happen, the swine flu pandemic may still have already caused more deaths than records are showing. According to the World Health Organisation, 13,000 people have died worldwide as a result of the virus. Even Keiji Fukuda, the WHO’s “flu chief”, told the press recently that they “anticipate that these figures will be much larger”. Not everyone who contracted swine flu will have
Not everyone who contracted swine flu will have gone to their doctor, and even of those who did, many may have been misdiagnosed.
nificantly lower than experts expected. With the economy in such dire straits, people cannot help but speculate as to whether it was all a swindle on the part of the pharmaceutical companies, looking to profit from the public’s genuine concern. The reality of the situation however is not that simple. While swine flu no longer makes headlines in western Europe or the US, it is still spreading rapidly in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. Also, just because the number of cases presently has declined, there is nothing to say that there couldn’t increase again in the future. In fact, if we are to go on previous pandemics, then it is quite probable that this could happen. Taking the US flu pandemic of 1957-8 as an example, the death rate had lowered considerably by January of 1958. Vaccinations were stopped as health officials thought that the worst of was over. This was not the case
gone to their doctor, and even of those who did, many may have been misdiagnosed. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year, influenza directly causes 2.7 times as many deaths as are recorded officially. While the swine flu vaccine may seem unnecessary to many, when you look at past incidences of flu there do seem to be valid precedents for vaccinating the most vulnerable as soon as possible. As Ilaria Capua of the World Organisation for Animal Health’s flu reference lab in Italy says, “When a virus emerges from the animal reservoir you don’t know how it will behave”. In light of this, vaccinations as early as is possible do seem like the safest and most logical route to take. Rachael Maguire
Every now and again friends and relatives call over to my house bearing not gifts, but children. I don’t mind children. Sure they’ll talk back and even kick back, but fill them with sugar in front of the TV and they’re happy. My relatives, however, don’t bring children per se, they bring babies; and babies require total immersion. Ever wonder why that is? Why is it that human infants remain in this inebriated, helpless state for years whereas infants from other species are more or less independent in a fraction of the time? A kitten for example can walk within moments of birth and catch its first mouse within weeks. Human infants on the other hand take their first steps after two years and are reliant on their parents for survival for much longer. Critically however, human infants go on in life to develop a level of intelligence unequalled on this planet – allowing us to rationalise, reason, learn and adapt to our environment such that we can create and comprehend works of art, launch rockets into space and accomplish just about everything in between. A new study in Current Directions in Psychological Science makes the case that this initial, extended period of helplessness is a decisive factor in allowing us to make the leap from mere animals to fully formed human beings. The author’s work focuses on an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex (PFC), located just behind the forehead which is believed to regulate our thoughts and behaviours. In order for this, and indeed any part of our brain to develop and function, electrical junctions called synapses must develop which allow both chemical and electrical signals to be passed between neurons. In just about every animal studied, including our primate ancestors, the PFC develops in line with the other cortical areas, reaching maturity within months. However, in the case of humans, synapses in the PFC develop much more slowly, straggling behind the visual and auditory cortex such that it doesn’t ‘catch up’ until the fourth year of life. Thus, children exhibit “impaired cognitive and behavioural control” in their early years as a result of this slowed PFC maturation and are therefore almost totally reliant upon their parents during this time. But whereas previous studies have focused on the negative implications of this developmental phenomenon, the authors of the present study assert that while a child’s mind may not be geared for performance, it does appear to be optimised for certain types of learning – in particular, language acquisition. Learning a language involves the understanding of a multitude of conventions from grammar and verbs to conversation. People
can converse with each other because we understand what is being said based on a set of conventions we observed and learned when we were infants. Children with immature PFCs are more suited to convention learning than adults with mature PFCs. Illustrating this is the case of Simon, a deaf child who learned sign language as an infant from parents who learned as adults. At age 7, Simon had already acquired an ordered system of rules for understanding the language that far exceeded that of his parents. The authors suggest that this is due to the childs ability to learn and copy only the most frequently observed patterns/conventions and to cut out
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Human infants go on in life to develop a level of intelligence unequalled on this planet – allowing us to rationalise, reason, learn and adapt to our environment such that we can create and comprehend works of art, launch rockets into space and do just about everything in between. any alternates/mistakes in the backround. To illustrate, if a child hears the sentence: “Je suis un homme” 60 % of the time and “Je suis une homme” 40% of the time, the child, in general, will only learn the former, simply because it is heard most. Adults, on the other hand, because of their PFC’s greater maturity and flexibility, will learn and repeat both sentences, thus delaying their mastery of the language. This research conveys the idea that children have actually evolved their frustrating lack of motor skills as a long-tem strategy that allows them to master the linguistic and social conventions required of them at a later stage. So the next time my little three year-old cousins are slobbering their food all over the table, I’ll be a little, just a little, more understanding. Enda Shevlin
Healthy Living
Healthy advice Anthea Lacchia presents a few simple guidelines to leading a healthy life. With World Cancer Day having taken place in the month past, now is an opportune time to think about heath and illness prevention. A report released recently by the International Union Against Cancer claims that 21% of all cancers are due to an initial bacterial or viral infection. Human papilloma virus for example, is the leading cause of cervical cancer worldwide and both stomach and liver cancer often stem from an initial case of hepatitis. Experts constantly insist that in the region of 40% of cancers are preventable by adapting a healthy lifestyle. But what is a “healthy lifestyle”? Has it become a mere cliché like the “five a day”, or drinking buckets of water? From childhood to adulthood, here are some useful tips to attain the fabled; healthy you. Vaccinations are the first and most effective preventative step. These include hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, varicella and polio. Young females are strongly recommended to avail of the cervical cancer (human papilloma virus) vaccine which is currently being rolled out in the Republic. Your body mass index (BMI), which can be easily calculated online, is a good indicator of healthy body weight and ideally should be between 18-25. If you think cholesterol levels are the subject of adulthood and old age worries, think again: the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest children at high risk of heart disease, as young as 8, should consider cholesterol-lowering drugs. The US Preventive Services Task Force says men should have their cholesterol checked regularly after age 35 and women, after 45. Among the latest recommendations for disease prevention, blood-pressure screenings are available for all adults over 18, as well as cervical-cancer screenings for all sexually active women. Repetitive as it may sound, don’t forget your diet! Whatever your age, strive to eat healthy now, you’ll reap the benefits later on. Experts from the American Heart Association assure us a healthy diet should be a priority from early in life – not just early in the day. This comprises whole grains, vegetables and fruits, with limited quantities of juice and low levels of fat, salt and added sugars. Students often find the task of preparing their own meals daunting. Well, single ingredient foods are preferable to multi-ingredient foods, which tend to be packed full of nasty additives and scary preservatives. In addition, here’s a general rule: don’t eat anything that glows in the dark. A packed wholesome snack to keep in your bag isn’t as hard to organise as you think. Healthy foods should include plenty of vitamins and minerals, the superheroes of all foods! It is a known fact that many women don’t get enough calcium, which puts their bones at risk. For older adults, vitamin B12 is highly recommended. In the US, vitamin D deficiency is common and, at the same time, a growing body of evidence highlights the benefits of getting enough vitamin D. In fact, it may reduce the risk of developing multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and flu. The best source of vitamin D in sunlight as our bodies produce it naturally upon exposure. At least one hour of exercise per day is recommended and luckily, this doesn’t necessarily entail gym work. Skipping (not literally), up the stairs to your locker in the Arts Block or to the library in the Hamilton all count. Ideally, the amount of time devoted to physical activity should be roughly 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate cardio, or 75 minutes to 2.5 hours of intense cardio, each week, in addition to basic weight training twice a week. If this seems like a far off goal, start by devoting half an hour a day to a physical activity you really enjoy, and no, power walking to the pub doesn’t count, tempting as it may seem! As the years go on, physical exercise becomes important not only to prevent chronic illness, but also to keep the brain sharp and promote emotional well-being, especially since middle age is often associated with depression. Struggles with physicality and mental health are all too common in people of all ages. If one considers issues such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, as well as drugs, alcohol, tobacco and sex, the student life is all-too-often a minefield. Avoiding the common pitfalls is all about communication; whether it be with family, friends or even a stranger. Talking helps. Fact. Social connection, with friends or family or within the community, helps keep a mind healthy. Isolation should indeed be avoided and put in a corner, alone. Young adults should be particularly aware of their psychological well-being. If you recognize the need for external help, the Student Counselling Service can be contacted at student-counselling@tcd.ie. Anthea Lacchia
Trinity v UCD Trinity: 8 UCD: 28 March 4th, 2010
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M ir U E Trb W wria rute s wserv lacl Smo udnpch y .rs th fla e ch er e n , hip p U re e g s d e ss a rg r si N s a th n c sa it h re n ap s in Th ual y p g th itio taff ers off cla so ewe Tbsthee tiveeho habraeineb cenrnte ahsth A ub ize ubli leti ey w ctu eeti b c wa r . uorm ys n ft in dd ‘s b s tt fostce y b w n u edare on ort c sa sa cl an D th Th ed ru m u h Stu t an r fi nn e a m em itie nt, sp sa d eerf utep Sp ap A . coco iveMfo nusigun epxe cl sfi st g e t en e m s ic a ce fo f ru th fro c m cil me d s ise d cedb oAs coeokmin Th al cac) sati c is s rts wh en sid s h of nd an an n an taistiha cath o nd ed bli e fa uip an a C e e co itie a in d ure ra fu he tr u dis ca wa spo y t urr Pre say c ner th Duto Thth nt a is pu th eq s rs fig een nt o as en ed F n e h (D re Du a ec f is niogh n ed on ive sev e ra d m h o m re by rd a pm is d lf ru srn e a ho h Ulla sb e e at ere five M th n an ire o urs un ith g eg ha pm m 00 eve nt art ag lly oa lo furb an r th Th ty in y io w ide ’ Ga day ubtu y h le co fo w lon b n in ts tsn 3 clre e a B ve s oll 0 lo ’s ,0 d e . ep ir U ro u enh 2 ebe th C 0 ve ley 4 re m 09 r sa nd ’ D are nu nd de re itie g a o th ins ired B o dJo na ip e 00,0 de Au €16 the part 08/ s fo d e ets an e a nt e to cil din sh ld ms ta a ts’ Ó ng Sntuts .’ r a g uth re in n sh Th €6 re Mc at to De 20 on m fo o le ‘Th udg ed itte ce sid s fa fun .’ fe r ch en án cti s de ct e tin b th d r in ati e fu es- ts v m er t a rt d ts re nts fo at e b d ón ‘a au einleg eed shpro te fo ts c e c th th In s a t- man e th o r. r c pro om t p se spo see jec e ude te tro nt C as yy stenFr fo fa ate lloc nd je allo of ut th roje em vo in e C igh is g e pro f th st w acinitit d h ish, th so dic a t fu pro al n b e p m . a u e ud 0 to n e nd tin v id al o e pTr rebsiurgt th urg ed in een en ’s tu tio ble th e ort is fu x is ro pit xt th o yo rt th l st f €7 tio of Pin Ainb uss n em rb pm ort ac ibu ila of th Sp e p ca te to ‘D po ua o tra Ed isc o f Sp e tr va s in of ese e co use p nn e is hip u e m asu tee to ew e ut ds d o Th dis t a st d tor th r th ho su a arg reg ers ll st eg re it rt, y n Th p a co e c of fo at o ue oll T m o at e m re to f an ch e b r a ert r C the om Sp th nE d ke th re n ted tail Dir st st bo du 007 SU n o ntre h th em fo oh rite L n oo rge D a ma de e rge n co ew A t to C of s ce to m e 2 CD tio ce it rl s W th la o a n ti re nio y C a pay s w en ntr RN n nce tor ate rts d pT uc s Ca ew a om e illi of 2 ’ U le t ch to ort TE se ina ec st o use lo d d ort aid op s ce e N fr Th 5 m on IN um F Dir ley, f sp g deve use to sp e p for ort nts Ash en d sp d 2 pag N d e u t o ein re is ort rm b e de r, ud se e se s 1. cti d A n th e A a d a b € p n e ru fe e spts?’ Stu ce e st e u of th ora r of th Mc ce is al fun f S m te s st nu cre w fth en e Offi th b ip e om y er e pit is nt o iu in it re e nti ort d d Th on at nly h s ce e th be fr err t p m ca Th e ed Sp se Co ti th o ers s ha sin Th d e pri an a T igh inco a d. rtm m ca id uld mb e 77 07. sse it rer’ h e e te n pa nd . f th m e 7, d t sa ho e .’ arg € 20 pa a asu w it at tr a t fu e a ts o co th €7 ve th ‘s m e to ch r cre en e D ort jec rity e is and of pro in in ti at es Tre on d th e p m n 8 fo ntr e 70 d m y th sh pro ajo m e a ra ce Th € ce th uir e ltati an th h b nd s m co hip arg s ndu o 50 u th n w fu ort e ’s in ers t ch wa re em are du c om d m q fr tro du re by nsu nio n sp Th tre b en h fe m re gra bli e. un xin ren rge ed co ’ U m ic re ’s e 4 pu tr e y en e ud h e a ag in nts ere C f m l st w nt ley t th 99 6 cen stu d w ent reb uch an ce de o ua rge de Au tha , d 19 s al se s s e m ffi Stu n a stu Mc s ers an ort nu e u ort o ub urr h st la O e cl c w s, a g u sp n b Sp n d ch y ate b , e e th b 007. st em ers the e a uld t of de e lth th re tive re is 2 um m mb of th o en ma issu Co : at h ctu cu d a it ce d aff e ers if sh m y he e th w it ru xe an r, a th st e e rt le th Offi st m b d o ve eve s ow y d ate em ske arg epa Au ea gh ns sh app ve tw uti ow ute tly m A t ch D Mc st rou tio h cuti is xec . H in ec in th a n nd e ere t e ve m erf os t nic de fu cts ent, dnto th en uti the p y p v to roje m kmee mu e re an ti d xec p m liten m th ts e d in ts a for cu s co esta Co at un st e n n xe b b e e o th de ru ac clu to a leg ys cc e co tre a to uc e mm n is is sa ly th y e D Th ra co e n of s ce ne ate d g ’s c arg . rt o u n eg e o t a proythucngu ch n ll rg n o m d a k, e tio Co a ce sp al gra s ea s Sm Dpe s th fla e l ch er the ion , hip p sse rw he it ers in Th ua y p g it taff ers off cla so he . T rm h n ft in dd ‘s b s y on ort att st o an r fi nn e a m em itie nt, sp sa d Sp ap M gu erf s ce fo f ru th fro c m cil me d d Au e p s ise d s a of nd an an n an is rtth w in o nd ed bli e fa uip an a in d ort rure ra fu he t nt er th ptoo cac ma a is pu th eq s sp o fig een nt o as oe en ed F n e h gh st,n fedS e e re dy, ra d of u ir p m h h b e o m re by rd a pm is d g lf ru e e e o to s e bo en e an ire o urs alla ay tu orrn ay D the ey eg ha pm m 00 eoven niet f art ag lly oa lo furb an r oll g g C G rdW ct h le co fo a B ve s re oll 0 lo ’s ,0 dD meh 9. f C tin in y itte ey ep w g t th pr C ,00 ve ley 164 e re -C 0 ro hn ev23o Dbiree sa nd ’ p rn it m th y D are nu nd de re itie g e on a re e u ert rtin 8/ Jo fo Tr n th m h f a a R e ip e ets an e a nt e to cil din dem ve ers m t wa 00 d A € thb par- 0 ts forr oituyld it h . A as w o nts re in sh Th €6 re Mc at toRo Ddeito 20 onBsE antt s-go niv Co tha e in ‘Th udg ed itte ce sid s fa fun .’ ck e fe r n of en D th d rE in tiM refu eeir U v m er t a rt d ts re nts fo at e y h th d. g udp- ge dTrsh d w ru s w a la ud . b th th In s ate fo ts caU ea e cnts cs in re n a sa a ing rn s st ve th st it s n th N o r. r c s pro om t p se spo see jec e ude te tro nt c ti h ti o a fo fa ate lloc nd je allAo ouf b uizt eth ro bjeli m vo in e le y w tu eti y Fr a , a C igh is g e pro f th st be nce ed for cu tes p u mthe .The aed ruc meinitubrgh wrgh tu t so dic a t fu pro al n cl abn e D u e ud 0 to n e nd tin v id al o e co iv n exe u in een en ’s tu tio bleg the e A ort. istisfi - st a Trs clbuichbu t S en e fu x is ro pit xt th o yo rt th l st f €7 tio of nis ce tio ac min pc) in h n d em rb pm ort ac ibu ila ofTh th e p ca te to ‘D po ua o tra al Sa sa ac seas ort wEdinrre si ys h ata uc e re o f Sp e tr va s intr ouf c deisse ecco c p nn e is hip u e m asu tee to ew e ut ds r th thu houw sp ay cu P sa is ion D Th o Th dis t a st d to(D su a arg reg ers ll st eg re it rt, y n Th p a e o h n co e c oaf re foatr D aetre o ue oll T m o at s U e m re to f an ch e b r a five M th n wh e ert r o C the om Sp th nE d ke th re n ted tail Dir st stth bTh ub y id ’ du 007 SU n o ntre h th em fo in y io oh rite L n oo rge cl e D a ma de e rge n co ew irty s d b Un in uts nts A t to C of s ce to m e 2 CD tio ce it e th rl s W th la o a n th in e ti re nio y C a pay s w en ntr Bro o de RN n nce tor ate rts d pT uc s th ms Ca ew g tu a om e illi of 2ta air ’ ’ U le t ch to ort TE se ina ec st o use lo d d ort aid op s ce e ch nts n Ó tin S ct.’ ng ble N fr Th 5 m on IN um F Dir ley, f sp g deve use to sp e p for ort ti á nts Ash en d sp d 2 o in pag rt de ón ‘ac as ele ee pro N d e b e sp de r, ud use e se s 1. cti td A n th e Au t e re is o rm a s d a th st b € p n C m y e e n ?’ ru fe a e Stu ce e e f ora r of th Mc ce is al fun f S m te s st nu w acit de is th cre w fth ents e Offi th b ip o e om y er e pit is nt o iu in it re e nti ort d p resi t th ed d Th on at nly h s ce e th be fr err t p m ca Th e ed Sp se Co P A uss ti th o ers s ha sin Th d e pri an a T igh inco a d. rtm m c ca id uld mb e 77 07. sse it rer’ h e e te n pa nd . f th m e 7, d dis t sa ho e .’ arg € 20 pa a asu w it at tr a t fu e a ts o co th €7 ve th ‘s r m e ch to cre en e D ort jec rity e is and of pro in in ti at es Tre on d th e p m n 8 fo ntr e 70 d m y th sh pro ajo m e a ra ce Th € ce th uir e ltati an th h b nd s m co hip arg s ndu o 50 u th w fu ort e ’s in ers t ch wa re em re du c om od m q y su ion re u n fr b n tr n d sp Th tre b en h fe m re a gra bli e. un xin ren rge ed co ’ U m ic re ’s e 4 pu tr e y en e ud h e a ag in nts ere C f m l st w nt ley t th 99 6 cen stu d w ent reb uch an ce de o ua rge de Au tha , d 19 s al se s s e m ffi Stu n a stu Mc s ers an ort nu e u ort o ub urr h st la O e cl c w s, a g u sp n b Sp n d ch y ate b , e e th b 007. st em ers the e a uld t of de e lth th re tive re is 2 um m mb of th o en ma issu Co : at h ctu cu d a it ce d aff e ers if sh m y he e th w it ru xe an r, a th st e th Offi st te m b d rge art le d o ve eve s ow y a em ske a ep Au ea gh ns sh app ve tw uti ow ute tly m A t ch D Mc st rou tio h cuti is xec . 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a comprehensive victory. Furthermore, UCD have gained valuable league points to put them level with Trinity in the AIB Division 2 standings. In truth, Trinity never recovered from the opening brace of tries and thereafter were unable to get a foothold in the game. That being said, UCD went about their task with tremendous efficiency and held firm against any possible Trinity comeback. A disappointing night then for Trinity rugby but the players must now focus their efforts on finishing the season well and ensuring a solid league position.
Conor O’Donnell
but were undone more often than not by carelessness. They came close to scoring a second try but were scuppered a few metres short of the line conceding a penalty at the crucial time. Much of the second half was characterised by handing errors from Trinity especially under the high ball with which they struggled the entire game. For all of Trinity’s endeavours though they could not make up the deficit and UCD put the game firmly beyond their reach with a finely executed try from Niall Fletcher to leave the final score at 28-8. And so the Colours Cup will return to Belfield for another year after what amounted to
their lead through a drop goal and then a penalty both from coming the boot of Fly-half Earls. It left the score at 23-8 at half time and it was to prove an insurmountable task for Trinity to overhaul. The second half was much less of a spectacle than the first with the damage having been inflicted in the opening ten minutes. At times the only real action seemed to emanate from the inebriated UCD rabble on the far terrace who threw rubber ducks onto the pitch and engaged in some quite ‘hilarious’ chanting. On the field though, Trinity did string together some promising passages of play
stretching their lead from a Niall Earls penalty. UCD Hooker Conor Geoghegan also continued to cause problems for Trinity, running some excellent lines and proving exceptionally difficult to take down. However, mid way through the first-half Trinity did manage to break through the solid UCD defence and score what would be their only try. It was made possible purely through the dogged persistence of Alan ‘Dozey’ Mathews who evaded a number of tackles to go over in the far corner. While Trinity might have hoped that the try would re-energise their efforts, UCD coolly exerted their control on the game and extended
allowing Tom Fletcher in for his first try of the match. With the scoreboard reading 14-3 with barely seven minutes gone, the Trinity lads were visibly shell-shocked and they struggled to settle into the game. There were a few glimpses of silky passing between the backs but they seemed to lack the belief with the ball in hand and often resorted to kicking away possession needlessly. The only department in which they were enjoying any success was in the lineout, taking advantage of some poor throwing from UCD. Yet, the side from Belfield continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over,
four-minute period in which UCD scored two converted tries. The first of these came in somewhat fortunate fashion after a failed drop goal attempt bounced off the post and straight into the arms of Centre Andy Cummiskey who went over before the Trinity backs could react. From the resulting kick off the UCD Hooker, Conor Geoghegan the eventual man-of-the-match, made an impressive 50 yard run which split the Trinity defence wide open before eventually being tackled on the Trinity twenty-two. The ball was quickly recycled and a calculated cross-field kick left the Trinity defence badly exposed
he eerie mist that descended over Donnybrook Stadium at the final whistle seemed to reflect the mood of a disconsolate Trinity side after having been soundly beaten in the 58th Colours Match. The night had begun with a great deal of expectancy around the stadium with Captain Johnny Iliff leading out the First IV in their redesigned kits looking a figure of concentration and determination. Trinity made the ideal start to the game going 3-0 up within minutes thanks to a penalty from Fly-half David Joyce. However, the complexion of the match was to change irreversibly in a manic
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Sports
The University Times | Wednesday,March 10th
Photos from this match available from Sportsfile.com
Disappointment in Donnybrook
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Wednesday,March 10th | The University Times
TimesSPORTS Sports Illustrated with Conor O’Toole
Balls and the early life of Buster Keaton I got a new ball today. It’s not a red ball. It’s not a football. It’s not a yellow ball. It’s not the Trinity Ball. It’s not the UCD Ball with Jedward. It’s not a testicle. It’s not the ‘Sphere within a Sphere.’ It’s not a b all. It’s not a wall. It’s not a orange ball. It’s not an orange ball. It’s not the Bess Ball. Thank god. I have a ball that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I like my ball. It’s no more than five or six centimetres in diameter. It’s not an ovular ball. I’m not sure if that’s how you spell ovular but even if it isn’t, it isn’t that either. It’s not you, it’s not me either. It’s relatively spherical. Kinda like Earth, Earth’s not that small. It’s not a table. It’s not my friend Rob. It’s not my other friend Rob. It’s not Marykate Collins. It’s not Marykate’s Facebook page. It’s not that article she’s not writing. It’s not the article I’m writing. It’s not the laptop that I’m writing the article that I’m writing on. It’s not those speakers. It’s not those cups. It’s not my hat.
I was watching a chess match and it was really good. I thought to myself wow this is really good. Then I ended up having tea with my Dad but he said thanks.
Basically it’s not like any of the things I can see right now. It’s my ball. It’s a bit green. It hasn’t gone outside with me yet. It’s not so heavy as to be a danger to me, but it might be a threat to a moth or another small insect who has a similarly weak extra bodily appendage. An ant, for example, would not worry about the ball, as his strong exo-skeleton would protect him. There would be some insects that I would be able to lift it. If I was shrunk to insect size, there’s no way I could lift my ball. I’m glad I’m big enough to lift my ball. In February 1917, Keaton met Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle at the Talmadge Studios in New York City, where Arbuckle was under contract to Joseph M. Schenck. Joe Keaton disapproved of films, and Buster also had reservations about the medium. During his first meeting with Arbuckle, he asked to borrow one of the cameras to get a feel for how it worked. He took the camera back to his hotel room, dismantled and reassembled it. With this rough understanding of the mechanics of the moving pictures, he returned the next day, camera in hand, asking for work. He was hired as a co-star and gag man, making his first appear-
During his first meeting with Arbuckle, he asked to borrow one of the cameras to get a feel for how it worked.
ance in The Butcher Boy. Keaton later claimed that he was soon Arbuckle’s second director and his entire gag department. Keaton and Arbuckle became close friends. After Keaton’s successful work with Arbuckle, Schenck gave him his own production unit, Buster Keaton Comedies. He made a series of two-reel comedies, including One Week (1920), The Playhouse (1921), Cops (1922), and The Electric House (1922). Based on the success of these shorts, Keaton moved to full-length features. Keaton’s writers included Clyde Bruckman and Jean Havez, but the most ingenious gags were often conceived by Keaton himself. Comedy director Leo McCarey, recalling the freewheeling days of making slapstick comedies, said, “All of us tried to steal each other’s gagmen. But we had no luck with Keaton, because he thought up his best gags himself and we couldn’t steal him!” The more adventurous ideas called for dangerous stunts, also performed by Keaton at great physical risk. During the railroad-water-tank scene in Sherlock Jr., Keaton broke his neck when he fell against a railroad track, but did not realize it until years afterward. A scene from Steamboat Bill Jr. required Keaton to run into the shot and stand still on a particular spot. Then, the facade of a two-story building toppled forward on top of Keaton. Keaton’s character emerged unscathed, thanks to a single open window which passed directly over him. The stunt required precision, because the prop house weighed two tons, and the window only offered a few inches of space around Keaton’s body. The sequence became one of the iconic images of Keaton’s career.
Trinity lose to UCD in Gannon Cup boat race on the Liffey There was disappointment for Trinity men’s rowing team as UCD won the Gannon Cup for 2010. UCD’s rowers won the colours race last Sunday, the 6th of March by 4 lengths in a time of 6:33.5. This is the third year running in which Trinity were bested by their UCD counterparts at the Gannon Cup. The race takes place annually between O’Connell Bridge and St. James’ Gate Brewery. Four races took place in the annual colours event and the day started out badly with UCD’s Novice Women’s crew taking the Moorehead Cup but brightened for the Trinity teams soon after with wins from both Trinity’s Novice Men’s crew and the Women’s crew to take both the Dan Quinn Shield and the Corcoran Cup respectively. The Dublin University Boat Club (DUBC) had been training diligently over the winter months to prepare
themselves for the races under the guidance of coaches Mark Pattison and Gerry Cantan, who referred to the men’s senior crew as a “solid” group. The DUBC’s website reports that both the Novice and Senior crews were “ready and looking forward to the contest”. The Novice men’s crew had proved their mettle the previous day, beating the UCD crew for the Goonan Cup. The men’s senior squad included five rowers from last year; Charlie Landale, Peter Croke, Rob Mawn, Ali Floyd and Paul Dunphy. Paul Dunphy was substituted in place of Lorcain Cameron who had been ill. To three new members of the crew were Fionn McCaffery, Patrick Jacques and Steve Lowe. The coxswain was Rebecca Crowley. Unfortunately despite the best efforts of the eight they were bested by a notable UCD crew. The UCD Boat Club Captain had recently
written that the “outcome is both eagerly anticipated and highly uncertain” and that it would “set the tone for the coming season.” For DUBC, it reports its crews are now focussed on the approaching head races at Erne, Galway and London. The Gannon Cup was set up in honour of Ciaran Gannon of Clongowes Wood College and UCD medicine student. He captained the UCD crew in 1937 and 1938 and in recognition of his services to rowing an annual race and trophy was set up in his honour to be held on the Liffey. DUBC have won the title 35 times while UCD have won 26 times since the competition’s conception in 1947. Only in 1950 was there no winner with both crew’s running a dead heat. Sally Browne
Croquet in the park Croquet in college evokes images of sun-drenched days, Pimms, and people amiably standing around New Square doing very little but having a good time regardless. Though most of these things are at least partially true, croquet is a sport with huge amounts of skill and nuance involved. It is often compared to snooker on a large scale and justly so as it requires many of the attributes commonly associated with the game–patience, control, tactical nouse, accuracy and precision. The sport has also garnered a reputation as a game for old
people, which isn’t really the case–top international croquet players tend to be around the same age as top cross-country skiers due to the similar physiological conditioning needed. DU Croquet Club was founded in 1981, at a time when Irish croquet was undergoing a period of revitalization. The annual Pimms Open played in college (I kid you not) was once one of the highlights of the croquet calendar. It has since suffered somewhat of a slump, but with the arrival of fresh blood, the club is set to regain its position as one of the country’s best and
contest the Intervarsity titles in Oxford (UCDD don’t have a club for DUCC to play…). In the past, the club has produced Irish Champions and Test match players, even as recently as last year, and it will continue to do so. For those of you who would be interested in a social game of croquet or the opportunity to pit yourself against the club’s best, call down to New Square on a Wednesday or Friday afternoon or contact ducroquet@gmail.com for details. Daniel Johnston
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Wednesday,March 10th | The University Times
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Murphy’s Law
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‘I like trying on ladies’ bras’
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Please submit any completed sudokus to the Students’ Union front office in House 6, care of Dáire McNab. The winner will be selected at random from correct entries and will be announced in the next issue of the University Times.
In Style What follows is an extract from The University Times Manual of Style, compiled by editor Robert Donohoe.
Commas, Apostrophes & Semicolons Comma
Commas structure sentences, but they also offer latitude for rhetorical nuances. For a full explanation on the comma see 5.3 Oxford Style Manual.
No single rule applies to the possessive form of singular nouns that end in -s. It is preferred to follow the -s with an apostrophe: the scissors’ point
Use a comma when the same word occurs twice in succession: All the books I have, have been in storage. We all wanted to help out, out of compassion. Use a comma to indicate that a word or phrase has been omitted because the context makes it tacitly clear:
Use an apostrophe after plural nouns ending in -s: three weeks’ time the MPs’ salary
2, 897,089,908
€2,890
my sister-in-law’s car
the King of Spain’s daughter
but use the apostrophe alone when it is plural: the Queen of the Netherlands’ appeal
$4,899.50
Use a comma to separate the day from the date:
our neighbours’ children all octopuses’ tentacles
Use ‘s after the last of a set of linked nouns sharing possession: Auden and Isherwood’s collaborations
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
but repeat the ‘s after each noun where possession is not shared:
Oxford Comma
Use commas in place of conjunctions to separate the elements in a list of three or more items. The presence or omission of a comma before and or or has become the subject of consistent rules by the Oxford University Press hence, it has become known as the ‘Oxford comma’. If the last item in a list has equal emphasis to the previous ones then it gets a comma: mad, bad, and dangerous consult a solicitor, trade union official, or a member of staff The presence of the comma resolves ambiguity, particularly when any of the listed items are compounded terms joined by a conjunction: Touch the smooth grey of the beech stem, the silky texture of the birch, and the rugged pine.
Auden’s and Isherwood’s temperaments Shakespeare’s and Marlow’s plays Do not use the apostrophe in the possessive pronouns hers, its, ours, yours, theirs.
Plurals Do not use the apostrophe when creating plurals. This includes names, abbreviations (with or without full points), numbers, and words not usually used as nouns: the Joneses M.Litt.s ins and outs
the 1990s SCs tos and fros
two wet Februarys SOSs whys and the wherefores
If the comma after birch were omitted then the rugged pine would also have a silky texture. The absence of the comma before the and or or can also be used to clarify things: He was not tall, clean and well behaved the lack of a comma after clean indicates that the not only applies to the first element in the list not to all three.
Semicolon Use the semicolon to punctuate two or more main clauses that are closely related and could have been joined by a coordinating conjunction—such as and, or, for, nor, or but—or could be treated as separate sentences: The road runs through the beautiful valley; the railway follows it closely. I know the city well; I’ve lived there all my life. Semicolons can be used to clauses that complement each other:
Apostrophe The apostrophe has two main functions in English: to indicate possession and to mark contractions.
Possession
Use -‘s after singular nouns and indefinite pronouns that do not end is -s: boy’s job the BBC’s policy nobody’s fault
the bee’s knees one’s car the court’s decision
After plural nouns that do not end in -s: children’s games
If you were walking by a pool of water a foot deep and there was a child face down in the pool and you chose not to save the child even though there was no risk to yourself then the law would not hold you culpable for that. However, you would still be a fucking prick.
In compound and of phrases use -‘s after the last noun when it is singular:
In the Sumer they wear flip-flops; in the winter, snowshoes. To err is human; to forgive, divine. Use commas to separate numbers into units of three starting from the right:
the miss’ hat
With all this shit going in the newspapers about head shops it’s very hard to get a proper understanding of why people are so opposed to the idea of a head shop. They seem to get their ideas from the media without giving it any intelligent thought for themselves. A typical example of this is a friend of mine that told me that head shop stuff was fine but once it is banned then it is immoral to buy or take it. What he has done there is to draw a line between law and morality. Just because something is illegal does not make it immoral per se. And also just because something is not illegal does not make it moral either. Law and morality are like a venn diagram insofar as there are substantial portions that overlap but there are areas that do not overlie and in this sense the law and morals are non-overlapping magisteria. Take for example the case of non-action which in most cases is considered to be a legal right i.e. you do not have to act. If you were walking by a pool of water a foot deep and there was a child face down in the pool and you chose not to save the child even though there was no risk to yourself then the law would not hold you culpable for that. However, you would still be a fucking prick. Here we can see how the law will protect immorality which smashes the idea of the equivalence between the law and your subjective morality. The law should not seek to legislate your morality it should provide a level of protection and predictability to people’s actions but it should not tell them how they should think. Looking again at the example I gave above; there are three situations where you are required to act when you might like not to. First, where a close family member is involved so if the child was your child then you must take it from the pool. Then there is the situation where you have the contractual duty to act: e.g. you are a railway man and your job is to act to put down the railway barrier when a train is coming then if you don’t and someone is hurt you can not say that you didn’t have to act. Next is where you remove someone from a place where someone else could help: imagine you are at a party and there is someone passed out on the sofa and you decide to try help and you take her outside and then think
Truth ennobles man; learning adorns him. If youth knew; if age could. In a sentence that is already subdivided by commas, use the semicolon to indicate stronger division. In a list where the elements contain commas, use a semicolon to indicate the divisions: They pointed out, in support of their claim, that they had used the materials stipulated in the contract; that they had taken every reasonable precaution, including some that were not mentioned in the code; and that they had employed only qualified workers.
‘fuck it this is too hard’ and put her down outside. You have removed her from a place where others could help and are therefore culpable. Here we see the law is a little more in tune with what most people would regard as moral; this is the intersection of law and morality. Now why are drugs immoral just because they are illegal? This is a view that seems to be to be that of an unthinking person; a person that has not got the wherewithal to form an informed moral calculation. This a subjection of a primeval sense of right and wrong. Our minds do moral calculus automatically every time we act and then it tells us what to think. If we surrender this morality to the State then you forgo your whole being and what it is to be a thinking person. Look at an example of the following series of moral thought experiments: first there are five people on a train track that has a train headed straight for them you can pull a lever that will divert the train up another track that will only kill one person do you pull the lever? Most people will and say it is because of the rule save as many as possible. Then consider the same situation: five people on a track instead on another track there is a fat man that you can push in front of the train to stop it. Do you push him? Again the rule applies in most people’s mind to save as many as possible. Then consider that you are in a hospital and there are five sick people all in need of different organ transplants then a healthy man walks in. Do you kill the man to save the many? Most people say that they would not. Why what’s the dif-
Because if we look at the equation illegal = immoral then we must accept the idea that homosexuality was at one point illegal (1988 in Ireland) then it was also necessarily immoral and then the judges that legalized it were in fact legalizing immorality! ference? You can see how morality is not a case of simple applying rules it’s a complicated interaction of mind and instinct. Now this article is not meant to be an excuse to ignore the law and to rely on morality but it is a defence of personal morality over blindly accepting the law as the arbitrator of morality. Because if we look at the equation illegal = immoral then we must accept the idea that homosexuality was at one point illegal (1988 in Ireland) then it was also necessarily immoral and then the judges that legalized it were in fact legalizing immorality! Therefore for those that feel that something that is illegal is immoral must never argue for that thing to become legal or they are arguing for the acceptance of immorality. Albeit this would just be up until it become legal then it does not necessarily remain immoral in their minds but they are still accepting that something may not be immoral. We could not allow this because this would be a stagnation of the law. So think about your morals do not be told what you should think and what you should not. Good night and I love you
people’s opinion barry@universitytimes.ie