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Trinity College Dublin Students' Union

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Trinity College Dublin Students' Union
InstitutionTrinity College Dublin
LocationHouse 6, Trinity College, Dublin 2
PresidentRory Dunne
Sabbatical officersDan Ferrick, Aisling Ní Chonaire, Owen Bennett, Dave Whelan
MembersApproximately 17,000
AffiliationsUnion of Students in Ireland
Websitewww.tcdsu.org

Trinity College Dublin Students' Union (or TCDSU) is a students' union and the recognised representative body of the 17,000 students[1] of Trinity College Dublin. Its role is to provide a representative channel between all students (undergraduates and postgraduates) and the authorities of the College as well as to provide services to these students.[2] TCDSU is a constituent organisation of the Union of Students in Ireland.[3]

The day-to-day business and affairs of the Union are run out of House 6 and managed by the Sabbatical Officers and the Administrative Officer, together with members of the executive. The Sabbatical Officerships are: The President, Education Officer, Welfare Officer, Communications Officer and Entertainments Officer (aka Ents Officer)[4] and are elected on an annual basis; all capitated students are entitled to vote.[5] The President, Welfare Officer and Education Officer are elected members of the College Board.[6] The Education Officer and 3 Faculty Convenors are elected members of the University Council.[6]

Services

Campaigns and Lobbying

The Union runs campaigns both internal and external of the College. Internal campaigns target students providing them with information on mental health or sexual health awareness.[2] External campaigns are part of larger lobbying efforts targeting the Irish Government over issues such as the re-introduction of third-level fees.[7] The Union also campaigns against decisions made by the College that are viewed as unfavourable to students.[8][9]

Trinity Ents

The Ents Officer is responsible for running social events for members of the Union on and off campus under the brand Trinity Ents. The events are designed to be affordable to cater to the Union's student members.

Trinity Ents is responsible for the annual Trinity Ball, Europe's largest private music party annually drawing 8,000 party-goers.[10] Until 2010, it was held annually on the last teaching day of Trinity term to celebrate the end of lectures and the beginning of Trinity Week. Due to a restructuring of the teaching terms of the College the Ball is now held on the last day of Trinity Week. It is a May Ball in the style of the Cambridge Colleges, with the emphasis on live music. The Ball is run in conjunction with Trinity's Central Societies Committee and event promoters MCD Productions, who hold the contract to run the Ball until 2012.[11] The Ball has hosted acts such as Dizzee Rascal, Calvin Harris, Mark Ronson, Justice, and Babyshambles and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.[12]

The University Times

A student newspaper, The University Times, (formerly The University Record and known as "Aontas" before 1997), which exists separate of the college's Publications Committee, is published every three weeks during term by the Students' Union.[13] The paper is edited by the Union's Communications Officer or a delegate of their choice and enjoys editorial independence from the Students' Union.

The University Times won the Newspaper of the Year award at the 2010, 2011 and 2012 National Student Media Awards.[14][15]

Shops

TCDSU runs two shops in Trinity College. The shops are there to provide essential goods to students, including ethical trading products, and to boost the Union's income to fund other activities. The two shops are located in House 6 and the Hamilton Building. A third shop was opened for a brief period in St. James's Hospital, but was shut due to poor business.

JCR

The JCR, or Junior Common Room, is a cafe and student space run in Goldsmith Hall. The cafe is run by students and provides other students with meals for a cheap price or a place to eat their own food.

Bookshop

The Union's bookshop is located in House 6 and provides students with cheap books, new and second-hand, academic and fiction. The shop is run by students. It holds several book buying days a year, where students and others can come and sell their unwanted books. A catalogue of their stock is available to view online.

Dust

Dust, Dublin University Student Travel, is a now defunct travel agency run by the Union, which helped students with obtaining J-1 and other similar visas.

Officers

Current Officers

Sabbatical Officers
Position Name
President Rory Dunne
Education Officer Dan Ferrick
Welfare Officer Aisling Ní Chonaire
Communications Officer Owen Bennett
Ents Officer Dave Whelan
Executive & Part-Time Officers
Position Name
Faculty Convenor for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Sinead Leydon
Faculty Convenor for Engineering, Mathematics and Science Eric Tebay
Faculty Convenor for Health Sciences Sean Maguire
Deputy Faculty Convenor for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Johanna Clancy
Deputy Faculty Convenor for Engineering, Mathematics and Science Ian Mooney
Deputy Faculty Convenor for Health Sciences Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne
Environmental and Ethical Trading Officer Gwen Duffy
International Students Officer Eoghain Mitchison
LGBT Rights Officer James Mullan
Mature Students Officer Phillip Doyle
Officer for Students with Disabilities Aisling Concannon
Oifigeach na Gaeilge Niamh Ní Chróinín
Finance and Services Officer Jack Leahy
Assistant Campaigns Officer Lylas Aljhomani
Chair of Council Jill Harpur
Secretary to Council Shauna Watson
Technical Officer Conor Smith
Administrative Officer Simon Evans

Famous or Notable Former Officers

  • Joe Duffy - Former President and RTÉ broadcaster
  • Senator Ivana Bacik - Former President, Senator and Reid Professor of Law.
  • Robin Hanan - first Education Officer, CEO Irish Refugee Council 2007-2009, Seanad candidate 2011
  • Mark Little - Former President and RTÉ broadcaster
  • Averil Power - Former President and Education Officer, Irish Government advisor and Fianna Fáil Seanad Spokesperson on Education [16]
  • Adrian Langan - Former President and former Chef-de-Cabinet for Pat Rabbitte during his tenure as Labour Party leader
  • Priya Nair - Former President, Managing Director at Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets
  • Sean Blanchfield - Former Education Officer and online gaming entrepreneur[17]

Former Sabbatical Officers

President and Vice-Presidents
1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
President David Moore Adrian Langan Dave Tighe Rory Hearne Averil Power Will Priestley Annie Gatling Francis Kiernan John Mannion David Quinn Andrew Byrne Cathal Reilly Cónán Ó Broin Nikolai Trigoub-Rotnem Ryan Bartlett Rory Dunne
Communications Officer (prev. DepPres\Publicity) Matthew Magee Barry Brophy Colm Ó Mongáin Joe Davitt Tony O'Donnell Gareth Makim Katie Dickson Ruth Ní Éidhin Tom Dillon Simon Hall Damien Dempey Seamus Conboy Robert Donohoe Tom Lowe Ronan Costello Owen Bennet
Education Joe Guerin Eleanor Heffernan Sean Blanchfield Averil Power David Paul Memery Ian Moynihan Heledd Fychan Dáithí Mac Sithigh Dónal McCormack Robert Kearns Bartley Rock Hugh Sullivan Ashley Cooke Jen Fox Rachel Barry Dan Ferrick
Welfare Erica Roseingrave Áine O'Keeffe Conor Power Karen Griffin Eimear Nic An Bhaird Annie Gatling Mike Miley Luke Ryder Stephanie Frances O'Brien Denise Keogh Úna Faulkner Orlaith Foley Cormac Cashman Steph Fleming Louisa Miller Aisling Ni Chonaire
Ents Eamon Sweeney Dec Forde Dec Forde Timmy Carthy Siobhan O'Dowd Robbie Smyth Kev Cahill Niall Morris Niall Hughes Barry Murphy Ed O'Riordan Nicholas Longworth Mick Birmingham Darragh Genockey Chris O'Connor David Whelan

References

  1. ^ "Trinity College Dublin Student Numbers". Facts at your Fingertips. Trinity College Dublin. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  2. ^ a b "TCDSU Explained". Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 2010-07-29. [dead link]
  3. ^ "USI's Constituent Organisations". Union of Students in Ireland. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  4. ^ "Sabbatical Officers". Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 2010-07-29. [dead link]
  5. ^ "Elections and Referendums". Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 2010-07-29. [dead link]
  6. ^ a b "University and College Officers" (PDF). College Calendar, Part1. Trinity College Dublin. 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  7. ^ Genevieve Carbery (2010-01-01). "University student charge a 'fee'". The Irish Times.
  8. ^ Seán Flynn (2009-11-11). "Students at TCD campaign over cut in books budget". The Irish Times.
  9. ^ "TCD students occupy library in protest over cuts".
  10. ^ Paul Cullen (2010-04-04). "Old square hits Front Square". The Irish Times. By 11pm, only a fraction of the 8,000 ticketholders have filtered through the security checks.
  11. ^ Conor Sneyd. "Havin' such a good time, havin' a Ball?". The University Times. The contract with MCD for the running of the Ball is due to expire in 2012
  12. ^ "last.fm events". last.fm. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
  13. ^ "The University Times". Trinity College Dublin Students' Union. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  14. ^ "Smedias 2010 - Winners List". oxygen.ie. Retrieved 2010-07-29. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Genevieve Carbery (2010-04-04). "TCD paper takes prize". The Irish Times.
  16. ^ http://www.averilpower.ie/
  17. ^ http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single4967

External links