uo The University Observer
november 26th 2013 Volume XX issue vi universityobserver.ie
LITTLE GREEN CARS Adam O’Regan talks to Otwo about the Dublin music scene
LASTING LEGACY? A look at the challenges facing legacy media KATE PURCELL p5
CONFLICT RESOLUTION An investigation into how sport can unite a divided community
FENCING An interview with UCD Fencing Captain Aoife O’Mahony
above STUDENTS MARCH AS PART OF THE #RESRIGHTSNOW CAMPAIGN
AMY EUSTACE P8
SHANE HANNON P19
photo KILLIAN WOODS
STEVEN BALBIRNIE otwo p12
No confirmation for renegotiation
of Licence to Reside UCD Residences have refused to confirm to the University Observer that they are willing to renegotiate the Licence to Reside, following a petition requesting its renegotiation being handed over to Residence staff. UCD Students’ Union’s (UCDSU) #RESRIGHTSNOW campaign concluded last Thursday, November 21st, with a public demonstration that saw a group of students march on the UCD Residences Merville Offices to formally submit a petition of 1,000 students’ names demanding the renegotiation of the Licence to Reside. A member of Pulse Security was at the Merville Offices to accept the petition and, acting as a representative for UCD Residences, told UCDSU President, Mícheál Gallagher that they were willing to enter negotiations on the points that were raised by the campaign.
“[The campaign] culminated on Thursday with a public demonstration in which we marched from the Students’ Union to Merville Residences and the petition was handed to a representative of UCD Residences who accepted it and have indicated that they are willing to enter negotiations,” said Gallagher. When contacted for a comment on the possibility of UCD Residences entering discussions with UCDSU in relation to the Licence to Reside, a University spokesperson refused to confirm that they will be renegotiating any aspects of their policies. Gallagher said that he is confident UCD Residences will be open to negotiations, but will be approaching Governing Authority with the issue if no progress is made before December. “I’ll be pushing this now over the
next few weeks to see what results I get. If I don’t see any results before December, I’ll be bringing it before the Governing Authority of UCD.” Despite the uncertainty surrounding the possibility of renegotiating the Licence to Reside, Gallagher feels the campaign made progress for students’ rights on Residences and that feedback from the student body in relation to the campaign has been positive overall. “The campaign was received very well and I’m happy with the execution of the campaign… By and large, students said it’s about time something like this was done. They were very pleased with it.” He continued, “I got elected last March on the mandate that I was going to bring more campaigns to local issues on campus and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
» UCD Residences refuse to confirm they will renegotiate » Gallagher will bring issue to Governing Authority if no progress is made
Killian Woods deputy editor The #RESRIGHTSNOW campaign was launched by UCDSU to help improve the rights of students living on campus. The current Licence to Reside agreement that students must agree to in order to obtain campus accommodation sees them reduced to having less rights than private tenants. The Licence to Reside agreement between students and UCD Residences permits Residential Assistants (RAs) to enter students’ apartments without notice and also allows them to film inside the apartments. Both of these stipulations included in the Licence to Reside violate basic tenant rights contained within the Irish constitution.
THE ARTIST Drew Struzan explores the art of the cinema poster’
IAN MULHOLLAND Otwo P22
FASHION SPREAD
Med Day raises €23,000 for charity
Some alternatives for the festive season Otwo P20
Sylvester Phelan UCD Medical Society (MedSoc) have confirmed that they raised a grand total of €23,000 for charity during the course of Med Day’s fundraising events, exceeding lasts year’s total of €22,000. Med Day, organised by the MedSoc committee, took place on Friday, October 11th, commencing early on Friday morning and running until the early hours of Saturday morning, in various locations both on and off campus. Auditor of MedSoc, Kate Murphy said, “The money will be divided up between St. Vincent’s Foundation, Mater Foundation, National Maternity Hospital, Cardiac Risk in the young, Pieta House, Cystic
» The money will be divided among 10 charities, including UCD SVP and the Student Welfare Fund » Arts Day raised a further €1,100 for ISPCC
Fibrosis Foundation, Irish Hospice Foundation, Medical Students Relief Overseas, the Student Welfare Fund, and UCD Saint Vincent de Paul.” Over 600 volunteers acting as collectors donated their time to the fundraising initiative. Collectors were stationed all across Dublin from 7:00am, focusing on southside locations near to campus, but stretching from Dalkey to Phibsborough across the entire city centre as well, at communal locations such as at traffic lights and Dart and Luas stations. A Mycharity.ie page was also set up to facilitate online donations. Murphy was very happy with the event saying, “[It] went extremely well overall, we are delighted to be
able to contribute such a significant amount of money to such worthy Irish charities. We are so grateful to everyone who collected and contributed, and to the committee who worked tirelessly to pull the whole day off successfully.” Various activities and entertainment went on throughout the day, including a drag pompom dance, Med’s Got Talent and a Silent Disco. The Med’s Got Talent event and the silent disco both took place in the Clubhouse Bar, with prizes donated by Bank of Ireland for the events. For the pompom parade, which commenced just before midday, MedSoc members dressed in drag and began the parade in UCD
before ending ending in the main square in Trinity, while fellow society members collected donations from the public. Other events that took place included a human foosball table and a bungee run. Arts Day, run by ArtsSoc, also got final fundraising totals in this week. The group were successful in raising €1,100 for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC). The most popular event of the day was a slave auction in the Clubhouse Bar, which contributed the bulk of the funds. The event, which had not run since 2011, was well received and the committee are hopeful that they will be able to build on the success of this year going forward.
ucd weather
HARVEST FILMS
Pat Collins discusses the importance of Irish film JACK WALSH Otwo P8 by cathal nolan
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Cloudy, Cold And Dry
Less Cold, No Less Cloudy
Cold. Again. With Clouds.
Cold With Chance Of Snow
No Snow. Cold For No Reason
Why Is It So Cold?! november 26th 2013
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News
News in Brief Claudine Murphy
Former Head of ucd Folklore Department Dies Professor emeritus and former head of the Department of Irish Folklore in UCD, Bo Almqvist, passed away on the November 9th in Dublin after a short illness. He was 82-years-old. Professor Almqvist was born in Sweden, but moved to Ireland in the early 1970s. He specialised in Scandinavian, Irish folklore, and folk beliefs. He became a major figure in the field of Irish Folklore and he had been widely published on these subjects. Professor Almqvist is survived by his wife, Éilís, and three adult children, Marja, Ragnar and Olaf. Upon his death, the Irish folklore department released a statement. “The staff of the National Folklore Collection, colleagues and the staff and the Head of the School of Irish, Celtic Studies, Irish Folklore and Linguistics, extend their deepest sympathy to his wife Eilís Ní Dhuibhne, and go to his family. May he rest in peace.”
Researchers develop low-cost method of crime scene evidence collection Researchers in UCD have created a low-cost device that can aid in the collection of digital and computer data at a crime scene, which may be particularly useful for developing countries or those in which the police force may have a limited budget. The device, called FIREBRICK, is much cheaper than its commerical rivals and costs $199. It contains features such as data encryption and can be used by police as a pre-processing solution. Pavel Gladyshev of the Digital Forensics Investigation Research Laboratory (DigitalFIRE), which is based in UCD and part of LERO, the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre, said, “Digital data at crime scenes has an increasingly important role to play in building evidence against criminals or terrorists.” He added that this device will “help law enforcement agencies access and copy data on hard discs at a fraction of the costs of commercial systems.” Lee Tobin, a LERO researcher at UCD stated that fighting cybercrime was previously the “sole preserve of specialist police squads, but it has now become routine for regional and district police squads to become involved in the detection and analysis of this type of crime.”
UCD LGBT hosts Trans* Week Kevin Beirne
Last week saw the UCD Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans* (LGBT) Society host Trans* Week. The goal of the week was to raise awareness about the issues facing trans* people in Irish society. The week was chosen to coincide with the international Trans* Day of Remembrance, which honoured the 238 trans* people all over the world who were murdered over the last 12 months because of their gender identity. A remembrance service was held between the Newman and Tierney Buildings on Wednesday, November 20th. There were also events held in order to educate cisgendered, i.e. those whose gender identities align with the gender they were assigned at birth, students about trans* issues, such as the lack of safe bathroom facilities for trans* students in UCD. Dr Conor Buggy, Lecturer in Occupational and Environmental Studies, gave a presentation on the possibility of introducing gender-neutral bathrooms in UCD. Buggy explained that there is already a precedent for this in the UK in universities like
those of Sheffield and Edinburgh. Buggy expressed hope that UCD would become the first Irish university to adopt an official policy of installing gender-neutral bathrooms. There were also a series of classes held, such as an introduction to trans* language, as well as a class on trans* activism. A class titled “How to be a Trans* Ally” was also held. UCD LGBT Auditor, Jack Carolan said, “Following on from its great success last year, UCD Trans* Week was run again this year in conjunction with Transgender Day of Remembrance. “It’s one of the most important campaigns our society runs because although Ireland may be considered very progressive in its attitude towards gay rights and marriage equality, it is currently down near the bottom of the pack for its gender recognition laws and rights for trans* people in comparison with our EU counterparts. This week is run to show that yes, trans* people do exist and that they are just like you or me.” Carolan credited UCD LGBT Welfare Officer and UCDSU LGBT Coordinator, Sam Blanckensee, with organising the
week, saying he “has done an outstanding job in organising a Trans* Week that societies and organisations would envy, with events for trans* people and trans* allies (people who aren’t trans* who support trans* rights) alike.” According to Carolan, the Music Society, as well as UCDSU, played a significant role in the success of the Remembrance Vigil. Other events included a film screening of the classic film Boys Don’t Cry, as well as an excerpt from the award-winning play ‘The Big Deal’, both of which feature a trans* character as the protagonist.
Australian rugby international James Horwill being presented with a UCD rugby jersey by Director of Rugby Bobby Byrne photo james brady
Dragons’ Den coming to UCD Ciaran Sweeney A joint initiative run by the UCD Director of Student Services & Facilities, Dominic O’Keeffe, and the UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU) will see potential UCD student entrepreneurs and UCD student-run startups given the opportunity to be awarded funding from the UCD Innovation Fund to subsidise their business ventures. The project aims to address the lack of financial investment in UCD student entrepreneurs at present. Young entrepreneurs that are a part of small-scale startup projects, or even established
businesses, are being encouraged to bring their ideas to the Dragons’ Den-style panel to make their case. By bankrolling potential businesses ventures, UCD aims to ensure that such startups and creative ideas don’t go unnoticed. This competition, which is open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, has an overall sum of €15,000 to contribute towards aspiring students looking for investment. The Director of the Student Services & Facilities in UCD, Dominic O’Keefe expressed his satisfaction with the announcement
of the new competition and feels it will benefit those students who require that financial push to get their idea off the ground or take their existing business plan to the next level. “We’re delighted to bring UCD Students their very own Dragons’ Den in association with the UCD Students’ Union. “This will offer students a unique opportunity to pitch their business idea, whether it’s a new idea, a startup, or already in business and willing to expand. This investment from the University is a commitment to student
innovation and entrepreneurship.” Applications for the competition are now open and the panel for the competition will be announced within the coming weeks. Application forms are available online via www.ucd.ie/studentcentre/dragonsden, where you will also be able to find out further information about the competition. The deadline for applications is January 31st, 2014. The Dragons’ Den model for investing in small startups or established businesses originates from Japan, where it was initially a reality television programme
that allowed entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to a panel of experts, with the experts getting the option to buy stakes in the company in return for their investment. The show’s format has been replicated worldwide and become a popular reality television mainstay on the BBC and other broadcasters in the Australia and the United States. Check the UCD Student Centre Facebook page for further information about the UCD Dragons’ Den competition or if you have any queries, email studentcentre@ucd.ie
UCD and TCD ranked among world’s best business institutions Eduniversal have placed UCD Smurfit School of Business 48th in their recently released Business School Rankings for 2013. The Smurfit School of Business’s new ranking shows the school is continuing to build on its recent success where its MBA programme was ranked as one of the best in the world. In the same rankings, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) came 37th, while the London Business School, followed by Harvard Business School topped the poll. The rankings were released after evaluation on 1,000 business schools in 154 countries had been carried out. Head of the TCD School of Business, Dr Jim Quinn said that this was a very significant ranking for the college, especially as “the Deans and Directors of the 1,000 best academic institutions worldwide are asked to vote.” Dr Quinn continued, “Their high rating of our school is an acknowledgement of the international reputation of our research and education programmes along with the quality of our graduates,” while adding that he also felt the ranking was “timely” given the school’s expansion plans for a new state-ofthe-art facility to be built by 2017.
november 26th 2013
UCD win Irish moot court competition Micheal Halton A team of UCD students defeated University College Cork (UCC) in the final of the 16th annual Bréagchúirt Uí Dhálaigh Irish-language moot court at the Four Courts to win the overall competition. Bréagchúirt Uí Dhálaigh is a moot court competition organised by Gael Linn in memory of the late Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, former President and Chief Justice of Ireland. The team, consisted of 3rd year Law & Politics student, Aoibhinn Ní Chionnaith, and 4th year Law & Politics students Peadar
Ó Lamhna and Simon MacGiolla Easpaig. They claimed the first prize of €600, defeating teams from UCC, Dublin City University (DCU) and NUI Galway (NUIG). Ó Lamhna and MacGiolla were returning competitors to the competition having finished runners up in last year’s final. Once applicants submit their application for Bréagchúirt Uí Dhálaigh, the details of the case they will argue are released and they must then prepare a 25-minute submission for both sides of the case. The preliminary round takes place in the King’s Inns, with the final taking place in the Four Courts
before UCD alumna and recent Supreme Court appointee, Justice Mary Laffoy, Justice Colm Mac Eochaidh of the High Court, and Senior Counsel Séamus O Tuathail. Competitors are required to speak on behalf of both sides of the case during the competition, as Ó Lamhna described, “The day before the competition they told you which side you would be talking on behalf of first. So, on the morning of the competition we were talking on behalf of one side and in the afternoon we were the other half and then for the final it was decided by a flip of a coin.” Ó Lamhna was very grateful for
all the help and support his team got from UCD and expressed his “thanks to everyone in the Bord na nGaeilge Office in UCD, Clár na Gaeilge, and Anna Ní Uiginn and Barra Ó Leidhin” who won the competition for UCD in 2011 and assisted them over the last 2 years. Seán Ó Ceallaigh, of Gael Linn, said that the competition aims to “promote the use of the [Irish] language in the courts in general.” Many students interested in law “would hope to eventually get into King’s Inns to complete further studies to become barristers, so it’s great for them to spend a day there.
“[What they] really appreciate is the fact that once they go forward to the final, they get to stand up in court in front of High Court judges, or even Supreme Court judges like we had this year. It’s a fantastic experience for them and it gives them an idea of what life is going to be like ahead of them, if they do become barristers.” Ó Lamhna stressed that competitions like this are important for maintaining the presence of the Irish language within the courts. “There are court cases that go ahead through the Irish language” and “there is other work available for people studying law through the Irish language in Europe as well.”
News
UCD students win 33 honours at annual NUI awards
national
News in Brief Siobhan Copeland
DCU & SOI collaborate for research
Amy Boyle The annual National University of Ireland (NUI) Awards Ceremony, 2013, was held on Tuesday, November 12th in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. Some of the highest achieving students and graduates from Ireland’s universities and recognised colleges competed for awards and scholarships across a wide range of disciplines. The awards acknowledge students for outstanding achievements and determination in their fields of study. Both undergraduate and postgraduate students can compete for the awards and scholarships, which this year were valued at €800,000. These went to students and graduates from UCD, NUI Galway (NUIG), NUI Maynooth (NUIM), University College Cork (UCC), National College of Art & Design (NCAD), the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI), and St. Angela’s College. The Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, Dr Maurice Manning, was at the
ceremony to present the awards. Dr Manning emphasised the importance of encouraging and supporting academic excellence. He also expressed the impact of the benefits these studies and innovations will provide in the future. Manning went on to praise the students, saying, “We are pleased to be able to provide these scholarships and awards to encourage, support and reward students in all of our constituent bodies in the pursuit of new knowledge and forms of expression, not simply for their own sake, but ultimately so that their innovations can benefit our culture, our economy, and our citizens.” Funding for 11 major PhD studies were also presented at the ceremony through NUI Travelling Studentships. The Studentships will enable students to undertake vital research in disciplines such as Music, History, Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology.
The NUI Travelling Studentships allow graduates to take on postgraduate research abroad in the most reputable universities while working towards a doctoral degree. It is also possible for the students who receive the Travelling Studentships to complete their doctorate here in Ireland by registering with a NUI where the research programme involves a period or several periods abroad. Other awards presented on the day included the Mansion House Fund Scholarships in Irish and
Irish History, the Denis Phelan Scholarship for doctoral studies, the Dr Mary L. Thornton Scholarship in Education and the Dr H.H. Stewart Literary and Medical Scholarships. UCD graduates and students received a total of 33 awards. These included honours in a wide range of disciplines. Steven Balbirnie, Conal Ryan, and Anita Wester were awarded the NUI Travelling Studentships, while Sarah Hillis was given the Mary L. Thornton NUI Scholarship in Education.
Seventeen Dr Henry Hutchinson Stewart Medical Scholarships and Prizes were also awarded to UCD students, in addition to seven Dr H.H. Stewart Literary Scholarships and Prizes. Garry O’Brien was awarded the NUI Pierce Malone Scholarships, while the French Government Medal and NUI Prizes for Proficiency in French went to Muireann Ní Cheannabhain. Eoin C. McEvoy, also from UCD, claimed a Mansion House Fund Scholarship in Irish.
Dublin ranked as a top student-friendly city cited as the cause of Dublin dropping seven places since last year from 8th student-friendly city in 2012 to 15th this year. The decline is also partially attributed to a section of the survey that takes into consideration a city’s affordability for students. Dublin’s affordability score of just 42/100 brought down the city’s aggregate score, with rent prices rising referenced as the main contributing factor. It was also noted that rising rent prices bring legitimate concerns to Dublin’s universities in relation to retaining the volume of international
students coming to the city. Amongst the top 10 student friendly cities, there were four European cities: Paris, London, Zurich and Munich. Dublin, a comparatively small European city, was ranked alongside Vienna and above cities like New York, Tokyo and Barcelona. Despite achieving a respectable place in the top student-friendly cities rankings, the latest findings to be released by QS don’t reflect the academic quality of the Dublin-based universities. The QS University Rankings are dominated by English and American universities, with the highest
ranked Irish university, Trinity College Dublin, placed 62nd. These rankings are based on academic excellence and not by considerations relating to the quality of student life. They focus on assessing the factors such as the amount of funding given to high-level graduate research and not on the the average undergraduate or postgraduate student’s experiences of college. In order to be featured in the rankings for top student-friendly cities, the city must have a population of 250,000 and must possess two universities that are in the QS
Special Olympics Ireland (SOI) and Dublin City University (DCU) have announced the launch of project SOPHIE (Special Olympics Programme Health Impact Evaluation). This involves research into the health and wellbeing of people with intellectual disabilities. The project, funded by the Iris O’Brien Foundation, will take two years to complete and the outcome is said to be of particular benefit to the families, carers, and participants of SOI activities. The launch was announced at an event in DCU earlier last week. President of DCU, Brian McGrath, expressed his delight at the collaboration of DCU and SOI for project SOPHIE, describing it as mutually beneficial and “yet another example of DCU’s commitment to promote and encourage social inclusion and diversity.” The study, led by Dr Mary Rose Sweeney, will involve participants completing questionnaires on their health and wellbeing, health service use, diet and physical activity levels. Matt English, Chief Executive Officer of Special Olympics Ireland, said, “Research of this nature will allow us to understand more deeply the ‘change’ it helps create at a personal, family, community and societal level.”
All-Ireland Scholarships awarded
Oisin Tegeler Dublin has been ranked as one of the top student-friendly cities in the world after being placed 15th out of 50 cities that were considered worldwide. The British company that specialises in analysis of education, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), published the rankings and gave Dublin 92/100 for student mix, 80/100 for quality of life and 77/100 for university rankings, while employer activity was rated at 75/100. This year, the criteria considered for the rankings has significantly changed. These changes have been
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World University Rankings. This stipulation rules out a significant number of other cities in Ireland and meant only 98 countries qualified for the survey. The best represented countries in the survey were the US, with seven cities in the top 50, Australia boasting six cities, and the United Kingdom and Canada having three cities each. The top 10 was announced in the following order. Paris, London, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Zurich, Hong Kong, Boston, Montreal and Munich.
Winners of the 2013 All-Ireland Scholarships have been officially recognised and awarded with third level scholarship certificates, at a ceremony hosted by the University of Limerick (UL). They were presented by Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan TD and the Minister for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, Dr Stephen Farry. CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary was also on hand to congratulate the students on their successes. The educational scheme, sponsored by JP McManus, provides financial assistance of €6,750 per annum in the Republic of Ireland and £5,500 in Northern Ireland to high-achieving students who have completed their Leaving Certificate or A-Level examinations. Niall McCoy from Armagh was presented with a surprise commemorative gift for being the 850th winner of the JP McManus 3rd level scholarship. McManus spoke about the scheme, stating, “Our objective in establishing the All-Ireland Scholarships is to give the opportunity of third level education to a number of young people throughout the island of Ireland who might otherwise not have this choice.” JP McManus has contributed a total of €32 million in support of third level education initiatives and it is estimated that over 1,300 students from all 32 counties will benefit from the scheme over its duration.
NUI Maynooth Expands To Kilkenny
UCD students join 100minds campaign for Temple Street Sinead Conroy In its inaugural year, more than 30 UCD students have been selected to take part in the 100minds campaign. The project, which aims to impact on the lives of 130,000 children who pass through Temple Street each year, will help improve hospital infrastructure, patient quality of life, and family support systems through charitable fundraising. The students taking part in the campaign will be required to raise €1,000 in donations that will lead to a collective contribution of €100,000 to aid sick children in Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
Students who have been accepted to the programme are partnered with a representative from one of the many companies endorsing the project in order to receive fundraising advice as well as career guidance. Among the many companies that are onboard this year are KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), LinkedIn, Google, Microsoft, Ernst and Young, Deloitte, Accenture, Web Summit, Leinster Rugby, and St Vincent’s Hospital. Andrew Lynch, a second year Commerce student, is one of UCD’s many successful applicants this
year. The project is “a unique and fantastic opportunity for ambitious students to collaborate with like-minded people,” says Lynch. “They can build their professional profile and ultimately their potential for employment. 100minds allows students to achieve this while providing significant financial and moral support to the chosen charity.” The founder of the project, Declan Egan, says that the idea originated during his final year studying Commerce in UCD. Now an account manager for Google UK, Egan hopes to run the project every year, focusing on a different
challenge or social issue. The beginning phase of the project saw the students meeting with their partner organisation to discuss where the funds raised should be allocated. In agreement with Temple Street, the students plan to allocate the €100,000 towards machines and equipment (€60,000), Every Child Deserves A Childhood recreational facilities (€27,000) and family support systems (€13,000). Each student has been supplied with a personal profile page in order to track their fundraising. All donations made by members
of the public can be lodged on this page meaning that all money raised is completely transparent, one of the aims of Egan when establishing the project. The 100 students will now be challenged to develop and utilise their entrepreneurial skills in order to organise charity events that will help them meet their €1,000 target by February 2014, with all donations going directly to Temple Street Children’s Hospital. For more information on the 100minds project, you can visit their website at 100minds.org
NUI Maynooth (NUIM) have launched the First Arts Project at Maynooth’s Kilkenny Campus. This project involves full-time Arts students completing their first year of an undergraduate Arts Degree in Kilkenny before progressing to the main campus in Maynooth for second and third year. President of NUIM, Professor Philip Nolan, described this as a “unique initiative” and a “very important development for the University and for the students on the programme.” Kilkenny County Hurling Manager Brian Cody also praised the project. “Working in this type of close-knit community gives students the opportunity to get the fundamentals in place, which will be so beneficial for the next two years of the course in Maynooth.” Students are already seeing the benefits of this initiative with regard to making friends easier, getting settled in quicker, smaller class sizes, and financial savings for commuters. Cody encouraged students to give themselves “the opportunity to look back on these college years, especially this year in Kilkenny with really fond memories.” november 26th 2013
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news analysis
international
News in Brief
Res rights soon? As the Students’ Union campaign kicks into gear, Cian Carton looks at the potential benefits to students living on campus
Donal Lucey
Queen’s SU bans ‘Blurred Lines’ Playing Robin Thicke’s controversial hit ‘Blurred Lines’ has been banned on campus by the Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union. The motion, proposed by Student Officer for Equality and Diversity, Caoimhe McNeill, prohibits the song from being played in campus bars and clubs, on Queen’s Radio, in cafes and at club and society events. Commercial outlets will also be prevented from playing the song, with the motion stating the station must be “changed immediately” where an external radio station plays it. According to McNeill, over 20 other Students’ Unions have removed the same song from their playlists. She feels this is a positive “step in a right direction to make sure SU members feel safe on campus.” The ban has not been universally accepted, with those speaking against the motion to remove the track calling it “tantamount to censorship.” It was noted that “millions of other songs” contain similar lyrics with connotations not far removed from that of Thicke’s most recent release. The motion passed narrowly by four votes, with 26 students voting in favour of the motion against 22 opposed.
Police spying on Cambridge students Cambridgeshire police have been attempting to spy on the political activities of Cambridge University students. Police officers have tried to recruit informants from the University to feed them information on students involved in demonstrations, their vehicles and their Facebook activity. According to Chief Constable Simon Parr, this was routine practice. He commented, “We are gathering intelligence from a number of sources, as every force does, on things we believe may be interest in keeping the public safe… the only way we know if there are things we need to be interested in is by trying to find out.” The move has been condemned by 130 Cambridge University academics. They have signed a letter addressed to the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, calling on him to “condemn such covert practices.” They believe that a “threat of such unjustifiable surveillance” will discourage students from becoming involved with campaigning organisations, including Cambridge University Students’ Union. Cambridge officials have yet to respond to the issue, claiming it is a matter for the police, not the University.
President leads university strike negotiations The Academic Starr Union of Universities (ASUU), who represent Nigeria’s public universities, may be about to end their fourmonth strike over funding issues. Union leaders have sent a draft agreement to all branches, and it is currently under discussion. This draft agreement arose after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan reached out to ASUU President, Nasir Isa Fagge, with an invitation to the presidential palace for talks. The strike had become a source of national concern, as universities have been paralysed since July. The Nigerian government have offered to provide $1.3 billion US Dollars in 2013 and $1.4 billion each year from 2014-18 for the revitalization of the university system. It has also indicated that it is willing to engage with universities in special consultancies in an effort to improve their income generation base. Branches of the ASUU are currently holding congresses to debate the agreement, but it has been indicated that the majority will pass the draft. Concerning when lecturers will return to classrooms, Fagge commented: “That is up to our members.”
The UCD Students’ Union’s (UCDSU) #ResRightsNow campaign reached the pinnacle of its exposure last week. Its effects have resonated with students, to a degree, and it continues to garner attention due to the SU successfully highlighting to student and national media alike the importance of securing fair rights for those living on UCD Residences. The key issue in this debate rages around UCD’s Licence to Reside agreement that students must sign in order to secure accommodation in one of the UCD Residences. This document does not recognise students as being leaseholders, which would confer upon them certain legal rights as private tenants. Instead, it is alleged that this is leaving students open to exploitation under the contract. UCDSU President, Mícheál Gallagher outlined that this campaign would be a crucial part
of his year in the job. He stood by his pre-election promises last March and brought the rights of the students he represents onto the agenda, seeking nothing less than a renegotiation of the License to Reside. The system for appealing fines was what originally drew Gallagher into the conflict, after it was revealed that several students were terrified of appealing a fine due to the threat of increased fines for a failed appeal. The renegotiation would result in some form of a lease agreement being drawn up that would definitely benefit students and allow them to engage with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) if they are involved in disputes with UCD. Last year, then Chairperson of the UCD Student Legal Service (SLS), Patrick Fitzgerald said, “This would ensure greater transparency than we have now and ensure students enjoy rights as tenants. The present situation
in otwo
annie mac & more
where the appeal process is operated by UCD has led to an arbitrary system that truly lacks proper procedure, transparency and independence.” The sheer amount of money that UCD Residences has withheld in deposits has also come in for criticism, with UCD amassing €200,000 during the 2010/11 and the 2011/12 academic years. While different claims about the Licence to Reside continue to arise, the situation of Clause 23, which states, “In the event of an actual or potential risk of injury to people or of damage to property, enforcement may include the use of CCTV or other recording devices which may record the activity of the occupier and any other persons attending at the premises,” seems to have accelerated the conflict. Can anyone blame UCDSU for being up in arms that Residential Assistants (RAs) are allowed to walk into a student’s room and film
them without prior consent? Gallagher’s assertion that this practice breaches the fundamental rights of students to privacy as guaranteed in the constitution shows exactly what the debate now encompasses. If UCDSU succeed in their campaign, how will this affect UCD? An argument can be made that lease agreements for students would leave the University widely exposed to legal challenges, for it would be forced to comply with the likes of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, but is this such a bad thing? UCD is a centre of education, not a private business out to make a profit. Services like UCD Residences should be what they are: services. They should be brought in line and be answerable to basic tenants laws that are there to protect the rights of Irish citizens. Surely the University must recognise on-campus accommodation
as being part of the overall university experience, that students can get on with their education without the fear of being fined for simple misunderstandings in their residences? This campaign has highlighted that although students may not care if their SU is fighting for their rights, they should be happy that their representative body is standing up for them. UCDSU have followed through on their promise that after leaving USI, they would focus on matters closer to home and focus on campus issues rather than national agendas. There is no official statement from UCD Residences that they are now willing to negotiate the terms of residence, despite accepting the petition from Gallagher following the Student Union’s march to Merville Residence Offices. At present, this conflict is at a stalemate, but with the issue very much on the agenda the ultimate goal is not far out of reach.
HORSE RACING IRELAND
STUDENT
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Horse Racing Ireland is the national authority for racing in Ireland. Our mission is to develop and promote Ireland as a world centre of excellence for horse racing and breeding. INTERNSHIP DETAILS:
Placements at Fairyhouse, Navan, Leopardstown and Tipperary Racecourses and Horse Racing Ireland headquarters in Co. Kildare. Open to all college students with an interest in and a passion for, the racing industry. Typical internship opportunities include roles in the areas of racing administration, marketing and racecourse operations. Duration: 8-10 weeks (Summer 2014) Locations: Horse Racing Ireland (Co. Kildare), Leopardstown Racecourse, Tipperary Racecourse, Fairyhouse Racecourse, Navan Racecourse. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
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Closing date for applications is Monday 10th February 2014. Interviews will take place in March 2014
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@GoRacing
Leopardstown Racecourse
races.ie
Tipp Yellow. C:0 M:10 Y:100 K:0 Tipp Blue.
november 26th 2013
C:100 M:44 Y:0 K:0
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Stop the presses
5
With new media becoming most people’s preferred method of accessing the news, Kate Purcell considers the future of print media
From watching newsreels documenting the Second World War in the cinemas during the 1940s, to the early days of television and now our increasingly technology-dependant era which is immersed in stimuli, print media has encountered it’s fair share of strife. Nothing compares, however, to its decline in recent years. There is no doubt that the advent of an ever-accessible internet by way of smartphones, tablets and laptops, fresh news is always at our finger tips. This has had a detrimental effect on print media. It appears that in spite of a sharp decrease in advertisement revenue and the downsizing of the newspaper industry as a whole, there is an ever-growing demand for news. This somewhat positive trend gives hope that with some adjustments, print and digital media could enjoy some sort of a symbiotic relationship. Worldwide, the newspaper industry has suffered an enormous upheaval since the mid 2000s, with an increasing trend of consumers reading news online. In the United States, smaller metropolitan daily papers have been forced to downsize or shut their doors completely, with larger newspapers running into financial difficulties due to their stock values and company valuations falling. An example lies in the San Diego Union Tribune, a paper worth $1 billion in 2004. In 2009, it was forced to sell to a private equity firm for just $50 million. This was a “rock bottom price,” according to the Wall Street Journal, who also stated that the decline of print media has been so great that while many important newspapers are for sale, their liabilities outweigh their assets, leading to reluctance to buy. The industry in the UK has encountered similar issues of late with a fall off in ad-related income and job cuts. The ‘Journalism Job Losses: Tracking Cuts Across the Industry’ report from 2010 suggests that one in ten UK publications would need to halve their publication frequency or
switch to online media to survive. These projections of the future of the print industry are damning and depict a sector that is unable to adapt to the changing nature of how people interact with media. It is due to the steady rise of search engines and immediate access to information that print media has been brought to it knees. Consumers from previous decades could only access news daily. Today, however, the public is less likely to read out of general interest, but to seek out particular writers or articles relevant to their interests instead. The technological lag in the world of print media is what has led to people using websites such as Twitter, the Huffington Post and Reddit as a means of instantly accessing news. While the demand for news is clearly sky-rocketing, with interested parties becoming younger, the study ‘Wag the Blog: How reliance on traditional media and the internet influence credibility perception on weblogs among blog users’ suggests that many readers attribute more credibility to the news they read in blogs and online sources than that found in their traditional counterparts. Blogging news websites with politically-minded writers have grown exponentially in recent years, and have been credited with bringing to light international stories of corruption. If not for bloggers, there is little doubt that feminism would not be enjoying its current renaissance and a western audience would know little of the drastic stance Russia has taken on the LGBT community. In an attempt to compete, many newspapers have taken their articles online and employed apps as a means of drawing in a younger audience, but this has done little to reclaim the finances lost in recent years, with a mere 15% rise in ad revenues. The future for print media lies in its ability to adapt. Other industries have suffered similar problems in the past and have survived. One need not look any further than the music industry to see the truth in this. In spite of the
It appears that in spite of a sharp decrease in advertisement revenue and the downsizing of the newspaper industry as a whole, there is an ever-growing demand for news
rise in piracy, record companies are learning to use this means of massive exposure to bring in more revenue and have adapted by providing a wide range of music for a nominal fee through measures like Spotify. While the pitfalls encountered by print media in the past appear to be pebbles in the ocean compared to the internet, there is a way back. Arianna Huffington, founder of the hugely popular news site, the Huffington Post, believes that newspapers need
to utilise their strong consumer relationships and embrace technological advances to live on. She states that an enduring change in the industry is required and that the proliferation of traditional journalism lies in the hybridisation of the award-winning writing seen in traditional media. There will always be a demand for, and the ability to, distribute to millions instantly. Reader engagement is key, and allowing
some form of participation will bring in a wider, younger audience. Jason E. Klein, CEO of Newspaper National Network, sees finding a niche for print media as vital to its survival. This is potentially how different the experience is to reading news on a tablet or phone is to reading printed news. Perusing a broadsheet is an immersive leisure experience that online media simply cannot replicate. This anachronism
is in and of itself attractive to many readers, the ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ effect. Essentially, it is the news itself and not the medium through which it is conveyed that is of vital importance. It is summed up best by Arthur Sulzberg Jr., Chairman and publisher of the New York Times, “Newspapers cannot be defined by the second word, paper. They’ve got to be defined by the first word, news.”
Money talks As US elections are more expensive than ever, Elizabeth O’Malley examines the link between money and politics
Democracy rests on the consent of the governed, the idea that those who we elect will represent our interests. In the US, money has the effect of distorting this paradigm in favour of big business and against the interests of the majority of citizens
Why do American politicians need to be dragged kicking and screaming to pass a law which allows its citizens, not free healthcare, but the right to buy insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions? Why does the US allow foods and drugs on the market that the EU has banned for being unsafe and unhealthy? Why does the US spend more on weapons and defence than the next 25 biggest spenders combined? The answer lies in a decision made by the Supreme Court of the US in the 1970s that struck down an attempt to limit campaign donations and ruled that spending money to
$300 million on lobbying and political donations, it’s clear that these groups are willing to invest money in order to try and sway public representatives to legislate in a way they find favourable. Yes, this means that certain groups, such as charities and other non-profit organisations will have some sway, but those with the most money have the most power, and that’s more likely to be BP than Greenpeace. Additionally, it stands to reason that politicians should not need to be paid by these organisations in order to make law that helps people. In Ireland, we are not immune from our public representatives being controlled by money. After all, the Mahon Tribunal exposed part of what we already suspected; that it had become de rigeur for our government during the boom years to award development contracts in return for donations. But apart from individuals influencing once off decisions, Irish politics has, for the most part, avoided the enormous pitfalls of the US system. Advertising on TV and radio is prohibited; meaning campaign spending is minimal. Costs are also subsidised by the government. The Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011, which limits party donations to a total of €2,500, is currently making its way through the Oireachtas. influence elections is constitutionally a candidate buys often determines Why is this an issue? Democracy protected. Essentially, money equals the winner of an election. Policy rests on the consent of the governed, speech. Another decision in 2010 positions, performance in debates and the idea that those who we elect allowed unlimited donations by personal histories still play a role, but will represent our interests. In anyone, individual or corporate. money remains key to getting elected. the US, money has the effect of Contributors can remain anonymous. If you’re running for election, you’re distorting this paradigm in favour From the moment a Congressperson not going to be able to raise millions of big business and against the gets into office, they are required of dollars from private donations interests of the majority of citizens. $35,000 a week in order to be alone. What happens next is a group Politicians use up their political able to run in the next election. with an interest in having sway over influence, time and money The Senate is even more the political process steps in with focussing on the issues important expensive at $60,000 a week, a chequebook. They’ll fund you if to their campaign contributors, according to the average election you give them something in return. leading to legislative inertia. Any spending numbers from 2012. With Coca Cola alone spending attempts to reform the education Money has become crucial for over $2 million, the oil lobby system, fix social security or House, Governor, and Presidential spending over $100 million, and the tackle poverty are put on the back races where the amount of advertising health lobby spending an incredible burner, or forgotten completely.
That’s not taking into account those times when a particular lobby is opposing some reform you want to make. For example, the US, despite being a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, has never enforced it. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, there has been no real regulation put in place to limit exposure in the banking sector. Any attempts at reform of guncontrol laws are vigorously blocked by the NRA and other groups. A good example is when the government tried to promote healthier lunches in schools by limiting salty food and adding more vegetables. This was defeated through lobbying by Coca Cola, Del Monte and others. This is where the infamous ‘pizza is a vegetable’ rule came from. By ensuring that those with money wield political influence, you entrench the interests of the already powerful in society. It is no wonder then that the US has the worst income equality in the developed world. It is also no wonder that the US has the fourth lowest tax intake out of the OECD countries, beating only Turkey, Chile and Mexico. The problem with saying that spending money is a form of freedom of speech is that it is based on the flawed perception that if you don’t allow large donations, either by individuals or corporations, then you are limiting their rights to express themselves. Instead the opposite is true. By allowing an unlimited amount of money to be donated, you rob those who don’t have money of their voices. It seems unlikely that anything will change. Since the Supreme Court has taken a position that money is speech and corporations are people, which have been generously described as legal fictions, it seems that any proposed change in the law would be struck down. Then again, a new generation on the bench and informed debate have been known to change supposedly intractable positions before. november 26th 2013
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Women in the workplace With the pay gap closing and women taking the lead in professions of authority, are we closer than ever to workplace equality, asks Anna Carnegie
There is no doubt that, in professional terms, women in Ireland have come a long way. After all, it was only 40 years ago that women employed in the public service and banking sectors had to give up their jobs after they got married. Not only that; the range of professions women are employed in has also expanded dramatically. There was a time when your career path was completely predetermined by your gender. Teacher, nurse, and secretary were the so-called female roles; while jobs such as doctors, bankers, lawyers, and politicians all fell into the male remit. Although Ireland’s political landscape may have issues with female participation, arguably the most powerful political force in Europe is Angela Merkel. On a wider scale, women are taking up more and more jobs as doctors and lawyers. In fact, research by Cambridge University found that there are actually more women than men in these high-status roles. So is that the end of the story? Have we as a developed society reached a state of professional gender equality? Well, not exactly. Despite the improved conditions and the rising opportunities, dig a little deeper and existing inequalities will begin to emerge. Although women may be employed in what were previously considered male jobs, there remain two fundamental differences between the sexes in this regard. Firstly, despite moves to the contrary, it is an unfortunate fact that women are still paid less than men. Related to this, it is rarely women who make the senior positions of a given company or service. Yes there are exceptions, like Merkel, but on the whole, men are still the top dogs of the working world. They are the consultants, the chief executives and the honourable justices. For their female counterparts, on the other hand, the concept of the ‘glass ceiling’ persists. While some strides toward equality have been made, it seems like there
According to Sandberg, a large part of the reason women don’t go for the promotion in their office, or take on tasks which may gain them acclaim, is down to a lack of selfconfidence and a fear of looking domineering or not meeting the standard
suaded by perceived family and childcare commitments. There is definitely some semblance of truth in this. A lot of women are reluctant to go for the top job. Many do have to think about practicalities as regards their parental responsibilities. But why? Such decisions are not made in a vacuum; they originate from much deeper-set ideologies about women’s place in professional society. Let’s take the earlier example of political powerhouse Angela Merkel. Have you ever noticed how she is portrayed in the media? References to her “stern” temperament are not uncommon. Neither are patronising comments about her appearance. Therein lies the rub. In order to break through that glass ceiling, women must be prepared to take a hell of a lot of slack. Qualities that
are still a lot of barriers to break down. Doing this is no easy task. Perhaps it should be asked, is this somehow our fault? Have women brought this on themselves? For those of you not familiar with Sheryl Sandberg, she is the chief operating officer of social networking site Facebook and has spoken extensively on the need for women to “lean in” professionally. According to Sandberg, a large part of the reason women don’t go for the promotion in their office, or take on tasks which may gain them acclaim, is down to a lack of self-confidence and a fear of looking domineering or not meeting the standard. She also asserts that women often over-think decisions surrounding whether to push forward professionally, and are more likely than men to be dis-
are deemed admirable in males, such as assertiveness and decisiveness, are framed in a completely different vocabulary when applied to women where words like bossiness, coldness and heartlessness are used. Then there is the issue of childcare. Unlike our Scandinavian contemporaries, there is little emphasis placed on paternal leave in our society. Equally, childcare in Ireland can be expensive and difficult to access. There is hope that the government-introduced free pre-school year will help to change that. Ultimately, however, there is a large proportion of time when someone needs to be with the children, and usually that someone is female. What about the younger generation and the fact that girls are now outperforming boys in the Leaving Certificate? Surely this is a sign that
things are on the up for female career trajectories? You might think so, but in actuality, it only makes the details outlined above all the more worrying. This is for the simple fact that in spite of getting better exam results, women continue to be outperformed by men later on in their working lives. Yes, there have been improvements and it is fantastic that girls are becoming more interested and engaged in subjects like physics and technology, once deemed masculine. However, let’s not get complacent; there is still a way to go. If you need proof of this, look no further than the Irish Constitution, in which, according to Article 41.2, a woman’s place is still located within the home. This is one of many sore reminders that women have a long way to go before reaching true equality in the working world.
attention is paid to hidden crimes that net millions of dollars. This leads to a dual justice system where crimes that are equally damaging to society receive vastly disproportionate punishments. This leads to complaints, even by judges, that there is one law for the rich and one for the poor. As the famous saying goes, the rich get richer, the poor get prison. White-collar criminals can afford better lawyers than street criminals, which partly explains how they receive far more lenient sentences. Getting tough on crime is a promise that is regularly made by politicians. It is usually interpreted to mean more police in the ghetto, more harassment of youths and
even racial profiling. This misses the shark beneath the water. The financial crisis gave us a glimpse of the extent of fraud and theft committed by respected elites that by far dwarfed the pickings of a street corner gang. If we really wanted to get tough on crime, we would send the police to the banks and commercial centres where the big money crime happens. We should no longer be distracted by the visible street crimes involving small amounts of money. Instead, we need to focus on the other kind of crime, the one committed by middle class men in suits. They are not the stereotypical criminals, but then again, things are rarely as they first appear.
The other kind of crime In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Robert Nielsen looks at the real costs of white-collar crime
When most people picture crime, they see a man hiding in an alleyway ready to jump out and steal your wallet, or perhaps a burglar who sneaks into your house at night to steal your television, or maybe someone who breaks into your car and steals it because you parked it in a bad area. But there is a type of crime that is greater than all of these combined. A crime not committed by poor minorities, but by wealthy professionals in offices of big businesses. A crime committed not by a desperate underclass, but by the elites of society. A crime that costs society more than all other thefts combined, yet rarely results in prosecution. This is, of course, white-collar crime. White-collar crime costs an estimated $600-750 billion dollars in America annually, or roughly 5% of GDP. A single fraud could cost millions of dollars. This costs more than all other crimes combined. White-collar crime does more damage to society than all forms of stealing and violence combined. Contrary to the common perception, the most dangerous criminal is not a youth in a hoody, but a middle-aged man in a suit. The biggest hot spots for crime are not the ghettoes, but the financial districts. It is not in council estates, but commercial offices that most criminals spend their time. Not only does this type of crime deprive ordinary people of their money, but is also linked to harm to the environment and lax workplace safety regulations, showing that there is also a physical cost. For instance, companies can get away with negligent homicide through exposure to chemicals such as asbestos. There are three reasons why whitecollar crime gets so little attention from either the media or the justice system. Firstly, unlike other crimes, it is relatively unseen. No physical force is used and no one physically takes money out of the victims’ pockets.
november 26th 2013
A major feature of white-collar crime is the low reporting of it. It was estimated that 88% of whitecollar crime is not reported to the police. Most of the time people do not even realise that they are a victim. In this sense, whitecollar crime is a silent danger
It is nowhere near as visible as muggings or shoplifting, even if far more money is involved. Often the victims don’t even know they have been robbed. It is extremely difficult to find evidence and prove someone is guilty of white-collar crime. The second is due to the type of people who commit white-collar crime. They are not poor minorities, but rather wealthy professionals in well connected corporations. They are the elite and use their influence to divert attention. The poor on the other hand have no such protection, and so it is far easier to penalise burglars and petty thieves than corporations and their army of lawyers. Thirdly, people tend to be indifferent to business crime, or even
sympathise with the offenders who have been caught. Because these crimes occur within the workplace, there is the perception that this is just how business operates. A major feature of white-collar crime is the low reporting of it. It was estimated that 88% of whitecollar crime is not reported to the police. Most of the time people do not even realise that they are a victim. In this sense, whitecollar crime is a silent danger. Even when people realise they have been scammed, many do not report it, as they are afraid they will be ridiculed or blamed for their gullibility. Instead, victims believe it was their own fault they were tricked and have no one to blame
but themselves. As white-collar crime is not as straight forward as street crime, people are unclear over where they stand with the law and fail to prosecute even when it is in within their rights. There is a notable disparity between punishment of street crime and white-collar crime. A street robbery of a couple hundred dollars from a corner shop carries the same sentence of 18 months to two years as that of a million dollar scam. Were someone to rob one million dollars in an armed robbery, they would get ten years. Huge resources are poured into tackling highly visible crimes involving low amounts of money, like muggings, while far less
Degree of choice
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7
Assessing the value of a modern day Arts degree, Elizabeth O’Malley discusses what courses universities should be offering to students
Let’s talk numbers. According to Forbes, subjects studied as part of Arts degrees, such as English and Philosophy, are ranked exclusively under the Top Ten Least Valuable College Majors. Meanwhile, more than 90% of graduates from subjects such as Medicine, Engineering, Veterinary and Mathematical Science are employed. A 2013 report by American consulting firm McKinsey finds that 42% of Arts graduates feel that college didn’t prepare them for employment, a higher dissatisfaction rate than from any other degree. 47% said that if they had the choice do their degree over again, they would have chosen a different subject, again a higher percentage than any other course. For the lucky few who do get employed, they earn the least out of any other degree, a third less than those who graduated with a Science degree, according to a British Labour Force Survey from 2012. The idea that an Arts degree is useless has been around for a while, but the discussion about whether they should remain part of university course catalogues has come back to the fore with the discussion of youth unemployment. The main issue is that Arts degrees, by their nature, are unable to teach practical skills needed in the workplace. Apart from teaching English, when are you going to need to write a comparative essay or look for major themes in a piece of prose? Things like working in groups, problem solving and adaptability do not form part of the course. While this problem is not specific to Arts, it is certainly the best example of a course which is taught through lectures, exams and essays. Group projects tend not to happen because of the subjective nature of a course like English or International Relations. There is no right answer, only opinion. This means that there can’t be problem solving either. You can’t be taught practical elements of your course like you can
The idea that an Arts degree is useless has been around for a while, but the discussion about whether they should remain part of university course catalogues has come back to the fore with the discussion of youth unemployment
with Science or Medicine or Law, because these courses are purely theoretical. Knowing about theories of democracy is unlikely to become part of your job description, even if you end up working in the field of politics. Some argue that skills such as research, evaluating evidence, and presenting a convincing argument can be gleaned from courses taught in Arts. However, it is certainly a roundabout way to teach these skills and often students find it difficult to adapt what they know to the requirements of a job. Additionally, these skills are taught in more straightforward ways in other degrees; which means that even if Arts degrees do provide some benefit, it is less than any other degree at the same cost. There are many things to be said in favour of an Arts degree. We do need people who can think in unconventional ways and focus on
the bigger picture rather than just the specific task at hand. Every society needs some people who are devoted to more creative and artistic activities, or who are the guardians of our broader heritage. For those that leave secondary school uncertain about what their next step is, doing an Arts degree gives them the opportunity to try a number of different subjects and to develop some useful skills in the process. Learning Arts subjects such as Politics or Economics informs our worldview and provides context for our understanding of current affairs. The problem is the lack of honesty, not just with subjects like English, but also Journalism and Psychology. Our students put these options down on the CAO because they seem interesting without realising that, for example, it’s almost impossible to make a living in journalism
unless you happen to be Pat Kenny. Or if you’re studying Psychology, you will need to get a PhD in order to get a limited number of jobs. For better or worse, we’ve gotten to a situation where you are no longer guaranteed a job by mere virtue of having a degree. We present success stories of people with Arts degrees who ended up becoming the head of a major corporation without taking into account that they had to deal with a different job market decades ago. Nowadays, the only fields where having a degree prepares you for having a job is in areas like Science and Engineering, where your practical experience as part of your course accurately reflects what will be expected of you when you graduate. Courses like Law have started moving towards more practical skills and away from theory without application, yet Arts courses have no
room for growth without including some sort of inter-disciplinary element. Maybe we should teach knowledge for knowledge’s sake. If you go in with your eyes open, knowing that at the end of three years you’ll have to retrain in order to get a job, then maybe you should be allowed to make that choice. But given how much easier it is to inform yourself about these subjects through free online courses, should we really be subsidising your personal growth at the cost of the taxpayer? Removing pure Arts courses from universities would have a number of implications for all levels of education. If anything, it would become more important to teach students about these subjects at secondary level in order to preserve our culture and broaden students’ minds. Perhaps there is a place for teaching Arts; it’s just that it is not in university.
Money doesn’t buy happiness With research showing that levels of depression rise as a society gets richer, Fionnán Long considers whether we should be more concerned with happiness than GDP
Thomas Jefferson articulated what would become the core principle of western liberal capitalism: “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Somewhere along the way liberty, or freedom, became linked with freedom of the markets. An orthodox understanding of economics is based on the idea that productivity leads to prosperity. In a free market, this leads to more choices, a higher standard of living and presumably happiness. Traditionally, measures of production such as Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) have been used to assess the success or failure of a government. The King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, began to focus on the happiness of his nation in the early 70s. His guiding philosophy is summed up by his phrase “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.” The move at the time was met with scorn and condescension from most academic economists. The idea has now begun to draw traction, however, as David Cameron has introduced a wellbeing index in the United Kingdom. The Stiglitz Commission, convened by former French President Nicholas Sarkozy, recommended introducing a measure of happiness to guide policy decisions. The problem with Gross National Happiness (GNH) can be summed up with a simple question, how do you measure it? Measurers of happiness must rely on how participants in a survey report they feel. Data gathered is distorted by a number of factors. Do you feel happier today because it’s sunny? Do you feel uncomfortable saying that you’re unhappy? Is happiness to be measured against other people? An individual’s self-reported happiness varies significantly from moment to moment, depending on whether they are stuck in traffic or on their lunch break. How a question is formulated and the context in which
Measurers of happiness must rely on how participants in a survey report they feel. Data gathered is distorted by a number of factors. Do you feel happier today because it’s sunny? Do you feel uncomfortable saying that you’re unhappy?
it is asked will change the answer. Moreover, whether or not you describe yourself as happy has as much to do with how you feel as how you understand happiness. The understanding of happiness varies significantly between social and cultural groups and across time. Our understanding of happiness also varies depending on an individual’s natural temperament. It is difficult to extract a clear picture of happiness from a single society, let alone meaningfully compare happiness on a global scale. Data measuring happiness is vulnerable to manipulation due to the inherently subjective nature of happiness. The data gatherer can shape the survey to extract whatever result they want. Within the government-
controlled statistics offices, there is a vested interest in shaping malleable data for election time. Empirical evidence-based measures, such as GDP, employment, and income are more resistant to manipulation. Hard facts never lie. They are effective tools for understanding the wellbeing of citizens of a given country. They can be used for comparison between countries and within a country across time. The way in which GNH has been used in Bhutan exposes the vulnerabilities of subjective measures of well-being. GNH has been used by Bhutan to legitimatise a dictatorship with well-documented and ongoing human rights abuses. One sixth of the country’s population have been stripped
that the status quo is just fine. Nonetheless, the concept of GNH does raise a legitimate question for western society. Is the reliance on production-based measures of success by academics, mass media, and the electorate symptomatic of an excessively materialistic society? Capitalism, as it exists in the west, fosters a culture of consumerism. Carefully crafted marketing campaigns play on our insecurities and offer the product that will fix us. Identity and self-esteem are defined and reassured through the consumption of unnecessary products. Our sense of self-worth is only safe until the next marketing campaign begins and the cycle repeats itself. The choices that productive free markets give us fill the hole they created. The World Happiness Report found that Ireland’s overall happiness was largely unchanged between the Celtic Tiger’s zenith and the post-recessionary period. If these statistics can be relied on, they suggest that productivity and happiness are not linked in Ireland. The truism that wealth does not bring happiness seems appropriate. of their citizenships and the Nonetheless, the average protections that citizenship affords. reasonable person would rather The Lhotshampa, an ethnic Hindu return east Asian levels of growth minority in Buddhist Bhutan, have in Ireland, and Irish political been subjected to widespread and discourse reflects this desire. state-backed discrimination. Michael Noonan’s throwaway quote The regime trumpets itself as that “the Irish economy could take one of the happiest countries in the off like a rocket” comes to mind. world, despite the low standards of Whether or not we are misguided living in Bhutan. The UN Human in our reliance on GDP does not Development Index (HDI) measures matter, that is a value judgement health, education and relative income. for individuals to make. The These are significantly more concrete economics of happiness are unclear measure of wellbeing than GNH. The and ripe for manipulation to satisfy HDI ranks Bhutan as 140th in the ideological or political goals. world for 2013. Bhutan came in nine GNH should be treated as a places behind Iraq, which is hardly statistical curiosity and should the paragon of a happy country. be evaluated with more concrete GNH has been manipulated to metrics in mind. The happiest make the regime more palatable person who ever lived may have to western sensibilities and to lived in a mud hut, but who convince the local populace wants to live in a mud hut? november 26th 2013
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Features
A peace of the puzzle Investigating the challenges facing communities in Northern Ireland, Amy Eustace highlights the role sport is playing to ease such tensions between different religious viewpoints
Positive stories emanating from the world of sport have become more and more of a rarity. At the very least, they have been sidelined and cast in the shadow of top-level sports’ increasingly amoral character. As commercial interests befoul the higher ranks, the good work undertaken at grassroots and community level goes largely unnoticed. Sport, as a consequence, gets a bad reputation. But despite some divisive tendencies, its capacity to unite is unparalleled. Nowhere on this island is that more evident than across the border in the north. Historically, Gaelic games have been a sporting personification of nationalist views, with rugby and cricket on the other hand consolidating unionist identity. Soccer, though drawing its fan base and players widely from both traditions, was described by Alan Bairner in a 2001 essay called ‘Sport, Politics and Society in Northern Ireland’ as the “terrain on which sectarian contestation could regularly be played out.” A conference held in Armagh at the beginning of the month drew attention to sport’s somewhat understated role in the ongoing Peace Process through projects undertaken by organisations on various sides of the political and religious spectrum. The Sport and Reconciliation Conference, jointly hosted by the Irish Football Association, the IRFU’s Ulster branch and Ulster GAA, was attended by both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste as well as the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. It showcased the work done by the three sporting organisations in fostering better relations between and within divided communities. Michael Boyd, Director of Football Operations at the Irish Football Association (IFA), called the event a celebration of the partnership between the three disciplines. “We all share a passion for development and making a positive impact in the community. We’ve been working together for quite a while now and delivering joint workshops for referees, volunteers and clubs, in areas like good relations, anti-sectarianism, community outreach and fundraising.”
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The IFA is just one of the Northern Irish organisations at the forefront of a community relations movement founded upon sporting initiatives. Through a wide range of development programmes under the ‘Football for All’ banner, the IFA uses “football as a hook to address issues around respect and identity and tackle issues around racism and sectarianism.” Northern Irish football has come a long way, Boyd says, from the days when Neil Lennon received death threats from fans for kitting out for the national team as a Catholic. “Northern Ireland is a deeply divided place and there are major issues,” Boyd explains. “But I think football can hold its head up high along with the other sports. When you think about the fact that most of the kids here are segregated in their education, it’s things like sport and music and drama that actually make a big difference to young people. We can bring new role models, give them new opportunities and create new spaces for them to develop what the new Northern Ireland looks like.” One of the IFA’s recent projects is a Youth Forum, where 14 to 16-yearolds ‘have a meaningful voice’ in the IFA’s community relations development plans for the future. Football, as the battleground for sectarianism in Northern Irish sport, has particularly felt the weight of conflict on its shoulders. On the elite level, a prevailing concern has been that promising Catholic players born and reared in Northern Ireland, such as recent defector James McClean, will feel more aligned to the Republic as a result of outstanding issues of identity and sectarianism. The IFA, naturally, want to turn that around, but Boyd explains that it will not be an easy task. “If I’d been born a mile down the road from where I was born, I probably would have grown up a Republic of Ireland fan and if I had been a top footballer and had the choice, you would want to play for the team you support. “I think there’s a big challenge to us as an association; how do we create a Northern Irish football identity which people can feel a part of and create a sense of belonging around it? It has to come from a lot of different
When you think about the fact that most of the kids here are segregated in their education, it’s things like sport and music and drama that actually make a big difference to young people
angles. We have to provide a fun, safe and inclusive atmosphere at all levels, whether its grassroots or elite. “We need to make sure the quality of our coaching is the best it can be, so when people are involved with us they want to stay involved, and we also have to look at the new challenges that new Northern Ireland throws down to other sports, not just football; we all need to look at how we present ourselves, like what sort of flags, symbols and anthems we use.” The Peace Process itself still has a long way to go, but the vital signs for Northern Irish sport are promising. Much of this is down to the work undertaken by the different disciplines in encouraging younger generations to be more open to working together. Through collaboration, the distinct sports are leading by example. “By coming together and sharing where things are, the good and the bad, I think sport is in a very healthy place,” Boyd says. “There’s a group called the Sport for Change Group, and it’s [the IFA], rugby, GAA and the PeacePlayers. One of the things I enjoy about being part of that group is that we do talk about the hard issues and we do talk about how we can combine. “I’m not saying we can solve any of those issues any time soon, but what we are passionate about and what we are actually delivering on is that we’re actually making a difference to kids’ lives. That’s something to be proud of. In a way, sport and the community sector in Ireland is doing a lot of heavy lifting and showing the way for the politicians. “I think sports leading that [have] probably been underplayed. From a football point of view, we maybe haven’t communicated it as well as we possibly could have in the past, but that’s something we’re looking to change in the future.” PeacePlayers International, one of the members of the Sport for Change group, is a charity based on developing cross-community relationships through sport, principally basketball. The organisation is part of a parent group with similar projects in South Africa, the Middle East and Cyprus. In Northern Ireland, their initiatives include a primary school twinning project, which pairs segregated schools whose pupils may not have any other means of socialising with children from different religions. “Essentially, we use basketball as largely a neutral sport in Northern Ireland to bring children together, the very simple premise being that children that play together can learn to live together,” Gareth Harper, managing director of PeacePlayers Northern Ireland, explains. “We bring kids together from Catholic and Protestant communities and put them on integrated teams, so they have new teammates
from the other community. We’ve also complemented that with a community relations curriculum, which examines issues like similarities and differences and sectarianism and prejudices and stereotypes through a sporting lens. “We have a facilitative conversation, which goes alongside and leverages the relationships that the kids have developed through playing the sport together.” PeacePlayers NI works with children from the age of around seven up to young people aged 18 and older. Those who have progressed beyond their primary school initiatives are often reengaged in coaching programmes, and some who have come through the earlier stages have even come on as paid employees at the charity. Recently, the primary school twinning project had a major coup in bringing children from two very different schools across one of Belfast’s most significant peace walls. The Cupar Way peace wall was erected in 1969 to minimise violence between the predominantly Catholic Falls Road and mainly Protestant Shankill Road. “It’s a huge development for the kids there, but also in terms of seeing progress in the program,” Harper says. Bringing children across such long-standing lines hasn’t always been an option. Previously, concerned parents resisted efforts to integrate, and most of PeacePlayers’ events were usually held in neutral venues. Thankfully, according to Harper, this year that was not the case. “Now parents are happy for their kids to participate. This year none of the parents said no to the schools participating and the big manifestation of that is when kids start feeling comfortable in each other’s spaces… The parents now also let their kids come to play with kids from the other community in the outof-school setting with us after school.” Sport is uniquely suited to being an instrument of the Peace Process. Primarily because it promotes teamwork, which consequently teaches togetherness, and PeacePlayers’ activities largely hinge on this concept. “If a team is to be successful no matter what it is, a basketball team, a football team or a soccer team, the kids just have to get along with each other,” explains Harper. “They have to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, they have to see each other as people and recognise the skills and particular talents that each bring to the table. Our key lesson in this is that you select your friends on the same basis that you select your teammates. “Sport on so many levels is just a great tool… When you introduce a competitive element and kids have to work together to be successful it really makes a difference for
them. It helps to strengthen the relationship and form those bonds, particularly if you can develop a sustained team because the relationships are extended beyond a short-term intervention. “If you invest in a team, you get to know those people on your team really well, and those bonds last forever. What we’re trying to do is create opportunities within sport where those relationships across the traditional divide here can be made.” Landmark events like the schoolchildren crossing the peace wall are promising signs that the work of PeacePlayers, the IFA, and similarly orientated charities and organisations, is taking root. “There are huge indicators in terms of progress,” Harper says. “Can we attribute it all to what PeacePlayers does? Probably not, but can we claim some credit for things like that being able to happen now? Absolutely.” The sport-for-development movement, awakening in all corners of the globe, has probably yet to be fully recognised for the progressive work it has been doing. In Northern Ireland, Boyd and Harper agree that it’s the responsibility of the organisations involved to self-promote more. “Sport’s potential has yet to be fully realised,” says Harper. “I think sport certainly has a bigger contribution to make, and it’s up to us who work in the sporting field and who are involved in community relations through sport to actually shout more about it and to provide more evidence of its impact. “It isn’t attracting the investment I think it deserves, but recently in the ‘Together Building a United Community’ strategy, sport was identified as a key mechanism. In fact, our work along with the IFA, the Ulster Council of GAA and Ulster Rugby through our Game of Three Halves initiative is recognised in the strategy.” The Game of Three Halves is one of PeacePlayers’ most innovative resources. Combining lessons in Gaelic games, rugby and football supplemented by a ‘fourth half’ comprised of interactive discussions with PeacePlayers facilitators, the activities give children access to games that, largely because of their background, they might not otherwise have been exposed to. Initiatives such as this can help to break down traditional perceptions of individual sports, as well as showing children just how much they have in common with members of different religions. One of the Troubles’ indirect society-damaging effects was that sport in Northern Ireland became inextricably entangled with politics. Through the work of the country’s foremost sporting bodies and organisations like PeacePlayers, sport is becoming a primary agent for change and reconciliation. As the sports come together in the name of post-conflict development, we can only hope that the communities follow their lead.
features
Your digital impression
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Examing the increasing importance of our digital footprint, Nicole Casey looks at the picture this generation is painting of themselves online and how it affects their chances of securing employment Your suit is pressed, shoes are shined, and you’ve spent hours on the internet perusing possible questions that could be thrown your way. Yes, it’s everyone’s go-to technique for interview preparation. You could be completely confident that you’ve prepared every possible answer to every conceivable interview question, but is it enough? The thing that may be hindering you getting that job might not be your confidence, or preparedness, but rather than cheeky snap of you on the floor of Coppers that’s making its way around the internet. Despite very much feeling at home on the internet, our generation are the guinea pigs of social media; with the rulebook of internet etiquette being constantly amended based on our mistakes. Sure, we know our cookies from our bisuits, but we’re still highly unaware of our digital footprint and the effects it can have on our everyday life. When something appears online, be it a picture, comment, or even a link to a YouTube video, it’s forever tethered to us. It doesn’t matter how quick you manage to untag yourself or press delete, nothing ever truly disappears. Our online presence is starting to overshadow our true identity, especially when it comes to applying for jobs. It is very easy to spend hours completing an application form, perfecting and correcting every small detail about yourself so it looks good to anyone on the outside looking in. Students especially are experts at turning something as simple as a four-hour stint as a peer mentor into an entire paragraph on charitable endeavours. Unfortunately, we’re not putting as much time and effort into perfecting our online personas. More and more companies are putting prospective employees to the online test. Simply pop a name into Google and you can find anything and everything you need to form a biased opinion. Social networking
and engaging with others online has become a major facet in the lives of most people, especially students, but the darker side of social media is only recently coming to light. In the past, communicating and participating online was seen as a harmless pastime. However, it is only now that people are realising how to harness and manipulate the power of the internet. Bullying has taken on a new cyber form, increasing youth suicide dramatically. Gambling addicts are now able to get a quick fix on the internet through online poker and other such sites, and of course, companies can now do an online search of any potential employees. But is this fair? Social media profiles were developed to provide people an online outlet to express their personality, creativity, and their interests. But now it seems that your online profile page should be as nondescript and fine-tuned as your job applications. Julie Boyle, a final year Commerce student, disagrees with companies checking out prospective employees through the internet. “It’s not right. That picture of you having a drink on holidays could be what stops you getting a job. Just because someone has complete control over their profile and shows no pictures of anything even remotely interesting, doesn’t mean they’re better suited for the job than you are. They’re just better at portraying themselves online.” While companies in Ireland may be checking potential employees’ digital footprints before an interview, firms in the UK have taken this a step further, with some actually asking candidates to show their Facebook profile pages at the interview. Practices such as this may be a denial of human rights, but speaking at a conference for the State’s Education and Training Boards, Bernadette John, a lecturer in digital professionalism at King’s
When something appears online, be it a picture, comment, or even a link to a YouTube video, it’s forever tethered to us
College London, believes that many interview candidates did not know how to “bat the request back,” without feeling they had lost their shot at securing the job. Arts student, James Harper, believes the practice of checking social media profiles doesn’t really happen, “It’s a smokescreen. Over the summer, I interned in a large firm, and I was told that they never really put anyone’s name through Google, but that they liked people to think it happened.” But students have no true way of knowing whether they are being checked up on by companies, and some have started taking drastic measures to prevent being found. Boyle explains, “When I was applying for jobs, I spent hours untagging myself from pictures.
Once you start, you get a bit paranoid that anything could be construed as bad. I changed my surname to the Irish version as well.” For some, it’s easiest to just deactivate your social media accounts for the duration of the job application process. “I considered it,” says Boyle, “But I needed Facebook to communicate with my classmates about group assignments. It just wasn’t a viable option.” John believes students, and even people already in the workforce, are unaware of the impact their digital footprint can have. Comments about your place of employment, or even strong political opinions, can be traced back to you for many years. Students don’t understand that the “actions they are taking now are making themselves
unemployable in the future.” Susan O’Riordan, Research & Development Officer for the Public Appointments Service, believes, “Standards are certainly higher now. People are expected to work harder for less pay and fewer benefits. But a good work ethic, education, and adding value to a company will always be considered desirable by an employer.” As the internet and social media continue to grow, our online persona will continue to increase in importance as well. It may very well be that everyone will need to fine-tune their Facebook page just like we do their curriculum vitae’s. Perhaps this wouldn’t be a bad thing. If you wouldn’t do or say something in public, why should online be any different?
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Features
Postcards from Abroad—Berlin Writing about his first six weeks in Berlin, Austin Conlon shares some tips for getting settled in Berlin
I had a few reasons to apply for Erasmus back in March 2013: to get familiar with another culture, to broaden my education beyond what four years in UCD has to offer, to take on the challenge of studying law through German, gaining fluency in a foreign language in the process, to experience living away from home this side of graduation and above all, for the craic. Merely a month and a half in and already I’ve achieved all these hopes in some form or another. Since I’m only in the sixth week of my studies here at the Humboldt University, Berlin, I don’t yet feel able to assess the academic side of things, but what I can safely say is that I’m learning a lot. With no space left in Humboldt student halls, finding a place to live was my first priority. I used www. wggesucht.de, a site for advertising vacancies in shared flats. The idea is that you find something in your price range that ideally that looks habitable, send an application and, with a bit of luck, you get a response a few days later which may include an invitation to see the flat and meet the other occupants. In reality, this is just like a job interview, only instead of a hardworking and motivated team player, your would-be housemates seek the least likely candidate to leave out dirty dishes and/ or murder them in their sleep. Expect to send dozens of applications. Most interviews are done in person, requiring you to live in a hostel until you find something. The average wait is about two weeks, but I’ve heard month-long horror stories. Luckily I found somewhere via a Skype interview. Luckier still, I’m really pleased with my flat. It’s in Kreuzberg, a former West Berlin neighbourhood inhabited by hipsters, anarchists, and Turks.
While gentrification has pushed up the rent prices somewhat, it’s packed with bars, clubs and restaurants, and is wellconnected by public transport. I share a flat with an Italian startup programmer and two Israeli sisters. On the upside, they’re friendly, easy-going people who I’d gladly share a beer or cup of tea with in the kitchen. Also, they’re probably not serial killers. On the downside, only English and Hebrew are spoken in the flat, meaning I have to look elsewhere for German practice. This task is made harder by the way international students’ social spheres tend to develop. I met people through friends of friends or on the Berlin Erasmus Facebook page, all of whom are international students or other foreigners, and few of whom speak fluent German. I found another Facebook page for tandems (A buddy who speaks a language you want to learn), and to whom you offer a language in return. I bagged myself a real-life native German, giving me not only an opportunity to practice speaking, but also to learn things that no dictionary would dare teach. For example, the German term for “pulling” they say “abschleppen,” a word that literally means “to tow off”. It’s a bit graphic. Everything you hear about moving away for the first time is true; it’s not easy. Home felt a whole lot further than a two-hour flight away. Homesickness wasn’t just being away from my family and friends. It was not being able to find Barry’s Tea or any of the staple Irish biscuits in supermarkets. Even worse was not recognising/ finding necessary ingredients for your own poor substitutes to mammy’s cooking. But even in those first few days, there were plenty of distractions.
Home felt a whole lot further than a two-hour flight away
My inner history nerd has been definitely overwhelmed by the wealth of museums chronicling Germany’s past, often with emphasis on the last century. Commemorations seem to lie on every street corner: a Nazi atrocity, an uprising or protest, a segment of the Berlin Wall. As well as a wealth of history, Berlin also has a beaming nightlife that has a lot to offer. There are only so many nights your mind will let you stay in alone. Suddenly it no longer seems weird to meet up with friends of friends, or even total
strangers on the Facebook page. Throwing myself into unfamiliar social scenes has been a great experience; it’s forced me to be relaxed at parties where I know almost no one beforehand, and open-minded about everybody I meet. In search of interesting conversation, I’ve found myself really opening up to people, and them to me. Everyone just wants to meet people and the result is a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. The most rewarding aspect of putting myself out there has been
meeting people from all over the world, resulting in countless discussions of cultural contrasts. In a city with more foreign residents than German nationals, I gladly, and, uncharacteristically proudly, describe Ireland and its culture to Germans and foreigners who are eager to listen, or at least polite enough to smile and nod. Exams don’t start until February, so college is still pretty easygoing. For now, I’ll keep exploring, socialising, and partying, but we’ll see how Erasmus life is shaping up once it comes time to hit the books.
Postcards from Abroad—Paris After finding that Paris is not just male nudes and manbags, Rob McCarthy writes about finding a depth to Parisian culture that extends beyond their penchant for bread
Realising the importance of bread to your average French citizen is key to understanding the audacity of the Austrianborn queen
I visited the Pantheon last weekend and was in no state to be sightseeing, having had about three hours sleep the night before, but duty called as I was obliged to show my friend from Dublin the sights. So, in my sleep-deprived state, you can understand why I felt on entering this Catholic temple, where the French had buried their ancient celebs such as Voltaire and Victor Hugo, that nothing inside could compare to the sheer delight of being in bed at that very moment. I was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that we had
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the place pretty much to ourselves, but there was something pretty amazing about the Pantheon. There was a beautiful stillness in the temple compared to the bustling city outside, as if those buried down below commanded our silence. The murals on the walls were as vivid as if they had been painted yesterday and marble figures strained to hold their poses. The crypt turned out not to be a crawlaround-on-your knees affair, but instead a spacious underground labyrinth, in which I may have gotten lost once or twice. To be
surrounded by so many great minds, writers and revolutionaries alike, was a truly humbling experience. But feeling humble in Paris is no strange thing. The Pantheon is just one example of the city’s grandeur, but beautiful buildings are everywhere. Lush gardens and fountains are scattered around every arrondissement and cobblestones pave the narrow streets. Art is also a huge part of Paris, and I’m not just talking about the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, nor male nudes at the Musée D’Orsay. The street art that can be found all
over the city paints a picture of a young generation’s struggle to express itself. Depictions of Pacman and stars painted on pavements, sombre portraits, and political slogans plaster the Parisian walls. The French people dress to compliment their city’s style, the women toting Louis Vuitton bags, to college no less, and men in smart blazers. The huge emphasis placed on fashion is almost unnerving, and sometimes one has to ask exactly how much effort do the French actually put into looking effortless?
Bread is served with almost every meal here; indeed, it is the equivalent of the Irish spud. Walking down the street yesterday, I met a man twirling around in circles looking utterly lost. It turns out he was Funnily enough, I’ve found that the French population has a depth that goes beyond baguettes and handbags. The politics of the nation is an ever-present issue, with governments swinging from right to left to right regularly. It’s quite refreshing to see how every citizen takes it upon themselves to play an active role in France’s political landscape, especially in comparison to the Irish who have been too complacent for far too long. Armed police lining the streets are a sign that a manifestation or protest is imminent, while strikes in the workplace are commonplace. The French obsession with politics also makes for interesting bathroom reading, with drunken scrawlings and declarations of love in Dublin being replaced with invitations to join the Young Communist’s Movement. There is plenty to do in Paris aside from observing the quirks of the French people and the nuances of their culture. Live music spots are in abundance, places where an African group could be jamming one night and a set of DJs the next. In these places the cocktails are served so strong they catch I had to laugh at my brother’s input. in your throat and the lights He said, “It’s bad enough that they all are always dangerously low. I’d particularly recommend an electrowear manbags, but why do they have pop festival called Pitchfork that to be Gucci manbags?” The French was headlined by Hot Chip and style is only one way in which the Yo La Tengo a few weeks ago. nation fulfils its stereotypes. When I A cool venue and great acts was younger I never really understood what the big deal was when the people meant that the craic was had by all! Then there are the hot had no bread during the revolution. salsa clubs and the jazz bars that Couldn’t they eat something else? spill the sounds of trumpets and Marie-Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake” and who doesn’t like cake? nonsensical scat singing onto the streets. And when all else fails, Realising the importance of bread you’ll find us down by the Seine to your average French citizen is with a bottle of wine and a view key to understanding the audacity of Notre-Dame like no other. of the Austrian-born queen.
science
Social media storm
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Groups like MicroMappers can help interpret content on social media following natural disasters to help organisations optimise their relief strategies, writes Sara Holbrook
Following the typhoon that hit the Philippines on November 8th, a storm that affected 11 million people, aid workers are having a very difficult time in reaching the people most in need. The number of people dead is estimated to be almost 4,000, and that number is expected to grow. There are 12,000 people injured and almost 2,000 people officially missing. This is apparently one of the strongest storms to ever hit Philippines. According to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) in Brussels, the Philippines ranks third in terms of being hit with disasters in the last ten years, right under China and the US. It appears to be getting worse for the archipelago. With the sea levels rising and the change in weather patterns, the result has been a total of 25 tropical cyclones this year in the Philippines alone. As a result, they are well prepared for common storms and flooding, but they were not prepared for something of this magnitude. The designated shelters set aside for such disasters were wiped out by the typhoon itself, leaving thousands with nowhere to take refuge when their homes and communities were destroyed. In this social media age, an enormous amount of cries for help were transmitted through the internet in the hours and days after the disaster. Aid agencies were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people asking for help. This is where groups like MicroMappers come in. They are an organisation that attempts to assist in times of natural disaster by sorting through all the images and messages that are being sent from around the disaster area and collating them into a cohesive and easy to view
While in the past the main problem for aid workers was not knowing what was happening or how best to help, there now appears to be too much information flooding in through social media
map of the areas worst affected. While in the past the main problem for aid workers was not knowing what was happening or how best to help, there now appears to be too much information flooding in through social media. The aid workers are now facing challenges of how to decide where the areas are with the greatest need. MicroMappers enlists volunteers from all around the world to sift through social media content in disaster zones. Anybody can volunteer to help; they are given a few tweets to look through. They
see if the message is looking for help or offering it, then they tag if there is an image with it and finally, rate the scale of damage that it reports. The tags are then organised onto a map to see where the areas that need the most assistance are. Andrej Verity of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says, “I had an email last night [Monday] from a relief worker in the Philippines saying they didn’t know what was going on outside the cities.” Verity was able to send a map created by MicroMappers to assist
be seen of what happened and how well the response teams worked. It could also be useful in preparing for future storms. If all of the agencies know the weaker areas, they can all work together to provide the best relief services they can. It could mean that towns and communities might be able to prevent such a devastating wave of damage from the next storm. Social media is very useful during times of disaster, but without people to sort through the information and to essentially perform the duty of triage nurses, it can create a wash of information that is no good to anyone. MicroMappers is helping to solve this problem, paving the way for the possibility that disaster response could be almost entirely mediated through social media in the future.
the relief workers on how best to help. The need for this type of service has increased in the last few years, says John Crowley of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. “A decade ago, disaster relief workers got a few emails a day over sporadic satellite phones,” he says. “Now the flood of messages reaches one per second, 24/7.” UNOCHA is attempting to develop a Humanitarian Exchange Language, which would be a database that all aid agencies could add information to after a disaster. This would mean that a larger picture could
Blood is thicker than water Racial differences in blood may hold the key to personalised medicine, says Michael O’Sullivan
Did you ever think that skin colour plays a factor in your risk of heart disease? Well as odd as it may seem, it’s true. Black people are at a higher risk of suffering from a heart attack and stroke than white people. This isn’t a minor difference either. The incidence of heart disease in people under the age of 50 in America is 1 in 100 amongst AfricanAmerican men; 20 times higher than in their Caucasian counterparts. With rates of heart disease so high
amongst the young African-American population, there is a large increase in the amount of effort being put into developing treatments to cope with the avalanche of cases. A recent study has shed some light on the reason for the difference and may lead to better treatments in the future. Paul Bray of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, recently led a group that studied disparities in blood from AfricanAmericans and white people at the
genetic level, as it was believed that such a sweeping trend couldn’t be explained by simple coincidence. Their investigation led them to the conclusion that platelets in the blood of African-American subjects formed clots much faster than those in white subjects. Clotting is the major factor in heart disease and stroke. Many people with heart disease can go for years without an incident when treated with blood thinners to keep their blood from clotting. If the blood clots, it can form a blockage that travels around the body until it reaches the smaller blood vessels of the heart or the brain. If it reaches the heart, it can cut off the supply to a section of the heart, triggering a heart attack, and if it reaches the brain could possibly trigger a stroke. The research team in Philadelphia discovered greater activity of the PAR4 thrombin receptor in the African-American subjects. When we convert this scientific soundbite into English, it paints quite the picture. Thrombin is the major chemical signal in the pathway that causes clotting. It interacts with receptors in the bloodstream to tell the blood to start clotting and so begins the overall process. If the thrombin receptors are more active, they will start the clotting process faster. Clotting is a good thing in theory. Without clotting, that paper cut you just got from turning the page would be life threatening as the bleeding would never stop. Clotting, therefore, is something of a superhero, saving you from the most mundane of deaths. Nobody wants their death certificate to read “Death by falling on face and grazing chin”, now do they? When clotting mechanisms in the blood start to go into overdrive, superclotting can occur. This is the affliction that most black people suffer from that makes them so prone to heart disease. It is already known that sickle cell anaemia is common amongst those of African descent and that it is a form of defence mechanism against malaria. Perhaps this overly active clotting reflex is another evolutionary method of overcoming something that may have been prevalent in the African environment in the past. Unfortunately, we don’t know enough to
The incidence of heart disease in people under the age of 50 in America is 1 in 100 amongst African-American men; 20 times higher than in their caucasian counterparts
determine this as of yet, but traits like these are usually present for a reason. But what good is this information to us? We now have scientific proof that black people need to take better care of their heart than white people, but everyone should still be taking care of their hearts anyway because it’s a bit tough to live without one. Ultimately, what this research could lead to in the future is differing treatments for different races. The slight differences in the biochemical make up of white people and black people could have other physical differences beyond just skin colour. If we know the differences between races at the cellular level, we can develop the best therapies to treat diseases that will work in harmony with each persons’ varied make up. This would effectively revolutionise medicine. The goal for medical treatment is to achieve the best possible result with the least amount of interference with the patient. Having such information allows us to possibly tailor drug treatments in the future to better suit our race. The idea is a bit scary, but a massive step in the right direction for humanity. How many sci-fi shows have you ever seen that show tailored treatments for every ailment as part of their background plots? This research is one of the first steps of hopefully many that will one day lead to a new and exciting era of medical treatment that will benefit all. Personalised medicine is a goal long held by many within the profession, and this research shows it to be a viable and valuable commodity. november 26th 2013
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science Clear progress Advances in cloaking technology is bringing us even closer in line with the wizarding world, writes Ross McKeever
In 2001, Harry Potter made his film debut in The Philosopher’s Stone. Critics were satiated, children were enchanted, and scientists were infuriated as the contest to recreate the films invisibility cloak began. After over a decade of stiff competition, two Canadian researchers seem to have established a firm electrical engineering approach to Potters’ beloved cloak. Professor George Eleftheriades and PhD student Michael Selvanayagam are responsible for this new approach to cloaking. The duo developed their thin, scalable and adaptive cloak while researching in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto. By surrounding an object with small antennae, the pair discovered that they could cancel out certain waves scattering off of an object. The waves were cancelled out by an electric field created collectively by the antennae. Once the waves reflecting off of the object were negated, it
became impossible to detect. The dynamic duo are currently focusing on negating radio waves, though they believe that they could eventually adapt the technology to cancel light waves too. When asked to explain his method, Eleftheriades said, “It’s very simple: instead of surrounding what you’re trying to cloak with a thick metamaterial shell, we surround it with one layer of tiny antennae and this layer radiates back a field that cancels the reflections from the object.” While this explanation seems as complicated as Eleftheriades’ expansive name, it’s actually quite straightforward. Imagine a mug. When light hits the assignment and reflects back into your eyes, you can see it. If Eleftheriades and Selvanyagam’s cloak is wrapped around the mug, then all of the beams that would normally return to your eyes are cancelled out, making it invisible, and therefore a hundred times more difficult to clean up when you
inevitably drop it on the floor. The technology is currently being developed to negate radio waves, which would make objects undetectable to radar. Some of the obvious applications for the cloak would be hiding military vehicles and conducting surveillance operations, though there’s more to it than that. The cloak could also be used to eliminate objects blocking radio signals. If a large structure is blocking radio waves from reaching a cellular base station, then it can be cloaked to allow the waves to pass through freely. The cloak is even capable of altering an object’s signature. This means that the cloak could be used to make an object appear bigger or smaller on radar, or even to shift its coordinates. The system is still in its early stages. At the moment, all of the small antennae used have to be attuned to the electromagnetic frequency they are attempting to cancel out. In the future they could function as both sensors
Imagine a mug. When light hits the mug and reflects back into your eyes, you can see it
and active antennas, adjusting to different waves in real time. This could be similar to the technology used in noise cancelling headphones, but this aspect of the cloak has yet to be developed. Similarly, the antennae have yet to be printed flat, so the cloaking device cannot appear in an actual cloak form. Meaning it’s not a cloak and it’s not invisible, as it can only cancel radio waves. Whoops. Although tests have only proven the technology to work with radio waves, Eleftheriades thinks the same method could be used for light waves as the technology matures. “It’s just a matter of technology,” says Eleftheriades. “You can use the same principle for light, and the corresponding antenna technology is a very hot area of research.” If the cloaking system is applicable to light waves, then it would be possible to make objects completely invisible. The only problem with this method is that the cloak would still have to be attuned to the required frequency and even if sensors were used, they would have to react faster than the human eye. So, it is unlikely that we’ll be seeing Potters’ cloak anytime soon, not that we would see it at all if it worked. Despite these limitations, the cloaking device has come a long away. Work on a developing functional invisibility cloak began in 2006. In its early incarnations the system was large and clunky. For example, to cloak a vehicle from radar, you had to surround it with layers of metamaterial to shield it completely from electromagnetic radiation. Obviously, the size and inflexibility of this approach made it impractical to use in real life situations. Early attempts to create thin cloaks would only work for small objects and weren’t very adaptable. Eleftheriades and Selvanyagam’s advancements address these issues, bringing scientists one step closer to recreating the Deathly Hallows.
Breaking good With some diseases more prevalent in developing nations, Michael O’Sullivan looks at a new initiative aiming to tackle these issues
How often do you hear about TB? Unless you’re an Agricultural Science student, probably not that often. The disease has largely been eradicated in the western world, and any outbreaks are under such rigorous and strict control that it rarely crosses over into the human population. This is not the case in some of the world’s poorest countries, however, where diseases like TB are rampant and kill hundreds daily. TB falls into the category, therefore, of neglected diseases. Neglected diseases are those that often don’t result in death, but cause debilitating injury to the sufferers, or diseases that disproportionately affect the poorest of the poor. Often, once these diseases are no longer prevalent in western society, they are forgotten about and money to help fund their continued treatment and eradication stops flowing. The result is poorer treatment methods, greater amounts of suffering and the affliction of the poor who can’t afford the help they need. If it weren’t for the fact that diseases like malaria had no cure and it affects many westerners when they visit poorer countries on holidays, there would be very little funding directed towards the eradication of the disease. As it stands currently, even this disease is woefully underfunded due to the fact the disease is so complex and the research is taking so long to achieve results. It’s a sad fact that most research into better disease treatments are carried out by private companies and college research groups; all of whom are funded with private capital. The result is that many of them work with the aim of producing a profit, and profit is the one thing drug treatments for diseases affecting the poor will not yield. However, a new initiative aims to combat this. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently teamed up with the Japanese government and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative to form a group called the Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) fund. The aim november 26th 2013
Often, once these diseases are no longer prevalent in western society, they are forgotten about and money to help fund their continued treatment and eradication stops flowing
is to develop drugs for neglected diseases, without going to the trouble and expense of setting up specific NGO’s for each individual illness. The hope is that the new initiative will allow for the screening of thousands of possible drugs in the hopes of finding cheap and accessible drugs that will not cost pharmaceutical companies millions to manufacture and ship, effectively eliminating the majority of the financial cost to the manufacturer. It would also eliminate the need for NGO’s to retread ground that was already covered elsewhere, saving in research costs. This project has the potential to transform the drugs market worldwide and
drastically improve the provision of medicine for poorer countries. Other diseases targeted by this initiative include malaria, sleeping sickness, and Chagas disease, all of which are debilitating and vastly complex illnesses. If the initiative results in cheap and easy ways to make drug treatments for all of these diseases, it may help to greatly increase the life expectancy of people in developing countries. Japan has long been behind much of the developed world when it comes to charitable donations for the greater good of mankind, but in this particular case, it seems to be attempting to redeem itself. Over half of the financial backing
that Japan pledged to the GHIT fund in the first place has already been invested, helping to boost the standing of Japanese pharmaceutical companies internationally and massively increasing the money they donate to world aid every year. Considering this figure is over $50 million US dollars, it shows a genuine effort on behalf of the Japanese government to get involved with the rest of the world, as Japan is typically quite an introverted society. This particular endeavour says a lot about the sentiment towards charitable ventures in today’s society. Pre-economic collapse, it would be difficult to get any government to invest so
publicly in an endeavour such as this one, as many governments were wasting funds at home and not doing enough elsewhere. The attitude amongst the general public has shifted greatly in the meantime, and now any form of charitable work is seen as a good thing, as people are giving when they have little to give in the first place. It is this shift in attitude that has allowed such ventures to flourish and grow and ultimately result in the betterment of humanity as a whole. One can only hope that as we regain economic strength, we don’t forget the values we learned when we were struggling to keep afloat.
science
Sleeping beauties
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It’s important to get enough sleep, which is why Grace Yu recommends taking some downtime during the day
Psycollegey —Stereotyping mental health
A five minute nap proved to be effective in increasing alertness, a ten minute nap enhanced performance without causing grogginess, and naps of 20-30 minutes were effective likewise, but came with the repercussion of grogginess that required a recovery period
For some people, every day is a duvet day; one of those days that people need so they can catch up on the sleep their bodies requires to function. Evolutionarily speaking, this need to ‘not do anything’ is our brains telling us that it needs a rest. We may think this is a waste of time or a mindless activity to be avoided because it is sapping away at productiveness, but your body has intricate ways of informing you that you need a day of rest. Even daydreaming and napping is vital to an efficient brain. For the majority of the 20th century, it was thought that when we’re taking a mental break, our brains are inactive. However, the German neurologist Hans Berger, who was regarded as a lunatic during his time, thought otherwise. Upon the invention of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), more and more research supported his theory. Nowadays, scientists acknowledge the fact
Tackling the perception of mental health in Ireland, Louise Dolphin writes that it’s time our society stops stereotyping those suffering from psychological distress
that mental vacations are vital for vivacious and productive brains. Several research studies have supported the importance of having downtime away from everyday life and the stress of strict routines, such as nine to five working hours. This downtime has been shown to reestablish an individual’s attention and motivation to their tasks, push their productivity and creativity to their limits, and it is essential to cementing firm memories. Our minds are similar to our stomachs. The chance for our minds to wind down allows it to digest the information it has received and to absorb the details of what we’ve learned. This time also allows for things we mentally saved for later to resurface and possibly be digested and processed. Even historical civilisations embraced the idea of taking a break during the day. It has been found that the Romans had meridiari breaks, which involved simply taking some time away from work around midday. Later, the
Romans would also adopted sexta, meaning the sixth hour. This was specifically a time set aside for rest and prayer. Somehow over the years, this idea of sexta formed the basic idea of a siesta as we know it today in some warmer countries. This concept of taking a break is also applicable to the lives of students. People like Tony Schwartz of The Energy Project, encourage people around the world, both top-tier industry professionals and students like ourselves, to obtain a healthy amount of sleep; around 7 or 8 hours a night. Take power naps every so often, maybe meditate and try to use mornings to tackle the hardest task to be accomplished. This necessity for our brains to sleep and nap is an imperative part of prepping our minds for the intake of information, as well as for solidification of new information. Napping may be hard due to our busy schedules, but even a five minute daydream or shut-eye can make a world of a difference. Brooks and Lack conducted a
Mad Science Trains, Racists and snap judgements are all a part of Ellen Murray’s weird science
illustration rory mullen
In Mother Russia, trains train you! Have you ever felt guilty about taking the bus down those couple of blocks you could have walked? Sure you have, we all do it. In Russia, however, laziness will no longer go unpunished, as the Moscow metro has introduced a novel new way for the public to earn their transport tickets: squats. For a mere 30 squats you can now earn 30 rubles, the equivalent of 92 cents and the price of a single-ride ticket. This innovative marketing technique aims to promote physical fitness in sight of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi. And for another 100 squats, you can earn the privilege of rocket ride into space.
And the racist is… Craig Cobb, infamous white supremacist and devotee of the ethnocentric Creator ‘religion’, has recently discovered that he’s not quite the little Aryan he thought he was. Cobb was recently ousted by a DNA test on The Trisha Goddard Show as being only 86% White European and 14% Sub-Saharan African. Ouch. Feel like evaluating your life ideologies a bit there Cobb? Alas, no, he claimed the DNA results were merely “statistical noise.” If you say so, Cobb, it you say so.
Act now, think later Parents rejoice! Ever wonder why your teenage offspring make such ridiculously impulsive decisions? Well, be lost in ignorance no more. Top neuroscientist Dr BJ Casey of the Sackler Institute recently carried out an experiment to discover if teenagers respond differently when put in certain social situations compared to adults or children. Results showed that teenagers, in particular male teenagers, were 15% more likely to make a bad decision when faced with a sudden situation. Those who displayed a higher amount of brain activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex part of the brain were more likely to be impulsive. So, Mum and Dad, why did your teenager decide to get that Pokémon tattoo on his face during that night out? Firstly to be cool, but mostly because of science.
detailed study in 2006 showing the effectiveness of various intervals of naps. A five minute nap proved to be effective in increasing alertness, a ten minute nap enhanced performance without causing grogginess, and naps of 20-30 minutes were effective likewise, but came with the repercussion of grogginess that required a recovery period. Of course, most studying downtime for students involves catching some much-needed sleep, with students usually tactically planning out their sleep cycle. But students must also remember to just simply take a stroll, go out on the town, or just sit and enjoy quiet time. The final, and most important point to remember though, is to never pull and all-nighter during study days, as a lack of sleep can reduce the intake of information by as much as 40%. In a nutshell: we should reinstate naptime into our daily routines and have daily siestas.
I find it abhorrent that young Irish teenagers facing mental health problems are also struggling with worry about disclosing their issues to peers and friends, a group we assume to be supportive to them when they need it There is a long overdue societal push to challenge stigmatising attitudes toward mental illness. One of the challenges of anti-stigma campaigns is to break down harmful, hurtful, and often unfounded stereotypes associated with mental illness. Arguably the most stigmatising stereotype is that people with mental illnesses are dangerous or violent. While some mental illnesses, such as the acute stage of some psychotic disorders, have aggression and violence as possible associated features, the vast majority of violent acts are committed by people without a diagnosis of a mental illness. However, this violent stereotype is often exaggerated and propagated by the media. Take for example the front page of the Sun just a number of weeks ago, which read: “1,200 killed by mental patients.” This headline, understandably, infuriated many anti-stigma campaigners. While the article itself acknowledged that the numbers of homicides by people with mental illness has actually stayed the same for decades, this information is vastly outweighed by such a sensationalist, stigma-fuelling headline. It also fails to alert readers to the reality: that the vast majority of people using mental health services pose no threat to others. Statistics from Time to Change, England’s largest programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination, force us to rethink the violent mental illness stereotype. Firstly, 95% of homicides are committed by people who have no history of mental health issues. Secondly, people with mental health problems are a greater danger to themselves than they are to others. Finally, people with mental illness are more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of a crime. Another stigma-fuelling instance, which occurred just before Halloween this year, was the availability of the mental patient fancy dress costume and psycho ward outfit in ASDA and Tesco respectively. The ASDA costume included ragged clothing, a mask, fake blood and a fake meat cleaver, while Tesco’s orange boiler suit came with a plastic jaw restraint and offered to “complete the look” with a machete. Following harsh criticism, both stores withdrew the outfits, apologised for any offence caused and agreed to make donations to Mind, a mental health charity. Issues such as this, which fuel a ridiculous stereotype of mental health, may be preventing young teenagers from disclosing their problems to others. Recent UCD graduate, Dr Lynn McKeague, conducted PhD research on the stigma experiences of children and teenagers living with a mental health problem in Ireland. A pertinent quote from her research was from a 14-year-old female. She was concerned that if she disclosed her diagnosis, peers might spread the idea that she was different to everyone else, “telling people that, you know, I’m weird
or abnormal or stupid or a freak or dangerous or something.” I find it abhorrent that young Irish teenagers facing mental health problems are also struggling with worry about disclosing their issues to peers and friends, a group we assume to be supportive to them when they need it. Fear of disclosure is linked to reduced likelihood to seek help for problems and it is appalling that society’s negative, unfair, and often misguided views on mental health could hinder someone from seeking the help they need. While media headlines pitched to adults can augment stigmatising stereotypes, evidence suggests that media reaching very young children is also negatively depicting mental illness. Researchers have found the widespread presentation of characters with mental illness in children’s books, films and television as violent, aggressive, and fearinducing. According to Professor Otto Wahl, in ‘Depictions of Mental Illness in Children’s Media’, “The image of persons with psychiatric disorders as unattractive, violent, and criminal... appears common in children’s media, and references to mental illnesses are typically used to disparage and ridicule.” Even our beloved Disney movies bear the blame of negative representations. A 2004 study in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry found that a total of 85% of Disney animated films contained references to characters with mental illness. The study claims that most of the characters referred to as mentally ill serve as objects of derision or amusement. For example, in The Lion King, the hyenas are depicted as mentally ill. Mental illness is also projected as something that turns people into villains. In 102 Dalmatians, Cruella De Vil is in a psychiatric ward at the beginning of the film. We cannot assume that children are passive recipients of these messages. They actively engage in media and therefore more research is warranted on the varied sources of information that children might use in forming an understanding of mental health problems. It is sad and harmful that while many campaigns, organisations and individuals are trying to break down barriers by discussing and tackling mental illness stigma, stereotypes are still exaggerated and sensationalised through various forms of media. We need more critical thought among the public. Often we are happy to accept a sensationalist headline; a soundbite that allows us to apply a heuristic mental shortcut that facilitates making quick, but potentially biased judgments.
What is needed here is an emphasis on individuality. To treat each case, each person, as a story in its own right and not make lazy inferences and decisions about people based on sensationalist and often misguided evidence. Challenge stereotypes you hold; you’d be surprised how often you are wrong.
november 26th 2013
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opinion
LGBT Outreach: Printing the right colours Looking at LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream comic books, David Monaghan writes about the progress made in regards to depiction of sexuality since the 1950s
Growing up a geeky, bespeckled teenager in rural Ireland was far from ideal. This, coupled with the fact that I was struggling with my sexual identity, left me feeling confused even at the best of times, and so I found refuge in the pages of comic books. One comic book in particular struck a chord with me: Ultimate Spider-Man. Brian Michael Bendis’ take on the classic hero updated him for the 21st century, made him younger, and pitted him against his greatest foe yet: teenage angst. Though I loved this series very, very much, it was in the pages of Ultimate X-Men that I first encountered LGBTQ+ issues in comic books. Bundled with Ultimate SpiderMan for the newsstand market, Ultimate X-Men was often printed in the backpages, overshadowed by the former. I wasn’t a major X-Men fan particularly, so I took a general apathetic approach to the series. That was until I became aware of the interactions between two fan favourites: Collosus and Nightcrawler. Collosus, in the Ultimate Marvel continuity, was openly gay and his acceptance of his sexuality created a rift between him and his former best friend, Nightcrawler. My interest was piqued. Never before had I seen gay characters in comic books, and Nightcrawler’s refusal to accept Collosus for who he was represented all the apprehensions I had about fully embracing my sexuality. Marvel’s decision to include an openly gay character in an X-Men series complimented the book’s inherent themes of acceptance and equality. Many have even interpreted the ‘mutant gene’ as a comic book metaphor for sexuality. You can’t choose to be a mutant after all. Comic books like Ultimate X-Men had begun to portray LGBTQ+ characters in a more positive light by the turn of the century, it had been a long journey prior, mainly due to the Comics Code Authority (CCA). The CCA was formed in the 1950s as a response to anxieties perpetuated by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham in his book Seduction of the Innocent. He claimed that comic books were one of the main causes of juvenile delinquency because of their violent nature, and that characters like Batman and Robin were “psychologically homosexual.” Wertham’s theories created major panic upon publication, and the CCA was formed to quell public fears. It
set strict guidelines to which comics now had to adhere. This included a ban on referencing homosexuality, meaning LGBTQ+ peoples would not be overtly represented for many years; though a few writers attempted to bypass this guideline through the use of subtext. In an early attempt by DC to dispel any notions of homosexual undertones present in their comics, Batwoman was introduced in the 1950s as a love interest for Batman. She appeared sporadically as a supporting character for many years before fading out completely in the 1980s. She was then reintroduced in 2006 as openly lesbian, making her one of the most prominent LGBTQ+ characters in mainstream comic books. In an ironic move by DC, the character that had been introduced to highlight Batman’s heterosexuality was now proudly queer. The character again received widespread media attention earlier this year when writers J.H. Williams and W. Haden Blackman announced that they would be stepping down from the Batwoman title, due to creative conflicts with DC over the character. Among these creative conflicts with DC was the company’s refusal to allow the writers to marry Batwoman to her long-time girlfriend, Maggie Sawyer. According to DC, this move did not stem from blatant homophobia, but rather from the company’s creative standpoint that “superheroes should not have happy personal lives.” This caused outrage among fans who had hoped to see a more realistic depiction of LGBTQ+ characters in the medium. This was not the first time DC had faced criticism for their treatment of LGBTQ+ characters. In 2012, DC teased that they would yet again reintroduce a pre-existing character as gay, stirring much fan speculation. The comics company also stated that the character had not yet been seen in the new 52 (their new rebooted universe) as of yet, ruling out the company’s ‘big three’ – Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. It was finally revealed on June 1st, 2012 that Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern, was the character in question. While many believed that having such a leading character who embraced his sexuality fully was a step forward for LGBTQ+ representation, others were disappointed to discover that this
Nightcrawler’s refusal to accept Collosus for who he was represented all the apprehensions I had about fully embracing my sexuality version of the Lantern existed on Earth 2, an ‘alternate’ reality, placing him outside of mainstream continuity. This was considered a cop-out by some fans. Counter to DC’s decision to keep Batwoman unwed is Marvel’s decision to allow Northstar, of X-Men, to marry his partner Kyle Jinadu, in a major comic book wedding in Astonishing X-Men #51. Northstar was one of comic’s first openly gay characters, having come out in an issue of Alpha Flight in the early 90s. Though creator John Byrne had always intended his character be openly gay, the CCA’s guidelines, combined with Marvel’s strict ‘no gay superheroes allowed’ policy in the 1980s, prevented him from addressing it fully. Instead, Northstar’s disinterest in women was credited to his competitive nature; having a girlfriend would only hinder him. Despite coming out in the early 90s, Northstar would not share a kiss with a boyfriend character for over a decade, and there was little reference to his sexuality in the years following, either by supporting characters, or Northstar himself. Although gay characters have come to the fore in comic books in recent years, trans* people remain surprisingly under-represented in the medium. Despite the potential that characters like Marvel’s shape-shifting Mystique hold, very little has been done to make use of them for trans* storylines. Gail Simone, writer of DC’s Batgirl, recently revealed that Alysia Yeoh, a supporting character in the book, is transgender. An activist and roommate of Barbara Gordon’s, Yeoh has been featured in the book since 2011, and is also bisexual. Simone has made efforts to distinguish between gender identity and sexual orientation. It was also announced very recently that one of Marvel’s classic villains, Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston in the Marvel cinematic universe, is not only gender fluid, but also bisexual.
These issues will be addressed by writer Al Ewing in the upcoming Loki: Agent of Asgard series. The CCA and all its strict guidelines became increasingly flexible over the years, and depictions
of gender and sexuality became clearer and more realistic as a result. Now completely defunct, the CCA exists only in memory, allowing for better representations of LGBTQ+ people in mainstream comic books.
Although there is still a long journey ahead, there is some solace to be found in the pages of comic books for confused, bespeckled LGBTQ+ teens worldwide, and that makes me very happy.
How to be cool with Conor O’Toole watch my stand up thing! The Art, Design & Technology Director advertises a film he made in a shameless and semi-coherant fashion
This may come as a surprise, but when I’m not designing this newspaper or writing this column I don’t just go to sleep in a giant white bed and be fed directly into my mouth by trained bunnies, I also perform stand up comedy! Right now, I’m relatively unsuccessful and obscure, which is a great position to be in because Irish people hate popular, successful people. So I’ll endear myself to them until I reach the critical mass of popularity, at which point I’ll probably be chased out of the country with pitchforks. Which is perfect, because Britain is where all the sweet comedy money is anyway. Mmm, sweet sweet nectar. Num num num. Lickedy lickedy lick. That was weird. Sorry, I haven’t slept in a while. Anyway, I made this video recording of a show I did in the International Bar in July. That’s a clunky phrase, it wasn’t even recorded on video. But it’s not a stand-up DVD because it’s not on DVD and I can’t say it’s a stand-up special because it won’t be on TV, or a stand-up film because it’s not good enough to be considered a film, nor was it shot on film. It was shot on a
november 26th 2013
charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor. It’s a stand-up CCD, I suppose. That’s going to be tough sell. Not that I’m selling it. I can’t afford to sell it. Not with the rising cost of blank DVDs. No, I’ve put my CCD on YouTube, so that anyone can watch it, share it and/or call it ‘faddy’. You can upload your own thumbnail on YouTube, and I must say, I was very tempted to stick ‘Conor O’Toole — Of Greenhills’ on a photo of a large breasted woman and use that, seeing as that’s what most popular YouTube videos do. I don’t understand why so many people will watch a video just because it features a low cut top. I mean for Christ’s sake, you’re already on the internet. You’re literally one second away from nudey women galore. Galore! There is no nudity in my CCD. But there is 45 minutes of bonecrunchingly good comedy from one of the great talk show guests of tomorrow: me. Please watch it. It’s currently got enough views that it’s basically obscure. So far, it’s no failure (less than 100 views) but it’s not a life-changing success either (greater than 900 views). It’d be nice if my stand
up career took off, I’d really like to not have to bathe old, fat dogs for the rest of my life. That said, I probably won’t have to do that unless the graphic design thing dries up, but it’s still a risk, y’know? I edited it myself, which was grim, as anyone who has ever heard a recording of themself can tell you. Turns out I say ‘eehhh’ more often than ... a frequent thing. Buses, or something. God I’m tired. I posted the film on both Reddit AND Boards. That’s how much I want people to watch it. I don’t even care which people. Even people who post hurtful comments as if I’m not right here, looking right at them. “You gotta stop singing. Just being honest. Maybe I didn’t get the humor, because other people seemed to be laughing, but I couldn’t get past the singing.” Yeah, I know I can’t sing well; that’s why I was doing it. In fact, now I’m going to make a point of singing more. And it’s not ‘humor’, it’s ‘humour’. So just go to conorotoole.com and watch the damn thing. And tell your friends, particularly if your friends are cool or important comedy industry executives.
Editorial
Editorial
People tend to get more charitable around Christmas time. It is a time of giving, we are told. Even though a lot of us don’t even consider ourselves Christians, let alone Catholics, anymore, we still feel the need to help those less fortunate around this time of year. It seems that in every shopping centre in the country, there is at least one person shaking a bucket full of coins at you as if to remind you that everyone else is giving money to charity, and so should you. But for some of these charities, you can’t help but wonder why we should be giving money to them. That is not to say that organisations like Cystic Fibrosis Ireland or the Rape Crisis Centre are not
worthy of our generosity, far from it. These are some brilliant groups that do terrific work in helping the people who need it most. But why do they need our help in funding them? Why aren’t they getting enough funding from the government? I know we’re in a recession, but this was a feature of the Celtic Tiger too. Even when we had enough money to waste millions on things like the Spire, we could not sufficiently fund medical services. For a society with a clear problem with mental health, we really don’t do enough to actually help those suffering from mental illness. Awareness campaigns are great and all, but they’re no substitute for actually giving support to those
in need. Without action campaigns to follow up from them, awareness campaigns are largely useless. We do have a problem at the moment with the fact that it often seems like people are more concerned with raising awareness about a problem than actually tackling a problem itself. Some of us appear to have forgotten that raising awareness of an issue is merely the first step in the process of fixing it. Telling someone you dropped a glass on the ground is not as helpful as cleaning up the shards so that they don’t step on them. When it comes to the treatment of mental illnesses, there are so many people who are content to point out the broken glass, but so
few willing to actually get on their knees to clean up the mess. Christmas can be a particularly testing time for people struggling with depression, as the dark days and the pressures of exams can weigh heavily on the shoulders. That does not mean, however, that the rest of the year is any easier. So while you should take care to make sure that you treat those around you with love and care, don’t think that your responsibility to practice empathy stops once the Christmas tree comes down. It is a very Irish attitude that something like depression comes about for a reason, when often it is entirely random and inexplicable. You don’t know what the person
on the other side of the counter in TK Maxx is going through, so why make their day any more difficult than it needs to be. Try to remember that those who work in retail have no control over whatever stupid policies their shop runs, and shouting at them about it won’t get you anywhere. Having worked in many a menial job, it never ceases to amaze me how many people will lash out at a 16-year-old busboy who is making minimum wage over something as trivial as a flat Coke or a lack of napkins. At the other end of the scale, a simple smile or a genuine “thank you” from a customer can change your outlook on the remaining seven hours of your shift. If you’ve
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never worked in a busy restaurant or shop, you might not be able to fully appreciate how much influence the customer has on the server’s mood, but it has a huge effect. It’s the same with friends and family, especially around exam time. Everyone handles stress in different ways, and some people need more support than others. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to ask for help. UCD has a number of different services to see that you get through whatever it is that is troubling you, even if it is granting you extenuating circumstances. At the end of the day, your wellbeing is far more important than a few silly tests.
the university observer
talleyrand
Editor Kevin Beirne Deputy Editor Killian Woods Art, Design & Technology Director Conor O’Toole
Talley ho, vagrants! It is not long left until the feast of Christmas is upon us. The Student Centre staff even had the decency to wait until more than a month before Christmas to put up their tree. To celebrate this most magical time of year, your favourite sabbatical officer not named Mícheál, Cian or Lorcan, was sure to provide his adoring fans with a treat of baffling proportions. Talleyrand is speaking, of course, about Captain Kind of Helpful and his foray into the Ents Office in order to secure the services of MTV’s fifth most popular group of narcissists, the ‘stars’ of The Valleys. He even convinced Wales’ answer to Tallafornia to film their season finale against the backdrop of rather
unvalley-like Madison nightclub. The UCD student populace was so collectively star-struck upon learning that their heroes were to grace Belfield with their presence that not a single student could muster up the courage to meet them. According to Talleyrand’s sources, Captain Kind of Helpful was forced to perform his famous one-man show, which won him several awards at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in Edinburgh. The responsibility had fallen to Captain Kind of Helpful because Cian “Probably Cheered When Cruden Missed That Conversion” Dowling was busy trying to take the perfect selfie, while Lorcan “Wetter Than Water” Gray refused to do any work that involved leaving his office, in an act of solidarity
with the students who are became trapped on the second floor of the James Joyce Library, after an over-eager first year knocked over a series of bookshelves, forcing them to make awkward small talk as if they were waiting for their tutor to arrive for almost eight days now. Mícheál “The MILFord Hunter” Gallagher, was preoccupied with inciting a student riot in order to distract from the fact that, despite his pre-election promises, the six counties of the north remain under British rule. Broken promises do nothing to heal a broken nation. Ever eager, Captain Kind of Helpful also joined Gallagher in his march against something. In typical fashion, UCD’s greatest hero tried his best to lead the chants, despite having lost his voice and therefore
being quite difficult to hear. With this publication taking a much-needed hiatus until January, this will be Talleyrand’s last chance to wish you all the best of luck in your matriculations and a merry Christmas, a chance Talleyrand has decided not to take. Talleyrand will, however, remind all of you of the impending doom of the election campaigns of semester 2. Hopefully, you will all lose a friend in the bloodbath that is UCD student elections. Without these elections, the SU can no longer exist and therefore will no longer be a voice for the students of this middle of the range university. With this in mind, if you are running, Talleyrand hopes you lose. Tally out
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Thanks Eugene, Maeve and all the folks at Smurfit Kappa. Sarah, Orla Gartland, Foil Arms and Hog, Rory Murphy. Ruth McCourt. Michael and Longzo. Kate Murphy. Catherine Courtney. Seán Ó Ceallaigh. Lillian Maher. Jack Carolan. Caroline Torrie. Harriet Pittard. James Healy. UCD Clubhouse. Dear whom ever it concerns, I have been a UCD student for the last 3 years and throughout that whole time I have never once seen what I’d describe as “having the craic” articles on various aspects of college life. This includes things such as “living on 50 quid a week”
and “best accommodation for having the craic”, drink reviews and things like easiest places to pull women/men and funny stories about college life. I know that many people would read this and several of my friends agree with me. We are part of the most under represented section of
college life, the average student who isn’t in the SU or high up in societies but who come to college for a degree but also to have craic, get the ride and drink our weight in Dutch Gold. I’ll level with you that while I’m not the best writer in the world, my ideas are funny and would
certainly get attention. While I can see the vast majority of students enjoying this, there are some who will take it to heart when it’s a bit of light-hearted humour.
Special Thanks Mum. UCD Synergy & Innovation³
Yours etc, Jim Green
november 26th 2013
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FREE EXAM SHUTTLE BUS
Running from UCD Bus terminal (beside Centra)
December 9th - 20th
Rolling return service | 8am - 8pm
LATE NIGHT STUDY AREA The Astra Hall will open as a late night study area
December 3rd -18th
11pm - 3am Mon - Fri | 8pm - 1am Sat & Sun
If you need any help throughout exam time, Adam & Dylan, your education officers will be on hand in the RDS. Adam: education@ucdsu.ie & Dylan: graduate@ucdsu.ie
november 26th 2013
sport
A winning formula
17
As a lacklustre season draws to a close, Fergus Carroll asks whether Formula One can revitalise interest
With his fourth consecutive World Championship title long since secured, Sebastian Vettel arrived in Austin, Texas looking to continue his winning ways. The 26-year-old German proceeded to qualify fastest and he never looked back as he romped to his record-setting eighth straight win. His success is the FIA’s loss. Over the course of a largely forgettable season, no real challenger emerged to take on the Red Bull juggernaut, despite an unprecedented five World Champions racing at the same time. Such was Vettel’s dominance that the crowds took to booing him on the podium. This naturally raises the question of what the FIA and the teams themselves are doing to rectify the situation before more fans switch off. On a fundamental level, the attraction to Formula One lies in the drivers themselves and the skill they exhibit driving very fast cars. Over the years we have seen great rivalries played out on the track, from Senna and Prost to Schumacher and Hill. Yet in recent years the most heated competition has come from drivers on the same team. Until his move to Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button were constantly vying for supremacy at McClaren, while Mark Webber has decided to leave Formula One altogether after several strained seasons at Red Bull where he felt the team bosses showed too much bias towards Vettel. Hopefully the plethora of new faces can rectify this next year. Kimi Raikkonen’s move back to Ferrari was one of the biggest stories of the year. The ‘Iceman’ is one of the sport’s more enigmatic figures, famously telling his racing engineer to stop distracting him over the intercom, and is returning to the team where he won the thrilling 2007
World Championship. If the Cavallino Rampante can build a strong machine for next season, he could well challenge Vettel for the title. Several newcomers will be lining up on the grid next season alongside the experienced pros. 19-year-old Daniil Kyvatt will take Daniel Ricciardo’s spot at Toro Rosso, as the Australian moves up to sister team Red Bull Racing to take Webber’s vacated ride. Kyvatt, however, may not even be the youngest driver competing, with Russian teenager Sergey Sirotkin set to race for Sauber, barring failure to receive the FIA Super Licence. If he does line up at Australia, the 18-yearold will set the record as the youngest driver to make a Formula One debut. Meanwhile, the highly touted youngster Kevin Magnussen has replaced Sergio Perez at McClaren. The FIA have also announced a revamped schedule for the coming season with an extra two races set to take place. On the provisional list of venues are Grand Prix situated in New Jersey and Mexico. There is no doubt that a race set along the Hudson, with the Manhattan high rise as a backdrop, would join the list of visually stunning tracks and help grow the sport’s global profile. There are some issues that the FIA can less easily address. Formula One is undoubtedly one of the most polarising sports on show. It will always be easier to root for the humble rugby player over the stereotypical sulk-prone playboys that grace the track. Mind you, the FIA seem to embrace this tag. The technology aspect also serves as a turnoff for the casual viewer. Yes, there are die-hard fans who devoutly follow developments in the redesign of diffusers, but concepts such as DRS and KERS are as difficult to explain as the
Over the years we have seen great rivalries played out on the track, from Senna and Prost to Schumacher and Hill. Yet in recent years the most heated competition has come from drivers on the same team
often comically cited offside rule. This is all part and parcel of Formula One, however, and unlikely to change, but it does raise the contentious issue of spending in the sport. Since its establishment in 2004, Red Bull is rumoured to have invested over £420 million into the team. While they are clearly enjoying the rewards at the moment, other young teams have struggled to adapt. For many, it is a successful weekend to merely make it into the second round of qualifying. They simply don’t have the funds to compete. This is evidenced in the fact that thus far, only five of the 22 drivers have graced the top
step of the podium. Moreover, the Lotus team has reportedly failed to pay Raikkonen his wages. The money issue does not appear to be going away any time soon, but so long as Red Bull can keep Adrian Newey, the famed designer, on their payroll they can continue to expect success. Such is their technical dominance that Mark Webber recorded an outstanding 1.9 second pit stop at Austin. The ability of Formula One to rectify these problems and revive interest in a sport that is dangerously close to being labelled boring is questionable. Bernie Ecclestone, its Sporting Director, is currently
pre-occupied with fighting a number of court cases in Germany all linked to bribery allegations, while Jean Todt is battling to secure his re-election as FIA president. The sport has a track record to be proud of, however, with new regulations in recent years making qualifying far more exciting to watch; while the banning of re-fueling during races has contributed to more aggressive racing tactics. Formula One may not be to everyone’s taste and this season has been by no means a classic, but there is reason to believe the sport’s fortunes will improve.
A Scot of Bother Charting the fall of Scottish football, David Walsh looks at what brought this historic league to its knees
In the 70s, and for much of the 80s, Celtic and Rangers were regularly placed outside the top two places in the Scottish League with both teams recording 5th place finishes during that period
There is little point denying the fact that after 25 years of gradual decay, Scottish football is now at its lowest trough. The dwindling attendances in the SPL are an indication that a nation that some historians mark as the true home of football is currently the home of one of the least competitive leagues in Europe. There are many variables that have maligned the Scottish game and these fallacies have manifested themselves in many ways; most notably in the dire performance of the Scottish national team in their recent World Cup qualifying campaign. The intense level of competition which flowed throughout top flight Scottish football in the 70s and the first half of the 80s is evidence
that the slump in competitiveness is still a relatively recent trend. At the terminal point of the 1984/85 season, Aberdeen clinched their second consecutive Scottish League title under the leadership of the highly adept Alex Ferguson. When one takes into account Aberdeen’s toppling of Real Madrid in the 1983 Cup Winner’s Cup final, along with Dundee United’s appearance in the 1987 UEFA Cup final, it is clear that the Scottish League was in good health as multiple clubs had the competence to compete at the highest level. The main question that plague Scottish football fans and experts alike is how such a healthy league that lost its identity. In the 70s,
This tendency has been accompanied by inflation in the cost of living in Scotland and the emergence of issues with ticket prices. All of these factors have compounded the problem of low attendances in the SPL. This deflation in revenue is further impeding the SPL’s process of recovery from the expulsion of Rangers from the SPL. Years of neglect and lack of investment in youth academies with clubs instead favouring the directing of funds towards the purchase of foreign talent now means that Scotland is failing to produce the type of talent it once had in abundance. Such an inclination is clearly visible when one considers the failure of the Scottish national team to qualify for a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup. Hearts and Dunfermline now await imminent financial collapse and if the SPL is to retain any real chance of restoring its commercial feasibility it needs its most senior deliberators to generate some clever ideas immediately. The SPL is not the only domestic league in Europe that is struggling commercially. All the Scandinavian leagues often exhibit a high concentration of power resting with one or two anomalous clubs. The Dutch Eredivisie League is no longer home to any clubs that are sustaining anything close to prolific performances in European competitions, while the Belgian Jupiler League can at times be grossly uncompetitive. The cure for Scottish domestic growth in debt, leaving the Old football could involve reverting Firm club deep in the red in 2001. back to previous proposals to In the same year, Rangers began merge with other small leagues in employing the EBT (Employee Europe now that UEFA is becoming Benefit Trust) scheme to pay their increasingly less hostile to the players and staff in a way that was idea of cross-border leagues. later construed by the HMRC (Her The other much publicised Majesty’s Revenue & Custom) to be solution would be for Celtic and a form of tax evasion. Tax demands other relatively large Scottish teams placed on Rangers by the HMRC to migrate to the English league, in April 2010, coupled with their but whether that is a remedy which already deeply unhealthy balance would benefit Scottish football in sheet led, to their administration and the broader picture is debatable. subsequent relegation to the obscure The commercialisation of basement of Scottish football. Scottish football appears to The increased scale of broadcasting have been the root cause for its by Sky Sports of Scottish football destabilisation and a pragmatic could be interpreted as a positive and commercialised formula seems sign, however, this is deterring to offer its best opportunities Scottish fans from attending matches. for viability in the future.
In the 70s, and for much of the 80s, Celtic and Rangers were regularly placed outside the top two places in the Scottish League with both teams recording 5th place finishes during that period
and for much of the 80s, Celtic and Rangers were regularly placed outside the top two places in the Scottish League with both teams recording 5th place finishes during that period. The year 1987 is one which can be cited as being the year that the Scottish game began to rot. The purchase of Rangers by then mega-rich Scottish business man, David Murray, heralded the beginning of commercial practices in the Scottish League, which would severely curtail competition. The importation of foreign talent by Rangers, including many English internationals such as Paul Gascoigne, Terry Butcher and Chris Woods, enabled Rangers to monopolise the Scottish League in a way that marginalised native talent.
While one would now consider it a novel proposition that Celtic and Rangers could ever possibly be on absolute parity with the finest clubs in the English League, as recently as the early 90s Rangers’ superiority was evident in overcoming English Champions, Leeds United, in the UEFA Champions League in 1992. During the 90s, we witnessed mass injections of cash by Rangers in their pursuit to capture players who would have the acumen to allow the club to sustain their status of being a major force in British football. Celtic’s attempted imitation of Rangers’ policy would lead the Parkhead outfit to flirt with bankruptcy in 1994. The consequence of Rangers’ spending habits was an exponential
november 26th 2013
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International men of mystery On the back of the push to get Adnan Janujaz to declare for England, Ciarán Sweeney highlights other sports stars who had multiple options at national level
When Adnan Janujaz’s beautifully struck volley ball hit the back of the net in the Stadium of Light at the start of October, the goal, his second of the game, carried a much greater relevance than simply assuring Manchester United all three points. It sparked enquires throughout many hopeful nations as to the eligibility of this potential prodigy to play for their respective countries. Janujaz’s case of country eligibility is somewhat strange, as he seems to have an abundance of countries from which to choose. Janujaz was born in Brussels and holds a Belgian passport, making him eligible to play for the Belgian national team. He is, however, the son of Albanian-Kosovar parents and is therefore eligible to represent either Albania or Kosovo, albeit Kosovo are yet to be recognised as a competitive football nation by FIFA. His mother is part-Croatian, which brought the Croatia Under-21 manager, Ivo Susak into the equation; hopeful that the young talented winger would jump at the chance to play for his side. Another option opened up for Janujaz when Roy Hodgson made public his interest about trying to allow the winger to play for the English national team. Under FIFA regulations, a player must be a resident of a country for at least five consecutive years after his 18th birthday or obtain five years of education before his 18th birthday in order to be made eligible for that country. In the case of Janujaz, because he has only lived in England since he was 16 and has subsequently missed the FIFA education rule, he therefore has another five years until his
potential England eligibility because he turned 18-years-old last February. FIFA also permits players to transfer from one country to their host country. In this case, Kosovo is a host country of Serbia, which permits Janujaz to play for the Serbian national team, although this looks like an option that will be overlooked by Janujaz due to the bitter relations between these two countries. Belgium national coach, Marc Wilmots, is eager for Janujaz to play for them, and considering he was born in Belgium and has a Belgian passport, it seems like the obvious choice. However, with Janujaz keen on focusing on club football for the time being, that decision is still hanging in the balance. This isn’t the first time that FIFA has had to step in and make clear an ambiguous ruling over the eligibility of a player to play for a certain country. Similar situation have arisen between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the past, most notably involving Everton midfielder Darron Gibson. Under FIFA regulations, a player is eligible to play for a country if a parent or a grandparent of his was born in that particular nation. However, speaking in 2009 while citing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (whereby Irish passports can be held by Irish citizens either side of the border), the FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that if a player is eligible to play for Northern Ireland then he is also eligible to play for the Republic, provided he has not already obtained an international cap in a competitive game for Northern Ireland. As a result of this ruling, play-
McIlroy is still undecided as to whether he should represent Team Ireland or Team GB in Rio. Interestingly, McIlroy has represented Ireland in the last two Golf World Cups, in 2011 and 2009, because in the World Cup, unlike in the Olympics, England, Scotland and Wales enter separate teams instead of a united Team GB, but there is no Northern Irish team that enters. An Olympic rule states that a player can compete for a certain country in the Olympics, even if he has already competed competitively for a different country in another event, provided three years have elapsed since that competition took place. As a result, if McIlroy was to compete for Ireland in this year’s Golf World Cup at the end of November, he would have made himself ineligible for Team GB in the Olympics in 2016, which is why he has opted out ers such as the Derry-born duo of of the competition altogether, and Gibson and James McClean, or has been replaced by Shane Lowry. left-back Marc Wilson, who hails Having had to pull himself out from Aghagallon in county Antrim, of the rough when he was caught are available for selection by the up in some media controversy last Republic of Ireland national team. year after his comments where he This ruling has been heavily critinoted that he felt “more British than cised by the governing body for footIrish”, McIlroy has some interesting ball in Northern Ireland (IFA) who decisions to make in the near future feel that it is unfair, having brought as to which country his loyalties lie. Gibson and Wilson up through the Clearly some sports stars have more youth system. The IFA feels that to think about off the field of play this ruling will lead to an inevitable than others. And to a degree, it is not talent-drain, as young prospects from an enviable position to be in. No matthe North opt to play for the Republic. ter what decisions sports personalities A similar situation is currently make these days, they end up disapbeing played out in golf ahead of pointing a subset of adoring fans. its inaugural appearance at the Like McIlroy, Januzaj has a difficult Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. decision to make. Not one any player of At present, world number six Rory his age should be forced into making.
Another option opened up for Janujaz when Roy Hodgson made public his interest about trying to allow the winger to play for the English national team
Calling the shots In a sport of specialisation, there is still one position that reigns supreme, writes Kevin Beirne
The NFL has always prided itself on its competitiveness. If you are a fan of the sport, you will hear regular references to the parity of the league. The mentality that any team can win on any given Sunday is what sets the sport apart from the NBA and MLB. As a sport, American football is much more technical than soccer or rugby. Its analysis is steeped in statistics, while each team’s playbook consists of hundreds of plays. Players are recruited to fill specific roles, as players are only expected to play on either offence or defence. So specialised are the positions in the NFL, that each team has a kicker to take field goals and another kicker to take punts. It is widely accepted as fact that there is no position more important than the quarterback in the NFL. In fact, quarterback may be the single most important position in any sport, as no one else has such a guaranteed influence on every single game. Because of this, each team in the league desires a quarterback that they can build a team around. These so-called franchise quarterbacks have the ability raise the play of everyone around them and elevate their team to the next level. Over the last few years, teams have become more willing to take a risk on younger quarterbacks to lead their team. Although players like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees remain the gold standard; there is an impressive crop of young signal-callers coming through. Russell Wilson has lead the Seattle Seahawks to a 10-1 record so far this year, having lead them to the playoffs during his rookie season a year ago. Wilson is still unbeaten in all 13 of his professional home games. Coming out of college, NFL teams were worried that Wilson was too small to succeed at the professional level. At 5ft 11in, Wilson is half a foot smaller than the prototypical size for an NFL quarterback, and led to him falling to the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, where the Seattle Seahawks selected him with the 75th overall pick. Although it has become common for rookie quarterbacks to start right away nowadays, many were shocked when Seattle Head Coach november 26th 2013
Each team in the league desires a quarterback that they can build a team around. These socalled franchise quarterbacks have the ability raise the play of everyone around them and elevate their team to the next level
Pete Carroll announced that Wilson was to start ahead of bigmoney free agent, Matt Flynn. Wilson has rewarded his coach’s faith in him hugely, as he has established himself as one of the most dangerous young players in the league. As things stand, Wilson’s Seahawks top the NFC. It is amazing to think that Wilson was the sixth quarterback taken in last year’s draft. His poise and athleticism have allowed him to overshadow the first two picks in
that draft, quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Although all three players possess a strong arm and elusive speed, Wilson has shown himself to be the most mature so far, as both Griffin and Luck are struggling with growing pains in their sophomore seasons. There is no doubt, however, that Wilson finds himself in a much better situation than his rivals. When a team is picking in the first five picks of the draft, it is because they are in a pretty bad situation.
Both Luck and Griffin were expected to be the saviours of their new teams, whereas Wilson walked into a side that was already loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, and was asked to do a lot less from the start. Because of the success of Cam Newton as a rookie in 2011, there remains a weight of expectations on young quarterbacks to perform immediately in the NFL. Whereas once rookies would sit on the bench and have a chance to study the
Brett Favre. Rodgers had to wait three years before he would get his first start in a Packers uniform, and has since established himself as arguably the best in the game. But not every team has the luxury to allow their youngsters to sit and learn. The Buffalo Bills, for example, thrust their first round pick, EJ Manuel, into the starting role at the beginning of this season after veteran quarterback Kevin Kolb suffered a severe concussions, ruling him out for the entire year. Manuel has struggled so far, and injuries have also slowed his progress. Buffalo are the only team not to have made the playoffs since before the turn of the millennium, and they have pinned their hopes on Manuel for the next few years at least. If the Bills decide that Manuel game before playing, they are now is not the man for the job, it will thrown straight into the fire and be far less costly to part ways expected to come out unscathed. with him than it would have been This is a very risky strategy for any four years ago. Thanks to the new team to take on a player they hope collective-bargaining agreement, will be the leader of their franchise which imposed a salary cap on for the next decade. For every Cam rookies, teams are now more Newton, there is a JaMarcus Russell. likely to take a risk on a young If a young quarterback struggles early quarterback like Manuel or Wilson. on, you run the risk of ruining his The fact that each team in the confidence for the rest of his career. league will continue to search for that Aaron Rodgers benefitted hugely franchise quarterback is guaranteed. from sitting on the bench behind Whether their search leads them to a future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady or a Brady Quinn is not.
sport
Talking points
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With the UCD Fencing Club now in its 59th year, Shane Hannon speaks to club captain Aoife O’Mahony about the sport in general and the Irish Fencing Federation
It is a little known fact that the UCD Fencing club is one of the oldest sports clubs in the University. Although interest in the sport is decidedly limited in Ireland, it is one of the largest sports in the world in terms of participation. Fencing is the national sport in Hungary and extremely popular in France, Italy, Germany and elsewhere in Europe. It is quite strong in North America and China too, and just about every country in the world has an active fencing organisation. Fencing itself is divided into three main categories; Épée (pronounced EPP-pay), Foil and Sabre. But what exactly makes them different? According to O’Mahony, the main differences between the three are in terms of the weapon used, and where on the body the competitors get points for striking. She notes, “Épée is probably the most straightforward to explain. Basically you have a weapon with a button on the end, and when that button gets pressed by hitting something a light goes off, and in Épée you can hit anywhere you want.”
One thing I’d say for anyone coming into the sport is don’t underestimate how much time and effort it takes to do a good job
Foil, meanwhile, has its roots in duelling. In this discipline, you can only hit the body. Foil fencing action tends to be fast, punctuated by halts as the president makes the decision to award a point. Finally, as O’Mahony notes, “Sabre is similar, except you can hit anywhere on the blade and you can hit anywhere on the top half of the body.” Épée and foil both originate from the duelling discipline, while Sabre developed from swordfights on horseback. Fencers often tend to specialise in just one of these disciplines. The weapons differ in the way they are used to score hits. In foil and épée, only a thrust with the point of the weapon counts, whereas in sabre a hit can also be made by the side of the blade. O’Mahony herself is a keen competitor in Épée, and is currently ranked 17th in the Irish Women’s Épée rankings. She also finished 7th place in the Irish intermediates in October. When asked if it was commonplace for fencers to specialise in one of these disciplines, O’Mahony replied, “It depends. Some people like to
do all three. In some competitions there can be prizes for all weapons so some people like to do them all, but most people do develop one.” Fencing has been included in the modern Olympic Games since its inception in 1896. Along with swimming, gymnastics, and athletics, it is one of only four sports to have been contested at every Summer Olympiad. Clearly the sport’s popularity worldwide is unquestionable, but O’Mahony warns those entering the sport for the first time not to be expecting an easy ride. “One thing I’d say for anyone coming into the sport is don’t underestimate how much time and effort it takes to do a good job.” O’Mahony herself is a full-time Nursing student and knows from personal experience how hard it can be to train to a high level and maintaian her studies simultaneously. “Saying it’s hard to juggle both is an understatement; it’s very difficult.” What makes her own individual and team performances for UCD so impressive is the fact that she hasn’t even been fencing for all that long. “I only took [fencing] up in college
so I’ve only been at it four years.” Ten years after fencing featured at the first modern Olympic Games, the sport formally came to Ireland in 1906 when the Irish Fencing Club was founded in Dublin. Ireland has a long tradition of sending fencers to the Olympic Games, most recently Siobhan Byrne in the Women’s Sabre event in 2008. Well-known Irish Fencers include Peter O’Toole and William Butler Yeats (taught by Ezra Pound while Pound was employed as his secretary). These days, any hits on the body are scored electronically, but O’Mahony notes this wasn’t always the case, “They used to use chalk. They would use the tip and it would be chalked and you would see the hits on the body.” The 1912 Olympics introduced the Modern Pentathlon, which features a one-hit variant of épée fencing intended to simulate a duel to first blood. O’Mahony says that “the Pentathlon athletes have the highest standard of fencing in Ireland because they have such good resources so they’re all doing brilliantly, going to
world cups and the likes.” UCD student, Arthur LaniganO’Keeffe, even competed for Ireland at the London Olympic Games in 2012 in the Modern Pentathlon. The Irish Fencing Federation looks over the sport in Ireland and O’Mahony admits the organisation is “kind of going through a reform at the moment. It kind of got a bit stuck in a rut, but there are a lot more fresh faces coming into it now.” The future does look bright, though. “It’s improving. Even this year there are more tournaments being organised with the different weapons and leagues, which I think is only going to improve the game in Ireland.” O’Mahony clearly possesses a love of the sport, but it’s not just the competing. “I like the social aspect to it too. The fact that I’m captain and was secretary last year means I know a lot of fencers in Ireland.” The social side of the sport is clearly something O’Mahony feels others could enjoy as much as her and while bringing the interview to a close, she urges students to try their hand fencing.
The Badger In this week’s column, everyone’s favourite Badger discusses American football, McCoy’s crisps and peeing in the pool
Sports Digest Sailing
Teams were split into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets, with UCD 1 and 2 in Gold, UCD 3 and 4 in Silver Last month, UCD Sailing Clubw and UCD 5 and 6 in Bronze. hosted nine universities and 26 teams The races were held in a round in Carlingford, Co. Louth, to compete robin format on the first day, before for the title of IUSA Northern’s Cham- squalls put a premature end to the pions. The purpose of the competition race. UCD 1 won three out of their was to establish a ranking for the rest four matches, beating perennial of the sailing year, which will then rivals Trinity and defending Varsities determine the subsequent fleets. champions University of Limerick in
the process. UCD 2 defeated Trinity but lost their other race, while UCD 3 and 4 were undefeated in all their races and UCD 5 lost their only race. Howling winds on the second day of the meet forced the finals to be called off without crowning winners. UCD Sailing Club’s next competition is this coming weekend in Bundoran.
Horse Racing A newcomer to UCD’s societies scene, the UCD Horse Racing Society was founded in 2011 by Emma Fleming, Laura Joy and
The Badger has recently been informed that he tends to waffle on a bit and change topics rather suddenly. Unfortunately, it is an inherent trait the Badger can’t get rid of. The Badger sitting here bored off his sett (badger pun intended) and simply can’t resist voicing his opinion on certain matters in the wacky world of sport, so bear with the Badger. It has come to the Badger’s attention that Minister for Sport Leo Varadkar is set to seek cabinet approval for an Irish 2023 Rugby World Cup bid. Why he would look for approval off a cabinet is beyond the Badger, however, the idea itself sounds like a winner. It would be fantastic to watch great rugby nations like Canada, Japan and Georgia grace the hallowed turf of Croker and Thomond Park, and the Badger supports this bid entirely. The Badger will be true to his word now and switch topics instantly, although not to a great extent. The Badger decided to dive into the world of American Football this week by
watching a couple of games, and he has come to the conclusion that it is rugby for men who like helmets. Granted it is confusing after every tackle or play successfully made to see the players celebrate like they were just handed a voucher for Nando’s, but this adds to the excitement. The Badger heard the commentator talking about a crucial ‘fourth down’ at one point, but why did they want to get down so much? Surely they should leave the dancing until after the match? Awful jokes aside, the Badger would now like to congratulate legendary jockey Tony McCoy on reaching the incredible 4,000 win mark. McCoy recorded his first win in 1992 at the tender age of 17, and he has come a long way since then. The Badger is especially aware of the enormity of this achievement considering Tony used his spare time to invent McCoy’s crisps. Technically they are man crisps, however, and so badger are forbidden from eating them.
It’s such a pity because the Badger loves nothing more than pouring a bag of crisps across his fat belly while watching the telly, especially during viewings of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, where the Badger can see sport stars like Rebecca Adlington have to eat a delicious platter of insects. The British four-time Olympic swimming medallist has admitted to peeing in the pool quite often, while snooker star Steve Davis, also in the jungle, has also admitted to peeing while competing in snooker competitions (If only he played pool, that would have made that joke infinitely better). The Badger has plans for a TV show of his own that he thinks will be a hit. A badger in danger of being culled by the evil Natural England Badger Murders Corporation Ltd starts cooking crystal meth to provide money for his family when he’s gone. It’ll be called Breaking Badger.
Gavin Hernon. The society, having attained official recognition at the end of last year, aims to cater for members with varied levels of interest, such as the occasional race-goer and horse racing fanatics. Currently boasting 500 members, the society attributes its growth to the success of student race days, while guest talks by speakers from Darley Flying Starts Course have also helped keep interest in the club high. In October, the Horse Racing Society raised nearly €4,000 for the JT McNamara and Jonjo O’Neill fund by having a charity race day outing in Limerick. The JT McNamara
and Jonjo O’Neill initiatve has been developed to financially support jockeys who have sustained lifechanging physical injuries due to falls during their career. JT McNamara, an accomplished former amateur Irish Steeplechase jockey, fell during 2013 Cheltenham and suffered a serious back injury that left him paralysed.
competition by emerging first in Men’s Senior Eight, recording the fastest time of the meet held at the Blessington Lakes. UCD Men’s Intermediate Eight, however, could not replicate their senior’s feat and lost by a mere two seconds to Carlow. The double of Gary and Paul O’Donovan of Skibbereen Rowing Club were the fastest team of the day. Niall Kenny convincingly won the senior single sculls, posting significantly faster times in both the first and second heads while Paul O’Donovan ranked third.
Rowing UCD Boat Club made their presence felt at the Neptune Head of River meet on the 9th of November. The UCD crew dominated their
Badger Out.
Esther Hor november 26th 2013
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sport Kay Bowen Ladies Intervarsity hosted by UCD UCD
15 Ailbhe Tuohy 14 Rachel Dooley 13 Rachel Gilhealy 12 Anna-May Gibson Kiely 11 Amy Anderson 10 Jess Bertrand 9 Alice O’Callaghan 1 Keytelynne Radde 2 Nadine Fadel
3 Olivia Fogarty 4 Sarah Brennan 5 Sabine Neumayer 6 Ciara Meenagh 7 Aisling Feeley 8 Julie Gillis (c) Replacements
16 Mary Kate Moloney
photo Killian Woods
UCD Women’s Rugby Club hosted the Kay Bowen Ladies Intervarsity tournament last weekend, taking on University College Cork (UCC), NUI Galway (NUIG) and Dublin University (DU) in a round robin style competition, with games taking place throughout Saturday afternoon. Each game in the tournament was 20 minutes long, with the final split into two ten-minute halves. NUIG and Dublin University qualified for the final of the tournament after they finished first and second respectively in the table at the end of the round robin stage of the competition. The rampant NUIG emerged victorious, 7-0, over Dublin University in a tightly contested final that saw the Galway side win the Kay Bowen Ladies Intervarsity trophy thanks to a last minute try.
UCD 0 nuig 25 UCD kicked off against NUIG in the opening fixture of the tournament and struggled to match the pace set by their opponents. Throughout the game, Ciara Meenagh was an ever-present at the breakdown as she ferociously competed for every ball. Equally, UCD captain, Julie Gillis was always on hand to carry for Collidge when called upon by scrumhalf Alice O’Callaghan. Despite their eagerness to hit the ground running, UCD couldn’t get a foothold in the game and clinical play from NUIG left the hosts with very few opportunities to threaten the scoreboard. The first try of the game came from a great break in midfield by NUIG. UCD’s defence was left scrambling until excellent covering tackles by inside centre Rachel Gilhealy and fullback Ailbhe Tuohy brought the NUIG second row to the ground. Despite NUIG losing some momentum in their attack, UCD’s defence was still out of position and from the next phase, NUIG’s inside
centre ran down the blindside, drawing UCD defenders towards the wing, allowing her to pass inside to the onrushing fullback who ran in the try. Following the opening try, NUIG continued to pile pressure on UCD deep in their opponent’s 22. With UCD trying to pick and drive their way out of trouble deep in their own half, a turnover in favour of the visitors and some quick thinking by the NUIG inside centre, yet again, opened up UCD’s defence, allowing her to dive over the try-line to make it 10-0. NUIG managed to add three further tries to their tally before the end of the opening fixture, scoring two very similar tries from deep positions, as well as a try based off very physical pick and drive play from a solid set piece.
UCD 5 ucc 5 Collidge’s second fixture saw them take on UCC in an evenly matched tie, as the hosts came back from an early setback and dominated proceedings at the tail end of the game. UCC dictated the opening ten minutes, with their attack well drilled to maintain possession despite UCD’s back row of Meenagh, Gillis and Aisling Feeley ensuring they had a physical battle on their hands. Eventually, UCC’s pressure in their opponent’s half told as UCD knocked on at the breakdown. This gifted UCC the platform to attack and from the resulting scrum, their scrumhalf took the ball in both hands and weaved between UCD defenders to run the first try of the game. UCD hit back straight from the kick off and won possession thanks to their captain Gillis piling pressure on UCC. After securing the ball, UCD maintained over 15 phases in the UCC 22, with Meenagh, Feeley and Gillis carrying bravely throughout as O’Callaghan dictated play from scrumhalf. After 15 phases, O’Callaghan
spread the ball to her flyhalf, Jess Bertrand, who found inside centre Anna-May Gibson Kiely on her right shoulder. Kiely carried towards the UCC line and after being brought down just shy of the try-line, UCC were penalised for going off their feet at the breakdown. O’Callaghan came forward to take the tap and instead of spreading wide, dove straight towards the line, catching the UCC defenders unaware and leveling the game. UCD missed the conversion, and a chance to take the lead. However, Collidge had another chance to win the game from the kick off when Meenagh gathered the ball in midfield and broke numerous tackles to charge towards the try-line. Meenagh didn’t have the pace to finish the chance and although UCD used this break to pile some pressure
on UCC late on, the visitors managed to steal the ball at the breakdown and clear their lines and the referee brought the game to an end.
the Dublin University half, their opponents regained some confidence and started to grow into the game. They managed to create an opening on the UCD right wing as the towering Dublin University second UCD 0 DU 5 row charged through a gaping hole. UCD took on Dublin University in Great positioning by UCD winger their final game of the competiRachel Dooley meant she was on hand tion, with both sides requiring to make the covering tackle and take a victory to make the final. the lock down close to the sideline. Collidge managed to get an At this stage, Dublin University early foothold in the game thanks had a firm grip on the game and to great play by their pack, namely were looking very dangerous with second rows Sarah Brennan and the ball in hand. UCD hooker, Sabine Neumayer, while the props Nadine Fadel, was giving a flawless Keytelynne Radde and Olivia defensive display, but the visiFogarty played a vital role in ensuring tors were still making ground. their side recycled possession. Dublin University looked to Yet again UCD’s set piece let have scored a well deserved try them down and resulted in them after a clean break through UCD’s needlessly giving away possesdefence. With Collidge defenders sion. Following some pressure in scrambling to make the tackle
and the attacker racing towards the corner, UCD fullback, Ailbhe Tuohy, made an excellent last ditch tackle to prevent a certain try. An error at the resulting breakdown by the Dublin University scrumhalf saw her step out of play and gave UCD a reprieve. Despite earning some breathing space, Dublin University didn’t relent and quickly after the lineout, they retrieved the ball in the UCD 22. UCD committed significant numbers to each Dublin University pick and drive towards the try-line, desperately attempting to stifle their opponent’s chance to snatch a late victory, but eventually the pressure told as UCD conceded a try in the final minute of the game. KILLIAN WOODS
Collidge come up short in cliffhanger In one of the coldest days of the season, a large crowd gathered for what was expected to be a relatively straightforward game for the home side, UCD. Right from the start, a strong St. Mary’s pack started to show their dominance in some of the early scrums. Collidge, however, drew photo Killian Woods
november 26th 2013
first blood as a good attacking play saw the home team pick up a penalty after just six minutes. James Thornton confidently split the posts and gave his side a 3-0 lead. As both sides hands started to warm up, there was a lot to be excited about. Both teams tried using their options out wide, with
UCD’s Sam Coghlan-Murray scoring in the right corner following an impressive break by Stephan Murphy. This was again knocked over by Thornton to give his side a ten point lead after only ten minutes. St. Mary’s struggled to get back into the game, as Collidge’s quick defence stopped any attack dead in its tracks. They didn’t give up, however, and clever little kicks in behind the home side’s defensive line gave them confidence. This resulted in a penalty for St. Mary’s, easily kickable by Steve Taol-Lennon, the visiting place kicker. A nervous miss meant they came away with nothing after some good attacking play; something of a blow for the away side. An early injury to the lively Collidge scrum half, Jamie Glynn, prevented them from piecing together any back line moves in attack. This led to more St. Mary’s pressure and eventually to a penalty, which the away side opted to kick to touch. This plan worked as UCD were forced to bring down a driving maul on the try line resulting in a penalty try with the spoils going to Gareth Austen. The conversion went over and brought the score to 10-7 to the home side. St. Mary’s continued with possession as a great scrum secured them a steady platform to work from. But the ball wasn’t going to hand in these cold conditions and a lot of messy attacks from both sides saw neither score any valuable points. Good individual attacking play by Philip Brophy and Dylan Fawsitt gave UCD’s well-structured defence something to think about. Yet it failed to work, as good clearance kicks from Collidge’s Murphy and Coghlan-Murray prevented them from having any continuity in the game. At half time the score remained 10-7 to Collidge.
UCD’s start to the second half lacked the same intensity as the first, as they bounced off a wall of St. Mary’s defenders. In contrast, the away side launched attacks and nearly saw Robbie Hudson break through the host’s defence. A poorly-timed yellow card for Collidge’s Peadar Timmins gifted St. Mary’s a crucial one man advantage and three points from the boot of Toal-Lennon. Another penalty shortly after was missed by a rushed Toal-Lennon, who had a bit of a mixed bag throughout the night. Collidge’s Coghlan-Murray’s covering throughout the night was outstanding and prevented St. Mary’s from getting any loose ball deep in UCD’s half. In a strange turn of events, St. Mary’s managed to get a penalty just inside the UCD half and get their flanker Gareth Austen sin binned all at once. Crucially Toal-Lennon kept his head and managed to slot the kick with a huge roar from the crowd. This gave the away side a three point advantage over the hosts. UCD’s yellow carded player made a return to the field with some big hits on the St. Mary’s attack. This gave the home side a boost, as they managed to earn a penalty right on the half-way line. Thornton’s replacement, Niall Earls, slotted home the kick, bringing the two teams level for the second time in the match. Again an outstanding piece of play from Coghlan-Murray quickly enabled Earls to have a go at the posts from almost the same position. The silence in the Bowl was immense, as this was seen as a crucial kick for the home side. Earls rose to the occasion and delivered stunning kick that just made it over the bar. With ten minutes left on the clock, St. Mary’s began another string of attacking plays, as
UCD rfc 16 St Mary’s RFC 18 UCD RFC home
15 Andy Boyle 14 Sam Coghlan-Murray 13 Alex Kelly 12 Stephen Murphy 11 Barry Daly 10 James Thornton 9 Jamie Glynn 1 Kieran Moloney 2 Risteard Byrne (c) 3 Liam Hyland 4 Brian Cawley
5 Emmet MacMahon 6 Jordan Coghlan 7 Eoin Joyce 8 Peadar Timmins Replacements
16 Rory Harrison 17 Adam Clarkin 18 Micheal Cawley 19 Rob Shanley 20 Niall Earls
St Mary’s College RFC away
15 Conor Hogan 14 Steve Toal-Lennon 13 Robbie Hudson 12 Mark Sexton (c) 11 Chris Lilly 10 Philip Brophy 9 Mathew D’Arcy 1 Colm McMahon 2 Dylan Fawsitt 3 Brian McGovern 4 Daragh Frawley the forwards relentlessly drove themselves towards the try line. A great pass by hooker Dylan Fawsitt to the awaiting winger Chris Lilly saw him in for the try. Yet the tough conversion was missed just right of the uprights and the away side only had a two point advantage. A well-executed scrum from Collidge saw them gain another penalty on the halfway line. The confident Earls stood up to the kick
5 Ciaran Ruddock 6 Gareth Austen 7 Barry O’Flanagan 8 Kevin Sheahan Replacements
16 Scott Flanagan 17 Arthur Lyons 18 Mark Fallon 19 Ian O’Neill 20 Ryan O’Loughlin that, with four minutes left on the clock, was sure to win it for them. Unfortuately for UCD, the kick dropped agonisingly short. Collidge again received an attempt on goal in the dying few minutes, this time on the right touch line at half way; an almost impossible kick. The effort came up short and eventually left St. Mary’s with the win 16-18. Joe Ronaldson