In Conversation With Gavin Jennings discusses new theatre company Aimsir Theatre with its co-founders and Trinity Alumnae Aoife Cronin and Lucy Bracken.
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The Trinity 20 Our annual guide to who’s who in Trinity is back and better than ever! We profile Trinity’s 20 most notable and notorious students.
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Erin Trought explores Belfast band Kneecap and their supersonic rise to fame in light of their recent film
Emma Egan dicusses the prevalence of sport in film and its summer on-screen.
Trinity Wrestles Trademark Claims EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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ollege has lodged a legal opposition with the American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against WWE wrestler Trinity Fatu’s use of her name on merchandise. The legal reasons listed for opposing Trinity Fatu’s trademark, is the similarity in names is determined by College to cause a “likelihood of confusion” and “dilution by tarnishment” of Trinity’s brand. For Trinity Fatu, this means an extensive list of goods and services that would have her birth name “Trinity” included are opposed. In this opposition made by the college, the use of her birth name in the following instances are prohibited: wrestling contests, entertainment services, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wres-
Molly Wetsch speaks to former Chief Medical Officer and current adjunct professor Tony Holohan about the challenges university students face today. A freshers’ guide to Dublin nighlife by Ella Chepak
Theo Puech gives a beginner’s crash course to Irish politics
Tuesday 17th September, 2024
universitytimes.ie
Volume XV, Issue I
Brídín Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce
Freshers’ Supplement
tler and entertainer; live appearances by a professional wrestlers and sports entertainer, providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network, and providing online interviews featuring a professional wrestler and sports entertainer in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainmentforentertainmentpurposes. College declined to answer The University Times’ questions regarding the legal fees incurred by Trinity’s trademark oppositions generally, and the costs concerning Trinity Fatu’s trademark opposition specifically. A spokesperson for the university commented on the situation via email that “it is usual for any trademark owner to lodge an opposition to an application which contains similar words in the same classes of goods and services. In Trinity’s case, this occurs several times a year and is generally a first step in a pro-
cess that leads to a negotiation.” “Trinity College Dublin is a registered trademark in the US in Class 41 Education and Class 25 Clothing. A watch service set up via external Trademark Agents alerts the University to any trademark applications in the U.S. in classes that contain any elements of our registered mark.” The spokesperson’s statement implies that the trademark opposition is to block the trademark of clothing that Trinity Fatu may sell, however documents seen by The University Times have shown that Trinity Fatu is currently blocked completely from using her name in a professional merchandising capacity. The college also shares its name with Trinity College Cambridge, and Trinity College Connecticut, which are titles that are not yet trademarked.
13 Scholarships Offered to Palestinian Students Isabella Roussel NEWS EDITOR
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hirteen scholarships have been offered to students in Gaza seeking to continue their education at Trinity, according to a spokesperson from the administration. Since January 2024, Trinity has been working in collaboration with youth-led non-profit project We Are Not Numbers (WANN) to facilitate access to Trinity for students in Gaza. The program has since been expanded, and the funding towards it has doubled, as part of the encampment agreement reached in May between students and College management.
Last May, Trinity College Dublin Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Group (TCD BDS) led a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” outside the Arts Block on campus that lasted five days. Its professed goals were to sever all ties with Israeli institutions, and provide reparations to Palestine in the form of a number of scholarships reserved for students in Gaza. Fees for these students have been waived, and accommodation will be provided for through Trinity’s Sanctuary Fund, which was set up in 2022 to help refugees in light of the Ukraine war. However, the conditions under which these students are expected to leave Gaza to accept the scholarships are unclear. A number of prospective students receiving
scholarships from College that have made it to Egypt will be able to travel to Dublin, but for those remaining in Palestine Obstacles such as the sealed border between Gaza and Egypt and the expense of fleeing could complicate the process. When asked whether Trinity had a procedure in place to help students unable to leave the Gaza Strip, a College spokesperson replied “We are monitoring the situation and will continue to work with the students and key stakeholders”. College declined to offer comment on the cases of individual students from Gaza due to privacy reasons.
Palestinian Trinity Research Assistant Trapped in Gaza Isabella Roussel NEWS EDITOR
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une 2024 Gaza native Ezzeldeen Alswerky was accepted into the Trinity Biochemistry and Immunology department to work as a research assistant under associate professor Amir Khan. However, he has been unable to leave Gaza to take up this position. Alswerky is a graduate of the Biotechnology program at the Islamic University of Gaza. After his graduation in August, he continued his graduate project on biocommunication while working as a volunteer research assistant in a cancer lab. A year’s worth of Alswerky’s research was disrupted and lost when the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) bombed the Islamic University of Gaza on October 10th, 2023. In an effort to flee the war and continue his scientific career, he applied to institutions in Brazil, the U.S.A and Ireland, eventually choos-
ing Trinity over the others due to Ireland’s sympathetic stance towards the Palestinian plight. However, the means of finding refuge in, or fleeing Gaza are painstakingly slim. The IDF claim to target Hamas hideouts, however the group are known to burrow under residential neighbourhoods, blurring any clear boundaries between the civilian and militant world. At 365 square kilometres, with a population of 2.1 million, the Gaza Strip is even more densely populated than New York City, the result being that there are few, if any, safe places to hide or travel to the border. Palestinians may legally enter Egypt with a foreign passport, a foreign country lobbying on their behalf, approved medical aid, or, as a last resort, the payment of a coordination fee. Since the outbreak of the war, these costs have hiked up from €225 - 630, to €5,000- €6,750, making them unaffordable for most. In order to apply for an Irish visa, Alswerky will have to first find a way into Egypt, and fears being un-
able to afford the coordination fee. His contract has been postponed to November in the meantime. “I am stuck here and suffering from starvation and traumas everyday” he said in a statement to the University Times, “this war has cost me a brother, a family business, and my home”. Alswerky’s Principal Investigator, biochemistry associate professor Amir Khan, asked the administration to facilitate and expedite the process of the contract. Alswerky has received no other support from Trinity. Postdoctoral researcher at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Research Donna Rodgers-Lee is in regular contact with Alswerky. Rodgers stated in an email to The University Times that the Palestinian researcher has had no contact from Trinity with regards to his safety, despite living in an active warzone and having secured a contract with the College.
PHOTO BY FIONN BOWES-FITZPATRICK
A protestor from May’s BDS encampment waves a flag from the front gate entrance of Trinity.
Gaeilge
International
Climate
Cuireann Pádraig Mac Brádaigh, an chéad Oifigeach na Gaeilge Sabóideach, aidhmeanna don Ghaeilge i gColáiste na Tríonóide in iúl dúinn. PAGE 2»
Ella Chepak investigates how Trinity College treats international students differently from Irish students. PAGE 2»
Freja Goldman tries to reconcile Ryanair’s €2.5 million donation to College research with TCD’s commitment to sustainability. PAGE 11 »
USI to Assist in Creation of Ethnic Minority Support Groups in Irish Universities Natalia Kamendy DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR
Editor: Brídín Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce Volume XV, Issue I ISSN: Email: editor@universitytimes.ie Website: universitytimes.ie
This newspaper is produced with the financial support of Trinity College Students’ Union, but maintains a mutually agreed policy of editorial independence.
To contact UT, email: The Editor editor@universitytimes.ie
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Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) motion requiring the creation of Ethnic Minority Support Groups (EMSG) passed at the Union of Stu-
dents in Ireland National Council (Comhairle Náisiúnta), in a recent meeting on the 20th of August. Thanks to the work of TCDSU Welfare and Equality Officer Hamza Bana the College established the EMSG in March of this year. After passing this motion at the USI National Council (Comhairle Náisiúnta), other Irish universities will now
follow suit. In its report regarding this motion, the Comhairle stated that it is appalled by the lack of support that students from ethnic minorities receive on campuses across Ireland. As well as that, Comhairle praised the TCDSU Welfare and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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