Eve McGann speaks to a VDP’s Street Outreach programme about narratives of homelessness.
Freja Goldman analyses Trinity’s QS Sustainability ranking.
English Studies and Female Representation:
Senator Aubrey McCarthy discuss on the ground experience and campaigning with Molly Wetsch.
Deena Redmond analyses whether the course is lacking female authors.
Volume XV, Issue IV
Election Supplement
Polls, interviews, and news covering all things Student Union Sabbatical elections in the annual election supplement. Clara Potts sits down with Catherine Fay to discuss the Abbey Theatre’s Emma and the show’s innovative costume design.
Radius
Eliora Abramson speaks to Dublin based DJ and Trinity student Sahana about her influences, dealing with mental health and goals for the future. Lotta Scheffel examines how Trinity and the wider Dublin community celebrates the Lunar New Year.
Harper Alderson explores the world of the pick-up artists and the way they play ‘the Game’.
universitytimes.ie
Monday 25 February 2025
Broken Lifts and Accommodation Woes for Students with Disabilities Faolán Doecke-Launders
T
rinity has long been celebrated as a bastion of academic excellence and historical significance. However, beneath its reputation lies a troubling reality: its campus remains deeply inaccessible to many disabled students, staff, and visitors. Despite ongoing promises of improvement, Trinity’s built environment often fails to meet the needs of those with disabilities, leaving them excluded from full participation in college life. Students repeatedly complain to Estates and Facilities and the Disability Service about issues of inaccessibility across campus, but little is done to address these concerns or improve conditions. Despite ongoing feedback highlighting barriers related to physical access, signage, and the usability of key facilities, meaningful progress remains elusive. The following examples were stark; Printing House Square (PHS) “Though designed as a modern and inclusive space, Printing House Square has significant accessibility flaws,” says Chioma, a wheelchair user. “The outdoor lift is my biggest issue. It’s dysfunctional 90% of the time I use it, and Estates & Facilities has known about this since September 2023 without resolution.” Chioma adds that reliance on alternative routes, coupled with limited building access outside specific hours, causes delays and additional challenges. “We’re often told, ‘The maintenance workers say it’s fine,’ but it’s not. Disabled users need to be consulted
to address these ongoing barriers.” Similarly, Glen, another wheelchair user who recently moved into the brand-new accommodation at Printing House Square, shares his frustrations. While the front entrance of the building was accessible, he found that almost all internal doors were not. ‘When I finally got to my apartment on the top floor, I discovered that the entrance door was inaccessible, although my room itself was designed to accommodate wheelchair users,’ Glen explains. “Why would someone design a building like this?” He also highlights difficulties with
accessing the wardrobes, describing them as poorly designed and impractical. “It’s such bad design,” he adds, underscoring the ongoing challenges posed by a lack of thoughtful, inclusive planning. Trinity Sports Centre Melanie, a Paralympian and wheelchair user, shared her frustrations with the ongoing dysfunction of the Trinity Sports Centre lift. “I’ve stopped trying to use the facility because the lift is always broken,” she said. This failure impacts her ability to train and balance her athletic and academic commitments. Since the start of the academic year, the lift has
worked only 5% of the time, forcing Melanie to rely on a service lift that requires waiting 10-20 minutes per trip. “This delay not only disrupts my training but makes me late for tutorials and lectures,” she explained. “It’s unfair to compromise my education and sport because a basic accessibility feature isn’t functioning.” Beyond the delays, the process undermines her independence. “I need staff to operate the service lift, which feels demeaning. No one else asks for permission to access different floors.” As a high-performance athlete on a Trinity scholarship, Melanie emphasizes the lift issue limits her ability to train effectively and discourages her from practicing independently in the sports hall. “Your ‘outstanding facility’ is inaccessible to wheelchair users like me, and it’s affecting my ability to succeed in sport and academics. This needs immediate resolution.” The Long Room Hub & Arts Building lift Students and staff alike frequently report issues with broken lifts and poorly maintained pathways. When lifts fail, alternative routes are either non-existent or impractical, leaving disabled individuals stranded or forced to navigate lengthy detours. These examples illustrate only a fraction of the day-to-day struggles faced by members of Trinity’s community with disabilities. The audit results reveal that the majority of buildings fail to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 >>
RON Campaign Opposes the Three €40,000 Fund Allocated TCDSU Presidential Candidates to Trinity Student Cafés Molly Wetsch
I
n a contested TCDSU sabbatical race, one group is trying to ensure none of the three candidates for Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President are elected to the office next week. RON on Pres, an anonymous group which encourages students to place Re-Open Nominations (RON) as their number one vote for TCDSU President, has placed posters around campus and was offered a formal candidacy by the Electoral Commission last Thursday– which they did not accept. The group posted a statement to their Instagram indicating that they did not choose to accept candidacy due to the need to instate a campaign manager, therefore requiring the group to provide member names. They also said the restrictions on campaign periods would not give the group enough time to create a campaign video and post it to the TCDSU Instagram account. The group disclosed that they are “decentralised” with seven students involved directly, and twenty students showing interest in being involved. The group relayed their main concerns with the presidential candidates’ campaigns via Instagram to The University Times. The group said each manifesto was “lacking in individual ways that raise concerns about the continuing function of the Union, both as a service provider and as a campaigning body.” They also highlighted issues with two of the candidates’ party affiliations – Patrick Keegan with Sinn Féin and Seán Thim O’Leary with the Social Democrats. RON on Pres stated that they were concerned that the candidates were “notably lacking” in public speaking skills, which they say are “essential” to a successful candidate. RON on Pres said Keegan’s failure to provide a plain text manifesto and his use of inaccessible Instagram graphics “essentially discounts a cohort of students” and expressed concern about his “hyper focus on direct action,”
saying he “does not suggest any new routes beyond the lobbying already pushed by numerous school convenors and officers in the Union.” In a statement to the newspaper, Keegan said his plain text manifesto was available on the Students’ Union website. Upon hearing of the RON on Pres campaign’s critique of Keegan’s materials, the candidate says he has since added a plain text manifesto as well as plain text versions of Instagram posts to his campaign’s Linktree. Keegan said regarding his party affiliation that “I am an activist first and foremost … I view my national political involvement as a separate, disconnected channel in which I can fight for change.” In regards to concerns about his “hyper focus on direct action,” he said that ”to effect change, we must be radical. We must be willing to take actions to seriously challenge the status quo. Direct action is how we do this.” He indicated that pursuing routes the Union has already taken does not constitute a lack of action, saying “It’s not always about reinventing the wheel, it’s sometimes about taking tired and tested methods for activism and applying it to different situations to enact change.” O’Leary’s “over-focusing” on lobbying was called “a significant step back from the effective actions taken by recent presidents” by the group. RON on Pres also criticised their “lack of ambition and general focus” as a move towards “complacency on student matters that cannot be delayed,” and noted a “complete non-mention of Palestine” in their manifesto. In a statement to The University Times, O’Leary said that they “have no intentions on rolling back on direct action. Lobbying is merely step one in a process of escalated action.” They said they were confused by indications that Palestine is not a priority for them, stating: “I am unapologetically pro-Palestinian, and I have continually and regularly sought to applaud the achievements of TCD BDS.” In regard to their affiliation with the Social Democrats, they said “I am
not a party candidate, nor have I ever done anything remotely partisan in my engagement with the SU, nor have I run on this basis. I’m running for President of TCDSU, not President of people who agree with me.” Ron on Pres cited candidate Giovanni Li’s proposal to integrate transgender mentorship through the DisAbility Service as “inefficient” and echoing a conservative narrative on trans identity. They also said his initiative to have students work as cleaners for their peers’ accommodation “without levels of exploitation, judgment, and exacerbated class stratification” is “impossible.” His push to introduce sleeping pods on campus was called a “welfare issue” and “not a viable alternative for a robust housing campaign.” In a statement to The University Times, Li defended his policies: In regards to trans inclusion in the DisAbility service, Li said that discussion with trans individuals revealed that trans students are “often placed with the DisAbility Service”. He said that criticisms of the student cleaning service were unfounded, saying that “having a part-time job is in no way shameful or elitist” and this mentality takes “away the right of the students to avail of opportunities that could really help them in their struggles.” Li also said that “the idea of the sleeping pods is not a fix for lack of accommodation” and “[he’s] seen students trying to sleep on couches, on floors and in the most unhealthy places so that they can get 5 minutes of shut-eye.” All three presidential candidates have confirmed that they have received no communication from the RON group regarding their campaigns. “I disagree with the R.O.N. campaign’s evaluation of my candidacy as relayed to me, but it is certainly their right to be concerned. However, I’ve received no direct communication from them or anyone on these concerns, and I’d genuinely welcome the chance to engage with them if they want to talk to me and try to clear things up,” O’Leary said in their statement.
Helena Thiel
Last night’s Students’ Union Council saw the approval of the allocation of €5,000 from the HEA (Higher Education Authority) Fund to support the further development of a new JCR Café in Trinity Halls and another €35,000 to the SU Café for the next five years. Ten people from the Junior Common Room (JCR) attended the Council to present the motion to secure investment to support the development of a new café in Trinity Hall. JCR president Aibhe McBride introduced the motion, pointing out the lack of welcoming student spaces available in Trinity Hall. She further explained how the founding of the café would create opportunities for student employment. The motion was passed amid loud applause and cheers. Speaking to The University Times, McBride explains how she
Molly Wetsch: Aubrey McCarthy, Trinity’s newest senator, discusses his campaign. PAGE 6
Editor: Brídín Ní Fhearraigh-Joyce Volume XV, Issue IV ISSN: Phone: (01) 646 8431 Email: editor@universitytimes.ie Website: universitytimes.ie
and her flatmates “saw a gap in the market” for “an accessible, welcoming and comfortable student space” living in Trinity Hall last year. They decided to enter a Dragon’s Den event organised by the JCR and TES (Trinity Entrepreneurial Society) among others, with their idea to found a café, winning the competition and receiving €500. Currently, students in Trinity Hall have access to Oldham House. However, McBride notes how “it’s completely inaccessible” and that there is “rarely any initiative for people to even come and just hang out there.” This year, the JCR brought the idea to the Trinity Hall Warden and the Director of Student Services to make it a reality. Having worked to set up the café for the past few weeks, they are ready to open, having “Halls employees hired and ready to go.” The JCR
Eve McGann: Trinity VDP Street Outreach Member shares his experience working with those living in adverse conditions.
plans to add couches and a pool table to make it a welcoming place. The additional €5,000 allocated to the café “will obviously elevate the whole space and kind of give it that longer lasting infrastructure”. McBride notes how, in creating more student spaces, the JCR is working “in parallel” with the Students’ Union, who have “done a fantastic job of securing an actual student centre in Trinity”, referring to the planned refurbishment of the Science Gallery announced late last year. “Hopefully it will make a big difference”. In addition to the new JCR Café, the HEA allocated another €35,000 to the SU Café. President Jenny Maguire noted the need for affordable food options on campus amid the rising cost of living and that the money will go to training staff, upkeep of the café, and reducing prices.
Eliora Abramson: One in twenty students have been exposed to sex-forrent offers, one report says.
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