Provost Patrick Prendergast has agreed to “seriously consider alternative proposals” to supplemental exam fees, modular billing, postgraduate and non-EU student fees in a tweet sent from his official account. This follows a meeting with the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) and Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU).
Prendergast concluded his statement by saying that “Trinity is a university that belongs to all of us who study and work here”.
This statement follows today’s events, where the Dining Hall was locked down by external security. In a statement to Trinity News, the Take Back Trinity campaign said that there were approximately 60 students in the building at 5pm. The statement said that “External Security services are now blocking all entrances into the Dining Hall. Security have made it clear that no food or water will be permitted into the Dining hall. Toilet access has also been cut off”.
The campaign said that “students will be permitted to leave the building if they wish,” and that “access to all other parts of the Dining hall have been cut off”. In addition, students were warned that “the doors are now alarmed. If the alarm is triggered an emergency response unit will be immediately sent”.
Following this response, students flocked to Front Gate and other areas of College to protest the introduction of the €450 flat fee for supplemental exams. Students were joined by many, including Senator Ivana Bacik as well as TD Richard Boyd Barrett.
