TCDSU elects 15 part-time officers in uncontested races

A further ten contested positions are to be elected next week

15 students have been elected uncontested to part-time roles in Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) for the 2020/21 academic year, including positions on the union’s Electoral Commission and Oversight Commission and part-time officerships.

While elections for TCDSU positions are ordinarily held during a physical meeting of TCDSU Council, meetings of class representatives and union officers are to take place online due to the ongoing closure of College amid the coronavirus pandemic. Elections for 10 contested races are due to take place next week.

Computer science student Yannick Gloster was elected uncontested as Chair of Council. Gloster, who has served as an ordinary member of the Electoral Commission for the last year, will take over from current chair Sadhbh Brennan for the new academic year. The Chair of Council also serves as Chair of the Electoral Commission.

Cian Walsh, who has previously served as an ordinary member of the Oversight Commission, was elected as Secretary to Council. Walsh, who studies computer science and language, will serve as both Secretary to Council and Chair of the Oversight Commission. 

Incumbent Secretary to Council Ellen McGrath is set to continue as an ordinary member next year alongside Lydia MacBride, while Alice Payne, current ordinary member Nicole Greenan and current Community Liaison Officer Emma Rossiter have been elected as annual members of the Electoral Commission. Laura Owens and Cian Fogarty are to continue in their positions as biennial members of the Electoral Commission until the end of the 2020/21 academic year.

Current Mature Students’ Officer Jimi Donohue has been re-elected to the role for a second term, while Marian Lovett has been named Student Parents’ Officer, filling the position following the impeachment of the previous Student Parents’ Officer in January.

Patrick O’Mahony, who hails from France and studies sociology and Spanish, has been elected International Students’ Officer, while Mairéad Ní Sheanlaoich has been elected the next Oifigeach na Gaeilge. O’Mahony and Ní Sheanlaoich will take up the reins from current officers Salem Barakat and Muireann Nic Corcráin respectively. 

Law and political science student Sierra Mueller-Owens replaces Ryan Carey as Gender Equality Officer, while psychology and economics student Sunetra Das is to take over from Sé Ó hEidin as Ethnic Minorities Officer.

History and political science student Niamh Mullins has been elected as Volunteer Forum Coordinator for a second term, having first been elected mid-year in November following the resignation of former coordinator Daire Hennessy. Psychology student Jack Shields, a former candidate for LGBT Rights Officer in 2019, was successfully elected as Community Liaison Officer. Shields is set to take over from incumbent Emma Rossiter.

A further 10 positions have been contested by multiple candidates, including all three faculty convenor roles.

Keane Ryan and Jacqui Whelan have been nominated for Arts, Humanities and Social Science (AHSS) Faculty Convenor. Zoe Cummins, Julia Piakowy and incumbent Daniel O’Reilly are running for Engineering, Mathematics and Sciences (EMS) Faculty Convenor, while Tídgh Maguire and Joseph Noctor are nominated for Health Sciences (HS) Faculty Convenor. 

The election for LGBT Rights Officer has attracted the highest number of candidates, with Ciarán Butler, Brian Hastings, Darren Seán May, Sé Ó hEidin and Jamie Shields vying for the position.

The races for Officer for Students with Disabilities, Access Officer, Off Campus Officer, Environmental Officer and Citizenship Officer have each drawn two candidates. Niamh Herbert and Harry O’Brien are the candidates for Officer for Students with Disabilities, while Lauren-Ellen Dunne and Megan O’Shea are in the race for Access Officer.

Environmental Officer has been contested by Sean Gordon Dalton and Aine Hennessy, with Matthew Henry and Jodie Milne nominated for Citizenship Officer.

Polling for the contested races opens on March 31.

Part-time officers are full-time students who work alongside sabbatical officers on specific student issues. The part-time officers and sabbatical officers together form Union Forum, an executive committee of the Students’ Union.

An earlier version of this article stated that Cian Walsh was a member of the Electoral Commission and studies computer science, when he was instead a member of the Oversight Commission and studies computer science and a language. The article was updated to correct this at 10pm, March 27. 

Lauren Boland

Lauren Boland was the Editor of the 67th volume of Trinity News. She is an English Literature and Sociology graduate and previously served as Deputy Editor, News Editor and Assistant News Editor.