With Halloween come and gone and six weeks of online class behind us, I think we’re all looking forward to the chance to recharge a little over reading week. But before you officially take to your bed with some deserved hot chocolate or cocktails, we have one more week of classes, and as always, Trinity’s societies are here to help you push through it. This week is also TCDSU Mental Health Week, so there will be a number of events geared towards a discussion of mental wellbeing, along with activities to promote a healthy mental lifestyle.
Earlier this month, the Irish Government launched an ambitious Climate Action Bill which will put limits on carbon emissions in all sectors in the hope of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. TCD Environmental Society, Trinity Economic Forum and TCD LawSoc will be holding a Climate Action Bill Q&A on Monday at 8pm, where you can learn about how “putting Irish climate goals into law” will affect all aspects of our “day to day” lives. They will be joined by expert guest speakers, including Theresa O’Donohue and Suryapratim Roy.
Tuesday, as we all know, is the day of the US Elections, and, with this in mind, Trinity Ents will be holding a Trinity Talent: Political Special, in which Trinity’s various political societies will discuss what it is like to run a youth branch of a political party on campus. If you plan on staying up to await the results of the Presidential election, the Hist and the Society for International Affairs are holding an Out for the Count Zoom party to keep you company. Starting at 10:30pm, the party will continue for as long as people are awake, present and in need of moral support.
Also on Tuesday, DU Music will be collaborating with Cumann Gaelach TCD to bring you Ceolchorim na Samhna at 8:30pm. There will be singing, dancing, poetry and even some magic. Anyone interested is welcome to take part and showcase their talents, hidden or otherwise. Finally, the Classical Society’s weekly Mythology Group Discussion will take place Tuesday at 2pm.
On Wednesday evening, Q Soc have organised a screening of Portrait of a Lady On Fire at 8pm. If their description is anything to go by, this sounds like a positively sizzling piece of cinema. On Tuesday, Q Soc will also be hosting a Trans and Non Binary Closed Space and a Queer People of Colour Closed Space on Thursday. Their Closed Space policies mean that these events are an opportunity to talk about your experiences in a confidential and safe environment.
On Thursday, DU Music will be holding their EGM to elect a new Librarian, combined with an Open Recital. Submissions for the Open Recital should be in by Tuesday, so pull out your piano, flute, drums, or whatever it is you play, and start recording.
With this week being TCDSU Mental Health Week, DU Gender Equality Society will be holding a Social Media Self Care workshop about using social media responsibly and building a “body positive social media experience” on Thursday. Also on Thursday is DU Psychological Society’s Coping with Covid: Mental Health Panel Discussion to talk about the challenges Covid-19 has brought and how this impacts our mental wellbeing.
On Friday, the Korean Society will be hosting a Knitting Collab with KnitSoc at 6pm, which will be a nicely relaxed way to ring in reading week, or decompress after turning in any assignments. If you prefer celebrations of a more raucous kind, Trinity Ents is hosting an event in collaboration with Trinity Comedy Society on Friday evening to finish off TCDSU Mental Health Week. More information about this event is to come.
Forever “making life at Trinity taste better”, DU Food and Drink are launching the first of a six week Ultimate Level 5 Cook Off. Every Sunday for six weeks, you will receive a list of three ingredients in the society’s weekly email. You have until the following Friday to cook or bake your most inventive dish including those three ingredients. For a chance to win one of their weekly prizes, you have to take a picture of your dish, caption it, post it on your Instagram story and send it to DU Food and Drink.
With such a variety of events to choose from, we will all hopefully make it through to reading week safely. As this first quarter of the academic year draws to a close, it should be said that all of Trinity’s societies deserve praise for the unfailing creativity with which they are continuing to organise events despite the challenges of functioning entirely online. We commend you!
