Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Council lost quorum after two hours last night after over one hundred people left the meeting which was dominated by elections to union committees.
Over 200 members of Council convened in the Stanley Quek lecture theatre in Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) at 6.30pm for the first Council meeting of the academic year.
Attendees at council must sign in in person as well as joining a Zoom meeting in order to be considered present and have voting rights.
After delays related to this sign-in process, proceedings began with the approval of minutes from the last meeting of Council.
Before elections took place, a motion was brought forward to update the terms of reference for the Campaign Committee so that members could be elected in accordance with the updated terms. The motion was passed near-unanimously.
Two annual members were elected to the Electoral Commission (EC) and one ordinary committee member to the Oversight Commission (OC).
The election for Undergraduate Studies Committee (USC) Representative was contested by School of Social Sciences and Philosophy Convenor László Molnárfi and Fourth Year Computer Science Class Rep and former Chair of Council Yannick Gloster.
Molnárfi promised members of Council to be “a major pain in the ass” for senior College staff, citing experience with campaigning on issues including online learning, alternative assessment, and problems with online module enrolment.
Gloster was elected to the position, citing prior familiarity with both members of the USC and the issues students face from his five years of experience with Council.
Nominations for Student Parents’ Officer were postponed to the next meeting of Council due to a lack of nominations.
Members were also elected to TCDSU’s Education Committee, Welfare and Equality Committee, Communications and Marketing Committee, TJH Committee, International Committee, Working Student Accommodations Working Group, Campaigns Committee, and Access Committee.
Following the completion of elections, attendance at the meeting dropped to below the 116 members (one third of total membership) needed to pass motions and Council was adjourned before any further motions could be brought.
The next meeting of Council will take place on November 1. Motions not discussed at yesterday’s meeting are required to be submitted again for consideration at next Council.
Additional reporting by Aidan Cusack and Sofia Ferrari Bravo.
