Samuel Isijola has been elected chair of the Central Societies Committee (CSC) at the body’s AGM this evening.
Adam Ó Ceallaigh was elected treasurer, while Ámhra Carey was elected secretary.
Caitlin Earley was elected to the position of Amenities Officer.
Candidates were elected by a vote among treasurers of fully recognised Trinity societies.
Isijola, a second year biological and biomedical sciences student, is chair of the Afro Caribbean Society (ACS), having previously served as the society’s first year representative.
Speaking at the AGM this evening, Isijola said that he feels he has a “natural flair and zeal to want to work with people”, adding that being chair of ACS has been one of his “biggest successes” in life.
He said that the CSC has done “an amazing job this year” and that he looked forward to working with next year’s committee.
Ó Ceallaigh, a third year geography and politics student, last year served as Chair of Trinity Young Greens, and is the treasurer of Dún Laoghaire branch of the Green Party.
Ó Ceallaigh indicated plans to introduce a new grant application website for society to make the process more accessible, as well as introducing “more concise” training documents so that society treasurers don’t always have to contact the CSC treasurer or recall treasurer training when faced with issues.
Carey, a second year law student, is the current Registrar of the University Philosophical Society (the Phil), a role which he described as having many of the same duties as a secretary.
He said that he understood the importance of societies “to college and the college experience”.
Caitlin Earley, a third year film student and chair of the Literary Society (LitSoc), was elected Amenities Officer. Earley highlighted that since Trinity lacks many student spaces, societies provide “the bulk” of this space.
Earley said that she would like to invest in furniture such as couches for society rooms where people can sleep, as well as fridges for people to keep their lunch, given many students’ unsatisfactory accommodation situation.
Michael Cagney, Steluta Florentina Chelaru, Alex Culliton, Sébastien Dunne Fulmer, Grace Gollogley, Makua Ifediora, Henry James and Faith Olopade were also elected as ordinary members of the CSC Executive Committee.
Sabbatical chair
Members also voted in favour of a motion proposed by CSC Chair Tom Hegarty to explore the “feasibility and functionality” of a sabbatical position for the chair.
Hegarty cited issues of burnout associated with the role as a motivating factor to bring forward the proposal, saying that he had spoken with previous chairs who agreed it was a challenge they also faced.
He added that a sabbatical position would give the chair more time to meet one-on-one with societies and stay in touch without societies having to come forward to the CSC only when they face problems.
The proposal was passed by a show of hands having been met with minimal discussion and no opposition from members.
Full CSC recognition was granted to two societies at the meeting, the Association of Medical Students Ireland and Dublin University Consulting Group.
A number of constitutional amendments were also approved by those at the meeting, following the establishment of a constitutional review working group at the CSC’s Michaelmas Term General Meeting.
The meeting featured no discussion of a proposed merger between the CSC and Trinity Publications announced earlier this month.
