When I was away over Christmas, someone from a different country started asking me about Ireland. She had lived in Derry during the 80s, and spent a lot of time going back and forth along the border, so her questions …
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Voluntourism shouldn’t be for everyone
Too many people see volunteering opportunities abroad as a free holiday
Last summer, I spent about two months volunteering on a project in Vietnam. It was an incredible experience. There were around twenty of us from all across the globe doing the project together. We all got along well, but very …
Schols is not inherently elitist
There are inequalities in Schols, but it is wrong to denigrate the whole institution
The article ‘Schols is an Elitist Institution‘ raises some important questions about Foundation Scholarships, or Schols. It makes valid points about the questionable ethics of rewarding students on the basis of exam results, without taking into account the …
Schols is an elitist institution
The award is incompatible with modern conceptions of equality and diversity
The concept of meritocracy, defined as the acquisition or maintenance of power on the grounds of ability alone, regardless of resources or social position, has long been debunked by academics and social scientists, who recognise that a complex web of …
The Burkean Journal would be dangerous if it were any good
The Journal prefers an aggressive brand of identity politics to argumentative substance
A new year, a new sad and cynical play for relevance by Trinity’s least prolific, but most pompous, student publication. The total of twelve pieces published in the Burkean Journal over the past two months must have had such an …
Why the 2018 SU elections offer more of less
Once again, the campaign offers an uninspiring slate.
A dearth of candidates already confirms that the 2018 Trinity College Students’ Union (TCDSU) elections will stand as a reflection of the growing apathy on campus surrounding student politics. Two uncontested races and several clear favourites seem to guarantee an …
Oprah should not be the US President
Her Golden Globes speech was inspiring, but that does not qualify her for leadership
I’m sure I wasn’t the only woman who got goosebumps upon hearing the climax of Oprah Winfrey’s acceptance speech at the 2018 Golden Globes. Met with a standing ovation from her fellow Hollywood elites, Oprah proclaimed: “for too long, women …
HEAD2HEAD: Gun regulations in the US
For – Emma Rodgers
Nothing will change if gun laws stay the same. Americans deserve to be safe, but bearing arms does more harm than good
After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in December 2012, everyone hoped that …
Student loans: a blight that we should not spread
The current UK setup can be a painful ordeal for many, and should by no means be used as a model for Ireland
Following the €47.5m increase in higher education funding in the budget, three options have taken centre stage as possible structural solutions to university funding crisis in Ireland: a state-funded system, in which student contributions are abolished, increased state funding with …
Christmas and the homelessness crisis
At Christmas time, we must to remember those with no home to go to.
In recent weeks, An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has claimed that Ireland has a low level of homelessness compared to Ireland’s “peer countries”. There are various methods and measures that Ireland’s “peer countries” use to measure the rate of homelessness, so …