Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) opened nominations for sabbatical officer positions today until January 19, in advance of the elections which will be held from February 12-22.
In a press statement to Trinity News, TCDSU President , Kevin Keane, said: “Running for sabbatical officer is something that I would highly recommend to anyone in college. The six elected positions are challenging, and extremely fulfilling. The opportunity to work full time on behalf of the 17,000 students of Trinity is once in a lifetime. Anyone considering running for any of the positions is welcome to get in touch with me or any of the other Officers, and I’ll be happy to discuss the details with them.”
Keane continued: “This was my first elected position in the SU, and it’s great to have fresh faces and new perspective on things. The leadership races are all about what you think the SU should look like – If you like what the Union has been doing, great! Run to develop on it. If you don’t, run to change our focus. Either way, run – you absolutely will not regret it.”
Alice MacPherson, Education Officer of TCDSU also commented on the upcoming elections following the opening of nominations in a press statement. “It took months of encouragement for my friends to convince me to run. Now I wonder why I didn’t just go for it earlier. Running for sabbat was thrilling – exciting and scary all at once. The campaign period really makes you step up and become a better you. You learn how to put yourself out there, speak about your passions and meet wonderful people along the way.”
President, Education Officer, Communications Officer, Welfare Officer, Entertainment Officer and the Editor of the University Times are the six sabbatical officers of TCDSU. Any student can be nominated and run for a position. Those who will be putting themselves forward as candidates will have to pay a €50 deposit to run. To be nominated, the participant must gather 10 signatures from current Trinity students.
Each candidate will be able to spend a maximum of €300 of their own money on his or her campaign, with an additional €100 on stunts. Last year, four races were uncontested, with the role of President and Welfare Officer being the only contested positions.
