SU election campaigns kick off

16 candidates are vying for six sabbatical positions in this year’s Trinity College Students’ Union elections.

PRESIDENT

Running for the position of SU president are Lynn Ruane, Conor O’Meara, Gabriel Adewusi, and Nessan Harpur.

Third-year PPES student Lynn Ruane came to college through the Trinity Access Programme and currently works as SU’s student parent officer. An anti-austerity activist, she was employed as a drugs worker at the age of 17 in Killinarden, where she developed a programme to combat the rise of heroin use among local teenagers. In 2007, she became community development drugs worker with Bluebell Addiction Advisory Group and later initiated the women’s group, Get Active Programme, after which she was invited to speak at the National Drug Conference of Ireland. She has sat on local community boards, including the Canal Community Local Drugs Task Force and Policing Forum, and currently works for Depaul Ireland.

Third-year BESS student and Galway native Conor O’Meara will be a familiar figure to those who lived in Halls in last year. A former president of Trinity Halls’ JCR committee, O’Meara has also served on the SU’s communications and campaigns committees and now acts as his year’s BESS coordinator, having previously been their class rep in first year. He was elected as Cancer Soc’s awareness officer last year and is an active member of Trinity VDP.

Nessan Harpur, a final-year student of mechanical engineering, was elected as class rep at the beginning of the academic year and previously spent two years as an S2S mentor. He currently works with a committee running the inaugural Trinity Film Festival and set up a branch of Engineers Without Borders in college.

Gabriel Adewusi, a third-year human health and diseases student, is a volunteer with S2S and the SU’s current access officer. He is also public relations officer for the Afro-Caribbean Soc.

EDUCATION

Molly Kenny, the unopposed candidate for education officer, is a long-time SU representative, having won Representative of the Year at USI Student Awards 2013 for her role as the first-year class rep for Engineering. Now the SU’s faculty convenor of Engineering, Maths and Science, she sits on the University Council, Faculty Executive, Education Committee and Union Forum, and was formerly a member of the Welfare Committee and Constitutional Review Sub-committee. In addition to her SU experience, she has also been a member of the College Historical Society’s committee, helping to run the society’s annual maidens competition for novice debaters.

WELFARE

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The race to succeed SU welfare officer Ian Mooney is also set to be contested by five students – Aoife O’Brien, Louise O’Toole, Conor Clancy, Liam Mulligan and Muireann Montague.

Final-year chemistry student Muireann Montague, who has been involved in LGBT activism since second year, helping out with Q Soc’s campaign team as a senior freshman, before being elected two years in a row to serve as the society’s liaison officer. Her SU CV includes membership of rainbow week, welfare and campaign committees, as well as a spell as a class rep for chemistry.

Final-year history student Conor Clancy currently holds the position of sport and exercise officer on the welfare committee and has volunteered as an S2S peer mentor. He represented Trinity at last year’s Student Sport Ireland conference and co-founded the Lighthouse project to facilitate meetings between off-books students. Since coming to college he’s also been involved with DU Players, DUFC, DU Boxing Club, DU Snowsports and the Jazz society.

Louise O’Toole, a final-year social studies student, has spent three and four years respectively volunteering for S2S and Foróige, and is currently the head mentor for the BESS faculty group. As part of her course requirements, she has spent two semesters on social work placements. In addition, she has participated in numerous TCDSU campaigns, spent a year as welfare ambassador and was a Voluntary Tuition Programme tutor in her first year.

Aoife O’Brien is also running for the position. She is a third-year student of computer engineering, TCDSU’s inaugural gender equality officer and a previous SU disability officer. A former class rep, peer mentor and co-founder of DU Germanic Soc, she has also been involved in SciFi Soc and the DU Gender Equality Society.

The final candidate, Liam Mulligan, is a third-year student of business and politics. He’s been involved in the welfare campaign #TCDTalks and featured in the SU’s #TCDListens video, released two weeks ago. He also helped to found SusLiving – a charity initiative that aims to promote the benefits of sustainable living and environmentalism amongst school children and college students. In addition, he acts as the Irish ambassador for a French crowdfunding platform, Makers and Bankers, and serves as PRO of Horse Racing Soc.

COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

commsTwo candidates – Aifric Ni Chriodain and Jemma O’Leary – are contesting the new position of communications and marketing officer.

Ni Chriodain is a final-year student of French and film studies. In addition to her two years on the council of the University Philosophical Society, first as pro-librarian and then librarian (public relations officer), Ni Chriodain has worked in a number of marketing positions since starting college and currently sits on committees for the Central Society’s Executive (CSC) and the Trinity Arts Festival (TAF).

Third-year French and history student Jemma O’Leary is the editor of DU History’s publication, The Historian, and was this year charged with sourcing sponsorship for the society. She also serves as third-year representative on the Cancer Society’s committee.

UNIVERSITY TIMES

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Edmund Heaphy is the sole candidate running for the position of University Times editor this year. The second-year German and philosophy student previously worked as the paper’s creative director, overseeing the paper’s first redesign in five years – which he credits as having helped win the paper Student Publication of the Year at an award ceremony held by the USI last year. He is UT deputy editor this year and also Icarus’ layout editor.

ENTS

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Katie Cogan, David Gray and Conor Parle are the three candidates contesting the position of Ents officer this year. Cogan is a third-year student of functional biology and the head presenter of Trinity TV. She is also a class rep, the secretary of DU DJ Soc, co-presenter of TFM science show still.in.sane, and an S2S mentor.

Final-year law and business student David Gray works on the Ents team as events and nights manager. He is also an active member of Law Soc, DU DJ and Snowsports.

Conor Parle, a final-year maths and economics student, has been involved in societies including SoFia and the Germanic Society, which he founded three years ago, as well as having volunteering experience with S2S and the Voluntary Tuition Programme.

Photos: Kevin O’Rourke

James Wilson

News Editor