USI Deputy President Colm Murphy

Rónán Burtenshaw
Editor

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI)’s online ‘Funding Vote’ has been called into question after it emerged that database errors allowed former and part-time students to vote and some students who had been registered for courses in more than one college to vote more than once. A full audit of the process will be initiated by the USI and carried out by facilitators HEAnet and Edugate after polls close. Trinity College, Dublin, however, does not seem to be affected by the flaws in the system.

Stories began emerging about the problems this morning on social media sites, with anti-fees activists particularly prominent in highlighting them. One online student newspaper, The Student Observer in Maynooth, published a story by a journalist and former NUI Maynooth student Dave Ryan alleging that he had been able to vote despite not being a currently registered student.

Speaking to Trinity News Mr. Ryan said that he had finished his masters programme in NUI Maynooth – where he had previously been an undergraduate – in May, 2011. His article included screenshots of his access to the system, which he said occurred this morning.

On Twitter USI President Gary Redmond responded to a query from Mr. Ryan by saying that the system was “based on edugate.ie, which queries each college’s database.” The student databases were “held by the college,” he continued, “not the USI.”

Another former student, and USI President, Peter Mannion also spoke with this paper to confirm that he had accessed the voting system as a UCD student, despite having already graduated from a part-time postgraduate course he was doing in the college.

Mr. Mannion said “it [was] clear that students who aren’t supposed to [be able] to vote are doing so” and that the process had been called into “disrepute”. He continued that many colleges had kept inaccurate records for years and said the number of ineligible voters taking part in the ITs, which have “a high proportion of part-time students”, could be “huge”.

Further investigation by this paper into voting irregularities produced evidence that the access to the voting system for part-time and alumni students is widespread and three students have come forward to tell us that they accessed the vote in more than one institution – although they were unwilling to be named.

The USI have assured unions that they are working with HEAnet, whose system facilitates the poll, and relevant colleges to find ways to exclude ineligible votes from the final tally. Speaking to Trinity News earlier today USI Deputy President Colm Murphy said that “the individual colleges concerned have confirmed that they will be able to remove the ballots of students who have graduated.”

Mr. Murphy said that a “full audit” of all colleges will take place and that this will be run by HEAnet and Edugate in conjunction with college authorities. When pressed about whether it would be possible for errors in substantial databases to be corrected he conceded that “to a certain extent we’re relying on the colleges” but that those contacted so far had agreed to participate with the audit.

Mr. Murphy said he believed that the problem arose from certain colleges “not keeping their Edugate databases up-to-date” and was keen to emphasise that USI would not have any direct influence on the audit. With USI Special Congress happening next Wednesday he said that he expected the audit to happen “within hours of polls closing”. There was, he confirmed, no chance of any students’ names being associated with how they had voted. Mr. Murphy also guaranteed that “by the end of the process only those eligible will have their votes counted.”

Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Ryan Bartlett said that the voting system “had been tested in Trinity” before it went live and didn’t appear to be affected. He said that he was “hoping for a solution” to the problems to emerge from the USI but would be “interested to know” the details should it do so. “It’s still worth Trinity students engaging with the process,” he continued, “because we will get the results for Trinity either way.” He confirmed that TCDSU would look for the results from the vote for TCD even if the national vote has to be abandoned, and that these could “inform policy” in future.

Earlier in the day Lorcan Myles, a former student in NUI Maynooth and UCD, posted an image online of what he claimed was access he had secured to the system’s “back-end” as an administrator. Speaking to Trinity News Mr. Myles was “not willing to say” how he gained access to the page. Responding to the image online Gary Redmond said that it was derived from the “old test site”. He said that it would be “taken down now for the sake of clarity”. The web developer that the USI has worked with on the project has also strongly refuted suggestion that anyone accessed the voting system’s administrator page and stated that safety mechanisms had been put in place to prevent tampering with results.

Mike Jennings, General Secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT)

Ronan Burtenshaw

Editor

The Labour Court has recommended that Trinity College Dublin reinstate three staff members made compulsorily redundant by the College in the past year. The Court’s recommendation stated that, under the Public Service (‘Croke Park’) Agreement, the College should have sought to resolve the issue through “flexibility, redeployment and retraining provisions” or a scheme of “voluntary redundancy”.

Two of the staff are lecturers, with one employed in the School of Social Work and Social Policy and the other in the Department of Art History and Architecture. They were made involuntarily redundant in 2011 – the first was served a redundancy notice on June 30^th and the other on December 29^th. The third was a member of the library staff and was served notice in January after protracted negotiations with the College.

IFUT successfully argued that the staff’s contracts were permanent, not fixed-term or temporary, and could not be attached to external funding streams. This is consistent with previous Labour Court rulings which had afforded Contracts of Indefinite Duration (CIDs) the status of permanency.

Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) General Secretary Mike Jennings said that the prohibition on compulsory redundancies in the Croke Park Agreement was a “quid pro quo” for the pay cuts and reform of working conditions consented to by academic staff.

IFUT had earlier “stalled all further engagement” with the Croke Park Agreement, with Jennings describing the redundancies as “completely unacceptable”, saying it had caused “a lot of hardship for all involved”. The union, he said, “warmly welcomed” the Court’s decision in this case, which he said was “binding on TCD”.

A letter written by the current and former heads of the School of Social Work and Social Policy to the College in November expressed “disquiet” at the termination of CIDs. Dr. Eoin O’Sullivan and Professor Robbie Gilligan wrote “for many years the College position, as relayed to us by the Human Resources office, in relation to [CIDs] was that such staff had the same status as tenured… staff”.

In the Labour Court, College had argued that the CIDs were contractually conditional on a stream of ‘non-core’ funding. Core funding, although the term has yet to be defined by TCD, is associated with the funds derived from students enrolled in the College. Previous Labour Court proceedings reveal that the Art History lecturer’s contract included a clause stating that the position was “supported by income which accrues to the Irish Art Research Centre from external sources.”

According to Jennings the union “pointed out that a very high number of permanent College staff were funded in this way”. As of March, College had 2,860 full-time staff of which only 1,726, around 60%, were ‘core-funded’.

Speaking to Trinity News earlier today through the Communications Office, College said that it was “considering the recommendation”.

Its getting towards the end of term and a good procrastination has never been as important to keep you going – check out our hand picked selection for you today

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Copy and paste tinyurl.ie/applyTN2 to apply – Good Luck!

Dear Uncle Jamie,

Peter

———

Dearest Peter,

The first thing to say is that you are not alone. You belong to a group of around one billion people that suffer from low alcohol tolerance levels and what’s more your American heritage places you in an even higher ‘risk’ bracket than us people of Ireland.

The second thing to say, however, is that even if two pints might be a normal night-out where you come from, here in Ireland that is simply not going to be good enough. Despair not, however, for your friendly (but crucially not pervy) Uncle Jamie is on hand to give you some top Paddy’s day tips.

First off, like all of the best celebrations, it is essential to begin your Paddy’s day with a hearty breakfast and when I say ‘hearty’ I do not mean ‘heart healthy’. I’m talking bacon, eggs, both colours of pudding, beans, mushrooms, fried bread, the lot. Chow it down with a good cup of sugary tea and already, with your stomach nicely lined with glorious saturated fats, you’ll be well on the way.

Now to the pub. In accordance with the Irish constitution, by law your first drink on the big day must be a pint of Guinness but that needn’t be the undoing of you – take small sips and try to avoid inhaling air whilst drinking (less oxygen = less pissed).

Once that pint’s done and dusted be the one to get the next round in – this way you can subtly switch to low alcohol lager where you will remain for the rest of the day. If someone says to you “why aren’t you drinking Guinness you big American fairy?”, don’t panic and simply respond “I find I can tuck-away a few more of these – if I drink Guinness I’m full after 8 pints”.

Drink slowly to create the impression of large gulps, whilst actually consuming very little and wait for your mates to get wrecked. Once they’re at a suitable level of inebriation you can stop drinking entirely if you so wish – who cares? They’re not going to remember after all.

So there you have it: my one stop shop/guide for a sobre-enough Paddy’s day. If you are seriously concerned about your level of alcohol tolerance you might visit your local doctor; or you might grow a pair of balls you big American fairy – the choice is yours.

That is all,

Cousin Will

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The competition takes part in two stages. First, entrants undergo a 40 minute online exam during which their mental abilities are tested with the 60 highest competitors being selected for yesterday’s final.

Over the course of final Ellis, along with fellow competitors, was subjected to six physical and mental challenges set by the competitions ‘employment partners’ including Lidl, PWC, Ernst & Young and EMC2.

Ellis narrowly missed out on first place which would have netted her a cool €1,000 but, in coming third, still took home the handsome sum of €200. On the day the first prize went to Queen’s University Belfast’s David Galbraith with second place going to UCD’s Ian Woods.

Crufts dog fail !

just passing by !

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Super viral of the day – “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen – Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena

That’s all folks

Suffragette, politician, scientist and war hero – all women who have been awarded with degrees by Trinity College, Dublin. The contribution of women to this college, and beyond its walls, is undeniable.

Dublin University has a strong history of recognising women for their academic capabilities. In the 1900s, the college awarded B.A. and M.A. degrees to female students of Oxford and Cambridge at a time when the women’s colleges refused to do so.

These women, affectionately known as “steamboat ladies” after the mode of transport they took to Dublin, were conferred with ad eundem University of Dublin degrees. Many went on to have careers that began to shape the newly emerging role of women in politics and society.

Dame Frances Dove, a women’s rights campaigner who received her M.A. from Trinity in 1905, is an exceptional example. The daughter of a clergyman, with some difficulty she gained an education at Girton College, Cambridge and Trinity College, Dublin. Just two years after her graduation, Dove was elected a local councillor in High Wycombe, and became headmistress to several girls’ schools.

Dame Frances Dove, in a 1928 portrait by Lafayette.

Dove devoted her life to promote education for girls and women’s political involvement. She was a suffragette, and several of her pupils became prominent in the movement for women’s civil rights – including Mary Pickford, who became one of the first female MPs in 1931 (as a Conservative for Hammersmith North). Dove was made a Dame in 1928.

Another staunch campaigner for women’s rights was Eleanor Rathbone. After graduation, she worked alongside her father, also a social reformer, to investigate industrial conditions in Liverpool. An opponent of the Second Boer War and of violent repression of rebellion in Ireland, Rathbone campaigned for female causes.

She was an Independent MP, and used her prominence to found a women’s forum and an organisation to help widows of the Great War. Rathbone was instrumental in negotiating women’s inclusion into the 1918 Representation of the People Act, and exposed regulations that reduced married women’s access to benefits and insurance.

Rathbone was one of the first politicians to recognise the threat of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and joined the Anti-Nazi Council to support human rights. She was an outspoken critic of appeasement, earning her the enmity of Neville Chamberlain.

A plaque commemorating the London home of celebrated reformer Eleanor Rathbone.

The geologist Gertrude Elles, also a steamboat lady, paved the way for women’s role in scientific research. She receive the prestigious Lyell Fund from the Geological Society of London for her contribution to Grapholite research at the age of 28, but was unable to receive it in person as women were barred from meetings.

Among Elles’ other accolades, she received the Medal of Member of the Order of the British Empire for her work with the Red Cross during the First World War.

Oldham House, Trinity Hall, the primary residence for ladies of the college until the early 1970s.

There were over 700 steamboat ladies during this period. They stayed at Trinity Hall, a residence for female students until the 1970s – it was only from then that female students of the college were allowed to remain on campus after 6pm.

They lived in Oldham House, the Victorian building in Hall named after Elizabeth Oldham, one of the main campaigners for women’s admission to the college. Her portrait hangs in the front lounge.

Today, female members of the college community would never expect to face the adversity of their counterparts a century ago – but inequality still remains. While Trinity employees and students are predominantly female, 18% hold Head of School positions and 20% of Fellows of the College are women.

Therefore institutions like the TCD Equality Office and International Women’s Week remain vital, not only to recognising the contributions of Trinity’s exceptional alumnae and female members, but also to ensuring the campaign for rights and equality continues.

In the latest issue, however, an extravagantly ridiculous article by Michael Ward deserves serious comment. Ward’s division of the Irish left into three categories excited my interest, as I wanted to see which contemptuous adjective I’d fall under. I was disappointed. The article was a hash of the author’s vague, unfounded impressions, full of sentences like “they oppose any change that the government seeks to enforce purely based on the fact that the government is composed of politicians and all politicians are a force for evil” and “the Irish left seems obsessed with a tyrannical vision of equality that seeks to punish anyone who enjoys success.”

Just as it was full of sweeping statements, Ward’s article was entirely empty of even the most basic facts to back these up. There was not one reference to any article, interview, programme, manifesto or TV appearance. There was no mention of the names of any political parties or politicians. There was not one reference to any campaign, protest, activity, meeting or personal encounter. Ward simply attached a few ranting paragraphs to each of his categories (“protest,” “uncommitted,” and “delusionary,” in case you’re wondering). He painted a picture of a crazy red haze of irrationality and called it “the left.” However, he either cannot or does not bother to produce any evidence whatsoever for the existence of this “left.”

This is most obvious when he describes the programme of the “delusionary left.” While some elements of it do ring a bell, as a whole it does not remotely resemble the programme of any left-wing party in this country, or any outside it that I know of. It is odd that Ward should have had to pluck a fictional left-wing programme from his imagination because the programmes of every party in this country are available at the click of a button.

His indignant smiting of this straw man, meanwhile, simply rehashes very basic pro-austerity arguments which have been refuted a hundred times over. Ward could engage with a very rich debate on the subject if he cared to google the subjects of his criticism for five minutes.

This was a lazy, ignorant piece of writing. In it Ward refused to engage with his opponents and dismissed us in blatantly insulting terms- they “fail to appreciate nuances” and represent “anger not ideas.” Again, no evidence is provided. Left-wing opinions are, it is implied, a neurosis, one that “ultimately stems from a negative view of humanity.” Ward has insulted my intelligence and pathologised my carefully-formed, well-founded beliefs. He has put in print a tirade of abuse directed at a caricature which bears no relation to me or to the brilliant, committed people I work alongside.

Trinity News is a paper of too high a standard to dignify such rubbish with print. The Opinion section has in the past featured left-wing articles. The rest of the section in that issue is, mostly, well-informed and well-argued. However, we do find elements of the same phenomenon in another piece, this one by Karl Shirran. It is an article on Political Correctness which, while it does feature a brief quote from Will Hutton to represent the pro-PC side, is otherwise hugely problematic.

Quite how discouraging racist, sexist and homophobic comments in any way resembles the Gulag or Orwell’s Nineteen-Eighty-Four is never made clear. Of greater interest, however, is Shirran’s potted history of Political Correctness. As we no doubt all know, “The basic belief of communism is that the middle-class will rise in defiance of the ruling class and demand a more equal share of society.” Frustrated in this belief in the latter half of the century, apparently, “Neo-Marxists” turned to “minority groups” as “the new downtrodden.” In order to give their pet “minority groups,” and by extension themselves, leverage, the Neo-Marxists invented Political Correctness.

It’s an entertaining creation myth, but similarly to Ward, Shirran’s article combines total ignorance of the left- in this case PC, the New Left, neo-Marxism, Communism, Lenin, the African-American Civil Rights movement, Black Nationalism and second-wave Feminism – with unbridled judgment and accusation.

Would-be commentators have to educate themselves as to what they’re talking about rather than telling fairy-tales or arguing with caricatures. While I’m eager to engage in debate, I’m not going to write entire pieces which simply are simply corrections of the sloppy work of others. In other words, I’m not going to run around after ignorant, ill-informed critics, doing their research for them.

This rule applies to the left as well as the right, of course. But what has allowed these cases of bad journalism to see print is a complacent right-wing consensus which has come to approve any distortion, exaggeration, insult or crazy comparison, as long as it’s all flying leftward.

It’s not enough to demand stricter editorial controls; we need to challenge this consensus. Ward claims that among the left “mentions of class warfare are no longer evident.” Rather a lot of us do in fact talk about class struggle and make it quite evident. And it’s not just the left, but Warren Buffet as well: “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” As this struggle picks up, and my side increasingly makes its voice heard, Opinion pages the world over are going to get more interesting.

This article was written in response to Michael Ward’s article, Categorising Ireland’s left

This new Irish left can be divided into three categories: the “protest left”, the “uncommitted left”, and the “delusionary left”. Each of these sub-groups, almost as bad as the other, demonstrate important aspects of the Irish left-wing.
Firstly, the “protest left” manages to overcome the paradox of being a so-called “force for change” while also being the most conservative grouping in the country. It comprises a motley collection of characters, who attempt to turn complaining into an art form.
They claim to represent ordinary people while never actually considering what ordinary people may or may not want. Instead they oppose any change that the government seeks to enforce purely based on the fact that the government is composed of politicians and all politicians are a force for evil.

They see political debate as an opportunity to shout down the opposition in the fervent belief that she or he who speaks louder wins. It represents anger not ideas. It is a conglomeration of dissatisfied punters who fail to appreciate nuances and hate the system, expecting other people to solve its problems.

The “uncommitted left” are still coming to terms with their political affiliations. They are affiliated to social democracy because they feel it’s the right course of action based on their dislike of elements of neo-liberalism. They are wedded to the word equality but they cannot distinguish which form of equality (outcome, opportunity, income, legal, geographical etc.) that they are actually talking about. They quite like the idea of the welfare state although openly accept that there is a limit to the amount of taxation people will willingly accept to support it.

In short they struggle to promote a leftish ideology while deep down they secretly admit that the creation of a left-wing utopia is near impossible in a globalized, Western democracy, dependent on exports and competitiveness.
The third grouping is in many ways the most ridiculous and at the same time most dangerous. They are committed to high levels of centralisation, and state power, as well as high taxation, import tariffs, equality of outcome and income, huge amounts of borrowing and large scale nationalisation.

Furthermore, they sincerely believe that the current crisis can only be solved by default, propagating the idea that there is an alternative to current austerity. What makes them dangerous is that they stubbornly believe in what they are saying, and they seek to spread this message widely.
In reality such a course of action would condemn Ireland to isolation in the bond markets for decades, meaning that we would be unable to fund ourselves. Huge numbers of job losses would accrue due to a flight of foreign direct investment and a collapse in competitiveness. Finally, stagnation would occur as people would end up dependent on a huge and inefficient state for employment and services.
The problem with the Irish left is that they have no respect for the individual. They despise leaders but they still expect the state to be dominant in the provision of jobs and services. Any service or charity work inspired out of private initiative is viewed with pity or suspicion as, in their view, this is a job that the state should be doing anyway. They refuse to accept that voluntary action by groups of willing individuals is in fact inspiring and should be emulated as widely as possible instead of depending on an inefficient and bureaucratic state.

In my view, this ultimately stems from a negative view of humanity. It is inconceivable that human beings could act outside the boundaries of self interest, so instead the state should force them. Furthermore, the Irish left seems obsessed with a tyrannical vision of equality that seeks to punish anyone who enjoys success.

For them, inspiration and individuality should be discouraged in an ultra PC environment, which will reduce people to numbers on a page. Minority views will always mean that the views of the majority will be cancelled out as any sense of majoritarianism is viewed as oppression. In this manner the politics of the left is in fact the politics of division.

While mentions of class warfare are no longer evident, it still provides the basis for a left that claims to support the will of the people but which actually fights only for the will of a small number of them, be it union bosses, the less well off, inefficient civil servants etc.

Any notion of a unified society is alien to them – for the left to survive there must always be an enemy to fight.

For a response to this article by Manus Lenihan, click here.