TCDSU will not engage with GSU amidst investigations into inappropriate behaviour and constitutional breaches

In a statement, TCDSU said that student safety and the preservation of students’ democratic voice were two of their “largest priorities”

Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) has announced that it will not engage with the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) and will not refer students to its services in light of a number of ongoing investigations concerning the graduates’ union.

It follows reports that the GSU’s executive committee had begun an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour by the union’s president, which were first raised at a meeting of the committee last Friday. The GSU President has denied the allegations.

The GSU has also faced scrutiny in recent times due to potential constitutional breaches that occurred during elections held over the summer and was the subject of a college funding freeze in 2021 following its leadership’s failure to comply with an investigation.

In a statement, TCDSU said it took the allegations against the GSU President “extremely seriously”, as well as concerns surrounding the constitutional breaches that had occurred during the GSU election.

“Student safety — coupled with the preservation of their democratic voice — are two of our largest priorities,” the statement read.

“In light of these ongoing investigations, we cannot, in good conscience, refer students to the GSU at this present time.”

TCDSU said it would not engage with the GSU, nor would it seek to renew the Memorandum of Agreement between the two organisations, until the issues are resolved.

In the meantime, it affirmed that “any student, undergraduate or postgraduate,” would be able to avail of its services. “We as a Union exist to care and first for all students in Trinity,” the statement continued.

TCDSU intends to hold a town hall meeting for postgraduate students in the coming weeks in relation to the issues, and to “further address” the needs of such students.

If you have been affected by the issues discussed in this article, the following supports are available:

GSU Vice President – [email protected]

TCDSU Welfare Officer – [email protected]

Student Counselling Service – [email protected]

Niteline (9pm-2:30am) – niteline.ie / 1800 793 793

Crisis Text Line – 50808

This article was updated on October 9 to remove the former GSU President’s name, as per his request.

The former GSU President has refuted these allegations, and that statement can be found here.

Evan Skidmore O’Reilly

Evan Skidmore O’Reilly is News Co-Editor for the 70th volume of Trinity News. He is a former Deputy News Editor, and is a current final year Business and Politics student.