A proposed merger of Trinity Publications and the Central Societies Committee (CSC) will not proceed after the Trinity Publications committee rejected a motion to create a “working group” to join the two capitated bodies.
The proposed merger, announced by the chairs of the CSC and Trinity Publications in a joint statement earlier this month, planned to bring Trinity Publications and the CSC together to form a joint constitution under the new name Trinity College Dublin Societies and Publications (TSP).
Speaking to Trinity News, Chair of Trinity Publications Jack Smyth said that he fully supports the decision of his committee in rejecting the formation of a working group.
The proposal claimed the merger would be “mutually beneficial”, with one of the mentioned benefits being a stipend for the Chair of Publications, who would become an “officer of the TSP”, as well as the support of the CSC’s bookkeeping and financial staff.
While the announcement claimed that the “journalistic and media freedoms” of Publications would be retained, the proposal raised concerns about editorial and functional independence among editors, given present CSC arrangements which disallow societies from taking political stances or publishing references to drugs or alcohol.
Earlier this year, the CSC voted to provide a stipend of €200 a week to its three officer positions, chair, secretary, and treasurer.
The Trinity Publications committee is comprised of six officer roles, as well as the editors of each of the seven affiliate publications, Trinity News, TN2, Icarus, JoLT, Misc. Magazine, Trinity Film Review, and the Piranha.
There was no discussion of the proposal at the CSC’s AGM yesterday evening, where a motion was passed to explore the possibility of making the CSC Chair a sabbatical role.
This article was updated at 17.44pm to include a statement from the chair of Trinity Publications.
