The 2024 Trinity Hall Junior Common Room (JCR) election will see the highest number of candidates running in five years, with 39 candidates campaigning across 11 positions.
Only the entertainment (Ents) officer election is uncontested, with Freddy Offereins running as the sole candidate. Two students, Eliska Pinterova and Faye Prendergast, are running for two positions, communications and marketing officer and publications officer.
Three positions, publications officer, communications and marketing officer and tech officer, are chosen by interviews with the current JCR and the Electoral Commission (EC).
Speaking to Trinity News on the upcoming election, current JCR President James Carey shared: “We are thrilled with the significant rise in candidate nominations for this year’s election.
“This increase reflects the relentless work by the committee to drive resident engagement throughout the year”.
“As bittersweet as it is to see our tenure drawing to a close, we of course wish all candidates the best of luck,” he continued.
Campaigning for the JCR elections will begin on March 25 at 9am, with a husting taking place the following evening where candidates will be questioned by residents and the current JCR committee.
According to Carey, candidates will also have the opportunity to campaign at the annual “JCR Birthday” in Doyle’s.
Voting will take place on March 28 in Halls between 9am and 12pm and then again from 6pm to 9pm.
Results will be announced that same night at 11pm in Mother Reilly’s.
The positions of publications officer, communications & marketing officer and tech officer, candidates will be interviewed and their portfolios assessed by the EC and the sitting JCR. The chosen candidates for these races will be announced alongside the elected positions.
Candidates
President
Four students will contest JCR president, compared to last year’s three candidates. PJ Cronin, Aibhe McBride, Gráinne Ní Ailín, and Amir Sallachi are running for the position. Second-year mathematics and economics student James Carey currently holds the position and was elected with 69.38% of first-preference votes.
Vice-President (VP)/Treasurer
The vice-president/treasurer race will also see four candidates running: Isabelle Janssen, Maria Kopyeva, Remi Laloy, and Lila McNamee. Last year, Leah Malone ran uncontested for this position and was elected on the first count.
Secretary
Agathe Seiler and Mia Taylor will run for the role of secretary. Paul McConkey was elected secretary last year on the second count.
Welfare Officer
Doubling the number of candidates from last year, this year will see four candidates contest the welfare race: Finn Baneham, Mirian Greenwood, Maëla Hanot-Renvoize, and Abhainn Obaoill-Coyle.
Ents Officer
Similarly to last year when current ents officer Peader Walsh ran uncontested, Freddy Offereins is the sole Ents candidate in this election.
International Officer
Elena Byrne, Tianyi Huang, Jess O’Donnell, and Alisha Shivnani will run for international officer. Caroline Sander ran uncontested last year.
Sports Officer
The race for sports officer will have Finn Connolly, Rian Gallagher, and Scott Lawrence vying for the position. James McDermott ran uncontested last year.
Music Officer
Only two candidates are running for music officer: Kevin Clark and Sean Power. Four candidates contested this race last year.
Communications (Comms) & Marketing Officer
Six candidates will contest the comms & marketing race: Conor Brennan Batory, Conor Brennan Batory, Katie McGee, Eliska Pinterova, Faye Prendergast, and Vadim Rudic. Five candidates ran for this position last year.
Publications Officer
Carmen García Barajas, Eilidh O’Connor, Eliska Pinterova, and Faye Prendergast are the four publications candidates this year. Five students contested this role last year.
Tech Officer
Unprecedentedly, seven students will run for tech officer this year, a major increase from last year where only two students ran. This year’s candidates are Lukas Anderson, Liam Connolly, James Fallon, Noel Friedrich, Lucy Garrett, Finnian Grace, and Joseph McKeon.
