The CSC, or Central Societies Committee, requires that a society “may not be a charitable organisation or political group”; they maintain the right to limit the actions and structures of college societies in line with this principle. “In 2019,” Ellen Duggan, the chair of Environmental Society, told Trinity News, “we asked to change our Ents Officer to the Ents and Campaign Coordinator, and we weren’t allowed to do that because strictly speaking we’re not allowed to run campaigns, because we’re a college society.”
“Smaller societies have always been a motor for social change”
While the SU has long been the nexus of all things activism on campus – particularly in the wake of the resounding success of Trinity BDS’ student encampment, supported by the SU – smaller societies have always been a motor for social change. Two very different college societies – the Hist’s Robinson subcommittee, and Environmental Society (Enviro Soc) – spoke to Trinity News about their plans to enrich the college community this year, in the face of the challenge of remaining apolitical. There are ways in which being a smaller society makes activism easier; lacking the formalised structure and rigidity of a behemoth organisation like the SU can be freeing. “If anyone wants to do an event really badly,” Katie Carrig, Chair of Robinson, told Trinity News, “even if it falls vaguely under our wheelhouse, if they want to dedicate the time to it (then) they can do that event. Flexibility is a major asset that allows (Robinson) to take the shape of whatever you need it to be right now.” When the idea of Flea Markets for Palestine struck Ellen Duggan last year while packing up her clothes in a move, she was able to put it into motion straight away. “It (was) way easier to do this through Enviro Soc because so many people could get involved that way. And my committee members were totally down for it,” she said. After she contacted the Zeitgeist – a flea market held on the second week of each month in Kelly’s Yard, Phibsborough – an organiser called her to offer her a stall for free “because it’s in aid of Gaza”. Enviro Soc decided to donate the proceeds from the flea market directly to Trinity’s Muslim Students’ Association, who were running a unity appeal for Gaza. “It felt good knowing exactly where the funds were ending up,” Duggan told Trinity News. “In charity shops, there’s a very good chance they’re just going to a waste pile in another country. People knowing where their clothes were going to go really helped. In so many cases we had people come up to talk with us and say, ‘I can bring clothes in for the next one’… it was actually almost revitalising, going there. You got to see that so many people do care, and are looking for practical ways they can help”. The stall raised €600 the first time it ran; the committee found themselves with enough clothes left over that they could run a second stall in July. “‘You have a sense of purpose .. and you can see the effect you’re having’”
“Community events are just getting people involved. You have a sense of purpose with where your energy’s going, and you can see the effect you’re having”, Duggan explained. Enviro Soc held their third Flea Market for Palestine on September 8th. “I don’t think we’re going to do any more”, Duggan said, “but I think we’re going to donate the clothes to asylum seekers if we have any left over”. To some, this kind of activism wouldn’t seem apolitical at all. “I would say it’s not apolitical, it’s not political, it’s life or death,” Marnie Clark, Ents officer for Enviro Soc, said in conversation with Trinity News. “If you’re gonna get your knickers in a twist because we want radical action, you need to get a grip.” Duggan added, “You’re pushing your luck if you’re trying to claim that environmentalism is apolitical.” Last year, for Green Week, Enviro Soc had a talk with Academics for Palestine about ecocide in Gaza; for Freshers’ Week they’ll be holding an event with Students 4 Change. “‘There’s a difference between neutrality and enablement’”
“We’re not politicised necessarily,” Carrig concurred, “but everything is political.” Robinson is hoping to host a panel this semester on the topic of trans healthcare – but, she said, “we’re not gonna run a panel that allows people to be like, ‘should we have trans healthcare?’ Yes, yes we should, and that’s not the discussion… There’s a difference between neutrality and enablement. We don’t have a position of neutrality on Palestine. I’m not gonna debate whether or not there should be a genocide in Palestine because that’s not something you get to be neutral on.” The question of being apolitical will likely remain a contentious issue within the College community; in reality, engaging with current affairs while being apolitical is pretty much impossible. In the meantime, smaller societies focus on how best to use their resources. For Robinson, which focuses on rhetoric, the goal is empowering students through developing their public speaking skills. “I’m very comfortable with public speaking,” Carrig said. “Once you get enough practice at it, it becomes something you can learn to enjoy… people come away with information, knowledge of how to enter discussions, an ability to public speak. I hope that it empowers other people to do the things they find meaningful.” “Last year we were running sewing workshops,” Duggan told Trinity News. “It’s about learning the practical skills… because we’re a college society, we can make it easier for people to access these things – we have a sewing machine.” Clark added: “We want to show you how to stitch those holes in your favourite jeans, so you don’t have to throw them away. A huge part of making lifestyle changes is it being accessible and I think it also needs to be fun.” “‘It’s way easier to get involved than you think it’ll be’”
For both Chairs, accessibility is the foundation of their activism. “If someone wanted to get involved with us and didn’t feel like they wanted to commit heavily to activism but wanted to make sustainable changes in their life, I think we make that more accessible. Some people take it so intensely, but it’s way easier to get involved than you think it’ll be… you just have to go in and be willing to hear what people have to say,” Duggan said. “There’s a lot of people where all they have the capacity for is, ‘I want to go to a sewing workshop’ – and that’s great,” Clark told Trinity News. “I feel like with Ents, it’s a domino effect: where you go to this workshop, and then maybe you talk to Ellen, and then you make a new friend, and someone becomes a little more interested in the environment.” “It’s just bringing people in, and having civilised discussions, and educating them and not being very reactive,” Carrig said on accessibility. “People will come in with ideas that aren’t necessarily well-founded in reality – but you can’t react negatively to that.” The hope is always that students can develop themselves in a space that feels safe, and welcoming; students join societies to make friends, after all. “Something as intense as environmentalism, you’ve got all this stuff about eco anxiety, people suffering intense mental health issues… if you didn’t have friends and have fun doing it, it’s not sustainable.” Duggan told Trinity News. “Accessibility with environmentalism in particular is so important. Especially in the last couple years, greenwashing has become such a large thing, you have all these health food stores – but it’s so expensive, and it’s also not realistic,” Clark pointed out. “I remember feeling constantly guilty about everything,” Duggan added. “It was like, ‘I need to buy food, (but) everything that I can afford to buy is wrapped in plastic’.” “If you can’t afford it,” Duggan said, “which the vast majority of people can’t, you have to speak out and talk about it… and that actually makes you feel really great.” With accessibility in mind, the future holds plenty of opportunities for freshers to get involved in both societies. For the Robinson, Carrig wants it “to be very approachable. We’re gonna be running biweekly public speaking mornings. You can come in and practise public speaking with us, or even standup comedy or slam poetry.” Meanwhile Enviro Soc hopes to “branch out a bit this year”, Duggan told Trinity News, “helping out with community gardens… we also did a beach clean last year with Sea Shepherd, a marine activism organisation.” But it’s not all serious work: “We want to do some movie screenings,” Clark said. “Who doesn’t love a good film? I want to do a Rocky Horror Movie Screening. TBD on how I’ll connect it to the environment.”
