Channing Kehoe is a senior sophister law and political science student from Phoenix, Arizona running for TCDSU communications and marketing officer. They are the sole candidate in the race.
Kehoe believes that they have both the “hard and soft skills” to be the next communications and marketing officer. They cited the current officer, Beth Strahan, who campaigned heavily on her theatre skills and directorial approach, and noted that they would like to bring a similar perspective to the role. As the public relations officer of Trinity Musical Theatre, they have experience in “graphic design, and managing a social media presence, managing a schedule and staying organised”.
They also feel that they can bring a “unique perspective” to the role, as a result of their interest in politics. Having served in the legislative office of Senator Mark Kelly in Washington DC and his casework constituent services office in Arizona, they feel that this can combine with their theatre experience to make them “well prepared for the type of urgency that’s needed for this job”.
Kehoe acknowledged the political responsibilities that come along with the role, particularly the decision of which companies to accept sponsorships from. In January 2024 the SU ended a sponsorship with Domino’s Pizza, due to the company’s Israeli franchise donating free food to the Israeli Defense Forces. Kehoe’s manifesto states that they will ensure all SU partnerships align with “student values”. When asked how they would define a student value, they stated the importance of prioritising the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctidons) movement, while also “erring on the side of caution”. If elected, they would also like the Union to partner with small, Irish-owned businesses, alongside “some bigger ones.”
Discussing the recent success of the SU referendum to abolish its “political mandate”, Kehoe stated the “students aren’t apolitical”, and the Union should represent this. They praised the Union’s social media campaigning on the issue, but criticised the quality of information available on posters around the campus about the referendum. They stated that “there wasn’t a lot of information for a quick passer-by who’s leaving class”. They added that this is something they would focus on, “immediately having information ready”.
A key point of the candidate’s manifesto is to translate “services into support”. Kehoe noted that the SU offers “really important services”, such as the case work carried out by the Education officer and the Welfare & Equality officer. They added that “people need to know what resources are there for them if they fail an exam, or run into a welfare issue”, commenting that these situations can be “daunting”. They feel that if people go through their first year of college and are unsure of the Union’s functions, then it’ll become more difficult for them to get involved at a later date.
As a result, getting first year students involved in the Union is a major promise in Kehoe’s manifesto. One way to hope to do this is to make the Union’s weekly emails “personable”. They said that the Union’s weekly emails need to be obviously “written by a student, rather than this like, sterile perspective”. They added that this requires a lot of “creativity”, and that there’s “always room for improvement”, but faltered when considering the specifics of what could be improved.
Kehoe spoke confidently about their commitment to continuing the “amazing job” that current sabbatical officers have done at increasing the representation of Gaeilge on campus. They cited their work with Trinity Musical Theatre, in which they collaborated with a Public Relations Officer to translate social media posts into Irish. They believe that Gaeilge should not be “an afterthought”, going as far to say that some content should just be written solely in Irish. “There’s a lot of content that’s historically been just in English. So why not have that same mentality”.
With regards to the SU cafe in Goldsmith Hall, Kehoe notes that they want to create a “student spotlight” deal, in which each member of staff creates their own meal deal based on their personal taste. They feel this will make the cafe more “personable”. They added that they hope to increase the visibility of the cafe, noting that there’s first year students who may “have never had a class in Goldsmith”, or “don’t know that Goldsmith even exists”. They noted that they want first years to “have access” to the SU cafe, but didn’t go into detail about how they would ensure this.
The topics of accessibility and visibility were mentioned by Kehoe frequently. When asked why they believe this is important for the role, they stated that students will only realise what the SU does for them “if they know what initiatives we’re working on”. They noted the importance of making the “technical language” of the Union clearer, and keeping students updated on the work that is being carried out by sabbatical officers. They describe this as a “pulse check”. “How are we doing for you? Because I mean, we’re working for you”.
When it comes to who “you” actually is, Kehoe acknowledged, as an international student themselves, the isolation that can come with not being from Ireland. “I want to make sure that nobody gets left behind” they said, adding that they want people to be aware that the “SU is there”, and noted that the officer should “tap into the JCR and the global room”. They didn’t give further detail of how they would do these things, but did acknowledge that isolation that can also be felt by Irish students who are the “only person from their school who came here”.
This sense of belonging and recognition was a key issue for Kehoe, stating that they want “people to feel like they’ve been personally reached or affected”. They then paused to consider if they had said it “better in their manifesto”, before concluding that “it’s about making students feel connected to their Union and empowered by the work that the union does for them”.
When asked if they could summarise their campaign in three words, Kehoe decided on “keep them engaged”. They noted their commitment to continuing Strahan’s policy of “keeping bums on seats”, which is not just about getting students to attend Union meetings, but to encourage active participation.
Campaigning for the sabbatical officers begins today, Monday 17. Students may vote in person and online between Tuesday, February 25 and Thursday, February 27. The results of the elections will be announced that Friday.
