Why does student media care so much about sabbatical elections? Every year, Trinity News and the University Times devote large portions of their print issues to it. Pages are filled every spring to the gaggle of aspiring has-beens who throw their names in to run Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU). The University Times applies for hundreds of euros of additional funding to print the election issue, serving as their largest edition every year. But why?
Sabbatical officers are, of course, paid. This money does not just come from nowhere – it comes from you. Thousands of euro are given to those giving a voice for students throughout the university. More money is given to them by means of travel expenses, work materials and the odd drink token. It makes sense that the candidates that receive this cash are rigorously tested, something we should thank the various Trinity publications for.
However, the centring of the sabbats over almost all other areas of the union misplaces the importance they serve. It not only reinforces a hierarchy that shouldn’t exist, but also lets other roles off more easily with substandard work for you.
Something discussed far less by the media, as well as the union itself, is the election of part-time officers. The current part-time positions of the union were advertised with just one day’s notice last year. For positions meant to represent large cohorts of the student body, including the entire Arts, STEM and Health Sciences faculties, their importance is consistently undermined by the lack of care given to the selection process. Often, the only thing discussed about them is their title, resulting in a slew of uncontested races and diminishing returns in work throughout the year.
I was a part time officer. Twice. In first year, on Zoom, I prepared a 45 second speech. I used Canva for the first time to construct my graphics. I put together a manifesto and whacked them on my social media. I practiced the speech multiple times and readied myself to go up against anyone… and was then elected uncontested without having to deliver it. In my time as LGBT Rights Officer, I ran a jam packed pride week and fully delivered name and gender changes for the first time on Blackboard.
My second time told a different story. I decided a few days before the election I would run. I made a graphic the day before, I didn’t practice a speech. I was up against three others, but I was known the union, so I was elected. As gender equality officer, I had two actions during Gender Equality Week, and did little else – but no one ever said anything. Any shortcomings were dismissed by the existence of the officers paid to be there.
This creates a paradox – why would we elect officers to work for certain students if we do not care if their work is done or not? Just this year, I seconded a motion at TCDSU Council mandating part time officers to bring just two reports per semester to union members – something that was met with hostility from some PTOs themselves. Two out of the three presidential candidates in the current elections reference their position as a part time officer as evidence of their experience, the other references another union position they were elected to, for the same reason. How are we meant to trust any candidate – including myself and many of my fellow sabbats – without proper scrutiny of the officers before, during and after their election to a part time position?
That is not to say the current PTO’s or those who have come before them do not do meaningful work. The current Welfare and Equality officer, Hamza Bana, as ethnic minorities officer, lobbied successfully for the first therapist of colour in the counselling service. Numerous officers often speak unapologetically as the only student voice in vital college committees. Officers focused on representing marginalised students sit side by side with the sabbatical officers for some of the most important work done by the union. However, we mustn’t settle.
Across the university, hundreds of students feed into society committees. These societies consistently deliver some of the best student life anywhere on this island. They hold speakers and events that the union might match on just a handful of occasions throughout the year. As secretary of DU Players in 2022, I did far more work in contact hours alone than as a PTO. I did it for the service that it was for the people who came to the shows and events every week – why do we not hold the same standard for PTOs of our representative body?
So yes. We need more coverage and dissemination of our PTOs when they put themselves further for election. We see that the incredibly high standard of journalism afforded to the sabbatical candidates routinely deliver the strongest sabbatical team and union in the state.
However, we also need higher standards for PTOs throughout their time in office. There are a million opportunities to get involved in supporting students and researchers. From charity societies to the Postgraduate Workers Organisation to joining the campaigns committee, those who wish to make a change have every opportunity to do so. We must be more conservative however, to whom we give the opportunity of PTO to. Being a PTO is not for the LinkedIn post, but for the platform to be the voice for those without one, or for those the union is neglecting.
The union is more than its sabbatical officers – if it wants to work better, that is. Those that put themselves forward must do so because of the work they wish to do, and not the title they wish to acquire.
