The University of Limerick and NUI Galway announced plans early last week to partner with Shannon Development and the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) to create a new “Shannon Energy Valley”. Speaking at the announcement of the launch at a conference in Silicon Valley, NUIG Vice-President for Research Professor Terry Smith explained that the Shannon Energy Valley will act as a national green “energy hub” for research and development, industry and commerce while providing much needed employment and attracting foreign investment.
The initiative’s location is said to be influenced by Shannon’s history of renewable energy projects, with the 1920s Ardnacrusha project functioning as the world’s largest renewable energy initiative at the time. The area’s pre-existing grid infrastructure, alongside its coal, oil and gas generating stations and the construction of a liquid natural gas terminal, also made Shannon a convenient location for the energy valley.
Inspired by Silicon Valley, the initiative aims to develop alternative energy sources through the use of the area’s natural resources. Speaking at the conference Professor Brian Fitzgerald, Vice-President of Research at UL, commented on Ireland’s worrying present relationship with renewable energy, but highlighted the initiative’s aim to change this. “The European Wind Energy Association has estimated that the spending on importing energy in Ireland works out at almost €1,000 per annum for every man, woman and child. Ireland is surrounded by natural resources in the form of wind, wave, tidal, solar and local geothermal energy. This is a major opportunity for Ireland to become a leader in energy research.”
The two universities, UL and NUIG, are said to be at the head of this research objective. The initiative, Prof. Smith stated, is “the first major initiative in regional development to flow directly from the Strategic Alliance between NUI Galway and UL launched by An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD, on February 18th last”. Commenting on NUIG’s B.E. in Energy Systems Engineering and UL’s BSc. Energy courses, Prof. Smith remarked that both courses have been operating successfully since their launches in 2009. UL is also set to appoint their newly created Professorial position in Energy later his year.
Also noted at the conference were UL and NUIG’s aims to collaborate in offering more energy courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD levels with the hopes of providing the continual knowledge and expertise needed for the Shannon Energy Valley. Other aims of the initiative include eventual self-sufficiency in energy, lowering Ireland’s carbon footprint and industrial costs to meet emission targets, and the creation of an Energy and Environment Park in which both businesses and the public can gain access and knowledge concerning Ireland’s renewable energy projects.
An estimated €10 billion will also be spent on the construction of wind-farms across Ireland with the majority of these located within a one hour range from the Shannon Energy Valley. Through these aims the initiative hopes to create both immediate short-term employment and skilled jobs by offering re-training and advanced training within the long-term project of the sustainable energy industry.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen introduced plans to lower third-level fees in Ireland for second- and third-generation Irish at a press conference in Washington last week. The “Ireland Homecoming Study Programme” is an attempt to generate €10 million for the Irish economy, by offering significantly discounted fees to attract descendants of the Irish diaspora. Eight institutes of technology are set to take part in the scheme.
At the moment non-EU students need to pay fees to study in Ireland, but this new scheme will offer discounts of up to 40% for the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Irish emigrants. The idea was first suggested during last year’s conference in Farmleigh, where Irish-Americans discussed the economic problems facing Ireland and possible solutions to these problems.
The programme is expected to attract over 500 students in the next three years and Mr. Cowen estimated it will contribute around €10 million to the Irish economy. The eight institutes offering the discounted fee of €5,950 include Athlone, Carlow, Cork and Waterford.
The creator of the programme, Brian McNamara, claimed the new system would allow the “global Irish” to attain affordable qualifications. “As a nation, we have long recognised the important role that the Irish diaspora or global Irish play in promoting Irish culture and trade,” he said. “This initiative will offer a practical benefit to the offspring of Irish people abroad by allowing their children obtain an exceptional Irish education at highly competitive rates.”
The Taoiseach’s announcement came as Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes launched a comparable programme intended to encourage international students to come to Ireland. It is claimed the programme could create up to 6,000 new jobs in the education sector. Fine Gael claim thier plan will radically enhance standards and quality in third-level education by overhauling the quality assurance system currently in place. Suggestions made by ther proposal include automatic green cards for PhD students graduating into areas like engineering, a new student visa procedure, and the appointment of a Minister of State with direct responsibility for the third-level sector.
The Fine Gael move comes amid claims that Ireland is “punching below its weight” on international education. While various studies have pointed to the potential of the sector, there has been criticism that visa requirements and other restrictions are inhibiting growth.
At a news conference in Dublin, Brian Hayes said the Fine Gael party in government will provide the political leadership to develop Ireland’s reputation globally as a prime international education destination.

UCD has awarded the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste an Honorary Doctor of Laws. Dr. José Ramos-Horta was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 along with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo for “their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor”. He was honoured by UCD in recognition of the commitment he has shown to human rights along with his dedication to establishing the independence of Timor-Leste, which has had a tumultuous history of foreign occupation.
In 1970, at 21 years of age, after working as a journalist in his homeland, which was then a Portugese colony, José Ramos-Horta was exiled for one year to Mozambique, another Portuguese colony, where he began his efforts to secure independence for Timor-Leste.
Although Timor-Leste secured independence in 1975, it was invaded by Indonesian forces after their proclamation of independence. Working from Australia and the USA, Ramos-Horta lobbied governments to cut ties with the Indonesian President Suharto’s regime and promoted a peace plan to end the violence in his homeland.
After 24 years of occupation and armed conflict, in May 2002 Timor-Leste achieved its independence from Indonesia. The small country has made progess since this event, despite some violence and disruption. José Manuel Ramos-Horta formally took office as President on 20th May 2007, following a landslide victory in the first national elections since the restoration of independence.
In February 2008, he was the victim of an assassination attempt which he survived following multiple operations in Australia.
Timor-Leste remains in an embryonic state, with a delicate security situation and a stagnant economy. It also remains one of the world’s poorest countries. According to data from the WHO, in Timor-Leste 14% of children younger than 5 years of age suffer from acute malnutrition, and 56% are chronically malnourished.
After receiving the award, President Ramos-Horta delivered an address entitled “Timor-Leste and opportunities for Asia in the 21st Century”. In the paper he described how a small country like Timor-Leste struggles to integrate itself strategically, economically and diplomatically after becoming independent. Despite gaining its independence in May 2002, the country still remains in a fragile condition. In February 2008, Dr Ramos-Horta was the victim of an assassination attempt which he survived following several operations.
“President Ramos-Horta is a moral giant, who from a young age has acted as a voice of his people to assist them towards independence from oppression,” said Dr. Niamh Hardiman, who gave the citation at the honorary conferral ceremony. “His advocacy has shown that the best way to respect the rights of the oppressed, and to achieve freedom and justice, is through peace building.”
“He played a vital role in healing divisions within his own country, building bridges with its nearest neighbour, and keeping faith with the principles of freedom, justice, peace and reconciliation that have informed his whole life’s work.”

The past few years of university-level education have been marked by numerous student protests against tuition increases.  With the unrest caused by the most recent protests in California still fresh in educator’s minds, some experts are turning to technology for the solution.  Across the globe, a number of universities and secondary schools are embracing the open-source and intuitive nature of the Internet to try and promote education. 
Though the majority of schools, especially in largely developed countries, have been shifting more and more of their resources online, the greatest benefit may come from increased accessibility to lower-income populations. 
This benefit is partially to do with the fact that technology, specifically the Internet, is largely intuitive for many young children.  In 1999 Dr Sugata Mitra conducted the “Holes in Walls” experiment, which placed small touch-screen computers in various walls throughout the slums of New Delhi.  After just a few weeks it became clear that children as young as eight years old were capable of basic computer operation and were quickly teaching themselves more. 
This realisation has driven educational innovators to introduce more and more Internet-based teaching. In Europe and North America, for example, and to a lesser extent Asia, iTunesU has become increasingly popular.  iTunesU is a programme that allows any person with an iTunes account, the popular music-downloading program, to listen to lectures from a wide variety of universities.  Trinity has a number of lectures uploaded, as well as Oxford, Cambridge and many other international universities. 
Some schools have moved even further online and have already seen the benefits.
In the Cempaka Schools in Indonesia students are required to have a MacBook, as well as an iPhone (which is provided by the college), that are fully integrated with the school’s servers.  This meant that during the recent A(H1N1) scare, school officials were able to send everyone home, but classes proceeded as normal, albeit on the internet.  Attendance was still mandatory to the online classes and assignments were still given out and completed. 
The administrators responsible for these measures argue that the higher use of technology not only affords them a greater degree of independence from the classroom, it also helps their students become more familiar with the sort of technology that is likely to become more and more prevalent in the workplace.  In this way, they believe, they are teaching very practical skills to their pupils. 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has now stepped forward and moved over 1,900 recording of their lectures online, including assignments and syllabi.  The service is called MITOpenCourseWare and it is completely free to anyone with a web browser. 
In defending their decision, MIT refers to their University Mission that states, in part, “to advance knowledge in ways that will best serve the nation and the world.”  By placing so much of their material online then, administrators hope to promote this goal.  Of course, they also state that because MIT emphasises “hands-on experience in instruction” there is no danger of the typical, paying student becoming irrelevant. 
However these new technologies are implemented, whether in high-income private universities or in less well- funded public institutes, they are sure to dramatically change the way in which education is delivered in the coming years.

Tens of thousands united on March 4 during the “Strike and Day of Action to defend Education”. Although some UC Berkeley students were turned off by the riots the week before, the day of passionate protest against education funding cuts attracted thousands of demonstrators to walkouts and teach-ins at universities and high schools throughout California. According to the Los Angeles Times the rallies were largely peaceful. In Oakland, however, about 150 protesters were arrested after they blocked a freeway, stifling rush-hour traffic.
It is clear from press reports that the central messages of the March 4 protests were heard. All the major mainstream media outlets ran articles on how the cuts to state funding have increased the cost of tuition and have put higher education out of reach of millions of students in the U.S. Another central message that was communicated successfully was the notion that groups from different educational sectors joined together and they were able to show that a powerful voting block is being formed.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, the reason for the “Strike of Day of Action to defend Education” can be found in a couple of acts of desperation last year. First, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut about $600 million in overall funding for Californian Universities. Then the Universities’ regents and trustees, facing budget crises of their own, reduced programs, furloughed workers and raised tuition. Ananya Roy, UC Berkeley Professor of Urban Studies compared the 32% tuition increase over a two-year period with racial discrimination. On March 4 she said during a broadcast: “Students of color have been fighting around these issues for quite a while in the UC system ... so we see this as a struggle to not only save the university, but ... to make those issues of access and opportunity ... visible to all.”
While at first glance the question of racism seems to be unrelated to the issue of funding, Bob Samuels, lecturer at UC Los Angeles and author of the popular blog Changing Universities, argues that it is evident from recent events at UC Berkeley and San Diego that increased racial tensions often occur during an economic downturn: “In fact, one obvious connection between racism and economics concerns enrolment policies and decisions. As many people have reported, less then 2% of the undergraduates at several of the UC campuses are African American, and although this low level of enrolment might not be blamed directly on racism, the effects of the situation is to fan racial tensions.”
A series of racially charged incidents has galvanised protests and teach-ins at UC San Diego. First, a fraternity held a party called the “Compton Cookout”, which invited people to come dressed in stereotypical ghetto attire. Then, a noose was found hanging off a bookcase on the seventh floor of the university’s library. The student involved was suspended on February 26 for her actions. While the investigation is ongoing regarding a possible hate crime, she has claimed it a “mindless” act and clarified “that it was not an act of racism”. Following these incidents Administrators at UC San Diego and the school’s Black Student Union have signed an agreement that outlines common goals, leading to an effort dubbed “Join the Battle Against Hate”.
The problems faced at Californian Universities brought thousands of students to the streets on March 4. Partly to protest against education funding cuts, but also to protest against such racially charged incidents. Similarly, as this paper has reported, in June 2009 Australian students were marching against violent attacks towards Indians in Melbourne and Sydney. Recent attacks have led the Indian government to issue a travel notice, warning its nationals to take extra precautions when travelling to Australia. Australia’s Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has just returned from a three-day visit to India, where he reiterated the view that Australia has no tolerance for racist attacks.
The incidents, both in the U.S. and Australia, have caused protest amongst students against racial prejudices. Now it might be true that the student hanging a noose in the library had no racist intent. The “Compton Cookout” seemed to have looked like an innocent joke to the organisers. Similarly some attacks on Indians in Australia may have turned out not to be racially motivated. Australian police say that, at least in some of the assaults, the attackers have been fellow Indians. In the case of Jaspreth Singh, who claimed he was attacked by four men and then set alight, it turned out that he had made up his story as part of an insurance fraud that could have gained him $11,000.
Nevertheless, those incidents should not just be dismissed as innocent misunderstandings. In his book, The Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam reviews the latest studies of how racism works, and he documents some surprising findings. According to Vedantam children as young as three years old will associate positive traits with white people and negative traits with black people regardless of the race of the child or the attitude of the children’s parents and teachers. From his perspective, the only way to fight racism is to openly admit that we all harbour racist associations and we need to become aware of our unconscious tendencies.
Samuels explains how important educating against racism has become nowadays: “While the election of Barack Obama might make us think that we have moved beyond these race-based prejudices, the recent events at the University of California, San Diego reveal how we cannot simply escape unconscious racism ... The interventions failed to get to the root of the problem, which is how do we teach people not to act on their unconscious racist beliefs. This need for education was evident when the student who placed the noose in the library explained that she did not intend to do any harm, and she did not think about the racial significance of the noose.” It seems that the protests on March 4 were more significant than one might think at first sight. They were not only asking for free education for everyone not depending on their social status or cultural background. But even more importantly, the protestors were raising awareness towards the fact that it is in those institutions it can be made possible to educate against racism.

Lack of thorough examination in x-rays leads to severe criticism of hospital administration.

It has recently emerged that nearly 58,000 x-rays of adult patients were never read by a consultant radiologist at Tallaght Hospital over a five-year period. This inaction has led to tragic consequences including delayed diagnoses for two patients, one of whom has since died. The hospital initially stated that the number of unread x-rays was thought to be around 700; it wasn’t until 14th December 2009 that a report ordered by Professor Kevin Conlon, CEO-designate of the Dublin hospital, showed the true number of the unreported X-rays to be an astonishingly high figure of 57,921. Additionally, thousands of GP referral letters have gone unopened, leading to major delays for patients.
Professor Tom O’Dowd, a public health specialist at Trinity College Dublin, was the first GP to alert the hospital to the x-ray referral problems, last April. However Lyndon McCann, chairman of the Adelaide, Meath and National Children’s hospital, denies receiving O’Dowd’s letter of concern until 10th March 2010, despite the letter being stamped as “received” by the Chief Executive’s office on 27th April 2009. In a statement released on 11th March 2010, a Tallaght hospital representative said: “There are no unopened letters in Tallaght Hospital. There is no backlog of referral letters for either adult or paediatric services.” This miscommunication exemplifies the disorganisation that evidently has permeated the hospital at the cost of its patients’ health.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has said that Minister for Health Mary Harney, who was in New Zealand on a St. Patrick‘s Day trip, should be “fired”. Despite her willingness to deal with the issue while abroad and her assertion that a review of the x-rays will be completed in ten weeks, Fine Gael spokesperson Dr. James Reilly said Minister Harney is sending all the wrong messages by not being here to deal with the crisis, and that the backlog could have been tackled within a month if the Minister had instructed the HSE to outsource the work. “The state and its agent Tallaght Hospital have failed their patients,” said Reilly. “They must act immediately to address that.”
Since the crisis has come to light, the hospital’s board members have agreed that reforms are necessary. Charlie O’Connor, local TD and member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, demanded that the HSE appoint a respected individual to the current board and continue to have a representative on the new board after their failure to appoint a member to the previous board of management at the hospital despite being entitled to do so. Lyndon McCann said that there would be a new post created for a director of quality and changes would also be made to “modernise” how the facility is run.
The HSE has confirmed that it will make all of its hospitals verify that they do not have similar problems to Tallaght’s delays in reviewing x-rays. It remains to be seen whether this crisis will produce a valuable lesson or just another dust-gathering report.

The recent demise of Hughes & Hughes represents another blow to struggling independent booksellers in Ireland. As powerful online and supermarket retailers continue to demand larger discounts and higher margins from publishers, the outlook is grim for this once-vibrant industry. While this situation is far from unique to this country, it is particularly sad to see our rich and varied literary tradition homogenised and bastardised by the supermarket retailer, the celebrity hardback, and the Dan Brown novel. Once the land of Shaw, Beckett and Behan, Ireland risks becoming the land of Jordan, Chris Moyles and Richard Hammond. Moreover, the advent of the Amazon Kindle and the Sony e-reader casts the very future of the paper book itself into uncertainty.
What impact, then, have these recent developments had on those independent booksellers that continue to trade? Paddy MacNeill, owner of “The Skerries Bookshop” in north Co. Dublin, insists he is not worried by Hughes’ collapse: “My overheads are much lower than theirs were, so that means I can survive when they can’t. I’m just paying myself, I don’t have any staff.” When asked about the difference between the experience a consumer has in his shop as opposed to a retail giant, Paddy thinks his personal service, passion for literature and varied range of stock keep the customers coming through his door. “I offer a personal service here. I’ve a little bit of everything, bestsellers, Irish authors and local authors. I know the writers. I read a lot myself and I’m able to make recommendations to customers.”
However, not all share his optimism. Mark Kiernan, an employee of “The Wise Owl” chain of small retailers, said, “We would be worried to a certain extent about their closure, mainly because we’re never sure how publishers are going to react. If they raise their cost prices that would be extremely difficult for us in such a competitive market.” Neither are fans of the Kindle or the e-reader. Paddy doubts the Kindle will lead to the death of the conventional book: “Maybe with the bestsellers that might take off, but you never know how these things are going to pan out. There’s still a cost issue there because you have to buy the Kindle as well as the book.” For Mark, nothing compares to the experience of reading a paper book. “I know it sounds corny but I enjoy being able to hold the book and feel the pages. The Kindle is kind of cold and detached.”
Where, however, do customers fit in to all this? If consumers want to buy cheaper books in Tesco or from Amazon, surely that is their prerogative? For Karen Roberts, a customer of Paddy MacNeill, the most important thing is to continue to support local businesses. “I find that in smaller bookshops you do get more of a personal service. It’s convenient to have somewhere local where you can just pop in, the stock is just as up to date as anywhere else and if there’s something you want that they don’t have they can get it in that day or the next, so it’s just as handy.”
As a student, Ciarán McKenna admits that price is the most important factor for him when it comes to buying books. “Of course I’d love to buy from independents more often, but if I buy the books online there can be as much as a 50% difference in price. I’m on a budget so as far as I see it I don’t really have a choice.” This sentiment would seem to be echoed by book purchasers all over the globe. The independent bookshop retains great affection in the hearts of booklovers everywhere, but in the case of Hughes and many others, the price gap has proven to be a bridge too far.
The only people who can save these outlets are the customers. If consumers are serious about holding on to the independent bookshop experience, to the personal service, to varied stock, and to the knowledgeable and passionate staff, then they must put their money where their mouths are. The alternative is that work of genuine merit that refuses to pander to commercialism and the lowest common denominator will be swallowed whole by the likes of Dan Brown and Chris Moyles, and literary Ireland will be dead and gone.

A new bill would mandate that one-third of Indian lawmakers be women, but how much would India’s female population actually benefit?

Affirmative action always tends to be a tricky issue, but it tends to be even more complicated when it comes to the higher echelons of politics. So it is with the case of India and the proposed amendment to its constitution, the “Women’s Reservation Bill”, which was passed by the upper house of the Indian parliament earlier this month.
Approved by an impressive but somewhat misleading majority of 186 to 1, it reserves one-third of all legislative seats for women at both national and state levels. The bill follows several failed attempts at similar legislation that have been made since the 1990s.
It is in many respects a highly encouraging and laudable step forward and will put countries such as Ireland, languishing with a Dáil that is a meagre 13% female, to shame. For India itself, which currently has female representation of less than 11%, it will in certain respects be a tremendous change. What’s more, the bill enjoys broad support and is favoured not only by the governing Congress Party but also by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and may well soon achieve the support needed from the lower house and state assemblies to become law.
However, this is not necessarily quite the breakthrough for women’s rights or social development implied at first glance. To start with, the impression one may get from the legislation on first appearances — of a developing country’s surprising propulsion into a world of liberal values — is not entirely accurate. India itself has a long history of reserving seats in parliament for particular groups, such as those for tribal and “lower caste” Indians and for religious minorities. Additionally, while the parliaments India will join in the elite club of countries with over 30% female parliamentary members include many progressive countries that one would expect, such as Scandinavian countries, they also incorporate a surprising number of underdeveloped African countries. These include not only the famous and highly anomalous case of Rwanda, but also countries such as Mozambique and Angola. 
Part of the reason for these anomalies is that the figures for the representation of social groups in politics have a tendency to be highly deceptive, and doubly so when they are a consequence of quotas enforced from above. In situations such as these, political representation is often a very thin pasting-over of a reality that is much messier and grimmer than the numbers suggest. Consider two different ways in which the statistics can be misleading in this regard.
The first difficulty arises upon closer examination of the nature of cause and consequence in these situations; in other words look behind the headlines and the basic numbers. Apparent progress is often not the result of a triumphant march towards the light of modernity but an offshoot of other processes, often less permanent ones. For example take the peculiar case of Rwanda. Rwanda appears to be a model among all nations for gender equality, with its parliament consisting of an actual majority of women, the first time in history that this has happened anywhere. Advocates of gender equality routinely cite this case with approval. Yet the fact is that Rwanda’s female participation rate is to a significant degree a consequence of the disproportionate number of men killed in the genocide in 1994. In other African countries, the high rate of female political participation exists in spite of their highly egregious social situation, as a result of admittedly forward-thinking post-conflict political settlements made in those countries in the 1990s.
Just as the cause of something may not be what it seems, the consequences of a development like this are often different from those which were intended or at least alleged. The Indian bill would certainly mean more female faces in politics, but the amendment omits a reservation for women from “lower castes” or from religious minorities; hence parties representing dalit  (“untouchable”) or Muslim interests have vigorously opposed the bill, saying that it will lead to a more elitist and exclusionary politics, and threatening to withdraw support for the government over it. Additionally many analysts fear that it will exacerbate the already serious problem of nepotism in Indian politics, in which local powerholders simply pass on their political “estates” to their wives or daughters.
Moreover, India’s progress in this area does not primarily arise from the enlightened goodwill of India’s politicians; the genuine initiative of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi deserves much credit for the bill’s passage, but the proto-fascist BJP’s support of it should arouse scrutiny.
The second problem is much more important and one which the feminist movement is very often in danger of forgetting; the severe disconnection that exists between superficial political progress and meaningful change in the lives of ordinary women. This can be illustrated by what may seem to be a rather silly argument: that women have been in leadership positions for thousands of years, but that this fact has not contributed to the material improvement of women’s lives for much of that time. I doubt the reign of Cleopatra meant much for every other woman in Ptolemaic Egypt. The Indian subcontinent is a more recent example of this problem. For half a century women have risen to powerful roles with surprising frequency in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Way back in 1965 Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the world’s first female Prime Minister. The two leading political figures in Bangladesh for the last two decades have been women. In India itself politicians such as Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Kumari Mayawati have been highly prominent. But all of this has meant little for a region which remains rife with misogyny. Much of Indian society suffers atrociously from a culture of sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, domestic violence and dowry deaths. Perhaps, in the long-run, developments such as this bill will help, but for the moment these paper improvements do little to change that reality.
So let us welcome this possibly forthcoming amendment, and hope that it progresses further. We should, indeed, regard it as wonderful news and over time it may not only improve the prospects of individual women and India’s global image, but may also percolate into Indian life more broadly. We should, however, be very careful to maintain perspective. Perhaps the greatest contribution of this bill will be, through the contrasting worlds India will then provide, to show that tremendous political progress in this area in itself means little to the everyday lived reality, and may redirect attention further in that more important area.

The much anticipated Irish Student Drama Association Festival took place from 8th-13th March. The 62-year-old festival comes to Dublin every eight years, with DU Players being this year’s host and organiser in what is one of the highlights of the student drama calendar.
There were over 35 productions from 11 different colleges around Ireland with over 500 performers taking part. Productions were run across the city, including in the Samuel Beckett theatre and the Players theatre located on Trinity campus.
The aim of the festival was to showcase the brightest of the new generation in Irish theatre, with those participating ranging from aspiring actors and directors to set designers and sound engineers. It has been a “springboard for numerous influential figures in Irish film and theatre such as Conor McPherson, Pauline McLynn and Fiona Shaw”, as noted by Ross Dungan of DU Players.
This year the festival was run alongside the Irish Student Drama Association Fringe Festival which showcased alternative acts of comedy, music and dance, further providing a platform for the rising talents in Irish third-level institutions.
Dungan said the week could not have gone ahead without the “dedication of the participating students to a career in the industry”.
The festival was well received with great public interest. Organisers were keen to keep ticket prices low in order to maximise attendance. Dungan says the event was “the most-attended festival ever in Trinity”.
DU Players did not receive a special grant for funding the festival. They generated funds through advertising, ticket sales and revenue from the other college’s participation fees.
The week ended with the ISDF awards ceremony where six awards went to Trinity College, including Best Director and Best Production, both of which for the production of Mercury Fur.

Cal McDonagh
Staff Reporter
Sunday library openings are under review once again and the Students’ Union has warned that “there is a chance that this service will be pulled” if it is not made use of.  Education Officer Ashley Cooke hails the scheme as an opportunity to show the College that Sunday openings are an indispensible service by “their own definition”.
The number of visitors entering the Library each day is being monitored over a six week period which started at the beginning of March.  The Students’ Union hopes that the data collected will indicate it is viable for Trinity Library to continue opening on Sundays.
Some students have been advised by their Class Representatives to avail of Sunday openings as much as possible over the coming weeks if they want the service to continue. Senior Freshman History students were advised to “try and use it so that we don’t lose it”.
The investigation resulted from an agreement between the Provost and the Students’ Union to compare library usage on Sundays with every other day in the week. Previous investigations have only looked at Sunday attendance figures on their own.
Ashley Cooke told Trinity News that “so far”, when shorter weekend opening hours are taken into account, not every day in the week has significantly outperformed Sunday levels of attendance.  “Sundays are low but so are all the other days,” he said, also claiming that, in some cases, library attendance has been higher on Sundays than on Saturdays.
The Library, though, was unable to release attendance figures at the time of publication.
Although the Students’ Union hopes to demonstrate that Sunday library openings are not a dispensable service, the Library has not agreed to a benchmark for library attendance which would secure the status of Sunday openings if achieved.
Deputy Librarian Jessie Kurtz explained, “we felt we couldn’t come up with a percentage [of attendance which would lead to a commitment to opening on Sundays]”.
Sunday openings have “always been a trial run” says Cooke, who aims to permanently secure Sunday library access for students. Although College is currently committed to opening the Hamilton and BLU Libraries on Sundays in the run up to end-of-year examinations, Cooke makes the case for also opening the Library on Sundays throughout the academic year, especially in the approach to January scholarship examinations.
Cooke says Sunday opening is not an underused service but asserts College should provide for the “particular need” of students who want to use the Library on Sundays, even if they form a minority.  He cites Sunday openings and 24-hour study access as examples of how students should be allowed to choose when they study.
Cooke expects the number of those using the Library on Sundays to increase. “You can’t just expect students to start using it right away,” he explains, anticipating that study patterns will change as more students get used to the new service.
Whilst Cooke argues access to library facilities on Sundays is a core service for students, he points out faculty members and visiting readers are less likely to use this service at the weekend, causing student attendance to appear lower. The turnstile system which counts how many people enter and exit the Library does not distinguish between students, staff and visiting readers.
Dr. Jack McGinley, SIPTU representative at College, says he supports the allocation of library resources towards services that benefit Trinity students and staff, rather than outside readers.  He points out all Library staff working on Sundays have volunteered to do so, adding: “We’ve all been students in our own days.”
Cooke identifies the tendency of students to enter the Library several times during a weekday, between lectures and seminars, but only once at the weekend, as another factor which downplays the value of Sunday opening hours.
Negotiations about the viability of Sunday library openings continue at a committee meeting attended by the Vice Provost and representatives from the Students’ Union, Graduate Students’ Union and the Library.

Students’ Union President Cónán Ó Broin has been nominated as a candidate for the Deputy Presidency of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), an organisation he is openly critical of.
Ó Broin is running on an unofficial joint ticket with Presidential candidate and current UCD Students’ Union President, Gary Redmond, although both posts will be elected independently of one another.
Current USI Equality Officer Linda Kelly is also vying to be elected President at the USI Congress, which takes place from 29th March to 1st April.
Both Redmond and Ó Broin support a motion by Students’ Union Presidents to downgrade the full-time role of USI Equality Officer and LGBT Rights Officer to part-time roles within the Union. They also plan to replace the four Area Officers with a single Constituent Organisation Liaison Officer.
Ó Broin says the job description for the role of Equality Officer is “too vague”, failing to impact the life of most students.  The candidate for Deputy President also says that there is no longer “enough policy material” for a full-time LGBT Rights Officer, but says USI-organised Pink Training will continue to be run. 
The job of the USI is “to protect students’ interests”, Ó Broin says, “not to save the world”.
Ó Broin, who describes the current structure of the USI as “woefully inadequate”, will be competing against Southern Area Officer Jono Clifford.
The Trinity Students’ Union Council has mandated its 22 USI delegates to vote “Re-Open Nominations” for the Equality and LGBT Rights Officers and to support any motion to amend these roles, as well as the role of Area Officer, in accordance with Redmond and Ó Broin’s design. UCDSU delegates are also authorised to support such a motion.
Ó Broin considers such restructuring  to be important for generating continuity in the USI.  He argues the employment of a full-time lobbyist, a researcher and an administrator would provide the USI with better value for money than Officers who only serve for a year-long term.
Presidential candidate Linda Kelly also wants to employ an Administrations or Operations Officer and says that her experience within the USI will allow for a degree of continuity which “Gary Redmond can’t offer”.
Kelly, however, is opposed to what she describes as her opponents’ policy of “If we can remove X officer we can employ Y staff,” adding, “I don’t think a permanent strategist or lobbyist is the best use of resources.”
While the “strategic lobbying of key politicians and public bodies” is central to Redmond’s manifesto aim to “end the threat of tuition fees for once and for all”, Kelly says that the USI should not rely too much on hiring lobbyists, pointing out that the enactment of legislation which has already been passed, such as the Student Support Bill, should also be a priority.
While claiming to recognise the “enormous potential” of the USI, which uniquely provides student representation on the Higher Education Authority, Cónán Ó Broin says the USI requires modernisation in order to wield greater political influence. 
He openly criticises USI leadership in the campaign against third-level fees, calling it “not nearly as effective as it could have been”, attributing much of the work done to individual Students’ Unions.
The manifestos of both Presidential candidates lay out plans for developing strong inter-union communications. The role of Liaison Officer, according to Redmond, would be conducive to “getting our Constituent Organisations and members involved in all of the USI’s work”.  Kelly also says “there is a lot to be said for creating a national Liaison Officer”, suggesting that the positions of Area Officer “never fulfilled their potential”.
USI was unable to provide comment on restructuring proposals because they are “a policy decision”.