In any year, it would be atypical for the College to close its doors to everyone except residents for a day due to weather. But this academic year has seen Trinity reluctantly shut down for a cumulative five-or-so days.
After October’s unorthodox tropical storm Ophelia shook the country and left Trinity stumped at how to react – staying silent about arrangements until the Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, announced a blanket closure of all education institutions – students were irked by the College’s lethargy around informing on its decisions.
This time, with as much, if not more, the media frenzy about the “beast from the east”, it seems that Trinity learned nothing from Ophelia, which should have been the perfect practice for a red-letter weather event such as this. However – perhaps because of reading week – as other colleges and universities announced their closure on Tuesday night for the next day, Trinity was in no rush to let students know what would happen.
This was fine – if inconvenient – for typical campus-based students on our reading week. But could the College not have spared a thought for students on placement in various hospitals near and far, often making long commutes very early in the morning? Some student parents, whose children may have had their schools closed, were left worrying about attending College and keeping up with work. Trinity’s advice to “keep an eye on social media” is hardly sufficient when the issue seems to be making the decision rather than circulating it.
Then after doggedly staying open on Wednesday only to make a U-turn and announce the College’s closure that very day, havoc ensued, with services like the library and the Sports Centre messily shutting down earlier than they had previously announced.
Now, for students who may be snowed into their houses into tomorrow, it seems that these will be dealt with on an ad hoc basis – without any assurance that their valid excuses for not being present at mandatory labs or tutorials or other classes will be taken into account. It’s no exaggeration to say that Trinity’s communication in times of urgency leaves a lot to be desired.
