Working conditions, increasing access to education and racism in Trinity were some of the overarching issues that emerged at the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) hustings this evening.
The format of the hustings, moderated by Conor Duff, saw multiple questions being read out at once by members of the GSU. The questions often touched on multiple topics, making it difficult for candidates to engage with them or to keep track of what was being asked.
The difficult conditions faced by postgraduate students have become clear in recent years, and the candidates were unanimous in calling for improvement.
From the beginning Prof Linda Hogan, Prof Linda Doyle and Prof Jane Ohlmeyer were at pains to highlight the harsh conditions postgraduate students and to call for improvements, but did not really diverge from each other’s positions. All three promised to introduce contracts for postgraduate students who carry out work in College, and were also largely reluctant to make promises about changing the status of PhD students to “workers”.
Instead, candidates leaned on their own experience in dealing with postgraduates: Doyle pointed to her experience in the CONNECT centre and as Dean of Research, Ohlmeyer referenced her roles in the Irish Research Council and Long Room Hub and Hogan talked about her time as Vice-Provost and head of the School of Ecumenics.
When challenged by GSU president Gisèle Scanlon on whether research constitutes work, they likely lost some favour. The position of a PhD candidate as student or worker has become unclear in the Irish context, but Doyle and Hogan insisted it was ultimately the former. Hogan said the term “entails the educational training and supervision”, adding that she did not “want to conflate the responsibilities of the university as an employer and an educator”.
Doyle said much the same, that “PhD space is a complex space”, maintaining that “of course that is hard work but it is not defined as a worker”.
Ohlmeyer struck a different tone: she argued that the Irish PhD model may need to come more in line with the European way of doing things. “Ireland’s future is in Europe”, she said.
Candidates clashed on climate tonight, a topic that has seen significant divergence among the three. Hogan maintained her stance as the only candidate calling for Trinity to be carbon neutral by the end of the next provostship, shaking off Ohlmeyer’s accusation that such a goal was unrealistic and saying that “if we don’t do this, then we are heading towards catastrophe”.
Hogan appeared the firmest of the three on climate – calling for an annual audit of Trinity with relation to sustainability and saying that College should be utilising the sustainability research going on in Trinity.
Ohlmeyer and Doyle’s calls for a vice provost for sustainability and a new sustainability office fell somewhat flat in comparison to Hogan’s carbon-neutrality aspiration. However, all three took similar stances on making vegetarian and vegan meals the “default” for Trinity catering, while not removing meat options.
The confusing structure of the hustings allowed the candidates to give wide-ranging, if vague, answers to questions on aspects of equality. Mainly, candidates were questioned on how to prevent transphobia in Trinity and improve child care options for postgraduate students.
Hogan stood out with her firm response to a question from the QSoc auditor on how candidates would ensure that transphobia is not treated as “a matter of academic freedom”. She advocated for a zero-tolerance policy for transphobia from staff and students, stating that: neither “ignorance, lack of education or academic freedom are excuses” for transphobic behaviour.
Doyle fell back on her self-described collaborative leadership style, saying that there was existing policy to train teaching assistants in more inclusive behaviour and that she wanted to work with students to know if those policies were sufficient and then work to ensure they are enacted. “It is terrible that people have had any bad experiences,” said Doyle. “We have some good policy but it is too much hard work to find it.”
Ohlmeyer came across as sympathetic but vague, stating that she was “very aware” that today is International Transgender Day of Visibility but not offering a concrete approach for improving the environment in Trinity for trans students. She cited increasing training and awareness, working with the Equality Office and having lectures show their solidarity as her plans.
A video question sent in by a PhD student detailed her struggles supporting herself and her baby when she gave birth during her PhD, saying that she was advised to go off books and had to give up her stipend during that year in addition to being unable to secure a space in the college creche when she did return to Trinity.
The question struck a personal note with Ohlmeyer who cited her own experience of having a child towards the end of her PhD in Trinity. Ohlmeyer committed to greater investment in the childcare services offered by Trinity as support for both postgraduate students and staff.
Hogan and Doyle agreed in their approach to the issue, both stating that postgraduate students carrying out work for the university like being a teaching assistant or demonstrator should have a contract and all the benefits that go with it, including maternity leave. However, neither candidate specifically addressed the challenges faced by postgraduate student parents only pursuing their course of study.
While tough questions were asked regarding racism, the overwhelming format – with several questions asked one after the other – did not allow candidates to give detailed answers.
Doyle stressed the importance of “tackling things systematically”, referring to her time as Dean of Research when she worked with the Irish Refugee Council to hire people coming out of direct provision.
Ohlmeyer said the Black Lives Matter movement showed us many things, such as the idea that “statues must fall” – but didn’t indicate whether any of Trinity’s statues were literally going to be removed. She pledged to push for cultural awareness training, which she previously failed to secure as Vice President of Global Relations.
Hogan reiterated that “we must live our values” and said, on a national level, university should be “in and for the public good”. It was clear the candidates cared about the issue, but they appeared to lack concrete solutions.
Voting in the GSU preferendum on the Provost elections will begin on April 6th and will continue on until April 8th.
Voting in the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union preferendum is still ongoing and will close on Friday.
Candidates will face one final hustings next Wednesday at 1pm, with the moderator not yet confirmed. Voting will then begin that Saturday at 9am.
