College Tribune: Issue 10

ucd.ie/tribune

Volume 20 / Issue 10

THIS WEEK IN

Rockin' the catwalk

Fashion Show Coverage Page 12

3rd April 2007

Setting the night's sky alight The Burning Man Festival

Page 12

'Cruising' rife in UCD ● Reports of cruising for sexual partners on campus ● College move to reduce pattern of public sex acts in UCD College authorities have confirmed that reports on the website squirt.org that “cruising” for homosexual partners is rampant on the Belfield campus of UCD, are true.

“Cruising” is an act whereby two people meet up anonymously in washrooms and other such public areas to partake in sexually explicit acts.

A spokesperson for the college declared, “There were reports of cruising in UCD and the university seeks to reduce any pattern of public sex acts on campus.”

He added that, “Public places are regularly selected for ‘cruising’, so it isn’t a surprise that university campuses find themselves on lists from time to time.

“The greater social concern is when a public place is used for sexual activity (of any sexual orientation), which is accessed by children.”

The website squirt.org, self-described as “your neighbourhood cruising guide”, cites two different locations as prime spots for the practice; namely

Colin Gleeson the toilets located between Theatre P and Theatre Q in the Arts block and also the shrubbery around the UCD Sports Pitches.

Each location has its own page, detailing directions to UCD, including bus-routes from various parts of the city centre and the surrounding hinterland. It also describes the specifics of the areas within the campus that are used for “cruising”.

The discovery has raised concerns regarding the safety, and indeed sexual health, of students.

The site also describes the sort of people that are to be found in each location.

The area around the Sports Pitches is said to be used by “younger guys, approximately eighteen and upwards”, while the toilets in the Arts block are frequented by a “mixed bag, a lot of oldies but it seems to be getting a bit better”.

Just past the Quinn School!

Continued on page four

MOLLOY’S

MERVILLE

2

NEWS

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

Fashion Show homeless

April 3rd

● Fashion Show considered a huge success ● Organisers will search for new venue for next year's show Caitrina Cody Editor Colin Gleeson Design Editors Simon Ward & Tara Phelan Sports Editor Ben Blake Features Editor Matthew Parkinson Bennett Health & Fashion Editor Caitrina Cody Arts Editor Barra O Fianail Music Editor Hugh Fowler Contributors: Ronan Dempsey, Jack Cane, Mark Canavan, Brian Sweeney, Paul Dillion, Eoin Mac Aodha, John O'Flynn, Aidan Mac Guill, Rebecca Glynn, Dara O'Donoghue, Lorcan Archer, Steuart Alexander, Cathy Buckmaster, Hanna Kousbroek, Susan Cahill, Treasa De Loughry, Jack Horgan Jones, Jordan Daly, Eoin Delap, Kilian O'Connor

Special Thanks To: Gary, Stephen & Billy @ Spectator Newspapers, Eilis O'Brien, Dominic Martella, A&B.

Contact Us: E: collegetribune@gmail.com T: 01-7168501, LG 18, Newman Building Box 74, Student Centre, Belfield, D4.

Triboku EASY

.

8 4 5 3 5 3 4 1 9 2 3 4 3 4 9 9 8 7 4 6 1 5 3 1 8 8 4 6

4 1

2 9

1

2 5 1

8 3 3 4 7 2 7

1 3

4

4 6 2 5 8

to a very entertaining night for the audience, with a slightly different focus. Including people with Down Syndrome on the catwalk really added to the night, it was great to have them there and they got so much out of it - they really enjoyed it and the audience reacted really positively. The dance routines were also fantastic, the practice clearly paid off.”

She went on to explain, “It was a fantastic example of advocacy for people with Down Syndrome; for people to be able to see them with their peers up on the catwalk at the Point at one of the biggest student events of the year.

“The feedback that I have received has been very positive - people have said that it was on a par with international fashion shows and that it was hugely enjoyable and I think that there’s been a huge buzz created which should work to our advantage for the next few years. We’re hoping that

ipod

Competition This week’s competition is a photo competition with 3 IPOD NANO’s up for grabs. UCD’s finest (that’s, sycophantically, you) have produced many a funny moment whether on campus or on a night out and we want to reward you for it.

9

Send us your funniest picture from your time in UCD to be in with a chance to win- it’s that simple.

Everyone has a few gems up their Bebos and we want to see them! No more than three entries per person and we won’t accept pictures above 1mb in size but apart from that, it’s open season. We’ll put any good pictures we receive up on our soon-to-belaunched new website so you have been warned!

3 6 8

Send entries to su@ucd.ie. Closing date: Thursday 12th of April. Make sure and include your name, email, address, Course and a contact number…

FIENDISHLY DIFFICULT .

Next year’s UCD Arts Fashion Show is currently without a venue as the Point Depot will be closing down for major renovations.

Fashion Show Organiser Sheila Campbell declared, “It won’t be possible to go back there so we’re looking around for ideas. We’ll probably go back to the RDS as it’s the next biggest venue available in Dublin and we’ll have to make the date fairly soon because of all the extra pressure that the RDS will be getting in this coming year.”

Three thousand people attended this year’s high-profile charity fashion event which took place in the Point Depot on Friday the 23rd of March.

The largest student fashion event in Europe, the UCD Arts Fashion Show, is donating the proceeds to the Irish Down Syndrome Centre in order to help them to establish Ireland’s first centre dedicated to providing medical and developmental services for people with Down Syndrome.

No official total has yet been released but details of the donation should be made known in the next few weeks.

Campbell spoke about the professional conduct that was evident in all areas of the performance, “On the day itself, everybody played their part. The students were great, they rose to the occasion and I thought they looked fantastic walking down the catwalk.”

She commented on the degree of professionalism this year, “It was a fantastic success. I think the introduction of the bands broke up the monotony of the girls walking down the ramp and led

1

in the next year even more students will be encouraged to get involved.”

Last year’s fashion show was cancelled due to lack of funds, perhaps fuelling public interest in the proceedings this year according to Campbell, “Because there was a gap last year, there was a question mark over what this year’s event would be like and I think we certainly answered that question. We proved that it’s a fantastic show to be involved with and that everybody gets something out of it. We’ve shown what the university and its students are capable of.

“Our sponsors from Dundrum Town Centre were there on the night and commented that fashion shows don’t come much better than that. That’s very high praise from such an authority on fashion.

Everybody enjoyed it and that’s a sign of a truly great night.”

NEWS

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

3

UCD Ball axed ● 'Kick in the teeth' as UCD Ball cancelled

● No high-profile acts secured

This year’s UCD Ball has been axed following the withdrawal of record company MCD and the failure to secure any high-profile acts.

Students’ Union Entertainments Officer Holly Irvine described the developments as “really unfortunate, annoying and a real kick in the teeth.”

Last year saw the maiden year of the UCD Ball with Entertainments Officer Anthony Kelly attracting acts such as Bell X1 and Damien Dempsey to headline the ball.

Irvine highlighted a number of factors in her decision to cancel this year’s ball, “Well it took place last year and it wasn’t the event it was hoped to be. We tried to see if we could make it bigger than last year but it became apparent to us that a ball of that size holds huge cost before you even book an act.

“So automatically, you’re going to have to have a pricey ticket and it’s just a case where at the end of the year, there’s just not as much of a buzz going around because a lot of people tend to give up the job and just pack up and get down to the books for the last few weeks. So, we felt that in order to sell three to four thousand tickets in order to break even; it just wasn’t going to happen.

“Last year, they had the crowd-pulling act of Bell X1 and they still didn’t sell enough tickets and money was lost on it.

The problem with this three-week break is that you have a gap in promoting it and sort of creating a buzz about it.”

The withdrawal of MCD from co-promotion of the ball was key in the decision, remarked Irvine, “I really wanted to do one, but then I was talking to MCD about it. They did a co-promotion of it

end of September as opposed to at the end of the year.

“And that is a better time because everybody goes to everything at the start of the year. I thought about it myself at the end of the year, but I didn’t have enough time to do something like that because I didn’t get to start my job until July, whereas Stephen gets to start his now.

“He can be putting work in now to get the ball going in September. It’ll be easier to get big names around that time of year as well. It’s definitely going to go

Colin Gleeson last year so they worked on everything we did. But they weren’t willing to do it again this year because they weren’t convinced it was going to work. They pulled out of it just after Christmas and I wanted to go ahead and do it anyway but it just wouldn’t work.

“They were a bit wary of what happened last year. So, it meant that any money lost would be on our backs, and that was a bit daunting for the Students’ Union to be losing that sort of money.

“And the acts they were giving me weren’t good enough to pull 3,000 students. There were a lot of things booked in for Oxegen and for the Trinity Ball and for various things like that.

And also, MCD won’t allow an act to play a different venue thirty days either side of a gig.

“We don’t want to do it half-assed where 1,000 people show up to a 3,000 capacity gig. It shouldn’t be a carbon copy of the Trinity Ball either, especially when the Trinity Ball is such a well-established thing. We don’t have the same sort of infrastructure as them.

“MCD weren’t fussed about it. They just didn’t think it was going to work after last year’s one didn’t work. They were up and down on it. Sometimes they were doing it, and then other times they weren’t, and bottom line they just weren’t confident it would work.”

Irvine also expressed her disappointment at the decision, “Obviously, it wasn’t a decision that was made on the spot, we sat down and thought about it for a

Not having a ball: Bell X1 play the inaugural UCD ball & current UCD Ents officer Holly Irvine

few days and ultimately decided that it wasn’t financially viable to go ahead and do it unless we had acts that were going to pull 4,000 students.

“I was offered a few different acts, they were mainly Irish acts and I think you need a big international act for a gig like this. And what we were offered were nothing spectacular.”

She also highlighted the timing of next year’s UCD Ball as crucial to the decision; “The other thing is that the incoming Entertainments Officer, Stephen Quinlivan, is planning to hold his UCD Ball at the

ahead in September.”

She concluded that there would be another event organised in place of the ball, “We are going to do something on the last day of term. We’re getting a stage into the pit, not a big deal thing, but a daytime gig.

“It should be a sort of open-air gig, weather permitting, with barbeques and things like that. We’ll have some local bands to bring you through to the evening time, so there’ll be some sort of a buzz at the end of the year,” she added.

4 NEWS

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

UCD pays price for “cosy cartel" ● UCD miss out on Graduate Medical School ● College “jumps the gun" by advertising places UCD have missed out on the chance to establish a graduate medical school, which would have seen graduates from other degrees able to train for a degree in medicine in UCD this September.

The University of Limerick (UL) has been granted Cabinet approval to establish the medical school, fending off competition from the Irish Universities and Medical Schools Consortium, which represented UCD, Trinity College Dublin, NUI Galway and UCC. Reasons for the consortium’s failure to secure any postgraduate places have been much debated since the decision was made. One senior academic said the four universities were “paying the price for operating a cosy cartel”.

The decision is a major embarrassment for UCD, as the college had already signalled that the graduate entry programme would begin in September.

It is believed that there was some annoyance in Government circles that UCD “jumped the gun” in this regard.

The decision was taken by an international assessment panel, which concluded that UL would admit the first 30 students to the four-year programme in September this year. The intake will increase to more than 100 students the following year.

Third-level colleges had been invited to tender for places on the new graduate-entry programme.

UL’s intake of 30 students in 2007 will rise to a maximum of 108. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland should

Colin Gleeson also be approved an intake of 30 students in 2007, rising to an enrolment of 40 EU students.

The remaining 92 places should be allocated to institutions that are part of the Irish Universities and Medical Schools Consortium, but only after the four universities submit revised bids.

Entry to the postgraduate programme is open to students who have already completed an honours undergraduate degree in any academic discipline and achieved a minimum of a 2.1 in their degree.

The new places are to be phased in over a four-year period, commencing with an intake of 60 students this year and rising to the target intake of 240 students per annum.

The new initiative is in line with proposals from an expert group on medical education chaired by Prof Patrick Fottrell, a former president of NUI Galway.

Pressure for a review of medical education has been growing because of the strain on the health service and the apparently inexorable rise in the CAO points needed to take the subject.

The introduction of the graduate-entry programme is part of overall reforms that will more than double the number of medical education places available to Irish students. Under this initiative, an additional 110 undergraduate places had already been approved for 2006 and 2007 across the medical schools.

Minister for Education Mary Hanafin

Sorry about that: Hugh Brady chats to minister for education Mary Hanafin

said the announcement marked “another significant milestone in the transformation of medical education in Ireland.

It is also an historic day for the University of Limerick and I congratulate the university.”

'Cruising' rife in UCD Scene of the crime: The cubical as mentioned online

Continued from page one The College Tribune has learned that the practice of “cruising” is rampant on the Belfield campus of UCD, according to the website squirt.org. College authorities have confirmed that reports of ‘cruising’ have been received.

The website portrays the Sports Pitches as the most frequented of the locations, with a description of what to do and the risks of getting caught outlined.

The description cites that, “Sports pitches all around the Soccer Stadium are the hotbed. Also, around the running track to a lesser extent, just through the gap in the trees (Follow the path).

“Making contact is easy anywhere around this area. Then pick any of the many bushes around the place. Lots of secluded areas where anything goes... literally.”

The negatives of this area are outlined, declaring, “Security patrol the whole campus, but don’t really bother checking out this area too much, just be

aware though.”

The page goes on to explain that nudity in this area can be found, and that there is in fact “lots of nudity in more secluded parts.”

The page also includes a comment board, which, at the time of going to print, had as many as 100 comments from both students and non-students, posted as recently as last week.

Numerous men who left comments were in excess of thirty years of age and were in search of contact details for students. To a lesser extent, there were men in excess of forty years of age also leaving comments on the site.

The page for the toilets in the arts block includes information for the best times to frequent the area, “Seems to be busiest during the late afternoons, evenings, from about 5:30 onwards.”

The page also includes “tips for cruising”, that explain, “It seems to be a thing where it’s all on foot communication un-

der the cubicle wall - some guys wait at the urinals with their c**ks out, but it’s a bit risky, plus it’s not a busy toilet so there may be on one there for a while.”

The site summarises the location declaring, “Not the best place in the world,

but it’s good for a quickie and it’s where most of the action in UCD seems to happen.“ The negatives are also outlined, “The Vietnamese cleaning woman, she totally knows what’s going on, so watch

out that she’s not about the place. Also, there is a real creepy dude with a big c**k - you know who you are - he’s a bit crazy.” The page also warns that people partaking in this “may be interrupted by cleaners”.

There is also a rating given between one and five. The toilets are allocated two out of five, while the Sports Pitches are given three out of five.

Students’ Union Welfare Officer Barry Colfer was “startled” when the news was broken to him by the College Tribune.

He went on to say, “It’s important for people entering into sexual relations with people they don’t know to take every precaution. Your health is the most important thing.

“I would also be very conscious of personal safety for people who are going to be getting naked in bushes. People are putting themselves at serious risk if somebody is to attack them and they’re in the nip. “

NEWS

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

5

A million euro up in smoke

● ‘Severe' fire devastates Tierney building ● Repairs will take months The College Tribune has learned that the fire which broke out in the Michael Tierney Building on March 13th will cost the College in excess of a million euro in repairs.

UCD Head of Buildings Aidan Grannell declared, “The cost of the damage is estimated to be over a million euros. This is taking into account that this will include relocation of personnel staff - the personnel areas in the Administration building will take almost three months to completely restore.”

Grannell explained that fire had been simmering all night, but broke out in the early hours of the morning, “The fire began smouldering at around seven am and eventually set off the fire alarm.

“There were a small number of staff working early on the IT program and the college finances who heard the alarm and automatically proceeded to evacuate the building. The services staff spotted the fire and the Fire Department were contacted immediately and arrived very promptly.

“The fire was concentrated in the main personnel office, a large open plan office that normally accomadates a large number of staff. The windows near the centre of the wire actually shattered quite early on which allowed the fire to vent outside.”

He went on to describe the fire as “fairly severe, it quite deeply imbedded and it took a long time to put out.”

The Tierney building is a modern one, built in 1971, and Grannell remarked, “Luckily the fire didn’t break through the wall, it was contained horizontally. It didn’t get through to the offices directly overhead either. The only place that the fire spread to was through the door and out into the corridor.

“The fire service performed admirably and the fire was contained to one large open plan office and a number of smaller individual offices. It was put out within a half an hour but the difficulty was that the building was full of smoke and so only people with breathing apparatus could enter before the smoke had dissipated, which took a few hours to happen.”

The cause of the fire was accidental, according to Grannell, and it is believed that some sort of electronic device

Caitrina Cody was responsible. This has not been confirmed because the device was melted beyond recognition. Insurance experts and forensics specialists have investigated the scene and preparing a report on the disaster.

Some staff members were accomodated temporarily in the Daedalus building where computer rooms were made available on the day, allowing them to resume work, while others were sent home.

“From an administration perspective, business was up and running again within the day.

The IT services were superb in the whole process and were able to get all the appropriate applications ready for use in the Daedalus building,” he added.

The clean up was a huge operation and an emergency team were called in to take charge.

Grannell explained, “After a fire there is a deposit of dust left on every surface and this all has to be cleaned - the computers, the filing cabinets, papers. All of this had to be cleared from a health and safety point of view, and after this, people returned to the building in phases. Documents and files would have been soaked during the emergency reponse and many had to be salvaged by freeze drying.”

The extent of the damage to the building was serious with the ceiling of the main office and many of the photocopiers and printers beginning to melt during the fire.

Many of the computers also sustained fire damage.

Grannell commented on the swiftness of the response by staff, services and the fire brigade, “Everyone involved behaved admirabley and the fire brigade were superb. They arrived from Donnybrook and acted promptly, even staying for the clean up.

“The best case scenario would have been if the fire had started during the day, when people were sitting at their desks because they would have been able to put out the fire with an extinguisher.

“Luckily our incident was detected quickly and dealt with. It was unfortunate but accidents do happen. The great thing was that nobody was hurt.”

Burn Out: The Admin Block after the fire

6 NEWS

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

Trinity professor slates UCD ● TCD professor slams college for cancelling course ● UCD heads are “self-congratulatory" and “over-paid"

Caitrina Cody Professor George Huxley, a former Trinity College Classics lecturer, has described UCD’s decision to axe the Early and Medieval Irish degree course earlier in the year as “lamentable”.

The decision was taken by the college to eliminate the course early this academic year, forcing final year students to take new subjects.

Huxley has declared, “The worth of a scholarly or scientific subject cannot be estimated by counting heads. Old Irish language and literature are vital not only to the understanding of Irish origins but also for modern Ireland’s perception of itself.”

Huxley commented on the seemingly increasing focus of UCD authorities on financial gain at the expense of academic subjects. “The self-congratulatory, oligarchic, over-paid managers at UCD have been behaving as though they were CEOs of a pharmaceutical corporation or other conglomerate. They should be reminded of the true purposes of universities and of the enduring merits of learning for its own sake without regard to soulless utility and impertinent quantification.”

Early Irish Lecturer Gerald Manning was told last summer that his contract would not be renewed, leaving the course with a staff of just one lecturer and unable to continue accepting students. Manning told the College Tribune at the time that, “It’s disgraceful that a degree programme should be destroyed in this way by the principal and this has been done against the wishes of all the professors in the school. The students are very good and and very interested and their ability to pursue these sub-

Scathing: Professor George Huxley says UCD's actions are 'lamentable', and Nienke Van Etten (inset)

jects has been taken away from them.”

Huxley appealed to the college to consider the consequences of their actions, “In time, the erosion of Old Irish at UCD would have damaging consequences for the serious study of Irish history, Irish Latinity and comparitive philology.

Old Irish is difficult, but its very hardness is a reason for promoting it; in an age of austerity Mr De Valera showed

great wisdom when he included it in the subjects to be investigated in his new Institute for Advanced Studies.”

Dutch final year student Nienke van Etten came to UCD in order to study Early Irish and was told by the College that her degree will not now be in Early Irish. She will not be made aware of whether her degree will be a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of Celtic studies until

the day of her graduation. “The college itself hasn’t got a clue what to do with me,” she decalred at the time of the college’ decision to axe the course.

UCD President Hugh Brady has previously come under fire for his decision-making which appears to prioritise profit-making at the expense of student satisfaction. Professor Huxley went on to highlight the core problem with UCD

Offer ends 30th April

academic policy - that academic achievement seems to depend on finances and that students’ interests are not considered a first priority.

College authorities have remained unrepentent stating, “Although Early Irish is not on offer to first or second years this year there are plans to revitalise the subject in the context of the suite of subjects within Celtic Studies.”

NEWS

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

7

Vandals in UCD ● Belfield Park and Sports Centre vandalised ● College to review security measures Several thousand euro worth of damage has been done to Belfield Park in recent weeks, after the stadium fell victim to several acts of vandalism.

The incidents took place on a number of evenings in the week beginning March 12th, and occurred as a series of frenzied attacks on the stadiums’ facilities.

Suspicions of foul-play began when campus security noticed traces of litter as well as empty cans of alcohol in close proximity to the eircom League side’s home, and surveillance was then stepped up.

A couple of days later, the Duty Manager spotted a group of minors trespassing in Belfield Park after they had gained entrance by scaling the perimeter wall.

The Gardai were subsequently called to the scene. Upon arrival however, they discovered that the culprits had vacated the premises.

A considerable amount of damage was caused as the lockers rooms were defaced and the trophy and treatment rooms were vandalised. RTE were forced to replace much of the television and radio broadcast equipment as it was destroyed during one particular attack.

On top of this, an amount of the team’s match and training equipment was stolen to leave the total cost of damages estimated above the one thousand euro mark.

Three youths were apprehended on March 17th after security spotted them loitering in the vicinity. The Gardai were subsequently called and while CCTV

Ben Blake footage failed to capture any incriminating evidence, they feel that there is a possible link between the incidents.

They cannot yet prove however, that it is the same group involved in the two.

A police investigation is currently ongoing.

While the Sunday Independent alleged the suspected minors were all current Blackrock College students, a spokesperson for the college distanced UCD from these claims, stating, “I cannot confirm this accusation. I don’t where they (the Sunday Independent) got that information from.”

Under-age drinking around the outskirts of the Belfield campus has become popular in recent times, but the spokesperson insisted that while UCD will not make any rash, knee-jerk reactions, they will deal with the problem promptly, “Based on these incidents, we will be reviewing the security measures that are in place. However these attacks are relatively isolated, and do not occur all the time. The fact that it all happened in the week suggests that it was the same group doing it all.

“If we feel that this is an ongoing occurrence, we will look into tightening security. At the moment, we don’t feel that it would be necessary as no further anti-social behaviour has been reported in the area since the Gardai have become involved.”

Damaged: Thousands of euros of damage was caused to Belfield Park's facilities

STI screening facilities from September Students’ Union (SU) Welfare Officer Barry Colfer has announced that new STI testing facilities will be made available to UCD students from next year.

A health clinic in Donnybrook will be reserving three hours every Thursday morning for UCD students to avail of the opportunity to be tested for sexually transmitted infections, possibly at a subsidised rate.

Colfer told the College Tribune, “I’ll be having a final meeting with the doctor to discuss the nuts and bolts of it in a fortnight, but the way it stands now is that there’s a clinic in Donnybrook, run by a doctor who also works in the UCD Health Centre but he obviously needs to clear it with Sandra Tighe here in UCD to make sure its 100 percent OK. “As President next year, I’ll be keen to look into whether it’ll be viable to subsidise the service for students. It’ll take a lot less effort for students to get to this clinic but it’ll take money. 5O euro is a lot of money but we’re talking about health here, something that’s very important. Its a relatively small price to pay for peace of mind.”

Colfer emphasised that there are still details that remain to be finalised. “What hasn’t been finalised yet is the administration side of things. We

Caitrina Cody have to find out what’s the best way that UCD students can use the service, whether its filling out a form or sending an email or ringing the clinic directly. Its a question of finding the best way to run the service so as not to overwork one person. To make sure that its done properly. But the initiative is there, there are people that want this to happen.”

On a visit to UCD in February, sexual health expert Dr. Derek Freedman was “astonished” at the lack of options for UCD students wishing to be tested for STIs. Colfer said at the time, “The situation is that if you go to the Health Centre in UCD they will advise you to go to the STI clinic in St James. It can be very difficult to get there during the hours that the clinic is open especially if you have lectures to contend with. You have to be there before 7am and even then you are not guaranteed to be seen.”

The results of the College Tribune Annual Survey carried out in February of this year showed that only 15% of students have been tested for STIs while 39% of students have engaged in unprotected sex. Due to budget and

STI Test: Will be provided for UCD Students

space restraints, the UCD Health Centre has been unable to offer the muchneeded services to students, referring them instead to the St James facility.

When asked if the service would be exclusive to UCD students, Colfer declared, “It is an exclusive service but if it comes to Thursday morning and there’s space available in the clinic and

people who aren’t from UCD walk in, I imagine they will be accomodated. The subsidised rate however will be exclusively for UCD students.”

Colfer is hopeful that with more local facilities in the area, students will be motivated to take the time to make the short journey. As the incoming SU President, Colfer has achieved a major

feat for students with the provision of these much-needed facilities.

Freedman commented during his visit to UCD that time was of the essence when it came to STI testing. “ Delays in accessing treatment are extremely significant because it means the infection is left untreated in the community, increasing the risk of transmission.”

OPINION Fighting for the cause Paul Dillon addresses the problems facing the Union of Students in Ireland This week, Students' Union representatives from all around Ireland will head to Bundoran for the annual congress of the Union of Students of Ireland (USI).

The congress is taking place at a critical time for the organisation. The Union has industrial relations difficulties.

SIPTU, the trade union affiliated to USI that provides free representation for USI members as well as vital solidarity in times of need, is taking a case of unfair dismissal against a former member of USI staff. A hearing is set for April 16th at the Labour court.

The Union has political difficulties. It might seem obvious that a general election year would be a critical time for the student movement to mobilise and attempt to apply pressure to gain concessions from the political system.

Organised student pressure has been noticeably absent in recent time. The result? No discussion what so ever of student issues in that national debate facing into the general election.

That we need a national Students' Union is obvious. It is hard to imagine how fees would have been defeated in 2003 without a national co-ordinating body for that campaign.

The malaise facing USI is the malaise facing the Students' Unions who make it up. Lack of participation by students, lack of student campaigns and a failure to realise the potential power of the student movement effect many student unions in Ireland.

It is hardly surprising, then, that a similar malaise has embraced the national union. Students who complain that USI “does noting" ought to remember that constituent unions at USI's national council, the representative body of students unions that runs USI between congresses, often block proposals for action.

Reading through the manual for this year's congress, it is difficult not to come to the conclusion that there is little willingness on the part of our Students' Unions, all of whom are entitled to put forward five motions, to face up to the malaise facing USI. Many of the motions call for worthy initiatives that would enhance our education system. But there is little evidence of a willingness to actually do something to make such initiatives a reality.

Some of the motions take on a hard line approach to the idea that the Union of Students in Ireland is indeed a union at all. Trinity College SU has submitted a motion calling for the link between USI and SIPTU to be broken and links to be established with the employers group IBEC instead.

Whatever about the ideological questions involved in such a proposal, it represents the pursuit of an appalling strategy.

When Students' Unions have come into conflict with college authorities in the past, SIPTU and other unions have often been their only allies. On a national level, the trade unions, through SIPTUs education branch, are a voice for the preservation and expansion of free education.

This brings us to the nub of the matter. The crisis facing USI is a crisis of politics. The dominant ideology of the Student movement of the present time might be described as service based.

Most Unions now simply see their role as providing services and managing the staffs that run them. In this context, it makes sense to cut links with bodies such a trade unions because the service model sees no role for the campaigns that might involve trade unionists in the first place.

This model is leading to the ruination of the student movement. Yes, unions ought to provide welfare and education services. But there has to be a campaigning role if the Unions are to become relevant again. The campaigning model gives students a role in their union that is something other than a mere consumer. By doing so, it encourages participation and empowerment.

Only the campaigning model can fight to introduce fees by stealth and achieve a real say for students with college authorities. This much has been proved time and a time again.

Recall how students achieved a say in how colleges were run in the first place and how students worked with their allies to defeat fees.

The occasion of this year's annual congress will provide an opportunity for those attending to confront USI's crisis of politics. It is an opportunity that should be grasped.

Paul Dillon is a former Students' Union President

Political parties out of focus Eoin Mac Aodha argues that the upcoming General Election highlights the vapid nature of an Irish political system devoid of ideology and reliant on focus groups When Des O’Malley split from Fianna Fail and founded the Progressive Democrats in 1985 he “addressed all democrats of good will” in the hope “that the face of Irish politics can be transformed.”

In doing so O’Malley made a bold jump into ideological politics as opposed to an arena based on the tired remnants of the civil war.

This column is fundamentally opposed to O’Malley and the PD’s political stance on most major issues but believes that in a proper democracy varying ideologies are essential.

In 1985 there was little ideology in Irish politics and in 2007 there is less.

Make no mistake about it, our political system as it stands is a sham based on the popular term of ‘auction politics’ and dictated by focus groups.

As my colleague Paul Dillon pointed out in the last edition of this newspaper, you couldn’t put a cigarette paper between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Labour, as it greedily eats up the centre ground can be added to this wafery mix to leave us with three main parties scrapping over the holy grail of floating voters to the detriment of policy and ideology, presuming that is that their deputies had any to begin with.

This election should be remembered as the election of the focus group. The main political parties seem to be choosing their policies based on what participants in these groups say.

Advocates would point out that it allows the parties to get in touch with what people on the ground feel about issues. The cynic however, would point out that a party’s policies should stand for something and not be ambulatory and shifting in nature depending on the latest fit of consumer pique. Taxes are due to be big this summer; smaller sizes only.

As the political parties misconstrue them-

selves as an auctioneer in Christies, perhaps it would be instructive to have a look at the main parties.

Firstly, after Brian Cowen’s comments that Fianna Fail definitely wouldn’t be engaging in ‘auction politics’, Bertie, who obviously wasn’t in that day, outdoes the lot of them by matching all the other parties tax promises and shaves 2% off PRSI for good measure.

Obviously the focus groups told the ‘Soldiers of Destiny’ that tax cuts were ‘soo in’ and never ones to let a bandwagon roll by they duly hopped on.

Does it not seem absolutely absurd, al-

needed to drive a successful economy. However, and this must be said with a heavy heart, they do stick to their own ideology more than any of the other main players.

This brings us to Fine Gael. The greatest misnomer in Irish politics. Since the departure of Garret Fitzgerald, who believed in the redistribution of wealth through social democracy, it is remarkably difficult to understand what the party stands for.

On one hand, they promote a slightly left wing approach on inequality, but on the other promote far-right ideals such as the freedom of the individual to shoot intruders in his home, even if they are unarmed or unthreatening.

And these are the four political parties who are presenting themselves to the Irish public as alternative governments.

We can choose Fianna Fail and the PDs for five more years of the same.

We can choose a coalition that will allow US military to use Shannon on their way to an illegal war in Iraq. A coalition that is not interested in equality. A coalition that are intent on ghettoising our immigrant communities while they put their heads in the sand and cross their fingers as they hope we won’t encounter the same inevitable problems as France’s banlieue and Britain’s cities. The list can go on.

On the other hand we have an ill-matched and ill-advised alliance between Fine Gael and Labour, who will, the truth be told, probably handle the issues the same way. The only thing this rabble have going for them is that after ten years people are tired of the current government and want a change.

The sad fact is that this election, and Irish politics in general, is not for the ideological voter, left or right.

"Obviously the focus groups told the ‘Soldiers of Destiny' that tax cuts were ‘soo in' and never ones to let a bandwagon roll by they duly hopped on" most sickening that their election manifesto will be moulded by focus groups?

Essentially, and they are by no way alone in this, they are selling whatever ideology they purport to have down the yellow brick road of auction politics.

Labour for their part should be punished for the downright opportunist manner in which they have promised tax cuts just so they cannot be branded as a party who will raise taxes. This is fundamentally anathema to what the Labour party should stand for but then again they can feel the warmth of the centre-ground and those cosy government offices.

The PD’s for their part are of significance only to a privileged minority of the electorate. Never let it be forgotten that the PD’s believe that a certain level of inequality is

Eoin Mac Aodha holds an MA in International Relations and is a former editor of the College Tribune

EDITORIAL

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

LETTERS

9

Box 74, Student Centre & LG 18, Newman Building, Dublin 4 Telephone: 01 - 7168501 E-mail: tribune@campus.ie The College Tribune reserves the right to edit all letters. The views expressed on this page are the views of the letter writers and do not reflect the views of the College Tribune.

Dear Editor,

Cultural Diversity week has come and gone once again in UCD, and the university has been running courses on cultural awareness as part of “Intercultural and Anti-Racism Week”. The assumption is that this interculturality is unquestionably a good thing, and that anyone who disagrees is a racist and a xenophobe.

I am neither of those things, and I do disagree. I believe passionately in cultural diversity, but I also believe that the ideology being flogged in UCD and the rest of Irish society-- multiculturalism—is in fact the enemy of every culture, and inimical to meaningful diversity. Multiculturalism, under all the high-minded rhetoric, is little more than a capitalist’s paradise.

Let me be clear: I am not attacking cosmopolitanism within UCD. Universities have always been, quite rightly, a place in which students come to encounter the best that has been thought and written, in all times and places, and encounter the world’s wealth of traditions. I am, rather, criticizing the social ideology UCD is helping to propound.

What is a culture? Surely nothing other than this; a nexus of traditions and customs that have evolved over centuries, in a particular place, amongst a particular people. It distinguishes them from the rest of the world. It possesses a certain unity, a certain aesthetic; a set of underlying principles running through all its customs, traditions, institutions and art.

These underlying principles may be enigmatic, elusive, even contradictory; in fact, they usually are; but they are deeply-rooted and pervasive. Such defining values evolve over time, and are constantly enriched by outside influences, but there must be a fundamental conti-

nuity, a fundamental unity, or we cannot truly speak of a culture.

All this seems very intangible; but its effect on actual human existence has been very real indeed. A glance at the history, art, literature and folklore of past centuries shows us how much meaning, how keen a sense of belonging and even transcendence is given to countless lives by heritage and tradition, by the distinctiveness of one’s native society.

Let me not overstate the case. The greatest things in life—the eternal truths of morality, the fundamentals of the human condition, the masterpieces of art – are doubtless universal.

But much that is precious and life-enhancing is not universal, and is precious precisely because it is not universal.

You feel an affinity with the man sitting beside you on the bus because he is a fellow human, but you love your best friend because she is herself and unlike anybody else.

Now we have embraced multiculturalism, what will remain of this distinctiveness? Will there still be an England, an Ireland, a Germany? Or will the world become one vast consumerist bazaar, the same “Irish” pubs, Thai restaurants, pseudo-African gimracks to be found wherever you travel? The second seems more likely to me; it’s happening already.

Populations will shift from country to country, servicing international capitalism’s need for a pool of surplus labour.

Communities whose core were formed of the same families through generations, that were wells of living memory for decades and centuries, will be transformed into entirely different places overnight, suburbs of everywhere and nowhere. Every country will prostitute

its history and traditions for the tourist dollar, becoming a crude parody of itself in the process.

Whatever apparent diversity we experience as a result will be entirely superficial. Cultures cannot be mixed and matched, transplanted and interfused, so cavalierly. They grew in a particular context, they were rooted in a soil, and though you may pick the flowers and scatter them all over the earth, they will be nothing but dead blooms. A culture is not a ragbag of recipes and dances and sayings; these are merely its expression.

The culture is the shared value-systems, circumstances and memory that gave rise to them.

The skin-deep eclectism multiculturalists celebrate is surely ephemeral, anyway. The various ethnic communities that inhabit each state will create a new fusion, which seems – going on current trends – less likely to be some creative synthesis of their various traditions, then the universal culture of jeans, rock music, cars, American sit-coms, fast-food restaurants and international sport. We are not fostering diversity. We are bringing about homogeneity, its complete opposite.

Maybe all this doesn’t matter, however tragic it seems to me. Maybe modern communications and transport make this erosion of regional differences inevitable.

Maybe we do indeed live in Francis Fukuyama’s end of history. But let’s at least accept all this for what it is – the worldwide victory of a consumerist society – and stop pretending it has anything at all to do with culture, or diversity.

Yours faithfully Maolsheachlann O Ceallaigh

THINK YOU COULD DO BETTER?

?

THEN APPLY TO EDIT VOLUME 21 OF THE COLLEGE TRIBUNE The editor(s) of the College Tribune have full responsibility for the administration of the newspaper. This includes the management of both the financial and editorial sides of the newspaper.

This is a full-time and extremely demanding job, which requires the publication of 10-12 issues of the College Tribune during the academic year. This involves highly unsociable hours under a pressurised environment.

The candidate should have experience in journalism as well as being a highly motivated and conscientious individual.

External applications outside of current College Tribune staff are encouraged.

Responsibilities The College Tribune is a completely independent newspaper, and receives no regular source of income. Therefore in addition to producing an edition of the newspaper every fortnight, the editor(s) are responsible for sourcing sufficient advertising to fund the print run of the publication.

The editor(s) are responsible for the ap-

pointment and management of an editorial staff in addition to the recruitment of new contributors during Freshers’ week and throughout the year.

Wages

The editor(s) will be paid depending on the surplus amount of income raised from advertising for each issue once printing and other costs have been met.

Applications

All interested applicants should submit a detailed proposal to the Editor including: their experience and suitability for the job, how they would deal with all the tasks and responsibilities listed above, how they would improve each section of the newspaper and any new ideas or suggestions they have for the College Tribune.

Applications should be sent to Colin Gleeson, College Tribune, Box 74, The Student Centre, Belfield Dublin 4 no later than 5.30pm, Tuesday the 10th of April or submitted in person to our office LG18, Lower Ground Floor of the Arts Block, beside the Trap.

Editorial

Satirical article on travelling community

I

n the last edition of the College Tribune, dated March 5th 2007, we published a satirical article, highlighting the extreme stereotypes of both the travelling community and the ‘political correctness brigade’ that exist in Irish society today.

This article appeared on the Turbine page of the College Tribune, which, as is clearly marked, is a satire page.

However, it has come to the attention of the College Tribune that some people have taken offence at this article.

Firstly, The College Tribune is genuinely sorry if offence was caused by the article, as it has never been the intention of the newspaper this year to be sensationalist or offensive to anybody.

Also, a photograph acquired from the Internet of two women accompanied the article. The College Tribune would like to apologise to both women for any misrepresentation that resulted in the use of the photograph. This was entirely unintentional.

However, as the College Tribune is an independent newspaper, it has been disappointed by attempts from some of your representatives in the Students’ Union to interfere with the editorial policy of this newspaper by issuing threats of complaints to the college authorities and threats of no advertising from the Students’ Union in this newspaper next year.

This sort of action has done absolutely nothing to influence this newspaper with regard to the action we have chosen to take, and indeed any further action of this nature in the future will do absolutely nothing to influence this newspaper regarding action we choose to take and we strongly condemn this interference.

Again, it was disappointing that a selection of people chose to focus on a satirical article, which contained no mal-intent, and use it to criticise the paper as a whole, rather than looking at the hard work this newspaper put into the promotion of the most serious social problems in the country, including racism, when it published an investigative supplement just two weeks prior to the said edition.

Furthermore, the decision that was made prior to going to print, to publish the said article, was done so in light of the fact that the newspaper has been publishing cutting satirical articles in the Turbine for many a year, and has targeted many different socio-economic groups, races and aspects of society.

This newspaper does not believe that the travelling community should be treated any differently to any of these groups, and to do such would be a form of discrimination in itself. As such, the College Tribune does not apologise for publishing the article in question.

Cruising

T

he discovery made by this newspaper over the past week that the practice of ‘cruising’ for sexual partners is rife within UCD is a worrying one.

That people are performing sexual acts in public places on campus is not only an extreme invasion of people’s rights to go about their day-to-day lives without being subjected to indecency, but is also illegal.

UCD is an environment inhabited primarily by adolescents, but disturbingly given these developments, it is also frequented by children on a day-to-day basis.

There will be no argument to the point that this, if nothing else, makes it imperative that the laws of public decency are upheld within this college.

It is also a worrying factor that many of the people partaking in this practice are non-students, some of which are into their thirties and forties. This poses a significant security risk to all who frequent the Belfield campus, and it is essential that the college authorities investigate this matter thoroughly, and ensure that measures are put in place to bring a halt to these proceedings.

Furthermore, the act itself of anonymous sexual behaviour is something that is extremely dangerous with regard to sexual health, and this newspaper hopes that those involved will do the smart thing and stay safe.

10 FEATURES

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

Europe: A work in progress

“The European Union will continue to thrive both on openness and on the will of its member states to consolidate the Union’s internal development.

The European Union will continue to promote democracy, stability and prosperity beyond its borders,” states the Berlin Declaration that was signed by the leaders of all EU states last week.

It continued, “With European unification a dream of earlier generations has become a reality. Our history reminds us that we must protect this for the good of future generations.

“For that reason we must always renew the political shape of Europe in keeping with the times. That is why today, 50 years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, we are united in our aim of placing the European Union on a renewed common basis before the European Parliament elections in 2009. For we know, Europe is our common future.”

A British organisation, the Democracy Movement, provided an alternative Declaration on the same day with its own conclusion, “The European Union will continue to wither, as an idea left behind by global change.

“European countries will continue to promote democracy, stability and prosperity beyond their borders, even if the EU’s existence means such ideals are being compromised within them. Our history reminds us that we must protect democracy for the good of future generations.

“That is why today, 50 years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, we are united in our aim of dismantling overcentralised EU structures that have become out-dated, are working contrary to our aims and values, and whose vast expense is draining Europe of financial resources that could be used to improve the quality of life of those who need it most.

“For we know, while Europe is our common future, the EU doesn’t have to be.”

This is the latest in a litany of exam-

In the 50th year of the EU, Paul O’Donnell examines its growing problems and the dissatisfaction of many European citizens ples proving that there are contrasting The argument runs that although EU community, a demos, normally a nationviews on the state of the European Un- citizens elect Members of the European al community, where there is a mutual ion and how exactly it should develop.

Parliament, un-elected civil servants in identification and solidarity among its This anniversary is of vital importance Brussels make the real decisions. Disil- members as to induce minorities willto the politicians of the Union: there is lusionment of the citizens with their ingly to obey the majority, so giving mamuch need for reform in the European Union is prevalent. jority rule its legitimacy and authority.

Union and the current German presiNigel Farage, an MEP with the UK Inde“The existence of such a real, selfdency hopes to use the occasion as a pendence Party, speaking on the day of aware community is crucial for underspringboard to set the agenda for the the Berlin Declaration was highly critical, pinning the legitimacy and stability of a future of the Union, possibly revive the “This deceitful attempt of the German State with its own tax and public servcontentious EU Constitution, and reform Presidency behind closed doors to put ice system… It is the absence of such the ‘creaking’ institutions of the Union. together a package that can be rammed a community at European level, and the To be sure the European Union has through the Member States without a impossibility of artificially creating it, changed dramatically from its original referendum is a recipe for failure. If you that is the root cause of the EU’s crisis existence as an agreement to enof authority and acceptability.” sure defence, primarily between For many within the EU, the “The democracy that is constitution was seen as a France and West Germany in the post-war years, but also to eco- needed to underpin a stable comprehensive way of dealing nomically aid those countries, with the current problems of the as well as Italy and the Benelux State is not just majority Union and as a way of bringing countries. rule, but majority rule on in from the cold those citizens It has since developed into a feeling left out. However, the supranational union of 27 mem- the basis of a community, Constitution was given a definite where there is mutual ber-states, with a single market, a ‘No’ by French and Dutch voters single currency in thirteen of the identification and solidarity in 2004. Since then it has been member-states, common political brought back to the drawing among its members" institutions and is now the largest board and it appears likely that trading bloc in the world. a much watered-down version of EU leaders have cited globalisation, [the German Presidency] go on with the constitution, if it is still a constituthe environment, security and enlarge- this, you will breed the very intolerance tion that is, will be the outcome. ment as their future areas of concern. and extremism that you say you want to In its current presidency, Germany has Yet, if any of these are to be met and stop.” set as its main objective a way of getpossible reforms are to take place most The vast majority of the criticism lev- ting all member-states to agree on, if would argue that the Union must first elled at the EU centres on its perceived not a constitution, than at least a treaty address the key issue of accountability. distance from the people it is supposed that will hopefully solve many of the Coming from a British perspective, to be representing; for many it is seen as institutional problems. Current ideas inMark Wallace of the Better Off Out ‘over there in Brussels’ or as ‘far away.’ Dr. clude making the decision process in the organisation says, “Over recent years, Anthony Coughlan of the London based Parliament and the Council much more people have become accustomed to the think-tank, the Bruges Group, believes direct and allowing national parliaments feeling that our elected representatives that, “The EU cannot be democratised by to have more of a role in this decisiondo not represent their views. This is es- giving the European Parliament power making. pecially the case where the European to make laws instead of the 25-person The Irish National Forum for Europe Union is concerned: over 50 percent of Council of Ministers, as some suggest. notes, “For the first time, national parpeople now feel that the EU is a bad “The democracy that is needed to un- liaments will be able to issue opinions thing for the United Kingdom, but until derpin a stable State is not just majority (or put in more colloquial terms, ‘show recently only one of our MPs agreed.” rule, but majority rule on the basis of a a yellow card’) if they think proposals

for EU laws or other actions go against subsidiarity.”

Overall, the aim of the treaty is to make the Union more efficient, more accountable and more capable of dealing with pressing issues as they arise. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said how currently “Europe as it is today is not capable of taking action”.

Of course it is easy to agree that there is a need for reform, agreeing on what exactly that reform should be, however, is another thing. For example, Poland and the Czech Republic have appeared sceptical at how the discussions on reforms are proceeding; France and the Netherlands are naturally hesitant to put any proposals to their citizens that could result in another defeat, and the United Kingdom, often criticised as being the most anti-EU country, is proving to be a difficult negotiator.

Regardless of these obstacles, all member-states realise the necessity of reform if the EU is to improve on how it operates and, more importantly, reconnect with its citizens.

So, this celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome is much more than its title would suggest: it is the embarkation point for how the European Union is going to develop and acclimatise to the modern world and all the challenges that go with it.

In her speech on the day of the celebrations Chancellor Merkel looked to the future, “I hope that the citizens of Europe will say in 50 years time, ‘Back then in Berlin, the united Europe set the right course. Back then in Berlin, the European Union embarked upon the right path towards a bright future. It went on to renew its foundations so that it could make its contribution here in Europe, this old continent, as well as globally, in this one large yet small world we live in’.”

FEATURES 11

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

Penny for your thoughts Zoe Faulder speaks to Hilary Putnam, one of the world’s leading philosophers, and asks him about the role of the thinker in a money-driven academic world

Hilary Putnam is one of the most prestigious philosophers of our time, contributing revolutionising theories in ‘Philosophy of Mind’ and ‘Science and Language’.

Putnam is possibly best known, by those who do not study him in great detail, for his ability to criticise and rework his own theories. In interview, it became apparent that as well as being a fascinating man he also loves to giggle at himself.

When he first sits down, he is nothing but smiles. He smirks as if he’s heard the first question a thousand times before, and he probably has, “You tend to be most recognised as a philosopher who revises and reconsiders his theories, would you say such a quality is the mark of a great thinker?”

“First of all I think the extent of which I revise my theories tends to be exaggerated, I do revise some arguments here and there but I still agree with about nine tenths of my work from the sixties, but then again I wouldn’t want to be any other kind of thinker.

“There are some who write a thesis and then want to maintain it through out their philosophical career and the worst thing in the world would be to lose it. I did not and do not want to be this kind of thinker.”

With over 50 years in academia, Putnam has seen a great many changes throughout his time; one he finds very regrettable is the ‘businessification’ of academic institutions: a process such as that which has been observed to be happening in UCD, where universities are put under pressure by their governments to act more like businesses and less like educational facilities.

Putnam sees this as an attack on the humanities, “I think the powers of the world are very uncomfortable with the humanities specifically because we tend to be politically liberal and progressive reactionaries. When it was wanted for students to be taught by reactionaries the governments were pushing every one to go, now they want us to shut up.”

Making academic institutions more business like has an effect on everyone, an effect that could be extremely negative, as Putnam points out, “Universities will be judging which professor is doing better and which is doing worse by the number of papers

they publish and how many times they are quoted, and there is no attempt to understand the content of what they are saying. On this standard, many of the greatest thinkers of all time would have been fired immediately.”

There are many who view philosophy as outdated and do not see its worth in the modern world. This scepticism against philosophy is unwarranted according to Putnam, who insists adamantly, “There is no such thing as ‘doing out of philosophy’. People who give up on or don’t believe in philosophy always end up doing bad philosophy.”

Philosophy is important, for many reasons; to learn, be analytical, but most of all to be a free independent thinker, and “if we don’t keep doing philosophy we’ll end up getting our philosophy from people like George Bush.”

He laughs harder here than before, “And that would be very bad.

“We live in a world where there is a lot that deserves criticism.

Not only in the political sphere, even in the sciences, things that are nonsensical go unchallenged for a long time and it is often the philosophers who eventually challenge it. Then it can be taken up by the scientists.”

Still, philosophy is not very accessible to the public and many view it as quite elitist for this reason, Putnam smiles at this, “We could say piano playing is elitist, or Quantum Mechanics, it takes some years of study. The conclusions we come to in philosophy are accessible but to follow the arguments

"If we don't keep doing philosophy we'll end up getting our philosophy from people like George Bush...and that would be very bad"

demands work.”

There are many introductory books that attempt to make philosophy accessible to the general public. Putnam himself says that a book by Will Durant, ‘A Story of Philosophy’, turned him to the discipline, but he insists that if one truly wants to engage in the study, we can’t stop there.

“It’s like stopping study of music with a basic child’s introduction, if this were the case you’d never get to know what the real

joys of music are. It’s a good way to get into it, but at some point you have to do the work.”

In the 1960’s and 70’s, Putnam was very politically active, campaigning against the Vietnam War and rallying his students for marches. Today however, things are different; he has in no way lost his zeal in political opinion and controversy, but students seem to him less prepared to get involved, especially to the same degree as they once did.

“It’s a bad thing students are less active than they

were, but it has a lot to do with the fact that they are not in danger of being drafted. This is a heavy influence, unfortunately.” There is mild activism, but less willingness to get involved.

He doesn’t seem troubled or disillusioned as he says this, but merely accepting, though with an air of disappointment. This is the first time throughout our conversation where a little laugh hasn’t surrounded his words.

“Then again, the last Marches in Washington against the war were into their hundreds of thousands, world wide. But at the same time we live in a very spectectorial culture, we seem to think of ourselves as spectators rather then agents. One thing philosophy can do is teach the importance of the agents’ point of view.”

Putnam was born in Chicago Illinois in 1926. With his family involved with the local Communist Party, he had a very secular upbringing even though his mother was Jewish.

He has worked in the sphere of Philosophy, studying it along with mathematics, in the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a lecturer in some of the most prestigious Universities such as Northwestern, Princeton and MIT, and in 1965 he moved to Harvard where he worked until his retirement in 2001.

12 FEATURES

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

This fire is out o

Hugh Fowler recounts anfasff unforgettable experience the world-famous B fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff at fasff fasff fasff fasff in fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff fasff Manfasff festival California If there is one thing every student with an open mind should experience, it is the Burning Man festival in California.

Taking place every year in a remote corner of the Nevada desert, the Burning Man festival is a full week of partying, nudity, art, music, freedom, expression, and hedonism.

Approximately forty thousand participants make the annual pilgrimage, bringing a most elaborate collection of costumes, colours, and mind-altering concoctions.

The desolate, isolated location means that bringing a bucketful of booze is simply not enough; participants have to be prepared to survive in arid desert conditions, without electricity or running water.

And you can’t simply buy a burger when you run out of food, because therein lies one of the fundamental principles of the Burning Man: you can’t buy anything.

Some describe the system as barter, but in reality, Burning Man has a gift culture. People simply give each other presents. The variety ranges from a spectacular hat, to a subtle tattoo; from a passionate kiss, to casual sex; from a can full of beer, to a handful of drugs; whatever you’re into, there is something for everyone at the Burning Man. The only exceptions to the ‘no cash’ rule are a small selection of non-alcoholic beverages and bags of Ice (needed to keep food fresh and drinks cool in the sweltering heat of the desert), both of which are available from the centre camp located at the hub of the event.

The dress code at ‘the burn’ is liberal to put it mildly. Anything and everything goes, as does absolutely nothing. By the end of the week, you’ll have grown so accustomed to nudity that you won’t bat an eyelid when a fat naked man starts gyrating beside you on the dancefloor.

While birthday suits are quite common, most of the participants, or ‘Burners’ as they refer to themselves, are dressed in colourful, creative, elaborate and flamboyant outfits. Think Mardi Gras multiplied by Halloween, all wrapped together in Joseph’s technicolour dreamcoat. The only people who stick out at Burning Man are those who are dressed in anything that would usually be described as ‘normal’.

To help first-timers (known as ‘virgins’) to fit in at centre camp, one can visit ‘The Boutique’. More experienced Burners bring several costumes to wear over the course of the week, so in the spirit of the gift culture of burning man, ‘used’ outfits are donated to The Boutique.

The Boutique tent is basically a free-for-all clothes-shop containing the wackiest costumes you’ll ever come across.

A dozen or so people are allowed in at any one time, and once Burners have rummaged around and decked themselves out in the most ridiculous garb they can lay their hands on, they exit via the catwalk, to the cheers and applause of the audience queuing to get in.

Unlike an ordinary music festival, the main attraction here does not lie in big

name bands or DJs playing on large stages. Instead, the Burners themselves provide entertainment.

The event is laid out in a circular arc, at the centre of which lies The Man: A neon effigy built on top of a wooden building, altogether measuring over twenty-four metres (80 feet) in height. The event culminates on the penultimate night of the week, when the entire population of Burning Man congregates around The Man, and he is burnt to the ground in a spectacular display of pyrotechnics.

This marks the start of the biggest party night of the Burn, when attendance reaches its peak. (On the weekend of the week many ‘yahoos’ or ‘tourists’, come to Burning Man. Having not been in attendance for the duration of the event, they lack the sense of community and generosity that the majority of The Burners develop over the course of the week).

If all of the circus acts and street performers in the world came together in one arena, it would probably closely resemble The Burning Man. All manner of seemingly spontaneous performances abound throughout the day, be it some experimental electronica or some avantgarde drama, a warped poetry reading, or a breathtaking display of acrobatics.

Bizarre role-plays and rituals take place regularly, and participation is not only encouraged, but expected.

Another common form of merriment is impromptu drum circles. Several Burners gather together and begin beating out rhythms on bongos, djembes and congas, and Burners dance as they walk by or join in if they have a drum of their own.

While more ‘conventional’ festival entertainment is not the main attraction, that is not to say that such isn’t present at Burning Man. A popular spot during the afternoon is ‘The Deep End’ where a DJ plays house music in a raised wooden booth over a stage, with large towers either side where people can climb up and dance.

A large open space in front of the structure provides ample dancing space for Burners, and behind that is a cocktail bar. Cocktails are free, but to get one two rules are (loosely) enforced: you have to have your own cup, and you have to dance. Needless to say, Burners are only too happy to oblige.

The Burning Man takes place on a

the land-speed record) and covered in a white dust. The event itself is spread over 2.4km, so making your way around by foot can be awkward and time consuming. Driving normal cars is prohibited so most people bring bikes to get around the Playa.

While driving normal cars is prohibited, driving abnormal cars is permitted.

All manner of art cars cruise around The Playa: flying carpets, fire-breathing dragons made from aluminium, giant motorized cupcakes, massive silver sharks. This may sound like an exaggerated description, akin to the fantasy of Alice in Wonderland or Pan’s Labyrinth, but in truth, the artistic standard really is on a par with that of Hollywood films. Many art cars would fit right into, and are probably inspired by, the set of Mad Max movies.

In addition to art cars, a variety of party buses circulate the playa, and Burners are free to jump on board. One party bus is dimly lit downstairs with lavish mat-

"You can't buy anything.

People simply give each other presents.

The variety ranges from a spectacular hat, to a subtle tattoo; from a passionate kiss, to casual sex" dried out lakebed in the Nevada desert known as ‘The Playa’. The surface of the ground is perfectly flat (the same type of site is used for attempts at breaking

tresses and cushions at the back, where multiple partners can (and do) have sex, while upstairs above the seedy darkness is an open top party atmosphere: all the seats have been removed and a DJ plays to a packed crowd, illuminated by Christmas lights decked around the edge of the bus.

All you have to do is say the word and the driver will let you off at whatever point of The Playa you wish, leaving you free to explore the next weird and wonderful sights you come across.

And spectacular sights are many and varied. While (almost) no cash transactions take place inside Burning Man, the

tickets cost $250 (as of 2005), most of which contributes to the commissioning of art works. Every year artists from around the US and beyond submit proposals for art installations.

To receive funding, an art installation must be somehow related to the Burning Man Festival’s annual theme, and/or have some sort of interactive element which Burners can p a r t i c i p at e in. Previous themes include The Psyche, Good and Evil, The Vault of Heaven, and The Wheel of Time.

The interactive aspect of the art installations can manifest itself in interactive lighting sequences, psychedelic rounda-

"If all of the circus acts and street performers in the world came together it would probably closely resemble The Burning Man"

bouts, a few.

Ever the su mount around night a change scape neon c the bla Out natura so Bur neon b a com light-e ner of Art car thems colours ic bea and n the pla Com

FEATURES 13

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

of control

Burning

or confusing mazes, to name but

ry evening at Burning Man, as un slowly sinks behind the desert tains, a roar of excitement is heard d The Playa in anticipation of the ahead. At night Burning Man es from a white desert landlittered with art, to a sea of colour that that flows through ack of night. in the desert there is no l light when the sun is gone, rners deck themselves out in blues, reds and greens, using mbination of battery-powered mitting outfits and all manf glowsticks big and small. rs and party buses illuminate elves with elaborate bright s, and the sound of electronts begin to fill the space age rigs neon nightclubs scattered around aya. mmercialism is absent from every

aspect of The Burning Man, including the music. Psychedelic trance replaces Christina or Kylie as the pop of The Playa, and live funk bands and drum based-ensembles are also common.

Fire is an important aspect of The

sky; fire jugglers and fire breathers dazzle fellow Burners with dangerous displays of skill and coordination. Fire poi is everywhere at night, and the standard of this artistry is as high here as anywhere in the world.

The parties go on deep into the night, and when one party stops, another one is just beginning somewhere close by. Some sort of stimulation is always available, day or night.

On the Sunday night most of the art and many of the stages are set on fire in addition to The Man, but with this night comes a much more sombre atmosphere. The mindblowing world of frenzied fantasy and surreal sensation has come to an end, and the real world is calling.

The world where forgotten hassles await: conformity, selfishness, exclusion, cynicism, and worst of all, the need to pay for everything. www.burningman.com

"The parties go on deep into the night, and when one party stops, another one is just beginning somewhere close by. Some sort of stimulation is always available, day or night" Burning Man, especially during the dark of night when its radiance is amplified.

At the touch of a button, art installations spit forth flames into the starry night

14 FEATURES

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

Carnage in Sierra Leone Katie Gilroy investigates the gruesome story of blood diamonds in Sierra Leone Diamonds are expensive. The cost has been high for a number of African nations where ‘blood diamonds’ have fuelled war and conflict. Whilst we may salivate over the seductive sparkle of an eighteen carat stone in a shop window, several less fortunate others have suffered tragically as a result of these small pieces of carbon.

Kanye West has rapped about the controversial stones, and the recent release of the movie ‘Blood Diamond’ starring Leonardo Di Caprio has shed some light on the violence and exploitation associated with them. Yet, the masses remain ignorant, or perhaps just ambivalent, and continue to splash out on ‘bling’ without questioning its origin.

Today, Sierra Leone is at peace. But for eleven years, the West African country was a hellhole of unspeakable atrocities.

Early in 1992, a group called the Revolutionary United Fro n t ( R . U. F ) seized Kono, the diamond mining capital of Sierra Leone.

At t e m p t s made by the National P rov i s i o n a l Ruling Council to regain control were unsuccessful – war broke out.

Fighting concentrated around the diamond mines. R.U.F leaders were aware that whoever controlled the mines controlled Sierra Leone. Profits from smuggling diamonds funded attacks by enabling the purchase of weapons.

The rebellious R.U.F. was characterized by their barbaric attacks on civilians. They torched villages and amputated inhabitants with machetes.

Thousands of young girls and women were raped. One villager told Human Rights Watch from his hospital bed how he witnessed five women being forced inside a house by rebels and ordered to take off their clothes and lie on the ground.

Their throats were sliced and they were hacked to death by machetes.

One woman’s head was chopped off and impaled on a stick that was placed at the entrance of the village as an example. Although the man’s life was spared, he emerged from the horrific incident minus two hands. From behind a bush, he counted eight children as they were stabbed to death with knives.

While the world was captivated by the events in Kosovo, the reign of terror in Sierra Leone was continuing unnoticed. Global outrage and worldwide media attention was lacking and it wasn’t until ten years after the beginning of the war when the UN finally intervened. By then 50,000 people had been killed and approximately half the population had been displaced.

Recognising that diamonds were at the heart of the conflict, the UN imposed a ban on diamond exports from Sierra Leone in 2000, including a ban on travel by Liberian officials and the neighbouring country’s president Charles Taylor who was heavily involved in the illicit trade. Such sanctions were almost impossible to implement.

In March 2003, the UN Special Court in Sierra Leone “indicted several of

those involved in the civil war in Sierra Leone for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international humanitarian law.” But the fate of those indicted is uncertain. Charles Taylor, the formidable force behind the R.U.F. awaits trial at The Hague.

For a country so rich in mineral resources, Sierra Leone is still one of the world’s poorest.

Devastation from the war has proved difficult to recover from, and with a corrupt and unstable government; it is possible that conflict could rear its ugly head once again in the future. Despite the region’s tropical climate and ability to grow an abundance of food, Sierra Leone relies on foreign aid to feed its people.

The mines have robbed the land of its able-bodied men, resulting in a lack of farmers. Now, instead of sifting through diamonds with an AK-47 pointed at their backs, the miners, knee-deep in muddy water, can go about their work joking and laughing. They receive a small percentage for their finds, nothing in comparison to the price the diamond may fetch when sold in Europe.

More than one in ten diamonds are blood diamonds. Blood is spilt on a daily basis to finance war in the Dominican Republic and the Ivory Coast. Pre-pubescent girls are forced to spread their legs for drunken militiamen. Boys as young as eight are abducted and brainwashed to commit some of wars’ most heinous crimes.

Families are torn apart as the land is pillaged rapaciously. Over four million people have died in the name of diamonds in Africa.

Retailers cannot guarantee that their stones are clean since diamonds mined in conflict-free zones like Botswana get mixed with dirty stones when they are transported to India.

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend but with the gratuitous carnage they cause, who needs enemies?

FEATURES 15

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

Going once, going twice...

“I have €3000 in the back, do I have €3100? A fine painting, easily worth more. €3100 in the front, thank you sir.

Selling for €3100, do I have any more offers? I have €3200 in the back, €3300 to the lady in the hat…I’ll be banging the gavel at €3300….” BANG! “…A beautiful Elizabeth Brophy watercolour, sold to the lady in the blue jacket at €3300, a fine investment madam, well done.”

The atmosphere at an art auction is strangely tense. You find yourself feeling oddly compelled to raise your paddle at a crucial moment and have to force yourself not to, reminding yourself that you cannot afford and have no interest whatsoever in a watercolour of Limerick city, selling at €3,500 euros. The fact that people are fighting over it makes you feel like you should want it too.

Ireland is a country with a vibrant art scene and auctions across Ireland are attracting record numbers and record prices for their artworks. Art is now considered a worthy investment and depending on your budget, you could be the proud owner of anything from a Markie Robinson to a Louis le Brocquy.

The average student would probably prefer to save their money for a car or an apartment but art can be a rewarding field of investment if you know what to buy and when. The trouble is that although you can research the market, there are no guarantees that the painting you buy will appreciate in value.

Traditionally the art scene revolved primarily around Dublin and Whyte’s and Adam’s Auction Houses are respected names on an international scale. In December 2006, Adams’ Auction House achieved a record €5.9 million sale total.

It seems that more Irish people are spending money on what was seen to many in the past as a mere hobby or interest.

Dolan’s Art Auction House held its first auction at the Marriott Hotel, Galway, in May 2006. This was the first art auction of substance in the West of Ireland achieving several record auction prices. Patrick Hennessy’s oil ‘Spilt Roses’ achieved a record €52,000 while Orla Egan’s ‘Tinkers in the Village’ made €4,200.

Dr Niall Dolan spoke to the College Tribune about the success of the most recent auction held in Limerick. “We were really delighted to have reached record prices for Cecil Maguire and John Shinnors, but realised we had works of quality. ‘The Baby’ by John Shinnors achieved a record €60,000, and Cecil Maguire’s ‘Into Mass, Sunday Morning, Roundstone’ was keenly contested by four bidders in the room, finally realising the €32,000 record. I expect that in the twelve months to come we will see new records set by both these artists.”

When asked to talk about current trends in Irish art-collecting, Dolan was optimistic that the market would remain busy. “There are still quite a number of moderately priced Irish artists whose quality has yet to be reflected in prices achieved. I would have no hesitation in numbering Norman Smyth RUA, Desmond Hickey, Orla Egan and Sian Maguire to name but a few.”

So, who are the big-time players in this expensive game? There is of course Louis le Brocquy, the elder statesman of Irish art. At the age of ninety, Le Brocquy has produced a considerable body of work and a measure of his standing as the foremost Irish painter of the 20th

Caitrina Cody looks at Irish contemporary art and the investigates the atmosphere at a recent auction in Limerick

century is reflected in the rising prices of his works, one of which fetched over one million pounds sterling at a recent auction.

His work is varied and includes his famous “head studies”- le Brocquy has described them as depictions of the isolation of the individual and indeed the portraits of Joyce, Beckett, Synge and other famous Irish literary figures draw the viewer in, confronting them with a deconstructed rendering of well-known faces. Le Brocquy is respected on an international level with his works exhibited in the prestigious Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Tate Gallery, a triumph for any artist.

James O’Halloran, Managing Director of James Adam & Sons commented on the burgeoning Irish art market. “Testing the strength of the Irish art market, buyers came out in force for the sale to competitively bid for high-calibre art ranging in styles from the traditional to the increasingly popular contemporary scenes, fetching outstanding prices for artists such as Louis le Brocquy, Norah McGuinness, Mainie Jellett and Roderic O’Conor among others.”

Connemara artist Kenneth Webb is responsible for a large and varied body of work that fetches top prices at auctions across Ireland. Taking his inspiration from nature, his landscapes are rich in colour and texture and his flower paintings are a signature part of his work. His nude sketches are stunning in their simplicity and he continues to experiment with innovative painting techniques.

John Shinnors, a Limerick artist is one of the three top-selling living artists in Ireland and his recent work is in sharp contrast to the natural splendour of Webb’s landscapes and nude drawings. Working on a variety of mediums, Shinnors has created a large body of work comprising drawings, etchings, oil paintings and watercolours.

Many of his recent paintings are completed in a graphic style that is somewhat startling to the eye and many contain double meanings and hidden references, encouraging the viewer to study them at length.

Sometimes depicting quite disturbing subject matter, his work has been described as somewhat of an acquired taste, but ultimately rewarding to prolonged study. His etchings ‘Young witches and their cats’ and ‘Her cows come home, white moon’ are initially confusing, appearing as abstract shapes and lines but if considered long enough they reveal hidden figures.

An artist that challenges surface impressions, Shinnors’ work contains a depth that makes it very worth collecting.

Art is a highly subjective area and one in which individual taste plays a hugely important part. Regardless of the prestige associated with a particular artist, if his or her paintings or drawings do not appeal to you, there is no point in buying one, regardless of how collectible it is.

There is a danger that in the growth of the investment side of art, that something of the objective appreciation of Irish art will be lost. Karl Marx would be scornful of the Irish people’s growing obsession with owning art, maintaining that this idea of possession was central to the capitalist philosophy. He held that as capitalists when we look at works of art, we no longer appreciate them as objects of beauty in themselves but instead appre-

Art Attack: Clockwise from top - Patrick Kavanagh by Louis Le Brocquy; Head of Bono; also by Louis Le Brocquy; The Flowers by Kenneth Webb; Kenneth Webb; Homage to Elvis by John Shinnors

ciate them only as objects to be owned privately.

Although auctions are an exciting opportunity to view a selection of Irish paintings and sculpture, gallery exhibitions are still the best place to get an idea of the overall shape of the Irish art scene.

Auctions certainly do encourage the possessive instinct but then there is no feeling as satisfying as taking home your first piece of art. The Irish art market as opposed to the British market, presents a unique opportunity for Irish buyers to gain access to a range of affordable artworks by up and coming Irish artists.

The commission charged by auction

houses on each lot sold is something to consider when bidding at an auction.

Dolan’s Art Auction House charges commission at 18.15% including vat which in plain English means an extra €18 on every €100.

The Buyer’s Commission is not charged to the customer in Dolan’s Art Auction House and many other Irish auction houses but it is important to be aware of such potential costs attached to a work of art.

Most auction houses offer bidding forms which can be downloaded from their website, aswell as telephone bidding, in order to accommodate interested parties who cannot attend the auction in

person.

Bidding over the phone allows one to participate in an auction competitively from the comfort of one’s own home but bear in mind that a truly skillful buyer will be aware of the atmosphere in an auction room and will perhaps be able to gauge the amount of interest in particular works and act accordingly.

Dolan is confident that auctions will continue to attract buyers for the foreseeable future. “My expectation for the year to come is that we will continue to see strong prices for the best works. Top quality paintings will just continue to sell themselves.”

16 FEATURES

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

Lights, camera, inaction Filmsoc Production Officer Simon Gallagher examines the lack of product from Irish television stations Since its inception, the reality of TV3 has proven to be quite different to what was originally believed. According to the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI), “TV3’s aim is to tap the qualities of community pride, independence, creative talent, humour and determination that are a vital part of Irish society…bring its audience a full representation of life in Ireland and of its interaction with the rest of the world”.

Under the Radio & Television Act (1988), TV3 is legally obliged to have twenty percent devoted to indigenous news & current affairs. The channel, which promised to ‘tap Irish creative talent’, achieves its legal indigenous content on a daily basis through expert scheduling.

In marked contrast to the above description, TV3 has sought to broadcast as little indigenous content as legally possible and at the cheapest cost. According to Professor Farrel Corcoran of communications in DCU, TV3 models itself on the operating model of a “love boat network” pioneered by CanWest Global Communications corp. (former 45% shareholder of TV3).

The television stations owned by CanWest in Australia, Canada and New Zealand all follow the same principle of importing vast amounts of American programming while avoiding as much local content as possible. When in 1991 it acquired a twenty percent share of TV3 New Zealand, the late CanWest chairman Izzy Asper informed journalists, “You’re in the business of selling soap”.

On Saturday & Sunday after midnight ‘The Week in Review’ is broadcast which simply repeats the last five day’s news reports. A link is provided by a journalist who introduces what happened on Monday, the news is shown and the journalist subsequently introduces Tuesday’s news etc. There is absolutely no analysis or discussion, the news reports are simply repeated for three hours during the early hours of the morning. TV3 also broadcasts three to four hours of ‘The Best of Ireland AM’ which similarly repeats the station’s breakfast programme in the middle of the night.

The station’s management are under no illusions that they will attract healthy audiences for these practices. The aim of such tactics is to meet its indigenous content thus allowing daytime and primetime to be devoted almost entirely for American and British imports. The stark reality is that at the time of writing, TV3 has not commissioned a single hour of Irish drama or comedy-drama over the past eight years.

The licence TV3 was awarded by the state expires on September 19th 2008.

Inevitably TV3 will appear before the BCI and the company will wax lyrical about its commitment to fostering Irish talent, the BCI will grant a licence renewal and little will change pending new broadcasting legislation and a more assertive BCI. Last September, the Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey released the Broadcasting Authority Bill 2006 for public consultation which among other things dealt with indigenous content.

Section seventeen of Duties of the Broadcaster states, “Shall reserve at least ten percent transmission time for European works created by producers who are independent of broadcasters excluding….news, sports events”. If enacted this development would facilitate increased content from Irish producers,

Tv3: Expect Lorraine Keane and Ireland AM's Alan Hughes and Mark Cagney, along with programmes such as Access Hollywood to be lighting up your screens for the foreseeable future

however the bill has not transpired.

In contrast to a separate piece of legislation concerning RTE, the Broadcasting Authority Bill was delayed, not considered a priority and is currently buried.

The Irish government and indeed governments throughout the world are notoriously reluctant to pass legislation which goes against the interests of the corporate media. This is particularly evident whenever a general election is close.

The aversion to implement change favourable to culture, the Irish film and television industry and ultimately Irish audiences while harmful to the media, is not merely shared by government parties. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny told the College Tribune, “Home produced dramas as we have seen on our own RTE for many years are absolutely fabulous.

That is something that I support very strongly and should be replicated to a greater extent in other television stations”.

However, Kenny subsequently indicated that Fine Gael was unwilling to do anything constructive on the matter. “To do things by regulation and by forcing companies to do things is not the way it should be, we should be encouraging that they (private TV stations) would do these things through their own volition”. The problem is that interest groups and cultural lobbies can encourage TV3 as much as they like and yet little will change pending the involvement of politicians.

David McLaughlin is the former chairman of the Jameson Dublin film festival and current CEO of Screen Producers Ireland.

Speaking to The College Tribune, McLaughlin acknowledged the widespread frustration felt among production companies towards TV3. “They defend their position on the basis that they say that their expenditure on productions in the independent production sector has increased year on year. However as far as we are concerned they do not commission as much as they should do from the independent sector. Certainly in terms of the level of commissioning

by TV3…. we are quite disappointed.”

In terms of TV3 news, the station which allegedly offers “a full representation of Ireland” has actually reduced the quantity of time devoted for news

tice negatively impacts on the rates that RTE One and Two, TV3, TG4 and Setanta Sports can charge for advertising space.

This situation recently adversely affected the authority of the BCI. Channel 6 acquired a licence from British regulator Ofcom and informed the BCI that unless they derogate the twenty percent news and current affairs stipulation, Channel 6 would broadcast from Britain and accept Irish advertising. The BCI subsequently complied with Channel 6’s request and granted them a Cable/MMDS licence and the station has broadcast since March 2006.

The fact that private consortiums can influence the BCI by threatening to broadcast from outside the state unless their request is met is a worrying development for Irish broadcasting.

Quite clearly the status quo is undermining the advertising revenue of Irish stations and hence adversely affecting expenditure on commissioning Irish content. Unlike Sky 1, MTV, Living TV and Channel 4, the Irish private networks & RTE actually have been awarded Irish broadcasting licences.

Although Channel 6 obtained an exemption on current affairs, the station is still expected to broadcast indigenous content. The schedule of Ireland’s first entertainment channel overwhelmingly consists of American programmes, previously broadcast by other channels.

Most remarkable is the channel’s Access Hollywood which involves an Irish host standing in front of a green screen and introducing the show. The following hour almost entirely consists of imported American entertainment footage with the Irish host intermittently appearing on screen to inform the audience of the advertisement break.

Amazingly the BCI accepts that this is an indigenous programme despite the

"Access Hollywood which involves an Irish host standing in front of a green screen and introducing the show. The following hour almost entirely consists of imported American entertainment footage" in favour of sport. Recently the station has decided to conclude the news with a light or funny story, involving such matters crucial to the public interest as unusual exotic pets. Notable entertainment stories that TV3 have covered over the years include Samantha Mumba winning ‘rear of the year’. It appears that when dealing with quality journalism, ‘the selling of soap’ is of prime importance.

Recent years have witnessed the development of British television stations accepting Irish advertising to replace British advertising in Ireland. This prac-

fact that it clearly isn’t save the few min utes of Jenny Buckley delightfully we coming us back from the ad break. Quit clearly Channel 6’s tactics are identica to those of TV3 and ultimately those o CanWest Global.

In Canada, CanWest Global’s telev sion network is Global TV and it has national reach to over 20 million Anglo phone Canadians. Despite the size o the market and the enormous revenu made from being the second highes rated network in Canada, the only regu lar Canadian content during primetim viewing other than the news is ET Can ada, a newsmagazine similar to Acces Hollywood.

The Canadian regulator the CRTC reduced certain provisions regardin indigenous content in 1999 and Globa correspondingly discovered a loophol which presently allows Global to claim that Canadian reality TV is equal to te evision drama.

TV3 has recently announced a new primetime entertainment show Expos to be hosted by Lorraine Keane. Despit efforts by The College Tribune, the sta tion has declined to comment.

Potential broadcasting regulation must not simply increase the percent age of Irish content on private station but unambiguously assert what actu ally counts as indigenous programming The SPI believes that regulatory reform should be more specific, such as th amount of animation and young people’ programming on both RTE and the pr vate networks. According to McLaughlin “We feel there should be certain quota in terms of hours and a certain value i terms of the specific spent each year.”

Quite clearly private broadcasters ar uncomfortable with local content an if possible will broadcast nothing indig enous in order to maximise profits. Ire land’s broadcasting policy must addres these contemporary opportunities an challenges; otherwise society faces th bleak culture of Lorraine Keane or Jenn Buckley welcoming us back from the a break.

TURBINE URBINE THE

VOLUME XX ISSUE X

IT’S SATIRE, STUPID!

INSIDE

AGONY OF DEFEAT FOR MARATHON RUNNERS WITH POOR FOOTWEAR EXPERT DIETICIAN WINS NOBELLY PRIZE

GAY BYRNE ARRESTED FOR GIVING ONE TO EVERYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE TORNADO HITS GRAVEYARD: HUNDREDS DEAD APPLE NI LAUNCH I-PROD ORANGE UCD BALL KICKED INTO NEIGHBOUR’S GARDEN

STILL ONLY

31P

CRUISE REFUTES DICKHEAD CLAIMS

BUILDING TOWARD A BRIGHT FUTURE The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is to launch a brand new scheme aimed at solving the problem of Ireland’s rapid deterioration in the footballing world.

Footballing experts John Delaney and Milo Corcoran have teamed up to address the issue, and have concluded that a new five generation plan is what is required to ensure this country’s qualification for World Cup 2110.

Former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy called an emergency press conference without informing the relevant people and just seconds after his hearing about the development. Chief Executive of the FAI John Delaney spoke and declared that he was hopeful of “building for the future” and asked the fans to “be patient during this time of re-building”.

Details of the plan were outlined by FAI President Milo Corcoran at the conference, when he declared, “We’ve been studying tapes of all our games and frankly, it hasn’t been good enough, “ he added, “But we are sick of the abuse the media have been giving us. The team is in transition at the moment.”

Delaney continued, “We have watched the tapes of every international game over the last couple of years and the results have been interesting to say the least. We have concluded that the Cameroonians are the most physical international side at the moment. Brazil is the most technically skilful team while the Spanish are the best in the air.

“The best tacklers appear to be the Italians

and the most hard-working outfit are those mad guys from Ghana who gave Brazil a run for the money in the last World Cup. “We have therefore decided that in order to build an Irish side capable of challenging for our next realistic chance of qualification to a major tournament, World Cup 2110, we need to import someone from Cameroon and match them with an Irish woman.

“Roughly twenty years later, that person will have a child with a Brazilian. This cycle will continue every twenty years with the Spanish, the Italians and the Ghanaians, and before you know it, we’ll be winning the World Cup.” Corcoran went on to explain, “It’s scientifically proven. We are going to breed a team of super-stars and bring home the 2110 World Cup for all of the proud Irish men and women who have followed this team from one corner of Europe to the next.”

Delaney went on to declare that a number of current Irish footballers were “to be deported” as a result of “embarrassing performances and the potential to pollute this country’s gene pool.”

The list was recited and included the names, “David Connolly, John O’Shea, Ian Harte and maybe Robbie Keane if he doesn’t pull the finger out.”

Current Irish manager Steve Staunton was at the press conference, and stated, through teary eyes, “I’ve never heard language like that in all my life. Sob.”

TELETUBBIES HIT ROCK BOTTOM The Turbine has leaned that children’s television show ‘The Teletubbies’ will not be returning to Irish television screens.

The four colourful tubby characters, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, recently broke America after what was a highly successful stint broadcasting in Ireland and the UK. A spokesperson for the teletubbies released a statement last night, detailing an apparent fall from grace for the gurgling tubbies.

The statement read, “The teletubbies have broken America, but it is our regret that they have since been corrupted by the drink, drugs and sex culture that is part and parcel of this feat.

“The result of this has been disastrous to the teletubbies who are currently recuperating in various rehabilitation centres in the United States.

They will not be returning to the futuristic dome they inhabit (the ‘Tubbytronic Superdome’), or to the landscape of rolling grassland where they once lived.”

Some observers at the address of the statement posed rumours that the Teletubbies would be releasing a follow-up song to their single ‘Teletubbies say Eh-Oh!’ calling it ‘Teletubbies say Uh-Oh!’ But the spokesman denied the rumour.

He was however, able to confirm that Dipsy Wipsy is currently attending meetings with Alcoholics Anonymous, after (s)he was found sprawled on the bathroom floor of a New York bar.

Allegations as to drug use by the foursome had been strongly denied, but it has since emerged that the sun, which is a prominent feature of each episode with an image of a smiling, white baby in it

that randomly laughs out loud in short bursts, was in fact under the influence of an illegal substance.

The spokesperson confirmed, “Yeah, the sun was smoking something off-set and that’s why

it laughs at those random moments. We tried to cover it up as a playful sort of quirk to the show, but it just wasn’t to be. The telletubbies are no more,” he concluded.

18 REGULARS

College Tribune 5th March 2007

The Secret World of a Tutor

Whose Tutorial is it Anyway?

This column has already considered the difficulty in getting all the students in a group to contribute equally. The easy option for the weary tutor is to just engage the smarty pants in discussion and let the others take notes, a sort of master class in critical thinking. Is that what third level education is about, though? When the President of this university bangs on about fostering excellence does he mean that we should only be devoting time and effort to those students who have the potential to be excellent? Those with the potential to go on and do masters and doctorates and do research and get published and push the name of UCD further up those international rankings.

Not everyone can be excellent and universities are now in the business of mass education. It is no longer the hallowed preserve of a select group of elite students.

If we are delivering mass education, then surely the aim is to get as many of them as possible through their exams and assignments. The danger is that you end up dumbing down the content and removing any level of complexity and so leaving the one or two excellent students at a loose end and bored. These are the one who have actually read the material in advance and looking for a challenging discussion. In the end they will stop coming as they can get everything they need from their own reading. They will pass their assignments

anyway so the pass rate statistics are satisfied and mass education is served.

In fact we have been told from politically on-high that our mission is not just to churn out graduates but also to produce useful people, the kind of people that the economy needs, servants of our country’s continued growth. Training people for these roles is what is expected and ideals of an education that is about broadening the mind are lost from view. That is why the humanities feel the poorer, not truly useful relations of the scientific, technical and commercial subjects.

In order to find the middle ground, we have to harness the students desire to pass useful exams as a means of getting a useful job that will afford them a comfortable lifestyle. Those clam-like students who seem to have little to offer have to have their minds prised open through this chink. Then they can be exposed to all the amazing and startling insights of the subject and will have real difficulty in clamming up again. It doesn’t matter if the subject is macro-economics, or literature or quantum-physics, it will change the way they think about everything the see around them and leave them open to further discoveries. The kind of education I’m interested in is the kind that produces bankers and stock-brokers who can recite a bit of French poetry and web-designers with an interest in the philosophy of being.

Next week: The path of least resistance

T H E I N C R E D I B L E A D V E N T U R E S O F. . .

DOCTOR HUGH

REGULARS 19

College Tribune 5th March 2007

K E E W E H T PUNT OF TOP PUNTS

Here at the College Tribune, we are just as patriotic as the next leprechaun suit-wearing “Stand Up for the Boys in Green" enthusiast.

So when we breath a sigh of relief at the fact there isn't a sniff of an international football fixture for all of six months, it's nothing to do with our dislike of our fans being more interested in the current position of the Mexican Wave than the actual match, and everything to do with having to grimace excessively at the sight (and sound!) of Stan's ever so enlightening press conferences.

You won't be surprised then, at our delight to hear the Champions' League returns to our screens tonight. And it's to Stamford Bridge first, where Mourinho's troops take on the might of Valencia.

We're leaning heavily towards the Spanish visitors on this one, and a glance back at last weekend's results will speak volumes as to our reasoning.

Chelsea had a run-in with Premiership basement-dwellers Watford, a side with just three wins under their belts all season. A win is a win for all intents and purposes, but to rely on a stoppage-time winner from Solomon Kalou isn't the actions of a title contender or indeed European Cup hopefuls. Valencia's 3-2 win over Osasuna means we would suggest an away win at 9-2 from Paddy Power.

With Nando Morientes most likely sidelined with injury, talisman David Villa will lead the line, and lead the line extremely well in our opinion. That's why we would take a second look at his respectable 8-1 price for first goalscorer.

Manchester United take on AS Roma in the Italian capital tomorrow night and who better to back then the man of the moment Cristiano Ronaldo. Don't be put off by the fact that he has never scored in a Champion's League tie. That unbelievable record is sure to come to an end sooner or later, and we are guessing the former and sticking a few quid on his mazy runs to end in the first goal. Also 8-1.

One for those who live for accumulators: All away wins of Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Valencia and Man United at 175-1 looks promising. That's with our friends at Boylesport.

And finally, a bet that made it into this column for the one and only fact that Roy Keane is involved. Since Keano took over, it's been a steady climb, and sitting nicely in third, just one spot from the automatic promotion places; we suggest the all too obvious prospect of Sunderland mixing it with the Premiership big boys come next season. Odds are 4-6, by the way.

All AWAY teams to win - 175/1 VALENCIA to beat CHELSEA 9/2

RONALDO TO score first - 8/1 DAVID VILLA TO score first - 8/1 All prices are with BOYLE SPORTS

CONSPIRACY THEORY OF THE FORTNIGHT

Americans Knew about the Filming of Saddams Death Both the making, and the leaking of an illicit video, showing the composedlooking Saddam subjected to sectarian taunts hurled by Shia officials who attended the execution as guards put the noose around the former leader’s neck, was deliberate black propaganda to further inflame the sectarian strife in Iraq.

“Whoever leaked this video meant to harm national reconciliation and drive a wedge between Shias and Sunnis,” said National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, one of a group of 20 officials who witnessed the execution on Saturday.

“There was an infiltration at the execution chamber.”

“The investigation has already had an arrest warrant against one person and two to follow,” al-Rubaie told CNN. On the other hand, Sami al-Askeri, a Shia lawmaker who advises Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said two “Justice Ministry guards were being questioned,”

over the video leak.

A second key al-Maliki aide, who demanded anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information, said, “In the past few hours, the government has arrested the person who videotaped Saddam’s execution. He was an official who supervised the execution, and now he is under investigation.”

Washington on the other hand sent conflicting signals about the taunting that accompanied Saturday’s execution, with White House declining to join worldwide condemnation of the procedure and the State Department and U.S. military raising questions about it.

“If you are asking me: “Would we have done things differently?’ Yes, we would have. But that’s not our decision. That’s the government of Iraq’s decision,” said Major General William B. Caldwell, U.S. military spokesman.

But that was just another lie by the Bush administration.

Evidence from a senior Iraqi court of-

ficial shows that Americans who were present at the hanging scene made sure mobile phones were taken from all those who attended the execution earlier this week, except two “high-ranking government officials,” according to World Press Network.

So the mobile phone video was not recorded secretly, on the contrary, it was done openly and with the approval of both, the puppet Iraqi government,

and the Americans who controlled who was allowed and who wasn’t allowed to carry a mobile phone inside the execution room.

“Two officials were holding mobile phone cameras,” reported Munqith al-Faroon, a prosecutor in the Dujail case, for which Saddam was sentenced to hang.

Faroon is also the chief prosecutor in Al Anfal trial that will continue against Saddam’s aides for genocide against the

Kurds.

“One of them I know. He’s a high-ranking government official,” Faroon said, without naming the man. “The other I also know by sight, though not his name.

He is also senior.

“I don’t know how they got their mobiles in because the Americans took all our phones, even mine which has no camera.”

The video that showed Saddam being humiliated in the last moments before his death and the dialogue that was exchanged between him and the guards who put the noose around his neck and were handpicked by Americans, has been the source of extensive debate throughout the week, and remained the focus of most news outlets’ headlines.

Analysts and political experts have warned of an imminent surge in violence as a result of the grotesque scenes the illicit video contained and the humiliating comments by witnesses of the execution.

SPORT SUPER LEAGUE

DOWN THE LINE

with Jack Horgan Jones As everyone knows, Superleague is the purest expression of football around. So, you can only imagine the combined mirth racketing up and down the league tables over the break as Steve ‘Stand-up’ Staunton and Steve McClown tried to pass themselves off as actual managers.

Acting as some sort of tragicomic tag-team, the two Steves set about doing their best to dismantle their respective charges’ push for European qualification. What’s that you say? Both teams came through their recent matches undefeated, and Ireland are looking for an impressive fifth win on the trot?

This of course is true, but the nature of these wins has had none of the epic qualities of Pele and his mates hammering the Nazi’s in ‘Escape to victory’, and wasn’t even as pretty as the violence in ‘The Football Factory’.

More important than the aesthetics of these performances is the fact that the two managers had little more to do with the results and performances other than to behave like a horny drunkard, interfering messily with tactics and selections. The only discernable attempt at prudent tactical changes seems to have been taken in tandem, with both of these fools seeing fit to introduce the fabled ‘slap-headed Evertonian’ tactic.

Off the pitch, they seem to be in cahoots when it comes to their media antics too. Ignoring common precedent that dictates you either pander to the media or control it, the lads have availed of ’secret option 3’: act like a schizophrenic, blame all you’re difficulties on a media who will rip you to shreds, then wheel out some senior players to show all is well in the camp.

The only reason anything is remotely civil in either

"How would you feel if your lecturers one day handed out colouring pencils and awarded gold stars for staying inside the lines? Unless you're in NCAD, I'd imagine pretty under whelmed" camp is because the players simply don’t care as much about playing for their countries as they do for their club.

If you were surrounded by the pinnacle of professionalism in your day-to-day life and got paid tens of thousands of euros for doing what you enjoy most, how much would you care for the jarring bunch of idiots who you risked injury for every time they saw fit to play you out of position against a eastern-European defence composed of the most formidable warriors from their respective tribes?

To use an academic comparison, how would you feel if your lecturers one day handed out colouring pencils and awarded gold stars for staying inside the lines? Unless you’re in NCAD, I’d imagine pretty under whelmed.

Anyway, as all this hilarious back and forth has been going on in the wider world of football, the chaste Superleague exponents have been going about their task with their usual grace and good humour.

Football Utd. FC and Just Jeff have cut clear of the chasing pack in Premier Saturday, locked on 40 points each to provide a great run-in for the season. Premier Sunday remains as close as ever at the top, with six points covering the top 5 places. Div 1 Saturday has a balanced look to it, with Ruck Fangers basing their ominous form on defence, having conceded only nine goals to date.

Contrast this with the fortunes of the honourable John Reid’s Broga Nua and Nobis Aston, who, having conceded 73 and 71 goals respectively, seem to be engaged in an epic race to the bottom which mirrors that seen around campus as the SU elections took place a while back.

The armpit of Superleague, Div 1 Sunday is providing the same sort of entertainment as a cripple fight, with the whole thing becoming very congested at the top.

Currently Los Bitches stand top of that heap of chromosomes, if only by virtue of having played two games more than their closest rivals, the ever-classy ‘Yer Aul One’s Box’h

Genius or journeyman?

Darragh O’Donoghue examines the declining career of John O’Shea and wonders where the great hope surrounding his younger years has gone When John O’Shea burst onto the scene at the age of 22, it seemed that Manchester United’s famous youth system had unearthed another gem and Irish football had stumbled across another piece to fit into the jigsaw of its increasingly attractive looking national team.

Unfortunately, O’Shea’s career to date has mirrored that of the Irish team, and gone into a steady decline.

His dramatic late winner at Anfield provided a reminder of the kind of match-winning contributions he is capable of, and in the eyes of many, should be producing much more regularly. The goal that, to all intents and purposes, could well have won the league for United last month, is unlikely to silence his detractors, so the question remains; is John O’Shea a footballing genius, or merely a positional journeyman?

The frustrating thing for those who see him play regularly is that O’Shea is clearly capable of genius. Few who witnessed him humiliate the regal Luis Figo with a cheeky nutmeg in his debut season or strand Manuel Almunia with a perfectly flighted lob at Highbury a year later are going to forget it in a hurry.

Even then though, the nagging doubts over his consistency remained, as he missed open goals against France in a crucial World Cup qualifier and in an embarrassing derby loss to Man City, as well as being all too complacent in possession at the best of times.

Even with his lack of composure in front of goal (excusable for a defender, which he was at the time) and some worrying defensive lapses, the Waterford man was nominated for a PFA young player of the year award, named in the Barclaycard overseas team of the season and had the honour of making 52 appearances for the club, the most for a United player that sea-

son.

The future was bright, and the only way seemed to be up for one of the most promising prospects in the Premiership. It was expected that he would mature and flourish under the expert tutelage of Ferguson and the watchful eye of his teammate Roy Keane.

O’Shea’s career stalled however, as he was shunted from the centre of defence to the left fullback position, and then seemingly settling into centre midfield. It seems strange that Ferguson should see him as a centre midfielder, as he possesses neither the vision nor the range of passing to be effective in a creative capacity, and also lacks the physical presence and footballing brain to play the role of a ball-winning enforcer.

In a positional sense, it is clear that he has become something of a journeyman, as he often finds himself playing multiple positions in the same match. This positional uncertainty cannot be helpful for a player, and O’Shea seems hesitant, almost tentative around the pitch at times.

He was famously one of the players singled out by Roy Keane in the coruscating tirade that caused the Fergie revisionists to airbrush the mighty midfielder out of Old Trafford’s history books, and Keane’s frustrations were wellfounded.

The unforgiving Irish fans too, bred on the heady successes of World Cup qualification, have turned against him. Unkind whisperings have been heard suggesting that were it not for his place in the hallowed halls of Manchester United he would not be considered for the Irish team.

This conveniently overlooks the fact that we count such footballing luminaries as Kevin ‘Zin-

edine’ Kilbane as key players in a squad that more closely resembles a de-clawed cat than a Celtic Tiger.

It seems highly improbable that the maligned Steve Staunton will be capable of getting the best out of the under-performing player, but it is likely that sooner or later he will hit a run of form that will remind us why we had such high hopes.

His most effective position is at left back, as he lacks the solidity to be a top international centre back. Stan, for some strange reason sees it at right-full. Carlos Queiroz’s damning assessment that he ‘gave away a goal every game’ in the position always struck me as remarkably harsh, as he has produced some of his finest football from full-back.

The most puzzling thing about his prolonged loss of form is the fact that, were he not an excellent professional who gave his all in training and match situations, he would not have survived at a club like Manchester United for so long.

Ferguson is a notoriously unforgiving manager, and would certainly not tolerate an ill-fitting ‘bits and pieces’ player like O’Shea unless he had the right attitude and mental tools.

Hope is by no means lost for Waterford’s finest, as perhaps he can use this goal against Liverpool and the relatively errorless performances against Wales and Slovakia as a springboard to greater things.

Adding a Premiership medal in which he produced one of the defining moments of the campaign should give him the confidence he needs to nail down a position and make it his own for club as well as for the Republic. Because God knows, his country could do with him right now.

22 SPORT

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

From Bucharest to Belfield UCD’s latest footballing recruit Bogdan Opera speaks to Ben Blake about new beginnings, contrasting styles of football, and ambitions for the season While the eircom League of Ireland may not just yet be witnessing quite as big an influx of overseas talent that the English Premiership experienced from 1990s onwards, recent years have seen the Emerald Isle attract its own equivalent to the foreign legion.

St. Patrick’s Athletics’ Cameroonian star Joseph Ndo, Galway United’s promising Dutch centre-half Regillio Nooitmeer, and former Finland International Sami Ristila who plies his trade at Drogheda United have all played their part in developing our top domestic division into a multicultural one.

And their arrivals have proved positive ones, as Ndo’s case can prove.

Guiding Shelbourne to the Premier Division title last year, the well-traveled midfielder was voted the league’s best by his fellow footballers, as he picked up the accolade of PFAI Player of the Year 2006. This time around, he aims to do the same, albeit in the red of St. Pat’s.

Determined not to miss the boat, UCD have been doing some importing of their own. While to hope for an impact of Gheorghi Hagi proportion would be slightly ambitious to say the least, Pete

Mahon has enlisted a Romanian striker of his own in an attempt to bolster his goal-shy strike force.

Bogdan Opera’s recent arrival has barely forced an eye-lid to flinch in footballing circles outside the college. On campus and among the UCD faithful however, great things have been predicted.

Finding a home in Irish football happened almost accidentally for Opera. Enjoying a holiday over here, he was enticed to take part in a trial with Bray Wanderers.

After a fortnight’s training with Eddie Gormley’s men, he opted against a move to the Carlisle Grounds. He outlines the reasons behind the decision, “Bray offered me a six-month deal but I had to start off in the Under 21s. I wanted first team football so I came to UCD on trial and showed them what I can do.”

Joining from Romanian side Astra, Opera can certainly relate to the instability felt by the Shelbourne players last season when the club fell into financial difficulty. A First Division club, Astra were relegated and subsequently dissolved.

Re-established a year later, Opera was handed a three year deal, but only managed to last half his tenure as the club failed to pay his wages.

The case was brought through the courts, and while it was a hard time for

"I wanted first team football so I came to UCD on trial and showed them what I can do"

the Bucharest lad, he bears no grudge, “It was simply a money matter. The Romanian FA declared me a free agent, but I didn’t leave on bad terms.”

Settling into a new club and a new life, those around him; his family, his teammates and his gaffer, have all done their utmost to help the transition go smoothly.

“My team are nice people. I’ve made good friends with (Derek) Doyler and Shane (Mc Faul), in particular. I’ve talked to Pete (Mahon) also. He is an open man; you can talk to him about everything. I have a good relationship with them all.”

On the pitch, Opera has had to adapt

to a considerably different style of play.

He explains: “Romanian football is more organised. Here, speed and power are what is needed. In Romania, the play is more technical.”

Mahon was singing off a similar hymn sheet when he was evaluating the beginning of his new acquisition’s career at UCD; “He’s a very technical player.

He’s only at the club five weeks, but he has shown in training that he has good technical ability.

“He has to learn other parts of the game, that wouldn’t be the same in Romania where it’s more about the skill and technique end. It’s a bit more physi-

cal over here and he must to learn a couple of things.”

He holds high hopes however, “They’re only minor details. He has natural ability, we have to give him a bit of time to acclimatise to this league and if and when he does, we’ll have a good player on our hands.”

The gamble may be paying off far quicker than one would have expected.

Thrown into the mix late on when UCD met Drogheda recently, Opera opened his account within minutes. An attribute necessary to succeed as a striker, confidence is something Opera possesses in abundance.

“That’s why Pete put me on the field.

I’m a forward, I must score. I want to play as much as I can. I want to start the game, not just ten minutes. Then the goals will come.”

A huge fan of Juventus’ little maestro Alessandro Del Piero since the age of eight, (“I like his style, I think he is my style”); Opera’s ambitions for the season take a comparable path to that of his idol, “I hope we can finish in the first three or four places. Maybe even a place in Europe.”

An instant hit with fans of the Students, he has seemingly received cult hero status even at this early stage of his UCD career, with a terrace chant in his honour already in existence. Embarrassed when mentioned, Opera feels he has yet to prove a thing, “It’s nice to hear good things about you, it means that people appreciate you for your work. I want to show people what I can do. ”

FOR PETE’S SAKE UCD Soccer Manager Pete Mahon writes exclusively for College Tribune

I want to talk about Ireland today. That we actually won the match against Slovakia last Wednesday, and won it with a bit of style as great. I was delighted for Steve Staunton.

The performance was something that resembled what you'd expect from an Irish team.

We started off the game very well. We got an early goal, and really played with a bit of passion, a bit of pride, and with a bit of fire in the belly.

Looking back to Saturday afternoon, the atmosphere was dead. Whereas Wednesday night reminded me of the days you'd head down to Dalymount. People converging from all different areas, and joining up at the centre point. You got the feeling that it was a real occasion, and I think that may have filtered through to the players.

They went out and played very well. The team was set up much better, with Kevin Doyle leading the line and young Stephen Ireland playing off him working well.

Damien Duff got his finger out for the first time in a long time, and played the way he used and the way we know that he can.

He's one of our leading players and needs to put it performances like that far more often.

So I thought it was good. Having said that, there was loads of room for improvement from

the previous Saturday, because that for me was shocking. It takes two teams to make a match, and I thought Wales were pathetic.

I'm looking at somebody like Ryan Giggs, and I'm saying to myself that Ferguson pulled him aside last week and said ‘Listen Ryan, you're going over to Dublin for the weekend.

Have a little jog and a stretch there, and make sure you don't come back injured. We've got a lot of important matches coming up, and I'm paying your wages.'

I'm looking at Benitez and Gordan Strachan sitting in the stands behind me, and I'm saying to myself, ‘What are they doing here?'

I mean what can they possibly see here, that they don't know already, maybe they were on a jolly up as well.

That's how it appeared to me, and that's maybe being a bit critical, but I have to say it as I see it. I thought it was pathetic. Wales had no direction. They had nothing going for them. They hadn't got one player on the day.

Okay, they were missing a couple, but the players they were without aren't exactly household names, Robert Earnshaw, Jason Koumas, Danny Gabbidon. I mean, I wouldn't be going out paying millions of pounds for any of them.

I just thought it was really bad, but Wednesday was far, far better. I really enjoyed the match. Most Irish supporters want to see the team having a go. If you're playing bad, you're playing bad, but at least if you're having a go, it's a start. That's what we got against Slovakia, everybody giving 100 percent, and the players also played well. And if you've that combination, you've a great chance of winning any International football

match.

Getting back to the club, I was unhappy with the decision to put our game against Sligo back from last Friday night to Sunday evening. We all agreed a verbal agreement that we wouldn't bad-mouth anybody, but I think it's a little bit unfair to be playing on a Sunday at 5 o' clock.

It happened to us twice in Derry last year.

We weren't pleased about it then, and we're not pleased about it now. I don't know whether it's a UCD thing or not, whether they're thinking ‘Well it's only UCD, they won't mind'.

Well, we don't really but the Sligo players can stay in bed all day Monday if they like, some our lads have to come back here after the game and get up for work the next morning.

I couldn't give a shit personally, it doesn't matter to me when the games are played, but I'm looking at it from the players' point of view.

You'd have to say that we've gotten off to a relatively average start by our standards.

It's certainly no time to be panicking or for alarms bells to be ringing. We've played three games. We've played Shamrock Rovers, who are on a high after being promoted. We've met Cork City and Drogheda United, who would have realistic ambitions about winning this league, and then obviously Sligo last Sunday.

We have to start winning now. We have some very difficult and important games coming up over the next couple of weeks. We play all the so called part-time teams, in the second tier of the Premier Division. I don't see any reason why we won't start winning.

SPORT 23

College Tribune 3rd April 2007

UCD players win Grand Slam

Eoin Delap speaks to UCD’s Ian Keatley and rounds up Ireland’s momentous triumph in the Under 20s Six Nations, with a squad that included five UCD players In what now appears to be a dismal season for the ambitions of Irish rugby, the achievement of the Irish Under 20 side stands as a heartening omen for the future.

The underage team, led by Coach Eric Elwood, managed a clean sweep of the Six Nations and claimed the first Irish Grand Slam at any level of the game for over fifty years.

The tribulations of the campaign highlighted the incredibly elusive nature of a clean sweep over five quality opponents.

Inspirational performances in the opening games were balanced with dogged displays in Scotland and Italy. Where the performance flagged the mental qualities of the side, combined with superb physical fitness, ensured a safe passage.

UCD contributed five players to the panel that finished the competition with an unblemished record by beating Italy in the final game in Benevento. While the celebrations were withheld until the final day’s play on the 16th of March, the infrastructure for this success was laid earlier in the competition with major wins over Wales, England and France.

The competition began with a narrow 15-17 win away to Wales, followed by a 1916 victory over a hotly-tipped French side in Dubarry Park. The same venue witnessed a 13-6 victory over our beloved English neighbours, teeing up the Triple

Crown against Scotland in Falkirk. After a poor first half, the Irish team produced an invigorated latter period to trounce the Scots 8-31 to claim the Crown.

The final game against Italy proved a precarious assignment. Like France the Azzurri fielded an Under 21 team, an age difference that weighed heavily on the results of this year’s competition.

Ireland faced a 20-7 deficit at halftime with the Grand Slam in jeopardy on the home straight. The Irish side recovered in the second forty to win 25-36, showing their fortitude and fitness in the heat of Central Italy.

The initial momentum gathered by the Irish side ensured a snowballing of objectives from Triple Crown to Grand Slam and as the stakes grew the mental resolve of the team crystallised.

As College outhalf Ian Keatley put it, “Every single match as we progressed we had something to play for. Every single game was a bigger step.

“After the English game we were saying ‘we can actually do this’. We knew it was up to us, we knew if we played well we could beat anyone.”

The UCD halfback pairing of Paul O’Donohoe and Keatley played a key role throughout the competition, as did College forwards Conor McInerney, Kevin Sheehan and Sean O’Brien. Their form and exposure at this level should contribute to the confidence of UCD in the AIL

during the coming seasons.

The short-term disadvantages and wider benefits were highlighted by Keatley, “The Ireland thing affected us because we didn’t get to play much with UCD. But playing together at that level definitely helps to strengthen the UCD team.

“A lot of people were put into the

spotlight this year, so their names are getting recognised. In this competition people from around the world are watching you play.”

The benefits of UCD players participating at this level were highlighted by the elevation of Keatley’s halfback partner O’Donohoe into the extended Leinster Heineken Cup squad. The ascent of

these young players should contribute to College’s future and as Keatley points out; “That just shows that the Ireland set-up is a good place to start.”

The Grand Slam success points to a rosy future for rugby in UCD, with the emergence of a new generation of players competing against and beating their peers at the highest level.

SPORT IN BRIEF

COMPILED BY JORDAN DALY

Women's Hockey UCD’s star strikers Roisin Flinn and Lisa Jacob were influential in Ireland’s recent successful visit to Paris. Over the three match series the Irish Ladies beat France 1-0 on the 9th of March, drew 1-1 on the 10th and thrashed them in the last match 4-0 on the 11th.

Both Flinn and Jacob featured on the tour to South Africa in January and form part of a new breed of young Irish talent which Coach Gene Muller has worked into the senior squad. The matches in France were a chance for in-form players to seize a place on the squad permanently and the pair from UCD did just that.

The first match was won after just six minutes when a strongly mounted UCD attack gave Roisin Flinn the chance to put one past the French keeper. The second match saw Flinn linking up with Rachel Mulligan to force a short corner which they converted into a goal. This attack was in response to an earlier French score.

A short corner was deflected into the Irish net. This lapse in performance was corrected however, as Ireland completely dominated the final fixture. Flinn added to her prolific scoring record with

a cracking strike from a free hit on the 17th minute.

Mulligan got the second and Jacob cleaned up a rebound for the third. UCD pressed on to set up Symonns for a tap in to finish the game off.

The outlook is very bright now for the UCD girls who will be training hard for the European Championships in August. Muller was pleased with the overall team performance and commented after the final match; “We played well today passing with more precision and pace and had more control. Our play improved from the first two games which was reflected in the score.”

Table Tennis The UCD Table Tennis Club won the Premier League title last weekend for the second time in three years.

The students beat the defending champions Eastpoint 6-0, in what proved to be the title decider, as they were only two points behind with two matches to play. The only point dropped all season by UCD was in a 3-3 draw with Eastpoint before Christmas. Notably the last seven league titles have been shared between Eastpoint and UCD. The UCD team also came

through the quarter finals of the Cup at the weekend, and now face Terenure in the last four. Losing finalists in 2006, UCD hopes to recover the Cup title which they held in 2005 and 2004.

Men's Basketball UCD Marian became back to back Varsity Champions in Cork over the St. Patrick’s weekend, two weeks ago. UCD came from behind to beat CIT in the final.

A young side faced Trinity in the first game and the inexperience showed in the slow start. They overcame their Dublin rivals with the leadership of Kevin Foley and won the colours match comfortably in the end. UCD then booked a place in the quarter finals as they brushed past Jordanstown. They lead by thirty points in parts of the game with solid performances from Ian O Boyle and Conor Meaney.

In an early fixture, it was NUIG who were next for the UCD ballplayers in the quarters. UCD looked a well rested side and came out strongly. The UCD defence gave nothing away and punished at the other end with sharp shooting

by scholarship student Conor Meaney.

UCD maintained this pressure throughout the game with notably outstanding play by Peter Finn, Matt Kelly and Paul O’Donoghue.

A greater test for UCD came in the semi-finals as a determined UL side came out seeking revenge for last years final. UCD were missing danger man Ian O’Boyle who returned to Dublin for a club game. The offensive dominance of Foley ensured an early three point lead in the first half despite a dogged UL defence.

The third quarter started frantically with good work on the boards from Kelly and American Nate Moffit. UCD edged out in front towards the end thanks to big three-pointers from Meaney and Foley. UL tried to slow down the play with fouls but UCD held out to progress to the final.

The final was played in the Marydyke

Arena in UCC on the full court with huge local crowds. CIT were underdogs but started with confident three pointers.

UCD went into the break at half time with a marginal lead but faced a strong comeback from the Corkmen in the third quarter. UCD needed some inspiration and found it in a phenomenal shooting display by O Boyle who notched up a staggering 39 points.

He won the crowd over with reverse lay-ups, turnaround baseline fade aways and long three-pointers. When he was forced to leave the court after five fouls he received a standing ovation. The torch passed to Foley who carried the blue wave of UCD to a 93:81 victory.

It was a memorable weekend for UCD basketball. Foley, Meaney and O Boyle were each named on the tournament All Star team and the 2007 Varsity Trophy returned to UCD.

V

Volume 20 / Issue 10

3rd April 2007

SPORT

Grand Slam

UCD boys conquer Europe Analysis - Page 23

From Bucharest to Belfield Bogdan Opera Exclusive Interview

PAGE 22

Killer blow devastates College UCD suffered a heart-breaking defeat for the third time this season, thanks to an injury-time effort from Fahrudin Kudzovic in the eircom League of Ireland, at the Showgrounds on Sunday.

Manager Pete Mahon couldn’t contain his fury after the final whistle, as his side’s return now amounts to just a single point from the opening four games of this campaign.

“I’m absolutely sick. A stupid mistake cost us the goal. We were extremely naïve. When you concede a goal in the 91st minute, something is definitely wrong.”

Reeling from the defeat, he went on to vent his frustration at his players’ application, as well as wasted chances, “We had three players out there today.

KILMACUD Sligo Rovers UCD

Ben Blake You don’t win games with three players out on the pitch playing for you. Even so, we still should have got a point from it.

We hit the post and the bar.”

For Sligo, it is now nine points from a possible twelve, as Kudzovic became the hero for the second time in ten days.

It was his goal that sealed the three points for Rovers at Longford Town last week, and lightning struck twice it seems, as the Bit O’Red continue to grind out results despite the fact that they parted company with manager Rob Mc Donald just four days before the Premier Division commenced.

The home side looked depleted going

into this tie, as a combination of injuries and suspensions deprived caretaker managers Leo Tierney and Dessie Cawley of five first-team regulars.

Gary Curran (ankle ligaments), Keith Foy (dead leg), Chris Turner (neck) and Matthew Judge (ankle) all missed out through their respective injuries, while midfielder Conor O’Grady was serving a suspension.

The Students to a large extent kept faith in the side that went down narrowly to Cork City, with just Matt Gregg replacing Darren Quigley between the sticks and Brian King’s inclusion at the expense of Paul Byrne, the exceptions.

With King partnering Shane McFaul in the middle of the park, Ronan Finn was given license to sit in behind Conor Sam-

1 0

mon in a 4-4-1-1 formation.

The encounter, as a spectacle was relatively uneventful with neither team penetrating the opposition’s back line enough to create goal-scoring opportunities.

Finn’s peripheral involvement and Derek Doyle’s lack of success down the left prompted Mahon to reshuffle in the second half. Doyle was substituted for Paul Byrne and Finn was pushed out to the wing, leaving two out and out strikers to try and cause more problems.

the wall superbly and agonisingly smash the ball off crossbar.

With a stalemate looking more and more likely as the 90 minutes elapsed, Rovers struck the killer blow.

Allowed too much space and time after receiving a pass out on the left flank, Kudozovic cut inside with intent.

Unleashing a low strike that Gregg failed to keep out, the Bosnian sent both the UCD players and fans on the long journey home, without a point to show for their efforts.

UCD’s best chance to snatch a winner arrived when they were awarded a disputed free-kick on the edge of the Sligo box, on the 70 minute mark. Alan Mahon stepped up to bend his attempt around

UCD: Gregg, Mahon, Kenna, McNally, McMillan, C Byrne, McFaul, King, Doyle (Byrne), Finn, Sammon.

Referee: R Winter