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College Tribune | October 14th 2008
News News
News in Brief Governing Authority nominations open Nomination papers have been sent to UCD staff in relation to elections of the fourth Governing Authority, which will hold office for five years from 01 February 2009. Nominations will close on Wednesday, 29 October 2008 at 5.00 p.m. Voting papers and other election documents will be distributed to members of the three staff elective bodies in the week beginning 03 November. Polling will close on 25 November at 5.00 p.m. The counting of votes will take place on 26 and 27 November.
No shop for Newstead Building A food trolley is now being provided for students of the Newstead building after it was decided between managers of the building and Students’ Union President Aodhán Ó Deá that the area provided was inadequate for a shop premises. ‘It was way too small, it is basically a closet with no facilities, not even any running water.’ The announcement was met with discontent from students at a recent council meeting over the unavailability of the beverages and food after hours.
Students urged to get mumps vaccination UCD students have been urged to ensure they have received at least two doses of the MMR vaccine after further Mumps outbreaks continue on the campus. There has been a minimum of seven outbreaks of mumps recorded in third level colleges this year, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). Mumps is spread via airborne droplets, for example when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through direct contact with an infected person or contaminated items. Symptoms can include fever, headache and a swollen jaw or cheeks. Complications are usually mild although serious complications can include meningitis, deafness and inflammation of the testicles, ovaries or pancreas. This vaccine itself is available free from your GP or Student Health Service. All students are advised to ensure that they have been vaccinated against Meningitis C.
Student re-infected with syphilis ten times as physician slams unprotected sex trends Students unprepared to tackle “nasty reality of sex life” A prominent physician from the GUIDE clinic in St James’ Hospital has revealed that she is coming across students who have been re-infected with syphilis up to ten times as a result of consistent unprotected sex. When questioned on the excuses she heard most often when she quizzed her patients about partaking in unprotected sexual activities, she revealed the top four: “‘I forgot to use one’, ‘I was too drunk’, ‘We were seeing each other for a while’, ‘They said they were healthy’”. The doctor, who wished to remain anonymous, claims “students are leaving secondary schools and having a taste of real freedom for the first time and simply aren’t prepared to tackle the nasty reality of the sexual world” She further states Ireland’s binge drinking culture coupled with casual sex appears to be a key player in STI transmission. Recent press has dubbed UCD an ‘infection hotspot’, as students engage in booze-fuelled binges. According the the physician, “with correct condom usage, the risks of contracting an STI are significantly re-
■ Tadgh Moriarty duced; HIV by 80-90%, while others such as Syphilis, Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea are reduced by over 90%.” Private clinics across Dublin that offer STI screening services recently stated that students come to them reporting having slept with 20-50 different partners and in many cases without protection. “You should visit the STI clinic every 6 months while sexually active and not only does it offer piece of mind for the person, but it also allows for early detection and treatment of infections. Almost all STIs can be treated and the earlier they are caught and treatment instigated, the better the outcome and prognosis.”
» If you want an STI check up, they are freely available in the GUIDE clinic in St James hospital (www.h) or in Baggot St Hospital in association with the Gay Men’s Health Project, for Gay and bisexual men (016602189, gmhp@ eircom.net)
■ St. James’ Hospital: Home to the GUIDE clinic
Boozy reps run riot » Continued from front page Their antics, one person naming a photograph of a room they had trashed as “Wrecked room”. One student commented “We’ll either go down as heros [sic] or as de messes dat recked de gaff!!!.” The reply to the comment was “we’ll go out as heroes who went down doin the right thing....” One student expressed worries about the consequences of their actions: “O jeez if der was photos of any of our antics we’d be fucked.” Until Friday, the official Class Rep Bebo page stated “what happened in wexford stays in wexford [sic]”. As of this newspapers questioning of the SU president last week, the class rep page has been removed from Bebo. When questioned if he knew that some of the representatives had been commenting publicly on the networking site about the events of the weekend, O’Dea failed to respond. Furthermore, The actual training itself was held in the Arklow Bay Hotel conference centre. When contacted, the deputy manager of the hotel said that
■ Aftermath: Some of the rooms following a UCD visit while the students had been “no trouble at all”, as of Sunday the 5th, the UCD Students’ Union owed the hotel an outstanding balance of €5,780.00.
» Editorial: Page Nine