“Are people running away from you?” a second-year American student was asked by a Trinity staff member after the student coughed in front of them. When the student, who is of Asian descent, pointed out that it was flu season, …
Hugh Whelan is the current Comment Editor of Trinity News. He is a Senior Sophister English Literature and Film Studies student.
Reflecting on four years in Trinity
The beginning of my final semester in college is a good time to ruminate on what’s shaped my university experience
Final year brings with it an entirely different student experience than that of the previous three years students typically spend in Trinity. Conversations seem to revolve endlessly around final year projects, dissertations and internships. Society involvement is sporadic, as final-year …
Trinity has a seagull problem
The rampant bullying of students by gulls has reached a crisis point
Trinity students are living in fear. In the Arts Block, students whisper in huddled groups. At lunchtime, they sit on the floor together and cry into their Sprout salad boxes. In between lectures, they rush from one building to the …
Trinity’s keycard system is woefully inefficient
In a college that markets itself as a home of “groundbreaking” innovation, students and staff are plagued by issues with keycard access
Despite their differences, Trinity’s on-campus accommodation and Dartry Halls share a number of similarities. You share living spaces with your friends and peers. If you want to have more than eleven people in your apartment at one time, you have …
Student library monitors shouldn’t be necessary
Desk monitors will help to prevent desk-reserving, but long-term problems of overcrowding and inadequate opening hours are the root of the library’s space issues
The news that college intends to recruit a team of students as “desk monitors” in the library during exam time has been met with a mixed reaction across campus. It has become increasingly clear that the practice of “desk hogging” …
In Trinity I have learned to expect the worst
Considering the cyclical pattern of issues Trinity students have been subjected to, it is hard to believe that this year will be any different
Reflecting on the organisational disasters of Trinity’s last academic year, it is difficult to approach the oncoming term with any hope. The consensus on the 2018/19 year was unanimous: Trinity’s implementation of the Trinity Education Project, or TEP, was woefully …
Trinity’s library system is confusing, convoluted, and inadequate
With exam season looming, students are facing into another period of grappling with the nebulous systems of Trinity’s library
As I write this in the library, I suddenly hear the dreaded tones of the librarian’s bell begin to echo through the various floors of the Ussher. I wonder, has my time come? Do I need to start hiding my …
The Arts Block runway
Fast fashion and conformity run contrary to the supposed free spirited thinking of the Arts Block, writes
The Arts Block runway is a reflection of the latest trends in Trinity’s fashion ecosystem. From windcheaters to fur jackets, to the latest Fila Disruptors, the Arts Block is a multi-coloured testament to what’s hot and what’s not. College is …
Erasmus in the UK is worth experiencing
Getting out of Trinity makes a welcome change
Erasmus in the UK is a unique experience. The question of “why bother?” immediately arises when the idea of merely hopping across the Irish Sea is entertained by students. The result of being relentlessly asked this question has led to …
We need to adopt common decency in our language use
Persistent discriminatory language use is a stain on Ireland’s progressive and inclusive culture
In his 1704 satirical work “A Tale of a Tub”, Jonathan Swift famously wrote that “words are but wind”. Swift was making a satirical attack on dissenting religious sects of the time, but the sentiment of his words remains ever …