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Maynooth University “Systematically Excludes” Staff From Key Decisions in Trend Towards Commercialisation

In recent weeks the Maynooth University executive staff have come under fire over their recent decision to appoint internal members to the governing authority rather than elect them as has been the case in years gone by. The provision for appointing internal members to the governing authorities of universities was included under part 10 of the  Higher Education Authority Act 2022 which amends the previously applicable 1997 Universities Act.

Critical Analysis OpinionLeave a comment

In a world which really is topsy-turvy, the true is a moment of the false

According to Guy Debord, organiser of the Situationist International (SI) anti-capitalist movement, “in a world which really is topsy-turvy, the true is a moment of the false”. What appears as true is false; what is false is true. We, students, see this everywhere, including in our universities and student unions.

News OpinionLeave a comment

The Far Right and Migrants

The lockdown and pandemic marked a turndown for the working class. After years of stagnation following the water charges, which was briefly interrupted by a militant student movement, the left suddenly found it’s meagre gains completely halted. The far right seemed ascendant – isolation, failures by anti-racist groups and mass proliferation of disinformation on social media resulted in large scale protests by disenfranchised communities against the government’s covid policies. For a short period after the lockdown, the far right seemed to have retreated, but with economic downturn, endless government corruption and mass migration following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the far right made an explosive reveal at Sandwith Street.

OpinionLeave a comment

Far from an “opportunity”, the Premiership of Liz Truss spells jeopardy for Ireland

By Jack Nolan. On Sunday, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence, Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney, remarked on the recent election of Liz Truss as Leader of the Conservative Party and British Prime Minister as “an opportunity to try and reset relationships” between Britain, Ireland and the European Union in the wake of the fallout from the posturing over the Northern Protocol.

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OpinionLeave a comment

Student Unions Must Become Radical or They’ll Become Redundant

The TCDSU is demanding rather than asking; 6 student unions have co-signed an open letter denouncing the government; the USI is calling for a walkout. As this year’s elected student representatives take power, it seems that we are entering a phase of renewed student radicalism. However, it is important to remember what led us trapped in the clutches of moderate, apolitical and weak leadership. Reflecting on his experiences in the student movement in the TCDSU, László Molnárfi wrote this piece a couple of months ago, on the structural factors that lead to the co-optation of student unions.

OpinionLeave a comment

Addressing the Cost of Living Crisis, and Inequalities in Third-Level Education are a Joint Struggle Facing Young Activists Today

By Jack Nolan. In the midst of the pandemic, and the ensuing global economic crisis in its aftermath, the
latent social and economic inequalities that have plagued Ireland, and indeed the wider
world, have been heavily accentuated by the onset of a grave cost of living crisis.

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