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Gendered violence is an epidemic, and no one knows the cure
DUPA and the rise of film photography
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TRINITY NEWS ESTABLISHED 1953
Tuesday 1 February 2022
Ireland’s Oldest Student Newspaper
Vol. 68, Issue. 6
PHOTO BY ELIZA MELLER FOR TRINITY NEWS
One third of female students in survey report experiencing rape Yasmin Orouji
Contributing Writer
O Cracking open a cold one
Students returned to the Pav last week, as the new term began and College announced the lifting of most Covid-related restrictions on social activities and on-campus food and drink. Trinity Ents also announced the return of “Pav Fridays”.
Trinity’s debts increase by nearly 40% in two years Shannon Connolly Deputy Editor
T
RINITY’S DEBT HAS INCREASED by nearly €80m, or approximately 40%, in the past two years, according to documents released to Trinity News under the Freedom of Information Act. Trinity’s total debt stood at €203.8m at the end of the 2018 financial year, but had risen to €283.8m by the end of 2020. The majority of this debt increase, ap-
proximately €62.6m, occurred between 2018 and 2019. The liabilities are divided into five distinct loans, each relating to various College buildings and properties. The largest loan of €70.7m (at the end of 2020), pertains to Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI), Trinity Business School, and the Printing House Square development. This loan decreased by €4.35m during the 2018-20 period, due to “capital repayments” over the course of the two years. An additional €57m outstanding loan in 2020 was accredited to Trinity Hall, down from €58.5m in
2018, also due to repayments. The document did not say when this loan was taken out. All loans are recommended by Trinity’s Finance Committee and authorised by the College Board, “in line with the five year strategic planning of Trinity”, according to a spokesperson for College. There were no repayments made on third loan, which stands at €70.3m. The purpose of this loan is “Trinity Business School, Trinity Mobility, IPH”, according to the documents. Trinity also took out two new loan contracts in 2019. The first, for €25.1m, is to go to “MV Up-
grade, Arts Block, Old Library, [E3 Learning Foundry]”. A second loan was taken out for €39.1m in 2019, before being increased to €60.7m in 2020. This was attributed to TBSI, the E3 Learning Foundry, and the E3 Research Institute. A separate FOI release, published by campaign group Students4Change last August, showed that Trinity’s Endowment Fund had a total value of €222.8m at the end of 2020. This included €148.2m of equity investments, €39.7m of property investments, €16.3m of infrastructure investments, and €16.5m in cash deposContinued on page 2>>
N JANUARY 27, THE GOVERNMENT RELEASED the results of a a national survey on student and staff experiences of sexual violence and sexual harassment in third level education. 7,901 students and 3,516 staff participated from across Ireland, with a majority saying they feel safe on campus, including in campus accommodation. A majority also said that they would feel supported if they came forward with accounts of sexual harassment and thought it unlikely that their Higher Education Institution (HEI) would respond negatively. However, large numbers of respondents reported experiencing various kinds of hostility, harassment or violence. According to the report, a majority of students said they Continued on page 2>>
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