UCDSU has announced a protest occurring this Wednesday, March 4th, outside O’Reilly Hall at 12.30pm.
UCDSU has announced a protest occurring this Wednesday, March 4th, outside O’Reilly Hall at 12.30pm. The protest has been called in response to UCD’s handling of a case of sexual violence in the School of Medicine, with the key demands being for UCD to ‘waive costs,’ ‘apologise to students,’ ‘take accountability,’ ‘meet the demands’ given by UCDSU, and ‘respect victims’.
The protest is being held in partnership with Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC), Women’s Aid, AMLÉ, and Ruth Coppinger TD, who brought the case before the Dáil. Speeches for the protest will begin at 12.30pm. Speakers for the protest include UCDSU Education Officer Matt Mion, Welfare Officer Emilia O’Hagan, representatives from DRCC and AMLÉ, and Ruth Coppinger TD. The rally is aiming to focus on institutional culture and survivor-centred reform in UCD. At 1pm, the rally will begin to march from O’Reilly Hall towards the School of Medicine.
“In light of the recent information brought before the Dáil about the SA [sexual assault] and ISBA [image-based sexual abuse] within the School of Medicine, it is abbhorrent that UCD is moving ahead with their ten year EDI celebration this Wednesday,” UCDSU announced in a statement, posted via Instagram on Sunday evening. “UCD does not have the right to celebrate “equality” and “inclusion” whilst their students are suffering and survivors are demanding accountability."
The event referred to in the statement is the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) 10 Year Celebration, which was due to be held in O’Reilly Hall tomorrow, Wednesday March 4th, from 9.30am to 2.30pm. The event was set to include speeches from keynote speaker Lucky Khambule, co-founder of the Movement for Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), along with a speech from UCD President Orla Feely and Registrar Colin Scott on the topic, ‘The Evolution of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) at UCD: A 10-Year Reflection’.
The event was postponed yesterday in an email to staff and students registered to the event. Vice-President for EDI, Aoife Aherne, stated in the email that many would not feel comfortable proceeding with the event at this time, and therefore the event will be postponed until the Autumn semester. “In light of recent matters raised and mindful of the needs of our community, the EDI 10-year anniversary event scheduled to take place this Wednesday is to be postponed. While there has been considerable progress in many areas of EDI in UCD, I am aware of the concerns of students in particular, regarding image- based sexual assault (IBSA). Given these concerns, it is clear that members of the University community, especially students, would not feel comfortable with a celebration at this time,” the email stated. “The event will take place in the Autumn trimester, which will allow us time to include a panel discussion on IBSA, considering how the higher education sector can tackle this. I hope to work closely with the Students’ Union on creating this part of the agenda, so that their concerns may be understood and addressed.”
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre is available via its national 24-hour helpline at 1800 77 8888.
Women’s Aid helpline is available at 1800 341 900.