Fees up to 1500!

Hornd

Just what we needed!

Dear Student

As you may be aware from reports in the media, the government last December indicated that universities may increase the student charge for 2009/10 from €900 to €1,500 per student in order to cover a corresponding reduction in its funding for universities in 2009.

I am writing to you to advise that, in light of the current economic environment and the significant impact of the reduced core grant on its resources, the Board of the College, in line with the third level sector in Ireland, after much discussion, agreed at its April meeting to set the student service charge at €1,500 per student from 1 October 2009.

The Higher Education Authority, on 20 March 2009, clarified that the student service charge is expected to defray the costs of the services to students other than tuition, such as, on-campus medical and counselling facilities for students, access and disability services, careers office, student facilities, student clubs and societies as well as examinations, registration and other non-teaching services. The student service charge will, in addition, contribute to costs associated with other academic services such as the Library and Information Systems Services.

I am aware that this is a substantial increase in the student charge but in the absence of other funds and in an effort to maintain the provision of services for students the Board was left with no choice but to introduce the increase.



Professor Patrick Prendergast

Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer

sternn

Just got an email from Trinity:

Dear Student

As you may be aware from reports in the media, the government last December indicated that universities may increase the student charge for 2009/10 from €900 to €1,500 per student in order to cover a corresponding reduction in its funding for universities in 2009.

I am writing to you to advise that, in light of the current economic environment and the significant impact of the reduced core grant on its resources, the Board of the College, in line with the third level sector in Ireland, after much discussion, agreed at its April meeting to set the student service charge at €1,500 per student from 1 October 2009.

The Higher Education Authority, on 20 March 2009, clarified that the student service charge is expected to defray the costs of the services to students other than tuition, such as, on-campus medical and counselling facilities for students, access and disability services, careers office, student facilities, student clubs and societies as well as examinations, registration and other non-teaching services. The student service charge will, in addition, contribute to costs associated with other academic services such as the Library and Information Systems Services.

I am aware that this is a substantial increase in the student charge but in the absence of other funds and in an effort to maintain the provision of services for students the Board was left with no choice but to introduce the increase.



Professor Patrick Prendergast

Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer

So its official, it has gone up to €1500, from €900. Nobody had to introduce it, but since fees werent announced in the budget, they are obviously going to charge us as much as they can. At least its not €6000!

Awayindahils

Registration fee possibly still being spearate to actual course fees.

Thats a massive year on year increase, and with the Sports Centre Levy and USI its 1578.

sternn

I dont know if you could consider it a "registration fee" anymore.

Think about it, registration fees are not tax deductable, college fees are. So if you were to pay the full fees (€6000) and your parents (or you) were to claim back tax on that..you would in theory only be paying €4740 @21% or €3480 @42%. So really, it is half the "real fees" if you or parents earn over the 42% higher rate income cut-off.

Randomness

I think next year is going to be very difficult for a lot of students given the fact that there are no jobs this summer. People who relied on summer jobs to get them through the college year are going to have major problems. Of course this increase just adds to that.

ya-ba-da-ba-doo

this is fookin ridiculous

Brian

Prof. Fannin has an account on boards?

CJTobin

Just got it myself, not exactly what you want to hear on a Friday morning...

Denerick

In light of the increase, should the SU charge, and the cost of running the societies not be removed from the fee? Its unfair we have to pay for things we neither respect or make use of (The Union and the societies)

ninebeanrows

I find it ridiculous, i thought TCD was one of the most profitable colleges?

It says we are paying for free facilities, but you have to pay for everything, field trips, bus journeys etc.

They are just jumping on the bandwagon.

Mark200

tomreee wrote: »

Well the money has to come from somewhere,
The whole country's in recession, why should taxpayers be expected to pay for our education, that will eventually allow us to increase our earning potential when we join the workforce?

Well because it also increases our economy's potential....

Denerick

Denerick wrote: »

In light of the increase, should the SU charge, and the cost of running the societies not be removed from the fee? Its unfair we have to pay for things we neither respect or make use of (The Union and the societies)

Wow, so the only thing to look forward to in the academic year would be exams, the library and registration. Interesting idea of a college you have there.

snappieT

sternn wrote: »

I dont know if you could consider it a "registration fee" anymore.

Think about it, registration fees are not tax deductable, college fees are. So if you were to pay the full fees (€6000) and your parents (or you) were to claim back tax on that..you would in theory only be paying €4740 @21% or €3480 @42%. So really, it is half the "real fees" if you or parents earn over the 42% higher rate income cut-off.

AFAIK, if you were fee paying, you'd still be paying the student services charge on top of that.

Denerick wrote: »

In light of the increase, should the SU charge, and the cost of running the societies not be removed from the fee? Its unfair we have to pay for things we neither respect or make use of (The Union and the societies)

Hang on, I make use of societies. I don't make use of the Library, College Health, Careers Office, Access & Disability, Student Counseling. Should I have to pay for those?

Denerick

Dónal wrote: »

Wow, so the only thing to look forward to in the academic year would be exams, the library and registration. Interesting idea of a college you have there.

Well no, I have my social life. The societies from what I can see are a small group of people in each club, by and large people who want to get on to the committee. Its politics by any other name...

My objections with the SU are well documented elsewhere, no point in rehashing them.

To be fair, thats just what my university is - the place I go to get my degree. Societies, Unions etc. are all well and good, but should be available for those who are willing to pay a subscription fee. Demand and supply and all that.

The college health services are a different matter; They are actually important and also fulfill an academic role. The societies et. all do not.

snappieT

Actually, who has to pay the student services charge? Is it only undergrads, or do postgrads have to pay also? If postgrads have to pay, is it all or some (taught masters, research masters, PhD)?

regob

im paying 3500 pound sterling a year in fees consider yourselfs lucky

Ron DMC

Lots to disagree with here, let's get started.

Denerick wrote: »

Well no, I have my social life.

So do people in societies. SOCial life, SOCieties, see the link?

The societies from what I can see are a small group of people in each club, by and large people who want to get on to the committee. Its politics by any other name...

That may be the case with some societies, and societies by their nature will always have an element of that, they are in fact a group of like-minded individuals and therefore are bound to come across as a group of friends. What you're forgetting is that for many people societies are the very reason they stay in college. It may be difficult to find friends in your course etc.

My objections with the SU are well documented elsewhere, no point in rehashing them.

Agreed

To be fair, thats just what my university is - the place I go to get my degree. Societies, Unions etc. are all well and good, but should be available for those who are willing to pay a subscription fee. Demand and supply and all that.

That won't work. Everyone will opt out of paying the fee because they can, and societies will fall apart everywhere, resulting in higher costs to those who do participate in societies, and an overly-academically focused college life for those who don't. Neither is good for anyone mentally (or physically for that matter). There needs to be a balance.

The college health services are a different matter; They are actually important and also fulfill an academic role. The societies et. all do not.

By your logic, people should be able to opt out of that cost also, some people never get sick and aren't going to make use of the health centre at all and why would their money be wasted on other students...

Societies may seem like a nice optional idea to you, but some students rely on them and they feature daily in their college lives. Don't deprive them of that.

Denerick

I'm not depriving them of anything. If they want to run a society they can. What does it actually cost to have the use of a college society room? Barely anything. The College isn't using those rooms the societies currently use so they get them rent free. The subscriptions of individual members could go towards tea and biscuits... Or whatever it actually is socieities do (Wasting it on crates of beer for the end of year event seems more likely tbh)

Granted, some students do suffer from confidence issues etc. and I'm sure societies help some people fit in or whatever but frankly they can pay for it themselves. it costs nothing to run a society. They could just as easily form an internet group and agree to meet in Starbucks or Doyles if they were unable to get the use of a college room for meetings.

Thats a very weak argument your making to be fair.

And as for the health services, that is a self evidently necessary service. Who knows when somebody might need to see a doctor or a counsellor. I'm pretty sure 99.9% of us will never need to urgently consult the treasurer of the Fine Foods society :rolleyes:

And as for our physical or mental health... Well thats just nonsense. College is our day job in effect, there is still our social life away from it, which may or may not involve mixing with people in your course. There is no obligation for universities to be 'fun'. Thats probably one of the reasons I hate the SU.

JackKelly

I can only say that I am beyond happy that this is my last year in Trinity.

What is the "reduction in funding" mentioned in the email that justifies bumping the registration fee 60%?

I'd love to have a look at Trinity's financial report, surely it must be one of the most profitable colleges. If not, why not?

Denerick wrote: »

And as for our physical or mental health... Well thats just nonsense. College is our day job in effect, there is still our social life away from it, which may or may not involve mixing with people in your course. There is no obligation for universities to be 'fun'. Thats probably one of the reasons I hate the SU.

College might be your day job, but for the majority of the student body College it's their life.
Living away from home and trying to support themselves for the first time in their lives so of course there is a need for student support.No obligation to be "fun"? wtf. I absolutely hate college and I'm counting down the days until the end, but what sort of a ridiculous statement is that? You sound like either a mature student (bitter at the young 'uns enjoying themselves) or a student living with the family (bitter at the young 'uns enjoying themselves).

Ron DMC

Society rooms do pay rent to the college I believe, which afaik is paid by the CSC.
Most societies don't just spend all their money on booze or biscuits. There's general administration costs, travel expenses for trips away, in some cases guest lecturer fees, security charges for holding events in most of the large rooms in college etc. And yes, there is a certain amount that is spent on receptions in terms of food and drink.
Anything I've mentioned above is all costs to the society themselves (which they fund from measley freshers' week sign ups, a limited grant from the CSC and any sponsorship they can wrangle).
All other costs (insurance, room fees etc) are covered by the CSC.

Denerick

Right.

I'm a country student in my 3rd year living in Dublin with mates from home... I have my social life. College is my work life. Whatever. let people think that university is just one big long piss up. I shouldn't have to shell out because people haven't grown up yet.

Jonathan

There is huge number of people in this college with joe duffy syndrome. Just moaning for the sake of moaning.

The prospect of higher registration charges was first thrown out there what would almost be a full year prior to the time they would need to be paid.

This should ring alarm bells for students, and perhaps instead of going out x times per week, try going out x-1 times per week? There is no need to become a hermit. Just take simple steps to reduce to reduce other expenditure?


The actual €1500 figure was announced in the budget.

The original fee of €900 was going to have to be paid anyway. So realistically, this is an increase of €600.

I paid my rereg fee on the 28th Aug according to 365online. I doubt I left paying the fee to the last minute so shall we say that for arguments sake, the rereg fee has to paid by 1st Sept?

28 AUG 2008 			LR 2608THE UNIVERSITY 		983.00

This means there is just over 38 weeks between the announcement of the €1500 fee (we all knew they were going up) and the time that they have to be paid.


This works out at a tad under €15.80 a week.



Buying a coffee a day? Scrap that.
Oh look that is €7.50 saved every week.

Buying a bar of chocolate say once every two days? Scrap that.
Another €2 saved.

Spending €20 a week on socialising? No need to scrap that totally.
Reduce your spending by 33% and you have just saved yourself €6.60.



€15.80 < €7.50 + €2 + €6.60

We are in a recession, and cuts have to be made.
Why can't students make them too?

jamesnp

Denerick wrote: »

Thats a very weak argument your making to be fair.

All the weak arguments seem to be coming from you, to be fair.

It is widely accepted that university is about more than simply "getting a degree". If you're simply in Trinity to get a degree, maybe you would have been better off considering an apprenticeship or just heading straight into a job. University is a chance for us to become more educated, not only in our chosen disciplines, but socially and emotionally. You're attitude of "I'm getting a degree" and 'I'll be damned if I'm paying for anything else' smacks of utter and total ignorance of the worth of other college amenities.

The SU, regardless of actual efficaciousness, provides a large body of 15,000 odd students with a democratic voice and representation on many of college's statutory bodies. It also provides actual representation to the college in individual matters of student welfare, etc. This is a necessary instrument that can only be funded as it is funded now. If we use an ABC method to divide out costs to only the people who use the services we would be left with poor Mary Smith, who had a spot of bother with the college authorities, having to pay €15,000 for a consultation with the Education Officer.. and everyone who reads a copy of the record getting charged €500. The SU can only function if the fee is levied equally on the whole student body of the college.

With regard to societies, they are the life blood of the college. Virtually every extracurricular activity and event in the college is organized by, or in association with, a college society. Whether it be a night out in a local pub organized by the surf club, a game of international cricket on College Park organized by DUCC, or a venerable guest lecturer brought in by the Early Irish society, the spectrum of events is broad and varied.

A very high percentage of students are involved, or will be involved in a society at one point or another in their academic career. Again, the model used at the moment where the cost of funding these societies
is split equally over the entire student body is the only possible way. If we remove all funding and instead view societies as profit centres, capable of covering their own costs, the simple fact of the matter is that the vast majority of societies would not survive a single academic year. Furthermore, the cost of setting up a society would be so prohibitively expensive, requiring so much start up capital from individual students, that it would rarely, if ever, happen. The few societies that would succeed would be torn apart at the end of the year by the student stake-holders leaving college who contributed capital at the start of the year.

At the moment the CSC provide a certain amount of funding by way of administration grants, etc. This is capped at a certain level and the rest may only be unlocked depending on the various events championed by the society. This is an excellent system which fosters an understanding of money, but also an understanding of the net worth or society events to the college.

I hope, for your sake, in 20 years time when you've finally realized that your degree is useless, that you don't look back on college and regret missing out on the entire experience.

And as for the health services, that is a self evidently necessary service. Who knows when somebody might need to see a doctor or a counsellor. I'm pretty sure 99.9% of us will never need to urgently consult the treasurer of the Fine Foods society :rolleyes:

And here we disagree again... I think the health service is the only service which is totally unnecessary. Invariably, it is only used by a select few and any time I have been I have been met with rudeness and unprofessionalism, no doubt because the staff see it as a free service for common students – "what do they expect from a free service?". Make the health service fee based and see how long the market would put up with their bad attitude.

-jp

Unregistered.

TimAy wrote: »

What is the "reduction in funding" mentioned in the email that justifies bumping the registration fee 60%?

I'd love to have a look at Trinity's financial report, surely it must be one of the most profitable colleges. If not, why not?

Ditto, this in particular is sortra bugging me!

I turn off the lights when i leave the lecture halls/labs - I'm saving the college money - so I should pay less, right?

Unshelved

It's still less than what we were paying in fees in the 80's.

Now that was a real recession.

jamesnp

jmccrohan wrote: »

We are in a recession, and cuts have to be made.
Why can't students make them too?

I agree with you on the whole about whinging by students with regard to pretty much every thing... One thing though, €13.40 a week for socialising???

Also, the fact that we are in a recession is neither here nor there. One sure way to get out of a recession is to have an educated work force. Turning students off education by charging them through the teeth for it is not a clever move.

If we're talking about cut backs, the Higher Education Grants Scheme should be scrapped. It is a ridiculously unfair system.

-jp

BertrandMeyer

It's a shame. I'll be disappointed of course, but hey, that's democracy. Their position is that they haven't really got a leg to stand on, their argument is overly negative, but I suppose that's in the real reason I thought there may be a pretty resounding YES from me I think. Those who wish to boycott coke may do so.

Jonathan

jamesnp wrote: »

I agree with you on the whole about whinging by students with regard to pretty much every thing... One thing though, €13.40 a week for socialising???

Well I was only using it as an example for where typical students can make savings.

Most would spend a significantly greater amount on socialising. In their case, the percentage cutbacks are far smaller.

JackKelly

jmccrohan wrote: »

Well I was only using it as an example for where typical students can make savings.

Why should the student have to bear the brunt of funding cuts (which I still don't understand) ? The student services haven't improved by 60% so why should the registration fee? I'm all for student services and societies -I think they are vital to any college- but I don't want to pay €600 more for them.

At the moment, I'm sitting in a computer lab (LG08) with roughly 20 computers that are constantly turned on. The air conditioning is also constantly turned on. The heaters are constantly turned on. Furthermore, the lights in this room are also on 24 hours a day.

This lab is used by myself and maybe 10 other people throughout the week. I can only imagine how much money this room is wasting day-in-day-out.In times of difficulty, instead of punishing the student, why aren't they addressing these problems. I'm not saying shut down the labs, but there are literally 20 computers in this room (and another 20 in the next) that are never used. I imagine this is the case throughout college.

It's all too easy to simply pass the cost onto the student, but the problem lies entirely in mismanagement of the college.

Mark200

TimAy wrote: »

Why should the student have to bear the brunt of funding cuts (which I still don't understand) ? The student services haven't improved by 60% so why should the registration fee? I'm all for student services and societies -I think they are vital to any college- but I don't want to pay €600 more for them.

At the moment, I'm sitting in a computer lab (LG08) with roughly 20 computers that are constantly turned on. The air conditioning is also constantly turned on. The heaters are constantly turned on. Furthermore, the lights in this room are also on 24 hours a day.

This lab is used by myself and maybe 10 other people throughout the week. I can only imagine how much money this room is wasting day-in-day-out.In times of difficulty, instead of punishing the student, why aren't they addressing these problems. I'm not saying shut down the labs, but there are literally 20 computers in this room (and another 20 in the next) that are never used. I imagine this is the case throughout college.

It's all too easy to simply pass the cost onto the student, but the problem lies entirely in mismanagement of the college.

Well to be fair it's the fee that has to be increased first, before services can be increased/improved... but besides that, I agree with all the rest. The college seems to be taking the easy way out by charging more and increasing their income, instead of trying to reduce their expenses.

snappieT

TimAy wrote: »

I'm not saying shut down the labs, but there are literally 20 computers in this room (and another 20 in the next) that are never used.

They're used by CSLL, actually, but your basic concept is correct.

They have come on a bit. LG12 now has motion sensitive lighting, and the monitors go to sleep. A few desktop computers is nothing when it comes to power if you had a look at some of the server rooms.

Ron DMC

TimAy wrote: »

This lab is used by myself and maybe 10 other people throughout the week. I can only imagine how much money this room is wasting day-in-day-out.In times of difficulty, instead of punishing the student, why aren't they addressing these problems. I'm not saying shut down the labs, but there are literally 20 computers in this room (and another 20 in the next) that are never used. I imagine this is the case throughout college.

No, not the case throughout college at all...
The CS labs aren't in use because there is a much higher proportion of students there who own their own laptops.
But, you are definitely correct in terms of resources being wasted.
Caltech (i think it was them or some other US University) announced recently that they are closing all of their computer labs because 100% of students last year owned their own computers.

JackKelly

Mark200 wrote:

Well to be fair it's the fee that has to be increased first, before services can be increased/improved...

True, I meant more that the current raise in registration isn't using improved student services as a pretense, it's just raising them to offset losses due to cuts.

Ronny Mitchell wrote: »

No, not the case throughout college at all...
The CS labs aren't in use because there is a much higher proportion of students there who own their own laptops.
But, you are definitely correct in terms of resources being wasted.
Caltech (i think it was them or some other US University) announced recently that they are closing all of their computer labs because 100% of students last year owned their own computers.

Great idea. Remove the computers and their associated servers etc, and just provide rooms for study.

My friend does Physio in RCSI and they provide a laptop for each student upon registration. To be fair, their registration fee has always been higher then other universities, but I don't see any reason not to follow suite.
I wouldn't expect Trinity to provide a new laptop for all 12,000 students , but I'm sure some sort of middle ground could be reached. I'd image Dell and the likes would be more then happy to get their product to 12,000 potential life customers, and offer some kind of decent deal (not just a crap %8 student discount). Two birds with one stone: a good reason to raise the registration fee (you get some of the cost of a laptop payed for), and the college can get rid of the labs, saving a huge amount of money in the process.

snappieT

TimAy wrote: »

True, I meant more that the current raise in registration isn't using improved student services as a pretense, it's just raising them to offset losses due to cuts.




Great idea. Remove the computers and their associated servers etc, and just provide rooms for study.

My friend does Physio in RCSI and they provide a laptop for each student upon registration. To be fair, their registration fee has always been higher then other universities, but I don't see any reason not to follow suite.
I wouldn't expect Trinity to provide a new laptop for all 12,000 students , but I'm sure some sort of middle ground could be reached. I'd image Dell and the likes would be more then happy to get their product to 12,000 potential life customers, and offer some kind of decent deal (not just a crap %8 student discount). Two birds with one stone: a good reason to raise the registration fee (you get some of the cost of a laptop payed for), and the college can get rid of the labs, saving a huge amount of money in the process.

You'll still need servers for filestorage, authentication etc.

And there's one big problem with that. If you only have access to one computer (your own), then an excuse of "my computer wouldn't boot" will start getting thrown around when deadlines are missed.

At least when there are college-run computing facilities that are always available, there is no excuse.

[/offtopic]

Boston

I really hate these threads, they always bring out the "know nothing know it all morons" of the world with their magical solution of simply cutting everything they in particular don't use/need/want. Not to mention the fact they always focus in on things which cost a relatively tiny amount, but happen to be their pet hate. To steal a phrase form another thread, to the people I refer, "you know who you are"!

Snappy: To answer your question, postgraduates have to pay registration fees and levies. However, research postgraduates tend to have funding, which covers fee's.

JackKelly

Boston wrote: »

I really hate these threads, they always bring out the "know nothing know it all morons" of the world with their magical solution of simply cutting everything they in particular don't use/need/want. Not to mention the fact they always focus in on things which cost a relatively tiny amount, but happen to be their pet hate.

care to elaborate?

Denerick

TimAy wrote: »

care to elaborate?

I think he was referring to the way threads like this bring all the morons out of their shells. The kind of people who stumble on a thread half drunk and interrupt it with their vain attempts of living up to a false internet persona of constantly being an OTT audacious twat, coming out with obscene generalisations and supposedly witty summaries.

ZWEI_VIER_ZWEI

PROTIP: Don't argue with Boston, no matter how idiotic poorly thought out his arguments are, he'll just get his mod cronies to ban you.

Denerick

ZWEI_VIER_ZWEI wrote: »

PROTIP: Don't argue with Boston, no matter how idiotic poorly thought out his arguments are, he'll just get his mod cronies to ban you.

Why, I don't know what the devil you are referring to. Boston? Who the hell's Boston?

Boston

Denerick wrote: »

I think he was referring to the way threads like this bring all the morons out of their shells. The kind of people who stumble on a thread half drunk and interrupt it with their vain attempts of living up to a false internet persona of constantly being an OTT audacious twat, coming out with obscene generalisations and supposedly witty summaries.

I'm not drunk. I like that you called me audacious.

Denerick

Boston wrote: »

I'm not drunk. I like that you called me audacious.

I know you do. Its all part and parcel of your internet penis.

Fad

Denerick wrote: »

I know you do. Its all part and parcel of your internet penis.

Jealousy will get you nowhere in that regard

Boston

Denerick wrote: »

I know you do. Its all part and parcel of your internet penis.

I prefer the term ePenis. It gets me in places my real penis could only dream of.

snappieT

Boston wrote: »

Snappy: To answer your question, postgraduates have to pay registration fees and levies. However, research postgraduates tend to have funding, which covers fee's.

Thanks. I'm doing a taught masters that's covered by the higher education graduate skills conversion program, so my fees are reduced to 2000. Do you know if student services are on top of that, or is it all-inclusive.
It's not printed anywhere, and I really don't want to have to email anyone in the fees office.

EGaffney

This is not surprising given the continued operation of several loss-making operations on campus. Case in point: Given that we as students pay a huge subsidy to the people who operate the Junior Common Room on the Hamilton end of campus, which is a consistently loss-making "enterprise", isn't it time for them to reform their business or close?

Boston

snappieT wrote: »

Thanks. I'm doing a taught masters that's covered by the higher education graduate skills conversion program, so my fees are reduced to 2000. Do you know if student services are on top of that, or is it all-inclusive.
It's not printed anywhere, and I really don't want to have to email anyone in the fees office.

Registration fee's are on top of course fees. So you'll be paying the 1578 euro.

EGaffney: I doubt it's huge, but yes, I agreed that it should be removed, mainly due to their policy of preventing students bringing in outside food.

Denerick

Personally I think the entire Hamilton should be closed down. I don't like them folk.

Prof.Badass

jmccrohan wrote: »

Buying a bar of chocolate say once every two days? Scrap that.
Another €2 saved.

:eek::eek::eek:

You are a monster.

JC 2K3

Boston wrote: »

EGaffney: I doubt it's huge, but yes, I agreed that it should be removed, mainly due to their policy of preventing students bringing in outside food.

It's only food bought outside that's not allowed, i.e. rolls from Centra or Donovan's. Bringing in food you've made yourself is fine. It's a perfectly acceptable policy IMO.

I wouldn't like to see the JCR go, I really like it. Can't really think of where I'd go to eat my lunch otherwise. Thinking about it though, if it's making a serious loss, I wouldn't be too bothered if they closed the food counter as long as the place was still open to students as somewhere to sit down and have lunch.

Tricity Bendix

JC 2K3 wrote: »

It's only food bought outside that's not allowed, i.e. rolls from Centra or Donovan's. Bringing in food you've made yourself is fine. It's a perfectly acceptable policy IMO.

Unless you own a farm/bakery/slaughter house, any food you bring in will have been bought somewhere.

Boston

JC 2K3 wrote: »

It's only food bought outside that's not allowed, i.e. rolls from Centra or Donovan's. Bringing in food you've made yourself is fine. It's a perfectly acceptable policy IMO.

It's not acceptable, and they've a brass neck trying it on. The facilities are provided by trinity college. They've no grounds or authority to refuse you access to them simply because they cohabit the area.