Thoughts on the proposed student centre

REPSOC1916

Anyone heard of that proposed student centre. The first I heard of it was at the CSC Hillery Term General meeting.

The proposal is dependent on the outcome of a student referendum on whether to charge a student levy for the funding of the building. The levy will be commenced once the building is complete.

JonJoeDali

They should concentrate on giving students a proper JCR.

"Student centre" reminds me of something you'd find in DCU or UL.

Kwekubo

The plan is to locate the centre in Luce Hall, with number 6 in Front Square retained in something like its current guise as a "focus" for student activity.

andrew

By the time this is actually built, anyone currently in college will have already finished their degree, a post-grad, emigrated, and then returned home. My parents won't be the one paying that student levy, I'll be paying for it in my children's fees.

Morgase

It's the worst idea ever. When I was in Trinity a decade ago, I and my fellow students had to pay for the building of the new gym, which only benefited students coming in a few years down the line.

Now I'm an undergraduate in Trinity once again and I'm going to be asked to pay for a centre for the use of future students? It's a "No" from me.

boblong

I'm not sure this is a good idea at this time considering all the talk of apparent austerity and I would imagine there would be quite a bit of opposition to further levies, considering many people's dissatisfaction of currently having to pay for facilities they have no wish to use.

Sir Ophiuchus

Do we need it? Honestly?

I mean, the whole campus is "a hub for student activity": it's really small! It's not like we're 365 acres in size like UCD and need somewhere you can actually find other students.

I think it looks good in principle, but the costs won't be worth the payoff.

REPSOC1916

Morgase wrote: »

It's the worst idea ever. When I was in Trinity a decade ago, I and my fellow students had to pay for the building of the new gym, which only benefited students coming in a few years down the line.

Now I'm an undergraduate in Trinity once again and I'm going to be asked to pay for a centre for the use of future students? It's a "No" from me.

You could have some consideration for the future generation lol.

It won't be charged until the building is complete and I'd say you'll be gone by the time it's completed.
To be honest it would be making some use out of Luce Hall. House Six is a bit cramped. Don't know what they plan to do with the botanists though

Morgase

I honestly don't see the need for such a centre. The whole thing smacks of the SU looking for something to do.

REPSOC1916 wrote: »

You could have some consideration for the future generation lol.

It won't be charged until the building is complete and I'd say you'll be gone by the time it's completed.
To be honest it would be making some use out of Luce Hall. House Six is a bit cramped. Don't know what they plan to do with the botanists though

Right now I only have consideration for getting myself through college. It's difficult enough finding the money to pay fees without a levy on top of that.

How could it possibly not be charged before the building is complete? Where will the funds come from otherwise? It will be a levy on students who will get no use from the centre.

Kwekubo

IIRC, the proposal is that the levy will be charged from the year following the passing of the referendum.

amacachi

Unneeded and a waste of money. I don't think, however, that the economic climate should be used as an excuse since TCD seems to not be running a deficit like certain other institutions. Of course since the state is basically running the entire show that'll just mean that TCD's income will be more likely to fall than other places as a punishment for balancing their books.
There's little or no need that I can see for such a thing though, I can keep myself entertained alone for quite a few hours, if a group of people run out of ideas quicker than that then they can't have the keenest minds in the world.

theowen

Is there any guesstimations as to how much each student will have to pay?

blubloblu

What facilities will this centre provide that we don't already have?

gearoidof

The student levy will only be charged from the year the centre opens.

There'll be a music venue in the centre (rumours of MCD running it, bah)
I'm under the impression that it's not so much adding services as centralising stuff so everything is under the same roof.

Steve Higginson

Typical fucking boards.

amacachi

INORITE~!?

Denerick

Steve Higginson wrote: »

Typical fucking boards.

Lol. Damn plebs getting under your royal SU boots. Must be an awful nuisance.

WhosUpDocs

It'll just become another cold uncomfortable lecture hall. Goldsmith was supposed to be a "music venue" and student "hub" at the time it was built apparently. It's not going to add anything that we don't already have access to. Improve what we have now cheaply instead of throwing money people don't have at the problem.

REPSOC1916

Denerick wrote: »

Lol. Damn plebs getting under your royal SU boots. Must be an awful nuisance.

Denerick you're a right wing hack. You're one to talk.

Denerick

REPSOC1916 wrote: »

Denerick you're a right wing hack. You're one to talk.

I am not right wing and am not a hack. I have never been affiliated with a political party. If you were going to pigeon hole me then I am very clearly a Liberal centrist.

Morgase

If the SU wish to be seen to be doing something, why don't they concentrate on important things like having the library open before 9am?

I can't speak for everyone but I'm at Trinity to learn. If I want to listen to a band or go for coffee, well Dublin city centre is on our doorstep.

amacachi

Morgase wrote: »

If the SU wish to be seen to be doing something, why don't they concentrate on important things like having the library open before 9am?

I can't speak for everyone but I'm at Trinity to learn. If I want to listen to a band or go for coffee, well Dublin city centre is on our doorstep.

If only more were like you.

gearoidof

Oh come on...

There's more to college than studying...

Jammyc

Can anybody link to these plans?

Denerick

gearoidof wrote: »

Oh come on...

There's more to college than studying...

Yes there is. Very little of which needs a Student Union. I think its the arrogance of SU hacks that annoy me more than anything, the presumption that a tiny house 6 clique is the epitome and hence the heart of student life in Trinity.

Tragedy

I don't trust the SU to organise a piss-up(proof being Ents struggle to do more than have the same nights in the same clubs week in week out, YAY), so I don't trust them to build a student's centre and not either **** it up, or make it a flagrant waste of money(as they are wont to do).

Besides, they'll probably blow the budget for it on printing t-shirts in support of the referendum.

gearoidof

it will be built by the college's buildings department, the SU has been asked to put money up to fund it...

Tragedy

gearoidof wrote: »

it will be built by the college's buildings department, the SU has been asked to put money up to fund it...

I wasn't suggesting the next SU El Prezidente would be out there laying bricks.

Hornd

The big plans.

Tragedy

€22million for that? HAH

Sounds cool and all, but really, €22million?

JonJoeDali

Tragedy wrote: »

€22million for that? HAH

Sounds cool and all, but really, €22million?

You can be guaranteed that for €22 million, this "student centre" will have the architectural significance of the Lloyd building and the atmosphere of Q bar.

Anyway, the Buildings Office are always on a look out for ways to spend money. It doesn't matter what the end goal is as long as money is being spent.

Trinity really should aspire to better things.

Small things can make a big difference: like a grand piano for students to practice on for starters. Or getting the rugby pitch resurfaced to 1st division standards. Or providing a quaint JCR with high quality furniture, fixtures and fittings. Or allowing smartphones on the college network. Or making the ground floor of No. 27 back into a nice little coffee shop with table cloths. That wouldn't cost €22 million.

Corruptedmorals

Glad I'm in final year and won't be paying for that. Bad enough paying the sports centre levy, which should really be refunded if you don't register for it. Too bad such a system is impractical in this case.

Denerick

This all boils down to the SU not having anything to do and desperately seeking something to lend it some relevance. The underlying tragedy for them is that no one could give a shít.

gearoidof

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

Glad I'm in final year and won't be paying for that. Bad enough paying the sports centre levy, which should really be refunded if you don't register for it. Too bad such a system is impractical in this case.

There was a referendum in 2007, where students were given a choice between €150 opt in sports centre levy, or €60 for everyone. 80% voted in favour.

http://www.tcdsu.org/index.php?s=1&p=220&ref=2

Boards.ie article discussing it:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055084419

It's discussed pretty comprehensively

Corruptedmorals

gearoidof wrote: »

There was a referendum in 2007, where students were given a choice between €150 opt in sports centre levy, or €60 for everyone. 80% voted in favour.

http://www.tcdsu.org/index.php?s=1&p=220&ref=2

Boards.ie article discussing it:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055084419

It's discussed pretty comprehensively

Oh I know yeah, just before my time. I don't agree in paying for something I am never, ever going to use, on top of the doubling of the registration fee while I've been a student. I would have voted no personally. Just my opinion, I'm aware of the arguments for and against. The student centre is even worse, these facilities already exist, the registration fee has doubled since the last levy and the sports centre levy has paved the way for this levy, and other future levies. To me they are a good idea if you're going to use them, and an insult on top of the already crazy hike in the registration fee if not.

gearoidof

Then why not get the SU into holding another referendum on it?

You only need 250 votes.

Tragedy

Turnout: 1945

So 80% of 12.5% of students in TCD - or 10% of the student population(not sure if postgrads were able to vote?) voted yes and passed a referendum binding on 100% of the student population?

Democracy in action

andrew

Christ, the font used in that report is disgusting.

Denerick

gearoidof wrote: »

Then why not get the SU into holding another referendum on it?

You only need 250 votes.

You don't get it. The SU is an irrelevance. Your pathetic student politics interest no one but a tiny irrelevant clique who are so far removed from the general student body as to be utterly laughable. Nobody votes in referendums because they see right through the vacuousness and silliness of student politics. When you're out in the real world, working a real job, you'll see that your idle middle class distractions have absolutely no place.

aas

Didn't the SU receive an overwhelmingly positive vote of approval from the student body in the last survey a few months back? It's seems the endless opprobrium you see on here is from the small subset of students that refuse to 'exercise' their right to the fitness centre and think of trees when they hear Ents.

Ahoyhoy

Sure you pay for the sports centre and may never use it but in the services charge you also pay for the counselling service, the health service, the student support and development service, the disability service, the CSC, DUCAC, Miscellany, Icarus, Trinity News, Piranha, the SU, the TFR.

Why don't you ask for a refund of all those too? Also students in financial difficulty can have the sports levy waived. Will prob be the same with the student centre. Also might be nice to have a health centre where you don't have to trip over five people's legs in order to get a seat.

Denerick

Ahoyhoy wrote: »

counselling service, the health service, the student support and development service, the disability service, the CSC, DUCAC, Miscellany, Icarus, Trinity News, Piranha, the SU, the TFR.

Why don't you ask for a refund of all those too?

I could live without all of that. Icarus can stay though.

JonJoeDali

Ahoyhoy wrote: »

Also might be nice to have a health centre where you don't have to trip over five people's legs in order to get a seat.

The problem with free services is that demand expands to fill the money allocated.

For the sake of the waiting room, I'm sure the boyfriend could stump up the €50 necessary to see the doctor about the morning after pill.

gearoidof

unless it's a 1 night stand?

does the c in counselling service have to stay as well, denerick?

Jehuty42

You can get the morning after pill from Boots now, can't you? It's been a good few years since I've been in a position to need any contraceptive:(

(not that the morning after pill should be used or relied upon as a contraceptive, before anyone gets anal on my post)

blubloblu

Jehuty42 wrote: »

You can get the morning after pill from Boots now, can't you? It's been a good few years since I've been in a position to need any contraceptive:(

(not that the morning after pill should be used or relied upon as a contraceptive, before anyone gets anal on my post)

Neither should anal