Ed Reilly

DrIndy

From the TCDSU message board - copied because threads have a habit of disappearing from the TCDSU message board.......Comments?

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Hey all,
While opinionated journalism is all well and good (hell, we're students) the article that appeared in page two of today's Record about Ed Reilly was truly vicious. I don't normally knock the paper (in fact, it's a damn good publication), but I don't think it's fair that a journalis should report on a candidate's "failure to win the affection (and more importantly the support) of the Trinity electorate for a second year running" with such glee. Nor is it the place to proclaim that Reilly "was using a position on the union executive as a stepping stone towards the presidential office he has craved for the past two years". It's even more unfair when the man you're performing a character asassination on isn't even given the chance to answer the accusation made in the article.
Instead, free reign is given to an anonymous SU source to hold forth about Reilly, dragging his reputation further into the mud. If the source felt as strongly as they profess to do, they should be comfortable having their name attatched to their statement. Predictably, Reilly wasn't given a chance to answer his anonymous accuser. I'm not defending Reilly's resignation but, given that he is in 4th year and has been involved in a very hard-fought campaign for the last two weeks, his claim that he's resigning to salvage his degree shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Nor do I agree with the principal of emailing every class rep to bolster a campaign. But savaging him in this fashion, using anonymous sources, not giving him a chance to defend himself, but still confidently coming to the conclusion that "one can only question how genuine his commitment to student representation can be" is despicable practice.
Readers can sneer at Trinity News all we like, but we have not yet received a complaint that we have treated people unfairly in our news coverage and we have always given the option to people, ranging from SU officers to lecturers facing suspension, to defend themselves. We don't use our news coverage as a tool with which to smite our enemies either. Kicking a man when he's down isn't nice, performing a character asassination in the Union paper is simply nasty. I'm appalled that one cent of my capitation fee should subsidize the SU using its official paper to persecute one of it's own members. If this message isn't censored, I hope that some class rep will have the stomach to bring it up in council. I, for one, have never been more sickened to be a part of this Student Union.
Derek Owens
News Editor, Trinity News,
D. U. Publications Office,
TCD.

Boston

Everybody knows ed reilly is a tool. But your won stef,

DrIndy

DrIndy wrote:

copied because threads have a habit of disappearing from the TCDSU message board...

When? Some spam ones get deleted from time to time, but nothing else really gets deleted/edited, bar the zookeeper debacle.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

DrIndy wrote:

From the TCDSU message board - copied because threads have a habit of disappearing from the TCDSU message board.......Comments?

I'll post my reply here aswell, to save it 'falling' off TCDSU ...

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Well said Derek

- it's thrash journalism at its very worst...

very poorly written, very unfair. it should have been written as an opinion piece, if at all.

who is the 'journalist' Jennifer Davis anyway? There is no-one on TCD peoplefinder by that name. Did someone else write the article, and were they too ashamed / sneaky to put their name to it?

Boston

Boston wrote:

Everybody knows ed reilly is a tool.

Maybe he go for ISO for his own benefit, as well as Publicity Officer in TAS and other positions, but he didn't do sweet **** all for the whole year. Ed did some great work during freshers week for international students, really made a lot of them feel welcome. When you actually talk to him, he seems like a very genuine guy, though, to be honest to the guy, a bit misguided. Still, I wouldn't like to have my face and name brought up in that context in any paper.

wayfarer

I thought the choice of picture was quite shrewd aswell. Although after flicking through the rest of the paper, I have doubts as to whether it was intentional. (How apt it was include a pic of the pav taken from th opposite side of the cricket pitch when the article is about its interior :rolleyes: )

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

would have thought there would be some mention of the Trinity Ball line-up, seeing as that was the TN headline story...

also, nice to see they're still claiming credit for breaking the pav accessibility story - basta**ds!

wayfarer

Roundtower2 wrote:

also, nice to see they're still claiming credit for breaking the pav accessibility story - basta**ds!

Sounds like you have an affiliation with a rival college publication Seems like the only people who are going to criticize the article are those who have a vested interest (and who know Ed personally ). Students really are an apathetic bunch







EDIT: w00t, 100th post

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

wayfarer wrote:

Sounds like you have an affiliation with a rival college publication

you may be right!

Crash

well, i'm gonna wait til i pick up the article tomorrow before judging it.

DrIndy

There is no such person as Jennifer Davis in either the student finder or staff finder - thus the question remain - who is she? Does she exist? Why is her identity masked? Who wrote the article.

Pet

It's an alias. *shifty eyes*

The Record were never renowned for excellence in journalism though were they? They've always played second fiddle to TN. And judging by the response to this article, they aren't trying too hard to improve things.

aodh_rua

Pet wrote:

It's an alias. *shifty eyes*

The Record were never renowned for excellence in journalism though were they? They've always played second fiddle to TN. And judging by the response to this article, they aren't trying too hard to improve things.

That's a bit of the generalisation - not so long ago the Record was walking with as many if not more national Student Media awards than TN.

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aodh_rua wrote:

That's a bit of the generalisation - not so long ago the Record was walking with as many if not more national Student Media awards than TN.

do you have an interest in the matter?!

without doubt, the record in your year, and in Katie's year was extremely good - didn't you win a smedia? i think this thread is more about the unprofessionalism of this specific story

sleepingbeauty

well i think ed seems like a nice guy... dunno why people are being so mean

celingfan

The guy lied and abused his position in a desperate attempt to get what he wanted. Never laughed so hard at him when I questioned him in the JCR thing not too long ago.I then pissed myself even further when I heard he lost. To you Ed RiellyHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
That is all.

dermot_sheehan

celingfan wrote:

The guy lied and abused his position in a desperate attempt to get what he wanted. Never laughed so hard at him when I questioned him in the JCR thing not too long ago.I then pissed myself even further when I heard he lost. To you Ed RiellyHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
That is all.

Regardless of the merits or demerits of the particular candidate, it's simply wrong that a union institution should be used to attack a union member in such an underhand and insidious manner.

I think an emergency motion might be appropriate, something along these lines:




Emergency Motion:

This motion did not make the deadline due to the article being condemned in it only being circulated this week.

Council:

Notes the personal and anonymous attack against an election candidate in the University record.

Is concerned that Union institutions should be used for anonymous attacks union members.

Recognises that by allowing such anonymous personal attacks, the Union is exposed to legal action.

Council therefore mandates:
That the Deputy President apologise on behalf of the Union to the candidate referred to.

That the record in future publish with each article, the name of the person who authored the article. If due to space limitations this is impracticable, the Record should release the name to any person on demand.

That the Deputy President publicly identify the author or authors of the attack on the election candidate.

That all authors of the record sign an indemnity, indemnifing the union for any legal action that may result from their written piece for the record

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

very interesting ... there would be quite a bit of support for that.

Maybe the motion could be slightly reworded to take out the last section as legally the Record cannot be indemnified even if something is signed by an author. It could also scare away potential contributors. It is up to the editor to remove anything potentially libelous...

dermot_sheehan

Roundtower2 wrote:

Maybe the motion could be slightly reworded to take out the last section as legally the Record cannot be indemnified even if something is signed by an author. It could also scare away potential contributors. It is up to the editor to remove anything potentially libelous...

Ok, strike that section then. It's primary purpose would have been to re-inforce to contributors the seriousness about publishing and remind them of the consequences if they get it wrong.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Is EduCat going to comment?

I see that you are viewing the thread. (EduCat: Registered User: Last Activity: Today 13:53: Viewing Thread Ed Reilly @ 13:53)

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

p.s. sorry if this is putting you on the spot!

xeduCat

Mr. Roundtower, you are quite pathetic. I'll comment if and when I want to - I don't believe I'm accountable to ex-hacks for what I read!

;-) :eek:

Geez, some people.

Anyway, since you asked, I don't have anything worth adding right now, except that emergency motions can't contradict the SU constitution, and that anything given to me will be checked carefully etc, so please do so as far in advance as possible.

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EduCat wrote:

Mr. Roundtower, you are quite pathetic.QUOTE]

I really am, amn't I?! Sitting in the office trying to do research now, and it is driving me spare. Think very carefully about your research topic before starting your postgrad!


Although, there is an important issue here. The Record shouldn't be used for anonymous attacks on union members.

xeduCat

It won't be Business Studies anyway...

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

EduCat wrote:

It won't be Business Studies anyway...

we may not let you in business studies!

xeduCat

Ruth's been in touch with Ed today and has posted this (on the TCDSU.org website) - copying here as some of the similar themes are covered - and by the way, threads are not deleted on tcdsu.org because we disagree with them! Whoever said that is just stirring it...

In response to all of the above -

Publishing any article without corroborating the story was a serious error in judgement on my part, for which I accept full responsibility.

I have contacted Ed Reilly, apologised, and offered him full right of reply in the next issue of the Record along with a printed apology. Ed has fully accepted this apology and agreed to submit a response.

As far as naming the contributor is concerned, there is a long-standing precedent in both college papers that contributors occcasionally publish work under a pseudonym. Based on the nature and indeed the small size of the college it is vital to the existence of a free press that this practice be allowed to continue and for that matter be protected. As editor I take full responsibility for all content published, be it under a pseudonym or otherwise.

Ed has accepted my apology in full, and has stipulated that he does not want the issue turned into a public row.
I trust that this clarifies the situation as requested.

DrIndy

What this sets is a very ugly precedent where in collusion with an Editor of a newspaper (who BTW does bear FULL responsibility for all publications) - people can not merely post anonymously - but under a FAKE NAME - pretty much anything they like about anyone, stopping just short of the libel laws.

This sets a precedent where journalistic ethics go out the window in the context of a major publication and a concept I find highly disturbing.

Publishing under FAKE NAMES may be acceptable in a case of investigative reporting to hide the true identity from punitive action.

Publishing a SLANDER piece does not constitute investigative reporting. In fact, it does not constitute journalism.

I fully support the motion.

Boston

Roundtower2 wrote:

EduCat wrote:

Mr. Roundtower, you are quite pathetic.QUOTE]

I really am, amn't I?! Sitting in the office trying to do research now, and it is driving me spare. Think very carefully about your research topic before starting your postgrad!


Although, there is an important issue here. The Record shouldn't be used for anonymous attacks on union members.

What the **** do you mean union member.

wayfarer

Boston wrote:

What the **** do you mean union member.

Ok, Ill take this nice and easy so that you can follow

1. Ed Reilly is a student in TCD*.
2. Every student in TCD is a member of the TCD Students Union (aka the SU).

Therefore, Ed Reilly is a member of the TCD Students Union, or to phrase it differently, is a union member.

I hope thats all cleared up now.


*TCD is short for Trinity College Dublin btw

Boston

wayfarer wrote:

Ok, Ill take this nice and easy so that you can follow

1. Ed Reilly is a student in TCD*.
2. Every student in TCD is a member of the TCD Students Union (aka the SU).

Therefore, Ed Reilly is a member of the TCD Students Union, or to phrase it differently, is a union member.

I hope thats all cleared up now.


*TCD is short for Trinity College Dublin btw

Why don't you just say student. Also, and I'll take this slowly for you, not every student in TCD is a member of the union. Their is no requirement to join the student union.

wayfarer

Taken from th SU website
So, what's it all about Alfie? The Students' Union(SU) is here to help you any way we can during your time at Trinity. As soon as you register as a student at TCD, you automatically become a member of the Students' Union. The SU provides a number of services, along with advice and information on a range of issues that may or may not affect your time at Trinity.

...

...

DrIndy

I accept that a full, frank and public apology is a suitable first step to take in this issue. I thank Ruth for engaging in this.

However, since the damage continues to be done by the circulation of this article, it is also essential to recall all copies of the current University Record IMMEDIATELY and destroy them - as anyone who picks up this newspaper will read this slanderous article.

Since this is such a gross aberration - it is also essential that the full, unreserved apology by editor of the university record features AT LEAST AS PROMINENTLY in the newspaper as the original, very damaging and slanderous article.

Only then can the integrity of the University Record as a newspaper for the students of Trinity be restored.

The policy of publicising under false pretences must also cease. The danger of doing so can be VERY clearly seen in this incident. Clarification of the identity of "Jennifer Davis" is essential.

Although where errors of judgement have occurred - let us not rest on this issue so long as ALL the previous steps are undertaken. I look forward to the continued success of the University record as an outlet of student news in Trinity College Dublin.

Chick

God that really is just so incredibly low. I really do feel so bad for Ed, I can't believe how incredibly nasty people are being to such a genuinely lovely guy. That's just so sly to make up a name, and whoever wrote that about him should be ashamed of themselves. They obviously know it's wrong, why else be so cowardly and hide behind some fake name? If you're going to make claims like that, and drag someone elses name into the mud, you should at least be prepared to stand up and put your name to it.

wayfarer wrote:

2. Every student in TCD is a member of the TCD Students Union (aka the SU).

Yeah!! I specifically remember Francis Keiran saying to us in Freshers week that "You guys are the students union"?

Boston

wayfarer wrote:

...

...

Actually no, You have freedom of association, you don;t have to join the student union. I know people who never paid their dues and htus never joined. the SU don't advertise the fact that you don't have to be a member.

Crash

Chick wrote:

Yeah!! I specifically remember Francis Keiran saying to us in Freshers week that "You guys are the students union"?

you're not. Francis was lying.

Boston

Ed likes to masturbate into the drinking fountains. True story.

wayfarer

Taken from tcd.ie
The Students' Union is the only representative body for all students in College. It has the dual and complementary functions of representing students' interests both inside and outside College and of providing student services.

Boston wrote:

Actually no, You have freedom of association, you don;t have to join the student union. I know people who never paid their dues and htus never joined. the SU don't advertise the fact that you don't have to be a member.

What are you talking about? Where does it say that? Can you not just give up and admit that you were wrong.

:eek: OMG Ive just figured out who wrote the article. It was Boston here. His hatred for Ed, referring to anonymous sources etc, its all so clear

Boston

wayfarer wrote:

What are you talking about? Where does it say that? Can you not just give up and admit that you were wrong.

:eek: OMG Ive just figured out who wrote the article. It was Boston here. His hatred for Ed, referring to anonymous sources etc, its all so clear

Your wrong, and unless you can provide another scource other then the SU I'll keep my opinion. Seriously dude you don't have to join the student union. the other half never joined last year as a result of forgetting about it (county council pay your fees, You pay SU levy) walked up to the registration desk, had he hadn't paid SU levy and also said he had no intention of, she said no problem.

Theres a thread on here about it. It's somehting to do with the USI, also the SU isn't a union, its a representative body.

As for eddy, I would have signed my name. Also I wouldn't have been so nice to the twat.

Crash

btw Boston, isnt that the USI that you opt out of by not paying the fees?

Boston

Nope, Join one, join both. It actually came up as a USI standing conference this weekend. The president made it quiet clear what the situation was. that said the fast majority of the levy goes the the USI

wayfarer

Boston wrote:

Your wrong, and unless you can provide another scource other then the SU I'll keep my opinion.

Read the title on the second one, its from the trinity college website, not the SU (and how can you have an opinion on this? Its not subjective, were dealing with facts)

Boston

Well reality differs from fiction in that case. Your not going to convince me that you have to be a member of the SU since I know people that arn't.

Boston

we're getting off topic here thought. Back on topic, I heard Ed and stef are an item, Imagine the crazy ass children. I also heard Ed likes stef to wear a strap on, and pour candel wax all over his...

aodh_rua

Without going too far off topic. All capitated students are automatically considered by the SU and College to be members of the Union. You do not pay an itemised membership fee to the SU and there is no opting in or opting out. This does not affect your consitutional rights as the SU is an organisation styling itself as a Union, when it is in fact a service. It claims its relationship to you as membership, but it doesn't expect anything financial or otherwise from you in return. The same relationship covers your indirect payments to CSC, DUCAC, DU Publications and the GSU, which come out of your capitation fee. You don't opt in or out of those either, they are part of what TCD offers as part of your student services.

You can on the other hand opt not to pay your USI levy and, in theory, opt out of being a member of USI by not paying. I presume that what Francis was getting at is that technically unions not students affiliate to USI and hence their members join by default. However, since your membership is explicitly charged on top of your contractual obligation to Trinity you are allowed to register without paying the levy. This all stems from actions taken by some friends of mine and some former law students after we reaffiliated in 2001.

As for Boston's claim that he knows some people that aren't members of TCDSU, either they haven't paid their fees or they attend another college. It's not like anyone gives you a secret decoder ring and a membership card when you join, it just happens the moment you register thus accepting the College rules and regulations, including that you are a member of the Union.

aodh_rua

One other thing - if there are any moderators out there I'd suggest closing this thread, as it is getting personal and offensive to people who aren't here to defend themselves, and who have only attracted this attention because they chose to run for a badly paid job with terrible hours and more complaints than congratulations.

Boston

i sat through a very long and very boring speach by the president of the USI on saturday, where he outlined reasons why USI and SU couldn't be disaffiliated on a member by member bases. Also I'm pretty sure(despite what its used for) that levy is called the student union levy, not the USI levy. As for the SU, yes we all know it's not a real union, its a representative body, likewise the USI isn't a union, but I think they call themselves somehting else, (seriously boring speach).

I think the key would here is " considered". Also I should have the right to be removed from the SU mailing list. I requested five times, and now I just forward SU emails back to francis.

As for Eddy, infairness I didn't like the guy long before this elections and this thread. people run for SU for their future carriers, nothing more. Well maybe welfare and education, are different.

xeduCat

The SU gets no money from the levy (sorry to be nitpicky here). There are no 'dues' for the TCD Students' Union (hence we're pretty poor). Membership of the SU is about entitlement, really - i.e. you are entitled to vote in elections, attend meetings, etc. There is no fee to join and there are no benefits attached (apart from all the wonderful things we do for you, of course, but that's open to challenge on so many levels, so I won't get started!)

There is no formal separate register of 'SU members' - voting etc is purely a duplicate of Trinity's list of registered on-books students. Does that make any sense? I.e. in the elections last week, all currently registered students were entitled to vote. No exceptions, no names crossed out.

The SU gets its money from Trinity like clubs and societies do (a small amount of the registration fee, paid by students or on their behalf by the Government), and also from any surplus in the shop, DUST, travelcards etc.

Boston

Don't you guys have a budget of 333,000 annually. Thats as much as the csc gets for all societies. Where does the money go. Hookers and cocaine and stef's orgy parties thats where.

As for the SU thing, hmm, USI tell a different story. While I know who gets the money, the USI claim you can't opt out of membership.

xeduCat

Boston wrote:

Also I should have the right to be removed from the SU mailing list. I requested five times, and now I just forward SU emails back to francis.

Unfortunately we don't have the technology to do this. IS Services sends out emails on our behalf (also on behalf of library, counselling, etc.), so we don't have a list of addresses or anything. But it's a valid point, and one that the Helpdesk should address. I sometimes get complaints from class reps about the same thing for class lists, but again, ISS have the keys to the kingdom.

Agree on boring speeches though - I do so sometimes as well, and I'm pretty bad at them, especially where it's just a 'speech to say something nice'. I hate it, and go all awkward...

xeduCat

Boston wrote:

Don't you guys have a budget of 333,000 annually. Thats as much as the csc gets for all societies. Where does the money go. Hookers and cocaine and stef's orgy parties thats where.

Damn you investigative journalists.

Yeah, SU, CSC and DUCAC get roughly the same amount (we don't have the Pav cash cow though :mad: ). CSC and DUCAC give most of their budget out to individual clubs, but don't have the same staffing costs etc. Full time staff get paid (shop and admin), as well as officers (much lower wages), and then money gets spent on campaigns, meetings, etc. as well as on the likes of the Record and Ents (although the aim is for both of them to break even or close to it). The accounts were published last year and if you PM me I can get you a fuller copy - TN and the Record reported on them too, although the focus was of course the loss in DUST (travel).

Time Magazine

Less of the Steph bashing! She's damn hot and stuff.