We believe that the college ought to remove George Berkeley's name from the library as he was a supporter of both slavery and settler colonialism; and that Oscar Wilde ought to be given a more prominent role in the college due to his contributions to Trinity life, literature, and the history of LGBTQIA+ people. Berkeley was a slave owner, and he used the funds from his plantations to make profit for himself and organisations like Yale University. He wrote about his beliefs that slavery was an efficient way to Christianize Black people and that Indigenous Americans should be transported by force to missionary colleges in Bermuda. Oscar Wilde participated in many Trinity institutions like the Phil and the Foundation Scholarship while also contributing to the legacy of Dublin's relationship with Gothic literature and socially conscious theatre. He also advocated for social causes such as prison reform, gender equality, and, most famously, sexual freedom. Since Wilde deserves more formal recognition in the college (as it recognizes Beckett, Synge, and Swift) and Berkeley's name should not be given the respect it currently receives, changing the name of the library to the Wilde Library would significantly improve our campus and demonstrate Trinity's efforts towards making the college truly inclusive.

Using Afrikaans to verify citizenship is racist, ignorant and insulting.

Procedures should be simplified so that people at the border can enter without needing a passport. More than 800,000 Ukrainians have fled their country since the beginning of the Russian invasion. But it is not only Ukrainian citizens who are queuing to leave, but also foreign students and people who have already been granted asylum in Ukraine. Europe must protect all people fleeing war, regardless of their nationality, the colour of their skin, gender identity or sexual identity. This means not only agreeing to give people the right to live and work in Europe, but also removing barriers to entering the territory, such as the need for a passport. Many people have never traveled abroad and do not have a passport. They must also ensure that ethnic minorities and foreigners in Ukraine are not treated differently. Irish Ministers have a unique chance to prove that the European Union can respect Article 1 of the human rights convention: "Women and men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can only be based on common utility." Image credit: BEATA ZAWRZEL/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

Ireland has international humanitarian obligations to act and respond to this crisis. The crisis in Ukraine has already forced people to flee for their lives and their safety. People power has previously forced the government to agree to an increase in the number of refugees we have accepted in Ireland. Now we must step up again to make the government live up to this commitment.

Right now, the Integrated Education Bill is going through the NI Assembly - but those opposed to integrated education are misleading schools and parents, telling them the Bill will harm existing schools - it won't. The Bill can pass if enough parties support it - and what the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) do will be crucial. Last month, Doug Beattie, the UUP Leader, signalled his support for integrated education and said "Northern Ireland has been blighted by division.. and yet we don't take the brave steps to try and deal with that division...we need to end educational apartheid which is taking place here in Northern Ireland." We need Doug and his MLAs to support the Integrated Education Bill, and resist attempts by the Bill's opponents to sign a "Petition of Concern" - an Assembly motion that would doom the Bill. Write now and tell Doug how you feel!

Right now in Ireland, under the law which is supposed to provide international protection status to refugees (International Protection Act) is indirectly discriminating against same-sex couples. Those who want to reunite with their partners must have been either married or been in a civil union before arriving in Ireland to seek asylum. In lots of instances, people seeking international protection comes from countries where homosexuality is not as accepted as it is in Ireland. Between Jan 2017 and Dec 2021, there were over 670 applications for family reunification, and not one was for a same-sex couple because they cannot meet the requirements as set out by this law. The International Protection Act should be amended to put same-sex couples on equal footing and in with a fair chance at family reunification. NOTES: Dublin Inquirer |https://dublininquirer.com/2022/02/09/gay-refugees-face-extra-hurdles-when-trying-to-bring-their-partners-to-join-them-in-ireland

Over 500,000 Roma, Gypsy and Travellers were killed in the Holocaust. This content is an insult to those who died, and those who still mourn them. #StopTravellerHate #

Institutional care is harmful to children and orphanage volunteering puts children at increased risk. There is a growing global movement working to transform the way we care for children. Care leavers and child protection experts, disability advocates, faith-based and community organisations have come together to better support families and other caregivers so that children can grow up in a family and community where they belong, instead of being placed into institutions. You can support this global care reform movement by making a pledge that you will neither promote nor engage in volunteering and/or visits to institutions for children. You can also pledge to further educate yourself and people around you about the harm caused by orphanage volunteering and institutions and to only support volunteering opportunities that put the best interests and wellbeing of children and families first.

82% of the Irish people support neutrality in all its aspects.

We call on TCD to boycott and divest from all companies which operate in historic Palestine or which are complicit in Israeli apartheid. This includes companies which manufacture arms or security technologies used by the state of Israel to carry out ethnic cleansing and implement apartheid against the Palestinian people. TCD currently has links with 15 Israeli organizations, including academic institutions such as the Weizmann Institute of Science, which openly collaborates with the war-industry, including many companies involved in armaments, such Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems. Furthermore, College solicits services from Tel Aviv University, which develops war technology, trains lawyers to defend war crimes and sends Pro-Israeli delegations to foreign universities. Finally, College has links with Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, which is involved with arms research and technology, cooperates with the Israeli military and openly collaborates with the Elbit corporation. This makes every member of the college community complicit in Israel’s crimes and oppression of Palestine. We will not stand for this. We call on TCD to cease all collaboration with Israeli universities in accordance with the guidelines laid down by PACBI, the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. These guidelines call for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, rather than individual academics, as these institutions have played a key role in the ongoing colonization of Palestine. We demand the immediate cessation of research cooperation with Israeli universities that is in any way connected with the security and military industries.

What is Stamp 3 visa? Stamp 3 visa is a type of residence permit that states people cannot work or engage in business, trade, or profession. This type of stamp is issued to spouses and children of general work employment permit holders as well as spouses of Non-EEA PhD students in Ireland. Why is this important to us? As skilled immigrants in Ireland we would like to be treated with equality to access employment and contribute to the economy of Ireland. This can only be achieved by removing the obstacles that we have to go through to be considered for employment in Ireland. What can you do to help? We request for your support to petition the Irish government to allow spouses & children of general work employment permit holders and spouses of PhD students to access employment without the requirement of applying for a separate work permit. Useful resources: https://reformstamp3.webador.ie/ http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis/pages/registration-stamps https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/ http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Family%20Reunification%20Policy%20Document.pdf/Files/Family%20Reunification%20Policy%20Document.pdf https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/Employment-Permits-FAQs-2020.pdf https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/Employment-Permit-Eligibility/Immigration-Employment-Permits/

Our migrant young people have so much to contribute to Irish life, but some find that even though they are legally resident, they are unable to access SUSI grants because they don't have the 'right' type of immigration permission to qualify under SUSI's nationality criteria. In practice this means that young migrants face exorbitant international fees when they apply for college or university unless they can secure one of a small number of scholarship places. This effectively locks some migrant young people out of accessing higher education and following their career dreams.