The way assessments are planned to be held in Irish Universities is a health and wellbeing crisis of the utmost urgency which requires immediate action. This is an emergency situation which will have severely detrimental effects on the wellbeing of all members of our College communities.

Trinity College plans to remove facilities for student sport from College Park to cater for tourists and I am starting this petition to ask Trinity College to find a new location for the proposed tourist attraction which doesn’t take away space from students and our sport. A two story temporary exhibition structure planned to sit on College Park for three years will host an exhibition while the old library is being refurbished but it will severely impact the student sport experience and I am asking that College please lets us continue our sports and instead can we please look at an alternative location for the tourists. Somewhere off campus would cater to tourists or remove some cars off of campus and look at putting this temporary three year structure on Trinity’s Nassau Street car park which will also do good for the environment. I’m currently lobbying College for Dublin City Council to look at this. If this is passed, we are facing a very sad scenario, where those who come to Trinity, will not be able to play a single match on their home ground for four years, in College Park if this structure is built, which is a really bleak proposition. Imagine being part of a club and not being able to play on your home ground? I am starting this petition because our sport is very important to us as students for our health, wellbeing and metal capacity and as the student voice on the Estates Policy Committee I am passionate about represent this truth about student population and I disagreed with these plans and noted my dissent on Wednesday October 15th 2021; we’d like College Park to be protected both now and in the future for student activity. We would also like permanent floodlighting to be installed to make it safer space for us as students and to extend College Park’s usage for us into the evenings please. Please sign this petition and join our College community, please Help Save College Park 1. It’s a really peaceful and restful space for students and a safe space for us to exercise and rest and it improves our mental health so please help us to keep it peaceful. 2. It is the home ground of the Dublin University Cricket Club (DUCC) which has been at the forefront of Irish cricket for almost two centuries. The planned tourist structure would reduce the Cricket outfield significantly and the current plans depicting the structure don’t even show the correct dimensions. The plans are created from the incorrect perspective - creases on the wicket actually look as if they will be impacted. The Cricket pitch is drawn as a circle on the plans, it’s not a circle. 3. College Park is also home ground to the oldest surviving association football club in the Republic of Ireland; Dublin University A.F.C. (DUAFC). Founded in 1883 DUAFC plays its home matches at College Park. No student will get to play a match on this home ground for three years if this structure goes ahead. Why? 4. No one has bothered to check out what the correct dimensions are for the various sports facilities and at least put them on a correct map as opposed to incorrect plans. Whoever put the words UEFA before a 48 metre wide football pitch… that person needs to know that the pitch is already on the small side. 48 metres is way too narrow. UEFA requires min 64 metres x 100 metres. 5. Dublin University Harriers and Athletics Club (DUHAC) also train in College Park and have broken numerous records training there and the club has the biggest turnout of men and women and welcomes runners of all abilities. The men’s and women’s athletics team have amongst others, postgraduates and sports scholars as members. Without a correct running track these scholarships will be in jeopardy. 6. During the track season (April-September approx.) DUHAC the athletics club use the 400m lime track that Estates and Facilities line out. This is a central piece of Trinity’s sporting history. The construction of an exhibition installation would mean that the club could no longer train on campus and participation would decline dramatically. 7. Reducing the running space will cause runners to bottle on corners as they run too fast and will render it a completely ineffective training space. 8. The College Races are over 100 years old, and past competitors included Ronnie Delaney and many other Olympic medallists. There were plans for the College Races to be revived for the 150th anniversary of DUHAC, and to Oxford and Cambridge to take part. The plans to reduce the track to 300m would scupper these races entirely. 9. This is not a fait accompli, clubs and students were not consulted. We are being told what the plans are and that is not correct consultation of the various stakeholders. 10. The two story structure will no doubt impact Library staff and students casting a shadow along the side of the Berkeley. There are better spaces for this structure on campus including the obvious New Square or the Nassau carpark, or even a space off campus which won’t impact our student sports facilities over the next three years. As students we’d be most grateful for your support! Please as a College community, please Help Save College Park. #HelpSaveCollegePark

On November 30, 1954, 34-year-old Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges (Alabama), was struck by a meteorite while sleeping. Ann Hodges became the first and possibly only human being to have been reliably recorded as having been hit by a meteorite. This event may not appear to be of great significant, but it provides the backdrop for a United Nations Day to recognise the important role that meteorites and cosmic collisions in general have played in the evolution of our planet and ourselves. Just as one collision changed Ann Hodges world, countless collisions have shaped our world.

Our Kids Deserve Better : We must Ensure the Proper Facilities are there for our Kids And Staff. : Canteen : Gym : Sports Facilities : Proper Facilities for Staff and Parents : Car Parking : Etc . . . !

Homophobia in schools has effected many students all over Ireland,some students mental health becoming permanently destroyed in the process. From calling someone gay for liking something stereotypically male or female to calling someone homophobic slurs and telling them there "not valid" and "doing it for attention", homophobic bullying is a horrible thing that should happen to NOBODY. In recent years the government has tried to combat this, but there is still a lot of work to do. I think i good way to help would be, by making a country wide helpline for students suffering from homophobic bullying in schools, it would be confidential and easy for all students of any age to access, say next to the principles office there could be a poster with the phone number for the helpline on it. There are already lots of helplines for young people like SpunOut and belong-too but, I think that there should be a helpline solely dedicated to helping this issue. I wouldn't think a helpline would be hard to set up, its not like im asking for a country wide change of all the rules, So please don't let this petition be unnoticed, this is a really serious problem the NEEDS to be solved. Thank you.

To all the students that will miss him dearly

Direct Provision also known as asylum seekers is a term used to describe the money, food, accommodation and medical services an individual receives while their international protection application is being processed (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). As of 2019 there were a total of 4,781 applicants for the protection status in Ireland (‘Statistics’, 2020). There were 7,330 still pending at the end of 2019 and a total of 585 people living in Ireland with the refugee status. Due to the large numbers of asylum seekers and the growing increase over the years, facilities are exhaust leading to poor treatment of the basic human rights and needs of an individual living in direct provision. Asylum seekers are given a weekly payment of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child, as a result of this they are unable to afford education, healthcare or sufficient food (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). Not only their physical health is being damaged, but also their mental health. People in direct provision are five times more likely to have issues in relation to their mental health (‘Direct Provision – Doras’, 2021). The total funding for the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) is €770,000 (Justice, 2020). This is to be spread across seven different areas around Ireland, allowing only €110,000 for each geographical area. This is not enough funding to provide adequate accommodation, food, education and healthcare for all. The White Paper was released in February 2021 which contains a description of the current plans in relation to abolishing Direct Provision. This is in fact great news however, change needs to be made now and cannot wait three or so more years. There are people currently living in Direct Provision and their voices and concerns need to be heard and their needs must be met. Immediate action must be taken to help those currently living in Direct Provision. The following are links to more detailed sources in relation to this issue: Information on Direct Provision: https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/listing/category/direct-provision Information on the food provided: https://nascireland.org/sites/default/files/WhatsFoodFINAL.pdf Information on the White Paper: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/affd6-minister-ogorman-publishes-the-white-paper-on-ending-direct-provision/ References: Citizensinformation.ie (2021) Direct provision system. Citizensinformation.ie. Available at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/asylum_seekers_and_refugees/services_for_asylum_seekers_in_ireland/direct_provision.html ‘Direct Provision – Doras’ (2021). Available at: http://doras.org/direct-provision/ Justice, T. D. of (2020) Irish Refugee Protection Programme, The Department of Justice. The Department of Justice. Available at: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Irish_Refugee_Protection_Programme_(IRPP) ‘Statistics’ (2020) Asylum Information Database | European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Available at: https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/republic-ireland/statistics/

Direct Provision also known as asylum seekers is a term used to describe the money, food, accommodation and medical services an individual receives while their international protection application is being processed (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). As of 2019 there were a total of 4,781 applicants for the protection status in Ireland (‘Statistics’, 2020). There were 7,330 still pending at the end of 2019 and a total of 585 people living in Ireland with the refugee status. Due to the large numbers of asylum seekers and the growing increase over the years, facilities are exhaust leading to poor treatment of the basic human rights and needs of an individual living in direct provision. Asylum seekers are given a weekly payment of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child, as a result of this they are unable to afford education, healthcare or sufficient food (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). Not only their physical health is being damaged, but also their mental health. People in direct provision are five times more likely to have issues in relation to their mental health (‘Direct Provision – Doras’, 2021). The total funding for the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) is €770,000 (Justice, 2020). This is to be spread across seven different areas around Ireland, allowing only €110,000 for each geographical area. This is not enough funding to provide adequate accommodation, food, education and healthcare for all. The White Paper was released in February 2021 which contains a description of the current plans in relation to abolishing Direct Provision. This is in fact great news however, change needs to be made now and cannot wait three or so more years. There are people currently living in Direct Provision and their voices and concerns need to be heard and their needs must be met. Immediate action must be taken to help those currently living in Direct Provision. The following are links to more detailed sources in relation to this issue: Information on Direct Provision: https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/listing/category/direct-provision Information on the food provided: https://nascireland.org/sites/default/files/WhatsFoodFINAL.pdf Information on the White Paper: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/affd6-minister-ogorman-publishes-the-white-paper-on-ending-direct-provision/ References: Citizensinformation.ie (2021) Direct provision system. Citizensinformation.ie. Available at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/asylum_seekers_and_refugees/services_for_asylum_seekers_in_ireland/direct_provision.html ‘Direct Provision – Doras’ (2021). Available at: http://doras.org/direct-provision/ Justice, T. D. of (2020) Irish Refugee Protection Programme, The Department of Justice. The Department of Justice. Available at: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Irish_Refugee_Protection_Programme_(IRPP) ‘Statistics’ (2020) Asylum Information Database | European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Available at: https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/republic-ireland/statistics/

It is vitally important as social distancing is not possible, schools are poorly ventilated, primary school children are not advised to wear masks and many students with AEN cannot wear them. We also have the largest class sizes in Europe. If education staff were vaccinated, it would reduce the risk of spreading Covid 19 and keep schools open. No wants our most vulnerable to be sidestepped so that education staff can be vaccinated but we have to remember teachers and SNAs are working with some of our most vulnerable in society. These students and the staff that care for them deserve to be protected.

Currently the cost to the DES to print and post is over two million euros each year. This money could easily be diverted to buildings, teacher allocation, AEN allocation or student capitation. The fiscal cost does not take into account the environmental cost in paper, ink or transport. Teachers have requested this change time and time again to no avail- it’s now time to change this archaic practice and use the savings to improve student experience.

As I am both a health care assistant and help my partner with her parents who need full time care, she only gets €109 a week which is shambolic for all she does and saves the country like all other carers who look after their children, parents, and young adults with disabilities, they need more support as medication, treatment and other outgoings are very expensive and it is unrealistic to expect these people to live on such a small allowance.

We the Irish people who pay the salaries of the give every have the right to decide who governs our nation. We are now faced with a government who have shown lack of compassion and care towards the Irish people as a whole. They have proved they are not trustworthy or capable of governing this country. We the Irish people voted for change in February 2020 and this has been denied by the current cabinet. We deserve the change that was voted for. Our health system is at its knees, our housing is in a state of emergency and in need of a sensible but compassionate approach. Our elderly are being robbed of what they worked all their lives to earn, those who refuse to work are being rewarded heavily through social welfare. A reform of the entire system is needed. Our rural communities are at their knees, almost at the point of extinction. Crime is at an all time high in this country and the Garda are without the powers to enforce the rule of law.