Many, many hangovers ago, in a semi conscious state, I agreed to write an

article on Societies in Trinity, and their relevance to the student body.

(Wow fascinating stuff) So what exactly can one say "in general" on

societies in College? Certainly some parallels, or rather some contrasts

can be drawn between societies and the Students Union, and the amount of

student involvement in each body.

Although we are all members of the Students Union, a 29%(*******) turn out

in the elections last year clearly illustrates how completely and utterly

disinterested most of us are in TSU. The farcical "Class Rep." system, or

rather the long, long list of unfilled vacancies published in the last

edition of the (ever-objective) University Record is further evidence of

how irrelevant the Union is to students in Trinity. As a matter of fact,

other than antagonising various other student bodies in College, what

exactly do the Union do? With a mandate of _________(*******), (which, when

divided into the various figures for each candidate is even smaller) it is

amusing, if not ridiculous to hear certain individuals preach with almost

Papal arrogance as to how the students of Trinity should act, speak and

think. I don't believe that the Union, since I came to College, has ever

spoken on any issue which I was truly interested in, and for all of you

hacks out there, who could ream off lists of worthy issues "dealt with" by

the Union in recent years, find 20 people (outside House 6) who supported,

or even recall them.

It is probably unfortunate that Trinity lacks any sort of Union bar or even

an ethos which would enable a students union to effect any real change in

how College is operated, for without either of these, it is difficult to

see what the purpose of the Students Union in Trinity really is.

So how then do societies in College compare to those boys in blue? There

has been talk recently of an apparent depreciation in the membership

numbers of College Societies. (Apathy? Surely not.) Possibly broadly

speaking Freshers' Week was not as profitable for some Societies as it was

for others, but certainly the majority of Societies with a good stand

position (i.e. in, or just outside Front Arch) did extremely well.

Societies in College have two prime objectives, to organise events which

would be of interest to it's members, be it a debate, concert, cheap trip

abroad (Roll on Prague) ect, and to supply you with enough cheap alcohol to

make even the strongest of your livers oblivious of to the most stringent

of deadlines. The ninety or so societies in Trinity have a direct

involvement, at committee level, of nearly one thousand students. Coupled

with this, the fact that practically all students hold membership of at

least society, and have often reaped the benefits, be it meeting with

Seamus Heaney or Gore Vidal, or simply enjoying copious amounts of free

wine and beer at the many receptions organised on any given night.

The ever-expanding numbers of societies in College cater for practically

every interest, from astrology to zoology. with new societies formed each

year. The vast quantity of different society posters on the notice boards

(when not being covered up by 10 or 15 Students Union posters) is a

testament to the amount of time and effort committees put into the running

of their Societies.

So what are the benefits of real participation in College societies? Well

you will certainly earn some extra hangovers and miss a few more essay

deadlines, but you will also get to meet an extremely diverse range of

people, and find yourself surprised as certain stereotypes you may have,

are revealed as just that.

Bryan Durkan

[Bryan Durkan is Auditor of the Modern Languages Society]