Cork IT campaign no flash in the pan

Toilet facilities for women are to be the subject of a major campaign by Cork IT's students' union.

SU president Philip O'Reilly says the college is encouraging women into engineering programmes, but the main engineering blocks are inadequately supplied with toilets for them. "A block has no women's toilets, while B block has toilets for women, but not as many as for men. Elsewhere, things are also bad."

Cork IT has more than 6,000 full-time students, with an almost equal gender breakdown. College vice principal Dr Michael Noonan agrees there are insufficient toilets for women, but says the college has been addressing the problem.

The Bishopstown campus was built in the 1970s, for a much smaller, and predominantly male student population. The development of business studies and social and general studies has brought more women to the college and the intake of women into science and engineering has also increased.

The original toilet facilities for men were larger than those for women and the college has reversed some of these. However, there is an overall space problem, says Noonan. Women's toilets should be located in highly-trafficked areas, for security reasons, and these are the areas in which space is a premium, he says.

Meanwhile, Trinity SU is claiming victory in its campaign aimed at reversal of catering price increases. A boycott in late October, and intensive negotiation, has resulted in a reversal of the 12 per cent increase on tea, coffee and baguettes, while the cost of the hot food student special and vegetarian option will be reduced by 6 per cent, says SU president Averil Power.