Consent classes dropped by UCD and the Students’ Union

The UCDSU President at the time, Marcus O’Halloran, explained that the union would run the consent classes with the expectation that the university would take part in running them.

UCDSU explained in a statement released to the Univeristy Observer: “The Students’ Union have spent €1,800 on trialling consent workshops during the last 12 months. Over this period, attendance has been generally poor… So far the Students’ Union has been the only stakeholder in UCD putting serious money into the issue of consent.”

This follows confirmation by current UCDSU President Conor Viscardi at union council that the university has not funded any consent workshops.

Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald petitioned UCD President Andrew Deeks, asking him to assist the union in “tackling the issue to a greater extent than demonstrated over the academic term of 15/16”. The SU response to the University Observer’s questions did not indicate whether this support has been received or not.

The classes were announced following an investigation launched by UCD into allegations of group of UCD students sharing nude photos of fellow students without their permission. While the allegations were found to be false, UCDSU prioritised consent classes as part of a wider #NotAskingForIt campaign.

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