Dear Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union: Hands Off the Dual BA
TCDSU’s attempt to end the Dual BA with Columbia is not about protecting students—it’s about controlling them
The Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) is attempting to end the dual degree program between Trinity and Columbia University. According to them, our community presents a “serious risk” to the welfare of the students enrolled. On October 14, Trinity News reported that the TCDSU Council passed a motion to condemn the dual degree, the first step in a larger effort to terminate the program entirely. Trinity News also reported that the condemnation was in response to “the ‘degradation of academic and individual freedoms’ at Columbia.”
The decision to formally condemn the Dual BA came after at least two students in the program were suspended for their involvement in a disruptive pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia in Spring 2024, a source familiar with the matter told Sundial.
Though well-intentioned, the Union’s resolution is flawed. The validity of our entire program has been called into question due to the treatment of a handful of students during а politically volatile moment.
As students of this program and members of both university communities, here is what we have to say: Dual BA students, both prospective and current, do not need parenting from their student union. We are adults, we are students, and we should have the power to make our own educational decisions.
The irony of TCDSU’s logic is palpable. In 2023, they condemned the Trinity Halls (TCD’s first-year dorm complex) overnight guest policy, proclaiming that the University “does not treat students as adults capable of making their own decisions.” Yet when it comes to making educational choices, something undeniably more consequential than college sleepovers, TCDSU flips the script.
Beyond this, the Union mischaracterizes Columbia’s values.
As we all know, there is no shortage of debate over Israel at Columbia. The Trump administration’s recent crackdown on pro-Palestine activism, of course, doesn’t help our institutional reputation either. However, Columbia’s values are not limited to what is written on a webpage. Each day, the students who walk our campus and commit themselves to academic excellence embody our principles—rigorous debate, intellectual exchange, and the hunger for knowledge and societal improvement. By excluding students from their classification of university values, TCDSU defines Columbia’s institutional character solely by the criteria of vague administrative emails and soulless University web pages. The mistake TCDSU is making is a grave one. If they are looking to determine what constitutes Columbia’s values, they must look directly to the students.
At the Union’s deliberation proceedings before the official condemnation was passed, TCDSU Education Officer Buster Whaley claimed that “It’s irresponsible and perhaps dangerous to be sending Trinity students to a university where they might not, at the very least, get their degree.”
We take issue with Whaley’s framing. Dual BA students are not “sent” anywhere. We are the agents of our own academic journeys. This language alone reveals the demeaning tone the Union takes towards students whom they believe they need to impose their vague moral agenda on.
Instead of acknowledging this, TCDSU is treating Dual BA students as individuals who get passively transferred to Columbia in their third year. It’s as though we’re merely Trinners who got swept up in the wrong crowd.
Dual BA students have, on the contrary, pondered their distinct intellectual journeys at great length. For Irish and American students alike, the Dual BA requires two references, a resume listing your achievements, and a wholly original 1,000-word essay, followed by interviews with representatives from both Columbia and Trinity—a process entirely divorced from the standard Irish college application process. As the current essay prompt for the Dual BA details, there is no way to apply without articulating how “the Dual BA Program is the right fit for your academic goals.”
TCDSU’s stated goal is also to “assist” students to transfer their dual degree enrollment to a “fully Trinity-provided equivalent of their degree.” However, Dual BA students are already permitted to forego their plans to attend Columbia and remain at Trinity after their second year. This language highlights TCDSU’s fundamental misunderstanding of the Dual BA program and the autonomy of its participants.
After two years of making friends, leading societies, and building community, Dual BA students must grapple with the decision to start anew at Columbia or continue their lives at Trinity. But make no mistake: the choice was always there. And what we don’t need, most importantly, is mom and dad at TCDSU policing what we can and can’t do because of their beliefs, not ours.
It is one thing to condemn an institution for its response to student protests. It is another to project that ire onto the lives of students who are equal members of both communities, and who use their perspective as students of this dual world to bridge the gap between Trinity and Columbia.
The Dual BA program between Trinity and Columbia isn’t just unique because it immerses students in two different educational systems. The program forces students to push beyond their intellectual boundaries, challenge their beliefs, and refine their convictions. If TCDSU succeeds in their attempt to absolve Trinity of Columbia’s baggage, both communities will suffer.
It is up to us to reject this brazen overreach and ensure that the Dual BA, in its tragedy and triumph, continues to be a choice for internationally-minded students who know that we abandon intellectual rigor the moment we’re told how and where we are allowed to learn.
If you are a member of TCDSU and are reading this, we have two simple words for you: Hands off.
Mr. Nagin is a senior in the Dual BA program with Trinity College Dublin studying political science and Russian. He is the editor-in-chief of Sundial.
Ms. Edison is a senior in the Dual BA program with Trinity College Dublin studying history and economics. She is a staff writer for Sundial.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sundial editorial board as a whole or any other members of the staff.
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