Arts and Humanities students have expressed discontent and concerns for equality after being exiled from upcoming UCD careers events, directed toward the more traditionally employable disciplines such as law, business and law. UCD Careers Network have launched a range of upcoming online recruitment events which include ‘UCD Virtual Law Fair’ and ‘UCD Smurfit Virtual Business Fair’. They have once again chosen not to include a ‘Newman Fair’ or equivalent.
The website’s current vacancies is another factor in the professional isolation of Newman-goers as uncertainty surrounds the capability of students coming from subjects such as language, sociology or classics to apply for “Trainee Accountant/Tax Adviser” or “Investor Services Intern”.
It is understood that protests are to be arranged in due course which will involve arts/humanities lobbying outside the UCD Careers Network and/or Sutherland. It is also rumoured that an arts group has met in order to arrange an independent careers fair. Milicent Ryan, organiser of the group stated that she had already reached out to some of the Big 4 in order to support the event but added that she had received no response.
A representative for the upcoming careers events clarified that a student from a discipline not mentioned may not attend the events even if some of their (arts) tutorials occasionally take place in Sutherland/Quinn, or if similarly they attend the annual Law or Commerce Society’s balls.
Aspiring unemployed arts students have contested to the continued discrimination of their discipline and have stood by their shared notion of “following [their] dreams”, despite being subject to constant mockery by law and business undergraduate peers via memes. One meme received by an anonymous student stated “Oh, you’re an arts student? Please, tell me what I can get on my burger”.
A student of French expressed confusion over this isolation from the upcoming careers exposition: “We are students capable of analysing French versions of ‘The Little Red Riding Hood’ and don’t understand why our skills aren’t being recognised”.
Wesley Conrad, student of Classics in UCD demonstrated frustration when comparing UCD to Trinity College Careers Services who include students of jam-making in their events: “Not to be bad out, but I would personally consider writing essays on medieval magic more employable and worthy of professional recognition rather than a couple of happy-pear supporters trying their hand in making a vegan raspberry jam”.
Aoibh Beag – Currently Unemployed
