The Common Room will stay open. I am honestly stunned by how this turned out and it is entirely because you refused to let this space disappear. Please keep an eye on things as we move forward to make sure the doors stay open for everyone.
December 26, 2018
Final supporters
Andrew Deeks, President of University College Dublin (UCD), has decided to close its Common Room Club by Christmas 2018.
The Common Room has existed since 1975, has some 900 members and is an important part of UCD's heritage. It offers a relaxed, informal atmosphere and can be joined by everybody who works in UCD - academics, administrators and postgraduate students (a unique setup in Ireland). The Common Room offers an opportunity to meet and get to know colleagues from other areas; it hosts events such as book launches, retirement receptions, charitable table quizzes and wine/beer tastings and is regularly the object of envy of national and international guests. It is a central nexus of building community, experiencing collegiality, and also a place facilitating interdisciplinary exchange in which new ideas are discussed, teaching and admin experiences exchanged and research projects born.
President Deeks now wants to replace the Common Room with a newly built University Club which is intended to be suitable for welcoming high-profile guests in a formal setting and have UCD employees, alumni and donors as members. Unlike the Common Room it will not be run by its members; decisions regarding membership fees, opening hours, staffing issues, types of events to be hosted etc. will be handed down from above (the Common Room is one of the last entities on campus that is not run centrally by UCD's management). Common Room members (and many other colleagues) fear that this new venture’s main purpose will be to generate revenue, represent the image of a new, corporate university and control staff’s activities; we argue that both clubs serve different needs and can coexist.
Members and guests know what they will lose if the Common Room goes and are highly sceptical to what extent the University Club will replace it - that President Deeks wants to close the Common Room a full semester before the University Club will be ready to open puzzles everybody and indicates the degree to which staff welfare is at the forefront of his concerns.
By signing this petition you call on President Deeks to announce an indefinite postponement of the closure of the Common Room which should continue its operations alongside the University Club. You also declare that you will not become a member of the UCD University Club (be it as a member of UCD's staff, as an alumna/alumnus or as a potential donor) and will avoid visiting the University Club as a guest or in the context of functions if President Deeks closes the UCD Common Room.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
October 13, 2018
October 12, 2018
I am honestly overwhelmed by how many of you have stepped up to support the Common Room. If you could send this link to just a few friends today, I think we might finally cross that next milestone together.
Reached 100 supporters
October 2, 2018
212 Comments
Articles, books, conferences, modules, seminars and much else of value began their lives as conversations over toasties in the Common Room. The Common Room is at the heart of our community at UCD. We need it to stay.
I think for retired staff in particular it is a lovely resource. The payment for the new place could be prohibitive for many retired staff. Overall I think it would be a nice gesture to retain this much loved meeting place for staff of all ages and all grades.
UCD common room is an egalitarian place that enabled me as a PhD student and postdoc to learn from and engage with academics from a wide range of disciplines. Don't underestimate the value of these informal spaces for early career researchers.
The Common Room has provided an excellent service for the whole community of UCD staff for the past 43 years. It is cost- effective. Why can't it be allowed to run in parallel with a University Club that will serve a different purpose?
The university must make it a priority to protect those wonderful people who work in the Common Room. They serve the community with patience, charm and good humour. They have an important place in this university and I hope their overriding needs are not neglected.
I cannot believe that there is a plan to close the Common Room. It is a focal point for all staff being almost the only outlet that fosters cohesion among members and a sense of belonging to a wider academic community. Closing it would be a disaster for UCD.
I have been a member of staff for over 25 years and the Common Room has always been an essential social element in College life.
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The Common Room will stay open. I am honestly stunned by how this turned out and it is entirely because you refused to let this space disappear. Please keep an eye on things as we move forward to make sure the doors stay open for everyone.
December 26, 2018
Final supporters
Andrew Deeks, President of University College Dublin (UCD), has decided to close its Common Room Club by Christmas 2018.
The Common Room has existed since 1975, has some 900 members and is an important part of UCD's heritage. It offers a relaxed, informal atmosphere and can be joined by everybody who works in UCD - academics, administrators and postgraduate students (a unique setup in Ireland). The Common Room offers an opportunity to meet and get to know colleagues from other areas; it hosts events such as book launches, retirement receptions, charitable table quizzes and wine/beer tastings and is regularly the object of envy of national and international guests. It is a central nexus of building community, experiencing collegiality, and also a place facilitating interdisciplinary exchange in which new ideas are discussed, teaching and admin experiences exchanged and research projects born.
President Deeks now wants to replace the Common Room with a newly built University Club which is intended to be suitable for welcoming high-profile guests in a formal setting and have UCD employees, alumni and donors as members. Unlike the Common Room it will not be run by its members; decisions regarding membership fees, opening hours, staffing issues, types of events to be hosted etc. will be handed down from above (the Common Room is one of the last entities on campus that is not run centrally by UCD's management). Common Room members (and many other colleagues) fear that this new venture’s main purpose will be to generate revenue, represent the image of a new, corporate university and control staff’s activities; we argue that both clubs serve different needs and can coexist.
Members and guests know what they will lose if the Common Room goes and are highly sceptical to what extent the University Club will replace it - that President Deeks wants to close the Common Room a full semester before the University Club will be ready to open puzzles everybody and indicates the degree to which staff welfare is at the forefront of his concerns.
By signing this petition you call on President Deeks to announce an indefinite postponement of the closure of the Common Room which should continue its operations alongside the University Club. You also declare that you will not become a member of the UCD University Club (be it as a member of UCD's staff, as an alumna/alumnus or as a potential donor) and will avoid visiting the University Club as a guest or in the context of functions if President Deeks closes the UCD Common Room.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
October 13, 2018
October 12, 2018
I am honestly overwhelmed by how many of you have stepped up to support the Common Room. If you could send this link to just a few friends today, I think we might finally cross that next milestone together.
Reached 100 supporters
October 2, 2018
212 Comments
The UCD Common Room is a shared communal space -- a type of place which is needed more than ever, in a world of growing privatisation and corporate take-overs of nearly all aspects of our lives. Having ownership and control of a communal space is important, and must not be lost.
Articles, books, conferences, modules, seminars and much else of value began their lives as conversations over toasties in the Common Room. The Common Room is at the heart of our community at UCD. We need it to stay.
I think for retired staff in particular it is a lovely resource. The payment for the new place could be prohibitive for many retired staff. Overall I think it would be a nice gesture to retain this much loved meeting place for staff of all ages and all grades.
UCD common room is an egalitarian place that enabled me as a PhD student and postdoc to learn from and engage with academics from a wide range of disciplines. Don't underestimate the value of these informal spaces for early career researchers.
The Common Room has provided an excellent service for the whole community of UCD staff for the past 43 years. It is cost- effective. Why can't it be allowed to run in parallel with a University Club that will serve a different purpose?
The university must make it a priority to protect those wonderful people who work in the Common Room. They serve the community with patience, charm and good humour. They have an important place in this university and I hope their overriding needs are not neglected.
I cannot believe that there is a plan to close the Common Room. It is a focal point for all staff being almost the only outlet that fosters cohesion among members and a sense of belonging to a wider academic community. Closing it would be a disaster for UCD.
I have been a member of staff for over 25 years and the Common Room has always been an essential social element in College life.
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The UCD Common Room is a shared communal space -- a type of place which is needed more than ever, in a world of growing privatisation and corporate take-overs of nearly all aspects of our lives. Having ownership and control of a communal space is important, and must not be lost.