There has been a renewed call for sanctions against student societies following a wave of resignations by senior committee members. Evidence of widespread misappropriation of society funds was uncovered by The Turbine in a report which largely confirmed the longstanding allegations of fraud and bribery.
The investigation revealed details of 115 counts of serious administrative wrongdoing by 11 societies, including the L&H, History Society, Harry Potter Society, French Society and Chess Society. Far from being simply rumours, the damaging information has revealed a widespread culture in societies of disregarding the will of members in order to install a host of familiar faces and their cliques, year after year.
The investigation was triggered in October 2023 when LawSoc Freshers Rep hopeful Dee Bates suffered a shock defeat to now-former auditor Noah Díaz. A source told the Turbine that there had been gross irregularities in the voting process to ensure that the planned succession line could be fulfilled. This is contrary to Societies Council rules, which stipulate that societies should have “at least some semblance of democracy in their day-to-day operations.” LawSoc deny all wrongdoing and claims to have irrefutable evidence that will exonerate their extremely moral committee members. When pressed to provide this evidence by our investigative team, the society suddenly cut off communication.
This level of corruption is not limited to UCD’s legacy societies. It was also revealed that members of the UCD FoodSoc committee had been in receipt of large campaign donations from Boojum, thought to be a quid pro quo to combat the growing threat of Zambrero on campus. Questions also hang over last year’s €13,000 grant to the History Society to facilitate a talk by Henry Kissinger. Mr Kissinger was unable to comment on the matter due to his more than timely death in 2023. Former Auditor Ciarán Ó Dúill could not be reached for comment, although reports have made it back to our investigative team that he has taken refuge in his Family’s country manor for crisis talks with his legal team.
A statement by the UCD Societies Council, headed by former L&H Auditor Stiofán LeBarette, disavowed any knowledge of the report’s findings but promised to launch “an exhaustive internal investigation in which no expense will be spared”.
By: Cat Stevens