There are some conflicts in the world today that will never be resolved. Bill Clinton, the United Nations, indeed an entire army of peacemakers couldn't make a "colours" debate between Trinity and UCD more peaceful. For those of you who haven't been introduced to the various "colours" competitions, it may be hard to understand how people from the same city, going to colleges offering similar courses, can hate each other so much.
These competitions involve the Trinity and UCD teams squaring up to each other in various spheres: rugby, soccer, debating. Last week, I attended the Law Society debate.
The motion for the evening was "That the CAO never lies" and the brave interlopers from UCD argued against the motion. Some things were clearly established by the end of the evening. Trinity College is a haven for Protestants, unionists and pretentious Oscar Wilde devotees, while UCD is home to culchies doing agricultural sciences and students who didn't get into Trinity (none of this is true, of course). The unbiased audience, made up of Trinity students for the most part, agreed that the home team spoke eloquently and stylishly, and consequently were the winners of the debate.
Well, I've been at college for three weeks now, and I'm still enjoying it. Yes, of course there are some things which aren't the best, like getting up in the morning, but my overall feeling as regards this part of my life is one of quiet satisfaction. After the Leaving Cert and its associated emphasis on learning by rote and unquestioning acceptance of divine truths (but I'm not bitter), college offers a chance to start to think again.
Over the past three weeks, I've gone to so many different events, social and scholarly. I've had the chance to experience things like vibrant, but cut-throat, arguments and laid-back rambling conversations (often in the same evening). This is what college is all about (apart from exams, of course).
This week I'll also be visiting the courts in Dublin. It's a chance to see how the law works in practice, as opposed to the way it should work, as set out in class. We've got to write about cases for two classes: legal writing and criminal law (taught by Trinity's media-celebrity lecturer Ivana Bacik!). I'm looking forward to this part of the course: it's the closest we arts students get to practical work.
This is my final column for The Irish Times. Yet again, I've gone through a new experience, while sharing it with thousands of people. Why did I do it? I'm not really sure. I am sure, however, that I'm going to stay in college for as long as I possibly can. This place has become my home in only three weeks. (If I can get a room on campus, or just sleep in the all-night computer room, it will eventually be my home.) I'm here and I'm here to stay. So there.
