Official statement from the Colloquium committee

We are writing to respond to the false and defamatory statement made by the Trinity College Dublin School of Law. Instead of addressing the abuse suffered by our Chairman and our organization, they are spreading lies, attacking the victims, and actively working to silence those who speak out.

First, we must state clearly that the claim that the TCD Law Students Colloquium is banned from holding events on campus is a lie. This lie is spread by Professor Oran Doyle, who acts as if he owns the College. He does not. We have not forgotten his shameful email of 3 June 2026, in which he used threats and ultimatums to humiliate students and pressure them to resign from the Colloquium.

On 16 September 2026, our Chairman was publicly insulted by John F. Manderscheid, with the support of Cormac Donnelly, Professor David Kenny, and others. We reported this abuse to the Junior Dean, the School of Law, and Prof. Oran Doyle, but they completely ignored us. No investigation was conducted. Instead, they decided to punish and destroy the victim.

This punishment started on 17 September 2026. Our Chairman received a letter from Victoria Butler, Secretary to the College, which was signed by Ms. Sorcha De Brunner. This letter allegedly banned Lukian from all college buildings, including the Law School and all off-site locations. They claimed it was for "safety" due to his "recent behaviour." They threatened to call the Gardaí to scare us. This was the first step to silence us without any proper hearing. No investigation was taking place. Regarding the appeal of the exclusion decision, Victoria Butler stated that Lukian can appeal to her. This means there is no independent mechanism to challenge this decision at all. She is judging her own case. “Colleagues, including a member of Security, raised safety concerns with me following an incident in the School of Law on 16 September 2026,” was the only reason.

Then, on 25 September 2026, a second document arrived from Professor David Hevey, the Dean of Graduate Studies. This letter is a humiliation and proves that no investigation ever happened. In this letter, they claim a complaint was made about an incident on "Wednesday, 16 February." But the incident actually happened on 16 September. They copied an old document and did not even change the date. This shows they did not look at the facts at all.

Nobody informed him about this process, and absolutely nobody asked him what actually happened. There was zero investigation. Their only goal was to quickly punish the victim. This is completely ridiculous and makes no sense at all. When Lukian tried to clarify the situation or ask questions, he was met with total silence. They completely ignored him, just made a decision behind closed doors, and that was it.

In this second letter, Professor David Hevey is ordering Lukian to attend a medical appointment with the College Health Service by 30 September 2026. They are trying to label him as having a "capacity" problem, essentially saying he is mentally unfit just because he was abused. We completely reject this forced medical check-up. It is a violation of basic human rights.

Student Capacity Advisory Group (SCAG) that supposedly met to discuss this case conducted absolutely no investigation. Lukian was not even informed that this group existed, and nobody asked him a single question about what happened. It is the exact same unfair procedure as before. It seems they just dug up an old textbook approved by the British Crown on how to suppress students and organizations. That playbook worked back then, and they think it still works today.

Even worse, this letter allegedly places Lukian "off books," which means his PhD studies are suspended. He is not allowed to attend classes or do research. Combined with the ban from campus issued by Victoria Butler and Sorcha De Brunner, they are destroying his education and his future.

We have also noticed a recent publication by Professor Eoin O'Dell on his LinkedIn account, in which he reposted the TCD Law School statement and urged people to report and block material associated with the TCD Law Students Colloquium. There has been absolutely no condemnation of this behaviour from the Law School. A member of staff, a professor, is openly calling on people to block and report a student organization. This is not academic discourse. This is not free speech. This is an organized campaign of intimidation. Yesterday, Professor O’Dell also made a demonstrably inaccurate public announcement claiming that the TCD Law Students’ Colloquium had blocked him. This is not true. In fact, given that he has himself reposted material from our public LinkedIn profile, it appears that he may have inadvertently blocked his own access to our content while attempting to interact with or repost our publications. Anyone with basic knowledge of LinkedIn administration or a public-profile account can confirm that a public LinkedIn profile cannot simply be blocked by an organisation in the manner suggested.

We therefore ask that this claim be corrected and that any public statements concerning the Colloquium be based on verifiable facts rather than inaccurate assertions.

What we are witnessing is a clear and deliberate two-tier policy within the School of Law. There are "good students" such as John F. Manderscheid and others similar to him, who can publicly insult and abuse other students with full School of Law ignorance. They are protected. They face no consequences. And then there are "bad students,"  everyone associated with the Colloquium. For us, the policy is different: we are to be humiliated, insulted, punished, and silenced. The School of Law takes the side of the abusers, not the victims.

This is not a new phenomenon. This has been going on for a long time, since March 2026. They continue to create hate, create problems, and escalate the situation every day. This should never have been allowed to happen. Such behaviour has no place in any University.

We are not fighting only for ourselves. We think first and foremost of the other students, the ones who, if we give up now, will be next. If we remain silent, this behaviour will continue, and others will suffer the same fate. We refuse to let that happen.

We call on Provost Linda Doyle to resolve this situation, because the truth is being hidden from her. We tried to contact her directly, but her office refused to pass on our numerous emails.

We must also address the complete abandonment by the Postgraduate Advisory Service, which has stopped providing us with support without offering any explanation whatsoever, and is now completely ignoring us. This service is the most recommended avenue (even by the Provost) the College provides for postgrad students to protect their rights. It is public information that only one person works there, Martin McAndrew, who is responsible for helping students. He simply stated that he would not support our Chairman, and when asked for reasons, he refused to explain, saying he had a "conflict of interest" with no explanation. This is a total failure of the support system and a betrayal of the student body.

This must stop. This behavior has no place in Trinity College Dublin.

We are going back to dark times when students were oppressed, silenced, and punished for speaking out. They are using the same old methods of bullying and fear. We will fight against this unfair system.

We call on the media and the whole university to pay attention. The School of Law is hiding the truth and protecting the people who started and continue the abuse. We condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms.

We will not be silenced. Justice will prevail.

19th Emergency Committee TCD Law Student Colloquium