Drinks spiked, rude builders and very cold rooms revealed in log of complaints at Trinity College Dublin

The university’s estates and facilities office has received almost 330 formal complaints over the past two years about issues ranging from heating problems and pest infestations to noisy construction work interfering with classes or study.

However, some were more serious with one claim made of “spiking of drinks” and one allegation of “racial abuse” at the Trinity Ball in 2022.

A case of “racial aggression” was reported last July while one employee said they had been the subject of “catcalling” from construction workers on the university grounds.

Other incidents detailed in the log included “alleged garda abuse” of a student, uninvited security staff entering a room and housekeeping staff going into an apartment without a mask during the pandemic.

Many of us are having to resort to wearing coats and blankets

Most complaints related to the temperature of rooms, with staff and students frequently reporting that lecture theatres, offices and residences were too cold.

“Is it possible to have the heat turned on in the Museum Building? It has gotten much colder a lot earlier this year and many of us are having to resort to wearing coats and blankets,” one plea asked.

One staff member wrote of teaching becoming “unsustainable” if the temperatures dropped below a “certain threshold”. They said: “Four-hour lecture in the room and there was no heating”.

In other parts of the campus, staff brought in their own electrical heaters.

“Can the heating be turned on in Foster Place, the staff are complaining and the students that have classes in the Banking Hall are freezing,” another complainant said.

​It wasn’t always the cold, however. One entry in the log said: “Two lecturers complained that the Joly [lecture] Theatre was too warm.”

Other gripes included college residents unhappy with “questioning” by security staff when returning to the campus after midnight, and the theft of a motorcycle from the college.

Noise was also a source of nuisance with multiple issues concerning the use of power tools too early in the morning. Smoking on campus was flagged while bicycles getting locked to railings also upset at least one person. Other one-off issues included signs in breach of Irish language legislation, the presence of gardaí at a student services event and a broken disability access lift.

Asked about the records, a spokeswoman said there were procedures for dealing with complaints.

“In the first instance, students should seek the advice of their college tutor/postgraduate student support officer and use existing informal mechanisms to resolve difficulties,” she said.

“The formal student complaints procedure is available when informal approaches have not produced a satisfactory resolution within a reasonable timeframe or when the seriousness of the complaint merits it.”