DCU’s Welfare Officer has defended the recent mock wedding which was overshadowed with controversy following a fake stag party where naked strippers performed in NUI Maynooth’s college bar.
The mock wedding, which was a joint venture by both DCU and Maynooth’s Students’ Unions, raised over €8,000 for CARI, Smiles for Shauna and HeadstARTS. It was described by Lorna Finnegan as DCU’s “most successful” charity event this year.
In a statement to The College View, Finnegan said: “It is extremely unfortunate that these events [in Maynooth] are overshadowing what we can only describe as our most successful RAG event in recent years.
“We have received nothing but positive feedback from students since the event. The students bought into the theme positively throughout the week”.
Maynooth SU President, Ben Finnegan said the fake stag party was “totally unacceptable”.
He also clarified that although the mock wedding in conjunction with DCU SU was an official event, the fake stag party held at the college bar was unofficial and denies the strippers were paid using SU funding.
A number of female strippers performed at the event and allegedly stripped completely naked. It is understood that the performers were arranged by outside students and not by any member of the SU.
The “Shite Hen Night” held in the NuBar prior to the mock wedding was “not taken seriously” according to Finnegan and did not intend to offend. The student “stripper performed on his own accord and as a joke more so to add to the theme of the event.”
Students around DCU agree that DCU SU’s events were done in good humour, with first year Communications student Beth Healy saying the hen night held in the NuBar was “a bit of craic more than anything else. Everyone was just laughing.”
First year Journalism student, Leandro Pondoc said the events were altogether entertaining. “I knew they were not going to take it seriously, it is a ‘mock wedding’ after all. I think everyone enjoyed themselves.”
Sharron Lynskey
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