Snow

A little bit of snow fell last night and more to come to-night just a few pics from the garden. The snow in rural areas is so picturesque it's funny in the City it becomes slush so quickly, with the traffic and pedestrians, the only cars able to pass my house are 4x4's or tractors. I made a snowman for the first time a few years ago, there was never enough snow on the streets in Dublin to make one!

March Saturday 27th November 2010

Unfortunately, I woke to a blanket of snow and was unable to March in Dublin on Saturday. Now considering the population in Ireland and the total mess we are experiencing I would have thought the numbers for the march would have been greater than the 55 thousand as reported, I think all the various groups should join together to take to the streets rather than each individual group fighting for there own cause! Anyway lets hope this snow doesn't last too long as I'm snowed in with two hills either side of the house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ing8xH3Qj-k

Mature Students

I'm writing to-day on the basis of an article a fellow student showed me during the week from the newspaper and it revolved around the free fee's for students. The article expressed that all students were only interested in boozing and partying and why should fee's be paid by the taxpayer. Now as a mature student while driving to college this opened a number of thoughts for me. While I know that mature students are in the minority within the third level education system (possibly changing due to the downturn)  it bothered me that I was stereotyped into a particular category and that the term student brings up very many notions and myths for people. I am not saying that all my younger fellow students should be categorized in this way either but to me seems a very shallow opinion considering the amount of work that is involved in college life. Many mature students have to come to terms with computer skills, time management skills etc. and to be stereotyped into a category of drunken louts is not good. Another programme I watched on funding students stereotyped students into those posh wealthy kids from Foxrock. In my experience of college life I haven't seen too many rich wealthy people or too many boozy students. For some mature students a college social life sometimes doesn't exist due to family commitments and the workload of college.

Unfortunately, in the past college was not an option for many families and it was just a matter of getting out to work to make a living and work at anything in order to get an income, no such thing as a career didn't feature, working in factories the minute you turned fourteen for some on your birthday. I think it is fantastic that mature students can now go to college and experience what it is like. While it can be very hard with family and juggling life in general it can be a valuable experience. For mature students termed as over 23 there are many avenues into college life through Vocational Training Opportunity Schemes and Post Leaving Certificate courses which are all open to mature students.

With the cuts it would be sad to see college life becoming only for the minority and not providing everyone with an opportunity in life that they would like to experience so for all those myths about students all being of the ages of 18 & 19 and drinking their way through college is unfair. Of course our young people party like I did at that age, but this is also not confined to the student community. By creating this impression of student's it only adds to further resentment from the working taxpayers etc. Many students have to commute long distances to find a facility to cater for what they want to study and pay for accommodation, food etc. so I think students should get the break they deserve, after all society benefits from an educated community and other countries want these students as part of their societies so why aren't they valued. Please find attached an article about mature students and lifelong learning.

http://www.ucc.ie/publications/heeu/Mature/mature_6.htm

At Last!

Delighted to have seen the 9 o'clock news to-night and at last some coverage of the brutality inflicted on students last week and about the complaints that have been raised. It is terrible when you see something that is so unfair and to feel powerless to do something about it. I'm still really annoyed and disappointed at the way people were treated and I hope some justice and answers are forthcoming. The footage is there to be seen and marvelous we have such technology to document such events on small devices such as the mobile phone. It's amazing looking at the footage how many people were recording the event as it was happening.

Day of the March, 3rd November

Well I arrived into town at 11.45p.m. met up with friends beforehand for a cuppa. Went to Parnell Square for 12.30p.m. the atmosphere was electric and I donned my canary coloured T-Shirt to get into the spirit of the March. Thousands had assembled before the March and came from colleges all over the country. The march began and I must say was all very good humoured and the public seemed to be very supportive. We made our way down O'Connell Street and up Nassau Street we were then guided up to Merrion Square. What disappointed me greatly was the fact we were unable to be outside the Dail gates this was closed off by the Gardai.

The atmosphere was very different up around the Dail very tense and the Gardai were uneasy and on alert, the students were forced down the one side of Merrion Square and a large truck i.e became a stage and also a barricade between the Dail and the Students.

Thousands were squashed into the Street which we tried to get into but the heat and crowds were unbearable, and if a push happened people would have been seriously crushed! All students were very good humoured but obviously cheesed off with the idea of registration fee hikes and many seen the dismal prospect of the dole queue as an option.  TV3 tried to report from the venue but the many interruptions of students jumping behind him, this really annoyed the reporter and he gave up, telling me he was hours trying to make a report and was failing miserably. I asked him to make sure he would report the correct figures for the march, he said they always report the truth.

The rally ended and the students began to disperse from were they were contained unfairly in my opinion I think as Irish citizens we should have been allowed to be in front of the Dail gates, I seen no evidence of students with any missile's. As I proceeded up towards Ely Place I noticed the atmosphere was becoming more stressed for the Gardai and I wondered what was happening. As I got to Merrion Row a number of Gardai on horses came out of Ely Place. I had to leave at that stage and I could not see over the horses or see what was happening ahead. 

Subsequently I have looked at footage on U-Tube and found it very distressing and disturbing because from what I can see many students were observing the few that entered the Department of Finance the riot squad came onto the seen which I think was very unnecessary and this provoked the tension. Students were pleading not to be hit and still they were batoned because they would not move. This was a peaceful protest that was over policed and control was abused and the right to be were you wanted to be in the City was denied. 

Should you decide to watch the U-Tube footage no weapons etc. were used by students, all they did was sat on the ground bully boy tactics that were not required and to add to it all what did this exercise cost? a few eggs thrown boo hoo! a few students sitting in the lobby of the Department of Finance making a peaceful protest, young women and men hit with batons, do our young people need to be treated like this. Once the fee's increase there is no going back and college will only be for the elite few again! Let's hope the forty two thousand students in attendance exercise their right to Vote and don't have to become the next generation to emigrants.

The U-Tube video has been removed maybe for legal reasons or possibly it showed us too much?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Y2G2UHCDQ

March on Wednesday Dublin 3rd November

Short post to-day in anticipation for march on Wednesday. Just hoping students will pull together and get out no point moaning about increases if you just sit back and do nothing action is required really. We'll see what media coverage the march gets on Wednesday evening and will the students be listened to. Watch this space !

http://www.educationnotemigration.ie


Tell your T.D on this website also.