Student Protest/Riots

Lokolo

bigfatface wrote: »

wow! I am so surprised at some of these replies and how bad peoples attitudes are towards students!

I went to Uni and worked hard, holding down a part job while studying, and now I'm paying back my student loan while working full time. Not all students are beer guzzling, non-tax paying lazy layabouts.

yes the group of protesters that resorted to violence was wrong and those individuals caught should indeed be punished, but tarring the remaining 50,000 peaceful protesters with the same brush is down right narrow minded and stupid.

Fine the universities by taking it out of their budgets? totally ludicrous. How would you feel if it was your son/daughter/grandchild's university that had a reduced budget, meaning less resources etc? not very happy i'll bet!

Also what does it matter if you have a degree in criminal law or disney films? while I do not agree with some of the degrees available today, I would not berate that person for choosing something that they want to do, and I certainly would not think that they are a lesser person then me.

Some users on this board should be ashamed.

No-one is saying it's all students fault. I am a student and most users agree with me! They are against the students which are not behaving, or using resonble arguments for this protest.

Most of the students are campaining for the increase tuition fees. Which infact reduce the number of students going, but won't infact make the poorer worse off. Which is what a lot of students are campaigning about.

The students want free education, when it's a choice. Its not compulsory, its not a basic need for a university education.

The universities shouldn't be fined, NUS should. They wanted the protest, they take the consequences.

Zippy123

The_One_Who wrote: »

Also, as far as I am aware the figure for fees is £6,000. The £9,000 refers to 'exceptional circumstances'

As for the riots, it completely ruined their 'cause'. Violence and criminal damages aren't the way to get your point of view heard.

I have read that most universities will be charging £9k because not to do so would make them appear second best.

Could never condone the violence, but if they turned up at no 10 and said "please sir", do you think the protest would have had the same impact?

Lokolo

Zippy123 wrote: »

I have read that most universities will be charging £9k because not to do so would make them appear second best.

Could never condone the violence, but if they turned up at no 10 and said "please sir", do you think the protest would have had the same impact?

Most probably not given that the PM wasn't even in the country....

popadom

Coopdivi wrote: »

I find it ironic that somebody with your level of literacy is commenting about education matters.

I know quite a few people who employ graduates and to be honest, there not impressed:
a) some of the have taken english degrees, but cant spell
b) they only know there subject, and sometimes very little else.

I may not be the best speller or the smartest, but i can hold a conversation on many, many subjects, not just on a degree in media studies which will get me no where...

also, take note, i havnt taken a personal slant at you as i dont wish to go that low to prove a point

popadom

bigfatface wrote: »

wow! I am so surprised at some of these replies and how bad peoples attitudes are towards students!


Also what does it matter if you have a degree in criminal law or disney films? while I do not agree with some of the degrees available today, I would not berate that person for choosing something that they want to do, and I certainly would not think that they are a lesser person then me.

.

two things:
1, i think the students who work hard a brilliant, they should be proud. What i dont agree this that they are superior(as some people i know make me feel as i dont have one) in any way.
2. If they want to do media studies ect..then pay for it. As long as i dont let them have a free course that most employers would deem as not relevent then it dosnt bother me.

It shouldnt be free to go to uni, as now days anyone can go to be honest, it makes uni degrees almost a silly pieace of paper not what they should be : given to hard working individuals

LouiseJM

I joined this forum specifically to reply to some of the comments on this thread, which seem to me to be most unfair. I am currently a student and as a person from a single parent family, in order to be at university in the first place I have had to take a student loan at the maximum rate of around £9000 a year. I have been studying Medicine, which means that I have very little free time whatsoever, making it impossible for me to have a part-time job to support myself. In the last two years of the six year course, there are no long holidays which means no opportunity to earn money to assist my maintenance. In other words, I have to take the £9000 loan. Under the new rules, I would, over the course of 6 years, accrue a debt of £54000. Add on £9000 a year in tuition fees and that is £108,000. Providing of course I can live on £9000 a year in Central London which is of course not practical, so additionally there are overdrafts, other loans etc. to add on. Are the people on this forum who want students to pay seriously suggesting that having over £100,000 worth of debt is reasonable? Or that my ambition to become a doctor, help people, and work for the NHS is somehow flawed? I can tell you that were I facing these kind of decisions now as a potential student, I would certainly go abroad and study somewhere that values education. The problem is not merely the tuition fees but the fact that the government is no longer funding any courses except science and maths, and that additionally there has been a massive chunk taken out of the universities' research budgets. The UK is soon to become an intellectual wasteland.

LouiseJM

Also, whilst I do not agree with the idiotic violence of a minority (I suspect those who smashed the windows were NOT students, although some students did enter the building, caught up in the atmosphere) I feel that this issue has been deliberately twisted by the proponents of the tuition fee rise. What about the violence and destruction that occurred during the pro-hunt protests when fox hunting was banned? Such a big deal was not made out of that in the media. Whilst people accuse students of missing the fact that the repayment threshold has been raised from £15,000 to £21,000 I feel that many people are missing the fact that the debt students will be saddled with will be, in all likelihood, impossible to pay back for most students, as many will not obtain a high paying job as there are so few graduate jobs out there at the moment. So what is the point? Why not create a sensible system that is repayable and affordable? Why not reward those who attain academic excellence, or those who study 'worthwhile' degrees? Why create a system that will undoubtedly result in disaster? And also, another interesting question. Scottish students pay zero for their degrees. No fees whatsoever, even if they are on exactly the same course as a student from England. If their government does it, why can't ours? It is understandable and right, in my opinion, that students should contribute something to pay for their degree. Being saddled with tens of thousands of pounds of additional debt is, however, entirely unacceptable.

jonnyd281

LouiseJM wrote: »

(I suspect those who smashed the windows were NOT students, although some students did enter the building, caught up in the atmosphere)

A 23-year-old student who was arrested after a fire extinguisher was thrown from a roof during violent protests in London has been released on bail http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11747571

I would also suggest that you Iplayer newsnight from Wednesday night and watch one of your union officials who entered the building.

The_One_Who

LouiseJM wrote: »

And also, another interesting question. Scottish students pay zero for their degrees. No fees whatsoever, even if they are on exactly the same course as a student from England. If their government does it, why can't ours?

Because that is what the Scottish government have chosen to spend part of their block grant on. As a Scot who took full advantage of the free fees, I will be the first to say that the system is unsustainable and sooner or later (probably sooner) there will need to be fees introduced in Scotland.

geordieracer

The_One_Who wrote: »

Because that is what the Scottish government have chosen to spend part of their block grant on. As a Scot who took full advantage of the free fees, I will be the first to say that the system is unsustainable and sooner or later (probably sooner) there will need to be fees introduced in Scotland.

Indeed especially as the block grant will shrink in a few years.