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USI Free Education Protest
 national |
miscellaneous |
news report
 Tuesday November 30, 2004 22:10 by Starstruck
Same Tired Formula,breakaway group attempts Direct Action.
The Union Of Students Of Ireland National Demonstration took place today in Dublin city centre.
The protest was called to highlight and oppose the threats of fees and privatisation in education.
A crowd 400-500 students marched from the Garden of Remembrance to the Dail (Moleswoth Street that is) where the crowd congregated behind the Garda Barriers and speeches.
 The annual pop concert was a reasonably sizeable one but alas the march "to the Dail" took an unplanned turn up Dawson street instead of continuing up Nassau street and filing to the Dail via Kildare street as was planned previously at several meetings.
Speeches from such inspirational figures as Ciaran Allen from the SWP,representatives from the SWSS were boomed out,followed by a comedic piece by one S.U President with pants on his head which inspired the jovial crowd into chanting "Cutbacks are pants"!
The decision to divert the march from the planned route up to Kildare street was apparently taken by the USI Leadership at a meeting with the Gardai,unbeknowns to many USI activists who had been involved in the organisation of the Demo.
A group of 30-40 students,mostly made up of UCD students decided to actually march to the Dail as was the goal stated by USI President Ben Archibald at the beginning of the march.
The group marched down Kildare street against the traffic and were confronted by a large contingent of Gardai and were forcibly pushed from the street with several Gardai using heavy handed tactics.
Several protesters,including some female activists were handled very agressively and one recieved a knee in the side from an over-eager Officer Of the Peace.
Although a small number of students managed to stage a brief sit down the action was quickly cleared up and we were soon yet again penned in behind the barriers listening to how this year was "going to be different"
Indeed the speaker at the time of the Direct Action urged others not to join in and merely added he "understood people's anger".
The USI protest was as ineffectual as all those of previous years have been.
A bunch of students,most of whom just there for a laugh,who know nothing of the serious underfunding issues throughout all levels of education and the serious hardships thousands of families face in attempting to give their children a decent education.
Not to mention the usual careerism of the leadership,in search of photo opportunities and personal publicity at the expense of the students who they received their mandate from.
The chaps were undoubtedly sitting in the Dail bar,sipping on a brandy when they noticed the usual student demo penned in on Molesworth street,ah sure you can always count on the Students,theyll sell out in a year or two..
Privatisation of our Education system looms large on the near horizon,especially when the demos to the Dail against it dont even make it to the Dail.
Your views please.
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Comments (8 of 8)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Starstruck claims Students didn't know what the demo was about, yet he/she seems to be the one who doesn't have a clue...
Mistake 1:
"The Union Of Students Of Ireland National Demonstration took place today in Dublin city centre."
Truth:
It was a demo called by 'Education is not for Sale': a group set up by the SIPTU Education Branch. Supported by INTO, TUI, ASTI, USI, SIPTU, IFUT, etc.
Mistake 2:
"A group of 30-40 students,mostly made up of UCD students decided to actually march to the Dail"
Truth:
It was actually 10-12 protesters, who did not involve or inform anyone else they were taking the action.
Mistake 3:
"A bunch of students,most of whom just there for a laugh,who know nothing of the serious underfunding issues throughout all levels of education and the serious hardships thousands of families face in attempting to give their children a decent education."
Truth:
This is elitest rubbish. Who are you to say the students there did not know of the hardship of underfunding and access to education? Are you the enlightened one?
Mistake 4:
USI "careerists...in search of photo opportunities and personal publicity at the expense of the students who they received their mandate from."
Now Starstruck is worried about the mandate of the very same students he/she claims were "just there for a laugh...(and) know nothing of serious underfunding issues throughout all levels of education..."
Either they are worthy of proper representation or they are clueless idiots, according to you, Starstruck.
As a teacher who deals daily with underfunding, privatisation, hardship issues in the classroom, I find the cynical comments of Starstruck sickening- quit the boring moan and next time tell others what you plan to do- if anyone is angry about the state of education I'm surely one and I believe today was a great day bringng all unions together to say no to privatisation and underfunding in education. We have to involve everyone together in classrooms, lecture theatres, etc. not bickering with eachother.
Leave it out...I'm actually a unelected union hack in UCD! I am my own mandate!
Well, Starstruck, dahling, I'm sure your friends in the head-the-ball contingent who tried to rush a crowd of Gardaí (who had more numbers out than the 'RADICALS" and who split from the USI and Maynooth contingent are feeling very proud of their immediate arrest (by which I mean halting).
You attempted to turn a dignified, peaceful build-up protest into a mosh, and you failed.
USI and Maynooth attempted to run a demo to the Dáil, let the students hear themselves speak out on education and then disperse, having built a solidarity with the Unions. They succeeded.
Time to build!
sas
Mnnnnnn….think privatiastion could actually be a good thing. It seems the well-to-do are clogging up the education system. The re-introduction of tuition fees with compulsory loan might stop rich wasters using it while it might give less advantaged students a chance to go. It would also switch around the unequality of the current relationship between lecturer and student which can lead to power abuse. With fees the student becomes a customer with consumers’ rights- a big improvement -except you’d still have to get round those damned public sector workers’ unions.
The more interesting thing is the manner in which Archibald and Helledd Whatever the Fuck trampled all over decisions that were made democratically at a campiagns working group meeting.
The decision was made to blockade Kildare St, did this happen, like fuck it did. Instead Tory Boy and herself took it on themselves to block everyone off and direct them up Molesworth St.
And yes John, people were asked to join the break away and chose not to.
After three years of USI demos, I can definitely conclude that they are a farce. You be be content to walk around in circles as careerists like Archibald and that Kiernan fucker from Trinity act like rock stars in front of the nations media . A hell of a lot of us aren't.
Every year one thing annoys me at these demos more so than anything: the numbers of people walking away during speeches with glum faces,
You are fooling only yourselves USI.
The protest yesterday was maerely one of a long line of failed national demos which end up just building to the next and the next.
Siptu involved eh?
that explains why we didnt actually march to the Dail as Mr Archibald so proudly stated at the beginning of the march.
Starstruck s argument is flawed but is essentially true as the Government never listens to pathetic pop concerts and only understands action.
Oh and the decision to march down Kildare street was NOT adhered to.
re: "Lack of Democracy" - it seems strange that someone who represents a college who was involved with scuffles with the Gardai will then comment about the lack of democracy.
Should you, or anyone else actually bother to read this, please remember these words. Causing riots will never accomplish to do with education in this country. All it will do is aggrevate the Gardai, and get students into more bad press. Why don't you, James, as Communications officer, communicate this back towards your union, about how stupid it is to violently protest about something. Perhaps once USI can prove it isn't inhabited by unintelligent planks, progress can be made and meetings can be secured.
It is more beneficial to beat someone through their intellectual abilities, then by force.
repeatedly using the words riot and violence doesn't mean there was any?