UCD Students Slam College’s 150th Celebrations.

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Thursday October 28, 2004 19:02 by Global Action

On Wednesday the 3rd of November there will be a ceremony in University College Dublin to celebrate the college’s 150th anniversary. Students calling themselves “Global Action” are determined to use the occasion to raise serious questions about the current state of higher education. Three days of teach-ins are planned which will discuss a wide range of topics from the threat of privatisation, inequality of access and democracy in education. The events will culminate in what has been billed as a ‘Reclaim the Campus’ party. The event is timed to clash with the celebrations of the college authorities and is modelled on the ‘Reclaim the Streets’ carnivals that have been popularised world wide by the anti-globalisation movement.

Commenting on the celebrations, a representative Tom Rice said:

“There’s not much to celebrate, is there? State cut-backs, an inadequate grant, the creeping introduction of fees, and if Hugh Brady, our new college president has his way, the handing over of our university to private companies. Last year the college tried to cut back on our library opening hours to save money. Well this year Brady spent 1.6 million of our money doing up his mansion. There is not enough money for new library books, but there’s more than enough to install a private gym in the presidents house, despite the fact that he lives 2 minutes away from the UCD gym.”

The students believe Irish third-level education is at a turning point, having been hit badly by the government’s cutbacks. Education spending per GDP in Ireland is far below the EU average, and is falling every year. Initiatives that support people from disadvantaged backgrounds such as the Back To Education Allowance have had their finding slashed. Last year, due to a lack of funding, UCD authorities cut down on library opening hours. After action by UCD students, they restored the hours but only by secretly transferring funds from the budget for new books.

The government, the Higher Education Authority and the OECD have all joined together to push for a reliance on corporate funding. Basing their vision for Irish universities on American colleges like Harvard and Yale, both of which charge tens of thousands of dollars per year. Though the government have backed down for the moment on their attempts to introduce full fees of thousands of euro per year, they are still introducing fees by stealth in the form of gradual increases in the capitation fee and increases in postgraduate fees.

Another activist involved in organising the events expressed concerns that:

“If education gets turned over to the corporate sector, the potential problems are huge. Research will be dependent upon private donations, and so only research that benefits profit making will receive support. This has happened in the US and Britain, both of which have seen education penetrated by the interests of big business. Funding for subjects which are not seen as promoting business needs will be difficult to get and will gradually disappear. This has already happened to classical studies in UCD. Who knows what subjects will be axed next?

Similarly, the introduction of fees, which is happening gradually before our eyes will see college becoming more and more difficult for people to afford. The introduction of fees in the UK has seen an explosion of student debt, and in Australia it has seen reductions in the numbers from disadvantaged groups attending college.”

Ends

For more information on Global Action see http://www.gaucd.cjb.net
For more info on the event itself see: http://www.ucdsu.net/newswire.php?story_id=282
To contact Global Action ring: 086 8122 700