Quote:
Originally Posted by angus58
Students are supposed to be bright enough to understand that the money has to come from somewhere - where exactly would they suggest it comes FROM? This government have inherited a bankrupt country in hock for the next generation or so. We are ALL suffering, not just the bloody students. And as for that old chestnut about how we are all going to benefit so wonderfully in the future from all these graduates, that only applies to those who are studying degrees that actually are useful and will contribute to society, and they are few and far between. Furthermore, they will, by virtue of having further education, end up earning far more than the average wage, so what on earth are they bleating on about? The safety net is already in place for those students in the most need - let the rest find a way of funding their CHOSEN lifestyle, ie a further 3-4 years of STUDYING whilst the rest of us have to struggle to survive in the real world.
As for the rioting, it achieves absolutely NOTHING other than alienate students from any public support or sympathy. Bully boy tactics do NOT work and never will. If a student wants to study THAT much I suggest they get themselves a part time job and do what the rest of us have to do every single day - earn a living.
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How condescending. Firstly, the protests are in part an angry reaction be being deceived by the Liberal Democrats who did a complete U-Turn on one of their manifesto promises; and considering that many students voted for the Lib Dems based on that promise, they've alienated their student support. Nobody is claiming that students are the only demographic of this country that are suffering; on the contrary the issue at hand is that these proposed changes are going to cause students to suffer more than they currently do - hence the riots. Your attitude towards students comes across as completely stereotypical and filled with hatred; so I'd like to explain my own situation in the hope that you'll stop and think for a minute that we're not all scrounging off the government and deserve to be penalised heavily for wanting to pursue academia.
I do not have a student loan and I have a part time job. I am a Scottish student, so my tuition fees are paid for by the government so long as I apply for them to be paid for before the academic year begins. That is the only aspect of my education that is paid for by somebody other than myself/my family; as a knock on effect of English universities raising their fees, many English school leavers hoping to go on to university will look to going places further afield: Scotland's significantly cheaper fees will attract lots more English students; making competition for places more difficult and disappointing students whose grades aren't good enough. What comes across in your post to me is that you're rolling your eyes at the idea of further education and think it's a waste of time - that's your opinion, but the fact remains that thousands of people of all different ages and backgrounds go to university to study each year and need some kind of financial support. Do your views apply to a single mother who is struggling to find employment so has gone to university as a mature student to get a good degree to aid her attempts to find a job? That's just an example of one type of person who isn't the 'typical student' that you seem to loathe.
There is no guarantee that someone who studies for a degree will get a well paid job - the job market is extremely competitive, a degree is no guarantee of employment. Being massively in debt (due to these proposed increases) and being unable to get a job because your CV still doesn't stand out from the crowd despite earning a degree, does that sound like an attractive prospect to you? In fact, it's a similar position to "the rest of us" who "have to struggle to survive in the real world" that you talked about in your post. We're all financially setback; if anything you're being prejudiced against students because of some preconceived stereotype that all students are lazy and just sit around getting drunk and doing nothing with their lives and then being handed a fantastic job - that's not the real world and I would have thought you of all people would know that, you're an intelligent poster!
I do agree with you about the rioting though - I firmly believe that the people causing trouble were, for the most part, hooligans who were there to cause trouble, and not students who were there to support the protest. Scenes like those captured in the media are just ridiculous displays of anti social behaviour and, you're spot on, do absolutely nothing to change anyone's mind about anything; instead it will only set people firmly against students. I really hope you read my post and at least concede that we're not all scroungers and wasters, some of us are here to learn and achieve something without being a burden on others.
