Education riots in the UK; austerity in Ireland
Hi all you sojourners in the UK and Ireland
We have been hearing a lot here about student protests associated with the massive increase in the cost of university fees in the UK – though I think we are getting it on the news so much because of the incident in London involving Charles and Camilla. How are students on your campuses reacting? Do you find students in the UK are generally more politically engaged than at home, or is the student political context there similar to here?
And for those of you in Ireland – how are students and others reacting to, and affected by, the government’s new austerity measures?
Challenging times! I’m interested to know more.
Jan
Oz Students Abroad 
hi jan,
These student protests you mention have definitely affected the students at university of Bath where I am studying.
I would say that overall the student body seems much more political here than at home at UOW.
Our student union president has turned up to several of my larger lectures trying to get people to sign up to rallies, which a lot of people do. Perhaps because rising the student fees is an issue that directly affects the whole student body.
A meeting was organised with the the MP, hoping to swing his vote in parliament. the meeting involved many of the executive of the student union, but also students from across a range of faculties, degrees and ages.
Even a lot of the first years are getting involved.
A lot of people over here seem shocked that i’m not actually that interested in politics..
December 13, 2010 at 10:49 am