'The Gathering'

Liber8or

I wanted to create a thread dedicated to the main, if not only, event of RAG Week in NUI Maynooth 2010. The purpose here is to actually discuss the positives and negetives of 'The Gathering' in an open forum where people can share their insight as to whether;

A- It will be a success/failure.
B- Students were overlooked in the grand scheme of things.
C- The future now lies in RAG days, which are festivals.

Firstly, my impressions of 'The Gathering' are founded on some pivotal areas of contention and if you have some time to read, I will explain them here.

1 - The Student Union represents the students of NUI Maynooth. They are there to support and aid students throughout the year in whatever manner they can. Apart from my serious reservations with actual ability the SU has, I feel it has overlooked a considerable number of students. Can someone tell me who asked to have lectures cancelled on Wednesday the 3rd of March for all students? I only ask, because I have no intention of missing some key lectures that week and I had to pay €1600 in registration fees this year. From a brief look at the other prominent thread in this forum, there are others who share this sentiment, so why were they overlooked? Apparently, not everyone wants to get locked at 12pm and miss lectures...

2 - €35 for a ticket. Says it all really. One brief look at the Facebook page for the S.U reveals someone in charge of promoting and selling this festival with resonance of a retailer's experience. "It's gna b amazing" and "and the fact you will have been to the first ever mucis festival in Maynooth and I think you're getting a pretty great deal! xx " The general attitude seems to be "Why would you not want to go? I mean loike, its gonna be totally epic - cos its in Maynooth and its loike Oxegen!!!11". To be perfectly honest, none of those acts interest me. Bunch of one hit wonders and no-namers. However, I would have liked to enter the place, have a look around, taste the atmosphere, but most importantly, I might have gone to the Silent Disco (did Photography at it last year and it was a good laugh). However, I do not want to pay €35 for a Silent Disco. If the S.U is about giving power/choice to the students, forcing them to pay for an entire day is taking that choice out of their hands.

3 - Logistics. Apparently there will be 8 stages, tents, and 12 hours of "epic"-ness. The first thing I want to ask here is - anyone been to Oxegen? What is the most outstanding memory you have of the last day where you are trekking back to the cars/buses? For me, it is rubbish and mud. It would appear that the S.U is going to use some of the football pitches or surrounding areas for this festival. So, how are they going to control this? A walled barrier will be erected to seal off a large section of the campus where you only have entry with a wrist-band?
Grass + people = mud. Alcohol + people = drunks. An innocent "Jaysis Jacinta, i need to pee!" will result in drunk students wandering into buildings, such as the Arts block, looking for toilets and simultaneously destroying the place in mud. However, perhaps there will be port-a-loo's in the staging area - who knows. This festival will attract outsiders/non-student types and a lot of them. Maynooth is going to become a densely populated nucleus of people for 12 solid hours, some students, others non-students. If something goes wrong, the reputation of the college will decline and such events will not be welcomed by the surrounding communities in the town.

4 - RAG Day vs. RAG Week. RAG Day is a very bad idea, in my opinion. Not only has it consolidated all events into one day - which is maybe inconvenient to those who can not make it, but it also limits and confines the spirit of the event. Raise and Give Day will now be known as drunkenly and disorderly day. We all know the great excitement and anticipation of an up and coming event. We want to make sure it will be "epic", its the ONLY day, it has to be just awesome - anything else and its a failure. Unfortunately, people ( i have done it myself ) then feel they have to be absolutely locked, to fully enjoy the spirit, the essence of RAG day. This will be disasterous. At least over the space of a week, the amount of alcohol is consumed over a filtered period where people are sparsely spread out. Some will go out some nights, others on other nights. Limiting Raise and Give to a day means - "We have one day to enjoy ourselves, we better make the most of it!!!11". A confined area, a limited time frame, and a lot of people (more than usual) in that zone will be explosive, to say the least.

Ultimately, I think this is a bad move by the S.U in the many ways I have outlined above. To have thrown aside students who would rather go out to Bradys that night, rather than spend the day in the S.U bar, by cancelling lectures means the S.U is not thinking in a pragmatic and fair way. By charging €35 for a ticket to an event which incorporates a wide range of many events is taking choice away from students. As such, they are forcing students to pay for many things they have no interest in, just so they can be a part of the 'ultra, super cool, most awesome music festival evarrr!!11one!'. The logistics of the event, if mis-managed, will be disasterous to the college and the respect and consideration we should show to the surrounding communities. And, finally, throwing a blanket over our eyes to make us think that a RAG day is better than a RAG week, is down right insulting. Not only that, but it will ensure that if things go wrong, they will go very wrong with the general attitude and tagline for the day being "best day ever".

Ofcourse, I understand the current economic climate may dictate the possible actions available for the S.U, but this 'Gathering' is a farce for everything the S.U should stand for - choice.

I have always felt that Fresher's Week/Fortnight, and RAG Week/Day was all about spending some good times in a pub or whatever with friends. Having a laugh, throw some change into a box for charity and take a break from studying all the time. I will continue to do that, but from a seat in one of Maynooth's established pubs, which I am sure will have their own promotions on, and not being extorted, ridiculed and limitied from choice, by the S.U.

So, what do you all think? Will 'The Gathering' be a success and why? Is RAG day the future of NUI Maynooth and do you prefer that?

banquo

My comment: epic post.

funky penguin

Excellent post, nicely said. I agree with most of your points.

In answer to the initial question...

A: I hope its a success, but I can only forsee disaster.
B:Yes, students were overlooked. The majority of them will not be going (I plan on either being in Caulfields or Wexford!)
C:I sincerely hope these festivals are not the way of the future. I also think that alot of people will still party for the week.

Seren_

As I've mentioned previously, I live on campus and the apartments are right beside where The Gathering is going to be on. I don't want to spend €35 to go to see one or two half decent bands, hence I'm not planning on going. So it's pretty much certain that I won't be getting a minutes peace for the entire time this event is on. Now I don't really mind that I suppose. It's a bit of a bollox, but I've been to music festivals before and I know what it's going to be like. It'll be loud and the place will be packed, but I will be able to put up with it (hopefully without going mad :pac:)

However, there are children living in my building and in a lot of the other apartments. That's not going to be a good mix. As if living on campus wasn't loud enough already, can you imagine what it's going to be like on that day? I think it was a bit irresponsible of the SU to not even ask the people who live right beside where the event is being held did they mind. Even to just put up a sign in the apartments office so people would have known in advance or something.

Also, wtf are lectures cancelled for? Not everyone wants to go to the festival. Arrrrrrrgh, sometimes this place makes me so angry.

/grumpy final year student rant

Also, echoing the rest of the guys - excellent post Liber8or.

Rozabeez

I'm not even allowing myself to think about The Gathering, I won't be going, and I'll only be on campus for about 45 minutes that day if it can be helped. Oxegen has never appealed to me, the mud, the drunks, the vomit - How is this going to help the college look good? No doubt, there'll be people arrested by the end of the day. Promoting it as the 12 hour thing in my opinion, is a terrible idea. With RAG week, people tend to go for a few hours, go home, get some "soakage" food, have a nap etc etc and then go back for the night time stuff if they're up for it. But advertising it like that suggests that people really should stick around and drink for 12 hours. Sensible? I think not.

cian1500ww

RAG week or charity week as they're calling it now, is still going ahead afaik. Are you sure it's 8 stages ?? Looks like 3 on the poster but it's hard to tell.

TBH, I'm looking forward to it, my first rag week was crap and this one seem's better. I'm only 2nd year so missing a few lectures doesn't bother me but I can understand the extra pressure it puts on final year students.

nothing

Wait, wait, wait, have lectures for that day actually been canceled or have they just asked that they be canceled?!

I'll be seriously pissed off if they're canceled as Wednesday is my busiest day, and I'm not happy about missing out on a chunk of final year lectures. Grrr.

Also, I think it'll be a failure, from what I've read about it. Between the overpricing, the inconvenience, the fact that it's mid week means even "normal" people will be hard pushed to justify going.

K4t

Just spend the day in the library. Imagine how quiet it will be with everyone else off getting steamed over on North campus. Correct me if I'm wrong but a half day of missed lectures is not going to decide the outcome of your degree!

nothing

Lol true K4t, but when you consider it's only 24 lectures per module, even one less is significant, and then you take into account a bank holiday Monday and Good Friday are also cut out this semester. Sigh. Besides, my lectures are almost all on South Campus, so if they're canceled too, that'll be f-cking annoying!

allandanyways

Already voiced my opinion on this in the general discussion thread but I think the SU have seriously let students down in that their supposed duty is to make college life as easy for students as possible, and then they go and disrupt the set of lectures.

As nothing said, final year yada yada and no doubt these lectures/labs missed will have to made up when we're supposed to be studying for finals.

SU made a stupid fcuking decision, oh aye it's all well and good to have a nice time and party a bit in college but at the end of the day we're here for a degree and the SU shouldn't impose a poxy fecking "festival" on the large amount of students who DON'T WANT TO TAKE PART.

I'm so so annoyed about it seriously what the fcuk were they thinking, I don't know how they managed to get all the departments and authorities in the college to agree to the stupid thing.

Also I will vote for and get people to vote next year when I'm away if the next President/Ents candidates agree that they will NEVER do something this stupid again and if the idiotic thing turns out to be a success with the inane masses, then I would sincerely hope that it's on a weekend and they take lecturers, students, residents of campus, and anyone else who's going to be affected by this into account.

leopoldbloom

Great post Liber8or,

I'm interested to see how the Gathering works out, although it is unfortunately expensive, and risks alienating students who don't want to take part and campus residents whose night will be disturbed by the event.

Just as a bit of back-ground. It is the Garda who have banned RAG week, not just in Maynooth, but in every University that has one. Galway and Sligo went completely insane last year with dozens of arrests, hospitalisations and I think there was a death somewhere.

Based on the Garda order that RAG week was untenable the SU are trying something different, so that something can try to take its place which I applaud, but it is clearly not perfect.

I forsee the town being less pleased with the Gathering than they were with RAG week, as all the pubs will be running nightly events and the SU will not be having Bar-Exes every night, which served to keep people away from the town.

I've loved every RAG week I could take part in, and would be sorry to see it vanish completely. That, unfortunately is the alternative.

I, for one, am going to see how the Gathering goes before denouncing it as an absolute disaster and hope people get proactive in the union next year about finding a better alternative which is agreeable to the majority of students as well as the police.

Much Love,
Leo

K4t

Write a letter to the Print. You have all made valid points. Voice them!

funky penguin

Could we nominate someone to write a collective letter? I'm not exactly eloquent....

Seren_

I'll write it. Here's a quick draft:

---

Dear The Print

The Gathering sucks, DO NOT WANT, etc etc.

Regards,
The Internet.

---

Seriously though, a letter is a really good idea. We need the SU to sit up and take notice that not everyone wants/wanted an event like this.

I love that my fellow Sligo people helped ruin Rag Week for everyone. That's caaaaaaaaaaat! :pac:

cian1500ww

RAG week is still going ahead, they're calling it Charity week instead.

funky penguin

Your Text Here wrote: »

I'll write it. Here's a quick draft:

---

Dear The Print

The Gathering sucks, DO NOT WANT, etc etc.

Regards,
The Internet.

---

Seriously though, a letter is a really good idea. We need the SU to sit up and take notice that not everyone wants/wanted an event like this.

I love that my fellow Sligo people helped ruin Rag Week for everyone. That's caaaaaaaaaaat! :pac:

Ha! Pretty much...except we sign our real life names.

Liber8or

K4t wrote: »

Write a letter to the Print. You have all made valid points. Voice them!

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated and I am glad not everybody feels NUI Maynooth Festival 'Insert Hyperbole Here' is the greatest thing to happen since sliced bread.

I have written articles for the Print before and they were published - but, with all the hype and promotion surrounding 'The Gathering' (Really starting to sound like some 70's horror movie), I doubt they would risk publishing something that could harm ticket sales or create dissent for their 'epic' idea. Let us be honest - we may not like what the S.U are doing, but I am sure we can all recognise it will be very expensive.

Also, just to confirm - lectures will be cancelled from 12pm on March 3rd to cater for the on-going events.

banquo

Why doesn't someone email the SU? They tend to get pissed off when they read our complaints here but weren't contacted directly. Always struck me as the opposite of leadership, but there you go. Fire off an aul email thar...

Effluo

Wow everything of what i've been hearing put into one post! I love these "It's gna b amazing", "and the fact you will have been to the first ever music festival in Maynooth and I think you're getting a pretty great deal! xx " +1

Well rag week for me will not be charity week, it will still be rag week for me.

I'd rather the Monday off the week after "rag" week to give me some more time to recover, but that's just my ideal world.

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't go to a festival for the music. I go for the general craic and atmosphere.

I honestly don't think the people who live on campus have much of a case, about the noise pollution. You live on campus and I'm sure pretty much every week is noisy enough and definitely during ever rag week there's gonna be a problem although maybe not quite as large.

It will be very interesting to how the college manage the event. Making a music event go well takes a shed load of planning and there are a million different things that can happen. I did this thing once and someone ended up getting on top of the lights in the theatre(funky penguin will know how mad this is, yes that theatre) even though there was a shed load of security.

The toilet thing is a fantastic example of something which could be completely overlooked. There's always people queuing for them at any event i've been to and will they have people there to stop others from entering the other buildings(due to their almost certain muddiness)?

Another great point you raise is the fact of if there is indeed any rain whatsoever there will be an incredible amount of mud! And i'm not sure if anyone has ever been on any of the festival campsites late in the day when everyone is going home? Well lets just say that it's like an atomic bomb hit it. I'm not referring to the mud, but the general state of the land afterwards. If this is being put onto a playing field I can guarantee there will either be no playing field there again or there will have to be a newly landscaped playing field.

IMO For most people(those with a soul) rag week will be a piss up most brilliant! It will not be just a day, that's merely heathen's talk and it will remain a week forever no matter if something "official" isn't on


Point of note:
Oxygen Sucks and it's about the music - Electric Picnic is about the atmosphere and is the shiz

Who knows what "The Gathering" will be more like?

Effluo

banquo wrote: »

Why doesn't someone email the SU? They tend to get pissed off when they read our complaints here but weren't contacted directly. Always struck me as the opposite of leadership, but there you go. Fire off an aul email thar...

Or even better post it on their beloved facebook page

banquo

Effluo wrote: »

Or even better post it on their beloved facebook page

Ha! If it didn't get filled up with **** so quickly, but that can't really be helped.

allandanyways

I sent them a mail on facebook, was told that the gathering is a way of consolidating all the madness of rag week into one day so to get rid of the binge drinking and madness that "engulfs the town" and leaves participants feeling uneasy.

Apparently the faculties and the university agreed to cancel lectures to allow staff and students to participate in the festival for a good cause etc etc


Still don't think that's good enough. RAG week doesn't bother me when it's over in the SU. I don't have to see the mud wrestling or puking first years if I don't want to and since I'm fortunate enough not to have lectures in the Callan building, I rarely am disturbed by the noise.

Not this year though, we can't avoid the poxy thing and I'm so annoyed about that. I DON'T WANT TO GO THE GATHERING, nothing about it is attractive to me, I'd much rather just go out as usual in the nighttime. Yet I'm going to be constantly subjected to publicity and people talking about how "omg its gna b so epiccc!!!"11!" and then on the day I have to listen to the music, screaming, and general noise coming from it, and let's face it, the Library is hardly soundproof.

It's just one day but seriously so much was overlooked, I'm absolutely disgusted with the SU.

funky penguin

To be honest, I really hope it goes off without a hitch, but I've emailed the SU asking a few questions:

To confirm that lectures have been cancelled from 12 on the day and why they did this.

How many tickets are on sale for this event.

Where exactly they are planning on having it.

What time they are planning on it finishing at.

Again, I really hope it goes well with no problems....I suppose the unknown nature of a brand new event is making me unnecessarily uneasy about it.

LeixlipRed

An interesting point there by Effluo, if this takes place on the playing fields on campus they will never be able to be used again. They'll have to be dug up and re-sown. And where else could it be held??

banquo

Personally, I hope it goes well. Not going myself. Hate to be living on campus that day.

Thwip!

times like these i'm glad i'm on a river apt top floor

K4t

banquo wrote: »

Personally, I hope it goes well. Not going myself. Hate to be living on campus that day.

I'm happy to let as many girls as possible use my facilities on the day....:pac:

Duddy

Labs better not be cancelled that day :mad:

Beau

If anyone has been to Trinity's Ball they'll know that it'll be great craic. As Efullo has said its all about the atmosphere and less about the music. Trinity get great acts but nobody really cares and the dance tent is most popular. I think it'll be fun.

The rugby pitch will be ruined though!

token56

I really dont know much about this, but from what I've been reading here seems like it has the potential to be quite the disaster if not properly prepared for. And I dont think the SU have the foresight to properly prepare for half the likely issues that will occur.

I have absolutely no interest in going to it, and lectures being cancelled dont affect me at all considering I dont have any. The only effect it will have on me is that i probably wont be able to get alot of work done where I normally do due to excessive noise, but I'm sure I will find somewhere else to work.

I can also imagine the state the place will be in the day after and I wondering exactly what plans the SU have for the clean up if any at all.

K4t

A few of us on campus, who aren't paying the €35 for rubbish rubbish acts, are thinking of holding our own open air party on the green area between village and river appartments on the day. Stereo with proper tunes from Daft Punk etc. with beer of course. Could get a good rave going!!! If anyone wants to come you're more than welcome!!

Jimmy Iovine

K4t wrote: »

A few of us on campus, who aren't paying the €35 for rubbish rubbish acts, are thinking of holding our own open air party on the green area between village and river appartments on the day. Stereo with proper tunes from Daft Punk etc. with beer of course. Could get a good rave going!!! If anyone wants to come you're more than welcome!!

Not a bad idea but I wouldn't go offering up my stereo if I were you. I'd say it wouldn't last half an hour to be honest. The security are much stricter this year when it comes to drinking on campus even if that means being no less than 10 yards from your apartment

K4t

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Not a bad idea but I wouldn't go offering up my stereo if I were you. I'd say it wouldn't last half an hour to be honest. The security are much stricter this year when it comes to drinking on campus even if that means being no less than 10 yards from your apartment

Stereo? We're all friends on campus and someone would keep an eye on it! Yeah they are but I doubt they'd do anything during the day and given it's rag week. My friends and I have often drank over at the tennis courts, drunken tennis is great craic btw, and nobody has said anything to us.

Jimmy Iovine

K4t wrote: »

Stereo? We're all friends on campus and someone would keep an eye on it! Yeah they are but I doubt they'd do anything during the day and given it's rag week. My friends and I have often drank over at the tennis courts, drunken tennis is great craic btw, and nobody has said anything to us.

I admire your optimism but given the numbers expected for the event and the fact tickets can be bought so readily on Ticketmaster I reckon security will be hitting hard on any drinking outdoors thats not inside the fences.

Just my feeling and I could be wrong but I rarely am haha

K4t

Haha ok. We'll still do it though and if we get moved from there, we'll find somewhere else!

Effluo

Got a ticket today and it was still only €29.50

I thought all the cheaper tickets would have sold out on the first day

Apparently not

Michellenman

Yeah I got two at that price at about 2pm today. I thought they'd have been gone too. She said she had about 30 of the cheaper ones left and then it was on to full price.

Effluo

Michellenman wrote: »

She said she had about 30 of the cheaper ones left and then it was on to full price.

You'd have to wonder...
Hope it all ends up alright for them, i'd say a heck of a lot of work has gone into this, be a shame for it to fail

lordgoat

Og goody a music festival right on my front door, anyone got a list of the full line up, all i've seen so far is total ****e.

LeixlipRed

It's total rubbish obviously *puts on old dusty maynooth drinking hat*

Michellenman

LeixlipRed wrote: »

It's total rubbish obviously *puts on old dusty maynooth drinking hat*

Yeah, cause I just didn't just get your ticket for you today.

Crap music or not I think the day will be fun.

LeixlipRed

It will be. I hope the weather's good though.

Kiwi_knock

The Scottish band The View were confirmed today, decent enough band but can't see them attracting that many more to buy tickets

Kiwi_knock

The Magic Numbers have been announced today, can't wait to see them. Top band with top music

Liber8or

Would just like to add to my post, individual events, such as the Silent Disco will require an additional fee alongside the €35 required to enter the festival.

This comes from a pretty reliable source who works within the S.U.

Miss Lockhart

funky penguin wrote: »

To be honest, I really hope it goes off without a hitch, but I've emailed the SU asking a few questions:

To confirm that lectures have been cancelled from 12 on the day and why they did this.

How many tickets are on sale for this event.

Where exactly they are planning on having it.

What time they are planning on it finishing at.

Again, I really hope it goes well with no problems....I suppose the unknown nature of a brand new event is making me unnecessarily uneasy about it.

Did you get an answer to any of these questions yet - particularly about the lectures?

I asked in college today and nobody in the department (Education) seemed to be aware of it - certainly they were not aware of cancelling lectures. As it is they are insisting on making up lectures from St Patrick's Day so this will just cause more rescheduling.

That said, I hope the event goes well. I hope it's well organised and there aren't any disasters.

Síle28

Just what I was wondering, if it also affects PostGrad lectures? would just be biggest headache for us to have to reschedule more when they are already talking about rescheduling Paddy's Day cancelled ones (which I find ridiculous as they obviously knew about March 17th being national holiday from start of yr and it is afterall supposed to be a day off not a pain in the ass) :eek:

cian1500ww

We're off that week from the 15th March to the 19th March...

Effluo

cian1500ww wrote: »

We're off that week from the 15th March to the 19th March...

Weh hey!
Got a bit worried there, Imagine a Paddy's day in Maynooth! :O
Messy, messy... messy

Miss Lockhart

Effluo wrote: »

Weh hey!
Got a bit worried there, Imagine a Paddy's day in Maynooth! :O
Messy, messy... messy

PGDE has lectures that week - we're only off on the Wednesday and will have to make up the lectures.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

nothing wrote: »

I'll be seriously pissed off if they're canceled as Wednesday is my busiest day, and I'm not happy about missing out on a chunk of final year lectures. Grrr.

Also, I think it'll be a failure, from what I've read about it. Between the overpricing, the inconvenience, the fact that it's mid week means even "normal" people will be hard pushed to justify going.

well the lecturers will be canceled for everyone, so you wont miss out.