Why is the college closed for so long?

candy19

I found out there last week that DIT is closed for almost a full week for Easter. No library, no labs, student services all closed and no college.

I was wondering what's the deal with this? Friday is Good Friday and Monday is Easter Monday I can understand why the college is closed those days but not the rest!

It's a bit ridiculous in my opinion, havn't students got loads of assessments to do over the Easter break, I know I have loads but no library or labs to do them in until next Wednesday!

Can some one please explain this!!

Sheeps

Surprisingly enough, it's because the staff who run the college* actually are entitled to a holiday.


*not the administration staff, they don't deserve the steam off my piss

Dinner

candy19 wrote: »

Friday is Good Friday and Monday is Easter Monday I can understand why the college is closed those days but not the rest!

The rest being just Tuesday?

I've as much work as anyone to do, but for 1 day I can either work at home or take the day off. It's not the end of the world.

FewFew

I must say the Tuesday confuses me. The half day Thursday also confuses me, but a lesser degree.
Fair enough, everyone deserves holidays, but at a point when everyone in college is so busy, I find closing the college for two extra days is a bit unreasonable. There's the whole Summer for taking holidays, plus lengthy stretches around Christmas.
I don't see why the whole staff have to take these days off, in any other business people would be working in shifts etc and told to feck off if they all expected a day off. It's not a Bank Holiday. I just don't get it.

wixfjord

Half day on thurs and day off tue is ridiclous. Just another in a long line of stupid decisions harming students. Emailed our revered president last week about this and needless to say have got nothing back since, come to think of it have heard nothing at all from her this semester, student politics eh :rolleyes:

Dinner

wixfjord wrote: »

Half day on thurs and day off tue is ridiclous. Just another in a long line of stupid decisions harming students.

Now thats just an overreaction. A a day and a half of working from home/taking a break is hardly degree killing or even harming in anyway.

wixfjord

Dinner wrote: »

Now thats just an overreaction. A a day and a half of working from home/taking a break is hardly degree killing or even harming in anyway.

No it isnt an overreaction, in fact if more students in DIT let the idiots that run the place know how they feel then maybe we wouldnt have to put up with these idiotic library and lab opening times. What if you have nowhere at home to study, need to use books, or the internet, or need to use lab programs etc, in fourth year you should at least have the choice, wheres the overreaction in that? ****in laziness and stupidity from the powers that be is what Id call it tbh.

candy19

I'm glad somebody agrees with me on this, like in all fairness lecturers are off which is grand but why should students be at a disadvantage by not been able to use the facilities. I mean like aren't library staff, porters, lab technician and other support staff just not normal paid workers???

And as for the library and lab opening hours, just don't get me started, just crazy!

Dinner

wixfjord wrote: »

No it isnt an overreaction, in fact if more students in DIT let the idiots that run the place know how they feel then maybe we wouldnt have to put up with these idiotic library and lab opening times. What if you have nowhere at home to study, need to use books, or the internet, or need to use lab programs etc, in fourth year you should at least have the choice, wheres the overreaction in that? ****in laziness and stupidity from the powers that be is what Id call it tbh.

Take the day off, borrow books before hand if available, get a mobile internet dongle? There's plenty of options.

It's not the end of the world, the work will still be there on wednesday.

_sparkie_

what are the bolton street opening times this week just as a matter of interest?

FewFew

Dinner wrote: »

Take the day off, borrow books before hand if available, get a mobile internet dongle? There's plenty of options.

It's not the end of the world, the work will still be there on wednesday.

This sounds like someone who hasn't had the pleasure of enjoying final year yet. I'd possibly have been of the same mind previously, but now I understand the madness. When your dissertation is due everyday does actually count. My current situation for example: I'm already maxed out on library books, yet there are others I need... so I can't exactly take out library books as you suggest. I also have a project due that I need to use labs for, are you suggesting I should invest the few grand necessary to recreate such stuff at home?
As I've said, fair enough taking the bank holidays off, but why does the whole staff have to get a holiday for the Tuesday? What's the reasoning? The staff are there for the students, we're the customers in this scenario, if this was a shop we'd take our custom elsewhere etc.

On a slightly related note... I got kicked out of a lab at 9 last Wednesday and when I questioned it (they're meant to stay open til 9.30) I got a very cheeky answer in response. It's as if we're in primary school and it's the last day before the Summer holidays so the rules go out the window or something. This wasn't the first time that the porters have decided their own closing times. Not cool.

Dinner

Fewcifur wrote: »

This sounds like someone who hasn't had the pleasure of enjoying final year yet.

You'd be wrong. I'm in my final year. I have a project to do, a write up for that project and a number of continuous assessment assignments. So I have a lot of work to do, yet somehow I've avoided falling into the panic that happens whenever the college is closed for a day.

Also, a few grand for equipment for your project! You'd be hard pushed to find a computer in DIT thats worth more than a few hundred.


But I do agree with you about the people who close up the labs. Some of them seem to have a bit of an attitude problem.

grimm2005

Totally agree, I depend on getting my work done in the labs in college, it's quiet and there are very few distractions. Also having the labs close at 4 everyday is ridiculously early, it's not like the porters have a backbreaking day of labour to get through.

Dinner wrote: »

Also, a few grand for equipment for your project! You'd be hard pushed to find a computer in DIT thats worth more than a few hundred.

I think he's reffering to the software on the computers, a lot of which require a very expensive license

Dinner

grimm2005 wrote: »

I think he's reffering to the software on the computers, a lot of which require a very expensive license

Possibly so. In which case fair play to him on being one of the few honest students that I've ever come across.

FewFew

Dinner wrote: »

Also, a few grand for equipment for your project! You'd be hard pushed to find a computer in DIT thats worth more than a few hundred.

Really depends on your course. If all you need is a PC then yeah grand, if you're hard pressed then there are plenty of options, but some people need facilities that have to be booked well in advance at the best of times, so taking a day out of that schedule is quite serious.

BC

candy19 wrote: »

I'm glad somebody agrees with me on this, like in all fairness lecturers are off which is grand but why should students be at a disadvantage by not been able to use the facilities. I mean like aren't library staff, porters, lab technician and other support staff just not normal paid workers???

And as for the library and lab opening hours, just don't get me started, just crazy!

As far as I understand the buildings close over easter as it isn't cost effective to open them. By the time they pay for light, heat, staff etc it isn't worth it considering the amount of people who show up. On a similar note, I was in the Aungier St library a few saturdays ago and there were more staff than students (i counted 4 students) that just isn't cost effective.

FewFew

BC wrote: »

As far as I understand the buildings close over easter as it isn't cost effective to open them. By the time they pay for light, heat, staff etc it isn't worth it considering the amount of people who show up. On a similar note, I was in the Aungier St library a few saturdays ago and there were more staff than students (i counted 4 students) that just isn't cost effective.

Sometimes it's more than just an issue of cost. I know for a fact that the majority of my class would have been in college all day Thursday and Tuesday and I imagine most final year courses would be the same. Why not close the college for two extra days during the Summer perhaps? It just seems the choice of closure times is based more on the wants of the staff than the needs of the students.