[DCU Societies] mailing list and a crime against the colour palette.

Grudaire · 30-10-2010 11:21AM

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DCU - WE NEED TO TAKE PART. THIS IS SERIOUS!!!!!!! We need at least 1000 students out.
**DCU - WE NEED TO TAKE PART. THIS IS SERIOUS!!!!!!! We need at least 1000 students out.
**DCU - WE NEED TO TAKE PART. THIS IS SERIOUS!!!!!!! We need at least 1000 students out.
**DCU - WE NEED TO TAKE PART. THIS IS SERIOUS!!!!!!! We need at least 1000 students out.*
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Student Politics - Serious Business

Hauk · 31-10-2010 01:16AM

I know rite.

Any spanner that thinks they can get people to some sort of protest and then call it a bit of a laugh is a feckin dillusioinal gob****e.

Good feckin' luck.

andyman · 31-10-2010 04:38AM

Some of the crap in here is hilarious!

I couldn't care how the e-mail is formatted. I'm glad she sent one in the first place. Imagine the uproar here if she didn't send one if people start getting hormonal about a few repeated sentences and colours!

Now, Collie on the megaphone in the Hub, that was annoying!

Green Hand Guy · 31-10-2010 09:40AM

I think Megan's email did a great job of grabbing people's attention. The only place she fell short was the subject line. Should have been something more along the lines of "YOU HAVE WON NIGERIA LOTTERY" or "Enlarge your p3nis for free!!!!"

Daysha · 31-10-2010 12:42PM

andyman wrote: »

Some of the crap in here is hilarious!

I couldn't care how the e-mail is formatted. I'm glad she sent one in the first place. Imagine the uproar here if she didn't send one if people start getting hormonal about a few repeated sentences and colours!

What he said.

There's over-reacting, there's badly over-reacting, and then there's some of you guys. Purposefully not wanting to march because you didn't like the formatting of an email....give me a fcuking break.

The college DOES need a lot of students at it, and it's her job to make sure that happens. If she thinks that kind of email is the way to do it, fair enough. But the way some of you can get worked up over something so petty really says a lot more about you than her.

gizmo · 31-10-2010 01:28PM

Daysha wrote: »

The college DOES need a lot of students at it, and it's her job to make sure that happens. If she thinks that kind of email is the way to do it, fair enough. But the way some of you can get worked up over something so petty really says a lot more about you than her.

Given the situation the country is currently in, I think they'd be better off with less people pointlessly marching against fees and more people sitting down and looking at the situation from a more realistic standpoint.

CollegeSpew · 31-10-2010 02:00PM

gizmo wrote: »

Given the situation the country is currently in, I think they'd be better off with less people pointlessly marching against fees and more people sitting down and looking at the situation from a more realistic standpoint.

^

Politicians pay no attention to protests. They also pay no attention to students.

The amount of students who actually bother voting is absurdly low, why would they bother trying to appease people who won't be voting for(or against) them anyway?

Stev_o · 31-10-2010 02:02PM

Daysha wrote: »

What he said.

There's over-reacting, there's badly over-reacting, and then there's some of you guys. Purposefully not wanting to march because you didn't like the formatting of an email....give me a fcuking break.

The college DOES need a lot of students at it, and it's her job to make sure that happens. If she thinks that kind of email is the way to do it, fair enough. But the way some of you can get worked up over something so petty really says a lot more about you than her.

How is it over reacting at all?

Iv read spam mail that's more concise then that drabble that was sent to everyones emails.

Mean for f*ck sake the email itself displays no information of what is going on and why we stand to see a increase in college fees, a reduction in grants or how getting on the streets will make any difference whatsoever.

Its complete and utter rabble that id expect a five year old to right when they are told they aren't allowed to eat any sweets next week.

People who support that email are either very simple or just clueless.

GLaDOS · 31-10-2010 02:12PM

It's not over reacting, it's pointing out the email looks ****, which it does.

Noodleworm · 31-10-2010 05:37PM

The email reminds me of those annoying spam youtube comments.
Maybe a line of caps-lock is ok to grab attention but I don't think the copy and pasting was necessary.
Encouraging people to go "for the laugh' probably won't get a very good idea.
Students are marching to to show that they deserve respect and should not be stuck with impossible fees.
If people show up drunk and rowdy, or cause any trouble it will cause the exact opposite effect, could end up showing students as a nuisance who don't take things seriously.
If it draws negative attention then maybe people won't think theres anything wrong with leaving students without drinking money.

Gman1 · 31-10-2010 07:11PM

5 euro in forbidden planet. it would be awesome if loads of people got them for the march. :P

Urizen · 31-10-2010 09:40PM

Gman1 wrote: »

5 euro in forbidden planet. it would be awesome if loads of people got them for the march. :P

Ha, the anti-Scientology protesters use them too. Awesome

Daysha · 01-11-2010 12:31AM

gizmo wrote: »

Given the situation the country is currently in, I think they'd be better off with less people pointlessly marching against fees and more people sitting down and looking at the situation from a more realistic standpoint.

I agree with you that the march itself is a mere PR stunt more than anything, but with over 10,000 people expected thats a pretty big stunt that DCU students may as well pop along too if they want (even if we're not affiliated with the organisers

)

gizmo · 01-11-2010 12:38AM

Daysha wrote: »

I agree with you that the march itself is a mere PR stunt more than anything, but with over 10,000 people expected thats a pretty big stunt that DCU students may as well pop along too if they want (even if we're not affiliated with the organisers )

Indeed, a PR stunt that I'm amazed people think is a good idea. I'd much prefer 10,000 people to march and say "Yea, we're aware of the tough economic climate but remember, third level funding is extremely important for the continued development of the country so lets look at some middle ground solutions like those found in the UK" rather than "FUUUUUUUU FEES!!!!".

tomar-re · 01-11-2010 03:41AM

OrionsBelt wrote: »

OMG, Meg used Cap Logs!!!....

Talk about making a big deal about nothing. Its called emphasising the point. Maeve went a bit far resending it, but if it gets the people to show up I say go Meg. Hail to the Chief

When every student gets every email twice in a day then they stop caring and stop reading them. This is the negative aspect that you are ignoring, "over saturation of the market" is the PR term for annoying everyone every day about an issue, emphasis should be made with the text not the bombarding of emails. This causes apathy to all further student protests and issues. Is it any wonder that this is the 1st protest in 2 years?

Urizen wrote: »

That really says a lot more about you than it does Meg. The formatting will grab the attention of most students, which is the goal in this kind of thing. Maybe stop being so pedantic and actually read the email? This is an important issue.

Right, you are wrong, it says that the average student thinks the president can't communicate with those she represents. The formatting is worse then the SPC or union emails that I usually get and is the worst email i have ever seen from anyone ever! Reading the email isn't worth the effort as it says everything repeatedly and just offend my eyes, that will turn the average student off.
Don't just defend the union cos you're on it, make a reasoned argument why this grabs the attention instead of going straight to the great union line of "You just don't understand" cos that makes us all respect you a little less. Grab my attention with saying clever things cleverly.

Einstein? wrote: »

Would you rather have some formal email trying to scrape some sort of seriousness? I think the more informal the SU president writes in his/her emails the better. It's just plain moaning about color, font and what not. It gets the message across to a rather oblivious crowd who, for the most part, don't care about this protest.

On a more serious note, the march is utterly pointless and will have just about no effect on what the Government decides to do about the adressed issues.

Einstein, the issue is not about formality it is about the unions inability to get across its message and to compound the average students' idea that the union are a self-serving clique that never engage with the student body. When I see an email like that it takes away from the legitimacy of the union in my mind, which damages any actions they take from then on. You need the support of the people you claim to represent, if they all think you are a spa then nobody will care.

The idea of a march is a good idea IF we had a dedicated group to capitalise on it, the march itself is run by USI which I think are useless and counter productive. The march itself seems to be about a collection of issues which are mislabeled "education not emigration" while the material about the march is all about the cuts to spending in education not the lack of jobs available and investment by successive governments. We could make the government listen by working towards a shared goal of reform of spending in education but the current and previous shower in USI have aimed for status quo rather then reform which leads to fees by registration being ~€1600 for irish students instead of sorting the problems out.

Green Hand Guy wrote: »

I think Megan's email did a great job of grabbing people's attention. The only place she fell short was the subject line. Should have been something more along the lines of "YOU HAVE WON NIGERIA LOTTERY" or "Enlarge your p3nis for free!!!!"

Obvious troll is obvious!

lithiumoxide · 01-11-2010 06:37PM

Just as well my gmail account seemed to remove the nasty colours people are talking about.

KenHy · 01-11-2010 06:43PM

Urizen wrote: »

That really says a lot more about you than it does Meg. The formatting will grab the attention of most students, which is the goal in this kind of thing. Maybe stop being so pedantic and actually read the email? This is an important issue.

Tomar prety much answered this, but I'd add in that being in university is supposed to be a mark of some form of intelligence, I'd appreciate being treated as such and don't have any time for the type of nonsense that was sent out by the SU last week and hence didn't reed it.
If that says anything about me, so be it.

Urizen · 01-11-2010 07:29PM

KenHy wrote: »

Tomar prety much answered this, but I'd add in that being in university is supposed to be a mark of some form of intelligence, I'd appreciate being treated as such and don't have any time for the type of nonsense that was sent out by the SU last week and hence didn't reed it.
If that says anything about me, so be it.

If you didn't read it, why are you here complaining about it? :P

Any campaign of this scale is aimed at the lowest common denominator. I'm not saying it's a good system. But for a campaign that desperately needs numbers, the right thing to do is attempt to grab the attention of as many students as possible. Even if the format is irritating, MOST people will have read through that mail. And hopefully have enough of a 'mark of intelligence' to look past the use of Caps Lock and see the importance of the underlying issue.

And even this discussion bashing the format of the mail will, hopefully, make more people aware of the proposed fee increase and get people out to the march on Wednesday.

lithiumoxide · 01-11-2010 07:44PM

Urizen wrote: »

Any campaign of this scale is aimed at the lowest common denominator.

Erk. Is that a stab at the intelligence of college-goers?

Urizen wrote: »

Even if the format is irritating, MOST people will have read through that mail. And hopefully have enough of a 'mark of intelligence' to look past the use of Caps Lock and see the importance of the underlying issue.

So "most people" are of the "lowest common denominator"?

Having done a degree, and now doing a postgrad, I'd hope that I have some sort of intelligence; but I had to read that email two or three times before figuring out what that underlying issue was.

Urizen wrote: »

And even this discussion bashing the format of the mail will, hopefully, make more people aware of the proposed fee increase and get people out to the march on Wednesday.

I think it'll take a bit more than a single protest (backup with facts/figures/alternative options would strengthen the case), but yes, hopefully it'll highlight the concerns to the public and government!

Stev_o · 01-11-2010 09:18PM

Urizen wrote: »

And even this discussion bashing the format of the mail will, hopefully, make more people aware of the proposed fee increase and get people out to the march on Wednesday.

You mean the "YOU WILL PAY 3000 EURO NEXT YEAR"?

That's some great information your giving to a student body. Most of the people going to this march won't have a clue about the wider picture of this whole situation. The country is in the ****ter and then government need revenue in some shape or form. As much as it sucks that fees will increase it's inevitable and unavoidable the march on Wednesday won't make them suddenly do a uturn on the matter.

For **** sake sure the USI hasn't even come out and pointed out one reasonable alternative to any increase in fee it's just all a big shouting match and they are shouting against a wall.

Urizen · 01-11-2010 09:45PM

lithiumoxide wrote: »

Erk. Is that a stab at the intelligence of college-goers?

It's a stab at the intelligence of someone who would refuse to go to this protest and make noise on an issue as serious as this soley because of the formatting of an email. Do you disagree?

Lowest common denominator has nothing to do with intelligence. In this case, it refers to the fact that we're all students and, for the most part, we don't want to pay 3K. It wasn't intended as a snub.

Stev_o wrote: »

As much as it sucks that fees will increase it's inevitable and unavoidable the march on Wednesday won't make them suddenly do a uturn on the matter.

It's rarely a good idea to just sit there quietly and let it happen. Even if we're just making noise, I'm convinced that it's better than nothing.

I've no doubt it'll take more than a single day of protest to get anything done. But it's a start.

KenHy · 01-11-2010 10:40PM

Urizen wrote: »

It's a stab at the intelligence of someone who would refuse to go to this protest and make noise on an issue as serious as this soley because of the formatting of an email. Do you disagree

I don't think that anyone would oppose the protest purely on the basis of a bad e-mail. However most of the people making "noise" here would ne complaing that such an important issue is being undermined with a silly childish e-mail.

lithiumoxide · 01-11-2010 10:54PM

Urizen wrote: »

It's a stab at the intelligence of someone who would refuse to go to this protest and make noise on an issue as serious as this soley because of the formatting of an email. Do you disagree?

Lowest common denominator has nothing to do with intelligence. In this case, it refers to the fact that we're all students and, for the most part, we don't want to pay 3K. It wasn't intended as a snub.

Thanks for the clarification.

I'm sure nobody wants to pay €3000 in fees. When I started college my fees were in the low- to mid-hundreds (I can't recall exactly how much), and we thought that was fairly expensive.

I think the students of Ireland are right to protest against this potential hike, but as I said, that serious protest must be backed up with serious alternatives. From what I can see there will be a march, but no follow-up. Is DCU's SU Exec (or, indeed, the USI) providing the Department of Education or Finance with an alternative solution to these higher registration fees? Without such a solution all that will happen is a protest, and little more.

I believe a march/protest is a good move, but it is really only half the battle. We can all shout about how annoyed we are about an issue, but without providing a sensible alternative or solution to that issue, nothing will change. Instead of taking an entirely negative approach we need to provide the positive solutions.

wonderfulname · 01-11-2010 11:51PM

lithiumoxide wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification.

I'm sure nobody wants to pay €3000 in fees. When I started college my fees were in the low- to mid-hundreds (I can't recall exactly how much), and we thought that was fairly expensive.

I think the students of Ireland are right to protest against this potential hike, but as I said, that serious protest must be backed up with serious alternatives. From what I can see there will be a march, but no follow-up. Is DCU's SU Exec (or, indeed, the USI) providing the Department of Education or Finance with an alternative solution to these higher registration fees? Without such a solution all that will happen is a protest, and little more.

I believe a march/protest is a good move, but it is really only half the battle. We can all shout about how annoyed we are about an issue, but without providing a sensible alternative or solution to that issue, nothing will change. Instead of taking an entirely negative approach we need to provide the positive solutions.

Finally some sense, this is why I took offence to the e-mail, Megan is supposed to be our representative, and what a lovely representation of the student body that wondrous e-mail was. Even the fact the date given for the march was wrong shows theres been no thought on the issue beyond "hey guys lets all get together and marchhh", and what little thought that required, attaching a USI statement to an illegible e-mail.

Even that hasn't been taken on very well, as per usual the SU forgot that not everyone has the same hours as Arts students, hence it was impossible for me to register for the bus without skipping out on a lecture. And even the fact there is a bus astonishes me, had none of the SU heard of the 19a, 4, 11, 13... Have they put out a few soundbytes on the SUs feelings on the matter? Alternatives? Laid down a program of events leading up to the budget in order to keep the issue in the spotlight? Come up with a statement of alternative schemes to pull money from third level education? That goes for USI too, these people have no grasp on their office, no concept of how to simply think, do anything proactive, original or worthwhile.

As lithiumoxide said the march should be but an element of the push against rebranding and increasing the registration fee. The march itself will do little more than keep the registration fee in the medias eye for a little longer, someone with a bit of cop on would seize such an opportunity to get their point across and get as many people as possible on their side. On the other hand SU execs across the country will look at the 6o'clock news the night of the march and sit back smugly thinking "job done".

Didn't mean to rant so much there but its doing my head in, also Vincent Brown is on right now and he makes me angry...

tomar-re · 02-11-2010 01:29AM

I read usi's pre-budget document today, it is poor at best. The document is full of big sky ideas that lack any feesability study or grounding in the current economic climate. The graduate internship program is an amazing idea unfortunately it lacks a costing, a plan to raise funds, an understanding of how far up the garden path our country is.

I remember when secondry school students walked out of school back in '00 that i believe involved more then 10%(being generous to usi with how many students will turn up) of students walking out of class. This is the kind of organised protest we need not the union's of ireland and their mates out in dublin for an afternoon. Until we have someone that can do that we will never have a strong union for 3rd level students.

Noodleworm · 02-11-2010 11:40AM

I'm going to this march in hoped of getting nice footage for a short documentary I have to make for class about student emigration. I'm hoping some people going will actually know whats going on enough to talk about it on camera.

mehfesto · 02-11-2010 10:05PM

To be honest, I kinda hope fees are introduced.

Far too many idiots in courses for the sake of it. Talking during classes is just retarded - if you have to pay, it shows you're committed and you'll work harder - I reckon so at least.

I have to pay, I work two jobs and have finished in the top 5 at every grading. I'm sure this isn't applicable to some courses, but in general, there are too many people raising class sizes and just breezing through because their parents expect it of them.

Diarmsquid · 02-11-2010 10:35PM

mehfesto wrote: »

To be honest, I kinda hope fees are introduced.

Far too many idiots in courses for the sake of it. Talking during classes is just retarded - if you have to pay, it shows you're committed and you'll work harder - I reckon so at least.

I have to pay, I work two jobs and have finished in the top 5 at every grading. I'm sure this isn't applicable to some courses, but in general, there are too many people raising class sizes and just breezing through because their parents expect it of them.

Making education inaccessible to a lot of people just to spite those who don't appreciate it is hardly good policy.

You're assuming everyone can in some way afford it, but will just have to work harder to pay for it and in turn, work harder in college. This is not true of a lot of families.

Noodleworm · 02-11-2010 10:58PM

People who get in through Access are shown to usually do better than people who get in normally. Money and CAO point can't show how good you'll do in a course.

pedro ferio-vti · 02-11-2010 11:16PM

Agree with some of the sentiments regarding the formatting of the mail, but i'm assuming she did it to get people's attention and on that point it has succeeded.

Personally regarding viable alternatives, there has to be another way to approach this or to reach the required amount of savings needed. An idea I had was to research how much third level lecturers and staff were paid here compared with other similar institutions across the EU and also to perhaps benchmark some of their performance by way of research undertaken or published.

I'm not sure how we fare compared with our EU counterparts, like if we over or underpay them but simply doubling the registration fee seems to be a bit of a hamfisted approach to the whole thing especially considering it doesn't align itself with the Governement's alleged strategy on Education or the Economy.

[DCU Societies] mailing list and a crime against the colour palette.

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