‘Take Screen Grabs Of Comments’

at

Last night.

At Trinity College Dublin.

Students continued their protest against a €450 supplemental exam fee in the exam hall (above) while other students continued their occupation of the Dining Hall.

Those occupying the Dining Hall were locked in for a time last night, while up to 40 people are reported to have slept a second night in the hall.

TCD Students’ Union – who will be holding a rally and open-air concert in the front square of the college from 1pm today – write:

Together, we blocked the Book of Kells, we shut down Front Arch, and we occupied the Dining Hall. College interrupted their negotiations with us during our peaceful occupation, on our day of teach-ins, to lock us in. They blocked our access to food, blocked our toilet access, and only let us use the toilet again once we had rallied to temporarily occupy the Exam Hall. 

Enough is enough.

We are simply asking that the welfare of students and staff in Trinity be put first. Join us for a rally and concert at 1pm, Thursday 15th March in support of those inside the Dining Hall and in support of our three asks:

1) No supplemental fees
2) No rent increases
3) No more increases of postgraduate and international student fees.

This was a shameless escalation in the middle of negotiations and in total bad faith.

Meanwhile…

Last night, Trinity’s provost Patrick Prendergast, who is currently in Boston, tweeted the following…

His tweet prompted this response…

Anyone?

Pic and video: Ian Curran

UPDATE:

The occupation has ended.

It follows the comments made Trinity’s Provost Patrick Prendergast last night (above).

The Irish Examiner reports:

Sarah Meehan from the Take Back Trinity Campaign says these comments are not enough.

She said: “We are continuing with our direct action plan for the rest of the day, we are holding a rally and are encouraging all students to go.

We feel it is enough to end the occupation, we have been here two days, people are getting tired“.

Students end their occupation at Trinity but say this isn’t the end of their fight (Irish Examiner)

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46 thoughts on “‘Take Screen Grabs Of Comments’

  1. Matt Lucozade: The Only Reader of the Village

    This will end today/tomorrow as they have to go home to Blightly for Easter soon.

    1. Neilo

      Many will lack the necessary coping skills – cleaning up, for example – having been coddled by a succession of au pairs and chalet girls from Hadley Park to Gstaad to Alex :)

      1. Jasper

        “This is a Rochefoucauld, the thinnest water-resistant watch in the world. Singularly unique, sculptured in design, hand-crafted in Switzerland and water-resistant to three atmospheres. This is the sports watch of the 80’s. $6955 retail. It tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad”

    1. kellma

      This just shows that Bobby Sands went too far. All he had to do was hang out in the prison canteen for a while and then he would have gotten his civvies back….

  2. Leopold gloom

    If they put this much effort into studying, they wouldn’t need to pay fees for failing exams in the first place..

    1. mildred st. meadowlark

      As far as I know, with certain courses, in third year, if you fail one of your exams you do not get re-sits, you fail the year and must repeat the module/subject you failed at great expense before being allowed to progress to your fourth year.

      I know this was the case roughly five years ago, as this precise thing happened to a friend of mine. I can’t say if this is an across the board rule or if it even still stands.

      But it would be interesting to see if it does still apply, and if it does, would the flat rate have been applied to students in that situation.

      1. anne

        If assignment/assignment are worth enough to pass the module, then as far as I can see that’s a money making racket.

      2. Matt Lucozade: The Only Reader of the Village

        “Third year was the best two years of my life”, kinda thing?

  3. dav

    Fair play to the students who have been let down by the sheepish attitude of their older generations. They will have to deal with the nationalisation of banker debt and the ever increasing homelessness crisis for far longer than the rest of the nation.

    1. LeopoldGloom

      An awful lot of these older generation, would have actually paid fees. Only anyone who graduated post 1999 realistically would have had a “fee-free” third level education. It’s no surprise then that, increasing levies and fees is the go to thing.

      That said, there are too many wishy washy subjects (I would think), and not enough education on how to actually write, do research, think etc etc.

      There’s equally too much angling for any international students that can be got, regardless of their ability, so long as they have the money. It’s dumbing down the system, and unfair on the really talented international students who are here, and/or who would otherwise be here.

      1. dav

        well their standard of living will be a lot worse in this “great little country to do vulture fund business”.

      2. Matt Lucozade: The Only Reader of the Village

        “Are they not the generation that’ll die younger than their parents?”

        You hope?

  4. Dermie

    Forget these Muppets and their little sit in, bring on the important stuff, where’s the EP line up?

  5. Ruffi

    Really don’t understand the level of antipathy against the student protesters on here. Surely it’s a good thing they are protesting, as the fee will hit the poorest students the hardest, not the stereotypical rich Trinners student?

    1. Cian

      This fee will only hit the students that need to repeat.

      If there is no fee for repeats, then the college will need to raise this money elsewhere, and that will affect all students – and hit the poorest students hardest.

      1. kellma

        If I am honest, I’m not that bothered that students requiring resits, because they partayed too much the first time around, have to put their hands in their pockets. They are using up additional resources. Nothing is free in this world and those who are inefficient should pick up the tab.

      2. postmanpat

        In decades time when most of these graduates are high up in their soulless corporate jobs that exploit the little guy on a daily basis they can think back to this protest and pretend that they were, and still are, socialist liberals that looked out for the little guy. When really they were just looking out for their own interests at the time and trying to score. Where are the past alumni giving support? If the protesters win the college will just postpone plans to introduce repeat fee for 6 years or so, then introduce a repeat fee of €1000 or more and none of these current protesters will be anywhere to be found. That’s if collages even exist at that stage . You can learn everything on the internet for free now anyways.

        1. Neilo

          Collages will exist until we run out of liquid gum, craft paper and endlessly patient primary school teachers.

      3. Ruffi

        Cian they are providing this service already, it’s not a new service that they suddenly need to find money for. If they are pressed for money, how about maybe not letting the Provost live in the apartment TCD own on Stephen’s Green because he didn’t like the massive house that’s already provided for him on campus because it was “too loud” there? That apartment was used for visiting professors etc, where do they go now? Or, what about the building of the brand new Business School (which already has great offices in the brand new TSBI building on Pearse St?)?

        1. Leopold gloom

          The visiting folk might easily be in the Provost’s residence now seeing as it’s free.

          Building is a capital expense and is important to help any university stay relative.

          There have always been fees for repeat exams, now they’re just a set fee. Just because you’re providing a service, doesn’t mean it’s not costing.

          There are lots of different academic support services in most higher education institutions. There are students who do genuinely struggle, despite working hard, but my own experience is of people who swan in do nothing and hope for the best. People used to take a pass by compensation as a badge of honour ffs

        2. Braaap

          Or how about charging students that sit repeats?
          If the students don’t want to pay, they shouldn’t fail.. Not everyone is entitled to a college degree, it requires some amount of work..

          Plenty of places for visiting professors, Trinity has their own accommodation on campus to this end, one used apartment isn’t the end of the world. Also have you been in the provosts house?

  6. rotide

    why did your Comms department direct staff to delete students’ “negative comments” from social media?
    The provost’s email SPECIFICALLY says that disabling reviews would not delete comments.

    Can TCD students even read these days?

    Can John?

  7. Mourning Ireland

    Well done TCD Students. Toppling cyclists from the throne of most disliked over-indulged group of privileged whingers in Dublin.

  8. Matt Lucozade: The Only Reader of the Village

    it is no co-incidence that the introduction of “free” fees and the decline in academic standards and college rankings worldwide are related. DCU and Maynooth are bywords in grade inflation. Can you imagine if St Michaels College, Belvo, Teresians, Sion Hill, Alex’s and Blackrock College were fee-free and that decline happened? Parents would be in hand-to-hand combat with staff and public reps in the street.

    And a schools rugby match near Keily’s in Donnybrook wouldn’t even be needed.

Comments are closed.

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