Students, send us a 200-word piece on a media-related topic. If it is published you'll get a £20 book token.

Frances Edgeworth - St Joseph's College, Lucan, Co Dublin

Once again, my cousin rings from her flat out in Rathgar. She has no money for her bus fare and wants to know can we lend her a bike on which to get to college. The high rent that she is paying for a flat she shares with four other students is well beyond the means of her not-so-fluorescent bank account. Not only is there a problem with trying to find the money to pay the rent but also she is having problems trying to pay for her meals. She is one of many struggling students from the country living in Dublin.

Not only are house prices increasing by the day, but houses are also becoming quite scarce. Dublin, being one of the most important and busiest cities in the country, has a shortage of employees and a scarcity of houses. I sometimes wonder will I ever be able to afford a house of my own in the capital or will I always be living with my parents. I feel almost forced to move out of my home city because I will not be able to buy a house of my own in the city or even in the suburbs.

So will this problem ever be solved? Will we ever see housing prices go down? I doubt it very much. As housing prices continue to rise I feel very pessimistic about the future.

Roisin Nolan - St Mac Dara's Community College, Dublin

Racism, stereotyping and division are all evident in Irish society today. Recently in class we had a debate about refugees and asylum-seekers. I was surprised to see that the majority of the class believed that refugees and asylum-seekers take our jobs and our dole money - and increase the crime rate substantially. The truth is asylum seekers in general aren't allowed to work here until they pass various interviews, stages and appeals; neither are they entitled to dole money - instead they receive a small amount of "pocket money" each week.

So far there has been no evidence that these newcomers bring increased crime. They help Ireland to develop socially and to accept all races and religions as one people with equal rights. They will, in the long run, help Irish people to develop the sense of living in a multi-racial society. Another fact remains . . . the Great Famine of 1845 turned our ancestors into the very people we cannot accept - refugees fleeing Ireland for a better life. America accepted them and gave them a chance. Can we not shed our fears and repay our debts? We also classify people of other races, communities and colour as "different". Even people with learning disabilities face abusive nicknames such as "cappers", "weird" or "freak". These names are very hurtful.

Ireland is young and with youth comes a lack of knowledge. Clear signs of this can be seen in isolated parts of the country where people have rarely seen different races and refugees. Is ignorance too strong in the roots of Irish people or can we break down these barriers and look beyond? With our booming economy, jobs are plentiful and dole numbers are declining. Should we not deal with these minor problems, try to develop socially as well as economically, and change from a begging-bowl to a giving-heart mentality?

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media scope is edited by Harry Browne.