Sir, – I refer to Una Mullally's comment that there exists some kind of "student power", ready to fight rising costs in tuition fees and, more broadly, reverse the tide of anti-youth measures taken by successive governments ("Government must not shaft students yet again", Opinion & Analysis, December 21st). Surely if such a "power" existed in the first place, there would be no need to speculate about it.
What needs addressing from a student and youth perspective is the sense of bewilderment, particularly regarding the current trajectory of higher education. The scant involvement that students do have in the political spectrum seems to all stem from a place of gross misunderstanding. Politics is never just about making clever arguments. It certainly isn’t about cosying up to the establishment and hoping that it will look after us. The way that things stand, it is hard to imagine someone in a position of influence ever picking up a student-led lobbying document, falling backwards off their chair and yelping, “My gosh, they’ve done it!”
Rather than expressing outrage at how apparently sensible politicians could make these choices, start by asking where students lie in the pecking order. Then ask why this is the case. Turn outrage into hope.
Politics can be used as a mechanism for change but it requires courage. Accept that politics is about struggle and it is about where power lies. In the entire pre-election kite-flying to date, no one is courting the youth vote. No-one is talking about lowering tuition fees or leading the charge on defeating an internship culture. Inter-generational solidarity is apparently a one-way street, and austerity has become a vehemently anti-youth monster.
Germany’s abolition of tuition fees happened in the summer of 2014 but only after years of co-ordinated campaigning that took place at local and national levels, with huge levels of co-operation from students and academics. We have not yet seen any coalition of that type here in Ireland. Everywhere else in the world it seems young people are pushing back a little bit.
Unless we see some real opposition to college fees and student loans then the trajectory is only going one way.
Students and young people need to stop moaning and start organising. – Yours, etc,
GLENN FITZPATRICK,
Former President
DIT Students’ Union,
The Liberties, Dublin 8.