Keeping it real with Rory Auskerry - November 2007

In the last four weeks the work load has really begun to increase quite considerably. I have the task of producing three radio adverts, a five minute radio package and two essays, one on media studies and one for a module called Power, Politics and the Media all to be completed in less than two weeks. Just as I sat down to get on with that I realised it was once again time to write this as well. It’s funny how things manage to creep up on you even if you are reasonably organised.

I have held the opinion for a while now that a large proportion of my fellow students are coasting a bit. I get this idea because there are so many students with very poor attendance, who don’t ever contribute anything to class discussions and who actually look moderately annoyed when people like my self attempt to debate an issue in class time. My attitude to this is simple.

The education I am getting is costing in excess of £6000 a year including £3070 for tuition fees, about £2300 for accommodation and the rest for food and the odd pint. This is pretty much the same for everyone and therefore I can’t understand why there are so many students who don’t seem bothered whether or not they get their moneys worth. This is not to mention the fact that I want to feel as if I have actually achieved something from my three year course. As a result I want to discuss things, I want to be able to talk to the academics that are here to teach us and I want to be able to voice an opinion and have it challenged and debated by my peer group. I don’t want to sit quietly in a corner, watching the clock and waiting for the end off the lesson so I can go home and play computer games.

I believe there are two reasons for this general lack lustre approach by some people. Firstly, a lack of motivation for which the parents are partly to blame because they have failed to enthuse their children and persuade them make more effort, and partly the fault of the individual for not thinking about their aspirations and deciding to get on with the job in hand.

Secondly, I blame the University for failing to have a system in place that can help students who lack motivation. I totally understand that University is about pushing yourself, and trying to learn without having someone hold your hand but this system clearly does not work for a lot of people. The result, as I see it, is a split between two groups of students, one group who feel frustrated because they are stuck in a class with people who don’t contribute to discussions, and another group who are unconvinced by what they are being taught, why they are there and basically spend their time thinking about what other things they could be doing with their time which would benefit them more.

It ultimately begs the question; why come to University if you don’t want to get involved in what I believe University life to be about? Ultimately I think our society puts far too much pressure on young people to go into higher education who would actually be much more likely to succeed and develop positively from going straight into the work place. When people arrive at the decision to come to University it should be because that is what they feel is going to be right for them at that time, not because that’s what they think is expected of them by their family, teachers, friends or in fact, anyone.
Going back to my own situation, I strongly believe that once you are at Uni, simply turning up to lectures, completing the work set, and at the end of it getting a degree is not what university is all about. That’s partly my motivation for getting involved with extra activities and having other projects such as Northern Hype and student radio.

To update you, this Friday (November 2) is week 7 of ‘Hype’. We have consistently got good attendance numbers, around 250 per week, and we are getting good feedback from people who have been down to the club. We now have a substantial core group of people who turn up every week and we are also turning a small, but consistent profit. We are all feeling pleased about how the business venture is going and are quite excited about where it may lead us.

Another thing that’s been bothering me since I last wrote is that I have discovered Sunderland University is not a member of the National Union of Students. Coupled with the recent closure of two university owned student bars and the lack of a proper central union building I’m a little concerned to say the least. Most Uni’s in this country have a central building which often incorporates a bar or a night club (often both), a shop and a café area. We do not have this and as a result it’s difficult for students to meet people from different departments because they all hang out in different places instead of everyone dropping into a communal location for a pint after work. It’s rumoured that this is largely down to the fact that the university makes three times the amount of money from international students as it does from indigenous UK residents and because the majority of international students don’t share the same drinking cultures as people originally from the UK, and as a result it’s not financially worth while to provide a union bar facility because the number of people who would use it is regarded as not being a big enough proportion of the students studying here. To me, and indeed a lot of my contemporaries, this seems very unfair and gives the impression that the University’s senior management are much more concerned about money than providing what they sell as a ‘Life Changing’ experience. Again, this is something I hope to be able to get to the bottom of at some stage before I leave at the end of my course.

On a final note I’d like to say how much I’m looking forward to coming home in a couple of weeks time for reading week and the BBC children in need appeal show on Radio Orkney.