Shame

Photograph: Karel Prinsloo/AP

I know this is my third post about the tuition fee and education cuts issue but tonight the vote went through and it was passed - in September 2012 any student who wants to go to university is facing tripled fees of up to £9k a year. They are facing a life of debt and no positive effect on the standard of education they receive at all.

I am so ashamed of our supposedly wonderful democratic government.

I am also so angry - angry that I was taken in and believed the Liberal Democrats were credible and filled me with hope at the general election.

The protests have been long, sometimes violent and I don't think over.  The dismissive tone of criticism about how violent the protests got totally misses the point. They are angry, they don't feel their voice is being acknowledged so they will rage and destroy in order to be heard and I feel they weren't left with many alternative options. Why on earth would you expect these young people to respect a government and system which has ruthlessly betrayed them. The student body overwhelmingly chose the Lib Dems to represent and speak for them. Now they are entirely disregarded by the very party they voted for.

There has been much criticism of the violence and extent of the protests, lots of tutting about how it could have been a perfectly acceptable peaceful protest. But what does that achieve?

I attended the enormous anti war peaceful protest because I wanted my voice along with over a million others to be heard - it was systematically ignored.

For the disapproving MPs and mainstream media to demand respect when none has been shown is so incredibly patronising and comically out of touch. It appears from eyewitness reports that the police were particularly aggressive and that the majority of protests were peaceful. This makes me wonder if all the media hype about how violent the protesters were is all just an attempt to discredit their voice. Maybe I'm just very cynical but can you blame me?

There are more cuts coming and many appear to be aimed at the lower economic sections of society or at least affect them the most. This is not the last of the protests and hopefully soon, our disenchanted and angry voices will be acknowledged. That is the point of democracy right?

“In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.”

-Aristotle

The Vote is Coming...

The parliamentary vote for increased tuition fees takes place tomorrow and the student protests are growing in number and determination. The coalition debate rages in parliament and I for one, have everything crossed that this will not get passed.

Education is a right, not a privilege and preventing students from getting a higher education due to fear of lifelong debt is a disgusting and backward attempt to clear the deficit.

By excluding an enormous amount of potential students from gaining a higher education we damage the future economic prospects of this country. We need a future and students are the future.

 I am still no where near to paying off my student loans despite it being 8 years since I graduated. I, for one, would not have been able to entertain the idea of a university education with the fees tripled.

Not everyone can afford an education, Mr Cameron. In fact very few can.

Maybe it's hard for someone of such a privileged background to fully understand what is financially viable for the masses but that is your job, to listen to the people you represent.  Do not be fooled by his desperate attempt to sell the 'student repayments will be less then they are now' line as what he is forgetting to mention that the repayments will be, for most, the rest of their life. Even then they admit at least half will never be able to pay it. That half will have that debt hanging around their necks all their working life. What an incentive to improve and educate yourself eh?

There will be many many people who have worked so hard to get the qualifications needed to apply for places, people who have worked against the odds, who are determined and focused and deserve the opportunity to improve their life, all watching with baited breath as to what will happen today.

Mr Clegg - looking pretty uncomfortable during PMQ but then so would I be if I was reneging on a promise I made to all those students who voted for me that I would seek to abolish fees...so much for all that 'new hope' spin.

Where on earth are the bankers huge repayments?

The apathy is finally dying, the student body is large and getting increasingly loud and I for one am shouting right with them.

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."

~Sydney J. Harris