"University Is A Waste Of Time"

The way George proposed the motion we didn't end up with that many reasons why university as a whole was actually a waste of time. The good name of higher education didn't emerge totally unscathed, however, oh no. It only took the appearance at the table of the obligatory patronising spiv from the NUS, dressed in a lovely Topman jumper with the discount from his amazing "NUS Plus" card that he no doubt didn't have to pay £10 for. He proceeded to insult the intelligence of the audience by claiming that doing hairdressing at Luton was more likely to get you employment than doing a law degree at somewhere like UCL. That might be true but that's only because the likes of Luton and De Montfort give equal weight to those of their graduates doing minimum wage McJobs to those earning a starting salary of £50,000 in the City. Having had personal experience of De Montfort students, I can honestly say that a number of them are working as pickers for £6 an hour in Leicester's thriving warehouse sector after graduation. Not that I'm putting any of these fine folks down ( continue the struggle at the Co-Op, comrades), but it was highly disingenous of the wannabe celebrity from the NUS to suggest that the Russell Group and the former polytechnics offer similar employment opportunities.


He then went on to claim that David Beckham studies is more relevant to modern Britain than Ancient Greek. This surely shows his lack of contact with the non-NUS world as he should know that David Beckham is pretty much over and done with in footballing terms and even his haircuts have less publicity surrounding them than they once did. When a player who hasn't scored from open play since about the 1996-97 season is deemed worthy of having a degree about him, something is seriously wrong with modern society. Something was also seriously wrong with the NUS speaker who was praising said degree as opposed to the delights of Livy and Herodotus to the rafters. Trying desperately to retain a populist streak in spite of doing possibly the most cushy job on the planet, he neglected to mention some more current footballing greats. He should have been suggesting that the University of Bedfordshire should run a course in Aaron Lennon Studies or that the University of Winchester should run a course on John Terry. Anyone who'd seen Aidan McGeady's amazing performance aginst Falkirk on Sunday would recognise that he's worthy of study at Oxford. Or Oxford Brookes anyway. What NUS Man neglected to tell us was that the real problem with universities at the moment is that those from disadvantaged backgrounds are very unlikely to get onto a law and medicine course at a Russell Group university and are instead being encouraged to waste £3000 on a worthless course at Central Lancashire. Much like Leicester's much touted £2 shop ("You've Tried The Pound Shops, You've Even Tried The 99p Stores, Now Try The New £2 Shop, You Will be Amazed") where every other item costs £15, NUS Man delivered a lot less than he promised.

Argued by by Kyle McCollum on 03.10.06 at 04:10 PM GMT [link] [3 Comments]

A Fresh New Year

Freshers' Fayre dawns upon us in about 15 hours, and there is much to be left unsaid. But it's going to be fun- crowds of freshers (and non-freshers alike) will be jam packed into the cloisters, hoping to find something they're interested in. But it's also about the freebies- the goodies one can get away with from stalls. The way that the members of that society behave (are they friendly or cold?). And when and what the events in the "Try" fortnight are like. But I'm only imagining as I wasn't able to go last year, simply because I'm an archaeology student, and therefore I was on 'Primtech' (PC name is "Experimental Archaeology Course")- a four day camp.

But anyway, if you are a fresher, make sure you do attend. You'll meet some great people, and you'll generally just have a great time- however chaotic it may get around our table. Because we are the one of the best societies to join. Definitely.

Remember to make sure to come to our first debate- whether or not you attend freshers' fayre- "This House Believes That University is a Waste of Time" as it will be a great way to see what we offer and what we're actually about. A stall in a crowded hall simply doesn't quite get out as much as we'd like. Also, feel free to approach any one of us at any time with any queries. We're a pretty friendly bunch and we only bite when we're debating :).

But definitely come along: whether you're a first year, a postgrad, a final year student or anyone studying at UCL. We're a welcoming bunch.

I hope to see you soon, with debating zeal, and armour and weapons of words.

Argued by by Nishma on 27.09.06 at 06:37 PM GMT [link] [209 Comments]