To sit in or not to sit in - UG 2012
Two young women came up to me after the class. They wanted to do their assignment on race, and aggression in Guyana. Another woman wants to look at Clubbing in Guyana and who gets the money. I am anxious to see what the other students will do in their assignments. One of the guys is thinking about doing his assignment on hip hop dancing in Berbice. There are other students who travel from far to attend the University and to make the class.
Another woman who will give birth soon wants to continue her education and to manage motherhood and the University education.
I met a lecturer before the class who is fed up with the circumstances at the University. She is a graduate of the University and remembers the protests when she was a student. She is also appalled at the apathy of the students who seem not to understand the larger picture. Another graduate of the University is active in the Union and he realises that there are multiple issues, and that the termination of Mr Frederick Kissoon is the least of the injustices being perpetrated against people at the University.
It has been a strange year personally. The protests at the University of Guyana after the termination of Mr Frederick Kissoon have included academic and non-academic staff and some students. I say some students, because I had a large turnout for my first lab session today. I am a part-time lecturer and I realise the importance of the actions of the staff. But I feel that the PPP are determined to destroy the University .. the last of the legacy of Cheddi Jagan. I do not know if there are any PPP students at the University and how they feel about their situation and who they blame for it.
I have to do the lab part of the online journalism course. One of the rewards has been meeting people who value education and who are also sacrificing to finish a degree. Some of them think it will be easy, it is true. I do not know that I could sit in when I think of the students who travel from far to come to the class pursuing dreams which I have already fulfilled for myself.
At the same time, as I told the academic and non-academic staff, I feel like closing down Georgetown again central.. so that the point could be made that Cheddi's night school was meant to be a legacy to all those who still aspire to higher education. I wish I could find a way to do that without impacting on the young woman who wants to pursue a law degree and the young mother-to-be who 'does not want to stay home'.
Another woman who will give birth soon wants to continue her education and to manage motherhood and the University education.
I met a lecturer before the class who is fed up with the circumstances at the University. She is a graduate of the University and remembers the protests when she was a student. She is also appalled at the apathy of the students who seem not to understand the larger picture. Another graduate of the University is active in the Union and he realises that there are multiple issues, and that the termination of Mr Frederick Kissoon is the least of the injustices being perpetrated against people at the University.
It has been a strange year personally. The protests at the University of Guyana after the termination of Mr Frederick Kissoon have included academic and non-academic staff and some students. I say some students, because I had a large turnout for my first lab session today. I am a part-time lecturer and I realise the importance of the actions of the staff. But I feel that the PPP are determined to destroy the University .. the last of the legacy of Cheddi Jagan. I do not know if there are any PPP students at the University and how they feel about their situation and who they blame for it.
I have to do the lab part of the online journalism course. One of the rewards has been meeting people who value education and who are also sacrificing to finish a degree. Some of them think it will be easy, it is true. I do not know that I could sit in when I think of the students who travel from far to come to the class pursuing dreams which I have already fulfilled for myself.
At the same time, as I told the academic and non-academic staff, I feel like closing down Georgetown again central.. so that the point could be made that Cheddi's night school was meant to be a legacy to all those who still aspire to higher education. I wish I could find a way to do that without impacting on the young woman who wants to pursue a law degree and the young mother-to-be who 'does not want to stay home'.
am so glad i finished ug last semester .. Yes protest is long over due but the reality is most students just want to get their degree and get the hell out of UG.
ReplyDeleteVidya, I believe one or two solidarity sit-ins would be harmless while at the same time registering discontent with the state UG is in. I remember the poor state it was in while I was there just a few yrs ago but I was fortunate to benefit from a crop of good lecturers in the politics department at the time...many of whom are no longer there...Freddie, Aubrey Norton, Daniel Kumar. It is a shame and I'm disappointed in the students who are apathetic because the struggle is an important one.
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