USI Galway Student Protest

galway | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Friday November 19, 2010 00:36

by TD - Free Palestine Campaign

Carpe Diem!

Today, in Galway, the Union of Students in Ireland intensified its ongoing campaign against threatened registration fee hikes and cuts to the student grant in the forthcoming budget with a march of some 2,000 students from NUIG - another is planned for Cork in early December - to Galway city centre via University Road, Eglington Street and Shop Street to the Spanish Arch plaza, where the demonstrators were addressed by several key speakers. including USI President, Gary Redmond, NUIG SU President Peter Mannion and GMIT SU President, Colin Canny.

Assembling outside Áras na Mac Léinn

This protest was marked by the palpable anger of the students against the dimming of their futures by a government of rotting, treasonous pedigree and the looming nightmare of having to take the Ryan Air flight of sorrow to work abroad, but also with a sense of empathy and solidarity with the most vulnerable in Irish society about to be savaged in an inhuman budget by an elected outfit without conscience or morality. FEE (Free Education for Everyone) was heavily represented and highly vocal in its condemnation in the weak leadership of USI president; Gary Redmond who in the words of NUIM IFUT Branch Committee is heavily contaminated with “shameful betrayal” for his Pontius Pilate disavowal of the students who were savagely brutalised and injured by a police force which has clearly opted to control through unbridled force rather than consent as evidenced in the batonfest in the Dept. of Finance two weeks ago.

The condemnation was most vocal from noted activist; Yousuf Loughnane, a NUIG Irish Center for Human Rights Masters student,and auditor of the NUIG student Palestine Solidarity Society who is not noted for suffering fools gladly. By the same token, Redmond was warmly greeted by the students at the Spanish Arch, a warmth he lamentably squandered by not effecting some form of a mea culpa, thus attenuating the contempt and anger that I witnessed against him and the USI at the 600 strong student protest against Garda brutality outside Pearse Street Garda Station last Wednesday night week.

This careerist, manque politician is incapable of doing a carpe diem it seems.?