To choose to be a student right now in the UK is to place yourself in a very precarious situation. You can go the university route, where high tuition fees will hopefully be offset by strong career prospects, or you can go the technical college route as a means of earning a vocational skill which will result in more practical and accessible work experience.

Alternatively, you can choose to study abroad for the sake of your resumé, you can study part-time and find part-time employment to avoid incurring massive student loans, or if all else fails then you can take a gap year from your studies and attempt to find significant work experience which will potentially guide you onto the right academic path at a later date.

However, do a little asking around and you will soon find that a lot of people at different ages in these various positions are struggling to answer the question of, ‘Is education, in this day and age, and in this economic climate, even worthwhile?’.

What it all comes down to is all the statistics you have heard before: fees are up, the job market has narrowed, those already in employment are putting off retirement by a few more years, and so as a result the next generation of professionals are cast somewhat adrift.

Danielle Lavery, 24, attended both Belfast Metropolitan College and University of Ulster, and had the following to say about the attitudes of the staff in each institution:

When it comes to Uni, I think they get paid for nothing … [College] is a different story. They are dying to help in any way possible. I would study there forever.

This comment about being ‘paid for nothing’ is an echo of a point raised by many in the past – do university students get their value for money? Even before the fee increase became an issue, the majority of undergraduates were paying over £3,000 per year in tuition for less than a dozen hours of taught class per week.

At postgraduate level, the fees are higher and the taught class hours per week are lower, a structure which by its very design is becoming increasingly unappealing to younger students just starting out in higher education. Charlotte Hart, 18, is in her first year at Manchester Metropolitan University and said:

Joys = Getting to choose what you learn about more so than in previous education, and getting to move away (some people). Pains = lack of money.

Thus, the financial problem persists. Universities may offer a range of clubs and societies, and some may be developing world-class facilities, such as Queen’s University Belfast’s (QUB) McClay Library, but if students are not being compelled to make the most of these then the focus again turns towards the tangible benefits which students are receiving in turn for their tuition fees.

To go from a first year undergraduate to a PhD student, Amanda Krentzel, 23, spoke of the challenges and responsibilities that come from the mere development of one’s academic career. Having finished her undergraduate degree less than a year ago, Krentzel now finds that:

Suddenly, in the eyes of undergrads, you’ve aged a decade.

This point brings to light the academic hierarchy which is not nearly as well-documented as the financial burdens of student life. Pursuing academia through all of its stages means finding yourself becoming a relatively senior figure before you have reached your mid-20s. That routine of simply going to class, doing assignments, complaining about exams, and partying in the student union?

That is forgotten very quickly as the ‘student’ becomes a more active participant in the university community. Now, add together the personal responsibility and the workload, as well as the financial challenges, and the full extent of the pressures of student life become more apparent.

All this, however, is not to downplay the fundamental love of education that many students, even those in dire financial straits, manage to maintain. Sarah McBride, 25, is a postgraduate student at QUB and explained:

I’m pro-education. I’m here for the love of learning, not just for the job prospects.

Therein may lie the reason why so many young people continue to apply to higher education courses when they are well aware of the complete lack of guarantees of finding jobs: a love of learning.

In a year where recent graduates have emigrated from Europe to the United States, and vice versa, there are still plenty who believe that the student experience is still an invaluable and ultimately fulfilling endeavour to pursue. Yet for those who have emigrated to pursue their studies, the reasons are equally persuasive. James Hughes, a QUB graduate, moved to Maastricht to do his MA, and lists his motivations for doing do as:

The cheap fees, the potential employment prospects and the international atmosphere of the student body. Chance to live in another country is appealing and, for Maastricht specifically, it’s a great central ‘hub’ for travelling.

For those who remain at home, it remains to be seen whether the joys of education will continue to outweigh the pains, as another year goes by with more graduates than ever fighting it out for that one, elusive, perfect dream job.

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Like most cities, Belfast has had its fair share of troubling statistics and unfortunate public embarrassments when it comes to substance abuse among young adults. Just last week, major universities in the city had circulated emails to their entire student bodies in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day, with the Student Union President at Queen’s University Belfast writing:

If you happen to be in the University area over the weekend please remember your responsibilities as a member of the South Belfast Community and be aware that as a student of Queen’s you fall under the auspices of the University’s Conduct Regulations.

This type of advisory email followed several years of well-publicised displays of disorderly conduct among a select group of young adults in student housing areas of the city. Years past have seen excessive and unmoderated drinking lead to physical altercations, verbal abuse, graffiti and property damage, police involvement, and consequently the expulsion of several students from their respective university institutions.

As a result, this year students at Queen’s were given a 4-day weekend over St. Patrick’s Day, in the hope that a longer break would encourage some to travel outside the city or to return home, away from the influence of those who were most likely to cause public disturbances. This measure seems to have been relatively effective, with The Irish Times reporting:

A substantial police presence, together with a zero-tolerance approach to on-street drinking, appeared to keep the situation under control.

On Friday, eight people were arrested in the area for a range of anti-social behaviour. But by 9.30pm yesterday, the streets of the Holyland, although littered with broken glass, were quiet and virtually empty, with just a few house parties going on behind closed doors.

Unfortunately, 2012 has already seen alcohol-related tragedy among the youth community. In February, 20-year old Joby Murphy accidentally fell into the River Lagan due to poor safety measures at the Lagan Weir bridge.

Murphy had attended a Snow Patrol concert that same night, and then drank £1 vodka shots prior to his fall, leading to his father getting involved with a campaign to ban certain drinks promotions around the city, namely ones that offer ‘All You Can Drink’ deals at significantly reduced prices. Such deals are common in Belfast bars and clubs frequented by students, and it is thought that banning them would go some way to discouraging young adults from binge drinking.

However, some have criticised such a proposition for being an ineffective way to teach young adults about the dangers of alcohol. The general mentality is, if someone wants to find alcohol at a cheap price then they will not have to look very far to find some.

Facebook even offers ‘Dial A Drink’ services, where businesses will deliver alcohol straight to your doorstep without ensuring that no minors in the house will be drinking, so it is clear that Belfast, like so many other UK cities, has not yet figured out how to measurably regulate alcohol consumption among younger people.

Murphy’s father is still pushing ahead with hopes of making the Lagan Weir bridge more secure and better equipped to deal with accidental falls, but at the moment he seems to be one active voice facing a larger community deaf to the seriousness of this drinking subculture.

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The bicentennial celebrations of one of Britain’s most beloved and enduring authors have kicked off with a Victorian-themed event at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.

Helmed by Dr. Leon Litvack of Queen’s University Belfast, Dickens 2012 NI got off to a rousing start on Wednesday January 25 when scholars, politicians, community workers and artists came together to deliver a morning of music, drama, speeches and costumes.

Among those who also addressed the crowd were Michelle McIlveen and Lynda Wilson from the Member of the Legislative Assembly and Barnardo’s Northern Ireland, respectively. Collectively, they stressed the importance of an event such as Dickens 2012 NI in encouraging citizens of all ages to become engaged in reading novels, studying history and taking an interest in social problems.

Wilson in particular raised two startling statistics, revealing that over 100,000 children in Northern Ireland can be classified as being currently ‘in poverty’ and one in five leave primary school with below standard literacy and numeracy skills. Therefore, Dickens 2012 NI could become a useful tool for helping to combat these issues if it continues with the type of creative and inclusive events that it is hosting this year.

However, there was still plenty of fun to be had at the launch event as Litvack and members of the Belfast Pickwick Players performed a selection of musical numbers, while classically trained actor and voice coach Rosie Pelan received a rave reception for her dramatic reading of the infamous “Please, Sir, I want some more” passage from Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist.

This was just the first in a long series of events which will be held across Northern Ireland over the coming months. Further highlights include: monthly screenings of film adaptations of Dickens’ texts at the Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast – beginning with David Copperfield on Sunday February 5 and ending with The Muppet Christmas Carol on Sunday December 9; as well as: a read-a-thon of David Copperfield at John Hewitt Bar; a one-man play written and performed by Sam McCready at the Ulster Hall;

A competition for professional designers and school children to design their own book cover for Oliver Twist, Great Expectations or Edwin Drood; and a drama workshop with Rosie Pelan in Carrickfergus Library. Dozens of other events will take place right up until December, with the potential for more to be organised as the year progresses.

In the official festival program, Litvack explains:

“His work transcends time and place, language and culture. He has a massive contemporary influence throughout the world, and his writings continue to inspire film, television, radio, theatre, art, and literature.

Here you will find a rich and diverse calendar of events, appealing to enthusiasts of all ages … To this end, we bring you films, theatre performances, exhibitions, musical events, lectures, read-a-thons, dramatic readings, and many programmes specifically for young people.”

In fact, attending the launch event were two schoolboys dressed as chimney sweepers, proving that the festival is committed to integrating this public festival with a younger generation of readers who are perhaps not as familiar with Dickens, or other novelists in the genre, as would be necessary to effectively tackle the unsettling statistics put forth earlier by Barnardo’s Director Lynda Wilson.

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The city of London has been witnessing devastating scenes of violence and pain stretching from the northeast to south. For the first time is three decades the city of London was burning.

On 4 August Mark Duggan, 29 was shot dead by police in Tottenham, he was a passenger in a mini cab and was shot after an apparent exchange of fire. Duggan, a father of four, died of single gunshot wound to the chest.

Next day, late noon, around 300 people gathered outside the tottenham police station shouting “we want justice” for Mr. Duggan and his family. Later in the evening there was a mutation in the attitudes of the people of London that marked the eruption of most violent protest against police action in the UK, as bottles thrown at the two patrol cars close to the police station, both vehicles eventually torched.

Collin Sparrow deputy senior investigator for the independent police complaints commission said that the “organization’s complex investigation would for sure take four to six months to complete.” Sporadic spread of looting and destruction in the UK reached Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Midlands in the last two days, leading the situation to become increasingly difficult for the police to control.

An owner of information technology equipment seller in Broad Street, Wolverhampton, said that “he felt like he had a heart attack when he was looted”.

Although there were occurrence of widespread looting and smashing of shops, cash machines and burning of vehicles in Birmingham and Liverpool, the events in London were definitely much larger in scale than in other cities of the U.K.

With rising instability and amid burning fire in the UK, Prime Minister cut his vacation short and landed in London. He said that events of the last three days were ‘criminality’ pure and simple and that he will do everything to restore peace and stability in Britain’s streets.

According to police a total of 26 officers were injured, three patrol cars were torched and dozens of shops, buildings, banks and council offices were damaged and plundered so far in U.K

In Nottingham, a police station was firebombed, around 10 police cars were set alight and 90 people were arrested; and in Manchester a number of cloth shops were set alight, masked youth threw bricks at offices and a sports shop was looted.

These are not race riots or cultural riots; these came to surface as result of the expanding gloom in Britain, where economy is struggling to recover fully and drastic spending cuts, in a bid to reduce debt burden and deficit. One European study claims that about 17 percent of Britain’s Youth can be classified as NEET, Not in Employment, Education and Training, according to reports the areas of Tottenham in London is deprived area.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/fwp-dawson/

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