"I can't believe it's not Rag Week"

Brendan Flowers

squonk wrote: »

What a bunch of feckin eejits. It's great they have so little to be doing for the day.

:rolleyes:

Yeah wouldn't you think those students would spend their days doing something more productive.....such as moaning on an internet forum

Wompa1

I love how to some people RAG Week has become an entitlement. It say's it all about Galway. Sure we all did it, let them be, sure aren't they all entitled to have a bit of fun while they are in college....what a BS pampered attitude.

Whether it's RAG week, race week, The Arts Festival, The Oyster Festival etc. Nobody is entitled to act like an @sshole and not deal with the reprecussions.

The simple way to curve the problem is to actually enforce the laws that are already in place. Also, when you are arresting these people, if they are currently attending any college or on the dole. That should be looked at. Inform their college, their college should have a student code of conduct which can expell students that fail to represent the college in a positive light. If they are on jobseekers allowance or whatever, how can they be looking for a job when they are over in Galway getting sh!t faced.

All fair and all currently within the remit of the law.

ben.schlomo

Wompa1 wrote: »

I love how to some people RAG Week has become an entitlement. It say's it all about Galway. Sure we all did it, let them be, sure aren't they all entitled to have a bit of fun while they are in college....what a BS pampered attitude.

Whether it's RAG week, race week, The Arts Festival, The Oyster Festival etc. Nobody is entitled to act like an @sshole and not deal with the reprecussions.

The simple way to curve the problem is to actually enforce the laws that are already in place. Also, when you are arresting these people, if they are currently attending any college or on the dole. That should be looked at. Inform their college, their college should have a student code of conduct which can expell students that fail to represent the college in a positive light. If they are on jobseekers allowance or whatever, how can they be looking for a job when they are over in Galway getting sh!t faced.

All fair and all currently within the remit of the law.

Like a boomerang curve??? Im not really one for violent reactions to this sort of thing, maybe they could just curb he problem some other non weaponised way.

Wompa1

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Like a boomerang curve??? Im not really one for violent reactions to this sort of thing, maybe they could just curb he problem some other non weaponised way.

Predictive texting. Curb!

foxy_19-89

Just came through town, 9pm ish, it's messy enough, no trouble, just messy Donegal jersey-wearing people everywhere.

Fibbers and the Hole in the Wall being the busiest places (outside their premises)

Saw the guards making people empty their drinks on the streets, at least they're enforcing the law.

The place looks like it would at 2 am though with rubbish everywhere.

c_man

Everyone know the lyrics to "Jimmy's winning matches" by now yeah?

BhoscaCapall

foxy_19-89 wrote: »

Saw the guards making people empty their drinks on the streets, at least they're enforcing the law.

They'll also take drink off you even if you're not drinking it and having it sealed in a plastic bag and are not under the influence of alcohol.

Love a guard that goes above and beyond the call of duty :rolleyes:

Oliver_Ahern

everybody is talking about their drinking but I don't think some people understand their thirst. What's the story with Des Bishop btw (saw him disassociating himself with galway rag week drinkers on his fb last night)?

Harps

Walked through Eyre Square and Shop Street this morning and everything seemed normal enough, might have been some trouble overnight but the Donegal folk didn't seem to get too far in their quest to destroy the city

_Puma_

Wompa1 wrote: »

Whether it's RAG week, race week, The Arts Festival, The Oyster Festival etc. Nobody is entitled to act like an @sshole and not deal with the reprecussions.

This. If the Students Unions/College/Gardai had stamped this out when it started happening a few years ago we wouldn't be where we are today where people come from all over the country and some students acting the prick cause they know they can get away with it.

Strict enforcement of a College only rag week with sponsored clubs in town and on campus that only let people in with Student ID's or ya get signed in with a friends Student ID. Ya act the bollix or your friend acts the bollix you are required to appear in front of the college disciplinary board the following week.

Sad that such a measure would be needed and that students weren't able to police it themselves but it has gotten so out of hand with people coming from all over with no accountability that something needs to be done.

I don't agree that the Students Union and colleges should just walk away from it altogether. The have overseen and tolerated Rag week since the beginning and shouldn't be allowed to just walk away when it starts to get out of hand and let the local Gardai babysit their students and their friends for the week.

ben.schlomo

So basically a thread was started in advance to allow people to gorge on the students awful ways and now 3 days in nothing of any significance has happened, interesting.

_Puma_

ben.schlomo wrote: »

So basically a thread was started in advance to allow people to gorge on the students awful ways and now 3 days in nothing of any significance has happened, interesting.

As far as I can see there has been a major crackdown from the Gardai. Like what BoscaChapaill said they were taking drink off people even if its sealed. I spotted a much bigger police presence yesterday evening on my way through town. Probably has something to do with it. Or we can just ignore the past few years and pretend nothing is wrong here and that major Garda resources have not had to be used just to get it under control.

the keen edge

_Puma_ wrote: »

Or we can just ignore the past few years and pretend nothing is wrong here and that major Garda resources have not had to be used just to get it under control.

What is your point?
There hasn't been any trouble this week.

Who are the we that has ignored the trouble of previous years. Is it not clear to you that NUIG and the Student Union have acknowledged those problems and have taken action.

What exactly are these wrongs; and who is pretending these wrongs don't exist?
Do you want a public acknowledgment every February of the trouble caused in the Rag week of '11?

You're trying to dramatise the whole thing.
Garda patrols have been stepped up; no major operation is in place.
Besides, there are literally hundreds of other public situations that we can also say shouldn't require policing.

Sarky

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Yeah wouldn't you think those students would spend their days doing something more productive.....such as moaning on an internet forum

Or, I dunno, maybe even study? I know, it's a crazy idea, what would students be doing learning sh*t, but I'm radical like that.

_Puma_

the keen edge wrote: »

What is your point?
There hasn't been any trouble this week.

Who are the we that has ignored the trouble of previous years. Is it not clear to you that NUIG and the Student Union have acknowledged those problems and have taken action.

What exactly are these wrongs; and who is pretending these wrongs don't exist?
Do you want a public acknowledgment every February of the trouble caused in the Rag week of '11?

You're trying to dramatise the whole thing.
Garda patrols have been stepped up; no major operation is in place.
Besides, there are literally hundreds of other public situations that we can also say shouldn't require policing.

It's just that I dont agree that the students Union and the college should just walk away from the whole situation when things start to get a bit out of hand and leave it to the Gardai to look after. A statement from the SU president yesterday morning said that as far as he was aware, no NUIG student was arrested, so none of their problem. For the sake of the students themselves they are getting a bad reputation due to a minority of students and complete strangers with no affiliation with the college. Just look at the coverage yesterday in the National press and in past years.

mightdomighty

the keen edge wrote: »

You're trying to dramatise the whole thing.
Garda patrols have been stepped up; no major operation is in place.

"An extensive operation has been put in place to tackle anti-social behaviour during this week's unoffical RAG week celebrations, Gardai have confirmed"

Source: Galway Independent 20th Feb 2013, Marie Madden page 6

Not saying it's definitive or objective, but I'd be keen to know your source the keen edge

Webbs

_Puma_ wrote: »

It's just that I dont agree that the students Union and the college should just walk away from the whole situation when things start to get a bit out of hand and leave it to the Gardai to look after. A statement from the SU president yesterday morning said that as far as he was aware, no NUIG student was arrested, so none of their problem. For the sake of the students themselves they are getting a bad reputation due to a minority of students and complete strangers with no affiliation with the college. Just look at the coverage yesterday in the National press and in past years.

As a matter of interest what actions do you think the Students Union and NUIG should take?

the keen edge

Sarky wrote: »

Or, I dunno, maybe even study? I know, it's a crazy idea, what would students be doing learning sh*t, but I'm radical like that.

Too funny.

You do know that the academic year is 30 weeks and that rag week is just a five day event.
And even at that FA students manage going on the full five day bender.

Its college they/I have signed up for; not a religious vocation.

_Puma_

_Puma_ wrote: »

This. If the Students Unions/College/Gardai had stamped this out when it started happening a few years ago we wouldn't be where we are today where people come from all over the country and some students acting the prick cause they know they can get away with it.

Strict enforcement of a College only rag week with sponsored clubs in town and on campus that only let people in with Student ID's or ya get signed in with a friends Student ID. Ya act the bollix or your friend acts the bollix you are required to appear in front of the college disciplinary board the following week.

Sad that such a measure would be needed and that students weren't able to police it themselves but it has gotten so out of hand with people coming from all over with no accountability that something needs to be done.

I don't agree that the Students Union and colleges should just walk away from it altogether. The have overseen and tolerated Rag week since the beginning and shouldn't be allowed to just walk away when it starts to get out of hand and let the local Gardai babysit their students and their friends for the week.

I'll quote myself

Caliden

It's grown legs now and with this new thing of 'Donegal Tuesday' you can't restrict people from travelling freely within the country.
Strict policing for the week is pointless because it's not a clear enough message as the severity of punishment isn't enough.

squonk

the keen edge wrote: »

Too funny.

You do know that the academic year is 30 weeks and that rag week is just a five day event.
And even at that FA students manage going on the full five day bender.

Its college they/I have signed up for; not a religious vocation.

If they have time to take days off to go on the piss then they're obviously not getting enough work to do as part of their course. It's either that or they don't really give a fiddlers about their course so why they should be funded by the taxpayer is also questionable. Perhaps we should start campaigning to reduce course work for those poor souls who couldn't quite manage to go on the lash for all 5 days?

the keen edge

_Puma_ wrote: »

It's just that I dont agree that the students Union and the college should just walk away from the whole situation when things start to get a bit out of hand and leave it to the Gardai to look after. A statement from the SU president yesterday morning said that as far as he was aware, no NUIG student was arrested, so none of their problem. For the sake of the students themselves they are getting a bad reputation due to a minority of students and complete strangers with no affiliation with the college. Just look at the coverage yesterday in the National press and in past years.

Again:
NUIG and the NUIG SU have taken action because of the trouble of previous years and as of this morning, as you point out, there hasn't been any arrests.
What more do you want them to do?
The vast majority of students in NUIG are decent people. They are young adults so obviously boisterous antics will go with having them as part of the City population.

There are ~16,000 students and 2000 staff members in NUIG. Whatever way you cut it the University brings it fair share of economic prosperity to the City.
Yes, previous rag weeks caused some trouble about the town and probably will do again but lets acknowledge the these are the actions of a tiny minority of dickheads over the course a couple of days of the year.
That sentence isn't a attempt at justifying the problems caused during rag weeks past and present; just let us not focus only on negative issues.

mightdomighty wrote: »

"An extensive operation has been put in place to tackle anti-social behaviour during this week's unoffical RAG week celebrations, Gardai have confirmed"

Source: Galway Independent 20th Feb 2013, Marie Madden page 6

Not saying it's definitive or objective, but I'd be keen to know your source the keen edge

My interpretation of the Gardai operation as a stepping up of patrols; rather than a major operation, came from galwaynews.ie.

Maybe there is Gardai nomenclature for levels of operations, its hard to know if this is the case. Galway Indo and galwaynews.ie can be sloppy and frequently bandied about technical terms incorrectly.

_Puma_

Caliden wrote: »

It's grown legs now and with this new thing of 'Donegal Tuesday' you can't restrict people from travelling freely within the country.
Strict policing for the week is pointless because it's not a clear enough message as the severity of punishment isn't enough.

I agree but it could still be salvaged by the college and SU themselves. Get Local popular nightclubs on board for the week. Ya wont be able to get into any official rag week events like foam party's or gigs without a student ID or a temp ID singed off by a registered student ya get from the SU for the week.

As for a the punishment, allow Gardai to take your ID that they then return to the college. Ya would only be able to get it back by appearing in front of the college or SU disciplinary committee. No more Rag week for you if ya don't appear.

Always going to be anti social behaviour from people not affiliated with the college for the week but let the Gardai deal with this as a Civil matter. This way the college and students can keep their reputation intact.

Would need a bit of coordination and will from all party's involved but it could be possible. May be a bit late in the day now though..

Zzippy

Webbs wrote: »

As a matter of interest what actions do you think the Students Union and NUIG should take?

Schedule labs/tests/assignment deadlines throughout the week?

Sarky

the keen edge wrote: »

Too funny.

You do know that the academic year is 30 weeks and that rag week is just a five day event.
And even at that FA students manage going on the full five day bender.

Its college they/I have signed up for; not a religious vocation.

I'm well aware of what they signed up for, I've been through NUIG twice. It's a very fun place, and there's plenty of entertainment to be found on and off campus. And that can be done without the kind of crap that has led to the reputation of rag week getting so filthy that the college officially shelved it.

mightdomighty

the keen edge wrote: »

My interpretation of the Gardai operation as a stepping up of patrols; rather than a major operation, came from galwaynews.ie.

Maybe there is Gardai nomenclature for levels of operations, its hard to know if this is the case. Galway Indo and galwaynews.ie can be sloppy and frequently bandied about technical terms incorrectly.

I hear you, I presume you are referring to:

http://www.galwaynews.ie/30427-garda%C3%AD-step-patrols-%E2%80%98rebel%E2%80%99-rag-week-influx-students

But, I don't see any reference in that article to say that "no major operation" was in place. I guess as you say that was your interpretation of it..

the keen edge

squonk wrote: »

If they have time to take days off to go on the piss then they're obviously not getting enough work to do as part of their course.

There is an extensive EU wide system of ECTS credits awarded for study in third level university.
One academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS-credits that are equivalent to 1500–1800 hours of study.
Accumulation of these credits are needed for award of a degree.
NUIG awards its degrees under this system.

Maybe you should contact your MEP with this concern because in fairness you're barking up the wrong tree here.

squonk wrote: »

It's either that or they don't really give a fiddlers about their course so why they should be funded by the taxpayer is also questionable.

Agreed that some students don't give a toss; but the majority do. The competition for academic success is there in NUIG.
Any decent Master course in science or engineering requires a 2.1 undergrad degree. A 2.1 isn't piss easy to get, you have to work for it.

_Puma_

the keen edge wrote: »

Again:
NUIG and the NUIG SU have taken action because of the trouble of previous years and as of this morning, as you point out, there hasn't been any arrests.
What more do you want them to do?
The vast majority of students in NUIG are decent people. They are young adults so obviously boisterous antics will go with having them as part of the City population.

There are ~16,000 students and 2000 staff members in NUIG. Whatever way you cut it the University brings it fair share of economic prosperity to the City.
Yes, previous rag weeks caused some trouble about the town and probably will do again but lets acknowledge the these are the actions of a tiny minority of dickheads over the course a couple of days of the year.
That sentence isn't a attempt at justifying the problems caused during rag weeks past and present; just let us not focus only on negative issues.


My interpretation of the Gardai operation as a stepping up of patrols; rather than a major operation, came from galwaynews.ie.

Maybe there is Gardai nomenclature for levels of operations, its hard to know if this is the case. Galway Indo and galwaynews.ie can be sloppy and frequently bandied about technical terms incorrectly.

The thing is that even though they have distanced themselves from Rag week, they are still getting a bad reputation due to this minority of students and people not affiliated with the college.

As I said before, I'm not against Rag week per say and I agree that it is the minority of d**kheads that are ruining it for everyone else. I went to NUIG and went out during my rag week, it was nowhere near as problematic as it is nowadays, whether this is due to cheap drink or outsiders coming to the city for the week, I dunno. I agree that students should be able to enjoy the week responsibly and maybe raise some money for charity like what happened years ago.

Just that I think the college and SU should have tried to get it under control instead of just walking away altogether. I acknowledge that this year seems to be a bit better behaved, whether this is down to the Gardai or Students taking a bit more responsibility.

the keen edge

mightdomighty wrote: »

I hear you, I presume you are referring to:

http://www.galwaynews.ie/30427-garda%C3%AD-step-patrols-%E2%80%98rebel%E2%80%99-rag-week-influx-students

But, I don't see any reference in that article to say that "no major operation" was in place. I guess as you say that was your interpretation of it..

Unless an article states A Major Operation is in place the agreed assumption is that a major operation is not in place.

mightdomighty

the keen edge wrote: »

Unless an article states A Major Operation is in place the agreed assumption is that a major operation is not in place.

Questionable logic