RAG Week 2014

ben.schlomo

nuac wrote: »

Clear that students' grants are too generous.

Few working people can afford to spend that much on drink

How much did they spend?

systemicrisk

zarquon wrote: »

I'll be too busy working to contribute through taxation.to the grants of those hungover and prepping for another few days of binge drinking amongst other various activities in an attempt to publically display their double digit IQs with pride.

Thankfully Australia and Canada will take a portion of these timewasters off our hands......at least until the visas expire with no hope of renewing.

Aren't ya great going into work and paying taxes like most people who dont piss whinge and moan about it. Yes some of the students will over do it and a small minority will cause some hassle and should be brought before the courts for it. The grant is an essential help for the majority of students who receive it and it pays the rent for many.

Guess what....getting a college education will provide them with the platform to get a better job and you guessed it, pay higer taxes due to increased income. The majority will quite easily pay more tax than they directly receive in government subsidies over their lifetime.

You need to get over whatever petty hangup you have about paying taxes as they are a fact of life or perhaps focus your attention on areas where tax revenues are actually being wasted.

Fitz*

zarquon wrote: »

Yes, and my point is still valid. Go check out A&E tonight and ask the nurses and doctors on duty about the eejits acting the b0ll0cks there what their opinion of it is.

Yeah it's great craic if you are stupid and immature.

I've had more drunken trips to A&E as an adult that I did as a student.

From 5 years of college, and (arrogant or not, I knew a lot of people in that time) I know of one person that had to go to A&E from something that happened while drinking. He was 17 at the time too, got hurt in a freak accident.

zarquon

systemicrisk wrote: »

Aren't ya great going into work and paying taxes like most people who dont piss whinge and moan about it. Yes some of the students will over do it and a small minority will cause some hassle and should be brought before the courts for it. The grant is an essential help for the majority of students who receive it and it pays the rent for many.

Guess what....getting a college education will provide them with the platform to get a better job and you guessed it, pay higer taxes due to increased income. The majority will quite easily pay more tax than they directly receive in government subsidies over their lifetime.

You need to get over whatever petty hangup you have about paying taxes as they are a fact of life or perhaps focus your attention on areas where tax revenues are actually being wasted.

The majority will be okay but some will struggle for active employment. What people don't realise is that some of the idiotic behaviour will come back to bite some in the arse especially if someone has a conviction and wants to immigrate or needs a background check for a job.

Case in point: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p<snip>

I would expect you to understand the dangers of the carry on rather than trying to justify. People make mistakes in life that is a certainty but if one cannot learn from his/her mistakes then problems will only escalate in later life.

Even without a conviction, social media is rife and it's hard to hide activity. If i am interviewing someone for a job, i'll google someone to see if there is information on twitter or facebook about them. You would be surprised the amount of information out there with FB pages not properly secured.

Lapin

I think its bang out of order to drag up comments people make in other threads to back up what you have to say in this one.

If you can't make an argument based on the discussion topic in this thread alone you're better off saying nothing at all.

zarquon

Lapin wrote: »

I think its bang out of order to drag up comments people make in other threads to back up what you have to say in this one.

If you can't make an argument based on the discussion topic in this thread alone you're better off saying nothing at all.

It was to prove a point that peoples mistakes can be traced through social media. Obviously there is anonymity in this case which is why i linked to the post but for those on facebook with pictures associated the past can come back to haunt people. What seemed like drunken fun in the spur of the moment can affect living standards for years to come.

Have fun now but eventually regret may come if it goes too far or goes wrong!

BTW, i was making an on topic argument and had a valid case to prove it. Q.E.D. so your point is moot.

In this case we have a poster justifying some of the behaviour going on atm and then the same poster posts elsewhere about regretful negative repercussions in his own life due to the same type of behaviour. If it was me, i would be warning others to not repeat my mistakes, not brush them under the carpet and then cheer on others as they make the same mistakes i regret.

TerrorFirmer

nuac wrote: »

Clear that students' grants are too generous.

Few working people can afford to spend that much on drink

Is that a joke?

Given the relationship with alcohol in this country, students are hardly worth pointing the finger at exclusively.

Besides that, as I've often tiredly pointed out, plenty of students work and....brace yourself, this might rock you to your bitter core - they pay for their drink with their own earned money. :eek:

pleasant Co.

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Is that a joke?

Given the relationship with alcohol in this country, students are hardly worth pointing the finger at exclusively.

Besides that, as I've often tiredly pointed out, plenty of students work and....brace yourself, this might rock you to your bitter core - they pay for their drink with their own earned money. :eek:

You're blowing my mind right now

SanPatricios

What's the harm in them spending their grant money on drink anyway? Everyone is all doom and gloom whenever a local business shuts down yet they whinge about people supporting them. Not to mention the government tax the absolute shíte out of it.

And as for the repeated comments about this country, it's not really that unique or that big a deal. Go over to England, Wales or Scotland and check out the student nights where they're ramming 50p bottles of WKD down their necks, vomiting and fighting all over the place. Had to laugh at one poster implying the students today were alcoholics because they were lined up at the Hole in the Wall early in the morning. Tell tale sign of an alcoholic dressing up and meeting a ton of their mates after they were told to do it by a Facebook group, is it :rolleyes: some people don't know the meaning of alcoholism.

Redhairedguy

I'd say many folks here have more of a problem with the moral implication rather than the financial one, frankly.

*sits back and watches*

SanPatricios

Redhairedguy wrote: »

I'd say many folks here have more of a problem with the moral implication rather than the financial one, frankly.

*sits back and watches*

The moral implication of a student spending their money irresponsibly, on socialising. Not exactly a paradigm shift is it?

Curious has to how the current ~40 year old generation carried on during Rag Week and so on. Given the number of them that completely ruined this country at a financial level I'd like to know how responsible they were with their funds :rolleyes:

Redhairedguy

That's a much bigger conversation than is able for this small regional forum, I'm afraid, mate.

I think the likes of Politics, After Hours and indeed Conspiracy Theories (depending on your knowledge of Subterranean Shape Shifting Lizard People) would be able to provide a better host to that point.

SanPatricios

Redhairedguy wrote: »

(depending on your knowledge of Subterranean Shape Shifting Lizard People)

I know there was a hape of them wearing yellow on Eyre St today

TerrorFirmer

Ultimately, it's not so estranged from Race week really, is it?

Wompa1

SanPatricios wrote: »

The moral implication of a student spending their money irresponsibly, on socialising. Not exactly a paradigm shift is it?

Curious has to how the current ~40 year old generation carried on during Rag Week and so on. Given the number of them that completely ruined this country at a financial level I'd like to know how responsible they were with their funds :rolleyes:

I grew up in Galway. Honestly, years ago it didn't even register as an event. The River Inn went mental but that was so out of the way that nobody cared. Ditto with the college bar.

It would be great if the madness could be contained within the college grounds. A couple of years ago, GMIT held events around the campus, that's the way to do it. F**k it, the Galway Race track sits empty most of the year. Let them tear the hole out of that, bars all along the bottom of the stand. Open up the Champagne room! One big night club.

dr.bollocko

Perhaps some sort of solemn novena / rag week crossover event would lighten up one side of the fence and add solemnity to the other.

Fitz*

Did anything 'bad' happen last night? I haven't heard of anything anyways.

I'd say some people are devastated nothing happened, there's nothing to complain about now. :rolleyes:

nuac

ben.schlomo wrote: »

How much did they spend?

I don't know but it would not be cheap to spend a day, or several days of the week in a pub.

Mine have gone thru college. I would not have tolerated this behaviour

WallyGUFC

nuac wrote: »

I don't know but it would not be cheap to spend a day, or several days of the week in a pub.

Mine have gone thru college. I would not have tolerated this behaviour

So what? If it's their own hard earned money, as is often the case (part-time jobs etc.) what's the problem? Not everyone gets the grant. The way people carry on you'd swear the city would be better off without students. Which is certainly not the case.

Brendan Flowers

nuac wrote: »

I don't know but it would not be cheap to spend a day, or several days of the week in a pub.

Mine have gone thru college. I would not have tolerated this behaviour

You don't know how much they spent yet you are sure that most working people couldn't afford it

Some of the hyperbole statements in this thread are laughable. You can be sure that most of the crowd that were in the hole in the wall at 10am were not still there at 10pm that night. Crowds come and go thoughout the day. And maybe Im wrong but dont they sell bottles in the hole in the wall for about €3. €20 would go a long way and students have a knack for getting value for money.

Fitz*

nuac wrote: »

I don't know but it would not be cheap to spend a day, or several days of the week in a pub.

In my final year of college, I regularly spent a day in Hole in the Wall. A good few hours with friends for a few quiet pints. we had 8 pints each, I remember it well. 2 rounds & 2 singles each. All for €20. Pints are €2.50 for Tennants beer - 8 x 2.50 = €20. €20 for a day int he pub is very cheap IMO. If you wanted to go dearer, you could get Fosters for €3 a pint. That's a mouthwatering €24 for 8 pints.

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

And maybe Im wrong but dont they sell bottles in the hole in the wall for about €3. €20 would go a long way and students have a knack for getting value for money.

IIRC bottles of Bud are €1. They were selling them at that price a few years ago anyways.

keyboard_cat

nuac wrote: »

Clear that students' grants are too generous.

Few working people can afford to spend that much on drink

The average grant is about 2k which wouldn't even cover accommodation in Galway, but somehow this is to generous? Im guessing most the people who are going out drinking had a summer job and save that money to help them through college or has a part time job or is getting help from parents (which if there parents can afford to help them they are probably getting a minimal grant)
So your argument is that they shouldn't be let drink because they are getting money from the government? while we are at it will we ban people on the dole from drinking and pensioners and any farmers who get grants?

Brendan Flowers

And if students do have a bit of spare cash from the grant then why not spend it on nights out. College can be extremely tough and with the pressure of exams and assignments, students need to blow of some steam in their free time.

zarquon

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

And if students do have a bit of spare cash from the grant then why not spend it on nights out. College can be extremely tough and with the pressure of exams and assignments, students need to blow of some steam in their free time.

If students have spare cash from the grant then those particular students are receiving too high a subsidy. The grant is meant for those who could not manage to complete their education without. If the grant means that spare cash is available for nights out then the current means testing system is not working. Funding to blow of steam is a nonsense argument.

Work can be tough and stressful for me. Should the government introduce tax credits to allow additional funding for me to blow off steam on a night out.


Some students are in dire need of the grant and those same students are the ones you won't see going crazy during rag week because they cannot afford to. I was formerly one of those student. What we are seeing now is the celtic tiger generation with an increased sense of entitlement, decreased sense of responsibility and increased entertainment expenditure due to surplus cash from parents, PT jobs and increased grants.

The drinking culture increased in line with the celtic tiger. I doubt many of the current generation of students would be happy if they studied in the nineties or eighties, they would not have the excess funds available today.

The celtic tiger has a lot to answer for in terms of the atitude shift from young people over the last decade or more.

It's not just rag week or students though, the same can be said for race week which is just a more "grown up" version of rag week. Unfortunately youth in this country are taught to develop an unhealthy atitude to drink by the older generations in this country who also drink excessively. Those young people therefore see a mannerism which is deemed to be normal and thus integrate that into their lives. Those youth then grow up and one day become the older generation demonstrating to the new youthful generations that drinking excessively should be acceptable and normal.

Unfortunately many caught in this vicious cycle cannot see the abnormality of the cycle as the objectivity is missing. Those who are truly objective, i.e. other nations and cultures pretty much see Ireland as a laughing stock with regards to our alcohol atitudes. We are the butt of the worlds jokes with regards to the "drunken irish"

I have many friends and acquaintances from other nations and i like to ask them from time to time about their opinion of the Irish. There are usually many positive responses but the most common reoccurring negative response is that the Irish drink too much. If you are from a country that is not used to this it can be quite a shock.

This thread is just a bickering match anyway. As there are people on both sides of the debate. There are plenty here who will argue that 10 pints is not drink binging and that will never change in the same way that most alcoholics will refuse to admit that they have a problem - and i say that as someone who has worked closely with those suffering from alcohol dependance and saw how it has destroyed many many lives.

Ficheall

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

College can be extremely tough and with the pressure of exams and assignments

Ah now, let's not get carried away here...

naughto

zarquon wrote: »

If students have spare cash from the grant then those particular students are receiving too high a subsidy. The grant is meant for those who could not manage to complete their education without. If the grant means that spare cash is available for nights out then the current means testing system is not working. Funding to blow of steam is a nonsense argument.

Work can be tough and stressful for me. Should the government introduce tax credits to allow additional funding for me to blow off steam on a night out.


Some students are in dire need of the grant and those same students are the ones you won't see going crazy during rag week because they cannot afford to. I was formerly one of those student. What we are seeing now is the celtic tiger generation with an increased sense of entitlement, decreased sense of responsibility and increased entertainment expenditure due to surplus cash from parents, PT jobs and increased grants.

The drinking culture increased in line with the celtic tiger. I doubt many of the current generation of students would be happy if they studied in the nineties or eighties, they would not have the excess funds available today.

The celtic tiger has a lot to answer for in terms of the atitude shift from young people over the last decade or more.

It's not just rag week or students though, the same can be said for race week which is just a more "grown up" version of rag week. Unfortunately youth in this country are taught to develop an unhealthy atitude to drink by the older generations in this country who also drink excessively. Those young people therefore see a mannerism which is deemed to be normal and thus integrate that into their lives. Those youth then grow up and one day become the older generation demonstrating to the new youthful generations that drinking excessively should be acceptable and normal.

Unfortunately many caught in this vicious cycle cannot see the abnormality of the cycle as the objectivity is missing. Those who are truly objective, i.e. other nations and cultures pretty much see Ireland as a laughing stock with regards to our alcohol atitudes. We are the butt of the worlds jokes with regards to the "drunken irish"

I have many friends and acquaintances from other nations and i like to ask them from time to time about their opinion of the Irish. There are usually many positive responses but the most common reoccurring negative response is that the Irish drink too much. If you are from a country that is not used to this it can be quite a shock.

This thread is just a bickering match anyway. As there are people on both sides of the debate. There are plenty here who will argue that 10 pints is not drink binging and that will never change in the same way that most alcoholics will refuse to admit that they have a problem - and i say that as someone who has worked closely with those suffering from alcohol dependance and saw how it has destroyed many many lives.

If u buy the 11th one I will drink for u sir

zarquon

zarquon wrote: »

If students have spare cash from the grant then those particular students are receiving too high a subsidy. The grant is meant for those who could not manage to complete their education without. If the grant means that spare cash is available for nights out then the current means testing system is not working. Funding to blow of steam is a nonsense argument.

A system where a student has exactly the right amount of money to live is neither fair or workable. It would be downright stupid actually.

The grant means test is based on parents income not on a student making a bit of money on the side for themselves. Basing it on the parents income is the fair way to do it but some parents will be tight for money while other have less expenses and therefore more money to give to their children.

You can't be seriously talking about implementing some sort of system that takes the bit if money students go out and earn for themselves into account and/or monitors their parents spending to judge how much spare cash they have for giving their children.

Just to add I never even got the sniff of a grant, I worked hard during summers and weekends and got money from my parents for college expenses (reg fee etc) and lived at home too so I always had money when going to college.

MadYaker

I'll be joining the fray tonight I reckon. I'm in the mood for a bit of a tax-payer funded, grant fueled bender :pac:

dilallio

MadYaker wrote: »

I'll be joining the fray tonight I reckon. I'm in the mood for a bit of a tax-payer funded, grant fueled bender :pac:

beardybrewer

Saw some girls dancing on their balcony, beers in hand. One idiot was up dancing on the railing.