RAG Week 2014

systemicrisk

zarquon wrote: »

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.

Did you even read my post? Where did I brush any antisocial behaviour under the carpet or cheer on others that cause antisocial behaviour. I specifically said that the minority that do so should be brought before the courts.

In fact this is the only sentence in which I mentioned rag week at all is this

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 rest of my post discussed the importance of the grant for many students to help them pay the their rent. It also discussed the fact that as a result of increased education they will pay increased tax in the future due to increased income. My own brother is studying in Trinity and is in receipt of the grant and the top up grant. He gets practically nothing from my parents as they cant afford it and his course is very intensive so he cant work part-time and if he could there are not that many jobs available for students anymore. As a result he lives on feck all and barely gets to go out. I know this for a fact. But you know what, Id say he would definitely make it out for a night during rag week because its part of the student experience.

The way you responded to my post shows you to be a very ignorant person who, when challenged, cannot take criticism and puts false words into the mouths of others. You are bitter because you have to pay tax and that some of that tax goes to others who you feel don't deserve it. Maybe there is an argument for student grants to be linked to lecture and tutorial attendance due to the fact that a small minority of grant recipients will take the grant and then spend it all going on the piss. I assure you that these are few and far between and that most will pay their rent/food/books and keep back a tiny fraction to socialise. Maybe things were different during the boom years but now due to stricter criteria anyone who gets the grant bloody well needs it.

I am actually going to close my account now and this is it for boards for me because I am sick to the teeth of the likes of you zarquon. There is an infestation within boards of people who bitch and moan about their tax this and their tax that and who constantly throw out stupid, ignorant generalisations about social welfare recipients, public servants, student grant recipients etc. There is no talking to the likes of you because your ego wont allow you to see beyond your own little world; how great you are that you work and pay tax and why cant everyone be like you. People like you seem to believe they were never young and foolish, that they will never fall on hard times as they are so confident in their own ingenuity and greatness.

I hope I never have to experience an Ireland where we let those who have lost their jobs lapse into poverty or where students who come from lower socio-economic categories cannot access education due to financial barriers. It seems that every time I come onto boards this is the type of society many vocal posters would advocate. It actually makes me sad and a little bit angry and for that reason I am out.

Mr_A

On the taxation issue: with the high level of taxation on alcohol, the students are also making a handsome contribution to the state's finances. You might even describe them as true patriots.

jd007

newkie wrote: »

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

OMG dancing on their balcony?! Where will this RAG week madness end? Won't somebody please think of the children?

El_Dangeroso

I live in a somewhat student-ridden area of the city and I have to say this has been one of the quietest rag weeks in the 4 years I've lived here as far as mayhem on my doorstep goes.

Now *touch wood* Thursday's not here yet but I've yet to witness anything out of the ordinary bar a couple of 'wooohooos' outside the window from time to time.

Far far cry from the last few years shenanigans if you ask me.

The youth today are becoming soft.

Diabhal Beag

If my fellow students aren't going to destroy the place I think we seriously need to consider abolishing the grant. The taxpayer doesn't pay to hear students having a quiet night in. Scum, sub-human scum.

Galwayps

Was in La Salsa on Mary street around 9 when 2 guys started peeing on their back door. When the girls went out side to remonstrate and ask them to stop they pushed the door on her (with her in the doorway)
Went outside with another customer to see could we help and move them on.
They were in a group of 6/7 but moved on after some words.
My opinion is that they were not students in Galway (they didnt know the way to Electric Garden) and the problem was the level of alcohol consumed plus they seemed to be under the impression they could do whatever they wanted as they walked off in the road oblivious to traffic. This is not a major incident but for me the kind of stupid incident that occurs as the word got out that Rag week was an anything goes week in terms of behaviour on the streets
Anyway its definitely quieter than in previous years

spiritcrusher

newkie wrote: »

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

beardybrewer

jd007 wrote: »

OMG dancing on their balcony?! Where will this RAG week madness end? Won't somebody please think of the children?

The dancing and the beers weren't the point, being stupid enough to do it precariously balanced on a balcony railing was.

TerrorFirmer

Nice to see someone has vandalized the Oscar Wilde statue, now sporting a big sprayed painted head.

El_Dangeroso

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I live in a somewhat student-ridden area of the city and I have to say this has been one of the quietest rag weeks in the 4 years I've lived here as far as mayhem on my doorstep goes.

Now *touch wood* Thursday's not here yet but I've yet to witness anything out of the ordinary bar a couple of 'wooohooos' outside the window from time to time.

Far far cry from the last few years shenanigans if you ask me.

The youth today are becoming soft.

I take it back. They decided to play knock-a-dolly in my estate last night at 5am. I mean christ in heaven, that has to be the most pathetic effort I have ever seen, a fecking 5 year olds game.

zarquon

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Nice to see someone has vandalized the Oscar Wilde statue, now sporting a big sprayed painted head.

With jewellers and brown thomas nearby i assume there will be CCTV footage of the idiots in question. Brainless idiots like this can kiss goodbye to to immigration hopes with convictions against them. It's amazing some people don't consider this at the time.

nuac

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 you think college is "extremely tough" with pressure of exams and assignments, prepare yourself for real life post college working for a living and raising a family.

zarquon

nuac wrote: »

If you think college is "extremely tough" with pressure of exams and assignments, prepare yourself for real life post college working for a living and raising a family.

Gotta love young people with little or no responsibility talking about how tough life is God help them once they really get to experience real life and discover that reckless drinking does not help them escape their problems. :rolleyes:

spiritcrusher

Yeah, the only really annoying thing about RAG week is when they start destroying things around town. And I'm convinced that the ones that do that kinda stuff aren't from here or go to college here, because nearly everyone I've ever met that's been here for any extended period of time tends to have at least some level of respect for the place regardless of how hammered they are.
As for the rest of it, let them off to get drunk and sick or whatever. No use crying about them being too spoilt either, no matter how much money you give a student they will always find a way to go out if they want to, no matter what. Even when I think back to being 18/19/20 I'm sure there were weeks were I had €20 that needed to last me a full week but somehow would manage to have a night out. And that sense of entitlement from the "Celtic Tiger generation" among student has certainly decreased sharpish in the last few years. It's more a sense of resignation that they'll have to leave if they don't want to be scraping coins together every Thursday night for a cheap bottle of wine or cans of piss beer. To be honest, it's impressive seeing the number of 18-20 year olds who can fully look after themselves in college, except for the fees obviously. I was a shambles at 18 compared to most of them!
But back to Rag week, it's grand but I have to say it's shite compared to what it used to be. It was always mostly about the drinking but before Galway's one got a name for itself and people from everywhere came to it, the stuff the used to put on in the college was great craic. Free stuff everywhere, some blow up version of laser quest one year, competitions, mock weddings (ok, that was weird), much more entertaining ways to drink.

antoobrien

Going by what's being said by some people you'd swear that we were in the middle of Kiev right now.

• Do Students drink - yes
• Is this a new thing - hell no
• Are drinks offers a new thing - there were promotions when I was there (I was paying in punts)

What's changed?

1. The charity* element of RAG week has gone missing, it's now just a week of unbridled fun
2. It's no longer limited to to students (or even locals) as it used to be

So we can now ask ourselves:
Has banning it worked - hell no.
Will banning it work in future - wasn't it Einstein that said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

*RAG stands for Raising And Giving - it used to be a week of charity events for students to raise money for whomever the SU executive wanted to back that year.

Whether the SU and college authorities want it or not, it's part of the tradition of the college experience. It's time for the SUs & colleges to realise that they've made a mistake in trying to ban it and worse they have ignored their responsibilities to both the student body and the locality.

We want our young people to learn to drink responsibly - here's your chance NUIG, GMIT & USI.

Brendan Flowers

zarquon wrote: »

Gotta love young people with little or no responsibility talking about how tough life is God help them once they really get to experience real life and discover that reckless drinking does not help them escape their problems. :rolleyes:

Excuse me?? How about getting your facts straight before making stupid, condescending remarks. I'm not a student. I've been out of college a number of years. But I speak from my own experience so I know just how difficult college when compared with life post NUIG.

And I never said students use reckless drinking to escape their problems. I said its good to blow of steam. And for me this didnt change when I left college. Only now rather than doing it on a Wed/Thurs I do it at the weekend. I'd have a pretty boring and miserable life I'd have if I didnt socialise. Likewise for current college students.

zarquon

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

Excuse me?? How about getting your facts straight before making stupid, condescending remarks. I'm not a student. I've been out of college a number of years. But I speak from my own experience so I know just how difficult college when compared with life post NUIG.

And I never said students use reckless drinking to escape their problems. I said its good to blow of steam. And for me this didnt change when I left college. Only now rather than doing it on a Wed/Thurs I do it at the weekend. I'd have a pretty boring and miserable life I'd have if I didnt socialise. Likewise for current college students.

My comment was not directed at you, it was a general comment about atitude of college goers in general where lack of real world experience gives the false observance that college life is tougher in the grand scheme of things than it actually is.

I don't know your own circumstances so i would not comment on it at all but once spouse children mortgages etc all come along, college will seem like a distant dream.

You do touch on one point though about a boring life. It is quite sad that a lot of people in this country need alcohol to have fun. It says a lot about a person that they need to drink in order to let loose and have fun.

In my experience a lot of the irish are very repressed compared to other cultures where people can socialise and have great fun without drinking to lose inhibitions. I can just imagine some clubs this week if everyone sat around drinking mi-wadi only - it would probably be the most boring place on earth and that only testifies to the personalities of the people in question where they cannot have fun or be fun unless they are under the influence of alcohol.

If you have the personality for it, you shouldn't need alcohol to have fun. I know people who are great craic who don't drink. On the flipside i know others who think they are great craic but when they are sober it's like watching paint dry being around them.

Sadly it is true that people lacking in personality do need alcohol to make them somewhat more interesting but the key is for these types of people to not overdo it, which they rarely manage to find the correct balance for.

My challenge not only to RAG week students but everyone in general is try to have fun and craic without drink as an experiment. If you cannot do this on consistly then there is something wrong with you and i would suggest you are not the "gas craic" you think you are.

As another experiment try being sober surrounded by drunken fools after midnight at any bar or club of your choice and then note the absolutely crazy of amount of sh1te that is spoken. Drunk people are only great craic if you happen to be drunk too otherwise drunks are the most tediously annoying people on the earth.

KingJamsie

antoobrien wrote: »

Going by what's being said by some people you'd swear that we were in the middle of Kiev right now.

• Do Students drink - yes
• Is this a new thing - hell no
• Are drinks offers a new thing - there were promotions when I was there (I was paying in punts)

What's changed?

1. The charity* element of RAG week has gone missing, it's now just a week of unbridled fun
2. It's no longer limited to to students (or even locals) as it used to be

So we can now ask ourselves:
Has banning it worked - hell no.
Will banning it work in future - wasn't it Einstein that said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

*RAG stands for Raising And Giving - it used to be a week of charity events for students to raise money for whomever the SU executive wanted to back that year.

Whether the SU and college authorities want it or not, it's part of the tradition of the college experience. It's time for the SUs & colleges to realise that they've made a mistake in trying to ban it and worse they have ignored their responsibilities to both the student body and the locality.

We want our young people to learn to drink responsibly - here's your chance NUIG, GMIT & USI.

The SU('s) didn't have a choice, the higher ups in the colleges threatened a cut in funding to the SU if RAG wasn't banned.

College students are adults, they know HOW to drink responsibly

nuac

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

Excuse me?? How about getting your facts straight before making stupid, condescending remarks. I'm not a student. I've been out of college a number of years. But I speak from my own experience so I know just how difficult college when compared with life post NUIG.

And I never said students use reckless drinking to escape their problems. I said its good to blow of steam. And for me this didnt change when I left college. Only now rather than doing it on a Wed/Thurs I do it at the weekend. I'd have a pretty boring and miserable life I'd have if I didnt socialise. Likewise for current college students.

I think Zarquon was realistic rather than condescending..

Alcoholism is a major problem in this country. For some it started in college.

In my time ( fifties ) there were no grants but some had scholarships. I know people who had great Leaving Certs, won scholarships, but, being away from parental influence starting drinking. Some lost their scholarships thru' failing First year because of drink.

RAG weeks are now excuses for binges. Judging by reports of current student behaviour "responsible drinking" how are ye

zarquon

KingJamsie wrote: »

The SU('s) didn't have a choice, the higher ups in the colleges threatened a cut in funding to the SU if RAG wasn't banned.

College students are adults, they know HOW to drink responsibly

Yes, but in this country there is a lack of personal responisbility. We recklessly borrowed and assumed more debt than we could manage therefore it was the banks fault and not ours.

We drink too much therefore it's the authorities responsibility for not teaching us to drink responsibly:rolleyes:

So if i hit with my car, the moron who walk out in front of me last night with a bottle of buckie in his hand and his trousers down around his ankles whilst being cheered on by his peers at the same time - is it my responsibility for not helping him cross safely? Is it the colleges fault for not teaching the dangers of crossing the road into oncoming traffic drunk and impeded or is it the moron in questions fault and responsibility?

The Lost Sheep

KingJamsie wrote: »

The SU('s) didn't have a choice, the higher ups in the colleges threatened a cut in funding to the SU if RAG wasn't banned.

College students are adults, they know HOW to drink responsibly

Unfortunately your last sentence isn't true. Yes many college students are adults but a huge number don't know at all how to drink responsibly

antoobrien

KingJamsie wrote: »

The SU('s) didn't have a choice, the higher ups in the colleges threatened a cut in funding to the SU if RAG wasn't banned.

So they chose to be blackmailed. Doesn't change the fact
(a) the experiment backfired
(b) both parties are still not living up to their responsibilities to the student body.

KingJamsie wrote: »

College students are adults, they know HOW to drink responsibly

I'd say the ones that are actually adult and not technically adult by dint of being 18+ are not the ones causing any problems.

zarquon

nuac wrote: »

I think Zarquon was realistic rather than condescending..

Alcoholism is a major problem in this country. For some it started in college.

Precisely, but for some it is a sensitive topic. Many want to be seen as adults and treated accordingly but still want to hold on to the fun of adolescent behaviour. You can't have your cake and eat it in this scenario, you either need to act responsibly to be taken seriously as an adult or else continue to enjoy adolescent behaviour into your "adulthood" and not be taken seriously by your peers - which can easily be misconstrued by such adolescents as condescention. It is easy for some to see it as condescending when such behaviour is pointed out as immature and adolescent.

If people point out the folly of foolish adolescence it is not condenscending, it is merely pointing out a statement of fact.

Brendan Flowers

zarquon wrote: »

My comment was not directed at you, it was a general comment about atitude of college goers in general where lack of real world experience gives the false observance that college life is tougher in the grand scheme of things than it actually is.

I don't know your own circumstances so i would not comment on it at all but once spouse children mortgages etc all come along, college will seem like a distant dream.

You do touch on one point though about a boring life. It is quite sad that a lot of people in this country need alcohol to have fun. It says a lot about a person that they need to drink in order to let loose and have fun.

In my experience a lot of the irish are very repressed compared to other cultures where people can socialise and have great fun without drinking to lose inhibitions. I can just imagine some clubs this week if everyone sat around drinking mi-wadi only - it would probably be the most boring place on earth and that only testifies to the personalities of the people in question where they cannot have fun or be fun unless they are under the influence of alcohol.

If you have the personality for it, you shouldn't need alcohol to have fun. I know people who are great craic who don't drink. On the flipside i know others who think they are great craic but when they are sober it's like watching paint dry being around them.

Sadly it is true that people lacking in personality do need alcohol to make them somewhat more interesting but the key is for these types of people to not overdo it, which they rarely manage to find the correct balance for.

My challenge not only to RAG week students but everyone in general is try to have fun and craic without drink as an experiment. If you cannot do this on consistly then there is something wrong with you and i would suggest you are not the "gas craic" you think you are.

As another experiment try being sober surrounded by drunken fools after midnight at any bar or club of your choice and then note the absolutely crazy of amount of sh1te that is spoken. Drunk people are only great craic if you happen to be drunk too otherwise drunks are the most tediously annoying people on the earth.

Well I was the only one (afaik) who mentioned students needing to get away from the pressures of studies so it looked to be directed at my original comment. College can be very tough and maybe you're the one with false observations about the pressure of student life?

And when did I ever say people need alcohol to have fun? I said socialising in general is important. And plenty of students socialise thoughout the year without consuming alcohol, for example at club events, cinema, bowling, sports etc. But so what if other events involve drinking. Rag week is about drinking (nobody is denying that). But most students dont go out as much in the weeks before and after it so overall it balances out. Let them have a bit for fun. For a lot after this the library will become their second home until exams are over.

zarquon

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

Well I was the only one (afaik) who mentioned students needing to get away from the pressures of studies so it looked to be directed at my original comment. College can be very tough and maybe you're the one with false observations about the pressure of student life?

I have no such false observations. I studied for 4 years through a high pressure degree which was not easy at the time, but the difficulties pale in comparison to those that life has thrown my way. In hindsight i can say that college was one of the easier periods in my life now. A lot of students will have a similar experience and if they don't learn how to handle pressure correctly at that stage of their lives things will only escalate when they experience the even greater difficulties that life brings.

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

Rag week is about drinking .

Rag week is supposed to be about charity but a large cohort of students completely perverted the true cause to satisfy their own immature desires who feel their own need for fun outweighs any charitable needs.

zarquon

zarquon wrote: »

I have no such false observations. I studied for 4 years through a high pressure degree which was not easy at the time, but the difficulties pale in comparison to those that life has thrown my way. In hindsight i can say that college was one of the easier periods in my life now. A lot of students will have a similar experience and if they don't learn how to handle pressure correctly at that stage of their lives things will only escalate when they experience the even greater difficulties that lifes brings.

You won't find (well I don't know many anyway) who would swap a well paid job for college life with the pressures of exams and only having limited money etc.

You can have a lot of the craic of college life when you are working too except you have the money for it. For instance midweek nights out are almost as regular in a lot of the people I know as they were back when I was an undergrad.

zarquon wrote: »

Rag week is supposed to be about charity but a large cohort of students completely perverted the true cause to satisfy their own immature desires who feel their own need for fun outweighs any charitable needs.

At the end of the day RAG week is about drinking, it's 9 years since my first year RAG week and it was about drinking then as much as its about drinking now. It was a brilliant week that we looked forward to for weeks,where you could have the craic go on the beer basically all day every day before settling back into normality and study for the exams.

The vast majority of students or others out for RAG caused no trouble and to be honest once there is no trouble caused then peoples decision to drink lots is none of your concern. From reading your posts I'd hate to see the boring experience you would map out for students and even people who are no longer students.

Brendan Flowers

zarquon wrote: »

Rag week is supposed to be about charity but a large cohort of students completely perverted the true cause to satisfy their own immature desires who feel their own need for fun outweighs any charitable needs.

It was about charity. Since the college cut all their ties with RAG week it has become all about drinking.

ben.schlomo

zarquon wrote: »

Precisely, but for some it is a sensitive topic. Many want to be seen as adults and treated accordingly but still want to hold on to the fun of adolescent behaviour. You can't have your cake and eat it in this scenario, you either need to act responsibly to be taken seriously as an adult or else continue to enjoy adolescent behaviour into your "adulthood" and not be taken seriously by your peers - which can easily be misconstrued by such adolescents as condescention. It is easy for some to see it as condescending when such behaviour is pointed out as immature and adolescent.

If people point out the folly of foolish adolescence it is not condenscending, it is merely pointing out a statement of fact.

Whats the point of cake then? To be looked at?

zarquon

Edward Creamy Paw wrote: »

You won't find (well I don't know many anyway) who would swap a well paid job for college life with the pressures of exams and only having limited money etc.

You can have a lot of the craic of college life when you are working too except you have the money for it. For instance midweek nights out are almost as regular in a lot of the people I know as they were back when I was an undergrad.

This is reflective of age though. Once you are married with kids, wife mortgage etc, the opportunities to continue to live the student life as an adult diminish. Certainly i have many peers with a decent job but cannot go drinking regularly as they are still financially restricted due to family and life commitments.

Eventually life will catch up on you unless you choose to remain single and carefree your entire life, which is a valid choice. Some people choose to remain living with their parents into their late twenties and thirties and continue to party away their income - which in essense is essentially an example of adults who have never learned to fully grow up and increase responisbility for their own lives due to the parental crutch.

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

It was about charity. Since the college cut all their ties with RAG week it has become all about drinking.

There are conflicting posts above. Nox is honest enough to admit that it was primarily always about drinking as someone who lived through it and i can at least respect his honesty rather than the PR spin that others perpetuate

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Whats the point of cake then? To be looked at?

Only if you're someone with a degree who can't understand or disseminate analogy and metaphor from matter of fact statement. Even arts students with pass degrees can manage this so try harder.

antoobrien

zarquon wrote: »

There are conflicting posts above. Nox is honest enough to admit that it was primarily always about drinking as someone who lived through it and i can at least respect his honesty rather than the PR spin that others perpetuate

Having been around several years before nox was it was not always about drinking, the charity element was considerable. By the time nox started though the charity potion had fallen way off.