What has happened to student protest?

[Whistla]

was just browsing thru wiki about stuff like freedom of speech etc...
and time and again you are referenced to student protest movements.
my question is:

why do students not get involved politically anymore?

sure small socialist groups etc.. do, but you dont see mass student protests over NON-STUDENT stuff anymore.

like (for example) why are students (the future of our country) not protesting over supposedly "illegal literature" for example. its something that can affect them directly seeing as engineering papers such as instructions on explosives etc... are considered terrorist.

where are our student protestors??

[Genevieve]

They're gone because they figured out that stickin' it to the man is pointless in a world dominated by crooked politicians who are in bed with corporations and that when it comes down to it, protesting is a rather selfish act in environment like the one we live in for that reason, since protests have been reduced to being nothing more than narcissistic displays of political affiliation, rather than changing anything?

I mean, yeah, you're letting the world know how you feel. Except the world doesn't really care how anyone feels. Best to get on with your lives, getting a future than chasing an idealistic dream.

You can't change the world, but you can change yourself to be able to put up with the world, basically. I guess students got that.

[karmacazee]

They've turned into 'Truthers'...

Heh, I know what you mean though. When I went to Uni the first thing I did was look for all the political groups and such.

I found one, a couple of weird 'anarchists' who knew nothing about it just basically saying - "I want to be lazy and not feel guilty about it."

The only student march I went on was protesting against the rise in Student fees (which was a valid cause!)

But yeah, they are still there, and there are still some good movements knocking about, you just gotta know where to find them, amongst the waves and waves of Uni know-it-alls.



http://www.spacehijackers.co.uk/

[karmacazee]

Heh, they also did a load of these: http://www.spacehijackers.co.uk/html/pr ... eport.html

Any of you London heads attend?

[firky]

Because the petite bourgeois students have nothing to protest about.

[missedthebus]

Why do young people not get involved in politics?
Because the newer generations do not understand the importance of civic participation; because apathy is rife in a world where there is constant disbelief and lack of trust in political figures and the system which maintains their power; because people feel 'why should I bother it's not like I can influence policy'; because its not a norm; because 'I can't be bothered'; or because of the costs incurred by participation.

Political participation, whether it be in elections, being part of a political party, campaigning on a specific issue, or protesting in a conventional manner, has been in steady decline since the 1990s.
With this decline in traditional forms of participation there has been an increase in non-traditional forms of participation and protest - such as Climate Camp or G20 protests or student movements - due to a general malaise with conventional forms of participation.
Many sources now say that unconventional participation is again on the rise (http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life ... 739655.ece http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/200 ... tests-gaza http://www.london-student.net/2009/07/2 ... mpetition/). Arguably with students there is a stronger incentive due to lack of potential employment, increased
student fees, or a lack of representation for the NUS on issues that matter.

What is of over-riding importance however is not the student masses, because students are generally better informed and more inclined to participate and say their piece then their non-academic counterparts.
It is the large swathes of the population who aren't informed and do not understand the 'bigger scheme' of how issues affect them - whether they participate or not - that need to be taught the importance of participation in whatever form. It is this swathe of the population who are being misinformed and led like blind sheep towards resurging contemporary right-wing radical ideas without a true understanding of what they are following. Why? Because it could be described as a 'breath of fresh air' in European politics (sad as it is to say).
For this reason reform is needed, citizenship education should be universal and compulsory to all from Key Stage 3 onwards throughout the UK and specifically teach the importance of conventional participation and protest. Institutional reform should be effectively implemented to help decrease levels of distrust in government, firstly with expenses and party funding, then with electoral reform for general elections. Finally the political parties need new faces, new blood if they are not to loose more ground to scum like Nick Griffin.

[capo ultra]

apathy is the new revolution

[the acid never lies]

Why do young people not get involved in politics?
Because the newer generations do not understand the importance of civic participation; because apathy is rife in a world where there is constant disbelief and lack of trust in political figures and the system which maintains their power; because people feel 'why should I bother it's not like I can influence policy'; because its not a norm; because 'I can't be bothered'; or because of the costs incurred by participation.

Political participation, whether it be in elections, being part of a political party, campaigning on a specific issue, or protesting in a conventional manner, has been in steady decline since the 1990s.
With this decline in traditional forms of participation there has been an increase in non-traditional forms of participation and protest - such as Climate Camp or G20 protests or student movements - due to a general malaise with conventional forms of participation.
Many sources now say that unconventional participation is again on the rise (http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life ... 739655.ece http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/200 ... tests-gaza http://www.london-student.net/2009/07/2 ... mpetition/). Arguably with students there is a stronger incentive due to lack of potential employment, increased
student fees, or a lack of representation for the NUS on issues that matter.

What is of over-riding importance however is not the student masses, because students are generally better informed and more inclined to participate and say their piece then their non-academic counterparts.
It is the large swathes of the population who aren't informed and do not understand the 'bigger scheme' of how issues affect them - whether they participate or not - that need to be taught the importance of participation in whatever form. It is this swathe of the population who are being misinformed and led like blind sheep towards resurging contemporary right-wing radical ideas without a true understanding of what they are following. Why? Because it could be described as a 'breath of fresh air' in European politics (sad as it is to say).
For this reason reform is needed, citizenship education should be universal and compulsory to all from Key Stage 3 onwards throughout the UK and specifically teach the importance of conventional participation and protest. Institutional reform should be effectively implemented to help decrease levels of distrust in government, firstly with expenses and party funding, then with electoral reform for general elections. Finally the political parties need new faces, new blood if they are not to loose more ground to scum like Nick Griffin.

That's it man I fully agree

Almost felt like I should add something but I think you hit the issue on the head there

[alfie]

because the past 20 years have made us too comfortable, we've been living with the cumulative struggles of thousands of people for rights and freedom, and we've sat around while they've been whittled away (42 days detention, cctv etc). we're a pretty rubbish generation to be honest. being enslaved into debt does nothing to encourage radical behaviour either.

i reckon we'll see a change in the next few years- there'll be a lot of educated people leaving university with £20,000 of debt and no job prospects, and they're going to be pissed off.

[alfie]

Why do young people not get involved in politics?
Because the newer generations do not understand the importance of civic participation; because apathy is rife in a world where there is constant disbelief and lack of trust in political figures and the system which maintains their power; because people feel 'why should I bother it's not like I can influence policy'; because its not a norm; because 'I can't be bothered'; or because of the costs incurred by participation.

Political participation, whether it be in elections, being part of a political party, campaigning on a specific issue, or protesting in a conventional manner, has been in steady decline since the 1990s.
With this decline in traditional forms of participation there has been an increase in non-traditional forms of participation and protest - such as Climate Camp or G20 protests or student movements - due to a general malaise with conventional forms of participation.
Many sources now say that unconventional participation is again on the rise (http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life ... 739655.ece http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/200 ... tests-gaza http://www.london-student.net/2009/07/2 ... mpetition/). Arguably with students there is a stronger incentive due to lack of potential employment, increased
student fees, or a lack of representation for the NUS on issues that matter.

What is of over-riding importance however is not the student masses, because students are generally better informed and more inclined to participate and say their piece then their non-academic counterparts.
It is the large swathes of the population who aren't informed and do not understand the 'bigger scheme' of how issues affect them - whether they participate or not - that need to be taught the importance of participation in whatever form. It is this swathe of the population who are being misinformed and led like blind sheep towards resurging contemporary right-wing radical ideas without a true understanding of what they are following. Why? Because it could be described as a 'breath of fresh air' in European politics (sad as it is to say).
For this reason reform is needed, citizenship education should be universal and compulsory to all from Key Stage 3 onwards throughout the UK and specifically teach the importance of conventional participation and protest. Institutional reform should be effectively implemented to help decrease levels of distrust in government, firstly with expenses and party funding, then with electoral reform for general elections. Finally the political parties need new faces, new blood if they are not to loose more ground to scum like Nick Griffin.

i agree with the bit about teaching the values of protest, but no government is going to actively seek to diminish it's powers by introducing that, it'd be like turkeys voting for christmas

same with the tories and civil liberties- they can go on about how much value them and oppose labour winding them back, but can you really see them repealing laws/removing cctv cameras when they get in power?

[missedthebus]

i agree with the bit about teaching the values of protest, but no government is going to actively seek to diminish it's powers by introducing that, it'd be like turkeys voting for christmas

same with the tories and civil liberties- they can go on about how much value them and oppose labour winding them back, but can you really see them repealing laws/removing cctv cameras when they get in power?

I didn't mean necessarily about teaching the importance of protest per se but more teaching the importance of participation in the conventional manner. The reason why we have elections is for power by the people for the people and if the people do not extend their democratic right then they are essentially accepting the status quo.

I don't believe that a party holding power will change the institutional aspect that maintains their power unless absolutely necessary. For example, New Labour proposed electoral reform and a referendum on voting systems in 1997 before they gained power. Since 1997 there have been many reports and investigations into reforms of the electoral system (like the Jenkins Report) but nothing has come into fruition except for a few steps to reduce the 'cost' of voting for the voter - like polling booths being open for longer and postal voting-. So in the 12 years Labour have had power it would be ludicrous for them - as a party - to remove the main benefactor that maintains their control (bar of course voters ), first-past-the-post electoral system. However I'd bet all I own on the fact that once Labour loose, they will once again go on the back burner about changing the system which favours the major party.

The erosion of civil liberties is the one predominant aspect that could lead to me going out and protesting, more has been done in the last 10 years to destroy our freedoms than what took hundreds of years to create. I dont think the tories would change that in any way, after all, they believe in elite democracy!

[hackman]

protests achieve nothing, peaceful marches anyway

[NilsFG]

Don't know why, but I'd rather learn all the stuff so I can end my year in succes instead of running around with cardboards like a headless chicken.

You should only participate in politics or express your views if you know something about it instead of running around with a bunch of people who have absolutely no idea of politics thinking you're gonna change the world, influenced by propaganda and stuff.

[hurlingdervish]

They've turned into 'Truthers'...

hahaha



I think there are less because they have been chastised for years and years by the media and its slowly squashing them out of existence.

Plus in the 60s you couldn't just sign on line and complain about it, you had to find a group of people who wanted to complain about it. then group dynamics inevitably took hold to the point where they had to do something about it. which was take acid and roll around in a field.......

[diss04]

apathy is the new revolution

I'm stealing that

[Tombones]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6iCaZDVu7A