USI's e-campaigning website goes live!

by conor - ucd socialist alternative/campaign for free education Mon Jan 27, 2003 21:19 conor at ziplip dot com

this is a good idea,and well done to usi-were all in the business of defending the right to state sponsored education.

BUT (yes yes-but) the cfe (a voluntary activist group) have had a website online for the last 5 months.i understand its proberbally not as webwise as the usi's (its a yahoo pagemaker job) - leading me to ask ,apart from the occasional token gesture ,what the fuck are all the FULL TIME officers in the usi doing?

i agree with the principle of a strong national union, and defended usi in the recent ucd referendum, but the fact that that one was won, dosent mean that usi have the right to sit down and get fat.

see you all at the next demo - lets hope that the officer board dont go all templemore at the prospect of a direct action!

www.fightfees.com
www.freeeducation.cjb.net
www.socialistalternative.cjb.net
http://library.nothingness.org/articles/SI/en/display_printable/4 - still relavant

by Noel Hogan Tue Jan 28, 2003 15:05

Conor,

USI's official website, www.usi.ie, has been up for the past several years. www.fightfees.com is a new resource website for emailing TD's, senators, ministers and other gits.

As for your question of what the full time USI officers are doing, here's an answer - a lot!

So far this year about 35,000 students have come out and protest. Protests have taken place in Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Waterford, Thurles, Galway, Carlow, Sligo, Castlebar, Dublin (x2), Letterkenny and Athlone. These protests don't organise themselves, they took a lot of time, effort and arse-numbing travel.

At any rate I'm sure you'd agree that not every officer can participate in direct action. The welfare officer

This was in addition to the various protests in Dublin such as handcuffings and the occupation.

I really love your comment about running to Templemore at the prospect of direct action. I've always been one for direct action. I've been in 3 occupations, 2 chaining protests and got arrested two years ago for my troubles. You won't find me running from direct action.

So - what's your problem? If you want to debate with me on what USI is doing, I'm all game. That is, if you are willing to debate. Or maybe you just prefer the easy route of slagging people off.

by TROTWATCH Tue Jan 28, 2003 15:46

"So far this year about 35,000 students have come out and protest. Protests have taken place in Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Waterford, Thurles, Galway, Carlow, Sligo, Castlebar, Dublin (x2), Letterkenny and Athlone. "

Why is the turn out so low in UCD? Could it have anything to do with the antics of the Trots? Ordinary students are turned off by doctrinaire speechifying and dumb stunts.

You are not winning people over by disrupting the activities of Societies. They just see all activists against the fees as headbangers.

As long as the SY rule the roost in UCD along with their tame followers in SA you will continue to get pathetic numbers attending demos.

by UCD student Tue Jan 28, 2003 20:43

The pathetic numbers in UCD have more to do with the right wing bastards in the SU that have done absolutly nothing on the fees issue.

If it was not for SY and SA there would have been no protests in UCD.

Why don't you reveal who you are 'trotwatch'?

by Noel Hogan - USI Tue Jan 28, 2003 20:54 dep_president at usi dot ie

Look to the opposite end of the political spectrum for any problems, is all I'd say.

by Magneto Wed Jan 29, 2003 12:22

Why dont you reveal your identity?