Residents Threaten Protest On College

 In what is an increasingly frustrating issue residents in Cork's University area have become more and more disillusioned by the actions of its students in recent years.

Yesterdays edition of  the Evening Echo feature a story in which the people of the area surrounding both UCC and CIT had called for a protest at the university gates over anti- social student behaviour.

Speaking as a family member of an eldery couple who have been directly affected by such behaviour, I can say that any such protest on the University has been long awaited.

Residents in Univesity environs have, for some time now, had to tolerate the late night rowdiness.
"House parties are one thing" college road resident John Barry told the Cork publication yesterday, "but students banging on doors in the middle of the night, knocking over wheelie bins full of rubbish and shouting and roaring on the streets is another"

The students also are guilty of breaking glass bottles and leaving the fragments all over roads and pathways in the area, They have been known to kick the rear-view mirrors off parked cars as well as doing other damage to vehicles and property in the area and have on more than one occasion been seen to have brawls, both small and large-scale in nature, in the streets.
It can be a frightening scene for anybody to witness these events.

To have deal with the consequences of the physical damage caused, sometimes without the financial resources to do so promptly and efficiently, without knowing who caused the damage or why, can be a heart-wrenching affair for some people.

About  100  people living in the environs of both colleges  have  met over two nights during the past week to discuss the issues which include late night disturbances, drunken  behaviour, vandalism, litter and parking problems.

 UCC accommodation officer Maura O’Neill attended the Cork University Residents Forum meetings and claimed that the current  process “appears to be working” as the  sanctioned students have not re-offended. O'Neill revealed that 28 students had received community service by the college’s disciplinary committee in the last year, in response to the problems.
She said a formal written complaints procedure was now in place for residents to broach issues  through the university.


However, the issues are still continuing to appear and according to most of  the residents present at the meetings, the problems were getting worse.

The fact is that Maura O'Neill may very well be correct that the 28 students who were disciplined have not re-offended but it is of little difference. I don't want to tar all the students wth one brush as there are some, several whom I know personally, who are not now nor have they ever been involved in these offences. However there are significantly  more than 28 students responsible for these events.

If  Ms. O'Neill and her colleagues believe that their current disciplinary procedures are making a difference, then I'm afraid I must say that they are living in a deluded state of being and must now buck up their ideas because these unhappy residents are doing exactly that.

"It's time the residents reclaimed the streets from the students," stated John Barry, "I propose a mass protest at the gates of UCC"

Should any such protest go ahead then it is sure to gain momentum throughout Cork. Almost every person living in the city knows somebody residing in the area. These people have been there since before the students arrived and will be there long after the students leave. Why should they take a backseat to the so-called "future of the country," if such behaviour is as wholesale as it appears.