30 Millbank

As I type this blog entry I'm watching the BBC News footage of the NUS protests at Millbank Tower in Whitehall (where the Conservatives are based)

And I'm a little bit horrified watching it. I believe that in the right situation, a protest or strike can have the desired effect, but this shameful protest is something I'm glad not to be a part of, and is almost making me feel ashamed to be a student.

My opinion on the matter of raising the tuition fees is unsurprisingly similar to the rest of the UK student population - in that we (as students) already pay too much for tuition at universities, so any increases would obviously not be welcome.

What I've been watching - students breaking into the tower, causing broken windows, reaching the roof of the tower and throwing missiles and fighting with police - isn't the right way to make the points that need to be made.

Obviously it could be argued (and this is the 'line' that many of the NUS leaders are using) that people who are not students have got involved in these protests, and used the opportunity to cause damage to the building as an act of 'defiance' towards the recently elected coalition government.

The reputation of students in this country is already pretty poor - the popular perception from the rest of the UK population is that students are lazy, drink too much, and are generally a nuisance to society, and this view has been created through the media coverage. Only last month a student urinating on the Cenotaph in Southampton during the Carnage night generated widespread condemnation of students and Southampton Solent University after it received coverage in most of the UK newspapers.

I'm not actually sure if there's anything that can be done to improve the reputation of students in this country, but as a PR student I know that becoming involved in violent protests like the ones shown in the news coverage certainly isn't the right way to get the message across.

Are students seen as 'second class' citizens in the UK? Is this fair?
Can the reputation of students ever be improved?
Is protesting (in a violent manner) the right way to get results?

Let me know what you think

Paul