REAL WORLD EDUCATION

I must admit Ihad to smile when I read a high-minded and oh-so-worthy letter about the university squatters in The Age today. Fourteen students were finally evicted after squatting in university-owned terrace houses for the past five months. In her letter Julia Canty-Waldron of Collingwood says that housing is more than a privilege. That the community has a ‘shared moral responsibility’ for the 100,000 homeless Australians. And these squatters have a fundamental right to apparently live wherever they choose under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Yeah, sure. I can just imagine the reaction of Ms. Canty-Waldron –who is the acting CEO of an outfit called Homeground Services – if the evicted students next stop is her house.

‘Hey missus, we’re moving in for a few months. Too bad if it’s inconvenient. Just invoking our rights under the charter and all’.

I think several other Age contributors are more in touch with the real world.  Niranjan Gadara points out that there are apparently 220 homeless students out of 40,000 at the University of Melbourne. ‘This suggests that others are able to make do on wages acquired by working, or the generous Youth Allowance. Why can’t this select group of students do the same?’

And Eric Mercer from South Australia says: ‘Life’s unfair. Get used to it. If you are unable to study full-time and live at home rent-free, then perhaps you need to defer, or go part-time so as to pay your own way through. ‘

He says he would have loved to go to uni fulltime but deferred, worked full-time with a young family, took a correspondence course part-time and finally got a degree after six years of long nights and non-existent weekends.

And listen to some of these on-line comments. Very little sympathy for squatters and spongers.

Like this one: "Whinge whinge, I can't afford rent, there's nowhere for students to live...blah blah blah" That doesn't give you the right to illegally occupy property that does not belong to you Oh sorry, is that a cigarette in your hand? And a Coopers Pale Ale in the other? Get you priorities right and stop complaining just for the sake of it. I went to Melb Uni too but you didn't see me squatting in some house using secret codes to let people in the front door and communicating via notes.

And this one: Glad they've got the whingers out. Getting some of the best education in the country so why can't they get a job and pay their way. Everyone else can do it - yeah it's hard but life is hard. Getting all precious and waiting for someone else to foot the bill makes me wonder how these people will make it in the real world when they don't have their "I’m a poor student" card to play.

Actually I have my doubts if all the squatters who passed through the occupied premises over the past five months were actually Melbourne Uni students. Some, I’m told, were from LaTrobe.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

© Copyright Derryn Hinch 2008