Cork college students walkout as part of national protest

Over 3,000 students participated in the UCC Walkout today in protest of the current cost of living crisis.

UCC Student Union communications and engagement officer, Sinead Roche, was amazed by the turn out as part of the National Student Walkout.

“Students are struggling and they’re mad about it. They’re just not being listened to,” Officer Roche said.

“For a lot of the students, this was the first time that they had come out like this to protest for something. I think that just shows how mad students are about this situation.”

She continued: “It was manic. It’s been a while since I’ve seen something like that done by students because the crowds were incredible.” 

In demonstration of high rent cost, the accommodation crisis and a minimum wage not reflective of the cost of living, students across the country were urged to stand up and walk out of their lectures at 11:11 am today.

“We had students gather on main campus, at the food science building and Brookfield at Western Gateway. Students that didn’t even have lectures at the time, came out to support the movement. Some said that their lecturers even cancelled their lectures in solidarity so that they could come out to protest.”

 “We had an open mic and encouraged students to tell their story. Students told from their perspective, and I think that is so crucial so that people can really hear how they are feeling.”

 The general message students wanted to send was that the cost of living is too high and isn’t being reflected in the wages and grants they are being provided with.

Sinead Roche expressed that for many students, with private accommodation in Cork costing over €1000 a month for a room, these unsustainable prices are causing them to struggle to remain in college.

The protest, that is now trending on twitter, is an ongoing battle for student voices to be heard by the government.

“What was there for students? For most, barely anything. This is the third year in a row that students weren’t mentioned in the Budget. It’s the same stories every year with no change.” 

Today’s students walk out is the first in a long series of movements planned in the coming months.

“Our next step is a petition that we want all the students of Ireland to sign. We are also starting to encourage students to write to their local TDs to help. We want this to be continual and for our message to really be heard.”

Around 650 students took part in the walkout in MTU.

MTU Student Union President, Isobel Kavanagh said: "the walkout received an overwhelming support from students. We set up a QR code with a survey and asked students to tell us 'why they walked out', and we have been inundated with responses and the numbers are climbing."

Kavanagh said: "The main issues that got the most reaction from students were the inability to get to college because of a lack of adequate public transport and the fact there is not enough parking for commuters when they get here."

The student protest is yet to be met with a response by governing bodies.