N.C.A.D. Students Say F.U.C.D.

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | feature

Monday October 31, 2005 19:01

by NCAD Campaigns Officer - NCAD Student's Union

It was first revealed to the NCAD Students Union on Thursday 20th October, by an anonymous source, that the Board of NCAD were strongly considering the possibility of relocating the college to the Belfield campus of UCD. Students have reacted swiftly to this largely unwelcome development. The Campaigns officer of the NCAD SU submitted this report on the first student action taken in opposition to the proposed move.

On Thursday (27th October) we held our silent protest as all members of staff went to the 'Questions and Answers' meeting regarding the proposed closure of our Thomas Street campus... The silence lasted only until the meeting began, to be followed by 3 hours of colourful and noisy opposition to the move! Hundreds of students lined the corridors around the meeting and shouted slogans, many directly to Colm O'Briain, the director of NCAD, one of the main men involved in the proposal of this plan. As of yet, there's no official word from the government in relation to the move.

Local Counciller's have been contacted and many are in opposition to the proposed plan, and will meet with City Council officials and Colm O'Briain on November 11th. . . . Local business' have been contacted and are all generally in disbelief about these plans, and are entirelly opposed to the porposal. Our local Centra even got involved at the protest with the manager bringing boxes of bottled water to the students in order to encourage us to continue the protest.

As the staff finished their meeting, the protest again moved to the entrance in order to allow staff to hear our opinions as they left. With music and chants ringing loudly through the campus, the staff walked through and applauded our protest, thanking us for having enough respect for ourselves, the staff, and the local community. The director, Colm O'Briain, left through the fire escape and walked around the campus in order to avoid having to face the students!

Overall, we believe the protest was hugely successful, and we promise the staff of NCAD, the local business' of the area, and the local community who benefit so much from the college's presence that we will continue to fight for an independent National College of Art and Design on Thomas Street!

Background Information On Proposed NCAD Move to UCD Campus

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Comments (4 of 4)

NCAD Types Protest In UCD

by UCD Leftie

Tue Nov 08, 2005 00:36

Sitting in a lecture I could hear pretty loud shouting. Startled as there were no posters up for an action or demo of any kind in the past few days.

A trip over to ucdsu.net led me to discover this

"Students from the National College of Art and Design protested in UCD today over the planed move of the college campus in Thomas Street to Belfield. The protesters spent the afternoon marching around Belfield. They protested inside the Student Centre due to the fact that they believed that UCDSU had not offered them any solidarity or support in their campaign. They also protested inside the Administration building chanting “Hugh Brady here us say we wont move no way” while trying to march up the stairs to his office. The students of NCAD were also supported by many UCD students who joined in with the demonstration."

Why Campaign?

by unenlightened

Mon Nov 07, 2005 20:56

to NCAD campaigns manager, you've managed to write a campaign article without actually stating any issues or the reasons for the opposition to the move.
i can guess at a few , but nothing substantial enought to win a campaign...
can ya give me a bit more?....

cheers for answering my question about the local suppliers of crayons.

by iosaf

Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:43

So, they're upset. Not surprising, they're about to lose a lot of business. You need to find out how much. Put a rough figure on how much you spend on crayons, sandwiches, water, cigarettes, etc.., in your local area.
Also assess any potential transfer site. Who would sell you those things at another campus? Are there already suppliers there? If not, future "crayon" contracts are going to awarded. To whom?
How much is your site in Thomas street worth? What is the surface area of the site? how many buildings are there, (could it to be sold as one lot or many different sites?) Value it approximately. How many of your students or staff have leased parking spaces for cars, motorbikes or even homes close to the NCAD campus? Value their losses &/ potential cost of disruption. It is presumed you have transport infrastructure to the current campus, is the service to another potential site upto the extra load? = Are there enough buses / car parking spaces at another site to accomodate you all, or will they have to be built adding to the cost of relocation? How many of your erasmus (or other transfer students) from other countries have chosen your campus with its location in mind? Could your institution lose international students or business if it is perceived as being absorbed into another institution (NUI)?

So- Lots more questions. Don't exagerate the answers or estimates, but do get "round figures". Several of the most important need to be in "millions€". Let us know.

seriously, get your ass in gear

by ex NCAD student

Sun Oct 30, 2005 13:16

this is going to be the complete and untter demolishment of NCAD and the whole culture that goes with it, if you really want to stop this from happening then stop with the impotent silent protest and get organised, get militant and increase your demands, otherwise you will be rolled over by the whole university corporate machine, if the union stays with this method of organisation then grassroots studenst in NCAD should dismiss the union and get serious about opposing the attempt to place NCAD in the heart of corporate education

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N.C.A.D. Students Say F.U.C.D.

Comments (4 of 4)