Quebec students suffering from severe case of entitlement

[Drongoman]

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... .htm#73451

Quebec students not letting up
by The Canadian Press - Story: 73451
Apr 4, 2012 / 9:30 pm

Almost 80 student protesters were arrested after a group of the demonstrators stormed Montreal's upscale Queen Elizabeth Hotel and a downtown shopping mall Wednesday.

Police said they were called to the hotel after demonstrators started flipping tables and smashing dishes inside the building where John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their famous bed-in for peace.

Quebec students have been holding regular demonstrations across the province for weeks to voice their opposition to the government's plan to hike tuition fees.

Montreal police dispersed Wednesday's crowd at the hotel, but they say some demonstrators headed straight for the nearby Centre Eaton shopping mall.

Police said officers pursued the protesters through the mall, where display cases were knocked over and items were broken.

They said they eventually caught up to some of the demonstrators and made 76 arrests.

Quebec Superior Court also granted an injunction forbidding students from blocking entrances to l'Universite de Quebec a Montreal, Radio-Canada reported.

The university had petitioned the court on Tuesday.

The injunction also forbids threats or intimidating gestures against anyone trying to enter the campus' buildings. It is in force until April 19.

Several recent student protests have snarled traffic on city streets, blocked access to buildings and led to dozens of arrests after demonstrators clashed with police.

Students have been fighting the Charest government's plan to increase tuition by nearly 75 per cent, over five years.

Even with the increases Quebec will have among the lowest tuition rates in the country, at around $3,800 per year. Protest leaders, however, call their resistance a matter of principle to protect universal access to affordable education. Tens of thousands of students have voted, at public assemblies, to abandon their studies.

But they are now facing pressure on multiple fronts.

The "striking" students have been warned that their semester might be cancelled if they don't get back to class by next week. They are also facing legal threats from students who have successfully filed for court injunctions ordering some schools reopened.

[Woodenhead]

I agree with them - those who don't are just participants in the race to the bottom.

Other provinces should be working to get their tuitions lower, rather than complaining one province's isn't high enough. lol

[grammafreddy]

Just because they have issues about their tuition costs doesn't mean they can smash and destroy other people's property and inconvenience people by snarling up traffic. When they act like hooligans, vandals and idiots, I have no sympathy for them.

[CorkSoaker]

Even with the proposed increases they will still be paying significantly less that what my colleagues and I pay. The increases will amount to 60 dollars more a year than I pay for parking. Jesus.

[Drongoman]

The entire province of Quebec needs a wake-up call.

[Urbane]

The entire province of Quebec needs a wake-up call.

And to some extent the whole country needs a wake-up call. Too many people demand more and more from government but don't want to pay any more. We saw that scenario with the HST vote in BC, didn't we?

[chronicfisherman]

The entire province of Quebec needs a wake-up call.

Entitlement? Wake-up call? Are you all nuts, these students are fighting for the right to affordable education the fact that the people of this country have come to terms with their own financial defeat doesn't mean everybody has to. I think they are taking a step back with their refusal to demand free education, we could all take a lesson from the dutch in this matter.

Lets face it, our country is not in a very good place and attitudes like this, thinking that because students want to fight for fair and affordable education is somehow wrong or that they are "suffering from a severe case of entitlement" is ignorant at best.

Get your head out of your tush there OP, 1/4 of a million people have already shown their dissatisfaction with the way their local system is moving and I think the rest of the country should take note and follow suit.

[Urbane]

Entitlement? Wake-up call? Are you all nuts, these students are fighting for the right to affordable education the fact that the people of this country have come to terms with their own financial defeat doesn't mean everybody has to. I think they are taking a step back with their refusal to demand free education, we could all take a lesson from the dutch in this matter.

Lets face it, our country is not in a very good place and attitudes like this, thinking that because students want to fight for fair and affordable education is somehow wrong or that they are "suffering from a severe case of entitlement" is ignorant at best.

Get your head out of your tush there OP, 1/4 of a million people have already shown their dissatisfaction with the way their local system is moving and I think the rest of the country should take note and follow suit.

I've been adding up the total for all those things that "someone else" should pay for. It's a hefty bill! The university students in Quebec already have most of their education paid for but they want even more paid for. Nice of them to back off the "free tuition" demand but they're already getting a sweet deal.

[chronicfisherman]

I've been adding up the total for all those things that "someone else" should pay for. It's a hefty bill! The university students in Quebec already have most of their education paid for but they want even more paid for. Nice of them to back off the "free tuition" demand but they're already getting a sweet deal.

Are you serious? A sweet deal? I think you mean the rest of the country is getting a raw deal. If you think it's such a hefty bill why not look at our current government and ask them why they are dumping such a huge amount of money into wasted projects and little into education or health care reform.

Be forewarned we are on a very slippery slope in this country.

* Places tinfoil hat firmly atop head *

[Urbane]

Sweet:

Northern America

United States

The tuition cost in USA varies from $5000 to $30000 per year. About $9000 for resident students and $20000 for international students.

Canadian

Canadian universities are cheapest among UK, USA, Australia. Average domestic tuition is around $9,000, and international tuition around $25,500.

Europe

In recent years, the high-tax Europe has been considering reforming higher education and moving towards a system that charges users. Austria is intensely debating university tuition in the parliament. Six German states call on the parliament to terminate the piece of legislation that exempts college students from paying tuition. In addition, universities in Belgium are beginning to charge an enrolment fee of 500 euros which is same for EU and non-EU students (non-EU students are charged additional 500 euros for social security), while Holland and Italy charge an enrolment fee of 1,000-1,500 euros. Dutch universities charge students of certain departments such as business departments tuition as much as 5,000 euros and students of graduate schools tuition as much as 8,000 euros.
http://jimsheng.hubpages.com/hub/Compar ... -the-world

[Woodenhead]

Hey you only used a 4 country sample.

Here's a few more from the same page you got that info from:

Countries with no tuition fees: Brazil (free education is offered at all levels, including PhD and post-docs), The Nordic countries ( Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories which include the Faroe Islands, Greenland), Ireland, Libya, and Cuba.

[Drongoman]

If you think it's such a hefty bill why not look at our current government and ask them why they are dumping such a huge amount of money into wasted projects and little into education or health care reform.
*

define "little". Governments both at the federal and provincial levels dump billions into education and health care. The problem is that both are giant black holes, that suck money at incredible rates, with no discernible benefits. Both models are broken, and simply throwing more money at either is not going to solve any problems, just make them worse.

[Urbane]

Countries with no tuition fees: Brazil (free education is offered at all levels, including PhD and post-docs), The Nordic countries ( Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories which include the Faroe Islands, Greenland), Ireland, Libya, and Cuba.

That's an interesting list alright. Did you know that Iceland is in so much financial difficulty that they might be adopting the Canadian dollar? Ireland is having a real struggle with its debt and I think things just might be a bit shaky in Libya! And for those who like the high tax environment the Scandinavian countries do provide some services "free" (nothing is free!). And interesting to note, as the article does, that there is a move in Europe toward having students pay (more) for their education. We hear a lot about the word "fair" but it's only "fair" that university students pay something toward their education. After all, higher education is a wonderful investment and it isn't "fair" to ask taxpayers to pick up the entire tab for that investment. It's a matter of finding that balance and I think Canada has it just about right.

[Bagotricks]

That's an interesting list alright. Did you know that Iceland is in so much financial difficulty that they might be adopting the Canadian dollar? Ireland is having a real struggle with its debt and I think things just might be a bit shaky in Libya!.

Are they broke because they give their citizens education?

Nope, not even close. Not to mention educated citizens produce more and pay more taxes.

...or are the countries broke for lowering their corporate tax rate, especially Ireland's case.

[Captain Awesome]

We live in a society with most educated people we've ever had in our history.

If education = success things should be awesome!

And they are what they are.

May be "education=success" equation isn't exactly right.