elitism in st andrews?

[Guest]

does anyone think st andrews has some kind of stereotyping division going on? for example, seemingly rich students hang out with other kind of rich students, and poor hanging out with poorer (judging from the clothes and fashion sense). i tried to approach some people who i thought were quite cool and they coldly turned me down in hanging out with them because i am 'not the type', to quote their words. i told them what i thought of them and they just responded back with elitest remarks saying that i should go back to my lower class 'ghetto' area and be happy in running a chip shop for the rest of my life.

WTF!?

[Prophet Tenebrae]

Obviously, that sounds pretty outrageous but perhaps you could indulged us/me with more details of this debacle?

[CarolynSD]

This post has been deleted.

[meh]

[s]CarolynSD wrote on 18:14, 29th Sep 2004:
bee witch
Intentional spoonerism or am I missing something?

[Sided Pizza]

So far, i have not noticed much of a problem with elitism since i arrived here, although know of some people who have. As for the Lumsden society. If they are only looking to raise money for charities then why the requirements? Surely you want all the people you can get rather than having only females and even then interviews are required. Hmmm.

[md25]

I've never encoutered any elitism and this is my fourth year here - am I doing something wrong?

[tintin]

How can there be elitism in St. Andrews when there is an intake of 2,500 in this year's first year? Think about it.

[Colin]

[s]tintin wrote on 19:07, 29th Sep 2004:
How can there be elitism in St. Andrews when there is an intake of 2,500 in this year's first year? Think about it.


I am thinking about it, but I don't get it. What is your point?

[novium]

[s]CarolynSD wrote on 18:14, 29th Sep 2004:
YES
There is a lot of elitism in st andrews-but mostly from people who are not in the upper eschelons and dying to be there-apparently it is better to be a bee witch wearing fake gucci AND be in the Lumsden society than to be a caring intellectual who is more interested in the exciting new university life than an endless supply of labels.


[hr]"You gotta go on." Violent Femmes


That's been my experience too...
well, not in st. andrews obviously, because I just got here- but elsewhere- at home especially- the worst snobs are not the rich but the merely upper-middle class elitest wannabes.

[tintin]

My point is that if there are 2,500 new intakes this year, the "value" of a St. Andrews degree becomes progressively less and less. In my year the intake was around 1,250 which implies the "value" has decreased by half in that time.

But maybe that does an injustice to those new students (remember at the same time the 'wonderful' Labour policy of 50% 18-30 year-olds in Higher Education) who may be being deceived.

I don't know. I am proud of my MA and what I learnt; I love to see knowledge being passed on. However what I find difficult is the fact that so many are getting the same thing these days - is it therefore worth the same as before?

[Ethan With]

Where do you get your figure of 2500 from?

I was under the impression that although there are more incoming students this year, there are only 1700

[Marco Biagi]

The figure is definitely something between 1450 and 1850 - someone from the union might confirm it.

And yes, tintin, if 50% can achieve what 35% could before, it does get devalued. It makes the achievement seem less like the elite preserve some people would prefer it to be. If I criticise the 50% target, it is because I think the Labour party is seeking to create equality on paper, with all achieving degrees, without equality in fact, with those degrees being of equal standard. If 50% can achieve those standards, then let them. Don't they all have as much right to it? And it's not as if degrees were ungraded too. Is it just you suddenly feel threatened if a working class kid can manage the same 2:1 as you - is that why the 2:1 is no longer the ticket it was 40 years ago? Is that why you want to close them out?


[hr]Deadlines aren't flexible. Sleeping patterns are.

[iohannes]

I hate all the new students because they are causing me to have to queue longer in Tescos. Bastards

Plus I have aversion to people who are a fucking tangerine colour.

[hr]That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

[dan greenberg]

Carolyn!!! It's nice to know people who've left the University still post on this! I look forward to reading more of your pithy insights. Always,

dan

[mottthehoople]

Who wants too muck aboot wee posh cunts anyway. Ah they speak aboot is fucking shite. Tell htem tae shove there feking cleek up thier A hole. And there orange coloured wenches. Eh fekin hate they doss cunts, innit

[Mr Comedy]

Another insightful and witty comment as always.
Whereas there are a number of people in this town who will not associate with others, they are very much a minority.
To be ruthlessly honest, there is no point in socialising with someone who looks down on other people, and sits in judgement over them.
As the good book says, "Do not judge, lest ye be judged".

However, there are many people in this town who get tarred with a broad brush analysis, and called "yahs", who are actually perfectly decent and sociable sorts.

[mottthehoople]

I sya old chum. Bake me a cake and i'll be up for hours

[womble chris]

one small point why i find the 50% issue somewhat farcical is when one of the ministers will defend the idea by saying some other countries do, quoting australia as one. again they mislead us with stats (try to). the reason why so many aussies go to uni is becuase the country is so vast, with the unis so far apart, most of the students live with their parents while at uni and so the financial burden is much less, hence more students.
so more aussies students is due to less financial strain. maybe the govt should think about this before putting up top up fees while trying to have their 50% target, foolish govt.

[hm]

[s]Marco Biagi wrote on 23:41, 29th Sep 2004:
If 50% can achieve those standards, then let them. Don't they all have as much right to it? And it's not as if degrees were ungraded too. Is it just you suddenly feel threatened if a working class kid can manage the same 2:1 as you - is that why the 2:1 is no longer the ticket it was 40 years ago? Is that why you want to close them out?




Over reacting much?

Considering the pass rate for GCSE Maths this year was around or under 50% and that over 90% achieved A's - I'm not sure we can believe that 50% of people are really achieving the standards to get into university. Furthermore I don't think it's that great that a lot of people graduating end up in jobs that they would have got without a degree, just with thousands of pounds of debt over their heads. Or that many people come to university just to do a degree because they think that's what comes next.

I've ended up working for something I could have done through college with a lot less debt - I don't regret my decision to come to university, but I know of many who are just as desperate to leave after graduation and work as a secretary or in a shop as they were in first year. Why will their history or psychology degrees help them when they never really wanted to do them in the first place?

In my opinion there should be no target for university admissions, no percentage that like me have to be from state schools or poor backgrounds. People who want it enough will end up at uni, those who don't will not - and I say this as someone who had to teach herself Higher Maths and English due to crap teaching and disruptive classes.

[Guest]

[s]iohannes wrote on 01:45, 30th Sep 2004:
I hate all the new students because they are causing me to have to queue longer in Tescos. Bastards

Plus I have aversion to people who are a fucking tangerine colour.

[hr]That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.




HAHAHAHAHA!!

FIRST CLASS POST! I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YA!!