Why is it that everytime the politicians get themselves invited to the university precinct the stipend system is raised?
Imagine Columbia University students asking George Bush about their allowance instead of the US presence in Iraq.
And why does a university meeting need to transform itself into a Nationalist rally?
I would have expected students not to support any political party but for students to get all excited about the PN is proof that Malta remains an enigma.
Who said students were anarchists and dreamers?
Thank God the University does not reflect Maltese society and thank God students at university are more concerned in converting the campus into a Nationalist party club.
It is perfectly justifiable to expect spoilt students to be stuffy conservative toffs, though I do not understand why they need to ask their mothers and aunts to come along and scream Gonzi, Gonzi chants.
And I cannot understand why mother and aunt in attendance allowed their son and nephew respectively to offend an inquisitive camerman by telling him to f""" off.
I am told Joe Saliba wanted to know what questions were in store from a MaltaToday and Independent journalist for Dr Gonzi at the rally and I am told that Dr Sant did his very best not to answer questions.
It is all rather sad.
Apologies for a rather short commentary, but with such a boring election campaign, I am running out of ideas. I promise more beef in my next commentary.
COMMENTS
02/28/08 2:41 AM, Simon
Uni Student it shows you are labour and have lack of ideas and your sentence (but it was unfair for us when the ONE tv crew was stopped and the NET crew was still filming on us) shows your Labour,and its not true ONE crew stopped filming.With whom you are trying to joke not me but the students and whole country.Corruption, MLP accepts a person who has his brother investigated for corruption .
Schools: forgot when Sant was president of MLP and closed our schools and least number of students in university and fights against university students. And stipends on loan and to be returned to government with interest.Possible you have a short mind.Sant and MLP dont believe in Education, our Present and Future Government opened all doors to education and increased number of students,these are the best of all times in Malta.
02/27/08 4:45 PM, Uni Student
dear Simon i was there and was utterly disgusted by what i heard and saw ... and you say provocation from sant and the cameraman ?? the NET cameraman videotaped almost everyone who sided labour and the labour students said nothing since it was doing his job come on it was PUBLIC DEBATE .. especially if you are a public person ... but it was unfair for us when the ONE tv crew was stopped and the NET crew was still filming on us after the shameful thing of paul caruana galizia the NET crew were asked to stop filming ... you ask who shall we trust MLP or GONZI-PN ? i say we shall trust the party who is willing to fight corruption and finally have a transperant goverment .. we shall trust a party who will be investing in the education SYSTEM not only buildings.. OK i agree having modernised schools but it is about time to look also and update the SYSTEM .... i will trust the party who will definetly help teens build a family or a business... but most of all i will trust a party with fresh ideas and apart from having a great vision also have the WILL power to implement things the only party (is sadly for you) LABOUR
02/27/08 2:21 AM, Simon Scerri
Dear Uni Student did you see the provocation from Sant and MLP camera man,I do agree some exagerated.What do you expect from a leader promising to be prime minister adressing students in that way,YOU ARE NOT BLIND OR DEAF,so before you speak and write see well the facts.We want leaders with a vision and not without a vision and now according to MLP George Vella they dont care about their electoral programme,WHOM SHALL WE TRUST???? tell me?
02/26/08 4:51 PM, Uni Student
Ms. Daphne the debate was supposed to be a students debate... are YOU a student ? you say that you cannot stop your child since he is an adult ... you know what Adults should be mature and don't act like toddlers maybe another year in his primary could make him be more mature and if you haven't wrote in the newspaper maybe the cameraman would not know you were attending and he was doing his job !!!
02/24/08 2:12 PM,
02/23/08 6:20 PM, Daphne Caruana Galizia
I'll answer your question: a 19-year-old is a fully autonomous adult, and not a child who gets reprimanded, stopped or told off by his mother, still less his aunt. Does your mother reprimand you? In that case, don't expect me to reprimand my son. What he does is entirely his business.
02/21/08 5:33 AM, Joe Martinelli
Did you have a choice of expressing yourself, Michael?
02/20/08 11:12 AM, Michael
The way that a small group of students (100 in all?) behaved during the debate was an example of sheer arrogance and intolerance from a party supposedly based on the principle of reconciliation! They showed that they are intolerant of all those that disagree with them, which is childish behaviour at its best!
However, one should not blame University students in general since the vast majority of them are of a much better ilk, than this rent a mob crowd. I graduated from the same University and we never behaved so lowly in our lives!
02/20/08 7:42 AM, Joe Martinelli
"The University does not reflect Maltese society and thank God students at University are more concerned in converting the campus into a Nationalist Party club".
How pathetic!
This event you so condescend upon was not organized by the NP and was open for all whether NP, MLP, Ad or AN students.
It so happens that the vast majority are thinking with their heads and feel more safe in an NP goverment's hands than under a Labour's government's unclear policies. Besides they are wise enough that bitten once, they are not up to being bitten twice.
If you are under the mistaken impression that the students do not reflect Maltese society, think twice. Not only they have a great influence today, but they represent the parents and the leaders of tomorrow.
So to dismiss them as a few NP organized supporters is showing disrespect to intelligent human beings capable of distinguishing between good and bad and good and better.
They can distinguish between an uptight Dr. Sant, uneasy about giving straight answers and a relaxed Dr. Gonzi who was clear and anxious to give straightforward answers to any question asked. The fact that his answers were exactly what the students expected shows that Dr. Gonzi is well prepared and does not need to probe for answers on the run.
Thank God that the students do reflect Maltese society not only at this time but for many more years into the future.
02/20/08 5:04 AM, A. Galea
Shame on those students that behaved in a hysterical way and shame on GonziPN that did not even hint at trying to stop the mass hysteria that hit the campus yesterday! I always thought that Gonzi was more democratic and a serious person but I ws prooved wrong. this is the tip of the iceberge!
02/20/08 4:06 AM, David 2
After following the news I concluded that Dr Sant did voice his opinion and never looked afraid of doing so even if booed. For me he has guts to face such a crowd. But then what are we speaking about? About whom? Kicking and throwing of tear gas? Was it the Shipyards' workers going out in the streets on shipyard trucks? ....
02/20/08 3:53 AM, Simon Scerri
Possibly no one saw the provocation from MLP members and camera, done on purpose, all people are made from flesh and bones. ALL COWARDS!!! possible you want to lose all this good that is surrounding us! Everybody admit!
Euro is in our hand, that means economic situation is going up at its best and this is most important for country and not prvocating to gain power. MLP want power and distruction.
02/19/08 3:56 PM, Matthew
Yesterday's debate was shameful and obvious that it was a planned activity. Booing someone while speaking about his recent condition and also students doing the countdown when Dr. Sant was speaking was not at all a good impression one has of tomorrow's generation, let alone respecting other people's opinion.
02/19/08 11:39 AM, jean
Saviour, i do agree with some of the things you said however if I was one of the uni students I think I would have done likewise. Remember this was their opportunity in telling and showing the guy who came up not so long with the pathetic 'partnership,' that came so close in killing all their dreams of working abroad (at ease). For that reason alone Sant deserved what he got.
02/19/08 9:32 AM,
David: you sure do like making sweeping statements, "university students don't have much interest in anything else" Wow. I would hardly say that the students at yesterdays debate in any way reflect all students, especialy as the rowdier of them were JC students. Well the expert has spoken and i suppose i should end my commentary here as, David will probably want to explain the rest of my thoughts for me.
02/19/08 9:08 AM, anthony valvo
Iam a 65 year old graduate and cannot accept that a planned democratic debate could have resulted in such a complete planned PN activity. University students all over the world are pro active in sensitive issues but always constructive. This was nowhere seen at Malta where it was evident that the pro PN force was pre planned whereby debate of any kind was precluded. What astonished me most was that this was a golden oportunity where the Prime Minister who continually lectures about democratic principles did not intervene to show one and all that he does not accept this sort of treatment. But of course like most of the credible decisive matters that this country needs from a Prime Minister, he completely ignored this call most probably in the interest of temporary glory. Can you imagine how tollerant some of these students are going to be later on in life after they have matured as the leaders of tomorrow?
It was sad to see how the so called cream of tomorrows society are prepared to behave. Very unconvincing and rather partisan with some so called university student leaders being rather shameful but in my opinion fully supported by the prime Minister who did not intervene.
02/19/08 7:49 AM, David
Yes sure. The University was "turned into a debate ground".
I am a post-graduate and know very well what kind of "debates " university students yearn for. As Mr Balzan put it...it's either stipends or as witnessed more recently the obligation of being endowed with a parking place (god forbid having to use public transport to a place which has now become the second main bus terminus in Malta.)
University students don't have much interest in anything else. And SDM/KSU reps feel so snug in their nice little offices in Student's House, how on earth would they even tolerate anyone but the lovely PM?
Lack of tolerance and ignorance directed to anyone who is not in their exact same position...that's what Uni students are all about.
02/19/08 2:25 AM, Mark Bonello
Bravo Saviour. Although we dont agree politically I totally agree with your views on this debate that can be described as nothing less than a disgrace! Shame on those students that behaved in a hysterical way and shame on GonziPN that did not even hint at trying to stop the mass hysteria that hit the campus yesterday!
02/19/08 12:01 AM, Elisa Borg
I am disappointed that even students see fit to treat politics like a football game.
02/18/08 4:16 PM, Kat Micallef
I always enjoy your column, and on first read the more mature half of me was tempted to agree, but then i remembered that i, unlike yourself, attended the debate - and it was not quite the mass hysteria you describe, if anything it's encouraging to see students interested in politics as so many countries have a problem with student disinterest.
If i were you i would look deeper than a few boo's and cheers - this was the first debate in malta of its kind, a landmarm for maltese politics.
And if there was a PN stronghold, so what? The doors opened to everyone, perhaps PN policies are more digestable to students?
02/18/08 3:12 PM, C. Micallef
Did you even attend the debate? Or did you just follow the news coverage by ONE? As a mediamaker you should be most aware of spin.
Besides the negative aspects that you mentioned, this was the first time democracy was put into practice - we had a proper timed debate, with fair and hardhitting questions about a variety of issues by very competent journalists.
Students clapped and booed as they saw fit.
The university was not turned into a Nationalist party club. The University was turned into a debate ground. One of the leaders garnered much more support than the rest.
Maybe its because his policies have affected students in the most positive ways.
