BudgetJam budget day 'teach-ins'
As part of BudgetJam 2010 lecturers and students at several third-level colleges staged Budget Day “teach-ins” at campus bank branches in protest at the banks’ role in the economic crisis.
Protesters gave short lectures and answered questions about the relationship between banks’ reckless lending during the Celtic Tiger years and the latest Budget austerity measures -- including the increase in fees for third-level students.
The actions took place simultaneously at 3pm at on-campus banks across Dublin and Leinster, including University College Dublin, Dublin City University, NUI Maynooth, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology and St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.
“These 'teach ins' are intended both to highlight the role of the banks in creating the crisis and to attest that another version of the university is possible,” Colin Coulter,sociology lecturer at NUI Maynooth, said. “We bailed out the banks. We own them. Now let's use them for something worthwhile for a change.”
He continued: “As the most vicious budget in the history of the State was about to be unveiled, we transformed the banks on campus from places of corruption into places of learning.”
Embedded below are two pdfs for lecturers, students and second-level teachers to use as a resource should they wish to stage their own ‘teach-in’.
As a means of protest, these teach-ins are intended to be both peaceful and respectful of the staff working in banks both on and off campus. The aim is to highlight the inequities of the bank bailout in a theatrical and fun way. If you do decide to hold your own, email pictures, videos and reports to budgetjam@gmail.com.