THE GUERILLA
Edited by the serapion Brothers
NO.1
Underground newsletter of Matthew Boulton College
GOD CANT COME TO COLLEGE
It would seem that the management at Matthew Boulton College are refusing to allow any religious societies to be formed on its premises, be they Muslim, Christian or Jewish, despite the fact that most other higher education facilities have them. Their reasons range from their belief that religion and education should be separate to the idea that having these societies will cause tension. Again, other colleges and universities have them and don’t appear to have encountered any such problems. So what exactly is the real agenda behind this blatantly discriminative policy the college has in place and are they aware that they are in breach of the Human Rights Act of 1998 article 11, which states that everyone has ‘the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.’ Societies are formed for the sole purpose of catering for the needs of certain groups, be they the women of a women’s society, or the Muslims of an Islamic society. They never interfere with their members educational commitments and merely provide extra curricular activities more suited to their taste. The college doesn’t seem to have a problem with allowing a Film society so why would a religious one be any different. Whatever people’s opinions are about religion it doesn’t change the fact that Britain is a country that allows individuals to practice and express their beliefs, and by the looks of things this college expects people to just shut up and leave their religion and God at the College entrance, or just simply shut up and leave the College.
By Castro Serapion
UNDER MANNERS
In America during the 60’s it was the students who were the ones who opposed the government, who made sure their voices were heard and who refused to be forced into staying silent. These days if the government says its going to war, wants to detain suspects for 90 days or is planning to build more nuclear PowerStation’s, students are the ones that couldn’t care less and yet are the very group that these actions are going to affect the most. Whatever politicians do with this world now, we are the ones who are going to have to deal with it when there finished. So why is it we seem to care so little? One of the reasons is that ever since childhood educational facilities have attempted to
shape us into compliant citizens who will do anything that they tell us to do. The teacher becomes the first authority figure used to keep us under manners, conditioning us to accept future commands from our boss at work and readying us to except the control of the government. The most the population does when the government does something we all don’t like is moan. Where is the action. Where are the mass protests. We have all been turned into robots who are concerned only with what’s going to happen on the next episode of East Enders all the while things are happening behind closed doors that effect is in ways we are not even aware of. College is an extension of their plan as another facility that seeks to keep us under manners. You can see it daily from the way we are treated by the staff. What ever happened to being treated with respect and being seen as adults, which we all are. If we don’t come to realize that we are being conditioned in this way then we will never really be free. If we don’t take an interest in what’s happening in our country and around the world, then the future looks very bleak indeed.
By Castro Serapion
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WAKE UP AND SMELL THE BULL
What is the purpose of college? Is it to provide an education for the students or a service for customers. Colleges today have changed from the colleges of the past, whereas students in the past were proactive nowadays when talking to students you are met with a sense of apathy on all subjects, unless it be football or the next pop group. The media and entertainment culture has taken over our lives, along with being institutionalized through compulsory schooling, being hit with advertisement after advertisement and un-beneficial, irrelevant information. We have no views anymore, whether it be on the environment, politics, education or anything else which concerns our everyday lives. Our views are shaped by the media yet we delude ourselves that they are our own, we are told what to think, how long to think and in which way to think about it. The level of emotion we feel on a particular subject, is the amount of coverage it receives on the news. Innocent Iraqi civilians die everyday, yet no interviews with their families, no pictures of the children left behind, or other family members, we are just given numbers, statistics, filtered pictures, desensitizing us to the plight of others across the world. Yet if an American soldier dies we are shown his mourning mother, and attractive girl friend telling us how wonderful and caring her gun yielding minion of the American government boyfriend was. We have a sense of association to the soldier yet no feelings towards a child who happened to pick up an unexploded particle of a cluster bomb, dropped by the British government. The people suffering are far away, they look different, act different and hey they don’t even speak English why should we care, but if Phil and Grant return to Eastenders millions of us are glued to our screens. What does this say about us, where is our sense of justice, individuality and curiosity, do we not have a responsibility to ourselves and those around us to seek the truth and inform others of it. When will students break away from this lifestyle of apathy and not caring about that which will effect us tomorrow, how much longer will corporate bosses influence our education, and government policies? There are only one group of people that are benefiting from the current situation, I will let you in on a secret, its not us!
By Guevara Serapion
WELCOME TO CAMP BOULTON
When most people came to the open day of the college I bet they were treated with a warm welcome from a happy member of staff and felt respected as they appeared to be concerned with helping you in anyway they could. So what’s happened since then? Now when you come to college you’re treated with suspicion by rude security guards and are hard pressed to find any member of staff who is concerned about you whatsoever. What’s changed is the fact that they have already received your college fees, they don’t need to be nice to you anymore as your now just another suspect for them to keep their eye on in case you cause them any trouble. Now the college has become more like a concentration camp, with students forced to wear ID cards around their necks and told they have to ask to leave the class to go to the toilet. Is this really why you came? By Castro Serapion
WRITERS WANTED
If you are interested in writing for the Guerilla then please e-mail us at
theguerilla@hotmail.co.uk Make sure when you submit your articles that you don’t exceed 150 words and remember to use a pen name. You know it makes sense. This is your chance to inform the students of this college without the interference of the management, so get writing, keep it relative and we look forward to reading.
The Serapion Brothers
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Afraid or ashamed ?
19.03.2006 01:35
pedant
Afraid
19.03.2006 02:56
MD
Too many other problems
19.03.2006 10:36
All completely unprovable of course but well done to all who built and attended on Thursday.
Andy