Someone jinxed me.

[annabtg]

So I just got informed that my department will be doing a sit-in for the next week.

First of all, *headdesk*.

Secondly, yay for the existence of an English word for it. (Even if I had to look it up.) I was afraid the sit-ins were a Greek patent. :p

And thirdly, some explanations:

You see, since last spring there's been turmoil in the Greek universities, because the government wants to pass a bill that will allow the foundation of private universities equal to the public ones, and other higher-education related things. The majority of the students are against this bill, so the student assemblies have been voting for sit-ins in almost all universities. Some departments have lost their whole semester because of the sit-ins.

Anyways. My department didn't do any sit-ins at all during the past semester (one of the very few, let me tell you). They only decided for a two-day sit-in at some point between the Anatomy and the History of Pharmacy exam. Older students lost a couple of exams because of that, but it was arranged that they would just be transferred to the end of the exam period.

Today there was a student assembly to decide whether they'd be doing a sit-in or not. I didn't go - actually, I forgot all about it, not believing they would decide for a sit-in. And yet they did. For one whole week.

Yay for not studying? Umm, not exactly.

First of all - the Physiology I exam is on Thursday, as you're well aware. But we take that at the Medicine school. And I don't know what's going on at the Medicine school - do they have a sit-in, or not? And if they don't, does this mean we will take the exam? Supposedly, the Pharmacy students are in the Pharmacy building, 'protesting'. But what if some of us decide to go? Will there be an exam to take?

I think I'll just go to Goudi on Thursday, just to make sure. And I'm certainly not having high expectations for my grade in Physiology I, but if there is an exam and I pass it, it will be welcome.

But no, it doesn't end here.

You see, there's also the Mathematics exam on Tuesday. The sit-in is arranged to last until Tuesday, and in the afternoon there will be a student assembly.

Does this mean no Mathematics exam? All signs are pointing to that direction. The assembly will take place in the amphitheatre where we're supposed to take the exam at the exact same time. Now, *before* the assembly, it's still sit-in period. And *during* the assembly, you can't have class or exam, because all the students are supposed to be present in the assembly. (At least, that's how I understand it. We *had* lost a few Inorganic Chemistry I classes because there were assemblies scheduled on them.) Also, however reliable this is, I heard from Thodora who heard it from her roommate who heard it from a friend of hers (*rolls eyes*) that the friend in question asked our Math teacher about it and was told that there won't be an exam.

This is such a mess.

And the Math exam is the one exam I was actually looking forward to! What with all the work I did during the Christmas vacation...

Gah.

I guess I'll study Physiology until Thursday, I'll go to the exam (it's not like I have something better to do) and... I'll do the Math vs. Chemistry dilemma afterwards.

Siiiiiiiiigh...

See ya,
Anna.

Comments

[xxxmsmexxx.livejournal.com]

ANNA

Hey


I'm so not studyng as well and i told vea earlier but i'm telling u now, my first wave of exams is next week!

And of course i know nothing, i dont have time to do extra work between the classes themselves wher ei still dont get what the profs are jabbering about and work...they give me lots and lots of hours and i could say no to some but me need money

I'm sensing a need to repeat a couple of course so i need the money to pay for them...

*sigh*

[annabtg.livejournal.com]

Good luck, Sash! Hope you do well at the exams and you find the money you need.

Hugs,
Anna.

[ladymirth.livejournal.com]

I'm not too familiar with sit-ins. Is that like going on strike?
You know, I've always thought it was kinda stupid for students to go on strike. I mean, what you get is a minority of jumped up political-minded attention-seekers in charge of student unions, who are being led around by the nose by the bigger fish with their own political agenda, who together do nothing so much as effectively thwart the majority of sane people who want to finish their degrees as quickly as possible so they can get down to doing some actual work.
At least, that's the case in my country. Demonstrations of this nature within universities are a grave problem in my country, which is why many prefer to join private institutions. And the university administrators aren't the most enlightened of lots, either.
I can imagine how frustrated you must be feeling. If you have to have an exam, you might as well get it over with. Especially if it's one you're ready for.
Well, the wrold will never lack idiots...

[annabtg.livejournal.com]

Yep, pretty much like that. The students lock themselves in the building and refuse to let anyone have class. (Well, those who are for the sit-in. The rest of us just say home. :p)

That's mostly how it is over here, too. Only lately the minority seems to have become a majority. I don't know - maybe it's because only who are for the sit-ins go to the assemblies? Are people so fiercely against the bill? Or they're just happy not to have class/exams? I don't know. At least we lasted until now, which is more than most of the people I know can say...

Hugs,
Anna.

[beansideirae.livejournal.com]

yeah, not a greek exclusive. z lost a semester last year, that was a teacher strike. but there's sit-ins here too.

what i dont get is why they're protesting. why are they against private universities?

[annabtg.livejournal.com]

Oh, a lot of reasons. The fundemental one is that, according to them, private universities will mean that any clueless idiot can get into any department they want and "buy" a degree that will be equal to the one we public-university students earn with a lot of hard work.

And then there are arguments that if private universities are founded, the government will lower the funding of the public universities, the quality of studies will drop and we will all have to resort to private universities in order to get a credible degree, and stuff like that.

Personally, I don't agree with them. Then again, this is Greece, and the one prediction you can safely make is that whatever happens will be unpredictable. :p Even if I believed they're right, though, I find it stupid to complain about possible undermining of our studies by undermining our studies. :p

See ya,
Anna.