The Age of Crisis
With students walking out across the country to protest the worsening housing crisis, People Before Profit member Ken Mooney gives us a report on how students can fight back.
We live in an age of crisis. Since I was a child, I have constantly heard of a housing crisis, a health crisis, a mental health crisis, a cost-of-living crisis and so on. It appears that everything in our society is perpetually in a state of crisis, and nothing is being done to fix it. Crisis is the norm.
More and more however, we have seen those not willing to accept the society of crisis. I like to think that People Before Profit have played a vital role in helping people realise that crisis is not normal and shouldn’t be accepted as normal. The Union of Students Ireland began to organise a student walkout at various colleges across the country to demand housing justice for students. As rent skyrockets alongside the general cost of living, universities continue to take in more and more students, worsening the crisis. It wasn’t just USI associated colleges however - my own college, the University of Limerick also participated in a walkout. UL is not a member of the USI, but regardless a decision was made to take action.
The walkout was organised by the Postgraduate Student Union. However, the decision was made Monday of the week of the walkout - meaning we had just 3 days to organise it. We printed leaflets and emailed students, but there was anxiety that such short notice would result in low turnout. Regardless, Thursday morning came, and we walked throughout campus with a speaker, a megaphone, and leaflets to encourage students to leave their classes. By 11:11 we were becoming dejected, we waited a few moments and then saw hundreds of students walking out the various buildings. Within minutes, the entire plaza was filled with students chanting demands. Within just 3 days we had organised a walkout of hundreds of students. This signals to me that students are at a breaking point, that any hint of action will make them jump to participate. Speeches were heard from various individuals from the PSU, CATU and various students who were invited to speak. Cheers came from the crowd; tweets rang out congratulating students and organisers. I spoke at the event, in which I spoke about the “age of crisis” and the importance of unionised action.
Across the country students marched, with thousands walking out of their classes demanding more housing, a reduction in rents, the introduction of renter’s protections, the abolition of fees, more funding for higher education, and a minimum wage that matches the living wage. These demands were made clear by students chanting - disrupting classes by leaving. Entire lecture halls of hundreds left and began to march to their meeting areas. UCC had one of the largest demonstrations, with all three locations being packed with students.
I want to highlight a point from my speech on the day - the need for collective action. In 2021, I helped to found the “Limerick Student Housing Coalition”, the organisation that I was representing on the day. My involvement with the coalition and People Before Profit on campus has led to me to seeing and hearing horror stories of students with no accommodation, students with substandard accommodation, and students who pay upwards of 700 euro a month for these atrocious conditions.
We need collective action, not later, not in the future, but today. It is only through collective action, it is only when students unite with one voice can we win battles, can we win justice for all, a fair housing system that places the needs of people above the needs of profit. The current system is not fit for purpose, private landlords leech off the need students have for accommodation to place them in substandard accommodation and to drive them into homelessness.
The age of crisis has become the norm, but we cannot let it stay that way. If you are a student, I encourage you to get involved in People Before Profit and the Cost of Living Coalition to fight for change - real, substantial change that can only occur if we join together as one unified voice.