Long gone are the salad days of student life

UNIVERSITY in the 1960s and ’70s — those halcyon days! For those of us who were lucky enough to be students then, it was a time when we seemed to have plenty of time.

There was time to discuss world issues, time to try and right wrongs and time to think about the fact that the “times were a’changing”.

Study and exams somehow seemed to happen in between living a robust university life.

There was a lot to protest about, a lot to complain about.

But beneath it all there was a lot to be thankful about — security for one thing.

Many of us had scholarships or studentships so that a vibrant university lifestyle could be carried out, not eked out.

And importantly, at the end lay jobs. University for many of us at this time, was a memorable and enjoyable watershed in our lives.

These days, for some however, there seems to be clouds over their university horizons.

Students often need parttime jobs, as distinct from the holiday jobs that I had had.

They need these in order to survive, as scholarships and studentships seem to be thinner on the ground.

Many just come for the lectures and tutorials and then head back to their jobs.

Having time to involve themselves in a wider university life or sitting round discussing world issues are luxuries many can ill afford.

A further cloud is HECS fees. At the end of the day it means financial hardship isn’t over when university is.

There is money to be paid back, assuming, of course, they get a job.

This is the biggest cloud of all.

There are no guarantees or optimistic assumptions here.

Many are forced into more years of study, honours or masters courses, just to stay ahead of the pack for the jobs that are available.

These students of today have to work hard in and out of university. They have a real focus on tomorrow, often at the expense of today.

To them this focus is an

University for many of us at this time, was a memorable and enjoyable watershed in our lives.

absolute necessity; to some of my generation, it’s a shame.

The Roman poet Horace in 100BC said: “Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.”

In short — “Seize the day, entrust little to tomorrow”.

But due to circumstances not of their making, the students of today may find this difficult.

The financial hardship that their life is fraught with helps to preclude a number of them from the enjoyment of the university lifestyle, led by many students of the ’60s and ’70s.

Despite all of this, you would think the old poet wouldn’t be disappointed in them. However, he might be disappointed for them. Ian Cole is a former teacher who lives in Hobart. He was a state Labor MP in the 1970s.