Head of USP Jourmalism School Demoted/Relieved

A press release statement confirming the rumors that Dr. Marc Edge, Head of the School of Journalism at the University of the South Pacific has been removed from his position and however still employed as a senior lecturer.

Media Announcement by the University of the South Pacific:

The University of the South Pacific would like to confirm that Dr Marc Edge has been relieved of his administrative responsibilities as Course Coordinator of the Discipline of Journalism at USP effective from 12 November, 2012. The Head of School of Language, Arts and Media, Professor Sudesh Mishra, will assume the role of the Coordinator of the Discipline of Journalism.
Dr Edge was filing this position temporarily since the departure of the substantive Head of Journalism, Mr Shailendra Singh, who proceeded on study leave. However, Dr Edge is still an active employee of the University in his capacity as a senior lecturer in the Journalism programme and will be working closely with Professor Mishra in the education and training of journalism students.
The University wishes to thank Dr Edge for his work in training students in the fields of media and journalism

http://thejetnewspaper.com/2012/11/14/usp-clarifies-journalism-lecturers-position/

While I agree that this is really good PR skills, I can’t help but wonder whether there are any good investigative reporters tuning in or whether we just take into account a press release statement, feed off it and make it news? Does this not cause eye brows to be raised?

What could possibly be the reason for demoting/relieving the duties of this man? There have been a lot of complaints from students. I am also one of them.  Although I cannot say it was because of this reason alone that he had been demoted/relieved. Could it be that, this same professional teaches about blogs and follows blogging sites that incite hate and discrimination like Coup 4.5 or truths for Fiji blog sites?  Fighting with veteran journalists who have been here longer??  Making claims that Fiji journalists had been practicing self-censorship even after PR has been lifted? U can see this story on www. fijiivillage.com

                                                        

 Check out the grubsheet. Click here.

In this particular article, one can clearly see some of the treatment students have been receiving. One can also see here the kind of respect he gets as an academic by reading the replies of the students. One student even went on to thank Graham Davis for putting up that article as it was a way for them to remain anonymous and be able to voice their grievances without the fear of being victimized.  With the new strategic plan for 2013, and the 5% increase, should the Journalism program fees also be increased, taking into account my first blog? The 2012 strategic plan stated providing a safe environment for students to be educated in. In this particular issue, on the grubsheet, a certain student had been bullied to the point of her crying in class. He had made an example out of her. This was after she had been asking on a social networking site why we didn’t learn about media in other countries. She was an international student, paid three times more than local students to be educated in a safe environment. He had claimed that it was because she defamed him in those social networking sites and made an example out of her.

Another student he recently tried to ban from entering the school premises. This student was registered, paid his fees and had every right to be in the facility. Dr. Edge had told those teaching under his department to disallow this student to enter the school and also told the securities. However this issue was remedied fast.

If you want to know more stories of the kinds of treatment and words used to describe the kind of relationship some of these students had with Dr. Edge, find out more about these students and try reading their corresponding emails with this demoted Head of School. You will find not a professional but a bully. Plain and simple. It is all there on hard plain evidence.  I do have all those emails forwarded to me as well. Yet I cannot say much on the subject nor can I put it up here just yet because I do not yet have their permission to do so. 

Yet could it be the student grievances that triggered this or was it something else?? Talking about journalists in Fiji and how they do not probe for answers still scared after the PER has been lifted? How can we be sure of the reason for this demotion? I must say I truly did like the PR skills on this press release using words like relieve. Don’t hate people. It’s a blog. My opinions!! By the way I am unpublishing my first post , so you can see grievances in JN201. First I apologize to you Irene. I know it was not really your fault. I cannot change anything in it though. I didn’t see it at the time, but I guess you did do the best you could  since the person who was supposed to be doing the job, didn’t.

Again this is a blog. My opinions and if you would like to hate, then go ahead. I am just voicing out my thoughts.So is it really demoted or relieved?? Hmmm i really do wonder?? 

#in total awe of the PR skills.....

Bring in the Best: Main Priority-Free Press

Bring in the Best: Main Priority-Free Press: The World Press Freedom Day was a two-day event at the University of the South Pacific and it was also the first time USP Journalism stud...

Main Priority-Free Press

The World Press Freedom Day was a two-day event at the University of the South Pacific and it was also the first time USP Journalism students had taken the initiative to do something for May the third.

Suva based lawyer Mr. RichardNaidu who was the chief guest for World Press Freedom Day said “giving a dissident a platform – and a voice – is perhaps the best demonstration of the Association’s commitment to media freedom” referring to the fact that he was not so much liked by the Fiji Government.

He also said “Journalists are society’s eyes and ears – and for many people, also their voice…. There are many ways journalists can go bad but ignoring the obvious taking at face value and without question what those in power do and say is probably the worst way.”

Censorship has been lifted from newsrooms, but it seems that most journalists have taken self-censorship to another new level. This is perhaps due to the New Media Decree 2010.

Rachna Lal a well-known journalist, and a panel member had discussed about hefty fines and possible imprisonment. Journalists are now weighing the options of public interest against their personal safety.

A former journalism student Dawn Gibson who had worked for a little time in the media mainstream mentioned that working in the mainstream was like being a ‘mouth piece’ for the Government. Copying and pasting from press releases. This was what Mr. Naidu was talking about.

Unaisi Moce a returning journalism student was asked if she would report on anything that would out the government in a bad light. She replied, “it depends if I have the right sources, and I will try to balance my story and accuracy is a strong factor. I will still do my research on it, and let the editor decide whether they want to publish my story or not”.

The theme for the Media Freedom was how media can transform societies. Mr. Naidu had pointed out that there really was no point talking about how transformational media can be unless we return to a free press. The main priority is to look towards a free press.

Freedom House has rated media in Fiji to be partly free. Dr. Marc Edge Acting Head of the Journalism Department of the University of the South Pacific said, “Fiji media is right now partly free and dangerously close to not free”.

Alex Perrottet, a Masters/Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies student at AUT University, said that “students can in fact lead the way in a situation Fiji is currently experiencing”, during the panel discussion organized by students.

However opposing these ideas is Mr. Ricardo Morris who is a current journalist here in Fiji. He had mentioned that self-censorship here in Fiji is much more effective than censorship in the newsrooms. 

Costs and expenses are lessened, time is saved and there is so much effectiveness of other areas when there is self-censorship rather than censorship.

According to Mr. Morris, the military has managed to achieve self-censorship over the three years of having censorship in the newsrooms. 

Egotistical or Corrupt in USP Journalism 2012 or Both?

I had once written a blog on the high price of JN201 and the services it was supposed to render, yet somehow fell short  of the expectations of students.  This brought in a view of more than 200 going on to 300 within three weeks. I had to unpublish it because I had been asked nicely to remove it. It still is there, just unpublished. This had been a controversial move last semester although at the time I had thought it was just trivial and that I was just writing a blog to be graded on in the course JN 201 which was Print and Online Journalism.

Before we dwell on this, let us look at the professors who taught different units in journalism. For TV and special topics in journalism (JN203 &305) Professor Robert Hooper and Nash Sorariba had taught it. Both were good and admired. Professor Hooper not only an academic, but is also a journalist who worked all over the world including war torn countries like Iraq, and even Fiji during its coup era. A well known international  educator and attorney who works to promote conflict resolution and media democracy in the United States, Asia and the Middle East. Sorariba also an educator, is a journalist and had a narrow escape from death during the Bougainville Crisis. Dr.Ian Weber taught JN301 which was International Journalism and even taught us the theories on photography during our 201 class. These academias made learning exciting , fun, interesting and informative.  Somehow one would think that they would have made any one of these three be the head of school for journalism as they showed more understanding for our media and politics in Fiji. The skills they offered was duly noted by their students. Enlighting us on issues like different media systems and different countries, interviewing skills, lighting techniques and so forth was pretty much appreciated by most students. 

Now let me go back to my first blog. The fees for JN201 was $570 and that was just on that unit which is higher than one unit at the Fiji National University. So what would one expect? Better services, great teaching skills, quality teachers with great credentials and well basically the best.

What did the University of the South Pacific give JN201 students? A teaching assistant who this second semester is getting better at her job and provided these first few weeks a stable and improved learning environment[so I am definitely not sorry I wrote that first blog-plus points to the TA for great improvement]. However for this unit we were under the impression that we were supposed to be taught by the “professor who worked for the Chicago Times and was from Canada-Dr. Marc  Edge”. Yet he did not exactly teach us on Print. Usually it was Irene Manueli, the TA who took most of our class. Dr. Edge concentrated mostly on Online Journalism which was basically about “how to write blogs”.. If you’re wondering where the punch line of the joke is, there is no punch line, and there is no joke. If this was a joke, then it would be a $570 joke. Fijians have been writing blogs for years under wordpress, matavuvale.com, blogspot, etc. Nothing on web designs or how to create websites likes fijivillage.com.fj, fijilive.com.fj, etc which are two online news services. I guess the joke was on us students and people who were paying the fees. The TA should have been given the income the H.O.D was receiving. She was doing most of the work anyways.

 Plus for blogs, we were already taught blogs last year for only two days by Professor Hooper’s daughter who taught us well. To pay to learn about blogs for a semester is a joke. Who oversees this?

Back to my first blog, which was once there for the world to see, I was asked by the Dean to see her which I did. Before my visit, she had paid a visit to the newsroom to speak to the students. They did have grievances about this unit, but only came forward once she explained that their names would be kept confidential. When the Head of School found out that students did in fact have grievances and I was not the only one this was the email [titled ”its all about YOU”] he sent after his meeting with the Dean.

As a result of the meeting this morning, the Dean has decreed that henceforth Journalism instructors must listen to any and all excuses proffered by student as to why they could not meet the deadline for submitting their assignments, no matter how much time they were given to complete them. So please, come to us with your tall tales and we will happily listen to them with rapt attention as if we had nothing better to do. But keep in mind that the dean has not decreed that we must believe any such tales nor grant any extensions.
Really? Do you really want to graduate in professional excuse making? The first lesson you all need to learn is that you need to meet deadlines if you are going to be a journalist, no excuses. That is the number one rule. The presses must roll and the broadcast must start on time. If you don’t get your work done on time, you get left behind. By graduating professional excuse makers, I don’t think we would be doing anyone a favor – not you, not your future employers, and certainly not USP.
Oh, and apparently you are all now welcome to waltz into class as late as you want. After all, this is all about YOU. Whatever time you want to come to class will be just fine with us. But remember that you will soon be looking for attachments and asking for reference letters. The ones who will get the best attachments and reference letters will be the ones who showed up for class on time, learned something, did the best work, and submitted it on time. Some of you will apparently not learn that until it is too late. Because, of course, this is all about YOU.

This email one can clearly identify that there is wit with sarcasm but blatantly unprofessional. He has made it clear that he will listen to your "excuse" as directed BUT will do so with much scrutiny... how does he expect anyone to come forward to him about complaints if that is his attitude? True, he has a valid point about deadlines, threatening students with the 'reference letter' section is totally uncalled for and rather daunting.

After meeting with the Dean, Dr. Edge asked to see him in his office where he mentioned that they were not very happy with what I had done and was really disappointed because Matai had got a hold of my blog.  I remember sitting there wondering “who is this Matai? How is he involved in this?” Later a fellow student explained who Matai was and the conflict between the two. As if it was supposed to concern the students.

Now this Edge is always talking about “how to be condescending and mock Fiji”. Lucky for him he can mock Fiji and its media and have a foreign country passport. A student had posted this on the Journalism Student Association page 

At the USP Journalism Department its all about : "How to be condescending and mock Fiji".

Oh I thought that I came here in Fiji at the UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC ... was to learn about the Pacific issue ....

I might be in the wrong program .... Those academics people brought here in Fiji to teach at USP as experts are just for most of them ... at the end of their careers... they just come here to put their names on the wall .... and enjoy the tropics I guess!

Obviously ... how many of the Journalism graduated students are on the mainstream media since then ???!

I wonder what would be the USP journalism program today without this tough time that you guys going through ...

The replies to the following post is at the bottom but I have to remove the names because I do not want them to get in trouble. 

 xxxxxxx: Hmmm I can't speak for others, yes the HOD is lacking in the Pacific content but from a first year perspective I think Marc is doing a stellar job in drilling the first years with the basics......getting our writing in top shape. I do feel that we just need more Pacific relevance. And since you yyyyyy put it you need to get your money's worth because it's a lot of money being spent.

yyyyyy:  thanx for this xxxxxx ... and you made a point !!
Yeah now i am just talking about my worthy money cause I can't explain how m failing all the time his (HOD) classes while m able to get a A or a B at the 2nd and 3rd level....
Well ... fair enough .... He does not allow me into the journalism program anymore cause I've failed JN 101 ...
But let the world know why I've failed it ....
I got de registrered for more than 3 months ....
I wish I could forward you his emails !!!! kinda of "just check moddle", or "what? you don't know how to read this" ???
I did produced plenty stories for WANSOLWARA ... Never been published ...
When I got my "personal crisis" ... I've emailed that story to PMC and PACNEWS and it been published ....
So I come again to my first concern ... Plssssss ... OPEN YOUR EYES GUYS !!! Those people just want you to be on their sides to PUT THEIR NAMES ON THE WALL !!!

I wonder what happen to those students that he taught for more than than ... what ???? 20 or23 years ????

Myself ??? I've be trained by Dr Hooper, Professor Nash and Dr Robie... and I am happy to meet with all those ex-students nowadays ... OK ... we like or not them...But I never met with any Dr Mark's students on my pathway of my education ....

And just for instance ... Last year .. My first ever UNI's experience I was taking at the same time JN 103 - JN201 (that I gave up) and JN 203- and I dropped off UU100 .....

I bet you guys to do the same .........

yyyyyyy:  Really.....how odd? Yes I wonder if it's a clash of personalities (Just saying :) But you must be able to talk to the higher ups about this, cause it seems like a lot of time and money is being wasted here. My Wansolwara stories weren't marked last semester and he told me it wouldn't have made a difference to my grade and I was like "Then why make us write them and say its compulsory". These things are little or trivial but I think it's a shame! I hope you take this to the appropriate people because maybe then you might get some traction.

xxxxxxxx:  So u r a LUCKY GIRL yyyyyy: .... Cause in my case all my stories ... I got a ZERO ... from USP but been published in other "regional media entity" ...

But yes it's all about you ....

Somehow Dr.Edge finds about this issue. XXXXXXX FOUND herself being removed from the program. This weekend I found out she is now back on the program which is good news. The valid point here is that she did in fact have a valid point. There are 12 member countries here at USP. Why concentrate on Fiji, what will happen when our friends from other counties go back to their own islands and only be educated by H.O.D about mocking Fiji too much while never concentrating on another pacific island?

I now cannot enroll for JN 302 and 303. This was the email I got from Dr. Edge. 

I am afraid you will not be allowed to register for any further Journalism courses because you have failed JN201 twice now. JN201 is a prerequisite for all third-year courses in the BA proramme in Journalism. The rule is that we allow students two chances to pass a course, but not a third. I have had to apply this rule recently with another student who is now out of the programme. You may have heard about that on Facebook. I have to apply these rules equally.

I sincerely hope that you can continue your studies in a major you are better suited for.

Regards,

Marc Edge

 

Was it my fault that I gave up too soon on Print and Online because we expected a Canadian prof to teach us on Print, share with us his knowledge from the big world, yet we were being taught by a TA, good as she may be with layouts?

Was it my fault that USP was negligent in its duties to oversee the running of this course especially with Fiji in its present climate and the pressure of journalism here in Fiji?

Is it my fault that the teaching skills offered by the H..O.D is not fit to be called ‘skills’? [by the way some of the notes I noticed was borrowed from jn 301-how very academic]

This was the email I got from Professor Hooper who has done more for us than the H.O.D. 

Dear Faranisese,

Your original grade was a "B" as you completed a very good final project, particularly with your interviews of ordinary citizens, students and the Chief of Police.  What reduced your grade was poor scores for class attendance and workshops.  Nevertheless, I decided not to reduce your grade below the "B" level as you completed your project on time.  It could have used additional editing and reshooting of material with lighting (lens flare) and technical problems, but it was a very good story and your interviewing and editing skills were quite good.  And congratulations on your excellent interview with the Chief of Police.  Keep up the good work!  

The original grades for JN 305 were calculated with the assistance of Fiji TV staff, who recorded attendance and evaluated workshop participation.  I submitted the final grading sheet to the Head of the Journalism Programme who then determined the grades submitted to the USP administration.  I did not receive a copy of the final grades awarded to students, but I was informed that some would be changed.

What final grade did you receive from USP for JN 305?

You have talent and if you apply yourself and improve attendance in class/workshops you will succeed. 

With regards,

Professor Hooper

Somehow when my grade came out it was a C for JN 305. All grades go through the H.O.D before it is given through admin to post on our student accounts. Is it fair that my grade had to be changed by a H.O.D who never taught me anything except Online journalism [a fancy word for blogs]? Print media is dying out as theory suggests. Why is it still a core unit in USP? Does anyone really take notice of what is happening around the world? Daily Post died out, so did Shanti Dutt, and I Lalakai. More TV stations are coming up as well as online broadcasting and there are now more than 15 radio stations.

I am saddened by the fact this kind of petty and corrupt issues is happening within our education system at university level. Who looks after the well being and grievances of the students if many are too scared to speak out in case their grades get affected? I had asked some friends what we could do for the other student who had been removed first from the program and a friend of mine had told me to stay out of it because of the trouble I had caused last semester. This I feel was hypocritical on the H.O.D’s part because first they raise the issue that free press is the way to go and then when you finally practice it, [in regards to enlightenment on education system particularly with USP journalism dept] they gun you down for it. [Hypocritical and confusing].

I love consuming knowledge. Only if the knowledge is the qualitative one. If it is just crap, one can always tell and not bother consume it. Is there a proper channel for these grievances? Yes there sure is. Does it work? Apparently not. One thing I’ve learnt about blogs, it is a watchdog for media, only in this case for education and its tid-bits.

Do I believe the Canadian professor who teaches blogs for $570 and sometimes teaches from borrowed notes from 301 lecture slides who it seems uses his post in school as a tool to intimidate students into “the right way of thinking and acting”? or do I believe the internationally recognized well known journalist and educator who has worked all over the world and has been helping Fiji ever since media development and seems to love Fiji more than its citizen does and whose former students still contact him even at odd hours to get advice from him? J

I believe It is up to us to make our own futures and destiny. However like I said consume only good things. Never ever allow negative people to feed you crap. Have a good day everyone.

Remember my hero is Richard Naidu. A man who demands respect and earns it by right.

Best Regards

Fara

 contact email address:
fara2512@gmail.com

Common Courtesy vs Equal Rights

Many years have passed and women have fought to have equal rights from Overseas to Fiji. From allowing women to also vote for their political party to getting educated and even be political figures.

Watching movies and documentaries of the past one would safely assume that common courtesy was a definite must back in the past.

Today when one comes in buses, especially in the Vatuwaqa bus, men hardly stand to give their seat to a lady who is standing. I have witness this many times. It tends to be the younger women that stand for the older women. Only a couple of times men have stood for a woman. I never used to understand this, until one time i was standing in line to buy a serve a BBQ in Suva. A lady had been behind a guy and had asked if she could just get a serve before him since she was parked illegally. He turned his head to wards her and said " equal rights". Just that simple statement. I t made me realize over the years that men also take all these to heart.

Then again one would ask,"What about common courtesy? Does that play a role in our society anymore? or has it gone with the wind when equal rights became effective in our country?

I came from Jasper Williams High School, an all girls school in the Western side of Viti Levu and there was always classes to teach everyone manners, and common courtesy. When walking on corridors, and an older person is walking from the other side, you stand aside and let her walk before you can resume with your journey. In buses, if it is full and you see someone whose older than you standing, you have to offer up your seat as well as addressing teachers, there was a certain way to it. Those were just some of the examples of  common courtesy acts that was a must.

Today i am so surprised when I see men never stand for women in a bus. When there is a crowd all waiting to get in the bus, all men and women push and shove each other to get inside. There was a certain time back i remember precisely that a blind man had come into a full bus where people were already standing.. I was sitting right in the back. While he was walking in with his walker (stick used to guide him), nobody bothered to stand for him. There were a few men sitting right in the front and they did not even look like they were the least bothered. Finally a woman in the fourth seat, stood up and led the blind man to sit in her seat.


Are we not teaching our kids right? Are schools still being taught the importance of common courtesy? Do we really want to have a country that have no gentlemen or if there are any, will they be rare? I say let us not confuse the issue of equal rights with common courtesy. For everyone's' sake including the future leaders of tomorrow.

Vinaka and you all have a beautiful day.
Faranisese Ratu

What has become of JN201 today?

JN201 is a course here at the University of the South Pacific called Print and Online. This course is unlike  any other because there are so many changes that are being made during the duration of the course that students become so confused over it. 90% of this course goes to Print and the other 10% is allocated to Online which is pretty stupid considering that one of the major theories is that online media will in the future overtake print and broadcast. It should be at least 50-50.

The teaching assistant for this course is in charge of the Wansolwara, the student newspaper. Every other year , all editors, chief of staff and what not are democratically elected by the students. Years back former students say that students who wanted an editorial position had to apply in a letter to obtain a position. However, this year the teaching assistant without consulting the students made the decision on her own. For the first issue a third year student had been appointed as editor. A few students had grievances over this and a particular student Arnold Chanel had come to me with his complaint saying that they were going to write to the media mainstream, including the fact that the teaching assistant did not have the right credentials to be teaching this course here in the university.

Here at the University of the South Pacific , students are supposed to be receiving the best according to its strategic plan. For photographs, students were taught the theory part by Dr. Ian Weber. Only a few students were again appointed by the teaching assistant to be photographers and so as a result many student journalists in USP do not know how to operate a professional camera. How can we as future journalism graduates go into workplaces and say proudly that we are from USP, only for employers to find out how unskilled we are with professional cameras? Sure the theory part was good, practical wise, not so much. All students should be allowed to use the cameras and take their own pictures. It is after all school property.

Two issues of the Wansolwara had been published. For the third one, some of the same students that were used from the second issue are being used again as editors, sub-editors, and what not. USP Journalism also has a few international students here for a semester. They have not been given a role yet. Does nepotism play a part here? There is a student from New Zealand and one from the United States of America. If we are to be fair, why not give them a role in the newspaper? I am sure, they have plenty to offer us. Sharing their knowledge with us Pacific islanders would be very welcomed. Strategic plan for 2012, 5.12 it mentions " Enhancing student support for international students". Again there are many other students from other Pacific Island nations like Tuvalu, Solomons, etc, yet all one sees are Fijian students running the school paper. Nepotism or something a bit more racial?? I am of course just thinking out loud.

Now, for most courses, students are given the course outlines and assessments. Marks are given straight after marking so that students can know whether they are doing good, or bad, so that they can aim to do better. With JN201, you ask how you are doing, the teaching assistant does not say how well or how bad you are doing. She only mentions that most of the students are failing the course already. How are students supposed to know whether they need to work harder or relax for a bit if we are not given our assessments so far? How does this fit into the strategic plan of 2012 in terms of Student Support.

Most students have grievances over this, but none will speak out. Some would like to complain to the school, but do not quite know how to go about it.

A few weeks ago, 201 students had to stay back in school to correct spellings, check grammars of the stories brought in for the second issue. This was told to us by the teaching assistant. A friend of mine from Tuvalu did not want to go home alone because she feared going at home alone at night, even in a cab. Around 2am in the morning we left together, in the same cab. I dropped her off first then went to town to catch the minibus, since i live in the next town.  For your information, drunks came in the minibus. It was a little annoying and scary to be near so many of them and to be a girl traveling home alone. So i ask the question, if any of the students safety had been compromised that night, who do we take to task? The university or the teaching assistant for the issue of negligence? Again this does not go with the strategic plan objective 5 whereby the University of the South Pacific aims "To improve student and academic support services to ensure student safety, security and well-being and improved student success".

http://www.usp.ac.fj/fileadmin/files/academic/pdo/Planning/USP_Strategic_Plan_2010_-_2012.pdf

For deadlines all courses have deadlines for their assignments. If you submit in your assignment in a day late, marks are deducted. In this course, you submit in your assignment late you automatically get a zero. Can the Faculty of Arts and Law have a discussion about this and let students know what the marking criteria lis like for JN201 course and for late submissions? Not make the rule as we go.

JN 301 students is International Journalism  taught to us by Dr. Ian Weber who has taught all over the world. He has taught us "the nut graph" which is an art form of feature writing and uses the marking criteria that all academics use. I happened to be present in the teaching assistant's office when she was told she was going to mark the features/insights. She had then said "i have my own marking criteria". Now this is annoying especially when we were taught one thing and for it to be marked by someone else who is going to mark with another marking criteria. A fellow student who is now the editor for this next wansolwara issue had asked "If it does not get published, does it get a zero like she said?", To which the lecturer for JN301 with a doctoral degree says 

"No it does not get a zero.. I am only concerned with you submitting in your work assessments. For late assignments, it is going to be marked, but marks will be deducted". 

For the last issue of Wansolwara, i had raised my hand to be in the sports team to cover the Cokes. Somehow i was called to the teaching assistant's office to be told that i was not going to be in the sports team on the day the games were underway. Kasim Nazeem a fellow student had brought us free media passes and we had been covering a few stories down at the grounds. Upon coming back to school for a break, she calls me to her office to let me know that i was not going back to the grounds as part of the Wansolwara team. I just went out, gave up and gave my free media pass for that day and the next to a friend. Because of this i do not bother attending editorial meeting. What is the point? Was i being pushed aside because i was a girl?

An assignment popped up two weeks ago. Most of us found out on the Friday night of World press Freedom Day that an assignment is due the next day at 6am in the morning, a newsworthy story of Richard Naidu's speech. Assignments given last minute and changes to our course assessments like now we have to do presentations replacing another assessment is really hectic to our mode of study.

I am probably going to fail this course (well the print part only), but i will not care so much because i will know that i got failed by someone who did not even have the right credentials in the first place. Many students would like to complain but are just do not know the right place to go and some are just fearful. "The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing" is a quote by someone, but in this case "The only thing necessary for bad education to to prevail is for students to do nothing". 

If we as students can not voice our issues for fear of failing, then we are not worthy to take up this profession. There are many more issues from many students but i have to stop here because i think i may have exceeded my word count. 

However i do finish with this question. So many students have failed the course both from last year and this year, the same is occurring. Is it because of us as students or is it because of the teaching skills offered right now in the Print section??

Vinaka

Faranisese Ratu