Local residents slam Rag Week at DkIT
A COLLEGE Manor resident has called for a major reform of the annual Dundalk IT Rag Week after a family in the estate came under attack during last week's event.
John Temple says that the college should have to apply for a licence for the event in future to ensure events such as last Thursday's do not happen in future.
The Fianna Fil member, who also acts as chairman of the College Manor Residents' Association, also called on DkIT to take responsibility for the actions of its students when they leave campus.
"If you were running an event such as Oxegen you'd need a licence but every year in Rag Week it's like a zoo and a free for all around the local estates. That has to change," said Temple.
"One of the residents of College Manor had their property attacked last week and it was totally unprovoked.
"There was no problem from Monday to Thursday but on Thursday night a particular group of students took out and went buck mad.
"There are 141 houses in the estate and there are only five houses causing the disturbance. They went mad last Thursday and because of them children were crying all through the night, some kids missed school the next day and even some parents had to call in sick to work on the Friday because they had got no sleep throughout the night.
"Things weren't as bad as last year but it's still unacceptable. I have no problem with students socialising but when it leads to the destruction of other people's property then you know it has gone too far.
"They pulled up every shrub in one family's garden and broke trees as well. The man who lives in the house is very quiet and he was afraid to go out to them because his wife is heavily pregnant and he was afraid it might distress her and the baby. He must have had the patience of a saint in fairness to him.
"The college will have to take some responsibility going forward. They don't accept vicarious liability once students walk out the gate and that's something that needs to be looked at in future," said Temple.
Dundalk IT Student Union president Luke McGahon apologised for what he described as an isolated incident.
"Unfortunately no matter how you try to prepare for an event like this there'll also be some sort of issue.
"I've tried to be proactive in helping the residents but unfortunately there's always a small minority who spoil things for the rest.
"There are only a few bad eggs around, the rest of the students are harmless and once you tell them they're being loud or whatever they tend to be very apologetic.
"What happened last week is unfortunate but compared to other years things weren't as bad. Gardai had a lot less trouble this year. Okay, things will never be perfect but the fact we raised p20,000 for charity will hopefully go some way to allaying peoples fears about whether it was worth it,” said McGahon.
Cllr Oliver Morgan described the attack on the local family as a ‘disgrace’ and said he will be seeking a meeting with the management of the college over it.
“Residents are entitled to enjoy the pleasure of their own property and not remain prisoners in their home,” he said.
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Sunday 05 February 2012
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