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NEWS: Drunken noise and vandalism escalates in the Holylands
Residents in the Holylands area awoke to the noise of “drunk students” last night, and discovered them in the process of vandalizing young trees outside their property.
Update: All students from one particular street will face a “mock disciplinary” to curtail problems in the area, in which they will be further educated on their responsibilities while living in a residential area.
BY CATHERINE WYLIE and BRENDAN HUGHES
A man living in the area contacted The Gown about the incident, and recalled how his partner was disturbed by screaming and shouting in the street from two students “who had clearly too much to drink.”
“When she opened the door of our home to ask them to lower their voices…she discovered that they were vandalizing one of our young trees,” he said.
The two students argued with the woman before running off.
The incident, which occurred on Rugby Road at around 4am this morning, is the latest example of the anti-social problems in the heavily student-populated area.
The man who exposed the event said residents have found the anti-social behaviour in the Holylands particularly prominent this academic year.
“This morning one of my neighbours approached me to say that the noise of drunk students on Rugby Road was the worst it had been for a long time and that her two young boys were woken up several times throughout the night,” he said.
The man was also astonished at how students nowadays could contemplate carrying out this sort of damage.
“At a time when we are all becoming more environmentally conscious, it seems to be extraordinary that young students who should be at the cutting edge of knowledge have no appreciation of the importance of trees to the health of our environment.”
Students’ Union VP Community Laura Hawthorne said she had not heard about this occurrence, but thanked The Gown for bringing it to her attention.
“We continue to work very closely with University of Ulster and have been staunch in our educating of students on what exactly is appropriate behaviour,” she said.
Miss Hawthorne also said that Community Affairs will take this incident very seriously, and she would encourage anyone who experiences anything like this to immediately make an official complaint.
Update: Miss Hawthorne also revealed that sometime within the next fortnight, all students living in one particular street in the Holylands will be taken to a mock disciplinary in which they will be educated on their responsibilities of living in a residential area. The residents (both student and non-student) will be forced to recognize who is living in their street, and who they are harming with their noise and vandalism.
Tags: alcohol, anti-social behaviour, Gown, holylands, newspaper, qub, Queen's, queen's university, student, The Gown, vandalism
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
noted. i offer my most sincere apologies to Miss Hawthorne who has worked tirelessly this year to ensuring her successor has to deal with just as many problems by holding a "mock" diciplinary.
And I now feel in nessecary to transfer my ridicule to the rugby road resident who felt the need to share with us his concern that, due to malicious student behaviour, his carbon footprint has been enlarged.
unknownmale said ''Personally I find it asthonishing that the best Laura Hawthorne could come up with was “At a time when we are all becoming more environmentally conscious, it seems to be extraordinary that young students who should be at the cutting edge of knowledge have no appreciation of the importance of trees to the health of our environment.”''
If you had actually READ the article properly, you would know that it was the Rugby Road residents comment on the lack of intelligence and sensitivity of students towards non-student residents and that of the environment.
Listen and understand before you open your mouth, you unintelligent, insensitive twit.
Personally I find it asthonishing that the best Laura Hawthorne could come up with was “At a time when we are all becoming more environmentally conscious, it seems to be extraordinary that young students who should be at the cutting edge of knowledge have no appreciation of the importance of trees to the health of our environment.”
Laura, I don't think the fact they were vandalising a tree is the key issue here, I think its more that they were vandalising in general.
Plus have you seen some of the clowns Queen's are admitting these days? You don't need to be intelligent to get into University, you need to pass your A-Levels, which let's face it, has become more of an annoyance than a chore.
Your response to this incident is naive at best and gross negligence and deliliction of duty at worst.
I hope that the residents of the Holylands sleep safe in their beds tonight knowing that you're sticking up for their trees.
Woe betide anyone who should attempt to mess with Mother Earth while Laura Hawthorne is on the scene.
"What about drunken RESIDENTS everywhere else in Belfast?! It’s the residents of Belfast that give the city a bad name – not students!"
I'm from Belfast and I can tell you that we don't all get on like the students and residents in the Holylands. The trouble with the Holylands is that it is partly down to some students from outside Belfast who can't hold their drink and go wild because they're away from home. Punish them instead of making students hollow and useless, "Mock disciplinary hearings," They give all QUB students a bad name.
I would add however that the way friends of mine tell it, the Holylands has far worse troubles these days than drunken students.
What about drunken RESIDENTS everywhere else in Belfast?! It's the residents of Belfast that give the city a bad name - not students!
I think it's shocking that someone is asking why permanent residents should stay there. It hasn't always been a student area, people will have lived there all their lives and should not have to put up with the drunken few who bring down the reputation of the area.
You couldn't pay me to live there though, my one experience of a year on University Avenue (albeit not my own house) was enough to put me off for life.
In my day it was a better place to live with better community.
Danny, thanks for the clarification on the non-student residants. However, my point still stands, some non student residents have lived in the Holylands for decades, why should they have to accomidate the poor behaviour of a sucession of transiant residents who only live in the area for a few months?
They aren't forcing non-students to face a mock hearing, that would be absurd and under what authority could they force them to attend it.
As it stands, everybody knows the holylands is a student area. You know if you move into it, there will be alot of noise and drunken people. If you don't like the sound of that, don't move there.
It's the same as the Sandy Row, you know if you a catholic that you probably wouldn't fit in that well in the area to say the least.
It's far from a nice or ideal situation, but that's the way it is.
Danny G, Queen's have bought up whole areas for Students to live in, Elms. Anywhere outside that is not a student area, it is an area with lots of students. I wonder if your attitude a symtom of the wider problem in Belfast whereby people regard a certain area of the city as THIER area for the exclusive use of people who share THIER identity.
I also wonder if forcing non-student residents to attend a mock disciplinary hearing isn't a bit heavy handed. After all, they aren't subject to university discipline.
^^^Re: Danny G's "It’s a student area, permanent residents should ask themselves why they’re living there in the first place."
--
Uh, just because many students live in a certain area, doesn't mean they own the place.
Let's take stranmillis for example - why might a non-student want to live there? Close to the city centre, close to the park, lots of nice cafes and restaurants on your doorstep... do these seem like ridiculous things to be attracted to?
The above poster seems to imply that by moving in to a so-called "student area," other residents should just be prepared to accept things like excessive noise etc. After all, it's a student area, so it's fair game, right?
If (for whatever unfathomable reason ;) people aren't so thrilled with anti social behaviour on their doorstep, is the above poster saying that they should just move elsewhere?
Number 1: that's a pretty poor reflection on the student population as a whole
Number 2: how does that solve anything?
I'm a student myself but the noise is absolutely unbearable in the holylands district. Queen's and their 'Union' and 'Representatives' are just plain cowards, scared to do anything about it, spouting out all the usual rubbish of the day about how they will educate students, give them warnings etc. Why not just kick them out of university if they can't behave like civilised members of society?
It's a student area, permanent residents should ask themselves why they're living there in the first place.
Queens should have bought the whole area years ago.
I think the best solution right now would be to pedestrianize the area and make it look nice, with lots of trees etc. which would absorb noise and encourage people to respect their community.
I know a lot of students there have cars, but tough, I manage to travel from England without a car, so I think they should be able to get the bus back to Derry easy enough.
"kick them out of uni – give them criminal records – see how they feel when they have no degree and no job – twats"
They might fit in better in Lower Ormeau...
kick them out of uni - give them criminal records - see how they feel when they have no degree and no job - twats
"...discovered them in the process of vandalizing young trees outside their property."
The suspects could not be named to prevent the identity of the young trees...
Could be worse, they could be vandalizing freshers outside their property!
Yeah,community service would be an excellent idea. Maybe a QUB specific Community service though, just around the campus, so that they are shamed into the bargain. The whole problem though is really catching the actual culprits, that's what needs to be solved first and foremost.
What about making them do community service.
A lot of Belfast is really dirt and needs people to clean it up.
That Lagan edge is a real tip.
Couldn't have put it better myself CBear. That's exactly what is needed.
They need punished. The only problem is,it seems to be so difficult to actually catch the culprits unless they're caught in the act.
More CCTV perhaps?
I second that Gown Reader; this should be a matter for the police. Obviously Queens needs to try to educate and raise awareness of these situations, which they are doing (and to be fair - what more can they actually do?) but until people are actually punished for these acts by proper law it will continue to be 'acceptable' amongst these IDIOTIC minority of students to act like destructive apes. Patrol, prosecute, PUNISH, and kick them out of Queens.
It's like Pikey Land transported. Still at least there's no Tyronne fans (anymore).
Once again, students in the Holylands make ALL students studying at Queen's look like stupid, drunken, ignorant excuses for people.
Why should this be a matter for the Students' Union? It's a matter for the police.
excellent coverage from The Gown. This website is great.
So I'm going to be "mock disciplined" by Queen's?
This is a disgrace, I haven't been involved in anything to do with drunken vandalism, or indeed sobre vandalism. Is this even legal?
Why do they do this? why? What are they gaining? I think they need a good kneecapping, the lot of them. I live in the Holylands, and never give any bother. Why the hell do they? DICKS.
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Its far to easy for everyone to just vilify students, at the end of the day, that's all we are; students. We will be responsible and work and earn money to pay the taxes that pay the benefits that most of the Holy Lands "residents" thrive off, but for the moment we are at university, working hard by day, playing hard by night - it's meant to be the best time of our lives, and it mainly is! I agree riotous behaviour is too far, but a harmless street party? It's been a student area for a long time now - it will continue to be, so for the sake of all students, find somewhere else to live and moan.
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