Are you interested in one week's work placement in The Irish Times? Transition Year students can learn firsthand about the workings of this newspaper if their submission is published in Media Scope's weekly Over to You column. Just send us a 200-word piece on a media related topic.
Alan Murrin, Castleknock College, Co Dublin
On February 13th, the worrying announcement was made: Irish young people are the heaviest drinkers in Europe. This news comes at a time when the health minister, Michael Martin, has launched an alcohol awareness campaign. It may be too little, too late.
Young people have no problem acquiring alcohol. Despite laws against serving alcohol to people under the age of 18, many publicans still do and it is this selfish mentality that has contributed to the current state of affairs.
The only other places that young people can acquire alcohol are from an off-licence or in the home. If they do not get served in an off-licence, it is not difficult to find a more "mature" person to purchase. And though parents are wary of their children drinking alcohol, they don't discourage it as vehemently as is presumed. The truth is that Irish people see alcohol as a part of our culture and attach a certain pride to its consumption. It is we ourselves who do little to quash the stereotype that as a nation we have the ability to drink a camel under the table.
Cathal McMahon, Ardscoil Ris, Limerick
IN 1956, 500 Hungarians fled through Europe from hostile Communist forces only to find refuge in the small east Clare community of Meelick. In June, we, the residents of this community, like our predecessors, will play host to people seeking a better life free from poverty and oppression.
The Hungarian refugees were welcomed with open arms and were subsequently housed in wooden huts on the partly used army barracks at Knocklisheen. In their short occupation they learned much about the east Clare and Limerick way - so much so that they even learned the ancient art of poteen-distilling.
There was no reported conflict between natives and the refugees. Both groups quickly learned to tolerate and befriend each other. The Hungarians, who had used Ireland as a step towards getting into the US, left the Knocklisheen site with the dawn of the 1960s.
Will there be a "cead mile failte" for the asylum-seekers moving into Meelick? There has already been public unrest in the community over the situation. With the dawn of the new millennium we must ask ourselves: was Gerry Steinbridge so inaccurate with his portrayal of Irish people in Black Day at Blackrock?
Write to media scope by posting your comments to Newspaper in the Classroom, The Irish Times, 1116 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2, or faxing them to (01) 679 2789. Be sure to include your name, address and school, plus phone numbers for home and school. Or you can use the Internet and e-mail us at mediapage@irishtimes.ie
media scope is a weekly media studies page for use in schools.
Faxback: Worksheets and other materials are available to teachers who place group orders through their schools. The worksheets are sent to all subscribing schools via the automatic faxback system. This system will re-try an engaged line up to four times.
If you do not receive material by Wednesday morning, and you have a touchtone fax machine, please use it to dial (01) 670 9709. Follow the recorded instructions and material will be faxed to your machine. If you have a pulse-dialling machine, refer to your fax manual for details on how to set it for touchtone dialling. If you have problems, telephone (01) 679 2022, ext 8568 or 8580.
For group orders, FREEPHONE 1-800-798884.
