Jobs - Part 2

I started at St Martin's / UoC in September 1995 and for the first few years, it was ok. I had my own course and my own students, so I could ignore the other science lecturers except Anne, who was always on my side anyway. There was one person in particular who made trouble - a lot. Like I would do everything by the book - book rooms, organise my timetable as well as I could etc. I would turn up at the room I was teaching in and he would have taken it over with his students. He could not be bothered to book rooms or check whether the room had been allocated = or so he said. I am not allowed to discuss what went on at UoC for 5 years. Anyway, just a couple of incidents which might give you an insight.

Some of you may remember there was a high profile case of football players attacking Asian students and causing serious injury to one of them. The cowards hit him after tripping him from behind and knocking him unconscious. This was a racist attack, not just a fight. Both footballers lied to the extent of their involvement and were basically cleared. This was a really disgusting miscarriage of justice. The student who was attacked basically became a recluse. Anyway, these two footballers were up and coming international players. Most people I spoke to were actually shocked by the attack and that the footballers had faced so little punishment.  I was sitting in our common room eating lunch and my "friend" was pontificating on how unfair it was that these footballers were not being allowed to play for England, they had been cleared, etc....... I couldn't believe this crap. I wonder if he even remembered the name of the Asian student who was attacked or what happened to him.

Those of you who believe Lee Bowyer is an innocent victim, read this conversation. There is a video (I assume it was from a security camera) showing him destroying a McDonald's Restaurant after he was served by a Bengali.  There is a comment that racists don't just attack people. I beg to differ. I wasn't even aware I was being attacked till I was knocked down by skinhead thugs. I was also attacked with a knife while I was walking down the street. Maybe I just provoked those attacks........

The second incident really is more of a series of incidents involving my room. It had a leak. Everytime it rained hard it leaked. I had 5 (?) major floods. the first one caused serious damage to my books. The second and third, I had all my books awauy from the area. The fourth one caused extensive damage as I had been assured after the third that there would be no more leaks. The Dean came into my room and said he would give me a £100 towards the books. What a laugh! The books cost hundreds  and the papers that were there - that was a lot of work, done over months. How about all that work? Anyway, they tried repaing it a fourth time. By that point, I was severely stressed. Work, my "friend", whiny students and the flooding...... So I complained - and was promptly put under disciplinary measures for not being able to cope! Anne had left by this point and the person who replaced her had her own difficulties. Anyway, I got through that, no thanks to my effing Union. I was trying to get the manager to give me another room because I knew they wouldn't sort it. I said to him "Please move me to another room. You can sort this one out when I have moved. You have spare rooms." his response was, "We are allocating those rooms. We cannot put anyone in your room till it's sorted."!!!!! I wrote back "So it's ok for me but nobody else?" I wanted to write "Everybody else is too white, are they?" Anyway, within a few weeks, there was a major storm and I ended up with an inch of water in my room. So I dragged the Dean in, in front of witnesses, and said "Do something now!" I got moved that week. They did work on my old room after I moved. It hadn't leaked 3 years later. I don't believe this was an organisation just being inefficient. Once or twice is ok but FIVE times? And that comment by the manager just says it all.