Mog and Chips

Of course. Of couse you’re skillset approved. You have warning.

So suddenly it’s rush rush rush to get things absolutely perfect. So what we present is actually nothing like oue short staffed, narrow minded course.

“You’re not going to let me down are you?” …Not “Will you be alright doing your animatic (that took 11+ hours) all over again because I decided the storyboard it’s based on (that you also have to do again), that I gave the ok to, is actually wrong? Will you be alright to do that FOR TOMORROW?”

And that just pissed me off no end. The sheer fucking arrogance of not even trying to bloody cover it up as if she’s concerned we’re falling behind.

It’s bollocks, it really is. Shops aren’t given a chance with their mystery shoppers. Hospitals aren’t given a chance with their inspectors (or aren’t meant to) so why the hell should a uni have notice? We’re paying £9,000 total tuition fees, to which the government adds on £15,000 to cover the £8,000 per year per student actual cost, and getting this fake bollocks.

According to the uni prospectus and to skillset, we first study a variety of forms and then specialise. We’ve done drawn animation so far, and the one time we did digital it was actually photoshopped drawn animation which the tutor didn’t turn up for half the time anyway. If you already know puppet animation and the such, it’s fine, but if no-one’s ever taught you how to make puppets or anything, then without someone to spare the time to teach you, it isn’t an option. So we specialise, then we do a bit of varied work while planning our dissertation and final project before finishing our experimental media so our options are still limited, and then we get to do as we please.

But guess which ones skillset is going to get shown? The stuff that the uni’s had no contribution towards, it’ll be the people that already know. Good for them and all that, but the uni’s taking credit for things people have come here already knowing.

We don’t get points for trying. If I say “well, I tried to finish my animation, but I couldn’t afford the paper” I wouldn’t pass. Giving a Skillset award to a college that is under budgetted and understaffed is a lie and it’s not right that prospective students think “oh! there’s only 6 colleges in the UK skillset approved for animation out of all of them, that might be a good college to go to!” when realistically no matter the intentions of the better of our tutors, the place just is not sufficient.

Sod that. I’m emailing skillset - not to complain, but to ask them about the procedure and what, exactly, makes a college skillset approved and whether they’ll take any students to talk to one-on-one (ie, out of the tutors earshots) with them about it.

Talked to my mate, she was drunk but her uni mates just left her in the middle of Brighton, to my understanding. Because if your mate, who you know is a depressed or angry drunk, drinks, that’s a brilliant idea. Especially after she’s only just found out a member of her family’s died (brings up all the shit about her family she doesn’t need to be thinking about), she’s had her purse nicked,  her ‘best’ friend’s stolen her lad and she’s living entirely on her credit card after a student loan AND grant because the uni she transferred from fucked her over (and she’s been drinking - to be fair, she needs to get control over that because that sure isn’t helping)

And besides, you don’t leave a female mate to walk home alone in the very early hours of the morning, you just dont. I can understand if having to live with someone going through all that trouble and putting all that emotional stress on you is stressful, but you can’t just walk off and say “I’m sick of you, not my problem anymore” without making sure she’s got someone to rely on until she gets out of the situation. She might snap out of it, if it was an entirely emo problem, or she might well think she’s being a burden and just disappear, for our sakes, and that’s not a risk anyone should take, let alone leaving someone in a place they have been mugged before.

She admits now it was uncalled for (btw everyone that commented last time, I do see your points, but that she’s attempted before and been hospitalised for it, and has been unstable, does make me worry that if things get back to how they were, she would very well go for it. She’s been for help and the helpers have been the one missing appointments apparently, not her.) but that she’s feeling really isolated and all the rest because all her mates are gone and the one she’s stuck with doesn’t appear to be looking out for her at all, as her flatmates don’t seem to be doing either. This week, I can’t go down because I’m ill to start with and I need this tuesday and fridays lessons, so I may have to miss some of next week (only 2 lessons anyway) and we’ll go out for a tap water down the pub or in town, because she’s saying she’s alright and I don’t want to make a big fuss, but I do want to see her.

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