Benefits Street: A Dead End or Misunderstood?

BY ZOE WICKENS

In light of the television programme on Channel 4 entitled “Benefits Street”, it seems that the media and the public are still in two minds about whether the occupants of James Turner Street in Birmingham have been poorly represented on the television show.

There was a show on Channel 5 called “Benefits Debate”, which featured well known criticiser Katie Hopkins and the self proclaimed “Mother Hen” Deidre Kelly, better known as White Dee. She highlighted not only the expected criticisms of Hopkins but her honest view on how the country has seen her and her neighbours portrayed on the show. This sparked tweets from Hopkins herself including “Wardrobe have been asked to provide a bra for White Dee for tonight. Benefit types expect everything for free.” This sort of dismissive attitude is typical of people who have never had to worry about money and indeed, of Hopkins herself. One only has to read the hashtag of Benefits on Twitter to be inundated with comments like this, perhaps unfairly as it begs the question of how many of these people actually know what it is like to only live on a small amount of money each week. Some receivers desperately need this money, but Hopkins’ comments could be construed as her believing that all benefits claimants (otherwise known as “scroungers” by some) abuse the system and waste all their money on alcohol, drugs and cigarettes.

White Dee declares that she is unable to work due to her depression after she was sacked from her former job as part of the council. Her neighbours on the street include Romanian immigrants who make a living from recycling scrap metal and are regularly abused by the English and Irish who, unlike them, are unemployed. It is difficult as a viewer to tell whether the apparent racism of these people is the norm, as Channel 4 may have just come across this as they were filming on the day. Who knows if this is what they are like all the time? We have only been shown a brief snapshot into their lives and there is a possibility that the occupants of the street were playing up to the cameras, desperate for their five minutes of fame. Who can tell?

She is not the only person in the country to have gone through this; a source who preferred to stay anonymous said that her and her family had to apply to receive benefits after her husband lost his job. The government gave them about £70 a week and whilst she said she “was grateful” for the money they got, it realistically couldn’t help much to feed a family of five and pay all the necessary bills. She stated that benefits of this low amount aren’t “really suitable for parents whether they are single or not with teenagers or small children.” It would never be enough for anyone no matter where in the country you happen to live and results in families having to go without more often than not. To see quite negative representations of people on benefits on television could be an insult to other people who are nothing like this. This could be considered an example of the behaviour of a minority in this country being mistaken for how everyone in this situation acts and it is simply not the case.

Another group of people perhaps most likely to end up on benefits is recently graduated from university students. Emma, a first year photography student said that “there is a real possibility” that she could end up on some sort of benefits if she cannot find a job after she finishes her studies. “If I was really stuck, there would be no shame”, she says, or she would work like so many other students in a pub or a restaurant on minimum wage. However, Emma says that “the problem is when people abuse [benefits] and ruin it for the rest of us.” She knows of jobseekers that claim benefits but do not actually look for any work. It is arguably these people who prevent people who are disabled or have health issues from receiving the benefits that they need as the government continues to make severe cuts on benefits spending.

To many hardworking occupants of this country, the idea of people receiving benefits unfairly or them not using it wisely is atrocious, as benefits are funded from taxes. Having a television show featuring negative representations of these people can only result in an uproar from the occupants of James Turner Street themselves and people across the country being influenced into thinking that benefits receivers are like this. Channel 4 has a lot to answer for.

Labour promises to decrease tuition fees to £6,000, but do students care?

The general election will be held on the 7^th of May. This means every party leader is out on the campaign trail promising us hopes for the future, in turn for votes. This is nothing new and many manifesto outlines have been hitting the headlines. As usual the youth are being pushed to cross a box in a polling station. Never has the youth’s faith in politics been so low. Nick Clegg’s failure to abolish the tuition fees since joining the coalition in 2010, has left many young people in doubt over the promises which are being campaigned. However, Ed Miliband might hold the key to restoring the youth’s attention towards the elections. Many say the expensive university fees leaves the poor incapable of attending university.  It was interesting to hear the opinions of students from the University of East London. A university ranked 124 in the league table ranking and situated in Newham, one of the poorest boroughs in London.

Abid Ryaz is 20 years of age and is studying Biomedical science. He worries about how he will be left after his studies.

“With the amount of debt I’ll be left with, I won’t be able to lead a good life” he says.

However, he is interested in Labour’s new idea. When asked if he will vote for them based on their tuition fee promise, he says;

“Yes, definitely. Better than nine grand”

Despite the negative reactions, which was led by the increase of tuition fees in 2010, Nick Jodder believes the tripled fees are worth it. Studying clinical psychology, the 27 year old believes the fees should not decrease to £6,000.

“It will devalue our course and make it seem less important” he says.

However, Idris Haji is another student at the university, believes the fees turns away young people from attending university.

“It’s not worth it at all, especially if you are not guaranteed a job at the end” he says.

Unlike Abid, Idris does not care about Labour’s £6,000 fee promise and thinks the decreased amount being discussed is also far too much.

“If they promised under £3,500 maybe yes” he finishes.

Unlike the others, Jeffrey Larry has not got a concrete decision on Labour’s promise, nor the general elections in fact. Studying sports science, he believes the university’s ranking plays a big role in deciding whether the tuition fees should increase or decrease.

“I’m still 50/50” he says.

Priscilla Da Costa, 21 studying special education is believes the government’s university fees are an unrealistic standard, which many people within the university cannot meet. However, she is proud to say she’ll be voting Labour.

“Labour are the party for the working class and I am working class” she smiles.

Are there jobs for Journalism graduates?

BY ZOE WICKENS

via stmarys

 

It’s incredibly well known today that there are not many jobs for university graduates out there. This is quite a daunting fact, something that to be completely honest, absolutely terrifies me. I doubt there will be anything that could make me change my mind about wanting to be a journalist, but the knowledge that it can be exceptionally difficult to not just find a job but get far enough into an application to secure an interview can make many rethink their life choices.

When I decided I wanted to be a journalist at the age of fifteen, the media industry was very different to how it is now. I somewhat naively assumed I could get a good job in journalism within a few months of graduating. At the time, that was probably true but six years later, that is certainly not the case. I’ve lost count of the number of jobs I’ve applied for. I’ve widened my search for internships, almost all of which are unpaid, meaning I would have to have a part time job on the side in order to pay bills. London is definitely the place for journalism jobs, but who can afford to live in the capital on a part time pay cheque working an internship and still keeping up the search for the journalism job dreamt of at night? Not many have the money behind them to do this, I certainly don’t. Do you see the problem? It’s tough.

My three years at a London university studying to become a journalist and watching my money disappear on rent, travel and food – all of which are on the rise – has taught me an awful lot about life. I worked very hard at college in my native East Sussex in order to get to the position I’m in now, including putting myself through an A-Level in French, one of the hardest things I have ever done, because I thought it would make me stand out. It was so difficult that I grew to hate it. It’s very easy to fall into the belief that none of it matters because I am struggling just like the thousands of other soon to be journalist graduates to find a job, despite knowing that they have been well educated. Everyone who has ever been job hunting knows how dejecting this is.

The worst part of journalism job applications and actually, all types of job applications is the word “experience.” I can’t count the amount of times that I’ve read a job application description and thought: “I don’t have that exact experience, but I could learn.” So far, this has always been followed with a rejection response or even worse, no reply at all. Experience can mean a variety of things but the majority of the time, employers are trying to say that they want applicants who have had experience in the exact part of the industry the job is in. Whilst this would be very helpful, not every graduate will have that experience or have had the chance to for financial reasons or simply a lack of time. Lots of students work a part time job alongside studying, when they’re not working shifts or on essays, there isn’t much time in the day left. I can guarantee though that every single person who is not experienced would try their utmost to learn as much as they can and never stop asking questions in order to catch up with the rest of the team.

We can prove that we’re worthy of the job, I promise. We’ve just got to be given the chance.