Suddenly the End of Term
Yesterday I finished the last of my marking duties, and put away the exam scripts and other assessments. I had to rush to get them all done in time for this weekend because I will not be here for most of next week. That’s been quite difficult because of all the other things going on and has led to quite a few late nights!
The marks will of course need to be validated and uploaded to a database in advance of the meetings of the Examination Boards which take place the week after next in the presence of the External Examiner. It will be some time, therefore, before everything is finalised and the students get their marks. (In case you didn’t realise, that was a hint to any students reading this not to pester us for their marks…)
The last examinations took place this week and all of a sudden the campus is deserted. Most of the students at Maynooth University don’t actually live here so many of them depart as soon as their last examination is over. The effect is dramatic. There’s been a particularly noticeable change in the vicinity of the Library, which was crammed full of students during the examination period but yesterday morning was deserted. Our friendly feline celebrity will have a lot less company for the next few months but I’m sure he’ll still be well looked after..
Not everyone has disappeared for the summer, of course. The postgraduate will still be around, and we have quite a few students in Theoretical Physics staying for (paid) internships: I have two working with me and I’m looking forward to starting them off on their projects.
This is actually a Bank Holiday Weekend, so everyone will be off on Monday and the campus is closed, which makes for a nice end-of-term break for some of us. Not all staff had exams early enough to finish in time like I did, however, and no doubt some will have to spend the weekend marking scripts. The June Bank Holiday (Lá Saoire i mí Mheitheamh) in Ireland is actually the equivalent of last week’s late May Bank Holiday in the UK, in that both have their origin in the old festival of Whitsuntide (or Pentecost) which falls on the 7th Sunday after Easter. Because the date of Easter moves around in the calendar so does Whit Sunday, but it is usually in late May or early June. Here in Ireland the Bank Holiday is always on the first Monday in June whereas on the other side of the Irish Sea it is on the last Monday in May.
Finally I noticed last night that the season of concerts from the National Concert Hall in Dublin is now over. The new season will start in September. I’ve been too busy this term to get to many of these but I’ll try to plan things a bit better for the new season.
In the Dark 
June 1, 2019 at 3:11 pm
Students from the University where I work have left too.
But, they have left some signatures. In the library the
water cooler is broken, the system which checks ID is
no longer working, the toilets are broken and staff are
still checking how many books are missing. The number of
(foreign) students have gone up. Many who can’t get admitted
to a descent Institute/University come here and buy a degree.
Some of these degrees like 1 year MSc are not even
recognised elsewhere. However, I feel really sorry for the
library staff who has to cope with this ever increasing
pressure. This is just part of the problem. Local people
pay for the Universities appetite for more and more students.
The busses are over crowded. The rents are higher as more
and more students look for accommodation. At the
end of the day it is good for the economy but economy
of course mean just local landlords, nearby shops and
university bosses. If universities want to increase number
of students they should improve the infra structure
and pay more taxes to the local council who too can
number of busses improve the roads so local residents
can live in peace.
June 1, 2019 at 3:22 pm
Your email address is from University College London.
Are you saying that’s not a `de(s)cent Institute/University’?
June 1, 2019 at 3:30 pm
Students who come from abroad, some of them don’t get admission to a descent University in their country of origin.
But, get a degree from many reputed Universities in the UK.
June 1, 2019 at 3:35 pm
I think perhaps you mean `decent’.
June 1, 2019 at 5:33 pm
How can a university improve the infrastructure? Sure this rest in the political realm.
But soon your future will be glorious: with Brexit those pesky foreigners will no longer break your cherished water coolers, and your buses will be full of true blood English.
Hang on and good luck!
June 1, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Sorry, you misunderstood my post. Most of these students
are from outside Europe e.g. from Asia (China and India).
I am not sure if their numbers would actually decrease/increase after Brexit. I have nothing against them. Just that facilities
in various libraries, where I spend a lot of time (thanks to the
SCONUL arrangement) are simply inadequate. One
such library last year got flooded after rain that resulted in
short circuit which took several months to correct. The automatic
system to open and close the windows often doesn’t work which
mean the entire building can sometime be freezing during winter.
The toilets / lift / photocopier and other facilities are often
out of order. The dustbins inside the building are overflowing..
Again, I am not against anyone from any country.
June 1, 2019 at 3:38 pm
Sorry my spell checker uses Inglish. There must be a dictionary
in the market available from Inglish to English?
June 1, 2019 at 3:40 pm
Descent is a word. It’s just the wrong word.
June 1, 2019 at 3:51 pm
Need to buy a dictionary and start mugging.