Scott Yearsley's comments

Wouldn't that mean he was speaking Arabic one fifth of the time?

I'm fine with the Royal thing; it'd be odd to have the historically-recognized Carlos II followed by Charles III (unless he plumps for Jorge VII, of course).

I do wish my name could be translated...

Mais, c'est une révolte?

Seriously though, I was at the UCL sit-in until I got exhausted and my essay crept up on me. We get the sense that universities are treated as business with the minor annoyance of having to teach students every now and again. It took several days for the management to open a dialogue with the protesters - what does that say about the regard in which the students are held?

I think a large part of the problem is that we feel excluded from the decision-making process about our universities' future. Those of us who *did* vote for a party whose manifesto declared opposition to fees were later betrayed, so can you blame us for feeling like this?

I'm not sure whether this will peter out (sadly, I have no vigour left in me for the current round of protests) or whether it will escalate in the coming months and years as the fee rises near their introduction. But the concerns are there, and they won't go away, so it'd be nice to be listened to for once.

*sighs* Did we intentionally lose the American War for nothing?

This is something I love about the Economist, actually. Amid all the serious analysis, the godawful puns. Life shouldn't be taken so seriously.

Earlier on I saw some people holding up signs attacking the "Tory Cuts". Well... the word was similar to "cuts".

I like I tweet - I twaught - I have twaught, as in:

"I twaught I twaw a puddy twat"

I went to university as part of the first year of students to pay top-up fees. At the time I thought the cost was immense, but I got a good education, and it's right that I paid for it.

I worry, however, that if universites are given carte blanche to discriminate by price, we'll end up with a nation of engineers but no arts/humanities graduates (who will not likely benefit from government incentives). Some may consider this an ideal for the economy, but I worry that the Arts, already dominated by the middle classes, will be denied to those who are put off by the steep fees. This will have consequences down the line, as the cultural theories put forward by these academics filter into the public consciousness, leaving alternative positions unexpressed.

We should remember that as Britain led the way in the Industrial Revolution, we also emancipated slaves and showered the world with novels. The value of Science and the Arts cannot be effectively monetized, but if fees must be charged, they should be roughly equal.

I prefer Miss Melons. But to be honest, we all got it, didn't we?