“Hard Working Student, Bishop Grot: The whole point in these types of debate are for people to express their opinions, If they hurt your feelings or are different to yours, unlucky. No one says we have to be nice ; )”

“All good , valid points. Lincoln has benfitted in many ways from the university, unfortunately it has suffered too. Realistically, i do not believe anybody living here has any issue with the university as such. It is the behaviour and attitudes of many students which is at the root of resentment, most students dwellings are within working class/first time buyers areas for obvious financial reasons. Generally, working people and people with young families need a little respect and understanding of their situation in return for a little tolerance of the boisterous activities which go hand in hand with a younger poulation explosion.”

“I am an ex student of the University of Lincoln, I studied in the media faculty and I do not work at McDonalds. In fact I have held many jobs, all utilising my degree, and all of which I would not have been able to even secure an interview without studying at Higher Education level.

Missouri Marten, you are correct, education post 16 is not a right, but is this a good thing? For me, you typify the ¿uneducated expert¿, someone who rants on because they feel that they know the situation, but really their arguments are devoid of fact or common sense

Some of the comments left on this board are downright disgraceful! The sweeping statements about students are ridiculous. Yes, some students like to party and socialise, but so do many young professionals who work in city centres. People stating that all students are lazy and lying in bed until the afternoon is exactly like saying that all black people are into guns, Polish migrants are all pick pockets and all Indians own corner shops. You cannot generalise on the basis on common deluded stereotyping, in some ways it is exactly the same as racism.

I loved Lincoln as a city, but in the end had to move away to progress as an individual, mainly because there are not the opportunities in the area. Another secondary factor was that as a graduate, I still felt the awful stigma of animosity from the local community.

We have also once again, moved off the original subject of student debt. Every time the Echo prints anything related to students or the university, it is not long before the comments board is hijacked and turned into a ¿town vs gown¿ assault on students. I have heard the old arguments hundreds of times about how students turn up to Lincoln, learn, use the resources of the city and then leave, well with attitudes towards the people who study at the university, can anyone blame graduates for taking their expertise and knowledge to somewhere that appreciates them.

Back on topic very briefly, the student loan rate doubled last year, meaning that currently, students entering their first graduate job will be gaining more interest on their debt than they are paying back through the percentage taken from their wages.

Secondly (now prick your ears up for this one Missouri), the students who were campaigning in the High Street were marching against the removal of the £3,000 cap on top up fees. If this is removed, it does not matter how many ¿2nd rate universities¿ or ¿2nd rate/ Mickey Mouse courses¿ are closed down to fund ¿worthwhile¿ degrees, because it will be the university setting the fee. So Oxford, Cambridge and other red brick universities can charge whatever they want, so even intelligent people that would have made great lawyers and doctors will be forced to apply elsewhere if they cannot afford the fee. It also means that the quality of an education will automatically begin to order itself by cost (well reputation-wise,rather than attainment). Education may not be a right post 16, but on the other side of the spectrum, it shouldn¿t be a privilege for those who can afford it.

There is no sense of arrogance, just a willingness to share some mutual respect. I can see that people who learned a skill post school now have a fantastic ability that will secure them work. My dad is one such person, and astonishes me with his knowledge. But we also ask in return is that skills learned at university be acknowledged as valid when applied in a work environment.

Media Production may have the traditionalists crying into their Daily Mail every morning, but I know camera men, sound technicians, researchers and writers who all cut their teeth at the University of Lincoln. I went for an interview for a Masters a couple of weeks ago, and was told by one of the industry leading media universities that they had seen some great undergraduates come from Lincoln.

So people of Lincoln, show a little pride in your city as a generator of some of the m”

“I love CHEESE too.”

“Do you?”

“I LOVE CHEES”

“Do you have a degree? :/”

“Or economics.”

“Im a student myself, but I do have to admit al we do is moan about everything, when we're lucky enough to get loans for our courses, and pay it back in a lifetime. We do bring business to the city, most of us working for them but we still carry on complaining. This city and its people werent built around us. Economy crisis is happening all over the world so deal with it.”

“I do hope you are not studying English language.”