On March 20 2015 a group of 400 NCAD students filed into the office of the College Director Declan McGonagle. Each student placed a signed letter of demands on his desk and stood together in his office to read these demands to him. The list of demands called for the reversal of irresponsible decisions made by the management, including:
• The increase of first year numbers by 75% without extra provision of resources
• The underhanded introduction of a studio fee and an increase in postgraduate fees
• The introduction of medical fees with no warning to students
• The use of derelict buildings for MFA studios and the overcrowding of undergraduate studios
• The deliberate withholding of information from students and staff
The Director was asked if he would acknowledge the damage that his administration has done to the education, welfare, and financial situation of the students in NCAD. He said he would not. The students requested an itemised progress report on their demands by Tuesday the 24 of March.
The student body will congregate again Tuesday the 24 of March at 1pm. If the Director’s report is not adequate the students will escalate their protest.