TY TALK: Tullamore College, Co Offaly:Laura Scally (16), Conor Hegarty (16), Michelle Molloy (16), Maria Levio (16), David McElligott (16), and Eoin Magner (16)
ON CYBER BULLYING
Eoin Magner: "The ability to 'block' people from viewing your page or posting comments on Facebook or Bebo hasn't stopped cyber-bullying. Far from it. Some people who are bullied online are afraid to block the bully, because they're afraid the bullying will move offline and into the school. I have friends who have been bullied, and they've only had the courage to block the bully because their friends have supported them."
ON STREET ART
David McElliogott:"Graffiti gets a lot of bad press, but I see it as a way of freely expressing yourself without needing official approval. Every graffiti artist has to start off somewhere; Banksy was terrible at first and then discovered stencilling. Corporations and ads have taken over our public space; graffiti offers a balance and a space for public expression – a space that belongs to everyone."
ON COMPUTER ADDICTION
EM: "Young people are becoming addicted to social networking sites like Facebook, Bebo and Twitter. Others are hooked on Xbox and PS3, which I know from experience can be addictive. Some people come from school and play computer games until 2am, barely stopping for dinner. Everyone is spending so much time online or at a computer screen that they forget to interact with real people, and their social skills diminish."
ON GOOGLE IN CHINA
Conor Hegarty: "We're lucky to have free speech but one fifth of the world's population – people living in China – don't. I'm glad Google have closed their search engines in China; they should never have been so complicit in state censorship."
ON ST PATRICK’S DAY
Maria Levio: "I've only been in Ireland for seven months, so this was my first St Patrick's Day. I found it was less to do with drink and more to do with community spirit."
ON TEACHERS’ HOURS
Laura Scally: "If teacher's hours are cut, it would have a terrible knock-on effect on school trips and extracurricular activities."
ON GEMINI IRELAND
MM: "Since 2006, our school has been twinned with Balowali, a secondary school in Uganda. We've been raising money for them and learning about their culture and way of life. There are six other schools involved in the midlands area, and together we run the charity Gemini Ireland. We've raised lots of money for developing countries, and it's the Transition Year students baby!"
Got something to say? Want to take part in TY Talk? E-mail transitiontimes@irishtimes.com
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