I went to Trinity as a mature student very gung -ho and enthusiastic about getting a training in Psychology. I was very disappointed to discover it is a conservative reactionary discipline concerned with 'prediction and control of behaviour' and making everyone into tame workers and tame consumers. For example Occupational psychology helps the lot of workers not idealistically for their wellbeing but in oder to maximize productivity and profit. As for therapy its about making people adapt to life when maybe they'd be better occupied getting political or into advocacy rather that adapt to unjust circumstances. As a mature student I didn't feel I should disguise my revolutionary socialism - after all I only have one name and I felt it was important to state my true opinions. however I often advised young students to tone down their essays in order not to be marked down. One essay in Forensic psychology was ' is terrorism ever justified'now my opinion is that terrorism is the warfare of the poor (Sartre)and warfare is the terrorism of the rich. But a friend was marked down for that opinion (she recieved 42% for an essay which had been given 68% in a tutorial. The Forensic teacher was a reactionary and did not accept that someone like Nelson Mandela was entitled to be involved in 'terrorism' in his peoples circumstances. as Chomsky says one person's terrorism is another person's freedom fighting, but the rich nations have the power of defintion through owning the mass media. I myself chose another essay ( profiling of serial killers) and the next year when another idealistic kid was defending 'terrorism' in some circumstances (like Mandela or Fidel Castro) I warned him tone it down if he wanted good marks. Write as if you're writing for the sunday Independent I told him. He took my advice and got a first for his essay. I wouldn't tone myself down, after all I was in my late 30's and didn't have the excuse that I was a kid with undeveloped politics. My most sympathetic tutor advised me to hide my politics "until you have more power'. These problems do not exist in Women's studies which is revolutionary in ethos. Feminists not only want to liberate women from inequality but also to save the environment and help third world women in whatever way those women want to acheive justice for themselves and their communities. I stated in my application that i'm a Marxist socialist and they had no problem with that. I don't have to wait til I have more power which I accept I may never have. I'm a late starter in an academic career, but wish me luck.
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