Tyrone Reid, Staff ReporterTHE EARLY morning breeze was brutal. The pushing and the shoving to get to the front of what was supposed to be a queue was inhumane, as hundreds of students, several of whom camped out Thursday night into Friday morning at the offices of the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB), fought tirelessly just to get their names written down on 'the list' to afford them the opportunity of submitting their loan applications.
It was do or die as yesterday was the final day to submit applications.
"This is primitive and animalistic. Ah survival of the fittest ah gwaan dung deh so," saidJermaine Scott, a third-year student at the University of Technology. He had arrived at the SLB's Kensington Crescent office at 10:00 p.m. Thursday.
Mr. Scott was visibly peeved with the proceedings, which he staunchly
believes should not have happened. "The chaos could have been avoided, we pass this stage. We reach far enough with technological advancements that we could go about this via the Internet."
Although they did not battle through the smog-thick crowd, even the parents were also disgruntled. "It is pure chaos down there. I mean, no formation not down there and it is unreasonable to know that you have to go through this to get a loan that you have to pay back," saidGlenroy Dwyer, who along with his wife dropped off their son at 2:30 a.m. before heading back to Spanish Town.
Heather Sinclair, who journeyed all the way from Orcabessa in St. Mary, was also livid. Ms. Sinclair argued that she arrived at the SLB at 5:25 a.m. on Thursday, and never got her name on the list until 3:30 a.m. yesterday. However, her grouse was rooted in the disadvantage faced by applicants from rural areas. "I am very disappointed with the treatment," she bewailed.
LOAN APPLICATIONS
While many sought to blame the Bureau for the madness, it must be noted that the SLB began accepting loan applications on January 15. According to Natalie Gollab, the Bureau's public relations officer, "The students did not respond as we would have liked," resulting in the last minute rush.
The SLB had said that it would only be processing 200 applications each day but Miss Gollab said on Thursday that with the overwhelming number of applicants especially this week, the Bureau was forced to process more than the prescribed number.
When The Gleaner arrived at the SLB about 3 a.m. yesterday, the premises was littered with people, some clutching their pillows while others made themselves comfortable on the tough, cold concrete. Sweaters were the order of the morning, but a few dared the cold. At the scene of the 'crime' no mercy was being shown in the dense huddle. Gender was treated with disregard as the tight squeeze extracted screams from the gentler sex and expletives from the men. The exercise of collecting the names was slated to begin at 3:00 a.m., and then the applicants should return or stay until 7:00 a.m. to get a number, then wait until that number is called so that they could submit their application to the loan officer.
However, many left the venue feeling dejected, dismayed and defeated, as they never got their names on that all-important list. The collecting of the names was being done at the entrance to the car park that is beneath the building that houses the SLB. Fortunately for the sole individual who was collecting the names, he was separated from the 'loan-thirsty' applicants by a steel gate.
UPHILL TASK
There was one way in and seemingly no way out, as after getting their names on the list, the students faced another uphill task of getting to safety. Many from both sexes improvised and pulled off dare devil like stunts by scaling the steel gate and gliding over the heads of their peers whilst others braved the journey through the thick crowd, which left them gasping for air.
After 6:00 p.m., more than a hundred students, who did not get a number, barred the door of the office at the SLB, which is on the fifth floor of the high-rise building. Nobody could get in or out. The irate students held the applicants who got their names on the list hostage for about 15 minutes before they braved the blockade and forced their way through the defiant crowd.
This year some $500 million has been set aside to be disbursed in loans and another $85 million in grants. For 2003, the SLB approved 5,728 applications for student loans valuing more than $558 million dollars a significant increase over 2002, when some 2,479 applicants received loans.
Names changed upon request.
Staff Reporter Damion Mitchell contributed to this story.
