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Daisy Morel, Student: Five things I would change about Jersey

Daisy Morel, Student: Five things I would change about Jersey

Friday 17 June 2022

Daisy Morel, Student: Five things I would change about Jersey

Friday 17 June 2022


Grainville student Daisy Morel might be only 15, but she has a lot to say about island life.

When she isn’t at school, she loves gymnastics and swimming at Gorey, while she spends her weekends and holidays waitressing and working at a local garden centre.

But her main passions are reading and writing, which helped land her Trident Work Experience at Bailiwick Express.

After a fortnight following all different aspects of Jersey news and life, this thoughtful and witty young student took the time to reflect on five improvements she would make to the island, were she in charge.

"I love Jersey for all of its' lovely beaches, popular tourist attractions and nice community. I could easily list many things I love about living here, however there are many things that could change in order to make living here more enjoyable for all of it's residents - whether they all agree with these ideas or not," Daisy said.

From retail through to taking young people and their mental health seriously, here’s what she had to say…

1. Accept pups on beaches year-round

I believe, as long as a dog owner has firm control over their pet, it should be legal to let them off the lead on beaches before 18:00 during summer months.

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Pictured: Walking dogs in high temperatures can be just as dangerous as leaving them in a hot car.

Summer can be one of the most dangerous times to walk dogs due to the heat conditions- sometimes they really just need a swim in the sea to cool themselves off.

Dogs typically need at least one to two walks a day to keep them well-rounded and happy, however walking your dog round lanes and parks on really hot days can be a worry for any owner. 

With the exception of the busiest beaches for tourists (e.g St. Brelades Bay, Gorey Longbeach and La Braye), I would love to one day see well-controlled dogs with responsible owners welcome on beaches outside of the October to April time window. 

 

2. Take teen mental health seriously

To me, this is the most important factor that really needs to change. 

understand this is potentially an issue anywhere, but I have noticed it a lot living in Jersey. Not so much in schools, but in the general public many adults still tend to fail to take notice of mental health in teens. You know, because we don’t have rent to pay, taxes to pay and our life seems pretty easy?

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Pictured: If you are struggling and feel like you have no one to talk to; you can contact Mind Jersey on 07829 933 929.

People on Facebook shame us for our bad behaviour, our attitudes and our bad habits, but there is a bigger picture behind every face. Maybe if you see a teenager causing trouble, advise them to stop instead of posting pictures of them on Facebook groups - you could get a far better reaction and response. My point in a nutshell is, take closer care when dealing with troubled adolescents - you have literally no clue what is going on in their lives.


3. Bring over the good shops!

I will never know why Jersey can’t just have a Primark or an H&M.

Sure, it is very exciting getting to go when you go on holidays getting to go into the big shop, but why can’t we just have one for ourselves?

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Pictured: There are 191 open Primark stores in the U.K, but not even one for us!

The old location for USC would have been perfect for one of these shops - however, its fate is already sealed as a Sports Direct, which we already have.

I would also love to see a Subway or Nando’s or even a 24-hour Tesco - but this seems something I can only wish for.


4. More valuable school lessons

I always feel like some of the things I learn in school are just completely useless and I will never use them again.

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Pictured: We obviously still need to engage in our Maths, English and Science lessons etc. while we are at school- however we don't want to leave school knowing nothing about adulthood and realistic lifestyles.

I think we need to be taught some more useful things about how taxes work, how salaries are calculated and the difference between renting and owning a house.

However, I spend most of my time at school stressing over how to do Pythagoras Theorem!

They should also educate us more on LGBTQ+ issues, racism and mental and physical health issues that we may experience growing up.

 

5. Stop forcibly pushing views on other people

About a year ago today, me and my friends were pressured to take our masks off in People's Park during an anti-mask and anti-covid restriction parade that was taking place at the time.

We were approached by two people near us and made to listen to their list of negative things about wearing covid masks, while looking at their t-shirts, mostly covered in anti-vaccine or mask propaganda.

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Pictured: Many anti-covid restriction and anti-vaccine marches were happening constantly in Jersey especially around February-June.

At the time, covid-19 was still a big issue in Jersey, and having a high-risk father and seeing my grandparents multiple times a week, I obviously didn’t appreciate this.

I understand and respect everyone has their own view on things - however, for something as serious/controversial as pandemic restrictions, I believe people should keep respectful of others' views.

Bothering the public - especially children and teenagers - probably isn’t the best way to get your point across.

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