'We were being made out to be things that we weren't - thugs, hoods,' - a new OpenUniversity course has been launched that centres on the experiences of young Shankill men:
, is based on the views, opinions and lives of eight young men from the Shankill, who were pupils at Belfast Boys' Model school at the time.
Dr William Mitchell, from the initiative, said: "We thought it would be good idea to go up and share our experiences with them - the negativity of having a criminal record - and that's where the programme started." "I should add that they all weren't involved - not all eight of them were involved, by their own admission some of them were," he said."By and large, it was engaging in a relationship with them, building up some sort of rapport with them, getting to know them."Dr Mitchell said the three things that emerged from the boys was their "understanding or their take on community, the choices they had and their aspirational levels".
"We were looked down upon, they didn't really hear our side of the story, didn't hear the thoughts of young Protestants from the Shankill."
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