This Student Life: Tomorrow, thousands of students will march in Dublin against the return of college fees. A new student revolution? Hardly. Today's students prefer Calvin Klein to Che Guevara... and they like a smooth caffè latte.

It is Friday night in UCD's Belfield library and there are dozens of students cramming away. There are hefty tomes spread all over the table and there is a deadly quiet as people focus and concentrate. Most of these people are aged between 18 and 22. The best years of their lives? You would never think it.

Students, these days, are earnest folk who, for the most part, take their studies very seriously. "There are fewer eccentrics and gadflies about the place," laments one veteran academic in UCD. The place, he says, has become, well, a little dull.

There certainly seems to be a great deal less craic in student life these days. UCD's Freshers' Ball lost over €70,000 last year due to lack of student support. The infamous Ents or entertainment sections at DCU and Trinity are suffering from a severe dose of student apathy. "Students live their own lives these days. They clock in and they clock out of college. There is no longer a student culture per se, says one student union figure.

For all that, the demon drink continues to play a central part in student life. According to some reports, Belfield bar sells more beer than any other licenced premises in the State. Student culture still seems awash with drink. The big drink companies sponsor and support many student events. On any weekday night, some brewing company is sponsoring reduced-price pints in one of our third-level colleges.

Meanwhile, interest in student societies is waning. The kind of madcat, "we are only here for the beer" society is much less visible. If there are societies, they are for earnest types who might to do something about the environment, says one Trinity figure. "Nobody seems angry... nobody wants to change the world any more".

This is scarcely surprising. Most of the 100,000-plus students in the State are children of the boom. They are the first generation from homes where the big car, the Marbella apartment and the second home in Wexford are de rigeur.

There are poor students - thousands of them struggling to make ends meet - but the overwhelming ethos in places like UCD and Trinity is middle-class and prosperous. "There are more DART accents here than on AA Roadwatch," says one UCD academic acidly.

You can see the social divide at work in the UCD canteen. Apparently, Dublin-4 types occupy one section and more humble northsiders and culchies steer well clear. "It is like two separate societies, two different tribes who never meet," says one student union figure.

DCU is very different in ethos from UCD and Trinity. Here, more rural types and Northsiders dominate. The most dynamic society here is generally thought to be Sinn Fein, which continues to attract hordes of students. The party, let it be said, is also making huge inroads in UCD and at other colleges around the State.

"Sinn Fein has an extraordinary number of highly articulate and presentable student officers. These guys are incredibly dedicated. They will work night and day and they put the rest of us to shame. But they are also working against the tide of general apathy," says one student leader.

So what exactly is it that angers and excites out student population?

From what can be gauged from talking to students and academics, the big hate figure is now George Bush and his nasty designs on Iraq. Michael Moore's book Stupid White Men is a big hit on the campus these days. Students apparently love the sassy way it satires George Dubya and his generals.

Another big hit on the student campus's this year is Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation about the McDonald's Corporation and its impact on food production.

ONE UCD academic says that there is little real radicalism going on here. "This is trendy, chic stuff. Most of these students are desperate to get the J1 (working visa for the US) and they wear the Nike runners and the Reebok sweatshirts. Anti-American? Are you joking?"

But one student leader disagrees. "There is more realism about student protest these days. Students know they cannot change the world, so there may be less anger. But there are still plenty of issues that students feel strongly about. The threat of war in Iraq is one. But there is a huge environmental lobby in colleges. And students, these days, worry about the reach of the big multi-nationals and their influence on our society. It is a different type of activism... so don't tell me students don't care."

Students are uncertain what type of response they will receive from the general public when they march in Dublin tomorrow. Opinion polls show that a huge majority of people oppose the return of fees, but will they hoot their horns in solidarity with the students à la the recent farmers' protest.

Student leaders are uncertain of the reception they will receive. Says one student leader "The word students is also pre-fixed with the words "drunken" or "f**ing". The public appears to regard us as middle-class brats out for a good laugh. There seems to be very little sympathy for us out there".