Students fight back

Scan page 2

LAST Wednesday, February 23, saw the largest student protests for some years.

NUS's call for nationwide 24 hour occupations of colleges received a militant response from over 100 colleges. This action was part of the NUS Grants Cuts Campaign, and is to be followed up by a national demonstration on March The response was particularly strong in London, not usually the most milicans area. Over 20 London colleges occupied, and 100 froch all over Lancar scaper Sesake Exacte -NITES! Lassicas Princess Anne was forced to cancel a visit to Queen Mary College by one of the strongest occupations, where the principle of NUS's 'Education Alliance" was put into practice at grass roots level. About 150 students occupied the administration area overnight, and in the morning 100 pickets were put on the college ates.

Effective picketing swelled the numbers of students on the picket lines and in the occupation. The main success, however, was that commercial deliveries were turned away, some lectures sere cancelled when a =ber of lecturers joined De picker end the library senike in support of the students.

These students learned the most important lesson of their college lives, how to mount a picket!

Successful picketing at Sussex turned away bus drivers who remembered the £300 donation the Students' Union made to their strike fund. But at Thames Poly 200 right-wing students smashed up the occupation.

Although the day was quite successful, with many student unions discussing further occupations, most unions will be charged the 'cost' of the occupation. At Sussex a day's occupation now costs £1500, and there is no chance of not paying it as the college management can deduct source.

and particularly effective when the demands are on the college authorities. But they have limitations: a long occupation could bankrupt a student union, since SUs are not now financially autonomous.

For Student Unions to win the grants campaign and win back autonomy, the student movement needs to link up with the trade unions, and, most urgently, move into the political sphere.

Thames Poly's motion to NUS conference calls for NUS to campaign for a Labour victory. NUS and Chapman student unions need to be working. with Labour to kick out the Tories - who promise loans instead of grants, course closures, privatisation, and continued shackling of student unions to college management.

But there are problems with Labour, too. Neil Kinnock will dismantle a loans system only if it hasn't gone too far, and we can't be sure that Labour's promise of grants for Further Education. students will be in the manifesto.

Students need to organise alongside Labour Party members fighting for Labour policies in the general election, whatever Foot, Healey and Kinnock do.

Scan page 3

BITTER, unjust, infuriating, and a serious setback as it is, the Labour defeat in Bermondsey may yet do some good ta the labour movement.

For it was an avoidable defeat. It was even a self inflicted defeat. We can learn vital lessons from it.

It was Labour Party leader Michael Foot himself who struck the keynote in the House of Commons 15 months ago for the vile, outrageous and despicable treatment that Peter Tatchell suffered at the hands of the press, the Liberals/SDP and Bob Mellish's spoiling candidate, John O'Grady.

True, when he acted then as prosecutor, jur 122 1983 Page 3 ay:

----- pull-quotes -----

Occupations are fine, a good rallying technique,