9
10
VALENTINES
EQUALITY! Arguing the case to change the age of consent
Have you got a message from your loved one?
CLASS/FIEDS
20
RESULTS The latest Commercial Union UAU scores
SPORT
INSIDE: • NEWS • FEATURES • ENTERTAINMENT • SPORT • LETIERS • CLASSIFIEDS • LOCAL NEWS • CAMPUS TO CAMPUS •
• I
• I •
• I I
Three months after cut to grants is announced, S organise demo: it's when we're on holiday!
I
I
1I
•!
I
THE NUS has called a student demonstration In London ... three months late. lt Is designed to protest against Ken Clarke's budget attack on students, but that was back In November. Now, inFebruary,theNUSsay students should be marching on London. But the body that represents over one million students in the U K has decided to stage the demo in the week commencing March 21 when most of the country's one million students will have gone home for the Easter break. NUS' immediate response to the budget cuts was muted. They claimed this was because they "needed the right image" whilst negotiating the Education Bill with top Tories. But, in a remarkable policy Utum, the NUS have now decided to take to the streets to protest about the 30 percent cut in student grants, and hope to march on the
[NN'Report by;] 1/ H t IS
amp on
Houses of Parliament. Said NUS Press Officer Louise Clarke, "We' re aiming for the biggest ever student demo. 'The Day of Action on January 20 served to test the strength of feeling in local communities and it received staggering press coverage. She added that NUS had wanted to hold the demo before the Easter vacation but refused to admit that they had blundered. "It was impossible to hold it any earlier to guarantee the safety of students, and this issue has to be paramount to any student union", she said. But Sam Buckley, a spokesman
for the Socialist Workers Students Society (SWSS) at UEA, said, "NUS should have done something a lot earlier. "When the original announcements were made they did nothing. 'There should have been a bigger and earlier campaign." He added, "Action has been left to individual groups who don't have the same clout. "A low turnout will give rise to allegations that students are apathetic, but that in itself will provide a reason or excuse for even less action." His comments were echoed by UEA' s Student Union Communications Officer Jacqui Mackay, who said, "It's a great shame that NUS have called a demonstration in the holidays when it will be very difficult for UEA students to at-
tend. "It's detrimental to the grant cuts campaign." And a source at the traditionally right-on UniversityofSussexconfirmed that the demo will fall in the week after they break for Easter. She added, "It's a lack of foresight by NUS not to have called a demonstration before now." • Another demonstration has been arranged for February 23 in London, to "keep the issue of the budget grant cuts in the public eye." Organised by political groups including the Socialist Workers Party amd Left Unity, it is estimated that 15-20,000 people will take part. But the NUS will actively be discouraging students to attend, claiming that, "We are concerned about the safety of those who might attend."
1
Story by Jo Stubbington Photo by Peter Hart A host of celebrities, MP's and high-profile homosexuals turned out to support the gay age of consent rally in London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday February 5. The rally formed part of the £40,000 campaign to reduce the age of consent for homosexual men from 21 to 16 years. The motion is to be debated in Parliament next week. A crowd of nearly 5,000 gathered to hear an impressive line-up of speakers which included MP Edwina Currie, ex East-Enders star Michael Cashman, Paul Gambicini and comediene Dawn French. See page 11 for more details.