Caught between the pincers of the Essex University students, whose Decupation of university administration buildings last term was an important fuctor in the resurgence of student struggles against the Tory Guvernment, have once again gone on the offensive, This time they have adopted the tactic of a rent strike, and over 150 students have already piedsed their support for this action. Support is growing daily and plans are currently being made for a stepping up of their campaign, which will include further occupations, boycott bf the university catering facilities, and muss obstruction of senate meecings.
The scudents have realtirnied last term's demands of a 15% reduction in university catering prices with no staff redundancics, a garantee of expanded catering and accommodation facilities to meet the increase in student members, and a 559 reduc tion in the rents in cortin universityowned acconsodation.
To these they have added further demands which include a celling on all university rents (to be Exed ar the level of E250 less the cost of 3 meals a day at university prices for the anderic year), the appointment of fall-time Housing Officer to assist students in privace accommodation, to fight claims through the rent tribunals, and university subsidis ation of private accommodation so that it is kept below the lesel of the ceiling on university rents, Meanwhile, 28 students and staff are being summoned before the unl versity a disciplinary committee al the cod of January on charges urising our of last term's occupation The current campaign is making the demand for no victimistion of staff -and students a central one, and already over 100 students have signed a statement affirning their collec tive responsibility for last term's action.
The importance of the Essex ac tions are that they combine a strug gle over key local issues with action on the demands of the natienal NUS grants campaign. Essex students are asking for solidarity actions and mes ages of support from student and trade union bodies across the coun try. At the same time they tecognise that their victory depends upon other colleges taking up the fight alone similar lines. Accordingly, they hope that the entire student movement will begin to discuss the lessons of Essex and expect to pruduce material to stimulate such discussions in the near future.
Ray Alexander As the Tory Government has piled on the pressure, the trade union bunsucrats, left and right, have cut and run. The miners and the Shrowsbury dafendants are left to face the The need for a revolutionary paper was never greater. There-is a serious job to be done not only in getting revolutionary idees across, but also to blaze out the message that the That was why we launched our 2,000 Crisis Fund Drive last December, we need the money to make Red Hekly a pepie which gets close to doing the job. But despite good start, donations tailed off after the middle of the month, and we have to report, ir our last issue for January, that we have only got E1,MIO.20, We need the money, our me ders need the paper, the class strugglo noeds a better paper. We are extending the appea for two weeks - dont let us down, send a donation NOW to:- Red Weekly, 97 Caledoniar