*A RAY OF HOPE for doomed colleges' - that's the appointment of Shirley Williams as ine new Minister of Education. Who says so? National Student the monthly paper of the NUS. The fact that Ms Williams is an enthusiastic supponer or me Government's culs sual® egy is apparently outweighed by the "interest' which she has in But the NUS's attitude towards Williams is all of a piece with its Week of Action being called against the education cuts from 8-13 November and its support for the dem. onstration by public service workers on 17 November. The message is to pressure the Labour into changing their policies on educallon The situation is indeed gloomy. The first introduction that students will have to college life is homelessness. Those lucky enough to get a place in a hall of residence will find fees increased by anything up to 15-25 per cent. Absence The absence of a student policy for automatic compensation for the effects of inflation has meant no perspective for a fight against price rises, which are even further eroding the level of the grant. Inflation will also hammer home the cuts outlined in the Healey White Paper that is without the demands of the International Monetary Fund.
An extra twist has been introduced by Dyed and Avon local authorities, who have decided that students should pay their own affillation fee cutting student living standards at a stroke and limiting their ability to fight against it.
The NUS leaders should draw the lessons of last year's wave of occupations against teacher unemployment. In the interests of cementing an alliance bureaucracy to pressure the Government, the NUS leadership refused to confront the leadership of the National Union of Teachers directly with the demand that they should implement their policy for a reduction of class sizes to 30 through direct edu- action in the schools.
Similarly, on the campaign for full trade union rights for unemployed teachers, the NUS pronounced itself content with the minimal right attendance NUT without vote This is 10,000 enthusiasm of the NUT membership for a fight against the impact of the cuts in the schools demonstrated by the half-day strike in Oxfordshire three weeks ago.
The Broad Left leadership of the NUS consider such an intransigent stand would be very dangerous to our continued good relations with the trade union movement", according to the latest issue of the Broad Left Journal. For trade union movement, read trade union bureaucracy.
The right wing in the NUS suffered a blow as a result of the student teacher occupations. that their ideas are support lost creatouty less, the Federation of Conservative - 300 Students have announced a campaign to increase their membership by five times before the end of the year.
The answer to the right wing given by the Broad Left is to tag behind the trade union bureaucracy. This policy, given that the most powerful sections of the bureaucracy support the social contract to the hilt, can only fail and lend further credence to the Tory cuts are inevitable, necessary and with the trade union Students should STrIKe action cuts.
De ine oasIs Tor of meetings despite the graphically the City. the Broad Left leadership Their claim now winning Neverthenative.
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moved by Middlesex Polytechnic students arguments that TUnG. that it is a waste of energy to fight.
There is a clear alternative, however. Liaison committees to mobilise for the 17 November action have already been set up in many areas.
Rally with the base of the labour move-