ONE DAY last month a man went into the University of London Union building in Malet Street, put an 'out of order" notice on the door of a tourth floor toilet directing female students to another room along the corridor, lay in wait for his victim, and then raped her.
This was the last straw for women students at University a number of rapes and violent attacks over the last eighteen months. Fed up with the inaction of the college authorities, the students decided to occupy the administration block on Tuesday . of last week.
Their demands are for well-paid male and female. improved lighting in the dark corridors. are asking for student control over the hiring and firing of security self-defence classes for female students.
Sir James Lighthill, the college provost, at rapists, first ridiculed the demands. According to him, women are not strong enought to deal with so they should *wander But now the authorities have been forced to take the issue more seriously, they have decided by issuing ID cards and bringing in the police to personal alarms at £2.60 apiece--which don't work, as a student demonstrated to the press.
The media have had a field day on the law and order angle. First prize must go to the Daily Telegraph, which mused on the 'poetic justice of students, campaigners for society, now suffering the effects of 'sexual liberation' on the 'brutal and dim-witted'.
The college authorities and the media want people to believe that rape is on the increase and that the solution lies in turning colleges into round disagree.
satisfy their sexual desires, potential rapist.
But the only challenging the view belong to men.
no.
Assemble UCL, Malet St, an all-night vigil. walled fortresses to protect delicate female marauding outsiders.
Male students are just as likelyto berapıstsas are outsiders. In a society that encourages men to view women as commodities there to every man is a Self-defence classes and better lighting systems can make colleges safer for women.
• long-term •solution that women's - bodies The Telegraph gets it quite wrong. Sexual freedom, yes. Sexual violence, A demonstration has been called jointly by NUS and UCT. to carry forward the campaign , London WC1 or Thursday 18 October at 6.30pm. Followed by Socialist-Challenge 18 October 197g. Page 3