leadership The National Union of action nationally, despite a Students Spring Con- policy against payment, colference takes place from lection and implementation.
Stephen Twigg, NUS Presi22-25 April. You might dent, proclaimed that he was think that students had going to pay the poll tax. nothing to fight for this NOLS are in crisis. Given. year, with no national their failure to submit elecdemonstration against tion nominations, Liberals student loans or the poll could now win more places tax. on the NUS National ExecuNUS did little to fight the tive. NOLS are campaigning Gulf war. Large numbers of for the elections to be restudents were active in anti- held. war groups, but the NUS Palestine will again be leadership, dominated by debated at the Conference. the National Organisation of 'Return', an anti-Zionist Labour Students (NOLS), publication which defends refused to participate in the the right of Palestinians to Committee to Stop War in return to their homeland, the Gulf. was banned by the NUS NOLS were however President without a vote. forced into activity by in- This censorship was endividual colleges. This has dorsed by Socialist happened time and again - Organiser's front, Left NUS has been forced to take Unity. action by student militancy The debate is an imporover loans and the poll tax. tant one, with a real posStudents played an impor- sibility of victory for motant role in defeating the poll tions that support tax, but there has been little democratic, secular Palestine such as those submitted by the General Union of Palestinian Students.
Legislation attacking lesbian and gay rights - Clause 25 and Paragraph 16 - is also to be discussed. Mo tions condemning these attacks will be agreed by large majorities, but a commitment to take action is necessary.
NUS reform will be another major discussion. The important issue here is the maintenance of NUS winter conference - twice yearly conferences are a democratic gain which has long been under attack by NOLS.
This will be an important conference for NUS. Delegates should support those candidates that consistently defend democracy and fight for action around both lesbian and gay rights and Palestinian Andrew Berry
Socialist