Student notes

There has mbeen-a great deal of publicity about "student misbehaviour" recently. This, cf course, is an attempt to divert attention away from the real greivances of the students and from the political protests that they are making, One-little known injustice is the position of Arts students, On February 28th more than 100 London art college students marched from the Royal College of Art, kensington, to the Department of Education and Science, Curzon St., in a protest against the Government's policies on grants. The students handed in a letter to Patrick Gordon Walker, Minister of Education, protesting against the decision by the Government to cut. back by half increases, which are supposed to take into account the increase in the cost of living, etc, The recommended "increase" due to be announced in May by a three-man "indpendent" tribunal aims only to bring the grants back to the real value of 1965. The art students feel that they have special ceuse for complaint over and above this cuts issue, Out of an estimated 40,000 such students in the country, only about 7,000 are legally entitled to a grant! The rest ~ those who can't get on the Government recognised Diploma in Art and Design course — are at the mercy of tneir local authority. Because the Government is asking all local authorities to slash their spending there is greater and rreater resistance to giving arts students grants,