Rabelais under threat from right wing students

By Nikki Clark

MELBOURNE: La Trobe University students face the loss of their student newspaper because of a vendetta by the Liberal Student club and its allies in the Labour Right and the Greek club on campus.

This rightwing coalition won the last Student Representative Council (SRC) elections through dubious means such as barbeques and free beer. The Liberals entered the election with only one goal in mind - to smash the SRC from the inside.

After only one month in office, they have succeeded in sacking two students who were hired as computer technicians. They have replaced them with the IC company, which gives the same service at a far greater charge and the students have been denied experience in their chosen careers.

Decision to scrap Rabelais

These right wing uglies next moved to scrap the student newspaper Rabelais. Although they are trying to obliterate Rabelais from the constitution, it appears as if we have managed to win the first round in this battle. Now they are talking about cutting the budget by at least half, thus allowing only four editions of Rabelais to appear in 1998. This is a fight which will continue as no money must be cut from the Rabelais budget. The reasons behind this move are obvious, and include the following:

• The students elected left wing editors, and the SRC is afraid of what Rabelais might say about their performance and decisions.
• They also fear scrutiny of their creation of new multicultural and publicity officers positions. These were not budgeted for by the 1997 SRC. The position of publicity officer appears to be a case of ‘jobs for the boys’ ( the president in the past has fulfilled this duty ). Thus Rabelais is being scrapped to provide more funds to pay for these positions.
• They fear the use of Rabelais by the left wing to express views counter to their own. One example was Nige Peacock’s presidential report exposing the Greek club re the Macedonian issue.

Invitation to Herald Sun

The SRC is now talking about replacing the paper with a monthly eight page broadsheet which would be published free by the Herald Sun. In return the SRC would have to sell 1000 subscriptions of this rag to students and staff on campus!

The Herald Sun has already declared that it would censor the new publication, stating that they will not print anything ‘too controversial’ such as ‘The Art Of Shoplifting’ article and, one presumes, the drug guide (both of which are essential to students under a capitalist system).

Student newspapers are there to act as an uncensored voice for students. We need to be able to express opinions freely and not have our opinions manufactured for us by the mainstream capitalist media. Rabelais is published monthly and contains enough student material to fill 50 pages. It provides an invaluable training ground for students. Where will student poetry, articles, reviews, stories and art be published if Rabelais goes?

The SRC’s most reprehensible idea yet is to sack the elected editors of Rabelais and put their cronies in office to edit their proposed eight pages of toilet paper.

• To help the campaign to save Rabelais, contact the SRC president by phone 9479 2976 or by fax on 9479 3550, and tell her your feelings about the closure of Rabelais.
• If you have any ideas for the campaign then contact Nikki on 9479 2976.