blame? (Below Liz Eastham, LSE student. describes how the College Women's Group mobilised for the mass CAC demonstration last year and is continuing the activities this year.)
On Monday Oct 8th, the LSE Women's Group met to decide how to give the fullest support to the TUC's call for a demonstration against Corrie on Oct 28th. As part of the LSE's Campaign Against Corrie, a sub-group was set up to consider the different actions to be taken leading up to the demo.
In the next few weeks, a stall was set up and people were asked to sign the CAC petition against Corrie. All public rooms in the school were flyposted and leafletted. There was a huge response to this aspect of the campaign, hundreds of people signing the petition and a great many useful and interesting discussions being As part of the build up, two meetings were held, one featuring Glenys Cousins of Women's Voice and the other Dr Wendy Savage of NAC who explained to a packed meeting precisely how the Corrie Bill would affect women. Her wide professional experience and understanding of women seeking abortions allowed her to answer the wide-ranging questions raised by the audience. Many of the people attending came away far more aware of both the need for an abortion service and the implications of the Corrie restrictions.
During this period, it was clear that SPUC was also trying to win support. A room had been booked at the college for Oct 27th. While there was a debate in the campaign as to whether or not the meeting should be allowed to go ahead, it was finally decided there were no grounds for cancelling it but that it should be picketted.
However, it was later discovered that SPUC had booked the room as a private meeting, attendance being limited only to those who had bought tickets. At this stage the campaign drew up a letter of objection to the meeting and it was agreed by the University authorities that, since the union had given its backing to the Campaign Against Corrie and since SPUC was infringing the LSE's own guidelines on letting rooms to outside bodies, the meeting should be cancelled. MASS TURN-OUT In the last two weeks before the demonstration, there was growing activity in the college. The information stall was kept busy and the petition was supported by teaching staff, porters and administrative workers as well as a huge number of home and overseas students.
NALGO and the NUS have DEAD