England

The N.U.S. Student Journalists' Conference was held in April. A large cross-section of the student press in Britain was represented in London. The conference this year was based on the idea of giving the student journalists authoritative technical assistance in as many fields of newspaper production as possible. A number of eminent journalists had been invited to give talks. One of the many subjects discusssed at the Conference was the question of censorship in the student press. At the present time, four student newspapers in Britain are subject to censorship, these being: "Union News" (Leeds), "Guild Gazette" (Liverpool), "Nonesuch News" (Bristol), and "Gownsman" (Lampeter).

Anti-Latinists at Oxford won a very narrow victory at the beginning of May in their fight to abolish compulsory Latin. After discussions lasting two hours, the University Congregation to which representatives of all the colleges belong, voted 249 to 244 in favour of amending the University Statutes, which call for Latin as a compulsory entrance subject. Supporters of the change stressed that they did not wish to abolish Latin; it will become an optional subject rather than a requirement for the entrance examination, with German and Russian as further electives. The decision will become effective, however, only when it has achieved a two-thirds majority. The University Parliament at Cambridge has also voted to abolish Latin as an entrance requirement. Here, the majority was larger, 325 votes against 278.

On May 8 the Arts Building of Exeter University had been opened by Princess Margaret. On this occasion the Guild Council protested most strongly at the complete lack of discussion between the students and the authorities about the arrangements for Princess Margaret's visit. As stated by the president, Princess Margaret had expressed a wish to spend a whole day at the University and to meet the students informally. According to the arrangements made by the authorities her only contact with the students, apart from her meeting with Guild Council for tea, was seeing them, as a student called it, "treated like cattle and put up in enclosures" or lined up outside the buildings.