Robbie Dale looks at how students are campaigning against tuition fees.

THERE used to be a time when students were at the forefront of revolution and change.

A time when rebellion was as much a prerequisite as A-Levels for making it into the best academic institutions around the country.

These days it seems students are more interested in bemoaning the re-scheduling of a particularly rare episode of Postman Pat than striving for the perfect world their predecessors desired.

Thankfully, there is still a core of students which campaigns on our behalf. As you will no doubt be aware, the lovely people at Westminster have decided it's time students pay their own way to their degrees and this, in many people's minds, is a bad thing.

Students at York held a day of action on Wednesday to highlight their concerns and this included a balloon launch. Bit random you might think, but these balloons had attached to them the names and estimated debts of students based on the new proposals. Proof that debt really can travel.

Universities have also been hit by AUT strikes this week and it seems that, at the moment, you can't go anywhere in uni-land without something to moan about. Maybe it's a scary thought then that the leaders of tomorrow, the high flyers at universities such as York, aren't taking as much interest as they should.

Anyway, tomorrow night sees the obligatory event to round off a week of action, so hopefully more of the student body will get involved via the lure of alcohol. On a plus note it is Sixties/Seventies theme night, so maybe that will re-ignite ideas of what being a student used to be about.

This week has also seen the start of elections for the University of York Student's Union and Athletic Union. Campaigning is starting and the next generation of officers will soon be elected to tackle their chosen tasks. One can only hope that tasks will be tackled, because there are one or two things to be concerned about.

Updated: 14:46 Thursday, February 26, 2004