Well, my Students Union seems to prefer tackling speed limits. They want to lower the speed limit on one part of a dual carriageway from 70 to 50mph because two people have been killed crossing the road there in the last ten months, and some beforehand as well. They also want a foot bridge to be built over the road. Yet there is an underpass, lit and with CCTV, just a hundred yards or so away - and a zebra crossing just a bit further up the road. Pretty much all of the students killed there were either drunk, high on drugs, or both. As far as I am concerned, they have only themselves to blame.

The SU has set up a petition, most recently signed by both the local MPs - Lib Dem Bob Russell (Colchester) and Conservative Bernard Jenkin (North Essex) [both pictured above] - to call for the changes they wish made. The MPs are just doing what MPs do best - self-publicity.

It is ridiculous. The road is perfectly safe. I myself have crossed it hundreds of times, and so long as you are sober there is no problem, since you can see hundreds of metres in both directions as it is a nice straight road.

There is also a far far larger problem which they and previous SU administrations have ignored - drugs on campus. Bouncers at the entrance to the nightclubs are not allowed to search people, and even those caught taking or even dealing drugs inside a venue are not properly dealt with, and soon allowed back into SU premises. They haven't even dismissed a bartender who was caught with drugs.

They ignore the drugs and violence (as well as under-aged drinking by kids from the local estates) on campus in favour of making ridiculous publicity stunts on road safety and speed limits. If they put even half the effort they have into this stupid campaign over lowering one speed limit into tackling drugs, the problem would be far far lower than it is. This is just part of the reason why I hate student politics.