Madam, - Your newspaper has consistently misrepresented the Union of Students in Ireland's position on the issue of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, and misconceptions have gone unanswered in your letters pages.
First of all, the USI policy against Asbos was passed by a majority of colleges present and voting at our annual congress. This is a representative group of delegates from students' unions across Ireland, North, where Asbos are disastrously flawed and not sufficiently equality compliant and South, where some would have us believe students are crying out for them to be introduced.
Secondly, we have been criticised for our handling of multiple groups in support of the campaign.
As we have been at pains to point out, this is not our campaign, but a campaign supported by the National Youth Council of Ireland, various political parties and groups, the Union of Secondary Students and charities such as Barnardo's. Innuendo that we're "cosying up to Sinn Féin" are the more laughable for the fact that USI is currently led by a Tory.
Asbos add nothing to current legislation, are a cheap and extremely nasty way of scapegoating the poorer and younger, and will condemn the easily led teen with nothing better to do to jail, the biggest recruitment ground for drug abuse and serious crime.
This is a plan to buy cheap political kudos; the payback will undoubtedly be a sharp medium-term rise in criminal activity. - Yours, etc,
BEN ARCHIBALD, President, Union of Students in Ireland, Dublin 2.