Students divided over 'sexy' newsletter

ORGANISERS of a Chinese University student newsletter have looked for other ways to voice their opinions following uproar over a particularly graphic edition last year.

''We will be organising an alternative magazine and various other activities including an open forum and street theatre to offer more channels for free discussion,'' said Yuen Fun, organiser of La Sing, which stirred controversy when it ran graphic sexual illustrations in an earlier edition. La Sing organisers have denied the move was a direct result of the uproar.

Student reaction to the illustrations and the new proposals has been sharply divided. Traditionalists regarded the ''safe sex'' cartoons as immoral and claimed the pictures promoted indecent ideas. They felt stricter controls were necessary over campus publications.

Currently more than 10 student newsletters are published by individual groups with no overseeing body exerting editorial control. Most of these are photocopied and distributed free. More than 1,000 copies of the offending edition of La Sing were distributed.

Tam Chun-yin, president of of the Chinese University Students' Union, felt such features and cartoons attracted the readers' attention and provided a justifiable forum for discussion. ''I think the coverage of sexual matters in La Sing promotes open-mindedness,'' he said.

Miss Yuen added: ''We act as a facilitator. We raise issues that concern students, such as discussions about the Chinese University Open Day, sexual matters and women in Third World countries.