Trouble brewing

Under normal circumstances, asking students to "just say no" to beer would be a forlorn hope. But student leaders in Northern Ireland expect widespread support this week as they urge students to pour the province's "special brew" down the drain.

They are attacking sectarianism in tertiary education with a tongue-in-cheek promotion of "Bigots' Beer" (according to its label, 100 per cent bitter), which they say is a potent brew, drunk in local colleges for many years.

Brian Slevin, convenor of the National Union of Students/ Union of Students in Ireland, said that up to 60 per cent of students failed to mix across the religious and political divide.

Mr Slevin added: "We hope that through this imaginative campaign, we can challenge this culture of hate."