I was appalled to read in today's paper that the Escape nightclub is banning Hip Hop music. Mr. DeCouto is quite myopic in this theory that Hip Hop Music glorifies violence and was the cause of a fight at his club recently. So I take it that he will not play any love songs, because it might increase the teenage pregnancy on the Island.

It is a pity that instead of Mr. DeCouto helping with solutions to ending the violence, he tries to protect his bank balance by blaming a genre of music, further alienating the young men and further adding to frustration.

Mr. DeCouto, you will soon see that your stand was very hypocritical and you have cut off your nose to spite your face. Hip Hop fans are loyal and have huge spending power. Hip Hop needs no vindication, in time all the violence in Bermuda will die down, I just hope you and your club are around to see it.

ANGUS SKINNER Paget A narrow minded policy September 11, 2000 Dear Sir, I was floored by the recent story I read in the Royal Gazette online of the recent decision of the Escape Night Club in Hamilton changing its music policy in a bid to prevent further gang violence.

I do not frequent the Escape nightclub (and never will) but the Royal Gazette (in supplying us with such a one-sided narrow story) and Mr. DeCouto should be ashamed to imply that the playing of Hip Hop music leads to violence like that experienced at his club.

Can any reasonable person be expected that all we have to do is stop playing Hip Hop and the violence will decline? With what evidence does Mr. DeCouto come to that conclusion.

His comments reveal veiled ignorance on your and his part concerning the genre and culture of hip hop music.

Hip-hop has many different expressions, but its true definition is found through its diverse music forms. These forms have included deejaying (cuttin' & scratchin') emceeing/rappin', break dancing and graffiti art. These art forms as we know them today originated in the South Bronx section of New York City around the mid 1970s. Hip Hop thrived within the sub-culture of Black and Puerto Rican communities in New York and have now received widespread exposure. From a sociological perspective, Hip Hop has been one of the main forms of expression and some have even maintained that these are contributing factors that help curtail gang violence due to the fact that many young people found it preferable to channel their anger and aggressions into these art forms.

There is also Gospel Hip Hop and Socially Conscious Hip Hop.

However, some hip hop music may be offensive to some people. This is personal preference. Yet, I am less concerned with Mr. DeCouto's and even my own opinions about the genre, as I am with his club's narrow, borderline racist decision. Prefer it or not, Hip Hop, perhaps because of our close proximity and similarity with Urban America, has become popular in Bermuda. It is widely known that the genre of music is very popular amongst Bermudian Black young people when compared to other genres (especially those endorsed by your club).

To ban the music will effectively place a ban on the young people who listen to it. Such a ban will have a majority impact on Black young people and will have little impact on the social issues that we face in Bermuda. Has Hip Hop led to the increase in gang-related violence? The issue of gang violence did not just appear and involves complex social variables, Bermuda has long ignored (e.g. Town vs Country, drugs, alienation, etc).

Despite this, the majority of Bermudian young people are not involved in gang violence (consider this point carefully). Is this cultural ban your club's contribution to the social ills that face this country? If anything, the decision will further polarise social interaction among the races in Bermuda.

LOU MATTHEWS Normal, Illinois Fees based on residency September 1, 2000 Dear Sir, I am writing concerning funding for Bermudian students engaged in research degrees in British universities.

Firstly, I have noticed over the past few years that there seems to be some confusion over the benefits that full British citizenship will confer to Bermudian students studying in Britain. Although I believe the extension of British citizenship will offer considerable benefits to Bermudians of all ages (not having to buy visas to travel through many European countries for instance), inexpensive tuition fees would not (as far as I am aware) be one of those benefits. Tuition fees are based on residency, not nationality, and unless one has resided in Britain for a period of three years, and that none of that time has been spent in full-time study, then overseas student fees, normally around 7,000, are due. This compared with home student fees of about 2,000. It should be noted that students from other EU countries pay home student fees.

Secondly, this same residency requirement affects Bermudian students' ability to find funding for research degrees. Bermudian businesses and the Government scholarships and awards scheme provide much appreciated support for students, and of course there is always the possibility of securing student loans.

However, even the largest scholarship only just covers the overseas student fees in Britain. Home students, on the other hand, are eligible for funding, which covers both fees and maintenance, from special bodies designed to provide funding for specific areas of research. So not only must Bermudians, even if they are full British citizens, pay more for their degrees, their sources of income are very restricted, compared with home students.

Of course the grants awarded by such funding bodies are the Arts and Humanities Resource Board in Britain are not easy to obtain, and simply becoming eligible to apply for this funding will not guarantee every Bermudian scholar has a chance to pursue their desired course. However, it seems to me that Bermudian students, particularly if and when full British citizenship is conferred to us all, should at least be on the same level as EU students -- that is, eligible for home student fees and eligible to apply for funding covering these fees (but no maintenance -- this is the case with EU students) from UK research funding bodies. I hope, therefore, that you will be able to discuss this matter with the relevant authorities in the UK, and that positive change in this area can be affected.

I have forwarded this letter to the Editor of the Royal Gazette for publication, as I feel the public in general should be aware of the situation regarding university fees in the UK.

CATHERINE DRAYCOTT Oxford, England Policy based on greed September 12, 2000 Dear Sir, The new "policy'' requiring a work permit to be procured by each family using the services of a child minder is ridiculous and should be reconsidered. What purpose does it serve? Does it protect Bermudian childminders who are unable to find work? Of course not. If there were ample Bermudians offering these services the search to find child care would be a less frantic one. Does it help working women, many of whom are supporters of this Government? Of course not. The heart-rending decision to return to work is already accompanied by the very stressful and difficult task of finding a warm, loving and competent child minder.

Now this government wants to make this process even more stressful when it should instead be focusing on policies to improve our daycare options, for example by encouraging companies to offer corporate daycare. Does it alleviate the administrative nightmare that MP Delaey Robinson has already bemoaned accompanies getting almost anything done? Of course not. It requires the working mother to go through the dreaded and mysterious work permit application process, possibly to place an advertisement in the newspaper (why should this be required when the renewal of the childminder's current permit would not require advertisement?) and to pay a $532 fee. So what purpose does it serve? The answer is clearly money -- why should the Government get $532 when they can milk at least four times $532 out of the same situation.

I want to say "I just don't get it'' but sadly I do get it -- it is about greed. This Government is not a "people's'' government at all.

S.R.

Smith's Parish