STUDENTS added their voices to a pioneering initiative to improve community cohesion.

About 20 Blackburn College students met yesterday to debate issues like religion, safety, and bullying as part of a Student Voice scheme - part of the college's commit-ment to contribute to the 100 Voices project started by Blac-kburn with Darwen Council.

The 100 Voices ideas forum - with a mix of races, ages and gender - has met three times, culminating with a conference in March attended by Blackburn MP Jack Straw and Trevor Philips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

The college's meeting was run as a pilot with a meeting to be attended by 100 students, planned for September.

Yesterday the students broke into small groups to discuss issues like alcohol, the smoking ban, and suicide bombers, then got together to debate the veil.

A-Level student Charlie Winstanley, 17, of Chorley, said that some thought women who wore the veil were oppressed, but he thought western women were also pressurised into dressing in certain ways.

He said: "Women who feel they have to wear a bikini are being pressurised just as bad."

Zayna Ibrahim, 17, of Pleckgate, Blackburn, said: "If someone went into a bank with a crash helmet they would be asked to take it off. In the Koran it says that you should be modest.

It does not say cover everything up."

Farha Iqbal, 18, of Accrington, answered: "If it's compulsory to do so for security reasons they can take it off.

"You show your face and then put it back on."

Harris Ali, 18, of Whalley Range, who attended the 100 Voices with Jack Straw, said: "It's a good idea having this at the college so that people can bring up issues."

Belqees Rehman, student support officer, said: "The Student Voice project is intended to capture what students are thinking to make a more positive environment."

Students said they would like to see the setting up of a college football team and a college radio station to encourage integration.

Apart from the 100 Voices forum, the project, supported by the Lancashire Telegraph, will incorporate five more discussion groups of 100 people from different neighbourhoods.

A steering group will be set up to put into action the ideas that come out of the various 100 forums.