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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 7, No. 3. May 3, 1944

Social Committee Reports — Life in the College

page 3

Social Committee Reports

Life in the College

The last issue of Salient carried more than one criticism of college life, and the Social Committee met immediately. The committee rejoiced to hear that Extravaganza was on, but we felt that more must be done.

First we examined the suggestions in Salient. Stan Campbell's idea to form a club or association to "pep up" student life we rejected because we failed to see how we would foster interest in a club to foster interest in other clubs. We thought that we had the machinery already in our many existing clubs and our association as a whole. If a club is moribund it can't be propped from outside, but must be strengthened from within.

Action

Miss Hallen says she would welcome an opportunity to discuss and criticise, together with students from all the various faculties, matters concerning college life. We feel the same, and so we believe do many of our fellow students. Accordingly we invite students to a "Coffee Discussion" evening on Friday, June 9th, which is the first free Friday evening of the second term, and to fortnightly meetings thereafter.

Our present proposal is that there should first be an informal talk lasting perhaps thirty minutes, and then an even more informal discussion around the coffee cups. We hope that some lecturers will take this opportunity to meet their students out of classes, in an atmosphere combining the cultural with the social.

If you have any ideas, let us have them. It is easy to say that something should be done, a club should be formed, but it is much harder to say how it should operate. We are going ahead with what we think should be done—are you going to co-operate?

We Never Meet?

Have you ever stopped to consider that up till now we have met as a student body, in a social atmosphere, only once a year at the Undergraduates' Supper? Certainly we meet to transact formal business at general meetings of the Association, and we have dances and debates, but at none of these gatherings is there a fine interchange of personalities.

These functions largely fill the needs they set out to meet, but we have other needs. A debate presents us with the views of a few people on a few subjects and may or may not represent their true beliefs. A dance is only for those who can or want to dance, and in any case the opportunities for conversation about ideas are more limited than the outlets for the discussion of personalities. A tea dance is a good place to gather after an afternoon's sport, but there is a limit to the number of people you can dance with, and who wants to talk while they're dancing, anyway?

Wanted—A hot contralto, for close harmony.

G. S. Bogle.

Glee Club

Dear Sir,—May I, through "Salient," address the Glee Club and (chiefly) any students who are musical, on the subject of continuing the efforts the Glee Club made last year. To be brief, we need more members—not many, and not members who have to be coaxed along to rehearsals, but students who enjoy singing good music.

To be less brief—we need them because although we have the essential core of a group that could really do some good work, we haven't quite got the number it is necessary to have to allow for absences, illnesses, etc. Two good sopranos are quite enough for what we want to do, and we have them already, but a couple more would mean that we would always have at least two. Another tenor would be a useful acquisition. A couple more altos (we have a couple) would enable us to allow for comings and goings and to rely on a workable average representation. Another bass or two would not go amiss.

We have no ambition to run the club at a higher level of enthusiasm than actually exists in the college; we do not appeal for members. We simply wish to make the existence of the club more widely known in the belief that out of, how many is it?—eleven hundred?—there should be at least a dozen who have the time and the inclination to come along to C6 once a week and sing some decent music. If there are more than a dozen, so much the better. But if anyone should be inclined to sniff at the idea of a Glee Club of only a dozen, I can assure them they are mistaken, Given keenness and at least 60 per cent. of true clear voices, a small group can achieve ideal musical results.

Programme

What we propose to do would presumably interest any prospective new members. Well, we have begun with a short four-part piece by Dvorak which has trashy words for which we will probably substitute Latin ones. We intend to sing that remarkable piece of Tschaikovsky usually known as "Legend"—in the Oxford Book of Carols. And then some of the things we did last year, say, "The Farmer's Daughters," for the good fun of it, and a couple of the Bach chorales, for the music in them.

The thing I look forward to hearing most myself, and I think some of the present members do too, is a short work that Mr. Douglas Lilburn, a first- rate contemporary composer who happens to be a New Zealander, has said he could write for us if we are really keen enough. I hope we will be.

But, as I say, we need a few more singers. Would any students who have the time and the will, sign a sheet which will be put on the main notice board, stating first and second preference as regards times. And then, would they watch for a notice and make a point of coming to the next meeting, whenever the club decides to hold it?—Yours, etc., Antony Alpers.

Student, paid Tuesday, broke Friday, would like to meet student, paid Friday, broke Tuesday.