new building

We would draw attention to considerations of general policy which make it inadvisable to put in hand the negotiations for the building of a Students' Union at the present time.

The Building Committee's specifications for the Students' Union are not bold enough. There is reason to expect an extremely rapid increase in the roll of the college. It will probably number over 2000 students in three or four years time.

The specifications are obviously limited by present circumstances, and most seriously by the objections which the government must have in giving its support to an ambitious project. The conversion of the Students' Association's credit into capital would strengthen the forces tending towards inflation, and would jeopardise the government's stabilisation measures. The probable attitude of the government is indicated by the cessation of public works, except for the construction of hydro-electric plants. It would be reluctant to subsidise a scheme which would put a lot of money into circulation and would draw heavily on labour and materials. Not only is the cost of building very high, but the proposed site entails very massive and expensive foundations. If the Students' Association waits until a time when it can expect more public support, it will more easily raise the funds to meet the cost of building, even if it is still as high, and it may be able to obtain a better site. The area between the biology block and the bowling green, for example, would be more satisfactory from the point of view of construction, and it is large enough for lawns and trees to surround the building.

Finally, while the government is as conscious as it is of the urgency of the housing problem, we cannot count on much support for the building of a Students' Union.

P.S.—Wherever the Students' Union is built, we should keep the common rooms in the main college building as well as those in the Union building.

interval organiser

On examining the list of Extrav. officers, I was surprised to see that the duties of Interval Organiser and Social Controller were coupled.

When Rex Collin and myself drew up the draft of the present scheme for conducting Extrav., we created a new officer—the Interval Organiser—a post quite apart from that of the Haka Party Leader, which was mainly a matter for Weir House. The function of the Interval Organiser was to fill in the gaps between scene-shifting. It was ordinarily intended that he be put. on an equal footing with the other Extrav. producers. He was expected to acquire a script, organize and rehearse a cast, and produce some kind of acceptable nonsense which would have continuity—in short to emulate the excellent production put on by Jim Winchester, Ray Hannan and others some years ago, which, to my knowledge, has never been equalled. In this case the cast had no other duties—their job was to produce a show which was as important in its way as the main show. A special dressing-room was allocated to the cast and costumes and make-up were available. Close co-operation was necessary between the Interval Organiser, the Haka Party Leader, the stage manager, and other members of the back stage staff to ensure that the timing was correct; the script was adjusted accordingly. The result was infinitely better than the ragged hakas and the ancient toilet paper gags usually imposed on a long-suffering audience. Many members of the audience were spontaneous in their praise of this new innovation.

I hope, sir, you will forgive me for being somewhat long-winded on this score, but I think it is necessary to point out that the Interval Organiser was not intended to lead hakas or dispense the usual "corny" stories.

Some of the old hands who participated in the organisation of the first interval entertainment are still about, and I think they should be contacted as soon as possible and a cast organized at the first Extrav. casting meeting.

In closing, I should like to stress that this letter is not intended as a criticism of any person or persons. It is simply an explanation of what our aims were when the position of Interval Controller was created.

film criticisms

If criticisms of films are to be made only in the hope that someone will start an argument, then "Salient" might well use the space for some better purpose. Your film critic, if he is able, should at least give students an idea as to whether they should see the film concerned. The criticisms in your first issue are to my mind just a waste of space.

The low rating given to "Summer Storm" is unworthy of your critic's intelligence and does not do justice to the film concerned. The story is by page break Anton Chekov whether your critic likes it or not, and the fact that the bearded individuals did not conform to his idea of the Russian should not damn the picture. I thought the story was handled well by Hollywood, and it is certainly better acted and worked to its conclusion than the average Hollywood production. Many students and a large number of the public consider, as I do, that this should be given at least a four star rating.

re freshers

May I be permitted to express the extreme concern I feel over any plans for a Student Union Building. The possibility of this year's freshers witnessing the laying of the foundation stone strikes terror in my heart. Having observed, for the past fifteen years, the ever-increasing hoards of freshers who storm our portals annually, I have been regretfully forced to the conclusion that they summarise the inellectual decadence of the youth of this age. It is not the adolescent neuroses of individuals that I object to, nor the wet-behind-the-ears smugness that typifies their conversation, but the sight of these nauseating intellectual pigmies in bulk is what revolts me. Studying en masse, one may watch their mental droppings thicken the already fetid atmosphere of our common rooms, their brilliant babblings crush the remnants of lucidity from our debates, their pompous prognostications drive insensate those few of our lecturers who still remain normal. Far from the provision of luxurious housing for these cretins, the most strenuous efforts must be made to prevent their gathering together in any one place at the same time.

Trusting that all building plans will be immediately abandoned,

I am, etc.,

Grieved Graduate.