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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington N.Z. Vol. 11, No. 1. February 27, 1948

Youth — Australian Youth in Council

page 4

Youth

Australian Youth in Council

—Report on Youth

Progressive forces throughout the world have realised that union in strong national and international organisation is necessary to ensure that man's fundamental needs of food, shelter, security and freedom of expression are won for all. The youth of the world desires peace, decent conditions in which to study and to work, and a freedom to organise to secure these needs. The World Federation of Democratic Youth, representing 45 million young people, and the International Union of Students, representing million students, are the two main international organisations to which VUC is affiliated. Their work is outlined below. World Student Relief and the International Student's service are organisations which came into being during the war to cater for the material needs of student POWs and student refugees. Outside VUC, the main organisation in New Zealand affiliated to WFDY is the Young People's Club which Salient reviews on this page.

The following article is written by Salient by Ron Smith. Ron spent the long vacation in Australia as a delegate from VUC Socialist Club to the annual conference of the Australasian Student Labour Federation. He has spent some time studying student organisation in Australia and is well qualified to write about Student and Youth organisation.

"The post-war student movement is the biggest in history; student organisation is more intense than ever before; developments have occurred that bewilder the casual observer, baffle the conservative and rouse the lovers of progress to greater hope and greater effort."

From January 8th-15th this year, the Australasian Student Labour Federation was in Conference near Melbourne. This was closely followed by a 10-day Congress of the National Union of Australasian University Students. Also at the beginning of January the Student Christian Movement held a large National Conference. The above-quoted words of an Australian student sum up the main impressions I obtained from attending the two first-mentioned meetings.

It takes some zeal and determination for over 100 students to attend heavy meetings on student organisation, morning and afternoon for five days, when the temperature is just over the 100-degree mark and the beach and cool sea beckon nearby. What were the questions these students were discussing so earnestly? Broadly they wanted to improve their system of education and they wanted to know how students overseas were solving their problems.

Redrupp Reports

One of the most interesting and valuable discussions was held on Student Faculty organisation. Redrupp, the Australian delegate to the Council meeting of I.U.S. in Prague, gave a comprehensive report on these organisations in Europe. There, organisation on a Faculty or Department basis Is very strong. Questions they deal with cover the range of the subject, the books used, teaching methods, e.g., seminars and tutorials, library facilities, student-staff relationships, the representation of students on the Faculty Board or similar controlling body, and so forth. Criticism of a lecturer by these student bodies carries serious weight. He mentioned that a large party of medical students were visiting five European capitals studying social medicine, a tour organised by a Student Faculty Commission.

In answering the question: "How can (say) the Arts course be improved?" the difficulty is that no student has detailed knowledge of the other N.Z. and Australian Universities. This could be overcome in two ways., Firstly, by a thorough survey of each faculty in all Universities by means of a questionnaire, and secondly, by holding meetings of students of the same faculty from the different Universities. Attempts have been made before to carry out the former, but It was decided to institute a new survey in the light of the experience gamed from the previous attempts and from Red-rupp's European visit. After the Session the meeting split up and separate meetings were held by all the members present from each Faculty. These meetings were par-ticularly valuable and brought down excellent reports which we went through at a later session.

Health Schemes

Another important question was that of Student Health Schemes. Melbourne has picked up each year 2 per cent to 3 per cent, with early T. B. through their medical scheme. The question of voluntary or compulsory schemes was discussed and the very low percentage of students who attend a voluntary scheme, thus increasing its cost, was pointed out. The Preventitlve Medicine Research Branch of the Royal College of Physicians, after a study of student health, recommended a compulsory scheme and investigations into student housing and feeding conditions. After discussion the Congress recommended that the policy of NUAUS should be for a compulsory scheme.

The greatest interest and discussion arose in the International Union of Students. Here we had Redrupp, a member of the Executive of I.U.S. and a delegates at the Council Meeting held in Prague, to give a detailed report of the work done By I.U.S. and the improvements effected in its' organisation. The question of students and politics was still to the fore. The idea of the domination of an "Eastern Bloc" was disposed of by Redrupp and the weight and influence of Britain and America was shown. At Prague an Australian resolution was carried providing that the I.U.S. should only enter politics to the extent necessary to deal with student questions. After cross-questioning Redrupp and' further discussion, the students at the Melbourne Congress felt that the I.U.S. was the strongest and best international organisation of students ever effected. The benefits of such an organisation are manifest and the Congress carried, with but one or two dissentients, a motion recommending that the Australian National Union should maintain its affiliation to I.U.S.

Mason Reports

Miss Mason who Was an Australian delegate to the World Student Christian Movement Congress in 1947 in Oslo, gave a stirring appeal for support for World Student Relief. She gave a heart-rending picture of the conditions of students in Europe—no housing, no food, no text-books. University buildings destroyed and T.B. rates at record, heights. W.S.R., on which I.U.S. is now represented, is doing a great deal to help this situation, and adopts the policy of giving according to need and regardless of politics, religion or race. Congress pledged itself to raise £5,000 from Australia during 1948. N.Z. has a good record for contributions to W.S.R. and all students should give up some time and some money for this cause in 1948.

Dozens of other important topics were dealt with but space prevents more than a mere listing of them. The question of organising all tertiary students—University, Teachers' Colleges, Technical Colleges and Pharmacy Colleges—into one Federation was discussed. A report was received on the World Federation of Democratic Youth from Harley Foster, one of the 40 Australians who attended the Prague Youth Festival.