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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 11, No. 1. March 17th. 1948

Purge . .

page 7

Purge . . .

At this early stage of the year, while the gorse is still growing on the hills, and freshers are still being fresh, and before the usual struggle for power between right and left has feared its ugly head, I wish to suggest the following:—
1.

Clean up the trophy case which contains a note written in 1941. This is not from Joe Stalin or Randolph Churchill, so presumably is not a trophy. Now we have "passed on" the wooden spoon this camouflage to hide our former shame should no longer be necessary.

2.

Clean up the library. The matter to which I particularly refer is the Science Room where there is a pile of books on a table, apparently left there since the Napier earthquake. They are both dirty and disgraceful. If they have any antiquarian value they should be presented to the Turnbull Library.

3.

Do something drastic about people writing on notices on the notice-boards. This has proved very amusing but not very helpful.

4.

Do something to brighten up the place. Replace the pictures in the men's common room. These consist at present of four, one of which is by Holbein and in Monochrome, and another of which is a Van Gogh in similar depressing colour. The other two prints, both by Gogh, would be quite attractive if their mounting was replaced by something white. At present they look as though they were dragged through the rubbish dump or the Town Hall before mounting, I realize that they were presented by the Carnegie, or the Rockefeller, or the Walter Nash Foundation for impoverished universities, but I don't think they would really mind if said pictures were hung in the cafeteria or some other similarly depressing place.

5.

Something be done about the lighting in general, and in particular in the cloakroom, that den of Homo sapienssimus sed blindissimus. A good step forward has been made by the installation of fluorescent lighting in the Biology Dept.

6.

The number of towels in the men's washroom be doubled, or those there should be replaced twice daily, whichever is more convenient.

In view of these suggestions I propose a campaign to "Clean Up Victoria" physically, if not mentally and morally.

7.

In the confident belief that none of my suggestions will ever be acted upon, I sign myself.

"Mother of Twenty and A Baby Girl."

P.S.: (6) In view of Article 7 of this letter, I propose that The Gymnasium be Burned Down Also.

(I am willing to amend this last statement to "Blow up the Gym" if some bright scion of the Chemistry or Physics Department will undertake the job.

M.O.T.A.A.B.G.

P.P.S.: In spite of the tone of this article, most of the suggestions are serious, and I think, warrant notice as being small ways in which the general atmosphere could be brightened up and made more worthy of a college such as Victoria. They would also help do away with this "glorified night school" feeling which seems to be so prevalent.

The Author.