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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 29, No. 7. 1966.

Security men betray trust

Security men betray trust

Before The Determined Attack of Auckland students, Security Intelligence has crumbled. An active security agent has been rendered harmless—at least within the university precincts.

Thus ends this agent's generally inept attempts to investigate student politics, student travel, and student participation in left-wing movements. Thus ends this agent's attempts to recruit students to work for Security Intelligence.

But thus ends this agent's university education also, and this raises an important query which must not be overlooked.

A security agent has as much right as any other person to education. The freedom of a university must apply as much to him as to any other.

The time is even now uncomfortably close when public vendettas were carried out against university persons with "unacceptable" political views.

The right of a security agent to an education deserves protection now just as much as it has been necessary to protect the rights of others.

But the confidence and trust of students has been betrayed by the Auckland episode. It will require a great amount of caution before security agents are again permitted to study in New Zealand universities.

This paper has been aware at times of members of Security Intelligence who have studied at this university. It has been dillicult to evaluate each case, but it is true that such persons have appeared to be present purely in search of an education.

This in contrast to the usually inept performances of security men assigned to this campus.

Students are warned that Security Intelligence in New Zealand exercises a horrible half-influence over those it takes an interest in. A signature on the wrong petition. a subscription to the wrong newspaper, even a failure to stand for "God Save the Queen"—these may be the trivia which later help bar a person from a government job or a United States vacation.

We do not support the extreme actions of Auckland students. But the blame must fall both ways—and Mr. Godfrey's ineptness has earned Security a distrust they will not soon live down.

—H.B.R.