..........The Noes?

The formation of a National Union of Students has been debated strongly for at least 10 years, and yet, at May Council, in a matter of three minutes it was off the ground.

The move was so swift and clinical that few delegations seemed to realise the significance of what they had just done. Victoria was the only campus to vote against it, with Canterbury and Otago abstaining after enthusiastically endorsing the proposal.

Canterbury president, Don Leonardo, summed up the general feeling when he suggested that it was essential for all delegates to return to their campuses and encourage their associations to get in and support an NUS. Victoria, through representatives Gyles Beckford and Anthony Ward, said that although their policy was against the formation of an NUS, they still retained the opinion that this must be done from a grass-root level.

So where has all the opposition gone. In 1972 Victoria smashed a STANZ/NZUSA attempt to amalgam amalgamate amid criticisms of "empire building by national bureaucrats" and "hegemonic schemes being handed down from the top". In 1974 when the famous Crichton/Benson-Pope scheme for a STANZ/NZUSA merger was suggested, Vic once again moved in that with the sledge hammer, alleging NZUSA detachment from real student issues, and more backroom bargaining between the boys.

In 1976 the mood has changed considerably, even from those who opposed an NUS so forcefully in 1974. Ex-student heavie Mike Law said the latest proposals meet many of the disagreements that he had felt in both 1972 and 1974, because of the openness in their formulation and the chance that all students would get for a free discussion on them.

Studass president Gyles Beckford said that he saw the need for an NUS and that the latest proposal was an advance on the old merger formulas. He pointed out that Victoria was not actually opposed to an NUS in principle, but only to specific formation proposals. The only danger he saw with any NUS was that it could mean that the national union was another level away from the average student.

The opposition in 1976 will come very strongly from constituents of the Student Teachers' Association of New Zealand, many of whom see themselves as "employees" rather than "students" and will fight to protect this status.

Unfortunately for STANZ they are in a very weak position to withstand any drift towards an NUS. There are many teachers' colleges who are not members of the organisation, and the benefits that NUS offers may be more attractive than those offered by an organisation that is not famous for its stability and effectiveness.

If one student teachers' association joins NUS any power STANZ had to negotiate for its constituents will have disappeared, and it will be then a matter of how many others join up, or how many stay out.

The polytechnics are in the same situation, although nationally they are in even a weaker position and their interests are closer to those of the universities than are those of the student teachers.

The next couple of months will be vital if a national students union is evern to get off the ground. If constituent associations of universities, teachers' colleges and polytechs can be convinced that a new National Union of Students is politically desirable, than it will come about. But, whichever way it goes, the decision will be in the hands of Students.

There will be a Special General Meeting on this campus on Wednesday June 24 to decide Victoria's position on the formation of an NUS, given the present proposals. Be There.