Moan Moan Moan!

Whether it is just that I am growing old and fussy in my old age I don't know, but should it decide to rain (as it often does) whilst I'm in the Union building and I forget to take a raincoat with me and I wish to remain dry but also go to the library after I've had my 20c cup of coffee in the cafe, there is no way I can get there without exposing myself to the elements at one place or another and getting wet!

How about a covered way ay least around the perimeter of the Quad from Easterfield to the covered canopy of the library? I realize this costs money, but I am led to believe that the library is a permanent landmark on campus, so the money wouldn't be exactly 'thrown down the drain". When I do remember my raincoat I'm sure most people will agree it's a real hassle to get kitted up for the weather for such a short distance should you still have that wish to remain dry. So what are the chances of getting one?

Secondly, on a point totally unrelated to the above, but what I consider still to be equally deserving in attention is thanks to all those who worked on Radio Active and get it on the air. A thankless task, they did provide useful information to the "new kids" on campus, and for that matter, the "not-so-new' along with a refreshing change in music. Many thanks to you all.

— I'm an Aquarius otherwise!

Appointment procedure

Please refer to your editorial note on Page 19 of Salient. 28 February 1977. I am very sorry to say that you have completely mis-represented the situation and that you have been misled by the person who informed you of the facts. You could have easily checked the matter with me, or should have attempted to consult the Minutes of the Political Science Departmental Meeting of 15 September 1976. We regard to the appointment the Minutes state:

"Dr Vasil reported that there were 60 applicants and he and Professor Brookes had examined all of them and put a reduced list of 17 to the Executive Committee who had unanimously agreed on the first preferences and on the other 7 on the short list for the Appointments Committee".

As the Chairman of the School of Political Science and Public Administration, it was my responsibility to process the applications and prepare a short list of the candidates for the Appointments Committee of the University, in consultation with the Registry. It is a matter of departmental policy to ask the appropriate staff member to assist the Chairman in this process. The position advertised last year required candidates with interest particularly related to the academic concerns of Professor Brookes. In relation to vacancies in other fields it is usual to request other members of the School, with a special knowledge of the academic requirements, to assist the Chairman. It should be pointed out that this procedure of short listing is an almost universal practice. It does not in any way prevent the Appointments Committee from scrutirising the whole range of candidates if they should wish to do so.

Bookshop Replies

Re 'discontent over the bookshop' letters (Salient Mar. 7th), here is yet another reply

To deal first with the letter from A. Steele et al.

The History Department book lists were printed Exactly as per the lists given to us in September 1976 for ordering purposes. If you feel there are books on the list which are not required, please see your lecturer. This is nothing to do with the bookshop.

Without knowing which German title is referred to it is very difficult to make a reasonable reply However, I have noticed reason does not often prevail on this campus. There is one title at $9.25 Nett by -- Feix & Schlant: Junge Deut sche Prosa. Whitcoulls do not have stock of this.

Book prices will vary according to the age of the stock. This happens very year. If Whitcoulls have more books at lower prices it is probably because they have more old stock than we do. We have had some texts at two different prices this year. For example (Educ. 111) Le Francois: Of Children. The 1976 price was $11.30 and this year it is $13.10. Naturally, our old stock was sold first. Price rises are somewhat beyond our control. Perhaps the academic staff should investigate prices before prescribing expensive textbooks? The selling price of each book must contain an element of profit as the overheads for this company will be in excess of $60,000 this year.

J. Hounsell's books were not separated into 'German' and Non-German.' They were separated into books marked Nett and those subject to the 10% discount. As most prescribed German titles are an average of $2.50 I hardly feel we can be accused of ripping anyone off. German books from our major German supplier are not priced on our Schedule — if they were you wuld have something to complain about. The prices would be astronomical! The reason some books are marked Nett is that the Publisher, in order to keep the cost to the consumer down, has issued an International Student Edition (at about 2/3 the price of an ordinary edition) or, has given the retailer a very small profit margin. In the latter instance we could mark up and then give 10% but we feel that would be a real rip off. If J. Hounsell was so 'amazed and extremely annoyed' at the time why didn't he/she see me then instead of involving us in this protracted correspondence??

Sally White, Manager.

New Cafe Courses

It dismays me to have to report that the majority of female students are lagging behind the times in one very important respect thus denying a rare treat from the male students of this university indeed. A concerted move in the right direction could add much zest to campus life and greatly enhance the present sorry atmosphere in the cafeteria.

Ladies of Victoria, I implore you to come in lo line with your liberated sisters, and abandon the confining bondage of your mammary charms. Much depends on your decision.

I hope the Editor and staff of "Salient" will follow my lead by abandoning all that political rubbish and get their teeth into something of real substance.

Rigid Nipples

Cafe Debate Part II

Reading "The Cafe Debate, Part One." has prompted me to air my greivances on the disreputable cafe.

I agreee that the prices are too high, especially considering that most of us students are fairly broke anyway, but my main complaint concerns another aspect of the cafe—the basic neglect of the place, and in particular, the tables and floor.

It's time someone realized that students, despite the many wonderous things they do carry in their bags, do not carry dishcloths—it is more often than not a copy of Salient that is sacrificed to mop up the spilt coffee, stale chips, ciggie butts or whatever other glorious crap people have left floating on the tables.

O.K., it would help if everyone made sure that their own rubbish is guided into the rubbish bags, but spilt coffee and other liquids are pretty difficult to dispose of, and ultimately get left to the next persons discomfort.

So how about the cafe personnel, or someone appearing an awful lot more frequently brandishing a dishcloth to ease the discomfort we're all putting up with, with regards to those messy tables, etc...

Anne Wood

The Anti-Apartheid Movement, Part III

It was with condescending interest that we read Bruce Robinson's paranoic spew about the Trotskyite plot to undermine the Anti - Apartheid movement.

What his myopic, middle class pakeha mind failed to perceive was that for the first time a significant number of blacks, both indigenous Polynesians and Overseas students had turned up to participate in the actual policy making of the W.A.A.P. This effectively broke the monopoly that middle class pakehas have always had in this organisation.

Bruce Robinson, however, chose to ignore this vital development in the Anti - Apartheid Movement. He has openly accused the Polynesians and overseas students present at that meeting of being manipulated by the Trotskyites, His article. If it reflects anything at all, does indicate the colonial attitude that befuddles this political analysis of what he fantasised was happening at the meeting.

His perspective is a classic example to overseas students, especially those from the Third World of the colonialistic attitudes with which most pakeha 'radicals' view the political activities that overseas students may choose to involve themselves in.

We will let him and his kind know that all the overseas students who came to that particular meeting came as individuals, independent of any group ideology. Most of there saw fit to support the motions put forward by the Polynesians. It is this combined force of overseas students and the local Black movement that Bruce Robinson sees as a Trotskyite plot.

As far as we are concerned the petty squabbles between the "bulk of the left" (which includes the so called Maoist faction - an obvious insult to our Asian friends in China!) and the "Trotskyite groupings " is irrelevant. They are, after all, liberal pakeha organisations nurtured within the insipid political confines of Godzone.

To say that these overseas students whose political minds were born out of active involvement in student struggles against oppression throughout the Third World, are being manipulated by any such liberal organisations is not only an affront to our pride and level of politicization, but also an attempt by certain insipid mentalities to grade themselves where they do not in the best deserve to be.

Further, an attempt on our part to get two overseas students as representatives on the W.A. W.A.A.P. Sharpeville Committee was seen by Bruce Robinson as being mere tokenism. Despite such colonial attitudes and opposition to the independent and active participation by overseas students in the Anti-Apartheid Movement, two representatives were successfully elected to [unclear: r] represent the interest of overseas students and thus to give the local natives, who are polticized enough, the benefit of our expertise.

From the Lowly Classed Overseas Students.

The appearance of a letter from Patrick Mulrennan in last week's Salient attacking my report on a recent meeting of the Wellington Anti-Apartheid Plenary is very welcome. The complete abscence of any substabtive argument against the slogan which features 'let the oppressed people decide' exposes the inability of the trotskyites to justify their stand at that meeting and subsequently. Also the fact that the overseas students in their own meeting felt the need to specifically support this slogan and not 'let the blacks decide' is ignored by Mulrennan.

The rest of the letter is a meaningless ramble which jumbles and obliterates the real developments in the anti-apartheid movement. I specifically mentioned in my article that the current WAAP slogan was the same as the one before Christmas. I specifically mentioned why (better political understanding) basically the same group of people improved their slogan. It was only with the introduction of a new group of people spearheaded by the 'Polynesians Against Racism' and co-ordinated by the Trotskyites that the policy was reversed — this time a step backwards and not forwards.

It was made clear by these people that their reason for changing this policy was because they felt people particularly 'blacks' could not 'identify' with the present one. The overseas students in their own meeting refuted this argument as they were unable to identify with the Trotskyite/ 'Polynesians Against Racism' slogan for the reasons outlined in my first article - but Patrick Mulrennan's inverted racism prevents him from attacking the oversas students.

These people who had 'identity' problems represent only a small section of those interested and involved in the anti-apartheid movement. Elsewhere in the country people have accepted slogans essentially similar to WAAP's original one.

Now, I would like to cite an example of how the trotskyites approach democracy. In 1973 as they attempted to organise their sectarian march they called a meeting at the university. Genuine anti-apartheid activists far outnumbered the trotskyites at the meeting. They moved that the meeting abandon the march and support the National Anti-Apartheid Committee campaign. The trotskyites walked out of the room and reconvened their meeting elsewhere!

The anti-apartheid movement will only become strong if it is democratic. If this means that from time to time groups interested more in promoting themselves than promoting the anti-apartheid movement occasionally win some victories then this must be accepted. Their victories will only ever be hollow because their involvement will only last as long as the possibility of self-promotion exists and will fade as soon as the hard work starts. This has happened before and will no doubt happen again. Those people who are genuine and have joined WAAP as a result of this debate are not the object of my criticism.

Bruce Robinson

Advt. for Radio AGM

I am somewhat annoyed with the crappy commercial trash that our illustrious 'student' radio supposedly complying with student demand is broadcasting over the air.

If students wanted to hear this trash they could have tuned into any one of a number of the already established commercial stations.

One wonders what proportion of the student fee was allocated to this extravaganza of extraneous bullshit. The price paid to give the overated announcers an ego-trip 'high' can hardly be considered a fair go. I, for one, do not like to see my hard earned cash recklessly channelled into such a ridiculous, boring, dry scheme as this damned radio.

"Trash" I scream. I could have done better myself. The interviews were of no importance, use or concern to any apathetic student. I cry for a new News Editor, new announcers, new everything.

Students unite, raise arse off seat, usurp these fools. Make this venture something to be proud of to make us raise our eyebrows in pride, and as a tear rolls down our cheeks, say, "that's ours!" that Victorious, true-blue radio.

Join me and axe these pricks into changing our radio and make this station a 'real' radio station.

Gary Lewis and his band of freelance Toolus Pulli supremicus (ie wankers), must go. Knock them off their pedestals. All of these high-minded, big-headed, uncoordinated imbeciles must be brought down from the clouds now, at their A.G.M. on Wed 16th March. At 7.30 pm in the Smoking Room these bourkes will crash. But we need your support. Come do the baskets one in the eye, bruise their pride and show them how it should be done. Show them how this radio should be run!