V. U. C. versus T. C.

Good Start for Debating Society

"That Training College is a menace to V.U.C." was thrashed out before an appreciative audience at the Gym. on Thursday night.

"It is a problem of no ordinary magnitude that I set before you to-night, ladies and gentlemen," opined Mr. Scotney, "the revelation that for long we have nursed a viper in our bosom, and I submit to you that Training College is firstly a moral menace."

Mr. Scotney is one of the oldest inhabitants of the Debating Society. He is the possessor of a line voice and can use his hands to illustrate his arguments by cutting gestures. Perhaps the most striking feature of his speeches is the logical development which as it unfolds, embraces the entire topic if debate .putting every fact into an immediately apparent perspective.

An immediate decline in the morals of V.U.C. was at once apparent in 1935, the very year the Training College re opened. That was the year we had the Commissionaire—the year that bottles were strewn from the front door to the cemetery.

Secondly, they are an academic menace to our students, whose honest poverty entitles them to the fruits of their success and what have we? The highest intellects of T.C. stealing the honours from their rightful owners.

And thirdly, they are a financial menace. A T.C. student is in receipt of a huge emolument on account of his chronic inability to do nothing. His fees are paid by the Government, and now they have the brazen effrontery to demand a reduction of the Students Association fee.

And lastly, they are a matrimonial menace. We might truly say that the true calling of the T.C. women is matrimony.

lnterjector: "Matrimony is not a calling, it's a pursuit!"

The women of V.U.C. languish alone while they are robbed of their menfolk. The T.C. women are putting sex into sections! Therefore the T.C. is a moral, academic, financial and matrimonial menace.

Miss Stock then rose to the defence of T.C. She has a charming platform manner, but it is inclined to be sugary at times, and a touch of gravity would considerably increase her debating powers.

"I have been at V.U.C. for four years, and my impartial opinion should therefore be T.C. is not a menace, but a spur. There is a high standard of morality at T.C.—they are not allowed to drink, to smoke, to . . ."

People come to V.U.C. to learn, but they have to go to T.C. before they can diffuse that knowledge. Anyway, Mr. Scotney was himself once a humble Training College Student.

Then that exhilarating enthusiast cast. Pick Simpson, arose and with typical gesture and eloquent buffoonery proved statistically the moral degradation of T.C. "Figures speak," said Dick, "and when I say figures, I am thinking of beer bottles. Examine these facts. They represent No. of bottles found on the grounds after dances, first in 1934, and second, in 1936, the year T.C. re-opened.

	1934	1936
Whisky and Brandy	59	99
Beer	72	215
Sundry	31	72
Total	162	386
Average per dance	32	77

An increase of 109.4 per cent.

Bob Edgley supplied the information that Mr. Brook is in favour of T.C.—he likes the girls. As for himself, he saw six good arguments for T.C. at the Freshers' Dance. For the rest, T.C. was not a menace as it was not worth even disdain. A good coherent speech, but somehow it failed to click. Lacked just the spark of foolery essential for such a subject.

And now to the silver-tongued orator—Kingi Tahiwi. As a speaker he is—just Kingi—that's the best description that can be given. Plausible, polite, conversational, convincing. And gestures of grace—"There is no need to argue about it. If they are superior, why do they come to V.U.C.? Miss Stock thinks—no case is so hopeless as when the advocate thinks. She says they don't drink—they have our pity. V.U.C. is not a bad show, in spite of T.C. They have got to come here, else they would not get above the childish stage."

Miss McGhie, a comparatively inexperienced speaker, but full of the tradition of the Great McGhie (now, alas! departed from our shores) supported T.C. "Mr. Simpson amazed us with his alcoholic effluvia." She painted an idyllic picture of the youth and innocence rampant at T.C.

The next Teachers' champion was Patricia Prideaux-Pridham. "Mr. Scotney really is an orator," she alleged, whereupon Mr. Scotney hastily refused the honour. "When a T.C. student is thirsty, he follow-the long long trail to the milk bar."

I couldn't hear what Mr. Wilfred Bergin said, except the following. Pointing at Mr. Scotney, he said, "I don't agree with you, 'Mr. Kidney.' Training College as a whole—"

Interjector: "What a hole!"

On summing up, Mr. Scotney admitted that he was once a Training College student, but that he was doing his best to live it down.

An excellent debate. The best for years, and well attended.