Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 9. April 24 1978
Letters
Letters
Letters must be typed, double spaced on one side of the paper, and should not run on and on boring everybody to death. They can be dropped into the letters box just inside the Salient door (middle floor of the Union Building, graveyard end), left at the Studass office, or sent c/o VUWSA, Private Bag, Wellington
Somebody likes us
Dear Salient Staff,
Salient staff are to be congratulated for continuing the high standards of journalism of this campus magazine. Orthography, typesetting and layout are of consistent competence.
The articles presented continue to be of much interest. I feel that a happy balance is struck between articles of overseas importance, as well as local and national, student politics and events. Of particular moment are the articles on overseas events (e.g. insights into the People's Republic of China, fair reporting of liberation movements around the world, etc.) which are not otherwise reported in papers readily obtainable in this country. Hopefully, these sentiments reflect the feelings of many student and staff members who regularly read "Salient" and realise that its high level of journalistic competence needs no further comment.
John Bailey is to be commended for his continuing perceptive and incisive drama reviews. I felt that the Peter Handke plays were most thought provoking expecially the Hegelian idea of the force of contradiction between audience and actors. John Bailey's criticism of the Drama Soc. was somewhat untoward as the main way for the Drama Soc. to determine the needs and wants of students is surely by empiricism and heurism. The courage of the Drama Soc. in presenting I Handke's plays was admirable and the lack of audience numbers was a sad commentary on campus interest in theatre. Let us work towards keeping Drama Soc. alive on campus and serving the students.
Perhaps Salient might consider a column of haiku (for poetry) and senryu (for dialectic). Would students be interested in such a column? Readers could send in their haiku and senryu and someone could act as a collator (I would be willing to after June).
Robert Cook.
We're all Normal... ?
Gidday money grubbers,
(1) | Mr & Ms Well Off. Have STB plus Daddy's money. Own brand new Datsun and have all mod cons. |
(2) | Mr & Ms Normal. Have STB plus holiday earnings. Lead decent life and sometimes have a few bucks to spare. |
(3) | Mr & Ms Poor. Have STB only. These people are to be pitied. |
So there it is for STB. 90% of people who try can be Mr or Ms Normal. Those who couldn't find jobs these holidays, did you really try? I don't mean sitting on your butt getting the dole but actually harrassing employers.
Interesting facts and facets:
Ever noticed how many students: go skiing own cars own motorbikes have expensive new clothes drink untold piss.
Lets face it — most of you could pull your belts in. However nobody's perfect, (neither STB nor students) Some people need help — Mr & Ms Poor with expensive courses, holiday unemployment so are You being greedy?
Jonathan Jarman
A Threat
Dear subjects,
Just a little warning that I won't be turning the universe back up the right way again until you all start worshiping Me..
God
NZUSA Bureaucracy Criticized
Dear Butoh,
Allow us to express frustration, anger and disgust at the recent victimisation of James Movick, NZUSA student leader, by the immigration authorities of New Zealand.
His case is unique in that he was caught in a vortex allowed to exist by the institutionalized, bureaucratic and colonial attitudes of both the immigration authorities and NZUSA. Movick's case has set a precedent in overseas student participation in local student politics, normally the stronghold of liberal pakehas. The fact that both NZUSA and the immigration authorities did not envisage a situation where an overseas student would be holding a full-time paid position in the NZUSA executive bespeaks of ignoance and a lack of foresight springing from such attitudes.
This situation must be rectified immediately if the hassle that Movick had to experience is at least marginally worth it. The position of overseas student participation in student politics must be made clear by the immigration department and NZUSA which purports to have always represented the rights of overseas students must of necessity get off its bureaucratic arse and demand that we would accept nothing short of equal rights with local students.
We pay the same amount of tuition fees but get nothing substantial in return. Many of us have to even put up with the crappy cafeteria food which even the locals complain about. And when we support the election of an overseas student at the national executive, he gets thrown out. Therefore to NZUSA we say "No taxation without representation".
Movick's case has also been a lesson for overseas students, for it is only through our own participation in student affairs that we find out where exactly we stand vis a vis a whole gamut of institutionalized mentalities, ie NZUSA, Immigration Department etc. Unless, we voice our opinions collectively our real interest will be overidden by fake assumptions of our interest by such alien institutions.
In viewing this problem further we overseas students should let all and sundry know that we overseas students can with old our association fees next year if by then nothing has been done to achieve equal rights for us.
Joginder Singh
Harish Naran
M. Salabogi
P. Lomaloma
Tilak Doshi
S.L. Pillay
Neena Singh
Gurunathan
Navnit Patel
Ramesh Patel
P. Patel
N. Gyetse
S. Nacanaitaba
M. Mannan
Peter Thing
K.A.V. Bale
For the Love of God
Dear Sir,
Gary Harrington will never understand Christianity until he has a personal experience of the love and saving power of Jesus Christ. Intellectualized, rational and purely secular arguments are useless since Jesus doesn't claim He can be understood on this level. Open up your heart to Him, Gary.
All our love,
Jim Murphy.
Treen Complains
Dear Sir,
I wish to express my disappointment at the way my nomination for international delegate to May Council of NZUSA was handled at the last SRC meeting.
Unfortunately I was not able to be at that meeting because I was unable to get back to Wellington I because of the closure of the airport. I was away from Wellington because I had been sent is a delegate to the NZUSA policy work-shops at Canterbury University. In fact I was the only Victoria delegate to make it since I left on Friday morning.
This attempt to serve VUWSA was then used as an attack on me. It was said that I wasn't present because I waft in Auckland lobbying for the position of EVP of NZUSA. It was implied by Leonie Morris, Woman's Vice President, that this reflected on my interest in the position. This was no more than slander. I had travelled to Auckland on personal business because I couldn't get into Wellington. At no stage did I lobby for the EVP position.
It seems that the rumour that I was standing for the position was spread by the NZUSA president who used student money to make toll calls around the country to lobby against me and convince other people t6 stand for the position. The people who used this rumour against me at the SRC also knew that I had gone to the policy workshops and that it was impossible to get back because of the airport closing. The logical end to these attacks was the election of David Murray, the very person whom I had decisively beaten for the IAO position in the first place, as an International delegate.
This is only the latest in a series of attacks on me since my election. In the forefront of these attacks have been Leonie Morris, Woman's Vice President; David Murray, last year's Salient editor; and Simon Wilson, this year's Salient editor. All are part of the Maoist Students Against Imperialism.
Rather than work with me to see if we can create a real international awareness on campus they have attempted to obstruct my work. For example, when I was first elected to the position of IAO, Simon Wilson questioned my competence in an article in Salient. Offers to write international articles have been declined; attempts were made to prevent my election to attend the policy workshops and now I am unable to attend May Council and thus learn how to serve students more effectively.
The honest course of action by those who due to their own sectarian political views oppose my holding the IAO position is for them to move a motion of no confidence and fight it out honestly. Unfortunately the method of slander behind my back seems to be preferred.
Mike Treen
(It is true that I have on occasion declined your offer of articles for Salient. That is my prerogative with any potential contributor. My reasons have been either that I already had an article on the particular subject, or I did not consider the subject important enough at the particular time. There is no policy of refusal of your work, as your piece on Bastion Point earlier in the year testifies.
On the more general question of "preventing" you from attending policy workshops and May Councils, Victoria has long had a policy that people should not go to such meetings simply because of their position. Elections are held at SRCs so that those most willing to get involved in the various activities have a chance to do so if the SRC thinks them worthy. You must face this election process along with everyone else.
Finally, you criticise me for "Questioning your competence". It is part of my job to monitor the activities of all officers elected by the association, and I will continue to do this — Ed.)
A Silly Question
Dear Sir,
Why do you allow such silly questions as "Why is a mouse when it spins?" when the answer is at least as obvious as "What is the difference between a duck?"? Please get back to basics.... (such as aardvarks, voles, gerbils, and shrews).
Yours,
Gerbil Appreciator.
Goodbye Good Bye
Dear Disappointed,
We're sorry to hear you missed the Hello Sailor concerts, although a total of two thousand other people didn't. (The Union Hall was sold out).
The advertising campaign was split into two parts: — a large article in Salient the week before, — handbills in the cafe and at Sasracs, — posters around varsity. Although as soon as the posters went up they seemed to disappear. On subsequent re-postering trips it was necessary to deface the posters so that they might remain on the walls. We have learned — next time it will be a very ugly poster. So there.
For the Opera House concert there was newspaper and radio advertising in full force, plus posters plastered on all available surfaces.
With such a campaign it would appear that to have missed the concerts you must have your eyes and ears shut. Any help with publicity, ideas for making it more effective, or constructive comment on what went wrong would be recieve d with interest.
Penny Dodd
andVicki Dunn.
(VUW Arts Council reps)P.S. You can contact us through Studass.
A Sensible/Silly (?) Letter
Dear Simon,
This is a silly letter with very little brain at all, typed by a silly person who had nothing else to do at the time, about three in the morning.
So all this person could do was to summon up the energy to write to you deploring the abysmal standard of last week's Salient letters, not an AardSoc. or Thorndon letter in the whole bunch, and just who is this wanker Andy Tees any way (seems like a bit of a jerk to me). Why anyone would want to write to Salient merely pointing out the factual inaccuracies of a Salient article is beyond me. Besides, as far as I could make out all he did was fail in an attempt to justify some startling incompetence in his job of returning officer.
In fact about the only sensible thing that he said was that Sue Cairney should have exclusive or at least priority use of the SRC Officers room until the end of the Bursaries campaign. (Again just as a matter of interest could you tell me just what position this wanker Tees holds, all anyone has been able to tell me is ah.. er.. he's got some er.. SRC er... I'm not sure (you get the picture)).
Trying to Wriggle Out of it
Dear Sir,
I would like, in no uncertain terms, to object to the current rumour that the Salient typesetter is a sperm. Or more to the point, even if he was, what business would it be of anyone elses?
Yours in indignation,
The President, Doug Thompson Defence League.Research Officer Replies
Dear Simon,
As the person responsible for the production of the NZUSA Handbook (not the content; just putting it together) I'll make a few comments on your NZUSA Handbook article.
Firstly, lets investigate your point that... "The style in which policy is presented has alienated a lot of students."
If you had stated that the style had alienated Some constituent Presidents I could have agreed with you (although, from the comments I have had personally from 6 Presidents, 3 are in favour and 3 opposed). However, to assert that "a lot of students" have been alienated is hardly factual; unless you have information on student response that I don't have (as far as I know you don't).
What we Do have are 3 campus Presidents (Otago, Lincoln, Canterbury) who make that assertion—the Otago President openly admitting that he he promoted his biased view of it as he handed it out to students at a forum. Has he handed it out to other students? We have a Canterbury President who has been overwhelmingly opposed at his own SRC on the question of Canterbury's withdrawal from NZUSA; and we have a Lincoln President who frankly admits that he is only giving his Personal opinion on the Handbook (for my mind, of the three his is probably givng the most accurate representation of his campus' views).
Now, I'm not claiming that most students like the Handbook — all I'm saying is that there's been no accurate assessment, nor any attempt to get one. Your Implication is clearly that the majority of students would not like the Handbook — back that up with facts.
Next point "... There are eight pages of songs which are widely considered a waste of time." Simon, dear, how do you manage to make these gross generalizations; or maybe you have a 'Deep Throat', whose identity you must protext, parcelling our the facts only to you? Again with this point, I could make the same comments about the Presidents v. students. I can also add that the songs were sent to every constituent President 4 Weeks before the production date with a request for comments — none replied save Mr. Guest from Otago whose comment was ""You've got a good wee lot of songs there".
There are undoubtedly many things the Handbook did not do in the way of informing students about NZUSA and what it stands for. I have not seen the Craccum article you refer to, but from your description it points correctly to a couple of improvements that should have been there — but improvements of only a peripheral nature, they wouldn't have altered the supposed antipathy towards the handbook to which you refer. Another things the handbook did not do was to receive contributions of a graphic or written nature from constituents (and others) - or if they were received, they came in at the last possible minute.
I should also point out that the NZUSA handbook was not supposed to detail everything to do with NZUSA. As you would be painfully aware, Simon, a number of other NZUSA publications cover areas of NZUSA activity and policy in much greater detail. It is a pity that no one has brought the constructive criticism that you infer have been made to the National Office or myself, or the President. Perhaps it makes better news if you can surprise us? Mr. Guest certainly thinks so — do you?
Finally, the most important point is that handbooks and other publications, no matter how inn offensive they might be, can never signigicantly affect student views of an organisation like NZUSA. Only activity on behalf of students, that they can see and relate to, and which advances their interests (i.e. Bursaries, SIS and Abortion campaigns) can do that in a positive way. At best, a Handbook can only be an adjunct to such activity.
Dave Macpherson,
NZUSA Research (?) Officer
xs(David, dear I quite agree with you that constituent presidents do not necessarily represent the views of significant bodies of students every time they speak. That is not the same as saying that they never do this.
I also agree that the majority of activity of NZUSA must lie in positive action, but this is no not to say that Handbooks are not a Significant adjunct to this action. Why else do one at all?
In all your criticisms you consistently ignore the fact that, for whatever reasons, NZUSA is in a crisis. This Must be faced up to as it manifests itself, and not palmed off merely because one does not accept the nature of the criticisms. —Ed.)
Rights and Duties
Dear Sir,
The most unfortunate aspect of the current abortion controversy is that people don't stop to think what issues are at stake. There is only one questions that needs to be asked: Is the foetus a human being? If the answer is no there can be no possible objection to abortion.
If the answer is yes, there can be no justification for abortion (except in the virtually theoretical danger to the mother's life.) Therefore I ask you and your readers to reflect on this question objectively and sincerely.
Another fallacy is the putting together of abortion, contraception and sterilisation. The latter are two separate issues. Contraception and sterilisation are moral matters for the individual to decide and nobody has the right to impose their views on these issues. However, if you answer the above question about the status of the foetus in the affirmative, you not only have the right but the duty to intervene to protect that
Yours sincerely,
Jenny
Another Great Letter
Dear Sir,
I would like to congratulate you on Salient's outstanding contribution to the National Students Issue that appeared last Tuesday.
Not only was our contribution far superior to other more plebian efforts, but your prowess in producing a first class student paper shone through quite clearly.
It is my earnest hope that the other editors took note and then they too, can emulate your level of articulation, interest, obvious dedication and total commitment to we, the poor humble, ignorant students.
Several people have approached me asking if it wouldn't be too much trouble to have some pictures of you run off - so that Salient could sell autographed copies — I promise I'd have one over my bed. Also there was another suggestion that you write an autobiography — maybe "The Life and Times of Simon Wilson" — anyway keep up your terribly difficult work. Remember tonight, as you slave over a hot typewriter, we, your ardent followers are with you in spirit.
Your ever loving fan,
Moa Tse Tung
(RIP)(Did anyone else read the national issue?)
Any Merit in this One?
Dear Simon,
I've been waiting for the latest copy of "Sullient" to appear around the varsity all this week. Where is it? If you happen to hear, come and tell me — I'll be lying in the gutter outside the Student Union Building.
Yours,
Waiting Expectantly