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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol 6, No. 5. May 5, 1943
[subsection]
Last year I circulated a questionnaire among a random sample of 22 Victoria College students—10 men and 12 women—with a view to investigating whether or not there are class distinctions in the College.
It was necessary to decide first of all the criteria on which to judge class position. I adopted from Davis and Dollard* the test which they found most valid in their social studies of American negroes, namely, that people are said to belong to the same social class when they may associate freely in such ways as to:
- 1. Eat or drink together as a social ritual.
- 2. Freely visit one another's families.
- 3. Talk together intimately in a social group.
The majority of students replied that there are students with whom they could not associate on such grounds. The five who could were all men! The women apparently feel more insecure, and the need to tread more warily than the men.