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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington N.Z. Vol. 11, No. 1. February 27, 1948

Truth at Last

Truth at Last

"Truth with a typical disregard for facts and an almost religious belief in emotive journalese, really let itself go. The fact that the students had the temerity to request a compulsory medical examination was sufficient proof that V.U.C. was once more in the grip of the Red menace. We were, in the same sentence, "fascist, communist, socialist, totalitarian"—rather a difficult feat I should imagine.

A reply signed by nearly 300 students (within a day and a half—time was short and the reply had to be in smartly otherwise more names would have been on the list) was sent down and printed in full by this paper. Sneering remarks were made but the facts were in print which was the more important factor.

The daily press on the whole gave us a slightly better hearing and in some cases they actually asked us (V.U.C.) for our comments on the matter. It may come as a surprise to some who have not thought on the matter that the much vaunted freedom of the press is a rather untamed animal, e.g., the press is "free" to print pretty much what it likes about the doings of students but we are not necessarily "free" to see our replies in print.