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Salient: An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 12, No. 5, June 8th, 1949.
Student Co-Operation V.U.C. And The World
Student Co-Operation V.U.C. And The World
At the Annual General Meeting held over Anzac week-end, N.Z.U.S.A. decided to disaffiliate from the International Union of Students. To some students the news of this backward step in N.Z.U.S.A. policy meant very little. What Is this I.U.S? What is it doing? What are its alms? To the average student, stagnating in the library or laboratory, the affairs of other students in New Zealand, let alone those of students in other countries are a distant affair. He may be moved to [unclear: mutter] a protest in his beard when he hears that students in India and Egypt are not allowed to organise and hold conferences, or that students in Eastern Europe have had to start their classes among the bombed-out ruins of their old universities. He thinks that "something ought to be done about it," and then forgets the matter. But I.U.S. is doing a lot about it, and even though we in New Zealand may be isolated in the South Pacific we can do something about it too.
Promise
The persecution of European students by the Nazis during the war and in particular the treatment meted out to the Czech students in 1939 convinced the students, of Europe in particular, that a strong world organisation of students was necessary. In 1945 under the aegis of the British National Union of Students a meeting of students of many countries was held in London. This was followed by a congress in Prague in Nov. 1945 which set up an International Preparatory Commission to organise an international student body. In 1946 a second congress was held at Prague at which I.U.S. was officially constituted. Now Zealand was represented at that congress.
The preamble to the constitution states that "the purpose of the I.U.S.. which is founded upon the representative student organisations of different countries, shall be to defend the rights and interests of students, to promote improvement of their welfare and standard of education and to prepare them for their tasks as democratic citizens." These aims are detailed in the constitution itself. The business of "defending the rights and interests of students" is defined in three main ways: (1) "to secure for all young people the right and possibility of primary, secondary and higher education regardless of sex, economic circumstances, social standing, political conviction, religion, colour or race." This is of first importance to our near neighbours of S.E. Asia in particular. (2) "To represent the interest of students in international affairs; to bring before international organisations the problems of students; and to publicise in all spheres the most urgent needs of students." (3) To assist the students of colonial, semicolonial and full social economic and educational dependent countries to attain their development."
Action . . .
A Press and Information department responsible for I.U.S. publicity was set up. Among other activities it publishes "World Student News." The Travel and Exchange department sets out to improve conditions for student travel abroad—it organised a very successful Balkan tour in 1947. Closely connected with the International Student Service and World Student Relief, the Relief and Reconstruction department organised a successful funds raising campaign among its other activities. The exchange of athletes and sports teams is handled by the Sports department, which has organised some big international students' sports meetings. The department of Intellectual Cooperation, divided into faculty groups, is doing much to assist the interchange of ideas as also is the correspondence bureau. To the Colonial bureau falls the difficult job of investigating the condition of students in colonial countries and of assisting them in their efforts to organise to improve their conditions. One example of their work was seen in the S.E. As Youth and Student Congress held last year.
Sabotage . . .
As one can well imagine all these activities necessitated a steady revenue. The congress decided to ask all affiliated bodies to contribute six-pence per head per year to finance the work of I.U.S. N.Z.U.S.A. has not yet contributed a penny in this way, although we have been affiliated for over two years. And then N.Z.U. S.A. has the temerity to say that I.U.S. has done nothing in New Zealand. Victoria has urged that our debt to I.U.S. be paid. Auckland alone has supported us. The other colleges claim extreme poverty. Along with this policy of not paving our debts to I.U.S.. N.Z.U.S.A. has, by inactivity, failed to let the students of New Zealand know what I.U.S. is, and what it is doing. The logical result of this policy has been that the delegates to N.Z.U.S.A. have disaffiliated from an organisation about which they knew nothing and which had scarcely bothered to investigate.
And Counteraction ...
Our Executive at Victoria has taken some steps to remedy this sorry business. At the last meeting the Exec decided to write to I.U.S. saying that we were considering applying for affiliation and asking for information. When the Association decides to apply for affiliation it must at the same time instruct the Exec to do all its power to get N.Z.U.S.A. reaffiliated.
Isolation is outdated, New Zealand students must take their place alongside the other students of the world in their efforts to improve working conditions for all students and young people.