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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria University College, Wellington N.Z. Vol. 20, No. 9. June 27, 1957

What the Clubs are Talking about

page 4

What the Clubs are Talking about

Hist. Soc:

Great Men

The Historical Society recently held a symposium on the topic Do Great Men Influence History? It appeared that there were a number of differing ideas on the subject though discussion did not always keep strictly to the point However, a number of us came away with dealer ideas about it. The limited time available did not allow a full investigation, though this was in any case inevitable. One vigorous argument concerned the respective places of Hitler and Stalin in history—that the "H G Wells" short history of a hundred years hence will devote three lines to Hitler and three pages to Stalin, because the former was essentially out of the stream of his times and in time went against the strongest forces, while the latter remained in harmony wills his environment and was able to carry out creative work which will give him his three pages for posterity to consider Shortly the Society hopes to have a film evening with appropriate historical films.—D.G.J.

Debating:

You Know

The Debating Society held an interesting if not really heated debate on the motion. "That the United Nations, having failed as an effective force in world politics, should be disbanded."

There was much discussion on whether U.N. did or did not include the specialised agencies—F.A.O. etc—and whether the title of the debate allowed discussion on U.N's failure or otherwise politically.

Mr J. Schellevis said U.N had [unclear: fatled] because the Big Power unity of the time of the drawing up of the Charter [unclear: no] longer existed Because of the Veto. China was not represented He said the U.N was weak because it lacked sovereignty. He considered U.N to be an instrument of self-deception. The nations shake hands with one hand, and hold the dagger in the other The only way of removing the mirage was to disband the outfit.

Opposing the motion. Mr E. Thomas said U.N would strengthen the permanent foundations of world peace. He maintained that U.N. was not the least force in settling disputes in Palestine and Kashmir.

The second affirmative speaker. Mr [unclear: Larson,] said the U.N had not fulfilled us aims U N's Charter obliged it to keep the peace-which it had signally failed to do in Palestine, Korea, Indo-China, and Kashmir U.N had failed to encourage human rights.

The final platform speaker, Mr. Hebenton, said that world peace could only be achieved by world domination by one power or co-operation between the powers U.N was a product of the second alternative. By encouraging unity of public opinion in smaller matters. U.N was leading the way to world peace.

Of a considerable number of floor speakers. Mr Cruden was judged best speaker of the evening (judge was Mr. Highet of the Chamber of Commerce.)

We understand that the speakers drew sides by lot—which may account for the lack of the usual hell-fire.

—J.T.S.

Soc. Dem. Soc:

Hungarians in Masks

"I myself saw many corpses including many children lying dead in the streets " Thus spoke one of two masked men at a recent meeting of the Social Democrat Society. They were from Hungary who came to give members their impressions of the resolution, its causes and effects. Both men spoke through an interpreter.

The [unclear: first] speaker described the [unclear: beck] of individual freedom and the conditions existing in the universities at the time of the uprising and said that before even entering the university it was necessary to join [unclear: the] Communist Party.

"Freedom of religion was non-existent and the national anthem was forbidden" he said The second speaker described the grip exercised by the Government over the people and told of the indoctrination of the children to such an extent that parents were afraid to speak freely before their families for fear that they should be betrayed and of the formation of the AVO., the dreaded secret police. Both placed emphasis on the fact that the revolution was a popular uprising. "Hungary." they said "has been fighting for freedom throughout the centuries of her history. This was the tight of a whole nation for her freedom, for her life"

Their descriptions of the actual course of the revolution were not dissimilar. It began with a peaceful demonstration which had been sanctioned by the Government when over half a million people were in the streets of Budapest—the first time such a thing had happened for twelve years. The Government took fright at the size of the throng but it was too late to prohibit it. The crowd divided into three groups—one went to the radio station to make known to the nation the demands of the Budapest students for freedom of political opinion and assembly and the withdrawal of Russian troops Others attacked the Stalin monument while the thud group raided the headquarters of the A.V.O. from whence the obtained arms. There was fiting over Budapest and the first Russian armoured cars arrived. Martial law was declared and the revolutionaries with their light arms fought the Russian tanks and mines. Armed groups sent out to control the revolt against the Freedom fighters joined them against their oppressors. By the Saturday the Russians were asking for an armistice and promising to withdraw bill while the representatives of the Hungarian people were negotiating the Russian I groups were advancing and on 4th November they attacked in force. The Russians thought they could put the revolution down in a day but they were disappointed Sporadic fighting continued in Budapest and other parts of the country long after it was thought possible for the revolutionaries to hold out.

Over 21,000 were estimated to have been killed in the revolution but the determination to continue the resistance still continues. "Hungary's light for freedom was lost but not the [unclear: spirit] of her people who he await again the day when she can be flee "

—K.B.

Biol. Soc:

Back in the Jungle

. . being an account of a recent activity of the highly esteemed Biology Society.

Tramper: As I did stand my pack upon the hill. I looked toward the Catchpool and methought the wood began to move.

Deerstalker: [unclear: Liar] and slave!

Tramper: Let me endure your wrath if be not so, within this five mile may son see it coming. I say, a moving grove.

The migration of [unclear: Birnam] Wood in "Macbeth." had nothing on the razing of the Orongorongos by the [unclear: herbarian] hunters over Queen's Birthday in fact the Society is seriously considering charging the Forest Service for clearing their tracks. (This would compensate for the raw deal Exce. gave them)

The trampers taxied on the Friday night, from Woburn to the Five-Mile (and this is where the story really begins), and slithered along the track aided by the light of glowworms for three hours until midnight when the) reached the Waerenga hut.

The next day, tripping daintily from weed to weed, they covered the full mile down to Green's stream, where several specimens of the rate Prince of Wales and Kidney ferns were discovered. The evening was spent singing nice songs and all went quietly is to bed at an early hour, due to the deadening effect of Dudley's mighty curried stew.

On Sunday morning land this is where the story really begins) a certain shrew was tamed with a [unclear: pa] scissors [unclear: thow] are those serrated claws developing Diana? and the trip to Baine's but done Hour's were spent waiting for Diane's [unclear: new] camera to function, or more [unclear: correctly] for Diane to function with her new camera.

On the way back. Mac operated a shuttle service with his car at one [unclear: stace] seven people and two packs being in his Austin 10 This is significant when it a realised that one of the seven was Diane.

The students who went were: George. Gibbs. Janice Cowan (stop that Marilyn. Monroe-type-walking) Margaret Mathewson (have you destroyed those shorts yet?). Mary (Laya Raki) Edwards. Moriati Heine (he talked to the trees, that's why they him away). Mac. Duncan. Diana Barke. Tony (500 c.c. twin). Taylor and Di (nosaur) Norris. Tarantula Franklin (Let every member hew him down a bow and [unclear: bear't] before him) was the leader

To sum up, this trip of the aptly-named Biology Society was Mirabilis except for the inadequate equipment.

Academics Cartoon

Music Soc:

Not Flirtists

The most interesting leature of the Music Society's students' evening on the second Thursday of term (6th June) was the appearance of no less than three flutes: Richard Watts played an early Handel sonata for flute and harpsichord, Judith Thompson a Sonata by Locatelli, and Mr. Mulagk (the new lecturer in German) a Sonata in A Minor for flute and basso continuo, by Bach Miss Thompson is leaving shortly for Denmark to continue studying flute.

Other items: John Cegledy (piano), playing Mozart's Adagio in B Minor. The newly-formed Choral Club, under Suzanne Green, sang "O Bone Jesu" (Palestrina) and two psalm settings by Schulz. Chopin: Mayme Chanwai, Prelude in B Flat. Op. 28. No 21.

There is more to these Students Evenings than meets the eye in the advertisements.—D.L.

Visiting Cambridge Prof:

Greek Religion

On Friday, 7th June. Professor Guthrie, of Cambridge University, lectured on Ancient Greek Religion. The scope of the talk was very broad and in the space of an hour this necessitated only a slight touching on the many issues involved. As Professor Murray said. "Whole books have been written on each of the points mentioned." However. Professor Guthrie drew these many aspects together with facility to produce an extremely interesting and in formative talk.

An important factor in the Ancient Greeks' thought was the negligible difference between their philosophy and their religion. Religion had a strong intellectual bias and was fused with patriotism in both its main strains, fertility—the earth, and ancestor worship. Among the Dorians the latter produced the idea of the gods as seen in the Iliad and the Odyssey. In this form of polytheism the gods were ordered into a patriarchal hierarchy. Zeus was the father of the great family which included all the gods and goddesses who ruled over men and earth. Many brave warriors could trace their genealogies back to a god (see, for instance. Achilles in the Iliad) This was the basis of divine power and hence, immortality.

Ancestor worship. Professor Guthrie said, could be regarded as a masculine principle. There was too the [unclear: worship] of the feminine principle in earth the mother of all life. Embodied in this was a belief in a possibility of union between the worshipper and the worshipped. This gave rise to orgies where Dionysus was worshipped, chiefly by women, as the symbol of youth and strength. These ceremonies were frowned upon by the authorities, so in order to suppress them the orgies were given official status, but were to be held only biannually high up on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. There is evidence that upon one occasion the frenzied women lost their way in the snow.

With the exception of the Orphics, who emphasised personal salvation, most Greeks had a corporate religion. Religious festivals were enjoyable affairs, often of a worldly and everyday character, fostered by the city corporation.

After Alexander there was a disintegration of the Homeric and a growth of the mystery religions.

J.B.

There was an old man of [unclear: Karori]
Who vowed he would always vote Tory
Till a J.N.P. bod.
Put his daughter in pod,
And now It's a different story.

Maths and Phys. Soc:

Solar System

One of the largest audiences ever to attend a meeting of a college scientific society came to the first of the Maths, and Physics Society's student-speaker evenings.

The first speaker, J. F. Harper, spoke on "The Origin of the Solar System". He discussed all the modem theories which, though widely differing from one another, all seemed to end up with some convenient "sticky liquid" holding matter together to form planets.

The second speaker. F. R. Routley. B.A., spoke on "The Nature of Pure Mathematics". He discussed formalism, intuitionism and logicism—theories which have tried to show that all of mathematics can be derived from certain foundations.

Although many of those present got lost at times, the talk was a useful introduction to a branch of mathematics not taught in the Maths. Department.

The next student-speaker meeting will be a discussion on Space Flight, to be held on June 27th.

Lit. Soc:

40,000 Beers

At short notice there was arranged on Tuesday, 11th June, at midday, a talk by a visiting New Zealand writer from Auckland—John Yelash. Mr. Yelash was down these parts to arrange the selling of his book of short stories called "Forty Thousand Beers Ago", and was prepared to talk to the Society about that, and on such topics. From his personal experience he told us about the Auckland literary scene and something about how it differs from ours in Wellington, a little about the late Rex Fairburn and problems which he knows from first hand which beset young writers today. His book, he informed us, was well over two years in the process of priming—or rather was at the printers for that length of.—D.G.J.