I declined at that time, for obvious reasons, to do so, but now as I will no longer be taking an active part in student administration at Victoria, I feel that I may record one or two observations.

The executive during the past year has come in for a pretty thorough hammering at the hands of Salient and I think has been subjected to more than its fair share of criticism; criticism which at times has seemed unjustified and certainly not in the best interests of the Students' Association generally.

When any person accepts a position in such a body as the executive, it is done with the full realisation of the fact that every action will be subjected to the closest scrutiny—and that indeed is how it should be in such an organisation.

Salient, in particular, should keep the students informed of what is going on, but I do feel that during the past six months, Salient has been indulging in too much sniping, destructive criticism as opposed to a more constructive criticism which could reasonably be expected from such "an organ of student opinion."

Salient Blamed

I consider that the poor number of nominations received for the various positions on the exec. (and I hasten to add that this is no reflection on those persons who did seek election) can be largely attributed to the recent sensational type of articles published in Salient and aimed at the executive as a whole and at individual members in particular.

No person would willingly submit themselves to a sarcastic personal attack (and this is what I suggest has been happening over recent months) and this factor has decided many people against seeking election — and quite frankly I don't blame them.

I think that the recent articles in Salient have gone too far and I trust that the Editor will see fit to remedy this matter and to see that any further such articles are more moderate, more constructive and less personal.

One other point I should mention before I leave the subject of Salient. The Editor has seen fit to comment adversely on members of the old executive not seeking re-election.

Good Service

The comments I have made earlier would again apply but there is the further point—these persons have all given good service to the Students' Association at the expense of their study time and their spare time and I think that they can, with all justification, claim some time for themselves.

Another reason is that because of the timing of our elections, some persons who will be leaving Wellington at the end of the year cannot seek re-election. In my own case, I have finished my study at Victoria and I consider the Students' Association should be administered by the students.

David B. Wilson