Ability Needed On Executive

(Political Editor)

In a few weeks' time nominations for positions on the executive of the Students' Association will be called. Each of these posts require students of ability and initiative to fill them, something not always achieved in the past. Last year we were fortunate in having a few people of calibre, and it would be vxaluable for the student body if the whole of the executive could carry their own weight in the coming period of office.

The elections are split into two sections, one at the end of this term when the President, Secretary and Treasurer are elected. The function of the Treasurer is fairly obvious, but it is certainly not easy. It is a responsible and important task which demands a good knowledge of accounting procedure and considerable astuteness.

The President is the keystone of the executive arch, as has been said of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

It is his duty to isolate the problems and issues facing the student body and see that they are tackled by the right people at the right time. He must be aware of current feeling in the student body, the university administration and in society and he must time his actions to meet feeling in these circles. Of course he must possess all the other abilities of a politician and an administrator.

The Scretary must handle minutiae and correspondence as well as keeping an eye on all committee activity of the executive for preparation of agendas. Both he and the President, as well as other executive members are in the interesting position of having their fingers on the student pulse.

Positions which will be filled at elections early next term are the Men's and Women's Vice-Presidents.

As their titular designations indicate they deputise for the President. The Women's Vice President, who shall be a woman, is constitutionally provided for so as to ensure that that sex is represented. These students are usually given extra subcommittees to organise, for example this year the men's Vice President was chairman of the International Affairs Subcommittee and the Women's Vice President chaired the Education Subcommittee.

Other posts are: Capping Controller, whose activities seem hallowed by tradition. Ingenuity in the conception of frivolity would be an asset here in order to alleviate the conceptions of "Dominion" writers and other strange creatures that Victoria undergraduates are a dead lot.

Public Relations Officer; there is a danger that holders of this office will tend to mould the university to suit its desired image, but the activities of the past p.r.o.'s have shown that there is a lot of liasing to be done between student and student, student and executive and student and society.

The Social Controller organises, in theory, if not in fact functions such as Capping Ball. A more literal interpretation of the Controller's function could well be taken in the future.

House Committee Chairman has the responsibility of managing the affairs of the student union buildings and at present is concerned with the extensions to the sub.

The Cultural Affairs Officer would appear to have the responsibility of stimulating and coordinating cultural activity on the campus, an area greatly untouched at the present. Some of his particular responsibilities are the organisation of litlle congress and various exhibitions.

Sports Officer has obvious functions, and could in the future concern himself with the task of stimulating university sport to the pitch where it would lead, not follow, national achievements.

The Publications Officer cares for .Salient. Cappicade and other sprouting publications.

Women's Representative should do just that.

On the whole the work of executive members appears to develop into a fairly stimulating pastime, and not one that necessarily means ill academic success, although it certainly can demand time.

The executive must lead, and at present faces the problem of raising the student body from the abyssmal depths of stagnation into a vital and useful body, both to itself and the community.

This student body, however, generally finds it impracticable to attempt to know all executive members and prospective candidates. In order to help them as much as it can on this, Salient this year proposes requesting certain information from each candidate which will better enable voters to assess their suitability.

Each candidate should forward to the Returning Officer with his nomination a "blurb" of not more than 100 words giving a very brief sketch of his life, his academic pursuits and detailed information on his participation in Univrsity affairs. In addition to the "blurb" he must present a Policy statement giving his conception of the office he is contesting and what he proposes to do in it.

Candidates who have no policy will receive a commensurate amount of space.