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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 27, No. 4. 1964.

Letters . .

Letters . . .

Letters

Revamp Grad Ceremony

Sir,

I Graduation ceremonies over the past three or four years have been rather unsatisfactory when considering the significance attached to; graduation by the graduands, their relatives, and even the public. Those who have graduated since 1960 know that existing conditions fall little short of chaos, and are a disgrace to both the students' association and the university. Collecting one's hardearned diploma is like being herded through a sheep dip. Having graduated in 1962, and about to be subjected to similar—or even worse Ireiitment again this year, I am very critical of the entire organisation.

The two problems to be considered in finding a more satisfactory system are numbers and time, and with these in mind I wish to make the following suggestions.

Firstly, the number of graduands for 1964 will probably allow each grad. no more than two gallery seats for relatives, etc. The obvious solution is to have two ceremonies—probably one for the stronger Arts representation and a further ceremony for the remainder. As in Canterbury, a ceremony for each faculty would not be impossible. Whichever be the more acceptable the result will be more scats per graduand.

Secondly, a short procession of graduands about 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon from say the bottom of Church Street sleps to the Town Hall (D.V.W.P.). This would help mollify the public previously subjected to the bawdy "procesh" and help to remind them that the current university image is not entirely one of sex, grog, vandalism, and misdlrecled satlire. Following this the capping ceremony could start at 2.30 p.m., allowing plenty of time for this to be completed al a leisurely pace, and enabling the Graduands Ball to start at a reasonable hour after the requisite pre-ball parties have run their course. Previously it has been hardly possible to arrive at the ball before midnight, and occasional individuals with initially good intentions are reputed not to have arrived at all.

This arrangement ignores the seating problem, but this could be remedied by a combination of the above two ideas, and having an afternoon ceremony and a shorter evening ceremony both on the Friday.

These are not idle thoughts, as I am sure they have occurred to other students, especially after they have been cappt'd and are no longer interested. It is perhaps unfortunate that similar ideas have not come from those in a position to implement them.

Yours, etc.,

R. G. Wear.

Club Toes Party Line

Sir,

In his letter direcled at Tony Haas, Mr. Shand has made little effort to refute Mr. Hass' accusation that V.U.W. political clubs have produced few constructive ideals.

This is the major issue involved—that V.U.W. political clubs have little to offer students other than an amplification of the party line; and Mr. Shand would do well to bear his in mind rather than indulge In another Issue—that of face saving.

Mr. Shand can point to addresses by Mr. Nash and Mr. Nordmeyer as examples of his club's activities. These undoubtedly bring enlightenment to those who don't possess a radio capable of picking up broadcasts of Parliament in session. However, here again he deviates from the major issue at stake—that of original student thought and subsequent derivation of constructive Ideas.

I find it ludicrous that Mr. Shand should accuse Mr. Haas' remarks of being "so wide of the mark," when his own bear so little relevance to the article that caused his brain so little work in formulating his reply.

I am. etc.,

Don Laing.

Answers to Correspondents

J. J. Elliot. R. G. Wear makes the same points in his letter above.

Crud Crude?

Sir,

How long will the just literate ravings of the "cruds" on the varsily campus be able to dominate so much space with their absolute banality? The myth of the sun-tanned, hearty drinking of a huge quantity of brown culture, treating women like "confectionery dolls." is at last showing signs of dying in this University. It Is dead, that is, except for the Iloud-mouth rowdies from Weir House who keep up the tradition of boorish behaviour, as their out-of-town fathers expect them to do because it is a closeted tradition In the family, like the musty varsity scarf in the wardrobe.

We are very perturbed that Mr. Crud had a party after which he had bloodshot eyes, worried that they had a party that was "crashed" by some gentlemen or ladies with homosexual or lesbian traits; all this Is so unusual in Wellington and looks really fine treated in such a bull neck way.

Without making a value judgment (cough), Mr. Crud's preference for the anal imagery of the Taj Mahal docs show a crude literary appreciation. Crude is the operative word.

—Yours, etc.,

Murray Rowlands.

Crud Cribs?

Sir,

To the small band of admirers who know me as the eminence grise of University literature, my influence upon the style and content of El Crud will not come as a surprise. But I feel that it should be made known to the wider public who have yet to discover me that the phrase "overrun by a swarm of O.B.E.'s" has its origin firstly in the folklore of the Goons and secondly In a short surrealist play entitled "The Largest Wooden Southern Hemisphere in the World" which appeared in the pages of the 1963 Weir House Magazine.' After cornering the arrant plagiarist on Kelburn Park and threatening him with an old meal pie I forced this admission from him.

Yours ever,

Rob Laking.

We deprecate the threat of violence which was made to our correspondent El. Crud. We are also Interested to sec that Mr. Laking apparently equates "University literature" with the annual Weir House magazine.

—Ed.

Crud Coarse

Sir,

It occurs to me that we have our perspective wrong when a serious New Zealand poet has his poem Imperilled because it contains a vulgarism, yet the coarse, empty-minded and puerile work of El Crud is allowed to Include a similar 'objectionable' term (line 10 Salient April 2, 1964.

El Crud's observations are dull and trite—one feels he uses the word in question simply because It Is one of the few terms within the range of his impoverished literary mind.

I am, etc.,

Ian Mitchell.

Crud Corny

Sir,

After the best one yet—bloodshot eyed and a mouth like the card had kittens in it—ran into old Murray Rowlands In the boozer the other day.

He and I both being all of 23. started saying things like "cliches, banal, trite, space-waster, why" and resolved to write letters.

Not, mind you, that we can't tolerate the cull of the Weirman or Vic A girls in their respective (or each other's) places . . . but these, trotted out with every issue of Salient and inflicted on us with monotonous regularity????????

Fair go; it'd make a joker keep his sixpence and buy "Listener".

John Rodgers.

Poet Replies

Sir,

What the blazes is Mr. Rowlands talking about? His reviewing is callow in the extreme. To say Hilaire Kirkland's poetry is like Chinese poetry is really to do no more than say it is like Afghan or Urdu poetry. Who does he think he's kidding, slinging the bull that way?

As for Barry Southam's opening sentence. I can guarantee to do Mr. Rowlands' trick with it to any prose writer of note he cares to name. It may be a sniggery nitwitticism, but is hardly reviewing, and certainly doesn't negate Mr. Southam's work it merely shows Mr. Rowlands has a tendency to think in terms of advertising copy, which, since he slings around generalisations, is perhaps not surprising. Has he missed his metier?

As for my lack of implicit belief, I was not aware that my sonnet had to bear the awesome weight of a Second Coming. Surely one coming in a sonnet is enough?

Isn't there somebody who knows something about literature who could review Argot for you?

Yours, etc.,

Richard Packer.

Misreported

Sir,

As the News Editor was present at one last Law Faculty A.C.M., his misreporting of the meeting cannot be excused.

Contrary to what he informed readers, the motion—"That the Law Faculty staff be requested to present to students a set policy on 'special' examinations, etc.", was passed decisively.

The motion was of obvious importance when it was revealed that there was possibility of administrative carelessness In the organisation of "specials" exams.

Yours, etc.,

Alister Taylor.

Geiringer

Sir,

I would like to lodge an objection against the article published in last Salient written by Dr. Geiringer. Many students besides myself are rather annoyed at the uninformative and sacreligious way in which the subject was approached by Dr. Geiringer.

Phrases such as "there has been only one reported failure", referring to abstention are not the advice we expect from a qualified doctor! I would refer Dr. Geiringer to an article published in "Truth" (and if he cannot get hold of this magazine, the contents are published also In "Zealandia", the Roman Catholic newspaper dated March 26). Where the B.M.A., the most authoritative medical association In the world, stated publicly that contraception should be avoided. Dr. Geiringer as a member of the profession, then may use a little more discretion in future.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Lenart.

Fashionable Cliche

Sir,

With reference to your article on Varsity Fashions, the problem appears to be that of separating the chic from the gauche.

I am. etc.,

Robin Bell.