Recommendations Adopted By Executive

By Denis Phelps

Three recommendations from the Education Committee were adopted by a recent meeting of Executive as remits for the Easter Council of NZUSA.

NZUSA was asked to draw up a bill of student rights vis-a-vis university administration.

Reference was made to the Otago University mixed flats affair of last year, and also to the fact that Otago has now appointed a Proctor whose job it is to check on student parties.

A second remit declared that universities should be educational institutions and not places of vocational training.

Finally, NZUSA was recommended to take action on the Parkyn Report on "Success and Failure at the University" in the light of Jonathan Cloud's reccommendations.

A joint committee on student power is to be proposed to the University by the Students' Association.

This was decided at the annual meeting of the association on April 9 when a motion was passed declaring "that the question of the part to be played by students in the governing of this University needs to be reconsidered".

It also suggested that a joint committee be set up.

It was proposed that the committee should consist of four members of the Executive and four members to be nominated by the University Council.

It must "call for submissions" and "consider all matters" raised in the Salient editorial of March 19−and report to a special general meeting of the association before the end of July.

If the University Council does not agree to participate in the proposed committee, a meeting will be called within two weeks of the next meeting of council in April.

In view of this proposal, the constitutional amendment, providing for the election of the asociation representative on the University Council, was tabled without consideration.

The controversial proposal for an "open" Executive, where all students would have speaking and voting rights, was defeated at the annual meeting.

Alter strong opposition, particularly from left wingers, the motion was lost 72 votes to 33.

But the meeting decided to set up a committee of four to investigate the possibilities of a student Representative Council at this University on the same lines as that operating at Otago.

The meeting also carried a motion to allow Executive to co-opt students to fill the first two vacancies on an Executive.