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Salient: Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Vol. 32, No. 2. 1969.

Letters To The Editor

Letters To The Editor

"Salient"

As The Start of the varsity year draws near yet again, we look forward to the orientation week whirl.

Not least among these, as always, will be the canvassing by various organisations to gain new members. The ardent fresher, anxious to belong, or to appear as if he belonged, joins indiscriminatingly. Or perhaps with some ideas of how to climb higher on the social ladder.

Sir, I do not excuse myself. In 1968 I, not even a fresher but a second-year student, joined in happy anticipation of glory the august ranks of the Salient reporting staff. I joined—I typed— I did not report. I came to the Salient office early, I left it late. And as I typed I watched the writhing convolutions of the Salient hierachy as some wormed higher and others were tramped. Owie Baby wandered in and out, halo slightly askew. Bill on top of the filing cabinet housing copy and NZSPA beamed benignly from behind notched canines.

What hope had I of getting to the top?

I left one day and did not return, (Nec ab ullo mortale unquam vidatur !)

My dear, my very dear Sir. When will Salient learn not to intimidate? When will her noble portals open to the great unwashed? When, in other words, will she grow up?

Jane Rankin.

Pen-pals

I Must apologise to you for writing this letter to you suddenly. First of all, let me Introduce our circle. "Hiiragi", to you. Our circle consists of students of Doshisha University, which is located in Kyoto, one of the most beautiful cities in Japan, and our subject and aim is International correspondence.

Our circle has about 20 members. from 18 to 22. A long-cherished desire of our members is to establish correspondence between our circle and groups at foreign universities or various social parties.

For this reason I'm writing this letter. We are reedy to respond to remarks about various things, for example, political problems, economic problems, customs, fashion, social problems, and so on, So we need your help. Would you please introduce such groups to us or help us to look for them. We believe that correspondence promotes international understanding.

Hiroshi Hayashida,

International Correspondence

Circle, "Hiranga".

1245 Anaguchi Higashitomatsu, cho Amagasekishi Hyogoken, Japan.

Swimming pool

Salient claims ". . . almost 6000 people at Vic . . . could use a swimming pool." No doubt. And the same 6000 could also "use" a lot of other things that are not envisaged at the moment.

However, your argument is that student "need" rather than "could make use of" this particular facility, and it is this claim that I wish to question.

A swimming pool is no more necessary to a university than squash courts, indoor skating rinks, or any other of the much-vaunted but patronised-by-the-few sporting facilities.

If Victoria was a completely residential university, as many are overseas, where students are required to live on university grounds in residential halls, then the claim for a pool might be a just one. But this is not so, and with available finance for universities and education in general so obviously scarce and begrudged, there are many projects more worthy and less selfish than this one, in spite of the fact "we are not too parochial".

J. M. Dey.

Salient didn't claim anything. The article, which through an oversight was not attributed, was concocted by interested persons, including the sports editor.—Ed.