Lincoln College students are ill-served indeed if the disgraceful display I witnessed at your Annual General Meeting today is typical of the way you run your affairs.

I do not, of course, deny Lincoln the right to take any strong stand it may choose in the Councils and meetings of New Zealand students. That right is inalienable.

But until today I assumed that when your delegates have presumed to speak for "all Lincoln students" or "the overwhelming majority", they were telling the truth.

There was little surprise caused at today's meeting when Messrs John Hayes and Roger Payne combined to 'create' a strong Lincoln stand against participation in both international and national issues considered by N.Z.U.S.A. From this I must conclude that such arrogant tactics are not new in your decision-making process.

It may be true that Lincoln students have no constructive role to play in discussing and forming policy on such issues as Manapouri, racism in sport, foreign bases in New Zealand and the care of unmarried mothers. I doubt it.

It is most certainly not true (although Mr Hayes declared it is) that Otago's attitude on this issue is "the same as Lincoln's", nor that "N.Z.U.S.A. is crumbling" (as Mr Payne confidently told his large and credulous audience).

Mr Hayes' most brazen (and most ridiculous) ploy to win his point was that "Lincoln is interested in education—this affects us—and N.Z.U.S.A. should concentrate on it." My dear Mr Lincoln President, N.Z.U.S.A. does concentrate upon it, but Lincoln has shown little evidence of doing so.

Where was your delegate at the education conference three weeks ago? Your boycott' was noticed, but apparently not you.

The half-truths used by Mr Hayes to secure 'aye' votes from his stalwart isolationist cronies were but part of the disgrace at today's meeting. The chief shame was the performance of Chairman Payne, who summed up vigorously and partially between each of Mr Hayes's speeches, who stifled opposition by not seeing those who might oppose the motion, who refused to even accept a motion for speaking rights for a Canterbury executive member, and who generally dictated to the meeting what it would decide. Where were the remits that the meeting was called to discuss, by the way, Mr Chairman?

It is a good thing few students from 'outside' see you on your home ground, Lincoln. The strong and valuable contribution which some believe you have been making in student affairs would soon be seen for what it clearly is: personal grandstanding both at home and abroad.

There must be many conscious and concerned students at Lincoln; their views should be heeded. The rest of you appear content to chew your cuds and follow fuhrers in a vain bid for respectability.