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What If They Held A University & Nobody Came??

Well kiddies, the Sausage Machine is grinding us, all down into a consistent mass no longer resembling meat, the additions of bread and water much outweighing the original stuff, and making us just like the commercial article, and then out the end we come, uniformly skinned, but slightly different brand marks, B.A., B.Sc., B.C.A., LLB. or something very similar, perhaps a little more bread to make the texture finer. Labled, handshaken, thrown into the world, bemused, confused, stultified, capitalistic and completely stuffed.

Gone are all traces of incipient originality, vitality, vivacity and love — we are now carcases - amorphous grey, unfeeling, uncritical, seeped in mediocrity. Out we go to become the leaders of Tomorrow, we the intellegensia so called, of the nation, completely and utterly rooted, subverted by that machine that is cunningly placed at the end of the school system, neatly disguised as a Gingerbread house. Into this inviting palace we go, but once we're in Clang............. the door shuts and we are removed - think this way - follow these rules - use this viewpoint- read this book- Click.....Click.....Click.. and out comes the sausage......dead.....but......it looks Ok.

Shall we now have a think.....Yes, thats right.....a think... (You could even do it over the Vacation.)

Is the University doing for me what I want?

Is it teaching/showing/leading me into new fields of thought critical and non-compromising?

It is allowing me to grow in myself, to become more human, more caring, more sensitive?

Is it providing me with the necessary skills to help form a new society?

Am I completely satisfied with what it is at present???

and if you answer any of these questions No (imagine) what are you going to do? Are you going to accept (and be branded with your dishonesty for life) or are you going to try and effect some changes. Remember People ( a subversive statement) We are the University!!! without us it has no reason for existance - for God's sake let us control it not it control us.

What is needed is not a continuation of the school system, but something to counter its stultifying influence, and in the University we can do it - what justification can there be for a course or faculty that has no students - and vica-versa if there is not a faculty of what we want - lets start one - think of the possibilities - academic freedom, liberated thinking, decisions made by students, we might even get some progress not repetition.

For the University to survive in any effective form it must cease to be a palliative offered to the people by those who have the power in our society......"You can all go to University, by one means or another, and you can all attempt to get the qualifications that will allow you to come up on top with us, but if you fail, ah well you can't say we haven't given you the chance to join us, you're not good enough so you will have to go back to the masses again.

We have to make the University the change agent in our society - the instrument that shapes society - is not shaped by it - And we can do it Brothers and Sisters if we do it Together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter N. Kendall.