Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 4. 21st March 1973

Half-Eyed Editors on Soapbox

Half-Eyed Editors on Soapbox

Dear Sir,

I have sat and watched with increasing dismay as any left-overs of literary sensitivity and philosophical rationality have oozed out of Salient's pages, leaving behind a super-abundance of polemic. Obviously "Salient" still has its uses in conveying information, e.g. the "Food Co-op" article in this week's effort, and no doubt the advertisements are useful and interesting to someone, but our soap box editors' half-eyedness on any subject they consider political is a tragedy for the University.

Having heard several reports of forged letters being published, and blatant censorship on anything considered by their Omnisciences to be detrimental to the students' interests (e.g. Young Socialists' letters), it was still more rational to refrain from asserting anything until more definite proof was obtained. When, however, the editors admit in their own words that "there is no room for a particular person's views (in this case Rotherham's) in Salient", we see a principle of censorship operating which reminds one of South African repression of all, which is not agreed with.

I appreciate the need to produce a paper in which an informed radical viewpoint can be expressed without fear of censorship, but surely the editors can't be so bigoted as to believe that all the students want to ingest is emotional radical propaganda. As for editors who themselves seem to respond fanatically and irrationally to the external stimulus of a Trot, a Jesus Freak or any other arbitrarily—designated conservative, but will print with the least persuasion any article which reinforces their own views, regardless of its standard of journalism or literary value, there is no question that even those who still read "Salient" arc not in favour of this state of affairs.

Yours

Chris Benge