Polytech Students Wake Up

by a student at Wellington Polytechnic

Two full-time courses at the Wellington Polytechnic were disrupted when two tutors were not available for tutorials.

The missing staff members were involved in an inquiry by the Polytechnic Council, which is expected to be completed within the next day or two.

Meetings of students were held and letters were drafted to the administration giving it notice of the motives for the action, and expressing the extreme resentment of the students at the action of the administration involving the tutors.

It was felt that action which resulted in disruption of classes should not be taken without consultation with the students.

Many first-year students have come to realise that the Wellington Polytech is nothing more than an overrated secondary school. Decisions are made on the upper floors of "A" block and as far as the students are concerned, that's it.

It's high time students came out in protest against the administration. On many course's students are judged on attendance and punctuality. Naturally the place is geared to training aspiring young capitalists to "go forth and make a man of yourself" but under the present system, the man is not going to be a man of his own design. The majority of people emerging from polytech are likely to know what they are doing in their jobs, but the ability to become a free-thinking individual is crushed.

The all-powerful administration must come to understand it cannot go ahead with its domineering policies independent of the students for whom the polytech is supposed to be run.

The job of arousing students to fight against this out-moded system will be difficult. As was shown with last month's protest, few students decided on positive action. Most courses resumed studies as usual, merely because the action taken by the hierachy did not affect them directly.

The apathetic attitude of many polytech students has amazed first-year students, particularly those who have come directly from secondary school. These pupils only went from one archaic system to another, expecting the freedom one should expect from a tertiary institution but being sadly disappointed. The prime example of apathy was the presidential elections. Of some 5,000 full-time and part-time students 400 managed to drag themselves out to vote.

It's up to the students to bring about the long overdue change. It won't happen by itself.