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In Whose Interest!

by John Ryall

Next week's elections for the Students' Association Executive will force students to decide what sort of leadership they want during 1977. But, more importantly, it will also give them the chance to reflect on the performance of the executive students have suffered in 1976.

This year's executive has been split wide open on a number of issues, but none so fundamental as to what sort of leadership its individual members should be providing in the Students' Association.

This was reflected in the recent march of 1500 students down to Parliament as a protest against the general education cuts and the falling bursary levels. Only half of the executive thought the struggle for student bursary increases significant enough to join the march.

Man Vice-president Steve Underwood. Treasurer Mike Curtis, Accomodation Officer Scott Wilson, and Sports Officer Peter Thrush made no effort to aid the organisation of the most important student campaign this year, and Messrs Underwood and Thrush implied to campaign organisers that most bursary recipients were bludgers who didn't know how to organise their money efficiently.

Of course, efficiency has been of key importance in the association this year. One of Steve Underwood's reasons for seconding the motion to dismiss the Officer Manager (Mrs Goodall) was her "lack of efficiency" (see Salient No.1, 1976) and the general attitude of the majority of executive members has been to sacrifice student involvement in the Students' Association activities for increased efficiency.

In an assessment of the executive at the end of the first term I mentioned the split between those who placed high priority on working with students, and those who saw top priority in working for students. Unfortunately the trend has continued.

This is not to say that people such as Steve Underwood and Mike Curtis are not putting time into their jobs, but their prime responsibility must be to involve others in association activities and to encourage students to run activities for students rather than executive members doing it all themselves.

A case in point was the Food Co-operative, a student club which was a high financial turnover and consequently can make a loss very fast. At most meetings executive members have called for more stringent control over the club, too often losing sight of the fact that the food co-op should be run by students for students and not run by executive members for students.

If everything was brought in under the administrative wing of the executive, and SRC officers were left to run the "political" side of the association (such as education campaigns, forums, arranging for visiting speakers etc), then there would be really no need for executive members to actually be stationed on campus. Last year's presidential candidate Stephen Hay wanted to run the Association from a downtown lawyer's office and was defeated. Mike Curtis, Scott Wilson and Steve Underwood (to a lesser extent) are doing this, and they're surviving quiet nicely.

Mike Curtis has been working downtown all year, Steve Underwood is paid to work 30 hours a week by Victoria Book Centre (of which he is also a director), and Scott Wilson appears on campus two lunchtimes a week from downtown to carry out his duties as Accomodation Officer.

The real work of getting student involved in the Association this year has been done by four very competent SRC officers - Lindy Cassidy (Education), Leonie Morris (International), Jackie Blackman (Environment) and Kevin Swann (National)'. They have been aided by executive members Anthony Ward (SRC Co-ordinator), Gyles Beckford (President), Anne Dwyer (Cultural Affairs) and in the later stages by Mark Sainsbury (Publications). Rae Mazengarb, who was Women's Vice-president before she resigned two weeks ago, was involved at the beginning of the year in the education co-ordination meetings but was torn between the two executive factions and eventually bowed out of everything.

So, the road ahead looks long and dusty. While the Students' Association must be aware of the tremendous amount of administrative work that is being thrust upon some of its executive members, the choice is still one of the priorities of student involvement or of Association efficiency. The two are not incompatible, but if you let an individual build up very heavy financial power in his or her hands, then the populist nature of the association is in danger.

This year's elections are significant for the Students' Association. All but three of the people standing for positions have not served on the executive before. It is a chance to install a new leadership the choice is up to you.

Any person who is standing unopposed has to get 50% of the votes cast to be elected (you can vote no-confidence) Polling days are Tuesday and Wednesday, 10-11 August