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Salient. Official Newspaper of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Vol 40 No. 6. April 4 1977

Reader supports Salient's stand

Reader supports Salient's stand.

Dear Sir,

I read with interest your front page article in the 4th issue of Salient on the performance of the Executive to date. As one only now concerned on the periphery of student politics, I would say it was probably a fair statement.

The major difficulties on Execs, are the members who are more concerned about making a name for themselves than in serving the interests of students. They have little or no concern for the policies decided upon by SRC. For example, I noticed that only two Exec, members went on the student march for Sharpeville Day—Lindy Cassidy and Kevin Swann, and I suspect the majority of Exec, did not go on the main march.

On every Exec. I have seen (and I have seen quite a few) there has always been three varieties of Exec, members. There are those who begin as well meaning incompetents (for example the lady who campaigned on the policy of getting a student pub—Execs, for the last 10 years have been attempting this and the only answer answer was we'll get one if there is a substantial change to the licensing laws,) and develop into cynical lazy bastards. I would say that Lindy Cassidy has been saddled with more than her fair share of these.

The next category are those Exec, members who do not agree with much of SRC policy, who consider they should work only in their own portfolio, and who attempt to disguise and conceal certain areas of their work from students, instead of being open and above board. The very nature of the style of their work, being mostly conspiratorial and manipulative, and having a fraudulent air of mystique around it, attracts the less well meaning of the first category and enables them to win majorities on various vital questions—e.g., the motion passed at the last meeting of the Exec, which gives Exec, members the right to intefere in the autonomy of Salient.

Cartoon strip of a mouth eating paper

Then there are the hard working, politically aware and alive Exec, members, who make their time and energy available to the needs and concerns of students. On this Exec, only Lindy Cassidy and Kevin Swann appear to come close to this.

It seems to me that while most of the Salient article was fair and accurate, it did not bring out these divisions suffiviently, or make any forwcasts on how the Exec, would respond to the developing needs of the Students Association. Modestly, I believe I have corrected this omission.

I would now like to comment on the letter in Salient no. 5 headed "Liberals Unite" and signed by a large number of people, few of whom I suspect have read all of the essay on Liberalism from which they quoted. In their attempt to defend certain members of the Exec, they have failed to consider them in an all-round political manner; They do not consider the article as a whole, nor do they make any substantial criticisms of its political analysis. Instead of refuting the article they descend to villifying the Editor and Workers of Salient.

The idea about accepting criticism, which perhaps these well developed Marxist Leninists could pass onto the two Exec, members they defend is that criticism should not be accepted with with arrogance, but with humility, sorting out the unjust from the just criticism, changing those things which are wrong, strengthening those aspects which are correct. I have yet to see any sign of this, and indeed the two Exec, memebrs they feel so strongly about—Neil Gray and Gerald Sharrock, voted for the Exec, motion previously mentioned in this letter. Perhaps the writers of the letter would care to revise their judgement in light of this action.

To the Editor of Salient, I say, keep it up! Salient must not only be separate from the Exec., it must be seen to be separate.

Cartoon strip of a mouth eating paper

Yours in struggle

Ex-Student Politician.