El Presidente called for order (little of which was forthcoming) and the biggest, brightest SRC of the year (except the last one) was underway!

Reports

Neil Gray turned his Orientation report into something of a diatribe; his main gripe seemed to be that the profit made by such cultural (sic) functions as Orientation and Capping should be used to provide more free functions a la Poets on the run, Raz outdoor concert etc., and not go into General Funds as at present. His motion to this effect was deferred until the A.G.M.

The only other even remotely interesting report was Council Rep. Peter Winter giving himself a pat on the back for managing to avoid stuffing up the emergency Council meeting.

SRC Officers

And so the real business of the afternoon, elections of SRC officers. First up, Welfare. A certain Mr. Tees was elected unapposed on a platform of promising nothing, let's hope he delivers more than that. Woman's Rights went (also unapposed) to the organiset of the very successful March 8th Campaign, Lamorna Rogers. Her pledges, apart from abortion, were to combat sexism and discrimination, especially in the University. A proven organiser, Lamorna. Sean Tuohy picked up National Affairs (again unopposed). This is a fun game. He was active in numerous campaigns last year, most notably Bursaries and the SIS (Take that one with a pinch of salt—Ed.)

The first contended position of the afternoon was International Affairs. Mike Treen vs. David Murray (or trot vs. Maoist for those of you who didn't recognise the names). After some at times hostile questioning Treen came out ahead on the vote by 63 to 45, the trots' first victory in donkeys' ages. Mike's progress will be eagerly watched by both sides. (Anyone wanting an international affair can contact Mike c/o Stud Ass).

(The question arises, what is Mr. Treen who has a long record of involvement in National and educational activities doing standing for the International position? Why did he risk a difficult election in a field not his own? To put it another way, was there a trade off?—Ed.)

One of the major disappointments of the elections was the surprising lack of a candidate for Overseas Student Officer: it appears that James Movick has sacrificed his future in vain. Hopefully someone will step forward by next week for the next SRC. Gill must be laughing into his gin.

Next up, Sue Cairney, another hardened campaigner. She was seeking Education Officer and was elected unopposed and without any dissenting votes. Although Sue would be one of the best suited people on campus for this job in any case, it was disappointing to see only one candidate for what is the most important SRC position we have, especially in this an election year. Sue will push for the adoption page 5 of NZUSA's 10-point bursaries plan, some firm action on assessment (about 5 years overdue) and some justified criticism of our last couple of Ed. Officers, and also of the absolutely abysmal standard of some of the University's lecturers, not only the younger, more inexperienced ones either. (Good ol' Sue).

The last of the SRC officers was Environmental affairs. Only one nomination was recieved for this position, the man who took it up late last year, Paul Norman Let's hope he continues his good work in such areas as beech forests and the Clutha dam.

SRC Reps.

The first of the committees needing members was the Union Management Committee, that with the overall responsibility for the running of the Union facilities. Five people were needed for this committee and, wonder of wonders, we got seven nominations! The lucky (or unluck-y) five were: J. Hebenton, K. Skinner, S. Kos, R. Turner, and P. Edwards. Hopefully these five, and the four Catering [unclear: Rep]. (P. Callinicos, K. Callinicos, S.O'Connor, P. Edwards ) will help get the caf. food back to edible.

Pubs Board—As the benificent leader explained the difference between this and a public bar (to widespread gales of derisive laughter) six enthusiasts leapt to their feet and were duly approved en masse. They were Sue Cairney, Rire Scotney, Lamorna Rogers, Lorraine Robinson, Sean Tuohy and Paul McHugh (Caveat editor).

What proved to be the last election of the day was that for Student Reps, on Prof. Board, the most powerful of the university bodies after the Council. The debate started with an impassioned speech by deposed rep. Gerard Winter, who seemed to be exhorting reps, to vote against SRC policy, not a good idea. I think there may still be some under the impression that Gerard was making a plea for his own candidature but VUWSA's answer to Ray La Varis assured me that this was not the case and indeed the five nominees did not include the said Winter.

Before nominations were opened for these positions though, we saw a vain attempt by Thrush/Winter to get the SRC Coordinator on the Prof. Board ex-officio (I wonder which of them is considering standing for SRC Coordinator).

The major oppostion to this idea came because Winter sees Prof. Board as a place where you vote according to your own beliefs and not necessarily as the SRC would have you vote. Luckily, no one was sucked in by Thrush/Winter's rhetoric and the motion went down heavily.

The five eventual nominees for the Prof. Board were C. Chapman, P. Edwards, P. Sheat, S. Wilson and the ubiquitous Paul Norman. Chapman, Sheat and Wilson were successful. With the end of that election the great and glorious leader declared the bunfight over until next Wednesday and added that we shouldn't forget the VUWSA A.G.M. on March 30.

Sean Tuohy