Leadership on Campus

It is a truism to say that the Students' Association can only be as effective as its membership but there is of course the other aspect — that of leadership. Leadership in our Association must be provided not only by the Executive, but also by the various SRC Officers.

According to the laws that govern bureaucratic committees, committees are composed of: Wish-bones — those that talk a lot but never do anything; Knuckle bones — people that knock things but do not do anything and back-bones — those that do all the work.

It is important to have backbones in all areas of the Association's work — culturally, financially, politically and socially. The acknowledged financial and administrative backbone has of course been the 1977 and 1978 Treasurer — Stephen Underwood. In 1977 the social backbone was Neil Gray who, as he so often pointed out, ended up doing a great deal of the shit work of organising socials, hops, concerts, etc. This year has seen a heavy turnover of Executive members due to vacancies existing at the end of last year being filled by interim people.

To their credit the Callinicos brothers (K & P) took their role as Executive members seriously from the time they were elected. They have contributed a great deal in terms of time and work, particularly in social areas and accommodation.

Politically with a few exceptions both 1977 and 1978 executives have been disappointing, particularly in popularising SRC's.

One of these exceptions is Caroline Massof, the Woman Vice President, who has worked hard and with a great deal of initiative in the field of women's rights. She too played an important role in the social side of the Association. The year's Sports Officer, Philip Sowman, was also enthusiastic - not only in his own area but also as a participant in Executive activities (especially after Exec. Meetings!).

On the whole this year's executive has worked more co-operatively and has achieved better results than 1977's. This is partly due to my own inexperience last year, but also to the personnel involved in this year's Executive.

The SRC OFficers' work can often be assessed in the campaigns they have co-ordinated or failed to co-ordinate. The Association relies heavily on SRC Officers for political leadership in their respective fields. Overall I think the work of SRC Officers has been disappointing, particularly in the areas of international and education. This is partly explicable in the conditions existing on the campus, but also to the lack of leadership and initiative. Exceptions to this are in the fields of Women's Rights (Lamorna Rogers), Environment (Paul Norman) and National (Jim Brown). These officers have shown enthusiasm and initiative, which has been reflected in the campaigns or forums they have organised.

It is essential that students critically examine their elected officers and the work they do. This serves not only to remind these officers that they are ultimately responsible to students but also to help them in their work.