This year's AGM, held last Wednesday in the Union Hall, could well represent a watershed so far as the constant attacks on basic freedoms (such as democracy and freedom of speech) staged by our president go.

AGM's are held (appropriately enough) once a year, and are the places where the budget for the coming year is presented, outgoing members of the exec, make their reports, and any constitutional amendments are discussed.

At this meeting, there was certainly no paucity of constitutional amendments. However, many of these "amendments' were contrary to both the spirit and the letter of the constitution, that a complete redrafting of the constitution would have been more appropriate than mere amendments. The motions I am referring to are ones calling for the editor of Salient to be elected by SRC, for VUWSA to have no policy on abortion, and for VUWSA to have no policy on foreign affairs.

Significantly, all these motions (in common with every motion at this AGM) were moved or seconded by the President of the same association that these motions would seek to curtail so severely. Tees has obviously forgotten that his job is to protect the rights of students and to ensure that their wished are carried out. All has been crushed by his desire to vanquish his critics and to further his own views. But perhaps I am running ahead of myself, and should start at the beginning.

Due no doubt to the intense lobbying carried out prior to the meeting by a large number of interested groups, there was a very large crowd gathered at the Union Hall (although various old-timers in the crowd were heard to mutter "This is nothing compared to the good old days'). As is customary in such gatherings, once apologies, minutes and matters arising had been dispatched, we got on to the annual reports.