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Salient. Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 42 No. 11. May 28 1979

Effective Leaflets

Effective Leaflets

The leaflets proved more effective than I, for one, believed would have been possible for so transparent a smear campaign. Not only did they bring students en masse to the meeting (which was good) but they brought them there with their minds already firmly made up as to how they were going to vote (which is appalling considering that the decision was not based on any evidence, but on sheer prejudice.)

In the meeting itself we saw a continuation of the tactics used in the leaflets... Steve Underwood (Chairman for the day) proposed to limit discussion to Tees' competence in the job. This was thrown out as it would have prevented the attacks on supporters of the motion. The technique of implying that supporters of the motion had forfeited their right to act as part of the Association continued as speakers against the motion emphasised that it was the so-called communists that were proposing that Tees should go. Few speakers vindicated Tees' performance though many attacked supporters of the motion.

Not only did Tees' supporters attempt to discredit the "left", they physically tried to prevent them from expressing their views. Speakers in favour of the motion were, almost without exception, heckled, interrupted, booed, pelted by missiles of various description, and I suspect not listened to at all Many speakers and would-be speakers were intimidated by the crowd reaction.

This phenomena also has its parallel in history. If we examine the Europe of the 30's, we see the physical intimidation of Hitler's and Mussolini's thugs which started with interruption of meetings and petty harrassments, passed through the stage of groups of thugs wandering around beating up Jews and communists and ended up with the Gestapo.

We saw the first step on that path on Wednesday.