Editorial Comment by Salient Co-Editor, Hugh Rennie.

At a time when groups of students call for action, boycott protest, Salient has been under pressure; from several quarters to make endorsements or statements of policy. We have thought it more important to try and present what other students think, not what we think ourselves.

In this special issue are accounts of two actions already taken, an executive meeting and a "non-demonstration". Also printed are the exact texts of the SGM requisition motion and the Executive motion. Students seeking a full, unbiased, background before attending tonight's meeting should find it here.

However, there are certain points which I personally wish to make here as editorial comment:

Students are confronted by five national universith issues and several local ones. It is not possible to judge these issues without a prior personal decision on what a New Zealand university is. You must decide whether students go to university as a right or as a privilege.

The basic assumption of one section of New Zealand educational thinking is that equality of educational opportunity must be available to all students at all levels of education. This assumption arose round about the turn of the century and is a strong force in public thought today.

If you accept this, then exclusion of students for any reason except marked academic failure is repugnant. If you accept it, your concern is for the following issues:

Fees : Now present an economic barrier to full-time students who have lost or are not entitled to a bursary. (Economic exclusion).

Accommodation : Government subsidies but not grants are available for the construction of hostels only. No money is available for running expenses, nor for any other form of accommodation. (Economic exclusion).

Buildings : Lack of study and teaching space forces exclusion of students for whom there are no facilities in the interests of others. This situation is in immediate prospect - e.g. Auckland, where the Council expects the forced exclusion of 600 students in two years time (Evening Post, Wednesday, 17th March). (Exclusion by inadequacy).

Bursaries : Existing bursaries are meagre and many anomalies exist. For example students living in an urban area cannot receive boarding allowances even if transport difficulties force them to live away from home. (Economic exclusion).

Staff : University staff salaries and staff ratios make it difficult to obtain staff and harder to keep them. This leads to "intellectual exclusion" of students.

The university students' associations have been concerned at the implications of these issues. They have sought higher bursaries, assistance in accommodation, competitive staff salaries, reduction or abolition of fees. All normal channels have been tried - With Total Failure.

If You Believe In These Aims, You Can Do Three Things

1.	Give up and resign yourself to the present situation.
2.	Vote tonight for a boycott and stay away on the day.
3.	Vote tonight for a boycott and actively work to create such public interest and sympathy as will thrown the chilling fear of coming defeat into the government.

If you choose 2 or 3, if you accept that reason has failed and only non-violent militancy remains, then there will still be hope for New Zealand's universities.

"Non-Demonstration"

Last Friday night an Ecafe cocktail party was held in the Student Union. Members of Cabinet and government attended.

Proposals to stage picketing were made on Friday afternoon. A number of picket signs were prepared. However, the organisers cancelled the picket when it appeared it could have unwanted repercussions against the University and the Student Union.

As early as 4.30 p.m. police and other persons (apparently security police) were on the campus. Meantime, the picket organisers erected two signs in a small garden alongside the north entrance to the Union. Both signs were about 3 ft. by 2 ft. in size and stated the basic aims of the boycott movement.

From about 6.15 p.m. students began to appear. Some said they wanted to watch the delegates arrive, other were "watching the absence of a picket"; yet others seemed to be there out of curiosity. It was possible to recognise a number of students who had been active earlier in the day in promoting the boycott movement.

Salient's chief photographer and also a freelance photographer were present.

Ecafe delegates had to walk between two lines of students standing on the concrete borders to the path. About a quarter to 7 a lone picketer arrived with a sign carried on a broom-stick, and shortly before 7 a new sign was added "Welcome Ecafe Delegates" - making four signs in all (contrast the Dominion's report "about 100 students, many carrying banners").

Prominent New Zealanders including Tom Shand, Jack Marshall, and Frank Kitts passed the signs. As the Deputy Prime Minister passed the students, one called "Will you help us, Mr. Marshall?" Accounts of the wording of the reply varied, but it was affirmative and students seemed encouraged. The ambiguity of the reply did not strike them.

A little later a sudden bang drew the students' attention to the sight of a police constable bouncing himself off a truck bonnet with his hands. The constable had apparently been trying to stop the truck from "stalling in" across the only entrance to the cocktail party. Police immediately removed the driver from the truck and took him to the police station. While Executive members of the Students' Association contacted a lawyer, the police attempted to move the truck, which they could not start. Finally a large group of students pushed it out of the road.

By this time most cocktail party guests had arrived and by 8 p.m. almost all the students had drifted away. Several hundred delegates had passed the signs, and most read them. Although it was believed that Mr. Holyoake would attend, he did not appear.

S.G.M. Motion

We The Undersigned Students Of The Victoria University Of Wellington Hereby Call For A Special General Meeting Of The Students' Association To Discuss The Following Matters :

1.

The Government's lack of interest in the problems of higher education and its failure to recognise the increasing importance of higher education in New Zealand, and in particular : a) Its failure to increase student bursaries to an adequate level and to increase these in accordance with the cost of living, whereby competent students are discriminated against page 2 because of government pressure for full-time study. b) Its action in increasing university fees, operating against part-time students and those not under a bursary. c) Its total inaction and lack of interest over the pressing problem of student accommodation, which will be to the detriment of the country as a whole. d) Its undue interference in planned university expansion at both the University of Auckland and Massey University of the Manawatu under the guise of the need to restrict government spending.

For these reasons the following motion will be moved at the meeting ... :

Moved

"That the Executive be instructed to organise a one day total student boycott of all University lectures and activities, and on this day students shall be called on to attend at the Student Union Building for the purposes of picketing the entire University area. For this they shall prepare documentation and shall release this to all interested organisations, the Press, TV, and other news sources. Support should be sought from members of the staff and at the same time a programme of action should be drawn up for presentation to the Government. If the above action does not bring results from the government within a period of three weeks, then the Executive shall call for a second strike on a national basis which should be a Universities sit-in. The action is to be taken in a serious and orderly manner and is to be in the interest not only of students at Victoria University, but also of students throughout New Zealand.

Exec Speaks

The Executive of the Students' Association called a Special Meeting of Thursday 18th of March at 6 p.m. to discuss the motion presented for Special General Meeting. Two members were absent, one through illness. The following motion was passed unanimously :

That this Executive supports in principle the idea of a total student boycott of University lectures and activities for a period of one day, subject to their receiving adequate support from the student body, as evidenced at the Special General Meeting and otherwise.

Exec Meets

On Thursday of last week V.U.W.S.A. Executive held a special meeting to consider the requisition signed by 62 students calling a special general meeting.

The V.U.W.S.A. public relations officer Dave Shand told the meeting that he did not believe any other action could be taken on the matters set out in the motion. Letters to the minister and to Government, remits through the University National Club, and similar action had failed to produce any action whatsoever. There was nothing to come from further verbal or written protest.

The students of Victoria are in a mood to express what they think about the fees issue. A boycott is a good idea - it would draw a considerable amount of attention to what students call injustices. He could not accept that a boycott would be irresponsible. It would be perfectly orderly. There was no question of hard feeling between students and the staff or the university authorities.

But he stressed it was essential to get the support of a large number of students. He did not think that the 1800 V.U.W. part-timers would be interested in the idea. However, full time students "felt the pinch". The V.U.W.S.A. Executive should support a total student boycott but there was no point unless there was a clear indication from at least 1, 000 students that they were prepared to boycott.

Peter Blizard, former V.U.W.S.A. president, speaking from the floor of the meeting, stressed the need for student support if a boycott were to be successful.

A student named Stace felt that a boycott might harm the student image. However, another student, Geoff Bertram, expressed the view that it would be a pity to have a student image that merely hampered student authority.

V.U.W.S.A. Women's Rep. Sue Madgwick stressed the need for the claims and actions to be well documented. Another Executive member pointed out that it would be necessary to picket classrooms to make it awkward and embarrassing for the undecided student to go to lectures. Bruce Paton, a V.U.W. student, suggested that a petition to Parliament be prepared and that student would march on Parliament during the day. Dave Shand agreed that this could be combined with a strike. All negotiations with the Government had failed. With the public aware and on the students' side then the Government would act. Another Executive member warned of the need of planning. Floor speakers suggested publication of a pamphlet or broadsheet; the supplying of speakers to organisations; the provision of study facilities in the Student Union on the day so that work would not be interrupted if unavoidable; the provision of entertainment at University for protesting students; the provision of soap-box speakers in Wellington itself. V.U.S.W.A. Secretary Alister Taylor stated that Executive should lead because it is the responsibly elected representative of students; stressed the need for full documentation, and pointed out that a boycott was a last resort.

V.U.S.W.A. President Tom Robins pressed for united action nationally by students, with the support of all universities. There was reason to believe that lack of university space would force exclusion of students with in two years, particularly at Auckland.

Robins moved an amendment which would have postponed action for three months and made it conditional on support being obtained from all universities and from lecturing staff. "The time for action is now, " said an Exec member, and the amendment was defeated.

The original motion (see elsewhere in this issue) was then put and carried unanimously. Applause broke out amongst the students who had attended the meeting.

Message From The President

Major changes in education have invariably been the result of government direction. The extent to which government has been willing to act has however been influenced many times from movements outside of government. While government in many countries have changed their educational system to suit their particular purposes there has been no need as yet for students in New Zealand to resort to measures to retain freedom of action and expression within the Universities.

Nevertheless, there is a trend emerging which if allowed to continue, could result in our form of education, and the principles on which it has developed, changing out of all recognition. By the present New Zealand Government's delaying the construction of new university buildings, by refraining from adjusting bursaries in line with other State monetary benefits, by moving slowly in alleviating the shortage of suitable student accommodation, and by not providing adequate staff facilities and research funds for staff, the Government is creating a situation where higher education could become the privilege of only a selected few. Governmental attitudes therefore, may well be formed without regard to the ultimate cost to the country.

It is to bring these points and the possible consequences of the Government position on these matters to public notice that the Executive supports in principle the concept of a boycott of the University for one day.

At the same time it is essential that all members maintain a responsible and mature attitude at all times. To produce the greatest impact, however, the boycott must preferably be conducted on a national basis. To determine other Universities' feelings an interim committee has already been set up to make the necessary investigations.

All members of all Universities should appreciate the principles involved, and the dangers inherent in Government thinking. It is up to the members of this University to make this form of expression successful by co-operating fully with the sentiment, whatever it may be, of the Special General Meeting to be held on Wednesday March 24, 1965.

President