I.N. Capon, 'Effective Control of Academic Comput­ Arthur Koestler suggested that Western youth's ing', in Proceedings of the Eighth Australian Comput­ SOURCES OF STUDENT rebellion was a by-product of an existential ing Conference, Canberra, 1978, pp 381-391; 1. Ellis, A DISSENT: LA TROSE vacuum.s In other words, they were unprecedent­ Real Money Charging System, Computer Centre, edly affluent, but also unprecedentedly unhappy. University of New England, 1982; L Ellis and R.A. UNIVERSITY, 1967-72 Roszak and Keniston dealt with the same paradox Pearse, A Suggested Charging System for the UNE in speaking, respectively, of youth's 'immiseriza­ Computer Centre, Computer Centre, University of BARRY YORK New England, 1981; L. Goldschlager and AD. Payne, tion' and the contradiction between psychological Student unrest on university campuses in the late 9 'Computer Resource Rationing in Universities', in Pro­ adulthood and sociological adolescence. ceedings of the Third Australian Computer Science 1960s caught social theorists by surprise. Capital­ Conference, 1980, pp 173-184; H.S. Hancock, Control ism, after ail, was functioning as an efficient eco­ Other popular hypotheses of the time suggested of Computer Usage, Computing Laboratory, Mac­ nomic mechanism and cold war conservatism was that youth was naturally rebellious. The natura! quarie University, 1974; M.P.C. Legg, Control of Com­ winning against sqcialist alternatives. Moreover, rebel theory, however, failed to account for such puting Resources,' Preliminary Report, Flinders Uni­ the end of ideology was asserted to have occurred. phenomenon as the silent generation of the 1950s. versity Computer Centre, 1976; T.A. Reid, Discussion The campuses were silent. Then, suddenly, in 1964 Bruno Bettelheim blamed student unrest on the Paper on Charging for Computing at U. WA., Univer­ students at Berkeley University launched their free alleged self-hatred arising from permissive child­ sity of Western , 1982; and University of speech movement. And by 1968, nme magazine rearing, liberal schooling, and subsidized univer­ Queensland, Report of the Vice-Chancelfor's Com­ was speaking of 'the biggest year for students sity education. 1D Yet are we to believe that all mittee to Review the Provision of Computing Servi­ ces, 1980. A major work in favour of pricing is D. since 1848'.1 Student uprisings were taking place student rebels, from to .... , were so Bernard et al Charging for Computer Services: Ptinci­ from to . reared?11 pIes and Guide-lines, Petrocem, New York, 1977. A helpful bibliography has been prepared in Western These movements were often revolutionary in that Conspiracy theories also assumed a certain vogue, Australia -- Western Australian Computing Centre, they sought the overthrow of existing ways-of-life. epitomized by Van Maanen who traced all campus 12 Select Bibliography of books and journals and Nourished by intellectual sources which were unrest to . Altbach's work, however, indi­ articles (on computer charging), 1982. traceable to Marxism they were sometimes re­ cated the extremely limited nature of international garded as dangerous to the very fabric of Western student co-ordination.n Moreover, there is abun­ 2. Staff are requested to include a computing cost, society Indeed, they tended to function outside of dant evidence of Soviet opposition to left adventu­ where appropriate, in their requests for outside institutional politics. rist students, be they in Prague, Poland, or Paris.14 research funds. The problem confronting theorists was how to Finally, it is worth mentioning the derivative 3. We have not attempted to discuss in detail the eco­ nomic theory behind charging for computer services, explain the advent of essentially similar student hypothesis; namely, that students here were which has already been carried out (e.g. A.D.J. rebellions, occurring at roughly the same time, merely keeping up with the rebellious Joneses Flowerdew and C.M.E. Whitehead, 'Charging for throughout the Western world. The student move­ 'over there'. Australian student movements cer­ computer facilities in universities', in University of ments of the advanced capitalist societies simply tainly adopted some of the terminology and tech­ Kent at Canterbury, Studies in Quantitative Social did not fit the existing theoretical models. One of niques of their American, Japanese, and European Science and Management Science Discussion Paper, the most perplexing factors relates to what Hannah counterparts. One could say that they were being 50, 1982). The issues are not, however, unique to Arendt has described as their 'almost exclusively sensible in applying tested tactics, and internation­ computer charging and have been widely discussed moral motlves'.2 Generally, there was little self-gain alist rather than imitative. However, the copy-cat in the literature of economics. for the student in the objectives of student move­ hypotheSis begs the question: why were students 4. It should be noted that Flowerdew and Whitehead ments. They were, indeed, movements based on rebelling, in so many different places at the same op. cit., consider that the case for marginal cost pric­ 'human subjectivity in this, the era of the scientific time, in the first place? ing for computing is not significantly weakened by and technological revolution'.J non-marginal cost pricing elsewhere. A natural starting-point is the universities them­ There is, of course, no single master hypothesis. It selves; or rather, how the new technical and 5. ibid. is necessary to look for the specific concatentation managerial requirements of post-war capitalism of causes that combined in the post-war period to affected them. Tertiary education was encouraged 6. See Capon, op. cit We have couched this in semi­ economic terms; alternatively, we could simply have produce the 1960s phenomenon,4 and to locate to expand rapidly and, nourished by the baby argued that academic staff are responsible. To the student movements in their particular geo-political, boom, continued to produce society's profession­ extent that there are some who do undertake what cultural, and social contexts. als and Skilled workers, A new form of intellectual proves to be 'wasteful' research using computer labour was also required, however. social engi­ capacity, they need help rather than control. Lewis Feuer, possibly the most influential critic of neers, such as advertising agents, editors, fashion the late 1960s, is notable for his violation of both designers, and market researchers became the 7. See Goldschlager and Payne, op. cit., p.176, and methodological tenets. Feuer attributes student technicians of consumption and consent. 'The new Reid, op. cit. p.10. rebellion to oedipally-projected politics; that is, the devefopments of capitalism' were indeed making ideological acting out of the sons' subconscious 8. Goldschlager and Payne, op. cit. pp 180-181. education 'one of the crucial areas of change: 15 hatred of their fathers. s Feuer, however, fails to 9. Capon, op. cit. account for the fact that not every generation pro­ Australia's university planners, cognizant of our duces a radical core, even though presumably the second industrial revolution, found themselves 10. ibid, p. 384. parricidal urge is constant. G His reliance on student caught between two different models. On the one songs and poems as primary sources highlights hand stood the Newman ideal: the Alma Mater, the second methodological flaw, for it cuts across knowing her children individually, and lauding 'the historical as well as cultural lines. And empirical cultivation of the inteffect as an end for its own studies into the famiiial background of American sake: 16 On the other, the American model, epitom­ student activists contradicted Feuer's emphasis on ized by Clark Kerr's multi-varsity, in which the uni­ son-father antagonism. l versity became the main plant of a knowledge 20 21 'I I

industry, serving national growth in the same way 'use music as some sort of a platform to bring nam is ciear as trle principal campaigns were Metropolitan prompted by anti-militarist sentiment In 1969, for as had railway and automobile industries in a people together:" From 1965, when the pacifist MHR in bygone era. 17 lyrics of Barry McGuire's 'Eve of Destruction' had Home Residences example, a proposal to establish a campus Citi­ Year Working-Class zens' Military Force regiment aroused widespread, caused a sensation, to the early seventies, a politi­ (MHR) of Students 38 Such key strategists as the Murray Committee Suburbs cal protest trend is apparent in rock music. One Living at Home determined and successful opposition. And in (1957). the Martin Committee (1964). and the Aus­ I survey concluded that, in the late sixties, pop , a student movement was born in the tralian Universities Commission predicated their 1968 201 81 (40%) songs 'more than ever addressed themselves to a course of protests against Defence Department (33%) recommendations on the assumption that universi­ wide variety of social issues'.22 It is significant that 1969 182 61 use of the University's careers service. The move­ (43%) ties were not, and should not be, fundamentally the demise of rock's political tangent tallied with 1970 162 71 ment reached its peak in , when more anything other than a servant of national economic 1971 220 (42%) the demise of the youth protest movement. 96 than one thousand students gathered for a general growth. A conceptual stress between the two 1972 544 218 (44%) meeting, called by the Labor Club, and launched a models is apparent in Murray's Report. But it is all campaign for the resignation of the Chancellor, Sir but gone in the Martin Report, which concluded It is also pertinent to identify the political matrix of (Source: Registrar's Department) Archibald Glenn.28 that, the youth/student revolt. The baby boom genera­ tion were the first to be born under the cloud of the La Trobe University was literally born into the The student Left maintained that Glenn's position Education should be regarded as an invest­ atom bomb. Many were entering their teens at the period when a Vietnam protest movement was summed up 'the entire social function of the univer­ ment which yields direct and significant eco­ height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. And by gaining momentum; when the youth culture's poli­ sity under capitalism, as a servant of capitalism: 29 nomic benefits through increasing the skill of the mid-1960s, nuclear weapon capacity was suffi­ tical aspect was reaching its height; when student In addition to being Chancellor, Sir Archibald was the population and through accelerating cient to threaten civilized life itself.23 The Cold War revolt was assuming world-wide proportions; when also managing director of Imperial Chemical technological progress. 18 consensus guaranteed that American and Soviet student movements were developing locally (at Industries (ANZ) and a director of the parent com­ rivalry would be interpreted as a battle between , Oueensland and Monash universities); pany in , ICI. The former had been listed With new universities popping up in New South Good and Evil. One issue, however, changed all when police violence was transforming moderate for consumer boycott by the Moratorium Cam­ , , Queensland and Victoria, that. The American bombing of in protestors into revolutionaries;2\) and when the paign because of an $800,000 Defence Department Australia's higher education system was booming 1965 shattered the Cold War perspective, and for Labor Party's 1966 electoral defeat, and softening contract, while the latter had been condemned for along with the, economy. One thing was wrong, many revealed America in the role of world police­ of its Vietnam policy, was facilitating the growth of involvement in South Africa's ammunition and however; some students felt uneasy about being man, using its vast technological and military New Left alternatives. 27 explosives industry.30 units of human capital; especially when university might against a small developing country thou­ authorities persisted with the 'community of scho­ sands of miles from its shores. Moreover, the hor­ La Trobe was formally opened on 8 March, 1967. A Protests against the University's governing body, lars' myth. This contradiction became a constant ror and indiscriminate nature of the war was being week before the inaugural ceremony, the Vietnam the Council, culminated in a blockade on 19 July. factor underlying student unrest and manifested conveyed throughout the world via television. war's biggest battle had taken place near the Cam­ Large numbers of police intervened, and disciplin­ itself in various forms, as will be seen later. bodian border, leaving one hundred dead. Presi­ ary charges and police charges were laid against dent Johnson announced that the demilitarized the perceived leaders. Further protests (including Various developments in media technology had An equally basic originating source of campus dis­ zone, as wei! as North Vietnam, would be bombed. occupations of Administration offices, and further resulted in immediacy in newscasting. Any world quiet is to be found in the youth culture of the time. And Australia was committing the largest fighting discipline, resulted in the year ending with 12 event could be reported in Australia within 24 The advent of a teenage market after the War nur­ force sent overseas since World War Two - includ­ students under exclusion; 23 fined a total of hours. And by 1965, 95 per cent of Australian tured a generation gap which, jf not new, was cer­ ing conscripts. The war provoked the first post-war $3,175; and Sir Archibald's announced intention to households were in reach of a television se1.24 It is tainly unprecedentedly wide and deep. Advertisers Australian university conflict between students and resign. It had been the most intense university interesting to note that Keniston's subjects fre­ and retailers found that the best way to capture the Administration when at Monash the Vice-Chan­ conflict in Australian history, involving the unpre­ quently mentioned some world-historical event as market was to appeal to youth on their own terms. cellor attempted to ban the Labor Club from rais­ cedented use of police against student protestors on a catalyst for their activism and that television was Radio station 3UZ, for instance, captured twice as ing funds forthe National Liberation Front of South their campus. The three key elements of dissent otten the primary information source.25 If youth many listeners in the 16-24 age group as its closest Vietnam. at the time converged: namely, opposition to the was being made more aware as a result of the rival by programming controversial modern ; concern over the role of the university; 19 globa! village, then issues such as conscription musiC. At La Trobe, a handful of the university's 552 stu­ and youthful rebellion against things aged and were providing an opportunity for the new aware­ dents established a Socialist Club which opposed stodgy. An autonomous youth culture - confined to those -ness to be applied politically. the war and conscription. It was not until 1970, between puberty and thirty, and characterized by a however, that a student movement came into La Trobe was also extraordinary in that the campus rejection of the adult world, a desire for greater In Australia, conscription made the Vietnam war an being, with a strategic objective challenging uni­ continued to experience student demonstrations freedom and independence, and with its own lead­ unavoidable issue for thousands of young people. versity authority, a large base of active and passive and occupations in 1972. Elsewhere, student move­ 20 ers and symbols - had emerged by the mid­ Registration periods occurred twice yearly and any support, a social structure (allegiances and status ments had declined during 1971, reflecting the sixties. Discotheques such as 'Teenrage' and 'The 20 year old male who failed to comply could positions, recognized and accepted leaders, and a demise of the anti-war movement and political Underground'; films ('If', 'The Graduate', 'Easy receive a two-year prison sentence. The politiciza­ division of labour), and a unique form of social youth culture. The La Trobe student movement Rider', and 'Wild in the Streets); television shows tion of Australia's campuses intensified dramati­ consciousness (characterized by a rejection of was kept alive in 1972 as a result of Supreme Court (,Kommotion', 'Action'. 'It's All Happening', and cally during , not out of imitation (_if the institutional politics and a perspective which inte­ injunctions taken out by two conservative students 'Countdown'); and newspapers such as 'Go Set' Paris uprisings, but in response to propo~ed grated campus strategies with those of Wider socia! (joined by the Council as co-plaintiff at a later date) and 'Revolution', summed up, in their titles, the amendments to the National Service Act. Clause movements). Vietnam was the general catalyst; but with a view to restraining the Students' Representa­ youth zeitgeist. But ultimately, it was pop music 22, making it a criminal offence for the principal it is ultimately necessary to delve into the specific tive Council (SRC) from paying the fines imposed that became the definitive language. officers of educational institutions to decline to circumstances of the particular university. the previous year.]' provide confidential information concerning stu­ The youth-culture-political dissent nexus pivoted dents !iable for registration, aroused intense and The events on the La Trobe campus were enor­ The continued involvement in campus politics of around the fusion of rock music with the folk widespread opposition. The following table indi­ mously complicated and any attempt at summary some excluded students also resulted in additional protest tradition. Youth could identify with their cates the large proportion of La Trobe University will involve simplification. Essentially, the unifying injunctions, sought by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr musical heroes in a way that was not possible students who were eligible for registration during theme linking various student protest activities Myers, restraining them from entering the pre­ with society's elderly authority-figures. And some, the years 1967-72. A similar picture would exist at concerned opposition to the social role of the Uni­ mises of the University, When one of the four like , were consciously seeking to other campuses. versity in capitalist society. The centrality of Viet- restrained was lodged at Pentridge Prison, for 22 23 'I

contempt ot court, in April, without trial or rights Miriam Henry's 1970 survey found that 44 per cent tion of the 29 charged with breaches of discipline spectives) was highlighted by the attempt to sustain of appeal or bail, the very trouble which the injunc­ of La Trobe students had fathers who were either in 1971 reveals that 25 were in Arts and Social a dinner-in-gown policy once a week during 1967. tions sought to avoid was in fact ensured. Theoreti­ O"f~ice/sales workers, skilled, semi-skilled, or un­ Sciences. The reason for the Arts' students' acti­ All students, at that time, were members of cally incarcerated indefinitely, or until such time skilled workers. Only 5 per cent came from top vism may relate to the nature of their studies, Glenn College. By 1968, the gown imposition was as he purged his contempt and promised to abide managerial backgrounds. 39 Any assumption that which frequently include critiques of society and abandoned, with some administrators learning by the court's order, Fergus Robinson became cen­ students from working-class are more protest­ introductions to revolutionary ideas. Furthermore, that La Trobe students were not nineteenth tral to the movement's existence. Had he not been prone is very dubious, however; Little's survey sug­ a certain type of person is attracted to the Arts in century Oxbridge boys. imprisoned, or had the Vice-Chancellor's injunc­ gests that students from lower white-collar, lower the first place. In Feather's findings a portrait of tions not been obtained in the first place, there is self-employed, skilled manual families are less individuals concerned with the finer, more noble, The gulf between the governing authority and the little doubt that disruptive forms of protest would likely to be campus activists than those from pro­ qualities of life emerges. Whatever the case, Arts student body reflected the pyramidical power have ceased with an occupation in late March fessional, upper white-collar, upper self-employed students were the shock troops of student mOve­ structure of the university, with the Council on top. demanding financial autonomy for the SRC.32 ranks.40 Among the leading activists at La Trobe, ments. And La Trobe was an Arts-based campus. However, the separation was also sociai and cultu­ for instance, an Ivanhoe Grammar Clique was so ral. There were some 64 councillors during the The above outline overlooks some important named because of its common schooling. The four La Trobe was also the newest, and fastest-built uni­ period 1987-72. Of these, only ten served for the events and factors but the essentials are sufficient members were centrally important strategists, iden­ versity. Generally, there was no sense of common entire period. This core of the Council was dec·lsive for my purpose in this article. Namely, given the tified with the revolutionary Maoist line, and their purpose and no campus traditions. It seemed as in setting university strategy and came to epitom­ general context in which student movements arose, fathers were, respectively: a factory owner a pro­ though there was just one big bumbling bureau­ ize, in many a student's mind, the Council's image. why did the La Trobe experience take the form duction engineer/manager, a Montmorency estate cracy. The campus was isolated, situated eight The Council core had an average age of 57; lived in that it did? We may start by looking at the agent, and an accountant. Of course, there were miles from Melbourne in between a mental hospi­ exclusive suburbs (Toorak, South Yarra, Canter­ students themselves. some leading activists from working-class families. tal and a cemetery. Surrounded by residential sub­ bury, Blackburn and Malvern); had attended exclu­ In 1972, 86 per cent of La Trobe students were from .But the fact that students from such different orig­ urbs, La Trobe students could not develop the sive grammar schools or top high schools; enjoyed metropolitan homes, compared with 75 per cent at inS could adopt the same protest styles and politics close relationship with their external community membership of Establishment clubs which were Monash and 79 per cent at Me!bourne.3.'J James highlights the inadequacy of social class as a varia­ that Melbourne students enjoyed with Carlton's sometimes racially and sexually, as well as socially. Walter suggests that country students are less ble. It is far more fruitful to proceed on the basis of colourful pubs and coffee shops. Campus social exclusive (7 were members of the Melbourne likely to be politically active, but it must be pointed recognizing the unique position of the student at life, and routine, were for many dictated by bus Club)·, and nearly half were wealthy businessmen out that Monash's turbulence was not diminish­ university. company time-tables. (3 chaired corporations such as lei, Comalco, and BHP). Two Knights, two Queen's Counsellors, and ed by its larger proportion of non-metropolitan La !robe was primarily an Arts-based university. Demoralization and a nine-to-five mentality could, students. Furthermore, Graham Little's survey of a Companion of the British Empire completed a Unlike Melbourne, with its faculties of Medicine, and did, result. But, in such a situation, the student portrait. which was antithetical to the student cul­ partiCipation levels of Melbourne University Arts Law, Architecture, and Engineering, La Trobe's Left was made all the more appealing. It was, after students revealed only a minor discrepancy ture and its commitment to social egalitarianism only professional faculty was its School of Educa­ all, active, bringing life to what some regarded as a and youth style. between those from country and city back­ tion. And we know from Henry's research that a soulless suburban university.47 Furthermore, while grounds.34 huge proportion of the student body was bonded the vast size of the campus (480 acres) and the 41 The fact that only 54 per cent of La Trobe students to the Education Department of Victoria. in 1969, small population contributed to the sense of isola­ The most important area of attitudinal separation, lived at home, compared with 72 per cent 55 per cent of all undergraduate students were in tion, it also meant that there were only one or two however, concerned the very role of the university (Monash) and 70 per cent (Melbourne)" might be ~ither Arts or Social Sciences.42 By 1972, by which dining and recreational centres for all students. ·In SOCiety. Henry's survey suggests that a radical significant in terms of freedom from parental con­ time the School of Education was functioning, 73 Glenn College Dining Hall, for instance, was in the and idealistic ethos prevailed among the student per cent were in Arts, Social Sciences and Educa­ early years frequented by a majority of students body. 81 per cent believed that the university straints and the lodestone effect of Leftist student 43 households. I would suggest, however, that home tion. The remainder were in Agriculture, Biologi­ who would grab a cheap muddy coffee in between should be concerned with critically examining residences might be more useful jf taken as an cal SCience, PhYSiCS, and Psychology. Various tutorials or rub shoulders with friends over lunch social values. Only 14 per cent felt it should be M index of social class origin of students.36 Bearing in Australian studies (Uttle Rootes45 and Feather6) each day. The Caf was central to the development concerned with preserving traditions of scholar­ mind that an average of 75 per cent of La Trobe have revealed consistent differentials in values and of a student political culture. It was the largest, the ship.51 77 per cent saw the prime function as being students during the period 1967-72 were from propensity for campus activism between Arts and best, and for a while the only, gathering place. It the production of cultured and broadly educated metropolitan homes,37 and given that by the late Science students. was not really surprising that the first major dem­ individuals. Only 19 per cent saw it in terms of pro­ 48 52 1960s there were clearly defined status suburbs in onstration should have taken place there. ducing trained specialists. In keeping with such Melbourne, the following working-class residen­ perceptions, most La Trobe students had decided With one or two exceptions, the leading La Trobe The lack of campus traditions was also a double­ to attend university, mainly, because they wanted tial emphasis emerges: activists were Arts students. Indeed, an examina- edged sword. It is possible that some people were to broaden (their) education (46 per cent), partici­ attracted to La Trobe precisely because it was not pate in university life (10 per cent), or both (24 per LA TROBE UNIVERSITY STUDENT AGES, 1967-72 in the grey conservative mould of an institution like cent). Only 38 per cent had more mundane motiva­ (Percentage of total student population in brackets.) Melbourne University. Indeed, La Trobe was innov­ tions, such as obtaining a meal ticket (16 per cent),

--.. ~-.-----..... - ... - ative and radical in that it had established schools fulfilling scholarship/studentship obligations (19 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 rather than faculties and a collegiate system to per cent), parental pressure (5 per cent), or combi­ avoid problems of anonymity.49 nations of those factors (8 per cent).S3 Total students 552 1163 2052 2519 3012 4302 Male Students 329(59%) 721 (61%) 1284(62%) 1536(61%) 1804(60%) 2575(60%) The college concept provoked considerable con­ Thirteen suggestions are made to cope with these troversy, however, with the Left regarding it as areas of concern, though none has any obvious or Males Aged 249(45%) 493(42%) 831 (40%) 865(34%) 891 (29%) 1236(29%) pernicious. 'Nothing ever happens in this place: easy remedies. As a partial solution for the first ot 16-20 (inclUSive) complained one news sheet, 'because the existing these areas of concern, the authors suggest the Number of Males system is breaking the student body up:~ The adoption of a concept of partial dependence on 53 (9%) 133(11%) 269(13%) 275(11%) 256 (8%) 340 (8%) who tu rned 20 extent to which the college concept and some parents and progressively increasing the Tertiary university authorities were out of step with Education Assistance Scheme (TEAS) 'dependent' Source: Annual Census collections, Registrar's Department. modern Australian attitudes (let alone youth per- allowances between the ages of 18 and 21. 24 25 "I I :

A University is a corporation devoted to edu­ An intensely political culture dominated the cam­ on the organization had to be answered on a daily over, the selective application of charges in the first cation. scholarship and research. It should pus during 1970 and 1971, nourishing and being basis and any member could attend Action Com­ place - with only the ring-leaders being charged evolve in accordance with social require­ nourished by the student movement. The apolitical mittee meetings each morning at 9.30. In practice, - rendered accusations of victimisation rather I ments, intellectual ideals and development in student could not avoid Left wing politics in the however, the Maoists and their aHies proved the plausible. knowledge and in educational theory and only ones dedicated/fanatical enough to do so. practice. It is appreciated that it is largely form of wall slogans and posters, or the vast supply Just as important as the nature of the disciplinary supported by public funds.'>4 of leaflets which seemed to be given out at every The Maoist mentality was not only confrontational, tribunals, however, was the view of student dissent corner. Red Moat (published by the La Trobe Com­ but based on a weird no-lose logic which saw pro­ underlying the Vice-Chancellor's reliance on such munists), Enrages (Labor Club), Probe (Postgradu­ gress as inevitable and constant. The key factor measures. In , he had responded to Sir Archibald's re"ference to the university as a cor­ ate Association/Research Workers' Union), Black was struggle. So long as there was militant action, the first campus confrontation - when seventeen poration included productive activity which he Barb (SDS), Red Ned (SDS-Anarcho-Marxist), 55 authorities would either have to make concessions Labor. Club/SDS members invaded a Council defined as teaching and research. Libertarian Revolution (Anarchists), Flowering Rifle (hence, limited victory) or resort to repression meeting in support of observer rights - with res­ (Anarchists), Red Atom (Science Study Group), As Managing Director of ICI (ANZ), Glenn was a (which would promote further struggle). And like traint and tolerance.6fi Indeed, the Vice-Chan­ The New Course (Socialist Youth Alliance), Oub­ the New Left in general, the Maoists consciously cellor's view of student unrest in the early years recipient of Australian universities' productive cek (Strawberry Collective), Women Arise! (Wo­ activity. His perception was the prevailing attitude operated outside of co-optive, institutional, politics. was classically liberal. 'If a university is so passive men's Liberation Group), The Spark (the Left that there are no student protests and complaints; of university planners, as summed up by the Martin Opposition within the Labor Club), and Proletariat The strategy based on 'mass action for effective Report's formula for higher education as an invest­ he had asserted 'then it is a very poor university:67 (Labor Club Marxist-Leninists) represented the results, not "representative" action;63 was rendered ment in human capital. 56 Dr Myers, as chief admin­ During 1970, however, his attitude hardened con­ Left, as well as highlighting the divisions within it. very credible because of the conservative nature of istrator, took the human capital approach to its Siderably, and early in 1971 a vital addendum had The conservative Right similarly contributed to the the SRC. At critical moments, the SRC was domi­ logical conclusion and described the university as been added: politicization process with Moot Point (Moderate nated by conservatives, but its !ega! status really a sausage machine, conceding however that the Student Alliance) and Liberty (Democratic Club). defined the limits of its politics; as was revealed in Whether or not their views are justifiable, raw material - the students - was far more varia­ 1972 when it tried to pay outstanding fines, Statute there is little doubt that they are sincerely ble than meat in a sausageY The Labor Club acted as an umbrella for the var­ 2.4 defined one of the SRC's aims as being, held by most of those who take part in pro­ ious factions and separately organized groups. tests and demonstrations on specific issues, That social requirements can sometimes conflict The particularly serious nature of campus confron­ To secure good order and seemingly good such as the war in Vietnam. with intellectual ideals, was being acknowledged at tations during 1971 can, in part, be explained in conduct of students within university pre­ such places as the Institute of Tech­ terms of the rise and complete dominance of the cincts, or any official student or university There are, however, some - and I believe, a nology and other American campuses which were function wherever held. 64 small minority - who take the opportunity Maoist faction within the Club, While Maoism had provided by such incidents to introduce vio­ being snaken by protests against their involvement much in common with New Left style, its essen­ in war-related research. In some Australian univer­ lence or an incitation to violence, and this in tially Leninist character enabled a tightly-knit, well­ From 1967-72, the SRC did not seem possessed of tum often attracts participants who are not sities, confrontation also took place at those junc­ disciplined, formation to emerge. The process was special status in the eyes of the student body, and members of the university or connected with tures at which the intellectual ideals were contra­ apparent in when the Maoists was viewed with the same cynicism as other com­ it in any way ... 68 dicted by the social requirements. In general, the independently organized an anti-war procession ponents of the university power structure. The Left The conspiratorial perception of a subversive student Left accepted that the university could not along a local street, Waterdale Road. The less mili­ had no trouble in by-passing it and calling its own external enemy, with an internal fifth column, be a community of scholars, that it was an impossi­ tant Club leaders had effectively disassociated general meetings which, on two occasions in 1971, bility as weI! as a myth. The question was: 'Whom themselves from the demonstration. attracted more than one thousand participants. might have developed during the campus conflict should it serve?,5B Thus, in the opinion of the Labor concerning Defence Department recruiters in June The Maoist-led student movement, however, was 1970, It is highly unlikely, however, as Dr Myers had Club, Waterdale Road became a cause celebre for stu­ sustained by the tendency of the authorities to resolved that particular controversy by promptly dents and civil libertarians throughout Australia It is correct that a University should provide respond in ways which were seen by large rescinding exclusions imposed against six of the when local police brutally dispersed the marchers. well-trained personnel for society. But our numbers of students to be unjust and outrageous. partiCipants. At the time of the above remarks, the present universities serve the minority inter­ A second attempt at demonstration met an even A repression-resistance cycle developed whenever Vice-Chancellor was under no pressure from the ests of capitalism and hence do not serve the worse fate, with the University Chaplain - who disciplinary charges were laid with a view to curb­ student movement, which was toying with an off­ peop/e,h9 had attended as an observer - expressing his ing campus unrest. Invariably, the moderate stu­ campus orientation, and he had survived 1970 in While it is crucial to acknowledge that the student 'complete disgust at the behaviour of the police' in good standing by calling for an inquiry into the a letter to the dailies.61 And the postgraduate repre­ dents would support the militant minority under Left was closer to the general student culture than such circumstances, especially if police had been Waterdale Road events. sentative on Council published an account of the those in authority, it must also be recognized that involved. To understand this process it is necessary shocking events. the student movement was never a majority move­ to look at some features of discipline in the The pressure on Dr Myers to take a much harder ment, in the sense of regularly involving more than University. line against student dissent came, quite publicly, half the student population in its confrontational Armed policemen leapt out of cars and from the Democratic Labor Party which had activities. Social movements are rarely, if ever, chased students bashing any they could At La Trobe, Statute 8.1 (3) established a Proctorial blamed him for having 'repeatedly failed to take majorities. They stand or fall according to the catch; some policemen unable to catch the Board which, being established by subordinate any action against the pro-violence minority:69 It is students drew their guns and threatened to possible that the secret Peace with Freedom (PWF) extent to which they are supported by the masses. shoot.02 legislation and only quasi-judicial in status, pos­ The La Trobe moyement enjoyed broad support at sessed absolute discretion in determining the cell operating on the campus also exerted pressure critical times, and its actions were legitimized by The standing of the Maoists was greatly enhanced, extent to which its procedures would be governed on Dr Myers. According to a speech on 'The Stu­ the practice of never initiating significant campus with some emerging as eloquent and competent by principles of natural justice.65 The board's failure dent Problem' given by Tony Macken at a National protests without first convening a general meeting leaders. The Maoists coup within the Labor Club to guarantee open hearings, hearings on campus, Civic Council (NCC) conference, PWF cells legal representation for defendants, trial by peers, existed within each university and depended on of students, at which any point of view could be was not completed, however, until April 1971 when m expressed. Basically, Alan Barcan's assessment of a Club Conference endorsed the establishment of and transcripts of evidence, de-authorized it in the the NCC for logistic support According to an earlier student generation applies to La Trobe: an Action Committee with the power to cal! gen­ eyes of many students. Disciplinary tribunals were Macken, namely, the activists are always a minority but a eral meetings of students and to make decisions also delegitimized when there was inadequate stu­ The groups have representatives on univer­ 'creative minority whose importance is out of pro­ concerning daily activities. On the surface, it dent representation. The five-person Proctorial sity councils who can put pressure on Vice­ portion to its numbers: 60 seemed reasonable and democratic, as demands Board contained only one SRC nominee. More- Chance/fors.71 26 27 It should also be noted that during 1971, the Coun­ ness to negotiate. On 17 April, a staff-student depu­ interpreted as a victory by the remnant student 11. Bettelheim interpreted student opposition to the Viet­ cil's functions in dealing with the student move­ tation presented a good faith motion to the Left. However, it also marked the end of the La nam war in terms of the self-hatred arising from draft ment were to an extent taken over by the CounCil, but its attitude to the central issues Trobe student movement. The atmosphere was deferment. Yet campus resistance continued after the Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Committee (VCAC). remained unchanged. Proctorial Board penalties, it one of relief that it was all over rather than lottery system was introduced in America and The VCAC membership during 1971 reads like a resolved, were not subject to negotiation; civil celebration. students no longer automatically deferred. Who's Who of senior academic and administrative action from the previous year would continue; and While the La Trobe student movement developed 12. G. Van Maanen, The International Student Move­ adherents to the pro-violent minority conspiracy Dr Myers was directed to proceed in Supreme ment: History and Background, The Hague, 1966. theory. All were firm opponents of the student Court actions. 79 Two weeks later, the second in response to the social, political, and cultural movement and there was no representative of excluded student, Brian Pola, joined Robinson at environment into which it had been born, and 13. See: P. Altbach and N. Uphoff, The Student Interna­ student opinion.12 Pentridge. while it was shaped by the responses to it and by tionals, N.J., 1973. campus conditions, it is ultimately necessary to The intensity and severity of the La Trobe expe­ There are other instances of the Vice-Chancellor identify the zeitgeist which made many seemingly 14. See: K. Mehnert, Moscow and the New Left, Califor­ rience can be explained in terms of Dr Myers' rejecting attempts by the militants to bring about a outrageous activities par-for-the-course as far as nia, 1975. stringent responses as. well as in terms of the Mao­ negotiated settlement of campus problems. Per­ their youthful partiCipants were concerned. Faded 15. D. O'Neill, The Student Movement Analysis and ist strategic objective of destroying the university haps the most telling example took the form of an wall slogans constitute the hard eV·ldence of that Strategy' (paper presented to Old. Radicals' Confer­ as a servant of capitalism.73 The two, in a sense, SRC Referendum in to ascertain student bygone era. And various sixties' songs, such as ence, 1 September, 1968), p 8. complemented each other. A repression-resist­ opinion on, among other things, the Supreme Eric Burdon's anti-war classic 'Sky Pilot', remind us ance dynamic sustained the student movement. Court injunctions, the reinstatement of all ex­ that the essential problems are still with us - even 16. Cardinal Newman, The Idea of a University, Cam­ cluded students and the withdrawal of police and if the rebellious esprit de corps is not. bridge, 1931, P 75. Dr Myers had various opportunities during 1971 civil actions. The voting on these issues favoured 17. C. Kerr, The Uses of the University, Cambridge, 1963. and 1972 to attempt to reconcile the conflicting the Left, with 1,005 of the 1,667 voters seeking the parties through compromise and negotiation, but discharge of the injunctions. The militants had 18. Martin Report, (Report of the Committee on the failed to do so. His intransigence emerges as a Future of Tertiary Education in Australia), Canberra, shown considerable confidence in student sup­ References central justification for militant action in student port, with the WSA group declaring prior to the 1964, Chapter I, paragraph I (v). 1. Why Those Students are Rebelling', Time 3 May literature. Indeed, the call for Glenn's resignation Referendum: had been deemed non-negotiable, despite its cen­ 1968, pp 30-31. 19. Broadcasting and Television, 6 April 1961. We are prepared to bind ourselves to the trality in the list of student demands. The entire 2. H. Arendt, Crises of the , N.Y., 1972, P 166. 20. J. Jupp, The Discontents of Youth', in Crick, op. cit., p cycle of student-action/Administration-reaction decision of a legally-constituted staff-student referendum. 69. might have been avoided had Glenn's position 3. R. Garaudy, The Turning Point of Socialism, Paris, been deemed a legitimate subject of concern by Is the Vice-Chancellor'?OO 1968, p 19. 21. John Lennon quoted in Go Set, 12 , P 17. the Vice-Chancellor. Indeed, the movement's drift toward direct action received its most significant The Council'S response, at its 15 May meeting, was 4. G. Jones, The Meaning of the Student Revolt', in 22. M. Lystad, As They See It: Changing Values of Col­ G.A. Cockburn and R. B!ackburn (eds.), Student lege Youth, Mass, 1973, pp 100, 110. (Lystad surveyed boost after the April general meeting, when Dr to note the Referendum results but not to act upon Power, Middlesex, 1969, p 30. lyrics of songs in Hit Parader and Top Hits Myers declined an invitation to address a general them.B' Two days later, a writ for the arrest of the magazines.) meeting on his return from the Australian Vice­ third excluded student, Barry York, was issued. 5. L. Feuer, The Conflict of Generations, N.Y., 1969. Chancellors' Committee in Sydney.14 Eventually, a Any possibility of either the Counci! or the move­ The absurdity of Feuer's 'psycho-history' is revealed 23. It is remarkable that only meagre research has been statement was released but completely ignored the ment calling a truce in light of the Referendum was in its application to some twentieth century events. undertaken into the psycho-socia! consequences of Glen n issue. thus laid to rest. The Chinese revolution, for instance, is seen as a adolescent development in the nuclear age. A not­ product of, 'Mao's conflict with his father and its pri­ able exception in the 19605 was Sibylle Escalona By June, when York was also imprisoned, student macy as a motivation for his political ideas .. .' (p 183). (See: 'Children and the Threat of Nuclear War' in By October, with seven students excluded and oth­ participation in campus protests had entered a Behavioral Science and Human Survival, , ers under way, the Vice-Chancellor's determina­ dramatic decline. The movement seemed to 6. Feuer's thesis is certainly amiss in the gloomy 1980$ 1965.) tion was expressed in the form of heavy-gauge where, despite fulfillment of his precondition for Recent studies have been completed by J. Mack and have defined a new symbiosis with the changing revolt (i.e. the de-authorization of the older genera­ W. Beardslee in . (See: The Impact on Child­ wire gratings being rivetted over administration political environment. Indefinite imprisonment, office windows; the same windows from which tion), the prevalent student culture is cynical and ren and Adolescents of Nuclear Developments' in without tria!, almost became uncontroversial. More­ conservative. American Psychiatric Task Force Report, Psychoso­ occupying students had escaped police arrest. over, the essential campus spirit was gone. The new cial Aspects of Nuclear Developments, , Against such a background, it is not surprising that student intake seemed rather conservative, and 7. See: 1982.) Dr Myers rejected out of hand the approaches of a the activists were basically the 1969-71 generation. R. Flacks, The Liberated Generation: an Exploration staff-student committee which had been estab­ of the Roots of Student Protest', in Journal of Social 24. Broadcasting and Television, 8 . By Ju!y, the hard core were maintaining a sym­ Issues, 23, 3. lished on 7 October as a final effort to communi­ bolic struggle out of obligation to their imprisoned 76 A. Gold, R. Christie, and L. Friedman, Fist and Flow­ 25. K. Keniston, The Sources of Student Dissent, in W. cate and gain reasonable response. He refused to comrades rather than out of fervent desire. consider any suggestion that disciplinary proce­ ers: a Social Psychological Interpretation of Student Anderson (comp.), The Age of Protest, Calif., 1969, Dissent, N.Y., 1976. p 240. dures be temporarily suspended until such time as With the Council suffering enormous moral pres­ campus discussion of the issues had taken place.77 sure from the very existence of the three excluded 8. A. Koestler, Rebellion in a Vacuum, in B. Crick (ed.), 26. 1966 and early 1967 Melbourne witnessed displays of The Vice-Chancellor seemed blind to the signifi­ students in prison, and finding it increasingly diffi­ Protest and Discontent, Middlesex, 1971, p 22. police violence. Batons were wielded against anti­ cance of the Committee, which des­ cult to justify the need for such injunctive relief, the conscriptionists (in March), opponents of President cribed itself as an alternative to confrontations.78 Vice-Chancellor moved for the discharge of the 9. T. Roszak, 'Youth and the Great Refusal', in The Poli­ Johnson's visit (in Oc.tober), protestors against the Even the militants had cautiously supported its injunctions and for the prisoners' release in tics and Anti Politics of the Young, California, 1969, hanging of Ryan, and demonstrators against South p 8. Vietnamese dictator, Ky. The pattern continued until efforts, clearly indicating that they too sought a August. On 4 August, after conditions of entry to K. Keniston, Young Radicals: Notes on Committed 1971. (See: B. York, 'Police, Students, and Dissent: way out of the repression-resistance bind. the campus had been agreed upon, Justice Smith Youth, N. Y., 1968, P 260. Melbourne, 1966-72', in Journal of Australian Studies granted their release. May 1984. (forthcoming). Similarly, the following year, students had ended 10. B. Bettelheim, 'Obsolete Youth: Towards a Psycho­ their seizure of the administration offices after the As the enjoinees had neither apologized to the graph of Adolescent Rebellion', in Encounter, Sep­ 27. Under Whitlam's leadership, the ALP modified its gaoling of Robinson, as a gesture of their willing- court nor purged their contempt, the release was tember 1969. Vietnam policy to support holding operations rather 28 29 ------

than a complete withdrawal. (ALP Platform, 27th 42. La Trobe University Council: Fourth Annual Report, 64. Statute 2.4(2) (g), in La Trobe University Act, Statutes, Commonwealth Conference, Adelaide, 1967, pp 32~ 1969. p 63. and Regulations (La Trobe University, 1972). 34.) 43. La Trobe University Bulletin, 3, 30, 2 . 65. Blake & Riggall (University Solicitors) to Vice­ 28. The general meeting also demanded the recission of a clause of the University's admission policy which 44. See: Little, op. cit., p 94. Chancellor, 14 , (DSRC 72/4), P 2. barred any student excluded from another campus 45. See: C. Rootes. Australia's Student Radicals: the 66. Dr Myers had severely reprimanded the offenders. from enrolling at La Trobe. And it called for exposure (Myers to P. Reid, SRC President, in SRC News/etter, Nature and Origins of Dissent (BA Hans., Old., of any relationship between the University and the 2, 20. 1969, undated.) Joint Intelligence Organization, The Glenn demand, 1969), P 87. however, dominates the student literature, 46. See: N. Feather, 'Educational Choice and Student 67. The Australian, 25 August 1969. Attitudes in Relation to Terminal and Instrumental 68, Message from the Vice Chancellor to Graduating Stu­ 29, Enrages (Labor Club news sheet), 24 . Values', in Australian Journaf of Psychofogy, 22, 2, dents, 3 April, 1971, pp 7-8. . 30, lei is listed in G. Thayer's War Business: the 'nterna~ 69. Victorian DLP leader, F. Dowling, quoted in The tional Trade in Arms, N.Y. 1969, P 297. Reports critical 47, Bruce Wilson {SRC Editor, quoted in J. Perlez, The Herald, 20 July, 1971. of leI's role in South Africa appeared in The Student Press', in The Australian, 1 . Observer (London), 28 and The New 70. The NCC and the Universities', in The Catholic York Times, 2 September, 1963, 48. In , hundreds protested in the Caf against Worker, " P 11, poor quality food. 31. The injunction also restrained the excluded student 71. PWF was essentially a Hightwing conservative 'united Brian Pola from resuming his position as president 49. The original long-term plan was for the campus to be front', established around 1965 by SA Santamaria and/or member of the SRC, divided into ten separate colleges, each with 1,000 and F. Knopfelmacher. (Statement by John Chandler resident/non-resident members. In 1971, there were (Former Vice President of PWF in Adelaide), in 32. The financial autonomy issue had become academic two colleges (Glenn and Menzies), with Chisholm National U, 8, 5, 26 April, 1972, p 7. by April, with the deadline for payment of fines hav­ joining them in 1972. The college concept was aban­ ing passed and the SRC defendants withdrawing doned during 1971 and a central Union facility 72. Members of the VCAC in 1971 were: Professors Wolf­ from the case in fear of costs being awarded against opened in 1973. sohn, Goldman, and Eliezer, Chief Librarian Bor­ them. chardt, Registrar Taylor, Business Manager Barnes, SO. Enrages, I, 8, 1969. and the Vice-Chancellor's assistant, D. Sherwin. 33. J. Walter, The Perception of Conflict: Profiles from Student Politics (SA Hons. thesis, La Trobe, 1974), 51. Henry, op. cit., p 214. 73. Red Moat, 3, 12, April 1970. p 91. 52. Henry, op. cit., p 215. 74, Report by Vice-Chance/lor on Item 3(c) (Deputation) 34. G. Little, The University Experience, Melb., 1970, p of the Agenda for Fiftieth Meeting of Council, 13 May 53. Henry, op. cit.. p 216. 104 (61 per cent of Arts students from country back­ 1971, (C71/21). grounds rated 'Medium-High' compared with 67 per 54. A. Glenn to Minister of Education Bloomfield, 23 Sep­ 75. Motions Presented to Council, 27 April 1971. cent from city origins.) tember 1964, cited in Victorian Parliamentary De­ 35, Walter, op. cit. bates, 1964, p 521. 76, Notice (October 7 Committee), ,

36. The Registrar's office was unable to supply statistics 55. Ibid. 77. La Trobe University Bulletin, 2, 53, 13 October 1971. concerning parental occupations. 56. Martin Report, v. I, p 4. 78. Notice, op. cit. 37. The assumption of 75 per cent average during 1967- 57 Preston Post, 18 , 72 is based on official statistics for the years 1967 and 79. Minutes, Council Meeting, 17 (C72/26) 1968 (75 per cent) and on Walter's 1972 figure (86 per 58. La Trobe University: Who Does it Serve? (Labor Club SO. Red Moat (WSA), 5, 6, 27 April 1972 (Red Moat was cent). (See: La Trobe University Record, 2, 8, October tabloid), 19 April 1971. 1968, p 9, and Walter, op, cit. published by the La Trobe WSA during 1972). 59. Enrages, 21 June 1970. 38. By 'working-class suburbs' during 1967-72 I mean: 81. La Trobe University Bulletin, 3 28, 16 May 1972. (The nearest thing to a gesture emanating from the Western suburbs (Footscray, , Tottenham, 60. A. Barcan, 'Changes in Student Outlook', in Quad­ meeting concerned the wide terms granted to a work­ Newport, Williamstown, Sunshine, St. Albans, rant, I, I, 1956-57, P 67. ing party which had been established in April to Altona). (La Trobe Labor Club membership reached a peak organize campus forums.) Inner city suburbs (Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Pas­ during 1970, but even then it was only 8 per cent of coe Vale, North Melbourne, Parkville, Carlton, Bruns­ the student body (or, 150 students). Yet it was able to wick, Coburg, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Abbotsford, mobilize more than a thousand students (33 per cent Clifton Hill, Fairfield, Darebin, Flemington). of the student population) against the Council in Northern suburbs (Fawkner, Craigieburn, Airport 1971.) West, Glenroy, Tullamarine, Sroadmeadows, North­ cote, Preston, Thornbury, Reservoir, Thomastown, Lalor, West Heidelberg, Campbellfield). 61. The Age, 22 September 1970, p 9. Other (Fishermen's Send, Keilor, Avondale Heights, Maribyrnong, Prahran). 62. Probe (Postgraduates Society), 2, 7, September 1970. The Moderate Student Alliance, which had sent 39. Henry op. cit., p 225. observers, declared that, There had been absolutely 40. Little, op. cit., p 102. no provocation from the students' (,MSA Statement", September 1970). 41. Henry, op. cit., p 227 (52 per cent were 'bonded' in 1970). 63. Red Moat (La Trobe Communists), 20 April 1971.

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