SEPTEMBER 25, 1969 VOLUME 43, No. 12 The University Administration is cedures by which persons will be sity decides to stick to the proposed at present drafting amendments to accepted for or declined enrolment." figure, the Arts Faculty will be most the University of Auckland Act to At present. Council has adopted affected by exclusion regulations. provide regulations for exclusion. measures to keep the increase next At a meeting of the Arts Faculty They will go forward to the Univer­ year down to 500 students. Exclu­ this term, the Dean of Arts, Prof. sity Grants Committee, and then to sion regulations will be enforced K. J. Hollyman was directed to Parliament for legislation next year. more strongly. It is estimated that report to the Deans Committee that Under the present Act it is stated 200 students would be re-admitted, the faculty considers 40%. of the (Calendar, p. 628) : "Every person as opposed to 400 this year. projected total roll is a better esti­ who is academically qualified for The number of overseas students mate of the final Arts enrolments. entrance to a University in New will be fixed at 600 (working through The figures for Arts seem to have Zealand in accordance with the the Labour Dept entry regulations), been the left over figures arrived at requirements of the Universities and gradually reduced to a limit of after Fruits were first submitted by Entrance Board shall be eligible to 5% of the total roll. the other faculties. The report of the matriculate at the University without Transfers of students from other Deans Committee of June lists the further examination." Universities will be slowed down. maximum enrolment figures a t :— NIVERSITY The only grounds for refusing It is understood that the possi­ Firm figures: single enrolments at present is Sec­ bility of directing Training College Engineering 770 tion 24 (2) : "Insufficiency of accom­ students to Massey w as looked into, Law 850 modation or of teachers in the but unfeasible under the present Act, Human Biology 350 University or in a faculty or depart­ because of lack of accommodation Architecture 576 ment of the University." at Massey. Fine Arts 150 V E S O N As the Act stands, there is no authority to limit a certain class of Tentative figures: student, for example overseas stu­ Science 2600 dents, or to exclude students on Arts numbers Commerce 1200 academic grounds (except in cases Arts 3554 of insufficient progress at other uni­ Total 10000 EXCLUSION versities). The suggested alterations to the Act would enable the Univer­ facing cut Professor Hollyman told Craccum sity Council to "limit the enrolment that Faculty hoped to take up the of any category of persons to an Arts professors will be asking the "slack" from the faculties with fixed annual quota being either a specific next meeting of Senate to adopt numbers. This refers to the fact that number or a fraction or percentage special measures to avoid a large each faculty's enrolment never quite of the maximum number of persons cut in the percentage of Arts students reaches its fixed limit, in practice. who may be admitted to the Univer­ planned to meet the 10,000 limit at Professor Hollyman said that the sity or to a particular faculty, de­ the University by 1972. Commerce Faculty was under a partment, course or class." A meeting of the Deans Com­ strain also, partly because of Wai­ Council would have the power to mittee in June set the tentative Arts kato University not having a Com­ refuse enrolment of students on the enrolment at 3554 when the univer­ merce Faculty, and partly because grounds of academic ability under a sity reaches its 10,000 maximum. qualifications for accountancy are proposed amendment giving Council This is 35|% of the total roll. The being tightened, meaning more uni­ the power "to define and provide present percentage of Arts students versity study. for the criteria of acadenvc ability at the University is iust over 41%. (Continued page seven) or attainment and the selection pro­ It seems obvious that if the univer­ l i b e r a t i o n Owen Gager: “ Happy days are here again, and what is more, played by Frank E. Evans Lunchtime Band. That is how the Sep­ tember 14th demonstration began; and more significantly, that is how it ended, with fifty or more people desecrating the Myers Park turf with sinful Sabbathday dancing, to celebrate what Tim Shadbolt called 'the most marvellous day of the year'. People, between the beginning and end of the demonstration, had clambered up to the Vincent Street Police station and returned unscathed; this, they seemed to think, was worth dancing about. "Myers Park free speech area, for the first time on record, had all its speeches delivered from a piano; about a quarter of the audience, obeying admonitions from a dog called Brutus, wore fancy dress; not a single police helmet overshadowed the day by an arrest, a caution, or even an attempt to unstraggle marchers who occupied most of Wellesley Street West rather undisciplinedly at one stage. It was almost as much fun as a Sunday afternoon at the beach; and it did show demonstrations can take a different form from either polite Sunday afternoon walks for the middle-aged or ferocious banner-bashing of cops to raise extremely hypothetical workers' class consciousness." Tim Shadbolt: "This was one of the biggest demonstrations in New Zealand that has included such a diverse range of youth and that has had so little police 'protection' and has had such a lack of violence. One point was blatently proven — no police equals no violence. The youth of Auckland talked and marched and debated. Several valid points were suggested by the meeting. • That lists of our civil rights be posted in every cell in every police station so that everyone arrested knows his civil rights. • Legal aid be given to those who need it. If the state can afford a public prosecutor surely it can afford a public defender. What chance has a young man got of defending himself in court if he can't afford a lawyer. • That people arrested be treated as though they are perfectly innocent until they are proven guilty. • That those arrested on September 7 have all charges against them dismissed. "It is more than unfortunate that the New Zealand Herald neglected to print a word on the whole event. This was a prime example of mis-directed journalism. Why do violent demonstrations, however small, get headline news and large peaceful demonstrations are completely ignored. ls it to appease public prejudice? Will it not encourage violence? Young people refuse to be ignored. Why not publicise the good things they achieve instead of only their faults." 1r ietvpoin t radicalism in the university The 1037 votes (47.3%) in favour of legalis­ people, and students, are degenerating as a ing a basic level of existence. In short, young ing marijuana confirms the suspicion that there has whole. Bill Rudman, one of the university's top people have had more time to think critically been a growing rejection of conventional values scholars (PhD student in cell biology), was the about the quality of life. among New Zealand students in the last few original proponent of legalising marijuana. He It is significant that the Engineering School years. Reactionaries against social change, with also happened to be the best student president should so strongly oppose legalisation of mari­ their self-assuring jibes about 'Vocal minorities" A.U. has had for several years. juana. By the nature of the occupation, which pre­ and "lunatic fringes" must at least be puzzled and The apparent answer to the growing change supposes a strong tendency towards upward disturbed by this movement. Even more unsettling among students falls back on social processes that mobility in New Zealand's middle-class oriented must be the fact that of the staff and graduate are occurring world-wide: system, engineering students can hardly heip be­ students who voted (in a separate poll), legalisa­ • The knowledge explosion which has not only ing conservative, even reactionary. Upward tion of marijuana was favoured by 31-10. produced better, more comprehensive educa­ mobility demands conformity. Conformity is anti­ But not just the marijuana issue reflects this tion, but has also meant that the amount of thetical to change. student shift: the overwhelming opposition to the information available on any section of The essence of radicalism is not militant action South Africa rugby tour, and the call for an inde­ human thought (including philosophical and or blatent non-conformity. It is embodied in the pendent, non-aligned foreign policy for New social thought) has increased many times difference in outlook between two groups; differ­ Zealand are equally indicative. Students have since the war. ing presuppositions separated by a gulf, and that even tackled issues which the House of Representa­ • The communication explosion, which through gulf is widening. tives will not touch: the question of legalising mass media, especially television, has made This is why legalisation of marijuana will be­ homosexual relations between consenting adults. suffering of the Vietnam war, or police come official student policy; this is why more and Two years ago, this was voted down by Auckland brutality in Chicago, identifiable with every­ more young people will become estranged from students. It was passed overwhelmingly this year. one, in the true sense of the "global village" values they cannot understand or sympathise with; The public may ask why are students thinking concept. this is why the reactionary base, in trying to main­ like this.