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"Greater love hath no man than he lay down his wife for his friend." On this note the V.U.W. Debating Society opened its annual sex debate in the Little Theatre on Friday, April 17. It was not as well attended this year as it has been before, though the interest shown was quite considerable.
The motion "Chastity is outmoded" was defended by Messrs Hamlin and Hogg and opposed by Messrs Larsen and Roberts.
In contrast with last year the debate was frank and the team did not try to shy away from the subject.
Mr F. Hamlin, the only married member of the team, opened the debate for the affirmative saying he was not thinking in terms of ethics.
He referred to a film on the facts of life, recently shown in Wellington, drawing a large crowd, not because they wanted to learn the facts of life—they already knew—but because it was a film on sex.
Mr Hamlin gave a quick survey of sexual immorality and aberrations. He mentioned women having sexual experience with two men.
Interjector: "Is there something else then?"
Mr Hamlin contended it was difficult to get a real picture of sexual immorality among women. They were far more dishonest than men on the matter.
Mr Larsen, leader for the negative, consulted the dictionary, before talking about chastity. It said chastity meant abstinence from sexual intercourse outside marriage, and nothing more.
His dictionary did not talk about sexual thrills, girls experiences while watching passionate love scenes in the movies, as Mr Hamlin's dictionary apparently did.
Interjector: A poor dictionary. For chastity to be outmoded, it must have been moded at one time, Mr Larsen said. When was that time and why the change?
"I expect an answer," he added, looking at Mr Hamlin.
Mr Hamlin: "You'll get it."
He went on to say that the affirmative wanted continence, but not yet.
St. Augustine led an immoral life; he was weak. But he still believed in the ideal of chastity, in spite of his weakness.
Hamlin: "He tired himself out." "The affirmative say that the society approves of unchastity, but how does society deal with the unchaste?" Mr Larsen continued.
Voice: Most unfairly.
The speaker drew the attention of the audience to the numerous statutory offences dealing with sexual immorality—rape, sexual intercourse with girls under 16, homosexuality, buggery. Even civil law frowned upon unchastity, by making adultery a ground for divorce. Under certain circumstances seduction was an actionable tort.
Society approved of people living chaste lives, but penalised people indulging in immoral sexual intercourse and perversions.
Mr Larsen concluded by saying Hitler wanted to populate the world with Nazi super-men. He gave his blond Teutonic men free rein. Hitler, the State, would look after the children.
Yet those children, children all over the world, were ostracised and called "bastards." Did society then approve of unchastity?
Mr Hogg, for the affirmative, accused the negative of vagueness and sentimentality. He said unchastity included other sexual experiences, such as masturbation.
Mr Larsen: The Oxford dictionary only talks about abstinence from extra-marital sexual intercourse.
Interjector: Not the French one.
The speaker said that he was not concerned whether chastity was outmoded or not in the past, but whether it was outmoded now.
"We are concerned with what people do now."
Today many youngsters masturbated. Repression resulted in buggery, homosexuality and so forth. In New Zealand the vicious concept of chastity had been discarded.
Statistics in New Zealand showed that many children were born out of wedlock or too soon. They proved that in
He praised the young people for trying their shoes on before they bought them.
Mr Roberts, for the negative, reminded the audience extra-marital sexual intercourse was damned Pre-sexual intercourse imperilled marriage. After marriage it was not so much fun anymore.
He personally interviewed men and women on the subject at great risk of life and limb.
One of the women had asked him: "Are you making any suggestions?"
He only interviewed five women and admitted he was rather light on women's interviews. In order to correct this situation he asked the women and girls in the audience to stand up if they thought that chastity was pernicious.
Immediately Miss C. Frost stood up, only to object to the personal suggestion made by Mr Roberts.
"Am I to take it, Miss Frost, that you do not believe in chastity?" he managed to ask her.
Miss Frost was supported by the house, and the unchaste girls, if any, were exempt from stating their opinion in public.
After Mr Roberts concluded his speech, the motion was thrown open to speakers from the floor.
Mr A. MacNeill, a historian of merit, as well as a law student, said that if chastity was outmoded, the inference was that it must have been in fashion once.
This he denied. With great gusto he told the audience of numerous instances of immorality and sexual aberrations, from the early Christian period, right through the Middle Ages.
Young men and fair maidens used to go into the woods, and the great number of defiled maidens was unbelievable.
He was followed by speakers who sided with the negative. They argued along the well-known orthodox lines.
One speaker threatened the audience with venereal diseases in a somewhat naive manner, apparently ignorant of the modern effective prevention and cure methods.
Yet another speaker, for the negative, said he didn't mind admitting his own weaknesses, but still believed in the ideal of chastity as St. Augustine did.
He said chastity was not outmoded. Though many nice young girls told him they preferred to marry a man with experience, they still believed in their own virginity.
Most men present would agree with him in that they preferred to
Once a girl had lost her virginity, it would be easier for her to give herself to other men. Then there was the danger of her becoming promiscuous.
Promiscuity in a girl would constitute a very shaky foundation for a marriage for the reason that most men preferred to marry either a virgin or a girl who had had only little sexual experience out of weakness for a man she really loved.
Mr Larsen began his summing-up by reminding the affirmative of the answer he had expected from them.
"If chastity is now outmoded, it must once have been in fashion. But we have had no answer from the affirmative in spite of their promise," he said.
Two speakers from the floor did reply, he added. They had shown that chastity had never been universal. This proved the wording of the motion was incorrect and could therefore not be supported on that ground alone.
He said he had shown that it was a contradiction that society approved what it disapproved of.
Coming to the ideal of chastity, the affirmative, with their "illicit thrills and statistics," only considered the factual situation. This was irrelevant. The affirmative should have shown whether society approved or disapproved of chastity.
"I mentioned the statutory punishments for rape, buggery, homosexuality. 'Bastard' is the word used for illegitimate children. Seduction is sometimes an actionable tort."
Mr Hamlin: "You're telling me."
Summing up for the affirmative, Mr Hamlin asked whether society lived up to the ideal of chastity. It did not. There was often a feelling of guilt, only because society on the surface frowned upon un-chastity.
The affirmative had not contradicted themselves. Was the ideal widely practised? That was not answered by the negative.
Referring to illegitimate children, Mr Hamlin had the audience spellbound when he talked about his own feelings as a father for his own children. There was a touch of oratory in his voice when he addressed the house in all sincerity.
"Whether children are born out of or in wedlock, who does not feel a great tenderness and love for the helpless creatures. They are called 'bastards', yet society does not frown upon them."
Voice: hear, hear.
Women now wanted chastity only for the sake of security.
A real man, worth his salt, married a girl because he loved her, not because she was a virgin. That should be immaterial.
Mr Roberts had talked about the costs of illegitimate children. That was a point in favour of the affirmative, Mr Hamlin concluded.
The motion was then put to the vote. Sixteen members of the house voted for the motion, 25 against.
The adjudicator was Mr D. Foy, a strong supporter of the Debating Society in
He said he realised that the affirmative had a difficult task. He commended all the speakers on their debating ability and said he appreciated the invitation extended to him.
He made a parting remark which gave the audience something to think about when they left:
"It is better to be born out of wedlock, than not to be born at all."
Apparently the Executive considers the caf. unimportant, and its problems of little concern.
Though a sub-committee was formed, did some extensive investigation and brought down a report, the Executive have not yet found time in three meetings to consider it. It has not even appeared on the agenda, except under the ubiquitous title "General"—a multitude of sins which the Executive never seem to have time to confess.
They are being unfair to Miss Rosie, who still does not know whether she will get her requested increase, and to the students who would like to know what is going to happen to suggestions for improvement.
A whole meeting last Monday was devoted to the question of sending a debating team to the United States, a matter which, not surprisingly, they were unable to resolve.
Why such flights of fancy should take precedence when there are so many more immediate internal problems to be solved is beyond us.
Violent irresponsibility is the sort of thing one expects from the underprivileged, the misguided and psychopaths.
We will leave it for the students concerned to decide which category they fall into, but the recent destructive acts in Hut 2 suggest the culprits deserve little sympathy and perhaps strong discipline.
Having forced their way through a window they proceeded to wreck Extravaganza props, ruin a new saw, break windows and light bulbs and hammer a hole through one wall.
This is only a culmination of a number of rather stupid acts round the University this year and we suggest it is misguided loyalty on the part of one or two students who know the culprits and refuse to reveal them.
We trust Executive will do its utmost to curb this vandalism and suggest they could make a good start by being a little more responsible in regard to recent spates of window-smashing. We hope the idiots who left an empty flagon in the Salient room will come and collect it from the Editor.
I believe Billy Graham is a true Christian using his talents and admitting his faults.
His technique is not a gimmick-type salesmanship. He is not selling papier mache Christs to fools. He winds himself up in prayer with God and then says what he believes. His body movement, mood change and humour are his expression of what Christ has done for him.
The cancer of this age is cynicism. We must be ever so smart and "what all." Why not be tolerant?—Yours etc.,
Taking up your challenge regarding Billy Graham, your reporters did not walk far enough. Mr Graham is a Christian Hitler. He is not as evil as Hitler in that he does not use his mass hypnosis to incite his listeners to murder, but he does do so to convince his listeners they can attain easily and quickly to that state of soul that is the result of years of struggle, toil, sacrifice, and heart searing enduring of life's trials.
Though Christianity is one of the foundations of Western Civilization, its more fanatical, misguided adherents, have been the cause of many temporary setbacks.
I should number Graham amongst their number. Not forgetting that he himself is doing very comfortably out of all this.
In regard to the editorial on Mr Billy Graham I was one of the curious (cynical if you wish) at Athletic Park and I had the definite impression that Mister Billy Graham was playing John the Baptist to the second coming of Christ.
After listening to Graham I have been inspired to write the following.
Important Vacancy
A vacancy has arisen due to the incompetence of the present holder to carry out his duties as desired. The position is that of . . .
God.
The successful applicant will be required to administrate almost 3,000,000,000 employees and should be an egotistic and self glorifying individual.
He must at all times attempt to inhibit scientific progress, truth, and rational thought.
This position is one of great respect and commands a vast amount of wealth. Applications with testimonials should be addressed to,
Seeing that the Association of Scientists has taken advantage of your columns for free advertising (their deliciously ingenuous statement of their lust for power can only be so construed) they expose themselves to critical appraisal.
What the Association so signally fails to appreciate in this and similar claims for professional status is that the professionals they quote who must register before practising their professions must do so not merely for their own benefit but for the protection of the public.
Now while there may be grounds for considering the public in need of protection from scientists, nevertheless they have never in any public utterance drawn attention to this need. What they have demonstrated is their craving for greater emolument, greater privilege, more power.
The important feature of the true profession as opposed to the mere trade or craft is that it involves a relationship (often highly intimate) between the practitioner and the client and it is this highly vulnerable relationship which must be safeguarded by the professional organisation. (From this viewpoint teachers of all levels are more in need of recognition as professionals than scientists).
Now, however much the scientist may serve the community, he very rarely does so in the form of this close relationship which is the hall-mark of the true professional and therefore I think his claims to true professional status with the registration and organisation that go with it are quite unwarranted.
After an extensive six weeks tour of Australia, during which time they visited Universities, students' hostels and community projects, a delegation of six Indonesian student leaders will spend three weeks in New Zealand as the guests of N.Z.U.S.A.
The Australian tour was a reciprocal visit. The Australian students were repaying hospitality accorded to a team of six who visited Indonesia for three months in
The itinerary for New Zealand provides a three weeks tour, including visits to each university and agricultural college, and excursions in each of the two islands, one centered on Rotorua and the other on Queenstown. These excursions will give the delegation an opportunity of seeing something of New Zealand outside the main centres.
At the Dunedin end of the tour they will visit Roxburgh Hydro Station, New Zealand's biggest, and see the southern lake country. From Rotorua, apart from seeing thermal attractions, they will visit Tasman Pulp and Paper Mills, the largest in the southern hemisphere, the Wairakei geothermal plant, the only one of it's kind outside Italy, and also Huka Falls, the geyser country, the Hydro schemes at Atiamuri and Whakamaru, and the forest areas.
The delegation has been chosen by the P.P.M.I., the National Student Union of Indonesia. It is noteworthy that the team, including one woman member, seems to be widely representative of the organisations affiliated to P.P.M.I.
It should be realised that P.P.M.I. is composed of various groups of a regional, religious and social nature.
Three members of the touring team are Moslems and at least two are protestant Christians; five of the six can sing, play instruments or do native dances. They are all third, fourth or fifth year students; two of them doing agricultural courses, two students in political science, whilst one is interested in medicine and another in commerce.
The party will arrive in Auckland on Thursday, April 30 and leave from Auckland for Sydney on Friday, May 22. They will arrive in Wellington on Wednesday, May 13 and leave for Massey on Sunday, May 17.
Victoria is rather unlucky in that we cannot accord them a full-blooded Varsity reception as the visit coincides with vacation. They arrive in Wellington in the middle of first week of the holidays, when all the major student activities, capping, procesh, telephone booth cramming, and such as we have, are in abeyance and they will leave Wellington a day before extravaganza starts.
However, it is hoped that an evening will be held at which the students still in Wellington will have an opportunity of meeting the delegation.
Many may express their doubts as to the value of such a tour; let them be assured that student goodwill is best expressed on a student to student basis. For the students of today will be the leaders of their countries tomorrow.
The Drama Club thrust upon Executive a memo requesting £300 for a production to be staged in the Town Hall Concert Chamber this year, on Monday—the day of an Executive meeting.
Apparently, the Drama Club, and perhaps other clubs, think that Executive can make snap decisions on matters which must be referred to the Finance Committee. Once the Finance Committee has considered the question the findings are put before Exec, at the next meeting for final approval.
Salient considers the Drama Club request ill-timed and unfair to Executive.
The Drama Club has, however, a story behind their request for such a large grant. In the past the Drama Club has rarely requested grants for production, and it seems that there is little possibility of a loss on this year's programme.
With the backing of the name of Dick Campion, who is producing "Oedipus Rex" and "Jack Winter's Dream," and sets by Raymond Boyce, Drama Club is confident that a profit will be made.
The idea behind the feast that will be served to Wellington drama-lovers is that a reputation must be established in Wellington by next year when Drama Club will have its own Little Theatre in the new Student Union building. Thus a wider audience will be available for future productions up at the University.
The programme for this year is for five nights in the Concert Chamber—June 23 to 27—and one night at the Hutt.
More than £50 will be spent on costumes and at least £80 on publicity.
The final question is then, are the members of the Drama Club talented enough to succeed in this production—publicity will sell many tickets but only talent will assure full houses.
Salient will go no further than to wish the Drama Club the best of luck, and to inform readers that the request was granted.
Billets are urgently needed for five male members and one female member of the Indonesian delegation of or the three nights they will be staying in Wellington. For further particulars please contact the Liaison Officer c/o. Exec. Office.
Johnny Devlin digs Billy Graham but finds his own religion real cool.
Refuting rumours that he was changing his religion because of his meeting with the evangelist Dr. Billy Graham, rock 'n' roll singer Devlin said:
"I am a good practising Roman Catholic and I made my decision for Christ years ago—when I was first baptised.
"I was brought up a Roman Catholic and my affiliations will remain unchanged. This, however, does not prevent me from appreciating the great work being done by Dr. Graham and his interest in teenage problems.
"Because of this I regard it as a privilege to meet Dr. Graham as a world personality."
And Billy liked Johnny—so everybody and God is happy.
A group of Victoria University students have formed a Motor Club known as "The University Motor Club (Wellington)."
The club will have wide objects, embracing all types of motor activities, although for the present it would concentrate on car-rallies, hill climbs and gymkhanas. The club will endeavour to hold inter-club events with the Auckland University Car Club, the University Motor Club (Canterbury) and the Otago University Car Club. It will also endeavour to work in conjunction with kindred Car and Motor Clubs in the Wellington Province.
The club is making application for affiliation with the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association and with the Association of New Zealand Car Clubs.
Foundation members are drawn from most parts of the southern half of the North Island. These include one racing driver and several members with previous competition experience. One member was navigator of the winning car in the recent North Island Trial.
Information from Secretary/ Treasurer, R. J. M. Shaw.
"A desperate bid was made to have a burning house tonight when the Palmerston North Fire Brigade was called about eight o'clock to the residence of . ."—"Dominion."
Mrs H. C. T. . . . A wishes to thank all friends and relatives for their many floral tributes, cards and best wishes on the death of her late husband.—"Dominion."
The Engagement is announced of Mr . . . the only sin of Mr and Mrs . . .—"New Zealand Herald."
A Manchester Daily produced this pearl.
Wanted: Part-tame secretary.
Lost Cat; Black and white cat, has lost tail Hutt Hospital area.—"Evening Post."
Pagoda Wanted: Cultured young Englishman with educated, exquisite Chinese fiancee, desires married accommodation, imminent future; beehive rooms, Everest rent met with derisive laughter.—"Evening Post."
Tomorrow we may expect strong N.E. winds, reaching a gal in exposed places—a Yorkshire daily.
One rich toy manufacturer, whose granddaughter can have just about anything she wants, prefers to play with a bar of soap.—"The Saturday Evening Post."
Due to a recent party, the occupants of 82a have been evicted. Offers of assistance in finding further accommodation from guests at this party will be greatly appreciated.—"Dominion" Personal Column.
Though he denied Auckland University's.Craccumsuggestions of racial discrimination at Ardmore Teachers' College, the principal, Mr T. Wilson, admitted he would write to parents of girls who seemed to form permanent relationships with other students
Craccum alleged the authorities discouraged dating between European and non-European students.
College policy, which applied equally to European, Maori or Island students, was to place as little restriction as possible on their social relations, said Mr Wilson.
"But if any permanency should appear to enter into any relationship steps may be taken to see the persons concerned and, in the extreme cases to communicate with parents, either European or Maori."
Students at the college were either 17 or 18 years old, and the college authorities were responsible for their welfare.
He was vigorous in his protestations in the equality of the races. The last incident had occurred in
Unity's production of John Osborne's "Look Back in Anger" has had full houses and extended its season. The N.Z. Players' production of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" had poor houses and a poor press all over the country.
I don't think that this proves anything, but it might suggest to the Players that their policy of putting on "safe" plays might not be so wise after all. Though I do not suggest that they do Beckett or Ionesco—heaven forbid!
Apart from the appalling miscasting of the two women in "Look Back in Anger," the production was a good one. The whole play rises and falls with its Jimmy Porter. In what is surely the best written part since Shaw stopped writing his masterpieces in the twenties, Tim Elliot rose to the occasion with a bravura performance of this whining, egotistical, and unpleasant person.
When he was off-stage, the play dragged, but like Hamlet he is on-stage nearly all the time, and his verbal fireworks kept the audience either amused, disgusted (people did walk out) or just furious. But you couldn't possibly be apathetic to him.
Unfortunately Tim Elliot had an upper-class English voice, while Melwynne Smith as his wife Alison had a slight New Zealand accent, which tended to make Jimmy's tirades against the class barriers rather pointless. But ably supported by Michael Blake, as the easy-going and likeable Cliff, Tim Elliot gave a performance which will be hard to match in the coming season.
Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" has been done all over the country many many times. There has been an excellent film, and there is also a perfect L.P. version of this masterful comedy.
Why did the Players choose it?
The Players came a cropper with their version. The production and the acting were in all sorts of styles.
At one moment it was all farce (Stafford Byrne's forte, I suspect), the next it was modern drawing-room comedy.
Only three of the actors came close to the essence of Wilde comedy. Edward Petheredge, Louise Harris, and Anthony Groser (Algy, Gwendolen and Canon Chausible) were all light, charming and acting in the world created by Wilde; they took the comedy seriously.
But for most of the time the whole cast were just plainly inadequate, As for Barbara Leake's Lady Bracknell words fail me.
I hear that the Players' next production is Willis Hall's "The Long, the Short, and the Tall." Hurray! A modern play, but let us hope they have an audience and some money left.
The Wellington branch of the New Zealand-China Society will present the Chinese film "New Year Sacrifice" on Friday, April 24, at 8 p.m. in the Library Lecture Hall.
This is a full-length colour film, dealing with the life of a peasant girl in China on the eve of the Sun Yat-sen revolution in New Statesman, William
"Rare qualities from which the Western cinema might well, at this "New Year Sacrifico" isn't what we might expect from the New China . . It represents the change from legend to life, from mandarin to the people . .
"New Year Sacrifice finds a universal appeal no less by its common humanity than by the—unfortunately—old-fashioned merit of telling a good story to the best advantage . . . The heroine's part is played beautifully by Pai Yang. Agfacolor acquires delicacy particularly in the night scenes. Here is him which cinemagoers, not debauched by raucousness, cannot fail to enjoy."
The showing of New Year Sacrific offers an opportunity to compare an outstanding Chinese film with the best of the international films shown recently during the Festival of Wellington.
This issue of Salient is the last for this term. Copy for the next issue will close exactly one fortnight before the start of next term.
"Arrived in a storm, the last twenty-four hours being doleful, with all the passengers down, and even the officers looking askance at their food."
This was the way Beatrice Webb was introduced to Auckland in
Their comments on New Zealand of
While in Auckland the Webbs visited the University and had this to say about it:
"The University College is housed in quaint ramshackle wooden buildings . . .
"Its income is £4000 government grant and £800 fees. It has 83 matriculated students, and about 120 attendants at courses of lectures. Nearly all the students are teachers actual or prospective, and have little time or inclination for intellectual work.
"The half a dozen professors—entirely English university men—seem well paid—the chemistry man gets £800—but lack stimulus. The Auckland business and professional world seems to supply practically no students—not even their unemployed daughters.
"The University has clearly failed to make itself popular in any sense—attracting neither endowments nor students other than teachers. No joint action with Christchurch or Dunedin—the other colleges of the New Zealand University—in fact, mutual jealousy . . .
"Our general impression of education as shown in Auckland: seedy in appliances, imitative of old English models in method, honourable and gentlemanly in its spirit but quite without originality, independence, or modern ideas." I wonder if 61 years have changed all that.
The diary itself is full of fascinating sidelights of a developing colony seen through the eyes of two of the world's greatest humanists. Seddon is "vulgar" but "a giant." They approve of his reforms but not of his methods and there is a strangely familiar ring to Webb's suggestion that he takes too much on himself.
New Zealand architecture they find even in those far away times to be uninteresting if not downright ugly.
In one month the Webbs packed in a great deal of social survey and, if nothing else, the diary serves to prove in no small way the old adage "La plus que change, la plus c'est la meme chose."
Mr Hugh Price is to be congratulated on his editing, the firm for the publishing of the book and the State Literary Fund, which so often comes in for unnecessary abuse, for its grant to the publishers.
In the tradition of the wildly successful jazz concert that was held last year, the V.U.W. Jazz Society intends staging another on May 5, with more to follow.
This presents a unique opportunity to hear a type of music which will never be experienced again. The combination of eight groups of young talent, university thinking and feeling, and a music which is peculiarly adapted to enthusiasm, presents something both unusual and most entertaining.
Come along to the Training College Hall at 8 p.m. on May 5—you can't miss it. Refreshments will be available.
* * * *
Jazz club members will be pleased to know that Exec. has approved their request for the custodianship of the piano; subject to a few conditions.
Mr Holyoake's recent nation-wide trek so impressed National Party hacks that they hailed it as a "crusade." O.U.'s "Critic's reaction was:
Students! One hundred and twenty-three of you will be delighted to know that the £3/5/- Students' Association fee you paid this year is about to be spent.
"Well, fair enough," you say, "that's what It's for." But wait a minute. That tidy sum of money, £400 in all, will be spent on one item—the advertising of Extravaganza.
Yes, to advertise one generally well-known annual show around one relatively small town (Wellington and the Hutt Valley) is to take £400 of your money, and furthermore this sum has been allocated to a student who admits to knowing nothing at all about advertising.
Now I would point out at this stage that I am not blaming Mr P. O'Brien, the advertising officer concerned, for this blunder, but I am blaming those responsible for allocating this sum, And I Accuse them of Gross Negligence and Irresponsibility in finding it necessary to expend £400 for this purpose.
And having arrived at this sum they proceed to put it at the disposal of a man who admits to knowing nothing about advertising.
When I expressed shock at this situation Mr O'Brien pointed out quite reasonably that (a) Extrav. never made a profit until a similar sum was spent on advertising; (b) Extrav. is thus expected to make a profit this year and pay back more than £400; (c) the help of a student who is employed by an advertising agency has been enlisted; and (d) he, Mr O'Brien, knows nothing about advertising.
This last point has been covered so I shall pass on to the other three. The fact that Extrav. never made a profit until a similar sum (£400) had been spent on advertising proves nothing. The sudden financial success of the show in the last year or so could be attributed to many other factors.
It appears that in the past bad advertising has been used and has been substituted for a "big push" in the Extrav. advertising campaigns.
On the second point I would submit that regardless of the fact that Extrav. will almost surely make a profit of well over £400 this year, there is no justification for wasting student money. By spending less, but on the right media, Extrav. can make a greater profit.
Finally, the fact that a student from an advertising agency has assisted is surely an unfavourable sign, for it is well-known that N.Z. advertising agencies are 20 years behind the times in their practise and outlook and are generally pretty useless.
The logical question is: "How should the advertising be done?" As many people who attend Extrav. as spectators are regulars, it seems most important to use informative advertising, i.e., classified columns in the newspapers showing the time and dates of the show.
The next requirement appears to be the one most lacking: namely, Original Thinking. (This, please note, is not only effective but free.) If Cappicade can run a publicity stunt by having 20 students pull an old cart through the main streets of Wellington during the lunch-hour or issue blue parking stickers as they did in '58, Why Can't Extrav. Do Something Similar?
The whole issue points to the necessity for establishing a permanent publicity committee to fulfil all student advertising needs, with an emphasis on unusual and cheap media.
Last Sunday one of Salient's reporters had an hour or two in which to write something. Material was on tap—Extravaganza was rehearsing at the Little Theatre.
Salient went along to see how Victoria's major production for
Labelled "Vat '59" as yet it hasn't got much kick—as Dave (John Koolman) would say, "The brew is down"—but with a full month of rehearsals ahead before the gala opening the finished product will be nicely bottled for public consumption.
The only objectionable part of this year's show may be the words "Heaven help New Zealand," sung in tune to a well-known anthem. It is the tune rather than the words that is suspect.
Though some of the old hands are not with Extravaganza this year, producer Terry Browne is fortunate in having half a dozen "talented" people to take parts.
In the show again this year are Des Deacon, Julian Watts, David Lind-Mitchell, John Tannahill, Sharon Thompson and Liz Beck.
The chorus is smaller than usual, but with better enunciation they could make the racy tunes give the show a sparkle at least equal to last year.
This year the music will be supplied by Pat Harrington and colleagues. Peter Standen is in charge of the sets.
In fact, Extrav. '59 looked so promising that your Salient reporter decided on the spot to join the company—look for him in the male ballet.
No doubt Salient will bear the loss in good spirit.—Farewell, Salient.
[No tears in our cups.—Ed.]
At the end of last year when Victoria's plan for an Arts festival was finally abandoned, Otago Societies Council set up an investigating committee to discuss the possibility of holding an Arts festival at O.U., says "Critic."
The investigating committee prepared a report which indicated that the scheme was practicable and feasible, suggesting that the festival be run in conjunction with the Winter Tournament.
This would coincide with the holding of the Drama and Debating events, although these would remain part of the tournament. The Bledisloe Medal for Public Oratory will be organised on similar lines.
The O.U. Film Society will arrange a one-night programme and a photographic competition will be held. Each university has been asked to participate. It was suggested that each university should send 20 entries to each of the two divisions of the competition: monochrome and colour slides. A general exhibition will be held in conjunction with the photographic competition.
The O.U. International Club are prepared to sponsor a display of overseas Art and Craft. Elam school at A.U. has agreed to organise, in conjunction with Canterbury Art School, an exhibition of art and handicraft.
Literary competition winners and runners-up front the universities as well as representatives of the different literary societies will be invited to contribute poems and short stories which will be read and discussed at an informal meeting and the best entries will be published.
The investigating committee has outlined these items, as the main part of the O.U. Festival. Other activities, such as plays by the Classics Department, chess and a music item by the O.U. Music Union. The final function, which is likely to be the most popular, is the Festival Dinner, which will replace the usual Dramatic Societies' Tournament Dinner.
O.U.'s plans for an Arts Festival was presented to N.Z. U.S.A., where the result was a noncommital motion approving the Arts Festival in principle. Not that it made any difference whether N.Z.U.S.A. approved or not because O.U. Executive have approved the scheme and have agreed to support financially all Arts Festival activities which take place in Dunedin.
However, O.U. will not finance the travel of members from other universities to the Arts Festival. Neither will it finance the freight of their paintings, etc. Whether people from other universities receive financial support depends entirely on their respective Execs. If the Arts Festival is to be successful, students throughout the universities must give their support.
Thus the decision has been made. O.U. will hold the first Arts Festival.
Victoria has decided to hold a competition for those in the university who consider themselves literary minded. The competition will be open to bonafide students and there will be two sections: (a) poetry, (b) short story.
The writers of the winning works will be invited to the Festival. Three worthwhile prizes will be offered: One for the best poem; one for the best short story; one for the best contribution from the remaining entries (either poetry or short story).
Three adjudicators (two staff members and one non-staff member of the university) will be appointed for the competition and the three best poems and the three best short stories will be sent to the Arts Festival.
Please note that if you are unable to be present at the festival a competent reader can be arranged to read those works sent.
It is hoped that there will be plenty of ms. sent in and please—so that it can be read—type double spacing. If you can't get it typed please write it legibly, one side of the page and double spaced.
All contributions will be considered as potential material for "Experiment," which is the Literary Societies' magazine. Copy should be sent to Editor, "Experiment," Literary Society, c/- Students' Association, P.O. Box 196, Wellington.
Also please note that the entries must reach the Editor before June 30, and they must be signed by the writer.
I would like to make a few comments on Mr Jones's articles. First of all, I offer him my sincere congratulations on the solution of a problem that has taxed the intellects of many eminent psychologists during the past 40 years, namely, "The Psychology of Advertising."
I am aware of my limitations in the advertising field and that is why I have listened to suggestions from both professional and amateur sources (even from Mr Jones!). But a few facts:
I have not taken advice from a member of an advertising agency.
Two final comments: It is high time students stopped thinking in terms of "something for nothing" and decided to pay for high-class professional services at standard rates.
Perhaps Mr Jones should emigrate to the U.S.A., where his true worth will be recognised.
The last lap of my China travels took me to Nanning, in the Chuang Autonomous Region of South China. The Chinese-Vietnam border lay only one hundred miles to the south and when the opportunity of a brief visit to North Vietnam was offered to me I eagerly accepted.
Few Western observers had visited the country since the restoration of peace.
Moreover, Vietnam was of major interest to me as a geographer because its great rice growing area in the Red River lowland is a classic example of the intensive agriculture of East Asia and because the country illustrates on a smaller scale the problems and difficulties China faced five or six years ago.
I boarded the train at Nanning at the uncomfortable hour of half past three in the morning and woke to find the train winding south through a sunlit landscape of tawny grass and low scrub, stippled with small villages and patches of cropland and broken by massive grey crags of limestone. At 10 a.m. I was on the southern frontier of China, changed trains, for there is a break of gauge at the frontier, and shortly after reached Langson, the first station in Vietnam.
A background of shrilling cicadas, of banana fronds, and tiny rice fields; on the platform slender dark-eyed children selling fruit and sugar cane; smart Polish and Indian officers and Canadian observers of the United Nation Control Commission; a small group of Russian technicians and their families; Vietnamese students returning from Peking and Moscow; in the distance a burnt out building and the ruins of a French pillbox . . .
All these things suggested the character and problems of life in Vietnam—its tropical climate and gentle peoples; its recent emergence from a bitter colonial war; its partition at the end of this war; the international supervision of the armistice by United Nations observers; the reconstruction of the country carried through with the help of technicians and funds from the Sino-Soviet block.
The rail line towards Hanoi had been destroyed in the war against France like so much of the material equipment of Vietnamese life. It had been restored only a few months ago and was now clearly a major artery between China and this newly emergent state.
The train crept southwards between high hills, covered with scrub and forest and dotted with small thatched villages, with tiny patches of rice and maize, of fruit trees and sugar cane.
It was an area obviously thinly peopled, inhabited mainly by tribal groups.
Then, as the afternoon drew on, the blue, forested hills receded into the distance and the great alluvial lowland of the Red River stretched to the horizon—mile after mile of green and pale gold rice fields, of fields newly ploughed or filmed with irrigation water, tiny fields bounded by dykes or ditches, fields which from the air give the effect of a design in green and gold cloisonne enamel.
This is the last of the series of articles by Professor K. M. Buchanan (professor of geography) on his recent visit to China and North Vietnam.
As we passed over the Red River into Hanoi children were leading the buffaloes down to the red mudladen waters, russet-clad peasants were working in the fields of sugar cane and vegetables, and the fishing boats were spreading their sails to the evening breeze and drifting seawards like clouds of butterflies.
Hanoi is a beautiful city—a city of wide tree-lined avenues and graceful French colonial architecture; of houses painted pastel yellow and pale green and pink, with spacious gardens and balconies.
It is a city of vivid colours and scents and sounds . . . the magenta and emerald green and white silk of the girls' tunics; the cascading scarlet of bougainvillea; the russet brown of the peasants' dress; the gold skins and blue-black long hair of the children; the scent of evening sunlight on the hot earth mingled with the scents of spices and cooking; the sounds of wooden clogs clip-clopping through the morning streets, the harsh cries of the street vendors and the soft swish of the street cleaners' brooms.
It is a city which is undergoing a major social and economic transformation.
Formerly, the most attractive quarters were occupied by European officials and by the European and Chinese commercial groups who flourished under the French colonial regime. Today, these groups have gone; their houses have been broken up into apartments for the working people of Hanoi—the clerks and the shop assistants and the mechanics—whose families and dependents spill out into temporary housing in the palm-shaded gardens.
In the past, as the administrative centre of a colonial regime, it was characterised by a great development of luxury trades and activities; it was a city largely parasitic on the countryside.
Today, it is the economic centre of a developing Asian state; the old luxury trades are vanishing and are being replaced by the workshops and factories turning out the consumer goods and capital equipment so desperately needed by the masses of Vietnam.
It is a city in which the old world and the new world struggling to be born are sharply juxtaposed—the new machine tool factory is full of gleaming Russian machinery, and in its grounds women carry the scrap iron in the traditional peasant baskets and cut the grass of the verges with the tiny peasant knife.
North Vietnam has an area rather larger than that of the South Island and a population of 13 millions. It came into being after a savage and protracted colonial war, of which I saw glimpses in a Vietnamese film in Hanoi.
This war for colonial freedom became involved in the cold war politics of the great powers and brought the West to the brink of atomic intervention when the campaign began to swing decisively against the French.
It was terminated by the Geneva Agreement which shattered, temporarily at least, the unity of the Annamese or Vietnamese lands along the arbitrary line of the 17th parallel.
The Agreement provided for elections in
Today, the 17th parallel is one of the most absolute barriers in the world; trade or movement across it is nonexistent and even postal contact between members of families divided by the boundary is restricted to prisoner-of-war type postcards.
The division shattered the economy of Vietnam leaving a food-deficit, mineral-rich North cut off from a food surplus mineral deficient South. The South subsequently evolved under American! control; the North aligned itself with the socialist camp and followed the Chinese pattern of agrarian reform and social transformation.
Today, North Vietnam is at the stage of economic and social development reached by China in the early
A sizeable private sector still remains; at the end of
The size of the state sector is, however, increasing as a result of the steady expansion of the lower forms of state capitalism; thus, many private firms process products for the state, or are sales agents for the state trading concerns.
Land reform, following the Chinese pattern, gave some 895,000 hectacres to the peasants and was followed by the development of agricultural co-operatives. By
The partition of the Vietnamese lands created a major food problem for the North. Tonkin the heart of North Vietnam, had always been a food-deficit area, its needs being supplied by the more sparsely people South. Partition made this northwards flow of rice
Then agrarian reform, coupled with improved cropping techniques modelled on those of China, gradually boosted output.
The landlords had formerly taken one-quarter of the entire output; with the land reform these 625,0 tons of rice went to swell the peasants larder.
By.1957 rice production had increased sufficiently to meet the needs of the country's growing population; per capita consumption was one-third above that of1939 and there was a small surplus for export. Output of other food crops—cassava, sweet potatoes and groundnuts—and of industrial crops such as cotton increased even more strikingly
Meanwhile, large scale irrigation and flood control schemes are being undertaken. The most striking of these is the Bac Hung Hai scheme near Hanoi; this was planned by Chinese and Soviet experts and will be completed in the middle of
It covers an area of half a million acres, with a population of over one million peasants, and is being carried out almost entirely by the hand labour of 20,000 peasants and 12,000 soldiers of the Vietnamese Army.
This agricultural development is paralleled by industrial development. Under the French, industry, including handicrafts, represented only 10 per cent, of the total output value of the economy; by
Industrial development is less advanced than in China but the foundations have been laid, not only in the shape of factories producing consumer goods such as cloth or matches, but also in more basic industries such as machine tool production.
The biggest enterprise visited was the Xuong Co Khi machine tool plant in Hanoi; this was built and equipped by the U.S.S.R. and now employs a thousand workers. It produces machine tools, lathes, planing machines and spare parts for other factories and its construction marks the beginning of heavy industry in North Vietnam.
The country has the resources—coal and metallic minerals—for a considerable development of heavy industry; at the present moment one of the major bottlenecks is the shortage of trained personnel, a shortage being overcome by sending local workers to other countries of the socialist camp for training or by means of local training schemes run by Soviet technicians.
Like China, Vietnam is a country with many minority peoples. The major group—the Annamese—are rice - growing peoples living in the alluvial lowlands. There are, in addition, some 50-60 different tribal groups living in the hill areas which fringe the Red River lowlands. Many of these groups have languages, histories and social systems quite different to those of the Annamese and to weld them into a unified state without destroying their individuality poses major problems.
Vietnam's minority policy is based on that of China; it provides for full development of these peoples and recognises their individuality by granting a considerable measure of administrative autonomy to the larger and more compact groups.
Research into the history and social organisation of the tribal peoples is carried on by the School of National Minorities at Hanoi. Here new scripts are being developed for groups with no written language and minority students are trained to go back and work as administrators, teachers and technicians among their own people.
The school includes a large number of pupils from South Vietnam who, when unification of North and South comes, will provide a core of trained personnel for the tribal groups in the uplands of the South.
The new state has been created largely by the struggles of one man—Ho Chi Minh, known affectionately to the peasants as "Uncle Ho." Ho Chi Minh provided the leadership in the long struggle against French colonialism and forged a new unity of the Vietnamese people in the war-torn jungles and paddy fields of the North.
It was difficult to realise that this quietly - spoken scholar had spent 40 years of his life in either underground resistance work or open warfare against the Japanese and French.
In Vietnamese films of the resistance war I had seen, the President sharing the wartime sufferings of his people, the dedicated, infinitely patient, leader of an Asian revolution; meeting him in the early sunshne of a November morning I saw another aspect of his personality—a gentleness and warm humanity which rose above past bitterness and the narrowness of fanatical nationalism.
I left with the impression of a great man, who combined in his person the gentleness and warm-heartedness of these people and the toughness and determination which carried them through years of war and which sustains them in their long uphill struggle to rebuild their economy and reunite their divided country.
Easter Tournament has once again produced complaints about N.Z.U. Blues. Are they justified? In this article I will try to show that the complaints of many sports are fully justified. The responsible sportsman is the best judge of standards and once the selectors, officials or anyone else loses his support he may as well turn to drink.
Clause 53 of the N.Z.U. Blues regulations states "In arriving at a standard the Panel (Blues Panel) shall have regard to the standard of a good provincial team." This regulation would appear to be more honoured in the breach than the observance.
I intend dealing with N.Z.U. representation in a future article, so will not touch on this contentious subject in this issue.
I treat athletics first because it comes first in the alphabet and for no other reason of precedence. The athletes are not happy about the present Blues system, as the standards (strictly adhered to as they are) take no account of track conditions, etc.
This strict adherence to standards is directly opposed to clause 59 of the Blues regulations, which states "The panel shall have power to fix standards in any sport, but these standards shall not be binding on the panel and shall be for guidance only."
Rob Irwin a few years ago won the 100, 220 and 440 at Tournament all in times just outside the Blues standard, but no Blue was awarded, yet another athlete the same year equalled the Blues standard in one event and was awarded a Blue. Who was the better athlete?
The athletes are not satisfied with the present system. Ailsa McDonald won a number of titles this receive a Blue!
This year a Fresher at Victoria was awarded an N.Z.U. Blue—while year but, like Bob Irwin, did not this chap performed admirably at Tournament, and during the season (for another club), what has he done for university sport?
Why not either revoke the Fresher eligibility clause or leave the award of such Blues pending until the sportsman has proved himself as aVarsityman?
Under the present system of awarding New Zealand University Cricket Blues, only the very favoured few have any chance of being awarded one.
The practice of the Blues panel during the past decade or so has been to give Blues to university cricketers of international, or near international, status.
Only a few of the more fortunate have come into this category.
Under the rules governing the award of Blues, it is clearly laid down that cricketers of a "good provincial standard" who take part in Tournament shall be eligible for the award.
Assuming that "a good provincial standard" applies to anyone chosen to represent the six major associations—Central Districts, Wellington, Auckland, Canterbury, Otago and Northern Districts—it is clear many have been passed over who ought to have qualified.
To quote an example: The N.Z.U. cricket team which toured Australia this year contained three players of first-class stature, yet not one received a Blue in spite of the team's good record on tour. The only award went to John Sparling, the New Zealand off-spinner.
While no-one would want to see Blues cheapened, or awarded willy-nilly to those who did well at Tournament, it is obvious that a change is necessary in the policy of the Blues panel. The rules are there and the Blues panel should be directed to act on the standards laid down.
The rowers have been getting a fair deal!!! and I would be the last to argue with the sportsmen who told me this. In fact, the rowers are the only people whom I have heard complimenting the N.Z.U. Blues panel over the years.
The N.Z.U. standards are going up year by year, and while they are in line with "good provincial standard," some shooters feel that in view of New Zealand's high world standard and the comparative lack of experience of university students, a slightly lower standard would still keep the Blues in the sky.
What is good provincial standard as referred to in Clause 53? Is second at National Championships not sufficient to satisfy the selectors in this regard? Richard Swindell was second at National Championships in the diving, but was beaten by Bill McCarroll at the N.Z.U. Championships by 1.7 pts. Bill was good enough for an N.Z.U. Blue (I1 quite agree), but Richard was not!!
Blues are supposed to be awarded for competition at the annual tournaments.Orfor N.Z.U. representation. The1957 team to tour Australia were not granted any Blues for performances in Australia. The Blues panel said that they had not seen these people in action, nor had the Blues' selectors—a rather lame excuse, as times and performances could be shown quite easily. This peculiar ruling did Theo Verhoeven out of an N.Z.U. Blue for waterpolo
Theo was captain of the waterpolo team in Australia which lost only one game of the 13 played. He was goalkeeper for Wellington, who were national champions, and goalkeeper for The Rest v. New Zealand (not being eligible for N.Z. on nationality grounds). He broke his ankle a week before Tournament, so no Blue; an appeal signed by all the members of the touring team failed.
These are only two examples of the swimmers' grievances, but they show why the swimmers have completely lost faith in the N.Z.U. Blues panel.
The basketball and tennis players approached did not feel competent to comment—I respect their silence. Yachters are of course, not eligible for Blues as yet.
All the sports clubs appear to be satisfied with the Vic Blues panel, and I hope that under the new Sports Council the present satisfactory system continues. The loss of Clem (Dr. J. C.) Hawke to the Vic panel will be great, but I am sure Massey (where he has been appointed a Senior Lecturer) will gain from our loss.
Salient does not approve of the present N.Z.U. Blues system, especially the arrangement for appeals. Appeals are heard by the same panel that has refused the Blue. British justice!