Poor Procedure

Dear Sir,—A large section of students attending the recent Special General Meeting will have been appalled by the general tenor of the meeting. It must be admitted that meetings of this nature have in the past been lively and entertaining, but never have they been rowdy and devoid of reason, as well as lacking in even the most elementary forms of etiquette. It is a well recognized and fundamental principle of democratic procedure that speakers must be afforded an opportunity of making themselves heard, and that the audience listens to them no matter whether they agree or disagree with the tone of the particular address. I would also draw your attention to the deplorable attitude of the interim chairman, Mr. McDowall, in accepting a complete "ticket" motion for an interim executive. The correct procedure would have been to call for nominations and a fair opportunity to all sections of students to express their views, This, Mr McDowall definitely failed to do. Unfortunately, this failure properly to exercise the functions of chairman, cannot be ascribed to inexperience, as he has had several years of service on the Executive and has held other administrative positions in the Students' Association. Perhaps, Mr. McDowall could clarify his position and state his reasons for accepting a motion of "block" nominations, typical of the "one-party" system which the movers of the no-confidence were seeking to eradicate from the College.

In conclusion, may I congratulate Misses Casey and Michael for their refusal to serve on the Executive in view of the proceedings at the meeting of which they were justly ashamed.