Lesbianism censored

Editors Resign

NZSPA Reporter

Hamilton — Waikato University's new student newspaper, the "Waikato Student," has had a major setback before its first issue.

The paper is a product of the merger of Waikato University's "Kato" and the Hamilton Teachers' Training College paper "Campus."

Joint editors for 1967, Bob Simcock and Mike Williams, both university students, laid ambitious plans for a newspaper to serve the 1000 students on campus at three-weekly intervals.

The proposed annual budget was £1500, and an advertising manager was to work on commission to make it the biggest single venture yet undertaken by Waikato students.

But a conflict between the editors and the "Waikato Times," the printers, over the censorship of an article on the "Facts about Lesbianism" resulted in the resignation of the two editors after a meeting of the executives of the Waikato University Students' Association and the Hamilton Teachers' College Students' Association.

The first news of the censorship came to the editors when they were called before the Vice-Chancellor (Dr. D. R. Llewelyn).

Acting on information received from the printers he advised Messrs. Simock and Williams to delete the piece as the printers' lawyers claimed it was both offensive and actionable.

Both editors felt the article was of value and said they could not see how any charges of indecency could be levelled.

"The Facts about Lesbianism" was originally published in "Craccum," the Auckland University newspaper, and before that was published in "Honi Soit," the Sydney University newspaper.

Messrs, Williams and Simcock were given the choice by Mr. P. V. Harkness, managing director of the "Waikato Times," of having all copy creened by the Vice-Chancellor or finding a new printer They chose the latter course.

The two student executives later met and ordered the deletion of the article. Narrowly passed, the directive led to the resignation of the two editors after "the most frustrating four days ever."

The students' association lawyer did not consider the article legally offensive but nevertheless recommended that the article should not be published. He said that publication of the article would be dubbed by certain persons "student irresponsibility seeking sensationalism solely for its own sake."

The first issue will still appear, although how, and by whom even the retiring editors are not certain. It is only provident that Messrs. Williams and Simcock have agreed to produce one issue before they resign.