Council invited to try the air

Ineffective ventilation of Rankine Brown Building has inspired the circulation of a petition.

David Clark, the student who initiated the petition, said he will present it to the Vice-Chancellor.

The petition says:

"We, the undersigned students of Victoria University, request the Administration of the University to investigate the problem of ventilation in Rankine Brown Building, and urge that steps be taken to install an effective ventilation system with the minimum possible delay."

"The building is far too hot." David said.

"This is especially so on the lower floors of the library building."

On Floor O temperatures often reach 70-80 deg. F.

A similar condition exists on the ninth floor, where a girl fainted in a tutorial some weeks ago.

One of the petitioners, Tony Jaques, said it would be interesting to find out how many students hint not fainted or gone to sleep in the library or in the seminar rooms above.

David thinks the ventilation system does not work effectively.

In the seminar rooms when the fans are full on, there is plenty of noise but still little air—this is not favourable to discussion groups.

In only one day the petition has obtained 500 signatures.

Students have been very keen to sign, David said, Many of them expressed a desire for more direct action.

The open letter David is presenting along with the petition invites the Vice-Chancellor to work for a day in one of the seminar rooms and hopes that the Council meeting could be held in a downstairs lecture room. Then they would no doubt sympathise with the petition.

The student representative on Council and also the Students' Association have been told of the matter and expressed interest in solving the problem.