Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient: Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Vol. 32, No. 9. 1969.

[introduction]

Over 350 students attended a Special General Meeting of the V.U.W. Students' Association last week called by the AntiRacialist Committee to condemn the awarding of an Honorary Degree to Sir Richard Wild.

The key motion, the second on the order paper, was lost by a large margin.

David Williams, who was originally to move the motion but was not a member of the Students' Association, quoted Sir Richard as saying that he was "confident that the rule of law was being upheld in South Africa".

"This is a notably tolerant statement," he said.

"It is not good enough."

Mr. Williams defined "condone" to include "overlooking".

"Sir Richard overlooked a number of facets of the South African situation," he said.

"If one has to be polite to apartheid, one should not accept an invitation in the first place."

Seconding the motion, George Fyson said: "Sir Richard Wild gave a general impression that it was not as bad in South Africa as people claimed," he said.

This he said, was sufficient grounds for the motion.

The tone of the next few speakers was sharply critical of the motion.