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The Spike: or, Victoria University College Review, October 1918

The Editor's Chair

The Editor's Chair

Early this term a notice was to have been sent by the Magazine Committee to each of the clubs requesting them to discuss the following motion—"That it is in the interests of the clubs as a whole to have one complete account of the year's work of each club—this account to be published in the October issue of the 'Spike.'"

Unfortunately, four of the clubs did not receive their notices. Six of the ten clubs who did receive a notice have sent in replies: two of these six were in favour of the motion, the other four were against it. Those clubs who supported their decision with arguments (three, this time, out of six) submitted the following reasons against any change:—

That the reports in the first issue of "The Spike" are of great use in encouraging interest in the different clubs, and also in informing new students that such clubs exist.

That the life of the College is represented in these reports, and that an issue containing no club reports and therefore consisting largely of literary contributions would be one devoid of all interest.

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That no change is desirable, and any alteration in the present system of reporting the activities of the clubs would result in a loss of interest in "The Spike," and also in the activities of the clubs.

These arguments leave me entirely unconvinced. It is not in the interests of the clubs, I should think, to use "The Spike" as the chief agent for advertising the various clubs,—half the college year has already passed when the first issue of "The Spike" appears—hence it would be rather late for new students to discover then that such-and-such "club exists.'

Neither is it altogether fair to state that "an issue consisting largely of literary contributions would be one devoid of all interest." Some of the clubs, evidently, do not realise how dependent we are in many ways on those students how have some slight literary bent. Still less, apparently, have they grasped the whole crux of the situation. It was not primarily with the object of encouraging the literary contributions that the motion was put; but that the club reports themselves should be comprehensive acounts of a full year's work—such accounts would be of infinitely more value than two disconnected reports. So here the matter ends for the present—each side firmly convinced that the other side is unable to see its point of view—in short, that it has:

"An angle tongue which no man can persuade."