Youth wants part in policy-making

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32562, 23 March 1971, Page 6

Youth wants part in policy-making

Young people wanted 1 to have a voice in affairs not to rule, but to take part in policy-mak-ing and in administration, Miss Eleanor Doig said at the annual conference of South Island Rotarians in Christchurch on Saturday. Unless' some way could’be found of channelling the energy and enthusiasm of youth, the present generation gap would be widened instead of being reduced, said Miss Doig. Because of mis it was proposed to hold a conference of 150 young people at Otaki in August to see if it was possible to establish a political youth ■ movement of some kind.

The conference would,cost $BOOO which the organisers did not possess, said Miss Doig, and she asked if Rotary would help. Afterwards, the South Island district governor of Rotary (Mr D. V. Wilson) said: “Rotary just can't, sweep this sort of thing under the mat. Miss Doig has done us a service by her address.” Now teaching at the East Otago High School, Palmerston, Miss Doig is 21 years old. She served with Volunteer Service Abroad in Samoa for a year, and last year attended the World Youth Assembly in the United States. She told the Rotarians she had no doubt that there was a generation gap now and that there always had been one. Nevertheless, she thought .it was essentially a difference in outlook rather than in age. There could be a bigger gap between the thinking of a conservative 21-year-old and a radical than between the radical and some older people. The true hippies of the United States had a moral

code at least as strong as more conventional people, though it was not as rigid, she said.

They had three strong principles, the first of which was tolerance—tolerance of all colours and creeds, tolerance in particular of the outcasts of society. “The term ‘non-judgmental’ is a horrible one, but it fits,” said Miss Doig. The second principle was honesty in relationships—speaking frankly and facing reality—and the third was non-materialism.

“I have never met people as non-materialistic as the hippies and if I lived in the United States I would feel the same way. Over there it’s a mad rat-race after possessions.”

Miss Doig said the hippies were no longer a small minority, and their ethics were gaining an increasingly-wider acceptance. One of the reasons for the communication gap was the change in attitudes toward education. “In your day,” the Rotarians were told, “education was a process where you sat up straight and accepted what you were told. Today in education the all-important question is ’why?’ ” Discipline

This applied especially to matters of administration and discipline. Miss Doig said. “With average and aboveaverage children it is important they should know why not to do things. If there is a rule, why is it a rule? They should not be expected to accept authority blindly.” Another reason for the gap was that the younger generation had not had to live through a war. “The Second World War was a ready-made channel for enthusiasm if you can ever be enthusiastic about a war. Young people today have no channel for their energy, en-

thusiasm and purpose. What effective way is there for them to become involved in education and politics? “There is such a heavy over-burden of administration you just can’t get through. All you can do is sit around in your apathy, or take part in protest marches which are good fun but achieve nothing,” Miss Doig said. Opposition

In the United States, this situation had led to a large section of youth becoming opposed to the Establishment and she hoped that New Zealand’s youth could become involved in public affairs in time to prevent the same development here. Concluding her address, Miss Doig said she sometimes doubted the sincerity of older people. If they were sincere in wanting to bridge the gap, her proposition was a way in which they could help.

The alternative to some positive action was that New Zealand would follow the United States down the path toward greater divisions in society and a much greater conflict between youth and authority.