'Doleathon’ spotlights jobless

Press, 19 July 1983, Page 8

'Doleathon’ spotlights jobless

Sack races, a form-filling contest, a “lectureathon” and a soup kitchen are part of a six-hour “doleathon” at the University of Canterbury today.

The “doleathon” has been organised by the Canterbury Students’ Association as part of a national Unemployment Awareness Week on unversity campuses. Today’s events would be light-hearted but with a serious point, said the campaign co-ordinator at Canterbury, Mr Kevin Townsend.

“The sack race is a fun thing, built around a pun of the word sack, but there is a serious point to make also,” he said.

Eighteen lecturers will speak for 20 minutes each during the day on an aspect of unemployment. Topics range from the consequences of unemployment to the jobless in ancient Rome.

“The idea of the ‘doleathon’ came from Telethon obviously, but we are not putting down what Telethon achieved in -any way. We are trying to raise awareness, not money,” said Mr Townsend. The “doleathon” will feature a celebrity panel comprising Chirstchurch City councillors, Geoff Stone and David Close, a union official, Mr Leon Morel, and

compere, Mr Tim Shadbolt. A telethon-type floor show will provide music and entertainment for two hours and a national total board will record New Zealand’s unemployment figure. The celebrity guests will read out pledges of various contributions to that figure. Also planned for today are three separate “pushathons,” each starting skm from the university. Lincoln College students will push a trailer, Canterbury students a trailer with a car wreck, and Teachers College a blackboard. The reason for the skm distance, said Mr Townsend, was that “that is the distance that all the unemployed in Christchurch would stretch if they, formed a queue. It is also the distance that a queue of the unemployed students in New Zealand last summer would cover.”

As well as today’s events, a rally will be held in the Square on Thursday at 12.30 p.m. Speakers will include Trades Council representatives, Mr Tim Shadbolt, Mr Roger Tobin of the New Zealand Students’ Association, and Mr Brian Lacey, of the Unemployed Workers’ Union. Other universities will mark the unemployment week with marches, dances and events.