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Evening Star, Issue 14690, 6 October 1911, Page 4

Whk\ a OO students, in the exuberance of lusty youth, are gathered A Satisfactery together for the parConclusion, pose of discussing a matter which 'nterests them in an almost passionate degree, the proceedings are not likely to be tame; and assuredly the meeting at the Otago University last night was marked by a sufficiency of warmth and vivacity. At the same time there was a notable —we had almost said a surprising—display of judicial shrewdness, and we are able to congratulate the Students' Association on what the bulk of the community will probably regard ;;.; r. vmt proper decision. Without" recapitulating all the circumstances of th? controversy, we may just say that tin- Inst capping carnival was characterised, at least, semi-publicly. hy certain highly regrettable incidents, pointing to the need <■■( more effective control for the sake of the University's good name in respect to seemly conduct and selfrestraint. A student of some years' standing determine:! to take steps with a view to preventing a repetition of the scandal. There is no doubt that his motives were irreproachable, and if he had taken the right steps University opinion . would almost- certainly have supported him. and his critics would havo been limited to a few light-hearted and light-headed irresponsibles. Unfortunately he took the wrong steps, and set about the business in a fashion totally inconsonant with the spirit of university tradition. The " open letter"' was almost as unhappy a icandal. regarded from the standpoint of university esprit de corps, as the misconduct which it dramatically disclosed. To use a famous phrase, it was a '• blazing inclis cretion"; but the executive of the Students' Association took too serious a view of the offence when they terminated the writer's membership of the association. He bhmdered in his methods, but his essential motives 'wera disinterested. Last night the association corrected the mistake of the executive, but sagaciously refused to go to the opposite extreme and ignore the offence which the executive had unduly punished. The writer of the "open letter'' was reinstated as a member of the association, and at tho same time ho was censured for his indiscretion. We regard this as a very proper conclusion. The incident, as a whole, hat lessons f or Hioro than one section of students, and we hope that the result will be a co-operative endeavor on the part of all sections to maintain the best traditions of university life, alike by reputable behaviour (in the ordinary sense! and by reputable methods of taking 111-behnvh.-ur to task.