NEWEST STRIKE

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 November 1930, Page 8

NEWEST STRIKE

UNIVERSITY GIRLS RAMPANT. New moves are being planned by the leaders of the women students in residence at Cape Town University in their campaign against a rule of tne university authorities which prohibits them from receiving male visitors after 6 p.m., says the “Cape “It is not going to b e a strike without the pangs of hunger,” one of the students said, after the breakdown of a fasting period organised by the girls. “We shall attend meals whenever we please. This will place, the authorities in the awkward position that they will not know how much food to prepare, and accordingly there will be a great wastage. At the same time, our youthful constitutions will not be affected by self-inflicted curbs on our appetitte.” “The impression has been conveyed that we signified our indignation against a rule which is an insult to our freedom’ by going down town and making whoopee at cafes and res-, taurants,” said another student. “I may say that there was no general exodus of foraging parties. Only a small proportion of the women students brought food into their rooms.’’ The Women’s Hostel has been placarded with notices reading, “Is this a gaol?” and “Down with tyranny!” The Principal of the University, Sir Carruthers Beattie, denied that there

bun uiuei S UVUIVU laical, ulvav was any friction between the committee controlling the residences and the students. “There is no trouble,” he stated. “The whole affair is childish.” Tho students, on the other hand, said that the trouble was only too obvious, and that they were determined not to give in to the authorities. “The idea of this rule was to make

us do more work now that the final examinations are approaching,” remarked a student, “but it is having tho opposite effect. The women —notwithstanding this strange restriction on the receiving of male visitors — have the right to go out at night, and in a spirit of antagonism tliey are making full use of it.” Mr W. F. van der Merwe, the chairman of the Students’ Representative Council, refused to make any statement, as he said that the council had no control over the residences, which are under the supervisipn of their own committee. “A comparison has been made with the state of affairs existing at Oxford,” said Mr van der Merwe, “and in this connection I want to say that we are tired of having this institution constantly flung in our faces as an ideal of university organisation. In no circumstances! may a male student allow a woman visitor into his room at the University of Cape Town. At Oxford they may—that is if the woman is properly accompanied by a companion. At the local university even this condescension to propriety is not recognised. If people must compare us with an institution which their comparisons always seem to assume is better than ourselves, why

can they not take a modern univer sity, like the University of London not an institution that has evolved from a medieval monastery?” In reply to a question, Mr van dei Merwe said that a general meeting oi students could only be called by the Students’ Representation Council after it had received a petition signed by 50 students. “But in the present case,” he added, “such a procedure, unless it was merely intended to ascertain the feeling of the general student body on the subject, would be beside the point.” Several other students interviewed said that if the authorities did not withdraw the rule it was likely that a “rag” would be held as a demonstration of protest. Mr H. R. Raikes, the Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand, referring to the trouble at Cape Town University, said that there had been absolutely no trouble at the university in regard to men students visiting women students at the women’s hostel. The regulations were that visiting at the women’s hostel after 7.45 p.m. was prohibited except on festive occasions, when invitations have to be issued by the women, and authorised by the Lady Dean. In the ordinary course of events men visitors were entertained in the reception-room of I the hostel, I