THE STUDENTS’ CHARTER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26077, 14 February 1946, Page 7

THE STUDENTS’ CHARTER

Sir,—The astounding intolerance and negligence of your foolish scribe. “ Cosmo.” shakes one’s faith in the intrinsic value of pity for a few unfortunates. What he so amazingly lacks is any knowledge of his subject. Any dogmatic statement that University students arc a drain on the country’s resources, which is the natural, and, indeed, the only implication which may be drawn from the tone of Ins letter, can or.ly be regarded as a pitiful effort on the pat't of some misguided martyr to wreak his spiteful feelings on someone. As to student's assisting in industry, I consider it slightly proper to state that I have just returned from the Karapiro hydro electric scheme, near Cambridge, and the profuseness of students working there over their vacations shivers “ Cosmo’s ” argument, if we deign to classify his effusion, to little pieces. Although the value of their work may fall far short of " Cosmo’s ” Herculean concepts, students of all faculties are regarded very highly by those whose views really matter—namely, the shift bosses at the dam. Numbers of others are in all branches of New Zealand Industry. They put up with horrible conditons, far worse than “ Cosmo’s ” Tahuna huts, with singular propriety. My advice to " Cosmo ” is, while he persists in' this type of obtrusive idiocy, not to attract the commiseration of all unbiased people.—l am, etc., Pontius Pilate.