Up Front

with the editor

Although they have lately been getting some newspaper attention through expressing their views on apartheid to a visit ing South African Ambassador, the students of Papua-New Guinea’s young university don’t normally go in for demonstra tions. I don’t go along with the apprehensions of some New Guinea people who claim the students are more ready to demonstrate than get down to serious study.

fhey study all right. They work d. During a recent couple of ;ks in New Guinea, when there s a seminar at Waigani, I spent a of time on that campus, and I icluded that the New Guinea dents behave pretty much as versity students do everywhere, f there is a difference it’s in the ilication with which the Port resby students apply themselves to ir studies. Most of them find the versity hard work, t takes 60 hours of their week, because most of them are on ernment scholarships they keep r noses well down. If they lose : scholarship they know they ild be out on their ear, for cash fairy godmothers are com iities in short supply where they le from. Their scholarship pre ss them with pocket money of / $lOO a year, and not much i to earn anything more. They k hard because nobody who I’t a solid background of English, did not have the early spur of ilastic competition that can be id in any good state school in tralia, can afford to coast at a r ersity. he problems of simply “fitting to university life can be difficult jgh—and that’s what I want to about here. To make the point, quote from an interesting series oneoed papers made available to Teshers at P-NG, covering advice personal relationships, vocational and methods of study. I came ►ss them by accident and the set is worthy of wider distri on. ere are some of the points they e:

• Try to understand your parents.

Remember that your parents probably have a harder life than you have.

They were children during the war and this may have made things more difficult for them than it was for you growing up in the 1960’5. Some of your parents are not educated.

Almost none of your parents are as well educated as you are. Still, they know more than you do about a lot of things, and you must realise that they have advantage of ex perience which you must respect. • Accept responsibility. Act like an adult and everybody, including your parents, will treat you as one. • Don’t feel guilty about grow ing up. If your parents are reluctant about allowing you to grow up and think you should not have any independent ideas of your own, then don’t feel guilty about the fact that you do have these feelings. Rebellion against the authority of parents can be managed peacefully and needn’t cause any split in family relation ships. • Remember that nastiness, spreading rumours, gossiping, loud arguments, remarks made about people that they can overhear . . . are all signs of immaturity. People who are mature find it possible to get along well enough with others even if they don’t like everybody.

In a group as large as this one there are bound to be some people that you do not like. Remember also that there will also be people who dislike you. But this is no barrier to co operation and consideration. Spend your leisure time with those whose

company you enjoy but be polite 1 everybody. • Threats of sorcery, beatinj and murder should be taken for whi they are—threats. Nobody ca actually kill you without getting ini very serious trouble himself. Foil this out, and anyway don’t give hii the opportunity! Your attitude 1 sorcery ought to be that it can oh be worked if you allow it t Illnesses are often psychologic rather than physical. This does n< mean that the symptoms and tl actual illness are imagined or dor exist. They are there all right ar they are just as serious as if the cause was physical. You can st: die of an illness which has no knov physical cause because you a psychologically prepared for Sorcery works in this society ai psychosomatic diseases exist in Eur pean society because everybody guilty of something. Therefore ever body is anxious and afraid sometim and this is where a threat of this kii can work. So get help if you a worried. • In the old days it was wise f villagers and older people to di courage [marriage] relationships oi side their group because people we still suspicious of each other ai because the bride price should j to the village and not to a strait: place. Now people are movii around more freely and these facto don’t count as much. But peop remember the old rules thou| they’ve forgotten the reason for thei It is wise not to offend unless y< can’t help it. But if you are genuine attached to somebody who com from a place your own people wou disapprove, then you must decide f yourself whether the relationship i the people are more important you, and either discontinue tl relationship or explain how you fe to the people and take whatever co sequences are involved. ... It your life and your decision.

And as a tailpiece, some practia intelligent advice on how to beha at the table: “Eat quietly: a certa amount of noise with foods celery or apples can’t be helped b slurping soup or coffee is bi manners”.

Stuart Ind