COMMITTEE MEMBERS, 1961-62
President: PROFESSOR V. L. COLLINS
Vice-Presidents: D. DE KRETSER
W. DARVALL
Secretary: D. CRANKSHAW
Treasurer: I. WOODWARD
Editors of Speculum: MISS E. J. SHAW D. PHIDDIAN Medical Medley's Producer: J. BEST Sports Representative: P. NELSON
Pre-Clinical Women's Representative: MISS H. WANDSBOROUGH Clinical Women's Representative: MISS KEAY FOSTER Year Representatives:
First: B. RICHARDS
Second: J. O'SULLIVAN
Third: T. CHEATREL
Hospital Representatives:
R.M.H.:
A.H.: W. WHITE
St. V.'s H: W. MOONEY
P.H.H.: J. HART
S.R.C. Representative: MISS F. TRINKER
PAGE SIXTY SPECULUM 1961
M.S.S. CHRONICLE, 1961
SECRETARY'S REPORT
1960 was one of the most active and Prosperous years for the Medical Students' Society. The year saw the awakening of a true faculty spirit and once more the Medi- cal Students' Society is a force to be reck- oned with in the University.
The year was highlighted by several activities, beginning with the Miss Uni- versity contest, in which our candidate reached the final by raising £115, but unfortunately did not triumph. However, the "Men in White Coats" seemed to domi- nate the audience, and played a major part In re-establishing the Medical Students' Society in the eyes of the University.
The Medical Dinner was held on Friday, the 25th May, and was attended by 180 students who enjoyed wining and dining in the University Buffet. The revelry was lead by Dr. J. M. Sinclair, Psychologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, but was ably assisted by many of the diners. It is unfortunate however, that the cost of the Pinner will have to be lifted above the £1 Irl future years, as the Society made a loss of approximately £80 this year.
During the May vacation about 30 Mel- oourrie students attended a convention of Australian Medical Students in Brisbane, and apart from enjoying the many social outings, drafted the constitution of the
Australasian Medical Students' Association, of which this Society is now a member.
It was decided at this Convention to
submit reports to the member Universities on the following matters:
(1) Student health schemes.
(2) Commonwealth Scholarships.
,,,Melbourne is to be the host State for the ' 96 1 convention, plans for which are now well advanced.
SPECULUM 1961
These plans include lectures by eminent personnel, tours of Melbourne and its sur- rounds, and numerous social events.
In order to combat some of these ex- penses and to reduce the cost of the con- vention to interstate visitors, the committee decided to donate £150 towards the costs of the convention as it was felt that the venture was worth the expense and also your interest.
Medical Medleys, "Whores de Combat", was an outstanding success, and Mr. Bill Blake is to be congratulated on a fine pro- duction. It is estimated that the Society made a financial profit of £50 on the ven- ture.
Speculum 1960, although delayed, con- tinued in the same high vein, and Miss Jan Peeler and Mr. Bill Crombie must be con- gratulated on a fine publication.
Another feature of the year was the finalisation and production of a faculty tie which will be on sale in the next few weeks for an approximate price of £1. Mr. John O'Sullivan is to be thanked for his handling of negotiations regarding the tie.
An innovation in the Society was the election of a Pre-Clinical sub-Committee, which organised a series of lectures gener- ally catering for the needs of the students in the Pre-Clinical years. This committee played a major part in the organising of the Medical intervention in the Annual Marbles Match and helped to revive Faculty spirit.
In conclusion, I should like to thank the rest of the committee for their help, and to particularly thank Associate Professor Gray for his advice and help throughout the year.
David DeKretser, Honorary Secretary.
PAGE SIXTY-ONE
Speculum
Costs have continued to rise in printing of Speculum; this year Speculum cost ap- proximately £40 more to publish than in
1960. In an effort to increase the income from advertisements the fee to advertisers was increased and an effort was made to attract new advertisers.
Over 250 firms and Advert. Agencies were contacted by post and of these about 40 replied, with 27 finally advertising in the magazine. This resulted in an income from advertisements of £260: almost identi- cal with that of the previous year.
Sales so far this year have yielded £170 and with miscellaneous expenses the acount at the moment shows a net loss of £44.
However, sales to graduates have not yet been completed and, in the final analysis, this loss will be reduced: certainly to £20, and we may well break even.
It will require a lot of hard work on the part of the incoming Treasurer if costs are to be covered and an even greater effort if any profit is to be made.
Although the results were disappointing this year, perhaps the best hope lies in in- creasing the revenue from advertisements.
A more personal approach to business firms and business personalities would undoubt- edly result in an increase in the income from this source. But I know from personal experience that this is a frustrating and time-consuming job.
Medleys
Despite the fact that it fell in the same week as one of the S.R.C. balls, Medleys this year made a profit of £53. Much of the credit for this should go to Keay Foster for her admirable management of the ticket sales. There is no reason why Medleys should not continue to make a profit in the future.
Note:
As the A.M.S.A. Conference did not re - quire the £140 donation this remains with Melbourne M.S.S., thus significantly alter - ing the Financial Report presented to the Annual General Meeting.
SPECULUM 1961
TREASURER'S REPORT
Perhaps the most striking thing in this year's balance sheet is the reduction in Capital Assets during the period. This has been largely a result of quite deliberate decisions regarding investment and dona- tions. The cash at bank, however, remains quite high and should cover all normal fluctuations. In particular, the donation of
£25 toward fares for last year's A.M.S.A.
Conference in Brisbane and the donation of
£140 toward this year's conference can be quoted as exemplifying the committee's opinion that the M.S.S. does not have the accumulation of money as its prime pur- pose.
Medical Dinner
Until the last few years the Med. Dinner has always been struggling for support.
Because of this the M.S.S. has always sub- sidised it. While there were 40-50 people attending this was not significant. In recent years costs have risen steadily and as the ticket price has remained at £1 the subsidy per individual has slowly crept up.
The 1960 Med. Dinner was the most successful ever in terms of numbers with over 170 people attending. However, each ticket sold meant an extra loss of approxi- mately 15/- to the society so that as the ticket sales rose the Treasurer's morale fell.
While the numbers attending should be re- peated the financial debacle should not.
Song Books and Badges
When the retiring committee took over office the society had no badges. This was rectified by the purchase of 600 badges and there should now be enough song books and badges to last 3 to 4 years. It is obvious chat a Balance Sheet that does not take account of these assets does not give a true indication of the Society's financial state. This could be corrected by stocktak- ing at the end of each year. If the incoming Treasurer feels this is worth while I would be happy to prepare a statement of these assets with him. This statement could be published in Speculum and would provide a base-line for more adequate accounting in the future.
PAGE SIXTY-TWO