The universities of Bologna and Paris vie for the title of the oldest European university and Oxford University is the oldest in the English-speaking world. It has no precise foundation date but teaching existed there in 1096 and developed apace from 1167 when English students were banned by Henry II from attending the University of Paris. Oxford's rival, the University of Cambridge, was founded in 1209.

The idea behind these universities was that prominent scholars could exchange ideas and debate religious doctrine and the new leaders of more complex societies could be trained. These universities were always meant to be more than academic institutions and if we refer to the concept or mottos of them we can see this amply displayed.

The motto of Oxford is Dominus Illuminatio Mea "The Lord is my Light", the first five words of Psalm 27. At Cambridge the motto is Hinc lucem et pocula sacra "From here, light and sacred draughts" or "From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge". These mottos are not even primarily academic in their motivation. At my alma mater, the University of New England, the students and academics are inspired by the words Ex sapientia modus, "Out Of Wisdom Comes Moderation".

The mottos asked for more in the development of the person than purely academia. It is only Australia in its latest policy muse that has narrowed the definition. It is oxymoronic that the development of a person can happen with only academic exposure.

There has been an inclination in the recent past to dredge out hoary student chestnuts to settle old scores. Problems that I suggested with the tightening of the universities’ capacity to pay for amenities have now become evident and these need to be resolved. The proposed legislation to introduce a compulsory fee of up to $250 is worth examining but any fees collected must be directed towards the wider non-political development of students.

Voluntary student unionism is a term that is generally misunderstood so should be put aside. It has been used as a deliberately provocative weapon whose definition has been surprisingly agreed to by both the defendant and the plaintiff. There’s not a shadow of a doubt that a student union had nothing to do with the labour market or the Labor market. Yet in their misunderstanding of the concept, both sides of the debate have inferred this meaning.

So to dispense with this unfortunate misinterpretation, let us now call it an amenities fee to be used for the amenities of the university for the greater social and personal development of the students. For our collective wish is that at a later stage these students may reinvest the benevolence bestowed on them by the university back into our society.

To put this in Australian terms, you want the medicos at the driving end of the bed during a delivery of a child to not just be smart but be empathetic to the issues evolving before them. The university has to make them more than just clever. If people are not involved in the wider aspect of the university, even though graced with the God-given intellect to attend, then we should not be surprised when they avoid a wider engagement through such things as Rotary, sport, surf lifesaving, the defence forces and canteen duty in the society where they later live and from where they draw their income.

Universities and society are not about individual users. The $85 million in one-off payments to cover the gap created by the abolition of fees is being paid by the taxpayers and they are definitely not using the university facilities.

The fault of the past legislation that introduced voluntary student unionism is that it precluded the business - that is the universities - from charging for services that are intrinsic to university life, particularly on a regional campus. Where else do we say to business that you can charge for this or that part of your business. This arrangement precludes the right of a business to cover all their costs.

If the rugby oval that is part of the university grounds is not allowed to be covered by a university cost then who does pay for it? This is about more than just the appearance of universities. Australia will clearly fall behind in the world varsity stakes if the overzealous approach of the previous legislation is not tempered.

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