Ten years ago a National government prodded tertiary students to adopt voluntary union membership. Now National is backing a bill to make membership voluntary by law. Libertarians are for it; lefties are against it – but what does it mean for the institutions that have to live with it? Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for September, 2009
Veni Vidi VSM: an institutional perspective
In Rory MacKinnon on September 27, 2009 at 3:38 amVictoria votes for 5% fee increase – again, and again…
In Rory MacKinnon on September 22, 2009 at 4:52 am
As reported by Michael Oliver of Salient and today’s Dominion Post, Wellington’s Victoria University has announced plans to raise undergraduate fees by five percent and almost double its student services levies from $275.60 for domestic students to $510.
Now, don’t get me wrong: VUWSA’s storm-the-halls-and-egg-the-bourgeoisie tactics are a particularly obnoxious way of tilting at windmills, and Salient editor Jackson Wood claims that at least half of the 25 students involved were from the Communist Workers’ Party. But at the same time I wouldn’t be surprised if their constituents really were to rankle at the latest increase.
As we’ve discussed elsewhere, the increase in student service levies is a national trend at the moment, with Canterbury, Massey and Waikato all announcing significant rises of their own. To give the university credit, Vice-Chancellor Pat Walsh did meet with students in advance and explain the rationale, and it’s to be hoped that the money will be ring-fenced as with Massey and Canterbury.
But students would be right to object to Victoria’s exploitation of the fee maxima scheme, which requires institutions to seek government approval before raising fees anything beyond 5 percent a year. Read the rest of this entry »
Universities hike levies as Govt funding runs dry
In Rory MacKinnon on September 19, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Student representatives say the government is abdicating its responsibility for tertiary education funding, with universities increasingly turning to levies to top up operational budgets.
The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations said Friday they were not surprised by a recent spate of levy increases, which university councils say will free up core government funding for staff and research.
While the vast majority of revenue still comes from government funding, many institutions also charge a levy in order to subsidise their facilities and pastoral care programmes, such as crèches, academic support or health centres.
The latest round of fee setting has seen significant rises in student services levies across the country: Waikato University’s $140 levy for intramural students in 2010 represents a 40 percent increase, while Massey’s has almost doubled at $200. Read the rest of this entry »
Reasonable Force: undercover with Section 59
In Joseph Nunweek on September 15, 2009 at 11:12 am
Following an unsuccessful referendum to restore a criminal defence for physically disciplining children, ex-Craccum writer Joe Nunweek goes undercover with the only men brave enough to resurrect the golden age of parenting.
Murray Pedersen is crouched behind Aisle 12, between the clearance condiments and a new brand of toiletries. His combat fatigues and and the military greasepaint smeared over the ex-serviceman’s lips, nose and ears are an incongruous sight in the Lynfield Countdown. It’s a Saturday morning – the milieu is less gruelling training than it is a weary domestic bliss. Young families wheel younger charges amongst ziggurats of sale goods, and the babble of children’s voices mills over the rows of shelves. It’s bustling but hardly a nightmare. Yet, here I am, dressed in an old motorcycle helmet and khakis Pedersen lent me, hidden with half a dozen members of the secretive organisation only known as Section 59. Read the rest of this entry »
A Sampler Of Scribblers: 2009′s Student Press Awards
In Rory MacKinnon on September 14, 2009 at 11:51 am
Industry awards are awful things, full of awkward speeches and obnoxious boors in equal measure. That said, they do offer a genuine opportunity for camaraderie and recognition of our best and brightest – and last Saturday’s Aotearoa Student Press Awards were no different.
But the problem I find with these ceremonies is that all too often you’re applauding someone’s work while hissing “what’s his name?” at your fellow diners. So today we offer a sampler of sorts: below we’ve listed the winners of individual categories and, where possible, a link to some of the work that has so impressed their peers and pundits.
“Some validity” to VSM lobby – MAWSA president
In Rory MacKinnon on September 13, 2009 at 10:26 am
A prominent member of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations says student unions need to come clean with their constituencies – or risk losing them altogether.
Massey Wellington Students’ Association president Alex Sorenson said Tuesday that Roger Douglas’ Education (Freedom Of Association) Amendment Bill, currently before Parliament, raises important issues of accountability and good faith. Read the rest of this entry »
BREAKING NEWS: National will back VSM bill
In Rory MacKinnon on September 10, 2009 at 10:41 pm
After our post on Roger Douglas’ VSM bill I took the liberty of emailing a few key players to find out where they stood on the issue. Associate education minister Heather Roy was obviously all for it, since she was the bill’s original sponsor. Education minister Anne Tolley did not respond (again, no surprises there), and nor did her other associate minister Pita Sharples.
But the other other associate minister, Wayne Mapp, was refreshingly frank. His unedited reply is below.
Godwin’s Lawyers: the van Leeuwen scandal revisited
In Rory MacKinnon on September 8, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Honorary Israeli consul and former president of the NZ Jewish Council David Zwartz is demanding that Waikato University apologise for its handling of Roel van Leeuwen’s thesis, which was pulled from the university’s library when its subject, former National Front secretary Kerry Bolton, wrote to the university to complain.
Zwartz may well argue that the university’s behaviour constituted cultural insensitivity – but if any apology is forthcoming, it should really be to the country’s academic community.
Denial Of Service: the truth about NZ’s internet censorship scheme
In Rory MacKinnon on September 8, 2009 at 2:27 am
When National swept into power last year, pundits described it as a backlash against Labour’s ‘nanny state’. But a little-known project to combat child pornography with a government-run internet filtering scheme may yet pose a genuine threat to civil liberties.
Massey announces 5% fee hike
In Rory MacKinnon on September 7, 2009 at 7:44 pm
A funny thing happened on the way to the fees forum…
If you’re a student at Victoria University, you’re cordially invited to “constructively engage with the university on the issue of student fees” at a public meeting on Wednesday.
If you’re a student at Massey however, that train’s already left town. Vice Chancellor Steve Maharey will also be hosting a video conference with students tomorrow, but with the express intent of defending a decision the university has already made.
VSM redux: Douglas’ bill and the lay of the land
In Rory MacKinnon on September 7, 2009 at 10:08 am
Trust us to begin with the big issues: you may or may not be aware that Roger Douglas’ Voluntary Student Membership Bill was pulled from the hat late last month. Salient‘s Michael Oliver has a pretty decent summary of the state of play in this week’s issue, but a little historical context wouldn’t hurt either. Here’s one I prepared earlier…
