Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
Victoria University council members met on Monday to set student fees, following on from a much-publicised leak and publication of the fee options in the student paper in early October. About 40 students protested against the fee increase and eventually forced the council to move to a private location, but not before fees were hiked by up to 10%.
A maximum of 30 students were allowed to sit in on the council meeting, the rest were forced to remain outside. Students inside were initially fairly polite, interrupted only by the occasional (and very loud) "phone call" and heckling. This was swept aside with bouts of chanting, loud heckling and abuse. Those inside were repeatedly warned they would be kicked out.
Outside, students banged on the windows around the hall, drowning out the council members inside, chanted and used the interference of a megaphone to annoy those inside.
Eventually however, aside from the the two student representatives on the council and only one council member, 17 councillors voted for a 5% across-the-baord fee increase, and 10% increase for humanities and education - the latter requiring an exemption from fee maxima and following in the footsteps of Massey University's latest fee increase [VUWSA's Press Release].
At this point chanting and screaming reached its peak, a window was smashed and the councillors were forced to relocate. A portion of students attempted to follow the councillors and a fairly intense scuffle with security guards followed but was eventually defeated. Still hopeful, students attempted access through overbridges into the council building, managing to kick one locked door open but being stopped by a second.
A much larger action is now in the works for the first semester next year which hopes to draw in students from all over New Zealand to march on Parliament.
Comments
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
What annoyed me about this protest is the way the student "leaders" behave... they take it all so seriously, and seem to think that if they act well and talk nicely, then they'll actually be able to convince the rest of the council. And what's worse, anyone disrupting the meeting is told to shutup.
I think if VUWSA has any backbone the so-called student representatives on the council should be withdrawn and no confidence declared in the council. Decisions should be made by the students and staff, not that elite group!
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
the broken window photo is rather artistic
student politicians are crap because most of them are practising for when they grow up and get proper jobs as Labour party hacks
Nick Kelly however is doing it all backwards, he started in the the labour party and ended up as a student politician! which is a lot more ethical than doing it the other way like the rest of them!
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
yeah the student politicians ive seen at auckland all seem to be affiliated with young labour or the maxim institute or some equally ridiculous organisation. they are a bunch of power tripping fuckwits.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
but at least theyre doing something, right?
..well done.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
Good on the Victoria Uni students for kicking up a stink about this and the censorship of the story in Salient on the fee increases. Too bad to hear about the student politicians though.
I agree often they are pretty much just Labour Party hacks in training. Talking to them can be quite depressing sometimes. If you talk about the war on Iraq they'll tell you it was bad because it was "illegal", not because lots of innocent people are dying. If you criticise Labour Party policy they just tell you the Nats are worse.
I'll be first year Uni next year up here in Auckland. I'd be most keen to take part in any nationwide march on Parliament to tackle student fees.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
hmmm, i just thought it was a REALLY pathetic turnout! There are 18'000 of us at vic - and we got 40 to a protest...!?!?!?!?! yeah yeah, it was in karori, during exams and all that crap. But they raised our fees by fuckin' 10%!!! it's insanity!!!
and our 'glorious' student leaders tell us to listen to council members and hear what they have to say. BULLSHIT! and the day after they raised our fees they announced a new advertising campaign - using our money to fill their own pockets, bastards!
For a democratic student union and an autonomous university!
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
SMASH WHITE SUPREMACISTS
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
If these fee increases become a common occurance is thre anyway we get the same level of student militancy there was in the 1990's?
There were occupations and huge marches at about every campus in the country. Would students be willing to do the same today?
Would be most interested in hearing from anyone who was involved with the anti-fee protests in the 90's.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
We need to rebuild the confidence of people in Aoteroa/New Zealand. So many young people I talk to think that its ok to pay for university and that 10.50$ is a good hourly rate. We need to build up a winnable campaign that goes across different groups - that catalyses those people most interested in change on a practical campaign,
I think the $12 an hour now! supersizemypay.com campaign could be that campaign. Over 60% of Students are in parttime and casual work earning crap money. build a broad campaign around $12 starting in the fast food industry, win that, base the campaign of solidarity. Build a university student support group and then push the next campaign onto cost of living and things like university using the solidarity links built in the first campaigns and confidence that we can actually win something.
people just see little protests as being innefectual and make slittle change in their lives. people will only use tools like direct action en masse if it seems to make change. otherwise people don't have enough time to put into political ideas that don't seem to go anywhere.
for student and worker revolution!!
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
Cheers Mr G.
Its nice not to be in the Labour Party any more.
I cringed when Keith Ng complained when students started making noise during the meeting. Personally I thought the more interjection the better. Wasn't like there was any worthwhile discussion to listen to - just the same empty excuses from over paid university management.
The argument from some of the student politicians was that the tactic used in 2003 and 2004 of shutting down the Fee setting University Council meeting (or at least forcing it into private) was ineffective. This year the meeting was held in public - and the fee increase was higher than previous years...
Thursday March the 9th, 12pm in the Kelburn quad. March to parliament demanding no more fees.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
Nick, does VUWSA's 'no fees' campaign include no fees for compulsory student associations or are these fees acceptable?
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
There was a fee freeze between 2000 and 2003. In those years, there was very little student activism on campuses. In my view, students should have campaigned for an end to fees - which are in essence privatisation - and never taken a spell from fighting the state and campus management.
Research carried out by NZUSA late last year of nearly 4000 students in public tertiary education institutions revealed that around 80 percent agreed that fees are too high, all students must receive an allowance, with 65 percent of the survey participants agreeing to fully funded free education. From that, it's probably not accurate to state that students have given up on free education.
In my opinion, it's about mobilisation, building a strong student movement and doing the hard yards on the campuses, in the neighbourhoods, in lecture theatres, everywhere. One of the sad things about the last five or so years has been the decline of Education Action Groups (EAGs) on campuses. These need to be rebuilt! I remember from Canterbury Uni in 1999 that the EAG was instrumental in mobilising for the registry occupation.
A mass convergence on parliament early next year is a very good idea!
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
Kane, regardless of your survey most students voted for parties which support some level of fees.
NZUSA is pushing education policies which most students don't support.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
"Kane, regardless of your survey most students voted for parties which support some level of fees"
So what? In the parliamentary system people vote for a total package. If everyone could vote on particular policies we might start moving towards some sort of real democracy where the Earth's resources aren't monopolised by 5% of its population. Scary stuff.
In this year's election in particular people were mainly voting against something (either Helen/ Labour or Brash/ National). If the majority of the people who voted Labour were hoping they would be adopt some of the Greens education policy there's no way the election results would tell you that.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
Here's a question for my fellow lefty reformists. What is our long term strategy? Do we want to see Labour remain in power but adopt the policies of the Greens or Alliance (for example)? Or do we want to see one of the smaller left parties supplant Labour on the left just as Labour supplanted the Liberals (yes NZ had a Liberal Party, look it up) and if so, which one?
To relate this back to education policy, is our goal as left activists to pressure Labour to adopt policies that nurture a predominantly non-commercial education system or to campaign for Labour voters to shift left in their voting?
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
The government is never going to make the real changes that need to be made to our education system. WTF is the deal with user pays education?
10% increase blows, but the fact that we have to pay anything for an education that will directly benefit the entirety of society just sucks.
As long as the government remains at the mercy of big money, we'll be payig through the nose and the fees will only go up.
I hate to sound like a crazy radical but refomism aint gonna do squat any time soon, and it'll never do what you want it to do.
Small turnouts at protests are going to be the norm until people realise that we are going to be squeezed for every penny unless we say otherwise, loudly and as one voice.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
SquirelMan - in NZ tertiary education is only partially user pays.
Tuition fees only cover 25-30% of the cost of tertiary education, the rest is paid by taxpayers. Therefore tertiary education is around 70% "free".
The 25-30% paid by students recognises the individual benefit students receive from tertiary education. The taxpayer funding recognises the so-called public benefit.
Tertiary students are getting a good deal. Why should students pay nothing for an education from which they (should) gain a consierable benefit?
Re: Kane
"In my opinion, it's about mobilisation, building a strong student movement and doing the hard yards on the campuses, in the neighbourhoods, in lecture theatres, everywhere."
... Workers Charter anyone?!
www.workerscharter.org.nz
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
In reply to "no fees", the argument about public/private good is only one of the reasons why fees should be reduced or abolished.
One reason for having no fees is to support equity. The present fees are too high for a number of students who could benefit from tertiary education but who canot afford it. Abolishing fees will allow students to be chosen on the basis of ability to learn, not ability to pay.
Another reason is the implied intergenerational contract. I received a cheap education during the 80s, but there was an implicit agreement that when I get a good job, I must play my part in ensuring the next generation also get a good education, through my taxes.
So I would support a free education. However, since often people do not appreciate what they get for nothing, I would also make students more accountable to actually do their study and not skive off to the pub. My own experience of education in the 80s is probably out of date now, but I do remember students seemed to spend more time in drinking games and such great cultural events as the "chunder mile" than doing their study.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
Phil, the trouble with your argument is that most people who attend tertiary institutions are relatively well off. Giving these people a 100% subsidy (instead of 75%) amounts to, for poorer taxpayers, a transfer of wealth to the already well off.
For wealthy taxpayers it's a churning where they pay taxes which they later receive back as subsidies. Resources are wasted through this process.
Equity is better served through targeted subsidies (scholarships, grants) to poor students.
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
Nice work guys.
I'm working at a student uni in Australia, "Murdoch University", a little uni south of perth.
We had a 41 day sit in when they tried to introduce fees here. Yeah, they won in the end, but the important thing was we tried.
Don't let the knockers get you down. Solidarty from perth!
Re: Students Disrupt Fee Setting Meeting
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