Students Occupy Waikato Student Union Building

August 12, 2002

Students Occupy Waikato Student Union Building

Late on Sunday night, a large and angry group of students gained access to the Waikato Students Union (WSU) building, and have begun a long occupation.

This action has come in response to the controversy surrounding the WSU and its Executives at the present time. The occupiers are preparing to stay indefinitely, and are willing to risk arrest. For months and months the WSU have been ignoring the bullying and harassment by some Executive members. The Exec has been wasting time and students’ money for too long.

Cancelling the distribution of Nexus last week was the final insult. When the self-appointed Board of Nexus Publications Limited (NPL) censored this week’s issue of Nexus so that there was nothing critical of them written, it just added salt to the wound. Nexus Publications Liberation Organization (NPLO) spokesperson Marvin Carla says, “We have tried various legal means of ensuring the accountability of the WSU, and every avenue is taking too long. We therefore feel that the only action left for us to take is to occupy the WSU offices, to force change and highlight this injustice.”

The demands released by the occupiers, organized by the NPLO, are as follows: 1. A full, fair and immediate investigation by the university of the outstanding harassment complaints against WSU Executive members.

2. An investigation by the Companies Office into the recent activities of the NPL Board, especially in regards to the outstanding lawsuit.

3. Removal of the current NPL Board from their position and the formation of an interim independent Board of Directors to ensure free and fair publications of Nexus, for all students. The interim Board should be chartered with the creation of a permanent NPL Board, which should include the following people as Directors: President of WSU; President of Komiti Awhina; WSU Independent Director; An Independent Chairperson, and a student who should be elected annually to the NPL BoD by secret ballot at a Special meeting of WSU Members.

4. Removal of the current WSU Executives from their positions, and a review of WSU Executive decisions made in 2002.

5. A full and unconditional release of all WSU minutes and publicly available (but as yet unreleased) documents to the membership of the WSU.

6. Oh and by the way, could we have free education and the entire back-catalogue of Led Zeppelin on vinyl (not ‘re-masters’ – we want the originals).

End

For More Info contact:

Nexus Publications Liberation Organisation
Scott Barnett or Marvin Carla – 8569139 or 021 176 0860

nplo@hotmail.com

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