VUWSA President’s job safe

Michael Oliver

VUWSA President Jasmine Freemantle and Exec member Robert Latimer left last Wednesday’s Special General Meeting with their jobs intact after motions of no confidence were unable to be tabled due to lack of quorum.

An official count of 75 students was recorded at 1:20pm, with fewer numbers present at a count ten minutes later.

100 students needed to be present for the motions to be tabled.

The lack of quorum means the two motions have been scrapped, and cannot be brought forward again without initiating the process from the beginning.

President Jasmine Freemantle took heart from the turnout, saying the majority of students present were there in support of her and her presidency.

Letters of support from a number of associations and organisations poured into the president’s inbox over the past week, including Victorian associations STUDiO, VUWLSS, Ngai Tauira, and NZUSA affiliated associations MAWSA, AS@U, and the Waikato Students’ Union.

Questions have been raised regarding the nature of Freemantle’s support. An email sent to by Freemantle to members of Fedex, asks members of the organisation to show their support by being present at the SGM, and through emailing messages of support.

“It would be appreciated if Fedex members and others who are in Wellington could attend the SGM and speak in support of me. It would also be appreciated if you could send a brief statement to me showing your support,” the email says.

Despite questions being raised over the way she solicited support, Freemantle insists the correspondence with members of Fedex was informative and not influential.

Similar emails were sent to students by VUWSA Vice-President (Education) Freya Eng in support of Freemantle, and encouraging students to consider Freemantle’s work record before voting.

“Naturally, you are to make up your own mind regarding your support or lack thereof of both or one of them, but I believe it is in your interests as members of VUWSA to consider these points before casting judgment,” Eng wrote.

The motion of no-confidence against Freemantle came to the fore after 10 students presented Exec member Robert Latimer with a petition voicing their displeasure with her performance.

Latimer, an advocate for Freemantle’s rolling, insisted that he was simply carrying out students’ request by tabling the petition to the Exec.

In an interview conducted on the VBC, Latimer said he supported the prospect of Freemantle’s rolling due to accountability and personality concerns.

Despite facing the prospect of working alongside Latimer and five new Exec members following the coming by-election, Freemantle remained confident of finishing the year productively.

“I have a productive working relationship with all Executive members who take their job seriously and fulfil their constitutional duties,” Freemantle said.

Latimer ignored Salient’s calls for comment, but told The Dominion Post that he was “disappointed” with the low turnout.

http://www.salient.org.nz/news/no-quorum-no-cry-jazzy-and-bobby-keep-jobs-things-interesting

This story was syndicated by the Aotearoa Student Press Association via Salient www.salient.org.nz

ENDS