NZUSA...coming to a town near you

NZUSA...coming to a town near you

National student leaders will be helping students save their services as they visit campuses around the country this month.
 
NZUSA is visiting member associations and their institutions from Auckland to Dunedin in a fortnight-long tour of universities, polytechnics, and institutes of technology. The main focus of the tour will be to raise awareness of Roger Douglas’ threat to student services, as well as discuss tertiary education issues with students, staff, and institutions.

The ‘Save Our Services’ coalition was launched last week, and many campuses nationwide are rolling out the ‘Save Our Services’ campaign. The campaign is designed to inform students about the possible effects of the Douglas bill on them and their education, and encourage students to take action by writing submissions against the Bill.

“Roger Douglas’ voluntary student membership bill threatens the services, representation, and experience students currently receive on campus. NZUSA will be working with students and the wider community to defeat this Bill,” says NZUSA co-President David Do.

“If passed, the impacts of Roger Douglas’ bill will go beyond campus and into the wider community.  The workloads of non-governmental organisations may increase if student association welfare, advocacy, and support services collapse. Cities and towns that embrace the vitality of student life provided by associations will see their vibrancy drop away,” says Do.

As well as talking with students, NZUSA will also be putting the issues facing students to key tertiary players on each campus.

“2010 is already a challenging year for students and the tertiary sector. We are seeing high student unemployment, threats to loan eligibility, threats to access into universities, loss of student representation at polytechnics, rising student debt, and the threat of even higher fees,” says NZUSA co-President Pene Delaney.

“We’re looking forward to raising our concerns with Vice Chancellors, Chief Executives, and staff union representatives. By discussing common interests and issues in the tertiary sector, we can seek out how we can work together to further our goals,” concludes Delaney

NZUSA is a federation of fourteen students’ associations representing the common and collective interests of tertiary students nationwide.

ITINERARY

NZUSA will be visiting Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, and Palmerston North over the next fortnight.

Here follows the specific dates and geographical locations of the NZUSA co-Presidents. NZUSA is available for interviews and other media contact throughout this time. However we may be involved with a number of locally organised events and meetings during the daytime.

March 8-9 Auckland

Visiting Auckland University on the 8th and morning of the 9th

Visiting Massey University (Albany campus) on the 9th

March 10-12 Waikato/Rotorua

Visiting Waikato Institute of Technology on the 10th

Visiting Waiariki Institute of Technology on the 11th

Visiting Waikato University on the 12th

March 15-16 Dunedin

Visiting Otago University on the 15th

Visiting Otago Polytechnic on the 16th

March 17 – Christchurch

Visiting Lincoln University on the 17th

March 18-19 – Wellington

Visiting Massey University (Wellington campus) on the 18th

Visiting Victoria University on the 19th

March 22-23 – Palmerston North

Visiting UCOL Palmerston North on the 22nd

Visiting Massey University (Palmerston North) on the 23rd

 
ends