NZUSA told to focus on students, not politics

Two elected members of the Victoria University Students Association Executive have strongly criticised student leaders for their political campaigning. Nick Archer and Philip Rennie are critical of releases from the New Zealand University Students Association, in which co-president Karen Skinner urged students to "vote out National".

"We are concerned that NZUSA is making partisan political statements on behalf of students when they have absolutely no mandate to do so. NZUSA has enough problems of it's own without trying to tell students what to think. Young people are intelligent and independent - they don't need professional protesters telling them who to vote for.

"Unlike the leaders of NZUSA, we were democratically elected by students. Most students we talked to hadn't even heard of NZUSA. Those that had expressed serious concern at the association's financial problems, and the number of universities withdrawing."

The two Executive members also allege that NZUSA is out of touch with ordinary students. "They are turning people off with their unrealistic demands for totally free education - very few students agree with this. Ms Skinner should remember that National was the most popular party with young people last election, and National and ACT continue to be the largest and most popular youth political movements."

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>