Nexus Gagged!

August 6th 2002

Nexus Gagged!

Waikato University Student Magazine, Nexus will not be released this week.

A surprise move by the Waikato Students Union (WSU) Executive has shocked both staff and students. The WSU executive have re-appointed themselves as the Board of Directors for Nexus Publications Limited, despite conflicts of interest. The first action of the self appointed board was to drive to Tauranga and check the content at the printers. Then the board announced that Nexus would not be released this week.

“The Waikato Students Union has now effectively stopped all communication with their membership. The web-site is gone, Nexus has been gagged, minutes of executive meetings are not being released to members in accordance with the constitution and four weeks into the semester there has not been an open student meeting.” said Managing Editor, Anthony Hiron.

The managing editor, staff and volunteers who work on Nexus every week still have no guarantees from the Board about their continued employment or confirmation of the rumoured liquidation of Nexus Publications Ltd.

In March this year communication between Nexus Publications Limited and the WSU Executive broke down over an article in the first issue of the year that criticised the actions of Executive members. The Executive subsequently voted to pay ‘reasonable legal expenses’ in support of executive member Moananui Rameka who filed a defamation suit. Nexus is a limited liability company 100% owned by the Waikato Students’ Union.

The Nexus Board members are either related to Mr Rameka or in support of the defamation case and have all previously agreed that they have a conflict of interest. The action is to suspend Nexus’ publication is the latest in a progression of questionable decisions made by the WSU Executive this year. WSU Members remain in the dark, thus powerless to hold the Executive responsible for their actions.

For more information, contact:

Nexus Managing Editor Anthony Hiron

Phone: (07) 838 4653 or 0256176161 Fax: (07) 838 4588 Email: nexus@waikato.ac.nz

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