Anti-Bridge Group to Fight "Corporate Madness"

MEDIA RELEASE

Anti-Bridge Group to Fight "Corporate Madness"

Attn: Education Reporters 14/11/2002, for immediate release

Long time anti-bridge campaigners Kyle Matthews and Mark Baxter today announced that they would be forming a group 'Books not Bridges' to oppose the University's ongoing attempts to build a bridge across the Leith.

"The University of Otago has been planning to spend this money for over a decade now. And for over a decade it has been a bad idea. This week the University has announced that it will seek funding from the community to cover for the fact that the government is not providing enough for quality teaching and research. Yet $2.4 million dollars is being spent on a bridge. It's just corporate madness over common sense." said Mr Matthews.

The Books not Bridges group will focus on highlighting the better uses that the funding could be put to, such as library books, computers, and staff salaries.

"Over the past decade the University has seen rising fees, staff salaries falling behind inflation, less staff teaching more students, and resources being more and more stretched. How can the University can still consider this money 'spare' to be used on a bridge? The university needs to return to the original donors and ask for the money to be re-tagged for an educational purpose." said Mr Baxter.

The group will have its first meeting on Wednesday 27 November. All interested parties are invited to attend.

ENDS

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