Fees rise despite rowdy protestors

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Fees rise despite rowdy protestors

By Laura McQuillan | 8 Oct, 2007

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The University Council passed a five percent fee rise for 2008 this afternoon.

The meeting, which began in the Council chamber and was attended by around 30 students and members of the public, was moved to a tiny room on the fourth floor of Hunter after the crowd was deemed too noisy and disruptive for the meeting to continue there.

Protestors chanted “Do a degree, what do you get? Debt, debt, debt, debt”, blew an incredibly loud whistle and heckled the Council from the public gallery, from which they had hung a ‘No Fee Rise’ banner and A4 pieces of paper spelling out SHAME.

A motion was passed by a slim majority of the Council to relocate to the fourth floor room, rather than eject the protesters, as was threatened earlier.

The fee rise was passed by a large majority, with VUWSA President Geoff Hayward, former President Fleur Fitzsimmons, student rep Chris Bishop and Te Makao Bowkett against the rise.

Salient will carry further coverage of fee-setting in its final issue for 2007 next week.

Comments

Anna
October 9th, 2007 at 11:40 am

Personally I do not see why there is such a big deal over this issue. 5% is only a tiny amount for fees to rise, like a couple (if even that) week’s rent, a nice pair of shoes, or a top from one of NZ’s designers. It will not be financing Pat Walsh to purchase a Mercedes.

If a fee rise means better education, then I am happy for fees to be raised.

The reality too is that most students pay their fees via the student loan scheme so it will not effect them in the short term, and with the interest fee write offs this added amount is less than the interest that would have accumulated on their current loan, before the write off was guaranteed by the Labour-led Government.

8 Years Old
October 9th, 2007 at 12:49 pm

Fact is Anna students are barely seeing the results of the last four fees increases with the university using buzz words like ‘top university’ when faced with funding shortages and deal with them by passing the buck to students. These fee increases are simply unjustified.

How patronising of you say 5% is a tiny amount to increase. You say it’s only a couple weeks rent, a nice pair of shoes, or a top from one of NZâ€™s designers (vomit).

There are thousands of students who cannot afford an extra few weeks of rent or some nice new shoes or a top, because they are borrowing to study, live, and cloth themselves, basically having to borrow to exist. All this debt adds up and one day they will have to pay it back with a lot of it with interest.

Thank god a person who actually cares about the welfare of students and isn’t so blindingly naive won Welfare VP for 2008.

Tim Beaglehole's Anus
October 11th, 2007 at 8:07 pm

What a cunt.

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Laura McQuillan

With her take-no-prisoners, kick-ass attitude, News Editor Laura McQuillan adequately makes up for her lack of stature. Roaming the corridors (and underground tunnels) of the University by day, and hunting vampires and Nazi war criminals by night, McQuillan will stop at nothing to bring you the freshest news. Send scoops and criminal tip-offs to laura@salient.org.nz