Former Victoria University interior design student Brittany Bell appeared in Wellington’s High Court last week to challenge the plagiarism findings made against her by the university in 2008.

Bell was barred from graduating after the university found her guilty of presenting other architects’ work as her own. Bell has already appealed the decision to a university disciplinary appeal committee, who upheld the ruling.

As reported by NZPA, Bell’s lawyer Les Taylor has argued that Bell’s work did adequately attribute its source and that she could not have done anything more to identify the images.

“It would be a curious form of plagiarism that directed the examiner to the very work being copied. If there was any intention to deceive … Ms Bell went about it in an extremely unusual way.”

He says that the university committee did not understand Bell’s methods of referencing.

The university’s lawyer Bruce Corkill QC says that Bell should have known that she needed to clearly reference her sources, as these requirements were made “crystal clear” to students. He says that the referencing was too vague and indirect for a final project.

The images Bell used came from the design website Suckerpunchdaily and included the work of an award-winning Spanish architect.

Taylor has requested that the court decide whether Bell is guilty of plagiarism, rather than sending the decision back to the university.

On Tuesday, Justice Dennis Clifford said that he would consider recommending that any university decision be made by a panel comprised of different members, if he were to suggest that as an outcome.

Justice Clifford has reserved his decision. The decision had not been released when Salient went to print.

VUWSA President Max Hardy encourages students who feel they have been treated unfairly by the university to approach VUWSA, who can advocate on their behalf.

Bell, who has left university, now works at Wellington’s Weta Workshop.

The Victoria University-led team entering a solar bach in the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon has received support from groups around the world. Since being selected in April, the team has been offered assistance by a number of national and international groups.

The team, led by Vic postgraduate students Anna Farrow, Ben Jagersma, Nick Officer and Eli Nuttall, will travel to Washington D.C. in October next year to take part in the competition. This is the first time a group from the Southern Hemisphere has been selected to take part in the annual competition.

A former US Navy commissary officer has offered to house the entire team in his four-storey mansion, Canadian Fanshawe College will help with construction and American University in Washington D.C. will ensure the team feel welcome when they arrive.

In New Zealand, the group have been offered advice and support from industry experts.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support we have received from these extremely passionate Kiwis; we’ve learnt so much already,” Jagersma says.

During the 21-day event, held on National Mall near the White House, the group will construct and operate their solar bach, which will be put through a series of tests before a winner is announced. The New Zealand team is one of 20 groups competing, with the event expected to attract around 150,000 visitors.

The solar bach will be constructed and on display in Wellington before it is shipped to the US.

A number of New Zealand companies have also offered their products to the team, who hope to fill the bach with New Zealand-made products and appliances.

“So far a number of companies have been very supportive and the team are hoping that the entire house can be supplied by donations of products,” Farrow says.

More information can be found at www.firstlighthouse.co.nz

Victoria University won the Joynt Scroll university debating competition last Monday, marking their fifth consecutive win and 46th win since the tournament began in 1902.

Two Victoria teams competed against each other in the Grand Final, with the Victoria B team successfully affirming the moot “That housewives and househusbands should be paid for their work.”

The winning team featured students Asher Emanuel, Nick Cross and Richard D’Ath. The Victoria A team, comprised of Jenna Raeburn, Udayan Mukherjee and Paul Smith, came a close second.

D’Ath was also named Best Speaker of the tournament and Smith and Emanuel received highly commended awards.

D’Ath and Mukherjee were also selected for the NZ Universities’ Prepared Debating Team, with D’Ath named as captain.

Held in Wellington this year, the debating tournament is New Zealand’s second-oldest sporting event, with Auckland, Otago, Victoria, Canterbury and Waikato universities competing annually.

This win continues a successful record for Victoria University’s debating. As reported in Salient, Victoria won the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Champs in July this year. The university has also won every New Zealand domestic debating tournament since April 2007.

Making yet another political comeback, granny charmer Winston Peters spoke to an audience of about 70 students—at least 50 years the junior of most New Zealand First supporters—at Victoria University before the mid-semester break.

Crushed into the smallest and least-glamourous meeting room in the Student Union Building, the New Zealand First leader took questions from the floor about a range of topics, as diverse as Wellington’s late trains, mining, universal student allowances and pig farming.

Peters’ appearance at Vic attracted mainstream media attention with TV3 star John Campbell and 3News political editor Duncan Garner present. 3News reported after the event that Peters is intending to stand in John Key’s seat of Helensville in the 2011 election.

Peters was berated throughout his 50-minute stand-up performance by Act on Campus President Peter McCaffrey. McCaffrey was accompanied by a large white sign that simply said “no”. The sign was reminiscent of Peters’ own “no” sign which he waved around at a press conference in 2008 in the midst of the scandal regarding political donations. Peters refused to autograph McCaffrey’s sign.

Ousted in the 2008 election, after Peters failed to win his Tauranga seat and the party failed to make the five per cent threshold necessary for representation in Parliament, Peters has been lurking in the political shadows—until now.

Peters’ visit was hosted by New Zealand First on Campus. At the meeting’s conclusion Peters encouraged those buoyed by his sentiments to consider joining the party.

Rivalry between halls of residence is likely to increase in 2011, with the university’s introduction of a new contender for first choice on application forms.

The yet-to-be-named accommodation at 132 The Terrace will be a fully-catered, 241-bed hall, serving primarily domestic first-year students.

This development comes shortly after University Hall announced its decision to significantly limit accommodation for domestic students from 2011 onwards. As reported in Salient, Manager of Student Accommodation Nick Merrett said she believed students wouldn’t be disadvantaged by the changes, as there were already a large number of places in halls of residence offered to domestic students.

In a press statement released by the university, Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh indicated that there was a significant need for accommodation for domestic students.

“The demand for accommodation at Victoria has been growing significantly in recent years—students from across New Zealand and overseas want to study at Victoria. With Te Puni Village, and now this new complex, we are meeting this need for high quality accommodation.”

The building will be leased by Victoria University and is soon to be refurbished into a student accommodation complex.

Students are able to apply for the new hall online at www.victoria.ac.nz/accommodation

Karori gets a share of VUWSA’s love, too

In an attempt to make architecture and design students feel more included, VUWSA will offer services at Te Aro Campus for the remainder of 2010.

Every Wednesday members of the VUWSA exec will be available at Te Aro Campus to administer services including free bus tickets and the foodbank. VUWSA President Max Hardy says that separate staff may be hired to carry out this service if it is continued in 2011.

VUWSA will operate in conjunction with STUDiO, the representative group for architecture and design students, who advocate on behalf of and organise events for the students.

Hardy told Salient that VUWSA is also planning to speak with students at Karori Campus. Hardy hopes to discuss with students how VUWSA can best cater to the needs of education students.

As reported in Salient, following the recent by-election newly-elected Vice-President (Education) Bridie Hood said that she hoped to create a strong base at Karori Campus, with the goal of setting up an education student rep group.

Challenges and changes to New Zealand’s constitution were on the agenda at a recent conference organised by Victoria University’s Institute of Policy Studies.

Held at Victoria University’s Pipitea campus and then at Parliament, ‘Reconstituting the Constitution’ covered changes to the constitution in the last decade, such as the creation of a Supreme Court, the passage of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 and New Zealand’s involvement in climate change.

The conference included a diverse range of speakers including several international experts. Seventeen-year-old Wellington College student Rayhan Langdana also spoke at the conference, praising the presence of young politicians and the increasing engagement with Parliament.

“I think people my age should be more involved in Parliament. The voting age could be lowered by one year and there should be youth seats in Parliament.

“Elsewhere in the world, people our age are fighting for their country and for their religion. Here, we need to be challenged and to feel our opinions are valid.”

Conference co-organiser and Victoria University legal academic Dr Petra Butler discussed the importance of Langdana’s presence and the generational passing of the Bill of Rights.

“We are very conscious of the need to pass the Bill of Rights mantle to the next generation. Rayhan’s presence at the conference sends an important message in that regard.”

The brand spanking new VUWSA van arrived over the holidays, prompting VUWSA exec members to excitedly Gmail chat Salient Editor Sarah Robson.

Robson, who was in Auckland at the time, received several Gmail chats from VUWSA President Max Hardy and and Vice-President (Welfare) Seamus Brady exclaiming about how big the van is.

The new van is white and seats 13 people. This larger capacity compared to the old van means that the VUWSA Exec can now travel as a pack.

Team Salient will be taking the van to the annual Aotearoa Student Press Association Awards, which will be held in Auckland later this month.

Salient’s fully qualified driving staff are fearful of the fact “the gear lever is up by the steering wheel”.

“What is it, a truck or something?” one Salient staffer exclaimed.

“At least the old van had some, uh, personality. This one just looks like a great big unused tampon driving along the road.”

Salient will be tying a piece of string to the tow bar for the trip north.

Clubs will be able to book the van. Salient advises that interested parties talk to VUWSA about this.

The humble tamagotchi has been upstaged by the Tardigotchi, a new digital pet created by researchers from Victoria University.

The Tardigotchi, developed by a team comprising Victoria University’s Doug Easterly and Tiago Rorke, and Matt Kenyon from Penn State University, took out the top prize at Brazil’s Electronic Language International Festival (FILE) in late July.

The Tardigotchi is in many ways similar to 1990s fad the tamagotchi, but with a twist—inside the Tardigotchi is a living microorganism.

“The look and feel is kind of Tamagotchi meets Harry Potter,” Easterly says.

The Tardigotchi has three main components: a portable brass sphere that can be carried around by its owner, a docking station, and software.

The owner of a Tardigotchi looks after the microorganism (called a tardigrade) and a virtual creature at the same time. The virtual component is an avatar of the tardigrade, it may react with independent behaviour, but also reacts directly to the tardigarde’s activity.

When the user feeds the virtual pet with by pressing a button, this action literally feeds the tardigrade with a syringe, and its avatar rubs its full belly.

Easterly says the Tardigotchi brings to light a number of issues.

“Tardigotchi raises interesting questions, such as whether interaction with an electronic device can lead to emotional attachment.

“It also serves as a reminder for the special place humans have in communing with other animals, perhaps equally for artificial ones.”

More information and a video of the Tardigotchi can be found at www.tardigotchi.com.

Australian Liberal National Party member Wyatt Roy, at the ripe old age of 20 years, has been elected as the youngest member of Parliament in the federal election held on 21 August.

Roy, who is still completing his degree at Queensland University, won the right to represent the electorate of Longman in northern Brisbane in Australia’s House of Representatives.

An election eve gaffe by Labor candidate Jon Sullivan, who criticised the parenting skills of a father with a disabled child, was one of the contributing factors to Roy’s success.

His election promises, which focused on funding for local health and transport issues, also made Roy popular with voters.

Roy is committed to the development of sustainable long-term planning and is also a member of the party’s Disability Policy Committee.

Former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello said that Roy was on track to become the leader of the party by 2035.

Students do their bit for Pakistan

The forces behind “Kate’s Party” are now backing a good cause, encouraging students to donate money to the flood victims of Pakistan.

University of Canterbury student Josh Smith has created a Facebook event as a way to encourage students to donate a small amount of their student loan or allowance money to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as part of the appeal for Pakistan.

The page appeals to university students from around the country to give some of the cash they get “from Mr Key and his mates” to help the people of Pakistan.

The power of social networking appears to be effective. Currently 5522 people have been invited to join the group, with 397 saying they will donate.

A running tally on donations on the wall of the group shows that approximately $775 has been donated.

Smith says he has three reasons for starting the event. He says he sees it as a solution to three problems: the amount of time students waste on Facebook; the amount of money students squander on alcohol; and the need for aid in Pakistan.

“I’m stoked because it’s ended up as a way to use something that is quite often a time-sucker (Facebook) as a way for students to do something which people might give us some credit for (because I don’t think we do enough of that!),” he says.

Just over a month ago Pakistan was hit by the heaviest monsoon season on record, causing widespread and destructive flooding. At least 1,643 people have died and at least six million people have been left homeless. These figures are likely to increase as more bodies are found and diseases such as cholera threaten.

Shocked by the scale of the flooding, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has urged foreign donors to increase the aid effort.

Students interested in contributing to this cause can find information on the Facebook page “Donate $10 of your Student Loan/Allowance to Pakistan!”

The Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) intends to put its ongoing membership of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) in the hands of its members.

In 2010 OUSA paid $86,169 in membership fees to NZUSA. The fees go towards national representation of students, advocacy of tertiary education issues and lobbying in Parliament. In the revised 2011 OUSA Budget, the NZUSA budget line has been increased to $90,939.

In the first draft of next year’s budget, the NZUSA budget line had been reduced to $0, clearly indicating OUSA’s intentions towards NZUSA. However, at the budget-setting meeting, OUSA voted to increase the line 5.5 percent in 2011 to allow for inflation, and an increase in OUSA members. It was also decided that the question of OUSA’s membership of NZUSA would be put to a student referendum.

The OUSA exec was evenly split on the issue. Humanities Rep Walker MacMurdo advocated putting the decision to the students.

Last year’s Finance and Services Officer Mike Bridges, who was sitting in on the meeting, asserted that this was a massive and complex decision which the exec was best informed to make.

It was decided that the exec should inform the students about the issue, and ask them to weigh in.

OUSA President Harriet Geoghegan could not comment on the decision, stating that she was not present at the meeting. It is unclear when the referendum will be held.

The University of Canterbury Students’ Association (UCSA) has pulled out of NZUSA on the grounds of “contractual breaches”. NZUSA accepted UCSA’s decision as valid.

No one on the OUSA exec has gone on the record to give Critic a clear indication as to why it should no longer be a part of NZUSA. There is a feeling that for the same amount of money OUSA could more effectively lobby the government itself.

NZUSA currently requires 12 months’ notice prior to universities withdrawing their membership.

OUSA is attempting to change the constitution to require only three months notice. OUSA is confident that the notice period would not change their budget, as NZUSA tends not to follow up payments during the year’s notice.

The government is investigating the possibility of using debt collectors to tackle overseas student loan debt as part of a review of how student loans are administered.

In recent months Revenue Minister Peter Dunne has taken a rigorous approach in cracking down on student debt, with much of the attention focused on overseas debtors.
“The problem is with people who go overseas.”

Dunne says that many students evade repayments because they know that the government cannot track them while they are overseas. The majority of students living in New Zealand with student loans do not default on compulsory payments.

Before considering using debt collectors, the government had unsuccessfully approached other countries to discuss reciprocal recovery arrangements.

“To our great surprise the response we received… was ‘we don’t bother chasing our offshore debtors, why should we chase yours?’”

Labour Tertiary Education spokesperson Grant Robertson says he is concerned about the costs of introducing debt collectors.

“Ensuring that borrowers pay back their loans is important. However, using private contractors, especially debt collection agencies overseas raises the prospect of increased charges.”

This development is the latest in a raft of changes aimed at lowering overseas student loan debt. In August, Dunne said that the government will reduce repayment penalties for students living overseas as a way of encouraging these students to return to New Zealand.

The government is also planning to have online access to consolidated account information for students in April 2012, making it easier for all students to repay their loans.

Student evaluation forms actually count for something

Students will be able to access summaries of course feedback online, after a new Student Feedback on Teaching and Courses policy was approved by the Victoria University Academic Board.

The policy provides that annual summaries of responses to the core feedback questions for all courses evaluated will be available to staff and students through the university portal.

Also included will be appropriate general commentary on the interpretation of the feedback. A summary for a particular course will be replaced when a new evaluation for that course has been carried out.

VUWSA will also receive summary reports which will outline the overall teaching and course feedback by school and by Faculty, as well as for the whole university.

“VUWSA supported the development of the policy,” VUWSA President Max Hardy says.

“It will ensure better information is available to students and encourage better teaching practices. Placing an emphasis on quality academic learning and teaching is one of VUWSA’s most important goals,” he says.

“With the strategic direction of the University research-oriented, it is great to see measures focused on quality teaching being put in place.”

The VUWSA Alternative Student Guide is also out for students to peruse. Pick up a copy online.

Welcome back. Hope you’ve recovered enough from whatever state of unreality or active denial you were living in for the past two weeks to focus on the next few hundred words or so. An exec meeting occurs (on average) every fortnight, so what follows this week is the summation of two distinct meetings which I’ve stitched together based on related issues. Sit tight.

The meeting on Wednesday 18 August was mercifully short, clocking in at just under half an hour. It’s worth pointing out that this is slightly shorter than the report Max Hardy gave at the previous meeting detailing his past six months of work alone.

It was also notable for being the first meeting held since the 2010 VUWSA by-election. Despite this, as of the meeting on 1 September, Paul Zhong still hasn’t showed in his capacity as newly-elected International Officer. Three consecutive absences without apology will result in an “assumption of resignation”. Oh dear.

That being said, both Richard Carr and Tom Reed (Administration Vice-President and Queer Officer respectively) managed to make it to their first meeting; Richard even submitting a work report without needing to. Work reports as a whole were pretty good. Most managed to submit them the next meeting, except for James Sleep and Masha Kupriyenko, who gave verbal reports. James’ written report was still on his work computer, which is a fair excuse considering he works in North Korea where email access is a privilege reserved for only Inner Party members.

A proposal for a review of VUWSA Representation was discussed during the 18 August meeting, and put forward on 1 September. The review panel will consist of three or four VUWSA exec members, appointed by the executive, and up to six other members appointed by the exec on recommendation of the panel. These further six members can be representatives from Rep Groups, VUWSA staff, clubs, VUWSA Trust, or external to VUWSA entirely. The panel is intended to recommend ways of “enhancing communication amongst all student representatives and representative groups”, and improve voter turn-out and meeting procedures. This has far-reaching consequences for the future of the organisation, especially with the threat of VSM which will no doubt be considered by the panel.

The 1 September meeting appointed an election committee of Nick Kelly, Robert Whitaker, and Fleur Fitzsimons. Dates for the election were proposed between Thursday 30 September through until Thursday 7 October. Nominations will be opening on Thursday 9 September.

Zach Dorner (Environmental Officer) pointed out that publicity for previous elections has been less than spectacular. Hardy and Caitlin Dunham (Women’s Rights Officer) suggested that members of the executive speak to lectures to encourage students to vote and be nominated. It was also recommended that the Returning Officer play a more active role in the promotion of the elections.

Central to the last two meetings was discussion of the temporary move of the VUWSA offices to an interim location, and the forest of boners that cropped up during it. The intention was to relocate to the IT suite on the ground floor of the Student Union building for the duration of the office upgrade. Unfortunately, despite the Association Manager’s insistence to the contrary, the computers still haven’t been connected to the VUWSA internal network, preventing any sort of meaningful communication. Whoops.

Education Officer Sleep tabled two motions regarding proposed changes to employment law. Sleep, who was a speaker at a public demonstration against the changes earlier in the month, moved that no future VUWSA employee be subject to a 90 day “trial period”. Under the proposed law change, the ability to fire staff within 90 days of their employment would be extended to all businesses. Current legislation constrains this ability to businesses of 19 or fewer employees.

This movement was passed unanimously. The issue arose with Sleep’s second motion, that VUWSA make a submission on the bill that the government has put forward, outlining the benefits of “fair and decent” employment practices. Sleep’s argument was that the proposed law changes go against VUWSA’s employment standards and role as an advocate for students, especially considering their role as future workers. The counterpoint (presented by most other members of the executive) was that VUWSA is seen in the public arena as predominantly a service provider for students, NOT an employer. On that basis, the consensus was that it was inappropriate to make a submission on behalf of VUWSA without consultation of the student body. The motion lapsed, and Sleep finally stopped talking over the top of Hardy.

Will VUWSA make a submission on the greatest change to employment law since the union-crushing laws of 1991? Will they move into their new office before construction workers tear the walls down around them? Will James finally submit a written work report? Will I slam my balls in my desk drawer until a blood clot forms which moves to my brain rather than sit through another four hours of meetings for you guys?

You’ll have to tune back in to Eye On Exec to find out.

MySpace Loses Face to Facebook

Social networking site MySpace seems to be having trouble accepting that Facebook has well and truly usurped its role.

Following a recent revamp to make the site look more like Facebook, MySpace also now allows users to connect their accounts, so they can check and update their MySpace and share content without leaving Facebook.

MySpace has recently faced significant losses in advertising, users and face, following its once overwhelming popularity, circa 2005.

Let that dream die, MySpace, just let it die.

Bebo was last seen crying in a dark corner of cyberspace.

Foursquare takes on STIs

“Check-in” for Chlamydia!

Foursquare and MTV have recently joined forces to encourage people to get tested for sexually transmitted infections.

Users of the phone application Foursquare, which allows users to ‘check in’ to locations they visit, can now notify their friends when they get an STI check. This development is part of MTV’s ‘GYT: Get Yourself Tested’ campaign, which features competitions and celebrity endorsement.

Once tested, users will be presented with a GYT badge they can show off to their friends via the application.

That’s cooler than an STI.

Hate on a Plate

Upper Hutt resident Lisa Marie Thompson was recently accused of being a white supremacist because of her car’s numberplate.

The controversial plate, which reads ‘ARYAN1’, was the source of a complaint to the New Zealand Transport Association (NZTA). The complainant said they were extremely offended by the plate and its apparent reference to Hitler’s racist Nazi regime.

“This is really offensive, for pretty obvious reasons. How can somebody even have a plate like this approved? I am baffled.”

The complaint has confused Thompson, who bought the personalised plate four years ago as a reference to her former boyfriend, Andrew Ryan.

“Why did I do it? Because it’s the name of my ex-boyfriend.”

NZTA have refused to withdraw the plate as they say this would breach Thompson’s rights.

“On its own it is simply a name and I believe it would require some other words, actions or gestures to be inciting.”

Plates that have been withdrawn by the agency in the past include DRGDLR, JAPSUX, MDAFKR, OLDKNT, SIKCNT, TAMPON and TBAGGD.

Retail Worker Mops Herself Into Corner. Again.

Victoria University student Grace Perkins was trapped overnight in Lambton Quay’s Supre store after she mopped herself into the back corner of the shop when she was closing up for the night.

Perkins says she was distracted by Supre’s witty slogan tees while she was cleaning the store, and did not notice she was mopping in the wrong direction.

It was only when Perkins reached the changing rooms that she realised her mistake. Once there, Perkins was unable to leave the store as the soap used is a high-gloss formula which remains extremely slippery for many hours after it is used. The soap is unique to Supre, who use it in all of their stores to create a highly reflective surface which accentuates the bright colours of their clothing.

“When I, like, mopped myself in last month I slipped over and, like, it really hurt. I had this big bruise on my face, it was, like, sooo ugly.”

After injuring herself the first time, Perkins was reluctant to attempt leaving the store again.

She spent the night in the changing rooms, sleeping on a pile of tube skirts, until her colleagues arrived to open the store the next morning.

When spoken to by Salient, the store manager said she was investigating ways to prevent a re-occurrence.

Max Hardy Struggles to Handle Massive Twitter Handle

VUWSA President Max Hardy admitted this week that his infamously long Twitter username, @victoriauniversityofwellingtonstudentsassociation2010presidentmaximushardy, has caused him significant problems since he launched his account in June.

Twitter, which allows users to address followers in 160-character long messages, requires each user to have a unique username, or ‘handle’. Once Hardy’s handle is typed in full, it leaves only enough space for a 65-character message.

This has significantly reduced possibilities for the length of replies that Hardy’s friends can write to him. Hardy told Salient that he believes this is the reason why he has not attracted many friends or followers on the site.

“If my name was a bit snappier I imagine I’d be getting a lot of interest from my fans, but as it is, the most they can say is ‘Dear Max, I’m a student at Vic, I’m writing to tell you about…’ before they run out of characters.”

Hardy says he thinks a lot of students are frustrated by the extremely limited number of characters.

“Lots of my followers now post shorter messages, I think to try and point out how long my handle is. Like ‘Max sux’, for example. I’ve been getting that a lot recently, actually.”

The long handle also causes problems when Hardy re-tweets his own tweets. If his message is already a certain length, Hardy has trouble adding much to it.

Last week his fifteenth retweet read: “Cool eh RT @victoriauniversityofwellingtonstudentsassociation2010presidentmaximushardy finished President’s column! Salient’s gonna love me!”

No one had replied to the tweet or re-tweet when Salient went to print.

Hardy urges students who wish to discuss an issue that is longer than 65-characters to either send multiple tweets or poke him on Facebook.

In a first for Victoria University students, staff from Wellington branches of the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) have set up a drop-in service at the university.

The drop-in service established late last month, is located in the Atrium at Kelburn Campus and is available to students 12.30 – 2.30pm every Tuesday. Students have this two-hour opportunity to discuss issues relating to legal, financial and employment issues. CAB also provide a Justice of the Peace service.

The service is staffed by Manager Nicki McLeod and veteran volunteer Cheryl McDonald.Although the service is off to a slow start, Area Manager Mary O’Regan says that the time spent with students is of great value and provides ease of access for those needing advice.

“The wonderful thing about our service is that no one is in a rush, so they [CAB Volunteers] will give people all the time they need.”

The drop-in is the first to be provided at a tertiary institution in Wellington, and CAB hopes that they can extend the service to other universities soon.

Waikato University currently has a permanent office on campus which is accessible to students and the public during term time. It is the only permanent on-site office at a tertiary institution in New Zealand.

Between 2008 and 2009, 208 students utilised the service.

A number of students spoken to by Salient were unaware that the drop-in service existed. A survey of a 300-level Politics lecture indicated that only four students knew about the service, but 17 said that they may use the service in the future.

The service has had four student enquiries each week since it started. Students Alex Benton, Shani Gray and their flatmate Kylie Benton used the service last week and said they found it useful for answering their query about tenancy issues.

Gray says that the ease of using the drop-in at Victoria was great and she may not have used CAB otherwise.

“I found it a lot easier to come here. I am not sure that I would have gone to another office to get the same information. I think I would have just left it.”

Advertising for the drop-in was limited to a MyVictoria announcement and a number of flyers posted around the university. McLeod hopes that advertising is increased soon and that the service can be extended to other campuses.

Maria Gonclaves-Rorke, Manager of Financial Support and Advice at Victoria University recognises the importance for ease of accessibility for students and believes that the service will complement services for students available on and off campus.

“The team at Citizens Advice not only have a large amount of information they can share, but they are also able to refer students to other places that can help, such as the Community Law Centre or to services within the university.”

Gonclaves-Rorke says the service is a pilot programme for Vic and it will be monitored to see if is worthwhile.

Wellington City Council sheds light on the issue

The idea of a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ has become a reality for students residing at the Botanical Garden end of Salamanca Road as a result of streetlight problems.

Residents say that the lights along the top end of Salamanca Road have been turning off and on through the night for quite a while.

“It’s been happening since we moved in at the start of the year, but has increased recently,” says Cherri Hartigan, a student resident of Salamanca Road.

“Almost every time I have left the house at night for the last couple of weeks it has been pitch black, which is quite dangerous.”

The safety issue around the seemingly broken streetlights is also a concern to the Wellington City Council.

The council is in control of the Wellington streetlight network, which includes approximately 16,000 streetlights.

Each year the council completes a number of street lighting improvements prioritised based on aspects such as night-time crashes, night-time pedestrian demand, vehicle volumes and the number of ‘high risk’ individuals such as children or cyclists in the area.

Council Communications Officer Richard MacLean says that a lack of lighting is particularly concerning around the university.

“The area around the university is a high priority for obvious reasons—it’s very busy and there are lots of students around.”

MacLean says that the street lighting staff were not aware of the problem on Salamanca Road but would immediately check out the situation and rectify it if necessary.

“Sometimes faults do occur, and lights go out when they reach the end of their working life,” MacLean explained. “Although the main arterial routes through the city are patrolled and inspected monthly, we also rely on the public calling us to let us know.”

VUWSA’s Campus Angels were introduced eight years ago in response to the dangers around Victoria University at night, following a “spate” of incidents and police warnings, says Welfare Vice-President Seamus Brady.

“We continue to provide the service to give those studying late on campus the option of being accompanied to an area safely.”

Brady says that although the Campus Angels report back to VUWSA, there have not been that many complaints about street lighting.

“We haven’t had any complaints about the lighting on Salamanca. However, the lights on Mount Street did turn off when I was leaving the office other night.”

Other problem areas include the Te Aro campus, which the Campus Angels now patrol, and the lack of lighting around the Boyd Wilson Field.

“VUWSA will be conducting a Campus Safety Audit later this month to make sure these issues are identified and we have the support of the university in getting them addressed.”

Brady says that many students do not take advantage of the Angels service.

“Overall usage of the Campus Angels service has not been as good as I would hope. But I think the peace of mind and point of contact they provide students is just as important.”

The council’s street lighting team says it is also important for people to let them know about any problems they notice with streetlights.

“If anyone spots a streetlight that’s off at night—or is ‘flashing’ and looking like it’s on the ‘blink’, then they should call the council on 499 4444 or message our info@wcc.govt.nz email address.”

Victoria University will be graced with the presence of both New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters and Labour MP Grant Robertson this Wednesday.

Following the recent visits of Prime Minister John Key, both politicians are visiting the university to talk to students.

Peters will speak in Meeting Room 3 of the Student Union Building at Kelburn Campus from 12 – 1pm. All are welcome and questions will be taken.

Robertson, Labour’s Spokesperson for Tertiary Education, is holding a Tertiary Talk in Cotton 118 at Kelburn Campus from 5.30pm. He will be discussing Labour’s views for tertiary education and will address current issues such as enrolment caps and restricted access to student loans.

Peters also visited the university’s Te Herenga Waka Marae last Monday for a Maori Business Hui. These visits follow New Zealand First’s recent calls for the government to ensure that domestic students do not miss out to international fee-paying students in their access to tertiary education.

University Considers Changes to Trimester Three

Victoria students may soon face a raft of changes to the university’s trimester three summer school programme.

VUWSA President Max Hardy told Salient last week that a proposal has been presented to the Academic Board to reduce trimester three to a six-week summer school for undergraduate courses. If changed, the trimester would run from January to March and bring Victoria into line with other universities, including University of Auckland and Otago University, which both have six week summer schools.

Hardy says that VUWSA will oppose the changes, which are currently with the faculties for comment.

“Students currently use the third trimester as a chance to fast-track or finish their degrees, and the option should remain available. The university should not make it harder for students to finish their degree by reducing the options available to students.”

Hardy says that this may also create difficulties for students applying for StudyLink funding.

“Students may also not be able to get student loans and allowances for the third trimester if they, for example, only have to study one course to finish their degree. At the moment they can do a final course in the same calendar year as their main courses.”

The proposal includes exemptions for some courses that will still run from October to December. It will return to the Academic Board at their next meeting at the end of this month.

Changes have already been made to some summer school courses. Last Wednesday the School of Accounting and Commercial Law announced changes to their trimester three programme via MyVictoria.

“Regrettably, there will be no undergraduate courses offered by the School of Accounting and Commercial Law in the summer trimester 2011/2012,” wrote Head of School Ian Eggleton.

Third trimester paper COML 203 ‘Legal Environment of Business’ had not been removed from the Course Catalogue when Salient went to print.

Students who feel strongly about these issues are advised to contact VUWSA.

Salient will follow up the proposal and course changes in the next issue.

Current problems in the tertiary sector will be able to be better addressed with a change of title, the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee announced recently.

The committee launched its new name, Universities New Zealand-Te Pokai Tara, at an event hosted by Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce at parliament earlier this month.

Universities New Zealand Chair Derek McCormack says that the change will help universities collectively address tertiary funding problems.

“More than ever, now is the time for our universities to speak with a unified voice as we respond to these challenges.

“The name Universities New Zealand-Te Pokai Tara will help us to accomplish this. It offers us easier name recognition as we seek to remind the public about the vital role that universities play in New Zealand society.”

Universities New Zealand consists of the vice-chancellors of New Zealand’s eight universities and carries out a number of functions, including academic quality assurance, funding applications, administration of scholarships and promotion and representation of the universities.

The organisation is funded almost entirely by the universities.

When questioned about the suitability of rebranding during the current tertiary funding crisis, Universities New Zealand Strategic Communications Manager Matt Huntington told Salient that he believes the cost will pay off over time.

Huntington says the total cost of rebranding was $20,054.50 and the cost of the launch was $4005. The agency that carried out the rebranding offered one of the lowest tenders the committee had received for the development of the new brand.

“From day one, cost was one of the parameters of the rebranding. The cost factor was one of the most important considerations.”

The aim of the rebranding is to create a body that the public can better recognise, relate to and understand.
The development follows rebranding exercises by similar university organisations in the United Kingdom and Australia. These changes have been largely successful and in Australia saw an extra $1 billion allocated to the tertiary sector, Huntington says.

The cost of the rebranding will hopefully be returned in a similar way in New Zealand, Huntington says.

New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) Co-President David Do says he has no particular views on the suitability of the costs associated with rebranding , but says that he thinks it is important that the universities develop a better relationship with the public.

Do says that NZUSA supports many of the goals that Universities New Zealand is trying to achieve.

“There is more that we agree on than disagree on.”

Huntington and Do both told Salient that it was important that Universities New Zealand could persuade the public of the important role of universities and graduates. With public support and a united body representing universities, they argue, it will be easier for problems to be addressed.

Recent issues such as high demand for university places, limited funding and enrolment caps have presented New Zealand universities with a number of challenges.

As reported in Salient, a number of universities have closed enrolments early this year due to inadequate government funding. In May Victoria University closed domestic undergraduate enrolments for the remainder of 2010. Managed enrolments will come into effect for 2011.

The new name, which in Maori represents a flock of caspian terns, was launched with associated visual imagery. The imagery depicts eight terns flying upwards together, said to represent the eight New Zealand universities, their role as a source of knowledge and a sense of awakening that education can provide.

Universities New Zealand will still operate under its former name to fulfill some functions, says Universities New Zealand Executive Director Penny Fenwick.

“While we retain the name New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee in order to exercise our statutory functions and powers, the name Universities New Zealand-Te Pokai Tara will be our public face, as it more accurately conveys the role we play as peak body representing New Zealand’s eight universities.”

An opportunity for students to have a direct input into their education will take place at next month’s Student Forum.

Held in the Memorial Theatre on Monday 6 September from 2 – 3pm, the forum will be hosted by Chancellor Ian McKinnon, Vice-Chancellor Pat Walsh and VUWSA President Max Hardy.

This forum is a follow-on from last year’s fee forum, but this year students will have the opportunity to ask questions about more than just fees.

Hardy says he thinks this development will be received well by students.

“VUWSA thought that some students would appreciate the opportunity to engage with the leaders of VUW about the general direction of VUW, rather than just about fees.”

The forum will cover government policies impacting the university, key developments in the university and the student fees process, including the setting of domestic fees for 2011.

The forum will also enable McKinnon, Walsh and Hardy to communicate the issues considered by the University Council when setting student fees and determining the university’s strategic direction.

This forum is similar to Massey University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Student Forum held in July, which also allowed students the opportunity to ask questions on a range of topics. Unlike Massey’s forum, the Victoria forum will not be accessible online.

He’s Dunne it again

The government will reduce repayment penalties for students living overseas with student loan debt, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne told students at Auckland University of Technology last Tuesday.

Dunne says that legislation will be introduced in the next few months to implement a number of changes, including an online repayments system. He says a number of students have been made “refugees” because of repayment penalties and hopes that the changes will encourage these students to return home.

“Student debt is a big factor in people’s decisions to leave New Zealand sooner and stay away longer.

“Of course we want many of our young people to go overseas and have those great life experiences, but we also want to attract them home.”

The changes will make it easier for students to repay their debt while overseas and in return will reduce the repayment penalties when they return to New Zealand. This is the first step in the government’s plan to reclaim overseas debt.

“We’re doing more work in this area to try and see if we can get better engagement with them and also keep a better record of where they are and what they’re paying.”

This announcement comes just weeks after Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce announced that the government would look at ways to reduce student debt by targeting students living overseas.

Currently, overseas students account for one fifth of New Zealand’s $283 million of overdue loan repayments.

Salient is still awaiting official turnout figures from the recent VUWSA by-election, a week and a half after the votes were counted and the results confirmed.

Salient was provided with the total number of votes cast in the by-election, but not the number of individual students who voted.

The turnout figures were requested from Returning Officer Sara Fraser the evening the results were released
Fraser responded to this email after last week’s issue went to print, saying she would be in the office “sporadically” and that she “may be able to provide them [the figures] then”.

A second email was sent to Fraser last Tuesday to remind her Salient had requested the turnout figures. There has been no response to this email.

Salient could be waiting a while, with Fraser only working a limited number of hours in the Returning Officer position. And we’ve got no idea when she’ll be back in the office. Sigh.

Labour MP Hon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban advised her caucus last Tuesday that she is stepping down from parliament and taking a new career at Victoria University in the newly created position of Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika).

Vice-Chancellor Pat Walsh is delighted with the appointment, which he announced in a press release on Tuesday.

“Ms Laban’s expertise and experience in Pacific Island affairs made her the ideal candidate for the role and we look forward to the contribution she will make in this newly created position.”

Laban is looking forward to the new role and tackling the issues that Pasifika students face in tertiary education.

“This enables me to continue my passion for Pacific people, young people and more importantly, having a role in education outcomes that will lead to stronger economic development for the Pacific community.”

Research shows that Pasifika students are increasing in number at tertiary level, however, completion rates are low. Pat Walsh says the newly created role is in response to the growing number of issues facing Pasifika in education.

“A number of plans and programmes are already in place at Victoria to improve participation, retention and the academic success of Pacific students. The new role of Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika) will provide leadership and vision for many of these projects.”

Laban has held her electoral seat with a strong majority over the years and Labour leader Phil Goff says that he is sad to see her go. Laban’s resignation from parliament means there will be a by-election held for the Mana electorate.

Things get SSALASTIC!

Results from the inaugural Student Services and Amenities Levy Advisory Committee (SSALAC) Consultation have been collated and are currently under review by the committee.

VUWSA President Max Hardy says the final recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor, based on student feedback, will be made in the next couple of weeks.

As reported in Salient, the SSALAC Consultation invited students to have their say in the student services levy and how it is spent. In 2010 the levy was $510 for full-time students.

More than 200 students took part in the survey, approximately one per cent of students.

Hardy says that the results were mixed.

“I can confirm that some students thought that the levy was too high, whilst other students thought the levy was necessary and good value.”

The consultation was developed following an agreement between VUWSA and the university to ensure students had a say in the levy.

Hardy says that VUWSA will ensure there is a wider annual survey from next year, with an official announcement on changes to be made soon.

The Marlborough Disctrict Council last week declined an application for a liquor licence made by Undie 500 organisers for their event in the Marlborough town of Seddon.

Organisers Canterbury University’s Engineering Society (Ensoc) will not be allowed to sell alcohol at the Undie 500 event, which was set to be held in Seddon after landowners Trish and Chris Redwood agreed to host the event on their property. As reported in Salient, the Redwoods offered their property after Ensoc were told they were no longer welcome in Dunedin.

A hearing was held early this month to determine whether Ensoc were eligible to serve alcohol on the Seddon property.

Marlborough District councillor Andrew Barker argued that the Marlborough District Council had made the decision out of an emotional response rather than on the facts. The reasoning behind the rejection is yet to be released. The council say it will be included in a full report of the hearing, due this week.

The police have been firm opponents to the Undie 500 tradition and made a submission against the organisers’ application for a liquor licence.

Senior Sergeant Ciaran Sloan of Blenheim says that the event is focused purely on alcohol consumption.

“It doesn’t contribute anything to the province and would have been a cost to the province through emergency services and health services.”

Ensoc President Michael Cook says that Ensoc were committed to successfully hosting an official Undie 500 this year but the liquor license decision will mean that they will need to start over again.

“Going somewhere else is an option; we just have to reassess and see what we can do.”

Cook also remained coy on the possibility of making the event BYO alcohol.

“If we decided to still have a BYO, the cops could still shut us down.”

Victoria University student and 2009 Undie 500 attendee Adam Clark says that the event was important for maintaining a fun and eventful image of student life.

“They shut down Gardies in Dunedin, now they want to shut down everything else that is fun to do whilst going through the hardships of student life.”

The Marlborough District Council can exercise their ability to enforce a liquor ban over the area if the event organisers wish to continue plans to have it in Seddon.

According to the Marlborough District Council website, the council maintains the power to ban liquor for one-off events.

“[The] council can use this power generally, to create on-going liquor bans in public places, or to ban liquor for one-off special events or occasions in public places.”

In May this year, after displays of public concern, the Justice and Electoral Select Committee sent the Search and Surveillance Bill back to the drawing board. In the last fortnight the bill has swooped back into the parliamentary picture.

The Justice and Electoral Select Committee has released recommendations for the bill in an interim report, suggesting changes including clarifying the “relationship between the bill and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990”.

The report indicates that the extent of power envisioned in the initial bill will be downsized, however, those opposed to the bill say the interim report does not correct fundamental problems.

“The Search and Surveillance Bill is an assault on every New Zealander’s fundamental rights and freedoms. There is simply no justification for this massive increase in state power,” says Lee Warren from Campaign to Stop the Bill.

In its current format, the bill will allow warrantless searches to be carried out on suspicion and grants ‘enforcement officers’ powers to seize items in plain view.

Other contentious provisions include agencies being given the right to search computers and email, and the introduction of examination orders, requiring individuals to report to the police for questioning. Circumstances where video and audio surveillance are able to be carried out will also broaden dramatically.

While supporters say the bill is simply a tool to consolidate existing powers, those opposed say this is not the case. Many of the powers that the Search and Surveillance Bill will grant to police and government agencies are previously unlegislated.

Further public submissions are being called for on the Search and Surveillance Bill.

Submissions can be emailed to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee Clerk at james.picker@parliament.govt.nz until Friday 3 September.

A public debate will be held on Monday 30 August between Michael Bott from the Council for Civil Liberties and National MP Chester Burrows, venue to be confirmed.

The Student Union Building’s (SUB) computers will be relocated to the Central Library on Saturday 21 August.

The library’s level 2 suite will also be closed on the Saturday while the computers are moved. Students will still have limited access to computers on level one of the library.

Over the next few months the SUB suite will be upgraded as part of the SUB refurbishment, and more computers will be added to the library.

These changes are part of the university’s Campus Hub Development, the first part of which is due for completion in 2013.

Stupid gaping hole filled with construction toys almost nearly close to being something, maybe.

The prolonged redevelopment of the Boyd Wilson Field is approaching its conclusion, with the project designated a new deadline of early October. It was originally intended for completion by the end of August, but consistent heavy rain since construction began on 15 March has pushed it further and further back.

Although the field currently resembles a muddy bog, it will be fitted with artificial turf and a new drainage system suited to the unique geological characteristics of the site. The new surface, along with accompanying floodlights, will create a safe, all-year playing surface for the university.

VUWSA President Max Hardy says an opening event is planned for the project’s completion. He says the finished product will greatly benefit the university.

“The project will dramatically increase the number of usable hours per week and the quality of the surface and games that can be played on it.”

The original proposal was made last year, outlining prospective use of the facility by students. A timetabled plan for its use is expected, with $50 an hour being the anticipated cost. Up to four teams will be able to use the turf simultaneously. Maintenance expenditure will be continuous to make sure the field remains in good condition.

There are still a few hurdles to jump over before the project is finished. The floodlights need to be completed, and asphalt paths ringing the field as prior to the redevelopment also need to be laid. Finally, 500 cubic metres of sand and rubber granules will be introduced to create the playing surface.

Any questions about the redevelopment can be directed to Satish Dahya, the project manager, at satish.dahya@vuw.ac.nz.

Many Maori living in Australia are struggling to maintain te reo Maori there, recent Victoria University research shows.

According to the research compiled by senior associate of Victoria University’s Institute of Policy Studies Paul Hamer, one in six Maori now live in Australia but struggle to maintain the language there.

“Six per cent of Maori in Australia speak te reo in the home, but Maori don’t all tend to live in the same neighbourhoods there—one of the factors that makes it difficult to maintain the language.

“Maori migrants who speak te reo are perhaps more in danger of losing their language than other immigrant groups because Maori fit so easily into Australian workplaces and communities, and they also have a high intermarriage rate,” Hamer said.

Melissa Thorne (Rangitane/Ngati Kahungunu) has been living in Perth for 15 years and says her knowledge of te reo Maori also deteriorated since she left New Zealand.

However, she does try to make her children aware of their culture and teaches them some basic phrases.

“Perth has yearly culture festivals that I love going to and really makes me feel at home. It’s just sad that because I live in Aussie my kids won’t get the same experiences I did with our culture,” Thorne says.

Hamer’s research found that many speakers of Maori, including some Maori language teachers, are leaving New Zealand, often in search of higher paid work.

Using Australian census data, he calculates more than 10,000 speakers of te reo moved to Australia between 1986 and 2006.

Are you a stingy student who still wants to enjoy the good life with a group of mates?

If so, you might just be interested in an initiative set up by Victoria University commerce graduate Daniel Taiaroa and postgraduate student Andrew Henry. Their new business, dealeater.co.nz , could see you and your mates receive up to 50 per cent discount from local businesses in Wellington.

While similar in concept to already established websites such as VoucherMate and Dailydo, dealeater.co.nz ’s point of difference is that it provides discounts on group bookings to protect the interests of businesses involved and encourages groups to dine together, says Taiaroa.

“It offers an incentive to share with family and friends.”

The pair are keen to promote the website among students, for whom discounted local goods and services could prove “very beneficial”. Henry has drawn on his own student experience for the website.

“Studying for several years has given me a masters in the economics of being broke.”

Developed as an innovative and cheap way for businesses to market themselves, by signing up to the website members stand to gain discounts at movie theatres, health and beauty stores, a range of eateries and on other activities around Wellington. Some businesses that dealeater.co.nz already has offers with include Paramount Theatre, coffee shops Memphis belle and Beach Babylon and the restaurant The Flying Burrito Brothers.

The website was launched last Friday and its creators are welcoming any suggestions from students on the places that they want discounts from.

Visit dealeater.co.nz for more information.

Your next text message could save your life, thanks to a new initiative by Wellington City Council.

The Wellington Emergency Management Office (WEMO) recently launched a service allowing locals to register to receive text message alerts prior to and during the event of an emergency or disaster.

The council’s Emergency Preparedness Manager Fred Mecoy says that the initiative is an important development.

“The ability to deliver timely warnings and alerts through mobile phones is an important step to ensuring Wellingtonians have the information they need to protect themselves and their families.”

Signing up is easy, just text ‘start’ to 8987 and follow the four-step process. Registration costs the price of four texts at the standard rate.

The council has also started a campaign to recruit and train large numbers of new civil defence volunteers. With 60 new volunteers, tasks include running the civil defence centres around the city and distributing information to the public.

For further information about getting involved with the seven-week induction course, see www.wellington.govt.nz.

Salient’s prized Brad Pitt’s Half-Eaten Garlic Naan arrived at the office last Monday mounted, framed and labelled with a printed sticker.

Although seemingly well preserved, its glass case prevents Salient staffers from harnessing Pitt’s genetic material from its chewed edges.

Its preservation also prevents Salient Chief Sub-Editor Michael Langdon from carrying out his plan to eat the month-old bread. This is fortunate, as it is probably hard to check grammar when afflicted with an acute case of food poisoning.

The framed naan features a grease patch, coriander and authentic chunks of garlic stuck to the glass. It currently appears to have no mould, although it is hard to tell how long it will remain fungus-free.

If it remains intact for a long time it can be kept in the Salient office and then later sold on for a higher price to fund the magazine if VSM is introduced.

Watch this space/Antiques Roadshow.

Angelina and Brad have Date Nights, Naan on the menu…

Angelina Jolie told Mail on Sunday that she schedules date nights with partner Brad Pitt to hold their relationship together.

The couple plan time away from their six children to spend time alone as a couple, sometimes having dinner together on the neighbouring property the couple own.

“We actually schedule them (date nights). We just had one the other night and we went next door so we didn’t have to worry about the paparazzi and the kids didn’t know where we were.”

If Angelina’s interested, Salient has a half-eaten naan for Brad to finish off. We might even throw in a butter chicken.

Tenacious Trickster scams one computer at a time

New Zealand Internal Affairs have warned the public to look out for a computer scammer targeting the public one computer at a time.

Last week a Christchurch woman was phoned by a man who asked if she had a computer, told her there was a problem with it and then said he needed to log on to fix it.

Internal Affairs are now investigating the incident and believe the man called from within New Zealand.

The man’s methods have surprised investigators, as scammers usually use technology to access millions of users, rather than calling one person at a time.

That’s dedication.

The mysterious appearance of a road cone on top of a Victoria University bus stop late last month has finally been explained.

Last week a first-year student admitted to placing the road cone on the roof of the bus stop outside Kelburn Campus’ UniStop, where it has remained for over a fortnight.

First noticed by a university cleaner, the cone had left university staff, students and Go Wellington bus drivers questioning how and why it had been placed on top of the bus stop.

A student, who wished to remain anonymous, approached Salient last week with information about the cone.

He says he and his friends threw the cone onto the roof of the bus stop after a “raging night” at student bar the Big Kumara. On the way home the group passed a set of cones left around at a local roadworks site.

“One of my mates grabbed it and was like, wearing it as a hat and stuff. Then we were pretending we had massive orange dicks. It was pretty funny, eh.”

The students did not realise how far they had carried the cone until they reached the university.

“It was pretty heavy and we’d all had a go with it, so we chucked it up there so we could laugh about it again on Monday at uni. We didn’t think anyone would notice and, like, care, you know?”

University Public Transport Manager Denise Sherold says she is glad to have the issue resolved.

“We like to monitor these developments and get to the bottom of them as fast as possible.”

She says that the university will take a stricter stance in future.

“Although the student will not be punished in this instance, we warn other students that this kind of behaviour is not funny, nor is it acceptable,” she chuckled.

Students spoken to by Salient say they had enjoyed the placement of the cone.

“Everyday when I walked past it to go to UniStop it’d crack me up. It was just so weird, I wanna meet the guys who put it up there!”

Salient understands that the cone will be removed and returned to the Transport Association as soon as possible.

The Transport Association’s Traffic Cone Division last month released a Traffic Cone Retention Report. Statistics indicated that theft and loss of cones in the last year has increased by 16 per cent since 2008.

The report could not explain the increase but did identify common causes and sources of theft and loss, including bus stop roofs, student flats, Facebook-initiated ‘Steal a Road Cone’ days and on top of drunken party-goers’ heads.

Ngā Mahi Hianga a te Tauira – Part One

Hey you! Yes, you, you Pukamata addict. YOU! I seen you up there stealing other people’s boyfriends, rowing your farm and feeding the whanau in that restaurant of yours. Then in the same hour taking your gang to bust out some jewels and travel the globe in search of mischief, clothes, boyfriends or points. Yes. Points. You guys know to what I’m referring to. Even though it’s banned from the upstairs computer room of *you know where* I seen people on those comps doing their ‘assignments’. Ha! So we got interested, and here’s some of the games our people have seen you people play… and here’s what we think. Part One.

Sorority Life

What is Sorority Life? Does it contribute to my university life? Can my achievement on this game be replicated in reality? The most important question I have thought of is why is there no skin tone option for “Māori” complexion when you create your model?

These are all questions that plague me before I go to sleep at night. So I have done extensive research to help me on my path to answering these questions (A.K.A. talked to fellow addicts). So what is Sorority Life? For all you harry hard-out academics out there who don’t add every single ‘new app’ on Facebook, Sorority Life is a world based around you and your desires to climb the social ladder. From the beginning the competition begins when you create your female model who lives on a college campus (no doubt in America), and the overall goal is to do whatever it takes to reign supreme over this world by socialising, networking and even fighting other players. It isn’t all hard work though, there are many games, and I must say there is nothing like buying a new piece of clothing or an accessory, and don’t even get me started on how enjoyable it is to steal someone’s online boyfriend… Scandal!

So for all dedicated procrastinators, Sorority Life provides a lifetime of reasons not to do your assignment that is usually due in an hour. It has also been known to keep people up til early hours in the morning so that they can continue their pursuit for the next level of sorority life greatness.

Can my achievement on this game be replicated in reality? I currently am a multimillionaire, own 150 modes of transportation and my wardrobe is the size of the Island Bay Warehouse, and don’t even get me started on how many boyfriends I have bought. In short, the answer to this question is stop dreaming, mate!

So in conclusion, if you desire the thrill of climbing the imaginary social ladder in cyberspace, then Sorority Life is the game for you. I play this game for the great clothes, but I would like to send out a warning to all people who are easily addicted—stop! Do not search for Sorority Life on Facebook! The consequences could be great.

These are the first signs of an addict: people who buy things for Sorority Life with their own money (brownie points), people who cut all contact with their friends because they stole their sorority
boyfriend, and, last but not least, those who have assignments due but are buying new clothes on Sorority Life.

Who Has The Biggest Brain?

Man who thinks he’s a gorilla “eats, shoots and leaves!”
Facebook application: Who has the biggest brain?
Users = over 1.2 million, 200,000 ‘likes’
Facebook “user-generated” rating = 4/5 stars

Apparently I have a brain the size of a gorilla, e kī e kī! Pokokōhua Facebook! Maka tiko bum!

I spent five years at this Whare wānanga to be told by a fourpart, two-minute quiz that I have the brain of a gorilla—I mean, a brain the “size” of a gorilla’s brain. Welcome all to the hype that is Who Has the Biggest Brain.

Another way to look at this sudden realisation is that I have spent these last five years to find out that I should not have bothered at all, that despite the two degrees that I have ended up with I cannot run from the size of my brain, and therefore hide from my genetically predetermined future… of foraging all day long? To be honest, I am relieved that something can be so blunt/honest and finally make me realise that my destiny is not that of ‘a leader of tomorrow’, or of ‘a mover and shaker’. Instead I should spend my time foraging for leaves and making a nest (usually out of my favourite food). A quick look on Wikipedia (key search ‘Gorilla’ if you were wondering) led to a fascinating discovery, that 98-99% of our DNA is shared with Gorillas. It also states that Gorillas are highly intelligent. Ana tō kai e Facebook! Therefore I am hopeful and encouraged that my gorilla brain will actually do just fine. Kia ora Facebook… Kia ora!

BTW this game is tiko tarau. My rating? 4/5 tikos.

Next installment…Family Feud, Geo Challenge, Mafia Wars, Word Challenge.

No Confidence misses out

Results of the VUWSA by-election were released shortly before 6pm last Thursday, with a candidate elected to each one of the five vacant positions contested.

Although students had the option of voting No Confidence for Vice-President (Education) and International Officer, these positions were won by Bridie Hood with 662 votes and Paul Zhong with 604 votes.

Other successful candidates were Richard Carr as Vice-President (Administration), 317 votes; Tom Reed as Queer Officer, 298 votes; and Timothy Parker as Publications Committee Representative, 753 votes.

Bridie Hood has held the role of Acting Vice-President (Education) for the first half of 2010. When spoken to by Salient, Hood seemed overjoyed with the by-election result.

“I am very very pleased and excited!”

As Vice-President (Education), Hood says she will create stronger ties with education rep groups, faculty delegates and create a strong base at the Karori Campus, with the goal of setting up an education rep group.

Richard Carr was also pleased with his new position.

“I am honoured to be voted as the Vice-President (Administration) for the rest of 2010 and I thank every student who voted in the election.”

Carr says he is dedicated to moving VUWSA towards a more “prosperous and cost-effective future”, so that the organisation is not crippled if Roger Douglas’ VSM bill is passed in parliament.

VUWSA Activities Officer Alan Young also stood for the Vice-President (Administration) position, coming a close second with 297 votes.

As reported in Salient, No Confidence was not offered as an option for Publications Committee Representative, despite there being only one candidate for the position. This is because the inclusion of No Confidence if this situation arises is not specified in the constitution. Students still had the option of selecting ‘no vote’ on their ballot forms.

This anomaly means that a candidate could win the position with just one vote. When Salient raised this with VUWSA President Max Hardy, he said he would look into the issue.

Salient’s Academic Idol competition has not received more votes in total than were cast in the by-election, however, votes cast for the competition last week alone exceeded the 317 votes won by Carr.

Salient requested voter turnout figures from VUWSA Returning Officer Sara Fraser. Salient was told that these were on the bottom line of the first page of the results, marked total.

However, the line specified by the Returning Officer was, in fact, the total number of votes that had been cast across all positions, not the actual number of students who voted.

Assuming that a student places a vote in each of the positions, they would have cast five votes each. Given there was also the option of selecting ‘no vote’ on the online ballot forms, it cannot be clearly determined exactly how many students voted.

Salient explained this to the Returning Officer via email, but no response was received by the time Salient went to print.

VUWSA handed out a total of $4125 in bonuses to six different executive members last week. Applications to a value of $1050 were declined, with a further $850 not assigned due to Fraser Pearce’s resignation late last month.

Members of the executive are entitled to apply for any amount up to $850 for their work in 2010. All exec members eligible, except for James Sleep and Kurt Sharpe, applied for the full amount.

Alan Young’s application for a total of $850 was finalised as $125.

When asked why he believed he deserved $850 by other members of the executive, Young responded that “everyone else” had written down a similar figure. He had no clear response when asked why he failed to put down a figure he thought was representative of his achievements.

In an interview with Salient last year, Young suggested that if he was elected as president he would look at cutting bonuses in order to make VUWSA more cost-effective. He also expressed confusion as to the nature of bonuses, asking his then-presidential opponent Max Hardy for clarification.

“Apparently you have executive bonuses? Is that correct? Like, executive bonuses? Like, do you have executive bonuses? I’ve been told you have executive bonuses.”

James Sleep received no bonus for his work in the first trimester, despite applying for $325. There was some confusion surrounding Sleep’s application, as he submitted his work report late and said he “didn’t expect” to receive a bonus at last week’s exec meeting.

Bonuses are granted for meeting and exceeding performance objectives for the trimester. An upper limit of $200 for the 2010 half of trimester three and $650 for trimester one applies.

Caitlin Dunham, Craig Carey, and Zack Dorner all received their full entitlement. Kurt Sharpe, Acting Queer Officer, received $600 for his first trimester’s work, and a special acknowledgement for taking up the role at such short notice.

Exec Bonus Box
First figure: what they applied for. Second figure: what they received for the last half of the summer trimester and trimester one 2010

BONUS BOXOUT
Caitlin: $800 $200/600
Craig: $850 $200/650
Kurt: $550 N/A/600
Alan: $850 $125
Fraser: NA
Zack: $850 $200/650
James: $325 $0/0

Complaints about the hardships of student life have come to focus on the price of textbooks at Victoria University’s vicbooks.

A common problem for students is that Victoria University Book Centre Ltd (vicbooks) does not provide a ten per cent student discount on textbooks as many other university bookstores do.

“It’s so unfair that we don’t get textbooks subsidised just so vicbooks can make a profit,” says third-year Frances.“We’re the ones that are already borrowing to live.”

Vicbooks General Manager Juliet Blyth says that the student discount was stopped about 15 years ago, ultimately for customers’ benefit.

“It was decided it was unfair to reward only those students who used the bookshop when all students should be able to benefit from the proceeds of their student-owned bookshop,” Blyth says.

“The majority of the bookshop revenue comes from textbook sales, therefore so does the profit, and by discontinuing student discount, the donation the bookshop makes to students through the VUWSA Trust for the benefit of all students has increased through the years.”

Labelled as ‘100% student owned’, vicbooks is a charitable company owned by the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association Trust (VUWSA Trust). Vicbooks’ donations contribute to the funding of developments such as the Campus Hub, administering the Student Trust Scholarship and supporting Student Job Search.

Student bookstores at other New Zealand universities follow quite different procedures.

The Auckland University UBS (University Bookshop Ltd) and Otago’s University Book Shop are both 100 per cent student owned and also offer a ten per cent student discount on top of their funding contributions to the university itself.

The University Bookshop Canterbury Ltd also provides a ten per cent student discount.

Blyth says that vicbooks often considers introducing a student discount.

“It is discussed annually at Bookshop Board and VUWSA Trust level, however, to date, the status quo has been the preferred option for the company’s long-term viability.”

Some students argue that the lack of discount at vicbooks in comparison to other universities reflects poorly on Victoria University as a whole.

“It is just another example of the Victoria establishment failing students in general,” says third-year student Lachlan.

Blyth says that vicbooks is making prices as low as they can.

“Vicbooks does not mark up to mark down as some of our competitors do, which confuses the market. Vicbooks aims to provide their texts at the best price possible whilst operating within pricing guidelines which will allow them to make their budgeted annual donation to the VUWSA Trust.”

Although vicbooks does not provide a student discount, they do have a ‘low price guarantee’ that many students are unaware of. If a student finds a cheaper price on a new, non-sale, identical textbook item at any Wellington retailer within 30 days of purchase, vicbooks will match the price.

“We appreciate the financial outlay students have to make on their texts,” says Blyth, “and are always open to suggestions from student customers as to how we could better recognise that investment.”

Students still see a problem with prescribed textbooks that can only be found at vicbooks.

“Quite a few lecturers prescribe their own books and then half of the content isn’t even relevant, which seems pointless,” a third-year BSc student says.

“They play on our anxiety about not having the most up-to-date edition so we can’t even buy second-hand.”

Blyth argues that vicbooks has no power over lecturers’ use of the texts, they simply work to find the lowest price for ‘essential’ texts prescribed by the lecturers.

“Provided the lecturer consults the prescribed text extensively then that student has made a valuable purchase as it has helped them to pass their course.”

Still warm from John Key’s lips and put up for sale on TradeMe, a stolen coffee cup used by the Prime Minister has revealed an unfortunate truth about our nation’s leader—he just isn’t worth that much.

Weir House resident Jackson Freeman swiped the cup as a “chance for prosperity” after Key visited his hostel for an early morning student leadership meeting.

The incident was reported by several national news sources, and was even picked up by the Sydney Morning Herald.

While there were multiple witty puns posted on the auction page, such as “Is that political dribble in the bottom?”, there was a distinct lack of monetary interest. One bid of $5000 was retracted as a joke, and the auction closed on Tuesday with the successful bidder getting the cup for a steal at just $20.

However, Weir House is now demanding Freeman pay for the ‘stolen’ whiteware, apparently worth $23.95, including tax of $2.66. Freeman has re-listed the cup in an effort to raise enough to pay back the invoice, which he feels is overpriced for a standard hostel mug.

UPDATE ONE: Salient has been informed that the invoice Freeman received was intended as a joke. We are currently trying to track down Freeman for comment.

UPDATE TWO: Jackson Freeman has told Salient that Weir House Head of Hall Simon Roughton informed him the invoice was a joke while he was at the Weir House Ball on Saturday—after Salient went to print.

“Unfortunately for him, he’d assumed I knew it was a joke,” Freeman says.

Freeman says the invoice “seemed very serious”.

“I figure that was the point.”

University Hall will no longer cater to groups of domestic students from 2011 onwards, Head of Hall Joy Schofield confirmed late last month.

In a letter to residents, Schofield said that domestic students currently living in the hall would be unable to reapply, and that family accommodation would be limited.

Currently any students except school leavers are eligible to apply for Univerity Hall. As of next year places will be much more limited for domestic students.

When approached by Salient, Manager of Student Accommodation Nick Merrett clarified and explained the changes outlined by Schofield.

“University Hall will still be catering to a mix of international and domestic students in 2011.

“What is changing is that we won’t be providing flats for groups of domestic students as we believe this market is already well catered for.”

University Hall consists of 52 self-contained houses and flats located close to the Kelburn Campus.

Currently eight of these properties are ‘Kiwi Mates’ flats, in which a domestic student lives with a flat of international or exchange students to help them become integrated in New Zealand.

Domestic students will continue to be hired and offered University Hall accommodation through the Kiwi Mates programme. They will assist Residential Assistants and will have an increased role from 2011 onwards.

Merrett says that the success of the Kiwi Mates programme was the principal reason behind the change.

“This is an innovative approach to providing accommodation to a mix of domestic and international students that has received positive feedback from all involved. Domestic students who wish to be part of a Kiwi Mate flat receive cultural and financial advantages, and international students get a fuller New Zealand experience during their time at Victoria.”

This development comes just months after Victoria University decided to close course enrolments to domestic students for the remainder of 2010 due to insufficient government funding. International students are still allowed to enrol as their fees are not subsidised by the government.

University Hall residents spoken to by Salient say that the higher accommodation fees paid by international students already affect the level of services offered to residents. When one resident asked for a heat pump to be installed they were told that these were only available to the Kiwi Mates flats, whose residents paid higher fees.

Another resident said that University Hall has failed to provide their flat with a working heater, but bought a brand new bed following a request from an exchange student.

When asked by Salient, Merrett said the amenities provided in the Kiwi Mates flats weren’t that different.

“The services provided in the houses will be slightly different as they will be fully furnished with utilities and internet included.”

According to the Accomodation Service website, all University Hall flats provide basic furniture but internet is at the expense of the residents.

Accommodation Service Halls of Residence Wai-te-ata Apartments and Te Kotahinga already give priority to international students.

Students spoken to by Salient say they are concerned about how the changes to University Hall will affect the availability of student accommodation.

“It’s already hard enough to find a flat in Wellington. Especially now that St. George has closed, it’s weird that they’re doing this to University Hall.”

Merrett believes that domestic students won’t be disadvantaged by the changes.

“In total, Halls of Residences offer more than 1500 places for domestic first year and returning students.”

She says that a number of measures will be taken to help students who may be affected.

“However, the Accommodation Service will be providing additional support to affected students seeking accommodation in the private market, and we also have a number of new apartments that have recently been completed which target the student market.”

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce confirmed on Tuesday last week that tertiary education funding will be linked to universities’ performance.

As reported by Salient in July, Joyce suggested in his speech at Victoria University that changes to the tertiary education sector could include linking funding to employment outcomes and publishing performance information online.

Joyce has now confirmed that from 2012, five per cent of tertiary providers’ funding will based on their performance in the previous year.

Indicators for performance include course completion, qualification completion, progression to higher study and the number of students retained in study.

Joyce says that these changes will encourage universities to improve the performance of students.

“Initially, performance-linked funding is about targeting the outliers—those institutions that stand out as poor performers in certain areas.”

Tertiary Education Union National President Dr Tom Ryan says that the government needs to be careful when implementing a performance-based funding scheme. Ryan says that tertiary providers may be encouraged to exclude students who are less likely to achieve or put pressure on staff with tough academic standards.

“We believe funding needs to support the right type of performance—helping and supporting students to learn, rather than risk New Zealand losing good staff and potential new students.”

The performance indicators do not include employment outcomes, despite Joyce indicating earlier this year that he would like to see universities assessed on student life after study.

“Ultimately, I want to see funding linked to employment outcomes, not just internal benchmarks,” said Joyce at Victoria in July.

A number of tertiary providers, the Tertiary Education Union and student representatives opposed the idea of tying funding to employment outcomes when it was first suggested.
The Tertiary Education Commission will discuss the changes to funding with tertiary providers later this month.

But isn’t an Academic Idol finalist

Victoria University’s Sara Kindon walked away $20,000 and one prestigious award better off following last Wednesday’s Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards 2010.

Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Kindon was one of eleven winners at the event, awarded one of nine Sustained Excellence awards.

Held at parliament and hosted by Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce, the event celebrates tertiary educators for their commitment to teaching and students.

New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) Co-President Pene Delaney, a member of the awards panel, outlined the importance of the awards to tertiary education in New Zealand.

“Great teaching is vital to the student experience and the quality of education a student receives. It is wonderful to see teaching excellence continue to be recognised at a national level.”

This award marks Kindon’s award for second teaching excellence. In 2008 she was presented with Victoria University’s Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching.

Kindon has published 12 articles and books, supervised numerous postgraduate students and is well known for her innovative teaching practices.

Pat Walsh buys bananas

Victoria University might be one step closer to becoming a Fair Trade University with VUWSA President Max Hardy presenting Vice-Chancellor Pat Walsh with a fair trade information pack last week.

VUWSA has supported the Victoria International Development Society (VicIDS) fair trade proposal since September last year, when students voted for VUWSA’s advocacy on the issue at a Student Representative Council (SRC). The SRC was attended by over 150 students, and a number of clubs on campus collected signatures for a petition.

Hardy met with Walsh last Monday to outline the vote and provide him with the proposal.

VUWSA has invited Walsh to enjoy fairtrade coffee, chocolate and banana cake at the Student Union Building if he wants to discuss the issue further.

If the proposal is approved, Victoria will be New Zealand’s first Fair Trade Campus.

Walsh is currently considering the proposal, but Hardy could confirm Walsh was open to the idea of fair trade in general.

“Professor Walsh informed me that he did in fact buy some fair trade bananas at the supermarket in the weekend.”

Former Salient Editor and New Zealand Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer has been appointed to chair a United Nations (UN) enquiry into the Israeli attack on an aid flotilla earlier this year.

Palmer’s role was announced last week on the strength of recommendations from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The UN Human Rights Council will be investigating the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound flotilla aid that led to the death of nine unarmed civilians and the capture and deportation of one female New Zealand aid worker. The investigation’s aim will be to prevent future conflicts rather than determining who is to blame for the incident.

Palmer was New Zealand’s 33rd Prime Minister and held office for one year between 1989 and 1990.

Palmer studied political science and law at Victoria University in the early 1960s and was Salient’s editor in 1963 with Ian Grant and Robin Bromby.

Victoria Univerity’s first Science Club had their inaugural meeting late last month after the club’s Facebook group received a staggering response. The club was founded last semester by three second-year students.

President William Guzzo, Vice-President Michelle Cook and Treasurer Felix Barber first came up with the idea for the Science Club during a casual conversation.

Guzzo says they wanted a forum that would bring all science students together because the faculty appeared to be fragmented.

“Other faculties have their clubs and groups, like Law and Commerce, but we don’t have one that brings all science students together.”

Science-based clubs set up in the past include Chemistry and Physics clubs, and there is currently a Geology Society on campus.

The Science Club’s founders eventually want their club to be of the same calibre as VUWLSS and VicCom representative groups.

So far 91 people have joined the group on Facebook, with 26 people attending Friday night’s event.

At the meeting, postgraduate and first year representatives were elected. The club now has a full executive committee which plans to meet next week to plan future events.

A new and revealing account of the 19th Century Taranaki land wars has come to light at Victoria University.

The written account of Harriet Gore Browne, the wife of the governor at the time, wasn’t published until 100 years later. This account was the topic of Professor Charlotte Macdonald’s inaugural professorial lecture ‘The Skeleton in My Life: Harriet Gore Browne’s 19th Century Problem’, presented last Tuesday.

Macdonald explored what drove Browne to write this narrative and the circumstances surrounding her at the time. The lecture aimed to place Browne and her account in the context of the changing views in society during the 19th century.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh was extremely pleased with Macdonald’s work.

“Professor Macdonald’s research has contributed much to our understanding of New Zealand history, particularly of the women who emigrated here in the 19th century.”

The lecture was part of the university’s Inaugural Lecture series for new professors.

Students escaping their loan debt overseas may soon have to face the long arm of the law.

The National Government announced last month that it was looking for ways to collect student loan debts from New Zealanders living overseas.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce announced that officials were investigating ex-students living overseas.

“There are some big issues around how much we write off on student loans and one of the reasons is this long tail of borrowers who go overseas and don’t make their repayments.”

Prime Minister John Key announced recently that reclaiming debt from overseas borrowers was one of the ways to improve the student loan system.

National has recently indicated their intention to review the management of student loan debt. Late last month the government was questioned about its commitment to the interest-free student loan policy.

The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations Co-President David Do observed that National’s intention for an interest-free student loan policy seemed to be faltering.
“The government should focus on reducing the need for such debt in the first place.”

Several changes have already been made to student loans. This included requiring students to pass half their courses, a lifetime limit on borrowing and a two-year waiting period for Australians and new permanent residents.

Last year there were 82,337 overseas borrowers. In 2008, $54 million was owed by these borrowers, rising to $114 million in 2009. Those living abroad owe 20% of the national student loan debt.