student welfare

Making students pay for empty rooms shows a disdain for duty of care

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Final year law student Elliott Harris has been researching the new pastoral care code of practice, and in a piece he worked on with NZUSA’s Isabella Lenihan-Ikin, says universities are already attempting to push the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. The decision of several New Zealand universities to charge accommodation fees even though Covid-19 restrictions prevent … Read more

‘Fuck the 2020 election’: Critic editor on student mag’s party politics stance

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The first issue of the Otago student magazine for 2020 had barely hit campus before it was making headlines in the wider media. The cover was censored by Facebook, and a furious editorial denounced party politics, promising to give them a miss. Josie Adams speaks to editor Sinead Gill about a sparkling, sweary start to … Read more

The unnoticed death at a student hall was horrifying. But I wasn’t surprised

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I lived in the Canterbury halls where the student was found dead after his absence went unnoticed for many weeks. When I moved elsewhere for months, Sonoda never noticed I was gone, writes Max Towle for RNZ When I read about how the body of student Mason Pendrous lay undiscovered for weeks at the Canterbury … Read more

Health Sci dropout: What happens when would-be doctors change their minds

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Each year, thousands of students embark on a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree, the first step in any number of challenging healthcare careers including dentistry, pharmacy and medicine. But what happens when you realise Health Sci isn’t for you? This story was first published in the Otago University student magazine Critic Te Arohi. It was … Read more

Victoria Uni is thinking about killing study week, and students are not happy

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The gap between lectures and exams is often a crucial time for students to regroup and prepare for the oncoming exam storm. So it’s understandable that a proposal by Victoria University of Wellington to remove it is causing a stir. Faced with a condensed exam period and shorter break for students, Victoria University administrators have … Read more

Forget cancelling student fees. Let’s focus instead on fixing student welfare

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With three out of the five parties in parliament keen on some form of free tertiary education, reform seems inevitable. That might be great news for graduates, writes Jack Close, but for students it’s a raw deal. In June of this year I finished university with a student loan with way too many numbers at … Read more

So it’s unanimous: all parties want to act for students, and the minister must respond

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The National Party has voted: something needs to be done to improve students’ welfare. A new consensus has been formed, which may change the lives of struggling students across New Zealand, writes Jack Close Three months ago, I launched a lobby group named the Aotearoa Students’ Alliance to advocate for change to student welfare law. … Read more

The student living costs loan is no match for sky-high rents. It needs to be raised, now

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The living costs loan is designed to keep students housed and fed, but in our biggest cities it rarely even covers rent. That’s where a new lobby group for legislative reform to improve students’ welfare comes in, says Jack Close, the group’s founder. Living costs are a student loan administered by StudyLink to cover “day … Read more