As tertiary institutions round the halfway mark of semester two, The Spinoff spoke to students and their universities about how they’re adapting to the changes wrought by the pandemic. With New Zealand’s alert levels confirmed to be shifting down this week, we’re edging closer to something approaching normality. But what does it mean for university … Read more
As universities around the world slash jobs and courses in response to the pandemic, Victoria University of Wellington is signalling its intention to introduce sweeping austerity measures, a group of concerned tutors write. A response from Victoria University of Wellington is at the end of this column. So far, 2020 has been a year of … Read more
The technology industry has been singled out for its significant growth potential in post-Covid New Zealand. Now, as the country returns to relative normalcy, we speak to students working towards careers in the sector. When the government made the decision to move the country into level four lockdown, every aspect of our collective lives was … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Spotlight on the Pacific and Covid-19, health minister in yet another spot of bother, and schools reopening to very limited numbers. For a lead today, I thought it would be useful to check in on our nation’s neighbours in the Pacific, and how they are … Read more
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
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: What it means now that we’re at level three, contact tracing app on the way, and Vic students in halls protest resumption of fees. Well, we made it. The first – and hopefully only – stint of level four restrictions has come to an end, and … Read more
The loss of Antarctic ice sheets will likely cause a sea-level rise of 20 metres in coming centuries, a Victoria University-led study says. The earth is heating up and the planet has been here before. A new study into the mid-Pliocene’s climate reveals how today’s polar ice sheets may respond to climate rises expected this … Read more
Antibiotics are becoming increasingly less effective, so what treatments can we look to when the drugs stop working? With help from plant extracts, award-winning company HerbScience is seeking to breathe new life into how we treat bacterial infections. When Cynthia Hunefeld was just 10 years old, her father was hospitalised with a severe bacterial infection. … Read more
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
On the 6th of May, the Victoria University of Wellington council will meet to discuss a proposed name change – again. National MP Nicola Willis thinks the whole thing is absurd. Of all the issues I thought I’d be debating as a new MP, the name of my former university was not one. I graduated … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Serious fallout from inquiry into government agency use of spy firm, changes announced to migrant worker system, and new developments in Karel Sroubek saga. An inquiry has confirmed that ordinary New Zealanders were spied on by a security firm, on behalf of the government. The inquiry … Read more
Kate Aschoff began university with high hopes for her future. A year later she had dropped out, unable to cope with the stresses of university study while navigating her mental illness. I started studying at Victoria University of Wellington in March 2017. I was planning to complete a BA majoring in Sociology with a minor … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Stories show complex costs of climate action, Simon Bridges attacks Housing NZ evictees, and Auckland wharfies are raising safety concerns. A range of stories have come out in the past few days and weeks that illustrate how complex the economic costs of fighting climate change … Read more
The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of objects that surround us in everyday life. In the third piece in the series Emma Ng examines the once lost Chinese typeface used to print the New Zealand Chinese Growers’ Monthly Journal. Consider the kiwifruit. The sweet and fuzzy berry has … Read more
Victoria University has this week been shown to award significantly more C and D grades to its law students than the Universities of Auckland and Otago. But does it matter? C’s get degrees, never more so than at the law faculty of Victoria University of Wellington. Oscar Battell-Wallace is in his final year of a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Glut of good news for sheep farmers, a new poll comes out, and education minister hammers teacher pay aspirations. It’s a good time to own a flock of sheep. NZ lamb prices have hit a record high, reports the NZ Herald. It’s not expected that they’ll go … Read more
To grasp why the push to change has caused such a fuss, and to appreciate why it’s so muddle-minded, we need to consider how the university got its name, and what names mean to the university community, writes André Brett Universities are funny things. They have evolved from rarefied campuses of privileged elites into mass educators, … Read more
Last week, a United Nations committee noted concerns about the lack of constitutional protection in New Zealand for some types of human rights, including rights of Māori. Treaty and constitutional law lecturer Carwyn Jones recommends the government revisit the relevant documents. Concerns were expressed last week by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural … Read more
Buildings in Wellington that once housed almost 150 people have lain empty for five years, even as an intensifying housing crisis has rendered 40,000 Kiwis homeless – including hundreds of Wellingtonians. How did it happen? Marc Daalder explains. In 1959, as construction of The Terrace Flats in Wellington neared completion, the building’s architect died. His … Read more
Among the 500 delegates who have descended on the AMN8 conference in Queenstown from around the world are two New Zealand students who have taken their studies abroad. In his third blog post from AMN8, the advanced materials and nanotechnology conference hosted by The MacDiarmid Institute, Charles Anderson talks to them. Rebecca Sutton and Jesse … Read more
An essay by Paula Morris on the bad vibes and bitching which immediately greeted her launch last week of the Academy of New Zealand Literature. Last week a lot of people squashed into the Gus Fisher Gallery on Shortland Street in Auckland to hear about the launch of the Academy of New Zealand Literature. Many … Read more
Student magazines like Massey University’s MASSIVE have lurched from scandal to scandal lately. Why do they keep doing terrible things? A former student paper feature writer explains. A cover by Massey University’s MASSIVE recently joined the ever-expanding mushroom cloud of student magazine controversy. It featured a drawing of an almost-naked young student crouched over, wincing at her hair … Read more
Victoria University Chancellor Sir Neville Jordan is in a fight with Salient magazine over a “disgusting” 96-word satirical article about him, but is his anger evidence of a deeper issue? Sir Neville Jordan’s life story is inspiring. He started his working life at age 13 as a child labourer at a freezing works, and went on … Read more