Serious Chat: Job Cuts are a Student Issue
Fun fact: most students don’t come to university just for the fancy piece of paper. We come here to learn, grow, engage in conversation, meet people, form new ideas, begin our careers, and do what we are passionate about.
To us, university isn’t about earning money. Considering the debt we put ourselves in to just to study, it’d be pretty delusional if it was. The same can’t be said for the Vice-Chancellor and Senior Leadership Team. For them, this university isn’t about elevating the new generations, it’s about capital. For them, this isn’t about celebrating education and knowledge, it’s a business.
There’s no denying the university is in a dire financial state. I mean, there’s a gaping $33 million hole to fill. The decisions of past Vice-Chancellors and senior staff have left the university in a fraught position. Who bears the brunt of their bad decisions? Students, and the staff who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to keep the university alive.
The solution to achieving ‘financial sustainability’, as the Vice-Chancellor puts it, is cutting jobs from departments that aren’t earning their keep. 275 jobs from departments such as Secondary Teaching and Education, Geography, Tourism, Music, Design, and so many languages. This is just a slice of the full list, but while these jobs might fill the financial hole, the impact of losing staff throughout this university can’t be measured in dollars. We lose their experience, knowledge, passion, research, connection, mentorship, and friendship.
It’s the ‘Academic’ issue, so if there was ever a time to talk about the job cuts, it’s now. The day before this issue went to print, the revised document for job cuts dropped, and with this came the news that 74 staff have taken voluntary redundancy. As students of this university, we can’t ignore the changes happening around us because they impact the future of tertiary education. These cuts take away opportunities for future students, and that’s a cause worth fighting for.
While academic and professional staff absorb the news of voluntary redundancies throughout departments, we thought it’d be worth a look at the salaries of those in senior leadership who make the decisions determining this education robbery. The Vice-Chancellor of this university, Nic Smith, we thought you might like to know, makes more than our Prime Minister. We couldn’t get a confirmed number out of the university, but we do know that it’s between $530,820-$648,780—a hell of a lot more than Chippy’s $471,000.
The vast majority of staff at this university make less than $100,000 a year. Some of us make a fuck tonne less than that for working countless hours of overtime that will never be accounted for. Whilst cutting down VC Niccy’s pay wouldn’t get us back up to $33m, it’s obvious who will be shouldering the impact of these changes. If you’re still confused, I’ll let you in on a secret babes: it’s not him.
This issue is all about what it means to study at university in this day and age. Kiran asks if we’ve still got any brain cells left after Covid-19, and Phoebe argues that the horny fan fiction you read until 3 a.m. when you were 13 years old is a legitimate art form. Jia investigates the infamous Socratic method and asks whether it’s crucial for law education or if it’s just a ploy to embarrass students. Aimee tests out a uni students’ new best friend, ChatGPT, to see whether it can help her write an article on academic burnout. Hēmi challenges learners and teachers alike to rethink the messages they send in the way they teach whakaaro Māori.
In the News section, our reporters attend a funeral for tertiary education, support the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and watch politicians argue against students. Maia takes a focused look at the impact of cuts on Theatre. Zoë is shocked at how much Law Ball tickets cost this year, and alongside Ethan, they unpack the National Party’s policy for Let’s Get Wellington Moving. Finally, VUWSA President Jess Ye is here to yarn about why we can’t continue internalising student poverty.
All we can say is: let’s keep fighting for education, and thank fuck we’ve already graduated (sorry lol). RIP future academics.
Also, to our homie VC Nic: glad to know you aren’t waiting for the “dust to settle” any longer.
Arohanui,
Fran and Maia xx