What to look forward to

Course cuts and anchoring colleges leaves students and staff in the dark

Sammy Carter (she/her)

Massey refuses to say if staff will lose their jobs as new policies come to cut courses and anchor each subject to just one physical campus.

The university was consulting on the new Digital Plus policy which aims to anchor colleges to one physical campus with online study, unless it could be justified financially.

The No and Low Enrolment policy was being updated along with this, to make it easier and quicker for the university to shut down courses, qualifications, and specialisations.

Tertiary Education Union (TEU) Massey organiser Ben Schmidt said the university refused to say how many courses or jobs might be cut.

Neither did the policies specify if current students will have to move to a different campus if they wish to continue in-person study.

Nowhere in the policy did it state if staff will be made redundant or be relocated if these policies go ahead.

The draft policy procedures stated that an undergraduate qualification with less than 50 full time students per year would be considered low enrolment and be put on the chopping block with no consultation from staff or students.

For undergraduate courses, low was deemed to be less than 7.5 full-time students per offering for 100-level, less than 5 full-time students per offering for 200-level and less than 2.5 full-time students per offering for 300-level.

For a standalone Postgraduate Diploma or a standalone Master’s degree, low was deemed to be less than 15 full-time students per year.

The policy stated that a subgroup of the

Senior Leadership Team will make final decisions, students and staff were not included.

Schmidt said, “The staff who teach these programs, the students who learn in them, have to be a part of the decision making.”

“That is not the way to go, nor has the employer provided any clear or transparent information about what exactly the consequences would be of implementing this policy.”

With course cuts and anchoring colleges, Schmidt was deeply concerned that job cuts will increase.

He said staff were primarily told about the policies through the union, not by the university.

“Our members are still seeking clarity about what the consequences could be, that is not acceptable.”

He said staff were “unequivocally opposed to the proposed Digital Plus policy”. Staff from the humanities, social sciences, and sciences had contacted the union and were fearful their disciplines would not reach the required enrolment targets. The policies aim to save money; however, the Government announced an extra $128m funding boost for universities in June.

A Massey University spokesperson said, “It is normal for us at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University to review our polices.”

They said the university had consulted with staff on both policies and will consider feedback before they are finalised.

“As the university continues to work towards a more financially sustainable future, we need to identify improvements so that we work more efficiently”.

The spokesperson said that Massey must continue to find ways to use taxpayer money wisely to ensure a sustainable future in our core areas of teaching, learning, and research.

To ensure the university has a sustainable future, the spokesperson said Massey focused on examining the university’s academic profile to reduce the proportion of courses, specialisations, and programmes with low enrolment numbers. Massey attempted to pass the Digital Plus policy in 2020 but was met with backlash.

Te Tira Ahu Pae Māori president Ramairoa Tawera had concerns around the wording used in the No and Low Enrolment policy to cancel Māori-related courses.

The policy states, “In the context of our Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitments, programmes of significance for Māori will be carefully considered regarding the application of both this policy and the accompanying procedures.”

Tawera was concerned that it did not define what a course of significance to Māori was. The policy also stated that the relevant college can “consider and set out criteria” to improve enrolment, but it did not say how colleges can actively seek out students.

“It just seemed very vague,” said Tawera, “from Massey’s end it looks like they’re just saving.”

He felt the enrolment requirements were unfair for cultural classes as the population of Māori is smaller.

“Seven students might sound like very little for a course but for the Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts, that’s a whole year group.”

Te Tira Ahu Pae Pasifika president Aniva Feau agreed with Tawera, saying Māorirelated papers need a different system. She said there would never be a good time to phase into anchoring colleges.

“No matter when they make the change, there’s still gonna be people halfway through their degrees that are gonna have to up and leave and move around.”

“I can see how Massey would benefit from it, but it’s hard to see how current students are gonna benefit.”

She said cutting papers with solely a policy and no consultation with students could get messy.

She saw the value in many of Massey’s papers, “Aotearoa’s is the only place you can study Māori Agriculture… these papers with a twist that are really important”.

‘He

Kicked

All Blacks captain kicks teenage pitch invader

Brett Kerr Laurie (he/him)

After beating Argentina 41‒12 in the Rugby Championship, All Blacks captain Sam Cane turned away from his team huddle to kick a boy running past, sending his shoe flying and face into the dirt.

Many in the rugby community have backed Cane kicking the boy, contrasting the response to a young pitch invader years ago who received a medal.

Charlie Line, at 14 years old, was gifted Sonny Bill Williams’ Rugby World Cup Winner’s Medal by the athlete, after the boy was tackled by field security 2015.

Williams was later awarded the 2015 Panathlon International Fair Play Award for aiding the pitch invader.

But in 2023, sports commentator Scotty Stevenson on TVNZ’s Breakfast said, “the kid got what he deserved, stop running on the field,” to a round of applause from others in the room.

He added, “kids are like rubber, they take a lot of punishment”, and “I reckon he should’ve kicked him harder.”

The 2015 invader received a lot more sympathy, with many calling security’s treatment harsh on social media and commending Williams’ “wonderfully spontaneous gesture”.

“Why did security tackle him bloody rookies”, one commented on a 1News Facebook post.

Others commented he was “aggressively tackled” and the “guard went too far”. Sam Cane apologised on Instagram for his actions, “I am really sorry and am disappointed in myself”, and later said he video-called the teen on good terms.

Massive followers were torn over Cane’s actions, with a poll showing 44% of people thought Cane wasn’t justified.

Dr Trish Bradbury, programme director of Massey’s Bachelor of Sport Management, said, “it’s not something he should’ve done”, but acknowledged Cane couldn’t know the invaders age.

“It puts a shadow over the quality of the game, the excitement of winning,” Bradbury said.

“Here they are in a huddle, they’re pretty pleased with what they’ve just achieved, and then this happens - and that detracts from the sport itself.”

From the 2015 incident till now, the difference in perceptions of these two young pitch-invaders makes little sense. One teen was rewarded and supported for invading the pitch, the other was kicked and verbally harassed by adults.

Richard Casutt, General Manager of Harbour Sport and lecturer at Massey University, said he didn’t condone Cane’s actions.

“The actual action of physical violence, kicking someone… is just not something you want to see in general by anyone, regardless of who it is or where it is.”

“The only way it would be possible, that it was maybe plausible, is if the person was attacking one of the players”.

Casutt acknowledged some pitch invaders have lethal intentions, such as one crowd member in 1993 who stabbed professional tennis player Monica Seles with a boning knife.

He said had someone intervened like Cane did, this stabbing could have been avoided. Former All Black and commentator, Jeff Williams, on Sky’s Breakdown said, “I would’ve liked him [Cane] to make one more tackle after the game, make a decent clean tackle.”

Similarly, former All Black Israel Dagg tweeted, “I would have done the same tbh ... maybe a lazy no arm shoulder!!”.

Zed Woodman, captain of Wellington’s Marist St Pats U85kg team, said Cane was in the wrong.

“In front of an Argentinian crowd, after demolishing them comprehensibly with points... kicking over this Argentinian boy right in front of everyone? I thought that was shocking.”

“Sam Cane, considering he’s our captain, he represents us and everything New Zealand is.”

Massive followers were torn over if Cane was justified in his actions

Shakespeare is Dead, Decolonised Theatre is Alive: Sheilah Winn Festival

Opinion

Cameron McCausland-Taylor

In 2022, the theatre industry went ballistic over Creative New Zealand’s decision to decline funding for the Aotearoa secondary school Shakespeare Festival, commonly known as Sheilah Winn.

A Radio New Zealand article The Sheilah Winn saga: Much ado about funding, shared how one assessor of the application made them “question whether a singular focus on an Elizabethan playwright is most relevant for a decolonising Aotearoa in the 2020s and beyond”.

In my opinion, this is a fair enough question to pose, and prompted similar questions from others— why can’t our indigenous stories take the spotlight for once?

Of course, people decided to take the festival’s declined funding as an opportunity to jab at Māori and other minorities.

In an open letter, Terry Sheet said Creative New Zealand was over-emphasising “intrinsically New Zealand” art forms over others, that they were showing systemic bias against “non-Māori and Pākeha organisations”, and said they were an “artistic Taliban”.

Oh, Terry, your white privilege is absolutely stinking up the room. Creative New Zealand also received an onslaught of hate mail and comments that they were imposing “reverse racism”.

An article with the Guardian wrote how Dawn Sanders, CEO of the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand, affirmed that a huge number of students within the festival were Māori, Pasifika, or belonged to other ethnic minorities, and many of these students adapted Shakespeare to their own culture.

But Dawn, darling, it’s still a Pākeha-led festival. We don’t see a Māori-led festival of this capacity, do we? And if a Māoriled festival showcasing Māori stories was declined funding, you best believe it wouldn’t receive the same kind of uproar or attention.

The festival is still happening, because of course it is— it’s Pākeha-led!

Performer Jordan Hōrana Henare (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei) even points out how a lot of barriers for Māori theatre is that we are “essentially an impoverished demographic”.

We do not start off on the same level as these Pākeha organisations financially, yet they still love to claim reverse racism, artistic Taliban, and systemic bias. Systemic bias against Pākeha? You have GOT to be kidding me. Pick up any book about colonisation in Aotearoa, please, for the love of God.

Also, has anyone told these people going insane over Shakespeare that reverse racism isn’t real, or do they just enjoy being delusional?

Our people are CRYING out for more representation within Aotearoa’s theatre spaces.

In a Te Waha Nui article, Māori creatives call for better representation in theatre, Mark Wilson (Ngāti Tūwharetoa), playwright and co-producer of the show .co.nz, said “I’m tired of seeing the same old stuff in NZ theatres – unfortunately, some of that stuff gets bums on seats. You do your Shakespeare, your Agatha Christie, because ‘that’s theatre’… It’d be nice to see the local theatre down the road put on Purapurawhetu or The Pohutukawa Tree.” I absolutely tautoko our Māori students, and other non-Pākeha students, making Shakespeare their own and giving it their own cultural touch.

I also agree with Dawn that there are many universal themes to explore, such as the human psyche and misogyny. However, tāngata whenua and our pūrakau aren’t being heard in anywhere NEAR the same capacity as these stories from the land of the coloniser.

The fact that I heard more about Shakespeare in high school than Hone Kouka or Briar-Grace Smith is a tragedy, and I can’t turn back time to remedy it. But, moving forward, we have the chance to decolonise the theatre space for our rangatahi, both Māori and tauiwi.

If the Shakespeare festival can exist in such a huge capacity, there’s absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t receive the same support in showcasing our pūrakau.

Glossary:

Tautoko - support

Tāngata whenua - people of the land

Pūrakau - stories

Rangatahi - teenagers/young adults

Tauiwi - people who are not Māori

New series helps Massey film students find their feet in a toxic industry

Sammy Carter (she/her)

“We wanna be seen as equals on set and off set,” says Elizabeth Hodgson, Massey graduate and executive producer of Snap Shot Shorts.

New short film series, Snap Shot Shorts, is helping Massey film students jumpstart their career in what can be a toxic industry.

Last year’s Wellington student association co-president Hodgson said higher-ups in the film industry are often so experienced that they are desensitized to the positive culture young people are trying to bring into the industry.

“We’re mates now, we’re working together. I may have this fancy production title but in reality, I’m here just to learn as much as you are.”

The idea of Snap Shot Shorts was to release a short film each month which promotes a different crew, genre, and story.

“We’re tryna cover as many genres and show what we’re capable of rather than streamlining one genre or one approach.”

“And you’ll have something different to look forward to every month.”

Hodgson’s production company, Little Lizards Productions, along with Sailboat Films, wanted to create a safe and fun environment for all film makers.

Hodgson naturally wanted Massey students to be involved in the series, “How could I not share this experience with my fellow peers?”

The series had grown a community of over 100 film makers, with a large variety of people from different parts of the industry.

Massey University had also supported the series by lending gear to the crew.

Hodgson worked another job on top of the series, “This is my passion project, I dedicate all my free time to it.”

The series was volunteer-based, with any monetization going back into making more films.

AJ Johnston, 3rd year Massey Screen Arts student, said he found it hard to “find my footing” in the film industry, until Snap Shot Shorts. He said working in the film industry was about finding a balance of collaborating as equals, but also being aware of what your role is and what you have to bring.

“Pretentious people are a toxic thing in film.”

While filming their latest film, Date Crash, Johnston got to be lead lighting for the first time.

He said while he was nervous, it was a great experience, “Each time you do something you get better at it.”

He felt more confident going into creating his third-year film this semester.

“I’ve got to work with a bunch of amazing people.”

3rd year Massey Screen Arts student Anika Stonnell felt she was becoming part of a community which she could go to for help with other projects.

She said making a short film in just a day or two helped her learn quickly, “You’re thrown a lot of challenges and you figure out how to adapt to them quickly.”

She appreciated having other Massey students on the set who she’ll get to work with again in class. You can find Snap Shot Shorts’ released films, One September in the Windy City and Date Crash, and future films on Sailboat Films’ YouTube channel (youtube.com/ SailboatFilmsNZ).

Their next film, Why I Stopped Babysitting, will be out this August.