VUWSA TE AKA TAUIRA VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

We’re VUWSA – the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association –funded partly by the Student Services Levy you pay every year, and we’re here to make your time at uni a bit easier. Our ten student representatives govern what we do and make sure the student voice is heard across all levels of the uni.

Through the year VUWSA runs events, political campaigns, welfare initiatives and drives to make student life better, more affordable and more fun at uni and around Wellington City.

In 2022 we advocated for social change, running several campaigns around providing universal access to lecture recordings, free public transport fares, and creating a debt-free future; as well as supporting voters in the local elections with a series of on-campus political debates.

During Stress-Free Study Week we gave students breakfast, events and donuts in the lead-up to exams. Despite COVID-19 trying to put a dampener on things, we ran a successful Mental Health Awareness Week, Arts Week, Sustainability Week, and 2.0 Week.

We’re in charge of gigs and other fun events during O-Week, food trucks on Kelburn campus, giving out free menstrual products or community pantry food when you’re a bit low on cash, and supplying free confidential support when you need some extra help.

This Orientation Guide is your one-stop shop for all things uni. From info on services to great student deals, this book will set you up on the right path heading into Trimester One.

For updates on all the cool and important things happening on campus follow us on our socials and check out our website for all the services we provide!

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.

Wellington is a great place to be a student. The capital city offers so many opportunities to connect with the leaders, creators, and thinkers who live here. We enjoy strong links to government, business, iwi, the judiciary, and environmental and cultural institutions, and our students have easy access to everything the city has to offer. You, our students, help make this city the vibrant, creative, and unique place it is.

We want you to have a great experience during your studies here and are committed to ensuring you learn and live in a safe and inclusive environment. This is a place where you can expand your knowledge and gain the personal attributes and skills you will need to succeed in all areas of life.

I encourage you to get involved in the University community by taking part in the many activities we have available. We have over 140 clubs on campus and close to 10,000 students are involved in them, with many students joining more than one club. We also provide internships, volunteering, and programmes that help with personal development and leadership. These activities are a great way to meet new people and find your community.

Being part of the University community also gives you the opportunity to take action on the issues that matter to you. Our students and staff often partner to achieve societal change in areas such as climate change, social cohesion and equity. This activism from our community reflects our values as a university.

The University works hard to make sure you are well-mentored and supported so you can take advantage of everything that the University and Wellington have to offer. If you need some advice or run into a problem—academic, financial, social, personal—there is always someone who can help.

All the best for your studies in 2023 and welcome to the Wellington student community.

Professor Nic Smith Vice-Chancellor

Nau mai e ngā tauira hou ki Te Herenga Waka, ki Te Whanganui a Tara hoki!

I’m Tamatha Paul, your City Councillor representing you at the Wellington City Council. I was elected straight out of Vic Uni in 2019 and have been working hard to represent young people, students, women and Māori since then.

If you’re not from Pōneke, you’ll soon find out that this City is highly political and not just in a “make sure you vote in this year’s general election way”. All around the world and throughout history, tertiary students have been at the forefront of change to make communities fairer, more just places to live. Student movements have resisted fascism, fought for workers and unions, stood up for the climate and stood against violence on and off campus.

Even if you just look at Vic, in the last few years students have:

Led a major rally holding up Courtenay Place to stand with survivors of sexual violence calling for real action from those in power. This resulted in the Pōneke Promise, a major collaborative project to transform town, and the people in it, to be safer for everyone.

Fought hard for the half priced public transport fares we currently enjoy and successfully achieved the permanent 25% discount for tertiary students in Wellington.

Led a march to Parliament in 2019 demanding better resourcing of mental health support services resulting in Piki, the mental health programme and support service that is free for every 18-25 year old in the Wellington region.

These wins have saved lives both now and in the future. Our conditions didn’t magically improve by sitting around and accepting the status quo. We organised, we got active, and we understood that as a collective, we can wield power. We can plant the seeds for the next generation to be shaded under.

So this year, I encourage you to get active in the General Election. It’s not just about ticking a colour. It’s about holding the Government to account over what they said they’d do and who they claim to represent. It’s about challenging narratives that arise every three years. You know - gangs gangs gangs, soft on crime, immigration. Fuck that populist bullshit.

Join a club on Campus, volunteer with VUWSA (that’s what sparked my love for community organising), hit up your local city councillor or your local MP and work with them to address a problem you see coming up all the time. Get passionate. Get involved. There will never be a time as easy and as meaningful as now to get involved and to have impact for the people you love and the things you cherish.

See you soon,

Tamatha Paul

Kia ora, 你好 and a big welcome to this next stage of your life! I’m Jess and I’m the President of VUWSA - Te Aka Tauira, your students’ association.

The main thing we do is advocate for the student community and the issues we care about. We exist to help YOU. Whether it’s campaigning for lecture recording access or free tertiary education, free public transport or sexual harm prevention, VUWSA is always repping the student community.

The Uni, local council and central government are powerful decision makers who can either improve students’ everyday lives or fuck shit up. And too often, these decision makers aren’t predisposed to caring about student needs. We work to ensure students have a seat at the table, our needs and lived experiences are heard, and that decision makers are held accountable to their decisions.

We have your back, but we also need you to have our back. Decisions are a matter of political willpower and we need the collective strength of our 22,000 student community to ensure decision makers make the bold calls. In fact, the tikanga of VUWSA’s Te Reo name ‘Te Aka Tauira’ speaks to this - as the strong vine that binds all students and the different aspects of student life here at Vic, we are united through community and our collective needs. So please, engage with us and show up for your student representative groups!

You can also get in touch with us if you’re dealing with any issues related to the Uni, tenancy, employment or finances. We’ve got a lovely advocacy team who always stock fruit bursts for you to snack on and most importantly, they’re in your corner.

The other key thing we do is host fun events and give you free shit! We bring to you the O-Week night gigs, and great weeks like Sex Week, Sustainability Week and more. For the free stuff, come visit us in the Student Union Building, Kelburn Campus and pick up a COVID-19 medical pack, some kai from our community pantry, menstrual products or inter-campus bus passes for free. You can also get cheap council rubbish bags, campus parking or hire a locker with us too.

I hope you have a spectacular year :) You should definitely reach out to that cool person who sits near you in the library (who knows, maybe they’ve been wanting to get to know you too) or turn up to office hours if something your lecturer said lit a light bulb. Don’t be too shy to join the club that you like the look of! And this one’s really important, make sure to enrol and exercise your vote during the General Election at the end of this year!

Jess Ye President

Are you all set for VUWSA’s week-long party? Here’s a prep-list to make sure you are all set to have the best start to 2023!

Tickets

Make sure you have your tickets ready on your phone (or printed out) to make getting into the gig a breeze. Keep an eye on our socials and website for more details on where to get your wristbands and when!

Haven't scored yourself a ticket for the O-Week action yet? Head to tickets.vuwsa.org.nz to see whether there are any tickets left!

Photo Id

Even if you are under 18, or not planning to buy any drinks, we are still going to need some photo ID on you – that means a NZ Driver’s License, Kiwi Access 18+ card, or passport. It must also be current (aka not-expired) and original (no photocopies or photos on your phone) – make sure you have it before you trek up the hill!

Proof Of Study

If you have a student ticket (either a COMBO PASS or TOGA PARTY ticket), or you are under 18 years of age, you will need to prove that you are a VUW student at the door. You can do this with either your Student ID card (these are available to collect from enrolments during the day), or by showing us a copy of your Confirmation of Study.

Phone Battery On Full

Charge your phone while you get ready for the night. Having a dead phone while you try to video or order an uber is a stitch up!

KEYS & WALLET

No one wants to come home after a night out only to find they’ve locked themselves out! Grab your keys and bring your wallet to make sure you’ve got your ID and money to buy some snacks or a taxi home.

Leave Your Vape At Home

It’s not worth getting kicked out of the venue for smoking or vaping on site, just leave it at home to remove the temptation.

Covid

If you're not well, don’t rock up. O-Weeks come and go, but bringing sickness into the mix is a pretty shit way to start your uni life. Look after yourself, look after your mates, and get the vax if you haven’t already!