October 1, 2010 12:00pm by David Farrar

Why universities are against VSM

Lincoln University says student associations are vital to campus life and it is condemning an ACT bill to make their membership voluntary. …

Lincoln University and its student association issued a joint statement today, condemning the bill.

This is no surprise, and we will see a number of universities come out and insist that compulsory membership must remain.

Why?

Well, simply because it makes life so much easier for the university. Rather than actually having to ever consult students on various issues, they can just talk to one person – the president of the compulsory student association, and claim that the studeny body has been consulted.

Vice-Chancellors view with horror the prospect of actually having to genuinely consult with students directly.

Association president Ivy Harper said it was shocking the MPs ignored the overwhelming number of submissions against the bill – nearly 5000 when less than 100 were in support.

This myth keeps getting repeated. Around 4,700 submissions were just names on a firm letter/petition. They were collected by staff and executive of compulsory associations. There were only around 300 genuine submissions. And polls in the past have shown that the majority of students do want voluntary membership. This will be extremely popular with the majority of students. It is only the privileged minority who are squealing with horror.