Chaff staff resigns

The staff of Chaff, the Massey University student newspaper, has resigned. The resignations follow a decision by the Massey Executive to ask the staff to continue to produce Chaff until replacements could be found.

The resignations have their origin in a Publications Committee dispute earlier in the year which involved the University Alpine Club. The Alpine Club had applied for an Association grant to assist in the publication of its magazine Massif.

By the terms of the NUSA Constitution, this meant that the magazine was placed under the supervision of the Publications Committee. The Alpine Club then disputed the right of the Publications Committee to appoint the official Publications Advertising Manager as advertising Manager for Massif. The Massey Executive, however, upheld the Publications Committee decision.

Two members of the Alpine Club then moved a constitutional amendment at an SGM which provided that clubs publishing jointly financed publications (that is, publications supervised by the Publications Committee) could decide what fee, if any, to pay the Advertising Manager. The motion was passed without opposition from the Executive.

The Chaff Editors dissociated themselves from the Publications Committee on the grounds that the Committee could not function if its power were to be derogated and because the Executive had failed to support the committee at the SGM Two further issues of Chaff were produced while members of the Chaff staff refused to attend Publications Board meetings.

When the staff asked for their Editors' fees for the two issues they had then produced, they were told that the two issues had been produced illegally since the MUSA Constitution requires the Editor or Editors of Chaff to be on the Publications Committee. After some dispute payment was made as requested.

At an Executive meeting on 24 July, the matter was further discussed. The Executive decided to place Chaff under the interim jurisdiction of the Liaison Council (a sub-council of the Executive) and to call for applicants to replace the present staff. The present staff were asked to continue to edit Chaff until replacements were found.

The Editors, however, unanimously decided to deliver an ultimatum to the Executive. The terms of the ultimatum were that the staff would resign immediately if the Executive did not move a motion to rescind the contentious SGM motion or did not, by constitutional amendment, dissociate Chaff from the Publications Committee placing it, for the rest of the year, under the permanent jurisdiction of the Liaison Council.

At a meeting on 30 July, the Executive decided not to give the assurance demanded by the Editors. They have since resigned.