Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 9. April 24 1978

NZUSA Bureaucracy Criticized

NZUSA Bureaucracy Criticized

Dear Butoh,

Allow us to express frustration, anger and disgust at the recent victimisation of James Movick, NZUSA student leader, by the immigration authorities of New Zealand.

His case is unique in that he was caught in a vortex allowed to exist by the institutionalized, bureaucratic and colonial attitudes of both the immigration authorities and NZUSA. Movick's case has set a precedent in overseas student participation in local student politics, normally the stronghold of liberal pakehas. The fact that both NZUSA and the immigration authorities did not envisage a situation where an overseas student would be holding a full-time paid position in the NZUSA executive bespeaks of ignoance and a lack of foresight springing from such attitudes.

This situation must be rectified immediately if the hassle that Movick had to experience is at least marginally worth it. The position of overseas student participation in student politics must be made clear by the immigration department and NZUSA which purports to have always represented the rights of overseas students must of necessity get off its bureaucratic arse and demand that we would accept nothing short of equal rights with local students.

We pay the same amount of tuition fees but get nothing substantial in return. Many of us have to even put up with the crappy cafeteria food which even the locals complain about. And when we support the election of an overseas student at the national executive, he gets thrown out. Therefore to NZUSA we say "No taxation without representation".

Movick's case has also been a lesson for overseas students, for it is only through our own participation in student affairs that we find out where exactly we stand vis a vis a whole gamut of institutionalized mentalities, ie NZUSA, Immigration Department etc. Unless, we voice our opinions collectively our real interest will be overidden by fake assumptions of our interest by such alien institutions.

In viewing this problem further we overseas students should let all and sundry know that we overseas students can with old our association fees next year if by then nothing has been done to achieve equal rights for us.

Joginder Singh

Harish Naran

M. Salabogi

P. Lomaloma

Tilak Doshi

S.L. Pillay

Neena Singh

Gurunathan

Navnit Patel

Ramesh Patel

P. Patel

N. Gyetse

S. Nacanaitaba

M. Mannan

Peter Thing

K.A.V. Bale