Tell 'Em What You Think

The Working Party on the Future of NZUSA.

NZUSA in 1978 is beset with problems both large and small. With motions to withdraw from two campuses (Canterbury and Lincoln) and murmurings from one or two others, NZUSA is now in the situation where it must get its act together and initiate sufficient changes in order to firstly get wayward campuses back and secondly gain increased student support on a nationwide basis. Both of the two campuses that have motions to withdraw believe in some sort of National student organisation, just not NZUSA in its present form.

Following some heated moments at the last NZUSA National Executive meeting it became obvious that constituents, whether they be elected politicos or your average Joe/Joesephine student needed some sort of channel where their criticisms and ideas on NZUSA could recieve an impartial hearing. And if their ideas were sound, they stood a good chance of something being done to implement them.

So the NZUSA Working Party was born. The idea is that the Working Party calls for (and recieves!) submissions from as many students and organisations as possible, whether they be your local students' association or any one of the many affiliated organisations, such as Amnesty International or the various ecology groups. Your local student's association will be writing their own submissions and if you have any ideas then the President is the first person to see. You may wish to have your ideas incorporated in th the students' association submission or do one of your own.

The Working Party has a membership of 4 people, 1 former NZUSA National Officer and three current constituent Presidents. The former NZUSA Officer is John Blincoe who was NZUSA General Vice President in 1974—1975 and NZUSA President in 1976. The constituent Presidents are Mike Lee from Canterbury, Guy Macindoe from Lincoln and Doug Drever from Waikato.

The Terms of Reference for the working party were deliberately left quite broad so as to encourage as much student feedback as possible.

The Terms of Reference cover three very broad areas, (1) NZUSA's Role, (2) Whether or not it is fulfilling that role and (3) suggestions for Improvement in NZUSA and its Structure. If you decide to write a submission or even drop NZUSA a letter outlining your ideas then see your local President first for further details on the Working Party. All submissions should be typed and double-spaced and there is secretarial help available at your local students association office to enable you to do this.

All submissions should reach the convenor by no later than April 27th so that the submissions can be compiled into a report to be presented at the NZUSA May Council to be held in Lincoln. The Terms of Reference of the Working Party will come up once again for discussion there too.

Miracles are not to be expected from the results accrueing from the Working Party, nobody believes that. But the Working Party is a start in the right direction if reforms and changes are to come to NZUSA this year. This is a chance to have your say in the running of your national student organisation. And now more than ever your voice has to be heard. Don't let it pass you by.

In two weeks time we will be running a supplement on NZUSA. This will incorporate a report on the forum held here last Friday, an examination of the reasons why Canterbury and Lincoln are intending to withdraw at the end of the year, and why Massey and Otago are also making noises in that direction.

We will look at the work NZUSA is doing, how effective it is being, and the people who are supposed to be doing that work.