Editorial - 14

by Ben Thomson | 9:36 pm 11/07/2010

This week we bring you the Travel Issue. What better way to procrastinate from exams than by day-dreaming about all the places you would rather be? We’ve run with the travel theme this week because there is no better time to book a summer holiday than during the depths of despair that is studying for exams.

If the places we’ve suggested don’t appeal or are way too expensive, then how about exploring our urban jungles right here at home? A land of jagged snow-capped mountains, deep blue lakes, wild wind-swept coastlines, and lush sheep-speckled pastures, New Zealand is known for its natural wonders – but is there any wonder to be found in our urban wildernesses? Our official tourism website insists that “Kiwis are as likely to visit an Asian restaurant or modern art gallery as they are to attend a rugby game or milk a cow!” On p24, Susan Smirk embarks on a dubious quest to prove that this nation is a global equal by investigating New Zealand’s ten official cities.

Susan also ventured to the Far East just to bring us back a perfect itenary to complete in the gap between end-of-year exams finish and Christmas (see p26). If you have more time on your hands this summer, Jennifer Turek explores Central America for the entire summer break on p18.

Changing gears, Georgie Fenwicke has nabbed another interview with a big news-maker, speaking this week to former Otago student and All White Andy Boyens who is in Austria after his big win over Serbia (p17).

If that isn’t enough procrastination material, we’ve dedicated a whole page for you to colour in on p39. Enjoy.

If you’ve been paying attention to our news pages this year, you will have seen that changes are afoot towards a ‘new and improved’ OUSA. Last week it was moves toward online SGMs, and this week it is a new structure for the Executive. Personally, I think both are moves in the right direction, but both are off to a wonky start. For example, bundled in with the proposal to move SGMs online is that the Exec gets sign-off on SGM motions. WTF? They say there would be a checklist so that inappropriately-worded and stupid motions would be fixed up or discarded. (Frequently SGM motions are off by a word or two, meaning they have no actual effect.) But why does the Exec need to decide? Why would it be a political decision? It looks bad and the effective veto power could easily be abused. Why not give someone apolitical like OUSA Secretary Donna Jones (who is extremely capable) the checklist when motions come in and then assess them according to that, completely independently? Keep the Exec as far removed from the process as possible.

Secondly, the proposed Executive structure would see it cut down from an unwieldy 17 members to a more manageable 10. All the ‘Representative’ positions would be culled from the Executive itself, but would still exist outside of the Executive. I think that makes sense – I don’t see why the Women’s Rep, Commerce Rep or the Pacific Islands Rep, for example, need to be involved in Exec business outside of their portfolio. Furthermore, in addition to the existing Reps there could be lots of other Reps for other student groups who feel they need representation. It is unclear at this stage if they would be elected or appointed. And positions could exist or not exist from year to year depending on demand.

On paper, it sounds good to me. But I’m worried by the potential for things to get less simple and more unwieldy when translated from paper to practise. For example, would the Reps get paid, and how much? OUSA President Harriet Geoghegan says the options they are looking at could be that they’re paid for ten hours a month, rather than ten hours a week as is the case currently. Sounds pretty shit, but then, I guess, they’d be doing less ‘Exec stuff’ like sausage sizzles and the like and could spend their time focussing on representing and advocationg for their constituency.

Our news team tries to break it down on p10.

Geoghegan sees a new OUSA Exec structure as a central part of her Presidency and the changes, if implemented, would be her legacy. It is at the ‘first draft’ stage at the moment and submissions are welcome until the end of the week. Download the report from our Facebook page, read it, and let Geoghegan know what you think. I know a lot of people disagree with me about all this: the International Socialists’ James Gluck, who writes our Soap Box on p33 this week, would be one of them.

Then, of course, there’s the one thing all this Executive restructuring definitely does not address: why does no one give a shit?

And finally, it is Simon Wallace’s last issue as Music Editor this week. He’s been great, and we’ll miss him.

Oh, and good luck for exams. See you next semester!

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