The early weeks of the semester always feel a bit like the campus stretching its legs again. And once things get moving, they move quickly. A lot’s happened over the past few weeks – so first things first, we’re clearing out the pātaka.
Something Spicy
There hasn’t been a consistent Māori space in this mag – so we’re making one. From the Pātaka is where we keep what’s been said, unsaid, done, and still to come across campus. Each issue we pull from it: what’s got heat, what’s been nourishing, and what’s still cooking.
This column has been sitting on the shelf for a while. Not because there’s been nothing to say, but because making consistent space for Māori voice hasn’t always been a priority. Efforts have been made over the years, but they’ve rarely held for long – authors come and go, and sometimes their ideas leave with them. In fact, there hasn’t been a solid, consistent Māori presence in Critic Te Ārohi since the early 2000s – which wasn’t yesterday. So what better time to stoke the flames than now: an election year upon us, contentious bill readings already stirring debate in Parliament, and the usual arguments warming up again. Clearly, the temperature is only going one way.
Rather than waiting for the “right” moment to talk about it, we’ll just start here. If the year’s already heating up, we may as well bring the good stuff to the table.
Something Sweet
Not everything’s been heated, though – there’s been plenty of sweetness to go around.
Luckily, the semester has started on the right foot. The Freshers’ pōwhiri at Puketeraki Marae did exactly what it always does – welcome new tauira properly. No awkward first-day lecture hall could ever compete with that kind of beginning. It’s a neat reminder of how the year should start. Back in town, Te Rōpū Māori has wasted no time bringing people back into the fold. A place where tauira can learn the TRM classics and scratch their haka itch, Waiata Wednesdays have already filled the whare with familiar voices again. Skuxx Deluxx and drunk freshers also set the tone early on, a night of loud laughs, unreal fits, a questionable dance performance, and the memories slightly blurry for some (as any good O-week night should be). And, as always, the Mystery Bus delivered in the best way: a full bus, a few surprises along the way, and the kind of energy that only really comes from being packed in together and heading somewhere unknown. Exactly where it went remains between the bus and those on it.
Probably for the best, nē?
Still Cookin’
Between the sweet and the spicy, there are a few things still simmering.
First up: the SGM on Monday 9 March. Under the Constitution, this is where proposed amendments are voted on, financial decisions get signed off on, and changes affecting TRM’s kaupapa are decided. This hui will also cover responses to submissions, a current expenditure report, and proposals relating to the investment line. In short: important stuff.
Our pūtea sits with tauira Māori collectively, which means decisions about it should too. So if you’ve ever thought “someone should probably go to that meeting”, – this is your reminder. Right after that, the study sessions kick off. Fortnightly, in partnership with our Ngā Rōpū, starting Wednesday 12 March at 6pm. Kai is provided, which tends to solve most attendance issues. Bring your books, bring your mates, bring your motivation (or borrow someone else’s).
Safe to say the kitchen’s busy.
That’s what we’ve pulled from the pātaka this week. Kia pai te kai.
