The Society for Postgraduate Students (SPS) has mysteriously emerged after the old post-grad club (the Otago Postgraduate Association) was left abandoned late last year. The club was sworn into being by the OUSA exec at a meeting on the 5th of March, passing with all “ayes”.
Hanna Friedlander, OUSA’s Postgrad Rep, ushered in the club and began speaking of the reasons for the old club’s dismissal before being swiftly reminded by others that, “We’re not in standing committee” (i.e., Critic can quote that shit).
Scandal! To gauge what beef may lie at the base of the shift from one club to another, Critic Te Ārohi went out and spoke to the undergraduate population who are definitely the most qualified people to speak on the issue.
When asked for a reason for the mysterious disappearance, third-year Ashley told Critic Te Ārohi, “It was probably Luxon, no, wait… it was Winston, it was definitely Winston.” Peters was briefly on campus late last year around the time of the club disbanding, so there is a chance! Taking another leap, Juan speculated that “their old president got arrested on assault charges maybe?” Critic has checked the court reports and this is decidedly not the case. We fuck with the yarn, tho.
Eventually talking to someone a bit more pragmatic, Jonny told Critic Te Ārohi that it was, “likely a personality thing, someone may not have liked someone else.” Like making a new friend group chat after falling out with one of them.
To see if this was the case, Critic Te Ārohi spoke with Hanna Friedlander, the murky figure lurking in the shadows of the operation. When asked point-blank what the deal was, Hanna told Critic Te Ārohi, “I don’t want to say,” before leaning back in her chair and murmuring, “I’m not allowed to.” Silenced by the powers that be, it seems!
Primarily though, Hanna pointed to the new club as a means of “revamping” the postgraduate experience, while updating a constitution which was significantly out of date. Speaking to the differences between the two clubs, Hanna told Critic Te Ārohi that “the vision is clearer […] people will want to step in after us.”
Speaking also to the decline of the old club, Hanna reported that, “Prior to Covid, it was a very strong community, but I think Covid made people think, ‘What is the point when everything is so unstable?’ People didn’t know where the future was going to lead.” She stated, “People just weren’t engaging […] it lacked that sense of community.”
Now looking for a fresh start, the new society aims to build a foundation based on the shared experiences of its students. The society's opening event was held on Friday the 15th of March, labelled as an ‘imposter hour’ for students looking to voice some of their innermost worries. Hanna told Critic Te Ārohi that the event exists in the place between having the odd bad thought and seeking clinical help, as it aimed to provide a platform for students who may be struggling with “very similar problems.”
Hanna is also looking to craft a few podcasts discussing skills and common issues which most postgraduate students face. In doing this, she hopes to unify the body of postgrad students who lie dormant in the suburbs of Dunners. To this degree, Hanna argued that it is “more than a club in the sense that it’s a community for the people who have kind of been left by the University to do their own thing.”
Conspiracy or not, the Society for Postgraduate Students marches onward