A lot of shit is going down with Massey University’s various students associations. The General Manager of the Massey University Students’ Association (MUSA) left his job (or was made redundant), students were mad at their students’ associations, and now all four of their students associations (MUSA, MAWSA, ASA, and M@D) are considering merging into one.
The drama began with an open letter sent on 10 May by Massey PhD student Leola Meynell to the MUSA Exec. In the letter she raised a number of concerns about the governance of the students’ associations. “The students I represent do not currently wish to be named; however, they form networks across academic disciplines, through a passion for student voices and student representation.” The central concerns Leola raised on behalf of these students were missed board meetings by MUSA, a lack of consultation with students, and ending the employment of the General Manager of MUSA.
Then, on 12 May, the President of MUSA, Fatima Imran, responded to the open letter. In her response she denied that the students’ association had removed their general manager. Instead she said that “Craig's departure was not made by me or the executives; it was rather a decision made by Craig and which we agreed to.”
She also foreshadowed the proposal to merge the students’ associations, saying that “in the long term, should a proposal be made to join a Federation with the other campuses, we would still look to maintain a senior leadership role in MUSA.” She said that if the campuses do not merge, the management structure would not change and their Exec would hire another General Manager.
Finally, the students’ associations announced that they were considering a merger. “For us, it is important our students are treated fairly by the University and we believe having one clear and concise voice is much more powerful than four siloed voices, as they currently stand,” they stated in their press release. “This is the reason why we are considering a merge, as the benefits of this option strongly outway [sic] others we considered.”
Currently, the four students’ associations are MUSA (based in Palmerston North), Massey Wellington Students’ Association (MAWSA), Albany Students Association (ASA, for the Auckland Massey campus), and the Massey Distance Students’ Association (M@D). This seems like a mess to Critic Te Arohi, because we have enough trouble dealing with one students’ association.