News

Victoria University of Wellington was the scene of significant unrest last Wednesday September 14, as students carrying out a peaceful protest against cuts to academic departments clashed with University security services.



Students marched on the University’s Hunter Building to deliver a letter to Vice Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh outlining concerns at proposed cuts to Victoria’s politics and international relations departments. Protestors carried a child’s coffin, intended to symbolise the death of education at the University.
The protest briefly turned ugly, with students accusing security staff of physically assaulting protestors. Police were called by University staff, however no arrests were made.
Sources disagreed on the number of students that took part in the protest, with student leaders claiming in a press release that 300 students were involved in the march, while mainstream media outlets put the number of students at between 150 and 200.
Students held the protest march to condemn the University’s plan to trim ten staff positions in the two departments, as well as plans to disestablish the country’s only Crime and Justice Research Centre. Academics and students have condemned the cuts as damaging and unnecessary, especially in light of Victoria’s $16million surplus in the last financial year.
Green MP Gareth Hughes slated the University’s proposed cuts, describing the situation as “death by a 1000 cuts”.
Meanwhile, former Victoria University of Wellington Student’s Association President Joel Cosgrove called for the resignation of Walsh, saying "Pat Walsh was a good guy. But he needs to be sacked. Cause right now this university has no conscience."
 
The protest occurred as part of a designated national day of student protest. However responses were far more muted at other campuses around the country, with the University of Auckland campus being the only other campus to experience a significant disruption. A small group of students at Auckland refused to leave the library at closing time and barricaded themselves inside the building, necessitating police intervention and resulting in the arrest of at least one student. A window was also broken during the protest.
Students at the University of Otago did not engage in any protest action.
Gregor Whyte
Students marched on the University’s Hunter Building to deliver a letter to Vice Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh outlining concerns at proposed cuts to Victoria’s politics and international relations departments. Protestors carried a child’s coffin, intended to symbolise the death of education at the University.
The protest briefly turned ugly, with students accusing security staff of physically assaulting protestors. Police were called by University staff, however no arrests were made.
Sources disagreed on the number of students that took part in the protest, with student leaders claiming in a press release that 300 students were involved in the march, while mainstream media outlets put the number of students at between 150 and 200.
Students held the protest march to condemn the University’s plan to trim ten staff positions in the two departments, as well as plans to disestablish the country’s only Crime and Justice Research Centre. Academics and students have condemned the cuts as damaging and unnecessary, especially in light of Victoria’s $16million surplus in the last financial year.
Green MP Gareth Hughes slated the University’s proposed cuts, describing the situation as “death by a 1000 cuts”.
Meanwhile, former Victoria University of Wellington Student’s Association President Joel Cosgrove called for the resignation of Walsh, saying "Pat Walsh was a good guy. But he needs to be sacked. Cause right now this university has no conscience."
 
The protest occurred as part of a designated national day of student protest. However responses were far more muted at other campuses around the country, with the University of Auckland campus being the only other campus to experience a significant disruption. A small group of students at Auckland refused to leave the library at closing time and barricaded themselves inside the building, necessitating police intervention and resulting in the arrest of at least one student. A window was also broken during the protest.
Students at the University of Otago did not engage in any protest action.