News

Massey University’s Extramural Student Society’s (EXMSS) President is firing off scandalous allegations after MASSIVE magazine revealed how much she receives for her part-time position.

In a MASSIVE article published online on Friday 9 August, it was revealed that EXMSS President Jeanette “JV” Chapman is receiving a salary of $53,000. MASSIVE claims to have viewed the yet-to-be-released EXMSS budget, adding to an investigation that began in April.

The figure includes the $23,000 honorarium for the position, as well as $30,000 worth of extra funds that have been approved by Chapman’s newly elected co-opted executive, believed to be made up largely of Chapman’s friends. The $30,000 includes $10,000 for media and communications, $10,479 for group advocacy and $9,521 for office operations service delivery from the society’s budget. Critic loves the seemingly random figures which add up to such a wholesome total – what were the chances of that?!

The exmss.org website states that the salary of the EXMSS President can fall between $19,500 and $31,000, depending on experience, and includes a $5,000 allowance for personal computer and study costs.

Unlike OUSA, which charges no membership fee and is funded through University contracts, EXMSS charges students a membership fee of $15. MASSIVE reports that the $23,000 for Chapman’s honorarium is roughly equivalent to the entire amount raised in 2013 through voluntary membership fees. The additional $30,000 comes from EXMSS contracts for services with Massey, which were approved by the co-opted executive. These funds are budgeted and paid for via the student services levy.

This means that all Massey students are funding the additional $30,000, whether or not they are members of EXMSS. Under the current law, levy money is not to be used for student representation, which is why the $23,000 honorarium for the EXMSS President is funded through voluntary membership subscriptions. Student presidents must not utilise money from student services levies to represent students, but to fulfil contractual obligations with their tertiary institutions.

When questioned by Critic on her salary of $53,000, Chapman stated, “I will not deny that I am receiving that pay.” However, she claimed that the $30,000 came from her role as Massey University’s Student Association Federation (MUSAF) Coordinator, and not from her role as EXMSS President. “I am not being paid that amount for being the Extramural President. Every student President had the opportunity to bid for a contractual position for group advocacy as the MUSAF Coordinator.”

“MASSIVE has failed to take into account that the pay reflects two positions, not just being the Extramural President as stated in their platform,” Chapman continued.

MUSAF represents the seven bodies of Massey University across its three campuses. Massey University Students’ Association (MUSA) President Steve Christodoulou, who has recently handed in his resignation, asked Chapman in a recent Executive meeting whether she had received funding from Massey University for MUSAF. Critic has heard an audio recording of the meeting, in which Chapman, contrary to her statement to Critic, denied receiving funding.

Christodoulou told Critic that his resignation came after four years with MUSA, and that since the introduction of VSM the environment had changed. It had “absolutely nothing to do with Chapman,” he stated.

Morgan Browne, Editor of MASSIVE, said the magazine was prompted to investigate the matter after “concerns [were] raised to us by a number of parties both inside and outside of EXMSS.”

The publication of the story saw a swift retaliation from the accused Chapman. In a post on the EXMSS blog on 12 August, she alleged that the article was “possibly defamatory” and that Browne, who co-authored the article, “plans to make a career for herself by attempting to unjustifiably denigrate my reputation, and I add that she ought to be ashamed of herself.”

Browne defended MASSIVE’s actions, telling Critic that “due to the nature of this story, we’ve gone above and beyond our normal processes with regards to checking the validity of the information that we have. We have received information from a wide range of different sources, many of whom have provided the same information independently. We believe these sources to be highly credible.”

While it is unknown what will become of Chapman and her role as President following these allegations, this is not the first time that she has come under fire. MASSIVE cited an anonymous source who claimed that Chapman had “shoulder-tapped” her friends to join the EXMSS Executive, after she dismissed most of the elected executive earlier in the year.

At the start of 2013, the Vice-President and the International Students’ Executive members were removed on the grounds that they had not paid their $15 membership fee to EXMSS, which must be paid within 60 days of the issue of an invoice. However, both executive members claimed that they had never received an invoice.

Former EXMSS Vice-President Dave Crampton told Critic that under the constitution, members of the executive are “associate members,” who “normally pay membership subs just before the AGM.” However, their removal occurred in March. The AGM usually occurs in September.

“There is absolutely no transparency in this situation, and a lack of transparency and confusion only causes suspicion,” Massey student and EXMSS member Carla Baldwin told Critic.

Another current EXMSS member who was aware of the allegations stated: “I am glad this has been brought to light. There has been a lot of change that has compromised the strength of Student Unions in the past few years.”

One student also reported to Critic that she responded to a post on EXMSS Student Support Manager and Advocate Anne Palmer’s Facebook page regarding the allegations over Chapman’s salary. Palmer then emailed the student stating that Chapman had been ill in hospital and therefore unable to respond directly on Facebook. Palmer also added that some people aren’t very good at using Facebook.

In response to these matters, several students and associates have called for Chapman’s resignation and for more transparency and accountability around funds.

Unless Chapman resigns, she cannot be removed from office until the AGM or a properly constituted Special General Meeting, where a two-thirds majority vote must be cast according to the 2010 EXMSS Constitution.

“She is President in name only, as she is not presiding [over] the interests and welfare of students,” Crampton stated.