Last week, NZUSA called for a tertiary student exemption on the ban on foreigners travelling to New Zealand from China.
NZUSA don’t fuck with the ban because it “feeds racism”, directly jeopardises approximately $1.6 billion dollars from the tertiary sector, and because it means tens of thousands of students may be left in academic limbo for at least a semester. As any third year itching to graduate knows, one semester can feel like a lifetime.
The ban was introduced on 3 February as a measure to keep COVID-19 (Coronavirus) out of New Zealand.
NZUSA told Critic they “are not afraid” to point out how racist some rhetoric has become. They pointed out that “[over] 25” different countries have confirmed cases of the virus. Despite this, China is the only country whose occupants are banned from arriving.
Isabella Lenihan-Ikin, NZUSA President, said “[NZUSA] know that students - domestic and international - are being subject to racism from landlords, colleagues ... as a result of this ban and therefore we need to send a strong message that there is no room for racism and xenophobia on our campuses.”