Maori students seek full representation

Press, 19 August 1983, Page 11

Maori students seek full representation

Maori students at the University of Canterbury will take their arguments for a full-time Maori vicepresident on the New Zealand University Students’ Association to a national council meeting in Wellington next week.

Approaches from students at other universities will also be made to the council meeting. In Christchurch, Maori students have lobbied for the position for four months, but they have been told that students are in favour of a part-time position. But the needs of Maori students required the ser-

vices of a full-time worker, especially in North Island universities, said local students. At this year’s Te Huinga Rangatahi in Christchurch, an annual conference for maori students, Otago University students sought support from students’ association executives for the creation of a full-time position, which would bring more effective liaison between Maori students and the national association. They said that Maori students should be adequately represented at universities, and a full-time

position would lead to a more attractive and accessible environment for potential Maori students. They said it would be a positive step against “institutionalised racism,” especially in education. At a Student Representative Council meeting in July, Canterbury students voted heavily in favour of a full-time position, but the association executive has rejected support of the motion. They said that a later survey of students showed that most were in favour of a part-time position.