I am left speechless by the disgusting University of Auckland…
Coronavirus: University of Auckland says Government travel bans a ‘political decision’
The Government’s travel ban on people from coronavirus-hit mainland China is a political decision that isn’t justified by public health considerations, the University of Auckland claims.
The university last week announced a freeze on hiring new staff as it attempts to address the financial impact of the travel restrictions.
Vice chancellor Stuart McCutcheon said student numbers at the university have dropped and it now expects its revenue to fall by more than $30 million in the first semester.
…how dare they insinuate racism as the reason we aren’t allowing Chinese students into the country!
This isn’t about bloody racism! This is about protecting our students and our people from a dangerous novel virus that is about to become a pandemic!
The real issue here is the manner in which our Universities have prostituted themselves to the International Student market and they are now burning because of that decision.
Let’s be clear, no matter how the woke desperately attempt to frame it, this isn’t a racism issue, it’s a public health danger and economic threat!
We won’t have a vaccine for another 12-18months, I don’t care how much money the Ivy Towers lose, it’s NZers health that must take precedence, not the profit margin of Auckland University!
Yup just like the National Party all the matters to the university is money.
The coronavirus outbreak has highlighted our economic dependency on China what happen to all this talk of diversifying. I see our universities hierarchy greed has also been exposed. Why haven’t all of our universities built up by NZ tax payers money capped the number of Chinese and foreign students they can take. Is it because they have become so greedy and power hungry that they are now trying to implement policy at the expense on many of their loyal and hardworking staff. They are now treating many of their staff members like they are surplus to requirement but in the meantime the hierarchy jobs are safe. Something needs to be done about this and the time for talking is over it is time for action.
Oh the Capitalist Education system! Oh well, I guess the costs are going to skyrocket for NZ’ders shortly then!
Hasn’t this already happened Mr Paoa and who has benefitted the most?
Labour campaigned on the first three years of tertiary education being free. Who / what stopped that, Winston or lack of taxation.
Virtually free or very low cost tertiary education is not new in NZ. Several generations led NZ on their training in Universities and Polytechs with the state footing the bill.
Pretty sure that the current Chancellor is not very interested in the jobs and employees or even the education or reputation of the university going forward. He’s done his job as a loyal neoliberal servant to destroy education as we know it, and has been paid handsomely to do it. Now handover to a predecessor to finish the university off. (Perks involved).
Auckland University buys $5m Parnell mansion for incoming vice-chancellor
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/119122778/auckland-university-buys-5m-parnell-mansion-for-incoming-vicechancellor?fbclid=IwAR29h43wjAtwI-Arket4iHNHZPhqeUfr8mib4VU389reFlLRJNhbv4AZ8Lg
Library closures prompt fears University of Auckland will burn books
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/354765/library-closures-prompt-fears-university-of-auckland-will-burn-books
Emotions high as Auckland University students protest library closure
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/04/emotions-high-as-auckland-university-students-protest-library-closure.html
Excellent points saveNZ.
There is also the case where Auckland University callously and brutally terminated a suicidal Chinese student’s enrolment at the university because she apparently failed to inform them about the change in her mental state. Her mental state changed because she had been raped.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/01/auckland-university-s-treatment-of-mentally-ill-student-cold-and-callous-mental-health-foundation.html
Instead of supporting her the university decided to exclude her. She was four years into her degree with one year to go. Just disgusting conduct by the university. Then, to add insult to a dreadful injury suffered by the student the university said that the termination of the student’s enrolment formed a small part of a significant body of correspondence that showed compassion had been demonstrated to the student during her time at the university. What about at the time of and after she was raped? No support or compassion there.
All these actions are how this university conducts itself when it comes to trying to protect its self-perceived image of glory – ha ha, that’s a joke. Student friends of mine are embarrassed to say they study there. Older people I know condemn it for what it now stands for – greed and a narcissistic view of itself.
Yeah the whole suicidal student controversy is not accurate at all. For a start, it’s an alleged rape. No one’s been charged with raping her, and given her previous inconsistencies with the countless different versions of the earlier supposed sexual blackmailing etc, combined with anyone who’s spent time in the mental unit knowing it’s logistically near-impossible to actually rape someone in there even for someone mentally well enough to plan it all out meticulously (and the patients in there are far too unwell to do that), so it’s looking a lot like at best an exaggeration, if not a flat out lie (it’s possible, though very hard, to have consensual sex without getting caught .. maybe that’s what happened then she manipulated it to claim rape).
And given she failed 2/3 courses last semester, then she can’t have had just one year to go….She also posted on reddit she stopped going to classes back in August, so she can hardly blame the alleged rape for failing. Not can she blame it for the suicide attempt, given she had already taken another overdose before that that landed her in the psych ward in the first place.
Good points all. The universities, to survive Michelle, were forced to make money and regard themselves as first and foremost, fee charging entities. When the drive to concentrate on exports and developing all we have for sale overseas, the unis had to step up. They had to watch that they kept up their criteria of a good uni so as to rate high in the world listings for universities so as to encourage students to spend their money here. This is just a business method of seeking to squeeze an entity so as to produce the highest profitability. The quality of uni graduates must look good to keep NZ in the top 200 of offerings on the uni world league table. It becomes a matter of boxes being ticked, rather than thoughtful and perhaps ground breaking education for the sake of adding to the scholarship in each subject. It is business rather than academic prowess that rules the roost; the humanities have been dropped as they are connected with human understanding; that is not a highly regarded, profitable line of employment and the demand is for hard-headed technocrats, hard -science graduates and business managers and entrepreneurs.
Universities have always been for the higher echelons of society and initially only a place for men. Also your grades can depend on who is marking your paper. I saw this when I went to Victoria as a mature aged student in 1997. I didn’t like Uni much I saw it as a place of ‘everyman for himself’ but I just did what I had to do to get my degree and get out of there. Then I saw others who had no degree who had come through the systems and had on the job training and there bad attitude towards those that had a degree when they had made it with on the job training and gaining years of experience. And then there was ‘oh they don’t have any experience’ bullshit. Well how can you get experience when people don’t want to give you a chance and if you were Maori it was even harder. I cleaned toilets for almost a year before I got a decent job and it was my whanau from Tolaga Bay/Uawa that gave me a part time job at a Hauora. (good nepotism) Everyone should have the opportunity to go to Uni if they want not just the rich and not just foreigners.
No excuses for putting money before peoples lives the universities need to act more ethical
I would consider it racism as Korea，Italy and Japan should also be banned due to the number of cases in these respective countries. Not banning them is a political decision.
That’s got to be the stupidest take on the University’s comment I’ve read so far.
Why is always about ‘me’ ?
I’m offended, therefore I need a platform.. err let’s use,.. I know, ‘racism’ that’ll get the crowds on side.
Was there more to the university position then you have highlighted. They haven’t mentioned or insinuated racism. They have asked for some logical consistency. We have let 1000’s of kiwis and resident foreign nationals back into new Zealand but have banned Chinese citizens when the same health protocols that cover returnees could be applied to foreign students who want to study here.
Ironic how 2 cases of confirmed Coronavirus in NZ isn’t even from China and how the media is portraying discrimination against Chinese only. If you really care about security, why don’t you stop enrollment for all students that have travelled or have contact with people who have travelled.
Nobody should put anyone in the risk, money cannot buy any life back, if anyone contracts the virus and died, can those money maker take responsibility??? Those sh~~ty money makers, shame on you.
If you make a claim, especially a substantial one such as this, then you must back it up with solid evidence. The Auckland University hasn’t done so. Hardly very thorough or intelligent of them.
Glad I opted never to go to them.
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