Pres Sez By WSU President Ben Delaney Last week the WSU held a very successful Special General Meeting . The purpose of the meeting was to give the WSU the ability to form a trust which would then go and develop the WSU assets for the benefit of you the student. Thank you to the nearly three hundred students who braved the rain from both Hamilton and Tauranga campuses. The full membership fee of $95 dollars on the recommendation of the board remained unchanged; however our services over the year have increased. Next year as we look to provide even more value for you we will see a greater emphasis put on services for you. Copies of our Annual plan 2010, and Annual Report 2009 are available free at our office. The WSU is all about you, from the services we provide to the representation we do for you in and beyond campus. The irony is that on the same day we the student body were making changes for the future, Roger Douglas was in Parliament advocating that our future be determined by a party with less support than New Zealand First at the last election. The Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill as introduced looks to make student association membership opt-in entry rather than the current system of opt out. In our organizations history, the opt in
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$2,500 Closes 12 October 2009
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“Next year as we look to provide even more value for you we will see a greater emphasis put on services for you”
method has been tried with unfortunate results including less services and representation to you the student. The facts are that today we are a professionally run organization which puts on over 40 events per year. We support students with advocacy, and a hardship fund. Support sports teams and individual athletes. We have over 40 affiliated clubs which we support and ambitious plans to increase the level of all of these services. Your Board represents you throughout the university and have key relationships with all of the key players who affect you. But all of this is supported by the critical mass you as students bring. By being your elected body all of you have a say on who represents you. You all have a say on where the organization heads through our consultation round and effectively you all have access to our services. The fact that you are reading this in your student magazine can be attributed to our existence. This year we face a challenge to our existence. Others will argue that this law, if passed, gives freedom of choice. We argue that you cannot choose what doesn’t exist. Ka whaiwhai tonu matou ake ake ake We shall fight on forever Prez