An investigation by Analiese Jackson
For years, the student executive has prided themselves on Wednesday lunchtime activities. I know that when I was a student politician waaaay back in 2007, we used to throw the occasional barbecue and then bask in the glory of our ingenious idea of using the power of free food to lure students to come talk to us. As a result, I now hate pre-cooked sausages with a passion. But this isn’t about my hatred of sausages. It’s a miniature expose to see just how well received Wednesday lunchtime activities are received by the student populous. So, one Wednesday lunchtime, I made my way over to the main campus to see what exactly these Wednesday lunchtimes entailed. This is an account of what went down:
12.15pm I enter the Ferguson bar to see the President, Rawa, and Men’s Welfare Rep, Steve-o, playing pool; Rawa against a student and Steve-o against himself. International Rep, Sumire, is out trying to interact with students and Pacific Island Students’ Rep; Neil’s sitting out with his mates, not doing much. Meawhile Rec and Leisure Rep Salam saunters in a short while later. I panic slightly, as I’m pretty certain he was meant to be in swine flu quarantine [he wasn't, as it turns out - Ed.]. That’s okay, though. I just won’t stand too close in case he projectile coughs. Maurice and Andy are being held in captivity due to their overseas adventure. No idea where the rest of the exec are. Not many other people are in the bar at this point, although it’s still early. Maybe they’ll turn up later.
12.30pm The pizza arrives. I grab a few slices, although it’s hard to juggle them and an oversized Dictaphone at the same time. Discover pizza is Hawaiian and attempt to pick off pineapple whilst making a feeble attempt to get down with the kids. It’s during this time that I see Kathryn, a first year Speech and Language therapy student. She looks friendly enough, so I endeavour to find out what drew her to the Wednesday lunchtime crowd: “To be honest, I was on Facebook about to play Farmtown but then I saw this little “Oooooh! Wednesday lunchtime bonding with the ASA crew… And I was like “I’m there!” and then I asked someone else if they were going and they said “Oh yeah, there’s free pizza” so I ran out the door!” she says, a little overzealously. We chat some more about what exactly it is that the ASA do. Kathryn seems to have a fair idea: “They um…they provide for us students, they obviously know what we love (a.k.a free pizza), you know, they’re really there for us, y’know, with their little organisation thing, O week etc…they’re all about the bonding”. So, does she know who the president of the “little organisation thing” is? “Yeah, I’ve seen [Rawa] coma’ed out on the concrete!” she exclaims. Haven’t we all? Nonetheless, she thinks that Rawa’s doing a “good” job: “I’ve never seen anyone do another job of it, so I guess it’s a good job” she later clarifies.
12.40pm: I start chatting to three other students standing by the pool table. Their names are Alyx, Aliesha and Jess. “So, what made you mosey on over here on this Wednesday lunchtime?” I enquire.
“Free pizza!” says Alyx.
“Free pizza!” says Aleisha.
“It was raining…” says Jess.
We get talking about what the ASA actually does: “The represent students and help our opinions be heard” says one of the girls. “And you guys do the magazine and stuff too, ay?” pipes up another one. That’s true. Mostly though, it seems as though students equate the ASA with social events on campus and this is also where the biggest criticism seems to stem from: “I know that some students in the business school, like, where they’ve got lectures of like 300 people, they honestly don’t think that Massey has a social life or a social side and I’m like “Are you kidding me?” All my friends are like here now, I come here all the time and I actually see them outside of uni. Maybe it’s just like certain degrees that people aren’t willing to get out there and talk to other people” muses Aliesha. That’s a fair point she’s got there, I say, before going off to scoff my face with more delicious pizza. Om nom nom.
12.45pm After wading through the two dozen or so ravenous students, I seek out the President himself. “How do you think Wednesday lunchtimes are going?” I ask politely. Silence ensues. Rawa, obviously terrified of the silver contraption before him continues to give me a blank look until Sumire intervenes.
“Is that recording” she enquires.
“Yes.” I say.
“Well, I think it could be run a little bit better, maybe. I don’t think there’s enough talking between the execs and the students” she says. Rawa suddenly discovers that he has developed the ability to speak.
“I have to agree” he says.
“Well, what are you going to do about it, then?” I ask.
“It’s just a starting trial [having Wednesday lunchtimes in the Ferg] we need to revisit it, see what we’re doing wrong and try those things”
1.00pm: A thought occurs: while I’ve managed to establish that people know who the ASA are, do they know why they’re getting free pizzas? I hurry back to Kathryn’s table, where most of the students seem to be, and shove the Dictaphone in the centre of the crowd.
“Hey…” I ask cautiously. “Do you guys know why you’re getting these pizzas?”
“Bonding time? I dunno…” says Kathryn.
“Yeah, I thought it was bonding time” her friend pipes up.
“Like, to ease us into the ASA so in the future we can TAKE OVER THE ASA when our time comes to lead” one of them says over-excitedly.
I point the Dictaphone at the guy sitting across the table from Kathryn. “What about you? Do you know what the ASA does?”
“I do know what the ASA does. I’m an ex student so I’ve experienced the ASA” he says
“What do they do, then?” asks Kathryn
“Organise everything and keep everything going forwards as opposed to backwards.” he says.
“Do you think the exec are doing a better job now than they did when you started uni?” I ask.
“Oh hell yeah! When I started here they were pretty…uh, crap and now they’re phenomenal. Like, there’s an actual social life on campus as opposed to [then] just wandering round grabbing students and litter. [There was] no organisation.”
“I didn’t actually even know that Brad existed. But I know Rawa exists, so clearly he is. But I’m not even a student here anymore. I go to Auckland but I come here for the social side…” Albany, the hub of social activity. How ironic.
Alright, it might not be the most hard-hitting investigation every conducted in the name of student journalism, but it does lead me to a few conclusions:
- That most students are that apathetic, not even free food will grab their attention. I mean, someone offers you free pizza every week, and only about 20 people take it up. What’s better than free? Nothing, that’s what! Seriously!
- That of those who do take up the offer of don’t realise what it’s for.
- That, in order to solve problem 2, the ASA exec (well, those who show up) need to make more of an effort to mingle with their constituents.
So, in exchange for giving them a hard time, here’s where I attempt to do a blatant plug for the students’ association: go along to the events put on by the ASA. You pay for them in the form of fees, so go utilise their services. Get a free feed, meet some new people and just go have a good time!