Student activist group Reclaim Vic last week launched their manifesto.
The launch immediately followed the Rant with Grant fees forum.
Organisation Spokesperson Joshua James read the manifesto, which proposes an “alternative vision” for the university, to the students that remained after the fees forum.
The group’s manifesto challenges VUW’s colonial history that has sustained “false histories and oppressive structures.”
They stated that VUW campuses are built on “stolen Māori land” and propose, in their list of demands, to return the for-sale Karori campus to the “hapu of Te Whanganui a Tara.”
Reclaim Vic called for more action on the establishment of a safe space for queer students on campus, more gender-neutral bathrooms, and more support for sexual assault victims on campus.
The group also called for staff be paid the living wage, the lowering of tuition fees, and a lunch break to be reintroduced from 12.00 to 12.50pm, which James stated happened at the university “before neoliberalism.”
Reclaim Vic have a further list of demands for the government which include implementing free tertiary education and an annulment of all existing student debt.
[ssba]