[FONT=Arial] This is along the lines of a “HELP! STUDENT PROTEST/RALLY You COME Now" message. Very important. Read on to learn more(and sorry about the length).

Your fees are likely to rise from next week. But don't despair - what better way to get into the Christmas spirit than having a Christmas-themed protest - serious but fun!

This is about next Mondays fee-setting meeting, and AUSA’s plans for that day. I’m the Welfare Officer at AUSA, David, and we need as many people as we can to come along on Monday, and we would like you to get involved. Read on to learn more.

Here's the background:

Every year the University Council(the highest decision making body at the University), conducts a meeting to set the fees for the following year(ie. Fee-setting). Fee-setting tends to occur towards the end of the year. This years meeting has been delayed until next Monday, the 12th of December. Nowadays it is exceedingly rare NOT to have fees increase at some rate every year. The University has proposed to raise undergraduate fees by 3.9% and postgraduate fees by 7.7%. This would amount to about a couple of hundred dollars extra a year.

Their argument for fees has been trotted out year in year out - that their current funding arrangements with the government are unsatisfactory, forcing them to raise fees, and that if not then the university will face a dire financial crisis. Successive years have not produced this sort of predicted dire crisis. And yet they continue raising our fees. This is distinctly unfair. Remember that Auckland University has the highest fees in the country.

The meeting is two weeks before Christmas. Students are being hit with a nasty Christmas surprise, so the timing is right for an appropriately-themed protest. This is a line we should push strongly, however obviously we don’t want to ‘trash’ Christmas - we simply want to use its rituals to demonstrate a point through irony. In essence, we are planning a media stunt to raise public attention about rising university fees.

Here’s the time and place:

The meeting is going to be held at 3pm next Monday the 12th. It is being held in the Council Room on the first floor of the Clocktower building. We’ll meet around 2pm in the foyer of the Clocktower building underneath the Christmas tree(it’s a really nice tree - real pine!). If we play our cards right there may be media present, so we want to make sure we put on a good show.
Here’s the plan:

We need people like you to essentially turn up. On Monday afternoon assemble in the foyer of the Clocktower building. We would have prepared our ‘props’ and costuming. You will be expected to wear tinsel, a Santa hat, baubles around our neck, or any combination. This will be provided by us, and you can keep them if you want, or give them back to us at the end of the activities. We will also give you a leaflet with the words to an altered Christmas carol to sing at the appropriate time. I will give more details on request, but all I’ll say at this stage is that we are planning some ‘media stunts’ - the dressup and singing is important to this.

Here’s the ask:

It would be great if yourself and fellow students would be interested in effecting positive change for students by protesting these proposed fees rises. I will give you more details about what exactly we are planning on the day, and I am open to your questions and suggestions - welfare:_USE_THE_AT_EMOTICON_:auckland.ac.nz.

I know it is quite late in the year, but I would really appreciate if you could forward this on to your networks too. Bear in mind that I cannot stress enough that these plans should not be ‘leaked’ to the ‘higher echelons’ of the university.

It is vitally important that we get as many students along as possible - after all, we are all the ones that end up paying for this. Come along and make a difference.

If you’re keen to come along please get back to me as soon as possible, at welfare:_USE_THE_AT_EMOTICON_:auckland.ac.nz, and 09 309 0789 extn 340. I hope to see as many of you along as possible.

It would be really good if as many people as possible turned up. So just tell people, even if you yourself cant go, see if any of your friends want to. Share the Love people :P

Dr Steve waits for oob to post that he doesn't care cause he's finished uni... :brash:

I am against it, but not for that reason. It's really just that I feel the students are being selfish, I mean how is the V.C supposed to afford escorts and support his coke habit if fees stay where they are?

I work Mon night and town is a long, long way away, if someone were to give me free parking Id be there.

Then again, Ive been meaning to pink flyer the campus for SA, this maybe a good opportunity.

Driving into the city makes me extremely apathetic though.

Well I would be there with a band of merry drunkards..... But on monday I will be in a war-torn 3rd world country playing hockey...... *romania* so best of luck to you all...

Romania isnt third world or war torn.

How did this go?