VSM

A proposed operations budget for the Otago University Students' Association has been slashed in the wake of a recent legislation change which introduced voluntary student membership (VSM) for 2012.

Student leaders were vowing to "fix" the new law on voluntary student association membership, minutes after it was passed under urgency in the House of Representatives last night.

A last-ditch protest by students against the likely introduction of contentious legislation to cut mandatory membership of student associations is being held at the university in Dunedin today.

A new era of collaboration between student representatives and the University of Otago is likely to emerge, given the expected introduction of the voluntary student membership (VSM) legislation later this month.

Cream pies were on the menu at the University Union yesterday, where people were encouraged to hurl the "delicacy" at a student association president dressed up as Prime Minister John Key.

University of Otago students striving to retain student associations in the face of a proposed law change are planning a protest on campus today as part of a national day of action.

It's a common perception that students' associations are the hotbed of leftist political activity. However, the reality is somewhat different.

Of OUSA's life members (former presidents and notable executive members of their time) only 3.5% have gone on to what could be called left-wing professions (trade unions, community advocacy, etc).

A self-imposed spell in a "prison cell" ended for Otago University Students Association president Logan Edgar yesterday, when he emerged from a cage where he has lived for almost two days.