Jan Thomas impersonator ‘kills’ Fergus the ram, but could he rise again?

Rumours say Massey’s religious priests have heard whispers on the wind that Fergus will rise once more. Photo / Aiden Wilson

“Rest in piss,” said the protester wearing a mask of vice chancellor Jan Thomas ‘massacring’ Massey University’s mascot Fergus the ram. 

Massey students and staff protested at the Palmerston North campus yesterday against job and course cuts for the National Day of Action. 

A satirical Massey Student Against Cuts (SAC) Facebook post said the university didn’t have enough resources for Fergus and as it couldn’t shift the living creature online, higher-ups ruled to have him “humanely euthanised”.

Protesters hung a paper machéd Fergus head and diy body by its hooves on a stick before it was decapitated. 

A student tackled the Jan Thomas impersonator after the attack. Photo / Sammy Carter

The Jan Thomas impersonator said they killed Fergus to cut costs. 

“This animal’s too expensive to keep, I need my salary,” finishing by holding up a peace sign.

The vice chancellor was last reported to earn $586,000 per annum.   

Despite the brutal ‘murder’, Students Against Cuts member Josh said, “Some of our religious priests have heard whispers on the wind that he will rise once more, and continue the fight.” 

Fergus the ram is named after the university's namesake William Ferguson Massey, and can be seen in the university’s logo. 

“If these cuts go ahead we kind of see that as a death blow. Fergus is basically dead,” Josh said. 

The protest comes as up to one third of the papers currently offered at Massey could be cut as well as up to 285 staff.

Protesters chalked “Massey must be saved” and “leave us alone!” outside the University House. 

Last month, two students were given a verbal trespass at the Manawatū Open Day for chalking against the cuts as security told them it was “vandalism”. However, yesterday’s protesters were not told off. 

Despite past incidents, no one was verbally trespassed or told off for chalking against the cuts yesterday. Photo / Leila Lois

At least 89 staff had been accepted for voluntary enhanced cessation, after the university offered it in July and August. 

“We kinda see these cuts as being a process of a death spiral for Massey,” Josh said. 

The university recently announced a year-to-date operating deficit of $14.2 million dollars. 

He wanted the university to communicate clearly, saying it was “outright cruel” for staff and students to find out their courses are cut through the media. 

Josh asked the vice chancellor and council to sign on to the Tertiary Education Union’s open letter asking the government to increase funding, as the Victoria University and University of Otago vice chancellors had.  

While the university declined to comment on the protest, a Massey spokesperson previously said, “As the university continues to work towards a more financially sustainable future, we need to identify improvements so that we work more efficiently”.  

In July the spokesperson said that Massey must continue to find ways to use taxpayer money wisely to ensure a sustainable future in its core areas of teaching, learning, and research.  

Students marched through the campus chanting, “Workers rights are under attack". Photo / Leila Lois

PhD student Matt said the university had used its ‘No and Low Enrolment’ policy and ‘Digital Plus’ policy to avoid institutional democracy. 

Massey had updated its ‘No and Low Enrolment’ policy and procedures which would make it easier for the university to cut courses without input from the staff.  

The new ‘Digital Plus’ policy aimed to anchor each college to be taught at just one physical campus with online study, unless it could be financially justified.   

Matt said as far as he was aware, the university hadn’t attempted “even the pretense of dialogue with the student body”. 

He said students have more power than they think they do - more power than the staff who can be “fired and ignored”. 

He said Massey saw students as “clients”, giving them power as paying customers. 

He was proud to see students “reclaiming their power” at the protest, and hoped they would maintain momentum.