Editorial: Who pays for Massive?

I was driving with my passenger prince and designer Luka on the way to a cover photoshoot. In between talking shit and playing bad music, the students in the backseat asked us, “Are you guys volunteers?” and “Massey pays for the mag, aye?” and “Massey approves every issue, right?” 

“Do you really think Massey would approve of our shit?” is my most common response, accompanied by a shaking head.  

Massive, like many student magazines around the country, is funded by the student services fee, also known as the student services levy. This fee gets you guys things like health and counselling services, clubs, sports, advocacy, employment support and so much more. 

A small 1.2% of this fee goes to funding Massive. We are funded by students, for students. For the most part, this 1.2% pays for mine and our designer’s full-time salaries, our part-time writers and illustrators pay, printing and delivery costs, and the odd quirky costume for a shoot. This money is given to us through your student association, Te Tira Ahu Pae. Technically, Massive is a service provided by the student association, however, we maintain editorial independence from them and the university. No one outside the Massive team must ‘approve’ the magazine before we go to print.  

If you ask any student magazine editor, they will probably all say that their magazine is the poorest (except for Critic and Salient – we know you guys are the ballers in this game).  

Massive has had an incredibly small budget since it began in 2012. In the past, Massive could only afford to be online, or printed once a month, or printed every other week. It is a stretch for us to be able to print issues every week this year, and it took a lot of financial juggling from me, a 21-year-old who knows nothing about finances. Advertising also helps us to get a little more change in our pockets, and we do have ad quotas to meet.  

It’s a constant struggle of wanting more money to hire more students, print more magazines, and work on bigger projects. But if you want Massive to talk more shit and investigate more of Massey’s antics, you can fill out the student services fee feedback form on Massey’s website.