The Wellington Campus Review
Like every university and business, Massey University’s Wellington campus has its significant ups and downs. Although, I can confidently say that the Wellington campus is leaning more towards the downward scale.
There are many factors that work to position Massey on this side of the scale, factors of which include; the lack of student culture, a lack of student common rooms and more importantly, for the last five years, the lack of a marae which is a pivotal space for Maori students on campus.
A Massey representative recently commented on the completion of the marae saying, “Importantly, we want to be able to open the Marae once all work is fully completed and to then share what will be an incredible and culturally significant space for the Pukeahu Campus.”
These are the same comments that Massey representatives have been saying for years. It seems as if Massey has a significant issue with their infrastructure as many common and shared areas are vacant and have been for years.
This may relate to Massey’s Digital Plus framework, in which the university aims to ‘future-proof’ the university in the next three to five years, through the use of more digitised learning. The university calls this ‘anchoring’, which means some subjects will only be available at one campus or online.
Some students on the Wellington campus have it better than others, which includes a better culture surrounding their degree. The design block at Massey Wellington is new and accommodating, and the students work in unison through the use of shared spaces which creates a better student culture.
This culture also allows for students to feel more secure in their work, as they have their peers to bounce ideas off and also learn from.
On the other hand, communication students at Massey Wellington make up one of the largest cohorts of students, but currently have no shared space and little culture.
MAWSA’s Communication Executive Basti Todd believes that a shared space for Massey Wellington’s communication students will grow the culture, and give students more of a sense of community.
Even staff on Massey’s Wellington campus have an issue with the infrastructure; they once had a staff common room within Block 5 on floor F. This allowed for all staff to come together to eat and converse about their jobs and lives, until it was repurposed into an executive office for previous Vice Chancellor, Steve Maharey for about two seconds flat, and has remained empty ever since.
The reasoning for the lack of shared common spaces for student cohorts regards how Massey is a business first and a university second. Student groups and associations are charged rent for the spaces they use, which often makes these spaces unattainable for student related use.
This inherently contributes to the lack of community within the campus as students don’t get as many chances as they should to meet and interact with each other. They only really get to know their peers through first year halls or sometimes class.
The issue seems to spread across the other Massey campuses too, as neither have many shared common spaces and if they do, it’s for their main cohorts such as engineering or veterinary studies.
Massive’s Manawatu writer James Pocock also highlighted the delay of Massey Wellington's “Wellbeing Hub”, in a recent piece. The Wellbeing Hub took over the campus’s only book store in 2019 and was meant to be opened at the beginning of this year. When reached for comment this month, Massey Wellington Student Life Services manager Debbie Snelson said, “We still haven’t set a date for the opening of the Wellbeing Hub yet as we are still progressing its establishment and will open it when we have everything in place.”
Students like to think of a university as an interactive learning environment. Although Massey is more than a university, it is a business that generates millions of dollars of profit every year, then directs the profit into what some might argue are the wrong areas.
Since we have no bookstore here, I believe it would be easier to ask one of the highly talented design students on campus to make you a note pad, and then find an industrial design student to make you a functioning pen, than it would be to buy one on campus.
Well, I thought I should end on some positives. I can guarantee for your first year or so you probably will not think of these issues, which can be a positive.
The blossom trees outside Tussock flower in the summer and they are pretty beautiful to look at. There is a toilet underneath the stairs of Block 5 that no one uses and it’s pretty relaxing. The campus is also insanely close to town so you can procrastinate with your mates on a daily basis then wonder where the world went.
The student association is also the most active out of the three and prompts the most change, and Koha Coffee sponsored by Peoples on Wednesday and Thursday is absolutely banging!
Massey does have some issues, some more important than others. But on the whole, it’s a pretty good environment to learn in and the lecturers are more than helpful in the completion of your studies. I don’t have any regrets about going to Massey but I would like to see some improvements in the use of their physical campuses in the years to come to better future students’ experiences.