What the fuck is going on with MUSA?

A deep-dive into THAT exec meeting, the open letter, and what to expect next.

THAT Meeting: 

On the 26th of May, MUSA hosted only their second exec meeting for the year, despite their constitutional requirements to host one every month. Thanks to an open letter circulating Palmy, students attended the meeting in droves. No, seriously. At least 50 students turned up. Just for a board meeting! Not even an AGM or SGM. In my 4 years reporting on student politics, I have never fucking witnessed a thing like this in my life. 

The meeting went on for almost 2 hours with open floor questions before the exec could even reach their first agenda item. Issues were wide-ranging, but can be broken down to a few key points: the merger, transparency, the General Manager redundancy and so forth. We’ll dissect these juicy tidbits in the subheadings below!

Perhaps most notably, there was a prominent display of in-person fighting during the exec meeting. Alex Johnston, Education Officer butted heads with, well, a lot of the exec, but notably President Fatima Imran. With discussions of the merger taking place, Alex asked the exec, “Why is most of what you’ve said complete news to me?” Marla Beissel, the Equity officer, replied that the information was “not news to me, all of us know this,” with other exec members maintaining that they too had been consulted. Awkward! Long story short, there’s definitely a divide between the exec, and the audience felt it too. All in all, they were NOT impressed by it.

Overall, Fatima said she felt happy with the meeting, but told Massive, “My issues were that we didn’t come across as a united front and hopefully that’s what we’ll aim to do from here.”

The Merger(s): 

Okay, so the Merger has been fucking confusing. Let’s clear it up. There are two Mergers being discussed. One with Service Levy Agreements (SLA’s), and then an organisational merger. 

The SLA merger is the one that “is being demanded by the university”, according to Fatima, and has been in the works for the past ten years. That merger is the one that is definitely happening and is going ahead at the end of the semester. This is largely operational focussed, so instead of the four student execs sending out four different SLA’s to the University and receiving back different funding accordingly, that process will now be streamlined into one SLA. Tessa Guest, President of MAWSA, says, “going into the second half of the year, we will have one single SLA. The way we divvy up the funding is completely up to us”. 

A Massey spokesperson told Stuff that the move to one agreement was about providing equitable and efficient services to students no matter where they were located. “Having one agreement, not four, would allow for more efficient and effective ways of working and delivering these services to students.” They imagined that, over time, “a move to a single service provider could mean more money for services to students if operational efficiencies can be made.” 

The second merger is the one that was mentioned in the press releases, and is about merging the organisations together as one. That’s the one that has the greatest potential for change, but the one that has gotten students up in arms. As Fatima said, “Nothing’s happened! The press release was just to let people know what’s happening, it’s our way of showing transparency. Whether it came across like that, who knows.” So if you’re confused, god knows you’re not the only one. If I’m honest, it definitely did not come across well in the meeting. 

Right now, this organisational merger is still in an early investigative stage that will soon be gathering student consultation and feedback, to decide whether it’s worth pursuing further. Does that make sense? Honestly, I don’t even know anymore. Just remember: there are TWO mergers. Massey is forcing them to do one, not the other. One is definitely going ahead, the other is in the preliminary stages. Got it? 

The second open letter: 

You all remember the first open letter. You couldn’t forget the response! But now, drumroll for…the second open letter! 

In this letter now circulating, students note that they are “dissatisfied” with the justifications given in Fatima’s response, and “present a list of key questions which we believe must be answered to restore students’ trust in current MUSA student governance.” Leola Meynell told Massive, “It is the very basics of what they should be doing anyway - without this, how are students supposed to trust their Exec?” 

If I’m honest, this is a really long letter, and a motherfucker to summarise. If you want to read it, it can be found here. Their list of demands can also be found here. Essentially, they want documentation to be presented to students, from general executive reports to minutes discussing the GM’s redundancy. With some of these requests, they’re likely to not exist, such as minutes discussing the GM redundancy, since that meeting wasn’t a board matter.

If you’re really curious, here’s an example of a question raised in the second open letter:

“Is the MUSA President aware that her statement [about the decision to take redundancy made by Craig] contravenes employment regulations set out in the Employment Relations Act 2000, that redundancies, including voluntary redundancies, cannot be made before “going through a full and sound restructure process” (Ministry of Business, 2021)?”

(Massive thinks: This is definitely a legitimate question, and it’ll be interesting to see what Fatima thinks. Although at the point where anyone is reading the Employment Relations Act about a General Manager of a student executive taking redundancy, you just kinda have to ask….why? Like sure, be passionate about student politics. This is a bit overkill, but whatevs.) 

Fatima has promised that a response to the second open letter will be circulated before the AGM. Here’s hoping!

The GM debacle: 

As reported by Massive, MUSA General Manager Craig Black recently took voluntary redundancy, due to a potential restructure within the organisation.

The General Manager redundancy is dominating the conversation, a LOT. The thing is, as much as students want transparency, this isn’t really a conversation where you can get any. In every student organisation, there are two sides: governance, and operational. Executives cover governance, such as strategic planning, student representation, and so on. Operational is more the day-to-day running of services, and is managed by actual long-running staff, such as the General Manager.

What this means is that the operational side of executives is often protected by commercial interests and that information isn’t always readily available to students.

Throughout the meeting, Fatima continued to highlight this confidentiality that limits the amount she can speak on the matter. She said, “Although I am accountable to you guys, my relationship with Craig was an employee-employer relationship. So whatever issues, whatever was discussed between us, it was a voluntary redundancy, meaning that he wanted to leave and MUSA accepted….Whatever I’ve said is all I can say.”

She does, however, admit that HR was involved in the process, and she also spoke with legal advice before any decisions were made: “I’ve done what I could have done from my end.” 

Fatima confirmed that the redundancy of the MUSA general manager was not voted by the board, but rather a decision made between her and the GM, with the GM choosing to take a general redundancy. She also noted that she is not getting paid for taking on any GM responsibilities, and clarifies that she has not taken on the GM role, rather is acting as a point of contact for students during the transition.

Will we ever find out what happened? Probably not, since things are pretty tight-lipped from both ends. It’s nice that students care, but with Craig choosing to leave, there’s only so much you can care. C’mon guys.

Students for a Democratic University: 

Out of this chaos, a new group has emerged: Students for a Democratic University. Leola Meynell, who penned the open letter, says, “myself, Joshua Parsons and Benjamin Newton have founded a new student group which we hope will create space for non-partisan student engagement and voices to be heard on the current situation at MUSA.” You can find the page on Facebook, along with their “official statements”. God, sometimes student politics really is the gift that keeps on giving. 

Leola goes on to say, “We want to take up the call for democratic, membership-led politics, and to enable kōrero on the key constitutional, legal, and structural issues.” Benjamin agrees, saying the “new group offers a chance for us to organise students under a cohesive and inclusive banner. This would help streamline the student agenda and I think get answers more efficiently.” 

Leola says she and Students for a Democratic University are “hoping to build relationships with the current and all future MUSA Execs, including the President.” They consider a vote of no-confidence for Fatima “a last-resort, for if MUSA fails to enact its promises and act transparently and democratically” and instead want the AGM “to be an opportunity for our questions and demands to be meaningfully answered.” As Leola summarises, “We're in this for the long haul.” 

If you’re curious, Students for a Democratic University are meeting in the Manawatū library on Wednesday 2nd June at 10am to finalise their approach to the AGM. Leola says “all students are invited. We would love to hear from diverse student groups and get as much engagement as possible,” with any stance the group takes dependant on whether MUSA can address their demands.

The AGM: 

The Annual General Meeting has shifted from Wednesday 2nd of June to Thursday 3rd of June. Quite simply, it’s soon, which is good for students wanting to capitalise on the hype, but not good for students in the middle of exam prep. These little suckers are different from normal board meetings, as students can pass and vote on different amendments, rather than only board members. This is where the next source of drama will be, and Massive will be covering every hot second. 

So can you just rock up and try to push a motion? Well, after a bit of confusion…yeah? In a previous version of this article, Fatima stated that all business matters discussed must be given a clear 7 days notice, or receive an unanimous vote on the floor. However, she’s since clarified that her previous statement was incorrect, and only applicable to SGM’s. For an AGM, she says, “any business can be bought forward that requires no prior notice so a vote of no confidence would be categorized in that.” Exciting! Well, not the no confidence part, but it means that students have a bit more power than previously thought.

Regardless of where you fall on the drama, here’s a hot tip: AGM’s often have pizza. Because execs need a quorum (a certain amount) of students to pass anything, they’ll bribe you to attend! Isn’t that fun! I love pizza. Yum. 

What Massive thinks: 

Finally, what you’ve been waiting for! If you’ve gotten this far, fucking good on you. Now, this is just our editorial opinion, but things feel sketchy on both sides of the house. Let’s break it down! 

The main issue that keeps cropping is transparency. Notably, a lack of meetings, and therefore documents, that’s unconstitutional to the way MUSA should run.

Is it shitty that MUSA hasn’t had regular exec meetings? Yes! Especially because exec meetings don’t have to be that hard, it definitely feels like they’re being overthought. Fatima has been questioned on why she didn’t at least hold zoom meetings during level 2 (although Alex Johnston rightfully pointed out that you could still hold in-person meetings in that level), and her response was "I was unaware if we could do it online, due to inexperience on my end.” This felt like a weak answer, although it’s worth noting that this is Fatima’s first time serving on the exec. With rumours that she didn’t receive much of a handover from the 2020 president, it’s probably a legitimate, if not disappointing, response. However, although presidents are powerful, executive members can, and should still, speak up if they want meetings.

Also, some students involved seem, well, less sincere about transparency and more concerned with just criticising the exec. Take for example, Stefan Biberstein, the 2020 president, who heavily voiced criticism towards the executive in the meeting. The same president who made derogatory comments towards political opponent Rohit Mohan in 2019, and posted alt-right and anti-feminist comments in Reddit in 2014-2016, as reported by Massive at the time. He’s since apologised for both comments, but the fact remains that the backlash that Stefan received is nowhere near the amount that Fatima, a young woman of colour, is facing now for administrative issues.  Just sayin’.

Similarly, it seems genuinely baffling that Alex Johnston maintained ignorance around aspects of the merger, especially when he was on the exec last year. Even more so now that Massey has confirmed that they told executives in September about the SLA merger. One source even told Massive that Alex was the secretary for merger meetings between the Massey and MUSA. Sooooo….yeah. Take from that what you will.

However, that’s not to say that students aren’t justified in voicing their opinions. Some, I genuinely believe are students that are trying to hold accountability within a system that appears somewhat fractured. Students for a Democratic University, despite the terrible name, is a cool idea. They’re trying to work with Fatima, well, they will, hopefully (at the time of the exec meeting, Fatima said no students behind the open letter had met with her). Their approach seems less vindictive, more thoughtful.

Overall, sure, hold MUSA to account. Turn up to meetings, ask questions, get engaged. But if you’re falling down the rabbit hole of SLA’s, AGMS and SGM’s, you might want to take a step back. Trust me, even I don’t want to write about this shit, and I’m being paid to. Be engaged, be interested, but don’t be a dick. And just don’t be like….weird about it? Idk, it’s just a vibe thing, and some of y’all are not passing it.

So what comes next? Well, an AGM on Thursday. Then, it’s anyone’s game. Whether it’s a 3rd open letter (please…no, my brain can’t take it) or a vote of no-confidence towards Fatima, no one really knows. All eyes are on the exec for a response to the second open letter, and a clean, transparent AGM. 

XOXO

Massive.