Massey University refuses to make a stance on war on Palestine

Massey students want the university to take a stance on the genocide taking place in Palestine, but the university says they have done what is “appropriate”.  

Since October, Israel has waged an indiscriminate assault against the people of Gaza, murdering over 33,000 and destroying hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, factories, homes, food and water sources.   

An Albany student who wished to remain anonymous said they hadn’t heard anything about Palestine from the university.  

“That makes me think as though they don’t feel the need to support Palestine and they just don’t want to put the effort into supporting them.” 

On May 1st, University of Auckland students showed up to campus with tents to protest, insisting that their university take a stance. Students wore the colours of the Palestine flag and chalked ‘Free Palestine’ on the ground.  

Photo / Newshub

The Massey student wanted to see protesting at Massey.  

“As we are such a big known name across New Zealand, if all campuses got involved in standing up for Palestine, I believe that this would help bring more awareness to this situation.”  

A Massey University spokesperson, “As is appropriate for a university, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University has not taken a single position on this issue.”  

“We are of course saddened to see the violence and loss of human life.” 

“We encourage our students to discuss the issues and engage in informed debate as is appropriate for a university. We also respect the academic expertise of our experts in this area.” 

Another anonymous student said, “The student body could be organizing protests on the campus and spreading more awareness for those that are not so educated on the situation.”