Dear John,
What happened last Monday when Campbell Live ran that story about the Cleveland Motel? What the fuck happened, John?
The essence of what Clayton Anderson presented—in your lead story—was that students are an unstoppable force of nature: primed to vomit on any surface, destroy all your property and intimidate you.
Anderson says, “But students don’t accept the criticism.” Well of course they don’t, John, because the criticism is wrong. Yes, there was some tomfoolery by students. But VUWSA has won a court case where the Farquhar’s claims were shown to be a whole load of crap.
Not only that but The Cleveland Motel acted unreasonably by kicking out the VUW students—leaving them without accommodation and nearly $5000 out of pocket.
In a story here in Salient directly after the events, 2008 News Editor Seonah Choi points out there were claims that Mr. Farquhar had man-handled Team Vic’s Manager, called one student “a fucking bitch”, verbally abused other students, used racial slurs against others, and that the moteliers were unconcerned about a student who needed medical attention. The students were evicted in the pouring rain and then didn’t get their money back.
In a more recent story, Michael Oliver reports that VUWSA won the Disputes Tribunal hearing because the Cleveland motel could not prove under any circumstance that there had been cleaning costs or even damage costs to the extent they claimed.
All this information was missed by the story on Campbell Live. Heaven forbid that a small business owner—who says ridiculous things like: “Get the bikey gang in, or the Mongrel Mob in; but not the students,” and “You fucks, you scum of the earth. Look what you little pricks did down in fucking Dunedin! Scum of the earth, go save the world! Go save the fucking whales!”—be wrong? Anderson’s story gives false balance by including a few lame quotes from Freemantle and not explaining that even though VUWSA students have accommodation, it is over an hour’s drive away from New Plymouth, ironically located at an alcohol-free marae in Hawera.
In an interview with Salient in 2003 you said, “The issue is whether you can tell the truth as well as you are able.” This story was not even half truth. There is definitely an agenda behind this story, and it is not the truth, John.
Very few of the white, middle-class New Zealanders—for whom your show caters—will probably read this. But there is the hope that when some unsuspecting motelier Googles to find stories that will reinforce their irrational dislike of students, they may actually find this counterpoint.
If only Obama were the President of New Zealand. Shit like this wouldn’t happen.
Yours disappointedly,
Salient