To spite the author of a letter printed in last week’s issue that so scathingly criticised my apparent apathy towards the Eye on Exec column (grossly inaccurate, by the way – the feeling is usually directed at general VUWSA-related anything and apathy is probably a mild term to use), I sat in on the exec’s meeting last Wednesday evening with the sole intention of reporting shit.
Within a minute of commencing, the meeting moved into committee before moving out almost as quickly. Seemingly, this efficiency did not appear to last, with Welfare Vice- President Melissa Barnard requesting that the meeting be sped up. “I just got a text saying that the storm is heading our way,” she explained.
Considering the meeting lasted an hour and a half, it seems improbable that the rest of the exec took serious heed of this weather warning. To their credit (I say that with reluctance), they did cover several matters of importance. Relatively speaking, of course.
Among the issues discussed were Snapper cards, the new electronic ticketing and payment system that the miniscule readership of this column may have noticed on-campus in recent weeks. The introduction of these cards has posed a problem for VUWSA – who at present provide free bus tickets for students with classes between two campuses – as GO Wellington plan to eventually replace the current ticket system with the cards over the next year.
A transition to funding Snapper cards for students was briefly contemplated, but a resolution was not reached: “Let’s leave it to next year’s muppets,” Queer Rights Officer Rachael Wright suggested.
Other matters were resolved, at least – temporarily, anyway, such as both VUWSA and Salient being stuck with shitbox printers until the exec sorts out its cash flow. Administration Vice-President Alexander Neilson blamed leftover costs from O-Week, prompting Campaigns Officer Sonny Thomas to demand to know why the exec was still receiving bills for an event that was held at the beginning of the year. Neilson explained that invoices were still being received several months later, but admitted that others had been “misplaced.”
No one seemed to interpret this concession as a worrisome display of gross incompetence and Neilson proceeded to table dates for this year’s general elections. Conveniently, the dates he suggested – nominations to close September 4 and polling open from September 12 to 18 – are the latest possible according to the VUWSA Constitution. The motion was repeated before it was passed for the benefit of Education Vice- President Paul Brown, who announced that he hadn’t been listening the first time.
By this stage, I was beginning think that the meeting would end with a shortage of bitching very uncharacteristic of the exec, but American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice proved to be an ample catalyst when the topic of the $10,000 reward offered by the exec for her arrest arose.
Clubs Officer Katie de Roo told the exec that she did not appreciate the reward being announced on behalf of the entire exec without all their approval. “[The reward] is a frivolous way to spend students’ money,” she added.
Wright complained that the $10,000 offered was greater than the amount allocated to the women’s budget. “Do you want to give me $10,000? I’ll go arrest someone.”
“Moves [like the reward] should not be made in everyone’s name without consultation. And now I’m going to start calling you [2007 VUWSA President] Geoff [Hayward].” (NB: Hayward was frequently criticised for his communication skills – or lack thereof – during his presidential term.)
Thomas described Rice as “a fucking vicious piece of shit.”
Cosgrove defended the decision to offer the reward but conceded that it was a “bad move” not to inform his executive before doing so.
“Alright, Geoff, let’s move on,” Barnard replied.
The VUWSA food bank was the next hot topic on the agenda. Barnard reported that the food bank had given out over 400 food parcels to date this year, exceeding the total amount distributed in 2007. Based on last year’s projections, she predicted that the $4,000 remaining in her budget would be insufficient to cover the expected demand for parcels later in the year. However, hope remains for poor students, with the exec relying on an additional $5,000 from the Student Hardship Committee. They are also on the hunt for sources of food donations.
The best being saved for last was indeed the case last week, with a sexual harassment complaint against Cosgrove raised as the last item during the meeting. The matter was discussed in committee (i.e. I can’t report on it), but I can report on what I know of it exclusive of the meeting: a Salient staff member has laid a complaint against Cosgrove for a certain comment he allegedly made following a recent VUWSA event. The staff member is seeking a written apology from Cosgrove, and has requested for motions of restraint and censure to be passed by the exec against him. These were passed during the meeting.
After the meeting had adjourned, I typically attempted to make a quick getaway but was hampered by Thomas, who approached me away from the other exec members and advised me to report on the in-committee goings-on, presumably to portray Cosgrove in a poor light. Scandalous. Thankfully, or perhaps not so for him, I take my journalistic integrity extremely seriously and wrote about him instead.