Relations between members of Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA)’s Executive have been strained following an appearance of an apology for the loss of the association’s digital Food bank database.
The confidential data, which contained the names and contact details of Victoria students who made use of VUWSA’s Food bank service, was on a laptop owned by Education Welfare Officer Robert Latimer, and was lost during a trip to Nelson.
The Executive issued a collective apology to students in last week’s issue of Salient, though Latimer himself was not involved in its construction, nor did he see it before it went to print.
The apology maintained that while Latimer was responsible for the loss of the database, the Executive as whole took responsibility for allowing him to work on it outside of VUWSA’s premises.
Latimer, upset by the wording of the apology, claimed the Executive was using him as a “scapegoat” for a miscellaneous mishap that could have “happened to anyone”.
“The way that it was worded, which I was not allowed to be a part of, indicated that they were blaming it entirely on me, as if I wanted my bag to be stolen with my laptop in it,” Latimer said.
He contends the decision not to issue an apology himself was justified.
“Apologising for someone stealing items is not necessary as it could happen anytime, anywhere.”
When questioned why he was excluded from composing the collective apology, Latimer said that he believed “certain executive members” were using the situation as a way of ousting him from his elected position.
“I personally believe it is because [Education Vice President] Freya Eng, [Welfare Vice President] Seamus Brady and [VUWSA President] Jasmine Freemantle have personal issues against me. We don’t see eye to eye on issues.”
Latimer’s unhappiness manifested itself in an incident in the VUWSA reception on 18 May, where he reportedly yelled at VUWSA President Jasmine Freemantle for being referred to as “Latimer” instead of “Mr. Latimer” in the apology letter.
He noted a number of heated exchanges between himself and both Eng and Brady, while simultaneously feeling “intimidated” by Freemantle’s style of presidency.
“The [vice presidents] are very tight, a little bit too tight for it to be democratic,” he said.
VUWSA President Jasmine Freemantle said that VUWSA would be taking formal steps to ensure confidential information was not so susceptible to theft.
She also believed that Latimer needed to exercise a duty of care for the missing data.
“As the one in charge of the information, he should recognise that,” she said.
Welfare Vice-President Seamus Brady expressed worry about the reputation of VUWSA and the Food bank due to the incident, as well as possible repercussions the lost data might have for the Food bank’s funding next year.
He has since spoken to the Head of Student Finance and the Head of Student Services who sit on the committee which funds the Food bank service.
“They realised it was a shit position to be in because it was stolen, and they seemed to understand,” he said.
Brady was hesitant as to whether students could still trust Latimer, admitting that it was very unfortunate that he lost his bag, but that the question of trust was “up to the students.”
Despite the incident, Brady is certain that students could still trust the Executive whom he asserted is “much better than last year.”