Thomas says competitors are “a joke,”
Freemantle says she is strong competition
Almost immediately following the end of the nomination period in the upcoming VUWSA general elections, two of the candidates for the Association’s presidency have become embroiled in a vicious war of words.
In an email distributed to all the University clubs affiliated with VUWSA, PhD student, Assistant Lecturer of Gender and Women’s Studies and presidential hopeful Jasmine Freemantle declared her opposition to the recently released VUWSA Change Proposal, which, she wrote, “will have a severely negative impact on… clubs.”
Currently, the oversight of all University clubs remains the responsibility of the VUWSAappointed Clubs Development Officer. It was suggested in the Change Proposal that the position be disestablished and the related duties “be undertaken by a negotiated service level between VUWSA and the Student Union [University].”
According to Freemantle, the Change Proposal “wants to give away administration of VUWSA clubs to the University… [that] constantly under-resources student services… [and] tried to scrap programmes in Film and Theatre, and in the Faculty of Education.”
“If [administration of clubs] is given to the University, clubs can be sure they are next.”
Freemantle pointed out that her opponent for the Association’s presidency, current Campaigns Officer Sonny Thomas, was the “unrepentant author of this document.”
Thomas quickly responded, saying that Freemantle had “consistently misrepresented” his views on the issue of clubs funding.
“The Change Proposal I authored will not cut any clubs funding at all,” he said. “In fact, it would make it easier for clubs to operate.”
Despite Thomas’ assertions, his perceived policies in other areas under the administration of VUWSA have prompted the Post-graduate Students’ Association (PGSA) to publicly endorse Freemantle, joining current President Joel Cosgrove with their support of her.
PGSA are currently involved in negotiations with the VUWSA Executive to increase the level of funding that the Association receives. At present, while postgraduate students comprise of almost a fifth of the University population, the Association only receives $48,000 in funding from the total VUWSA budget and $23,000 of this amount pays the salary of the PGSA Executive Assistant.
According to PGSA President Wayne Pihema, Thomas was not open to negotiations. “We found it very difficult to go for an increase. Sonny basically said it isn’t happening, and he was very belligerent in his tactics.”
Pihema added that Thomas had also expressed a willingness to cut funding to Ngai Tauira, the University’s Maori Students’ Association if it became necessary.
“That’s why PGSA are coming out and supporting Jasmine. She is the only viable opponent to Sonny… She is open to negotiations [about funding], she will do her best. I’d much rather work with Jasmine than Sonny in this area.”
When asked about Pihema’s comments, Thomas responded: “I’m not worried about who Wayne votes for. He has been a shortsighted reactionary.”
Regarding the suggestion that he would cut funding to Ngai Tauira, Thomas explained that he had only been referring to Ngai Tauira’s $64,000 surplus, as VUWSA faced a deficit “which has since changed with the re-budget.”
Describing “most” of the other candidates as “a joke,” Thomas expressed his confidence in his campaign for the presidency. “Sean Connors is a joke. William [Wu, current International Officer] is on a student visa and the position is a full-time job.”
“I’m not worried at all by Jasmine,” he said of Freemantle. “Do we want someone backed by Joel? He’s incompetent. The students made a bad choice with him… He can’t shower let alone shave.”
When contacted by Salient, Freemantle said that Thomas was “just completely on the defence.”
Freemantle asserted that she would be a strong competitor against Thomas. “I’m running a strong campaign.”
Cosgrove declined to get into “a slagging match” with Thomas, but pointed out that Thomas had walked out of the exec meeting the previous night following his disagreement over a motion that had been passed. “Throwing his toys… is that strong governance?”
Cosgrove also rejected Thomas’ allegation that he was incompetent. “I negotiated $100,000 compensation for the Unicomm residents and helped save the Film programme and the Gender and Women’s Studies programme. That’s not incompetence.”
“If that’s not success, what’s Sonny’s idea of success? He should step back and look at himself.”