Claptrap and Burns turning in his grave
As an alumnus I was very disappointed to receive an email from the University of Otago’s chancellor Mr Stephen Higgs advising of the change in the tohu (logo), whilst travelling in the UK.
This makes me wonder if universities in the UK should acknowledge their roots in the Celtic, or Anglo-Saxon cultures prior to the Norman conquests, the earlier peoples. Both Oxford and Cambridge, established in 1096 and 1209 respectively, have their original logos, and have not pursued new "tohus" from Celtic or Anglo-Saxon art or culture.
The ODT editorial (15.7.23) is correct in stating that the primary question, however, is framed in a way that promotes agreement. It asks if the "proposed visual identities reflect the future direction of the university".
This was poorly asked. Delving into the report of various tables shows widespread negative reaction to the proposed tohu.
Rebranding is what corporates do when there is a takeover, not universities.
At a time when university budgets are so tight and staff jobs are threatened, a spend of $1.3 million is totally irresponsible. It is about time that this neoliberal claptrap ends. I am appalled and founder Thomas Burns would turn in his grave.
Service to the public
The Public Service Act 2020 revised workplace expectations of public servants. This Act may be a significant factor influencing the University of Otago in its Vision 2040 and logo changes recently announced.
Universities are independent entities but funded by government. The purposes of the University of Otago Council include the 2020 Public Service Act. University staff must then behave as public servants.
One of the major new requirements for public servants in the 2020 Act is a strengthening of Crown-Māori relationships. The Public Service Commission has stated that this strengthening will mean in practice greater understanding of: te ao Māori concepts, te reo Māori, Tikanga Māori, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This strengthening involves Crown agencies such as Te Puni Kōkiri which advises the Government on Māori policy and includes the Māori language revitalisation strategy Maihi Karauna.
While there is debate about the extent to which the University of Otago has gone in this direction, many of the changes recently announced appear to be in response to the expectations of Government which provides the funding.
Newer terminology such as branding reflect the increasing corporate perspective of university leaders but seem at odds with the core scholastic basis of a university.
Core business
We are all familiar with the media mantra about how successive governments have failed to adequately fund health and education so that we now have long hospital waiting lists and redundancies and course cuts at universities.
These have become election issues and are being further hyped up by the political parties as voting day approaches.
Given these financial restraints, how can the University of Otago afford to fund a $104.7 million student rental property (ODT, 8.6.23) — a 450-bed facility with bedrooms having en suites? How does this advance the avowed university objectives of research, scholarship and academic excellence?
The playing field may already be a level one
Aaron Hawkins talks about inequities in our health, justice and education systems for Māori and the need to level the playing field (ODT, 15.7.23).
My experience in health and education leads me to refute these claims. The playing field is level already.
During my training in surgery in Auckland we operated on many Māori patients based only on their need and they were pleasant and non-complaining patients and I enjoyed treating them.
But they did not follow medical advice and did not attend follow-up clinics. My friend was a general practitioner at Lower Hutt and her experience was the same. So no wonder Māori health stats are worse than Pākehā.
During my surgical career I have taught medical students in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. My colleagues and I always did our best for all our students and even tried harder with Māori and Pacific Island students because we were conscious their communities needed more doctors. Yes we taught Western science-based medicine but that has to be the basis of our healthcare.
Mr Hawkins does himself and his cause no favours by using terms like "white supremist" and "racist" for anyone who disagrees with him.
In fact he stirs up racial tensions.
Pothole programme
Thank you Christopher Luxon for your pledge to spend $500 million on potholes, over three years, if National wins the election. The first you can fill, is the big hole in Dunedin where our hospital was being built. It’s not too late to rethink your priorities and where such money could be better spent.
Manuherikia article fails the scope test
Your Manuherikia article (The Mix, 15.7.23) failed the scope test.
Firstly, food is energy, and can be traced to solar energy; call it sunlit acres. The fact that we are forcing more out of sunlit acres than they could supply in un-augmented state, actually warns us that we are overpopulated; that there are too many of us in the global paddock. Worse, it made no mention of the historic sunlit acres that we call fossil fuels; farming currently requires several calories of fossil oil – a finite resource – to produce one calorie of food. Energy-wise, we are eating our way through a one-off stock of fossilised sunlit acres.
What happens beyond that temporary arrangement, was not mentioned. Exponential growth was always going to be impossible on a finite planet; those who bet wrongly on that, inevitably stand to lose.
Pace of construction
Under John Key’s National government they decided to build a covered stadium after the 2011 earthquake. The funding was decided on by National not Labour. It took till 2021 for a concept plan. This is a building of walls, roof and seating, nothing complicated that a good engineer couldn’t construct. Costs have changed a few times the latest opening date of 2026. Compare this to the building of a hospital. No contest.
Sure to please
National must be even more pleased than usual with Mr Houlahan’s latest column (ODT, 15.7.23). Although the Accessibility for New Zealanders Bill is a disingenuous and cowardly piece of work, for which Labour deserves opprobrium, does anyone really believe National, with Act calling the shots, would do any better?
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