Been missing your Craccum news fix over the summer? Maybe not (we get it, it’s no crossword). But we’re back to update you on what happened while you were busy partaking in an Ardern-approved 25 person orgy over New Years.
TREND ALERT: Masks!
Summer students have returned to campus under new COVID-19 precautions.
Summer school commenced in-person on January 6th, the first time University of Auckland students have been able to attend classes on campus since August last year. Students and staff have been spotted by Craccum following COVID-19 rules, with masks becoming the must-have accessory of the season (literally).
As well as masks being mandated, the University’s Vaccination Policy came into effect on January 4th for students and visitors, and on January 17th for staff. In an announcement last year, the University stated that a valid My Vaccine Pass is required to come onto campus or to take part in face-to-face activities. Those face-to-face activities include awkwardly running into someone you ghosted crossing the Symonds Street intersection, or the judgemental look you get from the Forte Convenience cashier as you buy a pie for the third day in a row. Isn’t it good to be back!
It’s great to see that everyone is taking necessary precautions for the wellbeing of our community, like applying hand sanitiser and signing in with the COVID Tracer App. However, based on our writer’s personal experience, some students are forgetting another essential item… deodorant. This may be the hottest summer on record, and it certainly smells like it in the Engineering Building.
Staff: 1, UoA Management: 0
COVID-19 commentators Shaun Henry and Siousxie Wiles’ employment complaints against The University of Auckland have been expedited. UoA asks to speak to the manager, says that it’s not fair.
The recently released Employment Relations Authority Determination revealed that Hendy and Wiles brought separate but similar claims against UoA’s Vice-Chancellor, arguing that UoA has not adequately addressed ongoing harassment towards them. The experts first raised concerns about their health and safety to the University at the beginning of the pandemic, and have since been subjected to online threats, doxing, and in-person confrontations as a result of their public health commentary. UoA officials suggested they keep their commentary to a minimum and to take paid leave.
This has led to discussions about whether academics are expected to make public commentary on issues of public interest, and if universities have a responsibility to make sure it is safe for them to do so. Hendy and Wiles have argued that they are expected to provide public commentary as part of their role as researchers. The Determination also stated that their area of expertise has become incredibly relevant to public health and safety during COVID-19.
In response to the official complaints, UoA says that Professors have every right to provide public commentary but they are not expected or required to. They also denied instructing the experts to keep commentary to a minimum, but say they gave this as an option they may want to consider. The University also claims that much of the experts’ commentary has been an outside activity conducted in personal capacity. Despite this, UoA has used the experts’ commentary as part of their marketing material.
The Employment Relations Authority has agreed that a review of their concerns will be expedited directly to the Employment Court, despite objections from the University who claimed the decision was unfair. The same ruling also ordered the University to pay the professors’ legal fees (putting that 2021 Budget Surplus to good use). The Authority says the matter should be resolved as quickly as possible by the court, due to the high amount of public interest in Wiles and Hendy’s expertise.
