Staff, students protest marine science cuts
ABOUT 250 academics, students, and members of environmental groups attended a rally to protest against the potential loss of three marine science jobs at the University of Otago, described by one student as a ‘‘travesty’’.
The rally began outside the Mellor Labs at 12.30pm yesterday, before submissions closed at 5pm.
Students publicly praised the eight academics whose roles would be reviewed if a new proposal went ahead, before delivering a petition with 6500 signatures and individual submissions to the Division of Sciences.
Among those who spoke at the rally was secondyear marine science student Tyler Feary, who called the proposal ‘‘terrible’’ and a ‘‘travesty’’.
‘‘They promote it quite heavily . . . it’s all ecofriendly and everything and they’re promoting the lecturers who are on the line, all the awards that they’ve won.
‘‘[The lecturers] are just the most amazing, intelligent people I’ve ever met.’’
Under the Management of Change Proposal the university has proposed three jobs would go to help address the department’s deficit, $4.2 million by the end of this year.
Other changes include the sale of two vessels and changes to lab positions.
Prof Hamish Spencer, a zoologist, appointed one of the university’s seven sesquicentennial chairs earlier this month, said he felt a focus on money ahead of strategy was taking the university ‘‘in the wrong direction’’.
He suggested the Division of Sciences needed to be viewed as a whole.
‘‘They are looking at different parts of the division as different units and asking not about strategy or direction, they’re asking about finance and then going on from there.
‘‘If you do that you end up picking off bits of the division that are not financially sustainable on their own terms but that isn’t what you should be doing.
‘‘Marine science . . . involves boats, it involves fieldwork, it involves field stations. It’s always going to be an expensive thing to do.’’
His wife was one of the staff members who would fall under the review — but that was not the main reason for him attending the protest, he said.
The younger generation were focused on climate change, and marine science was the obvious place for them to learn about it.
At the rally were members of the South East Marine Protection Forum and Forest and Bird, who had also prepared submissions.
Head of the Division of Sciences Prof Richard Barker said he admired the students for the support they were showing staff, and for their ‘‘passion for our oceans’’.
‘‘However, the income from just 140 students and research grants received by staff is insufficient to cover all of the services that support the department and their students.’’
Staff are expected to be informed of all changes happening by the end of November.