The President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations is today visiting Macquarie University to meet with their Postgraduate Representative Association, as the University prepares to forcibly wind up the longstanding organisation.
The National President of CAPA, Meghan Hopper, has revealed that despite writing over four weeks ago to request a meeting with Macquarie University’s Vice Chancellor, Bruce Dowton, to discuss the University’s dispute with MUPRA, the Vice Chancellor’s office had failed to respond.
“The Macquarie University Vice Chancellor’s failure to respond to a simple request for a meeting with the national representative of postgraduate students, is symptomatic of that University’s ongoing disregard for student representation,” said Meghan Hopper, President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.
“There are no more ifs or buts about it: the administration of Macquarie University does not believe in democratically elected, independent student representation and it’s a stance that CAPA firmly rejects,” said Meghan Hopper, CAPA President.
“When Macquarie University forcibly wound up the undergraduate association her in late 2012 and announced that they would replace democratically elected student representatives with a selection of students hand picked by them to “advise”, we were concerned that the same fate would befall MUPRA and now our fears have been realised,” Ms Hopper said.
“At CAPA, we have no time for bodies that purport to be representative of students but are in fact made up of students ‘cherry picked’ by University Administration to agree with them,” Ms Hopper said.
“Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association is the sole democratically elected, independent voice of postgraduate and higher degree by research students at Macquarie University one of the oldest such organisations in the country, one of the few remaining independent postgraduate associations at a non Group of 8 University in the post VSU era,” said Ms Hopper.
“CAPA stands firmly behind MUPRA and its 2013 President, Tim Hendry. We will not recognise any other body as the representatives of postgraduates at Macquarie University and we will continue to work with Tim to ensure that the postgraduate voice at Macquarie is represented,” Ms Hopper said.
Macquarie University Provost, Judyth Sachs wrote to MUPRA President Tim Hendry on April 2nd, indicating Macquarie University’s intention to forcibly wind up the Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association.
“In announcing their intention to wind up MUPRA, Macquarie University has alleged financial impropriety, failure to represent postgraduate students, and failure to provide services to postgraduate students. Macquarie University is wrong,” said MUPRA President, Tim Hendry.
“Macquarie University is so desperate to make sure postgraduates do not have an independent voice on campus that it is prepared to defame the good names of students who have volunteered their time and effort to advance the interests of postgraduatestudents at Macquarie University,” Mr Hendry said.
Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association has compiled a list of facts of the University’s dispute with them.
“The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations will today launch a petition and letter writing campaign, letting Macquarie University know that their continued campaign to silence the voice of their students is not on,” said Ms Hopper.
The President of MUPRA will meet with the Macquarie University Provost on May 6th for a “hearing” to determine the future of MUPRA.
Meghan B. Hopper, President
Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
president@capa.edu.au
0421 807 303
On the closure of Macquarie University Student Representative Association (undergraduate body):
On Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association:
www.mupra.com
On the CAPA letter writing and petition campaign (online from the morning of May 2nd):
www.capa.edu.au
