Mythbusting
There are a lot of myths floating around VSM and the impact it will have. Here's five of the most common myths:
MYTH #1: I'm forced to be a member of a students' association.
FACT: The current system does not force students to join students' associations in order to study. If you do not wish to be a member, you can opt out and your money will not go to the students' association.
MYTH #2: Roger Douglas' Bill is about giving students a choice.
FACT: If 10% of students sign a petition calling for a referendum on VSM, a binding referendum will be held and students can vote to implement VSM on their campus. This legislation takes away that right to choose.
MYTH #3: "But I never use any of your services..."
FACT: Some people take a lot of the services students' associations provide for granted. Students' associations co-ordinate class representatives and supply student representatives to your institutions internal committees. Some provide textbook discounts and others co-ordinate textbook sales so you can get the best deal. Other services are there when you need them: hardship grants and food parcels, academic and personal advocacy.
Then there's the policy wins your students' association and NZUSA have fought for: a cap on fee rises and interest free student loans that everyone benefits from. If you still think you don't get anything out of your students' association, why don't you take a look at exactly what they do and try to use some of their services? You might even have some fun.
MYTH #4: "Students' associations are all corrupt"
FACT: Proponents of VSM have tried to play up instances of fraud to undermine students' associations and the services they provide. The reality is that students' associations are some of the most transparent and democratic organisations in the country and where fraud has occurred, it has been stopped. The possibility of fraud exists in every organisation, from the world's biggest banks down to your humble students' association and this Bill won't change that.
MYTH #5: I'll save money under VSM
FACT: You pay either way. Most institutions under the Bill will raise their own fees to cover the missing services but you won't control what those services are, how much you have to pay or where it goes. You'll pay more for less too: students' associations rely on a lot of good will, volunteer labour and pay below market rates for staff. You can read more about Australia's failed VSM experiment but there, students ended up paying twice: once through user pays services and once again through fee hikes after institutions stepped in to cover service delivery.
You can take action to stop VSM by making a Select Committee submission, emailing your MPs and talking to your friends about what's at stake.