Statement of Solidarity with Māori and Pasifika Spaces on Campus

STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY

We, as Asian student organisations across Aotearoa, make a statement of solidarity in support of Māori and Pasifika[1] spaces on campus. This is in response to recent inaccurate, divisive and harmful rhetoric about these spaces.

First, spaces for Māori, as tangata whenua, should be guaranteed as an obligation under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We recognise that all tertiary campuses are built on indigenous land. Te Tiriti is foundational to Aotearoa and our (tauiwi) being here. Attacks on Te Tiriti are also attacks on everyone’s sense of belonging.

Secondly, safe spaces are necessary and beneficial. Many of our groups benefit from such spaces, which build community and share cultures and lived experiences. These spaces are also necessary given the many instances of interpersonal and systemic racism on campus. In our experiences, these spaces have been welcoming and collaborative. Student learning is also supported, by increasing attendance, bettering student experience and boosting overall educational outcomes.

Thirdly, Māori and Pasifika spaces are sources of inspiration. They take nothing away from us. Universities, when first established through processes of colonisation, were not built with us in mind. The long fight for, and existence of, these spaces challenge Pākehā dominance, and inspire our communities to be ourselves. By making space in these institutions, this is the definition of inclusion. These spaces support the diverse flourishing of tauira in Aotearoa.

Lastly, there is no place for racism that attacks safe spaces. These attacks are harmful to Māori and Pasifika students. Such attacks also give licence to attack other groups. This rhetoric is harmful for social cohesion and race relations. The rhetoric paints an inaccurate picture of safe spaces. This risks challenges to other safe spaces on campus, such as prayer, family, queer and women spaces. We are deeply concerned that such rhetoric will also be used against Asian groups.

We support Māori spaces as protected under Te Tiriti and with Pasifika spaces on

campus, as equitable, inclusive and necessary spaces.

We stand in solidarity with our fellow Māori and Pasifika students.

[1] “Pasifika” is not a settled term.  We use this term, as it has been used in media and by tertiary institutions, to mean all peoples of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, except for tangata whenua of Aotearoa, whom we refer to as Māori.  However, we remain wary of overly simplified terms that group together large, and diverse communities of peoples, including the term “Asian”.  

Signed:

• Asian Law Students’ Society (University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha)

• Asian Law Students’ Association (Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington)

• Chinese Law Club (The University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau)

• Korean Law Students’ Association (The University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau)

• South Asian Law Students’ Association (The University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau)

• Waikato Asian Law Students’ Association (The University of Waikato)

• Waikato Muslim Students’ Association (The University of Waikato)

• Otago Asian Law Students’ Association (Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka | The University of Otago)

• Victoria University Japanese Students’ Association (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington)

• Otago Malaysian Students’ Association (OMSA) (Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka | The University of Otago)

• Taiwanese And New Zealand Students’ Association (TANSA) (The University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau)

• Victoria University Filipino Students’ Association (Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington

• Auckland Muslim Students Association (The University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau)

• Eastern Students' Association (ESA) (The University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau)

• Otago Japanese Students Association (OJSA) (The University of Otago)

• Japanese Auckland Meet-up Plus (JAM+) (The University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau)

• Muslim University Students Association (MUSA) (The University of Otago)

• Vietnamese Students’ Association in Wellington (VSAW) (Victoria University of Wellington)

• Wellington Malaysian Students’ Organization (WMSO) (Victoria University of Wellington)

Supported by: The Asian Legal Network

Download this statement here.