Tauira Māori from all sorts of walks of life attend Waikato and all of our journeys here are different. Rather than attempting to write a heavy hitting piece that covers the plethora of tauira Māori experiences, I’ve instead rated a few of the common denominators out of 5 stars.
Kai Spots
2/5 stars
It’s not pai unless it’s free kai, or cheap! Sorry not sorry Bongo and Momento.
What’s next? The sausies don’t really cut it, so I’d love to see some real free and cheap kai on campus coming from the new Union Kitchen.
Racism Hotspots
An optimistic 3/5 stars
I’m rating us a three because when it comes to racism on campus, we can always do better. Are we there yet? Kāore, but we seem like we are on the right track after acknowledging its presence on campus. Looking around at other universities we see some similar steps desperately needing to be made. Did anyone else see the opinion piece by University of Auckland Professors attempting to deny the validity of mātauranga Māori? So yeah, it’s an institution wide thing.
What’s next? This year we will see the implementation of the Taskforce recommendations, so I want to see a campus where tauira Māori feel comfortable inside the classroom and out. Whether that’s through racism and Tiriti education for staff and students or ensuring better Māori teaching representation, I’m looking forward to it!
Campus Space
4/5 stars
A great big four star rating for Māori space on campus. After 20 years of waiting, our dedicated Māori student space, Pūtikitiki, is finally ours! Another bonus this year are the Boon murals on campus. Beautifying of our old and dull buildings with artwork that are visibly mahi toi from Māori artists *chefs kiss*.
What’s next? We’re waiting very patiently for The Pā which is meant to be all about student space – let’s wait and see…
Pāti Life
5/5 stars
Whether it’s DnB and town at midnight, or drinking til the sun rises whilst jamming to the guitar, Māori tauira can do it all. Pāti life at Waikato, sussed.
What’s next? First year students coming to uni knowing their limits perhaps? Now that would be radical.
Student Life
4/5 stars
Tauira Māori at Waikato are spoilt for choice when it comes to getting immersed in the student lifestyle. From initiations all the way to graduations, tauira Māori got it all. We’ve got rōpū Māori hosting kaupapa every week from sports, hakas or games nights, to free stuff from the Māori office, not to mention the after kaupapa court sessions and basically free haerenga. Māori student life at Waikato is impeccable, 4 outta 5 stars deservedly.
What’s next? What would push it to a 5 star rating you ask? Maybe a lil more funding for the rōpū! Seriously, our rōpū are lowkey underfunded and should be recognised for the mahi they do creating such a whānau vibe for tauira campus life.
Love Life
Debatable/5 stars
When you wonder where your mate has gone after a few weeks of no shows to kaupapa, you begin to realise that they ain’t showing up cause they got a mans/missus. Is it true love? Well, it’s not the tahi if it’s you kahi.
What’s next? Here me out. A version of Tinder that makes people list their iwi/hapū so you don’t accidentally swipe right on a cuzzie!
