EVP Resignation

"I have no wish to be a member of an organisation where senior members of National Office mislead National Executive in order to save their own necks"—Education Vice President Stephanie Dale in her letter of resignation.

"Some people might think I'm irresponsible but quite frankly I'm past caring"—Dale on April 1st.

On the evening of April 1st the meeting turned to the question of Stephanie Dale's resignation. She had been unhappy in National Office, and felt "torn between two loyalties": Otago from where she originates, and NZUSA. As she explained it, she expected a rather different kind of role for herself when she stood for the job at the end of last year; not the hard working and largely unthanked officer which everybody expects from those in National Office but, "a more decorative function chatting up Gandar". Dale owed her selection, not to her potential competence, but to the fact that her opponent (Lindy Cassidy) was from Victoria.

She described herself as the "token non-Maoist" in National Office, and quoted National Vice President David Merritt's assertion that everyone on National Executive (sic) is a member of a Wellington Marx-Marxist-Lenninist organisation. She said she was "not a political person"

Events leading up to Dale's resignation throw light on her attitude to NZUSA. During the preceding week she went to Auckland on NZUSA business. While there she decided she needed a break, so without telling National Office she left for Hawkes Bay. During that time an important bursaries meeting, which she was supposed to chair, was held. Without returning to Wellington Dale then flew to Dunedin. She enrolled at Otago, was elected as a student rep onto the university Council the same day, and on the next day handed in her resignation to Otago President Andrew Guest. It was not for 3 days that the NZUSA President was even informed.

At the April 1st meeting, most members took strong exception to the unsubstantiated nature of the accusations made in the letter, to Dale's offhand attitude to NZUSA procedure, to the timing of her departure, and to her generally flippant attitude to the very serious problems that face the organisation.

Right now NZUSA is in the middle of its biggest [unclear: caiign] of the year so far: bursaries. Even though bursaries is the number one priority, Dale did not feel any qualms about leaving everyone in the lurch. She had not been able to get the campaign rolling and it is doubtful whether she really tried.

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Dale's "Maoist" accusations in concert with Merritt were nothing short of "redbaiting". Political beliefs are no grounds for prejudice if the accused is doing his/ her job.

At this point Dale announced that she was not going to stay and be criticised, and was leaving for a prior engagement anyway. NZUSA President Lisa Sacksen was in the midst of telling her that she was still a National Officer until midnight when Massey President Mike Pratt jumped angrily to his feet. "You're a servant, paid by us, and you must stay while we sort this out," he boomed. There was no doubt that he spoke for others. No matter how people saw the present leadership no one was prepared to tolerate a casual approach to the very problems they were trying to solve.

Time and again the meeting returned to the question of a National Officer's responsibilities. Dale said that she was unwilling to explain to students NZUSA policy which she did not believe in. Said Pratt; "What have you been asked to do that you're against?" Dale had no answer.

"Why did you stand?" he continued. She had an answer to that one: Last year year's EVP and Otago President had both pushed her into it, and when she found that Lindy Cassidy was standing she made the final decision. An Otago person in National Office would have kept Otago in NZUSA, she claimed.

However it was Sacksen who hit the nail on the head. When one is elected to represent a body of people, she stated, one must do just that. Those people have the absolute right to control you, and the only virtue in what you do is when you are efficient and involve the largest possible number of people in your work. It is not a special favour to your constituents when you actually do something as instructed; likewise it is not a matter of personal choice when you do not act as you are told.

We are not elected to resign, she remind ed the meeting. There are only two ways to get out of an elected responsibility: to be sacked or not to be re-elected. Matters of policy and personality do not come into it.

And what of the accusations in Dale's Letter (see box)? She could not or would not support any of them. Some displayed an extraordinary lack of knowledge on just how NZUSA is run. "Lack of any real work on the creche report," for example, was an attempted slight on Research Officer Dave MacPherson. But it [unclear: hver] been given to him as a priority, and certainly wasn't one of hers. The list goes on and on.

National Office is now working very hard making up for lost time on the bursaries campaign. With James Movick out of the country its effectiveness is severely depleted. In the long term Dale is right; she didn't have her heart in working for NZUSA, but right now she has done her best to precipitate an organisational crisis which is proving hard to cope with.