Protest activity in central Wellington has seen Te Herenga Waka -Victoria University of Wellington extend the temporary closure of its Pipitea campus to most students until Monday, April 11, 2022.
First-year classes that would have been held at the Old Government Buildings or Rutherford House at Pipitea campus will now be delivered at the Kelburn campus, as well as online. New students’ orientation tours that were intended to take place at Pipitea campus will not go ahead. All other level courses will be offered solely online, with some exceptions. Affected staff and students have been provided with futher information.
“Senior staff have been working closely with the staff and students of the affected faculties (the Wellington School of Business and Government and the Faculty of Law) as well as other student groups and key stakeholders about this difficult decision,” vice-chancellor Professor Grant Guilford says.
“We are disappointed that the protests have created this disruption to our teaching and research and acknowledge the impact this has had on staff and students as they prepare for the start of Trimester 1.
“However, we would also like to express our thanks for the admirable resilience and resourcefulness of our university community,” Guilford says. “Our people - both staff and students - have risen to the unprecedented dual challenges of a campus occupation on top of the pandemic and are determined to get our academic year successfully underway while protecting the health and safety of all concerned.”