Victoria Students Join National Call To Action

May 19

Victoria Students Join National Call To Action

Victoria students rallied today in support of a living allowance for all students, reinforcing the message that ‘borrowing to live means debt for life’. They were joined by similar actions by students on other campuses around the country.

Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association president Amanda Hill said that students rallied in the quad before marching down to the office of Marian Hobbs to deliver a ‘debt backpack’ to symbolise the financial burden students face on a daily basis.

“Students should not be forced to borrow in order to live. A living allowance for all students is the only means of lifting this burden of debt from our shoulders” Hill said as she handed over the backpack.

“We are giving Ms Hobbs, as our elected representative, the chance to alleviate some of this $7 billion burden we have on our shoulders”, said Hill.

Students are pinning their hopes on the upcoming budget to deliver some relief for tertiary students, only a third of which receive some kind of living allowance. The rest must borrow from the student loan scheme.

“She must push her Labour party colleagues to direct some of the projected budget surplus into living allowances for students, releasing them of the need to borrow for their everyday expenses”

ENDS

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