Students, staff faced death threats over designated spaces

New Zealand’s University of Auckland has revealed students and staff received death threats during the controversy over designated spaces for Pasifika and Maori students earlier this year, reports the NZ Herald.

The university’s four pro vice-chancellors revealed the threats in a newsletter posted to the university’s website. “In March, a temporary sign identifying a space by Maori students and Pacific students was described by political leaders as segregation … The uninformed claim resulted in real harm – including triggering abuse and death threats directed at our students and staff … These events show the need for better understanding about why such spaces exist in our university.”

The controversy was sparked in late March when the Act Party shared a photo showing a sign at the university’s business school, reading: “This is a designated area for Maori and Pasifika students. Thank you”. Act’s tertiary education spokeswoman, Dr Parmjeet Parmar, said the spaces were nothing short of segregation and she would be contacting universities around the country in an attempt to remove them.
Full report on The New Zealand Herald site