The University of Waikato won’t be holding its marae ceremony as part of next month’s graduation. The decision hasn’t gone down well with those affected.
Each year during graduation week, a sea of black-tasseled caps, jewel-hued robes, kahoa lole and korowai descends upon Te Kohinga Mārama, the University of Waikato marae. That sea of graduates is so immense that a Stuff article last year described how on graduation day, the campus marae “almost bursts at its seams”.
Sitting alongside the mainstream ceremonies, the annual marae graduation is an opportunity for Māori and Tauiwi graduating students to mark the occasion in a uniquely Māori way.
In a realm where Māori students are still sorely underrepresented, marae graduations are symbolic – not just of individual achievement, but those of their tūpuna, whānau, hapū and iwi, allowing students to reaffirm their identity in a space that has historically excluded them. At a university with deep links with the Kiingitanga, set up on land confiscated from Waikato-Tainui by the Crown, and where the proportion of Māori students is one of the highest in the country, that significance is only amplified.
All of which helps explain why the announcement that marae graduation won’t take place next month has been met with such dismay.
According to University of Waikato Māori student association Te Waiora o Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, last month vice chancellor Neil Quigley emailed staff an outline of procedures for the upcoming April graduation. He explained that all ceremonies – including the marae graduation – would be held at GLOBOX arena 3km from the university.
Quigley cited the delayed completion of the Pā, a new facility at the university that will host a main entrance to the campus, a student hub and a new university marae. It would have been where graduation took place had it been completed in time. Construction of the building, the largest single project in the university’s history, began in March 2020; it was originally set to open early this year.
A video posted to Facebook last Friday by Te Waiora Waikato expressing their frustration with the situation has received nearly 3,000 reactions, 180 comments and 1,200 shares.
In the video, the Māori student association says it “wholeheartedly disagrees” with a decision that “does not acknowledge Māori achievement, how rare it is and how it should be celebrated”.
According to Te Waiora, no Māori students were consulted about the decision, and the only reason they’ve been given by senior management was that the final graduation at the marae was held in December 2022 ahead of the planned completion of the Pā.
A Te Waiora member in the video describes the marae as a “home away from home, our only safe haven while we’ve been in this Western institution”.
“Marae graduations allow not only Māori, but graduates of all cultures, to express joy and happiness as they celebrate their achievements with whānau and friends,” another unnamed student said. For students who expected to be able to graduate in this environment, the decision is “devastating”, they said. That’s because the shift from the marae to the huge arena “will confine whānau, their tickets and ability to honour their tauira in a Māori way and space.”
In a statement, a University of Waikato spokesperson said the university had been “hopeful The Pā would be fully operational for graduation in April but compounding issues being experienced right across the construction sector, including supply chain challenges and labour supply shortages, have meant timelines have been extended.
“As part of this, the University is in conversations with the Waikato Students’ Union and Te Waiora o Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato about April graduation ceremonies. A decision will be communicated early next week.”
Both Te Mana Ākonga, the national Māori students association and The Waikato Students’ Union have spoken out in support of the group, and in opposition against the university’s decision.
Te Mana Ākonga said that they were hoping to see the decision retracted and remade, with ākonga voices valued and listened to within the process. “We hope to see Māori ākonga able to celebrate their accomplishments with their whānau in a way that is Māori both in wāhi and ahua.”
The Waikato Students’ Union called on university management to work with Māori students to find a solution that works for all parties.
The university “made a decision that impacted its students, but at no point did it engage with those students,” said Waikato Students’ Union president Lushomo Thebe.
“We recognise that this is the perfect storm of events for everyone and that the completion of the Pā was the goal,” she said. “Still, we also recognise that many students have dreamed of graduating at the marae with whānau and celebrating with waiata since they enrolled.”