Pasifika students 'voice' aim with new groups

Pasifika students in Auckland’s biggest universities are creating their own spaces to give academic support and celebrate their unique identity.

Students at Auckland University of Technology and the University of Auckland have opened the Niu Collective and the Va’a (Village Arts Association) respectively to support Pasifika students in academics and general well-being.

Willy Ili founded the Niu Collective in February as a “social club” for Pasifika students to support and share their academic and social concerns, which are then passed onto the AUT Student Association (AUTSA).

Likewise, Va’a co-president Vaitoa Mallon says his group aims to empower Pasifika art and global studies students “academically and with their well-being”. Va’a was conceived in 2021 but delayed by the Covid pandemic.

Ili named the Niu Collective after Fale Niu, a previous attempt at a Pasifika student-led group that was not endorsed by the university.

“You can't remove the voice from the people. Especially for this community, they're pretty vibrant.”

The UoA has a rich history of student-run cultural groups, including their Tongan Association. There was a student-led Pacific group for every faculty except the arts.

“No one else understands the student struggle [other] than the students themselves”, said Mallon.

These groups lack the numbers of university-run groups such as AUT’s Oceanian Leadership Network.

“The main challenge is, because we're so new, we just don't have the numbers of members yet”,  said Mallon.

Without any backing, these student-run groups also find funding difficult making it hard to host events to spread the word.

Despite these obstacles, the students say the groups are important and want them to continue after they graduate.

Ili, who is in his final year at AUT, is already looking for younger students to operate the Niu Collective once he leaves.

Mallon said: “It's Pacific students that are leading this, because Pacific students just need that extra bit of support at times.

“And in some spaces, people don't understand our perspective.”