“You Maaris get everything” Trequity Measures at the University of Otago A thesis submitted for the fulfilment of the requirements for a Master of Arts in Indigenous Development at the University of Otago, Dunedin Marcelle Rene Te Rangimarie Wharerau 2015 He mihi aroha tēnei ki tōku Māmā me tōku Nanny. Ko rāua e whakapau kaha ana ki te tautoko i a au me āku mahi. Ahakoa kua haumūmū te reo o tōku Nanny ki te ao, kei te ora tonu koe i aku whakaaro. Ki a koe tōku Māmā, ko koe te poutokomanawa o tōku whare. E kore rawa tēnei puna aroha e mimiti. Rozella Borell Te Haumiri Borell i Abstract ‘You Maaris get everything’, ‘it is easy for you to get a scholarship because you are Māori’, ‘you will get into Medicine easier because you are Māori’ and ‘Māori get special treatment’ are all phrases that are commonly heard within a competitive university environment such as the University of Otago. These phrases are associated with Māori-targeted support services, Māori-targeted scholarships and Māori-targeted admission schemes. The New Zealand media also promotes terminology such as preferential entry and special measures that perpetuate the negative stigma surrounding privilege. This thesis was undertaken to find out what can be done, at the University in particular, to eliminate this negative stigma. I used a whakapapa (genealogy, history) methodology to explain the purpose of Trequity Measures – the term I have developed – in relation to the importance the Treaty of Waitangi and highlighting educational inequities for Māori. Staff and students that were involved with, and recipients of Trequity Measures, were interviewed enabling them to share an important voice that had been hidden within the literature. Their experiences are the key to eliminating the negative stigma attached to Trequity Measures of the University. ii Mauao te maunga Tauranga te moana Mataatua me Tākitimu ngā waka Ngāti Ranginui me Ngaiterangi ngā iwi Pirirākau te hapu Paparoa te marae Ko Marcelle Wharerau ahau Prologue: the whakapapa of this thesis topic Above is my pepeha (acknowledgement of identity), and on my mother’s side I come from Tauranga, in the Bay of Plenty. So how did a young woman from Tauranga Moana come to study a Master of Arts in Indigenous Development at the University of Otago? Well, a lot of things happened in order for me to be sitting here typing this thesis. The following is the whakapapa of this topic. It is also how I have come to position myself within this thesis as both participant and researcher. In my Honours dissertation I first approached a similar topic and this thesis is an extension of that (Wharerau, 2013). This topic came about because of experiences I have had since the last year of high school. When everybody in my year group was preparing for university, I recall many of my Pākehā (European New Zealand) classmates insisting on things that at the time absolutely confused me. These included comments surrounding the notion that just because I was Māori; I would get a Māori scholarship: I would get into any university that I wanted to go to ‘because it is easier if you are Māori’. At the time, I had no real understanding of what it was that they were talking about, and had no response to their arguments. Just a short time after that conversation I applied for an On Campus Experience, OCE, at the University of Otago. When I received the phone call from the Māori Liaison Officer at the time, Tia Greenstreet, I was absolutely in awe. A group of 17 iii Māori Year 13 students from all around New Zealand were afforded an all-expenses paid trip to visit the University and see what it could offer us and what we could offer them. Of course we all fell in love with the University as soon as we saw how grown- up the Central Library was, how big the rooms were at Hayward College, how flash Arana College was, and how much each Department that we visited seemed to really want us to study with them. With my heart set on coming down to Otago the following year (2010), all of the OCE recipients were encouraged to apply for the Māori and Pacific Island Entrance Scholarship (MPIES). The scholarship was $10,000 and could go towards either your Halls of Residence or your course fees. Being awarded the MPIES was the only way I was able to afford to study at the University because it payed for my accommodation. In my first year of study at the University, I lived at one of the many Halls of Residence’s, Hayward College. While I was studying a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Indigenous Development, many of my friends in the Hall were studying Health Sciences First-Year (HSFY). This is the required course to get in to any of the Professional Health Sciences (Medicine, Pharmacy, Physio, Dentistry, and so on). I distinctively remember having a conversation with one of my friends who wanted to go into Second-Year Medicine. Amongst one of the most confusing and heated conversations I have ever had, he exclaimed, “if you were in Health Sci [Health Sciences First-Year], and you applied for Med [Medicine], you would get in on a lower grade than me, even if I got all A+’s and even then I’m unsure if I would get in…it’s so unfair, just because you’re Māori; I wish I was Māori”. By this time, I iv knew how idiotic he sounded but I could not piece the words together to respond because I was still uncertain that I knew that what he was saying was not true. Over the course of my five years – this is my sixth – at the University, I have regularly come across this attitude. Whether it has been in conversations with classmates, friends (non-Māori, and Māori), on Facebook or around election times, this attitude is common within the University of Otago, if not all New Zealand universities. It is surrounded by discourse such as: “you Maaris get everything”, “you get into Med easier”, “you do not have to try as hard as us”, “you get scholarships easier just because you are Māori” and “I wish I was Māori just so I could get that special treatment”. At this point in this thesis, this is all anecdotal. However, one of the aims of this thesis is to shed some light on these negative perceptions and attitudes and have a response when challenged with it. v Acknowledgements They say your Honours year is hard, and I say, “no way Jose, your Masters year is way harder”. I say year but I actually mean 13 months because there was no way I was going to submit this thesis on its original submission date, 24th February 2015. In saying all that, there are plenty of people I need to acknowledge for having my back along this very intense, soul-searching journey. The first words of extreme gratitude have to go to the participants of this research, the most important aspects of this thesis. Your experiences and feelings have shaped this thesis into something I am, and you all should be, very proud of. I am aware how sensitive this topic is and so I thank you all for how honest and open you have been. I know you all have read some of this thesis (the parts where I’ve used your quotes #famous), but I hope one day you take the time to read a little bit more to see why I chose you all to be interviewed. Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa! To my supervisors, Lyn and Paerau, I know that it’s part of your job to supervise students but I just want to take the time to thank the both of you for looking after me. Paerau, I’ve never told you this, but MAOR204 remains the only class in the history my university career, that I attended all of the lectures. Your class sparked my interest in finding out for myself how important the Treaty is for our people. I hope I did that justice in my thesis. Lynny girl, this is our second year now and even though you decided to take a month off work two months before my thesis was due (LOL) to write your own book, I still know that I’m the favourite out of all of your students. On a serious note though, you probably aren’t aware of how much you’ve taught me, but the list is honestly endless. To have written this thesis under your guidance and vi for you to be able to share your wisdom with me is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. P.S. Bring me back something cool from London ! A round of applause has to go to my flatmates and all of our overstayers lol. Tys, Emma, Mari and Chels, I miss you guys and we should have a paati soon, in Thailand, or wherever. Deinda and Leana, there were times when I would think, “man, go home and mess up your own house” lol but at the end of the day I do appreciate all of the lovely words of kindness you all shared with me. Also, to all my Ngāti Scarfies, being a part of a family so tight has definitely contributed to the person I am, this research, and the loyalty I feel towards you all. He mihi nunui ki a koutou ōku hoa, tōku whānau ki Ōtepoti.