Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association

Stop Lecture Meetings were started in 1997 by then-President, Alistair Shaw, and were reinitiated the following decade by 2006 President, Nick Kelly. Stop Lecture Meetings are based on the trade union concept of stop work meetings. These meetings take place every so often, as topical issues arise. They take place at the beginning of lectures, whereby Class Representatives or another VUWSA representative reads out a motion on a certain issue and students vote whether they are in favour of (or against) the motion. The purpose of stop lecture meetings is to get the widest possible student involvement on issues relevant to VUWSA.

For example, in 2006 there was a Stop Lecture Meeting where students voted in favour of VUWSA supporting the ‘grandparenting’ of international student fees (where fees remain at the same level as they were at the time of initial enrolment). During the 1990s, issues addressed included opposition to the inner city by-pass and Winston Peters’ referenda on a compulsory retirement saving scheme.

VUWSA has revived Stop Lecture Meetings in order to increase participation in VUWSA’s democratic decision-making process.