Having to carry too much equipment around campus is often a concern for students. The ever-increasing expectation to carry textbooks and materials to and from classes and lectures, the modern introduction of devices such as laptops and tablets, as well as increasing commute times creates a number of concerns. As well as the potential for back pain, the absence of personal lockers can create security issues with students often bringing expensive technology vital to their study onto campus.

Currently, Whitireia offers no form of personal belongings storage for students at their Porirua campus in the form of lockable personal lockers. This is something that many other education institutes are offering already:

                   Victoria University of Wellington

                   WelTec

                   AUT

                   Otago University

                   University of Canterbury

Each of these institutions and many more are currently offering students the option to rent a personal locker for prices ranging from totally free, to $40-$70 per year. Personally, as a student who commutes to study on a motorcycle as a means of saving on travel (fuel) costs, I suffer from the disadvantage of having to then carry around a helmet and motorcycle jacket all day on campus. Whitireia offers a large range of courses which attract students from all over NZ, often resulting in significant commute times which may make it impractical for students to carry all their equipment with them every day. Students who commute via public transport are particularly affected by this.

We can all work together to present this petition to Whitireia in order to encourage the installation of student lockers on campus.

kia mihi koutou ki to tautoko