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Complete rubbish

David Farrar gets all excited when student associations are fraudulent, and implies that if student associations like the Whitireia Independent Students Association were not compulsory this fraud would never have happened.

This, of course is complete rubbish.

In order for that conclusion to have even a little bit of substance, students would not be able to opt out of membership, and if they could, they would find it hard to do so. But in fact, this Students' Association appears to be very easy to opt out of, should students wish to do so. That is because they have optional membership as do all students associations.

Membership Optional:
As a student you automatically become a Member of the Students Association. This convenient measure means you as a student can access services and amenities immediately from your first day on Campus. However, should you not want to be a member and require a full refund, you must opt out within 20 days from the commencement of your Course of Study. This can be arranged at the Administration Office.

Easy as that. Furthermore, even if you want to opt out after the 20 days, it is still possible to do so under current legislation.

Compulsory membership of Student's Associations has no relationship to fraud of these associations, just like compulsory paying of taxes - by workers and beneficiaries - is not responsible for any of the unemployed being on the dole (and thus taxpayer funded) because they can't yet find a job.