Unitec's main campus building A challenge to the glbti communities to set up scholarships for trans tertiary students has been responded to by Auckland's Unitec which is first out of the blocks to commit to the financial support of students facing difficulties. The response comes after Unitec lecturer Herewini Easton on Thursday morning at the Pride dawn ceremony highlighted the difficulties faced by trans students. He described, for instance, the reluctance of many to apply for scholarships which currently are designated for male and for female students. "They don't always feel comfortable applying within those definitions," he said. "They often feel embarrassed or shy." David Coltman, the Pride co-chair who was at the ceremony and heard the challenge, says he immediately took it to Pride's sponsorship team and the result was that Pride Festival sponsors Unitec have committed to two scholarships to be made available in July, corresponding with the next semester intake. Herewini suggested on Thursday that the scholarships could be in the $500 to $1000 range but it is not yet known how much Unitec will commit to or what the selection process will be.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 8th February 2014 - 12:46pm