Broken Trust & Silenced

Broken Trust, Silenced Voices at the University of Canterbury: 

A Growing Threat to Education and Society

How Much Must a Young Scholar Sacrifice to Survive Institutional Ignorance? 

What happens when a university staff member lacks a basic understanding of academic freedom, harassment, privacy rights, or intellectual property protection? What happens when a staff is allowed to force scholars while failing to distinguish between primary and secondary research, continuously fabricating documents, and mishandling research and community trust that does not belong to them? 

The answer is simple but devastating: a young academic’s life is quietly consumed by invisible damage. Yet that is exactly what happened and what the University of Canterbury allowed to continue, year after year. 

The Collapse of Truth and the Long-Term Harm to Society 

There is deep injustice in a system where one side holds unchecked power and dares to declare falsehoods as truth where someone can confidently say “number one is number two,” and force others to believe it. This is not only bullying, it is the weaponization of deception. It breaks the spirit of young scholars and reshapes their understanding of truth, reason, and integrity. 

When young people, our children, our students, our community’s youth — enter a culture that rewards manipulation and punishes honesty, the moral fabric of society begins to rot. The foundation of education is meant to be built on truth, curiosity, and freedom. What I witnessed was the opposite: an institution where the roots are corrupted, where foundational understanding is distorted, and where academic leaders operate with impunity. 

If this continues, we are not simply harming one student. We are eroding the ethical backbone of education and with it, our ability to create an intelligent, just, and compassionate society. 

This Is Not My Legacy to Carry 

I do not own this legacy of institutional failure. So why must I carry the burden? 

Why Are They Still Defending the Lie? 

The University of Canterbury hired one of New Zealand’s most expensive lawyers to defend a fabricated and indefensible timeline. 

Why are public resources being spent to protect a falsehood while I, a scholar who came to New Zealand in good faith to pursue meaningful academic work, am left persecuted and silenced? 

I did not come here to fight a system. I did not come here to correct a broken cycle I did not create myself. And yet, that is what I have been forced to do at the cost of my health, my future, and my family. 

Why is there no proper training in place to prevent this kind of abuse? Why do institutions protect power and procedure instead of people and truth? 

I know I am not alone. I know many others are suffering under the same weight silenced, isolated, and afraid. What hurts me most is knowing that I cannot help them all. I am just one person trying to survive. But even one voice can be enough if we speak with truth. And it is time to ask: Who are we protecting? And at what cost? 

Is This My Responsibility to Bear? 

Is it truly my responsibility to fix a system that refuses to fix itself? 

Why must I, the one harmed, be the one to adapt, stay silent, and censor myself just to survive in an environment that was meant to support growth and learning? Why am I forced to spend my energy correcting institutional failure, when all I ever asked for was the chance to do good, honest research in a safe and respectful space? 

Why cannot each person in the system take responsibility for their actions or their silence and stop interfering with or damaging those of us who came simply to learn, contribute, and grow? I came in good faith. 

I came to build knowledge. Instead, I was met with fear, retaliation, and deep uncertainty not just for myself, but for the future of education. If this is what happens to one, how many more are suffering quietly? 

University of Canterbury in Crisis: A Public Emergency 

The University of Canterbury is no longer simply a place of learning. It has become an institution where truth is manipulated, privacy is violated, and systemic abuse is enabled. The culture that now dominates UC fueled by unchecked hierarchy, retaliation, and intellectual exploitation has endangered the core values of education in New Zealand. What I experienced is not an isolated event. It reflects a deeper collapse of ethics, leadership, and integrity. The harm is not limited to me it ripples outward, shaping how future students will be treated, how truth is defined, and how education is delivered. UC has changed. And not for the better. If no action is taken, the university will continue to silence voices, corrupt research environments, and destroy trust locally and globally. This is not just a complaint. This is an emergency. We must act now not just to correct a timeline or remove a falsified record, but to restore the foundation of education itself. A university that violates truth, freedom, and dignity cannot be left unchallenged. 

Risks to Future Students, Donors, and Investors at the University of Canterbury 

As an international student far from home, I came to New Zealand with the hope of conducting meaningful, high-quality research and contributing to academic life. I did not come here to defend my own timeline, correct falsified records, or educate my assigned supervisor on basic academic ethics. And yet, this is exactly where I was forced to stand: Wasting years correcting errors that should never have existed. Learning to survive in a culture of toxic silence and institutional avoidance. Bearing the emotional fallout of negligence, denial, and academic power games. UC exhibits an insular governance culture that privileges internally constructed narratives over compliance with authoritative documents (including government issued policies and regulatory guidance). 

This pattern appears to marginalise external oversight and risks non-alignment with legal and ethical obligations to students especially international students who rely on accurate adherence to national and international rules. This experience signals a dangerous precedent for future students, especially international ones, who place their trust in New Zealand's education system. 

It also raises serious concerns for public donors and international investors who believe they are funding academic excellence, not legal defense strategies and cover-ups. Public funding and international enrolments are granted on the assumption of lawful, standards-aligned governance. If UC refuses to respect external authority yet insists that all participants submit to its own rules, it forfeits the moral claim to those resources. Until accountability and reform take place, the risks remain real: For students. For funders. For the future.