Election Soapbox

USU Elections have begun, as you will have noticed from the brightly coloured A-frames and t-shirts dotted around campus. Yesterday was also the Candidates Soapbox – a chance for the public to hear the candidates speak on their policies and take hard-hitting questions from the audience, and a panel made up of Bull Editor Bronte Lambourne, Honi Soit Editor Bebe D’Souza and myself. In case you missed it, here’s a brief wrap-up:

John Harding-Easson was first cab off the rank and spoke about how great the USU is for creating a sense of community on campus, but “under the surface lies great potential” for the USU to engage with more students. He drew on his own experience of coming to uni and finding it quite isolating. His ideas included better utilisation of campus spaces, and more accessible USU benefits. He was asked about his political affiliations with the ALP club, the time commitment of being on Board considering that he is also on the SRC Executive and also how he would fund his universal Access policy.

Sophie Stanton was up next, and also spoke about her desire to engage more students on campus. In particular, she said that she is the candidate that represents students who are not your typical USU member, and promises to speak up on their behalf. She drew on her experience of not seeing the value of buying an access card in her second year, and believes her experience gives her a “fresh perspective”. She was asked about her role as President of SUBSKI and gender equity, as well as what ideas she has for inclusive events for students who don’t drink.

Tom Raue described himself as the left-wing candidate who will fight for fair trade, solar panels on USU buildings, and workplace democracy within the USU. He highlighted his experience in grass-roots activism in setting up the Education Action Group in the SRC. Tom was asked about his policy to improve transparency in the USU, his desire to increase USU-owned outlets, and his time-commitment given that he is currently Vice President of the SRC. Unlike John, he didn’t say that he would resign from his Vice President position, but said that he feels capable of managing the two roles.

Karen Chau listed her love for the USU and club experience as reasons for running for USU Board, particularly her executive roles on the UN Society. She spoke about her ideas for expanding programs such as Kickstart grants and new initiatives such as a USU Music Festival and twilight noodle markets. Questions for Karen included what new ideas she has that the USU Board are not pursuing already, how she can provide cheaper food, and what similarities and differences she sees between the roles of representing students as an SRC Councillor and as a Board Director of the USU.

Hannah Morris spoke about how all her favourite memories and experiences from university have been provided by the USU, and her enthusiasm and excitement to direct the future of the organisation. Her ideas included a Hermann’s Grill, recharge room, and Inauguration Day Party. Hannah was asked about what ideas she has for more off-campus Access partners, how the USU would fund her capital intensive initiatives, and also answered a question about which policies from other candidates she disagreed with by saying that “everyone has put a lot of time into developing their fantastic policies”.

Nick Coffman said he “is proud of his Union”, and spoke off the cuff about his ideas for increasing communication between the USU and students including an iPhone/Android app, and a commemoration day party to engage with a wider variety of students. He was asked about what policies he has for including minority groups on campus and whether he holds sufficient experience outside the college environment to bring to the USU Board. He was also asked about colleges having a separate induction that clashes with USU O-Week, and responded by calling for more integration between the two.

Vale Sloane was the last candidate to take the stage, and also didn’t use a pre-prepared speech. He advocated for free Access cards, pop-up bars, and transforming the USU website. He was asked about his Liberal affiliations and what that meant for voluntary student unionism, to which he replied that universal access, as a form of compulsory student unionism, would allow everyone to experience the great benefits of the USU. He was also asked a question submitted online about the financial viability of universal access.

If you want to join in on the action look out for the twitter hashtag #usudecides and follow @USUAccess and @USUBoard for regular updates. Let us know your thoughts on the Soapbox in the comments below.

See you on the campaign trail!

Sibella Matthews

USU President

Last week for USYD Senate elections!

Are you an undergrad, post-grad, part-time, full-time, international or local student?

You are!? Thank goodness, because you're eligible to vote in the University of Sydney Senate elections.The students who are elected will sit amongst a group of academics, administrators and prominent community figures for the next 12 months.

The Senate is the highest decision-making body at the University, what they decide affects your degree and could change your Sydney Uni experience. More importantly, the Senate has two positions for students, one undergraduate and one post-graduate, so the voice of both student groups can be heard at the top. A uni-wide lunchbreak? Trimesters? PCs or Macs in the computer labs? The Senate addresses a plethora of University issues and your student representatives weigh in on the vote. It is through them that you can weigh in on the debate too, ensuring consultation and accountability. Power!

This is how important the Senate is, in the University’s words:

“The University of Sydney Senate oversees all major decisions concerning the conduct of the University, including staff appointments and welfare, student welfare and discipline, financial matters and the physical and academic development of the University.”

The USU is a major advocate for student representation, and we’re passionate about having your questions, criticisms and opinions heard on Senate. It's especially important for us to have student voices on the Senate given that it is the University of Sydney Senate that will ultimately be making a decision about the current USU/University negotiations. 

The Senate is a big deal. Have your say. Please read all the candidates' statements to make sure you cast an informed vote. It takes two minutes of your time and is completely online when you click here. Polls close at 4pm on 11 October.

Zac Thompson & Jacqui Munro

Vice President & Hon. Secretary

Greetings From The New Executive

Last Thursday marked the end of an executive team and the start of a new one. President David Mann moves into the position of Immediate Past President while Melissa Brooks and Giorgia Rossi complete their terms on board as Vice President and Honorary Treasurer respectively.

In their place, the board has elected Sibella Matthews as President, Alistair Stephenson as Vice President, Benjamin Tang as Honorary Treasurer and Jacqui Munro as Honorary Secretary.

We are all honoured to have been entrusted with the responsibility of leading Australia’s number 1 student experience through the next year. The USU has overcome great hurdles in its long and proud history; even through VSU, we have stayed strong to deliver one of the country’s most robust student experiences.

We are excited to start work with the newly-elected board directors. Over the next few days, they will commence their induction as we prepare for the new term.

We’re going to work harder than ever to keep our members updated with all of our progress. For now though, we hope you all enjoy your semester break!

Love from your 2011-2012 Executive

Election Day – Wednesday 25 May!

Get excited! The USU Elections are almost here. Join us on Wednesday 25 May to cast your deciding vote on USU Election Day. Ten candidates are vying for six places on the USU Board - this is your chance to decide who you want leading the USU. As a reward for your zeal for student democracy, voters will receive a free, $5 meal voucher courtesy of the USU.*

Student leadership lets the USU provide the campus with one of the best student experiences in the country. It’s important that students are given the right to govern and help direct the services and programs that benefit fellow students and the entire campus community. Who knows students better than… students?

With this is in mind, the USU is running a brief, one-question poll on the University negotiations to allow members to show their support for the future of this great Union. After casting your vote for the candidates, please take the opportunity to complete this survey question; it will take less than a minute!

The survey will appear in the following form:

The University and the USU are presently engaged in negotiations that will direct the future of the USU and the services it currently provides. The USU runs a range of commercial services for the campus community, including food and retail outlets, the bars and entertainment, as well as a number of student services such as Clubs and Societies, student leadership positions, regular events, competitions and other initiatives. As the future of the Union and its responsibility for these programs and services continues to be negotiated we want to know your feelings. 

The USU Board of Directors is concerned that this model will compromise the Union’s independence and the quality of both the commercial operations and the student experience on campus. The Board is also concerned with the loss of student control of buildings (Manning, Holme and Wentworth) that USU members have funded and run for many years. 

Do you agree that the USU should retain full control over its commercial operations, student experience and buildings? 

Agree/ Disagree

 For Information on Polling locations and times, click here.

*conditions apply

Hermann’s Party
Once all the votes have been cast, Hermann’s Bar will play host to the official Election Night Party. Kicking off at 7.30pm, with free entertainment, the Election Night Party is the place to be when the results are officially announced. More info.

An update from the USU Pres…

The past few months have definitely been a tumultuous time for the Union. Fair trade, elections, the White Paper and the University’s controversial plans around the student experience (Philips KPA report), to name a few, represent some very significant challenges facing the union board. At the same time, the Union is continuing to experience one of its best years: we’ve reached our highest membership level since VSU, we have a range of new on-campus partnerships, we celebrated our biggest Verge and O-week festivals yet and we have an in-principle agreement with the University around long-term funding.
In this piece, I would like to take this opportunity to inform the student body about the outcomes of the fair trade referendum and the elections.

On Fair Trade.
At the August board meeting, the referendum in its pure form was voted down. Does this mean that nothing will be happening on fair trade? Absolutely not. The board resolved to establish the Fair Trade Working Party (a clause in the referendum) to:
- Investigate making fair trade products readily available on campus by assessing the current/new fair trade options on the market – the current fair trade coffee market is mostly small boutique companies, but larger companies are looking to offer 100% fair trade options in the future – this will be something the Union will be following closely
- Revise and re-weight the current criteria used to evaluate coffee tenders so that fair trade suppliers aren’t as disadvantaged in trivial areas of the criteria such as promotional benefits and signage.
- Assess and troubleshoot the cost differential between 100% Fair Trade and non Fair Trade Coffee competitors when the coffee tender re-opens
This is not the referendum. However, fair-trade supporters shouldn’t view this as a loss either. This outcome is a positive translation of the referendum that represents a partnership between the Union and Fairly Educated as well as a commitment to ensuring that the Union can make the most sustainable and informed transition to fair trade coffee in 2013. Establishing the FTWP and elevating fair trade to a compelling factor in the tender means that the 2012 board, pending the quality of the tender applications against a new coffee criteria and the cost to the Union, would be foolish to act against the clear majority support given to fair trade on May 12, 2010.
We applaud the enthusiasm and effort of the Fairly Educated Team and I would like to thank them for their collaboration with the Union on this issue.
On Elections.
It is unfortunate that last week a former board director chose to violate the board’s rules of confidentiality on this specific issue – however it is important to clarify two things:
The former director was party to a request that the board seek independent legal advice regarding the candidates and the executive elections. We sought this independent legal advice, which the board followed. We also commissioned an independent consultant who recommended that no one be expelled from the board. In line with best practice the board formally received and adopted this report (and disciplinary actions contained within) in August.
Secondly, the Electoral Working Party began amending the electoral regulations this month so that future elections won’t be subject to the same problems. The returning officer and a representative from the Australian Electoral Commission will sign off on these changes that will come to board in October. These changes will be looking to dramatically increase the accountability of candidates, especially in relation to the spending cap, and increase the access of low SES students to the opportunity to run for board.
For more info stay tuned to our blog @ www.yourunionboard.blogspot.com. I appreciate your patience over these last few weeks and this opportunity to explain the board’s most recent decisions.