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
