Proposed Smoke-Free Campus

Last Friday, the USU Commercial Operations Director and I met with University staff to discuss the future of the Smoke-Free Environments Policy. It was a valuable opportunity for us to discuss exactly what a smoking ban on campus would mean for the University community, and we were therefore very pleased to be a part of the process as representatives of the student body.

The final smoking policy will be taken to Senate for consideration on Monday, 31 October. The University has told us that the online polls and submissions will inform the final policy. Their research showed that approximately 83% of respondents approved of the current policy, which includes smoking exclusion zones on campus, while around 78% approved of a complete ban on campus.  

As operators of Hermann’s and Manning Bar, two on-campus venues popular with both smoking and non-smoking patrons, the USU has suggested possible exclusion zones for smoking patrons in the bars during ticketed events. Under the University of Sydney Liquor Accord and venues’ licenses, ticketed events must be enclosed for the safety of patrons, minimising the risk of alcohol and drug-related violence. Prohibiting smoking within enclosed events will force patrons to leave the premises and detract from this licensing condition. In addition, the University’s proposed policies are pushing for a complete ban on the sale of cigarettes on campus, which the USU (as sole vendors of tobacco products on campus) will duly comply with if enacted.

Following these discussions, we expect that a comprehensive University policy will be taken to Senate next month. The USU has been assured that we will be consulted with again in mid-October prior to the policy being finalised, and we will keep you updated when that occurs.

The USU is committed to a healthy campus environment, and we’re very pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the proposal with the University and work together with them to ensure the best outcome for the University community.

What do you think of the proposed ban? Let us know your thoughts by posting a comment below.  

Sibella Matthews

President

SUPERCAUSE: The Intercol Charity Informal at Manning this Wednesday!

What’s that in the bar?! Is it a non-charitable event!?! Is it the VC?!!?

No, it’s SUPERCAUSE!!!!

The Inaugural Intercol Charity Informal, SUPERCAUSE, is the kryptonite to your studious Wednesday night, the Spidey to your senses and the Lois Lane to your Clark Kent.

SUPERCAUSE hopes to raise $15 000 for the charity Camp Quality, and it needs you to be a Wonder Woman or a Super Man to do so.

Camp Quality is a not-for-profit organisation that provides for and cares for children living with cancer through education programs, family support, hospital help, and recreational activities. The InterCol Social Committee have donned their best lyrca onesies to give back to a sensational charity, full of everyday super heroes.

The InterCol Social Committee is made up of representatives from all of USyd’s colleges and they work tirelessly to organise events throughout the year. This year they’ve decided to make like Professor X and wheel in to Manning. For months they’ve been hard at work sourcing internationally renowned and up-and-coming stars, with an incredible line-up of bands and DJs to keep you entertained.

The night includes a DJ set from the Bag Raiders, acclaimed USU Band Comp entrants, RUFUS and Louis London, Romulus, Remus and the Wolf and DJ Apple Jack. HOLY CRICKETS THAT’S GOOD! 

If you thought it didn’t get any better, you were wrong, like George Clooney when he found out Uma Thurman would be playing Poison Ivy. The Best Dressed Super Hero of the night will win a bar tab for the night!

Tickets are just $30 and all proceeds from the event go towards enabling two family fun days, where around 200 families will visit Luna Park to ride the Rotor, commandeer the Pirate Ship and race down the slides. Tickets are now on sale at the Access Desk (middle level, Manning) or online.

Make sure you’ve refueled your jetpack and ironed your outside-undies, ‘cause the party starts at 7pm this Wednesday (21 September) at Manning Bar.

EVENT: SUPERCAUSE

DATE: 7pm Wednesday 21 September

VENUE: Manning Bar

TICKETS: $30

DRESS: Super Hero

For further information visit the Facebook event page.




Jacqui Munro
Honorary Secretary

Women at the Top: Women's leadership at the USU

Last Thursday night Verge Gallery was inhabited by some very talented and interesting women, brought together to talk about women’s leadership in C&S and the Union. For those of you playing at home, within the Union there is a Women’s Portfolio developed to promote the rights of women, women’s safety on campus and ensure women’s leadership within the organisation. These rather lofty aims are taken on by the Women’s Student Program Co-ordinator and an elected Board Director (this year, that’s me!) and reflect our historical roots of being an amalgamation of the Sydney University Women’s Union and the Sydney University Union (Men’s)  in 1972. The event was the start of a process of discussion and consultation as we endeavour to deliver an overarching Gender Policy for the Union this year. A guide, a best practice manual, a rule book aimed at increasing, maintaining and ensuring women’s continued involvement and opportunity in the Union. Within this overview we are hoping to find ways to support C&S encouraging women’s involvement and we are tackling AA and aiming to have a reviewed position for the beginning of 2012.

First up we wanna talk about AA. In 2005 Affirmative Action was brought in at Board level to ensure women’s representation on the Board and encourage more women to run. It also operates within a number of appointed positions within the Union– such as editorships of The Bull and Hermes. It’s a topic that gets peoples blood going and is regularly discussed around election time. This year we are changing that – we want to see real discussion, prior to elections, in an open forum free from candidate debacles and reaction. On October 4^th, Tuesday Talks will be AA Themed – and we are seeking opinionated students to get involved and have their say. If you would like more information or to be a student speaker please contact me b.dixon@usu.usyd.edu.au

Standing in the gallery populated by women who hold various positions within the uni… (Union President, Board Directors, C&S Executives, SRC President, Verge Director and many more running for positions in the SRC and Honi)… it is clear that somethings already working when it comes to women and leadership at the University. By developing a Gender Strategy we want to capture that and harness it for the future of our organisation. In doing this we ensure a Union that is progressive and pro-active in gender issues. Furthermore by creating a foundation we allow ourselves to start tackling areas where issues still exist. Sexual harassment on university campuses remains high and understandings of sexual assault and safety are often obscured. It is all well and good to have women in leadership – whether they are presidents, High Court judges or politicians – but if a woman can’t feel safe walking across her campus at night then the job is far from done. 

Of course there’s always going to be someone who challenges the legitimacy of such endeavours – they are often the ones who also want a Men’s Edition of Honi, think that male nursing students should have their tuition comped and that Fernwood Gyms are an abomination.  To that I say, bring it on. If developing a gender strategy, implementing AA or arguing for a women’s autonomous space on campus makes you edgy, makes you wanna argue, talk about, work it out or question what the hell we’re doing than “By George I think she’s got it!”*

Brigid Dixon

Board Director

*My Fair Lady (get it?)

Women in C&S Event This Thursday!

Are you a young woman involved in a club and society? Do you have an amazingly talented female friend with big ideas at uni?* Are you a woman wanting to know more about your Union? This Thursday at Verge gallery is your chance! Come find out about women in the Union, let us know what your experiences have been, what ideas you have, and what you want. We’re kicking off a big scale discussion about women in the Union, accompanied with cocktails, excellent art and prizes, and we want to hear from you!  There are some amazing opportunities currently open and more to be created for women at university, so come get involved. 

Details:

Verge Gallery 

5pm

Thursday 8 September

Drinks and canapes provided

Check out the Facebook event here.

(A little bit of soundtrack for you, from a Sydney Uni graduate… Listen here.)

Brigid Dixon

Women’s Portfolio Director

*There is an unofficial challenge on the night for all attendees to bring along a talented female friend who they think could make a great contribution to the Union…

Verge goes wild with wands, lasers and laughter!

Well, what a week of fun, frivolity, funch and faughter!

(NOTE: faughter is not a word, it’s like laughter, but alliteratively funnier!)

The VERGE festival kicked off to a roaring start on Thursday and the pace has not let up. Let’s have a look at the awesome start so far and explore the hectically brilliant events coming up this week.

FAVORITES SO FAR

VERGE OPENING NIGHT PARTY

This was an awesome event with everything from face painting to old-school projectors projecting images of these strangely coloured blob-thingys (it was really cool and quite trippy).

Also, with Major Raiser and the rocking beats of upcoming bands such as Louis London (awesome and definitely a crowd favourite) the night was a cracking start to the week-and-a-half long VERGE festival.

UNCONTAINABLE

This was such a great idea! Eastern Avenue has never been so interesting to walk down!If you haven’t been through the 10 containers on Eastern Avenue yet you must… now. Leave the computer and walk through them. Savour them. GO NOW!!! One of my favourites was definitely the one with the teeth hanging from the ceiling. Brilliantly creepy…

'Chalking the Moon' - Uncontainable installation on Eastern Avenue

TWO MUST SEES FOR THIS WEEK

1. BZZZ, BZZZ, BZZZ - Laser Party – This is your opportunity to party like it’s 2111!

This is the party of the future. We also have the DJ of the future: mixing up video and music, DJ Tom Loud is playing an epic hours-long set, ready to mix up literally everything and everyone you’ve ever liked into a delicious pop-culture soup. It’s going to be crazy.

Where: Verge Tent

When: FRIDAY 9^th September @ 7:30pm

How much? FREE!!!

2. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA – The Best Damn Comedy Night EVER!

Featuring performers drawn from Project 52, the Sydney Fringe Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and international comedy galas that are too numerous to count, your belly laughs here will burn a whole week’s worth of calories and leave you hungry for more comedy (also more calories) as we go on. Canadian superstar Jon Dore (years-long host of Canadian Idol, star of The Jon Dore Television Show, first standup guest invited on Conan) and Australian comedy legend Greg Fleet (Triple M, The Footy Show, Thai Die) bring the night to a close, ensuring you leave with a smile on your face and smiles on your mind: with guaranteed world-class talent and performances right on your doorstep, you’ll be spewing if you miss out. (Like, literally vomiting…)

Where: Manning Bar

When: THURSDAY 8^th September @ 7:30pm

How much? Access $10 + bf from Access
General $15 + bf from manningbar.com (ph 1300 762 545)

SOOOOOOO…. GET INVOLVED!!!

There is so much awesome stuff happening in the next week that it’s honestly dangerous for my health. Too much excitement. Check out the website http://www.vergeartsfestival.com/Default.aspx!

See you round at VERGE this week!

Shane Treeves

Board Director

Update on the USU-University Negotiations

Last week the Union met with Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Derrick Armstrong to discuss the progress of the negotiations.

To give some context, on August 9 the Union submitted a formal request to extend the Service Level Agreement (due to end 31 December 2011) as well as an extension of the Venues Agreement - the joint venture that enables the USU to operate the University of Sydney Venue Collection (USVC), the business responsible for hiring venues, catering and event management on campus, predominantly to corporate and University clients.

Since 2008, when the USU was given the responsibility for the booking and hiring of University venues in the wake of VSU, the business has become a vital source of income to fund the USU’s student programs. The USVC delivers approximately $900,000 per year in profits, making it an invaluable component in funding our expansive student experience programs and services.

Last December, the University gave a 12-month notice of termination of the Venues Agreement. This means we are facing the real possibility of transferring a significant independent revenue stream by the end of this year.

While we are obviously concerned about the possible transfer of the USVC, it was made clear to us last week by the University that a final decision on the Venues Agreement has not yet been made. Professor Armstrong stated that a decision on our extension request for both the Venues Agreement and Service Level Agreement will be pending until the end of September, when a Retail Strategy Business Case is to be presented to the University.

The University’s Campus Infrastructure Services has hired an external consultant to develop the Retail Strategy Business Case, which is expected to be completed on September 20 and will inform the University’s decision. The USU will receive it in early October, and we will then reassess our options moving forward.

It’s the USU’s legal position that any transfer of commercial operations must be supported by the membership. As October is late in the semester, the Board believes that it is somewhat unrealistic to expect the USU and University to reach a member-endorsed agreement by the end of this year.

In our efforts to prevent the loss of a key funding stream, we will seek to meet the University’s concerns and continue to demonstrate that there are better, alternate methods of meeting their issues than a transfer of all the Union's commercial operations.

This is your Union, and we’d like to know what you, as students and members, think. Please leave a comment with your thoughts and questions.

Sibella Matthews

President