Live from SRC meeting #2

Join Emma as she live blogs about the Student Representative Council’s (SRC) happenings; live from their second meeting of the year.
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7:01 pm Meeting closed

YASS LIZ!

Michael moves that the SRC re-acredit to NUS with an accreditation fee of $1,500. Nick seconds. Passed unanimously.

6:56 Reporting back from Academic Senate (Jack and Grant)

• Uni is going to open a Liverpool campus to combat UOW’s new campus
• Campus will have nursing and social sciences (excluding physiology)
• No certainty as to if Bankstown will remain open

6:53 pm Grant Murray moves that Western SRC allocate up to $1000 for catering food for any SARF and/or PRF convened by Western SRC in 2017. Gerard seconds.

6:50 pm Charuni – Discussion of International Student Scholarship

Gerard and Charuni dicuss forming a working party and deffer discussion to online comminication.

6:49 pm Following sent to online communication:

• Report from the President, Student Representative Council
• Report from Manager, Student Representation and Participation
• Report from SCC Chairs or representatives
• Motion for funding for catering the SARF and PRF.

 

6pm Report from Sophie Johnston (President) and Jill Molloy (National Welfare Officer) National Union of Students

They have a presentation and will take questions from reps after (Feeling a little bit sorry for them right now… they sort of just sat and awkwardly watched the first part of the meeting).

• Everything comes from the national conference at the end of the year… See Nicole’s wrap up here
• They have a bunch of executive positions (like lots… google it kids)
• Again.. a bunch of departments
• State of higher Ed is a thing their doing…
  • Moves to online
  • Trimesters (NOOOOO)
  • Cuts to support services
  • Student retention
• Federal Budget
  • NUS will be in education and welfare rooms
  • *they had slides with statistics, I don’t math*
  • Not going to lie, I got lost during this…

• National conference
  • Jill and Sophie are “critics” of natcon
  • Conference handbook so attendees are equal
  • External grievance officer
  • Strict attendee guidelines
  • More accessible
• 2017 reforms
  • SO MANY I CAN’T EVEN
  • Jill. Sophie. How do you guys even do this? Please tell me your secrets…
• Research
  • They do sleuthing, it’s cool, check them out

Q AND A with NUS

Here’s a quick wrap-up:

• NUS are running an international student campaign about international student exploitation
• TRIMESTERS Whats the argument against is?
  • Problems:
    • If they are compulsory, students are expected to be physically there most of the year.
    • Internships don’t always align
    • Students how don’t study “full time” as a result of the change, may become ineligible for Centrelink
    • Mental strain/health
    • The quality of education, rushing through, ect.
• Concerns about natcon
  • An entire day of sessions about unions, policy regarding queer students was left for the last 15 mins, what do?
    • Clear agenda
    • Clear time frames
• NUS website bad, no mins, no policy handbook, stuff from 2015
  • Website re-launching next week
• NUS vote against media on the conference floor
  • NUS UK allow media
  • Don’t want government and stakeholders to know what’s going on
  • If students share their stories and they’re live streamed, this could hinder relationships with family, friends, future and current employers.
  • Hmmmmm….
• NUS Financing
  • Massive reform recently
  • Moving out of offices to save $$$$

Concerns about time raised. Will the SRC maintain quorum? Will we ever get dinner? Stay tuned…

 

Discussion of Hawkesbury Hell article and report from Michelle Hayter-Falconer (Senior Coordinator, Equity & Diversity)

We did a thing, some people don’t like it.

The following are remarks made by others with gifs depicting my reaction:

Letter from Faelan (Hawkesbury Queer Officer): The post made by the HSCC in response to the W’SUP article was hasty.

Michelle: We need to move forward together. New 3 year LGBT+ strategy. Working with students, Queer Collective, ALLY network and staff. The way that the issue was exposed had accidentally adverse consequences.

Gerard walks in

SRC members:

• We need to work together.
• We need to get our shit together.
• Get something done about it so it doesn’t keep happening and concerning that SRC/SCC member commented on the Facebook post.
• Support the primary concern and support for people at risk.
• It needed to be done, something needed to be said, I don’t feel like it was attacking anyone in particular.
• News is news and cannot be governed by politicians

Gerard: SRC didn’t want to publish it, they agreed not to publish it, they wanted to go to Michael Burgess first.

Michelle: Before the article was released online university had freed students from their contract. Ellen Brackenreg agreed to more security and support. They were offered assistance (including financial support) to move off campus. Assures us that the uni is doing a bunch of stuff (I lost track… there was a lot of back and forth). We want the students and staff at Hawkesbury to know that we stand behind them. There’s going to be an event at Hawkesbury that will launch the uni’s new strategy (but what about everywhere else…). If things aren’t working out, we need a fail-safe.

MEETING STARTS (finally) 5:15

Apologies: one from Campbelltown

Confirmation of previous meeting’s minutes

Yep… That happened

The start of the meeting is delayed because Gerard is missing…

Attendees so far..:

• Grant (Bankstown)
• Amanda (Bankstown)
• Vanessa (Bankstown)
• Michael (Parramatta)
• Lachlan (Penrith) via ZOOM
• Josephine (Penrith) via ZOOM
• Nick (Hawkesbury) via ZOOM
• Jack (Hawkesbury) via ZOOM
• Jill Molloy (NUS)
• Sophie Johnston (NUS)
• Michelle Falconer (Equity and Diversity staff member)
• Yasmine Lewis (SR&P staff member)
• Richard Martino (SR&P staff member)
• Oliver (student observer)
• ME! (W’SUP editor and student observer)

 

Tonight’s Agenda (will they stick to it? Stay tuned):

STANDING AGENDA ITEMS
1. Welcome & Apologies
2. Acknowledgement of traditional custodians of the land
3. Confirmation of previous meeting’s minutes

a. Business/Action items arising from previous minutes

i. Attendance from reps from NUS (SRC)
ii. Gerard to contact Assoc. Prof. Paul Wormell re: SRC appointment to Academic Senate
iii. Recommendation that SCC/SRC Secretaries consistently exchange information as per procedures
iv. Michael Wright to distribute survey results to the SRC
v. Social media policy motion on notice deferred to online (Grant)
vi. Common lunch hour campaign discussion deferred to online (Vanessa)
vii. Discuss with NTEU details of the EVRS (SRC/Delegate)

SPECIAL AGENDA ITEMS
4. Report from the Student Experience Office – Michael Burgess (CSEO) or appointed delegate
5. Discussion of Hawkesbury Hell article joined by Luce De Buitleir Andrews (Director of The Academy and Ally Network Co-Convener)
6. Report from Michelle Hayter-Falconer (Senior Coordinator, Equity & Diversity)
7. Report from Sophie Johnston (President) and Jill Molloy (National Welfare Officer) National Union of Students
Meal and Comfort Break – 10 min

STANDING AGENDA ITEMS
8. Report from the President, Student Representative Council
9. Report from Manager, Student Representation and Participation
10. Report from SCC Chairs or representatives
a. Bankstown
b. Campbelltown
c. Hawkesbury
d. Parramatta
e. Penrith

NEW BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL
11. Grant – Discussion of the Co-op demonstration and future support of other association’s actions.
12. Charuni – Discussion of International Student Scholarship
13. Grant – Motion for funding for catering the SARF and PRF.
a. The motion will read that, Grant Murray moves that Western SRC allocate up to $1000 for catering food for any SARF and/or PRF convened by Western SRC in 2017.
b. Seconded by,
14. Conference Attendance
a. NOWSA
b. QC
c. CISA
d. EdCon
e. Others
15. General Business
a. Student Rep vacancies and lacking identified Residential representative on Western SRC
b. Reporting back from Academic Senate (Jack and Grant)
c.
d.
16. Issues Tracking, Acting Secretary’s Comments & Meeting Close