Voting!

So I’ll use the information in this post to update the ‘How Do I Vote’ page, but I thought it deserved a post of its own. The below is from the USU Website. You should contact Access for any questions you have about voting.

Members are hereby notified that polling booths will be operational at the following times and locations.

NB: Only current University of Sydney Union Members and Associate Members are eligible to vote. You must bring your ACCESS Card (if applicable) or other form of photo ID (student card, driver’s license, 18+ card or passport will be accepted) to vote on 13 May.

USU Associate Membership can be applied for on Wednesday May 13, at the voting booths. A student card, staff card, testamur or completion letter with other form of photo ID from above will be required to prove eligibility for Associate Membership.

Manning House: 0830 – 1900
Holme Building: 0830 – 1500
JFR Footbridge: 0830 – 1930 (this is the one over City Road)
Fisher Library/ Eastern Avenue: 0830 – 1900
PNR: 1100 – 1400
Merewether: 0830 – 1830
SCA: 1100 – 1400
Conservatorium: 1100 – 1400

Members unable to attend a polling station at these times can cast an absentee ballot at the ACCESS Centre anytime between 9am and 5pm from Wednesday May 6 until Tuesday May 12 (4pm).

Members may also be eligible to cast a postal ballot. For more information, please visit the ACCESS Office, Level 1, Manning house or call 9563 6000

Ema Esteves 
Returning Officer

There’s a link to the USU website in the sidebar.

Campaign Update #1

Hi everyone!

So it’s now two weeks until the election, and one and a half weeks since campaigning began. Campaigning is going quite well so far, we had a stall on Monday, but unfortunately not yesterday as I was quite unwell – nothing a day at home and a delicious chicken casserole couldn’t fix.

We’re going so well, in fact, that we’ve run out of the purple shirts that Ellen and I printed on the weekend – there’ll be more ready next Monday, so please drop by our stall out the front of Manning (we have balloons!) and pick one up then.

I’ve also had some really positive feedback on my post on VSU and USU – thanks for the encouragement, it’s nice to know that people are reading and that they like my ideas about our Union.

Hopefully you’ve all seen the purple shirts and some posters around campus, as well as the great big purple and white ‘Mel’s chalked on the ground – my favourite is the HUGE one on Eastern Ave, which will sadly be washed off in the early hours of Thursday morning, along with the other Eastern Avenue chalking, in preparation for the new Law School opening (which I think looks really cool, in spite of myself – public screenings of the Castle and Legally blonde, reenactment of the Oscar Wild trial and Cloud Control!)

I owe a lot to everyone who’s helped me out so far – I have an amazing team of hard-working people helping me make shirts, chalk, staffing the stall, preparing me for candidates soap box (May 6 and 12), practise my lecture bashes and all the other stuff that goes along with running a campaign – thanks guys! You’re super. I’m really excited about the number of people helping out who haven’t been involved with a union campaign before – it’s always nice to know you’ve involved someone else in thinking about the awesome work the USU does, and how it could be made better.

I’ll be doing some more policy posts later this week – explaining some stuff in my platform that people have been asking about, as well as announcing some new policy. If you haven’t already, check out the ‘Policy’ and ‘About Mel’ links above. If you’ve not voted before, the ‘How Do I Vote’ page has some useful information about how union elections work.

Thanks for Reading!

Where do you stand on VSU?

I’ll start by saying that I think students should have to pay some sort of service fee for the student services provided on campus.


I don’t support the old Universal Unionism model of an unconstrained, up-front fee. At Sydney particularly, this fee was too great a burden on students, and often meant that students had to take on extra work just to pay the fee, meaning they were even less likely to be able to access the services and programs they were paying for.


A couple of things do need to be considered when we look at what the reintroduction of some sort of compulsory fee means at Sydney.


The university has shown a commitment to the continuing existence of student organisations as a matter of principle and of self-interest. It is unlikely to allow the SRC, USU, Cumberland Guild, SUPRA or SU Sport to go under.

USU particularly has an important place in the University’s marketing strategy. It relies on the outstanding student experience and leadership opportunities that USU provides to attract high-achieving school leavers to the university.
 

Look to the fact that at a time when it was already contributing several million dollars to USU’s budget, in just over 12 months the University committed near to an extra $300,000 dollars to Debates scholarships alone – clearly, it has an investment in the continued success of USU, but particularly its most high-profile arms.



Given this, it’s reasonable to assume that some level of financial support from the University will be ongoing.


What does this mean? Firstly, it means that when people tell you VSU means you don’t have to pay for services you don’t want and organisations you don’t support, that’s not true – you’re still paying for student organisations now – or rather, the University is paying on your behalf, with your tuition fees, without you having any say in the matter.

And when Universities control the cash flow, they can control the terms on which services are provided – meaning that student organisations are beholden ultimately to the institutions they rely on for funding rather than the students they’re supposed to be serving. It also means that funding is being diverted from your education to student organisations – which is good to the extent that it ensures services survive, but an unfortunate loss for educational standards and resources.

HECS deferment of a compulsory, capped service fee takes us about as near as we can get to an equitable model that protects student organisations, protects students from the overwhelming financial burden of $600 up front fees and  keeps universities at a comfortable distance. 

 

Shag, Marry, Kill?

Shag, Marry, Kill: Max, Ninety Nine and the Chief?

Where do you stand on fair trade products?

Already I’ve had quite a lot of interest in my stance on fair trade products – an issue not covered in the policy platforms I’ve advertised so far.

My answer is quite simple – I think that wherever possible, the Union should choose suppliers that practice socially responsible and ethical behaviour. As a board director, I would look favourably on tenders from suppliers who pay employees a fair living wage, respect human rights and labor standards, who do not use child labour, who have environmentally sustainable business practices and who pay a fair price for the products they source – by and large, this means choosing tenders with fair trade accreditation.

In this election, that position seems to be quite uncontentious. The fair trade platform is not a new one – candidates since at least 2005 have campaigned on a platform of fair trade coffee in Union businesses. 

I’d like to add a few ideas to the debate about the business practices of the Union, and how as an organisation it can act responsibly toward the local and global community.

1. Taking a ‘pro-fair-trade’ stance is pretty easy – but the issue is quite complicated. I don’t believe the Union should support businesses that exploit workers and communities and we need to be careful of favouring suppliers that are simply green-washing as a marketing strategy, or who have a fair trade brand in their business, but are integrated into a company who behaves irresponsibly elsewhere in its activities – I think that Vittoria’s Rainforest Alliance branding is an example of a company that’s cynically exploiting customers’ desires to make more ethical choices. I am committed to applying a high level of scrutiny to tenders claiming to be environmentally and socially responsible, and only supporting those tenders that come from businesses whose entire structure is in line with the ethical claims they’re making.  
2. There are some valid concerns about the impact fair trade production has on growers and suppliers whose only avenue for sales are non-fair trade suppliers. Chiefly, the possibility exists that the conditions for those workers who aren’t involved with a fair trade businesses actually  get worse when their employer loses business and makes further cuts to conditions and wages to maintain profitability, or that they lose their livelihoods altogether. Where possible, we should continue to support businesses that can prove they are transitioning toward more responsible practices, and encourage companies that have been willing to step into situations where they see exploitative business relationships and offer a better alternative.
3. USU needs to look at ways to increase the proportion of products sourced from local suppliers and growers – particularly in the catering arm of our operations. Sourcing local produce is substantially more environmentally friendly, and in almost all circumstances means better, tastier products. It also increases the likelihood that labor conditions were fair and humane.

Why am I running, and what do I stand for?

In three years at university, I’ve grown to love USU, which is why I’m running for Union Board.

Faced with financial stress in the current economic climate, the Union has a tough choice to make . A choice between pursuing the easy agenda of cutbacks to the services we need and appreciate most, or working hard to make Union membership even more attractive, thereby improving revenue streams to keep the balance sheets in check.

But in making this choice we need to remember a few things.

We didn’t choose to come to Sydney simply for the world class education, and we didn’t come to Sydney just for the sandstone.

We came to Sydney because of its reputation as a student focused environment of unmatched service, unrivalled vibrancy, and unmistakable fun. We came to Sydney to be a part of a community as diverse in its constituents as it is in the range of opportunities and activities available to i’s members.

We came to Sydney because of its commitment to excellence.

I stand for a Student Union that continues to offer you the best student experience in the country, for a student Union whose operations are transparent, whose directors are focused and accountable, and for a Student Union that strives to involve and create opportunities for all Sydney Uni students.

USU needs to continue working to expand the proportion of its revenue drawn from voluntary subscriptions – and this can’t be achieved by downgrading the programs and services we already offer.

I’ll be releasing policy on this blog over the coming weeks. A condensed version of my policy is available at the Mel Brooks for Union Facebook Group (click here), and above through the ‘Policy’ link. If you have any questions, or would like to know my stance on an issue not covered in my policy platform, you can email me contact me via facebook or comment on a blog entry. I’ll respond as soon as I can.