Reps On The Red Carpet: Student Council Meeting Recap
WORDS BY JESSICA ROWE.
Walking down the red carpet of the registry building was exciting the first time, strutting with the enthusiasm of a newly crowned starlet. A couple of weeks later and the ET eds are feeling more like the washed-up big-shots of your mother’s era. What a wonder it is to be in the V.I.P area, where our elected members come together to update each other on the going ons and move their motions. The Student Council wants to share this wondrous world so much that they’ll do anything to have us there in person, even if it means denying us virtual attendance in the midst of a pandemic.
In comparison to the last, this meeting was as riveting as the newest Hollywood blockbusters! With many interesting motions being discussed, at one point the council embraced the theatricality by partaking in jazz-hands as a way to check in with each-other’s wellbeing.
Like on any red-carpet, a lot of big names were there. But one name was specifically in question; the title of a potential new office-bearer position. The idea for a People Of Colour (POC) officer was raised, with some members advocating for the position to be referred to as ‘Racial Equity Officer’.
Motions were moved and progress was made in relation to creating another queer space, planningenvironmentalist events and activities, and organising meetings regarding the implementation of autonomous voting. And in a speech as compelling as all your favourite award show acceptances, one member spoke about the importance of supporting post-grad and mature-age-students mental health, and what her plan is in tackling this. ET is excited to see these plans and ideas come to fruition and is keen to assist Student Council members in getting their messages out there, and promoting the surveys that were discussed during the meeting to their adoring fans.
ET is always a little flustered when sitting alongside our elected officials, unaccustomed to the limelight. One editor got butterflies in her stomach when called upon to share her name and pronouns, and is embarrassed to say that she even mixed up some of the council members! My apologies.
Fame wasn’t the only thing in the air on this red carpet; COVID19 was too. That’s right, the world’s biggest star did make an appearance at our very own Student Council meeting, let’s hope everyone kept their masks on. Regardless, one ET ed was lucky enough to go home with COVID, the most talked about name on the planet.
We hope that this world which is intended to be accessible doesn't become as exclusive as actual red-carpet events. One office bearer announced they will be coming to the next meeting with a motion to allow virtual access for your elected ET editors. If this passes, it will allow us to continue covering student council matters, increasing the accessibility of the entities that represent you as students.
Translation
WORDS BY TAHLIA DILBEROVIC.
The second Student Council meeting of 2022 opened at 6:39pm on the 9th of March. All members were present, except for the Queer Officer, the Disabilities Officer, the Postgraduate Student Officer, and General Councilor Caitlin Fenwick (note: These members were also absent from the first meeting).
The meeting opened with an Acknowledgement of Country and pronoun disclosure. ET was joined by two other observers in the room. The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.
The Student President and the First Nations Student Officer gave a verbal update to the council regarding autonomous voting. They have organised travel to the Northern Territory and have discussed a timeline for the implementation of autonomous voting for the position of First Nations Student Officer (this timeline was not disclosed, nor has it been finalised). The two concluded by sharing that there would be a stakeholder meeting at the end of March to discuss the issue further, and that calls for consultation have gone out – if you are an interested party who believes this is relevant to you, but have not received information on consultation, the First Nations Student Officer, Madeline Wood, can be contacted at firstnations.officer@flinders.edu.au.
Following this, other members of Council submitted verbal reports. General Councilor Lachlan White mysteriously alluded to a motion that ‘’we’ll discuss at the end of the meeting’. Consider us intrigued. The verbal reports conclude when one General Councilor, when responding to the question of what they have worked on in the last month, replies ‘not much’.
The Mature Aged Students Officer was the standout of the evening – producing a nuanced and well-argued speech on the importance of surveying mature-aged students about their experiences and ways to ensure participation. Despite this, they have stated they are experiencing pushback on projects. If you would like to get in touch regarding this, Jess Williams, the Mature Aged Students Officer, can be contacted at matureage.officer@flinders.edu.au
The General Secretary was next to speak, discussing the need for HDR supervisors to be trained in recognising the early signs of burnout. The Women’s Officer added to the discussion, stating that such training should be expanded to all positions of authority within the Uni.
Next, we move onto a motion regarding the approval of funding for a voting education campaign. The rapidly approaching election dates, just 2 weeks and 2 months away (at the time of the meeting), respectively, did not dim the enthusiasm shown by the movers, the General Secretary and Student President.
Attention then moved to General Councilor Riley Jones who spoke on behalf of the absent Queer Officer. They spoke to a motion submitted in 2021 regarding additional room for the queer space, that has seen a lack in progress. Once again, a survey consultation process will be underway shortly, and ET encourages all interested parties to direct their thoughts to queer.officer@flinders.edu.au
The seemingly most controversial motion on the agenda for the evening involved the creation of a new elected position on the council – that of a Person of Colour (POC) Student Officer. Apparently, this motion was added to the agenda at the last minute and will be further discussed at future meetings. But for now, much of the discussion revolved around the name of this position, with one member suggesting the alternate name of ‘racial equity officer’. At this hint of discord, the conversation is skillfully ended with a polite invitation to discuss the matter behind closed doors. Once again, community consultation has been underway for this proposed position. If you are an interested party who believes this issue is relevant to you, ET urges you to contact the mover of the motion, the Education Officer Ange Nishimwe, at education.officer@flinders.edu.au
Finally, General Councilor Lachlan White brings up his alluded to motion for noting. The motion, we were told, called for Empire Times to be allowed to attend Student Council meetings virtually, in order to increase COVID safety, and transparency. There is an uncomfortable silence as the Student President, who had previously denied ETvirtual attendance, states that Student Council can ‘talk about it next meeting’. ET has been informed by General Councilor Lachlan White that the motion is still currently in discussion with the FUSA Council and that he will continue to fight for ET to be allowed virtual attendance to ‘keep FUSA honest’.
The meeting closed at 7:22pm, and with that ET has some matters of its own for noting. Empire Times has requested to be allowed to attend Student Council meetings virtually, a measure afforded to all other elected members of FUSA during this global pandemic. This request has been denied by the Student President 4 times, with new, vaguer, reasons given each time. This won’t keep us out of the council room but speaks loudly to the President’s campaign promise of greater transparency. Flinders' general student body, including those that are immunocompromised, interstate or overseas are also not permitted to attend such meeting virtually – which often times means that they can not attend at all.
Likewise, ET was not provided access to motions prior to the meeting, nor did we receive formal invitation, as we have received in the past. Furthermore, the only Unite-affiliated Student Council member, also did not receive notice that this meeting was taking place. ET are led to believe this was a mailing list error.
Please Note: Since the time of writing, 2 people in attendance at the meeting have tested positive for COVID-19.
EDITORIAL NOTE: This article has been reuploaded and was originally published in 2022.