Holding the Fortress? FUSA 2024 Student Election

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REPORTED BY EMPIRE TIMES EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LACHLAN WHITE.

Looking over the battlements, FIRE-UP prepares to hold onto Fortress Flinders on the brink of siege. Inside its fortified walls, student leaders brace for the battle of an election season that they are able to charge through the gates or hold the fortress. Like Byzantine emperors preparing for the inevitable fall, they shore up defences, crafting election material and policies, and rallying their loyalists. But outside, an armies formed to break the defence, the independent candidates, brigade tickets, and ambitious first-years—gathers strength, banging at the gates of the fortress with promises of reform, transparency, and change. As the campaign unfolds, FIRE-UP's rule teeters on the edge, caught in a storm of ballots. Will their banners still fly, or will this be the election that sees the fall of a once-mighty regime of one term?

Fortress Flinders, a phrase historically murmured to describe the Activate's firm grip on the student council however last election has brought that to an end with FIRE-UP winning a landslide that disrupted Activate’s control. That result marked the first time in over a decade that a non-Activate majority governs. Activate had dominated the Flinders student council for 16 years, the biggest challengers to their power was UNITE, and Socialist Alternative. Last year’s election broke voter turnout records, a huge achievement for student democracy.

This coming week, student campaigners will battle each other for your vote to decide the composition of Student Council for 2025.

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THE BACKGROUND 

Colour scheme: FIRE-UP (Orange), Activate (Purple), Left Action (Black), Unaffiliated (Grey). Diagram made with parliamentdiagram.toolforge.org 

STUDENT COUNCIL COMPOSITION

Number of members shown 2024 student council composition

17 to FIRE-UP

1 to Activate

1 to Left-Action

1 to UNAFFILIATED

This year’s council hasn't seen much conflict - due to the absolute domination of FIRE-UP last year. FIRE-UP is hoping to maintain this dominance with 26 candidates running. Activate will be hoping to reclaim their crown but are running fewer candidates than ever before. Left Action, who have held the presidency in the past are notably absent from the nomination list.

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The Factions

👋Fair Dinkums

A new contender on the block, Fair Dinkums seems to be the ticket of international students, and might cut into FIRE-UP’s international student voting block, presenting a genuine risk to FIRE-UP’s majority on the student council which relies on international students. If Fair Dinkums are able to secure a deal with Activate this could see a return to Activate on Council or at least take some seats to form a proper opposition. It seems that Fair Dinkums campaign slogan is “What are you doing about it?” with candidates running multiple positions might be a strategy to maximise their chances of success.

🔥FIRE-UP

This will be the second election for FIRE-UP after being formed last year, when it won the student council in a landslide victory against Activate who controlled the council for almost a decade. The current General Secretary Nathaniel Winter is leading FIRE-UP into this election for the position of Student President. FIRE-UP relies on its presence and strength with Flinder’s multiple international student communities with Jana, the current President as the first international student president at flinders. FIRE-UP will additionally be hoping their record on council reflects well with voters, winning them over.

📢Activate

After last year’s defeat, it seems Activate has a long way to climb back up with only a few candidates, the author is currently unsure who is affiliated with this ticket as election materials haven’t been released yet. Only two candidates stated their ticket as Activate in  their candidate statements, Amy Eastham, who is top of the ballot for Disabilities Officer; and Caitlyn Williams, who ran for Queer Officer last year and is running again for the position. It’s fascinating to discover that last year’s Environment Officer candidate for Activate, Jac Holman has joined FIRE-UP as their candidate for the position this time around.

👤Independents

Independents are candidates that are not affiliated to a faction, the author is currently unsure who is an unaffiliated candidate as election materials haven’t been released yet. Seemingly though, there is a large number of students who have nominated without the support of an established faction. It seems that presidential candidate on top of the ballot, Syreet Kaur Thind, is an unaffiliated candidate, and mentions in their candidate statement about their history of numerous leadership roles in high school including their greatest achievement of installing sanitary stations in all female bathrooms throughout the school buildings. Syreet hopes to bring that work for change to make life easier if elected.

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WHAT POSITIONS ARE UP FOR GRABS?

All positions on the Student Council other than the First Nations Students Officer, which is elected by and from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students however at the time of close of nominations only having one candidate Sarah-Jane Salmon, who is currently serving as First Nations Students Officer after being appointed due to last election having no nominations for the position.

Also, up-for-grabs in this election are the 2025 Empire Times Editorial Team and six delegates to the National Union of Students (NUS).

For those not familiar, the NUS is the peak representative and advocacy body for Australian post-secondary students. I often simplify it to non-student politics nerds too; National Union of Students (NUS) is the national student council, being a significant national body to lobby politicians and organise campaigns for students and their issues; while the FUSA student council is local-based with on-campus and university mostly issues. 

 Student Council Office Bearers (w/ number of candidates):

• Student President (3)

• General Secretary (2)

• Education Officer (2)

Student Council officers with portfolios (alphabetically listed w/ number of candidates):

• Disabilities Officer (4)

• Environment Officer (2)

• Mature Age Students Officer (5)

• People of Colour Officer (2)

• Postgraduate Students Officer (5)

• Queer Officer (3)

• Welfare Officer (4)

• Women’s Officer (2)

Other Student Council positions (w/ number of candidates):

• 6 General Council Member (17)

Non-Student Council (w/ number of candidates):

• Empire Times Editorial Team (2 Teams)

• 6 NUS Delegates (12)

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OUR BETS 

Our prediction is that Nathaniel Winter (FIRE-UP) would secure Student President in a tight race from Reagan Shanmugam (FAIR DINKUMS), who may take a few International Student votes, and if Fair Dinkums is able to strike a deal with Activate, who could take some voters from clubs; which are two major voting blocks for FIRE-UP. 

FIRE-UP would secure their majority on the student council with the crumbles of a few General Council members going between either Fair Dinkums, Activate, and Independents.

NUS PREDICTION:

4 delegates to FIRE-UP

1 delegate to FAIR DINKUMS

1 delegate Up-in-the-air

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Interested? 

Stay tuned for further updates for the Student Election. If you have any information about the student election or any corrections on this article, please email us at: empiretimes@flinders.edu.au

If you are interested in learning more about the student election at Elections – FUSA

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EDITORIAL DISCLAIMER: This article offers insights into the upcoming Student Council elections, authored by a student who ran under the "FIRE-UP" ticket previously. Given the author's direct involvement in the election, their perspective may carry inherent biases. Our publication aims to uphold journalistic integrity and transparency, presenting this piece as a firsthand account while acknowledging its subjective viewpoint. We encourage readers to consider this context, ensuring a balanced understanding of the events discussed.