Comments Off on To Pee or Not to Pee? – That is the Question
Those of us living at college all know what it’s like to open a shower door, unsuspectingly, and to be hit by the strong stench of piss leading us to quickly shut the door and move onto the next stall. After testing a few, we eventually find one that doesn’t reek and turn the shower on to enjoy the warm water trickling down our skin only then to notice the yellow-tinged bottoms of the shower curtains…
We learnt quickly that you never enter a shower without thongs. Never.
I’m sure most of us have also been halfway through a shower, had the annoying realization that we’d had too much tea or alcohol beforehand and been faced with the decision – to pee or not to pee? We either rapidly wash or if we can’t hold on, we’re faced with two options. One, grab a towel and run half naked through the hallways to the bathrooms dripping wet, quickly pee, wipe, flush, and run back to the shower. Two, pee in the shower.
Ok as someone who dislikes the stink of pee in shower stalls, hear me out about why peeing in the shower is actually not that bad. Firstly, there are a whole bunch of other bodily fluids that end up in showers. It’s actually impossible not to have period blood in showers when you are on your period. You need to clean!! Ask me any day, I’d much rather step barefoot in someone’s piss than someone’s period blood. Wouldn’t you?
Secondly, peeing in the shower is better for the environment. You save a flush, the energy used to heat up the water when you realize halfway through having a shower that you need to pee, you pop out to the toilet and pop back. For those who wipe when they pee you also save toilet paper. If anything, we should be encouraging people to pee in the shower more regularly – it all goes to the same place anyway!
Now, if you’re going to pee, you have to do it properly. No one wants to be hit by the stench of piss at the end (or start, or middle) of their day. Shower-peers, here’s my advice to you:
Aim is important. Over the drain. If you miss, guess what? There’s a handy hose already flowing for you to rinse it down with. Switch to the jet setting if necessary. In no circumstances should the pee ever reach the curtains. I mean ever.
Pee early in the shower. This one’s for you and others – you don’t want to wash yourself then pee and walk out of a shower smelling like pee. If you pee early, it also means that you can wash it all down and cover up the smell which leads me to my next point.
Buy some really nice smelling shampoos, conditioners, body washes and use them ! Can recommend all things coconut smelling. Use them reasonably quickly after peeing. The stronger smelling the products, the better.
Drink more water! The more hydrated you are, the less your pee smells.
Take the above precautions and shower peeing is harmless, maybe even a good thing. Shower poops on the other hand – never, I mean never, ok.
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
Comments Off on Friday Night Party: What just happened?
Campus is finally back at full post-COVID pace! Now that some of Australia’s freshest acts have played and the stage is quickly being packed down, the last big event of the ANUSA calendar is behind us. So for everyone looking to reminisce on the day and the people across campus left listening to the second-hand sound, Here’s the Friday Night Party write-up. I’ll take you through each band’s big moments and let you know what worked, what didn’t, and sprinkle in plenty of personal anecdotes for good measure.
Saint Beryl
ANU’s own Saint Beryl started off the day with storm clouds churning above. Their set pulled my mates and I towards the siren call of Phoebe Bridgers’ ‘Kyoto’ ringing across Kambri. After passing through the security check, I was immediately hit by Burgmann’s BNO Band using their energetic vocalists and explosive horns section to breathe new life into every song they covered. Together they teased a wild crowd out of Lorde’s ‘Green Light’ and showed just how hard a student band could rock a professional stage.
However, after the crowd dispersed at the end of their set was when the sobering reality of Friday Night Party started to hit. With low ticket sales and few big early afternoon draws, the generous site on Fellows Oval emptied out. As one instantly memorable partygoer kept dancing, the rest of us were left with not much to do but find a bean bag and wait for the next set.
Sputnik Sweetheart
Almost in reaction to the low-energy start to the day, this four-piece band of Canberra locals came with one goal, to get the relatively small crowd moving. It’s hard to think of a more iconic Bush Capital experience than jamming out to these guys on a cloudy day underneath the Telstra Tower. With their signature Alt-Rock sound and Aussie Grunge aesthetic, Sputnik Sweetheart brought their best material. Kicking off their set with the energising ‘Lindy Hop’ and then, without pausing for a breath moving into ‘Us Girls’ gave the event a much-needed kick into action. Their set rushed by wildly and set the tone for the fast-paced night to come.
Birdz
Nathan Bird, AKA Birdz, describes himself as “a proud Murri man with Badtjala, Juru, Scottish and Melanesian heritage”. The Australian rap legend came onto the stage with the sun setting, passionate and ready to play the music he sees as a “declaration of survival”. After winning the crowd over with the charged anthems ‘Black Child’ and ‘Aussie Aussie’ he masterfully controlled the energy of the growing festival. Tempering the frenzied mosh’s energy with the emotive ‘Fly’ and closing with his definitive ‘Bagi-la-m Bargan’, Birdz closed his set on a powerful note. In a week filled with discussions around Australia’s tenuous postcolonial identity, Birdz ‘politically driven sound reflected his valuable personal experience, creating an evocative shared moment with the crowd.
The Lazy Eyes
After becoming the unexpected openers of this year’s Splendour in the Grass, the Lazy Eye’s are launching their career with some serious energy behind them. The band had some recently acquired die-hard fans to satisfy and, as an act just building their reputation, immediately needed to win over the rest of the crowd. As Australia’s newest Psychedelic Rock offering, this group of high school friends seem set on carving themselves a place in the genre’s history alongside acts like King Gizzard and Pond. Opening with tracks ‘The Island’ and ‘Fuzz Jam’ from their April 2022 debut Album Songbook, they quickly introduced the ANU to their unique sound. Their synth-pop cover of the Bee Gees ‘’More Than a Woman’’, from Triple J’s Like a Version was a highlight of the night. Especially considering this was the first time they’ve played it for a live crowd. Closing their set with the experimental and mood-shifting ‘Where’s My Brain???’ The Lazy Eye’s had the now fully assembled, hundreds strong sea of students absolutely ready for more.
Confidence Man
With heavy rain and severe wind predicted for this point in the night, Brisbane’s Confidence Man shrugged off the dire forecasts. Bringing their well-choreographed, quick change-filled routine to a miraculously storm-free night the Indie Electro Pop group lit up the stage. The absurdly confident leading duo of Janet Planet and Sugar Bones showered fans with champagne between their tried and tested hits ‘Does It Make You Feel Good’ and ‘Boyfriend (Repeat)’. After falling in with a group of die-hard fans and singing along to every song I knew at least half the words to, I was definitely feeling the magic of their set. Treating their audience to a series of dramatic and festival-worthy looks, the band really brought their self-reported “own portable rave” to Fellows. Once they had wrapped up their set and left us with their classic ‘C.O.O.L Party’ I’d been thoroughly convinced that, to quote the track. “I’ve been to heaps of parties . . . and to be honest, this one is the best. It’s the Party of the Year”
Skegss
With just the headline act to go, the night had already served up plenty of instantly memorable experiences and given me a new appreciation of some of my favourite songs. The energy I’d already given to the event brought me gently into Skegs’s peaceful and nostalgic opening track ‘Stranger Days’. Then, without a second’s hesitation, the surf and garage rock trio of Byron Bay locals switched gears into their high-octane tracks ‘Paradise’ and ‘Spring Has Sprung’ ringing the festival’s energy to a resounding crescendo and whipping up a few lightheartedly aggressive mosh pits in the process. Closing the night out with this iconic Aussie group then having rain finally start falling only seconds after their final song seemed like the perfect end to the night.
After bringing these acts together for one incredible night, Friday Night Party made good on its promise of being 2022’s “biggest party on Campus”. While avoiding catastrophic weather and concerns about low turnout, the event explosively capped off the year with one last big event everyone, even ACT Senator David Pocock, could get involved in. I can’t wait to see another Friday Night Party in 2023 so that this exceptional ANU tradition can continue on and I can keep enjoying some of the country’s biggest new acts right on my doorstep.
The ANUSA Probity Team recently released their report on the 2022 student election. It summarises any contentious issues in the election, such as Grassroots’ announcement of their ticket in violation of ANUSA election rules and the controversy around Divorced Dads for ANUSA. However, the probity report also details each ticket’s finances, and it reveals a clear correlation between ticket success and the amount of money they spent.
In summary, Grassroots ANUSA spent significantly more than any other ticket, with their actual expenditure being $1,048, followed distantly by Blake Iafeta who spent $330. Grassroots ANUSA went on to win nearly all positions for which they put up candidates, and they now quite firmly control ANUSA’s executive, along with a substantial number of General Representatives. Blake Iafeta failed in his bid for the presidency, but ultimately won a General Representative slot.
Though other tickets spent money on their campaigns, it was substantially less than Grassroots, yet closer to Iafeta, as the graph above shows.
This is not to say that more money spent on campaigns must cause a better electoral result; it could be that tickets which are more committed contribute more money, but such commitment is evident to, and supported by, the student population.
However, ticket expenditure likely plays some role in eventual success, especially when tickets dedicate most of their money towards Facebook advertisements. The graph below shows that tickets that allocated the most towards advertising performed significantly better in the election.
This is not new in student elections, and using Facebook ads has been a common tactic for several years. Nonetheless, it could suggest that finance is playing a large role in ANUSA elections, as opposed to policy debate.
Additionally, a majority of these funds come from the candidates themselves. The highest contributors were Christian Flynn – the 2022 President – and Blake Iafeta, who budgeted $335 and $330 respectively. Each of Grassroots ANUSA’s candidates for executive positions injected $65, and Chido Nyakuengama, the 2022 Vice President, contributed $200. In fact, the only ticket not to use candidate funds was Get Going for ANUSA, which relied entirely on funding from the ANU Liberal Club. This raises concerns around the accessibility of ANUSA elections: are wealthier students who are able to put more money in the ones more likely to win? Some students have echoed this concern: the General Secretary for 2022, Ben Yates, reported worries amongst polled students about how “advertising created equity issues…” in the election.
Yates’ report also revealed how a major complaint from students during the election was the “…sheer quantity of campaign material.” While the election is open to all, some students are not interested and where once they could avoid campaigners on Kambri or candidate debates, sponsored ads on Facebook are far more pernicious, and for some, far more frustrating.
The ANUSA Probity Team recently released their report on the 2022 student election. The report also details each ticket’s finances, and it reveals a clear correlation between ticket success and the amount of money they spent.
Comments Off on So, You Ran in ANUSA Elections. Now What?
Elections are finally over, and I think we can all give a collective sigh of relief. If you ran and weren’t one of the 38(ish) candidates who got elected, you’re probably disappointed with the result. You may have put a lot of work into developing detailed policy that no one read, or spent hours campaigning and joking that you’re now a “stupol hack” instead of studying. If you weren’t jaded and disillusioned with ANUSA already, chances are you will be when elections roll around next year and you see the same policy proposals paraded. Between bitterness and burnout, it’s no surprise that few student representatives run for re-election.
The good news is that there are many different ways to make meaningful impacts on student life without winning elections. Instead of plotting to take over Clubs Council, here are a few ideas to get active on campus.
Residential Committees
The recent Interhall Committee campaign Who Pays the Price? has demonstrated how different residential communities can coordinate to force student issues into the public consciousness. If you live in a hall of residence at ANU, you have the opportunity to get involved in your residential committees and organise activities and campaigns. There is a tendency for many candidates to run for “first year” positions and few for senior roles.
As with any of the ideas on this list, you shouldn’t run just to enhance your CV, get an honorarium or prepare for next year’s student elections. If you have the skills and passion necessary to contribute to residential life, go ahead. If not, there are plenty of other opportunities.
ANU Committees
What do meetings of ANU Council, the Academic Board and a bunch of University committees have in common? Students can attend as observers. Many of the big decisions of ANU are made in these obscure bodies and you have the ability to see how this happens. You should give notice if you plan on attending (check each board’s charter for who to email), but there’s nothing stopping you from keeping an eye on the inner workings of the university. Except confidentiality. And a lack of info on the ANU website. And that time ANU Council met in Darwin for some reason.
Lobbying Student Representatives
Unlike taciturn student observers, many student representatives actually sit on ANU boards with full privileges, from the Undergraduate Member on ANU Council to the Student Experience Committee. Further, College Representatives have a direct dialogue with the heads of academic colleges. While you may not hold these positions, there’s nothing stopping you from lobbying your representatives to, in turn, lobby those with their hands on the levers of university power. “Consultation” is a term often bandied about during elections, but you can ensure your reps actually make an impact. Arrange a meeting in person, prepare and present your issue, urge them to relay your concerns to the board/dean and follow up on action taken. It’s simple, and many reps will actually be keen to listen to someone who can give them something concrete to bring up at their next meeting.
ANUSA Working Groups, Departments & Collectives
As a member of ANUSA, you can attend SRC, College Representative and general meetings, where you can question officeholders and move motions. However, you can also get involved in working groups, where discussions from arts funding to gender equality influence the activities of the student union. As these are often poorly attended, you have many opportunities to contribute. Be warned: some working groups are more focused and effective than others. Try a few out to filter out the white elephants. You can also get involved with ANUSA’s autonomous departments and collectives, which often take the lead on organising campaign and advocacy action. If you’re from a marginalised community group, meetings are regular and open. Just check Facebook or Department Officers for more info!
Education Committee (EdCom)
EdCom is the education committee of ANUSA, tasked with advocating for education issues as well as mounting campaigns and protests on topics such as fee hikes. While it has gained a reputation for being dominated by factional interests, it has gradually become more open in recent years. Combine this with relatively low turnout to meetings and a considerable budget for campaign activities and there is significant potential for keen, experienced organisers to push ANUSA’s advocacy forward. It remains to be seen whether next year’s EdCom will be an effective force for change. Nonetheless, if you and a couple of friends have an issue you want to ANUSA to campaign on (possibly with funding), then checking in with EdCom and the Education Officer is advised.
Student Media
If you’re looking to ask difficult questions to the ANU or publish essays on the student experience, student media is for you. With actual online readerships and topics ranging from changes to university degrees to wider university policies (not to mention detailed election reporting), ANU Observer and Woroni play an integral part in keeping the student body informed about all goings-on on campus. While reporter places are limited, Woroni is always on the lookout for online and print content from students. If you want to write opinion pieces on the student experience at ANU that people actually read, this may be an avenue for you.
Truth be told, the ANU doesn’t make it easy for students to affect university policy. Most of the big decisions are made at the executive level with little to no student consultation. Barring a sudden promotion to the Chancellery, you may have to broaden your scope outside of ANUSA and ANU to have real influence by finding organisations the university wants (or at least is forced) to hear. For instance, the Young Workers Centre runs a variety of campaigns combatting wage theft that you can get involved in through volunteering on their website. You could also try emailing ANU executives directly, and if their response is unsatisfactory, reply or write a letter to the Canberra Times.
You can always run again next year, using your newfound insight into student elections. Chances are it’ll be easier, since you’ll know what you’re doing, have name recognition and have (hopefully) been keeping up to date with ANUSA and university news, rather than being thrown in the deep end. Maybe you don’t even need to focus on ANU; there are plenty of other institutions and problems out there needing to be fixed. All you can be sure about is that if you don’t do it, it won’t happen.
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
Comments Off on The Hidden Campaign Costs of ANUSA Elections
If you’re anything like me, you’re addicted to your phone. While procrastinating on Instagram and Facebook, you likely saw a few, or a lot, of ads from ANUSA tickets, ranging from how-to-votes to specific policy positions. The COVID-19 social distancing rules killed almost all in-person campaigning usually seen during election week and the money that would usually be spent on campaign merchandise was now free to pump ads onto our feeds.
Facebook, after sustained pressure after the 2016 US Presidential election from campaigners, in 2019, spurred by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, launched the Facebook Ad Library. This database allows you to go to any Facebook or Instagram page and see what ads they have running at any given time. If they’re classified as ‘political’, Facebook also allows you to go back through the previous ads a page has run as well as the demographics that were targeted, the location of those people and how much was spent. When one has a database of Facebook ads, extra free time facilitated by online learning and a hunger to procrastinate as Week 6 looms, one just has to have a look.
An important distinction that needs to be made when it comes to ANUSA election ads is that not every ticket’s page is being considered ‘political’ by Facebook. I don’t know if this is due to them not self identifying or if Facebook just doesn’t count them as such. Either way, it means that the data we work with is in no way complete. We can still find some interesting facts with the data we have but for those non political ads or pages we’re unable to see anything more than the current ads being run. Many pages were also quick off the mark deleting their page and timing ads to expire when polls closed, though we can still see the ads if they were marked as political.
Once you take all the ads that I could find listed in the database, as well as the ones that I saw on my own newsfeed, there were at least 40 across all tickets for the whole week. Of these 40, 28 were from ‘Proud’, all of which being classified as political. ‘You’ coming second with 7, 2 of which were classified as political. ‘Brighter Together’ with 7, 5 being political, ‘Refocus’ with 5, ‘Spice Up!’ with 2, all political, and ‘Go the Distance’ and ‘A New Way Forward’ running 1.
This huge disparity between ‘Proud’ and the rest of the field is interesting. Based on estimates, they far outspent their rivals and received 14 of seats on the SRC, with one of the six executive positions, the second largest grouping behind ‘Brighter Together’. All other tickets, ‘Refocus,’ ‘Forward’ and ‘You’, only received 3 Gen-Reps and 3 College-Reps combined. Of course ‘Proud’’s success can be put down to many things but the amount spent and the sheer number of ads they ran must be taken into account.
Though ad numbers are interesting in what they reveal about how each of the tickets hopes to maximise their votes, what about the average number of impressions? Or the number of times the ad appeared on someone’s timeline? Or how much was spent on each ad? Sadly, as not every ticket or ad was classified as ‘political’, we only have good data for ‘Proud’ and incomplete data for ‘Brighter Together’ and ‘You’. Over their 28 ads, on average ‘Proud’ received around 5,300 impressions, though this was swayed by a select number of ads that received substantially more than the rest. Overall they had around 120 thousand impressions (!), around 70-90% of the total ANUSA campaign ad impressions for the week. Given the ANU undergraduate population is around 10-12 thousand I wouldn’t be surprised if almost every individual on campus saw at least one of their ads over the week. When these two metrics are considered together it’s clear to see that ‘Proud’’s ads were seen more than any other campaign. ‘Brighter Together’, from their 4 ‘political’ ads, received 1,150 average impressions, ‘You’, from their two political ads, received between 1,500-2,500 impressions and ‘Spice Up’ received around 500 impressions per ad. No other ticket had ads classified as political so we cannot compare them but it is clear that ‘Proud’ is far ahead compared to these numbers.
We can go even deeper in the specifically political ads with a geographical location. Unsurprisingly, all of the ads were shown predominantly in the ACT, though ‘Proud’ had around 8-15% of their impressions being shown in NSW. On a stranger note, it appears that ‘Proud’ accidentally first ran their how-to-vote ad to the whole of Australia, with 60% of impressions ultimately being in the ACT, 17% in NSW, 9% in SA, 9% in VIC, 5% WA, 2% in QLD and <1% in TAS. ‘Brighter Together’ also had a similar issue with their how-to-vote ad being shown all over Australia but with 21% of impressions being in QLD, 19% in NSW, 18% in VIC, 15% in NT, only 9% in ACT, 8% WA, 4% SA, and 2% being in TAS. From this, over 70% of impressions were to men. This ad was also shown to all age groups, so ultimately 20% of the impression from this ad were men over the age of 65. From what I can see only ‘Proud’ fixed this problem, limiting their how-to-vote ad only to the ACT and NSW.
The last demographic breakdown that can be made from the library is the gender and age breakdown. This is where things really “Spice Up” (excuse the pun). ‘Brighter Together’ only campaigned on issues of campus safety to women, also overwhelmingly campaigning on issues of sustainability to them, with 64% of the impressions being women. This is mirrored in ‘Proud!’’s advertising. They ran a SASH ad in English only to women, while their ad in Hindi had a gendered impression split of exactly 50/50. This is also the case with smoking areas and pill testing being strongly targeted to women in the beginning of the week. After the 25th, this changed and by the end of the week they were closer to equal. Obviously this raises questions about why this was the case. Was ‘Proud’ deliberately targeting them this way and changing it later in the week or is it Facebook’s algorithm that created this bias? Another factor worth noting about ‘Proud’ is that their policy focused ads, in the beginning of the week, appeared to be pushed to men more, while their more ‘joke’ and ‘fun’ ads were pushed more to women. As the week progressed, in the policy space, this became more equal but ultimately their ‘joke’ ads were still being pushed to women by the close of polls, some as high as 60%. In contrast, ‘Proud”’s Mandarin and Hindi ads were much more equal across the board, if with a slight favourability to men in some cases.
Finally, the big question. Which campaign spent the most? As the data isn’t complete, this question isn’t simple. Based on what we have, ‘Proud’ is far ahead, with estimates, after taking into account funding caps, having spent roughly $15-30 per ad for their whole run, but for their campaign video, the one with the backing audio ‘Feel The Way I Do’ by the Jungle Giants they spent a huge $200-299 on the one ad. This ad was by far the most seen in the campaign with over 25 thousand impressions, 90% being to people in the ACT between the ages of 18-25. From this it can be expected that they spent roughly $400-800 on Facebook ads, and their funding cap was around $900.
This move to online campaigning has been slowly happening over time as in-person campaigning areas and regulations become more and more restrictive and people realise the possibilities of online campaigning. COVID-19 has simply sped up this process. Facebook Ad library can give us important insights where election regulations need to catch up, as well as seeing who the candidates and tickets are campaigning to, even if incomplete this year, implying how they value individuals and where they think possible votes are in our community.
If you’d like to give the Facebook Ad library a try, you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/
Just type in the name of the Facebook or Instagram page and select either ‘all ads’ or ‘issues, elections or politics’ tab.
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
Person A has invited you to like their ANUSA campaign page.
Person B has changed their profile picture on Facebook to announce them running as a General Representative under Person A’s ticket.
Person C is running as an independent and is sending out personalised policy recaps over Messenger.
Person D is Person C’s best friend and is messaging you to advocate for Person C, both on Messenger and Instagram. They’re dedicated.
Person E is you, thrust into the world of ANUSA elections, wondering what the hell a ticket is and why everyone’s profile pictures now all have the same filter. How do you even animate a profile picture?
This is my third year experiencing the circus of electing the upcoming year’s ANUSA representatives and I’m ready to delve into some of the lessons that I’ve learnt:
If you don’t feel equipped to vote, then don’t feel pressured into it. If you’re not invested in ANUSA, then that’s okay. If you don’t even know what an ANUSA representative is, then that’s fine. I was in my second year until I registered that the people stopping me in Kambri were ANUSA candidates and not pluggers trying to sign me up to Cancer Council donations.
2. When you vote for a person, you don’t have to vote for their entire ticket. Each ANUSA representative is voted independent from their ticket. Think of a ticket as a good way to get publicity for yourself and your policy, but not like a political party.
3. You don’t have to vote for every vacancy on ANUSA. You can pick and choose which positions you want to vote a candidate into. If you just want to vote for the President position, then you can do that. You want to just vote in a General Representative because they’re your friend? You do that.
4. On that note, when you vote for a specific position, you don’t have to number your preferences for every candidate. Say there are four candidates for President, but you only want to vote for one person. You can number that person as your first preference and cast your ballot without numerating the remaining three.
5. Don’t feel the need to like every campaign page that your Facebook friends invite you to. You’re allowed to keep your feed restricted to Proud Plants Canberra and Hummus Meme pages. (Have I revealed too much about my personal interests?)
6. Voting is open for only a couple of days. This year it is open between 9am, 25th August to 12pm, the 28th of August. You can head to voteanusa.com during this time frame to cast your votes.
7. ANUSA candidates who are serious, genuinely put passion and time into their policies. If you really want to educate yourself on the best person to vote for, take the time to read individual candidate’s policies to assess whether you want them to represent you.
8. If you currently don’t have the brain capacity to read policies, you can also vote for the people with the prettiest Facebook profile picture filters and Instagram pages. Good marketing reflects their ability to advocate for students right?
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
It’s back. The all exciting ANUSA elections have returned with astonishingly revolutionary and astounding policies that will no doubt transform the very foundations of ANUSA. This is the third election I have actively witnessed, and I await in anticipation for it all to be over and done with.
This time however, I wanted to highlight something about ANUSA elections that really gets my goat. Tickets. First of all, what the heck are they? Second, what are their roles? And thirdly, why on earth do we need them?
Shockingly enough for those who do not know me personally, I am a dumb person who was even dumber in their first year. When it came to ANUSA elections in my first year, I had no idea what they were, who to vote for or even how to vote. Conveniently enough, I had a friend who was running for ANUSA, and they explained to me how to vote and introduced me to the idea of tickets.
For you all who are not aware, tickets in the context of ANUSA are groups that run under the same principles and support each other on the campaign. So, me being the naïve first year that I was, I not only voted for her but also every candidate on her ticket. She was my friend, so the rest of the ticket should be chill, right?
It was soon after that that I realised that tickets at ANUSA have a darker side to them. They are a popularity vote. Tickets can easily invite people into the party who are influential to get their friends to vote in the elections for them and their ticket (just as I did) to improve other members’ chances of being elected. It is a tactic I learnt in my politics class and I was impressed and a little nervous to witness it in the elections for our student association.
Let us look at some hypotheticals as to how one may gain power using tickets. An easy ploy to better your chances would be to have as many people on your ticket as possible. Not only does it almost guarantee their vote, but they have also employed other people to praise their name in the elections. While this may come out of a genuine respect for one’s policies, an innate competition between ‘us’ and ‘them’ is employed. Ideally, if the feelings were genuine, then one would not even need to be running on a ticket. People would simply trust in your cause, and then advertise your policies on behalf of them.
Additionally, if someone has been ‘shoulder tapped’ to be part of a ticket, they may be being used for clout. They are a part of a community that no one else on the ticket reaches, hence tapping into another pool of voters. Others on the ticket then exploit their connections if their friends don’t appropriately research the individuals on the ticket. Typically, people on the ticket also don’t actually share the same views as the rest of the ticket, like they would like to advertise. While this is a dark portrayal of student politics, there is always a risk that people will be elected just by band-wagoning off other people’s reputation and passion in the ticket system.
So, what am I getting at with all this? At the end of the day you are voting in individuals. Not tickets. So, if you can, talk to the candidates. Do some light reading into who they are, how reliable they’ve been in participating in student welfare and what policies they’re running on. I am not saying that someone running on a certain ticket makes them any worse than others, it just means that certain people have for whatever reason, decided to run alongside them.
I would like to note however, that in addition to candidates running on tickets, you also have independent candidates, which I personally feel is a much more democratic way of campaigning. You are running by yourself; your successes and merits are your own. There is no ambiguity or misconception between members on values and ideas. Because at the end of the day, people will be voting for you, not a party.
Also, the settled nature of a party perpetuates an idea that a person may work well within the party but outside may be uncooperative. A system of independent candidates does not have this issue because candidates know they will be working with others outside of the pre-established intra-ticket relations.
There is one upside to the social distancing regulations – 2020 is the first year I won’t be anxious walking down Uni Ave, nervously avoiding eye contact with candidates…surely, I’m not alone in rejoicing this? However, I am very excited to watch the ANUSA debates in the comfort of my own home, popcorn and coke can at my side as I judge people’s policies.
Cheers and best of luck to all candidates for ANUSA 2020.
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
Comments Off on The Case Against the Education Officer
Lo and behold, another ANUSA election season approaches! And through my crystal ball, I guess it will be another unfulfilling year on the political front, and on the serious issues which face students and young people. Increases to the cost of university degrees will leave graduates finishing in more debt. Universities will likely cut classes and support for students as the government continues to withhold financial support to the tertiary education section. Most students (and I feel deeply for those graduating at the moment) are staring down the barrel of the first recession of their life.
However, there are more long-term issues, not resulting from the present COVID-19 crisis. Sadly, despite being solidly within the remit of the Education Officer, it seems succeeding officers have had little success in making a difference to students’ lives. The Education Officer is one of the few paid roles of the Students’ Association, but it’s probably the hardest. It’s explicitly political, unlike the administrative work of President, VP, Treasurer or General Secretary, or the self-evident role of Social Officer. As such, the role’s tasks are unclear and are largely down to the priorities of whoever is elected to the position. There’s certainly no “given” day-to-day work: whereas other executive members can look back at previous officers and know where they fit into the Association’s functions, the Education Officer must invent their role from scratch nearly every year. The only consistent factor seems to be acting as a quasi-gatekeeper for the funds of the Education Committee, and to be a constant target of abuse from Socialist Alternative.
As such, it’s unsurprising that officers over the past two and a half years haven’t been able to make much difference. There have been good people – who I’ve both agreed and disagreed with on various political issues – in the role over that period. But I think I can comfortably say that none have really been able to figure out what they need to do. It’s a shame given the reasonable stipend the Officer receives that the Association has little to show from their work.
In an ideal world, what could an Education Officer do? There is much that falls outside the identity-based departments that are theoretically universal problems for ANU students. An effective Officer could fight wage theft on campus: they could dedicate their paid hours to building relationships with workplace leaders at ANU’s various dodgy hospitality operators, as well as with ANU Council members. On-campus hospo workers need real change in their workplaces, and to university policies that regulate small business’ access to the campus. They could organise hall residents, building a network that spanned every floor of every residence to stand up against increases in rent. They could organise mass mobilisations at the ACT Legislative Assembly, collecting signatures and coordinating media, to secure free public transport for university students. Of course, many of the challenges facing students are bigger than one university or one jurisdiction; they’re national issues. But an effective Education Officer would coordinate with campaigns run by the National Union of Students (assuming we had an effective national body, which is the topic for another rant) to mobilise students and pressure crossbenchers into opposing the legislative usurpation of student rights and welfare.
These possibilities are largely closed as soon as we enter election season by a number of factors. First, the candidates for Education Officer are not seasoned political organisers. They’re not even lightly salted, they’re raw recruits, with energy and exuberance but with no skills. Everyone has to start their political journey somewhere but wandering into a paid role without an apprenticeship with a veteran organiser, or even a basic how-to guide, seems like a recipe for failure. If you don’t know what a structured organising conversation is, or who the political heavyweights in the ACT are – Members of the Legislative Assembly whose hands are on the levers of political power – you’re going to have a hard time of making a difference at all.
This is compounded by the utter lack of institutional knowledge, or even a basic programme of work for new Officers, left to re-invent their role from square one every year. They also end up spending a disproportionate amount of their time dealing with the endless shrieks of Socialist Alternative, a group so adept at preventing productive political discussion or work from taking place that one might be led to believe the urban legend that they were invented by ASIO in order to disrupt and divide the Left. ANUSA’s reliance on ANU for setting its funding each year adds to their woes: how are you to meaningfully challenge an institution when they hold the purse-strings?
But perhaps the most fundamental problem for prospective Officers is the student body. If they take up the role as an organiser, as they should, understanding their function as serving and politically activating students, they will suddenly realise that ANU is a hive of over-privileged, grammar-school-educated born-to-rules with little need for tribunes or advocates. ANU’s student population is one of the most socio-economically advantaged in the country, drawing largely from Canberran and cashed-up-enough-to-move-here kids of Professional-Managerial Class background. That isn’t universal of course, but it’s dominant. How are they supposed to be the social agents of change, when they’re more likely to form Australia’s future diplomatic corps through the DFAT grad program? As a graduate of an international school myself, I’m speaking about my own tribe in some sense, but it takes one to know one and I know that Sydney North-Shore immigrants to the ACT aren’t the collective social actor of progressive change. The various oppressions faced by students of diverse identities are already represented in our departments, further pointing to the Education Officer’s irrelevance.
The one potential saving grace would be an Education Officer who looked beyond campus and saw this hub of intellectuals and knowledge generation as a launching pad for political change in the wider world. But this is misguided: the 1968-era New Left had a vision of universities as ‘Red Bases’ that would be the launching pad for socialist intellectuals leading the workers to revolution. It turned out to be the desperate gasp of a dying Left that had abandoned the shopfloor organising and labour movement strength needed for any meaningful social reform to come about.
What does that mean for us then? We’ll have another year of political impotence from
ANUSA. We’ll be told by candidates the need for “accessible activism”, when what we really need is “effective activism”, or really any activism at all. The most successful political action of the past couple of years by ANU students was “Do Better ANU.” That campaign made some gains around access to pastoral care, particularly important for feminist activists pushing the university to take sexual assault and harassment seriously. The main wins however, largely benefited the economically comfortable inhabitants of ANU’s on-campus residences. Outside that, ANU activists’ political campaigning has little to show.
This election season, rather than be provided with real demands and candidates with a strategy to win them, we’ll be battered up with aphorisms and spin, cloaked in the language of identity politics or simply meaningless drivel. Small-l liberals will masquerade as leftists, the word “progressive” will be said more times than you can poke a stick at, and we’ll all stare down the barrel of our first recession and increasingly limited prospects, overshadowed by climate doom.
I feel bad ending this on a cynical note, so here’s a short alternative: if you’re political, get out of student politics. Let ANUSA do its core work of service provision through student assistance, legal aid and an occasional voice at the table. Get active in a political party, or a trade union, or a community campaign instead. Organise the disorganised, organise the exploited and the oppressed. Don’t waste your valuable time.
Henri Vickers previously ran for the position of Education Officer in the 2019 elections, and is a former member of the National Labor Students
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Comments Off on The ANUSA Explainers: The General Representatives and College Representatives College
College Representatives
Each Academic College at the ANU has two College Representatives to liaise between the students and the College. They work with the College to ensure that students’ issues with their courses and degrees are met. They also sit on the SRC.
The College Reps are required to give reports at each College Representative Council meeting about the issues that students have raised with them and how they are working to resolve them. They organise events for students in their College and help out with other ANUSA events and initiatives. The college reps also sit on the College Education Committee of their College.
The current college reps are
College of Arts & Social Sciences: Samuel Lee & James Eveille
College of Asia & the Pacific: Millie Wang & Spencer Cornish
College of Engineering and Computer Sciences: Sophie Burgess
Joint College of Sciences: Yasmin Potts & Sai Camp- bell
College of Law: Georgina Price & Max Claessens
College of Business & Economics: David Harvey & Jye Beardow
General Representatives
Along with College reps, there are 14 General Representatives or ‘Gen Reps’ who also sit on the SRC. The Gen Reps’ main role is to liaise between the student body and the SRC, discussing the priorities that students have and how the rest of the Associa- tion should address these issues. The Gen Reps are also responsible for keeping the executive account- able, and ensuring that ANUSA remains visible on campus.
The current Gen Reps are: Lachie Ballard, Aryanne Camnischi, Nicholas Carlton, Nicholas Crowley, Cahill Di Donato, Jacob Ellis, Katherine Evans, Will Fletcher, Tom Garratt, Louis Gordon, Vincent Li, Ben Theakston, Ben Wicks and Ben Yates.
Comments Off on The ANUSA Explainers: The Executive
The ANUSA Executive are, in many ways, the ones running the show. The Executive communicate directly with the university, while other representatives may not be able to do so as easily. Most of the big events and policy changes are directly influenced.
Due to this, the ANUSA Executive are expected to work long hours, and are paid stipends to reflect this. The President, who has perhaps the most demanding role, earns $44 500. The Vice President earns a maximum of 70 per cent of the President’s stipend, ($31 595) and the rest of the Executive are paid a stipend of a maximum of 40 per cent of the President’s ($17 000).
President
The President’s ‘primary task is to ensure the under- graduate student voice is heard’ across the university. This means that they sit on the University Council – along with beloved Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt among others – and many other ANU Committees. Traditionally, the President has also fulfilled the role of Undergraduate Student Representative on the Council, although that is not constitutionally required. Resultantly, they are – with the Vice President – one of the key figures in student advocacy. They are also the official spokesperson of ANUSA and communicate policy changes to the students and media organisations.
The current President is Lachy Day.
Vice President
If the President is a spokesperson for ANUSA, then the Vice is in charge of backstage coordination and communication. While ‘their focus is on internal education matters,’ the role is otherwise very similar to the President’s.
The current Vice is Madhumitha Janagaraja.
General Secretary
Due to their role in running and organising meetings, the General Secretary is perhaps one of the most recognisable members of the Executive. The General Secretary further ‘looks after and interprets the Constitution,’ and ensures the smooth workings of ANUSA’s internal administration. Notably, both the 2020 and 2019 Presidents were the General Secretaries the year previous.
The current General Secretary is Taylor Heslington.
Treasurer
First and foremost, the treasurer oversees the ‘financial affairs of the Association.’ Beyond this, they ensure that money is being spent appropriately, and keep track of funds coming in and out. The Treasurer is a member of the Student Clubs Council.
The current Treasurer is Maddy Wang.
Education Officer
The Education Officer primarily handles ‘the High- er Education policy of the Association.’ They often work in tandem with National Union of Students (NUS) and organise educational campaigns.
The current Education Officer is Skanda Panditharatne.
Social Officer
The Social Officer has, arguably, one of the most exciting roles in the Executive. Students at the ANU can thank this Officer for social events such as O-Week and Bush Week.
The current Social Officer is Sophie Jaggar.
Like all other representatives, the Executive are voted in annually in the term three. They are in office from December 1 till November 30 the following year.