UMSU President James Baker resigns
James Baker has resigned from his role as 2016 President of the University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU), effective today. In a statement posted on his personal Facebook page, Baker cited “personal reasons” and said that he felt his decision to resign was in the best interests of both himself and UMSU.
UMSU provides representation and support services to all students at the University, and its President is responsible for acting as a spokesperson for students, chairing the Students’ Council, and providing overall direction for UMSU.
We sat down with Baker to discuss his time as President of UMSU, and where he thought the organisation should go in the future. Baker reiterated that he felt his decision to step down was in the best interests of both himself and UMSU.
Asked to reflect on his time as President, Baker lamented a lack of time to implement major changes, but cited the success of O-Week in introducing UMSU to students, as well as explaining how they could benefit from their Student Services and Amenities Fee, as a particular success. Also a point of pride was “represent[ing] the students to the University to the best of my ability”.
— James Baker
UMSU has recently hired a Volunteering Programmes Coördinator as part of an organisation-wide push to revamp UMSU’s approach to volunteering programmes, and Baker has been a champion of this effort. He said he had been very keen “improve them from an organisational point of view”, referring to the support UMSU provides the Directors and volunteers in its volunteering programmes, and that he hoped the effort would continue.
Asked to describe how he felt about his time as President, Baker said he “wouldn’t necessarily say it’s been fun, but I’ve enjoyed it”. His most poignant piece of advice to his successor is about having a strong support network: “Have your support people there – doesn’t matter when it is, doesn’t matter what you’re talking about […]. Have an outlet that isn’t involved in UMSU.”
Following Baker’s resignation, the General Secretary of UMSU, James Bashford, will be the interim President until the Students’ Council convenes to appoint a student to serve as interim President. That person will then serve as a temporary replacement until the end of Baker’s term (30th November), unless the Students’ Council decides to hold a byelection (open to all students) to elect a permanent replacement. Historically, byelections have been held for resigning Officers of UMSU concurrently with the annual student elections in September. Despite a flurry of rumours, there are currently no clear frontrunners.
News of the resignation was first reported by Farrago, UMSU’s student magazine, in a cryptic tweet and Facebook post. Baker told us that he’d intended his resignation to remain confidential until it became effective on Wednesday, when he intended to inform the organisation and the wider student body, and that he believed that that approach would have been better for both him and the organisation.
Correction: An earlier version of the article was worded to imply that UMSU is obliged to hold a byelection to elect a student to fill the vacant office of President. While this has historically occurred for resignations early in the year, a close reading of UMSU’s rules suggests that the temporary replacement appointed by the Students’ Council can serve out the term.