UMSU elections 2016: responses from tickets
These are the responses from tickets to our questions, accompanying our full piece on the tickets (and single non-ticket presidential candidate) for the 2016 UMSU elections. We have edited them to make them conform to our style guide, and to remove material that did not respond to the questions we asked (although from the number of “Sent from my iPhone” signatures, we’re keen to do an Apple-or-not-Apple breakdown…).
Tickets are listed in the same order as our article.
Activate
What does your ticket stand for?
Heading in to this, and for this question especially, I should emphasise that I don’t claim to speak for Activate as a whole. There’s a certain amount that I know, but Activate’s structure doesn’t really lend itself to being embodied by single people. That out of the way, my perspective is that Activate strives to allow people to be included in what the union does, be that student representation, art, activism, or recreation. To do that successfully ‘we’ (I) feel it’s really(!) important(!) to be conscious of who doesn’t normally get the chance to be included and why.
How well do you expect to do in the election — what would be a good result for you?
We would love to retain the same office-bearer positions we currently hold, but elections are beasts to predict (Has Antony Green Called The Election?) and depending on what portion of the student body shows up, who knows! But we’re hopeful about retaining those offices and continuing to work as a progressive, grassroots body of students with strong positions on student welfare, inter- and intra-community building.
For committee positions, to whom will you be directing your preferences?
There’s been a lot of speculation about where Activate will sit with the four-way deal not looking too likely. Who are you going to endorse on your how to vote?
These are questions that I don’t yet know the answers to. There are still collective meetings to be planned and consensuses to be formed.
Is it true that you had a deal with Stand Up! that would require you to endorse them in the event the four-way deal broke apart?
We were (and are) in discussions with Stand Up! regarding endorsing their candidates based on the appropriateness and strength of their nominations. The understanding we have is an expression of faith, and a formal, binding agreement is yet to occur at this stage.
Create
No response received.
Left Focus
What does your ticket stand for?
We’re a left-wing activist ticket. We stand for a student union that campaigns for a higher quality of education and student rights, campaigning for instance against university funding cuts and fee deregulation. We also take an openly progressive stance around social justice issues, such as refugee rights, LGBTI rights, Indigenous rights and the environment.
We think the best way that the union can fight for these issues is by actively engaging the student body in progressive campaigns, attempting to build large events like rallies and demonstrations, where students can have an impact on issues that effect them in broader society, and by organising campus events that enable students to engage in activism.
How well do you expect to do in the election — what would be a good result for you?
We want to spend the week talking to students, convincing them that engaging with the student union is worthwhile, and that the union can provide a voice for student rights and social justice, as well as organising campus life. We’d love to win some positions and will also be talking to people about some of the important upcoming events and political issues that take place outside of the election week.
For committee positions, to whom will you be directing your preferences?
We haven’t decided yet.
Have you done a deal to get “your” candidates on Stand Up! (or any other ticket)?
We are endorsing the two Education (Public Affairs) candidates running on the Stand Up! ticket. One of them, Anneke, ran on our ticket last year, and after talking to Stand Up! we agreed that her and the other candidate, Dom, would be best for the office. Anneke has been extremely dedicated to the campaign against university cuts and deregulation over the past twelve months. She’s chaired and organised several demonstrations of hundreds of Victorian students, and is also a leading figure in the refugee rights and anti-fascist campaigns, among several others.
The VCA has been a stronghold for Left Focus for a few years — but you’re not contesting it this year. Why not?
We always assess what we run for based on whether or not we feel we have the candidates who could spend the next year dedicated to running a certain office.
What’s the relationships between Left Focus and Socialist Alternative?
Some of our campaigners are members of Socialist Alternative, some are members of other campaign groups and others are independent activists. We support SA’s work in building support for social justice causes on campus, but we’re a broad left ticket, open to all students who want to increase the level of progressive activism in the student union. We are for an activist student union that campaigns for students rights and takes up broader questions of injustice and inequality. Anyone else who feels the same way is always a welcome addition to our ticket.
Liberal
No response received.
More!
What does your ticket stand for?
We’re aiming to be the progressive choice in these elections, as well as the ticket that gives students the most.
We want a union that’s there for students – that fights for their education, brings them more activities, stands with them on jobs and support and is there for all. That means not fighting not just for lecture recordings for all, but also an end to punitive Unimelb fees and a fairer assessment framework. Not just for the awesome parties and events we’ve brought students over many years, but also a comprehensive orientation program that helps every student, particularly those struggling to fit in to university. We want every part of your SSAF going the furthest it can for you.
So, we think the student union should be based on collectives and clubs as grassroots organisations, not on what national political party subfaction you’re aligned with. We want tickets in future to make the positions they contest based on open expressions of interest, and a meritocratic panel selection process or a department collective preselection. While we expect members to fulfill their election promises and values, and to maintain autonomism, we don’t believe in binding people to vote a certain way.
How well do you expect to do in the election — what would be a good result for you?
This is a really tough election – we really don’t know what way it’ll go. We’ve got really strong community support and are doing strong campaign planning, but it’s looking close. We’re in it to win all the OB spots we’re contesting, but it’s going to be a really tough fight.
For committee positions, to whom will you be directing your preferences?
We’ll generally direct our preferences to other progressive independent people/groups first. We won’t be directing preferences to candidates from the Liberal Club-dominated Create ticket or Socialist Alternative-dominated Left Focus ticket – or their candidates running on Stand Up!.
Why the rebrand?
More Activities! has been the movement for clubs on this campus for over a decade. While we traditionally mainly contested the C&S and Activities offices, we branched out when Patrick Clearwater ran for President in 2013. We wanted to reflect our whole-of-UMSU whole-of-issues focus, as well as our new commitment to political change and openness.
You’ve developed your support on the back of running for more activities, volunteering and clubs on campus – is the much wider focus this year abandoning your roots?
Not at all. It’s about making sure that every part of the union is based on those roots, while addressing every part of the university. That every part of the union is based on meaningful opportunities for students, on opportunities to volunteer and contribute, which is a strong part of our platform for several departments. We don’t want departments that are just about OBs, but are about a broader collective of volunteers that take on meaningful roles. We think every part of the union should be based around engaging with clubs as grassroots organisations, whether that be the Education Department and faculty clubs or the union with cultural clubs. And we think every part of the union should be running more awesome activities!
So we’re running a wide focus this year, but it’s not about abandoning our roots, but rather about making sure the entire union has roots in every part of the university.
Are you worried about the proliferation of “More”-like names?
Not really, I guess. All the other tickets are running at most for a few committees and we don’t expect them to do any significant campaigning, if they do any at all. I guess we’ll see at the election, but we expect the impact to hopefully be relatively minimal.
We hear there’s still a chance to get “the deal” back together. Thoughts?
Ah, I haven’t heard anything about that. In what way?
Stand Up!
What does your ticket stand for?
Stand Up! is a group of left wing, progressive students who aim to ensure an inclusive and accessible UMSU. We are made up of a diverse range of students who have all been involved in UMSU through various collectives and clubs.
Stand Up! has been active in the fight against deregulation, we believe that all people should be able to access higher education regardless of your socio-economic status. We also believe that UMSU should be critical of the University and represent the interests of students when they are proposing restructures that could potentially have a negative impact on students. The FlexAp program has workstreams that are considering the possibility of trimesters, larger class sizes and potentially looking at students losing control over their timetables. We recognise the possible impacts this could have upon students, particularly students who rely on casual or part time work to support themselves whilst at University. We have represented the interests of students in the past and will continue to do so to ensure that all students are afforded the right of an accessible and quality education.
We also stand for a safer campus, we believe that next year will be a particularly important year for safety on campus. We aim to ensure that the response to sexual assault on campus is strong and that the University ensures their policies and reporting procedures are doing enough to support students. We also believe that we have a responsibility to have important conversations around consent and respectful behaviour.
Stand Up! is passionate about an inclusive student union, as demonstrated by the constitutional changes moved by our members. With the introduction of a People of Colour Department, changing the definition of Woman and strengthening and introducing a range of AA changes we have shown a commitment to ensuring that UMSU is for everyone.
We all love and care for UMSU and we aren’t afraid to fight for the best representation possible in 2017.
How well do you expect do in the election – what would be a good result for you?
Based on results from the last 10 years at UMSU it is clear that Stand Up! clearly appeals and offers students what they want to see from their representative body. We pride ourselves on having excellent candidates, people who are passionate and involved in collectives, clubs and volunteer programs within UMSU.
We obviously hope to do win this election, a good result for us is to see the best candidates elected for the job to ensure the best possible representation for students. We also think the conversations with students during election week are really important, to promote the work and services that UMSU provides but to also listen to the issues and concerns students have, after all, UMSU is ultimately about providing for students.
For Committee Positions, to whom will you be directing your preferences?
We’ve yet to determine our preferences at this stage.
We hear there’s still a chance to get “the deal” back together. Thoughts?
This is the first I’m hearing about this. With nominations closed, and no contact from other tickets I would say the chances are bleak at best.
This isn’t really something Stand Up! is concerned about, we aren’t afraid to fight for what we believe in. We also believe that we should be held accountable by the students in a democratic election not guaranteed positions based on a deal made by a few people in the union.
What’s Stand Up!’s relationship with the Australian Labor Party? i.e.: why do people call it Labor Left?
Stand Up! is made up of a mixture of students. Some of our members have affiliation to the left of the Labor Party, however, this year more of our candidates are are actually independents from various collectives. Stand Up! does not require any of its candidates to have any particular political affiliation just a commitment to diversity, progressive values and involvement within UMSU. I actually believe that this year, More! has a higher number of Labor members than we do.
Whigs
What does your ticket stand for?
The Whigs stand for [as proclaimed at our National Convention] sixteen key ideals. While we do not have the space in this Q&A to reiterate all of these ideals, we shall provide this most auspicious pamphlet with an abridged schematic:
- The Supremacy of Parliament;
- The opposition to Absolutist continental tyranny;
- A fair go for all;
- Renovating the Guild Theatre to a classical style akin to George III’s sitting room;
- Enacting a glorious reduction of administrative authoritarianism within the University;
- Subsidising all first year Bachelor of Agriculture students;
- Converting all of Union House rooms into alehouses;
- Re-introduce the Pound Sterling as the legitimate currency within the University grounds.
How well do you expect to do in the election — what would be a good result for you?
As the natural party of Government from 1688-1773 we do expect to win by an overwhelming majority. We expect to attract cross party support from up and down the political spectrum. Aside from taking up our rightful positions on the treasury benches within UMSU, we excitedly look to having a representative or eight sit on one of the many student committees, to advocate for representative civil democracy.
For committee positions, to whom will you be directing your preferences?
The Whigs are fore mostly about seeing civility and pragmatism govern the Student Union. In regards to Committee positions we will ensure that our primary vote is strong in this area before considering who to preference. If we were to be pushed on the matter [which is highly uncivilised and a bit un coughed might we add] we would ultimately have to concede that preferences to the tickets that will take up the mantle of implementing our welfare policies. These policies are primarily of free cheese and wine, the creation of a Whig choir in the English choral tradition and saturnalias for all.
Last year, the Whigs fielded no candidates, but there were a few funny posters that started spreading around at the end of the elections. This year, you’ve got some more candidates (including last year’s Create Presidential candidate Grace) — is this year’s attempt more serious?
The Whigs are extremely serious about both maintaining the monarchy to ensure the stability and continuity of the state, but we do feel strongly about the supremacy of parliament. We are in this election because we see the absolutist, monarchist French circling above us and we fear for the future of our parliamentary system. Many states responded to the growing power of the central state over the last 200 years with absolutism, but we alone responded with representative democracy. This unique positions is being put at risk and that’s why we’re running for the University of Melbourne Student Union.
What led you to form the ticket?
The Ticket was formed by a series of individuals [from modestly well to do backgrounds] that saw the Student Union plunging into despair as it abandoned key Whiggish ideals. It was decided that a party that represented consensus driven policies in line with civic humanist philosophy was needed to stabilise the nefarious position that UMSU was slowly floating towards. There was a need to reengage with the largely forgotten middle ground of students. Seeing as a glorious revolution is needed to ensure frivolity and safety for the University, the Whigs are the lieutenants of such a honourable cause of liberty!
Independent Media
What does your ticket stand for?
Indie Media is committed to running a Media Office that produces quality content while remaining accessible to all students at the university. This involves selecting people who are both passionate and experienced to run Farrago, Radio Fodder and Farrago Video. As a ticket, we support the publication of creative and impactful works that amplify the student voice on campus. To achieve this, we want to run a media collective that is a supportive, inclusive and diverse space which is why we’re committed to keeping student media free from political alignment or bias.
How well do you expect to do in the election — what would be a good result for you?
Ideally, we would like to have one or two councillors elected to the student council. We feel that this representation would help ensure that the media collective continues to receive the support it needs so that we can keep giving young writers and artists the opportunity to develop and publish their work.
For committee positions, to whom will you be directing your preferences?
While no official decisions have been made, it is unlikely that we will be preferencing any other tickets.
You’ve been criticised for the word “Independent” in the name of your ticket—what does it mean to you?
We are committed to running a Media Office that reflects the whole of the student voice. We believe this can only be done if the Media Office itself is free from political bias and alignment. We are not a news organisation nor are we a platform for propaganda. We do not dictate how students should respond to events on and off campus – instead we invite them to share their own responses.
You’re [authorising officer Mary Ntalianis] running for both Media Officer (now provisionally elected unopposed) and last on Independent Media’s Students’ Council list. What was the thinking behind that?
This was a mistake on the nominations list and has been cleared up with the Returning Officers. I will not be running for students’ council.
The Biggest, Blackest Ticket
No response received.
Hard Memes
No response received.
More Beer
No response received.
Cheaper Textbooks
No response received.
Halal Snack Pack
No response received.
More Pokémon Go on Campus!
No response received.
Smore!
No response received.
Students Against Hanson
No response received.
Universal
No response received.
Arun Bharatula
You’re running for a lot of positions. Why? Which is most important to you?
I am running to offer students an alternative to the clubs/societies and political party tickets.
I have no strong preferences for one position over another.
What do you stand for, policy-wise?
No promises:
- I will review the evidence and carefully formulate policy positions on
each relevant issues - I will share my conclusions for feedback and to be personally accountable
- I will publish any mistakes or shortcomings
How do you rate your chances?
Chances of running? High
Chances of winning? Low
Are you going to recommend, or campaign for, any other tickets?
No