End of the union? (1 Viewer)

[SmokedSalmon]

As everyone who goes to sydney university knows, every year we have to pay compulsory union fees... i've heard from a mate that the government are planning to make this voluntary. Apparently, in the past they have tried to pass this bill in the senate about 17 times, but failed to do so cause they were not in the majority. However, now since the liberals have control of the senate this means the bill will pass with no problems and it will be the end of the student union for all universities. Hence, the end of wentworth, manning , clubs for sydney uni... cause they rely on those union fees. And I know most people won't pay for it since it will be voluntary!

Can anyone tell me if this is true?

 

[iambored]

i think they should be compulsory, makes the uni more fun

 

[xiao1985]

yea i heard vsu is passing...

usu will soon disappear....
enjoy them while u can....


f*cken john and librals....

 

[Adam]

Meh.

I bring my food for lunch, I bring a drink bottle to drink. I walk past wentworth to avoid the stairs. I don't think it will be good to get rid of the compulsory fee's, but I can sure as hell live without it.

And if its voluntary - there is no way on earth I would pay for it.

 

[Suvat]

manning and wentworth and stuff may still exist, they'll just jack up the prices

but they won't exist for long if no one goes there anymore, but i prolly will

 

[Generator]

I'll be happy to see the Sports Union vanish.
We need the SRC, and this may well drag that body to the centre of the political spectrum. But, even then, would we all pay to keep it afloat?
The Union is an eh, especially with the food on offer along King Street (I know that it offers other services, most being important, but nobody can deny that providing 'subsidied' food is the Union's primary function).

The Union itself will survive (as Suvat said, prices will rise), but the other two bodies may well disappear. Oh well.

 

[Generator]

I guess that I should have to pay for your (cheaper) gym membership, too?

 

[neo o]

IF people would choose not to pay, then its obvious that to most people the union and the facilities it provides aren't wanted, therefore despite youre whinging most people dont want to have to pay useless fees to a pack of rabid lefties

Miliant student unions aren't too much chop anyway.

 

[Mambomeg]

i think the sports union fees are stupid anyways, why should the majority of students have to pay for a minority of students to be able to play football on fancy ovals? No offence but most people who live a fair distance away from uni dont have time to use any of the sporting facilities, and so shouldnt have to pay for them.
The union i oppose in principle, but i do like having somewhere to sit at lunchtime, although our vet cafe is not union run....
And you've gotta have the SRC, because someone has got to organise all the rallys against hecs increases etc.

Didi you know that at the moment you can object to paying union fees, and while you still have to pay money, it goes to helping disadvantaged students or something like that, rather than to the union.

I just wishe they'd semesterise the payments, $500 in one go is a fair whack when you've also got to pay for textbooks, course readers, prac equipment etc.

 

[neo o]

its not our fault you can't you use them.....you have the opportunity too....

Not all people use the library, should we get rid of that too?

But if library fees were optional, would people still pay them?

 

[Suvat]

its not our fault you can't you use them.....you have the opportunity too....

Not all people use the library, should we get rid of that too?

Likewise everyone has the oppotunity to take advantage of the subsidised food and I think more students purchase food on campus every day than pass through the gates of the gym

 

[Mambomeg]

a gym is not a necessity.. ever heard of running on real ground? or riding a real bike rather than a stationary one? Why should i foot the bill for some random 5th grade football team to use the gym? You can pay for you own gym memberships thankyou! For sports, people can just go down to victoria park, or use the broadway gym.

and i agree, a lot more people buy food at uni than use the gyms. I think in promoting a healthy lifestyle the union in helping by allowing poor students to actually access affordable food, like through the coop, rather than letting them starve on white rice and water.

The union is there to help the masses, not just the sporting people. I dont see 40,000 students paying a "musical arts" levy etc, when plenty of people use the theatres and stages. Why should we have to pay for sports?

 

[lengstar]

you forget that king st is out of the way for most people cause we don't live near campus and most don't even know about king st. i only found out cause of a campus bum who took me and my mates there. its cheap i'll give you that but i'm not going to go their just for food. its too out of the way.

 

[Delta32]

The threat of VSU is very true, at the same time, the SRC, Union, NUS as well as other similar bodies at other uni's around the country are beginning to make plans of action.

If you thought the SRC and Union elections were annoying, as far as lecture bashing etc, wait until next year.

Activism will form only one part of our approach, but it is most important to educate those key stakeholders which VSU would effect (ie, the entire student population).

Without the SRC you don't have welfare services (loans, legal advice, show cause assistance), activism and advocacy outlets, a second hand bookshop, faculty societies or representation to your university administration.

Without the Union you don't have facilities such as Manning, Wentworth, Holme, events such as end of semester parties, public discussions such as this years "life debate", you don't have clubs and societies (none!), tax assistance, discounted passes, reviews (Arts, med, law etc), child care...

The sports union has been mentioned as well.

Those lists aren't really exhaustive, but as you can see, the extent to which USU permeates and populates our University culture is massive. Without VSU most of these services are unsustainable.

It is important to let students know what these bodies do, why it is important to be a member and what life could be like without them.

 

[Mambomeg]

its also important to note that $500 is a lot of money to be paid all in one go, especially when you have other expenses (ie- i spent over $1000 on textbooks etc in 1st semester this year) Its also important to note that u have to pay this money before you get any scholarship money, which isnt paid until april.
it is also important to note that while many students use many of the services provided by the union, others use none at all - ie - many vet students dont even know where wentworth is, all of the union buildings are a fair hike away, we have our own cafe (where the food is definately not cheap) and when we live down at camden in 4th year, and are away doing internships in 5th year, we have access to hardly any union facilities at all.

 

[Delta32]

Hey mambomeg, I wholeheartedly agree.

The Governments abolishment of the ETSS (textbook subsidy) didn't help here.

For a 1st year student this year, fees were

$64 - SRC
$107 - Union Joining Fee
$265 - Union Fees
$141 - Sports Union
___
$577

No - not a nice sum at all.

So, $470 a year for all other years or $235 a semester.

I'm not here to defend the Union so much as the SRC - hell, the Union earns enough to do that itself... mambomeg, out of curiousity though, do you utilise any services provided by VetSoc?


But like has been said, I don't use the Sports Union at all for example, but I still pay my fees, as I know others do, and without my fees the existence of such services would be very unlikely. To that extent I appreciate the contribution student orgnisations have to University life, whether one acts upon them or not.

There are certain aspects of student organisations, particulary those in my opinion as provided by the SRC such as legal assistance and emergency loans which I feel would be a massive loss.

 

[Mambomeg]

i do use vetsoc services, but i had to pay a hefty fee to join vetsoc, and while i appreciate it at times, its not a service i couldnt live without.. a keg doesnt have to be arraged for me to go to a bar....
in 4th and 5th year, we have to pay all these fees even though we dont use any of the services (except the SRC.. that is a different story). This year ppl tried to get a refund on those grounds and they had to fight through all sorts of red tape and only ended up getting not even half of it back.

The textbook subsidy was a bit useless for me anyway, most of my textbooks i can either buy off ppl in the year above me, or order off amazon for less cost then buying them at the coop, even with all the discounts. i know thats not the case for everyone, but it was for me.

I have no objection at all to paying the SRC fee, and i dont mind the union fee so much, because i do use the holme building for lunch sometimes (although i still think its a bit steep) but the sports union fee is just ridiculous.
I also think it should be semesterised, and payment options should be made openly available to students who are strapped for cash (although at sydney uni they appear to be few and far between...)

and why are our fees higher than any other uni? i know our campus is big, but with so many students there should be more than enough money to keep costs down.

ps delta.. are you in the src or one of the organisational ppl for the union?

 

[Delta32]

mambomeg,
erm, yeh, recently elected to 77th (and last?) SRC... (hooray, more work, no pay)

I'll see if I can take up your point on semesterising fees with the relevant liaison committee... I wonder if that battle has been fought before..

feel free to pm me for more info..

 

[Mambomeg]

i do believe the battle has been fought many a time before... its always on peoples flyers around election time....

 

[Delta32]

heh, indeed.... but that being said, flyers really don't mean jack.

It wasn't on my flyer, but I'm happy to pursue