Guess I can only wait till I go to usyd to see what it's like. Hopefully uni isn't as ridiculously expensive as it sounds. How do people NOT have part-time/casual work in uni?
Generous parents or youth allowance
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Re access, if you want to have a fulfilling time at uni you need to be part of campus life - every club, society, music group requires USU membership (as they get subsidies when USU members joing their club)
Parties and ticketed random events all have $5-10 discounts with access
And youve got to remember that the USUs primary role is to represent the student body to the university, ie working for our benefit. This reason alone is IMO sufficient to support the USU, especially during a time when unis are becoming stingy and money grabbing