SMH: 'Police to hunt for missing [MQ] uni funds' (2 Viewers)

[redruM]

Put your hands up for Deloitte.

aaaaaaaaaaaahahahhahahahahahahhaha

 

[P_Dilemma]

OK, now that VeeMa is going, what are our other options?

-P_D

 

[glitterfairy]

is the musc thing the one Nick was also up for?

 

[AsyLum]

I assume that was the University Council, which is an 'advising and representative' role from what I gather, and different from MUSC which is the Student Council.

 

[Luke!]

All this reminds me of a rant from the movie Syriana...

"Corruption is our protection. Corruption keeps us safe and warm. Corruption is why you and I are prancing around in here instead of fighting over scraps of meat out in the streets. Corruption is why we win."

 

[nikmueller]

hey peeps

what happens next

i want him to give us the moolah back. i want him out of uni.

my understanding is that veema hasn't quite given up on club macq. he obviously wants to maintain his role in MUSC and as student rep on uni council(the thing i am running for).

As you already said glitterfairy i am concerned that most students don't know about what he has done.

i would find it disturbing if all of this corruption can be out in the open and he still represents "us" (i.e. represents himself, his wife and self-proclaimed sadist buddies)

what do you think of the new amalgamation? know anyone who wants to be part of it as a student rep?

peace

 

[MaryJane]

Dear Students

At its meeting on Friday, the Macquarie University Council responded to serious allegations of financial and fiduciary mismanagement within student organisations on campus by removing a number of student office bearers from their positions.

The University Council resolved to immediately remove the President of the student association Students At Macquarie (SAM), Victor Ma, from his position, as well as certain other SAM Directors not appointed by the University or elected by SAM staff. The action was necessary to ensure that student fees collected by SAM were used properly.

On Friday the Federal Court appointed a provisional liquidator to oversee the operations of SAM. This process will be confirmed at a hearing tomorrow.

Last month Macquarie?s internal auditors wrote to Mr Ma, who is also the President of the Macquarie University Student Council (MUSC), requesting responses to a range of allegations of mismanagement raised by whistleblowers (including failure to provide financial information to the University as required by the MUSC constitution). No response was received.

I?m sure you will appreciate that my primary concern is to ensure transparency and accountability for public funds within the University and its affiliated bodies, as well as to ensure that the organisation established to serve the needs of students actually does just that.

The issues that led to the removal of the SAM office bearers convince me of the urgent need to reform Macquarie?s main student bodies to ensure that they properly represent the needs of students rather than the self-interests of elected officials.

Last month Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Paul Bowler wrote to all students advising them of the decision to merge the three existing student representative bodies - Macquarie University Sport and Recreation (MUSR), Students At Macquarie (SAM) and MUSC - to create a single body with significant student representation.

MUSR has already demonstrated its commitment to the merger, while negotiations with SAM and MUSC continue. The process is on track to be completed by June 30.

Rather than three separate bodies with duplicated operational functions such as marketing, human resources and financial management, the new body will be run for the benefit of all students and shall ensure its operations are transparent and accountable, while at the same time allowing students a greater opportunity to influence the decision-making process.

The University will also be injecting additional funds to enhance front-line services for students.

While discussions about the membership and operations of the new student body are ongoing, I can confirm that there will be significant student representation on the new organisation. However, student representative positions will be unpaid, releasing further funds to invest in new services and facilities.

I will keep you informed as progress is made towards the establishment of the new student body over the coming weeks. I would personally like to thank you for your understanding and patience during this transition period. These changes will ensure we have a University student body that is run for the benefit of all students with the resources and commitment to dedicate to the services and facilities you deserve."

Professor Steven Schwartz
Vice-Chancellor

While the staff I work with at uni don't like Prof. Schwartz, I really respect him. For once we are being treated with respect and being told about what is happening within our uni without just reading about it in SMH etc. and having no follow-up.

Hurrah that Ma will be removed a.s.a.p. He should be deported

Nik, I think the amalgamation of the three bodies can do no harm to an already corrupt system. The way that Prof. Schwartz organises things - such as the above email - makes me actually feel hopeful that the new combination will honestly work. Mac students might actually feel that patriotism to the uni that other uni's like USYD feel.

 

[xeuyrawp]

know anyone who wants to be part of it as a student rep?

I would, now that there is absolutely no diversity in candidates. For Academic Senate, we have one candidate (Ben), and, now for MUSC we have one (you). It's going to get worse with the MUSA-SAM-MUSC merger, I think, although hopefully MUSA bring some different candidates for everything to the table.

You're both great people, but seriously... =/

Anyway, the uni is hopeless. I'm sure people are going to pull the racist card, but let's go for it:

1. The main university has the highest local:international student ratio out of the main tertiary institutions in Australia - 1:3, with more than 90% of them coming from Asia,
2. SIBT, etc, has the majority of international students. Again, most come from Asia,
3. 1/3 of main university students are postgrad students. Only 1/10 of these are PG by research students.

Essentially:
a) Regardless of nationality (although I'd contend that Asians won't get involved in democracy until they're being massacred), the huge amount of foreign students means that a huge amount of the university population does not give a shit about local university politics. It's like a public toilet - noone could give a rat's ass if they piss everywhere because they won't have to put up with it,
b) the 30% of international (and local, mind you) students are represented by one group - the Asian group. If you disagree, you obviously didn't see Victor campaign. This is only natural; if you put two african elephants in with six asian elephants, they will group together. However, minority politics means that, because the larger Aussie student population will be represented by say two or three groups, the minority will have control. Hilarious example is Lebanon's Shi'ite party which had massive control before the parliamentary reforms, but now doesn't,
c) PG by coursework students, IMO, give less of a shit about local uni politics than PB by research students. Especially when most of these degrees are from the (old) College of Commerce.

I am talking about Asian nationals, not ethnic Asians, of course. Many ethnic Asians can be more 'Aussie' than ethnically white people from x/y/z countries...

You'd think that the apathy would present a good opportunity to sideline the lame international students, but as we've seen, the Asian camp (formally 'The Chinese Society', etc) just uses them. And let's face it, they were easily used.

But then again, when The Word... From SAM basically is forced to print every contribution, yet is tiny and generally shit, the students are obviously just at our uni to get a degree and piss off, and this is true for all students, regardless of whether they're local or international.

And I really think that this affects the university holistically - it's really no surprise that we're ranked 82 in the world, behind a lot of very shit unis. The uni environment generally is just horrible and depressing.

 

[nikmueller]

glad you are keen to be part of it !

as of next meeting academic senate will have tim hendry and ben.

it is about 8,500 international students. but that is not the point. you are right, there is no real sense of community at club macq.

i would not immediately blame the international students for lack of involvement in university politics etc. local students care just as much. when you consider that they will have their degree for their lifetime and it will be stamped "macquarie" you'd think everyone would want to leave a positive legacy.

howard's govt has cut a whole lot of education funding in the last 11 years. we are lucky that people want to pay as much as they do to come to macquarie. i believe that money they give the uni could be better spent.

the life on campus is international students. most loal people have their school friends that they hang out with outside of uni. they come to uni to do their degree and go home. same as international students. the only people who hang out on campus for longer are the uni bums like film soc or the internat students.

there have been attempts to create a space where internat students can meet local students. truth is local students see no value in this unless they get GLP points.

macq's geographical isolation is limiting aswell. perhaps with the new trainline people will stay at uni longer.

macq could have an amazing community. the community garden, near the emus is one example of this. people plant vegies, look after them, give them away to neighbours or students, teach eachother. it is a beautiful place. everyone can go there.

it is a hard slog getting a community going. consider the average amount of time a student spends at uni. 3 years, 3 or 4 days a week, i have heard that most people turn up for 3 or 4 classes in total and the rest are i-lectures. this does not lend itself to creating a community.

hardly anyone turns up if they don't have classes that day.

still, there are issues about the running of our campus that need to be sorted out. what services do we want and need, welfare support, parking concerns, new uni policy etc.

i see there being not one great big solution, but we could start with a better macq website for students. lets have a forum for communciation. "the word..." is a terrible media source. $20 an article and still no-one writes for them. it is not furfilling the need.

www.mqtv.mq.edu.au has the potential to be the place for student news and affairs. a weekly video 1-5 minute update on macq, the bar, an interview, real students. i am sure some fresh media students would be keen. always accessible via the net. (potential for revenue raising by putting in ads but not necessary cause of how cheap it would be)

about the new amalgamation. i see it as positive for transperancy and giving a fresh start to a very bad patch of student representation.

i see it as a step backwards because this new body will not be run by students. yes it will have "student representation", but it will be run by the uni. maybe they will do a better job, but as other unis have shown, student have the capabilities to run large organisations successfully, often better than the uni could run it themselves. there was a lot of hard work put in decades ago to get a student run body. now it is all over in the click of schwatz's fingers.

maybe we should hold a funeral for MUSC and SAM. a burial by the lake would be fitting.

i don't know the answers, but i'm willing to give it a go.

any ideas peeps?

peace

 

[xeuyrawp]

glad you are keen to be part of it !

as of next meeting academic senate will have tim hendry and ben.

it is about 8,500 international students.

Out of 30,774 students, 9,794 are international. [Source].

i would not immediately blame the international students for lack of involvement in university politics etc.

Well I'm not blaming them, if I went overseas, I really wouldn't care either.

local students care just as much. when you consider that they will have their degree for their lifetime and it will be stamped "macquarie" you'd think everyone would want to leave a positive legacy.

Well when considering most international students come here to get a vocational qualification which will allow them to undertake more important post-graduate accreditation (I'm talking about accounting, actuarial studies, finance, etc), they don't care. All they need is a degree to get into the course for accounting/actuarial studies/finance and then all that matters are the marks in those courses.

howard's govt has cut a whole lot of education funding in the last 11 years.

Yikes. Don't go all 'Howard is a cunt' on us.

If you were correct, it would imply that all universities are going through the same thing, which is incorrect. Look at USyd politics.

Also, you cannot do anything about Howard as a MUSC representative. You should work towards what you can do, I think.

we are lucky that people want to pay as much as they do to come to macquarie.

Well I'd disagree because people are not paying much for it, nor is implying that Macquarie is an expensive whore any kind of argument.

We should be lucky that we are ranked highly (which we're not), that students are not apathetic (which they are), and that we offer an awesome environment (not true).

the life on campus is international students. most loal people have their school friends that they hang out with outside of uni. they come to uni to do their degree and go home. same as international students. the only people who hang out on campus for longer are the uni bums like film soc or the internat students.

Haha, no way. You're obviously thinking about the Western international students, which comprise less than 5% of the international student population.

Also I'd disagree about local students hanging out with school friends... But who knows about that one.

there have been attempts to create a space where internat students can meet local students. truth is local students see no value in this unless they get GLP points.

Truth is that the only worthwhile international students come from western Europe because the huge amounts of unis there means that they're stuck with coming to Macquarie or some dump in Tasmania.

macq's geographical isolation is limiting aswell. perhaps with the new trainline people will stay at uni longer.

ANU much?

it is a hard slog getting a community going. consider the average amount of time a student spends at uni. 3 years, 3 or 4 days a week, i have heard that most people turn up for 3 or 4 classes in total and the rest are i-lectures. this does not lend itself to creating a community.

That's a really interesting point... I haven't even heard that before. Makes sense, though.

still, there are issues about the running of our campus that need to be sorted out. what services do we want and need, welfare support, parking concerns, new uni policy etc.

This is a bit of a tangent, but I really don't think parking should be anywhere near the top 10 things to change at uni. Sorry, but think about it: Millions and millions of dollars would have to be spent to even make a slight difference. Students should actually be encouraged to use public transport, arrive early, or park in Mac center. Whining about parking is so ironic, because the majority of people who whine about it are too fucking lazy to even vote for someone who could give a damn.

i see there being not one great big solution, but we could start with a better macq website for students. lets have a forum for communciation. "the word..." is a terrible media source. $20 an article and still no-one writes for them. it is not furfilling the need.

I know. Makes me laugh every time. I wouldn't mind this subforum to attract a few more students. But then again, people here are pretty shit: The biggest meetup ever was 6(?) people -- all of whom, bar one, already knew each other. Pretty indicative of the university culture at large, I think.

about the new amalgamation. i see it as positive for transperancy and giving a fresh start to a very bad patch of student representation.

Is there any sort of run-down? Like how student reps will be involved?

i see it as a step backwards because this new body will not be run by students. yes it will have "student representation", but it will be run by the uni. maybe they will do a better job, but as other unis have shown, student have the capabilities to run large organisations successfully, often better than the uni could run it themselves. there was a lot of hard work put in decades ago to get a student run body. now it is all over in the click of schwatz's fingers.

Sorry, but I think that if you can't look after yourself, you need to be put in a nursing home. Macquarie students are the most incompetent, lazy group of morons, as shown in innumerable continuing examples of the inability of the student community to look after itself. Tough shit, better luck next time, although hopefully the students won't be given a next time.

maybe we should hold a funeral for MUSC and SAM. a burial by the lake would be fitting.

Hmm, maybe you could hold it with the funeral for Australian democracy...Or you could be less dramatic and not go all raving lunatic on us.

i don't know the answers, but i'm willing to give it a go.

Well you really don't have to. Two best words in the English language: De-fault. ;D

any ideas peeps?

Take your shirt off already.

 

[GoodToGo]

And I really think that this affects the university holistically - it's really no surprise that we're ranked 82 in the world, behind a lot of very shit unis. The uni environment generally is just horrible and depressing.

I personally don't think the uni environment is THAT bad at MQ. It is similar to USNW and a whole lot better than the building in the city that is UTS. USYD tends to attract the GPS/CAS students, or elite selective schools.

I think the elite secondary schools (if nothing else) instil in their students a greater respect for their alma mater. This translates into their tertiary institution. I don't want to get into a public/private debate (though personally I think more unis in Australia should be private).

Universities in Australia will never have students that are as engaged with their university as universities in North America or the UK. Students here are ranked by a score (HSC), put in their preferences and that's it. You have a certain mark so you have a right to do a certain course at a certain university.

But take the situation in America. Students in their final year of high school have to build up a competitive GPA, SAT scores, extra-curricular (in particular volunteer work), references, application fees for each uni, written essay applications and an interview just to be considered for entry. Once they're there, quite often they HAVE TO live in dorms for the first year, eat together in communal mess halls. Everyone is doing a BA or a BSc (because that's all they offer at undergrad) and everyone is on an even level (people are accepted into the uni full stop, not per course). You can't build that comraderie an affinity for the uni if you're on campus 9 hours a week with a hundred or whatever degrees as we have in most Australian unis. (Which raises the developments of the Uni of Melbourne and their "Melbourne Model" - but that's for another thread).

They would consider universities nationally whereas quite often people in Australia go to the closest uni ("i'll get a degree at the end, what's the difference").

Also, Macquarie is in that awkward position of being remote from the cultural stimulators of the City, but not TOO remote that you only have the university to engage you intellectually and socially and therefore almost forced to participate.

OK, rant over.

 

[akiva]

What's going on here?

Did you guys receive this email also? Thank god I didn't give them any money when I didn't have to, comes to mind!
This is really dodgy :burn:

Dear Students

At its meeting on Friday, the Macquarie University Council responded to serious allegations of financial and fiduciary mismanagement within student organisations on campus by removing a number of student office bearers from their positions.

The University Council resolved to immediately remove the President of the student association Students At Macquarie (SAM), Victor Ma, from his position, as well as certain other SAM Directors not appointed by the University or elected by SAM staff. The action was necessary to ensure that student fees collected by SAM were used properly.

On Friday the Federal Court appointed a provisional liquidator to oversee the operations of SAM. This process will be confirmed at a hearing tomorrow.

Last month Macquarie’s internal auditors wrote to Mr Ma, who is also the President of the Macquarie University Student Council (MUSC), requesting responses to a range of allegations of mismanagement raised by whistleblowers (including failure to provide financial information to the University as required by the MUSC constitution). No response was received.

I’m sure you will appreciate that my primary concern is to ensure transparency and accountability for public funds within the University and its affiliated bodies, as well as to ensure that the organisation established to serve the needs of students actually does just that.

The issues that led to the removal of the SAM office bearers convince me of the urgent need to reform Macquarie’s main student bodies to ensure that they properly represent the needs of students rather than the self-interests of elected officials.

Last month Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Paul Bowler wrote to all students advising them of the decision to merge the three existing student representative bodies - Macquarie University Sport and Recreation (MUSR), Students At Macquarie (SAM) and MUSC - to create a single body with significant student representation.

MUSR has already demonstrated its commitment to the merger, while negotiations with SAM and MUSC continue. The process is on track to be completed by June 30.

Rather than three separate bodies with duplicated operational functions such as marketing, human resources and financial management, the new body will be run for the benefit of all students and shall ensure its operations are transparent and accountable, while at the same time allowing students a greater opportunity to influence the decision-making process.

The University will also be injecting additional funds to enhance front-line services for students.

While discussions about the membership and operations of the new student body are ongoing, I can confirm that there will be significant student representation on the new organisation. However, student representative positions will be unpaid, releasing further funds to invest in new services and facilities.

I will keep you informed as progress is made towards the establishment of the new student body over the coming weeks. I would personally like to thank you for your understanding and patience during this transition period. These changes will ensure we have a University student body that is run for the benefit of all students with the resources and commitment to dedicate to the services and facilities you deserve."


Professor Steven Schwartz
Vice-Chancellor

 

[GoodToGo]

Re: What's going on here?

Yeah we all knew about it - dodgy elections, people kicked out of supposedly open meetings, the money going into MUSC despite the general lack of services coming from it. And for those that have been living under a rock, it's been reported in the early pages of the herald for the past week.

I actually know someone who was on MUSC a few years back who left because "things were getting out of hand". He wanted to leave for ages but he had some trouble. Apparently it wasn't that easy for him: "you can't just walk away from Ma without repercussions" he'd say. (I think he was threatened by Ma or his cronies). The scary thing was is, when this guy was on MUSC he was kinda brainwashed and say things like: "Where would we all be without Victor...we'd be lost without him" - and this is a local student (not an international student - not that I'm suggesting international students are more likely to be brainwashed by Ma...they're just more likely to vote for him). He told me something about money being funnelled out of MUSC and everyone on MUSC getting a cut. At the time I'm thinking, "right...like he could do that and get away with it", but now it wouldn't surprise me. And before I could convince him to play mole he had quit and cut all ties.

As for giving money to SAM (aka getting membership)...SAM's alright. I don't think reading about this somehow makes your drinks vouchers/food savings worth any less. haha. Anyway, you shouldn't t opt out of something that does good for the university. You just have to remove the corrupt elements - which Schwartz has done (now just to remove him from MUSC).

 

[xeuyrawp]

I personally don't think the uni environment is THAT bad at MQ. It is similar to USNW and a whole lot better than the building in the city that is UTS. USYD tends to attract the GPS/CAS students, or elite selective schools.

I think the elite secondary schools (if nothing else) instil in their students a greater respect for their alma mater. This translates into their tertiary institution. I don't want to get into a public/private debate (though personally I think more unis in Australia should be private).

Universities in Australia will never have students that are as engaged with their university as universities in North America or the UK. Students here are ranked by a score (HSC), put in their preferences and that's it. You have a certain mark so you have a right to do a certain course at a certain university.

But take the situation in America. Students in their final year of high school have to build up a competitive GPA, SAT scores, extra-curricular (in particular volunteer work), references, application fees for each uni, written essay applications and an interview just to be considered for entry. Once they're there, quite often they HAVE TO live in dorms for the first year, eat together in communal mess halls. Everyone is doing a BA or a BSc (because that's all they offer at undergrad) and everyone is on an even level (people are accepted into the uni full stop, not per course). You can't build that comraderie an affinity for the uni if you're on campus 9 hours a week with a hundred or whatever degrees as we have in most Australian unis. (Which raises the developments of the Uni of Melbourne and their "Melbourne Model" - but that's for another thread).

They would consider universities nationally whereas quite often people in Australia go to the closest uni ("i'll get a degree at the end, what's the difference").

The bit about admission is so true as well, but why doesn't it apply to USyd? Is USyd just an odd uni out? I wrote a massive post somewhere in the University > General forums about how we should be adopting a UK system for HSC grading, and a US system (minus sports admissions) for admissions.

Also, Macquarie is in that awkward position of being remote from the cultural stimulators of the City, but not TOO remote that you only have the university to engage you intellectually and socially and therefore almost forced to participate.

OK, rant over.

So you think that ANU (which has a great student atmosphere) is so isolated that students have to socialise, USyd is the reverse so students still want to socialise, but MQ is in the middle?

Hmm, I'm not sure about that. I don't see why students, regardless of location, still can't hang out... Maybe you're right, because as Nick said above, students will only come for class and not other reasons (as they would in the city).

I would definitely say that Mac centre's general shitness doesn't help it at all. It's not big enough to be something of a Westfield which would at least provide space for everybody, and not cool enough to be something of a trendy place to chill. By the way, I heard rumours that Westfield was going to take of Mac centre, which would be cool. Since there's nothing about it on their website, I assume it's not true?

I would also definitely say that the general shitness of the SAM building also doesn't help at all. The quarry is pathetic, as is upstairs... It seriously makes me feel like a prison inmate when I'm there.

 

[iambored]

While the staff I work with at uni don't like Prof. Schwartz, I really respect him. For once we are being treated with respect and being told about what is happening within our uni without just reading about it in SMH etc. and having no follow-up.

I came here to say the same thing. I am very impressed at being notified of things through the email system. It seems more like we are considered as equals, contributors to the uni, rather than people who just pay fees, receive information from lecturers and leave.

i see there being not one great big solution, but we could start with a better macq website for students. lets have a forum for communciation. "the word..." is a terrible media source. $20 an article and still no-one writes for them. it is not furfilling the need.

This reminded me that overall, I have a biased sense of macquarie 'community' because of this forum. It's always been a place where I can see what other students think about uni issues and get information and that in turn makes me more interested. So some students would benefit from a great website with some student participation and communication.

HOWEVER, I still think it is a very nice campus with friendly people. I do still think there is a sense of community that we have made ourselves, but it could be better with a better student body and so on. I don't think there is any truth in comments like

And I really think that this affects the university holistically - it's really no surprise that we're ranked 82 in the world, behind a lot of very shit unis. The uni environment generally is just horrible and depressing.

or

I would also definitely say that the general shitness of the SAM building also doesn't help at all. The quarry is pathetic, as is upstairs... It seriously makes me feel like a prison inmate when I'm there.

or

Macquarie students are the most incompetent, lazy group of morons, as shown in innumerable continuing examples of the inability of the student community to look after itself. Tough shit, better luck next time, although hopefully the students won't be given a next time.

Did you have a bad day / week/ year pwar or have you always thought this way about the uni?

So you think that ANU (which has a great student atmosphere) is so isolated that students have to socialise, USyd is the reverse so students still want to socialise, but MQ is in the middle?

Wouldn't the majority of ANU's students be on campus / out of area students? Therefore, they have to socialise, as they have no family or school friends nearby. As for USYD students wanting to socialise, I don't think that is necessarily the case, the main campus usyd students I know (whose degrees work more similarly to ours - changing classes each semester) have no or very little uni pride. The lidcombe students I know have awesome tight knit groups, but only because they shared every class for 3 to 4 years.

 

[xeuyrawp]

Did you have a bad day / week/ year pwar or have you always thought this way about the uni?

I know, it's really weird.

I'm just coming to realise how the uni is. It's a terrible attitude, but I've adopted a really negative opinion based on my recent looking at other unis. When it comes to academic postings, Macquarie graduates are just not present. I think the only Macquarie graduate I've seen in a reasonable academic position is UNSW's dean of law, and she only did her UG at Macquarie. Point me to one Oxbridge or Ivy League academic who is an MQ grad, and I will point you to 100x who went somewhere else in Australia. I won't start about the academic side (which is, in part, reflected in the lack of MQ postings outside of the uni). And when you come to the non-academic side, it's obvious that we're massively lacking. And this is why we're behind a lot of hideously bad unis in every ranking imaginable.

Wouldn't the majority of ANU's students be on campus / out of area students? Therefore, they have to socialise, as they have no family or school friends nearby.

That's my point... I was wondering if Nick was claiming that two ends of the isolated scale (USyd - ANU) had more social life than the middle (us).

As for USYD students wanting to socialise, I don't think that is necessarily the case, the main campus usyd students I know (whose degrees work more similarly to ours - changing classes each semester) have no or very little uni pride.

Well I'm not saying it's just about socialising.

And with the uni pride, I'd really have to disagree with you. Maybe go onto the USyd subforum and ask them whether they have more pride in their uni, and compare it with the same question here.

The lidcombe students I know have awesome tight knit groups, but only because they shared every class for 3 to 4 years.

What's your point? 1. Yet the Lidcombe campus life is as dead as ours. 2. Lidcombe is neither isolated or central.

 

[glitterfairy]

lol. Iam, I'm guessing Rob's just being brutally honest

I do agree on many of the things he brought up though. Until the beginning of this year (I'm a third year!) I was such a 'typical' club mac student. I had only a vague idea who Victor Ma was ("oh, I think he's on the student council or something"), and up till a few days prior to the first massive VSU rally, I had no idea what VSU was at all (until a USYD friend explained it all to me).

I have grown so accustomed to various 'riff raff' posted on the walls at uni that I've learnt to totally ignore them. If it weren't for my involvement with filmsoc/the holt/bos, I wouldn't even know Victor Ma had been fired yet, let alone why. I've often complained about how I always get accosted by various political/religious groups when I visit usyd, but I'll admit they get the job done. I don't know which I'd like better at mac though.

it is a hard slog getting a community going. consider the average amount of time a student spends at uni. 3 years, 3 or 4 days a week, i have heard that most people turn up for 3 or 4 classes in total and the rest are i-lectures. this does not lend itself to creating a community.

Totally agree and have been saying similar stuff for years. Most of my pre-uni friends were usyders, and in addition to a ridiculously low amount of contact hours (8 this semester...) I'm often either in class, at home, or asleep in my car.


.. I was going to add more to this, but I'm braindead and can't think anymore.

 

[xeuyrawp]

lol. Iam, I'm guessing Rob's just being brutally honest

Well my change of opinion is quite sudden.

Edit: Ironically, I'm in the best place in Australia for what I'm doing.

 

[glitterfairy]

Score!

On a side note, if Labour gets into federal government, and if they start pumping more money into education, and if macquarie no longer has to rely so much on rich international students, and if macquarie subsequently gets more social, aussie students...

Do you think the 'social dynamic' (related to communication dynamic et all) would change?

 

[AsyLum]

No.

Until Australia decides to 'specialise' their universities, the social dynamic and reliance on international students isn't going to stop.