Update me on VSU (2 Viewers)

[withoutaface]

A lot of the things at o week that cost money can be billed though.

 

[neo o]

Other University services, such as medical, counselling, childcare, indigenous,
disability and international student services have been provided by the University
and therefore are unaffected by this legislation; they will continue to be provided.

I wonder if this is the same at other universities besides ANU, seeing as how provision of childcare was an argument (albeit a weak one) used by USU supporters to justify their cause.

PS: Just to rub it in again to Uysd goers, I'll be paying half a years student union fees of $120 compared to your $600.

 

[erawamai]

For interest, this is the text of an email I sent to Murray Olds on 2UE:
Hi Murray,
I’ve been listening to your show today, and I would like to share my opinion on Voluntary Student Unionism from the perspective of a student advocate. As a student of the University of Sydney, I have been paying a $540 fee every year of my enrolment ostensibly intended to support the university community, and as an ideology it’s something that I support. But the reality is that this money that’s supposed to enrich the student community is instead being abused to push political agendas by corrupted student representatives.
I am the Vice-President of one of those musical societies that is supposed to thrive under Universal Student Unionism, but we have not received payment from our Union for over a year now. Clubs and Societies are promoted as one of the highlights of USU, but Clubs and Societies represent a mere 3% of at least the USYD Union’s budget. That equates to approximately $10 per student. For students like me, the returns of Unionism are not enough to justify the up-front, non-deferrable payment of two week’s wages.
In 2005, more USYD student money was used to promote the Falun Gong cult, than was spent on services to my campus of 800 students (each paying $540 to the student organisations). In 2005, half a million dollars in student money was spent on protests against VSU, in which police and students alike were viciously attacked and injured by students with a vested interest in maintaining the student coffer. Sydney University Sport takes $144 of that $540, but spent a grand total of ZERO DOLLARS on providing sports facilities and activities to my campus. This is money that students scrimp and save for.
In 2005, I ran for our Student Representative Council, and for my efforts I was attacked verbally and physically. My property was damaged, and I was even beaten up on one occasion. So much for the idea of student participation in our student community. At the time, I supported Universal Unionism. But no longer. Our student organisations will no longer be able to neglect the needs of the student majority to promote a political ideology. Students will now be able to vote with their wallets, and if our student organisations wish to maintain our membership, they will have to provide services that benefit the student community as a whole.
Our student unions were demanding immediate payment of $540 from students who couldn’t even cover their day-to-day expenses. I have seen too many cases of students who couldn’t even buy groceries in the week leading up to enrolment, so they could pay their fees. It’s all well and good to have student community. But to force such exorbitant fees on the poorest socio-economic group in our society is absolutely deplorable.
Regards,
Andrew Quah
Independent Students’ Association, University of Sydney

The first step to insanity. Listening to talkback radio.

I think listening to talk back right of after the race riots gave me one of those deep headaches. A realisation that there are no shortage of idiots out there who cannot at all string coherent ideas together that would seperate themsleves from apes.

At this point it dawns on me that there is no point trying to save the world. Just shut up and save yourself and your loved ones, everyone else is too far gone.

 

[Phanatical]

That seems a little cynical, coming from somebody like you.

 

[Wolfowitz]

I wonder if this is the same at other universities besides ANU, seeing as how provision of childcare was an argument (albeit a weak one) used by USU supporters to justify their cause.

PS: Just to rub it in again to Uysd goers, I'll be paying half a years student union fees of $120 compared to your $600.

Yay for ANU.
Are there any decent clubs worth joining, though?

 

[loquasagacious]

That depends what you're into - there are certainly alot to choose from....