VSU and you - real choice or the end of campus life? (2 Viewers)

[Generator]

Union services scaled back as VSU takes effect

Union services scaled back as VSU takes effect
The World Today - Tuesday, 4 July , 2006 12:42:00
Reporter: Conor Duffy


ELEANOR HALL: While university students across the country are enjoying the semester break, bean counters on campus are preparing for the impact of the Federal Government's new policy on Voluntary Student Unionism, which came into effect this week.

Already university unions have sacked staff and scaled back services like subsidised childcare. But while critics say it'll be the end of campus life, proponents of voluntary student unionism say students are finally being given a real choice.

Conor Duffy reports.

[continued - see link]

OK, those of us who have been here for some time know that the VSU issue has been discussed at length by however many mambers in however many threads. However, given that the legislation came into effect this week, I thought that a thread discussing the actual impacts of VSU (as they emerge) would be in order.

So, what is happening at the moment? Are the changes to be welcomed? Please, share your thoughts and experiences.

I'm hoping that those of you with an interest and/or a stake in the matter will post details of and discuss the changes as they emerge. If not, I'll do all that I can to update the thread on a regular basis.

 

[walrusbear]

MURRAY CHALLACOMBE: I personally think that VSU is a good thing and that you shouldn't be forced to join the student union, but there should still be a small service fee as such to keep the basic services on campus, so the student newspaper should be able to be kept running, or the student radio station and the welfare services.

he thinks VSU is good... but a fee should still be paid and the benefits of unionism should still exist?? they're not going to pay for themselves

 

[Xayma]

he thinks VSU is good... but a fee should still be paid and the benefits of unionism should still exist?? they're not going to pay for themselves

I find it funnier that the welfare services were the last of the three things that he believes are basic services and left off Academic services.

 

[withoutaface]

There's no reason a responsible university student who leaves having children til later life should have to subsidise the choice made by an irresponsible student in having children when they will obviously conflict with their studies. Good to see the unions are finally recognising this.

They also talk about laying off staff without showing a direct problem to the student body arising from this. Maybe these staff were already deadweight and the union just needed a little push to have an excuse to sack them?

 

[transcendent]

And maybe you deserve to have that friend of yours steal your idea for a present for your close friend. Harsh reality.

 

[kami]

There's no reason a responsible university student who leaves having children til later life should have to subsidise the choice made by an irresponsible student in having children when they will obviously conflict with their studies. Good to see the unions are finally recognising this.

Thats not always the case though - not every single child in childcare is the product of a teenage pregnancy or otherwise ill planned conception. There are people who have been responsible in family planning who would otherwise have issues accessing further education in life and these kind of services are important to have on campus. Those childcare faccilities may also prove useful for students doing their practicum in early childhood education. So I'd argue that every endeavour should be made to support those kind of facilities.

 

[walrusbear]

There's no reason a responsible university student who leaves having children til later life should have to subsidise the choice made by an irresponsible student in having children when they will obviously conflict with their studies. Good to see the unions are finally recognising this.

your grasp of reality is amazing

 

[dddman]

There's no reason a responsible university student who leaves having children til later life should have to subsidise the choice made by an irresponsible student in having children when they will obviously conflict with their studies. Good to see the unions are finally recognising this.

They also talk about laying off staff without showing a direct problem to the student body arising from this. Maybe these staff were already deadweight and the union just needed a little push to have an excuse to sack them?

the union has a excuse, its called Work Choices:uhhuh:

 

[withoutaface]

And maybe you deserve to have that friend of yours steal your idea for a present for your close friend. Harsh reality.

Your argument is where? Your relevance is where?

Thats not always the case though - not every single child in childcare is the product of a teenage pregnancy or otherwise ill planned conception. There are people who have been responsible in family planning who would otherwise have issues accessing further education in life and these kind of services are important to have on campus.

If they're later on in life then they'd either be able to wait until the kids are at school or they'd have enough financial support to pay for their own childcare. Point being if you choose to have children, you choose to have all the good things and bad things that come with them, cost of childcare and inflexibility of further study options are two of the bad things, so stiff shit.

Those childcare faccilities may also prove useful for students doing their practicum in early childhood education. So I'd argue that every endeavour should be made to support those kind of facilities

If they were they'd be supported by the faculty of social work, not student fees.

your grasp of reality is amazing

Your ability to mount a coherent counter-argument is moreso.

 

[walrusbear]

Your ability to mount a coherent counter-argument is moreso.

touché
i was succinctly point out that your argument was trite and unrealistic

the fact you typify university students with children as 'irresponsible' is borderline offensive.
your solution to most social issues is to simply blame people for their problems. in this case, the people with the burden of children are inherently 'irresponsible' and therefore shouldn't be financially assisted by a student body. you distort the reality of student childcare by suggesting that those 'responsible' students without children are being hard done by. realistically, if every student pays then the fee everyone is reasonably low.
your conjecture about how they 'shouldn't have kids' or should 'wait until later' is quite pointless. in reality, there has and will continue to be students with children who want to study and your "stiff shit" comment is a testament to your lack of imagination when it comes to addressing these issues. a dogmatic re-iteration of 'user pay' does nothing to consider how VSU will 'actually' change things.

 

[transcendent]

Your problem is the injustice your friend commited against you. The other is an injustice to those who support USU, not saying I'm one of them, but that it has wider ramifications for more people. You're so quick to dismiss the issues that others face but want sympathy for your own issue. You only care about what is deemed relevant to you and your selfish needs.

 

[dddman]

uts union money goes to the health centre, the careers counsellors and all the shit that goes on where i get free shit, come one its FREE SHIT

 

[Optophobia]

There's no reason a responsible university student who leaves having children til later life should have to subsidise the choice made by an irresponsible student in having children when they will obviously conflict with their studies. Good to see the unions are finally recognising this.

The degree may help the result of a teenage pregnancy have a better future by helping the mother out of the rutt.

You also assume that they deliberately have the kids, sometimes they are accidents, the product of rape, or because of cultural pressures.

Maybe these staff were already deadweight and the union just needed a little push to have an excuse to sack them?

Just like those workers who have been sacked as a result of the new industrial relations legislation.

That said, i think i still support VSU, because i was forced to pay a few hundred dollars at the beginning of the year, and i have not seen any of it put to any use. All i have seen, let alone used, is the cafe`. If the union is that important then there is no reason why it cannot run like the rest of the economy, where people pay for a service if its a good one. If the union has that much to offer people, then there is no reason why people wont voluntarily pay.

 

[yy]

what does all the union fees go to? if, as i read here, it's just childcare, i don't see why i have to pay for someone else's child, especially i need subsidy myself when i go to uni. so when i spend less than $10 on food everyday, i have to help raise someone's child? i say yay for the VSU.

whether the children is deliberate conceived or an accident is not relevant to the question. the fact remain the child is not my responsibility (esp. when i might not even be able to afford a roof over my head)

 

[kami]

what does all the union fees go to?

Allegedly the fees go towards:

• funding clubs & socs
• funding sporting stuff
• funding Oweek and similar festivities
• funding childcare
• some student advocacy and legal assistance programs
• some health assistance for students
• on campus food venues
• provision of things like queer space and womyn's space (i think)

Thats the extent of what I'm personally aware of at my campus. Though I must admit I am not a member of any clubs (sif not have a media/commu soc *shakes fist*), and I also thought O-day was lame and I was rather sick of being badgered by christain groups on the day. Uni-bar also costs more and tastes worse than the privately run cafe we have on campus.

whether the children is deliberate conceived or an accident is not relevant to the question. the fact remain the child is not my responsibility (esp. when i might not even be able to afford a roof over my head)

Then who's responsibility is it? We're already getting a big hand out from the community (HECS) in the assumption these studies will enable us to further ourselves, I would say it is partly our responsibility to ensure as many from aforementioned community have access to those same studies they've enabled us to have. I would also think most peoples problem would be more with the social events rather than childcare services.

My personal belief is that there should have been a middle road, with a much smaller fee being mandatory to fund childcare, legal services and health services for students. Then have unionism being optional to allow for the rest of the features.

 

[banco55]

It would be interesting to see a breakdown of what proportion of the money was spent on XYZ.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

As far as i'm aware they don't do that, or at least make it public, easily accessible knowledge.

 

[lala2]

I'm glad that VSU is coming into play--support what you want, and don't support what you don't want. Should've come in ages ago. Then those stupid clubs and societies and services would be outta the way.

 

[Generator]

I'm glad that VSU is coming into play--support what you want, and don't support what you don't want. Should've come in ages ago. Then those stupid clubs and societies and services would be outta the way.

Legal, academic and welfare services provided by the student organisations are stupid, are they? I know that a number of people consider the value of such services to be marginal, but I think that it's taking it to an extreme to say that they are stupid.

 

[lala2]

my bad...marginal is a better word.