USU factional shake-up
At the end of last year, University of Sydney Board Director Tiff Alexander treated herself to a lovely post-exams present: a Labor Party membership card.
Alexander, who was elected to the Board last year as an independent, told Honi she has joined the ALP as a “non-factional member”, although she broadly identifies with the left of the party.
The political affiliations of board directors mainly come into play when the Board elects its executive. However, as the election of the executive occurs after the new crop of first-year board directors are voted in by students this semester, it is difficult to know how Alexander’s 2016 Laybah membership will affect things.
For those keeping count, the composition of your USU Board is currently: five Labor (2 x Unity, 1 x NLS, 1 x SLS, 1 x non-factional), three Grassroots, three independent and two non-student, Senate-appointed directors no one really knows.
BelleVie’s undercover boss
Observant Wentworth wanderers might have noticed a slight change to one of the University’s bleakest buildings in late 2015: the café formerly known as “downstairs Azzuri” has changed hands.
While “upstairs Azzuri” remains, its closer-to-the-underworld counterpart is now BelleVie (pronounced, according to the friendly barista Honi spoke to last week as “bell-a vee”, which seems one syllable too long, but whatever).
BelleVie enters the Wentworth coffee + miscellaneous lunch food market with force, boasting a sandwich board bearing the endorsement of a very satisfied customer: “Mmm… I absolutely love Bellevie’s coffee. It’s the best I have tasted, ever.”
We asked the day’s barista where the quote came from and she replied without hesitation, “My boss.”
