Disqualified!
A campaigner for SPARK for SULS, Jacob Masina, has been banned from campaigning for the rest of the election, which ended on Tuesday, after allegations were made that he promised appointment to SULS sub-committee positions to a student in exchange for their support in the election.
Masina told Honi, “I did not offer anybody any particular positions. I’m sorry it’s been interpreted that way, however i know the RO is keen to make sure the election runs smoothly as well as protect the interests of students and campaigners alike. Someone approached me for my support to get on a SULS subcommittee. I do not have any control over that process as it is elected on merit. However, I only wanted to convey that I thought they would be good for the position and I would do my best to support them.”
If true, Masina probably overestimated his influence over SPARK. He’s not on the ticket, and doesn’t have a managerial position. A senior SPARK ticket member was very surprised that Masina reportedly expected to have such an influence.
The SULS election gained a bitter tinge last week, with rumours flying around against people on both sides. Factually inaccurate allegations have been “leaked” to Honi in the hope we’d run it. One GAME campaigner wrote a status warning against “spreading unsubstantiated rumours or making unnecessary personal attacks”, a sentiment “directed at people on both major tickets”.
GAME Presidential candidate Kieran Hoyle wrote on Facebook, “I am not insular, I’m not elitist, I’m not Sydney Law’s Trump. I think it’s hurtful when people call me a fuckwit, and to be thought of as both ruthless and incompetent at the same time is just laughable. I think it is shameful that an election has come down to personal slander, largely aimed at one person.”
The SULS executive will be announced after this paper goes to print.
Close every door to me, hide all your macs from me
Last week saw the successful publication of the third-ever ACAR Honi, an autonomous edition of this rag run by the Autonomous Collective Against Racism.
In making this otherwise excellent edition, the ACAR editorial team decided to prop open the SRC door after-hours (to let in their contributors). Unfortunately they also let in a thief who took a huge desktop Mac from the SRC front desk and fucked off with it.
The ACAR Honi team and the Officebearers were, to Honi’s understanding, incredibly embarrassed and apologetic, while the SRC staff were a little bit miffed and have now put a sign on the inside of the door.
Holme baked
On a cursory expedition to USU headquarters to view their murals (see page 6), two of your editors stumbled across a pretty edgy function listing in the cosseted upper levels of the Holme building.
According to the sign outside the Cullen Room, the USU proudly hosted “The inaugural mini-Masterclass [in] Medicinal Cannabis” this week. When we tried to enter, a HostCo employee told us it was a private event and wasn’t for students.
Honi’s questions – “Who’s running this? Why is it in the cya later cunts! Holme building and will it be back?” – were sent to the USU,
but despite their best efforts, they weren’t able to reply in time for publication.
New Pres, new year, new EBA, new me
The Sydney Uni branch of the National Tertiary Education Union has a new face at the helm. Associate Professor Kurt Iveson, a geographer who works on social justice in city, took over from Michael Thompson as NTEU Branch President last week. You can find his great take on “Pokémon Go and public space” on his blog.
Iveson’s appointment comes as the University’s academic and professional staff look to begin negotiating a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) early in the new year.
Those among us who seriously should have graduated by now will remember the enormous 2013 strikes during EBA negotiations which ended when University management acquiesced to most NTEU and student demands.
We’re not racist, but…
With a “Night in Niflheim” theme, St Paul’s College managed to have a party that wasn’t a tired appropriation of South Asian culture at the end of Week 10. However, what the college gained in not making fun of people of colour, it appeared to quite quickly lose in terms of not condoning animal abuse.
With huskies (who are not supposed to be out in hot temperatures) and owls (who can be blinded for an hour by night-time flash photography) both featuring pictures from the 27-degree night, it really is a bit of a case of you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
St Paul’s for academic board
Not content with the responsibility “for discipline, pastoral care and assisting the Warden” at St Paul’s College, Paul’s Sub-Warden Mark Schembri is running for to be the Medicine Faculty’s student representative to the Academic Board in 2017. (We hear they don’t
have many discipline issues, so Schembri probably has a bunch of time on his hands.)
Dr Schembri – who has science, vet and public health degrees, and helped with the equine team at the Beijing Olympics – is apparently now a med student.