SRC Director of Student Publications accused of serious misconduct

Director of Student Publications (DSP), Laura Glase, has been accused of putting the SRC at legal risk last Monday, after taking a photo of Honi Soit’s Welcome Week edition before it went to print.

Glase, who had declared a conflict of interest with the Young Liberals, was caught taking a photo of an article entitled “Young Liberals involved in Tinder Controversy” while acting in her capacity as a DSP.

When questioned about the incident at the time, Glase “sincerely apologise[d],” claiming she was unaware that taking photos of articles was not allowed and that the photo had since been deleted.

According to the SRC’s constitution, Glase, as one of six DSPs, is responsible for identifying articles, which “may involve the Council in civil or criminal liability.”

Hours after the incident in question, the SRC received a letter which threatened legal action on behalf of Alex Doherty, one of the Young Liberals involved in the controversy. The lawyer acting on behalf of Doherty claimed to have been shown a copy of the unpublished article and directly quoted its headline.

In the aftermath of the incident, SRC Publications Manager, Mickie Quick, submitted a report to the SRC executive stating “the role [of DSP] cannot be properly fulfilled if it is being used as an opportunity for espionage prior to publication.” SRC Vice-President Dane Luo told Honi “the Executive have referred it to a staff member to speak to Laura directly”.

Given they are elected by the SRC Council at RepsElect, there is some ambiguity surrounding the formal process of removing a DSP. The SRC’s constitution states that no officer shall be removed “without the consent of the Representatives present and voting at a meeting of the Council.”

However, it is unclear whether DSPs are considered to be “officers” under the SRC constitution. If Glase were removed, the Council would have to fill the vacant position at their next regular meeting.