Oscar Bai automatically removed from USU Board over ineligibility
The first-year Board Director was not even a member of the USU
Bye Bai!
First-year University of Sydney Union (USU) Board Director Oscar Bai has been automatically stripped of directorship, following revelations that he did not hold Union membership.
In a press release from the USU, the USU stated it had received external legal advice and is “fully confident” that Bai is not a member of the USU.
Under section 7.5(a)(i) of the USU Constitution, a Board Director will cease to hold their position where they are not a member of the USU.
Honi understands that because this is a constitutional matter, the Board did not vote on this, and once advised, Bai’s ineligiblity was effective immediately.
This news follows Bai being censured by the Board last month over numerous breaches of his directorship duties, including an undeclared conflict of interest, and poor attendance at USU Board meetings and events.
The news will likely be welcomed by this year’s Board Director candidates. Per the USU constitution, the highest polling unelected candidate in this year’s race will fill Bai’s vacancy should they agree to do so.
However, given they are filling Bai’s position, they will only serve as a director for one year, with their term to end on 30 June 2021, making it very unlikely that they’d secure a position on the Board Executive.
It is possible that this will tip the scales for the upcoming Board Executive elections. Oscar was tipped to support Benny Shen for Board President over Nick Forbutt (NLS).