Once again, the editors of Honi Soit were tasked with reporting on the battleground that is the SRC Council — this time, we found ourselves in the cushy halls of the Abercrombie Building. Despite there being the usual level of chaos and absurd self-seriousness (mainly from Libs as per usual), it was packed into a fiery burst of 38 minutes.
SAlt Shenanigans
Even before the meeting was formally open, the editors in attendance were accosted by Socialist Alternative and chastised for the removal of a motion on the status of one of the editors. Honi has never felt more alive. After shouting at other factions and pulling the finger, SAlt promptly left in a fit of collective rage. Fortunately, quorum was still intact!
March Movements
Due to a room clash, the meeting was moved from the classroom to a lecture hall downstairs. Office-bearers gave their reports, with the past month being notable for protests.
President Lia Perkins (Grassroots) spoke on the strength of activism with there being a host of rallies in March. Perkins noted the success of the NUS Day of Action for the Climate earlier in the month and protests against the far right with a speakout against the Day of the Unborn Child and the Trans Day of Visibility Rally.
Vice Presidents Rose Donnelly (NLS) and Daniel Bowron (Unity) pointed to protests which have been in the works, with plans to engage with the climate protest during budget week. Bowron spoke on the success of FoodHub with 626 students using the service this year. There is currently a huge excess of energy drinks which can be accessed 10am – 2pm on Tuesday or Thursday (yay!).
Education Officer Ishbel Dunsmore (Grassroots) spoke on the success of the NTEU strikes, which was a running theme in all reports. Dunmore said that the strike last Friday was “the best,” with a snap action supporting Student Centre casuals whose contracts have not been renewed, and a general sense of solidarity and joy. Dunsmore sent out a “dishonourable mention” to notable scab Satvik Sharma (Liberal) for “crying to security that staff weren’t letting you break the strike.”
Women’s Officers Iggy Boyd (Grassroots) and Alev Saracoglu (SLA) spoke on the success of Womens’ Collective’s action against the Day of the Unborn Child in response to threats of violence from the far right group, Christian Lives Matter. Earlier in the meeting Thomas Thorpe (Liberal) questioned the SRC’s opposition to the Day of the Unborn Child. President Lia Perkins (Grassroots) answered, describing “it is an act of hatred and cruelty.”
Boyd described the Trans Day of Visibility protest as “brilliant”, with attendance estimates up to 3000. This was particularly important in the wake of escalation from the far right, displaying that supporting trans rights is the “popular politics” and not bigotry.
For the Enviro “report”, Sharma continued his bid for the unfunniest standup routine of all time, and brandished a literal lump of coal. He did his best impression of ScoMo (yuck) before screaming into the microphone.
The Libs attempted to craft “gotcha moments” by asking asinine questions, but were met with crisp responses.
“Can you name one or two things that the recent strikes have changed?” asked Cooper Gannon (Liberal).
Welfare Officer Harrison Brennan (Grassroots) responded, “Yes, management has changed their bargaining agreement with the union!”
Despite their incessant childish antics, this response was met with crickets from the Libs.
Finally, Social Justice Officer Jordan Anderson (Switch) spoke to the importance of achieving housing justice. Overall, the reports reflected a lively month of activism in March.
Quorum Quagmire
The struggle to meet quorum persisted as Honi heard NLS plotting their escape in the table in front. Very strange, considering that councillors spent an exorbitant amount of time on Facebook profile templates, and flyering on Eastern Avenue to get here in the first place.
NLS and Unity promptly left the room. Honi heard through the grapevine (USyd-hack Twitter) that this was due to some factional fights.
After a final count, Council was declared inquorate, and Honi went off to get some ice cream. Stay tuned for May Council, and consider coming to watch with popcorn, it is bound to end in flames.
Editors’ Note: Honi recognises that the report for the April SRC Council meeting could have more accurately reflected the proceedings, and have amended it to correct the imbalance by including more from the office-bearers’ reports.
