Slogan: Jumpstart with Georgia
Colour: Kelly Green
Faction: Switchroots
Degree: Arts/Law III
Quiz Score: 74%
Georgia Zhang follows a longstanding line of passionate Switchroots USU candidates bringing thorough policies to the table. At times, Zhang could not answer about the specific operations of these policies, but her vision was clear and promising. Her knowledge of the USU was reflected in her high quiz score and her ability to link her polices with the experiences of students who don’t usually engage with the USU.
Zhang seeks similar changes to other candidates, such as the impaired communication between the USU and Clubs and Societies. Importantly, she cited her experience as a Law Revue Producer as providing her significant insight into behind-the-scenes logistics. The intensity of revue organisation grants multi-layered awareness of USU structures, although her USU knowledge is somewhat confined to the performing arts sector. Zhang also has experience on the Students’ Representatives Council, serving as the Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment (SASH) Officer this year. This perhaps conflicts with her current residency at St Andrew’s College, one of the most notorious USyd colleges for sexual violence.
Although her desire to raise club funding is critical and shared across candidates, her specific policy of providing equity tickets for costly club events stands out; however, in the interview, she was not entirely certain how to approach the question of means testing. Also about clubs, Zhang identified that cultural competency training is often omitted or neglected by club executives; to resolve this, she proposed setting a deadline and enforcing completion. Whether this will effectively increase the cultural competency of club executives, or rather raise their ire, is questionable given that online modules are notoriously ineffective. Zhang also wishes to revamp the content of the Consent module to make it more relevant — however, this is not currently administered by the USU, but rather USyd for all students.
Importantly, Zhang was the only candidate to raise the current disengagement of satellite campuses with campus life; she proposes to resolve this through consultation and a student representative process.
Left-wing candidates are often quizzed on their intention to shape the USU in an activist manner. Zhang agreed that the USU should take open political stances as they have recently, such as with its statement on the Fair Fares concession Opal card campaign. After being pressed in the interview about whether the USU should engage with politics more substantively than publishing statements, Zhang raised her policies to invest in companies and organisations with left-wing politics, promote mutual aid initiatives, and incorporate left-wing values into USU policies, such as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) principles.
One political issue Zhang spoke on was the USU’s Environment Fair, which she criticizes as “very corporatised” in its current iteration. Elaborating on this, she pictures increased student involvement and for there to be more promotion, but at the moment stops there in terms of visualising how the events would diverge from their present form. She also proposed ideas of cross-funding events with the SRC, such as Radical Pride and Consent Week, in order to improve them and reach more students.
On the controversial issue of divestment, Zhang aligns with her Switchroots predecessors in agitating for divestment from unethical corporations. To begin this process, she suggests a review of its current investments and developing recommendations from this.
However, Zhang’s criteria for what constitutes an “unsustainable” or “unethical” corporation is unclear. She notes that some companies are “direct contributors” and some “cause environmental impacts”, but this is vague at this stage — it sparks questions about how she will negotiate these categorisations with other Board members.
Zhang also contended with the question of prioritising divestment from unethical cash flow sources whilst needing money for aid initiatives such as FoodHub: Zhang cleverly pointed out that the USU turned a million-dollar surplus and that these services underpin an essential aspect of what the USU offers to its members. A previous FoodHub volunteer, Zhang is familiar with FoodHub’s offerings and also raised the idea of diversifying options to useful materials.
When asked how to strike the balance of making FoodHub more accessible but also prioritising low-income students, she spoke to the issue of people self-selecting out of the initiative because “they don’t think they qualify” — this demonstrates a nuanced knowledge of how students on campus interact with the service but would require operationalising solutions on Board.
Zhang’s main policy pushes clearly demonstrate a knowledge of the USU and areas for improvement and creativity. Some of her policies may need to be fleshed out in terms of logistics so students can have confidence that she will deliver.