At 10.30am in a room in the F23 building, the Chancellor’s Committee heard from Kate May, Director of Alumni and Supporter Experience, about the Alumni team’s decision to pass the Book Fair baton (in part) to Lifeline.
The atmosphere swelled with the confusion of some Committee members, and the unbridled rage of others. During the meeting, members passed around an open letter to Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott, petitioning him to meet with the Chancellor’s Committee after his failure to do so last year. Members of the meeting signed their name under “Book Fair volunteers”.
Kate May fielded many angry questions and explained that the Alumni department from USyd management reached out to Lifeline to work in partnership with them, opting to no longer financially support it themselves.
USyd’s alumni department is also closing down the Chancellor’s Committee’s office and storage facility, Burren Street, citing “economic concerns”. With no storage facility, the Chancellor’s Committee has shut down their EBay site, on which they sold 23 books this year.
“I can see a lot of shaking heads but I see this as an opportunity”, May explained.
“You can throw tomatoes at me if you want.”
May addressed the audience’s fear that this would close the Chancellor’s Committee or affect its ability to fund student initiatives.
The Book Fair is one of the Chancellor’s Committee key sources of funding. According to its 2023 annual report, these funds were used for disability bursaries, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students bursary, and grants to student teams such as the Rocketry Team (a total of $52,700 went toward University bursaries and grants).
May explained the financial policy regarding profits: “50% of the proceeds are going back to the Book Fair and 50% of the proceeds to Lifeline”. “Additionally, Lifeline is helping with the transportation costs.” The Advancement Portfolio will pay the cost of security and cleaning.
This prompted a question from the audience, “Why is Lifeline taking 50% of earnings this year when they haven’t done anything leading up to now?” The Chancellor’s Committee book fair volunteers have, until now, completed all the preparation for the book fair singularly.
Jacob from Sydney Motor Sport, an undergraduate team that the Chancellors Committee supports, stated: “We depend on their funding, and the funding does excellent things for the university’s reputation on the international stage”. His speech was met with rapturous applause.
“We aren’t shutting down the Chancellor’s Committee, and some proceeds of the Book Fair will return to the Committee. This is not about shutting down the Chancellor’s Committee”, May confirmed. She also cited that a figure of $500,000 is currently in the Chancellor’s Committee’s bank account.
Audience members also raised their concerns about what would happen to their current Burren Street office. “I don’t know what campus infrastructure has planned for Burren Street. Burren street is in a dilapidated state, and there is a cost for the repair of the space”, May stated.
With the next Book Fair scheduled for September, Jeremy stated that “Lifeline has offered to supply their own volunteers if our numbers fall short.” It was also revealed that this is the first time that the Book Fair will be cashless, with Lifeline handling the pay stations and EFTPOS machines.
After continuous questions surrounding Lifeline’s involvement, an Alumni department member said, “They’re not going to try and steal money, have a little faith.”
One audience member heckled about the Lifeline partnership, toppling the dominoes of decorum: “We weren’t consulted”. the staff member rebuffed this by saying “we did consult with you”, leading to more heckles of “you did not” as well as an audible “Bullshit!”.
The staff member then left the room, distressed, and the room was plunged into a hurricane’s eye of guilt, stress and confusion.
After a period of silence, May confirmed: “We are yet to negotiate the terms for next year. We are not out to get you.” Tensions eased, it was the Khrushchev Thaw.
When Honi Soit sought to ask a question, we were initially told that non-members could not do so. However we were later given the floor by a member of the Chancellor’s Committee to pose a question about the marketing of the Book Fair, and how these changes will be announced to students. May explained that the Alumni department is “currently working with marketing”.
Just as Brezhnev put an end to the Thaw, an audience members then piped up about Lifeline and began a barrage of questions and concerns once more.
“Our Book Fair and Lifeline’s book fair are quite different beasts. What was the attraction!”
“I have been to a Lifeline book fair and did not like it!”
“The Chancellor’s Committee was established to serve the University, which is quite different from Lifeline!”
Such complaints were heard from the crowd. Audience members also questioned the logistics of how they could continue to volunteer from an office not based on campus.
May explained why Lifeline was chosen as a partner for the Book Fair: “Lifeline wants to work with us more broadly on other initiatives”
To devotees of the Chancellor’s Committee, semantics matter. One member requested that the partnership be worded as “partnership of Chancellor’s Committee with Lifeline” rather than “Lifeline x Chancellor’s Committee.”
In a statement to Honi, a University of Sydney spokesperson said, “We’re pleased to confirm our partnership with Lifeline, that will help ensure the Book Fair held annually at the University of Sydney can thrive into the future.”
“A much-loved event on the University calendar now in its 37th year”, the spokesperson reiterated the Chancellor’s Committee of volunteers’ role in its organisation as well as their “rich history with the University” which they are “pleased” to continue into the future.
The new partnership was described as proceeds “shared to support Lifeline’s delivery of essential services for suicide prevention and community mental health” in addition to “the Chancellor Committee’s key focus on bursaries and grants for students to help them overcome specific challenges or circumstances.”
“Lifeline will also provide much-needed storage for the Fair’s books and take on operations of the Book Fair from 2025 with assistance from volunteers including Chancellor Committee members warmly welcomed.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that the upcoming book fair will continue to be hosted on campus from September 14 to 18 at the Great Hall.
What the book fair will look like in years to come, however, remains to be seen. What is known is that the Chancellor’s Committee will not cave easily.
