Universities have been in the national spotlight this year. The unified student movement in support of Palestine culminating in encampments and Student General Meetings (SGM)s across the country has brought scores of Sky News anchors and News Corp journalists as they attempt to start a new front of the culture wars.
Activists have embraced the fight. Their ideas are emerging in national mastheads for the first time, while MPs and Senators in the Greens are visiting their collective stalls and attending their rallies.
With the SRC election fast approaching, this edition reflects on the SGM and highlights the continued pushes by students and NTEU branches to force universities to divest from Israel.
Unfortunately receiving almost no attention, however, are the impending international student caps. The caps represent the largest threat to university finances since voluntary student unionism and even conservative estimates argue they could cost thousands of jobs, more than any course cuts at any Australian university.
International students make up 46% of the student body and yet are consistently left out of the debate. Often reduced to immigration and visa statistics, this week’s feature by Kate Zhang advocates to give them a voice by centering their individual experiences. Universities refuse to stand up for students on their own terms and instead talk about international students in terms of their economic benefit. Politicians from both major parties are worse, blaming international students for the housing crisis, and engaging in well known populist troupes on the eve of a Federal election.
This edition is also a celebration of the seemingly mundane aspects of campus life and academics. Law elective caps and tutor marking codes may seem boring, but that boredom is the very reason the ever growing University bureaucracy can escape criticism. Tutors getting paid accurately and students having access to classes is something we all should care about.
Many of my own friends suggested to me that a ‘campus’ theme lacked energy, and it is easy to see why people are not always enthusiastic about USyd, but it’s our job to sift through the forest.
