At 2:42pm on the 28th of February, the elusive doors to the Cullen meeting room in the Holme Building opened for the ‘public’ session of the University of Sydney Union (USU) Board meeting. The session officially began when Honi Soit entered the room. I’ve never felt more dignified than being referred to as such in the minutes.
USU President Bryson Constable (Liberal) began by informing us of the introduction of four new profile titles in the USU: Ethnocultural (Phan Vu, Independent), Colleges and Student Accomodation (Georgia Zhang, Switchroots), Equity (Sargun Saluja, NSWLS), and First Nations (Ethan Floyd, Independent).
There was a brief discussion on the results of the last survey regarding the USU community’s thoughts on the upcoming incorporation. After including an amendment to the layout of the financial committee to allow a senate-appointed director to be appointed to it, the incorporation plan was formally endorsed by the USU Board.
Honi is looking forward to the rest of this year’s Board meetings now that the incorporation plan is no longer a discussion, but rather an inevitability.
The next section of the proceedings regarded the electoral committee and election regulations. With the notice of election available on the USU website, it’s important to note that only six positions will be nominated this year, as the USU Board runs on two-year terms. Nominations for Board elections are open from the 17th of March until the 7th of April, with USU elections being held from the 12th of 16th of May.
The next few motions were discussed and moved as part of wholesale amendments to electoral regulations. Firstly, the electoral calendar has been shifted to allow Honi to conduct interviews during the embargoed election period. Yay!
Two other key regulation changes included: all purchases made using USU election funding must be reimbursed at market price; there is no requirement for one-on-one or small group interactions to be conducted in English, but any larger verbal proceedings or printed materials written in a foreign language must also include an English translation.
Stricter punishments were also brought to the table for individuals who breached any electoral rule changes, to discourage infractions of the policies. Constable often referred to these ‘punishments’ with a sense of almost… glee? It was fascinating to observe Constable’s amusement with the idea of punishing individuals who supposedly ‘break’ the electoral rules, especially since the amendments which have been introduced are, as pointed out by an anonymous Board member, predominantly due to the actions of left-wing and ESL nominees for the Board from 2024.
A point of contention in the meeting was on an amendment to stop campaigners handing out non-USU flyers while wearing USU T-shirts. The proposal would see two regulations introduced: campaigning can only be conducted by individuals wearing USU T-shirts, and individuals in USU T-shirts are only able to hand out USU campaign materials.
Vice President Ben Hines (Independent) was the first to raise issue with this amendment, suggesting that it hinders the versatility of a candidate’s ways of campaigning, and would discourage people to join campaigns for an election which historically receives less attention on campus than that of the SRC.
Saluja supported the motion, suggesting that it would make it easier to identify when campaigners violate electoral rules such as illegally campaigning on residential sites. After some more discussion, and Constable suggesting that the cost of buying T-shirts is negligible for a $700 campaign budget provided by the USU, it is agreed to table this specific amendment until a better solution can be reached. All other motions were carried.
Next was the financial report. For the 2024-2025 financial year, the USU reported a surplus of $350,000, as well as an unspecified surplus in January due to the high influx of Manning Bar’s events. With a recent turn towards utilising more of the outside physical space in Manning (thus allowing more bodies to flow, more tickets to sell, and more drinks to be bought), a planned deficit in January was avoided, which begs the question as to how necessary the price increases at USU outlets this year truly was.
The other reports were all taken as read, but there were three clear highlights to the President’s report. Firstly, Constable noted that this year’s Welcome Fest was the biggest and best Welcome Fest yet. When asked by Honi later in the meeting about how they’d attribute this success, Constable pinpointed the “amount of clubs and sponsors, and the breadth of space” which was utilised.
Secondly, it was mentioned that a revised rubric for applying to start a USU club was in the works. This would hopefully streamline the process and allow interested individuals to understand the metrics by which to demonstrate the unique aspects of their proposed clubs.
Thirdly, after attempting to pass the chair from Hines back to Constable (a procedural necessity for Constable to deliver his report), Hines quipped “Can I get a seconder to move chair back to Bryson? I know we always struggle with this”, which was met with several seconds of laughter, and then an awkward silence.
Ethan Floyd’s report, as part of their multitude of portfolios, involved asking the USU CEO Janina Jancu for an update on the state of the sanitary product distribution program currently run by the USU. Jancu touched on the planned expansion of the program this year, on both the Camperdown/Darlington and satellite campuses. Jancu then mentioned that the University of Sydney Executive recently turned down a plan to expand the program in non-USU buildings as it was deemed not fiscally viable. She stressed that “some agitation and interest in re-invigorating that from the USU is on the table this year.”
Floyd’s report ended with a recognition of the recent passing of former Honi Soit editor Khanh Tran. Tran’s work reached far and wide on the campus, and their formal recognition in the USU Board minutes is deeply appreciated.
Finally, Zixuan Zhang (Independent) re-affirmed her commitment under the International Student portfolio to push for international student concession card recognition.
Overall, an exciting time awaits for the USU this year. With incorporation around the corner, Honi is keen to see how this upcoming election plays out.
