After Grace Wallman (Switchroots) turned in her resignation as Treasurer following the University of Sydney Union (USU) Executive Board vote on June 3, the vacant position was filled at a July 5 Board meeting.
Browsing: USU Board
Bryson Constable (Liberal), Ben Hines (Libdependent), Julia Lim (Independent), and Grace Wallman (Switchroots) were elected as the new executive.
Georgia Zhang (Switchroots), Shirley (Zixuan) Zhang (Independent), James Dwyer (Unity), Ethan Floyd (Switchroots) and Phan Vu (Independent) were all provisionally elected.
Egregiously, there were no Indigenous students present at the forum, meaning that Macourt had to undertake significant labour in explaining Indigenous Australian issues, particularly to international students who did not grow up with basic education on these discourses.
Honi enters the (soap)boxing ring and emerges relatively unscathed
The USU Board elections are upon us again!
Honi has quizzed and interviewed the candidates.
Daniel Park is running as an independent candidate who centres his campaign on making USyd more fun and more inclusive. Drawing on his own experience as an expat, Park said he was motivated to run for the board because he has “always been surrounded by different cultures” and wants the university to be a vibrant space that reflects its diversity.
Zhang provided a strong voice for international students, and has clear lived experience in issues and barriers facing this community on campus. However, her policies lacked detail and she was unable to explain how they might come to fruition within the USU’s current structure and culture. Zhang’s foundational knowledge of the USU and the University writ large was also limited.
Simon Homsany is running as an independent candidate on an “apolitical” campaign. When asked further about any past affiliations, Homsamy spoke to how his “politics are [his] policies.” He noted that his enthusiasm to join the board is derived solely from improving student experience.
Angus believes the USU is currently “extremely corporatised.” This has created an organisation that, according to Angus, “feels very big and really insular.” Angus intends to get to a point where students “actually want to interact with the USU,” by “giving students the pathway to do that”