Special kind of geek sets her goals

By new Students' Association president Jennifer Newman

Jennifer Newman: we do the stuff no student could wade through alone..

November 9, 2004: I find some kind of joy in being president of the Students' Association. It takes a special kind of geek to do this job, and I'm more than proud to say that I fit squarely into that category.

Education is something I am passionate about; it is recognised by the UN as a fundamental right and I enjoy laying my part in seeing everyone at UC gets as much as they can out of their time here.

We offer some services, like cheap water and printing, but more importantly we do the stuff no student could wade through alone. We sit on boring committees; we trawl through folders of policy, and act for individual students on academic matters they do not feel comfortable dealing with alone.

I only have one year as president, after which I suspect I will need to focus on completing the final year of my law degree. There is so much I'd love to see happen during my presidency but at the moment I am focusing on following through on my election promises, such as making sure students understand the academic program and working with the university for better solutions for Ressies' students.

Maintaining the balance between what students want and what is achievable is always a challenge; and one that tends to be ignored during our elections. We, like everyone else at this University, have limits on our capacity to change things; for example, we cannot change the price of food in the refectory or drinks in the bar. What we can do is take the concerns of students to the Union, who do control these things, and encourage them to respond to the needs of their members. We can set up a food co-op to sell students flour, rice and pasta at discount prices.

I would like to set up a food co-op. I want the Students' Association to stay alive if Voluntary Student Unionism comes in. I want to get security on campus improved, and a better resourced library. Some things can be done directly; some things will be a matter of lobbying the university and government.

The Students' Association isn't just about committee members and office bearers: we have collectives and working parties that any undergrad student can join. If you have an interest in education, women's rights, security, VSU, or even the environment, come and get involved.

The committee:

• Jennifer Newman, president.
• Rachel Cormack, women's officer.
• Mark Emerson, education vice-president.
• Michael Tomkins, general secretary.
• David Cottrill, media officer.
• Kate Harkins, welfare officer.
• Rebecca Moon, sexuality officer.
• Ben Barret, indigenous officer.
• Tanzim Rashid Khan, international officer.
• Nicolas Anderson, RSO president.
• Pradnya Vilas Kolekar, postgraduate officer.
• Carl Sutcliffe, environment officer and
• Kate Corkery, Ignatus Rozario, Miranda Cameron, Joeseph Hunt, Alice Walker, Syed Samiul Huq, Sophie Garner, Adam Verwey.
  

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Last Updated on August 1, 2005