Student unions 'on brink of extinction' (1 Viewer)

[Triangulum]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...k-of-extinction/2008/01/12/1199988650391.html

STUDENT union membership has plummeted by up to 95 per cent since the Howard government made it voluntary, leading to a widening gap in student services between elite and regional universities.

National Union of Students (NUS) president Angus McFarland said while some of the more wealthy universities were able to supplement the lost income from union fees, that was not the case for other, less well-off institutions.

...

Mr McFarland said that at Wollongong University, the student newspaper was now run entirely by volunteers, the second-hand book shop had closed and a child-care subsidy provided had been removed.

At the University of Newcastle, student-association run entities had cut staff numbers by 65 per cent, the events budget had been slashed, there was no more free Centrelink and tax advice and a computer lab has been closed.

At the University of Western Sydney, Mr McFarland said funding for clubs and societies had been reduced by at least 50 per cent, a shuttle bus service had been closed and most of the staff positions were gone.

Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said the Rudd Government would work with universities "to restore vital student services that the previous Liberal government trashed".

...

Mr McFarland said the NUS would not advocate a return to compulsory membership with upfront fees, but it wanted changes to be made and was compiling a discussion paper canvassing options, which it hoped to present to the Federal Government next month.

 

[jb_nc]

who cares

 

[iamsickofyear12]

Mr McFarland said that at Wollongong University, the student newspaper was now run entirely by volunteers, the second-hand book shop had closed and a child-care subsidy provided had been removed.

Good.

The student newspaper is a bunch of crap. It doesn't reflect the opinion of the majority of students at all...

...and I shouldn't have to pay to take care of other people's kids, they chose to have them so they can pay for them.

 

[Riet]

Group of Eight for the win.

 

[banco55]

Good.

The student newspaper is a bunch of crap. It doesn't reflect the opinion of the majority of students at all...

...and I shouldn't have to pay to take care of other people's kids, they chose to have them so they can pay for them.

Totally agree. A bunch of resume padders and ideologues have finally been put of business.

 

[Josie]

You can say that without having actually read the paper, I bet...
But yeah, tonne of crap.

 

[jb_nc]

Every newspaper article w/ students complaning about VSU should have their salary and amount of years they've been at university immiediately after the name.

Vote for me! I care about things. _{moreso about the 35k salary and parking spot}

 

[jb_nc]

What's even gayer is that all these wankers who complain about VSU all have rich parents (so can afford to give away $500 of their QC father's money) and whinge about not being able to collect Youth Allowance/other shit/government not paying for their child care so they have no responsibility for their actions. They basically need a weekly column in Honi Soit titled "Rich people complain about not getting government handouts". They're all ARTSLAW students who spend 12 hours pw on campus and it's just TOO HARD for them to get a job.

They're all so shithouse.

Yeah, so there's my whinge.

 

[banco55]

You can say that without having actually read the paper, I bet...
But yeah, tonne of crap.

I don't really give a shit what it has in it. If it so useful students will pay for it. Oh and even if you agreed with the childcare subsidy that is always brought up by proponents of compulsory unionism it made up a tiny percent of the revenue that the union received. They were very careful never to give a breakdown of exactly where the money went because that would have only increased support for voluntary unionism.

 

[Metric]

Although VSU meant that union membership would decline, a 95% drop in membership is massive. It demonstrates how irrelevant the unions were to most students, because if students felt that their money was going towards valuable services, there would not have been such a substantial drop. I think it good that some universities are now giving funds to their unions (I know ANU does this), because some services (eg. subsidised childcare) are quite important.

What's even gayer is that all these wankers who complain about VSU all have rich parents (so can afford to give away $500 of their QC father's money) and whinge about not being able to collect Youth Allowance/other shit/government not paying for their child care so they have no responsibility for their actions. They basically need a weekly column in Honi Soit titled "Rich people complain about not getting government handouts". They're all ARTSLAW students who spend 12 hours pw on campus and it's just TOO HARD for them to get a job

:rofl: I know a lot of people that fit this description.

 

[chicky_pie]

Good.

The student newspaper is a bunch of crap. It doesn't reflect the opinion of the majority of students at all...

...and I shouldn't have to pay to take care of other people's kids, they chose to have them so they can pay for them.

reading student newspaper is like reading the bible, it's THAT boring

 

[katie_tully]

CSU took over most of the funding for useless union shit, so nothing of worth was lost, just dont say that to anybody affiliated with Rivcoll or they'll flay you.

Student Union numbers down since VSU proves what everybody with half a brain has been saying for years; the majority of students resented paying for crap they didnt use/couldn't afford to pay for.

I'll fricken stab some people if it gets back in.

 

[jb_nc]

Second'd.

Also that they need to INCREASE youth allowance is the other huge cry.


Hahahahha "Centrelink on Campus"

Someone actually campaigned for a Centrelink on Campus at Sydney Uni for election to the Union it's just so fucking stupid I don't know where to start.

The maximum rate of Youth Allowance + CLS is pretty easy to live within your means as long as you don't have a drug addiction or any other unnecessary spending habits; they basically want the government to fund their drinking and MDMA taking in the ARTSLAW carbon-copy programme that's oh-so-popular they are doing to suck up money.

 

[Triangulum]

I theoretically agree that student unions offer valuable services, but I wish student politicians would be more responsible with their positions and not use them as a platform to promote their own non-student-related views. (There's no possible way you can justify the SRC advocating withdrawal from Iraq, it's got nothing to do with their mandate.) It's helpful that at Usyd responsibilities are split between different organisations, so I can choose to support USU - which provides buildings and food and clubs and theatresports and generally useful stuff - and not the SRC, which provides jack all other than Honi unless you can't handle an academic appeal by yourself.

I think the govt should just step up to the plate and give student orgs a certain amount of money to deliver key services and infrastructure, rather than slugging students for it. Can't cost that much. It should also legislate to ensure that it's not spent on 'BUCK FUSH!' protests or global solidarity collectives.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

Although VSU meant that union membership would decline, a 95% drop in membership is massive. It demonstrates how irrelevant the unions were to most students, because if students felt that their money was going towards valuable services, there would not have been such a substantial drop. I think it good that some universities are now giving funds to their unions (I know ANU does this), because some services (eg. subsidised childcare) are quite important.
:rofl: I know a lot of people that fit this description.

Membership is still 5% too high

EDIT: mathematically that makes no sense but you know what i mean

 

[Metric]

I think the govt should just step up to the plate and give student orgs a certain amount of money to deliver key services and infrastructure, rather than slugging students for it. Can't cost that much. It should also legislate to ensure that it's not spent on 'BUCK FUSH!' protests or global solidarity collectives.

This is my thinking, also, however I think the funds should go to the university, earmarked for essential services. The university can then pass it on to the union (if the union is organising these things). I think that's a good way to go. Anything else the union wants to do (you know the kind of stuff I'm talking about) they should have to fund themselves. I broadly support the idea of student unions, but many are run poorly and do not actually do anything for students (the fact that membership is as low as it is proves this).

 

[banco55]

This is my thinking, also, however I think the funds should go to the university, earmarked for essential services. The university can then pass it on to the union (if the union is organising these things). I think that's a good way to go. Anything else the union wants to do (you know the kind of stuff I'm talking about) they should have to fund themselves. I broadly support the idea of student unions, but many are run poorly and do not actually do anything for students (the fact that membership is as low as it is proves this).

Why bother giving it to student orgs at all then? If funding was provided why not let the universities provide childcare and health services? What do you need to run a health service? The uni provides rent free premises and a cash subsidy to the doctor/doctors so the doctor/doctors can afford to bulk bill. The only point of having student orgs is if they have fairly wide ranging discretion on spending (which we've seen they can't be trusted on).

 

[Metric]

Why bother giving it to student orgs at all then? If funding was provided why not let the universities provide childcare and health services? What do you need to run a health service? The uni provides rent free premises and a cash subsidy to the doctor/doctors so the doctor/doctors can afford to bulk bill. The only point of having student orgs is if they have fairly wide ranging discretion on spending (which we've seen they can't be trusted on).

Unions aren't all bad Some universities trust their unions (as demonstrated by the fact some have chosen to provide additional funding to them, to lessen the impact of VSU). I said that it would be up to the university to allocate funds, if they want to take on the responsibilities that the union used to look after then that's fine. If universities decide the let the unions run the services (because they feel the union could do a better job, because they can't be stuffed to do it themselves, whatevs) then the money should go to them.

 

[flappinghippo]

Ahahaha student unions blow donkey balls

 

[Captain Gh3y]

What will come out of it is a hardcore campaign by the NUS to get CSU back now that Labor's in government