I do support USU. Just not a $540 one. I think we should be aiming at reducing that fee at my university by streamlining services and putting the expense of political protests and ideological issues on outside non-government organisations who are better equipped to deal with such issues.
Here's my hypothetical roadmap (that I've been Dying to show people), illustrating what I would do as SRC President at my university. This is what I call the "Middle Way Approach" - it's not supporting VSU, but it doesn't support USU as it stands either. I'm gonna go overboard with this point to make abundantly clear my ideological stances - since it's clear that you still do not understand what it is I stand for.
At USYD, I would eventually cease all funding to groups like the Global Solidarity Collective and the Women's Collective, but in the first year I would wean them off student funding while simultaneously working to secure resources for such groups from other organisations who specialise in those areas.
I would simultaneously allow myself a bit of political ideology, and establish a Men's Officer who would not use student resources, but rather the resources of groups such as the UWS Men's Health Information and Resource Centre, the Australasian Men's Health Forum, the Central Sydney Area Health Service (and other health services where possible), and Dads on the Air (among others). This officer would pave the way to establish a merged "Gender Issues and Equal Opportunity Officer", who doesn't distinguish between "Women's" and "Men's" issues. As I see it (ideologically), women's issues are Human issues and to suggest otherwise would reinforce rather than challenge the idea that one gender is at a greater disadvantage. This is a long term goal that would need to be fostered over a number of years, but would eventually prove both economically and ideologically better for students.
I would introduce as soon as possible a number of new committees liaising with Faculties to allow students to offer feedback to their respective schools. In my degree for example, students are concerned that our degree length is too long, and that too much travel between campuses is required. With the guide of the SRC, a faculty committee could liaise closely with the Dean to develop solutions for students.
I would also work with SU Sport to develop a new student committee to address declining health standards and malnutrition among students. As it stands, SU Sport currently provides a lot of money to one group of students, yet doesn't spend a cent on others. Again with the Con - SU Sport spent a total of $0 on services to the Con in 2005 (at the fault of the CSA, not Sport, but the point still stands). I would like to see this body work with the SRC and the Union to improve standards of living for students (especially those who live on campus). An idea proposed by one of my staff was for an Iron Chef/Ready Steady Cook competition, with the best cooks at our university asked to prepare dishes in a set time limit, that illustrate different ways of cooking on a budget, cooking with little time to spare, cooking vegetarian food etc., with all these tips being compiled into a book that would be distributed to students moving into university housing. THIS is the sort of innovative thinking we need to foster, to address the problems that REALLY affect students. Scurvy should NOT exist in the 21st century, yet there are many students who eat so badly that they have next to no Vitamin C in their diet.
My ideological beliefs are that the burden of providing the funds to maintain many of the so-called "essential" services really should not be on the shoulders of students. Instead of paying to support a faction's political whims, students should be relieved of at least Some of the burden, and able to access the resources of the SRC to a greater degree.
