City West Undergraduate Student Rep

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone has been well-rested and spent some time on themselves in the recent break, ready for a big and busy year. As this is my first report for the year, it is a little longer than usual.

The beginning of the year has been quite busy, with the majority of my meetings being with the new USASA Student Board Representatives and USASA staff. I have also been spending a lot of my time generally speaking with students and having a few meetings to better understand the different concerns coming into the new year. I do intend to have conversations with more students throughout this year consistently.

My highlight for this period would be the International Welcome. Just like every year, it is amazing to meet the new students who are just beginning their journey and express that there will always be someone to support them throughout their entire university life. Explaining the different services the university and USASA deliver is also a very enjoyable experience. Another event that I also found I took a lot from was the USASA Stakeholder Symposium. It was a great experience where I was able to speak to the new university team moving into their roles as leaders at UniSA.

Summary of Activities

• January 13 — Student Associations & Best Practice (USASA, YouX Members, Michael Connelly)
• January 29–30 — USASA Student Board Retreat (Majority of the USASA Board)
• February 1 — USASA Meeting with Meetali (USASA City East Student Representative)
• February 4 — Board Charter Working Group Meeting (USASA President, Whyalla Rep, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Rep)
• February 5 — Meeting with City West Student
• February 12 — USASA Stakeholder Symposium (USASA Board and other stakeholders)
• February 17 — Meeting with Lilly Henwood (Whyalla Student Representative)
• February 17 — Meeting with Shefali Mhatre (Magill Student Representative)
• February 18 — Meeting with a Club (USASA President, Club Committee Members)
• February 18 — Extra USASA Board Meeting
• February 19 — Meeting with USASA Staff
• February 19 — Board Charter Working Group Meeting (Whyalla Rep, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Rep)
• February 21 — Meeting with City West Students
• February 24 — USASA Education Committee Meeting
• February 24 — City East Orientation USASA Pop-Up
• February 24 — International Welcome
• February 24 — Board Charter Working Group Meeting (Whyalla Rep, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Rep)

Hi Everyone,

This month has been a good mixture of fun and busy with many meetings and events where I have been able to interact with new and continuing students.

The orientation, International Student Welcomes and Campus Fairs have been where I have interacted with the most students this month. It has been good to see students from last year get stocked up on USASA gear for the semester, as well as speak to new students to let them know about USASA for the very first time.

I’ve also had the pleasure of being invited to a few club events from all over SA to explore culture, connect with the students and understand how to better engage students across the state on issues that affect them. The major highlight was being invited to the FUSLSA AGM, where I was able to learn what matters to Sri Lankan students and how to better engage with them at UniSA. The FUSLSA team was also very accommodating and kind.

The different meetings I have sat on this month have also been quite productive and beneficial for both my understanding and education on each topic. Meeting with the CSSAU Vice-President Mark He was a very enjoyable meeting, as I was able to learn about some of the concerns the Chinese students at UniSA have and workshop some of the different ways we can accommodate these concerns through the CSSAU, other clubs and USASA.

The meeting with Lisa Cooper surrounding the handwritten Law course exams was also very beneficial to understanding the reasoning and thought process that went into the decision. I am very excited to follow up on this issue and have more meetings with the Justice and Society Team.

Summary of Activities

• February 25 — UniSA Orientation - City West Pop-Up
• February 25 — UniSA International Student Welcome
• February 26 — Formal Enquiry
• February 26 — UniSA Orientation – Magill Pop-Up
• February 26 — UoA Orientation – North Terrace
• February 26 — UniSA Orientation – City East Pop-Up
• February 26 — Flinders Orientation – City Campus
• March 11 — Meeting – USASA City East Student Representative
• March 11 — Meeting – USASA DEA Committee
• March 12 — Campus Fair – City West
• March 12 — Meeting – CWE Student
• March 13 — Campus Fair – Mawson Lakes
• March 15 — Club Event – Islamic Society – Iftar
• March 16 — Flinders – FUSLSA – AGM
• March 17 — UoA – Catholic Club – Welcome Night
• March 18 — Campus Fair – Magill Pop-Up
• March 19 — Campus Fair – City East Pop-Up
• March 19 — Meeting – Law Lecturer – Lisa Cooper
• March 19 — Meeting – CWE Student
• March 24 — Meeting – USASA Education Committee
• March 24 — Meeting – CSSAU

Hey Everyone,

With the mid-semester teaching break for SP2 starting during this period, as well as there being many public holidays coming up, campus life has begun to slow down. Although there have been fewer students on campus, it has still been quite a busy month. The major areas that have been taking up most of my time have been in the form of meetings and club events.

The meetings that I have attended this month have been quite meaningful. I have had the pleasure of attending some very insightful university and USASA committee meetings, as well as attending important meetings surrounding the merger of the two student associations. But the meeting that I enjoyed the most was while I was in Victoria. I was able to catch up with a few different student association council members from multiple universities in Victoria to talk about the different issues faced by students and how many of their associations have looked at addressing the issues. This has been quite beneficial for me to bring new ideas back to South Australia, especially throughout our merger process.

I was also able to attend many different events this month, from UniSA-led events to different cultural clubs. Each event has been quite unique and enjoyable. The event that I was able to get the most from was the Mt Gambier Pop-Up, which I attended with the USASA President. The regional perspective has always been a very important part of USASA, and being able to meet and speak with the students in Mt Gambier was a very valuable experience. Unfortunately, there is still a vacancy for the position of USASA Mt Gambier Student Representative. I hope our visit will help in building up our reputation at Mt Gambier to hopefully have a student nominate soon.

Summary of Activities

• March 25 — Event – PIRA – Budget Night
• March 28 — Meeting – UniSA – Academic Board
• March 29 — Event – UniSA Labor Club – AGM
• March 29 — Event – CSSAU – Party Night
• April 1 — Meeting – USASA – Governance Committee
• April 1 — Meeting – USASA – Board Meeting
• April 2 — Event – UniSA SEU – Multicultural Festival
• April 3 — Event – ISASA – AGM
• April 3 — Event – ISASA – Chai Vibes
• April 7–8 — Event – USASA – Mt Gambier Pop-Up
• April 9 — Event – UniSA SEU – Campus Rewind CWE
• April 11–15 — Meeting – Victorian University Councils – Catch Up
• April 14 — Meeting – USASA & YouX – Mediation
• April 21 — Event – ISASA – Felicitation & Networking Event
• April 22 — Meeting – USASA – Extra Board Meeting

Hey Everyone,

Of course, as the Australian Federal Election occurred this month, everyone has been very busy, but I’ve still been able to work hard in my role as the USASA City West Undergraduate Representative and newly elected Vice President of USASA.

Advocacy and governance-related meetings have been a major focus this month, with many different meetings with UniSA staff and inter-university representatives surrounding the merger. So far as within UniSA, the meetings surrounding handwritten law exams have gone well, and I am starting to understand the issue at its core.

I’ve also had many meetings with my colleagues at other student unions to plan around the different policies being created surrounding international students.

As far as community and cultural engagement, this month has been very widespread. I’ve been able to go to many different events at many different universities and campuses. Some of the highlights are the Bhutanese cultural gathering for its great food and welcoming community, the USASA Student Market for its community engagement and building community here at UniSA, and the OCF Social Gathering at Flinders for its enthusiastic club members.

The outreach projects, such as the student pop-ups, have also been a real success, allowing me to meet so many students and hear so many different ways of thinking.

The Whyalla Social Club has also just started, and it’s great to see more regional engagement.

Summary of Activities

• April 23 — Meeting – CSSSA – General Concerns
• April 23 — Meeting – SA Student Unions – General Meeting
• April 26 — Event – Anime Student Society – Watch Party
• April 28 — Meeting – USASA – Education Committee
• April 29 — Event – USASA – Magill Pop-Up
• April 29 — Meeting – USASA – Governance Committee
• April 29 — Meeting – USASA – Annual General Meeting
• April 29 — Meeting – USASA – Board Meeting
• April 30 — Event – FUSLSA – Tea & Chat
• April 30 — Event – Japanese Cultural Club – Mosaic Community Night
• May 5 — Meeting – USASA – Merger Briefing
• May 6 — Event – VSF – Forgotten Art TO HE
• May 8 — Meeting – Law Faculty – Handwritten Law Exams
• May 11 — Event – Bhutanese Council of South Australia – Cultural Event
• May 13 — Meeting – USASA – Clubs Committee
• May 13 — Meeting – USASA – Merger Preparation Briefing
• May 13 — Meeting – NUS SA Branch – General Meeting
• May 14 — Meeting – USASA – Merger Preparation Briefing
• May 14 — Event – USASA – Student Market
• May 14 — Meeting – USASA – Merger Related Meeting
• May 14 — Meeting – Whyalla Social Club – Inaugural General Meeting
• May 14 — Meeting – CWE Students – General Meeting
• May 15 — Meeting – USASA Candidate – Mt Gambier Representative
• May 16 — Meeting – USASA – Merger Related Meeting
• May 16 — Meeting – OFC – Social Gathering
• May 19 — Meeting – USASA – Catch Up with MGSR