City West Undergraduate Student Rep

Welcome

Since the first Board meeting on the 31st of January, I have attended the Symposium, a joint event by USASA & UniSA on the 5th of February, the international reception for Saibt and CELUSA on the 15th of February, the NUS planning day on the 16th of February, and as of the writing of this report, the Mt Gambier Orientation Day on the 20th of February. I also had to submit a letter of apology for the first Finance meeting due to attending the Mt Gambier orientation. As the current Governance Convener, I also completed the agenda and sent it to all committee members for the first committee meeting on the 27th of February.

Symposium

I found the symposium a very important and beneficial event to attend as I was able to learn more about the USASA staff, systems, and procedures, as well as UniSA Staff, systems, and procedures. I was also able to meet and connect with students who attended, especially club executives with whom I will be working closely in future. I was also introduced to the Student Voice program and how I can get students involved.

NUS Planning Day

The NUS planning day was very beneficial as it allowed me to interact with other universities and learn what and how they are advocating for students at their universities. Some of these ideas can also be used at UniSA. This also helped me understand the role that USASA plays in the State as a union as well as on the national stage.

International Reception for CELUSA & Saibt

The international reception for CELUSA & Saibt was also very interesting as I was able to connect and talk with a student body which is usually less involved with USASA and speak with them about the different things USASA offers as well as what and how USASA can affect them.

Mt Gambier Orientation

As of the due date of this report, I am still attending the Mt Gambier orientation, but 60 students have attended, and I have given a presentation on what USASA is and how it affects them even at a regional campus. I have also been talking with some students about the open USASA Board position and why representing their campus is beneficial. Attending this orientation has allowed me to connect, interact and understand the student cohort and UniSA Mt Gambier and what their issues and needs are. As a student Representative, this will be beneficial in what kind of impact the board can bring to regional campuses, as well as how we can bring the benefits of USASA to regional campuses who do not have the same level of representation.

Welcome

Since the Second Board meeting on the 28th of February, I attended the first Education Committee Meeting on the 5th of March, two of the campus fairs, the first being City West on the 6th of March and City East on the 13th of March, traveled to Western Australia visiting both Murdoch and Curtin Universities between the 15th and 19th of March to look into ideas that can be implemented for USASA, and also completed my agenda for the governance committee on the 19th of March.

Campus Fairs

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend all the City West Campus fairs as had classes, but I was able to come at 1 pm till completion and pack up. I was predominantly at the NUS stall and then moved to the USASA stall near the end. I talked to many students and learned about many of the different clubs USASA offers. At the City East campus fair, I was able to come for the whole thing and predominantly sat at the NUS stall once again as we had enough people on USASA. This was a very good learning experience for me as I got to meet with many students and club executives and learn about their clubs.

Western Australia Trip

I travelled to Western Australia between the 15th and 19th of March to see and meet with University Student Association executives which gave me many ideas about what I will be able to implement in USASA. I had the chance to meet with the president of Murdoch University and we talked about what she had been doing for the students at her university, such as checking in on the clubs more often to make the clubs feel supported. Murdoch has also implemented a Thursday market where clubs can sell goods and promote their clubs, which is something that could be implemented at USASA. I was also able to visit Curtin University and speak with students as well as look around the campus. I was able to see the large number of student spaces that they offer which had students on campus on days they didn’t have classes. These were things like hammocks in the courtyard and the general greater number of student spaces around their campus. I found that students there also had a greater knowledge of their community and the support services given by the student association (Curtin Student Guild).

Other

I will also be attending my first Academic Board meeting as one of the five student representatives.

Welcome

As we have had the teaching break this month has been quite slow. But since the third Board meeting on the 27th of March, I have attended the USASA Outer Space Pub Crawl on the 28th of March at 7:30 pm till late and had a meeting with USASA staff about a grant for the USASA Ball on the 3rd of April 2024 at 1:30 pm. I have also travelled to Victoria to visit some of their universities and spoken with some student leaders to see what they have done for students, between the 10th of April to the 15th of April. I was also able to complete the agenda for the April Governance Committee Meeting on the 16th of April.

USASA Outer Space Pub Crawl

I was able to attend the USASA Outer Space Pub Crawl on the 28th of March and had the opportunity to meet many new faces as well as many older students. I was able to introduce myself as a member of the USASA Board a few times but wanted to focus on having fun with students during the night.

USASA Ball Meeting

On the 3rd of April, I had a meeting with some staff members about the USASA Ball and the steps we would have to take to make the event a reality. I was able to get a lot from the meeting and we were able to get the survey approved and out on both the usasa_studentboard Instagram and the usasaadelaide Instagram.

Victoria Trip

I was able to travel to Melbourne, Victoria between the 10th of April to the 15th of April. As I was there for other personal reasons my schedule was quite busy, but I was able to reach out to a student and a student leader from RMIT University. I was able to see the Melbourne campus, the kinds of spaces set up for students, and what we can implement here at UniSA through USASA. I was also lucky enough to get both perspectives, student and student leaders, on the kinds of things RMIT University and other Victorian Universities are doing for their students, as well as insight and recommendations on what I can bring to USASA.

Other Activities

On the 18th of April, I will be attending the USASA Strategic Planning Day as well as two committee meetings: Governance Committee meeting on the 22nd of April and Education on the 26th of April.

Meetings and Commitments

• 28th of March: USASA Outer Space Pub Crawl - Over 500 UniSA Students
• 3rd of April: USASA Ball Meeting - Two USASA Staff Members, Lucy Fawcett
• 10th of April to 15th of April: Visit to Victoria - Student and Student Leader from RMIT

Both the pop ups on at Magill and Mawson Lakes were really fun and gave me a good opportunity to speak with many students about what affects them on campus day to day. I have also had the chance to speak with the general manager of UniSA Mt Gambier about a student who has been interested in joining the board.

Key Activities:

• 18th April - USASA Board Strategy Meeting (Most of the Board)
• 22nd April - Third Governance Meeting (Governance Committee)
• 24th April - Education Committee Meeting (Education Committee)
• 24th April - Board Meeting (April) (Whole Board)
• 1st May - AEOC Meeting (AEOC Committee, Oliver Shephard Bayly)
• 14th May - Magill Pop-up (Oliver Shephard Bayly)
• 16th May - Mawson Lakes Pop-Up (Oliver Shephard-Bayly, Agrani Kashyap, Christopher Fernandes)

Report to Members

Hi everyone, Like many of you I have been spending my break working, so, unfortunately, I haven't been able to be as active as in past months. This month I've been able to attend an academic board meeting on the 24th of May, a governance committee meeting on the 27th of May, the USASA Annual General Meeting, and a USASA board meeting both on the 29th of May, a meeting with the UniSA student ombud on the 31st of May.

USASA Annual General Meeting

The USASA Annual General Meeting went very well with some students being interested enough to attend. The meeting overall went very smoothly being chaired by the USASA President Oliver Francis Shephard-Bayly.

Meeting with the UniSA Student Ombud

The meeting with Mr. Franco Parrella was quite eye-opening, with many different points of view talked about.

Summary of Activities

• 24 May- Academic Board Meeting
• 27 May- Governance Committee Meeting
• 29 May- USASA Annual General Meeting
• 29 May- USASA Board Meeting
• 31 May- Meeting with the UniSA Student Ombud