UTS DEEPER INSIDER WHEN NEWS (OR A CRANE) BREAKS, TURN TO PAGE 6 FOR ALL THE CAMPUS NEWS, GOSSIP, AND DOWNRIGHT SLANDER THAT’LL LAST A THREE-WEEK PRINT RUN.
Union Board Affirmative Action Policy Hinges on Election Results frances mao
An Affirmative Action policy (AA) could be implemented on Union Board if no female students are successful in the upcoming elections. The current Union President, Nic Bentley told Deeper Insider, “The UTS Union Board has investigated on a series of occasions whether an affirmative action policy is needed. The Board has decided to see what the results of this year’s election will be.” Since 2011, there have been no female student directors on the Board. Although more than seven female students ran in last year’s election, all four directorships went to male students. The lack of equal representation has been a cause for concern amongst the board and the wider student body, sparking talk around the need for AA provisions. The Union Board hopes that it won’t have to come to that though. Bentley told Deeper Insider that in the lead-up to nominations, it specifically targeted potential female students to run for Board. Furthermore, the Union is doing “as much as possible” to promote the candidature statements of all the nominees – female and male. The Union Board consists of both staff and students and is responsible for the governance of all aspects of the Union and its activities. In 2013, three student directors will be elected to serve a two-year term
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on the Board. Students have the opportunity to vote for a candidate using the online ballot box at www. elections.uts.edu.au. Voting closes Tuesday September 10 at 3pm. And the presidential hopefuls are... Once the popularity contest of Union Board elections come to a close, the race for the Union presidency (traditionally fought between the careerists and ladder-climbers) heats up. Outgoing president Nic Bentley is keeping mum on the subject, but out of the current crop of directors, it’s assumed that Rayan Calimlim and Akshay ‘Raj’ Kumar from Labor Right (Unity) will tilt for the top seat along with independent, Yannick Gachter, who is the likely frontrunner. Murmurings suggest that he has the backing of the Board’s staff executive, having been groomed by CEO Liz Brett to takeover in 2014.
Students Get Answers from UTS Council Lachlan Bennett
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There will be no funding cuts to areas supporting vulnerable students such as indigenous students and students with disabilities in the 2014 UTS budget. Vice Chancellor Ross Milbourne made the announcement at the UTS Town Hall Meeting – an annual Q & A event where students and staff are invited to pose questions directly to the council about the plans and activities of the university.
“All I can say is that we’ve currently framed the 2014 budget and there have been no cuts to any of those areas,” Professor Milbourne said at the meeting held on August 14. Professor Milbourne’s comments were made in response to a question asked by Wom*n’s Officer Alison Whittaker who was concerned about how UTS would refinance its budget to cope with the government’s $2.3 billion cut to tertiary education. Although the budget is yet to be finalised, the Council said it would largely combat the cuts by delaying the refurbishment of some buildings like Building 2, and by looking at “income building measures”. The Council stressed though that the three new buildings of the Campus Master Plan would still open next year. SRC President Lyndal Butler said whilst the announcement was “quite reassuring”, it is important that students “keep [the council] to account to that because there’s no real certainty as to whether that support will remain in place or whether those students will still be supported adequately”. At the meeting, Professor Milbourne also restated his support for student protests against government funding cuts, however he did not rule out UTS permitting police on campus. The presence of riot police on campus at the University of Sydney has caused much contention, with recent protests dominated by stories of arrests, injuries and allegations of police brutality. Professor Milbourne said in the event of a protest at UTS, the university would rely on its campus security and police are by and large a last resort. The Council also fielded questions about the selection process for a