Guild Catch-Up: May 2023

The Guild Catch-Up series is back! As your Guild Executives are elected by students into a paid role, we find it important to provide as much clarity as possible to students and created this series to show you what your elected students have been up to. This is a monthly series, so stick around and hold your QUT Guild Executive accountable, and keep in the loop with what’s going on with our organisation.

All Execs were given 350 words and just over two weeks to make their submission.

President – Aamna Asif

In light of our former President’s resignation, this past month I have stepped in and taken the responsibilities of both Interim President and Secretary at the Guild. It has been my priority to improve the functions of the Guild and advocate for the students at QUT. The following list provides an overview of the initiatives I have been working on:

Since the President’s resignation, I have taken over numerous QUT Committee meetings to ensure that student voices and feedback is being heard.
Identifying and addressing the key issues with the internal structures of the Guild to ensure that it aligns with the organisation’s objectives providing all members of the Guild with clear guidance.
Coordinating subcommittee meetings within the organisation and ensuring that accurate records are maintained by providing detailed meeting minutes.
Actively engaged in establishing and strengthening connections with QUT to foster collaboration between the university and the Guild.
Collaborating closely with the marketing team to develop effective strategies that increase engagement within the Guild.
Attended the NUS President’s Summit to ensure that our student union is informed and involved in political issues that impact us.
Attended the Senate hearing to represent the views of the students on the proposed bill that aimed to abolish indexation and raise minimum repayments.
Managing casual vacancies within the Guild which includes answering any queries related to the role, distributing relevant documentation, and ensuring that all necessary checks have been completed.
Ensuring that all ongoing projects and student services continue to operate smoothly and without any disruptions despite the past President’s resignation.
Striving to enhance the foodbank service to expand its reach and better serve students in need.
Collaborating with members of the SRC to provide them with sufficient support and resources to effectively carry out their responsibilities.
Serving as acting Secretary ensuring that all duties are fulfilled in conjunction with the Treasurer, since being elected as the Guild President.

As the QUT Guild President, my commitment lies in advocating for the interests of students. I am devoted to improving the student experience, promoting transparency and ensuring the efficient functioning of our internal operations.

Treasurer – Usama Shafiq

As a dedicated member of the QUT Guild, I have been actively engaged in a variety of initiatives aimed at improving the function and effectiveness of the QUT Guild. Since my term began on December 1, 2022, I have made progress in various areas, including:

Engaging in regular meetings with QUT to discuss crucial issues such as the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) and other pressing agenda items.
Working on enhancing the foodbank project and addressing any concerns that have arisen in this regard.
Identifying and addressing issues with the internal structures of the Guild to ensure that our operations run smoothly and efficiently.
Managing and overseeing the various subcommittees within the Guild, with the aim of ensuring that they operate effectively and contribute meaningfully.
Building stronger relationships with QUT to promote collaboration and cooperation between the Guild and the University.
Collaborating closely with the marketing team to address and fix issues with the QUT website, ensuring that it remains an informative and user-friendly platform for students.
Currently serving as acting Secretary, stepping in to fulfil the responsibilities of the position until a suitable candidate is appointed.
Worked on and presented the proposal to the Senate regarding abolishing indexation and increasing the minimum repayment.

As an elected Guild Executive, I am committed to representing the interests and needs of QUT students. Through these various initiatives, I am working to enhance the student experience, promote transparency, and ensure that the Guild operates effectively and efficiently.

Education Officer – Emme Muggleton

I’ve been working on the blind marking proposal. At the moment, assignments are marked with our names and student numbers still on them, which can lead to cultural bias. I’m working on researching the issue at other universities and a campaign to raise awareness about it among QUT students.
The Education subcommittee is now underway and the SRC members have been elected and proposals are being prepared for the next meeting. This includes blind marking and looking at the 48-hour extension and whether it’s effective. It does not apply to all units at the moment, such as performance-based units.
I’ve also been involved in getting ready for the night against procrastination that will be happening at the end of the Semester.

Welfare Officer – John Longwill

I have mostly been working on an initiative to provide grocery vouchers for students, who have to complete unpaid placements, as a mandatory part of their course. This will be rolling out soon and will just require the completion of a small survey, so check the Guild’s social media for updates! This survey will be used to collect data to form a report surrounding poverty caused by university course requirements. Support for these students is even more essential during our current cost of living crisis.

Outside of this, I have been working alongside other Officers and Guild Professional Staff to develop longer-term plans for the food bank and working with QUT on a project with their Wellbeing team.

Clubs & Societies Officer – Madison Shepherd

Hi guys!

I just thought I’d give you a heads-up about what’s going on in the clubs department recently.

Club storage
EOIs and initiating new clubs
Helping implement constitutions
Grievance handling
Funding rounds (Major 2 opens soon!)
Policy development
Club banking, bar bookings, photography bookings etc
Planning events like the Club Awards
Club barbeques
Helping clubs with things like planning inter-state trips and large-scale events
A few events and other projects that aren’t finalised yet but we’re very excited to announce this stuff soon!

More generally, I’ve also been sitting on a few different committees/meetings etc and helping behind the scenes!

Environment Officer – Isabella Foley

Did not submit.

Women’s Officer – Sia Hills

In the Women’s Portfolio, I have managed to participate in getting the Terms of Reference ratified for the Women’s Collective. As far as that goes, there is now an AGM being planned. Tentatively, the date is being set for Thursday May 18. It will be held on Zoom. Things have been stressful, but there is progress being made. I also participated in a meeting with Women’s Officers from across the country, and a meeting with Senator Larissa Waters to discuss issues impacting women at university – things such as sexual harassment, period poverty, and the cost of living crisis.

International Students Officer – Moin Rahman

From my side I am simultaneously working on multiple collab initiatives with various QSG portfolios (welfare, advocacy, postgrad & education), internal stakeholders (QUT Student Services) and external stakeholders (TenantsQLD, soon reaching out to FairWork). Some of these are to translate to events in the pipeline of things. I am also in the process of curating an essential info-pack document for international students to consist of important links and info for new and existing international students on a range of key parameters including but not limited to superannuation, tax, overseas student health cover, volunteering opportunities, Fairwork Ombudsman, etc.

Disability Officer – Harley Manley

Did not submit/on leave during the submission period, from 17 April 2023, returning 9 May 2023.

Post Graduate Officer – Aaron Bui

Did not submit.

Glass Editors – Ciaran Greig, Celeste Muller, Konstanz Muller Hering, Ben Steele

We’ve been working hard to bring QUT students student media that serves them, holds their elected representatives accountable, informs them about the uni, and creates career and publication opportunities.

At the start of this year, we compiled information about the way our budget had been determined and asked the Guild’s Board to review the decision. We were heartened to receive support from student media outlets around the country who covered our campaign for a review: Vertigo (UTS), Woroni (ANU), Honi Soit (USyd), and 4zzz. We’re still waiting to hear back about the result of the review.

Our first print edition of the year, Issue 15: Summer 2023, had over 23 student contributors, over 50 students attending our launch party, and almost 500 magazines distributed across KG & GP campuses with help from existing and new distribution partners.

We’ve had a record number of submissions for our next edition, Issue 16: Winter 2023 – more than double what we received last time. Over 60 QUT students and alums trusted us with their work. We can’t wait to feature as many of you as possible in print and online.

Our online content production is also going well – we’re covering as many Guild and uni stories as we have the capacity to pump out, which remain the most viewed articles we produce. We’ve had over 80,000 visits to the website since our term started, almost 27,000 visitors, and 68 articles published.

We’ve brought consistent Council coverage back to Glass, with live coverage of Council meetings posted on our Instagram stories and full article coverage posted soon after the meetings.

Recently, we collaborated with Guild Marketing and QUT to produce a card game inspired by our UnSEXpected column. We’ve also produced a monthly newsletter and worked on developing advertising revenue to supplement our budget.

If you have ideas about how to make Glass better, what we’re doing well, or even a story you’d like us to cover, please let us know. You can flick us an email at media@qutguild.com or fill out our survey for the chance to win $50!

Queer Officer (Eli Spencer) & Engagement Officer (Zara Vaz)

These Executives were elected by the SRC to fill casual vacancies in these positions last week. Expect to hear from them about their plans for their roles in a Meet the Execs feature soon!