So, it’s the end of the 2020 series for the Guild Executives Accountability Articles. Every month since April, we’ve asked every portfolio to provide an update on what they’ve been doing as your elected officers. We’ve had an 85% submission rate this year, helping to promote transparency and accountability while executives have been in the role. This accountability series will continue next year, with a slew of other accountability measures so you know you’re getting your votes worth. Find your October update below:
Postgraduate Officer: Nikka Turangan
I don’t have anything to report this time around as I’ve been focusing more on my PhD. The Postgraduate Collective team however is coming along really well on its own.
Abilities Officer: Zoe Vail
As this will be my last update as Abilities Officer, I would like to thank everyone for their support and engagement this year (even with all that has been going on) and I want to assure everybody that whoever takes over the role for next year will be brilliant. The last thing I will be doing in this position is starting a committee to discuss accessibility issues that student may be having on campus and at Guild run events and trying to find ways to solve them. I would love any more feedback you may have on this issue as the more input I have the more problems I can address. I continue to encourage students with a disability to join the Abilities Collective and engage with your fellow students as there is a lot of support there, and a lot of empathetic ears for any venting sessions you may need. As always if you are having a rough time, go talk to Disability Services and see how they can help you, or of course there will always be an Abilities Officer here to help.
Campus Culture: Jordan Dyce and Megha Prasad
Hey all,
This month has mainly been about continuing current projects as we head into the pointy end of the year. Doggos and Donuts, Paint and Sip, and our Kokedama Workshop were a huge success! We are also putting the finishing touches on our inaugural Club Awards Night. Clubs nominated have been shortlisted and are now being deliberated upon. This is an event we are very excited to bring to you and to keep in the calendar for years to come.
Additionally, work continues to be done on a comprehensive set of regulations to bring some clarity to club funding and club governance, we hope to have these documents in circulation in the coming months.
Finally, our last club funding round for the year is soon to be finalised! We are working to assess applications and provide clubs with the funding they need to host exciting events towards the end of this crazy year.
First Nations Officer: Jennifer Barnaby
Hey, this month in my portfolio has been slow, we had elections and most of the current executive positions were unopposed so were going to be back next year, and now the exam time has started its back to full speed in the portfolio including some articles for Glass about NAIDOC so hold tight for them next week, until next month see ya!
Environment: Seren Wyatt and Hannah Smith
Yay we have been re-elected and will be working as your environment officers for another year! Although we have been locked out for elections, and busy with exams we have still been up to as much as possible! On the 22nd of October we have another free clothing stall. Despite the rain and the wind, the clothing stall was really successful, and we cannot wait to continue doing this stall!
FINALLY – I know, we have said this in every accountability article, but the e-book is FINALLY done! We have received the final copy from the graphics designer, and we are so excited to show you the final product! We are currently organising the launch event, so check out the Guild Facebook to keep posted!
Some other exciting news, some of you may have seen the addition of an environment blog to GLASS, and next year we plan on adding to this regularly. It will be filled with informative articles, recipes, hacks – basically everything eco! If you have any topics/questions you would like us to discuss feel free to email us at environment@qutguild.com
Thank you everyone for such an amazing year. We appreciate all your donations to our stall and engagement with our posts/events. We cannot wait for 2021!
International Officer: Dieu Linh
Your women’s officer is also very happy to announce that she has been re-elected uncontested for 2021! She can’t wait to continue working with the collective and all students to create a better and more safe space for women and non-binary people on campus and throughout the community.
We are also working through ordering items a ‘wish list’ developed in collaboration with students in an effort to spend the remaining queer budget. We’ve ordered new storage furniture for the Queer Lounge which will be assembled next week, and $300 worth of binders for transmasculine and non binary students in need.
In October, we finished our last MOPP Mondays just in time for exam season with exceptional engagement. Alongside this project, NewVote will continue into exam blocks. From the advocacy side, we represented students across various faculties with concerns about the in-person exams (and associated misconduct allegations, health risks, and equity concerns). For any student who wants to submit a formal complaint anonymously, please don’t hesitate to contact us via studentrights@qutguild.com. We currently have plans to start a careers resume workshop and interview clothing stall for students to access in their job-seeking, though it’s still in its early development.
Our last Adulting 101 was a great success, all about investing with David from Morgans. This program has been so well received it will continue all throughout 2021. The GP foodbank continues to be setup, and it is now accessible to students, though hooks are imminent so you may need to bring your own bags.
Lots of work has commenced on the share house starter packs and other exciting initiatives for 2021, so stay tuned.
As always, if you need any help or have any suggestions for initiatives or help we could provide for students, shoot us an email at studentrights@qutguild.com .
A quick note from Ramisa: it’s been a wonderful year with you all – I will still be around QUT for my Practical Legal Training (a six-month compulsory diploma before one can become an admitted lawyer), so come say hi. Otherwise, I’m confident that I’m leaving you in Sarah and Taylor’s capable hands as the 2021 Student Rights VPs.
The past month has been characterised almost exclusively with elections. The Queensland state election and United States Presidential election, sure, but most importantly this month we had the QUT Guild elections. Thankfully, it was a relatively smooth election cycle this year and many Executives were elected unopposed, including myself; so, I am staying on as your Guild Secretary for at least another year (yay!). Excitedly, a large amount of the current Guild Executives will be staying on next year also; they have been fantastic this year and I am really looking forward to being able to continue working with this group. We are also greatly looking forward to welcoming a few new faces to our team when the 2021 term begins in December.
Over the course of the two week election period I took a lot of time off work in order to focus on both our in person and online campaign, so unfortunately I have not been at working as much as usual and do not have largescale projects to report. Since coming back to work last week, however, the Governance Team and our management team have been working hard to begin planning for next events (hopefully in person if COVID-19 permits) and major projects. While these plans are currently in very early planning stages, I am excitedto be able to bring these ideas to life on campus next year.
Good luck to all on your exams and have a wonderful end of year holiday!
Glass: Em Readman, Anahita Ebrahimi, Jasmin Graves and Ashleigh North
Glass has sent off the final issue for the year to print and our launch is fast approaching! We have collaborations coming with the First Nations and Environment Portfolio and are looking forward to the coming transition of the 2020 and 2021 editors.
