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VSU at ANU (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter leetom
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Bolkonski
Brother Angry Dave
both arguments are solid...
however, I would tend to lean towards the VSU pro side when I am feeling anti-studentish because 240 (our GSF payment) x 10 000 is a lot of money, and I would love to see how it is spent by a bunch of dick heads that pop up around election time, get around 10% of the student body (i.e. all their friends) to vote for them, then pop back down and incur a wage for doing stuff that is completely un talked about. I am not saying they are wasting their time or our money, I would just like the student union itself to undergo a revamp so as to make it more like a democratic process rather than an oligarchic one. The only democratic aspect to it now is the fact that we have a vote we can choose to submit.
If VSU will do this, and only 50% of students end up paying fee's i see it as a small price to pay for a more anti-elitest student union. because on ground level, they walk around like they own the friggen place.
however, I would tend to lean towards the VSU pro side when I am feeling anti-studentish because 240 (our GSF payment) x 10 000 is a lot of money, and I would love to see how it is spent by a bunch of dick heads that pop up around election time, get around 10% of the student body (i.e. all their friends) to vote for them, then pop back down and incur a wage for doing stuff that is completely un talked about. I am not saying they are wasting their time or our money, I would just like the student union itself to undergo a revamp so as to make it more like a democratic process rather than an oligarchic one. The only democratic aspect to it now is the fact that we have a vote we can choose to submit.
If VSU will do this, and only 50% of students end up paying fee's i see it as a small price to pay for a more anti-elitest student union. because on ground level, they walk around like they own the friggen place.
leetom
there's too many of them!
Can't you just purge the student union of all the elitists, and just how would it make the union more anti-elitist?
I don't want this to be just another VSU-USU rant thread. I want to know what you think what sort of effect VSU will have, specific to the ANU.
I don't want this to be just another VSU-USU rant thread. I want to know what you think what sort of effect VSU will have, specific to the ANU.
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Bolkonski
Brother Angry Dave
Don't get me wrong. That was not a rant.
To be for or against VSU would depend very much on a personal experience of your student union and if that experience results in a negative or positive outlook on their services.
In my own opinion, I think restricting the budget of the union (because thats basically what its going to do - make it a variable amount that fluctuates depending on how many people wish to pay the fees) will make the services vary from year to year. Which services should stay should be the subsidised food prices in the union building. Cheap food and drink is what every uni student aspires to be able to afford. The other only service I believe should be kept is the student mag. Although it continually amounts to a student arse wipe-standard of literary value - the fact that it exists is symbolic of the potential for students to communicate with other students whom they would not ordinarily be able to do - due to detachment of departments etc etc etc.
It is absolutely stupid to talk about how it will change things because the amount of money, and how much room they have to play with it, will vary from year to year. This means that some services will be around one year, and then the next, it wont... and then 5 down the track... it will appear again because they can afford it.
Therefore, the most useful thing to discuss is HOW the money they DO get should be spent. Thus, we must analyse the most important things now that the money is being spent on and there are a lot of things that the ANU union spend money on that they shouldnt.
For example. At the start of the year they put stacks of dosh into some little shitty booklet full of stuff like info on resturants, shops, and bla bla stuff on canberra and stuff. The shiny little book which they call the survival guide is something i threw in the bin very quickly.
It would have cost a lot to produce about 10000 of them and for them to only be read once.
This information could have been put in continual issues of the student mag and therefore saved thousands of OUR money that we pay them...
that is just one example and if you think its a rant then sorry.
To be for or against VSU would depend very much on a personal experience of your student union and if that experience results in a negative or positive outlook on their services.
In my own opinion, I think restricting the budget of the union (because thats basically what its going to do - make it a variable amount that fluctuates depending on how many people wish to pay the fees) will make the services vary from year to year. Which services should stay should be the subsidised food prices in the union building. Cheap food and drink is what every uni student aspires to be able to afford. The other only service I believe should be kept is the student mag. Although it continually amounts to a student arse wipe-standard of literary value - the fact that it exists is symbolic of the potential for students to communicate with other students whom they would not ordinarily be able to do - due to detachment of departments etc etc etc.
It is absolutely stupid to talk about how it will change things because the amount of money, and how much room they have to play with it, will vary from year to year. This means that some services will be around one year, and then the next, it wont... and then 5 down the track... it will appear again because they can afford it.
Therefore, the most useful thing to discuss is HOW the money they DO get should be spent. Thus, we must analyse the most important things now that the money is being spent on and there are a lot of things that the ANU union spend money on that they shouldnt.
For example. At the start of the year they put stacks of dosh into some little shitty booklet full of stuff like info on resturants, shops, and bla bla stuff on canberra and stuff. The shiny little book which they call the survival guide is something i threw in the bin very quickly.
It would have cost a lot to produce about 10000 of them and for them to only be read once.
This information could have been put in continual issues of the student mag and therefore saved thousands of OUR money that we pay them...
that is just one example and if you think its a rant then sorry.
withoutaface
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Whoever said 10% turnout, you might want to divide that figure by 5 or so for the unis I know figures for (and I'd assume it'd be similar for ANU).
loquasagacious
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Personally I support USU (albeit in a different form to current) however I vehemently detest the anti-VSU campaign being waged by the ANU branch of NUS. Put simply it sucks, it is crap, it will achieve nothing (beyond pissing away their funds). It is largely run by incompetant idealists who think that they can change the world with a march.
end rant
end rant
withoutaface
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Haha we have a candidate running under the line "A REAL approach to stopping VSU"addymac said:
Ribbon
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Ok I am not really sure what I think of VSU. I wanted to point out that the food on campus has been privately run since the early 90s (I think) and is NOT any cheaper than anywhere else. Maybe if you live on campus and dont get out much you could think that, but I can get a better meal for the same price in the food court of any mall. I agree about the student mag.Bolkonski said:
I think all the activist stuff & subsidising societies is a bit of a waste of money. If the society was worthwhile people would be willing to pay large enough membership to support it. Think about it, at $50 per membership, thats 4 societies you could be a part of. I seriously doubt the average student is involved in more than 4 soceities (and by involved I mean actively, not just that you paid your $2 membership to get a 'free' can of coke and bag of chips on market day).
The services are really worthwhile are the free counselling, legal advice, welfare officer and childcare (well, I think there is subsidised childcare on campus? Im not really sure but it sounds good). I'm dissapointed because I know when VSU comes in the tards that handle the funds will probably cut these in favour of their balls.
This was a suprisingly long post, and my first post for a long while. What can I say other than you can't stop VSU anyway, so just accept it and move on.
loquasagacious
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The campus food a isn't very good and b is overpriced the same money will get you a much better feed at somwhere far 'swankier' in civic.
Two exceptions: union bar: fish and chips and law cafe: plate of asian.
Two exceptions: union bar: fish and chips and law cafe: plate of asian.