Adelaide Student Politics

Posted: 28th of August

Student elections may be dominating the minds of most readers of this blog at the, but in my few minutes to spare this evening I'm going to write on a totally different issue..

This article was published on August 19th in the Advertiser. It is worth reading the comments. As I understand it, the AUU Board sent someone to verify the allegations (Ashleigh Brook), who came back saying they were unfounded, as said by well known politics lecturer Felix Patrikeeff here, which appeared on the front page.

Post-graduate student issues have been a recurring concern during this term of the AUU Board. I'm sure I know less than a quarter of the story, but here goes. The recent OSA elections saw the PGSA raise more than a few eyebrows by endorsing a ticket of (largely) post-graduate international candidates, who managed to secure the Presidency of the OSA. In the most recent call for SRC candidates for 2010, the position of Post-Graduate Officer has been left unfilled, with current PG Officer Katrina Stats not returning. Furthermore, ASP has recieved a document discussed by the AUU Board (in-camera) which outlines a proposal to turn the PGSA into a social club, claiming its status as an affiliate is unfounded as its advocacy roles are today fufilled by the Education and Welfare Officers. Given that no decision has been announced, I assume this issue will be one faced by the new AUU Board which to be elected in next weeks elections.

It is worth noting that this was written entirely from my contact with the AUU Board. The PGSA were not contacted by me for purposes of fair comment. I did say I only had a few minutes.