WUSA is here to stay.
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That’s the defiant message incoming president Chloe Rafferty had for University of Wollongong management, who recently released the results of a year-long review into student representation on campus.
Rafferty is still basking in the glory of ousting former young Liberal leader Jasper Brewer to be elected Wollongong Undergraduate Students Association president.
‘’The university has just announced the findings of its review but I think it’s really clear from the really high number of people who voted, that WUSA is here to stay,’’ she said.
‘’Any moves to try and restructure or replace it are not a reflection of the amount of people who participated in the election.
‘’The big voting participation in this election shows that students engage with democracy and grassroots activism, not unelected boards.’’
She said the union election had one of the largest voting turn outs in UOW’s history, with over 1400 students casting their vote.
Rafferty’s ‘Save Our Union’ group won the election running on a campaign to oust the Liberals.
They were successful in securing the WUSA presidency and eight of 16 council positions, but the split between the left and right remains, with the Liberals winning the other eight positions.
‘’After having the Liberals run and totally control the council for the last two years, we now have a left president and eight council spots. It is exciting,’’ Rafferty said.
‘’Our broad left team won the majority vote because students recognise the need to stop the Liberals plans for our education.’’
Incoming education assistant secretary Isabelle Liddy said she was excited to rebuild the student union.
‘’With the success of Save Our Union, students at UOW have shown that they want an activist student union that will defend their rights and take up broader political questions,’’ she said.
‘’As education officer I hope to work alongside the National Tertiary Education Union and rally students around fighting against government attacks on education.’’
One of Rafferty’s first order of business is to reopen the Book Bank – WUSA’s only source of revenue.
‘’The Save Our Union group will also campaign for the union to receive Student Services and Amenities Fee funding from the university to secure WUSA as an independent, student run organisation into the future.’’
