Talking politics with the president
He’s only been in the job a few weeks, but the new president of the UniSA Students’ Association, Andrew Christie, has hit the ground running with a long list of plans and aims for the year.
The 21-year-old is part way through a double degree in applied finance and commerce, but in keeping with a tradition that has seen most UniSA Students’ Association presidents put their studies on hold for their year in office, Andrew is re-prioritising so he can fulfil his presidential duties in 2004.
Some of the issues on the top of his agenda include fees, constitutional change, retaining and improving student services, and ensuring that the association has a voice on a national level.
“I’m working with the HECS working party and education action group to push for alternatives to increasing student fees,” he says.
And as far as the association’s constitution goes, Andrew wants to enshrine clearer guidelines to ensure that student representatives are doing the jobs they're elected to do, as well as making sure that there's always someone on the students’ association council representing people with disabilities.
(A position already exists, but its longevity could be guaranteed through constitutional change.)
Andrew, who was the association’s education vice president last year, says he’s also keen to see the students’ association at the forefront of progressive political movements such as refugee rights and reconciliation.
“We’ll also be out there encouraging students to enrol to vote,” he says, criticising a recent federal government move to change legislation so that first time voters have only one day after an election is called to enrol. “We see it as an attack on democracy in this country.”
But there is such a thing as too much politics – even for the founder of the UniSA Labor Club – and Andrew says he’s planning to balance out all the campaigning this year with some good-old-fashioned partying.
“We’re planning to hold a big rave this year as a bit of a change from the traditional end-of-year ball,” he says.