UQ Union
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The UQ Union is the central student organisation at the University of Queensland. It is operationally organised by a committee of 26 elected students. The Union represents and advocates for students' rights to both the university administration and government. This includes organising student-oriented events and operating most of its student servicing facilities.
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[edit] Union Services
The union operates most of the campus's student eateries, cafes, bookshops in addition to the the university bar and cinema. These facilities and services are concentrated at the Union Complex at the St Lucia campus, union services are provided at all campuses.
The union organises the university's orientation week ("O-Week") activities, regular barbeques and free bands, as well as a range of larger events, such as Oktoberfest. It funds the university's 135 clubs and societies, including faculty, ethnic, and a variety of social groups; sporting groups, however, fall under the domain of UQ Sport. The UQ Union also provides free legal and childcare services to university students. In addition, it also organises the weekly Wednesday markets at the St Lucia campus.
[edit] Student Representation
The union coordinates student representation to the University through its Student Representation and Postgraduate Student Areas, supporting students to take positions on faculty and University committees, and the Academic Board. The Student Union recently successfully negotiated for the University to contribute 2 million dollars to the Union annually for student services. The Union also negotiated formula marking scheme, a scheme which can deduct marks from students in multiple choice exams if the marker believes the student guessed answers, to be abolished.
[edit] Collectives
One of the other roles of the union is to see that minority groups on campus are adequately represented. To this extent, they provide a queer space at St Lucia and women's spaces at both St Lucia and Ipswich campuses. The spaces at St Lucia are rooms in the UQ Union building, open all the time; they provide a safe place for discussion and political organization related to women's and queer issues, as well as socialising. They also provide students with access to information about relevant topics like feminism and safe sex. The union also has queer, women's, environment, disabilities and Indigenous collectives to represent their respective interests, all of which are headed by at least one elected officer who sits on the union's committee.
[edit] NUS Membership
The UQ Union is a member union of the National Union of Students of Australia, and the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations. As with most other student organisations across Australia, the UQ Union has been actively involved in campaigning against the introduction of voluntary student unionism.
[edit] Presidents of the UQ Student Union
| Presidents | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Year | Ticket | |
| Jody Thompson | 1996 | Liberal | |
| Cynthia Kennedy | 1997 | Labor Left | |
| Bede Nicholson | 1998 | Labor Left | |
| Mathew Carter | 1999 | Labor Left | |
| Sarah McBratney | 2000 | Labor Left | |
| Juliana Virine | 2001 | NOLS - Labor Left | |
| Chris Vernon | 2002 | NOLS - Labor Left | |
| Aaron Marsham | 2003 | Independent | |
| Margot Balch | 2004 | NOLS - Labor Left | |
| Leah Sanderson | 2005 | Focus (NOLS - Labor Left) | |
| Lucy Weber | 2006 | Thrive (National Labor Students - Labor Left) | |
| Julie-Anne Campbell | 2007 | Voice (National Labor Students - Labor Left) | |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Student unions of Australia | |
|---|---|
| National: National Union of Students of Australia | |
| Universities: ANU | Adelaide | Ballarat | Bendigo | Canberra | Charles Darwin | Curtin | Edith Cowan | Flinders | Griffith | James Cook | La Trobe | Macquarie | Melbourne | Monash (Caulfield campus) | Monash (Clayton campus) | Murdoch | New England | New South Wales | Newcastle | Queensland | QUT | RMIT | South Australia | Southern Cross (Coffs Harbour campus) | Southern Cross (Lismore campus) | Southern Queensland | Sunshine Coast | Swinburne | Sydney | Tasmania (Hobart campus) | Tasmania (Launceston campus) | UTS | Victoria | Western Australia | Western Sydney | Wollongong | |
| Current Factions: Australian Liberal Students Federation | Grassroots Left | Independents | National Labor Students | National Liaison Committee | Socialist Alternative | Student Unity | |
| Former Factions: Australian Labor Students | Left Alliance | Love and Rage | National Broad Left | National Organisation of Labor Students | Non-Aligned Left | Small + Regionals | |
