Wollongong University Students' Association
Encyclopedia
The University of Wollongong Undergraduate Students' Association (known as WUSA, and its governing body the WUSA Council) is the peak undergraduate student representative organisation at the University of Wollongong
.
and as such works to fight for student interests on campus and in the broader community, keeping both the University administration and Australian governments accountable when it comes to issues affecting students. WUSA also provides advocacy and welfare services for students on campus.
WUSA is a grassroots organisation, made up of a number of issues-based student collectives. These include education, queer rights
, women's rights
, an anti-racism collective, a student media collective, and the environment collective
. WUSA also publishes the UOW student magazine Tertangala
.
WUSA is affiliated to the National Union of Students (Australia)
and has participated in national campaigns including the fight against upfront course fees, Voluntary Student Unionism
, and the struggle to reinstate free Higher Education in Australia. WUSA has also called upon the national body and other student organistaions to support its local causes in the past. In a city like Wollongong, notorious for pollution and other heavy industry-related health problems, WUSA has always been at the forefront of campus environmentalism
in Australia. This has particularly been the case as Climate Change
has become an increasingly important political issue to students.
The sister student organisation for WUSA is the Newcastle University Students' Association
.
in 1998.
The University of Wollongong student body has long held the reputation of being one of "the most left-wing campuses in the country". It is reported that the flag of the Australian Communist Party was flown on the University's Foundation Day.
students and Democratic Socialist Party
activists with 85% of the primary vote. The mandate of their victory ensured an explosion of student activism on campus and a record number of campaigns run by WUSA. The radicalism of the University of Wollongong
student body in 1997 had a national political reputation, with the result that the WUSA executive came under the scrutiny of Australian secret service agents posted to campus to monitor their activities.
Head Quarters on a National Day of Action called by the National Union of Students
and demanded an end to proposed VSU legislation. The legislation was withdrawn, but introduced again in 2006 when the Coalition Government secured the support of Family First Senator Steve Fielding in the Australian Senate
.
erected in Canberra.
, received a phone call from police, informing her that she was under investigation for her activism, on campus, around anti-war/Palestinian self-determination campaigns. The investigation made national and international news . The 2006 WUSA Council was noted for the increase in anti-Howard Government student activism on campus, as well as being involved in organising large rallies to protest against the 2006 Lebanon War. .
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
.
Background
WUSA is the UOW Student UnionStudent unionism in Australia
Australia's universities are home to a variety of different student union groups, providing a range of political, commercial and other services to students...
and as such works to fight for student interests on campus and in the broader community, keeping both the University administration and Australian governments accountable when it comes to issues affecting students. WUSA also provides advocacy and welfare services for students on campus.
WUSA is a grassroots organisation, made up of a number of issues-based student collectives. These include education, queer rights
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
, women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, an anti-racism collective, a student media collective, and the environment collective
Australian Student Environment Network
The Australian Student Environment Network is the national network of many campus environment collectives in Australia. People from ASEN facilitate communication between campus environment collectives and co-ordinate national projects and campaigns. ASEN was formed at the 1997 Students and...
. WUSA also publishes the UOW student magazine Tertangala
Tertangala
Tertangala is the magazine of the University of Wollongong Undergraduate Students' Association -Content:The magazine features student investigative and feature articles, news, artwork, opinion, film and music reviews, as well as interviews and editorials...
.
WUSA is affiliated to the National Union of Students (Australia)
National Union of Students
-British Isles:*National Union of Students**National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland**National Union of Students Scotland**National Union of Students Wales-Scandinavia:*Danish National Union of Students*National Union of Students in Finland...
and has participated in national campaigns including the fight against upfront course fees, Voluntary Student Unionism
Voluntary student unionism
Voluntary student unionism is a policy, notable in Australia, under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations is voluntary....
, and the struggle to reinstate free Higher Education in Australia. WUSA has also called upon the national body and other student organistaions to support its local causes in the past. In a city like Wollongong, notorious for pollution and other heavy industry-related health problems, WUSA has always been at the forefront of campus environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
in Australia. This has particularly been the case as Climate Change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
has become an increasingly important political issue to students.
The sister student organisation for WUSA is the Newcastle University Students' Association
Newcastle University Students' Association
The Newcastle University Students' Association represents undergraduate students at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. The organisation is one of four student organisations at the university and focuses on advocacy, political representation and organising...
.
Activist history
Over more than 34 years, WUSA has co-ordinated many student protests and political campaigns. In 1995, 2000 University of Wollongong students occupied the campus Administration building to protest the introduction of degree fees. In 1997 students and SRC representatives again participated in an occupation, this time at the University of Technology Sydney in a successful campaign to prevent the introduction of full fee degrees at that institution. WUSA students and staff also participated in the campaign to prevent the introduction of full fee degrees at the University of Western SydneyUniversity of Western Sydney
The University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in 1998.
The University of Wollongong student body has long held the reputation of being one of "the most left-wing campuses in the country". It is reported that the flag of the Australian Communist Party was flown on the University's Foundation Day.
The 1997 WUSA Council
The WUSA Council elected for the 1997 term included a number of left-wing student activists, who later became notable community leaders and policy makers. With Carol Berry serving as WUSA President, the "Dream Team" ran for election on an anarchist-left platform, defeating their opponents the LaborAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
students and Democratic Socialist Party
Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance may refer to:*Alternative Socialist Alliance - Independents *Democratic Socialist Alliance *London Socialist Alliance*Scottish Socialist Alliance*Socialist Alliance *Socialist Alliance...
activists with 85% of the primary vote. The mandate of their victory ensured an explosion of student activism on campus and a record number of campaigns run by WUSA. The radicalism of the University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
student body in 1997 had a national political reputation, with the result that the WUSA executive came under the scrutiny of Australian secret service agents posted to campus to monitor their activities.
National Anti-VSU Campaign
During 1999, UOW and other NSW students stormed NSW Liberal PartyLiberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
Head Quarters on a National Day of Action called by the National Union of Students
National Union of Students (Australia)
The National Union of Students is the peak representative body for Australian university students. Most student unions in Australian campuses are affiliated to NUS...
and demanded an end to proposed VSU legislation. The legislation was withdrawn, but introduced again in 2006 when the Coalition Government secured the support of Family First Senator Steve Fielding in the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
.
Aboriginal Tent Faculty
In protest against the axing of the Aboriginal Health Course, the SRC and the Education Action Collective convened and ran a campaign with local aboriginal, academic and student support, involving frequent protests and NUS NSW state-wide support. This resulted in the University Council overturning the Vice Chancellor's decision to drop the course. The Vice-Chancellor subsequently agreed to funding for a new Aboriginal Education Centre, which now overlooks the McKinnon lawn, the former site of the Tent Faculty. The term "Tent Faculty" was chosen as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with the Aboriginal tent embassies present across Australia, wherever indigenous people are struggling for the recognition of their rights - the most prominent being the national Aboriginal Tent EmbassyAboriginal Tent Embassy
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a controversial semi-permanent assemblage claiming to represent the political rights of Australian Aborigines. It is made of a large group of activists, signs, and tents that reside on the lawn of Old Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital...
erected in Canberra.
The 2006 WUSA Council
In 2006 the WUSA President, Jess MooreJess Moore
Jess Moore is a well-known community activist and part-time worker and a leading climate and renewable energy campaigner in Wollongong. She is a member of the Socialist Alliance and is active in the struggle for marriage equality and helped found the Illawarra Aboriginal Rights Group, set up in...
, received a phone call from police, informing her that she was under investigation for her activism, on campus, around anti-war/Palestinian self-determination campaigns. The investigation made national and international news . The 2006 WUSA Council was noted for the increase in anti-Howard Government student activism on campus, as well as being involved in organising large rallies to protest against the 2006 Lebanon War. .