University of Sydney Students' Representative Council explained

Students' Representative Council
Legislature:University of Sydney
Logo Pic:Image:USyd_SRC_Logo.png
House Type:Undergraduate student union
Body:University of Sydney
Leader1 Type:President
Leader1:Harrison Brennan
Party1:Grassroots
Election1:1 December 2023
Leader2 Type:Vice-President
Leader2:Jasmine Donnelly
Party2:NLS
Election2:6 March 2024
Leader3 Type:Vice-President
Leader3:Deaglan Godwin
Party3:Socialist Alternative
Election3:1 December 2023
Leader4 Type:General Secretary
Leader4:Rose Donnelly
Party4:NLS
Election4:6 March 2024
Leader5 Type:General Secretary
Leader5:Daniel O'Shea
Party5:Student Unity
Election5:1 December 2023
Members:37
Seats1 Title:Newspaper
Political Groups1:
Term Length:1 year
Seats1:Honi Soit
Motto:Activism, Advocacy, Representation
Location Country:Australia
Affiliation:University of Sydney, National Union of Students (Australia)

The Students' Representative Council (SRC) is the representative body for undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. In addition to a student-elected council and student advocacy portfolios, the SRC coordinates a free legal service and caseworker service for all undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. These services provide legal, academic appeal, migration, tenancy and study advice to students.

The SRC has a reputation as Australia's most radical student union, and has been instrumental in leading student activism on a range of issues including education,[1] feminist justice, environmentalism,[2] First Nations justice[3] and queer rights.[4] The longest-running weekly student newspaper in Australia, Honi Soit, is funded by the SRC.

Governance

Council

The SRC is governed by the Council, which currently consists of 37 Representatives elected annually by undergraduate students. 1 Representative is elected for every 1000 undergraduate students at the University. The Council meets once a month. Motions can be presented by any student (within or without the council), and are debated on for political merit. Motions usually contain action points that can compel the SRC to commit to student issues, and advocate for student interest concerns.

Executive

The Executive of the SRC is elected annually by the Council (bar the President), and consists of the President, Vice-Presidents, General Secretaries, and five general members, elected proportionally out of Council. Meeting fortnightly, the Executive makes most significant decisions regarding the SRC.

The day-to-day operation of the SRC is generally conducted by paid staff and paid office-bearers, being the President (directly elected by students), the Vice-President, the General Secretary, the Education Officer(s), and Women's Officer(s).

Elections

Annual elections are held in September each year, to elect the Council, the President, 7 NUS delegates, and the editors of Honi Soit, the student newspaper. Unlike most student organisations, other office-bearers are elected by the Council, and not directly by students. All undergraduate students have a right to vote in annual elections.

Approximately 4500 students vote each year.[5]

History

In 1888 the establishment of the Sydney University Undergraduate Association marked the first sign of organised student government on the campus of Sydney University. The Women's Undergraduate Association was formed in 1899 and separate organisations for male and female evening students were to form some years later. In 1929 the four associations agreed to rationalize the governing of the student body, and the Students' Representative Council was established to represent all undergraduates. The first President of the S.R.C. was J. M. Gosper. The 1930/31 Annual Report acknowledges that it is 'largely to the enthusiasm and organising abilities of J. M. Gosper that the Council owes its origins.

Student government was initially concerned primarily with gaining a student voice within the official University hierarchy, and promoting student interests within the University environment. However, student leaders soon became aware of their influence within the wider community, and the scope of student politics extended to include issues of broader social and political significance. At various times student activism has been of considerable importance in moulding public opinion in Australia on issues as diverse as apartheid, the death penalty, censorship, conscription and tertiary fees.

Honi Soit is the SRC's official journal and was first published in 1929. Its longevity is perhaps unintended, as the SRC's Annual Report expressed 'doubt as to whether any useful purpose could be served by the continuation of Honi Soit and the publication was maintained the following year on an 'experimental basis.'

Presidents

Prominent former Presidents of the Sydney SRC include a Prime Minister of Australia, Cabinet Ministers, and Members of Parliaments, State and Federal, Justices of the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court, including a Chief Justice of New South Wales and a Court of Appeal President. Presidents of the SRC have also regularly proceeded to become Presidents of the National Union of Students.

No.PortraitPresidentFactional groupingTerm startTerm end
1J.M. GosperIndependent19301931
2Frank Wood BayldonIndependent19311932
3V.J. FlynnIndependent19321933
4C.R. LavertyIndependent19331934
5J. Bowie-WilsonIndependent19341935
6D.R. LewisIndependent19351936
7G.P. CampbellIndependent19361937
8Kevin EllisIndependent19371938
9P.J. KennyIndependent19381939
10W. GrangerIndependent19391940
11J.H.E. MackayIndependent19401941
12J.S. CollingsIndependent19411942
13P.P. ManzieIndependent19421943
14Moya McDadeIndependent19431944
15Keith DanIndependent19441945
16Marnie WattIndependent19451946
17John NashIndependent19461947
18John RedrupIndependent19471948
19Ted McWhinneyIndependent19481949
20Alan BeattieIndependent19491950
21Jim BrassilIndependent19501951
22Peter J. CurtisIndependent19511952
23Phillip JeffreyIndependent19521953
24Gregory BartelsIndependent19531954
25Philip Berthon-JonesIndependent19541955
26Greg DunneIndependent19551956
27Tony ReadingIndependent19561957
28Jim CarltonIndependent19571958
29Malcolm BrownIndependent19581958
30Brian L. HennessyIndependent19581959
31M.G.I. DaveyIndependent19591960
32Robert J. WallaceIndependent19601961
33Peter WilenskiIndependent19611962
34John BoydIndependent19621963
35Michael KirbyIndependent19631964
36Bob McDonaldIndependent19641965
37Michael A. WeberIndependent19651965
38J. Richard WalshIndependent19651966
39Geoffrey RobertsonIndependent19661967
40Alan CameronIndependent19671968
41James SpigelmanIndependent19681969
42Percy AllanIndependent19691970
43Barry RobinsonIndependent19701970
44Chris BealeIndependent19701971
45Chris SidotiIndependent19711972
46Brett MattesIndependent19741974
47John McGrathIndependent19741975
48David PatchIndependent19761977
49Peter ByrnesIndependent19771977
50Barbara RamjanIndependent19771978
51Tony AbbottDemocratic Labor19791980
52Paul BreretonCentre Unity19801981
53Paul RickardCentre Unity19821983
54John MartinCentre Unity19831984
55Belinda NealCentre Unity19841985
56Mark HeywardLiberal19851986
57Helen SpowartCouncil of ALP Students19861987
58Joe HockeyLiberal19871988
59Liz GardinerLeft Alliance19881989
60Rod McDonaldLeft Alliance19891990
61Vanessa ChanLeft Alliance19901991
62Caitlin VaughanLeft Alliance19911992
63Amanda LeesLeft Alliance19921993
66Anna DavisLeft Alliance19931994
67Heidi NormanLeft Alliance19941995
68Nadya HaddadLeft Alliance19951996
69Catherine BurnheimLeft Alliance19961997
70Katrina CurryLeft Alliance19971998
71Adair DurieStudents First199810 March 1998
72Luke WhitingtonSocialist Left19982000
73Natasha VercoNational Broad Left / Activist Left20002001
74Moksha WattsSocialist Left20012002
75Daniel KyriacouSocialist Left20022003
76Jo HaylenSocialist Left20032004
77Felix Eldridge Socialist Left20042005
78Rose JacksonSocialist Left20052006
79Nick WoodSocialist Left20062006
National Labor Students20062007
80Angus McFarlandNational Labor Students20072008
81Kate LaingNational Labor Students20082009
82Noah WhiteNational Labor Students20092010
83Elly HowseNational Labor Students20102011
84Donherra (Dee) WalmsleyNational Labor Students20112012
85Phoebe DrakeNational Labor Students20122013
86David PinkNational Labor Students201320 March 2013
Sydney Labor Students20 March 20132014
87Jennifer LightCentre Unity20142015
88Kyol BlakeneyGrassroots Left20152016
89Chloe SmithNational Labor Students20162017
90Isabella BrookNational Labor Students20172018
91Imogen GrantGrassroots Left20182019
92Jacky HePanda20192020
93Liam DonohoeGrassroots Left20202021
94Swapnik SanagavarapuGrassroots Left20212022
95Lauren LancasterGrassroots Left20222023
96Lia PerkinsGrassroots Left20232024
97Harrison BrennanGrassroots Left2024present

Politics

From the mid-1960s the SRC has been at the centre of student activism in Australia. Most activist groupings in the National Union of Students have a presence at Sydney University, such as National Labor Students, Socialist Alternative, Student Unity (Labor Right), the Australian Greens, Grassroots Left and the Liberals.

Since 2000 the SRC has been heavily influenced by what is now National Labor Students (formerly the National Organisation of Labor Students), the student arm of Labor's Socialist Left. Prior to that, from the late 1980s until 1997, the SRC was controlled by the Left Alliance, a former NUS faction made up of a coalition of students to the left of Labor such as Socialists, the Australian Greens, anarchists, queer activists, and environmentalists. Labor Party affiliated factions dominated the SRC presidency from 1998 to 2014. In recent years Labor's hold on power was challenged by independent/non affiliated alliances, internal conflicts within established Labor factions and the emergence of the Grassroots Left. Grassroots Left quickly developed into a national NUS faction with a presence on several campuses. A member of Grassroots, Kyol Blakeney, was elected the second Indigenous president of the University's SRC in 2014. However, in 2015 and 2016, Labor Left faction National Labor Students re-secured the SRC Presidency, in cooperation with Grassroots in 2015 and in cooperation with moderate Liberals in 2016, who supported Edward McCann for the Vice-Presidency of the SRC.[6] However, following the election this coalition collapsed, with a broad left grouping of Labor left, Socialist Alternative, independents and Grassroots elected to all remaining positions.[7] In 2017, Grassroots returned to the presidency, electing Imogen Grant as the 90th President of the SRC.[8] In 2018, an independent party of international students labelled the Panda Warriors won the presidency, electing Jacky He as the 91st President of the SRC.[9] He is the first President to have been elected on primarily the votes of international students within the university. In 2019, Liam Donohoe won the Presidency, returning the SRC to a Grassroots president. In 2020, Swapnik Sanagavarapu was elected to the SRC Presidency unopposed, leading to a back-to-back Grassroots victory.[10] In 2021, Lauren Lancaster narrowly retained the Grassroots hold on the presidency against Student Unity opponent Matthew Carter, in the largest election in USyd's history.[11]

The SRC's current President is Harrison Brennan (Grassroots), who secured a narrow victory against National Labor Students' candidate Rose Donnelly, marking Grassroots' fifth consecutive year in the position.[12]

Election results

Current composition (2023−2024)

StudentFactionBloc
Jasmine Al-Rawi Left Action Left
Deaglan Godwin Left Action Left
Yasmine Johnson Left Action Left
Aryan Ilkhani Lift Liberal
Harrison Brennan Grassroots Left
Clare Liu Penta Penta
Jamie Bridge Student Left Alliance Student Left Alliance
Jada Khorram Gymbros Liberal
Simon Upitis Left Action Left
Maddie Clark Left Action Left
Shovan Bhattarai Left Action Left
Tamsyn Smith Left Action Left
Angus Dermody Student Left Alliance Student Left Alliance
Rose Donnelly Revive (NLS) Left
Emily Sun Lift Liberal
Lucas Pierce Left Action Left
Jack Lockhart Revive (NLS) Left
Shahmeer Hossain Lift Liberal
Grace Porter Revive (Student Unity) Left
Ivan Samsonov Lift Liberal
Keira Garland Left Action Left
Ethan Floyd Grassroots Left
James Dwyer Revive (Student Unity) Left
Eliza Crossley Switch Left
Angus Fisher Revive (NLS) Left
Bowen Gao Penta Penta
Gerard Buttigieg Revive (NLS) Left
Grace Street Grassroots Left
Martha Barlow Grassroots Left
Victor Zhang Engineers Engineers
Ned Graham Revive (NLS) Left
Sofija Filipovic Switch Left
Jordan Anderson Switch Left
Rav Grewal Grassroots Left
Cara Eccleston Artistry Left
Mary Liu Penta Penta
Ellie Robertson Grassroots Left

2023

2023 SRC election
Political Groups1: 1
Liberal (5)
Penta (3)
Left Alliance (2) 1
Engineers (1) 2
Faction[13] SeatsChange
 Left Action9 1
 Grassroots6
 Switch3
 Amplify (NLS)5 2
 Penta3
 Liberals3
 Student Left Alliance2 1
 Engineers1 2
 Student Unity (Labor Right)2
 Artistry1

2022

2022 SRC election
Political Groups1:
Liberal (5)
Engineers (3)
Penta (3)
Left Alliance (3)
Independent (2)
Faction[14] [15] VotesSeatsChange
 Left Action40010 9
 Grassroots2446 4
 Switch1853 7
 Amplify (NLS)1313 2
 Penta1293 2
 Lift1113 3
 Student Left Alliance1063 3
 Engineers1023
 Independents for Change611 1
 Stand Up (Student Unity)461 4
 Artistry441
 Gymbros381 1
 Colleges361 1
 INTERPOL291 1
 Your Mom (Student Unity)261 1
 Lefties190

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: "Shameful, anti-intellectual actions": Education protests continue as more cuts loom. 3 November 2021.
  2. Web site: COP26 protest in Sydney stresses that 2050 is too late for climate action. 6 November 2021.
  3. Web site: Looking back: Ann Curthoys on the Freedom Rides - Honi Soit. June 2018.
  4. Web site: "No bigotry, no way!": Snap action for queer rights protests Premier Perrottet. 31 October 2021.
  5. P. Graham, SRC Electoral Officer 2013
  6. Web site: Births, Deaths & Marriages – Week 7, Semester 2 - Honi Soit. 6 September 2016.
  7. Web site: #repselect 2 Live Blog - Honi Soit. 23 November 2016.
  8. Web site: Imogen Grant narrowly elected 2018 SRC President. 2017-09-21. Honi Soit. en-US. 2019-09-05.
  9. Web site: Panda's Jacky He will be 2019 SRC president . Honi Soit . 18 February 2019 . 20 September 2018.
  10. https://www.pulp-usu.com/campus/2020/8/27/results-of-src-president-and-honi-soit-elections-provisionally-declared?fbclid=IwAR2R2AplXI8IxjCu7pSY8vlgDj4ofJLrDIFWXl8Yj8jHsreeM3hymm8yvBI/ Results of SRC President and Honi Soit Elections Provisionally Declared
  11. Web site: 2021-09-23. Lauren Lancaster provisionally elected SRC President, Cake to edit Honi in 2022. 2021-10-01. Honi Soit. en-US.
  12. Web site: Harrison Brennan announced as 96th SRC President . 21 September 2023 .
  13. Web site: Left Action and Switchroots maintain power as Labor increases vote share: 2023 Election Wrapped . Honi Soit.
  14. Web site: Left Action and Switchroots dominate SRC election 2022 . Honi Soit.
  15. Web site: SRC Election 2021: Council and NUS Results . Honi Soit.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "University of Sydney Students' Representative Council".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.