What started out as a little bit of slow news we were contractually obliged to report on may have opened a can of the juiciest worms. Pelican can confirm a special council meeting is taking place tomorrow to reopen and discuss the motions passed by circular on Monday.

Inside reports tell us that there was confusion on whether the motions we presented on Monday should have been done with greater consultation and to that effect whether a circular motion[1] was a sufficient format to push these changes through.

To contextualise the first two changes are already in effect informally. That is to say that we all voted (if you voted) for a General Secretary and not Treasurer as the amalgamation took place. In turn the justification surrounding Sports council President feels standard given it isn’t an elected position and exists outside the purview of the Guild.

Where things get more interesting is within the make-up of the Guild Executive, which saw Chair getting a promotion on account of GenSec’s existence. Discussions with councillors have revealed that some feel that more consultation was necessary over who should replace the fourth position.

Now, as a lowly little editor, I’m a little torn because on the one hand the question has to be asked why wasn’t this dealt with, at the very least, at the last council meeting which was notably sparse of motions. Yet at the same time whilst on paper this is all legitimate, it does feel really unnecessarily obstructionist for a motion which has technically passed. I can’t provide answers, only ask the questions however pressure came from the Senate upstairs and so a mad panic ensued to get this through.

Importantly we shouldn’t forget these parts of the Guild don’t exist in a silo and elements of the day to day operation always fall on the cutting room floor. That said discussion about the regulations and the executive have been around since March this year (funnily the last time we had a special council meeting).

The big consideration for all of us non-hacks is what will this do for our OGM and in turn our free ice-creams. Well never fear our sources tell us that if this passes tomorrow we will have to push the OGM back to align with the 14 day turnaround. Looks like you’ll have to adjust your plans accordingly.

Finally they say a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down so we are giving you a handy reminder as we head into the final few weeks of formalised education changes brought to you this year. These include:

  • no more scaling
  • more notice for supp exams
  • no more 70% exams (new max of 60%)
  • striating FC requirements for unit coordinators
  • still working on reducing late penalties

[1] A circular motion happens when council votes on a motion outside of meetings. I’m sure there is a circle jerk joke in here waiting to be made but I’m just drawing blanks.

Joshua Cahill

By Pelican Magazine

Pelican is the second-oldest student publication in Australia and the only independent paper at UWA. If you like having opinions, writing, drawing, and/or free tickets to local events, then Pelican is the place for you! We print six themed issues a year, and run a stream of online content.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *