Words by Justine Cerna
Every month the elected student body meets to discuss the business of the UWA Student Guild. This report details the happenings of the UWA Student Guild Committee meeting held on April 27th, 2022.
Guild Council Meeting – April 27th, 2022
Meeting commences on MS Teams with an acknowledgement of Country, Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar.
Report from the Managing Director
- Tony Goodman (TG) provides comments on the Guild’s activity in the last month which has been dominated by compliance requirements. Audits have taken place to ensure that the Guild is set to comply with the university’s requirements for the rest of the year. On this front he comments:
“UWA’s is probably the most transparent Guild in the country.” - The Student Code of Conduct is being drawn up, councilors and club representatives will need to sign up and comply with it.
- The University has a CAT (The Purple CAT bus, which has one stop along Stirling Hwy and two along Hackett Drive)
ELECTIONS
6.1 Guild Subcommittee Elections
With all nominees confirmed, voting takes place with ballots open from April 28th to May 5th.
MOTIONS ON NOTICE (OPERATIONS)
7.1 The 109th Guild Council approves the 2021 Financial Audited Accounts (available to view in the agenda pack)
Moved by Amitabh Jeganathan (AJ)
Seconded by Narendra Gammanpila (NG)
Passes unanimously.
7.2 The 109th Guild Council approves the date of the 2022 OGM of Tuesday 11th October 2022 at 1:00 pm.
Moved by NG
Seconded by AJ
7.3 The 109th Guild Council approves the 2022 Election timetable.
Moved by NG
Seconded by AJ
7.4 The 109th Guild Council requests the Managing Director to write to the WAEC in order to conduct the 2022 Annual General Elections for the UWA Student Guild & NUS.
Moved by AJ
Seconded by NG
7.1; 7.2; 7.4 all passed unanimously. 7.3 to be amended, to be passed soon.
MOTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE (OPERATIONS)
8.1 The 109th guild council approves the amendments made to the election regulations
Moved by Prisha Goel (PG)
Seconded by AJ
Comments: Changes have been made to make the election process fair and more equitable. We are working toward a better student political culture; this is a huge win for the students. Changes include (but are not limited to):
- OCGs max cap: 13 per party
- Candidates are required to submit a 150-word statement about why they are running, which will be made public
- Fee entry is now $20
- Changes to registration and nomination timetable.
8.2 The 109th Guild Council appoints Kaelin Abrahams to the position of co-pride officer.
Moved by Parastoo Javid (PJ)
Seconded by NG
Passes unanimously.
8.3 The 109th Guild Council approves the new Student Representative Code of Conduct.
Moved by AJ
Seconded by NG
Passes unanimously.
Comments:
TG – Council endorsed as of right now (27th April). The COC will be extended to clubs and FACSOCs. This is a significant element coming into play. The university approves of the Guild’s initiative.
Adam Elyousef: Thank you to the lawyers and Tony for your hard work.
MOTIONS ON NOTICE (REPRESENTATION)
9.1 The 109th Guild Council:
- Acknowledges the current political and economic instability in Sri Lanka.
- Calls upon the university to provide fee extensions and the needed support to Sri Lankan students affected by the distribution to the banks in Sri Lanka.
- Directs the Guild President, ISD President and Education Council President to work together with the University to achieve a framework that can be applied to similar situations in the future to enable students to have quick actions put in place following a crisis.
- Encourages all students affected by this crisis to proactively seek help from support services available on campus, such as Student Assists and services at Shenton House.
Moved by Geemal Jayawickrama (GJ) (absent); AJ moved in place.
Seconded by NG
Amendments offered by Melani De Alwis to 9.1 to add “Clear recognition of government mismanagement and corruption as a main contributing factor. Additionally, to acknowledge the hurt, panic, and hunger due to the crisis.” AJ and NG agree.
Passes unanimously.
CLOSE AND NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held Wednesday 25th of May 2022 at 6:00 PM.