Mystified by what the different groups stand for? Hear from them directly in Pelican‘s “meet the ticket” series.
AI Party – AMITY – GLOBAL – LIFT – REVIVE – Social Justice (did not respond) – SPARK – THUNDER – Independent candidates
In plain terms, what does your group stand for?
Nikhita Talluri (Presidential candidate): SPARK is all about putting students first and getting shit done. As a progressive and independent team, UWA students are our only stakeholders.
We are built on a foundation of authenticity, accountability and equality. To be part of SPARK, means that you’re a fighter. It means not fitting the mould of a typical student politician. It means being yourself and focusing on what matters, looking around UWA, seeing room for improvement and committing yourself to do something about it. SPARK is about having the courage and passion to roll your sleeves up and do the work to better the student experience of those around you.
In SPARK, everyone’s perspective is weighted equally, regardless of what position you’re running for, how long you’ve been at uni, or what leadership positions you’ve held in the past. We believe that power should be held accountable, and everyone should have a say. This is what drove us to be the first team to write up a constitution which clearly outlines our governing process, ensuring that we’re all on the same page about how we operate.
SPARK is about putting the power of the Guild back into the hands of the UWA students. When you talk, we listen. We believe this is how the Guild should work, not as a “talk shop” for budding career politicians, but rather as a vessel to amplify the voices of every UWA student and as a vehicle for improving your student experience better.
The bedrock of our team is belief. We believe in the potential of the Guild to transform the lives of UWA students. It is our mission to maximise that potential and turn into a reality.
We believe that our campaign promises aren’t empty slogans, but meaningful ways that we can ensure that the Guild has your back. We talk to students from all areas of campus life, with an array of different experiences to come up with our platform and this give us the belief that the changes we’re running on are the ones students want to see in 2025. Moreover, we run these policies past Guild and university staff to make sure they can happen. You talk. We listen. Then we actually do something about it.
We believe that when a team of passionate students come together, we become more than the sum of our parts. We become a force for igniting tangible change at UWA.
Above all, SPARK is a family. We look after each other and drive each other to stay focused on our mission to make a meaningful impact in the lives of UWA students. The foundation of a family is trust. We trust each other to uphold our values and to work hard each and every day for UWA students. Whether you vote for us not, you can trust to us to support you, stand up for you and always strive to have your back. Whether they know it or not, every UWA student gets treated like a member of the SPARK family.
What’s unique about your group?
Jay Williams (Education Council Presidential candidate): As someone who was approached several times by REVIVE to run with them as their Education Council candidate, this is a question I’ve already asked myself. What drew me to SPARK is first and foremost our values. As someone who cares a lot about integrity, it feels great to be around a bunch of people who all feel the same way, especially in the notoriously murky waters of Guild politics. We’re not just about getting things done, but doing it the right way. Not win at all costs, but rather fight fair. I’m proud to have SPARK next to my name because I know that our team will always strive to do what is right for UWA students. With SPARK what you see is what you get.
Another thing that drew me in SPARK’s grassroots approach to the Guild, actively listening to students and doing something about it. As a truly independent ticket, with SPARK there’s no hidden political agenda. All our work is about supporting UWA students. For example, for years people have been asking for all their assignments to be due at 11.59pm and this year, SPARK got it done. Another one close to my heart is drink prices at the Tav. Like many students, if I wanted to get a beer, I’d go offsite to somewhere I could actually afford. This year, the Guild heard us and brought in a $7 house pint. How good is that? Whether it’s education or campus culture, it feels empowering to be part of a team that’s dedicated to actually listening to students and then delivering for us.
As someone who has friends in a bunch of the different groups, I’ve seen and heard a lot of what’s gone on in the Guild. I like that SPARK has been able to work with all the groups in the Guild to support students this year. I’ve seen SPARK councillors work with independents in the Access Department to empower Blackstone to introduce lecture captions in the law school. I’ve seen the SPARK team work with REVIVE and AMITY candidates to push for the university to introduce a multifaith prayer room. I’ve seen SPARK work with GLOBAL to ensure international students had the essential documentation they needed to stay in Australia. My take is SPARK doesn’t care about the politics, we work with whoever is passionate about getting the job done.
While SPARK’s values and approach to the Guild brought me in, it’s our people that make this experience unforgettable. Obviously, I’m biased, but I think our team is incredible. The passion and calibre of our team is immense. This year we have candidates from eight faculty societies, representing nineteen Guild-affiliated clubs, four sports clubs, and four colleges. Our SPARK community represents every school at UWA – and current candidates represent engineering, natural sciences, commerce, arts, music, computer science, global health, women’s health, neuroscience, psychology, dentistry and law, from freshers to postgrads. Through SPARK I’ve had the opportunity to get to know people I would otherwise have never met. We come from everywhere, all areas of campus, cultures and life experiences.
The passion in the room when we talk about what we want to do for UWA students next year is honestly infectious. Almost all of us have never run in a Guild election before and it’s exciting to look at everything with fresh eyes, leveraging our experience in clubs, college leadership roles, faculty societies and volunteering and our own lived experience to come up with a platform we believe represents the needs of the student body.
This year, I hope students who don’t see themselves as traditional “Guild people” look at our team and ask themselves, “Why not me?”
What’s been your best achievement this year?
Keertikka P Ganesan (NUS delegate candidate): Wow, where do we even start with this question! The biggest achievement for SPARK this year has got to be the implementation of universal submission times. The Guild advocated really really hard with the University in semester one, wrote countless briefing papers, and sat in on countless meetings to ensure this policy was implemented. We knew that this would have a huge benefit on so many students, so we worked tirelessly to make it happen.
Other things we’ve done this year include the start of the Guild Master Plan, including renos to the Tav and the Guild Village. We’ve introduced a $7 Tav Lager. We’ve begun the planning for the lift into Cameron Hall. Mandated lecture transcripts in the Law School. Held the biggest O Day in recent memory and the two biggest club carnivals since the pandemic. Extended the opening hours of Hackett Café and the Ref till 10 PM and closed the libraries to high school students during busy periods. Continued the ‘Know Your Rights’ Campaign with the Education Council. Developed the ‘How to Club’ guide for club executives. Held O Day afters. Increased the lighting in Guild Village. Pushed the University to ensure they remain compliant with their own assessment turnaround times and feedback requirements.
Wow! What a list. SPARK gets stuff done. Our team is optimistic with what we can achieve next year, and we are the most qualified ticket to make it all happen. If we could make all this happen this year, imagine what more we can do next year.
If you could re-do this year, is there anything you would do differently?
Aidan Kirby-Smith (Ordinary Guild Councillor candidate and group agent): This year, I’ve worked on revitalising our Tax Help Program, to equip students with financial literacy skills that are often overlooked in traditional education, and organised the Push-Up Challenge at UWA, to raise awareness about the importance of mental health, raise money for charity, and build on our positive campus culture. While I still think these projects were worthwhile, having now been on the Guild Council, I know there is always, always more we can do.
This year, as the Guild Council SPARK team, we’ve had a focus on consulting the student body on the issues that matter. While this has been effective, I think we can always do more to engage directly with the student population. The Guild does incredibly important work every single year, and still, not enough people know about it.
When you’re a Guild Councillor, it is easy to get caught up in the work and not stop to ask yourself – does everyone know we can help them? Does everyone know we are fighting for them, every day? I’ve seen firsthand how hard our team this year has fought to solve the big problems – submission times for assessments, parking, cost of living, visa documentation – and the smaller ones, down to helping individual students with unfair assessments or bad behaviour from tutors. I wish everyone on this campus knew that the Guild can and should be their first point of call for issues at UWA – that’s why I’m running again, to make sure that every student understands the power of the Guild, and knows we are always here to help.
I wish, this year, I had literally run around campus to tell everyone what the Guild does and why they should care about it. If elected again, on God I will do this.
Which of your 2025 policies would you be most excited to implement?
Nikhita Talluri (Presidential candidate): I wouldn’t be running for Guild President if I was only excited by one of our policies! I firmly believe that there is no one silver bullet policy when it comes to campus life. Our policies all work together to enhance the student experience – and they’ve been drawn from our extensive consultation with clubs, faculty societies, colleges, and students on campus. SPARK has always valued the power of grassroots communities to produce creative solutions to our campus’ most difficult issues and I can certainly see that power in our 2025 policy plans. And, we’ve already stepped out with Guild management and in some cases with the University exactly how to accomplish every single idea we are running on – so I am excited to start working on everything, on day one, with a clear plan I know we can achieve.
If I had to pick a couple,
- Giving all our incoming students a ‘Golden Ticket’ to join one club for free on O Day. As someone who joined a big club very early in my university life, I know how much of a positive impact our club culture can have on our student community. Allowing every fresher to join a club for free will add to our vibrant club culture, and help our clubs add new students to their communities.
- Starting a new service to better connect students with industry mentors, research supervisors and tutors (which has been unofficially dubbed Mentor Tinder by some members of our team). I know that starting a career after or while you’re at university can be difficult – I want to implement this policy so we can help set students up to success, no matter if you’re on the Business School internship grind, looking for someone to supervise your honours project, or really really struggling with GIS. Everyone needs a little help sometimes, and our new service will be here to connect students directly to that help.
- Providing heavily subsidised essential items out of the Guild Student Centre. As a Guild Exec this year, I have seen firsthand how many students need support from the Guild during an ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Being able to get extremely cheap essential items directly from the GSC is part of our overarching plan to address students’ financial and wellbeing concerns.
- Advocating to give each student a 5-day simple extension on an assignment, once per semester. This year, our SPARK team worked hard to deliver universal submission times, and we succeeded (even though some members of other groups and Guild Council didn’t think this was achievable). We’ve also been pushing already for a 2-day simple extension on all assignments. We know how to change University education policy, because we’ve done it before, and I can’t wait to do it again. Jay, our Education Council candidate, is a current Arts Union President, has been on two faculty society executives and been the vice president of Ed Council, and currently sits on the Society and Culture Board of UWA. You can all trust him to deliver on this key change.
- Our suite of changes to support clubs to be bigger and better in 2025 – including introducing Club Engagement Officers to proactively take on feedback from our stakeholders, reforming the club grants process to include multiple rounds of grants and funding upfront at the beginning of the semester, and establishing pub crawl and enhanced quiz night packages at the UWA Tavern. Club culture is the life and soul of this campus, and I know Ethan (our Societies Council candidate), who has been at the pulse of many diverse clubs over a number of years, is the most qualified person in this election to deliver for them.
We have so much more to be excited about, though, and me and my team are ready and willing to deliver it all. SPARK’s plans have always been ambitious – but we have a track record of delivering on ambitious ideas. We changed the election regulations to make Guild elections fairer. We brought back sundowners. We advocated for the introduction of the Respectful Relationships Module. We launched the Guild Masterplan to completely revitalise the Guild Precinct. We launched the Student Legal Advice Centre. We brought in Universal Submission Times. We brought in a $7 pint in the Tavern.
We’re an ambitious team, and the only team in this election with the track record to prove that we actually know what we’re doing, and can deliver on our policies.
Most students don’t vote in Guild elections – what’s the best reason they should vote for you this year?
Insiah Riaz (Ordinary Guild Councillor candidate): Most people I mention Guild elections to hit me with “I try not to get involved in student politics”, and I think that’s because they don’t know enough about what the Guild/SPARK does and why we do it. Why? Well, it’s very simple. The answer is you. It has everything to do with you, the students at UWA.
SPARK wants to make changes to positively impact you. You should vote because your unique experience matters. Whether you have had struggles academically, financially or socially, you can make your vote count because a SPARK Guild recognises that these issues intersect, and we have proven we know how to fight for you. Because to simply answer the question why vote? It’s that we advocate to improve your experience, and make you feel heard and supported during your studies. Each one of your voices matters. Your experience matters. And SPARK will always put you first.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what the Guild did either, but now I can appreciate what it really is. This team, the passion, the genuine care for students here. We are devoted to making positive changes which impact students. These are just some of the things that made me realise that i was now a part of something much bigger. We are your voice, and we will do everything we can to make you feel heard. Some people may also think, the Guild is just run by students, and what can they really do anyway?
But this is also the exact reason why we can do what we do. It’s because of our unique experiences that we are able to stand up for what we believe in. When we make decisions, we understand how it can impact a variety of students, whether you’re studying STEM or the arts. If you have a concern, we have the strength and dedication to speak up and do something about it. To bring out the voices of students from all pathways and backgrounds. Our approach is based entirely on what the students need and want.
We have a diverse team who we hope will make you feel represented and advocated for. When we make decisions, we consider how it will affect students and if we say we will do something, we do everything in our power as students to make this happen for other students. Vote for us because we care. Vote for us because you matter. Vote for us because your experiences matter. Vote for us because we will always put you first. Vote for us to be your voice and to enact real change.