2020 Senate Election: Meet your Undergraduate Candidates
The 2020 USyd Senate Election is on! If you’re not sure what this Election is about, go check out Pulp’s explainer here. Otherwise, read on to see what this year’s candidates want to achieve. Use this link to see the candidates’ full responses to our questions.
Alessandro Sobral
Did not respond to our questions.
Alexander Naple
Alexander Naple.
Degree: Bachelor of Arts and Advanced Studies I
Faction/party: Independent
Fun fact: My 'fun fact' is that, while working as a lawyer in various jurisdictions, I only had to wear a black robe and funny wig in tropical Fiji. I put up with the silly outfit because I was securing native title in Fiji.
This is not Alex’s first run for USyd Senate. He was a Senate Fellow back in 1978-81, and was also the USU President in 1980-81 and the USU Treasurer the year before (you can find his name on a plaque in Holme Building). He’s back at university 40 years later and is running on a platform to fix what he sees as a dearth of undergraduate representation in the body.
He identifies a few deficiencies in the way the Senate currently operates: he wants more students in the Senate to improve representation; he wants to encourage “restraint” in the Senate’s use of its power; and he wants to oppose the Government’s HESA Bill. Increasing the number of students in the Senate is a major focus of his platform: he told Pulp he hoped to be able to resign to at least 2 undergraduate students.
Alex described the transparency of the Senate as “abysmal”, arguing that student representatives should be encouraged to discuss matters with other students “rather than being threatened with ‘disciplinary action’ for failing to maintain confidentiality.” He says he will consult and communicate with students through his email (alex@sydney.fea.st) and report to SRC meetings.
Alex presents a clear vision of how to address the challenges facing students. He identifies that students risk failing units as they are deterred from going part time - either by the threat of losing Youth Allowance or of not meeting visa conditions. He suggests that the University could consider “recording some failures as 'terminating' passes (insufficient to progress to the next Unit in a sequence, but avoiding consequences such as losing a CSP or access to HECS)” and structuring units “so that students can make mid-semester changes to 'levels' (e.g., from 'advanced' to 'standard', or from 'standard' to 'fundamental').” He wants to simplify student support systems and remove “bureaucratic hoops”, and he opposes ProctorU.
Discussing the University’s finances, Alex maintains that “it can manage a large loss of revenue without having to cut expenditure” and argues that it must not cut casual staff, who deliver significant value to students. He opposes the recently passed Higher Education Support Amendment Bill on the basis that it “offends important principles such as the choice of units” and applies unjust consequences to failing students. He argues: “USyd should oppose this offensive legislation; but it must also implement harm minimisation strategies to deal with it being enacted. USyd's response should include a 'pro-student' manner of administering the discretions given to the University by the Bill.”
While Alex’s platform outlines worthy and well-informed goals for the University, he told Pulp that “several good candidates are running; so I am asking people to consider other candidates and to not necessarily vote for me. I will try to help whoever does win the election.”
Alysha Baig
Degree: Bachelor of Arts I
Faction/party: Independent
Alysha Baig.
Fun fact: I have my pilot license and boating license but can't drive a car.
Alysha is a first year student who is running for Senate because she wants to “make a difference where it counts”. What exactly that difference would be was a little vague. When asked to name up to three things she wanted to achieve in the Senate, her answer was cursory: “1. let the students be heard 2. help with the budget cuts”.
The rest of her answers were similarly perfunctory. While all other candidates agreed that the Senate is insufficiently transparent, Alysha argued: “I think the senate does what they need to with the best interest at heart.” On how she would consult with the 37 000 students she would represent in the body, she suggested she could “possibly have a forum where students can submit their concerns”.
Regarding reviving campus life, Alysha believed we will see “a new normal” emerge, however she didn’t substantiate what this new normal would look like. She thought that student support systems could improve by listening to student concerns.
Alysha has some experience representing students, having been the president of the international and disability clubs at her previous university. As an international student, she believes she can advocate for international students effectively.
When asked how the University should adapt to revenue losses as a result of COVID-19 - which will presumably be a significant task of the Senate in the coming years - Alysha did not provide an answer. She also did not answer our question about her views on the Higher Education Support Amendment Bill. Given the significance of the Bill for students and the central role the Senate plays in USyd’s financial direction, it’s concerning that we didn’t receive an answer to these questions.
While making a difference for students is a fair goal, Alysha’s answers lacked detail on what this really looks like.
Anne Zhao
Degree: Bachelor of Arts III
Faction/party: Penta
Anne Zhao
Fun fact: Self-quarantined (without going out home physically) for over 3 months during lockdown in Sydney.
Anne, who was recently elected to SRC and is a member of new international student faction Penta, is focussing her platform on improving the student experience - she sees the Senate as “a good platform to talk directly to the ones who have the power to make some change”. The changes she hopes to make include increasing student involvement in the University’s governance, greater financial transparency, and more feedback collection on the student experience. Apart from formal feedback collection, she tells us she will consult and interact with students on social media and via email. She also wants the Senate to work more closely with the USU and SRC.
On the topic of the University’s finances, Anne refused to make a judgement without seeing their balance sheet. While it’s true that we don’t have complete access to the University's financial information, Senate candidates’ general stances on USyd’s financial management is important information for students.
While Anne is an international student, her answer on how to support international students was brief - simply telling us to check out Penta. The Senate has a meaningful role to play in improving international students’ experiences at university; a substantial answer to our question would have been valuable.
She also did not provide a substantial answer on the question of the HESA Bill, simply saying “Check out what the student said.” Apart from the fact that student opinions on the Bill have already been widely publicised, adapting to the Bill will be a key task of the Senate, which means it’s an important issue to be aware of.
Anne has been a Faculty representative and has consulted students extensively on USyd’s study abroad services. She is also one of the SRC’s Global Solidarity officers and says she has used “petition-related work” to solve student issues.
Anne is an experienced student representative who has advocated for students’ rights before, however her platform is somewhat lacking in detail about her vision for the University during this crucial period.
Cole Scott-Curwood
Degree: Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Science III
Faction/party: led Engineers for SRC
Cole Scott-Curwood.
Fun fact: I can play Piano Man on the harmonica! Iso got pretty boring…
Cole has a clear motivation for running for Senate - he tells us that undergraduates’ single representative in the body must be “experienced, thoughtful, and collaborative”, and suggests that he can fulfill this role. He points to his experience as a student representative - an Executive on SUEUA and Science Society, a successful SRC candidate and a campaigner on environmental issues - as proof he understands the issues students face and care about.
The three policies he lists as a priority are student mental health support, sustainability and “action on the student voice”. He believes that USyd’s Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) should be expanded and essential services should be multilingual. He sees “ambitious” action on sustainability as an imperative, arguing “USYD should view sustainability and divestment from fossil fuels as having financial benefit and moral requirement.” He believes that representing the student voice will involve fully funding student organisation, opposing ProctorU, and rejecting 12 week semesters.
Cole identifies major issues with the Senate’s transparency, outlining two specific policies for improving the issue. He plans to move all non-confidential meeting minutes into the public domain and issue a report to SRC (also published on the USyd website) outlining the Senate’s goals, processes, results and important developments for the student community. He sees the undergraduate Fellow as significant in holding the University accountable to students, arguing: “Bringing light to how the Senate governs USYD requires an Undergraduate Fellow who knows where to point the torch.”
He also provided us with a thorough plan for consulting with students. He has committed to regular consultation hours, creating an informal complaint system on the decisions and behaviour of the Senate, and meetings with other elected student representatives. He also promised to establish an Undergraduate Fellow of Senate Facebook page and include updates from student representatives in USyd’s correspondence with students.
Cole was able - unlike most other candidates - to provide a coherent vision for USyd’s financial management. He has researched the University’s financial position and borrowing power, and has concluded it should take out loans to avoid austerity measures and course cuts. He identified divestment from fossil fuels as a sensible financial course of action and advocated for continued “investment into student life” to fuel the recovery from COVID-19. He added: “If I had been Undergraduate Fellow of Senate earlier this year, I would have strongly advocated for the Government to include universities in the JobKeeper program.”
Cole was firmly against the HESA Bill, suggesting that “The maths of Tehan’s bill doesn’t check out.” He criticised the “compounding of systemic inequity” for disadvantaged students who will see their degrees increase in cost and criticised the decrease in funding directed at environmental studies. He believes the University should openly criticise the premises of the Bill, call for transparency about the Government’s financial projections and modelling, and publicise the impact of the Bill on the University’s finances.
Overall, Cole provided Pulp with a thoroughly researched platform which prioritises transparency, student life and social equality.
Courtney Leanne Daley
Degree: Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Advanced Studies IV
Faction/party: NLS (Labor left)
Courtney Leanne Daley.
Fun Fact: I'm a double fire sign! (Aries sun, Sag moon)
Courtney tells us she is “determined to be the representative undergrad students deserve, one that will fight for them”. She believes she is in a good position to do so based on her experiences as a student representative and commitment to improving the student experience. These experiences include being a FASS student mentor and representative and an SRC Sexual Harassment Officer. She tells us that as representative for International and Global Studies she campaigned successfully for better support for students planning their degree progression.
One of her priorities is to improve the special considerations and academic appeals processes as “If you are going through personal hardship, having to think about a lot of online forms without is incredibly stressful and it’s time this changed.” She also identified the University’s drug and alcohol policy to allow more freedom for campus life and USU outlets like Manning, Courtyard and Hermann’s. Another goal was to improve the accessibility of campus by installing more elevators and ramps - a solid proposal which is welcome given USyd’s often abysmal treatment of disabled students.
Courtney takes aim at the transparency of the Senate and past Fellows, saying “it has been a failure of many previous senate fellows and has resulted in not trusting candidates”. She committed to publishing reports and announcements from senate meetings to allow the student body to be consulted. She also promised to regularly report to the SRC and be “readily contactable to the student body” on Facebook and via email.
Courtney provided a thorough answer on the topic of the University’s finances. She suggested investing in renewables and divesting from fossil fuels should be a “key priority” and promised to “fight against staff and course cuts all together”, noting the detrimental effects of cuts on both staff and students. She suggested USyd could cut non-salary expenses like consultancy and contracting fees.
She described the HESA Bill as “disappointing” and a sign that our society undervalues education. She argued that the Bill would be ineffective and would continue to commodify education. She also criticised the Bill’s punitive approach to failing students on the basis that it would disproportionately impact disadvantaged students.
On campus life, Courtney argued that Semester 1 should be on campus “wherever possible” and endorsed encouraging clubs and societies to hold COVID safe events. She pictured the Senate collaborating closely with the USU to achieve this. Regarding student support, she suggested that the University should make rules more flexible for students and give more power to Unit Coordinators.
Courtney presented a clear vision for the USyd Senate inspired by both her own experiences and her existing experience as a student representative.
Gabrielle Stricker-Phelps
Degree: Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws III
Faction/party: Independent, but running with a Liberal
Fun fact: I’m a Gemini
Gabrielle is running for undergraduate Senate Fellow alongside postgraduate Lachlan Finch - an interesting strategy in the Senate race. While they haven’t directly explained how this would work if they are both elected to the Senate, judging by the fact that their answers to our questions were almost identical - down to their fun facts - it seems like they will be making decisions in tandem.
Gabrielle Stricker-Phelps.
Whether this is a good thing is up for debate. On the one hand, being able to coordinate advocacy could strengthen the student voice in the Senate. On the other, being in lockstep could limit discourse and student representation. Additionally, Gabrielle and Lachlan’s twin statements arguably did not reflect the different interests of undergraduate vs postgraduate students. Thousands of students’ interests could be riding on the duo’s decisions, so these are important considerations.
Gabrielle identifies as “proudly independent”, however she has worked with the Moderate Liberals in stupol before and is running with Lachlan Finch, a member of the Liberal Party. She was an SRC Women’s Officer and SRC Councillor in 2019, which she says gave her “extensive experience communicating with University management”. This may draw ire from the campus Left; Gabrielle’s position as Women’s Officer came at the expense of the 2019 convenors of the Women’s Collective.
The pair are running with the slogan ‘Better Education. Better Service. Better Representation.’ They are advocating for improvements to the Student Centre, a review of SSAF and more transparency from the University. Rather than elaborating in responding to our questions, Gabrielle linked her campaign website, https://www.demandbetterfromusyd.com. The site promises to fight ProctorU and oppose trimesters. The plan to review SSAF may also prove controversial; it is SSAF which funds USyd’s student unions, and cutting it would likely damage student activism, advocacy and campus life. A cut to SSAF could prove particularly dangerous to the USU’s already precarious finances during COVID-19.
Despite her call for a SSAF review, Gabrielle did commit to fully supporting the USU in order to reinvigorate campus life. She added that the University should be “innovative in our search for solutions in reviving student life”
On transparency, Gabrielle maintains that “the transparency of the Senate must improve.” She plans to do this by ensuring the meetings are publicly viewable and the body’s decisions are circulated to students. She has also committed to maintaining relationships with clubs and societies and bodies like the USU and the SRC. She also suggests “setting up forums where students feel comfortable and encouraged to speak up about their issues”.
On the question of the University’s financial management, Gabrielle argued “it would not be prudent for me to suggest ways to cut costs or source revenue without a more informed understanding of the specific and accurate position of the university”. Although it is reasonable not to commit to precise financial policies, a major role of the Senate is to determine the strategic direction of the University. Some indication of Gabrielle’s plans for this direction would be helpful to students.
She was, however, willing to oppose the Government’s recently passed HESA Bill, suggesting that “A steep hike in fees mean that potential bright, talented and motivated students may not pursue humanities degrees due to the fear of an increased debt burden” and describing the bill as “tragic” and “seriously disappointing”.
Some of Gabrielle’s clearest commitments were about international students’ welfare. She promised to “push for an inquiry into more flexible fee payments for international students” and advocated for better lobbying for international student Opal cards.
She also had a strong vision for student support, suggesting better training and resourcing of the Student Centre to provide students with “greater access to information about degree requirements and progression”. She added that the University’s student support systems need improvement in their delivery and marketing, as well as more tailored support for international students.
Gabrielle’s platform engages with some pressing issues, however whether students believe her collaboration with Lachlan Finch will work in their interests remains to be seen.
Kewei (Benedict) Xu
Degree: Bachelor of Commerce II
Faction/Party: Independent
Fun fact: I am an animation lover? Haha, Makoto Shinkai is one of my favorite director. YOUR NAME and CLANNAD are two of my favorite animation.
Kewei (Benedict) Xu.
Kewei is a second year running on an independent, student-focused platform. He tells us this is because he doesn’t like party politics, hierarchy or bureaucratism, but given Benedict reached out unsuccessfully to Grassroots and Switch asking for their support, we’re not so sure. He has been encouraged to run by his friends and says he wants to take on unfairness within USyd.
His three favourite policies are expanding PASS (Peer Assisted Study Session) to more courses, changing late penalties (so that “Students will not lose all the marks but get half the actual mark of the homework”), and push for students to have more time to participate in campus life.
On the topic of transparency, Kewei believes “it is time to make some changes” and says students can contact him via his email (BenedictXu2331@outlook.com). He promises to update students on WeChat and Youtube and set up a weekly consulting session.
He plans to revive campus life by enhancing students' virtual learning and, where possible, “let some students from areas where COVID-19 is well controlled come back first”. He also hopes to “collaborate“ with international students to provide them with more opportunities and information.
Kewei did not have a particularly clear vision of student support - he told us that “the students in this system, should also be thought as “common students”. The people in student support system are someone who gives help to other students. Except that, they are same as other students”.
He also did not provide us with an answer to our questions about the University’s finances or the Higher Education Support Amendment Bill. This is problematic given both of these issues will be a significant task of the Senate in coming years, and the HESA Bill is the major policy issue affecting students.