USU Candidate Profile: Amir Jabbari
Pulp interviewed all 10 candidates in the running to become USU Board Directors. Over the next week we’ll be posting a profile on each of them in the randomised order drawn by the Returning Officer. Here’s Amir.
Name: Amir Jabbari
Studies: Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) (III)
Faction: Independent
Colour, slogan: Black, “happy ending is here again”
Amir Jabbari has ambitious plans for the USU, with his “100 Policies” to create “a year full of abundance”. Scoring the lowest out of all candidates on the Pulp quiz with 32%, Amir’s knowledge of the USU is poor. Whilst he could remember the USU’s 2018 revenue, he was unable to list the SSAF allocation and key USU Board position holders. Despite his position as President of the USyd Iranian Society he incorrectly recounted the process of establishing a club and did not know the meaning of voluntary student unionism.
Amir’s motivation for running centres around the 100 critical gaps he has analysed in the University’s functioning. He said that his main vision is “to boost the University to a level that hasn’t been reached in USU history.”
He believes that the role of a board director is to act as a “transmitter” who listens to the ideas of students and communicates this to the Board. He also discussed the importance of being able to implement policies and possessing skills such as risk management.
Amir’s three favourite policies include the creation of “100 new clubs and societies”, improving infrastructure at the University and student support. He said that the Board needs to make student SSAF fees more meaningful by hosting large events and adding new clubs and societies. When asked why he specifically wanted to introduce 100 new clubs and societies, Amir said that it was about psychology as “100 is a number that you can remember.”
In terms of the University’s infrastructure, Amir wants to increase the diversity of cuisines at USU outlets by introducing “100 different foods” and turning the campus into a Broadway-like offering. He also wants to launch free delivery across campus and increase study spaces and “sanitation” on campus. These are ambitious and costly programs which would be challenging to achieve with the USU’s current financial state.
Amir also wants to focus on student support and raised the issue that many university students experience poor mental health. He discussed his interest in supporting students to “find a partner” through the introduction of dating programs on campus. He also wants to support students in gaining employment, with the goal to “double or triple the number of students who find a professional job”.
Despite being a member of the USU’s Incubate program in the past and describing himself as a “serial entrepreneur” Amir said that the program is for a “minority of students” and so the USU should cut funds from Incubate to economise.
When asked how political the USU should be Amir said that we need to appreciate students “who love politics” and respect them and their ideas. He said that 99% of board dealings should be about non-political things but that the USU should engage with politics in relation to government decisions they are required to follow. He listed examples such as the shutting down of campus outlets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amir said that he plans to reinvigorate campus culture by collaborating with top universities such as Oxford to learn about their approach to student culture. Whilst he couldn’t list any specific events from Oxford he would like to see implemented at USyd he said that he “wanted to collaborate with their ideas to boost the University [USyd]”.
Amir lays out a vision for the USU filled with “crazy parties”, new clubs and societies and costly infrastructure projects. These are likely to be unachievable as the USU works to recover from the economic and organisational impacts of COVID-19. His unrealistic policy goals in combination with his lack of knowledge about the functioning of the USU means his promise for a “happy ending” at USyd may be premature.
View Amir’s full interview here.
Note: Pulp Editor Ellie Stephenson is a former member of Grassroots.