The Education Action Group are hosting a Student General Meeting to stop the cuts. What does this mean?

A Student General Meeting has been called. Why? Who called it? How can I get involved? Emily Graetz answers your questions.

What’s a Student General Meeting?

Student General Meetings (SGM) are democratic forums in which students vote on and discuss a pressing issue. There have only been 3 other SGMs in USyd history, in 1971 to protest the Australian tour of the then apartheid South African rugby team, another in 2007 to pass changes in the SRC constitution in order to adapt to the negative impact of Voluntary Student Unionism and earlier in 2021 to support the May Climate Strike. Because of their rareity and the way in which they allow students to collectively fight for a common issue, SGMs are highly significant.

Who are the Education Action Group and what role have they played so far?

The Education Action Group (EAG) is a left-wing collective who fight for staff working conditions and student learning experience and protest any cuts made to education more broadly - both on and off campus.

In mid September, The EAG released a petition for students to sign in support of the SGM. 200 students have to sign this petition in order for the meeting to be officially declared. On October 1st the SRC announced that the golden number had been surpassed and that the SGM will go ahead on October 27th via Zoom.

Why has this SGM been called?

EAG have called the SGM to primarily protest against cuts being made the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) under a plan called 'Future FASS'. Under the plan, non-essential units with enrolments of less than 24 are at risk of being cut and several Departments will be merged, like Gender and Cultural Studies. As well as this, the SGM will fight back against proposed changes to the School of Dentisty and Business School.

In the meeting, students will vote on 7 different motions opposing cuts, restructures, job losses and the University's connection to the military.

What will be the impact of the SGM?

The SGM is a chance to offer a united student voice: to collectively protest funding cuts and stand in solidarity with staff and students whose jobs and education is at risk. Whilst these cuts are ostensibly being introduced to increase "synergies" and "sustainability", it's clear that they're austerity measures.

In 2021, FASS is projected to make a profit of $135 million. The SGM is a chance for students to stand up against the evidently needless cuts to the future of our education.

Education Officer, Maddie Clark wants everyone to get involved and says that "having this SGM will clearly show to management that students do not accept these cuts to FASS and other departments. It will show the resistance we are willing to create and the power of students when we come together and unite. It will also set up this campaign well for next year and the continued fight to save our education."

How can I get involved?

The SGM is being held next Wednesday 27th October at 4.00pm via Zoom and all undergrad USyd students are invited to attend. The meeting needs 250 attendees to reach quorum.

You can register in advance and find the event details here.