Du Du: candidate profile and interview

Pulp sits down with the USU Board hopefuls.

Faction: Independent

Slogan: Let’s Du it

Colour: Coral

Manager: Fenghao Hu

Degree: Commerce II

Quiz score: 0% (DNF), 10th out of 10.

Du’s suitability for Board is perhaps best summed up by her quiz performance. She attempted the quiz for ten minutes before choosing not to submit any answers because she would get a “really bad mark” and thought it wasn’t “good for [her] to answer”. Du was the only candidate to complain that we didn’t notify her about the quiz ahead of time - presumably so she could do some last-minute cramming to obscure her complete unfamiliarity with even the most basic mechanics and affairs of the University and USU. 

Du is running to give back to the USU and believes that her “past experiences” make her qualified for the role. Du’s main policy is to raise awareness of the opportunities provided to students by the USU, especially to international students. While increasing international student engagement is a noble pursuit, Du failed to mention specifically how she would achieve this. She did, however, propose Zoom study sessions for international students and vaguely suggested “collaborating with companies” to bring more event and activities to campus. Additionally, Du wants the USU to bring back benefits to encourage the purchasing of more Rewards Memberships and to improve the welcome packages for commencing students.

Du’s biggest criticism of the USU is how they communicated to staff the cutting of their hours. She said it was a “really sudden announcement and that could be improved”.  

When asked how the USU should respond to the Catholic Society, Du believes consultation with the Society and the broader community would best inform an appropriate course of action. When pressed for clarification of what should be done, Du said “she needed further information” to comment.

Du described herself as politically progressive but conceded that she “doesn’t want to argue about how politics should be practiced in the USU”.

Du said she admires all the candidates and singled out Zhu, Jiâng, and Jia as “really nice people”. She refrained from providing comment on who she would want to be President, potentially because she doesn’t know who the current board directors are. 

Regardless of her lack of requisite knowledge, Du’s policies demonstrate an earnest desire to improve campus life for all students.

Voting opens 9:00am May 17 and closes 5:00pm May 21. Voting is exclusive to USU members, who will be sent an email to submit their vote. Sign up here.

Watch the full interview below. 

 Article by Fabian Robertson