| Institution | University of Auckland |
|---|---|
| Location | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Established | 24 June 1891 (as Auckland University College Students’ Association) |
| President | Joe McCrory |
| Members | c. 20,000 total |
| Affiliations | New Zealand Union of Students' Associations, New Zealand University Games |
| Website | www.ausa.org.nz |
The Auckland University Students' Association (AUSA), founded in 1891, represents students at the University of Auckland.[1] AUSA organises student events, publicises student issues, administers student facilities, and assists affiliated student clubs and societies. It also produces Craccum magazine and bFM radio station. The 2011 President is Joe McCrory.
The constitution of the AUSA centres the organisation around student advocacy and the provision of welfare services. Today AUSA has 20,000 members out of 33,000 equivalent full time students enrolled at the University of Auckland.
AUSA has over 80 affiliated clubs, two bars on campus (Shadows and Toasted), a University Bookshop, the StudentCard discount card, Student Job Search on campus, market days and events such as Orientation, Re-Orientation, Outdoor Summer Shakespeare, End of Daze, Capping week, Womensfest, Cultural Mosaic, 15 Minutes of Fame (Student Film Festival), Blues Awards and Ecofest.
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The AUSA Executive consists of Officers and Portfolios.
AUSA membership is free to all current students of the University of Auckland.[1]
As required by legislation, the University Council conducted a student referendum in 1999 on whether membership in AUSA should be voluntary or compulsory. The majority of students supported voluntary membership and this was enacted. Referendums on the same issue were held in 2001 and 2003 (the request for a referendum is in the form of a petition to the University Council, which any student may call, and thus must be conducted, provided no two referendums are less than two years apart), and in each case, the majority of students voted for voluntary association.
The current position has AUSA contracted by the University to provide student services. AUSA currently has free membership, but all students pay the University a student services levy, part of which is paid to AUSA to provide student services through AUSA departments like Clubs and Events and WAVE (Welfare, Advocacy, Voice and Education).[1] The amount AUSA receives from the University is not related to its membership level.
Detractors of voluntary student membership (VSM) say that AUSA suffers drastically from it, and that VSM undermines AUSA's ability to advocate on behalf of students and provide welfare services.[1] They also say that in controlling the flow of money, the University dictates the terms to some extent of its operations through a Student Services Agreement.
Proponents of VSM, on the other hand, claim VSM means freedom of choice for students. They cite the United Nations declaration of freedom of association. They also paint AUSA executives under compulsory unionism as being wasteful, and believe that under voluntary AUSA executives are forced to be more accountable to members. They claim that the level of intervention is very limited (for example, the conditions are only that AUSA must run orientation and the like).
Craccum is the weekly newspaper produced by the AUSA. The name originated from the scrambled acronym of "Auckland University College Men's Common Room Circular". The publication has frequently found itself in legal difficulties due to its deliberate attempts to be controversial. These attempts have included an issue containing methods to create a bomb, and an issue discussing ways to commit suicide.
A publicity stunt in 2005 saw Craccum sell its cover - which was bought by Salient, the student magazine of Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association, with the funds from Victoria University of Wellington's marketing fund. The joke turned out to be on them, as the theme of that issue of Craccum was corporate sellouts. Craccum made the point that commercialism would erode the students' voice.
95bFM (or simply bFM) is a typical student radio station that plays alternative music. Like other student broadcasters, it supports local artists well before they become mainstream.
Originally started as Radio Bosom, a capping stunt, bFM has gone a long way. Today, with voluntary student union membership, bFM is pushed to make a profit for the Association, and exists more as a corporate entity than a student radio station.