University of Queensland Union

University of Queensland Union
Full name University of Queensland Union
Native name 'UQU'
Founded 1911
Members 42,000 (2011)
Country Australia
Affiliation University of Queensland
Key people Colin Finke (President), Brodie Thompson (Secretary), Linda (Whan Hee) Cho (Treasurer)
Office location Level 4, Union Building (Building 21A)
Website www.uqu.com.au [1]

The University of Queensland Union (UQU) is a student organisation established to provide service, support and representation to the students of the University of Queensland.

Contents

Aims

The specific aims of the UQU as defined by its constitution are:

a) to further the right of all people to a quality education on an equal basis;
b) to advance the interests of students in the fields of social security, health, welfare, equity, equal opportunity and cultural activities;
c) to represent students within the University and the community;
d) to financially assist affiliated bodies;
e) to provide quality facilities and services to students;
f) to foster the principle of student unionism; and
g) to do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of these objects and the exercise of the powers of the Union.

Student Services

The UQU operates most of the campus' student eateries, cafes, bookshops in addition to the university bar and cinema. These facilities and services are concentrated at the Union Complex at the St Lucia campus.

The UQU organises the university's orientation week ("O-Week") activities, regular barbecues and free bands, as well as a range of larger events, such as Oktoberfest. It funds the university's 135 clubs and societies, including faculty, ethnic, and a variety of social groups; sporting groups, however, fall under the domain of UQ Sport. The UQU also provides a free legal service to university students. In addition, it also organises the weekly Wednesday markets at the St Lucia campus.

One of the other roles of the UQU is to see that minority groups on campus are adequately supported. To this extent, it provides a Queer Space at St Lucia campus and Women's Spaces at both St Lucia and Ipswich campuses. The spaces at St Lucia are rooms in the UQ Union building, open all the time; they provide a safe place for discussion and political organization related to women's and queer issues, as well as socialising. They also provide students with access to information about relevant topics like feminism and safe sex. UQU also has queer, women's, environment, disabilities and Indigenous collectives to represent their respective interests, all of which are headed by at least one elected officer who sits on the UQU committee.

Student Representation

UQU coordinates student representation to the University through its Student Representation and Postgraduate Student Areas, supporting students to take positions on faculty and University committees, and the Academic Board. UQU recently successfully negotiated for the University to contribute 1 million dollars to the Union annually for student services. UQU also negotiated for the "formula marking" scheme (under which markers can deduct marks in multiple choice exams if a marker believes the student guessed answers) to be abolished .

Postgraduate Students

In 2010 the UQU along with the University of Technology Sydney Student Association (UTSSA) become the first student unions to be disaffiliated from the Council of Australia Postgraduate Associates Incorporated (CAPA). CAPA is the peak body representing the interests of Australia's 300,000+ postgraduate students. Founded in 1979, CAPA is a membership based non-profit organisation.[1]

According to a press release [2] the decision from CAPA was based on a number of factors including failure to respond to repeated attempts to engage with CAPA, failure to pay affiliation fees since 2005, consistent failure to send representatives to the CAPA annual conference and failure to adequately represent postgraduate students and their concerns. The UQU in combination with UTSSA owed CAPA in excess of $145,000 in outstanding affiliation fees, which has now been written off as bad debt.

In 2011 UQ postgraduate students re-formed a postgraduate representative body within the UQU, called the UQ Association of Postgraduate Students (APS). This new body has been in regular contact with CAPA and sent a representative to the 2011 CAPA annual conference in Sydney.

UQU Clubs and Societies

The UQU oversees over 160 student run Clubs and Societies, with a combined membership across these clubs of approximately 30,000 students. Clubs fall under one of four broad categories based on where they derive their membership base. These categories include: Faculty/School; International Students; Colleges; and General Interest.

Clubs play a vital role on campus, with the majority of social events at UQ being run by these student groups. The ten largest clubs by membership base in 2011 were:

Rank Name 2012 President 2011 President Type Number of Members
1 UQ Law Society (UQLS) Ganesh Jegatheesan Luke Furness Faculty/School Based 2,800+
2 UQ Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) Annabelle Hassall Michael Zivcic Faculty/School Based 1,200+
3 Financial Management Association of Australia (FMAA) Brendan Kruger Zhuoxun Yin Faculty/School Based 750+
4 UQ Business Association (UQBA) Victoria Sing Colin Finke Faculty/School Based 750+
5 Society of Undergraduate Science Students (SUSS) Harrison Bolt James Nightingale Faculty/School Based 720+
6 QUEST Jennifer Ross Christine Schindler General Interest 650+
7 UQ Liberal Club (UQLC) Brodie Thompson Brodie Thompson General Interest 580+
8 UQ Interfaculty Competitions (UQIC) Tate Stubbs Michael Zivcic General Interest 550+
9 Singapore Student Society Aaron Ang Cheryl Gan International 520+
10 Mechanical Engineering Student Society (MESS) Blaice McCaul Patrick Whittle Faculty/School Based 500+

Executives of the UQU

Year President Secretary Treasurer Ticket
1981 David Barbagallo Fiona McKenna Nigel Pennington N/A
1982 Ken Macpherson Fleur Kingham Nigel Pennington N/A
1983 Fleur Kingham Danielle Bond Paul Lucas (politician) N/A
1984 Tony Kynaston Ric Moore Karen Axford N/A
1985 Brad Bauman Kate Greenwood Tony Kynaston N/A
1986 Jillann Farmer Jenny Fox Mark Herbert N/A
1987 Andrew Lamb Jorge Jorquera Scott Barclay N/A
1988 Dirk Moses Robyn Finkin Mark Bahnisch N/A
1989 Victoria Brazil James Jarvis Julian Sheezel N/A
1990 Jane Lye Kirsten Greathead Rebecca Keys Reform
1991 James Gifford John Briggs Donna Sinopoli Liberal
1992 Michael Kleinschmidt Anne-Marie Valentak Marcus Clark Liberal
1993 Sandy Brown Daniel Varghese Martin Bush SEA
1994 Murray Watt Jenny McAlister Mary Thorpe Focus-Labor Left
1995 Maya Stuart-Fox Timothy Ward Michael Caldwell Labor
1996 Jody Thompson Luke Myers Michael Barry Liberal
1997 Cynthia Kennedy Anna Straton Jamie Dawson Labor Left
1998 Bede Nicholson Katie Connolly David McElrea Labor Left
1999 Matthew Carter Alissa Macoun Benjamin Turnbull Labor Left
2000 Sarah McBratney Matthew Collins Rebecca Lang Labor Left
2001 Juliana Virine Angela Setterlund Adam Kent Labor Left
2002 Christopher Vernon Lisa Chesters Aaron Meadows NOLS-Labor Left
2003 Aaron Marsham Antonio Ferreira-Jardim Jemma MacGinley NOLS-Labor Left
2004 Margot Balch Jonathan Hames Michael Wright Vision
2005 Leah Sanderson Jorn Herrmann Alex Main Focus-Labor Left
2006 Lucinda Weber Erin Fentiman N/A Thrive-Labor Left
2007 Julie-Ann Campbell Diana Mackay N/A Voice-Labor Left
2008 Josh Young Lisa Colyer Ben Riley FRESH - Liberal [3]
2009 Brandon Carter Luke Walker Lisa Colyer FRESH - Liberal
2010 Michael Zivcic Michelle Delport Robert Hilmer FRESH - Liberal
2011 Benjamin Gorrie Brodie Thompson Hannah Bona FRESH - Liberal
2012 Colin Finke Brodie Thompson Linda Cho FRESH - Liberal

Notable Alumni

The UQU has produced a number of notable alumni including Governors-General of Australia, CEOs, Chief Justices of Australia and State Premiers.

See also

References

External links