2016 MONSU elections: What the parties stand for

By WILLIAM ZWAR

With the MONSU elections in full swing this week, the future of all Caulfield students is being hotly contested between three parties.

Student rights, administration, welfare and financial support are just some of the main issues considered by all parties. However, fun, free food and textbook exchange all remain high on the agenda of the candidates.

So who will be running the show next year and giving Caulfield students help and support at every corner?

REPS FOR YOU

Reps for You is the only party this year that can be voted for above the line, meaning it has enough candidates to fill every committee position. Committee positions cover a range of areas including education, welfare and activites.

Led by president Kiandra Trickett, Reps For You is “for the student experience”.

“We’ve broken it up into two sections. Academic situations, services, programs and giving back to students’ academic life, but some people are also at uni to have a social life as well,”  Trickett says.

Trickett, who is from Tasmania, says she knows exactly how scary uni can be. She had to deal with a lot in her first year of uni, and says the support she received from MONSU and her friends at MONSU made her university experience what it now is.

“My passion was always to give what I got from my university experience back to people,” she says.

Reps For You is hoping to increase the facilities available to students. With night exams on the university's agenda, it is important to ensure that “support is available at all exam hours”.

Two of the strongest policies Reps For You hopes to implement are the “snack shack” and a textbook-exchange service.

“For the snack shack, we basically want to have a hub where we can have healthy little snacks that people can grab in-between classes,” Trickett says.

“We found through the [MONSU] pantry that a lot of people don’t have the cooking accessories that we might have.

“Just having (the snack shack) there and having constant free food and free snacks for everyone, just to assist in between classes and while at uni, that’d be great.”

The textbook exchange service is also as simple as it sounds, a simple exchange service where students can give and take textbooks to avoid paying hefty price tags.

“Textbooks are a ridiculous price! So just having a free service helps students.”

Reps For You says knowing students' needs are the key to creating good policies.

“We actually want to go out there and directly survey as many students as possible and see what they want. We think that we understand what students want, but we’re only a small portion,” Trickett says.

“They need financial support with taxes, Centrelink. All that outside world stuff, I feel like we can assist with them as well.”

Reps For You are promising to be "reps for you", aiming to provide a balance of fun as well as  a strong stance on improving on student support, and preparing students for the outside world.

STAND UP

Stand Up is the party in power, however its president Ziyang Zhang will not be running for the top job next year. Instead, third-year business student Hongxu Liu will be running for the top job.

Stand Up focuses more on international students, and the impact they have on university life.

Being an international student, Liu understands how difficult it can be adjusting not only on campus, but in another country.

Groceries, rent, language are all things that need to be accounted for on top of university fees and studying and socialising. Finding a job and finding career pathways can also be more difficult for international students.

The group is looking to ensure that all students feel welcome on campus, and are given the same opportunities.

“We want to improve the connection between the local and international students on campus,” Liu says.

Strengthening this relationship is a top priority.

“I plan to give some more opportunities for international students, to join more events and activities and try to let them not only focus on study.”

In terms of its policies, Stand Up wants fairer assessments for students, as well as “engaging more students on campus” through activities.

“This will improve attendance numbers and student activity,” Liu says.

Stand Up plans to continue the activities that have been running for the past few years.

Students also “need some opportunities or more events to prepare for the future, to get them real jobs”.

Stand Up  are all about "standing up" for international students, and making sure that everyone is given a fair go at uni.

UNITE

Unite is the newest party running. Led by president Aaron Lee, Unite aims to create a university environment that unites students from different backgrounds.

“What we believe in, and why we named ourselves Unite, is because of our team, which is made up of 10 cultural backgrounds,” Lee says.

“We want to bring a really diverse perspective in leading the student union, so that almost every single culture that is here at Caulfield can be represented.”

Unite aims to unite all members of Caulfield, whatever their background. A major theme in their policies is financial support and on campus support for students, as well as opportunities to explore the real world with internship opportunities and workshops.

“We want to implement something called a work integrated learning placement grant,” Lee says.

The grant would aim to provide financial support to university students whose budget may be tight during internships and placement.

“One of the smaller things we want to implement would be free tea and coffee at the student lounge,” Lee says.

“While this is a small thing, we feel it would be greatly appreciated by the students. It’s something to help them study.”

With all the study spaces set to be available on campus, with the new student lounge, along with the construction of the library, Unite believes students need something to help them study in these spaces.

Unite is also looking at real world issues for students.

“One of the great things that campus has been able to achieve this year is its collaboration with the ATO, in providing a free tax service, which helps students lodge their tax returns,” Lee says.

These are the types of workshops that help not only prepare students for the real world, but also eliminate many of the hassles that go hand-in-hand with student life.

“We know a lot of students are worried about how their SAF (Student Amenties Fees) is being spent,” he says.

“We plan to have a lot more of a transparent budget system.” 

This will be available to students, so they can see how their money is being spent, and have a greater understanding of what is available to them on campus.

“One of the great thing that has been implemented is the food court Graze on the Green as it provides food options on campus for students, and so they don’t have to rely on outside sources for food,” Lee says.

Unite understands that university is for education, but argues that it is also important that students enjoy themselves before they head out into the real world. It's pushing for a lot more hands-on activities around campus that encourage students from all backgrounds to get involved.

VOTING DETAILS

Registered students can vote this week from 10am to 4pm on Monday and Wednesday  and from 12 noon to 8pm on Tuesday in the student lounge in S Building, level 2.

Reps For You is the only party that will feature “above the line”, meaning if the party is elected, every place on the MONSU council could be filled by a Reps For You Nominee. For Stand Up and Unite, which could not fill all committee positions,  vote for individual nominees to take seats on the council.

@zwar_w