OB Reports

Hey everyone! Happy 2022! I’m so keen to be your President this year and to see all your faces on campus (and online). I’ve been working on SummerFest planning and I’m super keen to see the events that the UMSU Departments have planned over O-Week and Week 1. I’ve also been getting ready and working behind the scenes on campaigns with other OBs to ensure that students’ welfare and rights are a key priority. Keep an eye out for Summerfest and department events!

General Secretary | Amelia Bright

Office was vacant at time of publishing.

Clubs & Societies | Eleanor Cooney Hunt and Benito Di Battista

Hey, we’re Benito (he/him) and Ellie (she/her), and we’re your Clubs & Societies Office Bearers for 2022! We’re currently looking forward to bringing you an online clubs expo in O-Week, and four in-person days on South Lawn during Week 1. It’ll be great to see our beloved clubs thriving on campus again after a tough few years! We’re also bringing our Stop Two concept to life—providing you with an appointment booking system, improved resources to connect you with clubs, and more support for our committees! Feel free to chat to us anytime to get involved!

Creative Arts | Prerna Aggarwal and Marcie Di Bartolomeo

Greetings! We’re Marcie (they/she) and Prerna (she/her) and we’re super-duper excited to be your Creative Arts officers for 2022! We have a plethora of events planned for this year that are sure to knock your socks off! From Arty Party, to our weekly collective, to Tastings, to our grants program, there are endless ways for you to get involved, get creative, and have a marvelous university experience! If you want to have a chat with us, come by our office on the first floor of Union House, or drop us an email at arts@union.unimelb.edu.au!

Education Academic | Ethan Georgeou and Moira Negline

Ed Ac 2022 has kicked off at a breakneck pace. With Student Representative Network applications launched and closed, many meetings with University Chancellery and UMSU Advocacy alike, Misconduct Panel trainings and much more. Keen to be involved in all the action? Make sure you’re following our socials, come to collectives, and keep your eyes out for some Education events (food included!).

Education Public | Benjamin Jarick and Ruby Craven

Hey! We’re so excited to be building some staunch activist campaigns this year with you! If you want to get more involved in activism, we’re the department for you! EdPub stands up for your rights. Come along to our Education Action Collective on Thursdays at 1pm for some fun chats and organising. Or if you’re a rural, regional, or interstate (RRI) student, come to our RRI collective for fun, snacks and games. More details on our FB page, UMSU Education. Can’t wait to meet you soon!

Burnley | Kaitlyn Hammond

Welcome back, Burnley! Are you ready for what is bound to be an excellent year? We have lots in store for you including yoga in the gardens, a pottery class, a bike maintenance workshop, and the return of Burnley trivia! Want to meet some fellow Burnley students for coffee and delightful conversation? Join our brand-new Breakfast Collective happening fortnightly starting the 18 March! Stay up to date with all our amazing activities by following us on Facebook and Instagram: facebook.com/burnleystudentassociation @UMSUburnley

Disabilities | Betty Zhang and Prachi Uppal

We can’t be more excited to start 2022 with a bang for UMSU Disabilities! Keep an eye on our socials and website to sign up for our SummerFest events along with collectives and events galore. Be sure to collect a copy of our beautiful Wellbeing Tracker to check in with your mental and physical health every day and look forward to some awesome giveaways! We are always here to support students living with and/or experiencing disability, including mental health so don’t hesitate to reach out. We wish everyone a safe, healthy, and joyful return to university in person and online!

The UMSU Indigenous Department has been largely focused on planning our events and campaigns coming up in the next semester. We are excited to be actively involved in the Wominjeka ceremony in Week 1, where Wurundjeri will welcome the University community onto Country into the new semester. We are also preparing for the influx of new Indigenous students in 2022, and are very excited to present them with our welcome packs during their orientation week: Dhumbali. Our autonomous events are likely to be the highlight of our Office Bearer work, with our own publication due to come out towards the end of Semester 1.

UMSU

People of Colour | Hiba Adam and Kyi Phyu Moe Htet

Hi folks! We are your 2022 PoC OBs and we are so excited for the year ahead of us. Get ready for a year full of wonderful events and your favourite collectives back on the run. Starting with our SummerFest events, we will be having an online stall, a games night and an in-person stall! The department will ensure that our events are accessible and held in COVID-safe manner. So come along to our SummerFest events to meet new and old friends, and while you are there make sure to grab some of our freebies! (hint: KeepCups)

Activities | Bella Henry and Sami Zehir

Office was vacant at time of publishing.

Queer | Rook Davis and Rose Power

The Queer Department is planning so much this year! We will be releasing an update video on our ‘No Transphobia in Our Tutes’ campaign from last year and launching a free gender affirming wardrobe for trans and gender diverse students to access in the Queer Space, on top of delivering all the events and collectives you know and love. Notable events coming up during Semester 1 are the Queer People of Faith picnic and a Drag Makeup Seminar run by local drag performer Belial B’Zarr. Look forward to seeing you there!

Southbank | Nina Mountford, Jack Doughty, Alex Birch and Xiaole Zhan

Hey hey! We’ve been busy with our SummerFest plans down at the Southbank campus with performance opportunities, free food, your signature family of UMSU stalls, giveaways and more (did we mention free food?). Look out for our Guide to Student Life on the UMSU website, as well as our new mascot inspired by the (in)famous Andy Warhol banana album cover (it’s a giant walking UMSU purple BANANA, we promise!). We’ll also be having a Week 1 Welcome Party and Queer, Disabilities, POC, and Women’s Collectives throughout Sem 1. Keep your artsy shmartsy eyes and ears peeled (pun intended).

Welfare | Lynne Bian

Hello peeps! My name is Lynne and I am currently in my final year of studying psychology. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday and we’re finally back with tons of exciting Welfare events!! With students returning back to campus, the Welfare Department wants to ensure that each student gets support they need, and most importantly, enjoys their time at uni. Stay tuned for our wonderful Welfare Breakfast and giveaways! As we all know, there would be no Welfare events without the volunteers that support us. Please check the Welfare page and sign up to volunteer with us!

Women | Lauren Scott and Kraanti Agarwal

Hello everyone! Our names are Scottie (she/they) and Kraanti (she/her), and we’re both your Women’s Officers for 2022! It’s been a super busy past couple of months getting ready for the return to campus, but we’re (hopefully) so close to real human interaction again. Catch us at our SummerFest stall, or at our weekly collectives (Women and Enbies, Women and Enbies of Colour). We will also be organising a community event for International Women’s Day, hosting Feminist Workshops run by fellow students, and running collectives with Creative Arts and UMSU International. We can’t wait to meet you all!

Environment | Chelsea Daniel and Zachary Matthews

Heya! We’re Zach and Chelsea and we are your Enviro OBs! So far, we’ve been busy setting ourselves up for a wholesome and jam-packed year. Keep your eyes peeled for our SummerFest events, which are happening both online and in-person, and are guaranteed to be staunch and sustainable. Enviro Collective will be back for this year too, as well as our brand-new Environmental Justice Collective aimed at fostering accessible environmental activism on campus. Finally, we’ve begun the process of rebuilding the divestment movement at uni—flick to page 13 for our article on our explainer about what divestment is and how you can get involved!