BENEATH THE TOWER:

CONTENT TRANSPHOBIA,WARNING: HOMOPHOBIA.

DISABILITIES OFFICER: George Pond

FACEBOOK: UTS Disabilities Collective

EMAIL: accessibility@ utsstudentsassociation.org

This month, the collective has been busy meeting with several higher-ups within the disability space at university. We met with National Union of Students (NUS) Disabilities Officer, Isabella Harding, again in regards to the hybrid learning campaign that the NUS is currently running. The campaign comes after a statement from the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency about the need for overseas students to return to in-person learning after July 2023. This statement has led to many learning institutions, such as UTS, completely scrapping online learning for many of its degrees, which has had a catastrophic effect on disabled students. There was a rally in Bankstown on March 10, although the campaign is now shifting towards an online space to accommodate for more people. A successful campaign would require mass emailing, phone banking and a petition to be submitted to the Minister of Education. In addition to these collaborative efforts for hybrid learning, I have also been in touch with the UTS Academic Liaison Officers (ALOs). It is their job to ensure that disabled students get the best possible access to education at UTS for their respective faculties. I emailed all of them and several have gotten back to me with more information on how hybrid learning is being run between faculties and courses. I have arranged meetings with others to further discuss this and other issues.

ENVIRO OFFICER: Boris Tam

INSTAGRAM: @enviro.uts

FACEBOOK: UTS Enviro Collective

EMAIL: environment@ utsstudentsassociation.org

Hi, this is Boris (he/they), the Enviro Officer for 2023. You may have seen me and the Enviro Collective in front of Building 1 holding a rally for the Climate Strike! Otherwise, we are often meeting and holding workshops in the Activist Space. You may also see us at UTS Green Week, where we have a stall and a movie screening. We aim to give students an opportunity to participate in the climate movement, with a focus on systemic change rather than individual actions. In 2023, we want to provide more avenues for students to join the movement. That means you will see more creative events, screenings, seminars and discussions, rather than just protests. After a year of a new government, there is a growing unrest due to the slow and inadequate changes being made to ensure climate targets are met, let alone exceeded. We are not convinced we are on the right track to a better future, and this is the stance we are taking throughout 2023.