Guild Vice-President’s Report

guild Vicepresident’s

REPORT

BY JAMESON THOMPSON

The Guild Vice-President’s responsibilities are to assist and support the Guild President in overseeing the 3 sub-councils and 14 departments that make up the Guild Council. This has been achieved through collaboration between the Office Bearers to have a cooperative and efficient Guild that can effectively support students, maintaining strong relationships between departments, and being a pillar of support for other Guild Councillors to reach out to. Putting a focus on increasing engagement and student presence on campus, this year has seen amazing initiatives by the Guild. In particular, the free club membership by the Public Affairs Council, a successful tenancy reallocation before Semester 1 by the Tenancy Committee, and EnviroFest by the Environment Department were instrumental in bringing life back to campus amidst snap lockdowns and a shift to online learning.

With Parking and Transport falling under my portfolio, finding ways to address the parking issues that impact UWA students has been something constantly worked on throughout the year, seeing major development and change. At the beginning of 2021, I worked with the University to convert unused reserved bays around UWA into student bays to distribute bays between staff and students more equitably, with more looking to be converted in the future. After constant lobbying, two new carparks have been confirmed for the Crawley campus to be built during the summer, adding over 100 new bays for students. Having sat on the Parking Appeals Committee this year, successful parking appeals are at an all-time high, not only helping students but specifically giving students who struggle financially the opportunity to overturn an unfair parking fine. Lastly, we have seen the announcement of a free CAT bus that will run from the CBD to the Business School and QE2, greatly mitigating the financial cost of public transport, as well as providing more options for students and staff with mobility issues to be dropped off at a variety of points on campus.

One of my key projects this year has been the Lyn Beazley Institute, a project by the Guild to look into the feasibility and distribution of low-barrier research opportunities for undergraduates at UWA. Liaising with Lyn Beazley, we set out the Institute’s objectives and regulations, and put together an executive of experienced students. We have worked throughout the year to identify opportunities, both within UWA and externally, for students to get research and lab experience before starting a master’s degree without the usual high barriers of academic excellence. I’m deeply grateful to Cassandra Howell, Chair of the Lyn Beazley Institute, for the work she has done on this project, and I hope to see the same passion carried on next year.

Lastly, I am honoured to have worked with the Guild President and Managing Director to develop the new Guild Strategic Plan, a five-year plan for future Guild Councils to show them the areas that need to be prioritised, feedback we’ve received from students on what matters to them, and timeline of what the Guild should achieve in that time. Having worked with the Guild staff, the 108th Guild Council, and the incoming 109th Guild Council, the Strategic Plan is a collation of our experiences and student feedback that will keep the Guild consistently aiming towards its goals yearto-year.

It has been a privilege to have worked alongside Emma Mezger and the Guild Executive throughout this year despite the challenges that have arisen. I’d like to specifically thank the Guild staff for the tireless work you put into this organisation and its students.