USASA President’s Letter

President’s Letter

Well, my final Presidents letter for the year, so to everyone who has taken the time to read any of these, thank you. In saying that, I am still around till December 31st, and I’ll keep working for you all until then. The next edition of Verse is the Blak Out edition, and you’ll be hearing from our fantastic Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Rep Rhys Peden. Make sure you grab a copy of that when it comes out.

With semester 2 in full swing at the time of writing this, it is great to see students back out on campus. Nature is healing. Whilst there seems to be some hope of normality now, USASA is still at the coal face, making sure that students get every concession that they need to be successful this semester.

There is still massive uncertainty about what the future holds for students, and as an institution, UniSA needs to be ready for anything. The response was okay in semester 1, but we can’t let up now. We’re seeing more and more cases of severe hardship within the student populous, especially in our international student cohort. Whilst the virus itself may have lapsed slightly at the time of writing this, the new virus, hardship, is making itself felt even more. A report recently released by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney found some sobering statistics regarding international students. During COVID, 61% lost their employment, a 1 in 3 go without food quite often, and 44% fear that they can’t afford tuition. This number seems staggering and surprising to some, but for students, this is our reality, we live in this. What we need now is action on a national scale, to protect and support students.

For anyone reading this right now, we hear you, and we are working for you. We are trying to make sure that UniSA and more broadly, state and federal governments take student hardship for what it is very quickly becoming: a humanitarian crisis.

If you do need support, you can access the USASA Financial Counselling service, or access the Student Hardship Fund. For international students, you also have access to the International Student Support Package. If you are in need, make sure you utilise these services and the many others that the university has on offer. On a lighter note, USASA is currently trying to work through having the Neon Night Party at the West Oak and Lions Art Factory. You might remember way back in the “olden days”, pre this lockdown snafu, that we had planned the Neon Night pub crawl, however due to restrictions that had to be cancelled. Hopefully, if restrictions hold off, we can get this event back so you can all blow off some of that mid-semester steam in a safe and fun environment. Were also working away at the next UniTopia event, which will be delivered online. Make sure you keep an eye on our social media and newsletter to keep up to date on all of the great things coming up.

Anyway, that’s it from me. It’s been a pleasure writing to you all each issue. If you need me, you can find my details on the USASA Website, or come visit me at City West, HH2-16.

— Noah Beckmann

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