There is no longer a Queer Rep on the OUSA Student Executive. The position was added to the 2024 Exec as an ex-officio member from UniQ after a Student General Meeting (SGM) in September last year voted it in. However, following contention over whether this followed “due process”, the role was removed at the end of last semester.
The September SGM had been the result of a push from UniQ co-leaders Samantha and Jay. For them, the push for a Queer Rep was born out of frustration with a lack of formal support for the queer community at Otago, with UniQ bearing the brunt of advocacy work.
“The UniQ Executive has a history of high turnover due to burnout, because they’re expected to act as advocates, support people, event coordinators, and a general consultant monolith for the whole queer student population, all for free and around study/life commitments,” said Jay. “It was tiring and unfair dealing with the issues we kept getting presented with on an informal basis, and even more unfair for the people coming to us because there was nowhere better for them to go for support.”
“The Queer Rep role was a chance for all queer students to have an avenue for their voice to be heard on the OUSA Exec, and it’s disappointing that this opportunity has been lost,” said ex-UniQ Prez Samantha.
The last time there was a Queer Rep was in 2012, alongside a Women’s Rep; however these were consolidated under the Welfare And Equity Rep’s portfolio who liaises with different equity and welfare groups.
Doubts over whether the establishment of the Queer Rep followed due process were raised because there had been a referendum earlier in the year where support for the role was a bit murkier than the SGM. Of the 1,781 students who voted on whether there should be a Queer Rep, 46.7% said yes, 18.1% abstained, and 35.3% said no. “And so it was a bit contentious between the two [whether] it should or should not happen,” said OUSA President Keegan.
One comment left on the referendum referenced this, saying, “I am LGBT and I think our issues are already adequately covered by OUSA. It should just be something like having being red headed, we don’t need someone to be designated to represent our interests in a setting where we already have an Equity Rep and OUSA Queer support.”
UniQ President Becca pointed out that the split support for the Queer Rep in the referendum was why the SGM was called, and that being told that it wasn’t valid was “surprising to hear, as this hadn’t been brought up at all to me or Jay (previous UniQ Prez) before mid to late April 2024 and the sgm [sic] was in Sept 2023.”
The second concern resulting in the position being dissolved was because UniQ is a club, rather than an association. Keegan told Critic there was “a bit of back and forth” between the wider Exec and UniQ, “basically saying that if they were to have a similar position to that of Te Rōpū Māori or UOPISA, who currently sit as ex-officio representatives on the board, that they should be an association.”
Keegan explained that the reason for this is because “a club is a lot more of an opt-in – it’s social. It’s not serving a purpose outside of the social environment and sharing the likes of the same things.” In comparison, an association is a larger, opt-out entity that represents a group and “does a lot more for your rights and long-term wellbeing.”
Becca said, “This was disappointing to hear, especially when we have grown so much over the recent years, and the consideration that if you’re not a part of or seeking support from a community, your awareness of a community’s mahi/events likely decreases.”
At an Exec meeting held at the end of last semester where the wider Exec broke the news to Becca, they proposed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) between the Exec and UniQ to help support the club. “A memorandum of understanding is basically like a contract that’s not legally binding, it’s [one] of good will [...] a good faith agreement,” said Keegan.
The MOU would acknowledge that the SGM showed the Exec that “there is still a better need and desire for support [for the queer] community, and hopefully this would do that.” Keegan continued, stating, “Obviously it can be quite hard and no one wants to hear that [...] you aren’t getting a position that you thought you would have. Like, that is hard, and we obviously don’t want to make anybody’s lives harder, but I think after some talks our MOU is a good way to progress.”
Becca said UniQ is currently writing an MOU, which has “always been the plan” since the SGM. “It’s been admittedly slow going, but it’s in the works. With this MOU we hope to continue to strengthen the relationship between the Exec (especially the [Welfare & Equity] Rep) and UniQ, and continue to strengthen UniQ Otago with the Exec’s support, with the hope to have a Queer Rep on the OUSA Exec in the not too distant future.”
In a statement to Critic, Becca wrote: “UniQ is admittedly disappointed that the Queer Rep position has been culled by the Exec, and that concerns were broached so long after the SGM’s unanimous vote. We feel that UniQ worked hard to bring the motion of a Queer Rep to the 2023 OUSA Exec and felt well supported by them in doing so. It’s definitely been a whiplash effect with the position being withdrawn. We hope to work with OUSA in the future to secure this position again, with all the transphobia/queerphobia going on in the world, representation is sorely needed.”
The Queer Rep will not be a position up for election in the upcoming 2025 OUSA Exec elections.