Think the OUSA Exec is boring? By the time you read their quarterly reports you’ll probably be thinking, “Yep, it is.” Thankfully, you don’t have to! Instead, read these summaries for all you need to know about the great political machine that keeps the uni experience ticking over. Who knows, you may even find yourself along the way.
The SparkNotes is that, unlike the drama of the second quarterly reports where one member ghosted and another’s honorarium (pay) was suspended, every report was handed in this time and up to scratch! “This has been the easiest round of quarterly reports ever,” said Admin Vice Prez Emily at the Exec meeting held to discuss their reports (fist pumps).
Stella Lynch – Academic Rep
Email response time: 6 minutes
Thing to focus on: Student reps
Stella’s quarter has basically been getting the lecture recording policy to full fruition. Boldy aiming for 6,000 student responses, Stella and gang still managed to get a whopping 2,000 responses to her survey in combination with 11,000 other interactions from students on the subject. On top of this, Stella has juggled the responsibilities of being on 17 different boards, committees, groups, or flocks, as well as having the responsibilities of OUSA President for 56 hours while people were away, which is pretty gas. She actively lobbied for more student representation on these committees, usually populated by university big wigs. In addition to all this, Stella has been compiling statistics on the fail rates of different papers across the board (she now knows you failed BSN114 bro). Her two other chief goals, including making a ‘one-stop-shop’ for all course cuts, and wider inclusion of student reps (the backbone of the student economy), have gone on the back-burner this quarter. Get onto it Stella!
Liam White – Political Rep
Email response time: 80 minutes
Thing to focus on: Protests
As usual, Liam’s been on the submission writing grind – so much so that he thinks “Chris Luxon is running scared from my powers of public submission.” His chief goals with the submissions have been: first, to limit them to five pages; second, to address the controversial bills that the Coalition Government are proposing. He’s had his plate full with those, commenting, “I don’t know where this quarter went, aye.” Real. On the home turf, Liam plans to ask the DCC about getting more bins in Studentville (subtly influencing the economic factors at play in the recent Studentville bin wars). Never content, Liam has also focused on the Exec’s wide efforts to “buff up” student engagement leading up to the elections. Smells like election tampering from a political candidate. In terms of future-thinking goals, Liam suggests that he has done a lot without actually doing a lot and comments on the “sheer magnitude of work to be done.” He has made a few promises: 1. Protest the Uni raising student fees, 2. Reveal just how poor housing is in Studentville, 3. Lead a campaign to extend winter energy payment to students, 4. Organise climate action with other groups. Get it done, Liam!
Emma Jackson – Clubs & Socs Rep
Email response time: 15 minutes
Thing to focus on: How to: Club exec roles
It’s been pretty steady going for Emma this semester. It’s AGM season in Clubsland and Emma has begun attending those while limiting her collaborations with other clubs during the semester. She has also chaired six Grants Panel meetings and sends out reminders so clubs can apply for the moolah sitting around for them ($60,000). Outside of clubs, Emma has been an extremely active member of the Exec, and has been a regular attendee at all the public showings. In terms of goals, Emma has managed to successfully run a series of stand-alone workshops in association with various people. However, she has been unable to improve the functioning of clubs on a micro level, having had little interest in her ‘how to be an exec member on a club’ project which she hoped to push. And while her role in public engagement has effectively promoted clubs to the wider student body, it remains to be seen as to whether this will improve the health of the clubs. She looks geared to get stuck in for the fourth quarter. Critic advises that in her next report, she give it a proofread before misspelling Daniel’s name again.
Daniel Leamy - Finance & Strategy Officer
Email response time: 32 minutes
Thing to focus on: Making finance cool
OUSA’s freshly minted Finance & Strategy Officer has had a relatively quiet start to his time in office, having begun in August. Daniel “hit the ground running” according to Liam, getting stuck into the job right away and getting his mitts on all the OUSA finances. Keegan has slowly ushered him into the role, chairing the big ol’ finance committee meeting while they were sussing the budget, but Daniel is now firmly in the driver's seat. He has regular meetings with OUSA CEO Debbie and has been signed off by the bank as the go-to man. Daniel plans to send regular budget updates in his remaining time so the Exec are in a better position to create change. Daniel wants to build a strong campaign around the standard of student housing, find out how the student body can be more involved with OUSA, and make the finance committee (ominously titled FESC) less janky. Big plans.
Emily Williams – Admin VP
Email response time: 3 minutes
Thing to focus on: Tackling the OUSA mafia
Emily has been doing lots of stuff relating to the internal policy of OUSA. To this degree, all of the stuff she does can’t be revealed to the public…end of report. No, only joking. Emily has had her work cut out for her this semester, running the 2025 Exec elections campaign, and organising and facilitating candidate forums. She was a woman with a plan to combat the now-predictable poor turnout to these, live streaming each to the Exec Instagram (@ousaexec) for students’ viewing pleasure. This election stuff is all part of her larger goal to improve engagement with the wider student body, and while the steps have been much smaller than last quarter, they have still been steps in the right direction. She is busy getting absolutely psyched for the OUSA AGM which is on the 17th of October. Emily is making the OUSA train run as smoothly as possible, with the rest of the Exec agreeing that she’s the glue that holds the team together.
Ibuki Nishida – International Rep
Email response time: 11 minutes
Thing to focus on: Welcoming people
Buki has had an active quarter. The one man machine carried the brunt of the lecture recording policy mahi while co-campaigner Stella had a hospital stint (not that she stopped replying to emails). “I love Buki,” said Stella. Comments from other Exec members remarked at how he switched immediately from this to spearheading the organisation of a large-scale international culture expo. In the same quarter, Buki has also found the time to create a radio show speaking to the experiences of international students. Buki has had such a busy semester that he may have got his wires crossed and claims that they got “over 5,500 student responses and 12,000 interactions” on the lecture recording policy, despite Stella saying it was only 2,000. Maybe 3,500 people have been in Buki’s DMs. Sadly, Ibuki’s ‘welcome’ events for international peeps fell by the wayside a bit (perhaps understandably) so Buki will need to get those sussed out this quarter.
Hanna Friedlander – Postgrad Rep
Email response time: 56 minutes
Thing to focus on: Longevity
Hanna has been finetuning the Otago Postgrad Society this quarter, ensuring it gets the royal treatment it deserves. This has included running regular ‘imposter hour’ sessions and board games nights, which have had “pretty good” turnout. The Postgrad Open Day on September 19th was crucial in pushing these initiatives forward, ensuring they will have the longevity which Hanna so desires. At the meeting, Hanna seemed a bit disappointed over how the open day went, but didn’t elaborate after a glance in Critic’s direction. Hmm. Hanna’s chief goal for the following quarter is to not let the gains she has made be lost in handover and perhaps host some more Postgrad Society meetings, which there’s been less of en masse by the looks of things.
Keegan Wells – President
Email response time: 14 minutes
Thing to focus on: Purpose
Keegan has been well and truly schmoozing this semester, flying the neon green OUSA colours at “a LOT of events.” Whilst on the schmooze she has met frequently with new VC GRob (cheekily admitting to having his personal number) and maintains a cordial working relationship with all the big wigs on campus, often seen greeting them by name and asking after their dogs’ health. On the OUSA front, she has been tirelessly sorting out the budget and has been key in establishing a president's council for student action across the motu as a replacement for the now-defunct NZ Uni Students’ Association. One of her key goals of helping international students was sadly thwarted after it was announced that the international student visa cost will be increasing. Another major goal of establishing a student bar, one shared by the Exec and wider student body, is still ticking over (we assume). Summarising her quarter, Keegan said, “I feel like I have done a whole lot but also a whole little this quarter,” hinting that something might be in the works for the next quarter. With not long to go before Keegan pulls an Irish exit, Critic is strapping ourselves in for some hijinks and tomfoolery from the outgoing esteemed Madam President.
Tara Shepard – Welfare & Equity Rep
Email response time: Crickets
Thing to focus on: Wedding planning
Tara has had a very impactful quarter, pretty much ticking off all of the goals she had set for herself. This has included: contributing to the lecture recordings campaign; running a campus wide “look after your mates” campaign; reviewing mental health support at Otago Uni in conjunction with Student Health and Student Support; working on a Disability Action Plan for a more accessible learning environment (“complete, great success” *Borat voice*”); and working in partnership with minority groups to “uphold their mana and pressing issues”. All the while she’s lobbied for dental dams at Student Health, pay equity for note takers, and advocated for the continuation of welfare-enhancing clubs such as Thursdays in Black. Safe to say, Tara has been a key player on the Exec. She rounded off her report by saying, “I have felt this has been one of my most impactful quarters. I am really proud of the work I’ve done and the connections I helped build for OUSA.” Keep up the mahi, Tara, and a special congratulations from Critic Te Ārohi for news of her engagement.
Telekalafi Likiliki – Pacific Island Associations’ President
Email response time: Crickets
Thing to focus on: Long-term planning
Tele has had a strong quarter advocating for Pasifika students at the Uni. She held a kava session during Tongan Language week, which was a huge success, and advocated to get extra funds for Pacific Week to the benefit of University of Otago Pacific Island Students’ Association’s (UOPISA) thirteen member associations. She has also taken a greater role in the running of the wider Exec, assisting in elections and other Exec activities. In terms of her goals, she is well on track with finding an office space for UOPISA, which will hopefully allow for a stronger UOPISA for many years to come. Additionally, she has applied for an equity fund in order that UOPISA’s thirteen member associations may have a bit more support in future. In short, she has been laying the groundwork for a stronger UOPISA to advocate for Pacific students' interests at the Uni.
Gemella Reynolds-Hatem – Te Rōpū Māori Tumuaki
Email response time: Crickets
Thing to focus on: Renovating the whare
Rejoice, Gemella handed in her report only slightly late this quarter! We’ll let her off the hook, though. The girl works hard, splitting her time between her Masters, Te Rito, OUSA Exec, and working over thirty hours a week on top of that. As for her Exec duties, Gemella’s kept up the good mahi. She’s committed to supporting and promoting the education and well-being of tauira Māori at the Uni, “ensuring a safe environment where they can thrive.” To do so, Gemella emphasises the importance of providing a kainga rua (second home) for tauira in the TRM whare, “creating a space where they can express their identity as Māori without reservation.” TRM have hosted weekly kaupapa (programs) for their tauira at the whare including sports, te reo lessons, and study sessions. At a national level, they’ve attended multiple hui kaiarahi: one in Pōneke for presidents and vice presidents of Māori student organisations across the motu, one in Ōtepoti, Huinga Tauira in Auckland, and with one to go in Waikato.