Executive meetings have been scarce for the past two months , though President Paul Hunt said the team needs to get “back into the swing” of things and start meeting “weekly”. The team were as enthusiastic as Critic about this prospect.
Two clubs were affiliated with OUSA: Students for Sensible Drug Policies and OUSA Flag Football.
Hunt began his business by speaking of Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA). Hunt said he had received a letter from VSA regarding OUSA’s desire to renew its membership, which the association had controversially cancelled late last year. The executive members said they were all still in favor of rejoining. Hunt said memebership “supports and promotes volunteering in overseas countries”.
Last week, despite OUSA’s campaigning, students lost their second seat on the University Council. Hunt said this was “disappointing, given our efforts”. He said the remaining student seat on the council is reserved for the OUSA president, but that this should be either the president or “someone appointed by the OUSA executive”.
In the council meeting where the decision was made, members said there are other ways that students can have a voice in university decisions. In the executive meeting, Hunt said they need to “develop or get a guarantee that there are other avenues where that can happen that don’t currently exist”. One suggestion was more access to the vice chancellor’s advisory group. However, Hunt said the key is to “hardwire it somehow”, so that the access would be granted for future years.
Hunt spoke of the proposal to phase out two of the current design majors. He said he and Philippa Keaney, the manager of OUSA Student Support, had met with design students who were “providing feedback” as part of a “consultation process”. He said OUSA needs to come up with a stance at some point that supports students still to complete their design degree.
A student survey on OUSA’s services has been created, which will assist the OUSA budget process. The survey is said to be more detailed than previous surveys, having a “wider rating scale” for services and allowing “different options” for responses. Hunt asked that the executive share the survey “on their networks” as they are aiming for over 3000 participants this year.
For the second semester, Hunt said OUSA needs to focus more on housing and alcohol issues. He said the executive needs to be “on the front foot” of these issues and think of “positive solutions” they can suggest.
The exec members then presented their reports for the second quarter of the year.
Quarterly Report Profiles
As the second semester kicks off, the executive presented their quarterly reports for the past three months. All exec members so far, except Campaigns Officer, Nick Findlay, and Education Officer, Zachariah Roy Al-Alami, received their full honorarium payments. Zachariah only started his role part-way through first semester, and Nick had not worked the full hours expected of him. Finance Officer Nina Harrap and Colleges Officer Taotao Li were absent from the meeting and will present their reports in the next executive meeting.
Payal Ramritu
Welfare Officer
Ramritu said she has made good progress with her goals, having raised over $1000 with the kitten and puppy rooms. She also claims to have worked a great deal on the DCC Long-Term Plan submission. Ramritu said she has put 267 hours worth of work into OUSA since the end of March, and she will be paid the full honorarium.
Postgraduate Officer
Jackson said he has worked an average of 10 hours per week, and has been attempting to promote his role and OUSA to post-grad students. Jackson said he hopes to re-establish a good relationship between OUSA and the post-grads, and to create an “Interdisciplinary Symposium”. It was unanimously agreed that he would be paid the full honorarium.
Administrative Vice President
Although his position is 20 hours, Yu said he has worked an average of 16 hours per week. However, he said some weeks he has averaged 22 hours in order to make up for lost hours when sick or during exam periods. Yu’s major goals are to increase accessibility and interaction between OUSA and students, to preserve Scarfie culture and traditions, and to run and raise awareness of the E-sports club and events. Yu was awarded the full honorarium, with Hunt describing him as “very thorough”.
Jonathan Martin
Recreation Officer
Martin said he has done “more than [he] should have” for OUSA. His fellow members agreed, suggesting he lighten his workload. Martin said he hopes to achieve health and safety training to a higher level, organise a van for OUSA transport and continue to focus heavily on the clubs and societies. Martin will be paid his full honorarium.
Tumuaki — Te Roopū Māori
Stanway apologised for “not being present” at executive meetings last semester. However, she said Te Roopū Māori are doing “very well”. She has set new goals, which include increasing first-year participation and increasing the pass rate of first- and second-year Māori students. Stanway said she was “happy to forego” her honorarium, which she was unaware existed. The OUSA constitution, however, says the individual in her position must be granted their honorarium regardless, so she will receive the full amount.
Toa P. Sailusi
International Executive Officer
Sailusi said his aim as the International Officer is to “integrate” domestic and international students. To work towards this, he has held successful sport days and quiz nights. He felt the attendance rate compared to the money spent were key indicators of the performance of the international executive role this year. He hopes to further increase participation at events, establish a more effective ICC committee and continue to build relationships with international clubs. Sailusi said he has worked around 10 hours a week and was awarded his full honorarium.
Education Officer
Al-Alami began his role as Education Officer after the beginning of the quarter, and was described by Yu as “taking committees seriously”. Al-Alami said his major goal is tackling the seven-EFTS limit over the next six months. The executive agreed he had been working his required hours, and he will receive his full pay for the hours worked, but not full pay for the entire quarter.
Nick Findlay
Campaigns Portfolio Exec Officer
Findlay said he has worked well on campaigns, including Men’s Health Week. He did, however, admit that he had not been given much work by his fellow executives and had only worked around six hours per week. Findlay asked for 30 percent of his honorarium, though the executive argued that he has worked hard so should be paid 80 percent. The executive aim to give Findlay more work in future.
President
Hunt said he wished to take a 20 percent cut from his pay due to losing the second student seat on the University Council. The executive said Hunt works double what he should, averaging 80–85 hours per week, and declined to cut his pay. His goals for the next quarter include working more closely with the executive members individually, addressing first-year drop-out rates and diversifying OUSA’s income. The other members also added goals for him, including learning to delegate, taking more breaks and attending social engagements.
Finance Officer Nina Harrap and Colleges Officer Taotao Li were absent.