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O-Week around UWS

March 9th, 2010 | By admin

Thousands of students at Penrith, Bankstown and Parramatta campuses enjoyed free lunch, massages and entertainment put on by the Hive during Orientation Week. The Brazillian dance, drumming and capoeira organised by Aisha, Vice-President Activities, was a huge hit.

Contact Aisha activities@thehive-studentunion.org.au or the Activities Coordinator h.hodder@uws.edu.au if you would like to get involved with activites or start a new club. Societies that are starting up and need executive members or helpers include Gaming (Parramatta), Origami (Penrith), Nursing (Parramatta and Campbelltown), Part-time students (peer support across all campuses), Latin American Solidarity and many more.

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O-Week Activities at UWS campuses

March 1st, 2010 | By admin

Visit your nearest UWS campus and enjoy the O-Week activities. Whether it’s watching the indigenous dancers, having a free massage or having BBQ for lunch!

 

Campus Activity Time Date
       
Penrith Indigenous dance 11am – 11.30am 2/3/10
  BBQ 11.30am 2/3/10
  Free massage 12-2pm 2/3/10
       
Bankstown Indigenous dance 11am – 11.30am 3/3/10
  BBQ 11.30am 3/3/10
  Free massage 12-2pm 3/3/10
       
       
Parramatta Brazilian dance 11-12pm 4/3/10
  BBQ 11.30am 4/3/10
  DJ event 11am-3pm 4/3/10
  Free massage 12-2pm 4/3/10
       
       
       

Wednesday 24/ 2/ 10 Orientation Week

February 25th, 2010 | By admin

Students at Campbelltown campus enjoyed a free BBQ lunch and traditional Indigenous dance performance courtesy of the Hive.

Jacob (Hive President), Loui (Secretary), Aisha (Vice-President – Activities) and Hive staff talked to students about clubs and societies, academic rights’ advocacy and how to get involved with the student union. A giant buzzing bee also made an appearance!

Student groups that cater for Podiatry, Health Science and Nursing students are set to form as a result of the day, as well as an organising committee for the Final Year Dinner for Occupational Therapy students.

Contact Heidi at h.hodder@uws.edu.au if you are interested in joining any of these groups or existing clubs or are interested in finding out more about starting up a new society on campus (funding and support available!)

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The Australian: Funding cut to overly political student body

February 23rd, 2010 | By General Secretary

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/funding-cut-to-overly-political-student-body/story-e6frg6n6-1225833202492

Bernard Lane
From: The Australian
February 23, 2010 12:00AM

A SYDNEY university is believed to be the first in the country to cut back and control funding to its student council for playing too much politics.

On the eve of orientation week, the University of Western Sydney suspended ordinary funding arrangements after complaints that the student body, called the Hive, was “too political”, according to Hive president Jacob Carswell-Doherty.

“It sets a very concerning precedent; the universities have the ability to turn the tap on and off as they see fit,” said Mr Carswell-Doherty, a five-year veteran of student politics.

National Union of Students president Carla Drakeford also believed UWS was the first university to hogtie funding since the end of compulsory student unionism in 2006. She said it was more common for student representative councils to self-censor.

Those student bodies that have not collapsed have become dependent on money from university coffers since they lack the compulsory fees of students.

UWS paid $68,734 to consultants Gavin Anderson & Company (Australia) for advice on how to set up a student representative body for the new era of voluntary unionism. Mr Carswell-Doherty said the team elected last year to the newly formed Hive had run campaigns on same-sex marriage (UWS boasts an Equal Love Collective) and conflict in the Gaza Strip (UWS has more Muslim students than any other university).

Mr Carswell-Doherty made no apology for the politics, but said the Hive had recruited staff and made plans to expand the range of non-political groups and activities.

He said this imbalance had been pointed out to the student body in January by deputy vice-chancellor Rhonda Hawkins.

But on February 10, the body that governs the university, the board of trustees, suspended funding arrangements for the student body pending a report from the audit and risk committee, Mr Carswell-Doherty said.

In a brief statement, Ms Hawkins said UWS was giving the Hive money for “genuine and necessary expenditures” while it discussed “funding arrangements and budget” with the student body. Mr Carswell-Doherty said the Hive had half the money it would normally have in the busy, early part of the year, had lost autonomy in spending, and had to scale back orientation week activities.

Although the board of trustees made the decision in camera, it reportedly cited concerns about financial and accounting processes at the Hive, Mr Carswell-Doherty said. He queried whether “the financial explanation is being used as a justification to shut the student union up”.

The Howard government saw compulsory student unionism as an unjust system.

“Too political” UWS cuts funding to new student organisation

February 18th, 2010 | By President

The University of Western Sydney has suspended funding to the campus student organisation, The Hive, because it is “too political”, forcing a cancellation of all Oweek activities, according to student union President Jacob Carswell-Doherty. The Hive, created in 2009, at a substantial cost to the university and students, has been in full operation for six months and already disputes have arisen.

The Hive President said “there is no logical explanation for the freeze in funding except that UWS doesn’t like the current student group who were elected to run the organisation.”

“As a result of the funding freeze the student organisation has had to cancel all of its Oweek activities, the most important date for activities all year. What a ridiculous situation, UWS has been unfairly criticising us for not doing enough on campus activities, but is at the same time preventing us from running them” said the President.

At a meeting between UWS and the student union in January, the university complained that there were too many political campaigns and not enough on-campus activities; they also said that the SRC had spent too much money on one campus, Bankstown, and not others. “However when we presented detailed financial accounts to the university, proving this was not true, they continued to find other reasons to try and discredit our student organisation. Despite this, at that meeting UWS actually agreed to continue our funding and had just about finalised payments to the student organisation.”

And what are the political campaigns that have allegedly been alienating students and taking up all the union’s time? “The student union has been very much involved in the campaign for same-sex marriage rights, a campaign which something like 70% of young people support and I firmly believe this is the kind of thing student organisations should do” said the President.

“This campaign has cost the student organisation no more than $2000 in 2009 and meanwhile we’ve actually expanded the campus activities budget by around 160%, employing a full-time staff member to run activities and increasing funding for campus based activities.”

“Even after answering all of their questions and being as open as we can, UWS have now arbitrarily suspended funding, with no explanation, at a secret session of the university’s governing body” said Mr Carswell-Doherty adding further, “I’d really like to know what information was presented at that meeting for UWS to make such a rash decision.”

The situation is so serious that the board of the student union will have to decide early next week if the student organisation is actually solvent, if not it will have to be wound up and its four newly hired staff fired.

“There is nothing to base any decision to freeze funding upon.” The Hive is about to initiate its first independent audit by chartered accountants, with the details to be released in the coming months. “I am at a loss as to understand why the university would make a decision like this, before the audit has even been released.”

“It is disgraceful that UWS has expended public money to contract consultants to create a new student organisation only to force it in to an untenable financial position simply because they don’t like the students who were elected to run the organisation – they want their cake and to eat it too.”

For further comment please contact the Hive President – Jacob Carswell-Doherty on 0423 159 472

j.carswell-doherty@uws.edu.au

Casual positions on campus

January 25th, 2010 | By President

The Hive Student Union is currently seeking suitable applicants for five (5) casual Campus Organiser (Ref 5A) positions across UWS campuses including, Parramatta, Penrith, Hawkesbury, Bankstown & Campbelltown.

To help with your application for this position, Hive has put together this Application Pack: Applicant Information Campus Organiser- Casual- Ref 5A.

Firstly you should note the details of this position, the pay scale and the attached position description. Hours/days of work will be negotiated with the intention of being as flexible as possible to work around other activities of the applicant such as study commitments; however the position will entail between 10-20 hours of work per week and may change from week to week. It should also be noted that the positions are only available during semester times starting from the last week of February (Monday the 22nd). If you need any further information feel free to contact me, the Hive General Manager, Richard Martino on 02 9772 6235, or via email on <ri.martino@uws.edu.au>.

In completing your application for this position the Hive requests that you include:

- A covering letter quoting the job title and reference number and your preferred campus/s, and a brief outline of how you would meet the needed skills as outlined in the position description;

- Your Résumé;

- A minimum of two professional, but not necessarily employment related, references that the Hive may contact.

    All applications must be received by close of business Wednesday 3rd February 2010. You may send you applications to the Hive postal address-

    Richard Martino

    The Hive Student Union

    Building 2 Bankstown Campus

    Locked Bag 1797

    Penrith South DC

    NSW 1797

    Or you may email them to <ri.martino@uws.edu.au>. If you choose to email your application make sure it is in a MS Word format, Adobe Acrobat Reader or Rich Text Format.

    After the closing date the General Manager will review the applications and draw up a short list of applicants to be interviewed. Those applicants will be contacted to organise the interviews. At the completion of those interviews, and upon checking of references the successful candidates will be chosen.

    Work for the Hive

    January 15th, 2010 | By President

    The Hive is looking to fill the following three postions:

    Activities Coordinator (ref: 2A) (Full time)

    Student Rights Advocate (ref: 3A) (Full time)

    Communications Coordinator (ref: 4A) (Part Time)

    To help with your application for this position,  Hive has put together this Application Pack (see link below).

    Firstly you should note the details of this position, the location of the position, the pay scale and the hours of work per week in the attached position description. If you need any further information feel free to contact me, the Hive General Manager, Richard Martino on 02 9772 6235.

    In completing your application for this position the Hive requests that you include:

    1. A Covering letter quoting the job title and reference number

    2. Your Résumé

    3. A document addressing all of the Essential Selection Criteria

    4. A minimum of two references that the Hive may contact

    You may also wish to address the Desirable Selection Criteria in your application.

    All applications must be received by close of business Monday 25th January 2010. You may send you applications to the Hive postal address:

    Richard Martino

    The Hive Student Union.

    Building 2 Bankstown Campus.

    Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC,  NSW 1797.

    Or you may email them to <ri.martino@uws.edu.au>. If you choose to email your application make sure it is in a MS Word format, Adobe Acrobat Reader or Rich Text Format.

    After the closing date the selection panel for this position will review the applications and draw up a short list of applicants to be interviewed. Those applicants will be contacted to organise the interviews. At the completion of those interviews, and upon checking of references a successful candidate will be chosen by the selection panel. Interviews are intended to be held on the 1st February and the Hive is keen for successful candidates to start as soon as possible.

    Again, thank you for your interest in the staff positions at the Hive Student Union

    Sincerely,

    Richard Martino

    Hive Student Union General Manager

    Student Rights Advocate Information Pack

    Communications Officer Information Pack

    Activities Coordinator Information Pack

    Happy Holidays from The Hive

    December 18th, 2009 | By General Secretary

    Happy Holidays from The Hive

    Best Regards,

    Loui Pham J.P.

    General Secretary

    The Hive Student Union, University of Western Sydney

    phloui@gmail.com

    0402 370 386

    Rally for same-sex marriage rights this SAT!

    November 25th, 2009 | By President

    Hi all,

    This Saturday the 28th of November at 1pm, Sydney Town Hall, the Year of Action on same-sex marriage rights will kick off with what will hopefully be a very exciting rally!

    The rally is timed to coincide with the release of recommendations from the Govt. inquiry into same-sex marriage and so it’s of upmost importance we get a big turn out to send a strong message to Kevin Rudd that same-sex rights are civil rights and that we want equality marriage rights now!

    If you believe in equal rights for all and want to see an end to discrimination then you need to come to this rally and show your support!

    The ACT Govt. recently passed civil unions for same-sex couples and the Victorian Labor Party has adopted a policy of same-sex marriage rights, this is a direct result of the success of the campaing thus far and we need to keep it up!

    See you there!

    Jacob
    President, The Hive Student Union
    0423 159 472

    ABOLISH THE ABCC, join the Sydney protest

    October 28th, 2009 | By President

    ABOLISH THE ABCC, join the Sydney protest:

    Time: 11.00 am

    Date: Friday, 30th of October, 2009

    Assembly point: Trades Hall Auditorium, 377 Sussex Street, Sydney

    Speakers: Mark Lennon (Secretary, Unions NSW), John Sutton (CFMEU) and Lee Rhiannon (The Greens)

    Rally to welcome refugees

    Say no to Rudd’s Indonesian Solution!

    Let them land, let them stay!

    12.30pm Monday 2 November
    Immigration Department, Lee St (Railway Square, end of Central Tunnel), City

    Speakers include:
    Sylvia Hale (NSW Greens MP)
    Tamil Association
    Ian Rintoul (Refugee Action Coalition)

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