President / Molly Willmott
Hi there! Welcome to your UMSU for 2019. My name’s Molly, and for me, my university adventure started in an UMSU club, and has taken me to volunteering opportunities, activism, and now as your President. As you navigate the jungle that is the University of Melbourne, UMSU will be with you every step of the way. We support you to make your experience as a student the best it can be—from the classroom to campus to work to home. My office is level 1 of Union House, I’m always down to have a diet coke and a chat about your issues. Whether it be the good times or bad as you venture through your degree, come say hi to UMSU—you won’t regret it!
General Secretary / Reece Moir
As Stitch once said: “Gootcha! Aga tookie! Toga meega student union.” I don’t know what that means but I hope it’s something positive. WELCOME to UMSU. This student union is your gateway to some of the best experiences you could imagine – whether it be through clubs, collectives, or campaigns. Through collectives and campaigns, you can get involved in department committees and maybe with Students’ Council (as a proxy or through the elections, uwu). According to the Australian Financial Review, 2019 will be a year of lower returns but oh boy, that is far from the truth for you! Please see your student representatives on level one and see how you can get involved!
Activities / Liam O’Brien & Olivia Panjkov
Hey, we’re Liam and Liv. Here are some big things planned to kick off the year. Union House Sleepover 1 March—what better way to learn about your union than joining us for a massive 12-hour celebration overnight. Start of Uni Party, 6 March— start uni by partying with those you’ll see throughout the year, with pizza, a DJ and a bar. St. Patrick’s day, 22 March—alcohol and food all included in the price of one ticket. Scrape together your best Irish outfit and celebrate into the night. Tuesday BBQs—free with beers and concerts. Wednesday BBQs—runs weekly during semester. We’re located on level 1 Union House next to the Ida bar. Come say hi.
Burnley / James Barclay
As the new semester begins, our desire to become organised and set out good habits for the year can be a last-minute rush. Picking out stationary, spending lavishly on ‘compulsory’ textbooks and organizing concession cards, which really should just be a student ID (current concession cards expire feb 28th btw). What helps me stay in rhythm for the new year is the seasonal changeover of my veggie patch. Obvious mental and physical health benefits aside, the routine and responsibility of taking care of living beings inspires further productivity in our day to day. You may be thinking ‘but I’m already so busy’ and that may be true, however taking five minutes to water some plants can act as your necessary escape to meditate and plan out your day.
So why not get your semester started with a living salad box?
Clubs and Societies / Jordan Tochner & Chris Melenhorst
Hello!! We are the Clubs and Societies department; here to assist, oversee and encourage all things clubs! If you are part of an existing club we hope to see you at some point throughout the year if you have any questions or want to meet our friendly penguin mascot Gunter. If you are not part of an existing club, we encourage you to pick up one of our clubs guide and join in. Or if one our 200+ faculty, course-related, food & beverage, sports & games, special interest, culture & language, spiritual, community service, political & activist, music & dance or theatre clubs fail to pique your interest, you can always create your own! We look forward to seeing you all!
Creative Arts / Ellie Hamill & Lucy Holz
Hello!! We are Lucy and Ellie and we’ll be your Creative Arts Officers for 2019! And what a year it’ll be. We’ve been busy beavering away with preparations for the year including diving right into Mudfest, the biennial creative arts festival, which will be held in August – so many opportunities to get involved! So keep your eyes peeled for production team opportunities, artist applications, workshops and soooo much more! We’re very excited for O-Week from Arty Party to a Botanical Drawing Workshop, to getting crafty at Carnival Day and getting to meet all the gorgeous new humans keen to be involved in Creative Arts this year! Here’s to a funky fabulous year of Creative Arts wooh!
Disabilities / Jocelyn Deane & Lucy Birch
Welcome to semester one 2019! We are UMSU’s Disability office bearers, Lucy and Jocelyn. Uni can be chaotic for anyone, especially those with ongoing/chronic conditions, and it is our job to ensure a space for such at Unimelb. Apart from running information nights so that you’re aware of your medical rights, we also run regular social events. From February to March, we have our inaugural disability collective and anxiety collectives, speed friending, wellness and art-therapy sessions, as well as the opening of the brand new disability space. If this sounds like your jam, or are just looking for a calm, accessible space, feel free to come along. And if that doesn’t impress you…yes, the food is free :)
Education Academic / Elizabeth Tembo
Hi! I’m Elizabeth and I am your 2019 Education Academic (“Ed Ac”) Officer! I’m a 3rd year science student and boy, if there’s one thing I love more than education,
it’s equitable access to it! Ed Ac works directly with the Uni to influence policy and practice, ensuring they’re student-centred. The radically transformative nature of education is what makes it an invaluable human right. That’s why I believe it’s integral to ensure our diverse student body is given every opportunity for success on and off campus. One way I’ll strive for this is by combatting highly weighted exams across faculties, from music to commerce. Why not pick up a booklet at Summerfest to find out more, and join me in this endeavour!
Education Public / Charli Fouhy & Cameron Doig
G’day friends, mates, pals and haters! We’re the new Education Public Affair Officers of 2019 (EdPub for lingo purposes). Charli Fouhy is a rad chick from regional Qld, tryna make sparks in an Electrical Systems Science degree and Cam Doig is the coolest JD student south of Grattan St. We’re two activists who are passionate about climate change, refugees, workers’ rights and general inequality in this society we live in. We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays and have the most relevant s**tposting Instagram @umsueducationpublic in the vicinity of Union House. There’s 10,000 ways to get involved in our campaigns, but a good starting point is on our website: bit.ly/ umsued. Cannot wait to meet you and get activisting!
Environment / Will Ross
Love the environment? Hate the fact that climate change, fossil fuels, and big biz are still destroying people and the planet? Come join the Enviro community, where you can meet like-minded folks and work together to be heard. Learn skills for community organising, direct action, dumpster diving, cooking, gardening, and more! This semester there’ll be regular Skills Workshops, Play With Your Food and Community Garden events, and the upcoming Radical Education Week. Our Fossil Free and Lockout Lockheed campaigns will continue to demand full divestment and call for the Uni to cut ties with weapons manufacturers. Collective meetings are on Tuesdays 1pm-2pm, in Graham Cornish A (Lvl 2, Union House). Snacks and chai provided. Come visit us at our stall during O-week!
Indigenous / Jordan & Marley Holloway-Clarke
Wominjeka! Welcome new and returning students, we are the new Office Bearers for the Indigenous Department! Our first upcoming event will be the Carnival Day on 26th Feb at the Parkville campus. Murrup Barak will be hosting their Welcome Back BBQ Lunch for Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander students on the 5th March in Deakin Court.The department will be releasing its social calendar in the upcoming weeks so keep an eye out for it! Our main goal for this year is to support the Indigenous student community by bringing everyone together through social, community, arts and sporting events. The department is located on the First Floor of Union House in the Student Representatives wing so swing by or send us an email if you wish to chat.
People of Colour / Farah Khairat & Mark Yin
*waves enthusiastically* Hello! We’re delighted to be your 2019 People of Colour officers. Our department strongly believes in Empathy, Awareness, Compassion and Harmony <3 We also love a theme. This summer, Mark’s been sunbathing in our office, while Farah’s been frantically finding WiFi in Morocco; we’re keen to get the (beach) ball rolling, stat. Regular events set sail from Week 1, so whether you’re coasting or just drifting, we’re shore to have something for you! Film screenings and reading groups run in odd weeks (starting with Crazy Rich Asians), and there’s always our weekly collective (Wednesdays 1pm—FREE FOOD! We’ll see ya there). Dive into our socials (@umsupeopleofcolour) for our Anti-Racism workshops and publication, Myriad! Seas the day and say hi—we can’t wait to meet you.
Queer / Andie Moore & Will Parker
Hi! We’re your Queer officers! Our job is to run cool events, look out and advocate for LGBTQI+ students! This year Queer’s getting bigger and better. Alongside our free Queer Lunch Wed 1pm, Trans collective on Tues, Queer People of Colour Collective on Thurs, and Coming Out Support Group, we’re running a casual drinks event (G&Ts with LGBTs) at the Ida Bar every Thurs night, hosting kick-ass activist speakers every second Wed with the Queer Political Action Collective, and launching a fortnightly Southbank Queer Collective picnic! During Summerfest, pop by our stand, pick up a zine, munch with us at the Queer Picnic, and meet friends at our Speed Friending! You can also stop by our Queer Space on Level 3 of Union House, and chuck an email at queer@union.unimelb.edu.au if you have any queer-ies.
Southbank / Lily Ekins
The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legends fade to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the third age by some, an Age yet to come, an age long pass, a wind rose in Southbank Campus. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.
Welcome to 2019! We’ve got an exciting year ahead. Drop in to see us to see us at the UMSU space on level 2 of the Hub building to chat how we can help you, support you, or get you involved!
Welfare / Ashwin Chhaperia & Natasha Guglielmino
Hi, we’re Ashwin & Natasha, your Welfare Officers for 2019! To new students, congratulations and welcome to our lovely community at the University of Melbourne. To those joining us from last year, welcome back to a year of fun-filled events designed to help you get the most out of your time here. The Welfare Department
is excited to see you all during SummerFest. We don’t believe in saving good things for the end so, starting Week 1, we will be back with our daily breakfasts and weekly fitness classes. Get involved in the community, meet like-minded people and make friends by joining the Community Involvement Program (CIP). Join us to have a say in making university life better for all students!
Women’s / Aria Sunga & Hannah Buchan
Hey there, we’re Hannah and Aria, your 2019 Women’s Officers! The Women’s Department is welcome to all women and non-binary students and we exist to make your life at uni better. In the Women’s Room (Level One, Union House) you can find a bunch of free things like pads, tampons, and safe sex supplies. We’re really excited to meet you all and we have a lot of great things planned for O-week, like picnics and a special UMSU Women’s moonlight cinema. This year we are focusing on making women students at this university feel safe and supported. This includes providing resources to all students, and advocating for safety on campus. We hope you love engaging with our department just as much as we do.