Photo: RUSU Facebook
The 2020 RMIT University Student Union (RUSU) elections have concluded with Together securing the majority of votes against Student Fightback - Stop Fee Hikes.
Despite this, newly elected general representative from Student Fightback – Stop Fee Hikes, Chris Giddings said it was the best result he has seen for student activists during his time at RMIT.
“The more activists we can have in student unions, the better placed we are to fight against big attacks [on students’ education],” Mr Giddings said.
Together secured 67.4 per cent of votes, with Student Fightback – Stop Fee Hikes securing 32.6 per cent.
“We were surprised with how well we did and it's something we are really proud of,” Mr Giddings said.
According to Mr Giddings, having more activists in the student union would help the student body take on ‘progressive social and political questions’ rather than these issues being dismissed by the union.
Photo: Together for RUSU Facebook
Together were back for another year with their focus on being a voice for every student and acting as a service providing body.
Newly elected Clubs and Societies Officer from Together, Vineet Prabhakar, will be working hard to ensure all students have a positive university life and create “memories that will stay with [everyone] long after graduation”.
“I believe clubs and societies play a large part in making university such a great experience as they provide opportunities to have fun, get together and gain valuable leadership experience to complement your studies,” Mr Prabhakar said.
Mr Prabhakar said he felt really bad for first year students who hadn’t been able to enjoy their university life this year, but believes they can still be a part of the clubs and societies at RMIT.
“As a Clubs and Societies Officer and as a leader I would definitely assist all the new students who have any doubts.”
Mr Prabhakar shared his experience of working as an executive this year for the RMIT Indian Club, organising seven online events during lockdown.
“On the 15th of August was Indian Independence Day and we had a huge three-hour event with close to 100 people on a Zoom call.”
The RMIT Indian Club also held a weekly games night and regular Zoom calls during the mid-semester break.
This year’s RUSU voting was held online where students could vote by preferential or proportional representation methods.