By Kylie Moon
HOBART — This week, students at Tasmania University will elect office bearers for the Students Representative Council. The main election tickets are Zest, Impact and the Higher Education Action Team (HEAT).
Zest, a ticket based on the ALP left, who call themselves "United Left Students", and Impact, based on the ALP right, are both focusing on personalities and the "responsible" records of their candidates, rather than politics.
HEAT's campaign raises ideas about how to rebuild a democratic and fighting union, rather than the current brand names and advertising slogans.
"Our candidates have been actively involved all year in the education campaign and other movements, such as anti-racism, women's liberation and solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor. We are more than faces on posters", HEAT candidate and Resistance member Matthew Munro told Green Left Weekly.
HEAT was formed in May by a group of students keen to build education campaign actions which, then, the SRC was vetoing. The SRC actively campaigned to discourage students from attending a May 23 picket of the university council organised by HEAT.
However, since the election began, the SRC leadership, whose members are running on the Zest and Impact tickets, have shown more willingness to campaign on education issues, a development welcomed by HEAT.
The August 20 occupation of the administration was a result of united work by SRC office bearers and HEAT activists. The action was taken in protest at the university introducing night exams and exams in swotvac, closing libraries, introducing a $5500 up-front fee for the legal prac course and running down computer facilities.
Unfortunately, since then, the SRC leadership has indicated it is prepared to compromise if the university changes its mind on setting exams in swotvac. It is ignoring the other demands.
"The SRC has been promoting this inadequate compromise as a victory, and used it to wind down the campaign, even though many students were still interested in keeping up the fight. A lot of the students who became involved in the campaign following the occupation have since become demoralised", Munro said.
"This shows we need an SRC run by genuine activists who are committed to the education campaign and not just to their own careers."