Student left set for election campaign
By Keara Courtney
SYDNEY — The left — organised in a grouping called Activate! — is set for a strong showing in Students Representative Council elections at the University of Sydney in September.
Activate! brings activists from together the Greens, Education Action Group, Women's Collective, Queer Boys and Girls, Racism Sux and Activist Left. Marina Carman — current SRC vice-president and Resistance campus organiser — is running for the position of president.
The Liberals and Labor left are also standing for president. The conservative Students First, who won the position last year, only to lose it in an appeal, are not fielding a candidate.
Around 14 tickets will be run by the left, including a strong Greens ticket. Resistance has formed a ticket for the SRC and the National Union of Students.
The Resistance election statement says: "Anyone inspired by the recent anti-racist actions taken by high school students and organised by Resistance should vote for us.
"Resistance has been very active around the issue of racism, but we also campaign against sexism, homophobia and environmental destruction; for workers' rights, land rights and free education; and in solidarity with the struggles of all people fighting for freedom and justice worldwide ...
"Why vote? Because students need the support of their student union and should have a say in how it is run. At a time when the federal government is attacking education and threatening to attack student unions, it is vital that the SRC is able to give students advice and assistance, and mobilise large numbers to protect our rights ...
"Why Resistance? We have a strong commitment to education and on-campus campaigns ... We demand a livable income for all and oppose the changes made under the Youth Allowance.
"But, we do not restrict our activities to a campus level. We realise that students live in the real world and are affected by decisions made off campus in parliaments/boardrooms, and by broader social issues.
"We realise that in order to fight against injustices in society we must fight against the system that produces and sustains them, the system that puts private profit ahead of people's needs: capitalism ...
"Resistance believes that it is not just enough to vote and hope that we'll do the job for you. The future is our own and what we make of it. Vote for the team that you'll see on campus after the elections, the team that is committed not just to representing you, but involving you in whatever way we can."