Rachel Evans & Arthur Randell, Sydney
The federal government's attempt to silence students with their mis-named "voluntary student unionism" (VSU) is being resisted by students campaigning on various campuses for secure, well-lit spaces that are accessible to lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex students, and to students who are just working it out. Green Left Weekly spoke to some of the activists campaigning for queer spaces on campus.
Chris Pap, the University of Western Sydney's queer officer, said, "Our emphasis was on students coming from western Sydney public schools, which have high rates of homophobia. We are very fortunate to have a really amazing board.
"I looked for a space not being used, then asked people if there was any purpose for the space. They said no, so the queer collective claimed the space as their own."
Renee Stevenson, the queer officer at Monash University's Peninsula campus, told GLW: "There has never been a queer space at my campus. Until the national push for queer spaces, there was really no talk of it.
"We have a great council this year. We vote at next week's meeting about the funding; I'm sure that it will go through."
Shane Cucow, Edith Cowan University's (ECU) queer officer, and the Cross Campus Queer Network of WA are leading the campaign for three queer spaces at WA universities, including the Catholic Notre Dame University. "Without a queer space it is difficult to maintain safe and supportive social networks, discrimination-free zones and collective areas where queer students can be actively involved in their rights representation at university", Cucow said.
"The 1993 introduction of VSU in WA saw the closure of the women's and queer departments", Cucow explained. "They were the first things to go when the ECU student guild faced bankruptcy under VSU. Only in the last year have we seen the reinstatement of a queer social collective and an ECU student guild queer officer.
"Murdoch University has had a well-organised sexuality department for many years, but has not succeeded in getting a safe space on campus. Notre Dame has never had any representation for queer students."
Cucow described the ECU campaign as being "at full force, with petitions to the student guild senate and the university council. If our applications are rejected we will consider public actions, open protests or occupations, with involvement by the newly emerging women's collective."
The University of Canberra has never had a queer space. One month ago, NSW activists took a "sodomobile" to UCan to launch a queer space campaign.
"The campaign is still in its very early stages", UCan's Residential Student Organisations' sexuality officer, Kobie Howe, explained. "At the last student association meeting we were offered conditional support. I say 'conditional' because the sexuality officer is the only person allowed to petition for a queer space ... The student association has asked that no other student speak on behalf of the queer space campaign. It has threatened to remove me from my position if I speak without their pre-approval."
The queer collective plans to go ahead and discuss the issue with the university administration, Howe said. "They seem to be more willing to listen to the needs of queer students than the student association. If the application for a queer space is ignored and/or rejected, the collective may take further action, including public actions or occupations."
From Green Left Weekly, April 12, 2006.
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