Michelle Lim
"Voluntary student unionism" (VSU), at least the form that previously existed in WA, will mean universities will be unable to collect a compulsory general service fee (GSF). It will affect all students in all Australian and regional universities, and regional and rural communities will be hit hardest.
VSU will mean students no longer have to pay the GSF, right? So why aren't we dancing in the streets? Even though everyone empathises with Hagar the Horrible's encounters with the tax collector, it is ludicrous to advocate an end to paying taxes or rates. The same can be said for stopping universities collecting the GSF. This is why VSU is such a bad idea.
VSU will mean that opportunities, conveniences and experiences currently on offer on campus will be reduced, if not ended. Commercial enterprises will not be attracted to the university and without the support of the GSF many services will no longer be available.
Because my only "vehicle" is a college-food-fuelled bicycle, and our campus is five to six kilometres from Armidale, I value the services currently available on campus, including free dental care, a medical centre that bulk-bills, and advocacy services.
The GSF allows for a student radio station, student newsletter, shop with full postal facilities, hairdresser, second-hand bookshop, cafe, Uni bar and a bistro. It also provides excellent sporting infrastructure and opportunities. Currently, facilities are available to students at a minimal cost, as are weekly sporting matches.
The packed intercollegiate sporting calendar, containing a diverse array of sporting events is free and insurance cover (the cost of which is often a restriction to sport participation) is provided for college sport participants and users of the university's sporting facilities. The GSF also develops the sporting heroes of tomorrow through a generous scholarship scheme.
Unlike metropolitan areas, regional universities provide sporting infrastructure and opportunities otherwise unavailable to schools and teams across a whole region. The university sporting body regularly facilitates national sporting competitions that bring sporting events of the highest level to the region.
Impact on education
The greatest problem with VSU is its potential effect on the academic aspect of university life. Tertiary institutes are no longer just educational facilities; they are now corporate enterprises.
Our university is marketed as offering "a unique living and learning experience". The vice-chancellor has indicated that to maintain the university's market position, funds will need to be diverted from research and teaching to fill the large gap that the GSF currently fills.
Outstanding facilities and services are factors which attract students and lecturers to our university. However, the small sizes of lectures and tutorials is what really creates the distinctive educational experience. It will be a great loss if, to enhance "marketability" under VSU, funding for teaching and research is diverted.
The situation for self-funded university students is beyond a joke. Making ends meet is often assisted by holding down part- or even full-time jobs. The GSF currently provides many employment opportunities for students. Even so, jobs are scarce due to the small surrounding business district and the large number of boarding school students who cost less to employ. VSU will aggravate the current situation and retrenchments will be inescapable.
Proponents of VSU contend that it is about "choice" in a user-pays system. But in a user-pays system the user cannot pay for entities that no longer exist!
Generous as my bludge-off-the-folks financial scheme is, it doesn't have the capacity to maintain playing fields, fix swimming pool pumps, organise intercollegiate sporting activities, establish student media bodies, subsidise food and soothing beverages, or treat dental and other cavities previously filled by the GSF.
Regional universities bring academic and sporting opportunities which would otherwise elude those in rural and regional localities. These communities also derive much revenue from universities in their region. The GSF provides employment for many locals and the university's sporting facilities are used by the community and local schools.
VSU will have a detrimental impact on education, sport and the university experience. To borrow from one Condobolin boy: "What about me (and the rest of Australia)? It isn't fair! VSU takes more than it gives!"
[Michelle Lim is a third-year Science and Law student at the University of New England, NSW.]
From Green Left Weekly, August 10, 2005.
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