Students oppose restructure
BY FEDERICO FUENTES
SYDNEY — Students at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur in Bankstown rallied on August 15 to protest university management's planned end-of-year restructuring, which will amalgamate UWS Hawkesbury, Macarthur and Nepean into a single institution and drastically cut courses and resources.
UWS Bankstown's women's officer, Amy McMurtie, pointed out that tutorials are already increasing in size. She said that the cap of 25 students per tutorial, conceded by the university after a 14-day student occupation last year, would be lost if the restructure took place. She also bitterly condemned plans to cut library resources, which would mean shorter opening hours and less staff.
The National Tertiary Education Industry Union's Genevieve Rankin pledged staff's support to the students and reported on the union's dispute with management over whether staff should be able to elect their heads of school.
The rally's organiser, the Education Welfare Collective, plans to step up the campaign against the restructure. A meeting of the collective immediately following the rally attracted several students interested in becoming active.
The collective plans to mobilise students to attend the vice-chancellor's August 22 forum on the restructure. Activists will be demanding answers about its negative effects on students.