Union affiliation ‘to fire up’ student activism in city

Erin Pearson
DEAKIN University students are set to put up “more of a fight” over campus issues after their representative body affiliated with Australia’s National Student Union, according to a representative.
Deakin University Student Association (DUSA) has joined National Union of Students (NUS) for the first time in 10 years after months of deliberations.
DUSA president Kali Watson said a new board of members backed the union partnership after DUSA’s “power of persuasion dropped”.
“We felt DUSA’s lobbying power wasn’t as strong as what it was in the past, so we had consultations across campuses with representatives of each and made the decision,” she said.
“I think we’ll probably see more of a fight now for student issues because will have delegates to the union.”
DUSA has representatives at Deakin’s campuses in Geelong and Warrnambool as well as the university’s distance education program.
Ms Watson said the quality of education would be a “big focus” for the association.
“NUS ran a quality education survey earlier this year and I think that related quite well with us in relation to the trimester system Deakin implemented. We believe that it was a detriment to students.”
“A lot of campaigns that NUS run are very active, so I think we’ll see a DUSA shift from acting more like an association to a union.”
Deakin University Vice-Chancellor Jane den Hollander said the university was “delighted” with the affiliation.
“We have fantastic students who have a worthwhile contribution to make and it is important they have a voice on the national stage.”