This article was written by Sankalp Behara. Sankalp Behara is affiliated with Together Again and ran on their ticket in the SRC elections. Any opinions expressed in this article are his and his alone, and not representative of the views of any groups he is associated with.
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This month’s SRC meeting was uncharacteristically productive, resulting in a shockingly cordial proceeding with none of the Safer Spaces violations that defined the other recent meetings. Unfortunately, Gamamari was unable to cover those meetings but our friends over at Noise have a pretty decent summary of what happened at those meetings that you can find here.
Starting off strong with probably the most impactful motion raised in the meeting – to endorse the National Union of Students (NUS)’s National Day of Action for Palestine (NDA). The motion clearly had broad cross-factional support especially considering it was moved by Akash Nagarajan (GenSec, Together Again) and seconded by Emma Terry (Environment Officer, Left Action, who belong to factions occupying opposing ends of the stupol (student politics) political spectrum at UNSW. Nagarajan emphasises the importance of mobilising students both on-campus and nationally for causes that they care about, while Terry highlighted the importance of the Students for Palestine movement in building an unified opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
After the motion passed unanimously, Diya Sengupta (President, 365) decided to adjourn ‘Matters for Decision’ to discuss what the SRC’s plans were in regards to activations leading up to the NDA. It was a largely amicable and fruitful discussion with every major faction committing to a cross-factional activation with each contributing significantly according to their strengths. Socialist Alternative (SAlt) members from Left Action emphasised their interest in building up a protest contingent – both on UNSW and in the CBD – and utilising the UNSW Students for Palestine network. They have a proven track record in being able to turn out people for Palestine as evidenced by the more than 500 students who showed up to vote for divestment at the Student General Meeting last year. Together Again councillors advocated to utilise NUS resources to buy at-cost pro-Palestine merchandise and focus on a strong, unified marketing message. Sengupta and other 365 associates discussed ways to make the activations more accessible and fund-raising opportunities for mutual aid.
This was far from the only instance of cross-factional solidarity in the meeting. In what seems like an olive branch between the SAlt camp and the Together Again councillors, despite their numerous disagreements throughout the year, the two factions co-sponsored two other motions this meeting. Motion 3 endorsed the Students for Palestine screening of Theroux’s The Settlers and motion 4 urged the SRC to stand in solidarity with the Anti-ICE protests in America. Both motions were moved by members of Left Action and seconded by Together Again councillors in broad-Left solidarity and passed with unanimous support.
I believe that the SRC functions best when both sides of the aisle reach a semblance of mutual understanding regarding how to best advocate for students, while pushing the SRC to remain a fighting union that supports progressive causes. This broad-Left solidarity, or at least understanding, along with each faction playing to their strengths and an overall capable leadership team, is key to ensuring that our SRC becomes the productive engine for progress we got a glimpse of at this meeting.
The SRC have been a major driver for the welfare for UNSW students in the past, and though that may not have been as visible this year, I’m feeling more confident in the making of a progressive SRC. One that we deserve. In the meantime, keep a look out for the National Day of Action for Palestine on August 7th, and the plethora of events the SRC has planned in the run up to it.