src president

oscar Zi shao oNG SRC President

What a fantastic O’Week it has been! I am glad to have met with a lot of you (face to face & virtually) and I trust I will see more of you and the rest in the remainder of the semester. Hope you are settling in university just fine! If you missed O’Week, make sure you head to the AUU and university website (auu. org.au) to familiarise yourself with the important services and support provided to you.

After a fantastic list of achievements last year, I am glad to be able to work with the university to release our third round of $500 International Students Support packages throughout the summer. We acknowledge the struggles our international students face, not being able to go home and not supported by their family (being an international student myself, I feel you too!). I have received lots of concerns around the repatriation pilot program too, but please be reassured that I am continuously advocating and working with university to get you back to SA.

Although we are in the post-pandemic in SA, students still face difficult circumstances as they complete their academic responsibilities. This means certain leniency is still needed for those who are struggling when they complete their assessments (i.e. international students which are unable to return home miss their family). I have raised this with the university, and we have now worked out a solution to change the MACA policy where we redefined some of the clauses to ensure you are not disadvantaged.

The FunTea incident in China Town was shocking and shouldn’t be tolerated. Students’ working rights have always been one of my major focuses, which is why I helped organise work rights webinars last year, and I will continue to work to ensure you are well-informed about your rights. If you require any help/advice about working rights/university policy, head to Student Care on Level 8 of the Hughes Building (studentcare@adelaide.edu.au), one of the great services provided by the AUU!

I hear your concerns about the new Vice-Chancellor, Peter Høj, too. I met with him on his third day in office and I am glad he has a heavy focus on the student experience. I am working with him to run a forum where you get to question him on his plans for your studies, research, etc. Get your tough questions ready!

Questions/suggestions about the SRC/university? You are always welcome to email me or send me a message through social media!