Postgraduates split from student association

Wednesday, July 16, 1997 - 10:00

Postgraduates split from student association

By Alex Bainbridge

NEWCASTLE — Newcastle University Council voted on June 27 to allow the formation of a Postgraduate Students Association (NUPSA) separate from the student association, NUSA.

The portion of the compulsory student services' charge that has previously gone to NUSA for postgrad students will in future go to NUPSA.

"NUPSA is not a progressive split", according to sociology postgrad Shane Hopkinson. "NUPSA figures are complaining that NUSA is too radical, but this seems to be solely on the basis that NUSA runs campaigns in defence of student interests."

After months of negotiations with NUPSA leaders, NUSA called a student general meeting in May to decide the issue. More than half of the people who turned up supported the formation of NUPSA, but the motion failed to get the two-thirds majority required to change the NUSA constitution.

Hopkinson told Green Left that NUPSA has not grown out of an outpouring of dissatisfaction by postgrad students. "There is no evidence that NUPSA has much support among postgrads, but there is plenty of evidence that the administration favours it. They may well like a tame-cat postgrad group when they escalate the number of up-front fees for postgrads."

NUSA condemned the University Council decision. "The issue of whether a separate Postgraduate Students' Association is warranted is a decision that should be made by the students", NUSA co-president Lisa Ronneberg said.

NUSA faculty representative Gennice Davies said, "As a postgraduate student, the university has taken away representation available to me through NUSA and the National Union of Students."

Resistance organiser Kamala Emanuel told Green Left Weekly, "If the administration gets away with this one, what is to stop them in the future from finding a group of students who want to dampen down student protest around a particular issue, declaring the formation of a special interest group and then giving student money to it?"