A few weeks ago, I read an editorial in another student magazine in which the editor gushed about the president of the resident students’ association. This president, the editor decided, was doing a half-decent job. The editor and the exec are still talking and are on reasonably amicable terms. The students’ association has patched up their relationship with their university. For the most part, this exec is doing their job effectively.
That particular editorial led me to ponder the performance of this year’s VUWSA exec. Max Hardy, stop freaking out. I assure you now, it’s not all that bad.
As soon as Roger Douglas’ bill was pulled from the ballot in September last year, everyone knew that 2010 would be a crunch year for VUWSA. I was at the first reading of the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill, and as a number of Salient stories were getting cited in Roger’s speech (do vans or psychic hotlines ring a bell?), it seemed to me that it was primarily the misdemeanours of VUWSA execs past that were the justification for voluntary student membership.
VUWSA’s reputation has been tarnished by a number of years of mismanagement and the actions of a few rogue exec members. And this year’s exec is trying very, very hard to fix that reputation. A tough ask. And under no circumstances is Salient going to give them an easy ride.
But, to be quite honest, there appears to be a different atmosphere at VUWSA this year. While there are still a number of management issues that desperately need to be resolved, the exec don’t seem to be making dicks of themselves in quite the same fashion as their predecessors. Caitlin, Zack and Seamus are three exec members who strike me as being fully committed to their portfolios, they work hard and they make a valuable contribution to VUWSA. Kia ora guys.
Yep, there’s a couple of exec members who need to sort their shit out, attend meetings and actually fulfill the number of work hours required of them in their positions. Nice to see that following a news story in Salient last week, there was a full turnout of exec members—all with written work reports in hand—at the exec meeting on Wednesday.
So maybe Salient can claim a small victory in terms of whipping the exec into shape, and reminding them of their obligations to those to whom they are ultimately accountable—you the students, and by default, the members of VUWSA. It’s part of our job to keep them accountable. It’s part of our job to ensure that your money is being well spent. It’s part of our job to keep tabs, watch, take notes and report.
On a lighter note, my designer and I are celebrating our 22nd birthdays on production night. Yup, an all-nighter on our birthday. Thanks to everyone who popped into the office with treats. You guys made our day. Oh and thank you VUWSA (or more likely, Max and Seamus) for the thoughtful gift you left outside our office door. We really appreciate it. <3