RMIT Student Union

The RMIT Student Union Council, commonly known as the RMIT Student Union, is the representative body for all students enrolled at RMIT University. The Student Union offers a range of services, including clubs and societies, publishing the RMIT student magazine Catalyst, student rights advocacy and support, Womyns, Queer and Postgraduate student lounges, campus activities and events and has offices at all Melbourne campuses and sites of RMIT University. It is a separate organsiation to RMIT Union, which provides support to sporting clubs and used to operate commercial services. RMIT Student Union is affiliated with the National Union of Students and the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.

History

The RMIT Student Union was founded in 1944 as the Student’s Representative Council (SRC). The first president was John Storey Jnr, and the organization campaigned on issues such as the state of libraries, the inclusion of time for sporting activities and also published Catalystreflist. The organization continued to grow, and by the late 1980s was providing representation to students across the TAFE and Higher Education Sectors of RMIT.
In 1992, RMIT merged with the Philip Institute of Technology (PIT) and as part of this process, the RMIT SRC and the PIT Student Union merged to create the RMIT Student Union Council in 1994. The organization continued to grow throughout the 1990s, adding offices at RMIT’s Brunswick Campus and it established at presence at the Business Site in Bourke St. During this period, the Student Union added a number of new departments, including the Womyn’s Department, RMIT Postgraduate Association, RMIT International Students Collective, Environment Department and the Queer Department.
In 2006, with the introduction of voluntary student unionism (VSU) legislation, the Student Union underwent a major re-organization. Most of the staff were made redundant, the organization’s three separate campus councils were merged, and several services such as the second-hand bookshop were abandoned. While the organization suffered a drastic funding cut (from $3.9 million AUD to $1.3 million AUD) as a result of VSU, it managed to survive the cutbacks and continue providing services, advocacy and representation to students.

Current structure

As of 2006, the Student Union Council comprises 25 students, who are elected by RMIT students at annual elections. All members of the council must be financial members of the Student Union. The council meets regularly, and it is also responsible for electing the president and media officer, as outlined in the Student Union Constitution. A smaller group of student office bearers, known as the secretariat, meets more regularly to discuss day-to-day and urgent matters. Each Melbourne campus/site also has its own campus collective.

Constitution, regulations and policies

The powers of the council and secretariat are limited by the Student Union’s constitution, which was adopted in August 2006. The constitution sets out the organization’s aims and objectives, the powers and rights of council members, the rights of members and defines the organization’s departments. Regulations are rules which the Student Union uses to govern matters such as conduct at meetings, or the operation of certain departments and can be altered by a vote at a council meeting. The constitution can only be modified with the agreement of a majority of RMIT students at an annual general meeting.

Current departments

As per the constitution, the Student Union currently comprises the following departments. Each of these departments is governed a collective or committee of students who work alongside the office bearer (who in turns directs staff members).
*Activities Department
*Clubs and Societies
*Education and Welfare (includes the Student Rights Advice service)
*Queer Department
*RMIT Association of International Students (resulted from the merger of RAIS and the International Students collective in 2006)
*RMIT Postgraduate Association
*Womyn’s Department
*Media Department (includes RMITV and Catalyst)
*Organarchy Food Cooperative

External links

* [http://www.su.rmit.edu.au RMIT Student Union website]
* [http://www.rmit.edu.au RMIT University website]

References

Murray-Smith, Stephen and Anthony John Dare 1987, The Tech: A Centenary History of the Royal Melbourne Institute ofTechnology, Melbourne, Hyland House
RMIT Student Union: www.su.rmit.edu.au - accessed May 24, 2007 06:13:12pm