University of Sydney Union

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University of Sydney Union (USU)
Institution University of Sydney
Location Sydney, Australia
Established1874
Members 42,000+ [1]
Affiliations University of Sydney Students' Representative Council, Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association
Website usu.edu.au


The University of Sydney Union (USU), established in 1874, is the student-run services and amenities provider at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. The USU's key services include the provision of food and beverages, retail outlets, live music and other entertainment, clubs & societies, festivals and events including the biggest orientation week (officially titled 'Welcome Fest') in Australia.

Contents

The University of Sydney Union provides student services and amenities and supports the university's strong debating, dramatic, and cultural traditions, through over 200 clubs and societies.

USU also boasts some of the oldest political clubs in the country. The Sydney University Labor Club is the oldest political campus club in Australia.

History

The Sydney University Union (SUU) was established in 1874 for debating, at a time when the university had fewer than a hundred students; graduates and staff were thus dominant. In 1884, the university's Senate provided a common room for the union, and in 1906, it decided to provide a building for the union's use. This building is now known as the Holme Building. Holme contains a large Refectory, historically a dining hall and now a function space. The interior is decorated with three murals by the artist Virgil Lo Schiavo: the Sulman-Prize-winning Tribute to Shakespeare (1945), [2] the Sulman-Prize finalist Characters from Dickens (1951), [3] and in the main hall, Mankind (1970). [4]

Holme Building Usydholmebuilding.jpg
Holme Building

A separate Sydney University Women's Union (SUWU) was formed in 1914. The Senate also agreed to fund a building for the Women's Union; Manning House was opened in 1917, named after William Montagu Manning. It was at this time that the university made membership of one of the two Unions compulsory.

Until the 1970s, the Unions' headquarters were an important meeting place for staff and students; however, with the establishment of a University of Sydney staff club and the growth in size of the university population, the influence of staff in the activities of the Student Union decreased. The amalgamation of the two student unions came after the decision in 1971 to jointly fund the construction of the Wentworth Building, named after William Wentworth, one of the leading figures in the colony of New South Wales. The two unions amalgamated on 1 January 1972 to form the University of Sydney Union (USU).

Since Voluntary student unionism was enacted in 2006, USU membership has been voluntary. Membership is currently free for all current students of the University of Sydney.

The USU today

The USU operates numerous programs for its 42,000+ members, [5] from facilities located in three main buildings, Manning House, and the Wentworth and the Holme Building. These buildings house the large proportion of the university's catering outlets, and provide space for retail outlets, an art gallery, meeting rooms, game rooms, bars, cafes, restaurants and function centres. One of the more prominent activities organised by the union is the Welcome Festival. In 2019, following the Broderick Review, the USU and University made the decision to rebrand the festival from "Orientation Week (OWeek)" as "Welcome Week", and later "Welcome Fest". [6] The festival centres on stalls set up by clubs and societies along Eastern Avenue, the main university thoroughfare, and events and entertainment at the beginning of the semester each year to welcome new students to university. The USU Clubs program is a key part of the USU's activities, with over two hundred clubs to cater for the university's diverse student population.

Manning Bar, on the top floor of Manning House, has been a major part of Sydney's live music scene. It hosts the Sydney Uni Band Comp, launching the careers of The Jezabels, The Laurels, and Cloud Control. [7] In February 2020 it was announced that Manning Bar would no longer trade during daytime hours, but would remain active as a music venue. [8] [9] [10] This decision was reversed in 2023.

The union also has an extensive art collection, and until 2006, it maintained the Sir Hermann Black Gallery. In July 2009, the Verge Gallery opened in the Jane Foss Russell Plaza as a new student art space on main campus.

The USU founded the award-winning startup accelerator and entrepreneur program, INCUBATE. [11]

Today, the union is operated as a non-profit membership organisation, with a board of directors elected by the students at the university. Consisting of 14 members, the board is composed of:

Debating

A team from the USU won the 2015, 2017 and 2019 editions of the World Universities Debating Championship and the 2015, 2022 and 2023 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship. In recent years the USU have dominated the finals of the Australian and Australasian Championships. Aidan Woo, Brendon Chen and Eugene Bakker won the Australian Intervarsity Championship in 2022. [12] William Price, Charlie Ryan and Sam Trotter won the 2022 Australasian Championships, [13] and Isabella Freeland, Eugene Bakker and Charlie Ryan won in 2023, [14] with both teams beating another USU team in the semi-final to reach the championship. In 2014, the Mandarin debates team won the Fourth Australian Mandarin Debating Championship, and placed second in the prestigious International Chinese Debating Competition in Beijing. USU team captain, Charles Yuchen Zhang, was also awarded the top prize in the individual competition.

In 2014, Eleanor Jones (USU B) was awarded World's Best Speaker at the World Universities Debating Championships. [15] , and in 2019 the same award was bestowed on James Stratton (USU A). [16] [ circular reference ] Former debaters include the former prime minister John Howard and Justice Michael Kirby. A debater from the USU has held the title of best speaker in Australasia for three consecutive years at the time of publication (Oliver Cummins in 2021, Matthew Toomey in 2022 and Udai Kamath in 2023). [17] [ circular reference ]

Student media

Sydney University Radio Group stall at Orientation Week Usyd radio oweek.jpg
Sydney University Radio Group stall at Orientation Week

There are a number of publications on campus supported by the USU. The University of Sydney Union's literary magazine Hermes was first published in 1886 and is the oldest journal in Australia. Distinguished former editors have included Thomas Bavin (1874), H. V. Evatt, John Le Gay Brereton, James McAuley (1937), Jock Marshall (1941), and a duo of Les Murray and Geoffrey Lehmann in 1962.

Arna is also an annual literary journal published by the University of Sydney Arts Student Society. First published in 1918, it was disbanded in 1974. It was relaunched as Arna in 2008 by Rebecca Santos and Khym Scott, alongside the revival of the Sydney Arts Students' Society. The journal contains creatives pieces as written and edited by students.

Student publication the Union Recorder was first published in 1921, showcasing writing from University of Sydney students. The Bull, formerly The Bulletin, was a daily print outlining the events of the day on campus, which had been since rebranded BULL Magazine, which is edited and written by students. In recent years, the Recorder became a monthly publication; however, due to rationalisation in the face of VSU, it was announced in the November 2005 issue that it would become an annual publication as of 2006, with BULL Magazine taking its place as the primary repository of student content to be published monthly. In 2015, it was announced that BULL Magazine will be re-launched as an online only site for student created news and content. [18]

Since its creation at the start of 2016, PULP Media, successor to BULL Magazine has boasted a number of successful breaking news pieces, such as editor Aparna Balakumar's "Rackweb". PULP has been distributed as a print magazine since 2022.

Presidents & Office Bearers

Notable past Presidents & Office Bearers of the University of Sydney Union include:

See also

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References

Citations

  1. assets.ctfassets.net/n92mdxt3dwn7/6220pA2eQ4bQb7H8660bn2/112ccb132a8035b1c775b30634890614/28_July_2023_Board_Meeting_Minutes.pdf CONFIRMED Board MINUTES of The University of Sydney Union held at 1.08PM on Friday 28 July 2023}}
  2. "Archibald Prize Sulman 1945 finalist: "Tribute to Shakespeare" by Virgil Lo Schiavo". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. "Archibald Prize Sulman 1951 finalist: Characters from Dickens - Mural - Sydney University Union (in Situ) by Virgil Lo Schiavo". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. Langford, Sam (18 October 2016). "You're terrible, Mural". Honi Soit. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. "CONFIRMED Board MINUTES of The University of Sydney Union held at 1.08PM on Friday 28 July 2023" (PDF). USU Board Minutes. 28 July 2023.
  6. Syed, Liam Thorne, Jessica (28 February 2019). "What's in a name?: O-Week becomes Welcome Week". Honi Soit. Retrieved 7 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. "Manning Bar - About". Manning Bar. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. Chrysanthos, Natassia (18 February 2020). "Sydney University institution Manning Bar to cease daytime trading". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  9. Koziol, Michael (19 February 2020). "Eulogy for the Manning Bar, an incubator for generations of fine minds". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. "Manning, I love you". Honi Soit. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. "Launching Startups on Campus". Incubate. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3B-H12VQOA
  13. https://australs2022.calicotab.com/australs2022/
  14. https://krabiaustrals2023.calicotab.com/australs2023/
  15. "University of Sydney Union - News at the University of Sydney Union". www.usu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015.
  16. World Universities Debating Championship#List of Tournaments
  17. Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships#Martin Sorensen Trophy
  18. "University of Sydney Union - USU Student Publications Enter New Territory in 2016". www.usu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016.
  19. The Honourable Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG Archived September 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

Sources

  • USU 2004 Annual Report Summary
  • Williams, Bruce. Liberal education and useful knowledge: a brief history of the University of Sydney, 1850-2000, Chancellor's Committee, University of Sydney, 2002. ISBN   1-86487-439-2.
  • Wilkie, Janet. "Amalgamated, But The Same: a brief history of the first 25 years of the University of Sydney Union 1972-1996", The University of Sydney Union, 1996.