Mawson Lakes Student Representative, Gagan Kaur: October and November Report

I missed out on writing my report for October due to a very busy schedule and hence would be covering that in this month’s report too.

October was busy with Final assessments and other responsibilities, but I still managed to sneak in one Formal Enquiry in STEM on the 5th and 4 hours worth of online Preclusion Appeals meetings in Friday the 21st. This was my first time being involved with this process and though I was very nervous at first, all the information that was provided to me by UniSA and USASA staff made me feel very prepared and I was much comfortable going into the meetings.

We also had our Monthly Board Meeting on the 18th of October. On the 21st of October, I also attended the USASA Club Awards Night, which every year is an event to look forward to. This event was bigger than ever in the past and had some new award categories too. I had the honour to present the People’s Choice Award to ChatBox. The club has been doing an amazing job contributing to the UniSA Community and I am glad their efforts were recognised by the other clubs.

November was very quiet in terms of everything USASA related as every student was busy finishing up SP5. We had our monthly board meeting on the 15th and the Reconciliation Strategy has finally been developed and approved by the board. Though I was elected as the 2022 NUS Delegate, I will not be attending the National Conference in December due to a schedule clash. I am keen to see what comes out the conference and hearing from UniSA students who will be attending.

Looking forward to catching up on my share of formal enquiries in December.

As always, my inbox (kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au) is always open for any questions, concerns or chats 🙂

Mawson Lakes Student Representative September Report – Gagan

September was a busy month with a lot of assessment deadlines. We had our monthly Board meeting on the 13th and a very interesting project was announced – Student Voice Delegate. Having students delegates, who will sit Formal Inquiries, will definitely ease the workload off of the USASA board and I am excited to see how it progresses.

During the first week of the study break, instead of relaxing and catching up with studies, Isaac, Sam, another UniSA Student (Jeel) and I went on to attend the National Union of Students (NUS) EthnoCultural Conference. The conference was a three day event held at the University of New South Wales.

We arrived on Tuesday the 20th to allow ourselves enough time to settle into the accommodation and meet other students. Jeel and I shared the room with a few students from RMIT and it was quite interesting to meet students from a different state and hear how similar/different things are for us. Jeel, Isaac and I utilized some of the time on the day exploring the city and visiting iconic landmarks like Harbor bridge and the Opera house.

Each day was structured in a similar pattern from mostly 9-5, starting off with a plenary from First Nations community Representatives, another plenary, two workshops running at the same time, then a lunch break. After that would be another plenary, and two workshops running at the same time. The schedule was as follows:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

As Jeel and I both are of south Asian descent and are women in STEM, we gave a presentation on the unseen barriers women of color face in the industry ranging from micro-aggression to stolen work. The topic was definitely very personal to both of us and we tried to make it as interactive as possible with Kahoot and discussions. Isaac and Sam also gave a presentation on overcoming discrimination in Academic Integrity policies and procedures. The presentation was wonderful and highlighted the need for transparency and equity in university policies.

My favorite presentation was the one about the impact of the Myanmar coup on Myanmar students in Australia, I could resonate with the fact that how issues in third world countries get brushed under the rug and never get the same attention in media like issues in other countries do. If you would like to know more about what is going on in Myanmar and how you can help, here’s a link: https://www.isupportmyanmar.com/

We made a lot of connections there from all over the country and I hope i will get to work with those student leaders in the future. On a final note, voting for elections opens next week, make sure you vote and choose your representatives wisely!

As always, feel free to contact me on kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu if you have any questions or concerns or just would like to chat!

Mawson Lakes Student Representative August Report: Gagan Kaur

Hey! What a busy month August has been!

The month started with Clubs Fest on August 4 at the Mawson Lakes campus. It was fairly quiet but I was able to have some meaningful conversations with the students. On August 5, I met with Isaac and made some plans for the SASH working group, with the first meeting taking place on the 19th of September where we had Emma Mellett from SEU present to enlighten us about the SASH policies at UniSA.

On August 10, I sat a Formal Inquiry meeting at UniSA STEM. I was also scheduled to sit an FI on the 17th, but it had to be rescheduled and I couldn’t attend because of scheduling conflicts.

The Board Meeting took place on the 16th, where we decided to move September’s board meeting a week ahead as some board members including myself would be in Sydney for NUS’ EthoCon during the third week of September. I am very keen to attend the conference being an international student and a person of colour from a non-English speaking background. I hope I will bring back some useful ideas to benefit students from culturally and linguistically different backgrounds. I hope to give a presentation as well, and will provide an update on that in my next report.

I attended the USASA Clubs social on the 17th, at Vino studio. USASA Clubs staff did a great job organising the event as all the club executives present had a great time and got a chance to meet execs from other clubs. The Clubs Committee meeting which would have been held on the 18th, had to be cancelled due to lack of agenda items.

That is all for the month of August. Feel free to reach out to me at kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Mawson Lakes Representative July Report: Gagan

The year is definitely going fast. July was another one of the busy months even though it was mostly the study break.

The board had a very long day on the 14th of July as we did some strategic planning for the future years. We got a chance to rethink our visions and strategies and discuss what has worked well and not so far. We also talked about what are the current challenges faced by the board and how we could possibly overcome those. Since it was just the first step into strategic planning, we did not finalise the plan that day but developed a strong base on where we wanted to head.

We had our monthly board meeting on the 19th, which had to be moved fully online as a precaution.

I also helped with the online STEM student panel on the 21st. It was interesting to see such high attendance considering the students starting in SP5 are significantly lower than in SP2. Also, on the 25th, I was in the USASA space during campus tours, telling students about the association and its services. I also had the chance to grab the very cute new USASA pin designed by Diane En Wei Lim!

I got onto the project that is very personal to me later in the month- the SASH working group. Isaac and I met with Tom Steer and Jane Booth, who helped us understand the SASH framework deeply. A good understanding of the process will help us move forward in the right direction. I hope we can achieve great things in this group during the remaining half of the year.

The DEA committee meeting on the 26th was cancelled due to a lack of agenda items. As I am now a part of the SASH working group and have other commitments, I decided to leave the DEA committee due to schedule conflicts.

Feel free to contact me at kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au with any feedback or concerns.

Mawson Lakes Student Rep June Report

The month of June was fairly busy with exams and final assignments.

I attended the National Reconciliation Week Brekky Bar at the Mawson campus on June 2 and it was great to see so many people in attendance.

On the 6th of June, I sat two back to back formal enquiries for Unisa STEM.

On Tuesday 21st June, some of the USASA Representative and staff attended a Responding to disclosures of sexual assault and harassment training. The training took place just in time for the formation of the SASH working group during the board meeting that day. I was also elected as the chair of the group and I’m keen to see what we do this year as I’m very passionate about this project.

The Clubs Committee meeting did not go ahead because of lack of agenda items. I hd to miss DEA committee meeting because of personal commitments.

Thats all for June, feel free to reach out to me at kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Mawson Lakes Student Representative May Report: Gagandeep Kaur

May was a fairly uneventful month as I, like everyone else, was mostly caught up with studies. As I mentioned in my previous report, Sam and I hosted a meet and greet at the Mawson Lakes Campus in May which was a great event. We got the chance to introduce ourselves to the students at the campus and talked to them about our roles and how we can support them.

We had the Board meeting on the 17th. The same day Sam and I had a virtual meeting with Bridget Laffy to provide feedback on the Mawson Reps meet & greet event. We specified what worked well for the event and what could be improved if we or any other representatives ever wanted to organise a similar event.

The DEA Committee took place on the 24th, but I had to be an apology because of some travel plans. There was no Clubs Committee meeting scheduled for May. I sat as a part of the panel for one UniSA STEM Academic Integrity Formal Inquiry on May 31st. Though I had attended one meeting of the sort before, this was my first face-to-face one and I would admit I’m already getting better at this!

That’s all for May!

Feel free to contact me at kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au for any questions or enquiries.

Mawson Lakes Student Representative: April Report – Gagandeep Kaur

Hello again!

The month of April was swamped with assessment deadlines and other commitments. Can’t believe its May already.

On the 6th, I had a meeting with Bridget Laffy and Sam Bhattacharjee to plan the Mawson Lakes Rep Catch-up event. The event took place today from 11-2pm and we served free pancakes and hot drinks. We also had the opportunity to speak to students at the Mawson Lakes campus and introduce ourselves and tell them about what we do as student representatives.

As April is Respect Month, there were a number of activities and workshops organised by UniSA and I participated in the crafts workshop at Mawson Lakes. Being an artist, it was extremely calming to be decorating pots using my creativity. It was a great event as I got to hear some new and enlightening ideas about what respect means to different people and what are some of the green flags in relationships.

I sat my first Academic Integrity Formal Inquiry meeting on the 14th for UniSA STEM. I was very nervous about the meeting at first since it was my first academic integrity formal inquiry meeting, but the meeting went well and the panel was very supportive and help me get briefed with each step. it was a new experience for me and now I am much more confident about sitting in such a meeting in the future.

We had the board meeting on the 19th along with the AGM. a reconciliation committee was successfully formed during the board meeting. The committee will focus on proper representation and support of indigenous students.

I chaired the second Clubs Committee meeting of the year on the 21st of April and during the meeting, I opened the floor to discussions and feedback about the Club Executives Training, Campus Fair and any potential ideas for Clubs Awards this year. There were some great ideas, and I am looking forward to working with USASA Clubs Staff on putting those ideas into action. The DEA meeting was cancelled in April due to the lack of agenda items.

I was scheduled to attend the Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Steering group meeting on the 2nd of May, but I could not make it due to personal reasons.

Thats all for April!

Feel free to reach out to me at kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au.

Mawson Lakes Representative March Report – Gagandeep Kaur

The month started with me attending the Board and Staff Meet and Greet at the West Oak Hotel on the 2nd of March. It was a great opportunity to socialize and get to know the staff members there over food and drinks.

I was at Campus Fair at City West on the 9th, Mawson on the 10th and City East on the 17th and went around to introduce myself to students, especially club executives. I informed the club executives about Clubs Committee, how they can be a part and how they can use the committee to have a say in the working of the clubs.

The March Board Meeting took place on the 15th where a lot of important discussions were initiated and the AGM date was decided. The meeting was extremely insightful and included a presentation about the Job Ready Graduation legislation and its impact on students. The next meeting was the DEA one on the 22nd which I could not attend as I was in isolation.

I met with Sam, the Mawson Lakes Undergrad rep, and brainstormed ideas for a potential casual meet and greet event at the Campus to take place in the month of May. We later met with Bridget Laffy to finalise the plans and draft a proposal. Sam and I also discussed issues Mawson Lakes students had raised and discussed the ways to solve those issues.

I have also been working with Isaac Solomon and Trisha Banga on a proposal to establish a temporary Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response Policy Committee to make student-oriented recommendations to the USASA Board on policy areas relating to sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH).

I also recorded an introductory video for USASA Instagram stories and it should be posted sometime this week so keep an eye out for it 🙂

As always if there is anything that you would like to raise please don’t hesitate to contact me at kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au.

Mawson Lakes Representative February Report – Gagandeep Kaur

Hello again!

I would like to begin by saying: Welcome to SP2! I hope uni has been treating you well so far.

The USASA Student Board had their second board meeting on the 15th of this month, where various discussions happened and decisions were made. The board finalized a board charter that defines the ethics and conflict management tactics of the 2022 student board. The following day, the student representatives attended a symposium via zoom. The day was very long but also full of useful information. We were introduced to various staff and departments of UniSA and USASA that we’d be working with throughout the year.

As the Clubs Committee Convenor, I met with Lauren Fowler (USASA Clubs staff) who answered all the questions I had about running the clubs committee and what I could be doing to get in touch with club executives. The first Clubs Committee meeting was held on the 18th of February, and it was very successful. Besides USASA staff and Board Reps, there were representatives from 5 clubs present. Since it’s only the start of the year, no major discussions took place but club executives asked questions regarding Campus Fair, current COVID restrictions, and increasing student engagement towards the end of the meeting. I also joined the USASA Club Executives’ discord channel to stay in touch better and wrote a brief introduction about myself and the Clubs Committee to be included in the first clubs’ newsletter to be sent in March.

I also joined the Diversity, Equity, and Access Committee and was elected to be the Secretary for that committee. The first meeting took place on the 22nd of February and a lot of significant discussions took place. I am very keen to work with this committee over the year and bring some positive changes to enhance equity and inclusion at the university.

I also had the privilege to be heavily involved during Orientation week to welcome and meet new students. I was present throughout the day on the 21st at City East Campus and got to introduce myself and USASA Student Board’s roles to students while they were doing campus tours, and did the same at Mawson Lakes on the 23rd. The same day in the afternoon was the International Student Welcome Reception. Being an international student myself, I was very eager to attend this event. A lot of students attended and seeing so many international students coming to uni this semester made me very happy and excited for the year. I also did a social media takeover for UniSA Instagram along with Sam while at the Mawson Lakes campus orientation, which went quite well. The week ended with me facilitating the STEM Student Panel on the 25th, which was run online. We had 60+ students attend which is a great turnaround. The students were engaging very well and the event was once again a success. I did take the opportunity to give feedback to staff right after the session was over. Overall, the week was full-on indeed but getting to know newer faces and getting in touch with students made it worth it!

Looking forward to what the month of March will bring. I hope to talk to a lot more students at Campus Fair.

Also, Happy International Women’s Day to all my women out there, keep kicking goals and being amazing!

If you would like to reach out to me, you can do so at kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Mawson Lakes Campus Representative Board Report (January 2022) – Gagandeep Kaur

Hey!

I am Gagan and I will be the Mawson Lakes Student Representative for 2022. I am in the final year of my Bachelor of Mathematics (Data Science) degree. I am very excited to be given this opportunity to support the students and voice their concerns.

USASA Student Board Retreat

To start the year, the USASA Student Board went on its training retreat which was held at the Adelaide Hills Convention Centre in Handorf on the 19th and the 20th of January. The Board Reps got to know each other, were introduced to the staff, and understood the structures and policies of USASA and the university. The training also included team-building and skill development activities. The retreat ended with the first board meeting taking place, during which five sub-committees of the board were established.

I was appointed as the convenor of the Clubs Committee and hence I’d be responsible for organizing and chairing the meetings, creating the agenda, and maintaining communication with the Secretary and other committee members and guests. Having been heavily involved with clubs throughout my time at the university, I am thrilled and hope I will be able to make meaningful contributions to the clubs and club events.

February: Progress so far

The month began with a meeting with Bridget Laffy for convener training and handover procedures where the handover documents from last year’s Mawson Lakes Representatives – Shubhangi Chauhan and Charlene Lee were covered along with documents from last year’s Clubs Committee. The meeting successfully equipped me with all the knowledge I could need to fulfill my roles effectively. I also met with Lauren Fowler, who provided me with in-depth information on the workings of the Clubs Committee in collaboration with USASA Clubs staff.

I plan to be there during Orientation Week and the International Student Welcome to meet new students and make them feel welcomed.

January Activity Report

19th– 20th	USASA Board Retreat
27th	Shooting USASA Promotional Video

February Activity Report

4th	Handover Meeting with Bridget
11th	Meeting with Lauren Fowler
15th	Board Meeting
16th	USASA Staff Symposium
18th	Clubs Committee Meeting
21st	International Student Welcome
21st-25th	Orientation Week

Feel free to contact me at kaugy023@mymail.unisa.edu.au for any concerns or feedback.