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How you can get involved





How Your Guild can help you
 Activist Activity 

Presidents Rant


el presidente'


The Rudd government is currently conducting a review of Australian Higher Education. The review panel recently visited Perth, and Murdoch Guild was invited along. Written submissions were also made to the review.

Murdoch University's written submission was put together by the Vice Chancellor and the senior management team. Most of the submission was good, and in line with the values of Murdoch University. One worrying recommendation however was that: "Murdoch University recommends (in conjunction with improving the funding model) lifting the cap on the student HECS contribution, including in priority areas, which will provide greater diversity of student spend - greater choice."

Obviously the higher education sector is grossly underfunded by the government, however lifting the cap on HECS is a controversial recommendation. The problem is, this recommendation has no documented support within the university - neither from Academic Council (the peak Academic decision making body in the university) or Senate (the peak body in the university). Yes, the Vice Chancellor is the CEO of this university, however he does not have the agency to make such radical decisions and recommendations that circumvent the peak decision making bodies of this university.

This Wednesday the Senate are reconsidering a decision made by Academic Council to include two student reps and two elected staff on the new Faculty Boards (the vote was 14 for and 5 against). These are the Boards that make the big decisions re: course cutting and budgets. LMG (Leadership Management Group comprised of the Vice Chancellor and 4 Deputy Vice Chancellors) were against student and staff representation on the committee (and voted against it at Academic Council) and so have recommended to Senate that the decision be overturned.

If the Academic Council vote is overturned, it will remove any student representation (and elected staff representation) from Faculty Boards (thus Faculty Boards will be stacked with "yes men" and void of independent representation), and render Academic Council irrelevant: Academic Council has made an informed decision that had overwhelming support, yet 5 people who were against the decision are suddenly able to recommend that Senate veto the decision?

The senior management need to respect its peak bodies: Academic Council and Senate. Senior management need to realise that they in fact work for these bodies, not the other way around.



openbook cafe', Rockingham




'The Murdoch University Guild of Students acknowledges that this is, and always will be, Aboriginal land.'



Submit to the Metiorite
submit to me

Murdoch Guild Tavern

Whats on ?

Table Tennis Monday & Tuesday

Free to play, all day.

Wacky Wednesday's 

New student night, from 5:00pm.

Thursday Pool Comp.

$2 entry, with $15 & $30 bar tabs to win, starts at 2pm.

Friday Live Music

Chill out to live acoustic music
4-6pm Beer garden


Venue Hire!

Perfect for 21st birthdays, Cocktail parties, Sundowners or any special event.


for more information
Phone: 9360 1280
functions@murdoch.edu.au

Withdrawal Deadline

Last date to withdraw without incurring fees or having ‘withdrawn’ noted on your transcript for 2nd semester is Friday 29th August.  You can of course withdraw from a unit at any time by logging onto MyInfo and following the steps under ‘self enrol’.  myinfo.Murdoch.edu.au

Alternatively, you can withdraw by submitting the appropriate University form which can be accessed via: http://www.oss.murdoch.edu.au/forms/


Soup Kitchen

During the Autumn and Winter months the Guild will be serving FREE soup up on Bush Court every Monday & Wednesday from 11.30 onwards (South St. only), and Tuesday on our regional campuses, from 10 am.  Teaching weeks only.  Come along and grab a cup of heart-warming soup.



http://www.guild.murdoch.edu.au_membership_joinging-the-guild_


To join the Guild, pick up a variation form from the Guild stall, Guild shop or any Guild outlet. If you are a NEW financial member pick up your diary and sticker from the guild shop!


Resurrect the Amphitheatre at Murdoch Program


Every Friday afternoon from 12:00 noon a busy bee will be held at the Murdoch amphitheatre to restore it.
Food and refreshments will be provided for the workers. Contact Mark: 19913852@student.Murdoch.edu.au




Contact the Editor: To send future submissions to the editor or provide feedback –write to metiorite@guild.murdoch.edu.au

To unsubscribe or subscribe to this send an email here

What's Happening on Campus?


    Tuesday 26th:
    Wednesday 27th:
        Student Poverty Breakfast
        Wacky Wednesday
        Soup Kitchen (South Street)           
    Thursday 28th:
    Friday 29th:
    Upcoming:


Get Involved


The Murdoch University Guild of Students is run by students for students. If there is an issue you think the Guild Council should be aware of, have an idea you would like to see implemented or you simply want to provide some feedback there are numerous ways you can let Your Guild know …


Attend Your Guild General Meeting

12:30 Thursday, 28th August in the new student common room (Sports and Rec center). Items discussed will include the Murdoch 2010 Campaign, come and have your say !

 Attend an Education Action Collective meeting.

EAC meets every Monday at 2:30 at the Social Justice Centre, it is the best way to inform Your Guild Council about relevant educational issues and get involved in making a difference at Murdoch !

If you are interested in attending you can email Jason Della on gensec@guild.murdoch.edu.au

Write for Metior

Articles and Letters to the Editor can be submitted to metior@guild.murdoch.edu.au.

The next edition is the womyns edition for which only womyn can submit articles.

You can join the Murdoch Guild Writers Collective facebook group to keep up to date on submission dates and receive free movie tickets/cds  to review.
 

Take part in the Guild Survey

Fill in our feedback form

School and Faculty Reps

Every school and faculty has one or more student representative(s). It is a brilliant opportunity to get involved with student life on a whole new level. You get to make positive changes to the university whilst meeting new people and enhancing your CV, employers will love the evidence of public speaking, decision making, constructive arguing. 

As a student representative you get to;
  • Convey the needs of students to senior university staff to ensure Murdoch meets its obligations to students
  • Vote on important decisions affecting the educational standards of your school/faculty
  • Develop professional and personal skills
  • Meet alot of fantastic people
  • Organise educational campaigns on issues such as protection of study weeks or teaching quality
As a student representative you will experience challenges that many other students will rarely face. You have the opportunity to develop and demonstrate a number of key skills that will help your academic life at university and increase your employability after you graduate. Your contribution is noted on your Developmental Transcript, which you receive with your Academic Transcripts upon Graduation.

What's involved?
  • Attend around 6-8 School/Faculty meetings 
  • Attend Education Board meetings to discuss issues with other representatives
  • Be available to communicate with students about problems in your Faculty's or School
  • Correspond with the  Education Vice President about issues in your school/faculty
You will receive all the support and information you need to make your experience as a Student Representative as rewarding and effective as possible.

Interested?

The university is organising a information session about the positions available, if you would be interested in attending such a session email the University Secretary at J.Rigg@murdoch.edu.au.

For more information or to contact your current representative  email Basha Stasak on evp@guild.murdoch.edu.au

Look out for for nominations opening in the next few weeks

Summer on Bush Court

Open Mic, Live Entertainment on Bush Court !

To welcome back the warm weather Your Guild is looking to organise live entertainment on Bush Court.

If you are musician, singer, actor or entertainer and would like to share your talent email activities@guild.murdoch.edu.au

P.A will be provided.

Murdoch Christion Union

If you are interested in investigating the teachings of Jesus, or a Christian looking for other Christians to hang out with at Murdoch, all are welcome to come along to Murdoch Christian Union (MCU). MCU is not a church but is simply a bunch of Christians from all over the place who meet together while studying at Murdoch. Our main meeting is on Tuesday at 11:30am in the Worship Centre. We also run a lot of other stuff. For more information about MCU and what MCU does send us an email at info@mcu.org.au.

Volunteers Wanted

Your Guild...

Want to help out and get involved with what is happening on campus? Want to get active and have your voice heard about issues important to you? Volunteer with your Guild; we want your help. Your Guild, Your Voice.
Contact Jason gensec@guild.murdoch.edu.au,
or ph 9360 6585

Want to be part of events at Murdoch? Are you interested in getting involved with activities around campus? Contact Sarah at activities@guild.murdoch.edu.au if you are interested and would like to help out.


~Participants Required~

How's YOUR financial attitude?
We'd like to hear from you! We are a team of psychologists, economists and fourth year psychology students conducting a study of the financial concerns of young adults and how financial issues can affect their physical and psychological well being. How well are you coping with money matters? Let us know and you could win an iPod touch or one in ten pairs of Hoyts movie passes just by taking part in our survey. All information will be kept strictly confidential. What are you waiting for? Click here: https://www.tlc.murdoch.edu.au/survey/finance.html

Establishing the Psychometric Properties
of Selected Schema Inventories

How does your childhood affect your adult-life?

How has your worldview been affected by your parents?

I am investigating the properties of two questionnaires that look at the above questions (and some more!) using a test-retest design. Should you wish to participate in this study you will be asked to complete a set of 4 questionnaires in one session and come back a week later to complete 3 of them again. Selected participants will be asked to share a childhood experience, whilst listening to music, with the researcher before the second set of questionnaires are administered. The two testing sessions are expected to take 1 hour each (time commitment of 2 hours in total). Participation in this study is entirely voluntary and all participants are free to withdraw at any time.

Please contact me, Elizabeth Forrester (E.Forrester@murdoch.edu.au / 9360-7382) or one of my supervisors, Dr Christopher Lee (9360-6828), or Dr Kristy Johnstone (9360-2290), if you have any questions regarding this project, or want to sign up.
Alternatively you can log into the Psychology Subject Pool to enrol.



How Your Guild can help you


Guild Scholarships

The Murdoch University Guild of Students will be offering 2 x $250 Guild Scholarships, plus 1 x $250 Francis Rowland Scholarship to needy students this semester.  To be eligible you must be the holder of a Health Care Card or Pension Concession Card AND be considered in good academic standing with the university.  Application forms are available from the Guild Shop located on Bush Court or by contacting the Guild Education & Welfare Officer on 9360 6583 or sbarley@murdoch.edu.au 

Applications close on Friday, 22nd August 2008.

For more Scholarships check out the University’s Scholarship information page:  http://www.oss.murdoch.edu.au/scholarships

Student Village Meeting

Living at the student village? Having issues with conditions, rates or anything else? Your Guild is offering you a forum to facilitate discussions, and is extending this offer to the Village manager, so that your question may be addressed.

Come along to the Loneragan Theatre, 3pm, Friday 29th August and share Your Voice.

For further information contact Jason, gensec@guild.murdoch.edu.au

Parents On-line Forum

Many parents at university regularly struggle to meet the cost of childcare,and most at some time or another get stuck for someone to mind their child at crucial times: the day before your assignment is due, public holidays (when we need to study), tutorials etc. For those seeking to meet others with whom you can swap babysitting during lectures / tute’s etc, you can post a discussion to ‘advertise’ for others in a similar situation, or respond to anothers post.

Also use the forum to meet others socially; and to be kept informed by the Guild about events and issues relating to parents.

Go to: http://murdochguild.murdoch.edu.au/forums

Mum's Group

Mixing study with a child/children can also be just plain hard work at times, and you may be cut out of much of campus social life.
Getting to know other mums at uni can provide invaluable support and practical help to help get you through. Come for a coffee and a chat. Wednesdays 11.30-12.30pm. All mum’s (and kid’s!) welcome!!! Contact Peta for details at: women@guild.murdoch.edu.au

Activist Activity  

2010

The 2010 project is a huge restructure being undertaken by the university management. One of the more tangible changes of 2010 is the change from three academic Divisions to six Faculties.

Murdoch is in a difficult financial predicament which is essentially caused by a lack of funding to the higher education sector. Murdoch 2010 is a necessary change, however there problems with how this process has been carried out, with next to no information being disseminated to students, and next to no consultation with students.

The attitude of the University administration seems to be that 2010 does not concern students.

Our Demands:
  1. Open Books! – We need full and accurate information on the 2010 project.
  2. My Murdoch, My Future! – We demand real student consultation on course and unit cuts.
  3. Staff cuts should start at the top! – Students demand that the Vice Chancellor be made accountable for Murdoch’s predicament!

More information:
For more information on the campaign, contact Clare on president@guild.murdoch.edu.au