Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA)

What is WUSA?

The Wollongong Undergraduate Students’ Association (WUSA) is the principal democratically elected and led student association for undergraduate students at the University of Wollongong (UOW).

WUSA strives to fully represent and defend the interests and needs of undergraduate students, as well as address women’s, queer, Indigenous, and students with disability related issues.

WUSA is an affiliate of the National Union of Students (Australia) (NUS), the peak representative body for higher education students in Australia.

The WUSA President also has a position on the UOW Student Advisory Council and prepares annual reports for the University Council.

 

The governing body of WUSA is the WUSA Council a 17 member council elected by the undergraduate student body each year. Most enrolled undergraduate students are able to run for a position on WUSA. Further information about eligibility is available in the WUSA regulations, section 2.1.4.

WUSA Council consists of 11 office bearers, as well as 5 general representatives and a representative elected from the Allsorts Queer Collective. As outlined by the WUSA Constitution, each office bearer has specific roles and responsibilities within WUSA related to a specific field.

Role name Current representative Description
President Hanzel-Jude Pador The President is responsible for chairing WUSA meetings, coordinating the general affairs of WUSA, and acting as the spokesperson for WUSA.
General Secretary Caitlin Veigel

The General Secretary is responsible for the recording and distribution of information related to WUSA, such as meeting notices, archiving meeting minutes, and correspondence.

Treasurer Daniel McClelland

The Treasurer is responsible for overseeing and scrutinising the financial affairs and reporting of WUSA.

Education Officer / Assistant Secretary Megan Guy

The Education Officer / Assistant Secretary is responsible for coordinating WUSA campaigns on the issues of students and issues that affect students.

Tert Coordinator Serena Emanuele

The Tert Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the production and affairs of the student magazine: The Tert.

Welfare Coordinator Jasmine-Maree Takchi

The Welfare Coordinator is responsible for coordinating campaigns and initiatives that aim to improve and promote awareness of the welfare of students.

Women’s Representative Alexia Chipperfield

The Women’s Representative is responsible for coordinating campaigns that seek to eradicate sexism, as well as maintain and coordinate the Women’s Space and Women’s Collective on campus.

Environment Representative Alexander Thorning

The Environment Representative is responsible for coordinating campaigns related to environmental movements and initiatives.

Allsorts Queer Representative Kat Schreiber

The Allsorts Queer Representative is responsible for coordinating campaigns that seek to eradicate queerphobia, as well as maintain and coordinate the Allsorts Queer Space on campus.

International Students Representative Shoyeb Ahmed

The International Students Representative is responsible for coordinating campaigns and initiatives that seek to improve conditions for international students, and liaising with organisations which are relevant to international students.

Ethno-Cultural Representative Rawda Alshroof

The Ethno-Cultural Representative is responsible for coordinating campaigns and initiatives that seek to eradicate social exclusion or discrimination made on the basis of ethnicity, culture, language and religion, as well as promoting awareness of cultural diversity.

Disabilities Representative Taylor Harding

The Disabilities Representative is responsible for coordinating campaigns and initiatives that seek to improve conditions for students with a disability, and liaising with organisations which are relevant to students with a disability.

General Representatives

Matthew Brown
Disha Joshi
Robin Pierson
Antony Tzamouranis
Tidus Funaki

General Representatives are responsible for assisting other office bearers in their duties, as well as being generally involved in organising and initiating WUSA campaigns.

The WUSA Council holds regular meetings within the year to formally make decisions, as well as discuss multiple topics, including Association affairs, issues that affect students, and the progress of WUSA campaigns or programs, among others.

As these are publicly and democratically held meetings, all undergraduate students are welcome and encouraged to attend, and can be notified of upcoming meetings upon request via the WUSA email.

After each WUSA Council meeting, the General Secretary provides a written record of the discussion, attendance, decisions, and any other related outcomes of the relevant meeting; these are called the meeting minutes.

WUSA publishes each of these meeting minutes to serve as an official and public record, ensuring the utmost accountability and transparency of the Association to the undergraduate student.

 

 

Commitment to First Nations People and to Country

The Wollongong Undergraduate Students’ Association sits on the land of the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal and Yuin Nations. 

We remain committed in our understanding that under metres of concrete and asphalt this land is Indigenous land that was violently stolen and never ceded, and the effects of colonialism are still ongoing. 

We also remain committed to ensuring that the Wollongong Undergraduate Students’ Association operates in accordance with this understanding, and with respect to elders past present, and emerging, as well as with respect of the Aboriginal land on which we operate. 

This land was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

More about WUSA

The collectives, initiatives, representative services, and advocacy services provided by WUSA are free to all UOW undergraduate students.

The Women’s Collective 

The Women’s Collective is a student social and support group primarily organised and coordinated by the WUSA Women’s Representative.

 The Women’s Collective operates the WUSA Women’s Space; a safe and supportive space for women, non-binary folk, and anyone with a uterus and located in Building 11-214.

 The Women’s Space provides:

  • Free clothing and sanitary products
  • After hours security escorts to and from UOW parking lots
  • Information sessions and student events organised by the Women’s Collective

Interested in joining and getting involved? The Women’s Collective can be contacted on:

Instagram: @uowwoco
Facebook: UOW Women’s Collective


The Tert 

The Tert (est. 1963) is a multimedia organisation run by UOW Students, to provide online and printed student magazines. Students can contribute articles, poems, artwork and reviews of any kind.

Hardcopies of Tertangala magazine are available at:

  • Wollongong campus Library (Building 16)
  • WUSA Reception (Building 11, Level 2)
  • The Tert office (Building 11, Level 2, Room 208).

The Tert’s office is a quiet space where writers and artists can go to create, study or meet with our team. Office hours are from 9 am - 5 pm Monday to Friday.

Ready to join our creative team? Contact us through our email or social media:

Instagram: @the_tert
Facebook: @TheTertangala
Email: thetert@gmail.com
Website: www.tertangala.net


The Allsorts Queer Collective

The Allsorts Queer Collective is a student social and support group run by queer people for queer people. It autonomously elects an Allsorts Queer Collective Representative each year to WUSA Council.

Allsorts operates the Queer Space, a designated safe space for queer and questioning members of UOW located in Building 11-209. The Queer Space has a large selection of queer literature, board games, sexual health and menstruation products, and informational resources.

Allsorts also hosts regular events including weekly meetings, game nights, movie nights, picnics, BBQ’s, parties and more.

More information can be found on the Allsorts Queer Collective website page.

Interested in joining? The Allsorts Queer Collective can be contacted at:

Facebook Page: Allsorts Queer Collective
Facebook Group: Allsorts - Wollongong University Queer Collective
Email: uow.queer@gmail.com 

Services

WUSA delivers multiple services available to all undergraduate students at UOW that are designed to meet their needs and be widely accessible.

WUSA Printing

WUSA provides a free printing service which aims to ensure that all undergraduate students have equal access to printed academic materials and resources, regardless of their financial situation.

Students can access the service through filling out the WUSA Free Printing Service Form or by visiting the admin assistant within office hours at the WUSA reception area in Building 11, Level 2.


WUSA BBQs

WUSA provides regular free sausage BBQs on campus that are available to all undergraduate students at . Halal and vegan sausages, as well as free bread options are available.

Students can stay up-to-date on when and where the next WUSA free BBQ is by following WUSA on its social media pages.


Free Period Product Program

WUSA is committed to the health, hygiene, and wellbeing for all students on campus, regardless of their circumstances. We are proud to be delivering a new initiative to distribute free period products across key locations on the Wollongong campus.

You can find WUSA free period product distribution at women’s and all-gender toilets at four main locations:

  • UOW Wollongong Campus Library (Building )
  • UOW UniBar (Building 12)
  • McKinnon Building (Building 67)
  • The Sciences Building (Building 41)

These distribution points will be regularly maintained and refilled throughout the session, and WUSA will respond to students' needs and uptake accordingly, and may expand to more key locations in the future.

Please visit our social media pages or contact WUSA for additional information. The WUSA free period products program is funded by the Student Services Amenities Fee (SSAF).


Campaigns

WUSA initiates, coordinates and endorses many campaigns on and off campus related to issues affecting students.

 This includes supporting as well as working alongside bodies such as:

  • The NUS
  • The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU)
  • The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)
  • Student clubs and societies
  • UOW’s Safe And Respectful Communities (SARC)
  • UOW’s Student Advocacy Service (SAS)

All students and groups on campus are encouraged to contact WUSA via its social media pages or via the WUSA email with any issues or concerns they may have.

Contact WUSA

Email: wusa-uow@uow.edu.au
Instagram: @wusa_uow
Location: Wollongong campus, Building 11, Level 2
WUSA Reception opening hours: 8 am to 4 pm, Monday to Thursday
The WUSA President directly via the Student Success Portal Program