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Orientation 2010 is now over. Phew. Toga went off without a hitch. Thanks to everyone who had a part in that – the colleges, campus security, OUSA events team, the awesome student Executive, the campus cop, and the students, who had an awesome time. There were a few dicks that threw eggs, but when asked to move on, they did. Super team effort!

Now we’ve had our blow out it is time to get to work. This year I’m not studying - OUSA President is a full-time role. Actually, it’s more than full-time. Representing you lot takes me on average ten hours a day. While you’re studying, here’s what I’m working on this year:  
 
1. Sort out this Code of Conduct debacle. OUSA took the Uni to court over its legal standing. They were pissed. We now know what it is – the Code applies everywhere. Now I need to make friends with the University again and work with them to make sure OUSA can be there every step of the way to ensure you are treated fairly.
2. Increasing engagement with students. At the moment, OUSA talks at you, not with you. We need to shift focus from ‘promotion’ to ‘communication’, which will ensure you are getting what you want out of us.
3. Review OUSA’s financial position. We own a lot of assets and are part of a lot of businesses, yet still rely on levies from you. So the key will be to find the right balance between reducing that levy, and still ensuring that you have control of the organisation.
4. Providing work experience opportunities for students. There are heaps of opportunities to get experience to add to your CV before you leave, putting you ahead of the pack when you graduate. Watch this space.
5. Sport on campus – I’d like to streamline the sports club system so it is really easy to sign up to a sports team and compete in leagues. I’m also keen on some big student sporting events.
6. Supporting clubs – a lot of clubs do great things for us (e.g. faculty clubs, minority representation clubs) and we should support them even more.
 
I’ll report back in December and let you know what I have ticked off the to-do list. Think I can’t achieve any of these goals? Then I don’t want to hear from you. Got some ideas to help me along the way? I’d love a chat! Email president@ousa.org.nz and I’ll even shout you a coffee.