It wasn’t to be. Logan engaged Facebook and a demographic that had until then ignored OUSA and student politics to romp home with nearly as many votes as all the other candidates combined. The students had spoken, and they wanted a Scarfie.
But it wasn’t going to be an easy ride for Logan. The Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) legislation before Parliament threatened to strip students’ associations of their entire funding. If the legislation passed (as it did), there was no guarantee that OUSA would exist in 2012.
Logan’s greatest challenge, and in the end his greatest achievement, was signing a funding agreement (Service Level Agreement, or SLA) with the University that in effect made OUSA a contractor of the University, tasked with providing services and representation to students. It was this SLA, and the relationship with new Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne, rather than Logan’s Scarfie larrikinism, that came to define his term.
Critic editor Joe Stockman busted out his feature-writing quill for one last interview with Logan, to discuss his time in charge and the legacy he’s leaving behind.
J: End of an era, how does it feel?
L: To be honest, it’s a wee bit heart wrenching. I’ve got a lot of gratitude towards those who have stood by me and helped me. I am sad to see it go, but I know it’s the right time. It’s definitely quite hard, and it’s going to get harder.
J: Bit happy to have the pressure off?
L: Yeah, really excited about that. I really need to thank my flatmates from the last two years, cause fuck bro, I must have been so horrible to live with. I just haven’t had time to do anything. It’s been the toughest time in my life, but it’s also been the best, for sure.
I think about times when – especially in the first two months – every voicemail in my inbox was abusive. It was just constant shit everyday, from the exec, from randoms, it was tough. It’s definitely prepared me for life a bit better.
J: Looking back to your first day on the job, did you think that this is what it would be like?
L: No. I didn’t think it would be as tough as it has been. There have definitely been more downs than I thought there would have been. But the positive stuff has outweighed the bad tenfold.
It’s been like speed dating on steroids in terms of the people that I’ve met. You meet such a wide range of people, all the time, and that is something that I’m going to miss, when I fall back to just my good mates, I’m not going to be meeting all of these awesome people.”
J: You’ve still got your directorship with Upstart?
L: Yeah, I’ve still got Upstart to stay on with. There have been some pretty cool opportunities that have gone along with that.
J: How many more years of study have you got?
L: Probably two more years after this. Then I’m not really sure. Maybe a graduate job with a professional services company or something like that. Working here, I definitely learned that I couldn’t stand working with incompetent people. I could not stand to work for some cunt who’s incompetent.
J: What do you think has changed most about OUSA since you turned up?
L: I think the services are better, they seem to be more approachable. There are little changes happening all the time – like DJs at market day. I’ve tried to take the focus away from the little events to the larger ones that get more people. We could do a whole lot of little events, but they’re not the ones that people remember. So catering to the majority more often has been a bit of a push from me.
J: Do you think that the politics has gone out of OUSA?
L: Yeah, to a degree. I think there is a bit of a line between a really political exec and an exec that is inefficient and incapable, and I think that gets confused a lot. You might look at AUSA and think they’re real political, but they just waste all of their money bickering around the exec meetings.
I always say to my exec that we need to walk out of exec meetings feeling like OUSA is actually better off for having the meeting, otherwise there was no point having it.
I would certainly welcome some more political stuff. We do have some last protests planned. I can’t reveal them yet, but they’re real good.
I think that’s something that you need to be careful of as OUSA President, that you don’t get bogged down in the management stuff.
J: How do you think the position of President has changed?
L: You almost need an elected CEO to do the management stuff, or a chairperson of something. It’s so much more now than just that traditional political student president role. It is quite difficult to manage it all. But I’m sure that Fran will do it fine.
J: Where do you see OUSA in ten years?
L: Hopefully growing and becoming increasingly relevant. I know that I haven’t implemented some of the stuff I wanted to. If I’d had another year, things that are in the pipes now would be up and running. Like options with bars, and capital development. It shouldn’t be long till I can kind of sit back and watch as it all unfolds. Which will be really cool.
J: You changed student body elections in a big way, tapping into the Scarfie voter demographic. Do you think that’s a positive change?
L: I think it’s good to get people voting generally, that’s what I campaigned on, saying “this is the one time you need to pay attention and vote”. I did go for the more casual all-rounder Scarfie vote, and I think that’s positive because it’s more representative of who our student body is.
I’d love to see 100% voter turnout, and that’s a big recommendation from me. Even if we have to spend that extra few grand to get students voting, that’s how we measure our legitimacy in my view.
J: What do you think of Fran’s plans to bring back some of the minority reps?
L: This exec, and the exec from last year were of the view that they weren’t needed, and that we had everything under control, in that boards when they get bigger get a bit unmanageable. But that is one of the great things about OUSA, you can campaign on these values, and you can fully implement them once you’re in there. You are fully given the keys to just run the place, you can actually make a difference based on your values.
J: What would you say was your biggest success?
L: It would have to be transitioning to voluntary membership, and finally signing that SLA with the University. That negotiation went all summer, and I had to manage that. And I’m very grateful for how that all turned out. That negotiation was a huge life lesson.
J: Now that you’ve lived under VSM for a year, would you still want to get rid of it?
L: That’s a bloody good question, and I haven’t thought about it for a while. If I were to make a recommendation on a case-by-case basis, some of the student associations out there really were rubbish, and they’ve probably saved some students from paying money to an association that is irrelevant. But a case like OUSA, I think it was extremely irresponsible what the government did. We provide all the infrastructure in the North end that provides non-drinking based options. But the Government was just not interested in talking.
J: Do you think you’ll end up back in politics one day?
L: Yeah, one day I’m really keen to. I’ve just enjoyed it so much. Just getting listened to, young people don’t get listened to these days, and that bugs me. I don’t like career politicians. If you’re going to be a politician it’s important that you’ve got an axe to grind and an agenda to push. But I also want to get some life experience first. You know, do what John Key’s done, go and do some Forex trading and negotiations and the ways of the world, or make like David Shearer and work at the UN.
J: If you could give Fran one piece of advice?
L: I think relationships are absolutely key. If you don’t have relationships with people you’re fucked from the offset. Meet with people and get to know them on a personal basis. Then cherish the people around you. The time goes very quickly, and hopefully at the end of it you’ve got friends for life.
The Scarfie with the golden tongue has certainly dropped some clangers in his time.
Here are Critic’s top ten Logan Edgar Quotes.
10. “If I were an animal I’d be a house cat. They’re so chilled. You look at their food and it’s yuck, but they think it’s yum. That’d be awesome.”9. “Vote Logan Edgar for President. It’ll be funny.”
8. “Ooo lunchtime meetings are fun, we can sit here and eat our sammies.”
7. “I’ve been busier than a one-armed brick-layer in Baghdad this week.”
6. “Could someone else do the against/abstentions/carried bit for me? I need to do wees.”
5. “I would never sleep with a student, I’m far too professional.”
4. “Ow, I just had a stabbing pain in my prostate. I think it was the apple juice.”
3. “I know what students want, I’m not stupid, I’m smart as fuck and I will do what is right. Thanks LOL”
2. “[This guy’s] a dog, a subversive, the kind of person that pistol-whips your Grandmother then steals her knitting money and spends it shooting up nutmeg in a dark alley while fellating a sheep.”
1. To Sir Roger Douglas: “Get fucked you dinosaur. Just trying to give yourself a legacy because you know you’re getting too old. You should actually debate the Bill with Pete or Grant… you’d get torn to shreds. Cunt.”
