Hear ye, hear ye! OUSA referendum question submissions are open and will close on the 2nd of May. That’s really fucking soon – so whip out your thinking caps and email Vice-Pres Amy Martin (adminvp@ousa.org.nz) with all the questions you can think of!
Want a student bar? Shall we make OUSA yellow rather than brat green? Should the University have the power to discipline students' for their behaviour off-campus in their own private residential flats? The world’s your oyster. Have your say and exercise your fleeting democratic power.
When asked about whether they’d heard about the upcoming referendum and the fact questions were open, Link-dwelling students John, Andrea and Ben glumly shook their heads. Their mate Mia said, “You like, submit a question to, I dunno? Online? And then people vote.” Pretty much. “I’ve definitely seen things about it in the Critic [over the years],” a St Dave’s barista confessed, maybe just trying to make me feel better.
Unfortunately, OUSA has failed to give the referendum the proper plug it deserves. You know there’s an issue when I (News Editor, really nosy) didn’t realise the referendum questions had even officially opened for submission from the student body. In fact, I only confirmed this once I physically emailed Amy about the whole thing. Clearly a bit of a problem.
The only other evidence I could find about the referendum even taking place is a post on the OUSA Exec Instagram (@ousaexec) which fails to communicate the dates for when questions open, when they close, when the referendum voting begins and when the voting closes. To make matters worse, there is absolutely no explanation as to what a referendum is nor how the fuck it operates. So let me break down the referendum procedure for you (Law student, nerdy), which is borderline inaccessible and contained in a random PDF I found in a Google search.
Step one: questions that are submitted by the student body will go to the OUSA Exec for approval. This acts as a sorting process so that the Exec can determine which questions will get mediated (read: go to a fancy lawyer who makes sure the questions aren’t worded in a biased way). You may be thinking: censorship risk! I like your cynicism. Rest assured – the only reasons why OUSA reserves the right to avoid recommendation to the mediator are if it relates to financial or administrative matters of the association, or if the question unfairly targets any student, OUSA or Uni member.
To cut down on all the boring jargon, this basically means students can submit any silly questions that they want and make a lawyer take time out of their day to read them. Last year, we submitted a question asking if the President should be officially referred to as ‘Big Chungus’. Obviously (unfortunately) this didn’t work out. Second time lucky?
Step two: OUSA advertises the questions. These questions have to be put out for ten days so students can have a good look and an even better think. The questions will have an accompanying pros and cons list, to put the implications of decisions resulting from the referendum in context. Talk to your friends. No question is a stupid one (we submitted Big Chungus) – this stuff can genuinely be complicated, especially if you’re not devoted to student politics (also known as having a life).
Step three: student forum. This must be held at least a day before voting opens, and is a chance for students to ask about, debate and discuss questions with OUSA. Again – no question is stupid (do I need to mention Big Chungus a third time?). If you’re a student and have a question about how something will impact you, ask it. If you’re confused about any of this, chances are others are as well. Do your fellow students a favour: pipe up, create conversation and make the referendum accessible and effective.
Step four: voting. This must remain open for 3-5 working days. This year, it’ll take place from the 26th to the 28th of May – so only three days (stingy). Most importantly, OUSA should work to ensure times/dates chosen allow for reasonable opportunity for Critic to cover the referendum, including the lead up to it. So I’ll be with you through all of this to hold your hand. We can braid each other’s hair..