Business and commerce students at the University of Otago are celebrating the launch of their new Commerce Students’ Association, COMSA.
The new association was founded by two Otago students, Elliott Chow and Hilary Derrick, following the demise of previous association, OCOM. Derrick says while OCOM “did a great job in the past”, they have “been inactive in recent years”. She said the founders of COMSA “felt that introducing a brand new association presented the opportunity to rebrand and start fresh”.
Asked why she believed an association was needed, Derrick spoke of the very active law association, SOULS. “Commerce students make up one of the largest student bodies on campus,” said Derrick. “[They] deserve to have something similar.” COMSA aims to give business students “a voice” and bridge “the gap between students and management”.
Derrick said COMSA will organise social events for students in order to give “them opportunities to mingle with their peers”. They also plan to run networking events “where students will be able to make connections with representatives from various organisations”.
Claire Ramsay, the director of administration for the Otago Business School, said staff “are really pleased to have COMSA getting underway”. According to Ramsay, the department’s staff and lecturers will also be involved with the organisation.
“Having a strong student body makes us a better business school,” said Ramsay. “We value having interaction with our students’ representative and their input into any development that impacts on student experiences in the school.”
Memberships are $10 per student, but COMSA have a promotion for $5 memberships this week. COMSA’s first event is this Saturday night at Moon Bar.