ANU Political Turmoil

OMG It’s the 80’s again……Nothing’s changed…… do we never learn??? It’s student politics. It should be about critiquing, arguing and challenging the status quo. Not toeing the party line in the hope one may end up as a staffer or eventually preselected.

Jim Jones said :

Name a period of time when academic staff haven’t been complaining about upper management.

Complaints yes. Open accusations of corruption, intimidation and illegal dismissals, well?

Is there actually anyone who cares about Uni politics, besides the people who take part as they have nothing better to do.

When I went there I’m sure that about 99% of students didn’t give a rat’s ass about the student’s association, and the 1% that did were the only ones who ever voted. Let them continue with their playground fights, nodody cares what they do.

“planning of changes to the ARts Faculty being kept secret”.

Well, there’s nothing in that one. No-one has produced any information about these supposed ‘plans’ beyond a student politician who was having a whine about the fact that the Arts Faculty is smaller than it has been in the past. Given that student numbers in many areas of the Faculty are at record lows, I’d say that this is warranted.

“academic staff are also commenting openly about what they see as untoward activities going on in the higher levels of the ANU”

Name a period of time when academic staff haven’t been complaining about upper management.

Certainly bitterness and petty argument is nothing new at any level of politics. But the level of accusations would seem to have reached a new high recently. Not only are accusations of corruption flying between those vying for power of the ANUSA but the accusations have spread to the ANU administration. Reports of secret deals, planning of changes to the ARts Faculty being kept secret and suppressions of debate and protest over the changes.

Furthermore, academic staff are also commenting openly about what they see as untoward activities going on in the higher levels of the ANU. This is surely going beyond the typical bitch fights over accommodation, eateries and social events.

“Given that so many of todays politicians have past experiences in students politics, what does this mean for the future of politics in the ACT?”

Um… nothing?

….at least in the minds of the protagonists.

And there lies the rub. They think it is the most important thing in the world, and can’t understand why 98% of the student body think they are pratts.

Jim Jones said :

In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the stakes at issue. That is why academic politics are so bitter.

Maybe, but as the OP says, success in student politics is a common route to bigger and better things. I think the stakes are quite high, at least in the minds of the protagonists.

In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the stakes at issue. That is why academic politics are so bitter.