USU Board Candidates on Campus Facilities
Who will free the Holme Building (SURG studio included) from the great mould/asbestos infestation of 2022? The USU Board candidates have answered as best as they can.
Given the unusually low turnout of campaigners along Eastern Avenue this week, it’s quite possible that you might not be aware that USyd is currently in the midst of an election season. Next week, students will vote for who they want to see on the Board of the University of Sydney Union (USU), and five of the six current candidates (the number of which has dropped from nine since the announcement of candidates) will be elected.
Board Directors help oversee the USU’s many activities, which includes the upkeep of the campus spaces and facilities that the organisation funds. Unfortunately, this upkeep has historically been lacking in certain areas – especially in the Holme Building. Whether it’s the lack of accessibility and security provided by the building’s storage cages, or the persistent leaks and poor lighting in the lower level (and we thank candidate Alex Poirier for reminding us of both), there are a myriad of concerning issues that have significant implications for student safety. We here at SURG have had to contend with these aforementioned leaks in our studio, as well as the unwelcome arrival of mould and asbestos in the space.
We wanted to hear from the current USU Board candidates about what their plans are to combat this problem, so we sent them the following question:
USU facilities are constantly facing the challenge of discoveries of mould and asbestos, do you have any policies or plans to help make these facilities safer for students?
Here’s how each of them responded.
COVID has allowed issues with facilities to be out of sight, out of mind, but with return to campus, this is not good enough. Mould and asbestos threaten the health and safety of students and staff alike. As per my policy statement, it is imperative to me we address such facility issues to ensure a safe campus. Considering the USU surplus, there should be no issue in pursuing these repairs. Moreover, I am committed to lobbying the university to ensure university facilities are similarly upheld. Shit in PNR is simply not good enough!!!
I’m against the mould, the USU should work collaboratively with the University and Facilities staff in order to ensure the safety of all students and staff.
The mould and asbestos being found is a health and safety hazard and the USU urgently needs competent persons to conduct inspections and subsequently undertake a management plan to implement the removal of mould and asbestos.
In lieu of this, a review of all older buildings that may or are confirmed to contain asbestos/mould should be done. If positive results are found, rather than having small fixes which temporarily solve the problem, more permanent removal solutions should be made. Many clubs and societies often meet in old buildings such as Holme, and we want to make campus as safe as possible for students!
I do believe the USU should utilise their massive surplus and spend it on the students. This is a key part of my policy plank. One of the best ways the USU ought to demonstrate their commitments to students is improving facilities that pose health and safety issues – it’s the bare minimum.
As a long-term solution for the performing arts, I’ve promoted the conversion of the empty Nicholson Museum space (after consultation and discussions with the the members of the Performing Arts Alliance, the USU CEO, and Dean of the Con) into a Performing Arts Hub with a storage space, rehearsal area, and potential small performance area. This would come from a joint SSAF application of all the members of the PAA, the Con, USU, and potentially the SRC, to refurbish the space a little bit; it’s already large enough and has quite a lot going for it. This would have many benefits: Firstly removing the instruments out of the iffy cages means they won’t be damaged by rain, mould, asbestos, etc.; and many societies are unable to use the cages anyways because they don’t have an elevator access. It would also allow more societies to make benefit of the cage spaces, with the large instruments being moved out. It would also bring a little bit more culture to the Quad space, quite sad and closed; and with pushes to have more concerts at the Great Hall, this is a really close and central space for all the equipment and rehearsal to take space. With imminent closures of current rehearsal spaces (such as Gillespie Hall at St Andrew’s College, used by SUSO and SUWO), and many music societies still struggling to find suitable rehearsal venues, this would allow a permanent, entirely suitable location for them; also allowing Revues to use the space when they need to. It would mean that more movement stuff can be done in the Elliott Miller Room, and non-performing arts can use the Common and Reading Rooms.
For all societies, a temporary solution needs to take place, whilst the USU takes the necessary steps to improve the lower levels of the Holme Building and other spaces that are affected. A temporary solution could be using the new space in Nicholson, or using the underused spaces in Level 4 of Wentworth. The USU urgently needs to commit whatever funding is necessary to fully refurbish these spaces to be safe, as well as being fully accessible, and ensure that they won’t fall into such states of disrepair again (particularly that flooding and other dramatic weather events will keep getting worse in the climate crisis). All of this needs to be done in a timely manner, so that disruptions are kept to a minimum, and so that they don’t fall into bureaucratic “ifs and whens”. Clubs complain about the lack of suitable spaces, but this has an easy remedy: use the spaces the USU already has, but update (and then maintain) them to be within safety requirements, with disability access to all of them.
Voting takes place from the 9th to the 13th of May.