DON’T FORGET ROSEWORTHY; an open letter to the SRC and AUU
Words by Rory Spiers
Roseworthy is a small country town situated roughly 50km north of Adelaide, far enough away to be overlooked by North Terrace based student leaders. This sleepy little town is also home to the University of Adelaide’s School of Animal and Veterinary Science. The Roseworthy Campus itself caters to Animal Science, Veterinary Bioscience, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Behaviour degrees, with a new Veterinary Technology degree due to start up next year. Currently, 775 students study at the campus (all of whom pay the same SSAF fees as everyone else), and with increasing cohort sizes in Veterinary Bioscience and the introduction of Veterinary Technology, this number is certain to increase in the future. Roseworthy is also the home base for 12 Union clubs.
For the last 2 years, the student body at Roseworthy has been fortunate enough to be represented by the Rural Officer on the SRC, something that occurred just by chance. This election, however, much to our collective dismay, Roseworthy’s voice has been silenced with no Roseworthy candidates being elected to either the AUU or the SRC. This sequence of events has left our campus worried, especially following the suggestion of completely de-staffing the Roseworthy Campus Library. This controversial decision was met with outstanding backlash from Roseworthy students, and our concerns were represented by SRC Rural Officer and Roseworthy student Tobias Threadgold. Tobias knew the importance of our library because he lives, works and studies here. Without a representative voice to stand up and speak on our behalf, what will happen when decisions are made for us by higher-ups who couldn’t point out where we are on a map?
In terms of student politics, until very recently Roseworthy has been an untapped market for election votes. We might be a smaller campus, but with the potential for 775 additional votes for the faction which actually takes the time to bother to campaign out here, we are a force that can sway elections in the direction of someone who cares enough to stand up for Roseworthy. Roughly 30% of our student body hold AUU memberships, a number which cannot be scoffed at. If the AUU were to turn their back on Roseworthy students, this would be an affront to any student at this campus who has paid for a Union membership.
We are not asking for Roseworthy to be at the forefront of every AUU and SRC committee member’s minds. All we want is for someone to remember that we’re here too. We want representation. While we are a smaller campus, to overlook us would be of detriment to our student body. There is the backing of an entire campus up for grabs for the person who takes the time to let us be heard.
Rory studies a Bachelor of Veterinary Bioscience at the Roseworthy Campus of the University of Adelaide
