NOW! candidate Patrick Crosswell for
allegations of sexual harassment.
“
It should be stressed to all campaigners that
harassment of other participants in the election
will not be tolerated. As a senior candidate on
his ticket, the Respondent [Crosswell] has to be
presumed to be aware of the gravity of his actions,”
Richardson’s ruling stated.
NOW! also requested a recount for its
Education (Academic Affairs) Officer ticket,
which Crosswell was running for, although the
outcome remained the same.
Along with the ruling against Crosswell,
Richardson made additional rulings throughout
the election period, due to incidents such as
a potentially racist Facebook comment, and a
violation of an election regulation that prohibits
“
Defacing, mutilating, destroying or removing
any election material without the authority of
the publisher of that material.”
Hadgraft’s plans for next year include
increasing the Union’s reach, as well as
improving its brand image.
“
My goal is to leave the union and feel like
I’ve extended it in some way and feel that I’ve
improved its reach to students and feel that
I’ve helped it build into this stronger union of
activity and representation,” she said.
Other goals under her presidency include
introducing student radio to Melbourne and the
ongoing issue of compulsory lecture recordings.
Hadgraft also talked about the stress
of campaigning, admitting that it was
sometimes “demoralising”.
“
People have described it as ‘a week of
getting broken up with over and over again!’”
However, she said there were definitely
moments of optimism during the campaign.
“
When you have those conversations and you turn
someone, that sparks the fire that keeps you going
for another couple of hours. So it’s a bit of an
emotional rollercoaster, but it keeps you going.”
NOW! Presidential candidate Isabelle
Kingshott declined to comment on the defeat.
For full results:
bit.ly/T7YR8X
Still Standing After
NarrowElectionResult
PHOTO BY LUKE CHRICOP
A
fter that brief period when colour-
coded candidates wave flyers at students
walking into the Baillieu (a.k.a. election
week), University of Melbourne Student Union
(
UMSU) office bearers, students’ council and
committee members for 2013 have been elected.
Stand Up! won the ballot by a very narrow
margin, with about 51 per cent of formal votes
for the Presidential position. They will maintain
their current position of power against major
opposition NOW!, who received 49 per cent.
Polling took place during Week Seven (3 to
7
September), during which candidates spent
hours campaigning outside Baillieu Library,
Union House and the ICT Building, as well
as at the VCA and Burnley campuses. In total,
3,342
students voted in the election—more
than last year, when the turnout was 2,916.
Stand Up! Presidential candidate Kara
Hadgraft, who won with 1,487 total votes,
said she was “really excited and just optimistic”
about her upcoming term.
“
I’m really excited for next year and already
we’ve sort of hit the ground running, talking
about a couple of plans.”
Charles Richardson, Returning Officer for
the elections, commented that while there were
no outstanding issues during the week, the close
number of votes between the two major parties
meant that “counting took a bit longer than
it usually would because we had to distribute
preferences everywhere and had to take extra
care with things.”
He noted that NOW! had been leading
for the majority of the campaign. “The right
is stronger earlier in the week, and the left is
stronger later in the week,” he said. “On the
Monday at Union House, for example, we have
[
Presidential candidates] Kingshott 91 against
Hadgraft 64, whereas on the Friday it’s Hadgraft
178
to Kingshott 162.”
“
If you were to take out the Friday, then
clearly the right would’ve won,” he said.
Richardson also made several rulings
throughout the week, including one against
6
FARRAGO — EDITION SEVEN 2012
News.
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE STUDENT UNION — OCTOBER 2012
How does it feel to have won the
UMSU President-elect position for
next year?
Kara Hadgraft: Relieving! Election week and
days following were a bit surreal because you
spend months thinking about it, thinking
about the election and preparing yourself
and being in this state of limbo—not really
knowing what the outcome is going to be.
Then it all comes to a climax in one week and
one evening and the next day you wake up
and… it’s all over. It’s super exciting and I’m
really excited for next year.
What changes do you plan on
making to the union and/or
student life next year?
KH: One of the big changes we want to work
through is part of the [Union] restructure
that’s been occurring. Part of that will be
developing a stronger brand for the Union so
that people know when there’s an event on
that it’s run by the Union.
One of the things I really want to look at next
year is how we can increase the reach of the
Union, because at the moment we do focus
so much of our energy around the Union
building and this end of campus. [We’re]
trying to get things happening both south of
Grattan Street and also at the VCA.
How did you get involved in
student politics?
KH: I’m motivated by the role of the union in
being able to advocate on behalf of students…
I [also] love clubs and societies and I love the
opportunities that the Union can provide for
this sort of sense of community and way to
get involved, no matter what your interest is.
Do you have any advice for
students that are interested in
getting involved but don’t really
know how?
KH: I say a good way firstly is to find clubs
and societies that interest you. Otherwise, get
involved in collectives. The most important
thing to do is ask. Send an email, knock on
one of our doors, and be persistent, because
sometimes we forget and don’t get back to
people!
Is there anything particular you
want students to know?
KH: If you are having difficulty and you do
have a problem or have a question, just ask
someone because there’s no point sitting at
home going, “I don’t know what to do, I don’t
know who to go to”. Just ask.
Q
&
A
With the President-Elect
MICHELLE SEE-THO
MICHELLE SEE-THO
