Norrie and diversity

(This is already moving away from being a specifically student politics blog. We'll see where it ends up)

So I imagine a lot of people have heard the news about Norrie, who last week became the first person in Australia (and going from reports abroad, the world) to be legally declared to be neither a man nor a woman, with 'Sex: Not Specified' listed on hir Recognised Details Certificate (equivalent to a Birth Certificate for naturalised Australian citizens).

This news quickly went around the news, being reported on the BBC, the British gutter tabloids, in New York, and countless other places. Norrie even got a wikipedia page on hir (under hir birth name, 'Norrie May-Welby'). For who-knows-how-many, the news was a great relief - finally, there was a path to legal recognition for sex and gender diverse people (including myself). It has caused conversations around the globe as to whether this is a good thing, with most reports being extremely positive.

But wait, there's more. And it's not so good.

Last Tuesday afternoon, Norrie was phoned by the Attorney-General's Department (I believe NSW, not federal) that they had received legal advice that what had happened was in error. So it was canceled. This despite Norrie having been told in writing that the process had been finalised, signed by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Then, to add further confusion to the mix, Norrie received hir new Name Certificate (zie had also changed hir name to Norrie, from Norrie May-Welby. On this certificate, the sex was listed as 'Not Stated'. Why this? What's the difference between 'Not Specified' and 'Not Stated'? Why is one allowable and the other not?

In any case, how can the Attorney-General cancel something after it has been signed off? The person on the phone cited 'legal advice' - but that doesn't hold water. There has been no court ruling. It isn't within the AG's remit to alter the Register without due process.

So a hastily organised protest was set up, on the street outside the Human Rights Commission. Many of the usual suspects turned up, Rachel Evans from Socialist Alliance and CAAH, the current head of the Scarlet Alliance (who I met and was introduced to, but can't for the life of me remember her name), Lee Rhiannon from the Greens, several friends of Norrie's, and also a couple of people who heard about it via Facebook and quick emailing.
There were a few people from the press, which is always good. I saw 2UE, ABC, 7 and SSO logos, there may have been one or two others.

I went along, because I thought it important. The initial ruling that Norrie could be considered 'Sex: Not Specified' was for me a truly wonderful thing. It opened the door to true legal recognition for myself and so many others. I posted on here before some of my thoughts regarding filling out forms etc - this looked like a path out of that disaster.

To try and close this door now it has been opened is, I truly believe, beyond the powers of this ignorant AG's department. The genie is out of the bottle, the cat is out of the bag, and so on and so forth. You've all heard the phrases used before. But it'll still be a difficult fight. Norrie put in an official complaint about all of this to the Human Rights Commission today, and getting them on board will help a lot. But it'll still likely take a while.

Strikes

Just got this oh-so-wonderful email from Uni.

Dear students

You may have seen material distributed around the University by the
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) indicating that its members
intend to take industrial action at UNSW in the form of 24 hour
stoppages on Thursday 18 March, Wednesday 31 March and Tuesday 20 April.

It is deeply disappointing that the NTEU has decided to take this
action, despite the potential impact on students. However we are
confident that the great majority of staff will be working as usual
and that there will be minimal disruption. The University will
continue to operate normally and we are hopeful that most classes
will go ahead.

In order to minimise inconvenience to students, lecturers will be
asked to advise their Heads of School and their students if they are
not intending to take classes. If you have a query about any of your
classes scheduled for these dates, I encourage you to contact your
lecturer or course/program coordinator.

The University has a legal obligation not to pay any staff member who
takes industrial action. We have decided that salary costs saved as
a result of the stoppages will be allocated directly to student
services on campus.

I reiterate my disappointment that the industrial action is occurring
during term time, which will certainly inconvenience some of you. I
take this opportunity to wish all of you the very best for the
upcoming academic year.


Yours sincerely

Professor Richard Henry AM
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
Tel: (+61 2 9385 2800)
Fax: (+61 2 9385 1385)

This isn't really student politics per se, but it is university politics. The NTEU's been in negotiations with the uni over the group certificate for well over a semester now, and nothing looks like it's going anywhere. There was a strike last semester, and now it's looking like going into rolling strikes. Which sucks majorly.

This sort of situation can put students in a very difficult position. Do you cross the picket line and attend classes while other staff are striking? Or do you risk being penalised for not going to classes? Where do you draw the line?

To add more confusion to the mix, Arc's holding a Volunteer Expo on Thursday. It was meant to be a big way of showing students the many and varied ways you can become involved with volunteering at uni. The last I heard, the Expo was still going ahead. But if students don't turn up to uni, then it's a wasted opportunity to let them know what's going on. And if they do turn up (including the Volunteer Program Coordinators and the volunteers themselves), they're crossing a picket line.

Even more fuel in the fire! One Women's Week event has had to be cancelled, because the speaker doesn't want to cross the picket line.

So yeah. A single event snowballs, and takes up more and more.

Then of course there's that wonderful line, "We have decided that salary costs saved as
a result of the stoppages will be allocated directly to student
services on campus." Those 'salary costs' are drawn from students - either now, or from HECS. And wouldn't it be better for students for the uni to simply sit down with the NTEU and negotiate, instead of farting around like this and making everyone's life a misery?

Old Shirts

So I've just moved house, which involves packing everything up at one end, then (eventually) unpacking it at the other. Interestingly, during the wardrobe stages a found a few old campaign shirts.
If you're ever involved with elections, you'll end up with at least a few shirts. I usually keep them around to sleep in, since they're usually basic comfortable cotton t-shirts.

What do I find?
Last year's 'Voice' shirt
'Say Yes to Jess' Arc Board election (I never got hold of a 'All Aboard with Matt Ward' sadly)
two 'Demand a Better Future' shirts, one with the arms taken off and a home-made deeper neckline
and finally, one I'm somewhat less pleased with nowadays, an 'Action Andrew' shirt from the 08 Arc Board elections.

I used to have Voice shirts for both Phuong and Chari (elections in 07 and 08), but sadly they have migrated off to the Smith Family.

Why do I keep them? Partly I'm a hoarder. Also, as mentioned above, they're comfortable shirts for sleeping in (wouldn't be seen dead wearing one around outside).
Also, they remind me of what it was like to do that campaign. What the people promised, what I promised in the cases of my own elections. What people promised and failed to deliver.

'Action Andrew' Looi seems to have vanished without a trace. What has he accomplished, in his year as an Undergrad Councillor, his year as Education Officer, and his nearly completed two years on Arc Board?

I hope that his position will be filled by a strong, capable Director when elections roll around. If last year's campaigns are any guide, it'll be strongly contested.
I ran for Board Director last year, and lost out by less than one vote. I have no complaints about the person who beat me at the final count - Jess Mobbs has been fantastic, and I'm sure will continue to be as such. Matt Ward I'm good friends with, but he has a definite tendency to take on more than he can chew. Simon Bruck, the only Director from last year who pulled a quota in his own right, I'm least impressed with. The reasons for that will be looked at in a future post.

If you're an Arc member, definitely think about what you want Arc to be doing. Don't go for Directorship merely to add credentials to your CV. Don't go for it to prove a point. The role takes work - you would need to sacrifice your time, for no pay.

I'm not categorically ruling out another tilt at Directorship myself at this stage, but I will say it's unlikely. I'm nearing the end of my time at uni, plus I'm quite liking the rate of pay I receive as an Arc Retail Employee. So it's not likely to happen.

O-Week Roundup

So O-week has been and gone. A huge lot of impressionable first years. The best chance all year to build up an e-list, a club, a collective.

For the most part, I think the SRC did well. Being next to the Arc Membership tent was helpful in channeling students towards the SRC (especially given the quite astounding rate of membership this year). Probably would have been better if the SRC stalls hadn't been so far back from the main walkway, but you can't have everything.

A few things stood out.

Thanks to the Indigenous Officers, I discovered the incredible tastiness of emu and crocodile.
Wheelchair basketball is incredibly fun.
The Ethno-cultural and International Students departments look to have made an excellent start on rebuilding their collectives - there were lots of people going up to them throughout the week, signing petitions and having fun. It may well happen that Ashraf Alfian Alias, currently an Undergrad Councillor (A), will become co-International Students Officer.
Queer made a great start to the year, which then culminated in the splendour that is Mardi Gras.

A few other things, on a less positive note.

The Education Officer, Helen Samardzic, seemed to have only been around for part of the day on Monday. Not much for the rest of the week. Later on, several undergrad councillors were trying to collect names for the Education e-list for her. But while all the other collectives got lots of sign-ups and enquiries, there simply wasn't anything from the Education Department.

The Cofa Representative, Beck Hynek, was on Kensington campus all day on Tuesday. This might not seem like a bad thing. She was meeting students. But... Tuesday was the COFA O-Day. From the looks of it (and from hearing from a few COFA SRCers), she seems to have no interest in the campus she represents, and no interest in working with the SRC she chairs.

Not happy Jan.

~~~
On a completely other note, classes have started up again at UNSW. Plus I'm four weeks into my Tafe course. So I won't be posting here all that often, usually with either general info stuff (the 7 or 8 topics I raised a few weeks back) or with breaking news. But stay tuned nevertheless, since there still will be occassional posts here.