Victorian College of the Arts Student Union
Encyclopedia
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
of the former Victorian College of the Arts
Victorian College of the Arts
The Faculty of the VCA and Music is a faculty of the University of Melbourne, in Victoria . VCAM is located near the Melbourne central business district, on two campuses, one - the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - on the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne, and the other - the...
(VCA), now known as the Faculty of VCA and Music
Victorian College of the Arts
The Faculty of the VCA and Music is a faculty of the University of Melbourne, in Victoria . VCAM is located near the Melbourne central business district, on two campuses, one - the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - on the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne, and the other - the...
(VCAM) in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was a separately incorporated organisation which represented the VCA student body. It had a strong history of creative student activism
Student activism
Student activism is work done by students to effect political, environmental, economic, or social change. It has often focused on making changes in schools, such as increasing student influence over curriculum or improving educational funding...
and successful political campaigns. VCASU's student newspaper was called Spark
Spark (magazine)
Spark is the official student newspaper of the Victorian College of the Arts Student Union. It is published four times per year and is free to all Victorian College of the Arts students....
. VCASU officially went into voluntary liquidation on 15 May 2009 and shut down operations by 30 June 2009.
The Melbourne Model
VCA became a faculty of the University of MelbourneUniversity of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
(UoM) in 2007, which is in the stages of implementing the Melbourne Model
Melbourne Model
The Melbourne Model is a radical restructuring of the undergraduate curriculum of the University of Melbourne, located in Victoria, Australia, one of the country's richest universities...
at UoM. VCASU argued the new changes were aimed at cutting university courses, staff and services which UoM Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis
Glyn Davis
Glyn Conrad Davis, AC is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.- Early life :Professor Davis was educated at Marist Brothers College, Kogarah...
denied. Davis, the architect of the Melbourne Model had come under much criticism from staff and students alike.
UoM Provost Peter McPhee
Peter McPhee (academic)
Peter McPhee is an Australian academic, and was the Provost of the University of Melbourne. He is the first person to have held the position at Melbourne, as it has typically been in place at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom....
announced on 22 April 2008, that VCA's six separate schools of fine art, music, drama, dance, production and film and television would become three by 2009, while maintaining the six disciplines.
VCASU also argued that UoM was attempting to silence VCASU for its criticisms over the Melbourne Model in the wake of Voluntary student unionism
Voluntary student unionism
Voluntary student unionism is a policy, notable in Australia, under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations is voluntary....
introduced under the John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
Government, by refusing to fund the organisation any further, which they foresaw forcing its closure. Despite this, VCASU achieved a 25% voluntary membership in 2007, with more than 50% of VCA students agreeing to join VCASU when enrolling online in both 2007 and 2008. Sue Pennicuik
Sue Pennicuik
Susan Margaret "Sue" Pennicuik is an Australian politician, and Greens member of the Victorian Legislative Council.-Early career:...
of the Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
raised concerns with the University of Melbourne Amendment Bill that prior to the amalgamation of VCA with the university, VCA students had their own student union which represented them in their particular way of studying, pointing out the difference between the practical way of studying the arts to how university students study.
Campaign History
In 1998, VCASU stopped the introduction of Up Front FeesTertiary education fees in Australia
As a general rule, all students who attend Australian tertiary education institutions are charged higher education fees. However, several measures are in place to relieve the costs of tertiary education in Australia....
at the VCA by staging a tent city
Tent City
A tent city is a temporary housing facility made using tents. Informal tent cities may be set up without authorization by homeless people or protesters. As well, state governments or military organizations set up tent cities to house refugees, evacuees, or soldiers...
on administration lawns. In 2003 VCASU led a militant campaign to reinstate VCA sessional staff which were to lose their jobs due to a "budget deficit" according to VCA Director Andrea Hull
Andrea Hull
Professor Andrea Hull is an Australian academic, and was appointed the Director of the Victorian College of the Arts in 1995, the college's longest standing director. Hull announced her retirement to commence in March 2009 to "to pursue other interests" despite the University of Melbourne music...
. In 2004, VCASU were involved in the student occupations
Occupation (protest)
An as an act of protest, is the entry into and holding of a building, space or symbolic site. As such, occupations often combine some of the following elements: a challenge to ownership of the space involved, an effort to gain public attention, the practical use of the facilities occupied, and a...
at VCA, RMIT University
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
and Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
against the Howard Government's increased HECS fees. Also in 2004 VCASU protested against the then Federal Minister for Education, Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
while visiting the VCA campus by dressing as Grim Reapers and labeling him the "Minister for Higher Execution". In 2008 VCASU accused UoM of forcing the closure of their union, a charge the university denies. The union was also involved in protesting academic staff cuts in 2008 by attempting to disrupt a UoM council meeting.
Proud
Proud was VCASU's annual acquisitive prize exhibition held for all VCASU members to participate. It had traditionally been held in the Margaret Lawrence Gallery at VCA. Beginning in 1996, Proud provided a launch pad for many of VCA's successful emerging artists, including Anastasia KloseAnastasia Klose
Anastasia Klose is an Australian contemporary artist. Her work has received much attention in the art world due to the personal nature of her subject matter, often putting herself in humiliating situations. She is a graduate of both the Victorian College of the Arts and the University of Melbourne...
, Van Thanh Rudd
Van Thanh Rudd
Van Thanh Rudd is a Vietnamese Australian artist, activist and the nephew of Australian former-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. His artworks have created controversies due to their left-wing political content...
and Azlan McLennan
Azlan McLennan
Azlan McLennan is a visual artist and socialist activist based in Melbourne, Australia. He is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts...
. Previous Proud exhibitions included high profile arts industry judges such as Marcus Westbury
Marcus Westbury
Marcus Westbury is an Australian festival director. He is currently based in Melbourne, Australia where he filmed the TV series Not Quite Art...
and Patricia Piccinini
Patricia Piccinini
Patricia Piccinini is an Australian artist and hyperrealist sculptor. Her art work came to prominence in Australia in the late 1990s. In 2003 she was selected as the artist to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale....
.