2015-02-17
Ben Moroney
Campus life, uni clubs, political groups — it can all feel overwhelming when you thought you were just turning up for 20 hours a week of glorified job training.
Fortunately, if you give it a go, you can find getting involved with campus life and extracurricular clubs to be one of the most rewarding experiences of your tertiary education, especially if you pick the right activities.
The Young Greens and Greens on Campus use O-Week as the perfect excuse to pull out the stops and try and organise a fun, inclusive and fulfilling introduction to campus life and university activism, and 2015 is no different. Young Greens and Greens on Campus run stalls at as many universities as possible, often with fun games, activities and food, as well as pamphlets and information about the Greens and Green campaigns. We'll also have our fabulous O-Week introductory flyer, with a bunch of great writing from student activists and MPs, as well as a message from us, the co-convenors.
Here's some examples of where Greens will be active at O-week:
New South Wales
UNSW Greens on Campus will be at International Square, between the Main Walk Way and the Quad. They'll be giving away biscuits and having a lovely time. Greens will be running a stall at UTS, handing out flyers and info and up for a chat. UWS Kingswood will also play host to a Western Sydney Young Greens stall, bringing Green policies out West.
If you're in Sydney, you should also come along to the Young Greens Start of Semester Party on Friday, March 6th at The Forresters in Surry Hills at 7:00PM — there's a bar tab and free food, slam poets, DJs and Indigenous musicians, fun games and you can also rub shoulders with Green MPs.
Queensland
The Griffith University Greens Club has applied to run a stall at all five O-Week locations. Stalls will also be run at University of Queensland. If you're on the Gold Coast, you're out of luck, since political clubs are banned — but why not take the opportunity to agitate for student representation?
South Australia
Greens on Campus will be active and running stalls at both University of Adelaide and Flinders University.
Victoria
Victoria is sparing no effort, with a coordinated organisation and social media strategy aimed at getting out to more campuses than ever before, aimed at reaching more than 2000 students across O-Week. They're supported in this effort by their new record-breaking stable of seven State and three Federal MPs. Catch the Melbourne University stall on Thursday, followed by drinks at a local park. Deakin students can spot their local Deakin Greens Club groups at Waurn Ponds (Tuesday 3rd) and Waterfront (Wednesday 4th). Monash Greens On Campus will have a stall Monday - Thursday in Clayton. The Greens Club La Trobe stall will be on Thursday. You can find the Victoria University Greens stalls at Footscray Nicholson on Monday, St Albans on Tuesday, and Footscray Park on Wednesday. Lastly, don't miss the stall at RMIT Greens, on Thursday 26th Feb and Thursday 5th March.
Tasmania
Tassie Greens will be running stalls at both ends of the state, with a couple of state MPs joining them in the south and Peter Whish-Wilson in the north. They'll be running a competition to win surfing lessons from Pete to people who join the party on the day!
This isn't an exhaustive list! If you want any more information, or if you want to know if the Greens will be at a university stall near you, don't hesitate to get in touch with us — email me at benmoroney@nsw.greens.org.au, or send a message through the Australian Young Greens Facebook. Better yet, get in touch with your state Young Greens!
University is a profound journey, and O-Week is the first step. A journey is always better with friends and people you trust. Let the Young Greens and Greens on Campus help you along, and turn your university experience into more than just job training — let it fulfil you intellectually and socially, and change your life for the better.
Ben Moroney is one of the co-convenors of the Australian Young Greens.