Week 11, Semester 1, 2026

Happy Week 11 everyone, we’re almost there!

I hope all those impacted by the Canvas outage and data breach are receiving the help they need from the University. Please see the recent Honi Soit coverage and an email from ‘University Communications’ on what you need to know and do.  

Over the last week, there have been many SRC events and important other campaigns that the SRC has been part of. I helped run our sixth and final SRC vaccination day on Monday, and am now working on the wrap-up report and helping students get their immunisation records. The Wom*n’s Collective held their ‘Feminist Action Week’, including a beautiful vigil on Tuesday for victims of gender-based violence that I was honoured to speak at. I attended the vigil on Thursday for Kumanjayi Little Baby with other students to pay our respect and show up for First Nations people in this time of sorry business, from Gadigal Land to Walpiri. I also attended the Students for Palestine meeting to plan for this week’s Nakba Day protests both on and off campus. Importantly, we also had our May council meeting! I will be posting the passed motions of that meeting very soon. 

I was excited to have two meetings last week with some great news for students following advocacy from student representatives. An issue I raised about long processing delays for academic integrity cases (which impacted students enrollment and visa requirements) has now resulted in a report on the Academic Integrity Case Resolution Timeline across all faculties by the Academic Registrar. This includes detailed statistics, analysis and recommendations about how to centralise, better staff, and improve these processes to help students. A meeting of the Canteen Working Group with myself and SUPRA representatives provided positive updates about the planned University Canteen in the J03 Engineering Building which will serve low-cost breakfasts, lunches and dinners to students from Semester 2. More information will be available soon!

In solidarity,
Grace

Week 10, Semester 1, 2026

Last week was spent preparing for and speaking at a hearing for the NSW Parliament Inquiry into the University Sector, where I represented the SRC and students with SRC Disabilities Officer Kayla and SRC Casework and Policy Officer Jazzlyn. We discussed important issues with the Committee on Social Issues about meaningful student representation and consultation, the crisis of free speech, the role of the University Senate, the experiences of disabled students being let down, the importance of the SRC, and much more.

I went out to support the activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla at a snap rally when they were kidnapped in international waters and tortured. Our University and government must stand up against these flagrant injustices and violations of international law and human rights.

This week is Feminist Action Week – an annual week put on by our SRC Wom*n’s Collective, an autonomous feminist action group for students. We have one cool event for each day of the week which you should check out, even if it’s just coming to the social event + mutual aid fundraiser this Friday at 6pm at the Forest Lodge Hotel to meet like-minded people and find out more about our feminist organising. 

Events like these are the kind of information included in the fortnightly newsletter I started and have been running this semester, of which I am quite proud! Make sure to sign up via the pop-up on our website to get a regular (but not spam-level) email with collated information about SRC services, events, advice, and more. 

Keep up the fight,
Grace

Week 9, Semester 1, 2026

By the time you’re reading this I will have just appeared in NSW Parliament to give evidence to the Standing Committee on Social Issues for their inquiry into the university sector. Despite the previous president not making a submission to the inquiry, the SRC is fortunate to have been invited to speak to the issues that plague our university system and harm students’ wellbeing and studies.  

In other news, our vaccination scheme has seen 5/6 sessions complete and very successful! There is a news article covering it in last week’s edition of Honi and we plan to make a full recap soon to show all the amazing outcomes of the program. I also went onto FBi Backchat to speak on the continued issue of anti-abortion fanatics coming onto campus to harass students. I was grateful for it to be treated as the news item and current problem it is – I have also tried to open a conversation with the University Executive, Senate, Student Life, Safer Communities, Protective Services and more so that at the very least the University is proactively helping students steer clear of these people and out of harm’s way with proactive communications and support on-site. We also did our first BBQ of the semester, which was a great way to reach out to new students about the SRC and hand out more of our awesome 2026 tote bags.

This week, make sure to take part in the Students for Palestine Nationwide Solidarity Week. We have a University of Sydney student on the Global Sumud Flotilla sailing to Gaza and our own battles to fight back home with a University riddled with ties to weapons and war. Find out more on our Instagram @src_usyd.

Week 8, Semester 1, 2026

It’s a busy time, here’s some of what I’ve been up to! 

• Helping run the first four sessions of our SRC-led vaccination scheme. We have helped over 550 students get a free influenza vaccination already!
• Launching and running our new SRC newsletter, which contains a recap of upcoming events, caseworker and academic advice, links to campaigns, editions of Honi Soit, and more. Sign up via our website! 
• Working with two of our SRC Caseworkers on an ongoing feedback and discussion process with the University about its new Sexual Harm and Gender-Based Violence Prevention policies and procedures, to make them more student-friendly and trauma-informed. 
• Trying to secure funding for a new space for the SRC which will be accessible, mould-free, and near other essential services like FoodHub. 
• Hiring new staff and fixing up issues with the EBA drafted last year. 
• Attending committees to raise important issues around housing, the processing of misconduct complaints, and more.
• Initiating conversations with the University and student-facing groups about tangible cost-of-living relief and hybrid learning during the fuel crisis.
• Continuing activism and advocacy around Palestine, particularly regarding NSW’s anti-protest laws and the ties between the University with weapons companies and complicit Israeli institutions, or the USU with companies on the BDS list. 
• Looking to collaborate and escalate the campaign around the recent graduate visa hike for international students.
• STILL trying to get approval for two free period product dispensers on campus.

There’s lots of things coming up to get involved with – make sure to check out @src_usyd to get updates, and sign up to our SRC mailing list via the pop-up on our website! Feel free to reach out with any questions or suggestions to president@src.usyd.edu.au

Week 7, Semester 1, 2026

It’s grind time, welcome to Week 7! I hope you all enjoyed a restful mid-semester break of study, or as much as one can when imperialist wars and cost-of-living pressures are crushing young people around the world. As outlined in my SRC Instagram post last week, the SRC is listening and taking action on such issues – I, with the SRC collectives, conducted an informal Instagram survey to add to our existing knowledge of the main pressures on students and what they want to see from the University and our government. The responses focused on groceries, student accommodation prices, hybrid learning and exams, more bursaries, and free public transport or concession opal cards for all students. This is what I have told the University and I hope to have more answers and solutions for you in the coming weeks. 

We know that these pressures and inequalities are not limited to the current fuel crisis and supply chain issues – students, young people and workers have long suffered improper living conditions, gone without meals, and been burdened by the debt of education at the corporate university. That is why the SRC will continue to fight against these systemic injustices, and not just the extra-horrific consequences that come about in frequent capitalist crises. 

There’s a few things you can take advantage of currently to ease the burden. Book in for a free influenza vaccination from the SRC via the information on our website. From this week, the SRC will be distributing a limited amount of grocery vouchers for students at risk of missing meals, which you can access via the Caseworker Contact Form (bit.ly/contact-a-caseworker). Take up on the University’s $5 lunches at Laneway, the USU’s free breakfasts for members at the ISL, and our beloved FoodHub. 

Keep up the fight,
Grace

Week 6, Semester 1, 2026

I wish a happy Easter and Pesach next week to all those who celebrate, and I also hope for a restful mid-semester break for all students! March has been a busy month for myself and the SRC, but we have
some good outcomes to show for it. 

Our 2026 influenza vaccination program was launched last week and already over 50% of spots havebeen filled! We are thrilled to see that students are taking steps to look after their health and their community, and that the SRC’s new vaccination scheme is popular. Students have already expressed great appreciation for the vaccinations being free, open to international students, and accessible across three USyd campuses. Check out our Instagram posts for more information and the sign-up link! 

This past weekend, the SRC took part in various community and activist events necessary to respond to current problems of our world and to fight for young people’s lives to be better. This included the letter-writing event and fundraiser for a student going on the next Global Sumud Flotilla, Trans Day of Visibility, the Palm Sunday Rally for refugees and against war, and Yom Al-Ard (Palestinian Land Day). I was pleased to have chaired the Palm Sunday rally where I was able to talk to the experiences of young people in a broken world, and to specific issues like the recent graduate visa fee hike which leaves international students treated even more like cash-cows and a burden. 

There are lots of things coming up after the break – make sure to stay up to date with Honi and our new SRC newsletter, which you can sign up to via our website. 

In solidarity,
Grace

Week 5, Semester 1, 2026

Welcome to Week 5! 

This is the fourth year in a row that the Autonomous Collective Against Racism and SRC have hosted Israeli Apartheid Week on campus, which I am very proud to have been a part of since 2024. From 21–30 March 2026 there will be events and stalls focused on the global theme of “Palestine Frees Us All,” looking more specifically at our local USyd context about boycotts and divestments at universities, and also coinciding with the launch of ACAR Honi Soit this Wednesday! Check out the full program on our Instagram.

Last week, I spent a lot of time doing the back end side of the President role – going to the bank, going through the audit of our 2025 expenditure, brainstorming with staff in the March committee meeting, tying up some loose ends of our SRC Enterprise Agreement, and working on our 2025 SSAF Acquittal. It’s not so glamorous, but very important. 

I also went to the March Senate meeting with student leaders from the USU, SUPRA and Sydney Uni Sport to answer questions from the Senate fellows about our organisations, our achievements, and improving the student experience. I made the case for increasing support of our SRC Legal department and particularly emphasising that students need safe and affordable student housing provided by the University. After a few months of me bringing this up at every possible meeting with the University Executive, they have indicated that an announcement about the future of International House will be out soon. The SRC and students must be part of these conversations to make sure that the housing the University provides is both the right quality and quantity and provides safety and community for students, not solely a bed to sleep on and a roof over their head. I also gave some input into the University’s AI Strategic Direction and its ethical responsibilities, which I will speak more about soon. 

Our vaccination dates and sign-ups will hopefully be out by the time you are reading this. Make sure to register soon and keep an eye out for a human-sized syringe costume floating around campus in coming weeks…

Also, be sure to check out and submit your expression of interest for Students 4 BDS on page 22. Students are mobilising around apartheid divestment campaigns against the USU, and it’s an opportunity for new and experienced activists alike to get involved.

In solidarity,
Grace

Week 4, Semester 1, 2026

Last week saw the Nationwide Student Strike for Palestine, which was a huge success! I dedicated some time to flyering and talking to students, trying to create an SRC all-in building day, and importantly creating an infographic with FAQs about protest and this rally so that all students felt informed and empowered to go. 

Over in Brisbane/Meanjin, two students were arrested over the phrase “from the river to the sea” after the Queensland government passed new legislation banning it. This is abhorrent and a cruel reminder of the political reality that we are in and fighting against.

This cannot be our new normal, and we need more students involved through the SRC and Students for Palestine. We are stronger together.

In the background, are some important tasks and campaigns: 

• Working on drafting and collaborating on long overdue policies for the SRC 
• Fine-tuning the vaccination scheme sign up form and promotional materials
• Working with ISOs on launching and organising our SRC document translation service 
• Working with caseworkers and Safer Communities on feedback and strengthening new university sexual harm and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention policy and procedures
• Working on 2025 SSAF Acquittal to account for all of our spending
• Continued work with On the House to install two period product dispensers on campus  
• Preparing to present and answer questions at the March Senate meeting about ‘student experience’ and the amazing work the SRC does

I raised some important student issues in recent committees:

• Long wait times for Business and Engineering faculty academic integrity cases from 2025 which creates issues for re-enrolment 
• The changes needed from university leadership to implement and advance the Disability and Inclusion Action Plan
• The future of International House and University-owned accommodation 
• The over-enrolment of students and use of non-classroom spaces

There’s lots happening, make sure to keep up to date and involved!

Thank you. 

Week 3, Semester 1, 2026

Welcome to Week 3! Last week saw the SUPRA x SRC x Student Life ‘Welcome Fair’ in the Great Hall which was a great success and offered a model of orientation activities that are student-led, more intimate, and less corporatised. We will work to bring this back in Semester 2 for you! We also had our March SRC meeting for councillors and office-bearers. The coverage of this by Honi Soit will be out soon and the minutes on our website ASAP.

This week, importantly, is the NATIONWIDE STUDENT STRIKE FOR PALESTINE! Join us on Eastern Avenue at 1pm on Wednesday 11 March before we march to Town Hall to meet up with other university student contingents. Our peers in Gaza have no universities left, and it is our duty to fight for them and to fight against the complicity of our own university. 

A current challenge I am navigating with the SRC is political freedoms on campus and restrictive university policies. We have long decried the Campus Access Policy 2024 and ‘five key policies’ implemented in 2025. We now see how they are being enforced to stifle and restrict student organising. An important protest against the war on Iran was told it was ‘unacceptable’ because they notified the University half a day late about it, despite the University admitting they were aware due to online and physical posters. A planned stall for this past Monday to hand out SRC tote bags and build the student strike was automatically rejected since it was not submitted for approval a week in advance. The University should not be deeming – arbitrarily, at that – what is ‘acceptable’ or ‘approved’ based on policies brought in after the 2024 Gaza Solidarity Encampment to quell dissent. 

You can, and should, get involved with the campaigns to fight these injustices through our student-run SRC collectives. Check out our website and social media for more details about how to get involved and updates on these existential issues threatening all that the SRC does and stands for. 

In Solidarity, 
Grace

Week 2, Semester 1, 2026

Although it is Week 2, welcome activities are still continuing and I encourage you to check them out to find all the resources you need and all the ways to get involved with campus life and organising. This week, the SRC took part in the Welcome Fair in the Great Hall put on by SUPRA, and hopefully you will see us handing out more of our 2026 SRC tote bags! 

Despite all the fun of the start of a new semester, there are unfortunately ever-more problems in our society that are intimately affecting students.
That is why the SRC must be a political space, and why we need students to get involved. Israel and the US’ illegal attack on Iran has caused the deaths of many school children and continues to wreak havoc and fear across the Middle East, during the month of Ramadan at that. 

The first world leader to speak up in support of this imperialist aggression was our own, Anthony Albanese, from the so-called ‘socialist left’ of the Australian Labor Party. 

This same Labor Party continues to crackdown on protest and free speech, which has made its way onto our university campuses and manifested in intimidatory surveillance and unfair restriction of Palestine-related activities.  

All of the challenges that students face – housing, cost-of-living, crushing international student fees and HECs debts, institutional racism and bad university governance – are political and tied up with these larger issues. 

You can, and should, get involved with the campaigns to fight these injustices through our student-run SRC collectives. Check out our website and social media for more details about how to get involved. 

On a lighter note, I am writing this report while watching the AFC Women’s Asia Cup. Up the Tillies.
- Grace

Week 1, Semester 1, 2026

Welcome to, or back to, university! My name is Grace Street and I am the President of the SRC, your undergraduate student union. This is just a short weekly report, please find others with lots more detail on our SRC website and Instagram!

It has been a pleasure for me to present or to host SRC stalls at so many welcome events, including the Scholarships, International Students, Gadigal Centre, ADP, Engineering, and the Con Welcomes for new students. Make sure to get one of our beautiful new SRC tote bags for this year which were designed by one of our USyd students, Krystal Dallinger-Simpson, with the inclusion of Gadigal language from Aunty Nadeena Dixon. 
So far, this year has required a lot of organising and political actions around the undemocratic anti-protest laws rushed through by NSW Premier Chris Minns. The SRC has supported these actions, including for the third year in a row running a ‘cool-down station’ at the beginning of the Invasion Day march. Two weeks ago we saw the amazing people-powered protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has been found to have incited genocide, across the continent. Sydney’s protest was itself peaceful and legal, but the kettling and lack of exits from police made it dangerous and led to violence. 

As part of our ongoing campaign around sexual and gender-based violence on campus as well as the elitism and sexism of the Residential Colleges, WoCo hosted its annual ‘Abolish the Colleges’ protest on Friday which I was very proud to speak at. Students for Palestine held their first meet & greet and rally for the year, ahead of the next National Student Strike on 11 March 2026. 

Make sure to sign up to our new SRC newsletter!

In solidarity,
Grace

December 2025

Happy holidays and happy new year to all! This is Grace – your SRC President for 2026. I’m very honoured to be in this role following our big election in September 2025, and am very excited for the year ahead. 

The SRC doesn’t normally do reports outside of the university semesters but it’s something I wanted to pursue since I have now been the President for almost a month and so much happens during the holiday period that can otherwise be missed or unaccounted for – as you will see below! The SRC is the undergraduate student union at USyd and also has a larger role to play in our larger society and communities, so you should know what we’re getting up to.

The first month of my term really ended up only being three (big) weeks before the break and mostly taken up by our successful SRC Induction Week and the National Union of Students (NUS) National Conference in regional Victoria, but here are some of the things I can update you on for now. 

The most important and pressing thing, of course, has been responding to the mass shooting of a Jewish holiday event in Bondi on Sunday 14 December. I worked with other SRC Office-Bearers to develop a statement to offer our condolences to the victims and to firmly condemn this act of antisemitic hatred and violence. We shared information and resources about planned vigils and support services, including for affected students who were still yet to sit exams and submit final assignments. 

Unfortunately, what should have been a time for mourning and caring for our communities has been used as an excuse to push through anti-protest laws in NSW and to implement more recommendations from Jillian Segal’s report. This already has had severe consequences for free speech and academic freedom, the right to protest, and the human responsibility to oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Universities like ours will suffer under the implementation of recommendations such as the adoption of the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, issuing "report cards,” and the threatened reduction of funding found to be in breach of the new standards. 

Even more cynically, the Albanese government and governor general Sam Mostyn think that inviting the genocidal Israeli President Isaac Herzog is appropriate and something that will promote ‘social cohesion’. As put succinctly by APAN, “President Herzog is not a symbolic or ceremonial figure. As Israel’s head of state throughout its genocidal assault on Gaza, he has made public statements widely condemned as genocidal intent, including asserting that an ‘entire nation’ bears responsibility and that ‘there are no innocent civilians in Gaza’”.

The road ahead looks long, but it has brought together many people and groups to fight for their rights. We need more people to get involved, to show up to important events like the Invasion Day protest on January 26, and to keep an eye out for information around the planned visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

On the academic and wellbeing side of things, I attended my first committee meetings of my term – the Education & Studies Committee and Academic Board – where I spoke to:

• The importance of fixing the Special Consideration and other systems before even entertaining the idea of reducing 5-day simple extensions;

• Crucial points from our caseworkers about a necessary review of the Appeals Panel and how long it’s taking to process complaints while leaving students in limbo, and about collaboration to increase awareness of our SRC services and to work to combat the prevalence of third-party companies helping students with appeals;

• The idea of adding ‘low attendance’ as a risk-indicator in the Support for Students Policy, due to an increasing number of students facing Absent Fails despite completing all of the coursework due to a lack of awareness or reminders about course attendance requirements.

In the SRC, we had a great week of induction events and training sessions put together by our staff. There was near-perfect attendance of Office Bearers and Honi Soit to the general induction day that got us largely set up for the year in terms of Welcome Week plans, schedules for autonomous editions of Honi Soit, and rough timelines for collective weeks. 

In preparation for Welcome Week and other welcome events, most things are already underway and we hope you’re getting excited. I have been focused on a few key items, events, and connections such as:

• A fresh new batch of our famous custom gel pens, with our contact details and new logo;

• Commissioning a new design for our 2026 SRC tote bags by one of our USyd students;

• Confirming attendance for the scholarship and international student welcomes in early February;

• Confirming the SRC + Honi Soit hub and seven stalls for our SRC collectives for the USU Welcome Fest from February 18 - 20 February;

• Booking in an SRC, Honi Soit, and SRC Casework & Legal stalls with SUPRA for the ‘Welcome Fair’ on Tuesday 3 March in the Great Hall;

• Promoting the pitch forms for our annual SRC publications created for and by students;

• Talking with the Department of Education’s Gender-Based Violence regulator and the National Student Ombudsman about attending the aforementioned event;

• Communication with the Gadigal Centre about the SRC attending and supporting some of their welcome events. 

There are a number of other projects going on in the background to support students, such as:

• The Canteen Working Group and its plans for a new canteen with cheap meals on campus, in addition to spreading meal options more around campus(es), as they are currently confined to the South end of the Camperdown campus; 

• Speaking to Australian Vaccination Services about our vaccination scheme for 2026, given the preliminary green-light of my application for the SRC to offer $35,000 worth of influenza vaccinations to undergraduate students;

• The NUS National Conference was a tiring week but fruitful in terms of important motions regarding Palestine, the USyd Residential Colleges, and other campaigns that the 2026 NUS will seek to collaborate with us on.

There’s more to report on but I will spare you the details for now while most projects are still underway or yet to be fully approved, but hopefully that means I’ll be back with a full report for January – see you then!

In solidarity,

Grace