With the upcoming 2022 Guild election, Grok has interviewed some of the current student executives, including Vice President of Activities February Metcalf to offer greater insight into the roles that’re up for grabs in September.
I began by asking February about the responsibilities ascribed to the Vice President of Activities. They observe that their focus is “events and clubs. I am the student’s voice in planning Guild events, and I do my best to take feedback from clubs on how to improve our systems or what to advocate for to the University. I also coordinate the events run by the different guild departments to make sure there’s an overall good variety and distribution of events.”
Day-to-day, these responsibilities result in February meeting with a range of Curtin staff and students. “I meet fortnightly with the Guild’s event staff, club staff, and the Executive Committee, as well as little meetings coming up for different event planning,” February says. “I also try to get along to every event the Guild does, either to see how it goes or to assist with any troubleshooting.”
The workload of being a Guild executive can be difficult to manage on top of other responsibilities. In February’s case, they decided to put all their effort into the position. “This year I chose to give my all to the role, which meant I dropped my study to focus on the Guild and give it my best. I’m disabled so I started doing both and ended up having to choose—a lot of the reps I work with manage to study and work alongside their role in the Guild, including some of the Exec! I’m lucky to have found a great group of people that I work with, so even when we have very busy periods I get to spend time with my friends.”
Beyond the strong friendships February has found through their work with the Guild, there are many other aspects they find fulfilling about their role. “I love the events and I love to see students having fun but the most fulfilling part for me is being able to provide free food for students, whether that’s our free BBQs, food giveaways during exam weeks or catering our various free events—I hate hearing about students struggling to eat and there is nothing better in this role than the look on a student’s face when they ask how much a sausage sizzle is and you tell them that it’s free!”
Hearing about the highlights of their role, I asked February if there were any aspects they would change about their position if they could. “I’d love to have been VP-A ten years ago when the budgets were big and the parties were even bigger!” They remark. “Every year our budget gets a bit smaller but we still do the best we can to provide for students.”
Given the consuming and important nature of their role, I asked February how they have grown or changed since their involvement with student politics. “I’ve gotten valuable experience on a Board and in my field—events—that I’m not sure I could have gotten anywhere else, and I’ve been able to educate myself on a wide range of student issues and experiences.”
For other students interested in getting involved in student politics, the nominations for this year’s election are still open and close on September 1st. Nomination forms are available from the Guild Reception (between 9am and 4pm), or online at the Guild’s website. Major roles are open for nomination, including the President and both Vice President positions, among several others. Often, Guild executives and representatives are decided by default when just one student has been nominated, so if you’re interested there is no reason not to give it a crack! I asked February for their advice to those considering applying for roles in the Guild.
“There are lots of ways to get involved that aren’t quite as intense an election—the Curtin Student Guild has representatives from Equity Departments, First Year, Student Housing etc. that are fun and easy to get involved in as a volunteer. And if you’re going to go straight for the elections, good luck! Our current reps are always happy to chat to people about the Guild and elections.”
