Monash Student Association


The Monash Student Association Inc is located at the Clayton campus of Monash University in the Campus Centre building. The MSA is made up of elected student representatives who represent all undergraduate Clayton campus students on general issues such as education, fees and student welfare, and also specific issues such as women's affairs and queer affairs. MSA also operates a Student Theatre, an Activities department, Lot's Wife, Host Scheme, the Short Courses Centre and Wholefoods vegetarian restaurant.
The MSA was formed at the end of 1994 with a merger of the former Monash Association of Students, the Mature Aged and Part Time Students Association and the Monash University International Students Society. It subsequently incorporated as an independent body in 1998.

Services

Activities
The Activities office organises on-campus student activities and inter-campus competitions and events, such as live bands, DJs, movie nights, and Winter Sabbatical.
Clubs & Societies
Clubs & Societies governs the over 100 clubs and societies at the Clayton campus. The clubs range from academic-based clubs to those that are cultural, political, spiritual, or relating to a hobby or specific interest.
Education Office
The Education department provides advocacy, policy work, campaign management, advice, and representation to the student body. Some notable achievements include the 2004 HECS protests, the campaign against unfair parking fines, the 2006 campaign for the re-introduction of Swotvac, and some success in the continuing push for online recording of lectures.
Environment Department
The Environment Department facilitates student involvement in sustainability and social justice, both on campus and in the wider community. They work with the university in order in minimising consumption of water, paper and energy; purchasing and use of renewable energies, recycled paper and other eco-friendly products; minimising waste and maintaining effective recycling and composting programs. They support wider student campaigns on issues like protection of old-growth forests, fair trade, indigenous justice, refugee rights, and climate change.
Radio Monash
Radio Monash is a radio station, which offers live webstreaming and podcasting and offers training in aspects of broadcasting in a full digital recording studio, which is often used as a rehearsal room for bands and musicians. Whilst not directly funded by or affiliated with the MSA, Radio Monash still works in conjunction with the MSA during their music events.
Host Scheme
Host Scheme is an orientation program that runs a camps program, functions program and Host Scheme Night; a huge party at the start of Orientation Week, which attracts thousands of new students.
Recreational Library
The Student Union Recreational Library is the only recreational library at Monash University's Clayton Campus. It provides houses a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books, comics, magazines, DVDs, CDs and vinyl records.
Lot's Wife
Lot's Wife is the student newspaper. It addresses student issues and news, provides a voice for student commentary and reviews.
Queer Department
The MSA Queer Department caters for all students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or those who are questioning their sexuality and/or gender identity. It provides the queer lounge, as a safe a queer-only space where students can gather, socialise and discuss queer issues in a supportive environment, and also works to collectively fight against discrimination and oppression suffered by queers in society.
Student Theatre
The Student Theatre is a place for students to get involved in acting, directing or backstage work, and stages a large number of productions a year.
Welfare
The Welfare department runs Free Food Mondays, giving struggling students free vegetarian food every Monday night. It recycles old donated computers by rebuilding them for students. It also runs the Survival Centre, which contains free food and second-hand clothing for students in need.
Women's Room
The Women's Room is a women-only environment, a place for women to socialise, study and meet other women. It was created by the student union due to perceived university in-action over a rising spate of assaults around campus, particularly after normal class hours, on women.
Wholefoods
Wholefoods is a vegetarian restaurant, cafe and grocery service owned and run mostly on a volunteer basis by students.

Politics

Each year in week 9 of semester two, students are eligible to vote in the MSA's elections. The Monash Student Council is composed of 13 office-bearers, a member from each of the MSA's three divisions and five general representatives elected at-large.
Also elected are members of various committees, such as the Women's Affairs Committee and the Student Affairs Committee, and delegates to the National Union of Students' annual National Conference.
As of 2019, there are four factions that compete for seats: "Together", "Go!", "Grassroots" and "Left Action". Grassroots is aligned with the Grassroots Left and is associated with Wholefoods, Left Action is aligned with the Socialist Alternative, Together is aligned with the right-wing faction of the Labor Party and Go! is aligned with the left-wing faction of the Labor Party. Historically, there have been other factions, such as Connect.

2016 election

In the 2016 election, a large number of positions were uncontested and Go! retained a majority on the Student Council. After a split within the Go! ticket, the position of Lot's Wife editors was contested between Go! and an independent ticket; 'Free Media'. Left Action won two seats on the Student Council by running under the Go! ticket to secure the Environment and Social Justice Department. Grassroots did not win any Student Council seats. The National Union of Students delegates were split 4 Go!, 2 Left Action and 1 Grassroots. A referendum to establish a People of Colour Department within the MSA was passed with 84.13% of votes in favour.

2017 election

In 2017, a new ticket known as Together was launched, fielding candidates for almost all positions on the ballot. Together formed a coalition with the existing Grassroots ticket, which also contested a range of positions.
The Together-Grassroots coalition won the election and were elected to most office bearer positions. Go! were elected to a number of seats on student committees and three seats on the Monash Student Council.

Footnotes