Raue’s expulsion leads to student rebuke
Image: University of Sydney students protest at Tom Raue's expulsion / Photo: Ezreena Yahya
The University of Sydney Union (USU) has confirmed it is seeking to have its Vice-President Tom Raue expelled from the board after he leaked information contained in an internal report to student newspaper Honi Soit.
The student organisation’s attempt to remove the elected board director has stirred controversy at the university and earned the organisation rebuke from vocal sections of the student body.
The information suggested that the University of Sydney had exerted influence over police during a day of industrial action on campus in August. The university had previously tried to distance itself from police actions, which earlier in the year resulted in picketers suffering injuries including a cracked rib and a broken leg.
Mr Raue has claimed the leak caused no harm to the USU and that keeping the information secret would have been against the interest of students.
“I think that our primary role as a union is to protect the welfare of our members and the university community,” he said. “By keeping this information in order to preserve our relationship with the university we weren’t doing our jobs.”
The USU is one of the country’s largest student organisations and received close to $4 million in SSAF funding from the University of Sydney this year. Its board consists of 13 Directors; 11 of whom are students elected by their peers.
Mr Raue’s position on the board was confirmed to be in jeopardy after members of the USU’s executive drafted a motion calling for his dismissal. A meeting has been scheduled for this Friday, at which a two-thirds majority will be needed to expel Mr Raue.
Other members of the USU’s board have declined to comment on the matter, but a blog posted on the organisation’s website accused Mr Raue of breaching internal regulations, including his fiduciary duty and his responsibility not to use information in an “improper” manner.
The blog post said that as Mr Raue had previously been censured (for publicly criticising a USU event) and that he could not be let off with a reprimand lighter than expulsion.
The move has angered some students, who have accused the USU of excluding them from the process. A Facebook event has been set up inviting students to attend the Friday meeting and encourage the board not to vote Mr Raue off. Some students took to the page’s wall to air their complaints.
“I’ll be standing by Tom, and everybody else supportive of a USU that actually prioritises the interests of its members,” wrote Leonidas Kontaxis. “He’s one of the few members of the board who isn’t a walking monument to mediocrity. If he’s suspended, it’d be a great loss for the USU and its membership.”
The university management have played down their interest in the affair. “It is entirely a matter for the Union Board to determine how they deal with Mr Raue’s apparent breach of confidentiality but the university was not seriously alarmed by the story which appeared in Honi Soit,” a University of Sydney spokesperson said.
