The newly-named Student Representative Committee (SRC) was highly active during O Week, marking the beginning of a new year and new chapter in student representation at Macquarie.

Formerly the Student Advisory Board (SAB), the SRC was involved with planning in the lead up to O Week and Clubs and Societies Day, as well as being visibly active during the week. The team were also involved with multiple working groups in the lead up to Orientation, helping to ensure the week was tailored to the needs and expectations of new and returning students.

The SRC had a strong visual presence throughout the week, presenting to new students each day at iSTART, Meet Your Mentor and Tips & Tricks sessions, encouraging new students to get involved with student life, and offering support and assistance when needed. Throughout the week, the SRC displayed a banner in the Central Courtyard, inviting feedback about the student experience that will be passed on to the Student Experience Committee of University Council.  On a practical level, the SRC also handed out more than 1000 bottles of water throughout the week and sponsored a number of student group events, such as the MacDiz movie night.

The current format of student representation is relatively new at Macquarie, with the SAB only launched in 2013. However, feedback has revealed that a large number of students had little to no understanding of what the SAB was, and how it operated. In an effort to combat this, a simple name change was proposed to utilise a pre-existing general level of community understanding around the term ‘student representative committee’.

Members are also now charged with a two-year tenure, allowing for more consistency and efficiency among the group and bringing it more in line with similar models of student representation at other universities.

The SRC’s main objective for 2016 is to increase engagement with the University community – including both students and staff. As an impartial, student driven, non-political committee, the SRC exists to see Macquarie students have the best experience at university as possible, and it recognises that staff are a big part of that experience.

A number of 2016 SRC initiatives are already well underway, including the planned development of a low-cost, healthy ‘breakfast bar’ for students and the introduction of the University’s first gender-neutral bathroom.

To find out how you can help the SRC with any of their upcoming initiatives, or get their input on your projects, visit the SRC website or email src@mq.edu.au for more details.