The Women’s Collective meets once a week to organise Women’s campaigns and events on campus. The aims of the collective are to raise awareness of Women’s issues on campus, self confidence in all Women and giving Women a voice on campus.

Why a Women’s Collective?

Women do not have equal rights to men. Women have overcome many previous barriers but are still today faced with many issues including safety, control over our bodies, equal pay, equal rights, discrimination, access to education and the list continues. On average one in five Women will experience sexual violence at some time during their life.

RMA... Sunday morning sport... 3:30 autonomy day starts... Block dinners... Awesome network of computers... Valedictory dinners... Walk of shame... Juganaughts... Academic robes at dinner... Fire alarms at 3am... ERA... Recovery days... Cat Room... 5:30 dinner... Battle of the Blocks... IMA... BARA... Teds spread…

If any of these things mean anything to you that means you must live on-campus at Newcastle uni! Living on on-campus we are privileged to be exposed to the most unique uni experience that is available. If you are one of the 1000 people I’m your girl to call if you feel like you need to be heard within the Uni.

Hiya all, and welcome to semester 1 2006.  I’m Sam Miller, late last year I was appointed to the student council in the position of Transport convenor 2006. 

Transport such a vital element of our modern lives. How do you get yourself and your stuff around?  Bus, bike, BMW. Do you walk, car pool or catch a train to campus?  I want to know.

Newcastle University Postgraduate Students’ Association

WHAT’S NUPSA?

NUPSA was formed in 1997 as a separate Association for postgraduate students.

As a postgraduate student you are well aware that the issues you face are very different to those you faced as an undergraduate student. The best way to address your needs is through a Postgraduate Student Association.

Welcome to Opus for 2006, and for all newcomers, welcome to Newcastle Uni too. If you can learn to live with the management under Nick "The Knife" Saunders, your Vice Chancellor, you'll find it's a pretty nice Uni, and definitely one of the best campuses in the country. The Newcastle University Students' Association (NUSA, your student representative body on campus) is a wonderful example of collective organising at it's best, and it produces one of the best designed, and (depending on you...) best written student magazines in the country.

Welcome back to the students who are returning and congratulations to those of you who are starting out. I’m Melissa Schmidtke a 2^nd year Psychology student who is also your NUSA Activities convenor and Vice President for 2006.

What is an Activities convenor I hear you ask, well it is my job to organise and promote activities that are run by NUSA. It is also within my job profile to communicate with all the affiliated clubs and societies on campus.

Hey folks,

Greetings and welcome to the wonderful world that is Newcastle University from your resident NUSA Education Officer! "What the bollocks is an education officer, and more importantly, why the $*&# should i give a $*&# about it?" I hear you ask. And I will reply in an unoffended tone, given that I remember what it was like to wander round the brennan room five times on my first day, wondering why the bloody hell everyone kept telling me the book shop was "right over there" when clearly it wasn't (until I saw the sign pointing downstairs saying "bookshop").

Hello students new and old,

I am Jarra Hicks, a 3rd year Development Studies student. I am privileged to be tackling the challenge of co-president at NUSA (Newcastle University Students’ Association) this year, along with a lively and dedicated character, Jack Thieme. Get to know my face, ‘cause I’m one of the 31 students on your NUSA Council. Some of us are in shared positions, and there are still some vacancies. Were represent student needs, views and concerns on campus. Yep, that’s you too!

Lehetta Lane is originally from Goodooga far west New South Wales.

Steven Stanton is originally from Goodooga/Gunnedah far west and North West New South Wales.

Lehetta – 3rd year at Newcastle University- studied 2 years of Bachelor of Aboriginal studies, in 2006 will be studying the Bachelor of teaching/ Bachelor of physical education.

Hey everyone,
I’m Jack Milroy, NUSA’s General Secretary for 2006.

I’m in my second year of an Arts/Law degree and also work for a Federal MP. My job as General Secretary involves alot of the organisation and administration of NUSA and the NUSA Council (your elected representatives). What this translates to is only slightly less mundane than it sounds. So if you enjoy bureaucracy, read on for my goals for 2006!

Hey hey people I'm Ben Mills, second year B.Teaching/Arts student and one of this years two kick arse Queer conveners!!! Allow me to be the um-teenth person to welcome you to another year (or your first) here at sunny casa de Newcastle.

For those of you not in the know, the Queer collective is one of the many groups that you can join on campus and as one of the conveners, I'm here to help all you Queers out there with any little problem that you might have. As well as providing a tizzy space to hang out, a heap of information and support for those of you who need it, we also provide a ton of prophylactics, and who can say no to free condoms, dams and lube? (especially when it saves you embarrassing looks from a 50 year old checkout chick named Beryll at 2 in the morning at your local Coles)

The Faculties and schools of Newcastle University are many and diverse. that's why NUSA has a number of representatives from each on its Council. Here's a few introductions from some of them:

Belinda Streeter - Faculty of Science and IT

This is a faculty with a diverse range of students, from scientists of all forms to computer nerds and other related computer tech degrees. The first person that you should meet is your degree organiser who can answer any questions in regards to your degree. After them, the next best port of call if there is trouble with your degree should be the faculty office (V17-19) which is in the maths building (which for some reason is marked as ‘V’ on maps, explain that). They can answer any general questions or direct you to the right person to answer them.

Hello and welcome to ’06 from the Welfare Officers, Andrew McLennan and Carly Phillips. We are here to provide assistance to all students on campus, particularly those of us who are on a tight budget, we will deal with any welfare issues to the absolute best of our abilities. We both strongly believe in providing this service to the student community despite the scourge of VSU!

We both have very similar opinions and views centred around fairness and equity for students. We are also very concerned with matters in the broader community relating to the environment and social justice that we will be actively involved in during the year.

An intro into mature-age studenthood,

by Tim Nash

It's funny that Newcastle university and others seem to class a mature age student as anyone who enters university not directly from school. This means you can be 21 and be classed as a mature age student, which is amusing and somewhat disturbing at the same time.

University for the mature age student isn’t the same experience as other students, who have arrived straight from school. There is a good chance you’ve been sullied by the difficulties and challenges of life, some of you have already entered the workforce or even been educated at TAFE. Many of you have had kids, bought houses, experienced things that other students and even lecturers, will never have the chance of seeing or doing. There is a good chance you could out-date your lecturer by a couple of decades, which can be a disturbing and confusing experience for both of you.

Opus’s journey has been a long and bumpy one, looking back into the archives there has been some well thought out and executed opuses, there has also been some complete shockers, editors have come and gone, students have flexed their editorial and design skills and then disappeared into the ether (or offices).

Last year someone gave me on opus they brought at a yard sale; an edition from 1978. It was a simple photocopied affair, with a grey cover and hand typed articles, it has a really nice hand drawn map of the university. It was a very Spartan affair, despite its simple appearance you could tell the editor and writers had put a lot of passion into it, they cared about opus, as have many others in the past.