President's Check-in: August 2026

Hi everyone, I'm Archie, your USU President for 2026. On behalf of the USU welcome back to campus!

Welcome Fest
Welcome Fest was fantastic. Seeing that many people back on campus, joining clubs, picking up a free feed, and working out where they fit, is the best part of the job. Welcome Fest is not just a celebration at the start of semester. It is one of the most effective things we do to help students build the social connections that make university worth turning up for. Thank you to the staff, volunteers and club executives who made it happen.

Approval of the AI Governance Policy
The Board approved an AI Governance Policy this period. The purpose of the policy is to set out where and how AI can be used across the organisation, to capture existing usage, to mitigate the risks that come with generative tools, and to govern their use going forward. For a student facing organisation this matters. It protects member data and privacy, it maintains trust in what we produce, and it gives staff and volunteers practical guidance instead of leaving them to guess.

Approval of the Communication, Media and Brand Policy and the Editorial Independence and Artistic Freedom Policy
A review of our existing policies resulted in their separation into two documents. The first is an overarching Communication, Media and Brand Policy, which ensures consistency across the organisation's communications and branding. The second is an Editorial Independence and Artistic Freedom Policy, which addresses editorial independence and student focused content.

Splitting them was deliberate. Brand consistency and editorial independence are both worth protecting, but they pull in different directions, and folding them into a single document risks the first quietly overriding the second. Separating them makes the commitment to independent student media and student artistic work explicit rather than implied.

Approval of a four year exclusive partnership with TMGM
The Board approved a four year exclusive partnership with TMGM. The partnership includes participation in Welcome Fest and year round engagement activities focused on student career opportunities, including internships and graduate pathways. Partnerships that put students in front of actual employment outcomes, rather than just a stall and a tote bag, are the ones worth signing.

Open consultation on partnerships
On 31 July I held an open meeting with members to discuss our partners and our partnership policy. A dozen staff and a wide variety of students from all walks of campus came along, asked questions and put forward suggestions. Everything raised in that room has been taken back to the Board for review.

The USU seeks to cultivate an environment where members feel comfortable to share their perspectives on issues that affect them, and endeavours to treat those perspectives with care and respect.

Around campus
The fabulous new Gaming Hub in the ISL has its grand opening this Thursday, 13 August. It should be a fantastic evening and all students are welcome, so come down and have a look!

The USU has also invested $300,000 in new furniture in Manning House, with the work completed before the start of semester. It is a straightforward investment in the spaces members actually use every day.

Finally
I want to wish everyone a lovely start to semester. If you have questions about any of the above, or about anything else the Union is doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out.


Archie Wolifson
President, University of Sydney Union