Arc Board Voting Opens Today!

As of 7:00 am this morning (Monday 7 April), voting is open for student Directors to the Arc Board. Assuming you are a UNSW student and Arc member, you should have received an email from Arc, containing a link to the voting site. Voting will remain open until 9:00 pm on Thursday 10 April.

What does the Arc Board of Directors do? (AKA why should I care?)

Comprised of 15 members, the board is responsible for governing all matters related to Arc. They don’t manage the day-to-day operations of the organisation; rather, they give direction to the Chief Executive Officer (currently Shelley Valentine) and the rest of the Executive Team.

This means the board has significant sway over various non-academic elements of UNSW, including clubs, volunteering, sport, and wellness resources. 

Members of the Arc Board work through four sub-committees:

• The Student Development Subcommittee
• The Nominations & Remunerations Subcommittee
• The Finance Subcommittee
• The Audit & Risk Subcommittee

The Arc Board is comprised of:

• Arc’s Chief Executive Officer (appointed by the Board)
• The President of the Student Representative Council (directly elected)
• The President of the Postgraduate Council (directly elected)
• 8 Student Directors (directly elected)
• 2 Alumni Directors (appointed by the Board)
• 2 UNSW Directors (appointed by the University)

Who/what am I voting for?

In this election, UNSW students will be voting to elect four of their fellow students into student Director positions, which they will occupy for a two-year term.

As per Arc’s rules, two of the positions must be filled by women and/or gender diverse students. The other two positions can be filled by candidates of any gender.

How does voting work?

As mentioned at the start of this article, you should have received an email containing your voting link, like the one pictured below. The link will be sent to whichever email you used when signing up for Arc.

Following the link will take you to the voting portal, which will contain details about the candidates, including a statement from each of them. The Arc Board is using optional preferential voting, similar to what’s used in NSW state elections. This means you can vote for a single candidate, or you can number your preferences so that if your first choice of candidate doesn’t get in, your vote will carry over to your second choice. The same process applies for if your second choice doesn’t get in, and your third, and so on and so forth.

Who are the candidates?

There are 19 UNSW students who have been nominated for the Arc board this year. You can view their statements through the voting portal, or by clicking here.

The candidates come from a range of faculties and backgrounds, with most having at least some experience in Arc clubs leadership positions.

Some individual members of the Noise team may have preferred candidates. However, Noise will not be endorsing any specific candidates in this election.

Still, it would be remiss of us not to mention that some candidates have, in their statements, made promises that fall outside the purview of the position they’re running for. As a general rule, keep in mind that Arc has no control over the academic side of UNSW.

Do I have to vote?

Short answer, no. But you should definitely consider it. As mentioned previously, the Arc Board is an important body in determining how large parts of UNSW are run, and this is your chance to have your voice heard. Voting only takes a couple of minutes, and seeing as only a small percentage of students typically participate in these elections, your vote could make all the difference.