Hey, I’m Hester Fung – a proud Malaysian-Chinese Creative Writing major, running to be your next International Students Committee President with Left Action - Free Palestine!
I want every international student at Curtin to know that you deserve better. We pay the highest visa cost in the world for students. Tuition fees are dramatically overpriced. Greedy landlords demand more and more for rent. And after shelling out for food, transport, textbooks, flights, bills… we barely have anything left for our own enjoyment or personal development. One thing is clear – we are being squeezed like cash cows for Australian capitalism.
Meanwhile, racist and xenophobic politicians won’t stop painting us like a swarm of backward hordes coming in to invade the market and ruin the competition; blaming us for their own incompetence at fixing the housing crisis and the cost-of-living; dividing us so that we never get the chance to participate as full members of the community.
The personal challenges you face as an international student aren’t isolated incidents – they have a systemic cause. Which means the whole system has to change. That’s why I’m a socialist and running with Left Action – Free Palestine – the only group here made up of the most committed activists on campus, serious about building a better world. We demand that the Student Guild fight for things like a rent reduction on student accommodation, an end to tuition fee hike and to expand Youth Allowance and Austudy to all students.
For too long, the Student Guild has been a neglected wasteland when it comes to fighting for real justice and real change. Hosting parties or cultural events are great, but they don’t affect the systemic injustices that gatekeep international students from genuine community involvement. Playing friendly with the big university bosses will never work. That’s why students need a Guild that isn’t afraid to be political and put up a fuss – a Guild that dares to stand up for radical action, not just symbolic gestures.
We need a Student Guild that is willing to fight for students. Activists involved in Left Action - Free Palestine have fought for years for Palestine, refugee rights, queer rights and against cuts to our education. We need our Student Guild to get actively involved in those fights for a better world - because if we don’t fight, we lose.
Vote [1] Left Action - Free Palestine!
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