Click here to stay up to date with campus news and receive Farrago‘s news briefings delivered to your inbox every fortnight.

Liquor licensing regulation changes to affect orientation camps
The University Of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) clubs and societies department has proposed new liquor licensing regulations, changing the ways alcohol can be consumed on club camps.

It is now a requirement that all clubs running a camp must hold a liquor license, meaning that campers will no longer be allowed to bring their own alcohol on camps, including on upcoming orientation camps. These regulation changes will address concerns about a harmful ‘camp culture’—marked by heavy drinking and reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Unhappy staff
The National Tertiary Education Union has released the findings of its 2017 State of the Uni survey. The survey found that only 27.6 per cent of respondents felt confident in senior management at their university, and only 16.6 per cent of staff believe that the salaries of executive staff members receive an appropriate for the amount of work they do.

Salary uproar
Australian vice-chancellors are under fire over their inflated salaries. The UK’s highest-paid vice-chancellor, Glynis Breakwell, recently quit her job at Bath University after public outcry over her $812,000 salary. University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis received $1,145,000 in 2016, according to the Australian.

MYEFO cuts
The University of Melbourne has broken its silence on the cuts to higher education in the government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). The changes, which will see $2.1 billion cut from Australian universities and cap enrolment numbers, could affect students’ tuition fees and postgraduate plans.

“The University of Melbourne is disappointed that the federal government has taken action to cut higher education funding. Higher education is an investment in Australia’s future, not a cost,” said Richard James, the University’s deputy vice-chancellor.

New deans
Pip Nicholson has been announced as the new dean of the Melbourne Law School, and Denise Varney as the dean of the Faculty of Arts. Additionally, Mark Cassidy and Ian Harper have been appointed as the deans of the Melbourne School of Engineering and the Melbourne School of Business, respectively.

New student bar
The student bar in Union House will officially open in orientation week as ‘The Ida’, in homage to the University’s first women’s room. Until now, many students referred to the space as ‘Stop 2’.

Pubs
Campus bar Tsubu will close on 28 February, in anticipation of the construction of the new student precinct.

Local pub, the Prince Alfred Hotel, will be reopening at the end of February. The Prince Alfred, formerly owned by the University, is located opposite the University on the corner of Grattan Street and Bouverie Street.

Lecture capture
The University is upgrading its lecture capture system. The new system promises an increase in recording quality (720p), and a stack of new features such as the option for staff to upload presentation slides into the system. Only staff will retain access to lecture recorded recorded on the old system.

Nothing beats prestige
VTAC’s first round undergraduate course preferences revealed that the University of Melbourne’s arts and science degrees are the most popular courses in Victoria.

Renewables
The University, along with a consortium of companies, has signed a power purchase agreement to cover the development of the Murra Warra wind farm. In exchange, the University will receive cheap wind energy. Once completed, the wind farm will supposedly generate the most wind energy in the southern hemisphere.

Bye, Disney
The Disney Appreciation Society has been disaffiliated by the University of Melbourne Student Union clubs and societies department. The club appealed the disaffiliation at students’ council, but the appeal was rejected.

Collated by Ashleigh Barraclough