Jeffery Yang, currently Affiliations Officer of ANUSA Clubs Council, has launched his ticket for Clubs Officer for 2022. He is running “because [he] believe[s] that students deserve a better campus life than we’re currently getting, and because ANUSA can do more to support the volunteers working tirelessly to keep our clubs running.” 

Yang hopes to “reframe Clubs as one of ANUSA’s main offerings”, stating that “they are the lifeblood of this University, and I know first hand both how much they can mean to people, and how difficult they are to run well”. He hopes to “make it easier to start clubs, join clubs, and run clubs … and help more people connect with each other”. 

Yang has had four years on the Clubs Council, residential committees, and society executive positions. His selected policies include:

• Reforming Clubs Council to have “[b]etter communication, consultation, and accountability” and “[e]asier Affiliations and Funding”, and to “introduce seats for each branch on Clubs Council Executive which clubs from each branch will hopefully elect”
• “Better support for clubs” in regards to “[e]vent support” and “[c]lub exposure”, and to “reform the Branch system to better reflect an even spread of clubs”. 
• Furthering O week and Bush week events through “[c]ollaborating with Clubs”, “Improving coordination across campus”, and “[r]ethinking… big events”
• Strengthening accessibility and inclusion by “[r]eaching out to remote students”, “[e]nsuring equity”, and “[t]hinking beyond our campus”.
• Update and amend current guides including affiliation, funding and starting a club, and write new guides on running online events, venue hire and CCE. 

See detailed explanations of his policies here. 

Yang explains his reason for running because of “The systems in place at both the policy and institutional level [being] vastly inadequate to serve the needs of both students and clubs”, and because he has “witnessed the slow abandonment of remote and off campus students”. He is running independently as he “values … interpersonal relationships”, and had been “warned .. that running on a ticket could have potentially negative impacts on [these]”. He stated that “running as an independent also gives [him] considerable freedom in choosing [his] policy priorities”. 

He describes his qualifications and track record as means for his candidacy. As the “only candidate with the working relationships across ANUSA, ANU stakeholders, Residential Halls, and clubs themselves”, he believes he is the best option for the “leadership and stability required for a functional Clubs Council’. Moreover, he stands by his policies “because it has been crafted in consultation with clubs big and small, resident committees, ANUSA officers/departments, and most importantly with students themselves.”

Yang’s past achievements include:

• “[w]orking with the ANUSA Funding Officer in securing the QPay Union platform for future years, to replace current systems that are outdated and inadequate.”
• “[c]reating new grants, in conjunction CCE Treasurer and Secretary to support newly formed clubs and help to foster joint events.”
• “[r]eforming Affiliations Policy to simplify and consolidate, as well as moving to change reaffiliation cycles in response to club feedback.”
• “[f]acilitating joint club events during O Week and Bush Week, such as the ANU Theatre Showcase.”
• And most importantly, “[he] give[s] great hugs”.