MARISSA BRITS

Jordan Griffiths took over as TSC President last Wednesday. Griffiths, who was formerly the deputy president of the Temporary Student Committee (TSC), replaced Christopher Pappas, who resigned during the March recess.

UP’s Constitution for Student Governance is currently under review. The TSC has replaced the Student Representative Council (SRC) until the constitution has been rewritten.

According to Griffiths, the committee’s job is to ensure that the work of the SRC continues. They act as a voice for the students and continue projects that were initiated by the SRC, such as the feeding scheme, the study financial aid scheme and the textbook library.

The TSC is currently involved in some of their own initiatives, which include bringing back the Sunnyside/Arcadia bus service, lowering food prices in residences and sourcing accommodation for students in need. Griffiths stated that the budget for the TSC is usually much lower than that of the SRC because of its temporary nature. This hampers some of their initiatives such as the bus service which was funded by the SRC last year.

Griffiths added that it is a core commitment of the TSC to be involved in the review of the constitution and that some of the TSC members are part of the Steering Committee in charge of rewriting the constitution. It is likely that the electoral model will also have to be changed through this process.

UP stated that a consultant has been hired to facilitate the process. The consultant is also involved in researching electoral models used in South African universities and around the world. They plan to create a new electoral model for the SRC that is less problematic than the one in use. According to the university, a project plan is being finalised.

The main difference between the SRC and TSC is the election process. Unlike the SRC, the TSC members are appointed through management structures of the university and are drawn from faculty houses, Student Parliament as well as the previous SRC.

UP has suggested that the SRC elections take place late in the first semester or early in the second semester. However, a date has not been set. Management stated that “further details will be communicated to students shortly”.

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