Lifting up student voice is hard work and it can sometimes feel like we're not getting anywhere - which is why it's so important to stop and look back at all the stuff we've achieved!
Check out these five articles from The Age over the last five years that cover awesome things VicSRC has been working on and been a part of!
1. Mental health in education
It was hard to pick just one article for this! You might not have noticed but we have spent a lot of time over the last couple of years talking about student mental health.
For this one we've gone all the way back to 2021 when Executive Committee member Claire first talked about the mental health crisis and how COVID-19 lockdowns were affecting young people.
(For a bonus check out a piece published last year on the same subject in Pro Bono News!)
2. Consent education
The last couple of years have seen a huge push from students and recent graduates to mandate better sexuality and consent education in schools. VicSRC was right there with the push, check out this early 2021 article featuring Executive Committee member Sienna talking about the culture at her school.
And even though consent education is mandated in schools the fight isn't over! Find out more about how VicSRC is still working to improve student voice in consent education by checking out our 2023 Advocacy Platform!
3. Civics & citizenship education
One of the priorities in that Advocacy Platform this year is more politics education - but this isn't the first time we've heard from students who want to learn more about politics in school! Check out this piece from 2019 about the push to improve civics & citizenship education.
This is the same push that resulted in our awesome co-designed Civics & Citizenship resources - a great place to start if you're looking to get stuck in or teach a class in an engaging way.
4. Rural & regional students
Even before COVID-19 and everything that came with it regional & rural students were having a rough time accessing the same opportunities as their metro peers - nothing new, as you can see in this article featuring Executive Committee member Bri.
It's something VicSRC works hard to help mitigate - from making sure rural & regional student voices are heard with our roadtrips to making our programs accessible by covering travel and accommodation costs.
5. Student on the VCAA board
Way back in 2018 students at Congress said they wanted a student on the VCAA board - and while there were some concerns about impacts on current students recent graduate (and former Executive Committee member) Aayushi fit the bill perfectly! Read about the work in this final article.
If you want to know more about what VicSRC has done why not check out our advocacy section, where we cover some of the important campaigns of the past! And if the future's more your thing check out our Advocacy Platform for this year and make sure you join our Student Community or sign up for our newsletter so you never miss out on an opportunity to get involved!