AGM

           All official clubs at the University of Melbourne have an AGM (Annual General Meeting) where the finance report is given and the officers for next year are selected. This Friday was the AGM of COSDU (Catholic of One Spirit Down Under) and all ten officer positions were open. The speaker gave a description for the position about to be voted on and then asked for nominations. A person may nominate themselves or ask others to nominate them. No campaigns were run, however, to rally support for any one member before the meeting. Nominations were seconded and then once the nominations closed, all the nominees were asked if they accepted or rejected the nomination. Many of those nominations for executive positions were rejected, however. In fact, only one person accepted her nomination for the position of president. Similarly, all the nominations for another position, though a non-executive one, rejected and the nomination process started over again. By the end of the night everyone who was eligible for a position was nominated at some point for at least one position, if not several.  Perhaps that is why it took over two hours to elect the officials.

        I am aware that not all clubs at this university run their elections like this, though I do not know how many others do. It seemed very inefficient to me at the time, and still does, to elect officer. I am more used to either campaigns,or at least those who want to have a position coming the election meeting with a few words of why they would be a good person for a set position and then voting is done almost all at once.  However, the way this AGM was run was fitting for COSDU. It was done in such a way that everyone present was made to feel included and as though they had to potential to take on these fairly demanding roles of leadership. During one of the breaks, Sister Delma gestured to me from across the room while taking with another member. I have never been leery of what plans a sister was making before, even after nine years of attending to elementary school run by sisters. A moment later I heard, “Oh wait she is going back to US”. I am the only American in COSDU. However, were I staying here for long enough, there were two positions I would have been happy to be nominated for. This club is comprised of my favorite group of people that I have met in Australia because they are all so welcoming and inclusive.