In recent years the Social Justice portfolio has created representatives roles to help continue the society’s ethos of providing equal justice to all students members. These representatives have a number of initiatives throughout the year to help bring awareness to issues faced by our student members and provide support to a number of external charities and organisations.
Read more about our 2024 representatives below!
Womens Representative
As women’s representative, I am dedicated to connecting with and encouraging all female-identifying UTS law student’s to fulfill their potential at law school. There are so many useful resources here at UTS I want to encourage all students to take advantage of and feel motivated by.
For example, I have some exciting events and programs planned for 2024 that I would encourage all students to get involved with. Starting with our Women’s Mentoring Program in March, you could have the opportunity to be paired with an inspiring female leader in the industry who you can ask questions of, form a bond with and learn more about a career in law!
Moreover, there will be the opportunity to attend the Intervarsity Women in Law Conference this April in collaboration with other Law Societies – a great way to network! I am also excited about the many upcoming fundraisers we have on campus this semester including a bake sale and book club. To stay up to date, join the Women’s Collective on Facebook and get in touch with myself or any other members of the Collective.”
Eloise Cansdell (She/Her) women@utslss.com
First Nations Representative
As First Nations Representative, my role is to support and engage with all First Nations Law Students throughout my tenure. I am here to ensure that all First Nations Law Students are provided with academic, cultural and well-being resources that will make the upcoming academic year as enjoyable and smooth-sailing as possible.
2024 welcomes an array of exciting initiatives for First Nations Law Students. First and foremost is the creation of the UTS LSS First Nations Law Students’ Collective, which will foster a culturally inclusive and all-round friendly environment for all UTS Law students who identify as First Nations – including, but of course not limited to, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Māori. Additionally, I, along with support from the LSS, will be conducting a panel event for NAIDOC Week, where students can listen to and interact with a range of amazing First Nations voices from the legal sphere and beyond.
Huw Waston (He/Him) firstnations@utslss.com
Queer Representative
As Queer Representative my focus this year is on expanding the prevalence of and access to LGBTQ+ centric events and initiatives for our queer law students, to engage in their community and network with industry leaders. Our annual competition, the Intervarsity Pride Moot, will be going ahead this year to deliver yet another successful event. This will be a key opportunity for queer students to involve themselves in topical conversations about LGBTQ+ legal challenges and issues. In partnership with our intervarsity network, and incredible industry partners, this competition provides queer students access to catered competitive opportunities and the chance to network with a diverse range of individuals.
Additionally, a goal of mine this year is to establish a stronger queer intervarsity community between key universities in Sydney. This would open the doors to the prospect of having many other networking, industry, and social events for our LGBTQ+ law students to participate in and engage with their communities. We are looking to also increase the prevalence of queer initiatives and social justice events for the LSS students to attend and involve themselves in.
Our hope here is to increase awareness of key queer legal issues, and encourage ongoing discussion of the needs and interests of the LGBTQ+ community in Australian legal environments. This year holds much promise and potential for the introduction of new, queer-centric social justice initiatives, and I’m so excited to develop these ideas and projects into reality!
Eva Ossowski (She/Her) queer@utslss.com