Stella Serrao-Smith

Hey there! I’m Stella (she/her), and I’m running to be your 2026 Vice President with RAGE. I’m a third year Security Studies and Arts student, and over the past two years I’ve been heavily involved with college Residents’ Committees and student life, having been Burton and Garran Hall’s Secretary in 2024 and College President in 2025.

As a result of this involvement, I’m intimately aware of the relationship between regular students, ANU departments and ANUSA. I’ve experienced how difficult it can be to navigate the ANU’s bureaucracy and systems, from financial support to wellbeing services to educational processes. As it stands, our services are not effectively reaching those who need them most, which means our services are underutilised and our voices aren’t heard. ANUSA works best when students understand its services and find it an approachable and welcoming space for all; as your Vice President, I endeavor to bridge the gap between students and representatives.

1. Improved Communication Between ANUSA and Rescom

So much of ANU’s culture is built by ANUSA and our rescoms. The high proportion of ANU students who live on campus deserve for ANUSA and our rescoms to be working together to make our residential experience more seamless and enjoyable.

Our residences not only provide housing, but also play a crucial role in shaping students well-being, academic engagement, and community life. Similarly, ANUSA is the primary representative body for students, advocating and supporting them as they navigate through university. The 2025 ANUSA President worked hard to ensure better communication between rescoms and ANUSA, attending meetings when requested, but I know we can do better. I intend to commit to attending Interhall Council meetings along with our Presidential candidate, Charley Ellwood, dedicating a portion of my ANUSA report to outlining college issues and engaging in joint strategic planning to identify shared priorities and initiatives on a termly basis.

Additionally, I will institute the creation of an Annual Residential Life Report, which highlights the issues, achievements, and areas for improvement across residencies. The report will be tabled at the final ANUSA SRC meeting of the year and shared with relevant university stakeholders. As Vice President, I will bring an institutional knowledge of rescoms to ANUSA, having served as the 2024 Secretary and 2025 President of B&G, knowledge of which will allow me to establish structure, consistent, and meaningful channels of communication between ANUSA and rescoms to foster greater collaboration, alignment and support in the face of the University’s attacks on our rescom rights.

2. Increase ANUSA’s Visibility

ANUSA is a wealth of university knowledge, providing incredibly useful services for students, such as advocacy, legal support, financial assistance and academic advice, but access to this is, unfortunately, not so simple. These resources are hidden behind jargon and difficult to navigate language that leaves students without the help they need. Students shouldn’t have to wade through policy language or long webpages just to find out where to go; transparency is not just about providing the service, but ensuring students can understand and use it when they need it most. That is why I will work with our General Secretary candidate, Sophie Kington, to make ANUSA’s resources more student-friendly, understandable, and more accessible. I will publish a plainly worded guide to all ANUSA services to distribute in print during O Week and Bush week, and maintain an online version of the handbook that is updated regularly according to changes in ANUSA’s services. Additionally, I will establish a resource bank with step by step outlines for the common processes our students need, such as deferrals, appeals, job boards and financial support.

3. Make the BKSS Work for You

Uni days are tiring, and students deserve to have an inclusive, safe and fully accessible place to recharge, study and grab something to eat. The BKSS is already a lifeline to so many students, but it shouldn’t feel like a secret space only some students know about. I want to work to make the BKSS a more known and truly usable space for all students when they need it most. My first priority is to work to boost the awareness of the BKSS, launching a campaign in O-Week and Bush Week, including social media content and collaboration events with clubs and rescoms to maximise the BKSS’s reach. Additionally, I will work with the university to introduce clear signage in Kambri to ensure students know exactly where the BKSS is, as it is extremely hidden away for such an important place.

I will advocate for increased funding or partnerships to ensure BKSS breakfast and Lunch Express consistently meet demand. Currently, Lunch Express is reliant on unused food from catered colleges; those in need should not be relying on other students not eating in order to feed themselves. While the current model is overall positive, I intend to fill the gaps in supply to ensure everyone who needs a feed gets a feed. I will also endeavor to make universal lunch hours not only more frequent, but better advertised within the student community. Additionally, I intend to build upon the excellent work done in 2025 to get the Union Pantry up and running. This initiative is fantastic, and if elected I plan to expand on it by extending its hours, accounting for more dietary requirements, and working with the ISD to include food that caters to the diversity of cultural needs of ANU students.

Beyond this, I believe there is a great deal of scope to expand the Mutual Aid Shelf in the BKSS to include self care and personal hygiene products in addition to the currently stocked products, such as shampoo, toothpaste, and hand sanitiser. In order to achieve this, and to ensure the shelf is consistently stocked, I endeavor to institute charity donation bins around campus and on Daley Road. Additionally, I will work with Leila Clarke (RAGE’s Welfare Candidate) and the ANU Women’s Department to expand the availability of free period products on campus beyond the four libraries they are currently available in.

4. Fight For Your (Academic) Rights

Studying at ANU isn’t simply about passing classes, it’s about feeling supported to succeed - an aspect currently falling short at ANU. As your Vice President, I will have a focus on breaking down these small but important barriers to student success. Currently, university systems such as the mark appeals process and exam deferrals are largely mystified to those who need them, in essence intimidating students out of undergoing such processes. Additionally, resources are incredibly inconsistent and spread across all 6 academic colleges. Along with the Education Officer, I endeavor to create a user-friendly resource bank for students to make systems clearer, more easily accessible and less daunting.

Additionally, while this year our Education Officer Rosie Paton made great strides in working towards BYOD exams, this is yet to get over the line - despite decisionmakers being onside with the process. I will give this initiative the final logistical push it needs and work with colleges and the Education Officer to create systems and gain the correct infrastructure to run BYOD exams.

Finally, our university fails significantly in its provision of screenreader friendly resources. Our courses should be accessible to everyone, but almost every course at our university provides resources that are incompatible with assistive technologies. As your 2026 Vice President, I will work with the Disabilities Student Association to advocate for minimum accessibility standards in all course materials, through screen reader compatible PDF documents and proper formatting.

5. Training

Effective training is central to ensuring that elected leaders are able to perform effectively; this year, Vaishnavi has made great strides in improving ANUSA’s training. I will make sure all reps continue to receive required training, and will continue investigating further training that is useful. Additionally, I will consult with reps and departments on what training may be required or beneficial for leaders.