Suriana Mamone

Running for: Undergraduate COSM Representative

Hey ANU! My name is Suriana Mamone and I’m running to be a College of Science and Medicine (CSM) Representative in Rage for ANUSA 2025. I’m deeply passionate about creating a safe and supportive culture for students, especially in demanding and high-pressure degrees such as those in the CSM.

As a second-year Bachelor of Health Science student, I understand how consuming and intense uni can be and without the right support systems and resources in place and available it can be hard to navigate uni on your own. Because of this, a safe and welcoming culture is not just a want, it’s a need. Students deserve to feel valued and respected, to feel heard and uplifted.

That’s why, if you vote me for College of Science and Medicine Representative, I will fight for:

Since the release of the ANU Culture Review (Nixon Review) early this year, along with the new changes to the CSM, there has been concern amongst the students about the wellbeing and culture of College. Although the ANU’s initiative in commissioning this independent review is admirable, the findings showed widespread bullying, sexism, exclusion and discrimination of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) students. These formal complaints were usually met with inaction and a fear of retaliation. This is not just a failure of leadership. It’s a betrayal of every student and staff member who expected safety, fairness and respect. If elected, I plan to:

  • Increase transparency and inclusion by pushing for the involvement of an undergraduate student/s on the Nixon Implementation Steering Group.
  • Implement anonymous reporting pathways for coursework-related mistreatment on Canvas to ensure that students have the choice and opportunity to fight for their wellbeing.
    • Many of the review’s findings centred on HDR students and staff, but the culture affects undergraduates too, especially those in interdisciplinary lab courses and marginalised groups (e.g. women & LGBTQIA+, CALD students, disabled students).
  • Work directly with the Tjabal Centre, Access and Inclusion and post-graduate representatives to collaborate on a clearer code of conduct and manual for reporting in the CSM for students and faculty.

The Bachelor of Health Science (BHLTH) at ANU is publicly advertised as having a capped intake of approximately 60 students per year. However, the most recent cohort has exceeded 100 students. This over-enrolment has occurred without transparent communication or proportional increases in teaching staff, lab capacity, or student support, especially during a time of ANU cuts. Even after all this, the number of students being offered medicine remains at a strict 30 students. This isn’t just poor planning, it may cross legal lines around transparency, access and student rights. At minimum, it’s a breach of trust. If elected, I plan to address this by:

  • Pushing for transparency through maintaining the confirmed 60-cap acceptance into the course and publicly reporting it if uptake numbers have changed.
    • If this original cap size is no longer viable, the college should either reinstate a new cap size formally or clearly explain how a larger cohort could be supported.
  • Running a survey on the impacts of this over-enrolment, such as feedback time and marking quality and student wellbeing, that can be submitted to the College if need be.
    • This can be opened to other CSM courses to provide students a platform to voice the impacts of university changes.

Many students in the CSM have spoken up, saying that after their first year, academic support rapidly declines while work becomes harder and pressure increases. Labs become overcrowded, demonstrator support drops off and expectations around lab reports remain unclear. Students are also left without access to exemplary lab reports or past exam papers. With the ANU’s cuts to staff, it’s important to note that this is not inherently the fault of the faculty staff. It is getting harder for lecturers and tutors to give students the resources and time they need, especially with the decrease in staff. But, regardless, it’s what the students deserve. If elected, I will tackle this endeavour by:

  • Pushing to make past papers available alongside practice questions so all students can be properly informed.
  • Expanding peer support groups to be available in courses not only in first year but beyond, especially in relation to lab work.
  • Pushing cooperation with related societies to improve academic support for students.

I’m proud to be running with RAGE for ANUSA, fighting alongside a ticket that is angry about what you want, what you need and what you deserve.

Thank you for your support, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns and remember to vote from the 22nd to the 25th of September!!

VOTE Suriana Mamone for College of Science and Medicine Representative VOTE Rage for ANUSA