Tessa McNamara

Running for: General Representative

CW: Sexual Assault / Sexual Harassment

Hi ANU, I’m Tessa McNamara (she/her) and I’m running to be a GenRep for ANUSA 2026. I believe that it is the responsibility of ANUSA to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment for the students of ANU, as well as advocating against any cuts to the quality of our education.

As a first year PPE/Arts student from interstate, I’m so grateful for the welcoming community I’ve found at ANU, but understand how tough university life can be. Uni should be a time of learning and socialising, but with stressors like exams, social/financial anxiety and moving away from home, mental health support is vital to students’ wellbeing and should be protected by your student union.

Additionally, students deserve the education that they’re paying for, that they’ve uprooted their lives to have, and staff facing cuts need our support as staff working conditions are student learning conditions.

Students should not have to face fear of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harrassment (SASH), and therefore I’m committed to doing as much as I can to change the culture in which SASH can be normalised and dismissed, particularly in the vulnerable time of nights out.

This is why if I’m elected as a General Representative, I’ll fight for:

  1. Mental Health Support

1 in 5 Australians struggle with mental health issues. This can be exacerbated by high stress environments like university, where many students are facing the stresses of academically rigorous course work, new social settings and living away from home for the first time without the preestablished networks of family and old friends for support and stability.
I will advocate for:

  • Improving access to ANU counselling workshops like “Finding Balance” and “ADHD skills” by live streaming these events through means of Zoom calls, where students can actively participate and ask questions anonymously through the chat feature. This way, the programs that students need will be easier to access and more private.

  • Greater mental health support situated in residential colleges, such as having elected Mental Health officers in ResHalls who work with ANUSA and ANU counselling to receive support and training.

  1. Commitment to activism against cuts

Renew ANU and cuts to staff and our education presents an imminent threat to students, who deserve representatives willing to advocate against these changes.

  • Standing with the NTEU to fight job cuts

  • Work with College Reps to advocate against course cuts

  1. SASH prevention

Going on nights out is a large part of the social culture at ANU, particularly on Thursday night student nights. However, these nights out are times of particular vulnerability to SA/SH and more can be done to keep our students safe and having fun.

  • Advocate to amend the Rights/Relationship/Respect module to include more information on behaviour when at clubs/bars on nights out or while drinking, including how to make sure people are engaging in respectful, consensual encounters.
  • Reaching out to local clubs and bars to set up effective systems for helping people in dangerous situations, like the “Ask for Angela” campaign.

Thank you for your support, and I’m always open to questions and suggestions. Remember to vote from the 22nd-25th of September!

Vote [1] Tessa McNamara for General Representative
Vote [1] RAGE for ANUSA