YouX

YouX, officially the Adelaide University Union (AUU), is a student union at the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. It provides academic advocacy, welfare, and counselling services to students free of charge, funds the student newspaper On Dit, and owns a number of commercial operations on campus. It also oversees the Student Representative Council (SRC), an organisationally separate body responsible for student political representation.

The Adelaide University Union was founded in 1895 and since 1971 is recognised as a statutory corporation under the legislation governing the University of Adelaide.

History
The Adelaide University Union (AUU) was founded in 1895.

The post-Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) period contained significant financial difficulties for AUU. Previously funded by compulsory fees paid by all students, the introduction of voluntary unionism resulted in a sharp drop in income for the union. This resulted in grave financial difficulties. In late 2007, the AUU handed control of Union House and the vast majority of AUU's commercial services to the university. This was in return for the university agreeing to fund the union for a period of ten years. The university paid A$1.2 million to the union in the first year of this funding agreement, with future funding to be determined on a year-to-year basis.

In 2009, the Adelaide University Sports Association, previously an affiliate of the Adelaide University Union, began the process of disaffiliation from the Union, having secured a separate funding agreement with the university.

Rebranding (2022)
A decision in November 2021 led to the AUU being rebranded as YouX in 2022, which led to protests from many students, who called it thoughtless and rushed, with students being directed to a pornographic adult website with the same name. YouX initially declined to process a student's Freedom of Information request for the costing and communication of the rebranding, who then lodged an application to the South Australian Ombudsman. The state ombudsman directed the University of Adelaide to release documents relating to the rebranding. The documents revealed that 93 per cent of students saw the term AUU as positive or neutral, while 19% saw the term as negative. The rebrand was based on the perception that a decline in student members might be reversed if the word "union" was dropped from the name, although focus groups had found that the preferred name (out of the three options AUU, Adelaide University Union, and YouX), was AUU. The cost of the rebranding was A$80,000, with most of the cost being the development of the new logo, at A$79,972. During the 2022 student union election, candidates were told by YouX not to criticise the rebranding, warning that breaches would result in sanctions.

Formal relationship with the university
The Adelaide University Union is a statutory corporation under Section 21 of The University of Adelaide Act (1971), unlike other South Australian universities with their governing legislation. This influenced the inclusion of a similar section in Adelaide University Act (2023) for the merger of Adelaide University with the student unions of both universities fighting for the inclusion, and in addition, the "Western Australian model" of legislated 50% of SSAF to the student union.

Since 2008, the Adelaide University Union/YouX has relied on the University of Adelaide for the majority of its funding. This is a result of a funding agreement with the university.

The ultimate existence of the AUU/YouX, and its relationship with the university, is governed by the University of Adelaide Act 1971. This Act of the South Australian Parliament gives the University of Adelaide Council certain powers over YouX. YouX cannot alter its constitution or rules, or charge a membership fee, without the agreement of University Council, and YouX is bound to provide the council with its financial reports and budget for the coming calendar year prior to 1 December.

Student governance
YouX is governed by a board of management. The board consists of 10 ordinary members, who are not also permanent staff of YouX, five of whom are elected annually on two-year terms by the students of the university. The board then elects several of its members to positions within YouX, such as union president, vice president, student media committee chair and clubs committee chair. Elections are held annually in September, with the board-elect and officer bearers taking their positions on 1 December.

Notable past presidents include former South Australian Premier John Bannon, former South Australia Attorney-General Chris Sumner, Australia's first female Prime Minister Julia Gillard (1981–1982), and former South Australian Supreme Court judges Elliott Johnston and Samuel Jacobs.

Oscar Zi Shao Ong was president of YouX between 2021 and 2022, presiding over a board dominated by Young Liberals. During this time they cut funding for the Women's Collective and passed a constitutional amendment which gave an "independent committee" final approval rights over editorial content published in student newspaper On Dit. Ong was also the national president of the Council of International Students Australia (CISA), during which time there were at least five disaffiliations from CISA, citing poor governance and communications as well as Ong's conservative leadership.

The 2023 election results for the 2024 SRC president were declared void, and Georgia Thomas remained caretaker student president until another election could be held.

the SRC president is Aiden Zeyang Wang, and Merlin Wang is YouX board president.

Publications
YouX publishes the student newspaper On Dit, the third oldest student newspaper in Australia.