Continuing the legacy of Sandy Duncanson
A UTAS student and a graduate with a passion for social justice will be presented with Sandy Duncanson Social Justice Bursaries tomorrow to support special projects of their own creation.
The Sandy Duncanson Social Justice Bursary was established through donations from the family and friends of the late Sandy Duncanson to provide a legacy for future generations to embrace the passion for social justice that was a central theme in Sandy’s university life and legal career.
The tireless efforts of the fundraising committee saw not just the first milestone of $60,000 for one bursary achieved, but the tally exceeding $120,000 by the end of 2012, which has resulted in the wonderful achievement of awarding two scholars in 2013.
Recipient Charlotte Hunn, 25, who is studying a combined Arts /Law degree, will use the bursary to support her project COMET.
“COMET aims to educate disadvantaged and homeless Tasmania youth on aspects of criminal law that impact on their daily lives,” Charlotte said.
“Pursuing this project has given me the means to make a positive difference in the lives of disadvantaged young people in my own community.”
Charlotte has achieved great results throughout her university studies and has been placed on the Dean’s Roll of Excellence twice.
Recipient Timothy Woolley, 24, graduated with a combined degree of Arts/Law in 2012 with First Class Honours in Law. He also received excellent academic results throughout his studies and was placed on the Dean’s Roll of Excellence twice. He will begin studying a Master of Laws at the University of Cambridge at the end of the year.
Timothy will use the Bursary to support his goal of facilitating a forum between community legal service groups to establish a social justice law elective for Law students.
“The forum would help the creation of a unit focused on the needs of those organisations that deal with social justice law issues directly in Tasmania,” he said.
Timothy hopes the unit would also serve as a volunteer network so students could connect with external social justice organisations. His project was inspired from his experience studying social justice law at the University of Ottawa in Canada in 2011.
Laura Sykes, the 2012 Sandy Duncanson Scholar, said “the Bursary has played a huge role in the success of the Fairtrade movement on campus.”
“It has not only supported me financially in the coordination and running of events on campus, but also in legitimising my mission for UTAS to become Fairtrade accredited, as well as providing me with recognition for the achievements that have been made in collaboration with UTAS staff and students.”
2012 ended with a highlight for Laura, with UTAS being selected to host the 2013 Fairly Educated Conference, a national conference uniting university students across Australia and New Zealand to build the Fairtrade unis movement.
Image: (left to right) Charlotte Hunn, 2012 scholar Laura Sykes, and Timothy Woolley.