Original sentence: As required by new legislation, the University council conducted a student referendum in 1998 on whether membership in AUSA should be voluntary or compulsory.Detractors of voluntary student unionism say that AUSA suffers drastically from VSU, and that VSU undermines AUSA's ability to advocate on behalf of students and provide welfare services.Proponents of VSU, on the other hand, claim VSU means freedom of choice for students.Referenda on the same issue were held in 2000, 2002, and 2004(anyone can request a referendum and the University council must conduct one, provided no two referenda are less than two years apart), and in each case, the majority of students voted for voluntary unionism.The AUSA was founded in 1891.The consitution of the AUSA centers the organisation around student advocacy and the provision of welfare services.The majority of students supported voluntary unionionism, and so AUSA membership become voluntary.They also paint AUSA executives under compulsory unionism as being wasteful, and cite examples of weekly Ski trips for executives.They also say that in controlling the flow of money, the University dictates the terms to some extent of its operations through a Student Services Agreement.They claim that the level of intervention is very limited(for example, the conditions are only that AUSA must run orientation and the like)
Edited sentence: AUSA suffered drastically from the Voluntary Student Unionism movement that undermined its ability to advocate on behalf of students and provide welfare services, which are part of the main constitutional objects that AUSA was founded on in 1891.In controlling the flow of money, the University dictates the terms to some extent of its operations through a Student Services Agreement