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Construction activities for the Place Riel Renovation Project will begin soon. Students should be aware that the north exit doors from Upper Place Riel will be permanently closing as of Thursday, April 2, 2009. Students who use these doors as a shortcut to the Murray Library or to the University Bowl should plan an alternate route.
To view an alternate route map, please go to renewplaceriel.ca, the official website for the Place Riel Renovation Project.
Due to pending construction and renovations in and around the Place Riel Student Centre, The City of Saskatoon's Access Transit, which provides transportation to persons with disabilities, is changing its pick up and delivery routes.
Starting April 1, 2009, Access Transit will no longer be picking up or delivering passengers at its main University stop located in front of the Place Riel Student Centre. Access Transit's main stop will now be the south entrance to the Arts Tower. It is anticipated that this change will remain in effect until the completion of the Place Riel Renovation project in the autumn of 2010.
For more information, please go to renewplaceriel.ca, the official website for the Place Riel Renovation Project.
Renovations to the Place Riel Student Centre will begin soon. Students should be aware that the elevator servicing Upper and Lower Place Riel will be permanently disabled on Thursday, April 2, 2009. Students who rely on the elevator should plan alternative routes for getting to their destination.
To view an alternate route map, please go to renewplaceriel.ca, the official website for the Place Riel Renovation Project.
The University of Saskatchewan Students Union (USSU) recently held Executive and Student Senate elections.
Because all offices had only one candidate running for each position, this year's vote included a confidence voting system. Voters were asked to vote yes or no for each candidate, with the additional option of abstaining from voting for that position.
Under the supervision of the Chief Returning Officer Zena Charowsky. The unofficial results from the vote were:
USSU President: Warren Kirkland
Yes: 1,318 (64.36%)
No: 401 (19.58%)
Abstain: 329 (16.06%)
Total Votes Cast: 2,048
USSU VP Student Affairs: Ben Fawcett
Yes: 1,389 (67.82%)
No: 348 (16.99%)
Abstain: 311 (15.19%)
Total Votes Cast: 2,048
USSU VP Academic Affairs: Daniel McCullough
Yes: 1,302 (63.57%)
No: 382 (18.65%)
Abstain: 364 ( 17.77%)
Total Votes Cast: 2,048
USSU VP External Affairs: Chris Stoicheff
Yes: 1,455 (71.04%)
No: 337 (16.46%)
Abstain: 256 (12.50%)
Total Votes Cast: 2,048
USSU VP Operations and Finance: Scott Hitchings
Yes: 1,312 (64.06%)
No: 460 (22.46%)
Abstain: 276 (13.48%)
Total Votes Cast: 2,048
4th Annual Saskatchewan Environmental Film Festival: See The Change Be The Change
The University of Saskatchewan Student's Union is pleased to be an official sponsor for the 4th Annual Saskatchewan Environmental Film Festival, March 27th and 28th, 2009. The Festival will kick on Friday, March 27th with the Environmental Activist Awards and presentation of the feature film Blue Gold. Activities begin at 7:00 p.m., Neatby-Timlin Theatre (Arts 241). Following the film, join attendees for a social at Browsers (2nd floor, Memorial Union Building).
On Saturday the festival will screen a series of environmentally conscious films at the Neatby-Timlin, starting at 10:30 a.m., and running through until 9:00 p.m. The Saturday festival lineup is as follows:
- Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home
- The Power of Community; How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
- Oil and Water Project
- Oil and Water Film
- Jim Settee: The Way Home
- Over Land
- Short Environmental Films
- Filmmakers Panel: The festival will conclude by celebrating Earth Hour while providing a Saskatchewan filmmakers panel. Filmmakers include: Joel Entwistle, who has won an award for his short Love to Love You Landfills, Angela Edmunds and Marcel Petit, producers of the acclaimed Hookers, Jeanne Corrigal, creator of Jim Settee: the Way Home, and Lindsay Bradfort-Ewart, who produced Boreal Forest Expedition.
The event is free to all, with a suggested donation of $5 for students per day.
For a full schedule of events or for more details, please visit:
http://www.econet.sk.ca/filmfest09
USSU General Elections Coming this Wednesday and Thursday
Voting polls for the University of Saskatchewan Students' Union (USSU) annual general election will be opening at 9:00 a.m., this Wednesday, March 25. Polls will close at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, March 26. Eligible voters (undergraduate students currently registered at the U of S) may only vote online through PAWS.
To vote online, log into paws.usask.ca on the 25th or 26th, and click on the vote tab.
There are five USSU Executive positions up for election. They are:
- USSU President
- USSU Vice President Finance & Operations
- USSU Vice President Academic Affairs
- USSU Vice President External Affairs
- USSU Vice President Student Affairs
There will also be voting for USSU Senate positions.
The USSU is now featuring election videos of all this year's candidates. To see the videos, please go to the USSU YouTube channel.
For the USSU General Election Schedule click here, or for more information email acro@ussu.ca
In preparation for the construction phase of the forthcoming Place Riel Renovation project, The University of Saskatchewan Students' Union (USSU) Main Office, located in Room 65, Lower Place Riel, will be temporarily relocating to the Main Floor of the Memorial Union Building (better known as the floor above Louis').
As of this blog posting, the USSU Executive offices, General Manager's office, Communications office, and USSU reception have, or will be moving to the Main Floor of the Memorial Union Building. The USSU Information Technology Office has been relocated to Lower Sask Hall. The USSU Marking office, and Facilities and Operations offices are tentatively scheduled to move either later this week, or early next week (est. March 30th).
Anyone needing to make a USSU-related inquiry are encouraged to call the USSU Main Office telephone number @ 966.6960. Those wishing to make an in-office visit to the new Memorial Union Building location may experience a delay in processing inquiries or service requests as the USSU continues to migrate to its new office location.
Please monitor the USSU website for future updates about this relocation, as well as the Place Riel Renovation Project.
The USSU is pleased to announce that it will be hosting The Great Tar Sands Debate starting at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, March 16 in Arts 241 (Neatby-Timlin Theatre).
Canadian speakers from both sides of the issue will debate the complex and timely Tar Sands topic. Dr. Carolyn Preston, Executive Director of Petroleum Technology Research Centre at the University of Regina will speak in favor of the Tar Sands as an energy source, while Andrew Nikiforuk, an award-winning Canadian journalist who has written about energy, economics and the environment, will speak against expansion of the industry.
The debate will begin at 3:30 p.m., with both persons presenting their positions. Following the debate presentations, Dr. Preston and Mr. Nikiforuk will be available to the audience for a question and answer session.
The Great Tar Sands Debate is being organized by a network of volunteers and organizations in Saskatchewan. All events are free and open to the public. Details are at http://www.sasquatchnews.com/event/tar-sands-debate
The Great Tar Sands Debate will also be travelling to eight Saskatchewan communities in March, including Muenster, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Craik, Regina, Moose Jaw and Swift Current.
For more information, please contact Shannon Dyck, USSU VP Student Affairs by telephone: 966-6970 or by email: vpstudentaffairs@ussu.ca.
Is it for the fame? The glory? The notoriety? The endless supplies of free popcorn? Join USSU President Josie Steeves, and Shannon Dyck, USSU V.P. Student Affairs, as they mull over the reasons why you should consider running for USSU Executive. Their stunning performances will leave you breathless (but not in a dangerous way).
Due to a scheduling conflict, the USSU Election Orientation meeting, originally scheduled to be held in Room 77, Lower Sask Hall on Thursday, March 5, will instead be held in the USSU Main Boardroom located at the USSU Main Office in Lower Place Riel. The Orientation meeting will begin at 4:00 p.m.
For more information about the Orientation Room Change or the USSU Executive and Senate Elections, lease contact the USSU by telephone at 966.6962, or by email at acro@ussu.ca.
The USSU Help Centre will be offering Mental Health First Aid sessions for those interested in helping others with a developing mental health problem, or experiencing a mental health crisis. Two individual sessions will be held on March 7 and 14, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Saturdays). Discount rates are available for U of S students.
For more information about the Mental Health First Aid sessions, please contact the USSU Help Centre by telephone at 966.6982, or by email help.centre@ussu.ca.
Get your nominations in for the USSU Experience in Excellence Awards. The deadline is 4:30 p.m., this Wednesday! There are a variety of categories to nominate someone special, including the following awards:
- Academic Advising Award
- Pride Centre Doug Wilson Award
- Help Centre Award
- Women's Centre Award
- Doug Favell Staff Spirt Award
- Vera Pezer Award for Student Enhancement
- USSU Staff Member
- U of S Staff Member
- Member of Student Council
- Volunteerism
- Campus Group of the Year
To download a nomination form for any of the listed categories, go to ussu.ca/news/awards.shtml. The USSU Experience in Excellence Awards will be given out on Sunday, March 22nd at Louis.
The University of Saskatchewan Students' Union is pleased to announce this year's winners from the 8th Annual USSU Film Festival Awards which were held on Thursday, February 26th. The unofficial winners are:
First Place: Kevin Petty, Even Willoughby, Bruce Willougby for Valentine's Day. For finishing first, they are the winners of a new Panasonic 10MP 18X Zoom Digital Camera.
Second Place: Liam Lanigan for Visions of Static. For finishing in second place, Liam receives a new Panasonic mini-DV camcorde.
Third Place: Blair Woynarski for Red. For finishing in third place, Blair will receive a new Panasonic 10MP Digital Camera.
This year's winners will also be featured on the USSU Film Festival YouTube page, and the USSU's Main YouTube page.
Special thanks to the U of S Computer Store located in Lower Place Riel for making the prize donations. Also thanks to the award winners, and to everyone who submitted their work to the festival. See you again next year!