USSU Executive Blog

The following is a letter I sent to Members of Students' Council (MSC) regarding the AGM and the previous By-Election for the International Students' MSC.

Members of University Students’ Council,

We are in the midst of what could appropriately be coined a ‘constitutional crisis’ regarding the recently held by-election for the two positions on University Students’ Council for International Students.

In the lead up to the Annual General Meeting, I attended an information sharing meeting set up by the International Student and Study Abroad Centre (ISSAC) in order to explain our proposed amendment to Section 28 to remove the word “association” from “International Students’ Association” and to simply have seats on University Students’ Council for International Students. An email was sent from the ISSAC to each and every international student at the University of Saskatchewan and was thus a very open, and not a closed meeting.

At that meeting I came away with two messages, one being that the changes were acceptable and were not, in fact, robbing International Students of representation or marginalizing International students in any way; the other being that it is important to have International Student representation on University Students’ Council as quickly as possible, and thus that the USSU should move forward with holding a by-election for the two seats for International Students, to be held on the November 17th and 18th. I would like to reiterate that the USSU held the by-election at the behest of those in attendance at the very open meeting set up by the International Students and Study Abroad Centre.

The by-election was indeed held on November 17th and 18th, with the results being Du Rui and Kai Li elected by international students to be representatives of international students on University Students Council.

The problem we now encounter is that the motion to amend Section 28 and remove the word ‘association’ from “International Students’ Association” was struck down, thereby restricting membership on University Students Council to only International Students who are members of the International Student Association. Yet, the International Students’ Association does not exist. Therefore, the two students who were elected in a free, fair, and open by-election by International Students at the University of Saskatchewan to represent International Students on University Students’ Council cannot sit as representatives of International Students because they are not members of the International Students’ Association because that association does not exist.

The exact problem that the amendment to Section 28 sought to alleviate has now flown directly into our collective face. As President of the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union, I am required by the Non-Profit Corporation Act, 1995 to ensure that the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union adheres to its own bylaw. Therefore, I must enforce section 28 of the USSU Bylaw and cannot allow Du Rui or Kai Li to sit at University Students’ Council and represent the International Students who elected them to their positions, as a result of the fact that section 28 of the Bylaw states that membership on University Students’ Council must be from the International Students’ Association, which neither Du Rui nor Kai Li can be a member of, for the simple fact that one cannot be a member of a group that does not exist.

This problem would not exist if the amendment to Section 28 had been passed, as the two councilors would have simply been International Students elected by International Students and thus would have been in keeping with the amended bylaw. However, that is not the case, and the problem is now ours to embrace.

I see that there are two solutions to this problem. One solution is one over which the USSU has no control: that undergraduate International Students at the University of Saskatchewan establish and ratify the International Students’ Association. Upon this action being taken, the USSU would then be forced to hold another by-election for the two seats on University Students’ Council for the International Students’ Association.

The other solution is that University Students’ Council - as laid out in the powers of University Students’ Council in the Non-Profit Corporations Act, 1995 – amend Section 28 of the bylaw to remove the word “Association” from “International Student Association”. This solution would still require the USSU to hold another by-election for the two seats on University Students’ Council, but would not require that the USSU wait until an International Students’ Association is formed before holding the by-election. This solution is the most logical; as it would ensure that in the future this problem is never again encountered. However, this solution could also be perceived to be deceitful and/or dishonest.

Unless the University Students’ Council decides that the latter solution is the preferred route, we have no option but to wait until the International Students’ Association forms and ratifies before holding a by-election for the two positions on University

Students’ Council, which ought to be filled as soon as possible. Until such a time comes, however, there will continue to be no representation from or for International Students on University Students’ Council, which is a most unfortunate situation.

Scott Hitchings

Posted by jbv373 at 09:57 AM | Permalink

This year marks a milestone for students and the USSU as we reached the completion of the Place Riel Renovation and expansion project. This project took many years of planning and 29 months of construction to complete. The $28 million dollar project was financed by students through existing savings from the student infrastructure fee and an $18.3 million loan which going forward will be covered by the existing student infrastructure fee. While the construction portion of the project is completed, the numbers have still yet to completely settle as there are still a few outstanding bills from contractors. As it stands now the project is over budget, which is not news as it has been for quite some time.

Although it has been over budget it has always remained within it’s funding. That is to say, the project has gone over what was budgeted for it, but there was more money available for this project than had been budgeted to cover unforeseen costs. Going forward this mean the USSU should be financially cautious.

An upside for our finances in that with the completion of the Place Riel project our Commercial Retail Units are now open once again. These bring in significant revenues for the Student Union and thus far have exceeded the projections that were made for them in last year’s budget. Although they are exceeding expectations, this year is still projected to run a deficit. It is my hope that on the back of these rent revenues, combined with fiscal restraint, that we are able to strengthen the USSU’s financial position in the coming years.

Reid

Posted by jbv373 at 09:48 AM | Permalink

It recently dawned on me that as the Vice-President of Academic Affairs that from time to time I should probably encourage academic activity. Today I have decided that since it is the middle of essay season that a little lesson in grammar and the importance of expanding one’s vocabulary is in order. Hardly a day goes by that I am not thankful that during my formative years I took it upon myself to learn grammar and build my vocabulary. These tools are the fundamental building blocks of communication and are thus incredibly important for everyone to know inside and out.

Now I am not about to bore you with a bunch of grammatical dos and don’ts or lists of big fancy words that will make you sound impressive, I’m going to show you how I learned about these things: with Mad Libs. Mad Libs are a prefect grammatical teaching tool; there is a handy reference guide in the front and the benefit of seeing exactly how words fit into a proper sentence (not to mention they are fun to play just about anywhere, anytime). Mad Libs are also excellent tools for expanding your vocabulary as well. For maximum enjoyment of Mad Libs I find that you need to know more than one word for fart. So for your reading and learning pleasure, I will demonstrate the effectiveness of Mad Libs as a teaching tool. I have prepared a classic Mad Lib using some new words that I learned from Urban Dictionary:

Hamlet’s Third Soliloquy

To be or not to pull a Palin,-- that is the shawty;
Whether ‘tis nobler in the muffin top to suffer
The slings and n00bs of stoptional fortune,
Or to take Kobe specials against a sea of farticles,
And by alt-tabbing end them. To die—to photobomb,--
No more; and by a photobomb to say we end
The Febreeze shower and the 3vil natural shocks
That flesh is Wannabe to,-- ‘tis a Leeroy Jenkins
Hangry to be wish’d. To die,-- to photobomb,--
To photobomb! Perchance to be ballin’! Ay there’s the Dracula sneeze;
For in that photobomb of death what Oopma-loompas may come
When we have pwned off this fugly coil,
Must give us a zombie apocalypse

I hope this exercise in grammar and vocabulary has been as stimulating and enthralling for you as it was for me and that you all go henceforth once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; and use all that you have learned.

Kelsey

Posted by jbv373 at 01:09 PM | Permalink

Hey there,

It’s that wonderful time of the year when the snow is a refreshing break and the optimistic in me assumes that the bitter Saskatchewan winter isn’t too near. Oh, it’s close and it will come with a vengeance, as it always does. But, what does that have to do with my job? Well, it means that my bike ride to school will be much less leisurely and a lot more troubling. Other than that though, it really doesn’t have much to do with it.

So, what have I been up to? The past month has been full of lots of exciting things around the students’ union. For example, the USSU radio show that I host has been saved to see another day. The debate was brought from Executive to council if the show ought to survive given the changing nature of media and the relevance the show may have with the student body. It turned out that the arguments for the show seemed to hold more weight, and thus you can continue (or start) to listen to me on CFCR 90.5 at 7:00 PM every Tuesday.

Further, the bike tool repair stand is now up. It only took many months, but I am glad that this sweet sustainable and convenient station is up. Margret Asmuss was a huge help in the process and the office of sustainability contributed to the project by paying for the cement pad that it sits on. Also, Keith Flysak from the ASSU thought it was such a cool idea that they decided to pay for half of the stand in support of the initiative, which was great. It just puts a damper on things for now as the snow really limits how many people are biking around.

Green Yourself Week was this month and was a success. There were mugs, free fairtrade coffee, and a bike given out to Jillian, the grand prize winner. Some of the events weren’t as successful as I would have hoped, but I think the goal of raising awareness about sustainability was achieved. It was fun to put on an event that I feel strongly about and to have the help from Shannon Dyck who currently works for the office of sustainability. She actually started this event four years ago in the same position that I hold. The idealist and realist in me have compromised in regards to environmental issues. I now believe that, although we cannot necessarily quickly change the habits of individuals, we can put in place convenient options for them to switch to. Sustainability shaming is not something that in my opinion works—sustainable convenience does. If a house is burning down, don’t make someone feel bad about feeding the fire; encourage them to help you put it out.

The Executive held another one of our Comment Couches in the agriculture building. It was a relative success as there were some students who expressed their concern of parking on campus. I am currently in the works of creating a separate initiative to get students more aware and engaged with the Students’ Union and the Executive itself. I really want people understand that although we are paid and have the opportunity to do some neat things, we are also still students and face many of the same problems. I’m hoping this new initiative will be up and working by next semester. I’ll update you all as it progresses.

I hope your studies are well and your sweaters thick and warm,

--Alex Ferwerda

Posted by jbv373 at 01:59 PM | Permalink

The U-Pass program is now well established and brings students a universal bus pass for a quarter of the price of an adult bus pass. Rides by U-Pass users make up roughly one third of all rides taken on Saskatoon Transit, and this is only over 8 months of the year. By having such a large share of the ridership this makes students and the USSU a major stakeholder for Saskatoon Transit.

As students are such a major stakeholder for transit the USSU seeks to offer students the chance for a dialog to exist between the student body and the service provider Saskatoon Transit. This takes the form of a Transit Forum, which is being held on November 16, 2011 at 1:30pm in Arts 106. There will be representatives from Saskatoon Transit at the forum to answer questions and listen to feedback from students. As the Vice-President whose portfolio transit issues fall under, I too will be there to answer questions students may have about the U-Pass.

This is a chance for students to have their voices heard and offer their suggestions, positive or negative feedback and also raise problems and concerns they have about transit service. So if your bus is constantly too early or too late or passes you by because it is packed you should attend this forum, or if you have friends who this applies to please tell them to attend.

I hope to see many students at this event so we can work to improve the transit service as our student body heavily uses it and depends on it.

Reid Nystuen

Posted by jbv373 at 10:01 AM | Permalink

Well, it is finally November! What’s so special about that you may ask? A LOT, THERE ARE A LOT OF SPECIAL THINGS ABOUT NOVEMBER. If you were not privy to this information then I suggest you read on.

November is the month of cold and darkness before the official start of winter; it contains the most solemn of long weekends (Remembrance Day) and is the last painful leg of the term when most exams, lab exams, assignments and term papers are due. Did all that school work sound depressing to you? It should have because none of that stuff is exciting but I can tell you what is: adopting Kelsey Topola’s foolproof methods of Study-ology and Learning-otomy (patent pending)!!!! Here for you exclusive benefit are the five easy steps to surviving one of the bleakest months of the year:

-Play lots of video games- It’s pure science that video games focus the eyes and help your brain AND your hand/eye coordination (they’re the gift that keeps on giving!). There are those who insist that video games are a waste of time and all they are good for is rotting the minds and social lives of our young people to which I say………. Shut up loser.

-Eat pizza and dink soda- This one is fairly obvious, if you are sitting in front of your tv for 18- hour stretches without moving then it is essential your stay well-nourished and hydrated.

-Stay connected- Interaction with other human beings is essential for our health and well-being, just hearing someone’s soft, sweet voice can be enough to lift one’s spirits. This is where online co-op play comes in. Communicate with your teammates, or if they totally suck, work on your trash talk rating! Either way you are in for some fun and you can feel good about the fact that your social skills haven’t completely deteriorated, they’re just dying a slow and painful death.

-Take frequent cat-naps- If you have already completed steps 1-3 then my guess is that you are good and ready for this step.

And there you have it! If this simple four-step program doesn’t get you through November with flying colours then try doing it for December too! Eventually it is bound to work……

Posted by jbv373 at 02:03 PM | Permalink