USSU Executive Blog

February is budget season for us here at the USSU. Managers of each department and myself are all busy preparing our proposed budget for next year. This involves pulling together all the information available to us from this year and what costs have actually been verses what was budgeted for last year. The budgeting process involves taking historical data from year to date numbers and projecting it out to what they would be over 12 months for next year.

This year was a significant one for the USSU as we finished the Place Riel renovation and expansion project and moved into the new building. This brought with it new revenues generated from rents of the tenants throughout the building, but also many one time costs associated with moving back into it, such as direction signage going up. These one time costs are things that we won’t need to be budgeted for next year and which should have a positive effect on the budget. While rent revenues are better than had been predicted we still don’t have as much data as we would like to project what we expect next year. Lower Place Riel tenants continued to open their businesses throughout the year, which means we won’t have a full years worth of numbers to budget from this year and will have to wait till next year to budget a full year’s worth of data for the new Place Riel.

Currently the departmental budgets are still being developed by the overseeing managers and they should be finished and submitted during Reading Week. The next step involves the Executive where over the course of 3 days we have meetings with all the managers about their budget sections and discuss and review what is being proposed. Then on March 3 the Budget and Finance Committee, comprised of students, spends the entire day combing through the budget line by line and making suggestions they think appropriate. The proposed budget will then be table at University Students’ Council on March 8. The following week I will make a presentation to USC and the general student body to inform them of the budget and answer any questions they might have. Then the following week the budget will go to a vote at USC. Once the budget has been developed and put together I will return with another blog explaining the major points and changes of the USSU 2012-2013 budget.

I hope this budget talk held your attention, if not I understand. It isn’t for everyone, but the least I can do is try and make the information accessible for those who want it.

Reid

Posted by jbv373 at 08:59 AM | Permalink

On February 8, the USSU held a Special General Meeting to amend our bylaw and solve the constitutional crisis that arose from the ashes of the Annual General Meeting in November of last year. The amendments that were put forward by the USSU Executive came about as a result of the excellent work of an Ad-Hoc Committee of University Students’ Council that was tasked with creating an amendment that all could agree upon. The membership of said committee included: the Jared Brown, President of the Indigenous Students’ Council; Du Rui, a representative of International Students; Jennifer Bozek and David Konkin, both members of Students’ Council; and the USSU Executive. The committee met with members of the Aboriginal community as well as representatives from the International Student and Study Abroad Centre and received input from other concerned stakeholders.

After hours of deliberations, discussions, and debates the committee came to a conclusion that allows the USSU to hold free, fair, and open elections for Members of University Students’ Council while still ensuring that those elected representatives must liaise with their constituents. In the case of representatives of International students, this would include the International Undergraduate Students’ Association and in the case of representatives of Indigenous Students, it would include the Indigenous Students’ Council. These are explicitly stated in the amendments put forward by the committee, which are now entrenched in the USSU Bylaw, and were not part of the original amendments put forward at the AGM in November.

What this solution tangibly means is that both International and Indigenous students will now have two representatives each on University Students’ Council. By-elections for these new positions are underway, with the nominations period running from February 10 – 17 and elections taking place February 29 and March 1. This by-election is also for a representative for the College of Medicine as well as one from Residence.

Onwards and Upwards,
Scott

Posted by jbv373 at 03:22 PM | Permalink

As I was sitting in my office the other day I was struck by a thought. I was listening to my colleague’s inane rambling about his brother this and his niece that and his grandma’s triple hip replacement blah blah blah. Anyways, he got me thinking about my own mysterious and dark past full of evil secrets. I was born Oswald Cobblepot and during my formative years I was incessantly bullied by my classmates for my strange appearance (short stature, chubby physique, pointed, beak-like nose and so forth). It didn’t help that my overprotective mother forced me to carry an umbrella everywhere I went after my father died of pneumonia he caught after being drenched in a downpour. Anyways my best friends were always my mothers birds, they were so cute and non-judgmental. I wish I could say the same for my incredibly wealthy family, they regarded me as an outcast and their painful rejection obviously forced me into a life of crime. However, owing to my family’s tradition of wealth I perpetrated my crimes in high style. For example, I always wear a monocle, tuxedo, snazzy top hat and of course my umbrella that also doubles as a rifle, because I figure why let go of my traumatic past? What good would that do? Once I had my new career up and running it took me somewhere I never expected, I moved to Gotham…… I moved away.

After I had settled into my new life in a different city I hatched a masterful plan to frame a bothersome vigilante for the murder of a mob boss AND pin a series of ingenious heists on him as well. That ended up going pretty badly though as my plan was thwarted. However, I did manage to escape the clutches of the caped crusader and after all that had blown over, I moved here into this office and began listening to the boring and utterly mundane strings of events that compose the lives of my friends and co-workers. Hmmmmm as I write this I am struck by another thought, whatever happened to that old rifle umbrella……………

Kelsey

Posted by jbv373 at 11:26 AM | Permalink

Hey there,

This semester is shaping up to be quite an exciting one.

I am currently working on setting up a number of events and initiatives that are sure to be super sweet! The Comment Couch took place this past week on January 30th in the biology building and once again features us four executives along with coffee and muffins! I hope to meet many of you avid blog readers in future Comment Couch dates. It’s always great to meet new students with different grievances and ideas in regards to our campus.

Another event that is in the works is “We Are All Treaty People”. It will be taking place at the end of this month and will feature some great talks by notable professors. With the Aboriginal population in Saskatchewan projected to increase dramatically in the next three decades, it is imperative that it be understand what treaties are and how they affect all of us. I am excited to both learn about these important issues and meet new people through the process. The CBC is currently airing a show called 8th Fire, which does a great job of detailing how both aboriginal and non-aboriginals people can learn to live in better harmony with one another. Announcements for the dates will be released shortly and I hope to see many of you there!

Something that has been on the table for a quite a while in the position has been the process of becoming a Fairtrade designated campus as UBC has recently become. I am pleased to say that there has been substantial progress on this initiative and I am hoping to have it either completed or lined up so the next executive and future Engineers Without Borders U of S chapter have a streamlined chance of making this initiative a reality.

A separate, but equally as important item on the agenda has been the attempt of bringing back some form of what was Campus Legal Services. I have both personally and in my position met many students who would benefit from either a solid form of legal information or legal advice on campus. This typically has been in regards to landlord issues, but there has also been other pressing legal matters students face. As it stands the USSU would most likely not be able to commit a significant amount of funds to the project due to the rebuilding of Place Riel; however, with partnerships with the University and the College of Law I believe that this service could once again see the light of day.

Something that is in my portfolio, but I have not spent too much time talking about is parking. This summer there was a bit of a kerfuffle in regards to the parking "lottery" that the university has been running for the past few years. The problem was that students were supposed to pay a 20$ entry fee to enter the lottery even if they didn't end up getting a spot. Upon hearing this I got in touch with staff over at the parking services division. The reason that was given for the 20$ fee was that if it was free to enter into the lottery then students would be able to get their friends to enter in along with them even if they weren't looking for a spot--thus, having a better chance of getting a spot. This seemed fairly reasonable to me, but still didn't justify the students who were paying to end up potentially with nothing in way of parking. The suggestion that I gave to parking services, which I have now learned will be implemented next September, is that those who have payed the fee will have priority over the spots that were not collected to those who gained a spot from the randomized draw. I am glad the university has taken my suggestion and hope that future unreasonable fees get vetted through students first.

Finally, there will be some super sweet sustainability events going on around World Water Day, which will take place March 22nd. The University has recently committed to a substantial climate action plan I am hopeful that with the help of the U of S office of sustainability, which in currently in the process of attempting to pull themselves out from facilities management division and into a more appropriate role as an administrative department unto its own this can be made to happen. Seeing as sustainability is something the university has included in its second and draft version of the third integrated plan I am hopeful this important aspect of our campus will be properly valued.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns with things that are going on around campus or the USSU--my office is always open!

---Alex Ferwerda

Posted by jbv373 at 11:16 AM | Permalink