USSU Executive Blog

I am two weeks into the job and I can already tell that I made the right decision in running for USSU President. Over the course of the past ten days I have been able to meet the staff of the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU), U of S administration, and other affiliated individuals. Everyone has made me feel very welcome and I feel as if I have inherited a great working environment. While the staff has a large part in the creation of a good working space, so do the other three Executive members. Alex Werenka, Ruvimbo Kanyemba, and Steven Heidel have effectively made this transition fun and engaging. The four of us have meshed very well thus far and as a result I am very optimistic of the year we have ahead of us.



Since I have assumed my role as President, I have been to a number of different events and have attended a number of different meetings. During the first week I was able to meet, along with other members of the Executive and GM Cottrell, with Saskatoon Transit about the summer U-PASS and the prospects of establishing it for the coming year. Over the course of that weekend I was tasked with my first Board of Governors meeting where Scott Hitchings, outgoing USSU President, accompanied me. These meetings have a steep learning curve and as such are a very eye opening experience. Scott has been very helpful throughout this changeover and I have to thank him for his behind the scenes effort getting me established in this new role. He will be leaving to Africa in the coming days and I wish him the best in his travels. Lastly, I was able to attend the architectural unveiling of the Gordon Oakes - Red Bear Students’ Centre. The plans for the forthcoming center are absolutely spectacular and I know this long needed structure will be a welcome addition to our campus.



I am very excited to get this year underway and I know my fellow executive members are too. Thank you for the opportunity to represent the USSU, and I promise to do my best.





Thank You,

Jared Brown

Posted by jbv373 at 10:32 AM | Permalink

As the 2011-2012 year comes to a close, the USSU Executive would like to highlight a couple of what we consider to be a few of our major accomplishments for the year.
First are the multiple changes that we made to the USSU Bylaw, in particular those surrounding the composition of University Students Council and the elections of Members to that council. Previous to this year, confusion existed over whom members of University Students’ Council (MSCs) represented. Some thought that they represented their student societies; some wanted nothing to do with their student societies. The changes we implemented to the bylaw clear up this representation debate: MSCs represent the students in their college, school, institution, or group and they need not take the same view as their student society.

The other change, which goes hand in hand with this clarity of representation, is that the USSU now runs the elections for all MSCs on top of the elections for USSU Executive positions. Rather than having MSC elections scattered throughout the year and being done based on different sets of rules varying from college society to college society, they are now run according to the USSU election rules, ensuring free, fair, and open elections for all MSCs.

Vice-President of Student Affairs Alex Ferwerda, working in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan Office of Sustainability and the Arts & Science Students’ Union, had a more concrete accomplishment in the fall. With the help of everyone involved, we were able to erect a “Bike-Tool-Repair-Stand,” which is now located in the bowl, between the Arts building and Thorvaldson. The Stand allows people to make minor repairs to their bikes, for instance repairing a flat tire, or tightening the brakes. This is an important part of a campus-wide sustainability initiative directed at encouraging people to use alternative modes of transportation instead of a car to get to and from campus.
Vice-President of Academic Affairs Kelsey Topola also ran a very successful iteration of the Experience in Excellence awards. This is an annual awards banquet held by the USSU to honour professors who have been nominated by their students for being excellent teachers and mentors. The awards also include those for U of S staff spirit, USSU staff spirit, and a number of awards for the best Volunteers at our USSU Centres, which would not be able to function without them.

Vice-President of Operations and Finance Reid Nystuen worked tirelessly in an attempt to return the USSU to a balanced budget, without cutting any of the many valuable services that the USSU provides to its students. In March, he tabled a budget that was very nearly balanced, with the exception of depreciation, which we all know is fake money anyway. He also got the ball rolling on a Summer U-PASS for students, which will be continued by the incoming executive and hopefully will be implemented in the coming years.
These are a few of the things that we are proud of, looking back on the year that was our term in Office, 2011-2012.

Scott Hitchings

Posted by jbv373 at 08:12 AM | Permalink