UNBC Student Politics

Tomorrow, the voting begins for the UNBC Board of Governors elections: from Thursday Nov 15, 8 am to 2 pm, to Friday Nov 16, 8 am to 2 pm.

The Board of Governors is a 15 person body, of which only 1 represents undergraduate students. It is, by itself, responsible for handling the budget, setting the amount charged for tuition, and setting the amount charged for student fees. In tandem with UNBC Senate, it is responsible for the maintenance of academic programs and university property.

There are two candidate for the UNBC Board of Governors: Kyle Guy and Thomas Knudsen.

Since I’m involved in one of the campaigns, I’ll just give out the links to each candidate’s platform statement.

Kyle Guy: http://unbc.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6289887343
Thomas Knudsen: http://unbc.facebook.com/event.php?eid=21490066232

The Results

Voter Turnout: 9%

The NUGSS By-Election debates were held yesterday, in the middle of the Wintergarden, and all candidates had the chance to promote their platforms.

For CSM Representative, there was only one candidate, Michael Touney. He believed that he was the best person for the job as he was a part of the College of Science and Management and he helped out NUGSS in the past in regards to the Backyard BBQ. He expressed enthusiasm in regards to getting down to performing his duties in representing students at the various CSM and NUGSS committees, and helping the rest of the Board in their projects. Touney has to confirmed by the students via a confirmation vote before he can take the position of CSM Representative.

The real race, however, is for President. There are three candidates for the position, but only two showed up to the debates: Liam Iliffe and Jessica Schmit.

Iliffe’s Platform

Iliffe stated that he based his platform around student involvement. First of all, he expressed concern that NUGSS services and events did not adequately serve the needs of all of UNBC’s student population. As an example, he cited the lack of childcare options provided by NUGSS for use by students with children in events such as the Backyard BBQ. Secondly, Iliffe, as President, wants to work towards having NUGSS get students more involved in their university and improving school spirit. One way in which he would do this is work with existing groups to create and extend networks among students. Iliffe also wants to work with the University to improve Student Retention. Finallly, Iliffe wants to increase NUGSS’ philanthropic efforts, specifically getting NUGSS involved in a “Five Days for the Homeless” to raise money for that cause.

Schmit’s Platform

As President, Schmit stated that she wanted to work to make the new NUSC building a success, willing to work with students to ensure that the building meets student requirements and desires. In regards to the proposed U-Pass program, Schmit is in support of the program, but wants to make sure that all students have complete information available to students before they vote on it. A major goal of Schmit’s is to get NUGSS active in UNBC’s Green University Initiative: she would do this by a) getting directly involved with the university environmental committee established by the University President; b) Promoting the U-Pass; c) informing students about the little known carpool policy (parking permits are cheaper for carpoolers); and d) reducing paper waste produced by NUGSS.

Questions & Other Positions

Degree Program:

• Iliffe: finished an degree in Anthropology, working on a degree in Commerce.
• Schmit: fourth year Political Science.

Outside Activities:

• Iliffe is involved in JDC West, as a Co-Captain.
• Schmit is involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters.

NUGSS Exprience:

• Iliffe: None
• Schmit: Co-Chair/Director of Corporate Donations of the Shinerama campaign.

U-Pass:

• Iliffe: supports the proposed U-Pass program, but wants to investigate creating an opt-up for those students that do not live near bus service
• Schmit: supports of the proposed U-Pass program, but want to be sure that students had complete information on the cost and benefits before any referendum on the issue takes place.

Question: Are you [specifically Iliffe] concerned that by being both involved as NUGSS President and JDC West Co-Captain, that students may beleve that JDC West is unfairly benefitting from NUGSS?

• Iliffe: Yes, he is concerned that JDC West might actually be hurt by his possible role as NUGSS President, as opposed to receiving benefit. However, he places trust in the JDC West team to walk through any problems presented.
• Schmit: Didn’t get asked the question.

Question: Being NUGSS President is a major time commitment that requires an effort above and beyond the 60 minimum hours. What kind of sacrifices are you [specifically Schmit] willing to make in your academic and personal life to fulfill your commitments as President

• Iliffe: Didn’t get asked the question
• Schmit: By reaching fourth years, she believes that she has learned effective time management skills. As well, she is willing to give up a job at a local gift store to make time for NUGSS.

Question: Your major role as NUGSS President is to communicate on behalf of the students to the university administration. How are you going to balance promotion of student issues without being too obstructionist and counterproductive to the efforts of the university?

• Iliffe: Student Issues should come first, and the President should work extensively with the university to ensure that student goals are in the university’s plans. Iliffe have formed realionships with many of the university administrators and believes that he is the person to do this.
• Schmit: Promotion of Student Issues should be the first priority when dealing with the university administration.

Question: Regarding the above question, what are Student Issues?

• Iliffe: We need to discover what student issues are, and we must do a better job at conveying them to the administration.
• Schmit: Students are a diverse group, and there are no blanket “student issues”. What needs to occur are discussion forums held in the Wintergarden, promoted by announcing them at the beginning of classes.

The candidates for the NUGSS By-Election are:

President

Ahmer Aftab
Liam Iliffe
Jessica Schmit

CSM Representative

Michael Touney

Very Quick & Dirty History of the Candidates

Liam Iliffe ran for President in the 2007 NUGSS Election, placing 2nd in a race of 4 competitors.

Jessica Schmit ran for VP Student Affairs in the 2006 NUGSS Election, placing 2nd in a race of 3 competitors.

Michael Touney, if I am recalling events correctly, did run in the 2007 NUGSS Election for VP Finance, but withdrew from the race before the vote.

And I apologize, but I can’t say I’ve heard of Ahmer Aftab. Maybe someone else knows of him?

At today’s NUGSS BOD meeting, President Jenna Pocock and CSM Representative Trevor McKay resigned from their positions, effective immediately.

VP-External Cameron Ehl was appointed Acting President and CASHS Representative Adam Kantakis was appointed Acting CSM Representative.

The By-Election process to replace these positions will begin with a two week nomination period beginning Monday October 1st, a campaign period from October 15th-22nd, Speeches on Tuesday October 23nd, and elections on October 24rd and 25th.

*edit: forgot Thanksgiving Holiday in calculations, which shifts things forward a day.

Well, first of all, I must say that during this meeting, I was in both in Williams Lake (used teleconferencing) and not feeling very well at all. So my recollection of this meeting may not be as great as some of the others.

Excuses aside, here are the highlights of the meeting.

The University Calendar was changed to reflect changes in Co-Op requirements. Co-Op students now only have to complete 3, not 4 work terms and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, instead of 2.75

A new Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in the education program, a diploma on Curriculum and Instructional Studies, was approved, along with courses needed for the program. This new Post-Baccalaureate Diploma meets a demand within the local professional teachers in the Prince George Area.

Three new Nursing courses were approved. Five new scholarships and bursaries were also approved.

A motion passed to place a ceiling on the amount of money that recipients of UNBC-financed Graduate Student Awards could receive was passed. The amount of the ceiling is $10,000. The intent behind this motion was to ensure the greater spreading out of UNBC-financed Graduate Student Awards among grad students.

Finally, the most important part of the meeting took place: the proposed amendments to the Senate Handbook, which basically serves as the rules, constitution and bylaws of Senate. To pass, it required the approval of 2/3rds of all Senators present. After much wangling, it passed.

Since the Senate Handbook tends to affect how Senators do things internally, I won’t really discuss the details. However, I will highlight one of the areas that which changed that might be of interest to students: the election of Senators (or at least, as I understand it).

Before the changes to the Senate Handbook, the various colleges (CSAM, CASHS) and student associations (NUGSS, NBCGSS) were responsible for conducting the elections, under the supervision of the Secretary of Senate. This situation led to concerns that there was no single electoral rule standard being applied to all of the Senate Elections in the University.

So the change was to place the responsibility for conducting Senate elections on (back on, really) the Secretary of Senate. The Senate Elections would then have consistent, across the board electoral rules apply to them; the electoral rules being found within the Senate Handbook.

There was some concern that this change might unfairly take away some power from the student associations: but the idea was that the Secretary of Senate would gain the aid and input of the student associations when conducting the Student Senate elections. However, in the end, the final responsibility of the conduct of elections was to lay not on the student associations, but the Secretary of Senate. Or at least, that was my reading of it.

A U-Pass is a type of transit pass in which every student attending a university pays a fee every semester. In exchange for this, every student is able to ride on the bus system, anywhere, anytime, by simply showing their student card. In some U-Pass programs, students may also be able to receive discounts at local businesses or get into local facilities for a reduced cost/free.

“But”, you say, what does this have to do with UNBC? “We don’t have such a program here”. Well, that may be about to change. The NUGSS Board of Directors voted, near unanimously (one abstention), to support the establishment of a U-Pass for undergraduate students this academic year not exceeding $48 per student per semester. Of course, this is only a first step: exact terms would have to be worked out with the City of Prince George and then a majority of undergraduate students would have to approve of the U-Pass program though a referendum (which would probably take place during the NUGSS elections).

So, the question here is: is the U-Pass a program worthy of student support? I believe it is.

It gives greater transportation options to students. Obviously, it benefits those that use the bus every day the most. But even as a driver (which I am) one can receive benefits. If one’s car breaks down, one can use the bus system as a safety net to get around until one could afford to buy the replacement part you need. The same type of principle would apply if other events prevent one from driving. As well, by encouraging people to take the bus, less parking spaces would be taken, thus making it easier to get a parking space for those that are not going to give up driving (like me).

It would also give students more stake and power over the city bus system. A U-Pass agreement with the City would make the university one of the largest, most stable users of the bus system; logically, when one provides a service, it is smart to cater to the largest users first to secure their loyalty before catering to lesser stakeholders.

Finally, one cannot forget the positive environmental impacts arising from more people taking the bus.

I’m sure that as details become more finalized and the referendum comes closer, there will much better and detailed arguments on why the U-Pass should be supported. But a quick parting thought: there must be some reason why UNBC is the only university in BC without a U-Pass program.

I was surfing the ‘net in regards to student politics, and I’ve come across this interesting argument that student representation on the governing bodies of universities should reflect the share of the financial burden that students put into the institution. So, say students pay 33% of the university’s costs via tuition (with various government subsides paying the other cost). Then, the argument goes, students should have 33% of the seats on the university senate and board of governors. Right now, student representation by percentage is in the single/low double digits.

Of course, who is represented on the governing bodies of universities is dictated, for the most part, by provincial legislation and not the university.

Seems like something that should be investigated further…

Links:

Joey Coleman: “Taxation Without Representation”
Rabble.ca: Gaining ground on the educational home front
Dalhousie Gazette: A modest proposal

NUGSS In Brief is a summary of events that occurred at the NUGSS Board of Directors (BOD) Meetings

Motion of Censure

The BOD passed a motion to censure President Pocock. As the debate concerning this motion was closed to the public, no details are known.

Intramural Ball Hockey

The Intramural Ball Hockey Club sent a delegation to the BOD, concerned about access to venues to play in. The university administration will not allow the Ball Hockey Club to play in the new Sport Centre due to concerns over scuff marks on the floor and is no longer paying for access to the Roll-A-Dome. The BOD decided to set up a meeting with the Ball Hockey Club, NUGSS and the administration to try to find a solution, and will follow up on the results at the next BOD meeting.

U-Pass

City of Prince George Traffic Analyst Aidan Kelly discussed the possibly of establishing a U-Pass system, in which all undergraduate students can use their student card as a bus pass, in exchange for an extra fee. Currently, students pay $105 for a semester pass, but Kelly believed that the U-Pass would cost less than $50 per student per semester. The BOD passed a motion to support the establishment of a U-Pass for undergraduate students this academic year not exceeding $48 per student per semester. As per the NUGSS Bylaws, any fee increases must be approved by students via a referendum.

Sport Centre Grand Opening

VP External Ehl announced that the BOD would be helping the Alumni Association in their event related to the opening of the new Sports Centre.

Changes In Travel Cost Compensation

The amount of money which members of the NUGSS BOD can be compensated for official travel costs has increased. A BOD member can now receive $0.47 for each kilometer traveled, up from $0.36; $12 for breakfast, up from $10; $15 for lunch, up from $12; and $22 for dinner, up from $15. The previous prices were set in NUGSS policy in 1997.

Approval of 2007-2008 NUGSS Budget

The 2007-2008 NUGSS operating budget was passed. The society expects to receive $267,721 in total revenues, the majority coming from student fees, and expects to spend $266,178 in total expenses. Major expenses are employee wages and benefits ($138,601), campus groups, clubs, and food aid ($35,100), student handbooks and orientation ($27,700), and official NUGSS events ($23,900).

As long as I have been going to UNBC, Clubs Day, the day in which campus clubs and sports use to attract new members, has always been the first Friday of every new semester.

But I have to question: is that the best day to schedule Clubs Day? I’m going to contend that it is not, and that Clubs Day should be scheduled in the second or third week of September, for a few reasons.

The first reason why I think that Clubs Day should be later is the preparation time for the clubs. After coming back from a busy holiday, the members of a club has around four days or so in order to organize enough people and resources for an event that is basically going to define how successful the club is going to be for the rest of the year. Don’t forget, too, that these four days are usually the busiest time for students occupied by things such as paying tuition, moving in to homes, and reacquainting themselves with old friends.

The second reason for delaying Clubs Day is the sheer amount of events, such as the Backyard BBQ, put on for the student body during the first week of school. This concerns me in two ways: 1) that the message that the clubs are trying to send to the student population may be lost among all the hurly-burly of activity ; and 2) that since NUGSS is so busy organizing other events, Clubs Day does not receiving the attention that it could otherwise use.

The final reason comes from looking how other universities handle similar events. Having a quick look at the UBC and SFU student association sites, SFU has a clubs week (well, they are bigger) on the second week of September, and UBC will have its clubs day “sometime in late September.”

It seems to me that moving Clubs Day to the second week of September would be an easy way to improve the experience for all those involved.