Notes from UMSU council

Chelsea Moore Staff

As on every second Thursday, the University of Manitoba’s student union met in their council chambers on February 23, in 176 Helen Glass.

UMSU meetings are open to all students. This last one was attended by UMSU officers and councillors, and chaired by council member Akosua Matthews.

A word from Bison athletes

The meeting kicked off with two very interesting presentations by U of M Bison sports team representatives, Lindsay Poggemiller and Rob Smith.

Smith talked about sports on campus, emphasizing that there are 330 registered athletes at the U of M and around 50 support personnel. He talked about the myths of athletes at the U of M: that physical education is their exclusive field of study, that all athletes receive full scholarships, and that the CIS is not a very competitive league — all of which, he said, are not true.

Some concerns that Poggemiller mentioned are overcrowded, “sub-par” facilities, the need for better publicity of Bison Sports and perhaps a seat on UMSU council to represent the teams.

Welcome, welcome

The next presentation was made by Walt McKee, a member of the “Welcoming and Supportive Environment Taskforce.”

The taskforce began last spring to get information from students and the administration about strengths and challenges of the U of M. Also, members of the taskforce want to find out if any person or group has been mistreated on campus.

McKee has heard numerous concerns form students, including a desire for online registration to be available at all times. According to McKee, students want all professors to be on WebCT, improved food services, extended daycare space, an end to overlapping of class material, and shorter lineups when registering for student loans, among other things.

The Executive speaks

Amanda Aziz gave her presidential report following the two presentations, powering through council business as her second term winds down.

Right now, she explained, meetings are being set up with Winnipeg MPs and MLAs, as well as provincial caucuses to lobby and talk about what’s happening with the provincial budget.

A “beautiful space” on campus might be re-opened: the Tache Hall auditorium, which used to serve as a ballroom and is now home to architecture students. Aziz has already met with the administration to come up with a plan.

She also mentioned that students in residence will be able to use their declining balance cards in Degree’s soon enough: UMSU has finalized an agreement with ARAMARK to add a 5 per cent commission to expedite this plan.

It’s budget time. There is a ‘closed-session’ committee that will be advising the president on the budget, however, Aziz noted that she would like this discussion to open up.

Lastly, surveys are being prepared for U of M students about food services. They will ask what students would like to see in the future, notably when ARAMARK’s contract ends.

UMSU vice-president Cathy Van De Kerckhove talked about how she has spent most of her time — assisting students with advocacy and appeals. An issue she will be addressing soon is the mistreatment of students.

The director of student affairs, Josh Mason, talked about U of M’s 2006 “ArtWalk” that will take place this week from February 27 to March 3, adding that more volunteers are needed. He talked about the University Centre — how UMSU is “not alone” in recognizing that it fails effectively to meet needs of students and tenants at the U of M. Also, he said that the U of M must “recognize traditional knowledge” due to the increased enrollment of Aboriginal students. Lastly, on March 2 to 3, UMFM will be hosting the “Freedom to Read Marathon.”

News from the CRO

So far, candidates for the upcoming UMSU election have been “respectable” to each other, however, there has been some controversy over the campaigning materials. The candidate’s budgets were received and approved, and a question that remains is how to get ballots out to medical students.

Last but not least

Aziz addressed the issue of offensive posters on campus, stating that, “there needs to be more awareness about the acceptability of advertising [on campus],” — specifically regarding MLCC ads. She also mentioned that talk about next year’s health plan has begun.

From SIGPAC, it was reported that 12 new student groups have been recognized, and that funding for five of these has already been approved.

UMSU councillor Christen Roos announced a scavenger hunt that will take place on March 3 to encourage interaction between those with disabilities and those without.

The next UMSU council meeting will be held on March 9, 2006.