UMSU notes

Chelse McKee, staff

The University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) holds open council meetings every second Thursday at 6 p.m. in 176 Helen Glass. The most recent meetings were held on March 27 and April 3, 2008.

March 27 council meeting

Executive members, including president Garry Sran and Amanda Jonson, fresh from British Columbia, had a lot to discuss with council, such as the City of Winnipeg, new student groups and the Manitoban.

Sran began the meeting with the president’s report, first off explaining his trip to British Columbia to participate in the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Students’ Union’s CFS referenda. He denied that he was harassing students and that UMSU had paid for his trip, “despite what the Manitoban said.”

Travis Friesen, student representative for the Faculty of Engineering, told Sran that his “first duty . . . is to this union here.”

Sran also spoke about a meeting which he had on March 7 with the student relations committee. At the meeting, the committee discussed a student-strike policy, but Sran couldn’t “speak about the detail” until the policy went through legislation.

Amanda Jonson, vice-president (external), spoke about the CFS provincial executive meeting, mentioning that the topic of an environmental sustainability campaign called the Generations Tour could be in the works. The campaign could come to fruition in September or October of this year.

Jonson also mentioned the recent City of Winnipeg budget announcement of a cut of $2.2 million from parks maintenance. She said that this was an issue that would affect students since the cut would affect the number of student jobs available.

Marlo Ostrow, vice-president (student services), said that the student group appreciation party held on March 13 was a success and had approximately 100 students in and out for the whole day.

Rachel Heinrichs, vice-president (student advocacy), said that she had “lots of learning commons [meetings]” and that the committee was hoping for a general design of the future learning commons by the end of April.

Sran continued in the report to mention that selections committee for the executive director position was in the final stages and that the new candidate would be announced at the following UMSU council.

During the finance committee report, Mike Einarson, vice-president (internal), said the UMSU budget for 2008-09 was approved by the committee and executive council members and a presentation regarding the budget would be held at the following council meeting.

Ostrow, for SIGPAC, announced five new student groups: the Comedy Club, the Greek Council, Zambian Students Association, World University Service of Canada and Coffee Houses for Causes.

April 3 council meeting

Due to the previous council meeting being only a week prior to the April 3, executive members had very little to discuss aside from the new UMSU budget and the introduction of the new executive director.

The meeting began with the announcement of the new hire for the executive director position, Cathy Dowd, former UMSU vice-president for two consecutive terms in 2004-06, alongside president Amanda Aziz.

Sran said that the hiring of the position was a “long, drawn-out process” that began in December 2007.

Before executive reports, the chief returning officer for the 2008 UMSU elections, Stephanie Fera, gave her presentation on the elections of this year.

The “2008 election was a success,” she told council, adding that the highest turnouts came from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Arts.

Fera also discussed the issue of double-voting that occurred during the election. Some voters would arrive at the polling stations to vote to discover that the system has marked them as already voted.

Fera said that there are three reasons for this: poll clerk errors, individuals attempting to vote twice, or a not entirely updated voter list.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Fera said to the last option. She added that as far as she could tell, it was a technical error.

Fera also mentioned the success of Facebook.com event for the election with 1,600 attendees, taking place for the first time for the 2008 election. As well, she mentioned that the election websites, through the UMSU website, had over 6,000 web page views.

The implementation of an electronic voting system was a suggestion that Fera brought up at the meeting. She said that the system could “significantly reduce voting costs.”

After Fera finished her presentation, Friesen spoke.

He said he was “extremely dissatisfied” with how the election had been run and that the nomination period was “very poorly advertised.” As well, he added that the CRO did not follow bylaws, like reimbursing the candidates. He said that many candidates he had spoken to had not yet been paid back for the campaign costs.

Fera responded by saying that all candidates had been reimbursed up to the day of that council meeting.

A motion was made to destroy the ballots and, with no discussion regarding the matter, the motion was passed by council.

During the finance committee report, Einarson presented the new 2008-09 UMSU budget, which was later approved by council.

A motion to raise University College Residence fees from $45 to $60 annually was brought to council from the University College Residence Students Association.

The absence of a University College representative sparked some debate amongst councillors.

Christen Roos, representative for the Faculty of Human Ecology, motioned to table the original motion, which was seconded by Daniel Draper, the LGBTT representative. They did not want to pass the motion without a representative from the college residence to answer some questions about the motion.

Matt Soprovich, representative for the Faculty of Arts, and Melissa McRae, representative for the Faculty of Commerce, disagreed, believing that the association felt that they needed the money, had put forth the motion, and that the council should discuss the matter now.

If the motion were to be passed at the UMSU council level, it would then be continued on to the Board of Governors.

The motion would has to be introduced to the UMSU finance committee by May 15 to be in place for the 2008-09 academic year.

“The motion would die,” Sran said, if UMSU council voted it down.

Roos’ motion to table the original motion was voted and passed by council until a representative could attend the council meeting.





Volume 95 Issue 20	The Official University of Manitoba Students' Newspaper Website	April 09, 2008

Home About Us Advertising Rates Contact Staff Current Issue PDF Employment Letters to the Editor Meet the Staff Online Archives Volunteer Online Classifieds St. Vincent's Academy Diaries	Font Size Respond Email Print-Friendly UMSU notes Chelse McKee, staff The University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) holds open council meetings every second Thursday at 6 p.m. in 176 Helen Glass. The most recent meetings were held on March 27 and April 3, 2008. March 27 council meeting Executive members, including president Garry Sran and Amanda Jonson, fresh from British Columbia, had a lot to discuss with council, such as the City of Winnipeg, new student groups and the Manitoban. Sran began the meeting with the president’s report, first off explaining his trip to British Columbia to participate in the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Students’ Union’s CFS referenda. He denied that he was harassing students and that UMSU had paid for his trip, “despite what the Manitoban said.” Travis Friesen, student representative for the Faculty of Engineering, told Sran that his “first duty . . . is to this union here.” Sran also spoke about a meeting which he had on March 7 with the student relations committee. At the meeting, the committee discussed a student-strike policy, but Sran couldn’t “speak about the detail” until the policy went through legislation. Amanda Jonson, vice-president (external), spoke about the CFS provincial executive meeting, mentioning that the topic of an environmental sustainability campaign called the Generations Tour could be in the works. The campaign could come to fruition in September or October of this year. Jonson also mentioned the recent City of Winnipeg budget announcement of a cut of $2.2 million from parks maintenance. She said that this was an issue that would affect students since the cut would affect the number of student jobs available. Marlo Ostrow, vice-president (student services), said that the student group appreciation party held on March 13 was a success and had approximately 100 students in and out for the whole day. Rachel Heinrichs, vice-president (student advocacy), said that she had “lots of learning commons [meetings]” and that the committee was hoping for a general design of the future learning commons by the end of April. Sran continued in the report to mention that selections committee for the executive director position was in the final stages and that the new candidate would be announced at the following UMSU council. During the finance committee report, Mike Einarson, vice-president (internal), said the UMSU budget for 2008-09 was approved by the committee and executive council members and a presentation regarding the budget would be held at the following council meeting. Ostrow, for SIGPAC, announced five new student groups: the Comedy Club, the Greek Council, Zambian Students Association, World University Service of Canada and Coffee Houses for Causes. April 3 council meeting Due to the previous council meeting being only a week prior to the April 3, executive members had very little to discuss aside from the new UMSU budget and the introduction of the new executive director. The meeting began with the announcement of the new hire for the executive director position, Cathy Dowd, former UMSU vice-president for two consecutive terms in 2004-06, alongside president Amanda Aziz. Sran said that the hiring of the position was a “long, drawn-out process” that began in December 2007. Before executive reports, the chief returning officer for the 2008 UMSU elections, Stephanie Fera, gave her presentation on the elections of this year. The “2008 election was a success,” she told council, adding that the highest turnouts came from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Arts. Fera also discussed the issue of double-voting that occurred during the election. Some voters would arrive at the polling stations to vote to discover that the system has marked them as already voted. Fera said that there are three reasons for this: poll clerk errors, individuals attempting to vote twice, or a not entirely updated voter list. “I don’t think that’s the case,” Fera said to the last option. She added that as far as she could tell, it was a technical error. Fera also mentioned the success of Facebook.com event for the election with 1,600 attendees, taking place for the first time for the 2008 election. As well, she mentioned that the election websites, through the UMSU website, had over 6,000 web page views. The implementation of an electronic voting system was a suggestion that Fera brought up at the meeting. She said that the system could “significantly reduce voting costs.” After Fera finished her presentation, Friesen spoke. He said he was “extremely dissatisfied” with how the election had been run and that the nomination period was “very poorly advertised.” As well, he added that the CRO did not follow bylaws, like reimbursing the candidates. He said that many candidates he had spoken to had not yet been paid back for the campaign costs. Fera responded by saying that all candidates had been reimbursed up to the day of that council meeting. A motion was made to destroy the ballots and, with no discussion regarding the matter, the motion was passed by council. During the finance committee report, Einarson presented the new 2008-09 UMSU budget, which was later approved by council. A motion to raise University College Residence fees from $45 to $60 annually was brought to council from the University College Residence Students Association. The absence of a University College representative sparked some debate amongst councillors. Christen Roos, representative for the Faculty of Human Ecology, motioned to table the original motion, which was seconded by Daniel Draper, the LGBTT representative. They did not want to pass the motion without a representative from the college residence to answer some questions about the motion. Matt Soprovich, representative for the Faculty of Arts, and Melissa McRae, representative for the Faculty of Commerce, disagreed, believing that the association felt that they needed the money, had put forth the motion, and that the council should discuss the matter now. If the motion were to be passed at the UMSU council level, it would then be continued on to the Board of Governors. The motion would has to be introduced to the UMSU finance committee by May 15 to be in place for the 2008-09 academic year. “The motion would die,” Sran said, if UMSU council voted it down. Roos’ motion to table the original motion was voted and passed by council until a representative could attend the council meeting.


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