Successful Students

On Saturday April 4, 2009 I attended the 8th Annual School of Business Celebration of Achievement ceremony.

The event was hosted in the beautiful Great Hall in the University Club and was hosted by the new Director of the School of Business - Peggy Cunningham. There were a variety of awards given out both to students (athletics, commerce, management, and MBA) and faculty members. 

Over 400 students were given recognition for their success through scholarships and awards. There were also 6 awards given to professors, one of which recognized the DSU Teaching Excellence Award given to Professor Jim Power (one of my professors).

The event was marvelous! I enjoyed meeting with students who won awards and the guests (parents, friends, and teachers) that they brought with them to celebrate their successes.

DSU AGM - Part II

On Wednesday April 1, 2009 approximately 650 Dalhousie students came together in the McInnes room in the Student Union Building to take part in the DSU's Annual General Meeting - Part II (a continuation of the meeting on March 18th).

The meeting started with three of the five Executive reports which were not addressed at the earlier meeting. All of the reports were wonderful and I would like to give a special mention to our Vice President (Education) who gave an informative presentation to all students present about the Halifax Student Alliance, the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations, and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.

After the Executive reports were completed we moved to the first item of business - the NSPIRG motion. The motion came forward from Daniel Pink and the key aspects of the resolutions were to have the DSU remove NSPIRG from their office space on the third floor of the SUB within 90 days, the DSU cease processing payroll for NSPIRG, and for NSPIRG to be sent to referendum in the 2009-10 academic year for all Dalhousie students to decide if NSPIRG should be a levied society. This motion was eventually amended to no longer have any whereas clauses and to only have one resolution which would have NSPIRG being sent back to referendum in 2009-10.

After 45 minutes of discussion on the issue (debate was limited to 45 minutes at 8:36 and therefore at 9:16 we had to conclude discussion) the question was called (we needed to move to vote on the issue). The voting started as a hand vote which the Chair felt was too close to call and so a ballot vote was moved. The ballot vote process was lengthy and this was due to the sheer number of students present (this was the first time that the DSU had seen this many students at an AGM) and that not all students present in the meeting were DSU members with voting privileges. The room was set to close at 10:45pm; however at 10:30pm it was quite evident that there were still lots of students to vote and that we would need to extend hours. Through discussing our options with our staff we agreed to extend the room hours until the voting process had been completed, ballots counted, and the results announced. At approximately 11:30pm the voting process was completed and the Chair announced the results. The motion failed.

At this point in the evening the meeting was adjourned. There were a variety of other motions and By-law/Regulation amendments on our agenda which were not seen to. Another general meeting is not being planned for my term as President; however, I am quite confident that the incoming President, Shannon Zimmerman, will be calling a General Meeting within the next few months to address the unseen to items.

For the agenda and prepared meeting documents please click here.

DSU AGM Update

A Note on the Annual General Meeting:

At last night’s Judicial Board meeting, a decision was made to allow ALL students attending a class or classes at Dalhousie University to attend and have speaking rights at tomorrow evening’s DSU Annual General Meeting. This applies, but is not limited to, University of King’s College students currently enrolled in Dalhousie classes. All students enrolled in Dalhousie classes, but who do not have valid Dalhousie IDs, must provide proof of registration. Acceptable proof of registration will include a class syllabus and proof that the student is in the class, or a printoff of a class schedule. This decision, however, does not give these students the right to vote at the AGM.

The AGM will be held at the McInnes Room of the Dalhousie Student Union Building. Upon arrival, attendees will receive direction as to where to go. Students with valid Dalhousie IDs will check-in at the main door of the McInnes Room. Due to capacity concerns, Dalhousie students with voting rights will be the first to enter the room, followed by non-voting students. Attendance for students without Dalhousie IDs will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, and  will be limited based on the capacity of the room.

A live audio-feed will be streamed in Room 224 for community members and interested parties not registered for classes at Dalhousie.

Media should register with the DSU Communications Coordinator (meghann.bryans@dal.ca) no later than the morning of the event. Media will be escorted to a designated section at the back of the room once the majority of attendees are seated. In order to protect the privacy of voting members, no video cameras will be allowed.

For more information please visit: www.dsu.ca

Your Issues Brought Forward

The second part of the DSU's Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place this Wednesday April 1st at 6:30pm in the McInnes Room of the Student Union Building. At the AGM that took place on March 11th we had over 200 students attend and through debate, questions, and voting we were only able to achieve the approval of the agenda and have 2 of 5 DSU Executive year-to-date reports presented. At the upcoming meeting we will be discussing and voting on proposed by-law and regulation amendments, motions from students, and the other 3 of 5 DSU Executive year-to-date reports.

The agenda, by-law and regulation amendments, along with the motions can be found here on the DSU website.

There is one motion that I would like to provide the Dalhousie community with more information around ('CASA Motion') and that is the DSU's active involvement and success in advocating for more affordable and accessible post secondary education in Nova Scotia and throughout Canada.

Last week I was away from the office at a conference for the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations which included lobbying government officials from all national political parties, and meetings with the leaders of all those parties. Tuition does tend to be the topic that most students want to see addressed and CASA works on that issue, additionally we also work on costs such as academic materials, copy right laws which could prevent access to information for students, grant programs, tri-council funding, and the repayment assistant program (and those are just some of the items on this year's agenda - we have worked and seen success on many more over the past 14 years). CASA as an organization, and the DSU as a member organization, are working to ensure that post secondary education in Canada is more accessible and affordable for students. We want to ensure there is a high level of quality and we believe that through making partnerships and strong policies and effective meetings we can achieve that. Overall the conference was a wonderful success and I believe that students at Canadian post secondary institutions will see positive changes in their experiences due to the efforts put forward by student leaders across Canada over the past week. And in addition to the lobby meetings in Ottawa this past week, student leaders from across the country do satellite lobbying in their home provinces to Members of Parliament and government officials to push for a better and stronger post secondary education system in Canada.

In addition to the great work and successes which CASA has been involved in the DSU is a proud member of the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations. ANSSA currently has 5 member universities throughout Nova Scotia and has had phenomenal success since its conception. The most recent success was the development of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Province of Nova Scotia and the Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents. The MOU has a stated tuition freeze for 3 years (2 left after this year). Additionally the Province has allocated more money to grants for Nova Scotia students which are applied automatically to their tuition levels in an effort to bring Nova Scotia's tuition levels down to just over $1000 above the national average. This is a great step in working towards more affordable post secondary education in Nova Scotia. We know that we still have high tuition and are committed to working with the government of Nova Scotia to find methods to make education more accessible and affordable.

On top of addressing the costs and accessibility of post secondary education the DSU is also a founding member of the Halifax Student Alliance which advocates on key student issues such as transportation, housing and safety. We are also working to increase student representation on both Senate and Board of Governors committees to ensure students have an effective voice for making decisions to make Dalhousie a better place for all current and future students.

I wanted to make this post to provide Dalhousie students with supplement information regarding the DSU's past and current role in advocating for their students at all levels of government and to the University.

I openly welcome questions from the Dalhousie community on the DSU's efforts and our affiliated organizations regarding the CASA motion - and all other motions as well. As students we come to university to further educate ourselves, it is my hope that all Dalhousie students will follow this course of action and become informed and involved.

Together We Are The Difference

I am now back at home (Halifax) from the conference I have been attending this week for the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA).

From my earlier posts it is evident that the conference was made of two parts: lobbying and our annual general meeting. We ended our lobby sessions with Members of Parliament, Senators, and staff on Thursday. The meetings all proved to be effective and are sure to gain momentum to further enhance the post secondary education system in Canada.

Below is a list of all the people whom I had the opportunity to meet with over the past week (please note that CASA was able to secure meetings with over 160 government officials and with the leaders of all national political parties):

- Mr. Wayne Marston (NDP)

- Dr. Carolyn Bennett (L)

- Ms. Anita Neville (L)

- Mr. Bill Siksay (NDP)

- Mr. Alan Tonks (L)

- Senator Terry Mercer (L)

- Dr. Michael Ignatieff (L)

- Senator James Cowan (L)

- Senator Leo Housakos (C)

CASA was also able to secure a meeting with Elections Canada for all of the student unions across the country which encountered voting issues for students in the fall federal election. This meeting was a great opportunity to gain insight from Elections Canada and to also further explain the obstacles which students faced and how we can work to overcome them in the future. An additional meeting has been discussed for several student unions and Elections Canada to address some of the communications issues which were faced.

On Friday and Saturday CASA held its Annual General Meeting. The agenda included National Director presentations and the election. Congratulations to Arati Sharma who has been selected as our new National Director (it should also be noted she is the first female ND for CASA). On Saturday presentation sessions were held to review our board and regional coordinator structure, constitution presentation, budget presentation, and our closing plenary. The presentation went well and allowed for delegates across the country to gain a better understanding of where the organization is moving to and to have their voices heard in those decisions.

Overall this conference has been a highlight of my term as President for the DSU and also a highlight as my time as a university student. The DSU has been part of CASA since 1995 and we want to make the future of post secondary education and the country better. We know that working together will get us there and we continue to enlighten ourselves on the obstacles our students face. Throughout the past week I have had the opportunity to learn more about the struggles of students across the country and I trust that the leaders around the CASA table (and future member schools as well) will continue to be a strong and respected voice and partner throughout Canada.

Tomorrow morning (Monday March 30th) I will be on Breakfast Television here on the East Coast discussing the conference and the issues that Canadian students are currently facing - I hope you will tune in!

CASA Gains Momentum

It was just announced in the debrief session of the second day of the CASA Lobby Conference that we have secured meetings with the leaders of all the major political parties in Canada. This is a first in the history of CASA Lobby Conferences and we are very proud of this achievement.

Additionally today I had 4 lobby meetings with Ms. Anita Neville (Liberal), Bill Siksay (NDP), Alan Tonks (Liberal), and Senator Terry Mercer (Liberal). All of the meetings went very well and myself and my meeting mates were able to covey the key advocacy points contained in CASA's Lobby Document.

As well CASA's National Director had several media interviews today relating to CASA's Lobby Conference and the areas which we are advocating for a positive change for the post secondary education system in Canada.

Overall today was a great success and I feel that myself and the other CASA delegates have been doing a wonderful job advocating on behalf of all Canadian students. Tomorrow is another day of lobbying to government officials and I have also been placed in a meeting with Elections Canada to discuss the voting issues our students had in the fall federal election.

Lobbying Ottawa - Day 1

Today was the first day of the lobbying section of the CASA conference that I mentioned I was currently involved in in my post yesterday.

All of the CASA delegates that are attending the conference had meetings set up throughout the morning and afternoon with Members of Parliament and staff members. I had a meeting this morning with Mr. Wayne Marston (NDP) and this afternoon I had a meeting with Dr. Carolyn Bennett (Lib). The two meetings were very different but overall I think that myself and the other delegates in the meeting with me got all the necessary advocacy points across.

I also attended Question Period today.

Right now we are just going over the experiences that the delegates had today and ways to build on them for the rest of the week.

Tonight we have the CASA Alumni dinner which is always a great time to touch base with delegates and all the alumni in the area.

Bringing You Up To Date

It has been a long time (March 9) since my last post and I do apologize for not posting since then. During the past two weeks a lot has taken place and I will now do my best to bring things back up to speed.

DSU AGM

On March 11th the DSU held an annual General Meeting. Approximately 210 Dalhousie students came to the meeting. A variety of items were on the agenda which included year-to-date reports from the executives, constitutionals amendments, and motions from Dalhousie students. To see online versions of the prepared constitutional amendments and the motions please click here.

The agenda was not able to be completed in the 4 hours of the meeting on March 11th so a subsequent meeting was created and is being held on Wednesday April 1, 2009 in the McInnes Room of the Student Union Building. For more information on the meeting please click here.

DSU Elections

Dalhousie students completed voting for executive, senate, and board of governor candidates on Thursday March 19th and the results were announced that night in the Grawood. I am proud to announce that we have a strong incoming executive and I look forward to seeing their goals and priorities develop. For the list of successful candidates please click here.

CASA Conference

I am currently on a conference for the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. This conference is a combination of two of the annual conferences: Lobby and Annual General Meeting. Today we are in sessions reviewing policies that have been developed throughout the months since the Policy and Strategy Conference. Tomorrow through Thursday the CASA delegates (which I am one of) have meetings set up with government officials (MPs and staff) to discuss our policies and stances that we are advocating for. I plan to write several blogs throughout the week reflecting the meetings that I am attending along with a post which will summarize what takes place at the AGM next weekend.

This post covers all the main items which have occurred over the past two weeks - if you have any questions about any of them or any other areas please contact me at dsupres@dal.ca.

Candidate Crazed

So it's only been a few hours into the first day of campaigning and it's obvious that the DSU elections are alive and well (at least for me I find everywhere I turn around there is another candidate).

For all of your election coverage there are a few places to go to:

- Website - dsuelections.ca

- Facebook - DSU Elections 2009

- Twitter - dsuelections

- Mike Smit- punditry.ca

Campaigning runs from March 9-16th.

Voting runs March 17-19th.

Calm Before the Storm

This weekend will be the last quiet weekend for the DSU for a few weeks. 

Starting on Monday the DSU Election campaigns go into full force and Green Week is also kicked off. Between candidates trying to spread their message, our sustainability office trying to push students to become more sustainable, annual events, and St. Patrick's Day, Dalhousie students will have more going on than they will know what to do with. It's a great time of the year for all of these activities to take place and I hope that students will try to take advantage of all the opportunities that will be available to them.

List of Upcoming Events

Monday March 9 - Campaigning begins & Green Week begins

Tuesday March 10 - All candidates debate - Tupper Link (12:30pm)

Wednesday March 11 - All candidates debate - Alumni Lounge (12:30pm)

Wednesday March 11 - DSU Annual General Meeting - Room 303 SUB (6:30pm)

Thursday March 12 - All candidates debate - SUB Lobby (12:00pm)

Friday March 13 - Presidential debate - Grawood (3:00pm)

Friday March 13 - Student Appreciation Night - McInnes Room SUB (7:00pm) FREE

Saturday March 14 - Residence Charity Hockey Game - Rink

Monday March 16 - Last day of campaigning

Tuesday March 17 - First day of voting

Tuesday March 17 - St. Patrick's Day at the Grawood

Wednesday March 17 - Voting

Thursday March 18 - Final day of voting & results announced at Grawood (8:00pm)

New Gazette Team

The Dalhousie Gazette held their annual general meeting tonight where the main item of business was filling the executive roles.

The Editor in Chief position had one candidate Josh Boyter who put forward a platform of sustainability, accountability, and leadership. After a two minute platform pitch and several minutes of questions and answers the students in attendance voted Josh to lead their newspaper for the coming academic year.

The other positions that were filled were the Copy Editor, News Editor, Opinions Editor, Arts Editor, and Sports Editor. Many of the candidates that were successful in their election had similar areas of focus which included writing more on what student societies are doing, using each other and university resources to assist them, making the newspaper sustainable, and additional communication methods with students and the community for news items.

The Editor in Chief also gave her annual report at the end of the meeting which highlighted that there were over 100 contributors to the Gazette this year and that each contributor averaged 3 articles. This is impressive and in the coming years hopefully the Gazette will increase the number of contributors. 

So please take this as my personal plea to all Dalhousie students to get involved and write articles for the Gazette on areas that they are passionate about (whether it is the band that is playing at the Rebecca Cohn next week or what the Ruby Team is doing), the Gazette will appreciate your assistance in providing a newspaper to students that they want to read.

And remember - this is your university experience so make it a good one!

Student Contributions Recognized

Today the prestigious Governors Awards were presented to four very involved and deserving Dalhousie students.

The ceremony was hosted by the University's Vice President Student Services and the President gave detailed speeches for each of the candidates and the contributions that they have made to the University community.

The four students which were honoured were Eric Snow, Amy Florian, Kaylyn Fraser, and Emily Rideout.

All four students covered a range of extracurricular activities and also represented a diverse group of students.

On behalf of of the Dalhousie Student Union I would like to extend a sincere congratulations to all of the award recipients for their dedication to improving the student experience at Dalhousie University and to say that we are very proud of them for all of their accomplishments.

Tuition Hikes?

Today I was interviewed by News 95.7 in Halifax about the Education Policy Institute report which was recently released.

The report addresses the recession and how it might affect the post secondary education system across the country. One of the solutions that are proposed, and the one that is gaining a lot of attention in Nova Scotia today, is to stop freezing tuition and to increase it.

The thought of increased tuition is one that I am against and one that I can only assume the average student in Canada will be against as well. Last year the Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Province of Nova Scotia. One of the facets of the agreement was that tuition would be frozen for the next three years. Additionally there has been a Nova Scotia student grant that the province gives to all Nova Scotia students studying at universities in Nova Scotia. These grants will increase over the next three years to hopefully bring Nova Scotia's tuition level down to the national average (there is about a $1000 difference between Nova Scotia tuition and the national average). There is also a grant for Canadian students studying at Nova Scotia institutions in the third year.

The memorandum of understanding and the grants were something that the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Association had worked closely with over the last year and were very happy to see these results.

It is our hope that the government of Nova Scotia will honour their commitment to Nova Scotia students and will not increase tuition.

What's In It For You?

Dalhousie University has been embarking on a campus master plan process which commenced in the summer and is now working its way into phase two. Starting on Monday March 2 there will be a series of charattes available for the Dalhousie community to view and give their feedback on.

Phase one consisted of many stakeholder meetings and gathering information on what people like about the campus, what they do not like, and what they would like to see. The campus master planning team has gone to the drawing board and created ideas for the campus which ideally will encompass the feedback that they received during phase one.

This phase of the process is integral to have your input on and I really hope that you will engage in some, or even better all, of the meetings. Please click here for more information.

And remember - this is your campus, your experience, so get involved and have your voice heard!

Spring Exam Schedule

The DAL spring exam schedule has been posted - I know you've all been eagerly waiting to find out when you'll have to write exams. Here is the link to the webpage where you can find the scheduled exams.

Reading Week

This week is reading week for DAL and I have decided to take it as a vacation (executives do not have automatic vacation days just because it is reading week).

Although my plan is to relax, hang out with friends, and get caught up with life in general I still will be doing some work (mostly writing reports, answering some emails, and all that jazz - just no meetings).

And I will still try to update my blog when things are going on, for example - tonight the Dalhousie Women's Water Polo team is playing at the Dalplex at 7:00pm. This is part of the tournament that they are hosting this weekend. I will be at the game - and if you are free tonight I'd be glad to have your company!

I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing reading week!

Follow us on Twitter!

The DSU has a twitter account which means that you can get up-to-date information on everything that is going on!

To join the group just:

1.Go to http://twitter.com/

2. Create a username and password

3. Login

4. Search 'Dalhousie Student Union'

5. Click 'follow'

It's super easy and another great way to stay in touch with YOUR union!

Being a Better Union for YOU!

One of the areas that the average student most likely would not look to for what would create a better union for them is the DSU's by-laws and regulations, more commonly known as the DSU Constitution.

This year a Constitutional Review Committee was struck at council to review and propose amendments to the current by-laws and regulations. The Committee has completed its review and the proposed amendments are now available to be viewed by the entire Dalhousie student body.

The by-laws and regulations set out what executive responsibilities are, what committee exist and what their functions are, what commissioners exist and their responsibilities and so on. These documents are the foundation of how the DSU can work to enhance YOUR student experience.

At this week's Council meeting, February 18th, the proposed amendments were given a notice of motion (this means that they will appear as new business on the next Council meeting's agenda and will be able to be discussed at that meeting).

The next Council meeting is on Wednesday March 4th at 6:30pm on Sexton Campus. Any proposed amendments need to be approved via Council before they move to the General Meeting.

On Wednesday March 11th at 6:30pm in room 303 in the Student Union Building a General Meeting will take place, this meeting is open to all Dalhousie students (and they all have the right to vote as well), to vote on the proposed amendments.

To view the proposed amendments and the summary of the changes please visit the documents section of the DSU website.

I hope to see you at the upcoming meetings and to gain your support for the committee's proposed amendments.

DSU Election Fever

It's that time of year again - reading week and candidate nominations are on students' minds.

Tomorrow is the last day of classes for a week which will provide students with a much needed break in the always busy winter semester. And on Monday the DSU candidate nomination period opened.

Students can put their name in for any one of the following positions: President, Vice President (Internal), Vice President (Education), Vice President (Student Life), four (4) student Senators, two (2) student Board of Governors members. Forms can be picked up from the Information Desk in the main lobby of the SUB. These positions range in responsibilities but all of them carry the weight of being accountable to the Dalhousie student body and representing students' best interests. If you, or anyone you know, may be interested in getting involved at a representative level I urge you to pick up a form, get the information you need, and run a campaign to get yourself elected. All of us are at university to learn, have a fulfilling experience, and become something great - and these positions are a great opportunity to expand students' university experience.

For more information about the DSU 2009 Elections please visit the facebook group.

Burgers and Wings at the' Wood

The Grawood is proud to announce the return of Wednesday Wing Night and the Burger Special on Thursday nights.

Starting on February 18th the Grawood will be offering wings for $0.40/each (with the purchase of a beverage) from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. Appetizers will also be available from 5:00pm - 9:00pm.

The special will continue every Wednesday that the Grawood is open.

Starting on February 19th the Grawood will be offering its burger special (double draft, burger, and fries) for $5.50 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. Appetizers will also be available from 5:00pm - 9:00pm.

The special will continue every Thursday that the Grawood is open.

So please come check out the Grawood's newest features every Wednesday and Thursday!