Dollar Drinks Back In Halifornia?

The Palace nightclub has started serving dollar drinks on Wednesdays and Sundays.
This was the big news topic today is Halifax. I was approached by Global, CTV, and CBC concerning this announcement. Here is what the DSU had to say:

- The Dalhousie Student Union is surprised by the announcement of the return to dollar drinks to Halifax. We hope that are students are able to enjoy the downtown Halifax scene in a safe and responsible manner.

- The DSU is unsure of the reasons behind reinstating dollar drinks. We were under the impression that they were removed to help decrease the number of fights downtown, to have fewer people drinking, and to help the bars make money.

- The DSU is fearful that with dollar drinks coming back to Halifax that there will be an increase to crime and violence.

- The Dalhousie Student Union works to educate students that you do not need to drink to have a good time while at University. We start communicating this message to our students in Orientation Week (set to start on August 31st and runs until September 3rd). The entire orientation week is dry, no alcohol served to any of our students at any of our events. All of our orientation leaders also sign contracts with the DSU stating that they will not engage in drinking or drugs. We feel that this sends a positive message to students about being able to enjoy your university experience without being intoxicated.

- The DSU is working with the Halifax Student Alliance (students voted in March 2008 to pay a levy fee to the advocacy group to help make Halifax a safer place for students) to advocate for a safer Halifax environment for our students. We are currently looking at transportation and increase police patrol to help the Halifax situation.

Please watch the live broadcast on CBC tonight at 6:00pm.

It's been far too long!

Have no fear, my blog is back!

It has been a very busy past month with lots of things going on so I'll try to highlight the key things you'll want to know about:

INTERAL

Shinerama
I attended the Shinerama regional conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick during the July 26th weekend. Overall it was a great experience to get to share methods and practices with other universities on how to run Shine Day and secondary fundraisers.
We also had a Shinerama fundraiser on Natal Day weekend at Lake Banook where we had a 'High Stiker' game and facepainting.

Orientation Week
Our Orientation Week is coming along very well! It will be taking place on August 31-September 3. Kris Osmond, Vice President (Student Life) has been working very hard to create an inclusive and diverse orientation week that will be enjoyed by all students. Please check out the orientation week website for more information: http://www.dsu.ca/campuslife/orientation-week-2008/orientation-week-main-page

Recruitment Committee Review
The DSU Council mandated the Board of Operations to conduct a review of the Recruitment Committee, focusing on the description of each recruited position, the criteria that a successful candidate would have, and who would be ideal to have involved in the recruitment process. I played a major role in conducting the review and writing the handbook for the committee. The handbook was passed at the last Board of Operations meeting (August 22, 2008) and is going to the DSU council to hopefully be passed tonight.

Executive Goals
The executive are mandated by our constitution to present their goals to council no later than the last council meeting in August (our meeting tonight). We have been working individually and together to create our goals for this year. Our goals are currently outlined in our council reports online in the Council Documents section on our website - http://www.dsu.ca/aboutus/council-1/council-information-1

Full Time Staff
We have been conducting interviews over the last 2 weeks for a new Accounts Manager and Communications Coordinator. Within the next 2 weeks we hope to have the positions filled and are looking forward to working with our newest team mates.

Residence Life Resource Fair
The DSU had a booth yesterday at the fair. It is one of the best events of the year because we get to interact with students that want to get other students involved and assist in the student experience. There were approximately 100 residence assistants at the event and we answered questions that ranged from Tiger Patrol to Dalfest.

Communications
I have been busy getting our communications to students for August/September up and running. We have had our first installment of the DSU Dispatch, Gazette version and email version, go out to students. We will be continuing these efforts throughout the year (weekly for the Gazette - inside front cover, and monthly for the email). I also hope to work with CKDU to have public service announcements done to welcome students during the first week of school and to announce upcoming events.


EXTERNAL

Summer BBQ with Student Leaders
I organized a BBQ in Grand Parade Square on Friday August 8th for the Halifax Student Alliance, Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, University administration, government officials/departments, students and community members. The BBQ was a huge success and gave each group the opportunity to network with others and talk about priorities for the coming year. We also partnered with the Downtown Halifax Business Commission for the event, they provided live music (part of their Tunes at Noon event). We are hoping that this event becomes annual and would like to partner with the DHBC again.

Partner's Conference
I attended the 'Student Forum - What's Next Initiative' aspect to the Partners Conference that was hosted by ANSSA at Saint Mary's University on August 19th. The event involved student leaders and government from across the country. There were several presentations and break out sessions that allowed us to discuss our views on PSE in Canada and what we feel will be beneficial for the future.

That pretty much sums up the highlights from the past few weeks.
As always if you have any questions or comments please let me know!

Until next time...