Council Forum — May 11, 2010

"In the interim, with the Vice President (Student Life) being off, I have taken-over falcon-watching duties."
—President Nick Dehod on the University's Peregrine Falcon webcam

Students' Council meets every second Tuesday at the Council Chambers in University Hall at 6 p.m. Council meetings are open to all students. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 25, where free food will be provided for all attendees.

Samosas were the fare at the latest Council meeting. Although they're not as fun as inviting visitors to build their own sandwiches, they served as a nice alternative to wraps or greasy pizza. Along with the samosas were some delicious cookies and pop. So if you're at all interested in student politics, swing by, fill your belly, and get your democracy on.

Third time's the charm?

Vice President (Academic) James Eastham announced that the Faculty of Science's new students' association, the Interdepartmental Science Students' Society, signed their terms of probation, and is now operational. The ISSS will remain on probation for at least three months. It will need to abide by the SU's conditions before being formally recognized as representing science students.

The ISSS is the third faculty association to represent science students in two years. Their predecessor, the Science Students' Association, was derecognized by the SU in September 2009 for failing to meet their terms of probation. The SSA replaced the University of Alberta Science Undergraduate Society in December 2008 after submitting a formal proposal to the SU to do so, citing a historical lack of communication UASUS had with science students.

Shifting seats

President Nick Dehod announced that Hardave Birk, the Vice President (External) from the University of Calgary's Students' Union, has been selected as the new Chair for the Council of Alberta University Students for the upcoming academic year. Keith McLaughin, the U of L's Vice President (Academic) is now the Vice-Chair.

Question period

Vice President (External) Aden Murphy fielded questions regarding the province's Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology's business plan for 2010–13. Although he said that the plan mentions nothing about reducing tuition fees, he noted that the ministry is committed to tying future tuition increases to the rate of inflation. According to Murphy, the ministry is trying to increase postsecondary participation and letting tuition fees dramatically rise would run contrary to this goal.

When answering a question about Student Counselling Services, President Nick Dehod mentioned that the unit review report of SCS has been completed. He said that the review confirms that there's a need for SCS on campus. Dehod added that the Administration is willing to re-prioritize SCS, despite their budget deficit. Dehod also noted that the current shortage of counsellors may be addressed by hiring new staff in the fall.

Leftover chores

Following up from last meeting's housekeeping, Council appointed three councillors to the Grant Allocation Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee, and the First Alberta Campus Radio Association.