Notes from Council: Exec reports, rural connections proposal discussed

“Notes from Council” is The Gateway’s ongoing series of recaps of noteworthy items from Students’ Council meetings.

At the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) Students’ Council meeting on July 16, executives provided oral reports and discussed a rural connections proposal.

During executive reports, Board of Governors (BoG) representative Adrien Lam said she hopes to present a draft of the anonymous survey platform to council in August. The platform, which Lam introduced as a campaign point during the UASU elections, would gather anonymous feedback from Augustana Campus, Campus Saint-Jean, and North Campus students.

During elections, Lam said she would take the top concerns from the survey results and bring them up to BoG.

President Lisa Glock said her work in July has been focused on external advocacy. Vice-president (external) Abdul Abbasi and Glock helped the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) select its advocacy priorities for the year. She said the two also attended the Calgary Stampede, where they met with government ministers, officials, and members of the legislative assembly (MLA).

“[We] discussed a lot of those provincial advocacy priorities and what they could do for students in the future moving forward,” Glock said.

Additionally, Glock said the executives met with Melissa Padfield, deputy provost (students and enrolment), Carrie Smith vice-provost (equity, diversity, and inclusion), and other people from the Dean of Students (DoS) office “to talk about their plans moving forward after the encampment.” Glock said the information presented is not public, but she is encouraging them to present to council.

Abbasi said that at stampede, he met with over 40 MLAs and several ministers. In conversations with them, Abbasi said he highlighted student issues such as affordability.

On July 16, Abbasi and Glock were in Toronto attending the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) Policy and Strategy Conference.

Vice-president (operations and finance) Levi Flaman mentioned the current U-Pass renewal discussions taking place. According to his written report, Flaman, Vice-president (student life) Renson Alva, and other UASU representatives met that day with other student associations at the Students’ Association of MacEwan University to “solidify the position of the students’ side” before meeting with transit authorities.

“I pledged to do everything I can to ensure the negotiated deal provides maximum value for our members and I intend to see that through,” his report read.

Vice-president (academic) Layla Alhussainy had an excused absence from the meeting. Alva did not present an oral report.

Council discusses Glock’s rural connections proposal

Council discussed a proposal put forward by Glock to foster stronger connections in rural communities by reaching out to rural high schools and introducing students to the UASU and university life.

“I think it would be beneficial for first-year students and reaching them before they get here,” Glock said. “I often found when I was growing up that [there] was a disconnect between the big city and the universities and the small town I was from. Something like this would have really helped me.”

The proposal suggests connecting with school boards, teachers, and principals, and creating materials collectively.

Science councillor Angelina Botros asked Glock how the UASU would distinguish itself from the U of A and ensure there’s no confusion.

“I think a great way to bridge that gap is to come right in with [the] Students’ Union, council, councillors, and never lose that messaging that we’re coming as university students, not administrators,” Glock replied.

Arts councillor Nathan Thiessen said introducing students to programming, courses, and supports is similar to U of A outreach programs. Additionally, councillors “don’t necessarily have the expertise” required for outreach that university staff do.

“I believe effort should be made to prioritize the students and members we have now and a mandate to serve. Should we not look inward, ask what we can do for our members, before we look outward?”

Glock replied that the UASU would focus on UASU supports instead of U of A supports. She said materials could look like a presentation about being a councillor, or a UASU service.

The proposal was only up for discussion at this meeting.