Executive shuffle in CSU sees new face in sustainability role

The president of the Concordia Student Union could hardly hold himself together long enough to announce that one of his executives had handed in his resignation a week earlier.

At last week’s council meeting, Amine Dabchy had three false starts, shielded his eyes to avoid exposing his tears and accepted encouragement from those around him in the form of pats on the back, then said John Kyras had stepped down from his position as VP sustainability and projects.
Dabchy described the sustainability executive as “not only the life of the office, but the spirit,” before handing over the floor.

Kyras acknowledged the shock his announcement brought to the office on Nov. 5. But he said he felt he had no choice, citing school work and family business as two driving factors in his decision.
With two exams left to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in civil engineering and an ageing father who can’t stop working on account of the economic downturn, Kyras said he didn’t have the time and energy to continue working with the CSU…
…”I would be doing a disservice to the executive and the 30,000 students we serve if I stayed on,” he said. “My work would fall to them. It’s not fair for them to pick up for me when I’m studying.”
But Kyras’ position wasn’t vacant for long.

In accordance with CSU bylaws, council ratified Dabchy’s recommendation to have Concordia student Alex Oster fill the position.
Oster, who has been involved in sustainability movements at Concordia and other campuses in the province, will officially take his new position Dec.1.
As passionate as Oster is about sustainability, he admitted he turned down the position when the CSU first offered it to him Nov. 6, the day after Kyras announced his resignation to the other executives.
But, he said, VP services and Loyola Prince Ralph Osei “told me to take the weekend to think about it. Of course, he was right. This is my dream job. Now I wish I could start right away.”

Along with taking over the office of the VP sustainability, Oster was appointed to the external committees on which Kyras was sitting. Oster will now sit as the CSU representative on the Sustainability Action Fund, which funds student-initiated sustainability projects, and the Central Advisory Health and Safety Committee, which reviews the university’s safety plans and policies.
Oster said he hopes to help expand Concordia’s understanding and concept of sustainability. While ecological issues will remain of the utmost importance, he said, he hopes to be able to bring social justice into the equation.

CSU projects profit

The Concordia Student Union VP finance, Sam Moyal announced last Wednesday the Union’s books will no longer be in the red after this year. “We reviewed the preliminary audited statement, and we will no longer carry a deficit as of this year,” Moyal said.
The deficit for the 2008-2009 academic year, according to the statements, totalled $31,846. According to the income statement for this year, however, the CSU can expect to generate a surplus of $55,463.
This will leave the current CSU with a balance of $23,617.

Executive writes off debt
A $228,205 debt owed by CUSA Corp, the financial end of the CSU that runs Reggie’s and student-run spaces, was written off, VP finance Sam Moyal announced last Wednesday. “CUSA Corp. has never been profitable,” Moyal told the Concordian. “There was no way they’d ever be able to pay off the debt.”
The write-off came in two parts, Moyal explained; about $160,000 was debt payable to the CSU, while the remainder was owed to the university, and payable by the CSU.

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