CSU gets their report card at Council Meeting

The Concordia Student Union Council began its first fall meeting last Wednesday, Sept. 20, with a report from CSU President Khaleed Juma.

He updated fellow Councillors on the Mezzanine space issue, saying the CSU is still negotiating with the Concordia Administration, specifically with Michael Di Grappa, Vice-President, Services.

The space has been a contentious issue between the CSU and the Administration since Aug. 22, when the CSU was notified that the Administration planned to renovate the second floor space of the Hall building on the SGW campus. The intended renovation would see a lounge installed where students could relax. The CSU said the popular space, often used by clubs and associations, was the hub of cultural activity for students downtown. They called for students to protest and said in an open letter on their website they “intend to fight it every step of the way.”

Juma said the Concordia Administration is considering the acquisition of the Faubourg mall complex on Ste. Catherine, with the intention of turning it into Concordia’s future student centre. Although still only an idea, the student groups do not seem as excited about this as the Concordia Administration.

Juma then positively commented on Concordia’s response to the tragedy of the Dawson shooting. He said that Concordia’s quick response in providing shelter and counselling to the Dawson students was much appreciated. Concordia received approximately a hundred thank-you letters and phone calls.

The next item he addressed was the need to monitor more closely organizations who receive a fee levy. Juma said they needed to find a way to ensure that the funds collected are actually spent for the cause that was promoted. This would help with both CSU’s transparency, as well as the accountability of the organization collecting funds. A report on the different fee levy systems will be produced by a researcher soon.

Councillors were then informed that CSU’s website would soon include photos and bios of its Council members. This will allow Concordia students to recognize the councillors on campus, enabling them to approach councillors more easily with any issues they wanted to bring to their attention.

Hannah Gray was appointed as Councillor to the board of directors of the Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program Board. Bilal Hamideh was appointed as Senator to the Concordia’s Senate.

The meeting ended after about two and a half hours later, with councilors joking that this had been the shortest meeting in history.

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