CSU’s health-plan provider launches a mobile application
The Alliance pour la santé étudiante au Québec (ASEQ) has created a new mobile application designed to help students access their ihaveaplan accounts at Concordia on their mobile devices making it more convenient for its users to take advantage of health, dental, vision and travel coverage.
The mobile application is available online, in the Apple app store, free of charge, and can be used with Apple mobile devices, including iPads, iPhones, and iPods. An Android version of the application will be available but according to Callan Davey, a program manager for the ASEQ, a specific release date has not been set.
The user will be able to take a picture of their receipt for their prescription, dental, and health expenses with their smartphone or
Graphic by Jenny Kwan
tablet and send it directly to the insurance companies with the application, with a confirmation period of five business days. The application also keeps track of the users payment history and offers a special service for non-Quebec residents, by using a ‘pay-direct card’, meaning that the user can have their claims processed immediately.
The service also provides emergency travel contact information, 24 hours a day. This means that if a user is in another country, perhaps doing an exchange, and has a medical emergency, the app will help them get in touch with a specialist from Canada. They can then be directed to the nearest health service location.
“The CSU is extremely pleased with the new mobile application and we are always looking to improve student services,” said CSU President, Melissa Kate Wheeler. “We are convinced that this app will provide our members with easier access to health-care benefits. We’re happy that ASEQ understands the needs and habits of our students.’’
The CSU at Concordia has been collaborating with the ASEQ almost since its foundation in 1996, being one of the first schools to participate in the ihaveaplan service. The organization deals with school councils exclusively and currently has over 650,000 student users across Canada.
Davey explained that the organization needs to conform with the growing technological community at schools, making their service more accessible and easy to use in an age where almost everyone has their own personal electronic device.
The organization expressed they also want to move forward with the environmental standards of the future.
“The ihaveaplan mobile app is designed to make as many ASEQ services as paperless as possible, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable future for students,” said Lev Bukhman, executive director.
The organization has also participated in Climate Smart’s training program for businesses and were early adopters of a greenhouse gas emissions management strategy, according the their website.
A student’s guide to who council is and what they do
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) represents and provides services for over 30,000 undergraduate students at Concordia University, but did you know that the decision making force behind the executives are the councillors?
With most of the attention focused on the executive candidates, The Concordian wanted to reach out to councillors and councillor candidates to share with students a better understanding of what they do, and why it is essential to look into students running for councillor positions as well as the executive spots.
The council is the CSU’s board of directors. Council is made up of 30 students; 16 from Arts & Science, three from Fine Arts, three Independent students, six John Molson students, and four Engineering and Computer Science students. Your elected councillors are responsible for representing your wants and needs as a student at Concordia. A councillor position is unpaid and is thus comprised of a group of students who are passionate and dedicated to advocating the wants and needs of their peers.
“It’s council who makes the decisions, and directs the executive. We’re literally directors, the board of directors for the union, and we’re the ones who pass resolutions, change laws and bylaws, develop policy, and can direct the executive to participate or not participate in certain campaigns and initiatives as we wish. And they are required by law to follow our instructions. So it’s pretty critical people figure out who their councillors are. A strong council can easily stymie any plans an executive has, and a weak council can be ineffective at preventing any disasters an executive may be in the midst of trying to create,” said Wendy Heitmann, current Arts & Science councillor who is running again this year.
“If there is anybody students should come forth to with an idea, it’s your representing councillors so we can get that idea to grow. This is why the councillors are as important, if not more important than the executive team,” said Kyle Arseneau, current Engineering and Computer Science (ENCA) councillor who is also running again this year for council.
Vicky Rodgers, running to be a John Molson councillor explains that she is running to enforce more diversity at Concordia, and for her, becoming a councillor is the best way to do so because “councillors are there to ‘check and balance’ the executive. If there is no strong voice on council to challenge them, this is when the problems start.”
Marcus Peters, an Arts & Science councillor candidate explained that if students care about what the CSU will be doing next year then they will take a proper look at all the running candidates.
“The interaction between council and the executive is how the CSU makes its decisions, and a wise voter would know not to focus on half the equation.”
James Tyler Vaccaro, current VP Internal & Clubs,is running to become a member of council for 2014-2015.
“At the end of the day, the executives are mandated to do the work council tells them to…it is important that councillors are aware of the issues and history of the CSU, and can think critically while making objective decisions. This is a really important role because the decisions made in council affect thousands of students,” said Vaccaro
For a more in-depth look and bios on all the councillor candidates please visit csuelections.wordpress.com.
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) Executive candidate debates were held last week on both campuses to provide students with information and to answer questions about their plans should they be elected for the coming school year.
Despite their differences all three affiliations and independent parties overlapped in their desire and pledge to provide students with improved student space; an increase in communication between CSU, council and students; the uniting of campuses and student groups; and bridging the gap between academic and social functions.
Community Matters believes in connecting communities by forming strong personal relationships, supporting fee-levy groups at Concordia and by remaining transparent at all times by keeping students up-to-date and publicly showcasing their finances.
“Myself and my team have stuck to a method of personal consultations, focusing on the heads of student associations, getting to know them and what they know about the students,” explained Community Matters’ presidential candidate and current CSU VP Sustainability, Benjamin Prunty. “By building relationships with them we can understand, reach and communicate with the largest amount of students possible.”
Backing up their idea to promote transparency, Community Matters has already put their campaign budget online for all students to see.
CSUnited feels passionate about building a united Concordia and making resources easily accessible and known to students, which they believe will give a voice to students who generally do not have one.
“Representing students who are not already part of student politics, we feel we can provide the right resources and information to reach students who generally are oblivious to the CSU,” explained CSUnited presidential candidate, Jon Kim.
Experience CSU is focused on student diversity, showcasing a strong belief in student choice and difference in opinions. They want to represent a wide range of pupils and create a CSU that is relevant to a larger number of undergraduates. Much like their title suggests they want to represent student wants, needs and ideas as their own to create “your experience.”
The Experience slate does not publicly support or reject the ‘per faculty fee-levy opt out’ referendum question. Expressing that their personal opinions only count for one vote, the same as any other student, as a team, they decided to remain neutral, promising to represent whatever outcome the majority of students decide on at the ballot.
“Sure, each one of us has our own opinion on the matter. Each one of us will have our say at the ballot box, just like you. Nevertheless, we feel that as executive candidates for the CSU, it is inappropriate for us to collectively endorse a political position that will alienate a large number of students,” stated the Experience CSU affiliation in a press release sent out March 18.
Independent candidate for VP Sustainability, Michael Abbott, is majoring in ecology and has been a student at the Loyola Campus for the past four years. He has plans to move sustainable focus from short-term issues such as the use of paper to long-term issues such as a waste in energy, in addition to wanting to bridge the gap between the two campuses, he hopes to shed light on what the CSU does for the majority of students who are unaware.
Abbott explained that above all things, he’s learnt that there is a huge lack of awareness in the student body when it comes to understanding the CSU and what it is they do.
“You don’t need to vote for me, but get involved in knowing who’s governing you as a student,” said Abbott.
Graphic by Jenny Kwan
Independent presidential candidate Chuck Wilson explained that he is running independently because to him the main focus of the president should be to unite and mediate the team of executives. Wilson wants to make decisions based off data and concrete information, enforce collaborations amongst students and student groups and deliver important information to all Concordia students.
He stated that a vote for him would be a vote for a “united community experience.”
The question period was first open to general students, then to members of student associations and members of the current CSU government, and finally to questions from students who were not able to attend the debate and had posted their questions online.
Each question was asked to every affiliation or independent councillor, but no specific or personal questions were permitted.
With three affiliations, two independent candidates and a clear divide in student votes, current VP Loyola, Crystal Harrison, asked the candidates how they plan to overcome their differences as a mixed executive team.
On behalf of Experience CSU current VP Finance, and VP Finance candidate, Scott Carr said, “We get elected as individuals, it’s about an individual mindset and every individual should come in with an open mind.”
Presidential candidate Melissa Payette elaborated on that statement.
“We all want to commit a year of our lives to CSU and to Concordia students, on an individual basis that’s a huge commitment.”
On behalf of Community Matters, VP Student Life candidate, Charles Bourassa, explained that “the focus will be on creating common goals as a team, there is an overlap in our wants and ideas for students.”
Following up his statement, VP Sustainability candidate, Jessica Cabana said “it won’t always be easy, but I think it’s really important that we be able to learn together what we’d want to do for Concordia students.”
Independent presidential candidate Wilson reiterated his commitment to running alone explaining that his aim is “to bring the groups together as president.”
“Concordia literally means harmony, working together to achieve a greater community and I feel all the candidates have great ideas,” said CSUnited’s presidential candidate, Jon Kim.
VP Internal candidate, Simon Dansereau added to Kim’s idea by stating that “it’s about a pragmatic mindset, in the end the goal is for students to benefit, there should be no other agenda beyond benefiting students.”
Abbott explained that he was running alone and thus was willing to work with everyone.
With the voting process already started, students are encouraged to research and reach out to candidates on social media, such as Facebook fan pages or candidate websites, as well as in person.
The Concordia Student Union met on March 12 in the CSU lounge on the 7th floor to discuss and make decisions about upcoming projects, requests, and proposals at Concordia University.
The temporary measures committee, was tabled indefinitely, practically guaranteeing its disbandment.
CSU president Melissa Kate Wheeler requested that the discussion about the Java U space be tabled until the next meeting due to insufficient information and planning on the issue at the time. A majority vote sided with Wheeler, pushing the discussion until next month’s meeting.
An update on the Hive project at the Loyola campus suggested that a project manager be hired for the advancement of the project. A majority vote was in favor of the request.
The meeting also addressed vacancies on several committees. There were two vacancies on the finance committee, one vacancy on the Loyola committee, and one on the Sustainability committee. Justin Caruso, a councillor currently on the Loyola committee, offered to be a representative for the sustainability committee and was accepted. Michael Richardson, a councillor who was absent due to family reasons, was nominated twice by other councillors for one of the vacant positions on the Finance committee.
A proposal by representatives from La FEUS (Federation Etudiante Universitaire de Sherbrooke) requested funding from the CSU for a research project involving the legal obligations of student council. The CSU found the request was valid and held potential value to their organization and said further inquiries into the project would be held in order to make a final decision regarding the CSU’s participation.
Due to the upcoming Quebec elections in April, a proposal for the mobilization of youth voters was put forth. One representative suggested a video be made in order to inform, specifically Concordia students, about the importance of voting.
The CSU executive proposed entering into an agreement with Concordia’s archives department wherein the CSU would donate their archives to the department and give responsibility for the filing and maintenance of said documents to them. As the CSU currently has no unified means of archiving their documents, this would provide an ideal solution. The motion asked that the Council grant the executive permission to enter into a process of negotiation with the university’s archives department for the purpose of reaching an agreement whereby the CSU’s documents would be moved to the archives department. However, the executive was adamant that if given authority by the Council to pursue negotiations toward an agreement, they would not formally agree to anything without first bringing the agreement to council.
Another motion involving the backup of all Concordia files, as well as the conversion of paper files into digital format, was discussed. Morrow expressed that “having something like this is absolutely crucial,” emphasizing that a move to a digital culture is
necessary. The approximate cost of the project would amount to around $63,000. Morrow suggested that CommVault be considered a good candidate for this project.
Finally, a motion asking for the creation of easily accessible statistics and efficacy rates of student services such as HOJO and Legal Aid was proposed. Council said it would discuss and examine the issue further.
The next CSU Council meeting will take place on Wednesday April 9.
26 candidates made up of three affiliations and two independent candidates
Experience CSU
VP Clubs & Internal Affairs- Maylen Cytryn
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I truly want to help students. [I am] currently a councillor on the CSU Clubs and Space Committee and have tried my best to contact as many clubs as possible to discuss with them their needs from CSU.”
TC: Strength & Weakness?
“My greatest strength is my passion. I do not take on a project unless I am deeply passionate about it, and once I begin the job, I work tirelessly to make it perfect, which brings me to my greatest weakness: my need for perfection.”
VP Finance- Scott Carr
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“Currently CSU VP Finance, I have an in-depth understanding of every aspect of the role, and I actually study finance; there are a lot of technical skills required for this job and I would have trouble believing that a non-finance student could successfully complete the role.”
TC: Strength & Weakness?
“My biggest strength is the fact that I’ve already done it before. I won’t need to go through training and I know what is required in order to get the most of every dollar of student money. My weakness is what work is most important.”
VP Loyola- Alex McCulloch
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“As a student who pays for tuition and living costs, I know the importance of realizing the services provided to us by our university. With my background in communications I can help bring awareness to these services.”
TC: Strength & weakness?
“I would say my biggest strength is my positive attitude, which brings me to my weakness, [I] sometimes having trouble [saying] no.”
VP External & Mobilization- Kristina Rourke
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I have a creative and open mind that wants to collaborate with Concordia students to bring new projects, interesting and inspiring speakers and support innovative ideas. I am here for students and want to celebrate our differences by empowering equality, respect and fairness.”
TC: Strength & weakness?
“I am a doer , I am a hard worker and am passionate for whatever I take on. My weakness is that I sometimes get caught up in the small stuff and have trouble letting go.”
VP Student Life- Sabrina Jorrin
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“Votes for me means votes for someone who will stop at nothing to ensure you enjoy your university experience. If elected I would like to collaborate between faculties to host brand new events that would attract a wider range of Concordia students”
TC: Strength & Weakness
“My biggest weakness is that I am sometimes so passionate about my projects that I put everything else aside…including life.”
VP Academic & Advocacy- Cameron Tisshaw
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I am a passionate academic, my goal is to attend graduate school and study Alzheimer’s disease. I truly care about the education that we receive and Concordia, and I am committed to finding innovative ways to enrich and improve our educational experience.”
TC: Strength & weakness
“My greatest strength is my ability to act as an intermediary between diverse parties with opposing views. My weakness is that I sometimes take on too many projects.”
VP Sustainability-Toshimi Muniz Losos
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I understand that the position is about more than being responsible in executing green initiatives. I believe I can make the significant changes needed that will allow Concordia to become more sustainable; environmentally, socially and financially.”
TC: Strength & weakness
“My biggest strength is my empathy. My weakness is my spontaneous personality.”
Community Matters
President- Ben Prunty
TC: Why do you think you affiliation is the best for Concordia?
“Our team is 100 per cent cohesive, there is not a single weak spot, and I am confident in saying that every single candidate is highly qualified for their positions. As President I can proudly say that our members compliment each other and accentuate one another’s strengths. Committed and passionate, I prioritize putting collective student needs first, and my team echo’s this very loudly.”
TC: Above all things, what does the Community Matters team stand for?
“We stand for a facilitator CSU; one that shares resources and information transparently; that never works alone, but always in collaboration with as many groups as possible; and whose projects and vision are informed by direct student-consultation.”
VP Clubs & Internal Affairs- Katherine Soad Bellini
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I am highly organized and truly care for the success and well being of others. By supporting fee-levy groups and increasing relevancy of the CSU as a student leader, I can ensure cross-faculty development within the university.”
TC: Strength and weakness
“My weakness is my humbleness which lead to people underestimating my experience and qualifications. My strength is my passion.”
VP Finance- Heather Nagy
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?”
“My priority is to once and for all demystify our student finances by making easy to understand financial statements and budgets as well as financial committee minutes. I hope to rebuild confidence in the membership and public at large of the CSU’s finances.”
TC: Strength & weakness
“My strength is bringing together people that hold different ideas. My weakness is my humorous, self-deprecating attitude.”
VP Loyola- Gabriel Velasco
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“Student’s spaces, services as well as student-run sustainable and affordable food is what I commit to bring to Loyola. As a Loyola student who has been actively working on developing a better food system for several years, I am confident that my knowledge and experience is unique.”
TC: Strength & weakness
“Both my greatest strength and weakness is that I am a visionary.”
VP External & Mobilization- Anthony Garousflais-Auger
TC: Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I want to develop exciting campaigns on campus, and bring leading individuals working around issues affecting our generation such as climate change, growing income inequalities, and eroding civil liberties. I also want to use CSU resources to help other student groups reach as many students as possible.”
TC: Strength and weakness
“My greatest strength is my experience with external groups. My weakness is that I hard on myself.”
VP Student Life- Charles Bourassa
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I feel I already have a strong presence on campus, and I am engaged with various student groups, associations and faculties. My overall goal is to bridge the gap between social and academic events on campus.”
Strength & weakness
“Biggest strength: I love meeting new people, and get along well with others. Biggest weakness: I work too much.”
VP Academic & Advocacy- Terry Wilkings
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“My priorities lie in making use of privileged institutional information to directly support students. I firmly believe undergraduate students want to have meaningful participation in academic governance, which is why I helped organize Concordia Student Congress.”
VP Sustainability- Jessica Cabana
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I am passionate, driven and have tangible ideas to make our university more sustainable. I’ve gained experience in sustainability through my employment, education and volunteering engagements at Concordia. I want to implement a student-run, cooperative café, the Loyola Greenhouse project and make sustainable initiatives more accessible to students.”
Strength & weakness
“My greatest strength and weakness are the same thing—that I care.”
CSUnited
President-Jon Kim
Why do you think your affiliation is the best for Concordia?
“Our team best represents the Concordia student body, and the diversity that makes Concordia special. We have representatives from every faculty, and we all come from very different backgrounds, which allows us to look at what the union should be in very different ways. We’re not really part of the political scene in the school, but we still are very involved in the Concordia community.”
Above all things, what does the CSUnited team stand for?
“Above all things we stand for diversity and creativity.”
VP Clubs & Internal- Simon Dansereau
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I wish to foster and encourage Concordia’s diversity by promoting club activities and growing student space, and to empower every student to make their experience here what they dream it to be.”
Strength & weakness
“My greatest strength is my indomitable and effective work ethic, nothing can stop me! My weakness is my difficulty approaching people in large crowds, but I feel I make up for it by being very approachable.”
VP Finance- Alicia Chan
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I’ve been managing Queer Concordia’s financial endeavors since Fall 2012, in the Fall of 2013 I became Queer Concordia’s first Financial Coordinator. I constructed a system of financial organization that can be easily understood and is implementable for my successor, and developed a system of financial accountability for the board.”
Strength & weakness
“My biggest strength is my objectivity, my biggest weakness is that I am uncomfortable talking from a personal standpoint.”
VP Loyola- Niki Fronesca
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“I see Loyola as being a blank canvas where the ideas generated will be able to create a plan for a campus that is more dynamic, involved and part of Concordia as a whole. I’m motivated to put into action the ideas that are feasible and brought forth by students, and I genuinely want to help connect the two campuses.”
Strength & weakness
“My biggest strength is my hard work ethic, my weakness is that I sometimes take on too many activities.”
VP External & Mobilization- Mathieu Guertin
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“Concordia students should vote for me because I am ready to work with all faculties and councillors, fee-levy groups and other outside stakeholders from an objective point of view that is constructive and beneficial for Concordia students.”
Strength & weakness
“Biggest strength: my collaborative approach. Biggest weakness: little patience for delays.”
VP Student Life- Charles-Eric Sum
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“As a student I missed a lot of events regarding orientation and frosh. I want to create more awareness for these activities because I believe they are moments where new students make friends and start making positive bonds with others which will increase their involvement in the university.”
Strength & weakness
“My weakness is that I am not familiar with politics, but my strength is that I can learn anything.”
VP Academic & Advocacy –Mareike Michele
Why should students vote for you?
Academics and Advocacy really do go hand in hand, I am continuously reminded that mutual understanding is largely built through education and productive dialogue can only happen once understanding is reached. My personal goal as VP Academic and Advocacy is to break down walls between groups that rarely communicate, but could benefit greatly from doing so.
Strength & weakness
My weakness is that I take on a lot and sometimes stress easy. Still, my greatest weakness is the other side of the coin to my greatest strength. The desire to execute everything properly and putting as much time and effort into the objectives I devote myself to as possible has yielded very positive results so far.
VP Sustainability- Bailey Watson
Why do you think Concordia students should vote for you?
“Growing up in a First Nations culture, the idea of interconnectedness between all of the earth’s creatures and our tasks as humans to maintain a balance that has taken billions of years to establish, has been something that has become deeply embedded in my psyche and guides my everyday decisions. My focus will be to support existing sustainable student groups by providing them with the resources, initiatives and collaborations they need.”
Strength & weakness
“My strength is my creativity and adaptability, my weakness is that I am shy.”
Independent
President- Chuck Wilson
Why do you think you make the best President for Concordia students?
“I think I am the best candidate for president because of my extensive qualifications, networks within the university, and ability to bring together both sides of an issue. I’ve held positions as a student representative throughout the university, which collectively has given me the legal, financial, and leadership skills to effectively direct the CSU executive. Besides my involvement in student politics, I’ve also experienced Concordia from the perspective of an uninvolved student, a TA, and a staff member. Combined, it’s given me a lot of insight into what students expect from their union and their university, as well as how the University bureaucracy approaches different issues.”
Why did you choose to run independently?
“While being an independent candidate certainly has its disadvantages when campaigning, the lack of “us versus them” mentality is a clear advantage to a presidential candidate in a non-slate system. I am not on one particular team I am on everyone’s team.”
Above all things, what do you stand for?
“Inclusivity and legitimacy.”
VP Sustainability- Michael Abbott
Why do you think you would make the best VP Sustainability for Concordia students?
“My key driving force in running for VP Sustainability lies in developing positive environmental planning via research, practice and hypotheses. I advocate for individual empowerment via sustainable mobility and local food policies.”
Why did you choose to run independently?
“Running independently is an amazing challenge. I was not expecting the amount of courage needed to stand solo and promote my ideas. I chose to run solo because I was tired of not being aware and feeling distanced from a student union that I belong to.”
With the end of the 2013-2014 academic year quickly approaching, The Concordian got together with the CSU executive, who ran under the team name CSYou, to look back at their year and progress.
“My favourite moments have been anytime that my team came together, anytime they produced something valuable for the community. I’ve had a front seat to all of their accomplishments, lucky me!” said CSU President, Melissa Kate Wheeler.
Coming together as a team was a favourite memory and accomplishment for the majority of the executives.
On an executive bonding level VP Internal James Vaccaro fondly looks back to Orientation week to a night where he and VP Finance Scott Carr closed up a Thirsty Thursday’s event at Reggie’s at 4 a.m. and then proceeded to build and clean BBQs for the following day’s Open Air Pub event. Sleeping only 45 minutes, Vaccaro and Carr started off their next morning at CSU’s Free Morning Coffee event.
“Although it was one of the most challenging days of Orientation, and our mandate at that point, I look back and laugh at how ridiculous this job can be sometimes, and the random things you need to be ready to do in order to get the job done,” said Vaccaro.
On a community level the CSYou encouraged and brought forth a lot of awareness concerning Concordia’s potential for sustainability.
Constantly at the forefront to promote ethical and sustainable change at Concordia is VP Sustainability Ben Prunty.
Prunty said his favourite accomplishment has been the Concordia Transitions event,
“The entire process was rewarding for me, and I think I can say the same for everyone involved. From having an extremely solid group of volunteer students organizing it beside me from day one, to the excitement from students who got involved later in the process, and finally, all the smiling faces at the conference itself.”
The CSYou also takes pride in the efforts they made to bring different faculties of students together. VP Student Life Katrina Caruso said that the only thing she would do differently is to encourage even more student faculty collaborations for various events.
“I know that the CSU has created a stronger bond between the faculty associations this year, and I am very happy that I made this a priority,” said Caruso.
“This was a large priority for me this year as VP Internal, because I really do feel that as students, we have much more to gain by coming together than we do by dividing ourselves across faculty lines,” said Vaccaro.
The entire executive team was in agreement when stating that they had learnt a lot about time management, themselves and accepting that things do not always play out the way they had hoped or worked extremely hard for.
“I have had to learn to say no and take a step back when it is due. I have vastly lowered my expectations of situations because nothing ever pans out the way you planned it in your head. I have learned how difficult it is to manage people and I have learned a lot about myself in the process,” said Caruso.
Although the year has had its ups and downs the executives still feel strongly that being part of the CSU has enhanced both their work experience and their time at Concordia.
“In terms of work experience, CSU has given me an incredible amount of skills and confidence I didn’t have before,” said Harrison.
VP Academic Gene Morrow explains that being part of Senate and the CSU gave him an understanding of university politics and life he could have never gained my merely going to class.
“I’ve had the opportunity to learn more than I ever thought I could about how a modern university operates, and all the work that students never really see that goes into this behemoth we call Concordia,” said Morrow.
Often the voice of contradiction, VP Finance Scott Carr explains how he has learnt a great deal when it comes to embracing the ability to see different perspectives and use tact when delivering his own.
“The CSU is an experience that will take you on a personal journey as much as a professional one. Coming into the CSU with a fair amount of previous experience allowed me to truly refine certain technical skills. But it is truly my soft skills that have developed to make me a better manager and leader,”said Carr.
Despite some challenges and conflict of opinions that have formed between fellow executives, VP External Caroline Bourbonniere believes that their disagreements were at times unfortunate but at other times beneficial.
“When we chose to run together, we were aware of our differences and took a leap of faith. Our disagreements are unfortunate but they only stem from our passion for our visions and our jobs,” explained Bourbonniere.
Wheeler encourages all students to take a chance and get involved in student associations, not exclusively to the CSU.
“Being an executive on the CSU will change you. It’ll mess with your sense of self and challenge you in ways you’re not ready for. If you survive, you’ll come out the other side strong, confident, and with a clear vision of what you want your life to be for. That sounds intense, but it’s true. If you empty yourself into it, it’ll fill you back up,”said Wheeler.
A special council meeting was convened on Jan. 15 with three points on the agenda, the most prominent being the discussion of plans for utilizing the Java U space.
In the CSU byelections, held in November of last year, the student body voted that following the cessation of the CSU’s contract with Java U, that the space be used for a co-operative café or restaurant.
On Jan. 8, in order to effect the referendum, council passed a motion requiring CUSACorp to allow their lease with Java U to expire and to pursue options for erecting a co-operative run business in the space.
The CSU is mandated to uphold the desires of students as expressed in a referendum and consequently CUSACorp, the division of the CSU responsible for managing external revenue streams, was tasked with coming up with a plan for the eventual vacant space.
At the special council meeting, CUSAcorp presented council with two options for creating a co-café, both of which involved soliciting business proposals from students.
In the first option, CUSACorp proposed holding a “Collaborative Co-op Competition.” This competition would be structured much like a case competition wherein students who have an idea for a co-op would present their business proposal to judges from different faculties.
The second option, entitled “Collaborative Direct Implementation,” would involve the collaboration of CUSACorp, the Referendum Oversight Committee and interested parties in creating and running a co-op café.
During closed session, council voted to pursue the second option. Unfortunately, that was all the progress that was made. Further progress was halted due to disagreements over the wording of the motion that would direct CUSACorp in implementing the “Collaborative Direct Implementation” plan.
According to the calendar on the Concordia Student Union’s website, nothing is happening this semester.
Although the CSU posted on Facebook that they will be holding a “Student Engagement Fair,” there is no mention of it on their website. In fact, their home page is still displaying news from Sept. 11, 2013.
One cannot assume that all students have Facebook or have the CSU in their newsfeed. Furthermore, Facebook is not set up to make information readily accessible. If someone is searching for information from a post they will have to scroll through all of the CSU’s posts in order to find it. The website has a news section on its front page and a calendar page, both of which make finding information much easier than looking through Facebook posts. Therefore, in order to provide quality communication to students, the CSU website needs to be kept as updated as the CSU Facebook page.
For the longest time, when visiting the CSU’s webpage, a box has popped up asking visitors to fill out a survey regarding their experience of the website. It would seem that either the CSU has neglected to read these surveys or they’ve neglected to move forward with implementing any changes.
In what is often termed, “the digital age,” the best way to communicate with students is through the Internet. One would assume that the CSU does not need their recently hired marketing intern, Adrian Mahon, to tell them that. And yet, they have hired Mahon to write a proposal for ways in which the CSU can improve communication with students.
At this point it seems like students will have to wait until the proposal has been submitted and reviewed by Council before they will be informed about what the CSU has planned for this semester.
Or, instead of wasting time with proposals, they could just start communicating. Why do we need a marketing intern? Why hasn’t someone been given the responsibility of updating the website? Someone is obviously updating Facebook, why doesn’t this same person updated the website?
Recently, a website promoting information on the renovations to Reggie’s went live. This website is run by CUSAcorp which is a subsidiary of the CSU, which begs the question if CUSAcorp can get a website up and running within a matter of months, why can’t the CSU update their existing site?
The issue of communication and the CSU’s website was a problem before the current executive’s mandate even began, so it is hard to believe that they weren’t aware of it. Undergraduate students pay for the CSU to provide them with services and events but their money goes to waste when they don’t know what’s going on. Providing students with up-to-date information is a service that is owed to the Concordia student body. The winter semester is already in its second week and the CSU website remains as current as Sept. 12, 2013, and so we ask, if not now, then when?
The CSU meeting held Wednesday, Jan. 10 was short but sweet. The meeting started at 6:30 p.m. and ended at 8:23 p.m., while formerly meetings have kept CSU staff occupied until as late as 2:00 a.m.
It was held on the 14th floor of the JMSB building, at Concordia’s SGW campus, rather than the traditional meeting room on the 7th floor of the H-building.
James Vaccaro replaced Caitlin Robinson as interim secretary, as she was ill and unable to attend the meeting.
After approval of the agenda, the CSU announced it would be conducting a winter student status check, due to upcoming DNE deadlines.
Next on the agenda were appointments and the mid-mandate report. The mid-mandate report was missing CSU’s VP Finance Scott Carr’s section of the report, and the discussion of the mid-mandate report was therefore postponed until a Special Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 15.
It was then brought up that Carr should be docked pay for not completing this task. Carr claimed he was pre-occupied by the Jeux de Commerce that took place in Montreal from Jan. 3 until Jan. 6. He stated he was not opposed to being docked pay, as not doing so would set a dangerous precedent for the CSU.
CSU President Melissa Kate Wheeler agreed with Carr, although Councillor Nikos Pidiktakis disagreed. He believed Carr should be remunerated for his services on moral grounds. However, it was finally decided that he would not be remunerated. Wheeler stated that Carr is a “big boy,” and should have prioritized the CSU over his competition.
The Special Council meeting called on Jan. 15 will have four items on the agenda: 1. The purge of Canada’s fisheries libraries; 2. Ad-hoc committee; 3. Mid-mandate Report; 4. A six-month financial review.
The Co-Op Café referendum question was mentioned. Construction is scheduled to start in March and last several weeks. Three meetings will be held by the working group in the meantime.
Following this discussion, the peer-executive evaluations were briefly mentioned. Wheeler stated that two of the reports were positive, and two negative. She did not read out the evaluations due to the coarse content in one or several of the reports. Wheeler and the other executives did however agree that the executive evaluations provided critical feedback, and should be continued. Self-evaluations were briefly mentioned, but not discussed.
During question period, the note-taking style of Secretary Robinson was discussed. It was brought up that the minutes of the meeting were verbatim, and not summary minutes. A few members appreciated the verbatim minutes, but a majority concluded that minutes should be concise, rather than word-for-word minutes.
Wheeler proposed the solution that minutes from the meetings should be recorded by a team hired to that end. VP Academic and Advocacy, Gene Morrow, proposed destroying recorded minutes at the end of each semester, so as to only leave one official copy of the minutes, the written document.
Finally, notable announcements included JMSB’s success at the Jeux de Commerce; the Student Engagement Fair posted on social media; CSU services (including HOJO) are now set up at Loyola;and the Political Science Student Association (PSSA) is hosting a wine and cheese event in EV building next Wednesday, Jan. 22.
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) convened for its second-to-last meeting of 2013 on Nov. 27 in which they filled empty standing committee spots and discussed new substantive and informational business.
There are eight standing committees as part of the CSU’s governing structure: Clubs and Space Committee,Appointments Committee,Policy Committee,Finance Committee, Events Committee, External and Campaigns Committee,Sustainability Committee and Loyola Committee.
With the exception of of the academic caucus, the committees are each composed of four members of Council, a member of the Executive who is either the President or designated by the by-laws and a student-at large who is appointed by the Council.
According to the CSU document, Description of University Bodies & CSU Standing Committees, “The purpose of these committees is to extend the running of the Union out beyond the executive, and to bring Councillors and students at large into the planning and agenda-setting stages of the Union’s activities. Executives are there to execute the mandates of Council, and by extension of Concordia’s undergraduate students. Committees play a vital role in helping to shape the portfolios of each executive more completely.”
On Nov. 27, newly elected councillors, Michael Richardson and Gabriel Velasco were appointed to the Policy committee. They will join councillors Wendy Kraus-Heitmann, Reena Patel, Melanie Hotchkiss and VP Academic and Advocacy Gene Morrow. Councillor Charles Bourassa was appointed to two committees: External and Campaigns Committee and Events Committee. Justin Caruso was also appointed to two committees: Events Committee and Loyola Committee. Nikos Pidiktakis will join the External Campaigns Committee, Virginia law joins the Appointments Committee, Maylen Cytryn and Kyle Arseneau join the Clubs and Space Committee and Patricia Martone joins the Loyola Committee.
A new committee, the HR Committee, was also formed during this meeting. The purpose of the HR Committee is to be provide strategic employee direction. The committee is composed of three executives, three council members and the CSU general manager. The three executives are: Melissa Kate Wheeler, President, Katrina Caruso, VP Internal and Gene Morrow, VP Academic and Advocacy. The council members are: Maylen Cyrtryn, Kabir Bindra and Justin Caruso.
The next council meeting will take place on Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in H-763.
The outcome of the November CSU byelections had one of the best voting turnouts in Concordia history and resulted in the gain of 12 new councilors and all referendum questions passing with extremely high volume votes in favour.
Press photo
The Arts and Science Federation (ASFA) had the highest voter turn out with 440 student votes. As the largest student organization, ASFA had nine students competing for just four spots.Gabriel Velasco got 170 ‘yes’ votes for his campaign promise which stated; “A vote for me, will insure a fresh, uncompromisingly progressive voice on campus.”
“I’m very excited to have been elected. It’s also great to see both the CFC fee levy and Java U questions pass. There is a lot of work to get done,”said Charles Bourassa, a Western Society & Culture major.
Bourassa also explained that he would soon be meeting with the organizers of the Concordia Students for Silent Blue Zones group within the next couple of weeks. Bourassa thinks a silent study zone for students should be more seriously provided.
Also elected as ASFA councillors are Patricia Martone a Psychology major and Justin Caruso a Human Relations major.
John Molson School of Business had 160 student voters turn out. Eight students ran for five spots and those councillor spots have been filled with Maylen Cytryn, a management major who is also currently the chairperson for Commerce and Administration Students’ Association (CASA);Michael Richardson, currently the VP External Affairs for CASA; Virginia Law, finance major; Kabir Bindra, a Management major ;and Ahmed Mustafa, a finance major. Bindra and Mustafa had a tie vote, each receiving 52 votes.
The Engineering and Computer Science faculty had 81 student voters turnout, there were three candidates running to fill three spots. Ahmad Choukair, from Electrical Engineering, Alaa Ajam from Building Engineering and finally, Kyler Arseneau also majoring in Building Engineering.
Students were tense regarding the referendum questions. Unsure of how the effects the opposing “Concordia-Vote-No” campaign and its website had caused. While the opposing points were valid and found to be ‘legal’, the high volume ‘yes’ votes for all Community Food Coalition (CFC) referendum questions shows that Concordia students most definitely want more sustainable, student run food options on campus.
The CFC fee levy increase passed with 605 votes for and 145 votes against. The question regarding the Java U space to be taken over by a student run co-operative passed with 542 votes for it and 82 against it.
“Students have given the university community a clear message: they want the university to completely rethink its food-system, and they are willing to help pay for this transition over the long-term,” said CSU VP Sustainability, Benjamin Prunty.
For further information on the outcome of the CSU byelections students should visit csuelections.wordpress.com.
If the numerous posters have yet to catch your eye, you should be aware of the upcoming Concordia Student Council (CSU) byelections running from Nov. 19-21.
The byelections are being held to fill the remaining councillor positions and to have students vote on several referendum questions. The CSU is supposed to have councillors from every program to represent all students as best as possible, though this time around no Independent or Fine Arts students submitted candidacy and those programs will not have direct representation.
For Engineering & Computer Science all three positions are filled, for John Molson (JMSB) there are eight candidates for five positions. The largest amount of candidates is in the Arts & Science (ASFA) department where there are nine candidates for four spots.
CSU President Melissa Kate Wheeler encourages students to participate and states that it is a great experience.
“Working through the Union to better our community has been the single most fulfilling experience of my professional life. It has transformed the way I see my world, while offering skills and tools necessary to create a better tomorrow. I’ve learned what it means to manage a team, and what it feels like to work collectively towards large scale goals,” said Wheeler.
Wheeler also encourages students to take initiative and vote to get the strong representation they need,
“The CSU offers a unique opportunity for students to engage in their community, impacting their peers and creating change in ways that matter to them. It is an underused resource that too often goes untapped by talented, passionate students. Concordia’s undergraduates need strong representatives who will fight for social justice and for doing things the right way.”
The campaigning period ends on Nov. 18, the day before the polling period starts. CSU has set up a Facebook page and a special website just for the event, giving students as much easily accessible information on all the candidates as possible.
“We have also contacted certain members of faculties who do not have adequate representation on council via e-mail contact lists, utilized word of mouth campaigns and of course allowed for our greatest asset, the referendum committees and candidates to engage the voting public through in-class speeches, postering and meet-and-greets scattered around campus,” said Chief Electoral Officer Andre-Marcel Baril.
A brief rundown of the candidates are as follows. From Engineering & Computer Science; Alaa Ajam, a 24-year-old student doing his second undergrad in Building Engineering. Alaa now wishes to step up his involvement in student life by joining the CSU.
Also running is Ahmad Choukair, a first year Electrical Engineering student. During his time at Champlain College he was highly involved and active in student activities and school politics and has brought that same enthusiasm to Concordia University.
The final engineering candidate is Kyle Arseneau, a 23-year-old, third year building engineering student. Arseneau is currently President of the Concordia University Building Engineering Society.
The eight candidates running for the five JMSB spots are: Michael Richardson, currently VP External Affairs for Commerce and Administration Students’ Association (CASA). With regards to student’s interests Richardson said, “I take these responsibilities to heart.”
Ahmed Mustafa is a second year International Finance student from Yemen. Mustafa is currently Vice President and VP Communications at Ramadan Ghair, a Yemeni humanitarian organization.
Soufian El Malki is a JMSB Accounting major in his final year. If elected, El Malki stated, “I will maximize your university experience as a JMSB student.”
Mohamed Nasser was part of the Darfur Club, a student run charity that raised money to help bring awareness to the tragic situation in Darfur.
Kabir Bindra is a third year Management major. Bindra was a competitor in the Jeux-Du-Commerce debate, “The training for the competitions really made me be able to think on my feet, analyze two sides of an argument, and gave me valuable critical thinking skills.” Bindra also encourages students to approach him about his stances.
Virginia Law is a Finance major, and in CEGEP she planned a humanitarian trip to Nicaragua where she helped set up and run a mobile clinic. “I am only 4’9,” but I have a strong voice, and if I get chosen to be on council, I will make sure it represents you” said Law.
Maylen Cytryn is a second year Management major who is currently the Chairperson for CASA and Vice President of the John Molson Marketing Association (JMMA). Cytryn also urges students to contact her, and gives her e-mail on the byelections website.
The last candidate for JMSB is Patrick Rivest.
The candidates for ASFA are: Alexandre Hureau, an Anthropology and Sustainability major whose main goal is to make the food system more sustainable and to give Concordia a more holistic approach to the way it runs itself and tackles problems.
Majed Jamous is a second year student studying Human Relations with a minor in
Education. Jamous is the VP External for the Muslim Students Association.
Patricia Martone is a second year Psychology Honors major who has been an active volunteer for ASFA and the Concordia Undergraduate Psychology Association (CUPA).
Gabriel Velasco is in his third year of his undergrad. He has big, sustainable food plans for Concordia students, “A vote for me, will insure a fresh, uncompromisingly progressive voice on campus.”
Damian Skulic is a Biophysics major who enjoys traveling and hopes to join the CSU mandate.
Charles Bourassa is studying Western Society & Culture and hopes to bridge the gap between social and academic events. If you have any questions, Bourassa shared his e-mail on the byelectionss website.
Shahzad Dal is a second year Economics student. Dal would like to ensure more programs and workshops are created to helps students find jobs after graduation.
Justin Caruso is a second year Human Relations major whose main focus is equality and sustainability.
Also running for a position is Youssef Ennajimi.
For more information visit csuelections.wordpress.com
