The Students’ Representative Council is the body of students who are elected by their peers to run the Acadia Students’ Union. Council meets bi-weekly on Tuesdays at 5:15 PM in the Beveridge Forum located off the Michener Lounge in the Students’ Union Building (SUB). All of their meetings are open to the public and students are encouraged to attend to learn more about their representatives and the decisions that are being made on their behalf.
On October 16th, the SRC was presented multiple updates from council members. VP Finance & Operations Jared Craig presented a financial update. VP Student Life Kyle Vandertoorn presented the Student Life committee update. ASU President George Philp gave updates on the Student Government Round Table and the Board of Governors. VP Events and Promotions Gabrielle Bailey gave an update on the success of Homecoming. Graduate Studies Senator, Sarah Dunn, presented an event to teach students how to get their work published. Council members read and discussed their goal documents, and they voted to fill positions of the Bookstore Advisory Committee and the Town and Gown committee.
Updates
VP Finance & Operations Jared Craig presented a financial update as of September 30th. Craig stated that many services offered by the ASU did better than the budget predicted, such as Cajuns, and the Bar Services. However, Perkins saw large losses, which could be due to their efforts towards fair trade. In total, the net income of all services was $67,400. The financial update was unanimously accepted by the Council.
VP Student Life Kyle Vandertoorn notified the Council that the Student Life Committee has ratified the almost all the clubs for the year, with a few pending ratifications due to form or fee submissions. Vandertoorn noted that clubs can be ratified at any time throughout the year.
ASU President George Philp and VP Academic and External Makenzie Branch informed the Council of their attendance at the Student Government Roundtable. They met with the Deputy Minister of Education to discuss funding for mental health initiatives, in hopes of securing future funding. Philp and Branch also discussed improving MSI coverage for international students, due to the fact that a student must stay in Nova Scotia for 12 consecutive months to obtain as of right now. They also presented the Memorandum of Understanding, which would recognize the ASU as a valid voice at the table when in discussions with Acadia University and the Town of Wolfville.
VP Events & Promotions Gabrielle Bailey updated the council on Homecoming celebrations, which took place on October 13th. Bailey stated that the Backyard Bash went well, with a few hundred people in attendance, and no major issues or injuries occurred. Bailey also noted that she received good feedback from the Town of Wolfville, the RCMP, and Food Services, who all said that most students were polite and respectful.
Philp also notified the council that the documents concerning cannabis legalization, and its regulation on campus, have been approved by the Board of Governors. Philp emphasized the portion of the document that stated students will not be written up or fined for seeking help from campus staff.
Student Board of Governors Representative Dahlia Chahine, along with George Philp and Jared Craig, attended the Board of Governors meeting at which they passed the MOU and the Tuition Consultation Agreement. Both documents will be made available on the ASU website. Acadia University President, Peter Ricketts, notified the Board that Acadia is now in stage 2 of planning for the 2025 campus planning process.
Project Proposal
Graduate Studies Senator Sarah Dunn presented a project proposal by Dr. Pier Pufahl, who is a professor at Acadia and the Editor in Chief of a major Earth Sciences magazine, Sedimentology. Pufahl suggests giving a talk on how to publish a successful paper. Its aim is to help students navigate the peer review process, and what constitutes a good paper. The event will take place at the University Club, 17 Westwood, on October 25 from 4:30-7:00pm. The Council voted to accept the proposed event.
Goal Documents
Each SRC member was required to submit a goal document, outlining what they hope to accomplish during the fall semester. The goal documents were read and discussed by Council, and then unanimously approved.
Position Appointments
First Year Officer, Blake Steeves, was appointed to the Bookstore Advisory Council as the student representative.
Community Relations Officer Gordon McLaughlin was appointed to the Wolfville Town and Gown committee, after being nominated by Philp and unanimously voted in.
Announcements
Philp notified the Council that the Campaign for Acadia, a $75 million-dollar campus improvement initiative, was launched on Thursday at a private event, and that a public event for students and community members will happen on November 27th. All are encouraged to attend.
Philp also stated that on Nov 5th, there will be a public consultation for food services, from 5:00-6:30pm.
Kyle Vandertoorn informed the Council of an event taking place on Thursday, Oct 18th, in the Innovation Pavilion to show support sexual assault survivors. There will be an open mic for poetry, singing, etc. This event was sparked by the outrage after a StFX student’s sexual assault case was poorly handled and resulted in her leaving school.
Chairperson Molly Anderson announced that application have closed for the volunteer associate positions, however, due to a low number of applications, they will likely all be reopened at a later date.
Ailish Bergin is a second year Politics student and a columnist for The Athenaeum
