The Vice-President University Relations is the liaison between the Society and the university. The URO must be well acquainted with university leaders, such as the President, vice-presidents, Board of Governors, and Senate, etc. The Vice-President University Relations will sit on the Space committee, as well as the Joint Services Committee which is responsible for services offered jointly by the Society, Health Services, and Student Services. This position involves frequent communication to coordinate programs such as the UPass, and the Vice-President University Relations is expected to keep track of the progress of the Society to facilitate communication.
The Vice-President University Relations shall:
> Act as a liaison between the Board and the university.
> Coordinate student representation on all university committees to which the Society nominates or appoints.
> Coordinate student involvement in university community affairs and activities.
> Be a signing officer.
> Undertake all other duties and responsibilities as the Board may delegate to the Vice-President University Relations.
1. What are the main university issues you would address in your role as VP-University Relations, if elected?
2. You are in a meeting with a university official representing the interests of students and they completely disregard the information and position you are presenting. What do you do?
3. How would you encourage and coordinate student involvement in university community affairs and activities?
Sarah Flodr (ACE)
1. First, The BuildSFU team has done a great job in planning this project. I want to support their vision and help implement ideas that would benefit a wide range of students’ ideas while ensuring sustainability and efficiency. I will also create more enrollment openings, advocate for extended library hours, and tackle the rising cost of tuition. Furthermore, I will make sure to improve student involvement, which I speak to further in question three.
2. I would restate my point and try to reach a compromise; if that fails, then it would be considered a disregard to student interests. In this case, students should know about this issue and I would work with the board members and the students at-large to collectively make our voice heard and our concerns considered by the university administration.
3. I feel transparency is the main factor for students’ detachment since they are not aware of possible opportunities at SFU. SFU’s slogan revolves around engagement and to emphasize this point, it is of high importance for students to be able to understand how the university functions. I would work with the university and the student groups to pass on information regarding university projects to the student body, encouraging them to get involved.
Clay Gray (Move the Mountain)
This candidate failed to submit responses by The Peak’s deadline.
Moe Kopahi
1. Student Space Improvement – After conducting a survey within students of each faculty and department, I will approach the appropriate admins to seek assistance in improving the student spaces within that section.
Increase faculty and university wide communication – I shall push for continuous collaboration between all groups at SFU and shall continue working on a central communication system (see question 3). Increase and improve SFSS services – Such as Food bank and Night Line
2. We should not expect that all of the university officials be familiar with the SFSS board positions; hence the best course of action is to be professional, and patiently explain what the position entails. After getting their attention, I would present the information again. If nothing changes, I would report back to the SFSS Board to come up with an alternative solution as a team.
3. I have been an advocate of increasing the student participation in the SFU events. One of the projects that I will continue working on is the implementation of a centralized communication system at SFU. I will be working with VP-Student Life to create the connection between the students and their respective faculty event organizers, as well as updating them with other activities and community affairs hosted by other groups, such as the athletic department.
