Written by Zach Siddiqui, Opinions Editor
Truc Trat and Muhammad Abid appointed at-large members of the Surrey Campus Committee
Funding approved for two Food Days at Surrey campus
The SFSS’s Surrey Campus Committee will be manning self-serve snack stations in the Surrey campus’ Mezzanine on March 20 and 27. The objectives of this event include helping students “learn more about the Board” and “de-stress before the final exam season begins,” according to the event proposal. A budget of $2,150 was approved for the events.
Up to a total of $10,405 of funding approved to fund various upcoming events at Burnaby campus
On Tuesday, March 27, the SFSS will host a carnival in Convocation Mall, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The theme will be “‘fun and relaxation,’” according to the event proposal, “because the carnival is taking place near exam and project due time.” There will be stations for snacks, carnival games, obstacle courses, and a photo booth, among other things. Up to $7,110 has been approved for this event.
On Wednesday, March 28, the SFSS will host a soccer tournament on Terry Fox Field; on Friday, April 6, the SFSS will hold a football tournament there as well. The soccer tournament will be held from 4 p.m.–7 p.m, and the football tournament will be held from approximately 7:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m. Up to $1,695 has been approved for soccer, and up to $1,600 for football.
Chief Executive Officer Martin Wyant noted the high volume of SFSS-run events happening within the coming days. President Hangue Kim commented as well: “It’s good to see the energy still here.”
Formation of an SFSS committee devoted to academic initiatives for students discussed
Tentatively referred to as an “education committee,” the committee was suggested by VP finance Baljinder Bains. “I would like to see more support in the future for the academic pillar,” Bains said. “We are students, proving that the academic focus should be our priority.” Bains suggested that some examples of work such a committee might do could include collaborative works with the Student Learning Commons (SLC).
During the discussion, Business Administration Representative Gini Kuo and Arts Representative Jackson Freedman each raised questions regarding how the potential committee might work in relation to SFU Senate, which itself handles much of the academia-related work at SFU. Later in the discussion, one key difference Bains outlined between the capabilities of the SFSS and the Senate is that the SFSS, being more distanced from SFU’s administration, is more easily able to advocate for students than student senators. The committee, should it be formed, would also likely have more freedom to pursue specific, esoteric issues in the academic sphere.
Discussion regarding introducing MECS to SFU Surrey
SFU Meeting, Event, and Conference Services (MECS), the group which currently handles room booking and related duties at SFU Burnaby and Vancouver, may be spreading to Surrey campus. The group has the potential “to simplify . . . a lot of the room booking-related issues that a lot of Surrey students are facing,” as reported to the Board by president Hangue Kim. The announcement came in the wake of the most recent Surrey Joint Operations Advisory Group meeting.
Currently, part of why Burnaby students cannot arrange outside catering for their events is due to rules imposed by MECS, which forces them to attain food and beverage items through MECS. Kim appeared to be firmly against this becoming the case for Surrey: “At this point in time, Surrey students don’t have to use MECS catering. That is something . . . we’re going to push on for sure. Students should still be able to access off-campus vendors for their events,” said Kim.
