Written by Zach Siddiqui, Opinions Editor
Board approves a total of $56,500 over the course of three years for a new online platform
In the interests of improving the SFSS’s current online infrastructure, the Board has moved to replace their current platform with the CampusVibe system. Among other things, the new system will be a step up from how the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) currently handles “grants, room booking, events reports” and similar services as well as replace the current club and departmental student union portals, according to faculty of arts and social sciences representative Jackson Freedman.
“I think we’ve all collectively realized that [our current system is] a little bit out of date . . . This will provide us with an opportunity to build on that and actually get some really cool things installed that will help improve the way the society functions moving forward,” Freedman added.
The new system will help centralize the various services that the SFSS offers into one place. It is also likely to refine the SFSS’s engagement strategy with students, allowing students to build profiles that will help the SFSS log what students are interested in and which students to target with certain events.
Board discusses the decline of quality in MECS catering.
SFSS president Hangue Kim briefed the rest of the Board on a meeting held with the heads of Meeting, Event, and Conference Services (MECS), where they discussed various elements of their catering services at SFU.
“The main two issues that we brought up were the high cost [of their services] and the decrease in quality overall,” said Kim. He added that in the wake of the discussion, MECS will be “getting back to” the SFSS on “the specific policies that reference the requirement of student clubs or students groups to use SFU catering services.”
According to Kim, MECS has attributed the decline of the catering quality for students to their heavy focus on successful catering for larger-scale campus events.
“When we get to the point [of our next meeting with MECS], we should be asking them specifically, ‘what are you going to do to improve quality and decrease price?’” said SFSS chief executive officer Martin Wyant.
