Surrey pub night approved for end of semester
The SFSS will host a pub night near Surrey campus on the last day of exams on Wednesday, April 24. The event will be held in partnership with the Software Systems Student Society (SSSS) and the Mechatronic Systems Engineering Student Society (MSESS) with which they will split the cost.
Applied sciences representative Kia Mirsalehi explained that the event will occur at a pub beside Surrey Central, which is the same place they held it last year. Additionally, Mirsalehi explained that they have arranged with the bar to have happy-hour prices for the entire night, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The pub night will cost $5,000 in total, with the expectation of making $1,000-$2,000 back in ticket sales. Mirsalehi explained that while last year’s pub night only cost $3,000, this one will be more expensive for a number of reasons, including starting the event earlier and ending it later, and the fact that it is being held on a Wednesday, which is a busier night compared to a Monday or Tuesday.
Mirsalehi said they will have early bird ticket sales in addition to regular price tickets, with prices likely ranging between $5 and $20. Additionally, ticket sales might be opened up to non-SFU students due to the large capacity in the pub.
Russel Dunsford, environment representative, noted, “I don’t think we do enough events in Surrey, and even though it looks like it might be a little bit expensive, I think that it’s going to provide a lot of value to the Surrey campus and the students there.”
The motion to approve up to $5,000 on the pub night was carried.
Draft MOU for GP44: SFU’s Sexual Violence and Misconduct Prevention, Education, and Support policy
The SFSS has been working on a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SFU for SFU’s sexual violence and misconduct prevention, education, and support policy (GP44). Jasdeep Gill, vice-president external relations, explained the status of the MOU as a discussion item at the board meeting.
Gill explained that this MOU would extend GP44 to apply to all SFSS members that are students, including board members and student staff. It will apply to all SFSS spaces on campus.
Gill noted “an additional ask that we had was for this policy to be extended off campus. At the moment, they have not included this in the MOU because there aren’t really any event guidelines that SFU has at the moment that would make it applicable [ . . . ] but that is something that we can continue to look into.”
Jackson Freedman, vice-president university relations, noted that “this has been something we’ve worked on for I think over two years now [ . . . ] good job to everyone who worked on this because this was a really important thing that we got done. Reading this MOU it seems to contain pretty much everything that we wanted it to contain.”
BC Ministry grants SFU money for peer mental health support program
Gill explained that the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills, and Training has granted SFU $40,000 for a peer mental health support program.
“It’s on us to make sure that the school is accountable for how they are using this money and what this peer support program looks like,” said Gill.
She added that “we can provide students with some sort of recognition that the province is actually taking some action. We do have a long way to go, but I think this $40 000 is a good start for this program.”
