By: Olivia Sherman, News Writer
On June 7th, The Peak sat in on the SFSS’ biweekly council meeting. This meeting settled many committee elections and councillors discussed issues of a decreasing budget and concerns about the U-Pass system, among others.
Budget Cuts and Student Engagement Concerns
During the SFSS Council Meeting, many members voiced concerns over budget cuts. Jadvinder Bolina, the vice president of finance and services, stated, “The number I will show you in our account when it comes to healthcare looks good at first, but keep in mind that it is likely to be almost entirely depleted by the end of [our councillor term.]”
Members also expressed that the general student body is not knowledgeable enough about the SFSS and the services it provides. SFSS president Liam Feng admitted this is a growing concern. “The main issue I have with SFSS is that nobody cares or knows about the SFSS whatsoever [ . . . ] If that’s going to be the popular attitude for SFSS, then regardless of whatever student services they can maintain for student bodies at the moment, I don’t think this is a sustainable student union. I really think this whole thing will go to pieces,” he said.
He continued, adding, that a major “problem for SFSS is the way it’s being seen by the very demographic it’s supposed to represent.”
Out on Campus representative Adriana Cummings-Teicher commented, “We are in an extremely dire, sinking ship and we need to seismically change how we are perceived by the student body [ . . . ] If we do not have that show of strength and solidarity and show the students that we are an efficient and powerful body that can be for them and fight for them, we won’t be able to raise student fees and we will go bankrupt.”
Councillors recommended “more deep outreach programs [ . . . ] to go into classrooms and tutorials at SFU and present about student services at the SFSS.”
SOCA retreat proposal postponed
A proposal for a retreat with a focus on Black healing and well-being was proposed on May 24. However, the SOCA Wellness Retreat has been postponed until the next council meeting, as “staff are still working on drafting a recommendation.”
U-Pass Concerns
Psychology student union councillor Hilary Tsui voiced frustration over the U-Pass system, which is only available to those taking more than three credits at a time. Those who aren’t taking summer courses but still require public transportation, like Tsui and other council members, must pay for these expenses.
Tsui pointed out this policy affects students financially. “I know other students like me, who might have a part-time job, that rely on public transit to get around, or work on campus but aren’t taking any classes — they have to pay out of pocket.
“Some students don’t have the financial privilege of being able to spend so much money to get a one-zone monthly pass or something. U-Pass is $45 a month, that’s really affordable, and that’s for three zones. A three-zone monthly pass is well into the $200 zone. It’s really unaffordable for a lot of students, and we have to think about them too.”
Feng mentioned a reimbursement service for transit-related costs, but could not confirm if this was exclusive to councillors or not.
“Here’s the thing, even if councillors get a bit of leeway with those, most of the student population are not councillors,” Tsui noted. “I think if we do make some change for summer, then I think it should be for everyone because that’s the most fair.”
“SFU encourages people to take summer classes, so they’re also encouraging us to get screwed over by Compass Card payments, especially because every year they raise the price.”
Vice Chair of SFSS, Ashley Flett, voted in
A vote was held council-wide for the role of Vice Chair. Ashley Flett, councillor for the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Union explained, “You do simple things, like approving meeting minutes, calling agendas, all the fun stuff that a chair does. You are second to the chair, as well as taking over when Liam [Feng] is preoccupied.” Ashley Flett was then voted in, with 20 votes in their favour.
