By: Eden Chipperfield, News Writer
The Peak attended the bi-weekly Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Council meeting on September 13. The business included nominations for the vacant vice-president internal position and a presentation for a new sustainable initiative.
Elections to fill vice-president internal position
During September, the previous vice-president internal resigned from their position. At this Council meeting, the SFSS elected a temporary replacement, until a new vice-president could be elected through student bi-elections. President Liam Feng stated they will “have a by-election in the coming months before April 30 of next year [2024].”
Temporary operation organizer, Sindhu Dharmarajah, noted, “Our by-laws call for a by-election in the event of a vacancy with certain parameters, so we need to appoint a councillor in the interim.”
President Feng called for nominations. Ashley Flett, representative of gender, sexuality and women’s studies, self-nominated for the role. No other candidates stepped forward. The motion was passed and Flett was elected temporary vice-president internal.
However, Thomas Leuth, vice-president of university and academic affairs, voted to express dissent for the motion, but the matter was not discussed further. As Flett held the vice-chair position before their election into the temporary vice-president internal role, another election was held to see who would fill the vice-chair position. Flett nominated molecular biology and biochemistry student union representative, Sam Killawee, for the role, which they accepted. Killawee was elected as temporary vice-chair.
Presentation for a new sustainability initiative, Reusables
Anastasia Kiku, chief operations officer and co-founder of Reusables, delivered a presentation to the Council regarding the brand’s mission. Their project is rolling out at SFU in October.
Reusables is a company that promotes reusable stainless-steel food containers. Kiku explained how the mission of Reusables is to “eliminate single-use plastic waste” and raise awareness for how “only 5% of plastic is recycled, while the rest ends up in our landfills or the environment.”
The company is supported by major corporations such as Bunzl, Disney, Doordash, Uber Eats, and IGA. Reusables is coming to SFU in the Mackenzie Cafe on October 2 in response to how “students are demanding climate action.” Students will be able to take out food and beverages in Reusables containers through the Reusables app to log their container and then, after five days, drop off their borrowed items to the situated return bins around the Mackenzie Café and the AQ.
Kiku also stated using the app will not be necessary, as the Reusables containers have barcodes that will log when checked out and will require a debit or credit card preauthorization. This means the user will only be charged if they do not return their containers after use. Kiku noted in her presentation that Reusables has a 98.5% return rate, and they saw success when they tested the project over three months at the old dining commons. According to Kiku’s data, 2,500+ Reusables were used over the trial of 3 months by over 100 students. Councillor Denise Arias-Guillen asked Kiku if students were expected to wash the containers before returning them to the bins. Kiku responded that Reusables and the Chartwells groups have partnered and will collect and clean the containers.
Evan Accettola, Indigenous studies student union councillor, asked if Reusables sells subscriptions to students and if access to credit cards is necessary for the app. Kiku noted students can use debit cards to check out the containers.
