By: Eden Chipperfield, News Writer
On February 29, The Peak attended the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) bi-weekly Council meeting via Zoom. The meeting consisted of topics including a motion proposing a petition to support the fall reading break and funding for the Software Systems Student Society’s (SSSS) System Hacks Hackathon event.
Fall Reading Break Motion Passes
Vice-president of equity and sustainability Priyanka Kaur Dhesa submitted a motion to start a petition calling for a fall reading break in the school calendar year. The motion read, “Mental health and well-being is a prominent concern among post-secondary students; whereas reading break helps alleviate stress faced by the student body during the semester.”
The motion put emphasis on how SFU is “currently one of the only post-secondary institutions in Canada to not offer some form of a fall reading break.” Other institutions such as UBC and UVic have three designated reading break days in the fall semester. The motion calls for the Council to collect support from students through a petition to advocate for a fall reading break.
The motion declares that SFSS “call upon SFU and relevant bodies such as SFU Senate to implement a Fall Reading Break for the Fall 2024 semester as a pilot.”
Geography councillor Jeffery Collinson said they supported the motion as long as “SFSS works with SFU, to make sure that it’s added responsibly.” Collinson noted concern that a possible fall reading break will push the winter semester break further back than intended. A vote was held to circulate the petition on behalf of the SFSS. No dissent was expressed, and the motion was passed.
Funding for SSSS System Hacks Event
The Software Systems Student Society (SSSS) submitted a motion to the Council to request funding for the 2024 Systems Hacks event, which is set to take place on March 4 at the Surrey campus. The SSSS has held the Hackathon event since 2017. The theme for the 2024 Hackathon is “Chaos Hacks.” The event spans over 12 hours and is beginner-friendly to encourage participants to build creative projects.
The proposal for a grant was presented by councillor Tal Zaloilov, requesting $6,000 for the event. The SSSS team had collectively fundraised $4,000 from funding and external sponsorships. With the additional funding from SFSS, the total ticket cost for one person would be $40, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a t-shirt, and prizes for attendees. Zaloilov added that the cost of the Hackathon has increased due to SFU’s budget cuts. They reported they have reduced expenses by hiring their A/V tech for the event.
Councillor Sam Killawee expressed concern with the grant because the Council is moving toward the end of their term year. He questioned whether the grant was feasible within the current SFSS budget. Killawee clarified that he supported the Hackathon, but wanted to be sure the Council could “support this event without increasing the SFSS deficit.” Temporary operations organizer Sindhu Dharmarajah clarified, “We are well over our allocated budget line. This would come from our grants line item. By our funding guidelines, we did approve $4,159, and this is an annual event, a large event that does happen.” Dharmarajah reminded the Council that the Hackathon was pre-approved for over $4,000 and that if overspending does occur, the following year’s budget should reflect those numbers.
A vote then occurred to provide SSSS with the grant of $6,000 for the System Hacks Event. Killawee abstained from voting, and the motion passed without dissent.
