David Dyck
University briefs
July 9, 2012By David Dyck US researchers thwart drone on $1,000 budget Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin successfully took down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, also referred to as a drone) last week as part of a demonstration for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The government agency had set a challenge for researchers to develop a device for $1,000 or less that could successfully thwart the pre-defined commands of a drone airplane, which the team was able to do in about a year. The researchers used a “spoofer” device whose signals override those of the UAV’s command computers…
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TSSU votes to approve strike option
July 2, 2012By David Dyck SGM this week will decide what form job action will take Last week, the Teaching Support Staff Union held a vote of its membership to determine whether or not to take job action. The preliminary result, according…
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Board shorts
July 2, 2012By David Dyck Board moves to a new healthcare provider The board will be entering negotiations with a new healthcare provider, Desjardins, moving away from the current provider, Sun Life. “We discussed this at [the executive committee] and execs have…
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SFU launches “public square” initiative
June 25, 2012By David Dyck First community summit will address Vancouverites’ growing “isolation” from each other A crowd of approximately 250 people gathered last week at the Westbank Woodward’s Atrium in downtown Vancouver for the launch of the SFU Public Square. The…
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Board shorts
June 25, 2012USB devices to replace handbooks In light of the decision earlier this year to discontinue providing yearly student handbooks, the SFSS board decided to order 10,000 USB flash drives to hand out to students at the beginning of the fall…
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Hall wins BoG race
June 11, 2012By David Dyck Last week, the election results were announced for the position of student representative on the SFU board of governors. The winner was graduate student Angie Hall. Hall beat out three other contenders for the position. “I’m really…
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Board shorts
June 11, 2012By David Dyck The board of directors had a lengthy conversation regarding transparency last week. In an effort to combat what he described as a “lack of trust” towards the board from forum, member services officer Humza Khan brought a…
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Chartwells contract renewed with changes
June 4, 2012By David Dyck SFU will hire a food service manager to oversee quality of food on campus Last week’s board of governor’s meeting saw the approval of a five-year contract renewal with Chartwells, the primary food vendor on campus. The…
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BoG splits student rep positions
June 4, 2012By David Dyck Grads and undergrads will now each have one designated seat on the board of governors Last week’s board of governors meeting saw a motion passed that takes two student positions on the board and designates one for…
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BoG nominees announced
June 4, 2012By David Dyck Board of governors election turns up four nominees Last week, nominations were announced for students running for this year’s student member position. The elected candidate will serve in the upcoming year on SFU’s highest decision-making body, the…
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