Hello and welcome back, UCalgary students!
If I haven’t had the chance to meet you yet, I’m Nicole Schmidt, your SU President. You’ll be receiving these emails from me every few weeks or so – I’ll be keeping you up to date on SU programs, services, and our ongoing advocacy initiatives.
Speaking of advocacy, we are running a survey right now to learn as much as we can about your priorities and make sure we are putting our efforts in the right places. We know that you might have mixed feelings about the return to campus, access to voting, and rising costs. So with all this in mind, we have extended the deadline until this Friday in order to hear from as many students as possible. Please take a few minutes to fill out the 2021 SU Summer Advocacy Survey by Friday, Sept. 10.
Other ways to get involved
Are you visiting Mac Hall this week? We’re running an SU Scavenger Hunt and you can win one of two “night on the SU” gift baskets. Enter by Friday, Sept. 10 – here’s how to play! https://forms.gle/oBunPjFpRAsHjbAm9
One of the best ways to make new friends and enrich your student experience is to join a club. This year, we are hosting a Clubs Spotlight on Instagram that runs through the entire fall semester. Follow along @SUUofCClubs, or check out ClubHub where you can explore your interests and search over 300 different student organizations!
Join a committee. We need students-at-large for lots of different committees this time of year.
Run to be an SU Elected Official in our upcoming SU By-Election! More information, including important deadlines and available positions, is available here.
Volunteer. We have several on-campus programs returning this fall, and our Volunteer Services office is also there to help you find opportunities outside of campus as well.
Elections
We have to talk about elections – a major focus this fall. The first one is the federal election, and it’s coming up quick. We won’t have advance polling stations on campus for this one, but the easiest way for students to vote is to visit elections.ca and request a mail-in ballot. The deadline is Sept. 14, so make sure you do it soon. Not sure which way you are going to vote? Come out to our Federal Election Forum on Friday, Sept. 10 at noon to meet candidates from local ridings.
There is also a municipal election in October, and we have lots more information and events coming soon, so stay tuned. (Pro tip – you can catch our VP External, Marley Gillies, interviewing candidates on CJSW, Thursdays at 11:00 a.m.!) You can also sign up to get election reminders from our volunteers – they’ll text you updates and reminders for both the federal and municipal elections. Register at www.getoutthevote.ca.
A few more important things
The Den is open again, with all new hours and an all new menu. Visit us in Mac Hall.
Need somewhere to store your stuff on campus? There are still lockers available – log into your Student Centre to reserve yours today!
Finally, if you don’t have health and dental coverage, the SU’s got you covered. Already have health and dental coverage? You may be eligible to opt out of the SU’s health and dental plan. The opt-out deadline is September 24th and you can do so by clicking here. If you’ve already opted out, you’re set – you only have to opt out once during your university career.
I’ll be back with another email soon – there is always lots to share. In the meantime, the best way to stay up to date is to follow the SU on social media, @SUUofC.
All the best,
Nicole Schmidt,
President, Students’ Union