Students' Union, UCalgary

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The Results Are In: Students’ Union 2021 General Election
The Results Are In: Students’ Union 2021 General Election 1200 500 admin

[alert]UPDATE: As of March 12, the results of the 2021 SU General Election are now official. A By-Election will be held this fall to fill vacancies for faculty rep positions in Social Work, the Cumming School of Medicine, and the Haskayne School of Business, as well as second UCalgary Senate seat.[/alert]

After weeks of forums and online campaigning, undergraduate students at UCalgary now know who their student leaders will be for the 79th SLC. Nicole Schmidt is the SU President-elect capturing 76% of the vote. Schmidt will take over from current SU President Frank Finley in May.

In the Faculty of Arts race, students selected four candidates from seven who had thrown their hats in the ring. Elected to the Faculty of Arts Representative positions are: Fayo Abdi, Justin Gotta, Matthew Herring, and Sofia Huarte Aguilar.

In the Faculty of Kinesiology race, Areeb Qayyum was elected with 45% of votes cast. Over at the Faculty of Nursing Dorsa Zamanpour won that race with 52% of votes in that faculty.

New SU President, Nicole Schmidt will join acclaimed executives Renzo Pereyra (VP Academic), Marley Gillies (VP External), Mickail Hendi (VP Operations & Finance), and Assad Ali Bik (VP Student Life) as the 79th SU executive team.

3,055 students voted in the 2021 General Election. The results announced today are provisional and will become official on March 12, 2021.

All newly elected officials will be sworn into office at the Colour Night ceremony in early May. Over the summer, the newly elected student leaders will conduct orientation and annual planning sessions.

Other results include acclaimed candidates for the following Faculty Representative positions:

Cumming School of Medicine:
Rafael Sanguinetti

Law:
Saliha Haq

Science:
Pragya Chopra
Megan Raivio
Chaten Jessel

Veterinary Medicine:
Lauren Stoffregen

Haskayne School of Business:
Adrian Alcantara

Schulich School of Engineering:
Taimur Akhtar
Khaled Elmalawany

Werklund School of Education:
Dhwani Joshi

Shagufta Farheen is appointed to the UCalgary Senate while current SU President Frank Finley was acclaimed to the UCalgary Board of Governors as the Student-at-Large representative.

The SU will hold a by-election in the fall of 2021 to fill a vacancy for the second UCalgary Senate seat as well as for open Faculty Representative positions in the faculties of Social Work, the Cumming School of Medicine, and the Haskayne School of Business.

Inquiries may be directed to:

Mike Brown
External Communications Specialist
Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca
Cell: 403-560-0577

Photo Credit: Gene Baines

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First year students… have you voted yet?
First year students… have you voted yet? 150 150 Gene Baines

Hello first years!

Voting days are here, and the polls are open. I know for many of you, this will be your first ever SU Election. So here is a quick version of what you need to know.

Election for what?

The SU holds an election every March to determine who will be your student leaders for the next cycle (from May until next April, 2022).

Why should I bother voting?

I get it – you’re asking, “what does the SU even do?” Well, believe it or not, the SU has a profound impact on your student experience. We operate Mac Hall, advocate against unfair tuition increases, and host hundreds of events and programs each year.

Just in the last few weeks, your current SU exec successfully advocated for a CR/F option for your winter grades, and worked with our partner schools from across the province to apply public pressure through media to the Alberta government to freeze cuts to post-secondary education.

Ok you convinced me… how do I vote?

It’s so easy, I promise. First, check out all the candidates’ platforms here to see who is running and what matters to them. Then log into your Student Centre at my.ucalgary.ca to cast your vote! You can literally vote from anywhere, right up until Thursday at 4 p.m.

The election results will be announced on Thursday evening on the SU’s social media, so make sure you follow us @SUUofC.

 

All the best,

Frank Finley,
President, Students’ Union

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Excellent teachers and SU election candidates
Excellent teachers and SU election candidates 150 150 admin

Hello, UCalgary – I hope you enjoyed your well-deserved time off. I’ve got a few quick reminders for you as we near the end of the month.

Teaching Excellence Awards: nominations are due this Friday

If your professor or TA actually let you relax over reading week, it might be time to nominate them for an SU Teaching Excellence Award! I know that there are so many deserving instructors this semester, and you can help us recognize them by filling out a quick online form. The deadline for nominations is this Friday, Feb. 26, so please make some time this week to let us know who they are, and what makes them so excellent.

SU General Election: get to know your candidates

This is the time of year that you get to select who represents you at the SU. Check out all the candidate platforms to learn about who is running, and attend one or more of the public forums this week to see them in action. The forums for the presidential candidates and the new vice presidents will be streamed on Facebook Live, Feb. 23 – Mar. 1. See our social media for details.

Voting days are March 2 – 4 in your student centre (my.ucalgary.ca).

Tax Season

Finally, while the Volunteer Tax Program clinic remains closed, we’ve got lots of suggestions for other free and low-cost services to get your taxes done this semester. Visit our Volunteer Tax Program page – the deadline to file your 2020 taxes is Apr. 30.

Good luck on your second round of midterms – I’ll be in touch soon!

All the best,

Frank Finley, Students’ Union President

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Alberta Budget continues to squeeze students
Alberta Budget continues to squeeze students 150 150 admin

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Students’ Union is disappointed but not surprised by the continued lack of support shown by the UCP government towards students. The provincial budget revealed continued deep cuts to post-secondary that will see tuition and student costs rise while also forcing the university to cut supports and services that students use.

The university expects a nearly $90 million cut to their budget based on previous and current provincial budgets. As a result, students can expect to see their tuition increase by up to 22.5% by the time this budget is fully implemented. In another short-sighted move the government eliminated the tuition tax credit which amounts to a $200 million tax hike on students and their families.

“If students were to receive a better, higher quality education by paying more that would be easier to swallow, but the university is being forced to cut staff in addition to raising tuition. Online learning also doesn’t provide the same campus experience. In short, thanks to these continued cuts students are paying a lot more and getting far less.” – Frank Finley, SU President

Beyond the cuts, the SU is disappointed to see no plan to help undergraduate students find work this summer or once they graduate. Last year nearly one-third of students surveyed were unable to find any summer work at all. Another 12% indicated they found summer work, but their employer cancelled the position. Students are facing dwindling summer job prospects while being asked to pay more for their educations.

“Students are struggling to cover the cost of their education already and a lack of summer opportunities means they will go further into debt and be unable to even cover their basic expenses as well. We encouraged the province to bring back the STEP program or a similar student job program. Our calls have fallen on deaf ears.” – Marley Gillies, SU VP External

Silver linings in the budget were non-existent. For the last five years the provincial government has committed funds for post-secondary student mental health services and supports. There appears to be no such commitment in the 2021 budget. The SU hopes that the province did not cut mental health funding for students in the midst of a pandemic.

Overall, the SU is incredibly disappointed with the government’s lack of commitment to post-secondary education. While the UCP government cries poor, it has provided $4.5 billion in tax cuts to corporations and lost more than $1.5 billion in the Keystone XL deal. Investing even a portion of those funds in universities or colleges would have prepared students for jobs in the new economy and provide a solid boost to student and new graduate employment. Instead, more and more educated young Albertans are leaving the province for greener pastures.

Media Inquiries may be directed to:

Mike Brown, External Communications Specialist
Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca
Cell: 403-560-0577

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Advocacy Blog – January 2021
Advocacy Blog – January 2021 1400 450 admin

As classes started for the winter semester in January, the SU was busy continuing its advocacy efforts to all three orders of government and university administration. 2020 presented new and unique challenges for student and academic life. 2021 appears as though it will be no different.

The SU always wants to hear from students about your ideas on advocacy and what you need to navigate your studies during the pandemic. Please reach out to the SU if you have ideas or need support.

At the university level, the SU continues to advocate on tuition, fees, and student costs. The SU successfully advocated for a ‘Credit Received’ or CR option for students who may have a course where they would prefer not to have a letter grade in the fall semester, and were able to secure the same option for early in the winter semester. Students who receive a C- or better may convert that grade to a CR which wouldn’t count towards their GPA. We are currently working on having the university offer this option permanently – we expect this change to be announced by the end of this semester. In addition, the SU has successfully made sure that online exam proctoring will not be used by the university. However, individual professors may still be using this software; if that’s the case please contact the SU.

The SU continued its government advocacy by meeting with several elected officials individually to bring student concerns forward. This included an introductory meeting with Calgary MP Jasraj Hallan who met with the SU to discuss student mental health and student jobs and internships.

The SU met with Minister Copping who is the provincial Minister of Labour and Immigration. Minister Copping also represents the University of Calgary and surrounding area in the Legislature. The SU advocated for a student summer job program to help UCalgary students find work over the summer months. Last summer near one-third of UCalgary students surveyed said they couldn’t find a job at all or had a position cancelled due to the pandemic. The SU is working hard to ensure more opportunities for student work this summer.

The SU also supported awareness efforts on the cuts to post-secondary education from the provincial government and subsequent increases to tuition. Through the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS), our colleagues in Edmonton created a snow penguin army of 800 penguins carrying signs asking the government to freeze the cuts.

SU VP External Marley Gillies also participated in a drive by protest outside the Advanced Education Minister’s Calgary office. The event raised awareness of and called for an end to the severe funding cuts by the province.

Early in January, the SU also held its annual Calgary Leaders Dinner. This year’s event was reimagined as the Calgary Leaders Dialogue since it couldn’t be held in-person as usual. SU Executives and SLC members spent time talking to Calgary elected officials from the three orders of government. In total, 18 elected officials attended and Councillor Druh Farrell acted as keynote speaker. The elected officials discussed student issues such as tuition, mental health, and transit while also providing tips to student leaders on how best to advocate and build solid relationships with governments.

If you have questions or concerns about these initiatives or have ideas on what the SU should pursue on behalf of students, again, please contact us.

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Our Statement on Anti-Asian Racism
Our Statement on Anti-Asian Racism 150 150 admin

We at the University of Calgary Students’ Union are concerned of many of the recent acts of hate in our city and country. Anti-Asian hate crimes, in particular, have seen a sharp rise in both Calgary and Canada. Further, this past weekend in Calgary, a Muslim woman was physically assaulted, a man using a wheelchair was attacked as he confronted anti-mask protestors, and anti-mask protestors wore antisemitic imagery as they marched through Prince’s Island Park. We categorically denounce these acts of hatred and stand in solidarity with all those experiencing acts of prejudice and racism.

While anti-Asian hate crimes have risen massively with the pandemic, the pandemic did not signal their start – these issues are deep-rooted in our society. Further, we fear it can be easy for some to compare Calgary or Canada to other places in the world and believe that these issues do not exist here. To do so would be dangerous and wrong.

These acts of hatred serve to divide us, at a time when solidarity is most needed. We must stand together to fight against these nefarious issues and to ensure everyone feels safe in our university and city.

It is not radical to believe that one should not fear for their safety because of their religion, skin colour, ethnicity, sexual identity, or ability.

Beyond statements, it is important to take action and stand up for others when we see acts of hatred being committed. We encourage any student who believes they have been mistreated or discriminated against at the University of Calgary to contact us and the university’s Ombudsperson. A full list of our anti-racism work and resources can be found here.

We stand with those fighting against prejudice and racism at UCalgary and in the rest of our society. Students have been at the forefront of many social movements, so let us fight for a future we can proud of.

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News on CR/F for Winter 2021
News on CR/F for Winter 2021 150 150 admin

Hi all, SU President Frank here.

I wanted to update everyone on the status of Credit Received/Fail for the winter semester. As you know, we had the option for CR for one course in fall, but I wanted to ensure that something was in place this semester as well. While there is work being on done on a permanent policy that will allow students to take CR for a certain proportion of courses during the course of their degree, this policy will not be ready for approval until late March.

Since I believed it was important for students to know their options as early as possible in the semester, I recommended that we either push the policy forward, or put in place another temporary policy. An hour ago, I got out got out of the committee meeting in which the status of CR/F for winter was decided, and I wanted to share the news with everyone.

This semester, students will have the choice of a CR grade option for one course as follows:

  • Undergraduate students may request a CR grade for a single course where the final grade is a C- and above. A single course can be one of a 3 unit, 1.5 unit, 1 unit or .75 unit course.
  • Graduate students may request a CR grade for a single unit course where the final grade is a B- and above. A single course can be one of a 3 unit, 1.5 unit, 1 unit or .75 unit course.
  • May 14, 2021 is the deadline for students to request the CR grade for a Winter 2021 term course.
  • A course where the CR is applied will not count towards a student’s GPA.
  • This may be applied to courses scheduled during the Winter 2021 term (regular, block week, non-standard)

I hope that this CR grade will relieve some stress for everyone. Even if you don’t have any intention of requesting a CR grade, I think it’s nice to have in your back-pocket just in case.

ALSO, your hundreds of letters to university admin last semester in favour of CR/F were amazing, and certainly helped this discussion to continue. These CR/F policies are not insignificant wins and could not have been delivered if students did not make themselves collectively heard!

Frank Finley,
SU President

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Big News on CR/F for Winter, Elections, and Events
Big News on CR/F for Winter, Elections, and Events 150 150 admin

Happy February, UCalgary, 

If you felt like January dragged on forever, you’re not alone! I’ve got a few updates on what the SU has been working on this semester. 

Big News on CR/F for Winter Semester 

I am pleased to announce that the U of C will extend CR/F to include the current semester. 

While there is work being on done on a permanent policy that will allow students to take CR for a certain percentage of courses during the course of their degree, this policy will not be ready for approval until late March. Since I believed it was important for students to know their options as early as possible in the semester, I recommended that we either push the policy forward, or instate another temporary policy. Yesterday, this temporary policy was implemented. 

These CR/F policies are not insignificant wins and could not have been delivered if students did not make themselves collectively heard. Your hundreds of letters to university admin last semester in favour of CR/F were a major factor in this decision. 

Read the full details here. 

Other Advocacy Updates  

Advocacy continues on a number of fronts, including work on flexible exam windows, quality of academic instruction, and the continued ban on proctoring. On governmental issues, we have been pushing for affordable student monthly transit passes, increased financial support for students, and support for student employment over the summer months.  

SU General Election 

Are you a leader in the campus community? Would you like to be? Think about running in the upcoming SU Elections. The SU is a great place to gain professional experience, connect with your faculty, and influence university policy. Curious about running but not sure if it’s for you? Everything else you need to know, including the positions available, can be found on our website. Nomination days are next week, Feb. 8 – 10.If you have more specific questions about running, you can also book an appointment with one of our Chief Returning Officers.  

Sex Week 

Not interested in student politics? How about sex? UCalgary’s annual Sex Week is coming up next week, Feb. 8 – 12. It’s a great opportunity to have all your questions about sex, love, relationships and so much more answered. Check out the schedule of events and other resources on our website. 

Teaching Excellence Awards 

We know that profs and TAs have had a challenging year, just like all of us. They have had to work extra hard and get extra creative to help students learn from a distance. But we also know that students have noticed – last semester, we received a record number of Teaching Excellence nominations from UCalgary students. So do you have a prof that has been going the extra mile this semester? Or a TA that makes it worth getting up for an 8 a.m. lab? If you do, make sure you nominate them for a Teaching Excellence Award. Complete a short online form and we’ll make sure they know their extra effort is appreciated. 

SU Survey – last call 

Have you taken the SU Survey yet? There are two good reasons to do it: (1) We use your feedback to improve our programs, services, and advocacy every year. (2) You could win one of ten $100 Amazon gift cards. The survey closes this Friday, Feb.5, so take it now and tell a friend. 

Not that anyone’s counting, but as of today you’re only 9 days away from Reading Week! Hang in there – you’ve got this! 

All the best, 

Frank, President
The Students’ Union

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Bermuda Shorts Day 2021
Bermuda Shorts Day 2021 150 150 admin

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major changes to the university experience for all students at the University of Calgary and across Canada. The SU has shifted much of its programming online to continue to engage and support students. However, this is not possible for many events like concerts and conferences. Our top priority is the health and safety of all UCalgary students. That’s why the SU has made the difficult decision to cancel our Bermuda Shorts Day (BSD) programming for 2021.

BSD is a UCalgary tradition celebrating the last day of classes of the winter semester and the SU’s BSD beer garden and concert has always provided a safe space for students to celebrate. With the ongoing pandemic it is clear that an in-person event, and one similar to previous years, cannot occur given the current restrictions.

We know this will be disappointing for many students, especially this year, who may have been looking for an opportunity to unwind after a more stressful academic year than normal. Online classes, increased social isolation, and a disconnection from the physical space of campus have all added to the challenges that university students face.

Rest assured the SU will continue to offer programming to engage and support students, it just may look a bit different than usual for the time being. There will come a time where we can all celebrate again as a campus community and the SU will be there to support that opportunity.

Inquiries can be directed to:

Mike Brown
External Communications Specialist
Students’ Union, University of Calgary
587-590-4465
Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca

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Notice Of Nomination – General Election 2021
Notice Of Nomination – General Election 2021 1080 450 admin

Notice is hereby given that Nomination Days are Monday, February 8 to Wednesday, February 10, 2021 and that nominations for the election of a candidate for the following offices will be received via Zoom video conferencing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

  • President (1)
  • Vice President Academic (1)
  • Vice President Operations and Finance (1)
  • Vice President External (1)
  • Vice President Student Life (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Arts (4)
  • Faculty Representative, Cumming School of Medicine (2)
  • Faculty Representatives, Haskayne School of Business (2)
  • Faculty Representative, Kinesiology (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Law (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Nursing (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Schulich School of Engineering (2)
  • Faculty Representatives, Science (3)
  • Faculty Representative, Social Work (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Veterinary Medicine (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Werklund School of Education (1)
  • Board of Governors Student at Large Representative (1)
  • Senate Student at Large Representative (2)

GE2021-NON-Post

Nomination Packages are available on the Election Docs page.

[button link=”https://www.su.ucalgary.ca/about/elections/election-docs”]Election Docs[/button]

Updates for the 2021 General Election will be posted to the Elections page.

[button link=”https://www.su.ucalgary.ca/about/elections”]Elections Page[/button]

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