Students' Union, UCalgary

SU @UCalgary
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Arlington Antonio Santiago – Biography
Arlington Antonio Santiago – Biography 150 150 admin

Vice President Operations & Finance

Arlington is originally from Barranquilla, Colombia. After being displaced at age three, he became a political refugee and entered Canada via Montreal as a protected person at the age of five. He moved again to northeast Calgary a few years later. Growing up, Arlington loved making others laugh. He also enjoyed anime, playing street fútbol, and baking bread at his parents’ family business.

In 2021, as a first-time volunteer with the Falconridge-Castleridge Community Association, Arlington was elected Secretary and joined the Board of Directors. The association accessed a grant to install solar panels that reduced the operating cost down to zero, enhancing the quality of services offered by the community centre. Later that year, Arlington also volunteered as a project manager to build a fit park dedicated to an underfunded and underdeveloped part of the city.

Arlington’s journey so far has taught him to be proud of overcoming setbacks, and what it means to make important improvements to structures of power in his local community. He is passionate about breaking down barriers to entry when it comes to post-secondary education such as the cost of education, access to affordable housing and proper economic development conditions for students. He will be the first but certainly not the last member of his nuclear family to attend university and graduate with more than just a degree.

Arlington is in the Faculty of Arts, with majors in Political Science, Law and Society, and Sociology. Over his time as an undergraduate, he has been studying the possibility of an anticipatory post-work society.

Arlington loves to work out and go for long walks around the Bow River with his dog, a CattleJack named Astro-Juice (AJ for short). He aims to hike five times this summer and go for at least one winter hike. Arlington is big fan of Manchester City Fútbol, and can be also found at the library reading manga, geo-political economy and watching a wide variety of documentaries.

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Ermia Rezaei-Afsah – Biography
Ermia Rezaei-Afsah – Biography 150 150 admin

PRESIDENT

Ermia Rezaei-Afsah grew up in Tehran, Iran, and moved to Calgary when he was 10 years old. As a kid he loved trivia and geography, and was interested in world history and politics even as young as seven years old.

After serving last year as an SU Faculty of Arts Representative on the 80th SLC, Ermia was elected to VP Student Life. His passion for equity and accessibility is informed by his experience as an immigrant to Canada and by his experience as a student trying to navigate the university system to access resources. His practice in the latter turned him into an advocate to help others navigate the system as well. These experiences are what inspired him to run for VP Student Life.

He has previously worked at a farmer’s market and landscaping. He has been a part of clubs such as the History Students’ Association, Food Justice Now, Philosophia, and Students for Direct Action.

Ermia is majoring in History and Anthropology, with a minor in Latin American Studies. He is most interested in Middle Eastern and Latin American history and their intersections. His favourite subjects are culinary history and the history of food.

His interest in cooking stems from an interest in both learning about other cultures and carrying on his own. Ermia likes to learn recipes through learning about the context and politics behind the dish. Food is a great way to connect, and he loves to host and create space for people. His interest food in naturally led him to gardening, and includes different growing techniques, light woodworking, growing things on a budget, growing culturally important produce in very different climates, and more.

Ermia loves to cook complex and unique food and grows as many ingredients as he can. He knows how to ferment foods and make his own yogurt, cheese, fermented pickles, sauces, kombucha, among other things. He even knows how make vinegar from scratch. He also loves preserving produce by making jams, vinegar pickles, and Cheong-style preserves (Cheongs are Korean syrups made with zero-heat). His four food obsessions are tea, yogurt, olive oil, and vinegar. He’s also obsessed with pasta.

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Mateusz Salmassi – Biography
Mateusz Salmassi – Biography 150 150 admin

Vice President External

Mateusz Salmassi grew up in Los Angeles, California. His parents moved to the United States seeking a better life, where they met as coworkers. He was a reserved kid who liked to read, before becoming obsessed with playing soccer.

Mateusz’s upbringing heavily influenced his interest in advocacy, and grassroots organizing. Whether it was the international factors that drove his parents to move to the US, or how policies like the minimum wage impacted the family, Mateusz realized that people and politics could explain so much.

His first job was canvassing for Greenpeace; the role connected his passion for politics with an understanding of the power of face-to-face conversation. Mateusz then campaigned for a public health care system in the state of California. He brought his political outlook with him when he moved to Calgary.

As president of the Faculty of Arts Students’ Association (FASA), Mateusz took a lead role in helping to defeat the privatization of the UCalgary bookstore.

Mateusz decided to run for SU VP External once he understood how the position could do more than lobby, but mobilize students around the major issues we face. His experiences with the challenges of being an international student,along with rent and food insecurity, make him like a dog with a bone when it comes to advocacy.

Mateusz is studying Psychology under the Faculty of Arts, completing a certificate in Sustainability Studies. While he originally wanted to become a counseling therapist, the love he developed for advocacy and grassroots organizing has pushed his interests toward work where he can pursue both.

In his free time, Mateusz likes to garden and spend time with friends and family. When he goes back to visit Los Angeles, Mateusz loves to eat Mexican and Persian cuisine, and dance.

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Sandra Amin – Biography
Sandra Amin – Biography 150 150 admin

Vice President Academic

Sandra Amin has always been bright, both in demeanor and intelligence. The Egyptian education system’s fierce competitiveness, as well as a drive to succeed, meant she spent much of her younger years studying. Her world would quickly change as she was a firsthand witness to the violence and instability that swept the nation during and after the Arab Spring. At the age of ten, she moved to Canada.

After serving last year as a Science Faculty Rep, Sandra was elected as VP Academic for the 81st SLC. She built an impressive portfolio as a Science Rep, hitting the ground running by spearheading the Open Educational Resource campaign. Her strong sense of responsibility and empathy have empowered her to make sure every student’s voice is heard. She firmly believes that change is necessary for post-secondary education, and this change is the reason she ran for office. While the world is quickly changing with the prevalence of remote work and AI, so too is our education system. She aims to reimagine assessments for a modern student, as well as ensure all students know their academic rights. She believes that the university must be prepared to support all students, through accommodating neurodivergence and offering greater mental health supports.

Sandra is studying neuroscience with a certificate in Wellness. After initially aiming to become a doctor to help others, her interests have expanded to include AI, software, politics, and policy.

In high school, Sandra volunteered for the Veteran’s Food Bank and CAWST (A Safe Water For All Initiative). More recently, she volunteered for Calgary’s Future. She has also worked as a DRO for Elections Canada.

Sandra is a singer – Disney songs are her specialty! – and dancer who can do leaps, splits, and pirouettes. In her spare time, Sandra loves to crochet, build puzzles, and play volleyball.

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Shaziah Jinnah Morsette – Biography
Shaziah Jinnah Morsette – Biography 150 150 admin

President

Born and raised in Calgary’s north east, Shaziah Jinnah Morsette continues to call the area home. Shaziah describes her childhood self as a “major nerd” who was also obsessed with dance and fashion. As a daughter of a refugee, she always had questions to ask, and was always creating connections in her mind, which she now attributes to undiagnosed ADHD.

The academic landscape is not friendly to all identities; including racialized folks to those with neurodiversities, and all the intersections in between. This is an issue that Shaziah can speak on with experience, having been placed on special academic probation in 2017 and navigating the process that took her from the Academic Turnaround Program to the Dean’s list, and being elected to Vice President Academic of the Students’ Union (SU).

Shaziah was featured for a Community Stories video with the Campus Mental Health Strategy, empowering others who share similar barriers to aspire to leadership positions. Ultimately, Shaziah prides herself on being an authentic and vulnerable leader, bringing both her failures and successes to the table.

In 2022-23, as the SU’s Vice President Academic, Shaziah advocated for a formal policy to prevent online exam proctoring and breaking down the stigma between mental health and academic success, leading her to continue to advocate for several policy changes regarding due dates over term break and access to experiential learning opportunities.

As an interdisciplinary student in the Faculty of Arts, Shaziah is pursuing an honours degree in Communications, and a degree in Multidisciplinary Studies with a primary focus on Political Science, and a secondary focus on Psychology. She also has two embedded certificates in Mental Wellbeing and Resiliency, and Pluralism and Global Citizenship. Her studies have led her to focus on post-secondary pedagogy practices and policies, including the future directions of liberal arts institutions and market-driven educational discourse.

You can find Shaziah spending time with her husband and their pitbull, Xena, catching up with her close friends, camping or gardening through the summer, and listening to audiobooks year-round.

  • Michael Brown
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Release: City Council fails students, misses opportunity to address housing crisis
Release: City Council fails students, misses opportunity to address housing crisis 150 150 Michael Brown

Calgary – Calgary City Council defeated expert housing recommendations yesterday that would have created additional housing units and taken a first step to addressing Calgary’s housing crisis, a crisis students are acutely feeling again this year. A handful of students resorted to temporarily living in their vehicles as they could not find housing last year.

City Council’s refusal to take action on housing will compound an already difficult housing supply and housing market. As students begin to look for housing ahead of a return to Calgary for their studies in September, Council has thrown up additional and unnecessary barriers that affect students and vulnerable Calgarians.

“There’s no other way to say it: Eight members of City Council have made a bad situation worse. Students are at a breaking point and have been left behind by these members of Council,” says Mateusz Salmassi, Students’ Union VP External. “Let’s be clear about what those eight members of Council voted against, they voted against 1,000 additional homes and 3,000 affordable housing units added per year above the normal number of homes. They voted against enabling secondary and backyard suites to add to housing supply. These are basic measures that Calgarians support.”

In the City of Calgary 2022 Fall Survey of Calgarians, affordable housing was identified as one of the areas of lowest satisfaction with the City. A great majority of Calgarians (78%) identified affordable housing as an important City program, with 74% calling for the City to invest in such housing. Investment in affordable housing was top of the list when Calgarians were asked about investment in programs.

“City Council is well aware that Calgary’s reputation as an affordable city is at risk,” says Salmassi. “City Council has money to pay 97% of the up-front cost of the new arena, but apparently neither the money nor the will to support lower income Calgarians, including students, when it comes to housing. This decision risks Calgary’s competitive advantage and risks losing the young, educated people in our city. If they can’t find housing, how can they stay and why would they want to? This decision puts Calgary’s economic future at risk.”

For the second year in a row, residence buildings on the UCalgary campus will be full and the university has no plans to add residence units in the near future. In addition, the University District, a development overseen by the university, has frozen out students by making units largely unaffordable.

On top of that, housing in close proximity to the university remains unavailable or unaffordable for students. Students are being pushed into unsafe rental housing or housing in the far corners of the city, poorly served by transit. This should not happen in a city like Calgary.

While the recommendations may not have had an immediate impact on these concerns, approval would have allowed for the creation of more secondary suites and other housing that would be safe and affordable for students in the medium and long term.

Media Inquiries may be directed to:
Mike Brown
Manager, Communications & Government Relations
Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca // 403-560-0577

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Advocacy Update: Student Name Changes
Advocacy Update: Student Name Changes 150 150 Michael Brown

The SU has been advocating for the university to better support members of the queer community in pursuing preferred name changes. The SU has been pushing the university to make legal/primary name changes across university systems accessible and available for students.

Creating a space where individuals feel safe, welcomed, and validated in their identity is of the utmost importance. Through the projection of student voices and the devoted support of the SU advocacy team, the university has committed to making this process more accessible.

The Q-Centre and SU elected officials have long advocated for the process to become easier for students to request name changes to their preferred and/or legal/primary name. In addition to advocacy efforts, the Q-Centre has also continued to help students navigate name changes with their student guides and dedicated support staff. In the past, the process has been challenging and inaccessible for many students given the variety of systems that the university uses.

Students seeking name changes are now able to do so with one request to change their name on a variety of systems, including:

 

  • AIMS – Parking
  • ALMA Library
  • Class Roster
  • ClockWork – Student Accessibility
  • Computer labs
  • D2L
  • Elevate
  • Email/calendar
  • Office 365
  • ServiceNow – IT/HR/Facilities Service Requests
  • Student Centre
  • MS Teams
  • Unicard (ID card, Upass)
  • YuJa – Video content management
  • Zoom

 

 

All information regarding this process can be found here on the university’s website.

The SU is committed to protecting, advocating, and creating an inclusive space where all students feel safe and welcome.

  • Michael Brown
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May 2023 Advocacy Blog
May 2023 Advocacy Blog 150 150 Michael Brown

The SU advocacy team has been busy the past month, continuing our efforts to make student needs a priority both by the university and the government. Last month student electives met with city counsellors to discuss reimagining the UPASS to better address students’ transport needs. Discussions will continue with the city to collaboratively work to provide a transport option for students that is more equitable for all student needs in the future.

Student’s Union Program for Education Related Work (SUPERWork) applications are open until July 31st. SUPERWork is a SU-sponsored program through quality money that provides a $1000 wage subsidy award to University of Calgary undergraduate students earning less than a competitive wage at a summer employment position related to their degree program.

The SU understands the difficulties of finding summer employment opportunities, especially since the cancellation of the Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP) in 2019. SUPERWork is the SU’s way to support students where the UCP government has not. The SU will not only continue to do our part by providing support to students through SUPERWork but will continue to advocate for the implementation of a student jobs program that supports student summer work and connects students to employers. Please visit our website here for more information.

With the provincial election in May fast approaching the SU has also continued to host our weekly radio show on CJSW from 11 am – 12 pm on Thursdays, interviewing candidates from the surrounding ridings. Be sure to tune in and hear from candidates before you cast your vote this election.

The Get Out the Vote Campaign has also continued, asking students to pledge to vote in the provincial election. Students can sign up here to pledge to vote and get reminders regarding voting information, the election, and voting locations. Students who pledge to vote will also be entered into a draw to win one of 2 bookstore gift cards for $250 and 5 Den gift cards for $100 each.

  • Gene Baines
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Advocacy wrap-up and a farewell message from Nicole
Advocacy wrap-up and a farewell message from Nicole 150 150 Gene Baines

As my term as Students’ Union President comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to say goodbye and reflect on the past year. Looking back, I am incredibly proud of what the 80th SU Elected Officials have accomplished together: from fighting against term break assignments and ensuring students’ academic rights are upheld, to lobbying on behalf of students to all three levels of government. Some of the most notable advocacy wins from the year include:

  • Student Mental Health: We are excited to announce a new SU Mental Health Bursary, funded to $700,000. Beginning in fall 2023, SU Quality Money will fund $1,000 bursaries for mental health therapy and services for UCalgary undergraduate students.
  • Price Tags: Over the years, students have wondered when price tags are coming to Stör. We are pleased to announce that by fall semester, Stör will have a new system of price tags in place.
  • UPass: SU leaders continue to meet with city councillors to work to provide a better transport option for students that is more equitable for all student needs. Summer UPass eligibility has also been expended to more undergraduate programs starting Summer 2023.
  • Preferred Names: The SU has been advocating to the university to make preferred name changes across university systems accessible and available for students. Students seeking name changes are now able to do so with one request to change their name on a variety of systems. All information regarding this process can be found here.
  • Get Out the Vote: The SU GOTV Campaign continues asking students to pledge to vote in the provincial election. Students can sign up here to pledge to vote and get reminders regarding voting information, the election, and voting locations. Students who pledge to vote will also be entered into a draw to win one of two $250 bookstore gift cards or one of five $100 Den gift cards.
  • Provincial Election Advocacy: The SU hosted Opposition Leader Rachel Notley who took questions from students about post-secondary issues. During her address, she committed to rolling back tuition to 22-23 levels, if elected. This means students will not have to pay the latest UCalgary tuition hike of 5.5%. Other announcements included additional mental health supports, no tuition increases above inflation, and to bring in a summer employment program for students. Many of these commitments are thanks to ongoing SU advocacy with political leaders of all stripes.
  • Board of Governors protest: The SU led a student protest against a fourth consecutive tuition increase in January. About 250 students joined and made their voices heard outside the boardroom, as students were not allowed in. This protest and our calls for inflation supports for students led to Premier Smith committing to financial supports for students the following day. The protest showed how strong students can be when we speak with one voice. Should the university again fail to consult with students on matters, like tuition, that affect them, they know that students will make their displeasure known.

To conclude, I would just like to say thank you to all of the students who voted in the SU General Election for once again putting your trust in me to represent you and lead you this year. I am incredibly honoured to be the first two-term female president in the 80-year history of the Students’ Union. It has been an honour working with you all and I am so proud of what we have accomplished together.
Congratulations on making it to the end of the term – we did it.

Nicole Schmidt
President, The Students’ Union

  • Gene Baines
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SU Announces 2023 Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Award Winners
SU Announces 2023 Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Award Winners 150 150 Gene Baines

Hello UCalgary students,

Since 1975, the SU has been giving you the opportunity to nominate and recognize excellent instructors and TAs. We received 980 nominations from students this year. From these nominees, the Teaching Excellence committee has chosen the following honourable mentions and winners:

 

Teaching Excellence Awards – Teaching Assistants

[half]Mannat Bansal
Adam Bass
Austin Che
Raylene Jessica Dunn
Andrew Henderson[/half][half]Tanisha Henry
Omid Khajehdehi
Danika Lipman
Hannah Porter
Rounak Uppal[/half]

 

Teaching Excellence Awards

[half]Alan Martino (Cumming School of Medicine)
Dr. Patrick F. Lee (Cumming School of Medicine)
Dr. K. Sélom Gbanou (Faculty of Arts)
Loïc Million (Faculty of Arts)
Dr. Safaneh Mohaghegh Neyshabouri (Faculty of Arts)
Prof. Tricia Stadnyk (Faculty of Arts)
Dr. Rod T. Squance (Faculty of Arts)
Saied Jalal Aboodarda (Faculty of Kinesiology)
Dr. Maureen T. Duffy (Faculty of Law)
Dr. Cydnee Seneviratne (Faculty of Nursing)[/half][half]Dr. Kori Czuy (Faculty of Science)
Dr. Thi Dinh (Faculty of Science)
Jerrod M. Smith (Faculty of Science)
Chantel Aurora Large (Faculty of Social Work)
Dr. Anne E Kleffner (Haskayne School of Business)
Dr. Justin Weinhardt (Haskayne School of Business)
Maryam Badv (Schulich School of Engineering)
Dr. Emmanuel Stefanakis (Schulich School of Engineering)
Mr. Harrison Campbell (Werklund School of Education)
Dr. Ning Cheng (Veterinary Medicine)[/half]

 

Teaching Excellence Awards – Honourable Mention

[half]Dr. Dinu S. Attalage
Dr. Leigh Gabel
Randolph (Randy) Head
Janna Klostermann
Justin Knibbe[/half][half]Erin McFarlane
Mr. Eric S Myers
Dr. Eve Robinson
Dr. Stephen MacGregor
Jason Stein[/half]

 

Winners of the SU Teaching Excellence Award receive an apple award and a framed certificate. In addition, the SU will make a $5,000 donation in recognition of the winners to the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning.

Congratulations to all of these winners and honorable mentions, and huge thanks to those students who took the time to tell us about your amazing teachers.

Nicole Schmidt
President, The Students’ Union

 

Photographs by Gene Baines

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