Dog Den

ATTENTION EXAM TIME FAST APPROACHING


Wednesday April 17th will be the final DOG DEN of the year!!!

Exams are fast approaching and it can be quite a stressful time. The dog den is a great chance to relax, de-stress, and make some new friends!!! Caper, Jake, Sammy, Milly, and Charlie are the main stars of the DOG DEN. They are certified therapy dogs from the St. John Ambulance's Therapy Dog program. They love to play, cuddle, and look cute. In the midst of a busy exam period, a quick visit with a lovable pup can go a long way. They will be in Gilmora Gym from 2-4pm on Wednesday. Why not drop in for five minutes, or stay for a whole hour! The dog handlers, who accompany these four legged friends truly enjoy the opportunity to help others out. The Dog Dayz are back, for one last time!!! Good luck to all on their exams and hope to see you at the DOG DEN.

Special thanks to Bob Hale and Mary McLean for helping make this pet therapy project a reality, and thanks to the dogs and their handlers for their enthusiasm and dedication.

DOG DEN

When: Wednesday April 17th 2:00-4:00pm

Where: Gilmora Gym


For more info on the St. John Ambulance's Therapy Dog Program check out their website: http://www.sja.ca/NSPEI/COMMUNITYSERVICES/PROGRAMS/Pages/TherapyDogServices.aspx

Services Update

Hey Folks!

It has been awhile, but the year has gone by so fast! This day last year we, as an incoming executive team, were on our way to Cape Breton to transition with the out-going team. Little did I know the amazing people I was about to meet, and all the wonderful things that were about to happen throughout the year. Today we are leaving on the same trip, but have a very different role. I am excited to welcome, Amy Brierely, the incoming Vice President Union Services for 2013-2014. I am very confident as she transitions into this role. Amy has been widely involved within the Students' Union through her roles of Research Officer, Equity Advocate and Student Food Resource Centre Coordinator. She has wild ambition and I am so excited for the places she will take YOUR services!

The lovely, Amy:

This past week, Nick, Sean Ryan and I travelled to Moncton, New Brunswick to talk to l'Universite de Moncton about the Campus Trust Health and Dental Plan. It was a great opportunity to spread the information about our plan, because the more university's we have on board--the better it is for all members of the trust... and ultimately for YOU! It is also always so incredible to have the chance to talk to other Students' Unions, Student Associations and Student Federations to not only compare campuses, but to gain and share knowledge from each other.

Do you want to help stop violence and win a FREE iPad Mini?

If yes, then please participate in a questionnaire about violence against women and gender-based violence. It can be accessed from the INFO Desk in the SUB and is due back before April 19 2013. The results of this study will be used to better inform and improve how we address and prevent violence. It has been prepared by the project, Preventing Violence against Women at StFX from the Antigonish Women's Resource Centre. It is completely voluntary and takes about 10 minutes to complete. All answers are anonymous and confidential. You will not be asked for your name and there will be no way to identify who answered each questionnaire. Please seal your completed questionnaire in the envelope provided and return this to the INFO Desk at the SUB. After completing the questionnaire, you may complete the tear-off ticket (where you will include your name and contact) to be entered into a draw for the 16GB iPad Mini.

Hope you guys have a great weekend and please, enjoy Customer Appreciation Night at the INN! There is NO COVER, $2.74 selected drinks from open to close AND full menu starting at 4:30PM including 1/2 price Nachos!

Cheers,

Tessa

Update from Nick

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged, but a lot has been going on! I want to give a brief overview of two things I will be covering in my blog. First, I would like to go over our compensation request following the time lost due to the strike. Second, I want to discuss the Student-Government Roundtable that I attended on Monday in Halifax.

As many of you know compensation has been quite the struggle to achieve since the strike ended. For a full review of our efforts please have a look here. The Board of Governors has decided that no money will be reimbursed to students following the strike. Although I do understand the financial restrains of the University, the rejection of our proposals were very hard to accept as I felt we put forward a reasonable ask. I want to say that it is something we have worked very hard on and I am sorry we were unable to get the Board to agree to our proposal.

On a more positive note, on Monday I attended the Student-Government Roundtable in Halifax which was a very productive meeting. This has been the fourth meeting we have had with the provincial government this year and it was the best yet. The new Minister of Advanced Education, Honourable Frank Corbett, was there to introduce himself and share a few words. A memorable quote I took from his speech was, "Tomorrow is greater than any of us here". I think when looking forward at the long-term plans for education in this province that this point is very important to remember.

On Monday at the meetings we discussed two important topics, international students and mental health. Both are very relevant issues as the Nova Scotian government as well we universities and students unions move into budget season. The government is interested in exploring better ways to address both topics and will come back in June to our next meeting with some follow up to the issues.

These meetings are incredibly important and allow for us to build strong relationships with the government and address the larger issues in post-secondary education in NS. I will not be at the next roundtable meeting, as my term will have ended, however I highly encourage you to email Ben, the incoming Students’ Union President, with some ideas of big picture issues to be discussed.

- Nick

Happy Friday!

Crazzzy to think that this time last year we were all out on The Inn patio enjoying the sun hey? I've got a few quick updates from the Comm office and then an exciting introduction!

Lots of great events coming up for the rest of the semester... tonight is Party Boots at The Inn! Party Boots played at Homecoming and X-Ring, and were unbelievable  They are so fun, and they do a great cover of Goldigger ... couple of X grads too! Then on April 5th is Customer Appreciation Night, always a great time. And finally on April 12th its Last Chance to Party with none other than TIM CHAISSON 

I am soooo excited to see Tim play here again, and with X alum Dave Sampson opening, it is sure to be a great night!

Also, the Comm office is now hiring two Marketing Managers for next year - The Inn Marketing Manager and The U Marketing Manager. Applications are due Monday and you can find them here. If you have questions about the positions, or other ways to get involved in The U, fire me an e-mail at su_comm@stfx.ca.

Most of my time now is focusing on transition and ensuring the incoming VP Comm is ready for next year! So without further ado, here she is, Ms. Emily Miller!

- Kaleigh

Hello everyone! My name is Emily Miller (some of you may know me as Scene by Emily), I am your incoming VP of Communications for the 2013/2014 year. I’m sooo excited to be in this position and start working with the awesome VP team that Ben and Taylor have brought together.

My main initiative this year is to keep the students as informed as possible about all the events and services that the Union provides and puts on.  I’m also excited to create a wicked sweet Frosh Week for all our incoming Xaverians. I want to ensure that the Marketing Team is used as effectively as possible and I also want to make sure that the Xaverian Weekly and CFXU are promoted among students much more as well as within the Antigonish community.

I am originally from Riverview, New Brunswick and am currently in my third year doing an Advanced Double Major in Development Studies and Political Science. I absolutely LOVE StFX and have had such an amazing time here so far!! I’ve tried to be involved as much as possible in campus life, over the years I’ve been involved with the Xaverian Weekly as a Senior Reporter, held several radio shows with CFXU, and have been involved in numerous societies. I was a member of the Marketing Team this past year and acted as the Unions Event Photographer which allowed me to attend a TON of awesome events that the U put on. I also had the opportunity to study abroad in China last summer on an exchange through StFX. Aside from that fun stuff, I can normally be found laughing at videos of cats, drinking tea and day dreaming of far away places to travel to.

I can’t wait to begin work in this position and to meet as many of you as possible. If you have any questions for me please feel free to send me an email or stop me on campus to talk!

- Emily

Events Update From VP Activities feat. Incoming VP A&E

comm update!

Hi everyone!

Well its been a while since this blog has been updated since we have been mostly focused on the ol' strike website for the past month and a bit. But welcome back everyone! I hope you are all surviving this midterm madness well!

Last Wednesday was the CFXU CD Release Party at The Inn which was a great night, featuring lots of student talent. The CD is really amazing, featuring students such as Katrine Chiasson, Matt Howard and Wing Night regular, Travis Braschuk - and many more! Definitely check it out.. super exciting for any incoming Frosh, The U has purchased 1000 of these CDs to put in the Frosh Kits next year, so you have some great music coming your way in September! ^photo credit Scene by Emily

This month my office is really focused on ensuring a smooth transition for the incoming VP Comm and Marketing Team. One major project has been putting together proposed changes to the sub-executive structure of the Communications Office. I am proposing for the Marketing Team to be split into two teams, one being The Inn Marketing Team and the other being The U Marketing Team. This will allow for more focus to be put on promotion of services and society and house events as a lot of times these get put to the back burner for promotion of The Inn. By splitting the teams, each can focus on specific priorities. I have passed this proposal on to be considered by By-Law and Policy, and hopefully will be discussed at the next Council meeting! 

Another project that I am taking a crack at is developing a brand guidelines document for The U. This document will provide guidelines for how The U logos should be utilized, what our brand represents, and how to ensure consistency in messaging. These guidelines should aid the institutional memory of the organization and ensure some consistency over the years - since all positions are only one year terms, a lot of times consistency is hard to achieve. Pretty boring stuff I guess haha but I find it pretty interesting!

Last week I also fulfilled my dream of making an old timey video - check out this 'lil silent film for The Inn!

This week there are some pretty exciting events coming up at The Inn.. Wing Night is feat. Pictou County's own Rowdy Dow, a great acoustic duo.. then Thursday is Karaoke, and finally Saturday is THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR ST. PADDY'S DAY (well technically Sunday is St. Paddy's Day, but The Inn celebration is Sat haha) feat. Big Fish! Nothing is better than a good cover band, can't wait!

That's all I have for now, happy studying, and see you at The Inn!

Kaleigh

A Public Letter to StFX University and the StFX AUT

Today the Students' Union sent the following letter to Ramsay Duff, Vice President of Finance and Operations at StFX, and Peter McInnis, President of the StFX AUT, in advance of their concilliated negotiaions over the next two days.

Dear Ramsay/Peter,

As you enter conciliated negotiations over the next two days, I want to impress upon both sides the personal impact that the outcome of these discussions will have on our members, the student body. The student body has now been waiting on a resolution for 7 months, a length of time that has manifested uncertainty surrounding degree status, convocation, and the academic term in general.

For students completing their second semester of post-secondary education through to honours students making sacrifices to complete a thesis, this uncertainty is an intolerable stressor that has unwarranted personal impacts on our members.

On behalf of these members, I implore you to stay at the table and come to a mutually beneficial resolution. It is imperative that all bargaining is in good faith, and that communication will not break down until a deal is reached. Students are the lifeblood of this institution and work stoppage is not a solution.

Sincerely,

Nick Head-Petersen

President, StFX Students' Union