The SUB gets a Facelift!

Over the summer the Bloomfield Center is getting a few updates which we think you'll enjoy! First off, the third floor lounge is getting completely remodelled! Which means new (comfortable) furniture, with more tables and study space!!! Yay for more study space! Whats awesome about this update is the fact that there will be doors separating the lounge from the rest of the third floor so that if you want to rent it for a private function its easy to close off and there won't be outside distractions. This will be an excellent location to host coffee houses, as it will be spacious but still cosy. They will be taking the bar area out, and moving it to a different location, and there will also be screens available, incase you need breakout rooms around the lounge. There will also be new lighting installed so say good-bye to the crazy old school celling lights. They just started the renovations today, here's a peak of the very empty lounge!

Almost all of the furniture has been removed, and they are about to start the remodelling! 

Another area of the SUB that is getting remodelled is the Inn Patio! The clunky old benches have been removed (it looks so big now), and we will be getting tables with umbrellas to put in their place. Can you say patio apps and drinks!? We can't wait for September when the Inns food menu will be back in full force, with some delicious new additions! Gareth will be posting later on in the month about some of the awesome new features that the Inn will be taking on, with one special announcement pertaining to the dance floor! We're currently in the midst of planning all the upcoming events for the year as well as strengthening staples such as Wing Night, Trivia and the Mug Club. 

The falling off the bench days are gone! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend, and see you in September! Is it wing night yet? 

COCA Conference!!

 Hey All,

Tayler Weeks and I just got back from an AMAZING five-day conference in beautiful Halifax, NS. We attended the COCA 2013 National Conference, with over 150 students from schools across Canada. COCA stands for the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities, so basically students from positions like VP Communications and VP Activities and Events met up and discussed various events and ideas to promote those events.  On top of this we attended various educational sessions presented by professionals from across Canada.

These sessions were super interesting and I definitely learned a lot, however the best part of the conference was the showcases that we attended. Each night there would be comedians, musicians and speakers doing short sets to give us a glimpse of their act in hopes that we will book them and bring them back to our schools. Well I can tell you one thing, I’d love to bring them ALL to X! Everyone was so talented and interesting, I had a great time listening and laughing. One of my highlights was when Wayne Hoffman read my mind!!!!! Can’t wait for him to come for Frosh Week!!!!

One of my personal favorite presenters was Frank Warren, the creator of Post Secret (www.postsecret.com). He gave us a presentation on why he started the project and how it has changed his life, along with many others. 

Frank Warren and I 

I also really enjoyed seeing a StFX favorite – Mo Kenney, preform at the Seahorse!

Tupperware Remix Party receiving their award from Trevor Boris and Emmet Blois

 Here are a few awesome new acts that I hope we can bring to X. Check them out!!

Sticks- http://www.stickswork.com/bio.html

Zolo- http://www.reverbnation.com/zoloworld

Tupperware Remix Party- http://twrplive.com/

Chraig Cardiff- https://myspace.com/craigcardiff

Kayo- http://www.kayomusic.com/

Hope everyone’s summer is treating them well!

Cheers,

Emily

NOTICE REGARDING RECENT BUDGET CUTS

Dear Students of StFX,

As some of you may have heard, the university has just recently undergone several cuts in an attempt to balance the budget. Due to several reasons, including less government funding to post-secondary institutions, StFX has run a significant deficit. The St.FX Board of Governors has mandated that the University provide a balance budget for this academic year 2013-2014.

The University has undergone a voluntary and involuntary job restructuring process. At this time a number of positions across campus have been cut, the Students’ Union is in the process of looking to see which positions have been cut and how this will impact students. Our goal is to lobby all parties to continue to provide St.FX students with quality services and to stay true to the school’s academic mission.

As more information is available we will share it on theu.ca. We have asked to speak with both the university administration as well as the various union leaders involved, to provide us with clarity involving the impact that these cuts will have on various departments across our campus.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask your SU President, Benjamin Gunn-Doerge (su_pres@stfx.ca) or SU Vice President, Taylor Mason (su_vp@stfx.ca).

Lets talk about CASA

Hey Everyone!

So we are back to work in our offices after an exciting week at the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) conference in Ottawa. The conference was an amazing experience and has definitely pumped us up even more for the year to come.  We have returned from the conference having learned so much about the role we have to play here at StFX to lobby for some of the most pressing issues that affect Post Secondary Education at the federal level. For those who might have never heard of CASA, we will give you the low down of what it is and how theU is involved. 

CASA is a member-driven advocacy group focused on providing affordable, accessible and quality Post-Secondary Education for students across Canada. We are an alliance consisting of 26 Student Associations from across the country, representing 320,000 students from a variety of Post-Secondary institutions. In the past, CASA has played a huge part in lobbying for some of the most significant successes in federal funding and policy, including student grants, the Copyright Act, and repayment assistance. In a nutshell, our predecessors have made some huge leaps and bounds over the years in ensuring that students across Canada can access an affordable and quality Post-Secondary education. Check out this link if you’d like to learn more about CASA’s successes:  http://www.casa-acae.com/at-a-glance/successes/

Reppin' the East Coast with MtA Exec

This year, we hope that X will be as involved as possible with CASA, and that together as a student body, we can drive some pretty substantial change! As a member association of CASA, theU sits on a variety of committees which discuss and research pressing issues affecting the students at each of our associations and prepare comprehensive policy papers, media releases and reports outlining our directives at the federal level. Not only are these resources used to lobby on Parliament Hill, but they also provide us with information that further enriches our lobbying efforts at the municipal and provincial level. On top of this, our very own Ben Gunn-Doerge has been elected to serve as Director at Large for the Board of Directors for the 2013/14 year. This means he will be even more involved with the issues that matter most to our university and other universities across Canada!

With the next provincial election in our midst, it is vital that we as students voice our opinion on the matters that most affect our education. This means being engaged both with our provincial lobbying group, Students Nova Scotia, and federally with CASA. We hope that this year, more than ever, the voice of the students at X will be heard (and better yet, listened to!) and that we can continue to make huge strides to improve our education, and of course, preserve all of those things that makes a Nova Scotian education so valuable and competitive. Whether this is through our provincial or federal lobbying efforts, Ben and I will do our best throughout the year to ensure that X stays informed and involved in these decisions! If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop by either of our offices, or shoot us an e-mail!

Keep on keeping on,

Ben and Amy

A New DriveU!

Hey guys,

In an effort to improve our DriveU service The U decided to purchase a new vehicle with a larger passenger capacity then the previous car, which only had 3 seats. The general manager of the Students’ Union, Sean Ryan and I checked out a few possible vehicles and decided to go with a new 2013 Dodge Caravan from a local dealership. While you probably won’t be seeing it in a new Fast and the Furious movie, it’s perfect for us. Along with two DriveU drivers it will able to seat 5 passengers, which will be a lot more convenient during the busier winter season. We got it in bright blue so we can rep StFX and The U all over the roads.  All we have to do now is figure out the new decals to go on it!!

XOXO Gossip Gareth

Here's some shots of the new ride! Thanks to the boys of the exec for being car models for the day:

New Res A & B!

Hey StFX!

Just want to keep you updated on my day-to-day life here in 410, 4^th Floor SUB! The House Presidents, Vice Presidents and Off Campus Leaders have all been busy working on your house shirts and their letters to first-year students – and they look AWESOME! After meeting with the House Council Coordinators today over milkshakes and fries from X Burger, it’s safe to say we are all incredibly excited to get the year started! Greenhorn, Emily, Taylor and I have all been working on SOC (Student Orientation Committee) to ensure 2013’s Frosh Week is THEE BEST YET!

Gareth, Emily, Dasher and I took a tour of New Residence A & B today and they’re coming along nicely. You know that show room window they have in Bishops that everyone sees on their campus tour and dreams about …well maybe you didn’t dream about it, but I definitely did … there are two rooms like that in each residence! Think how unreal it would be to have one of those rooms! Speaking of New Residence, the Exec are happy to say that we have just recently sent out the applications for HOUSE PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT of New Rez A & B!! There will be one President and one Vice President in each building! The link is attached down below!

Looking good!! 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact me!

Hope you’re all having fantastic summers!

@Kel_2the_Nel

su_srel@stfx.ca

(902) 867 5152

Application: 

http://theu.ca/sites/default/files/files/R1314%20HPVPApplication%20KNelson.pdf

Summer so Far

WOW, So the past couples of weeks have flown by!!  We’re getting adjusted and settled into our jobs and positions now and have jumped right into planning for Orientation Week 2013!!! We’ve got some awesome new ideas for events and have been discussing which act to bring in for our main concert.

Last week the executive team traveled to Halifax to attend sessions put on by Students NS. It was a great chance to meet executives from other Nova Scotia universities. The three-day conference played host to many discussions on topics important to our campus, such as Mental Health initiatives, tools for lobbying the government and a break down of how Students NS works.

Discussing Student Politics with other executive teams!

After the conference was complete, Ben and Amy went on to Ottawa to attend CASA (Canadian Alliance of Student Associations) for more meetings and discussions. When they return you’ll get the low down from one of them about the conference!

It’s been a great few weeks in the office and I’m looking forward to see what the rest of the summer has in store.  I have been working with Kennedy Murphy (the summer Station Manager for CFXU) to create a music blog which reviews all sorts of albums and is a great resource for anyone in search of new music. 

Be sure to check it out: www.cfxuandu.tumblr.com

If you’re interested in learning more about Students NS check out their website here, or feel free to ask one of us about it!

http://studentsns.ca/

Cheers,

Emily