4 November 17, 2010 + Over the Edge NUGSS Newsletter What's Happening with YOUR student union? KALEIGH MILINAZZO CONTRIBUTOR KALEIGH MILINAZZO Kaleigh Milinazzo President of NUGSS Hello students! Exciting news! On November 22, in the NUSC Events Space at 12pm, NUGSS will be holding our Annual General Meeting. This meeting is our chance to report on all our societal activities in front the student population at large. An audit report of our finances will be presented, changes to bylaws will be voted upon, and each NUGSS Director will present a Director’s Report (you can get a preview below!). If you’re interested in learning more about where your NUGSS fees go, or what being a NUGSS Director might entail—please come and join us! If you wish to submit a change to our bylaws to go to a vote of students present at our AGM, please do so by Thursday November 18 by 4 pm so we can ensure that it is distributed to students in advance. Our bylaws are an important aspect of our governance structure, and cover the topics of: members and meetings of the Society, referendums, the Board of Directors, committees, general powers of the Society, recall, finance, honoraria, student services, and society fees, etc. The full text of our bylaws can be found on our website under ‘about us’ --> ‘documents’. On November 19 we are celebrating our Sweet Sixteen! This is not an actual 16 year old’s birthday party, but rather a celebration of the 16th anniversary of NUGSS! The event is 80’s themed, costumes are encouraged, and the best dressed 80s partygoer will receive their bar tab paid up to $100 for the night! Local favourite DJ AK will be providing the music for the event. Our events traditionally sell out quickly so please buy your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment. In order to promote transparency and engage students with our activities, this month each NUGSS Director has provided a short blurb to let you know what we’ve been up to! President—Kaleigh Milinazzo I’ve had an exciting and rewarding term as NUGSS President so far. My position is unique on the BOD as my portfolio is quite broad. In addition to assisting with the staple NUGSS events, I’ve undertaken a number of main projects. | meet consistently with UNBC Administration and other groups. | oversaw the space allocation process of a room in the NUSC to the Northern Pride Centre Society (I encourage you to attend the grand opening on November 17, 12-2pm!). | am also working on issues surrounding food policy in the NUSC, launching a strategic planning initiative for the society, auditing NUGSS positions and student representation on University Committees, preparing for our AGM, working to revamp the student planners and planning this years Winter Carnival! Vice President External—Alex Wallace This year | was co-chair of Shinerama; coordinating clubs, locations and trying to gain sponsorship from local businesses kept me very busy! All and all it was a great success, raising over $20,000. | have also been working very closely with regional campuses in order to build a successful funding allocation policy in order for them to gain more access to our services. | also work closely with the UNBC Alumni Association. The Association’s main goal is to bring UNBC alumni together. Currently, they are working on developing lower mainland Chapters of UNBC alumni, which is very exciting to be a part of! Vice President Social—Morgan Melnyk So far this year, NUGSS has kept me super busy planning all of our exciting events this past semester! | have worked hard with the entire board, but specifically with AD Events, Planning and EPC to throw some of the most memorable events of the year so far including, Oktoberfest, Dodge Your Balls 4, UNBC Idol 4 and the new Sweet Sixteen 80s Party! | was the lead coordinator on our successful Backyard BBQ XV featuring Bedouin Soundclash, and was Co-Chair with Alex Wallace for our record breaking Shinerama 2010 campaign! Check out your agendas for a sneak peak for next semester’s events! Vice President Student Affairs—Heather Carson My main responsibility as VP Student Affairs is to manage UNBC’s 50+ clubs! This is the most clubs UNBC has ever had, which means I’ve been kept busy so far by organizing Clubs Days, organizing clubs hearings to register clubs, and writing bank letters for clubs. One of my new undertakings for the semester was organizing and hosting the first ever clubs workshop alongside VP Finance, Jenn Larsen. I’ve also assisted in helping clubs with changeover, establishment and addressing general questions and inquiries by all clubs. In addition to the day-to-day activities of helping clubs be successful, | sit on the Monetary Affairs Commission and try to keep the clubs section of the website as updated as possible. Check out the new list for full descriptions of all the new and returning clubs! Vice President Finance—Jennifer Larsen As VP Finance, | am chair of the Monetary Affairs Commission (MAC), which allocates funds to clubs and students heading to conferences. As part of this responsibility, | have created and maintain all new ledgers for the year, and worked to create better forms and policy for the Commission. | also assisted in running the first ever Clubs Workshop, with VP Student Affairs, Heather Carson. | am also the student representative on the Space Allocation Committee and University Fees Committee. Colleges Rep—Nadia Nowak This year, in addition to the other duties assigned to this position, the Colleges Representative has decided to focus on efforts to increase sustainability education across disciplines at UNBC. These efforts include presenting a student perspective on sustainability education at the Annual Teaching and Learning Conference for faculty; working with a provincial project called goBEYOND to have UNBC professors participate in the Teach-In for Climate Solutions this coming January; and collaborating with faculty on the Green Teaching Working Group. Campus Sustainability Rep—Alexie Stephens Sustainability efforts at UNBC and NUGSS have been increasing this fall. | worked with the Orientation Coordinators to make Orientation 2010 a Bottled Water Free Event. | submitted a proposal to the Green Fund to support a new bottle free water cooler, in an effort to make the NUSC a Bottled Water Free Zone. An upcoming event that | am really excited for is the Local Foods Day in the Cafeteria and Stackers Deli, on November 17; come and enjoy a day of all local food, meet the producers, and win prizes! First Nations Rep—Adam Thomas My main project of the semester has been planning UNBC’s first annual indigenous sovereignty week, from November 22 to 26. The purpose of this week is to build local relationships between groups and individuals, disseminate ideas of Indigenism, and generally contribute to building a cross-Canada movement for Indigenous rights, self- determination, and justice that is led by Indigenous communities but with a broad base of informed support. There will be a range of events. Speakers will include activists and leaders of struggles, elders, Indigenous intellectuals, and supporters. Women’s Rep—Lauren Movold | have been attending weekly Women’s Centre meetings, addressing such issues as violence against women and equality within our educational environment. | am also reexamining our current poster policy on campus. My main project is currently planning and organizing a memorial for the women lost in relation to the December 6 Montreal Massacre. Associate Director Events—Alexis Moore So far this semester your AD events has been working with her Social Team (VP Social & AD Planning) behind the scenes to put on events like the Backyard BBQ and Oktoberfest, up to the Dodge Your Balls, UNBC Idol and the upcoming Sweet Sixteen party. | also sit on the Events Planning Committee that plans these events, as well as many more to come! Keep an eye out for these movers and shakers! Associate Director Planning—Caitlin Tates So far this semester | have been with working with the VP social and AD events on events such as Oktoberfest, the annual Dodge Your Balls tournament, UNBC Idol and the NUGSS Sweet Sixteen Party. | have also been working on a monthly events calendar which displays all the Clubs and NUGSS events happening that month. | have also been a voting member of the Events Planning Committee as well as the Monetary Affairs Commission. Next semester | will be working on the Back to New Years Party as well as many other exciting NUGSS events! As always, please feel free to contact any Director with a question or concern via email or during their office hours. See our website, nugss.unbc.ca for contact information!