OVER THE EDGE March 14, 2007 1 An Interview With Jenna Pocock, New the Devan C. TASA CONTRIBUTOR _ Jenna Pocock was elected Pres- ident of NUGSS for 2007/2008 by 41.9% in a four way race. As somebody interested in NUGSS politics, I seized the opportunity to interview Jenna via email and ask her a few questions on behalf of OTE. Devan (DCT): You are. the first president in a long time to be ’ elected to NUGSS without previ- ous elected NUGSS experience in a long time. Do you feel this helps you? Hinders you? Jenna Pocock (JP): Well, I haven’t had elected NUGSS ex- perience but I have had elected experience AND NUGSS experi- ence, and I think I can do an okay job of putting those. things togeth- er. In high school, I chaired the dis- trict student advisory council, and played a very active part in gaining student credibility with the Board of Trustees and other educational professionals. I got to work with students in outlying communities as well, including McBride, Va- lemount, and Mackenzie. I have also volunteered at least a hun- dred hours with NUGSS this year, as I was a member of the Campus Activities Council. We organized all of the social events hosted by NUGSS. I have also been try- ing to go to as many board, and related meetings as possible. I love seeing progress and develop- ment from week to week, and I think the current board has done so much more than they are given credit for. I am so excited to get involved. To answer your ques- tion, I think J have lots to learn be- cause I am not completely ‘famil- iar with the operational aspects of the organization, but that is what my volunteer hours are for this month. I will be attending meet- ings with Jill and Sat, and helping out with office hours every week until April, when I will be much more comfortable with the profes- sional side of the position. And if anything helps me, I think it’s not my experience, but my determina- tion and open mindedness. I am very approachable, and I really want to communicate well with everyone I am working with and working for. DCT: How do you feel about the new NUGSS board that was just elected? JP: With the board coming into office on April first, Sat [VP Finance] and James [Member-at- Large, VP Social-Elect] are the only members returning to elected positions. Aside from the return- ing members, only Cameron [VP External Affairs-Elect] and I have volunteered time with NUGSS prior to this upcoming term. Everyone else is new! All of the other members have very diverse backgrounds, and I see a great opportunity for fresh ideas from people who may not yet have complete understanding of all of the policy and bylaws NUGSS operates under. I can’t wait to start working with everyone, and get to know the board. I think we are all very outgoing and approachable as well, which will make it really easy to get along with everyone as challenges arise. I am very thank- ful for such a diverse and balanced group. DCT: What sort of general direction do you see NUGSS go- ing in? JP: Bigger and better! Over |. the last year; so much progress has been made with the student center that goes unnoticed. I think once ‘we are in the building, there will be a much stronger sense of unity on campus, and it will be much easier to facilitate a better rela- tionship with the student body. I think once people see what we ac- tually do, the goals we are work- ing for and achieving day by day, they will start to become more involved. Over reading break, I had a chance to meet with the President of the U of A Student Union, and she showed me around campus and pointed out some of the best qualities their school has to offer. Their pub is great; they have Oilers parties there for every home game. Their cafeteria is a food court! They have offices for their radio station and newspaper. I see this year as a pivotal point in the development of the school, and the current and upcoming board members will be working harder and better for the students that we represent. DCT: What specific areas do you want to focus on this year? JP: The NUSC building will be my biggest project, and I will be spending the most time work- ing on that, but I have a few other areas of concern that I will be pushing for. Most of them involve developing better communica- tion. Residence is a huge area of concern for me, in that there has been very little coordination between the Residence Council and NUGSS. The goals we have often overlap, and I think so much more could be achieved by work- ing with them instead of running parallels. P’'d like to work with their delegates and Cameron, the VP External Affairs, to get a Fri- day and Saturday late night bus service to and from the downtown area, And I would like to see the overall communication of NUGSS improve. During the election, an- other candidate had talked about developing a calendar of clubs events, with every pub night, movie night, bake sale, and gen- eral meeting on it. I thought this was one of the best ideas anyone had presented, and I hope to see that communicated through more than one type of media. I’d love to have NUGSS do a radio show, as well as a bi-weekly update in OTE. There are so many different opportunities. There will also be lots of upcoming discussion re- lated to food services, and I can’t wait to get involved in the selec- tion process for the next vendor we choose. That kind of brings us back to the NUSC topic... DCT: A pretty important focus of the past board has been the NUSC building. What are your plans regarding it? JP: My plan is to be into that building before the snow melts next year. There is still a lot of work to do before the lease is signed over to us, so I will be spending a lot of time with Jill to familiarize myself with current events and standpoints. We will be meeting on a regular basis with potential contractors,.as well as ‘Don Cozetto, the Board of Gov- ernors, and: the Senate in order to come to a consensus that suits all of the groups involved. As far as the actual building goes, the architecture is 90 percent final- ized already, thanks to the current board’s efforts, and so I won’t have to worry about the physical building until that first shovel hits the dirt. I’m crossing my fingers. As far as contracting goes, I really want to represent the student body entirely, and make decisions that suit the future of UNBC, not just the present. I see the NUSC as a * very strong recruitment point, and the maintenance and improve- ment of the facility will be an on- going area of concern, hopefully forever. This is the most exciting project I have taken on, and J can’t wait to see the incredible changes that will take place as a result. If I have to compromise any aspect of my non-academic life to see the success of the NUSC, I am com- pletely prepared to do so in order to get this building up. I hope if anyone has any concerns that they would like to express they will get in touch with me in the office. _DCT: How do-you plan to act: for students regarding the budget. Cuts JP: At this point in time, all I can do is take in. information. There are proposed changes, there are 4000 students, there are NUGSS President faculty and staff, and there are a hundred other variables that we all need to take into considera- tion. Every little decision made along the line will have an effect on a student somewhere, and so I just have to listen at this point, I am representing my friends, my peer group, and people I have never met before in the decision making process. I don’t feel that I am in a position to “act” yet, but when it comes down to any major changes, I think that leading with honesty and communication is the best way to approach this situa- tion. Public forums are all the rage this year, and I plan on moderat- ing as many as necessary to keep the students informed. DCT: There were a few candi- dates running on the theme “more accountability for NUGSS” this year. What are your thoughts in regards to this? JP: To be completely honest, I think that this term is used only to project NUGSS ind negative way and it is an easy way to attract at- tention without having to come up with the solutions. As far as ac- countability goes, we document everything in public records that are there for those who would like to see it. All of our board meet- ings are open to undergraduate students, and should people want to become involved with volun- teer work, the opportunity exists to: them. For those people who do want to know, the information is always available in the NUGSS office. And for those who have ideas on how to make NUGSS more accountable, you are always welcome to come and talk to us about your ideas. DCT: Is there anything else you'd like to say to students? JP: Basically I just really, really, really want to encourage people to talk to me. There are so many opportunities available to people outside of the classroom, and that is 50% of the university experience, in my opinion. We could always use help at NUGSS, and there are close to a hundred clubs on campus. And with all of the upcoming revisions and new developments, there is not a better time to get involved. Come by the office if you have anything to say, we work for every undergraduate student on campus, and we are al- - ways ready for new ideas.