Over the Edge + December 1, 2010

NUGS Annual General Meeting

November 21st saw NUGSS host their annual general meeting

HANNA PETERSEN
NEWS EDITOR

On November 21st, the NUGSS annual
general meeting was almost postponed
due to a weak turnout. Luckily, enough
people trickled into the NUSC event space
and the meeting was able to proceed. The
meeting was supposed to be attended by
a representative from each UNBC club,

as well as any other interested students.
But November is a busy time, and many
people were not eager to attend the lengthy
meeting.

The meeting kicked-off with a report from
NUGSS accountants KPMG. The report
summarized the financial state of the
NUGSS business ventures which are less
than positive for the year. The Thirsty
Moose Pub, The Grab and Go, and Degrees
Coffee Co. have yet to make much of a
profit. The Grab and Go has seen a profit
so far of only around $600 dollars while
the Thirsty Moose and Degrees are seeing
major operating losses.

The operating loss of The Thirsty Moose
was around $94,000 dollars alone;
however, the operating loss was less

than last year. Despite these depressing
figures, KPMG assured that “there were
no major concerns” in the audit, and that
internal processes have been amended.
When questions were brought forth by
the audience, the accountant did mention
that “if things carry on the way they have
been, it could be a cause for concern.” It’s
commonly known that new business have
a rough start, but the current figures do not
look promising. This year, NUGGS saw a

net loss of $231,000 dollars. The business
ventures may be in deficit, but they have
nevertheless become a familiar part of
campus services.

The next issues brought forth at the
meeting dealt with university bylaw
changes. Alden Chow brought forth

a purposed bylaw change that would
allow NUGSS members to also hold
representative positions on the Board of
Governors and senate. Chow claimed
that NUGSS members are highly
involved in University activities and would
thus effectively represent the student
perspective. The bylaw was originally put
in place to avoid NUGSS centralization,
and have all forms of UNBC student
representation occupied by the same
people.

“| don't feel | need to be on the board of
governors to be effective,” said NUGSS
President Kaleigh Milinazzo. NUGSS
representatives already interact with

the Board of Governors and Senate.
Chow’s amendment would allow NUGSS
representatives to actually sit on the Board
or the Senate while holding their position
with NUGSS. After much debate, a vote
was called and the bylaw change was
denied.

Bylaw changes that were passed

included a bylaw change that would help
encourage regional students to get elective
representatives on their regional campus’
and a bylaw change that would enable a

our friendly NUGSS representatives

committee to form between the different
occupants of the NUSC building to facilitate
communication.

The meeting then continued through a
summary of the activities of the NUGSS
representatives and an outline of the
future goals for their positions. Some of

Roaming Reference?! What the...?

Librarians on the prowl

|

KATHERINE WARMOUGH
CONTRIBUTOR

Something funny is going on
at the library these days. |
observed a student sitting out
in the halls of the university
the other day with his laptop,
papers spread around him,
and piles of books strewn out
on the coffee table where he
had set up camp to do his
research. | watched the guy
for a while - he was looking
up things online, writing things
down and looking quizzically
at the screen. He typed a bit
more and then waited.... Next
thing you know, a Reference
Librarian comes over!

Now, | have seen the librarians
at the desk inside the library,
but never have | observed
them coming outside of their
imperial domain to help people
in the halls and lounges!
Unheard of! | knew then that |
had to find out what was going
on.

According to the very helpful
librarian, the Geoffrey R. Weller
Library is conducting a pilot
project that allows students

to have a live chat with a
reference or research librarians
and a librarian “roams” around

helping people wherever they — Librarians roam these halls!

UNBC LIBRARY WEBSITE

NUGSS WEBSITE

the new initiatives NUGSS are planning
entail; cataloguing all student committees;
a survey to gain feedback from students;
and a succession plan to ease the high
turnover rate of student positions. Students
also have a lot more NUGSS events to look
forward in the coming semester including a
winter carnival.

need it. The librarians have iPads that
allow them to bring the information to
the people. They can come and assist
anyone with research in the halls,

in the Gathering Place, even at the
Tim Horton’s! Amazing! The library
website has always offered Ask-Away,
which allows you to chat live with a
librarian, but they aren’t always in our
university library- heck- they might not
even be in Prince George! With the
“Roaming Reference Widget” you are
on with a Geoffrey R. Weller Librarian
right on campus.

The Roaming Reference Librarians
get all kinds of questions: they can
help find resources for your papers
and homework, they can assist you
with citing and bibliographies and style
tips. They can also help hone your
research skills as well! The Roaming
Reference chat widget can be found
on the library’s website, and is
available Monday through Wednesday
from 1pm until 4pm until the first week
of December, and starts up again in
January.

It’s is great to see the fantastic level
of research assistance the librarians
of the Geoffrey R. Weller Library offer.
Now if only the professors could come
over to my house at 2am when | am
stuck for an idea....