President
• Wyatt Scott
• Carlos Vidal

Vice President Academic
• Marin Beck
• Mehtab Singh Rai
• Daan H. van der Kroon 

Vice President East
• Shane Potter
• Kyle Wierks 

Vice President Finance
• Samuel Broadfoot 

Vice President Internal
• Celina Beer
• Greg Stickland

Vice President Social
• Christian Doyle

International Student rep
• Jun Feng

Resident rep
• Sean Yusuke Webber

Rep at Large ( 8 positions available )
• Vinu Abraham Chetipurackal
• Vitor Carvalho
• Debbie Ellis
• Ahmed Hussein
• Jay Mitchell
• Ryan Michael Eugenio Petersen
• Rachel Waslewsky
• Nicolas Willms

 * Candidates running unopposed ( including each Rep at Large ) will face a “Yes/No” vote on the my.UFV.ca ballot.

The 2012 SUS Election Campaign Period will run from Feb. 22 to March 6, 2012.

All Candidates Meetings will be held on the Abbotsford Campus Wednesday, February 29 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in D117 & Chilliwack Campus Thursday, March 1 from 1 to 3 p.m. in B119.

Polling will take place online at MY.UFV.CA from 12:01 a.m., Wed., March 7 to 11:59 p.m., Tues., March 13.

Get involved with UFV Life.

Date posted: February 22, 2012

The Fraser Valley, B.C., February 17, 2012 – The University of the Fraser Valley ( UFV ) has asked the Student Union Society ( SUS ) to host a referendum this Winter semester, to gauge the willingness of their membership to provide for the development of greater campus recreation and wellness programming, intramural sports and varsity athletics at UFV.

“The University came to us asking if we would poll our membership about an Activity and Wellness Fee starting in September 2012,” said SUS President Carlos Vidal ( fourth year, Business Administration ). “The one area that UFV doesn’t do well, when we receive so many accolades in the Macleans and Globe & Mail surveys, is always campus life. They want to know if their students, our membership, are willing to pay a fee to improve in that area of post-secondary life.”

The question that will appear on the my.UFV.ca survey interface between March 19 and 21 will be “Do you support a student fee rated at 3% of tuition, the proceeds of which will be earmarked for the sustainability of UFV varsity athletics, and the development of Intramural, Recreation, and Health & Wellness programs on campus.”

The funds raised by this fee will go toward developing a stronger intramural and campus recreation program at UFV for all students on all campuses, and ensuring the viability of Cascades varsity athletic programming.

Dr. Chris Bertram, department head for Kinesiology and Physical Education, and UFV’s acting Athletic Director, said, “I believe strongly that a University should be a place that promotes and encourages a healthy mind, body, and spirit. I think it is long overdue that students have a say in the direction of such decisions at UFV.”

Specific percentages will be allocated to varsity athletics and campus recreation, and the lion’s share will go to contingency funding that will be used to make sure the UFV community has the resources to provide quality athletics and recreation programming into the future.

The Campus Recreation portfolio being developed has the potential to include intramural sports, arts programming and a cultural agenda. “University life extends far beyond the classroom,” said UFV Student Life Department Manager ( acting ) Susan Francis. “Student Life endeavors to create a vibrant campus community helping all students develop relationships with others, create a healthy lifestyle, and build leadership skills. Campus recreation, health and wellness are essential to our goals and the well-being of all UFV students. We are committed to including the voice of the students in all that we do in providing a broad range of programming and activities to all students with varying skills, interests, and abilities.”

Links to information about the Fee and the programming that it will be earmarked for, are available at ufv.ca/athletics, ufv.ca/studentlife and ufvSUS.ca. There will also be an Information Session on March 16 ( the time and place TBA, so watch for announcements on the websites and postering. )

“The SUS has at our disposal the easiest way to give the majority of students at UFV their say on whether they want to see campus life and varsity athletics at UFV developed, and we’re happy to do that for the University,” said Vidal.

All Student Union Society members will be eligible to vote between March 19^th and 21^st, and are encouraged to cast an educated vote by visiting ufvSUS.ca to click the Referendum link that will be available as of February 17^th.

WTF?! Campaigners ( including Nickelchok in the red scarf ) delivering the 5,000-plus post-cards outlining the WTF?! requests for sustainable funding for post-secondary education in B.C.

THE FRASER VALLEY, B.C., FEBRUARY 15, 2012 – Three University of the Fraser Valley ( UFV ) Student Union Society ( SUS ) directors joined their post-secondary partners in the WTF?! ( Where’s The Funding campaign ) to meet with politicians and members of the press at the British Columbia Legislative Assembly on February 14, 2012. They were gathered to engage the provincial government in conversation about post secondary education funding.

SUS President Carlos Vidal ( fourth year, Business Administration ), Vice President Academic Kate Nickelchok ( third year, General Studies ) and Rep at Large Mehtab Singh Rai ( second year, Arts Studies ) represented UFV among the eight WTF?! university student governments when they presented over 5,000 personalized Valentine’s Day cards to Minister of Advanced Education Naomi Yamamoto and Premier Christy Clark.

The SUS directors also spoke with Abbotsford South MLA ( Liberal ) John van Dongen and Nelson-Creston MLA ( NDP ) and Advanced Education Critic Michelle Mungall about UFV students’ concerns regarding the need to eliminate the interest rate on student loans, to reinstate a needs-based grants program, and to increase core funding to B.C. universities and colleges in a meaningful and sustainable way.

The Where’s the Funding campaign is organized by the University of Victoria Students’ Society ( UVSS ), University of British Columbia Alma Mater Society ( AMS ), Simon Fraser Student Society ( SFSS ), Capilano Students’ Union (CSU), Langara Students’ Union (LSU), UFV Student Union Society, Northern Undergraduate Student Society (NUGSS) and the British Columbia Institute of Technology Student Association (BCITSA).

Where’s the Funding is the largest student organized post secondary campaign in B.C., representing over 160,000 students at eight institutions.

FREE Sunday BRUNCH! - 10 a.m. to noon every week
Come enjoy breakfast at Baker House !

It’s a different brunch menu every week!
*All Students Welcome*
* Keeping you fed so you don’t get fed up with school!

Agenda for the February 17 regular meeting: 120217 Draft Agenda ( *updated 12:30 p.m. Feb. 16)

Upcoming SUS meetings:
Chilliwack Trades and Technology Centre, March 2, 2012 in room Rivers Restaurant
Abbotsford Campus, March 16, 2012 in room C1422.
Mission Campus, March 30, 2012 in room D250.

* Please note all Board meetings are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted, and the location rotates between the Abbotsford, Chilliwack North and Mission campuses, and the Trades and Technology Centre in Chilliwack.

The basis of our concern is that provisions in Bill 18, which was given first reading in the Legislature on November 3, makes changes to a board of governors in a way that undermines this representation.

If adopted, sections 19, 34, and 49 of Bill 18 would amend the College and Institutes Act, Royal Roads University Act and University Act to allow a board of governors regulated under those pieces of legislation to remove from office any elected student, faculty, or employee representative on the Board.

Student concerns with these proposed amendments are threefold: (a) that they are unwarranted and without any reasonable or defensible justification; (b) that they will undermine the representation of students in post-secondary governance; and (c) that the Act was brought to the legislature without any evidence of meaningful student consultation.

It is worth noting that sections 20, 32, and 50 of the Act disqualify any employee from holding office who is a voting executive or officer of an association of the University with a potentially competing responsibility from those duties of the board.

If the government feels that there is an issue with conflict of interest, it is best pursued through specific conflict of interest legislation rather than the current course of action.

We believe that whereas students, faculty, and employees are elected by their peers, their removal from office should also be at the sole discretion of their peers.

Click here for SUS on Bill 18

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Thank you to the UFV Rowing Team, UFV Athletic Department, CiVL radio and AfterMath socialhouse for the enthusiastic effort to encourage people to cast an informed vote.

The Big SUS Question: “Do you approve of the Student Union Society securing a $10 million mortgage to finalize the funding required to construct the Student Union Building?”

YES – 599
NO – 351

Referendum result press release

JUST TO BE CLEAR - This mortgage will NOT result in an increase in your student fees! The SUB Fee you currently pay with your registration was originally going to go to pay a lease to UFV; now it will go to pay the mortgage and operations of the building!

Architect’s rendering of the SUBuilding, which will be located between DBuilding and the Envision Athletic Centre – exterior view.

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The New SUS VP Social is Wyatt Scott.
The New SUS Clubs & Associations Representative is Cody Willems-Kutz.
The New SUS Residence Representative is Christian Doyle.
The New SUS Representatives at Large are Anne Franklin and Greg Stickland. 

To view the Electoral Committee Report for the SUS 2011 By-election

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