This post should not show up on the home page, but on the ‘specials’ category.

Vidal ( waving ) joined B.C. Minister for Advanced Education Naomi Yamamoto, UFV Chancellor Brian Minter, CEPCO’s John Jansen, Chilliwack MLA John Les, MP Mark Strahl, Chilliwack City Councillor Stewart McLean, UFV Campus Planning Executive Director Craig Toews and UFV President Mark Evered.

The SUS’s offices are in A0010, with the UFV Student Life department and adjacent to the Student Lounge.

Your SUS Board is reviewing its involvement with CASA and wants your opinion.

For more information on the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations go to www.casa-acae.com .

At our last Board meeting ( May 27 ) we moved our CASA membership to Associate status, and will be spending the next months determining what our membership would like us to do regarding the Federal post-secondary issues lobby group.

Ξ  CASA fighting to reduce Canada’s $14.4 billion student debt… 

Ξ  CASA fighting to establish scholarships and grants…

Ξ  CASA fighting to create federal tax credits…

Ξ  CASA fighting to dedicate federal dollars to post-secondary infrastructure…

Ξ  CASA fighting to make copyright laws that make sense to higher education…

…at a price to the SUS of approximately $30,000 this year.

We will provide as much info and resources as we can, watch for information sessions and news coverage in the Cascade and on CiVL 101.7!

The U-Pass Opt-Out period is May 1 to 31st.

OPTING OUT OF THE U-PASS - If you are only registered in on-line courses in a given semester, or are registered for a B.C. Transit Pass issued by the Government of B.C., or UFV Disability Services can verify with an official letter that you have a demonstrated accessibility issue which inhibits you from using public transit or HandyDART, you may be eligible to opt out of the U-Pass program and receive reimbursement.
Contact our U-Pass coordinator at chilliwack@ufvSUS.ca for information.

…and click on the U-Pass link at the left for more info on your U-Pass Program!

** Please note the UFV Student Union Society U-Pass is not valid on the West Coast Express at this time!

Agenda for the May 11 regular meeting: 120511 Draft Agenda ( *updated 15:30 p.m. May 9 )

Background information for:
Motion 6.1 Sociology/Anthropology Undergrad Society Funding Request
Motion 6.2 CiVL Funding Request
Motion 6.6 Revised Key Requisition Policy
Motion 6.7a Revised Club Registration Package
Motion 6.7b Revised Association Registration Package
Motion 6.8 CASA Western Transitions motion
Motion 6.9 Teacher Education Program Funding Claim

Upcoming SUS meetings:
Abbotsford Campus, May 25, 2012 in room A402.
Mission Campus, June 8, 2012 in room D226.
Chilliwack Campus, June 22, 2012 in room D218.
Abbotsford Campus, July 6, 2012 in room A402.
Mission Campus, July 20, 2012 in room D226.
Chilliwack CEP Campus, August 3, 2012 in room A1314.

* 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 reason being that the motion in the February 3, 2012 SUS Board meeting, which saw the Winter semester referendum process launch, did not receive the 75% vote necessary to hold a referendum under SUS bylaws.

For the full press release on the Activity and Wellness referendum click on the link!

2012 SUS General Election Elections Committee Report

President Carlos Vidal

VP Academic Daniel van der Kroon

VP East Shane Potter

VP Finance Samuel Broadfoot

VP Internal Greg Stickland

VP Social Christian Doyle

International Students Rep Jun Feng

Residence Rep Sean Yusuke Webber

Reps at Large

• Vinu Abraham
• Vitor Carvalho
• Debbie Ellis
• Ahmed Hussein
• Jay Mitchell
• Ryan Petersen
• Rachel Waslesky
• Nicolas Willms

The UFV Community came out to show SUS members what there is to enhance their student lifestyle on campus on Feb. 23 for the first annual SUS Triple A Day ( for All About clubs ‘n Associations )!

For more pictures click here!

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.