This week is UCalgary’s annual Sex Week. It’s a great opportunity to have all your questions answered about sex, love, relationships and so much more. Check out the schedule of events and other resources here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fines for Food uses parking fines to support campus food bank
March 22, 2021
CALGARY – The Students’ Union, in partnership with UCalgary, are giving students some food for thought this spring. From March 22 – 29, fifty percent of parking fines paid will go to the SU Campus Food Bank. This is especially important for students who are completing their studies this spring to note, as all fines must be paid prior to graduation.
Anyone, not just students, who pay their fines from March 22 – 29, regardless of when the fine was incurred, will be included in this “Fines for Food” pilot program. Tickets can be paid online or in person.
“The SU Campus Food Bank provides strong support to students and their families when they need it most. Many members of our campus community are struggling right now and the food bank is here to help. I encourage all students, faculty, and anyone with outstanding fines to pay those off in this week and make sure your money goes to this great cause.” – SU President, Frank Finley
The SU Campus Food Bank has operated since 1993 and has provided support to students, their families, and the campus community at large since then. In the last academic year prior to the pandemic, the food bank provided 542 hampers, a significant increase from the 481 provided the year before.
“We really hope that students and everyone in the UCalgary community will come out to support us this week. Initiatives like this create an inclusive and caring environment on our campus. We thank university administration for working with us on this.” – SU President, Frank Finley
The SU Campus Food Bank remains open during the pandemic to provide hampers or receive donations. Any member of the campus community can access food hampers by contacting the food bank at foodbank@ucalgary.ca or by phone at 403-220-8599.
Media Inquiries may be directed to:
Mike Brown
External Communications Specialist
Students’ Union, University of Calgary
Cell: 403-560-0577
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Return to in-person learning: President Frank Finley
UCalgary Students’ Union President Frank Finley issued the following statement on returning to in-person learning this fall.
Students at UCalgary want to return to in-person classes, there’s no doubt. Online learning has presented difficult challenges for students, instructors, and administration. Campus life isn’t the same without students physically in the space to learn and socialize. The Students’ Union supports returning to class in principle, however, this must be done safely without putting students and faculty at risk.
The mixed messaging from the province blaming the federal government for not providing enough vaccines to Alberta while simultaneously saying that all adults will be vaccinated by the end of June and planning for a return to class for September is concerning. This does not fill the SU with confidence.
In addition, the province has made significant cuts to post-secondary over the last three years, including more than $90 million to UCalgary alone. In his statement the Minister of Advanced Education makes no commitment to supporting institutions financially to cover increased costs such as deep cleaning. While students are being told to go back to class, the government is turning their back at the same time.
The Minister’s statement is broad and lacks detail. The SU calls on the Minister to put forward a solid plan on how to return to class safely without putting students at risk. Further, the Minister should provide financial support to institutions to allow them to open safely and ensure proper cleaning protocols can be done adequately.
If the Minister and the UCP government are serious about returning students to class, and doing so safely, then they must step up and provide details and support, otherwise they are putting our campus community at risk.
Media inquiries may be directed to:
Mike Brown
External Communications Specialist
University of Calgary Students’ Union
Cell: 403-560-0577
Email: Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca
February was a busy month for SU advocacy culminating with the release of the provincial budget towards the end of the month. Throughout February the SU met with university officials as well as provincial elected officials to advocate for students.
The SU is continuing its work towards a permanent Credit Received (CR) option for students. While the SU has had small advocacy wins with CR options for students in the fall and winter semester, the SU continues to drive towards a permanent CR option. This is relatively commonplace in Canadian universities and we remain committed to getting this over the finish line for the 2021 fall semester.
The SU is also working with UCalgary to support the SU Campus Food Bank. Students who have parking fines to pay may be able to put a portion of payment towards the SU Food Bank. More details to come on this!
Provincially, SU staff and executives worked with our CAUS counterparts from other institutions to protest post-secondary cuts and increased tuition. Students built 300 snow penguins at McDougall Centre since students cannot currently gather in a more traditional protest. The penguins carried signs highlighting stories that the SU and CAUS have heard directly from students. In these stories students highlighted challenges finding work, paying tuition, and supporting their family while going to school. The event was picked up by multiple major media outlets. Check out that story.
In addition, the SU President and VP External met with Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides ahead of the budget and received an update on the Alberta 2030 initiative. While details from the Minister were still scarce, the SU was relieved to learn that university governance will remain with the institution rather than go to a provincial superboard. President Frank Finley and VP External Marley Gillies also called on the Minister to implement some form of summer job program specifically targeted at post-secondary students. Last summer nearly one-third of UCalgary students surveyed were unable to find summer employment while another 12% had summer opportunities cancelled due to the pandemic.
Lastly, the SU responded to the provincial budget released on February 25. The asks the SU put forward to government were that student jobs program, a reversal or at least a stop to cuts, continuing funding for student mental health, and to re-implement the tuition tax credit. The UCP government did none of these things.
The cuts to UCalgary continue, there is no student job program, and, while the Minister says the mental health funding continued, he was unable to tell student leaders how much money was earmarked and for how long. You can read our news release here but as the release says “silver linings in the budget were non-existent.” The SU was again successful in speaking to media about the budget and its student impact. You can see some of those stories here.
[alert]UPDATE: As of March 12, the results of the 2021 SU General Election are now official. A By-Election will be held this fall to fill vacancies for faculty rep positions in Social Work, the Cumming School of Medicine, and the Haskayne School of Business, as well as second UCalgary Senate seat.[/alert]
After weeks of forums and online campaigning, undergraduate students at UCalgary now know who their student leaders will be for the 79th SLC. Nicole Schmidt is the SU President-elect capturing 76% of the vote. Schmidt will take over from current SU President Frank Finley in May.
In the Faculty of Arts race, students selected four candidates from seven who had thrown their hats in the ring. Elected to the Faculty of Arts Representative positions are: Fayo Abdi, Justin Gotta, Matthew Herring, and Sofia Huarte Aguilar.
In the Faculty of Kinesiology race, Areeb Qayyum was elected with 45% of votes cast. Over at the Faculty of Nursing Dorsa Zamanpour won that race with 52% of votes in that faculty.
New SU President, Nicole Schmidt will join acclaimed executives Renzo Pereyra (VP Academic), Marley Gillies (VP External), Mickail Hendi (VP Operations & Finance), and Assad Ali Bik (VP Student Life) as the 79th SU executive team.
3,055 students voted in the 2021 General Election. The results announced today are provisional and will become official on March 12, 2021.
All newly elected officials will be sworn into office at the Colour Night ceremony in early May. Over the summer, the newly elected student leaders will conduct orientation and annual planning sessions.
Other results include acclaimed candidates for the following Faculty Representative positions:
Cumming School of Medicine:
Rafael Sanguinetti
Law:
Saliha Haq
Science:
Pragya Chopra
Megan Raivio
Chaten Jessel
Veterinary Medicine:
Lauren Stoffregen
Haskayne School of Business:
Adrian Alcantara
Schulich School of Engineering:
Taimur Akhtar
Khaled Elmalawany
Werklund School of Education:
Dhwani Joshi
Shagufta Farheen is appointed to the UCalgary Senate while current SU President Frank Finley was acclaimed to the UCalgary Board of Governors as the Student-at-Large representative.
The SU will hold a by-election in the fall of 2021 to fill a vacancy for the second UCalgary Senate seat as well as for open Faculty Representative positions in the faculties of Social Work, the Cumming School of Medicine, and the Haskayne School of Business.
Inquiries may be directed to:
Mike Brown
External Communications Specialist
Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca
Cell: 403-560-0577
Photo Credit: Gene Baines
Hello first years!
Voting days are here, and the polls are open. I know for many of you, this will be your first ever SU Election. So here is a quick version of what you need to know.
Election for what?
The SU holds an election every March to determine who will be your student leaders for the next cycle (from May until next April, 2022).
Why should I bother voting?
I get it – you’re asking, “what does the SU even do?” Well, believe it or not, the SU has a profound impact on your student experience. We operate Mac Hall, advocate against unfair tuition increases, and host hundreds of events and programs each year.
Just in the last few weeks, your current SU exec successfully advocated for a CR/F option for your winter grades, and worked with our partner schools from across the province to apply public pressure through media to the Alberta government to freeze cuts to post-secondary education.
Ok you convinced me… how do I vote?
It’s so easy, I promise. First, check out all the candidates’ platforms here to see who is running and what matters to them. Then log into your Student Centre at my.ucalgary.ca to cast your vote! You can literally vote from anywhere, right up until Thursday at 4 p.m.
The election results will be announced on Thursday evening on the SU’s social media, so make sure you follow us @SUUofC.
All the best,
Frank Finley,
President, Students’ Union
Hello, UCalgary – I hope you enjoyed your well-deserved time off. I’ve got a few quick reminders for you as we near the end of the month.
Teaching Excellence Awards: nominations are due this Friday
If your professor or TA actually let you relax over reading week, it might be time to nominate them for an SU Teaching Excellence Award! I know that there are so many deserving instructors this semester, and you can help us recognize them by filling out a quick online form. The deadline for nominations is this Friday, Feb. 26, so please make some time this week to let us know who they are, and what makes them so excellent.
SU General Election: get to know your candidates
This is the time of year that you get to select who represents you at the SU. Check out all the candidate platforms to learn about who is running, and attend one or more of the public forums this week to see them in action. The forums for the presidential candidates and the new vice presidents will be streamed on Facebook Live, Feb. 23 – Mar. 1. See our social media for details.
Voting days are March 2 – 4 in your student centre (my.ucalgary.ca).
Tax Season
Finally, while the Volunteer Tax Program clinic remains closed, we’ve got lots of suggestions for other free and low-cost services to get your taxes done this semester. Visit our Volunteer Tax Program page – the deadline to file your 2020 taxes is Apr. 30.
Good luck on your second round of midterms – I’ll be in touch soon!
All the best,
Frank Finley, Students’ Union President
CALGARY – The University of Calgary Students’ Union is disappointed but not surprised by the continued lack of support shown by the UCP government towards students. The provincial budget revealed continued deep cuts to post-secondary that will see tuition and student costs rise while also forcing the university to cut supports and services that students use.
The university expects a nearly $90 million cut to their budget based on previous and current provincial budgets. As a result, students can expect to see their tuition increase by up to 22.5% by the time this budget is fully implemented. In another short-sighted move the government eliminated the tuition tax credit which amounts to a $200 million tax hike on students and their families.
“If students were to receive a better, higher quality education by paying more that would be easier to swallow, but the university is being forced to cut staff in addition to raising tuition. Online learning also doesn’t provide the same campus experience. In short, thanks to these continued cuts students are paying a lot more and getting far less.” – Frank Finley, SU President
Beyond the cuts, the SU is disappointed to see no plan to help undergraduate students find work this summer or once they graduate. Last year nearly one-third of students surveyed were unable to find any summer work at all. Another 12% indicated they found summer work, but their employer cancelled the position. Students are facing dwindling summer job prospects while being asked to pay more for their educations.
“Students are struggling to cover the cost of their education already and a lack of summer opportunities means they will go further into debt and be unable to even cover their basic expenses as well. We encouraged the province to bring back the STEP program or a similar student job program. Our calls have fallen on deaf ears.” – Marley Gillies, SU VP External
Silver linings in the budget were non-existent. For the last five years the provincial government has committed funds for post-secondary student mental health services and supports. There appears to be no such commitment in the 2021 budget. The SU hopes that the province did not cut mental health funding for students in the midst of a pandemic.
Overall, the SU is incredibly disappointed with the government’s lack of commitment to post-secondary education. While the UCP government cries poor, it has provided $4.5 billion in tax cuts to corporations and lost more than $1.5 billion in the Keystone XL deal. Investing even a portion of those funds in universities or colleges would have prepared students for jobs in the new economy and provide a solid boost to student and new graduate employment. Instead, more and more educated young Albertans are leaving the province for greener pastures.
Media Inquiries may be directed to:
Mike Brown, External Communications Specialist
Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca
Cell: 403-560-0577
As classes started for the winter semester in January, the SU was busy continuing its advocacy efforts to all three orders of government and university administration. 2020 presented new and unique challenges for student and academic life. 2021 appears as though it will be no different.
The SU always wants to hear from students about your ideas on advocacy and what you need to navigate your studies during the pandemic. Please reach out to the SU if you have ideas or need support.
At the university level, the SU continues to advocate on tuition, fees, and student costs. The SU successfully advocated for a ‘Credit Received’ or CR option for students who may have a course where they would prefer not to have a letter grade in the fall semester, and were able to secure the same option for early in the winter semester. Students who receive a C- or better may convert that grade to a CR which wouldn’t count towards their GPA. We are currently working on having the university offer this option permanently – we expect this change to be announced by the end of this semester. In addition, the SU has successfully made sure that online exam proctoring will not be used by the university. However, individual professors may still be using this software; if that’s the case please contact the SU.
The SU continued its government advocacy by meeting with several elected officials individually to bring student concerns forward. This included an introductory meeting with Calgary MP Jasraj Hallan who met with the SU to discuss student mental health and student jobs and internships.
The SU met with Minister Copping who is the provincial Minister of Labour and Immigration. Minister Copping also represents the University of Calgary and surrounding area in the Legislature. The SU advocated for a student summer job program to help UCalgary students find work over the summer months. Last summer near one-third of UCalgary students surveyed said they couldn’t find a job at all or had a position cancelled due to the pandemic. The SU is working hard to ensure more opportunities for student work this summer.
The SU also supported awareness efforts on the cuts to post-secondary education from the provincial government and subsequent increases to tuition. Through the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS), our colleagues in Edmonton created a snow penguin army of 800 penguins carrying signs asking the government to freeze the cuts.
SU VP External Marley Gillies also participated in a drive by protest outside the Advanced Education Minister’s Calgary office. The event raised awareness of and called for an end to the severe funding cuts by the province.
Early in January, the SU also held its annual Calgary Leaders Dinner. This year’s event was reimagined as the Calgary Leaders Dialogue since it couldn’t be held in-person as usual. SU Executives and SLC members spent time talking to Calgary elected officials from the three orders of government. In total, 18 elected officials attended and Councillor Druh Farrell acted as keynote speaker. The elected officials discussed student issues such as tuition, mental health, and transit while also providing tips to student leaders on how best to advocate and build solid relationships with governments.
If you have questions or concerns about these initiatives or have ideas on what the SU should pursue on behalf of students, again, please contact us.
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We at the University of Calgary Students’ Union are concerned of many of the recent acts of hate in our city and country. Anti-Asian hate crimes, in particular, have seen a sharp rise in both Calgary and Canada. Further, this past weekend in Calgary, a Muslim woman was physically assaulted, a man using a wheelchair was attacked as he confronted anti-mask protestors, and anti-mask protestors wore antisemitic imagery as they marched through Prince’s Island Park. We categorically denounce these acts of hatred and stand in solidarity with all those experiencing acts of prejudice and racism.
While anti-Asian hate crimes have risen massively with the pandemic, the pandemic did not signal their start – these issues are deep-rooted in our society. Further, we fear it can be easy for some to compare Calgary or Canada to other places in the world and believe that these issues do not exist here. To do so would be dangerous and wrong.
These acts of hatred serve to divide us, at a time when solidarity is most needed. We must stand together to fight against these nefarious issues and to ensure everyone feels safe in our university and city.
It is not radical to believe that one should not fear for their safety because of their religion, skin colour, ethnicity, sexual identity, or ability.
Beyond statements, it is important to take action and stand up for others when we see acts of hatred being committed. We encourage any student who believes they have been mistreated or discriminated against at the University of Calgary to contact us and the university’s Ombudsperson. A full list of our anti-racism work and resources can be found here.
We stand with those fighting against prejudice and racism at UCalgary and in the rest of our society. Students have been at the forefront of many social movements, so let us fight for a future we can proud of.
