News
Srijani Datta Assistant News Editor
Srijani Datta Assistant News Editor
Amneet Mann / News Editor Srijani Datta / Assistant News Editor
May 14, 2018 news@the-peak.ca
3
4
News
Amneet Mann / News Editor Srijani Datta / Assistant News Editor
news@the-peak.ca
News
—— BRITISH COLUMBIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
May 14, 2018
— TAKE YOUR DEGREE FURTHER. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY FOR A COMPLEX WORLD. The BCIT Environmental Engineering Technology program offers a unique blend of training in clean and conventional technologies, sustainability management systems, and more. Gain job-ready skills that will complement your existing education and get you hired. Learn why 92% of our degree graduates are employed. Register for an info session on May 31 at bcit.ca/eet
— ENROL NOW FULL-TIME STUDIES
5
6 Opinions PT.1 — SFSS ELECTION REPORT REVIEW
Eva Zhu / Opinions Editor
opinions@the-peak.ca
Written by Corbett Gildersleve, SFU Alumnus Layout by Timothy Chow, Production Editor
The election report falls short by missing key areas of discussion The recommendations made by the IEC Chief Commissioner are vague and incomplete
T
his is the third year where I’ve been involved with a Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) election in some form. The first time it was as a candidate for the applied science representative position, while the other two were as a student or stakeholder asking difficult questions, and waiting for bland non-answers from an SFSS incumbent. This year’s election was different in that more people ran for positions and the board slate didn’t sweep. The way the election was run also differed from ones in the past. It’s hard to say why, though, since the election report is missing key information that could provide context, especially concerning the eight recommendations listed in it. Now, I won’t be trashing the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Chief Commissioner while reviewing this report since I’ve never done their job. However, I do know that it’s generally a thankless but necessary role. To me, some of their recommendations make little sense without additional information and context. Here, I will try to provide some historical and policy context in my review — future articles will explain my counter-recommendations. (Are you as excited as I am?) For the candidates, board members, and regular students who have complaints about the election, remember that accountability falls on the Administrative Supervisor and the Campaigns, Policy, and Research Coordinator (CPRC) as they’re the ones who interviewed and recommended the IEC to the Board for hiring as per the election policies. Let’s talk about the election report as a whole. According to the election policies in the Chief Commissioner’s report must include at least:
. . . . . . .
The dates of the various election periods. The names and positions of candidates. The wording of referendum questions. The results of the vote. A list of issues that occured and how they were handled. A set of recommendations for improvements. An appendix including all infractions, complaints, and decisions made regarding electoral and referendum campaign regulations. The recommendations are generally only a few sentences long, and lack the context that the bolded parts would provide, if they were included. Furthermore, according to that policy, all the points listed above are needed for the Chief Commissioner to be eligible for their final stipend. The new Board should check with the old Board to see if they accepted and ratified an incomplete election report.
T he reco m m e n d a t i o n s are gen e ra l l y o n l y a few sen t e n c e s l o n g .
One possibility is that the report template that was given to the IEC is missing those sections. This might be possible, because the Fall 2017 referendum report contains the exact same sections. No more, no less. If the template is missing key parts, then that’s on the CPRC staff members, as they’re responsible for the creation of the template. Do you know what else is missing from both the report and policies? The cost of the election! The previous election policies clearly required an expense report, and every election report going back to at least 2007 has that information. The new policies do not. That’s a problem, as it actually directly relates to one of the recommendations involving IEC work hours and costs. I really hope this was just an oversight and not another example of the SFSS becoming less transparent. I’d like to give the 2016-2017 board the benefit of the doubt, but the minutes where the policies were passed (April 24, 2017) are barebones with no discussion points. So, either the entire governance committee of that year missed it, or it was intentional. I hope the new Board changes that, as it is a very easy policy amendment. If someone tries to say that, with the inclusion of staff in almost every area of elections now, it’s harder to figure out costs, tell them that financial transparency is never easy, but it’s necessary. It’s why we have audits. Or, you could just revert it back to the old election policies and ask the governance committee to redo them. You might want to do that anyways to fix the staff/admin conflict of interest issues. However, for all that it’s missing, the report touches on some issues within the SFSS and elections through its recommendations. They cover everything from scheduling and booking issues to excess hours, IEC task autonomy, slates, and endorsements. Like most past IEC recommendations, some issues can be fixed, some cannot, and some the SFSS will just ignore. So, stay tuned for the next article, which will go through each recommendation and try and provide some historical and policy context, as well as my own suggestions for possible fixes.
Opinions
Amal Abdullah Staff Writer
Alex Bloom Editor-in-Chief
May 14, 2018
7
10
Opinions
Eva Zhu / Opinions Editor
opinions@the-peak.ca
Treena Chambers SFU Student
Arts
Natasha Tar / Arts Editor
May 14, 2018 arts@the-peak.ca
11
Winona Young Staff Writer
PEAK MEMBERSHIP As an SFU student, you subscribe to the Peak Publications Society. With your subscription, you get access to a weekly copy of The Peak filled with news and views of interest to you. Additional privileges of being an SFU student include the opportunity to run and vote for the Peak Publications Society Board of Directors, to place free classified ads, to publish your work and opinions in The Peak, to become eligible to be paid for your contributions, and to apply for a position as an editor or staff member. Your contribution also helps provide jobs and experience for other SFU students, maintain an archive of SFU history through the eyes of students, maintain a computer lab and web site, and support student journalism across Canada. Students who have paid their tuition fees and do not wish to support their student newspaper may request a membership fee refund from the Business Manger, but MUST provide a copy of their REGISTRATION SUMMARY, RECEIPT, and STUDENT ID between Monday, May 7 and Tuesday, May 22 at 4:00 p.m. No refunds will be issued outside of this time frame. Students claiming refunds will lose all privileges of membership for the semester, but membership will resume upon payment of student fees next semester. Questions? Call 778-782-3598.
12
Arts
Natasha Tar / Arts Editor
arts@the-peak.ca
Arts
May 14, 2018
13
14 Humour
Aaron Richardson / Humour Editor
humour@the-peak.ca
Humour
May 14, 2018
15
16 Diversions
Yuri Zhou / Business Manager
business@the-peak.ca
NOTICE
The Peak Publication Society Board of Directors will have its first meeting of the summer semester on Monday, May 21 at 5:30 p.m. in Club Ilia. All future meetings will be held at 5:30 p.m. on the third Monday of the month in Club Ilia. If you're interested in advertising with The Peak or at the-peak.ca, there's still space available in the upcoming issues for the Summer. We publish every Monday while classes are in session and discount are available for student group and non-profits.