VOLUME 9 - ISSUE9
TAKING lHE PISSOUTOFJOURNALISM SINCE1993
UNIVERSilY COLLEGE OFTHEFRASER VALLEY'S STIJDENT NEWSPAPER
Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers. T.S. Eliot Arc you one of the majorit} of students who doesn't seem to care what the
StudentUnion Society (SUS) is doing with your money'? Maybe you should change your attitude. Here's why: Th1.:Societies !\cl states that a i.lin.:ctor must "act honestly and in good faith nnd i11the best interests nt' the society," 1 have lt>mne<lthat as a ma11eror ethics, members who stand lo directly benefit frn111the pt\ssing nf a mutio11(like an increase 111 pay). should ahstnin !'rum voting on that i11llli011. The subject of Honoraria i~ covered in the bylaws. Snlariel> arc not. Oue~s what that means? A huge procedure needs 10 bi.: fol• lowed in order lo increase small a11Imn1ts or money, yet the institution of generou:.. salaries is not subjcet to such com.:erns. Keeping such archaic issues such ns accountability in minu. do you agree with this system? Turnout for r~,eAnnual Genernl Meeting was pathetic. It wus adjourned for la<.:kor quorum (necessnry turnout. or quoin). Unfortunately, the attendance for the adjourned meeting was even worse. Four directors aml nne student comprised the LOtalnumber of nttendccs. As the exc<.:u• lives present stood [(1 benefit from a 1000% increase in pay, is it little wonder that no one had a problem with it? The total amount of the budget ($300,000.00) now allotted for salaries ancl honornria - approximately $150,0CXl.00is equal to half of the student fees collected this year. That is more than the entire budget for lust year! This amount would be enough to provide nine students with a $ I 000.00scholarship every month. Just think: half of the student fees that you paid to the SUS this semester are headed direct• ly for someone's pockets. How do you feel about that? The Student Union Society wants to know what you think - you may have noticed some pamphlets to that effect lloating around the school. The fact that the SUS does good things for the students is not in question. The question is. do you approve of their behavior of late, and do you think that they are working I 000% harder than last year?
I have seen more commenwry on the SUS in the last two weeks than in the ri.:stof the semesti.:rto date. This would seem to indicute that people are suddenly interested in whm the SUS is doing: some ol' them nre more than a little pissed off. You deserve to know what is being dune with your money. and the SUS needs your feedbnck. So please, do some homework, examine the evi<lcncc, and ask yourself one question: "ARE YOU GEn'ING YOUR MONI::Y'S WORTH?"
The SUS Responds: Thank you for your concern about your SUS. Happily, we have noticed an increase on student involvement on SUS matters, and it is swdents like you who make this possible. Because of the need for each council member to express their own opin-
iun about the change on the executive posi• tions honoruria, the voting fur this motion was made through closed ballot. However, every executive member wos nwore about the Societies Act you referred lo. The bylaws governing the society nre, or course, not perfect - there is always room for improvement. Significant changes like this, paying the executive positions, are not planned in our (or any) bylows: however, you can be sure that the necessary steps for this are being taken. We share your disappointment about the turnout for the AGM. However, you should H1keinto consideration that the increase was nor a I 000% increase. As it was. executive members were only mandated to work 3 hours per week at $150 a month, which is $12.5 per hour (lax free). Tod,1y,
executive members are 111andu1cd to work a minimum of25 hours per week a! $1.500 a month. which is $15 per hour (subject to government tux). /\s you can see. the increase is not near I 000'¾-on the pay. but the hours. We assure you that having eommittcd people on council will pay back for students. Having hum.in powi.:r to run all the services. like sc;holarships, will improve the services. We do encourage students tn speak out and give valid opinions of what is happening; after all. this society is by students for stu• dents. We know these changes can be a quite shocking but if you give us a chance. we are sure you'll sec your money's worth. Sincerely,
Jose A. Uzc4tegui SUS PublicInformation Officer. email: suspio@ucfv.bc.ca