The Official University of Manitoba Students’ Newspaper
Matthew Merkel, staff The University of Manitoba Students’ Union held its first in-person board meeting this year on Aug. 18. UMSU president Jaron Rykiss said it felt great to meet with the board of directors and share some of the things the executive committee has been working on. The weekend before the meeting, the entire executive committee attended the Student Union Development Summit (SUDS) at the University of British Columbia. A few days prior to SUDS, UMSU vice-president advocacy Victoria Romero and Rykiss also attended the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) policy and strategy conference at the University of Calgary. Rykiss explained that recently approved CASA policies and action plans will aim to address student issues like mental health supports and student aid, as well as housing and food security. He said these plans will be presented to ministers of federal government in Ottawa in November. Rykiss also revealed that UMSU is in the early stages of developing strategies to improve reach for the Hire a Bison campaign which is a student marketplace for sharing info and resources, and that they are attempting to find ways to simplify parking for students at the U of M’s Bannatyne campus. He also met with U of M administrators to discuss opportunities to increase financial aid for international students. The UMSU president said that plans are in motion to update the union’s website and governing documents. Rykiss explained that this year is all about making sure that UMSU’s governing documents and election manuals are clearly comprehensible. Cont’d p. 3 / First
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6 Comment
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Arts & 8 Culture
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VOL. 109, NO. 3